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Buildings sink as erosion hits Abia community

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A gully erosion in several communities in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State swallowed a two-storey building and a four-bedroom bungalow after a torrential rain that lasted for over 16 hours.

The two-storey building belonged to an indigene living outside the country, while the other belonged to another indigene residing in the state.

The affected communities are Amaewu, Umueze, Amamba, and Uzuakoli.

It was gathered that the rainfall lasted from Friday 4pm to Saturday 7am.

As a result, therefore, the people of the area now live in fear over the gully erosion site which has defied all solutions even after several millions of Naira has been spent in tackling it.

According to the member representing Bende South constituency in Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Emmanuel Chinedu Ndubuisi, the erosion site has resisted frantic efforts to bring it under control.

The lawmaker disclosed that the community has consistently made efforts to change the course of the gully site but to no avail, which also lead to the collapse of another four-bedroom bungalow.

He said, “I have reached out to the NEWMAP who came and gave their expert advice, a step that has been followed but the gully still persists”.

While stating that more buildings in the community are under threat, Hon. Ndubuisi hinted that the community has commenced a fresh palliative work following an advice by the NEWMAP team to mitigate the flood impact.

The NEWMAP advice he said is for them to “do a drainage down to the river so that more buildings will not be threatened, but I don’t know if the money available to the community now can do that.

“What we want to do now is to use sand bags to slow down the speed of the flood so that the devastation will reduce, which the engineers told us will reduce the devastation”.

Hon. Ndubuisi disclosed that the member representing Bende Federal Constituency, Rep. Benjamin Kalu and the Senator representing Abia North, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, are aware of the challenges of the people, adding “only the state government has intervened through NEWMAP”.

He also stated that efforts are ongoing to get other agencies of government for their intervention.

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FRSC to impound vehicles transporting animals and humans together

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The Bauchi command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says it will prosecute owners of vehicles conveying animals with humans, after impounding the trucks.

NAN reports that Patrick Ikaba, FRSC sector commander in the state, said this on Thursday.

Ikaba said the command has been mandated by the FRSC headquarters to seize vehicles conveying animals and passengers at the same time.

Ikaba said this has become imperative because in the event of a crash, the animals fall on the passengers, compounding the fatality rate.

He added that animals and humans must be conveyed separately.

The sector commander urged the public to desist from the act, adding that FRSC is setting up mobile courts for the offence.

“It is either you are carrying animals or you are carrying passengers and this is very common among big trucks as they have adopted it as a method of loading, which is very dangerous,” Ikaba said.

“We advise that henceforth, where you need to load them, they should be separated.

“It is only just one person that is allowed to take care of the animals while they are being transported from one place to the other.

“The move we are making in this regard is to begin to organise mobile courts where any culprit will be made to face a magistrate and explain why he has to contravene the laws of the land.

“This is very serious and we are going to swing into action any moment from now as we are liaising with the courts and we have the magistrate already on ground to take our cases.”

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FAAN shuts KFC outlet that humiliated Gbenga Daniel’s wheelchair-bound son

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The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has shut down a KFC outlet at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

This move came less than a day after the airport branch of the fast-food restaurant allegedly humiliated a wheelchair user, Adebola Daniel, the son of former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel.

Sharing his experience, on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, Daniel said he was “made to feel “less than human” because of his disability.

He said while passing the time alongside his wife and siblings, at the restaurant ahead of his flight, a manager of the restaurant told him to leave the premises because “No wheelchairs allowed.”

“To be disabled in Nigeria is to be undesirable, unwelcome and unaccepted. As I’ve said before, it’s a lonely, scary and isolated place. Never has this been more true than it has ever been today where I faced the worst sort of public humiliation that I have ever experienced. To think that this happened at an international brand, KFC at an international airport – Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos – is unthinkable,” he said.

Reacting, the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, announced in a statement on Thursday, March 28, 2024, that the restaurant has been shut down.

According to the statement signed by Obiageli Orah, the law clearly states, “A person shall not deprive another person of access to any place, vehicle, or facility that members of the public are entitled to enter or use on the basis of the disability of that person.” This legislation underscores the seriousness with which the Nigerian authorities view discrimination, particularly in spaces accessible to the public.

The incident came to light after a Passenger with Reduced Mobility (PRM) reported on social media the unfair treatment they encountered at the KFC outlet within the airport premises.

Reacting to these allegations, FAAN’s MD/CE, Olubunmi Kuku assembled a team to investigate the claims. The team included other officials of the agency such as the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah, and the Regional Manager South West, Sunday Ayodele, among others.

Following the investigation, FAAN said the allegations were confirmed to be true and proceeded to close the KFC facility implicated in the discriminatory act.

As part of the corrective measures, KFC management has been instructed to issue a written apology to the affected individual and to publicly display a policy statement of non-discrimination at their facility.

This statement must be visibly placed at the entrance of the KFC outlet at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport before the establishment is allowed to resume operations.

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FCT court discharges, acquits Adoke in OPL 245 trial

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Justice Abubakar Kutigi of the FCT high court has dismissed the charges of fraud, bribery and conspiracy filed against Mohammed Bello Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation, by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Ruling on the “no case” submission made by Adoke, Kutigi said the EFCC failed to prove its charges of fraud, bribery and money laundering and ruled that the defendant has no case to answer.

He discharged and acquitted the former minister on all counts.

The judge said the allegation of illegal tax waivers granted to Shell and Eni was not corroborated by the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS) or any authority in government.

On the alleged N300 million bribe said to have been given to Adoke by Abubakar, the court ruled that the EFCC did not provide any evidence to prove its case.

Nigeria has now lost virtually all the cases it filed or joined in Italy, the UK and Nigeria.

This is expected to finally bring litigation over the OPL 245 saga to a close.

The EFCC had earlier conceded that it did not have sufficient evidence to oppose the applications by Adoke, who was listed as first defendant, and others — although it insisted that Rasky Gbinigie had a case to answer over the alleged forgery of company documents to remove the name of Mohammed Abacha as a director.

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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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