The United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), has strongly condemned the killing of six journalists in Palestine by an Israeli drone on Sunday.UNESCO’s Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, made this known in a statement on Tuesday.“I condemn the killing of journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed Al-Khaldi and call for a thorough and transparent investigation, she said.

Five of the six worked for the influential Qatari-based media organisation, Al Jazeera. Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh were on-air correspondents, while Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa worked as camera operators.Mohammed Al-Khaldi was a freelance photojournalist.They were reportedly killed by an Israeli attack on a tent used by media personnel at the entrance of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) alleged that the 28-year-old al-Sharif was a serving Hamas operative.Al Jazeera strongly denies this, describing the attack as an “assassination” and “yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom.”The UN Human Rights Council-appointed independent expert on freedom of expression had on July 31 denounced an Israeli military spokesperson’s “repeated threats” and “unfounded accusations” against Al-Sharif.The council had described the allegation as “a blatant attempt to endanger his life and silence his reporting” in Gaza.Two Special Rapporteurs on Tuesday described the killings as “an attempt to silence reporting on the ongoing genocide and starvation campaign” in Gaza.“It is outrageous that the Israeli army dares to first launch a campaign to smear Anas Al-Sharif as Hamas in order to discredit his reporting and then kill him and his colleagues for speaking the truth to the world,” they said.The experts demanded an immediate investigation into the killings and full access to international media, which Israel currently bars from entering Gaza.Special rapporteurs and other independent experts are appointed by and report regularly to the Human Rights Council.They work in their individual capacity, are not UN staff and receive no payment for their work.UNESCO chief Azoulay stressed that targeting journalists reporting on conflicts is unacceptable and violates international law.She also reiterated her call to respect UN Security Council Resolution 2222, which was unanimously adopted in 2015 to protect journalists, media professionals, and associated personnel in conflict situations.UNESCO reports that since Oct. 2023, at least 62 journalists and media workers have been killed in the line of duty in Palestine.This excludes deaths in circumstances unrelated to their work, while OHCHR reports that at least 242 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the same time frame. (NAN)

From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja

The Central Planning Committee (CPC) of the annual Takete Ide Day (TID)festival has announced October 25 as the date for this year’s celebrations.The ceremony will be held at the primary school field, Takete Ide, MopAmuro Local Government Area.

Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, who doubles as Chairman of the committee, made this known in Lokoja on Tuesday, adding that it will kick-start at 10 am. He said the ceremony will also feature a 200 million Naira fund raise to step up the tempo of development and self-help projects in the community, assuring that the CPC is not leaving any stones unturned in its pursuit of a hitch free and successful festival.Themed love, celebration and development, he noted that the festival is being packaged as an elaborate reminder of the history, culture, and practices of the ancient Takete Ide people.”Every son and daughter of Takete Ide knows that TID is held either on the last Saturday of October or the first weekend of November. Guided by God, the peculiarities of each year determine how we alternate within this statutory window. Last year, it was held in November, and this year, it has been scheduled for October 25. We encourage our people, friends, and guests to join us in this important feast of harvest.”The President of Takete Ide Progressive Union (TIPU), Prince Richard Fiki said aside from its air of gaiety, the festival provides ample room for deep reflection and stocks taking on the state of public infrastructure and other challenges to decent living in the largely agrarian community.

By Johnson Eyiangho, Abuja

Former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar has said that the only reason former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal is being detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is because he is a member of the opposition party.Atiku noted that the detention of Sen.

Tambuwal was the continuation of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration’s agenda to harass, intimidate, and decimate the opposition. The EFCC had alleged that Tambuwal withdrew N189 billion from the Sokoto State Government account during his tenure as Governor of the state and took him into custody on Monday for questioning.However, Atiku vowed that the opposition would never succumb to the anti-democratic machinations of railroading Nigeria into a one-party dictatorship.He said in recent times, anti-corruption agencies were being used to coerce political leaders into the ruling party.Atiku in a statement on Tuesday said the reality unfolding now is that the Tinubu administration, as with other aspects, has objectified the fight against corruption as a political tool to coerce opposition leaders into the ruling party.”We are living witnesses to a growing trend where the state and its operators have assumed the roles of a bully by making corruption and the fight against it a political agenda.”Certainly, that is not the objective for which I worked hard during our administration to create the EFCC.”It is as though today, anyone who associates with the opposition is a target for phantom corruption allegations and, it is as though, as soon as they are coerced into the political agenda of President @officialABAT, their ‘sins’ are forgiven,” he alleged.The former Vice-president added: “That, definitely, is not how to build institutions. That, certainly, is not how to fight the monster of corruption. Indeed, such tendencies provide the stimulant for corruption to thrive.”We have seen how the EFCC has been used to empty opposition state governors into the ruling party, and the tea party is not about to end anytime soon.”He noted that the genuine fight against corruption was a matter that required the total support of all Nigerians, adding that the objectification of it as a political agenda should be roundly condemned by all in civil society spaces and friends of Nigeria in the international community.