The Ekiti State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has advised a former governor of the state, Ayodele Fayose, to perish the thought of defecting to the APC.
The State Publicity Secretary of the party, Ade Ajayi, said this in Ado Ekiti, on Thursday.
He said the party was not a dumping ground “for failed politicians,” adding that Fayose was not wanted in the party because of his antecedents.
This was contained in a statement he signed. Ajayi described the APC as “a disciplined, refined and integrity-inclined type which would not tolerate people like Fayose,” adding that “Fayose is not qualified to be a member of the APC in the state.”
The party, which was reacting to a statement allegedly credited to Fayose to the effect that he would defect to the APC if his ordained Peoples Democratic Party state chairmanship aspirant failed in his bid for the job.
To this, Ajayi said, “We will not welcome him to the great and decent family in the state.
“It is better he stays back in his PDP to get it more destroyed instead of coming to a principled, disciplined, transparent, law-abiding and organised party like the APC.
“The Ekiti APC members know the people behind the masquerade and thereby warn people like Fayose not to turn the APC to a dumping ground where they can defect to.”
There are many sides to St. Valentine’s Day celebration. Like one actress recently aptly puts it, there are victims of St. Valentine’s Day, which according to her, are mostly married people and lovers.
She said the day is not actually seen by most to celebrate the one in their lives but a quickie with a love conquest or a crush that needs convincing.
Thinking along same line is another Nollywood actress, Onyi Odimegwu Obodoechina, known as Delaposh on Instagram.
In her post some days before Valentine’s day, she reveals what she wants for the day and what others should really be mindful of.
“Some people have started receiving Val’s gifts. Please, don’t send me flowers, cards or forwarded message to avoid embarrassment.
At least send me G-string if you don’t know what to send, it’s better than audio gift,” she said. Then probably giving a hint she doesn’t give a damn from what source her gift may materialize from, she added, “No man belongs to one woman alone.
You can’t be good enough for everyone but you will always be the best for the one who deserves you. Remove expectations from people and you will remove their power from hurting your feelings.
An Ikeja High Court on Thursday sentenced a former part-time lecturer in the University of Lagos (Unilag), Akin Baruwa, to 21 years’ imprisonment for raping an 18-year-old admission seeker.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Josephine Oyefeso while sentencing 45-year-old Baruwa, described his action as heinous. Oyefeso held that the sentence should serve as a deterrent to others.
“The offence committed against this young lady was a violation of her chastity which would have left huge emotional scars from which I pray and hope she will recover. “I cannot begin to imagine the physical and mental trauma she has had to endure from the man who she considered her father’s friend, a community leader who should have known better.
This is a shame! “This is a crime that not only offends the survivor, it offends her family, it offends the society at large, it also offends God. A
“More painful here is that the convict gave the family the impression that he was a lecturer at Unilag but his services were only needed on an ad-hoc basis by the university, the judge said. She said that the convict gave the impression that he could assist in giving his victim university admission where as he could not.
“He used the vulnerability of this young girl to his selfish advantage. “The young lady said that the encounter lasted for two to five minutes, the convict said 10 to 15 minutes. Was it worth it at the end of the day?
“In line with Section 258 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2011, Baruwa Afeez Akin is hereby sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment,” she held. Earlier, Oyefeso said that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and that the medical evidence was consistent with the testimony of the victim.
“It is interesting to note that all the graphic details he gave in court in his testimony were not contained in his statement at the Surulere Police Station. “The difference between his statement and his evidence are like night and day. DW1 (Baruwa) has a fertile imagination and is not afraid to use it.
“The evidence before me overwhelmingly shows that the sexual intercourse between PW3 (complainant) and DW1 was not consensual; I so hold. The court is satisfied that the prosecution has been able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“I find you Baruwa Afeez Akin guilty of a one-count charge of rape contrary to Section 258(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2011, and I hereby convict you accordingly,” she said Before the sentence was passed, defence counsel, Mr H. I. Omotoba, in his allocutus (plea for mercy), prayed the court to temper justice with mercy and impose a light sentence on Baruwa.
The convict is broken and highly remorseful of his act. The convict is a married man with children aged 12, 10, four and two respectively. “The convict also has aged parents to cater for. My lord, the convict is also a first-time offender.
“We urge this court to temper justice with mercy and impose a lesser punishment on the convict,” Omotoba said. In his response, the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr Yhaqub Oshoala, expressed gratitude to the court. Oshoala asked the court to impose a stiff sentence on Baruwa to serve as a deterrent to lecturers who prey sexually on students.
He added that Baruwa was not remorseful during his trial. “I have never observed such a display of unremorsefulness in a defendant to the extent that he was calling the complainant “jeun tan” (a bad nickname), making it seem normal for a married person to use such an expression.
“Neither the state nor the society will condone such bad conduct. There are many students out there who are weak and have nobody to protect them,” the DPP said.
NAN reports that Baruwa was arraigned on Oct. 18, 2016. Four witnesses – the victim, her father, a policewoman and a medical doctor – testified for the prosecution while Baruwa testified solely in his defence.
The complainant (victim) had told the court that her father took her to Baruwa’s home one morning for the purpose of helping her to gain admission into Unilag.
She said that while in his office, Baruwa told her to pick up a piece of paper from the floor and forcefully pushed her on a couch and raped her. The complainant said she was a virgin and never had a boyfriend before the rape that occurred three months away from her 19th birthday.
In his defence on May 31, 2019, Baruwa described himself a community service leader at Abesan, Lagos, and an academic, who worked as a project supervisor at the Distant Learning Institute of Unilag from 2010 to 2015. He told the court that the complainant was his girlfriend and that in the morning of that fateful day, she seduced him twice in his office at Unilag.
“Her hands were all over me and I woke up and looked at her. By then, she had already removed the buttons of her blouse and I did suck her breasts. “She said she needed to pull her white shirt so that it would not be stained; she had her jeans trousers on.
We were romancing each other in that position my lord. “She told me that she wanted me to have sex with her and I replied that there was no way I could practise unsafe sex with her; this was some minutes past 7a.m,” Baruwa said.
He said that on the second occasion, the complainant threatened to cause a scene if he would not have sex with her and that he obliged her out of fear of her carrying out her threat.
NAN reports that prosecution had said that Baruwa raped the complainant at 9.25a.m. on July 23, 2015, in Room 8 at the Faculty of Business Administration Annex building, Unilag. When the rape came to light, Unilag, however, put up a disclaimer in respect of Baruwa.
The Senate on Thursday began moves to establish an agency that would see to the rehabilitation, deradicalisation and integration of repentant insurgents in the country.
A bill, sponsored by Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe East senatorial district, was read for the first time on the floor of the Senate Thursday.
Already a subject of fierce push back, the bill offers further concession to Boko Haram militants who choose to cease fire.
Last month, the Nigerian military said no fewer than 608 repentant Boko Haram insurgents were undergoing the De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) programme under its Operation Safe Corridor in Malam-Sidi, Gombe State.
Clients, the military euphemism for the repentant insurgents, were said to have been exposed to formal literacy classes, skills acquisition and Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) as well as drug and psycho-therapists during their training.
A group of Borno elders, led by ex-governor Kashim Shettima, last year, had frowned at the initiative, saying the military’s operation was not well thought out.
They feared that releasing the purported repentant Boko Haram militants into civilian population could be counterproductive as hardened fighters would return to the terror group to commit more atrocities.
“The ongoing de-radicalization and reintegration of repentant Boko Haram insurgents under the “operation safe corridor” of the defense headquarters is a course for concern for members of the Civilian JTF and some stakeholders in the State,” the group wrote in a letter last year.
“(We) suspect that “Boko Haram members do not repent” hence the de-radicalization programme may be breeding spies and agents of recruitment for the Boko Haram,” they had said.
They urged the president to approve the suspension of the programme.
More Nigerians have also spoken out against the policy.
Chinese experts, based on the result of clinical trials, have confirmed that Chloroquine Phosphate, an antimalarial drug, has a certain curative effect on the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a Chinese official said here Monday.
The experts have “unanimously” suggested the drug be included in the next version of the treatment guidelines and applied in wider clinical trials as soon as possible, Sun Yanrong, deputy head of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), said at a press conference.
Chloroquine Phosphate, which has been used for more than 70 years, was selected from tens of thousands of existing drugs after multiple rounds of screening, Sun said.
According to her, the drug has been under clinical trials in over 10 hospitals in Beijing, as well as in south China’s Guangdong Province and central China’s Hunan Province, and has shown fairly good efficacy.
In the trials, the groups of patients who had taken the drug have shown better indicators than their parallel groups, in abatement of fever, improvement of CT images of lungs, the percentage of patients who became negative in viral nucleic acid tests and the time they need to do so, she said.
Patients taking the drug also take a shorter time to recover, she added.
Sun gave an example of a 54-year-old patient in Beijing, who was admitted to hospital four days after showing symptoms. After taking the drug for a week, he saw all indicators improve and the nucleic acid turn negative.
So far, no obvious serious adverse reactions related to the drug have been found among the over 100 patients enrolled in the clinical trials, she said.
On Feb. 15, several departments including the MOST, the National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration called a video conference to listen to drug research and clinical experts’ opinions on the drug’s efficacy on COVID-19.
The expert team, led by Zhong Nanshan, a renowned respiratory specialist and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, agreed that Chloroquine Phosphate can be used to treat more COVID-19 patients, Sun said.
Previous in vitro experiments showed that it can block virus infections by changing the acidity and basicity value inside the cell and interfering receptors of SARS coronavirus.
It also shows immune-modulating activity, which may enhance its antiviral effect in vivo and is widely distributed in the whole body, including the lungs, after oral administration.
The European Union says it can impose restrictive visa implementation rules on Nigeria, if it fails to play its part in the return and readmission of its nationals staying illegally in the EU.
The EU, which comprises Germany, Italy, Spain, France and 23 other countries, further stated that although it would not place a visa ban on Nigeria, it could make its visas more difficult for Nigerian applicants if Nigeria failed to meet its standards.
The EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Virginie Battu-Henriksson, said this in an email chat with The PUNCH on Tuesday.
Recall that the United States had last month imposed immigrant visa ban on Nigeria and five other countries.
Under the new policy, citizens of the affected countries would not be allowed to apply for visas to emigrate to the US under the policy aimed at tightening “security for countries that don’t comply with the US minimum security standards or cooperate to prevent illegal immigration.”
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Nigeria presents a high risk, relative to other countries in the world, of terrorist travel to the US.
The US further stated that Nigeria did not adequately share public-safety and terrorism-related information, which is necessary for the protection of the national security and public safety of the US.
Following the US action, the Federal Government set up a committee headed by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, to ensure that Nigeria meets requirements the US said were not in place.
On February 5, the committee met with the US Consular General in Abuja with a view to addressing issues raised in the visa ban.
On Tuesday, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms Mary Lenoard, explained that the visa ban was not permanent, adding that it was subject to review if certain conditions were met.
But while Nigeria is struggling with the US visa ban, the EU said it could impose restrictive visa implementation rules on it.
Nigerians among top 10 nationals illegally staying in EU
When asked if the EU had challenges Nigeria was trying to resolve with the US, Battu-Henriksson said Nigerians still placed among the top 10 nationalities detected as staying irregularly in the EU even though the number of Nigerians travelling irregularly to the EU had dropped.
She said Nigerian criminal networks remained active in the EU.
The EU spokesperson said, “Nigerians still place among the top 10 nationalities detected as staying irregularly on the EU territory, although the number of Nigerians entering the EU irregularly declined drastically last year.
Nigerian criminal networks remain active in EU
“Nigerian criminal networks remain active in Europe, and Nigeria remains the main non-EU country of origin for victims of trafficking (mainly women) registered in the EU.”
When asked if the EU would be giving Nigeria the “American treatment”, she said Nigeria could face a restriction if certain criteria were not met.
Battu-Henriksson stated that if Nigeria did not play its part in the readmission of its citizens living illegally in the EU, then strict measures could be put in place.
She said what the EU could do if Nigeria failed to meet its criteria was to adapt the rules on processing short-stay visa applications.
The EU spokesperson stated, “What the EU can do since new rules on short-stay visas to the EU became applicable on 2 February 2020, is to adapt the rules on processing short-stay visa applications, depending on whether a non-EU country cooperates satisfactorily on the return and readmission of their nationals staying irregularly in the EU.
“Under the new rules, the EU Commission will regularly assess the level of cooperation of non-EU countries on the readmission of irregular migrants. If the level of cooperation is insufficient, the commission, together with member states, can decide on a temporary more restrictive implementation of certain provisions of the visa code.
“This could have an impact on the processing time, the length of validity of the visa to be issued, the level of the visa fee to be charged and the fee waivers. It is important to note that this mechanism does not amount to a visa ban and does not call into question the right to submit an application for a visa or to be granted a visa. It only allows for a more restrictive implementation of some of the visa rules. This concerns short-stay visas to the Schengen area, covering stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.”
Battu-Henriksson recalled that in 2016, an EU Council decision authorised the opening of negotiations on readmission agreement with Nigeria – making it only the second country in West Africa with which the EU was negotiating such a formal agreement.
The readmission agreement seeks to ensure that Nigerians travelling to the EU take only the legal routes.
It also seeks to ensure that Nigeria is able to readmit its citizens living illegally in the EU.
“It is in our common interest to work on dissuading migrants to take dangerous irregular routes to Europe and risk exploitation. Returns and readmission are part of working on this common endeavour,” she said.
The EU spokesperson said Nigeria remained a partner in the fight against terrorism and human trafficking.
Battu-Henriksson said the EU was also supporting the multinational joint task force in its fight against Boko Haram and had donated 55 million euros to the African peace facility.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had not received any official notice from the EU that it was considering Nigeria for visa restriction rules.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Spokesperson, Ferdinand Nwonye, stated this in an interview with one of our correspondents on Wednesday, while reacting to whether the EU was considering Nigeria for a visa restriction.
He said, “We had European Union-Nigeria dialogue on Tuesday and the matter was not brought up. It was not brought up at all.
“Be that as it may, it has not come to us officially. And you know definitely that anybody who has a visa and the visa expired based on the conditions of the issuance, the person is expected to come back or renew his stay there.”
The House of Representatives has directed its Committee on Population to investigate the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) over the various challenges being encountered in the registration of Nigerians for the National Identity Number (NIN).
This was sequel to a motion of Urgent Public Importance presented by Rep. Ben Igbakpa during plenary yesterday. The motion was titled: “The Need for the PTDF to Suspend the National Identity Number as a Precondition for Scholarships, and Related Matters”.
When the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, who presided over plenary, called for a voice vote, the motion was passed by majority members.
Read Also: Reps frown at diversion of flights to other countries
Igbakwa, while presenting the motion, said the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) announced that applicants for its 2020 scholarship for Masters and doctorate degrees, must have a NIN and verify before applying for the scholarship.
According to him, the registration of the NIMC was “laborious and slow nationwide” and attributed it to inadequate facilities and manpower.
He said: “The Director-General of NIMC, Mr Aliyu Azeez, recently admitted in a national daily that they are overwhelmed with work because, whereas they need about 4,000 centres nationwide, they make do with only 1,000 centres at the moment.”
Ms. Laetitia Naankang Dagan, an Assistant Director at the State House, Abuja was on Monday night assassinated by unidentified persons in her apartment.
The Permanent Secretary, State House, Abuja, Jalal Arabi, disclosed this on Tuesday, saying that the 47-year Dagan from Plateau State, worked in her office on Monday till 8pm, but by 11pm, she was gruesomely murdered in her apartment by unidentified persons.
He described the killing of Dagan, Assistant Director of Administration in the State House, as “a painful loss, not only to her immediate family, but also the entire State House.”
“She was a dedicated, hard-working officer, and we all feel pained by her dastardly and untimely death,” Arabi told her family members during a condolence visit.”
Laetitia Naankang Dagan. Source Facebook
According to the Permanent Secretary, “We all share in your grief and pains, but be consoled by the fact that she lived a good life and contributed her best to the services of her nation.”
Arabi expressed confidence that “the Police will fish out the killers of Laetitia and the law will take its course.”
The Permanent Secretary prayed God Almighty to comfort Ms. Dagan’s family, the entire Staff of State House, and grant the soul of the departed officer eternal rest.
The chief security officer to Rotimi Amaechi has died in Kaduna, according to PREMIUM TIMES who learnt from security and official sources.
The officer, who was described as a senior intelligence personnel, died on Monday morning while on a trip with the transport minister.
Peter Afunanya, chief spokesperson for the SSS on Tuesday morning said that the officer was electrocuted at his hotel room.
“He died at his hotel during an electric accident,” Mr Afunanya said.
His death occurred hours after reports said Mr Amaechi’s convoy was attacked in Kaduna while leaving from a train station to the city centre.
Mr Amaechi pushed back against the report on Twitter Sunday night, saying it was fake news as no attack on his convoy occurred.
A source close to Mr Amaechi also said the officer died at a hotel in a case of electrocution, dismissing strongly any insinuation that it was from an attack.
The source could not speak openly because he was not authorised by Mr Amaechi to speak on a matter that is being handled as sensitive.
Mr Afunanya did not disclose the name of the hotel in Kaduna where the attack happened.
But sources who first informed PREMIUM TIMES of the officer’s death said it was from injuries he sustained from the attack.
Some of the sources include colleagues of the departed officer, although PREMIUM TIMES has not been able to independently corroborate the official or private version of how the orderly died.
Manchester United moved to within three points of fourth-placed Chelsea after claiming their first League win at Stamford Bridge since 2012.
Goals from Anthony Martial and Harry Maguire, who was lucky not to be sent off early on, sealed all three points for United, though Chelsea saw two goals chalked off after VAR reviews.
Lampard decided well before Monday night’s encounter to persist with 38-year-old Willy Caballero in goal, leaving the world’s most expensive goalkeeper Kepa amongst the substitutes for a second consecutive game.
Manchester United’s new signee, Nigeria’s Odion Ighalo, had his debut in this match and narrowly missed scoring his first goal mere seconds after he was brought in at the 85th minute.
Ms. Laetitia Naankang Dagan, an Assistant Director at the State House, Abuja was on Monday night assassinated by unidentified persons in her apartment.
