Murder: Man in police net for killing sibling after mother was assaulted, stripped naked - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS: 

John Okoye, 28 and indigene of Umuchibu village in Awba-Ofemili, Awka North local government area of Anambra State, is now in police net for killing his elder brother, Osita Okoye, 32, who reportedly beat-up their mother and stripped her naked over family land squabbles, reports ITRealms.

Osita, ITRealms gathered, was a farmer and first son of the family was allegedly murdered during a confrontation by his younger brother, John, 28, in self-defense, for purportedly beating and stripping their mother naked over land dispute with a cousin, for her intervention.

Their mother, Mrs. Joy Okoye, 58, confirmed to correspondent that trouble started in her family when the de­ceased (Osita) had a disagreement with a cousin whose name could not be ascertained at the time of going to press, over farmland borderline.

“After cook­ing on that fateful night, I was in­side the house resting when Osita returned home. After his bath, I offered him food but he asked me to forget about the food because he had a more pressing issue to discuss with me. He said he had a misunderstanding with one of his cousins from my family over a land mark and that he reported the case to security agents (vigilante).

“I tried without success to let him see reasons why the issue would have been resolved within the larger family (kindred), instead of involving security men for his cousin brother. That was how he erupted and branded me unprintable names. He even asked me to leave his presence.

“He raised his voice but I tried to calm him down because it was late already, around 10pm. I went to lock the door just not to let out our discussion to neighbours but he went after me and flung the door wide open. I also explained why he should not fight with his cousin over the land. The explanation did not go down well with him.

“Before I could sit down, he slapped me and tore my dress. I ran to the back yard to get a cover for myself. It was in the process that my second child [John] came to my rescue. John tried to pacify him to no avail and questioned the rationale behind beating me. He [John] told him it was late already and that he should stop disturbing other neighbours. But instead of listening to him, he (the deceased) ran into the house and collected knife to fight his brother.

“I tried to hold him back not to fight his brother with the knife, he collected the torch which I was holding and struck it against the wall and pounced on his brother, hitting him with the object twice in quick succession. John defended himself by forcefully snatching the knife from him, which led to a fatal injury that eventually claimed his life after he had bled profusely with no vehicle available to rush him to hospital.”

The distressed mother, who condemned the deceased’s hot temper and stubbornness, said that if he had not resorted to retaliatory actions the unfortunate incident would not have happened, noting that it was difficult to separate him whenever he fought.

While appealing to the Anambra state government to intervene in the matter by asking the police to release her son, John, and allow them to settle the case amicably within the family.

“... John and Osita are my only children. So, John is now my only possession. Now that he is in police custody, no one is giving him food and there is no transport fare to go see him. What will I be living for again and none of them is married; their father died some years back”, she bewailed.

The police public relations officer for Anambra state, SP Haruna Muhammed, confirmed the incident and said that the police will arraign the suspect, John, before the court after investigation is concluded for alleged murder.

As at press time, John was still in police custody in Achalla Police divi­sion, awaiting investigation while the deceased had been buried pending other burial rites.

Speaking to ITRealms on the matter, the traditional ruler of Awba-Ofemili, HRH Ezekwesili Maduagwuna confirmed the incident but said the Police is handling the case, reiterated the report by their mother that Osita’s death resulted from self-defense by John.

He also lamented that the community health centre if functional should have bridged the bleeding and the death should have been averted. He assured that efforts are being made for the rehabilitation of the health centre for optimal function.

Ozo Nweke Ozo/GEE

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Pix: Mrs. Joy Okoye, mother of the deceased, Osita Okoye. courtesy, OrientDailyNews.com.ng

Nigeria’s population requires commensurate economic growth says MeCAM - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

Nigeria must multiply its efforts to strengthen the economy and provide all the necessary social and physical infrastructure to keep up with the country's explosive population growth, the Media Centre Against Child Malnutrition (MeCAM) has said, reports ITRealms.

MeCAM is a media advocacy group against child malnutrition and determines to strengthen the agro-nutrition capacity and interest of its members professionally in contribution to nation-building, for emancipation from extreme hunger especially in children, women and society, centred on Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

MeCAM National Coordinator, Remmy Nweke said in a press statement commemorating the World Population Day that Nigeria’s estimated 192m population is not sustainable and may well worsen its security challenges and leave more children malnourished, unless it is matched by commensurate economic growth and infrastructure.

“Such infrastructure must include affordable and accessible medical facilities that would not only boost public health but will offer all the assistance for family planning to check unwanted pregnancy and keep population in check as well as have healthy children,” according to the statement.

“Overpopulation begets insecurity especially on food and put pressure on family fiscal economy, could lead to school dropouts, and lack of money for balance diet which is key to effective breastfeeding by mothers.

“Importantly, MECAM urges the government to make life more abundant for the people by working on all the fundamentals of the economy that would support its population. Also, we call on the governments to double their efforts on education, health care and access to other basic needs so that the rising population would be an asset instead of liabilities and source of security threats.”

Commemorated every July 11, the World Population Day was established by the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987. The objective is to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues. This year’s commemoration was themed “Family Planning is a Human Right”.

Uj. N. Dominic/ED, Ops

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Self-Powering Smart Cities - ITREALMS

Commentary@ITREALMS: 

The cost of renewable energies such as tidal and wave power in the open sea, wind and solar power have come down greatly in recent years but they are rarely considered viable for base power, largely because of the energy storage needed. As this gets solved by going beyond lithium-ion batteries, there are great growth opportunities for supercapacitors and reflow batteries in the $30 billion off-grid and the huge on-grid energy market. 

Radically improved supercapacitors will provide short term storage such as at turn-of-tide (8 of the top 10 cities are on the sea) and new batteries will provide longer term storage such as overnight for solar. The IDTechEx Research reports, Redox Flow Batteries 2018-2028: Markets, Trends, Applications and Supercapacitor Technologies and Markets 2018-2028 explain fully. Electricity will be made where it is needed as we bypass increasing attacks on long grid powerlines by cyberterrorists and increasingly violent weather. Self-Powering Smart Cities 2018-2028, a recent IDTechEx Research report envisages more

Reflow batteries are usually non-flammable, environmentally friendly, can be repaired, are relatively non-toxic and have lifespans of at least 10,000 cycles, maintaining 90% of their capacity over 20 years. Supercapacitors store energy more briefly but delight with longer life than either of them and effectively infinite cycle life: their power density is magnitudes ahead. The new IDTechEx Research report, Supercapacitor Materials and Technology Roadmap 2019-2029 scopes pseudocapacitor variants approaching lithium-ion battery energy density. 

Most supercapacitor options are non-toxic and non-flammable. Astoundingly, Imperial College London supercapacitors now form load-bearing structures of lighter weight than the dumb structure they replace. This “negative mass energy”, puts batteries on the back foot as the bulky, heavier option now. Currently all batteries, even new solid state ones, swell and shrink in use so they cannot become load-bearing smart materials.

Raghu Das CEO of IDTechEx says, “The Levelised Cost of Electricity for the best wind and solar plants has plummeted to below most coal, nuclear and gas plants. However, wind and solar are severely intermittent, this being usefully reduced but not eliminated by combining the two. The situation will improve as wind turbines grow higher to where winds are stronger at night and more consistent in the day. As they cease to be viable beyond 300 meters, new Airborne Wind Energy grabs wind at up to 2000 meters. 

There, the wind is even faster, and even more consistent and power produced increases as the cube of the wind speed. Supercapacitors can provide the brief energy storage needed as AWE is cycled like a kite. First commercial AWE arrived this year at 60kW: 1MW units approach.” See the IDTechEx Research report, Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) 2018-2028.

Another option is combination with the new wave and tidal power that has no infrastructure. See the IDTechEx Research report, Wave, Tidal and Hydro Power 1W-10MW 2018-2038. Self-powering smart cities like Belmont California and Facebook’s Toronto suburb are on the way as Oregon and other cities even make electricity from their water supply pipes and 110 solar road projects are proceeding globally. 

The IDTechEx Research report Smart Glass and Windows 2018-2028: Electronic Shading and Semi-Transparent PV convinces that 1MW solar windows in a high rise are in prospect. A Saudi car park provides 10MW – the whole demand for a nearby high-rise office block. Indeed, Ulleung Island Korea will provide its 7MW for 10,000 residents entirely from wind, solar, geothermal and small hydro power, ditching diesel completely.

*Contributed by Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman, IDTechEx

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Konga acquires 2 mega warehouses @Abuja, PH - ITREALMS

Sponsored@ITREALMS:

In line with its ambition to take e-commerce in Nigeria to the next level, ensure same day delivery to its teeming customers and accommodate first rate merchants, Konga, Nigeria’s e-commerce giant, is set to roll out two mega warehouses in Abuja and Port Harcourt next month.

The Abuja warehouse which is centrally located and about 78,000 square feet in size will serve the Northern region while that of Port Harcourt which is about 147,000 square feet will function as a major hub for the South/South and South Eastern parts of the country.

While the newly refurbished warehouse in Lagos is expected to serve Lagos and other Western states, new warehousing facilities are also being developed in Owerri, Enugu, Ibadan and Uyo to bring the Konga brand closest to customers and merchants as it plans to roll out same day delivery and relaunch Pay On Delivery in major cities.

Described as the first of its kind on this side of the Atlantic, the warehouses have been certified by global IT warehousing/logistics agencies as best in class in Africa and equipped with state-of-the-art security, automation and Cloud infrastructure.

Both warehouses, highly secure structures and comprehensively insured by a leading insurance company, will provide much-needed and in demand storage spaces for Konga’s growing merchants, enabling these partners who sell on Konga’s platform to stock their goods for instant access and order fulfilment to customers.

In addition, the warehouses will go a long way in helping Konga carry out physical inspection of product quality, achieve same day delivery and meet global standards in e-commerce.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Online, Nick Imudia noted that the set-up of the warehouses and upgrading of our technologies some of the many innovative strategies the company is unveiling to uplift standards in the e-commerce sector.

“At Konga, we are passionate about customer satisfaction. With these warehouses in Abuja and Port Harcourt, our customers will enjoy the added luxury of same day delivery of their items irrespective of their locations within the regions. For our merchants, it is also a chance to take advantage of greater storage capacity for their goods and products, allowing them to do larger volumes and grow their business.

“We are constantly working round the clock behind the scenes to set new standards and raise the bar of service excellence in the e-commerce industry. Some of our innovations and world-class strategies are gradually being unveiled and these massive warehousing facilities are one of such innovations. More of them will be unveiled in August and the coming months,” he enthused.

Widely renowned for genuine products, secure payment options and swift delivery, Konga is keen to revolutionize the e-commerce space in Nigeria and beyond - a factor that has seen the new management of the company working hard behind the scenes to leverage its composite structure and fusion of online and offline in ensuring an unprecedented level of world class customer experience, improved standards and growth in the Nigerian and African e-commerce eco-system.

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NiOMA unveils 12 nominees for maiden awards - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

Twelve outstanding players in Nigeria’s online space have been unveiled as nominees for honours at the maiden Nigerian Online Merit Award (NiOMA) holding tomorrow, Friday, July 13, 2018, at the Main Hall of Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, reports ITRealms.

A statement issued on Thursday in Lagos by NiOMA Organising Committee Chairman, Mr. Lanre Alabi, identified some of the nominees as Honourable Minister for Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu; Africa’s Serial Digital Entrepreneur, Leo Stan Ekeh; and GovernorAkinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State. Others, according to the statement, are Akwa Ibom State, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), three banks (Zenith, Fidelity and Access), as well as three national dailies, namely, Vanguard, The Guardian and Daily Trust.

The event, according to the statement, would feature a Lecture by Leo Stan Ekeh that will critically X-ray topical ICT issues facing the Nigerian nation and highlight how the online revolution could be leveraged to leapfrog the country’s development.

“The event, which starts by 6pm and will be a celebration of some of the key drivers of the Nigerian internet revolution. It will be chaired by former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, and will witness the unveiling of the all-gloss NIOMA Infotech Trends magazine,” Alabi said.

He assured that the event “will be a grand one as it will attract senior executives, top government functionaries, industry leaders, market analysts, professional groups and diverse economy sectoral leaders, among others.”

A brainchild of Nigeria’s leading daily online newspaper, News Express Nigeria (newsexpressngr.com), NiOMA is designed to celebrate outstanding individuals and corporates driving the Nigerian online revolution.

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Galadimawa Massacre: Ekhomu calls for Police reforms - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), Dr. Ona Ekhomu has called on the Federal Government (FG) to initiate urgent reforms of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to save police lives, reports ITRealms.

Reacting to the killing of seven gallant officers at Galadimawa, recently, he urged the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Idris to deploy his best investigative assets – human and technical to detect the actual perpetrators.

He also said reforms were overdue as evidenced by the rise in killings all over the country, intentional targeting of law enforcement officers and extremely high fear index in the country.

Dr. Ekhomu who mourned the killed police officers, advised the Nigerian media to honor and humanize the dead police heroes by identifying them, showing their pictures and telling stories about who they were and what they liked and what their goals in life were.  He said: “Nigerians deserve to know who these heroes were.

“No hero serving his fatherland should be left behind in the field of battle. All heroes are heroes” he declared, stressing that these men laid down their lives so the rest of us can live in a civilized society and must be honored for their sacrifice.

He called for a special tips hotline to take information on the police murders, urging the police management to provide a bounty of N20million for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.  “The killers are out there and somebody knows them.  In the sub-culture of crime, they brag about these gory incidents.  Someone somewhere has this information but does not know how to get it to the authorities,” he added.

Ekhomu who is a Security and Criminology lecturer in the University of Lagos said that the proposed police reforms must be aimed at transforming the security institution from its current dysfunctional state into an agency that can play an effective, legitimate and democratically accountable role in providing effective and measurable security services to Nigerians.

He described the current internal security architecture as defective and decayed. As the primary internal security organ, the police agency must reform to achieve its constitutional mandate of ensuring security for Nigerians. He said that service, integrity and professionalism must become the guiding principles of policing to regain public trust and respect.

He said that current police structures and processes need to be studied and improved for greater performance. He advised that reforms must be teleological and not hodge-podge.

He advised that Police reforms must balance the challenges of insecurity with the needs of development and the imperatives of human rights. He said that the NPF must continue to be depoliticized despite the government in power.

Ekhomu advised all policemen to display a keener sense of security awareness as they are exposed to vicious criminals who appear intent on spilling police blood.

He advised policemen on street duty to be professional, courteous and shun corrupt practices.  He advised uniformed policemen to be well turned out, be well-behaved, be attentive and know that they are constantly being observed by members of the public.

He advised policemen not to be careless with their personal security as life has no duplicate.

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CLD, partners govt on implementation of Right to Information - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) is partnering the government of Pakistan through the Information Commissions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, to develop a sophisticated, comprehensive methodology for assessing the quality of implementation of right to information (RTI) laws, reports ITRealms.

Toby Mendel, Executive Director, CLD,  disclosed this and said that although the methodology is being designed in Pakistan, it will be easy to adapt it for other jurisdictions.

“This is groundbreaking development work in the area of the right to information. It is really exciting to be able to work with the Information Commissions and other stakeholders in Pakistan on something that will hopefully have global application,” Mendel said.

The impetus for preparing this methodology, CLD explained, has come in part from Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 16.10.2, which looks at whether States have adopted and implemented right to information legislation.

The RTI Rating provides us with an accurate assessment of the first part of this – namely the adoption of RTI legislation – and this methodology supplements that by assessing implementation.

The methodology looks at four key areas, namely Central Measures, focusing on information commissions, Institutional Measures, focusing on structural measures taken by individual public authorities (like appointing an information officer), Proactive Disclosure and Reactive Disclosure (the processing of requests).

Extensive consultations around the draft methodology were conducted in February and again last week. The goal is to finalise the methodology soon and then pilot its application in one or two jurisdictions in Pakistan before revising it to take into account those results. The Methodology has been developed with the technical support of the German Development Cooperation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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NIRA media college takes on DNS industry opportunities - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The 2018 .NG “One-day Media College” event organized by Nigeria Internet

Registration Association (NiRA) is set to hold on Friday, July 20 with the theme “A World of Opportunities: Tapping the opportunities in the DNS Industry” reports ITRealms.

Dean, NiRA Academy and Resource Centre, Mr. Sikiru Shehu, revealed this to ITRealms in a press statement made available to our news room, saying the event venue is the NIRA Office Complex, Funsho Williams Avenue, Iponri, Surulere, Lagos.

As said by him, the one-day .NG Media College is aimed at encouraging creativity and
discourse on Domain Name Industry and its relevance in the Legal, ICT and
Financial Industries in Nigeria.

“We will have presentations on “brand protection and trademarking on the Internet”, “Cyber security: protecting the resilience of Nigeria’s financial services”, “a case study for the
financial services sector in Nigeria to adopt Nigerian online identity”, local hosting etc,” he said.

Pointing out that eminent personalities have accepted to be part of the discuss and participants have until July 15, this year to register for the one-day college.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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FG launches campaign against fake news, its threat to democracy - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The Federal Government (FG) has launched campaign against what it tagged as ‘fake news’ in the nation’s capital, Abuja, and declared it as threat to democracy, reports ITRealms.

Disclosing this to ITRealms, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said Wednesday that the campaign has become imperative to avoid the dangerous dimensions of fake news, which includes threat to peace and security.

“There is an epidemic sweeping the world. If left unchecked, it could be worse than all the plagues that the world has recorded put together. It is a clear and present danger to global peace and security. It is a threat to democracy. It is the epidemic of Fake News. Mixed with hate speech, it is a disaster waiting to happen,” he lamented.

Lai Mohammed cited an instance with the nation’s media, saying epidemic is even worse because fake news, in most cases are designed to misinform, undermine confidence in the media, stressing that once the people lose confidence in the media, the society is in trouble.

“For the record, the free online encyclopaedia defines fake news as 'a type of yellow journalism or propaganda that consists of deliberate misinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional print and broadcast news media or online social media. This false information is mainly distributed by social media, but is periodically circulated through mainstream media,” he said.

The Minister also noted that fakes news is not new, but pointed out that what has made it an issue of concern is the means and speed at which it is now spreading around the world, via social media.

“Anyone with a phone and internet access can author and make fake news go viral in minutes. With the number of mobile phone users in the world expected to pass the 5 billion mark by 2019, you can see the kind of crisis we face,” he warned.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Pix 1: Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (second right); Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Deaconess Grace Isu Gekpe (Extreme right); Special Assistant to the President on Information and Culture 1, Mr. Segun Adeyemi (second left) and the Special Assistant to the President on Information and Culture 2, Mr. Williams Adeleye (Extreme right) at a World Press Conference to launch the National Campaign Against Fake News in Abuja on Wednesday.

NiOMA holds Friday, July 13 - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The maiden Nigerian Online Merit Award (NiOMA) will hold on Friday, July 13, 2018, at the Main Hall of Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, reports ITRealms.

The organisers made this disclosure to  ITRealms, noting the event had been originally scheduled for May 18, but was postponed due to the Ramadan and party congresses, which altered the plans of some of the key personalities expected to grace the event.

“We are happy to announce Friday, July 13 as the new date for the much-anticipated NiOMA. The nominees for the different categories will be unveiled in the days ahead as we count down to what promises to be an evening of glitz, glamour and intellectual combat. The event starts by 6pm and will be a celebration of some of the key drivers of the Nigerian internet revolution,” NiOMA Organising Committee Chairman, Mr. Lanre Alabi, said in a statement issued in Lagos.

He restated that Honourable Minister for Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu, and Africa’s Serial Digital Entrepreneur, Leo Stan Ekeh, will headline the event while former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, would serve as chairman.

The occasion, according to the NiOMA Organising Committee Chairman, “will be used to X-ray topical ICT issues facing the nation. It will be a grand one as it will attract senior executives, top government functionaries, industry leaders, market analysts, professional groups and diverse economy sectoral leaders, among others.”

A brainchild of Nigeria’s leading daily online newspaper, News Express Nigeria, NiOMA is designed to celebrate outstanding individuals and corporates driving the Nigerian online revolution.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Charity Aiyedogbon's murder: Ugwuonye docked again - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The disbarred Lagos lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye was on Monday arraigned before Magistrate Court 9, Wuse, Abuja, presided over by Abdulaziz Omezia on a nine-count charge of obstruction and interference with Police investigation, offensive publications among other seven charges, reports ITRealms.

The charge reads “extortion by threat of accusation, an offence punishable by death, injurious falsehood, defamation, giving false information, with intent to mislead public servant, obstructing public servant in discharge of his duty, use of insulting or abusive language, influencing course of justice, fabricating false evidence, inciting disturbance, failing to assist public servant when bound by law  to assist and influencing course of justice contrary to sections 295, 393, 392, 140, 148, 399, 182, 158, 114, 150 and 182 of the Penal Code.”

Some other charges preferred against him are within the jurisdiction of the High Court and would be appropriately filed when High courts resume from holidays.

When the charges were read out to him in court on Monday, he pleaded not guilty. The matter is adjourned to August 23, 2018. He was however granted bail under stringent conditions, including two Civil Servants not below grade level 12, among other requirements. As at the time of filing this report, he is yet to fulfil the bail conditions.

Ugwuonye was arrested last Friday by men of the FCT Police command in Abuja over his alleged infamous role in the obstruction of investigations into the murder of Abuja business woman, Charity Aiyedogbon.

His arrest followed a petition against him over offensive publications and alleged obstruction of police investigations in the case of late Charity Aiyedogbon.

The Petition, addressed to the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Abuja, written by Juris Associates, signed by Uzoma Nnona, Esq, captioned “Complaint of Offensive Publications and Distortion of facts amounting to Interference with ongoing Police investigation into the death of Mrs. Charity Aiyedogbon, against Mr. Emeka Ugwuonye”, dated 25^th June, 2018; urged the Police to investigate Mr. Ugwuonye over his recent online posts on the late Mrs. Aiyedogbon’s case.

The petition reads in part:

“It is important to note at this point that the said confession of the arrested suspect, Mr. Chukwuemeka Paul Ezeugo clearly corroborated the eye witness account of Mr. Emeka Ugwuonye, which was published on his Due Process Advocate page on Facebook in May 2016, suggesting that he had pre-knowledge of the crime but concealed it.”

“It is also on record that Mr. Ugwuonye did not report to the Police the information about the disappearance and now death of our client’s estranged wife, which he now claims to have had before the confession of the principal suspects, even though he was invited several times by the police over this matter.”

“…the Commissioner of Police should kindly direct that Mr. Emeka Ugwuonye be invited, for questioning, over his recent statements on his Due Process Advocates page on Facebook, as it is obvious that he has privileged information on the disappearance and eventual death of Mrs. Charity Aiyedogbon, having discredited the investigation of the FCT Police Command and the parade of the principal suspects in this matter.”

Ugwuonye had, shortly after the confessional statement and eventual parade of the principal suspect in the case of the late Charity Aiyedogbon, Chukwujekwu Ezeugo, posted several disturbing comments, discrediting police investigation and procedure. He allegedly claimed to have conducted a private investigation that was superior to that of the Police, a claim he is said to have bungled all opportunities created by the police to enable him prove himself.

Ugwuonye is also accused of interfering with police investigation by allegedly aiding the suspect to escape arrest sometime in 2016.     

Meanwhile, Ugwuonye is facing three other suits over his alleged defamatory statements against some persons in relation to late Charity Aiyedogbon.

One of them is a Ten Billion Naira suit instituted against him by ex-husband of late Charity, Mr. David Aiyedogbon, who approached the Court to seek redress following the alleged refusal of Ugwuonye to desist from posting materials he considered defamatory on his Facebook group, The Due Process Advocates. He also wrote Mr. Ugwuonye through his lawyers, demanding an apology and retraction, but he refused to heed, leaving Mr. Aiyedogbon with no option, but to approach the court to seek justice.

Ugwuonye had falsely accused Mr. Aiyedogbon of having a hand in the sudden disappearance of his estranged wife, Charity Aiyedogbon, a claim he is unable to substantiate till date.

In addition to the Ten Billion Naira damages, the Suit, with number CV/2750/16, between David Aiyedogbon (Plaintiff) and Emeka Ugwuonye (Defendant) on defamation of character, before Justice Peter Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court 14, Apo, Abuja; also prays that the defendant be ordered to pay for the cost of the litigation.

The Plaintiff is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction “restraining the Defendant, his Agents, Privies, Associates or whosoever called” from making further defamatory publications against him and his family members.

Mr. Ugwuonye is accused of posting severally on The Due Process Advocates (DPA), a Facebook group, claiming to have evidence of the involvement of the late Charity Aiyedogbon’s ex-husband, David Aiyedogbon in her sudden disappearance. One of the posts reads in part:

“I now have overwhelming evidence that Mr. David Aiyedogbon killed his wife, Chacha. David has an idea of the kind of evidence at my disposal.”

In another development, lawyer to Mr. Aiyedogbon, Tony Ogbulafor also dragged Mr. Ugwuonye to Court for what he also sees as a defamatory publication on the same Due Process Advocate against him.

Similarly, Ugwuonye is facing a case of injurious falsehood and false evidence before a Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse zone 2 area of Abuja, presided over by Chief Magistrate Mabel Bello.

He was first arraigned alongside two Abuja-based lawyers, Nsikak Udoh and Farouk Khamagam before the Chief Magistrate Court for their alleged criminal roles in the disappearance of missing Abuja woman, Charity Aiyedogbon.

Ugwuonye is charged with false evidence and injurious falsehood, contrary to sections: 158 and 393 of the Penal Code; while the other two lawyers were charged with criminal conspiracy, forgery, impersonation, giving false information with intent to mislead a public servant contrary to sections 97, 364, 179, and 178 of the Penal Code.

He was recently disbarred in Nigeria and his License to practice as a Lawyer revoked. Investigations revealed that he is presently being investigated in the United States over unethical practices, following a petition by one Oluchi Enaworu.

Destiny Ugorji/GEE

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Alleged NLC members vandalize MTN property, injure staff - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

Vandals suspected to be members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), had attacked various MTN offices around the country in the name of picketing and injured staff, reports ITRealms.

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MTN Nigeria, ITRealms recalled had been involved in protracted talks with the trade union to reach an amicable decision, all to no avail.

Confirming the attack and vandalisation of some properties fo the company, Corporate Relations Executive, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Tobechukwu Okigbo, noted that on Monday July 9, 2018, officials of the labour congress were at the MTN offices to picket, but MTN in its civil manner, invited the officials into the Headquarters in Ikoyi, Lagos, in order to reach unified decisions and prevent any form of violence or incivility.

“However, the protest became violent and disorganized in different locations as property within MTN premises were vandalized. Doors and gates were destroyed and alleged officials of NLC breached the fences to gain forced entry into the premises. In Ikoyi, MTN flag was lowered and the NLC flag was hoisted in its place,” he lamented.

In addition, he told ITRealms, that “numerous staff of the company were injured in the process of the protests and many assumed the roles of human shields over their colleagues, protecting them from the angry protesters.”

Okigbo further described the violence and the needless destruction of property as deeply saddening.

“As always, our primary concern is the safety and well-being of our employees, some of whom were attacked by supposed NLC operatives and have sustained injuries,” he said.

Equally, he refuted the allegations by NLC stating that MTN Nigeria has refused to allow its employees participate in Union activities have been refuted.

“We do not prevent our employees from associating amongst themselves as they deem fit and owe our employees the obligation to ensure they are not compelled to join associations. MTN supports the freedom of association as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution,” he declared, stressing that all workers have rights that should be protected.

According to him, MTN works hard to not only ensure that workers rights are protected and also to ensure that the company is a great place to work.

“We will continue to champion our peoples’ rights, whether they are part of a union or not and work hard to minimise disruptions in service to our customers,” he said.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Expert says value-based education best for Nigerian child, commends ReapVille Schools - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

An educationist, Mr. Daramola Ibukun, has said that value-based education is best for Nigerian children at this era, insisting that a nation without good value and well-prepared children is doomed, and commended ReapVille Schools for imbibing this on its pupils, reports ITRealms.

In a keynote at the first valedictory and prize giving ceremony of ReapVille Schools, Oshodi-Lagos held Friday, entitled “The Future Is Here,” Mr. Ibukun noted it has become a common saying that “… the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow.”

Wondering how long will these young ones be before they are given the opportunities to display and implement the special abilities and grace upon them from the Almighty God, moreso, when the older ones are not giving them the opportunities.

“These special grace and skills are needed to help these children lead our nation and community in the future,” he declared, stressing that “any nation without her younger ones well-prepared to take over from the older ones is definitely doomed.”

He posited that for Nigerian children to make anticipated impact in the society, they must be taught values, culture, norms and ethos of this vibrant generation, because societies are run through the survival of these values to be carried later by these young generation.

Ibukun identified two main classes of change makers in a dynamic society, namely the working class and dependent class, usually made of the aged and the children.

“Operationally, the sustainability of this nation rests in the hands of the working class between the ages of 19 and 60,” he said, pointing out that these factor is linked to the strength and skills already deposited in them as they were growing up.

Values, he said, are coded in form of philosophy and national curriculum approved for use in schools, which are to be taught in form of class subjects in schools.

“They are graded and prescribed so that our children in schools could imbibe the right way of life and also be ready to pass it on to their children,” he said.

Mr. Ibukun gave three classifications for the custodians of these values and cultural heritage, namely the homes, places of worship and the schools.

He maintained that in order to ensure the future is here and children are the future leaders, parents must do their work at home to bring up their children with good manners in line with the society, while the places of worship will help in shaping the spirituality of those children, whereas the schools will assist with the teaching of those values based on structure and curriculum.

In his remarks, chairman of the occasion, Mr. Lawrence Amadi applauded ReapVille Schools for its achievement within a short period, saying that parents have more responsibility in raising their children and by supporting the teachers via the school authorities.

“Our children are ready to learn but the burdens are more on parents, especially by paying school fees promptly,” he urged.

Equally, he gave the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) of the school kudos for always supporting the school and by extension their children and prayed God to give them the grace to continue to provide for their children.

Earlier in her address, the Director, ReapVille School, Mrs. Philomena Ugwuoke recognized that the celebration of the first valedictory ceremony and prize giving day was actually the celebration of the foresight and commitment of parents in the choice of good education for their children.

She promised that ReapVille will ensure that her pupils become great leaders of tomorrow and take charge of their future through imbibing the right values.

ReapVille School, she recollects, commenced operations as a citadel of learning in September 2017 based on the drive and purpose to dedicatedly produce innovative and globally competitive children with high standards, by using effective methodologies in teaching and building up a complete leader, capable of standing out in a crowd.

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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