The Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC), Kaduna state command has confirmed the dead of 12 persons who were involved in a car accident that caught fire on Sunday at Kajuru junction, along Kachia road in Kaduna – northwest Nigeria.
FRSC’s Head of Operations in the State, Salisu Umar Galadanci, told newsmen on Monday that two vehicles while trying to dodge a motorcyclist collided and caught fire with 18 persons inside; five persons were seriously injured, he said.
According to him, “While, the first vehicle in front which was on speed tried avoiding the Okada but instead ran into a ditch by the road side and the other vehicle following rammed into the bus in front and the vehicles caught fire.
“12 people were burnt to death, while 5 persons were seriously injured. Among the deceased were 2 male, 10 female.”
He however added that, the remains of the deceased and those who sustained injuries have been taken to St. Gerald hospital.
Suspected Al Shabaab militants on Monday night attacked a village in Mandera and killed a chief before abducting two police reservists.
The incident occurred at Omar Jillo in Lafey sub-County in the volatile border town which has faced similar attacks in the past – all blamed on the Somalia terror group, Capital news reported.
Police stated that more security personnel have been dispatched to the area following the attack.
They said that the gang escaped towards the Somalia border which is about seven kilometers away.
Omar Jillo is among towns in the area under a dusk-to-dawn curfew over insecurity linked to Al Shabaab terrorists.
The other towns are Mandera Town, Arabia, Fino, Lafey Kotulo and Elwak.
On Thursday last week, two quarry workers were killed in Elwak, Mandera following a suspected Al Shabaab attack.
Bodies of the two, said to be non-locals, were found the following morning after the attack.
Similar attacks have occurred before, with up to 30 people killed in separate incidents.
The Executive Director of Voice of Northern Christian Movement of Nigeria, VNCMN, Pastor Kallamu Musa Dikwa has condemned the position taken by some Christians bodies in defending and absolving the suspended Secretary to the Government of Federation, Babachir David Lawal from corruption charges.
In a statement to Journalists in Kaduna, Pastor Dikwa and the General Secretary of the Movement, Rev. Jesse Samuel expressed unflinching support for Nigeria’s fight against corruption.
The VNCMN leader opines that based on handy facts, the suspended SGF had committed the crime leveled against him, stressing that, “He should face the legal consequences.
“He should not be allowed to use religion as a cover up. I will like to say that l am one of those he had called to fight on his behalf but after l stumbled on the biased document about his accusations, l decided to go for more verification to authenticate the content of the document and unfortunately the evidences implicated him.
“Babachir was just using our vulnerable religious difference and even paying people who were irresponsible to defend him in the electronic and print media.
“I will like to say that any Christian group that has come out in the public media and challenged the accusations against the suspended SGF, may not be truly representing the interest of all Christians in the country. As Christians, we believe anybody that committed such crime needs to be punished, whether Christian or Muslim or Traditional worshippers. This is because the fight against corruption is a collective responsibility.
“We are also asking President Buhari and his APC government to continue exposing and recover the billions of naira given to traditional rulers and religious leaders during the election of 2015 through former NSA, Sambo Dasuki gate. The President committee on Dasukigate published in national dailies that traditional rulers, former Presidents and religious leaders are beneficiaries, so Nigerians need to see that justice is done to everyone in the country indiscriminately.”
Former Minister of Environment, Laurentai Mallam, Monday in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria, absolved governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State in the contentious destruction of her property in Kaduna last Friday.
The destruction of the property almost caused civil unrest in Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna city. The property is located on Post Office Road, Sabon Tasha, Kaduna.
Instead, the Minister praised the Governor for revoking the Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) from one Ravinia Industrial Supplies Limited and rightfully allocating it to her.
A statement issued by the former Minister in Kaduna and made available to newsmen, blamed the company of carrying out the destruction, saying she had written a petition to the governor over the matter.
The Minister also said that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, was not after her ,as she was not involved in any financial scam.
Part of the statement reads, “It is no longer news that there was tension in Kaduna on Friday, 12/05/2017. This was as a result of a thoughtless and deliberate attack resulting in some physical damage of Green Apples Guest House located at Post Office Road, Sabon Tasha, Kaduna.
“The attack was organized and led by one Barr. Biola Oyebanji who led a detachment of Nigeria Policemen and five (5) bus loads of thugs said to have been recruited from Tudun Wada and Rigasa to execute his evil plan.
“The organized attack/destruction of the Green Apples Guest House by Barr. Biola Oyebanji is on the pretext of executing a court judgment ceding the plot, on which the Guest House is built, to his client , Ravinia Industrial Supplies Limited.
“The Green Apples Guest House belongs to my family and is covered by a genuine Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Kaduna State Government.
“As a result of these organized attacks, the media, especially the Social Media, has been abashed with stories that the EFCC is after me as a former Minister of Environment for financial crimes.
“Worst of all, this last attack of Friday 12/05/2017 is being linked to His Excellency, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, who is said to have authorized the attack and destruction.
“I wish to state very clearly here that His Excellency, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai , and the EFCC have nothing to do with what happened . Rather, His Excellency has since revoked the Certificate of Occupancy purportedly belonging to Biola Oyebanji’s client, Ravinia Industrial Supplies Limited, after satisfactorily establishing that it was fraudulently acquired.
“We are presently waiting for the quick action of the appropriate Government Ministry and Agencies to execute the revocation of the purported Certificate of Occupancy of Ravinia Industrial Supplies Limited by His Excellency, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to enable this matter to be finally put to rest.
“The timing and manner of the attack on Green Apples Guest House last Friday 12/05/2017 amounted to a deliberate sabotage of the efforts of His Excellency to promote peace in Kaduna State.
“Can one imagine the security implication of bringing a bus load of hoodlums and thugs from Tudun Wada and Rigasa to cause damage in Sabon Tasha/Narayi axis of Kaduna City? We need peacemakers not saboteurs in Kaduna State Nigeria in this volatile time.
“I wish to personally thank the youths of Sabon Tasha and Narayi for listening to me and other people of goodwill by seeing reason and controlling their tempers and emotions. As a result of which the situation did not get out of hand thereby resulting to violent riots.
“Despite this, the atmosphere in Kaduna City was already fully charged and the people had already started running helter-skelter. It was only the Almighty God who averted the bloodshed in Kaduna on that day.
“Meanwhile, I have instructed my Lawyers to write a detailed petition to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kaduna State to use his good office to investigate this matter and bring all the culprits to account for these criminal and illegal actions.”
Kaduna State High Court 9 in northern Nigeria, presided by Hon. Justice Esther Lolo, Monday fined Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai of the state N50,000 to be paid to Barrister Gloria Mabeiam Ballason in suit nos KDH/KAD/164/17 between her and the Governor.
The court also restrained the Governor from arresting, prosecuting and jailing the lawyer for expressing her published opinion in a Nigerian newspaper.
The case which was first mentioned on 1st March, 2017 was filed by the Applicant’s Lagos- based lawyers, Messrs Matthew Burkaa & Co.
Ballason had an array of prominent lawyers numbering 36. They include Human Rights Lawyer, Festus Okoye Esq, the Chairman Nigeria Bar Association, (NBA), Kaduna Branch, Ndasule Sherrif Esq, B.L. Aliyu Esq, Reuben James Esq (Former 3rd National Vice President of the NBA), Mark Jacob (Former Attorney General of Kaduna State), Timothy Kambai Esq, Mike Nwakanma Esq, Sule Shuaibu Esq, James Kanyip Esq, M.T. Mohammed Esq , Bavo Nyan Esq et al.
According to her lawyers, Mr. El-Rufai, had threatened to arrest and prosecute Gloria for her civic activities, including an opinion article she wrote on November 28th, 2016 in her column in the Blueprint Newspaper.
The threat, the court was told, was issued on 17th January, 2017 by the Governor at the Kaduna State Government House when the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, A.B. Mahmud SAN and his team, including the Applicant, paid an official visit to the Governor.
In her ruling, Justice Lolo found that contrary to the Governor’s denial, that indeed a threat had been issued, “which would put any reasonable person who understands the authority of a Governor in fear.”
The Court found that there was a likelihood of a breach of Right to life under section 33 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. She also affirmed that there has been an infringement of the dignity of the Applicant, under section 34 of the 1999 constitution.
She also ruled that there was a breach to the right of freedom of expression of the applicant and the Press under section 39 of the 199 constitution. The Court found that the article was also not injurious and ordered the Governor not to arrest the Applicant on the basis of same.
The Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Leadership Newspaper, Sam Nda-Isaiah, has stressed the need for the adoption of Pidgin English otherwise known as broken English as one of Nigeria’s indigenous language, saying, the country has over 30 Million native speakers and approximately 100 million in West Africa.
Nda-Isaiah made this known on Monday while speaking as a keynote speaker during the 2017 annual round table on Cultural orientation organized by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in Kaduna – northwest Nigeria. The theme for the event was; “Indigenous Language Newspapers and National Development”.
According to him, members of each of the nearly 400 ethnic groups in Nigeria can converse in Pidgin English, even though each group has its own slight addition and modification.
He said, “we must take advantage of this God-given language, codify it and deploy it immediately as a medium for the unification of our people. Language is the strongest unifying force among disparate peoples.
“Just like the whites successfully did with Afrikaans in South Africa, we too could codify our own pidgin English. There is already a Pidgin English Bible designed to reach approximately 100 million Pidgin English speakers in West Africa. We much now begin to have Pidgin English newspapers.”
While lamenting the state of indigenous language newspaper, having had very low shelf due to publisher’s interest of political advancement, he however stressed that Indigenous language newspapers, like any other newspaper must be run as a business if they must be sustained.
“Vernacular newspapers do not do well because of limited circulation and the lack of advertisements to sustain them. There are still no daily vernacular newspapers. But the sway of these publications should not be underestimated. They are the most consequential publication among the masses of our people. And that makes them very key to any strategy at national development as well as dangerous tool in the hands of troublemakers,” he noted.
Kaduna State Commissioner for Health and Human Services in Northern Nigeria, Dr. Paul Manya Dogo, says his state government has taken deliberate steps to build resilient and sustainable systems that will ensure improvement in the health care in the state.
He explained that prior to the coming of the present administration in the state, the health system was weak, hence the need for huge investment in revitalising the Primary Healthcare (PHC) system.
Dr. Dogo noted that because of its importance and closeness to the people, the state government made it a priority by making the policy to be the first executive bill passed into law at the inception of the administration.
Dr. Dogo, who stated this at the 2017 first quarter “Open Kaduna State Ministry of Health Budget Scorecard” #OPENKDSMOH, added that the law was aimed at bringing PHC Under One Roof.
According to him, “The state went into partnership with development partners towards strengthening the PHC system along various thematic areas such as governance and leadership, human resources for health, supply chain management, health information management system, referral system, among others.
“We have developed the minimum service package and the service delivery plan for PHC for approval by the governor.
”Government is investing resources towards strengthening routine immunisation, we have 996 functional operational PHC facilities that are providing routine immunisation and outreach services.
“255 PHCs are undergoing expansion and renovation, all contracts agreement signed by both contractors and the client.
“254 contracts agreement have been collected by the contractors, 245 contractors were so far taken to site but only 150 contractors are working on site.”
The Commissioner also added that some PHC have been completed and handed over to the client, while others are at various levels of completion.
The event was jointly organised by the Kaduna State Community Health Research Initiative (CHR) Initiative, Kaduna State Chapters of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Accountability Mechanism for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria.
TERTIARY Education Trust Fund, TETFund, has released about N1 trillion intervention fund to public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for project development and content-based intervention in the last five years, Executive Secretary, Dr. Abdullahi Baffa, has said.
Baffa, who disclosed this to journalists in Abuja, also said the agency had made it compulsory for benefiting institutions to defend their project proposal before funds would be released to them to ensure effective utilisation.
He noted that TETFund embarked on Access Clinic/Project defence proposal which lasted two months for the beneficiary institutions.
According to him, the beneficiary institutions that made presentations at the Access Clinic/Project Proposal defence, based on the 2016 allocation, were 181 in number, including 74 universities, 50 polytechnics and 57 colleges of education. He explained that the main aim of the clinic was to discuss, diagnose and remedy all encumbrances so as to enable the institutions fulfill the requirements to access funds.
Baffa also noted that there were some impediments affecting access to the intervention funds, adding that about 98 percent of the benefiting institutions did not understand the utilization of the intervention and, therefore, could not access it.
He said: “There seems to be a general lack of information by the beneficiary institutions on how to effectively draw down this intervention. In some instances, the quality of manuscripts were of serious concern. “It was also observed that some beneficiary institutions allocated funds for inadmissible items such as secretariat services, peer review costs, etc.
“Many beneficiary institutions did not know how to move forward with this line of intervention as they often waited for academic staff to come up with proposals.
“Suggestions for the sensitization of staff on the existence of this line of intervention and commissioning of book projects by the institution were made by the panel to the institutions.
“About 98% of the benefiting institutions did not understand the utilization of this intervention and therefore could not access it. The objective of the intervention is to showcase the fruits of TETFund’s investments in the institutions for both tangible and intangible projects.
“The Panel recommended that the institutions should use the intervention to produce a compendium of all TETFund projects in glossy, well-packaged print for circulation to the stakeholders and to the Fund.
“After receipt of first tranche of money from the Fund, some beneficiaries unduly delay payment to contractors. Also some contractors refuse to mobilize to site after receiving mobilization fees.
“A greater part of the project cycle is spent on the Beneficiary pursuing the contractors to mobilize to site. In some cases, the contractors delay execution of the projects on the ground of price changes due to foreign exchange fluctuations despite signing fixed contracts with their clients.
“The institutions were advised by the Panel to engage reputable contractors for their projects and where necessary involve Law Enforcement Agencies to recover sums paid to contractors for which services were not provided and also forward the names of such contractors to TETFund for blacklisting. On the part of the Fund, it would intensify regular monitoring of the projects and conduct snap visits periodically to ensure compliance.”
The Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC), Kaduna state command has confirmed the dead of 12 persons who were involved in a car accident that caught fire on Sunday at Kajuru junction, along Kachia road in Kaduna – northwest Nigeria.
