Police Confirms Lecturer Arrest Over Alleged Brutalisation

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October 23, 2022

A senior lecturer at the Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State, Dr. Fred Ayokhai, on Friday, brutalised a 20-year-old girl, Blessing Mathias, who allegedly fought his daughter over a man.

Ayokhai, who lectures in the Department of History and International Studies alongside others suspected to be his family members was captured in a viral video stripping the victim naked.

It was gathered that Blessing sometime last week confronted Ayokhai’s daughter, Emmanuella for trying to ‘snatch’ her boyfriend, simply identified as IG.

She confronted Emmanuella in Lafia and had a fight with her after she found out that she had her boyfriend’s mobile and was chatting with him.

Confirming the incident in a statement on Saturday, the state police spokesperson, DSP Ramhan Nansel, said two suspects had been arrested in connection with the crime.

He said, “Sequel to the viral tweet of assault on a female teenager in Lafia, Nasarawa State, the command swiftly commenced investigation into the case. It is gratifying to state that two suspects namely: Dr. Fred Ayokhai, an associate professor with the Department of History and International Studies, Federal University of Lafia and one Emmanuela Ayokhai have been arrested in connection with the case while the vehicle belonging to Dr Fred which was used in conveying the victim to a location along Kwandere road, Lafia where she was assaulted has been recovered. Preliminary investigation revealed that Emmanuela and the victim had a misunderstanding over a man named IG. The victim accused Emmanuela of snatching her supposed boyfriend and assaulted her. In retaliation, Emmanuela mobilised her family, went after the victim and got her assaulted as well.”

Nansel said that the Commissioner of Police, AIG Adesina Soyemi, had ordered a manhunt for the other fleeing suspects and further directed that those arrested should be charged to court for prosecution upon conclusion of investigation at the State Criminal Department, Lafia.

Over 30 Million will Access Digital Certificates – WAEC Reveals

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 23, 2022

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The West African Examination Council, has said its digital certificate platform will enable over 30 million West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination holders to share the original copies of their certificates from anywhere in the world.

The Head, National office, WAEC, Patrick Areghan, disclosed this in his address at the official launching of the WAEC digital certificate platform, on Thursday.

Areghan said, “The digital certificate platform, which is currently available to those who have taken the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination as far back as 1999 till date, will enable over 30 million certificate holders to access and share the original copies of their certificates from anywhere in the world. Those of 1970 – 1998 will be attended to shortly.”

The WAEC head noted that the development of the new digital certificate platform was in line with the council’s continuous record of meeting global needs by using cutting-edge technology to improve candidates’ experiences as they seek to continue their education.

He said, “The West African Examinations Council is committed to its mission of encouraging academic and moral excellence, promoting sustainable human resource development and international cooperation. It is committed to prompt service delivery, and today, it has taken an important step further with the development of the digital certificate platform.

“We are evolving to meet the demands of a changing world. We have migrated from physical registration of candidates to online registration; online verification of results and online result printouts, and others.

“The development of the new digital certificate platform is in line with WAEC’s continuous record of meeting global needs by using cutting-edge technology to improve candidates’ experiences as they seek to continue their education. Their mobility is of utmost importance to the West African Examinations Council.”

Areghan stated that the advent of technology had necessitated the need for the digital certificates rather than physical ones.

He said, “Since the commencement of assessment, certificates have been issued to represent students’ performance in examinations. Such certificates help them to advance their educational development or get involved in the world of work. So, for centuries, academic certificates have been issued as physical paper certificates. This is the traditional certificate.

“However, with the advent of technology, there is the need to integrate technology with students’ lifestyles. Today, we live in a digital world where instant satisfaction and accessibility are the ultimate. The process of receiving, retrieving, sharing, verifying or confirming academic certificates is rather cumbersome and moribund. The whole process is costly, and could be frustrating, and the only answer can be found in Digital Certificates.”

Govt. Shuts Schools Over Bandits’ Attacks In Plateau State

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 23, 2022

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No fewer than eight schools have been shut down in Plateau State over attacks and killings by bandits.

The schools shut down include the LEA Primary School, Pinau community; LEA Primary School, Gumbi; LEA Primary School in Bangalala community, as well as the LEA Primary School in New Zak community, all in the Wase Local Government Area of the state.

Other schools shut down, according to findings, include those in Sanfio and Dogo Ruwa communities, as well as the primary school located in Yaje Lawal community in the same Wase LGA, among others.

bandits had been terrorising residents of Wase LGA in the past months with the latest being an attack by gunmen on Nyalun community which led to the killing of the village head, Salisu Idris, and two other residents last week.

Some parents in the affected communities, who spoke with The PUNCH in Jos on Sunday, lamented the situation, describing the closure of the schools as unfortunate.

A parent, Baba Yusuf, who had his two children in the LEA Primary School, Pinau community, before the school was shut down following the activities of bandits, said since the schools were closed, their children had been stranded without knowing where to go to continue their education.

Yusuf said, “I have two children in LEA Primary School in Pinau, but they have stopped going to school because the school was closed as a result of insecurity. I think the primary school was closed to save the children from harm because some bandits have been terrorists us here.

“It is not only in Pinau community, the same thing is happening in other communities in Wase which made them to close down the schools as well. Since last term when the schools were closed, they have not been reopened even when other schools resumed for a fresh term in September this year . So, right now that is the situation as we find it and our children are stranded without knowing where to go.”

The Executive Chairman of the Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board, Prof. Mathew Sule, in an interview with The PUNCH also confirmed the shutting down of the schools due to insecurity.

Sule said, “Yes, it is true. In about five schools in Wase communities, learning isn’t taking place there right now because of the security challenge we are having in those communities.

“The children did not sit for exams last term on account of what was happening because we had to close down the schools before we ended the third term and the affected schools are yet to be reopened. So, we are waiting for the situation to improve before the children can be brought back to the affected schools. But we have asked that the children be moved to safer areas where there are schools to enable them continue with their education.”

When contacted, the spokesman for the Military Task Force, Operation Safe Haven, in charge of maintaining peace in the state, Capt. Oya James, said everything was being done to address the security problem in Wase and other parts of the state.

James said, “As I’m talking with you now, troops of Operation Safe Haven are still there in Wase for clearance operation. Even last week, we had an airstrike in that same Wase. So, we are doing our best to address this problem of banditry in Wase LGA.”

The Military spokesman appealed to the people to assist the task force and other security agents with timely information about the activities of the terrorists to enable them perform their duties.

“All we need from the communities is timely information given the nature of banditry which is not a conventional warfare. What they (bandits) do is to attack their target in the communities and disappear within a short time. Because of this, we have given out numbers for the people to call anytime they notice the presence of the bandits in their communities so that the security agents can act accordingly. So, we need the cooperation of the communities in this regard to enable us defeat the bandits,” the military spokesman said.

Osun Varsity Records 23,400 Admission Seekers

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 23, 2022

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The Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University Prof Clement Adebooye, on Tuesday, said about 23,400 prospective students have applied to the university for admission jostling for an admission quota of over 6,000 for 2022/2023 academic session.

Adebooye, who spoke to journalists at the main campus of the university in Osogbo, said the sudden rise in the number of students seeking admission into the university was not unconnected to the seamless academic calendar of the institution.

Unveiling some of the recent successes recorded by the university, Adebooye said UNIOSUN has also secured the National Universities Commission’s accreditation of 18 new undergraduates and 11 post-graduate programmes.

According to him, the programmes included; Bsc Cyber Security; B.Sc. Software Engineering; B.Sc. Information Technology; BSc. Information Science, B.Sc. International Relations and Diplomacy; as well as, M.Sc. & Ph.D. in Geology, Physiology, Anatomy, M.Ed. & Ph.D. Guidance and Counselling, among others, noting that with the approval of the courses, the university currently has 84 undergraduate academic programmes.

He further said, “The number of prospective students on our portal is over 23,400. Those who have done and processed our post- UTME stand at 12, 084, so the patronage is huge.”

The VC also mentioned the success recorded by Obayomi Suliat Adeola, a 400 Level student and Mojoro Faith Afolakemi, a 300 Level student from the Department of Food Science and Technology, who emerged the overall winner of the 2022 edition of the Grand National Academic Competition organized by the National Institute of Food Science and Technology, defeating other 49 tertiary institutions that participated.

He commended staffers of the university for their commitment and assured that the tempo of development would be sustained in a bid to improve on the successes already recorded.

WorldRanking: UNIZIK VC Blames ASUU Strike Over Low Rating

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 23, 2022

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The Vice Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Charles Esimone, on Monday disagreed with the recent ranking by the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit, New York which placed UNIZIK 10th position in ranking of universities in Nigeria.

Esimone said UNIZIK deserved a better placing if it was given the opportunity to present all basic parameters required for the ranking.

He lamented that the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities played a major role in its low rating because basic parameters for the exercise were not completed.

Esimone said, “We did not reach the optimum. We would have been about sixth or seventh because I was doing what is required strategically with the supply of information.

“What we achieved was just a work of faith. The basic parameters, about four of them were not completed, including data about students distribution.”

“The strike action did not allow the staff to provide the data needed. We thank God all the same. About four parameters we would have put in place to showcase what we have done.”

Ondo Varsity Records 42 First Class Graduates

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 23, 2022

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The Vice-Chancellor of the Elizade University, Ilara Mokin, Ondo State, Prof. Olukayode Amund, has disclosed that a total of 42 students of the university graduated with First Class.

He said the First Class graduates were among the 485 graduates of the institution of the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 academic session that would be awarded the first degree at the forthcoming convocation ceremony of the varsity.

The VC stated this while speaking with journalists in the campus of the institution, in Ilara Mokin, as the varsity was preparing for the sixth and seventh convocation ceremonies.

He said, “At the combined convocation ceremonies for 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 academic sessions, we are graduating a total of 485 students across the faculties, representing an increase of 16percent over the number presented at the last convocation ceremonies.”

Giving the breakdown, the don stated that forty-two graduated with first class, 205 finished with second class upper division while 199 bagged second class lower division and 39 graduated with third class.

The don also noted that the university had recorded a lot of achievements both in academics and infrastructure in the last 10 years of its establishment.

Lagos SUBEB Seeks Partnership to Enhance Education

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 23, 2022

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The Chairman of the Universal Basic Education Board, Lagos State, Wahab Alawiye -King, has said that the management of Greenspring School showed that there is a need for collaboration and partnership in enhancing the education sector.

He said this at the inauguration of the three blocks of classrooms at The Roman Catholic School, Lagos built by the student team of the community development committee of Greenspring.

Alawiye-king said, “It is a sign of love on the part of the Greenspring School to build blocks of classrooms for our pupils and the show of love is one of the things we lack in our country presently that needs to be addressed.”

He stated that the project showed that there is hope and should be emulated by other people to further boost the education sector.

The Chief Operating Officer of Greenspring School, Koiki Lai, described the motto of the school, “In love serve one another” as the driving force for them when reaching out to public schools.

Lai said the project also involves the students of Greenspring so that they can see the need to give back to their immediate society.

Examination Council Unveils Digital Certificate Platform

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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October 23, 2022

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The Western Examination Council, Nigeria, has unveiled a digital certificate platform.

In a statement made available on Monday, the acting head of public affairs, Moyosore Adesina, said that the mission of the council was to advance and encourage academic and moral excellence, promote sustainable human resource development and international cooperation and also meet the growing global demands with prompt delivery.

It read “The platform will be a mobile and web-based application that is specifically for candidates, institutions, and organisations and has powerful features that will enable users to access, share, request, confirm certificates and also recover forgotten WAEC candidates’ examination numbers.

“The benefits of the innovation are that candidates who have sat for the WASSCE in the past and present are able to access and share the original copies of their certificates with ease, the original copies of their certificates, which can be instantly confirmed from a credible and reliable source, regardless of the location.”

Adesina said that institutions, organisations, and recruitment agencies could also now carry out bulk and individual confirmation of certificates at once with ease.

It emphasised that the digital platform will eliminate any form of fraud as the reliability and authenticity of the platform had been tested and confirmed.

She stated that the digital platform could be downloaded via android and IOS app stores and also on their website.

The unveiling of the product has been slated for Thursday, October 20, 2022, and the general public had been charged to cautiously make use of the platform.

Kilimanjaro Inferno: Firefighters Tackle Blaze On Tanzania Mountain, Source Unknown

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Angel Gimalo

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October 22, 2022

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Firefighters in Tanzania are battling to extinguish a blaze on Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, local officials say.

The fire started on Friday night along one of the mountain’s most popular climbing routes.

It is not clear how the fire started or how much forest has been burned. No casualties have been reported.

The fire comes two years after a week-long inferno destroyed thousands of hectares of woodland on Mount Kilimanjaro’s slopes.

Videos posted on social media on Saturday appeared to show large flames and a blanket of smoke engulfing parts of the forest surrounding the mountain.

Efforts are continuing in #Tanzania to extinguish a fire that has broken out in Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. The source of the fire is yet to be disclosed.

But a plane sent to the site of the fire was unable to land due to the huge clouds and thick smoke, Kilimanjaro regional head Nurdin Babu told local reporters.

Subsequently, more than 300 people were sent to the scene to help get the blaze under control, according to the Tanzania National Parks Authority (Tanapa).

As well as emergency workers, including firefighters and police, wildlife park rangers and tourism company employees were taking part in the effort to bring the fire under control, it said.

Mount Kilimanjaro, which is 5,895m (19,341ft) high is a popular tourist destination and tens of thousands of people climb it every year.

Seoraksan Mountain: Autumn Leaves Vibrant colors In South Korea

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Angel Gimalo

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October 22, 2022

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With seasons changing, so do the colors of the leaves.

And one of the best places to enjoy the autumn hues is Seoraksan Mountain in Gangwon-do Province, east of the capital Seoul.

It’s one of the most well-renowned fall foliage attractions that’s loved by both locals and tourists in South Korea.

And it’s peak time here when leaves on more than 80 percent of trees on the mountain have changed color.

It’s less than a month since the first color changes were spotted, and this year’s peak is only about four or five days later than last year.

“It’s a little past lunch time and as you can see, more people are coming in to see this spectacular mixture of red, orange, yellow, and green.”

So far this month, more than 200, 000 have come to Seorak-san.

That’s still below figures recorded before the pandemic, but similar to last year’s number.

“Just coming here is like 15 minutes, but I took like 10, 15, 20 pictures because it’s so beautiful like the colors on the trees and the ground.”

“The autumn leaves here are definitely more colorful than in Seoul so it’s really pleasing to the eye.”

But the clock is ticking for those who wish to enjoy these vibrant colors.

This is because these leaves will stay as they are for around only a week to 10 days.

For Seoraksan Mountain, the colors will begin fading starting this weekend.

Still, you can still head off to other parts of South Korea.
Places in the south of the country, like Jirisan and Naejangsan, as well as Hallasan Mountain on Jeju Island, will hit peak fall foliage from late October to early November.

So those who want to enjoy some fall colors should look at their calendars and start planning now.

And as most accidents in the mountains tend to happen in October, visitors should also make sure to keep an eye on where they’re heading and the local weather conditions.