Nigeria
IGP orders officers to respect essential workers
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered respect for journalists, medical personnel and other essential workers who are exempted from the eased restriction and curfews across the country. Doctors and journalists were allegedly being harassed by security agents. This had prompted the Nigerian Medical Association to call on its members to down tools. Force spokesman DCP Frank Mba, in a statement on Wednesday, said the IGP had directed Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and State Command Commissioners of Police to give maximum effect to these orders and extend due courtesies to essential service providers so affected and also ensure that personnel deployed for the enforcement duties respect the fundamental rights of the citizens. Mba stated: “The Force wishes to ...
Oyo governor appoints retired general as Amotekun chairman
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has appointed retired general Ajibola Kunle Togun as the Chairman of the Oyo State Security Network, code-named Amotekun. A statement signed by Moses Alao, Special Assistant to Makinde on Print Media, also indicated that a retired colonel, Olayanju Olayinka, was appointed as the commandant of the security outfit. According to the statement, the two retired military officers will oversee the state security network which was put in place to check insecurity in the state. Newsmen recall that Makinde on March 10, signed the State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) Bill, 2020 into law. The governor remarked that the initiative was purely to complement the existing security agencies in tackling security challenges and not a replacement for the existing ones. Ve...
Presidency: No discrimination against any state
File Photo The Presidency says no state will suffer any such discrimination in dealing with security and all other matters on account of their political differences with the government at the centre. Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said this in a statement issued to announce a massive plan by the Ministry of Defence to launch “Operation Accord” in the North West and North Central States. Shehu said the plan, whose arrangements had been concluded, was a major military exercise aimed at flushing out insurgents from the contiguous states of Kaduna, Niger, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and parts of Kebbi State. He said while Tuesday’s Senate resolution was “perfectly in order”, it was important to state that, in his duty as Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari had already approved th...
Emmanuel Dennis reveals highlights of 2019/20 season
Club Brugge forward Emmanuel Dennis says his goals against Real Madrid and Manchester United are the highlights of his 2019/20 campaign. The young striker hugged the headlines in October after bagging a brace against Real Madrid in a Champions League group stage fixture, that ended 2-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu. The 22-year-old also scored a goal in a Europa League round of 32 first leg tie against Manchester United in February following his team’s demotion to the UEFA second tier club competition. Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports News, the Nigeria international said; “Against Manchester United was a highlight,” “Madrid is a big team, the best in the world, but I was disappointed because I wanted us to win and we drew. I wanted those three points.” “I was happy because I was speakin...
Ogun confirms 25 new coronavirus cases
The Ogun State government has confirmed 25 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 178. A statement on the official Twitter page of the state government on Wednesday said the 25 patients have been quarantined across the treatment and isolation centres in the state, as contact tracing continues. “As at 20th May, 2020, the NCDC announced that 25 COVID-19 cases had been confirmed in Ogun State, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 178.” “The 25 patients have been quarantined across the Treatment and Isolation Centres in the State, as contact tracing continues. “The State has now discharged a total of 69 patients who tested negative to the virus and are now back with their families. According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC...
Nigerian government approves N2 billion for building federal university medical school
The Federal Government has approved N2 billion for the establishment of a medical school at the Federal University, Dutsin-ma (FUDMA), Katsina State. The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Amarya’u Bichi, disclosed this to newsmen shortly after assuming office. Bichi said that the building of the medical school had commenced and would be completed within four months. According to him, the university will admit candidates for medicine and other medical courses in 2021. He appealed to the federal government to provide additional funds for the institution to build its teaching hospital, where the students would do practical and internships. The vice chancellor said that plans were under way to establish Faculties of Engineering, Law and Agriculture in the institution. Bichi, who acted a...
31 coronavirus carriers on the run in Gombe
At least, 31 people who tested positive for Coronavirus in Gombe State are on the run, the state’s Taskforce on COVID-19 said on Wednesday. According to the task force, the 31 people have refused to show up once they knew they were positive. Chairman of the task force, Prof. Idris Mohammed, who spoke while giving update of Coronavirus in the State, said the 31 positive individuals who were yet to be identified and evacuated. The 31 positive cases were among people intercepted at the state entry points, whose samples were taken for tests after being isolated. However, by the time their results came out, which tested positive, they had found their ways back into their communities, refusing to be evacuated to the isolation centres. Mohammed, however, appealed to them to cooperate with the tas...
NMA laments security maltreatment of members
The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), on Wednesday, lamented the maltreatment of its members on essential duties by security personnel and has directed doctors to leave all official duty and close when it is exactly 4 pm daily. The directive, according to the President of NMA, Dr Francis Faduyile, is to stop the doctors from working late and reduce the embarrassment they face in the process of carrying out their lawful duties. “That with effect from today, Wednesday, May 20th 2020, all medical and dental practitioners should henceforth work between the hours of 8.00 am and 4.00 pm, to give enough time for them to return back home,” the NMA president said. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Dr Faduyile said: “The NMA observed with dismay the pains and anguish foisted on our members return...
Governor Wike: Oil workers constitute 60 percent of coronavirus cases in Rivers
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has stated that 60 per cent of coronavirus cases recorded in the state are oil workers returning from rigs. Wike disclosed this Wednesday when the management team of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Port Harcourt. He stated that it was for that reason the state government insisted that oil workers coming into the state must be tested to confirm their coronavirus status, noting that oil remains the mainstay of the economy and that government actions are not targeted at anybody or organisation. He recalled that recently the Nigeria Airforce Base, Port Harcourt, also quarantined 14 oil workers out which three tested positive. “It is not in anybody’s interest to deny people to carry out their official duties. Oil...
Kogi: We bought 5,000 coronavirus test kits
Kogi State government has dismissed the notion that it’s not testing enough to justify the claim that the state is free of Covid-19. It claimed that it has bought 5,000 test kits to show its committment to the fight against Covid-19. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, in it’s situation report on Covid-19 response across states published on Tuesday said Kogi had submitted only one sample, since the outbreak of the virus in Nigeria. The sample returned negative. The NCDC’s report comes few days after the state government said it tested 111 persons without the supervision of the health agency. Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, had claimed that the testing kits procured by the state were used to conduct the tests and that those tested were picked randomly. In a statement...
Task force denies 11 trucks entry to Cross River
The Cross River Government in collaboration with Peace Corps Nigeria have intercepted and sent back 11 trucks carrying Almajiri, Quranic education pupil, at the Gakem-Benue boundary of the state. Head of the taskforce team at the border, Mr Signor Omang-Idiege, told newsmen on Wednesday that the trucks were returned for carrying large numbers of Almajiri against the inter-state lockdown order. Idiege, who is the State Commissioner for Youth Development and Skill Acquisition, said that the trucks were sent back to their destination between May 4 and May 17, adding that the taskforce had continued to maintain a steady presence at the boundary. According to him, it was the desire of the state Governor, Ben Ayade, to ensure that the state remain COVID-19 free, hence the effective boundary surv...
NCDC: Only one coronavirus test conducted in Kogi
No more than one test has been carried out in Kogi State since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Nigeria on February 27. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reports that, as of May 18, 35,983 tests have been carried out across the country, while 5,959 have been confirmed positive for the virus. According to the NCDC update on the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, which was made available on its website, Kogi recorded the lowest number of tests with no confirmed case. This was followed by Cross River State with seven COVID-19 tests conducted but no positive case. Lagos State, which had the highest number of tests at 14,886, also topped the list of confirmed cases at 2,550. Similarly, the Federal Capital Territory was reported to have conducted 4,688 tests and confirmed 418 cases, while ...
