Abuja airport closure: Turkish Airlines may use Kaduna

If the words of the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Ahmed Gulsen are anything to go by, Turkish Airlines will be using the Kaduna airport during the six week closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

James Odaudu, Deputy Director, Press Unit, in the Ministry of Transportation said in a statement on Wednesday, that the Ambassador promised to make this happen when he received the Minister of State for Aviation Sen. Hadi Sirika in his office.

Gulsen said that the reluctance of the airline to use Kaduna airport is based on security issues and its ability to handle international flights.

The News Agency of Nigeria however, reports that Gulsen accepted Sirika's invitation to visit Kaduna for on the spot assessment of the airport.

“The partnership between Turkey and Nigeria is very strategic and therefore at this point of need by Nigeria, Turkey should be ready to assist.

“As the ambassador representing Turkey in Nigeria, I should be able to convince my government and operators of the Turkish Airlines to fly Kaduna.

“I agree with you that the Abuja runway needs to be repaired and that the closure is necessary; I will talk to the CEO of the airline to convince them to fly Kaduna during this period.

“Though it is their private business, but they should be able to trust my judgment as their representative in Nigeria,’’ he said.

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DSS detains Peace Corps Commandant

The National Commandant of Peace Corps of Nigeria, PCN, Mr. Dickson Akoh and more than 40 members of the organization were on Tuesday night reportedly arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services.

The Public Relations Officer of Peace Corps, Milicent Umoru, told newsmen on Wednesday that the DSS operatives were accompanied by police and military personnel.

She disclosed that Mr Akoh is being detained by the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.

A member of the Peace Corps who pleaded anonymity said that a female officer who was assaulted during the operation was hospitalized after losing consciousness.

”We suddenly saw a detachment of armed security operatives asking everybody to lie face down. They asked the commandant to follow them, and he obeyed, but some of the officers said that they want to follow the commandant and the security operatives started beating up everybody, including state commandants.

“One of the assaulted officers was a female. She was repeatedly hit with a gun butt until she lost consciousness. She was later rushed to the National Hospital.”

The Nigerian Peace Corps which bill was passed in December last year by the Senate is being opposed by the police as a duplication of its duties.

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Fire guts FCE Gusau

A section of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Gusau was on Tuesday evening destroyed in a fire incident.

According to the provost of the college, Dr Barakat Abubakar, the fire which started around 7 pm destroyed educational equipment worth several millions of naira in the Department of Integrated Sciences.

Citing an electrical fault as the cause of the fire, Abubakar appealed to the school community to always switch off electrical appliances at the close of business.

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Senate confirms Justice Onnoghen as CJN

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Justice Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Congratulating the new CJN, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki described Justice Onnoghen's nomination, screening and eventual confirmation as a milestone and a democratic progress.

He expressed  appreciation of the enormous responsibilities and challenges ahead of the new CJN.

"We must ensure that the relationship between the 3 arms of  Government is in the interest of our dear country.

" We hope they will ensure the judiciary is the last hope of the common man," he said.

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Int'l consortium presents $20b Ogidigben Industrial Park investment plan to Osinbajo

Dubai-based consortium, AGMC on Tuesday presented a $20bn investment plan to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, for the Ogidigben Gas Industrial Park.

The consortium is made up of GSE&C of South Korea, China Development Bank, and Power China among others.

The Ogidigben Industrial Park is located about 60km from Warri, in Delta State and about 1km away from the operational base of Chevron Nigeria Limited.

When completed, the park will be connected to more than 18 trillion Cubic Feet of gas reserves in fields such as Odidi, Okan and Forcados, all located within a 50km radius.

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3 Abuja prostitutes arraigned for fighting over a customer

The Federal Capital Territory, FCT Police Command on Monday dragged three commercial sex workers before a Grade 1 Area Court in Karmo, Abuja for assaulting and causing grievous harm to their fellow prostitutes.

The prosecutor, Zannah Dalhatu, told the court that Joy Opera and three others of Jabi Massalaci had on February 21, reported a case of assault against Helen Gabriel, Joy Johnson and Ene Ahmed of the same address at the Utako Police Station, Abuja.

According to Dalhatu, the complainants reported that the defendants had on the said date attacked them at Eden Garden , Utako, Abuja, and inflicted serious injuries on their bodies with razor blades because of “a little misunderstanding over a customer.”

He explained that the victims were treated at Wuse General Hospital after the assault, noting that “the first defendant was the one who used the razor blade on the girls, while the second and third defendant were her girls.”

He added that the actions of the accused contravened sections 79 and 248 of the Penal Code.

While the first respondent pleaded guilty to the two-count charge, the other two pleased otherwise.

While the presiding judge, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq  granted bail to the second and third defendants in the sum of N 30,000 with one surety each in the like sum, he ordered that the first defendant be remanded in prison custody until the complainants were discharged from the hospital and adjourned the case till March 7 for further hearing.

NAN

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Man who drank insecticide over MMM crash dies in Abuja

Adakole, the young man who drank insecticide in Benue State a couple of months ago when news of the crash of popular ponzi scheme MMM-Nigeria broke has died.

Abujacitynews learnt that Adakole died from complications arising from the poisonous substance in Kubwa area of Abuja on Monday, February 20, 2017.

A family source said that the late Adakole could not recover his investment before his demise, even though MMM announced resumption of operations sometime in January.

"No, he was not paid. In fact he threatened to arrest his guider before the stomach trouble returned last week and we rushed him to the hospital where he eventually died. I don't even believe MMM is back, otherwise Adakole would have been the first person to be considered for payment.

"We attempted to reach them to recover Adakole's money but they kept telling us to provide help to get help. Obviously the ponzi scheme has crashed."

Meanwhile, reports emanating from MMM-Nigeria indicated that payment to participants for 2016 investments has been put on hold while the scheme concentrates on paying those who provided help in 2017.

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