22 Zamfara varsity students, staff members released after six months in captivity – Newstrends
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22 Zamfara varsity students, staff members released after six months in captivity

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22 Zamfara varsity students, staff members released after six months in captivity

 

Twenty-two abducted students and staff members of the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, have finally been released after six months in captivity.

The victims, comprising 15 students and seven workers of the university, were abducted from the university in September 2023.

They were received on Monday April 15 in Abuja by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The captives were released in three batches, with the last batch returning home on Sunday April 14.

Ribadu said the rescue operation was coordinated by the National Counter-Terrorism Centre.

He urged them not to allow their experience to break them, but should rather make them stronger.

He said, “On behalf of the President, I thank all those involved in the successful rescue of the victims without losing anyone of them or paying any ransom.

“This is yet again a success story in our efforts to free all those being unlawfully held in captivity.

“We have so far released over a thousand of such victims without noise and with complete respect to their privacy and safety.

“This occasion marks a final juncture in a series of rescues we have undertaken in the last few months, to free victims of recent cases of mass abductions.

“Going forward, we are strengthening law enforcement and security measures to prevent these abductions, and strengthen physical security across vulnerable communities.”

National Coordinator, NCTC, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, recalled that those rescued were abducted from the school on September 22, 2023, at about 0230hrs.

He said the bandits armed with various weapons attacked three off-campus students’ hostels at Sabon Gida in Gusau and kidnapped a number of female students alongside some male artisans.

Others, he said, were a private security guard and a protocol officer of the university.

He added that the bandits ransacked the hostels, and carted away foodstuffs, mobile phones, laptops, ATM cards, cash and other valuables.

According to him, the abductees were subsequently herded on motorcycles and foot to a location through a town in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara.

Laka said, “Search and rescue was conducted by a combined team of law enforcement agencies and the abductees were subsequently released in three batches, after 207 days in captivity.

“The first batch was rescued on March 15 while the second batch was rescued on April 12 and the last batch was rescued on April 14.

“All the abductees were profiled at the NCTC while the ONSA Medical Team examined them and administered minor treatments on the bruises sustained by 3 of the abductees.”

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FG fixes May 24 to open student loan portal

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12 hours ago

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May 17, 2024

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FG fixes May 24 to open student loan portal

The Federal Government through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says the application portal for students’ loan scheme will open on 24th May 2024.

This is contained in a statement signed by Nasir Ayitogo -Media and Public Relations Lead of NELFUND, on Thursday.

He said the move marks a significant milestone in the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to fostering accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.

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The statement reads in full : “The management of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) led by its Managing Director, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr are thrilled to announce 24th of May, 2024 as official date for the opening of portal for student loan applications.

This marks a significant milestone in the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) to fostering accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.

Through the portal, students can now access loans to pursue their academic aspirations without financial constraints.

The portal provides a user-friendly interface for students to submit their loan applications conveniently.

We encourage all eligible students to take advantage of this opportunity to invest in their future and contribute to the growth and development of our nation.

Students can access the portal on www.nelf.gov.ng to begin application.

For more information and assistance, please contact NELFUND via email on info@nelf.gov.ng or contact us via our social media handles.”

FG fixes May 24 to open student loan portal

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Education

UK varsities considering NECO results for admission – Registrar

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1 day ago

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May 16, 2024

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Registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi

UK varsities considering NECO results for admission – Registrar

The Registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, said foreign universities like Lead University and Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom have reached out to the council for information on its examinations.

He said these universities are considering admitting Nigerian students based on their NECO results, indicating a level of credibility and acceptance of NECO’s outcomes by international institutions.

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Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja Wednesday, Prof. Wushishi said NECO has met the demands of Birmingham City University, and they are currently working on fulfilling the request from Lead University.

Regarding digitalisation and the potential migration to Computer-Based Testing (CBT), Prof. Wushishi acknowledged the complexity of NECO examinations, particularly with close to 1.5 million students taking exams in 76 different subjects and over 150 different papers annually for admissions into tertiary institutions.

This complexity, he said, poses challenges for an immediate shift to CBT, unlike other examination bodies like JAMB that primarily use multiple-choice formats.

UK varsities considering NECO results for admission – Registrar

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JAMB releases another 36,540 UTME results

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2 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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JAMB releases another 36,540 UTME results

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released additional 36,540 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results withheld for further investigation.

This was in addition to the 531 results released the previous week, bringing the total results released to 1,879,437.

This is contained in a statement by the Public Communication Advisor of the Board, Dr Fabian Benjamin on Tuesday in Abuja.

The Board also dismissed a letter by an alleged fraudster the outstanding 2024 UTME results, subjected to scrutiny by experts, had been compromised on account of a cyber security breach for which it is considering rescheduling the examination.

The statement reads: “In another development, the attention of the Board was drawn to a fictitious letter concocted by a fraudster and circulated on social media purporting to emanate from the Board stating that the outstanding 2024 UTME results, currently being subjected to intense scrutiny by its team of experts, had been compromised on account of a cyber security breach and that it is considering rescheduling the examination.

“This is far from the truth as the said letter did not emanate from the Board. In fact, a closer look at the letter, which was not signed by any person, lacked every ingredient of a letter from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. The letter is, therefore, from those, who wish to destroy the integrity of the Board, by compromising its unassailable operational processes to mislead hapless candidates with the sole aim of extorting them.

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“The Board reiterated, for the umpteenth time, that the results of its 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and other previous years are intact, not in any cloud storage and can, therefore, not be hacked by anybody.

“It is to be recalled that at the release of the 2024 UTME, the Board had announced that some results had been withheld as they were being subjected to further investigation. Out of these, 531 results were released recently. Others found to be involved in any examination misconduct are still undergoing investigation as the Board would want to review all the footage of all CCTV cameras placed in all its accredited centres to ascertain the candidate’s culpability or otherwise.

“At the conclusion of this exercise, the Board would publish its findings. Therefore, the public is urged to be wary of misleading information emanating from sources not linked to the Board be it religious or other sources.

“Equally disturbing is the misleading comments of some functionaries of some private institutions, who are linking the Board with “the prevailing low ‘cut-off marks’when in practice, it was their institutions that had submitted lower minimum minimum admissible scores marks, even lower than what other institutions had presented.

“For the purpose of clarity, minimum admissible scores are first presented by individual institutions before such are debated to arrive at a benchmark agreed upon by all Heads of Institutions across the country at its annual Policy Meeting on Admissions and which no institution would be allowed to compromise.

“Also, the Board would also like to urge religious organisations to stick to their primary roles and not dabble into areas outside their calling as there are reports of some religious organisations making false representation to government at various levels for selfish ends.”

JAMB releases another 36,540 UTME results

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