The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MAN

  • Man charged with raping niece

    A 39- year-old man, Innocent Azamarogbe, was yesterday brought before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly raping his niece.

    The accused, a trader, who lives at Block A, Flat 1, Alausa Barracks, Ikeja, is facing a charge of rape.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Raphael Donny told the court that the accused committed the incestuous offence between 2016 and 2017 at his residence.

    Donny said that the girl, a 14-year -old, who is a niece to the accused niece was leaving with him.

    “The accused has been molesting the girl since 2016 but she kept it to herself until her mother paid a visit.

    “The victim told her mother what the accused had been doing with her and the woman reported the matter to the police station.

    “The accused was arrested,’’ he said.

    The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    Chief Magistrate Folakemi Davies–Abegunde, granted the accused N1 million bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    Davies-Abegunde adjourned the case until July 31 for advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPPs).

  • Coalition seeks appointment of Rector for MAN

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has been urged to back the appointment of Dr. Mkpandiok Mkpandiok as the Rector of Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State.

    Coordinator, Conference of Oro Youth Leaders (COYOL), Comrade Etifit Nkereuwem in collaboration with Coalition of Civil Societies of Nigeria make the plea in Abuja.

    Nkereuwem urged Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi to restructure and reposition the: “premier Maritime training institution in the country for global reckoning and competitiveness, according to its original vision and core mandate.”

    He expressed concern that Dr. Mkpandiok Mkpandiok had been in an acting capacity as Rector of MAN for close to a year without confirmation.

    He said: “We know that the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, like others in any part of the world, cannot compete effectively with similar institutions without proper training of the Cadets. We appeal that the Federal Government properly equip the Academy with the needed facilities like training vessels to enhance Cadets’ compulsory sea time training and related areas of professional development, in line with International Maritime Organizations’ (IMO) Standard.

    “That so far, our findings and open interaction with staff and members of the host communities have proven that the present Acting Rector, Dr. Mkpandiok Ante Mkpandiok has, by virtue of his inclusive leadership and administrative expertise, brought a breath of fresh air to the Academy, which in turn has won him the unsolicited goodwill of the people. Among other things, Dr. Mkpandiok Ante Mkpandiok has in less than a year stabilised the Academy through his probity and dedication to duties, robust network of public relations activities, creation of sustainable warmth and sense of belonging amongst staff, reactivation and completion of abandoned projects to promote learning, staff training and retraining, and facilitation of the recent promotion of about 70% of staff whose promotion had long been overdue.

    “It could be recalled that following the demise of the last Rector in August 2016, the Hon. Minister of Transportation mandated the Registrar, Dr. Mkpandiok Mkpandiok, to hold the fort until a substantive Rector is appointed.”

  • Man, 32, ‘steals’ N230,000 from boy, 17

    A man, who allegedly hypnotised a 17-year-old boy and stole his N230,000, was yesterday brought before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

    Sunday Omoloye, 32, was arraigned before Mrs A. T. Omoyele on a three-count charge of fraud, obtaining by false pretence and stealing.

    Prosecuting Sergeant CyriacusOsuji said Omoloye and others at large committed the offence on May 31 at Ikate in Eti-Osa Local Government Area.

    The defendant, he alleged, fraudulently obtained N230,000 from the teenager, who was sent by his mother to deposit the money in her customers bank account.

    Osuji said: “When the teenager got to the bank, the place was filled up so he decided to try another branch, but as he came out of the bank, the defendant and others at large met and touched him.

    “He immediately lost his senses and later found himself with the defendant and others at Aboki Estate, Ikate, close to Eleguish Beach.

    “As soon as he regained his senses, he raised the alarm and passers-by apprehended the defendant while the others fled.”

    The defendant pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Omoyele granted him N200,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    She adjourned till July 7, for mention.

  • Man kills brother, self in Osun 

    The police in Osun State said they have discovered the body of a 35-year-old man, Joseph Abifarin, after he allegedly killed his elder brother with a heavy stick in Iresi town.

    Spokesperson Mrs. Folashade Odoro, in a statement yesterday, said the incident occurred last Tuesday about 10.a.m.

    She said: “Abifarin Opeyemi reported that her father, Ayo Abifarin, 40, of Aros Compound, was killed by his younger brother.

    “The younger brother hit him on the head with a heavy stick.

    “When the incident happened, people took Abifarin to hospital, but he died on the way.

    “When the police went to arrest the culprit, he was found dead in a pool of blood in his compound.

    “The bodies have been taken by the police to the General Hospital for an autopsy and the incident is being investigated.”

  • Gains of taxation to economy, by MAN chief

    The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Frank Jacobs, has said the gains of an effective tax system to the economy are limitless.

    Speaking at the 19th Annual Tax Conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, at the weekend, he said there was the need for the government to generate resources for the provision of basic amenities, promote sustainable development, provide tax payers with the right to demand services and guarantee equitable redistribution of resources.

    Jacobs, who spoke on the theme:  ‘Psychology of the tax payer and voluntary compliance’, said the manufacturing sector had been the driving the economy. “It has been contributing significantly to government revenue, employment creation and reduction in human misery brought about by poverty. MAN has continuously encouraged its members to be tax compliant, which they have strictly adhered to. In fact, the manufacturing sector is the most taxed sector in the economy and is scourged by multiple taxes and levies coming from the three tiers of the government,” he said.

    He said expenses on multiple taxes, levies and fees constitute a  chunk of the overhead costs of most manufacturing companies. If not for the resilience and doggedness of  manufacturers, most firms would have closed shop as a result of multiple taxes, he said.

    “It is important to note that the reason for the poor performance of tax in the country is not solely due to non-compliance of taxpayers but largely due to heavy tax burden, overtaxing and the inability of tax administrators to fully explore the vast potentials inherent in widening the tax net,” he said.

    “A tax system should be robust and efficient. It should be a system that promotes equitable distribution of the tax burden, is easily understood and accessible to all, transparent with internal mechanisms that guarantee accountability in collection and utilisation of tax revenue,” he said.

    Jacobs said an  efficient tax system should be driven by the quest to promote and respect human rights, the need for social transformation and willingness to empower the public to understand public funds administration system.

  • Man ‘rapes’ twin sisters

    Man ‘rapes’ twin sisters

    A driver, Samuel Adebayo was yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly raping twin sisters and putting one of them in the family way.

    The accused, 30, who resides at Beckley Estate in Abule Egba, a suburb of Lagos, is being tried for alleged rape and an attempt to procure an abortion.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Raphael Donny told the court that the defendant committed the offences last December in his residence.

    Donny said the defendant lived in the same compound with the 17-year-old twin sisters.

    “The defendant raped the girls on different occasions and in the process, one of them got pregnant.

    “The defendant gave her N20,000 to terminate the pregnancy but instead, she confided in her elder sister, who informed their mother.

    “The case was reported at the police station and the defendant was apprehended,” he said.

    The offences contravene Sections 147(1) and 259 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    The defendant pleaded not guilty.

    Chief Magistrate Davies Abegunde granted him N500,000  bail, with two sureties in the like sum.

    She adjourned till June 5.

  • Man accused of damaging N2m cameras

    A man was yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly damaging some cameras worth N2 million belonging to Achu John.

    Lanre Williams is standing trial on a two-count charge of wilful damage and breach of public peace.

    Prosecuting Inspector Simon Imhonwa said the defendant damaged John’s Close Circuit Television (CCTV) Camera, Speed Done Camera, Indoor LP Camera and outdoor LP Camera.

    The defendant pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi granted him N300,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    She ordered that the sureties’ addresses must be verified. The Magistrate adjourned till July 7.

  • Chibok: The evil of one man

    The May 6 news, of the release of a further batch of 82 Chibok girls, out of the 195 still in Boko Haram trap, again brings to mind how the evil of just one man could bring a whole country to grief.

    Just imagine if President Goodluck Jonathan had, on April 14, 2014, promptly acted, when Boko Haram abducted those girls; rather than twiddling his fingers, over old wives’ tales of conspiratorial politics.

    Perhaps if he had done that, he would still be president; and not be whining today, over a presidential encore he didn’t deserve.

    And even otherwise, his defeat would not have caused his successors, a rather unfair distraction: who, virtual gun to their heads, an emotive Nigerian populace (and deservedly so) had told to willy-nilly produce the Chibok girls — or else!

    Yes, government is a continuity.  But it need not be perilously so.  The evil of one man!

    Even then, the Chibok saga is a deep bad dream that just won’t go away!  Cheery as the news of May 6 has been, it was only 82 down.  Even if you add to that tally, the 21 released in October 2016, it only adds up to 103.  Net that from 195 reportedly still in Boko Haram gulag, you still have 92 girls with those monsters!  That’s still quite a number!

    Until every single girl still in captivity is freed, there really cannot be closure to this tragedy.  While parents of the growing tribe of freed girls rejoice, those of the 92 still in thrall get acutely depressed.  Just imagine the effect of that on that luckless Chibok community!  The evil of one man!

    Then, the cost of releasing the Chibok 82. First, the reported trade-off with two Boko Haram commanders, in Federal Government’s detention.  Then, the reported monetary pay-out. That twin factor may yet give the retreating Boko Haram the impetus to further escalate their madness, with the hope of one last satanic hurrah.

    Then, of course, the reported faction among the crazed Islamists.  In whose custody are the remaining 92 girls?  In the faction negotiating, or in the other recalcitrant camp?  It’s a long, hard road yet!

    Which is why the vociferous critics of the Buhari presidency, over the Chibok affair, must develop some emotional intelligence.  The government says it is engaging Boko Haram over the girls.  The results are so far justifying that.  So, eschew needless histrionics, just to play to the gallery of love for the Chibok girls more that those the state has given powers to spring them.

    Meanwhile, Jonathan should hang his head in shame, rather that set the polity echoing his pitiful drivel about how he lost a job he was clearly incompetent for. And he should snap out of his eternal child-like mode. The poet might decree the child as father of the man.  Still, it’s pure travesty, when the child perpetually annexes the thinking of the man.  Goodluck Jonathan is comic, living example!

    As for Muhammadu Buhari, thumbs up!  Even with media hysteria over his frailty and health, he still gets big things done: making key progress on the Chibok girls, forcing Boko Haram to negotiate from a position of weakness, and reducing Nigeria’s rice imports, by 90 per cent, in just two years!

    That cannot be said of the presidential vacuum whose culpable, nay willful inaction, caused all the trouble.

    Or, for that matter, the hyper-healthy President Olusegun Obasanjo, who rippled, hustled and bustled around for eight costly years; yet bequeathed his country nothing but bunk, in his wilful choice of successors

  • MAN cautions Fed Govt on EPA

    MAN cautions Fed Govt on EPA

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has again cautioned the Federal Government to be wary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) – European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
    Its Director–General, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir said the Organised Private Sector (OPS) remained deeply concerned about agreement, arguing that EPA Market Access should be addressed before the country endorses the agreementthe way it was done before the take-off of the ECOWAS CET
    He said MAN’s position was to ensure that the nation is not used as a dumping ground for finished products from the EU.
    He said MAN had submitted a position paper at the inception of the current administration where it recommended strongly that EPA should not be signed in its present form. This he said is as a result of the inherent negative consequences it would have on local manufacturing in particular and the economy in general, especially in the areas of job creation, loss of investment and revenue to government.
    He said: “Nigeria, at various stages in the EPA negotiation process, voiced strong opposition to the agreement and raised concerns that it would lead to de-industrialisation as it is structured to limit the growth of manufacturing in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria. The implication of this is that our economy will remain a provider of raw materials and importer of finished products.”
    He also stressed that MAN’s concern is premised on the fact that from all parameters, West African states, including Nigeria, are not at the same level of economic development with any European country and therefore not in a position to conclude a reciprocal trade relationship as espoused in the trade agreement with EU.
    The MAN chief said based on the country’s national interest, the last and the current administrations took a decision not to join other West African states in endorsing the EPA in its present form as it is not development oriented but designed to turn Nigeria into a dumping ground for European products.
    He said the nation can ill-afford to rely on exporting raw commodities such as crude oil, natural gas, solid minerals and unprocessed agricultural products, urging on the need to break the circle and invoke deliberate efforts to industrialise our economy.
    He advised that government’s decision should henceforth be dictated by our national industrial aspiration to develop a virile manufacturing sector. He insisted that our national interest currently dictates that we should not sign the ECOWAS-EU EPA which is structured to destroy our industries both in the short and long run.

  • Man jumps into 160-foot well

    Man jumps into 160-foot well

    A 45-year-old man, Theophilus Onwusiwekwu, yesterday jumped into a 160-foot well in Ojota, Lagos.

    But, he was rescued by Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) officials and the police.

    Onwusiwekwu, a guard with Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), was said to have sustained a right femoral fracture and left knee joint dislocation.

    A statement by LASEMA said the agency received a call around 6.35am yesterday, after the man fell into a well at 38, Kujore Street, Ojota.

    LASEMA General Manager Adesina Tiamiyu said proper investigation would be conducted into the matter.

    Onwusiwekwu’s neighbour who declined giving his name, said: “I was sleeping around 6am when my sister called me that there was noise from the compound. I initially taught it was a fight. When the noise persisted, I decided to go out; it was then that I saw people gathered. We tried all we could to help the man but it failed. The well is over 160ft; all the ropes we threw inside the well could not get to where the victim was and we could not see him. When it was around 7:30am and we could not recue him, we gave up because we had nothing to use to bring him out. One of the residents later told us that he has called some emergency lines. Officials of various agencies came and one of the rescuers was tied with a rope and entered the well with another rope which he used to rescue Onwusiwekwu. He was taken to the hospital.”

    He claimed that the man attempted suicide, saying he knows him to some extent. “He has once told me to introduce him to a better business that he was tired of his job. I never knew he was frustrated to this extent. The cover of the well is so small that he must have forced himself inside the well. The house he stays has water but the water is not very clean. He usually drives his car to other areas to get water for his family. He has never gone to that compound to fetch water before. I was told that the guard in the compound prevented him from going in  but he later sneaked in. He must have been frustrated,” he said.

    Another resident said Onwusiwekwu must have fallen into the well mistakenly, probably while he was fetching water from the well.  He said the man lives with his wife, her sister and his two boys. He said the man must have gone to fetch water in the compound next to his because the water in their compound was not clean. He added that it was the shout of Onwusiwekwu from the well that made residents to know what has happened