The house of representatives has asked the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to extend the validity of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results to three years. The lower legislative chamber also urged the board to conduct the UTME at least twice a year. By current arrangement, result of the exam conducted by JAMB is only valid for a year. Candidates who are unable to get admission for that year are expected to take the exam the next year to pursue their quest for tertiary education.   But moving the motion on Wednesday, Akin Rotimi, the lawmaker representing Ekiti north 1 federal constituency, asked JAMB to “rethink” the arrangement to meet global standard. Rotimi said the move “would bring immediate relief to students and their parents/sponsors, who bear the burden of paying every year for the exam, as well as give candidates multiple windows to sit for the exam in a year”. He also argued that there is nothing in the extant act establishing JAMB that stops it from immediately carrying out the resolutions of the house on the subject. In a statement, the lawmaker said the house also adopted a motion seeking the establishment of an ad-hoc committee to implement the resolution of the house. “In addition to passing my motion, the honourable house also passed a motion for an additional prayer moved by Hon. Olumide Osoba, establishing an ad-hoc committee of the house to liaise with the authorities of JAMB and the ministry of education to ensure the resolution is expeditiously carried out,” the statement reads. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Oyo state, moved a similar bill during the 9th assembly.   However, the bill — which sought extension of UTME’s validity to four years — was stalled after the second reading.

  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives, seeking an amendment to the 2022 supplementary appropriation act to accommodate N500 billion for provisions of palliatives for Nigerians. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas read the president’s letter at plenary on Wednesday. He said the request became necessary to enable the government provide palliatives for Nigerians to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal. “I write to request for the amendment of the 2022 supplementary appropriation act. The request became necessary among others things, to source for funds to provide necessary palliatives to mitigate the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on Nigerians.   “Thus, the sum of N500 billion only has been extracted from the 2022 supplementary appropriation act of N819 billion, 536 million, 937 thousand 803 naira only for the provisions of palliatives for Nigerians to cushion the effects of subsidy removal,” the letter read. He urged the give his request “expeditious” consideration and approval to enable his administration provide palliatives for Nigerians. After reading the request, the speaker said the House will begin the consideration of the president’s request at plenary on Thursday.

  Thunderstrike has reportedly killed three suspected kidnappers in the agrarian Oro Ago community in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State. It was gathered that the incident, linked to the efforts of the local vigilance team in the Igbomina Kwara axis aimed at checking security challenges in the area, happened three days ago. In a viral video of the incident, it was gathered that the victims of the thunderstrike were suspected members of an eight-man kidnap gang, who reportedly operated in Iwo, Osun State about two weeks ago. The one-minute-13-second video clip showed decomposing bodies of three young persons, presumably in their 20s, already burnt beyond recognition in a bush, with flies all over the scene. The voice in the short video clip said, “We’re members of the vigilance team in Igbomina Kwara. Our efforts against those perpetrating evil and kidnapping people in our area had yielded fruits. Thunderstrike struck them dead. Three of them. God will continue to make us successful against the evildoers. We shall overcome them all by the grace of God. Thank you all”. Another video clip also showed some herders, said to be relations of the victims of the thunderstrike, in a bush, bemoaning their loss. They ascribed the incident to an act of God that cannot be questioned by anyone, saying that the thunderstrike is from God and can never be man-made. A source in the Oro-Ago Development Union (ODU), a sociocultural organisation of indigenes of the area, confirmed the incident, saying that members of the vigilance team in the area briefed the organization on the development. Speaking on the incident, the state Police commissioner, Ebunoluwarotimi Adelesi, said that the command and its men had already commenced an investigation into the development. The police boss stated that the veracity of the incident would be ascertained after a diligent investigation.

  Against the backdrop of the removal of fuel subsidy, President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians to be patient, promising that he will come up with palliatives to assuage the sufferings. The Chairman of the class of 1999 Governors, Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State, conveyed the President’s message after a closed-door meeting of the class of 1999 Governors, in the Council Chamber at the Aso Villa in Abuja. Addressing State House correspondents, the former governor, who expressed the President’s dream to foster a better nation, asserted that the issue of subsidy is gone forever, expressing the belief that the situation will soon normalise. The group’s chairman further underlined that all hands be on deck to foster a greater nation, particularly as the issues are beyond party politics. The former class of 1999 Governors, now 26 of them, congratulated the President on his emergence as the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as they held discussions on issues of insecurity in the country, unemployment and electricity, geared towards the nations development. The ex-governors were at the State House to identify with Tinubu, who was the governor of Lagos State from May 1999 to 2007, and to express solidarity over his recent policies since assumption of office as Nigeria’s President on May 29, 2023. Among the former Governors present are James Ibori of Delta State; Donald Duke of Cross River State; Orji Kalu of Abia State; Victor Attah of Akwa Ibom State; Adamu Mu’azu of Bauchi State; Sam Egwu of Ebonyi State; Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State; and Ibrahim Turaki of Jigawa State. Others are Niyi Adebayo of Ekiti State; Bisi Akande of Osun State; Joshua Dariye of Plateau State; Ahmed Yerima of Zamfara State; Jolly Nyame of Taraba State; Olusegun Osoba of Ogun State as well as Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State.

  The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, said it will investigate an allegation of the gruesome murder of Nigerians by soldiers in Enugu State. The House passed the resolution following a motion by a member, Cyriacus Umeha, who calling for punishment of those found culpable. He alleged that on June 29, 2023, licensed local vigilantes operating under the Enugu State Neighbourhood Security Guards responding to a distress call about banditry and kidnapping, were shot dead at close range, by soldiers of the Nigerian Army, 82 Division Enugu at Eke in the Udi Local Government Area of the state. According to him, the soldiers claimed that the victims, including some passers-by, were the actual kidnappers even when the vigilantes were in their traditional security uniforms and also showed their identification cards. The House urged the Federal Government to overhaul the security architecture of the entire state in line with the posture of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to ensure adequate protection of lives and properties as guaranteed by law. They also sought compensation for the families of those who lost their lives in the incident.

  Former Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has said that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar is angry because he was rejected by him and the G5- governors. Ortom was reacting to a statement made by Atiku through his media aide, Phrank Shaibu accusing him and other G-5 members of seeking appointment and protection from prosecution from the Federal Government. Ortom said that the presidential candidate should be worried about why the G-5 and other members of the integrity group rejected his candidacy. Atiku had described the former Benue governor as one of the worst governors in the history of Nigeria saying his case file at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is bulky. But responding, Ortom reiterated the stand of the G-5 and said that the group stood for justice, equity, and fairness and that the 2023 presidency must go to the southern part of the country and Nigerians saw the indisputable facts contained in the position of the Integrity Group and voted for a presidential candidate from the south. The statement read in parts, “Atiku is angry because Governor Ortom and his colleagues in the G-5 refused to be used by him as ‘Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)’ to circumvent and thwart the resolve of Nigerians to produce a President from the southern region.   “Another reason for Atiku’s attack on Chief Ortom is the former Benue State Governor’s boldness to speak truth to his face and rebuke him for making unstatesmanlike comments regarding the killing of Benue people by Fulani herdsmen. Atiku is on record to have expressed bitterness towards Ortom for daring to enact a law to prohibit open grazing of livestock in the state. “The former Vice President’s diatribe against Chief Ortom can therefore be understood as the manifestation of frustration for losing the 2023 election. His failure to humble himself and unite the PDP, opting to remain haughty even when the signals were clear that he was heading for defeat summarized his performance in the last election. “Atiku lacks the moral ground to accuse anyone else of corruption. The words of his erstwhile principal, the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who described him as a very corrupt man have remained indelible and incontrovertible. Chief Obasanjo, in his book, ‘My Watch’ states on pages 191-192 thus: “Atiku Abubakar’s name was among the names sent to us. Up to that time, EFCC had enjoyed close cooperation and collaboration with law enforcement agencies in the UK and the USA. I gave the green light to Nuhu for the investigation as requested by the authorities and forwarded his report to the USA. The report was uncomfortable and unsavoury about Atiku and his associates. I thought it was bad enough that the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was under investigation for corruption when my Administration had made fighting corruption one of its cardinal objectives. As it turned out, the investigation in Nigeria and in the US led to Atiku’s house being searched by the US Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It was so embarrassing for our Administration and Embassy in Washington…” Ortom admitted that he honoured the invitation of the anti-graft agency saying, “The role of anti-graft agencies was to investigate allegations of corruption. Whenever they invite someone, such a person has to honour the invitation. As a man who believes in the rule of law, Chief Ortom willingly visited EFCC when the Commission sought clarifications on the actions of his administration.” The former governor urged Nigerians to disregard the allegation by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar against him describing it as unfounded and tantamount to cheap blackmail.

  Anambra Police Operatives on Tuesday, killed two kidnappers along the Ichida- Igboukwu expressway and rescued a kidnap victim. The command’s spokesperson, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu said the operation was in collaboration with Anambra State Vigilantes. In a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday, Ikenga said items recovered from the kidnappers include; “one Ak47 rifle, two pump action gun, two Ak47 magazine, thirty- two live ammunition, one highlander jeep belonging to the victim. “Preliminary information reveals the deadly gang of Eight operating with two vehicles a Grey Highlander jeep and a white Lexus 350, abducted the victim in her Ash Highlander jeep. The victim was rescued unhurt and she has been debriefed. “However, the Commissioner of Police CP Aderemi Adeoye has warned the criminals in the state to change their ways and cue into State Government Opportunities by engaging in legitimate means of survival or be prepared to face discomfort in their criminal/ illegal activities.” The statement further stated that on the same day by 8:30 pm, “the joint security Operatives attached to Forward Operating Base FOB while on patrol around Uga- Ezinifite Expressway in an attempt to stop two vehicles that drove suspiciously to beat security screening, a highlander jeep and a white Lexus 350 without plate number, was given a hot chase by the joint forces. The Operatives engaged the deadly gang in a gun battle and they abandon the two vehicles and took to their heels. “During a search conducted inside the vehicle, two automatic pump action guns, eleven (11) live cartridges, and a bag containing one walkie-talkie, one cell phone, and other incriminating items were recovered. Further information shows evidence of blood stains on all the vehicles as they have escaped with bullet wounds. The Command also wants to use this opportunity to call on operators of public and private hospitals to admit but report anyone with a bullet wound or related injuries to the nearest Police Station.”

  Two officials of the AirPeace ground staff were thoroughly rough-handled by men of the Nigerian Air Force for trying to do their job at Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport Owerri on Monday. Their offence was their insistence on due process, that an Air Force Commodore should be screened before boarding the aircraft in line with the operational rules. The chaos that followed would have disrupted flight operations at the airport last Monday, if not for the discipline of the AirPeace ground staff who carefully managed the offensive scenario and averted serious fallouts. Uneze Camilus and Mbajiogu Chimezie, staff of AirPeace were shoved around and roughed up by armed Air Force operatives, for doing their job. While Uneze was poked in the chest many times, Chimezie had his medicated eye glasses torn from his face and crushed underfoot by one of the raging AirForce men. The AirForce senior officer took the mayhem even further by ordering the withdrawal of all AirForce personnel from their duty posts at the airport, back to their base. Our correspondent at the airport gathered that the withdrawal was reversed, hours later. It was during the boarding of the airline’s first flight from Owerri to Abuja, when the AirPeace officials were at the tarmac conducting the final screening before boarding, that the muscle flexing by the Air Force men began. Air Commodore Idorenyen F. Bassey, who was in uniform, had arrived from the protocol lounge to board the flight. Not quite long after, Mr Uneze who was screening passengers approached him for the screening but the Air Commodore walked away, and told Uneze that he was embarrassing him by attempting to screen him. He walked on to the plane and forced himself into the aircraft without being fully screened. Uneze, careful not to confront the senior officer and a customer, went up to the Captain of the aircraft and informed him of the incident. The flight Captain addressed the Air Commodore and explained to him that his rank does not exempt him from being screened, that the exercise was for collective good. Rather than heed the Captain, the senior officer’s Orderly placed a call to his colleagues and not too long after, six other Air Force personnel drove to the tarmac area in a vehicle and parked close to the outbound aircraft. They ordered Uneze to enter the vehicle. He obeyed. He was whisked away to the Security Department of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN), and while inside the vehicle, he was assaulted and poked on the chest several times by one of the Air Force operatives. While concerned Nigerians gathered to pacify the angry Air Commodore who said he was no longer making the trip to return to the aircraft and forestall the chances of taking the AirPeace staff members to the Air Force Base, one of the Air Force personnel who identified Chimezie as one of those who ’embarrassed’ their boss, snatched Chimezie’s medicated eye glasses, threw it on the floor and crushed it underfoot. According to Chimezie who documented his statement at the FAAN Security Office, “We did nothing wrong. We were only doing our job.” The flight, marked number P47151 which was scheduled for departure at around 8:40am eventually left for Abuja around 9.10, after the back and forth that followed the Air Commodore’s return to the aircraft.

  A United States district court has sentenced Olalekan Ponle, better known as Woodberry, to eight years and three months in prison for multimillion-dollar fraud. Woodberry is an ally of Ramon Abbas, best known as Hushpuppi, another Nigerian who was jailed for internet fraud in November 2022. On June 10, 2020, Hushpuppi and Woodberry were arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for extensive international online fraud. They were then transported to the US for separate trials. Although Hushpuppi initially denied all charges, he later changed his plea and was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. Similarly, Woodberry, accused of defrauding a US company of about $188,000, maintained his innocence for over two years. However, he reversed course and entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud at a change of plea hearing in April, at the US District Court for Northern Illinois. Robert Gettleman, the judge, accepted the defendant’s change of plea in a ruling delivered on April 6. Consequently, the defendant was convicted on one out of eight counts following his plea bargain. The judge referred the case to the probation department for a pre-sentence investigation and report, which would guide his decision on the appropriate sentence to impose. 100 MONTHS BEHIND BARS At the sentencing on Tuesday, the judge ordered Woodberry’s imprisonment for 100 months. “The defendant is hereby committed to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to be imprisoned for a total term of 100 months as to count,” Gettleman said. Gettleman ordered Woodberry to submit himself to the U.S. Marshal Service for onward transfer to the federal correctional institution in Danbury, Connecticut, where his family members, especially his American fiancée, would be allowed to visit him. The judge also said Woodberry would be “surrendered to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for deportation immediately following his incarceration”. The convict is expected to pay about $8 million in restitution to seven of his victims.

  The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says consumption of fruits ripened with calcium carbide causes cancer, heart, kidney diseases and liver failure. Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye stated this in Abuja during the flag off of the organization’s media sensitization workshop on dangers of drug hawking and ripening of fruits with calcium carbide. She said there have been clarion calls by well-meaning Nigerians on the need to take stringent regulatory actions to stem the dangerous tide of drug hawking and ripening of fruits with calcium carbide. She said, “Fruits provide the body with micronutrients that improve immunity and prevent diseases among other benefits. Fruit ripening is a unique aspect of plant development, which makes the fruit edible, softer, sweeter, more palatable, nutritious, and attractive.   “However, the consumption of fruits such as mango, banana, plantain, guava, orange, grape, etc or any other fruits ripened with calcium carbide is dangerous to health.” She said it may also cause frequent thirst, irritation in mouth and nose, weakness, permanent skin damage, difficulty in swallowing, vomiting, skin ulcer and so forth.   While saying that higher exposure may cause undesired fluid build-up in lungs (pulmonary oedema), she said acetylene produced by calcium carbide affects the neurological system and reduces oxygen supply to the brain, and further induces prolonged hypoxia. Prof. Adeyeye said the impurities are hazardous to pregnant women and children and may lead to headache, dizziness, mood disturbances, mental confusion, memory loss, cerebral oedema (swelling in the brain caused by excessive fluids), sleepiness, seizure etc. She said, ” Fruits artificially ripened with calcium carbide may be ripe on the skin, the inside remain unripe. You can identify such artificially ripened fruits if you notice that the fruits are all yellow whereas the stem is dark, this is true especially with banana and plantain. In addition, naturally ripened fruits usually have brown or black spots, while those artificially ripened have traces of powdery substances and peel off quickly.” The NAFDAC boss said most of the drugs sold by the illiterate and semi-literate drug hawkers are counterfeit, substandard or expired, and therefore do not meet the quality, safety and efficacy requirement of regulated medicines. “Prescription drugs are also sold by the itinerant Drug Hawkers who also hold consultation, recommend and prescribe medicines to their gullible “patients”, she said.