The Nation Newspaper

Tag: N100m

  • We made over N100m from kidnapping, says herdsman

    •Rescued victim narrates ordeal

    A herdsman, who the police claimed has been to prison several times, has said  his gang made over N100 million from kidnapping.

    An AK47 rifle with breech number KO340119 and 10 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were recovered from him.

    The  herdsman, whose name was given as Muritala Umaru, was said to have been responsible for kidnapping in parts of Edo and neighbouring states.

    He sang like a canary when he was paraded before reporters at the police headquarters.

    Umaru said he became a kidnapper four years ago in Okenne, Kogi State and had participated in several kidnapping across Edo State.

    He said he had cattle, adding that his gang had 10 AK47 rifles with which they carried out kidnapping.

    He said it was somebody he described as a ‘Chief’ from an Edo community who gave them identities of their victims.

    The kidnapper said they realised N10 million from one of their victims, pledging to cooperate with the police.

    On what happened to some of their victims, he said it was his boss that was responsible for the killing of victims who refused to cooperate.

    Umaru said: “I am married. I stay in Auchi, but I was born in Lokoja. I am into kidnapping. I have been a kidnapper for four years. I started in Lokoja. I have kidnapped over 50 persons. We kidnapped them when they were travelling. One man gave us target. I collected N3 million in our last operation. It is my boss that kills people. He had killed many people. We operate in Auchi, Ekpoma, Okenne and other places.

    Police Commissioner Babatunde Kokumo described Umaru as a kidnapper who disguised as an herder.

    “The man has been in an out of prison. He has kidnapped in Edo and other states. The prison official he kidnapped identified him.”

    A welder, who was on Monday  rescued from kidnappers’ den at Afuze in Owan East Local Government, Mr. Idirisu Mohammed, has identified a herdsman, Abubakar Ilyasu, as one of his abductors.

    He said he was rescued before Abubakar returned.

    His words: “I am 51 years old. I am a farmer and a welder. On Monday  morning, I was taking my workers to the farm. At Warrake road near Afuze, I saw herdsmen come out of the bush. They had guns. They collected our phones and used cutlass to attack us. They took us to the bush. It was a vigilance group, hunters and police who rescued me. They ran away and abandoned me when the rescued team shot at them.

    “This one that was nabbed was sent to buy food. Before he returned, the rescued team arrived and the food was with him.”

    Abubakar said he left his cattle to buy food when he was arrested.

  • N100m spent on anti-Ebola school campaign

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Education Secretariat has said it mounted one of the most successful anti-Ebola school campaigns in the country, spending N100m in the exercise.

    It said that the money, which was released to the secretariat prior to schools resumption, was used to purchase anti-Ebola kits and information materials to all the schools in the FCT, which enabled FCT schools, unlike some schools in some parts of the country, to resume early enough.

    The secretariat also said that in its bid to eradicate illiteracy from the FCT, the administration has provided adult literacy and vocational education for FCT residents which has so far enrolled 13,702 learners across the six Area Councils in 2014, with a payment plan of N10,000 monthly allowance to part-time facilitators.

    Secretary of Education FCT, Mallam Kabir Usman revealed this at the 2014 annual education secretariat media luncheon in Abuja where he said that the issue of perimeter fencing in the FCT schools is being given adequate attention especially in the face of security challenges being experienced in the country.

    He also said, “The outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which was a public health emergency was also successfully tackled in the FCT. As a matter of fact, we were one of the handfuls of states in the country that was able to meet the resumption deadline of 22nd September 2014. This of course would not have been possible if we had not met all the health requirements of the Ebola respond team in the country which were closely monitored by the Nigerian Union of Teachers NUT).

    “The Minister approved for immediate release the sum of N100 Million for the purchase and distribution of anti-ebola kits and information materials to all our schools. Prior to resumption therefore, all our schools were fully equipped with the temperature scanning machines, hand sanitizers, information handbills and posters on the disease and so on.

    “In conjunction with the Health and Human Services Secretariat, we trained our teachers on preventive measures in fighting the disease and how to properly use the equipment that were distributed.

    “Although the virus has been eradicated in Nigeria, we are not resting on our oars as the distribution of these materials will continue until the health authorities tell us it is safe to stop.

    “Closure of 459 sub-standard and illegal schools, 196 in January and 263 in September 2014, across the 6 area Councils and a proposal for the certification and accreditation of 78 schools has been forwarded to the FCT Minister for approval.

    “The FCT department of Mass Education (DME) has the mandate to provide adult literacy and vocational education for FCT residents; it recruited 500 part time facilitators to man 407 learning centres across the FCT and created awareness through mobilization and sensitization visits to Area Councils, Traditional and Community leaders and market women.

    “Enrolment of 13,702 learners across the six zones in 2014, expansion of literacy services to six Nomadic communities with an enrolment figure of 189, 48 males and 141 females. The integration of formal education curriculum into Qur’anic schools (IQE) with 56 centres and total enrolment  of 2,081 learners across the zones and the FCT DME offers one of the highest pay of N10,000.00 monthly allowance to part-time facilitators.

    “For the 2014 fiscal year, the sum of N255,445,900 was approved for disbursement as scholarship to deserving students by the Minister. In the meantime, all bureaucratic conditions have been met pending the release of the funds. These include the collation and collection of completed application forms for short listing and screening of applicants for the 2013/2014 award session.”

  • SPDC’s N100m equipment for RSUST

    Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has donated a complete and integrated set of marine hydrodynamic wave simulation equipment valued at over N100m to the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST).

    Performing the groundbreaking to house the equipment at the Nkpolu main campus of the university in Port Harcourt, the firm’s Sustainable Development and Community Relations General Manager, Nedo Osayande, said the donation was part of SPDC’s Corporate Social Responsibility to support teaching, research and learning in the Marine Engineering department.

    He said the equipment is, by design, a multi-experiment facility capable of carrying out various simulations as regards to different offshore operations which include Model Towing Experiments, Self-Propulsion Experiments, Open Water Propeller Experiments, Ship Stability Experiments, Offshore Facility Experiments and Wake Experiments.

    Nedo added that Shell’s donations would help create a synergy between the firm and beneficiaries.

    He said: “Our Shell Professors and other 40 professors and post-graduate students recruited annually on 12-month sabbatical attachment and research internship, are equipped to help resolve some of our Exploration and production challenges.

    “Our goal is always to focus on a single window of entry to optimize impacts and gains while widening our geographical spread across Nigerian universities. Ultimately, as already agreed, the aim is to transform the Department into a Centre of Excellence in Marine Engineering and Offshore Studies and make it a one-stop point in terms of developing industry-ready offshore technical personal in the West Africa region.”

    Nedo recalled that the company has eight endowed Shell Professorial chairs in eight universities adding that Shell Nigeria will continue to support capacity development in the university, particularly through the Centre of Excellency concept that they have solicit for cooperation and support of all.

     

  • N100m fake products burnt in NAFDAC crackdown

    N100m fake products burnt in NAFDAC crackdown

    The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has taken its crusade against patrons and manufacturers of counterfeit, fake and substandard drugs to the Southeast, destroying unhealthy drugs valued at N100 million in Enugu.

    The counterfeit products confiscated from traders, drug manufacturers and dealers included beverages, drugs particularly those of malaria, cosmetic products and drinks.

    The Director of Special Duties, Dr. Abubakar Jimoh who stood in for the NAFDAC Director General Dr. Paul Orhii supervised the destruction.

    Jimoh said NAFDAC was committed to ridding the nation of such products because of their harmful effect on the public.

    He said that the exercise which began in Kaduna with the destruction of fake products worth N50 million, would be a continuous one as the agency would not relent in its determination to rid the country of counterfeit and substandard products which are harmful to humanity.

    He also disclosed that the agency would destroy 20 trailer loads of counterfeit drugs in Kano, 10 trailer loads of such illegal products in Onitsha, Anambra State and other states where such bad products had been impounded.

    He urged everybody to join NAFDAC in fighting the menace of counterfeit drugs because no one knows who will fall victim.

    Jimoh therefore enjoined everybody including the drug manufacturers, the media and security agencies to help out in the battle against counterfeit drugs, which fight, he said, NAFDAC has started winning with the type of technologies already deployed for the exercise.

    He stated that in past years, the fight against counterfeit drugs have been yielding results because the rate with which the country was dogged with counterfeit drugs has reduced to the barest minimum while they were  still trying to reduce it to zero tolerance.

    The DG, Special Duties pointed out that what has been helping in the fight is the cutting edge technology employed by the NAFDAC boss, Dr. Orhii to fish out fake and counterfeit drugs as well as the hand device used by NAFDAC officials that can detect fake drugs from markets and pharmaceutical stores in the country.

    Jimoh also pointed out that NAFDAC is not alone in fighting the counterfeit drugs as the agency was working in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, WHO and other world class agencies that are partners in ridding the society of counterfeit products not only in drugs but also food  including water for consumption.

    He stressed that NAFDAC has been working assiduously to rid the  country of counterfeit drugs but some people misconstrued them and think that they had gone to sleep whereas they are working silently.

    “Some think that NAFDAC has gone to sleep in the fight against fake drugs but it is not so; we are working silently through well-coordinated approach. We are winning the war against drug counterfeiting,” he said.

    Jimoh noted that what spurred NAFDAC into action was because Orhii  who had been to developed countries of the world found out that they had achieved zero tolerance for counterfeit drugs coupled with the fight  that his predecessor, late Prof. Dora Akunyili had started the onerous task of ridding the country of such illicit products that are harmful to health.

    The destruction of the drugs was witnessed by various organizations including members of the NYSC, the Custom, Immigration, and Civil Defence Corps, the Media as well as drug manufacturers.