Headlines
JAMB Failure: 22 Year old Boy Drinks ‘Sniper’, Films Self
A 22-year-old man, identified simply as Segun, is battling for his life at a general hospital in Ogun State after he drank insecticide, sniper.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the victim had scored 167 in the last Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations.
Segun, who was unhappy with his result, went onTwitter and expressed frustration at his repeated failure to secure admission into a tertiary institution despite several attempts.
He lamented that in 2015 when he sat the exam, he scored 189, adding that when he tried again in 2016, he scored 202.
The victim said when he attempted in 2017, he scored 233 and failed to get admission due to lack of funds.
He lamented that when he eventually got a sponsor, he could not get a good exam result in 2019.
In a tweet, he had informed his followers that he would go live on Twitter on Sunday, May 12, to show them how to take Sniper with tea.
“This thing go sweet o. You all should at least make this fun for me by 9pm please. Tune in and wish me luck,” he tweeted.
A clip, which has gone viral on the Internet, showed Segun pouring a bottle of Sniper into a cup purportedly containing tea.
The over five minute video showed as he took a spoon of the mixture, while reading live comments from his friends. A sombre music played in the background.
The 22-year-old could be seen leaving the room for a few seconds, before returning to continue reading the live comments, as he toyed with the poisoned cup.
Some Good Samaritans were reported to have run to the scene and rushed him to a private hospital, from where he was referred to the general hospital.
Segun, who took to his Twitter handle,@TweetsOfSHEGUN, on October 4, 2018, narrated how he lost his father at six and his mother had to cater to four children alone.
He said, “I graduated from secondary school in 2014. I went out to search for jobs. I found few unsuitable jobs, did them for a while, and later came across a pharmacy; I was employed.
“After a year, my mom asked, ‘Won’t you go to a tertiary institution?’ I said yes, I won’t go. She insisted; I asked her where we could get the funds. She said she would get a loan that I must go to school.
“So, from my savings I got a JAMB form in 2015. I requested time off work to register for JAMB, sat JAMB exam, and post-UTME also. I wrote JAMB exam and passed, passed post-UTME too, but I was not admitted. I tried again the following year. Same fate!
“Tried again the following year 2017, passed and got admitted for Medicine. I resigned from work, mom applied for a loan in more than three places and none was given to her. Why? The state government had bans on loans (if you are in Ogun State; you will know this to be true). She tried her best. Ultimatum for acceptance fee elapsed. My admission was withdrawn!”
A Twitter user, Pamilerin Adegoke, after reading the post, said he had decided to put Segun on a scholarship and he would pay all his university bills till he finished school.
However, Segun made a post on how he did not get a good result in the 2019 UTME, saying he would kill himself.
“It is now when people want to send me to school that I will score 167 in UTME? 167? LMFAO. Make I close eyes picks answers sef…Me?? 167??
“Meanwhile, I will be teaching y’all how to make tea with Sniper by 9pm live on Twitter. Tune in,” he wrote.
Adegoke told PUNCH Metro that the victim was in a stable condition.
He said, “We are at the state hospital where we were transferred to. If we don’t see improvement, we will move him to a private hospital. He is currently receiving treatment and in a stable condition.”
The punch – Oluwatobi Akindele
Former Military President, Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), is set to launch his long-awaited autobiography.
Reports said the memoir titled: ‘A Journey In Service’, will be released on February 20, 2025, at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
The development is coming 32 years after IBB left office.
The regime of the former Head of State was negatively shaped and defined by the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) policy, among other regulations, which sparked a nationwide riot by student union and other similar groups.
There was also the unresolved murder of the late journalist, Dele Giwa, and the June 12 annulment, among other controversial issues.
While in office, IBB was popular with the moniker “evil genius” and “Maradona”.
Explaining the nicknames, IBB said they were manufactured by the media because of his “deft political moves”.
“That’s the very good thing about the Nigerian media and Nigerian people. You have to anticipate them.
“If you anticipate them, then you live well with them. They call me ‘evil genius’, I marvel at that. The contradiction, you can’t be evil and then be a genius.”
“The definition of Maradona I got from the media is because of deft political moves. That’s the way the media described it”, he had said.
He succumbed to pressure in August 1993 when he “stepped aside” for the late Ernest Shonekan as the chairman of the Interim Government.
The late General Sanni Abacha would, however, topple the government in 1993 and would subsequently die in office in 1998.
Although IBB granted interviews to local and international media since leaving office, he has somehow found a way around some of these contentious issues that happened during his rule.
About seven years ago, he had expressed doubts about writing an autobiography, saying he was uncertain if Nigerians would “want to read about a dictator”.
He added that the public had a wrong impression of him, citing his role in the June 12 crisis, and some of the policies he unfurled between 1985 and 1993 as head of a junta.
However, he made a U-Turn and wrote the book.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will lead former Nigerian leaders and their counterparts in other parts of Africa to grace the much awaited autobiography.
According to an invite dispatched to dignitaries this week, the board of trustees of the IBB Presidential Library Foundation said the book launch will take place alongside fundraising for a Presidential Library.
The organisers said the event would be chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, with President Bola Tinubu as the Special Guest of Honour.
The keynote address would be delivered by the former president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, while former vice-president Yemi Osinbajo would review the autobiography.
Other guests billed to attend include ex-presidents Muhammadu Buhari, Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and Goodluck Jonathan.
A former Minister of Defence Gen. Theophilus Danjuma and Chairman of BUA Group; Abdul Samad Rabiu, are named chief launchers.
Members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have expressed support for the recent court ruling that nullified the party’s congresses in Rivers State.
The NWC members made their position known during a visit to Governor Siminalayi Fubara at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday night, where they also held a closed-door meeting with the Governor.
The delegation included the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.
Speaking after the meeting, the National Treasurer, Ahmed Mohammed, reaffirmed Governor Fubara’s status as the party leader in Rivers State.
He described their visit as part of an effort to realign the party and strategize for a comeback in the 2027 elections.
Mohammed stated their commitment to fostering unity, stability, and effective repositioning in the State.
He also expressed the NWC’s support for Ude Okoye, who was recently reinstated as the party’s National Secretary by the Court of Appeal.
Mohammed urged party stakeholders and governors to rally behind Okoye for the party’s progress.
The visit comes just days after PDP Youth leaders from across the country met with Governor Fubara in a bid to resolve internal party crises, with a focus on affirming his leadership in the state.
The court ruling that nullified the Ward, Local, and State congresses, which were won by allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has created ripples within the party.
The congresses, which were held last year, were marred by conflicting court orders, with a State High Court restraining the exercise while a Federal High Court allowed it.
Following the nullification, an interim committee emerged, saying it will oversee the leadership of the party in Rivers State.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has denied the request of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to issue an arrest warrant for Dr Oba Otudeko, Dr Bisi Onasanya and others due to lack of formal service on the defendants.
The court addressed multiple motions during the session, including the Prosecutor’s request for a warrant of arrest, which the Judge rejected due to the lack of formal service to the defendants. The Judge, therefore, granted an application for substituted service.
Bode Olanipekun, appearing for Dr Otudeko, sought an order restraining parties from irresponsible use of the media, Thus, the Judge advised all parties to exercise restraint in media engagement and urged journalists present to ensure accurate reporting of court proceedings.
The case has brought the EFCC under scrutiny for allegedly flouting procedural norms.
Critics have faulted the agency for going public with the charges without first formally serving Otudeko and other implicated parties. Legal experts argue that this approach undermines the principle of fair hearing and could prejudice the public against the accused.
The case has been adjourned to February 13 for arraignment.
