The Nation Newspaper

Tag: recover

  • UNILAG seeks help to recover N600m

    The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Rahamon Bello, has lamented the paucity of funds to the university occasioned by the incomplete release of approved budget by the government.

    Bello said this when House of Representatives Committee of Education visited the university last Wednesday.

    For instance, in 2013, Bello said the university was forced to pay workers from Internally-Generated Revenue because its allocation was short by N600 million and unpaid to date.

    Responding to the VC’s complaint, Chairman of the committee, Honourable Aminu Suleiman, said the case should be investigated.

    He said the committee was in the university as part of its oversight function and urged government agencies to be patient with its efforts to scrutinize their budgets as it is to ensure that things are done right.

    In the past, he said this role had helped uncover fraud in budget implementations by government agencies.

    “That is how bad the situation has always been and we would like to seek the understanding of the public whenever we are spending much time on budget scrutiny, these are the kinds of things we usually discover and we can all imagine the impact of such kind of avoidable wastes on our economy,” he said.

    The committee praised the UNILAG management for maintaining the standard the university is known for.

    In his presentation, Prof Bello had said the university achieved a lot with the grant it received from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for 2012.

    Bello said projects carried out with the grant included: Construction with Furnishing of Creative Arts Building, Module A2 and B, Construction with Furnishing of Block of Offices and Classrooms for the Faculty of Engineering, Construction of Entrepreneurship Centre, and Procurement and Installation of Various Teaching and Research Equipment for the College of Medicine, procurement of various furniture items, including 300 units of classroom student desk and chair for the faculty of social sciences, procurement of various furniture items, including 260units of furniture for lecture theatre in the faculty of engineering, faculty of basic sciences, school of radiography among others.

    He however said that lack of land was hindering plans to build accommodation for students and members of staff.  He also complained that the university was expending at least N40 million on power supply.

     

  • Troops recover arms, livestock in Kaduna, Plateau

    A military assault on camps of armed militia men in Kaduna and Plateau states has led to the recovery of arms and stolen livestock, the Defence Headquarters said yesterday.

    A statement by Defence spokesman Maj-Gen Chris Olukolade said military operations in Dahia Luka, Makera and some communities in Plateau and Kaduna states resulted in the arrest of three men.

    The statement said over 90 cows and 45 sheep, believed to have been rustled, were recovered.

    Fifty other cows have also been recovered from rustlers, who attacked herdsmen in another location.

    “The cows have been handed over to the traditional rulers in the area while the arrested armed men are still being interrogated.

    “The herdsmen, who were injured by the rustlers are also being treated.

    “Six rifles, 25 dane guns and 10 locally fabricated pistols as well as four revolvers were recovered in the two states.

    “Cordon and search of identified locations have also continued.

    “In the process, various rifle parts as well as empty ammunition boxes were recovered in Shendam, Yelwa and in the house of a suspected arms dealer at the boundary between Plateau and Taraba states.

    “The arrested suspects are among those being interrogated by the Special Task Force.

    “One of the suspects arrested on the outskirts of Jos is helping with information on his links with terrorists operating in other parts of the country.

    “The counter terrorists’ campaign in the Northeast has continued; identified terrorists’ make-shift camps are being dislodged in air and land raids.

    “Armed terrorists have continued to attack travellers on highways, especially between Maiduguri-Damboa Road and Gwoza-Bama Highway.

    Others make occasional attacks on surrounding villages, looting food items.

    “Some have been attacking soft targets in Borno and Yobe states apparently in retaliation for casualties incurred by their camps.

    “Troops also repelled a weekend attack on Bunu Gari Market and no life was lost.

    “Troops have been directed to maintain the aggressive patrols of the local communities to complement the assault on the terrorists.”

  • Equities recover with N54b gain

    After six days of scary downtrend that shaved off about N685 billion in market values, Nigerian equities rallied back to the positive as investors sought substantial stakes in underpriced banking stocks.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose by N54 billion from N11.929 trillion to N11.984 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the common index that benchmarks price movement at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), inched up by 0.45 per cent to 37,308.60 points as against its opening index of 37,136.60 points.

    While there were still more decliners than advancers and several highly capitalised stocks remained on the downtrend, gains by large-cap banking and petroleum-marketing stocks boosted the overall market situation.

    Mobil Oil Nigeria topped the 24-stock gainers’ list with a gain of N3.86 to close at N124.86 per share. Guaranty Trust Bank followed with a gain of N1.90 to close at N25. Oando added 69 kobo to close at N14.56. Nigerian Breweries rose by 50 kobo to N146. FBN Holdings gained 34 kobo to close at N11.99. United Bank for Africa appreciated by 29 kobo to N6.99. Zenith Bank chalked up 28 kobo to close at N20.79 while National Salt Company of Nigeria and Red Star Express added 19 kobo each to close at N7.60 and N4.47 respectively.

    On the other hand, the bearish sentiment remained rampant in the background with Nestle Nigeria leading 25 other stocks on the losers’ list. Nestle Nigeria dropped by N9.20 to close at N958.80. Cadbury Nigeria trailed with a loss of N7.40 to close at N78. Total Nigeria declined by N5 to close at N148. Guinness Nigeria dropped by N3.15 to close at N165. UAC of Nigeria slipped by N3.10 to close at N58.90. PZ Cussons Nigeria lost N1.70 to close at N32.30. Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria dropped by 90 kobo to N109.10. Ashaka Cement declined by 51 kobo to close at N14.23. Dangote Cement lost 49 kobo to close at N228.51 while Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (Nahco) dropped by 27 kobo to close at N4.73 per share.

    Investors staked a total of N3.76 billion on 320.34 million shares through 5,009 deals. Financial services sector was the most active with 243.41 million shares worth N2.21 billion in 2,862 deals. Banking stocks dominated the top activities’ chart.

    Access Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 57.31 million shares valued at N424.36 million in 239 deals. Zenith Bank placed second with a turnover of 25.62 million shares worth N541.27 million in 410 deals. United Bank for Africa (UBA) trailed with a turnover of 22.95 million shares worth N155.95 million in 216 deals.

  • Police recover explosives in Ibadan

    Police recover explosives in Ibadan

    The police in Oyo State have recovered explosives on the Podo/Ijebu-Ode road in Ibadan, the state capital.

    Police Commissioner Mohammed Indabawa told reporters yesterday that the explosives were recovered around 3:15am last Sunday.

    He said policemen flagged down a taxi with three occupants, but the driver refused to stop.

    Indabawa said: “After a hot chase, the occupants of a Nissan Sunny car painted in Ogun State’s commercial colour abandoned the vehicle and escaped into the bush.

    He said his men searched the vehicle and discovered six cartons of explosive powder, two cartons of solar detonating cords and 16 bundles of 10 wires each of delay detonator wires.

    The commissioner said the car had two registration numbers, Ogun-XC XFR AKM and AL 831 LUY.

    He said investigations showed that the explosives were stolen from Express Quarry at Toll-Gate on August 8 and assured the people that the culprits would be apprehended.

    Indabawa said a student of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Tosin Adegbite (24), was arrested for allegedly kidnapping a two-year-old girl.

    The incident occurred at Ile-Alaroje in Ogbomoso last Friday.

    He said the suspect was arrested following a distress call. He said one jack knife, two rolls of cellotape, one fez cap, one cable wire, the victim’s sandals and one LAUTECH identity card were recovered from Adegbite.

    Adegbite, who is studying Electrical-Electronics Engineering, said he kidnapped the girl to collect N700,000 ransom.

  • Police recover body of slain officer in Langtang

    The Plateau State Police Command has recovered the body of the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO), who was declared missing during the recent invasion of Langtang communities by suspected Fulani militia.

    The command has also dismissed two of its officers for allegedly aiding manufacturers of local arms.

    They are: Constable Emmanuel Dakol and Corporal Joseph Dakup. They were reportedly dismissed, arrested and detained on the order of Police Commissioner Chris Olakpe.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in his office in Jos, the state capital, Police Commissioner Chris Olakpe said the body of the slain police officer, Tarfa Wuyep, has been discovered.

    Olakpe said: “On a very sad note, I wish to let you know that the body of the police officer, who was a victim of the attack in Langtang South Local Government Area, was found early yesterday. His body was discovered in a bush near Karkashi village, one of the villages raided by the gunmen.

    “His body was riddled with gun wounds and machete cuts. He was identified by the uniform he wore before the attack. We wish to use this opportunity to condole with his colleagues in the police and his family for this sudden death.

    “We have made high profile arrests in connection with the attack. We will not want to disclose their names now until investigations are concluded.”

    On the two policemen, who were dismissed from the Force, Olakpe said: “In the quest of the command to rid the state of criminals, it has recorded a major breakthrough with the arrest and dismissal of two policemen serving with the command.

    “The policemen were accused of aiding and abetting manufacturers of local arms in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area. Preliminary investigation showed that the accused have direct links with some suspected manufacturers of arms, who are also in our custody. They have manufactured all sorts of guns for criminals.

    “We have always pointed at proliferation of light weapons as a major influence in the violence and most of the criminal activities in the state. We never knew that men of the Police Force could be involved in such act…”

  • Abdulsalami: North to recover in 20 years

    Abdulsalami: North to recover in 20 years

    It will take the North about 20 years to clear the mess created by insecurity – going by former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar’s estimation.

    The North has been held down by the Boko Haram insurgency. Thousands of people have been killed; businesses suffering and the gains of education are being reversed.

    Also yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan urged political leaders in the Northeast to find a lasting solution to the sect’s menace. He spoke at the opening of the Northeast summit hosted by Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda at the Yankari Games Reserve.

    Gen. Abdulsalami, who spoke at the Arewa House Conference on strategies for sustainable development in Kaduna, lamented the lack of unity among northerners. He said insecurity has done so much damage to the social and economic lives of the region.

    The former Head of State said: “Certainly, if there is unity, we wouldn’t be here at this conference and since there is no unity, that is why the Arewa House is trying to galvanise it at this conference.

    “It will take 20 years to revive the North. A lot of socio-economic damage has been done. If you go round the areas; that is when you will appreciate the extent of damage done to the region. We have to work together to revive it

    “All of us should join hands; we cannot leave security to the government alone; every Nigeria is a security officer. Let’s try to join hands and report what we see, so that the government will be able to take action. We should be government’s watch dogs and also watch our communities.”

    Senate Minority Leader George Akume is sad that the North is no longer safe for both its people and visitors. He urged the people to imbibe hard work, integrity, honesty, respect and determination to lift the region back to its lost glory.

    Akume said in an atmosphere where there is no peace, development will remain elusive, “no matter the determination of the actors”.

    “The theme of this conference bears direct relevance to what is happening in the North. The topic for today is value and leadership. I do not intend to go into conceptual definition of values and leadership.

    “In every society, there are norms and values. These are highly respected; respect for sanctity of human life, and where this is not respected, there is no way you can have peace. This is a very big challenge, particularly in the North.

    “I am very sad things are happening the way they are happening now. I was in Borno about six months ago when my friend and brother, Governor Kashim Ibrahim, gave out his sister for marriage.

    “We were about 30 that were supposed to go to Borno, but only eight of us decided to go. The others gave different reasons for not making it. We must imbibe the values of honour, respect, integrity, hard work and determination because they have direct bearing on the development of the North.”

    Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Secretary Hakeen Baba-Ahmed argued that the next two years would be a test case for the country and the capacity for the North to bounce back to reckoning.

    “The next two years will test the resilience of the Nigerian State and the capacity of Northerners to bounce back. Right now, the Boko Haram insurgency is eating it up like a cancer, and it will require bold initiatives by Northerners to find a solution, by influencing both the insurgency and the government.

    “Not all Nigerians are comfortable with a united and strong North. Its current position, therefore, is welcome to its detractors and rivals. They will not lift a finger to heal its wound. This will have to be done by people in this hall who feel the pain most.”

    At the two-day Northeast Alliance for Transformation, which opened yesterday, the president asked the six governors in the zone to come up with a frame work to address insecurity.

    Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of National Planning Dr Shamsudeen Usman, was happy that the governors were waking up to address the problems.

    “I hope this summit will not be a talk show. Hope you will identify at least four to five ways in tackling these problems in the next one year. Governors of Northeast region should work collectively to solve this problem in order to have peace in the region because insecurity is a reality in the region,” he said.

    Yuguda described the summit as historic. He said: “For quite a long time, the sub region has remained one of the least developed; if not the least developed of the six geo-political zones in the country in all spheres of human endeavour”. The Governor lamented that the underdevelopment in the Northeast had been compounded by the current security challenges which have adversely affected the socio- economic activities in the region. He said the problem of the region is not lack of resources but failure to harness the abundant resources for its socio economic development.

    “It is expected that at the end of this summit, recommendations for setting in motion the machinery for the Northeast sub-region to use its comparative advantage in agriculture, solid minerals and tourism to fast track the region’s development will be made.

    Former Inspector-General of Police Mike Okiro noted that insecurity has dampened economic life in the Northeast in particular and Nigeria in general. He urged the summit to take a critical look at security issues and proffer workable solution. Chairman of the summit, Gen. TY Danjuma, represented by Maj-Gen. Tanko Nuhu Abdulahi, urged the participants to tackle every facet of security, including education, health, food, technology and solid industrial base.

    The two-day summit is being attended by Yuguda, Kashim Shettima (Borno), Ibrahim Dankwabo (Gombe), Acting Governor of Taraba State Alhaji Garba Umar, Yobe state deputy governor and the representative of Adamawa Governor Murtala Nyako. Also in attendance were Deputy senate leader Abdul Ningi, Senator Babayo Gamawa, Senator Adamu Gumba and royal fathers.

     

  • Police recover bodies of NNPC men

    Four weeks after their death, the bullet-ridden bodies of three engineers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) killed by vandals at Arepo, Ogun State, have been recovered by the police.

    Their bodies were found in “two shallow graves” in the Arepo creeks after an intensive search.

    The police were taken to where the bodies were buried by suspects arrested in connection with the engineers’ death.

    The slain NNPC men were deployed to repair a vandalised pipeline in Arepo on September 5, when they were killed.

    The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Special Task Force, Friday Ibadin, said officers who used speedboats and helicopters to comb the creeks near Arepo dug up the bodies in two shallow graves across a river.

    He told reporters in Lagos yesterday: “We found, in a decomposing state, bullet-ridden bodies of the three victims. We learnt that the body of the local security guard employed by NNPC, Taye, aka Dead Man, was cut into pieces and disposed off.

    “Shortly after the incident, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, reconstituted the dissolved Anti Vandal team. It became important to get to the root of the incident that led to the death of these NNPC officials. And in the course of investigation, about six suspects were arrested. We gathered from the confession of one of them, Imerepamu Ijebu Joel, that he knew where the NNPC staff were buried.

    “Initially, he took our team to a spot and after several hours, the bodies were not found. At night, the Ijaw boy attempted to dig one spot, but he was stopped by the police who were on guard. And two days later he opened up and agreed to take us to the real spot.

    “It took six hours of sailing to get to the spot. We had 40 heavily armed men, and we took along a pathologist, a coroner, and the medical team from NNPC who eventually identified the bodies. They took us to a place where they claimed they bury non-natives. With the assistance of John Bosco, Peter Opidi, and the suspect Imerepamu Ijebu Joel, we were shown two shallow graves. It was there that we discovered the bodies and they have been deposited at a mortuary.

    “I wish to commend the gallantry of the sector commander, DSP Onaghise Osayande and his team, who dared the dangers of the creek to recover the bodies. Meanwhile, we are carrying out further investigations to see if there was more to the killings than what we had gathered.”

    Fuel shortage set in shortly after the NNPC men’s death. NNPC blamed the shortage on the shutdown of the damaged Arepo’s System 2B pipeline, which carries one third of the nation’s daily fuel needs.

    Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Mr. Fidel Pepple, said the pipeline was evacuating about nine to 11 million litres of fuel from Lagos to Ibadan, Ilorin and the North before it was damaged.

    In March 2008 a pipeline explosion, in the same village, killed the Deputy Area Manager in charge of Maintenance at the Mosimi Depot.

    Three other senior NNPC officials were also severely burnt.

    In June 2009, NNPC’s pipeline in Ilado, a Lagos suburb, also exploded, wounding scores. Eleven boats belonging to the vandals were razed.