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We ate leaves, drank filthy water to survive, say ex-corps members

Published

1 hour ago

October 18, 2024

Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed

We ate leaves, drank filthy water to survive, say ex-corps members

AKWA Ibom State graduates kidnapped last year in Zamfara State, during a trip to commence their National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, duty in Sokoto State, have appealed to both Federal and their state governments to provide them employment to assist their gradual healing from the trauma.

Eight of the corps members who left Uyo, Akwa Ibom capital, heading to Sokoto NYSC Orientation Camp were abducted August 17, of last year along with their bus driver in an ambush on the Zamfara highway.
The victims who endured untold torture in the kidnappers’ den were freed in batches with Solomon Daniel being last to be released after being held for a year.

Sharing their experiences in Uyo, yesterday, some of the victims complained of suffering severe health challenges and post-traumatic pains since passing through the harrowing experience.

Solomon Daniel said he was held longer than the rest after the abductors separated him from his colleagues for refusing to yield to payment of ransom as his widow’s mother could not afford the demanded ransom.

Held August 17, 2023, and freed August 22, 2024, Daniel recounted, “I went through a lot. I chewed leaves to survive and drank extremely dirty water.

“I was tortured daily from morning till evening. I could not defecate or urinate for three months. I thought I was going to die.”

Considered the ‘most stubborn’ by the abductors, Daniel narrated he was transported on a motorcycle from Zamfara to Kaduna State through bush paths and was for several months guarded by over 10 armed men before he got rescued by security operatives.

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Victoria Bassey, another of the victims said: “I never believed I would survive such terrible conditions. Even during our menstrual periods, we couldn’t bath. We drank flood water to stay alive.”

Etim Bassey, another victim said the kidnappers posed as uniformed military men manning a supposed check point where they were abducted.

“Our bus was intercepted at a bad spot in Zamfara we mistook for a checkpoint. The area was blocked with logs of wood and manned by armed men in military uniforms, who ordered us into the forest,” he stated.

In their gratitude to stakeholders whose effort made their rescue possible, the former corps members appealed for gainful employment and other forms of assistance the state and federal governments could accord them to help heal.

They thanked President Bola Tinubu, Director-General of NYSC, Gen Yusha’u Ahmed, Governor Umo Eno of the state, security operatives, and other well-meaning Nigerians for role in securing their freedom.

Matthew Koffi Okono, Founder and President, Open Forum Care for Humanity Foundation, the NGO which mobilised them to share their experiences lent voice to their call for job opportunities, urging the government to assist in easing their ‘post-traumatic experience.’

Okono then advocated reforms of the NYSC scheme, stating, “The Federal Government should look into making the NYSC scheme more pro-development and safer, to add more value to nation-building.”

We ate leaves, drank filthy water to survive, say ex-corps members

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New organ harvesting method uncovered in Benue

Published

6 mins ago

October 18, 2024

Trends Admin

New organ harvesting method uncovered in Benue

A disturbing new method used by criminals to harvest body parts from unsuspecting victims has been uncovered in Benue State, according to the 24 Hours Road Accident Victims Support Initiative (TRAVSI).

The non-governmental organisation raised the alarm during a stakeholders’ town hall meeting organised by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Makurdi.

Gaddafi Asemenya, founder and CEO of TRAVSI, revealed that criminals are using flashy vehicles to intentionally hit pedestrians or motorbike riders.

Under the guise of transporting the injured victims to hospitals for medical care, these criminals instead divert them to undisclosed locations where their organs were harvested, leaving the victims’ bodies abandoned, Asemenya said.

He cited several recent cases, particularly involving women, where victims were brought into Makurdi from Abuja or abducted along the Makurdi-Abuja route.

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He highlighted one such case in Achusa village, Makurdi, where a victim’s body was found wrapped in a hotel blanket after organ harvesting.

Another case involved a young girl whose legs were broken before her organs were taken, and her body was discarded in Makurdi’s Welfare Quarters.

Asemenya also shared the case of Godwin Obite, a man kidnapped by organ harvesters in Abuja and transported to Makurdi.

Fortunately, he was rescued after the criminals, spooked by the presence of security forces during the #EndBadGovernance protests, abandoned him.

Asemenya urged security agencies to intensify their efforts to combat the growing threat, particularly to protect the lives of young people across the country.

In response, FRSC Assistant Corps Marshal Yusuf Haruna Mcilt warned the public to be cautious at accident scenes and not allow unknown individuals to transport victims to hospitals.

He emphasised the importance of contacting the proper emergency services and noted that FRSC officers always transported victims to known or government hospitals.

New organ harvesting method uncovered in Benue

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Bobrisky shades VDM for accepting Don Jazzy’s N100M donation

Published

8 mins ago

October 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Popular Nigerian cross-dresser, Idris Okuneye, widely known as Bobrisky and Martins Otse also known as VeryDarkMan.

Bobrisky shades VDM for accepting Don Jazzy’s N100M donation

Nigerian socialite Bobrisky, born Idris Okuneye, has taken a moment to gleefully shade Verydarkman following the substantial N100 million donation he recently received from Don Jazzy.

Don Jazzy had supported Verydarkman’s newly established non-governmental organization with a staggering N100 million. This gesture subsequently sparked a mix of reactions on the internet with Bobrisky currently weighing in.

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Bobrisky hurled subtle shades at Verydarkman, emphasizing the importance of cautious criticism.

“Never criticize who you gonna later sing his praise tomorrow,” he affirmed in a cryptic post. This statement references Verydarkman’s past criticism of Don Jazzy for allegedly supporting Bobrisky during his incarceration.

Verydarkman had denounced Don Jazzy’s supposed financial aid to Bobrisky, leading to a loss of respect for the music mogul.

In a video, Bobrisky laughed mockingly at Verydarkman’s receipt of the N100 million donation. Reiterating his previous stance, he warned against criticizing individuals without foresight, as circumstances can change.

Bobrisky mocks vdm for doing a good thing to help people pic.twitter.com/ShYBxtYYV4

— Waya The Great🕷️🎻 (@wayas_opinion) October 17, 2024

Bobrisky shades VDM for accepting Don Jazzy’s N100M donation

metro

Refinery increases Dangote’s wealth to $28bn, now 65th richest worldwide

Published

23 mins ago

October 18, 2024

Trends Admin

Refinery increases Dangote’s wealth to $28bn, now 65th richest worldwide

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote remains the richest man in Africa, and now the 65th richest man in the World, despite the volatility of the Nigerian currency against the dollar.

Bloomberg, in its latest top 500 Billionaires Index released on Thursday, revealed that Dangote with a wealth of $28 billion had his wealth increased significantly after the commencement of operations of his newly built Petrochemical refinery, said to be worth over $20 billion. This new ranking is the highest the renowned entrepreneur has risen. He was previously ranked 83^rd in 2022.

The Dangote Refinery located in Ibeju-Lekki, in the outskirts of Lagos, is the biggest single-train oil refinery in the world and one of the most complex, capable of processing most global crude types. It has the potential to transform Nigeria’s economy by making the country self-reliant for fuel. The refinery started producing premium motor spirit (petrol) in September among other products like diesel and Jet-A1, and it has more than doubled his net worth to $27.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

No African is close to Dangote’s latest ranking as Johann Rupert, of South Africa is 174 on the world list, with a wealth of $13.6bn and Nicky Oppenheimer also of South Africa is number 224 on the world list with a wealth of $11.6bn. Other Africans on the list are: South African’s Natie Karsh, number 297 in the world with a wealth of $9.25bn, Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris on number 302 in the world with a wealth of $9.16bn, and Naguib Sawiris also of Egypt with a wealth of $7.37bn on number 407 in the world.

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The Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world’s richest people. In calculating net worth, Bloomberg News strives to provide the most transparent calculations available, and each individual billionaire profile contains a detailed analysis of how that person’s fortune is tallied.

The index is a dynamic measure of personal wealth based on changes in markets, the economy and Bloomberg reporting. Each net worth figure is updated every business day after the close of trading in New York. Stakes in publicly traded companies are valued using the share’s most recent closing price. Valuations are converted to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates.

Ellon Musk and Jeff Bezos are the richest in the world with $242billion and $210 billion respectively in their kitties, while Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Ellison followed respectively with $204 billion and $185 billion on the world’s billionaires’ chart.

It would be recalled that Aliko Dangote was also recently named as among the topmost charitable man in the World by Richtopia, a digital periodical that covers business, economics, and financial news, based in the United Kingdom. This recognition came after he endowed his foundation, the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) to the tune of over $1.25 billion.

Aliko Dangote started his Foundation in 1981, with a mission to enhance opportunities for social change through strategic investments that improve health and wellbeing, promote quality education, and broaden economic empowerment opportunities.