Dec. 9
NIGERIA:
Boko Haram: NIREC advocates death penalty for offenders
Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, NIREC, Thursday called for the death penalty
for anyone found guilty of killing innocent citizen under pretence of belonging
to any group in the country.
In a statement at the end of its two-day meeting in Ilorin, Kwara State, the
council condemned the recent security threat posed in the country by activities
of the Boko Haram sect, insisting that shedding blood of fellow human being “is
an abomination before God and clearly condemned by our faiths. It is also a
crime against the laws of the nation. Any one found culpable should be charged
under the criminal Code with murder.”
The Council co-chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar
and President of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor
maintained that the government should effectively tackled the menace of Boko
Haram and other security problems confronting the country.
The statement by the Executive Secretary of the Council, Prof Is-haq Oloyede,
who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, commended the
Senate for passing into law the Bill against same sex marriage, stating the
practice “offends the moral sensibility of our people."
Urging the House of Reps to also pass the bill into law, NIREC urged the
government not to succumb to pressure from any where to undermine the nation’s
values.
To curb anti social behaviour among Nigerian youths, it appealed to the Federal
Ministry of Education to effect the directive of government mandating the
teaching of Christian religious and Islamic studies in primary and post-primary
schools in the country.
Commenting on the on-going strike embarked on by the Academic staff of Nigerian
Universities, ASUU, the Council appealed to the lecturers to suspend their
strike action to avoid unnecessary disruption of academic activities in
schools, while urging the government to re-appraise the issues reached with the
lecturers without delay.
It also condemned wave of corruption in all levels in the country, urging the
government and Nigerians to team up to bring the menace under control.
(source: The Vanguard)
CHINA:
China farmer gets death penalty for poisoning milk
A Chinese dairy farmer has been sentenced to death for lacing her rival's milk
supply with industrial salt, causing the deaths of 3 young children, state
media said Friday.
China has been plagued by a slew of food safety scandals. The government
cracked down after the industrial chemical melamine was added to milk products
to appear to bolster the protein content. That 2008 scandal had nationwide
reach and left 6 children dead and sickened 300,000.
But the latest case was isolated. A local court in Pingliang city in far
western China's Gansu province found Ma Xiuling guilty of deliberately adding
nitrite to the milk of a dairy farming couple in revenge for some business
disputes, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Earlier reports said a month-old baby and 2 children younger than 2 died.
Xinhua said 36 people were hospitalized.
The Gansu Daily newspaper said Ma's husband, Wu Guangquan, was sentenced to
life in prison for purchasing the poison.
Both Ma and her husband have lodged appeals, Xinhua said.
(source: Associated Press)
ANTIGUA:
Duo's killer may face death penalty
The sentencing of 2 men who murdered a British couple on their honeymoon has
taken a dramatic twist after a court heard one of them will no longer be
automatically exempt from the death penalty.
Newlyweds Ben and Catherine Mullany, from Rhos, near Pontardawe, were both shot
in the head while on the holiday island of Antigua in 2008. weeks after
witnessing their marriage, their parents were attending their funerals.
Kaniel Martin, 23, and Avie Howell, 22, were convicted of their murders, and
the killing of a local shopkeeper in almost identical circumstances, last July.
Following the completion of their 2-month trial, prosecutors said they would
reserve judgment on seeking the death penalty.
However, Howell looked to have dodged the hangman's noose as it was thought he
was 17 at the time of the murders, which would have resulted in him getting a
more lenient sentence.
But Antigua's High Court has heard that Howell's date of birth is not September
1990, as the trial previously heard, but September 1989.
The evidence apparently came to light after the Director of Public Prosecutions
had sought a copy of Howell's birth certificate.
Despite the revelation, both Martin and Howell's legal team urged Judge Richard
Floyd to treat their clients leniently, insisting they were capable of reform.
In mitigation, barristers Michael Archibald and Maureen Payne Hyman both
claimed Martin and Howell had shown remorse for their crimes, despite refusing
to testify at their trial. They also stressed the deceased in all three murders
had been shot once and it was still unclear who pulled the trigger.
Mr Floyd reiterated his previous comments he would need to consider "matters
fully" and did not give a date as to when sentencing would finally proceed.
(source: UKPA)
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