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Tag: lecturer

  • ABU Professor guilty for enticing married woman- Supreme Court

    ABU Professor guilty for enticing married woman- Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the conviction and sentencing to two months in prison of Professor Festus Kolo, a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria for enticing a married woman.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the pronouncement was without an option of fine.

    Delivering the judgment, Justice Clara Ogunbiyi held that the appellant had failed to dispel the prosecution evidence that linked him to the offence.

    “It is ironical and intriguing that a Counsel for the appellant, who described the act of his client as condemnable and detestable, could in another tone dismiss the same act simply as mere allegation.

    “It was stated that the appellant had been warned severally by the husband of the woman both face to face and on phone to stay away from her.

    “He had refused to heed until he was caught red handed with the woman in a hotel room.

    “The appellant according to the evidence before the court had left his place and travelled for up to four hundred kilometres from Zaria to Dutse to pursue his illicit sexual act,’’ she said.

    Ogunbiyi said: “it was alleged further that the appellant was arrested by the Police in the hotel room and later charged to court for enticing the married woman.

    “This alleged offence is contrary to Section 389 of the Penal Code’’.

    The judge said: “ for purpose of recapitulation, a critical analysis of the behaviour pattern exhibited by the appellant will give a reasonable assessment of his character and intention.

    “This is well depicted in his persistent refusal to stay away from another man’s wife despite several warnings by her husband.

    “In addition to the foregoing, the open confession made by the appellant to the commission of the offence during police investigation is a further reason to discountenance the submission put forward by the appellant.

    “I have stated the position of this court earlier in the course of this judgment wherein it holds that the confession is the best form of evidence.

    “And an accused person can be convicted on his confessional statement alone’’.

    Ogunbiyi held that: “consequently, the lower court could not be faulted when it went ahead to affirm the conviction and sentence of the appellant.

    “This was done according to strict compliance with summary trial procedure by the successive lower courts’’.

    The judge, therefore, held that the appeal at hand was devoid of any merit.

    “The concurrent judgments of the lower courts are endorsed while the conviction and sentence of the appellant by the lower court is also affirmed by me.

    “The appeal is dismissed and the judgment of the lower court is affirmed by this court,’’ she said.

    NAN reports that it was an appeal against the decision of the appellate session of Jigawa State High Court delivered on Sept.17, 2013 in appeal No. JDU/14/CA/2013.

    The court had affirmed the judgment of the trial Magistrate Court, Kiyawa, Jigawa state wherein the appellant was convicted summarily for the offence.

    Upon this conviction and sentence by the Magistrate, the appellant was dissatisfied and lodged an appeal before the appellate division of the Jigawa state High Court.

    Kolo had asked the court to decide whether or not the lower trial Magistrate, “Senior Magistrate’’ had the jurisdiction to try and determine the offence under Section 389 of the penal code laws of the state.

    After hearing argument from both sides, the High Court in its judgment delivered on Sept. 17, 2013 dismissed the appeal and upheld the decision of the trial court.

    NAN reports that the statement of facts indicated that Kolo was a professor and lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria while the victim was his student at the University.

    It was stated in the face of the First Information Report (FIR) that the appellant had been sending love messages via his phone number to the married woman through her phone number.

    The FIR also said that the convict had defied all warnings, adding that he was thereafter caught in the near sexual act with the victim in a hotel by the police.

    The convict had described the entire incident and trial as a set up. (NAN)

  • Recession : Don tasks FG on steps to restructure economy

    A university lecturer, Dr Tolani Hassan, has advised the Federal Government to reflate the economy, stabilise the oil sector and create employment opportunities to reverse the current economic recession.

    Hassan, a senior lecturer of Economics at the College of Management and Social Sciences, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode, stressed the need for government to brace up its policies.

    He gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ijebu-Ode on Saturday.

    Hassan also urged government to increase its spending on capital projects in order to stimulate the ailing economy.

    The economist observed that the money allocated for capital projects in the current budgetary dispensation had not been adequately utilised by the present administration, hence suffocating the economy.

    “Nigeria requires stability in the oil sector to overcome the current economic challenges.

    “Though, the drift in the nation’s economy did not start with the current administration, falling prices and instability in the oil sector drove the economy into recession,” Hassan said.

    He added that the recession was aided by the cumulative effect of corruption in the system, attack on oil facilities and the foreign exchange crisis.

    Hassan, therefore, urged the Federal Government to continue peace talks with key stakeholders in the Niger Delta and labour unions in the oil sector to reduce current instability in the industry.

    He said government must support indigenous production, improve power supply and encourage the financial service sectors to make loans available for investors at low interest rate.

    According to Hassan, the measures would attract investors, promote local production and stimulate the economy to flourish again.

    “Nigeria must look towards agriculture, tourism and manufacturing to get out of this economic conundrum.

    “In the meantime, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should also keep engendering policies to allow the naira to flow freely so that it can find its equilibrium,” he said.

    He also lamented that the country’s credit ratings had been slashed, thus it became difficult to fund diversification of the economy into other productive sectors,” he said.
    Hassan urged President Muhammadu Buhari to engage more economic managers, including seasoned economists, to chart viable economic pathways for the nation.

  • Gunmen kill lecturer

    A lecturer in Fishery department of the University of Agricultural Makurdi ( UAM) Professor Robert Okai was shot and killed by unknown gunmen on Monday .
    Okai is the second lecturer killed in the University within one month by unknown persons .
    The first was Christie Angbulu , a lecturer in Bio- chemistry who was kidnapped in Kogi state while attending a workshop. She was killed and buried in a shallow grave .
    Elder sister of the deceased  Mrs Ann Joseph told newsmen that the late professor came out of his house about 3 am to see why the dogs were barking and was attacked by two gunmen.
    ” The gunmen shot him in the head leaving him  in his pool of blood and escaped ” said Mrs Ann.
    She said the Professor was rushed  to the Federal Medical Center but was rejected by doctors who demanded for police report .
    When contacted, the  state police commissioner Bashir Makama, who visited the scene of the incident said an investigations into the killings .

  • UNIPORT expels 22 students

    UNIPORT expels 22 students

    The Senate of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) on Friday announced the expulsion of 22 students of the university for various offences including assaulting a female lecturer.

    A statement signed by the Registrar of the university, Mrs Dorcas Otto in Port Harcourt, said that the offences also included being members of different cult groups and undermining security on the campus.

    According to the statement, the decision to expel the students was taken at the 426th Senate Meeting of the university held on Wednesday.

    It further disclosed that eight of the students were expelled for being part of different cult groups, two students expelled for assaulting a female lecturer and disrupting a congress meeting of the department.

    “Twelve other students expelled were former presidents of faculty associations,” the statement said.

    According to it, the senate of the university also announced that the institution has closed for the Christmas/New Year Break and will resume on Jan. 3.

  • Recruitment of 500,000 teachers: Lecturer calls for transparency

    Recruitment of 500,000 teachers: Lecturer calls for transparency

    Mr Greg Esheye, lecturer, Ebonyi State College of Education, Ikwo, has called for transparency in the recruitment of the 500, 000 teachers approved by the Federal Government.

    He made the call in Abakaliki in an interview with the newsmen.

    He commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for coming up with the initiative, saying the exercise would provide job to teeming unemployed youths and reduce youth restiveness.

    He said that the recruitment would also boost teaching and learning at primary and secondary school levels.

    Esheye, who is the Chairman of the College’s chapter of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), urged the federal government to ensure equal spread in the recruitment.

    “The directive by President Buhari to recruit 500,000 teachers is a commendable initiative that will help tackle youth unemployment, boost teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools as well as reduce youth restiveness.

    ‘Those charged with the responsibility of organising the recruitment should ensure that they observe due process and transparency in conducting the exercise.

    “Let there be equal spread of opportunities among the 36 States and the FCT in line with the Federal character principle,” Esheye said.

    He warned that politicians should not be allowed to hijack the exercise by recruiting people without the requisite teaching qualifications.

    The government should ensure that necessary instruments are put in place to guard against manipulation of the exercise by politicians for their selfish gains.

    Buhari in a nationwide broadcast on May 29 to mark the administration’s one in office announced that the federal government would recruit 500,000 teachers as part of strategy to reduce the unemployment among graduates.

  • Robbery suspects kill lecturer, one other in Gombe

    Robbery suspects kill lecturer, one other in Gombe

    The Police Command in Gombe State has confirmed that a gang of armed robbery suspects killed a lecturer and a Cameroonian at Kashere junction on the Gombe-Kumo Road.

    This is contained in a statement issued by DSP Ahmed Usman, the command spokesman, in Gombe on Monday.

    The statement stated that the incident occurred at about 11:45p.m., on Sunday night.

    It named the lecturer as Malam Sulaiman Umar of the Department of Arabic Studies, Federal University, Kashere and the Cameroonian as Malam Zainab Mahmuda without giving further details.

    The statement stated that the suspected robbers were about eight in number, adding that investigation into the incident had commenced.

     

  • Lecturer in court for alleged illegal possession of arms

    Lecturer in court for alleged illegal possession of arms

    The trial of a 62-year-old lecturer of Igbinedion University, Okada, Anyanwu Longinus Obialor, for an alleged illegal possession of arms and ammunition at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, commenced Thursday at an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court.

    Obialor was docked on June 14, 2011, after his arrest by the police at Zone 2 Command, Onikan in Lagos Island, for allegedly being in possession of one Saiga Assault Rifle with serial number 1109109159 and a PFG Pistol with serial number PUY47 at the airport without ‘any lawful and satisfactory answer’ as to how he came about them.

    He was re-arraigned Thursday before another Magistrate, Mrs J.O. Adepoju, after the matter was transferred from the Ojokoro Division of the court.

    The prosecutor, Inspector Haruna Ibrahim, informed the court that the accused was also found in possession of ‘350 assorted types of ammunitions’.

    The magistrate denied the defendant’s request made through his counsel, Mr. Osagie Akioya, for the matter to be struck out and ordered that the case be tried de novo (anew).

    Mr. Osagie had informed the court that Mr. Obialor was a lecturer at the Igbinedion University, Okada, and resided in Benin.

    The defendant pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge of illegal possession of arms and ammunitions contrary to and punishable under Section 428 (d) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 17, vol. ii, laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.

    The magistrate then granted him bail on the same terms as in June 2011 – in the sum of N500, 000 with two sureties in the like sum.

    “The sureties must show proof of tax payment to the Lagos State government for the past five years. One of the sureties must also be a civil servant on Grade level 12 and above or with landed property. The case was adjourned till November 15 and 16 for trial,” the Magistrate said.

  • Mr Lecturer, don’t teach me nonsense!

    Our political landscape has given rise to public opinions on both ordinary and sensitive issues as they occur. Sometime, there are more opinions than actual issues and occurrences. The recent views made by Olusola Adegbite, a lecturer in the Faculty of Law of Obafemi Awolowo University on the media assaults on former Governor of Lagos State Mr Babatunde Fashola left a big question mark on the place of knowledge and information.

    For those who missed the article as published online, Adegbite spared no words to cast aspersion on the Governor of Lagos State Mr Akinwunmi Ambode. He described the assumed Governor’s involvement in media attack on Babatunde Fashola with most derogatory words not even ideal to be used against a councillor in a Local Government parliament let alone an Executive Governor.

     For anyone who failed to explore space for acquiring right information, ignorance can never be an excuse. In the entire article, the Lecturer of Law made budging statements without a single evidence-based justification of the notion for which he nailed his victim severely. Then I ask what the place of knowledge is?

    George Bernard Shaw once said “beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance”. Adegbite refused to give benefit of doubt in his submission by neutralising his opinion and thus doing justice to literary common sense. The lack of decorum in the entire piece betrayed the author’s emotion while he totally forgot he was a don from a well-respected institution in the country. Well, it is a good choice of word in this scenario to refer to the author as a qualified lecturer in a Law Faculty of a reputable academic institution in Nigeria.

    Even at the instance of a sponsored media service, the author supposed to know that there is no justification to assume and conclude that Governor Ambode was being used by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, hitherto described by the author as hidden face, to launch media attack on his predecessor. The law teacher who quoted thousands of proverbial statements to support his position forgot the one that says “get all your findings right and hold unto the one that is the truth”. In the process of unleashing his emotional tsunami, he should have given benefit of doubt since he was not quoting any tangible evidence; and as such, he would be respected for writing from knowledge point of view and not sheer emotions which does not have basis in Law.

    Foremost, there is no basis for comparing eight years government of Fashola to Ambode’s three months as being placed by the author. When Fashola’s administration began, he was written off that no good thing could come from Asiwaju’s choice of candidature. Today, it was evident that that choice was predominantly good for most Lagosians. If not for the purpose of putting the record straight with Mr Lecturer, there is no reason for anyone to get bothered about Ambode’s performance because he has already started on a good note as a Governor with human face and required prudence. While I believe no one should be too much in a hurry, we need another four years to put Asiwaju’s choice of candidature in the last general election in Lagos State to test. Ambode is Tinubu’s product as Fashola was, and of course several excellent leaders including the Chief Security Officer in the State where Adegbite teaches Law at a federal University.

    In fairness to Bola Tinubu, the standard of governance delivered by Fashola showed the place of vision on the path of the political icon being adjudged as the chief propagator of the media war against Fashola. In politics and school of power, assumption is a weak premise.

    Following ignorance like a sinking star, Adegbite didn’t realise that a public commentary that speculates must be deployed as a neutral third party point of view, not like the one expressed by him.

    As far as I know, Lagos State needs every fair opinion it can get to sustain peace and tranquillity the people enjoy. Any paid opinion writer will only be doing injustice to well-being of over 25 million people already living in peace. Derogatory and uncultured words used by the author to describe the Governor as doing ‘night soil man’s job’ among other insulting languages is not decent of a kindergarten school teacher not to talk of a Lecturer, and one who teaches Law for that matter. As much as he quoted several Yoruba proverbs to justify his piece, he deviated from the Yoruba norm that teaches politeness, culture and fair hearing.

    Today, Ambode is the Governor of a state that has more responsibilities than others. We will be doing better if we deploy energy of criticism on his management abilities but not on political issue he is not liable for. No clear evidence has been traced to him in this complex political friction.

    Within the shortest possible time, Ambode has shown the world he is a good product and another quality choice from the Jagaban institute. Without wasting time, he has set agenda for good governance, rolling-in scores of achievements in a short while.

    While restructuring of the civil service to improve performance of government workforce is fast taking place, Ambode has also demonstrated high spirit for prompt response to urgent issues that affect the populace such as removing the Apapa gridlock and taking proactive measure to eradicate avoidable accidents often caused by tanker and container drivers. A listening leader, he has fashioned out ideal engagement of the stakeholders in decision making and creating an environment that promotes accountability and transparency by taking after the President on single account system to avoid leakages. He has reawaken hopes of the youths in job provision and wealth creation by setting up special ministry to solve unemployment problems and ensure wealth creation.

    Ambode is laying foundation for good governance by reopening cities and communities through road construction and enhancing the health centres with ambulance services across the state, all these even before appointing his commissioners.

    While Ambode is so busy with the business of good governance,  Adegbite and his likes are busy looking for how to discredit him, forgetting that attack on the Governor of Lagos State is an attack on entire Lagosians.

    The author has failed to dissuade public opinion in favour of his self-created motion. Asiwaju and Fashola have come out to inform the public they are in good terms with no brushings, whereby Asiwaju himself condemned the said attack on Fashola. Ambode on the other hand has squarely faced business of governance with no time for petty political issues. The trio are best of friends that Adegbite cannot define how cordial they are.

    While engaging in the dirty job, it is wrong for Adegbite to assume his opinion on this matter is a popular notion with entire Lagosians. The Teacher cannot speak on behalf of Lagosians because he is not one of us; we are proud of all democratic governors God has blessed us with in Lagos.

    The same way the author is seeing Ambode as an apprentice was the way the public saw Fashola when he came on board. Thank goodness he became a good student of good governance ofAsiwaju’s leadership institute and became the pride of Nigeria. Fashola himself has always identified with his leader Asiwaju and claimed that they remain inseparable.

    Maya Angelou in wisdom once said “my mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors”.

    For Adegbite, the academic community will not pardon a teacher of legal studies who blatantly flaunt ignorance by laying knowledge to rest, cracking emotionally like die-hard politician. Besides, the spirit of Lagos will not be pleasant with anyone who drums opinions capable of causing outrage among both political class and nominal citizens of the State. Itesiwaju Eko, ohun lo jewalogun!

    • Olulade is a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Epe Constituency II

  • Students arrested for threatening to kill lecturer

    Three students of the Department of Economics of the Kogi State University (KSU) in Anyigba have been detained at Anyigba Police Division for threatening to kill a lecturer.

    The suspects are Daniel Attah, Solomon Idamahare and Adinoyi Bello, with matriculation numbers 11EC1071, 13EC1082 and 12EC1046.

    A letter addressed to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), which was signed by the school Chief Security Coordinator, Major M. J. Adama (rtd), said the students threatened to kill Dr A.O. Adofu should the lecturer give them F grade in ECO 307 examination. The course was taken by the lecturer.

    Adama wrote that students of the department had the highest cases of cult-related crimes among students residing off-campus, stressing that threat from any student of the department must not be handled with kid glove.

    The school security unit, the letter said, has started an investigation of staff and students of the department, adding that intelligence report showed that there were collaborators in the department.

    Adama urged the police to furnish the university with information on the outcome its investigation to guide the school in their efforts to prevent further attacks.

    The security officer noted that a lecturer of the department, Mr Alehile Kehinde Samuel, was shot on the leg at his residence in June. This incident, he added, increased the cases of death threats in the department.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Hassan Isah, confirmed the arrest, saying the institution was investigating the matter.

    He said: “The matter is with the security department. The school Public Relations Officers cannot have much information on it, because the matter is with police. I can confirm three students were arrested on allegation of threatening their lecturer.”

     

     

  • Abducted UAM lecturer escapes

    Mr. Joseph Orsar of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi (UAM) who was abducted by unknown gunmen on Friday, last week, has escaped.

    Sources informed The Nation that Orsar, who teaches in the Department of Wild Life and Range Management of UAM, managed to escape while his family members were busy making arrangement on how to source for the N30 million ransom earlier demanded by his abductors before he could be released.

    Orsar was said to have run into Gbagyo village in Guma local Government where the Kindred Head of Nnanev, Zaki Orkpe Gbagyo later got in contact with one Dr. J. K. Ikya of UAM’s Department of Food Science and Technology.

    It would be recalled that Orsar’s abduction which occurred around 5pm at his Federal Housing Estate home in North Bank, Makurdi house last Friday, provoked an outcry by both workers and residents in the area.

    Chairperson of Academic Staff Union of Universities-UAM, Dr. Bemgba Anjembe, said Dr. Ikya subsequently got across to UAM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Emmanuel Kutcha, who arranged for security men that eventually rescued Orsar from the Village.

    “As a union, we wish to state that the act of kidnapping, demanding or ransom and ransom taking is condemnable and we are asking the security agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the abduction of our colleague.”

    Anjembe, who noted that though Orsar had earlier been suspended from the union for anti-union activities, added that ASUU was empathising with him based on the union’s principle to defend the rights and legitimate aspirations of all citizens of this country.

    He stressed that before now, UAM had been peaceful with no incidence of abduction He prayed there would never be a reoccurrence of such incidence again, urging his members to be security conscious at all times.

    Anjembe said: “I wish to express gratitude to the Gbagyo community as led by Zaki Orkpe Gbagyo for coming to the aid of our colleague as we await the outcome of investigation on the matter. I encourage our members to be security alert at all times.”

    The state Deputy Police Public Relations Officer (DPPRO), ASP Matthew Oku, confirmed the report and his rescue, adding that investigation was still ongoing on the matter.