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Police disband team which ran over handcuffed man in viral video

Bankole ABE
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Police disband team which ran over handcuffed man in viral video

THE Acting Inspector-General of Police, (IGP) Olukayode Egbetokun, has disbanded the police team which ran over a handcuffed man with a vehicle in Edo State.

The ICIR reported that Nigerians on social media expressed outrage after a video showed some police officers crushing a man with their vehicle in Ekpoma, Edo State.

The footage, which went viral, showed a man lying on the ground in handcuffs while a Sienna bus occupied by police officers intentionally ran over him.

The ICIR gathered that the man was handcuffed by police officers attached to the Ekpoma division after he refused to allow them access to his mobile phones.

Witnesses protested the officers’ attempts to transport the man to the police station, which led to an altercation between the two groups.

The arrested man was writhing on the ground when the police officers entered their car and drove over him, leaving him with bruises.

The victim was rushed to the hospital for treatment after the incident.

In a statement posted on his Twitter handle on Thursday, July 6, the Force spokesperson Olumuyiwa Adejobi stated that the IGP has disbanded the team involved in the incident.

“This step aims to regularise and standardise police operations in the axis; and restore public trust in the Police Force.

 “Additionally, the operatives involved are currently facing disciplinary charges and administrative procedures,” Adejobi stated.

He said the move emphasises the commitment of the IGP to hold officers accountable for their actions which will never be tolerated in the Nigeria Police Force. 

“The Inspector-General of Police reiterates his commitment to ensuring the highest standards of professionalism and ethics while urging members of the public to always cooperate with Police Officers in the discharge of their statutory duties,” the statement added.

The ICIR reported that Egbetokun had earlier condemned the action of the police officers.

Reacting to the incident in a statement signed by Adejobi, the IGP ordered the immediate transfer of the erring policemen, who he said have been in detention in Edo State, to the Force Headquarters in Abuja for further investigation and appropriate actions to be taken.

He called on members of the public, particularly the people of Ekpoma, to remain calm as the “present leadership of the NPF will not condone such an act of unprofessionalism and illegality”.

INEC drags suspended Adamawa REC to court, files 6-count charge

Bankole ABE
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INEC drags suspended Adamawa REC to court, files 6-count charge

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has filed a six-count charge against the suspended Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Hudu Yunusa Ari.

The charge was filed at the High Court in Yola, Adamawa State capital.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by INEC spokesperson Festus Okoye on Thursday, July 6.

INEC said it took action after reviewing the case file from the Police, which established a prima facie case against Ari.

“As provided by Section 145(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, an offence committed under the Act shall be triable in a Magistrate Court or a High Court of a State in which the offence is committed, or the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

“Furthermore, Section 145(2) of the Act provides that a prosecution under the Act shall be undertaken by legal officers of the Commission or any legal practitioner appointed by it.

“Having reviewed the case file from the Police, which established a prima facie case against Barr. Hudu Yunusa Ari, the Commission has filed a six-count charge against him at the Adamawa State High Court sitting in Yola. 

“Consequently, the Court has fixed Wednesday 12th July 2023 for the commencement of trial,” the statement said.

The Commission said it is working with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for a diligent prosecution of the case.

The ICIR reported on July 5 that the INEC said it is ready to prosecute the suspended REC for his role in the 2023 elections.

The Commission also said it would work with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices, and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) to prosecute persons engaged in vote buying during the general elections.

The Chairman of the Commission, Mahmood Yakubu made the disclosure while addressing RECs from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Yakubu met with the RECs to mark the beginning of a month-long review of the 2023 general election.

According to him, following the conclusion of investigations by the Police, the Commission will commence legal actions against Ari and 215 other electoral offenders.

“I can confirm that the Nigeria Police concluded its investigation of the conduct of our c State and submitted the case file to us. Appropriate action will be taken in a matter of days, and Nigerians will be fully informed.” Yakubu stated.

He noted that INEC had taken administrative actions against some RECs who failed to discharge tasks assigned to them during the polls.

The ICIR also reported in April that former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the Adamawa REC’s suspension after he illegally declared the winner of the state governorship election while the collation of results had yet to conclude.

According to Electoral Act (2022), the Returning Officer for the election, rather than the REC, has the power to declare the winner of an election.

Adopt STP tech to attract youths, rural dwellers’ participation, stakeholders urge NGX

Ehime ALEX
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Adopt STP tech to attract youths, rural dwellers’ participation, stakeholders urge NGX

AS the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) considers adopting straight-through processing (STP) to facilitate equity transactions, stakeholders said the Exchange should use the technology to attract youths and rural dwellers’ participation in the capital market.

The stakeholders said this at an NGX Retail Investors Workshop that discussed the theme, ‘Straight Through Processing of Equity Transaction,’ on Wednesday, July 5.

Discussants at the workshop believed the STP technology would revolutionise trading, remove manual errors, improve the security of transactions, create a seamless settlement, and improve real-time trade in the capital market, among others.

The ICIR recalls that the director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda, had said the capital market was working to develop products that would make the market attractive to the younger generation.

The move was one of the provisions of the revised capital market plan, Yuguda said, while urging capital market operators to develop technology that would ease participation by youths, whom he said did not want to access the market by “filling five-page forms”.

“The youths just want to pick up their phones and make investments,” he stressed.

In a report titled, ‘Capital Market Inclusion’, the Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) asserted that the capital market could help drive financial inclusion in the country.

At the workshop, the president of the Association of Assets Custodians of Nigeria (AACN), Abiodun Adebimpe, said the ultimate goal of STP would be to attract the younger generation into the capital market.

“We know what happens when you have more participation in the market. The market becomes more liquid, price discovery becomes easier and faster, transactions are happening regularly, and high volume occur because you have more interest in the market,” he maintained.

The adoption of STP would also help to attract rural dwellers, the digital channel lead at United Capital Securities Limited, Martha Ehizele, added.

Ehizele noted that rural dwellers’ financial literacy level was low, and they were also confronted with the challenge of not having access to financial institutions, the Internet, and the use of smartphones.

According to her, one innovation she believed would would work in the rural area is an equity trading platform that is based on the use of unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), a communication protocol that uses quick codes.

She suggested that if the STP would work in the rural areas, some of the broker firms would have to extend their offices to the rural areas, as the use of mobile money had tested the workability of that means.

“For me, if we talk about the USSD as an equities-based platform, from onboarding to when you get your money in your account, it will really work in the rural areas. That model is already in existing in a few countries. We have it in India, Kenya and Bangladesh,” Ehizele said.

The head of custody product and investor services at Africa Standard Bank Group, Hari Chaitanya, said Nigeria could do well by learning from successful markets worldwide, like India, which has adopted the STP technology.

“The regulator sets the goal, and the market work to achieve it,” Chaitanya said.

Technology remains the big elephant in the room in the capital market, president of the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), Oluseyi Owoturo, pointed out.

“I know that the NGX, for example, has instituted some standards; maybe we need to look at those standards again to ensure that they meet the requirements of STP,” Owoturo said.

He stressed that despite the bank verification number (BVN) identification, the Exchange and the banking industry appeared not to be working in tandem, as there is a lack of connectivity between the two for smooth equity market transactions.

“We have to understand that it is one ecosystem. Until the ecosystem works as one, the challenges will remain,” he said.

The divisional head of capital markets, Jude Chiemeka, said the NGX wanted to adopt STP equity transactions to make the current trading assessment cycle more competitive globally.

“STP is a mechanism that coordinates end-to-end trading and provides the means of transaction from the point of first deal to final settlement.

“The equities market is constantly evolving, and it is imperative we keep the latest trends and technologies to be sure that as a platform provider, we provide investors the best possible service,” Chiemeka said.

He noted that adopting STP would help increase market transparency, reduce risk and errors, increase overall market efficiencies, and make the market cost-effective, among others.

“It is important to state that the previous macroeconomic challenges, resulting in the exit of foreign investors, appear to have continued in the new administration with the unification of foreign exchange in the exporters and importers window, and the removal of fuel subsidy,” he added.

FG uncovers N6 trillion owed 11 MDAs by individuals, corporate bodies

Theophilus ADEDOKUN
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FG uncovers N6 trillion owed 11 MDAs by individuals, corporate bodies

THE Federal Government says it has uncovered monumental debts approximating N6 trillion naira owed 11 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) by individuals and corporate bodies.

The discovery was made through the consolidation efforts of the Debt Analytics & Reporting Application of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

Speaking at a one-day sensitisation programme for South-South geo-political zone on the Federal Government’s debt recovery drive in Asaba, Delta State, the Director of Special Projects, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Victor Omata, said the debts were in the form of liabilities to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

The debt recovery drive named ‘Project Lighthouse Programme’ is aimed at recovering Federal Government debts.

Project Lighthouse Programme is one of the portfolio projects under the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI) of the Federal Government?

Omata noted that the debts include companies that failed to deliver on projects for which payment had been effected, and unpaid credit facilities granted to corporate entities and individuals by the Bank of Industry (BOI) and Bank of Agriculture (BOA).

Others include unpaid judgment debt in favour of the government, and debts owed to Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) by insurance companies, among others.

Represented by the Deputy Director in the Special Projects Department of the Ministry, Bridget Molokwu, Omata said despite the huge outstanding debts, data gathered by the government’s Project Lighthouse Programme revealed individuals and corporate bodies owing the MDAs who refused to honour their obligations are still being paid.

Stressing that the ministry, through its Debt Analytics & Reporting Application discovered N6 trillion debt from 11 MDAs, Omata, further disclosed that the concerned individuals and corporate bodies are still being paid through platforms such as Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) and Treasury Single Account (TSA) due to lack of visibility over such transaction.

He reiterated that the Project Lighthouse (Phase 2) is aimed at the recovery of debt owed to the Federal Government by individuals and companies through the instrumentality.

Omata said that the debts was revealed through a data aggregated from over 5,000 + debtors across ten (10) MDAs.

According to Omata, a statement by Stephen Kilebi, the Director of Press of the Ministry, disclosed that the “debt aggregation effort is still ongoing”.

While soliciting participants’ support and commitment to change the revenue narrative, Omata stressed the need to adopt the power Big Data Analytics, Data Science and related technologies.

The Director of Special Projects stressed the need for participants’ cooperation to provide quality and relevant information (debt-related data).

Emphasising that Project Lighthouse Programme comes with its recovery process, Omata expressed hopes that the debt recovery drive will drastically minimise Nigeria’s indebtedness.

He, as well, stated that the data will track the day-to-day revenue generation, block revenue leakages and get the true profile of debt recovery portfolio.

Noting that many organisations will benefit from the intelligence generated from the programme, he explained that Project Lighthouse Programme is designed to demystify the problem of debt recovery through the adoption of the potencies of big data analytics technology.

The system is said to have the ability to collect, integrate and analyse data from revenue generating agencies to create insightful information for improved decision making on debt recovery.

Explaining that revenue loopholes is aided by poor information sharing and enforcement, he said important economic and financial information of agencies which did not share data had been aggregated.

According to Omata, the importance of the project was to leverage on big data technology to help in blocking revenue loopholes, identifying new revenue opportunities, optimising existing revenue streams especially the non-oil revenue as well as improving fiscal transparency.

With a view to address significant revenue loopholes and debts across the public finance space, Omata added that the ministry had issued a directive on September 26, 2019, to all MDAs and a single window on the credit profile of the Federal Government and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for regulatory approval on March 31, 2021.

NCDC confirms 789 diphtheria cases, 80 deaths in 8 states

Mustapha USMAN
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NCDC confirms 789 diphtheria cases, 80 deaths in 8 states

THE Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says it recorded 798 diphtheria cases across eight states between December 2022 and June 30, 2023.

According to the statement released by the Centre’s Director General Ifedayo Adetifa on Thursday, June 6, 782 of the cases were recorded in Kano State.

Other states with cases of diphetria are Lagos, Yobe, Katsina, Cross River, Kaduna, Osun state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Adetifa noted that of the 798 cases recorded in the eight states, 71.7 per cent occurred among children aged 2-14 years.

He further disclosed that a total of 80 deaths have been recorded from all the confirmed cases.

“As of June 30th, 2023, there have been 798 confirmed diphtheria cases from 33 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in eight (8) States including the FCT. Most of the cases (782) were recorded in Kano. Other States with cases are Lagos, Yobe, Katsina, Cross River, Kaduna, and Osun. The majority (71.7%) of the 798 confirmed cases occurred among children aged 2 – 14 years. So far, a total of 80 deaths have been recorded among all confirmed cases (case fatality rate of 10.0%).”

Caused by a toxin produced by the bacteria corynebacterium diphtheriae, diphetria, is a vaccine-preventable disease covered by one of the vaccines provided routinely through Nigeria’s childhood immunisation schedule.

However, despite the availability of a safe and cost-effective vaccine in the country, the majority, 654 (82 per cent) of 798 confirmed diphtheria cases in this ongoing outbreak were unvaccinated.

“Unfortunately, this also includes this recently announced FCT case. Historical sub-optimal vaccination coverage is the main driver of the outbreak given the most affected age group (2-14-year-olds) observed, and a national survey of diphtheria immunity that found less than half (41.7%) of children under 15 years old are fully protected from diphtheria,” he added.

Aditifa assured that the Centre is working to avert further spread of the disease, urging the public to remain vigilant and ensure persons with symptoms of diphtheria present early to health facilities for prompt diagnosis and treatment. 

According to him, early diagnosis and institution of effective treatment are key predictors of a favourable outcome.

He called on healthcare workers to immediately notify LGA disease surveillance officers once they see a suspected case.

On the response of the Centre to the outbreak since December 2022, he noted that NCDC activated a multi-sectoral national Diphtheria Technical Working Group as a mechanism for coordinating surveillance and response activities across the country. 

The response activities include coordination, surveillance, laboratory investigation, risk communication, case management and immunisation activities.

Diphtheria outbreak in FCT

On June 4, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Healthcare Board confirmed the outbreak of diphtheria disease in the city following the death of a patient.

The Director Public Health, Dr Saddiq Abdulrahman said the FCT health authorities recorded eight suspected cases and after tests, only one of the cases came positive. He added that community awareness is currently ongoing to mitigate the spread.

Reacting to the outbreak, The NCDC boss, revealed that the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat has activated the diphtheria Incident Management System (IMS) to coordinate outbreak response activities.

“The key activities include but are not limited to active case finding in health facilities and communities, and risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) activities to raise awareness of diphtheria. Sample collection is also ongoing among suspected cases of diphtheria. As of 3rd of July 2023, only 1 confirmed case has been detected, with 7 suspected cases testing negative while others are awaiting laboratory results. No other death was recorded apart from the laboratory-confirmed case,” he said.

Threads: How to get started with Meta’s new app

Joshua Ovorumu
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Threads: How to get started with Meta’s new app

THE launch date for Threads, a new app developed by Meta to rival Twitter, has arrived.

The app is now available in more than 100 countries and can be downloaded and started up relatively easily.

Here’s how to get started with the app, from downloading to customising it to be exactly how you want it.

Download 

Threads is now out for both iOS and Android and downloading the app should be straightforward. Its full name is ‘Threads, an Instagram app’ and it is readily available on both platform’s app stores.

There is some chance that the search might show that the app is not available. If so, that’s probably because it’s not available in your country; the app has not yet been launched in the European Union (EU), apparently because of data protection concerns related to the way that data will be passed between apps.

There hasn’t been any confirmation when people in those countries will be able to get the app.

Sign in and set up

Meta has built Threads to integrate with Instagram, and users can sign in with their existing accounts from that service. Opening up the app should show a user’s existing Instagram account, alongside the option to choose a new one, and clicking that begins the process of getting started.

Moving on, users can modify their profile for Threads, choose a name and add a bio, or transfer their completed profile from Instagram. The app will then ask about privacy settings and ask whether you want to follow accounts from Instagram, before opening up and getting started.

Users may head into the settings to add any extra modification, such as blocking certain words or contacts. The design is pretty basic and should be recognisable to people who have used Instagram and Twitter already since it is more or less a combination of the two.

Finally, users can create posts by clicking on the bar at the bottom, or relate with existing ones by using the buttons beneath a post.

Dollar bribery video: Kano anti-corruption agency summons Ganduje

Bankole ABE
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Dollar bribery video: Kano anti-corruption agency summons Ganduje

THE Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) has summoned former governor Abdullahi Ganduje for interrogation over the controversial dollar bribery video.

Chairman of the Commission, Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, had on Wednesday, June 5, declared that, contrary to Ganduje’s claims, the video was not doctored.

Rimingado spoke at a ‘One Day Public Dialogue on Anti-Corruption Crusade’ in Kano.

In a video that went viral in 2017, Ganduje was seen receiving bundles of dollar notes offered as bribe from a contractor and stuffing them in his dress.

Rimingado claimed that since the video’s release, he has come under pressure from all sides to establish the governor’s guilt or innocence.

He explained that because Ganduje was immune from prosecution during his time in office, it had been hard to establish his guilt or innocence since the committee started looking into the issue in 2018.

Speaking on Channels TV’s Lunchtime Politics on Thursday, July 6, Rimingado disclosed that the panel had sent a letter of invitation to the former governor, inviting him to come before it and provide any information necessary for the current investigation.

According to him, the agency adheres to the legal maxim of “innocent until proven guilty” and believes the probe will finally allow the former governor to clear his name in the scandal, and it will apply to the ex-governor as it does to everyone.

“I have signed a letter to invite him for questioning at the Commission next week because this is what the law says, and we will provide ample opportunity for him to defend himself,” he said.

In the meantime, a group known as the Coalition for Northern Civil Society Group has denounced the recent efforts to look into the dollar videos, alleging that they were planned in conjunction with the Kano State government to bring the former governor into disrepute and destroy any chance the ex-governor had of obtaining a position in the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu.

Mohammad Shuaibu, the secretary of the Northern group who also made an appearance on the Channels TV programme on Thursday, noted that since the video’s release in 2018, the focus has been solely on the alleged “receiver” and that the “giver” of the alleged bribery has not been made public.

The Daily Nigerian online newspaper Publisher who leaked the video Jafar Jafar insisted that the footage published by the paper was authentic and not manipulated in any way.

He said this during an investigative hearing into the allegations by the Kano State House of Assembly in 2018.

After the video was released, the Kano State government said Ganduje never collected bribes from contractors.

The government also described the video as “cloned”, adding that the governor would explore every legal means in seeking redress.

A few days after the publication of the video clip, Ganduje told reporters that he was not worried about the impact the video may have on him and that he was innocent of the accusations.

Jafar explained that the video was captured by a friend of his who is a contractor with the Kano State government and who had complained that Ganduje receives kickbacks, ranging from 15 to 25 per cent for every project executed in the state.

Despite the viral video showing Ganduje allegedly receiving a bribe from a contractor, a court in December 2019 dismissed a suit by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking to investigate the governor.

The Federal High Court sitting in Kano dismissed the suit filed by a lawyer, Bulama Bukarti, who sought an order from the court to instruct the EFCC to investigate Ganduje.

The court ruled that the EFCC does not have a record of the forensic analysis of the bribery allegations.

Again, recently, Ganduje asked the Kano State High Court to stop the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from investigating him in connection with the incident.

The court was asked to stop the EFCC from scrutinising Ganduje until the outcome of a dispute between the former governor and Jafaar, Publisher of the Daily Nigerian, was known.

In a related development, the Kano Anti-Corruption Commission on Monday, July 4, arrested and detained Ganduje’s commissioner for works and Infrastructure, Idris Wada Saleh and five others over alleged N1 billion fraud.

The commissioner was arrested alongside the Permanent Secretary of Public Procurement Bureau, Mustapha Madaki Huguma, and the director of finance, research and planning.

They were accused of withdrawing about N1 billion for 30 road and drainage rehabilitation projects that were never completed.

The ICIR reported on June 21 that the Kano State governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, reinstated the state chairman of the Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission (PCACC), Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, whom his predecessor Ganduje sacked. 

Following his reinstatement, Rimingado promised to revive the dollar bribery investigation against Ganduje.

 

Nigeria’s mobile subscriptions declined by 2.4 million in May

Mustapha USMAN
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Nigeria’s mobile subscriptions declined by 2.4 million in May

ACTIVE online subscriptions for mobile telecommunications services in Nigeria has declined to its lowest level in three months, according to latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

According to figures on NCC website, the number of mobile subscribers available in May 2023 reduced by about 2.4 million when compared to the number recorded in April 2023.

The NCC data reveals that the country has now lost 5.9 million mobile subscriptions since February 2023, when it recorded the highest ever number – 226.8 million.

This figure fell to 225.8 million active mobile subscribers in March 2023, and then 223.3 million in April 2023.

In May 2023, NCC recorded 220.93 million subscribers, meaning that the country witnessed the third consecutive fall in total mobile subscriptions since February 2023.

The decline in the subscriptions cannot be disconnected from the discontinuation of SIM cards that have not been linked with the National Identification Number (NIN), as mandated by the government in December 2020.

In the same vein, MTN Nigeria’s active users dropped by around a million in March, 2023, according to a report by Technext.

In the first quarter of 2023 report, the CEO of MTN Nigeria Karl Toriola noted that the telecommunications company experienced the negative impact of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) naira redesign policy.

Toriola explained that the scarcity of naira notes resulting from the policy made it challenging for MTN customers who lacked digital access to purchase physical airtime vouchers.

“The limited availability of the new notes resulted in cash shortages, which impacted our customers’ ability to recharge through physical airtime vouchers (affecting mostly customers who did not have access to digital recharge channels) and over-the-counter (OTC) transactions within our MoMo agent network.

“The cash shortages affected the broader macro-economy, with a consequent significant impact on the private sector,” Toriola said.

Meanwhile, with the decline in actively connected lines recorded by the operators, the country’s teledensity also moved to 115.91 per cent in May from 117.17 per cent recorded in April.

The NCC recorded 199.01 per cent in February during the highest recorded rate and 118.48 per cent in March.

Teledensity, according to NCC, is the number of active telephone connections per one hundred (100) inhabitants living within an area and is expressed as a percentage figure.

Also, the Commission put the number of annual active online subscriptions at  222,225,300 and 195,138,265 for the year 2022 and 2021 respectively. 

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Speaking on the recent decline in the number of active mobile subscribers, a telecommunications expert, Stanley Olaleke said market inflation and the Japa syndrome contributed to the development.

He added that the cash crunch and the compulsory linking of National Identity Number (NIN) to SIM cards also had an impact in the decline recorded since February.

“Most people use data for calls now because it’s cheaper and would not bother recharging their second SIM cards. For instance, it has been a long time since I personally recharged my other SIM card,” he noted.

Fake UTME result: Reps direct JAMB to lift 3-year ban

Ijeoma OPARA
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Fake UTME result: Reps direct JAMB to lift 3-year ban

THE House of Representatives has asked the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to reverse its decision to barr a candidate, Mmesoma Ejikeme, suspected of result forgery, from taking the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for the next three years.

The lawmakers issued the directive during plenary on Wednesday, July 5.

The legislators also set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the allegation of result falsification. The ad hoc committee will also investigate JAMB facilities.

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The House of Representatives called for independent examiners to inspect Ejikeme’s scripts and determine her actual score.

The decision to investigate the allegations came after the lawmaker representing Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro constituency Awaji-Inombek Abiante presented a motion titled ‘Call to investigate alleged manipulation of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, (JAMB), by Miss Ejikeme.

“Miss Ejikeme Mmesoma of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, Anambra State, sat for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations and scored 362. On 2 July 2023, JAMB, Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin, made a public pronouncement accusing Miss Ejikeme Mmesoma of manipulating her UTME results that she actually scored 249 instead of the 362 as claimed.

“Miss. Ejikeme Mmesoma came out to defend herself, that she actually printed the result from the JAMB portal and had been a brilliant child all through her nursery and tertiary education, coming first in all the examinations she had been taken before the UTME, hence she posited that she is not capable of manipulating her UTME result,” Abiante said on Wednesday.

Ejikeme had been celebrated for emerging as the overall best candidate for the 2023 UTME.

JAMB disputed Ejikeme’s result a few days later, describing it as falsified, and barred her from taking the examination for three years.

In an earlier statement released on Sunday, July 2, the examination body announced that Ejikeme originally scored 249 and manipulated the result to secure scholarships fraudulently.

Nigeria left out of African countries to get malaria vaccine

Beloved JOHN
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Nigeria left out of African countries to get malaria vaccine

NIGERIA was left out as 12 African countries were selected to receive 18 million doses of the first-ever RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine, 2023–2025.

The vaccine has been released by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO).

The vaccine is the first recommended to prevent malaria in children below five years of age by the World Health Organization (WHO).

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The three organisations, Gavi, WHO and UNICEF, disclosed this in a joint statement on Thursday, July 6.

The statement noted that the beneficiaries will begin the rollout by 2024.

The selected African countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

Nigeria was exempted from the benefitting countries, even though malaria is endemic in the country. The disease, transmitted from insect bites, is a life-threatening condition in Nigeria.

Malaria is one of the highest disease burdens, with high fatality rates in the country.

According to the WHO, Nigeria accounts for an estimated 38.4 per cent of global malaria deaths in children under five years.

However, the statement noted that the allocations were determined through the application of the principles outlined in a framework that prioritises areas of highest need, risk and death of children.

The vaccine has also been administered to more than 1.7 million children in three African countries — Ghana, Kenya and Malawi — as part of a pilot program.

“The RTS -S/AS01 vaccine has been administered to more than 1.7 million children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi since 2019 and is safe and effective, resulting in a substantial reduction in severe malaria and a fall in child deaths. At least 28 African countries have expressed interest in receiving the malaria vaccine.

“In addition to Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi, the initial 18 million dose allocation will enable nine more countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, to introduce the vaccine into their routine immunisation programmes for the first time,” the statement released by Gavi, WHO and UNICEF said.

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