In a courageous act, the family of a bride-to-be and a group of passengers thwarted a kidnapping attempt by killing a terrorist in Zamfara State.

PRNigeria reports that the incident unfolded when the family of the bride-to-be and other travellers were ambushed by bandits along the Talata Mafara-Gusau highway.

The bride’s family had embarked on a journey to purchase clothing and other wedding materials in Kano. However, their plans took a harrowing turn when armed bandits targeted them.

An eyewitness, who spoke to PRNigeria, revealed that the response was spontaneous once the bandits had selected their victims.

Despite one of the bandits managing to escape, the brave passengers captured two AK-47 rifles.

Narrating how the events unfolded, the eyewitness said: “A few kilometres away from the Fangal Tama checkpoint, the travellers heard gunshots echoing all around.

‘’To their shock, they encountered two well-armed bandits on motorcycles, blocking the road and halting vehicles.
“The bandits immediately ordered the young woman (the bride-to-be), her father, mother, and two other relatives to exit their car.

‘’With guns pointed at them, the terrified family members were coerced to follow the bandits into the nearby forest.
“Realising the grave danger they faced in forced abduction, the passengers decided to act swiftly. They rallied together and launched an attack on one of the two bandits.

‘’In a fierce struggle, they managed to overpower him, resulting in his instant death. The other bandit, however, escaped, leaving behind his firearm.

“The courageous group retrieved the two guns and emerged from the forest. They promptly handed the weapons over to the military at a nearby checkpoint.’’

PRNigeria further gathered that amidst the courageous effort of the group, one of the passengers suffered a sudden heart attack due to the traumatic experience and later died in

Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, has asked the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, to set aside his conviction by a Lagos State High Court over the sexual assault of a minor.

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo (retd.) of the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court, on Thursday, July 14, 2022, sentenced Baba Ijesha to five years imprisonment over the sexual assault of a minor.

But dissatisfied with the judgment, Baba Ijesha approached the appeal court to challenge his five-year jail term.

Baba Ijesha through his counsel, Kayode Olabiran on Tuesday, April 23, told the appeal court that his client was set up and that he acted according to a script that he was invited to act on by his colleague.

“The Appellant was set up. The Appellant is an actor. He acted in a script that he was invited to act by his colleague (PW1), Damilola Adekoya,” he said.

But the Director of Public Prosecution, Dr Babajide Martins, urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit and also a misconception.

He urged the court to affirm the judgment of the lower court.

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that endemic corruption in the Nigerian public sector is systemic.

He also noted that saints would be contaminated if brought into the Nigerian public sector.

Olukoyede made the development known on Tuesday while fielding questions from journalists at the EFCC headquarters, Jabi, Abuja.

He commented on the alleged money laundering cases involving former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, and suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, among others.

Olukoyede said, “There are things that we cannot give out to the public. Some of the things were given yesterday, you must have discovered that, and you are still going to find out. You will also agree with me that as media people, there is what we call informatics; some of us do not even read.

“Some of us just pick what these people write about us on social media and run with it. It is not about Hadi Sirika, like I told you, there is nothing personal. It is about the system, the process, it’s about national interest.

“So don’t make it look like EFCC is running after Hadi Sirika, no it’s a system. If you ask me that are we investigating issues that have to do with the issue of aviation, l will tell you yes we are investigating it. When the time comes for you to know the details of our report, I’ll tell you. But for now, it is premature for me to tell you.

On Edu, the EFCC chairman said the commission had released a comprehensive statement.

He continued, “I don’t know why you people have singled out only Betta Edu. As I am talking to you now, we have established so much in that place, not only Betta Edu. What I am doing is not about Betta Edu, it’s not about any man, I have told you before that it’s about the system that will allow someone to access the agency’s account and roll out 7 billion under one hour without assigning it to any specific project.

“I told you before that the people we suspended, if we replace them by now, even if we brought saints, within 24 hours, the saints will be contaminated. It is not about any man. It is about the system. It is the system I am investigating.

“So let us understand how these things work and have that mindset. If we had gone after Betta Edu and hundreds of people were stealing money, do you think it started during Betta Edu?”

He added “Every single money that was allocated in that ministry is what we are investigating. I told you before that we are investigating over 50 accounts. You must understand some of these processes.

“For each account, we write letters to banks and these banks take two to three weeks to respond, we interview, it takes time. There are agencies you write letters to and they won’t respond until you go there and threaten to arrest. Do you know what it means to sit down and investigate 50 accounts one after the other and diligently?

“There are still people who are innocent victims. I will now begin to mention their names not because I want to impress Nigerians. You must also respect the lives of these people. I didn’t come out to say I have indicted persons but what I’ve come out to say is that I’ve recovered amount.

“So give us time. We are just five months into this investigation. There are some correspondences we are expecting from abroad. Some money was traced to some accounts that if we did not do diligent work, by the time they rushed you to court, they would say ‘EFCC your head is not correct’.

“If this investigation on Nigeria is going to take me one or two years to do, I will do it. My sister spoke about one lawyer, who went to court and said EFCC is an illegal body. This thing that corruption does to our conscience in this country,” he added.

The Naira yesterday depreciated in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM, to N1,300.15 per dollar exceeding the parallel market rate by N45.15.

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM rose to N1,300.15 per dollar from N1,234.49 per dollar last week Friday, indicating N65.66 depreciation for the naira.

Similarly, the Naira depreciated to N1,255 per dollar in the parallel market, from N1,1250 per dollar on Monday.

Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rates widened to N45.15 per dollar from N15.51 per dollar the previous day.

Maryam, the student of the Lead British School caught on tape bullying her classmate, Nassita Bwala, has tendered a heartfelt apology.

In a video she made, Maryam said 

‘’I am sincerely sorry. I wish this never happened''

A video of Maryam assaulting Namsita sparked national outrage after it surfaced online. The school has now been closed for three days during which a detailed investigation will take place.

Watch her apology video below

Pop star Rihanna has shared her reflections on past decisions, expressing a newfound perspective shaped by motherhood.

The 36-year-old singer, who shares two sons, RZA Athelston Mayers and Riot Rose Mayers, with her partner A$AP Rocky, opened up about certain outfit choices she now views with mild regret.

During an interview with British Vogue at the Tobacco Dock launch of Fenty X Puma’s new brown creeper shoe, Rihanna discussed her past fashion “icks.”

She admitted to feeling regretful about instances where she went topless in public and allowed her “panties to be out” at red carpet events.

“It’s going to sound hypocritical because I did so much s**t in my life, I had my nipples out, I had my panties out.

“But now those are the things, I guess as a mom, and an evolved young lady, emphasis on young, it’s just things that I feel I would never do, or I’m just like ‘oh my god, I really did that? Nips out?'” she confessed.

In a recent cover story for Interview Magazine, Rihanna shared insights into her relationship journey with A$AP Rocky, her partner and the father of her children.

Rihanna revealed that although she first met Rocky, 35, in 2012, their romantic relationship began to blossom in 2019.

“We saw fashion the same. We saw creative the same. We ended up in the same circles a lot.

“And past that, when we grew up, we ended up supporting each other’s brands and products and creative all the time.

“We’ve known each other for a long time. I’ve seen him in relationships. He’s seen me in relationships. We’ve seen each other outside of relationships.

“We knew what we’re capable of, and the trouble that we could bring to each other’s lives. We can make or break each other’s hearts.

“And so, we started dating with a lot of caution … I just let whatever was supposed to happen, happen. It was just, ‘This is a flower. It’s either going to die or blossom. But I’m going to let it decide itself,'” she recalled.

The ongoing drama at Lead British International School, Abuja, took a new dimension, on Tuesday, when a parent slapped the student involved in the video which has gone viral.

An X user, @mooyeeeeeee, posted two videos where the victim she identified as Maryam Hassan was repeatedly slapped by another female student.

The video generated thousands of comments by netizens who called on the school authorities to investigate the matter.

On Tuesday, some parents stormed the school with the hope to resolve the incident.

However, the student, who was captured slapping her colleague, was seen walking into the premises accompanied by elderly males.

A lady identified as one of the parents walked up to the student, asking her, “She is proud of what she did. You are proud of what you did! You are proud right? Someone’s child; innocent child, you beat her, did you give birth to her? I am asking you, did you give birth to her?”

The student was trying to walk away so as to avoid confrontation, but the angry parent shoved her, saying, “I’m asking you: did you give birth to her?” The student muttered some incoherent words and the angry parent responded with a slap, before other elderly person around moved in to douse tension.

Meanwhile, the student who was slapped went down on her knee.

The Lead British International School had earlier said it has launched investigation into the matter.

In a statement issued earlier on Monday, it said the counselling unit of the school is helping the victimised student overcome the emotional and psychological impact.

The statement read, “We are committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all our students. Hence, upon learning of the incident, we initiated the process of reaching out to the victim and family with a view to providing support, including access to counselling services to help them cope with the emotional and psychological impact of the incident.

“Additionally, we will be working with the perpetrators and their families, offering counselling and disciplinary measures to address their behaviour which has no place in society.

“We have also immediately initiated an investigation, appointing a dedicated team to conduct a thorough inquiry into the matter. The team has been gathering information, including reviewing video footage and interviewing witnesses, to understand the full scope of the incident and identify the immediate and remote causes.”

The school also said it is providing a safe environment for students to learn and working against bullying of students through its policies.

It also appealed to the general public to stop sharing and posting of the videos to help the students in stabilising their emotional consciousness.

It continued, ““In line with our commitment to preventing bullying and ensuring a safe school environment, we will be reviewing and updating our extant Anti-Bullying Policies and procedures to determine areas requiring improvement, with a focus on prevention and early intervention. LBIS will also be implementing educational programmes and workshops for students, staff, and parents to raise awareness about bullying and its consequences.

“Lead British International School Abuja, established since 2007, is a renowned education brand with a proud history of producing thousands of alumni who continue to make the institution proud through their accomplishments around the world. These achievements testify to the sound academic and moral grounding they received during their formative years in the school.

“We want to reassure our school community and the public that we are taking all necessary steps to address this isolated incident and prevent a recurrence. We are committed to fostering a culture of kindness, respect, and empathy at Lead British International School Abuja, where every student feels safe, valued, and respected.”

The leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele has reacted to the statement credited to the Inspector General of Police on the formation of state policing.

Recall that  IGP had earlier declared that Nigeria isn’t yet ripe for state police despite the readiness of President Tinubu’s administration to implement it.

In a statement signed Tuesday, Primate Ayodele stated that Nigeria is ripe for state police because it will help complement the efforts of police officers in the country to curb insecurity.

He explained that if the government utilizes the process properly, state policing will assist the NPF tremendously in terms of providing local intelligence to protect the lives of Nigerian citizens.

The prophet made it known that it would create more employment opportunities and if well utilized and used for citizens, it would improve insecurity.

‘’Nigeria is having so many security issues but the state police will add value to the police. If we utilize the process properly, state police will help. It will help to provide local intelligence and create faster means to curb insecurity in the country. 

‘’Apart from creating employment, state security will assist in curbing insecurity. It will complement the work of policemen; it will improve our insecurity if it is used for the generality of humanity.’’

However, he advised the federal government to ensure that the process is managed properly to avoid being used to oppress ordinary citizens by politicians and state governors

‘’All the government needs to do is work on funding and manage the process properly by ensuring they are not used for selfish needs by politicians and state governors.

‘’Nigeria is ripe for state police; they should do the funding well and put necessary things in place and not oppress people,” he added.

..may peg age for intake into university, others at 18 years

The Federal Government has revealed that only 20 per cent of the candidates sitting the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) might be offered admission into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country. 

The government is also contemplating a review of the current age requirement for entry into tertiary institutions in the country, which is likely to be pegged at 18 years.

Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman made the disclosures on Monday in Abuja while monitoring the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), alongside the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Ishaq Oloyede.

More than 1.9 million candidates registered to participate in the examination that commenced on 19th April and is expected to end on 29th April 2024.

Mamman expressed concerns about about some parents who exert unnecessary pressure on their children, warning them against pushing the children and wards “too much,” to allow them to attain some level of maturity to be able to better manage their affairs.

There have been concerns about the carrying capacity of the existing public tertiary institutions while private institutions always find it difficult to fill their admission quotas because of high tuition fees.

Mamman, while commenting on the high number of candidates seeking admission into the limited slots available in tertiary institutions, said skills acquisition remains a critical component in preparing the youths for a brighter future.

“It is not a question of being employed but how many will be admitted from this set. I think the figure overall on average is about 20 per cent; universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

“The question you ask is where are the 80 percent? They are our children, our wards living with us. This is why the issue of skills acquisition is terribly important because any student who is not being able to proceed to tertiary education, should be able to have a meaningful life even after secondary school, even primary education actually.

“The only solution to that is skills; by taking skills right from the time they entered school, for the primary right through the educational trajectory. Somebody should finish with one skill or another. That is part of the assumption of the 6-3-3-4.

“It is assumed that by the time a student finishes up to the JSS level, he will have acquired some skills. If he does not proceed to the senior secondary level, he will have acquired some skills that will help him navigate life and cease to be a burden on his parents and society.

“That’s why this skill is just the most important skill for us now that we are going to drive through the education sector for both public and private sector to empower the young ones.”

Speaking on the age requirement for intake into tertiary institutions, he said: “The other thing which we notice is the age of those who have applied to go to the university. Some of them are really too young. We are going to look at it because they are too young to understand what a university education is all about.

“That’s the stage when students migrate from a controlled environment where they are in charge of their own affairs. So if they are too young, they won’t be able to manage properly. That accounts for some of the problems we are seeing in the universities.

“We are going to look at that. 18 is the entry age for university but you will see students, 15, and 16, going to the examination. It is not good for us. Parents should be encouraged not to push their wards, or children too much.”

The Minister commended the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for a seamless examination process, noting that the adoption of technology had helped in reducing the cases of examination practices.

“Right from screening to those who are here, the examination process is seamless. The environment is comfortable for students. That’s how it should be, especially the use of technology in our affairs and the educational system. It makes life easy for everybody and seamless.

“As we know this examination is going on throughout the country. It is being monitored everywhere seamlessly and from the report I have heard, the malpractice level is very low. Just a 100 out of the 1.2m. It has gone down drastically and I believe that it is the use of technology that has made that happen so this is very good.”

Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu, who was excited the UTME was also ongoing in Saudi Arabia as a result of the standards set by JAMB’s management, noted that the examination has transcended to a very high level of objectivity and reliability of results.

“Right from when the candidates arrive, they would be seated comfortably in the waiting room, screening and other necessary instructions will be given and they will proceed to do biometrics.

“There are some instructions that will be pushed that even if you are just coming into contact with a computer for the first time, provided you have been using the handset or smartphone, that will properly guide you to have access.

“One of the major things I see here, which is a major characteristic of online exams, is the speed. The speed in the centre is really excellent; pages are turned as at when candidates need them without any delay of booting.

“Also in the exam, there are lots of steps to prevent examination malpractice, candidates that are adjacent will be taking different subjects and even when you are answering the same questions, question number one will be different from question number two from the next person.

“The standard of the examination is commendable. I am not surprised that JAMB has to go outside Nigeria to go to other countries to conduct exams, they were in Saudi Arabia and right now the exam is also going (on) in Saudi Arabia.

“I have not heard people complaining of answers leaked, it shows that with online exams we can do a lot.”

Ihedioha resigns from PDP: Former Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has tendered his resignation to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing a misalignment between his personal beliefs and the current trajectory of the party.

In a resignation letter addressed to the chairman of his constituency, Mbutu Ward, Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, Ihedioha expressed his dedication to the advancement of democracy and good governance in Nigeria despite his decision to step away from the party.

Having been a member of the PDP since its inception in 1998, Ihedioha highlighted his contributions to the growth and evolution of the party, noting its historical commitment to internal reforms and providing credible leadership both in and out of power.

However, Ihedioha lamented recent developments within the party, stating that it has deviated from its core principles. He voiced concerns over the party’s inability to enact internal reforms, uphold its own regulations, and effectively oppose the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The letter reads, “Since 1998, I have contributed my quota to the development and transformation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as one of the founding members. All these years, I have taken pride in the fact that the PDP is a party that will always look inward for internal reforms and provide credible leadership for the people, whether in power or outside power. I have had the benefit of serving and benefiting from the party at various levels.

“Regrettably, in recent times, the party has taken on a path that is at variance with my personal beliefs. Despite my attempt to offer counsel, the party is, sadly, no longer able to carry out internal reforms, enforce its own rules or offer credible opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress.’

“It is in the light of the foregoing, that I am compelled to offer my resignation from the People’s Democratic Party effective immediately. While the decision was difficult to take, I, however, believe that it is the right one. Despite this resignation, I will always be available to offer my services towards the deepening of democracy and good governance in Nigeria.”