A group, Odinma Orsu Initiative, OOI, has warned bandits operating in Orsu council area of Imo state to vacate the community within two weeks or have themselves to blame. The apex socio-cultural group in the LGA said the total invasion of bandits in the LGA was both unwarranted and unacceptable. It would be recalled that Orsu LGA in Imo state has been under heavy attacks by unknown gunmen in a couple of years now. The unknown bandits were said to have invaded the suburbs of the area including Orsuihitteukwa, Awo-idemili, Eziawa-Orsu, Orsu-ihittenasaa, Elugwu-Okabia, Umuhu-Okabia and some others parts of the LGA, causing residents to flee their homes for fear of the unknown. Hundreds of lives, according to the group, have been lost and properties worth millions of naira destroyed as the LGA is currently deserted. However, Odinma Orsu Initiative, in a meeting in Owerri, the Imo state capital on Saturday, resolved that the residents of the LGA shall no longer be cowed and made to live in perpetual fear because of the activities of the unknown gunmen in their land. Speaking with journalists in Owerri, the President of the group, Eze-elect E. I Nwokeji, said that all sorts of bandits ranging from kidnappers, assassins, arsonists, cultists and various other outlaws who have kept the area on hostage, are by this notice advised to pack out within two weeks. He regretted that the residents of the LGA had been on the run since two years and half as a result the continued attacks by men of underworld. He said, “Orsu LGA, my own LGA has been a shadow of itself since two years and half now. As i speak, bandits have taken over our land and we have been made strangers in our own land. We rarely visit our homes for fear of being killed. “We just finished from a security meeting of all Orsu stakeholders and have taken a decision on the issue. We are giving these bandits terrorising our communities to vacate our land within two weeks of this notice or have themselves to blame. “We have exhausted all avenues to identify them and dialogue with them but since they chosen to take sleep from our eyes by killing, kidnapping and terrorising our communities, we shall not continue to rest on our oars and watch them perpetrated so many dastardly acts in our land. “At the end of two weeks, and there is no sign of compliance, we have decided on what to do.”

  A secondary school teacher, identified as Christian Oruanayeri, has allegedly impregnated a JSS2 pupil (name withheld) of Otovwodo Grammar School, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta. Parents of the girl were said to have raised the alarm by reporting the case to the principal of the school, one Mr Felix Onovughe. The alarm so raised only reportedly earned the impregnated girl an instant expulsion from the school by the principal, it was gathered. Our correspondent further gathered that following the outrage, the Ministry of Education, Ughelli North Local Government Area, directed the arrest and detention of the suspect by operatives of the Delta Police Command at ‘B’ Division, Agbarha-Otor. The school principal, who was said to be uncomfortable with the development, was said to have allegedly frustrated the parents by ensuring that the case was swept under the carpet. The Director, Post Primary Education Board (PPEB), in Ughelli North LGA, Mrs. Basil Iwhiwhu, was said to have, however, directed the principal of the school to reinstate the expelled pregnant pupil.   In all this, parents of the girl put in the family way are said to have explored other ways to get justice for their daughter and punishment for the erring teacher. The Chief Inspector of Education (CIE), Ughelli North, Mrs. Eduvie, who confirmed the incident, was quoted by The Story as saying: “On the issue of the pregnancy, I have reported to the ministry already. “But the police are handling the case; they have been going to the police station. “However, the police did not bother to call me, but I reported to the ministry that this is what has happened.” Meanwhile, the incident, as gathered, was said to have occurred some three months ago and the family, which could not be reached as of the time of filing the report, had reportedly sought an alternative means of resolving the issue. It was gathered that the families of the erring teacher and the pupil had met and settled the matter by allowing the duo to eventually get married.   Contacted, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Delta State Police Command, DSP Bright Edafe, who confirmed the incident, however, said the two families concerned chose to withdraw the case from the police with a sworn affidavit. It could however not be ascertained if the teacher is still retaining his job or has been laid off by the Ministry of Education in the State.

  Sunday 14 May 2023 IGP orders arrest of Fela’s son, Seun Kuti Veteran Nollywood actor, Saint Obi, is dead JOHESU, AHPA issue FG 15-day ultimatum over demands Oil Theft: Security Operatives Destroy Boat Carrying 600 Barrels Of Crude In Delta Pope Francis Meets With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy At The Vatican Death Toll In Kenya Cult Starvation Exceeds 200 – Govt 125 More Nigerians Arrive In Abuja, Number Of Sudan Evacuees Hits 2,371 Northern Leaders Demand 10th National Assembly Leadership 11 Killed In DR Congo Militia Clashes, Curfew Declared Unpaid salaries: Plateau, Abia, Benue govs-elect, others face workers’ fury FG can afford pay rise for workers, says Keyamo Yari to senators: Disregard religion, ethnicity when choosing next senate president Hope rises as pancreatic cancer vaccine shows promise in small trial She’s My Girlfriend, Doctor ‘Who Raped’ Kwara Patient Breaks Silence Sudan Crisis: Airlines, NAHCON Agree On $250 Increase For Hajj Fare Tinubu Will Not Abandon Outgoing Northern APC Govs – Onanuga Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  The Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Productivity, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN has said the last-minute move by the administration of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) to introduce a pay rise for the 144,766 federal civil servants under the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure cannot be described as unreasonable. Keyamo, who spoke with our correspondent in an exclusive interview in Abuja on Saturday, also said the pay rise is something the government can afford. Sunday PUNCH reports that there have been criticisms following the announcement of the peculiar allowance for civil servants. Certain finance experts described the introduction of the allowance as a “trap for the incoming administration.” But Keyamo said, “The new package for workers cannot be unreasonable under our present circumstances. In fact, Nigerian workers deserve more. The issue is the funding. I think when the new government removes subsidy and explores some others means to fund our budgets, the government can afford it.” Sunday PUNCH reports that workers under the CONPSS were paid peculiar allowances alongside their salaries for the month of April with arrears of January to March 2023 paid alongside. Earlier, the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, explained that the government introduced the allowance for civil servants in view of the current economic reality, and it is meant to help government workers to cushion the effects of rising inflation, the rising cost of living, hikes in transportation fare, housing and electricity tariffs.

  The Anambra State Government, in collaboration with the Police, have arrested one Chinyere Ifesinachi, for causing harm to her five-year-old house help, in Nnewi area of the state. The State’s Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs Ify Obinabo, told journalists in Awka on Saturday, that the 25-year-old Ifesinachi was arrested following a tip-off. The suspect, Chinyere Ifesinachi Obinabo, said that the suspect, a native of Alor in Idemili South Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, used cane and pestle to beat the girl to a pulp because she threw her child on the ground. She said that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal and Investigation Department of the Police Command in Anambra, where the suspect would be charged to court. “Immediately the incident was brought to my attention, I sent our response teams and some Non-Governmental Organisations in company of the Police, to arrest the perpetrator “The little girl was taken to the hospital where she is still undergoing medical examinations and treatments to ascertain the extent of her injuries. She is safe now and will not be returning to her guardian’s house again. “We appreciate those who reported the case and the police command, for making sure that such cases are handled professional and in record time,” she said. The Commissioner cautioned families and guardians against child abuse and maltreatment of their children and house helps in the state. According to her, anyone caught abusing any child in Anambra will face the full wrath of the law. Ifesinachi, while pleading for mercy, admitted that she flogged and inflicted injuries on the body of the girl. She blamed the devil for her actions. Earlier, the parents of the child, whose identities were not given, said that their little daughter was sent to live with the woman and help her after she gave birth to twins in March.

  The Chief Medical Director of Ayodele Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, Dr Ayodele Joseph, has said the female nurse he was accused of sedating and raping is his girlfriend. Ayodele was reportedly performing an operation on the nurse in his hospital when the incident occurred. The doctor allegedly sedated the patient, who is a professional nurse and eventually had sexual intercourse without her consent. While parading the suspect, the State Commissioner of Police, Paul Odama, said, “On May 5, 2023, a female victim (name withheld), a nurse by profession, reported to the police that she went to Ayodele Hospital at 290, Sawmill area, Lagos Road, Ilorin, for surgery. “The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Ayodele Joseph, during the treatment, sedated the patient, which led her to become unconscious. “Before the sedation, fearing any mishap, the patient activated her telephone and placed it in a vantage position to record the surgery unknown to the doctor before the expected surgery. “She woke up from sleep after the surgery to find herself fully naked, and when viewing the recorded video, she discovered that the said Dr Ayodele Joseph had unlawful sexual intercourse with her while under sedation. “Investigation led to the recovery of the video recording of the sexual action of the said doctor on the victim, which was also corroborated by the medical examination conducted on the victim.” Odama said the suspect had earlier been arraigned for causing the death of one Nneka Akanike in his hospital. He said the leadership of the state branch of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) had been reached on the recent case, adding that security officers had been deployed to barricade the hospital premises. The police boss said the medical doctor would be sued to court for rape at the conclusion of ongoing investigation. However, Joseph, while denying the allegation, said the nurse was his girlfriend. The doctor, who said the nurse was his employee and had been his girlfriend for eight years, described the allegation of rape as a set-up. Joseph said, “She is my girlfriend and we have dated for eight years. I trained her as a nurse; I sponsored her to a school of nursing in Lagos and I employed her. How can I rape a lady that I have had intercourse with several times? “What else do I want to see in her body? She only wanted to set me up to rip me of some money. Already, she has collected a substantial amount of money, which is with her. She has already collected about N500,000 from me on this issue and she is still demanding more money.”

  A total of 125 Nigerians fleeing the war in Sudan have arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The evacuees arrived on Saturday at 12.49 pm on a Tarco B737-300 aircraft from Port Sudan. The latest arrival brings the total number of evacuated Nigerians from Sudan to 2,371. Upon arrival, the returnees were processed by immigration officials alongside their colleagues from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons. A total of 125 Nigerians fleeing the war in Sudan have arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.https://t.co/4gfbgx9osF pic.twitter.com/VsDauzlsLT — Channels Television (@channelstv) May 13, 2023 On May 3, after nearly two weeks of assurances by the Federal Government, the first batch of Nigerians fleeing Sudan arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The Air Peace flight carrying over 270 Nigerian students from the Aswan Airport in Egypt first landed at the airport, with the NAF C-130H jet conveying about 80 persons following closely behind. Two days later, the second batch arrived in Abuja around 3 pm on board a Tarco Airline aircraft carrying 130 passengers including 128 females and two males. The following day, Federal Government officials in Abuja received the third batch of evacuees arriving from Port Sudan at 1:45 pm. The returnees were said to have been made up of 131 people, mostly women and children. Last Sunday, the fourth set of 422 returnees arrived in Abuja on two flights — 102 landed on a Tarco Airlines flight from Port Sudan and 322 on board Azman Air from Aswan, Egypt. The same day, 413 Nigerians landed on a Max Air flight arriving in Abuja around 10:50 am.   One hundred and twenty-nine other Nigerians last Monday were repatriated to Abuja from Port Sudan on board a Tarco Airlines flight. The jet transporting 124 adults and five infants arrived at 9:15 am. On Tuesday, another batch made up of 136 stranded Nigerians arrived at 9:30 am on a Tarco aircraft from Port Sudan. The evacuation was followed up by last Thursday’s arrival of 126 student evacuees on a Tarco Aviation aircraft from Port Sudan, landing in Abuja at 12:25 pm.

  The military, in partnership with a security outfit, Tantita Security Services, has impounded a barge in Warri, Delta State loaded with over 600 barrels of crude oil from illegal bunkering. The firm is a security consultant engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to secure crude oil assets in the Niger Delta. The barge, allegedly used to convey the crude oil to the jetty, was carried 20 miles off the coast of Warri where the military on Saturday insisted on destroying the vessel. Amid concerns raised by journalists with regard to the environmental impact of blowing up the vessel, the military destroyed the barge with thick clouds of black smoke filling the atmosphere. The firm linked the illegal operation to Mawe Services Limited, a corporate entity approved by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to provide services within the confines of lifting sludge. Channels Television reports that intelligence received two weeks ago by Tantita Security and Mason Engineering indicate that the facility was being used for activities outside its approval limits. According to the Executive Director, Operations and Technical, Tantita Security, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, further intelligence revealed that a 1,000-metric-ton barge was berthing alongside its jetty, loaded with illegal crude oil declared as sludge. The barge was said to have been towed by an unidentified tugboat into Mawe Services Limited’s jetty and left. A team of operatives with the security outfit reportedly continued to monitor the jetty for suspicious activities.   Enisuoh stated that a sewage truck with number plate JR7750XA was observed to have visited the jetty twice. During its third visit on Friday, the truck was said to have been accosted by the operatives keeping a constant vigil over the area. Upon inspection, according to the authorities, the substance found inside the tank was not sewage, but crude oil. The driver was arrested and handed over to government security operatives. The driver later revealed the destination of the contents, which took the security outfit to another yard inland, also operated by Mawe Services Limited, the firm’s ED added. He further explained that within the Mawe Services Limited’s premises, there were two metallic cylindrical tanks with a capacity of about 45,000 litres each.   Both tanks were said to have been inspected and one found to have been filled up with crude oil. The driver of the truck reportedly confirmed that he had been transferring the content of the barge into the tank that was filled. According to the firm, an inspection of the yard security logbook showed that the truck visited the location repeatedly and the content of the truck were clearly spelt out as “crude oil”. According to Enisuoh, the illegal tapping of crude oil has drastically reduced at the pipelines due to the synergy between the outfit and security agencies. However, crude oil thieves have now resorted to tampering with well heads to steal crude oil, he said.