The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, has restated Federal Government’s commitment to safeguard press freedom and rights of journalists across the country.

Idris said this in his speech at Press Freedom and Good Governance Award 2024, organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Saturday night in Abuja.

The minister, who was the Chairman of the event,  said he was deeply honoured by the conferment of the Lifetime Achievement Award upon him by the NUJ,  which he described as his immediate constituency.

According to him the award holds profound significance for him and the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

“This year’s theme of World Press Freedom Day resonates deeply with our ministry’s vision and President Tinubu’s priority areas.

“The areas include restoring trust, reorienting national values, and creating an enabling environment for the media.

“It underscores the crucial role of journalism in addressing the environmental crisis”, he said.

According to him, in this moment of environmental crisis, the role of media transcends mere reporting; it embodies a commitment to mobilising mass action for the common good.

“With the power to inform, educate, and inspire, the media has the unparalleled ability to ignite movements, elevate voices, and effectuate behavioral change toward the environment.

“I want to reaffirm our sustained commitment to safeguarding press freedom, promoting diverse opinions, and protecting the rights of journalists.

“Let us redouble our efforts to build a future where journalism thrives, press freedom is upheld, and our planet is safeguarded for generations to come,” Idris said.

The categories of awards include Touch Bearers of Press Freedom, Defender of Press Freedom and Best Investigative Reporter of the Year.

Others were LIFE Time Achievement Awards and Good Governance Award.

While, Gov. Hyacinth Alia of Benue got the Good  Governance award on Advocacy of the Masses and Human Rights, Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno got the Good Governance Award on Education.

Also, the Good Governance Award for transparency went to Mr Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL.

Others that clinched the Torch Bearer of Press Freedom Awards include, Edwin Philip of Breeze FM Lafia, Pauline Kuje Vana of NTA Maiduguri and Tayo Ikujuni of NAN.

Others were Mustapha Batsari of VOA Hausa Service, Gabriel Idibia of Daybreak Newspaper, Adekola Namgbala, Allah el-Kurebe and Publisher of Wikki Times, Mohammed Salisu

NAN also reports that while the awards for Defender of Press Freedom went to a veteran journalist, Gbenga Onayiga, the Anyim Ude Prize for the best Investigative Reporter went to Umar Audi of Daily Nigerian Newspaper.

Similarly, the Good Governance Award for Mass Mobilisation went to the Directors-General of Nigerian Television Authority and Voice of Nigeria, Salisu Dembos and Jibrin Baba-Ndace respectively.

The National President of Nigerian Union of Teachers, Audi Amba got the Good Governance Award for Education, Planning and Leadership.

The Chief Executive Officer of National Bureau of Statistics, Mr Adeyemu Adeniran, got same award, but on Economic Development.

NAN reports that the event attracted people from all works of life including   the National Assembly, media and other stakeholders.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says the Air Components of Operations Hadin Kai and Whirl Punch in the North East and North Central  killed several terrorists in airstrikes in Borno and Niger.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, AVM Edward Gabkwet, on Sunday in Abuja.

Gabkwet said the air components had continued to obliterate terrorists and destroy their structures, equipment and mobility, thereby limiting their ability to attack ground troops and innocent Nigerians at will.

In the North East he said the air interdiction was on May 3 authourised and conducted over Chinene, a location tucked inside the Mandara mountain.

Terrorists had been observed to be emanating from various locations and assembling ostensibly for a meeting.

According to him, seven gun trucks were also observed parked under trees within the same location.

Gabkwet said the aircraft bombarded the assembly area and tree coverings and destroyed their weapons and mobility.

He said that Battle Damage Assessment revealed that the strikes were successful as several terrorists were neutralised and logistics destroyed.

According to him, similar airstrikes were conducted same day by the air component of Operation Whirl Punch in a pre-emptive air strikes over terrorists hibernating at Allawa village, near Shiroro town in Niger.

The NAF spokesman said the mission was conducted following credible intelligence which revealed the migration of terrorists into the village after the mass exit of locals for fear of their safety.

He said the terrorists had, on May 1, stormed the deserted Allawa community in Shiroro Local Government Area and torched the Central Primary School.

“In the evening of the same day, another group of terrorists also arrived at the location, wielding AK-47/49 rifles after invading Galapai village in Galadima Kogo District of Shiroro.

“Accordingly, to prevent further occupation as well as pursue the terrorists from the location, the air component scrambled a formation of its platforms to attack the location.

“On arrival at the location, several terrorists were sighted and engaged effectively.

“Furthermore, following credible intelligence as well as detailed aerial observation, which confirmed the presence of their cache of arms hidden inside Allawa Forest, the air component further carried out air strikes at the location,” he said.

Gabkwet also said that the NAF carried out air strikes North of Arugbana and Temakiri in the Niger Delta, where illegal refining sites were observed and destroyed.

According to him, through this action, the capabilities of oil thieves to continually sabotage and destroy oil pipelines were minimised.

The United kingdom (UK) says only international students coming in for their Doctor of Philosophy.(PhD) studies were eligible to bring in dependents to the country.

Dr. Richard Montgomery, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria made this known in an interview with the newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.

He said that, the educational system policy changed earlier this year for international students in higher education not to bring dependents into the UK was to curb the increase of foreign student bringing in dependents.

He explained that the huge surge in dependence was putting an unsustainable pressure on many universities, adding that, it was the reason these changes were introduced.

Montgomery added that before his posting as High Commissioner to Nigeria, he had spoken to some of these universities on the policy change, which had been in the pipeline for some time.

He noted that the universities Chancellors had complained of the huge student populations’ highlighting that accommodation was a huge challenge, access to medical services under the National Health Service and access to school if they brought in dependents.

According to him, the restrictions do not apply to all categories, adding that those doing a long term research degree, like a PhD, or doctorate were not affected.

“Those coming to the UK for doctorate can still bring their dependency but if you are coming to the UK with a study visa for an undergraduate degree, or short term master’s degree am afraid the rules have been changed.

“People need to understand why this change was brought in, and it is a sensible change because we have a large higher education sector and most of these universities are in towns across the country.

“There has been a surge recently, in demand for British education and I can give you the macro figures and there has also been a huge increase in foreign students bringing their dependants.

“In the case of Nigeria, in 2019, before the Coronavirus pandemic, there were only one and a half thousand dependents being brought in from Nigeria, with those on study visas,

“In 2022, that figure had increased to fifty two thousand dependants so that’s a thirty fold increase in dependence. And it’s not just about Nigeria by the way.

“It is also about all foreign students, we saw similar rises, for example amongst Indian students coming to study in the UK,” he added

Speaking on the policy initiation it is early to ascertain the impact of the policy on undergraduates because these changes were announced in 2023, but came into effect early this year and we would have to wait until September 2024, before we get the next run of academic tickets, he said.

“I think what your wider audience needs to hear is that the demand for UK education is really strong, in

2022, 65,000 study visas was approved to Nigerian applicants, 65,000, while in  September  2023 we received about 115,000 Study visa applications from Nigeria.

“Of which 95 per cent were approved and over 110,000 study visas were issued last September compared to 65,000 of the previous year, there’s almost a doubling of Nigerian study visas in 2023 which means the demand is really high.

” And it is something which I am genuinely pleased and proud about that the UK has such a good higher educational sector and we are still at the six economy, and is still one of the biggest economies but we are only 2.5 per cent of the global economy.

“So we have 17 of the top 100 universities in the world. We have 17 per cent of the top universities, so it is one of our units.

“I really like the demand but there are other factors at play in terms of schooling in the UK , the value of the Naira in the coming months will also determine how easy or hard it will be for many people to afford our education.

“But I really hope that the number of people who bring dependants in UK may actually not be a majority, but a minority of people have tried to study in the UK so am hoping that the demand will be sustained.