By Ezinwanne Onwuka
● Burna Boy earns seven nominations for the 2023 BET Hip-Hop Awards
Nigeria’s Burna Boy is grabbing the spotlight once again, this time for his outstanding contribution to taking hip-hop artistry to new heights. The world-renowned artist was among the top nominees for the 2023 BET Hip-Hop Awards with seven nods out of the 17 award categories.
The self-styled “African Giant” was nominated for the ‘Hip-Hop Artiste of the Year’, ‘Best Live Performer’, ‘Lyricist of the Year’ and ‘Hustler of the Year’ awards. In addition, his 21 Savage-featuring 2023 single ‘Sittin on Top of the World’ earned him ‘Best Collaboration’, ‘Best Hip-Hop Video’, and ‘Song of the Year’ nominations.
● Roman Catholic Seminarian Martyred in Terrorist Attack in Kaduna State
An all-too-familiar night-time raid on unarmed Roman Catholic clergy claimed the life of 25-year-old seminarian Na’aman Danlami on the evening of Sept. 7 at St. Raphael parish, Fadan Kamantan, in the diocese of Kafanchan, Kaduna State. (See related story on this page of TruthNigeria.com)
A group of armed bandits speaking the Fulani language attacked and set fire to the rectory of which led to the death of Danlami of smoke inhalation, according to local clergy.
The Bishop of Kafanchan, Msgr. Julius Kundi confirmed the incident to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International. He said the parish priest, Fr. Emmanuel Okolo, who was the target of the attack, and his assistant escaped unscathed.
The bishop also said the military personnel just one kilometer away from the parish feigned ignorance of the assault. “There was no reaction or support from the military forces,” he said. Western media, including EpochTimes, https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/in-nigeria-police-decry-massacres-as-wicked-but-make-no-arrests-4075998
the Catholic News Agency and TruthNigeria.com have reported up to a dozen incidents in which authorities stood by as terrorists invaded sleeping villages to massacre men, women, and children to depopulate the territory. https://procyonnews.com/nigeria-a-slow-motion-genocide-us-official/
The frequent attacks by radicalized bandits and terrorists has drawn increasing condemnation by U.S. human rights watchdogs, including Frank Wolf, a commissioner on the United States Commission on Religious Freedom, who recently announced by press release: “The Nigerian government must be held accountable for protecting the safety and religious freedom rights of its citizens,” said Frank Wolf. “The U.S. government needs to give higher priority to religious freedom in its Nigeria policy, at the bare minimum by naming Nigeria a country of particular concern (CPC) and appointing a Special Envoy to the region.”
● Nigeria’s Intelligence Agency Label Foreign Election Observers ‘Security Threat’
As a recommendation to enhance best practices in future electoral processes in Nigeria, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) says the role of foreign election observers in the country should be reviewed for security reasons.
For the 2023 general election, Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accredited 22 foreign observer groups, including the United States Embassy, the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute to monitor the polls.
But the Director-General of NIA, the functional equivalent of the US Central Intelligence Agency, thinks it is time the Nigerian government stops granting foreign organizations “unfettered access to certain things that are critical to our national security.”
In a symposium on Thursday titled, ‘Elections Monitoring and Observation: 2023 General Election and Way Forward’, NIA Director-General Ahmed Abubakar said more attention should be paid to foreign observers, calling for a proper scrutiny of reports presented by them.
● Traders attack Nigeria’s secret police, DSS
Pandemonium broke out at Garki Modern Market in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Thursday when irate traders attacked officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) who were invited to arrest one of their colleagues, a tailor identified as Muhammad Habibu. In Nigeria the DSS is the functional equivalent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On arrival, the DSS officials brawled with the traders, who intervened to prevent the arrest, and in the process, Habibu was shot in the leg while a stray bullet hit an unidentified woman. The security agents zoomed off in their van after police in a nearby outpost stepped in to quell the disturbance. The casualties are receiving medical care in a hospital, according to sources that spoke to TruthNigeria. The DSS says it has commenced an investigation.
● Presidential Contenders Peter Obi and Abubakar Atiku take election grievances to Supreme Court
The main challengers of the outcome of Nigeria’s February presidential election, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have rejected Wednesday’s judgement that favoured President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The election tribunal had dismissed their claims of irregularities during the election and denied their petition for Tinubu’s victory to be annulled. In a separate briefing with the press on Thursday evening, Abubakar and Obi said they have each instructed their lawyers to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court – the highest court of the land.
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Ezinwanne Onwuka, an independent writer in Abuja, covers politics, culture, and entertainment for TruthNigeria. She tweets on @OnwukaEzinwanne.
