Author: adenike ruth

Nutritionists harp on benefits of palm oil consumption

Palm

By Adenike Ayodele

Lagos, June 9, 2024 (NAN) Some nutritionists and lifestyle experts have urged Nigerians to use palm oil, instead of other vegetable oils, due to its nutritional value.

Mrs Olufunmilola Adewumi, Chief Nutritionist and  Head of Department, Shomolu General Hospital, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

According to her, components of palm oil are linoleic acid (Omega 6), carotenoids (anti-oxidants), phytosterols, vitamin K,  lauric acid and capric acid, medium chain triglycerides (anti-microbial and anti-fungal agent).

Adewumi, also a registered dietitian, noted that  though  vegetable oil commonly known  as “ororo” and palm oil  known  as “epo” in yoruba dialect belonged to the class of vegetable oils, they were of different categories,  classifications and benefits.

She stated that vegetable oils, also known as plant oils, were derived from oil seeds, grown mainly for their oil e.g. canola corn, cottonseed, olive, palm kernel oil, coconut, peanut, sunflower and soyabean.

She further said that palm oil had higher percentage of saturated fats of about 51 per cent, mono-saturated fats of 39 per cent, and poly-unsaturated fats of 10 per cent.

Speaking further, she added that vegetable oil had 15 per cent of unsaturated fats, 50 per cent of mono-saturated fats and 35 per cent of poly-unsaturated fats.

The dietitian then noted that palm oil had lots of health benefits over vegetable oil.

According to her, palm oil enhances the absorption of essential vitamin A, adding that its specific type of saturated fats (palmitic acid) is not associated with raising Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterols.

“Due to its rich source of vitamin E, lycopene, beta-carotene, palm oil serves as antioxidants that reduce oxidative stress, prevents cancer, safeguards the brain tissues and reduces age-related muscular  degeneration.

“It also contains vitamin K, which is crucial for blood clotting and bone health and when ingested moderately daily, it provides cardio-protective, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic effects.

“When palm oil is used tropically, it restores hydration to dry skin,  soothes headaches, reliefs pain associated with rheumatism and aids healing of wounds and skin infections.

“It eliminates dandruff,  thereby supporting hair growth, has anti-caking property that prevents lumps from forming in powdered products and it soothes bruises and sunburns,” she said.

Adewumi, however, said regardless of the oil one chooses to use, it was important to be mindful of the amount of oil usage in cooking for a healthy lifestyle.

“While oil is an essential ingredient that adds flavour and texture to our dishes, excessive consumption can lead to numerous health issues such as weight gain, heart disease and high cholesterol levels.

“By using little oil in our cooking, we can reduce our overall calorie intake, maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle,” the nutritionist said.

In her contribution, another  Lagos-based registered dietician and nutritionist, Ms Adaeze Oparaku, said the usage of palm oil on all dishes was healthy, if it was not bleached.

Oparaku added that  palm oil had the highest source of Vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, compared with other foods.

“As a matter of diversity,  one can incorporate both palm oil and vegetable oil,  but remember moderation is key.

“There are vitamin A fortified vegetable oils one can use, but one should take note that the vegetable oils with higher levels of Poly-unsaturated fats, monounsaturated fats and low levels of saturated fats are healthier,” she said.

Also speaking, a CyberRisk Management Specialist in Dallas, U.S., Ms Momo Akwara, said palm oil should be the preferred oil for consumption in Nigeria, because vegetable oils were toxic when heated.

Akwara, who is also a Nutrition Adviser, said that usually Nigerians cooked for a long time and as a result, “the process of making vegetable oils become very toxic”.

She added that extraction of oils from the seeds for instance was time consuming and as a result, they became toxic when exposed to heat.

She said the total inclusion of palm oil into daily diets prevented some major diseases.

 According to her, the preferred cooking oils are the likes of organic natural butter, coconut oil and palm oil.

“These oils have a higher smoked point and that is why I constantly educate Nigerians because,  we tend to cook for much longer and palm oil is  natural oil for us, if you get the original one that has not been mixed.

“Palm oil is much healthier,  but if you take the same palm oil and bleach because you want to make ofada sauce, you are also killing the oil nutrients.

“I, for example, do not consume ofada sauce anymore,  because it is not healthy and research has found out that these so called vegetable oils are toxic when exposed to heat and are not fit for human consumption,” she stated.

The specialist, while agitating for the removal of vegetable oil from Nigerian kitchens, however, encouraged those who could not do without vegetable oil,  to extract oil from some fatty meats.

“The fats from our meat should be able to give us enough oil that we need, and the way we cook should also change,  because we must not re-use the same oil.

“We must educate the public that vegetable oils are dangerous to the point of being carcinogenic.

“I have been educating people on the dangers of consuming vegetable oils for 10 years and I can tell you for a fact that vegetable oils  are one of the leading causes of inflammation and it is one of the root causes of diseases,” she said.

Akwara urged Nigerians to do everything within their powers to prevent diseases and embrace healthy feeding. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ifeyinwa Omowole

Jail
By Adenike Ayodele
Ikeja, June 7, 2024 (NAN) An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Friday sentenced a butcher, Jelili Moshood, to 14 years imprisonment for attempting to rape a vulnerable 78-year-old woman suffering from dementia.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Moshood was sentenced  to 14 years imprisonment by Justice Rahman Oshodi, following his plea bargain agreement to attempted sexual assault by penetration.
Oshodi held that he considered the facts of the case, the plea bargain agreement reached between the prosecution and the defence.
He added that he considered the convict’s guilty plea to the amended charge of attempt to commit sexual assault by penetration.
Consequently, the court convicted Moshood and sentenced him to 14  years imprisonment as agreed in the plea bargain to commence on Jan. 2,  2019, the date of his remand.
The judge said the facts established in the case were that the convict, under the guise of helping, isolated the vulnerable 78-year-old woman suffering from dementia and proceeded to assault her, causing her physical injury and trauma sexually.
He said: “This predatory and depraved conduct shocks the conscience and warrants strong condemnation and a lengthy custodial sentence.
“The victim impact has been severe though the victim has since passed away, one can only imagine the fear, anguish and suffering inflicted upon her in the final months of her life by the convict’s heinous actions.
“Her family will have to live with that painful reality and this sentence considers the convict’s guilty plea and the sparing of the victim’s family from the ordeal of testifying in court.
“However, it must also send a clear deterrent message that sexual violence against society’s most vulnerable will be met with severe consequences.
Oshodi said the agreed 14 years sentence reflected the egregious breach of trust, the physical and emotional harm caused and the need to protect the public from the convict, who would be registered as a sex offender.
“Jelili Moshood, this court hopes that during your lengthy imprisonment, you will have occasion to reflect deeply on your actions and emerge with genuine remorse and rehabilitation,” the judge said.
NAN reports that the Lagos State Government had initially charged  the convict with  rape in which the medical report and the result of the medical examination were received in evidence as Exhibit F.
It revealed documented physical trauma and forceful penetration of the victim’s vagina.
The court had held that the preceding factual matrix was distilled from the testimonies of one ASP Babatunde Asifat, Prosecution Witness One (PW1) and one Insp. Olakunle Orebe, Prosecution Witness Two (PW2), and the defendant’s’s confessional statement (Exhibit B1).
The court had also held that the extensive cross-examination by the learned defence counsel did not unearth any contradiction of PW1’s evidence.
The judge said that instead, it strengthened it.
“Seeing the strong evidence against him and after PW2 had given his evidence-in-chief, the defendant applied to the Hon. Attorney-General of Lagos State for a plea bargain through his counsel, Mr Yusuf  Oyebanji,” the court  held.
The state counsel, Ms Bukola Okeowo, had on May 31 informed the court that the parties had entered a plea and sentence agreement dated and filed on May 30.
The convict’s charge was, thereafter, changed from rape to attempt to commit sexual assault by penetration, which contravened Section 262of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015. (NAN)
(www.nannews.ng
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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

Arraignment
By Adenike Ayodele
Ikeja, June 7, 2024 (NAN) The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned three men before an Ikeja Special Offences Court for allegedly stealing the sum of N3.5 billion from Access Bank.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three men are Michael Igbomins, David Onyeike and Moses Iruolaje, on two counts of stealing and retention of proceeds of crime.
The defendants, whose residential addresses were not provided, however, pleaded not guilty.
The EFCC Counsel, Mr Abdulhamid Tukur, thereafter, prayed the court for a trial date and for the defendants to be remanded in a correctional facility.
The defence counsel, however, informed the court that there was no pending application before the court and prayed that the needful would be done before the next adjourned date.
The prosecutor told the court that the defendants allegedly committed the offences sometimes in 2023 in Lagos.
The prosecution submitted that the defendants, with dishonest intent, allegedly stole and converted to their own use the sum of N3.5 billion, property of Access Bank.
EFCC also alleged that the defendants retained the said amount of money, the proceed they knew to have been from unlawful act.
According to the anti-graft agency, the alleged offences violate Section 17 of  the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 280 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015.
Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe remanded the defendants in Ikoyi Custodial Centre pending the hearing and determination of their bail application.
Abike-Fadipe, however, adjourned the case until Nov. 28 for commencement of trial.(NAN)
(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

Strike: Shutting national grid extreme but not illegal  -Lawyer

Grid

By Adenike Ayodele

Ikeja, June 7, 2024 (NAN) A Lagos-based lawyer,  Mr Ige Asemudara, has said  that the organised labour  took   to the extreme,  its strike  on Monday and Tuesday by shutting  the national grid.

The lawyer said that the action exposed Nigeria  to insecurity.

Asemudara, the Founder of Mission Against Injustice in Nigeria, spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

He said that closing  the national grid was not reasonable.

“No matter what you do during strike, you do  not expose  the country to insecurity or toy with the safety of a nation.

“”If you shut down the national grid, you have exposed  the country  to insecurity and also toyed with the fragile safety of Nigerians.

“All of the security systems in the country  are run by the electrical system; so, when  you shut down, you have breached the security of the nation,” he said.

He, however,  said that the action should not be regarded as unlawful or treasonable since electrical workers had the right to go on strike.

“I saw a fellow who was quoting  Miscellaneous Offences Act stating that anyone  who  tampers with  electrical cables will be jailed for life.

 “That  law,  with greatest  respect, is not effective during  strike, but  even if it does, it is a law passed under the military regime of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in 1984-1985.”

He further said that the law ought to have been amended.

He said: ” I do not know why that legislation has not been amended since the military regime because it has some or the most unreasonable provisions in human history.

“I will say that strike is lawful but there are some activities which are unlawful that  workers should not engage in.

“If you are a worker in a unified environment, you have right to go on strike and if you are going to strike, what you do is shut down your working facilities.

“For instance, you work with the Federal  Radio Corporation of Nigeria and you want to go on strike, the radio station will  not transmit during  that  period.”

The lawyer said same thing applied to the companies that constituted  the national grid as they  would naturally shut down their services.

Asemudara, however, said said shutting the national grid was an extreme and unreasonable action to be taken during strike ‘because the first responsibility of Nigerians  whether citizens or governments is security of lives and property’ in the nation.

The lawyer further said that power generation, distribution and transmission companies in  Nigeria, which made up  the national grid, had the right to go on strike because strike was recognised under labour laws as legitimate. (NAN)

www.nannews.ng

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Edited by Ijeoma Popoola

Chrisland
By Adenike Ayodele
Ikeja June 6, 2024 (NAN) A Deputy Director with the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mr Jubril Yakubu, told the Ikeja High Court that the late Whitney Adeniran visited the hospital on Jan. 20, 2023 before the inter-house sports.
Yakubu also told  the court on Thursday that the deceased was in school on Feb.1, 7 and 9, 2023 to participate in the inter-house sports.
The witness, however, said the deceased opted out of activities on the day of the inter-house sports.
Under cross examination, the counsel to Chrisland Schools, Mr Ademola Animasaun, asked the witness if he was aware that Whitney did not participate in the inter-house sports.
“Are you aware that she did not participate in activities on the inter-house sports day,”?
“Yes and she was not forced by the school to participate,” the witness said.
The social worker noted that matters concerning emergency measures were not within his purview.
According to him, the provision of nurses at the inter-house sports should be part of emergency preparedness and not just for emergency.
He, however, said that he had the competence and authority at the fact-finding meeting with the school to speak on emergency signals.
The witness, however, said he did not know the actual number of schools in district six as at Dec. 31, 2023.
He confirmed to the court that he was responsible for  over 1,722 schools approved by the Ministry of Education.
The witness, however, was unable to tell the actual number of schools within district six and referred this to the Ministry of Education.
The social worker said: “Mine has to do with social services and I have the competence to speak about district six.
“I also do not know off heart how many students are subject to social risk exposure in district six
“But in each of the school, the school should have designated safeguarding and child protection officer appointed among the staff of the school that take lead.
“Mrs Tawa Sodiq, a school social officer, in District six reports to me.”
The witness insisted that  Chrisland Schools failed to comply with the Safety and Child Protection Policy for schools in Lagos state.
The third prosecution witness said the late Whitney Adeniran visited the hospital on Jan. 20, 2023.
The witness added that Whitney was in school on Feb.1, 7 and 9 to participate in the inter-house sports.
He, however, noted that the deceased opted out of the activities on the day of the inter-house sports.
Justice Oyindamola Ogala discharged the witness and adjourned the case until June 13 for continuation of trial.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Lagos State Government on March 31, 2023, charged Chrisland Schools Ltd. Opebi, its principal and vice principal and two others with the killing of Whitney.
Those charged alongside the school are Ademoye Adewale (a cotton candy vendor), Kuku Fatai, Belinda Amao (Principal) and Victoria Nwatu.
The defendants are standing trial for allegedly causing the death of  a 12-year-old student, Whitney Adediran, during the school inter-house sports.
According to the prosecution, the alleged offences violate Sections 224 and 251 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015. (NAN)
(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

The Former Minister  for Works, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) with other dignitaries while  receiving award  from  from the Egbe Amofin Oodua Conference (Yoruba Forum of Nigerian Bar Association) in Lagos on Thursday.

Infrastructure

By Adenike Ayodele

Ikeja, June 6, 2024 (NAN) The Former Minister for Works, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has called on government to develop an infrastructure that would make art, tourism and talent thrive as  drivers of growth.

Fashola, made this submission while delivering a keynote address at the Egbe Amofin Oodua Conference (Yoruba Forum of Nigerian Bar Association) in Ikeja on Thursday.

The former Lagos State governor said that what Nigeria needed to achieve the desired change was inclusive and expansive growth.

He encouraged members of Egbe Amofin Odua to promote dispute resolution mechanisms among their clients.

The learned silk also urged the Yoruba lawyers to rethink their roles as lawyers and act as agents of development in the interest of national growth by ensuring that investors had confidence in the judiciary.

Fashola reiterated that the prospect for development growth required enabling law reforms to ease doing business.

The senior advocate further related the rate of enforcement of arbitral awards and the number of challenges to them as he emphasised that these were very serious soft infrastructure drivers or inhibitors of growth and development.

According to him: “In cases where injunctions have been granted ex-parte or on notice and the party who got them turned out not to be entitled, what has been the consequence?

“How many lawyers, judges have been involved in trial to enforce the indemnity given for a wrongly granted injunction and what was the outcome?

“The prospects for economic growth depend on our collective professionalism to help overcome challenges that stand in the way.

“As an Egbe of legal practitioners, a lot exists that we can do including but not limited to enabling law reform, reforming training curriculum of how to incorporate new areas of economic output such as sports, entertainment and tourism.”

Fashola also urged the promotion of an efficient dispute resolution process that helped ease of doing business and the removal of legal hurdles to ease  construction and delivery of hard infrastructure.

“These are my thoughts on the prospects and challenges for economic growth because the possibilities are enormous but we must act deliberately and in collaboration to realise them,” he said.

Dr Kemi Peinhero (SAN) said, in his welcome address, that an efficient judicial system provided the framework for stability and economic development.

Peinhero said justice was the great interest of man on earth and the ligament which held civilised society together.

According to him: “Without it, there is neither security of life nor liberty.

“It is crystal clear that a working and functional judicial system plays a major role in the society in maintaining not just law and order but boosting the economy.

‘The government must as a matter of great importance take active steps towards reforming the judiciary to ensure the expeditious and fair administration of justice.

“No serious nation prioritises matters relating to the elections over the economy. An efficient judicial system provides the framework for stability and economic development.”

Senator Ajibola Bashir, another member of the Egbe Amofin, in his goodwill message, also called on government to take into cognisance and have a thorough thought that development was not for elites to gather wealth for themselves but for even distribution of wealth among the lower, middle and lower class.

Mr Adebayo Haroun, who represented the Lagos State Attorney-General, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), in his goodwill message, said that administration of justice must be improved in all sectors. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Christiana Fadare

EFCC
By Adenike Ayodele
Ikeja, June 6, 2024 (NAN) An Ikeja Special Offences Court has sentenced two men, Ugwu Chijioke and Ibrahim Adekunle, to 22 years imprisonment for impersonating officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe sentenced the duo to 22 years and eight months imprisonment.
The sentence followed their plea bargain agreement to the five counts bordering on impersonation, attempt to obtain property, possession of documents containing false pretence and unlawfully wearing of the EFCC uniform .
The judge sentenced them to seven years each on count one to three, one year on count four and eight months on count five.
She, however, ordered that the sentences should run concurrently.
Earlier, the EFCC counsel, Mr Abdulhamid Tukur, in his review of facts, urged the court to convict the defendants as charged and sentenced accordingly.
Tukur submitted that the defendants had in their possession  false documents to impersonate officials of the EFCC and extorted unsuspecting members of the public.
He said the items recovered from the defendants at the point of arrest included fake EFCC identity cards, jackets, and a court order purported to have emanated from Mushin Magistrate Court.
The convicts, in their plea for mercy, urged  the court to temper justice with mercy and promised never to go to their vomits again.
“I am very sorry for the crime I pleaded guilty for, having been in the correctional facility for over a year now, have learnt a lot.
“I am very sorry and I beg the EFCC to forgive me and I will never go back to any crime.
“I plead with the court to temper justice with mercy,” the first defendant had said.
“My lord, am already guilty of this case and I beg this court to temper justice with mercy
“I also beg the EFCC to forgive me,” the second defendant said.
According to the EFCC, the offences contravene Sections 8(b), 11(3) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and Section 79(1) (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng
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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

Jail
By Adenike Ayodele
Ikeja, June 5, 2024 (NAN) An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court has sentenced a 54-year-old man, Monday John, to 14 years imprisonment for attempted  sexual assault on a minor.
Justice Rahman Oshodi sentenced John  to 14 years following his plea bargain agreement to the amended one count of attempted assault by penetration filed against him by the Lagos State Government.
Oshodi held that the facts of the case were disturbing; presenting a 50-year-old male adult, in a position of authority, who exploited the vulnerability of a 13-year-old child and subjected her to sexual abuse.
The Judge held: “Your actions have undoubtedly caused profound trauma and harm to the victim.
“I have considered your guilty plea and willingness to take responsibility for your crimes by entering into the plea bargain agreement.
“However, this does not detract from the gravity of your offence.
“The law is clear that a child under the age of eighteen cannot consent to sexual activities, and ignorance of a child’s age is no defence.”
Oshodi ruled that the sentence agreed upon in the plea bargain reflected the seriousness of his crime as it carried a term of 14 years’ imprisonment.
“Accordingly, I sentence you to 14 years’ imprisonment commencing on your remand date Nov.13, 2020, and you shall also be registered as a sex offender.
“This sentence sends a clear message that sexual exploitation of children will not be tolerated and will be met with severe consequences under the law.
“I hope that during your incarceration, you will reflect deeply on your actions and the harm you have caused and that you will commit to rehabilitation,” Oshodi said.
The state counsel, Ms Bukola Okeowo, told the court that the convict committed the offence on Oct. 16, 2020, at  about 12. 30 p.m.on  Olarenwaju Street, Bariga, Lagos.
Okeowo submitted that the convict attempted to penetrate the survivor’s vagina with his fingers.
The prosecution said the offence contravened Section 262 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015. (NAN)
(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Kevin Okunzuwa/Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

Strike

By Adenike Ayodele/Sandra Umeh
Ikeja, June 3, 2024 (NAN) The major gates to the Ikeja High Court have been shut due to the nationwide industrial action by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the gates were shut on Monday by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Ikeja Branch.
NAN correspondents, who monitored the development in Lagos, observed that lawyers and litigants were turned back from entering the court premises.
The strike enforcers urged those who tried to gain entrance into the court premises to comply with the order.
The courts were shut in strict compliance with JUSUN’s order.
It would recalled that JUSUN on June 1 notified its members on mobilisation for the indefinite nationwide industrial action due to inconclusive decision on the new minimum wage.
The Acting General Secretary of JUSUN, Comrade M.J. Akwashiki, in a press statement said the strike action would start midnight on Sunday.
Akwashiki said that all branches of the unions were expected to ensure strict compliance to the directive.
“All vice president of our great unions are to monitor their respective zones to ensure compliance with total shut down of all courts and judicial institutes across Nigeria.
“The nationwide strike is to ensure government agree on a new national minimum wage and subsequently pass it into law.
“And to reverse the hike in electricity tariff without consulting the stakeholders as required by the law to N225/kwh back  to N66/kwh,” he said.
Also, the gates of the Federal High Court Lagos was shut following the strike.
There was also absence of various staff buses conveying staff to courts.
NAN gathered that an instruction had been issued earlier directing all staff buses to be put on hold due to the strike.
Meanwhile, some court officials who came to court were forced to return home in compliance with the industrial action.
In the same vein, a NAN correspondent who visited the Ojo Magistrates’ Court, reports that there was no activity at the court.
NAN correspondent observed that
the gate of the courthouse was closed .

It was gathered that the court rooms would remain locked until further notice. (NAN)
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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma