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DICON produces PPE kits, hand sanitizers and ventilators to support FG’s war against COVID-19 pandemic

Ihuoma ILO
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DICON produces PPE kits, hand sanitizers and ventilators to support FG’s war against COVID-19 pandemic

 

THE Nigerian Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has disclosed that the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) has taken the lead among others, to provide a local content driven response to address the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Nigeria in the ongoing fight against the spread of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

This, the Defence Headquarters said was in response to directive by Abayomi  Olonisakin, a General and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to the Armed Forces to articulate strategic intervention to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a series of tweets on its verified Twitter handle, the DHQ revealed that the DICON, under the  leadership of Victor Ezugwu, a Major General, has mobilized its management and staff to research, develop  and produce several COVID-19 essential and life saving equipment.

“First is the production of over 1500 dozens of DICSanz, a high-quality hand sanitizer produced under very strict environmental conditions, requested by the COAS Lt Gen TY Buratai for supply to troops of the Nigerian Army,” it said.

“This product is at the last stage of NAFDAC registration in line with extant due diligence provisions.”

The DHQ further stated that the DICON has also responded to the directive by Bashir Magashi, the Minister of Defence  for the Armed Forces to support the indigenous capacity of Nigeria to support the indigenous capacity of Nigeria, to support medical workers by producing thousands  thousands of high quality non permeable Personal Protective Equipment kit.

Each unit of the kits consists of standardized gowns, face shield and nose masks, it said.

The kits, the DHQ explained are currently being produced in large quantities for use by Kaduna State Government and other national stakeholders.

In addition to that, it added that the DICON engineers, consultants and medical teams have successfully produced a digital mechanical ventilator known as DICOVENT.

The newly designed low-cost machine is a simple mechanical ventilator that can deliver positive pressured ventilation using a volume-controlled ventilation (VCV) system, the DHQ said.

” The ventilator has undergone thorough scrutiny and assessment by specialists from top ranging hospitals and experts in the country including Cedar Crest Hospital Abuja, 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Kaduna among others.”

“It  is important to mention that while DICOVENT may not be able to meet the high demands of critical patients, it can be used for Continuous Mandatory Ventilation (CMV) and Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation ( IPPV). It can also be used for invasive ventilation and non-invasive ventilation using an endotracheal tube and mask respectively.“

Meanwhile, the DHQ stated that Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 and Osagie Ehanire, the Minister of Health  have commended and approved these equipment produced by DICON.

The CDS according to the tweets therefore directed all the Armed Forces to liaise with DICON for mass production of all prototypes of COVID-19 PPEs for national application.

” As DICON and other military institutions continue their drive to support our national effort to defeat COVID-19, the CDS hereby urges Federal and State Governments to patronize the local content initiative of the Armed Forces of Nigeria,” it said.

 

COVID-19: CSOs commence nationwide monitoring of FG, states’ palliatives and donations

Samad UTHMAN
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COVID-19: CSOs commence nationwide monitoring of FG, states’ palliatives and donations

THE Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA ) in collaboration with the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARD-C) have deployed volunteers across the country to monitor the distribution of COVID-`19 palliatives to vulnerable Nigerians.

According to  a press statement issued by Olanrewaju Suraju, Chairman of HEDA and Abiola Akiode-Afolabi, “the volunteers will produce a comprehensive report covering strategic areas using jointly developed questionnaire tools designed to meet global best practices.”

The statement disclosed that volunteers were expected to monitor and evaluate the COVID-19 palliatives and utilization of the various intervention funds received by state and federal governments to combat the pandemic.

“Nigeria had seen a string of intervention funds ranging from private donations, local and international funds estimated to be in billions of naira in cash and other materials, including food and medicare,” they said.

The group submitted that as of last week, funds raised at home stood at N25.8billion apart from the N21billion European Union (EU) support and donations material from China.

The civil rights groups added that despite the generous donations and on-going disbursements there has been no transparency framework at the federal and state levels on fund utilization.

They noted that many Nigerians have been in hardship since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly since government started to restrict movement and lockdown states.

“Yet, reports from the field also indicate that despite the huge donations and support to government, many deserving and indigent Nigerians are yet to receive any real relief or support.”

“It would then amount to great injustice to keep people in the dark or fail to publicly account for the spending, particularly in a country where corruption remains rife, ” Suraju and Abiola Akiode stated.

The CSOs said they were out to assist the people and the government in identifying red flags or opportunity for corruption in the process.

They added that in cases where the funds are already diverted or mismanaged by corrupt elements in government, they would ensure that the looted public funds are recovered and perpetrators adequately prosecuted.

“This is why we are not just evaluating the impact, we are equally monitoring implementation through the tools that will be administered by the volunteers,” the said.

According to the groups, the reports of the monitoring and evaluation, with its findings, observations and recommendations would be made available for public engagement and addressed to affected governments and agencies while suspected cases of corruption would be forwarded to the relevant anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution.

 

Five female immigration officers queried for taking part in social media challenge, risk dismissal

Seun DUROJAIYE
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Five female immigration officers queried for taking part in social media challenge, risk dismissal

THE Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has queried a group of five female officers for participating in an online social media challenge, accusing them of indecent flaunting of bodies and desecration of the service uniform.

In the video clip which has now gained thousands of views across social media platforms, the officers can be seen carrying out the #BopDaddyChallenge, in which they switch from female officers dressed in uniform, to young elegant ladies, dressed in mufti.

In the copy of the query letter dated April 15 and signed by Iam Haliru, Assistant Comptroller General of NIS, the ladies were accused of causing the NIS embarrassment, and their actions tagged scandalous.

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Haliru in the query letter categorised the offense as a serious misconduct which can lead to dismissal from service.

“To state the obvious, your act has caused a lot of embarrassment to the NIS and in line with our standard as a paramilitary organisation, is considered scandalous and an act unbecoming of an officer and therefore a violation of PSR 030401 and 030402. This is a serious misconduct liable to dismissal from service,” the letter read in part.

As a result of their actions, the ladies were mandated to respond to the query and point out why disciplinary action shouldn’t be taken against them.

Copy of NIS Query letter signed by Iam Haliru
Photo: Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi

The ICIR couldn’t reach the ACG, Haliru for comment but an NIS officer who chose to be anonymous told our reporter that the actions of the ladies did not harm the organisation, saying such actions did not   affect their duties or concern their line of work.

” I’m surprised that the ACG is interested in such video and any action taken against the women would backfire on the organisation. The ladies didn’t do anything wrong because the BOPDaddyChallenge wasn’t done in the office or during their line of work,” he said.

Similarly, several social media users who have come across the query letter have expressed misgivings on how the matter is being treated.

Those who reacted to the matter submitted that the ladies have managed to humanize the paramilitary uniform and should be used to promote the service of the NIS rather than punishing them for nothing.

In a series of tweets, Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, founder of Stand to End Rape (STER) condemned the attack on the female officers and said that the country is built on violating women’s rights.

“A gentle reminder that Nigeria is built on violating women’s rights and agency! What kind of sexist Public Service Law frames this as “immoral behaviour,” one of her tweets read.

Osowobi further submitted that the NIS was being sexist.

“This act is sexist and unjustifiable. It is a fun challenge that women across the globe have participated in without losing their jobs! Servicewomen are also humans and did not commit any crime with this video. Your focus on “morality” is misplaced!!!,” she said.

The NIS is yet to release a public statement on this on any of its official social media platforms.

Despite restriction order, Nigeria records 5,125 percent increase in Covid-19 cases within one month

Damilola OJETUNDE
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Despite restriction order, Nigeria records 5,125 percent increase in Covid-19 cases within one month

NIGERIA has recorded over 5,000 percentage increase in COVID-19 cases within one month despite lockdown directives by the Federal Government in Lagos, Ogun, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and restriction order by other state governments.

On Sunday, April 19, Nigeria reported an additional 86 cases of COVID-19. This is the highest figure recorded in a day since the country recorded its index case on February 27.

Number of reported cases by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as of March 19 was 12. The figure has increased to 627, representing a 5,125 percent increase.

The number of reported cases of COVID-19 has increased significantly in Africa. As it stands now, reported cases on the continent are 22,992 with about 372,164 tests carried out.

Top 10 countries with the highest number of conducted tests of the virus in Africa are South Africa- 114,711, Ghana- 68,591, Egypt-55,000, Tunisia- 16,098, Morocco- 15,123, Kenya- 13,239, Uganda- 12,565, Mauritius- 9,755, Djibouti- 8,144, and Ethiopia- 7,557. Nigeria comes 11th on the continent with about 7,153 tests conducted. This is according to Worldometer data on COVID-19 pandemic.

Watching closely the pattern of the data above,  countries with more testing have recorded more cases, an indication that the recent spike in the number of cases in Nigeria could be greater if testing is scaled up.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that Africa could be the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier in the month, Professor Akin Abayomi, Commissioner of Health in Lagos State − epicentre of the pandemic in Nigeria had said 45 percent of new infections were traced to community transmission. Lagos State reported 70 cases on April 19, the highest from the state daily. He also said cases involving those who have returned from abroad are now 54 percent of infections.

Also in the FCT, pockets of community transmission are creating tension in the nation’s capital. According to a report by Vanguard, 12 cases of the 49 cases that were reported last Saturday in the FCT were traced to community transmission in the Mabuchi area of the FCT.

“On Saturday, 49 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Nigeria, with 12 of such cases in Abuja. There had been few cases in Mabushi but the majority of cases uncovered on Saturday were from the village, with health officials now putting the total at 12. One case was also uncovered at Gishiri village, another low-income but densely populated community in the territory. None of the identified cases had any recent history of foreign travel or coming in contact with a returnee,” the report said.

AFDB debars Chinese company for fraudulent practices

Paul Owolabi
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AFDB debars Chinese company for fraudulent practices

THE African Development Bank Group (AFDB) has debarred China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, a civil engineering company registered in Nigeria, for fraudulent practices.

AFDB announced on its official website that the Chinese company which has been registered in Nigeria for 18 months has been charged for fraudulent practices which may affect the company fortunes with other multilateral development banks.

The infraction includes misrepresentations of its year of incorporation, the value of its reference contracts and the experience of its key personnel while bidding for two tenders under the bank-financed Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project in Nigeria.

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According to the bank, an investigation conducted by the bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, as a member of a joint venture with Oceanic Construction and Engineering Nigeria Limited was jointly responsible for this joint venture partner’s fraud.

The debarment renders China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited and its affiliates ineligible to participate in bank-financed projects during the debarment period.

The offence qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group.

At the expiry of the debarment period, China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited will only be eligible to participate in Bank-financed projects on the condition that it implements an integrity compliance program consistent with the Bank’s guidelines.

REPORT: Decisive policies can reduce post COVID-19 impact on African economies

Paul Owolabi
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REPORT: Decisive policies can reduce post COVID-19 impact on African economies

BROOKINGS report highlighted how Subsaharan countries can mitigate the post-impact of the novel COVID-19 virus through strong and decisive policies that will help avoid widespread sovereign defaults, contagion, and chaos in the sovereign debt markets.

Policymakers in advanced economies have, appropriately, thrown out stale policy practice and making strategic changes, and the same approach should be taken for the African countries, the report stated.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele said “Nigeria must look inwards as a nation and guarantee food security, high quality and affordable healthcare, and cutting-edge education for it people.”

“For a country of over 200 million people, and projected to be about 450 million in a few decades, we can no longer ignore repeated warnings about the dangers that lie ahead if we do not begin to depend largely on what we produce locally”, he added.

It will also help preserve millions of jobs in the continent, avoid widespread political and social unrest………..0 and prevent insecurity and mass migration.

According to the report, with the benefit of immediate and substantial relief, African governments can now better focus on vulnerable populations and bolster safety nets, and like elsewhere in the world support the private sector.

Especially Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs), including paying arrears and ensuring minimal disruption to the flow of credit thus avoiding deeper and more prolonged banking and economic crises.

African countries should also engage their technology hubs to help build an information database to track, monitor, and evaluate the use of these funds.

Effective and balanced partnerships with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and technology platforms can ensure resources reach those most in need expeditiously, the report showed.

The Brookings report highlighted that the share of these resources going to African countries falls significantly short of the $200 billion needed, as estimated by the African Union, and the debt standstill does not go far enough in its scope.

According to the report, to truly empower African countries to effectively fight the virus and shore up the economies, we recommend the following next steps;

Expand the eligibility for a debt standstill, set up a process to ensure increased private creditors participation, leverage special drawing rights and strengthen governance around the utilization of mobilised resources.

Development banks should be adequately capitalised so that they can leverage that capital to play a bigger role in infrastructure financing, the report showed.

Their involvement will alleviate pressures on national government budgets and the buildup of debt.

Overcrowding in prisons risks becoming a public health catastrophe – AI warns African govts

Seun DUROJAIYE
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Overcrowding in prisons risks becoming a public health catastrophe – AI warns African govts

AMNESTY International, a global advocacy group, has urged authorities in sub-Saharan Africa to protect prisoners from the risk of COVID-19 by unclogging prisons, warning that overcrowded prisons pose a public health catastrophe.

In a press statement released on Monday, AI also advocated for the release of prisoners of conscience, a review of cases of pre-trial detention, and a guarantee of access to healthcare and sanitation products in all prison facilities.

“As COVID-19 spreads across Sub-Saharan Africa, the severe overcrowding seen in many prisons and detention centres risks becoming a public health catastrophe, especially given the general lack of health care and sanitation,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s Director for West and Central Africa.

According to the group, many prisoners across several countries in the sub-Saharan region are serving time for fighting for their rights and releasing such prisoners of conscience would not only be the right thing to do but would also help free up the facilities.

Highlighting several prisoners of conscience in countries such as Benin, Burundi, Cameroon and Chad, AI submitted that the prisoners of conscience should be released unconditionally.

“Amnesty International considers all these people prisoners of conscience who have been imprisoned for exercising their human rights. They must be released immediately and unconditionally,” said Deprose Muchena.

AI also called on authorities to consider early, temporary or conditional release of older prisoners and those with underlying medical conditions, as well as women and girls who are in detention with dependent children or who are pregnant.

Buttressing that COVID-19 poses grave health risks in prison, especially because there is a lack of proper sanitation and adequate health care facilities.

“The spread of COVID-19 is a public health concern even in prisons and other detention facilities. Reducing the number of people in detention should be an integral and urgent part of state responses to COVID-19, which must begin by immediately and unconditionally releasing all those who shouldn’t be incarcerated in the first place,” said Samira Daoud.

Currently, Africa has recorded over 23,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 1,000 deaths.

Former PM Kodjo seeks Buhari’s intervention on electoral crisis in Togo

Lukman ABOLADE
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Former PM Kodjo seeks Buhari’s intervention on electoral crisis in Togo

A FORMER Prime Minister of Togolese Republic, Agbeyome Messan Kodjo has made a plea to the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the electoral crisis in Togo,  saying his life is under threat.

Dr. Kodjo through a letter addressed to President Buhari said the incumbent government deployed ground and air forces to take his life on Thursday but failed due to the foreign intervention.

“Last Thursday, if not for foreign interventions, the government deployed an army of ground and air forces to attempt to take my life,” Kodjo said in his letter.

Agbeyome Messan Kodjo
Agbeyome Messan Kodjo

Kodjo, who is a major opposition leader in the recently concluded election, said his home is not safe anymore as armed forces have laid siege around his house and are patrolling his neighbourhood.

“I am not safe in my home, as armed forces have taken over the neighbourhood and are patrolling the surroundings of my home,” he noted.

According to him, the government’s action followed the results of February 22nd, 2020 general elections in which he contested and came out victorious by 67 per cent before the results were manipulated by the sitting president.

“Those in power falsified the results and made a provisional announcement of the results on the night of the 23rd, assigning a score of 72.36 per cent to the President, in violation articles 102 and 103 of the electoral code, which provides that, no result can be published without the availability of all the results sheets of all polling units, ” he told Buhari in the letter.

Seeking Buhari’s assistance to claim his mandate, Kodjo said he is aware of Buhari’s love and concern for the people of Togo Republic.

“I know that I can count on your pragmatism and concern for the well-being of the people, on behalf of the Togolese people, I express my deepest feelings of gratitude to you,”
Kodjo added.

Dr Kodjo is the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Defence and Security Committee of the National Assembly.  He contested under the Rally of the Togolese People.

COVID-19: Why Nigerians in China were attacked, dehumanised

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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COVID-19: Why Nigerians in China were attacked, dehumanised

OGBONNA Maximus, President of the Association of Nigerian Community in Guangzhou, China on Monday explained why Nigerians in China were attacked and dehumanised by the Chinese authorities.

Maximus said though some of the mistreatments and inhumane incidents meted out to Nigerians and other blacks, occurred in Guangzhou district, and did not extend to the whole of China as widely reported.

OGBONNA Maximus, President of the Association of Nigerian Community in Guangzhou, China Photo Source: Arise TV

In a phone interview with Channels Sunrise television programme, he said the incident was caused by a Nigerian who tested positive in Guangzhou district and attempted an escape from a treatment facility.

He said the Nigerian, in the process, injured a nurse and was reported in the news media; hence the reason for the abuses and discrimination.

“A Nigerian tested positive and he was admitted into the hospital. In one of the days, he tried to escape from the hospital and bumped into a nurse, and the nurse was injured. It was reported in the news that a Nigerian had a COVID-19 and he was trying to escape and injured a nurse,” Maximus said in a phone-in conversation.

“So, that flared and worsen the situation, this made the Chinese people in Guangzhou continue to get afraid of our people.”

He said China believes it has completely curtailed the virus spread with concerns that reported cases were those imported into the Chinese territory by foreigners.

This, he said, made the authority to commence compulsory testing of foreigners.

But he described as a major challenge, lack of proper communication from the Chinese government to the respective embassies including the Nigerian consulate.

“When it happened, they did not inform our consulate or our embassy. They begin to chase people from their homes, forcing them into quarantine…,” he said.

“Asking people to go into quarantine is good but the way they went about it made the people feel bad.”

He debunked claims that only Africans were targeted for the COVID-19 but noted that once a foreigner is confirmed negative, he is given a particular document to serve as clearance.

On the Nigerian that attempted an escape, Maximus disclosed that he met with the accused person, who said, “he was sleeping when the nurse woke him up. He said he did not know what really happened but was sorry for his action.”

It could be recalled that Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Oyeama had respectively summoned Zhou Pingjian, the Chinese Ambassador in Nigeria, over the wrong treatment meted out to Nigerians in China.

At the meeting, the envoy said he was ignorant of the incident but was urged to view footages of the poor-treatment which other concerned individuals described as human rights abuse.

On 13 April, the African Union Commission through the Deputy Chairperson, Kwesi Quartey invited Amb. Liu Yuxi, the Chinese envoy to the AU, over the alleged brutalities on African descents.

At the meeting, Yuxi expressed regret over the incidents assuring that the accused security operatives had been sanctioned.

“…Yuxi informed the deputy chairperson that, the Chinese whose social media post caused the unfortunate incident has been arrested. Also, law enforcement personnel exerting excessive force have been reprimanded and cautioned to exercise restraint whilst discharging their duties. He also mentioned that two hotels have been secured for the affected Africans and the cost would be borne by the Chinese Government,” statement from the AUC read. “Furthermore, seized passports and personal belongings have been retrieved and handed over to their rightful owners, Amb. Yuxi added.”

Maximus, however, applauded the Nigerian Embassy in China for their intervention on the matter stressing that the embassy officials had been visiting hotels and other locations to provide needed supports to the affected persons.

He acknowledged that the situation was getting better but emphasised that the Chinese government needed to do more.

He further revealed that some Nigerians had already indicated interests to return home.

REPORT: How soldiers killed noodle seller in Lagos

Samad UTHMAN
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REPORT: How soldiers killed noodle seller in Lagos

IF Maryam Ibrahim, 20, had known that death lurked behind the corner of her house on April 18, she would not have left her one-bedroom in Orile Iganmu, Lagos State, where she was hit by stray bullets allegedly fired by Nigerian soldiers.

The ICIR gathered that Maryam had left her mother in Ile-ife in Osun State to spend some time with her father in Ibadan, Oyo State in February after when she left for Lagos to ‘hustle’.

Late Maryam Ibramim. Source: Family

The deceased had reportedly learnt how to sell clothes for two years after she finished her secondary school education in 2017.

Since her mother, a divorce, could not provide her with the graduation fee after learning how to sell clothes, Maryam followed a friend to Lagos where she started selling cooked noodles at a motor park at Orile Bus Stop. From her saving, she paid for training on how to make dresses.

The ICIR learnt that some youths had hijacked a motorcycle from an officer of the Nigerian Army earlier last week. The officer later called for reinforcement from his colleagues and returned to claim his property which caused a face-off between the two parties.

Ibrahim Aliyu, Maryam’s maternal uncle told The ICIR that stray bullets hit Maryam who was coming out of a makeshift bathroom opposite her rented apartment.

“I was told that within some seconds of her stepping out of the bathroom, she was hit by bullets and she lost much blood.”

Sixteen minutes after she was shot, eyewitnesses said Maryam was still breathing as the bullet hit her on the arm, but the soldiers threatened to shoot a male co-tenant who wanted to rush her to the hospital.

“She was later rushed to His Stripe Specialist Hospital here in Iganmu, where she died and she’s now in the mortuary. We are still waiting for her family,” a source who did not want to be identified told The ICIR.

Maryam’s death has left her mother (name withheld) childless as her brother died a few years ago after a brief sickness.

The ICIR called and sent a message to Sagir Musa, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, but he could not be reached for comment.

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