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Zamfara killings: Gov. Yari resigns role as Chief Security Officer
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the governor lamented that it was disheartening that killings in the state had continued in spite of the president muhammadu buharis order to security agencies to end the incessant blood-letting across the country1 gov. abdulaziz yari of zamfara state said he had dropped his responsibility as chief security officer of the state as he had no control over security machinery in the state1 he deplored the prevailing situation where as the chief security officer of the state he could not take decisions on strategies for protecting the state and its people and had it implemented1 we have been facing serious security challenges over the years but in spite of being governor and chief security officer of the state i cannot direct security officers on what to do nor sanction them when they err1 as chief security officer the nomenclature in just a name he said1 speaking to newsmen in talata-mafara on friday yari said that his decision stemmed from the seeming helplessness of the state government and the people over recurring killings in the state1 according to him since the presidents order the killings have not stopped. in a week there were attacks in this state which claimed over 30 lives1 he said that the state government was spending huge amount of its resources on security but to no avail1 yari therefore urged people of the state to be more faithful to god and embark on special prayers over the challenges facing the state1 he also appealed to them to be patient and continue to cooperate with the government and security agencies as steps were being taken to address the challenges1 we cannot keep quiet while our people are being killed daily. we are going to cooperate with all stakeholders to bring the situation to an end he added1 -
Good governance: Osinbajo commends Edo governor
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vice president yemi osinbajo says edo in the last one decade has retained its status as a reference point with regards to good governance in the country1 osinbajo gave the commendation at a state dinner held in his honour at the edo government house in benin on thursday following the vice presidents two-day official visit to the state1 he expressed satisfaction with the efforts of the gov. godwin obaseki-led administration in edo to re-enact the developmental strides recorded during the administration of late dr samuel ogbemudia1 the vice president gave an assurance of the preparedness of the federal government to give the state all the necessary support1 he said the various projects which informed his visit to edo would no doubt help boost the economy of the state especially the federal government south-south innovation hub1 in his remarks obaseki expressed gratitude to the vice president for the continued support to edo1 he said several initiatives of the office of the vice president had provided employment and source of income for youths in the state1 the n-power and n-build programmes have remained major sources of encouragement for the state in its drive for greatness he said1 the deputy governor of edo phillip shaibu in his address of welcome solicited for more support from the federal government to enable the entrenchment of its developmental programmes in the state1 an highlight of the occasion was the announcement by obaseki of full scholarship to miss obakpolor esosa a senior secondary school student of idia college following her presentation on the menace of human trafficking. nan1 -
High sexual activities hit refugee camps
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araoyinbo said the body also carried out capacity building which served as a platform to link the volunteers to the patent medicine vendors the hot spots and the health care facilities where the condoms would be picked up1 the united nations population fund unfpa has discovered high level of survival sex in cameroonian refugees camps in cross rivers state1 it has therefore set up non-traditional condom outlets in the refugees settlements1 the intervention is to increase access to condoms in communities hosting refugees who fled from crisis hit anglophone southern cameroon1 unfpa said that after carrying out a joint needs assessment it was discovered that there was high level of transactional sex without access to condoms in the communities1 we have done this before but we are improving on it it is like a stop gap response1 we discovered there was high level survival sex in these communities and the women are not protected it said on friday1 the condom outlets target ikom obanliku boki akamkpa and etung local government areas of the cross river1 the project coordinator for unfpa dr idowu araoyinbo said on friday that the global body did a mapping to identify the health care providers close to the benefiting communities1 araoyinbo said that volunteers including refugees were engaged as focal persons to distribute and enlighten people in their wards on the benefits and proper usage of condoms1 we organised town hall meetings which served as information dissemination points to the communities on the availability of condoms in strategic locations and how they could utilise them effectively he said1 unfpa stated that the women involved in the communities were not protected with condoms1 he said a similar project had been carried out in the past which was not sustainable1 he said the volunteers picked up the condoms from the health care centres took them to the communities where they were given to the patent medicine vendors that already had dispensers available1 the dispensers he said were for control and were placed conspicuously in patent medicine stores so that the condoms were made available free of charge to communities1 the major challenge now is how the patent medicine dealers would be able to allow access because they dont work 24 hours but we hope to check this through the hot spots he said1 araoyinbo stated that he foresaw a future where patent medicine dealers would imbibe the culture of providing free condoms to their communities1 we told them that this would make them popular as there was nowhere in the world where people dont love business men who go beyond business to provide free humanitarian services he said1 he however said that though the project was aimed at sensitising people on condom usage the best form of prevention still remains abstinence1 araonyinbo also noted that statistics had shown that the sexual debut of nigerian youths had dropped to about 17 years for girls and 21 for the boys adding that efforts must be made to protect them1 our youths initiate sex early these days most of which are done without protection increasing the rate of hiv and other sexually transmitted diseases in our society1 because most new hiv cases are found among the youths the need to preach the use of condoms could not be over emphasised he said1 the project is being carried out in partnership with the nigeria red cross cross river primary health care agency state ministry of health as well as patent medicine dealers in benue and cross river1 -
Methodist priest, others regain freedom
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the methodist priest and two others abducted in iwo-ibadan road on sunday by suspected bandits have been released1 they were released on thursday according to report from the methodist church osogbo1 according to the report from the church the kidnapped persons who are members of the church were released on thursday night around 8.20p.m1 confirming the release to newsmen the bishop of the methodist church osogbo diocese most rev. amos ogunrinde said the priest very rev. kayode akande and the two other leaders of the church that were kidnapped had been released and reunited with their families1 ogunrinde however did not disclosed if any ransom was paid before the kidnapped men were released by the bandits1 when the state police public relations officers mrs folashade odoro was contacted about the report she said the police would release a statement about the whole incident later1 the news agency of nigeria nan recalls that the a priest and two elders of the methodist church osogbo were kidnapped on sunday while returning from a mens fellowship from ile-ogbo near iwo osun1 the police were reported to have deployed men and officers to rescue the kidnapped persons while the bandits were never reported to have contacted the family of the men to demand for ransom nan1 -
Sallah Durbar:10 riders fall off horses in Dutse
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no fewer than 10 riders fell off their horses during sallah durbar at dutse emirs palace on fridaynews agency of nigeria nan reports1 the incident happened during the mini durbar traditionally organised every year where the governor receives cheers and greetings from members of the emirate council from top of the emirs palace1 the riders fell while racing to greet gov. muhammad badaru of the stateafter observing the eid-el-fitr prayer at the central prayer ground at about 8.30 a.m1 however none of the riders sustain injury1 at the emirs palace district heads take turns to greet the governor as they raced on their decorated horses while the emir came last and exchanged greetings with his council members1 -
UK pledges support to EFCC
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he said inec and efcc should be there to preserve the integrity of the political process including taking forward investigations without any prejudice on one side or the other following the evidence and taking action where it is justified1 british high commissioner to nigeriapaul arkwright has said that the united kingdom uk will continue to support the anti-corruption crusade in nigeria as being spearheaded by the economic and financial crimes commission efcc1 arkwright who was accompanied by daniel murphy on a visit to the ffcc headquarters abuja commended the commissions efforts in ridding the country of corruption1 the uk and nigeria have evolved and made progress in the fight against corruption and the efccs achievements have been impressive he added1 he urged the efcc to work hand in hand with the independent national electoral commission inec in ensuring a free and fair political process in the buildup to the 2019 elections1 we are pleased to see how the efcc operates and we are assuring you of the endless support of the british government in the fight against corruption he said1 he further gave assurances of the british governments support both in technical assistance in investigation and of course broadening support of this great independent institution of the efcc1 ibrahim magu the acting efcc chairman appreciated the british government for its support and assured him of the independence of the efcc in the discharge of its mandate1 he said i assure you that there is no political interference in what we do. we will continue to work with stakeholders like inec who we have an agreement with to ensure that there is no interference to ensure free and fair election in nigeria and we will stop people using money to buy votes1 according to him the efcc operates international best practices and does diligent preliminary investigation1 we do not invite anybody here if he is not found to be involved in one offence or crime and that is why when you come here it takes a lot of effort to be off the chain. whatever case that comes to efcc is investigated to the logical conclusion. we take the case to court who gives the final decision he added1 -
Nigeria guns for another $500m Abachas loots
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he said the road projects were located in yobe adamawa benue kwara ekiti lagos ogun edo enugu borno anambra and sokoto states1 in addition to the 322 million recovered from switzerland nigeria will soon repatriate another 500 million which late sani abacha looted and locked up in other countries1 nigeria has engaged other countries including the uk us france and others in further negotiations relating to repatriation1 i am happy to report that we are almost concluding the processes relating to the repatriation of additional 500 millionmalami said1 according to the malami said this is in addition to the 322 million released by switzerkand after negotiations1 you will recall that in december 2017 the federal government participated in a global forum on asset recovery in washington dc during which nigeria and switzerland signed an agreement that paved the way for the repatriation of 322 million1 what transpired was only reported back to the council today. the report today was not only about the signing of the agreement but the report of the eventual repatriation of the amount of money that was signed and agreed to be repatriated during the forum1 fec presided over by president muhammadu buhari approved n185.2billion for the rehabilitation repairs and reconstruction of 14 roads across the country1 the special adviser to the president on media and publicity mr femi adesina also said alongside ministers of health prof. isaac adewole and his industry trade and investment counterpart mr okechukwu enelamah1 the monies are expected to be repatriated from the uk us france and other countries minister of justice and attorney general of the federation mr. abubakar malami said on wednesday after the federal executive council meeting in abuja1 he listed the road projects to include gwoza damboa goniri ngamdu road in yobeborno states at the cost of n34.608 billion mayo belwa jada ganye torngo road in adamawa at the rate of n22.699billion and ado ifaki otun kwara state border in ekiti state at the rate of n6 billion1 he said that makurdi bridge in benue would be repaired at the cost of n4.617 billion ihugi korinya -wuse -ankor in benue at n15.641 billion and gbagi apa owode in badagry lagos state at n4.366 billion1 others are the construction of ijebu igbo ita egba owonowen in ogun and oyo states which would cost n9.833 billion while n7.506billion would be spent on dualisation of jattu fugar agenebode in edo phase ii by mothercat1 he said the makurdi gboko wannune yander section 1 in benue would be reconstructed at the cost of n18.669 billion old enugu port harcourt road at agbogugu abia border spur would cost n13.933 billion1 adesina said that n6.249billion would be spent on rehabilitation of umulungbe umoka road amokwu ikedimkpe egede opeyi awhum road in enugu state at n21.729 billion and rehabilitation of nkwu inyi akpugoeze in anambra at n2.595 billion1 he revealed that n4.354billion would be expended on reconstruction of sabon birnin tsululu kuya maradi junction road in sokoto state1 the minister of health prof. adewole on h is part disclosed that the council approved the draft on food safety and quality bill as well as the food safety institutional reform working document1 source with additional agency1 -
Trial of Dutchman charged with murder begins October
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consequently justice bola okikiol-ighile asked the defendant if he would like to give his consent so that his blood sample can be taken for dna test1 a dutchman peter nielson alleged to have murdered his wife and daughter was today docked before a lagos high court sitting at igbosere. but his trial proper will begin 8 october1 the lagos state prosecutor who is also the attorney general and commissioner for justice lagos state mr adeniji kazeem told the court that the defendant committed the offence on april 5 20181 the defendant was alleged to have killed his wife zainab nielson and his daughter petra nielson at their resident in banana island in eti -osa local government of lagos state at about 345 am at flat 17 at bella vista tower banana island ikoyi1 the offence alleged to have been committed by the accused dutch is punishable under section 223 cap c17 vol 3 criminal law of lagos state 20151 however the 53 year old defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge against him1 the prosecutor then asked for a trial date1 the defendants counsel mr olasupo shasore san said he was not opposing the charge but that the defence would like to carry out their own test1 we are interested in taking the blood sample of the defendant i thought it will be better to inform this court that his blood sample would be taken for dna analysis he said1 nielson is facing a two count charge of murder1 nielson concurred1 shasore who was the former attorney general and commissioner for justice in lagos state also told the court that the result of the autopsy report is out but that they are ready to proceed1 we are interested in the autopsy report and the prosecution has assured us that we would get it in four weeks we need to consult some of our experts for analysis of the test as we would need it during trial he added1 however the prosecutor told court that there is an interim autopsy report and that it will be made available to the defence1 mr kazeem said the blood sample of the defendant will be collected by the state government forensic lab1 the prosecutor had earlier told the court that the matter for the day was an arraignment of the defendant and the defence counsel confirmed that they received the proof of evidence on april 301 meanwhile the presiding judge a justice okikiol-ighile ordered that the defendant should be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case till october 8 for trial to commence1 on may 8 a yaba chief magistrates was informed that the legal advice from the director of public prosecution dpp indicated that the dutchman has a case to answer1 -
320 military men for retirement next week
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a total of 320 military personnel will retire from the armed forces next week says air vice marshal austine jekenu commandant nigerian armed forces resettlement centre nafrc1 jekenu told newsmen at the centre in oshodi lagos on wednesday that the retiring military men were drawn from the army the air force and the navy1 a total of 320 servicemen comprising of 262 from the nigerian army 44 from the nigerian navy and 14 from the nigerian air force would be graduating from the nafrc he said1 jekenu said that the retiring servicemen went through months of intensive training on skills acquisition and entrepreneurship at nafrc1 he said the training was to prepare the retirees for life after military service1 according to him the centre has the mandate to provide necessary training geared towards preparing retiring servicemen for reintegration into civil life1 he said that the initiative was to enable the beneficiaries adjust and appropriately blend with the peculiarities of retirement and contribute actively to national economy as worthy civilians1 jekenu urged all the retiring servicemen to positively contribute to boost national economy in whatever business they engaged in1 the centre graduates 2 courses annually and it is on record that we have trained over 41 000 ex-servicemen of the nigerian armed forces since its inception he said1 the commandant who said that the passing out ceremony for the course participants would hold on june 22 added that the minister for defence mansur dan ali would grace the occasion1 -
NAFDAC goes after drugs importers over N7bn debt
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the national agency for food and drug administration and control nafdac has intensified its debt recovery operation targeting seven billion naira payment evaded by importers of drugs food and cosmetics1 the director general of nafdac prof. moji adeyeye made this disclosure while speaking with the news agency of nigeria nan in abuja on wednesday1 adeyeye said that the payment invasion happened years before she took over the leadership of nafdac in november 20171 according to her n260 million has so far been realised from the time she assumed duty to the end of march 20181 she explained that her target was to realise not less than one billion naira before the end of 2018 adding that adeyeye that the agency was determined to achieve that1 my staff are working tirelessly we have our teams in investigation and enforcement departments working hard to achieve the set up goals of the agency1 we have also decentralised the registration processes to states especially on our small and medium enterprises programme to save time1 it is also to facilitate the policy of the federal government on the ease of doing business she said1 the director general said the quality management system put in place by her administration had helped to turn around the activities of the regulatory agency in terms of efficiency1 adeyeye reiterated the commitment of nafdac to fight illicit and fake drugs as well as unregistered food products to ensure safety of citizenry1 -
Singapore summit: Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
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two norwegian lawmakers have nominated president donald trump for the nobel peace prize after the singapore summit with north korean leader kim jong un. christian tybring-gjedde and per-willy amundsen1 lawmakers with the populist progress party1 told norwegian news agency ntb on wednesday that trump “had taken a huge and important step in the direction of the disarmament1 peace and reconciliation between north and south korea.” a group of u.s. lawmakers also are backing trump’s nomination for1 -
Nigeria Not for a few landlords - Hafsat Abiola-Costello
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mko abiola5 mko abiola and ambassador babagana kingibe were the candidates of social democratic pary sdp that contested the election in 19933 june 12th 1993 was the day when nigerians in millions expressed their democratic will in what was undisputedly the freest fairest and most peaceful elections since our independence2 nigeria not for a few landlords - hafsat abiola-costello1 -
NASRDA predicts astronomical lunar crescent June 14
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kebbi will witness the lunar crescent last by 732 pm and 800 pm and sokoto between 729 pm and 757 pm. it will be seen in lagos and ogun between 726 pm and 756 pm concurrently1 the centre for basic space science of the national space research and development agency cbss-nasrda had predicted that the astronomical lunar crescent would be sighted on june 141 nasrda through its centre for basic space science has successfully calculated and predicted that the appearance of an astronomical lunar crescent will be sighted on june 141 the conjunction of the moon will first occur on wednesday june 13 by 843pm but will appear in nigeria on thursday june 14 at about 243pm that is 18 hours after its conjunction1 according to him the moon can only be sighted with the naked eyes given a clear sky without any obstruction1 he however said that the tiny lunar crescent could be sighted with the aid of charged couple device ccd and astronomical telescope or any other advanced astronomical instrument1 the young lunar crescent will only be seen with an unaided eye on thursday june 14 between 653 pm and 757 pm after sun set1 yola will be the first to witness the young lunar crescent from about 653 pm to 721 pm followed by maiduguri from 655 pm to 723 pm1 dr felix ale director media and corporate communications said this in a statement he signed on tuesday in abuja1 the lunar crescent will be seen in abuja between 716 pm and set at about 745 pm1 kano will experience the appearance of the first lunar crescent between 651 pm and 742 pm with sunset and moonset occurring at about 651 pm and 742 pm respectively he said1 he further said that katsina would witness the lunar crescent appearance between 719 pm and 747 pm while jos and enugu will both experience the first lunar crescent between the hours of 708 pm and 737 pm1 ale said the sunset and moonset in jos would occur at 646 pm and 737 pm respectively and in enugu at 645 pm and 737 pm respectively whilekaduna would experience the lunar crescent between 716 pm and 744 pm1 dr bonaventure okere the acting director of cbss told the news agency of nigeria nan that astronomical lunar crescent is the new part of the moon that usually appeared at this time of the year1 okere said that the sighting of the lunar crescent was significant to both christians and muslims1 he however said it was more significant to the muslims because it helped calculate the beginning and the ending of ramadan fast1 ale added that the results of the lunar crescent sighting were available at nasrda for the general public and those who required it for religious and academic purposes1