The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abuja

  • Accident: 3 in coma, 7 injured as bus collide with taxi in Abuja

    Accident: 3 in coma, 7 injured as bus collide with taxi in Abuja

    Ten passengers were reported to have sustained serious injuries on Sunday in a ghastly motor accident which occurred at the Bolingo Junction Area 10, Abuja.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the accident involved a commercial bus heading for Ilorin and a taxi

    Two of the victims who spoke to NAN at the National Hospital where they were rushed to, said the accident occurred as a result of disregard to traffic rule by the driver of the bus

    They said said that the driver of the bus which they boarded from Nyanya to Ilorin was at fault as he did not obey the traffic light.

    One of the victims, Miss Mary Gambo a tailor, said she was on her way to Ilorin to visit her brother.

    She said that the bus driver was reckless and did not wait for the taxi driver who was passed by the light to drive through but ran into it.

    She said that the bus driver ought to have waited for the taxi driver to pass since he was stopped by the traffic light.

    Corroborating her statement, Mr Ahmed Mumuni, another victim, who work as security guard at the Federal Polytechnic Offa, said the driver of the bus they boarded was at fault.

    He said that the driver would not listen to complaints of his passengers when they pleaded with him to reduce speed.

    “We saw that the bus driver was speeding and begged him to be careful but he refused to heed our plea. See where it has landed everyone now,’’ he said.

    All efforts by NAN correspondent to ascertain the state of the victims who sustained serious injuries from staff of the National Hospital proved abortive.

    The doctor on duty said he was not in a position to speak on behalf of the hospital.

    However, a staff who did not want his name mentioned, said the victims in coma had been resuscitated, while those injured were being attended to.

    At the scene of the incident, officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the Nigeria Police, Nigerian Army and some private security guards who were seen carrying out routine checks refused to give  official statement.

  • Presidential aide condemns further extra judicial killing of Nigerians in South Africa

    Presidential aide condemns further extra judicial killing of Nigerians in South Africa

    Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora,  has condemned the further extra judicial killings of Nigerians living in South Africa.

    This is contained in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Abdurrahman Balogun, released on Saturday in Abuja.

    Dabiri-Erewa said the killing Kingsley Ikeri, another member of the Nigerian Union in that country at Vryheid town in Kwazulu Natal Province of South Africa on Aug. 30 was one death too many.

    Ikeri, 27, was a businessman and native of Mbaitolu in Imo State and the second Imo indigene to be so killed in the last two weeks.

    An extra judicial killing, also known as extrajudicial execution, is the killing of a person by governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or legal process.

    She said in spite of all diplomatic talks between Nigeria and South Africa to put an early warning signal in place, “it doesn’t seem to be working”.

    Dabiri-Erewa described the latest extra judicial killing of another Nigerian in South Africa as ” worrying and condemnable”.

    She said that the latest gruesome killing of Ikeri by the Police in South Africa, is”unacceptable to the people and government of Nigeria”.

    Dabiri-Erewa reiterated President Muhammadu Buhari’s calls to Nigerians to avoid crimes like drug peddling which attracts stiff penalties, sometimes death,

    She noted that  the latest killing had increased the number of Nigerians killed  in South Africa through extrajudicial means in the last one year.

    “The barbaric behavior of the perpetrators is not only unacceptable, but also calls for urgent attention by diplomatic authorities in Nigeria and South Africa”, she said.

    Dabiri-Erewa urged the South African government to ensure that justice prevails by carrying out investigation and bring the culprit to book.

    She reiterated her calls to Nigerians living abroad to always respect the laws of their host countries and be good ambassadors of Nigeria.

    “My heart goes out to the families of the deceased  and pray God to grant the departed soul eternal rest”, the SSA prayed.

    Bartholomew Eziagulu, Chairman of the Nigerian Union in the province, told the Newsmen on Friday that Mr Ikeri was allegedly tortured to death by the police.

    He said the union’s investigations revealed that the police arrested the deceased and a friend on suspicion that they were carrying hard drugs.

    He said while interrogating him, the police used plastic to cover his face to extort information from him.

    “In the process, they suffocated the deceased. When the police took him to the hospital, he was confirmed dead,” he said.

    Adetola Olubajo, the Secretary General of the union, said the national secretariat had been informed about the death of the Nigerian.

    He said the body had informed appropriate Nigerian authorities and the police in South Africa.

    Report has it that a senior Diplomat from the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg had visited Vryheid on a fact-finding mission.

    Dabiri-Erewa  had in February during  a meeting in Abuja with South Africa High Commissioner, Mr Lulu Louis Mnguni said a total of 116 Nigerians have been killed in South Africa through extrajudicial means in the last two years.

    Seven in 10 of the killings were carried out by the South African Police.

  • Court stops JUTH from sacking resident doctors

    Court stops JUTH from sacking resident doctors

    An Industrial Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday stopped the management of Jos University Teaching Hospital ( JUTH ) from sacking its resident doctors.

    JUTH, in moving to sack the doctors, relied on the Federal Government circular of 2013, which stipulated that the doctors could serve for only six years.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), however, reports that the doctors, through their Counsel, Mr Gyang Zi, have objected to that, citing what they said was the “most recent circular”, dated April 20, 2016.

    The 2016 circular allows the doctors to serve for between nine and 10 years, depending on their departments.

    Zi, in an exparte motion, urged the court to restrain JUTH’s management from sacking the doctors.

    He had argued that sacking them without allowing to serve the mandatory 10 years was “a flagrant abuse and violation of the Federal Government’s Circular of April 20, 2016”.

    Justice Waziri Abali, the Vocation Judge of the Industrial Court, who sat on the case on Thursday, directed the JUTH’s management to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive case filed against it by the doctors.

    Both parties are to maintain the status quo until the determination of this motion on notice.

    “The other parties in this matter should be put on notice so that the motion on notice can be heard and determined as soon as possible, ’’ the Judge directed.

    Abali stated that he was a vocation Judge whose assignment would end on Sept. 8, 2017, adding that the President of Industrial Court of Nigeria would assign the case to any judge to carry on with the master whenever the Judges resume.

    The doctors, represented by their President, Dr. Paul Agbo, told NAN that the CMD of JUTH had been using the old circular of 2013, which gave them six years to serve before being disengaged.

    He said that sacking them when their tenure of between nine and 10 years had not elapsed was tantamount to abuse of office and an injustice to them.

  • Delta set to defend National Youth Games position

    Delta set to defend National Youth Games position

    The Delta Sports Commission has said the state will win the 3rd edition of the National Youth Games billed to hold in Ilorin, from Sept. 7 to Sept. 17.

    Chairman of the Commission, Chief Tonobok Okowa, who made the declaration at a media briefing Thursday in Asaba, said the state had prepared to repeat the feat it achieved in Abuja in 2013.

    “As a state, we are fully prepared to win the games. Delta state is the defending champion of the National Youth games, having won the maiden edition of the games in Abuja in  2013.

    “At the Abuja edition of the games, Delta came top of the table with 20 gold, 8 silver and 10 bronze medals,” Okowa said.

    The chairman further revealed that Team Delta has gone far in terms of preparations to enable it defend the title.

    He said that the state sport commission would not field over age players as it would strictly abide by the rules specified by organizers of the games.

    “There will be no room for over aged players and also, all the athletes for the games must reside in the state. Delta indigenes living outside the state will be barred from participating.

    “To be qualified for the games, the athletes must be in secondary schools in the state. Anybody who is not qualified will be dismissed,” the chairman said.

    Okowa recalled that at the maiden edition of the game in 2013, Delta came top with 20 golds, 8 silvers and 8 bronze medals, a feat, which was repeated at the second edition with a medal haul of nine gold, seven silver and 10 bronze medals.

    He disclosed that the commission has constituted an 18-member Organizing Committee to properly prepare the athletes and ensure their success.

    Okowa said: “Team Delta as defending champion is set to go to Ilorin and do what she knows best. The athletes and officials are in top form as the governor has provided virtually all the needs of our contigents for effective participation.”

    He said the athletes were presently being camped in Asaba, Oghara, Agbor and Lagos, adding that the state contingent to the Ilorin games would be taking part in 25 sporting events at the games.

    According to him, Delta would be fielding athletes in female volleyball, male and female hockey, basketball, scrabble, wrestling, Volleyball and Badminton.

    Others are, Karate, Squash, Table Tennis, Chess, Golf, Boxing, Taekwondo, Swimming, Cycling, Judo, Para-Athletics, Gymnastics, Weightlifting and Lawn Tennis, Trado-Ayo and Kokowa.

  • Buhari directs emergency response to Benue flooding, sympathises with affected communities

    Buhari directs emergency response to Benue flooding, sympathises with affected communities

    President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ) to immediately mobilize personnel and resources to come to the aid of the victims of the flooding in Benue.

    The President gave the directive in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Thursday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Benue Radio Station, Wurukum Market and several other communities have been submerged occasioned by the heavy downpour in the state.

    At least 100,000 persons were also displaced across 12 local government areas of the state as a result of the calamity.

    However, President Buhari, who expressed great concern over the unfortunate incident in the state, said he would continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure compliance with his directives on the incident.

    According to him, he will also be receiving regular updates on the scale of the disaster, as well as the Federal Government’s humanitarian response.

    He assured that the Federal Government would make available any assistance needed to enable the state government and the affected communities cope with and surmount the impact of the flooding.

    The President extended his sympathies to the Government and people of Benue.

     

  • Court sentences man to six lashes for stealing maize

    Court sentences man to six lashes for stealing maize

    An FCT Grade 1 Area Court, Karmo, on Thursday ordered a Scavenger, Anas Abdulkari to be given six strokes of the cane for stealing maize.

    Abdulkari, 20, resident of Gidan Bola Jabi, Abuja, was sentenced for criminal trespass and theft after he pleaded guilty and begged for leniency.

    “I’m so sorry sir for stealing the maize, I took only three maize because I was very hungry; please forgive me,’’ he said.

    The Judge, Abubakar Sadiq said that the punishment would have been severe if he had not pleaded guilty to save the court the pains of long prosecution.

    Earlier, the court was told that one Alhaji Sale Ali of Jabi Behind Delta Line reported the matter to Utako Police Station on Aug. 21.

    The prosecutor, Mrs Florence Auhioboh, told the court that the convict criminally went into Ali’s farm and harvested maize without his consent.

    Auhioboh said that the convict, who was apprehended and handed over to the police immediately, had in the course of interrogation, admitted committing the offence.

    The prosecutor said the actions violated Sections 348 and 287 of the Penal Code, and asked the court for summary trial after Abdulkadir pleaded guilty in line with Section 347 of the Administration of Criminal Justices Act, 2015.

  • NIM to hold Management Conference in September

    NIM to hold Management Conference in September

    At a press brief on Wednesday, the President and Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Management ( NIM ), Emeritus Prof. Munzali Jibril, FNIM, OFR, announced the institution’s 2017 annual national management conference with theme “Corporate Governance and Institutional Performance”. Also present at the press briefing were – Mr. Festus Olujimi Ogunmokun, MNIM (Director Finance, Accounts, and Investments) and Mr. Anthony Fadaka, FNIM, FCIA (Registrar) of the Institute. The conference is scheduled to hold between the 17th and 19th September, 2017 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

    Addressing the press, Munzali stressed that the annual conference is one of the institution’s numerous contributions to nation building by providing a platform to brainstorm extensively on a burning governance and leadership issue of national important and to make sound and informed recommendations to the government and key decision makers.

    According to him, “the choice of the theme of the conference was arrived at when the institute came to the sad realization that most of the sleazy and unethical practices being witnessed in the country in recent times were due to scant regard for corporate governance.

    “In addition, some poorly performing and failed businesses both in the public and private sectors of the economy are caused by non-compliance with the tenets and ideals of corporate governance. Since it is a truism that there is a direct correlation between adherence to corporate governance and institutional performance, there is a new compelling need to draw the attention of the nation, businesses and those who manage man and materials at different levels to the issue of corporate governance.”

    The conference which is expected to be declared open by the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, would be a gathering of the highest number of professional managers, government functionaries, decision-makers, opinion leaders, policy formulators and top management executives in both the private and public sector; a total of 3,000 participants are expected for the conference.

    He also emphasized the sundry roles that corporate governance play in issues bordering on accountability and transparency within the polity. According to him, “corporate governance, when executed effectively, can prevent corporate scandals, fraud and civil and criminal liability of organisations.

    “It also enhances the company’s image in the public eye as a self-policing company that is responsible and worthy of shareholder and debtholder capital.

    “The issue of corporate governance has been one of the reasons most organisations and government have continued to totter in these climes, hence the need to focus on it at this year’s conference with the hope of proffering solutions that will arrest the present slide.”

    Among the corporate governance experts expected to present papers at the conference is Dr. Christopher Kolade (FNIM, CNIM, CON), who will be presenting on the main theme of the conference. Also, presenting at the conference would be Prof. Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah (Former Minister of Agriculture), Dr. Nat Ofo, FCIS (Sub-Dean, Department of Business Law, College of Law, Igbinedion University), Mr. Akinbayo Adenubi and Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar (Past Presidents of the Institute), Dr. Rob Newsome, Dr. Nkechi Ezeako, and Prof. Sulaiman Salihu Aruwa.

  • Eid-el-Kabir: Police assure FCT residents of adequate security – AIG

    Eid-el-Kabir: Police assure FCT residents of adequate security – AIG

    Mr Salisu Fagge, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 8 Abuja, on Wednesday assured residents of the zone of adequate security during and after the forthcoming Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.

    Fagge gave the assurance in a telephone  interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna.

    He said the three commissioners of police in FCT, Niger and Kaduna states had been issued with operational order to provide effective security during and after the period.

    He explained that the zone would also increase its patrol teams on Abuja-Kaduna federal highway to ensure the safety of road users.

    He assured motorists that security measures put in place would deal with any form of threats.

    He called on residents to volunteer information about bad elements in their midst.

    He added that adequate security personnel would be stationed at strategic locations such as prayer grounds, children parks, recreational centres and other suspected crime spots.

    He, therefore, advised residents of Niger, Kaduna and FCT Abuja to cooperate with all security personnel for peaceful celebrations.

    Fagge urged members of the public, especially those traveling, to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement to the nearest security formation within their localities.

  • Labourer imprisoned for stealing window slides

    Labourer imprisoned for stealing window slides

    A Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Tuesday sentenced a Labourer, Suleiman Abdullah, to eight months imprisonment for stealing glass window slides.

    The judge, Abubakar Sadiq, sentenced Abdullah, 23, after he pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of theft.

    The judge, however, gave the convict N10, 000 option of fine.

    Earlier, the prosecutor, Mrs Auhioboh Florence, told the court that on Aug. 22, one Mohammed Sheffiu of No. 2 Works and Housing Estate, Gwarinpa, Abuja, reported the incident at the Gwarinpa Police Station.

    Florence said that Sheffiu reported the matter for proper investigation, which led to the arrest of the convict.

    According to Florence, the convict committed the offences on the same date at about 12 a.m. at Gwarinpa.

    The prosecutor said that the convict criminally trespassed into the complainant’s house and stole four glass window slides valued at N5, 500.

    Florence told the court that the items belong to one Japhet Sani.

    She said that during police investigation and interrogation, the convict confessed to the crime.

    The offences contravened Sections 79 and 287 of the Penal Code.

  • Rumble in Zakzaky’s camp

    It is over eight months since Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja ordered the immediate release of Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. The order was not obeyed and the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) remains in custody.

    The situation has forced followers of the Shi’ites sect leader to often take to the streets in major cities of the North, particularly Kaduna, demanding his and his wife’s unconditional release. They have been in custody since December 2015.

    Members of the Islamic sect clashed with the men of the Nigerian Army in December 2015. The clash left many people dead, while the sect leader, Sheikh Zakzaky was later arrested during the soldiers’ raid on his house in Zaria two days later and handed over to the Department of State Service (DSS).

    However, after several protests and litigation, Justice Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja in December 2016 ordered his release and 24-hour police protection for El- Zakzaky and his wife when they are released from custody.

    Apart from their release, the court ordered the authorities to provide them a decent accommodation alongside their family. Respondents in the suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/281/2016 are the DSS, the Nigeria Police Force and the Attorney General of the Federation.

    Lagos lawyer and activist Femi Falana (SAN) had approached the court for the release of the religious leader and his wife from detention.

    The court held: “The Respondents shall within 45 days of this judgement make proper and decent arrangement of a residential abode for the applicant and his family in Kaduna State or anywhere of their choice within the northern region, where the applicant and his wife and their children can relocate when released upon the expiration of 45 days from today, that is December 2, 2016.”

    Justice Kolawole said further; “Let me state clearly and for the avoidance of doubt that the failure of the government to effect the release of the applicant and his wife from its custody or any illegal custody whatsoever, upon the expiration of the 45th day from December 2, 2016, such failure shall not only constitute a deliberate act of disobedience of these orders, but it will crystallise into fresh cause of action of infraction of the Applicant’s rights and his wife to personal liberty guaranteed by the Constitution of Nigeria 1999, as amended.

    “The Inspector General of Police or any of its subordinate officers not below the rank of Assistant Inspector General when he received the applicant and his wife as ordered, shall take immediate steps within 24 hours, convey the applicant and his wife under necessary security escort to their place of abode as would have been provided by the 1st Respondent, DSS, working in conjunction with the third Respondent, AGF.

    “The 2nd Respondent, Police, shall then provide the applicant and his wife police protection which shall operate round the clock until the alleged threats which were not provided by any admissible evidence but left in the realm of speculation are moved or significantly diminished,” the Judge said.

    Eight months after, Zakzaky’s followers have been left with no alternative but to the continue protests, as the authorities have refused to release their leader.

    During one of the protests in Kaduna, the protesting Shi’ites asked the government to immediately release their leader or exterminate all of them. They also vowed never to rest until federal government releases their leader, who has been in DSS custody since December 2015.

    The angry protesters, who temporarily blocked major highways in Kaduna metropolis were seen with placards with varying inscriptions such as, “Free Zakzaky”, “We demand justice”, “We are Nigerians”, “Release El-zakzaky or kill us all,” among others.

    Addressing newsmen, spokesperson for the protesters, Mallam Nuhu Mafara said they were out in large numbers to agitate for the unconditional release of their leader who has been in detention since the December 2015 clash between the members of the Islamic sect and men of Nigerian Army in Zaria, Kaduna State.

    “The protest was a joint action against the illegal detention of our leader Ibrahim El-zakzaky  and all members from Kano Jigawa, Niger, Bauchi, Zamfara and other northern states are here today to demand the unconditional release of our leader.

    “Today also marks over 250 days since a court of the land set him (El-Zakzaky) free, but the cabals holding Nigerians to ransom have stubbornly refused to obey court orders”, he added.

    Also, a statement signed by one of the group’s top members Sheikh Abdulhamid Bello, read in part “while there are known figures in Nigeria today, agitating for the breakup of the country into pieces, with some even issueing ultimatum, to the government. But here is Sheikh Zakzaky, who has never committed any treasonable offence languishing in jail.

    “Precisely the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky has clocked 612 days today in the gulag of Buhari administration illegally. It is today well over 250 days when an honorable court of the land set him free from detention, but the cabals holding Nigerians to ransom have stubbornly refused to obey the courts orders”.

    The statement described what happened in Zaria in 2015 as ugly incidences, saying, “during the pogrom that included incessant killing of over 1000 unarmed members of the Movement, burning of some of them alive, looting of their property and demolishing their buildings all perpetrated by the Nigerian Army and the Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

    “The worst part of all this oppression against Sheikh Zakzaky who enjoys millions of followership in Nigeria and beyond, is that to date none of the perpetrators of the genocidal crime in the Army and Kaduna state government has been brought to book. Some have even been rewarded with promotion in their various places of work. These and many more instances of cruelty against the Sheikh made him to be the most oppressed person in Nigeria of today.”