News
PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2013
PAGE 7
Briefs
Court dismisses case against Plateau CPC
Uyo varsity protest: Panel expresses shock
From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos
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fter assessing the wanton damage said to have been carried out by protesting students of the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the Chairman of Inter-Ministerial Committee on Campus Safety, Prof. Adebisi Balogun, has expressed shock over the level of devastation on the campus. Balogun who led a sevenman committee appointed by the National University Commission (NUC) to access the extent of damage and make recommendations to avert further occurrence, said it was not enough for the N100 fare the student were kicking against to warrant such carnage. According to him, “this university has existed since 1991 and we have never seen this type of carnage unleashed. “We do not want to pre-empt any investigation but definitely it cannot be because of N100, the whole campus is burnt.” From Mike Etim, Uyo
Magistrate court 6 in Jos yesterday dismissed a case filed by the Plateau State Commissioner of Police against the executive members of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), accusing them of inciting crisis during the conduct of the Party’s congress in 2011. The court presided over by Justice Zenshak Daba, the charges made against state chairman of CPC, Alhaji Mubashiru Aliyu and seven others of his executives were not supported by evidenced before the court. He said, all the four prosecution witnesses had given contradictory evidences that failed to prove the alleged offence. However, on the charge that the defendants misled the Police in their letter that their congresses were billed for at the Jos Jossy Royal Hotel, the prosecution witnesses failed to prove that there was violence at the venue, emphasizing that the court did not find the defendants guilty. Justice Daba dismissed the case, discharged and acquitted the defendants.
Shema mourns Media Trust Editor
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overnor Ibrahim Shehu Shema of Katsina state has described the death of the Managing Editor of Media Trust Limited, Malam Suleiman Ibn Muhammad, as shocking and a tragic loss to the media and the country at large. The Governor who said this in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Press Affairs, Malam Lawal Ahmad Matazu, noted that Suleiman died in his prime when his contributions to the media and Nigerian democracy are needed most. He prayed Allah to grant the deceased Aljanna Firdausi and to the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina
Kaduna approves N81m for civil servants retraining
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aduna state Governor, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, has approved N81 million for the implementation of the training roadmap for the year 2013. The Governor disclosed this at a lecture to mark the 2013 civil service week in the state yesterday. Yero said that professional development of staff was necessary to move the state forward. According to him, “this can only be achieved through formal manpower training and other programmes to raise the quality of service delivery, accountability and integrity of public officials.” From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
L-R: Abia state Governor, Chief Theodore Orji walking in with Katsina State Governor Barrister Ibrahim Shema, before their meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye
Jonathan reaffirms commitment to transformation agenda
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resident Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday that administration would never allow itself to be derailed from pursuing the Transformation Agenda to its logical conclusion. Receiving delegation of MiddleBelt and South-South Elders under the aegis of the Congress for Equality and Change led by elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, and former Senate President, Ameh Ebute, Jonathan pledged that his administration will continue working diligently to build on the achievements catalogued in its mid-term report to the nation. The President also reaffirmed the Federal Government’s unwa-
vering commitment to moving Nigeria progressively forward along the path of development articulated in the Transformation Agenda. He commended the elders for “working tirelessly to bring us to where we are today” and for their continued support, promising that, “as our leaders, we will continue to do our best to justify the confidence you have reposed in us.” He also thanked the Middle Belt and South-South regions for their contributions to national unity, stressing that the unity of the country, “depends on the cooperation of all.” Chief Clark had earlier told the
President that the Congress for Equality and Change, formed in 2010, is made up of 13 states in the North and six states in the South where there are minority ethnic groups. The co-leader of the delegation and Chairman of the Congress, Ebute, said that the group was committed to promoting the equality of all Nigerians. While commending the MidTerm Scorecard of the Jonathan administration, Ebute said that the scorecard had encouraged the Congress, “to go out and showcase the achievements and ask Nigerians to continue to support Jonathan to accomplish more for the nation.”
Corruption war not targeted at judges alone, says CJN By Sunday Ejike Benjamin
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he Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, has said that the on-going war to rid the Judiciary of bad eggs was not only targeted at judges and other judicial officers alone but on staff of the Judiciary that indulge in acts capable of bringing disrepute to the legal profession. The CJN disclosed this yesterday in a keynote address she delivered at a three-day national workshop with the theme: “The challenges facing court libraries
in information and communication technology age”, organized by the National Judicial Institute (NJI) for judicial librarians across the country. Mukhtar said, “any judicial staff who works hard and conducts himself well will be rewarded but the deviant, fraudulent and indolent ones may become irrelevant in our drive for a virile judicial system.” The CJN, who was represented at the occasion by Justice Olu Ariola of the Supreme Court, said judicial staff were bound by the code of conduct and added
that there is the need for them not to go against the ethics of the judicial system. “If any of you compromises himself or contravenes the code of conduct, he or she will face the full consequences of his or her action” she added. Earlier in his welcome address, the NJI Administrator, Justice Umaru Eri, who highlighted the benefits of library in the life of any society, said its importance to the judicial profession cannot be overemphasized.
Hisbah board commences evacuation of Kano destitute
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he Kano State Hisbah Board on Monday said it had evacuated 114 destitute persons from the streets of Kano metropolis. The Director-General of the board, Alhaji Abba Sufi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano that the exercise commenced on Sunday. According to him, the exercise is part of the state government’s resolve to ban begging on the streets of the state capital. ‘’We have so far evacuated 114 destitute persons out of whom 85 are women and children while the remaining 29 are men. “Out of the 29 men, 18 are non-indigenes and will soon be repatriated to their respective states of origin,’’ he said. According to him, all the evacuees are temporarily being accommodated at the board pending completion of the rehabilitation work at the Mariri Rehabilitation Centre in Kumbotso local government area of the state. Sufi said officials of the board had also held a meeting with leaders of various associations of the destitute persons with a view to suggesting possible ways of rehabilitating their members. ‘’We held a meeting this morning with the leaders of the Association of the Blind and other similar associations to discuss how the state government can assist them,’’ he said. He called on the destitute persons to support government’s effort toward rehabilitating them. NAN)