Nation
FCTA Sponsors Cancer Patient’s Treatment, Hands Case To Family
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Social Development Secretariat (SDS) has handed over 23-year old Miss Beatrice Adah, a cancer patient, to her family after sponsoring her surgery at the National Hospital, Abuja.
Its Acting-Director, Social Welfare Services Department, Alhaji Sani Amar, disclosed this to The Tide’s source in Abuja.
Amar said before the intervention of FCTA Department, the cancer patient was being used by some men to make money on the streets of Abuja.
He said when the department apprehended them, they claimed that they had earlier taken the patient to the National Hospital but couldn’t afford the medical bill, adding that, that was why they resorted to begging.
Amar said they took the patient to the National Hospital to verify the claim and the Surgeon asked them to make a deposit of N500,000.
He said the young men had already realised millions of naira through begging on behalf of the patient.
“In fact, we discovered that one of the young men had bought a plot of land in one of the local communities from Abuja natives, out of the money they realised through begging.
“The second one had also purchased a land and even built a structure, all with the money they gathered through begging in the name of looking for money to pay her medical bill.
“In fact, our investigation revealed that the patient was in their custody from July 2020 until when we intercepted them about two months ago.
“And by the grace of Almighty Allah, the surgery was carried out successfully,” he said.
Amar revealed that when the department took Beatrice to the hospital, a good Samaritan appeared and contributed N350,000, while FCTA completed the money and made the deposit for the treatment.
“As time goes by, from the money the two young men realised through begging, we made them to vomit N500,000, which we added to the initial deposit of N500,000 for the treatment.
“Subsequently, FCT Administration through the SDS, also added N300,000. In fact from the beginning to the end of the treatment we spent about N1.6 million put together.
“Like I said earlier, the donor contributed N350,000, the FCTA contributed N600,000 and we collected N550,000 from the young men,” he said.
Amar said that based on the investigation conducted by the department, the young men, who claimed to be doing “a Godly job” were fond of exploiting patients with such condition (abnormal growth).
The Chief Judge of Katsina State, Justice Musa Danladi, has granted bail to 91 inmates.
He also completely discharged four others during the first-quarter jail delivery exercise for 2025 at the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Katsina.
Speaking at the event yesterday, Justice Danladi explained that the Sub-Committee on Decongestion of Correctional Centres carefully assessed the cases before recommending the inmates for release.
Factors considered included age, length of time spent in custody, and medical conditions.
He further announced that going forward, the personal details and photographs of released inmates would be officially recorded to ensure proper documentation and accountability.
Addressing the freed individuals, he urged them to stay on the right side of the law, emphasising that another chance at clemency might not be available if they reoffend.
The Katsina State Controller of Corrections, CC Umar Baba, praised the initiative, stating that such interventions ease congestion, improve prison conditions, and support rehabilitation efforts.
He also called on judges and magistrates to consider alternative sentencing options to prevent unnecessary detentions and allow correctional facilities to focus on reforming and reintegrating offenders into society.
The Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has struck out murder charges against Ooni of Ife’s ex-wife, Queen Naomi Silekunola; the owner of Agidigbo FM, Oriyomi Hamzat; and principal of Islamic High School, Abdullahi Fasasi.
The Tide’s source recalls that the trio have been facing murder charges following the December 2024 children’s event stampede that led to the death of 35 children.
Justice B. K. Olawoyin delivering judgment yesterday, ruled that holding the defendants liable could discourage the public from engaging in humanitarian activities.
The court dismissed the four count charge, which included acceleration of death, conspiracy, negligent acts causing harm and failure to provide adequate medical facilities and security.
The Nigerian Military high command has stated that it is unaware of any community in the Northwest negotiating or entering peace agreements with bandits and terrorists for protection.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, dismissed reports suggesting such peace deals.
He questioned why any community would resort to negotiations, given the sustained military offensives against terrorist groups.
“The military is carrying out its operations in line with established protocols for internal security. If any community claims to be seeking peace with bandits, the military does not support that,” Kangye asserted.
He further emphasised that joint military operations, in collaboration with hybrid forces and other security agencies, have remained relentless in tackling terrorism and organised crime.
Throughout the past week, troops conducted a series of combat patrols, raids, ambushes, clearance operations, and search-and-rescue missions, resulting in significant successes.
According to Kangye, several terrorists were neutralised, their collaborators were captured, and kidnapped victims were successfully rescued.
