By Laide Akinboade, Abuja

The University of Lagos Alumni Association, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), chapter on Thursday, awarded scholarship to about 28 Senior Secondary school students in 6 Area Councils.

The scholarship award covers school fees, levies, West African Examinations Council, (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO), exams.

Vice Chairperson of the Association, the FCT branch.

Mrs. Julia Davis, while speaking to journalists said, 28 brilliant students from the six Area Councils, on Abuja, were carefully selected for their performance.

She said, “And these 28 students, that we were given the award today were the ones that came top”.

She noted that among those that were selected were children with special needs, and the association is very proud of them.

She said, “So it’s our joy that we are seeing this kind of improvement in our society, that even though they have this impairment, you know, they are still able to stand with their pair.

“And so we are happy to make them also recipients of this. Well, the amount that we have given to each of them is to take care of their NECO exams, their WAEC and school fees for the year . As a matter of fact, I didn’t tell you at the start that this scholarship award that we’re here giving today, it’s a yearly event for my alumni association”.

Dr. Danlami Hayyois the Mandate Secretary for Education who was represented at the occasion by Director/Secretary, FCT secondary Education Board, Hajiya Fatima Gambo Babba, commended the kind gesture of the association and noted that lots of students cannot afford to pay their fees but these scholarship would cushion some of challenges of their parents.

She lamented, “Some students finds it difficult, to pay their school fees, and this gesture will go a long way in alleviating the suffering of some parents”.

She therefore urged other non governmental organizations and individual to replicate what UNILAG Alumni just did and take up some of the challenges, that some students have, it would go a long way.

Emmanuel Emele, the Chairman of scholaship commiittee, of the association streesed that their focus is on indigent students.

He added that for now the association is concentrating on only SS3 students.

And this scholarship award has been on, for the past 3years and it will continue.
[7:26 PM, 4/9/2026] +234 805 422 4497: Good evening dear, how is your day going, please darling help me use this story

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), said Lassa fever fatalities have risen sharply in 2026, in spite of a decline in new confirmed cases in the latest reporting week.

The NCDC in its Epidemiological week 13 report on Thursday in Abuja, disclosed that 167 deaths have been recorded so far within the year.

The Nigerian Public Health Institute says the case fatality rate (CFR) is 25.

2 per cent, significantly higher than the 18.5 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025.

According to the report, 26 new confirmed cases were recorded in week 13, a decrease from 51 cases reported in the previous week.

The cases were reported across seven states Edo, Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Ebonyi, Benue, and Kaduna.

However, the agency noted that the overall burden of the disease remained high, with a total of 663 confirmed cases out of 3,831 suspected cases reported across 22 states and 93 Local Government Areas in 2026.

”The number of suspected and confirmed cases has increased compared to the same period in 2025,” the report stated.

The NCDC identified Bauchi, Ondo, Taraba, Edo, and Benue as the most affected states, accounting for 85 per cent of all confirmed cases.

It added that young adults between the ages of 21 and 30 remained the most affected group, with a median age of 30 years.

The report also highlighted persistent challenges driving the high fatality rate to include late presentation of cases, poor health-seeking behaviour, and high cost of treatment.

Other factors the report said include poor environmental sanitation and low awareness levels in high-burden communities.

In spite of these concerns, no new infections among healthcare workers were recorded during the reporting week.

In response to the outbreak, the NCDC said it had activated a multi-partner Incident Management System to coordinate national response efforts.

It also said that the agency in collaboration with partners such as WHO, UNICEF, and MSF, had intensified surveillance, contact tracing, and public awareness campaigns.

It added that targeted interventions, including healthcare worker protection plan and infection prevention strategies, were being implemented in high-burden states.

The agency urged state governments to strengthen year-round community engagement and called on healthcare workers to maintain a high index of suspicion for Lassa fever to ensure early detection and treatment.

Public health experts are of the opinion that rising fatality rate in spite of improved response efforts, underscore the urgent need to address systemic gaps in early diagnosis and access to care.

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus and is primarily transmitted through contact with food or household items contaminated by rodents.

Nigeria records cases of the disease annually, particularly during the dry season when human exposure to infected rodents increases.

Health authorities say early detection, prompt treatment and strict infection control measures remain critical to reducing mortality and preventing outbreaks.

Bandits have abducted a man, Bitrus Jayawa and his wife, Martha Bitrus, from a farm in Katambi community in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

A resident of Katambi, Markus Iliya, said the incident happened around 9:12 am on Monday when the couple were busy clearing the farm ahead of cultivation.

He said the victims went to the farm along with three of their children, saying the children first sighted the bandits and immediately took to their heels.

“It was even the three children of the victims, who sighted the bandits coming into the farm, before they escaped and the bandits went after the couple,” he said.

A community leader, who preferred anonymity, also confirmed the abduction of a couple at a farm in Katambi village on Monday.

He said immediately he received the distress call, he quickly alerted the security operatives at Sabon- Kurutu junction.

“Although before the troops stationed at Kurutu junction cool arrived at the farm, the bandits had already escaped with the victims into the forest,” he said.

Spokesman of the Kaduna state police command, DSP Hassan Mansur, is yet to confirm the latest abduction as calls put across him were not answered.