Author: nationalpoint

Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced a 47-year-old woman, Gertrude Thompson Akpan to 10 years in prison for buying a 6-year-old boy in Uyo and transferring him to Owerri in Imo State where she sold the victim to one Kate Ojukwu Ogbonna, a native of Bende in Abia State at the sum of N200,000.Gertrude Akpan, a mother of three children from Ikot Eyo in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, was sentenced today by Justice Okon Okon, without an option of fine.The convict, who claimed to be a staff of Immanuel Hospital, Eket,…

New research by Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) indicates that civic space in Rivers State is squeezed on all sides… and it’s getting worse. The situation is particularly bad for journalists, and groups representing women’s rights, who are reportedly the target of harassment, arbitrary arrest, and threats of violence in Rivers State.On a more positive note, SDN’s research suggests that civil society organisations are gaining legitimacy and improving in their own accountability.SDN’s research highlights the way Rivers State’s Quarantine Act and Rivers State Government Executive Order were quickly passed with powers that were just as quickly abused by the agencies responsible, with extortion reportedly…

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has ordered the immediate evacuation of students of Delta origin from crisis troubled Jos, the Plateau state capital, following renewed crisis and security concerns in the North Central state.A statement by the senior special assistant to the governor on Students Affairs, Comrade Jerry Ehiwario, said sthe evacuation exercise commenced on Thursday, August 26.He commended Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for his prompt approval for the exercise, adding that the lives of Delta students was very dear to the state.Ehiwaro also commended the secretary to the state government, Chief Patrick Ukah for being proactive and his prompt…

Delta State Government says no university in Nigeria, federal or state, is as funded as Delta State University, DELSU.Commissioner for Higher Education in the state, Professor Patrick Muoboghare stated this in Asaba while briefing journalists.The commissioner, who disclosed that notions raised by the opposition party  over the creation of three universities were borne out of sentiments, added that Delta State owned universities were models to other universities across the country.“When universities went on strike, the issues the other universities went on strike for are issues that had been taken care of in the state. No Government university in Nigeria is…

The attention of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has been drawn to series of meetings between the temporary coordinator of HYPREP, Prof. Philip Shekwolo and one Prince Biira, posing as representing MOSOP, in an attempt to defraud the Ogoni people. MOSOP can confirm that HYPREP and Prof. Shekwolo are funding division in MOSOP and by extension in Ogoniland, ignoring the court judgment on the 4th of May 2020 that nullified everything that Prince Biira stands for. MOSOP is advising Prof. Shekwolo to stop further destabilization of Ogoniland by illegally sharing the Ogoni clean-up money with Shell…

A Port Harcourt Senior Magistrate Court presided by Blessings Vic-Jumbo Esq, has adjourned to Tuesday, September 14, 2021 to continue hearing in a suit filed by one Mr. Cyril Massey Harry, a retiree and business man against Industrial and General Insurance company, (IGI), over breach of personal investment saving account agreement he took with the company in 2013. Led by his counsels, Barr. Chigozi E. Nwaodu and Israel Nnanna Eze, in the matter that came up for hearing on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, the claimant, Harry told the court that in April, 2013, he took up a savings scheme with…

Chevron Nigeria Limited’s Security Contractor G4S owes hundreds of ex-staff millions of naira in unpaid gratuity. The company denies current staff union membership rights in a culture of violation of workers’ rights that will not be tolerated elsewhere, writes Ibiba DonPedro. This is a first report following a year long investigation of Private Security Companies operating in the Niger Delta.Columbus Okaro, Corporate Affairs Director, G4S Secure Solutions Nigeria Limited Photo credit: ContactOut.comOn its smart, well-structured website, G4S presents itself as a modern organisation spread across 90 countries employing approximately 550,000 workers. Of this number, about 4,900 work in Nigeria, predominantly…

By Styvn ObodoekweAnother spill siteUntil the recent discovery that they have been deceived by Shell Development Petroleum Company, SPDC, which made them believe spill sites in their community have been properly cleaned and remediated, the people of Ikarama Community have been wondering why crops planted on their lands often die off.Crops do not thrive. Cassava stems planted die and are replaced again. Those that manage to reach harvesting period hardly yield anything unlike in the past lament some members of Ikarama Community in Okordia clan, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.Although they are aware that oil pollution destroys the…

The Forum for Ethnic Nationalities of Niger Delta (FENND) at the end of our Summit held on Saturday, August 14, 2021 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, reviewed the situation in the country and discussed issues impacting the Niger Delta people, our present environment and our future prosperity. The summit focused on Unity and Cooperation among member nations; Water and Natural resources; Internal Security; Political options and Pushback.At the meeting, we emphasized that unity, cooperation and collaboration among all ethnic nations of the Niger Delta on ALL issues of individual ethnic nation as well as collective Niger Delta interests cannot be better…

By Chiemeka GreenBarr. Dortimi Kester Tawari Speaks at the SummitThe 2021 Forum for Ethnic Nationalities of Niger Delta (FENND) was indeed a convergence of intellectuals, activists, traditional rulers, political leaders, captains of industries and stakeholders in the struggle for the emancipation of the Niger Delta region coming together to deliberate on the injustice melted on the oil producing communities by the federal government and the multinational oil companies operating in the region.The summit which featured panel discussions and syndicate sessions also availed the leaders of the various ethnic nationalities in the region the opportunity to holistically look at the Petroleum…