Author: Mariam Usman Lawal

Two persons have died after drinking a herbal concoction during a festival in Isua-Akoko, Akoko South East Local Government Area of Ondo State. The man who prepared the concoction, Alex Ojulewa, and a middle-aged man who arrived from Abuja for the festival, Samuel Alonge, were said to have started vomiting and died on their way to the hospital after drinking the concoction on Saturday. The third person who drank the concoction is currently receiving treatment in the hospital. The Ondo State Police Command confirmed the incident on Tuesday. Speaking via the telephone, the Public Relations Officer of Ondo State…

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has digitalised the recruitment process for both internal and external examination supervisors, and assistant supervisors for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). According to the council, digitisation is to check sharp practices in the recruitment process, and to enhance efficiency and effective service delivery. A statement made available to newsmen in Minna by the Acting Director of Information and Digital Communication, Azeez Sani, added that the process which involved migration from the manual recruitment of supervisors and assistant supervisors to the online system, would ensure that supervisor’s…

Worried by controversy surrounding the claims and counter claims of outstanding payment of street sweepers allowance, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has directed immediate settlement of the casual workers. This was contained in a statement issued by the Governor’s Spokesperson Mr. Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa and made available to journalists in Kano. Subsequently, Governor Yusuf directed the Ministry of Environment and Refuse Management and Sanitation Board (REMASAB) to ensure clearance of all outstanding allowances of the sweepers inherited from the previous administration. Besides, the Governor dispelled the rumors insinuating government plan to sack the street sweepers inherited from the previous…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has distanced itself from a list containing names of former governors said to be under investigation for alleged corruption. A statement signed by Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Dele Oyewale, on Sunday, said the list did not emanate from the anti-graft commission. The statement obtained by PlatinumPost in Abuja, reads : “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, feels obliged to dissociate itself from a phantom report circulating in sections of the media claiming it has released a full list of ex- governors being investigated for alleged corruption. The report…

The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), in the last election in Delta State, Olorogun Barr Kenneth Omemavwa Gbagi, FNIM OON, is dead. Gbagi, a former minister of Education and an industrialist died at the age of 62. The Renowned Criminologist and senior lawyer died on Saturday, May 4th 202 A statement signed by his eldest son, Chief Emuoboh Gbagi on behalf of the Gbagi family, said: “It is with profound sadness but gratitude to God, that we announce the passing of our beloved father, grandfather, husband, and brother, Olorogun (Barr.) Kenneth Omemavwa Gbagi, FNIM, OON; Former…

Former First City Monument Bank Manager, Nwachukwu Placidus, has been handed a staggering 121-year prison sentence by Justice S. N. Odili of the Anambra State High Court in Onitsha. This ruling comes after Placidus was found guilty of embezzling N112,100,000 from a customer’s fixed deposit account for personal gain. Placidus faced a litany of charges including forgery, stealing, obtaining by false pretense, and uttering, as brought forth by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Enugu Zonal Command. Despite pleading not guilty to the 16-count charges back in March 2018, the evidence presented during the trial left little room…

The Federal Government has announced plans to root out individuals holding fake certificates within both public and private organizations. The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamma, made this disclosure on Friday upon receiving the findings of an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee only Degree Certificate Fraud from the committee’s chairman, Prof. Jubrila Amin. Expressing dismay at the revelations unearthed during the investigation, Mamman emphasized the ministry’s commitment to collaborating with relevant agencies in purging the education sector of fraudulent practices. “We cannot allow the reputation of our education system to be tarnished by the actions of a few individuals. “There may…

A 19-year-old kidnapper identified as Mohammed Abdullahi in Gujba local government area of Yobe State, has kidnapped an 11-year son of a neighbour, demanded ₦600,000 in ransom, killed the victim with a substance drug, and later buried him. The Commissioner of Police in Yobe state, CP Ahmed Garba, paraded the suspect and 17 others at the Police Command headquarters in Damaturu and expressed concern over the reemerging criminal activities in the state. “Mohammed Abdullahi, a 19-year-old suspect from Buniyadi, abducted the son of their neighbour’s 11-year-old and later demanded a ransom of 600,000 naira. When the parents of the…

The return of the Senate to plenary on Tuesday was marked by a tumultuous scene as senators jostled for their seats in a heated confrontation. At around 11 a.m., as the plenary commenced and Senate President Godswill Akpabio initiated proceedings with announcements, tensions quickly escalated. Akpabio began by acknowledging lawmakers who had celebrated birthdays during the break, but the atmosphere turned tense when Senator Sahabi Yau (APC, Zamfara North) engaged in a heated exchange with Senate leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), with pointed fingers and raised voices. The situation intensified as Senator Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central) joined…

Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation Professor Joseph Utsav has said federal government will not hesitate to sanction manufacturers of substandard products of water supply and irrigation in the country. Professor Utsav issued the threat on Tuesday in Kano during an inspection visit to the Panar Limited, producers of pipes and other fittings used in water supply, irrigation and consumption across the country. He disclosed the government cannot condone any act of economic sabotage in the area of production of gadgets that are not of standard saying “we will sanction any company that will bring substandard products into the…

Tragedy struck Maladah Senior Secondary School in Kunkujang Jatta-ya, West Coast Region, Gambia, as a grade 10 student reportedly took her own life last night following an unexpected pregnancy. Mamy Jassey, the student in question, allegedly ingested a toxic substance around 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 28, 2024. She was rushed to a nearby private facility near Lamin Lodge, where she was declared deceased by a nurse. In a startling turn of events, as preparations for her burial were underway, a vigilant lab technician from her neighborhood observed signs of life in Mamy. With swift action from the technician…

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has just released the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Specifically, the examination body released the results of 1,842,464 candidates out of 1.98 million registered for the exercise. JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, stated this at a press conference on Monday in Abuja. According to him, 64,624 results are under investigation for reasons of verification (2,896), procedural investigation of candidates (4,594), Centre Based Investigation (57,056) in 18 Centres as well as alleged examination misconduct (78). He stated that 0.5percent scored 300 and above, adding that candidates can start checking their results from…

The Senate has commenced an investigative hearing on the increase in the electricity tariff in 11 states in Nigeria. At the ongoing meeting at the Senate wing National Assembly on Monday, the Red Chamber also stated that it would punish anyone or agency it found culpable of adding to the burden and sufferings of Nigerians. Last week, the Senate through its committee on Power had invited the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and the heads of agencies under the ministry to an investigative hearing on the new electricity tariffs. The committee chairman, Senator Eyinnaya Ababribe had said that the…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited over the “failure to account for and explain the whereabouts of the alleged missing USD$2.04 billion and N164 billion oil revenues.” According to SERAP, the suit followed the allegations documented in the recently published 2020 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation that the NNPC failed to remit the money into the Federation Account, saying that the money may have been diverted. The Deputy Director of SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare, disclosed this in a statement which was made available…

Kano State Pilgrims’s Welfare Board has directed intending pilgrims’ for 2024 pilgrimage from eight local government areas to proceed for their compulsory medical test and inoculation. The medical checks are of requisites required to ascertain the health condition of intending pilgrims before embarking on the spiritual exercise in Saudi Arabia. Intending pilgrims directed to proceed for the medical test beginning from Monday 29th April, include those from Dala local government area. Those from Fagge, Gwale, Ungogo, Municipal, Nassarawa, Tarauni and Kumbotso will conduct medicals between Tuesday 30th April and 6th May respectively. Director General of the Board, Alh. Lawinu…

Journalists Unions at the renowned Abubakar Rimi Television (ARTV) Kano, have sought Kano state government intervention following a series of threats by the Managing Director of the station Mustapha Adamu Indabawa. Trouble started when deterioration, extremely poor working facilities at the station coupled with mismanagement of priority as well as selective Justice prompted the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) ARTV Chapel, Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) ARTV Chapel and Radio Television Theatre and Art Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU) ARTV chapter sought for a meeting with the managing director and table all the issues and some of their meeting’s…

President Bola Tinubu has appointed renowned banker and businessman, Mr. Jim Ovia, as the Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). The appointment was disclosed in a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Friday. Ngelale noted that the President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds. According to the Special…

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed three persons dead and two injured in a three-storey building collapse incident at Kuntau Quarters, Gwale Local Government Area of Kano. Dr Nuradeen Abdullahi, NEMA Kano Territorial Coordinator, confirmed the incident and casualty figures to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Kano. “We received a distressed call today at about 9:20 a.m from a good Samaritan that a three- storey building under construction collapsed at Kuntau quarters. “On receiving the information, we quickly sent our rescue team to the scene. “So far, five persons were rescued and taken…

The American International School of Abuja has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to provide “authentic banking details” for the refund of fees paid for the children of Yahaya Bello, immediate-past governor of Kogi state. Bello allegedly paid $720,000 in advance as fees for five of his children from the coffers of the Kogi state government. The children are in grade levels 2 to 8 at the school. On April 17, EFCC operatives laid siege on Bello’s residence in Abuja in an attempt to arrest him over an alleged N80.2 billion fraud. While the operatives were at the…

Petrol shortages facing Abuja and neighbouring states intensified yesterday as more stations ran out of the product leaving commuters and motorists struggling to go about their daily business. Chaos reigned at few filling stations dispensing the product with black marketers hiking petrol price to N1,500 per litre from N1,000 per litre sold the previous day. Checks around the city showed that few stations operated by major marketers were dispensing to motorists in the central area and suburbs, while stations operated by independent marketers were shut. Meanwhile, NNPC Limited, yesterday, assured consumers that challenges that led to petrol shortages across…