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Firm seeks govt support in early detection of breast, cervical cancer 

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Firm seeks govt support in early detection of breast, cervical cancer 

A Nigerian food retail firm, FoodCo Nigeria has called for government support in the early detection and treatment of breast and cervical cancer among Nigerian women.

This was just as it said that the two diseases are prevalent and with high mortality rates.

According to a statement on Saturday, the company’s Head of Innovation, Growth and Business Transformation, Funmi Aiyepeku, made this known during a free health workshop and medical screenings for female staff of the organisation on Friday, in commemoration of the 2024 International Women’s Day.

Aiyepeku said, “Considering the numerous and competing roles they juggle as workers, homemakers, caregivers and all, many women have come to adjust by deprioritising their own needs for the interests of others.

“The consequences of this are most felt in Medicare where women are often the primary caregivers in the homes and typically neglect their welfare while tending to those of others. Usually, by the time they get the much-needed attention, the situation may have become dire.

“Breast and cervical cancer are among the most prevalent diseases with high mortality rates for Nigerian women. Medical experts advise that the chances for successful outcomes can be significantly improved with early detection and treatment. That is why we have organised this workshop as a way of giving back to our women. It’s a practical demonstration of our commitment to their welfare by investing in the people who make us who we are.”

The Breast and Cervical Cancer Awareness workshop covered topics on early detection methods, risk factors as well as available resources for prevention and treatment. Others include nutrition, exercise, and stress management. Over 200 female staff of the company also benefitted from the free medical screening for blood pressure, blood sugar tests and breast examination.

While calling on corporate organisations to set up sustainable frameworks for empowering women, she added that FoodCo’s commitment to supporting women’s causes is largely influenced by the first-hand experiences of the founder, Mrs Sola Sun-Basorun, as a female entrepreneur building a retail business in Nigeria.

She added that Nigeria’s private and public sectors will experience exponential growth if the sectorial players key into inclusive initiatives aimed at addressing historical issues bordering around the exclusion of women.

“Women have played and continue to play key roles in the history of our company. Beginning from the boardroom to management, down to the shop floor, we are proud of our heritage as a business that has consistently provided a conducive environment for women to actualize their ambitions as well as support themselves and their families.

“The 2024 IWD celebrations offer us a platform to advocate for greater inclusion of women everywhere. It also allows us to look inwards to celebrate FoodCo women who daily inspire us with the dedication and passion they bring to their jobs.

“They are one of the reasons why women and their loved ones have come to depend on our business as a beloved family brand for over four decades”, she said.

Established in 1982 as a fresh fruit and vegetable store, FoodCo is one of the leading omni-channel retailers in Nigeria.

The company was listed in the 2021 and 2022 rankings of Africa’s fastest-growing companies by the Financial Times of London.

Failure of federal policing, cause of Kaduna pupils abduction

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Failure of federal policing, cause of Kaduna pupils abduction

The National Human Rights Commission has blamed the abduction of 286 students and teachers from two schools in Kaduna on the failure of the federal policing system in Nigeria.

This was disclosed by the commission’s Executive Secretary, Anthony Ojukwu, in an interaction at a stakeholders’ dialogue on state police organised by the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre in Abuja.

The According reported that bandits invaded the Kuriga area of the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State about a week ago, shooting indiscriminately at people before whisking away the victims.

The incident has since triggered a national outrage, with Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Amnesty International, the Parents-Teachers Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Teachers and the House of Representatives condemning the attack.

But Ojukwu emphasised that such a disaster could have been averted if the nation had not prioritised the protection of the elite and affluent in the society at the expense of the masses.

This was even as the human rights crusader drummed support for the introduction of state police to tackle banditry and other security challenges ravaging the country.

He said, “Insecurity in this country is a result of bad governance. There is no argument about that. However, do we have to wait until there is good governance? Even in societies where you have good governance, they don’t joke with the issue of security. We are at a crossroads where every aspect of our life as Nigerians is not working. For me, the greatest attraction was the issue of state police tackling insecurities.

“We have so many complaints about the federal police. Look at the origin. It started from being something the colonial master introduced to force us to pay taxes. So ab initio, it was formed to protect the authorities.

“When we now got our independence, there was no concerted effort to re-orientate the Nigerian police. That was the issue. These guys are just protecting the elite, particularly the executive and legislature. Governors have a convoy of 1,000 policemen,leaving the rest of us unprotected.

“That is why you can go on a road that stretches about 10km and you won’t see one policeman. That is also why you can come into a secondary school and take away 282 students. Do you even know what 282 students look like? If you want to bring in luxury buses, you will need about three or four of them to pack them. And if you decide to use motorcycles, you need about 200 to lift these children.

” How did these people go about it without being noticed? Well, I am not a data analyst. But from what I heard, the number of policemen guarding all these rich individuals is far more than the ones left to look after the rest of us.”

Speaking further, the NHRC boss stated that unless the entire federal policing system is revamped to give way to state police, random incidences of abduction and other forms of insecurities may continue unabated.

According to him, it was the same systemic failure of police following years of oppression that birthed the “EndSars revolution that almost brought the nation’s security apparatus to its knees.

“That is why they oppress and do all the kinds of things they do to us. That was exactly why we had to go on the #EndSars protest in 2020. In fact, as a human rights worker, I got frustrated and asked, ‘Can this policing system ever be corrected or do we have to clean out the entire police and start afresh? We keep hearing they need training. But these officers have been trained over and again with different manuals, yet it is not working.

“This is why I believe we can decide how this state police will be. It is in our hands. We are going to make the laws and guidelines to guard the state police. We can even formulate a policy that before the state police can arrest anybody, there must be an intelligence investigation report saying that the preliminary probe has been conducted and this person is likely to have done wrong.”

A professor of Criminology and Sociology of Law at the University of Jos, Prof Etannibi Alemika, however, disagreed with him on the need to introduce state police.

The don wondered why Nigerians should be talking about deploying police at the state level when it is obvious that their functions would be hijacked by the governors and influential figures within their domains.

“I can give you several reasons why state police won’t work. For instance, are you aware recruitment of officers will be dominated by indigenes of each state? What this also means is that a place like Lagos will probably have over 45 per cent of officers coming from people in that state. Think about it.

“It is also possible for people like me if I am from Kogi but living in Abuja to return and take a prominent role at the expense of those who are residents there. Instead, why are people not talking about policing at the local government level instead of the states”, he queried.

Lagos police arrest man for raping 13-year-old sister 

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Lagos police arrest man for raping 13-year-old sister 

The Lagos state Police Command has arrested one Adepoju Ifedayo for allegedly defiling a 13-year-old sister.

This was made known in a statement shared by the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, on his X account on Saturday.

Sharing a picture of the suspect, Hundeyin wrote, “Adepoju Ifedayo reported to the police that his neighbour allegedly defiled his 13-year-old sister.

“Investigation showed that he indeed was the culprit but was trying to divert attention.

“Following the survivor’s claim that she sighted a firearm in his room, a search was conducted in his apartment, leading to the recovery of two locally made firearms and three live cartridges – another count: unlawful possession of firearms. Investigation is ongoing.”

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MACBAN seeks retention of nomadic education

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MACBAN seeks retention of nomadic education

The National President, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Baba Ngelzarma, has called on President Bola Tinubu to retain the National Commission for Nomadic Education as an agency under the Ministry of Education.

According to him, the commission has a special mandate of providing basic education to nomadic communities in the country.

The Federal Government on February 28, 2024, stated that parts of the recommendations in the 12-year-old Oronsaye report would be implemented.

The 800-page report recommended that 263 of the statutory agencies be slashed to 161; 38 agencies be scrapped; 52 be merged and 14 be reverted to departments in various ministries, among others.

Speaking while reading a communique issued after a security summit on Saturday, Ngelzarma stated that not retaining the commission with adequate funding to educate the children is an imminent danger to the country.

He said, “The committee constituted to implement the recommendations of the Orasanya Report, to consider as a necessity the retention of the National Commission for Nomadic Education as an Agency of the Federal Ministry of Education with the specialised mandate of ensuring the delivery of functional basic education to nomadic communities.

“This is in consideration of a research report on out-of-school children in Nigeria, that 8 million out of over 10 million out-of-school children in the country are pastoralist children. Therefore, not retaining the commission with sufficient funding to educate the children is an imminent danger to our dear nation. ”

He also urged the FG to adopt a non-kinetic approach to ending banditry, kidnapping, and cattle rustling, adding that the kinetic tactics used have achieved little results.

“That the Government has not made much inroads towards addressing the genesis of the current conflict, challenges of the Fulbe.

“The FG should revise and adopt a non-kinetic approach to ending banditry, kidnapping, and cattle rustling, as the kinetic ways used over the years have only achieved very little result”, the communique stated.

Kwara driver slumps, dies while driving varsity students to school

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Kwara driver slumps, dies while driving varsity students to school

A commercial bus driver simply identified as Lukman died when he suddenly slumped on the wheel while carrying some students of the University of Ilọrin to the school campus.

It was gathered that the incident occurred on Friday, leaving the passengers in shock.

A passenger who witnessed the incident had narrated in a viral WhatsApp message that he took control of the bus in motion after the development to save other students and avert tragedy.

He said, “Our bus driver just died on the road while driving us from the Sanrab Petrol Station area, Tanke, Ilorin to the university campus. I was sitting in the front but wasn’t looking up because I was reading the Qur’an on my phone.

“The other person beside me just called my attention shouting ‘Baba’multiple times. By the time I looked up, he was already gasping, and the bus was drifting away from the road. I had to press the brake, take control, and bring it to a halt. He was pronounced dead at the school clinic. Everything happened within 30 minutes.”

A colleague of the deceased, Sulyman Malik, explained, “He greeted me on Thursday about my own recent accident.

“This just shows that this life is vanity. He has since been buried according to Islamic rites. He was a very handsome man and you would not think of his death even in the next 30 years”.

Confirming the incident, the Director of Information, University of Ilorin, Mr Kunle Akogun, described it as unfortunate.

Akogun said, “The incident is very unfortunate, and it reminds us of the vanity of life.”

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FG’s demand for grazing lands will worsen insecurity, says M’Belt 

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FG’s demand for grazing lands will worsen insecurity, says M’Belt 

A group, Middle Belt Patriots, has urged state governors not to succumb to pressure from the Federal Government to cede lands to herders for grazing.

The group said yielding to such demands would worsen the security situation in the middle belt and other parts of the country.

President Bola Tinubu had while speaking at the flag-off of the agricultural mechanisation revolution for food security in Minna, Niger State capital on Monday called on governors to give parts of the land in their states for ranching purposes.

In a statement issued on Saturday and signed by its Director of Media and Strategic Communications, Steven Kefas, the Middle Belt Patriots wondered how the Federal Government constantly panders to the interests of the pastoralists at the detriment of the indigenous population.

Insisting that the people of the Middle Belt would resist any unconscionable measures aimed at dispossessing them of their God-given heritage, the group which further described the stance of the Federal Government on grazing land as provocative, said, “We of the Middle Belt Patriots vehemently condemn and reject the recent directive from the Federal Government asking state governors to make land available for grazing by herdsmen.

“This provocative and ill-advised order shows a shocking disregard for the already tenuous security situation in the Middle Belt region that has been under sustained violent attack by armed Fulani ethnic militias.

“We sternly warn the political leaders, monarchs and youth/community leaders of the Middle Belt region – Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, and sections of Taraba, Adamawa, Bauchi, Southern Kaduna and Gombe- to outright disregard and defy this reckless federal directive. Capitulating to these demands and ceding more land for grazers will only fan the flames of the ethnic clashes, further the genocidal massacres, escalate the violent displacement of indigenes from their ancestral lands and jeopardise the fragile peace in a region that has already suffered immensely.

“The grazing of cattle is a private business enterprise; it leaves more questions than answers as to why the Federal Government is deliberate on arrogating farmlands to themselves to be handed over to private herders? We forcefully remind the authorities in Abuja that pig farmers in the core northern Sharia states like Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Jigawa and Sokoto have to struggle, invest and acquire land for their vocations without any such unconstitutional government directives.

“The same should apply to the cattle herders – if they need land for their trade, they should approach willing farmers and residents to lease or purchase lands for grazing through legitimate means. No farmer or landowner should be forcibly dispossessed of their property.

“We deplore how the Federal Government constantly panders to the interests of the pastoralists at the detriment and displacement of the indigenous populations whose lands and lives are being overrun by the armed ethnic militias affiliated with the herders.”

The group said in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State alone, over 200 Kuteb villages have been sacked, with thousands displaced from their homes and ancestral farmlands in a severe humanitarian catastrophe caused by herders.

It added, “The Kuteb people are traditionally renowned farmers whose agricultural lands and means of livelihood have been completely destroyed by herders and armed militancy.

“It is an absolute travesty that their cries for security, justice and succour have fallen on deaf ears, while their land grabbers and tormentors are being rewarded with more official edicts to further dispossess them.

“The government should put an immediate stop to these illegal land grabs and acts of impunity. The cattle herders are private business operators and should be compelled to lawfully lease, purchase, or negotiate grazing lands with willing landowners instead of having lands forcibly taken from defenceless indigenous populations at gunpoint.

“The Middle Belt Patriots will resist these unconscionable measures through all legal and legitimate means at our disposal.”

Oyebanji empowers 150 indigent Ekiti citizens

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Oyebanji empowers 150 indigent Ekiti citizens

Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has empowered over 150 indigent residents of the state to establish themselves in businesses to make them self-reliant.

The governor, under the aegis of his transformative Ojuse Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji Initiative, reiterated his commitment to uplifting the lives of Ekiti people to fight poverty among them and strengthen a more inclusive and equitable society.

Oyebanji, represented by his Senior Special Assistant, Mrs Sola Abe, spoke in Ado Ekiti on Friday, during the first anniversary of the Ojuse BAO Initiative where 56 indigent residents were empowered with requirements to transform their lives.

Under the monthly empowerment initiative, the indigent and needy across the 16 local government areas are encouraged to write to the governor specifying their areas of need which Oyebanji, through the necessary machinery, would interrogate to ascertain the genuineness.

Abe said, “We have over 150 beneficiaries so far. But for this month, we have 56 persons that benefitted. We have students who benefitted, we have start-ups, those who intend to start their businesses and we have also those who requested tools to trade with who benefitted from this programme.

The governor’s aide, who said that requests for December 2023 and January 2024 would be attended to in next month’s edition, urged would-be beneficiaries to exercise patience, saying, “The requests before us are enormous and we are attending to them with due diligence.

“Governor Oyebanji has ensured that he reduced the level of poverty in the land. He is willing to transform more lives. Aside from other palliatives being given by different sectors of government in the state, this is his initiative and it has been going on for a year,” Abe said.

Ekiti State Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatunbosun, who advised the beneficiaries to make good use of the tools and equipment received, lauded Governor Oyebanji’s steadfast commitment to assisting the vulnerable members of society through the monthly empowerment programme.

The commissioner said that the initiative served as “a testament to Governor Oyebanji’s unwavering dedication to uplifting the lives of the less privileged and building a brighter future for all residents of Ekiti State”.

The Director General, Community Communications, Mrs Mary Oso-Omotoso, who told the beneficiaries that it was not a national cake, said, “Rather it is an opportunity to develop. This initiative is financed from the governor’s salary”.

 

The 56 beneficiaries for the March edition including indigent students who could not pay their school fees, artisans who intend to start their trades and businesses and those who needed equipment for their businesses had written to the governor about their plight, which was redressed under the initiative.

Recall that in December last year, the Ojuse BAO Initiative disbursed N20m in cash and working equipment including sewing machines, salon gadgets and refrigerators to 48 beneficiaries to provide them with sustainable livelihoods.

The monthly Ojuse BAO Initiative had among others, in April last year donated a cassava grinding machine to Mr Owolabi Babatunde to revitalize his business and as well elevate the livelihoods of his employees just as testimonies from beneficiaries over the months show that the initiative was making impacts in the people’s lives.

Tinubu okays e-registration of APC members

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Tinubu okays e-registration of APC members

The ruling All Progressives Congress has disclosed that the nationwide electronic registration of its members has received the blessing of President Bola Tinubu.

This was disclosed by the National Chairman of APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, when he hosted 33 members of the APC state chairmen at the headquarters of the party in Abuja on Saturday.

The visitation comes hours after the Forum of APC Chairmen urged the President to ‘wield the big stick’ against heads of security agencies found wanting in the fight against insecurity and banditry.

While welcoming the delegation, Ganduje disclosed that the President is happy with the performance of the state chairmen and further endorsed the e-registration of members to further consolidate its membership strength ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said, “This is a very important courtesy call you made to Mr President. He is so happy with it. And it will continue like this. The president has granted your requests, especially on political appointments. He is doing something about it.

“He emphasized the importance of electronic registration which we have been working on with the consultant and our committee at the headquarters which has gone far. Now, we are going to the grassroots level. It (registration) will be connected across all the wards of the federation but you need to oversee the recruitment of officials who will undertake the exercise. This is because you are involved in the recruitment and in the execution of the registration.”

His position was re-echoed by the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the party, Nze Chidi Duru, who explained to the delegation that two officials from each state would be trained in Abuja to consolidate on the recruitment for the exercise.

Reacting, Secretary of the forum, Alphonsus Ogah applauded both Tinubu and Ganduje for bringing stability to the party and Nigeria as a country.

While stating that they passed a vote of confidence on the president after charging him not to spare any security chief failing in his duty, Ogah also stressed the importance of updating the party membership register.

According to the APC chieftain, the 2023 elections exposed the actual membership, unlike the 40 million membership strength the party has been dangling prior to the poll.

He said, “We also wasted no time in telling Mr President that our party needs to be strengthened. And in strengthening our party, we need to thank Mr President for giving us a man in the mode of our national chairman, Dr Umar Ganduje, who has been so humble in consulting state chairmen on every policy, particularly the planned e-registration of membership of our party.

“Our national chairman came very prepared. He was focused on doing away with the rigmarole and the delusion that APC paraded 41 million people when in reality, we went into an election we barely got almost nine million votes. It is time to face reality because we have a President and a national chairman who are both progressive. You have state chairmen who are also progressively minded.

“Therefore we will be more comfortable if today we know we have 10 million registered members in APC. But we must match them with their PVCs so we can be able to make a prognostication on what may likely be the outcome of an election even before 2027.

“But in doing this, we reminded Mr President that we have been working with our governors and various stakeholders to collate names of party faithful. It was also the mantra of Mr President that monkey work, monkey chop.

“Baboon no work, baboon no chop. In fact, Mr President had told us in one of those meetings that if he caught a baboon that didn’t work coming to eat, he was personally going to arrest that baboon. There were other various sensitive issues we discussed with Mr President and I can assure you he was highly elated.”

Gunmen abduct Edo PDP chairman

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Gunmen abduct Edo PDP chairman

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted the chairman of the Edo State People Democratic Party, Tony Aziegbemi, along Idaro Street, off Country Home Road, Benin, Edo State.

Aziegbemi was reportedly abducted around 11 pm on Friday.

The Edo PDP chairman was said to have left a meeting at the Government House and was going home in his vehicle when he was kidnapped in the presence of his driver who was attempting to climb a speed breaker.

The driver who narrated how his boss was kidnapped said, “When we left the Government House heading home at about 11 pm, I noticed a car trailing us so I decided to take another diversion. We never knew they were kidnappers.

“A few minutes later, the same cars appeared behind us at a speed breaker and blocked our car in the front and also behind as they prevented us from going back. Immediately the gunmen pointed guns at us and ordered our chairman to enter their car and took him away, while also driving his jeep with him.”

The gunmen were said to have abandoned Aziegbemi’s car along Sapele Road and took him away in their own cars.

At the time of filing this report, some top government officials and security agencies were sighted at the spot where Aziegbemi was kidnapped.

Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, when contacted, confirmed the incident.

He however said the case fell under the New Etete Police Division.

Nwabuzor said, ” It is confirmed. The case is in the jurisdiction of the New Etete Police Division, also known as Godwin Abbe Police Station, which is where it happened.

“The Commissioner of Police has given a marching order to the tactical teams of operatives to go after the gunmen and we pray that by the grace of God, we will be able to rescue him unhurt”.

His kidnap came less than a month after the party conducted its governorship primary, which produced Mr Asue Ighodalo as the candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming September 21, 2024 governorship election.

Cable drum falls on passerby in Lagos, victim dies

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Cable drum falls on passerby in Lagos, victim dies

A yet-to-be-identified male adult has been confirmed dead after an electric cable drum fell on him at Ojo-Igbede Road in the Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State.

According Online gathered that the incident happened on Thursday while a forklifter was transloading armoured cables from a container into its body.

A police source who spoke to our correspondent on Saturday said the transloading was ongoing when one of the cable drums disconnected and fell on the deceased victim who was said to be walking past the spot while pressing his phone.

The source said the victim died on the way to the hospital.

“A Hiab fork lifter was transloading their company’s armored cables from a container into its body, along Ojo-Igbede road by St. Andrew’s Catholic church.

“Incidentally, one of the cable drums disconnected and fell on a passerby, who was said to be pressing his phone while walking and he gave up the ghost on the way to hospital. The scene was visited by detectives of the Ilemba-Hausa division and inquiries were made,” the police source disclosed.

Meanwhile, the owner of the company has been taken into custody for interrogation.

“He is being interrogated for reckless and negligent acts by refusing to place any sign signifying the inherent danger nor hiring a guard to direct other road users away from the scene,” the source added.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.

Hundeyin said, “The corpse has been deposited in the mortuary for autopsy and preservation. An investigation is ongoing.”

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