Lead poisoning kills 27 children in Niger State

The Federal Government has confirmed the death of 27 children in a fresh outbreak of lead poisoning from illegal mining in Niger State.

The Minister of State for Health, Fidelis Nwankwo, stated this during a press briefing on Wednesday in Abuja. He said 63 cases of the outbreak had been confirmed by the government in the state while many animals in affected communities had died.

He said there is palpable fear among neighbouring communities in Kaduna State. However, he said the disease is not contagious.

The communities affected are Shikira, Magiro Ward and Kawo, all in Rafi Local Government, according to the Director of Port Health in the ministry, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, who led the Federal Government’s team to the areas.

Gwarzo emphasized that the outbreak was deadlier than the one which broke out in Zamfara in 2011, in which 400 people were killed.

According to him, the public should not have excessive fear over the outbreak but should instead take all precautionary measures against its spread.

On his part, Nwankwo said the Ministry of Health received report of the outbreak on May 7 and immediately swung into action.

He said, “The lead poisoning was confirmed and it is confirmed that most of the people affected are children below the age of five years. The affected children were found to have high serum lead levels of between 171.5 – 224ug Pb/dl (normal is less than 10ug Pb/dl). That means, 17-22 times higher than the acceptable limits, as established by the World Health Organization.

“The rapid assessment by the NCDC/FMOH/MMSD revealed that as at May 12, 2015, 65 cases and 27 deaths had occurred, giving a case fatality rate of 43 percent. All the 27 cases were children below the age of five made up of 17 females and 11 males.

“Additionally, the finding revealed a serious impact on our livestock with cows, goats and chickens most affected. The devastating impact of this outbreak is associated with new mining sites which were found to contain more leaded ores which are often brought home for crushing and processing.”

He listed efforts made by the government to include advocacy meeting with community leaders in the state, including sensitization of communities in the state.

Nwankwo explained further that the government had commenced the process of establishing incident command structure to enhance routine coordination of the outbreak response.

Besides, the minister said government was already mobilizing health facilities in Nigeria and Zamfara State to commence action.

He ordered that all laws affecting mining in the country should be respected while illegal mining should stop in the state.

Why I challenged past presidential elections – Buhari

 President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari

President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday explained why he went to court to challenge the results of the presidential elections, he lost in 2003, 2007 and 2011.

Buhari, who stated this when Delta State All Progressives Congress members visited him in Abuja, said that he took the decision because he believed Nigeria must be free.

Buhari, who contested and lost 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections, said, “Going through the court is not easy, both materially and physically, and I maintained that consistency because my view about my country is that Nigeria should be truly free.”

He condoled with the delegates over the killing of some people during the last general elections.

The president-elect stated, “I understand why many of you, who were denied the opportunity to choose those you want to represent and lead you are taking the line I took in the last 12 years – in line with our constitution.

“Whether you get it or not, the most important thing is that you believe in the system and you should continue to try until the system is perfect.

“I express my condolence to you for the people murdered and I assure you that my objective of remaining consistently in partisan politics is to make sure that Nigerians are given their inherent right to choose whoever they want to lead them,” he said.

The president-elect said that he would never support anybody who undermined that right of Nigerians.

He added that arming unemployed youths and sending them to kill their own people was the worst thing anybody aspiring to leadership could do.

According to him, he would concentrate on what Nigerians would be proud of, adding that Nigerians would be respected globally.

Buhari said that the first objective of the APC would be security, adding that insecurity destroyed the economy.

The leader of the delegation and the APC governorship candidate in the state, Otega Emerhor, alleged that the PDP disenfranchised the people of a Delta and the South-South at both the presidential and governorship elections.

He stated, “ As our submission to the tribunal in respect of the governorship and state assembly elections will demonstrate, in truth, the majority of Deltans were ready for the change you represent and were geared to vote massively for you and APC.

“Unfortunately, a grand design executed by the PDP in the South-South and South- East and particularly in Delta, Rivers and Akwa Ibom made sure that no proper elections took place.”

He alleged that result sheets were confiscated and results fabricated, adding the PDP resorted to violence and intimidation.

Ancelotti banned

 Carlo Ancelotti

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has been given a two-game touchline suspension by the Spanish Football Federation, Sky Sports reports.

The decision means the former Milan boss will be unable to sit on the bench for the rest of the La Liga season.

Ancelotti was reported by referee Carlos Clos Gomez for sarcastically applauding the officials at the end of Madrid’s 2-2 draw with Valencia on Saturday which all but ended their title hopes.

Los Blancos trail Barcelona by four points with just two games away to Espanyol and home to Getafe left to play.

However, the Italian is still free to marshal his troops from the touchline in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second-leg with Juventus as well as in the final should Real Madrid get through.

Ancelotti’s former club hold a 2-1 lead from the first leg after goals from ex-Real striker Alvaro Morata and a Carlos Tevez penalty.

Dangote’s refinery to run on UOP technology

Aliko Dangote

UOP LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Incorporated, on Wednesday said its process technology, catalysts and proprietary equipment would form the basis for Dangote’s refinery, the largest refinery in Africa that is targeted at reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuels and petrochemicals.

Africa’s richest man and President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had in March announced that his oil refinery would process 650,000 barrels per day of crude, up from the 450,000bpd initially planned.

The completion of the plant, expected to come on stream in 2017, will see Nigeria having the largest refinery in Africa.

 

Dangote Oil Refining Company selected UOP technology for a world-scale integrated refinery and petrochemical plant to be built in Lekki, Lagos, said Honeywell in a statement on its website.

Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer with the second largest amount of proven oil reserves on the continent, currently imports most of its refined product requirements due to lack of domestic refining capacity.

The Senior Vice President and General Manager, UOP’s Process, Technology and Equipment business, Pete Piotrowski, was quoted as saying, “UOP has been designing state-of-the-art refineries and petrochemical plants for more than a century; so, we are well-equipped to help Nigeria develop a massive new installation to meet its domestic needs.

“This project will enable Dangote to improve Nigeria’s oil refining capabilities, reduce the country’s dependence on imports, and work to revive and transform the Nigerian economy.”

Senate Presidency: Akpabio, Orji, Uba, Egwu attend pro-Saraki meeting

 Orji, Egwu and Akpabio

Some Peoples Democratic Party Governors-elect on Tuesday night attended a meeting held by some of their All Progressives Congress counterparts rooting for the emergence of former Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki as the Senate President.

The PUNCH learnt that the meeting which held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja had 65 senators-elect in attendance.

A source who attended the meeting listed   Godswill Akpabio, Theodore Orji and Sam Egwu among the PDP senators-elect that were in attendance.

Our source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said some of the PDP senators-elect were backing Saraki because it appeared that the APC leaders were in support of Ahmad Lawan.

The source said, “For now, the PDP has not endorsed any candidate but some of us are in support of Saraki because the APC leaders appear to be supporting Lawan.”

A senator-elect from Kogi State, Dino Melaye, confirmed to journalists on Wednesday that some PDP senators-elect attended the meeting by Saraki supporters.

Melaye said that the   PDP and the APC senators had already confirmed their endorsement of Saraki.

According to him, the meeting was attended by many PDP and APC Senators, including Sabo Nakudu, Mohammed Gobil, Ali Ndume, Danjuma Goje, Binta Garba, Ubah, Shehu Sani and   Aliyu Wamakko,

He said, “The meeting was a mixture of PDP and APC senators. Forty APC and 25 PDP senators were in attendance. We resolved that we have to produce a senator that is made by senators.   Eighty per cent of senators from Lawan’s North-East attended the meeting and endorsed Saraki.”

But a senator elect, who claimed to be a member of the Lawan Camp faulted the claim that most of the PDP senators-elect had endorsed   Saraki.

The senator-elect, who did not want his name in print, added that some PDP senators -elect were also working for Lawan.

“We want to elect our own leaders in the 8th senate but the party, too, will have an input but it is important to elect someone with integrity, experience and a transparent attitude,” he said.

Besides the North-West, the South-West Caucus of the party had also endorsed Lawan.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, had in an interview with one of our correspondents on Tuesday, assured the leadership of the APC that the recent endorsement of Lawan   would not cause any rancour among the lawmakers from the South-West.

Besides Saraki (North-Central) and Lawan (North-East),   George Akume (Benue) is also contesting the senate presidency.

The APC has yet to zone the position and others, including the speakership of the House of Representatives.

But it was gathered that some members of the APC caucus in the North-West, who were earlier reported to have endorsed Lawan had started supporting Saraki.

In the PDP, among those supporting Lawan, are loyalists of the Senate President, David Mark.

Attempts to speak with Saraki on the issue were futile .

The Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media,   Kola Ologbondiyan, said that his principal had not endorsed any aspirant for the senate presidency.

“The senate president is not a member of the APC and he doesn’t attend their meetings,” he said in a telephone interview.

Why we killed policemen during Lekki robbery ─ Suspect

The suspects

Four suspected members of a robbery gang that unleashed terror on the Lekki area of Lagos on Thursday, March 12, have been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command.

Our correspondent learnt that the suspected robbers ─ Duke Odogbo, 38, said to be the gang leader; Lawrence Kingsley, 31; Ebi Tosan, 20; and 30-year-old Ekelemo Kuete ─ were arrested in Delta, Ogun, Ondo and Lagos states.

PUNCH Metro had reported on Friday, March 13, that three policemen and a fish seller were killed by the gang which stormed the First City Monument Bank Limited on Admiralty Way in the Lekki area.

It was also reported that the robbers, numbering about 13, arrived at the bank, wielding AK-47 rifles and shooting sporadically for 30 minutes, during which the 14-year-old fish seller, Sarah Ibikunle, and three policemen were killed.

Our correspondent gathered that after the attack, the Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, met with all commanders of the command’s combat units and assigned the task of fishing out the gang members to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, led by SP Abba Kyari.

It was learnt that six decoy teams of SARS were deployed to arrest the suspects from Lagos and the other three states.

Speaking on Wednesday, Odogbo, from Warri, Delta State, said they killed the policemen because the gang was prepared to deal with every resistance.

He added that they came with seven AK-47 rifles and carted away over N15m in the operation.

He said, “I am an Ijaw man living in Delta State. I was invited to Lagos to take part in the operation. I am not the gang leader, but only an expert. We were initially at a hideout around the Langbasa River till about 4pm.

“When it was time to move, we entered into two speedboats. I wore a military uniform and we entered into Lekki from the riverside. When we got to the bank, I was the first person to enter.

“We were 11 in number, and we had seven guns. In the banking hall, I asked for the bank manager, but they said they could not find him. We found some little cash ─ about N15m─ in a sack.

“While the operation was going on, others were outside, shooting to secure the area. It was on our way back that I found two rifles with them. They told me they collected them from the policemen they killed.

“What happened was that the policemen were in a van, and were passing by. They thought they came for us and we could not take chances.

“So, they shot them and took their guns. On our way out, we tried to open the Automated Teller Machines, but when they did not open on time, we took the machines with us.

“I was arrested in Warri. I got N500,000 for my part in the operation.”

Also, Ekelemo, who reportedly drove the speedboat, said they took off from the Majidun area. He, however, denied that he was one of those that shot the policemen.

He said, “I was the driver of the gang. I drove the speedboat. I am also an Ijaw man. I stay around the Arepo area of Ogun State. It was my brothers who called me to participate in the robbery. We call one of the gang leaders, O.C. We had taken off on that Thursday from the Majidun area.”

Our correspondent gathered that the police recovered a Honda Accord, 2008 model, bought with the proceeds from the robbery. Two smart phones, stolen from the bank workers during the operation, were also recovered from the gang, as well as 130 rounds of ammunition.

The police identified the three deceased officers as Inspector Bethel Agbobu, Sergeant Odehohwo George, and Corporal Imoisiu Ikechukwu.

The CP said efforts were on to arrest the remaining members of the gang, adding that residents of the state should trust the police to guarantee safety of lives and property.

He said, “The incident was a serious security breach in the Lekki area. It captured the attention of all because five lives, including three of our officers, were lost. I made a promise that we were going to get these hoodlums, and we have done that.

“Lagos is not a place where criminals can hide; we are going to continue to ensure safety of lives and property.

“Meanwhile, efforts are on to arrest other members of the gang.”