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Man Petition Reps Over Unlawful Arrest, Detention Of Brother By Nigerian Military

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By Gloria Ikibah
One Mr. Nsisong Mfon Effiong has called on the House of Representatives to ensure the immediate release of Mfonmma Mfon Effiong, who was unlawfully arrested and detained by the Nigerian Army Military Police, Mambilla Barracks Brigades in Abuja.
Presenting a petition before the House on behalf of the petitioner, Rep. Clement Jombo (APC, Akwa) appealed to the House to prevail on the Chief of Army Staff to order Nigeria Army Military Police, Mambila Barracks Brigades, Abuja, to release Mfonmma who has been in detention for 10 days.
According to him, Effiong was arrested following the order of his employer in Abuja on unfounded allegations that he was a kidnapper.
Rep. Jombo also urged the Speaker of House of Representatives to call on the Chief of Army Staff, to order for a thorough medical examination and treatment of Mfonmma.
He further pleaded with the House to call on the Chief of Army Staff to “order a full scale investigation into the unlawful arrest and
detention of a civilian without transferring Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong to civil police for proper investigation or charging the matter to a competent law Court, for proper
hearing.”
He explained that Effiong lived with him in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, until recently when he relocated to Abuja to get a job.
Narrating the development that led to the arrest and detention, he said, “In late December, 2023, my younger brother, Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong relocated from Calabar, Cross River State where he stayed with me to Abuja to fend for himself, but had to stay with his friend, Mr. Patrick in his family house and was accommodated by Patrick’s family until he was linked by one lady identified as Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole who resides in Abuja to work for the occupant of No. 18 IJ Yahaya Close, NAF Valley Estate, Asokoro, Abuja(Occupant name yet to be known, but can be identified) as a driver.
“Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong started working with the occupant of the above residential address as a driver in early January, 2024. The work atmosphere was tuneful for Mr. Mfonma Effiong  up until his January salary was paid by his madam, the occupant of No. 18 IJ Yahaya Close, NAF Valley Estate, Asokoro, Abuja, where he failed to pay 50% of his first salary (January salary) to the Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole, the agent that linked him for the job as a driver.
“According to Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong when he called me on phone the day the incident happened, that the act of not paying 50% of his first salary to Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole was not intentional, that he did not understand that he needed to have paid 50% of his first salary to her.
“That he pleaded with Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole that he forwarded the money to his Baby Mother to pay School fees for his 3 year old son and also to get few needs for his few months old daughter, without knowing that he supposed to have paid some percentage to Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole.
“Also, according to Mr. Mfonmma, Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole accepted the plea and hope for him to comply when February, 2024 salary is paid, but his employer, the occupant of No. 18 IJ Yahaya Close, NAF Valley Estate, Asokoro, Abuja, (name not known but can be identified) was infuriated and started abusing him verbally, stressing that he has been eating free food in her house, stay in a free accommodation without paying utility bills.
“That this verbal abuse by his employer came after Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole had called and reported him to his employer. That he also pleaded with his employer that the mistake of not paying 50% to Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole was not intentional, but the more he pleaded, the angrier his employer became and kept abusing him. In that same call and conversation between my brother.
“Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong and I, he informed me that he will resign his
appointment and leave his employer’s compound, which I advised him to communicate to Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole who linked him to the work and he did same and moved back to Mr. Patrick’s family house.
“The following day Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong called and informed me in the morning that his employer has been send him text messages since he left her house, begging him to come back and continue working, which according to him, his employer also called and sent him some money to get some fruits for which he did.That when he got to his employer’s house, they resolved the issue and he continued with his work as a driver. Since then, I had been keeping in touch with, Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong through phone calls until Saturday, 10th of February, 2024, at night when I called his phones and noticed that the one with the phone numbers 07068636363 was switched off while the one with the number 08103415866 rang but no one responded and I called twice that night.
“On Sunday, 11th February, 2024, towards evening time, I called both phones but the one with 08103415866 rang without response while the other phone was still off. I was a bit worried as it became unusual for my brother to miss my calls and not return the calls.
“On Monday, 12th February, 2024, at about 6:45am, I received a call from a strange phone number 07080509323 and the caller asked me; “am I speaking with Nsisong?” and I replied yes ma. She continued, “I am calling you from Abuja, my name is Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole based in Abuja. I am Mfonmma’s  friend and I have been trying to reach out to him for some days now and his
phone numbers are not connecting. “Have you heard from him recently?” and I replied her that the last time my brother and I spoke on phone was on Saturday, 10th February, 2024, in the evening, that since then I could not reach out to him and she said she will call his Aunty, Patrick’s mother to call him.
“After an hour, I called back Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole to know if she had been able to reach out to Patrick’s mother and she said she called her and that Patrick’s mother said she will buy airtime and call Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong.
“After calling Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong’s phone Numbers and got the same result, I called Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole again and she asked me if my brother had disclosed to me who linked him to the work in Abuja and I replied her that the only information I got from my brother is that the lady who linked him to work with his employer is from Akwa Ibom State but based in Abuja. She also asked me if my brother had told me the person’s name and I replied no.
“The communication ended there. I kept calling my brother’s phone numbers 08103415866 that was ringing from lately Saturday, 10th February, 2024, to early hours of Tuesday, 13 February, 2024 without any one picking up the calls.
“When the phone that was ringing finally became off, I became intensely worried and had the feeling that all is not well with my brother. I called Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole again on that same Tuesday, 13th February, 2024, atabout 7:15am to send me Patrick’s mother phone number and she delayed sending the number to me, which I had to call Mrs.
“Beatrice Tolu-Omole again and again before she finally sent me the number. Immediately, I called Patrick’s mother and introduced myself as Mfonmma’s brother, which I enquired from her of my brother’s where about, if she has any information about where he works and she said that her daughter, name Blessing was the one who went on Mfonmma’s call to help him park his belongings the day Mfonmma had an issue with his employer and then decided to resign.
“Immediately, I mobilized for Blessing to go in search of Mfonmma since I base in Calabar, Cross River State, and could not immediately get to Abuja. Blessing did as I requested her to do and about 11:50 am, Patrick’s mother called to
inform me that Blessing called and informed her that Mfonmma’s employer was very aggressive on seeing her standing by the gate trying to enquire from the gateman of Mfonmma’s where about.
“Also according to Patrick’s mother,
Blessing told her that Mfonmma’s employer in her aggressiveness asked her who showed her her residence that if she waste more time by her gate that she will order for her arrest and Blessing speedily left the environment.
“When I heard about this development, I had to find my way from Calabar, Cross River State to Abuja through a night bus at Enugu on the same Tuesday, 13th February 2024, and I arrived in the early hours of Wednesday, 14th February, 2024, and first put a call to Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole who claimed to be my brothers friend in Abuja, informing her that I am in Abuja and will like to see her to get information on how to go about searching for my brother. On hearing that I am in Abuja, she ended my call and did not take my calls anymore. I then had to call Patrick’s mother to tell Blessing to meet up with me so that we can go to NAF Valley Estate, and lay complaint to the management of the Estate which we achieved that and all effort made to reach out to my brother proved futile, even as Mfonmma’s Employer the occupant of No. 18 IJ Yahaya Close, NAF Valley Estate, Asokoro, Abuja and Mrs. Beatrice Tolu-Omole failed to cooperate with the Investigation Team of NAF Valley Estate and we did not know whether Mfonmma Mfon Effiong is Alive or Dead.
“After searching for Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong for 7 days, on the 8th day, Sunday 18th February 2024, the Nigeria Military Police, Mambila Barracks Brigades, Abuja finally agreed that they were the ones detaining Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong without access to contact any of his family members or friends. But not for my persistent search for Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong, nobody would have known that the Nigeria Army Military Police, Mambila Barracks Brigades, Abuja were the ones detaining him as he wasn’t granted access to contact any of his family members or friends.
“On granting 2 minutes to physically interact at a distance with Mr. Mfonmma Mfon Effiong on Sunday, 18th February 2024, the 8th day of his detention; I asked him of since when has he been under detention and he said he has been under detention since on Sunday night, 11th of February, 2024, but that his employer first locked him up in the toilet from morning of that Sunday till when she called the Nigeria Army to come and take him away. I then asked him, what was your offence and he said that his employer accused him of being a kidnapper, that while in confinement, his two phones were taken for DSS Profiling and Forensic auditing and it was found that he is innocent of the allegation as no records of calls, chats or text messages related to kidnapping discussions were found in his phones.
“That he has begged his employer to
allow him go or even allow him contact any of his family members but he was
denied access to call neither his family members nor anyone.”
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2025 UTME Crisis: Lawmakers from South East Call for Leadership Overhaul at JAMB

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…call for suspension of digital unit, cancellation of exams over widespread disruptions

By Gloria Ikibah

Lawmakers representing the South East in the House of Representatives have called for the immediate step-down of the Registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, citing severe lapses in the recent administration of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

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The caucus, under the leadership of Rep. Igariwey Enwo, in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, expressed outrage over what they termed a systemic breakdown that affected nearly 380,000 candidates, many of whom must now retake the test.

The lawmakers noted that the five South Eastern states were among the hardest hit.

The caucus further criticised the handling of the issue, pointing to inadequate public communication, exam rescheduling that clashed with WAEC timetables, and the short notice provided to affected students.

The lawmakersemphasised  that the mishandling has placed avoidable stress on students and their families.

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The statement reads: “Last week, particularly on May 14, 2025, the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, made a shocking public admission that due to a ‘technical glitch’ at some examination centres during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), approximately 379,997 out of 1.9 million candidates would be required to resit the exam.
 
“As a caucus, we are deeply concerned, as all five South Eastern states we represent were directly affected by these so-called ‘score distortions.’
 
“Over the past week, we have exercised restraint, hoping that JAMB would provide effective remedial measures to address what is clearly a catastrophic institutional failure—one that has severely shaken public trust and the confidence of students and their families nationwide”.
 
The caucus also want the immediate cancellation of the 2025 UTME and a new date be fixed, preferably after WAEC and NECO exams, to ensure no student is disadvantaged. 
 
They lawmakers also called for the suspension of key officials responsible for JAMB’s digital operations and logistics.
 
They  caucus  acknowledged Prof. Oloyede’s public admission of the failure, but however maintained that accountability must go beyond apologies. 
 
According to them, his resignation would allow for a thorough, independent review of the failure and restore public confidence in the examination body.
 
They reminded JAMB of its constitutional duty to guarantee equal and adequate educational opportunities for all Nigerian children, a responsibility they said had clearly been violated in this instance.
 
“While we acknowledge Professor Oloyede’s openness in admitting JAMB’s failures, we must state unequivocally that the remedial steps taken so far fall drastically short of our constituents’ expectations.
 
“JAMB’s knee-jerk, fire-brigade approach has been anything but adequate. Students in the South East—many of whom are currently writing their WAEC examinations—were given less than 48 hours’ notice to appear for the rescheduled UTME. Reports indicate that this notice was grossly inadequate, resulting in low turnout. In some cases, the rescheduled UTME clashed directly with ongoing WAEC papers, compounding the distress and confusion for students and their families.
 
“We must remind Nigerians that JAMB, as a government agency, is duty-bound to uphold the fundamental obligations of government to its citizens. The framers of our Constitution recognized the central role of education in national development. Section 18(1) of the 1999 Constitution clearly states: ‘Government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.’
 
“By recent judicial pronouncements, this provision now constitutes an enforceable right for every Nigerian child. Sadly, for the thousands of students across the South East, the flawed and tainted conduct of the 2025 UTME has effectively denied them that right to equal and adequate educational opportunities”, the statement further stated.
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WHO chief urges nations to adopt pandemic agreement

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By Francesca Hangeior

The head of the World Health Organization on Monday urged countries to adopt this week the Pandemic Agreement, aimed at preventing a repeat of the Covid-19 crisis.

WHO member states are holding their annual World Health Assembly, a gathering of the UN health agency’s decision-making body.

“At this assembly, member states will consider, and hopefully adopt, the WHO Pandemic Agreement,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in his opening address to the gathering in Geneva.

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“This is truly a historic moment.”

After more than three years of negotiations, the text of the agreement was finalised by consensus last month.

The United States pulled out of the talks, following US President Donald Trump’s decision to trigger the country’s one-year withdrawal process to leave the WHO.

“Even in the middle of crisis, and in the face of significant opposition, you worked tirelessly, you never gave up, and you reached your goal,” said Tedros.

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The hard-fought consensus spurred “joy, triumph, relief, exhaustion,” he said.

“I look forward to your adoption of the agreement.”

The agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response is expected to be adopted by the assembly on Tuesday.

It aims to better detect and combat pandemics by focusing on greater international coordination and surveillance, and more equitable access to vaccines and treatments.

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The negotiations grew tense amid disagreements between wealthy and developing countries, with the latter feeling cut off from access to vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The agreement faced opposition from those who thought it would encroach on state sovereignty.

Countries have until May 2026 to thrash out the details of the agreement’s Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing mechanism.

The PABS mechanism deals with sharing access to pathogens with pandemic potential, and the sharing of benefits derived from them: vaccines, tests and treatments.

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Once the PABS system is finalised, the agreement can then be ratified. Sixty ratifications are required for the treaty to enter into force.

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One dead, 61 rescued after migrant boat Boat capsises in English channel

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By Francesca Hangeior

At least one person has died while 61 others were said to have been rescued after an overloaded migrant boat disintegrated in the English Channel during an attempted crossing overnight, according to French maritime authorities, Sky News reported on Monday.

The Maritime Prefect of the Channel and the North Sea confirmed the vessel had collapsed in the water, prompting a major rescue operation involving both French and British emergency services.

Among the rescued were a mother and her child, both suffering from hypothermia. They were airlifted to the hospital by helicopter. The rest of the survivors were transferred to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, south of Calais.

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The French rescue tug Abeille Normandie launched three speedboats to retrieve 50 people from the water.

An additional 11 were rescued by British crews—two by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and nine by the UK Border Force vessel Ranger. All were eventually brought aboard the French tug.

A French Navy helicopter later spotted an unconscious person in the sea. The individual was retrieved by the RNLI and taken to the Abeille Normandie, where they were declared dead by the medical team onboard.

The United Kingdom government confirmed the fatality and expressed condolences. “We can confirm there has been a tragic incident in the Channel involving a small boat in French waters, which has resulted in the loss of one life.

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“This latest tragedy underlines the terrible dangers of small boat crossings, and we continue to do everything we can to prevent callous criminals exploiting vulnerable people. Our thoughts are with those affected,” a spokesperson said, adding that efforts to prevent human smuggling continue.

The incident occurred amid a surge in Channel crossings. Over 12,000 people have arrived in the UK by small boats this year, including more than 1,100 in the past week alone.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer recently vowed to dismantle smuggling networks, while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned of growing immigration pressures and pledged to reduce net migration by 2029.

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