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Anambra school wins UK innovation global competition
In a world steadily awakening to the raw genius emerging from Africa’s soil, a private school in Anambra State, Myrtle Vine Academy, has carved its name in golden letters by winning the United Kingdom-organised ‘Global Schools Connect’ competition for selected schools across the globe.
Myrtle Vine Academy, already known for its deep commitment to global relevance, stole the spotlight ahead of some United Kingdom-based schools and other schools from around the world when it represented Nigeria at the 2025 ‘Global Schools Connect’ competition, an event held in the United Kingdom.
The groundbreaking event held virtually on June 19 saw spirited participation from top-ranking schools on both sides of the Atlantic, reminding the world that true innovation often rises from quiet places.
Global Schools Connect is a high-profile UK-based programme that links schools across the world through collaborative, solution-driven projects, with awards like the “Director’s Award” given to young talents who dared to deliver change.
The students of Myrtle Vine Academy triumphed in a project titled ‘BizApp’, a creative solution born to confront Africa’s unemployment and production crisis head-on.
According to the organisers, it was designed to foster creative talents and sharpen the critical thinking, oratory and reasoning skills of students from all participating countries.
The school Director, Ebele Njoku, who expressed a palpable mood during the award celebration on Tuesday, hailed the team’s triumph as proof of the school’s enduring commitment to excellence, discipline, and global relevance.
Njoku said, “This victory is a validation of the quality of education and moral formation that Myrtle Vine Academy stands for. Our students have demonstrated not only academic brilliance but also the courage to engage in global challenges.
“We are proud of their achievement and trust that this marks the beginning of many more global successes for them and for Nigeria. It was a moment etched in history, one that echoed across the auditorium and resonated back home like the joyful toll of a village bell.
“In a time when African youths are often accused of fleeing their roots, these ones are choosing to plant and build. Myrtle Vine Academy is not just a school. It is a citadel of possibility, a launchpad for ideas that dare to transform a continent.”
Leading the school team was Njoku Chimbundom, whose calm, yet commanding presence captured the essence of what it means to be a 21st-century changemaker.
Representing her group (Team Myrtaceae), alongside teammate Okolo Joan, Chimbundom presented “BizApp”, an innovation designed to reduce unemployment by at least 35 per cent while fostering a culture of sustainable local production.
Chimbundom highlighted that the “BizApp”, rooted in ‘Sustainable Development Goal 1 – No Poverty’, is more than an application. “It is a declaration of intent, a call to action”.
For her impact, Chimbundom received the prestigious Director’s Award for Social Enterprise, presented to an innovative young person whose entrepreneurial insight addresses national challenges with measurable success.
The same team was also celebrated in the Creative Impact Award category, where Okolo Joan was declared winner, with Chimbundom as runner-up. It was a sisterhood of excellence, a partnership in brilliance that illuminated the global stage.
The students were guided by inspiring teachers.
Myrtle Vine’s victory is no sudden bloom. In 2024, the school was first runner-up in the National Girls in ICT Challenge and recipient of the “Trailblazers Award”, personally handed over by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, a forward-thinking technocrat championing youth-led innovation.
To crown their streak of excellence, Myrtle Vine was also honoured by Global Hub UK as one of the best private schools in Africa. A rare feat for any school in Africa.
In May 2025, World Denvas, USA, a globally recognised educational research body, ranked Myrtle Vine Academy as the 11th best school in Innovation worldwide. Not just in Africa.
The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has announced that members can now decide whether to accept or donate the four main components of blood based on their personal conscience.
The organisation made this known in a statement issued by its World Headquarters in Warwick, New York and made available on its website on Friday.
According to the statement, “the decision to accept red cells, white cells, plasma or platelets from another person’s blood is a matter of personal conscience.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses announce adjustment to blood transfusion policy
It added that “each Witness must decide whether or not to donate blood for the clearly expressed purpose of providing components or fractions for use by another person.”
However, the organisation said its position on whole-blood transfusion had not changed.
“The long-standing refusal of whole-blood transfusions on religious grounds, a core teaching based on the command to ‘abstain from blood’ (Acts 15:20), is unchanged,” the statement said.
International spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses at the organisation’s World Headquarters, Paul Gillies, said, “Blood remains sacred to Jehovah’s Witnesses, who continue to regard life and blood as precious gifts from God.
“We recognise that medical decisions involving blood components are a matter of conscience between each Witness and their God, Jehovah.”
The organisation said the adjustment “follows earlier updates regarding blood fractions and the use of one’s own blood during medical procedures.”
It added, “Since the Bible does not comment on such decisions, they are a matter of individual conscience. That same reasoning has now been extended to the four main components of blood.”
On medical care, the statement said, “Jehovah’s Witnesses love life and want the best available medical care. They do not practise faith healing, and they seek out doctors who can provide effective treatment in accord with their wishes, values and beliefs.”
Gillies said local congregations would not interfere in members’ personal decisions.
“Congregations do not involve themselves in personal decisions that rest with the individual conscience. We will continue to respect and support the personal decisions of our fellow believers.
“We are grateful, too, for the many skilled and compassionate physicians who provide quality medical care that respects our personal wishes regarding blood,” he said.
The organisation said Jehovah’s Witnesses number “over nine million worldwide, in congregations across more than 200 lands.”
Recall that the religious group had clarified its position on the use of a member’s own blood during surgery and other medical procedures.
The clarification allowed individual Witnesses to decide whether their blood could be removed, stored and returned to them during medical treatment, while the organisation maintained its position against receiving blood from another person.
Punch
The Nigerian Army has dismissed as fake and unverified a purported intelligence alert warning of planned Boko Haram and ISWAP attacks on schools, churches, mosques, NYSC orientation camps and other public institutions across the country.
Anele said the Army was aware of the circulation and had heightened vigilance across its formations and commands to prevent attacks on vulnerable facilities.
She described the purported intelligence as speculation and urged the public not to treat the document as an official Army security alert.
The response followed the circulation of a document purportedly signed by one A.M. Sodiq, which claimed that Boko Haram and ISWAP were planning coordinated attacks across several parts of the country.
The document listed churches, schools, NYSC orientation camps and other vulnerable locations as possible targets and alleged that suspected ISWAP operatives had begun surveillance of selected locations.
It further claimed that the alleged attacks could coincide with the resumption of the 2026/2027 academic session.
However, the Army disowned the document, maintaining that it did not originate from the institution.
The Army assured Nigerians that security formations remained on heightened alert and were taking necessary measures to protect schools, places of worship and other vulnerable public facilities.
MINNA, Niger State — An engine oil seller in Minna, the Niger State capital, has reportedly sustained serious injuries after allegedly being shot during a police operation to disperse protesters.
The victim, identified as Ibrahim Mohammed Dada, was reportedly standing outside his shop at Tunga Market when he was struck by a bullet.
Ibrahim’s brother, Yakubu Dada Mohammed, said the victim was not part of the protest and was attending to customers at his engine oil stall when the incident occurred.
According to him, Ibrahim was simply trying to earn a living and support his family when a police officer allegedly fired a shot that hit him in the head and severely injured his face.
«“He was not among those protesting. He was standing in front of his shop selling engine oil when one of the police officers fired a bullet that struck his head and badly injured his face,” Yakubu said.»
Ibrahim is currently receiving treatment at Minna General Hospital, where his condition was reportedly described as critical.
The incident occurred amid protests in Minna over the reported deaths of 37 miners who were allegedly in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Reports indicate that 65 miners were arrested on September 15 and 16, with 37 subsequently reported dead while in security custody.
The protests, which began on Thursday, continued into Friday as security personnel moved to disperse demonstrators. Security forces were reportedly accused of using tear gas and live ammunition during the operation.
However, the circumstances surrounding Ibrahim’s shooting have not been independently established.
The Niger State Police Command spokesperson, SP Wasiu Abiodun, appealed for calm and said the incident would be investigated.
The case has since heightened concerns over the conduct of security personnel during the ongoing protests.
Jehovah’s Witnesses announce fresh adjustment to blood transfusion policy
Army speaks on Boko Haram, ISWAP attack alert as fake
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