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December 12, 2024
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You Will Not Have Breathing Space This December – Wike Vows To Deal With Criminals

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said plans are underway to deal with criminals in the nation’s capital. Naija News reports that Wike issued the…

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December 12, 2024
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Zamfara Hisbah Commission conducts mass wedding for 100 couples

Zamfara State Hisbah Commission, on Wednesday, conducted a mass wedding ceremony for 100 couples in the State. The State Governor, Dauda Lawal stood as the guardian of the grooms, while the Emir of Zamfara, Alhaji Attahiru Ahmad, took the role of the father and guardian of the brides. Before the wedding prayers commenced, Governor Lawal
Zamfara Hisbah Commission conducts mass wedding for 100 couples

Zamfara State Hisbah Commission, on Wednesday, conducted a mass wedding ceremony for 100 couples in the State.

The State Governor, Dauda Lawal stood as the guardian of the grooms, while the Emir of Zamfara, Alhaji Attahiru Ahmad, took the role of the father and guardian of the brides.

Before the wedding prayers commenced, Governor Lawal sought permission from the Emir of Zamfara, adhering to Islamic law.

The Governor said that the weddings marked many more initiatives under his administration to ensure that everyone felt comfortable and supported.

Governor Lawal paid the dowry of N100,000 for each bride, along with additional N50,000 for other wedding expenses, while the State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Jamilu Jibo contributed the sum of N20,000 to each bride.

During his remarks, the Commander of the Hisbah Commission emphasized the importance of marital harmony.

He also mentioned that a series of medical tests were conducted before the wedding to ensure that everyone was free from any disease.

The State Hisbah boss warned the newly wedded couples that no husband should make decisions that could harm the marriage without consulting the Hisbah Commission.

He outlined a clear process for resolving marital issues, starting from the district head to the emirate level before reaching the Hisbah headquarters.

“This structured approach aims at reducing the incidence of divorce and promoting stable marriages”, he added.

The ceremony was graced by esteemed dignitaries, including the Emirs of Anka, Gusau, and Dansadau, as well as top government officials such as Abubakar Na Kwada, the Secretary to the State Government, SSG and Muktar Lugga, the Chief of Staff, Government House.

The State government also provided household materials, including beds, wardrobes, and kitchenware.

Zamfara Hisbah Commission conducts mass wedding for 100 couples

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December 12, 2024
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Mass failure: Abia govt to conduct supplementary exams for workers

Civil servants who failed in the 2022 promotion examinations in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Abia State civil/public service have been offered the chance to retake the examinations. This is coming a week after some news reports had alleged that the exams held in August recorded mass failure among many candidates. Also, eligible civil
Mass failure: Abia govt to conduct supplementary exams for workers

Civil servants who failed in the 2022 promotion examinations in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Abia State civil/public service have been offered the chance to retake the examinations.

This is coming a week after some news reports had alleged that the exams held in August recorded mass failure among many candidates.

Also, eligible civil servants who did not participate in the initial 2022/2023 promotions exam due to exigencies of duty have also been directed to take part in the fresh exams.

This development was made known in a press release signed by Ngozi Queen Obioma, the Head of Service (HoS) Abia State.

The HoS said that the rescheduled examination will be held on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at Kanu Nwankwo Indoor Sports hall of Umuahia township stadium by 9 am.

She said, “Please note that the eligible civil/public servants who did not sit for the 2022/2023, written examination are to proceed to the Bureau of Establishments and Pensions for registration before or by the close of work on Friday, December 13, 2024, while those resitting are to use their last registration number.”

Mass failure: Abia govt to conduct supplementary exams for workers

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December 12, 2024
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Students, professionals lament as ChatGPT experiences downtime

OpenAI’s popular Artificial Intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, experienced a major outage early Thursday. Users who tried to access the platform were greeted with an error message: “ChatGPT is currently unavailable. Status: Identified – We have identified the issue and are working to roll out a fix.” The outage, which lasted over three hours, led to widespread
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December 12, 2024
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Abia to equip 1,500 youths with digital skills

The Abia State Government has launched a digital skills training programme for youths in Isialangwa North and Isialangwa South Local Government Areas of the state. Speaking on Wednesday at Mbato Secondary School, Eziama Nvosi, in Isialangwa South, where the CBT centre for the training is located, the Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Nwaobilor Ananaba,
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December 12, 2024
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Dahomey wins Africa narrative change film award

Narrative change organisation Africa No Filter and Cairo International Film Festival have awarded a new prize, the Africa Narrative Change Film Award, to Dahomey, a documentary that follows 26 royal treasures of the Kingdom of Dahomey as they leave Paris to return to their country of origin in the present-day Republic of Benin. The award,
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December 12, 2024
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AMCE, SAP partner to deepen healthcare infrastructure

The African Medical Centre of Excellence announced a strategic partnership with SAP and Converge Solutions to implement a cutting-edge hospital information system. This initiative, announced in a Friday statement, aims to transform healthcare delivery in West Africa through advanced digital solutions. The CEO of AMCE, Brian Deaver, stated, “This partnership marks a significant milestone in
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December 12, 2024
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Yuletide: Nigerians jittery over incessant kidnappings on highways

As the year 2024 gradually draws to an end and Nigerians embark on end of year holiday plans, there are concerns about incessant kidnappings on the highways across the country. The situation is worsened by the astronomical increase in the price of flight tickets, making that option a no-go-area for the average Nigerian. Voicing his
Yuletide: Nigerians jittery over incessant kidnappings on highways

As the year 2024 gradually draws to an end and Nigerians embark on end of year holiday plans, there are concerns about incessant kidnappings on the highways across the country.

The situation is worsened by the astronomical increase in the price of flight tickets, making that option a no-go-area for the average Nigerian.

Voicing his concern about the development, the Director General, African Writers’ Centre, Lagos, Amah. A. Amah called on the Federal Government to take urgent and decisive action to stem the tide of incessant kidnapping on the highways.

This, he said, the government could achieve by establishing a Forest Guard.

He was particular about kidnapping along the North-South corridor, where several incidents of kidnapping have happened this year.

He lamented that travel from the South to Northern Nigeria corridor has become so precarious that most passengers say their last prayers before embarking on such trips, as there is hardly a week without incidents of kidnapping on this highway.

He chronicled such ugly incidents within the year, thus: “The most recent victims were the passengers on a popular transport company; God is Good Motors (GIGM), travelling along this very important and commercially viable corridor.

“According to reports, all the 14 passengers travelling on the bus from Port Harcourt to Abuja were abducted when gunmen attacked the vehicle around Obajana, just after the Dangote Refinery at Obajana heading to Lokoja in Kogi State on Saturday, November 30, 2024.

“The unknown gunmen reportedly kidnapped the passengers on the bus. It was only the driver that escaped. Available information as at the time of filing this report was that the kidnappers had demanded N100 million as ransom to secure the release of each of the passengers.

“On Saturday, February 3, this year, 12 passengers of GIGM and two of the ABC Transport were kidnapped in Kogi on the same highway. The passengers were en-route Abuja from Abia State and were attacked by the armed men along the Kogi State Expressway.

“Much as the 14 abducted passengers later regained freedom after about five days, they suffered untold hardship, as well as deep emotional and psychological trauma. It wasn’t clear if the ransom of N15 million, which the kidnappers demanded on each of the passengers to secure their release, was paid or not.”

“Also, sometime in early August this year, the Anambra State Commissioner for Youths Development, Patrick Agha Mba and his wife were kidnapped on their way to Abuja to attend the wedding of the daughter of Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, in Abuja. Mba and his wife, who later regained freedom were said to have been kidnapped in Kogi State as well.

“Around mid-August this year also, gunmen kidnapped about 20 medical students from the University of Maiduguri and the University of Jos along the Otukpo, Benue – Enugu Road in Benue State. The medical students, who were abducted while travelling to attend the Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (FCMDS) Annual Convention in Enugu were released after about 10 days.

“On Friday, October 11, 2024, GIGM suffered the same fate when 13 of its passengers were again kidnapped on a journey along Abuja – Port Harcourt route. The passengers were travelling from GIGM Utako Terminal in Abuja to Port Harcourt, Rivers State. According to reports, including the bus driver’s account, all the passengers, except a nursing mother whose baby was crying incessantly, were kidnapped,” he told DAILY POST.

He lamented that there were also so many unreported cases, including loss of lives on these highways and other corridors in Nigeria, stressing that the ugly trend is not specific to the North – South corridor, since it also happens on most of the highways in Nigeria, where vehicles have to traverse large expanses of forested areas that are unmanned and unguarded.

He, therefore, wondered how long the Federal Government would wait before establishing the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) for dedicated manning of the forested areas, to smoke out the criminals and ensure security and safety of Nigerians, especially travelers.

He expressed confidence that with the government’s backing for the NFSS through an enabling Act of the National Assembly; the unmanned forests would no longer be a no-man’s land, as they would be under 24 hours’ surveillance and dedicated guard by security officers and men of the NFSS.

“The NFSS had earlier indicated that it has a strategic plan to, not just maintain full presence and guard in all forests, but also ensure a clear view of all highways in the forested areas by clearing 10 metres on both sides of the expressway to discourage any sudden attack or ambush of motorists.

“The mood of Nigerians is that the Federal Government should expedite action on the NFSS Bill on the floor of the National Assembly as a panacea to save Nigerians from terrorism, kidnapping, banditry and all forms of crimes that ungoverned and unmanned forests have cocooned in Nigeria.

“Among many other regrettable consequences, some of the negative impacts of these incidents that have become rampant are that there are many unaccounted loss of lives, Nigeria’s international image is being battered daily as a very unsafe country for business and investment.

“The unfortunate situation gives a strange impression to citizens and the international community that the Federal Government cannot protect lives and properties in the country.

“There is health related stress, as well as deep emotional and psychological trauma to the victims and their families, huge revenues are lost through payments of ransom, the road transport business is being threatened and the corporate image of affected companies are being smeared,” he stated.

Similarly, a university don, Professor Ugwu Anthony of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Anambra State, believes that apart from establishing forest guards, it is also very important to install CCTV cameras along the highways and at various security checkpoints, particularly in the South Eastern parts of the country, where he alleged that security agents fleece the innocent travelers.

“A journey from Onitsha to Nnewi by bus will expose the horrible practice of extortion as policemen and agents of soldiers are seen collecting money from drivers.

“This is a negative trend that should not be allowed to continue. And that is what obtains along other major highways in the entire South East.

“Recall that the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, in a recent reaction to the allegations by drivers that police extort money from them, thereby leading to an increase in the cost of transportation and cost of food, urged the drivers’ union to work with the police to stop this trend.

“In the same vein, I want to call on the Inspector General of Police, IGP, the Chief of Defence Staff and Minister of Interior to mount CCTV cameras at every checkpoint in Nigeria, particularly those along the highways in the South East.

“The National Assembly should make a law that would criminalise activities in any checkpoint without a CCTV camera.

“This will offer a two-pronged approach to fighting criminalities on our highways. One, it will stop the security agents from extorting innocent travelers and transporters, thereby reducing the cost of transport and the cost of essential food being transported from the North to the South almost on a daily basis.

“Secondly, it would help to monitor the criminal activities of bandits and kidnappers on the highways. When they know that cameras are out there to pick them up and track their movement, they would have to think twice before embarking on such criminal activities.

“Thirdly, it would equally take care of the allegation of complicity by some security personnel. The allegation that some security personnel connive with these criminals to carry out their nefarious activities would either be proven or debunked once and for all.

“So, the government should act decisively as we approach the Christmas season when many people would be travelling to their homeland.

“We don’t want to hear about this continued abduction or extortion of innocent travelers,” he told DAILY POST.

Yuletide: Nigerians jittery over incessant kidnappings on highways

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December 12, 2024
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Assault: Chamber of commerce hails Soludo, seeks immediate release of fund

Members of the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, have commended the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, for undertaking to foot the medical expenses of a former President of the association, Okey Akaneme, who was allegedly brutalised by officials of the Anambra State Waste Management Agency and police officers. According to the
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December 12, 2024
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CSOs decry rape, kidnap of women in Kogi

Civil society organisations in Kogi State and other key stakeholders have lamented the spate of attacks, rape and kidnapping of women in the state. They said this in commemoration of the 16 days of activism to end Gender Based Violence, The groups during a peaceful rally in Lokoja to register their grievances said the high
CSOs decry rape, kidnap of women in Kogi

Civil society organisations in Kogi State and other key stakeholders have lamented the spate of attacks, rape and kidnapping of women in the state.

They said this in commemoration of the 16 days of activism to end Gender Based Violence,

The groups during a peaceful rally in Lokoja to register their grievances said the high rate of gender based violence against women with disabilities remained high.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the Executive Director, Challenged Parenthood Initiative, (CPI) Eunice Abimbola Agbogun urged the Kogi State Government to create an enabling environment by establishing a sexual assault reference center for survivors of Gender Based Violence.

Her words, “There have been a series of attacks especially on women at various levels.

“We have been having series of reports of wife battering, cases of rape and kidnapping of women in the State.

“Recently, there seems to have been a kind of concentrated kidnapping in Kogi State and that is Gender Based Violence.

“We want the citizens of Kogi State, whether men or women, to be secured.

“Recently, we have had high reports of teenage pregnancy and that is as a result of rape. We want the Commissioner of Police to be aware of this.”

Also speaking, the Kogi State Coordinator, National Human Rights Commission, (NHRC) Barr. Nuhu Musa called on all stakeholders to unite against Gender Based Violence.

“Every form of Gender Based Violence in Kogi State must be stopped. All the stakeholders must join forces to eradicate this menace in our society.

“This campaign must be taken to the grassroots. The culture of family intervention on GBV cases must also be stopped,” he added.

He frowned at the under-reporting of GBV cases in the State, stressing that the culture of keeping silence must come to an end.

On her part, the President, Concerned Youths and Teens forum of Nigeria, (CONYOUTH) Barr. Joy Oluwaseun Akinola asserted that the absence of shelter had led to the increase of GBV cases in Kogi State.

According to her, “when issues of GBV are reported and there is no place to rescue the victim to, that is a major problem.

“People don’t come out to talk because they know that if they say something, they won’t have a place to put their head.

“Sometimes, perpetrators are within their family, intimate partners and benefactors to them.”

CSOs decry rape, kidnap of women in Kogi