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  • Cashier jailed three months for stealing travel bag

    Cashier jailed three months for stealing travel bag

    A Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, on Tuesday sentenced a cashier, Anthony Joseph, 26, to three months imprisonment for stealing a travel bag.

    Joseph, who resides at Karmo village, Abuja, was arraigned on a two-count charge of theft and mischief.

    The convict had pleaded guilty to the charge and begged the court for leniency.

    The judge, Abubakar Sadiq, however, gave the convict the option to pay N10, 000 as fine.

    Sadiq said the punishment would have been more severe if the accused had not pleaded guilty and saved the court the pains of prolonged prosecution.

    He also ordered him to pay N10, 000 as compensation to the nominal complainant.

    Earlier, the prosecutor, Dalhatu Zannah, told the court that one Sunday Nkwoji of Dape village reported the matter at the Karmo Police Station on Jan. 18.

    Read Also:Court awards $10m against Shoprite for breach of contracts

    Zannah told the court that sometime in Nov. 2017 the convict visited the complainant and cleverly stole his travel bag valued at N4, 000.

    He said that the convict stole the complainant’s bag containing his three ATM cards, a phone worth N6,000, a shoe and other valuable items.

    The prosecutor said that the convict criminally attempted to use the complainant’s Diamond Bank ATM card with a wrong pin to withdraw money but the card was seized and one of the cards got damaged.

    He said that during police investigation and interrogation, the convict admitted committing the offence while the bag, shoe and one Diamond Bank ATM card were recovered from him.

    The prosecutor said to recover the other items valued N10, 000 proved abortive.

    Zannah pointed out that the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 288 and 327 of the Penal Code.

    Following the guilty plea of the convict, the prosecutor asked the court for summary trial in line with Section 347 of the Administration of Criminal Justices Act, 2015.

    NAN

  • Sell at N145 or lose your petrol, DPR warns Anambra marketers

    Sell at N145 or lose your petrol, DPR warns Anambra marketers

    The Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR ) has warned petrol marketers within its Enugu Zone to comply with N145 pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or have their products dispensed to customers free.

    Mr Unyime Akpan of Health, Safety and Environment Department, DPR Enugu Office, gave the warning in Awka when he led an enforcement team to Anambra on Tuesday.

    Akpan said the team sealed one filing station for allegedly refusing to revert and enforced the pump price sale of petrol in nine other stations on Atani road in Ogbaru and some parts of Idemili North Local Government Areas.

    He expressed regret that some marketers had remained defiant, in spite of DPR’s efforts to ensure compliance, noting that the DPR might apply more stringent punishment by dispensing products of defaulting marketers to customers for free.

    READ ALSO: More pains as fuel scarcity returns

    “Petrol price is controlled; stations are not supposed to sell above N145 per liter and if the cost of getting products suggests they cannot sell at that price, then they should leave out.

    “Marketers are the people encouraging the hike; if they are not gaining from it, then they leave out until the system returns to normal.

    “We may have to begin to dispense their products free because DPR also has the powers; if this price compliance sales proves ineffective, we may be left with no option than to give out their petrol, so that they can understand how serious we are,” he said.

    In a reaction, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN ) absolved its members of any complicity in the hike of petrol price and blamed it on scarcity.

    Chief Ikechukwu Nwankwo, Chairman of IPMAN, Enugu Depot, in charge of Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states, urged DPR to stop the clampdown the members as sealing outlets and auctioning the products would not solve the problem.

    Nwankwo decried the petrol supply situation in the country and called for a more sustainable measure to normalise it.

    He said DPR’s action on IPMAN members, especially those under his zone, amounted to being punished for a problem they did not cause and could not solve.

    Nwankwo said that solution to the problem was massive and sufficient supply of petrol into the system by the NNPC.

    The IPMAN chairman said marketers were making efforts to make petrol available to customers as complete scarcity would amount to shutting the economy and holding the masses hostage.

    “I have spoken with my members here in Anambra, the situation of fuel supply is bad and it is our wish that we begin to get products like the way it used to be before.

    “IPMAN is not happy with the way the DPR is harassing us, closing our stations and auctioning our products. It is like they want to push us out of business because we cannot continue to suffer this loss.

    “NNPC is not allocating products to us, DPR should go and monitor the marketers that get allocation from NNPC; how can we buy product at N190 or N195 and DPR sells them off at N145.

    “We make extra effort to get product at tank depot so that economic activities can go on and we should not be punished for that; we may have to close our stations if they continue to pursue us,” he said.

    Newsmen reportes that pump price of petrol has dropped from between N240 and N250 to N200 per liter.

    NAN

  • Google honours Keshi with Doodle

    Google honours Keshi with Doodle

    Google on Tuesday marked the 56th birthday of the late Nigerian football icon, Stephen Keshi, with Doodle.

    A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google’s homepages that commemorates holidays, events, achievements and people.

    Mr Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Anglophone West Africa, made the assertion during a chat with Google in Lagos.

    According to Kola-Ogunlade, Stephen Keshi was born in Azare, Bauchi State, Nigeria, and was a member of the famed St. Finbarrs College Football Academy of 1977.

    He said that he was later called up for the Junior Eagles and subsequently the Super Eagles in preparation for the 1980 African Cup of Nations competition.

    “Football took Keshi all over the world as he played across Africa, Europe, and the U.S.

    “Known affectionately as `Big Boss’, he was beloved as a player for Nigeria’s national team, where he earned more than 60 caps and for representing the country at the FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations,’’ he said.

    READ ALSO : Google doodle honours Chinua Achebe

    Kola-Ogunlade said that after his great success as a player, Keshi moved into coaching, the next phase of his career, adding that when the “Big Boss’’ became the coach of the Togo national team, he brought his trademark passion with him.

    The Google manager said that against the odds, Keshi led Togo all the way to a qualifying spot in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

    “He achieved his personal dream in 2011, when he became an indigenous national coach of the Super Eagles, cementing his place in African and world football history.

    “Coaching the Nigerian team, Keshi won the African Cup of Nations in 2013, and in 2014 became the first African coach of an African nation to make it to the knockout round of a World Cup.

    “Keshi is one of the only two men to win the Africa Cup of Nations as both a player and a manager, a testament to his wit, talent, and love for the sport.

    “A big cheer for this football legend on what would have been his 56th birthday!’’ he said.

     

  • NANS appeals to FG dialogue with NASU over demands

    NANS appeals to FG dialogue with NASU over demands

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to the Federal Government to dialogue with the striking Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) in the interest of Nigerian students.

    The NANS Public Relations Officer, Mr Bestman Okereafor, made the appeal in a statement and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Enugu.

    “We are appealing that the Federal Government should look into the matter that caused the strike and resolve it, as Nigerian students bear the brunt of the hardship caused by the strike,’’ Okereafor said.

    He said that the association was displeased at the delay by the government to resolve the lingering NASU’s industrial action.

    “This is negatively affecting millions of university students currently writing their exams across the federation.

    “Our students have been in total darkness, non availability of water, scarcity of transportation, non availability of examination pass, no access to the library and documentations and records among several other things, which all fall under the purview of NASU,’’ he said.

    Read Also: NANS urges FG to pay entitlements of deceased heroes to families.

    According to him, it is unfortunate that even the Senate and House of Representatives have decided to keep mute over the issue for so long, probably because their children are in the Diaspora.

    “It is disappointing that the government has decided to take the welfare of Nigerian students with levity despite our love and loyalty to our dear country.

    “This undue suffering is unacceptable to Nigerian students, as this has drastically affected their academic performance,’’ he said.

    Okereafor, however, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to grant NANS leadership  an audience to enable the association to table the myriad problems facing Nigerian students before him “as a father’’.

    NAN recalls that NASU’s strike, which commenced on Dec. 10, 2017, had lingered for over a month now.

    NAN

  • Lassa fever: Ondo Govt. embarks on sensitisation of populace

    Lassa fever: Ondo Govt. embarks on sensitisation of populace

    The Ondo State Government has embarked on sensitisation of the populace on measures to contain the spread of Lassa fever in the state.

    A statement issued on Tuesday in Akure by the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Yemi Olowolabi, said that unhygienic habits of people had led to the spread of Lassa fever in the state

    Read Also: 10 down with suspected Lassa fever in Ondo

    The commissioner, who confirmed 24 cases of Lassa fever and five deaths in four local government areas of the state, said government had strengthened its medical facilities in all its specialist hospitals to contain the spread of the disease.

    He stated that the isolation centre at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, had also been reinforced to take adequate care of patients as part of efforts to check  the spread of the disease.

    NAN

  • NSCDC arrests man for defiling minor in Nasarawa

    NSCDC arrests man for defiling minor in Nasarawa

    The Nasarawa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC ) on Monday arrested Haruna Abdulkadir, 30,  from Daddare, Obi Local Government Area, for allegedly defiling a 13-year old girl.

    Mohammed Mahmoud-Fari, the State Commandant of the NSCDC told newsmen in Lafia that the suspect had on Jan. 20 allegedly defiled the minor and fled the community.

    He was, however, arrested from his hideout in Daddere village on Monday following a man-hunt by security operatives.

    According to Mahmoud-Fari, when the news of the defilement broke, family and relatives of the victim went in search of the suspect and in the process, there was a free-for-all  between the two groups.

    “Friends of the suspect inflicted bodily harm on the relatives of the victim and were arrested by the NSCDC, following the report of the incident,” Mahmoud-Fari said.

    Mahmoud-Fari said the suspect who confessed to the crime during interrogation, however,  pleaded for mercy.

    He said preliminary investigation and medical observation of the victim revealed that there was penetration, saying she however, tested negative to sexually transmitted infections.

    Mahmoud-Fari said the command would ensure that justice was done by prosecuting the suspect in order to serve as a deterrent to other pedophiles.

    Meanwhile, the commandant also paraded 12 suspects arrested for various offences including theft, assault and conspiracy to purchase stolen properties.

    He said all the suspects would be arraigned appropriately as soon as investigations were concluded.

    The NSCDC boss warned those with criminal tendencies to desist from them or  be ready to face the full wrath of the law.

    NAN

  • Judge orders trial-within-trial in illegal arms importation case

    Judge orders trial-within-trial in illegal arms importation case

    The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the truthfulness of statements made by suspected importers of illegal arms and ammunition, including 661 pump action rifles.

    Justice Ayokunle Faji made the order after the Department of State Services ( DSS ) Head of Investigation Mr. Wale Odu testified.

    The Federal Government arraigned Oscar Okafor, Donatus Achinulo, Mahmud Hassan, Mathew Okoye (at large) and Salihu Danjuma  last June 14 for illegally importing double barrel shortguns, pump action rifles and single barrel shotguns (firearms) without authorisation.

    Led in evidence by the prosecutor, Mr. Julius Ajaikaye, Odu said he took over the case from the Nigeria Customs Services last February.

    He said he interrogated Hassan and Okafor, and that Hassan told him that he was the sole director of Hassan Trade Nigeria Limited, which is the consignee and importer of the arms.

    “He and Okafor had several meetings at Southern Sun Hotel, Kingsway Road, Ikoyi, where he (Okafor) agreed to collect N4million for the clearance of the container. In one of the meetings, Okafor told him that he was charging N4million because the container was carrying pump action rifles.”

    The witness said it was Customs officers’ refusal to collect N1million bribe that led to 100 percent inspection of the container.

    Odu said Okafor also confessed that he participated in loading the container in Turkey with Okoye, and that he handed over a falsified Bill of Lading to Hassan for clearance in Nigeria.

    Hassan’s lawyer, Yakubu Galadima, raised objection to the tendering of his client’s statement. He claimed that statement was not obtained voluntarily.

    Other defence counsel Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) Dr Paul Ananaba (SAN) also aligned themselves with Galadima’s submission.

    The defendants were arraigned on nine counts of conspiracy to illegally import prohibited firearms, “uttering” of forged documents, bribery and importation of prohibited goods.

    All the defendants pleaded not guilty at their arraignment.

    Count one of the charge said the defendants “on or about January 21, 2017, at Apapa, Lagos conspired together to illegally import into Nigeria 661 pump actions rifles.”

    The prosecution said they brought the arms from Turkey through the Apapa Port in Lagos, using a 40-feet container, which they falsely claimed contained steel doors.

    Justice Faji adjourned till tomorrow for trial-within-trial.

  • 2019: Rivers accuses APC of plan to undermine 2019 elections

    2019: Rivers accuses APC of plan to undermine 2019 elections

    The Rivers state Government (RSG),  yesterday accused the All Progressives congress ( APC ), led Federal Government (FG),  of concluded plan to grant amnesty and pardon to the 32 cultisted who were declared wanted by the state security council last week. 
    The State commissioner for Information,  Emma Okah,  a Lawyer made the allegation a news statement in Port Harcourt,  the state capital yesterday. 
    Okah quoted security intelligent report at their disposal as saying that the essence of the amnesty was to woo the people into the APC party with the view of using them to format trouble at 2019 general elections. 
    Okah said, “The Rivers state government had earlier accuses All Progressives Congress ( APC ), in the state of has approached the 32 cultists who were declared wanted by the state security command for the purpose of ensuring their membership and in return grant them protection and liberty. 
    “The Rivers state government today in receipt of credible intelligence to the effect that the the Federal Government has concludes plans to grant amnesty to these 32 cultists who were declared wanted by the security in council of Rivers state. 
    “Details of this intelligence which we gathered indicates that the Fedetal Giveenmentbis granting the said cultists amnesty for the purpose of undue electoral advantage in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.”
    He accused the FG of continuous efforts to undermining the efforts of the state government in exterminating violent crimes in the state but maintained that the plots would not deter the government in restoring peace into the state. 
     “In our view,  this action is not a surprise to us,  because we have repeatedly said it that some of these excesses of the Federal government are frustrating the fight against violent crime and criminality in our state.” he said. 
    “In particular, We have accused the Federal Special Anti robbery squad (F-SARS),  of not just being involved directly in perpetrating violent crimes in Rivers state but also are aiding and abating such crimes in the state.
    “The activities of SARS in this regard have not ceased. This share development coming at the time they stated is winning the war against culrism and kidnapping therefore become a major set back and a ploy to undermine security in Rivers state, and bring to not,  the enormous financial resources we have committed to the issue of security in the State. 
    “Sadly, each time we recorded success in the promotion of security in the state,  the Federal Government and her agent take deliberate steps to sabortage the security of the state at the instigation of some unpatriotic sons of Rivers state who are serving at the centre.” 
    He called on various bodies and groups to save the soul of the state from the antics of APC, insisting that the 32 persons will not be delayed from the crimson list until they have answered to their crimes. 
    “We therefore call on the international community,  civil society organizations and well meaning Nigerians to ….act to compromise the security of Rivers state for ungodly political gain by the APC -led Federal Government. 
    “For the avoidance of doubt,  the Rivers state government will continue to work closely with the security agencies in the state”
    In the swift reactions,  the state Publicity Secretary of APC, Chris Finebone said, “The simple truth is that since federal security forces killed Don Waney, Gov. Wike’s personal security architecture has suffered irredeemable damage. 
    “He is making very desperate attempts at changing the well known narrative that Don Waney and the PDP worked for the other. Those of you in the media know better. Gov. Wike and his officials are making desperate attempts at misleading ongoing investigations concerning those who sponsored, funded and protected Don Waney all these years. 
    “They know those the investigations will lead to, hence the desperate attempt to divert attention, but it is too late. Calling APC or the Federal Government simply confirms that the Rivers State governor and his men are at their wit’s end. 
    “We have said it over and over that Gov. Nyesom Wike cares little about giving good governance to the people of Rivers State and that is why he is perpetually in election mode. 
    “Instead of condemning Governor Wike, we empathise with him, because we believe that he needs help desperately. Gov. Wike is a victim of a flawed political leadership recruitment system, but unfortunately, Rivers people are the losers for it. It is sad.”he concluded. 
  • Petrol scarcity: PPMC assures motorists of enough products

    Petrol scarcity: PPMC assures motorists of enough products

    The Petroleum Products Marketing Company ( PPMC ) on Monday assured motorists that it had in its reserves enough petrol products.

    Mr Umar Ajiya, the Managing Director of PPMC, said this in a statement in Abuja.

    The statement by Mr Umar Mohammed, the PPMC Spokesman, said there had been a resurgence of queues at filling stations in Lagos and some parts of Abuja after a few days reprieve.

    Ajiya explained that the queues sprang-up as a result of malfunctioning of the channel controlling  the piping of products from vessels to marketers facility at the Lagos harbour.

    “Let me categorically say that the facility had since been repaired and is now operating maximally,” Ajiya said.

    According to him, products are being discharged without any hitch and the exercise would continue for a 24-hour operation, to push products into the city and environs.

    Ajiya said over 150 trucks had been supplied to Lagos and environs on Monday at 2:00 p.m. and the trend would continue.

    He gave the assurances that there was no shortage of products and that everything humanly had been put in place for a smooth supply of products.

    NAN

  • 2019: INEC seeks UN support on capacity building, voter education

    2019: INEC seeks UN support on capacity building, voter education

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) has called for United Nations ( UN ) support in capacity-building and voter-education ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the call during the commission’s meeting with UN’s Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) delegation on Monday in Abuja.

    Yakubu said that the commission would need the support to build capacity of its staff and political parties, and in voter education and general sensitisation.

    Other areas of needs for the elections, according to him, are electoral legal framework, electoral conflict, mitigation and inclusiveness, particularly of women, youths and People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs).

    Yakubu commended the UN for its support to INEC and other election management bodies in Africa, through its agencies, including the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ).

    “Over the years, the UN has been providing critical support to INEC in our efforts to introduce and sustain reforms of the electoral system in Nigeria.

    “The UN agencies such as the UNDP have been of immense assistance to the commission, especially in building our capacity and extending the same support to our numerous stakeholders as well,’’ Yakubu said.

    He said that the commission looked forward to working together with the UN for the consolidation and deepening of democracy in Nigeria.

    The INEC chairman said that the commission had continued to maintain and expand engagements with stakeholders in the electoral process, especially as it prepared for the elections.

    He added that over the last two electoral cycles, 2010 to 2015 and 2015 to 2019, the commission had deliberately and purposefully embarked on far-reaching reforms of the electoral system.

    On his part, leader of the UN delegation, Mr Serge Kubwimana, said that they were at INEC to know the preparation of the commission for the elections and to know areas the UN could assist it.

    “The objective of the visit is to work together to see the context in which the commission has been prepared, and together identify areas where the commission may deem fit to have the UN collaboration as seen in the past,’’ he said.

    Kubwimana, who is in the UN Electoral Assistance Division and Team Leader of NAM in Nigeria, said “in doing so, the UN will look at the overall context – political context, social economic context and human right context’’.

    He added that in conducting the needs assessments, the UN would work with relevant stakeholders, including security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations, women organisations and People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs).

    “Women organisation is also an important aspect of our collaboration to see how we can increase representation of women in politics and also increase number of voters.

    “Security is also important in any given contest,’’ he said.

    NAN