Senior student forces JSS 1 scholar to take poisonous soaked Garri in Ebonyi school – Newstrends
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Senior student forces JSS 1 scholar to take poisonous soaked Garri in Ebonyi school

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It was indeed a case of attempted murder at Government Secondary School, Afikpo, Ebonyi State, when a Junior Secondary School, JSS 1 student, Master Fruitful Onwe, was allegedly forced to drink Garri socked with hypo detergent by one Iroh Chidiebere Bright, an SS2 student of the same school.

It was gathered that the ugly episode was hidden from the school management and parents of the victims, until the bubble busted.

It was gathered that the victim who was rushed to Afikpo Medical Centre after three days, confessed that Iroh Chidiebere Bright, a senior student of SS 2 and House Captain forced him to take the poisonous substance, adding that “he warned me not to reveal to any one either in the School or to his parents at home.”

Narrating his ordeal, the father of the victim and Public Relations Officer, PRO, Ministry of Works and Transport, Mr. Emmanuel Onwe, said the entire episode was painful to him.

“On Friday 20th May, 2022, I received a phone call from the principal telling me that my son was admitted in the hospital. Furiously, I asked him what happened, and he told me that a senior student administered poisonous garri on my son and he became sick.

“I immediately took a trip to Afikpo and met the principal in his office from where he delegated a male teacher who took me to Afikpo Medical Centre where my son was receiving treatment. There I met the vice principal and another woman. The three of them led me to where my son was.

“My heart was so grieved by the sight of my child lying critical ill on the hospital bed but I managed to control myself. The child who administered the poisonous Garri was also there.

“When I asked my son what happened, he narrated before the teachers. He said on Wednesday 18th June, 2022 while he was alone outside the hostel doing manual labour, the senior student who was also the hostel Captain came to him and asked him whether he will drink garri, and he replied him no. But the senior student told him to shut up and take what he has given him and drink immediately.

“My son again summoned courage and told him (the senior student) that he was afraid because he has never given him anything in the past. The senior student then insisted that he must drink the poisoned Garri and warned my son not to repeat the statement. Out of fear, he succumbed to the intimidation and began to drink.

“When my son noticed that the taste was bad, he told the senior student that it had the taste of hypo-jik, but he told him to shut up. At that point my son refused to take more of the poisoned Garri against the senior student’s persuasion. He then took it from him and entered the hostel.

“After about 30 minutes, my son began to have stomach upset and pain in the throat. He quickly went to the senior student and told him his experience. The senior student then gave him palm oil to drink and warned him not to mention what happened to anybody.

“Unfortunately, the problem persisted until Thursday night when my son became very weak and could no longer breathe well. The senior student made arrangement to smuggle him out of the school and send him home. He warned my son not to mention what happened to anyone including me and my wife if he gets home.

“Early in the morning while the senior student with the help of other two senior students were carrying my son on the back to sneak him out of the school, some teachers took notice of what was going on and intercepted them. The senior student and his friends maintained that nothing was wrong with my son but the evidence was already there as my son could not stand on his feet and was as well afraid to open up.

“They maintained their position until out of stiff interrogation of the teachers, another student who had the knowledge of what transpired came and revealed it to the teachers who then rushed my son to the hospital. The issue now is that some people are bent on reversing the culprit’s expulsion from the school since my child didn’t die.”

In a telephone chat, the principal of the school, Mr Ogbonnia Nwachi, stated that the “status of the case as at today, 2nd September, 2022, is that the Secondary Education Board, SEB, Abakaliki, and the Ministry of Education, MOE, have ruled that the boy or culprit remains expelled.

“Nobody is putting pressure on him to be returned. The two institutions have resolved that the boy remains expelled. We are proactive. As I always advise them because I hold regular meetings with them; be kind with one another as no one knows tomorrow.

“The person you are maltreating today because you are his senior could be the person that will help you tomorrow. So, if you are in the habit of maltreating him, and he becomes an eminent person tomorrow, you will not know how to meet him. You will be hiding.

“The best thing is for them to see themselves as brothers instead of this act that I want to show that am a senior. It doesn’t mean anything. Nobody has ever been given an award for being a bully or wicked. I will continue to advise them because for those of us on the field, to manage over 1,000 students from different homes and with different idiosyncrasies are not easy,” he said.

The Chairman of SEB, David Egbu, who explained that the matter was not before his board, called on the two families to make peace.

Meanwhile, the father of culprit, Mr Tony Iroh, advised students to focus on the reason their parents sent them to school and avoid playing with everything.

“I will encourage students to focus on why they were sent to school and not play with everything. If he is recalled, I will feel happy because he has been in the school for a very long time.”

Investigations revealed that some highly placed individuals within the education sector in the state were putting modalities in place to ensure the return of the culprit to the school.

The implication is that if they succeed, the life of the victim will unarguably be in perpetual danger.

This development is presently agitating the minds of students of the school as well as the parent of the victim.

It was also gathered that a woman lawyer (names withheld) in Ebonyi, who claimed that the culprit was a minor, argued that since the victim  didn’t die, the culprit should be allowed to return to the school.

-Vanguard

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$6bn fraud: Judge scolds Agunloye’s counsel over delay tactics

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November 15, 2024

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Former Power and Steel Minister Olu Agunloye

$6bn fraud: Judge scolds Agunloye’s counsel over delay tactics

Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal High Court, Apo, Abuja On Thursday, chastised Adeola Adedipe, SAN, counsel to former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, for using delay tactics to slow the pace of the former minister’s prosecution. 

Agunloye is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on seven counts of official corruption and fraudulent award of the Mambilla Power Project contract worth $6 billion.

During Thursday’s hearings, the court observed that the defence counsel has been in the habit of making excuses based on Agunloye’s health and age, as well as filing various motions, ensuring that little progress has been achieved in the trial.

Addressing the defence counsel, Justice Onwuegbuzie stated that “My principle of justice is that of no delay. The other time you brought the issue of amicus curiae and wasted the time of the court. You should also know that in my court I don’t read processes.

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“If you need time to serve processes, it must reach me on time, and your colleague must also be duly aware in time. There must be mutual respect. Do not come and serve processes in court; I don’t take that in my court,” he said.

Prosecuting Counsel Abba Mohammed, SAN, informed the court at the start of proceedings that the business of the day was the adoption of the prosecution’s application for the amendment of the charge, which was filed on October 30, 2024, to which the defence responded with a counter-affidavit and a request for an adjournment to allow the prosecution to study the affidavit.

Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the case until November 28, 2024, to rule on the adoption of the application.

 

$6bn fraud: Judge scolds Agunloye’s counsel over delay tactics

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Emefiele printed new naira notes different from what Buhari approved – Ex-CBN official

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November 15, 2024

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Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele

Emefiele printed new naira notes different from what Buhari approved – Ex-CBN official

The trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, continued at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama on Thursday, November 14, 2024.

A former CBN Deputy Governor, Kingsley Obiora, who served in the policy department, testified that the newly printed naira notes issued during Emefiele’s tenure deviated from the approval granted by then-President Muhammadu Buhari.

In his testimony before Justice Maryann Anenih via Zoom, Obiora disclosed, “the approval by then President Muhammadu Buhari was different from what was eventually produced,” according to a statement from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Obiora, responding to evidence presented by prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo SAN, explained that he noticed discrepancies when comparing the naira notes in circulation with the President’s original directive.

During his seven-year tenure at the CBN, Obiora served on the Committee of Governors (COG), which he described as a body comprising “the governor, four deputy governors, and the director of corporate services.” He clarified, “The governor is the Chairman of the Committee, and during my tenure as Deputy Governor, Emefiele was our Chairman.” Obiora said the Committee met every Wednesday to address significant policy matters.

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Obiora recalled the initial introduction of the redesign plan during an event marking the one-year anniversary of the e-naira in Lagos on October 25, 2022. “The governor called all four deputy governors into a huddle and informed us of the plan to redesign the currency,” he said, expressing immediate concerns, as he felt “the event itself may not be the appropriate place to announce such a major policy.” He advised that the policy undergo further scrutiny before any public announcement.

Despite his reservations, Obiora noted that Emefiele proceeded with the plan, formally presenting it to the COG on October 26, 2022. “The governor mentioned that we had already had the president’s approval for the policy,” he stated, adding, “The deputy governor in charge of currency operations presented a memo, and it was discussed, deliberated upon.” Following this, a press conference was held to announce the redesign.

Obiora explained that the CBN Board was formally briefed on the naira redesign months later, in mid-December 2022. He said, “The policy was discussed at the board level mid-December. The board did not sit as day-to-day management but instead gave policy directions.” Obiora clarified that “the board’s involvement in the policy was limited to endorsing the COG’s prior decision, not initiating it.”

During cross-examination, defense counsel Olalekan Ojo, SAN, questioned Obiora about the timing of the board’s formal involvement. Ojo suggested that the December meeting “conforms with the naira notes currently in circulation,” to which Obiora responded, “Yes, sir.” He noted there had been no indication or directive from former President Buhari challenging the redesign.

Reflecting on past experiences with currency design, Obiora mentioned that while he was with the bank during the introduction of a redesigned N100 note in 2014, he was not directly involved in its development.

After delivering his testimony, Justice Anenih discharged Obiora and adjourned the case to December 4, 2024, and January 21, 2025, for further proceedings.

 

Emefiele printed new naira notes different from what Buhari approved – Ex-CBN official

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Train attack: ECOWAS court dismisses SERAP suit against FG

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3 hours ago

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November 15, 2024

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Train attack: ECOWAS court dismisses SERAP suit against FG

The Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court) has rejected a suit filed by a group of Nigerian activists, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) over an attack by bandits on an Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28, 2022.

The court held that it lacks jurisdiction over the case because relevant ingredients that could qualify it to be entertained as a public interest litigation were missing.

SERAP filed the case after bandits attacked the Abuja-Kaduna passenger train in 2022.

In the attack, armed assailants bombed the train carrying over 970 passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line near Rigasa in Kaduna.

The attack led to numerous fatalities, injuries, and abductions.

SERAP, by its case, sought to hold the government of Nigeria accountable for alleged human rights violations in relation to the terrorist attack.

The organisation claimed, among others, that the attack was the result of the state’s inability to provide tight security for the passengers.

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SERAP argued that Nigeria’s alleged lack of measures to avert the attack violated the rights of passengers to life, security, and dignity.

It prayed for a N50 million compensation for each of the passengers and their families.

In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, the regional court declared the suit inadmissible due to lack of victim status required for public interest litigation.

A statement by the court said the judgment was delivered by Justice Dupe Atoki.

It added: “The court recognised its jurisdiction to hear the case as it involved potential human rights violations within a member-state, in accordance with Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol.

“However, the court found the claim inadmissible on grounds that it failed to meet the victim status requirement essential for litigation under Article 10(d) of the same Protocol.

“In its findings, the court said that SERAP claimed to be acting in public interest, citing previous incidents of terrorism in the region, including attacks on educational institutions and transportation services.

“However, the court determined that the case did not meet the criteria for a public interest action, or actio popularis, which requires that the alleged violations affect a large, indeterminate segment of the public or the general public itself.

“The Court highlighted that: The victims of the March 28 attack were identifiable individuals rather than an indeterminate public group, making the claim unsuitable as a public interest litigation.

“The reliefs sought, including specific monetary compensation, were directed at the identifiable victims of the attack rather than the public at large.

“Members of the three-member panel of the court were Honourable Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves(presiding judge), Honorable Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma (panel member), and Honorable Justice Dupe Atoki (judge rapporteur).”

Train attack: ECOWAS court dismisses SERAP suit against FG

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