News
Journalist found stabbed, killed in Liberia
Liberian authorities should thoroughly investigate the killing of Tyron Brown, a video editor and camera operator with Super Communications, a privately owned outlet that runs Super FM and Super Television, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
A black vehicle was seen by at least one witness dropping the journalist’s body outside his home at 3 a.m. in the eastern Paynesville suburb of Monrovia on April 16, according to Smith Toby, station manager of the privately owned radio OK FM, and media reports. He had been stabbed in at least three places, Toby, who had seen a picture of the body, told CPJ.
“Liberia must thoroughly investigate Tyron Brown’s killing, including whether journalism could have been the motive,” CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, Angela Quintal, said. “By acting quickly and transparently to track the killers, Liberia will send a powerful message that it supports press freedom.”
Brown’s belongings, including two cell phones, a memory stick, and wallet, were found on the journalist’s body, Emmanuel Kortu, acting station manager at Super FM, told CPJ.
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Kortu said he was not aware of Brown receiving any threats for his work. The journalist reported on Liberia’s election results last year, Kortu said, adding that he was not one of the more critical journalists at the station.
When contacted by CPJ, a member of the Liberian police who is involved in the investigation declined to comment.
Charles Cuffey, president of the Press Union of Liberia, called for the authorities to investigate the murder. Cuffey told CPJ, “The situation is fear among the media…We insist that [the government] bring the perpetrators to justice.”
During a meeting with CPJ in New York on April 16, Lenn Eugene Nagbe, Liberia’s minister of information, said the government would investigate Brown’s murder.
Brown’s killing comes amid a recent deterioration in conditions for Liberia’s press. Earlier this month, journalists at Front Page Africa told CPJ they were facing a US$1.8 million civil defamation lawsuit and increased online threats. And, during a March press conference, President George Weah accused Jonathan Paye-Layleh, a Liberian journalist working with the BBC, of being against his government, according to media reports.
More than 50,000 Russian military personnel have died during the Ukraine conflict, the BBC reported Wednesday, citing its own reporters, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers.
They found that more than 27,300 Russian soldiers died during the second year of the war, a 25-percent increase on the first year.
BBC Russian, Mediazona and volunteers have been counting deaths since February 2022, using open-source information from official reports and the media, as well as using satellite images of Russian cemeteries to estimate the number of new graves.
The figure of more than 50,000 is eight times higher than the official toll acknowledged by Moscow in September 2022. It does not include deaths of militia in Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine said in February that it had lost 31,000 soldiers, but that figure is also likely to be significantly lower than the true toll.
Russian losses spiked in January 2023 as it launched a large-scale offensive in Donetsk and again months later last year during the battle for the city of Bakhmut.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” at dawn on February 24, 2022, which has since turned into a bloody and attritional war, isolating Russia from the Western world.
Responding to the report, the Kremlin said it did not disclose any information on military deaths and casualties, which falls under the remit of the defence ministry.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added official secrets laws and those covering what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine meant it was “absolutely understandable” that the ministry did not release the figures.
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has disclosed that 95 million Nigerians need to enroll for the National Identification Number (NIN) to meet its target of 200 million enrollments by 2025.
Kayode Adegoke, Head of Corporate Communications at NIMC, emphasised the importance of this enrollment during an interview on X over the weekend.
He stated, “For NIMC to meet the 200 million target by 2025, 95 million Nigerians need to register for the NIN.”
Adegoke revealed that over 105 million NINs have been issued to Nigerians and legal residents so far.
He assured Nigerians of the commission’s commitment, saying, “We want to assure Nigerians that within the next one or two years, we will reach our target of enrolling all Nigerians.”
“The NIN serves as a unique identifier for each citizen and has become increasingly important for various government initiatives aimed at improving security, governance, and service delivery.”
Adegoke highlighted the efforts to streamline the modification and enrollment processes under the leadership of Abisoye Coker, the director-general of NIMC. He announced the development of a self-service platform, allowing Nigerians to make necessary modifications such as changing names, dates of birth, email addresses, and phone numbers from anywhere, using different devices.
Emphasising the convenience of the self-service modification portal, Adegoke encouraged Nigerians to utilize this innovative solution.
He noted the evolution of the process, citing the past requirement for applicants to visit NIMC offices for data corrections.
Engr Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has disclosed that the nation’s oil and gas reserves have risen to 37.50 billion barrels as of January 1, 2024.
This marks an increase from the 37.046 billion barrels recorded in May 2022.
Komolafe emphasised the implementation of robust policies aimed at enhancing and optimising oil and gas operations across the country.
Notably, gas reserves stand at 102.59 trillion cubic feet (TCF), with non-associated gas reserves reaching 106.67 TCF, culminating in a total of 209.26 TCF of gas reserves.
Addressing concerns during a press conference held in Abuja on Monday regarding crude supply regulation and enforcement, Komolafe underscored the importance of prioritising feedstock supply to local refineries while addressing grievances from oil producers and the Dangote Refinery within specified timelines.
This announcement follows recent reports of a decline in Nigeria’s crude oil production during February and March 2024.
According to data from the April 2024 Monthly Oil Market Report of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s crude oil production (excluding condensates) experienced its second consecutive monthly decrease, dropping to 1.231 million barrels per day in March from 1.322 million barrels per day in February.
OPEC attributed this decline, amounting to a reduction of 91,000 barrels per day, to factors communicated directly from Nigeria.
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