Headlines

Human Trafficking: Gov. Bago urges support for NAPTIP

Published

4 months ago

January 29, 2025

Gov. Umar Bago of Niger, has called on fellow state governors to join hands with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in fighting human trafficking.

This is contained in a statement by Mr Vincent Adekoye, Press Officer, NAPTIP, in Abuja on Wednesday.

Adekoye said that the governor made the call when NAPTIP Director-General (D-G), Hajia Binta Adamu-Bello paid him a visit in Abuja on Tuesday.

Bago said that there was the need to join hands with NAPTIP to tackle the issues of human trafficking and violence against persons in the country.

He noted that the phenomenon of human trafficking and violence against persons, were issues of serious concern which required the collective support of both state and non-state actors across sub-national level.

According to him, the focus on violence in persons and also trafficking in persons is very important, especially in northern Nigeria.

”We have lots of out-of-school children, especially girls and lots of domestic violence issues arising from that.

“We also have issues of violence against women as fallout of the insecurity in the region.

”There is therefore the need for the government at the sub-national, especially the northern Nigeria, to collaborate with NAPTIP to effectively address these issues.”

The governor commended the NAPTIP D-G, for her achievements within the short period of her appointment, and pledged the support of his administration to the agency.

He disclosed that the Niger Government would support the agency with landed property for the immediate take-off of the state command of NAPTIP.

”We shall give you a land with Certificate of Occupancy for the establishment of the Niger command, and we want this project to start immediately.

“If you have the personnel ready, we can also get you temporary accommodation, so that you can open the command in February.

“We are also ready to accommodate and provide support for you to establish NAPTIP regional command office in our state.

”We are very ambitious to have the northern command of this very important agency,” he said.

Earlier the D-G, NAPTIP, Adamu-Bello, briefed the governor on the establishment and mandates of the agency.

Adamu-Bello said that the visit was part of the agency strategic engagement with critical stakeholders in the fight against human trafficking.

According to her, NAPTIP presence in Niger is paramount to executing the agency mandates effectively.

“It is to enable us work closely with the state authorities, local communities, and other stakeholders to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute offenders.

”Also, our desire to have a presence in your state is due to several cases of child trafficking, child labour, and domestic servitude that we received across sub-national, where Niger is included, ” she said.

She appreciated the governor for the promise of support for the establishment of the state command and urged other state governors to emulate the gesture.

Education

NUC grants ESUT full accreditation for Law, 7 other programmes

Published

1 week ago

May 21, 2025

Saadatu Sahabo

The National Universities Commission, (NUC), has given full accreditation to the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), for her Law programme.

According to the Public Relations Officer of ESUT, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, this is contained in a letter addressed to the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aloysius Okolie, on Wednesday in Enugu by the NUC.

Ani said that in the letter, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu said the report was contained in the result of the October/November 2024 accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities.

Ani disclosed that other programmes in the institution accredited by the NUC include Master of Science in Business Management; Education Computer Science; Education Physics and Agricultural Engineering.

Other accredited programmes he said were Quantity Surveying; Urban and Regional Planning; and Applied Microbiology.

He said that the letter quoted Section 10 (1) of the Education National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institutions, Act CAP E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as empowering the NUC to lay down minimum academic standards for all academic programmes taught in Nigerian universities.

He said the session also empowers the NUC to accredit such programmes.

Crime

Court remands 2 over alleged attempted murder

Published

1 week ago

May 21, 2025

Saadatu Sahabo

Court discharges man accused of burning father’s house in Abuja

An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.

Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.

The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.

Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.

He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.

The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.

She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.

“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.

Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.

He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.

Headlines

Plateau Governor Sets Up Committee to Probe Two Decades of Attacks

Published

1 week ago

May 20, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has inaugurated a 10-member fact-finding committee tasked with uncovering the root causes of the persistent attacks plaguing communities across the state.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday in Jos, Governor Mutfwang charged the committee with conducting a comprehensive review of violent incidents from 2001 to date. “We thought that we should set up this high-powered fact-finding committee to look at the incessant attacks on our communities,” the governor stated.

According to Mutfwang, the committee is expected to perform an in-depth assessment of the recurring security breaches, determine the number of affected communities, and assess the extent of damage done over the years. “We want to understand the root causes and propose actionable recommendations for lasting peace, justice, and stability in the affected communities,” he said.

The committee’s mandate also includes establishing the number of casualties, identifying possible perpetrators and their motives, and uncovering potential routes used by bandits to access Plateau State. “Identify possible routes of bandits into the state and recommend measures to limit their access,” the governor added.

Chairman of the committee, retired Maj.-Gen. Rojas Nicholas, thanked the governor for the confidence reposed in the members. He pledged that the committee would approach its assignment with fairness and commitment. “We will do our best to produce a report that would befit its assignment,” Nicholas assured.

The committee is expected to submit its findings and recommendations in due course, with hopes that the report will provide a pathway to durable peace and security in the state.