Blog

NAN-S-13
Cup
By Olayinka Owolewa
Ilorin, Oct. 20, 2016 (NAN) Nasarawa United FC of Lafia goalkeeper, Suraju Ayeleso, says the club is targeting the CAF Confederation Cup ticket through victory against Ifeanyi Ubah in the Federation Cup final.

Ayeleso told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Ilorin that his team wanted to make history by winning the 2016 Federation Cup.

“We are looking forward to making history by winning it. We want to use winning it also to celebrate Nasarawa State’s anniversary.

“Our only hope of picking a continental ticket is to win the Federation Cup, so, we have many reasons to win it,’’ Ayeleso said.

The former Kwara United shot stopper, said the spirit in his team’s camp was fantastic enough to serve as the needed tonic to beat Ifeanyi Ubah.

He said that he was optimistic of victory at the final even though he described the Anambra Warriors as a well motivated side than his.

Ayeleso said the journey to the final was a good experience because the players were determined to make it having failed to clinch the trophy in the last three seasons.

“The club’s highest finish has been the semi-finals in the competition for the Cup in Nigeria’s oldest football competition.

“Many of us are playing in the final for the first time. Ifeanyi Ubah is not a bad side, they are better motivated than us but we will give them a run for their money,’’ the Solid Miners goalkeeper said.

NAN reports that no date has been announced for the final of the Federation Cup. (NAN)
OOH/PDE
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(Edited by Peter Ejiofor)

Court fixes Nov. 10 for adoption of alleged culpable homicide case ~
NAN-H-72
Addresses
By Edith Nwapi
Abuja, Oct. 20, 2016 (NAN) An FCT High Court on Thursday adjourned the adoption of written addresses in alleged culpable homicide against Sarah Ogah to Nov. 2.

Justice Jude Okekeadjourned the case after the Counsel to the Defendant, Mr Paul Atayi, entered a no-case submission in the case.

Atayi had contended that the two witnesses brought by prosecution did not establish a prima facie case against the defendant to warrant his defence.

Both counsel agreed to exchange addresses at the next adjourned date and Okeke adjourned the case till Nov. 2 for adoption of written addresses.

Ogah is among the 164 prisoners awaiting trial at Suleja prison when the FCT Chief Judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, visited the prisons during a jail delivery.

Bello had ordered that all pending cases in FCT courts should be disposed to help in reducing the number of convicts that should not be in detention.

Ogah, 21, was arraigned on a count of culpable homicide.

The prosecutor, Mr Adama Musa had told the court that the accused committed the offence at about 9 a.m at Gishiri village on April 12, 2013.

Musa said that Sarah did commit culpable homicide by stabbing his boyfriend, Friday Shehu, with knife on the chest which caused his death.

He said this contravened Sections 220 (a) and (b) and punishable under Section 224 of the Penal Code.

At previous hearing, Atayi had objected to the confessional statement made by Sarah and the court, thereafter, ordered “trial within trial” to determine whether the statement was voluntary.

Okeke had dismissed the objection, saying that there were no evidence showing that the defendant was compelled to write the statement.

He, thereafter, admitted the statement in evidence and marked it as Exhibit A. (NAN)
NEO/OFN
Edited by Felix Nwadioha

Centre awards scholarship to 200 orphans in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe

NAN-DS-6

Scholarship
Mohammed Adam
Yola, Oct. 20, 2016 (NAN) The Abdul-Lateef Zabaden Orphanage, Maiduguri, has awarded scholarship to 200 Internally Displaced Orphans in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe .

The award was presented through Adamawa Government at a ceremony on Thursday in Yola.

The Head of the orphanage, Sheikh Arif Zabaden, said the gesture was to assist in educating the unaccompanied children living in various IDPs camps in the three states.

Zabaden, who was represented by Alhaji Kashim Abdullahi, said the beneficiaries were selected after intensive screening .

He said that the orphans were of between the ages of seven and nine years, and that they would enjoy the scholarship from primary school to secondary school.

” Each of the orphans will benefit from 12-year scholarship from primary one up to the time of graduation at the senior secondary school,” he said.

He said that after their graduation , the centre would enroll them into a skills acquisition training programme to enable them to become self reliant.

Gov. Muhammadu Bindow, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Education, Malam Mahmud Abubakar, thanked the centre for the gesture.

Bindow urged other organisations to emulate the centre, saying that such gesture would immensely help in educating the orphans.

In their separate remarks, Malam Sa’ad Bello and Mr Haruna Furo , the state Coordinator ,National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Executive Secretary, Adamawa Emergency Management Agency, respectively, said that intensive investigation was carried out before the children were released to the organisation. (NAN)
AMA/YMU/AMY
Edited by Abdullahi Yusuf

NAN-S-12
Golf
By Victor Okoye
Abuja, Oct. 20, 2016 (NAN) Emeka Okatta, President, West Africa Golf (WAG) Tour on Thursday in Abuja said the body would host its debut event in Ghana.

Okatta, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) noted that the event would for the first time be held outside its traditional base, Nigeria.

He said the tour has been scheduled to flick off from Nov. 3 to Nov. 6 at the Celebrity Golf Club, Sakumono, Accra.

He revealed that Owerri was being considered for the Tour Championship later in December.

The president said that the arrangement was in tandem with the tour philosophy of establishing a pan-African platform to project golf talents to the world.

“The WAG Tour’s last four editions has been a huge success and we are hoping to build on it by expanding to new horizons.

“Ghana has always been a beautiful golf destination and since the logistics may not veer too much from what obtains in Nigeria, it comes as a natural choice.

“The WAG Tour membership also has huge representation from Ghana who are placed in high ranking positions in the Order of Merit.

“We are very positive of the future of WAG Tour and professional players of African Origin,’’ he said.

Okatta also revealed that the closing event for the opening season of the WAG Tour had got green-light to be hosted at the Arsenal Golf Club in Owerri, Imo State.

“Having hosted tournaments at the IBB International Gold and Country Club, Smoking Hills as well as Port Harcourt Golf Club, we thought Owerri will be a befitting venue for a change.

“The Arsenal Golf Club is a strategic facility in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria and easily accessible from four different Airports.

“One of the challenges we have faced throughout the years is access to golf courses.

“I think we have a fairer deal with the management of Arsenal coupled with the fact that the city has its own Airport and Asaba, Enugu and Port Harcourt Airports are also within reach,’’ he said.

He said that modalities regarding the venue were still been worked out, adding that the closing event for the year promises to be the biggest ever. (NAN)
VO/PDE
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(Edited by Peter Ejiofor)

NAN-HE-5
Tax

By Yakubu Mohammed
Yola, Oct. 20, 2016 (NAN) Adamawa Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ADCCIMA), has urged the state government to re-introduce local tax to generate more revenue.

The President of the chamber, Alhaji Bashir Ribadu, told newsmen in Yola that the state government should  re-introduce the local tax as part of measures to shore up Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Government should diversify from oil to agriculture and mining as major areas that could do magic.

According to him, the chambers of commerce, as a driving force, has a lot to contribute if government can provide the needed support and right policies.

Ribadu said members of the chamber lost a lot to insurgency in some parts of the state.

He appealed to the government to assist the members through counterpart fund.

He urged the government to utilise the counterpart funding projects being floated by institutions like Bank of Industry (BOI) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for small and medium scale enterprises.

He said government should encourage entrepreneurs to access soft loans to boost their businesses. (NAN)
YMU/BOLA/IA
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Edited by Bola Akingbehin/Idris Abdulrahman

Ondo 2016: Group begins training for election observers on WTV

NAN-H-56

Observers
By Bukola Adewumi
Abuja, Oct. 20, 2016 (NAN) A group, the Youth Initiative for Advancement, Growth and Advocacy  (YIAGA), has begun training for 18 local government election observers on Watching The Vote (WTV) methodology for the governorship elections in Ondo state.

The Media Manager, YIAGA, Mr David Oluwaseun, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja

The statement said that the training was taking place in Akure in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

The Statement quoted Mr Jasper Veen, Country Director, NDI, as saying that the WTV methodology “is to ensure the credibility of the elections’’.

The WTV is a citizen-led election observation initiative using data and technology to enhance the integrity of the election.

It also adopts a technology of the social media election of data transparency sustainability for evidenced-based election observation.

Veen said that the data collected at each of the polling units would tell of the quality of the Nov. 26, governorship elections, whether it was bad or good.

According to him, what the observers will be doing is credibly important as YIAGA will be able to verify with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the information it collates at the polling units.

He noted that the introduction of WTV became necessary in order to avoid the repeat of Edo elections where some political parties complained about manipulating the electioneering process.

Veen said that the election observers would play a significant role that would help to improve the integrity of the process.

The NDI country Director said that the observers’ job would be as citizen observers, hence the need to get it right.

He said that they should not fail to report any hitches to YIAGA.

Veen noted that the 18 LGA observers being trained would be saddled with the responsibility of recruiting the 300 observers across selected polling units in the state.

He also said that the quality of people that would be recruited as observers in the 300 polling units was crucial to the success of the elections.

The statement also said that Mr Samson Todo, Executive Director, YIAGA, acknowledged that the introduction of WTV was to deepen the integrity of election observation thereby impacting on the electoral process.

He said that the WTV relied on statistical principle to deter fraud, assemble data on the conduct of elections to support INEC in deepening the process.

“The sampling of polling unit is embedded in this project through random sampling where an observer is deployed to a unit by sending a Short Message Service (SMS) to the central desk of WTV.

“This is geared toward deepening the integrity of the electoral process bearing in mind the laudable innovation by INEC,” he added. (NAN)
BOL/DCU
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(Edited by Donald Ugwu)

NAN-H-60
Car
By Chinyere Omeire
Lagos, Oct. 20, 2016 (NAN) Four security guards — Japheth Zaphane, Ben Belnuel, Nicholas Richard and John James — who allegedly stole their employer’s car worth N3.9 million, were on Thursday docked at an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

Zaphane, 37; Belnuel, 22; Richard, 21; James, 30 — whose addresses were not given, are standing trial on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.

The Prosecutor, Sgt. Oladejo Balogun, told the court that the accused committed the offences on Oct. 1 at 4:.44 p.m. at Edo House, Plot 1225, Bishop Oluwole St., Victoria Island, Lagos.

He said the accused stole a Toyota car with registration no. EPE 736 AW valued at N3.9 million belonging to Petrolog Company Ltd., Lagos.

Balogun said the accused were employed as security guards at Edo House, and their  duty was to ensure the safety of property in their custody.

The offences contravened Sections 285 (7) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sum of N1 million each with two sureties each in like sum.

The Magistrate Mr B. A. Shonuga, who gave the ruling, said the sureties must be blood relations of the accused and must be gainfully employed.

The case has been adjourned to Nov. 24 for mention. (NAN)
OCC/ENN/DA
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Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu/Dele Akinsola

Businessman to receive 6 lashes for stealing clothes

NAN-H-53
Lashes

By Ugochi Ugochukwu
Abuja, Oct. 20, 2016 (NAN) An FCT Grade 1 Area Court in Karmo, on Thursday ordered that a businessman, Jamilu Ibrahim, be given six strokes of the cane for stealing clothes worth N3, 000.
The judge, Abubakar Sadiq, who gave the order after the convict pleaded guilty on a two-count charge, ordered that the convict should be flogged 6 strokes of cane.

Sadiq said that the punishment would have been severe if he had not pleaded guilty to save the court the pains of a protracted prosecution.

The prosecuting counsel, Mr Dalhatu Zannah, had told the court that one Blessing Okechukwu of Jabi Daki Biyu, Abuja, reported the matter to Life Camp Police Station on Oct.15.

Zannah said that the complainant washed her clothes and spread them in her compound.

He said that the convict criminally trespassed into the compound and stole five pieces of clothes valued at N3, 000.

Zannah added that during police investigation and interrogation, the convict admitted committing the offence.

The prosecuting counsel said that the offences contravened the provisions of Sections 348 and 287 of the Penal Code.(NAN)

UGO/OU/OU

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Edited by Obike Ukoh

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NAN-ELS-2
Lecture
By Vezi Isike
Lagos, Oct. 20, 2015 (NAN) Prof. Mabel Evwierhoma, former Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Abuja, says the development of a society is dependent on the level of empowerment bestowed on women.

Evwierhoma made the assertion at a one-day public lecture and exhibition which at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos on Tuesday.

The event which was organised by the “Association for the Advancement of Women in Culture (AA-WIC), has the theme, “Nigerian Women in Development: A Rethink of the Socio-Political and Cultural Imperatives’’.

She said that in recent times, women had seriously engaged in political activities which should also impact and sustain the culture, norms and values of any society.

“Women’s associations should have internal democracies that will prepare them to participate in electoral politics to engender cultural initiatives.
“It is evident that women play a great role in ensuring democracy within the unwritten codes of local demeanour.

“The welfare of communities have become a priority and directly or indirectly women are duty-bound to help families and governments to achieve what seemed impossible for them,’’ he don said.

She applauded the crucial aspirations of AA-WIC, and urged them to tackle underdevelopment through their activities as a women’s association ensuring empowerment of all.

“I wager that the concern with culture and strengthening of society has propelled AA-WIC to approach this challenge, starting with women, youths and children.

“Women’s empowerment and their participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society in decision-making process, and access to power, are fundamental to achieving equality, development and peace in a nation.’’

Evwierhoma recommended that AA-WIC should push for African sophistication and redirect our young generations of women to the reliability of culture as a means of retooling social organisations.

“Women are germane to cultural administration and the time to build consensus among women in the public service generally and in the culture sector, is now,’’ she said.

NAN reports that AA-WIC was formed on June 30, 2015, as a professional body to bring together women in the field of culture and all its related bodies.

AA-WIC aims to foster relationships among women in the creative industry, helping them to exchange ideas that could lead to the improvement of their art and craft. (NAN)
VOI/NCI/ERO/PDE
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(Edited by Emmanuel Okara/Peter Ejiofor)

NAN-HG-14
Spacing
By Mohammed Lawal
Zaria (Kaduna State), Oct 20, 2016 (NAN) The Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Nigeria (FOMWAN) Kaduna State chapter, on Thursday urged Nigerians to embrace child-spacing to facilitate healthy family.

The Amira (Head) of the group, Hajiya Badiyya Sa’id, made the plea while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Zaria.

Sa’id said Muslims had initially rejected the programme due to the name “family planning, because it sounded somehow”.

“In my own opinion, the name family planning was what made the people, especially Muslims to reject the programme, instead, we should call it child-spacing.

“A woman needs a space between each birth for her to regain strength. Islam is a complete way of life, therefore, it left no area of human life untouched.

“The Qur’an explicitly declared two years as a child-bearing period, within which a mother could nurse her child.

“If mothers will abide by this injunction, then they would have two or more years in between births, in essence they adopt child-spacing,” she said.

The Amira said though Islam encouraged men to marry more than one wife, but this was only if such a man had the ability to take care of all them.

“It is unwise for a man to marry two, three or four wives while he knows that he only has the ability to take care of just one wife.

“It is clear that the only way to produce responsible children that Prophet Mohammed will be proud of, is when you marry and produce according to your resources not producing without proper upbringing,” she said.(NAN)
KLM/ORO/AMY
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Edited by Razak Owolabi and Abdullahi Yusuf