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Major General Barry Ndiomu (retired), the interim administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, has claimed that no fewer than 3000 former Niger Delta agitators are receiving scholarships at higher institutions both domestically and overseas.

He continued by saying that all of their fees and allowances for the 2022–2023 academic year had also been covered.

In a statement released on Monday, Freston Akpor, Special Adviser on Media to the PAP Administrator, refuted claims that the program had not yet sent out scholarship recipients.

He said he had sanitized the program despite inheriting a number of liabilities, including unpaid scholarship payments, unfinished vocational training centers, non-formal education programs, and a substantial financial load.

The statement read in part, “Despite episodes of misinformation in the media, we have sanitized the Programme. For instance, instead of canceling the inconclusive scholarship awarded by his predecessor and initiating a fresh one, as most people would have done, General Ndiomu rather sanitized and adopted the process with the payment of all fees for 1700 PAP students spread across tertiary institutions of learning across the country and an additional 55 delegates going into their first year at various universities in different countries.

“This is in addition to 1300 students already deployed to various tertiary institutions within Nigeria and overseas in the previous year, bringing the total number of students to 3000 whose scholarships covering tuition and In-Training-Allowance have been paid in full by the administration of General Ndiomu for the 2022/2023 academic session. Insinuations that the current dispensation has yet to deploy delegates under the scholarship programme are ungodly.”

He cautioned those responsible for the act, while pleading with the people to disregard the allegations of troublemakers.

At the State House in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu is having a meeting with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and service chiefs.

They are Maj. Gen. C.G. Musa, Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. T.A. Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff, Rear Admiral E.A. Ogalla, Chief of Naval Staff, AVM H.B. Abubakar, and Kayode Egbetokun, Acting Inspector-General of Police.

Since their appointment on June 19, Tinubu has not previously met the security helmsmen in person. The meeting started at 3:30 p.m. local time.

In Anambra State, a woman named Nnaemaka Nwosu is accused of setting a policewoman and her two children on fire.

It was learned that the event took place on Sunday in the Nnokwa community of Anambra State’s Idemili South Local Government Area.

After her spouse filed for divorce, the Amawbia native suspect reportedly found herself homeless and in desperate need of housing. It was the policewoman who offered her a room in her apartment that she confided in.

A local source who wished to remain anonymous said that the trouble began when the suspect and the policewoman got into a quarrel, which led to the policewoman being pounded with a pestle until she fell and passed out.

The source said, “After that, the suspect tied the policewoman and her children together with rope, right inside their room, set them ablaze, together with the building; and they (the policewoman and her children) all got burnt.

“The suspect was first apprehended by operatives of the local vigilante and some of the villagers who were attracted by the fire, and who eventually captured her as she was trying to escape the vicinity.”

The suspect then confessed to the crime and described how she committed the horrible act after initially claiming that a gas cylinder exploded while the mom and her children were boiling hot water.

DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, the spokesman for the Anambra State Police, confirmed the event when reached.

Ikenga also stated that the suspect had been taken into custody and that the matter had been given to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka for additional research.

He claimed that the policewoman’s and her children’s bodies had been placed at the mortuary.

The event has been reported to the State inquiry Department for further inquiry and prosecution, according to DSP Ikenga, who also provided a brief account of how it occurred.

“Preliminary information revealed that the policewoman accommodated the suspect while she was searching for a house. The two women had a disagreement which resulted in a fight before the suspect hit the woman police on her head with a pestle.

“While she became unconscious she tied her with her two kids and set them ablaze. The bodies of the victims have been recovered and deposited in the morgue. Further development shall be communicated,” Ikenga added.

Mmesoma Ejikeme, an Anambra candidate who was accused of fabricating her 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination result by the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board on Monday, contended that she did not falsify her results.

This was said by Ejikeme in a video that our journalist in Abuja was able to secure.

JAMB noted in a statement on Sunday night that Ejikeme had artificially inflated her UTME score from 249 to 362, exploited that number to secure a N3 million scholarship from Innoson Motors, and was about to receive the scholarship from the Anambra state government before she was discovered.

“The most pathetic of them all is the case of Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME and was awarded a N3m scholarship by Chief (Dr.) Innocent Chukwuma. She was even set to be honoured by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials put a call through to JAMB to confirm her claim only for the Board to reveal that Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had actually scored 249 and not 362 she claimed. She had manipulated her UTME result to deceive the public to fraudulently obtain a scholarship and other recognitions,” a statement by JAMB said.

However, speaking in the video, Ejikeme said, “My name is Ejikeme Mmesoma. I’m the owner of this result. I went to the JAMB portal to print this result and this is the result they gave me. This is my aggregate, 362.

“They scan the QR code on my result and it showed a Yoruba name — Omotola Afolabi who scored 138.

“The same Omotola scored 338 when it was rechecked and this evidence showed that there is a problem.

“This is exactly how I printed and downloaded it from their site. So saying that I forged my result is what I don’t know and I am traumatised that they accused me of forging my results because I’m not capable of forging my result,” she added.

She emphasized, however, that despite being notified, JAMB and the DSS did not conduct their own investigations before the board came to the conclusion that she had fabricated her results.

At the time this story was filed, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the JAMB spokesperson, had not yet commented on the video.

The N1,000 Proof of Ownership Certificate verification charge that drivers must pay is expected to bring in almost N12 billion for the federal government each year.

Abdulhafiz Toriola, the Lagos Ministry of Transportation’s Permanent Secretary, revealed this last week. He said that by providing this certificate, car owners and the government would be able to monitor car theft and the recovery of stolen vehicles, as well as ensure the integrity of all vehicles listed on the National Vehicle and Identification Scheme database.

He said, “To this end, the Federal Government has introduced the issuance of annual Proof of Ownership Certificate for all registered vehicles.”

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, there were 11.76 million vehicles in Nigeria as of Q2 2018, and the vehicle per population ratio was put at 0.06 for the period. Par various reports, Nigeria imports about 400,000 vehicles annually.

192,287 vehicles were imported into the nation through the Ports & Terminal Multipurpose Limited in the first 10 months of 2021, but only 114,159 vehicles did so in the same time of 2022.

The Proof of Ownership Certificate, according to Toriola, will be used as formal proof of a vehicle’s ownership. “The POC will contain crucial information, including the vehicle’s registration details, such as license plate information, model information, and year of manufacture, in addition to the owner’s name and address,” he said.

“Having critically reviewed the challenges encountered in ensuring the promotion of Safety and Security of lives and property through the issuance of POC nationally and especially in our dear State, the Joint Tax Board, in its communiqué issued at the end of the emergency meeting held on May 9, 2023, adopted, and made a resolution that proof of ownership be issued to motorists on an annual basis nationwide.”

Lagos would start collecting POC fees at the start of July, he added. Other states have not yet disclosed their stances. There have been conflicting reactions to the government’s decision, and Taiwo Oyedele, Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PwC, has argued that the tax is backwards-looking, poorly thought out, and badly structured.

He said, in a LinkedIn post, “Apart from the payment which seems to be solely for revenue generation, and perhaps more for non state actors than for the government, it is illogical to have to prove annually that you own a vehicle for which you already have a certificate of proof of ownership issued by the government.”

He noted that the tax adds complications to the myriad of multiple taxes which make doing business difficult and dampens tax morale.

He added, “While this tax will not necessarily stop the earth from rotating, it is wrong both in terms of signalling from a multiple taxation perspective and in terms of timing given the recent fuel subsidy removal.

“To be sensitive and demonstrate empathy, the government should not impose any new or higher taxes on transportation, energy, or food which are the most impacted by the subsidy removal. The same reasons why the recent attempt to collect VAT on diesel needs to be reconsidered.”

Oyedele added that the tax should be removed for the sake of order and to avoid creating a negative precedent.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said that it will prosecute one Ejikeme Mmesoma for allegedly inflating her score from 249 to 362 in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, thus parading herself as the 2023 UTME top scorer.

The examination body said it also uncovered one Atung Gerald from Kaduna  State, who never sat the exam, but claimed to have scored 380.

In a statement on Sunday by its spokesman, Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB said it found the case of Mmesoma particularly pathetic as she had allegedly hoodwinked unsuspecting members of the public, including businessman, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, who offered her N3m in scholarship, while a state honour was being planned to celebrate her.

The JAMB spokesperson said, “The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been drawn to several publications in both print and online media  celebrating certain candidates for being high scorers in the 2023 UTME.

“The  board is constrained to set the records straight and wishes to state unequivocally that many of the results which many of these candidates are parading are fake. In many instances, some of these candidates had actually obtained far lower scores than they are claiming and had used some funny software packages to manipulate their results to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.

“The most pathetic of them all is the case of Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME and was awarded a N3m scholarship by Chief Innocent Chukwuma.

“She was even set to be honoured by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials put a call through to JAMB to confirm her claim only for the board to reveal that Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had actually scored 249 and not 362 she claimed.

“She had manipulated her UTME result to deceive the public to fraudulently obtain scholarship and other recognitions.”

On the case of Gerald, who claimed to have scored 380, JAMB said, “His ethnic group had taken the issue up, requesting that he should be given special recognition only for the board to disappoint them with the incontestable fact that Atung never obtained the 2023 UTME application documents not to talk of sitting the examination.”

JAMB said, “With this her ignoble act, Miss  Mmesoma would be prosecuted and her original result withdrawn. This is not all, as the board would, in due course,  investigate all candidates laying claims to higher scores than they actually obtained.

“Once discovered, such candidates’ original results would be withdrawn forthwith and they would be handed over to relevant security agencies for prosecution.”

The Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, said that the state already discovered Nmesioma’s claim to be false and had gone ahead to honour another candidate, Nkechinyere Umeh, who scored 360.

Former Zamfara Governor Sani Yerima that President Bola Tinubu speak with bandits in an effort to bring back long-term stability and security to the nation.

This was said by Yerima during his Monday meeting with President Tinubu at the State House.

He said, “A lot of bandits have been arrested and killed, and I’m not saying government should just continue to just negotiate indefinitely. No, I said invite them.

“There are people, who repent in all religions – Islam, Christian, Judaism, with the fact that God, who created us once you repent after committing offences, after committing sins he forgives you, so there’s no way you can say Nigerians should not be forgiven if they repent.

“If they repent, they should be rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society and then measures should be taken to avoid reoccurrence of this menace.

“But, if they don’t the government has enough power, enough resources, the military, the security have enough capacity. I have confidence in the Nigerian security that they have enough capacity with the political will and support of the government to handle this matter. So, dialogue is part of governance,” he said.

Remember that Yerima previously urged Tinubu to engage in negotiation with bandits in the same way that the late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua did with terrorists in the Niger Delta.

Yerima, in an interview with BBC Hausa on Saturday, had said, “I’m advising the government to, first of all, find time to sit with these bandits, just like they sat with Niger Delta militants in the past. Because a majority of them are Nigerians, even though there are some foreigners among them.

“But Nigerians among them can be convinced, as the Niger Delta militants were convinced and empowered to stop.

“If that fails, then the government can use force on them wherever they are,” he said.

Yerima’s call for discussion with bandits follows an uptick in the number of random killings and kidnappings of citizens for ransom around the nation.

Even still, some of the bandits terrorizing Nigeria, according to the former governor of Zamfara, are foreigners.

Remember that Zamfara state adopted sharia law 23 years ago thanks to Yerima.

Following a Zamfara Sharia Court decision, Bello Buba Jangebe had his leg amputated during Yerima’s rule in 2000 for stealing a cow.

The Police Service Commission was directed by the National Industrial Court to pay Joseph Mbu, a former assistant inspector general of police, N40 million as general damages on Monday.

Justice Osatohanmwen Obaseki-Osaghae imposed the payout in retaliation for Mbu’s forcible resignation before reaching the legal retirement age of 60.

“I hold that the claimant’s premature retirement through a press release on July 2, 2016, is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void, and of no effect”.

The court also annulled the alleged retirement and ruled that the claimant continued to serve as a police officer in Nigeria until May 10, 2018, when he turned 60 and became required to retire.

The defendant was further ordered by the court to pay Mbu’s salary, allowances, and entitlements from July 2, 2016, when he retired, until May 10, 2018, when he was legally entitled to retire after turning 60.

As part of the ruling, the judge mandated that the defendant pay the claimant N750,000 as court costs, along with 10% interest per year if the defendant did not comply with the court’s requirements within 30 days.

However, the court rejected the claimant’s request for restoration and advancement to the level of a DIG.

The claimant had attained the mandatory retirement age on May 10, 2018, while the lawsuit was still pending, the court explained, thus it cannot be upheld.

Based on the facts, the claimant, Mbu, filed a lawsuit against the commission on July 2, 2016, when he was the commandant of the Police Staff College, for his alleged forced retirement.

He claimed in his statement of facts that he was born on May 10, 1958, joined the police on December 11, 1985, and had not yet achieved the obligatory retirement age of 60. He also claimed that he had not worked for 35 years before retiring in 2016.

He claimed in his statement of facts that he was born on May 10, 1958, joined the police on December 11, 1985, and had not yet achieved the obligatory retirement age of 60. He also claimed that he had not worked for 35 years before retiring in 2016.

The claimant had consequently asked the court to invalidate his resignation, which he said was accomplished through a press release because he was never given the required statutory notice of retirement, among other reliefs.

Additionally, he asked the court to issue an order compelling the defendant to pay his wages, benefits, and other entitlements from July 2016 through 2018, the year he was supposed to retire.

In addition, he demanded payment of his death benefits, N500 million in general damages, and N20 million to cover legal fees.

The defendant claimed that the claimant was not officially retired through a press release but rather was dismissed from the force at a ceremonial occasion.

The defendant also alleged that the claimant did not meet some of the prerequisites for advancement and that promotion within the force is not a given.

The claimant was not the only individual impacted by the NPF reorganization that occurred at the time of the claimant’s retirement, the defendant claims, and it was done in accordance with the law.

According to the court’s ruling, even if the defendant abandoned its case by failing to appear in court to provide its defense, this did not absolve the claimant of the necessity of proving his case.

The defendant was never present in court despite receiving multiple hearing notices, according to the judge, who argued that pleadings are not the same as evidence.

Obaseki-Osaghae said that because the claimant’s arguments were not disputed, the defendant was believed to have given up its case.

She claimed that the claimant was entitled to some of the reliefs he requested since he had established his case on the basis of solid evidence rather than by relying on the defendant’s weaknesses.

Victor Hugo Sosa, the mayor of San Pedro Huamelula, a picturesque town inhabited by the Indigenous Chontal people, embarked on a marital union with a reptile named Alicia Adriana, reenacting a sacred ancestral custom.

The reptilian bride, known as a caiman, hails from the marshlands and resembles an alligator. These creatures are native to Mexico and Central America.

With deep conviction, Sosa pledged his unwavering commitment to what the locals fondly refer to as “the princess girl.”

“I embrace this responsibility wholeheartedly because we share a genuine love. That is the essence of a meaningful marriage… I wholeheartedly unite myself with the princess girl,” Sosa proclaimed during the symbolic ceremony.

For the past 230 years, this unusual matrimony between a man and a female caiman has been observed, commemorating the historic occasion when two Indigenous groups sealed their reconciliation through a marriage.

According to tradition, conflicts between the Chontal people, currently represented by Mayor Sosa, and the Huave Indigenous group were resolved when a Chontal king wedded a princess from the Huave community, symbolised by the female alligator.

The Huave people reside in the coastal regions of Oaxaca state, in proximity to the inland town of San Pedro Huamelula.

This wedding ceremony serves as a means for both communities to connect with the essence of Mother Earth, beseeching the all-powerful forces for rain, bountiful harvests, and overall harmony for the Chontal people, elucidated Jaime Zarate, the town’s historian.

Prior to the marital rites, the reptile is paraded from house to house, allowing the townsfolk to cradle and dance with her. The caiman adorns a vibrant green skirt, complemented by a meticulously hand-embroidered tunic and a headdress embellished with ribbons and sequins.

To prevent any unforeseen mishaps before the marriage life, the creature’s snout is securely fastened shut.

An Ondo chef identified as Adeola Adeyeye has commenced a 150-hour cook-a-thon in an attempt to break Hilda Baci’s Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon of 93 hours and 11 minutes.

This came after another Nigerian chef, Adeparusi Damilola aka Chef Dammy embarked on a 120-hour cook-a-thon in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

Adeyeye began the cook-a-thon on Friday, June 30, 2023, in the Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State and scheduled to conclude on Thursday, July 6, 2023.