The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kaduna state

  • El-Rufai orders probe of rifles found in accident car

    El-Rufai orders probe of rifles found in accident car

    Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has ordered an investigation into the discovery of five locally made AK 47 rifles and a magazine in a car that was involved in an accident last week.
    The Nation recalled that, the fatal accident, involving two vehicles, occurred on the 12th May, 2017 at Mazuga, Kachia local government area.
    Meanwhile, Governor El-Rufai in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, said his government has received a briefing on the accident from the Kaduna State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps and security agencies were charged to ensure thorough investigation and diligent prosecution.
    According to the statement, “On 15th May 2017, the Kaduna State Government received a brief from the Kaduna State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corp on the discovery of a weapons in a car that had been involved in an accident. The government has therefore directed a thorough investigation of the matter.
    “According to the Sector Head of Operation, Salisu D. Galadanci, the FRSC on 12th May, 2017 at about 16:07 hours received information of an accident at Mazuga, KM10, Kachia-Kafanchan road and it quickly proceeded to the scene to rescue the victims.
    “On reaching the scene, some people around the area had already started helping by bringing the victims out from the accident’s vehicles. Two vehicles were involved, an Audi Salon car AG 60MKR, one Opel Vectra car without registration. Of the seven persons involved in the accident, three died while four persons were rescued. Five locally-made AK47 rifles and a magazine were also recovered from the Audi car.
    “The driver of the Audi, Mr. Sabo Goni, was among the rescued accident victims. All the victims were rushed to Kachia Hospital. The Kachia Divisional Police Officer, CSP Faruk Umar, was alerted about the discovery of five rifles in the Audi car. The recovered arms have since been handed over to Kachia DPO for further investigation.
    “The Kaduna State Government commends Mazuga community for reporting the matter to security agencies and for preserving the recovered arms till the arrival of security agencies”, the statement read.
  • Union urges Gov. El-Rufa’i to reopen Gidan Waya College

    Union urges Gov. El-Rufa’i to reopen Gidan Waya College

    Three unions of the Kaduna State College of Education, Gidan Waya, on Friday urged Gov. Nasiru El-Rufaí to reopen the institution which was closed down due the recent crisis in southern Kaduna.

    Officials of the College of Education Staff Union (COEASU), Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) and Senior Staff Union made the appeal at a joint congress meeting in Gidan Waya.

    Noah Danlami, the COEASU Chairman, said the appeal became necessary due to the “total return of normalcy in southern Kaduna in general and Gidan Waya in particular.”

    Danlami pointed out that primary and secondary schools as well as other businesses in the area have been in full operation and wondered why the governor was reluctant to reopen the institution.

    According to him, the closure of the college is counterproductive and negates government policy of providing free access to education to its citizens.

    He stressed that reopening the college would enable the Academic Planning Division of the institution to come up with modalities cover the time lost during the closure.

    The COEASU chairman, however, commended the Federal Government for launching Operation Harbin Kunama ll, which helped to restore normalcy to the area.

    Also, Sunday Sani, Chairman, Senior Staff Union of the college, said that the continued stay of students at home would make them more vulnerable to social vices.

    The Chairman of NASU, Danjuma Amar, noted with satisfaction that the college did not lose either a staff or student during the southern Kaduna crisis.

    He therefore called on the state government to allow for full resumption of academic activities.

    The unions also appealed to the government to exclude the institution from the Treasury Single Account and implement the 65-year retirement policy for staff.

    They further canvassed for the implementation of CONPCASS and CONTEDISS salary structure, to stop brain drain in the institution.

  • Army rescues 30,000 women, children from Boko Haram in 14 months

    The Nigeria Army on Wednesday said it had rescued 30,000 women and children held by Boko Haram in Sambisa Forest in the last 14 months.

    Brig.-Gen. Victor Ezugwu, the outgoing Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Nigerian Army, made this known at the handover ceremony in Maiduguri.

    Ezegwu attributed the successes recorded so far in the fight against insurgency in the North-East to doggedness, hardwork and determination of troops in the frontline.

    “Successes recorded so far is as a result of collective efforts of all of you here.

    “I cannot take this glory alone because I could not have achieved anything without your support and encouragement,” he said.

    The GOC, who urged troops to increase the momentum in the campaign to flush out the remaining terrorists in the region, said all hands must be on deck to end Boko Haram.

    Ezugwu paid glowing tribute to the past GOCs of the Division for laying solid foundation at the formative age of the Division.

    “We cannot forget  the efforts of our past GOCs, who laboured to build this Division before my assumption of duty as the sixth GOC.”

    He pledged that the Army would not forget those who died in the service of the nation.

    “The death of these gallant men and women will not be in vain.

    “We that are still alive must double our efforts towards total elimination of insurgency in the region so that their death will not be in vain.”

    He thanked the Chief of Army Staff for providing necessary support needed to execute the war in the North-East.

    “Let us thank God for giving us Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai as the COAS. He provided us with all we needed to fight this war.

    “He practically took it upon himself to plan the war strategies and we all can see the results of such efforts”.

    Ezugwu described the incoming GOC as a hardworking and gallant senior officer, who knew the  terrain very well having served as Brigade Commander in the Theater.

    He urged troops to extend the support he enjoyed to the incoming GOC.

    The outgoing GOC was recently posted to Depot Nigerian Army, Zaria, Kaduna State and is being replaced by Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Yusuf after serving for 18 months as the Acting GOC of 7 Division.

     

  • UNICEF partners agency to curb child abuse

    UNICEF partners agency to curb child abuse

    The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) says it has partnered with the Niger Child Right Protection Agency to protect the rights of children against violence and abuses.

    Mr Utpal Motra, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Kaduna, said this when he led a team of UNICEF officials on a working visit to the agency in Minna on Friday.

    He said that UNICEF was concerned about the increasing rate of child abuse and on top of the matter to tackle ill treatment of children or wards by parents or guardians.

    According to him, sentencing offenders will not address the issue of violence against children completely.

    “Issues such as rape must be taken seriously to ensure that preventive measures are put in place to protect children against violence before such violence is perpetrated.

    Motra advised the agency to create a child protection system across the 25 local government areas of the state, to ensure that children of school age attend school.

    He stressed the need for such children to be properly guarded against all forms of abuses.

    Earlier, Mrs Mairam Kolo, Director-General of the agency, said that the agency was aimed at protecting and enforcing the rights of children in the state.

    She disclosed that the agency would soon embark on a sensitisation campaign to various local government areas to sensitise the people on the dangers of violating children’s rights

  • Buhari holistically transforming Nigeria – Minister

    Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, says President Muhammadu Buhari is holistically transforming Nigeria.
    The minister told journalists in Zaria, Kaduna State that Nigeria has so many things to be happy about since the coming to power of the Buhari administration.
    The News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] reports that the minister was in Zaria to inaugurate a chemical laboratory at the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT) and a plant for the production of high grade precipitated calcium carbonate and caustic soda.
    “We have so many things to be happy with and to say yes that our country is on the move again.
    “Yes, of course, we are on the move, we really want to transform Nigeria and we are very hopeful that by the grace of God we will transform our country,” Onu said.
    He, however, tasked Nigerians on collective efforts towards the transformation drive.
    “The problem of transforming the economy is something that will involve all Nigerians, so we need to work together.
    “It is not just the research institutes that will do it alone, we need the industries too.
    “Here we have the industry coming to assist research and developmental works of the nation, knowing that in the end, they will be the primary beneficiaries.
    “The output will be of great interest and benefit to the nation’s industrialisation programme and all Nigerians,” he noted.
    Also in an interview, the NARICT Acting Director-General, Prof. Mohammed Yakubu said the projects inaugurated by the minister would add value to the quest for Nigeria’s industrialisation.
    He appreciated the support of NOTAP, PZ and RMRDC for their contributions to the success of the research projects.
    “Hardly is there any serious research and development institution in Nigeria that does not owe its success story to the intervention of RMRDC.
    “We in NARICT are proud to continue to enjoy their patronage for a long time. We collaborated with them to develop a plant for multi-metric salts production facility.
    “With this facility, we are sure we will be able to supplement reagent grade and industrial grade metric salts needed in this country,” the D-G said.
    He disclosed that the institute was also collaborating with RMRDC in Kenaf fibre processing technology, indigo dye extraction technology and adaptable dye machine fabrication technology among others.

  • El-Rufai pledges to appoint more women in government

    El-Rufai pledges to appoint more women in government

    Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State on Thursday pledged to appoint more women into his government.

    El-Rufai made the pledge in Kaduna at the 2nd Women Economic Empowerment Summit, with the theme: Enabling access and participation; Linking women to Resources.

    The News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] reports that the governor had already appointed three women as commissioners, while the state Head of Service is also a woman.

    El-Rufai said his administration appreciates the important role women play in the development of the state.

    He urged the women to develop a road map to guide the government in addressing the challenges facing them.

    According to him, the government had established gender desk in all Ministries Departments and Agencies in the state to address women issues.

    He announced that the government plans to set up the Kaduna State Peace Commission and would appoint a woman as Executive Vice Chairman.

    NAN reports that the bill to establish the Peace Commission is currently before the state House of Assembly awaiting approval.

    Earlier, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba said the success of the first women summit informed the hosting of another one to tackle challenges already identified.

    “The ministry believes that access to timely information is of great importance to women businesses and empowerment.

    “The summit is planned to explore knowledge, information technology and social linkages to enable women participate as full and informed players in the business environment.

    “We have deliberately invited men and women from different professions and sectors to this summit to advise us on various areas we can work together for gender mainstreaming and social inclusion in our dear state,” Baba said.

    The commissioner commended development partners and advocacy groups that facilitated the summit.

    NAN reports that the summit was supported by Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for Better Business Environment (ENABLE2), Synagos Nigeria, UNILIVER and Power Oil.

    Meanwhile, the summit has set up eight syndicate groups to develop roadmap to tackle gender challenges from different business sectors including Agriculture, Education, Health, Governance, Commerce, Security and ICT.

    One of the resource person, Katha Nwator said her organisation was working with the state authorities to address gaps in providing agricultural inputs to women farmers.

    Nwator said challenges and gaps slowing down women participation in Agriculture, Health and Sanitation issues must be addressed.

    She pledged that her organisation, Synergos Nigeria, would work with the Women Affairs and Agriculture ministries to address the issue of gender in agriculture.

    She also said effort was being made to address the alleged fraudulent activities in fertiliser procurement by women and imposition of illegal taxes in parts of the state.

    According to her, social media platform would be used to provide information among women farmers in the state.

    She advised women farmers to register their cooperative groups in a well structured manner to enable them access various agriculture credit facilities.

  • How we discovered $9.8M, £74,000 in Ex-GMD Yakubu’s home – Witness

    How we discovered $9.8M, £74,000 in Ex-GMD Yakubu’s home – Witness

    The first prosecution witness in the on-going trial of Ex-General Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Chief Andrew Yakubu told Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court Abuja of how the sum of $9,772,800M and £74,000 was discovered in his house located at Sabon Tarsha area in Kaduna.

    Mr. Yakubu was arraigned on a six-count charge of money laundering and false asset declaration.

    The witness, Mr Tasiu Abubakar who is a super pretendant of police attached to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) told the court that the zonal office is located at No 2 Hazkamp Road Kano.

    Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Prince Ben Ikani the witness who was told to explain to the court what happened on the 2nd of February 2017 said:

    “On that fateful day the Zonal Head of Kano received an intelligence information that there was a house located at Sabon Tarsha area of Kaduna state that there was a money kept in his house and the zonal office has an office called intelligence and special operation section known as isos which function is to carry out such operation

    “Based on that the zonal head of operation directed the unit to proceed to Kaduna and carry out surveillance

    “When I and my team arrived the house the caretaker came and identified himself as Bitrus Yakubu after normal introduction we presented a search warrant to him

    “The names of the people in my team are Sanusi Abdullahi, Aliyu Abdulkabu, Adamu Waziri, Suleman Mohammed

    “He now told us that he is the defendant’s brother and so we discovered that the caretaker did not have the key to the house and so we had to call an iron bender

    “The iron bender came with his breaking tools and unlocked the door”

    He added:”Our team is attached with a cameraman from the media unit of the EFCC whose name is Suleman Mohammed

    “The main door was unlocked and we moved him with the Bitrus and the iron bender

    “We further discovered another door inside which was also unlocked. Immediately the doors was opened we discovered bupapi and a four panel safe and we asked Mr Bitrus who is the owner of that safe, which he said the safe belongs to the defendant

    “And so we moved the safe out of the apartment along with Bitrus and we search the apartment and discovered the white excel cpu component and that is all what we discovered

    “After discovering the safe,the team along with the defendant brother proceeded to the EFCC office in Kano were the zonal head of operation and other senior officers invited key experts and the safe was unlocked in the presence of the defendant’s brother

    “When the first panel was opened, we discovered foreign currency, specifically US dollars, and pounds sterling

    “They unlocked the second to fourth panel where all different panels contained money

    “After that the zonal head employed the services of bureau the change who came along with currency counting machine and all this process was covered by the media unit and then the money counted was $9. 8M as well as £74,000

    “The defendant confirm the amount which was counted and we made a paper with the names of all the witnesses including the bureau the change (BDC) who helped in counting and their statement was taken in that count. Immediately the money was registered as exhibit

    “At the time when the money was discovered, the defendant was out of the country for medical trip. He was contacted and he now reported to the zonal office, he came along with his counsel Mr James Kanyi, who was interviewed in the present of his lawyer

    “I administered the word of caution and he read it to the language he understood and he signed”

    On how he was asked by the prosecution counsel who wrote the statement he simply said: “I didn’t write the statement of the defendant whereas he wrote it by himself in the presence of the counsel in three pages”

    Furthermore the witness said the defendant said that the house where the safe was found belongs to him

    “After the statement we seek for an order of court for him to be detained”

    Asked by Prince Ikani were the money currently is, the witness said that the money is kept in the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) in a strong room.

    Justice Mohammed adourned till 24th of May for continuation of trial.

     

  • Farmers urge FG to sustain fertilizer initiative

    Farmers urge FG to sustain fertilizer initiative

    Some farmers in Kaduna State have appealed to the Federal Government to sustain the “Presidential Fertilizer Initiative” which had crashed the prices of fertilizers across the country.

    The farmers made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Zaria.

    Alhaji Saidi Haruna, a farmer in Makarfi Local Government Area, said that the newly-introduced initiative that had brought down the prices of fertilizers would enhance national food security.

    “If you can recall, by this time last year, a bag of NPK (fertilizer) was sold for between N8, 000 and N10, 000, depending on the area.

    “As I am talking to you now, fertilisers now sell for N5, 500 across Nigeria, regardless of the area; this has affected the prices of other products,” he said.

    Malam Maiada Karaukarau, a peasant farmer at Karaukarau village, urged the present administration to sustain the initiative to assist farmers in contributing their quota to national food security.

    “If we produce enough food more than we can consume, it will go a long way in generating income for farmers and boost government revenue,” he noted.

    A Zaria-based farmer, Malam Ibrahim Mohammed, called on farmers to support government policies and programmes to enable it achieve its goal on food sufficiency.

  • Over 7.6m cars puts undue pressure on Nigerian roads – Corps Marshal

    The Corps Marshal of Federal Road Safety Corps [FRSC], Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, on Monday said the number of cars in the country was putting undue pressure on the nation’s road network, thereby causing accidents.
    Oyeyemi said Nigeria has over 7.6 million cars plying through its 204, 000 kilometer road network.
    “This statistics show that there is high pressure on the road network which makes the prevalence of road accidents high,” he said in a message to an event organised to mark the Global Road Safety Week in Kaduna.
    He said that the FRSC had come up with various strategies including installation of speed limiter device in commercial vehicles to reduce road traffic deaths.
    The Corps Marshal, represented by Ebenezer Ashaniya, Deputy Corps Commander Policy, Research and Statistics, said efforts were on to increase awareness on the dangers of speed among road users in the country.
    Oyeyemi said direct control of speed was necessary and a better approach in saving lives by motorists.
    He assured that the FRSC would continue to discharge its mandate until road users accord due value to human lives.
    Mohammed Garba, an official of Kaduna State Traffic Agency, pledged that the outfit would work with the FRSC to ensure safer roads across the state.
    “As a law enforcement agency in the state we will do our best to compliment your efforts in sanitizing our roads,” he added.

     

  • Teenage boy launches campaign against child abuse

    A teenager, Usman Gashash, has launched a campaign against all forms of child abuses through his guitar music in Kaduna State.

    Gashash spoke with the journalist shortly after his performance with little kids at his parent’s house on Sunday in Kaduna.

    The 10-year old boy appealed to the African Union to end child exploitation, early child marriage, kid-soldier, the killing of albinos and violence against children accused of witchcraft in the continent.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gashash has held series of campaign in schools, homes and in his neighbourhood, against all forms of child abuse and tortures, through his musical group.

    The creative and talented young music artiste appealed to the continental body to find means of ending terror activities, religious extremism and insecurity destabilising millions of children.

    The young artist said child abuse was a major problem “in our world today and it is the responsibility of everyone to contribute toward finding lasting solution to it”.

    He expressed worry over the increasing violation of child right throughout the African continent.

    He noted that action must be taken urgently to enable every child have his or her freedom and right as a citizen.

    “Lives of albinos children in Africa is under serious threat as many of them are now been hunted by for ritual purposes.

    “The climate change is also another contributing factor that needs to be considered in saving the lives of such children.

    “We must stand to fight against any kinds of challenges that can cripple the lives of our African albinos,” he said.

    According to him, most of his songs are anchored on child rights, which include access to education, rights to adequate food, shelter, clean water, primary health care, leisure and recreation among others.

    “Many children in Africa have become refugees due to religious conflicts, political crisis, farmers and herdsmen clashes and terrorism.

    “Problem of malnutrition is the biggest challenges those children refugees are facing day-by-day.

    “Child soldier is also on the increase in various regions of Africa due to senseless political and ethnic crisis as well as poverty.

    “These children are forced to join the militia groups in different countries in Africa.”

    He, therefore, appealed to all concerned to join hands fighting for the rights of children and eradicate some obnoxious practices like female genital mutilation, which is rampant in many African countries.

    “I urge all children network organisations worldwide to rise up and speak against all the challenges facing them.

    “As for me, I will keep using music as an instrument of spreading the message of fighting against child right violation.

    “I will also keep on calling for all African children freedom against all forms of humiliation and torture through my songs.”