No fewer than 119 inmates of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Suleja, Niger state, have escaped, following hours of heavy downpour which destroyed parts of the facility on Wednesday night.

Spokesman of the Federal Capital Territory FCT Command of the Nigeria Correctional Service NCoS, Adamu Duza disclosed this in a statement on Thursday morning.

He said, “A heavy downpour that lasted for several hours on the night of Wednesday, 24 April 2024 has wreaked havoc on the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Suleja, Niger state, as well as surrounding buildings, destroying part of the custodial facility, including its perimeter fence, giving way to the escape of a total of 118 inmates of the facility”.

According to him, the Service has immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms, and in conjunction with sister security agencies has so far recaptured 10 fleeing inmates and taken them into custody, while still in a hot chase to recapture the rest.

Duza said the Service is not unmindful of the fact that many of its facilities were built during the colonial era and that they are old and weak, adding that the Service is making frantic efforts to see that all ageing facilities give way to modern ones.

“This is evidenced in the ongoing construction of six number of 3000-capacity ultra-modern custodial centres in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria as well as the ongoing reconstruction and renovation of existing ones.

“The Service wishes to assure the public that it is on top of the situation and that they should go about their businesses without fear or hindrance.

“The public is further enjoined to look out for the fleeing inmates and report any suspicious movement to the nearest security agency”, said Duza.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Wednesday, released 14 properties initially forfeited to the Federal Government to Enugu State Government, following the request by the Governor Peter Mbah administration.

The properties were handed over to the Governor Mbah, by the Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, during a brief ceremony at the agency’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.
This was even as Governor Mbah assured that the recovered assets would be used to the optimum benefit of the people of Enugu State.

Speaking at the event, Olukoyede, who disclosed that the road to the forfeiture dated back to 2007, said the event spoke of the mutually beneficial relationship existing between the federal government and states.

Commending Dr. Mbah “for the great work he is doing in Enugu State”, the EFCC Chairman said the President was very much interested in the state-of-the-art hospital that the Mbah administration proposed to build in Enugu State, saying the structures for medical facilities among the released assets would go a long way in helping to realise the Mbah vision for the benefit of not just Enugu State, but the entire country and beyond.

“What we are witnessing today testifies to a symbiotic relationship that should exist between the federal government and the state governments. The essence of our meeting here today is for us to handover properties that were forfeited to the federal government, which of course belong to Enugu State people, back to the people. It shows that governance can work in Nigeria.

“If you look at the history of this particular matter, it takes us back to 2007 when we started the prosecution. So, we are looking at about 17 years since the matter has been on. Eventually some of the properties were forfeited and since then, the EFCC has been managing those properties even though the titles of quite a number of the properties have been revoked by the Enugu State government,” Olukoyede said.

Earlier in his remarks, Governor Mbah, who noted that the properties were forfeited not to his state but to the federal government, expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for making it possible for the assets to be returned to the government and people of Enugu State.

“The importance and significance of this event can never be lost on us and we do not also take it for granted. Those assets were forfeited to the federal government. And this brings me to another gratitude that I want to convey here today. So, I want to acknowledge and recognise the important role played by the President, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Without the proactiveness and speed at which he acted on our request to cede these assets back to the people and government of Enugu State, we wouldn’t have been here today. Therefore, I want to thank him most sincerely for granting our request for these assets that were forfeited to the federal government to be ceded back to Enugu State.

“I want to assure us that those properties would be used for the benefit of the people of Enugu state. All the assets without any exemption, and they would be deployed to optimum use for the benefit of the people of Enugu state.”

He also lauded Olukoyede’s initiatives at making the EFCC a strong institution and the role of the EFCC in the release of the properties to the state.

“I will not end this remark without acknowledging the work the EFCC chairman and his team are doing in strengthening this very important institution. Thank you very much particularly for the effort that you have put in to make today a reality,” the governor stated.

The properties comprise houses, transmission equipment for radio and television stations, a building for medical operations, among others.

The Philippines Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Apple and Google to remove the Binance app from their respective app stores for users in the Philippines.

According to CoinTelegraph, a press release by the SEC on April 23 said it is working with Apple and Google to remove applications operated by Binance, the biggest crypto exchange in the world. It confirmed that the big tech companies received separate letters to that effect on April 19.

“The SEC has identified [Binance] and concluded that the public’s continued access to these websites/apps poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos,” the SEC said.

Chair of the SEC, Emilio Aquino explained that Binance selling or offering unregistered securities to locals and acting as an unregistered broker is against the laws of the country’s securities regulation.

He added that by removing Binance applications from the digital app marketplace the big tech companies would help reduce the spread of illegal activities in the country’s securities sector.

This move by the SEC follows the blocking of access to Binance websites by the SEC and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on March 25.

The Philippines SEC has actively warned its citizens to desist from using Binance for investing since November 2023 citing that the crypto exchange was yet to secure a license to solicit investment from the public or operate an exchange to buy and sell securities.

The Philippines is the latest country to make moves to ban Binance from its shores following compliance concerns and accusations of illegality.

Isaac Kamalu has resigned as River State Commissioner of Finance after he was redeployed to the Employment Generation and Economic Empowerment Ministry by Governor Simi Fubara.

Kamalu, who served as commissioner for Budget and Economics under former Nyesom Wike and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, disclosed this on Tuesday in a letter to Governor Fubura and the Secretary to the Government, Tammy Danagogo.

He accused Fubara of lying about the internally generated revenue of Rivers State.

“In view of the above, I find it difficult to accept the redeployment; I do not accept it. I reject it and convey my immediate resignation as Commissioner and Member of the River State Executive Council with effect from the date of this letter”, the letter reads.

Earlier, DAILY POST reported that Zacchaeus Adangor, Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the State, had resigned, citing a similar issue.

The developments come months after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu brokered a peace pact between Fubara and Wike amid an untamed political faceoff between the duo.

Recall that in the build-up to the Fubara and Wike crisis, Kamalu had resigned as commissioner but was reinstated in line with the peace pact.

The Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, ABCON, has blamed peer-to-peer cryptocurrency platforms like Binance for the recent depreciation of the Naira against the Dollar in the foreign exchange market.

The National President of ABCON, Aminu Gwadabe, disclosed this in an interview with NAN on Wednesday.

He stated that as long as Binance and other platforms remain profitable, the Naira’s depreciation will persist.

He said that the recent wave of depreciation of the Naira was of concern to the BDC operators.

“I am happy that the authorities, and even the BDCs as operators, have identified the peer-to-peer (P2P) platform.

“The P2P is a platform like Binance, where speculators use the Dollar to buy USDT, a stablecoin that is pegged at one to the Dollar.

“As long as Binance and other platforms remain profitable, the Naira will continue to depreciate.

“There are many of them in the system. Binance has been nipped in the bud, but there are still many. They are online platforms with no registration, no restrictions,” he stated.

Recall that Naira slumped against the Dollar in the foreign exchange market despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s release of an additional $10,000 each to legible BDC operators on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, resumed clamping down on Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms to defend the Naira in the FX market.

The anti-graft agency had arraigned Binance and two of its executives before an Abuja High Court over alleged fraud and currency manipulation.

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, said it arrested a father writing exams for his son during the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.

The board warned that it has improved its technology check for those engaging in all forms of examination malpractices.

Speaking in Kaduna on Wednesday, the JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede who inspected the UTME centres in Kaduna, expressed satisfaction over the 2024 examination, which had 1.94 million students this year.

He, however, frowned at few cases of impersonation, adding that some people now have multiple National Identity Number, NIN, which the examination body would take up with the Identification Management body.

“For those who engage in cheating, they should know that it does not pay. The technology is helping us to check that. Across the country, most of the problem we have is impersonation. For instance now, we say we have NIN, we now have cases of people with two NIN and therefore, that has defeated the purpose of identity verification. We are going to take that up with NIMC, that there are people who have two NIN.

“We have a case of a father impersonating his son, writing examination for the son and I wonder, are you not destroying your son’s future? Of course, two of them are now in custody. I can’t understand what the father will now tell his son when they are both locked up in the same cell. This happened definitely not in Kaduna, but I don’t want to disclose the state,” he said.

He said JAMB needs support of highly populated states like Lagos, to build mega CBT centres like that of Kaduna, which accommodates 4,000 candidates per day.

He expressed hope that the authorities in Lagos would provide a suitable land for JAMB to build the Mega CBT centre in the city.

The bullied student of British Lead International School, Miss. Namtira Bwala has threatened to file a lawsuit against the school authorities if her abusers are not punished within 48 hours.

In a letter drafted by her lawyers, Deji Adeyanju and Co, Namtira asked the school authorities to immediately investigate and pronounce the stiffest punishments in the student’s rule book on Ms.Maryam Hassan, Miss Faliya, and nine other students who bullied her.

Namtira said if the school authorities fail to sanction the student bullies within 48 hours of the receipt of the letter, she would seek immediate and severe legal redress against the school.

The letter reads

“We are Solicitors to Miss. Namtira Bwala (acting through her next friend), hereinafter referred to as our client, on whose instruction we act.

Our client and several other parents in Lead British International School have informed us and we verily believe them that this act of bullying is a reoccurring issue in the school, and despite several attempts to draw the school’s attention to it, the issue has persisted, leaving our client traumatised from the emotional and physical effect of the oppressive acts by these dare devil bullies.

Regrettably, our client has once again, been subjected to physical attacks in the hands of these bullies, with the video of the act going viral on social media.

Sadly, rather than address this issue head-on by imposing severe sanctions on the student bullies, the school has issued a timid statement lacking in force or recognition of the severity of the situation at hand.

Our client completely dissociate herself from the statement issued by the school on April 22, 2024 wherein a case of battery was unconscionably referred to as an “incident between minors.

We state that it is this type of statements, coupled with the school’s gross negligence, that has enabled the student bullies, leading to increased incidents of unchecked bullying in the school, an environment that should ordinarily be a safe space for students.

Sequel to the foregoing, we have our client’s instruction to demand for the immediate investigation and the pronouncement of the stiffest possible sanctions in the student’s rule book, on Ms. Maryam Hassan, Miss Faliya and nine other students who have formed a cult of bullies in Lead British International School, Gwarimpa, Abuja.

Please note that if the school fails to sanction the student bullies within 48 hours of the receipt of this letter, we have our client’s further instruction to seek an immediate and severe legal redress against Lead British International School, Gwarimpa, without further recourse to you.”''

Following a runway excursion incident suffered by Nigerian carrier, Dana Air, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, yesterday, the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has ordered the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to suspend the airline until comprehensive audits on its fleet are conducted.

A letter signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Meribole to the NCAA, on Wednesday, said recent incidents involving Dana Air have raised concerns about the safety and financial viability of the airline’s operations.

Meribole, who stated that the audit must include safety protocols, maintenance procedures and financial health, stressed that the move to suspend the airline was aimed at ensuring the safety and well-being of Nigerians.

The statement reads: “As the supervisor overseeing our nation’s aviation safety and regulatory compliance, it has come to the Honourable Minister’s attention that recent incidents involving Dana Airline have raised serious concerns regarding both the safety and financial viability of their operations.

“In light of these incidents and with the paramount priority being the safety and well-being of our citizens and travelers, the Honourable Minister has directed that you immediately initiate the suspension of Dana Airline’s fleet until a comprehensive audit can be conducted. This audit should encompass all aspects of safety protocols, maintenance procedures, and financial health to ensure full compliance with our aviation regulations.

“The recent incidents have underscored the urgency of this matter, and it is imperative that swift and decisive action be taken to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders involved. I trust in your expertise and diligence in carrying out this audit thoroughly and expeditiously. Please keep me informed of the progress and any significant findings throughout this process.”

Tunde Onakoya, the popular Nigerian chess master, has talked about how he cancelled his flight returning to Nigeria from the United States to embark on the Guinness World Record (GWR) breaking chess marathon.

He also noted that he walked to the chess board with sickness, tears in his eyes, fear and uncertainty.

Onakoya said that two days before the record attempt, his health failed him, and it was so bad that he had started sneezing blood and coughing violently but he was resolute to embark on the record attempt for 58 hours.

Recall that  Onakoya on Saturday set a new Guinness World Record for the longest marathon chess after playing for 60 hours nonstop.

Onakoya broke the record of Norwegian players Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, who played for 56-hour, 9-minute in 2018.

The challenge was held at New York City’s iconic Times Square.

The new record holder had said his attempt was to raise funds and awareness for providing educational opportunities to underprivileged children across Africa.

Recounting his experience during the record attempt and expressing gratitude to his supporters, Onakoya in a post on his X handle on Wednesday said that during the attempt, it got to a point when was on the verge of calling it off but he had to continue because he had promised the children back home that he was going to make them proud and come back to them with tales of triumph.

He wrote, “I have struggled to find the right words to capture all of the emotions I’ve felt in the last couple of days - it is indeed one of those weeks when decades happened.

“I had woken up in the middle of the night some two weeks ago, cancelled my flight back home and decided to pursue this crazy idea of breaking the world record right in the heart of Times Square.

“It was basically attempting the impossible due to time constraints, but we made it work and got all the necessary permissions as our will was far greater than any resistance we faced.

“But two days before the record attempt, my health failed me. It was so bad I had started sneezing blood, and coughing violently.

“I was on the verge of calling it off but I had promised the children back home that I was going to make them proud and come back to them with tales of triumph. After all, I had taught them that it was possible to do great things from a small place against all odds.

“On the day of the attempt, I still wasn’t feeling well but I dressed up and walked down to Times Square to see that Nigerians had turned up in numbers with Flags and flowers in hand to cheer me on.

“With tears in my eyes, I walked up to the chess board and did it afraid, unwell, uncertain but with a resolute mind.

“After 60 hours of mental torture, we set a new record for the longest chess marathon in the world. We pushed human limitation and gave the world something new to believe in.

“But my greatest joy wasn’t just breaking the record, it was in the little moments we shared with everyone that was present and the wave of support back home in Nigeria.

“I experienced human love and kindness in its purest form. People travelled from all over the world to come sit with us in the cold as we spared for several hours.

“To everyone who supported our vision, donated to our cause and stood by us - this record is yours as much as it is mine. Together we have done something truly extraordinary. Thank you

“As I sit here on my flight back home, my heart is full and I can’t wait to tell the children their dreams are valid as well.

“Well done Tunde-The one who gives the forgotten little children big caps to wear, now the world will see them through your light.”

Former Anambra Governor and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party at the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has revealed that he is more concerned about the well-being of poor Nigerians than he is interested in politics.

Naija News reports that the former governor, who made this comment while speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, lamented that Nigerians were allowing themselves to be carried away by issues that do not concern people.

Obi said, “What we are doing in this country is not fair to the people of the country because we bother ourselves with elections, transactions, and all sorts of things that do not concern the people; it is about the people. I have never gone where I am drilling boreholes or paying for people to eat and everything and mention the party; I will even tell them I am not here on the campaign; you can vote whoever you want to when the campaign comes. However, I am here to ensure that I support your well-being. And the well-being of the poor people is my concern 24 hours .”