Newscast - Africa

The South-West Governors’ Forum has frowned at the disrespect displayed by a Chief Superintendent of Police who publicly defied the order of the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, which required he and his men to vacate the Magodo Phase 2 Estate area of the state.
Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu described the content of the video as disconcerting and unacceptable.
He says the content of the video is very disconcerting, and this is being charitable.
He says the utter disrespect, which underlines the responsibility of the officer to the Governor establishes, beyond doubt, the impracticability of the current system, dubiously christened Federalism.

President Muhammadu Buhari has stated his readiness to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill after the National Assembly makes the necessary adjustments.
He, however, said such changes must include the addition of consensus candidates, indirect primary options to the mode of selecting a candidate for an election, as against the initial direct mode as the only option to conduct primaries by political parties.

The Federal Government has formally declared bandit groups operating in the country as terrorists.
The declaration is contained in Volume 108 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette.
The Activities of Yan Bindiga Group, Yan Ta’adda Group and other similar groups in Nigeria are declared to be terrorism and illegal in any part of Nigeria, especially in the North West and North-Central Regions of Nigeria and are proscribed, pursuant to sections 1 and 2 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011.
The general public is also warned that any person or group of persons participating in any manner whatsoever in any form of activities involving or concerning the prosecution of the collective intentions will be violating the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 and liable to prosecution.

The Lagos State Government has cleared five students and five employees of Dowen College accused of complicity in the death of 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni.
The state cleared them as well as the school following the Legal Advice of the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, Ms Adetutu Oshinusi.
The advice says the interim and final autopsy reports issued by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and toxicology report of post mortem samples and that of the Central Hospital, Warri was in agreement as to the cause of death namely: Septicaemia, Lobar Pneumonia with Acute Pyelonephritis, Pyomyositis of the right ankle and Acute Bacteria Pneumonia due to severe Sepsis.

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned he intends to make life difficult for people in France who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Political opponents however said the strong language he used in the interview was not worthy of a president.
His comments came as a bill on Covid passes was delayed by opposition MPs uniting against the government.
A debate in parliament on the bill, which would bar the unvaccinated from much of public life, was prevented from continuing after midnight.
The legislation was expected to be approved in a vote this week, but it has angered vaccine opponents and several French MPs have said they have received death threats over the issue.

An EU ban on tattoo ink and permanent make-up containing chemicals feared to cause cancers or other health risks went into effect on Tuesday.
Officials say the prohibition covers hazardous substances such as certain azo dyes, carcinogenic aromatic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals and methanol.
The European Commission says the restriction covers carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances, chemicals prohibited in cosmetics, skin sensitisers, skin and eye irritants, metal impurities, aromatic amines and some pigments.
Seven EU countries have already applied the ban at the national level.

The German government says that it considers nuclear energy dangerous and objects to European Union proposals that would let the technology remain part of the bloc’s plans for a climate-friendly future.
Berlin plans to rely heavily on natural gas until it can be replaced by non-polluting sources for energy.
The opposing paths taken by two of the EU’s biggest economies have resulted in an awkward situation for the bloc’s Executive Commission.
A draft EU plan seen by The Associated Press news agency concludes that both nuclear energy and natural gas can under certain conditions be considered sustainable for investment purposes.

A Canadian court has awarded $84m to the families of six victims who were killed when Iranian forces shot down a Ukraine International Airlines flight near Tehran in early 2020.
Justice Edward Belobaba of Ontario’s Superior Court had issued the ruling in a default judgement on December 31.
Iranian forces shot down Flight PS752 after it took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people on board, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
The Iranian government blamed the incident on a human error saying that the plane was mistaken for a hostile target in a disastrous mistake.

Top oil-producing countries on Monday picked Kuwaiti oil executive Haitham al-Ghais as the next Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
He will replace Nigeria’s Mohammed Barkindo, who took over the helm of the organisation in 2016 and led it for two terms.
Al-Ghais, who was Kuwait’s OPEC governor from 2017 to June 2021, serves as a Deputy Managing Director of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).
His decades of experience in the industry include stints in Beijing and London for the state oil corporation.

The United States, Norway, Britain and the European Union have warned the Sudanese military against appointing their own prime minister, saying it would risk plunging the nation into conflict.
The countries said they would not support a prime minister or government-appointed without the involvement of a broad range of civilian stakeholders.
The former prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, resigned on Sunday amid a political deadlock and widespread protests resulting from October's military coup.
The Western countries again voiced alarm at the military's actions against protesters - more than 50 have been killed since the coup.