News across the country

The Imo State University, Owerri has suspended one of its lecturers, Desmond Izunwanne, for allegedly slapping female students who arrived at a class session behind schedule and in non-departmental uniform.

The spokesperson for the University, Ralph Njokuobi, in a statement in Owerri, the state capital, said the lecturer’s action was “barbaric and unbecoming.”

Njokuobi said at a management meeting, the university approved the immediate suspension of the lecturer till further notice.

The university’s spokesperson also announced that a three-man disciplinary committee was constituted to “unravel the immediate and remote causes that led to his uncouth behaviour.”

The statement read, “It has come to the notice of the Management of the Imo State University that the viral video circulating around the globe about the indecorous actions of a lecturer of the university, Dr Desmond lzunwanne of the Physiology Department, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences of the Imo State University, Owerri, against four students of the university.
“Management viewed the action of the lecturer as barbaric and unbecoming of such a person occupying that position.

“At the end of the management meeting held on Tuesday 2 May 2023, management approved the suspension of the lecturer, Dr Desmond lzunwanne, till further notice and has set up a three-man disciplinary committee to unravel the immediate and remote causes that led to his uncouth behaviour.

The Director General National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Yushau Dogara Ahmed has officially commissioned the new Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Center at the permanent orientation camp, Dazigau Nangere Local Government Area of Yobe State.

The SAED scheme is an initiative driven to aid Corps members in obtaining necessary skills that will encourage them in turn to pursue entrepreneurship careers in order to reduce their possible time spent in the labour market in search of paid employment. The SEAD Department is made up of two divisions namely: Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship and Empowerment.

To institutionalize the scheme, the federal government raised the number of departments in the NYSC from seven to eleven with of Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development as one of the new departments.
Speaking on the center shortly after commissioning, the DG NYSC said that the introduction of SAED into the NYSC Scheme has helped lots of fresh graduates to be self-reliant, creating employment opportunities instead of searching for white collar jobs.

The project according to him is a nationwide initiative, targeted at young graduates who are mobilized and deployed for the NYSC scheme. It is designed to be implemented within the framework of camping exercise (in-camp) and the service year of the corps members (post-camp).

“We will continue to encourage the Corps members to key into skills program, this center will benefit both the Corps members and the host community”.

At the Dazigau permanent orientation camp, today 646 males and 290 female were sworn-in for the 2023 batch ‘A’ stream 2 course by the Chief judge of Yobe State represented by Justice Amina Shehu. The occasion was attended by traditional rulers, the host community members, representative of the state Governor Mai Mala Buni, security agencies, entourage of the DG NYSC and others.

The House of Representatives member-elect for Jalingo/Yorro/ Zing Federal Constituency Taraba State, Hon. Isma’ila Yushua Maihanchi, is dead.

It was gathered that Maihanchi died in the early hours of Saturday after a brief illness at an undisclosed hospital in Abuja.

An aide to the late member-elect said he has been buried according to the Islamic rites today at the national cemetery in Abuja.

Born on October 22 1986, the politician and businessman served as a Special Adviser to Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku.

Maihanci had also served as the Secretary of PDP in Taraba State.

The former Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Prof Onje Gye-Wado, who was kidnapped last Thursday night, has been freed after N4m ransom.

It was gathered that The Professor of law was kidnapped in his country home, Rinza, near Wamba, the headquarters of Wamba local government area.

His kidnappers placed a ransom of N70m but the family bargained from N2m to N3.5m and finally negotiated close to N4m before he was released.

“They collected the ransom near Mada Hills Secondary School in Akwanga with N200 recharge card. Then he was released near Angwan chiyawa close to those hills between Akwanga and Nasarawa Eggon,” a family source said.
It was gathered Gye-Wado was taken back to the palace of the paramount ruler of Wamba, Oriye Rindre, Justice Lawal Musa Nagogo after his release.

A former National Union of Journalists (NUJ) chairman and ex-Commissioner of information, Mr Dogo Shammah, confirmed the release of Prof Gye-Wado.

At least Eighteen persons have been burnt to death in an auto crash along the Enugu/Port-Harcourt Expressway.

The accident involved a Mercedes Benz tipper and an 18-seater commuter bus, police authorities in the South-East state said.

A statement from the Enugu State Police Command spokesman Daniel Ndukwe said the tipper loaded with bags of cement was plying against traffic from Enugu City when it had a head-on collision with the bus loaded with passengers coming from Aba, Abia State.

Both vehicles burst into flames and all the occupants burned beyond recognition, except the driver of the tipper who was found alive and has been admitted to a hospital.

The bodies of the victims have been evacuated while investigations have commenced into the accident, the police spokesman added.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kano State Command, said it had secured the conviction of 37 drug peddlers and users between January and March.

The State Commander of the Agency, Mr Abubakar Idris-Ahmad, disclosed this to the Newsmen in Kano.

Idris-Ahmad said the command arrested 352 suspects within the period.

He said apart from the 37 convicted by the Federal High Court, the command had filed 39 fresh cases, while 127 other cases were pending.

He said between January to March, 955.304kg of cannabis sativa, 1,225.05kg Codeine and Tramadol, 25 grams of cocaine, 17 grams of heroine and 52 grams of methamphetamine were confiscated.

“We have made good strides in our drug demand reduction efforts where 5,060 people in secondary and tertiary students, traders associations, vigilante groups and political thugs, among others, were sensitised on the menace of drug abuse.
“We have also carried out series of educative programmes on War Against Drug Abuse among youths, women and others,” Idris-Ahmad said.

He enjoined residents to furnish the agency with information on activities of drug dealers in their community.

He also called on the general public and parents as well as community leaders to be the watchdog of their wards to tackle the menace of drug trafficking and abuse.

“The agency will not relent in its efforts in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.

“We will continue to move around every nook and cranny of the state to ensure a drug-free society,” Idris-Ahmad said

Loan apps on Play Store will lose their ability to access their users’ contacts or photos from May 31, 2023.

This came as the Federal Government said it would enforce the latest policy by Google, saying the action was consistent with the Nigerian authorities’ move to curtail the invasion of customers’ privacy by loan app firms.

The Federal Government had in recent time taken major decisions aimed at tackling the violation of customers’ privacy by loan apps. Notably, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission had recently registered 170 loan apps out of the 200 operating in the country.

Google, in its April 2023 policy updates, said the new policy update would provide respite for loan app users in Nigeria and other places that have become accustomed to crude loan retrieval methods employed by a majority of loan apps.

Google said, “Policy preview (effective May 31, 2023): This article previews changes included in our April 2023 policy updates.

“We are updating our personal loans policy to state that apps aiming to provide or facilitate personal loans may not access user contacts or photos.

“We are introducing additional requirements for personal loan apps targeting users in Pakistan. Personal loan apps in Pakistan must submit country-specific licensing documentation to prove their ability to provide or facilitate personal loans.”

This new policy is coming after the firm announced updates to its Developer Programme Policy, mandating digital money lenders in Nigeria, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Kenya to conform to regulatory rules or be taken down by January 31.

According to the firm, only digital money lenders that have adhered to and completed the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending, 2022 (as may be amended from time to time) by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and obtain a verifiable approval letter from the FCCPC will be allowed on Play Store in Nigeria.

Jigawa State Judicial Service Commission has ordered an Upper Shari’a Court judge, to proceed on compulsory retirement over alleged official misconduct.

The commission has also appointed four senior staff of the service, to various positions.

A statement to this effect was signed by the Director, Publicity and Protocol of the state judiciary, Mr Abbas Rufa’i, on Saturday.
The decision according to the statement was made during the 170th meeting of the state Judicial Service Commission held in Dutse, Jigawa state on Thursday.

“The Commission collectively resolved for compulsory retirement of Alkali Safiyanu Muhammad’ for allegedly committing the offence when a litigant appeared before him at an Upper Shari’a Court in Birnin Kudu.

The Commission, however, strongly warned its staff to shun all forms of corruption and bribery, in order to sanitise the Judiciary in the state.

It, therefore, added that the commission re-affirmed its determination to deal with any staff found wanting in the discharge of his/her official assignment.

Furthermore, the Commission resolved to appoint Mr Aliyu Muhammed as Deputy Chief Registrar II Shari’a Court of Appeal and Mr Abdulrashid Alhassan as Chief Inspector, Shari’a Court of Appeal.

Others included Muhammad Lawan as Zonal Deputy Chief Inspector, Shari’a Court of Appeal and Muhammad Adamu as Zonal Deputy Chief Inspector, Shari’a Court of Appeal

Meanwhile, in line with the law that established the Commission and its mandate, the Jigawa State Shari’a Court Judges Association (JISSJA), commended the Commission for the achievement and assured the organisaion of their support and cooperation.

The Chairperson of the state Congress, Comrade Ayuba Magaji Suleiman
made the call in a press release made available to journalists in Kaduna.

Comrade Ayuba Suleiman also appreciated the decision of the Government in reinstating the disengaged teachers and other employees that were affected by the abrupt decision.

He lamented that the reinstated persons were victims of a harsh and ill-thought-out action which had caused many livelihoods into quite unpleasant socio-economic conditions and most of them faced psychological torment.

“In fact, the implication of the earlier action on the larger educational sector in the state is another unimaginable issue. Ask yourself, what do you think happened to the schools in rural areas where teachers were disengaged? What was the fate and what became of the educational aspirations of the students whose teachers were disengaged? Obviously, some of these schools had to be shut and some forced to operate in abysmal conditions given the shortage of teachers and other manpower; a situation that has further widened the gap towards achieving quality basic education” he said.

“To imagine that this had to linger for close to a year is something that is quite unthinkable, which undoubtedly is an indictment that calls to question the aptitude of the leadership of the board” he lamented.

” More so, those yet to be considered for reinstatement should be looked into”

The controversy surrounding the death of a young girl, Ogochukwu Emene, in Anambra community, has taken a degrading turn.

LIB had reported that Ogochukwu died under mysterious circumstances in Umueze Uga, in Aguata Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that members of the community had accused the girl’s mother, Azuka Emene, of having a hand in her death, an allegation she denied.

A member of the community, Okuekwe Aguata, has now shared a video of the woman being made to walk over the corpse of her daughter to prove she is not responsible for her death.

Below is his Facebook post on the development…

STILL ON LATE OGOCHUKWU EMENE MATTER… DID AZUKA REALLY KILL HER DAUGHTER? CAN A MOTHER KILL HER BRILLIANT AND PROMISING DAUGHTER?

The mother though her character and body language may cause the accusations that she’s responsible for her daughter’s death, but so many information shows that the woman will never kill her daughter deliberately.

Let all who are angry with either the woman or her son calm down first and pray for possible way of getting the facts which will help in saving the face and dignity of the woman and her family. Please stay tuned on the matter as the woman’s own version will be uploaded after more findings.