Blog

Court slams N500,000 bail on musician for alleged abduction, defilement of 16-year-old girl

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Defilement

By Deborah Akpede

Lagos, Oct. 19, 2016 (NAN) An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday slammed a N500,000 bail on a 25-year-old musician, Victor Eyo, for allegedly defiling a 16 year-old girl.

The Magistrate, Mr T.A Elias, ordered the accused should to produce two sureties in like sum, and adjourned the case till Nov.24 for mention.

Eyo of Agege Area of Lagos had pleaded not guilty to a two-count charge of abduction and defilement.

The Prosecutor, Sgt. Rapheal Donny, told the court that the accused committed the offences on Oct. 9 at his residence.

Donny said that the accused unlawfully abducted and had carnal knowledge of a 16-year-old girl without her consent.

“The accused unlawfully detained the victim with intent to have sexual intercourse with her,” he said.

He said that the accused abducted the victim for a week and was having carnal knowledge of her.

The prosecutor said that the victim’s parents searched everywhere for their daughter and also reported to the disappearance to the police.

“After a week of the victim’s disappearance, she returned home and said that the accused invited her to his house and refused to release her.

“She said that the accused made love to her on daily basis and also inserting his sex organ into her anus,” he said.

The prosecutor said the offence contravened sections 137 and 141 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011, which on conviction attracts 14 years imprisonment. (NAN)

DOA/MNA/OFN

(Edited by Maureen Atuonwu//Felix Nwadioha

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Defecation
Dutse, Oct. 19, 2016 (NAN) The Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa says United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has classified it top on the list of areas fighting open defecation in the State.
Information Officer in the council, Alhaji Mustafa Namadi, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Dutse on Wednesday.

Namadi said UNICEF’s representative in the area, Malam Bala Adam, announced the status during the 2016 World Hand Washing Day in the area.

According to Namadi, UNICEF is conducting anti open defecation campaign in 277 villages and communities of the council.
He said the organisation conferred the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the council, Malam Adamu Garba, with National Ambassador of Environmental Sanitation.
He stressed that the council also attached seriousness to provision of potable water and environmental sanitation. (NAN)
MNB/ADA/IEA
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Edited by Deji Abdulwahab/Idahosa Asowata

Buhari woos Germany to invest in renewable energy sector

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Investment

By Isaac Aregbesola
Abuja, Oct. 19, 2016 (NAN) The German Government has pledged to increase its investment in Nigeria, especially in renewable energy and other non-oil sector.

The German also pledged to help Nigeria address the challenges of urbanisation.

Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said this on Wednesday in Abuja at a press conference on post President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Germany.

Onyeama said that the investment promise from Germany was the outcome of high level meetings between Buhari and German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his visit.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Buhari embarked on a four-day official visit to Germany on Oct. 13 to discuss issues of shared interests between Nigeria and Germany.

He said that during the visit, the German government pledged to do everything to encourage their businessmen to invest in Nigeria.

According to him, there is discussion on the issue of the challenges of urbanisation and they want to partner with Nigeria to develop best practices and mechanism to make our city more habitable.

He said that Buhari also talked about his initiative to reverse rural urbanisation to make the rural areas more attractive to young people, which he said the Germany government bought into.

Besides, the minister said that Nigeria and Germany agreed on pushing this agenda in the international and multilateral levels.

He said that Germany also pledged to share with Nigeria vocational training skill that could be of help to develop Nigeria’s manufacturing sector.

Onyeama said that the president also gained the support of Germany on diversification of the economy in developing the agricultural sector.

The minister added that Buhari during the meeting invited German investors to come and invest in Nigeria’s renewable energy and other non-oil sector.

He noted that Buhari pointed out to them that Nigeria had acceded to Paris agreement on climate change and we are going to be investing in more cleaner energy sources.

“There is need for technology on renewable energy, so he invited them to come and invest that Nigeria is open to investors in this regard,” he said

He said that during the meeting Germany pledged to assist in the recharging of Lake Chad which he said had reduced by 90 per cent from its original size.

The minister said that cost of recharging the lake was nothing less than 15 billion dollars.

He said that Buhari also received Germany’s support on the issue of cooperation on security, the humanitarian situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and rehabilitation of the North-East.

According to him, Germany is very keen on the provision of assistance to the IDPs.

He said that the president also discussed with his German counterpart the issue of the lingering problem in South South Nigeria and efforts made not to degenerate into military war.

Onyeama said Germany also pledged to assist Nigeria in this regard. (NAN)

IAA/ACO/MST

Edited by Oluleye Abiodun/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

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Weather
By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja, Oct. 19, 2016 (NAN) The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted partly cloudy weather conditions over the central states of the country on Thursday morning.
According to NiMet’s Weather Outlook by its Central Forecast Office (CFO) on Wednesday in Abuja, there are prospects of localised thunderstorms over Jalingo and Yola during the morning hours.
It added that chances of isolated thunderstorms would prevail over Abuja, Jalingo, Lafia, Makurdi and their environs with day time temperatures of 30 to 33 degrees Celsius.
The agency predicted that the southern states would experience cloudy conditions with localized rains over Lagos, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Uyo, Eket and Warri in the morning hours.
It also predicted localised thunderstorms over the region in the afternoon and evening period with day time temperatures of 30 to 32 degrees Celsius.

NiMet predicted that northern states would experience partly cloudy conditions over Sokoto, Gusau and Yelwa with hazy conditions over Katsina, Kano, Dutse and Nguru in the morning.
It added that most of the northern cities were expected to be under sunny with clear sky later in the day with day time temperatures of 34 to 38 degrees Celsius. (NAN)
OYS/AFA
Edited by Felix Ajide
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Bail remains free, says Police

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By Chukwuemeka Opara

Abakaliki, Oct. 19, 2016 (NAN) The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 6, Abubakar Marafa, has re-affirmed that bailing of suspects remain free.

Marafa said this in on Tuesday in Abakaliki when he visited the Ebonyi police command, which is one of the commands under the zone.

“There should not be any form of payment for bail as the Inspector-General of Police has mandated that this instruction should be carried to the latter,” he said.

According to the AIG, the ban on road blocks nationwide is still in place, as no police check point should be seen on the road.

“I have received many cases of loss of firearms and any officer who is careless with this will be punished.

“The concerned case would be reviewed and anyone found guilty will be charged to court and be made to pay for the government property he lost.

“Police personnel should place their rifles on-guard so that it would be well protected and secured.

“The rights of the citizens should also be protected as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

The AIG directed that officers should henceforth not be posted singularly for duties but posted in numbers.

“We should post more men at night duties than women because most women are married and have dependents to cater for during such periods.

“You should use your phones regularly to call patrol teams and higher officials to enable them arrive at crime scenes on time to check such incidences,” he said.

He said that the Federal Government would soon deploy gunboats to secure the riverine area of Afikpo.

“The Inspector General of Police and his management with assistance of Federal Government, will by God’s grace inaugurate the Marine Police College in Bayelsa soon,’’ Marafa said.

Gov. David Umahi commended the police for adopting proactive measures in securing the state, noting that it has restored the confidence of the people in the force.

“We want you to look at the issue of arrests in the state especially from the Police Headquarters in Abuja, necessitated by petitions from individuals.

“The police have an organogram which runs from the state commands to the headquarters, but it is regrettable that when petitions are written about people, no one bothers to substantiate the petition.

“The arrests by the police from the headquarters especially put the lives of people at risk, both those making the arrest and the ones being arrested.

“People can hide under such guise to perpetrate evil, so we plead that the police organogram be strictly followed in the interest of the citizens,” he said.

He also urged the police to ensure that before any case goes to the zone, it should be a situation where the petitioner is not satisfied with the way the Commissioner of Police handled it.

“The same process should then be observed before the case goes to the police headquarters as this would restore confidence in the Force,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the AIG also interacted with officers in the command where they asked questions bordering on their welfare.

NAN reports that the Police zone six comprised Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Cross River. (NAN)

RCO/MST/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

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Building
By Uche Bibilari
Abuja, Oct. 19, 2016 (NAN) The Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), has said that the major challenge being faced in the building industry is the menace of quacks.

Dr Peter Kuroshi, CORBON Registrar said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
“We have a major challenge in the industry, and that challenge is the menace of quacks; quackery is a big problem that we have been trying as hard as we could to address.

“For instance, if someone is a trained professional, not registered and licensed by CORBON but is involved in building production management, we consider such a person as a quack,’’ he said.

He said that quackery had been responsible for many of the substandard buildings recorded so far, adding that quite a number of collapsed buildings were constructed by quacks.
Kuroshi, however, explained that quacks could be involved in the planning or designing of a building.

“But the area where quackery could be more prevalent is at the production stage of a building project,’’ he said.

He called on trained professionals to register and obtain licence to practice freely in the industry, adding that offenders would be penalised.

He said a builder was solely responsible for the production of buildings and must rely on the input from designers such as architects for architectural drawings and specifications, engineers and quantity surveyors for bill of quantities.

The registrar said that builder also relied on inputs from town planners for land use information and analysis.

Kuroshi explained that in addition to the information from other professionals, the builder could also generate his project quality management and safety plan as well as construction programming.

The registrar said further that the content of a builder’s document was based on the input received from the other professionals.

“All of these are what help the builder to put up the building as required by the client because whatever you see professionals doing represent the needs and expectations of the client.’’
He said the council is regulating the practice of building to prevent shortcomings in the industry.

The registrar said the council had plans in place to properly execute its mandate at the starting point through its training stage.

According to him, just like any other regulatory body, CORBON accredits building programmes in the universities and polytechnics with certificates in HND building and BSc in building respectively.

He said no institution was expected to run a training programme without obtaining CORBON’s accreditation.

“We visit institutions and usually there is full and interim accreditation but all institutions aspire to get full accreditation.

“That is the starting point, we ensure that the right standards are established in the training.
“Candidates for CORBON registration and licensing are supposed to have HND or BSc certificate in building as a minimum qualification,’’ he said. (NAN)
UU/MO/AFA
Edited by Morayo Omolade/Felix Ajide
===========================

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EFCC
By Emmanuel Acha
Enugu, Oct. 19, 2016 (NAN) The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that some politicians in Abia were being investigated for N450 million campaign funds.

Addressing newsmen in Enugu on Wednesday, the South East Zonal Head of the commission, Mr Johnson Babalola, said that the investigation was in relation to the 2015 general elections.

Babalola said that the development was a national issue and that everybody involved would be called to answer about the money given to them.

He said that some government officials in Enugu and Ebonyi states had been invited over the campaign fund.

“The 2015 campaign fund of about N450 million is subject to investigation in Abia State.

“In Enugu, the former governor, Mr Sullivan Chime and some serving commissioners have been called as suspects and the case is still under investigation. It is the same thing in Ebonyi State.

“The sum of N450 million was given to Abia State and we are investigating it but cannot mention names now,” he said.

Babalola said that in most cases as in the case of Ebonyi, the monies were paid through the account of the state governors.

He said that invitation to suspects was not an indictment, adding that the commission would follow due process to unravel all circumstances.

He said that the former governor of Abia, Sen. Theodore Orji, was not under investigation by the commission.

“We are not investigating Theodore Orji because I do not have any case file about him on my table.

“There is no petition against him by any member of the public.

“If anyone has any petition against him, the person can forward it for investigation,” he said.

Babalola said that some serving governors in the zone were also under investigation over allegations against them.

He said that no one was precluded from investigation in the country, adding that immunity did not stop investigation.

“Any public official covered by immunity can be investigated but not prosecuted. It is only when you leave office that your prosecution starts, if found culpable,” Babalola said. (NAN)
EOA/MNA/MVO
(Edited by Maureen Atuonwu/Mbadiwe Okwor)

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Migrants

Isaac Aregbesola

Abuja, Oct 19, 2016 (NAN) The European Union has earmarked 50 million euros to provide vocational training and necessary skills for gainful employment to illegal migrants from Nigeria and other African countries.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, who stated this at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, said the gesture was a fall-out from President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to Germany.

Onyeama said Germany had put measures in place to reduce the number of migrants to their country and wants to empower illegal migrants from Sub Sahara Africa before deportation.

The minister said Buhari had asked for collective efforts to check illegal migrants from the sub region.

He said that what the EU was trying to do was to help Nigerian and other illegal migrants to overcome challenges of returning home.

“Very often Nigerians are not ready to return home because of economic reason and stigmatisation as well as inability to find gainful employment in Nigeria,

“So, the EU’s plan is to put large financial resource of about 50 million Euros together to help African countries to address this problem.

“What they are saying is that they are ready to provide vocational training and some kind of level of education.

“The money and training are to make them skilled and employable when they get back”, he said.

He described them as `economic migrants’, and that the president assured the German authority that he was putting necessary measures in place to address the problem.

He said the measures included improving the education level of the country with the employment of over 5000 teachers.

The minister said Buhari also urged the German authority to consider the legal rights of illegal migrants from Nigeria before their deportation.

“As far as deportation is concerned, we made it clear to them that all the legal rights should be exhausted before they are deported from Germany”, he said.

He said the German government pledged to do everything to encourage  their business men to invest in Nigeria.

He said Germany also pledged to share with Nigeria vocational training skills that could be of help to develop Nigeria’s manufacturing sector. (NAN)

IAA/EAL/IEA
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Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi/Idahosa Asowata

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Energy

Abuja, Oct. 19, 2016 (NAN) Mr Denys Gauer, Ambassador of France to Nigeria, said that the French Development Agency dedicated 370 million euros for soft loans to support the development of Nigeria’s power sector .

Gauer announced this at the ^sixth  Nigerian Alternative Energy Expo in Abuja on Wednesday.

The expo, with the theme: “Embracing Sustainable Energy for Sustainable Growth,“ was designed to forge new partnerships on how to develop further the power industry.

He said the French government was committed to supporting Nigeria’s effort to develop renewable energy in the country.

The envoy expressed the belief that an increase in the electricity production was key to the diversification of the country’s economy.

Diversification to other energy mix is the solution to the energy challenges in the country.

“But Nigerians must give priority to renewable energy, either solar, or biomass among others; those are the solutions for the future.“

The financial support is designed to provide soft loans to develop the generation, transmission and distribution value chains of the nation’s electricity.

The French government has also committed finances to develop some renewable energy projects like solar projects in Osun and wind projects in Katsina states.

The envoy said that some French companies were also ready to finance important large solar energy and biomas projects in the Nigeria.

According to him, France has been committed to helping Nigeria and other African countries to develop its power sector.

“We have worked very closely with the Nigeria authorities; we have helped Nigeria participate in several multilateral initiatives on renewable initiatives.”

He said that the African initiatives for renewable energies were designed to increase the share for renewable energies from 28 to 48 per cent in 2017 for the whole ECOWAS region.

There is also an international solar alliance by France and India to mobilise financial needs for solar needs in the agriculture sector.

He said it was important for Nigeria to intensify effort to the develop renewable energy potentials in the country

President Muhammadu Buhari and French President Francois Hollande on May 14, signed a N14 billion loan agreement for capacity-building and upgrade of power training facilities in Nigeria.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during the visit of President Hollande to Abuja for the Second Regional Summit.

The agreement covers a 46.2 million-dollar  subsidised loan granted by France Developmewnt Agency (AFD)  to enhance vocational training in the power sector and a 100 million dollars subsidised line of credit granted by AFD to Zenith Bank, dedicated to the financing of investments of electricity distribution companies

(NAN)

KC/GOM/IA
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Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam/Idris Abdulrahman

Edo election: PDP challenges Obaseki’s election at Tribunal

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Tribunal

By Monday Ajogun

Benin, Oct. 19, 2016 (NAN) The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo on Wednesday submitted its petition challenging the outcome of the Sept. 28, governorship poll to the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

The Edo PDP Chairman, Mr Dan Orbih, who led the party`s candidate and other stakeholders to filed the petition, said it was filed within the stipulated time.

Orbih said that the party had a good case and was waiting for the tribunal to announce PDP as the winner of the election at the end of the day.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (ACP), Mr Godwin Obaseki, winner of the election.

Mr Osagie Ize-iyamu, the candidate of the PDP in the election, had called on his supporters to remain law abiding despite what he termed injustice.

“During the campaign, our people kept asking us if we were ready to defend the votes they are going to give us and we assured them and they voted for us.

“And I will not let them down, with God on our side we have a good case and we must come out victorious.

“I thank Edo people for their calmness starting from day one till date, let’s give tribunal a chance to do its work, as we look forward to be declared the winner of the election”. (NAN)

AJOM/EEM/OFN

Edited by Emmanuel Mogbede//Felix Nwadioha