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Tag: Viral Video

  • NCDC DG reacts to viral video of dancing COVID-19 patients

    NCDC DG reacts to viral video of dancing COVID-19 patients

    Director General (DG) of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu has reacted to some Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients who recorded themselves dancing and having fun, the video of which has been trending on the social media.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the NCDC DG as saying it was not easy to be somewhere in isolation for three weeks, four weeks, and sometimes, more, and when you are not ill, stressing that it was very difficult to make decision based on one viral video, saying one WhatsApp video doesn’t represent the experiences of people across the country.

    According to the Dr Ihekweazu, in China and other countries, things were organized for people in isolation centre so that they could exercise, dance or practice, saying it is just that our context is different.

    https://twitter.com/CoronaTurkeyEN/status/1262786557469167629

    “It is very important for Nigerians to understand why people are actually being put in isolation centres. Normally, you only go into a hospital when you are ill. And so, when you are physically ill, you go in, you get diagnosis, and sometimes, you are admitted in the hospital, if you are very ill. So, you are only then admitted if you are very ill physically.

    “In this case, following the experience from other countries, we made a decision as a country to also put people in isolation centres not just because they are ill on their own but in other to stop them from transmitting this virus to others. This is the experience we got from China very early on in their outbreak. They did used similar measures to control spread, and many other countries have done that.

    “Now, it is very difficult, and there have been a lot of backlash because people in these centres are often not as physically ill as you would think hospitalized patients should be. It was the same thing in China. It is just that our context is different. When I travelled there, I think it was in late February or early March, things were organized for people in these places so that they could exercise, dance or practice, because it is not easy to be somewhere in isolation for three weeks, four weeks, and sometimes, more, and when you are not ill.

    “It is very difficult for people to stay in hospital when they are not physically ill and we understand that. It is very difficult to make decision based on one viral video. One WhatsApp video doesn’t represent the experiences of people across the country. It is very important that we as leaders we are not pushed down a decision path because one video happened to go viral

    “Many people are in these centres around the country. They are complying, they are doing their very best, because they understand the responsibilities they have, not just to us but to their own families

    “If you take this virus out into the community, the people you are most likely to infect, are those that you love the most. They are your family, your friends, your work colleagues, the people you interact with

    “So, across the country, 95% or so, understand why they have to be in treatment, understand why they to be in isolation, and are complying. So, I don’t want us to be forced down a decision path because two people managed to do a great video that spread virally, and that is the responsibility of leadership,” Dr Ihekweazu said when he appeared on the Channels TV Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday.

  • BREAKING: Immigration suspends ‘graveyard’ postings of female officers in viral video

    BREAKING: Immigration suspends ‘graveyard’ postings of female officers in viral video

    Muhammad Babandede, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has directed that the earlier ‘graveyard’ postings of some female personnel in viral video be put on hold.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Babandede made this known in a statement on Friday, revealing that an investigation had since commenced on the matter involving the female personnel.

    Recall that the leaked documents have revealed the female immigration officers in the #DontRushChallenge video were punished with ‘graveyard’ postings.

    The female personnel of the NIS, five of them, were written up for misconduct after appearing in the video that went viral.

    The officers were posted from their places of assignment in Abuja, Lagos and Enugu and given “graveyard” assignments as far afield as Borno, Kano and Yobe.

    It will also be recalled that following their appearance in the viral #DontRushChallenge video, Priscilla Irabor, Catherine J. Bakura, Blessing Alfred Udida, Binti I. Attabor and Ockiya Eneni were the subject of a disciplinary memo dated April 15, 2020.

    The memo, which found its way into the public space sparked vocal condemnation and protests from civil society organisations, human rights lawyers and the general public.

    Pop artist “Falz The Bahd Guy” whose song was used in the video even offered his help to the female officers, raising hopes that they would not be victimised for what many saw as harmless fun that merely portrayed the NIS in a human light.

    These hopes were when a leaked official NIS memo showed that the five officers had been handed punitive and discriminatory postings.

    The leaked memo confirmed that Priscilla Irabor was transferred from the Lagos State Command to the Nigeria Immigration Training School, Kano (ITSK), while Binti Attabor was posted from the service headquarters in Abuja to the Yobe State Command.

    Catherine Bakura was moved from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja to the Nigeria Immigration Training School Ahoada, Rivers State, while Blessing Alfred Udida was moved from the FCT Command to the Akwa Ibom State Command. Finally, Ockiya Eneni was transferred from the CERPAC (Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card) Production facility to the Borno State Command.

    The leaked memo had also outlined a secondary punitive measure, which is that the relocation will be done at the personal expense of the officers involved, and they were given just 7 days to report at their new places of assignment.

    According to the statement announcing the suspension of the ‘graveyard’ postings, the matter involving the five female officers is still being investigated, and not concluded yet.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the Comptroller General Muhammad Babandede MFR has been drawn to some trending matters on some social media platforms regarding the deployment of some of our Personnel to some Formations across the country.

    “It is important to note that staff deployment remains a vital practice of regimented organizations such as ours and should be seen as such. As an agency, we maintain zero tolerance to any matters bordering on offences against discipline among members of our workforce irrespective of gender.

    “We have high premium for staff development and indeed encourage personal efforts but that must be within the confines of our rules and regulations.

    “The matter involving the Personnel in question is still being investigated and therefore,the Comptroller General has directed that the earlier Posting Order be put on hold pending the conclusion of the investigation”.

  • Photo: Fayemi hosts, appoints man in viral video ‘Ekiti COVID-19 response Ambassador’

    Photo: Fayemi hosts, appoints man in viral video ‘Ekiti COVID-19 response Ambassador’

    Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has appointed a retired official of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Femi Adeoye as a COVID-19 Response Ambassador in the State.

    Photo: Fayemi hosts, appoints man in viral video ‘Ekiti COVID-19 response Ambassador’

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports that Adeoye is the Father of the boy who sneaked into the state from Lagos.

    TNG recalls that Fayemi had earlier hailed Adeoye, for denying his son, who just arrived from Lagos, access to the house without confirming his COVID-19 status.

    The governor on Thursday received Adeoye at the Governor’s office, Ado Ekiti where he stated that he (Adeoye) will help to propagate the message as a member of the COVID-19 Task Force.

    In a Tweet, Fayemi said “In accordance with existing regulations, denying his son entry into his household having travelled from places under Federal lockdown against his fatherly advice, Mr. Adeoye has proved to be a worthy ambassador of Ekiti State’s resolve to end the #COVID19 pandemic.

    “The Government and the good people of Ekiti State are very proud of this chivalrous act of courage and principle which are the hallmarks of the Ekiti person.

    “Mr. Adeoye represents the kind of self-discipline, selflessness, and sense of collective responsibility that Ekiti State and Nigeria need desperately today to progress.

    “Ekiti State will in future recognise Mr. Adeoye’s valour as an example of the rebirth of Ekiti Values Orientation which is the central focus of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s administration”.

  • COVID-19: Fayemi reacts to viral video of retired FRSC official who denied son entry into his house after returning from Lagos

    COVID-19: Fayemi reacts to viral video of retired FRSC official who denied son entry into his house after returning from Lagos

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has hailed a retired official of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Femi Adeoye, for denying his son, who just arrived from Lagos, access to the house without confirming his COVID-19 status.

    Dr. Fayemi, in a statement in released in Ado-Ekiti by the Information Commissioner Muyiwa Olumilua said Adeoye’s actions epitomised the core Ekiti ethos of selflessness, which placed greater premium on the collective good of the society above personal interest.

    The governor urged residents to emulate the patriotic zeal of the retired officer and report any out-of-state traveler, who sneaks into their neighbourhood.

    This, he, said would help to prevent the likely health hazard that such returnees portend for the larger society.

    The statement reads: ”The attention of the Ekiti State Covid-19 Task Force has been drawn to a video clip in circulation where a man refused to allow his son, who just returned from a trip outside the state, into his house until he had been isolated for 14 days as stipulated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocol for preventing community spread of COVID-19 in Ekiti State.

    “The task force commends Mr. Femi Adeoye, for refusing to cover-up his son’s travel history and for denying him access into the house without confirming his COVID-19 status.

    “Mr Adeoye epitomises the Ekiti ethos of selflessness, which places greater premium on the collective good of the society above personal and emotional considerations. This is the core of the values orientation policy of the Fayemi-led administration.”

    “We also consider it necessary to inform members of the public that the video was recorded about four days ago, by one of the security men attached to the Fajuyi Pavilion, where the Enforcement Taskforce uses as its base for coordination of daily operations.

    Meanwhile, Governor Fayemi has ordered the immediate suspension of one of his aides identified as Sola Durodola who reportedly shot the video where he was making mockery of the retired FRSC officer.

    In the video, Durodola who is neither an health official nor medical doctor authoritatively certified the suspect as free of covid-19, which was against the directives of the WHO.

    The statement gathered, that the security man who recorded the encounter is neither a health worker, nor qualified or authorized to determine the health status of the young man. So, none of his actions or misstatements reflect the capacity or preparedness of the State Taskforce to combat the COVID-19 virus.

    ” The officer in question has been suspended pending further investigations, for acting outside the jurisdiction of his scope of authority.

    “Following the encounter, the young man has been in the custody of the State for the past 4 days, and has since been taken to one of the designated quarantine centres, where he would be for 14 days, in line with laid down procedure that dictates that anyone who sneaks into the State, would be quarantined for fourteen (14) days, at their own cost.

    His samples will also be taken for testing in order to ensure he has not been infected in the course of his travels to high incidence areas of the country.

  • COVID-19: Kaduna Govt reveals test result of man in viral video

    The Kaduna State Ministry of Health on Sunday said the man in a viral video tested negative for the Coronavirus (Covid-19).

    A video had surfaced online, that went viral, in which a man was shown in distress and people suspected that he had been infected with the virus.

    But Dr Amina Baloni, the State Commissioner for Health, in a statement in Kaduna said his test result returned negative but was diagnosed with severe hypertension.

    ” Tasiu Mohammed, the man who was shown in distress in a video that was widely circulated a few days ago, has tested negative to COVID-19.

    “The 27-year old, had been sick for a while before he traveled from Ogun State to his hometown in Jigawa.

    ”Given his sickly state, the vehicle he was traveling in dropped him at the Western Bye-pass in Kaduna.

    ”From there, he was taken to the Primary Health Centre in Hayin Bankin, where the video was recorded by people frightened that he might be a COVID-19 case,” she said.

    Baloni said the patient was evacuated from Hayin Bankin to the isolation centre where he was assessed by the medical team, tested for COVID-19 and his result returned negative.

    “He was treated as a case of severe hypertension with acute pulmonary oedema, unfortunately, he passed away at the isolation centre,” she said.

    Baloni said that his relatives were informed and they gave permission for him to be buried in Kaduna in view of the current restriction of movements.

    She said that the Ministry of Health wished to appeal to the good people of Kaduna State to avoid spreading rumours, especially on social media, without ascertaining facts.

    Baloni said that COVID-19 was deadly.

    “The Ministry wishes to remind the public of the importance of hand washing, personal hygiene, social distancing and avoiding large gatherings, in helping to contain COVID-19 spread, she said.

    The Commissioner said that it was important to stay home, stay safe and save lives.

  • Army arrests soldiers in viral video threatening Delta women

    Army arrests soldiers in viral video threatening Delta women

    The Delta State Government has commended Nigerian Army high command for arresting two soldiers who were caught on video unleashing mayhem on women and residents of Warri.

    The State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, who gave the commendation in a statement on Saturday in Asaba, said the soldiers were caught in an online video.

    Aniagwu expressed worries that soldiers who were supposed to be highly disciplined would indulge in such acts of brutality and threats to women.

    He said that the soldiers were reportedly arrested at the 9 Brigade Military Cantonment, Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday.

    The commissioner said that the military was a special force known for its discipline and wondered where the errant soldiers got their training and orientation from.

    He called on the people to remain peaceful and continue to obey government directives which, according to him, are designed to protect the people from the dreaded Coronavirus.

    “You will recall that in our statement on Friday, we said the attitude of the soldiers did not represent the discipline and training associated with military personnel.

    “Let me on behalf of the Delta State Government thank the military high command for arresting the deviant soldiers who were bent on tarnishing the image of the army.

    “The arrest of the soldiers in the viral video will no doubt restore the confidence of Nigerians in the military.

    “It is worrisome that soldiers who were supposed to be highly disciplined would indulge in such acts of brutality and threats to women”.

    “We call on the military high command to carry out full investigation into the matter with a view to bringing the culprits to justice.

    “As a government, we will continue to partner security agencies to ensure the peace and economic development of our state,” Aniagwu said.

  • Bribery video: Kano Assembly ‘not equipped’ to probe Ganduje – Sagay

    The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), says the Kano State House of Assembly is not equipped to investigate Governor Abdullahi Ganduje who was allegedly caught on camera collecting bribes from contractors.

    A video had gone viral on the Internet purportedly showing Ganduje collecting dollars as kickbacks from contractors, a development which prompted an investigation by the state assembly which invited the governor to testify.

    However, a Kano State High Court ruled on Monday that the Assembly should stop the probe immediately.

    Speaking with our correspondent during an interview on Tuesday, Sagay said that an investigation of such a video would require forensic analysis which the legislative arm of government was not competent to carry out.

    He said, “The fact that somebody on social media which is full of lies and hate attacks against people says so does not prove that such has happened.

    “Personally I would like to see the contractor come out and say ‘yes I am the one and I gave him so and so amount’. I would like to see that but that has not yet happened. In any case, when it comes to the investigation of the governor, I think we have institutions that have been established for that. We have the EFCC particularly for that.

    “I don’t really understand what role the House of Assembly wanted to place on itself. It is not equipped to do investigations of the sort because it could be forensic. So, in other words, there is still a cloud over the whole thing and I am not ready to jump to any conclusion until I am confident that some wrong has been done.”

    When asked if the legislative arm of government could not investigate the governor as part of its oversight functions, Sagay said the job of the Assembly was to carry out oversight functions and not to investigate state executives.

    The senior advocate said, “Oversight functions don’t include that sort of thing. Oversight functions only involve monies that have been approved in their budget and then oversight is done on how such monies that were approved which have gone through the budget system are being expended.

    “That is where their oversight functions are limited to. This allegation is about somebody from outside giving the governor some money. It is not part of the House of Assembly’s responsibilities.”

    When asked if the failure to probe Ganduje would not portray the anti-graft war of the current government as selective in the light of the fact that Ayodele Fayose was probed despite having immunity, Sagay said both scenarios were different.

    The PACAC chairman said, “When there are clear cases it is easy to act. In the case of Fayose, Musiliu Obanikoro confessed that he ferried billions of naira to him through a private jet and everything was well recorded. Everything was very clear. The man who brought the money was very clear.

    “The money was paid into bank accounts that were established. So, it is not the same thing. This one seems to me to be very vague and cloudy and I have yet to be satisfied that it is not a political conspiracy of some sort by the enemies of the governor. So, we need to see something more concrete.”