Metro
Catholic Priest Celebrating Mass Collapses, Dies in Rivers
Tragedy struck in Rivers State on Sunday as the parish priest of the Saint Helen’s Catholic Church, Ogbogoro, Rev. Fr. Simeon Kuro, slumped and died while celebrating the Mass.
The incident, it was said happened while Kuro was delivering the homily on the church’s altar in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
The middle-aged priest was later rushed the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital by members of his congregation, but he could not be resuscitated by the medical personnel as he was declared dead by doctors.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, toldSouthern City News that the priest collapsed shortly after concluding the homily around 10am and was rushed to the UPTH around 10.30am, but was pronounced dead around noon.
The source said, “I can confirm to you that the priest of St. Helen’s Catholic Church, Rev. Fr. Simeon Kuro, collapsed today (Sunday) after the homily.
“He was rushed to the UPTH around 10.30am, but was declared dead by a doctor around noon. It is a sad situation.”
A source at the UPTH confirmed the incident.
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Nnamdi Omoni, said he had not been able to confirm the incident from the Divisional Police Officer covering the area.
When contacted, the Director of Communications, Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt, Rev. Fr. Francis Tete, said he would not be able to speak on the incident immediately.
He, however, told our correspondent that he would speak only after clearance from the authorities.
“I can’t give you any statement at the moment. Maybe when I talk with the authorities tomorrow (Monday), I will tell you something,” Tete said.
The Punch
The Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, has approved the posting and appointment of some senior officers of the Nigerian Army (NA) to various command, staff and instructional positions.
According to the army spokesman, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, the redeployment is a strategic move to enhance operational effectiveness and administrative efficiency.
The redeployment cuts across Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) at the Army Headquarters (AHQ), General Officers Commanding (GOCs), Corps Commanders, Commandants of Army training institutions, Brigade Commanders and other key positions. The reshufflement underscores Nigerian Army’s commitment to ensuring robust and dynamic leadership structure capable of addressing emerging security challenges.
Some of the senior officers appointed as PSOs at the Army Headquarters include Maj Gen LA Fejokwu, from National Defence College to Department of Army Administration and appointed Chief of Administration (Army), Maj Gen GU Chibuisi, from Nigerian Army Resource Centre to Department of Civil Military Affairs and appointed Chief of Civil Military Affairs and Maj Gen AS Ndalolo, also from the Nigerian Army Resource Centre to Department of Army Training and appointed Chief of Training (Army). Others include Maj Gen OS Abai, from Department of Army Training to Department of Army Transformation and Innovation, appointed Chief of Transformation and Innovation and Maj Gen JH Abdussalam from Headquarters 6 Division to the Department of Special Services and Programmes and appointed Chief of Special Services and Programmes. Maj Gen EI Okoro has been redeployed from the Department of Army Logistics to the Department of Military Secretary and appointed Military Secretary (Army).
Senior officers appointed as General Officers Commanding (GOCs) include Maj Gen OT Olatoye from Nigerian Army School of Infantry to Headquarters 82 Division/Joint Task Force (JTF) South East Operation UDO KA (OPUK) as GOC 82 Division/Commander JTF OPUK and Maj Gen EF Oyinlola from Department of Military Secretary to Headquarters 3 Division as GOC 3 Division/ Commander Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH). The acting appointments of Maj Gen AGL Haruna as GOC 7 Division/Commander Sector 1 JTF North East Operation HADIN KAI and Maj Gen IA Ajose as GOC 8 Division/Commander Sector 2 JTF North West Operation FANSAN YANMA among others have been confirmed substantive in the recent redeployment.
Other senior officers redeployed are Maj Gen GO Adeshina from Headquarters Nigerian Army Signals to Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre and appointed Director General while Maj Gen GM Mutkut is posted from Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre to Headquarters Multi National Joint Task Force Njamena as the Force Commander. The redeployment also featured Maj Gen MC Kangye from Headquarters Nigerian Army Corps of Artillery to Defence Headquarters as the Director Media Operations.
Senior officers appointed as Corps Commanders include Maj Gen OC Ajunwa from Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre to Headquarters Nigerian Army Armour Corps and appointed Commander, Maj Gen HT Wesley from the Department of Special Services and Programmes to Headquarters Nigerian Army Ordinance Corps, appointed Commander and Maj Gen TT Numbere from Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre to Headquarters Nigerian Army Engineers and appointed Commander. Others include Maj Gen NC Ugbo from Department of Civil Military Affairs to Headquarters Nigerian Army Signals and appointed Commander, Maj Gen ZL Abubakar from Department of Army Transformation and Innovation to Headquarters Nigerian Army Corps of Artillery and appointed Commander and Maj Gen AP Oguntola from Nigerian Army College of Education Science and Technology to Headquarters Nigerian Army Education Corps and appointed Corps Commander.
Other senior officers also affected in the redeployment are Maj Gen JO Sokoya, appointed Commandant Nigerian Army Training Centre, Maj Gen UM Alkali appointed Commandant Army War College Nigeria, while Maj Gen FS Etim from Department of Army Transformation and Innovation is redeployed to Nigerian Army School of Infantry, appointed Commandant. Maj Gen AB Mohammed has been redeployed from the Department of Army Operations to Depot Nigerian Army and appointed commandant.
The Zone 2 Police Command comprising Lagos and Ogun states, has held its first lecture of the year with officers of the Zonal Command Headquarters in attendance, according to a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, CSP Ayuba Ummah, and made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP).
In his speech during the lecture, the Chief Host, who is the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of the Zone, AIG Fayoade M. Adegoke, wished officers of the Zone a Prosperous New Year while charging them to imbibe public partnership, positive impact policing, quality service delivery and professionalism.
AIG Fayoade urged the personnel to improve positively on the image of the Force by building effective partnership with the public, focus on information gathering through intelligence to ensure crime and criminality is reduced to the barest minimum.
He also emphasized the need to show empathy and not be biased as all citizens are equal before the law and deserve to be treated with fairness.
The AIG further urged officers to pay attention to their health as that is very necessary and crucial to efficiency and effectiveness in quality service delivery.
A 3.7 magnitude earthquake has struck California, United States of America, adding to the State’s ongoing tough challenges with worsening wildfires.
This comes as Los Angeles continues to fight raging wildfires, which were allegedly started by an arsonist who has since been arrested.
Mail Online reported on Friday that the tremor was detected near the San Francisco Bay Area at 7:02 am PT, with its epicentre approximately five miles Southwest of the Golden Gate Bridge and two miles west of the Great Highway.
The quake was followed by a 2.2 magnitude aftershock four minutes later and a 2.5 magnitude tremor six minutes after the initial hit.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported that more than 5,000 people in the area felt the shake, and the number of reports continues to grow.
This seismic activity occurred about 350 miles away from the Los Angeles area, where wildfires have caused widespread destruction.
“I ordered city government into action immediately this morning, and our first responders have been out across the city ensuring the safety of our residents.
“We have also been sharing information and giving people the tools to protect themselves and their families in an event like this,” Mayor Daniel Lurie commented on the situation.
Despite the tremors, no injuries or damage have been reported from Friday’s earthquake.
The USGS had detected a 3.0 magnitude earthquake the day before, disrupting San Francisco’s Muni subway service.
Many reported that the quake lasted only a second.
