Nigerian Newspapers
Student’s death sparks protest at LASPOTECH
The death of a student, Oladimeji Olu, ND 1 Computer Engineering, led to a demonstration on the Ikorodu campus of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH). TOLULOPE OGUNLEYE (HND II Computer Science) reports that the aggrieved students disrupted a meeting of principal officers.
BRANDISHING tree branches and green leaves and with tears flowing down their cheeks, students of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) last Monday protested the death of their colleague, Oladimeji Olu.
Academic activities were grounded at the school’s Ikorodu campus as the students took to the streets over the “poor medical services” in their clinic.
They claimed Oladimeji, an ND1 Computer Engineering student, died because of the lackadaisical attitude of the clinic’s personnel.
CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the late Oladimeji was taken to the medical centre, last Friday, at 9:30am after he took ill, but was transferred to the Ikorodu General Hospital, where he died. The nature of his illness could not be ascertained, but his aggrieved colleagues said the cause of death may have been malaria.
A student said the deceased was left unattended to hours after his admission at the school’s medical centre. Worried by the development, his colleagues complained to the medical personnel on duty, who gave them a referral for him to the General Hospital.
Sodiq Bello, Faculty of Engineering students’ president, who spoke to our correspondent, said he got an urgent call from the Computer Engineering Department’s president, Taiwo Ogundero, that the late Oladimeji was “seriously sick” and had been taken to the medical centre.
“Oladimeji was in serious pain before the doctors started attending to him. When they discovered that it was not a case they could handle anymore, they came back with a referral for the deceased to be transferred to the General Hospital, Ikorodu, where he gave up the ghost on Saturday in the midnight,” Sodiq said.
When the news of Oladimeji’s death reached the campus, his colleagues sent messages to students through the social media to converge on the convocation ground in the morning.
CAMPUSLIFE gathered that scores of students, in a Marcopolo and six 18-seater buses, joined Olanike Olu, the late Oladimeji’s sister, to retrieve his remains from the hospital.
At the hospital, they were told the Oladimeji’s body would not be released to them. The hospital’s reason, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, was hinged on its policy not to issue death certificate to patients brought in less than 48 hours before death.
The students were advised to go to the Ikorodu Local Government to get an affidavit. After obtaining the document, signed by Olanike, the students moved to Igbogbo Police Station in Ikorodu to get a police report, which was attached to the affidavit so as to get the death certificate after paying N5,000 to the council. They later presented the document at the hospital.
Tears flowed freely as the late Oladimeji’s body was brought out of the morgue. His colleagues wailed, with many cursing the institution’s medical personnel. The body was taken to a cemetery at Sabo part of Ikorodu for burial.
After the internment, the students returned to the campus, storming the clinic in protest. In tears, the students chanted: “Oro nla l’eda, eyin t’epa Oladimeji ti e je k’odagba, oro nla l’eda”, which means: “You have brought sorrow to our hearts, you that caused Oladimeji’s death at his prime; it is great sorrow.”
The students requested to see the Medical Director, Dr Ibrahim Abdulraheem, but the workers said he was at a management meeting. The Dean, Students’ Affairs, Mr Nurudeen Sonayan, and his deputy, Mr Adebayo Fapohunda, excused themselves from the meeting to attend to the students. Their presence, however, could not calm the inconsolable crowd, which insisted on seeing the medical director.
When the students got to know that the medical director was in the boardroom, where the meeting was being held, they stormed the place, chanting war songs.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Iroko When, cautioned the demonstrators not to destroy the school property.
The Rector, Dr Abdulazeez Abioye Lawal, summoned the Speaker of Students’ Representative Council, Sadiq Taiwo and Yomi Usman, a member of the SUG parliament to the boardroom to ascertain what the problem was.
CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the Speaker narrated what transpired at the medical centre. The rector reportedly responded that the issue was part of the discussion at the disrupted meeting.
To calm frayed nerves, Dr Lawal left the meeting to address the aggrieved students. He was joined by other principal officers.
He urged the students to remain calm, saying the state of the medical centre was part of the discussion in the management meeting. He promised that changes would be effected as soon as possible, urging the protesters to return to their hostels.
In an interview, Dr Abdulraheem said the late Oladimeji was attended to by two doctors immediately he was brought in.
“We were able to stabilise him before the arrival of his family. When his sister arrived later, there was need to refer him to Ikorodu General Hospital since the centre is not running on 24-hour basis. We ensured that all facilities were in place to transfer the deceased, who was taken in the school’s ambulance accompanied by his sister and a nurse,” he said.
Abdulraheem said the medical centre did all it could to save the deceased, saying the late Oladimeji may have been seriously affected by the ailment. He advised students to always visit the centre for regular medical check-up, saying: “Don’t wait until you are seriously sick before you remember that there is a place called medical centre on campus.”
Dr Abdulraheem gave his mobile phone number for students to reach him in case of urgent medical attention and poor service at the centre.
Efforts to speak to the management of the Ikorodu General Hospital were futile.
Oladimeji, 21, was a member of the SUG parliament. He is survived by his mother and siblings.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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