Egypt’s President Lifts State of Emergency After Four Years Of Turmoil

By Izuchukwu Okosi

There is widespread joy on the streets of Cairo as the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday evening ended the state of emergency in the country for the first time in a few years.

On April 10, 2017, the Egyptian parliament declared a state of emergency for three months to “confront the dangers of terrorism in Egypt” in response to bombings that targeted two churches in the north of the country, killing at least 45 people. Daesh/ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.

“I decided for the first time in years to cancel the extension of the state of emergency throughout the country,” al-Sisi said on the government’s verified Facebook page.

“I am glad that we share together the moment that we have long sought with struggle and hard work. Egypt has become, thanks to its great people and loyal men, an oasis of security and stability in the region,” he said.

Under the state of emergency, which has consistently been renewed in accordance with the constitution, Egyptian authorities have the right to evacuate areas, impose a curfew, take strict security measures and punish violators with imprisonment.

Izuchukwu Okosi

Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc. In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio. He worked there for 13 years until October 2017. Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch. He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations. Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line. Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.