Nation
THE STATES
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Borno
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested two persons with 4,000 sachets of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RTUF) meant for malnourished children in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.
The NSCDC Corps Commandant in Borno, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, told journalists in Maiduguri on Tuesday that the two were arrested at Borno Express Motor Park.
He said “the two suspects will be prosecuted.”
However, one of the suspects, Hassan Sale, told newsmen that they normally bought the RUTF from nursing mothers in the IDPs camps.
He said “I bought this one from Zannari IDPs camp. We usually buy the product at the rate of N30 and sell to customers at N60 in Kano.
“This is the second time I came into Maiduguri; the first was two weeks ago.”
Ekiti
A 37-year-old, Ebube Marvins, who allegedly collected N809, 000 on the pretext of helping a man to transfer to Togo, was on Tuesday brought before an Ado Ekiti Chief Magistrates’ Court.
The accused, whose address is unknown, is facing a charge of fraud.
Police Prosecutor Bankole Olasunkanmi told the court that the accused with another man still at large committed the offence on December 9, 2016 in Ado-Ekiti.
Olasunkanmi said the accused obtained the sum of N809, 000 from the complainant, Mr Ishioku Monday, through electronic transfer and transfer same to an agent in Togo through Western Union Money Transfer.
“The accused, however, failed to do so after collecting the money.”
The prosecutor asked for an adjournment to enable him to study the case file and assemble his four witnesses.
FCT
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Emmanuel Orker-Jev, has urged the Federal Government to compensate victims of herdsmen attacks in Benue.
Orker-Jev, who made the appeal in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, said victims were facing difficulties due to the disruption of their sources of livelihood.
He particularly noted that those recently attacked in Buruku were yet to receive any form of support or compensation.
“Unfortunately, nobody has been compensated.
Gombe
A non-governmental organisation in Lawanti village, Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State has spent N1.2 million to support 170 Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in the village.
The organisation’s Programme Manager, Malam Idris Maigari, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Gombe on Tuesday.
Maigari said that the organisation supported the orphan and vulnerable children with mattresses, food, school materials and psycho social support to their caregivers.
According to him, the support is continuous and the aim is to give the children a sense of belonging.
He told our correspondent that prior to the establishment of the organisation in 2003, the community had only a dispensary managed by a dispenser.
Jigawa
The Jigawa State chapter of the Nigerian Dental Therapists Association (NDTA), on Tuesday, offered free dental instructions to more than 400 pupils of Fagoji Primary School, Dutse.
The free dental instructions were part of activities by the association to celebrate this year’s World Oral Health Day in the state.
The NDTA Chairman, Mr Awwalu Muhammad, who led a group of dentists from Rasheed Shekoni Specialist Hospital, told newsmen that they were in the school to educate the pupils on how best to take care of their teeth.
Muhammad advised the pupils to wash their mouth twice a day before eating in the morning and when going to bed at night.
Kebbi
The Kebbi State Government has earmarked N476million for the installation of modern street lights on five major roads in Birnin Kebbi.
The Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Alhaji Abubakar Ladan, revealed this while inspecting the on-going project in Birnin Kebbi on Tuesday.
According to him, the streets to be provided street lights are Murtala Muhammad Road, Muhammad Bandi Road,Sultan Abubakar Road,Ahmadu Bello Way and Muhammadu Buhari Way.
“The five roads are in the first phase of the project,and other roads will be provided with street lights as soon as the on-going ones are completed,” he said.
Kano
The Police last Tuesday said they had arrested a fake cripple, who specialised in criminal activities in Kano metropolis.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Zone I, DSP Sambo Sokoto, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Kano.
He said the suspect, who posed as a cripple for two years, was apprehended on Monday near the headquarters of Kano Foundation following a tip-off.
Sokoto said the suspect had also been operating as a street beggar before some residents of the area reported the matter to the office of Asst. Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Zone one, Kano.
“We got the information about the suspect but when our men arrested him, he was found to be physically fit because he doesn’t have any deformity,” Sokoto said.
He said the police had commenced investigation into the matter after which the suspect would be charged to court.
Lagos
Health experts and a cleric have called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps to address the current economic challenges in the country, to check the rate of suicide among Nigerians.
They spoke with newsmen in Lagos on Tuesday while reacting to the increasing cases of suicide in the country.
The World Health Organisation reports that every 40 seconds, one person commits suicide somewhere in the world, which tallies to 800,000 suicides annually.
The experts noted that in the last few months in Nigeria, cases of suicide that came to public knowledge had increased and stressed the need for increased government attention in reducing the problem.
Dr Stephen Oluwaniyi, a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, identified poverty, high debt, deprivations, unemployment, job stress and insecurity as related to the current economic challenges in Nigeria.
Nasarawa
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Tuesday said that its advocacy had drastically reduced the use of potassium bromate by bakers in Nasarawa State.
NAFDAC Coordinator in Nasarawa State, Mr Michael Attah, told our correspondent (NAN) in Lafia that NAFDAC officials paid repeated unscheduled inspection visits to bakeries in the state.
Attah said that the agency would not relax in its campaign against the use of the banned substances until eradication.
“For now, we have not heard of any case of bakers using potassium bromate, which affects the kidney, although I cannot say it has been totally eradicated,” he said.
Osun
34-year-old student of Osun State University, Osogbo, Akanbi David was on Tuesday remanded in Ilesa Prison by an Osogbo Chief Magistrates’ Court over alleged murder of his colleague, Amodu Kazeem.
The accused is facing a two count-charge of murder and conspiracy.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr Olusola Aluko, said he ordered the remand of the accused due to the magnitude of the offence against him.
The accused’s plea was not taken by the court.
The magistrate, however, adjourned the case until May 5 for mention.
Earlier, the Prosecutor, ASP Mireti Wilson, told the court that the accused committed the offense on January 16 at about 5.00p.m., at Oke-Baale, Osogbo.
Plateau
A Jos Chief Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday sentenced a 29-year-old security man, Samson Williams, to three months in prison, for stealing two necklaces and a face-cap valued at N6, 500.
Williams, who resides behind Police Field, Jos, was charged with theft.
The magistrate, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Mafuyai, sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty to the crime and begged the court for leniency.
The convict, in his plea, blamed hunger and the “devil” for his actions.
“It was hunger that made me do it; I was very hungry and wanted something to eat.
Sokoto
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has approved the recruitment of additional extension workers to increase manpower and expertise in wheat value chain in the state.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Public Affairs, Imam Imam and issued to newsmen in Sokoto on Tuesday.
“Those to be employed are university graduates and holders of national diploma in agricultural science, agricultural economy, crop science and related disciplines.”
Nation
Council Boss Impeached 48 Hours To LG Polls In Katsina
The Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, has been impeached.
Maharazu Dayi was impeached yesterday by 11 out of 12 councillors, barely two days before the local government elections in the State.
The councillors reportedly took action following allegations of misconduct and poor governance against the chairman after a dispute over the distribution of the council’s Paris Club funds.
The development has sent shock waves across the local government area, especially as the impeached chairman is among those who failed to secure the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest in the forthcoming election.
Nation
Association Tasks Fubara On Rumuwoji Market Phase Three
The Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association, Mile 1, Port Harcourt, has urged the state government to utilise the available spaces within the area to build phase 3 of the Rumuwoji Market in order to solve the ever increasing needs of traders.
The association, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, also described as a welcomed development the decision by the state Governor to open the phase 2 of the market for business.
According to the association, “We consider it as an answer to the various cries of the people, because he is a man on a mission who is out to place the interest of Rivers people first. It is a dream come true for the first time for the market to be dully allocated and open for business”
Chairman of the association, Hon Godspower Wobo, who briefed the press shortly after a meeting of the association in Port Harcourt, also urged the public to disregard the activities of some persons whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection in the market.
He said the attention of the association was drawn to the activities of some strange fellows who went about misforming the people about situation in the market, stressing that apart from his association, no other group exists in the market except subdiary unions.
Wobo also tasked the reallocation committee to tread with caution so as to avoid being deceived by any group.
According to him, time has come for the state government to engage in robust discussion with aggrieved shop owners who went to court and those who paid monies to the state coffers and issued with allocation certificates for the overall interest of peace.
He also advised the public to deal directly with his association, stressing that the meeting was to review activities for the last year as well as unveil their new Constitution.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the association, Deacon Kenneth Eze urged the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to open the phase 2 of the market, as it is long overdue.
Eze who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association also urged the public to do business with only the Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association as it is the only union recognised by the traders.
Nation
AfDB President Denies 2027 Presidential Ambition
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has debunked reports linking him with the race for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Reacting to the report on his X handle yesterday, following a recent interview with Arise TV, the AfDB boss said his quotes were misrepresented and misinterpreted in several Nigerian media reports.
However, the AfDB president denied the media reports, stating that he never said that he wanted to contest for President.
“A segment of my recent interview on @Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets. What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”
“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.