Author: Daily Post Nigeria

A legal practitioner, Justice Osai Ahiakwo has advised the Nigerian state and Nigerians against retaliatory violence, unlawful reprisals, or military confrontation with South Africa as a result of repeated killings and xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in their country.

He said such would simply violate the principles of sovereign equality, and non-intervention.

In an interview with DAILY POST in Calabar, Ahiakwo said any response to the South African attacks must remain consistent with international law.

He said it should not necessarily adopt the tit-for-tat, severance of diplomatic ties or nationalisation of South Africans assets in Nigeria.

“Nigeria’s most credible legal and diplomatic responses must take such steps as invoking bilateral agreements,
pursuing African Union and regional mechanisms, engaging international human rights institutions.

“Applying lawful diplomatic and economic pressure, strengthening citizen protection and consular support,” he said.

According to him, the South African crisis extends beyond domestic criminality.

He said the attacks have violated international human rights law, including the anti-discrimination obligations, and regional protection commitments.

Ahiakwo submitted that “Where diplomatic engagement fails to produce meaningful deterrence, lawful reciprocity through strategic diplomatic, economic, and regulatory measures remains the appropriate state response.”

He admitted that the recurring killings, xenophobic violence, and systematic attacks against Nigerians and other African nationals in South Africa have raised serious concerns under international law.

He was alarmed that the South African government has failed to exercise due diligence in preventing, prosecuting, and remedying such abuses.

He quoted several statues which the country has offended by not intervening to quell the violence against other Africans residing in their country, saying the repeated attacks represent serious challenges to these legal protections.

“Under the United Nations Charter and established international human rights frameworks, every sovereign state bears the responsibility to protect all persons within its territory, regardless of nationality, from violence, discrimination, and arbitrary harm.

“This obligation is reinforced by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“Both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights requires state authorities like South Africa to safeguard all residents from unlawful killings, hate-based violence, and discriminatory law enforcement failures,” he added.

He stressed that the systemic xenophobic violence against fellow Africans undermines not only these legal duties but also the political ideals of African unity, regional cooperation and Pan-African solidarity.

Xenophobic attacks: Lawyer cautions against retaliatory violence

A United States congressman has called on President Donald Trump to intervene militarily in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, describing the killing of Christians in Plateau State as an ongoing genocide and accusing the Nigerian government of standing by while its own citizens are massacred.

Representative Riley Moore made the call in a statement on Thursday, reacting to reports and videos from Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, where gunmen attacked mourners during a mass burial on Wednesday.

The mourners had gathered to bury seven persons killed in an earlier attack on their community in Fan District when the assailants struck. Sources said the gunmen, who had been monitoring the burial from surrounding hills, suddenly descended on the area and opened fire as graves were being dug. More than five communities were reportedly under simultaneous attack at the time.

Conflict Journalists who was present at the scene, said the mourners had barely dug a few metres before the attackers struck, forcing them to hurriedly dump the bodies into shallow graves and flee for safety. He witnessed a man shot dead in front of him as local defenders armed with hunting rifles were overwhelmed.

In his statement, Moore drew a sharp contrast between Nigeria’s willingness to intervene militarily in neighbouring Benin Republic during a coup attempt and what he described as its failure to protect its own Christian citizens.

“Nigeria’s willingness to step in to stop a violent attack in another country, while they stand by as their own Christian citizens are brutalized, makes these absolutely horrific scenes unfolding in Plateau State all the more unconscionable,” he said.

Moore accused the Nigerian government of inaction despite receiving early warnings of the impending attack. “The Nigerian Government could root out the terrorism and stop the martyrdom of its own citizens. But, despite receiving early warnings of impending attacks, they are nowhere to be found as Christians are murdered for their faith, like lambs led to slaughter,” he said.

Moore said he was encouraged that the Trump administration had specifically identified the protection of Christians in Nigeria in its counterterrorism strategy, adding: “Now, I am asking the Trump Administration to take forceful action to defend our innocent brothers and sisters in Christ in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, the epicentre of an ongoing Christian genocide.”

His position drew support from Sean Nelson, Senior Counsel for Global Religious Freedom with Alliance Defending Freedom International, who described Moore’s comments as “very forceful” and called for maximum US pressure in line with the new counterterrorism strategy.

The Federal Government has consistently rejected allegations of a Christian genocide, maintaining that insecurity in the country affects both Muslims and Christians and is driven by broader criminality, insurgency and communal conflict.

Plateau Attack: U.S. Lawmaker Demands Trump Defend Nigeria’s Christians is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

An All Progressives Congress chieftain, Tein T.S. Jack-Rich, has insisted that APC legacy members must be given the first choice of refusal at contesting for positions, condemning the practice of new entrants displacing long-standing members of the party.

He emphasised the need for the party to balance inclusiveness with loyalty, noting that founding members and early supporters should not be sidelined.

The APC chieftain noted that while the influx of new members was beneficial to democratic growth, it should not come at the expense of those who built the party.

Jack-Rich raised the observations in Abuja, on Wednesday, while submitting his expression of interest and nomination forms for the Rivers West Senatorial District seat for Rivers State.

“What is important to the party is to continue to recognise and honour legacy members who have been there from inception, while also accommodating new entrants for growth.

“It is important to hold your biological child dearly while adopting new children. That balance must be maintained.

“We were there when they called us names. I was there when they didn’t believe in us and when they tried to stop us. Today, some people are coming in hard and trying to push us out. We will not accept it,” he stated.

He noted that while the influx of new members was beneficial to democratic growth, it should not come at the expense of those who built the party.

“These new entrants are welcome, as it is good for the expansion of democracy, but they cannot take everything away.

“I am happy to say I have submitted my form, and I am going to work hard for the primaries. I believe strongly that I will win the Senate seat. Rivers West will be great again,” he said.

He described Rivers West as the largest senatorial district in Rivers State and a critical hub for Nigeria’s oil production.

“The Rivers West Senatorial District is the largest in the state in terms of landmass, and it is the oil bank of Nigeria.

“My field is in Rivers West, so I understand the terrain and the issues,” he said.

APC legacy members must be recognised – Jack-Rich on Rivers West senatorial seat

Former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has dismissed reports linking him to the 2027 presidential race, describing a campaign poster currently circulating online as fake and misleading.

In a statement released on Thursday by his Media Adviser and Consultant, Terver Akase, Ortom denied having any interest in contesting the presidency or seeking any elective position in the next general elections.

The former governor said the viral poster was the handiwork of individuals attempting to create unnecessary political tension and misinform members of the public.

According to the statement, Ortom has repeatedly made it clear that he has no plans to participate in the 2027 presidential contest.

“The attention of His Excellency Samuel Ortom has been drawn to a fake poster being circulated on social media alleging that he is preparing to run for president in 2027.

“It is entirely false, unfounded and designed by mischief makers to spread confusion and fuel baseless political speculation,” he said.

Akase urged the public to ignore the poster and avoid giving attention to what he described as deliberate misinformation aimed at deceiving unsuspecting Nigerians.

2027: I’m not contesting for president – Ortom disowns posters

The United States government has presented a new nuclear framework to Iran, amid uncertainty over when direct negotiations will resume.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. expects Tehran to declare it does not seek nuclear weapons and accept on-demand inspections with penalties for violations.

The Trump Administration seeks a handover of all enriched uranium stockpiles, and a 20-year moratorium (initially “permanent”) on uranium enrichment.

The demand also includes the dismantlement of Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, and a complete ban on all underground nuclear work.

The U.S. wants the reopening of the Hormuz Strait, to be followed by the easing of the naval blockade. However, sanctions relief will not be immediate; instead, it will be based on performance.

In an audio message on Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf urged Iranians to remain resilient and called on citizens overseas to support the fight for triumph.

The lawmaker noted that external forces are trying to suppress the Islamic Republic economically through sanctions and a maritime blockade to instigate chaos and force capitulation.

“The enemy has pinned great hope on economic pressure,” Ghalibaf said. “I am surprised they still have not understood that the Iranian nation will give their lives but will not surrender.”

He told the people that victory in the war would turn Iran into a major player in the international system, which would pave the way for the country’s “material and spiritual progress.”

Ghalibaf advised everyone to help one another endure hardship and encouraged experts and the elite to provide officials with strategies to resolve the challenges caused by the conflict.

The Speaker added that Iranians abroad, with outstanding expertise, economic and effective communication capacities, can become “one of the greatest pillars of defeating Iran’s enemy.”

Iran: Details of new US nuclear framework revealed

Channels Television has debunked the statement by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, that it is making money from land allocated to it in Abuja.

The media organization made the rebuttal on Thursday, stating that the minister’s statement is incorrect.

Recall that on Wednesday during a media parley engaged in a public dispute with Channels Television, suggesting that the media organization benefited from land allocations in Abuja.

According to the media organization, all land obligations were met in 2007.

“The statement that Channels is making money from the land allocated to it in Guzape is not correct; all required fees were fully paid.

“While airtime for live coverage is paid for, we ensure to ask the right questions and will not allow any form of deflection,” it said.

Channels TV dismisses Wike’s claim over alleged land allocation

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed hantavirus cases aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, with three deaths and several suspected cases reported as of early May 2026. The ship, which departed from Ushuaia in Argentina, South America, is headed to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain, after being held off the coast of Cape Verde in West Africa.

WHO says the global public health risk remains low, but passengers who disembarked earlier are being monitored in countries including Switzerland in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

According to the WHO’s fact sheet, below are ten things to know about the rodent-borne disease with no cure.

1. Hantaviruses are rodent-borne zoonotic viruses: They naturally infect rodents and can spread to humans through contact with infected rodent urine, droppings, or saliva. Each hantavirus is usually linked to one specific rodent species that carries it without getting sick.
2. Two distinct disease patterns exist by region: In the Americas, hantaviruses cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), which attacks the lungs and heart. In Europe and Asia, they cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), which primarily affects the kidneys and blood vessels.
3. Fatality rates are high, especially in the Americas – HCPS has a case fatality rate of up to 50 per cent, commonly 20-40 per cent. HFRS in Asia and Europe has a lower fatality rate of less than 1 per cent to 15 per cent.
4. Infections are uncommon but widespread: An estimated 10,000 to over 100,000 people are infected globally each year. The largest burden is in Asia and Europe, with China and South Korea reporting thousands of HFRS cases annually. The Americas see hundreds of HCPS cases per year.
5. Transmission is mainly through environmental exposure: People get infected by inhaling aerosolised particles from contaminated rodent urine, droppings, or saliva, or less commonly through rodent bites. High-risk activities include cleaning poorly ventilated spaces, farming, forestry work, and sleeping in rodent-infested dwellings.
6. Human-to-human transmission is rare and limited: So far, it has only been documented for the Andes virus in South America, primarily in Argentina and Chile. When it occurs, it’s among close and prolonged contacts like household members or intimate partners during the early phase of illness.
7. Symptoms appear 1-8 weeks after exposure: Early symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, and gastrointestinal issues like nausea and abdominal pain.

HCPS can quickly progress to cough, shortness of breath, and fluid accumulation in the lungs. HFRS can lead to low blood pressure, bleeding disorders, and kidney failure.

8. Early diagnosis is difficult: The initial symptoms overlap with influenza, COVID-19, dengue, leptospirosis, and sepsis. A careful patient history focusing on rodent exposure, occupation, and travel is essential for suspicion. Laboratory confirmation relies on serological tests for antibodies or RT-PCR during the acute phase.
9. There is no specific treatment or vaccine: Care is supportive and focuses on close monitoring and management of respiratory, cardiac, and kidney complications. Early access to intensive care significantly improves survival, particularly for HCPS patients.
10. Prevention centres on reducing human-rodent contact: Key measures include keeping homes and workplaces clean, sealing rodent entry points, storing food securely, dampening contaminated areas before cleaning instead of dry sweeping, and maintaining hand hygiene.

In healthcare settings, standard and transmission-based precautions are advised, with airborne precautions for aerosol-generating procedures.

10 Things To Know About Hantavirus With No Cure is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

The Sokoto State Government has confirmed that a fresh outbreak of cerebrospinal meningitis has killed 33 children, while 256 suspected cases have been recorded across several local government areas of the state.

Cerebrospinal meningitis is a severe infection that causes inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The disease spreads rapidly during the hot, dry season, particularly in overcrowded areas with poor ventilation. Northern Nigeria, including Sokoto, lies within the “meningitis belt,” a region frequently affected by recurring outbreaks.

The State Commissioner for Health, Faruk Abubakar, confirmed the figures on Wednesday during an advocacy meeting with district heads on SARMAAN and MNTE, organised by the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency in collaboration with Sightsavers and the Chigari Foundation.

He said the outbreak had spread across eight local government areas, with Sabon Birni recording the highest number of cases at 63, followed by Wamakko with 60, Shagari with 51, Tambuwal with 33, and Dange Shuni with 26. Other affected areas include Kebbe, Bodinga, Gada and Kware.

According to him, many of the deaths occurred in communities before victims could reach health facilities, largely due to delays in seeking treatment and widespread misconceptions that the illness is caused by spiritual factors rather than being a medical emergency.

Medical experts warn that meningitis symptoms include sudden fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, vomiting, sensitivity to light, confusion and seizures. Without prompt treatment, the disease can lead to death within hours or cause long-term complications such as hearing loss, brain damage or paralysis.

To contain the outbreak, the state government, in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), has established isolation centres at General Hospitals in Dogo Daji and Tambuwal, with separate wards for male, female and paediatric patients.

Abubakar noted that although only about 20 laboratory samples have tested positive so far, early treatment has improved recovery rates, with no recent deaths recorded since intensified response efforts began.

However, health workers say the outbreak is still active. At the Dogo Daji isolation centre, a nurse who spoke anonymously said 22 patients are currently receiving treatment, with new admissions replacing discharged patients daily.

“We are discharging recovered patients, but new cases keep coming in. Today alone, two patients were discharged and immediately replaced by new admissions,” he said, adding that rising cases may require additional wards.

He also confirmed that treatment at the facility is free, with patients receiving medication, meals and transport support.

Despite ongoing interventions, the centre has recorded two recent deaths, including a boy under five and another patient who died while being referred to the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Director of the Specialists Hospital, Sokoto, Dr. Attahiru Sokoto, said patients earlier received from Badon Barade in Wamakko LGA had all been treated and discharged, with no current admissions at the hospital.

Health authorities continue to urge residents to report symptoms early, seek prompt medical care and disregard misinformation, as efforts to control the spread of the disease intensify across the state.

Meningitis Outbreak Claims 33 In Sokoto is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday raised concerns over the billing practices of DSTV in Nigeria, questioning why subscribers continue to lose their subscription days even when the service is not in use.

Speaking during plenary session, Akpabio said, “DSTV in South Africa, if you travel for one month, two months, three months, your card will not run.”

“Your money remains until you come and activate it. But in Nigeria, once you pay, if you travel for one week, two weeks, by the time you come back it has gone down,” he said.

He added, “So they are charging you on a daily basis even when it is not in use.”

The Senate President said the situation was unfair to Nigerians, especially families who travel for holidays only to return and find that their subscriptions had been exhausted.

Comparing it with electricity billing, Akpabio said, “The same way we are paying for power that we are not using. You go to communities, their transformer has stopped working one year ago, but the people are still getting bills on a monthly basis.”

He further stated, “The same way you’re not using DStv, you have travelled for holiday with your family, by the time you come back everything has been consumed, but it doesn’t happen in South Africa where they come from.”

Akpabio called on the appropriate communications committee chairman to invite DSTV for explanations, insisting that Nigerians should not be made to pay for services they are not using.

“Which chairman is in charge of communication, please, we need to invite DSTV I just remembered it,” he said.

Senate summons DSTV over billing controversy

Former Plateau Governor, Senator Simon Lalong has given reasons he relinquished his position as the leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state to his successor, Governor Caleb Mutfwang.

The senator representing Plateau South Senatorial district in the National Assembly who disclosed this in a chat with select journalists in Jos on Wednesday, said his decision was born out of his desire for the need to promote peace, unity, and stability within the party in the state.

Before the defection of Gov. Mutfwang from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the APC in December 2025, Lalong, a former Director-General of the Tinubu Campaign Council during the 2023 general elections, was the undisputed leader of the APC in the state but with the incumbent’s defection to the ruling party, the leaders structure had to change and he automatically becomes the leader of the party in the state.

While responding to a question on why he agreed to let go of his leadership position, Lalong said the move was in line with the APC’s ideology of cohesion and collective progress.

Lalong, who also used the session to announce his decision to re-contest for a second term in the Senate shortly after collecting his nomination form, stressed that with Mutfwang’s defection to the APC, there was no reason for him to still hang on to the leadership position of the party.

“The governor indicated that he was coming back to the APC, and without any resistance, as was done in so many states, we accepted him,” the senator said.

“The PDP collapsed and governance came back to my party because I was responsible for bringing the APC to the Plateau. I was the leader and sole commander of the party, along with the likes of the late General Shagaya and others now of blessed memory. APC gave me a platform, and I became the governor of Plateau State.

“So, with the establishment of APC on the Plateau, I feel honoured to be regarded as the father of APC in the state, and I am honoured that people left their parties and came back to join me in my house.

“And it is only natural that when you see a guest, the governor, coming to join you with good intentions, you welcome him. Today, we have a very cordial relationship with the governor of the state.

“I feel honoured and dignified that Today, Plateau State is APC. Therefore, when Governor Mutfwang joined the APC, one of the first things I did to welcome him was to say, ‘I surrender the leadership to you,’ so that he could be comfortable knowing that the house he is entering has been fully handed over to him.

“And if you recall, on that day, the governor also replied and said to me, ‘Your Excellency, I am surprised that you have just surrendered this leadership to me. Do not think you are running away from me. You cannot run away from me. Both of us will run this party.’ That was his response,” Lalong stated.

He further stated that in every state, the governor naturally assumed leadership of the party and as such, he accepted the governor’s return without resistance because it was in the overall interest of the party, the state, and the country.

‘Why I relinquished Plateau APC leadership to Gov Mutfwang’ – Lalong