CROSS KOPA YAKURR

Delta quarantines 32 over lassa fever The Delta State government has quarantined 32 people, following the death of a medical doctor in Asaba. Also placed under surveillance were 11 persons from the immediate family of the deceased, 18 persons at a private hospital where the deceased was first admitted, and three others. Making the disclosure, yesterday, Commissioner for Health, Nicholas Azinge, said the government had shut and fumigated both the late doctor’s private hospital at Umuaji and the hospital where he had been treated at Bonsaac both in Asaba. The practitioner, whose identity is yet to be revealed, hails from Anambra State and died on Thursday, August 18, 2016. Source : The Guardian

‘Nigerian judges work less than four months a year’ When all the days they go on holiday and vacation are computed, judges in Nigerian courts work just about 104 days in a year, The Guardian can reveal. Out of 365 days in a year, judges do not sit during weekends -104 days; public holidays -10 days; annual court vacation- 60 days; Christmas vacation-14 days; Easter vacation -14 days; conference week- seven days as well as Fridays, which are usually reserved for judgments to 52 days. When the figures are summed up, they add up to 261 days, implying therefore that judges sit only for 104 days, when 261 days are deducted from the 365 days in a year. Besides, in an election year and during staggered elections, high court judges who are members of election petition tribunals, are away for 180 days, amounting to six months. Cases in the courts manned by such judges are adjourned sine die as judges are said to be away on national assignments. Similarly, appellate courts conce...

Police rescue 13 chained children, others The Lagos State Police Command at the weekend rescued 13 children and 15 adults chained and locked up at the Oke-Ira area of Ojodu in Lagos. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Fatai Owoseni, acting on a tip-off, had deployed operatives at the Area ‘G’ Command Headquarters, to the scene. The initial intelligence report was that a teenager was chained up in the house at Oyingbo Unity Estate, Olamidun Close, Yakoyo, Oke-Ira, Ojodu. A subsequent search of the residence by the police revealed 27 others apart from the 17-year-old the police had gone to rescue. Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police, said: “The command received a report through Area ‘G’ Command Headquarters, Ogba that a child was chained in a house at Oyinbo Unity Estate, Olamidun Close, Yakoyo, Oke-Ira, Ojodu.” Consequently, a team of policemen was m...

The 22 members of the Benue State House of Assembly who collected money to purchase Prado Sports Utility Vehicles have started refunding the money to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. This was revealed on Monday by the Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Benjamin Adanyi. It would be recalled that some members of the Assembly were recently invited and grilled by the EFCC in Abuja over alleged misappropriation of funds meant for the purchase of vehicles for members of the House. Adanyi, in a chat with reporters in Makurdi, stated that the issue that led to their invitation by the EFCC was not an issue of corruption but procedure, stressing that the amount meant for the purchase of the vehicles for the 30 members in the House was N375m and not N750m as published in the media. He said, “The issue that involved the EFCC was the issue of procedure. Somebody had petitioned the supplier about certain transactions that were being conducted, it was when investigations were goi...

Nigerian footballer Michael Umanyika has been reported dead during training with Azerbaijani First Division club Zaqatala PFK. The 20-year-old midfielder was reported to have suddenly stopped and fell during training while all efforts to revive him proved abortive. Umanyika joined the Azerbaijani top flight in 2015 where he made 20 appearances for the team during the 2015/16 season. However, the midfielder slumped during his first training session after returning from spending holidays in Nigeria. His death has been confirmed from the club’s website as well as their social media pages. Source: Today NG

Father identifies Chibok girl kidnapped by Boko Haram The father of one of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped from the remote area of Chibok more than two years ago said he recognised his daughter in a video released by Boko Haram on Sunday. A spokesman for the Bring Back Our Girls movement, set up to demand the return of 276 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014, said he was “certain” of the identities of 10 other girls seen in the footage. “When I heard her voice, I realised she is my daughter,” Kanu Yakubu told reporters in Abuja. He was referring to Maida Yakubu, whom he identifies as the girl seen in the video choking back her tears as she describes an air strike by the Nigerian armed forces. The girl speaks in the Chibok dialect. Bring Back Our Girls spokesman Abubakar Abdullahi earlier on Sunday said at least one of the girls had been recognised by a member of the movement. The number of girls identified from the video has now risen significantly, he ...

Nigeria’s men basketball team D’Tigers got their first victory in Rio as they outclassed Croatia 90-76. Croatia started the game as the better side winning the first quarter 28-21. However, Nigeria’s Mike Umeh was the star of the quarter scoring 10 points. The second quarter resumed with D’Tigers taking control of the game as they scored 12 straight points to lead 33-29. Croatia roared back but Nigeria held on to lead 43-39 at half time. D’Tigers came into the third quarter believing they could do it; and they absolutely blew the Croatians away scoring 27 points as against their opponents 17. In the fourth quarter the Croatians fought back but D’Tigers held on to secure a historic victory. It was a total team performance from the D’Tigers as Mike Umeh ended the game with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists; while Ebi Ere had 14 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Ike Diogu had double figures with 10 points and 12 rebounds, Josh Akognon a...

The Chief of Air Staff, (CAS) Vice Admiral Sadique Abubakar has said the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) will soon launch an operation in the South-South part of the country to protect its Oil and Gas infrastructure including the people of the region against activities of vandals. Abubakar stated this yesterday in Abuja while addressing Officers and Airmen shortly after the force quarterly route march at the Mogadishu cantonment Abuja. He said the main focus of NAF at the moment is to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria in the South south and to ensure that oil and gas infrastructure are not destroyed by any group or group of individuals, adding that challenges in the northeast has been substantially addressed. The Air Chief said Officers and Airmen must be in the best of forms in terms of health and physical wellbeing to be able to address these challenges the Nigeria state is currently facing. He said “The challenges of today require a very sound mind in a sound body and t...

The Nigerian Defence Headquarters has just issued the statement below reacting to Boko Haram’s new video accusing it of killing some of the abducted girls in air strikes. Read full statement below. The Defence Headquarters on Sunday said it was examining the latest video from Boko Haram group purporting to show some of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls. Some girls wearing headscarves, in the video, were seen behind a Boko Haram militant who demanded the release of fighters in return for freeing the girls. The militant also claimed that some of the girls have been killed in air strikes. The Director Defence Information, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar disclosed that the military is examining the video clip to verify its authenticity. He said: “Currently we are studying the video clips to verify its authenticity and analysing the comments of the speakers in the video especially the terrorist member and the girl that spoke in mother tongue.” General Rabe also disputed...

The following photos explain the selflessness and desire to help as displayed by a batch B corps member whose place of primary assignment (PPA) is at Community Secondary School, Ekori. Awojulu Emmanuel Sunday ( CR/15B/3074) took his time out to repair quite a number of desks while also teaching the students how to easily fix them on their own. It was not a commissioned project however, but it's definitely worthy of appreciation. See photos below.           

All batch B corps members are to make a compulsory payment of N1,500 to the office of the CLO starting from Thursday, 11th August 2016. The payment will serve as cost registration for NYSC Foundation as well as Cross Kopga magazine which will be given to corps members during the passing out ceremony. N500 goes for NYSC Foundation will N1000 will go for the annually published magazine.  - From the office of the LI.   

The Educational CDS group of Yakurr local government, on Thursday 4th August 2016 flagged off its free vocational training offered to the general public interested in learning hand crafts ranging from Ankara craft , Bead making, Soap making, Air freshner making among others. The group began the scheme on the 26th of July 2016, with class subjects such as Mathematics , Chemistry , Biology, Literature-in-English, among others.  The initiative is a very laudable one as it comes to interested participants at no cost at all. Students from various schools across Ugep gathered at Dr Okoi Arikpo memorial secondary school for the exercise. In an interview with our correspondent, the president of the group , Mr Femi Akinnubi (CR/15B/3069) stressed the importance for serving corps members to get innovative and leave an impact in the lives of the people even before the end of the service year. He further quoted the comtinous admonitions of the local government inspector which demands the need ...

The Federal Government has begun the digitisation of Federal Civil Service, which will soon link all the federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) under a common platform. The Minister of Communications, Abdulraheem Adebayo Shittu, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the commissioning of the Infrastructure for Human Resources Management Information System (HRMIS), Digital Service Centre Knowledge Acquisition Venue (KAV) in the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF). Shittu explained that the reason for the digitalisation, is to reduce the cost of governance and enhance the capacity of civil servants to discharge their duties and contribute to national development. The minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Architect, Sonny Echonu, said it was an opportunity to deepen broadband penetration, enhance security and systematic growth apart from other economic benefits to the country. The Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs Wi...

  The Islamic State (IS) militant group has announced that its West African affiliate Boko Haram has a new leader. Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who was previously spokesman for the Nigerian-based Islamists, is featured in the latest issue of an IS magazine. It does not say what has become of the group's former leader Abubakar Shekau. He was last heard from in an audio message last August, saying he was alive and had not been replaced. Boko Haram, which has lost most of the territory it controlled 18 months ago, is fighting to overthrow Nigeria's government. Its seven-year insurgency has left 20,000 people dead, mainly in the country's north-east. In the interview in IS's weekly Arabic magazine al-Naba, Mr Barnawi said his group "remained a force to be reckoned with" and said it had been drawing new recruits. He described the group's battle against West African states as a war fought by Muslims against "apostates" and "crusaders". Who is Abu Mu...