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AIT, RayPower FM Back on Air as Court Orders Re-opening

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  • AIT, RayPower FM Back on Air as Court Orders Re-opening

The Africa Independent Television and RayPower FM shut down on the orders of National Broadcasting Commission are back on air.

The two broadcast houses, shut down on Thursday, resumed transmission Friday evening following an order by a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday.

The court ordered the NBC and other parties to a suit filed by Daar Communications Plc, operator of African Independent Television and RayPower 100.5 FM to maintain status quo.

Ruling on an ex parte application by Daar Communications Plc, Justice Inyang Ekwo directed all the parties to maintain status quo as of May 30, 2019, pending the determination of the plaintiff’s application for an interlocutory injunction against the NBC and the two other defendants – the Federal Ministry of Culture and Information and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The applicant had filed the ex parte motion on May 30 informing the court that “credible information just reaching” it “has it that the defendants have concluded plans to, in the next few days, invade and shut down the premises of the plaintiff and/or part thereof.”

But on Thursday, the NBC, through its Director-General, Dr Modibbo Kawu, announced its decision to suspend the company’s operating licences indefinitely.

Kawu stated that the infractions committed by the media houses owned by Daar Communications included their inability to pay their licence renewal fees and the airing of a presidential election documentary while the matter was still before a tribunal, among others.

At the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, Mr Benson Igbanor of Chief Mike Ozekhome’s law firm moved the Daar Communication’s ex parte application seeking to avert the suspension of its licences by the NBC.

In his ruling delivered shortly after listening to Igbanor, Justice Ekwo granted the order for parties to the suit to maintain status quo, but refused to grant prayers 1 and 2 contained in the applicant’s application.

The judge said such prayers could not be granted in the absence of the defendants.

One of the prayers rejected by the court, sought “an ex parte order of interim injunction” restraining defendants “from blocking, jamming, stopping, removing from air and/or interfering with the airwaves of the plaintiff/applicant in any way and manner howsoever, in its broadcast and airing of news, views, documentaries, or any other legitimate broadcast material that is usually associated with television, radio or social media broadcast pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed along with this application.”

The other prayer rejected by the court sought a similar order to restrain the defendants “from invading the premises of the plaintiff/applicant, or closing down the said premises, its operations or broadcast services, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed along with this application.”

Justice Ekwo said the two prayers would not be granted without hearing the defendants.

He, instead, ordered parties to maintain status quo and directed the defendants to appear in court on June 13 to show cause why the prayers rejected on Friday and as contained in a motion on notice filed by the plaintiff, should not be granted.

A copy of the enrolled order made by the judge on Friday read in part, “It is hereby ordered as follows:

“That prayers 1 and 2 on the motion ex parte cannot be granted without hearing the other parties.

“An order is hereby made that parties shall maintain status quo ante bellum as at May 30, 2019 pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed in this case.”

He added, “Defendants are hereby ordered to show cause on the next date of hearing why the prayers on the motion on notice of the plaintiff/applicant ought not to be granted.

“Case adjourned till June 13, 2019 for defendants to appear in court and show cause as ordered.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government had earlier on Friday come under more attacks for suspending the licences of the African Independent Television and RayPower FM operated by DAAR Communications Limited, owned by the Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Raymond Dokpesi.

Suspension repressive, say PDP governors

But the Peoples Democratic Party governors, in their reaction to the suspension, described it as repressive and asked the Federal Government to reverse the suspension of the licences.

The reaction of the governors was contained in a communiqué read by the Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, Mr Seriake Dickson, in the early hours of Friday after its meeting at the Bayelsa State Government Lodge in Abuja on Thursday night.

Dickson said, “The forum noted the shocking intolerance and act of repression against the media by the Federal Government. As you are aware, DAAR Communications, we understand, has been closed down. And our position is that due process must be followed.

“If there is any allegation of infraction, then due processes of the law should take place because when you shut down news outlet, when you harass and intimidate journalists, then you are shutting down Nigerians from speaking their minds. And in democracy, freedom of expression is a cardinal component.

“So we condemn what has taken place and we urge the Federal Government and its agency to forthwith, do what is right; that is the reopening of the company and follow the due process of the law.”

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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NCC Confiscates ₦23 Million Worth of Pirated Books During Bookstores Raid In Uyo

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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) on Saturday, November 2, confiscated ₦23.1 million in pirated books from local shops, including Academic Needs and Zion Bookshop during a raid in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The raid was by the Deputy Director of Operations, Mr Macfoy Akachukwu, representing the NCC Director General, Dr. John Asein.

Akachukwu, who stated that the raid was a significant operation to combat the rampant sale of pirated books, listed the books seized during the raid to include: Basic Civic Education by Dr Merry Ukaegbu, Spectrum New Further Mathematics by T.R. Moses and Essential Christian Religious Study for Senior Secondary Schools by Orovwuje B.O and Okolie E.U.

Other books included Macmillan Brilliant English for Junior Secondary Schools by Wale Ossianwo, New General Basic Science for Junior Secondary Schools by S. Ajayi, New Oxford Secondary English Course for Secondary Schools by Ayo Banjo and New Concept Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools by H.N. Odogwu among others.

Major publishers affected by the raid included Evans, UPL, Lantern, Longman, TONAD, and Pearson among others.

According to Asein, the operation is important as it was part of a nationwide initiative to protect authors’ rights.

“What we have done is part of the commissions mandate to protect and promote the rights of authors and other genuine investors in the copyright book industry,” he stated.

He reaffirmed that the NCC is committed to “eliminating the sale of pirated works and to establish a robust copyright framework in Nigeria”.

Asein emphasized that authors deserve to benefit from their creative work and not run into financial losses because of piracy.

“It is our duty to ensure that authors get rewards for their creative work. I have under my watch, zero tolerance for piracy and infringement of Copyright Laws,” Asein said.

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Strike: Academic Activities Remain Grounded As NASU, FG Clash Over Half Salary Payment

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While the Federal Government and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) continue to engage in discussions to end the ongoing strike, academic activities in the country have remained grounded leaving students in frustration.

Investors King in an earlier report detailed that the academic bodies directed its members to commence a nationwide indefinite strike from Monday over the nonpayment of four months withheld salaries.

The leaders of the two unions announced that the strike would start on Sunday, October 27, 2024.

JAC, in a circular to all branch chairmen of NASU and SSANU in the universities and inter-university centres, with the title: ‘Latest development in respect of the withheld four (4) months salaries’, and signed by Prince Peters Adeyemi, General Secretary of NASU and Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, SSANU President, explained that the timing of the action was for effective co-ordination and for both unions to be on the same page.

After discussions with the unions, the FG through the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation on Saturday authorized a partial payment to the bodies and urged them to shelve the strike.

Reacting to this, JAC kicked against the FG’s approval of only one month out of the four months of withheld salaries.

The union officials, including SSANU National President, Mohammed Ibrahim, stated that the one-month salary is insufficient to meet their demands.

“Yes, they paid one month out of four months. We shall be meeting to appraise the situation, but not everyone has received their pay so far,” Ibrahim said.

The unions declared that the nationwide strike would continue until all demands are met and all withheld salaries paid.

JAC revealed that over 98 percent of union members across the country have complied with the strike.

Revealing the next step, Ibrahim said, “We plan to convene soon to determine further steps, and reaffirm our stance to remain on strike until the government fully addresses the salary backlog.”

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Atiku, Sheu Sani, SERAP, Amnesty International, Others Kick As FG Arraigns Minors For Joining #EndBadGovernance Protests

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Condemnations have trailed the arraignment of some distressed minors alongside adults who protested against bad governance and hunger in Nigeria.

The Federal Government dragged the peaceful protesters of the nationwide #EndBadGovernance including 32 minors before an Abuja Federal High Court on Friday.

However, there was panic within the courtroom when some of the minors collapsed during the arraignment.

The minors were arraigned for alleged treason by participating in August’s 10 days nationwide protests against hunger and bad governance.

It was gathered that the minors, who have been held by the Nigeria Police Force since August, were deprived of adequate care while in detention.

The incident occurred as they were being transported from various police detention cells, including those from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

No sooner than they arrived court premises that couple of the young lads lost consciousness inside the courtroom.

Sources claimed that they fainted due to maltreatment and lack of sufficient food for the days they were detained. They further alleged that authorities are using hunger as a form of torture against the young protesters for merely exercising their constitutional rights.

Photos and videos from the courtroom depicted the distressing scene, showing some teenagers writhing on the floor while others attempted to assist them.

One lawyer was captured trying to resuscitate a protester who collapsed in the dock.

The detention of the minors and other protesters was mandated by Justice Emeka Nwite, who approved an ex-parte application from the police to keep the minors in custody for 60 days as part of their investigation into the protests, which were aimed at addressing worsening insecurity and hardship attributed to President Bola Tinubu’s policies.

Condemning their arraignment and treatment, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, lambasted the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government over the illegal detention of malnourished minors.

Reacting to videos of the collapsed minors, Atiku, the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, said that Tinubu’s wickedness could not allow him to spare children who were protesting against his “harsh and draconian” policies in the country.

Atiku in a post on X said that the horrible scene of the collapsed malnourished minors in court is reminiscent of a Nazi concentration camp, which is a reflection of the low premium Tinubu-led government places on the lives of the vulnerable, especially children.

The former Vice President noted that it is reprehensible that President Tinubu who claims to have fought for Nigeria’s democracy and had led protests now demonises those who decide to demonstrate against the effects of his harsh and draconian policies.

Similarly, Shehu Sani, a former federal lawmaker from Kaduna State, expressed deep concerns over the detention of minors involved in the #EndBadGovernance protests.

Sani in a tweet on Friday questioned the justification behind their prolonged detention, saying there is no justification for the incarceration of the poor children.

He appealed to the Federal Government to set them free.

Also expressing outrage over the development, the Socio-Economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP) called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained #EndBadGovernance protesters in prison and dropping of charges against them.

In a post on X handle, SERAP demanded that President Tinubu’s administration must promptly investigate the apparent ill-treatment of #EndBadGovernance protesters in prison and prosecute those responsible.

In the same vein, Omoyele Sowore, the convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, strongly condemned President Tinubu’s government for prosecuting minors who allegedly participated in the #EndBadGovernance protests.

Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, criticized the government for its “shameless” treatment of these malnourished minors, who he believes deserve access to free education and healthcare, rather than being put on trial for treason.

Joining in the condemnation, Amnesty International wondered the rationale behind the prosecution of children who demanded good governance, calling for their immediate release.

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