Category: News

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Celebration Galore As Fareedah Oyolola, Nigerian Student Emerges World’s Most Brilliant Student

It is heart-warming to hear again that the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth has honoured Fareedah Oyolola, a secondary school student at Greensprings School, Lagos, as one of the brightest students in the world.

This recognition is a result of her exceptional performance in the advanced School and College Ability Test (SCAT), which every student must undergo in order for the institution to determine their current academic abilities before admitting them into its talent search programme.

Sharing her experience about the test, Fareedah said: “The test was a multiple-choice aptitude test in verbal and quantitative reasoning, and I had to answer 100 questions within 44 minutes! At the end of the test, my score was in the 92nd percentile for verbal reasoning and 87th percentile for quantitative reasoning.

There’s no way I would have gotten these high scores with such a limited time window if not for the great work put in by my teachers, towards developing my comprehension abilities and mathematical reasoning skills. I am very grateful to them.”

In a statement issued by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth as obtained by ODUDUWA NEWS, the Executive Director; Virginia Roach, congratulated Fareedah and other outstanding students across the world. She said, “We are thrilled to celebrate these students. In a year that was anything but ordinary, their love of learning shined through, and we are excited to help cultivate their growth as scholars and citizens throughout high school, college, and beyond.”

Mrs Magdalene Okrikri, the secondary school principal at Greensprings Anthony campus, also expressed her satisfaction with Fareedah’s honour. She said, “This honour brings great joy to my heart. Fareedah’s achievement is a testament that our Thinking School programme is rewarding to our students, helping them to develop mentally and strengthening their cognitive abilities.”

The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth is an initiative of Johns Hopkins University committed to nurturing extraordinary young minds. Its 2020 – 2021 programme draws nearly 19,000 students from 84 countries. Fareedah and other honourees from other countries are expected to attend a summer programme in the United States or Hong Kong.

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Olowu Fish Market Sealed By Lagos Govt Over Sale Of Conserved Animals

The Lagos State Government through the Directorate of Environmental Health/Occupational Health and Safety in the Ministry of Health has sealed up Olowu fish market in Epe.

This is upon discovery that the market was being used for the sale of conserved species of animals including Monkeys, Elephants, Pythons, Crocodiles, Alligators, Antelopes, Pangolins, among others to both local and foreign Businessmen.

In a statement, the Director of the Directorate; Dr. T. F. Ajayi said the action was in furtherance of the need to proactively act to prevent the extinction of the species and also nip further outbreaks of diseases from such development.

“In view of the recent statement by international health authorities to the effect that Africa would need to be prepared for her health systems not to be overran, as other ailments/outbreaks would likely be on the rise, apart from the Coronavirus, the Lagos State Government has shown its readiness to keep the state healthy and safe.

“The activity carried out by the Director and other officers in the Directorate, ensured the Olowu Fish Market in Epe was sealed upon discovery of sales of conserved species (monkeys, elephants, pythons, crocodiles, alligators, antelopes, pangolins, etc) to local and foreign businessmen,” Ajayi said.

He explained that it became necessary to seal the market, in order to forestall other outbreaks as Ebola, Lassa fever and others that could arise from such unchecked activities.

Besides, Ajayi urged Lagosians to keep an eye on their environment and report activities that could damage the health system of the state.

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16 Hoodlums Arrested By Lagos Taskforce With Charms, Machetes, Other Harmful Weapons

Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Taskforce) has arrested 16 miscreants believed to have masterminded violence and robbing of commuters in Iyana Cele and Iyana Isolo.

The miscreants, who capitalized on the peaceful No-work protest embarked upon by drivers of commercial buses on Oshodi – Mile 12 Expressway to unleash mayhem on commuters, were caught molesting passersby and destroying public facilities.

The Chairman of the Lagos State Taskforce, CSP Shola Jejeloye, who was in the area to maintain law and order as well as listen to some of the aggrieved protesters, called for calm, assuring that Government would address their grievances.

He added that no official of Lagos State Taskforce operates between Toyota and Mile 2, adding that the agency is presently rejigging its operation in order to prevent reported incidences of illegal Taskforce operatives in the metropolis.

He noted that he has listened to all complaints against the officials of the agency, noting that genuine complaints would be addressed.

It was learnt that the drivers decided to protest the installation of road signage on roads that used to serve as bi–directional ways as One – way.

The miscreants, who set bonfire on Mile 2 – Oshodi Expressway, prevented vehicular activities on the busy highway thus making commuters to resort to trekking.

The miscreants arrested include: Lekan Fatai (29), Tosin Ajakaye (32), Sakiru Lanre (38), Lekan Salaudeen (36), Hakeem Oyetoro (47), Daniel Adeojo(38), Ramon Moshood (30), Lekan Nureni (37), Okolawon Oluwaseun (39),Olajide Qudus (24), Uchenna Idima (28), Dada Hamid (23), Tega Monday (28)
Rafiu Pelumi (20) and Wike Odigbi (27).

Recovered from the miscreants were machetes, charms, cudgels and other harmful weapons.

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Land grabbers: Five killed, several others injured in Lagos, Ogun attacks

No fewer than five persons were killed and many others injured on Saturday when hoodlums attacked the Igbokuta/Gberigbe community, in the Ikorodu Area of Lagos State.

ODUDUWA NEWS gathered that the hoodlums, who were suspected to be land grabbers, invaded the community around 1pm and attacked the land owners in the area with weapons.

According to the residents, the hoodlums, who were led by one Sir K and one Gbenga, stormed the community and attacked their perceived enemies.

The deceased were identified as Lateef Ade, Mutiu Balogun, Hameed Idris and two others.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the incident happened after two suspected fake policemen placed in the community by Sir K were arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team.

He said, “Two fake policemen, who were impersonating the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, were among 15 people illegally stationed in the community since May 19, 2021, by Sir K.

“However, the fake policemen were arrested and this was what led to the Saturday attack. The Sir K gang members were angry that the policemen were arrested; the attack, which led to the death of five people, was part of a reprisal by the gang.” A community leader, Chief Akorede Oluderu, lamented incessant attacks by the gang on residents and called on the police to intervene.

He said, “We no longer sleep with our two eyes closed due to the attacks on this community by the notorious land grabbers. We are calling on the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force to look into our ordeal and save us from these thugs. Many lives have been lost, yet the police have done nothing to bring the situation under control.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, did not pick his phone which rang out several times.

He did not also reply to a text message sent to his phone as of the time of filing this report.

In a related development, two persons were injured on Saturday when some hoodlums suspected to be land grabbers invaded Obada-Oko community in Ogun State.

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Four Suspected Serial Killers Of POS, Uber Operators Arrested By Ogun Police

Four suspected serial killers have been arrested by men of the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly killing a Point-of-Sale terminal operator, Abiodun Odebunmi, and a Uber driver, Idowu Ademiluyi.

The suspects, identified as Kehinde Jelili, aka Oluomo, Abiodun Akinola, Johnson Fakeye, and Jamiu Akinola, allegedly set ablaze Odebunmi’s remains after stealing N4m from him.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Thursday, said the suspects were members of a syndicate which specialised in robbing PoS and Uber operators in the state.

Oyeyemi said the suspects were arrested on Wednesday following a report lodged at the Onipanu divisional police headquarters by a PoS attendant, Aanu Salaudeen.

The PPRO explained that Salaudeen, who worked for Odebunmi, reported that her boss left their office at Aparadija the previous day to meet a customer.

Odebunmi was said to have gone missing since then.

“According to Salaudeen, they had earlier done a transaction of N1.5m with the person who invited her boss the previous day, and it was the same person who called her boss to meet him at Oju-Ore to do another PoS transaction of N4m.

“Upon the report, the policemen at Onipanu commenced investigation into the sudden disappearance of the man. Their efforts paid off when the burnt body of the victim was discovered in an uncompleted building at the Arobieye area of Ota without any trace of his assailants.

“The CSP Femi Olabode-led homicide team, in compliance with the CP’s directive, embarked on technical and intelligence-based investigation, which led them to Otun Ekiti in Ekiti State, where the suspect was discovered to be hibernating.

“On getting to Ekiti, the suspect got wind of the presence of the detectives and quickly escaped to Offa in Kwara State.

“With determination to apprehend him, the team continued trailing him and they later got information that he was in Benin Republic, where he had gone to attend the court session of Chief Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, and that he would soon be coming to Nigeria.

“Having got the information about the day he would be returning to Nigeria, the team laid ambush for him and got him arrested at a boundary community between Ogun and Lagos states.

“On interrogation, Kehinde Jeili, who claimed to be a native of Apomu in Osun State, confessed to killing the victim.

“He confessed further that he deliberately lured the victim to Ota, where he and his gang members were waiting for him with the money he was asked to bring, having transacted a N1.5m business with him the previous day, and that they cut him to death with machetes after collecting the money from him. He stated further that they burnt the victim’s body in order to cover their tracks,” Oyeyemi stated.

The PPRO explained that the suspect confessed that his gang always targeted Uber and PoS operators.

On how they operate, the suspect reportedly said one of them would pretend as a passenger and lure a Uber driver to where his members were waiting; as soon as he got to the place, the driver would be hacked to death and his car stolen.

“Also, the suspect stated further that he and his gang attacked another victim, one Idowu Ademiluyi, at the Itori area and snatched his Toyota Corolla, having cut him with machetes to the point of death.

“The arrest of Kehinde Salihu led detectives to their receiver, Abiodun Akinola, who is a standby buyer of every proceed of their crime.

“The confessional statements of the duo led to the arrest of the other two suspects, Johnson Fakeye and Akinola Jamiu, at Atan-Ota and Owode-Yewa, respectively,” Oyeyemi added.

Three vehicles — a Toyota Camry, a Toyota Corolla and a Toyota Rave 4 — whose owners were murdered, were recovered from the gang.

The police spokesman noted that the investigation which led to the arrest of the suspects lasted for three months.

He said, “The Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, has appealed to members of the public to always disclose their movement to at least one trusted person whenever they have cause to keep an appointment with an unknown person.”

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Armed Robbers Attack Bullion Van In Ondo

Armed robbers attacked a bullion van along the Akure/Owo Highway in Ondo State on Wednesday, shooting a policeman in the process.

Public Relations Officer of Ondo State Police Command, DCP Funmi Odunlami, told newsmen that the attack occurred close to Emure-Ile junction along the highway.

The robbers were however unable to cart away any funds as the bullion van was not carrying any cash when they struck, Odunlami added.

Meanwhile, a team of policemen has been deployed to the area to apprehend the armed robbers and the injured policeman is being treated at a nearby hospital.

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Recruitment: Oyo State Anti-Corruption Agency Opens Portal For Applicants

The Oyo State Anti-Corruption Agency has commenced recruitment into the following positions:

• Assistant Executive Officer
• Assistant Confidential Secretary
• Personal Assistant
• Driver
• Gardener
• Cleaner
• Accountant
• ICT Expert Officer
• Chief Legal Officer
• State Counsel Officer
• Executive Officer
• Investigator Officer
• Social Scientist
• Confidential Secretary
• Lawyer

Qualification: SSCE – NCE – OND – HND – Bachelor’s Degree – Masters. You can apply through this portal https://jobs.oyaca.ng/register

Deadline: August 30, 2021

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College of Health Science Students Write Makinde, Demand His Intervention In Their School

The students of Oyo State College of Health Science Technology have written an open letter to Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde on the need to intervene and prevail on their management for failure to do their statutory responsibilities that will enable them to be registered, certified and licensed as Surgery Technicians. The copy of the open letter as sent by the students to ODUDUWA NEWS is reproduced below.

Engr. Oluseyi Makinde,
The Governor,
Oyo State.

Your Excellency Sir,

REQUEST FOR URGENT INTERVENTION

We final year students of Oral Health Science Department, studying Dental Surgery Technician in Oyo State College of Health Science and Technology, Eleyele Ibadan, formerly School of Hygiene, Eleyele, write to bring to your attention for urgent intervention the unreadiness of our department and college management to fulfil its core mandate.

Upon admission, we were assured that we will be CERTIFIED and LICENSED as Dental Surgery Technicians after fulfilling our academic requirement, unfortunately, it appears the management is not interested in fulfilling this.

Aside other academics requirements, aspiring Oral Health Technicians must be licensed by the DENTAL THERAPISTS’ REGISTRATION BOARD OF NIGERIA to be eligible to practice, it is, therefore, the responsibility of the college to prepare students and register them for the board examination according, students who pass will the examination will subsequently be issued the licence to practice by the board.

Since the inception of the department in the 2016/2017 academic session, two sets have graduated so far and despite paying for the board examination, none of the over 100 students from both sets was registered for the board examination by the management, leaving them unlicensed, hence, unemployable.

It is sad that after paying one of the highest cost for this particular course compared to any government-owned institution in the southwest, graduates are left roaming the streets due to the refusal of the college to perform its duties of indexing and registering them with the board.

By the end of this session, we would have spent 3 full years and not less than 400,000 ( Four Hundred Thousand Naira) in our pursuit to be certified and licensed Dental Surgery Technicians. As demanded from our predecessors who were not registered despite paying, the management of the institution has again set a deadline for the payment of a total of N45,000 ( Forty-five Thousand Naira) for the board examination.

Although the sum is outrageous for an examination which the board itself requires just about N 7,000 (Seven Thousand Naira). We have endured higher degrees of extortions from the management since our admissions, hence, our concern at the moment is not the fee but the sincerity of the management to truly register us for this examination as we dont not want to suffer the same deception previous sets suffered.

We know for a fact that other institutions like, Ogun State College of Health Science and Technology, Ilese and Kwara State College of Health Science and Technology, Ijebu-Ode who offers the same course registered their students for this board examination, we, therefore, wonder why our institution has been negatively different.

The information at our disposal is that the board is already rounding up registration and indexing for this year and as usual, our school has not registered We, therefore, plead that you intervene and prevail on the management to be truthful and do the needful before it’s too late.

Thanks and God bless you, sir.

CC :
National Association of Nigerian Students
Special Assistant to the Governor on Student Affairs
Director, Department of State Services, Oyo State
Commissioner of Police, Oyo State
Oyo State Ministry Of Health
Oyo State Ministry of Education
Media outlets

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Tokyo 2020: Oke-Ogun Born Athlete, Adegoke Defeats World’s Fastest Man

Nigeria will be represented by the pair of Enoch Adegoke and Usheoritse Itsekiri in the semis of a highly competitive men’s 100m at the ongoing Olympic Games in Tokyo after both athletes secured their spots, posting inspiring performances in the heats on Saturday.

While racing at the Olympic Stadium, the Nigerian Champion sped into the history books as the country’s 11th sub-10s runner, stunning a stacked field which included USA Champion and World Leader Trayvon Bromell, to take the win in Heat 2 with an impressive time of 9.98s.

Qatar’s Femi Ogunbode and Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes followed in 10.02s and 10.04s respectively, with Bromell settling for 4th place.

Former Nigerian Champion Itsekiri also gave a good account of himself, racing to a 3rd place finish with a time of 10.15s in Heat 1 that was dominated by USA’s Ronnie Baker. It was a sad day for 200m National Record holder Divine Odududuru who was disqualified for a false start.

Speaking after his breathtaking performance, an excited Adegoke who is making his first appearance at the Olympics said:

“It feels great, I’m excited about this. It’s been a long time coming and I thank God for the result. God has said it and he did it.”

When asked about his strategy for the next round, the Commonwealth Games finalist said: “I think it’s all about recovery and communicating with my coach. I trust God for a better result tomorrow. “

Adegoke has been drawn into Heat 2 of the semis where he will once again square off with Bromell, Ogunbode and Hughes while compatriot Itsekiri will compete in Heat 1, where he will face Andre De Grasse, Fred Kerley and Yohan Blake.

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