Lagos, Nigeria -- The Dutch Court ruling on the allegations of pollution brought by four Niger Delta farmers against Shell in The Hague, The Netherlands is a victory for the campaign against pollution in the Niger Delta, Sunny Ofehe, Coordinator of the Rotterdam-based organization, Hope for Niger Delta Campaign (HNDC) in the Netherlands, said in a press statement seen by the Daily Independent.

Transparency in the fisheries sector regarding both the use of the funds designated for the sector and licensing conditions, is a crucial issue to sustainable fishery, Sid'Ahmed Abeid, President of the artisanal section of the Mauritania National Federation of Fisheries said at the hearing on the EU-Mauritania fishing agreement protocol in Brussels recently.

Gaoussou Gueye is general secretary of the Senegal-based African Confederation of Artisanal Fishing(CAOPA). Gueye, who has been at the forefront for the campaign against illegal unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU) in the sub-region and Africa, evaluates the fisheries sector in the sub-region.

Lagos: “Calabar carnival is a great occasion and one-of-its-kind in Nigeria,” Nkechi Kalu, who sold fez caps, masks and other carnival memorabilia, told the Daily Independent.

Lagos — Medical practitioner and former President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Chris Ekiyor has tasked the federal government to extend palliatives to victims of flooding in the coastal communities of the Niger Delta.

Journalists are victims of the society in which they work, panellists said at the Session on Corruption In the Media Workplace on the third day of the Highway Africa (HA) and Global Forum for Media development (GFMD) world conferences in Grahamstown, South Africa.

The growth of the internet in communication and commerce should give Africa cause to worry about its place on the internet superhighway, panellists have said at the session on Emerging Issues in Global Internet Governance on the third day of the Highway Africa (HA) and Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) world conferences in Grahamstown, South Africa.

Reporting from Grahamstown, South Africa: Delegates from all over Africa have converged on the university town of Grahamstown for the 16th edition of Highway Africa. The conference runs from September 9-11 and features speakers from all over the world including Nigeria’s Declan Okpaleke, three-time winner of the CNN African journalists award, Damilola Oyedele of Thisday and Fola Adele of South Africa’s Human rights commission.

Kano state, in northwestern Nigeria, has garnered a notorious reputation for celebrating the absurd and the evil. Most of the time, the celebration is based on religious fervour. In December of 1996, Muslim faithful in the state beheaded Gideon Akaluka, a Christian trader from the Eastern part of the country, for allegations that his wife tore a piece of the Holy Koran to clean up after defecation. More bizarre is the fact that Gideon was beheaded at a Police station where he had sought safety, and his severed head was joyfully paraded in the Metropolis.

Grahamstown, South Africa — Nigeria reached another milestone at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa over the weekend when the country accounted for five doctorate degree graduates among the 55 that the University graduated in 2012.

Sunny Ofehe is the coordinator of the Rotterdam, Netherlands-based organization Hope for Niger Delta Campaign (HNDC). He has been in the forefront of the campaign against pollution and gas flaring in the region by caused by International Oil Company (IOC) operations. Ofehe hit the national limelight in Nigeria and elsewhere when he mobilized Dutch MPs on a visit to the Niger Delta as part of his international campaign to attract attention to the damaging activities of IOCs in the region.

Grahamstown, South Africa — Former Vice Chancellor of the University of South Africa (UNISA), and former Chairman of the South African Human Rights Commission, Professor Barney Pityana has said that Nigeria played pivotal role in South Africa’s liberation from the stranglehold of Apartheid.

John Utaka is Nigeria’s soccer ambassador, carving niche for himself in the international soccer arena. Renowned for his goal-scoring abilities, Utaka has decided to give back to society.

Image: Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria (UN Photo)

Lagos, Nigeria — Cross sections of Niger Delta Leaders have described the resurgence of attacks in the Niger Delta as the consequence for rewarding violence.

Nigeria — Despite a huge presence of security in Kano city, Islamist militants of the Jama’atu Ahli Sunna lid Da’awati wal Jihad, known as Boko Haram, yesterday evening struck  the ancient city of Kano again.

The sect bombed the Sharada Police Division at about 7pm but the number of casualties from the attack is yet to be known.

However, sources within the area said scores of policemen attached to the police Division sustained gunshot injuries.

At the time of the writing of this report, 8pm, a gun battle is still raging in the area between members of the sect and the Police.

The situation created panic as residents ran for safety. Government officials stated that the 6am-6pm curfew is still in force in the state. The curfew was imposed following several bomb explosions that rocked the state late January.