Author: Our Reporter

Scarcity of snake anti-venom drugs in the country is said to be responsible for the death of 250 victims of snake bite in Plateau and Gombe States in the past three weeks. It was gathered that the snake anti-venom drugs– Echitab Plus ICP polyvalent and Echitab G monovalent – had not been supplied to the country since August, throwing the treatment centres into crisis after the last vials were used up in the first week of October. Echitab Plus ICP, produced at Instituto Clodomiro Picado, University of Costa Rica, treats bites from all venomous snakes in Nigeria, while Echitab G,…

Two herdsmen suspected to be kidnappers and cattle rustlers are in the custody of Ogun State Police Command for allegedly kidnapping and killing another herdsman. In a statement, Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Police Public Relations Officer in the State, said Hassan Amodu and Abubakar Abdullah kidnapped and killed Taye Amodu two weeks ago at Obada-Oko area of Abeokuta and made away with eight cows belonging to the victim. Oyeyemi said “On receiving the information, the commissioner of police, CP Ahmed Iliyasu, directed the officer in-charge of FSARS, DSP Uba Adam to fish out the hoodlums within the shortest possible period of…

Five persons were injured Saturday at Ogbor Hill waterside bridge along Ikot Ekpene-Aba Road in Abia State when a bus belonging to popular transport company rammed into a tricycle. Eyewitnesses said the bus with number plate, XA 640 UMD, was descending the hill when its brakes failed and it crashed into a tricycle at the bus stop, injuring three passers-by and two passengers. “The bus was descending the hill on speed; it suddenly lost brakes and crashed into the tricycle, injuring the driver with two passengers at the bus stop. Two people who were waiting to board a bus were…

A member representing Dutsinma/Kurfi constituency in the House of Representatives, Danlami Muh’d Kurfi, weekend escaped being lynched by youths of his constituency. Kurfi, while on a condolence visit to the area, was said to have been attacked by youths who claimed they had lost confidence in him over his failure to fulfill electioneering promises. In a telephone call, the lawmaker, who confirmed the incident, said he was attacked by the youths because of the job offers he made to some members of his constituency, stressing that those who did not benefit from it accused him of discrimination on grounds of…

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has decried the high rate of tax evasion among multinationals and high net worth individuals in the country, calling for a stop to aid in bringing them into tax net. In an article sent to media organisations Saturday, Adeosun remarked, “A cursory look at the effective tax rates paid by the huge multinational and local operators, as well as the data on illicit financial flows, indicates a pattern of systematic tax evasion at all levels. According to her, “Recent statistics released by the Federal Ministry of Finance showed that Nigeria has just 14…

The Federal Government collected N200 million and $55 million from the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme, VAIDS, in October this year. Addressing a press conference in Lagos over the weekend, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, described this as positive economic indicators of the administration now focusing on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for what he said were the endless possibilities awaiting Nigerians. Mohammed explained, ”In exchange for fully and honestly declaring previously undisclosed assets and income, taxpayers will benefit from forgiveness of overdue interest and penalties, and the assurance of not facing criminal prosecution…

A N5 billion defamation suit has been slammed against Senator Isah Misau by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris over sundry corruption allegations leveled against him in the media. Idris, in the suit he filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, insisted that Misua who is representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, greatly tarnished his image. The IGP told the court that Misau had in a news report entitled “Police Officers pay bribe for special promotion—Senator”, published in the Daily Trust of August 10, quoted thus: “You are talking about N500,000;, it’s beyond that. A serving police officer…

Traders whose shops were demolished by officials of Uyo Capital City Development Authority (UCCDA) have vowed to drag Akwa Ibom state government and Uyo local government council to court for compensation. The traders in their separate interviews claimed that they had lost wares worth millions of naira over last week’s demolition exercise in Uyo, the state capital. Some of the traders who spoke to Vanguard said they had already paid three years’ rents for stalls in advance to the market management committee and were never told that the shops were illegal structures. Mr Essien Itama whose shop was demolished at…

The Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) now known as Nigerian Gas Processing and Transportation Company has been given a two-week ultimatum by six Gbaramatu-Ijaw communities in Delta State affected by the August 25 gas explosion along the Escravos to take remedial steps and compensate the victims to avoid its operations being shut down. The communities, which include Ikpokpo, Okpele-Ama, Otogbene, Atanba in Warri South West Local Government Area, Delta State, and led by Mr. Godwin Akori and Edward Odudu, said their warning followed “forceful repairs of the damaged gas pipeline by the owners and managers of the facility without carrying without…

The riddle surrounding suicide committed by a 72-year-old grandfather is not yet unraveled by detectives in Ondo State. Titus Agunbiade was alleged to have committed suicide by hanging himself with a rope on a wooden pillar inside their family house at Kajola Street along Barrack Road, in Ondo town, headquarters of Ondo West Local Government Area. The septuagenarian was said to have climbed the two-storey building with a ladder before hanging himself with a long rope in one of the rooms inside the house. His corpse was reportedly discovered in a two-storey building said to be their family house six…