WARRI—IJAW communities at Agge, along River Ramos, between Ekeremo in Bayelsa State and Bururtu in Delta State,  have issued a seven –day ultimatum to a Delta State-based oil servicing firm, within which to send relief materials, medications and pay adequate compensation to victims of oil spill that occurred last December.

The spill occurred when a barge allegedly carrying about 4,000 litres of crude oil sank in the river, polluting the environment, damaging fishing gears and causing death of aquatic lives and posing health hazard to the communities.

The barge is said to belong to Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production based at Okpai in Ndokwa axis of Delta State.

A Joint Investigation Visit, JIV, by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, led by  the Warri Zonal Office Director, Mr. Akindele, met with representatives of the communities to assess the damage and recommended adequate compensation.
A community representative, Mr. Mitchell Suwa, applauded NOSDRA for its prompt action, saying “now we know that they are working.”

The names of the students who lost their lives in the Tuesday attack on Federal Government College, FGC, Bunu Yadi, Yobe State by Boko Haram militants have been revealed.
43 students were killed. Hostels, classrooms and more than 40 houses were burnt during the attack.
The attackers reportedly hurled explosives into student hostels, sprayed gunfire into rooms and hacked some students to death. Others were burned alive.
Adamu Garba, who teaches at a secondary school attached to the college, said the attackers first set ablaze the college administrative block and then moved to the hostels, where they locked students in and started firebombing the buildings.
At one hostel, he said, “students were trying to climb out of the windows and they were slaughtered like sheep by the terrorists who slit their throats. Others who ran were gunned down”. He said students who could not escape were burned alive.
Many of the students are still unaccounted for. Below are the names of 24 students confirmed dead.
Sale Mamiski, Musa Muhammad, Sani A. Audu, Usman Faltu, Garba Jibo, Hussani Mari, Mailam Ali, Goni Ali Babamai, Ali Ayuba, Peter John, Abba Mohammed, Aliyu Yala, Abba Adam, Hamidu Bala, Suleiman Lawan Guji, Abbas Ibrahim, Inusa Ali, Rukaya Gaji, Usman Saleh Idris, Auwal Adam, Usman Abba Kaku, Musa Yalti Buba, Sadisu Dauda, Aisha Audu Goni

By Abiodun Badejo

A Federal High Court sitting in Akure yesterday remanded in prison custody, two suspects, Mrs Happiness Ogundeji and Mr Abiodun Ogundeji presently standing trial over their alleged connection with a baby factory in Ilutitu ,Okitipupa.

The trial Judge, Justice Mohammed Ishaq Sani gave the order at the resumed hearing of the matter .

Counsel to the suspects, Mr Festus Keyamo informed the court of the application for bail, dated February 23 and filed on February 24 ,2014.

Keyanmo, told the court that he had filed bail applications for each of the accused persons.
He therefore prayed for consolidation of the applications in which they asked for an order admitting the suspect to bail.

According to him, “The constitution guarantees the freedom of the accused persons, since they are presumed innocent until they are found guilty”.

The lawyer urged the court to admit his client to bail so as to afford them the opportunity to stand trial ,adding that ‘’the discretion of the court is unfettered.’’

The prosecution lawyer, Barr. Chedu Ajaegbu, who represented the Attorney General of the Federation, also informed the court of a Counter Affidavit dated February 26,2014 in which he attached some evidence to prove that the accused persons should not be granted bail

He pointed out that the first accused, Mrs Ogundeji was facing similar charge in Enugu and Imo State High Courts.

The prosecution counsel submitted that the woman in the two states where she committed the same offence ,was granted bail, but she has since stopped attending courts for her trial before she relocated to Ondo State.

But, Keyamo contended that the prosecution counsel should display before the court, evidence of bench warrant against her in the two states.

Justice Sani then adjourned his ruling on the bail application.

However, Ajaegbu told the court that he could not take the accused persons back to Lagos until determination of the court on bail application because ,he brought them from Lagos and kept them in the custody of the Immigration Service.

He therefore applied that the duo be remanded in prison custody, which was accordingly granted by the court.

Farouk Ahmed replaces Reginald Stanley
President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the appointment of Farouk Ahmed as Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, with immediate effect.
Mr. Ahmed will take over from the incumbent Executive Secretary, Reginald Stanley, who is retiring after 35 years in service.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati.
The incoming Executive Secretary, who hails from Sokoto State, is the current Managing Director of Nidas Marine Ltd., a subsidiary of the NNPC.
The statement said Mr. Ahmed comes to his new job at the PPPRA with “over 28 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry and a sound commercial and trading background having held senior positions in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry including Manager, Crude Oil Programming,  Nominations, and Shipping and Terminals”.
Mr. Ahmed has also served as Executive Director (Commercial), Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Limited (PPMC).
“President Jonathan thanks the outgoing Executive Secretary of the PPPRA, Mr. Stanley for his meritorious service to the nation and wishes him well in his future endeavours,” the statement added.

The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has said that work on the multimillion naira Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas Structure, Ekowe, in Bayelsa, will be completed before June this year. The Head of Press and External Relations of PTDF, Mr Kalu Otisi, who disclosed this in Abuja on Monday, said the polytechnic was one of the special projects being implemented by the agency in the Niger Delta. Otisi said that arrangement was being made for President Goodluck Jonathan to inaugurate the project before the next academic session. He explained that the project was conceived to provide specialised oil and gas training for the development of middle-level manpower requirement of the petroleum sector. He however declined to disclose the cost of the project but said that it was located in the Niger Delta area “for proximity to oil exploration and exploitation in upstream and downstream operations. SOURCE