The European Council, on Thursday, has granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status for European Union membership. In what the European Council president, President Charles Michel, called a “historic moment,” the announcement was made after discussions among leaders of the EU’s 27 member states during a summit Thursday in Brussels. The European Commission had, last week, recommended that Ukraine should be granted candidate status to pave way for the country’s membership of the bloc. The commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, had said Ukraine had “already implemented roughly 70 per cent of rules, norms and standards.” In a statement approving the candidate status, The European Council said, “The European Council recognises the European perspective of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. The future of these countries and their citizens lies within the European Union. “The European Council has decided to grant the status of candidate country to Ukraine and to the Republic of Moldova. “The Commission is invited to report to the Council on the fulfilment of the conditions specified in the Commission’s opinions on the respective membership applications as part of its regular enlargement package. The Council will decide on further steps once all these conditions are fully met.” The European Council added that, “The progress of each country towards the European Union will depend on its own merit in meeting the Copenhagen criteria, taking into consideration the EU’s capacity to absorb new members.” Announcing the development, an excited European Commission tweeted to its verified Twitter page, @EU_Commission, “Today is a good day for Europe! Ukraine and Moldova are granted the candidate status to become part of the European family. Georgia is given the perspective to become a member of the EU.” In a series of tweets posted to her verified Twitter page, @vonderleyen, after the announcement, European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, congratulated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Garibashvili, saying “Your countries are part of our European family.” Ursula von der Leyen wrote, “Today is a good day for Europe. Congratulations to President @ZelenskyyUA, President @Sandumaiamd and Prime Minister @GharibashviliGe. Your countries are part of our European family. And today’s historic decision by Leaders confirms that. “Very pleased with the Leaders’ endorsement of our Opinions. (Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia) all have work to do before moving to the next stage of the process. I know that they will move swiftly. They know how crucial this is for their democracies, their economies and their citizens. “This decision strengthens us all. It strengthens Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, in the face of Russian imperialism. And it strengthens the EU. Because it shows once again to the world that we are united and strong in the face of external threats.” French President, Emmanuel Macron, reacting to the announcement via a tweet, said, “In Kyiv last week, we made a commitment: to work towards offering Ukraine the status of candidate for membership of the European Union. Here we are. Tonight we open a new stage for Ukraine, for Moldova, for Europe. It’s historic.” Reacting, Ukrainian President Zelensky tweeted, “Sincerely commend EU leaders’ decision at #EUCO to grant Ukraine a candidate status. It’s a unique and historical moment in Ukraine-EU relations. Grateful to @CharlesMichel, @vonderleyen and EU leaders for support. Ukraine’s future is within the EU. #EmbraceUkraine“ The Kyiv Independent also quoted Zelensky as saying, “It’s a victory. Now, we will defeat the enemy, rebuild Ukraine, become a EU member state, and then – we will finally rest.” What a candidate status means for Ukraine It is a first official step to EU membership. There are three stages involved in the process of becoming a full member of the European Union: When a country is ready it becomes an official candidate for membership (which Ukraine has become today)– but this does not necessarily mean that formal negotiations have been opened. The candidate moves on to formal membership negotiations, a process that involves the adoption of established EU law, preparations to be in a position to properly apply and enforce it and implementation of judicial, administrative, economic and other reforms necessary for the country to meet the conditions for joining, known as accession criteria. When the negotiations and accompanying reforms have been completed to the satisfaction of both sides, the country can join the EU. Although candidate status is not membership yet, it does carry major cachet. For countries aspiring to be part of Europe’s most important political and economic bloc, candidate status amounts to a first seal of approval. Naming Ukraine as a candidate country would also send a strong signal to Russia — that the EU won’t be intimidated by Moscow and is ready to welcome Kyiv as a member, according to Politico.

  The Uxbridge Magistrate Court in London has denied bail to former Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice over claims that they trafficked a 15-year-old boy from Lagos to the UK with the intent to harvest his organ. JOURNALIST101 had earlier reported that the police on Thursday arrested and charged the couple with conspiracy to harvest the organs of a child brought to London by them. According to Arise TV, the prosecutors at the court on Thursday, said the Ekweremadus were being charged for bringing the 15-year-old boy from Nigeria to the UK with the claim that he was to be given a better life in the UK but was actually to harvest his organ. The prosecutors told the court that the former Senate President procured a passport for the boy and claimed he was 21 years old but discovered that he was 15 years old. The prosecutors also told the court that the Ekweremadus have a daughter who has a kidney-related disease and has been on dialysis for quite some time. They told the court that it is believed that the plan was to use an organ from the boy on their daughter who appears to need a kidney transplant. READ ALSO IPOB alleges plot by security agents to attack people, restates suspension of Mondays sit-at-home Ekweremadu and his wife had separate legal representations and prayed the court to release them on bail but their prayer was however dismissed by the Magistrate. The couple has surrendered their passports to the UK government. The couple was arrested at Heathrow airport, on their way to Istanbul, Turkey and according to the prosecutors, it is believed that they were on their way to procure another organ as they were unable to harvest the organ of the boy. The prosecutors also stated that $20, 000 was found on Mr. Ekweremadu. According to AriseTV, the organ was not harvested after the boy truthfully disclosed his age to the doctors at the Royal Free hospital. in the UK. The doctor canceled the procedure and the boy was immediately taken into the custody of the family who according to the prosecutors treated him like a slave until he escaped and found his way to the police where an investigation started, leading to the arrest of the couple. After much deliberation, the Magistrate ordered their remand in custody till July 7 for the next hearing on the case. Also, a letter allegedly written by Mr Ekweremadu to the British High Commission in Nigeria in support of a visa application of a male is currently trending online. In the letter, Mr Ekweremadu disclosed that the applicant was travelling to the UK for medical examination to possibly donate a kidney to his daughter Sonia. He said the examination would be carried out at the London Royal Free Hospital. The letter did not disclose the age of the male but UK prosecutors alleged that the victim is a minor and that Mr Ekweremadu had falsified his age to 21.   The Magistrate ordered they be remanded in custody until July 7, 2022, for the next hearing on the case. Journalist101

  President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday reiterated his resolve to respect the maximum term limit in the Nigerian Constitution, saying that the person that tried seeking a third term in office did not end well. Although Buhari did not specifically mention any former Nigerian leader, it is believed he was referring to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo who was in office from 1999 to 2007. In a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, on the margins of the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda, Buhari was asked if he will seek another term in obvious.   “Another term for me? No! The first person who tried it didn’t end very well,” a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, said. The Commander-in-Chief also reacted to the travails of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. He debunked insinuations that the separatist was being denied to see his lawyers privately, saying Kanu was being given every opportunity under the law “to justify all the uncomplimentary things he had been saying against Nigeria in Britain.” “He felt very safe in Britain and said awful things against Nigeria. We eventually got him when he stepped out of the United Kingdom, and we sent him to court. Let him defend all that he has said there. His lawyers have access to him. Remember he jumped bail before, how are we sure he won’t do it again if he’s admitted to bail?” On the keenness expressed by the PM to help Nigeria in the area of security, the President said helping to stabilize Libya could be an initial good step, as the fall of Muammar Gadaffi after 42 years in power unleashed his armed guards on countries in the Sahel, “and they are causing havoc everywhere, as the only thing they know how to do is to shoot guns.” On Boko Haram insurgency, President Buhari said there was a serious effort to educate the people on the fact that only an unserious person could kill innocent people, “and say Allah Akbar (God is Great). God is justice. You can’t take innocent souls, and ascribe it to God. And the education process is working, the people now understand Boko Haram as anti-God, and not about religion.” In his remark, PM Johnson said he was delighted about the good news on trade between the two countries, adding that the UK was further reducing tariffs on some goods going to Nigeria. He described the relationship between the countries as a “very strong attachment,” adding: “I just want to be sure that we are doing enough. It’s a massive partnership for us, and we need to capitalize on it.”

  The house of representatives has asked the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) to include national identity number (NIN) as a requirement for all gaming operators in Nigeria. The green chamber said this will enable authorities to verify and identify customers of gambling platforms. When the lower parliament’s request is implemented, this implies that Bet9ja, BetKing, SportyBet, NairaBet and other gaming platforms in the country will require NIN from gamers before staking. The green chamber passed the resolution during the plenary session on Thursday following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Ibrahim Isiaka, a lawmaker from Ogun state.   While moving his motion, Isiaka said integrating NIN as a requirement for betting will protect the customers and operators in the sector. “The global gaming market is undoubtedly a huge one estimated to generate between $400 to $500 billion yearly and with the consistency of the current trends, by 2022, it is set to be worth around $565 billion with increasing amounts of revenues coming from online gaming in its many forms,” he said. “When such large amounts of money are exchanged and transacted quickly through relatively anonymous interactions, there is a significant risk that criminals will be tempted to use the situation for money laundering;   “With age-restricted businesses like casinos and online gaming platforms, the critical barrier to entry for customers is age and identity verification, therefore there is an increased need for such verifications in virtual situations in order to secure both the customers and the operators. “One of the basic purposes of the national identity Number is for identification, as it not only serves to identify the individual holder but also curbs duplication of identities. “It is imperative for regulators to place a premium on data security of gamers and gaming operators and one readily available way to achieve this is to integrate the National identity Numbers (NIN) into the data collection of both new and existing customers.” The motion was unanimously adopted when it was put to voice vote by Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house. Subsequently, the house mandated the committee on governmental affairs to ensure compliance. Akin Alabi, the lawmaker representing Egbeda/Ona Ara federal constituency, is the chairman of the committee on governmental affairs and the founder of NairaBet. It is not clear if he will recuse himself from the committee’s legislative duty to avoid a conflict of interest.

  An FCT High Court in Abuja on Thursday awarded N100 million compensation against the Department of State Services(DSS) and three others for violating the fundamental rights of a man, Abdullahi Isiaka. Others are the DSS Director FCT Command, the Director-Generall, and an operative, Ibrahim Wase. Isiaka alleged that the first to third respondents detained him for 85 days, from Nov 19 , 2020 to Feb.12, 2021.   Delivering judgment on the enforcement of right filed by Isiaka, Justice Peter Kekemeke held that the applicant had proved his case against the respondents to have the judgment in his favour. He held that the 1st – 3rd Respondents did not place materials before the Court to enable the it hold that the Applicant was detained lawfully. “Detaining the applicant for about 85 days without charging him to Court is a gross violation of his rights to personal liberty. “His dignity was eroded while his right to fair hearing was truncated. “Law enforcement agencies should be reminded that they are not lords to themselves. “They are not masters of Nigerian citizens, they are not colonial forces on the prey to conquer, subdue dehumanise and torture. “They must learn to operate within their limits,” he held. The 1st – 3rd Respondents had relied on a Petition they received against the applicant bordering on threat to life, cheating, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust etc. The petition is contained in Exhibit SS1 attached to the Counter Affidavit. The judge noted that it was true that there was a petition by someone bordering on land transaction, which was the cause of the action of the three respondents. He added that, If a crime was committed which had nothing to do with internal security, the 1st – 3rd Respondents had no business interfering in such matters. “In the state of general insecurity in which we find ourselves, it worries on how the DSS will still find time to dabble into land transactions or ordinary criminal infractions which the Police can deal with. “Consequently, the application succeeds, the respondents are hereby ordered to produce the Applicant from custody for the purpose of being granted bail and an order of Court granting the Applicant bail. “It is hereby declared that the arrest and detention of the Applicant is unlawful ,being a violation of the Applicant’s fundamental right. “The activities of the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Respondents in interfering in land transaction matters between private individuals is beyond their functions and objectives. “It, therefore amounts to unlawful intimidation and harassment of the Applicant. “An order of injunction restraining the Respondents from taking further steps in connection with the matter and N100 Million compensation in favour of the applicant is hereby granted,” he held. The applicant claimed that sometime in 2015, he was given some title documents of a piece of land situated at Lugbe Abuja by another person to sell. He added that he gave the documents to one Akin who said he had a buyer and that they were genuine and the land existed. The applicant also claimed claimed that on Nov. 19, 2020 at about noon, he was arrested in his house without a warrant. He added that since his arrest, he had remained in detention at the DSS FCT detention facility, Asokoro. He also alleged that the officers of demanded N10 Million which his friend gave.

  The US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Americans have a fundamental right to carry firearms in public in a landmark decision that came just weeks after another deadly school shooting. The 6-3 ruling strikes down a New York law that required a person to prove they had legitimate self-defense needs to receive a gun permit and will prevent states from restricting people carrying guns. Despite a growing call for limits on firearms after two mass shootings in May stunned the country, the court sided with advocates who said the US Constitution guarantees the right to own and carry guns. The ruling is the first by the court in a major Second Amendment case in a decade and a victory for the powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association. “Today’s ruling is a watershed win for good men and women all across America and is the result of a decades-long fight the NRA has led,” NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said in a statement. “The right to self-defense and to defend your family and loved ones should not end at your home.” Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the majority opinion, said “the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home. “New York’s proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense.” The US Senate is currently considering a rare bipartisan bill that includes modest gun control measures. – Mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde – On May 14, an 18-year-old used an AR-15-type assault rifle to kill 10 African Americans at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. Less than two weeks later 19 children and two teachers were shot and killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, by another teen with the same type of high-powered, semi-automatic rifle. The New York law said that to be given a permit to carry a firearm outside the home, a gun owner must clearly demonstrate that it is explicitly needed for self-defense — meaning those without the demonstrated need could not do so. Gun-rights advocates said that violated the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which says “the right of people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” More than half of US states already allow permitless carry of firearms, most of them only doing so in the past decade. But more than 20 still maintain restrictions that they could now be forced to abandon based on the court’s ruling. In the ruling, the court overturned a New York state law dating to 1913 that had stood based on the understanding that individual states had the right to regulate gun usage and ownership. Over the past two decades, more than 200 million guns have hit the US market, led by assault rifles and personal handguns, feeding a surge in murders, mass shootings and suicides. AFP

  Ambrose Ogbu, the traditional ruler of Isu Community in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi, has been kidnapped in his palace by suspected gunmen. Spokesman of the police command in Ebonyi, SP Chris Anyanwu, confirmed the development on Thursday in Abakaliki. “Yes, we are aware of the abduction of the traditional ruler. It happened in Isu, Onicha. The fact now is that we have yet to get the full details,” the police added. A family source, who preferred anonymity, said that Mr Ogbu, who is Ezentum II of the community, was kidnapped, alongside his gateman, between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday. “He was kidnapped in his palace. The kidnappers came with motorcycles in their numbers and ordered the gateman to call the chief out. “As chief was coming out, the kidnappers collected his Hundai SUV car key and immediately forced him into the car and drove away. “Right now, no contact has been established with the family. We pray he returns back alive,” the source said.

  The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has raised the alarm over the alleged unlawful detention of Igbo youths, fathers and mothers in the northern part of the country. The group said the detainees were unlawfully abducted and moved to military facilities in North while some were killed. Its Media and Publicity Secretary Emma Powerful, in a statement, described the act as pure “human rights violation of a particular race” “racial profiling, violation of freedom of worship, discrimination and persecution”. It appealed to the International community to prevail on Nigeria Government and its security agents to discharge all the detainees. Canada is looking for new immigrants from Nigeria! Canadian Visa Expert Unsold 2021 Cars Now Almost given Away: Search Now Unsold Cars | Search Ads The statement partly reads: “We wish to condemn the continued and unlawful detention of Igbo youths, fathers and mothers in Imo State, Anambra State, Enugu State, Abia state and Ebonyi State detention facilities in the North more especially in Wawa military barracks at Kenji (Kainji) Niger State. “The people were unlawfully abducted and moved to the North since one year ago, they were being detained incommunicado, all efforts made by their lawyers, family and associates were rebuffed by Nigeria Government and her security agents in Wawa military barracks of Niger State. “We hereby bring to global consciousness the attitude of the Nigerian police/Military in whose custody our Igbo people are denied of their fundamental human right. “Both old and young men, women and ladies since their unlawful abduction without being charged to court, they are being prevented from contact with their families, friends and colleagues, they also been hidden away from lawyers and denied access to legal services, human rights agencies assistance. “We appeal to the International community to prevail on Nigeria Government and its security agents to discharge all the Igbo people unlawfully arrested without trial from the above-mentioned States because this act is a pure “human rights violation of a particular race” “racial profiling, violation of freedom of worship, discrimination and persecution”. It added: “IPOB now watches with keen interest going forward on discriminatory treatment and crimes against Biafrans and Igbos in particular. We are everywhere and our eyes and ears are everywhere as well. Igbos are the most law-abiding race within our space, we are Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters that has high regard for lives, therefore we warn the Nigerian Armed forces and Police desist from killing Igbos untimely otherwise it will bounce back to them harshly. “The Biafra restoration project has crossed the Rubicon and can no longer be stopped and it would be achieved in no distant time. “Nigeria military should dignify themselves by releasing the Igbos under incarceration in various confinement facilities including those in Wawa military detention center in Niger State and other Northern states igeria. “We call on well-meaning Igbos to exercise the spirit of ónúrú ube nwanne agbala ósó (he who hears the agonising cry of his sibling should not run away) to facilitate within ones means the process to release all innocent Biafrans citizens detained in the Military Barracks in Niger State and all Northern states. This act would marshal a strategic new beginning for us.”