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

Happy Easter everyone! It’s been a whirlwind week, with different events happening across the country. Some have been good and some not too good but there is still so much to be thankful for during this special season.

On a sad note, the President of Malawi, Bingu wa Mutharika passed away on Thursday 5th April 2012 after suffering a heart attack. His death, coming just a few days after Prophet T. B. Joshua predicted the death of a nation’s president has sparked off some debate about his prophesies.

Here’s a recap of some events that made headlines this week:

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An undergraduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Mr. Olasaidi Dare, got sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Federal High Court, on Monday 2nd April 2012 after he was found guilty of attempting to obtain money  under false pretence via the Internet. Dare was apprehended by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,  which traced him to a Cyber Cafe belonging to a former member of the National Assembly, Senator Olabode Ola, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. According to the anti-graft agency, the convicted undergraduate, who was said  to belong to a 419-syndicate, was arrested on March 31, 2008, at the said Cyber Cafe which is located inside a hotel, after he attempted to dupe an operative who posed as a wealthy foreigner.

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Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, on Monday 2nd April 2012 directed the police to start the patrol of all federal highways across the country with immediate effect. The IG, who met with senior officers in Abuja to review the security situation in the country, said the patrols would be complemented by a Rapid Response Structure. However, Abubakar ruled out the return of roadblocks, which were being used by corrupt policemen to extort money from motorists and commuters, saying the issue was closed. He noted the apprehension of the public about the increasing robbery in the country and other criminal activities, pledging to keep the roads safe for travellers.

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The Ogun State Police Command on Tuesday 3rd April 2012 arrested four suspected members of the robbery gang that attacked Ekene Dili Chukwu luxury bus which was conveying 42 female secondary  school students to Lagos, last Saturday, at the Oke-Odo end of Sagamu-Benin Expressway in Ijebu-East Local Government Area of the state. The arrest was made just as indication emerged, that the attack and reported rape on the teenage students could have been averted had the driver of the  bus listened to warnings by motorists that robbers were operating ahead. Consequently, the 52-year-old luxury bus driver, (names withheld) has been arrested and detained by operatives of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Elewe-Eran, Abeokuta.

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has resigned as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party. In a statement he personally signed and made exclusively available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday 3rd April 2012, Obasanjo said he had sent the letter of resignation to the chairman of the party. “I have formally sent in my letter of resignation as the Chairman of BOT of PDP to the National Chairman of the party as prescribed in the party’s constitution. I have formally requested the President to allow my bowing out and to issue a short statement to that effect. By relieving myself of the responsibility for chairmanship of BOT of PDP, I will have a bit more time to devote to the international demand on me.’’

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Gunmen numbering about seven, attacked a police station in Amichi, Nnewi South Council area on Wednesday 4th April, 2012, releasing suspects and carting away 14 AK47 Riffles and rounds of ammunitions from the armoury. According to an eyewitness account, the dare-devil robbers who struck at about 2.30am on Wednesday morning, opened fire on the police station, wounding one of the policemen on duty while others ran away. The gunmen numbering about seven set free all the detainees in the cells and allegedly carted away all the arms in the armoury.

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The Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit has arrested a middle aged colonel over impersonation. The fake colonel, Olugbemiga Osoba, who hails from Ogun State, was arrested while he was trying to convince the taskforce chairman, Bayo Sulaiman that he was truly a colonel in the Nigerian Army. It was gathered that he wanted to use the ploy to secure his friend’s commuter bus seized from him on Ikorodu Road by taskforce officials at the taskforce office, Alausa, Ikeja, Southwest Nigeria. Osoba, before his arrest, was said to have boasted that he would deal with the taskforce officials who impounded the bus of one of his friends.

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Some students of University of Abuja on Wednesday 4th April 2012, protested against the  suspension of four courses run by the institution by halting traffic flow on the  Umaru Musa Yar’adua expressway in Abuja. The Federal Government had on Tuesday suspended some courses in the University. These courses include  Medicine, Veterinary medicine, Engineering and Agriculture.  The protesting students obstructed traffic on the  expressway outside the permanent site from the early hours of the day. Traffic to and from Abuja on that  axis was halted for hours and many motorists had had to turn back and seek  alternative routes into the city.

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Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State, has been upgraded to a degree awarding institution. This followed an approval given to the institution by the National Universities Commission on Tuesday. Although the institution is meant to serve as a training ground for police cadets, its degree awarding status brings the total number of Nigerian universities to 124. Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Julius Okojie, who conveyed NUC’s approval to the institution, urged the police authorities to ensure that standards were maintained. He stressed the need for adequate courses to be run due to its specialised capacity. Okojie said courses offered by the institution must be for capacity building. He said for maximum standard to be maintained, policemen seeking admission to the academy should be made to sit for UTME examinations since the academy is now a degree awarding institution.

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Workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have threatened to embark on an indefinite strike if the Federal Government fails to meet their demands. Their major demands include their dissatisfaction of the compulsory retirement of three top executives of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, by the Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji. Leaders of the National Union of Electricity, NUEE, and Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, SSAEAC have accused the Minister of pursuing personal agenda in the ministry. At a joint briefing in Lagos on Thursday 5th April 2012, the two unions said the three executives of the PHCN sacked by Nnaji earlier in the week, had nothing to do with power generation in the country as claimed by the minister.
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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!