The Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has approved bid by the Kogi State Government to build an International Airport in Zariagi.

The State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, said the approval was conveyed in a letter by the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, dated 9th October, 2024.

He said the administration of Usman Ododo was committed to the timely completion of the project with strict adherence to regulatory standards, saying an airport in Kogi State would serve 10 other states and reduce traffic on the Lokoja -Abuja road.

It will also decongest the traffic at the International Airport in Abuja.

“The Ododo Administration has considered it a top priority for Kogi State to have an International Airport and join the league of the aviation hub. The strategic location of the state is no doubt, an invaluable advantage in harnessing the aviation service market as the centre of the nation.

“The project will not only boost the economy of the State, it will also create jobs and bring the potential of the state to the global scene.

“The Governor is determined to hire the best hands in the industry to make the project a huge success. As you are aware, aviation is an industry of trust and standards.

“We thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR and the Aviation Minister for the historic approval that will help to further develop Kogi State. We want to also say that the Airport will also have capacity for Cargo as that is one of our key focuses in the project,” the commissioner stated.

Fanwo assured the people of Kogi State that the administration of Ododo would continue to execute laudable projects to consolidate the gains of the last eight years in Kogi State.

Zariagi is a very strategic community that already boasts of an airstrip. The team from the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development was satisfied with the location and the plans of the Kogi State Government on the project, he said.

At least five people on Friday died in Ebonyi State, as a bus filled with passengers caught fire.

It gathered that the incident happened in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State, along the Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway, near the G-hostel junction.

It was not immediately clear where the bus came from into the city.

However, the passengers were said to be Alumni of a secondary school in the state who were coming for an event.

Sources said the bus came into the state around 20 minutes past midnight when it caught fire.

The police spokesperson in Ebonyi, Joshua Ụkandu, confirmed the incident.

He said the vehicle ran into some obstacles on the road placed by a maintenance team renovating some bad sections of the road, and then it caught fire.

Mr Ukandu confirmed that five people were burnt to death.

According to him, seven other passengers suffered severe burns and were receiving treatment at the hospital.

He said: “The incident happened around 00:20hrs. There are some bad spots on the road where some reconstruction is ongoing. The driver may not have been aware and so ran into the obstacles on the road and lost control.

Edo State High Court, Benin, presided over by Justice Mary Itsueli, yesterday discharged and acquitted of alleged rape, a lecturer in the Department of English and Literature of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), in Benin, Dr. Bode Ekundayo, three years after.

Ekundayo, an Associate Professor, was alleged to have demanded sex for marks from a 21-year-old, 400-level student, Miss Anita Adesuwa Efosa, on October 5, 2021.

The youthful lecturer was accused of raping Efosa in his office at UNIBEN’s Faculty Complex during the day, thereby queried and interdicted by the management of the university, which has as Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lilian Salami, pending the investigation of the allegation by the police and the court’s judgment.

Ekundayo was immediately arrested, detained for some weeks, and arraigned for alleged rape, but he was later granted bail on stringent conditions.

He was, however, discharged and acquitted for lack of substantial proof and evidence against him, in the suit with reference number: B/CD/8CV/22.

Justice Itsueli stressed that the prosecution team failed completely to prove the case against the don beyond reasonable doubt.

The presiding judge noted that even if anyone was to believe the claims of the alleged victim in their face value, there was no substantial proof or evidence whatsoever to establish sexual intercourse or rape.

Justice Itsueli upheld the no-case submission filed by the defense/lecturer’s counsel, Dr. Osagie Obayuwana, a former Edo Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.