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Tag: Nigeria News

  • Police kill two suspected killers of youth leader in Kaduna

    Police kill two suspected killers of youth leader in Kaduna

    The Nigeria Police Force has killed two suspected killers of a Youth Leader, Haru Manya, in Sabon Gaya in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    Manya was killed by the suspects while working on his farm on Nov. 12.

    The Force spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood, disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Sabon Gaya on Tuesday.

    Moshood said that the two suspects were killed during a shoot-out with the members of Operation Absolute Sanity.

    He explained that the operation followed a directive from the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, to arrest the killers.

    “The Inspector-General of Police commiserates with members of the community and directed Operation Absolute Sanity to arrest the killers,”he said.

    The spokesman said that investigation would be intensified to arrest other suspects connected to the heinous crime.

    In a related development, the Nigeria Police Force said it had arrested eight suspected kidnap-for-ransom and armed robbery gang.

    The suspects are: Umar Ibrahim, gang leader, Iliya Adamu, Ifeanyi Linus, informant to the gang, Jibril Adamu, Samaila Haruna, Ibrahim Mamman, Ibrahim Idris and Silas Chukwuemeka.

    The Force Spokesman said that the suspects had confessed to the various crimes they had committed along the Abuja-Kaduna road.

    He said that three victims were rescued form the suspects’ hideout, adding that a police officer was also injured during the shoot-out.

    He said that items recovered from them are: two Toyota Corolla cars, one with registration number: ABJ 893 NV, and one without a number plate, two locally made single barrel guns and one AK 47 rifle.

    Others are: one locally made revolver gun, one AK 47 magazine, one live cartridge, two expended cartridges and seven AK 47 am munitions.

    He said that investigation was ongoing and when concluded, the suspects would be arraigned in court for prosecution

    “They will be arraigned in court on completion of investigation and investigation is being intensified to arrest other suspects at large,”he said.

    Moshood urged owners of the vehicles to contact the Police command in Kaduna for identification and collection

    He said that the Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Ibrahim Idris, had directed the Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) and Commissioners of Police (CPs) in the zones and commands to replicate same feat on the highways and major roads.

    He said that they were also to beef up security in their areas of responsibility and ensure massive deployment of armed police personnel, patrol teams and undercover operatives to black spots, flash points and other vulnerable criminal spots.

    The Force had on July 25 commenced ‘Operation Absolute Sanity’ on Abuja-Kaduna Highway to check incessant cases of kidnappings and armed robbery.

    On July 31 and Aug. 3, the police also arrested 31 and 40 suspects at Katari and Rijana areas, along the Kaduna-Abuja road.

    NAN

  • MKO Abiola airport will stimulate osun economy – official

    MKO Abiola airport will stimulate osun economy – official

    Dr Basiru Ajibola, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun, on Tuesday expressed the optimism that the state’s airport under construction would stimulate the economy.

    Ajibola in Lagos said that the airport named after the late business mogul,  Chief MKO Abiola, would address youth unemployment.

    He named the concessionaire handling the airport project at Ido Osun as All Works of Life ( AWOL ) International Ltd.

    The commissioner said that Osun people had been desiring improved economy and industrialisation of the 27-year-old state.

    “It is incorporated in the action plan that has been the guiding the seven-year-old administration in the areas of reducing hunger, unemployment and poverty,’’ he said.

    “We are banking on its direct engagement of skilled and unskilled workers which will galvanise our local economy.

    “The access road to the airport will be dual carriage, and this will be a value booster for property in the axis,’’ he said.

    According to him, the 3,5km-long airport is 85 per cent completed.

    “The facility will also create good ambience for hanger and aircraft maintenance services which can only be found in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Ethiopia.

    “Its uniqueness will be the ability to energise the haulage system.

    “Let me assume that five to 10 per cent of the N69 billion earmarked for the project will find its way into the economy of the state.”

    NAN

  • 43rd Convocation: UNIBEN to award over 9,000 degrees

    43rd Convocation: UNIBEN to award over 9,000 degrees

     The University of Benin (UNIBEN) says no fewer than 9, 993 graduands would be awarded various diplomas and degrees at her forthcoming 43rd convocation ceremony billed for Nov. 24.

    The UNIBEN Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, disclosed this on Tuesday in Benin while briefing newsmen on activities lined up for the convocation and the 47th Founders’ Day celebration.

    Orumwense said that of the figure, 100 would be awarded first class, 1,843 second class upper and 4,607 second class lower degrees.

    He said other classes of degrees to be awarded were 1,351 third class, 188 diplomas, two certificates, 527 unclassified and 152 postgraduate diplomas.

    One of the graduands will receive an aegrotat degree, which, in some universities, is a medical certificate or a degree or credit awarded when illness has prevented a student from taking examinations, etc.

    “A total of 1120 would be awarded masters’ degrees and 102 awarded doctorate degrees.

    “The four-day event will include project inauguration, as well as conferment of honorary degrees on three distinguished personalities,’’ the vice-chancellor said.

    The personalities to be conferred with honorary degrees, he said, included Prof. Grace Alele-Williams and Dr George Agbonlahor.

    Orunmwense said that Prof Louis Ojogwu, a senior professor of the institution, would be conferred with the title of Professor Emeritus.

    The vice-chancellor disclosed that the institution had taken giant strides from the period between the last convocation in 2016 till date.

    He said the achievements were in the area of infrastructure development and renewal, adding that it also signed Memorandum of Understanding agreements with some companies in the area of academic research.

    NAN

  • Oyo Assembly proposes bill on family planning

    Oyo Assembly proposes bill on family planning

    A Bill for a Law to provide for the Regulation of Family Planning, Reproductive Health and Safe Maternity Services on Tuesday scaled the first reading at the Oyo State House of Assembly.

    The  Chairman, House Committee on Health, Mr Silas Okunlola, read the bill which was co-sponsored by eight lawmakers.

    The lawmakers were; Mr Silas Okunlola ( Iwajowa), Mr Segun Ajanaku ( Ibadan South West 2 ), Mr Abiden Wahab (Oluyole) and Mr Bolanle Agbaje (Ibadan North 1).

    Others were Mr Ganiyu Oseni, (Irepo/Olorunsogo), Mr Solomon Akande ( Ogbomoso South ) Mr Lukman Balogun (Orelope) and Mr Oguntade (Egbeda).

    Also at the plenary, the Majority Leader, Mr Kehinde Subair, presented a motion on the need to regulate demand for multiple tax clearance certificates by public secondary schools in the state.

    Subair said that there were inconsistencies and abnormalities in the demand for tax clearance from parents or guardians by school authorities.

    “It is reported that parents and guardians that have two or three children in different public schools are requested to produce two or three tax clearances separately.

    “The demand for two or more tax clearances from a single parent who have children in different public schools is not tenable and need to be addressed,” he said.

    Subair noted that the financial implication would be multiple taxes on parents with pupils in different schools in the state.

    “This is worrisome and calls for urgent intervention by all stakeholders in order to correct public perception about the good intention of the government,” he said.

    NAN

  • Katsina Govt. owes N29bn – Official

    Katsina Govt. owes N29bn – Official

    The Katsina State Government says it is indebted to the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) and a commercial bank to the tune of N29 billion.

    Alhaji Farouk Jobe, the Special Adviser to the Governor Masari on Banking and Finance disclosed this during the annual budget break down on Tuesday in Katsina.

    He said the state government collected the loans to develop its infrastructure and settle pensions and gratuities of its retired staff.

    Jobe disclosed that the state government collected a loan of N11.5billion as bailout from the CBN, which was used to settle the pensions and gratuities of over 11,000 retired civil servants.

    “The previous administration in the state refused to settle the pensions and gratuities of retired 11, 000 civil servants in the state.

    “We also collected a loan of N10billion to develop our education, health, water supply, environment and road sectors from the Federal Government.

    “Out of the N10billion loan, we allocated N2billion to health sector; where we spent N1billion to rehabilitate Katsina General Hospital, we allocated N500million to Daura General Hospital and N500million to Funtua General Hospital,” he said.

    Jobe revealed that the renovation and upgrading of the three General Hospitals had reached 80 per cent completion.

    The adviser revealed that the state government also collected N5billion loan from a commercial bank to complete road rehabilitation started by the previous administration and the new ones started by the present administration.

    “We have used the loan to complete over 200 kilometres of road projects in the three senatorial zones in the state.

    “The state governments also collected N2billion loan under the poverty alleviation programme from the Central Bank of Nigeria for the development of Small and Medium Enterprises in the state.

    The loan for the small and medium enterprises had been distributed to over 500,000 youths and women that are engaged in small businesses across the state.

    NAN

  • All eyes are on you, Gov. Ambode tells new HoS

    All eyes are on you, Gov. Ambode tells new HoS

    Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Tuesday swore in Mrs Folashade Adesoye as the 20th Head of Service, charging her to hit the ground running.

    Ambode during the ceremony at the Lagos House, Alausa, told Adesoye that all eyes were on her to provide leadership and direction to the over 100,000 public servants in the state.

    Adesoye’s appointment followed the statutory retirement of the former head of service, Mrs Olabowale Ademola.

    Adesoye was first appointed into the Lagos State Civil Service on Dec 28, 1983 as an Accountant and has served in several ministries.

    Until her appointment as HoS, she was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

    Ambode said concerted efforts had been made to place the state civil service on a sound footing for proactive, innovative, selfless and technology-driven service delivery.

    He urged Adesoye to use her office to galvanise civil servants to build on the gains already recorded.

    “The success of your tenure will be assessed not by the efforts you are able to put in, but the tangible outcome in terms of improvements in the outlook and deliverables of the entire workforce.

    “You are inheriting a public service that has, to a large extent, keyed into the vision and uncompromising principles of good governance of this administration.

    “As one who is fully aware of our vision and policies, some of which you have helped to translate and implement, I expect that you will hit the ground running and make your mark,” Ambode said.

    He expressed confidence in the ability of the appointee to add value to the public service and governance in general.

    The governor said the appointment was another confirmation of the dynamic quality of both the service and civil servants in the state.

    According to him, the minimum standard now acceptable is selfless service to the state and the people.

    “You hold a strategic position to bring out the best in everyone from the Body of Permanent Secretaries down the ladder to the junior staff,” Ambode said.

    Responding, Adesoye thanked Ambode for the opportunity given to her to serve, assuring that the public service, under her watch, would redouble efforts in ensuring speedy, efficient and effective implementation of government policies and initiatives.

    She pledged total commitment to the duties and responsibilities of the new office, promising that she would do everything within her capacity to justify the confidence reposed in her.

    NAN

  • Semenya to attempt double again at Commonwealth Games

    Semenya to attempt double again at Commonwealth Games

    Caster Semenya will again attempt the 800 metres and 1500m double at next year’s Commonwealth Games, before setting her sights on a world record.

    The 26-year-old South African won gold in the shorter distance and a surprise bronze in the 1500m at the World Championship in London in August.

    “I will again be going for the double, but I need to improve on my tactics (for the 1500m),” she told reporters.

    “The 1500m is a race that excites me. I look forward to racing it.”

    Her coach Jean Verster said the 800m world record would be a priority for Semenya after the April Games at the Gold Coast in Australia.

    “We will be gunning for that in the next season.

    “I think she can probably break it already, but we’ve got to find the right race because you don’t want to put all your cards on the table and then get beaten,” he told South Africa’s Independent Newspapers.

    Semenya won the 800m in London in one minute 55.16 seconds, the fastest time in the event since 2008.

    “I believe a time of 1:52 is possible. It is just a matter of getting in the right race with the right pacemaker,” said Verster.

    The world record of 1:53.28 is now almost 35 years old and was set by Czech Jarmila Kratochvilova in Munich in July 1983.

    NAN

  • Italy donates $5m to help eradicate polio in Afghanistan

    Italy donates $5m to help eradicate polio in Afghanistan

    The Italian government donated 5 million dollars ( 4.3 million euros ) to the UNICEF and WHO to help eradicate polio in Afghanistan, a UNICEF statement said on Tuesday.

    “Of this amount, 2.9 million dollars (2.5 million euros) will go to UNICEF and WHO, which are both working in the framework of the National Emergency Action Plan for Polio (NEAP) aimed at interrupting the disease transmission in Afghanistan”.

    The statement also noted that the remaining 2.1 million dollars (1.8 million euros) have been granted to UNICEF to improve the coverage and quality of nutrition services for children under five, adolescent girls and mothers in the most deprived provinces.

    “Improving the nutritional status of children in Afghanistan is a priority,” said Adele Khodr, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan quoted in the statement.

    “When children don’t get the nutrients they need at a young age, they are not able to reach their full potential and Afghanistan misses out on one of its most valuable resources — its children.

    “Polio remains endemic in only three countries in the world — Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

    Around 10 million children under the age of five receive vaccinations multiple times every year, in all areas of the country, UNICEF said.

    There has been immense progress in eradicating polio in Afghanistan and the country is closer to stopping transmission than ever before, the statement said.

    NAN

  • NSCDC nabs cable vandal in Niger – Commandant

    NSCDC nabs cable vandal in Niger – Commandant

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC ), Niger Command, has arrested one Mohammed Ndayagi for alleged vandalism of high tension aluminium conductor cable belonging to AEDC in Gbako Local Government Area.

    The Corps Commandant, Mr Philip Ayuba, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Minna on Tuesday.

    He said that the suspect was arrested by officer and men of the Corps on routine patrol in Gbako Local Government Area of the state for alleged vandalism of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company ( AEDC ) electric cables.

    He said that the suspect confessed to the crime during investigation but said they work as a cartel, saying that other suspects are being monitored for possible arrest.

    He said that the suspect would be charged to court after investigation.

    He called on members of the general public to imbibe the culture of providing intelligence information on residents tempering with public facilities to the security agencies.

    NAN

  • Court fixes Dec. 6 for hearing on N1bn libel suit against Adamawa Assembly

    Court fixes Dec. 6 for hearing on N1bn libel suit against Adamawa Assembly

    A Yola High Court  on Tuesday fixed Dec. 6 for hearing of the motion on notice in a N1 billion libel suit filed against the Adamawa House of Assembly.

    A construction firm handling a N1.2 billion World Bank-assisted rural road project in the state, had dragged the Speaker, Kabiru Mijinyawa, to court for alleged libel.

    Also joined in the suit are the House Committee on Rural and Community Development and seven others.

    The firm alleged that the house committee had in a newspaper publication accused it of defrauding the bank and the people.

    It alleged that the defendant accused it of conniving with the Ministry of Rural Development and Rural Access Mobility Project ( RAMP-2 ) to commit the act.

    When the case came up for hearing, counsel to the defendant, Mr Abubakar Sa’ad, said the house was not ready as it had not been served with the motion on notice.

    “We are not ready for the montion on notice. We have not been served with the motion; we only got the writs of summon”, he said.

    Counsel to the plaintiff, Mr Ahmed Garba, however, insisted that the house was served with the motion.

    “We served them. We took our time to ensure the service,” Garba said.

    The Judge, Nathan Musa, directed counsel to the company to serve the defendant’s counsel with the motion during the court’s sitting which he did.

    Musa adjourned the case till Dec.6 for hearing.

    The court had last week, granted an order of interim injunction, restraining the assembly from taking any action against the firm and its officials, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

    NAN