Police arrest teenager for defiling three-year-old girl in Ekiti

A 15- year - old boy , simply identified as Osayomi , has been arrested by the police in Ekiti State for allegedly defiling a three- year - old girl.

Ekiti State Police Commissioner , Asuquo Amba , said the incident happened at Iludi , Osi Ekiti in the Ido /Osi Local Government Area of the state at about 5 pm on May 30.

Amba , who spoke in Ado Ekiti , the state capital , while making public series of arrests made by the command of recent, said, “ The mother of the three- year - old victim returned home from hawking fish and discovered that her daughter was looking so rough and stressed.

“ After a close examination, she noticed that there were some fluids on the pants of her daughter and further discovered that her daughter must have been defiled by an unknown person.”

The police boss, who said “ further investigation and medical examination showed that there was a penetration ,” added that the suspect, who had been arrested by the police following report of the matter, had confessed to the crime.

“ I want to advise all the good people of Ekiti State to be security conscious, vigilant and report any untoward incident or happening observed in their locality to the nearest police station,” he said.

(PUNCH)

Israel battles surge in coronavirus infections in schools after reopening

... Schools shut as students, teachers infected

... Almost 10,000 students, teachers quarantined 

Three weeks after Israel reopened the doors to all of its schools , more and more are closing again amid a rise in coronavirus cases among pupils and teachers.

With 347 pupils and teachers testing positive for the virus , 127 schools did not reopen on Sunday , the beginning of the workweek in Israel , according to an Education Ministry statement.

The number of pupils and staff in home quarantine grew from slightly more than 16 ,000 to almost 17,500 in little more than 12 hours.

Most of the new cases are from Jerusalem, particularly from one high school, the Hebrew Gymnasium, where, as of Sunday, 148 pupils and staff have tested positive.

Also, four more Israeli lawmakers had to go into home quarantine , because they had had contact with an Arab lawmaker , who tested positive last week.

Sami Abu Shehadeh , a member of the Arab Joint List party , in a post on Twitter late on Wednesday , called on all to abide by Health Ministry instructions and warned : “ We must all internalise that the battle is not over yet’’.

Israel was quick to impose a stringent lockdown in mid -March , resulting in a relatively mild outbreak of the pandemic in the small Middle Eastern country.

But it was also quick to lift the lockdown .

Schools were reopened on May 17, followed by hotels , swimming pools and restaurants some 10 days later.

On Saturday , Israel’s beaches were packed, with many beachgoers ignoring an obligatory Health Ministry guideline to wear a face mask.

As of Sunday , a total of 17,783 COVID- 19 cases have been confirmed in Israel , of whom 15 ,064 have recovered.

Only 29 are in serious condition, of whom 23 are on respirators.

The Health Ministry said that 297 people have died from the virus since its outbreak, necessitating the shut down of some schools after reopening.

(dpa/ NAN )

Agriculture development, our main legacy project- Fayemi

Agriculture development, our main legacy project- Fayemi

...says Civic centre, ultra modern market, others for commissioning in October 

The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi has said that the agriculture development projects embarked on by the administration remain his main legacy project amid other legacy projects.

This, according to him is borne out of the need to use agriculture business to drive industrialisation, create employment opportunities and ensure food security in the state.

Governor Fayemi who stated this during an inspection of ongoing projects across the state on Friday, expressed confidence that the State’s agro allied cargo airport and other legacy projects of the administration would be completed before the expiration of his tenure.

He also assured that the State Civic Centre, Oja Oba complex and other projects in focus for completion this year would be ready for commissioning before October.

Fayemi, in company with the Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr Sola Adebayo and other top officials, had inspected some projects including the Civic centre, cargo airport, the ultra-modern Oja Oba market, Igbemo-Ire -Ilupeju road, New Ado-Iyin road and Agbado-ode road and Ote-Ikun-Otun road projects.

The Governor said: "These are legacy projects and quite important but the real legacy project for us is our agric project. The Agric processing zone, the silo is coming to activities shortly, a juice factory would also be opened alongside the place, Dangote Mill is coming up there, GMK Mill is coming up there.

"All these are going on, we are on course, the resources are limited, but we are trying our best to ensure we get the best for our people."

Fayemi said his administration was using creativity and innovation to manage the limited resources available to the State and to ensure that the projects were not left unattended to.

The Governor, said a lot of work has been done at Ikun dairy farm that accommodated local and foreign cows meant to produce 10,000 litres of milk daily.

He said; "Yes, I am confident that this project (airport project) would be completed before I leave Ekiti as Governor by God's grace, that's not even in doubt at all, but as per the other projects, you were there with us this morning, the Civic centre will be commissioned definitely in October, Oja Oba will be commissioned in October as well and all the other projects that we are focused on.

The Governor, who expressed satisfaction at the pace and quality of work done on the projects, urged the contractors to endeavour to fulfil their side of the bargain, while assuring them of government’s support.

Fayemi Hails Ekiti Sixth Assembly On First Year Anniversary

FAYEMI HAILS EKITI ASSEMBLY ON FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has congratulated members of the State House of Assembly on their first anniversary in office.

The Ekiti State sixth Assembly was inaugurated by the Governor on June 6, 2019 with Rt. Hon. Funminiyi Afuye as Speaker.

Governor Fayemi who hailed the lawmakers for their effectiveness and dedication to duty said it has been a rancour-free assembly, adding that the lawmakers have been working in the same spirit of development with the executive arm of government.

The Governor gave the commendation while signing the Sexual Violence Against Children Law 2020, in Ado-Ekiti on Friday.

Dr Fayemi said: “I specially felicitate with the leadership of the Assembly under the Right Honourable Speaker, Funminiyi Afuye. The mood in the Assembly has always been a direct reflection of the mood of the whole State under this administration. This is something of joy that we should all be proud of.

“The effectiveness and efficiency of our lawmakers excite me. What they have done in their first year in office is only possible where there is peace and harmony among the legislators.

“The unity in the Assembly has further shown the lawmakers’ readiness, dedication and commitment to serve Ekitikete. The partnership with other arms of government, especially the executive branch is worthy of adulation and exaltation.” The Governor added.

 

Yinka Oyebode

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor

Nigeria loses 342 persons to COVID-19, as cases rise to 12,233

Despite measures in place to cushion the spread of Covid-19 pandemic in the country, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, yesterday, said the virus has killed about three hundred and forty-two, (342) persons in the country.

Nigeria’s tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday rose to 12,233  as 389 new infections were announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The NCDC disclosed this on its verified Twitter handle on Saturday night.

“389 new cases of #COVID19; Lagos-66 FCT-50 Delta-32 Oyo-31 Borno-26 Rivers-24 Edo-23 Ebonyi-23 Anambra-17 Gombe-17 Nasarawa-14 Imo-12 Kano-12 Sokoto-12 Jigawa-8 Ogun-7 Bauchi-5 Kebbi-2 Kaduna-2 Katsina-2 Ondo-2 Abia-1 Niger-1.”

No date yet for resumption of schools – FG

There is no fixed date for reopening of schools shut over the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Government has declared.

It said despite the agitations for reopening of schools, it would continue to monitor situations with a view to preventing a spike in the infection rate.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, stated this in Abuja during the Presidential Task Force (PFT) on COVID-19 100th day briefing.

According to him: “There is no fix date on schools’ resumption. The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 is studying the situation, carrying out reviews every two and four weeks to access the situation and judge when it is safe.

“The Federal Government is taking very seriously the balanced between safety and preventing disease explosion, and the opening of schools.

“We are encouraging schools to embrace online training and education as much as possible.

“As soon as the details are established and the risk of transmission is measured and established, then, schools will reopen.

“We are aware of what is happening in neighbouring countries through the organ known as the West Africa Health Organisation (WAHO).

“Few days ago, we held an inter-ministerial meeting of the Ministers of health of the West African region to compare notes, review strategies, understand how others are tackling their problems, and reach a common ground on how to protect our region.

“We also consider how to do procurement together to reduce cost and how to share materials that we get from donations to the region.

“The protocol for border activities is also being studied. We have through WAHO, worked out protocols on how border crossings will be conducted, particularly passenger transport.

“It has not been opened but we are working out the opening protocols and the measures that need to be taken for countries to protect themselves.”

He added: “Interstate travel is still prohibited but travels within the states are allowed. Non-essential travels should be postponed, delayed or cancelled for now.

“We also encourage local governments with high burden (called hot spots) to be strictly followed the advisories, stay indoors, use masks, and also ensure that movements to those hotspots are restricted.”

The Nation