Headlines
Fear Grips Community As Leopard Runs Amock
One leopard remained at large in eastern China on Monday after escaping from a safari park with two of its fellow big cats, prompting fierce public criticism of the wildlife attraction over the safety lapse and for brutally hunting down the escapees with packs of dogs.
Residents of the city of Hangzhou first reported seeing leopard sightings in local tea plantations late last week, but the Hangzhou Safari Park only acknowledged the outbreak after the news went viral.
The park has said the cats were not fully grown and that it delayed making a public statement to avoid causing panic, but it faces accusations that keeping mum recklessly endangered residents.
Local officials said Monday that five people associated with the park — including its general manager — had been detained and that police had launched an investigation into the incident.
Chinese media reported that a search team was on the trail of the third leopard after fresh paw prints were found on Sunday, in an effort that included a spotter hovering over the plantations in a powered parachute.
Some of the fiercest criticism was sparked by videos of the recapture of at least one of the cats — looking nearly full-grown — showing a pack of at least five dogs mauling the leopard as it clawed desperately at them.
Video from a Chinese state-run television outlet released over the weekend also appears to show one of the recaptured leopards resting in an enclosure with one of its hind feet missing. The stump appeared freshly wounded and was unbandaged.
The safari park has not yet commented on the videos.
“What did these young leopards do wrong to have to suffer the consequences of such serious mismanagement, and to be tracked and mauled by a search team with vicious dogs?” asked one of a string of angry posts accompanying the clip on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.
“Is this how we look after our nationally protected animals?”
Leopards, which still exist in isolated pockets in the wild in China, are a protected species under Chinese law, with strict bans on hunting or trafficking in leopard-derived products.
Chinese zoos and wildlife parks frequently face criticism over recurring revelations of horrific conditions in captivity or deadly incidents blamed on lax management.
Chinese state media reported in 2017 that a tiger killed a visitor to a wildlife park in the eastern city of Ningbo after the man apparently entered its enclosure, and tigers at a Beijing park killed one woman and injured another the previous year after the pair left their vehicle.
The Hangzhou park has been temporarily closed.
Headlines
Abiola Cannot Be Recognised As Former President; He Was Never Sworn-in – Gen Ishola Williams
By Eric Elezuo
One of the prime actors of the June 12, 1993 incidents, General Ishola Williams, has said that much as Chief MKO Abiola wrong was created having won the election, and denied victory, he cannot be recognized as a former President of Nigeria.
Gen Williams made his revelation while speaking as a guest on Channels television socio-political programme, Inside Source.
He maintained that only those who were sworn in that recognised as former presidents, and Abiola was never sworn in.
“Abiola cannot be recognised as former president because he was never sworn in.
The General, who said that he resigned from the army as a result of the wholesome reception given to General Sani Abacha, when he overthrew Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government, contrary to expectation, also picked flaws in the narratives given by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, in his recently launched book, A Journey In Service.
Williams rose in the army to become the Commandant of Army Signals, Commander of Training and Doctrine (TRADOC) and Chief of Defence Training and Planning, from where he resigned.
Headlines
Breaking: Supreme Court Recognises Martin Amaewhule As Rivers Assembly Speaker, Orders CBN to Stop Releasing Funds to State
By Eric Elezuo
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has in its ruling on Friday recognised Hon Martins Amaewhule as the authentic speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, mandating him to urgently resume sitting with elected members of the assembly.
The apex court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to stop releasing to the Rivers State government until a proper assembly is constituted.
Details soon…
Tension escalated at the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday as impeached Speaker Mudashiru Obasa made a dramatic return to reclaim his position.
Accompanied by heavily armed men, Obasa stormed the Assembly complex in a bold move that has thrown the State’s legislature into turmoil.
In a stunning turn of events, security details assigned to the substantive Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda, were abruptly withdrawn on Thursday morning, clearing the path for Obasa’s controversial comeback.
Sources revealed that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) ordered the withdrawal of all security operatives attached to Meranda, leaving her exposed in the midst of an intensifying power struggle.
The Speaker’s Special Adviser on Information, Mr. Victor Ganzallo, expressed concern over the security vacuum created by the withdrawal of personnel.
“In the early hours of Thursday, we woke up to the startling news that all security details assigned to Madam Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, had been withdrawn.
This includes the police and DSS officers, leaving her exposed to threats amid the ongoing speakership crisis,” Ganzallo stated.
He further called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as the State’s Chief Security Officer, to intervene urgently to prevent a complete breakdown of law and order within the Assembly.
“The withdrawal of security personnel has left the Assembly naked and vulnerable at a critical time. Urgent action is needed to restore order,” he pleaded.
With the speakership battle taking a dramatic new turn, political watchers are keenly observing how the crisis will unfold in the coming days.
