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  • NDLEA destroys drugs worth N10b in Edo

    NDLEA destroys drugs worth N10b in Edo

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA ) Edo Command on Friday destroyed illicit drugs valued at more than N10 billion in Benin.

    Retired Col. Mohammad Abdallah, the Chairman of NDLEA who supervised the exercise, said that the quantum of drugs being destroyed clearly called for state of emergency over drug situation in the country.

    Abdallah said approximately 137,000 kiligrammes of illicit drugs were destroyed, noting that
    the figure was double the total figure recently destroyed in FCT, Oyo and Kano states.

    The chairman said 20 tonnes of drugs were destroyed in FCT, 14 tonnes in Oyo and 50 tonnes
    in Kano, while a whopping 136 tonnes destroyed in Edo.

    He added that the quantity showed that drugs had become unacceptably pervasive in many parts of the country, with attendant implications on health, security and integrity of the nation.

    He stressed that the connection between drugs and violent crimes was beyond any controversy, adding that this was because cannabis, tramadol and other psychoactive substances were often recovered in virtually all terrorist camps by the military.

    Abdallah expressed concern over the increase in space of forest being used for the cultivation of cannabis sativa in the state.

    Read Also: NDLEA to tackle use of prohibited substances by youths in FCT

    He explained that in 2017, the state command destroyed 40.06 hectares of suspected cannabis plantations, while 37.9 hectares was destroyed in 2016.

    He noted that the diversion of land to cannabis cultivation instead of food and economic crops remained a serious threat to food production in the country.

    The state Commander of NDLEA, Mr Buba Wakawa, said it was sad that Edo was one of the highest cannabis producing states in the country.

    Wakawa said that the problems of drugs and substance abuse in the state were of serious concern to the command.

    He added that school age children were found to be using drugs even at an early age of 13, saying
    this had affected the rate of school dropout, divorce, rape, as well as teenage pregnancy.

    The commander said the event marked the last stage of drug enforcement circle which started with intelligence gathering, raid operations, investigation, successful conviction and finally execution of the court order for the destruction of confiscated drugs.

    The quantity of drugs destroyed was the largest in the history of drug control in the country, he stressed.

    Wakawa said cannabis sativa accounted for 136, 437.73 kilogrammes of the figure, while cocaine, heroin and other psychotropic substances accounted for 0.0139 kilo grammes, 0.0084 kilogrammes and 406.7 kilogrammes.

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  • Nasarawa State-owned tertiary institutions suspend strike

    Nasarawa State-owned tertiary institutions suspend strike

    The Joint Union of Tertiary Institutions in Nasarawa State has suspended the infinite strike action it began on Feb. 16.

    Mr Ariks Samuel-Bashayi, state’s Chairman of the union, announced the suspension of the strike while briefing newsmen on Friday at the College of Education, Akwanga, after the union’s emergency meeting.

    He stated that the suspension of the strike was due to the commitment made by the state government through the respective management of the three state-owned tertiary institutions.

    He said, “Though all our demands are not met, but because of appeals and interventions by the stakeholders, the union shifted ground to give room for further discussion.
    “The state government and other stakeholders appealed to the union to call off the strike in order to pave way for further negotiation.”

    Read Also: Buhari advises TETFund on interventions to institutions

    The chairman, therefore, called on all members of the union to resume work immediately pending further directives.

    Newsmen reports that the union had embarked on an indefinite strike since Feb. 16, citing government’s refusal to address welfare- related issues.

    The Institutions involved are: the College of Education, Akwanga, College of Agriculture, Lafia and the Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia.

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  • Bayelsa earmarks N100m for NLC state secretariat complex — Chairman

    Bayelsa earmarks N100m for NLC state secretariat complex — Chairman

    The Bayelsa Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), says the state government has earmarked N100 million for the construction of the state secretariat.

    The state Chairman, Mr John Ndiomu, made this known in an interview with the News men on Friday.

    Speaking against the backdrop of the celebration of NLC’s 40th anniversary in the state, Ndiomu expressed the union’s readiness to work with the present administration to end workers’ strike in Bayelsa.

    He lauded the Bayelsa Government for capturing the construction of the NLC Secretariat complex in its 2018 budget.

    He assured teachers who were wrongly sacked that they would soon be called back to their duty posts.

    Read Also: Send your child to school or risk jail term, Bayelsa tells parents

    “We are here to protect the interest of workers, not ours.

    “Even when people are not our union members, we still work to protect their interest as fellow countrymen.”

    He said that the anniversary would also create an opportunity to reflect on the challenges faced by the NLC and the larger labour movement and identify ways of addressing these challenges.

    The news men recalls the NLC was founded on Feb. 28, 1978.

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  • INEC will cancel election in any troublesome ward – REC

    INEC will cancel election in any troublesome ward – REC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) says it will cancel elections in wards with irregularities, Prof. Francis Ezeonu, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Imo, said elections in areas where ballot boxes were seized or where voting was marred by any violence would be voided.

    The electoral commissioner said this on Friday while carrying out sensitisation campaign in Aboh Mbaise Local Government area of Imo.

    He said INEC was prepared for free and fair elections devoid of violence and intimidation and urged stakeholders to cooperate with the commission to achieve this objective.

    “INEC will not accept results in areas where ballot papers or boxes are carted away by hoodlums or any group or individuals. Election in that area will be cancelled.

    “What INEC needs is cooperation from members of the community.

    “If INEC does not receive cooperation of people in the communities, things will not be okay. I advise politicians and stakeholders to play by the rules and play good politics,” he said.

    Ezeonu reiterated the commitment of INEC to conduct credible polls in the fourth coming general elections.

    He urged politicians to always ensure their followers enjoyed dividends of democracy to pave way for their re-election.

    The electoral commissioner advised the people of Aboh Mbaise to ensure that all eligible voters in the area got their PVCs and went out and vote during election.

    He said election in Nigeria would no longer be business as usual, adding that INEC was tightening its ropes against all aspects of rigging.

    Ezeonu promised that the state INEC would ensure that all eligible voters registered through provision of more registration machines and re-visiting places where people were yet to be captured.

    Read Also:  Council of State endorses appointments for NPC, INEC, JSC

    Earlier, Mr Clement Archibong , the Electoral Officer in Aboh Mbaise, said the commission had registered a total of 6,311 prospective voters since registration was taken to the electoral wards as ordered by the commission .

    He, however, said that the local government had 2,820 uncollected permanent voters cards and called on stakeholders to carry the message to their various communities for the owners to come and take them.

    Mrs Esther Emeruche, the Technical Committee Chairman of Aboh Mbaise, called on INEC to be an unbiased electoral umpire and should not be party to rigging by announcing results in violent areas.

    Some stakeholders, who consisted of traditional rulers, representatives of political parties, youth, women and town union leaders, commended INEC in the state on the sensitisation and the assurance of credible elections.

    They advised INEC against bringing in faulty registration and card reader machines for registration and for elections, saying that faulty machines were means of election rigging.

    They also wanted INEC to revisit areas where people were yet to be captured to have more registered voters.

    They called for continuous publicity and enlightenment on the voter registration exercise and collection of PVCs.

    Eze Emmanuel Mad, a traditional ruler in Aboh Mbaise, expressed gratitude to INEC in the state and urged it to fulfill all its promises as well as ensure it conducted credible elections come 2019.

    Mr Mike Iheanetu,a  member representing Aboh Mbaise State Constituency, advised the people of Aboh Mbaise against political and voter apathy.

    He enjoined them to go out, register and obtain their PVCs, saying it is their power to vote and elect good leaders.

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  • Court strikes out ex-Naval staff reinstatement’s suit

    Court strikes out ex-Naval staff reinstatement’s suit

    The National Industrial Court, Abuja, has struck out the suit instituted by Enoch Iliya against the Nigerian Navy, seeking reinstatement and payment of his entitlements since 2015, when he was forcefully retired.

    Iliya, who was a Petty Officer in the Nigerian Navy served as a Radio Supervisor at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna, until his alleged forceful retirement.

    Delivering judgment, Justice Sanusi Kado, said the suit did not satisfy the conditions stipulated by the Public Officers Protection Act Section 2 (a).

    The Section of that Act states that any counter-action against public officers should be instituted within three months of action.

    Kado said the suit which was instituted in September, 2017 failed to meet the three months requirement.

    According to him, a period of more than two years has elapsed from the date of the alleged forceful retirement of the claimant.

    Read Also: I’m an airport taxi driver, not an armed robber, defendant tells court

    The claimant had sought for reinstatement and payment of his salary and entitlements from the day he was retired till now.

    The claimant had also alleged that he was sent on compulsory retirement based on a trivia excuse not known to Military Law.

    The News men recall that the Chief of Naval Staff had argued that the applicant was sacked because he absented himself from military duties.

    He submitted that Iliya was absent from work without leave or pass leading him to also be absent from an essential passing-out-parade of a course he underwent.

    The claimant counsel, Mr Bala Gwadah said his client was brought before a court martial and had been demoted as part of disciplinary action in 2009 for that offence.

    Gwadah argued that hinging his client’s compulsory retirement in an offence for which he was punished amounted to injustice.

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  • Saudi crown calls to support Afghan peace process

    Saudi crown calls to support Afghan peace process

    Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday called on all parties to the conflict to support the peace process in the conflict-hit Afghanistan, local media reported on Friday.

    Salman expressed support to the peace process during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia by Mohammad Atmar, the advisor to Afghan president on national security.

    Read Also:  Saudi Arabia lifts ban on cinemas

    “Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his meeting with National Security Advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar called on all parties involved in the conflict to support the process to get it back on track,” Tolo television quoted a statement of Atmar’s office as saying.

    Taliban militants who have always rejected joining the government-backed peace process in the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan and instead want direct talks with the U.S. government, have yet to make comments.

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  • Petrol diversion: NSCDC intercepts two trucks in Kano

    Petrol diversion: NSCDC intercepts two trucks in Kano

    Operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps ( NSCDC ), Kano State Command, have intercepted two trucks laden with 85,000 litres of petrol while trying to divert the product.

    The NSCDC Commandant, Mr Aliyu Mohammed, disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Kano on Friday.

    He said already four suspects had been apprehended in connection with the illegal act.

    According to him, one of the trucks which is supposed to discharge the product at Maigatari town in Jigawa, has been intercepted on Zaria Road.

    He said the other truck, which was supposed to take the product to a filling station at Mariri on Maiduguri Road, was however, discovered at Dawanau on Katsina Road.

    “These are some of the successes recorded by the NSCDC Command in line with its mandate.

    “The command will continue to discharge its responsibilities in order to ensure that perpetrators of this unpatriotic act are arrested and brought to book,” he said.

    Mohammed said the two trucks would be escorted to their original destinations to discharge the commodity and be sold to public at the approved price of N145 per litre.

    He said as soon as investigation was completed, the four suspects would be charged to court for appropriate prosecution.

    He, however, warned fuel marketers to desist from diversion of the product and have the fear of Allah as they would have to account for their own deeds in the hereafter.

    Black marketers in Kano state have continued to make brisk business due to the lingering petrol scarcity.

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  • Accused to court: I’m a taxi driver, not armed robber

    Accused to court: I’m a taxi driver, not armed robber

    An FCT High Court, Apo, has ordered the remand of 26-year-old Salisu Umoru accused of armed robbery, Umoru, an airport taxi driver living at Karu, was docked on charges bordering on armed robbery, offence he denied committing.

    Umoru had told the court that he was simply an airport taxi driver.

    The prosecution said Umoru was arrested in Kpeyegyi on Aug. 17, 2015 after some suspects of armed robbery had mentioned him to be a member of their gang.

    Read Also:  Court strikes out ex-Naval staff reinstatement’s suit

    Umoru had with his gang allegedly robbed the house of one John Onuzulike and made away with two iPad, two Nokia phone, a Toyota Highlander Jeep and N16, 000 cash.

    Justice Idris Kutigi ordered that Umoru be remanded in prison and adjourned the case until March 15 for mention.

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  • CAN President mourns Billy Graham

    CAN President mourns Billy Graham

    Rev. Samson Ayokunle, President, Christian Association of Nigeria ( CAN ) has described Evangelist Billy Graham as the most humble and influential religious leaders well known in the world.

    Ayokunle made the remark in an interview in Abuja, while reacting to the death of the renowned evangelist.

    The president noted that Graham’s departure, no doubt had left a big vacuum in the church at large, adding that he came, saw and conquered for the kingdom of God.

    He said that the deceased was too humble that he prayed for so many people around the globe and gave hope to generations.

    “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go to the family of the foremost Evangelist of the century, Billy Graham, on his transition to glory.

    “We give God the glory for a life well spent. He has fought the good fight, has finished the race and has kept the faith,’’ Ayokunle said.

    Graham was a Christian and a pastor in North Carolina. He took his evangelism crusades around the country and globe.

    He wrote so many books and preached to an estimated 215 million people in 185 countries.

    Graham who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s like symptoms, died at his home in Montreat, North Carolina, at the age of 99.

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  • Niger to sponsor surgery of rape victim

    Niger to sponsor surgery of rape victim

    Niger Government would sponsor the surgery of a 10-year-old boy victim of homosexuality at Minna General Hospital, Mrs Mairam Kolo, and the Director General of the state Child Rights Protection Agency, said.

    Kolo told the News men in Minna on Friday, the boy needed immediate Adrenal surgery, alongside three other boys who were sexually abused by a 50-year-old man
    in Wushishi Local Government Area of the state.

    The director general said, the suspect, currently under police custody, lured the boys into his room one after the other and had anal sex with them.

    She added, medical examination on the victims showed that one of them needed immediate surgery on the anus and had been experiencing stomach pains.

    Read Also: NCDMB initiative on science subjects among Niger Delta students

    She said the state Child Rights Protection Agency, in collaboration with Minna General Hospital, would sponsor the surgery to avoid further complications.

    She noted, other victims would undergo counselling after which they would be enrolled in school to acquire formal education.

    She said the state Commissioner of Police had directed that the suspect be transferred to Minna for proper prosecution.

    Kolo, however, said, the increasing rate at which children were being defiled was becoming alarming and urged parents to monitor the movements of their children and people they leave their wards with.

    She enjoined parents and guardians whose children were abused to always report to the appropriate authority for the perpetrators of the crime to be punished.

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