Cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in countries on opposite sides of the world Sunday and many governments rushed to close their borders even as scientists cautioned that it’s not clear if the new variant is more alarming than other versions of the virus.

The variant was identified days ago by researchers in South Africa, and much is still not known about it, including whether it is more contagious, more likely to cause serious illness or more able to evade the protection of vaccines. But many countries rushed to act, reflecting anxiety about anything that could prolong the pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people.

Israel decided to bar entry to foreigners, and Morocco said it would suspend all incoming flights for two weeks starting Monday — among the most drastic of a growing raft of travel curbs being imposed by nations around the world as they scrambled to slow the variant’s spread. Scientists in several places — from Hong Kong to Europe — have confirmed its presence. The Netherlands reported 13 omicron cases on Sunday, and both Canada and Australia each found two.

Noting that the variant has already been detected in many countries and that closing borders often has limited effect, the World Health Organization called for frontiers to remain open.

Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, meanwhile, emphasized that there is no data yet that suggests the new variant causes more serious illness than previous Covid-19 variants.

“I do think it’s more contagious when you look at how rapidly it spread through multiple districts in South Africa. It has the earmarks therefore of being particularly likely to spread from one person to another. … What we don’t know is whether it can compete with delta,” Collins said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Collins echoed several experts in saying the news should make everyone redouble their efforts to use the tools the world already has, including vaccinations, booster shots and measures such as mask-wearing.

“I know, America, you’re really tired about hearing those things, but the virus is not tired of us,” Collins said.

The Dutch public health authority confirmed that 13 people who arrived from South Africa on Friday have so far tested positive for omicron. They were among 61 people who tested positive for the virus after arriving on the last two flights to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport before a flight ban was implemented. They were immediately put into isolation, most at a nearby hotel.

Canada’s health minister says the country’s first two cases of omicron were found in Ontario after two individuals who had recently traveled from Nigeria tested positive.

Authorities in Australia said two travelers who arrived in Sydney from Africa became the first in the country to test positive for the new variant. Arrivals from nine African countries are now required to quarantine in a hotel upon arrival. Two German states reported a total of three cases in returning travelers over the weekend.

Israel moved to ban entry by foreigners and mandate quarantine for all Israelis arriving from abroad.

“Restrictions on the country’s borders is not an easy step, but it’s a temporary and necessary step,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Morocco’s Foreign Ministry tweeted Sunday that all incoming air travel to the North African country would be suspended to “preserve the achievements realized by Morocco in the fight against the pandemic, and to protect the health of citizens.” Morocco has been at the forefront of vaccinations in Africa, and kept its borders closed for months in 2020 because of the pandemic.

The U.S. plans to ban travel from South Africa and seven other southern African countries starting Monday. “It’s going to give us a period of time to enhance our preparedness,” the United States’ top infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, said of the ban on ABC’s “This Week.”

Many countries are introducing such bans, though they go against the advice of the WHO, which has warned against any overreaction before the variant is thoroughly studied.

Fauci says it will take approximately two more weeks to have more definitive information on the transmissibility, severity and other characteristics of omicron, according to a statement from the White House Sunday evening.

South Africa’s government responded angrily to the travel bans, which it said are “akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker.” It said it will try to persuade countries that imposed them to reconsider.

The WHO sent out a statement saying it “stands with African nations” and noting that travel restrictions may play “a role in slightly reducing the spread of Covid-19 but place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods.” It said if restrictions are put in place, they should be scientifically based and not intrusive.

In Europe, much of which already has been struggling with a sharp increase in cases over recent weeks, officials were on guard.

The U.K. on Saturday tightened rules on mask-wearing and on testing of international arrivals after finding two omicron cases, but British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the government was nowhere near reinstituting work from home or more severe social-distancing measures.

“We know now those types of measures do carry a very heavy price, both economically, socially, in terms of non-Covid health outcomes such as impact on mental health,” he told Sky News.

Spain announced it won’t admit unvaccinated British visitors starting Dec. 1. Italy was going through lists of airline passengers who arrived in the past two weeks. France is continuing to push vaccinations and booster shots.

David Hui, a respiratory medicine expert and government adviser on the pandemic in Hong Kong, agreed with that strategy.

He said the two people who tested positive for the omicron variant had received the Pfizer vaccine and exhibited very mild symptoms, such as a sore throat.

“Vaccines should work but there would be some reduction in effectiveness,” he said.

AP

 

Indonesian government says it will ban travellers from Nigeria and seven other African countries over concerns about the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

No single case of Omicron has yet been reported in Nigeria.

Travellers who have been to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, or Nigeria for the past 14 days are affected.

According to Reuters, Indonesia senior ministers told a news conference that the travel restrictions will take effect on Monday and reevaluated every two weeks.

Luhut Pandjaitan, coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, said Indonesian citizens who have been to the eight African countries and Hong Kong will quarantine in designated facilities for 14 days.

Pandjaitan also disclosed that travellers entering the country will have to quarantine for seven days compared to three days earlier announced.

“Omicron has spread to more countries, so to respond to these developments, today the government wants to carry out the following policies,” the minister was quoted to have said by Reuters.

On Thursday, South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) announced the discovery of the new variant, B.1.1.529.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had named it ‘Omicron’ and classified it as a variant of concern.

The global health organisation advised countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts, as well as ensure strict adherence to the Covid protocol to limit the spread of infections.

On Sunday, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), advised world leaders not to label or penalise African nations for new Covid-19 variants and mutations happening across the world.

The Cable

 

Federal Government has directed the Nigeria Customs Service to ground 91 private jets belonging to some wealthy Nigerians over their alleged refusal to pay import duties running to over N30 billion.

As such, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, (retd.) following a directive from the Presidency, has written a letter to Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency asking the agencies to ground the affected private jets with immediate effect.

The letter, with reference number NCS/T&T/ACG/042/s.100/VOL.II, dated November 2, 2021, was addressed to Director-General, NCAA, Musa Nuhu.

A copy of the letter, which was obtained by one of our correspondents, was also addressed and sent to the Managing Director, FAAN, Rabiu Yadudu; and Managing Director, NAMA, Fola Akinkuotu.

The letter directed the aviation agency regulator (NCAA), the nation’s airspace management agency (NAMA), and airport management agency (FAAN), to ground the private jets by denying them administrative and operational flight clearances indefinitely.

Findings by our correspondent revealed that the letters were received by the aviation agencies on November 8, 2021.

The NCAA letter read in part, “The Federal Government in its drive for enhanced revenues has mandated the Nigeria Customs Service to immediately recover from defaulting private aircraft owners the required statutory import duties on their imported aircraft.

“You may wish to recall the verification exercise conducted by the NCS, initially scheduled for a 14 day period, but magnanimously extended over a 60-day period from 7th June through 6 August 2021, following a World Press Conference held on 31st May 2021. The outcome of the aforementioned verification exercise is a compilation of all private aircraft imported into the country without payment of statutory import duty.

“The Nigeria Custom Service, in line with its statutory functions, is empowered by Part 111 Sections 27, 35, 37, 45,46, 47, 52, 56,63 & 64; Part XI Sections 144, 145, 155, 160, 161& 164 and Part XII Sections 167, 168, 169, 173 & 174 of the Customs and Excise Management Act.”

It further read, “In this regard therefore, your full cooperation is being solicited to ensure the success of this initiative and that all such private aircraft owners or representatives are denied administrative and operational flight clearances indefinitely, until an NCS issued Aircraft Clearance Certificate is procured and presented to your organisation as proof of compliance.

“For the avoidance of doubt, ALL aircraft operated in accordance with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s regulation for the issuance of Permit for Non-Commercial Flight and those issued with Flight Operations Clearance Certificate and Maintenance Clearance Certificate accordingly are affected by this directive.

“Please find attached the list of all verified aircraft and indeed others of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s register, which may not have come forward for your record and necessary action. Strict compliance with this directive is to be ensured. Please accept the assurances of my highest regards and esteem as always.”

Independent findings by our correspondents revealed that some of the 91 private jets directed to be grounded belong to senior pastors of some popular Pentecostal churches in the country, some Tier-1 banks with one of the banks owning two upmarket jets, the chief executive officers of some indigenous oil companies, and the chairmen of some Tier-1 banks.

“The 91 private jets owe import duties in excess of N30bn and the Federal Government has directed that the Customs must recover this money. This is why we have sent demand notices to the private jet owners,” a Customs source privy to the development told one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity.

Findings by our correspondents revealed that the NCS had in March this year embarked on a review of import duties paid on private jets brought into the country since 2006.

Following the alleged discovery that several private jets owners, under the guise of Temporary Import Permit, had failed to pay the statutory import duty to the coffers of the government, the CG of Customs, Ali, set up a verification panel to review all TIPs and the relevant aircraft import documents of all private jets in the country.

At the end of the 60-day exercise, 57 private jets, which had licences for commercial charter operations, were cleared and issued Aircraft Operators Certificate by the Customs.

However, 29 private jets, whose owners came for the verification were found to be liable to pay the import duty.

The Customs also compiled a list of another 62 private jets whose owners failed to appear for the verification exercise but were found to be liable for import duty payment.

However, other private jets whose owners have commenced the process of paying their import duty have been given a 14-day ultimatum to clear the debts, while the list of the 91 private jets whose owners have yet to present themselves for import duty payment has been presented to the aviation agencies by the NCS for the immediate grounding of their flight operations.

According to independent findings by our correspondents, some of the owners of the 91 jets have written protest letters to the NCS, arguing they cannot pay import duties on the planes because the jets are under lease payments.

The Customs, in its response to the letters, queried the rationale for bringing in the planes and allegedly fraudulently exporting them under questionable documentation processes in the past 10 years.

However, in a new twist to the development, there are strong indications that the Ministry of Aviation has directed the NCAA, FAAN and NAMA to suspend the grounding of the flight operations of the affected private jets, according to aviation sources.

Sources at the aviation agencies said the aviation ministry had directed the CEOs of the agencies to put the implementation of the NCS directive on hold until a clearance from the ministry was obtained.

The development could not be verified as of press time on Sunday but findings from the control towers and NAMA by The PUNCH revealed that some of the jets were still being cleared to fly.

When contacted on the matter, Director, Public Affairs, Federal Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, told one of our correspondents that he would find out if the letter from the customs was submitted to the ministry.

Odaudu said he was not aware of the position of aviation agencies on the matter and promised to make enquiries from the official who might have received the letter.

He said, “I cannot respond to that now because I don’t have the information. But if the Customs letter is in the ministry, I will find out tomorrow (Monday).

“When I get to the office tomorrow I can find out who is handling it and revert to you.”

Meanwhile, there are indications that the Customs may clash with the aviation ministry over the development as sources said the NCS officers might begin to impound the affected private jets any time soon.

A cursory look at the list of private jets shows that majority of them are upmarket aircraft.

Some of the top brands among the 29 private jets whose owners came for the Customs verification  exercise are: Dassault Falcon 7X, Falcon 900EX, Hawker 4000, Bombardier BD 700 1A10, Bombardier Global 5000, Bombardier Global 5500, Bombardier Challenger 605, Gulf Stream Aerospace, Bombardier BD 700, and Bombardier Challenger 604.

Others are Embraer 505, Bombardier Global 6000, Embraer Legacy 600, Embraer Legacy 650, Bombardier INC CL 600-2B19, Challenger 601 3A-ER, Gulfstream G-IVSP, Gulfstream G450, Gulfstream G550, HS125-B50XP, EMB505 Phenom 300, Cirrus SR 20V, and Hawker 800XP

On October 13, 2021, the NCS had published a list of 57 private jets cleared for commercial charter in a newspaper publication, following the 60-day verification exercise. It also published a list of 29 and 62 private jets liable to pay import duty.

Some of the jets go for over $50m each, according to finding by one of our correspondents.

Meanwhile, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Quits Aviation Services Limited, Sam Iwuajoku, had on October 13, 2021, said private jets operating in Nigeria ought not to be requested to pay any further levy.

Iwuajoku reportedly said the NCS ought to know that aircraft registered outside Nigeria does not operate permanently in the country and therefore ought not to pay the tax.

Iwuajoku, whose firm operates the Quits Aviation Services Free Trade Zone, spoke against the backdrop of the publication by the NCS on October 14, 2021, asking private jet owners to pay statutory import duties to the Federal Government.

“The amount of money these aircraft make for the Nigerian government is more than the cost of registration. They pay for their services in dollars, including landing and parking.

“The services they pay for are done in dollars and government agencies are benefiting, so Customs should look at the larger picture. Even if the money is not going to Customs, other government agencies are getting the money. The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency is paid by these operators in dollars,” he added.

However, industry stakeholders say there are regulations requiring taxes to be paid on a private jet inasmuch as the aircraft is domiciled in the country or staying for a relatively long period of time, say 60 days or 180 days, depending on the laws of the country.

Punch

..2 corpses seen at the site of the inferno

There was pandemonium at the early hours of Sunday as a fire outbreak ravaged some parts of the popular Lafenwa market in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital, when a fully loaded PMS laden tanker fell on the railway line and spilled its contents.

Nigerian Newstrack gathered that, the fire incident occurred at about 4.45am when the driver of the tanker making his way inbound rounder from Oju-Irin, Lafenwa, suddenly lost control, spilling it’s content in the process and caught fire.

As at the time of filing this report, the fire was still spreading fast, while  motorists and passers-by were seen running helter skelter to escape being caught in the raging fire.

Traffic along the routes have been disrupted as there was a complete standstill of vehicles.

Officials of the Fire Service, the Nigerian Police, Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC) and Ogun State Traffic Control Agency were already on ground to control the situation.

Atleast two burnt corpses of people believed to have been trapped in the inferno were seen at the site of the inferno. 

 

 

Following a ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday declaring bandits as terrorists, the Nigerian Air Force is set to deploy Super Tucano aircraft in the Northwest and Northcentral regions of the country, especially in Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states.

The military had been reluctant to deploy the aircraft outside the Northeast because of the conditions attached to the sale of the aircraft by the United States, which was anchored on human rights.

But top sources in the military said the coast had become clear to deploy the Super Tucano aircraft against bandits in the Northwest and Northcentral, following the court order declaring them as terrorists.

Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja had, in a ruling on Thursday, declared activities of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda bandit groups as acts of terrorism.

The ruling followed an ex parte motion filed by Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar.

The DPPF told the court that the ex parte application was filed on the instructions of President Muhammadu Buhari.

In the affidavit filed in support of the ex parte application, it was averred that security reports confirmed that bandits were behind “incessant kidnappings for ransom, kidnapping for marriage, mass abductions of schoolchildren and other citizens, cattle rustling, enslavement, imprisonment, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, other forms of sexual violence, attacks and killings in communities and commuters and wanton destruction of lives and property in Nigeria, particularly in the Northwest and Northcentral states in Nigeria.”

The affidavit added, “The activities of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups and other similar groups constitute acts of terrorism that can lead to a breakdown of public order and safety and is a threat to national security and the corporate existence of Nigeria.”

After entertaining the ex parte application, Taiwo declared activities of the Yan Bindiga, group” and the “Yan Ta’adda groups and other similar groups in any part of the country, especially in the Northwest and the Northcentral as “acts of terrorism and illegality.”

The judge also made “an order restraining any person or group of persons from participating in any manner whatsoever, in any form of activities involving or concerning the prosecution of the collective intention or otherwise of the Yan Bindiga group and the Yan Ta’adda group under any other name or platform however called or described.”

The court directed the Federal Government to publish the proscription order in the official gazette and two national dailies.

This newspaper had reported that in 2021, bandits had killed more people than Boko Haram.

This is said to have informed the decision of the National Assembly last month to call on the President to declare bandits as terrorists.

 A top General told Saturday Punch on Friday, “We are waiting for instructions from the government for the next line of action. This was one of the things the Service Chiefs discussed with the President on Thursday morning. So, we await further instructions.”

When contacted, acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Bernard Onyeuko, however, said the announcement on the next step would be made at the appropriate time.

He said, “Wait for us, we would brief you people at the appropriate time. For now, allow us to do our work.”

Activities of bandits have crippled activities in various states including Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger and Katsina.

Most of the states have been forced to shut telecommunications base stations, halting Internet and telephone services while in some instances petrol stations were shut along with land borders all in a bid to curb banditry.

In Kaduna State alone, the state government reported that between January and September 2021, no fewer than 888 people were killed while 2,553 were abducted.

FG set to gazette proscription order

Federal Government, on Friday, expressed its determination to crush bandits, who have for long held the country by the jugular, killing, maiming, kidnapping and rendering citizens homeless, particularly in the northern part of the country.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami expressed the Federal Government’s move in a statement on Friday by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Umar Gwandu.

The AGF, in the statement, titled, ‘FG moves to crush banditry, as court grants Malami’s application to declare bandits terrorists,’ said, “The government will gazette, publish and publicise the proscription order (against bandits).”

The AGF, said by obtaining the proscription order, the Federal Government “has taken bold steps to deal ruthlessly with all terrorists groups and their sponsors in efforts to bring lasting solution to the myriad of security challenges in the country.”

Malami said the step taken by the Federal Government to obtain the proscription order was “a pointer to the commitment of the Federal Government to adhere to the international standards in respecting the rules of engagement in the fight against terrorism, separatists organisations, insurgency and banditry in the country.”

Malami said he would be “working assiduously” in collaboration with relevant government agencies, including security operatives “to do the needful to take full advantage of this declaration.”

Northern group welcomes the declaration of bandits as terrorists

Northern Youths Council of Nigeria said it received with joy, the court’s order, declaring bandits as terrorists.

The group expressed its excitement in a statement jointly signed by its President, Isah Abubakar, and Director General, Media and Publicity, Samuel Kure, on Friday.

NYCN said though it took the Federal Government almost an eternity to heed widespread calls to declare bandits as terrorists, it was better late than never.

It said, “We will welcome full military operation in Northwestern and Northcentral parts of the country as it is happening in the Northeast against Boko Haram and ISWAP elements which has drastically reduced their activities.”

The group urged the nation’s Armed Forces to take advantage of the court order to “crush anybody seen giving the terrorists moral support, be it materially, morally or otherwise, no matter how highly or lowly placed.”

“The northern youths will stand with you in your quest to stamp out terrorism from the North and Nigeria at large,” the group said.

Declaring bandits terrorists won’t change anything, says Gumi

But controversial Islamic scholar, Ahmad Gumi, who had been visiting bandits in the forests and advocating amnesty for them rather than military onslaught, said the court order declaring them as terrorists wouldn’t end banditry.

Gumi described the declaration as a mere decision taken for political expediency, adding that the Federal Government had finally succumbed to what he described as media blackmail.

The cleric’s view was contained in a statement on Friday by his media consultant, Malami Tukur Mamu, released in Kaduna.

In the statement, Gumi said, “I think the Federal Government has succumbed to media blackmail by a section of the country. It will not have any practical value because even before the declaration they were being fought and treated as terrorists.

 “So, it’s just a nomenclature, which I believe will not change the dynamics on the ground.

“If you can remember, IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) was also declared a terrorist organisation; the declaration was even backed by the order of the court but as you can see, even the international community did not recognise FG’s declaration of IPOB. So, it has failed to be effective or to achieve the desired results.

 “They have not been banned from travelling to other countries while their citizenship remains intact, it has not been denounced. So, what type of declaration is that? I sincerely hope that Nigerians will not take the herdsmen as terrorists but should regard the criminality of the few among them against innocent people as acts of terrorism just as we see IPOB and their attacks on security agencies and other northern citizens as acts of terrorism. Very few herdsmen are bandits if you go through their population.

“I hope this declaration will not give the licence to people to be profiling herdsmen in general as terrorists and taking laws into their hands against them. It will cause more mayhem. The declaration will not change anything; it will not change the dynamics. Already the military is engaging them. It didn’t stop them from kidnapping and killing. The declaration will not end their aggression against the society.”

Gumi maintained that based on his interactions with the bandits, dialogue, rather than military action, remained the best approach to solving the problem.

 He added, “The Fulani banditry is a socio-economic problem. We have seen it, we interacted widely with them; we told the Federal Government the way out. It can only be won through engagement, dialogue and justice. That is why today there is relative peace in the Niger Delta because government has accepted the painful reality of rehabilitating and empowering them.”

Punch

 

The discovery of a new coronavirus variant named Omicron triggered global alarm on Friday as countries rushed to suspend travel from southern Africa and stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic suffered their biggest falls in more than a year.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Omicron may spread more quickly than other forms, and preliminary evidence suggested there is an increased risk of reinfection.

Epidemiologists warned travel curbs may be too late to stop Omicron from circulating globally. The new mutations were first discovered in South Africa and have since been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong.

The United States will restrict travel from South Africa and neighbouring countries effective Monday, a senior Biden administration official said.

Going further, Canada said it was closing its borders to those countries, following bans on flights announced by Britain, the European Union and others.

But it could take weeks for scientists to fully understand the variant's mutations and whether existing vaccines and treatments are effective against it. Omicron is the fifth variant of concern designated by the WHO.

The variant has a spike protein that is dramatically different than the one in the original coronavirus that vaccines are based on, the UK Health Security Agency said, raising fears about how current vaccines will fare.

Scientists issued similar warnings.

"This new variant of the Covid-19 virus is very worrying. It is the most heavily mutated version of the virus we have seen to date," said Lawrence Young, a virologist at Britain's University of Warwick.

"Some of the mutations that are similar to changes we've seen in other variants of concern are associated with enhanced transmissibility and with partial resistance to immunity induced by vaccination or natural infection."

Those worries pummelled financial markets, especially stocks of airlines and others in the travel sector, and oil, which tumbled by about $10 a barrel.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) closed down 2.5%, its worst day since late October 2020, and European stocks (.STOXX) had their worst day in 17 months.

Cruise operators Carnival Corp (CCL.N), Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL.N) and Norwegian Cruise Line plunged more than 10% each, while shares in United Airlines (UAL.O), Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and American Airlines (AAL.O) slumped almost as much.

'MOST SIGNIFICANT VARIANT'

Several other countries including India, Japan, Israel, Turkey, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates also toughened travel curbs.

In Geneva the WHO - whose experts on Friday discussed the risks presented by the variant, called B.1.1.529 - had earlier warned against travel curbs for now.

"It's really important that there are no knee-jerk responses," said the WHO's emergencies director Mike Ryan, praising South Africa's public health institutions for picking up the new variant of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

Richard Lessells, a South Africa-based infectious disease expert, also expressed frustration at travel bans, saying the focus should be on getting more people vaccinated in places that have struggled to access sufficient shots.

"This is why we talked about the risk of vaccine apartheid. This virus can evolve in the absence of adequate levels of vaccination," he told Reuters.

Less than 7% of people in low-income countries have received their first Covid-19 shot, according to medical and human rights groups. Meanwhile, many developed nations are giving third-dose boosters.

"Failure to help vaccinate sub-Saharan Africa - still barely 4% of the population - left us all exposed to risk of a new, more virulent #Covid variant," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva wrote on Twitter. "News of #Omicron is an urgent reminder of why we need to do even more to vaccinate the world."

TOO LATE FOR TRAVEL CURBS?

The coronavirus has swept the world in the two years since it was first identified in central China, infecting 260 million people and killing 5.4 million.

One epidemiologist in Hong Kong said it may be too late to tighten travel curbs against the latest variant.

"Most likely this virus is already in other places. And so if we shut the door now, it's going to be probably too late," said Ben Cowling of the University of Hong Kong.

Discovery of the new variant comes as Europe and the United States enter winter, with more people gathering indoors in the run-up to Christmas, providing a breeding ground for infection.

Friday also marked the start of the holiday shopping period in the United States, but stores were less crowded than in years past.

Realtor Kelsey Hupp, 36, was at the Macy's department store in downtown Chicago on Black Friday.

"Chicago is pretty safe and masked and vaccinated. I got my booster so I'm not too concerned about it," she said.

Reuters

A Danish frigate has killed four pirates in waters south of Nigeria in an operation to protect shipping in the Gulf of Guinea, the Danish military said on Thursday.

The Esbern Snare, deployed last month to the Gulf of Guinea amid heightened security risks from pirates, on Wednesday spotted a fast-moving vessel carrying eight suspected pirates near a number of commercial ships, the Danish military said.

The incident took place in international waters, 25 to 30 nautical miles south of Nigeria's territorial boundary, a spokesman said.

The motorboat, spotted by a helicopter deployed by the frigate, was carrying equipment associated with piracy, including ladders.

After the frigate fired warning shots, the pirates opened fire on Danish navy special forces, who in turn shot and killed four pirates and wounded one, the Danish military said in a statement.

The remaining four pirates were taken on board the frigate, and no Danish personnel were hurt in the incident, the military said.

It was the first time the frigate had opened fire during its current mission to the Gulf of Guinea, the spokesman said.

The Gulf of Guinea has been a piracy hot spot for years, but incidents have decreased since national authorities stepped up security efforts aided by foreign naval ships.

American, British, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese navies have also sent assistance, ships or training forces over the past year to tackle piracy after a record 130 sailors were taken from vessels in the region in 2020.

Piracy and armed robbery incidents dropped to 28 in the first nine months of 2021, compared with 46 in the same period in 2020, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Separately, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and opposition lawmaker Jakob Elleman had both planned to visit the frigate during a visit to Ghana on Wednesday and Thursday.

They were not on board during the incident, which Frederiksen said was likely to have averted attacks on commercial ships in the gulf.

The frigate will operate in the region until April next year.

Reuters

 

 

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has sentenced a Nigerian man to more than seven years in prison for conspiring to launder approximately $1.89 million in mail and wire fraud proceeds in a scheme that targeted women.

Jabin Okpako, 36, and his wife, Christine Bradley Okpako, 54, of Sayre, Pennsylvania, transferred the funds out of the United States to three separate bank accounts in Nigeria, prosecutors said.

Authorities said the couple targeted women, ranging in age from 55 to 85, who visited online game, relationship and dating websites. After cultivating online relationships, the pair induced the women to send money for fictitious reasons, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, the fictitious purposes included to help a worker in Alaska who fell from a tower, to aid the United Nations and to recover a $6 million inheritance.

The judge ordered Jabin Okpako to make restitution in the amount of $440,950 and to forfeit proceeds of the criminal activity.

His wife pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit money laundering through mail and wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing.

AP

 

Thabo Mbeki, former president of South Africa, says he and Abdulsalami Abubakar, former head of state of Nigeria, worked against a third term during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. 

Towards the end of Obasanjo’s second term in office, a bill was proposed to the Nigerian parliament to amend the constitution and grant the president an extra term.

Although the bid was eventually defeated by the senate headed by Ken Nnamani, it has continued to generate comments and opinions.

Speaking virtually on Thursday at a conference held in Abuja, Mbeki narrated his role alongside Abubakar in standing against the proposed constitutional amendment during Obasanjo’s tenure.

He said after putting a call through to Obasanjo to voice his discontent on the proposal, he agreed with Abubakar to “intervene against the constitutional amendment”.

“As a privilege to reiterate the commitment of general Abubakar to democracy in Nigeria in 2006, more than five years after he had handed over powers to Olusegun Obasanjo, the constitution on whose basis president Obasanjo was elected described a two-term limit for the head of state, and since he [Obasanjo] had been elected for the second time, this meant that he would end his term in 2007,” the second post-apartheid president of South Africa said.

“But some time before, in 2005, a campaign began in Nigeria to amend the constitution to allow for three presidential terms. This developed to a point that the draft of the proposed amendment had been presented to the Nigerian parliament as papers.

“When I heard about this development, I engaged Obasanjo to communicate my unease at the proposal. In the end, I discussed it with general Abubakar, and we agreed that the proposed amendment was undesirable. We shared the view that the amendment must be avoided at all costs. We were of one mind that it spells bad both for Nigeria and the rest of the continent, tampering with and compromising our democratic system, which is just a few years old.

“We agreed to add our voices to those kicking against the amendment. We agreed that Abdulsalam would follow the situation in Nigeria closely and indicate to me when we should intervene against the constitutional amendment. I was very pleased when he called that the Nigerian senate had voted against the amendment.”

Mbeki added that the development made him realise Abdulsalam’s influence as “a defender of democratic order and the peace and unity of Nigeria, as well as the welfare of all its people”.

The Cable

 

The Osun State Police Command, says it has not declared the son of the owner of Hiltons Hotels and Resorts, Ile-Ife, Raheem Adedoyin, wanted for complicity in the murder of the late Timothy Adegoke because the autopsy result into the cause of the death of the student is not yet out.

The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, of the Command, Yemisi Opalola who disclosed this said the owner of the hotel, Dr Ramon Adedoyin, is still in police custody and yet to be charged to court because the autopsy result is not out.

The lawyer to the family of the deceased, Kayode Ajulo, expressed dissatisfaction that the Command was yet to declare Raheem, who is the Managing Director of the hotel, wanted after a suspect confessed that Raheem arranged how the corpse was evacuated and taken to the bush.

The lawyer also said he was befuddled that the owner of the hotel has not been charged to court.

Reacting, Opalola, said the autopsy report was still expected.

When asked why the police haven’t declared Raheem wanted and haven’t charged his father to court, the PPRO replied, “The autopsy result is not yet out.”

The  Master’s student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Timothy Adegoke, died in controversial circumstances in the hotel and was buried in a shallow grave without the knowledge of his family or the police.

Punch