White supremacists attending George Floyd protests, Minnesota officials believe

Officials in Minnesota believe that white supremacist “agitators” were inciting chaos at protests against brutality and the killing of George Floyd.

The Minnesota state corrections department said on Sunday that white supremacists were thought to be attending demonstrations in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and making chaos.

“They’re agitators,” said Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell on those who have caused destruction during demonstrations.

Mr Schnell added that authorities were moving to break up demonstrations so that outside “agitators” could not create chaos.

Minnesota governor TimWalz announced on Sunday that the state’s curfew would be extended into Monday morning to allow law enforcement to continue targeting “those who meant to do harm”.

Mr Walz added on Twitter that authorities had made several arrests whilst seizing weapons, narcotics, long guns, handguns, magazines and knives.

“We have reason to believe that bad actors continue to infiltrate the rightful protests of George Floyd’s murder, which is why we are extending the curfew by one day,” announced the governor overnight.

Minnesota corrections department commissioner John Harrington also announced later on Sunday that authorities had located several caches of flammable materials.

Mr Harringon added: “The fact that we’ve seen so many of them in so many places now makes us believe that this is part of that pattern that shows that this in fact an organised activity and not some random act of rage”.

It comes amid accusations that outside groups are behind the destruction witnessed in cities across the US, and in Minneapolis where Mr Floyd was killed in police custody last week.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who represents the district where he was killed, pleaded with Minneapolis protesters on Saturday night to stay indoors so that “agitators” could be caught.

Source: The Independent

#JusticeForUwa trends in Nigeria after student murdered in church

There is outrage in Nigeria following the murder of a 22-year-old student, Uwavera Omozuwa in a church.

The hashtag #JusticeForUwa is trending in Nigeria, with her family appealing for help to track down her killers.

Uwavera had been studying in a "quiet" church near her home in Benin City when she was killed, her sister, Judith, told BBC Pidgin.

The student, who had wanted to become a nurse, died in hospital on Saturday, three days after the attack.

Trump Threatens To Use the Military To stop Protests

President Trump vowed Monday night to put an end to the violent protests over the killing of George Floyd, delivering a forceful statement from the White House Rose Garden as Washington law enforcement officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets into crowds of protesters gathering a block away.  The president waited until just minutes before a 7 p.m. ET curfew was set to go into effect in the nation’s capital to deliver his six-minute statement. It came after two nights of looting, vandalism and violent clashes between police and protesters in the District of Columbia.

“I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters,” Trump said, as microphones picking up the sounds of the clashes just beyond the White House. “But in recent days our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsons, looters, criminals, rioters, antifa and others.”

Demonstrations against police brutality have erupted in dozens of U.S. cities, and the president has responded by expressing dismay at Floyd’s death while urging harsh measures against those he calls “thugs,” warning that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” On Monday, Trump said he would deploy the military to restore order in states where governors and mayors failed to establish “overwhelming law enforcement presence.”

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George Floyd was killed in a homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression, an independent autopsy found

Courtesy of Philonise Floyd

• George Floyd died on May 25 of asphyxia due to compression of the neck and back, an independent autopsy found.

• A video that has sparked outrage across the nation showed a white Minneapolis police officer pinning the handcuffed 46-year-old black man's neck on the ground beneath his knee.

• The way he was restrained restricted not only "blood flow into his brain, but also airflow into his lungs," said Antonio Romanucci, an attorney working with the Floyd family.

• These findings contradict a Hennepin County Attorney's Office autopsy that found no evidence of "traumatic asphyxia or strangulation."

• The attorney Ben Crump thanked thousands of people for protesting police brutality and demanding justice on Floyd's behalf but said that "the violence is absolutely unacceptable.

George Floyd died on May 25, handcuffed and gasping for breath, pinned under the knees of three white Minneapolis police officers.

Ben Crump, an attorney representing Floyd's family, said on Monday that an independent autopsy found that the 46-year-old black was killed by asphyxia due to compression of the neck and back.

"We acknowledge that additional medical information including toxicology and further investigation are necessary for a final report," said Dr. Allecia Wilson, the director of autopsy and forensic services at the University of Michigan. "However, the evidence is consistent with mechanical asphyxia as the cause of death and homicide as the manner of death."

Antonio Romanucci, another attorney working with the family, said two "physical mechanisms" killed Floyd, calling it "the lowest level of human respect and dignity that any community should ever have to endure."

'The ambulance was his hearse'

The weight of the arresting officer Derek Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck — as well as the knees of two other officers who pressed on Floyd's back — stopped not only "blood flow into his brain, but also airflow into his lungs," Romanucci said.

Yahoonews

Ex-Exxon Mobil engineer jailed 15 years for rape

A Lagos High Court sitting in Igbosere on Monday sentenced a former official of ExxonMobil, Mr James Onuoha, an engineer, to 15 years imprisonment for raping his tenant’s 14-year-old niece.

Justice Adedayo Akintoye sentenced him without an option of fine.

The Lagos State prosecuting counsel Mr Babatunde Sunmonu announced his appearance while Dr Victor Olowonla appeared for the defence.

Edo State Government Assures Speedy Investigation Into Benin Student's Murder

Edo State Government has assured the parents, relatives and friends of late Miss Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, as well as the student community in Edo State of thorough investigation to unravel the circumstances that led to the death of the 100 level student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN). Commissioner for Social Development and Gender Issues, Hon. Maria Edeko, gave the assurance when she addressed protesting students, who stormed Government House, Benin City, to register their displeasure over the gruesome murder of the undergraduate. 

Commissioner for Social Development and Gender Issues, Hon. Maria Edeko, gave the assurance when she addressed protesting students, who stormed Government House, Benin City, to register their displeasure over the gruesome murder of the undergraduate.

Majek Fashek: End of an Era

African reggae star Majek Fashek has died. In case you don't know much about the rainmaker. He has some profile of him. Majek has been called a prophet and a poet, and is recognized as one of Nigeria’s greatest singers and musicians. His powerful world beat sound incorporates his core influences (Bob Marley, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Jimi Hendrix), seamlessly meshing roots, rock, reggae and Afrobeat into a unique signature sound called kpangolo. Majek describes it as “the sound of many cultures coming together.”

Majek Fashek has always sung from the soul about the political and social struggles he has faced in his long and winding road from Nigeria to the U.S. He first attracted international attention in 1987 when his song, “Send Down The Rain” seemed to coax a rainstorm that ended one of the worst droughts in Nigeria’ s history. Performing at an outdoor theater, he saw the thirsty crowd yearning for just a few drops of water. No one could imagine the possibility of a downpour, but as Majek sang the lyric “the sky looks misty and cloudy; it looks like the rain’s gonna fall today,” clouds gathered in the sky, thunder cracked and rain soaked the barren ground. Since that momentous occasion, Fashek has become one of Africa’s most revered contemporary musical performers, rivaling Afro-reggae compatriots Alpha Blondy and Lucky Dube in recognition and popularity around the world.

While he developed an early interest in Jamaican riddims, Fashek was equally drawn to the music of Indian cinema. Learning to play guitar while in secondary school, Fashek joined a band called Jah Stix and, after graduating from the New Era College’s Arts Program, he began playing in Lagos nightclubs, universities and even prisons. Fashek enjoyed a close relationship with the legendary late Nigerian musician and bandleader Fela Kuti, (he includes a Fela composition “Water No Get Enemy” on his new release Little Patience). “He’s like my big brother,” Majek has said and like Fela, he not only delivers hard-hitting rhythms, but also a forceful criticism of social and political issues.

Discography:

Prisoner Of Conscience (Tabansi/Mango, 1987)
I & I Experience ‎(CBS, 1989)
Spirit Of Love (Interscope Records, 1991)
So Long Too Long ‎(Sony Music, 1991)
Rainmaker ‎(Lightyear Entertainment, 1997)
Little Patience ‎(November Records/33rd Street, 2005)

Source: The Cable lifestyle