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  • Ekiti to conduct psychiatric test on sex offenders

    In a bid to tackle child defilement and rapists in Ekiti State, the government has resolved to put stringent measures that would serve as check on sexual violence.

    The government would henceforth conduct compulsory psychiatric test and publish the names and photographs of offenders on the website of the Ministry of Justice.

    The names of such offenders, according to the government, would also be announced on the state-owned radio and television, while the monarch of the town the culprits hailed from would be alerted for them to get information about his status.

    While addressing journalists in Ado Ekiti on Monday, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr. Wale Fapohunda expressed worries that the menace kept increasing despite high number of convictions recorded in the state.

    He said the governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi was miffed by increasing cases of sexual violence and that there was need for proactive actions to nip the situation in the bud.

    Fapohunda said the new measures put in place will support the aggressive prosecution and exclusion of offenders from governor’s prerogative of mercy that were already in place.

    “The additional measures put in place include pasting the photographs of convicted offenders in prominent public spaces in their communities and their local government headquarters.

    ” Issuing an advisory to the traditional rulers of the offender’s communities on the status of the offender. Uploading the sex offenders photograph on the website of the Ministry of Justice.

    “Showing photographs of sex offenders on Ekiti State Broadcasting Service, announcing their names on radio and television.

    “Compulsory Psychiatric Test for all persons of whom the Director of Public Prosecution has issued a case to answer legal advice for the offence of child defilement. This also includes persons standing trials “, he said.

    The Commissioner disclosed that the government would take actions that will deprive offenders of their rights to dignity.

    Fapohunda stated that the government was aware that conviction alone will not solve the problem, promising that public education and awareness would be stepped up to conscientise and sensitise the people.

  • Polls: Six NASS candidates file petition at tribunal

    A total of six candidates that lost during the National Assembly election have filed petitions at the Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal.

    The six candidates comprise three candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and three candidates of the All Progressives Congress.

    They are all asking the tribunal to declare them winner of their various elections for scoring majority of lawful votes.

    Those that have filed petitions for the House of Representatives are Hon Ehiozuwa Agbonyinma, Hon Omosede Igbinedion, Hon Idiake Patrick and Chief Blessing Agbomhere.

    The senatorial candidates that filed petitions are Engr. Abubakar Momoh for Edo North and Mr. John Inegbedion for Edo Central.

    In his petition against Jude Ise-Idehen of the PDP, Hon Agbonyinma urged the tribunal to declare him winner of the election.

    He said he wants to reclaim his mandate ‘that was stolen by some dubious characters in INEC in collaboration with some PDP leaders and security men and women.’

    According to him, “I have always said the APC won the Presidential election for Mr. President and I won the election for Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Constituency which I contested for.”

    Agbomhere said nobody in Estako Constituency voted for the APC in the February 23rd elections.

    He said he scored the highest votes cast.

    “There was massive corrupt practices and thump printing of ballot papers by leadership of the APC. Nobody in Estako voted for the APC.

    “I am asking the tribunal to declare me winner of the election.”

    Engr Momoh who contested against incumbent Senator Francis Alimikhena, insisted that he won the election because he scored over 80,000 votes which has been the required numbers to win election in Edo North since 1999.

    “I have the required votes anybody has gotten since 1999. I am asking the tribunal to expunge all the votes the APC allocated to themselves

    “Once you have votes up to 80,000 in Edo North, you have won. Whatever’s they have is a product of manipulation.”

    Inegbedion who is challenging the election of Senator Clifford Ordia of the PDP in Edo Central said he would prove malpractices and thump printing of ballot papers during the election.

    Read Also: Six policemen detained over burning of INEC facility

    He said he won the election.

    Omosede who lost to Dennis Idahosa of the APC said she won majority of lawful votes in the election and that the results were not a true reflection of the people of Ovia Constituency.

    Her words, “There are several grounds which we intend to challenge the election. First thing is the candidate of the APC. There are so many things we know that tell us he was not worthy to contest the election.

    “We want to contest the results which was not a reflection of Ovia Constituency. The people of Ovia came out to vote for the PDP. Where the discrepancies came from in Ovia South West were unfounded. I have several projects and there was no reason for us to lose the election.

    “This mandate will be recovered. We are going to prove that he is not worthy to be at the House of Representatives. I am asking the tribunal to declare me the winner.”

  • Archaeologists find gates of Hell

    Archaeologists find gates of Hell

    When researchers are searching for remnants of structures and settlements constructed by ancient peoples they typically focus on areas that are hospitable to human life.

    This discovery in Saudi Arabia, according to BGR.com, goes firmly against that notion, with archaeologists revealing the existence of hundreds of stone “gates” situated in and around ancient lava domes, in an area that is little more than a hellish landscape devoid of vegetation and water.

    The structures, which measure anywhere from 40 feet to nearly 1,700 feet in length, are crude in their construction, built of rough rocks that have withstood thousands of years of wear and tear. What’s most interesting is that it appears that the lava fields these structures were built upon was still active at the time, with hardened lava appearing to have flowed over some of the gates.

    Gates are found almost exclusively in bleak, inhospitable lava fields with scant water or vegetation, places seemingly amongst the most unwelcoming to our species,” David Kennedy of the Western University of Australia, who led the research, wrote. Kennedy noted that the structures “appear to be the oldest man-made structures in the landscape,” and that at the moment “no obvious explanation of their purpose can be discerned.”

    The discovery was made using satellite imagery, and the researchers used their birds-eye view to identify nearly 400 of the gates in the same area. Along with the odd walls, other clearly manmade structures were spotted including what appear to be animal traps and wheel-shaped objects that are yet to be identified. The current best guess as to the age of the construction is somewhere in the neighborhood of 9,000 years.

    The next step for researchers is launching some kind of expedition to investigate the site and perhaps come up with some kind of an explanation as to why the structures exist and what they were used for. It’s an incredible discovery, but the structures — and their precarious location — are so mysterious that there’s bound to be an even greater story waiting to be told.

  • Five firms bid to buy Yola DisCos

    A total of five bids were received by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) on Friday, being the deadline for the submission of technical and financial proposals for the acquisition of the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) and Afam Electricity Generation Company (Afam Power Plc & Afam Three Fast Power Limited) by prospective core-investors.

    Two firms- Quest Electricity Nigeria Limited and Sandstream Nigeria, submitted proposals to acquire the Yola Disco while DiamondStripes Consortium, Unicorn Power Generation Consortium and Transcorp Power, sought to acquire the Afam Genco.

    Sandstream submission was however found to be non-responsive as it failed to include a bank guarantee in line with the requirements in the Requests for Proposal (RfPs). Accordingly; the representative of the firm took the bid back.

    Speaking at the event, Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh assured the bidders that the evaluation of their bids would be subjected to the highest level of integrity culminating into the financial bids opening of the successful bidders.

    BPE’s Head of Public Communications, Amina Tukur Othman made this known in a statement on Monday.

    The statement noted that Okoh said the Evaluation Committee would meet immediately to discuss and finalise the scoring criteria before commencing the evaluation process on Monday, March 18, 2019 and end on Thursday, March 21, 2109.

    It would be recalled that 19 firms had indicated interest to acquire the Afam Power Company and the Yola Distribution Company (YDC) put up for sale by the Federal Government at the close of the submission of bids for the Expression of Interest (EOIs) at 1 pm on Tuesday, September 26, 2018.

    The request for expression of interest in the two companies was published by the BPE in national newspapers on August 16, 2018 and after evaluation of the EOIs, 11 firms qualified for the next stage but only the five were successful.

    It would be recalled that although Yola Distribution Company was successfully privatised and handed over to the core investor in 2013, a force majeure was declared in 2015 by the core investor citing insecurity in the North-East region of the country. Following this, the company was duly repossessed by the Federal Government. The transaction for Afam Power Generation Company, on the other hand, fell through due to the delay in signing the Gas Supply Agreement (GSAA) and the Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA).

    In 2017 the National council on Privatisation (NCP) gave approval for a fresh transaction to privatise the two power companies.

    It is expected that the successful bidders will be responsible for operating the generation and distribution companies, making the necessary investments to improve the generation and distribution networks and customer service in line with the objectives of the Federal Government of Nigeria set out in the National Electric Power Policy (NEPP).

  • Oyetola appoints SSG, CoS

    Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Thursday made three major appointments.

    These are: Prince Oluwole Oyebamiji as Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

    Dr. Charles Diji Akinola as Chief of Staff (CoS) to the Governor and Mr. Adeyanju Abdullah Binuyo as Deputy Chief of Staff.

    A statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Adeniyi Adesina, said the appointments take immediate effect.

    Prince Oyebamiji is a 1987 graduate of Theatre Arts of the University of Ibadan.

    He is a former Permanent Secretary, one-time General Manager, Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC), and erstwhile full-time Commissioner in the Osun State Civil Service Commission.

    Dr. Akinola is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Fellow of the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University. He has a wealth of experience in international development, public policy and cross-sector partnerships.

    He was for many years Country Director, TechnoServe, an international development organisation reputed for its work in agriculture value chains and agribusinesses, and later Executive Director, Enterprise for Development International.

    Dr Akinola was the Director General, Office of Economic Development and Partnerships which is responsible for spearheading cross sector partnerships between the state, national and international investors and partners. He was the Chairman of the State Planning Commission and had variously supervised the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and the Ministry of Regional Integration in the State.

    Binuyo obtained a B.Sc. and MSc. from the University of Lagos.

    He attended several trainings at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, Tias University in the Netherlands and the National University of Ireland.

    Binuyo has deep experience in development finance, project and human management in the public and private sectors.

    He was the Senior Special Assistant on MDGs to the immediate past Administration. Prior to that, he had being a consultant to the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs. In 2015, he was Technical Adviser to the Transition Committee of President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

    Until recently, he was Chief of Staff to Minister of Communications Mr.Adebayo Shittu.

  • How my stepdad, his mum, beat my brother to death – Teenager

    A teenager, Omobowale Sunmola, Thursday told a Lagos High Court in Igbosere that her stepfather and his mother beat her elder brother to death and dumped his corpse in a canal.

    Omobowale told Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya that the incident occurred at their Maryland, Lagos apartment in 2014.

    She was 11 at the time, she explained, and about to begin Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1, while her brother, Tunde, was 13.

    Omobowale, now 17, testified during the trial of her mother, Margaret Olufunmilayo Odunlade, her stepfather, Folorunsho Emmanuel and his mother, Funke Maxwell, for the alleged offence.

    Odunlade, Emmanuel and Maxwell were arraigned by the Lagos State Government in 2014, on a two-count charge of manslaughter and misconduct with regard to a corpse.

    Prosecuting counsel, Adebayo Haroun, said the offences were committed at about 6am, on August 2, 2014, at 17, Emmanuel Street, Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos.

    He said the defendants unlawfully killed Tunde Sunmola by beating him and not taking him to the hospital for treatment of injuries he sustained on his leg.

    Odunlade was also accused of dumping Tunde’s body in a canal.

    According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened sections 222 and 163 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    Omobowale, led in evidence by Haroun, testified as the third prosecution witness.

    The witness said at the time, she lived with her mom, stepdad and his mom, while Tunde lived in Ijebu Ode with their grandmother, Mrs. Arinola Sunmola.

    She said Tunde was eager to see her and their mum, so their grandmother persuaded his mother to come along to Ijebu with her (Sunmola) and take him to Lagos on August 1.

    According to Omobowale, when they got to Lagos, “My mother asked Tunde to start moving ahead of us and when I asked her why, she said she didn’t want people in the area to know that Tunde was her son.

    “That night when my mom’s husband came back from work, he asked my mum, ‘who is this boy?’

    “My mom said: ‘He is one of my sons.’

    “Her husband said: ‘Did you tell me you had another son outside?’

    “My mum said it was a mistake.

    “So, they argued and he asked why she didn’t tell him about my brother. She could not say anything,

    “That night, after we slept, I heard, my mum’s husband and his mother beating my brother. My mum later carried my brother on her back and I woke up and asked her, ‘where are you taking him?’ She said she was taking him back to Ijebu. I told her we were going together but she refused.

    “When she returned, I asked her where my brother was. She said she had returned him to Ijebu.”

    The witness said the following day, a relation, ‘Aunty Yemi’, told her that her brother was dead.

    Omobowale’s testimony corroborated that of her grandmother, Mrs Sunmola, who testified earlier.

    Sunmola, the second prosecution witness, narrated how she found out Tunde was dead.

    She said: “Odunlade came in company of her elder sister named Yemi, and Tunde’s younger sister, Omobowale Sunmola, a day after she took Tunde to Lagos.

    “She asked me to give her some money which I did. On the same day, she came back again to ask for more money. I then told her that I would only give her on the condition that she brings back my grandson.”

    According to the witness, Yemi persuaded Odunlade to confess, but Odunlade said their vehicle had an accident on their way Lagos and Tunde was killed.

    “I requested that they bring Tunde’s corpse, and they agreed, but I did not allow my granddaughter, to go back with them. When they got to Mowe-Ibafo (in Ogun State), they told the driver of the car, who was taking them to Lagos that they wanted to defecate. He stopped and that was how they escaped, ‘’ Sunmola told the court.

    The witness said Omobowale later informed her that Tunde was beaten to death by her mother’s new husband and his mother.

    Following the conclusion of testimonies, Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya adjourned further proceedings till June 26.

  • Ethiopian Crash: Germany rejects analysis of black box

    Ethiopian Airlines said Thursday that the black box flight recorders from the Boeing 737 MAX 8 that crashed with 157 people on board, have been flown to Paris for analysis.

    The airline stated this Twitter message.

    “An Ethiopian delegation led by Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has flown the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) to Paris, France for investigation.”

    This comes just as Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) said it will not analyse the black box from the Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet which crashed soon after taking off from Addis Ababa on Sunday.

    This led to some uncertainty for a couple of hours before the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) announced late on Wednesday that they would analyse the black-box flight recorders.

    The chief executive officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, said the black boxes from Sunday’s plane crash in Ethiopia would be sent to a “closer country in Europe” rather than the United States for analysis.
    Later on, an airline spokesperson reportedly confirmed that the country in question was Germany. However, just hours later, Germany’s BFU issued a statement reasoning their rejection of the request.

    Read Also: Ethiopian airlines: families of victims steel themselves for journey to crash site

    “This is a new type of aircraft with a new black box, with new software. We can’t do it,” BFU spokesperson Germout Freitag told the media.

    Pilots have reported issues in US with new Boeing arrived in Paris for analysis on Thursday morning. The BEA is one of the world’s most active air crash agencies alongside the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States and has laboratories at its Le Bourget headquarters.

    A spokesman for the BEA said they wouldn’t be announcing the results. “Only the Ethiopian authorities will report on the progress of the investigation. There will be no press conference,” a BEA spokesman told reporters.

    The 737, which first entered service in the late 1960s, is the aviation industry’s best-selling model and Boeing’s top earner. The re-engined Max version has racked up more than 5,000 orders worth in excess of $600 billion.

    When Indonesian carrier Lion Air’s Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed on October 29 in 2018 killing all 189 people on board, Boeing pointed to maintenance issues and human error as the underlying cause, even though the plane’s pilots reportedly had been battling a computerised system that took control following a sensor malfunction.

    Ethiopian Airlines CEO also said that the pilots had complained about ‘flight control problems’.

    Just over four months later, the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 – killing 157 people – has triggered increasing global pressure on the manufacturer over safety concerns and software issues with the aircraft model. Ethiopian Airlines CEO said the pilots had complained about ‘flight control problems’.

    The day after the crash, without referring to Ethiopian tragedy directly, Boeing Corporation said it would deploy a software upgrade to the 737 MAX 8, a few hours after the Federal Aviation Administration said it would mandate “design changes” in the aircraft by April.

  • Okorocha’s allegation baseless- Uzodinma

    The Imo State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded governorship election, Senator Hope Uzodinma has described as unfounded and malicious, the allegations that he worked for the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Emeka Ihedioha in the last election.

    The Imo Governor, Rochas Okorocha, had accused the APC candidate of playing the mole with the party’s ticket, which he claimed made it possible for the PDP candidate to manipulate the result of the election.

    Read Also: My position on Uzodinma vindicated – Okorocha

    But Uzodinma, who emerged a distant fourth in the election, described Okorocha’s claim as a mere plot to tarnish his image after working against the APC.

    The Senator who spoke through his media aide, Mbadiwe Emelumba, noted that, “Okorocha is in the habit of lying to tarnish people’s image but he was the person that worked against the APC from the beginning”.

  • Couple die after attending wedding in Aba

    A yet-to-be identified couple has reportedly lost their lives 24hrs after they attended a wedding ceremony in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State.

    The incident our reporter gathered happened at Umuozu, Uratta community in Osisioma local government area.

    When contacted, Abia State Command spokesman, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna said that he was yet to be informed on the incident.

    But our sources at Uratta that pleaded not to be mentioned said that the couple is from Anambra State.

    They disclosed that maid who is the only survivor is receiving medical attention in an undisclosed private hospital in the city.

    “The couple was childless. The man has a three storey at Umudim in Osisioma LGA. He is from Anambra State and the secretary of timber dealer’s association.

    “From what we learnt, the man and the wife chaired a wedding event in Aba and when they were going, they were given handed a take away pack. We learnt that they went home and ate the food with their maid.

    “The maid is in the hospital as we speak and has started talking. We hope to hear exactly what happened to the couple when the maid is fit enough to speak.

    “The neighbours got to know about the death of man and woman when their neighbours in the market complained that they have been calling them while their phones rang without any response.

    “It was at that point that some of the neigbhours used ladder to climb into the flat of their landlord only to behold their bodies and that of their maid who was eventually taken to the hospital for treatment.

    “We learnt that the bodies of the couple has been deposited in a mortuary pending an autopsy that would be carried on them to determine whether their death was as a result of food poison as being speculated,” one of the sources narrated.

    They said that the sudden death of the couple has caused confusion among residents and close families as they were said to have been devastated by the incident.

  • Don’t steal funds, group cautions outgoing Kwara govt.

    A group known as Kwara Coalition for Good Governance and Accountability (Kwara-CGGA) has cautioned officials of the outgoing People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government to refrain from last-minute stealing of public funds or government properties.

    In a statement, Secretary general of the group, Hassan Omoiya said there are consistent reports of mindless looting of public funds and properties since after the outcome of the governorship election last Saturday.

    The statement also called on the Kwara State Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed not do anything that would create confusion for the new administration.

    The group said the rumored plan of the government to create new local government development areas (LCDA) or negotiate the new minimum wage with labor leaders are not in good faith or in the larger interest of Kwara.

    The statement read: “Reports from reliable quarters within the outgoing Kwara State Government circles suggest ongoing massive looting of public funds and properties by some unscrupulous officials.

    “While the incoming administration is urged not to embark on a witch-hunt of anybody as a way of focusing on the bigger picture of developing the state, the truth is that the new government will have a duty to the electorate to ensure that nobody gets away with mindless stealing of public funds and properties.

    “Also, we call on the incumbent Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed to be a statesman and avoid setting traps for the incoming administration. We have it on good record that the PDP government plans to create LCDAs and negotiate the new minimum wage, even though it really doesn’t pay the current one faithfully.

    “We hope this is not true because that will be in bad faith since its term expires in about two months. It will be unfair to create crisis of confidence between the new government and the people or the workers. We hope Governor Ahmed will, for once, act like a statesman that the office of Governor has bestowed upon him.

    “Finally, we urge everyone to note that while the incoming administration has a burden to fix Kwara State almost from the scratch, its works can be made easier if everyone keys into this patriotic agenda, including blowing the whistle on those allegedly stealing public funds or properties.”