The World Bank has set aside $4.4 billion for the acquisition and deployment of COVID-19 vaccinations in 51 developing countries, but Nigeria is not among those who would benefit, despite the fact that half of those countries are in Africa.

The funding is part of the Bank’s commitment to assisting low- and middle-income countries in obtaining and disseminating vaccinations as well as strengthening their health systems.

More than half of the latest finance comes from the International Development Association, IDA, the Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries, according to a statement released on Wednesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Bank said more than half of the latest financing comes from the International Development Association, IDA, the Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries, and is on grant or highly concessional terms.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Group has approved more than $150 billion to fight the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic.

Speaking on the development, World Bank Managing Director of Operations, Axel van Trotsenburg, said: “The World Bank is helping developing countries in every region of the world with vaccine purchase and rollout. Significant challenges still remain regarding vaccine deployment and hesitancy.

“We are taking action on all fronts to tackle these challenges, working in solidarity with international and regional partners to expedite doses to as many people as possible and to enhance disease surveillance, preparedness, and response.”

Reiterating its call to governments, pharmaceutical companies, and organisations involved in vaccine procurement and delivery, the Bank urged for help to increase transparency and build greater public information regarding vaccine contracts, options and agreements, vaccine financing and delivery agreements, and doses delivered and future delivery plans.

The Bank asked the countries anticipating excess vaccine supplies in the coming months to release their surplus doses and options as soon as possible, in a transparent manner, to developing countries with adequate distribution plans in place.

The $4.4 billion is supporting COVID-19 vaccination efforts in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Comoros, the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, and Honduras.

Others are Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, the Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, São Tomé e Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine, Yemen, and Zambia.

According to the Bank, its vaccine finance package is designed to be flexible. It can be used by countries to acquire doses through COVAX, the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, AVATT, or other sources.

It also finances vaccine deployment and health system strengthening, such as vaccine cold-chains, training health workers, data and information systems, and communications and outreach campaigns to key stakeholders which are crucial to ensure vaccination acceptance.

The Bank has aligned its eligibility criteria for COVID-19 vaccines with the revised eligibility criteria of COVAX and other multilateral partners and is partnering with the African Union and Africa Centre for Disease Control to support AVATT initiative with resources to allow countries to purchase and deploy vaccines for up to 400 million people across Africa.

The Bank is also convening a task force with the IMF, WHO, WTO, and other partners to track, coordinate, and advance delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries.

The latest findings show that 95 per cent of countries have developed national vaccination plans, 79 percent have safety measures in place, and 82 percent have prioritizations of populations to receive the vaccine.

However, only 59 percent have developed plans to train the large number of vaccinators needed and less than half have a plan in place to generate public confidence, trust, and demand for COVID-19 vaccines.

Ibrahim Mohammed Umar, a former electoral officer with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Yola South Local Government Area, was found guilty by the Court of Appeal, Yola Division, Adamawa State.

This was contained in a statement by EFCC’s Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said “Umar and his accomplice had earlier been convicted of a three count charge by an Adamawa State High Court and sentenced to Seven (7) years imprisonment for receiving monetary benefit (bribery) to the tune of N362 million, being part of the bribe allegedly distributed by a former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke to influence the outcome of the 2015 elections.”

The statement reads in bits: “Umar was arraigned alongside a former staff of a new generation bank by the EFCC on September 28, 2018. During the trial, EFCC called 14 witnesses and tendered several documents which were admitted in evidence.

Justice Nathan Musa, in his judgment, held that EFCC proved its case beyond reasonable doubt as investigation proved that the convict was identified as the person who signed and collected the said sum and was unable to account for its whereabouts.

“He was therefore convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine on all the counts.

“Dissatisfied with the judgement, the convict approached the Court of Appeal, Yola Division on March 4, 2020 asking that the judgment of the lower court be set aside.

“The appellate court on April 14, 2021 delivered its judgement, wherein it unanimously affirmed the judgment of the lower court.”

Coalition of Igbo-British lawyers has condemned the illegal detention and subsequent handing over of the leader of the indigenous people of biafra MAZI NNAMDI KANU to the Nigerian government by the KENYAN GOVERNMENT.*

The Coalition of igbo-British lawyers in a statement issued and signed by Attorney E.R Okoroafor on the 30th of June,2021 at his Glasgow residence in the United Kingdom has condemned the illegal and archaic manner in which the Kenyan Government has acted in the illegal detention of the leader of the indigenous people of biafra MAZI NNAMDI KANU and subsequent handing him over to the Nigerian Government without any due process, saying,
It is worthy of note to mention that MAZI NNAMDI KANU entered Kenya with his British passport, and the Kenya government is fully aware of his citizenship status but still went ahead to perpetrated their illegal act which does not only breach the personal human rights of MAZI NNAMDI KANU but also undermine the sovereignty of the British government.

While this serves as a pre-action notice to the Kenyan Government as we shall be heading to the International Criminal Court to rectify the injustice done as it is trite law that injustice to one is injustice to all, we are also by this medium informing the Nigerian Government that they have 48hrs to return MAZI NNAMDI KANU to the United Kingdom and if he has any charges to answer to, they should as a nation that is governed by the constitution, pass through the legal means of filing an extradiction notice as failure to do so, we shall not hesitate to term this an a declaration of war on not only MAZI NNAMDI KANU and IPOB but on all IGBOS generally, and this we shall vehemently resist with all apparatus of law available at our disposal.

While all this is been done the Nigerian government is also been warned that no bodily harm whatsoever must be done to MAZI NNAMDI KANU to avoid a total breakdown of law and other in the fast crumbling entity called Nigeria.

Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested in Kenya, according to Kingsley Kanu, his brother.

The Federal Government has been mute on Kanu’s arrest location, which has encouraged speculation.

Kingsley, however, said in a statement on Wednesday that Kenyan officials had imprisoned his brother until he was repatriated to Nigeria.

The statement read in bits; “My brother Nnamdi Kanu demands the right to self-determination for Biafra. Self-determination is the right to that underpins the United Nations. Because Biafrans support Nnamdi Kanu’s call for Biafran self-determination, my brother has now been subjected to the most serious violations of international law.”

“My brother has been subject to extraordinary rendition by Kenya and Nigeria. They have violated the most basic principles of the rule of law. Extraordinary rendition is one of the most serious crimes states can commit. Both Nigeria and Kenya must be held to account. I demand justice for my brother, Nnamdi Kanu.

“The British High Commission in Nigeria must insist upon my brother’s immediate release. They must guarantee his safety and security. Nnamdi Kanu must be returned home to the UK to his wife and his sons who live here. The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, must make clear to the Nigerian authorities that they will not tolerate the unlawful detention of British citizens and that the UK Government condemns the Nigerians and Kenyans for undermining the rule of law.

“Foreign Secretary Raab must be clear. There will be consequences for those who resort to extraordinary rendition. The British Government must insist upon justice for Nnamdi Kanu.”