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Sri Lanka Bans Face Coverings After Easter Sunday Attacks
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By Sasha Ingber
Sri Lanka has banned its citizens from wearing face coverings under an emergency law, after terrorist attacks at prominent churches and upscale hotels left hundreds dead in the small island nation.
President Maithripala Sirisena said the ban was meant to ensure national security, helping authorities to identify people. He did not specifically mention the niqab and burka, types of facial coverings worn by Muslim women across the world, but critics say the new measure violates their rights.
Amid heightened safety concerns, a body of Islamic scholars in Sri Lanka advised last week that Muslim women “should not hinder the security forces in their efforts to maintain national security by wearing the face cover (Niqab).”
The government’s face-covering ban took effectMonday, days after a violent raid that was linked to the investigation of the Easter Sunday bombings.
In the April 21 attack, a string of explosions occurred at three luxury hotels frequented by foreigners and three churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, as well as Negombo, to the north, and Batticaloa, to the east. At least 253 people were killed in the coordinated attacks. Another 15 people, including six children, died Friday in the country’s Eastern province after soldiers raided a house in search of suspects, a military spokesman said.
Authorities blamed the bombings on National Thowfeek Jamaath, a Muslim militant group that previously vandalized Buddhist statues in the majority Buddhist country. Sri Lanka was not seen as a hotbed for radical Islamist activity before the Easter attacks.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombings last week, triggering fears of further violence the terrorist group might inspire. Sri Lankan authorities have arrested dozens of suspects and are searching for more militants with suspected links to ISIS.
The terrorist attacks have exacerbated a rivalry between Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister, who belong to different political parties. In 2018, the president ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe because of an alleged assassination attempt before later reappointing him.
But on Sunday, the two leaders attended a mass together in a rare display of unity, while Catholic churches were closed for safety.
Both men denied receiving intelligence warnings in the days before the coordinated bombings, yet both have been blamed for the attacks.
“At one level, if we are to be charitable it was a degree of incompetence and complacency,” Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, tells NPR’s Michael Sullivan of the government’s response to the warnings.
“At another level, which is more insidious, is a notion that, you know, perhaps there were people who did not want anyone to act upon it and wanted the catastrophe to take place,” Saravanamuttu says, “because they have political or other benefits to be derived from it actually happening.”
Sri Lanka is set to hold presidential elections late this year. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former defense minister and the brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has emerged as a vocal candidate. He pledged to bring peace and “dismantle the networks” of radical Muslim militants in the country.
Wickremesinghe, the prime minister, has promised to enact new legislation to combat terrorism, saying, “Sri Lanka does not have any laws to arrest individuals who join foreign terrorist organizations,” according to the country’s state news agency.
Meanwhile, some top officials have been replaced since the bombings. Former Army Commander General S. H. Shantha Kottegoda was appointed as the new secretary to the Ministry of Defense on Monday, after the president requested former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando resign.
Some Sri Lankans say they’re distrustful of their leaders’ motivations. John Ison Fernando, an events planner who is a member of St. Anthony’s Shrine, one of the bombed churches, tells NPR, “The prime minister wants to be the president in the next election. The current president wants to hold his position till next election.”
He added, “In this panicked situation, still they are callous.”
Courtesy NPR.org
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria is set to be officially unveiled in Abuja this weekend, as the organisation prepares to strengthen the club’s fan base and promote community development through football.
Amongst the high profile personalities lined up for the unveiling ceremony include, business leaders, celebrities and notable Arsenal supporters like former Gunner, Kanu Nwankwo, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Senator Dino Melaye amongst others.
The unveiling will form part of a two-day programme beginning on Friday, October 16, with delegates from state and city chapters expected to converge on the nation’s capital for the club’s second Annual General Meeting (AGM).
According to a press release issued on Monday by the organisation, the celebrations will feature sporting activities, a community sanitation initiative and a formal launch event attended by prominent personalities and Arsenal supporters.
National President of Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria, Charles Ojugbana, said the organisation draws inspiration from the achievements of Nigerian-descent footballers, including former Super Eagles striker Kanu Nwankwo and current stars Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.
The former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) said the club aims to improve the football fan experience while expanding support for Arsenal across Nigeria.
Activities scheduled for Saturday include aerobic sessions and a novelty football match before members proceed to Wuse Market for a clean-up campaign.
As part of the outreach, the club plans to donate refuse bins and other sanitation materials to the market’s leadership, in line with its commitment to philanthropy and community development.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria operates through a governance structure comprising a Board of Trustees, a National Executive Committee and a General Assembly, which serves as the organisation’s highest decision-making body.
The club also disclosed plans to promote awareness of Down syndrome among children in March 2027, as part of activities to commemorate World Down Syndrome Day.
The programme expresses the organisation’s ambition to extend its activities beyond football fandom to charitable causes and support for vulnerable members of the society.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised the alarm over a fraudulent publication circulating online concerning governorship candidates in six states ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission denied issuing the purported special announcement affecting Zamfara, Gombe, Delta, Plateau, Yobe and Kano states, warning Nigerians against being misled by the document.
In a public notice, INEC described the circulating publication as fake, stressing that it did not originate from the commission.
“The Commission wishes to categorically inform the general public that the publication is FAKE and did not originate from INEC,” the notice stated.
The electoral body urged Nigerians to disregard the publication and avoid sharing it, warning that the circulation of false electoral information could mislead the public.
INEC further clarified that it had not issued any special announcement concerning governorship candidates in the six affected states.
“The Commission further wishes to clarify that any information suggesting that INEC has issued a special announcement concerning governorship candidates in the aforementioned states is false,” it stated.
The commission advised political parties, candidates and members of the public to verify electoral information through its official website, news portal and verified social media accounts.
It also urged Nigerians to remain vigilant against fraudulent publications, particularly as preparations continue for the 2027 elections.
INEC reiterated its commitment to providing accurate electoral information and called on the public to rely exclusively on its official communication channels.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has defended the Federal Government’s decision to divert the Ondo section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying the original route crossed terrain with pits more than 100 metres deep and would have significantly increased construction costs.
The minister said he was aware of petitions accusing him of diverting the route in Ondo State but maintained that the decision was justified.
“I am aware of petitions against me saying I diverted the Ondo section. I welcome that. That is how it is supposed to be because we are serving the public. You are subject to public scrutiny.
“But the important thing is whether you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. We have no regret for decisions taken in Ondo,” he said.
According to Umahi, the original alignment passed through terrain with pits exceeding 100 metres in depth and lacked suitable sharp sand for up to 300 metres, making construction along the corridor considerably more expensive.
“You want me to pass through a terrain that you have over 100 metres of pits deep, and I have no defined sharp sand to 300 metres, and you expect the cost of one kilometre to be the same cost with a road passing through normal terrain?” he asked.
He said the ministry consequently undertook a detour and redesign to avoid the difficult terrain.
“We had to take a very serious engineering decision by making a detour, redesigning it to avoid such route. We are doing filling of over 10 metres, which is 30 feet plus, with sharp sand, and filling is almost concluded,” the minister said.
The diversion affects Sections 4A and 4B of the coastal highway, covering 67 kilometres, comprising 27 kilometres in Ogun State and about 40 kilometres in Ondo State. The section will terminate around the Ondo-Edo axis.
Providing an update on the wider project, Umahi said Section 1, a 47.47-kilometre stretch from Victoria Island, Lagos, had been completed and was ready for commissioning.
He added that the dual pavement on Section 2, which covers 55 kilometres and terminates at the Lagos-Ogun boundary, would be completed next month.
The minister said the flyovers, overpasses and underpasses on Section 2 had required extensive redesign, particularly around the Dangote Refinery and Lekki Deep Seaport.
He explained that an 86-metre-span bridge, with 43-metre counterforts, had been designed to accommodate refinery trucks and resolve a traffic conflict involving the deep-seaport train, the Dangote tax-credit road and the 25-kilometre Seventh Axial Road linking Epe to the Sagamu Expressway.
“We have redesigned a very beautiful flyover to resolve that conflict,” Umahi said.
At the Calabar end, he said Sections 3A and 3B, covering 65 kilometres, had achieved more than 30 per cent completion.
He added that work was ongoing on Section 5, an 82-kilometre dual carriageway in Akwa Ibom State, alongside an 88-kilometre link from Calabar to Ebidi Beach intended to connect with the Trans-Saharan route.
Umahi also disclosed that Tinubu had directed that the continuation of the coastal highway from Ondo into Edo State should follow the existing East-West Road rather than a new alignment.
Describing the directive as a major development, the minister said the existing road had been constructed without adequate consideration for climate change and rising flood risks.
He cited flooding at Ahoada about two weeks earlier, saying the permanent solution would involve raising sections of the road to protect it from current and projected flood levels.
“The permanent solution is the decision of Mr President to align the continuation through the East-West Road. We now have to raise the road in many locations by two metres to be above present and expected flood levels,” he said.
Source: Vanguard
