Thieves steal Pope’s blood, NDLEA arrest 186 suspects and other important news today

NDLEA1

by Oke Efagene

NDLEA arrests 186 suspects, convicts 127 in Adamawa 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), disclosed today that it has arrested at least 186 suspects and seized 1,932.5kg of illegal drugs in Adamawa State in 2013.

The NDLEA Commander in the state, Hassan Zungeru, told journalists in Yola, that the suspects comprised 184 males and 2 women.

Zungeru also said that the agency also prosecuted 127 people as well as counselled and rehabilitated 1,989 drug addicts.

According to Vanguard report:

He said the illicit drugs intercepted included psychotropic substances, Indian hemp, tramadol, D5 + cough syrup, exol and pentazesine.

The commander said that 2,529.46 kg of drugs was seized and 168 suspects were arrested in 2012.

He also said 92 people were convicted and 189 rehabilitated in 2012.

He decried the command’s operational and enlightenment activities challenges as well as inadequate staff to cover the state.

Zungeru called on relevant authorities to support the agency in its effort to ensure drug-free society.

Anti-Same Sex Marriage Act 2013 not problem to HIV treatment — NACA 

black woman hospital

The Director General of National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), John Idoko, has said that no provision of the Anti-Same Sex Marriage Act will deny anyone access to HIV treatment.

This was revealed in a statement issued by the agency’s Assistant Chief Communication Officer, Toyin Aderibigbe, in Abuja on Monday.

In the statement, Idoko is quoted as saying “The government of Nigeria remains fully committed to improving the health of Nigerians and preventing all AIDS related deaths.”

Vanguard report:

“Therefore, FG (Federal Government) will continue to ensure that Nigerians have access to the requisite services that they may require as guaranteed by the constitution.’’

It noted that nothing in the law refers to or prohibits programmes targeted at prevention, treatment, care and support for people living with HIV or affected by AIDS in Nigeria.

“No provision of this law will deny anybody in Nigeria access to HIV treatment and other medical services,’’  it said.

It noted that the provisions had no negative effects on the HIV and AIDS Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support programme.

The statement pointed out that on Jan. 7,  President Goodluck Jonathan signed  the law, which has generated debate and anxiety, especially as it affects HIV programming.

Gunmen kill 15 in Borno

JTF

About 15 person have reportedly being killed after gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram militants attacked Kawuri town, in the Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State on Sunday.

Some survivors who spoke to journalists in Maiduguri on today, said the  attack coincided with weekly market of the town.

“The The gunmen arrived the town using four wheel vehicles and pretended to be villagers coming to the market. Unknown to the people the gunmen had planted Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at strategic areas in the town before carrying out attacks on residents,” Malam Isa Ibrahim, a survivor, said.

According to a report by The Nation:

Malam Fantara Madugu, another survivor, said he counted about 15 bodies at the end of the attack. “We counted about 15 bodies of victims at the end of the attack.

“We also assisted in conveying about 20 injured persons to the hospital,” he said.

The Commissioner of Police in Borno, Alhaji Lawan Tanko, confirmed the attack but declined to give details. “Kawuri was attacked yesterday resulting in several deaths and injuries.

“Casualties are being counted. No exact figure yet,” he said in a text message to reporters.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Borno has been the hotbed of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Lecturers in Nigeria’s Colleges of Education vow to continue month-long strike

asuu-strike

Lecturers under the aegis of  Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) on Monday, have vowed to continue their ongoing strike until all their demands were met.

Chairman of COEASU,  Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka Chapter, Olayanju Abolaji, told newsmen in Lagos that the partial implementation of their demands by the government was unacceptable.

The COEASU had on December 31, 2013 declared an indefinite nationwide strike to press home its demands, including poor state of infrastructure in the colleges, poor funding and non-implementation of the 2010 Federal Government-COEASU agreement.

Premium Times report:

The union also rejected the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) already operational in the federal civil service.

Mr. Abolaji said the union held a National Executive Council meeting on January 24 at the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, to deliberate on the strike and the way forward.

“The meeting was summoned to brief the executive members on the outcome of their meeting with the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr. Emeka Wogu,” he said.

The union leader said the union was resolute to continue with the strike because the government offered to implement the demands of the union “partially.’’

“The NEC meeting decided that the strike should continue in view of the government’s offer to partially fulfil our demands.

“We do not want a partial fulfilment of our demands, we want full implementation,” he said.

Just like their college contemporaries, lecturers in Nigeria’s polytechnics have also been on strike for over three months for similar demands.

Thieves steal Pope John Paul’s blood from Italy church

File photo
File photo

Thieves broke into a small church in the mountains, on the east of Rome over the weekend and stole a reliquary with the blood of late Pope John Paul II.

Some of John Paul’s blood was reportedly saved after an assassination attempt that nearly killed him in St. Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981.

Franca Corrieri, custodian of the reliquary, said she had discovered a broken window early on Sunday morning and called the police.

Nigerian Eye report:

She said when they entered the small stone church they found the gold reliquary and a crucifix missing.

Corrieri said the incident felt more like a “kidnapping’’ than a theft as she could not say if the intention of the thieves may have been to seek a ransom for the blood.

She said apart from the reliquary and a crucifix, nothing else was stolen from the isolated church, even though the thieves would probably have had time to take other objects during the night-time theft.

Reuters reports that John Paul, who died in 2005, loved the mountains in the Abruzzo region east of Rome and sometimes slip away from the Vatican secretly to hike or ski there and pray in the church.

It said that the Polish-born John Paul, who reigned for 27 years, was due to be made a saint of the Roman Catholic Church in May, meaning the relic would become more noteworthy and valuable.

In 2011, John Paul’s former private secretary, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, gave the local Abruzzo community some of the late pontiff’s blood as a token of the love he had felt for the mountainous area.

It was put in a gold and glass circular case and kept in a niche of the small mountain church of San Pietro della Ienca, near the city of L’Aquila.

 

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail