Author: Safiu Kehinde

Safiu Kehinde  The Federal Government has hinted possible removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) from pharmaceutical products following the finalization of the Executive Order Harmonized Implementation Framework. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s spokesperson, Alaba Balogun, yesterday. According to the statement posted on the Ministry’s official X handle, implementation of the Executive Order will see to a notable reduction in the prices of essential pharmaceutical products and medical consumables. This, according to Alaba, will enable quality healthcare accessible and affordable for all Nigerians- a development which the ministry claimed aligns with…

A further 65 women have contacted the BBC saying they were abused by Mohamed Al Fayed, with allegations stretching far beyond Harrods and as far back as 1977. Their accounts include new details of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape, sent to the BBC in the weeks since the documentary Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods was broadcast. They suggest Al Fayed, who died last year, used a broader range of abuse tactics and also targeted women employed outside his businesses. Several of the women interviewed by the BBC allege they were recruited by Al Fayed under false pretences into roles…

Agency Report The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), has raided two schools in Enugu and seized pirated books worth over N7 million. The schools inspected and raided are Marist Brothers Secondary School, Emene and Divine Love Secondary School Trans Ekulu, Enugu. Speaking on Wednesday’s operation, the Director, NCC, Enugu Office, Mrs Ngozi Okeke, said the exercise was part of the commission’s effort to end piracy activities in Enugu and its environs. She added that the copyright officers led by the Assistant Chief Copyright Officer, Mr Ambrose Odoh, carried out the operation through a reliable information. She listed some of the books…

Safiu Kehinde  Enugu State Police Command has arrested one Dr. Emmanuel Ugwumba, 52, of Ezimo-Agu community in Udenu Local Government Area, over alleged child trafficking and forgery. This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Command’s Spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, in Enugu. According to Ndukwe, the Command’s operatives serving in the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad apprehended the suspect on Sept. 28, 2024. “His arrest followed the interception of a public notice on an abandoned child he made, endorsed in the name of the Enugu State Ministry of Gender and Social Development as the director of OTZ, and published…

Safiu Kehinde  Lagos State Police Police Command has nabbed three suspects for allegedly defiling a 15-year-old girl in the FESTAC area of the state. This was confirmed by the command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, while speaking to journalists on Wednesday. Hundeyin identified the suspects as Vincent Omar, 22; Leonard Nwodo, 30; and Henry Chiokwe, 17. According to the Leg s PPRO, a complainant reported the case at Area ‘E’ Festac Command on Sept. 26 on behalf of the teenager. “The survivor alleged that she met Omar sometime in 2022, when she was 13 years old and they exchanged phone number and…

Safiu Kehinde  The Lagos State Government has, on Wednesday, appealed to indigenous youths to enrol in the military as it lamented over being short-changed in the Armed Forces. The Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, made this appeal during the quarterly meetings with the Chairman and members of Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), in Ikeja. Salu-Hundeyin maintained that security of a nation was everybody’s business and being in the military was a service to the state and the nation at large. She expressed concern over indigene youths of the state not enrolling into the military, as seen during…

Safiu Kehinde  Coalition of Civil Societies Networks (CCSN) has, on Wednesday, backed Sen. Shehu Buba against allegations of sponsoring banditry and kidnapping in Bauchi State. The Secretary of CCSN, Comrade Jabir Aminu, made the position of the group known during a press briefing in Abuja. Aminu described the allegations against the lawmaker as baseless and unfounded. “These allegations of sponsoring banditry and kidnapping are not only false but an attempt to tarnish the reputation of a respected leader who has dedicated himself to the service of his people,” he said. According to him, after a thorough evaluation of the facts…

Agency Report The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has expressed concern over the increase in petrol pump prices in Lagos and Abuja. Mr Dele Oye, National President, NACCIMA, made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos. Oye said that the prices, which had reached N998 and N1,030 per litre respectively, were placing a strain on businesses and households across the country. He spoke on the potential economic consequences of the price hike, warning that the increase could lead to higher transportation costs, exacerbate inflation and severely impact small and medium-sized businesses. He…

Safiu Kehinde  At least two people have been killed in northern Israel following the launch of 60 rockets fired from Lebanon, the Israeli military reported on Wednesday. In the town of Kiryat Shmona, a man and a woman were fatally injured by a rocket strike, the Magen David Adom rescue service reported on X. In the same vein, five people were injured at the port city of Haifa, with a 16-year-old suffering moderate injuries while the others sustained minor injuries. While the Israeli military did not specify the source of the rocket fire on Wednesday, the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in…

Safiu Kehinde  The Founder of Tata Motors, Ratan Tata, has died at the age of 86. The Indian industrialist’s death was announced late Wednesday by Tata Group. Prior to his death, the 86-year-old industrialist and the company’s former Chairman, was reportedly rushed to hospital in the early hours of Monday. According to reports, sources from the hospital have confirmed that Tata suffered significant drop in his blood pressure. Renown for transforming the company into a multinational conglomerate, Ratan Tata’s demise appeared to be a great loss for India as the country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, mourned over his death. Modi…