Religious

Nigeria is a very religious society no doubt. Churches, mosques and shrines dot the country’s landscape. The atheist population in Nigeria is very insignificant as many of the citizens are adherents of Christianity, Islam or African Indigenous Religions. Our religiosity reflects not only in our modes of worship but also in our names and ways of dressing. Religious festivals are commonplace here. The Osun Osogbo Festival holds every August in Osogbo. There is the Olojo Festival in Ile-Ife. The Ojude Oba Festival is celebrated in Ijebu-Ode on the second day of the Eid el Kabir festival. Easter and Christmas celebrations are observed annually by Christians. These are apart from the annual church congresses and conventions.

The Peoples Democratic Party has said the furious invasion of the sanctity of the Federal High Court by the Department of State Services further confirms that Nigeria, under the Buhari Presidency, is finally sliding into a frightening dictatorship.

No fewer than 879 corps members have registered for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation exercise in Borno.

Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has said that opponents of the Hate Speech Bill are ignorant of the dangers that loom if the bill is not passed into law.

Olufolake Abdulrazaq, the wife of Kwara’s Gov. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, on Saturday led some residents of the state on a walk to raise awareness against gender-based violence.

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Wednesday revealed that over 60 per cent of adolescents and young people across the country do not have significant knowledge about HIV and adequate sexual education about the disease.

An NGO, Marie Stopes International Organisation Nigeria (MSION), has urged media practitioners to advocate for the adoption of family planning methods for healthier and productive families.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Sunday urged Muslims to use religion as a vehicle for the promotion of love, unity and understanding in the country.

The Tudun Wada Community Development Association in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State has organised a one-day retreat for key stakeholders to fashion out ways of addressing challenges bedeviling the community.

At least 65 people were killed and dozens injured after cooking gas cylinders exploded on a train packed with religious pilgrims in Pakistan on Thursday, authorities said.

Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, performed the ground breaking of the multi-million naira Ekiti Secretariat Mosque, with a promised to allow religion freedom in the state.

Ethiopia’s influential Orthodox church on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s response to ethnic and religious clashes that left nearly 70 dead, saying he was failing to protect its members.

The Onitsha Traditional Council has expressed its disapproval of the recent abduction of some children which originated in Kano and was traced to Onitsha.

A former General Officer Commanding Training and Doctrine Command, Minna, Maj-Gen Ishola Williams, (retd.), and a Professor of Criminology and Sociology of Law, Prof. Etanibi Alemika, on Thursday called for a radical overhaul of Nigeria’s security system in order to match the growing dimensions of criminality in the country.

Religious leaders in Kogi have warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies not to compromise the Nov.16 governorship election in the state.

Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has emphasised the need for religious and traditional leaders to guard against utterances that could create divisions within the Muslim ummah.

At least 16 people have been killed in violence in Ethiopia this week that began with protests against Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Abiy Ahmed, an Amnesty International researcher said Friday.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said on Thursday that seven federal teaching hospitals across the country would be upgraded and fully equipped with an oncology centre to manage all types of cancer.