Adamawa

Disturbed by the nuisance caused by stray domestic animals
on major streets of Yola, the Adamawa Ministry of  Environment, has warned of severe penalties
if their owners failed to keep them indoors.

The Commissioner for Environment, Mrs Arziki Sawa, gave the
warning in an interview on  in

Yola.

Sawa said that a stiff penalty awaited anyone that failed to
abide by the directive. “We are advising domestic animals owners, especially
those within the state capital, to keep them indoors or face the wrath of the
law. “The ministry will confiscate any animal found wandering on the streets,
or causing destruction to farm produce,” the commissioner said.

She expressed concern over the presence of animals in the
state capital which,  had resulted in
serious daily traffic jams, stating that the ministry had embarked on public
enlightenment programme on the need to keep animals indoors.

Ekiti

Governor  Kayode
Fayemi of Ekiti State  has said that his
administration has no reason to interfere with the dispensation of justice in
the state because of his strong belief in the rule of law.

The governor stated this
at AwoEkiti during a thanksgiving service for the appointment of Justice
Daramola as the Chief Judge of the state.

Fayemi, who spoke on the series of court cases that the
state government lost at the Ado Ekiti High Court, reiterated the commitment of
his administration to upholding the rule of law, adding that he would never do
anything that would undermine it.

He said it was normal for the state government to lose court
cases if the facts on the cases were not well presented before the judges, and
expressed optimism that judges would always attend to cases in fairness and
justice in accordance with the rule of law.

FCT

The Founder of EJAYES Charity Organisation, an NGO, Dr
Ijeoma Nduka,  has said that more than
1,000 Nigerians have benefited from the free medical treatment organised by the
group.

Nduka made this known in an interview  during a week-long free medical treatment at
Gwagwalada Town Clinic, Abuja.

According to her, the National Poverty Eradication Programme
(NAPEP) in collaboration with the oganisation, were carrying out the exercise
in different rural communities.

She said patients were examined and treated of stroke,
hypertension, diabetes, asthma, arthritis and other common illnesses.

Nduka said majority of the patients diagnosed were not aware
of the diseases in their system.

“Health is not a privilege; it’s a right hence being poor
does not stop one from having quality healthcare,” Nduka said.

Gombe

Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State has approved N22
million for the rehabilitation of victims of the recent flood disaster in the
state capital.

Permanent Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency
(SEMA), Mr. Kelmi Lazarus,  said this in
an interview in Gombe that the flooding claimed four lives and displaced over
200 people in the affected areas.

He explained that the money would be used to provide relief
materials to give succour to the displaced persons.

“The governor gave the approval for the rehabilitation of
the displaced people so that they will bounce back to reckoning. “The gesture
is also to enable them to be reintegrated into society and to have a sense of
belonging,’’ he said.

Kano

The Anti-Bomb disposal unit of the Kano State Police Command
has recovered and defused 996 different calibre of Improvised Explosive Devices
(EIDs) from January 20 to date.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, made this
known while briefing newsmen in Kano.

Idris explained that the EIDs, which were recovered from
different parts of the state, were successfully detonated without causing any
injury or damage whatsoever. “If these items had gone off, only God knows the magnitude
of devastation they would have caused in the state,’’ he said.

Idris said after screening of the suspects, 92 were charged
to court while the remaining 16 were released. According to him, the command
has also arrested nine suspected armed robbers within the last two weeks in the
state.

Kebbi

The acute shortage of staff has forced the Kebbi Urban
Development Authority (KUDA) to secure approval for the deployment of prison
inmates to clear blocked drainage canals in the metropolis, an official has said.

A heavy rainfall in Birnin Kebbi a week ago, resulted to
flooding which claimed two lives and destroyed buildings and other household
property. The General Manager of the Authority, Alhaji Babangida Aliyu, said in
Birnin Kebbi   that the deployment of the
inmates was aimed at preventing further damage.

Aliyu also said that the organisation had set up
verification, assessment and resettlement committees to proffer solutions to
the problem of flooding.

Kogi

The Police in Kogi have said that only 16 suspects are in
custody over the August 6 killing of 19 worshippers at the Deeper Life Bible
Church and two soldiers at Okene town on August 7.

Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Mr
Simon Ile,  who confirmed this to newsmen
on Sunday in Lokoja, said that investigations had commenced to determine the
level of culpability of those arrested.

According to him, those who have nothing to do with the
crisis will be set free. He confirmed that the immediate past Chairman of Okene
Local Government, Mr Yahaya Karaku, was among those being detained but said
that the man was not shot in the leg as rumoured.  Karaku currently serves as a special adviser
to Governor IdrisWada.

Also speaking on the security situation in Okene, the
Commandant, Command Army Record, Lokoja, Maj.-Gen. Alphonsus Chukwu, refuted
the allegation of brutality against soldiers on duty in the town.

Kwara

Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed of Kwara State and the Sultan of
Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III, are among dignitaries that will grace the
maiden Shaykh Adam Al-Ilory International Conference scheduled for between
August 24 and August 28.

The conference, being organised by the Faculty of Arts,
University of Ilorin, focuses on “ The Life and Works of Shayk Adam Abdullahoi
Al-Ilory.

Briefing newsmen on the programme in Ilorin , the Chairman,
Main Organising Committee, Prof. Charles Bodunde, said participants would be
drawn from Egypt, Kuwait, Germany, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Malaysia.

Bodunde, who is also the Dean of the Faculty of Arts,
described Al-Ilory as an icon for all religions, adding that he stood for faith
and justice.  He commended members of the
committee for their commitment and urged them to remain steadfast.

Lagos

The Deeper Life Bible Church said although it was mourning
the Okene masacre victims, it would not be deterred by the enemies of the
gospel of Jesus Christ.

The church secretary, Pastor Jerry  Asemota, said this at the combined Sunday
Worship Service of some districts in Lagos held at the International Bible Training
Centre.

The pastor said that “what comes to mind at a time like this
was reprisal”, but added that the church would not do that. He said the church
“will take up the weapons of Truth which is the word of God and the weapons of
prayer that will bring us victory”.

He recalled that the Okene masacre was not the first mass
murder of members of the church, noting that six of its members in Mubi, Borno,
were killed by gunmen in 2011.

Nasarawa

Labour movements in Nasarawa State have issued a one week ultimatum
to the state government to reverse the new tax system, which it recently
introduced in the state or face industrial action.

In a statement jointly signed by the state NLC Chairman, Mr
Asoloko Maku, and his TUC counterpart, Mr Agbashi Gabriel, the unions condemned
the new tax regime.

They also condemned the removal of the names of some civil
servants from the payroll, as well as the demotion of others with effect from
August 2012.

When contacted, the Commissioner of Finance, Mainoma, said
that the tax table in use in the state was not the one approved by the Personal
Income Tax Act 2011.

Plateau

A 25-year-old herbalist, Aliyu Idi,  has been arraigned before an Area Court in
Jos for alleged criminal trespass, criminal force and intimidation.

Prosecutor Ashiru Ibrahim told the court that on August 10
Mohammed reported that the accused trespassed into his children’s room and
fought them over some unstated feud.

Ibrahim further said that some neighbours intervened to
separate the fight but the accused followed Alhaji Mohammed to the mosque and
threatened to stab him.  “My lord the
accused intimidated the complainant in the mosque during the morning prayers
and that made it difficult for him to concentrate throughout the payer
session,’’ he said.

He said the offence contravened Sections 349, 255 and 390 of
the Penal Code Law. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge against him
and applied to the court for his bail.

The judge, Malam Mustapha Hassan, refused the application
for bail and ordered the accused to be remanded in prison. He adjourned the
case to September  21 for hearing.

Sokoto

Chairman of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (
CNPP), Sokoto State chapter, Alhaji Abba Sidi,
has commended the efforts of the state government in tackling security
threat to the state. Sidi said this in an interview in Sokoto.

He said the provision of 60 Toyota Hilux patrol vehicles and
state-of-the-art communication equipment to the state police command would help
in addressing any security threat in the state.

According to him, the current security challenges in the
state could only be tackled through effective security network. The chairman
called on the state police command to adopt security strategies to sustain the
peace in the state.

He said the people of the state expected high
professionalism by the officers and men of the command in dealing with any
persons or groups found disrupting the peaceful co-existence among the people.

Taraba

The Taraba Commissioner for Environment and Urban
Development, Mr Danfulani Kwetaka,   has
appealed to Jalingo residents to refrain from indiscriminate dumping of refuse
in order to check erosion.

Kwetaka said in Jalingo that most of the erosion problems
affecting the streets of Jalingo were caused by the dumping of refuse in water
channels by residents.

“I move round the town to check the areas that we got
reports of heavy erosion and we discovered that people indiscriminately dump
refuse in drains. “When you do things right by dumping refuse in the right
places, the magnitude of erosion in the town will be reduced, “ he said.

The commissioner, however, gave an assurance that the
government had taken notice of the affected areas with a view to addressing the
problem. “We have taken notice of all the affected areas and we are doing
everything possible to tackle them, “ he said.