The Federal Government has advised Nigerian citizens planning to travel to the United Kingdom to be cautious of potential violence following the recent killing of three young girls at a concert

The statement, released in the early hours of Monday, August 5th, and signed by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Eche Abu-Obe, noted that the ongoing protests in the United Kingdom have turned violent following the killing of three young girls at a concert.

The press release, which was posted on the official X page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, partly read: “There is an increased risk of violence and disorder occasioned by the recent riots in the UK, stemming from the killing of three young girls at a concert. The violence has assumed dangerous proportions, as evidenced by reported attacks on law enforcement agents and damage to infrastructure.

“Demonstrations by far-right and other extra-parliamentary groups in parts of the UK in recent weeks have been large and, in some instances, unruly.

“These disturbances have only been aggravated by the unfortunate deaths of the three girls, spawning an anti-immigration narrative with particular emphasis on targeting Muslim immigrants or persons of colour.”

Recall that in on July 29, 2024, a knife attack took place at a children’s yoga and dance workshop. Three children were killed and eight other children were injured, with five of them in critical condition. Two adults at the event were also critically injured. Following the stabbing, anti-Muslim disinformation and rumours have sparked Islamophobic protests and riots across the UK, which have been described as the worst rioting in 13 years.

The Financial Times described the protests and riots as being fuelled by wider Islamophobia, concerns over crime, anti-migration sentiment, xenophobia, nationalism, and perceived biases by the police and media.

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled that the sale of Nigeria Air Ltd to Ethiopian Airlines is null and void.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, who presided over the case, directed that the Federal Government’s plan to establish a national carrier, Nigeria Air, should not proceed.

This decision came as the court granted most of the requests made by the plaintiffs, which include the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, and five other entities.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa affirmed that all requested reliefs were approved except for the demand for N2bn in damages. The plaintiffs sought these damages for the losses they claimed to have suffered due to their exclusion from the process and the alleged wrongful actions related to the bidding and selection processes for the Nigeria Air initiative.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, comprising the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators, Azman Air Services Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited, and Topbrass Aviation Limited, took legal action against Nigeria Air Limited, Ethiopian Airlines, former Minister of Aviation Senator Hadi Sirika, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

In their filings, the plaintiffs sought a court order to nullify the entire bidding and selection procedures for the Nigeria Air project. They also called for the cancellation of the approval and selection of Ethiopian Airlines by former Minister Hadi Sirika and former Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami.

The Catholic Bishops of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, weekend, expressed concern that the Federal Government’s reforms have not brought the renewed hope promised, while inflation, hunger and anger keep growing.

This was part of the communiqué they issued weekend, at the end of their two-day meeting, held at Sacred Heart Pastoral/Retreat Centre, Orlu, signed by the Chairman and Secretary, Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji and Most Rev. Augustine Echema, respectively.

The Bishops said: “Our nation, Nigeria, continues to face many social and economic challenges that are bringing untold hardship to our people.

“The reforms that were introduced at the inception of the current administration have not brought the renewed hope promised. Instead, inflation continues to skyrocket and hunger and anger continue to grow.

“Despite calls by the government for the people to sacrifice and bear patiently the hard times, there seems to be no corresponding example of prudent spending on the part of the leaders at all levels of government.

“It is not as if we want to join the bandwagon preaching doom and gloom for the nation, but the truth remains that for the last couple of years, we, as a nation, have missed the chance to build a strong nation, to elect leaders who have the capacity and the will to meet the needs of the people, to build a nation where the national interest overrides every tribal, political and religious division.

“We do not deny that progress has been made in particular sectors of national life; progress for which we all rejoice, yet many areas of work remain and the palpable fear is that there might be no redeeming future if things continue to go the way they are going at the moment.”

On the ongoing national hunger protest, the Catholic Bishops opined that the youths are right to be outraged by the worsening state of our nation.

 “As long as many people are suffering from multi-dimensional poverty in the land; as long as there are people without the renewed hope that comes with opportunities for a decent livelihood; as long as the peoples’ income can no longer afford their  genuine needs; as long as their votes cannot be guaranteed to effect a change in the behaviour of our leaders; Nigeria will continue to remain a restive nation.

“While peaceful protests are genuine democratic tools for expressing grievances, we believe that protests alone cannot resolve our current national problems. Moreover, a prolonged protest with a total close down of the country, even if peacefully sustained, might cripple our already fragile economy.”

While saying it has become imperative that Nigerians, as citizens of the same nation, undertake some soul-searching in the face of the intractable nature of our national difficulties, the Bishops also reasoned that “good governance and socio-economic stability will continue to elude us, if we collectively do not decide to strengthen our political institutions, if we do not improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability in all our public institutions.”

Continuing, the clerics said: “It will be naive for us to imagine that leadership alone can resolve all the issues that bedevil our country.

“The failure of leadership reflects equally the failure of followership. It is obvious then that both leadership and followership in Nigeria have responsibilities to fulfill, to move our nation forward.  

“We need proper leadership in the various sectors and cadres of our country, be it business, politics, public service, security agencies, and other essential services. All of these different sectors  must come together as part of the same wheel of progress.

“Unfortunately, what has continued to elude us is visionary leadership. Ever since our independence, one regime after another, has started and abandoned its agenda, shown a  lack of continuity, and promoted  mediocrity and ineptitude in governance.

“The result is that today, the majority of our  citizens no longer have faith in our leaders. We call on our current political leaders and elite to rise and inspire the nation, as well as earn the trust of the populace, with policies and programmes that will improve the standard of living, economic growth, stability, and a general rise in the standard of governance and governance structure.”

Referring to the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, on local government autonomy, the Bishops appealed to the state governments to speedily organize free, fair, and transparent local government elections.

“We hope that a functional local government authority will bring development closer to the people, and allow a more grassroots participation in the democratic process,” the Bishops reasoned.

They called on Nigerian citizens to make adjustments in the context of the hard times facing everybody, stressing that “adjustment will include saying no to all corrupt practices, being alive and awake to our rights and our civic responsibilities, saying no to every attempt to cow and intimidate the citizenry”.

Their words: “Here in the South East, where years of insecurity have impacted daily life and businesses, we call on our people to re-embrace that same indomitable spirit that was displayed by our people after the Nigeria-Biafra War.

“It was a spirit that refused to accept that our present challenges are beyond redemption, a spirit that recognized that the contribution of everyone is needed to build up the society from the bottom up. This will require qualities from everyone like a life of simplicity, moral probity, steadfastness, hard work, and solidarity.

“As Church, we share in the joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties of our people. As your pastors, we feel your pains and your struggles. We are deeply concerned about the fate of our jobless youths who see no hope in the Nigerian project.

“Many have been forced to leave the country for greener pastures; others are tempted to resort to crime or fetish and obnoxious ritual practices in the quest for survival.

“Our retired and elderly people are abandoned to languish without the support networks that should guarantee a dignified and happy old age. As a Church, we do not pretend to be an alternate government that has the responsibility to manage our Commonwealth.

“The Church has always intervened in the difficult moments of our national history to promote the spirit of solidarity among the people, and concern for the welfare of those at the margins of society.

“In the same spirit, we urge better-placed individuals in the society to embrace the challenge of making sure nobody is left behind to suffer in silence and to die in misery.”

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, dropped to $52,000 amid a market sell-off on Monday.

The price of the digital asset dropped significantly by 13 percent in 24 hours.

The cryptocurrency dipped from $60,752 on August 4, to $52,312 on August 5, according to CoinMarketCap, a price-tracking website for crypto assets.

Similarly, the price of other cryptocurrencies also experienced a downswing. The price of Ethereum fell from $2,905 on August 4 to $2,261 on August 5 — a decline of 22.46 percent in 24hrs.

CoinMarketCap also said the global cryptocurrency market cap shrank to $1.85 trillion, after recording a reduction of over $184.39 billion or 14.06 percent in the last 24 hours.

According to a report by Economic Times, the dramatic drop was attributed to the hasty sell-off of assets by investors due to geo-political tensions, United States recession fears, the global impact of the appreciation of the Yen following the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates to 0.25 percent and reduce bond purchases.

On March 19, Standard Chartered Plc raised its 2024 forecast for Bitcoin (BTC) price from $100,000 to $150,000.

Standard Chartered also predicted that the BTC would reach an all-time high of $250,000 by 2025 before settling around $200,000.

On March 11, Bitcoin crossed $71,000 for the first time in two years.

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s prime minister, has resigned and fled the country amid weeks of deadly anti-government protests. 

An aide told Al Jazeera that Hasina, 76, boarded a military helicopter alongside her sister and fled after crowds ignored a nationwide curfew to besiege the prime minister’s palace in Dhaka, the country’s capital, on Monday.

Images showed flames billowing from vehicles near Hasina’s home, with police unable to contain throngs of people marching towards the neighborhood.

After news of her resignation broke, thousands took to the streets of Dhaka in celebration. She was in power for a combined 20 years.

The demonstrations which began in July were triggered by students seeking an end to a quota system for government jobs. 

However, clashes with police and pro-government activists escalated. No fewer than 300 people have been reported dead since the protests began.

On Sunday, nearly 100 people were reported dead.

Doyin Okupe, a former director general of the Peter Obi/Datti Ahmed campaign council, has stated that President Bola Tinubu's nationwide broadcast on Sunday addressed the economic woes Nigerians are facing.

He advised youths to stop further protests and engage the federal government in a dialogue. He said President Tinubu has shown leadership and commitment to addressing hardship in the country.

On Sunday, while reacting to the President’s address, Okupe said President Tinubu achieved what other administrations were unable to accomplish in one year.

According to Okupe, if the fuel subsidy was not removed, the Tinubu-led administration would not function effectively.

“President Bola Tinubu’s Speech has not disappointed Nigerians in that for the first time, the President clearly stated the precarious and daunting economic situation his administration met on ground at inception.

“It also amplified the strenuous efforts made by his government to reduce the prevailing crippling and stagnating debt servicing ratio from 97% of earned revenue to 68%.

“In truth, this has been the major cause of our present economic woes and sufferings. It is now self-evident that if the fuel subsidy was not removed, it would have been impossible for the government to function and meet its obligations without continuing the profligacy of massive and sustained borrowing to fund the subsequent national budgets

“The speech highlighted, to our delight, the giant and commendable strides of achievements already accomplished by this administration within 14 months of its existence, despite the unprecedented inherited financial and social-economic calamities.

“It is also worthy to note from the speech the government’s commitment to reduce the prevailing high cost of living and also bring down the food inflation through the temporary massive importation of foods and reduction of various taxes and duties for foods, drugs and medical supplies e t c.

“I personally believe that this administration’s scorecard or performance compares very well if not better than those of many administrations before it,” he said.

The former aide on media to ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo, advised Nigerians to hold governors and local government chairmen accountable. He noted that the President showed commitment to democratic right of citizens to protest.

“Lastly, the increased amount of funds that the policies of this administration have directly released to the states and local governments must make Nigerians to now begin to look beyond the federal government and make the sub nationalities to be more accountable for the huge sums of revenue inflow they receive from the federation account and other federal government intervention funds.

“It is pertinent that we recognize that federal government revenue is shared with 49% going to the federal government while approximately 48% goes to the states and local governments leaving some 3% for ecological funds and derivation.

“I will therefore with all humility enjoin our youths and the citizens at large to exercise patience and restraints and embrace the opportunity for dialogue which Mr President has offered,” Okupe added.

Paul ‘Rudeboy‘ Okoye, the singer, has slammed Joe Igbokwe, the Nigerian author, over his comment on the rift between him and Peter ‘Mr P‘ Okoye, his twin brother. 

The Okoye brothers have been in the news since their controversial split in 2016.

The twins parted ways after a disagreement on the role of Jude Okoye, their older brother who happened to be their immediate past manager.

But in November 2021, the duo ended their five-year feud. They also staged their first joint performance as Psquare.

However, their latest split was confirmed by Rudeboy who claimed his twin brother was behind his recent arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Wading into the matter in a Facebook post, Igbokwe berated the twin brothers for being “unable to settle their family dispute”.

The author also wondered if “there are no elders in their family” while describing their rift as a “shame”.

“So shameful that two twin brothers Paul and Peter cannot work together, cannot love one another, they cannot trust each other, they cannot think together, they cannot reason together, they cannot forgive each other, they cannot manage their wives, they cannot manage their success story, they cannot control their emotions, they cannot manage their internal contradictions, even their wives could not help matters, what about their parents, their brothers and sisters, their Nnaochie? etc,” he wrote.

“This is shame. It pains me to no end. Now, are there no elders in the family? This is success without brains. Education without character. Make shame catch us small na. When Gold rust what will Iron do? Ndi ara akwu eke. Awon werey.”

However, Rudeboy took to his Instagram page to tackle Igbokwe. The singer also hurled abusive words at the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain.