Newscast - Africa

The Lagos State Government has released two volumes of the report of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry detailing the fallout of the #EndSARS protests in October last year.
The second volume of the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel showed that of the 65 petitions to the committee by members of the police force impacted by the demonstration, 11 were considered worthy of resolution.
The panel said the funds had been exhausted and therefore appealed to Sanwo-Olu to augment the N400 million earlier made available for the purpose.

The National Population Census has promised to give Nigerians credible, reliable and dependable population statistics that can help governments in proper planning for national growth and development.
The Federal Commissioner representing Ekiti at NPC, Hon. Ayodeji Ajayi, charged staff, officials and management team that will be participating in the pre-test exercise, to be professional and patriotic in discharging their duties.
The NPC Commissioner says the exercise which will be conducted in all the 36 states of the federation simultaneously, including Abuja the Federal Capital Territory, is a follow up to the one earlier conducted by the Commission earlier this year.

The police in Lagos have announced that they have commenced an investigation into the death of Sylvester Oromoni jr, a 12-year-old student of Dowen college in the Lekki area Of Lagos.
The Commissioner of Police in Lagos says the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department , Panti, has been directed to take over the case from the Maroko division.
Odumosu added that the command is teaming up with the Delta State Police Command in the investigation to unravel the mystery behind the death of the minor.
He says a comprehensive medical test will be carried out and analysis will be done to establish facts in our investigation.

President Muhammadu Buhari declared that Nigeria remains the most viable and attractive investment destination in Africa, adding that the country is on the path of becoming the continent’s leading industrial and trading nation.
The President says Nigeria is reaping from the efforts his administration has made to consciously improve the investment environment.
He says the government focused on policies, projects, and programs that support private sector investors.
He added that despite the adverse global economic environment of recent years, Nigeria’s investment environment has greatly improved both at the national and sub-national levels.

The Federal Government has spent at least $29 million to procure the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, says they have procured Johnson and Johnson, about 40 million doses, at about $29 million.
He equally reacted to the fears posed by the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, calling on countries to join hands to confront the new health challenge in the world.
Ehanire says the Omicron variant has not been classified as deadly and there has not been any case of fatality nor severe illness reported yet.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has expressed disappointment over the United Kingdom government’s placement of Nigeria on its red list following the detection of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. 
The minister says, there are many ways to manage the COVID-19 and not much is still known about the Omicron variant.
He says the move was ill-advised as he noted that it would have multiple impacts on commerce, and disrupt activities during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Major oil producers decided to keep raising output levels in January, despite the Omicron coronavirus variant raising fresh questions over demand.
The OPEC+ alliance led by Saudi Arabia and Russia had so far resisted US-led pressure to significantly boost output to rein in surging energy prices.
The 13 members of the Vienna-based Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their 10 allies decided to stick with a modest increase in output of 400,000 barrels per day every month, as they have been doing since May.
Commodities economist Edward Gardner from Capital Economics says they suspect that the US-led coordinated release of oil reserves was one reason why OPEC+ decided to push ahead with their plan to raise oil output noting that the group might not want to provoke further action from the large oil consumers.

The IMF urged advanced economies in the G20 to extend and improve its debt relief initiative, warning that many countries face a dire crisis without the help.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva says they may see an economic collapse in some countries unless G20 creditors agree to accelerate debt restructurings and suspend debt service while the restructurings are being negotiated to add that it is critical private creditors also offer relief.
She says the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative expires at the end of the year, and without a renewal, countries could face financial pressure and spending cuts just as new Covid-19 variants are spreading and interest rates are expected to rise.

Brazil’s economy, the largest in Latin America, slid into recession in the third quarter of the year as agricultural production dropped.
Brazil’s government statistics agency IBGE says GDP declined 0.1 per cent for the second straight quarterly fall,
The drop in the second quarter was revised to a larger 0.4 per cent from the initial estimate of 0.1 per cent compared to the previous three months.
The agency says the economy grew four per cent while Farm production fell 8.0 per cent in the third quarter, while manufacturing was flat and the services sector grew 1.1 per cent.

The UN high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet has called for an investigation into human rights violations in Burkina Faso.
Ms Bachelet asked to ensure those violating human rights are brought to justice.
She opened a UN rights office in the capital Ouagadougou to monitor the situation.
Security forces have in the past been accused of human rights violations while fighting militants in the country.