The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, on Saturday visited former President Muhammadu Buhari in his Daura country home in Katsina State.
The former Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, was one of the politicians who accompanied Atiku to the former president’s home.
However, issues discussed at the meeting between the two leaders were not made public.
The former Vice President had during the week paid Sallah homage to the duo of former military rulers – Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, at the homes in Minna, Niger State.
With more than three years before the 2027 election, the visits to the former Nigerian leaders could be a grand move by Atiku for another shot at the nation’s highest political office.
He was defeated in Nigeria’s last two presidential elections by Buhari and President Bola Tinubu respectively.
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2027: After meeting Babangida and Abdulsalami, Atiku visits Buhari in Daura
Surge in unqualified practitioners worries institute
The Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers has condemned the increasing number of unqualified practitioners in the industry.
This was as the institute emphasised the urgent need to address the problem of unqualified individuals handling electrical jobs, as this often results in faulty installations and hazardous conditions.
Speaking at the institute’s 16th conferment of fellowship on Saturday in Abuja, the President of the institute, Felix Olu, called for rigorous skills development and certification among practitioners to address the issue.
He said, “There is a critical need to address the problem of unqualified individuals handling electrical jobs. This has often led to faulty installations and hazardous conditions.
“Quackery in electrical work is a major issue due to the engagement of unqualified individuals and the use of substandard materials.”
Olu said recognising the impending crisis, electrical engineers across Nigeria came together to advocate for regulatory measures.
These concerted efforts, according to him, resulted in the proposal of a bill in the National Assembly to establish the Chartered Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering of Nigeria.
Olu added that the bill was successfully passed and signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
“This new regulation mandates certification for all electrical and electronic engineering practitioners in Nigeria, encompassing engineers, technicians, technologists, and craftsmen. Certified practitioners will now carry insignia such as badges, certificates, and seals, allowing the public to identify and verify their qualifications easily,” Olu added.
He emphasised the importance of this regulation in reducing incidents of faulty installations and fire hazards. “With the establishment of this organization, Nigerians can now identify who is qualified to do electrical jobs, thereby significantly reducing the risk of accidents caused by substandard work,” he added.
Speaking, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Prof. Nouruddeem Umar, stressed the need for monitoring and advancing the field of electrical engineering amid the ongoing fourth industrial revolution.
Prof Umar highlighted the importance of digitization and the role electrical engineers must play in leading this transformation.
“The current era is defined by rapid advancements in AI, machine learning, the Internet of Things, digital twin technology, and more. Our field is uniquely positioned to address diverse challenges across these areas. We must urge all our members to take responsibility and set an agenda for today’s challenges, leveraging our curriculum empowerment,” Prof. Umar stated.
Eight jailed for internet fraud in A’Ibom
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Uyo Zonal Command has secured the conviction and sentence of eight internet fraudsters in the state.
This was contained in a statement by its Spokesperson, Dele Oyewale on Saturday.
Oyewale said Justice Rosemary Oghoghorie of the Federal High Court, Calabar, Cross River State convicted the internet fraudsters.
He explained that they were prosecuted separately on two counts that bordered on criminal impersonation, identity theft and obtaining by false pretence.
He listed the convicts to include: Abasiofon Daniel Essien also known as Jason Momoa, Gideon Junior, Edikan Ubong, Harrison Chiemelie, Ndifereke Umoh, Christopher Promise, Effiong Wisdom and Godswill Nsikan.
One of the charges against Essien reads, “That you, Abasiofon Daniel Essien (aka Jason Momoa) sometime in 2023, in Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honorable court did take possession of $300 (Three Hundred US dollars) intentionally, knowing that the money formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act to wit: Identity theft and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and punishable under the Section 18 (3) of the same Act.
One of Wisdom’s charges reads, “That you, Effiong Wisdom “M” (aka Pamela Randy) sometime in November 2023, in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court did fraudulently present yourself as Pamela Randy to Michael Moore on the social media platform: Facebook/Instagram with intent to gain advantage for yourself did take possession of the sum of $170 (One Hundred and Seventy United States Dollars) knowing that the money formed part of the proceed of an unlawful act to wit: impersonation thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition and Prevention) Act 2022 and punishable under Section 18 (3) of the same Act.”
They all pleaded guilty to the offences against them.
“They all pleaded guilty to their charges when they were read to them following which prosecution counsel, Khamis Mahmud tendered their confessional statements and incriminating contents of their mobile phones to the court as evidence and urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.”
“The judge convicted and sentenced them to two years in jail each. Umoh, Promise, Chiemelie and Nsikan were given the option to pay a fine of N2 million each (Two Million Naira). Junior, Essien and Ubong were given an N1.5 million (One Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira) option of a fine, while Wisdom was given an N1,000,000 (One Million Naira) option of fine.
“In addition, Essien, Junior, Ubong and Chiemelie are to restitute $100, $300, $170 and N140,000.00 respectively to their victims, while Umoh, Promise, Wisdom and Nsikan will restitute $70, $140, N100,000.00 and Nsikan $50 respectively to their victims.”
The convicts also forfeited their phones which the court described as tools for their crimes to the government.
Surgeons lament inadequate cancer care experts, facilities
The International College of Surgeons, Nigeria Section, has decried the lack of cancer care experts and facilities in the country.
The surgeons also raised the alarm about the ‘Japa’ phenomenon caused by poor remuneration, loss of job satisfaction and insecurity.
These, they noted have made it difficult for millions of Nigerians to access the services of a doctor.
This was contained in a communique issued at the end of its 2024 AGM/Scientific Conference held in Uyo Akwa Ibom State themed, “Current Trends and Challenges to Surgical Oncology Practice” and Sub-themes; “Insecurity and Delivery of Surgical Services and Minimal Access Surgery,”
In a communique jointly signed by the ICS-NS National President, Akanimo Essiet and Assistant Secretary, Christian Madubueze on Saturday, the surgeons stressed the need for adequate funding and equitable distribution of cancer care and other high-end medical services in the country.
They also emphasised the need for both the federal and state governments to adequately fund public facilities, to cater to the less privileged while also calling for government’s support to ameliorate specialised cancer care which is capital-intensive globally.
The communique reads in part, “Early detection and treatment of the various types of known cancers is key to achieving cure, although therapy also exists to improve the length and quality of life of late presenters, in whom cure is no longer possible.
“Significant government support to ameliorate specialised cancer care which is capital intensive globally. This will give the masses access to quality care.
“The ICS-NS is worried over the inequitable distribution of experts and facilities for cancer care, with complete absence of high-end specialised services in Akwa Ibom and many other states across the federation, lamenting that even the regular screening programs for the few cancers that have reliable early detection tests have not been well implemented.”
They added, “The ICS-NS lamented that the ‘Japa’ phenomenon, caused by poor remuneration, loss of job satisfaction, and insecurity, has made it difficult for millions of Nigerians to see a doctor and has drastically reduced the healthcare workforce, making the doctor to patient ratio in Nigeria, 1:9,083 instead of 1:600 as recommended by the WHO.
“The College maintained that insurable treatments and procedures under the National Health Insurance Scheme should be widened, to capture some critical, specialized, services. Also, affordability and ease of access to capital should be ensured for investors in the health sector, to facilitate the reversal of medical tourism and in so doing, enable proper harnessing of a veritable and significant source of income for the country.
“The College called on states and local governments to attract and keep healthcare workers by providing good healthcare facilities, good roads, improved power supply, access to potable water, good schools and access to telecommunications,”
“On the security in the country, the ICS-NS called on the government to decisively deal with insecurity which is negatively impacting the health of Nigerians.
The President of ICS-NS, Akanimo Essiet, explained that the conference would enable the college to chart a clear path for meaningful practice of the Surgical and allied arts, especially of the humanitarian genre, by Fellows of the College.
Essiet said, “This is our 57th annual meeting. The numeration immediately tells that the ICS-NS is fairly ‘elderly.’ As would be expected, in the course of those 57 years, the collective efforts of Fellows have seen the college grow into a strong, stable, and respected section of the global body.
“The global president has in his goodwill message to us, elucidated the core mandate of the ICS as being in the main, ‘Humanitarian Surgery ‘, while ‘Education ‘, ‘Leadership’, ‘Research ‘ and ‘Communication’ serve as supporting pillars.
“With our regular meetings, congresses and our journal, we have done fairly well in the area of education, research, and communication of research outputs. But we still struggle in the area of Humanitarian Surgery.”
The ICS world President, Dr. Guido Parquet of the Paraguay Section, called on the College, to strive to achieve sustainability in all global humanitarian settings of surgery, and assume the responsibility of training local people to capably carry on the work of visiting humanitarian surgical teams.
Parquet said, “ICS will continue to raise the standards for safe surgery around the world, while at the same time addressing the unmet humanitarian needs of millions of people, recognising and addressing the needs of underprivileged patients”.
Police detain 2 officers over man’s death in Lagos
Two officers attached to the Lagos State police command have been detained over the death of a man in the state.
The command’s spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.
He said the two officers were members of the state taskforce that went on an illegal operation in the company of some civilians on Wednesday.
Hundeyin added that the team came under attack from motorcycle riders, resulting in the death of one of the civilians.
He said: “While disciplinary actions have commenced on the already detained police officers, search is on for their civilian accomplices.
“Investigations have commenced to identify, arrest, and prosecute the perpetrators of this dastardly act.”
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PICTORIAL: Man who lost both arms in a work accident gets married
Samuel Odugbesan, a former electrical staff member who lost both arms in a work accident, has tied the knot with his partner. Ejirocoded, on Friday shared pictures from their special day on TikTok. See Photos Below:
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Ekiti partners Lagos on disaster management
Ekiti State Government has dispatched a team of experts to understudy Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and domesticate part of its operations to boost disaster management in Ekiti.
The Ekiti delegation, led by the Permanent Secretary, Deputy Governor’s Office, Mr Opeyemi Abayomi, in the company of the General Manager, Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency, Mr Oludare Asaolu, on Friday visited the LASEMA office in Lagos to cross-fertilise ideas on how to improve responses to emergencies.
Abayomi, in a statement made available in Ado Ekiti on Saturday, said the partnership with Lagos State was in line with Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s resolve to have a safe and secured Ekiti and ensure mitigation of disasters towards the realization of his administration’s shared prosperity mantra.
He stated that the team was deployed to LASEMA to study possible areas of collaboration and to ascertain operations obtainable in Lagos that can be adapted in the state in terms of swift response to emergencies.
Abayomi stated, “In order to have first-hand information on the best practices in emergency management in Lagos State, Governor Oyebanji approved that the team, led by me in the company of EKSEMA General Manager, Director of Fire Services and other experts should undertake a study tour of LASEMA.
“The study tour is to learn from the expertise of LASEMA, explore areas of collaboration and fashion out ways of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of EKSEMA especially in the areas of emergency and disaster management, including fire services, rapid response initiatives, and ambulance services.
“The team was at the headquarters of LASEMA where they learnt about the integrated approach to disaster management, the Fire Services office, the LASEMA Response Unit at Cappa and its equipment hub, the Internally Displaced Persons camp at Igando, the Onipanu Response Base as well as the Lekki Response Base”.
Abayomi said that the team had engaging sessions with LASEMA PS, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the management team and technical partners and also attended a workshop tagged: ‘Strengthening Flood Resilience in Vulnerable Communities in Lagos State’ to further expose EKSEMA experts and operators to modern techniques and innovations in disaster mitigation and management.
Recall that Oyebanji recently visited LASEMA headquarters in Lagos, where he sought a strong partnership with the agency in critical areas that could be effectively domesticated in Ekiti for improved operation of EKSEMA.
Subsequently, a team of LASEMA experts were drafted to Ekiti to appraise the operational structures and facilities of EKSEMA and all the allied agencies associated with emergency management.
Gunmen abduct village head in Nasarawa
Gunmen on Thursday abducted the Madakin of the Shabu community in Lafia local government area of Nasarawa State, Musa Shuaibu.
A resident of the community told journalists on Saturday that the victim was kidnapped a few meters away from his residence and about 8:00 p.m. on Thursday and whisked to an unknown destination.
The spokesman for the state police command, Ramhan Nansel, confirmed the incident in Lafia.
He said police operatives have been deployed to the area to rescue the victim.
“Efforts are ongoing to rescue the victim and arrest the criminals,” the spokesman added.
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Two former staff of Union Bank arrested for stealing N4.1m from dead customer’s account
Operatives of Makurdi Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested two former staff of Union Bank in Makurdi for allegedly stealing the sum of N4,199,500.00 belonging to a deceased customer of the bank.
The suspects, Idah Ogoh and Agbo Okwute were arrested on Friday, June 21, 2024 in Makurdi, Benue State.
According to a statement from Dele Ouewole, head of media annd publicity of EFCC, they were arrested following a petition against them by the bank on fraudulent debits on a deceased customer, Emmanuel Azer Agenna’s account.
Their dealings were said to have been uncovered when the family of the deceased approached the bank for the balance on the account of the deceased for probate processing. The family disputed the balance given to them by the bank and subsequently sent a complaint to the bank regarding unauthorised debits on the account.
He said, “Based on their complaints, the bank carried out an internal investigation and its findings revealed that a debit card was procured on the deceased’s customer account on May 10, 2023 by Ifah Ogoh, one of the bank’s Sales and Service Associates which was authorised by the bank on the same date
.”Further findings by the bank showed that the procured card by Ogoh was handed over to another Sales and Service Associates, Agbo Omwute who eventually delivered the card to an accomplice for transfer and withdrawal of funds from the account of the deceased. Several withdrawals were allegedly made by the suspects through the accomplice”.
He also revealed that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
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Six arrested for “one chance” robberies in Abuja
No fewer than six “one chance” operators have been arrested by operatives from the Federal Capital Territory Command.
The suspects are Abubakar Adams, Ismail Salisu, Yusuf Bello, Nasiru Saidi, Sani Usman and Ibrahim Kasa.
According to a statement on Saturday by the FCT command spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, the suspects rob passengers who board their vehicles, motorcycles and tricycles and push them out afterwards.
The statement partly read, “The operatives of the police command attached to Utako divisional headquarters, on June 16, 2024, acting on credible intelligence, trailed and arrested six armed robbery suspects: Abubakar Adams, Ismail Salisu, Yusuf Bello, Nasiru Saidi, Sani Usman and Ibrahim Kasa who specialise in attacking unsuspecting residents who board their vehicle or tricycle, robbing them of their valuables and pushing them off the moving vehicle or tricycle.”
Adeh said their arrest was a result of complaints from victims.
She noted that cutlasses and knives among others were recovered from the suspects.
“The suspects were apprehended on the heels of complaints received from multiple victims of these atrocious acts, some of whom reported losing their mobile phones, money, gadgets, and other belongings to these criminal individuals who have since confessed to the crime.
“Light weapons such as cutlasses, knives, and a phone believed to have been stolen from a victim were recovered from them.”
Adeh stated that while the investigation was still ongoing, the commissioner of police FCT, CP Benneth Igweh reaffirmed the command’s commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all and sundry.
“He also urged the populace to be vigilant and take advantage of the police emergency lines in reporting suspicious activities through,” the statement said.
In a similar occurrence in May 2024, operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command busted a car theft syndicate that specialises in stealing vehicles from Abuja and selling them in Lagos State.
Parading the suspects, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, disclosed that luck ran out of the gang when a friend to one of their victims whose car was stolen in Abuja travelled to Lagos for an engagement only to see the stolen car of his friend at a car stand, put up for sale.
Igweh said he subsequently alerted the victim to come to Lagos and check the car. On getting to Lagos, he confirmed the car to be his stolen Toyota Camry and informed the FCT Police.
The CP said police detectives deployed to the scene, discovered that the original Chasis of the stolen car had been changed, the car was recovered and criminals arrested.