Eight journalists killed, 300 violations recorded under Buhari – Report
A 2021 Press Freedom Report released on Wednesday said eight Nigerian journalists had been killed during the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) It added that apart from the unresolved killings, the regime recorded 300 violations, affecting about 500 journalists, media workers, and media houses in the country. The report released by the Media Foundation for West Africa in collaboration with the Nigeria Union of Journalists, said the development was of major concern to the NUJ, as journalists and media organisations remained targets of attack by both protesters and government. Presenting the report in Abuja, the Executive Director, Citizen Advocacy for Social and Economic Right, Frank Tietie, said such actions would bring back unpleasant memories of the long tenure of military rule and the established culture of intolerance against the media. The report said Nigeria was witnessing actions that sought to undermine the profession by both state and non-state actors. According to the report, Nigeria was fast gaining notoriety for its failure to tackle impunity for crimes against journalists including killings. The report reads in part, “For example, in 2017, four journalists were killed in separate incidents with no credible inquiry yet to find the culprits and their motive for the fatal attacks. The four were a cameraman with the Anambra Broadcasting Services, Ikechukwu Onubogu; Lawrence Okojie of the Nigeria Television Authority in Edo State, a Desk Editor with Glory FM in Bayelsa State, Famous Giobaro and freelance broadcaster in Ekiti State, Abdul Ganiyu Lawal. “Four more journalists have since been killed under circumstances that have yet to be clarified through any credible investigations. The killing on July 22, 2019 of Precious Owolabi, a reporter with the Channels Television in Abuja while covering a protest by members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria-IMN, was agonising.” The report also said clamping down on the media was a sign of weak democracy and a restive government. Speaking earlier, the President of NUJ, Chris Isiguzo said the safety of journalists should “include the absence of arbitrary arrest, resorting to exile to escape repression, harassment, destruction and confiscation of equipment and premises, and self-censorship in media.” –Punch Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Ghana is third with 86.69% rating in Africa on Global Cybersecurity Index
Ghana’s cybersecurity development has been ranked third in Africa with an 86.69% rating on the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the National Cyber Security Center has said in a statement dated June 30, 2021. “An official release of the 2020 Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) report of the ITU on 29 June 2021 placed Ghana at the number 3 position behind Mauritius and Tanzania, with a score of 86.69% on the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).” The statement noted that Ghana’s current score of 86.69% on the metric shows major progress from the previous ratings in 2017 and 2018 of 32.6% and 43.7% respectively. “Its 3rd place ranking in Africa is also a major leap from the 11th place attained in the previous rating and projects Ghana among the best in the region and globally. The achievement is proof of the government’s commitment to developing the country’s cyberspace to be secure and resilient for a sustained digital transformation.” “This commitment is evidenced by the efforts of the government through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation working with the members of the National Cyber Security Inter-Ministerial Advisory Council (NCSIAC) and the National Cyber Security Technical Working Group (NCSTWG) in the implementation of critical interventions in the country’s cybersecurity ecosystem,” it added. The National Cyber Security Center attributed the rating to “the revision of the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy to provide a national direction and implementation plan for Ghana’s cybersecurity development; the passage of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) to provide a legal basis for its cybersecurity development; the institutionalisation of cybersecurity to foster domestic cooperation and collaboration; and the ratification of relevant cybercrime/cybersecurity international conventions and treaties such as the Convention on Cybercrime also known as the Budapest Convention and African Union Convention on Cyber Security & Personal Data Protection also known as the Malabo conventions ECOWAS’ Regional Cybersecurity Cybercrime Strategy and the Regional Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) Protection Policy to strengthen Ghana’s international response in fighting cybercrime and improve on cybersecurity.” Other key factors it gave are the development of Ghana’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) ecosystem, the country’s persistence in capacity building and awareness creation, “Other areas that the country has shown commitment in the fight against cybercrime is the deployment of the Cybercrime/Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Points of Contact (PoC) to enable individuals and organisations to report cyber-related incidents with ease and to receive advisories.” It indicated that the government through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation working closely with other relevant Ministries, agencies, international partners and private sector stakeholders remain committed in its efforts to ensure that the various digitalisation interventions rolled out are secured. Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) Since the launch of the GCI in 2015, it has been a trusted reference, measuring countries’ commitment to cybersecurity and raising awareness of its importance. The level of each country’s development or engagement is assessed along the five strategic pillars of the Union’s Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) namely; Legal Measures, Technical Measures, Organisational Measures, Capacity Building, and International Cooperation. This is then aggregated into an overall score. The current assessment covers the 2019-2020 period and reflects data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. —citinewsroom Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Ejura killings: I’ve not visited victims, It’s an old video – Mahama
Former President John Mahama has said he has not visited victims of the shootings at Ejura in the Ashanti Region. His comment follows a video circulating on social media of his purported visit to injured persons in a hospital. The former President indicated that the purported visit is an old one which has no link to the current disturbance in Ejura. Mr Mahama earlier in the week urged President Akufo-Addo to de-escalate the issue at Ejura. “I urgently call on President Nana Akufo-Addo to initiate an immediate de-escalation of the situation in Ejura”, he stated. In a statement issued on Tuesday, 29 June 2021, the former president said: “There must be a very thorough investigation of both the murder of the youth activist and the security rules of engagement, which resulted in the shooting to death of the two others.” Mahama added “I add my voice to calls for calm following the shooting to death of two persons and the injury to many in Ejura today”. “I have just seen a video of the firing of live ammunition into a crowd by persons wearing military attire, after the burial of the murdered youth activist. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and the Ejura community.” Two protesters were killed by combined police and military team who shot into an angry youth who were protesting a day after the mob killing of local social media activist Ibrahim ‘Kaaka’ Mohammed. Four other protesters also got injured in the clash between the demonstrators and the security personnel. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
NDC and NPP ‘riff-raffs’ occupy Ghana army – Nunoo-Mensah
Former Chief of Staff Brigadier Joseph Nunoo-Mensah has said the Ghana Armed Forces is full of “riff-raffs” pushed in there by the two main political parties – the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). He was speaking on Class91.3FM’s morning show on Wednesday, 30 June 2021 about the recent Ejura disturbances that claimed three lives, two of them being victims of shots fired by soldiers into a crowd of demonstrators, who were demanding justice for lynched social media activist Ibrahim Kaaka Mohammed. The retired army officer said: “The people in the military, they are not in the right type of employment. Most of the soldiers are either coming from NPP or NDC – riff-raffs who have been put into uniform”. In his view, “there’s a huge problem of political interference”. “You don’t allow the people appointed as IGP or Chief of Defence Staff to do the job”, he complained. He also noted that soldiers “are paid to shoot and kill”, adding: “A soldier’s job is not to disperse crowd”, he told Kofi Oppong Asamoah. Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah said as a soldier, “I’ve never learnt how to disperse a crowd. It’s not my job”. “They [soldiers] are paid to shoot – not in the air – but at the chest, where it’s mostly going to cause death”, the retired army officer said. He said deciding to use the army in such situations comes with hefty consequences, and, so, such a decision must be a well-thought-through one. “So, you don’t use them just like that”, he warned, noting: “When the military comes, it’s not a joke, it’s a serious business”. He bemoaned: “Unfortunately since the coming into force of the fourth republican Constitution, we have messed up all our institutions”. “You talk about the Emile Short Commission; what happened? Nothing happened”, he noted. “It made wonderful recommendations but nothing happened. I don’t believe anything will happen”, Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah said, adding: “And it is sad”. He warned: “It’s going to get worse because we are not applying the right force at the right place”. In his view, “when you get a problem in Ejura, you don’t call soldiers but we’ve [been calling] them since the fourth Republican Constitution came into force – the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election, [for example], causing a mess and when a public commission sits, a man of his stature as Emile Short and Prof Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu, [both] speak and then you throw them away”. “What are you telling me? That’s when we learn lessons and not repeat the mistakes of the past. We are all learning. So, the situation in Ghana is worsening. It’s worsening so rapidly that if we don’t take care, we are going to have a problem on our hands”, he cautioned. –classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Minister hints of nationwide demolition of structures on waterways
The Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has hinted of plans to demolish structures that have been built on waterways in a bid to avert perennial floods nationwide. Answering questions on the Floor of Parliament on Tuesday, Mr. Asenso-Boakye said the demolition exercise was part of a nationwide strategy that is embedded in the national flood control programme of the ministry. “As part of the programme, we are constructing new drains, expanding existing ones and we are collaborating with the Ministry of Local Government Decentralisation and Rural Development to make sure that structures that have been built on water ways are demolished,” Mr. Asenso-Boakye who doubles as the NPP MP for Bantama asserted. He said he is also working with the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources to also make sure that people do not continue to dump solid waste in drainage channels. “Covering drain has its own advantages and disadvantages. The ideal situation is half drains that are covered. That is what they call subterranean drains,” the minister stated. “But Mr. Speaker, with the current situation we have in our country where people continue to dump solid waste into our drainage channels, it will be very difficult for us to continue to have subterranean drainage system,” he explained. Sprawling settlements built around drainage channels and waterways keep exacerbating the flooding situation in major cities of the country. He narrated how the underground drainage system at the Kejetia Market in Kumasi got choked by a timber log and caused flooding in the place, pointing out that “it blocked the flow of storm water and the water was forced to come out as overflow and flooded the whole market.” “It (underground drainage) has its advantages and disadvantages and that is why we are working actively with the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources,” Mr. Asenso-Boakye stressed. By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
NDC youth to hold demonstration and street ‘march for justice’ 6 July
The youth wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has written to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr James Oppong-Boanuh, to notify the Police Service that it will hold a demonstration and street protest. The exercise, dubbed: “A March for Justice” will be held in Accra on Tuesday, 6 July 2021. A letter signed by the NDC National youth organiser, George Opare Addo on 30 June 2021 indicated that “this protest is to demand justice for all persons killed and brutalised by state-sponsored thuggery and/or adventurism by police and military forces. It also seeks social justice for the unemployed youth in the country. The letter noted that the protestors will follow four separate routes: Madina, Accra business district, Osu and Lapaz. Afterwards, all protesters will converge at the Jubilee House to present a petition to the President, and head to the police head office to present petitions to the IGP and to the Speaker of Parliament at the Parliament House. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Catholic Bishops ‘disgusted’ by Ejura shootings; call for punishment
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) says it is “disgusted” at the shooting incident in Ejura that led to the death of two young men, Murtala Mohammed and Abdul Yusif, both 25, during a demonstration to demand justice for the murder of Ibrahim Mohammed aka Kaaka, a social media activist by a mob. The Catholic Bishops said they have expressed time and again, the need for the security agencies to be very professional in the discharge of their duties, especially when it comes to crowd control but the situation is rather getting out of hand and it does not auger well for the country. The Catholic Bishops said soldiers aiming and shooting at unprotected and unarmed civilians is not only condemnable but criminal and must be investigated and the perpetrators punished. “This must be done with the urgency it deserves because citizens are gradually losing trust in the ability of our security agencies to handle such cases effectively and competently,” the Bishops said in a statement. The Bishops have, however, appealed to all agitated youth across the country particularly those of Ejura to restrain themselves from engaging in acts that can result in social unrest. –Classfm Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
JUST IN: High Court slapped Government with $15 million judgment debt over unlawful seizure of excavators
A Kumasi High Court has slapped government with a $15.3 million judgment debt for the unlawful seizure of excavators. It has also ordered that government pays the mining company, Heritage Imperial Limited an amount of ¢600,000. This amount was awarded to the mining firm prospecting for gold in the Apamprama Forest Reserve in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region. On December 6, 2018, company’s concession was raided by the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Illegal Mining under the suspicion of engaging in activities outside their mandate. According to the task force, the company had been mining illegally even though the license granted them only allowed for prospecting. In court, lawyers for the mining firm argued that they procured a prospecting mining licence from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources on October 25, 2018. The plaintiffs say they stuck to this commitment until the raid was conducted on their concession by the task force where their excavators and other equipment were confiscated in December that same year. In its ruling on May 18, 2021, the court deemed the action on the site against Heritage Imperial Mining Company as unlawful adding that no evidence had been advanced by the task force to back their claims of illegality on the company’s part. The court, presided by Justice Samuel Obeng Diawuo, also held that the move by the task force on the said day flies in the face of the mandate within which they were to operate in the fight against illegal mining in the country. It further concluded that the company also permitted other entities to invade the concession and mine from the plaintiff’s concession. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
NABCO: CONAT petition rejected by Speaker of Parliament, as he direct them to follow right procedures
Parliament has rejected the petition made by a group calling itself Coalition of NABCO Trainees (CONAT) Per the response captured by Apexnewsgh.com which was released by Nana Tiwiah Okyir, Deputy Director Legal Service Parliament of Ghana. Following the response from Parliament’s legal service, it clearly shows that the Executives of CONAT lacks common knowledge on how a petition to Parliament is carried out. They were requested to comply by following the right procedures when petitioning Parliament “I am directed by Rt. Hon Speaker to request you to comply with the procedures regulating petitions to parliament provided for in the standing Orders of Parliament (2000)”. “Order 76 of the standing Orders of Parliament (2000) regulates the issue of the petitions before the house”. “The provision of the Orders are further elaborated in Appendix A of the standing Orders” Meanwhile below is the traditional way of petitioning Parliament:The petition should comply with the following requirements: Be in a form prescribed by the Speaker of Parliament. Include the name(s) and contact details of the petitioner(s). Clearly indicate the nature of the request being made (the subject of the petition) Include a clear motivation for the petition and must indicate the nature of the relief (assistance) asked from Parliament. The petition must be in the official language of Ghana. Be signed by the petitioner(s) themselves. Every page with signatures must have the full text of the request on it. This shows that people know what they are signing. Not contain improper or disrespectful language (English). Electronic petition Visit the page for creating electronic petitions. Complete the form with your contact and request details. Your email and mobile phone number will be verified so that you can be contacted about your petition. You can share your petition on social media platforms to get people to sign it. Note: Your name will be publihed along side your petition on Parliament’s website. Your contact details will not be published. Your petiton should be in the official language of Ghana (English). Your petition should not contain improper or disrespectful language. Each petition submitted to Parliment will be checked by the Office of the Clerk to make sure it follows the rules of Parliament. You will be contacted if any changes to your petition are suggested. Your petition will be published on the website once it has been accepted. Presentation of Petition You can ask any Member of Parliament(MP) to present the petition to Parliament at anytime after it has closed for signatures. An MP can refuse to present a petiton. An MP can present a petition even if he disagrees with the request. Keeping track of your petition’s progress You will be notified each time your petition makes progress. Each petition will also have a progress indicator on the website to show its current status: Open – This means that the petition is open to receive support from anyone willing to sign your petition. You will be notified by email before your petition is closed for signatures. Closed – An electronic petition closes for support the day after the Closing for signatures date has been reached. You set this date when you create your petition. Presented – Indicates that the petition is closed for signatures and that an MP has presented the petition to Parliament Completed – Indicates that the petition has been examined by a committee and that the committee has reported to Parliament. The report will be available on Parliament’s website, on the page with your petition. Meanwhile, their petition was for Parliament to hold the government accountable for their promises made to offer NABCO beneficiaries permanent employment Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093