Meet Ufuoma Okoro

Some 480 Nigerian soldiers have fled into Cameroon following fierce fighting with Boko Haram militants, Cameroon’s army has said. Army spokesman, Lt. Col Didier Badjek, said the soldiers had been disarmed and were now being accommodated in schools. Clashes are said to be continuing in the border town of Gamboru Ngala. Boko Haram on Sunday released a video in which it said it had established an Islamic state in the towns and villages it controls in north-eastern Nigeria. The group’s five-year insurgency has intensified in recent months despite the deployment of thousands of extra troops to the worst-affected areas. Last week, a group of soldiers refused to follow orders to go and fight Boko Haram, saying the militants were better equipped. Insurgents also seized one of Nigeria’s two main police training academies, near the town of Gwoza, captured earlier this month. “The Nigerian soldiers are currently in the Cameroonian town of Maroua, about 80km (50 miles) from the...

The Federal Capital Territory Administration has arrested a total of 761 street hawkers, prosecuted and convicted 674 of them. Thirty-one out of the convicted traders were sentenced to various prison terms. The FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, who said this during the FCT Operations Briefing Meeting in his office in Abuja on Monday, added that the FCT Administration also arrested 172 beggars and destitute as well as 72 minors. He warned that hard times await anyone involved in environmental nuisances in the territory. Mohammed explained that the Administration collected a total of 31,166.93 tons of solid waste which were deposited at the designated disposal sites in July, 2014. According to him, the Abuja Environmental Protection Board inspected 1,976 premises for proper sanitation and in the process, 85 premises were fumigated during the same period. “This feat was achieved despite the heavy raining season that has made disposal dump site a bit difficult,” he stated. Th...

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday returned to Abuja after a four-day “private visit” to Germany. Jonathan arrived the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport at about 4.25pm and was received by some top government officials. At the peak of media reports indicating that he was flown abroad after falling ill, THE PUNCH had reported exclusively that the President would return to the country on Monday. Jonathan, dressed in a pair of navy blue suit, a white shirt and his trademark hat, was received at the airport by his Chief of Staff, Brig.-Gen. Jones Arogbofa (retd.); Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Muhammed; and the acting Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba among others. On arrival at the Presidential Villa , the President retired into his official residence where he was also received by family members and some close aides. He is expected to lead the Federal Government delegation to a service of songs being organise...

The Nigerian customs intercepted and burnt a trailer load of smoked monkey meat being smuggled into the country through the Jibia border in Katsina state, In the fight against the deadly Ebola. According to The Nation, the officer who led the operation, Assistant Comptroller, Gambo Azare, told newsmen at the site where the seized meat was destroyed that the driver of trailer conveying the killer meat took to his heels, abandoning the vehicle when the trailer ran into a ditch after a hot chase by his men. Monkeys are suspected to be one of the major sources of Ebola.

By Sola Ogundipe & Olasunkanmi Akoni (Vanguard News) LAGOS—Bodies of the four Nigerians, who died of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, have been cremated in line with World Health Organisation, WHO, requirements for disposal of such corpses. The body of the index (first) case, Patrick Sawyer was the first to be cremated on July 25, 2014. The decision to cremate the bodies, it was gathered, may not be unconnected with the deadly nature of the Ebola Virus which is known to be easily transmissible from human to human during handling of corpses of victims. A health official at the Emergency Operation Centre, EOC, of the Mainland Hospital, Lagos, who confirmed the development, said the Lagos State Government in following strict guidelines for disposal of the bodies, authorised cremation of all the bodies. The official who pleaded anonymity said the decision to cremate all bodies was to ensure appropriate containment measures and guarantee proper handling of the bodies. “All the bodies ...

Owners of private jets in Nigeria have become cautious about leasing out their aircraft following the outbreak of Ebola. Although, aviation officials had been strictly mandated not to speak on issues concerning the virus, one of our correspondents gathered that most private jet owners had cut down the number of times they leased out their jets. A senior official with one of the key agencies in the sector told our correspondent many countries had systematically stopped their carriers from flying into Nigeria, thereby heightening the panic among private jet owners in the country. “Many foreign carriers hardly fly into Nigeria and most of them have officially announced the suspension of flights to countries like Liberia and Guinea where the Ebola virus disease is very pronounced. This is causing panic among owners of private jets and some of them are not giving out their jets to friends and even family members,” the official said. Another senior aviation official at the Nnamdi Az...

The Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, got an Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) screening equipment from the United States Government last weekend. This donation will boost screening capacity at the airport. Reports from Vanguard states the equipment is worth 5,000 US Dollars. Making the donation at the conference room of the airport, the US Consul-General in Nigeria, Joff Hawkins expressed satisfaction with the timely response of the Nigerian Government to contain the contagious disease since its importation into the country by a Liberian, Patrick Sawyer a month ago. The equipment known as infrared thermometers or non-contact thermometers is a portable hand held equipment that has the ability to measure body temperature of in- bound and out- bound passengers for possible Ebola symptoms from a distance

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