Metro
Court Jails Nasarawa Lecturer Who Beats, Strips Student over Fight with Daughter
A High Court sitting in the Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State has sentenced a senior lecturer in the Department of History and International Studies at the Federal University, Lafia, Dr Fred Ayokhai, to six months imprisonment.
Fred, who has been in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Lafia, since October 22, 2022, was convicted for assaulting a 20-year-old orphan, Blessing Mathias.
He was first arraigned alongside three others before the state Chief Judge, Justice Aisha Aliyu, from where the case was assigned to Justice Solomon Ayenajeh of the High Court, Obi.
The other suspects are Emmanuella Ayokhai, Bob-Praise Ayokhai and Saint-Dan Ayokhai, as the second, third and fourth defendants, who are all his children, while the fifth defendant, Vera Ogbonnaya, is still at large.
They were charged with criminal conspiracy and physical assault with canes and sticks, contrary to sections 96 and 264 and punishable under sections 97 and 265 of the Penal Code (1963).
Delivering the judgement on Thursday, the presiding judge, Justice Ayenajeh, convicted the first defendant and sentenced him to jail for six months for criminal conspiracy and another six months for physical assault.
The judge, however, said the sentences would run concurrently in consideration of the convict’s plea.
Ayenajeh explained that the six months Fred had spent in prison would be reckoned with.
For the children, the judge said they would spend six months on probation, considering their age.
According to the judge, within the period, they would be tasked with the responsibility of keeping the premises of the Nasarawa State High Court clean, while the third defendant, Bob-Praise Ayokhai, was admonished to shave his dreadlocks.
In a post-conviction speech, the FuLafia lecturer thanked the judge and parties in the matter for the consideration and the leniency accorded him.
He recalled that as a father and teacher in a federal institution, he had never been found wanting in the discharge of his duties and disclosed that he had taken further steps to compensate the victim as part of his consent for a plea bargain.
The prosecuting counsel and the state Attorney-General, Abdulkarim Kana, said the step taken by the government was to give the defendants a second chance in life, particularly the children, who still had bright futures.
Recall that Fred and his children were arrested and arraigned by the police in October 2022 for assaulting the orphan in Lafia after a video of the incident went viral on social media.
A stray bullet has allegedly killed a student who was heading to the examination centre to sit for the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination being organised by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The incident happened on Gbagi market road in the Egbeda Local Government Area of the state when a stray bullet allegedly fired by a police officer in pursuit of a suspect hit and allegedly killed the student on Tuesday.
Investigations revealed that the boy was on a motorcycle with his father and twin brother when the incident struck.
The student, according to multiple eyewitnesses, was on his way to the examination centre.
One of the sources, simply identified as Ajani, said, “A police officer opened fire while chasing a fleeing vehicle. One of the bullets reportedly hit the student. The student was riding on a motorcycle with his father and twin brother.
“The victim was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Another witness said, “The deceased was on his way to the examination centre alongside his twin brother when the tragedy happened.”
Meanwhile, irate youths took the student’s lifeless body to the state Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, to demand justice and called on Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene.
The deceased body has been deposited at Adeoyo Hospital morgue.
As of press time, authorities have not released an official statement on the incident.
The Punch
The Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU)and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) have condemned the recent distribution formula for the N50 billion earned allowance approved by the Federal government for university-based unions.
The unions expressed their displeasure in the sharing formula in a jointly signed statement by the President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, and the General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi on Sunday in Abuja.
The Federal government last month approved the release of N50billion to universities as earned allowances.
The N50billion is to be shared between the Academic Staff Union of Universities; NASU, SSANU and National Association of Academic Technologists.
The statement said: “We wish to make it clear that this is not a contest of supremacy among unions. Rather, it is about fairness, recognition, and the equitable treatment of all workers who form the backbone of the Nigerian University system.”
The unions further demanded a review and reversal of the allocation formula, which they describe as “grossly unfair” and “totally unacceptable.”
The unions argued that the distribution was capable of creating industrial disharmony and accentuating the teaching/non-teaching dichotomy in Nigerian universities.
They vowed to stand united in demanding justice, fairness, and recognition of their rightful place in the university community.
They warned that going ahead with the unfair distribution will breed resentment and trigger widespread industrial disharmony.
“Non-Teaching staff of Nigerian Universities are not second-class citizens but are critical stakeholders who contribute immensely to the day-to-day functionality, administrative efficiency, research excellence, technical operations, and overall development of the Nigerian Universities system.
“A harmonious and productive academic environment can only be achieved when all stakeholders are treated with respect, dignity, equity, and fairness,” the statement added.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police incharge of Zone 2 Command, Onikan (comprising Lagos and Ogun States) on Saturday led Police officers on a fitness walk to enhance their physical wellness, mental health, and emotional well-being. The Walk which stretched from the Zone 2 Headquarters in Onikan to Eko Atlantic City turning on Ahmadu Bello Way, to Adeola Odeku and back to the Zone 2 covered about 10.2 km, the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP) can report.
The exercise, which was undertaken to complement the job of police officers as it demands high level of fitness and health, was to avoid breakdown and collapse, while in and out of duty.
Police officers are known to be on constant move throughout the day, standing for long hours under the rain and sun, and are always under intense pressure in the cause of performing their duties, hence the need for the walk.
Addressing a cross section of NAOSNP members after the tasking but refreshing fitness walk, AIG Adegoke Fayoade stated: ‘This walk is a strategic instruction of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun that we need to be healthy for the job. The Police job is a very tasking job and we require fitness and health to do the job. That is why we decided to do this Walk on a regular basis, it helps us to perform our job effectively which is round the clock.’
‘My charge to our Police officers is that we need to be fit for the job. During leisure, take out time to engage in exercise. It lowers blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Today we did about 10.2km, last time we covered 8.5km, maybe next time, we will do 15km.’
The Zonal Police PRO, Zone 2, CSP Umma Tunni Ayuba added: ‘This Walk plays a vital role in mental fitness which impacts what we do on a daily basis. It is also a means to unite us as officers and engage with members of the public. You can see that some members of the public join us because it goes a long way in the health of an individual.’
‘I didn’t know we did as much as 10.2km because it was fun and enjoyable with good music, like they say, ‘music is life’. I encourage officers to continue to engage in exercise, don’t wait for something to happen to your body before you look for what to do.’
The walk was spearheaded by the Zonal Sport officer, SP Mattias and Lagos State Command Sport Officer, ASP Abayomi Sonaike, SP Mattias and Supol Alex of Zone 2. ‘We thank God that we have an agile AIG who is concerned about our fitness and health. Our AIG Adegoke Fayoade knows that walks will help our agility to do the job better,’ ASP Abayomi Sonaike remarked.
