₦airaland Forum

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) plunged 12 percent on Monday as South Africa imposed tough restrictions after declaring a national state of disaster in a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Africa’s most developed nation would close its borders from Wednesday to all foreigners from countries highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schools are closing down and gatherings of more than 100 people have been prohibited.

The JSE fell below 38,784 points on Monday, its lowest level since August 2013, following a downward trend in markets around the world sparked by concerns about the economic fallout of Covid-19.

The JSE Africa All-Share Index tumbled as much as 12 percent, while the rand currency lost 2.2 percent against the US dollar to trade at 16.64 rand.

Nedbank economist Nicky Weimar said South Africa’s economy and markets were being hit on multiple fronts by “weak demand (both locally and abroad), contained inflation, the volatile rand and an uncertain global environment due to the coronavirus.”

Shares in the industrial metals, food producers and mining industries also fell.

To date 62 people in South Africa have tested positive for the virus — the second-highest number of cases in Africa after Egypt, which has reported at least 110 cases.

South Africa’s economy has already been battered by internal factors such as power outages and weak business confidence.

It slumped into recession in the last quarter of 2019.

Economists forecast that the central bank will cut interest rates by at least 50 basis points.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Monday said despite having funds available through the National Disaster fund, the country may need to set aside further funding to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

The impact of the virus on an already struggling economy has piled pressure on Ramaphosa who took over from graft-tainted Jacob Zuma two years ago promising a new start.

“We are going through a period which we have never gone through since (end of apartheid in 1994),” he told reporters on Monday. “It is going to be a testing period on all of us”.

“It is going to have a negative impact on our economy, our economy which is already in technical recession”.



https://247direct..com/2020/03/safrica-stock-market-tumbles-as.html?m=1

Lwkmd

At least 48 rights and press freedom organisations have petitioned the United Nations and the African Union over the detention of Omoyele Sowore.
The activist, who was the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2019 elections, was arrested
over his planned nationwide #RevolutionNow protest.
He was subsequently accused by the secret police of threatening public peace and safety with the protest.
Despite the outcry, the federal high court in Abuja approved an application filed by the DSS to detain him for 45 days.
In an appeal filed to the UN and AU special mechanisms, the groups called for an intervention to see to the release of Sowore.
In a statement signed by Idowu Olalere, communication director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), one of the groups, said Sowore’s treatment “constitutes a violation of his right not to be arbitrarily detained, right to a fair trial, right to freedom of expression, right of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and his rights as a human rights defender.”
Describing Sowore as a pro-democracy campaigner, Olalere said the objective of the protest was to demand that the Nigerian government end corruption and economic inequality and guarantee education to all.
In the petition prepared by Nani Jansen Reventlow from the London-based Doughty Street Chambers, the groups called on “the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, UN Special Rapporteurs on freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the situation of human rights defenders, and African Commission Special Rapporteurs on freedom of expression and human rights defenders to: intervene urgently to secure the immediate release of Mr Sowore; and declare his arrest and continuing detention a gross violation of his human rights.”
La Keisha Landrum Pierre, chief operating officer of Sahara Reporters, a newspaper founded by Sowore, also described his arrest as a threat to press freedom.
“The arrest and detention of Sahara Reporter’s founder, Omoyele Sowore, is without doubt a threat to press freedom and investigative journalism in Nigeria,” she said.
“Sowore has used the word ‘revolution’ contextually to mean ‘change for the better’ since he founded Sahara Reporters in 2006. He then stated that he would ‘revolutionise’ the way news is being reported: something he actually did by leading the pioneering efforts in citizen journalism in Nigeria. We are shocked that a government that rode to power on the promise to wipe out corruption and be the ‘voice of the voiceless’ is trying to silence the call for change by the same people who elected it.”
Joy Hyvarinen, head of advocacy at Index on Censorship, added that “the arrest and detention are a shocking violation of Mr Sowore’s human rights, which calls into question Nigeria’s willingness and ability to meet international human rights obligations.”
Sowore, through Femi Falana, his lawyer, had
asked the court to nullify the order granted DSS to detain him.
The DSS alleged that Sowore and Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), conspired to overthrow President Muhammadu Buhari.

Thugs suspected to be loyal to some governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State on Friday threw dynamites close to the party’s secretariat in Yenagoa in their failed bid to stop the ward congress.


It was gathered that the dynamite exploded on the main road some kilometres to the the PDP Secretariat and that nobody was injured.


Sources said the hoodlums, who could not have access to the secretariat because the area was cordoned off by armed police operatives, decided to throw the explosive along the road.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said persons at the secretariat heard the sound of the dynamite adding that the thugs also fired some gunshots.

“Where they threw the explosive was a little far from the PDP secretariat. They could not beat the security around the secretariat because there were policemen everywhere.

“They were on a fast-moving vehicle. The area they discharged their weapons was lonely because most party people were clustered around the PDP secretariat.

“Some persons are simply planning to create an atmosphere of violence to discredit the Congress. But the Congress had already concluded and it was a massive success”, he said.


Loyalists of some aspirants led a protest to the party secretariat where they expressed their grievances to the congress committee and demanded the cancellation of the exercise.
A PDP Ward Congress Committee headed by the Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. David Umahi, arrived the state on Thursday to conduct the ward Congress.


They held meetings with the governorship aspirants at the Government House and later met with other PDP members at the Secretariat where the declared the process open.


Umahi told the protesters that there was no need to demand the cancellation of the conagress since it held peacefully within the laid down rules and regulation of the party.


Though the Police Commissioner, Uche Anozia, could not be reached, a senior police officer confirmed the incident and said the explosion occurred far from the secretariat of the PDP.
He said it occurred in an empty space far away from the secretariat because security was tightened around the PDP building


https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-thugs-fire-dynamite-in-failed-bid-to-stop-bayelsa-pdp-congress/amp/

Cc Lalasticlala

The father who allegedly beat his daughter to death in Ondo state is said to have been arrested.

Youth Advocate, Olúyẹmí Fásípè took to his social media page to give an update on the little girl who her father beat to death in Ondo state, stating that the man has now been arrested while they pursue justice for the daughter ‘s death.





stating that her parents have been beating her for a while now after they were told she is possessed.

Her father has now been arrested by Police in Ondo State and investigation has commenced to ensure justice is served.

He wrote;

Her name is Testimony Toke Babalola, her parents have been abusing her like this because they were told she’s possessed. The name of her Father who beat her to death is Mr. Felix Babalola. We will ensure that justice is served.


Olúyẹmí Fásípè ��
@YemieFASH
Her name is Testimony Toke Babalola, her parents have been abusing her like this because they were told she’s possessed. The name of her Father who beat her to death is Mr. Felix Babalola. We will ensure that justice is served.

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According to SegaLinks, intel from Okada riders helped locate the father. He commented on the above tweet by Fásípè, he wrote;

The deployment of community engagement paid off and intel from Okada riders led to the location of the father (Murder suspect). We owe a lot to these men. Mr Felix Babalola can run but certainly can’t hide.


Revolutionary SEGA L'éveilleur®�
@segalink
Well done Distinguished Ambassador. The deployment of community engagement paid off and intel from Okada riders led to the location of the father (Murder suspect). We owe a lot to these men. Mr Felix Babalola can run but certainly can’t hide. #JusticeForTestimony https://twitter.com/yemiefash/status/1164983110804615170 …

Olúyẹmí Fásípè ��
@YemieFASH
Her name is Testimony Toke Babalola, her parents have been abusing her like this because they were told she’s possessed. The name of her Father who beat her to death is Mr. Felix Babalola. We will ensure that justice is served.

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166

Ok

Wow

Which way Nigeria?