By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja

Three middle-aged men have been arraigned before a Lokoja Chief Magistrate Court for allegedly impersonating Kogi State Internal Revenue Service staff and mounting road blocks on the Lokoja-Abuja highway for illegal revenue collection.

The trio of Abba Emmanuel, Umar Abubakar and Kingsley Dan’sebe were arraigned before Lokoja Chief Magistrate Court 1 on Wednesday charged with Criminal Conspiracy, Causing Obstruction of Public Highway and Extortion.

The suspects were alleged to have been arrested by the Vigilante Group of Lokoja Local Government area on Illegal Tax Activity.

The prosecuting Police Officer, Gabriel Otowu Esq. who is also the Officer-In-Charge, Legal matters (OC-Legal) at Kogi Police Command while reading the First Information Report (FIR).

Otowu told the court that on 13th November, the vigilante group of Lokoja LGA brought the suspects to the police having caught them impersonating the Kogi State Internal Revenue Services.

He said the suspects erected a roadblock on Lokoja-Abuja road for their illegal revenue collections operation adding that the offences ran contrary to various sections of the law.

The three accused persons however pleaded not guilty to the charges as they denied the allegations leveled against them.

Counsel to the defendants, Mu’azu Abbas urged the court to grant his clients to bail citing Section 36 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 As Amended.

Citing relevant sections of Kogi Criminal Justice Law, Abbas said the offences were triable by the Magistrate Court,

He said that the accused had been in Police custody since November 13, 2024 and urged the court to consider the bail application.

“The defendants will furnish the court with reasonable and reliable sureties to prove they will be available for trial. The court in the overall interest of justice should approve the defendant to bail.”

The Prosecuting Police Officer did not oppose the bail application but urged the court to thread with caution and to “Judicially and Judiciously” look into the case before considering the bail application.

The Chief Magistrate, Abdullahi Musa Mopa, after considering the counsel’s application for bail and the response of the prosecution, granted bail to the three defendants,

Chief Magistrate Mopa said, “Without much ado, that on the circumstances of this application, the interest of justice tilt towards the applicant.

“I hereby grant the defendants bail in the sum of N400,000 and a surety each in like sum. The surety must have a traceable address in Lokoja, and must not be less than a level 14 officer either at the Federal or State parastatal.

Mopa subsequently adjourned the case to December 11, 2024, for further mention. (Ends)

By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja

SALEM University, Lokoja is to graduate 499 students with 41 of them bagging First Class Honours Degree across its seven colleges at the 6th Combined Convocation ceremony of the University taking place this week.

Prof. Alewo Johnson Akubo, Vice Chancellor of the University who disclosed this at the Convocation Press Briefing on Monday in Lokoja described the Convocation Ceremony as epoch-making.

He said that a renowned academic, Sam Egwu, a Professor of Political Economy, as a convocation lecturer, was slated to deliver the convocation lecture at the Chapel of Peace.

“We have a total of 499 graduating students, across seven colleges including: College of Management and Social Sciences, College of Natural and Applied Science, College of Humanity, College of Education, College of Information and Communication Technology, College of Law and the Post Graduate school.

“We have a total of 41 First Class across the the seven programmes in the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 sets.

“We also have a new college that is about to hit the ground running now, and that is the College of Basic Medicine, Medical Science. We just got the approval from the National University’s Commission about two months ago”, he said.

The Vice Chancellor hinted that that University had successfully passed the accreditation process for all its programmes, achieving full accreditation status.

Prof. Akubo said that the institution recorded a notable achievement when its College of Law received full accreditation from the National Universities Commission (NUC), a significant accomplishment for a private university.

He stressed that the university had seen three sets of law graduates sent to the Nigerian Law School, with the first two batches already graduated and the third set in preparation.

He further said that the first set of law graduates has been officially called to Nigerian Bar, marking a milestone in producing qualified lawyers.

The Vice Chancellor noted that the University expanded its Postgraduate Programmes initially offering limited postgraduate programs, primarily an M.sc, MBA and Business Administration.

According to Prof. Akubo following a successful Resource Verification, Salem University has expanded its postgraduate offerings from Postgraduate Diplomas (PGD) to Doctorate levels (PhD) across the seven programs.

He revealed that there were plans in the pipeline to submit additional programmes for verification in the bid to expand and enhance their postgraduate education.

Akubo pointed out that students’ enrollment remained that major challenge facing the institution in spite of its successes and achievements saying, “students’ enrollment remains a persistent challenge for the university.”

This issue, according to him, underscores the need for ongoing efforts to attract and retain students in order to sustain and build upon the university’s achievements. (Ends)

By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse

The Jigawa State Government has partnered with Sasakawa African Association (SAA) to enhance agricultural production and value chain development for rural communities in the state.
A $100,000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two parties, marking a significant step towards improving food security and empowering rural women and youth.
The Deputy Country Director of SAA, Dr. Abdulhamid Gambo, made the disclosure during a press interaction following a meeting with Jigawa’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Muttaqa Namadi.
Dr. Gambo highlighted that the Sasakawa African Association has been operational in the state for over 30 years, supporting rural agricultural development through interventions in food production, value chains, and economic empowerment.

According to him, Since its establishment in Jigawa in 1992, SAA has been working with thousands of community-based agricultural groups, providing training, agricultural inputs, and technical support.
“The association currently works with over 500 men and women’s groups across 27 local government areas of the state.
“This year, we are excited to sign this $100,000 MoU with the Jigawa state government, which will run for one year. We also conduct an annual media field visit to showcase our activities and speak directly with the beneficiaries,” Dr. Gambo explained.

He also noted that the field visits allow the media to observe the impact of SAA’s interventions in local communities.
“This year, Jigawa and Gombe states were selected for the media field day, where Sasakawa has provided support in communities like Babuwawa, Sintilmawa, and Facewa, which have benefitted from various agricultural value chain interventions, including extension services and market linkages.

“SAA’s efforts focus on improving productivity, adding value to agricultural products, and enhancing market access for rural farmers.
“The association works closely with research institutes, universities, and local farmers to develop and disseminate agricultural technologies that boost production and incomes.

The communities visited during the field day expressed their gratitude for the intervention, noting how Sasakawa’s support had positively impacted their lives. Leaders of these communities reported increased agricultural production and improved income, as well as the establishment of new business ventures and farming associations within and outside the villages.

The signing of the MoU marked another milestone in the ongoing partnership between Jigawa State and Sasakawa African Association to transform rural agriculture and improve livelihoods across the state.