₦airaland Forum

Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the United States Government for the ongoing crisis in the Middle East triggered by last weekend’s surprise incursion by the Palestinian militant group Hamas into southern Israel.

Putin who spoke Tuesday on the conflict, said the crisis is a testament to Washington’s inability to resolve conflicts, RT reports.

The Russian leader said, “I believe many would agree with me that it is a glaring example of the failures of the US Middle East policies. They tried to monopolize the peace settlement, but unfortunately paid no attention to searching for compromises that would be acceptable for both parties."

Instead, Washington put pressure on both sides in an attempt to impose its own solutions on them, he added. The US “never took into account the core interests of the Palestinian people,” Putin claimed.

Those interests primarily involve the creation of an independent Palestinian nation-state, as outlined in resolutions of the UN Security Council, he noted.

Putin made the remarks during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani in Moscow. The Russian president said he believed the two nations were united in prioritizing the minimization of harm done to civilians by both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Other senior Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, had previously blamed the US for the renewed hostilities. The top Russian diplomat suggested on Monday that the so-called quartet of Middle East mediators – which includes the US, Russia, the EU and the UN – should take a leading role in peace talks.

The US, he said, had sidelined this mechanism to “monopolize” the process for its own benefit.

Hamas, which is based in Gaza, launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory on Saturday, overwhelming the country’s air defences with massive rocket barrages and conducting a lightning raid. Its fighters killed civilians and took hostages with a view to trading them for prisoners in Israeli custody.

Israel responded with a military operation targeting Gaza, saying its goal was to obliterate Hamas. The small coastal strip of land is home to some 2 million residents, whose lives are greatly impacted by the Israeli blockade, which has been in place since 2007.
The US has pledged military support for Israel and has called on other nations to condemn Hamas for its actions. Moscow has condemned all violence against civilians, regardless of which side of the conflict carries it out, and has argued that fighting extremism is no substitute for a genuine reconciliation based on a two-state solution.

The election of Governor Nasir Idris as the duly elected governor of Kebbi State has been upheld.

The State Election Petitions Tribunal chaired by Justice Ofem I. Ofem gave the judgement on Thursday.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Idris of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the March 18 gubernatorial election in the State.

But, General Aminu Bande (rtd) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had filed a 722-page petition challenging the election of Governor Idris in the March 18 poll.

PrinceGallant:
Nigerians can lie... I tried with my wife's number, the app couldn't fetch any name. I tried at least three numbers, none could fetch name simply because they did not register. Those whose number could fetch some names were at one time register or trying to register. That is my conclusion

Ekejoestar:
What's really going on cos I checked my number using my access Bank app and it showed that it was registered on Opay and I can't even remember registering the number gan gan.

Though I use Opay for my daily transaction, but I think this might be a glitch

As diphtheria spreads further across the country, the federal government has urged the affected 19 states to reintroduce the use of facemasks.

The executive director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, gave the advice yesterday at the Diphtheria Outbreak Response press briefing, in Abuja.

He said, “Diphtheria is an airborne disease. Like COVID-19, we can reduce air contact with the bacteria by adopting non-pharmaceutical interventions such as the use of facemasks, handwashing and physical distancing from affected persons.

“Accordingly, I would like to call on governors of affected states to institute face covering requirements such as facemasks in public gatherings. By doing so, we can add another intervention to slow the progress of the outbreak.”

However, he said this should be done in a way that does not stigmatize nor discriminate against sick people.

Shuaib said six states are bearing the brunt of the outbreak, accounting for a staggering 97 percent of all reported cases.

The states are Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Borno, Kaduna, and Bauchi, while Kano alone carries the weight of over 84 percent of the cases, making it the epicentre of this outbreak, said Shuaib.

He said the burden falls disproportionately on young people with over 73 percent of the cases occurring in children aged one to 14 years.

“Alarmingly, only about 18 percent of those affected had received any vaccinations,” said Shuaib.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) yesterday said as of October 3, 2023, there had been 13,204 reported suspected cases out of which 8,406 were confirmed cases from 114 local government areas in 19 states including the FCT.

The director-general of NCDC, Dr Adetifa Ifedayo, who also spoke at the event, gave breakdown by states: Kano – 7,188 (86%), Yobe – 775, Katsina – 232, Borno – 118, Jigawa -23, Bauchi -20, Kaduna – 17, Lagos – 8, FCT – 6, Gombe – 5, Osun – 3, Sokoto – 3, Niger – 2, Cross River – 1, Enugu – 1, Imo – 1, Nasarawa – 1, Zamfara – 1, Kebbi -1.

Zxcvbnmghtr:


On an ATIKULATE Fishing expedition. Hahahaha! Tinubu and bad mouth.

President Bola Tinubu has urged the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division to reverse the order asking the Chicago State University (CSU) to release his academic records to a political opponent, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Tinubu argued that Magistrate Jeffrey Gilbert, who gave the September 19 order while ruling on an application by Atiku, lacked any such power under Section 1782 of the US Statute.

He therefore asked Honourable Nancy L. Maldonado to reject Atiku’s application.

The prayers formed part of Tinubu’s reply to Atiku’s response to his (Tinubu’s) objection to the execution of Magistrate Gilbert’s order in an application for discovery filed by Atiku.

Tinubu’s lawyer, Christopher Carmichael, who filed the reply, said the Magistrate “erred in granting the application and ordering Chicago State University to comply with the subpoenas for documents and a deposition.”

“The ruling should be set aside and the application denied,” Carmichael said.

Atiku, he argued, was merely on a fishing expedition because the documents he is seeking from the CSU can no longer be admitted at the current stage of the appeal he filed at the Supreme Court because the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) had deemed them inadmissible.

He said: “The discovery sought here, with one narrow exception, is not ‘for use’ in the pending appeal, and the Nigerian courts were unequivocally hostile to the discovery.

“Application of the principles of comity and parity included in Section 1782, require that the Nigerian decision be given effect and that the application be denied.”

Continuing, he said the US federal rules “also do not permit a fishing expedition to challenge established fact, and that is a further reason to deny the application.”

Tinubu faulted Atiku’s argument that the order by Magistrate Gilbert was not final because it was made in furtherance of an underlying suit, contending that it was final and required a review de novo.

“Here, the Magistrate entered a ruling that purported to be a final decision that ended the dispute, and ordered compliance. A magistrate cannot enter such a decision. The review should be de novo,” he said.

Tinubu drew the court’s attention to Atiku’s admission in his filings that some of the documents being sought are for use in related proceedings, which implies that he does not require them for the pending appeal at the Supreme Court.

He noted that “related proceedings,” as stated by Atiku, “are not the proceedings the application is based upon, and applicant (Atiku) cannot invoke Section 1782 for other proceedings.”

Section 1782, according to Tinubu, does not “provide authority for foreigners to authenticate documents they find in public records.”

“The discovery sought by applicant is simply not ‘for use’ in the pending appeal and should not be permitted.”

He contended that Atiku’s insistence in being allowed access to his (Tinubu’s) academic records showed that he lacks an understanding of the effect of the decision by the Nigerian court.

His words: “The Nigerian court decision precluded applicant from asserting the theory he seeks to support with discovery here.

“Applicant’s response notes but ignores the fact that he included only a single, general sentence about Intervenor being ‘not qualified’ in his 200+ petition in Nigeria.

“The Nigerian court made it clear that applicant’s conduct precluded him from asserting any facts surrounding that generalised statement.

“Applicant’s failure to include supporting allegations to flush out the general statement in his petition forecloses any opportunity to try to submit new material to the Nigerian Supreme Court.

“A foreign court’s decision to bar the discovery sought should not present an opportunity for the applicant to seek that very same discovery.

“Intervenor (Tinubu) has clearly established that granting the application would undermine the judgment of the Nigerian court by allowing applicant to do what the Nigerian court prohibited him from doing. That should preclude the discovery.

“The judgment of the Nigerian court was an authoritative statement of the unreceptivity to the discovery that should end the quest here.

“The applicant, and the Magistrate, asserted that the Nigerian court’s decision should be effectively nullified because applicant can appeal.

“There is nothing in Section 1782 suggesting that discovery should be permitted anytime a losing party can take an appeal in the foreign jurisdiction.

“The issues of comity that the Supreme Court directed courts to consider would become a nullity if the applicant’s and the Magistrate’s logic prevailed.”

Besides, Tinubu argued that as against the impression created by Atiku, who sought to be allowed unfettered access to his academic records, the US Federal Rules still apply to Section 1783 applications and those procedures can limit the scope of discovery.

He added that the Federal Rules, such as Rule 26, do not afford the applicant unfettered discovery.

Tinubu said that Atiku’s attack of the authenticity of his certificate was a self created confusion on his (Atiku’s) part despite the confirmation by the CSU that he actually graduated from the university.

He noted that Atiku’s “basis for doubting the diploma is his interpretation of proper comma placement and inability to read a signature.

“That speculation can be contrasted with established fact – that Nigerian President Bola A. Tinubu graduated from Chicago State University with a degree in 1979.

“Despite the affidavit from CSU, the applicant persists in doubting facts, not unlike another domestic presidential candidate.

“Unlike that domestic presidential candidate, whose lawsuits were never allowed discovery on such a flimsy basis, applicant asserts that he can obtain discovery merely by ‘questioning’ established fact. That is not a basis for discovery.

“Applicant’s identification of ‘other documents’ as another area for discovery is based on other proceedings and material that applicant claims has filtered into the public record.

“Applicant then offers the refrain that ‘nobody should oppose this discovery,’ despite the political intrigue opposition figures were able to create with the documents.

“Enahoro-Ebah’s illegal subpoena and the typographical error in creating a new diploma, is an example of the harm that can arise when someone is allowed to rummage through another’s records.

“Congress and the Illinois General Assembly created protections for educational records that should not be so lightly pushed aside for what appears to be foreign political opposition research.

“The proposed discovery of ‘other documents’ should be precluded.”

It was gathered that the judge will now consider what the parties have filed and deliver judgment. The parties need not appear to address the court on what they have filed.

The court’s clerk confirmed yesterday in a Notification of Docket Entry that briefing on Intervenor’s (Tinubu’s) objections to Judge Gilbert’s order “is now complete.”

He said: “The Court will endeavor to issue a written ruling as soon as possible.

“Separately, the Court notes that Court staff has received extensive email communications from members of the public related to this case.

“The Court understands the significant public interest in this dispute, but the Court will not consider any third party or ex parte submissions.

“Rather, the Court’s review will be limited to the parties’ briefing and the official record on the docket.”

ubest1:
Tinubu is just buying time nothing else he knows what he is doing but las-las judgement will come