Category: General News

Theft

By Funmilayo Okunade (07033472099)

Ado-Ekiti, June 27, 2024(NAN) Three men, Abdullahi Usman, Abdullahi Azeez and Alex Sunday, were on Thursday, arraigned before an Ado-Ekiti Magistrates’ Court, for allegedly stealing a motorcycle valued N2 million.

Usman, 22, Azeez, 25, and Sunday, 32,  whose addresses were not given, are being charged with stealing.

The Prosecutor, Insp Raymond Osas, told the court that the defendants committed the offence on June 5, in Ikole-Ekiti.

He stated that the defendants stole one Bajaj motorcycle valued N2 million, belonging to the complainant, Saliu Mohammed.

Osas further said that the offence contravened Section 302(1) (a) of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Magistrate, Mrs Olubunmi Bamidele, granted bail to the defendants in the sum of N200,000 each, with two sureties in like sum.

She adjourned the case till July 24 for hearing.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FOA/DEB/AZU
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Edited by Azubuike Okeh

Advocacy

By Oluwakemi Oladipo

Lagos, June 27,2024 (NAN) Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun (SAN),  a former Vice-Chancellor of  Lagos State University, has urged the Nigerian Bar Association to collaborate with the media and civil society organisations (CSOs) to advance  public interest advocacy.

He said that judiciary systems, including NBA, were critical to social change.

Fagbohun, a Professor of Environmental Law, made the appeal at the 2024 Alao Aka-Bashorun Public Lecture organised by NBA, Ikeja Branch, on Thursday in Lagos.

The  lecture had the theme: “Public Governance in Troubled Times: Safeguarding the Rule of Law in Nigeria”.

The professor said that NBA could amplify its efforts through strategic collaboration with CSOs and the media, particularly by spearheading public interest  advocacy and litigation.

“Currently, the NBA and its members are part of what I term the Rescue Nigeria Project.

“The time has come to elevate our engagement from mere involvement to unwavering commitment.

“Together, we can create a future where justice, integrity and accountability are not just ideals but realities. All hands must be on deck.

“I must laud CSOs and  the media for their pivotal roles as catalysts for change because vigilant oversight is crucial in elevating public sector performance and steering Nigeria towards good governance,” Fagbohun said.

He added that judiciary must live up to its potential to sanction actions driven by narrow political and economic self-interest, thereby ensuring realisation of the promise of equal justice under the law.

“It is common for members of the political class to flip-flop either along party lines or to sustain dominance, privileges and advantages.

“It is for the court to remain steadfast in checking system abusers.

“Our courts cannot continue to be held back from effective service delivery by poor pay,  facilities and infrastructure,” Fagbohun said.

He noted that there were efforts to improve judicial remuneration through the Bill for an Act to Prescribe the Salaries, Allowances and Fringe Benefits of Judicial Office Holders in Nigeria.

“This must be accompanied by effective strategies to hold judicial officers accountable. Only then will the rule of law become meaningful.

“Aka-Bashorun’s impact and leadership were not just about holding a position; they were about inspiring a movement and uniting a community towards a common goal.

“He demonstrated that true leadership requires not only vision but also the courage to act decisively in the face of injustice,” Fagbohun said.

He said that there was every reason for the NBA to be concerned about safeguarding the rule of law amidst crisis confronting public governance.

“It is through public governance that governments seek to enhance the social welfare of their citizens,” Faghoun said.

Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court said that discipline was important in the legal profession.

“The ones coming behind us should see  values and morals in the judicial system.”

Soladoye said that the essence of the lecture was to encourage players in the judicial sector to  do the right thing at  all  times.

“I appeal to us to move this profession forward,” she said.

In his remarks, Mr Segun Alao Aka-Bashorun thanked NBA for  celebrating his father’s legacy for the past 40 years.

Aka-Bashorun said that he would  want lawyers and judicial officers and workers   to advocate local government autonomy.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

OKG/IGO 

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Edited by Ijeoma Popoola

Development
By Adedeji Egbebi
Oye-Ekiti (Ekiti), June 27, 2024 (NAN) A former Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Bamitale Oguntoyinbo, on Thursday, urged wealthy and kind-hearted Ekiti indigenes to invest in the development of the state.
Oguntoyinbo stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Oye-Ekiti.
He said that the selfishness of some leaders had brought serious setback to the development of the state, thus resulting in many youths becoming jobless.
Oguntoyinbo, also a former Chairman of Oye Local Government, urged indigenes, who had served as governors, senators and members of House of Representatives, to establish agro-allied industries that would provide jobs for the youth.
“I want to urge our past governors, senators and former House of Representatives members in Ekiti to invest in the development of the state.
“We need agro-allied industries that will create jobs for our youths who are unemployed.
“Many of our leaders, who had served in government positions and made money, prefer to invest in accumulation of property and luxury cars.
“In the process, they have neglected the youth and the less-privileged who gave them the opportunity to hold those positions.
“Therefore, I want to appeal to them to have a change of heart and help revive the economy of the state through investment,” he said.
The former NOA director said the prominent and wealthy indigenes of the state should borrow a cue from a legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola, who had established a university, hospital and other ventures, thus creating employment for people.
He commended Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), for his enviable roles in the employment of youths and the overall development of Ekiti. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
DJ/OJI/WAS
Edited by Maureen Ojinaka and ‘Wale Sadeeq

Convictions
By Muhammad Nasir Bashir
Dutse, June 27, 2024 (NAN) National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Jigawa Command, says it has successfully secured 185 convictions in the last one year.
NDLEA Commander in the state, Mr Musa Maina, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Thursday, in commemoration of the 2024 United Nations’ Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
Maina said those convicted were among the 426 suspects arrested by the agency from across the state between July 2023 and June 2024.
The commander said that a total of 526.29 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs, including cannabis and other psychotropic substances, were also seized by the agency during the period under review.
The commander further stated that more than 200 drug users among the arrested suspects were counselled and rehabilitated by the Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) unit of the command.
He commended traditional and religious institutions as well as the state government for their support and cooperation to the agency in its fight against drug abuse.
Maina urged residents of the state to continue to join hands with the agency to fight the menace. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
MNB/DE/WAS
Edited by Dorcas Jonah and ‘Wale Sadeeq

Water 

By Oluwafunke Ishola 

Lagos, June 27, 2024 (NAN) A General Physician, Dr Tunji Akintade, has called for a ban on sale of ‘nylon water’ to reduce the transmission of cholera disease in the country. 

Akintade, former Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP), said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos. 

NAN reports that due to the biting economic situation and the increased price of sachet water, some street traders emerged with the sale of nylon water as a cost-cutting measure for the public.

Sachet water, popularly known as “pure water”, is being sold at N50 in most parts of Lagos, while nylon water is sold for N10 or N20, depending on the location. 

Akintade appealed to the Federal Government to urgently restrict the sale of nylon water to reduce the transmission and deaths arising from cholera outbreak nationwide.

The physician warned the public against consuming nylon water, stressing that the source and purification of such water was in doubt, especially as they are unregistered.  

He disclosed that past tests had confirmed the contamination of some boreholes and well water by pathogens, emphasising that nylon water was unsafe for consumption. 

“People can get cholera by drinking unsafe water or eating food contaminated with cholera bacteria. 

“It’s so sad that people neglect their health because of financial concerns and some unscrupulous traders are cashing on it,” he said. 

Akintade appealed to the government to intensify surveillance across communities and attach punitive measures for traders of nylon water toward safeguarding the health of citizens. 

The physician also called for effective monitoring and regulations of pure water and bottled water factories to ensure they adhere to safety standards in their production. 

He lamented the perennial cholera outbreak in the country, noting that cholera had ceased to be public health concerns in industrialised countries that deployed modern sewage and water treatment.

Akintade urged the Federal and state governments to move beyond alerting the public about the unsafe conditions of the water source to expediting actions to improve access to clean and safe water through functional water boards.

The physician stressed that doing that would mitigate the health risk associated with consumption of unsafe water, especially as rain and flooding are causing waterborne diseases in communities.

He added that ingesting contaminated food could also cause cholera, advising the public to ensure vegetables and fruits are properly washed before eating and food produced in an hygienic environment.

Akintade stressed the equipping of environmental inspection officers with improved training and equipment required to effectively monitor and clean the environment. 

“The issue of revenue generation through them should be downplayed for them to achieve their core mandates, focusing on ways to generate money has trivialised their role,” he told NAN.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on June 24 disclosed that 53 deaths and 1,528 suspected cholera cases were recorded across 31 states, since the beginning of 2024.

Lagos state is the epicentre of the cholera outbreak with 29 fatalities, 579 suspected cases and 43 laboratory confirmed cases across multiple Local Government Areas in the state. (NAN) www.nannews.ng

AIO/VIV

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Edited by Vivian Ihechu

Carbon

By Patricia Amogu

Abuja, June 27, 2024 (NAN) Green Waka, a developmental and communication-based organisation, in collaboration with the UN – recognised Carbon Literacy Project, has unveiled Nigeria’s first carbon literacy programme to ensure smooth transition to net-zero emissions.

Mr Michael Bisong, Co-founder, Green Waka, who spoke at the event on Tuesday in Abuja, said that the carbon literacy training framework presented a platform to sensitise Nigerians and enable them to contribute to achieving a low-carbon economy fairly and inclusively.

Carbon Literacy (CL) is an awareness of the carbon dioxide costs and impacts on everyday activities as well as the ability and motivation to reduce emissions on an individual, community and organisational basis.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project, which is already widely adopted across the UK and rapidly expanding internationally, will help lay the foundation for Nigeria’s just transition to net-zero emissions.

It will motivate people from all walks of life to devise and deliver their best climate action in order to ensure the nation’s future prosperity.

“This will also ensure that the benefits and burdens of the transition are shared equitably.

“The training will foster widespread low-carbon culture in Nigeria as it is doing in the 26 nations with more than 700 unique Accredited Carbon Literacy courses  already being delivered,’’ Bisong said.

Phil Korbel, Co-founder and Director of Advocacy, the Carbon Literacy Project, who delivered a keynote address via a webinar, said that the training propelled everyone in their individual spaces to devise their best action in such a way as to make it do-able.

According to Korbel, carbon literacy is the renewable fuel for a just transition in Nigeria.

“The renewable power that will drive Nigeria towards a net zero future is that of its people.

“Urgent action on climate change is driven by facts agreed by the world’s scientists but this language sometimes needs ‘translating’ so that everyone becomes aware of its relevance to them, whoever and wherever they are,” he said.

Eche Asuzu, Coordinator, Climate Change Unit, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), while speaking on the topic “The Role of Civic Engagement in Accelerating Nigeria’s Just Transition, said that what “Green Waka was doing would greatly translate to action among individual work spaces.

“This is the real action on creating functional awareness in the workplace because we have established that the work place is at the heartbeat of climate change challenges because more than 90 per cent of climate change is emitted in the work place

“Yes, we need to transit and for us at the NLC; this must address the welfare of workers; we must ensure workers are free to express these issues around their work spaces.

“The questions of what will happen to the jobs? What trainings are workers going to be given? How will gaps in the workplace be filled?

“Workers must have some cover; we must create new jobs and create a just transition to achieve net-zero emissions in Nigeria,’’ he said.

Mr Osadebamwen Patrick, Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abuja Council, presented the training certificates to the first two Nigerians and co-founders of Green Waka project in Nigeria, who were selected for training in the UK. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

PAO/CJ/

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Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo

Tinubu mourns Bukola Saraki’s mother

Mourning

By Salif Atojoko

Abuja, June 26, 2024 (NAN) President Bola Tinubu has extended his condolences to former President of the Senate, Sen. Bukola Saraki, over the passing of his mother, Chief (Mrs) Florence Morenike Saraki.

“President Tinubu mourns the matriarch, stating that she lived a long and fruitful life as a servant of her community, a servant of God, and a beloved guardian and mother to many.

“The President also commiserates with the entire Saraki family – Mama’s children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and everyone mourning this loss, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity, said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said the President prayed for the repose of the soul of the departed matriarch and grace to her family to bear the immeasurable loss. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

SA/SOA

Edited by Oluwole Sogunle