Straight from the Headlines! What Everyone was Talking About This Week

Hello Lovely People, and welcome to your weekly round up of major stories that made headlines across Nigeria this week.

The week started on an interesting note. The release of the mistress of former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, created a buzz across the country. She was released from a UK prison after serving two years although she was sentenced to five years in prison.

Another news that created a buzz this week was the award given to the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan. She received the Tourism Ambassador for Africa Award from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in ‘recognition of her monumental commitment and support for women in tourism’ during the 53rd meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Africa that held in Calabar. Some controversies were raised regarding the award.

Here’s a recap of some of the stories that made headlines across the country this week.

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Udoamaka Okoronkwo-Onuigbo, the mistress of a former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, has been released from a United Kingdom Prison after serving two years. Okoronkwo-Onuigbo, who was tried alongside Ibori’s sister, Christine Ibori-Ibie, was found guilty of money laundering and mortgage fraud and was sentenced to five years by Judge Christopher Hardy of a Southwark London Crown Court on June 7, 2010. The two women were accused and subsequently convicted of handling proceeds of criminal transactions on behalf of Ibori while he was governor of Delta State. The court however ordered that their sentences be served concurrently and Okoronkwo-Onuigbo was released in May. The ex-convict has since returned to Nigeria and was seen in Abuja recently. Ibori is presently in a UK prison where he is spending a 13-year jail term.

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A 23-year old mother of one was arrested by policemen from Ipaja Police Station, Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria, for calling her ex-husband a member of the Boko Haram sect on Facebook. The suspect, Afolakemi Mojisola Adeniyi, was arrested following a complaint lodged at the station by her former husband, Alfa Umar Gobir, that his ex-wife posted his picture on facebook and tagged him a member of the Boko Haram. Umar told the police that he received several calls from friends and associates throughout the weekend, asking him why he joined the sect and that he kept telling them that they were mistaking him for someone else until one of his friends told him to check Facebook. Umar said he was shocked when he saw his picture on facebook and the words written below the picture read: “This is one of the Boko Haram any time you have contact with him, bomb him.”

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Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB on Tuesday said it had barred 262 institutions of higher learning from participating in next year’s admission exercise for non-compliance with admission guidelines. JAMB Registrar, Professor Dibu Ojerinde who spoke at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia state however, said 14 of the institutions affected had complied with the laid down guidelines. According to Ojerinde, the affected universities were sanctioned because they refused to abide by the board’s admission laid down guidelines, saying that in JAMB, it was no longer business as usual.

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The Kano State Police Command said the Joint Security Task Force (JTF) killed 17 gunmen and arrested three others when the insurgents attacked security formations in the state on Tuesday. The Commissioner of Police in Kano State, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, gave the figures, while briefing newsmen in Kano on Wednesday. Idris said that three assault rifles, 220 live ammunition and large quantity of drugs and syringes were recovered from the attackers. He the security agents had also defused 14 Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) planted by the assailants. He said the security operatives recovered five motor vehicles, three motorcycles and N100,000 cash in one of the vehicles abandoned by the gunmen.

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The Lagos State Government has urged the residents to use the June edition of the environmental sanitation exercise to clean drainage channels to prevent flooding during the intense rainfall expected in July. Commissioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello, appealed to residents to join hands with the government to minimise flooding. He said the ministry had also intensified its mid-rain cleaning programme to ensure that all forms of impediments in drainage channels were removed. He said, “Whenever it rains, Lagosians should not panic, but be assured that all our major drainage channels have been cleaned and dredged in anticipation of this year’s rains.”

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The House of Representatives on Thursday asked the management of Dana Airlines to pay compensation to the families of the victims of June 3 plane crash. One hundred and fifty-three  passengers and several others on the ground were killed in the crash that occurred in Iju area of Lagos. In a resolution in Abuja, the House gave the airline up to July 3 to comply with the directive. The House took the decision following a motion by Mr. Yakub Abiodun. Abiodun had told the House that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act makes provision for the payment of compensation to victims within 30 days of an air disaster. However, the House said that experiences in the past showed that operators were in breach of the provision. “We expect compliance and the airline has up to July 3 to pay the compensation,” he added.

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The Federal Government has released N2 billion to each of the new Federal Universities in the country to hasten completion of necessary projects. The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, said this on Friday when she paid an inspection visit to the temporary site of the Federal University, Dutsinma in Katsina State. She said that President Goodluck Jonathan was delighted at the level of work done in all the new universities, adding that the money was to ensure that necessary infrastructure was put in place to commence academic activities. Rufa’i, who went round the university, said though the project had reached advanced stage, some minor works needed to be done before the commencement of academic activities.

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The Edo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Louis Odion, has said that Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State survived an assassination attempt on Thursday June 28th when gunmen attacked his convoye while he was campaigning at Usen town, Ovia South West LGA of the state. However, he added that some brave security details attached to the governor, supported by an additional contingent of regular policemen deployed to maintain law and order, rose to the occasion. They were able to shield the governor, key government functionaries and others, including leaders of Edo ACN to safety without sustaining any human casualties. But several official vehicles, including Toyota Landcruisers, Hilux pick-up van and Toyota Corolla saloon car were either badly damaged or riddled with bullets.

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How do you feel about the news that made headlines in the country this week? What other stuff happened that you would like to share?

Have a great weekend!