News & Announcements

Dr. Ajibola Sikiru Adetona has been named the rector of the Oke Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, with the approval of Oyo State Governor ‘Seyi Makinde.

The tenure shall be five years in accordance with the terms and conditions of the office and status, as spelled out in the pertinent laws of the institution, according to a letter approving the appointment signed by Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun, Secretary to the State Government, and provided to newcomers.

Through the SSG, the governor welcomed the new rector and asked him to carry out his responsibilities with the utmost devotion, dedication, and professionalism in order to improve the institution’s current standing.

The statement reads: “I am delighted to convey the approval of the Governor, His Excellency, Engr. ‘Seyi Makinde on your appointment as Rector, The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Sakl, with effect from 14th December, 2022.

“The tenure of your appointment shall be five years, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the office and status, as spelt out in the relevant laws of the institution.

“The tenure of your appointment shall be five years, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the office and status, as spelt out in the relevant laws of the institution.

“While heartily congratulating you on your appointment, government desires the discharge of your duties with absolute loyalty, dedication and professionalism, towards ensuring the enhancement of the institution’s current status.

“You will also ensure the sustenance of peace and further development of the institution, in line with the vision of the state government on behalf of His Excellency, please accept our hearty congratulations.”

The Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offenses Court’s Justice Raheem Oshodi was informed on Wednesday that Femi Olaleye, a Lagos-based doctor, occasionally lubricated his alleged victim’s (names withheld) vagina before penetration.

Dr. Akinbunmi Oyebimpe, a medical and forensic expert at the Mirabel Centre of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, provided the information while being led in as a witness by Dr. Jide Martins, the director of the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP).

Recall that Dr. Olaleye is appearing before the judge to answer questions regarding a two-count charge of child defilement and penetration.

Dr. Oyebimpe, the fifth witness for the prosecution, made it clear in her evidence that the defendant would give the victim some medicines to take after the assault to prevent pregnancy.

Following the horrifically violent death of his elder brother on New Year’s Day, the younger brother of the Late CBN Staff, Kehinde Fatinoye, has made some startling revelations about their family.

Keep in mind that after the New Year Crossover Service, Fatinoye and his wife were pursued to their home by their assassins, where they were burned to death and their home was also set on fire before the assassins fled with their son and maid.

However, the deceased’s younger brother, Kehinde Fatinoye, stated in an exclusive interview that there was no one left in the family because their father and mother had passed away a long time ago, leaving only him and his brother alive.

The deceased’s brother revealed that he was the same person who buried the second son of the late CBN staff after he slumped and died during a football game in school while speaking soberly about the recovery of the first son of the CBN staff who was found floating on a river in Ogun State after his hands were tied to the back and thrown into the river.

He further disclosed that on Wednesday, the assassins forced him to bury his late brother and his wife, and that they are currently forcing him to bury the deceased man’s first son.

He stated, “He lost his second child, Oluwatunmise, in June. I was told that he slumped during a football match in school and died. I was called for the incident. I was told that the boy, after finishing Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination was playing football, fell, and died.

I was the one who buried him. I retrieved his body from the mortuary and buried him at the Kobape Elementary.

My brother called me to come to Abeokuta from Lagos. Look at my life. I buried the second born, I buried my brother and his wife, and I am going to bury this one.

I’m empty; there’s nothing left for me.”

Kehinde Fatinoye pleaded with the Ogun State Police command to ensure that the perpetrators of the CBN staff’s complete family’s murder are apprehended and held accountable.

One robbery suspect was killed, according to the Lagos State Police Command, as his group was exchanging gunfire with the police force’s agents in the Oshodi neighborhood.

SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s public relations officer, confirmed the event on Thursday to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

According to Hundeyin, the incident took place on Akinpelu-Oshodi Road on December 24 at 3 a.m.

He claimed that during a stop-and-search operation, the anti-robbery operators of the Akinpelu police division came upon the robbery group.

The police responded quickly to the suspected armed robbers’ fire after they spotted them and opened fire on them, according to the police spokesman.

According to Hundeyin, two other suspects were wounded by bullets but were able to flee, while one of the suspects was fatally shot during the incident.

He stated that efforts are being made to apprehend the evading suspects and he pleaded with members of the public and medical professionals to call the police if they came across anyone with gunshot wounds.

A local pistol, an Elepaq generator, and 15 computer UPS were reportedly found on the suspect, according to the police picture maker.

A kidnapping gang that specialized in enticing women onto Facebook to gang rape and blackmail them has been destroyed by the Delta State Police Command.

Three alleged members of the syndicate, including a woman, have thus been detained.

According to what learned, the syndicate’s method of operation was to meet unaware women on Facebook.

Then they would allegedly invite the trusting victims to a hotel where they would allegedly be sedated and subjected to gang rape.

If they weren’t finished, they would kidnap them and hold their parents as ransom to free them.

When one of the women (names withheld) who had been kidnapped on December 11, 2022, and had since been freed, recognized one of the kidnappers on Monday, the bubble popped.

She then informed the police at Ufuoma Division that she had been kidnapped and was being held prisoner in a motel in the community of Iwherekpokpor, Ughelli North Local Government Area.

She said that they had taken her naked images, videotaped her while sticking a candle in her intimate area, and then used the footage to threaten her and her parents into paying a hefty ransom.

Edafe said: “On receipt of this complaint, the DPO immediately detailed a combined team of Police detectives and Ekiugbo community vigilante who arrested one Cornelius Emene, 32, on January 2, 2023.

“During preliminary investigation, he made a useful statement that led to the arrest of two other suspects: Nelson Aghogho (aka Little) and Ufuoma Tunde, a female.

“He also gave an account of how they kidnapped another student of  the School of Health and Technology, Ofuoma, Ughelli North Local Government Area.

“The suspects’ phones contained numerous sex video recordings of their previous victims, which were also used to blackmail them and their parents. The three suspects are currently in custody, and the investigation is ongoing.”

The presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has urged Nigerians to live together, adding that no one has the right to lord over others.

The former governor of Lagos State also urged Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, to join hands against violence, hunger, ignorance, and bigotry.

Tinubu said this at a town hall meeting in Kano where he assured Muslim leaders that if elected as president in 2023, his government will offer fair and just leadership to all Nigerians.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by Tunde Rahman, for the Tinubu Media Office, on Tuesday.

Tinubu was quoted as saying, “Religious leaders like you are agents of harmony and hope, not division and disunity.  All well-meaning Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, must join hands against violence, hunger, ignorance, and bigotry.

“We all must live together. No one has the right to try to lord over the other. Allah stands against such injustice. And where Allah stands, all bad things must fall.

“Mean-spirited politicians, those thinking only of themselves or those who think they mean more than the nation itself, will go to great lengths to deceive or recruit eminent persons to unknowingly preach division and hatred.

“They cannot win with the truth. So, they will try to win with a lie. But a lie never wins in the end. Those they cannot beat with honesty, they seek to beat them with untruth and falsity. They want to turn servants of God into preachers of division and hateful sentiment.”

Speaking further, Tinubu assured the Muslim leaders that he would carry on with the spirit of togetherness and oneness displayed in his campaigns.

The former governor then pledged to conduct himself in public office on the values and ideals of fairness and justice, adding that he would always speak about facts and truths, policies and programs.

He said, “I promise to be a fair and just leader. This pledge is based on the Islamic teachings on leadership. A leader in a plural society is enjoined to be a leader for all. If elected, I shall govern in harmony with our nation’s democratic Constitution.

“More than that. I shall tackle this nation’s problems with a commitment to solving them. I say this not as a boast. I say it based on my record. As Lagos governor, I assembled perhaps the most diverse team in any state government.

“That team was based on competence, not tribal this or regional that. It was not based on the attire one wore or the accent one spoke with but on the quality of one’s ideas and contributions to society.

“If given the chance by Almighty Allah, I will operate in the same spirit of inclusiveness and innovation in order to renew the hope of our people. My highest priorities shall be the protection of our land and the prosperity of its people.”

The COVID-19 Omicron sub-lineages, which are in part to blame for the present rise in COVID-19 cases in China, the US, and the UK, have not yet been found in Nigeria, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

This information was released by the NCDC on Wednesday in a COVID-19 genomic surveillance update that was signed by Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, the organization’s director general.

The Omicron sub-lineage responsible for the spike in cases in the US and UK is XBB.1.5, whereas BF.7 is in charge of the rise in cases in China, according to the update.

However, according to Adetifa, B.5.2.1 has been detected in Nigeria since July 2022.

He said that with the introduction of the variation and its relatives with their shorter incubation periods, country-targeted travel restrictions, including demands for PCR-negative tests from arriving travelers, had little to no effect on limiting the global and national transmission of omicron.

He stated, “The NCDC-led COVID-19 Emergency Operations Centre is monitoring COVID-19 trends in China, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, South Africa, India, and other countries with a high volume of traffic to and from Nigeria. This includes the resurgence of COVID-19 in China following the relaxation of the country’s zero-COVID policy, as well as significantly increased COVID-19 cases, admissions, and deaths in the UK and the USA over the past weeks driven in part by the usual winter exacerbations of respiratory illnesses.

“Before the recent case increase in China, the USA, the UK, and other countries, genomic surveillance has shown that the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant and its lineages continue to dominate in recorded infections worldwide. However, the rise in the new Omicron sub-lineages XBB.1.5 in the UK and the US, and BF.7 in China raises concern as it may spread faster than older Omicron sub-lineages (e.g., XBB or BQ) and that they are responsible in part for current increases in cases, hospitalisations, and deaths.

“However, the sub-lineage seen with cases in China, B.5.2.1, and BF.7 are responsible for the surge in China and do not appear to be increasing unusually in other countries.

“The NCDC continues to strengthen genomic surveillance of the COVID-19 virus in Nigeria. Since the detection of the Omicron variant in December 2021, its sub-lineage (BQ.1/BQ.1.1) has been dominant in Nigeria. None of these dominant sub-lineages in Nigeria that are also circulating elsewhere has been associated with any increases in case numbers, admissions, or deaths locally.

“The sub-lineages partly responsible for the current increase in COVID-19 cases in other countries i.e., XBB.1.5 and BF.7 have not yet been detected in the country but B.5.2.1 has been seen here since July 2022 and the others are most likely here already. BF.7 and XBB have also been circulating in South Africa since October 2022 but without any accompanying increase in cases, severe illness, or deaths.

“Regardless of COVID-19 variants in different parts of the world, severe disease, admissions, and deaths disproportionately affect the unvaccinated and those with established risk factors i.e., older people, people with co-morbidities, and the immunocompromised. The most important action for Nigerians to take is to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the vaccine is the most important intervention for preventing severe disease, hospitalisation, and death.

“Though the COVID-19 protocols and restrictions have been eased, people at high risk for severe COVID-19 are advised to continue to adhere to the recommended non-pharmaceutical interventions such as the use of face masks, good hand and respiratory hygiene and avoidance of crowded spaces.

“COVID-19 has and continues to follow a different epidemiological course in Nigeria and most of Africa. Other Omicron sub-lineages that were associated with increases in cases, admissions and deaths elsewhere did not cause the same in Nigeria as confirmed by our genomics surveillance. 

“This is because the population is significantly protected from a combination of natural immunity and vaccination with vaccines with a high impact on hospitalisation, and deaths. In hindsight, country-targeted travel restrictions including requests for PCR-negative tests from incoming travellers had little or no effect on preventing global and national circulation of omicron since the emergence of this variant and its relatives with their shorter incubation period.

“The NCDC will continue to pay close attention to the ongoing COVID-19 situation in other countries and gather additional surveillance data to inform actions. We are reviewing the situation again this week. At this next review and if deemed necessary, a range of actions, not limited to enhanced surveillance of travellers at airports, may be decided on and implemented.”

The Corpse of Oreoluwa Fatinoye, son of the couple allegedly assassinated on New Year’s day in Abeokuta, Ogun State, has been recovered from a river.

The deceased was reportedly murdered and thrown into a river along the Adigbe–Obada road in Abeokuta after he was kidnapped by the assailants who murdered his parents.

The couple, Kehinde & Bukola Fatinoye, reportedly died during the fire incident that occurred at their residence located within the Ibara GRA, Abeokuta. 

It was reported that the fire incident occurred shortly after the couple returned from Cross Over Service to usher in the New Year.

The wife was a worker at the FUNAAB while the husband was a staff of CBN, the decomposing body of Oreoluwa was discovered floating on the river by fishermen on Tuesday morning.

Oreoluwa and the housemaid were reportedly kidnapped by the assailants and the two were later thrown into a river along the Adigbe – Obada area of the town.

While the housemaid reportedly escaped, Oreoluwa was not lucky as his body was found floating in the river yesterday, an eye witness reportedly told the police that he was found with the hands tied to his back.

Ms. Lauretta Onochie, the newly appointed Chairperson of the Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Governing Board, has urged Nigerians to give her and the other board members some breathing room so they can do their jobs.

Onochie made the claim during her acceptance address shortly after Chief Umana Okon Umana, the Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs, had formally sworn in the NDDC’s 7th Governing Board on Wednesday in Abuja.

She stated, “Since its establishment by the NDDC Act, the Commission has received a lot of flack from all and sundry.

“Consequently, the board will be looking to review also, in addition to all the guidelines issued by the Honourable Minister, will be looking to review the existing policies and guidelines to enable us to have a clear sight as we hit the ground running.

“We cannot continue working with failed templates and expect to get a different result.

“Apart from the physical development of our region, we will be paying extra attention to the empowerment of our teeming youth population, equipping them with requisite skills to enable that to catch up with their peers in other parts of Nigeria and elsewhere.

“There’s no doubt that we have a huge task ahead of us. We ask for the support of Nigerians in general and the Niger Delta in particular.

“We ask that you give us a breathing space to generate great ideas that will bring about the desired change in the region. We are determined to do a great job.

“We are committed to the improvement of the economic and ecological well-being of our region. We are devoted to the prosperous future of the youths of the region. We will not fail. It’s a promise. but we ask that you give us the breathing space to do our job.

“We ask for your support, All and sundry so that we can deliver for the long-suffering people of the Niger Delta.”

Lois Azurfa, one of the victims of the train kidnapping on the Abuja-Kaduna line last year, described how a Boko Haram leader requested her hand in marriage.

The 21-year-old stated he liked her and walked up to her.

She said, however, that she had turned down the offer.

She notes in an interview with ‘The Punch’: “He approached me, that he is one of of their superiors, their commander. 

“So, he approached me because I was the youngest there and then I’m actually a Christian. He approached me and he said he liked me and wanted to marry me and keep me in the camp.

” I told him I could not because I’m still young and then I could not just take that decision because I barely knew them and for the fact that they were my abductors.

“And then why would you just offer to marry me and then I would still accept?

“So at that point I actually rejected but then they subsequently kept coming with threats.”

However, she asserts that there was no instance of sexual molestation.