Nation

THE STATES

Published

9 years ago

April 26, 2017

Bauchi
Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State on Saturday directed medical personnel in the state to offer free treatment to victims of auto crash that occurred along Bauchi-Gombe road.
Report that Abubakar gave the directive at Bara Town, Kirfi Local Government Area of the state, when his convoy stopped at the scene of an accident.
He directed that, some of the vehicles accompanying him should be used to convey the victims from Bara to Alkaleri General Hospital for treatment.
Abubakar, who was on his way to Gombe for an official engagement, had arrived few minutes after the accident occurred, and ordered his personal physician to offer first aid treatment to the victims.
An eye witness told newsmen that the accident occurred when a vehicle conveying 14 passengers had a tyre burst and somersaulted.

Benue
A reprisal attack by suspected herdsmen on Tse Igba Uke and Aliade villages in Gwer Local Government Area of Benue State has left one person dead and many others injured, the police have confirmed.
Asp. Moses Yamu, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), for the command in the state, confirmed the incident to newsmen last Thursday in Makurdi.
He said, the suspected herdsmen carried out the attack on Wednesday night, following an attack on their cattle by some youths of the village.
He also said, the corpse of the villager killed during the incident had been deposited at the Aliade General Hospital and the injured receiving treatment in the same hospital.
Yamu also told journalists that, angry youths took to the streets, on Thursday, following the reprisal attack on the village and barricaded Aliade Federal highway to protest the killing of one of their own.

Ekiti
The Ekiti State Police Command last Thursday, confirmed the killing of Mr Sunday Afolabi, an Assistant Superintendent with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), in Ekiti State.
Reports had it that, Afolabi was allegedly killed by yet-to-be-identified assailants along Afao Road in the evening of Wednesday.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO), of the state police command, Mr Alberto Adeyemi (SP), told newsmen in Ado-Ekiti that preliminary investigations had revealed that Afolabi was killed by suspected cultists.
He said that, his body had been deposited at the morgue of the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital in Ado-Ekiti.
The NSCDC spokesman, Mr Tolu Afolabi, who also confirmed the killing to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, on Thursday, said that further investigations into the incident had commenced.

FCT
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has urged troops in the North East to remain steadfast in prosecuting the counter insurgency as history would not forget them.
The army spokesman, Brig-Gen. Sani Usman, said in a statement on Sunday, that Buratai stated this during a visit to troops at Pulka and Gwoza in Borno.
Usman, said the visit was to assess troops in the ongoing “Operation Deep Push” to clear remnants of Boko Haram terrorists around Sambisa forest.
Buratai, who was represented by the Chief of Administration (Army), Maj-Gen. Idris Alkah, said that, the Nation was proud of their efforts in maintaining peace and order.

Kano
The Kano State chapter of RedCross Society on Sunday distributed relief materials worth millions of Naira to 516 Internally Displaced Persons (IPDs), in the State.
The Red Cross Chairperson in Kano, Dr. Urrata Balla, presented the materials to the IDPs at Hotoro in Tarauni and Gaida in Kumbotso Local Government Areas of the state.
Balla said, the gesture was necessary due to the condition IDPs found themselves.

Katsina
The Police Command in Katsina State says, it has arrested 22 victims of Human Trafficking in Katsina Metropolis.
The command said it has also arrested their Trafficker, Mannir Suleiman.
Superintendent of Police, Andrew Alpolsus, the Officer in charge of the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad in the state, presented the victims and the Trafficker to newsmen last Thursday in Katsina.
“The Police have arrested 12 young women of between the ages of 17 and 22 years and 10 men at a house at Kwando area of the Katsina metropolis.
Alpolsus said, the victims were on their way to Niger Republic when policemen intercepted and rescue, them.

Lagos
The president, of the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA), Mrs Umma-Kalsum Buratai, on Saturday received the wife, of the Bangladeshi Chief of Army Staff (COAS) at its secretariat in Lagos.
Mrs Buratai, who received the wife of the Bangladeshi COAS, Mrs Shoma Huq, at the NAOWA Secretariat, Ikoyi, Lagos expressed appreciation for the visit.
She added that, it was a good development that would further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
Mrs Buratai urged women to always be positive, adding that if the women get it right, the family will also get it right.
Mrs Huq commended NAOWA for their charity programmes, adding that, life was all about giving.

Ogun
The Octagon Nigeria, an NGO on Saturday, said it had given scholarship of N1 million to children of widows in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun.
Mr Olatunji Egbewunmi, the founder of the NGO, disclosed this at the 3rd Anniversary Lecture/Award ceremony organised by the organisation in Ota, Ogun.
The lecture was entitled, “The Role of a True Leader in Economic Development”.
The Octagon Nigeria was established in 2014 with a mission to support the plight of the vulnerable segment, especially widows and their children, to become productive in the society through advocacy, economic empowerment and human rights programmes.
Egbewunmi, said that 10 children of widows benefited from the scholarship programme.
He said that the initiative was to provide qualitative but free primary and secondary education for gifted children of the poorest widows in the country.

Oyo
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Oyo state command, said it arrested 51 suspected drug traffickers and addicts from January to date.
A statement by the state command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mrs Mutiat Okuwobi, on Sunday in Ibadan, disclosed that, 1,933.28 kg of drugs were also seized during the period.
The PRO added that, the agency also got the conviction of 17 drug traffickers with jail terms ranging from six months to five years in the period under review.
She said, interventions were also given to some drug dependant persons through counselling after which they were reintegrated into the society.
The PRO said some drug users were still undergoing rehabilitation.
She said that, the command would continue to do its best to frustrate the activities of drug peddlers in the state.

Yobe
A Yobe philanthropist, Dr Muhammed Goje, last Saturday, awarded scholarship to 20 students from Gujba and Gulani Local Government Areas, to enhance education recovery in areas most affected by Boko Haram insurgency.
Muhammad, presented the awards to the beneficiaries in Damaturu.
He said, the beneficiaries were mostly orphans who lost their parents to insurgency and others from financially less privileged families.
“The beneficiaries have the required qualification for admission into tertiary institutions but lack the support to advance their studies,” he said.
He said, Gujba and Gulani Local Government Areas were the most devastated areas by insurgency that needed special approach for education recovery.
“The level of damage is so monumental for government to handle alone, individuals, groups and non-governmental organizations must give Yobe state government, a helping hand.

Zamfara
The Nigeria Police Force, is set to construct 500 housing units in Zamfara under its new Housing Scheme.
Maigari Dikko, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), in-charge of Logistics and Supply, said this last Thursday, while on a one-day working visit to the Zamfara State Police Command in Gusau.
The DIG said that, part of his visit to the state was to solicit land allocation from the state government for the police to construct the housing units.
Dikko, said that the new housing policy was initiated to end the housing problem among the rank and file, and would be on an “Owner-occupier basis”.
“It is unfair for one to have served the nation for 35 years and end up with no personal accommodation,” he said.

Nation

UNIZIK Honours Business Mogul, Ezekwe, For Philanthropism

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) has conferred the Award of Digital Academic Promoter on the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Arrowconn Group, High Chief (Dr.) Emeka Ezekwe, for his philanthropic gestures.

Chief Ezekwe received the philanthropist award during a landmark technical workshop organised by the Department of Business Education, Faculty of Technology and Vocational Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, recently.

Making the presentation, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ugochukwu Stanley Anyaehie, said the award was in recognition of Ezekwe’s philanthropic contributions, academic support, and dedication to human capital development, hailing his commitment to bridging industry and academia.

Ezekwe who is also the Chairman of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce Professional Services and Consultancy Trade Group, delivered a keynote address at the event with a theme: “Technicalities and Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Business and Education.”

In his address, Ezekwe described the current AI surge as a civilizational shift rather than a mere technological upgrade.

He compared AI’s rapid trajectory to past innovations like electricity, computers, the Internet, and mobile phones, which he said, progressed from luxuries to necessities.

“AI is reshaping value creation, knowledge sharing, and decision-making at unprecedented speed. It has moved from experimentation to execution, powering business forecasting, academic research, digital learning, and strategic decisions,” he said.

The business mogul, however, warned that in business, delays lead to losses, while in education, irrelevance spells failure.

“AI is no longer optional, it is a necessity,” he declared.

Ezekwe highlighted the critical AI skill gap, driven by curriculum lags, limited training, and fear of the unknown, but stressed the bigger danger which is exclusion.

“Those who master AI will shape markets, education, and policy; those who lag will be shaped by others,” he said.

The Arrowconn Group boss also outlined AI’s practical advantages for businesses —including data-driven strategies, smarter investments, scalable customer insights, and competitive edges for SMEs.

In education, he clarified that AI empowers rather than replaces teachers, enabling personalized learning, efficient lesson planning, assessment support, and accelerated research.

He advocated a shift from rote memorization to critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving, while preserving human strengths in engagement, judgment, and collaboration.

Ezekwe urged ethical AI development, warning that “technology without values is dangerous,” and called on institutions like UNIZIK to update curricula, train educators, promote interdisciplinary work, forge industry partnerships, and produce graduates who are solution providers in an AI-driven world.

The workshop also marked the unveiling of the maiden edition of the UNIZIK Journal of Business Education and Entrepreneurship, reinforcing the department’s push for scholarly innovation in AI applications.

Nation

Don Calls For National Forensic Data Bank To Combat Rising Crime

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Port Harcourt’s College of Health Sciences, Prof Gabriel Sunday Oladipo, has underscored the urgent need for Nigeria to develop a comprehensive forensic science infrastructure, warning that the nation’s ability to investigate and solve crime is being hampered by lack of scientific data and systems.

In his inaugural lecture titled, “Man: Fearfully Different, Wonderfully Made,” delivered as part of the 207th Inaugural Lecture Series of the university, Prof Oladipo highlighted that while no two individuals are exactly the same, the country currently lacks the robust systems needed to collect and manage biological and anthropometric data that could support criminal investigations.

He explained that the natural variations among humans — from fingerprints to physical measurements — form the foundation of personal identification in forensic work. These biological differences, he said, are essential for distinguishing one person from another, especially in the context of criminal investigations where clarity of identity can mean the difference between justice and impunity. Without this scientific foundation, he argued, law enforcement agencies lack a critical tool in the fight against crime.

Experts have noted that Nigeria’s forensic science capacity has historically lagged behind needs, with only a few forensic facilities available and many law enforcement agencies struggling to access or use scientific evidence effectively. One review of the state of forensic investigation in Nigeria found that outdated facilities and limited adoption of modern forensic methods have left many cases unsolved or poorly investigated, even as crime rates rise across the country.

In Lagos, efforts to improve forensic capabilities have focused on DNA analysis, with the Lagos State DNA Forensic Centre — the first of its kind in West Africa — providing critical support for criminal investigations and helping to identify human remains, link related cases, and assist with paternity testing. However, such initiatives are yet to be replicated at a national scale, leaving many regions without access to these vital scientific tools.

Prof Oladipo’s lecture went beyond academic theory to propose concrete actions. He called for the establishment of a National Institute of Forensic Science responsible for creating and managing a nationwide anthropometric and forensic data bank. This repository, he stressed, would significantly enhance Nigeria’s capacity to track crime, assist law enforcement agencies, and improve the administration of justice by providing reliable scientific evidence for investigative and legal processes.

He also highlighted the importance of strengthening research and training in forensic science. Many Nigerian universities currently lack the funding and infrastructure to offer complete undergraduate or postgraduate programs in areas such as forensic anthropology, DNA analysis, and crime scene investigation, a gap that forces aspiring experts to rely on collaborations with institutions abroad. By fostering a research-friendly environment and securing greater support from both government and private sectors, Nigerian institutions could produce homegrown experts capable of advancing forensic science in the country.

Awareness of forensic science’s role in criminal justice remains low among the general public and even among some security professionals. Studies have shown that a significant portion of Nigerians are unfamiliar with basic forensic concepts or the existence of tools such as DNA profiling and national forensic databases — tools that are common features of criminal justice systems in countries like South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Prof Oladipo also urged regular training and retraining programs to keep forensic practitioners updated with evolving scientific methods. According to him, continuous professional development is critical in a field where technological advances — from biometric databases to digital forensic tools — are transforming how crimes are investigated and solved.

The lecture was attended by academics, students, and professionals drawn to the intersection of science, identity, and justice, all of whom heard the professor make a compelling case for scientific innovation and institutional reform as central to Nigeria’s effort to contain crime and strengthen its justice system.

The event not only showcased Prof Oladipo’s expertise in human anatomy and forensic psychology but also positioned forensic science as a strategic national priority — one that could bring clarity to investigations, support victims and their families, and ultimately enhance public safety across Nigeria.

Nation

UPWA Hosts Colourful Inter-House Sports Fiesta

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

The University of Port Harcourt Women Association (UPWA) on Thursday staged a vibrant and memorable edition of its Annual Inter-House Sports Competition at the University of Port Harcourt Sports Village, drawing an impressive turnout of pupils, parents, staff and invited guests.

The event, organised by the UPWA International Group of Schools, brought together children from the pre-nursery, nursery and secondary sections in a colourful celebration of youth athleticism, discipline and teamwork. The arena came alive with cheers and excitement as pupils, clad in their various house colours, marched in a ceremonial parade before proceeding to compete in a wide range of track and field events, relays, novelty races and other team-based activities designed to promote physical fitness and healthy competition.

Declaring the competition open, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Owunari Georgewill, commended UPWA for sustaining a tradition that continues to nurture young talents beyond the classroom. He noted that sports remain a critical component of holistic education, helping to build resilience, confidence, leadership skills and social interaction among children.

In her remarks, the President of UPWA, Professor Udeme Georgewill, expressed appreciation to parents, teachers and members of the organising committee for their dedication and sacrifice in ensuring the success of the programme despite prevailing economic challenges. She described the event as a reflection of unity and collective effort within the school community.

“This is the first time White House is emerging overall winner, and that shows remarkable improvement and great sportsmanship,” she said. “We all had fun. It is not easy putting an event like this together considering the economic situation, but we are grateful to the parents for being part of this journey. The excitement everywhere is truly heartwarming.”

The competition featured spirited participation from the various houses, including Purple House, San Chicago Red House and White House, with pupils demonstrating strength, speed, coordination and teamwork. Parents and supporters filled the stands, cheering enthusiastically and adding colour to the spectacle, while teachers ensured orderliness and safety throughout the proceedings.

Professor Georgewill emphasized that the true essence of sports lies not merely in winning trophies but in participation and personal growth. “Sports is not just about winning. It is an avenue for growth, discipline and opportunity. The fact that a child is able to participate is already a win. Losing this year does not mean you cannot win next year. Keep trying,” she encouraged, urging pupils to see both victory and defeat as stepping stones to greater achievements.

She further observed that while there are many competing interests in the Nigerian sports sector, consistent grassroots investment remains essential for discovering and nurturing future champions.

The colourful ceremony culminated in medal presentations, trophy awards and group photographs, with UPWA executives, including Vice President I, Professor Adedamola Onyeaso, joining the participating teams to celebrate the day’s achievements.

The annual inter-house sports competition continues to stand as one of UPWA’s flagship events, reinforcing its commitment to balanced education, character formation and the promotion of healthy lifestyles among its pupils.