Osita Okechukwu, publicity secretary of the Conference of Nigeria’s Political Parties has blamed the strike embarked upon by doctors for the death of his undergraduate son last weekend.

Okechukwu, who was left embittered, urged the Federal government and Nigeria Medical Association to do all within their powers to resolve the impasse.

The doctor’s industrial action, which is mainly based on their demands for improved welfare packages in the health sector, has gone on for many weeks now without any end in sight.

Okechukwu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the lingering strike by the doctors contributed immensely to the death of his son, Matthias Koso Okechukwu, a third year Law student at Baze University, Abuja.

The young man took ill and was rushed to a private hospital in Abuja, his situation was said to have become even more critical but the specialists’ attention which the young man required at the National Hospital was not readily available.

While recounting how his son might have been saved, Okechukwu said “If there was no doctors’ strike, perhaps my son would have made it.

“Matthias actually suffers from Muscular Dystrophy and developed crisis on Saturday 9th August and was quickly rushed to a private clinic at Garki and the doctor on duty referred us to National Hospital Abuja, saying that the machine capable of restoring his normal breathing can only be found at the National Hospital.

“On getting to the National Hospital, the only doctor found on duty battled to save Matthias but couldn’t as she couldn’t reach the equipment in the Pediatric Department to resuscitate Matthias. So had it not been for the strike adequate attention could have been paid to him, “he said.

“I therefore passionately plead that the government and the doctors should in the interest of Nigerians quickly resolve the impasse, ” he added.

The dreaded Ebola virus disease has led to the death of another member of staff of the Economic Community of West African States, following the death of Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian who brought the disease into Nigeria.

The name of the West African body’s staff was given as Jatto Asihu Abdulqudir as the sub-regional organisation announced his passing today. The late Abdulqudir, a 36-year old, was stationed at the Lagos Liaison Office.

Said to be a Protocol Assistant at the office, he was one of those charged with assisting Sawyer to a regional meeting before his death from the devastating disease in Lagos on July 25.

A statement released on Tuesday said the commission expressed its gratitude to the Nigerian Government authorities and others who contributed to managing the late official who was under quarantine before his death.

“The Management of the Commission wishes to commiserate with Mr. Abdulqudir’s family and colleagues and prays for the repose of his soul.

“Before this sad event, the Commission working in collaboration with Nigerian health authorities, had disinfected all the facilities of the ECOWAS Lagos Liaison Office as part of precautionary measures to safeguard the health, safety and security of staff members, and will continue to monitor the situation.

“Management has also intensified awareness campaign among staff on the deadly virus and uses this opportunity to invoke the spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance.

“The Commission wishes to reassure staff of all Community Institutions all over the entire region that it is taking all necessary steps to guarantee their health and safety.

“Furthermore, Management enjoins all staff members and community citizens in general to intensify the observance of personal hygiene. They should also report any suspected case to health facilities and seek medical advice or attention for the effective containment and defeat of the Ebola disease.”

Mr Mike Omeri, the Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), has advised Nigerians to use hand sanitisers and wear gloves to curb the spread of Ebola virus.

Omeri gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja

He said that the agency would sensitise Nigerians on the need to use the hand sanitiser as a necessary measure to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

He said: “We want to also emphasise on personal hygiene, use of hand sanitisers and other remedial measures that will stop the spread which is the most effective way of stopping Ebola.’’

Omeri further advised Nigerians to make wearing of glove a habit, adding that the measure should not be taken with levity.

“We are not trying to be make the citizen agitated, where a  citizen will rush to obtain or buy gloves we just want to sensitise the citizen to be personally aware of  what could facilitate the process of contracting the disease,” he said.

According to him, the minister of health is working with the state and local governments as well as the NOA to ensure that effective public awareness is created in the rural areas.

“This will ensure that citizens at that level imbibe the culture of hand-washing with soap and environmental cleanliness, and avoid contact with carriers including bats and monkeys,” he said.

He said that the agency was a member of technical committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to fight the dreaded disease.

“As part of the team we will intensify on grassroots sensitisation.

“We have been working with the primary health care agencies toward sensitising the populace on maternal care, health care and some other diseases that have been there with us, including polio.

“We will concentrate on the rural community with special focus and interest on Ebola virus,’’ said Omeri.

The director-general also advised shop owners and operators of recreational centres and individuals to imbibe the habit of keeping their environment clean at all times to prevent diseases. (NAN)

A 23-year-old professed Celestial Church prophet, Adewale Adeleke, on Tuesday in Lagos, appeared before a Yaba Magistrates’ Court for alleged fraud and rape.

Adeleke, who resides at No. 2 Ajibola Street, Agbado Ijaiye, Lagos was arraigned on a four-count charge of stealing, obtaining by false pretext, impersonation and rape.

Prosecutor Chris Takim told the court that the accused committed the offences on July 26 at 6 p.m. at the premises of Original Inn Hotel, Ebute Meta.

Takim said the accused approached his victim claiming to be spiritually informed about her problems and had solutions to them through a scheduled prayer session.

He said the complainant met him at the hotel on the scheduled appointment were he obtained her mobile phone and N13, 000 as mobilisation fees.

“Adeleke collected her phones and N13, 000 to begin the prayer session with her and later forced her to strip naked as a prerequisite for her prayer to be answered.

“Adeleke, thereafter unlawfully assaulted her and had sexual intercourse with her without her consent,’’ the prosecutor said.

He said that the offences contravened Sections 258, 285, 312 and 378 of the Criminal Laws if Lagos State, 2011.

Section 258 prescribed life imprisonment for any man who has unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman or girl, without her consent.

He, however, pleaded not guilty.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Ariike Oshibayo, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

Oshibayo adjourned the case till Aug. 16 for further hearing. (NAN)

A Spanish missionary who contracted the Ebola virus while working in West became the first European to die from the disease on Tuesday, succumbing to the virus in a Madrid hospital five days after being evacuated from Liberia.

More than 1,000 people have died in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria since the outbreak was first reported in February.

Miguel Pajares, 75, a Roman Catholic priest, was airlifted back to Spain from Liberia last week with a nun who tested negative for the virus.

For the past few days he had been treated with an untested, experimental drug, Zmapp.

“It is confirmed. He died at 9:28 am (0728 GMT),” said a spokeswoman for the Spanish capital’s La Paz-Carlos III hospital.

“We hoped he would be able to overcome the disease but it was not to be. It is as God wished,” the priest’s sister-in-law Carmen Romo told Spanish radio station COPE.

A World Health Organization (WHO) panel in Geneva has meanwhile approved the ethics of using Zmapp.

According to the Reuters news agency, the panel said it was ethical to combat the Ebola outbreak by offering drugs or vaccines whose side-effects and efficacy had yet to be proven.

The priest was part of a Catholic order at St Joseph’s Hospital in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

The hospital has now been closed because of the outbreak.

A Congolese nun died there on Saturday, days after its director, Patrick Nshamdze, also died.

The hospital is run by the Juan Ciudad ONGD charity, established by a Spanish Roman Catholic order, the Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of God.

Its spokeswoman, Adriana Castro, told AFP on Monday that an earlier test had wrongly shown the late director of the Liberian hospital to be free of Ebola.

The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Kano has arrested a man suspected to be the master trainer of Boko Haram female suicide bombers with 16 females who were reportedly being trained for suicide operations, Daily Trust, gathered from security sources.

It was gathered that the man identified as Ibrahim Ibrahim was arrested in Dala LGA of Kano during a raid by the Joint Task Force Thursday.

Daily Trust gathered that the females were being trained to carry out suicide bombings when the JTF raided their training ground and arrested them and their trainer.

The just concluded Sallah celebration was marred in the state as female suicide bombers struck at five different locations. About 30 persons lost their lives to the female suicide bombers who were believed to be less than 20 years old.

“He is still being held and interrogated by the JTF and he is cooperating with the force by divulging vital information about their new strategy of using teenage girls for suicide bombings. I don’t know the exact number of the girls because one of my colleagues who participated in the operation said 13 while the other one said 16,” he said.

A top security source confirmed the arrest but added, “You know we have carried out many recent successful operations recent. I will not like to say much on this latest operation.”

Spokesperson of the JTF in Kano, Captain Ikechukwu Eze, confirmed an operation in Dala local government area.

“There was an operation in Dala where one Ibrahim Ibrahim was arrested alongside some persons. Investigation is still on,” he said in a phone interview.

—Daily Trust

The minister of health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has revealed that Nigeria now has a total of 10 cases of the Ebola virus in the country while revealing that a total of 177 people are also under surveiilance as they are being monitored closely for the virus.

The minister disclosed this at a press briefing held today in Abuja with the objective of giving an update on the Ebola Virus Disease to Nigerians.

Giving a background of how Ebola was transported into Nigeria through Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian financial consultant, Chukwu said the National Ebola Virus Response Plan is in place in Nigeria and will contain the virus from spreading further.

According to him, “all the forty-eight passengers who had flown to Nigeria with the late Mr. Sawyer were traced through an elaborate contact tracing mechanism. Also, twenty two others (among whom, were the health personnel who treated the late American) were promptly identified, isolated and monitored for symptoms and tests of the EVD.

“Unfortunately, out of the initial 70 under both surveillance and isolation, 9 of them developed symptoms of Ebola and were confirmed to have EVD by the same laboratory at LUTH; tragically, one of them, a nurse, passed away on Wednesday the 6th of August, 2014.

Within the initial forty eight hours of the death of this first Nigerian from EVD, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan approved the National Ebola Virus Disease Emergency Containment Plan with an immediate cash backing of One Billion Nine Hundred Million Naira only (1.9Billion) which is about 12Million USD to further complement the containment efforts already in place. The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Health and its agencies, works very closely with the World Health Organization (WHO), Unicef, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local authorities and other international partners to further deepen and broaden these containment efforts. We shall single out the WHO and the CDC for special commendation for their understanding and continuous support in this challenging moment; particularly for the partnership and most importantly for the capacity building of our Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).”

Speaking further, he said “It has been 22 days since EVD first landed in Nigeria. As at today, 177 primary and secondary contacts of the index case have been placed under surveillance or isolation. 9 developed EVD, bringing the total number of cases in Nigeria to 10. Of these 10, 2 have died (the Liberian American and the Nigerian nurse) while 8 are alive and currently on treatment.”

The death of foremost historian and former vice chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Ade Ajayi , is dead.

Investigations  reveals that the late university administrator died at the University College Hospital in Ibadan on Saturday, August 9 but the news only filtered in today.

Ajayi, who enjoyed the respect of his peers, students and members of university circles, was renowned for his thorough researches and teaching which is believed to have established the foundation for the study African history.

According to a profile of the late scholar, “As an early writer of Nigerian and African history, Ajayi brought considerable respect to the ‘Ibadan School’ and African research.”

Born in Ikole-Ekiti, Ekiti State in the 1920s, Ajayi started his education at St. Paul’s School, Ikole, before proceeding to Ekiti Central School for preparation as a pupil teacher, after which he attended Igbobi College in Lagos.

He studied History at the University of Ibadan, before travelling abroad in the 50s to study at the Leicester University under the tutelage of Prof. Jack Simmons, a brilliant Oxford-trained historian.

In 1964, he was made Dean of Arts at the University and later promoted a deputy Vice Chancellor before he was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos eventually in 1972.

He was awarded the “Distinguished Africanist Award” by the African Studies Association in 1993 and many of his works include Yoruba Warfare in the Nineteenth Century; Christian Missions in Nigeria, 1841-1891: The Making of a New Elite and General History of Africa.

Several of his former colleagues including lecturers, administrators and students have started paying their tribute to the man highly regarded.