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Shocking: In Lagos a couple expecting twins turned out to have one baby with two heads!

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A woman on Tuesday, December 13th, gave birth to two-headed baby at Med-In Specialist Hospital located at Oshogbo Street in Ogudu,Lagos. According to doctors at the hospital, the baby born around 6:30pm through an elective caesarean section, has two heads, a neck, chest, two legs and two hands. The mother and medics were expecting a set of twins as indicated by the various scans she underwent in the course of the pregnancy.

According to one of the nurses who was in the delivery room, they had prepared two cots for each of the twins but were shocked when they saw that they were conjoined. “This is the first time I am seeing anything like this. I have watched it in movies but seeing it in real life was such an experience for me. Thankfully, the surgeon ensured that they survived.

“As I speak to you, the mother doesn’t know the condition of the babies. She still believes and expects to carry her twins. We haven’t told her yet. Only her husband was brought into the theatre to see his children and he was the one who went with the doctors to LUTH,” said the nurse.
In medical parlance, the condition is known as Parapagus. It is a rare form of partial twinning where there are two heads and two necks side by side on one torso. Such cases are rampant in India and doctors say they cannot be separated since they have only one pair of arms and one pair of legs and one heart.
This disorder is different from conjoined twins as the baby has only one set of internal organs. The extremely rare case is thought to be brought on during the early stages of pregnancy as a result of genetic mutation. Med-In Hospital Manager Dare Moses said the baby was taken to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) so that tests can be conducted to ascertain if they share also vital organs like hearts and lungs.

“There is need to find out if they share major organs together. They may have to be flown abroad for separation if they have separate hearts and other vital organs. It is possible for them to survive. I have seen cases of twins like this in movie surviving and living normal lives. Normally, when we have cases of pregnant woman expecting twins, we usually go for elective caesarean, which was what the mother opted for. But when the doctor was trying to extract one of the babies (first one), it got stuck and when he examined further, he discovered that there were two heads in one body. We are happy that the baby was delivered alive and placed on oxygen. Both heads were alive.

“It was really amazing. I am proud and thankful that we delivered the baby alive. Yes, several scans were done by the mother in the course of pregnancy at different places, but none discovered any abnormality. We are thankful that the operation was successful.”
According to a doctor, who refused to be named, the babies were meant to come as identical twins and must have shared the same sac and placenta.
“Nobody can specifically say the reason for the condition. At different stages during pregnancies. Twins divide but these ones didn’t divide fully. We can’t really say if they have only two pairs of legs and hands, there’s a possibility the other pairs are inside. But we don’t know yet. There are so many things we can’t really determine physically. That’s why several scans would be conducted, including CT Scans, to know their exact condition and the best option. It is a situation that would be best managed abroad because it requires the putting together of a team of paediatric surgeons who must have the best facilities, which we do not have presently on Nigeria. We have good doctors but the materials are not there. Specialists in different fields would be working on them at the same time if they are to be separated. Chances of their survival in Nigeria are very poor giving the realities of our society.
“If they can’t be separated and are left to survive, people might ridicule them or see them as curses, which isn’t good. But in other climes, some conjoined twins have survived to adulthood and they are doing fine. You should also know that it would be very expensive to foot the bills, and it isn’t what any parent can handle alone. The government and good spirited individuals would have to assist them so that the kids stay alive. All we want is to give them as much chances as they can possibly get to survive.
“Our medical system in Nigeria is in poor shape. Even at the teaching hospitals, chances are that they may not even have those necessary equipment to support survival of children like this. There is need for a multi-specialist team, drawn from various teaching hospitals, to handle cases like this and they should be provided the right equipment.”

The Ministry of Health has been notified of the development. The hospital disclosed plans to inform the baby’s mother.

Source: The Nation

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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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