The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has arrested Salisu Sani, manufacturer of sacra herbs popularly known as Baban Aisha herbal medicine. A Premium Times investigation had shown that the herbal product, which is said to cure common diseases, was unsafe for consumption. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Mojisola Adeyeye, NAFDAC director-general, said the agency carried out surveillance and enforcement action leading to the sealing of the herbal medicine factory and the arrest of two staff. The NAFDAC DG said Sani has been arrested and is now in custody.   “We have commenced a nationwide mop-up of the sacra herbs in circulation. We have also intensified crackdown on all illegal manufacturers and distributors of herbal preparation and other unregistered preparations, with a view to bring perpetrators to book and minimize the usage of the substance,” she said. “It will also not be out of place to put on record some other related enforcement actions carried out recently as it relates to illegal manufacture, importation, advertisement, and sale of unregistered herbal drugs. The Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of the Agency recently clamped down on some distributors of some herbal medicines- Hajia Ayisha Special Snuff AK 47. “This was a result of intelligence report received by NAFDAC that these herbal medicines are mainly in the Northern part of Nigeria. Findings revealed that the herbal snuff were manufactured in Ghana and was approved for use as an analgesic by the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) of Ghana. But is being wrongly packaged and passed-off as a snuff for the Nigerian market. “Investigation further revealed an alarming trend in the use of these poisonous preparations by wide section of the populace, cutting across all genders and age groups, including young boys and girls, men and married women, drivers and artisans. “The snuff, popularly called ‘shake’ or “angoro” herbal powder comes under different street names, such as AK 47, moringa, black coffee (Dan Kano), magic powder, lufthansa and desert warrior.” Adeyeye appealed to Nigerians to desist from the use of this dangerous herbal preparation. “Be assured that NAFDAC is doing everything to ensure that only safe and efficacious medicine, wholesome food, and quality regulated products are sold and used by Nigerians,” she said.

  Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said Nigeria has not been fair to farmers in the country. According to him, the researchers, financial institutions and government have all conspired to victimise those who are in the business of farming.   He spoke in Lagos while delivering his keynote address at the Agribusiness Investors’ Network organised by the Innovative Youth in Agriculture (I-Youth) in partnership with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Mastercard Foundation. Obasanjo specifically decried the inability of farmers to access sustainable funding from financial institutions, saying the current double-digit interest rate given by banks is too prohibitive and cannot sustain any agric business. The NDIC-CBN tango Intrigues as Nasarawa assembly crisis festers The former President said driving agriculture to attain self-sufficiency as a nation should go beyond “tokenism”, saying the critical mass of the population must be involved. He said there must be a deliberate effort to bring all stakeholders together to produce a new generation of farmers that would take over from the old generation, noting that most of the farmers today are too old. He stated that the youngest farmer in his village who happens to be his cousin is 75-year old, asking, “How do we replace them?” “We need to see agriculture as being less of talk and more of action, timely action, right actions. Whatever you are doing in agriculture requires action and attention. “Agriculture is a serious business that requires commitment, funding, reasonable cost, right and appropriate inputs, beginning from seeds. It requires stability and predictability,” Obasanjo added. Deputy Director-General, Partnership for Delivery, IITA, Dr. Ken Danshiell said the conference was about bringing everybody together to support the youth to go into farming.

  The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has further expressed concerns over the planned student loan, saying beneficiaries of such initiative in other countries were committing suicide as a result of debts. The union, therefore, asked President Bola Tinubu to change the newly assented Students Loans Act to grants for poor students. ASUU National President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, gave the advice on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics. He said: “This would have been better if we are giving it to those set of students who are very poor, it should be called a grant, not a loan. “It should be called a grant since it is coming from the Federation Account and not that (after) these people have accessed it and when they are graduating, they have heavy loads behind them and within two years, if they don’t pay, they go to jail.” Arik Air founder, Receiver-Manager fight dirty over funds’ ‘diversion’ Intrigues as Nasarawa assembly crisis festers Tinubu signed the Students Loans Bill into law last week. The law provides for interest-free loans to poor Nigerian students. The loan repayment starts two years after the beneficiary completes the National Youth Service Corps. However, the ASUU President said the policy is not sustainable. “The idea of student loans came in 1972 and it was in a bank established. People who took loans never paid. “In 1994, 1993, the military enacted Decree 50 also set up a Students’ Loan Board. The National Assembly domesticated it in 2004 and within a year, it went off. The money disappeared. We want to see how this one will be different,” Osodeke added. ASUU President also said the conditions for the loan are not practicable. He said more than 90% of students won’t meet the requirements to access the loan. “We, as a union also did research of countries all over the world, of people who have benefited from this loan, they were committing suicide. “Recently, (President Joe) Biden is trying to pay back the bank loans of some who borrowed in the US,” he said. While calling on the President to take another look at the new law, Osodeke also asked him to probe the activities of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). He alleged that the fund had been colonised with “interests all over the place”, adding that whoever had stolen money should be identified and punished.

  According to a report by the Daily Mail UK, certain lesson plans in schools across the United Kingdom have raised concerns as they involve inappropriate content being taught to schoolchildren. These materials include information about anal sex, orgasms, and masturbation, which are introduced to children before they have reached puberty. The secretive nature of these lessons has come to light, revealing that some teachers are presenting scientifically false claims about biological sex. They promote the idea that gender is fluid and perpetuate the narrative that individuals can be born in the wrong body. This issue has surfaced amid the NHS facing potential legal action from around 1,000 families who allege that their children were hastily prescribed life-altering puberty blockers by the Tavistock Centre. MailOnline’s investigation has uncovered explicit teaching materials, including a sex manual for pre-teens, being used in classrooms across the UK. These concerns arise following a mother’s unsuccessful attempt to gain access to the content of her 15-year-old daughter’s Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) classes, which have been compulsory for the past three years. Despite the court ruling against Clare Page, MailOnline has discovered numerous questionable teaching resources already available online. Some activist teachers have been distributing colouring books, word searches, and cartoons to young boys and girls, apparently driven by their misguided mission to sexualize children under the guise of inclusivity. Since September 2020, primary schools have been required to provide Relationships Education, while secondary schools must offer mandatory RSE. This sudden change has left many educators searching for guidance, which some charities have attempted to provide. However, it has been revealed that certain charities harbour unconventional views on biological sex and share materials on their websites that reference underage sexual activities. According to MailOnline, it uncovered concerning information regarding the content being taught to children, revealing that some of them are being exposed to highly explicit topics. These include the teaching that babies from birth to the age of one can experience pleasurable sensations by touching their genitals. Additionally, 12-year-old girls are given instructions on how to achieve orgasm through various methods of self-stimulation, such as pinching or stroking the clitoris. Shockingly, children are even assigned “masturbation” as homework from a resource used prior to the compulsory implementation of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). Furthermore, children are being informed that girls as young as 12 can derive sexual pleasure from anal, vaginal, and oral sex. They are taught that it is normal to experience sexual urges and engage in masturbation even before reaching puberty. Disturbingly, they are also being told that it is normal for prepubescent children to feel sexual attraction towards anyone. In addition to these explicit topics, children are being taught that gender is distinct from biological sex and is a fundamental aspect of one’s identity. They are instructed that individuals can change their sex from male to female, and that some people identify as “non-binary,” existing outside the categories of male and female. Astonishingly, children are even taught that individuals with the male Y chromosome can be considered women. Leading charities, including the Sex Education Forum (SEF), Coram Life Education, and Brook, are involved in creating lesson plans for schools, conducting PSHE workshops, and guiding teachers to educational resources. Coram Life Education supports a vast number of teachers, reaching over 600,000 pupils annually through their PSHE education initiatives. SEF proudly states on its website that it has a significant history of influencing policy. While some teachers and educators argue that Relationships and Sex Education are vital subjects for children to learn, the explicit and questionable nature of the content being taught raises serious concerns about the appropriateness and impact of these lessons.

  Zainab Bulkachuwa, former president of the court of appeal, says she never compromised her office on partisan grounds. Bulkachuwa was reacting to recent comments by Adamu Bulkachuwa, her husband. While speaking at the 9th senate valedictory session on June 10, Bulkachuwa said he often encroached on his wife’s space while she was in office. “And she has been very tolerant and accepted my encroachment and extended her help to my colleagues,” the former senator said. Bulkachuwa’s comments sparked outrage, with many Nigerians calling for investigations into his claim. But speaking with BBC Hausa, the former senator retracted his statement, saying Ahmad Lawan, the then senate president, did not allow him to finish his thoughts. He said the help he spoke about was not in a negative sense. In a statement issued on Sunday, the retired judge said she never compromised her oath of office in 40 years in service. She said her decisions were always premised on facts. “My attention has been drawn to the trending video of what was said by my husband Senator Adamu M. Bulkachuwa,” the statement reads. “I want to state categorically that I never at any time compromised my oath of office to favour any party who appeared before me throughout my judicial career spanning 40 years of service to my country. “My decisions were always based on the facts, the law and in accordance with my conscience and oath of office.” She added that former “justices of the court can attest to the fact that I never interfered with the independence of any of the justices of the court in the discharge of their judicial functions”.

  The operatives of the Anambra Vigilante Group have killed two suspected gunmen said to be terrorising residents of the state. It was gathered that the incident happened in the early hours of Monday in Okija, Ihiala Local Government Area of the state. The Ihiala LGA is a border town between Imo and Anambra states and the hoodlums were said to have been terrorising members of the communities around the areas and also forcing them to comply with the Monday sit-at-home. According to sources in the area, the gunmen, numbering about 15, stormed the camp of the vigilante operatives, thinking they were asleep and attempted to open fire on them before the security officials quickly mobilised and repelled them in a gun battle. One of the sources said, “At about 3:00 am today, some hoodlums launched an attack on Anambra Security Forces but were vehemently resisted. “Two of the gunmen were gunned down during a hot exchange of fire and two AK-47 rifles were also recovered, while many fled the scene. “Many of the gunmen who fled as they could not withstand the superior firepower of the security operatives, sustained various degrees of injury and bullet wounds, while members of Anambra Security Forces were unscathed.” While reacting to the development, Christian Aburime, the Press Secretary to the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, confirmed the incident in a statement. Aburime said, “The need for a sane and secure environment in Anambra State remains a top priority of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration. Accordingly, security forces remain unrelenting in their resolve to protect the lives and property of ndị Anambra, travellers, and all residents alike.” Some of the residents who spoke about the development expressed delight, saying the hoodlums have been terrorising the area for a long time now.

  A housewife, Salamat Suleiman, has filed for divorce after two months of marriage, due to husband’s health issue. The complainant told the court that she noticed that her husband had watery sperm. She pleaded for the court to dissolve the marriage, saying that she is tired of the relationship. The respondent agreed that he has health issues, but insisted that the wife also have health challenges.   He however said that he still loved his wife and pleaded with the court to grant him time to settle the misunderstanding. The presiding Judge, Abdul Qadir Umar, told the wife to have an open mind and seek medical assistance for their health challenges. The judge advised the wife to allow a second chance in the relationship, pointing out that all marriages have their challenges. The court adjourned the case to Aug. 28, for a report of settlement or continuation of hearing.

  Two commanders of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) have been reportedly killed around the Lake Chad region. Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria are the basin countries around the lake. Zagazola Makama, a publication focused on the Lake Chad region, reported that Malam Bello and Musa Modu, as well as some fighters, were killed in separate airstrikes coordinated by the Nigerian military in Marte LGA in Borno state on Friday. Makama quoted sources as saying that the strikes were carried out after intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations conducted revealed that the insurgents were in the location. The publication said an assessment after the raid showed that the ISWAP commanders and their fighters were killed. Some of the fighters wounded as a result of the airstrikes ran towards the axis of Tudun Wulgo and Ngilewa. Ibrahim Ali, a major general and theatre commander of the north-east Joint Task Force, has been tasked with wiping out Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters from the geo-political zone.

  Monday 19 June 2023 CBN removes saving, withdrawal limits on domiciliary accounts FG summons oil marketers, set to close equalisation fund Eight feared killed as flood submerges Lagos community Tinubu’s Cabinet: In-fighting as APC leaders jostle for ministerial slots I’ve never influenced my wife’s judicial decisions – Senator Bulkachuwa CBN issues additional FX guidelines; medicals, BTA/PTA to be sourced at I&E window NDLEA nabs 2 Qatar-based drug lords, intercepts meth consignment at MMIA Sultan Declares June 19 Dhul-Hijjah 1st, June 28, Eidul Adha Ensure Another G5 Emerges For APC To Win In 2027, Akpabio Tells Wike Oil Thieves Are Not Hidden, Must Be Part Of Discussion, Says Cole ‘I Thought It Was Over’, Wike Says He Was Poisoned At PDP Secretariat Convert Student Loan To Grant For Poor Students, ASUU Urges Tinubu Overloading, Lack Of Safety Jackets Caused Kwara Boat Tragedy, Says NIWA Boss IPOB to Asari Dokubo: Supporting Nnamdi Kanu’s detention won’t get you pipeline contract Military kills ‘two ISWAP commanders’ around Lake Chad Households under pressure as new electricity tariff due July 1 13 killed in two attacks in Plateau Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…