Justice Binta Murtala Nyako has ordered the detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in DSS custody.
This followed the rearrest and arraignment of Kanu in the court on Tuesday.
Nyako ordered the DSS to inform Kanu’s lawyers of his detention and adjourned the case to July 26, 2021.
South Africa’s former president, Jacob Zuma, has been handed a 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court.
The country’s constitution court imposed the sentence on Tuesday for defying an order to appear at a corruption inquiry.
The disgraced former president failed to appear at the inquiry led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in February.
He has been ordered to present himself to police within five days so he can be committed to a correctional facility.
Judge says, in the ruling, nobody is above the law.
The Federal Government has approved extension of deadline for NIN-SIM data verification to July 26, 2021.
The government said the decision to extend the deadline was reached after a request by stakeholders on the needs to consolidate enrolment and NIN-SIM verification process.
It added the development followed the rapid increase in the number of enrolment systems across the country.
The linkage by Nigerians has hit 57.3 million.
The government made the announcement in a statement signed jointly by the Director of Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Dr Ikechukwu Adinde and Head of Corporate Communications of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Mr Kayode Adegoke.
The statement reads: “The Federal Government has approved the extension as part of its effort to make it easier for its citizens and residents to obtain the NIN and it is important to take advantage of the extension.
” There are now a total of 57.3 million unique NIN enrolments, with average of 3 to 4 SIMs per NIN. With the great number of enrolment centres across the country, every citizen and legal resident should be able to obtain their NINs.
” Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, on behalf of the Federal Government, appreciates Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise.
“The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof Umar Garba Dambatta, and the Director-General/CEO of that National Identity Management Commission, Engr Aliyu Azeez, urge citizens and legal residents to make sure they use the opportunity to complete the process of enrolment and verification.”
The Nation
Not fewer than six Corps Members landed in hospital after suspected armed robbers invaded their lodge in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, carting away N130, 000 and other personal belongings of the occupants.
The robbers reportedly entered into the house occupied by members of Nigeria Christian Corpers Fellowship, located on Dada Estate, Osogbo, around 4am on Saturday and attacked the residents.
One of the corps members, identified simply as Ofure, said six of them were injured and treated in hospital, adding that the robbers stole mobile phones, laptop, cash and some other valuables from them.
Also, the Osun State Coordinator, National Youth Service Corp, Mr Adewale Adegoke, said, “When we received the report of the attack, the Department of State Services and and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in the state were informed.
“Those that were injured were taken to the hospital and some were discharged on Saturday and others left on Sunday. We have given the security operatives information that will help to apprehend the robbers.”
When contacted on Monday, the state spokesperson for the NSCDC, Daniel Adigun, said, “About 20 phones, three laptops and N130,000 were carted away during the attack.”
Almost a year after soap-making machine crushed a 300-level Student of University of Ibadan to death, Gbadebo Richard, Panel of Inquiry set up to investigate his death has submitted its report to the Federal Government.
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo, received the report on behalf of the Federal Government at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
While presenting the report to the Minister, Chairman of the Panel, Lauretta Nneka Adogu, who is also the Director, Occupational Safety and Health Department of the Ministry, said the members of the investigative panel did a thorough job “in a fair, transparent, diligent and professional manner,” as they promised at the inauguration of the panel.
According to Adogu, every party involved made a presentation on the matter. The parties involved are: the Head of Factories of Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Abope Chambers that made a call for setting up the panel in line with ILO Convention C155, Factories Act Section 38(2b), the family of the deceased, solicitor to the company, and Expand Global Industries Limited (Henkel).
She disclosed that the parties were interviewed and the members’ observations and recommendations were noted down.
The chairman, however, explained that there were dissenting opinions over the recommendations which the panel was presented to the minister.
Receiving the report, Keyamo called for an increased investigation into the causes of workers’ safety incidents in workplaces, as a way of preventing future occurrences.
He stated that when safety incidents occur in workplaces, it is the function of the ministry to ascertain the causes and make recommendations to prevent future occurrences.
Keyamo stated the need “to up the ante, raise the standard” in safeguarding the workers in workplaces, as “the safety of workers is one of the paramount considerations of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and all those involved in the world of work.”
The Minister noted that the panel was set up in furtherance of guaranteeing the safety of workers.
“We know that lives have been lost, or (a) life has been lost, but the major reason we do all of these is to ensure that other workers, who work within the Nigerian territory, are in a safe enough environment,” he said.
He pointed out that it was a departure from the attitude and responses to such incidents in the past, where when such happened, people carried on as if the lives and limbs lost were not important at all.
Keyamo stated that though the report comprises majority and minority parts, it showed the fair and balanced nature of the panel, and projected the different backgrounds of members of the panel.
The Minister stated that whatever recommendations contained in the report, “the paramount consideration would be to ensure that our workplaces are safe.”
He commended the Chairman and other members of the panel for their dedication to duty and the expeditious manner in which they carried out their assignment.
Gbadebo was a penultimate student of European Studies, he died while working at the premises of Expand Global Industries Ltd, Ibadan, Oyo State (Henkel).
The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has met with controversial Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, to seek commitment on how to end school abduction in the country.
The delegation expressed worries over the persistent abduction of students in Kaduna, Niger, Katsina, Zamfara and other northern states in recent times, describing the menace as dangerous to the country’s education sector.
This was contained in a statement signed by NANS National President Sunday Asefon, and made available to reporters in Ado Ekiti on Monday.
Asefon said he decided to lead a delegation to the respected Islamic scholar on the need to intensify efforts on and stop school kidnapping through dialogue and to also rescue those still being held hostage by bandits.
The NANS leader added that the dialogue became expedient because, according to him, government efforts have failed to yield the expected results in the protection of lives and property.
‘I led the leadership of NANS to meet with Sheik Ahmed Gumi in Kaduna yesterday (Sunday),’ he stated.
‘Our discussion centred on actions and efforts to ensure safety and security of Nigerian Students on all campuses and the release of innocent students in the captivity of their abductors.
‘We extracted commitment on continuous dialogue for the release of students in captivity and all-around efforts to ensure schools become safer so that our students can be free from the fear and trauma of kidnapping.
‘We must leave no stone unturned until our schools are free again. We will continue to engage and dialogue with stakeholders to ensure school safety.’
Asefon said the cleric promised unflinching loyalty to the nation and resoluteness to ensure that cases of banditry, kidnapping and killings in the country are tamed using the instrument of dialogue.
The death of billionaire, and former Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga, has taken another twist as his family claims that he was tortured before his death.
Ataga was reportedly stabbed to death by one Miss Chidinma Ojukwu, a 300 level student of the University of Lagos, last week, in the Lekki area of Lagos.
However, his family has called on the Nigeria police to properly investigate the matter as an autopsy carried on his corpse has shed more light on the incident.
The family believes that there were more than one person involved in the murder.
A rope suspected to have been used to tie his hands was reportedly found inside the short-let lodging apartment situated at 19 Adewale Oshin Street in the Lekki phase 1 area.
The deceased’s elder brother, Dr. Isi Ataga, in a statement entitled, “Who will speak for Usifo Ataga?” also confirmed these findings.
He stated, “Usifo died a horrific death. He was not stabbed two or even five times; he was stabbed multiple times. His hands were bound tightly and the marks were still all over his wrists, accompanied with evidence of torture and assault even as his corpse lay in the morgue.
“And no one in the entire building heard his screams because he was gagged. Let that sink in, he was bound, gagged and tortured!”
“The now-viral video of the room with the deceased lying on the floor shows a room with blood-stained walls and floor, evidence of a ferocious struggle. One person could never have carried these out.”
Also, a childhood friend, Douglas Aniemena, stated that there were a “few shocking aspects of this heinous incident” which needed more investigation.
Speaking with Vanguard, he said, “The brutal and gory nature of his body; the amount of stab wounds, bruises, bound marks and other inevitable torture marks on his body. The salacious stories, rumours, and false narratives were particularly shocking also, in a most distasteful way.
“Usifo had a place in the VGC that he could have used apart from his home in Banana Island, Ikoyi.
“He has multiple friends who own hotels and short let apartments in the very same Lekki Phase 1 estate and neighbouring Ikoyi, that would avail him of their facilities if he so needed or asked. So, why would he allow and agree to meet up with someone in a short-let apartment that the person had booked?
“The only reason that makes remote sense to me, the only one I can fathom, and I will probably fall for as well, is, if it was set up as a place where some people or person I need to meet, perhaps investors, business I do not know, will come to meet and perhaps, do not want the publicity of hotel foyers or restaurants.
“I do not really know. I am struggling with that one. One thing is clear to me, he was set up to go there.
“The narrative introduced by the suspect, that he willingly gave her his ATM card and pin number, is as laughable as it is preposterous, especially with the proliferation of mobile banking. What would be the reason to give her his bank card and pin number and according to her, ask her to go and withdraw whatever amount she wanted? This is so absurd on so many fronts. Those who knew Usifo, will attest, that he would not talk and act like that; that is so unlike him.
“That notwithstanding, does it make any sense to you that he wanted to give her so much money, mind you, within the ATM withdrawal limit, and could not just transfer whatever amount via his mobile app! Come on, withdrawals via ATM have daily withdrawal limits far less than the amount that can be transferred via mobile banking app which we know he had and was used to make payments, why would he not simply transfer the sums she claimed he was freely offering?
“Does it not make sense that if this his supposed free will offering was to give you as much cash as you wanted, would he not have offered to transfer money to you as opposed to giving you his ATM card and pin number, (apart from the risk associated from divulging such, which is contrary to the behaviour of a person who was neither gullible nor naïve) would mean taking an Uber from the comforts of the apartment, to the ATM gallery, with the potential of standing in the queue and then needing multiple withdrawals to satiate your naira thirst.”
Reactions have continued to follow the recently released results of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination, UTME, conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB.
Some candidates and parents who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Bwari, Abuja, expressed their displeasure.
NAN recalls that the board on Friday, June 25, released the first batch of results of candidates who sat for the examination between Saturday, June 19, and Tuesday, June 22.
While some candidates expressed satisfaction with their scores, others expressed disappointment on the results.
Oluwakemi Moses, a candidate, who said that she wanted to study medicine, said she scored 167, a score she explained, was not only too low but also below her first attempt of the examination in 2020.
“I wrote UTME last year and scored 198; that was why I sat for it again this year so that I can make at least 200 or more because I intend to apply for Medicine.
“This year just disappointed me more. I scored 167 and have not stopped crying since I saw my results. I’m crying not because I failed but because I know how much I have prepared for the exams.
“It is devastating for me honestly, I don’t know what happened because I didn’t even find the examination tough.”
Another candidate, Andrew Bassey, said that he was traumatised after seeing his result on Saturday because he not only had difficulty registering for the examination but also got a low score after all the troubles.
Mr Bassey said that his score would not avail him the opportunity to apply for his dream course in his dream school and he couldn’t imagine going over the process of the examinations next year.
Badmus Owolabi, a parent, said that it was important for the examination body to address the situation while noting that most of the results were unfavorable for the candidates.
He said: “I have been following up on this JAMB thing because I have two candidates from my house and it is no coincidence that both of them had low marks.
“I assure you, they are both intellectually sound. It is not possible that with all the extra lessons they participated in, of which I personally supervised, they came out with such low points.
“As far as I’m concerned, this is just what JAMB chose to give them.”
Mr Owolabi also urged the board to consider both parents and candidates’ plight in its process of examination while adding that the entire process this year was too tedious.
Another parent, Mrs Grace Moses, said that the results did not reflect the true performance of the candidates.
According to her, the board should at least review the results already released as candidates had already experienced too much hitches throughout this year’s process.
“From the registration to the point of checking, the results have been full of hitches.
“The best they can do is to ensure most candidates score highly and also gain admission. Enough of the stress,” Moses said.
However, another candidate, Millicent Andrew said that she scored an average of 187 and was happy because she was sure to make the cut off mark when decided by the board.
NAN reports that over 1.3 million candidates registered for the examination which began on June 19, to end on July 3 in over 700 accredited Computer Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.
NAN also reports that the board said that more results were expected to be released in subsequent days.
NAN
The 21-year-old University of Lagos student, Chidinma Ojukwu, who confessed to stabbing Super TV boss, Uwaifo Ataga, to death, has recounted how they met.
In an interview with DailyTrust, Chidinma, said financial pressure occasioned by the outbreak of COVID-19 made her hook up with some female students who took her to wild parties, one of which she met the deceased.
“It first sounded like fun when I went out for the first time along other girls. My friend who took me out told me we were going to attend a party organised by one of the latest big boys in town.
“On arrival, it was fun-filled. We had so much to drink. At first, it was shisha that we were smoking. I took a few drags on the pipe and blew the smoke out immediately. Other girls were busy blowing out smoke from their noses and mouths.
“The party ended in the wee hours of the night and we ended up in bed with some guys. The guy I slept with gave me N50,000 and I felt like break-dancing.
“It was at one of those parties that I met Ataga. He picked interest in me because of the course I am reading. We dated for about six months before I started noticing his strange behaviour.
“He gave me roofies (a street name for Rohypnol) before sex. I never meant to kill him. I was not in the mood but he wanted sex. I told him so and we had roofies, after which he was all over me. He forced his way into me, even though it was not the first time we had sex
“I felt he was using me to satisfy his sex urge as he never fulfilled all he promised to do for me” she said.
The police in Edo state have arrested a man simply identified as Christopher, for allegedly beating his wife, Mrs. Isoken Christopher, to death for allegedly refusing to offer him N2,000 loan.
The Nation reports that the 45-year-old suspect who is described as a chain smoker and drunk by the eldest of his three children, Augustine, the suspect beat the businesswoman to death at their home located at No. 1, Agbontaen Street beside Ebvareke Secondary School, off Agboniro Street, Uselu, Benin, the Edo State capital on Saturday night, June 26.
Augustine, 13, said his father who works for a waste disposal company in Benin city, has over the years formed the habit of physically assaulting their mother, a fashion items dealer, at the slightest provocation.
According to Augustine, his father called their mother on phone to demand N2, 000 loan and started beating the deceased as he returned home around 9 pm when the money was not quickly given to him.
“I tried to give my mother paracetamol and drinking water after the initial beating but my father threw them away. She then went to bathe after which she lied down outside to rest a little before coming inside to sleep but my father locked us inside the room and resumed the beating of my weak mother outside.
“Neighbours later helped us (the three children) to open the door, only to see our dead mother on the ground. She was then rushed to two different hospitals in the neighbourhood where she was confirmed dead.”he said.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the state police command, Bello Kotongs, said the suspect had been detained at the Textile Mill Police Station, Benin from where he would be transferred on Monday June 28 to the state Police Headquarters at the Government Reservation Area (GRA) for further investigation.
“The man (Christopher) asked his wife to loan him some money (N2,000) out of the money she made at a burial she earlier attended on Saturday. When she refused, he then beat her to death.”Kotongs said.