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THE STATES
Benue
Makurdi Magistrates’ Court has remanded five accused
persons, including two brothers, in prison custody for allegedly killing a herdsman, Dahiru Idris.
Those remanded were Adah Effeche, Gabriel Ejeh, Daniel Ugwueke, Sunday Ugwueke and Boniface Onoja of various addresses in Edumoga, Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue.
They were arraigned on a two count-charge of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide.
They were charged with punishable under Sections 97 and 222 of the Penal Code of Benue, 2004.
Prosecutor Terzungwe Kajo told the court that the case was transferred from the Divisional Police Headquarters, Okpokwu to State CID on December 28, 2015 via a letter for investigation.
Ekiti
Ekiti State Government said that it had recorded one case
of the dreaded Lassa Fever.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olurotimi Ojo, made this known at a Stakeholders Forum on Lassa Fever in Ado-Ekiti.
Ojo said that the patient was discovered at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti at the weekend.
“The state has confirmed a Lassa Fever case that is being managed at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti.
“The patient is stable and has commenced treatment,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government has said that no fewer than 500,000 children will be immunised against measles in all parts of the state between January 28 and February 1, 2016.
FCT
Tourists and guests have called on hotel owners in Abuja
to provide better security and improve their facilities to justify the high charges on services.
The respondents made the call in separate interviews with newsmen.
Mr Franklin Andrew, a tourist from Canada said that he was visiting Africa for the first time and decided to start with Nigeria, adding his experience in terms of security was not too pleasant.
“I have been to other countries where people use encoded keys to protect their rooms; it was only at the Protea and Transcorp Hilton hotels that I used a card to open my room doors.
“When I wanted to experience a close-to-nature-touch, I went to another hotel; here in Abuja, where the experience was nothing to write home about.
Jigawa
The Sole Aministrator of Malammadori Local Government
in Jigawa State, Alhaji Ali Alkali, said the council had adopted measures to control soil erosion in the area.
Alkali stated this in an interview with newsmen recently in Malammadori.
He said that the council had implemented steps to control erosion at Maudachi burrow pit which he said, was threatening road and adjourning farmlands.
He said that the council had sought for the intervention of the state’s Ministry of Land for boundary definition of the pit site.
“We called for clear demarcation of boundary between Malammadori and Hadejia local government areas on the eroded land, this will facilitate effective management of the pit,” he said.
Kaduna
The National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and
Non-Formal Education (NMEC) says it is targeting a literacy-target of five million people in 2016.
Its Executive Secretary, Alhaji Jibrin Paiko, said this in Kaduna at the opening of a two-day workshop on coordination and management of non-formal education in Nigeria.
Our correspont reports that the workshop was jointly organised by NMEC and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
It was for executive directors of agencies for mass education from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
According to Paiko, the workshop is designed to provide the managers with skills and schemes that will serve as a guide in achieving the set target.
Katsina
Sheikh Dayyib Haruna-Rasheed, National Leader, Madinatul
Ahbab Waltalmiz Islamic Schools, has called on parents and community leaders to support teachers on inculcating moral training in children.
Haruna-Rasheed made the call at the graduation of 23 students who mastered the reading of the Holy Qur’an from the Fayamasa Malumfashi branch of the Madinatul Ahbab Waltalamiz Islamic Schools.
He said the school was set up to provide moral training and education on Islam, including inculcation of the right ideologies and knowledge on interpretations of the Holy Qur’an.
He, therefore, urged parents to support the schools in promoting religious ideals and morality in their children.
The cleric disclosed that the organisation had established 474 schools in 450 communities located in Nigeria and Niger Republic.
Kwara
An Indian philanthropist, Mr Naranbai Patel, has pledged
a donation of N25 million to support researchers at the University of Ilorin.
This is contained in the university’s bulletin, according to the bulletin, Patel, who was impressed by the collaboration between the University of Ilorin and Uka Tarsaida University (UTU), Bardoli, India, sent a letter to the University of Ilorin’s Vice Chancellor.
The bulletin said that in the letter, Patel, promised to redeem his pledge in five equal installments of N5 million over a period of five years.
It said the philanthropist expressed confidence in the ability and visionary skills of the university administration under the leadership of Prof. Ambali.
Lagos
A 70 -year-old man, Mutairu Afolabi, has sought the
dissolution of his 36 years marriage to Monsurat, 60, over alleged bleaching and conversion of his wife to Christianity.
Afolabi told the court that as an Imam his wife’s conversion from Islam to Christianity had brought him shame.
He said that the marriage was consummated in 1980 and produced four children, from age 20 to 33.
“The smell of her body since she started bleaching is not good for my health, why should she be bleaching at her age, she now a grandmother.
“Her name is Monsurat before I married her, my wife is now known in the whole Celestial Churches in Lagos; I’m an Imam how do I explain that.
“She goes out at will, without my permission, she curses a lot and I can see that her curse is coming to pass in the lives of my children.
“I told my wife that I have diabetes the next day she started singing that God should add honey and sugar to her life.
Nasarawa
The police have arraigned a 29-year-old trader, Agbo
Michael, in a Mararaba Grade 1 Area Court, Aso Pada, over the alleged theft of his neighbour’s generator.
The accused, who resides behind the Catholic Church, Aso, Mararaba, is standing trial on a two-count charge of house breaking and theft.
According to the Prosecutor, Cpl. Friday Adaji, one Itodo Leonard of same address with the accused reported the matter at the Aso Pada Police station on January 18.
Adaji said on the same date at about 2 p.m., the accused broke into the complainant’s house and stole the generator, valued at N31, 000.
“The accused also stole the sum of N10, 000 which the complainant left at home, when he went to work.
Ogun
A 39-year old man, Emeka Uboh, has appeared before an
Ota Chief Magistrates’ Court, Ogun, for allegedly damaging a gate and other items worth N100,000 belonging to one Boniface Ibeh.
Uboh, who resides at No. 11 Banjo St., Ishaha, Ota, Ogun, is facing a two-count charge of malicious damages and threat to life.
The Prosecutor, Sgt. Itaita Ebibomini, told the court that the accused committed the offences on October 11, 2015 at about 12:00pm at No. 3, Agbala Itura, Ishaha in Ota.
Ebibomino said that the accused damaged a building gate and other items worth N100, 000, property of Ibeh.
He said that the accused also threatened the complainant with a broken bottle.
Osun
The Osun State House of Assembly has directed the state
Ministry of Health to suspend the proposed increment in tuition fees of state-owned schools of nursing, health technology and midwifery.
Mr Kamil Oyedele, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, gave the directive in Osogbo when the management of the ministry appeared before the committee for the defence of its 2016 appropriation bill.
The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Temitope Oladele, in her defence had told the committee that one of the ways the ministry could boost its revenue generation for the year was by increasing its tuition fees.
Plateau
An elder statesman, Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, has
commended the success so far recorded in the fight against corruption and challenged the judiciary and the police to “play their roles effectively”.
“The Federal Government’s fight against corruption is gaining the right momentum and is in line with the cardinal goal for which President Muhammadu Buhari was voted into office.
“What remains is for the judges and police to play their own roles, so that the suspects would be convicted if culpable, to serve as a deterrent and also rid the nation of this canker-worm,” Kwande told newsmen in Jos.
According to him, the constitution is clear on how to tackle the menace.

Former National Security Adviser (NSA), Retired Col. Sambo Dasuki, arriving the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory where he is standing trial over alleged misappropriation of N32billion arms fund in Abuja on Friday. The case was adjourned till February 4 for the hearing of the Ex-NSA’s application for stay of proceedings.
Nation
HYPREP Marks 15 Years Of UNEP Report, Highlights Major Cleanup Milestones
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has commemorated the 15th anniversary of the release of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Assessment Report on Ogoniland, reaffirming its commitment to restoring the environment and improving the livelihoods of affected communities.
In a statement signed by the Project Coordinator, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, to commemorate the anniversary, HYPREP described the anniversary as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s environmental restoration efforts, noting that the project has made remarkable progress in implementing the recommendations of the landmark UNEP report released on August 4, 2011.
The UNEP report had revealed extensive oil pollution across Ogoniland, severe environmental degradation, and serious public health risks resulting from decades of petroleum operations. It also recommended an initial $1 billion fund to commence the cleanup of the affected communities.
According to HYPREP, the Federal Government formally launched the Ogoni clean-up in 2016, while the Project Coordination Office was established in 2017 to drive the implementation of UNEP’s recommendations.
Zabbey said the current administration has continued to prioritise the project under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Providing an update on the cleanup, the Project Coordinator disclosed that 30 of the 65 contaminated sites identified by UNEP have been fully remediated, while work is ongoing at several medium- and high-risk locations. It also stated that more than 1.5 million mangrove seedlings have been planted as part of what it described as the world’s largest restoration of oil-degraded mangroves, with over 1,000 hectares of shoreline already rehabilitated.
Zabbey further revealed that 49 Ogoni communities have been connected to potable water schemes through multiple water projects and booster stations aimed at providing safe drinking water across the region.
In the health sector, he said the 100-bed Ogoni Specialist Hospital in Kpite and the 43-bed Cottage Hospital in Buan are nearing completion, adding that several existing health facilities have been upgraded with modern medical equipment, while five ambulances have been donated to improve emergency healthcare services. The Project Coordinator also disclosed that a three-year human health biomonitoring study is being conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
On economic empowerment, Zabbey stated that the Project has created more than 8,000 direct jobs and trained thousands of Ogoni youths and women in various vocational and technical skills, including software development, cybersecurity, aviation, commercial diving, seafaring, mechatronics, and creative arts. The project also reported awarding scholarships to more than 1,000 students, providing grants to small businesses, and supporting persons living with special needs through skills acquisition programmes.
The statement further highlighted ongoing legacy projects, including the Ogoni Power Project and the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, which it said is about 96 per cent complete. HYPREP also welcomed the recent designation of the Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site of International Importance and pledged to continue promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of the ecosystem.
Marking the anniversary, Zabbey said the progress achieved over the past 15 years demonstrates the collective commitment of government, development partners, stakeholders, and local communities to restoring Ogoniland. He called for renewed collaboration to sustain the cleanup effort, promote environmental sustainability, and support the long-term development of the region. 3
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