Although President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will turn 72 on Friday March 29, 2024, he has asked well wishers not to commemorate his birthday with pomp and pageantry.

Tinubu, who spoke through his aide, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information & Strategy on Sunday, said the day will be another important milestone in his life as a leader and a statesman.

According to the president, it is not unusual that during an auspicious occasion as this, it is customary for family members, friends and associates to celebrate him in different ways.

But as the leader of our country, President Tinubu in deference to this challenging times will not host any birthday event and does not want any of his associates and numerous well-wishers across the country to organise any celebratory event on his behalf or in his name.

Onanuga said, “The President appreciates the honour of being the leader of Africa’s leading nation at this time and he is working very hard to make life better for the generality of our people.

“Because of the present mood of the nation and recent killing of the officers and men of our Army and Police in Delta State and recent spate of security breaches by criminal elements in different parts of Nigeria, there should be no form of birthday event and placing of birthday goodwill advertorial messages in newspapers. Goodwill messages should not be placed on radio and television stations too.

“He enjoins friends and associates who may wish to place goodwill advertorials to kindly donate the money to charity organisations of their choice in his name.

“Although the President appreciates the gallantry of our armed forces in freeing our children kidnapped in Kuriga, Kaduna State and in Sokoto State, he will use the opportunity of his birthday to reflect and re-dedicate himself to the task of building a more stable, more secure, virile, prosperous and united Nigeria”.

On Sunday, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced that its operatives had conducted extensive raids across Lagos, Edo, and Ondo states, resulting in the confiscation of over 44,948.1 kilograms (44.9 tonnes) of illicit drugs. Additionally, eight suspects were arrested, and 11 vehicles owned by the drug cartels were seized.

NDLEA said while a total of 7, 687.8kg of cannabis was destroyed in a warehouse in Ala forest, Akure, Ondo state with another 670kg evacuated, on Saturday 23rd March 2024, no less than 14,310.8625kg of same psychoactive substance was razed on 5.7 hectares of farms in Ohosu/Ugbogui forest, Ovia South West LGA, Edo State on Tuesday 19th March, where five suspects including 67-year-old Sunday Otulugbu; Agbayeogor Joshua, 39; Kelvin Ofuasia,45; Williams Peter, 37; and Kamaru Onimisi, 44, were arrested.

This was disclosed on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy.

Babafemi said the agency in another operation in Uzebba/Avbiosi forest on Thursday 21st March, over 6,500kg cannabis was destroyed on 2.6 hectares of farms where three suspects: Kabiru Idris, 36; Alaba Jimoh, 40; and Lekan Asobere, 35, were arrested.

He further added that in the same vein, 5,000kg of same substance was razed in a warehouse in Okpuje forest, Owan West LGA by NDLEA operatives with support from the military on Friday 22nd March.

According to the statement, a well-coordinated operation by the anti-narcotic agency in Lagos on Wednesday 20th March led to the seizure of 10,534 kilograms (10.534 tonnes) of Ghanaian Loud, a strain of cannabis in Ajah area of the state where 11 vehicles were seized from the drug cartel.

Babafemi mentioned the recovered vehicles to include: Iveco truck marked KRD 522 YE; Toyota sienna marked AAA 338 GL; Toyota sienna marked AAA 308 EP; Toyota sienna marked FKJ 381 JC; Nissan bus marked EKY 846 YG; Mercedes bus marked EPE 743 XT; an unmarked Iveco J5 bus; Toyota sienna marked LSD 744 GP; Toyota highlander SUV marked KTU 280 FN; Toyota sienna marked AAA 333 GH and Toyota sienna marked FKJ 208 HV.

Announcing further interceptions by the NDLEA, Babafemi said: “In another raid at Ago Palace way area of the state on Friday 22nd March, a suspect, Miracle Obi was arrested with 1,006 ampoules of pentazocine injection; 50 tablets of tramadol 225mg; 89 bottles of codeine syrup and 2,360 ampoules of Diazepam injection. Another suspect, Kareem Mustapha was earlier on Tuesday 19th March nabbed along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway with 25,000 pills of tramadol and 5,900 ampoules of pentazocine injection.

“While 58kg cannabis was recovered at Jagindi village, Kafanchan LGA, Kaduna State on Friday 22nd March, Abdulqadir Muhammad, 34, was arrested with 45 kilograms of same substance by NDLEA operatives along Kaduna- Zaria expressway.

“In Borno state, Salisu Yusuf, 20, was nabbed with 30kg Arizona, a strain of cannabis at Njimtilo checkpoint on Saturday 23rd March, while another suspect, Rabiu Husseini, 27, was arrested with 34kg cannabis along Gwagwalada/Abuja highway on his way from Lagos to Katsina state on Wednesday 21st March. The following day, 22nd March, NDLEA officers on patrol along Gashua-Baymari road, Busari LGA, Yobe state arrested Haladu Hassan with 160 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 50kg.”

He continued, “In Kano state, a syndicate dealing in cocaine and heroin was successfully dismantled with the arrest of 42-year-old Onyeka Uba at Sabon Gari area of Kano where 1.805 kilograms and 7grams of the illicit substances were recovered from him on Monday 18th March. Another suspect, Ubale Sani, 49, was also arrested with 51.5kg cannabis at Chiromawa area of Kano.

Operatives of a special operation unit of NDLEA also disrupted criminal activities of another cocaine syndicate in Abuja at the weekend with the arrest of three leaders of the group. While Nnajiofor Celestine Kenechukwu, 41, and Okoro Chigozie Christian, 35, were arrested on Friday, March 22, at Paint House Hotel, Umar Garba Benna Street, 21 Road, First Avenue, Gwarimpa Abuja with 718 grams of cocaine.

“A follow up operation at the residence of Okoro Chigozie at House 30, 69B Road 6th Avenue Gwarimpa, led to the recovery of 19 blocks of Arizona, a strain of cannabis weighing 9.823kg and monetary exhibits: N545,500 and $250, as well as property documents. Two vehicles: Toyota Camry 2007 marked BWR 94 BM and Toyota Camry 2012 marked RBC 154 BS were also recovered from them.

“Another follow up operation to the residence of Nnajiofor Celestine Kenechukwu at 49 Mercy Orjiakor street, Becky Estate 11, Karu, Nasarawa state on Saturday 23rd March also led to the recovery of various quantities of Arizona and methamphetamine while his girlfriend and accomplice, Ifemenam Oge was arrested.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) has commended the officers and men of the Lagos, Edo, Ondo, Kano, Borno, Kaduna, and FCT Commands as well as the Special Operations unit of the Agency for their outstanding feats in the past week.

Marwa equally applauded their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying their WADA advocacy lectures in schools, markets, motor parks, worship centres and work places.

The Nigerian Military has revealed details of how several students kidnapped by bandits in Kuriga, Kaduna State, were rescued in Zamfara State.

A statement on Sunday by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, said the military worked with local authorities and government agencies across the country in a search and rescue operation, leading to the rescue of the students.

Buba said the victims kidnapped on 7th March 2024, were rescued in the early hours of 24th March 2024.

The statement confirmed that the rescued hostages totalling 137, comprise of 76 females and 61 male.

It added that the rescued students would be conveyed and handed over to the Kaduna State Government for further action.

The statement reads: “It would be recalled that , on 7 March 2024, troops received information that terrorists had invaded LEA School Kuriga in Chikun LG of Kaduna State. During the incident unconfirmed number of pupils were abducted. Following the incident, the military committed to leaving no stone unturned until all the hostages were rescued.

“Accordingly, in the early hours of 24 March 2024, the military working with local authorities and government agencies across the country, in a coordinated search and rescue operation rescued the hostages. The hostages are same persons that were abducted from the school at Kuriga in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.

“The rescued hostages totalling 137 comprise of 76 females and 61 male. They were rescued in Zamfara State and would be conveyed and handed over to the Kaduna State Government for further action.”

Buba added that troops rescued 16 pupils (Almajiris) with a woman taken hostage in Gada LGA of Sokoto State and the rescued persons have been handed over to the state government.

He vowed that the military would continue track down criminals including those responsible for the killing of soldiers in Delta State and bring them all to justice.

“Relatedly, it would be recalled that on 21 Mar 24, troops equally rescued 16 pupils (Almajiris) with a woman taken hostage in Gada LGA of Sokoto State. These hostages were handed over to the Sokoto State Government. These efforts demonstrate the armed forces resolve to finding other innocent hostages and track down the terrorists that perpetrated these crimes.

“These efforts would continue until other hostages are found and the terrorists arrested, tried, and brought to justice by Nigerian law. Troops are employing similar effort to trackdown the culprits responsible for the killings of 18 soldiers in Okuama Community in Delta State. Justice await the culprits, as they can not go unpunished,” the statement said.

The mother of the Commanding Officer of the 181 Amphibious Battalion, late Lieutenant Colonel A.H Ali, who was tragically killed alongside two majors, one captain, and 12 soldiers in Okuama, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State last week, has shared her awful experience following the latest event.

Naija News reports that the slain officers and soldiers were members of the battalion stationed in the Bomadi Local Government Area of the state.

They were, however, ambushed and murdered by some heavily armed terrorists in the state last week, a development that raised great concerns in the country.

When the family of the late Lieutenant Colonel Ali was visited by journalists on Sunday, his mother, Hassana Hassan, lamented that she has now lost four of her children in tragic situations.

According to the deceased’s mother, Ali was the main provider for the family.

Conversing with journalists in her living room, appearing lost in contemplation as she recalled past challenges, Hassan mentioned that mere words could not capture the depth of her emotions following the loss of her firstborn son, Ali.

“He is one of my favourite children. As the eldest, he didn’t want to see me angry. He had never done anything wrong to me. I know him to be very loyal, easygoing and truthful in his dealings.

“He often asked for permission, just to come and see me and go back to his place of work.

“I don’t know what to do. His death is bitter in my heart, but God knows the best. The last time he came to see me was just two weeks ago. He said he was sorry that he couldn’t secure permission to come and see me until that day. He brought me foodstuff and other things to use for the fasting period and returned back to work.

“When I was in the hospital, I requested some money from him to settle the medical bills, and he sent it to me. Unfortunately, before we were discharged from the hospital, his brother came and said my attention was needed and that Alhaji Ali wanted to see me. I left to see him and he broke the news to me.

“Honestly, it is devastating because he is now the fourth one I lost. I have nothing to say but God is watching. He was very good to me; I lacked nothing from him. I have nothing to tell them, but God is watching everyone; he will judge on the final day,” she told Daily Trust.

The bereaved mother recalls a tragic incident where Ali’s younger brother, who served as an officer in the Nigerian Army, lost his life to suspected bandits during an ambush in Katsina State a few years back while on duty.

“His brother, Captain Jamilu Ali Hassan, also paid the supreme price in 2019 in Katsina State. His colleagues told me that they were helpless, so they allowed him to be killed in a manner that no one would wish, even his enemy,” Hassan lamented.

She went on to describe how her daughter, who was married to a military man as well, tragically passed away with her husband and his brother in a car accident during the fasting period several years back.

The mother said: “They came here during fasting like this to greet us, but they were involved in an accident on their way back home. She had escaped, but in trying to rescue her husband and his brother, she was caught by the fire and that’s how she also died.”

Hassana further mentioned that her late husband, who peacefully passed away after retiring from active duty, was the fourth military personnel she had lost.

“I don’t know what to do. I am speechless. But if anybody has a hand in this, God is watching and he will judge accordingly,” she noted.

My Children Will Never Join The Military – Late Ali’s Wife Declares

When journalists visited the home of the deceased Lieutenant Colonel Ali, his wife and six children were also grieving heavily.

In her response to journalists, the late Lieutenant Colonel Ali’s wife, Hauwa, declared that none of her children would join the military.

Hauwa, who could only nod sadly as tears continued to stream down her face, told newsmen that she had been married to the late lieutenant colonel for 16 years and that they had four sons and two daughters.

Naija News understands that Hauwa’s mother had been the spouse of a once formidable military officer.

Surrounded by her two sons and a daughter, Hauwa tearfully said: “Words cannot describe him because he was everything to us. He was a man of his word, dedicated to both his family and work.

“Apart from his family, he sacrificed his life for Nigeria, and that’s the price he has paid. I pray that wherever he is God, would continue to be with him.

“His dedication to humanity is one thing I will always remember. No matter how he was, once he was called to work, he would make sure he fulfilled it.”

Asked if she would allow some of her children to join the military in future, she said, “I will not advise any of his children to be in the military. Their father has already sacrificed his life for the country.

“We know that death is inevitable. As Muslims, we have to die at some point in time, but I am really shattered by the way my husband was killed. He called me that very day and told me that he was going on a peace mission. I never knew that it was the last time we would speak.

“Nobody could call to tell me the news until Saturday. I was called from the State House.”

At least sixteen politicians have indicated interest in participating in the party primaries to pick up the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State.

Naija News reports the APC has set April 25, 2024 for the conduct of its governorship primary election in the state. The sale of nominations, expression of interest and delegate forms for contestants will begin on April 3 and end on April 10.

Similarly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed the 2024 Ondo State governorship election for November 16.

As the ruling party in the state, APC would be hoping to retain the seat, while other political parties would also be hoping to unseat the ruling party.

According to INEC, party primaries in the Ondo State governorship election will start in the next two weeks on 6 April and end on 27 April. The electoral umpire has also confirmed that 16 of 19 registered political parties have indicated interest in contesting the 16 November governorship election in the state.

The aspirants who have indicated interest in the APC ticket are:
1. Mayowa Akinfolarin – Former member of the House of Representatives
2. Oladunni Odu – Former Secretary to the State Government (SSG)
3. Lucky Aiyedatiwa – Incumbent Ondo governor
4. Gbenga Edema – Former Chairman of the Ondo State Oil-producing Areas Development Commission and former member who represented the State on the Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
5. Brig. Gen. Olamide Ohunyeye (retd) – Retired Director of Finance at the Nigerian Defence Academy
6. Jimoh Ibrahim – Business mogul and incumbent Senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District
7. Wale Akinterinwa – Former Ondo Commissioner for Finance
8. Isaac Kekemeke – APC National Vice Chairman (South-West)
9. Prof. Francis Faduyile – Former Special Adviser to the late Governor Akeredolu on Health
10. Chief Olusola Oke – Two-time governorship candidate in the state (2012 and 2016)
11. Dr Paul Akintelure
12. Sola Ebisemi – Former Commissioner for the Environment in the state
13. Ifeoluwa Oyedele – Executive Director (Engineering and Technical Services) at Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited
14. Adedayo Faduyile – Former President of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA)
15. Olusola Iji
16. Jimi Odimayo
17. Matthew Oyerinmade
18. Funmilayo Adekojo

The Nigerian contingent to the 13th All African Games held in Ghana, finished second on the overall medals table at the end of the tournament.

Naija News reports Team Nigeria finished with a total of 47 gold, 33 silver and 40 bronze medals across 25 sports at the competition.

The Nigerian team won its highest medal haul in weightlifting, winning 32 medals—16 gold, 10 silver, and six bronze.

Athletics was Nigeria’s second most productive sport at the Games, with 22 medals won.

Nigeria got 11 medals from wrestling, 8 gold medals in a day in boxing, while arm wrestling also produced 13 medals.

Despite Nigeria’s impressive outing at the tournament, it was Egypt who finished tops on the medals table with 189 medals, comprising 101 gold, 46 silver and 42 bronze.

South Africa placed third on the medals table with 106 medals — 32 gold, 32 silver and 42 bronze medals.

Algeria finished third with 29 gold, 38 silver and 47 bronze medals, while Tunisia completed the top five.

The next edition of the African Games will be held in Cairo, Egypt, in 2027.

A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kingsley Moghalu, has criticized the notion that the naira will stabilize at N400 to the dollar.

The political economist deems the notion as unrealistic.

Naija News reports that Moghalu expressed his viewpoint through a series of posts on his X account on Sunday.

He wrote: “Those who want the Naira to be N400 to the $ are living in a dream world. Even discounting for the negative impact of speculative attacks on the value of the Naira, the exchange rate will (and should) reflect its market value in reality, not the artificiality that the Emefiele era central bank sought to maintain to please economic illiterates in political power at the time.

“That artificiality created room for massive arbitrage by speculators which bled the economy. Nigeria does not (yet) have a productive export economy. That’s the heart of the matter.

“And we do not have $100 billion in foreign reserves. So on what basis would the Naira forex rate return to some fantasy land soon? It will also take time to regain or achieve full investor confidence such as we had when we were there (and the rate was N150-165 to the $).

“The sooner we focus on a painstaking creation of value-added manufacturing export economy that earns forex beyond oil in real and significant terms, the better.

“Key to this is the electricity conundrum in which we are at less than 4,000MW of generation for a population of 200 million for decades now. Take power to even 20K megawatts (let’s not talk of 50K for South Africa’s 60 million population or Brazil’s 181K megawatts for a population only slightly larger than Nigeria) and you will see what the Nigerian entrepreneurial spirit is capable of.”

Sampson Sekidika, the father of 24-year-old Rebekah Sekidika, a first-class graduate of Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State, has talked abiut her tragic death.

He shares with DENNIS NAKU the story of how his daughter passed away during a medical procedure at a hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and his relentless quest for justice for the deceased.

How old was your daughter when she passed away and what school did she attend?

My name is Sampson Sekidika. I hail from Okrika in the Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State. I work with Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas as a lead process engineer in the expansion coordination department at the head office here in Port Harcourt. I am the father of the late Rebekah Tamunotorukubu Sekidika. She was 24 years old and graduated from Benson Idahosa University, Benin City in Edo State, where she studied Microbiology and made first-class.

What led to her death?

Before February 2, 2024, my daughter had a series of clinical visits to Paragon Clinics and Imaging Diagnosis located at No. 96 Stadium Road. Paragon Clinics and Imaging Diagnosis is a retainer-ship hospital used by the NLNG. So the NLNG recommended that we use that clinic because they have been qualified to attend to their staff and families. That is why we used that place. It is part of their HMO. So what was my daughter’s complaint? She had some clinical visits and tests she did with them and since November last year (2023) she had not seen her period for nearly three months so she needed to know why. So they carried out a series of tests, including pregnancy and everything came out negative. But they decided that she should see a specialist, more like closing that part of the whole investigation.

She got the call on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, to see a specialist which she did a day before. So they said they were going to do a hysteroscopy on her, which is supposedly a simple procedure that involves using a probe with a light bulb at the end to be inserted through her private parts to see what was causing the obstruction or whatever it was, and they would be seeing it on a monitor at the same time. So that was why they did that. I didn’t know before then that she was going to be given any form of anaesthesia, spinal anaesthesia for that matter for a simple procedure. They said they just wanted her not to feel any pain.

On February 2, 2024, the doctor said she should come between 12 noon and 1pm. So I drove her and her mom to the clinic and around 12.30pm I left to attend to some other things. From what we know about hysteroscopy, the procedure takes between 15 and 30 minutes depending on the doctor handling it. So by 3.10pm I called my wife and asked why they hadn’t called me. She said the doctor had not come out. I now said if by 4pm nothing happened I would come and pick them. My daughter was having an online class at the university by 4.30pm. She had the last online classes and closed her laptop.

What happened next?

By 4.30pm, my daughter walked into the theatre; she was not sick; she was hale and hearty. She had no issues at all; she was very strong. By 5pm it was expected my daughter would have been out of the theatre but was not out. Around 5.10pm, I had already arrived at the clinic. So I went upstairs to stay with my wife. I asked her what was going on. She said they were still in the theatre. I now went to the reception area to sit. Around 5.30pm, my wife came rushing to me saying that something was not right; she heard them in the theatre shouting ‘Rebekah wake up, wake up, wake up’. Then we saw nurses running up and down.

Then it was nearly 6.20pm we saw them rolling up oxygen bottles from downstairs through the elevator. I was wondering what was going on and each time we saw the matron, we asked what was going on with our daughter, she would say our daughter would be fine. That was what she said until around 7pm when two doctors came to the reception area where I was seated. They said they did everything they could but lost our daughter. I don’t know the unusual calmness that came over me. It was just like a dream and I needed someone to wake me up from that bad dream. When I got into the theatre, what I saw was terrifying. I saw my daughter in a pool of blood. My wife rushed into the theatre and shouted, ‘God! God! You people have killed my daughter’. She was shouting and crying all over the place. The doctors and nurses all disappeared from the third floor. We didn’t see anyone.

My wife then called our sons to inform them of what had happened. They were crying. While our last born was crying, his flatmate heard it and called his father here in Port Harcourt who happens to be my colleague, Isaac Chu, who immediately drove down with his wife to the hospital to see us. We went to the reception and luckily we saw a nurse, who took us to see the doctors, who were in a room downstairs. By then, Rebekah’s younger sister, and two of my wife’s sisters with their husbands had arrived. This was around 10pm. So you can imagine that from 7pm to 10pm none of them came to even console us.

When we entered the room where they were, the doctor and the anaesthesia specialist were seated. Isaac Chu now asked the doctor to tell us what happened. He now started the story by saying they had prepared her for the procedure and he pointed at the specialist who gave her the spinal anaesthesia. I asked him why the heavy spinal anaesthesia. He now said that 30 minutes into the procedure they lost her, adding that about 10 minutes into the procedure, my daughter said she couldn’t breathe. Shortly after, she said she wanted to throw up and they brought something for her to throw up into, and what they saw was blood. At that time blood had already filled her lungs.

So apparently something happened when he was doing the procedure. It was later discovered that the anaesthesia specialist ruptured a vessel inside of her when he inserted the probe. The anaesthesia was on one hand killing her and the blood vessel they ruptured caused her to bleed inside and it went into her lungs. The doctor now said when Rebekah vomited blood the second time, he was confused about what to do because he had never seen such a thing before. That was when they stopped the procedure and tried to take over her respiratory system by which time she was already lifeless. At that point, Isaac Chu took me outside and asked me to call my sister, who is a consultant physician, and her husband is a consultant surgeon.

What happened after you called your sister?

My sister and her husband came past midnight, went upstairs, and saw my daughter. Immediately she broke down and her husband took her away. They came downstairs, saw the doctor, and started asking him questions. One of the things she asked was, ‘If you’re carrying out a procedure like this and you notice a vessel rupture or vascular rupture, what are you supposed to do to salvage the situation?’ He (doctor) said he didn’t know, and he was confused when she started vomiting blood. So she was just killed by negligence and incompetence. Then my sister asked the anaesthesiologist what his qualifications were. He said a diploma. So, he too wasn’t a consultant. My sister and her husband now asked for the death certificate. They said she died of pulmonary embolism/vascular rupture. Pulmonary embolism is when you see blood clotting in the lungs. Vascular rupture! Who ruptured the vessel? It was their procedure. So it was purely an act of negligence and incompetence that killed my daughter.

Did the hospital make any attempt to pacify your family?

Early on Saturday, we took her corpse and deposited it in the Military Hospital mortuary. Throughout Sunday and Monday, I didn’t get a call from anybody, if not for anything but to say we are sorry for what happened and this and that. So they completely ignored me and my family. At that point we were confused. What emboldens them or gives them this impunity I don’t know. It is very bad behaviour. So I got a call from my boss to go to the police since it is a state matter.

So, I reported the case to the state homicide department on Monday and raised a petition, got it approved, and raised a letter, which was addressed to Paragon Clinics and the NLNG. The one to Paragon and Imaging they gave them till February 8. They asked the administrator to come with the two doctors involved in the procedure so that they could take their statements. Paragon did not honour the invitation. That Thursday, February 8, 2024, my daughter was supposed to travel to the United Kingdom. On February 12, the police wrote a reminder to Paragon Clinic to produce the people by Wednesday, February 14, but they did not show up.

They (police) went and obtained a warrant of arrest, did all the paperwork, and stormed the hospital on Thursday. They picked the administrator, and the radiologist and the head of the cleaners accompanied their madam to the Deputy Commissioner of Police office at the state CID. I was called to listen to what the hospital administrator had to say. They asked her why she shunned the repeated invitations.

What was her response?

She said when they received the first letter on February 6, the tone of the letter was that somebody was killed in their clinic and that they should produce the two doctors, that she was afraid. So she took the letter and gave it to the legal people, who instead of producing the people involved took the letter to Human Rights International in Abuja. I don’t know what they presented before the human rights body. They obtained a court injunction there for the police not to investigate, arrest, or prosecute them on this matter. So the Deputy Commissioner of Police was confused and asked, ‘Was the injunction to protect the parents of the deceased or to protect yourself?’ The DCP was very furious. He now asked one more question: did you serve the police this injunction? She said she gave it to one of their administrative staff members who said he did not serve the police.

The DCP told the Investigating Police Officer to keep her in custody until the doctors involved in the procedure were produced. The following day, the hospital came with more than eight lawyers; the husband of the administrator flew into Port Harcourt: the Nigerian Medical Association got involved and produced the doctors, the nurse, the matron, and the administrator. So they knew what they were doing. Why did they kill my daughter? Why did they experiment with my daughter? What have they done with her? Up till today, I don’t know.

What happened after that interrogation, which you witnessed?

I heard all of them speak but I didn’t say anything. In the end, the DCP said they should take their statements and we should all go. So we put our heads together and talked about the autopsy. Finally, Paragon Clinics produced their pathologist, and I produced my own. My pathologist stood for my family and the police. Then the NMA produced its pathologist, and my company, the NLNG, produced its pathologist. My sister, who is a medical doctor, was an observer. So there were five people for the autopsy. My sister witnessed everything and signed off on behalf of the family.

When did they say the autopsy result will be out?

About three to four weeks. They performed the autopsy on February 22. The following day I applied to the police to release her corpse for burial. So they granted my application a week after we had about eight days or so to prepare for the burial.

Has she been buried and where?

Yes, she was buried on March 2 at a private section of the Port Harcourt Cemetery.

Are you satisfied with the police investigation of the incident so far?

Yes, I’m satisfied with what they are doing so far, you know, getting all the proper documentation from them, investigating and calling all the parties, and meeting with them. There is no foul play so far to be honest with you. I’m okay with the way it is going. If I were not impressed with the way it is going, I would have raised the alarm and even informed you to see what is happening.

It was reported by a blog that your daughter went to the hospital for liposuction and died in the process. How would you react to that?

Oh my God, it is unfortunate! A lot of people called me and reported what they read. I said well it’s an Instagram report. There will be lots of wrong narratives out there because these people probably are spreading propaganda through their machinery. So when you see something like that you report that page, you tell them, say what you know that that wasn’t what she went for. So I don’t know how we can get to the root of that issue or the people behind it and know who they are. But I learned that if one reports to Instagram there is a way Instagram will either close them or investigate or that if you inform the police, the police can find out who they are and pick them up and ask why they didn’t investigate before spreading false information and false narrative and diverting people’s attention. That is very unfortunate but that is the country we find ourselves in. There will be lots of false narratives that will be put out there just to divert peoples’ attention.

What is liposuction? How can she go for that kind of thing? The doctors are not there? Haven’t they given their statements? Their statements are with the police. Did they not say it before the police that she went there for a diagnosis hysteroscopy? So what are they talking about? Do they even do liposuction in that clinic? They don’t. So that is unfortunate and I don’t blame them because you know people should close their eyes and swap positions for a moment.

Has the hospital or the doctors reached you yet after the burial?

They have not. It is like I’m their enemy. They were looking at me with scorn that day, very arrogant people, after killing my daughter they are acting as if I can’t do anything to them. Anyway, we will see how it goes by the grace of God.

Hospital, NMA’s reactions

When our correspondent visited the Paragon Clinic and Imaging located on Ken Saro-Wiwa Road, Port Harcourt, a front desk officer, who simply gave his name as Chima, said he was aware of the incident, but that the manager was not in the office.

Asked if there was any other official who could speak on the matter, Chima asked our correspondent to channel any inquiry to the state chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association.

“Okay as regards the issue of Rebekah, currently our manager is not around. But you can channel all your inquiries to the NMA chairman, Rivers State chapter. That is it for now,” he said.

The state NMA Chairman, Dr Ebi Robinson, said the matter was under police investigation.

He stated that a coroner’s inquest was ongoing on the case and that the NMA would take the matter up from there when the result was out.

Robinson said, “The matter is under police investigation and a coroner inquest is already in progress.

“So, we are awaiting the conclusion of the coroner’s inquest and then we will take it up from there. The death of that young lady is quite regrettable.

“Our sincere condolences to the family. The NMA’s position is to make sure that the matter comes to a closure conclusively in a manner that will be acceptable to all involved and all concerned.”

A 300-level student of Federal University Gashua (FUGA) in Yobe has died after a hostel fire outbreak.

Mohammed Goje, executive secretary of the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the incident on Saturday.

Channels reports that the fire, which started around 1 pm, ripped through 29 rooms housing 301 students.

A 300-level student has been confirmed dead while several others who fled the hostel sustained injuries.

Students who required medical attention have been treated at the Gashua Specialist Hospital.

A video from the scene showed Maimuna Wazir, the university’s vice-chancellor, consoling students who escaped the fire.

Campus sources have attributed the incident to a cooking gas explosion.

But Abubakar Mamudo, the university registrar, said the cause of the fire is still being investigated.

In a statement, Mamudo said Maimuna Wazir, the university’s vice-chancellor, has temporarily suspended academic activities.

“A female hostel of the Federal University Gashua, Yobe State was gutted by fire on Saturday, 23rd March 2024 destroying a complete block of 29 rooms accommodating about 301 students,” the register was quoted as saying.

“A 300-hundred-level student of the Geography Department by the name of Shamsiya Murtala was confirmed dead in the inferno.

“Three other students who sustained injuries were treated and discharged from the general hospital, Gashua.

“The vice-chancellor and chairman of the senate has directed for the immediate closure of the university due to escalating students’ unrest on campus”.

This FUGA tragedy comes one month after a fire similarly ravaged a female hostel at Yobe State University in Damaturu.

Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Zamfara default payment of N30,000

Many of the 36 states are in a quandary on how to cope with payment of the new minimum wage according to reports from some of the states.

Negotiation is already intensifying between the federal government and labour over the new minimum wage with investigation showing that six states

Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Kebbi, Nasarawa and Zamfara- are yet to implement the current minimum wage of N30,000,almost six years after its introduction.

Four other states –Ebonyi, Benue, Kogi and Osun – are only paying the minimum wage to workers on levels one to six and in the case of Osun, beneficiaries are those from level 7 and below.

Many of the states have also not done well in the payment of wage award to workers to cushion the effect of the current rise in the cost of living, according to a report prepared for the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

In the NLC report sighted by The Nation states confirmed as paying the current minimum wage are: Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Borno, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba and Yobe.

The excuse often given by the states that have not been paying the minimum wage is paucity of funds.

Although the monthly allocations to the three tiers of government have increased substantially in the aftermath of the fuel subsidy withdrawal, the defaulting states are still foot dragging on effecting payment of the minimum wage.

The situation appears even worse in respect of payment of wage award by the states.

Only Ondo and Lagos states are recorded as having paid anything close to the N30,000 per month for a half year as initiated by the federal government.

Ondo paid N35,000 and Lagos N31,000.

Some other states pay amounts ranging between N10,000 and N25,000 while some have not even paid anything yet.

States yet to pay the wage award are: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Edo, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Rivers, Taraba and Zamfara.

Akwa Ibom is said to have paid palliative allowance for Christmas only while Anambra paid only N12,000 and Niger State N20,000 also in December.

Delta paid N10,000 for September, October and November.

Reports from the states said the governors were not amused by the high figures demanded by labour activists during the recent zonal public hearing on the minimum wage organized by the 37-member committee set up on the issue by the federal government.

The figures range between N447,000 and N850,000 per month.

The committee which is headed by a former Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Aji, has six governors among its members: Mohammed Bago (Niger State, representing the North Central); Bala Mohammed (Bauchi State, representing the North-East); Dikko Radda ( Katsina State, representing the North-West);Charles Soludo (Anambra State, representing the South-East); Ademola Adeleke (Osun State, representing the South-West); and Otu Bassey (Cross River State, representing the South-South).

Also on the panel are Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Esan.

The governors, who said unrealistic demands from Labour would not do anyone any good, urged the Minimum Wage Committee to consider the capacity of the states to pay the new minimum wage.

The committee is scheduled to meet again later this week.

Experts: How governors can cope with new minimum wage

A former Director-General at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Muda Yusuf, believes that the states can pay a reasonable minimum wage if they have the right policies in place.

“Well, the point is that the states are getting more revenue now and so, their capacity to pay has increased,” he told The Nation by phone yesterday.

He added: “There is no doubt about that. But the major thing I think they can do to meet up with the minimum wage obligation is to take a cue from what the federal government is doing.

“Many of them (states) have over-bloated workforce, whether at the state or local government levels. Some of them do not need more than half or two thirds of the current workforce that they are carrying.

“There are so many idle hands in the state bureaucracies. There are too many political appointments and too many people on their payrolls. So, they have to also prune down that.

“Because if you must engage people, you must give them a wage that makes sense. You don’t just engage people for the sake of engaging them. What is worth doing at all is worth doing well. “So, let them just retain the size of the workforce that they can give a wage that is a bit reasonable, especially given the realities of inflation that all of us are facing now. I think those are the things I think they should do first and foremost.

“Then of course, they should also be more creative in getting more revenue internally. Many of them are too dependent on the federal allocation. So, they need to be a lot more creative.”

On whether the state governments need to consider raising taxes in order to jack up their revenue base, Yusuf spurned the idea, but would rather they get more ingenious with the tax administration.

“Asking the states to boost their revenue profile is not about raising taxes at all. It’s about efficiency in tax administration. In many of the states, their tax administration system is so very loose. People are doing business in those places and it is their responsibility to pay tax. We are not talking about increasing the taxes regime. We are talking about efficiency, we are talking about using technology to ensure that the citizens’ taxes, especially the corporate citizens also live up to their statutory obligations to the government.“

According to him, “Some people are doing businesses across the states and some of those businesses are doing well and some of them are not paying any taxes at all. If you go to some of those states, you have some big properties that people have built there; it’s not poor people that built them there. In many of those places, many of them are not paying any form of taxes. So, the point to make is about efficiency in tax administration.”

Pascal Efe, a public affairs analyst, shares the same sentiments with Yusuf. “I agree that a new minimum wage is indeed inevitable given the current state of affairs. What the state governors can do is to ensure proper management of their resources by cutting down on many wasteful expenditures. That way they can pay the minimum wage and still be able to carry our critical infrastructure in their respective states.”