Category: Northern Reports

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has said it will be conducting free HIV testing and giving out free condoms to people in Benue, Kogi, Anambra, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom and Cross River State.

The organisation also revealed that an estimated one million people worldwide acquire sexually transmitted infection (STI) every day.

Country Programme Director of AHF Nigeria, Dr Echey Ijezie, made the disclosure on Friday in Abuja at an event to mark the 2022 International Condom Day (ICD).

He expressed fear that there are still 1.5 million new HIV transmissions annually around the globe.

Ijezie said the AHF Nigeria has distributed over 20 million free condoms in Nigeria and will continue to support the national condom policy of the Federal Government by broadening access of Nigerians to condoms as the most affordable and effective means of preventing STIs, including HIV and unplanned pregnancies.

He said: “In addition to the emoji campaign, AHF country teams from most of its 45 countries of operation will host exciting and informative ‘Safer is Sexy’ and ‘Always in Fashion’ ICD events. ICD festivities are always fun and a great way to remind the world that condoms remain the most cost-effective method for preventing sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

“In Nigeria, advocates shall be joining AHF Nigeria in Calabar and Ikom, Cross Rivers State for a walk to create awareness and distribute free condoms, as well as provide free HIV testing to the people.

“This walk is in collaboration with the Cross River State Ministry of Health, while there is also a media component that sees safe sex education on airwaves. In Abuja, AHF Nigeria is partnering with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) for a night event on Valentine’s Day to distribute free condoms and also test people for HIV.

“Also in Abuja, AHF Nigeria Girls Act members shall be reaching their peers with condom education and tips on safer sex practices. Across other AHF Nigeria states of Benue, Kogi, Anambra, Nasarawa and Akwa Ibom, our teams shall be conducting free HIV testing and giving out free condoms to the people.

“It’s time we drop the stigma around condoms and make it easier to communicate about having safer sex.”

AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy, Terri Ford noted that the introduction of a condom emoji across all digital platforms would be a fun and creative way to do that.

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello on Saturday attributed the breathless situation in the country to the tendency for old politicians to hold on to power without giving the youth a chance to breath.

Addressing a gathering of youths from the North East states at the launching of his Rescue Nigeria Mission, RENMISS campaign in Gombe, Yahaya said if the youths continue to allow the old politicians continue to pilot the ship of the nation, the nation may cease to breathe completely.

Yahaya, who spoke through is Chief of Staff, Abdulkareem Asuku, said what his Rescue Nigeria Mission is calling for is not just youth inclusion in government but total take-over of the driver’s seat because they are the ones who have the leadership capacity, technical know-how, ability and the number needed to change the situation of the country.

“When I said Nigeria cannot breathe, I am trying to address the myriads of problems confronting the country today. First is insecurity, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, the nation has achieved a lot but it is not yet Uhuru. We need somebody who will not just stay in Abuja and allow things to happen without going to supervise it and that is where the agility and ability of the youths of this country is needed.

“We need to secure our nation. No nation can succeed without security. The unity of this country is at stake today; Muslims no longer trust Christians, the North no longer trusts the South. You can hear people saying Fulani should leave my enclave, Ibo should leave the North. This is not what the founding fathers of this country envisaged,” he said.

According to him, Nigeria cannot breathe today because of disunity.

He explained further that what RENMISS is doing is awareness creation to call on the youths to use their voter’s card to enter into governance business and not through revolution.

“We have a leader in Kogi State, in person of Governor Yahaya Bello who has been able to unite the people of Kogi State and even appoint people that are not from the state to be part of his Government system. He is the first Muslim in government that decided to build a chapel in the Government House for Christians to worship. That is called religious tolerance,” he said.

Participants at the official launching of RENMISS in Gombe were drawn from the six North East states of Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Yobe, Taraba and Borno.

All Progressive Congress (APC) gubernatorial aspirant Professor Terhemba Shija, has said, if elected governor in 2023, he would rescue Benue State from the scourge of insecurity, cultism, HIV/AIDS and ignorance among other issues that may have held it captive.

The aspirant, who disclosed this during the presentation of his manifesto, ‘The Benue Rebuild Agenda’ at an interactive session with stakeholders in Makurdi on Friday, alleged that in recent years the state has gone down to “ground zero.”

He stated that one of his determinations was to also tackle, unemployment, poverty as well as secure justice that was preventing the people of the state from realising their potentials.

Shija also said that his administration will ensure even, just and equitable distribution of wealth for all citizens of the state.

He pointed out that “Apart from a few flashes of hope in the past, notably the regimes of Aper Aku, Moses Adasu and Senator Dr. George Akume, Benue State has virtually gone back to ground zero.

The inhabitants are still very poor; key industries that could have brought wealth and employment to them are lacking.

“I want to assure you that the ‘Benue Rebuild Agenda’ is predicated on the letters and spirit of the manifesto of the APC as well as the directive principles of State policy enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.”

Shija further stated that “This document, ‘The Rebuild Agenda’ therefore encapsulates our vision of a new Benue State for the governorship election of 2023.

“The 2023 general elections provide yet another opportunity for us to reclaim back our state. We wish to work assiduously to rescue the State from its chains of mediocrity so that the Benue environment shall boom again with productivity and excellence as well as attain world-class infrastructural development.

“We are determined to rescue our people from the scourge of insecurity, political thuggery, cultism, HIV/AIDS, ignorance and other deprivations which are preventing them from realizing their full potentials.

“We are geared towards fighting poverty and unemployment, securing justice and creating a compassionate society in which our people entitlements, salaries, debts and pensions are paid promptly.

“Unlike most dreams, the Rebuild Agenda is not a mere fancy. We have clearly identified areas of comparative advantage of the State, reviewed earlier attempts at tapping such potentials and advanced specific ideas on how actions could be carried out,” he said.

The two factions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano  State may reconcile their differences today. Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje disclosed this yesterday.

“Arrangement (for reconciliation) has been concluded,” he said.

The disagreement resulted in the state chapter of the ruling party splitting into two factions. Governor Ganduje leads one while the second faction is being led by former Governor of the state and current member of the National Assembly, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau.

As a result, there were parallel party congresses that were held in the state. Shekarau went to court and got the victory in the disfavour of the governor.

Although the case is at the Court of Appeal, there are signals the division will affect the party’s performance at the national convention and next year’s general elections irrespective of whoever gets the final judgment. This may have informed the need to reconcile the frosty ties and work together in the interest of the party.

Ganduje is the Chairman of the National/State Joint Supervisory Committee of the All Progressives Congress.

Governor Ganduje assured members of the National Secretariat of the APC and party stakeholders in the state of the committee’s readiness to give a voice to all concerned, with a view to bringing unity and progress in the party in the state in particular and the country in general.

The First Lady Aisha Buhari, yesterday paid a condolence visit to the family of Hanifa Abubakar, the five-year-old pupil of Noble Kids Academy who was killed by her teacher Abdulmalik Mohammed Tanko in Kano.

She also met with Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje where she condoled with the state government over Hanifa’s murder and the death of renowned Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim.

The President’s wife urged the state government to intensify efforts in protecting children from all forms of abuse, molestation and oppression. She condemned the “gruesome killing” of the little girl and called for “speedy justice” for the deceased.

While commending the state government for its timely intervention in Hanifa’s case, the President’s wife urged parents and guardians to always complement the efforts of the government in providing security and ensuring the safety of children.

Lack of legal representation stalls hearing

The three principal suspects linked with the murder of the little girl, Abdulmalik Tanko, Hashimu Isiyaku and Fatima Bashir, have since been charged to court, for alleged “kidnapping, conspiracy, concealment of a child, torturing, culpable homicide, and demanding the sum of N6 million ransom from Hanifa’s parents.”

It was gathered that when the case came up on Monday before Justice Usman Naabba of Kano State High Court, the defendants were not legally represented. The defendants prayed the court to order Kano State Government to provide legal services for them.

Prosecution counsel, led by Kano State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Musa Abdullahi Lawan, constrained to continue with the case (on Monday) and agreeing with the defendants’ request as the position of the law, sought for an adjournment to enable the state to provide legal representation for the accused.

In order to provide legal representation for the accused people, the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria is to stand for suspects.

The National Headquarters of the Council is to provide a lawyer to represent Abdulmalik Tanko who has confessed to killing Hanifa with rat poison and his two accomplices, following the refusal of the Kano State government to provide a lawyer for them, State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Musa Abdullahi Lawan said yesterday.

Lawan stated this while commenting on the order by Justice Usman Naabba of Kano State High Court on February 5 that the Federal or State government must provide counsel for the defendants sequel to their prayer seeking to have a legal representation.

The Commissioner for Justice explained that any person who is standing trial on an allegation of culpable homicide (murder) should be provided with a lawyer who will stand for them.

He said: “The Legal Aid Council of Nigeria is a Federal Government establishment with the primary mandate of providing free legal services to any Nigerian who doesn’t have a lawyer in a case of culpable homicide punishable with a death sentence.

“It’s a requirement of the law that a person facing death penalty would not be tried by the court until he is given legal representation.

“In the case of Hanifa, we don’t want to find ourselves in a situation where people will not be happy with us, considering the gravity of the offence.

“We want to conduct a trial that will stand the test of Appeal, a trial that will be final up to the Supreme Court.”

Justice Usman Naabba of Kano State High Court has fixed February 14 for the defendants to be provided with a lawyer.

Primary school teachers in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have suspended their three-week strike over non-payment of outstanding arrears.

The Chairman, National Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT, Comrade Stephen Knabayi disclosed this in a statement yesterday in Abuja.

Knabayi said the union suspended the strike after meetings it held on Tuesday and Wednesday with the management of the council.

The primary school teachers in the six area councils in the FCT had, on January 26, 2022, embarked on indefinite strike action.

The teachers were aggrieved over the failure of the area councils to reach an agreement with the union over their outstanding entitlements.

A Federal High Court Abuja yesterday, granted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s plea to join Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle as a defendant in a suit seeking his removal.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling, also granted the PDP’s reliefs to join members of the national and state’s assemblies that defected, alongside Matawalle, from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as defendants.

Justice Ekwo, in addition, granted the prayer to join the Zamfara Deputy Governor, Mahdi Gusau, as the second plaintiff in the suit.

He noted that the determination of an application for joinder is at the discretion of the court.

The judge held that by the averment in support of the application filed by the PDP, the defection issue cannot be effectively determined without joining the parties sought to be joined.

Ekwo, who ordered that the deputy governor be joined as the second plaintiff, directed that other parties sought to be joined as eight to 38th defendants be added in the suit.

While ordering the PDP (applicant) to amend its application and serve all the defendants, the judge directed the defence, including the parties sought to be joined, to file their counter-affidavits within seven days of being served.

No sooner the judge had delivered the ruling than counsel to the PDP, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), informed that despite the restraining order of the court, the defendants had planned to impeach the deputy governor.

Matawalle, alongside the three Senators, six members of the House of Representatives and the 24 members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly had, on June 29, last year, defected from the PDP to the APC.

Besides, he said he also wrote a letter to the Chief Judge of the state and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, who were defendants in the suit.

Also, yesterday, 18 out of the 22 members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly are in favour of the impeachment of the Deputy Governor, Alhaji  Mahadi Aliyu-Gusau despite a court order restraining the House from impeaching the deputy governor.

When served the impeachment notice issued against the deputy governor, 18 of the 22 lawmakers voted that impeachment proceedings be instituted against him.

“This followed a motion at the House plenary moved by the Deputy Speaker of the House and Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Musa Bawa (APC-Tsafe East) and seconded by Yusuf Kanoma (APC-Maru North).

“The Speaker, Nasiru Magarya, who presided over the plenary, directed the Clerk of the House, Shehu Saidu-Anka to effect voting for every member of the House that attended the plenary as required by the law.

“Eighteen out of the 22 members of the House voted in support of the impeachment of the deputy governor.

“The Speaker announced the assembly’s resolution requesting the state Chief Judge, Justice Kulu Aliyu, to immediately constitute a panel to investigate all the allegations levelled against the deputy governor,“  a statement issued by the Director-General, Press Affairs and Public Relations to the house, Mustafa Jafaru-Kaura said.

The statement said the action taken by the House was in line with the provision of Section 188 (5) of the Constitution, as amended.

A few days to the February 12 area councils’ election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Minister of the FCT, Malam Muhammad Bello and the Minister of State for the FCT, Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu yesterday urged traders in Abuja to cast their votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

This, according to them, will ensure seamless governance from the Federal to the grassroots levels and dividends of democracy will be enjoyed by all.

The Senior Special Assistance (SSA) on Monitoring, Inspection and Evaluation to FCT Minister, Comrade Ikharo Attah stated this when he played host to Great United Okirika Traders’ Association who visited to felicitate with him on his appointment.

He said: “But those of us in politics, we know without politics there won’t be government. We want all stakeholders to vote for the APC. The Minister has always asked us to beg all stakeholders to vote for our party candidates because if we are not in power, we are nowhere. The Minister and Minister of State, Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, have appealed to all traders to vote for the APC in tomorrow’s area council election.

“The FCT Minister Malam Mohammad Musa Bello is committed to the development of Abuja. He may not talk or shout about it but if you drive around the city, you will see construction works going on at Deeper Life Junction, Power House Junction, and Wuye Bridge, among many others.”

On the plights of the Nyanya traders, Attah said: “You need to have a good section for those who deal in second-hand clothes and second-hand items, particularly as the market is being developed to factor you in.

It is very cardinal, like what we have in the Garki Model Market. You already have a place where nobody will say any task force is disturbing them on the road.

His words: “COVID-19 has affected all our businesses and of the truth that we have been able to pull through COVID-19. We thank God we have been able to engage, and I think we need to engage more.

“Your place is strategic and the busiest. We are hopeful that you have a similar section on Nyanya Market. We have spoken to the developer and we are hopeful that when the place is fully developed, we will start a deeper engagement, there might be a redesign.

“They can even carve out a place where you know you can trade within Nyanya. Research has shown that you are the busiest in the market. I commend you for leaving the road corridors.  But the Minister came to the market to see things for himself and allowed you to stay. You people have been following up on your boundaries and I am very happy about this and am impressed. We are going to engage the developer next week. But the everyday market is factored in by the developer that daily market will have to move.”

The Chairman, Great United Okirika Traders’ Association, Mr Christian Kalu said they are enjoying the market today because they complied with the directives given to them.

He, however, appealed to the FCT administration to factor in Okirika traders into the new market design.

In fulfilment of his commitment to resettle displaced communities, Borno State Governor Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum yesterday launched yet another community at Malari Village in Konduga Local Government Area.

The resettlement came in the wake of the reconstruction of 803 houses that were destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents during serial attacks about seven years ago. The reconstruction of the houses was carried out by the state’s Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (MRRR).

At the resettlement ceremony, Governor Zulum directed the allocation of N100, 000 to 500 members of the community whose houses were not part of the 803 houses already rebuilt.

Governor Zulum also announced the allocation of cash to another category of households returning to rebuilt homes.

This category is made up of 240 male returnees who will receive N200, 000 each, 379 female returnees who will receive N10, 000 plus a bundle of wrappers.

Zulum also announced the distribution of food and non-food items which he revealed, was contributed by the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC), which were meant to support all returnees. Each household will get bags of rice, maize, gallons of groundnut oil, and mattresses. In addition to these, each woman will receive a bundle of wrappers.

The governor commended the NEDC for continuously providing interventions while pledging the continued commitment of the Borno State Government in sustaining ongoing reconstruction projects and the construction of new ones.

This, he said, was geared towards safe and dignified resettlements of Internally Displace People (IDPs) and refugees who fled to neighbouring countries in the wake of attacks between 2013 and 2014.

The Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Mustapha Gubio assured Zulum of his ministry’s focus to execute the resettlement agenda in line with the yearnings of the people.

Some opinion leaders in Konduga Local Government Area, including APC State Chairman, Ali Bukar Dalori, member representing Konduga at the State Assembly, as well as the Chairman, Borno State Local Government Service Commission, Senator Kaka Malam Yale, all praised Zulum’s resettlement agenda, describing it as a milestone.

They urged residents to remain supportive of the governor, keep co-operating with security personnel and be praying for the sustenance of emerging peace in Borno State.