Bandits kill 15 people in fresh Katsina attacks

Fifteen people were reportedly killed in Faskari and Sabuwa local government areas of Katsina State in a deadly attack by bandits who stormed communities in the two councils on Thursday.

The bandits were said to have attacked Unguwar Gizo, Maigora, Mai Ruwa, and Sabon Layin Galadima in Faskari  Local government as well as Machika town in Sabuwa Local Government Area.

Eyewitnesses said the bandits stormed the communities at about midnight on Thursday and carried out the attacks till early Friday.

It was learnt that residents of the communities attempted to repel the attacks which actually led to the fatalities. Fifteen people were reportedly killed in the attack while an unspecified number of cattle were also said to have been rustled.

The spokesman for the Katsina police command, SP Gambo Isah, while commenting on the incident put the figures of those killed at thirteen. He said, 

“Yes it is true; 13 people were killed. We keep telling people especially those at the front-line to avoid confrontation with these bandits because they are armed with AK guns and you can’t fight then with dane guns and machetes.

They came to rustle animals and the villagers confronted them which made the bandits to attacked.”

We learnt that a joint security operation is ongoing in the state to nip the problems of banditry and kidnappings in the bud.

301 Chinese citizens evacuated from Nigeria

Reports reaching us has it that at least 301 Chinese citizens have returned home from Nigeria.

The nationals were evacuated on Thursday night through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The about 20 hours flight is expected to arrive at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China on Friday evening barring any technical or logistics hitches.

“Air Peace on Thursday, May 28, 2020, operated its second flight to China as we evacuated 301 Chinese nationals back to their country.

The flight departed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at exactly 22:05 yesterday to arrive at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China,” the airline said in a statement on Friday.

Although the Federal Government had shut all airports in the county in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, it allowed essential flights – for evacuation, medical supplies, amongst others.

COVID-19 patients : Bauchi records two more deaths

Two more COVID-19 patients have died in Bauchi State. This brings the number of coronavirus fatalities in the state to seven.

The state Health Ministry disclosed this in a statement, adding that two more patients have been discharged after testing negative twice for the virus.

“Only 22 patients remain in the hospital’s admission as of 28th May 2020, with 234 total infected confirmed persons in the state where the entire case fatality rate stands at 3.0%.

A total of 1,758 samples had so far been taken and investigated from different persons including our index case, and out of which only 234 people were found to been infected with the virus. Seven people died in the process of treatment due to complications,” the statement read in part.

FG to pay jobless youths monthly to sweep markets and clear gutters

In a bid to curb the high rate of unemployment among youths in the country, the Federal Government has rolled out a scheme which will see unemployed youths in rural areas earning N20,000 per month.

The youths will be engaged in the clearing of drainages, sweeping markets, road maintenance, traffic control, and cleaning of public infrastructures like health centres and schools.

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN), said this at a news conference on Thursday.

Keyamo said the scheme targeted 1,000 youths each from the 774 local governments across the country.

The minister said the programme is one of the biggest social intervention schemes to be carried out within a short period of time by any government in the history of Nigeria.

The scheme, known as the Special Public Works Programme in the Rural Areas, is domiciled in the National Directorate of Employment for implementation and is expected to take off in October.

The minister’s speech read in part, 

“The pilot programme earlier approved by Mr. President was designed to mitigate lack of job opportunities in the rural areas through a short-term engagement of 1,000 unemployed persons per local government area for a period of three months.

It is a dry season/off-season transient job programme and was originally designed for the rehabilitation/maintenance of public and social infrastructure. 

Participants were to be paid an allowance of N20,000 monthly and were to be recruited largely from the pool of unskilled persons resident in those rural areas.

This pilot scheme was approved to be implemented in five local government areas in eight states namely: Adamawa, Borno, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Jigawa, Katsina and Kwara. 

Beneficiaries are engaged in: drainage digging and clearance, irrigation canals clearance, rural feeder road maintenance, maintenance of the Great Green Wall nurseries and orchards in Borno, Jigawa and Katsina states; traffic control, street cleaning, cleaning of public infrastructure like health centres, schools and the likes. 

A total of 40,000 direct transient jobs were expected to be created in the eight pilot states.”

Keyamo said the Special Public Works in the Rural Areas is an employment- intensive technique acquired and adapted by the National Directorate of Employment from one of the capacity-building collaborations with the International Labour Organisation in the late 1980s to the middle of the 1990’s.

The minister said for the purpose of transparency and accountability in the process, the President has approved the use of select banks to register and collate data of the beneficiaries.

“The banks will open accounts for all beneficiaries and in the process obtain Bank Verification Numbers for those without accounts.

All payments would be made from the Central Bank of Nigeria directly to the accounts of the beneficiaries,” he added.

Judge in rape case removed as Judge after misconduct in court

A New Jersey Superior Court judge, Judge John F. Russo Jr. has been removed from his position as a Judge after several misconduct claims. This includes asking a rape victim 'if she closed her legs' during the assault on her person.

Judge John F. Russo Jr. was ordered to be removed from his position by the New Jersey Supreme Court this week, according to Chief Justice Stuart Rabner who made the announcement in a court opinion.

In a court opinion filed on May 26 but made available to the media on Thursday, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner of the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered Judge John F. Russo Jr. to be removed from his position effective immediately and permanently banning Russo from holding a judicial office in New Jersey.

Russo was removed after a complaint was filed in August 2018 by the Supreme Court of New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, alleging four counts of misconduct both in the courtroom and by asking personal favors from court staff.

Russo became an attorney in 1997, where he served as a law clerk in the Superior Court before going into private practice. He had six years of experience as an administrative law judge before he was appointed to the Superior Court in December 2015.

#JusticeForTina: Lagos state police command release photos of killers

The Lagos State Police Command has released photos of the police officers, ASP Theophilus Otobo and Inspector Oguntoba Olamigoke, who have been arrested for allegedly killing 16 year old, Tina Ezekwe. The tragic incident occurred in the Oworo area of Lagos state on May 26.

A statement from the State Police Command says that the police officers have been subjected to internal disciplinary proceedings and if found culpable, will be arraigned in Court.

"The incident happened on 26th May, 2020 at about 2245 hours. The said Police Officers fired shots from their pin down point along Berger by third mainland bridge. 

In circumstances yet to be determined, one Musa Yakubu ‘m' 35 years was injured at the point and a stray bullet hit Tina at Berger Yanaworu Bus stop. 

The bullet pierced through the left upper side of her lap. She was rushed to hospital by a team of Policemen led by the Divisional Police Officer. 

The battle to save her life lasted for two days, she died on 28th May, 2020 at about 2129 hours while on admission. The second person is in stable condition", the statement read in part.

Bafta TV awards to be held behind closed doors this year

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year's edition of Bafta Television Awards will be broadcast from behind closed doors.

The winning comedian for Bafta, Richard Ayoade will host the event from a closed studio, and winners will give acceptance speeches virtually.

Both the TV and craft awards were due to take place on May 17, but will now happen on July 31, with nominations to be announced on June 4.

The craft awards will now be streamed online on July 17, hosted by Stephen Mangan, while the TV awards will be broadcast on BBC One on July 31.

Ayoade, who will host the show for the first time, said:

"I am as surprised as you are that this is still going ahead."

Nigeria hasn't received promised ventilators from Trump - Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed has said that the Federal Government is yet to receive the promised ventilators from the United States of America (USA).

The minister said this at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Coronavirus (COVID-19) daily news conference on Thursday in Abuja.

He was reacting against the backdrop of information being peddled over the 1,000 ventilators promised by the U.S President Donald Trump to Nigeria.

“To the best of my knowledge the ventilators promised by the U.S. President have not arrived Nigeria,” the minister said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that both President Muhammadu Buhari and Trump had a phone conversation a few days ago at the request of Trump who promised to provide ventilators for Nigeria to fight COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister however said that they were yet to arrive the country.

Buhari has put Nigeria on an irreversible road to sustainable development - Lai Mohammed

The minister for information, Lai Mohammed has said that Buhari has put Nigeria on an irreversible road to sustainable development. 

He made the statement at a news conference in Abuja to mark the first anniversary of the second term of Buhari.

He said that the President achieved the feat by some actions “mostly bold and highly visionary” taken.

Mohammed said that the past one year had been momentous, adding that never in the history of Nigeria had so many positive steps being taken in so short a time.

“President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015 on the strength of his promise of change.

Nigerians are satisfied with his performance, especially in the cardinal areas of fighting corruption, tackling insecurity and revamping the economy, overwhelmingly re-elected the President in 2019.

One year later, the President is taking Nigeria to the Next Level of irreversible change for the better,” he said.

Specifically, Lai Mohammed said that the intractable power problem was finally being tackled in a way that would end poor power supply that had stunted Nigeria’s socio-economic development.

#JusticeForTina : 16 year old girl shot dead by trigger-happy police man

A 16 year old girl has been shot dead by trigger-happy police man in Lagos State. 

According to reports, the trigger-happy policeman was trying to arrest a bus driver for violating the nationwide curfew at Iyana-Oworo in Lagos state. 

In the process, he allegedly shot the bus conductor dead, as well as Tina, who was just a passerby.

She was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital but gave up the ghost this morning.

Using the hashtag #JusticeForTina, Nigerians have taken to social media to demand the arrest and prosecution of the erring police officer.

May her soul rest in peace, Amen.