7 Passengers Injured As Bus Crashes On Abuja-Lokoja Road

Published

10 months ago

May 2, 2024

Seven passengers sustained injuries after an 18-seater bus with registration number, ANC 481 XA, crashed in Kwaita village on the Abuja-Lokoja highway on Tuesday.

A witness said that the driver lost control of the bus after a tyre burst and crashed into a ditch, adding that men of the FRSC rushed the victims to the hospital.

An official of the Yangoji Unit of FRSC who was part of the rescue but preferred anonymity, confirmed the accident and attributed the accident to speed limit violation and loss of control.

Unrelenting Senator Natasha drags Akpabio to court, demands N1.3bn for alleged defamation

Published

52 seconds ago

February 25, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Unrelenting Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has dragged Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, through the court for what she described as defamatory statement against her person.

The Senator, representing Kogi Central in the upper chamber, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), raised concerns after her Senate seat was reassigned following a reshuffle triggered by opposition members switching to the majority Caucus.

She resisted the relocation, leading to a confrontation between her and the Senate President.

However, in a suit filed before the Federal Capital Territory High Court on 25 February 2025, the President of the Senate, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Senior Legislative Aide to the Senate President, Mfon Patrick, were listed as the second and third defendants.

In the suit, marked CV/737/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan, through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, Natasha alleged that defamatory statements were made by the Senate President and published by his aide on Facebook.

According to him, the post, entitled “Is the Local Content Committee of the Senate Natasha’s Birthright?” included a statement suggesting that Akpoti-Uduaghan believed being a lawmaker was only about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers.”

Giwa argued that the statement was defamatory, provocative, and disparaging, lowering his client’s dignity in the eyes of her colleagues and the public.

She asked the court to make “A declaration that the words, ‘It is bottled anger by the Kogi lawmaker, who knows nothing about legislative rules. She thinks being a lawmaker is all about pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers,’ used and written by the third defendant at the prompting of the first and second defendants, were defamatory and intended to cause public opprobrium and disaffection toward the claimant.”

She also urged the court to restrain the defendants and their associates from making further defamatory statements against her on any platform.

The plaintiff also asked the court for “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, whether acting by themselves or through their agents, privies, assigns, or associates, from further publishing or causing to be published the said defamatory words or any similar publications about the claimant on social media or in any other manner capable of defaming her.”

Furthermore, Akpoti-Uduaghan asked the court to order the defendants to pay her N100 billion in general damages and N300 million as litigation costs.

“An order for the payment of the sum of N100,000,000,000 as general damages. An order for the payment of the sum of N300,000,000 as the cost of action,” she prayed the court.

News

South-East Caucus Urges NAFDAC to Reopen Onitsha Medicine Market, Target Offenders

Published

13 minutes ago

February 25, 2025

Gloria Ikibah

…say sealing the market has far-reaching effect

By Gloria Ikibah

The South East Caucus in the House of Representatives has urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to reconsider the closure of the Onitsha Bridgehead Medicine Market in Anambra State.

Leader of the caucus, Rep. Igariwey Enwo, who made the plea at a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, strongly cocondemned the activities of traders dealing in fake and substandard drugs, and said the continued lockdown of the market was having widespread negative effects.

Naijablitznews.com recalled that NAFDAC had recently sealed over 4,000 shops in Onitsha, 3,027 in Lagos, and another 4,000 in Aba as part of its nationwide crackdown on counterfeit and substandard medicines.

The Agency last week had said the markets remains lockdown.

Rep. Igariwey denounced those involved in the sale and distribution of fake and adulterated medications, describing them as “merchants of death and economic saboteurs” whose activities not only endanger public health but have also led to loss of lives.

He also commended NAFDAC for taking decisive action against these illegal operators but urged the agency to ensure that innocent and law-abiding traders are not unfairly punished alongside the culprits.

The caucus stressed that sealing the entire market has far-reaching consequences, particularly for medicine users in the South East and South-South regions, where the market serves as a major pharmaceutical hub.

The caucus therefore called for a targeted approach that prosecutes offenders while allowing legitimate businesses to continue operating.

He said: “While we are mindful of NAFDAC’s statutory role in curbing and stamping out of fake drugs in the country, we urge them to quickly arrest and prosecute those responsible for the production and distribution of these fake drugs.

“The wholesale and indefinite sealing of a market that caters for over 90 per cent of the medication needs of the South East and South South regions, may not be the best approach.

“More so when it is considered that many of the other traders in the same market are genuine business men and women.

“Therefore, to avoid a situation of visiting collective punishment on all the traders of Onitsha Bridgehead, which is currently in a state of lockdown, and considering the wider collateral effect of the lockdown on the health needs of the larger population.

“We urge NAFDAC to quickly resolve the situation by prosecuting the offenders, sanitizing the entire medical ecosystem, whether in Onitsha bridge head market, or in Aba, Lagos or Kano”.

Igariwey further urged the Nigerian Customs Services (NCS) to stand up to their responsibilities by ensuring that the land, sea and air boarders are better protected to nip in the bud the influx of fake and adulterated drugs into this country.

News

Reps Push for National Security Trust Fund to Boost Intelligence Funding

Published

38 minutes ago

February 25, 2025

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives has proposed the establishment of a National Security and Intelligence Trust Fund as a strategic solution to Nigeria’s security funding challenges.

Chairman of House Committee on National Security and Intelligenc, Rep. Ahmad Satomi, stated this at a public hearing on “A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ESTABLISH NIGERIAN SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE TRUST FUND TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR SECURITY RELATED ISSUES, APART FROM USUAL BUDGETARY PROVISIONS FROM THE FEDERATION, INTERVENE IN COMBATING SECURITY ISSUES IN NIGERIA AND FOR RELATED MATTERS”, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Rep. Satome who is sponsor of the bill emphasised that the current funding model for intelligence agencies was inadequate.

Rep. Satome stated that while California University operates on a $100 billion budget—30% of which is allocated to research and development—Nigeria’s entire security budget remains significantly lower despite its larger population and pressing security concerns.

According to the piece of legislation, the proposed trust fund is expected to provide alternative financial support for intelligence operations, reducing reliance on annual budgetary allocations. Funding sources for the trust include:

1% of the consolidated revenue from the Federation Account.
Airspace revenue generated from Nigeria’s airspace.
Unclaimed funds (still under debate due to constitutional concerns).
Donations and gifts (some stakeholders suggest removing this option to prevent corruption).

The bill is seen as a crucial step toward strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture by ensuring sustainable and efficient funding for intelligence agencies.

“The bill’s proponents argue that alternative funding is essential to address the country’s security challenges, which cannot be solved solely through kinetic operations. They emphasize the need for a more holistic approach, incorporating intelligence gathering, training, and capacity building.

“To address concerns about corruption and mismanagement, the bill proposes a board comprising representatives from various security agencies, paramilitary organizations, and civil society groups. The board will oversee the management of the trust fund, ensuring transparency and accountability”, it stated.

The Chairman emphasised that alternative funding was essential for tackling Nigeria’s security challenges.

With about percent of submissions and adoption by the various stakeholders at the public hearing in favor of the bill, there is a clear and overwhelming demand for reform.