The freed passengers of the Niger State Transport Authority, who were abducted by armed bandits, say the abductors humiliated them while in captivity. The victims in separate interviews in Minna on Monday said that the bandits made them to trek inside bush amid starvation and beating. Recall that 52 passengers of the transport company were abducted by gunmen in Kundu village of Rijau local government area on February 14, while returning to Minna. One of the victims, Mohammed Ndagi, a civil servant with the state Science and Technical Board, said that their vehicle was intercepted by the bandits at about…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, says a new variant of COVID-19 has been discovered in Nigeria and 15 other countries. The new strain, B.1.2.5, which is different from the highly infectious B.1.1.7 has, however, not been described as a variant of concern yet. Disclosing this at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Monday in Abuja, NCDC Director-General Chikwe Iheakweazu said that researchers and scientists were still working hard to understand if the variant had any effect on the virus’ transmissibility, immunity as well as diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics. “As we shared, a total of 54 cases…
The Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, on Monday, started sensitisation/ mobilisation ahead of its step-down training for 600 crop and livestock farmers in selected Benue communities. The step-down training, an initiative of FAO, aims at training local crop and livestock farmers on alternative fooder/ livestock and commercial opportunities. The training to be conducted by the already trained extension workers, is slated to hold in rural communities between March 1 and March 5. Speaking on the exercise, a cross section of the extension workers said they had successfully mobilised the required number of people for the training. Mrs Tondo Salome, an…
The Federal High Court, Abuja on Monday, ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to pay N10.6 million to veteran journalist, Geoffrey Anika, as damages against unlawfully blocking the highway. The blockage was said to have caused a ghastly motor accident involving Anika in 2012. Anika, is currently a traditional ruler in Atta Kingdom in Ikeduru Council Area of Imo. The amount was awarded in favour of Anika, whose vehicle, a Peugeot 406 was damaged beyond repairs as a result of the unlawful blockage. Justice Babatunde Quadri, while delivering judgment in the suit instituted against the NNPC by Anika, agreed…
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and USAID in collaboration with Partnership Initiative in Niger Delta (PIND), says plans are underway to boost local production of fish in the country. Dr Ime Umoh, Director of Fisheries in the Ministry disclosed this in Abuja on Monday said the aim was to ensure food security and meet huge demand potentials. He spoke at a virtual valedictory workshop on Aquaculture Most Impactful Practice (MIP) under the Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Activity. The Feed the Future Nigeria Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Activity is a five-year (2020-2025)…
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in collaboration SANO Foods Limited, on Monday began a public-private sector initiative to promote the cultivation of improved cassava varieties in Nigeria. The partnership under the Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II) began with a joint public exhibition of fortified foods and cassava varietal display in IITA, Ibadan. Dr Kenton Dashiell, IITA Deputy Director-General (Partnerships for Delivery), noted that the partnership was to promote consumption of locally produced products in Nigeria. He said part of the deal was to create awareness on the newly released cassava varieties as…
Gunmen have abducted a lecturer with the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), Dr Jones Ayuwo, and attacked three journalists of the Rivers State Television, RSTV. Ayuwo, a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Communications Studies, was kidnapped Sunday night on Andoni-Ogoni Road, Rivers. The victim was said to have been returning from a meeting with members of his local language Bible translation committee when he was attacked. Ayuwo, whose wife is the Bursar of UNIPORT, also serves as a member of the Governing Council of Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola, Port Harcourt. The three journalists, who had covered the committee’s…
The Sokoto office of the National Film and Video Censors Board, NFVCB, has seized unclassified films and videos worth millions of Naira. The Executive Director of the Board, Mr Adedayo Thomas, who addressed journalists on Monday, said the films and videos include those with pornographic contents. According to him, the raid would be extended to other parts of the country including Kaduna, Abuja and Lagos. Thomas disclosed that the operation, which was carried out along Ahmadu Bello way, Emir Yahaya road, Abdullahi Fodio road and other locations of Sokoto metropolis, was done in conjunction with the Nigeria police. The Executive…
Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline announced the initiation of a new phase 2 study to select the most appropriate antigen dosage for phase 3 evaluation of their adjuvanted recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The companies made the announcement on Monday According to the companies, the new phase 2 study will enable them to identify the final vaccine formulation for adults of all ages. The companies noted that the trial will consist of equal numbers of adults 18 to 59 years and those 60 years and above. In December, phase 1/2 study results showed an immune response comparable to patients who had recovered…
Nigerian sensational singer Omah Lay won big at the 2021 Headies Award on Sunday in Lagos. The event which was held virtually and also had people physically present at the event, due to the COVID-19 strict protocols. The night, which saw Omah Lay winning the Next Rated award category, also comes with a car as the cash prize. He won the award over the likes of Tems, Oxlade, Bella Shmurda. The next rated award is one of the biggest awards in the headies, this award was what brought an issue between YBNL boss Olamide and MAVINS Don Jazzy in 2016.…