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Troops neutralise Boko Haram camps, capture weapons

Troops on Monday neutralised Boko Haram camps in three villages and captured high calibre weapons during operation “ Deep Punch II” in the Lake Chad general area.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday.

He said Metele, Tumbun Gini and Tumbun Ndjamena villages in the area had been cleared of terrorists.

“During the clearance operations, Boko Haram terrorists abandoned the area in disarray leaving behind livestock, large quantity of foodstuff, motorcycles and donkeys.

The troops also discovered terrorists’ logistics base at Tumbu Ndjamena which held stocks of fish, foodstuffs, fuel and motorcycles.

All these items were promptly destroyed.

Read Also: Troops hit Boko Haram hideouts, kill several insurgents

“They captured one Anti-Aircraft Gun, 116 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition with metal links, four Ak-47 rifles, 57 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition (Special), two Light Machine Guns, two Rocket Propelled Grenade 7 (RPG 7) Tubes, with one RPG Bomb and two already primed 36 Hand Grenades.

“Other recovered items include one Small Solar panel with a Gionee mobile phone, one Holy Qur’an, six Hadith Books, as well as five Gun trucks (which were destroyed),” he said.

Usman explained that the three soldiers and a civilian JTF died, while nine others were wounded when a Boko Haram vehicle laden with Improvised Explosive Devices rammed into an MRAP vehicle.

He said the vehicle exploded, killing three soldiers, a Civilian JTF and wounding the others.

NAN

January 9, 2018
Residents express fear as refuse takes over major streets in Ilorin

Heaps of refuse have taken over major streets in Ilorin as a result of the inability of Kwara Waste Management Company to evacuate garbage from waste bins since last month.

The bins, stationed at designated points across the city, were full to the brim, thereby forcing residents to dump refuse by the roadside and walkways.

Some of the residents decried the situation, saying that it portended grave danger to the people’s health, as failure to evacuate the refuse could provoke an outbreak of diseases.

They said it had become a norm for the company to abandon refuse containers by the roadside until they emitted stinking odour into the atmosphere, causing serious discomfort to the residents.

Read Also: ‘Stop indiscriminate refuse disposal’

Major areas that are mostly affected include the Oniyangi area on Emir’s Road, Princess Road/Balogun Fulani Road junction, Ilorin central market, Isale Oja roundabout and Ipata market, among others.

Also observed was the absence of workers engaged to sweep major streets, which a source attributed to the failure of the government to pay their salary arrears.

Mr Azeez Agbomojo, a resident of the Emir’s Road neighbourhood, said that the protracted failure to clear refuse by the roadside had become unbearable for most residents, as it could cause an epidemic.

He urged the waste management agency to urgently initiate measures to address the development.

According to him, no state can afford to face the consequences of a plague, particularly at a time when the citizens are facing harsh economic conditions.

Mrs Aishat Ibrahim, a trader, also warned of the consequences of abandoning refuse by the streets, saying that the situation had destroyed the reputation of Ilorin as one of the cleanest cities in the country.

“Government should know that cleanliness is next to Godliness,’’ she added.

When NAN sought the reaction of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, its Press Secretary, Mr Gbenga Ishola, expressed regret over the delay in waste evacuation in the city.

He pledged that the ministry would address the issue in due course.

NAN

January 9, 2018
Chinese court sentences two men to life in prison

A Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court on Tuesday sentenced two businessmen Huang Dingfang and Cai Keyi to life in prison for their roles in a 15.6 billion yuan (2.4 billion dollars) pyramid scheme.

The court said that Huang set up a firm called Longyan E-commerce Co., Ltd. in January 2015 and worked with another firm owned by Cai to swindle 200,000 investors of the 2.4 billion dollars.

They promised annual returns of more than 250 per cent if investors became members by paying 4,000 yuan each and then bought tea and company shares.

They set up a third firm to sell shares saying that the firm would go public in the U.S.

Also Read: Wrongly executed man acquitted by court

Ding Wenping, chief financial officer of Longyan E-commerce, and Sun Shijia, its president, were sentenced to 12 and 10 years in prison, respectively.

Seventeen others were given sentences of up to nine years each after being found guilty of illegally absorbing public deposits.

The court ordered the 21 defendants to return 5.7 billion yuan to more than 170,000 investors.

(Xinhua/NAN)

January 9, 2018
Driver jailed six months for absconding with friend’s N184,000

A Mararaba Grade 1 Area Court, Aso Pada, on Tuesday sentenced a 40- year- old driver, Lawal Dauda, to six months imprisonment for absconding with his friend’s money.

The Judge, Yusuf Yaqub, sentenced the convict, who lives in Ungwan Hausawa Karmo, FCT, after he pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of criminal breach of trust and cheating.

Yaqub, however, gave the convict an option to pay N5,000 fine.

He ordered that should the convict default, he would get additional one month imprisonment.

He further ordered the convict to pay N184,000, being the amount owed the complainant.

Earlier, the police prosecutor, Agabi Auta, had told the court that Sadiq Ginja of Shopping Centre, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, reported the matter at

the Divisional Police Station, Mararaba, on January 4.

Auta said that sometime in December 2017, the complainant entrusted Dauda with bags of rice and beans valued at N184,000 to sell for him.

The prosecutor told the court that the complainant entered into an agreement with the convict that he would sell the grains and remit the money to the complainant.

“After the accused sold the grains, he did not remit the money to the complainant, rather he absconded to an unknown destination until he was seen and arrested on January 4.

Agabi said the offence contravened the provisions of Sections 312 and 322 of the Penal.

NAN

January 9, 2018
Teachers’ strike will not stop education reform – Kaduna Govt.

Kaduna State Government on Tuesday said the ongoing strike by the Nigerian Union of Teachers ( NUT ) in the state would not stop its education reform.

In a statement issued in Kaduna by Samuel Aruwan, Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai, the state government said it would not allow unqualified teachers in its schools.

He said the state government was determined to protect the future of the students as more than two million pupils were enrolled in public primary schools.

Aruwan commended teachers who reported to work in spite of efforts by the NUT to unlawfully prevent them from working.

He said the government had begun collation of reports from education administrators on teachers and reiterated that teachers who absented themselves from work would be sanctioned according to the law.

“Appropriate reminder of the potency of these rules (laws) has been issued in previous government statements.

“Across the state, the illegality of the NUT’s strike action is being compounded by physical attempts to frustrate those teachers who wish to work.

“No law permits any worker to tamper with another’s right to work. The attention of the security agencies has been drawn to this dangerous pattern of conduct,” Aruwan said.

Read also: Court stops El-Rufai from sacking Kaduna teachers

He said the state government had concluded marking of scripts of 43,000 applicants who applied for teaching positions, disclosing that 25,000 qualified teachers would be employed.

NAN

January 9, 2018
Photojournalist kidnapped in Syria still alive

A South African charity says it has received proof that photojournalist Shiraaz Mahomed, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2017, is alive.

The disaster relief NGO Gift of the Givers said on its Facebook page on Tuesday that it had been contacted by an anonymous source in Syria who said he had access to Mahomed.

Mahomed’s family sent the source a list of questions for the South African freelance photojournalist to answer in order to prove his identity.

“Last night was the turning point as Shiraaz’s family confirmed that all ten questions were correctly answered and it could ONLY be from Shiraaz.

“The family were ecstatic,” Gift of the Givers said in its Facebook statement.

Read Also: Russia accuses U.S. of training ex IS fighters to destabilise Syria.

Mohamed was seized by gunmen in Darkouch in war-torn Syria in January 2017, while he was travelling with Gift of the Givers to document the charity’s work.

“Now comes the daunting challenge – why was Shiraaz captured and what do they want?” the organization said.

It is unclear who, or which group, took Mahomed, and no ransom has been demanded for his return.

NAN

January 9, 2018
Ebonyi plans to ban hawking to stem child abuse

The Ebonyi Government says it will stop street hawking to eradicate the abuse of school-aged children in the state.

Mr Godwin Igwe, the Head of Child Development, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, made this known on Tuesday in an interview in Abakaliki.

Igwe said, “The ban is aimed at curbing all forms of child abuse, child labour and neglect.’’

According to him, such abuses, as noticed in the state, include child abuse, child trafficking and other forms of violence against children.

He explained that through hawking, children could be subjected to rape, ritual killings and trafficking, among other related cases.

“Children hawking, whether after, during school hours or weekends, is not allowed.

“If caught, the person will be punished,’’ Igwe said.

He added that the ministry would work in partnership with the Ministry of Information and Education, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC ) and Nigeria Peace Corp ( NPC ), among others to achieve its goals.

“Child abuses and violence against children have been seen as custom and normal ways of treating children in the society and such trend ought to be redressed.

“It is based on this that we want to sensitise the public against this negative practice.

Read also: Tension as police kill football fan in Ebonyi

“Some people do not know that it is wrong to maltreat a child, neglect or subject the child to torture or any form of inhuman treatment,’’ Igwe said.

He decried the increasing rate of child abuse and charged parents and guardians of victims to report such cases to the appropriate authority.

Igwe added that perpetrators of such acts would be treated accordingly, to serve as deterrent to others.

He also spoke against the attitude of some parents, whom he said, collected money from the perpetrators for settlement without minding the damage caused on the victims.

He advised parents to always monitor the activities of their children so as to prevent the future recurrence.

The ministry official said that Police should be encouraged to assist in ensuring the protection of children rights.

He emphasised the readiness of the ministry to work with the police so that the welfare, survival and development of a child would be protected.

Igwe added that the media would also be engaged in the dissemination of information.

“We implore the judiciary to given attention to cases of child abuse.

“Legal personnel, who have undergone training on child rights, should be given the chance to handle such case.

“We have plan to invite local government chairmen, social workers and stakeholders to sensitise them on the need to step-up measures against child abuse, especially in the rural areas, which seem to be worst hit.’’

Also, the Desk Officer, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in the ministry, Mrs Florence Onwa, confirmed the increasing rate of child abuse.

Onwa said that campaigns had been taken to market places and industrial sites, while the ministry was also making arrangement for advocacy visits to the traditional, community and opinion leaders in Ebonyi.

“Parents should stop sending their children to unknown persons; but if there is need to do so, they ought to be sure of whom the intending masters and mistresses are,’’ she said.

NAN

January 9, 2018
Chinese-produced HIV, Hepatitis vaccines receive WHO prequalification

Two Chinese-produced vaccines, a Bivalent Oral Poliomyelitis Vaccine ( BOPV ) and a Hepatitis “A” Vaccine ( HAV ), have received prequalification by the WHO.

The move indicates that the WHO has given the immunization its stamp of approval for the safety and efficacy, and UN procuring agencies may now source them.

Mr Fabio Scano, an officer in the WHO Representative Office in China, said: “prequalification of BOPV is very good news for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Read also: ‘Why we can’t produce vaccines locally’

“Following the switch from trivalent OPV to BOPV in 2016, most countries are going to cure polio with the combination of inactivated polio immunization and BOPV and China will be a sufficient supplier of this essential vaccine.”

The country now has four immunizations prequalified by the WHO.

“We are very pleased to see China’s innovation and production capacity bring lifesaving vaccines to the world through the WHO prequalification program,” said Scano.

NAN

January 9, 2018
FRSC says accidents claimed 416 lives in Kaduna in 2017

No fewer than 416 people lost their lives in 593 accidents involving 882 vehicles and 4,688 people in Kaduna State from January to December 2017.

Umar Ibrahim, the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps ( FRSC ), in the state made this disclosure in an interview in Kaduna on Tuesday.

Ibrahim also said 2,080 people sustained various degrees of injury during the period under review, bringing the total number of casualties to 2,496 a reduction from 2,897 recorded in 2016.

He also said there was a slight drop in the number of accidents from 596 in 2016 to 593 in 2017.

“However, there was an increase in the number of deaths from 413 recorded in 2016 to 416 in 2017 and a decrease in the number of the injured from 2,448 in 2016 to 2,080 in 2017, ” he said.

Ibrahim said speeding remained the major cause of accidents on Nigerian highways, saying “speed thrills, but kills”

The sector commander urged motorists to install speed limit device so as to guard against untimely death.

Read also: Inform us on road accidents, others – FRSC

He noted, however, that quite a number of bus owners have installed the device, adding that accidents involving buses had drastically reduced in the period under review.

“I am appealing to private car owners to equally install the device to reduce avoidable deaths to accidents.

“We will continue to collaborate with other relevant stakeholders like the police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Emergency Management Agency and the National Union of Road Transport Workers to reduce accidents in 2018.

“We will also continue to carry out series of rallies and road shows in all major motor parks as part of the corps’ public enlightenment programmes designed to keep the motoring public informed on the need to be safety conscious.

“FRSC remains committed to providing necessary human and material resources for effective management of traffic in identified black spots, and through awareness campaign on proper use of the roads, ” the commander said.

Ibrahim equally lauded the media and other relevant stakeholders for their support throughout the year.

“We have achieved a lot in 2017 but we can do more in 2018 with your continued support,” he added.

NAN

January 9, 2018
Wike proposes death sentence for cultists, others

Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers has declared that Government will amend the State Anti-kidnapping Law to prescribe death sentence for those involved in cultism, robbery and kidnapping.

Wike made this known during a broadcast in Port Harcourt following the killing of Johnson Igwedibia, popularly known as Don Waney by the security forces on Saturday.

He said the three arms of government would work together to amend the state Anti Kidnapping Law to proscribe death penalty to violent crimes.

“Rivers government has invested heavily on the security of the state and will continue to do everything within our powers to guarantee the security and safety of lives and properties.

“As a fact, we will spare no cost in ensuring that nobody will have peace if the lives and properties of our people make no meaning to them.

“We reiterate our zero tolerance for all forms of criminality and reassure residents of our determination to be though with those who undermine peace and security in the state.

“To underscore our seriousness to fight violent crime, we shall be amending the Anti Kidnapping Law to proscribe the maximum death sentence for engaging in cultism, robbery and kidnapping,” he said.

Wike said the decision of the state government to offer amnesty to all repentant cultists, militants and criminals was done in good faith and in the best interest of the state.

Read also: Rivers PDP chair hails security agencies, Wike for ending killings

He said the full weight of the law shall be discharged on anyone who failed to genuinely renounce all forms of criminality as stated in the terms of the amnesty deal.

The governor said the state government would pay N20 million each to any individual who volunteers useful information that would lead to arrest and prosecution of 32 wanted criminals in the state.

“The aftermath of crime and insecurity affect society as a whole, and not only the direct victims that are affected.

“The duty to fight crime remains collective and no right thinking person should ever indulge in politicizing security issues under any circumstances,” he warned.

Wike directed security agencies to immediately arrest and prosecute 32 alleged criminals (names withheld) who he said had either reneged on the terms of the amnesty or refused to embrace it.

He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for sending a delegation led by Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazzau, to Rivers to assess the security situation in the state and to commiserate with the government and people over the killings

Wike also commended the Nigerian Army and Department of State Security for bringing the alleged killer Don Waney and his gang to book.

NAN

January 9, 2018