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Three Female Students Found Dead In Anambra Varsity Hostel

There was confusion at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, in Anambra State on Saturday after three undergraduate students were found dead in their hostel.
The institution, Naija News learnt, had closed its last session on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, after the completion of its second-semester examination.

The school management, however, said it was shocking to learn about the untimely death of the undergraduate students.

Reports said the female students, all in their 200-level, were found dead inside their hostel rooms at the Igbariam campus of the varsity.

A source at the institution confirmed the identity of the students as Obidiaso Chidera (200-level Political Science student), Mercy (200-level Pharmacy student), and Emmanuella (200-level Business Administration).

It is yet unclear what led to their death but security operatives and the school authorities are on their toes to unravel the mystery behind the sad incident.

There are suspicions, however, that the deceased might have mistakenly locked themselves up in their room from outside.

“The students were locked up in the apartment. When we got access to the apartment, we found them lifeless with two of them on their beds in the room, while the third lifeless body was found in the kitchen,” an unnamed source told The PUNCH on Saturday.

While confirming the incident, the management of the institution said the death of the students came as a shock to it.

The Public Relations Officer of the institution, Dr. Harrison Madubueze, said the institution received the report of the incident with rude shock.

Madubueze said, “The university management received with rude shock the news of the death of three of its students. At the moment, the date, time and manner of their death are still uncertain.

“However, the security operatives are investigating the matter and at the appropriate time, they will make the findings public.”

The varsity mouthpiece stressed that the management was unaware that any of her students in the second-year class and above were still within the University environment.

According to him, the second-semester session had ended and students are expected to resume for the new session on October 1st, 2022.

20 Burnt As Commercial Vehicles Collide In Oyo Community

No fewer than 20 passengers perished at Lanlate in Ibarapa East Local Government Area on Friday when two commercial vehicles collided.

It was gathered that the two vehicles which were loaded were travelling on the opposite direction when they collided and burst into flames.

The vehicles and the occupants were reportedly burnt to death while two lucky ones were rescued with injuried from the wreckage.

Eye witnesses blamed the accident on over speeding, telling our correspondent that there were weeping and wailing at the scene as sympathisers thronged the scene.

The Chairman, Ibarapa East Local Government Area, Mr Gbenga Obalowo, was said to have led rescue operation at the scene.

Obalowo said, “It was a very terrible accident. It was a gory sight. We counted over 20 bodies that were burnt completely.

“I learnt the vehicles had a head on collision and the two vehicles, a commercial bus and a Sienna which was also conveying passengers caught fire and got burnt beyond repair.

“Our drivers need to avoid speeding. They should consider other road users and avoid reckless driving.”

Residents In Shock As Remnants Of A Decomposed Body Of A Man Reportedly Found In His Bedroom After Four Years In Apete, Ibadan.

It was learnt that the deceased (unknown identity) was reportedly seen by neighbours four years ago during one of his occasional trip to Ibadan from Port Harcourt in Rivers State where he resides at the time.

As at the time of filing this report, the cause of death is yet to be ascertained.

Residents told newsmen that non of the residents in the area knew about the incident until this week when the community decided to enter into the compound to cut the overgrown grass inside his compound which has become a haven for snakes and rodents.

It was gathered that the Abokis who were contracted for the job of cutting the grass in the deceased compound were told to jump into the compound since the gate of the house were locked from behind only for them to found out that the car of the house owner is in the premises and has been covered with grass.

According to eyewitness , after managing to cut down the bush , they peeped at the window of the building and saw the skeleton of the decomposed corpse on his bed with a phone in his hand.

Officers of the Oyo state police command are currently carrying out a comprehensive investigation into the incident.

‘We Will Fight To End’ — Wike Brushes Off PDP BoT Chair’s Resignation

– As Rivers, Oyo, Abia Governors, Others Boycott NEC Meeting
The resignation of Walid Jibrin as the Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has not deterred Governor Nyesom Wike from continuing with his attack on the party.

This comes as the Rivers Governor has vowed to continue to “fight” until the party serves justice by asking its chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to step down from his position.

Ever since Atiku Abubakar, a northerner, emerged as PDP’s presidential candidate, the party has not enjoyed a moment of peace as Governor Wike has insisted that it would be unfair for the party’s national chairman and presidential candidate to come from the same region.

On this ground, the Rivers governor demanded Ayu’s resignation as a condition to support the party’s presidential candidate in 2023.

But in an apparent move to shut Wike up, the party’s BoT Chairman who also hails from the north volunteered to step down from his position for peace to reign.

Unsatisfied by the move, Governor Wike during the commissioning of the Rivers State University’s Ahoada Campus in the Ahoada East Local Government Area said “This fight we will fight it to the end.”

Meanwhile, some southern governors among whom have shown loyalty to Wike in the matter did not attend PDP NEC meeting.

They include governors Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, and Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom.

African Researchers hold Symposium on Africa’s Development

A group of African researchers under the name Alafarika for Study and Consultancy had recently on August 26 and 27, 2022 organized a virtual symposium titled “Knowledge Creation and Dissemination in Africa”, which researchers in African affairs from Morocco, Nigeria, Mali, Mauritania, Egypt, and the Central African Republic participated to come up with model for African Development. The participants commended the initiative for giving great importance to knowledge, its creation and dissemination, and considering it an initial and basic building block for developing and progressing in Africa.

The two-day session which dealt with a series of issues related to influencing African policy and politics with knowledge, the process of knowledge management for development; the role of the media in creating knowledge societies; and the challenges facing academic publishing and its potential solutions. The symposium also touched on the relationship between philosophy and human development in the African context and how revolutions and movements demanding change can be directed based on the knowledge that provides answers to the state-building and development that the continent needs in the twenty-first century and the digital age, in addition to the potential of investigative and data journalism to contribute to Africa’s prosperity.

Talking about creating knowledge societies and influencing African politics, the speakers revealed that consultancy institutions are one of the means of influencing knowledge creation processes if these institutions are rooted in local issues and are experts in initiatives that touch the needs of the population and citizens. The speakers stressed that civilizations and advanced societies throughout history have depended on knowledge and actors in disseminating human sciences. Despite the lack of interest of some current African governments in knowledge, its means and tools for its dissemination, the history of Africa, its civilizations and kingdoms in different regions confirmed that Africa has rich experience in this regard. What is required today is to study these historical achievements and support the creativity of young people that may limit the brain drain in many African countries, in addition to attaching the utmost importance to educational institutions and their outputs.

They stressed that knowledge management is a necessary process for development because it relates to many sensitive areas and is an essential means of successful management and that it elevates knowledge to the forefront of any government or political system’s success by emphasizing the knowledge capabilities of individuals, universities, and research institutions that facilitate access to knowledge, participation in it, distribution, preservation, and retrieval.

Talking about the impact of globalization and the rapid technological change in human societies, the speakers make knowledge the basis of domination and influence. Stating that all indicators show the strength of tomorrow’s world will be determined by the interest in human capital and the exploitation of the energies and capabilities of the continent’s population in sustainable human development. In terms of knowledge management and development, they are of the belief that there is a need to move from theories to real-life applications to meet the challenges of the continent and the rapid transformations in all fields without neglecting data technologies, which collect and categorize information to enable users of knowledge systems and services to access them when necessary. Pointing that all of these can be achieved through interviews and dialogues with experts and actors in national development policies, humanities, and modern methods that reflect positively on African societies and enable African countries to compete globally.

African Media Institutions are tasked with the process of creating knowledge society at a time when global media ignore the role of Africans in crystallizing global knowledge and the information explosion, without overlooking the fact that digital media plays some of the roles of traditional media, influencing different African societies and stages. Media roles are however agreed not be limited to the use of various means to highlight developments and experiences in African countries, their civilizations and history or to publicize their tourism sectors. Taking the information revolution and technological innovations the continent’s youth seize today in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and other African countries to develop the financial, agricultural, and health sectors into consideration, the relationship between the media and the dissemination of knowledge shows a relationship of mutual influence that can be observed in concepts related to human values, the crucible of communication and understanding.

Another means of developing and changing society is the process of scientific research and academic publishing. It was also agreed that one of the tools through which sustainable development can be achieved thereby addressing the challenges facing academic publishing in Africa and the weak governmental attention to the results of research projects and recommendations of conferences and research sessions that may contribute to promoting development.

While one of the crisis facing academic publishing in Africa is lack of publishing and distribution centres for works, academic books, and scientific journals within Africa, without forgetting that education curricula and teaching methods in several African countries are rooted in the colonial era and ideas that strengthen Western scientific institutions while weakening African scientific institutions that are already short of the necessary infrastructural resources.

Speakers in the “Knowledge Creation and Dissemination in Africa” symposium also pointed out that African philosophy can help us understand the problems facing the creation of knowledge and enhance the patterns of knowledge production that the continent needs. Furthermore, studying African history and philosophy may determine the African position towards modern science and contemporary issues, especially since knowledge based on African philosophical foundations may transform African societies into freer societies and can provide answers to the most important factors contributing to political, social, and economic inequality.

The COVID-19 crisis has shown the repercussions of the lack of independent and effective scientific research, sufficient scientific and technological resources, and the lack of manufacturing capabilities in the global south in general and Africa in particular. As a result, most African health care systems relied on the so-called “goodwill” of the global north and foreign vaccines.

The symposium also highlights that recent protests and political transformations in Africa indicated that most movements calling for change were not based on knowledge foundations that meet the state-building processes Africa needs in the twenty-first century. This is despite the fact that between 2005 and 2014, 40 out of 54 countries on the African continent witnessed widespread protests and uprisings in their various forms at the local and national levels. The knowledge equation lies in the repeated mistakes of these movements and that some of these uprisings often exacerbate the situation in the countries where they occur. Knowledge gaps can also be seen in the ideologies and parties that refuse to bring about the continent’s desired social and political changes.

In conclusion, the participants praised the role of investigative and data journalism in promoting African prosperity based on knowledge, as data and statistical information should contribute to achieving good governance and revealing corporate and institutional corruption and social injustice, in addition to presenting powerful and influential stories and revealing the truth. Thus, data is a mirror to confirm or deny a particular phenomenon or issue and a means of exploring its direction and foreseeing its future trend.

DSS Operatives Invade Tukur Mamu’s House, Cart Away Phones, Documents

The residence of Tukur Mamu, a negotiator with the Kaduna Train terrorists has been invaded by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

The operatives reportedly invaded his residence in the early hours of Thursday and left with documents, phones and laptops.

Daily Trust reports that the members of his family within the apartment were asked to sign documents they did not read before carting them away.

Mamu, who was arrested in Cario, Egypt was indicted over ransom racketeering and relationship with terrorists in the northeastern extremity of Egypt.

But Mamu upon his arrest on Wednesday and immediate deportation accused the Federal Government of orchestrating his arrest with claims he was only on his way to Saudi Arabia for lesser Hajj with his wives, eldest son and brother-in-law.

Recall that Mamu, came to the limelight after he made public his involvement with the terrorists that abducted the inbound Kaduna train passengers, negotiating their release.

Although there were speculations of outrageous ransoms paid by families of victims, Mamu had constantly debunked such reports, with claims that all releases by terrorists were achieved through dialogue.

Mamu had collected huge sums running into billions for terrorists with some of the payments made in foreign currencies by families and negotiated the release of their loved ones.

We Will Ensure ‘Made In Nigeria’ Products Are Available In Paris, England, Others– Firm

The campaign for Nigerians to patronize home-made products has taken another dimension as Collins Oscar and other co-founders are opening a company where foreign goods are prohibited.

The new company which will be launched in September is strictly made for Nigerian products.

Just Like what is obtainable with Made-In-China.com, an aggregator of solely Chinese products, the Akwa Ibom based company is carving a niche in the Nigerian space.

Collins Oscar the Chief Executive Officer and ten others first founded a company, Made In Akwa Ibom Showroom four years ago in Akwa Ibom State.

After successful running of Made In Akwa Ibom, Oscar is now eyeing a bigger market which will only sell made in Nigerian products from Aba and Lagos among others.

Made In Akwa Ibom
In most mega shops in Nigeria, a large amount of the products are usually imported. The smaller shops are not left out in the penchant for foreign goods.

To reduce Nigeria’s foreign trade deficits, the Federal Government has launched an aggressive campaign for the patronage and use of made-in Nigeria products and services.

At the 13th National Council of Industry, Trade and Investment, the campaign for the patronage and use of made-in-Nigeria products and services was unveiled.

In April, the government called on Nigerians to promote the diversification of the economy patronizing on our local production sectors.

Oscar who controls over 80 per cent stake in the new company ‘Made In Nigeria Showroom’ said in chat with THE WHISTLER, that the company conceived as a result of the limitations of selling only products from Akwa Ibom State.

The CEO said, “It is a marketplace where we sell only made in Nigeria Products. We started with Made in Akwa Ibom products for four years. Made in Nigeria is part of our expansion plan so that we will not be running out of options when customers ask for other products and we do not have because it is limited to made in Akwa Ibom.

“The made in Akwa Ibom and Made in Nigeria will function as two separate businesses.

“Right from when we started Made in Akwa Ibom products, the impact is to promote only indigenous products, so, it’s been resonating with us. Just promoting locally made products, I know what we have been suffering doing made in Akwa Ibom and it has become big and we were rejecting products from Abia State, Lagos State as though it is not one Nigeria.”

One of the challenges Made In Nigeria will face is the big competitors like Marketsquare that sells both Nigeria and foreign products, but the founder said Nigerians’ taste for local products have changed.

The CEO said when they first founded Made In Akwa Ibom, many Nigerians did not believe they would be able to survive the highly competitive environment.

Oscar said, “Even before I started Made in Akwa Ibom, people asked how we will survive. Although we never saw it that way because passion can blind you from seeing a whole lot of things, we never saw any limitation. Some said Made in Akwa Ibom will be limited and we will be losing out.

“Our rent alone in running Made in Akwa Ibom per annum was N11 million. So, they wondered how we will survive when people may come in with like N100,000 and can’t find, pampers or what they want.

“But honestly, Made in Akwa Ibom has been able to give birth to Made in Nigeria, which means it has been successful even with some serious limitations. So, people still pay their way very far because of the niche we have carved for ourselves. They know the things there are so natural and have no chemical preservatives. There are people who are so patriotic and can go a long distance to buy made in Nigeria products. For me I prefer using made in Nigeria products. From my experience, Nigerians’ appetite for made in Nigeria products have increased.”

According to the entrepreneur, his target is to expand to other Nigerian states and the European market.

He added, “So that when you find yourself in Paris, England, India and the rest, you can walk into shops and find Made in Nigeria products.”

PDP NEC To Decide Ayu’s Ouster Today As Caucus Failed To Sanction Removal

The meeting of the National Caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, failed to agree on the ouster of its beleaguered National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu after its meeting that ran till early morning of Thursday.

The large meeting which was attended by highly placed members of the party is very influential as it sets the tone for what takes effect in the party.

Those who attended the late night meeting were the Deputy National Chairman, Bode George; Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the party, Nnamadi Sambo, former Vice President; Ayu, Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Walid Jibrin and former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara.

There were also former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido; deputy governors of Edo and Adamawa states, Philip Shaibu and Kalatepwa Farauta; former governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi; former Minister of Police Affairs, Maina Waziri; Governor of Sokoto, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed.

Also in the meeting were the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Debo Ologunagba; Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu; former Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha; and Stella Omu, among others.

The host governor, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, failed to attend the meeting which held at the Akwa Ibom State Governors Lodge but his deputy attended.

Conspicuously missing were the governors loyal to Nyesom Wike, Rivers State Governor, including Wike himself, Sheyi Makinde of Oyo State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, and the governor of Taraba State, Daruus Ishiaku.

It was not clear why the governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, who was in town failed to attend the meeting but instead sent his deputy to represent him. The deputy governors of Edo and Benue represented their governors.

It was gathered the Caucus could not agree on the fate of Ayu, who was in attendance as it tactically shifted the decision to NEC, which holds later today.

But speaking after the meeting, Ologunagba said the issue of Ayu’s ouster was never discussed.

“We are ready to go. Members of the campaign council will be announced on Thursday (today), after the NEC meeting,” he said.

Explaining why most of the governors failed to attend the caucus meeting, Ologunagba added, “Some of them were on holiday, outside the country. They were represented by their deputies.”

It was gathered the plot to remove Ayu has divided the party into North and South.

The South, which is being spearhead by the Wike camp is allegedly led by Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja.

At its meeting at his residence last night, Arapaja group of the National Working Committee of the party, insisted that Ayu must go.

Protesters allegedly sponsored by his camp were seen with placards saying, ‘Ayu Must Go’, at the venue of the National Caucus meeting in the night.

The Arapaja’s group was countered by the Northern group led by the Deputy National Chairman (North), Umar Damagum. His group has also prefected plans to protect Ayu at today’s NEC meeting.

At the coming NEC meeting, it’s gathered two items will be listed for discussion, Ayu’s fate and composition of the party’s presidential campaign council as the start of campaign is less than 20 days away.

Wike, supported by loyal governors and highly placed members of the party and strong stakeholders, has insisted Ayu must go and is prepared to sponsor a vote of no confidence on him at the NEC meeting today.

He has said Ayu’s compromising leadership style by pandering to Atiku during the party’s presidential election and the entire headship of the party leadership positions can not work unless the party is ready to accept defeat in 2023 elections.

2023: One Million Lagosians Abandon PVCs Across INEC Offices – REC

Nearly one million permanent voter cards belonging to Lagos State residents have been abandoned across offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state.

Olusegun Agbaje, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos, disclosed this at a CSO engagement titled “Women’s Political Participation and Inclusion and 2023 General Elections”.

The event which was held on Wednesday in Lagos was jointly organized by the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), the EU-Support Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN), and INEC.

Agbaje, while decrying the huge number of abandoned PVCs in Lagos, said old uncollected voter cards were 928,362 while new ones stood at 21,352 as of September 5, 2022.

“Permanent Voter Card (PVC) is the sole instrument required from the Voter to participate in an election, it is an important eligibility instrument for voting without which no citizen would be allowed to partake in an election.

“However, the total number of uncollected old PVCs in the state is 928,362 as of 5th Sept. 5, no doubt, the uncollected PVCs for women may be in the neighborhood of 436,451 (47 percent).

“Meanwhile, the total number of uncollected New PVCs is 21,352 out of 34,242 received PVCs, while the rest of the new PVCs for the 2021/22 registration exercise is being awaited.

“The implication of this is that the commission is having a staggering number of PVCs that should be collected by the women and other eligible voters to enable them massively participate in the forthcoming 2033 general elections,” Agbaje said.

He urged stakeholders such as the Nigerian Women Trust Fund under the Gender Election Watch (GEW) to help ensure the PVCs are collected before the 2023 elections.

Agbaje expressed worry over the low number of women flag-bearers in the forthcoming general elections.

“We have fewer women than men going for elective positions (in 2023). It is not too good, we have to continue to improve through this kind of engagement so that in future elections, we will have more women coming out for elective positions,” he added.

Agbaje added that the just-concluded Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) captured 12,298,944 out of which a total of 6,224,866 were female while male registrants were 6,074,078.

LAUTECH Graduate Returns Certificate To Varsity After Fruitless Search For Job, Demands Fees Refund

A man believed to be a graduate of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, Oyo State has stormed the campus of the university with his certificate seeking to return it and get a refund of all the fees he paid while in school.

The man whose Identity could not be ascertained yet iwas captured in a video trending online on Tuesday.

The man said in the video that he wanted a refund of his school fees because he had been suffering since the time he graduated from school.

He lamented that the certificate had not yielded him any financial gain since he acquired it and should be paid the money he spent as a student of the university.

He said, “Give me my money, I am suffering,” the man lamented repeatedly in a video.

Some security guards in the university can be seen trying to restrain him.

The Public Relations Officer of LAUTECH, Mr Lekan Fadeyi, when contacted said a forner student of the school came around to return his certificate.

He said, ” It may be as a result of depression.”