The United Nations and other members of the diplomatic community have restated their commitment to supporting Nigeria in ensuring peace, credibility and inclusion in the upcoming general elections.

This was disclosed in a statement by Oluseyi Soremekun, spokesman for the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Nigeria, on Thursday.

UNIC noted that the commitment was given at the first quarterly briefing of the diplomatic community convened by UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Matthias Schmale at the UN House in Abuja.

Mr Schmale highlighted the importance of peaceful and credible elections to consolidate Nigeria’s democracy and that of the African region.

He also expressed concern about fuel, naira scarcity, and violence’s possible adverse effects on the forthcoming elections.

Mr Schmale said INEC had made significant progress in preparing and administering elections, adding that its significance needed to be acknowledged.

“At the same time, INEC is facing some challenges, for instance, around logistics, power supply, employing and deploying the right personnel at the right time,” he stated.

The UN official further expressed concern about some strong statements of intolerance and hate speech across party lines in public space, urging political parties and their candidates to exercise caution and adhere to the terms of the peace accord they had signed.

Speaking on the UN Strategic Development Cooperation Framework signed with the Nigerian government, Mr Schmale said the UN needed to support the government in accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Amongst other transformative initiatives, the importance of domestic resource mobilisation, private sector investment and conducive business environment are critical success factors in moving the needle in achieving greater prosperity for all in Nigeria,” the UN representative noted.

The resident coordinator also reaffirmed the reality of climate change and its impact in Nigeria and called on the international community to support accelerated climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.

“Last year’s devastating flood episodes and cholera outbreak have shown that humanitarian crises are not limited to the North-East alone.

Therefore, we need to support the government in addressing humanitarian challenges outside the North-East,” he said.

Authorities in Cameroon have detained popular media mogul Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, a senior police officer and dozens of other people in connection to the murder of Radio host and journalist Martinez Zogo.

Mr Zogo, 50, was a popular voice in the West Africa nation, regularly speaking against cronyism.

He was abducted in front of a police station in the capital city of Yaounde on January 17. Five days later, his corpse was found mutilated.

The murder attracted condemnation from notable people and groups around the globe, and calls for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

In an update on the matter, the president’s office said an additional seven people were detained yesterday including Mr Belinga, who was picked up at his Yaounde home.

The seven joined the other 20 people who were detained on Friday.

According to VOA, a former presidential guard commander, who is Mr Belinga’s chief of security, and the head of his Vision 4 TV channel were also detained.

However, It’s not clear if anyone has been officially arrested or charged.

VOA also reported that Mr Zogo had said during one of his radio programmes before his death that Mr Belinga was planning to kill him for reporting on his alleged corrupt dealings with some officials in the country.

Two days before Mr Zogo was killed, a Catholic priest and radio host Jean Jacques Ola Bebe was also found dead in Yaounde after receiving several death threats believed to be from people in government.

Until now, the authorities in Cameroon are yet to issue any statement about Mr Bebe’s death, for whom the now late Zogo had called for justice for his murder.

UN agencies on Monday launched emergency response to help many thousands of reported victims, including those still believed to be buried under the rubble in a massive earthquake in southern Türkiye and northern Syria.

The initial 7.8 magnitude quake struck close to Gaziantep, followed by another 7.5 magnitude earthquake several hours later in early hours of Monday

“My heart goes out to the people of Türkiye and Syria in this hour of tragedy. The United Nations is fully committed to supporting the response,” UN secretary general António Guterres said in a statement.

“Our teams are on the ground assessing the needs and providing assistance.”In a situation overview published shortly after 4:00 p.m. GMT, UN aid coordination office OHCHA said there had been “close to 2,000 death reported” in the two countries impacted, with at least 78 aftershocks reported, ahead of the second earthquake.

The Turkish government has issued a Level 4 alarm, calling for international assistance.Northwest Syria is home to around 4.1 million people who rely on humanitarian assistance, the majority, women and children.

Syrian communities have been hit by an on-going cholera outbreak together with harsh winter weather.

So far there is a 48 per cent funding gap for the last quarter of 2022, with 371 million dollars pledged, out of a required total of just over 800 million dollars.

Mr Guterres said the UN was counting on the international community to help the many thousands caught up in the disaster, “many of whom were already in dire need of humanitarian aid in areas where access is a challenge.”

Emergency medical teams from the World Health Organisation (WHO) had been given the green light to provide essential care for the injured and most vulnerable, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet.

Specialist UN surge teams from the Office of UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) also tweeted that they were “ready to deploy,” amid multiple horrifying social media posts showing huge buildings collapsing in heavily built-up areas.

In a statement issued via Twitter, the UN in Türkiye expressed deep sadness over the loss of lives and the destruction of property. The team expressed its condolences to the families of victims “as well as to the people and government,” wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

“United Nations Türkiye expresses its solidarity with Türkiye and is ready to assist,” said the statement.

UN humanitarian coordinating office, OCHA, underscored that the initial 7.8 magnitude quake hit at the height of winter.The epicentre was in southern Türkiye, where nearby Gaziantep – an important UN aid hub for northern Syria – was among the cities affected.

“Deeply saddened by the loss of life caused by this morning’s earthquake,” the UN refugee agency in Syria (UNHCR) tweeted.

It added that it was “actively coordinating a response with UN Agencies and other humanitarian actors to deliver assistance and support to those in need in Syria.”

The UN along with humanitarian partners, assists some 2.7 million people every month in northwest Syria, via cross-border air deliveries.

The UN reported that 224 buildings were completely destroyed and at least 325 partially destroyed by the quakes, in 17 different subdistricts there, according to initial information from local authorities.

Although the earthquake was felt as far away as Lebanon, closer to home, northern Syria’s Aleppo and Idlib also reportedly saw thousands of building collapse, including two hospitals.

Humanitarian needs in northern Syria are already huge, as the region is home to millions of people displaced by the country’s long-running war.

Snow and rain have hampered the work of rescue teams, whose families are also among those believed to be buried under collapsed buildings.

Buildings in Idlib, Syria, have been damaged by the earthquake which struck the region.

After an official request for international assistance from Ankara, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), confirmed that it was ready to support the emergency response.

“Our hearts and thoughts are with the children and families in Türkiye and Syria affected by the devastating earthquakes.

Our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones,” UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, said.

Echoing that message of support, UN Migration Agency (IOM), said a warehouse in Gaziantep had prepared non-food items and essential relief ready to be deployed.

“IOM teams are also doing on-the-ground assessments to inform the response,” spokesperson Safa Msehli, said.

Director-General of IOM, Antonio Vitorino, tweeted his solidarity “with people in Türkiye, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and all those affected following the deadly earthquake.

“We will be working closely with governments in the region to support those affected and help alleviate their suffering.”

Sixteen members of The Jam’iyyatu Ansariddeen Attijaniyya of Nigeria claims 16 of its members have been shot dead by Burkina Faso soldiers on their way to Senegal.

The national secretary of the Islamic groip, Sayyidi Mohammad AlQasim Yahaya, disclosed this at a news conference on Sunday in Abuja.

He claimed that the Ansariddeen members were “randomly selected and cold-bloodedly shot to death in a most horrendous display of bestiality,” after being stopped the Burkinabe soldiers.

The delegation were travelling from Nigeria to Senegal when they were stopped by the soldiers. He stated that 16 people in the delegation were killed and many others unaccounted for.

“Tijjaniyya worldwide urgently draws the attention of the Nigerian government, the United Nations, and Human Rights organizations to a matter of urgency and responsibility, wade into this matter by ensuring that the rights of the victims of this massacre are upheld and the bloodthirsty culprits are immediately brought to book,” he declared.

Mr Yahaya urged members of the Tijjaniyya movement to remain calm and law-abiding while the movement seeks justice for their slain members. The Burkina Faso embassy in Nigeria declined to comment on the reported killing.

“I cannot also confirm the story. It is not an embassy affair. The way you are hearing it is the same way we are hearing it in the news. We don’t even have a press department,” a Burkina Faso embassy official disclosed.

A couple with Belgian passports, who abandoned their baby at the check-in desk in Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport before rushing to board a flight to Brussels have been detained by police.

According to Daily Mail UK on Wednesday, the incident happened at the airport in Tel Aviv after the pair arrived with Belgian passports and tickets for a Ryanair flight to the Belgian capital, but did not have a boarding pass for their child.

When they were told by airport staff that they couldn’t board without purchasing a separate ticket, they simply left the child in its pushchair at the check-in desk and proceeded to get on their next flight.

Airport staff however noticed the lone pushchair and discovered the abandoned baby underneath.

Before they could get on the flight, the parents were stopped and told to go collect their baby.

The police arrested them and detained them for questioning.