CRIME
Kogi Gov’t Denies Commercialisation of COVID-19 Vaccination
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Kogi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (KSPHCDA), has denied media reports, alleging demand for money by its health administrators from Covid-19 jab takers as precondition for administering the vaccine on them.
A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in a press briefing in Bauchi State, had alleged that vaccine administrators in Kogi State were demanding money from jab takers before vaccinating them.
A statement by the Executive Director of the Agency, Dr Abubakar Yakubu, on Tuesday in Lokoja, said the purported report was misleading and far from the realities on COVID-19 vaccination in the state.
He stressed that the report was highly unlikely to be true as the group failed to back up its purported findings with actual facts and without using the appropriate channels.
Yakubu added that it was a known fact that the agency had been engaging in a high level social sensitisation and mobilisation advocacy across communities in the state in other to have increased uptake of the vaccine.
”How can something we are practically persuading the people to take, will now be the same thing to be demanding for money before administering?,” the executive director queried.
He emphasised that the agency had closely monitored the activities of the administrators vis-a-viz enlightenment to persuade the people across the state to take the COVID-19 vaccine, since the commencement of its administration in the State,
The KSPHCDA boss added that the said discovery should have been addressed to the appropriate agency in the State rather than addressing newsmen in Bauchi State on a purported event that was claimed to have happened in Kogi State.
Yakubu maintained that the claim by the group was practically impossible to happen in Kogi State where his agency and the state’s Ministry of Health were still doing a high level advocacy and community sensitization alongside relevant NGOs for COVID-19 vaccine uptake.
He described the report by CITAD of demanding for money for COVID-19 vaccination in any part of Kogi State as false, baseless and misleading with political undertone.
”The State Government completely rejects the report and thereby demand for an immediate and unreserved apology from the publisher of the fake news as well as its generator, CITAD. Failure to tender their apologies, the government would be forced to take punitive measures against NGO and its collaborators,” he said.
Meanwhile, Yakubu noted that KSPHCDA had set up a team of investigators who are painstakingly analysing the purported report in order to expose the perpetrators as well as the motive behind their action.
Speaking with our correspondent, Mr Folayan Idowu, the State Coordinator National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), who is also a member of the State Joint Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccination, also refuted the allegation, saying it was unfounded.
According to Idowu, the task force has been embarking on weekly patrol to monitor the administration of COVID-19 vaccine across the 21 LGAs, insisting that there was no record of such incident.
CRIME
Okuama Crisis: Reps Assures Justice as Committee Commences Probe
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
The House of Representatives has said it will ensure the crisis in Okuama Community, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State is brought to a logical conclusion.
Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Rep. Babajimi Benson, gave the assurance while addressing newsmen on Thursday, at the Governor’s Office Annexe in Warri.
Benson led other members of the committee to a public hearing on the carnage that occurred in Okuama Community in Delta resulting to the death of 17 soldiers and consequent destruction of properties.
The committee convened on Thursday at the Governor’s Office Annexe in Warri without the presence of the locals in attendance.
It would be recalled that the investigative hearing was in line with the 10th Assembly House of Representatives’ resolution of March 19, 2024.
The resolution was prompted by the March 14 massacre of 17 soldiers in the Okuama Community.
The lawmaker said that the committee had so far received about 23 memorandum from stakeholders.
“We came to see members of the community in camera and by way of memorandum. We have received a lot of memorandum from them but they have not turn up physically.
“We have gotten enough memorandum and we intend to work with the memorandum. Though, the window is opened till Friday next week, so we are still expecting more from them.
“We have assured everyone including the Delta State that the House of Representatives will ensure the matter is looked into from both sides and come to a logical conclusion.
“That is why we are asking them to send memoranda and they are complying. We gave them a week and the period will elapse on Friday.
“If you do not want to show up, please send us your documents so that we will be able to act on them, and get to a logical conclusion,” Benson appealed.
The legislator said that the committee was fully ready to ensure that justice was done on the matter.
On why the committee could not visit the troubled Okuama Community, the lawmaker said that the activities of the committee regarding the crisis had not ended.
According to him, the committee will visit the locals and also invite the military to give account of what happened at the community.
“We are definitely going to meet the locals but we are going to arm ourselves with information,” he said.
Among the 10-man committee was Rep. Francis Waive, member representing Ughelli North/Ughelli South and Udu Federal Constituency.
CRIME
Gunmen Attack Ortom’s Ex-Chief-of-Staff, Abduct Wife
Suspected armed Fulani herdsmen on Friday, attacked former Chief of Staff to Benue State Governor, Honorable Terwase Orbunde, and abducted his wife and house help.
Orbunde, a former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic (PDP) in Benue state served under the administration of the immediate past Governor of the state, Dr Samuel Ortom.
The attack, it was learnt took place close to the “Genocide Cemetery” along Mobile Barracks-Welfare Quarters Road in Makurdi, the state capital at about 6.
00 PM.The former Chief of Staff escaped with a gunshot on his right arm, while the attackers whisked away his wife, Mrs Abigail Kashimana Orbunde and her house help, Patience Ogute.
Eyewitnesses told DAILY ASSET that Orbunde, his wife and the house help, had gone to inspect the their farm when the incident happened.
The eyewitnesses said after the inspection of the work and payment of the workers five gunmen suddenly attacked their victims as they walked back to their car.
The attackers were said to have opened fire and Orbunde received a bullet on the right arm, while they ordered him and the women to follow them to an unknown destination.
The shooting was said to have caused villagers and passersby to scamper for safety in different directions.
As they marched along, the former Chief of Staff was said to be bleeding profusely, witnesses further said.
The witnesses who watched from a distance said the leader of the group ordered him to walk away while the gunmen took the women to an unknown destination.
An unidentified ‘good Samaritan’ was said to have conveyed the former Chief of Staff to an undisclosed hospital for medical attention.
The State Police Commnad could not be reached for comments at the time of this report.
CRIME
AONN Seeks Multiple Approaches to End GBV
The Association of Orphan and Vulnerable Children (AONN) has advocated for the adoption of a multifaceted approach to combat Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) both within Nigeria and on a global scale.
Speaking during a one-day GBV sensitization in Apo-Dutse, Abuja, marking the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls, Kiema Ogunlana, the AONN FCT coordinator, stated that this has become necessary due to the increasing complexity of GBV in recent times.
More women are coming forward to report abuses by their wives and partners.
Additionally, there is a rising trend of children being reported as perpetrators of violent acts against their peers.“We intervened in a recent case where a girl slashed her best friend with a razor over claims of emotional abuse,” she said.
Mrs. Ogunlana said AONN as an organization that focuses on children welfare, thought it wise to sensitize them irrespective of the sexual difference.
“Children within the age range of 10-17 years old were selected inline with the year’s 16-day activism theme: ‘Unite! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls.’
“When we say ‘unite,’ we mean the total involvement of everyone to achieve a violence-free society.
“Including the males in such sensitization is important because the boys will grow up to become men and husbands to the girls. If they are ignorant of the forms of violence, they will continue perpetrating violent actions against the female folks,” she said.
Mrs. Ogunlana mentioned that the children were also taught how to deal with an abuser. “Every child is a product of learning from his or her society, and we have emphasized the need to speak out given the recent rise in mental health cases. The children were able to internalize the lessons learned and called out for the end of violence,” she added.
The District Head of Apo Dutse, Ishaku Sagbede, highlighted the wisdom of engaging children in such sensitization while welcoming members of AONN to his palace.
“Indeed, the increase in violence among children is a reflection of the entire society, but with such sensitization Nigeria will become like London,” he asserted.
The Daisy Oak Program’s Manager, Chibueze Okechukwu, admonished the children of the consequences of SGBV, using rhymes to press the message home.
Program Manager of the Catholic Action Committee on HIV/AIDS (CACA) noted that most children suffer from abuse but do not know that they are being abused.
“When children come to understand the term ‘abuse,’ that is the only time they can speak out,” she said.
Chito Obiora-Anaekwe further said that the organization has caseworkers who follow up on cases of abuse in the community. She added that victims are beginning to speak out as a result of such activism over the years.
Segun Samuel, representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Health Board, said girls and women are mostly affected by Gender-Based Violence as a result of early or forced marriage. “Women are denied access to medical services as a result of cultural practices. These have ripple effects. The most commonly experienced issues are Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF), obstructed labor, and maternal risks.”
The event also included a session on personal hygiene carried out by Sam Empowerment Foundation, Communication Officer, Chiamaka Nwankwo.
Additionally, free services such as HIV/AIDS Testing Services, Hepatitis testing, Malaria Testing, Drug dispensary, and counseling services were offered to the children.