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Tag: Ban

  • DOPING: Blessing Okagbare reacts to 10-year ban

    DOPING: Blessing Okagbare reacts to 10-year ban

    Nigerian Sprinter, Blessing Okagbare, has reacted to her 10 years ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit, AIU, saying her lawyers are currently studying it for the next line of action.

    According to AIU statement on Friday, Okagbare was banned for violating anti doping rules and drug related offences during last year’s Tokyo Olympics.

    In her post on Twitter, she said “My attention has been drawn to the statement issued by the AIU regarding its disciplinary panel decision.
    “My lawyers are currently studying it for our next line of action which we will inform you soon.”

    Okagbare, who has an Olympic silver medal in the long jump from the 2008 Beijing Games, was provisionally suspended before the 100 metres semi-finals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last year.

    The AIU statement explained that the sole arbitrator adjudicating the case concluded that Okagbare’s “use of multiple prohibited substances” was “part of an organised doping regimen in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games.”

  • Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare banned for 10 years

    Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare banned for 10 years

    Sprinter Blessing Okagbare who was suspended for violating anti doping rules and drug related offences during last year’s Tokyo Olympics has been finally banned by Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU)

    Okagbare, who has an Olympic silver medal in the long jump from the 2008 Beijing Games, was provisionally suspended before the 100 metres semi-finals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last year.

    An AIU statement said the sole arbitrator adjudicating the case concluded that Okagbare’s “use of multiple prohibited substances” was “part of an organised doping regimen in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games.”

    This “egregious conduct” led to an increase in the normal four-year sanction.

    The 33-year-old, who denied all charges, was given a five-year ban for returning doping tests positive for EPO as well as Human Growth Hormone.

    She was then handed an additional five-year ban for refusing to cooperate with an AIU investigation.

    “We welcome the decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal. A ban of 10 years is a strong message against intentional and coordinated attempts to cheat at the very highest level of our sport,” said AIU chief Brett Clothier.

    “This is an outcome that was driven by our intelligence-led target testing as well as our commitment to investigate the circumstances behind a positive test.”

    Okagbare had denied using drugs to spike her system at the Tokyo Olympic games.

  • Lagos bans use of megaphones at motor parks

    Lagos bans use of megaphones at motor parks

    The Lagos State Government on Tuesday, banned the use of amplifiers, microphone, megaphones at motor parks, so as to reduce noise pollution in the environment.

    Speaking at a news briefing in Ikeja, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Dr Omobolaji Gaji said the rate of noise pollution, especially in public places was worrisome.

    The news briefing was organised by the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, through the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and the Ministry of Transportation.

    Gaji said that noise pollution was the most prevalent of the complaints received annually, accounting for 75 per cent of total complaints.

    He said the complaints were mostly anthropogenic, and not limited to transport, religious, commercial, industrial, entertainment, and power generating, among other sources.

    According to him, noise pollution, which is an unwanted sound in excess of the permissible limits has become very prevalent in Lagos environment.

    ”The menace is causing stress with severe health implications, while those with long term exposure will be suffering from hearing loss that is detrimental to human health.

    ”Adults are believed to be the ones thought to show great concerns from problems associated with noise pollution, but children are quite vulnerable as well, more so as there are no known visible symptoms at early age.

    ”Citizens are better informed of their rights to a safe and healthy environment following various advocacy programmes of the agency through electronic and print media. The most widely being the social media handles of the agency and its website,” he said.

    The General Manager of LASEPA, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, said from Wednesday, (today), it was illegal for any motor park in Lagos to make use of sound amplifiers and other noise-making devices while calling on passengers.

    Fasawe said that any park found violating the order would face the wrath of the law.

    She said that section 177, subsection 2 of the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017, prohibited the use of public address system or loudspeaker to solicit for passengers or advertise the sale of goods at parks, markets and public places.

    The general manager said there was a specified limit of decibel of noise required in the day time and night, adding that anyone who flouted the new directive would be severely sanctioned.

    Speaking on the penalty, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr Oluwatoyin Fayinka, said that any park that flouted the new directive would be shut while the transporters and managers of the parks would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

    Fayinka said there was a Motor Parks Monitoring Committee that would go round the parks to ensure compliance.

    The Consultant expert in the Noiseless Lagos Project, Prof. Ade Owolawi said it was unfortunate most that Nigerians suffered from hearing impairment due to excessive exposure to noise pollution.

    Owolawi said that most transporters were having hearing issues due to their exposure to noise pollution at their motor parks.

    The professor added that study conducted at the motor parks showed that 17 per cent of the people working in the parks were suffering from hearing impairment.

    The expert said that the rate at which the figure of affected Nigerians was increasing was alarming, urging government’s intervention toward addressing the situation.

    Owolawi said that in spite of hearing challenges at the motor parks, some people were fond of using a very loud horn.

    According to him, most of them engage in the practice unknowingly, not considering its harmful effects on their health.

  • UAE to lift entry ban on travellers from Nigeria tomorrow

    UAE to lift entry ban on travellers from Nigeria tomorrow

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has confirmed it will resume passenger flights from Nigeria and 11 other African countries from Saturday, January 29.

    The country’s National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority (NCEMA) revealed this in a Twitter update.

    Ethiopia, Tanzania, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana and the Republic of Congo are the other affected countries.

    The tweet read: “From January 29, entry into the UAE for arrivals from Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, the Republic of South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe is allowed again.”

    It added that entry procedures have been updated for flights originating from Ghana, Rwanda and Uganda.

    Passengers arriving from the three countries must have a negative COVID-19 test which was obtained within 48 hours of departure from approved labs in their respective countries.

    The UAE authority also said the passengers must undergo a Rapid PCR test at the airports of departure.

    On arrival in the UAE, they will be subjected to another PCR test.

    Travel restrictions were put in place by the Arab country in December last year, over the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

  • Morocco bans New Year’s parties over COVID-19 scare

    Morocco bans New Year’s parties over COVID-19 scare

     

    Morocco on Monday announced a ban on New Year’s Eve celebrations as part of stepped-up measures against rising coronavirus cases.

    The government mandated a ban on all forms of celebration on the evening of New Year’s eve, including parties in hotels and tourist sites.

    It ordered restaurants and cafes to close at 11.30 pm and said a curfew would be in place from midnight until 6:00 AM on January 1.

    Morocco on December 15 detected its first case of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.

    After a partial reopening of borders, it is to close them again from Thursday to rein in the spread of the highly infectious variant.

    Authorities will, however, organise special repatriation flights for expatriates stranded in the country.

  • Omicron variant: Again, AfDB President, Adesina fumes, says ban on African countries is apartheid

    Omicron variant: Again, AfDB President, Adesina fumes, says ban on African countries is apartheid

    The President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has condemned travel bans placed on African countries over the latest variant of COVID-19, Omicron.

    “Now that omicron has been found in many non-African and developed countries, why are travels from those countries not banned? Why single out African countries? Singling out African countries is very unfair, non-scientific, and discriminatory. Lift bans on African countries!” Adesina said in a statement.

    “Global vaccines’ and travel apartheid against Africa are endangering lives, hurting economies, lives, jobs and livelihoods, from a pandemic Africa did not cause. End the apartheid. Respect Africa!”

    Nigeria on Saturday became the latest African country to be banned by the United Kingdom over the virus’ spread.

    The country joins its Southern African counterparts – South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia – on the list of restricted countries.

    Announcing the ban of travellers from Nigeria on Saturday, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said most “a significant number” of Omicron cases have been linked to travel with Nigeria.

    “There are 27 cases already in England and that’s growing and Nigeria now is second only to South Africa in terms of linked cases to Omicron,” he said.

  • Omicron: Canada bans travellers from Nigeria, two other African countries

    Omicron: Canada bans travellers from Nigeria, two other African countries

    Canada on Tuesday banned travellers from Nigeria, Egypt, and Malawi over fears of the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, bringing to 10 the number of African countries targeted by Ottawa.

    “Foreign nationals who have transited or stayed in these 10 countries cannot enter Canada if they have been in those countries in the last two weeks,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told a press conference.

    The measure takes effect on Wednesday, the government said.

    Any Canadians or permanent residents who have been in any of the 10 countries will need to quarantine on arrival and take a COVID test.

    Duclos also said “in the coming days,” all air travelers arriving from outside Canada, apart from the United States, will now need to be tested for Covid-19 at their point of entry, and isolated until their test results are available.

    First reported to the World Health Organization less than a week ago after being detected in southern Africa earlier in November, the Omicron variant has appeared in well over a dozen countries, stoking global fears about a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than five million people and savaged economies worldwide.

    “The pandemic is not over,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra added. “Travel measures could change at any moment.”

    Canada on Friday banned entry to all travelers from seven southern African countries: Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

    And on Sunday, Canada confirmed it had detected its first cases of the new Omicron strain, in two people who had traveled recently to Nigeria.

    The WHO warned on Tuesday that travel bans will not prevent the spread of the new variant after some 50 countries put similar measures in place.

    Canada has reported a total of 1,791,902 coronavirus cases and 29,681 deaths.

  • Ban: Twitter has agreed to all our conditions – Minister

    Ban: Twitter has agreed to all our conditions – Minister

    The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has said that social media platform, Twitter, has agreed to all the conditions laid out by the Federal Government regarding its operations in Nigeria.

    Keyamo who is also a member of a committee, set up to review the operations of the microblogging platform since its ban in the country, said the committee has made significant progress so far.

    Speaking on the development on a monitored Channels Television programme on Sunday, the minister said: “The reason why the president took that step is to recalibrate our relationship with Twitter and not to drive them away from our country.”

    “That recalibration, we have started it and the President graciously added me to the committee.

    “We also set up a technical committee to interface with Twitter and come up with a lot of conditions for them to fulfill for us to lift the suspension.

    “It was Twitter that reached out to the Federal Government to say they want to know what and what they can do to straighten up the relationship with the Federal Government and so, we have gone far but I may not, at this forum, let out a lot but we gave them a lot of conditions and they have agreed to all the conditions”.

    #EndSARS panel illegal

    Meanwhile the minister also faulted the judicial panel of inquiry set up to investigate cases of police brutality and SARS-related abuses across the country.

    Responding to a question about the position of the government specifically regarding a leaked report by the Lagos judicial panel, the human rights lawyer described the panel as illegal.

    “I will not answer this question as a sitting minister.” “I will answer this question as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and so, I am entitled to my own opinion. This is not the Federal Government’s position.

    “For me, that panel was an illegal panel”.

    His comments come days after the leaked report by the panel indicted the operatives of the Nigerian Army and Police, saying they indeed shot at unarmed protesters.

    While the report has yet to be officially released, days later, the panel submitted its findings to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

    One of the reports was on claims of police brutality while the other was on the shooting in the Lekki area of Lagos State on October 20, 2020.

    The Nigerian army had, however, denied shooting live rounds at protesters, telling the judicial panel that only blanks were used.

    As part of efforts to further get to the root of the matter, Governor Sanwo-Olu on Monday, set up a four-member committee led by Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) to raise a White Paper on the reports submitted by the judicial panel.

    Keyamo’s comments come two days before the committee is expected to submit its recommendations to the National Economic Council (NEC) for discussion and possible implementation.

  • Nigerian Paralympic Powerlifter, Paul Kehinde banned for 30 months

    Nigerian Paralympic Powerlifter, Paul Kehinde banned for 30 months

    The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has banned former Paralympic champion Para powerlifter, Paul Kehinde for 30 months for an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV).

    Kehinde, who won gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in the Men’s up to 65kg, returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for prohibited substances in a urine sample provided out-of-competition on March 9, 2020.

    The substances were hydrochlorothiazide and its metabolite and amiloride and were included on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2020 Prohibited List under the class S5 Diuretics and Masking Agents. This is the athlete’s second ADRV.

    As a result of his violation, the Nigerian will be ineligible for competition for 30 months from March 9, 2020 to September 8, 2022. The results obtained by the athlete from the date the sample was collected will also be disqualified, with all resulting consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.

    James Sclater, Anti-Doping Director at the IPC, said: “This case may have been avoided if the athlete had followed the rules for Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) and verified that his prescribed medication was prohibited.

    “The IPC would like to strongly remind all athletes who require the use of a prohibited substance or method, for a diagnosed medical condition, to apply for a TUE in accordance with the WADA ISTUE requirements.”

    Each athlete is strictly liable for the substances found in his or her sample. An ADRV occurs whenever a prohibited substance (or its metabolites or markers) is found in his or her bodily specimen, whether or not the athlete intentionally or unintentionally used a prohibited substance or was negligent or otherwise at fault.

  • Ban: Withdraw ‘impermissible conditions on Twitter’, SERAP tells Buhari

    Ban: Withdraw ‘impermissible conditions on Twitter’, SERAP tells Buhari

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “urgently withdraw the impermissible conditions imposed on Twitter pending the final determination of the suit at the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja challenging the legality” of suspending the microblogging platform.

    According to a statement on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP urged the president to withdraw the clauses in a bid to allow the court render a decision on the central issues in the case, and protect the plaintiffs’ rights and interests.

    President Buhari had stated in his address to mark Nigeria’s 61th independence anniversary, that the Federal Government would only lift the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria if certain conditions, including concerns around national security, are met.

    The address also seems to suggest that even when the suspension is lifted, Nigerians will only be allowed to use Twitter “for business and positive engagements.”

    However, in an open letter dated 2 October 2021, SERAP said: “The conditions imposed on Twitter while the ECOWAS case is pending constitute an interference with the right of SERAP and other plaintiffs to fairly and effectively pursue a judicial challenge to the decision by your government to suspend Twitter in Nigeria.

    The organization said: “The conditions make a mockery of the case pending before the ECOWAS court, and create a risk that the course of justice will be seriously impeded or prejudiced in this case. Protecting the right to a judicial recourse and due administration of justice is of utmost importance, being the cornerstone of an ordered society.”

    According to SERAP: “Imposing impermissible conditions on Twitter would undermine the rights and interests of the Plaintiffs in the ECOWAS Court case filed against your government, as the conditions directly touch on the central issues of freedom of expression and access to information, which the court is set to determine and rule upon.”

    The letter, read in part: “Pushing conditions on Twitter while the ECOWAS case is pending would prejudice the interests of the Plaintiffs, undermine the ability of ECOWAS court to do justice in the case, damage public confidence in the court, and prejudice the outcome of the case.

    “It is in the public interest to keep the streams of justice clear and pure, and to maintain the authority of the ECOWAS court in the case. If not immediately withdrawn, the conditions would seriously undermine Nigeria’s international human rights obligations including under ECOWAS treaties and protocols, and have serious consequences for the public interest.”

    “Given that the only way in which SERAP and other plaintiffs can have a fair and effective access to justice is to allow the court to decide on the merits of the case before it, fairness and justice must, on the facts of the ECOWAS case, outweigh any stated national security conditions.”

    “Your government should allow the ECOWAS Court to decide these issues, especially as the Federal Government has made the arguments on national security before the court.”

    “The core of the principle of judicial independence is the complete liberty of the judge to hear and decide the cases before them on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any improper interference, direct or indirect.”

    “The principle of the independence of the judiciary has also been enshrined in the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, endorsed by the General Assembly in 1985.”

    “The Principles provide, inter alia, that it is the duty of all governmental and other institutions to respect and observe the independence of the judiciary (principle 1); that judges shall decide matters before them impartially without any restrictions or interferences, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reason (principle 2); and that there shall not be any inappropriate or unwarranted interference with the judicial process (principle 4).”

    SERAP, therefore, urged the president to urgently withdraw the conditions imposed on Twitter, and to allow the ECOWAS court to decide on the suit brought by the organization and other plaintiffs challenging the legality of the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, as judgment in the suit is fixed for 20th, January 2022.