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Michelle Sam, the new face of Heart Disease victims and steps taken for survival.

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SAD! 13-Month-Old Michelle Sam Dies After Heart Surgery, Family Donates Proceeds To Charity
After several months of sourcing for funds for the survival of the kid, the Sam family has lost 13-month-old Michelle Sam to Symptomatic Heart Disease.
michelle-sam
Michelle was suffering from several heart conditions that lay undetected until she fell sick and was diagnosed of Symptomatic Heart Disease last April.
Later on, the family cried out for help of N6m from the general public for a heart surgery in India. Luckily for them, they met the target and preparation started for the family to fly out the little girl out of the country to begin her treatment.
However, the family was told the chances of Michelle surviving the surgery is very slim.
This prompted the father to channel his search to several America hospitals.
But unfortunately, the surgery could cost them from 30 to 40million Naira as against the initial cost of 6million in India.
In preparation for the America surgery, the family have to travel to Ghana to rerun some test before setting off to America for her treatment.
The consultants however, cut short their plans when, they were told, the hospital waiting list is too long for her to have the procedure in time, so her parents put all their efforts into raising money for a private operation to save their daughter’s life at the National Hospital in Abuja.
The mother said she knows other patients have been waiting a year for treatment, but Michelle can’t wait that long.
Mrs Sam said her baby was always in and out of hospital and was prone to a lot of infections.
She also disclosed that the pressure was already tough on the family, who desperately do not want to lose their daughter.
She said: ‘I have collapsed two times in hospital because of the stress, and have had to have counselling to help me deal with things
‘My husband had to be strong for the family and continue working as I’ve been off work for the last couple of months, looking after Michelle.
‘All I wanted was to help my baby, more than anything else in this world.’
Fast forward to November 15, the surgery was successfully carried out in Hospital for Humanity in Abuja by league of American doctors who were concerned about Michelle health and flew down to Nigeria for the surgery.
The joy of seeing their child recuperating was cut short on November 28, when 13 months old Michelle couldn’t bear the pain any longer and succumbed to death.
However, the left over proceeds from the donations from well meaning Nigerians has been used to set up a foundation in the name of Michelle Sam to help others going through the same predicament overcome it at early stage.
The family had also donated massively for another patient suffering from Heart surgery in Abuja few days after losing their own daughter.
Symptomatic Heart Disease is a birth defect of the heart in which there are holes between chambers of the heart, and the valves that control the flow of blood between these chambers may not be formed correctly.
This means that blood flows where it normally should not be able to, and extra blood flows to the lungs.
May God rest Michelle’s soul.

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Supreme court nullifies enforcement of National Lottery Act in 36 states

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The supreme court has nullified the enforcement of provisions of the National Lottery Act 2005 in the 36 states of the federation.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, the seven-member panel held that the national assembly lacks the powers to legislate on issues pertaining to lottery and gaming.

In March 2005, former President Olusegun Obasanjo signed the national lottery bill into law.

The legislation provides the framework for the operation of the national lottery and the establishment of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

The commission is charged with regulating the business of lottery in Nigeria as well as establishing the national lottery trust fund.

In 2008, the Lagos state government filed a suit against the federal government on whether the control and regulation of gaming and lottery businesses in each state is under the exclusive list.

In October 2020, the Ekiti government joined Lagos as co-plaintiff in the suit.

In November 2022, the supreme court joined 33 state governments as co-defendants in the suit.

In the judgment, the apex court ruled that only state assemblies have the powers to legislate on lottery and gaming businesses.

The supreme court ruled that legislation cannot be enforced in all states, except the federal capital territory (FCT), since the national assembly is empowered to make laws for the country’s capital.

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NASS amends NDLEA Act, okays life imprisonment for drug traffickers

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The Senate has concurred with the recommendation of the House of Representatives to commute the death sentence penalty for persons found guilty of storing, moving or concealing hard drugs and other illicit substances to life imprisonment.

The alignment of the Senate with the House of Representatives yesterday was a sequel to the amendment effected on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act.

The amendment was considered at the plenary, presided over by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, APC! Kano North, after majority of senators supported the harmonisation of the conference committee of the two chambers of the National Assembly on Section 11 of the NDLEA Act.

Recall that recently, the House of Representatives passed an amendment to the NDLEA law to prescribe life imprisonment for drug traffickers but the Senate version of the amendment prescribed death penalty for the offenders.

In order to address the differences, both the Senate and the House of Representatives needed to hold a conference committee on the amendment where they will conclude on a final amendment to the section.

The then Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Tahir Monguno, had told his colleagues that the Senate would adopt the amendment of the House prescribing life imprisonment for drug traffickers.

Monguno, who is the chairman of the conference committee, explained that if the National Assembly adopted the death sentence, it meant over 900 accused persons behind bar on drug related cases would be executed.

He, therefore, urged his colleagues to support the resolution in order to reduce the effect of drug consumption and trading in the country.

After the presentation, the Deputy Senate President put the resolution to a vote and majority of the senators supported it.

Senator Barau, thereafter, approved the amendments to include life imprisonment for drug traffickers.

With the amendment, the section now reads: “Anybody who is unlawfully involved in the storage, custody, movement, carriage or concealment of dangerous drugs or controlled substances and who, while so involved is armed with any offensive weapon or is disguised in anyway, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act, and liable on conviction to be sentenced to life imprisonment.”

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‘He was never our member’ — IPOB disowns Simon Ekpa

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The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) says Simon Ekpa, the controversial Biafra agitator, was never a member of the group.

IPOB said Ekpa was not a registered member of the group’s chapter in Finland and cannot be the leader of the group.

On Thursday, Ekpa, a Finland-based secessionist, was arrested by law enforcement agents in the northern European nation.

He was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.

Ekpa was said to have committed the crime in 2021 in Lahti municipality.

The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also arrested four other men over alleged terrorist offences.

In a statement on Friday, Emma Powerful, IPOB’s spokesperson, said Ekpa was a “destructive agent” paid to “infiltrate and destroy” the “peaceful movement” of IPOB.

Powerful accused the Nigerian and Finnish governments of shielding Ekpa from arrest.

“Simon Ekpa was never and is not an IPOB member, let alone being a leader in IPOB. IPOB has some family units in Finland, and Simon Ekpa is not a registered member of any IPOB unit in Finland or any other IPOB unit globally,” the statement reads.

“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu established IPOB as a peaceful movement to seek Biafra Independence via a supervised UN referendum.

“IPOB is a peaceful global movement that has never taken to violence or arms struggle in two decades of our self-determination struggle.

“It was unfortunate that some innocent Biafrans, being passionate for the restoration of the stolen sovereignty of the Biafran Nation, thought that Simon Ekpa was genuinely sympathetic to the Biafra cause.

“Sadly, they had to learn the hard way that he was a destructive agent paid to infiltrate and destroy the IPOB peaceful movement for Biafra self-determination. He recruited violent criminals to destabilize the South East Region in 2021.

“The Simon Ekpa-led group has no alliance, affiliation or relationship with IPOB family worldwide. He recruited his criminal gangs who have been terrorising the Biafran territory since 2021.

“The Nigerian government and politicians that contracted Simon Ekpa have been making strenuous efforts to tag the violent crimes of their agent on IPOB just to blackmail and demonise the genuine and peaceful Biafra self-determination struggle of the Biafran people led by the IPOB.

“On the purported arrest of Simon Ekpa, all IPOB members, Biafrans and lovers of Biafra freedom should remain calm and focused on our core objective which is the restoration of the sovereign state of Biafra.”

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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