300 children lose parents to aids in Niger

No fewer than 300 children, whose parents have died of the dreaded HIV/AIDS disease in Niger State, are currently on the support register of the state government.

Director General, Niger State Agency for the Control of Aids (SACA), Alhaji Baba Umaru, disclosed this at the closing ceremony of a two-week seminar for 88 facility staff and community volunteers who were trained on how to handle orphans and vulnerable children whose parents died of the dreaded disease.

According to him, "Presently, there are 300 children whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS in our support register. We are working hard to improve on this register to get those that are not yet captured in the register.

"The state Governor, Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, recently directed local government chairmen in the state to adopt some of these orphans to provide adequate care for them. They were also directed to establish orphanage homes in their respective local governments."

He said that government was particularly concerned with the education and welfare of the children, and commended the Management Sciences for Health (MSH) for training the personnel to care for vulnerable children and those orphaned by HIV/AIDS in the country.

The director general explained that the state government appreciated the efforts of the Management Sciences for Health in establishing six comprehensive HIV/ AIDS treatment sites in six local government areas of the state, adding that there were also 18 feeder sites and care centres where prevention of mother to child infection of the disease are being done.

Project Director of Management Sciences for Health in Nigeria, Dr. Paul Waibale, has earlier explained that the community volunteers were drawn from six states of Adamawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Kebbi and Taraba states.

He explained that the people were being trained on how to manage the people infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS scourge particularly the orphans and venerable children.

Waibale said that the project was sponsored in the country by USAID to reach out to the over three million children orphaned by the disease in the country, adding that the training was to build the capacity of the volunteers to enable them face the challenges of the orphans and vulnerable children.

"They are our ambassadors in those communities," he said, adding that the objective was to provide quality, prevention and comprehensive HIV/AIDS care and management for all those who have been touched by the dreaded disease.

Daily Independent

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Man arrested for burying daughter alive

A 25-year-old labourer has been arrested by the police for allegedly burying his daughter alive.

Confirming the arrest of the suspect, the State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Charles Muka in a statement in Asaba, Nigeria yesterday, however said that the child who was exhumed shortly thereafter by a good Samaritan has been hospitalized.

According to him "the state police command has arrested one Macaulay Onitcha, male, 25 years of Ekurudu Street Kokori for attempting to murder his four months old baby girl called, Edna Macaulay.

"On 13 February 2010, at about 1230 hours, the suspect who claimed he was unhappy with his wife for refusing to sleep with him, dug a shallow grave and threw the child into the grave and covered the grave with sand.

"Fortunately for the girl child, one Saturday Ekama, saw what Macaulay did and saved the girl.

The suspect who was marching the shallow grave when Saturday Ekama arrived at the scene gave him (Ekama)matchet cuts for trying to save the child. When the child was exhumed alive, she had neck injury and is undergoing treatment at Saint Francis Hospital, Okapra Inland while the suspect is currently assisting the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Asaba in their investigations," he said.

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Ribadu urges U.S. to prosecute corrupt locals

Former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Malam Nuhu Ribadu said the emergence of Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President has afforded the United States a second chance to purposefully reinvigorate the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

He said the EFCC under his leadership had left thousands of pages of detailed evidence and intelligence on corrupt officials, who are sitting waiting to be prosecuted.

He urged the US Department of Justice and the FBI to continue the prosecution of corrupt Nigerian officials as the United Kingdom is doing.

Making the request yesterday in a presentation before a US Senate Committee, Ribadu said, "I am overjoyed to hear that in the United Kingdom, the Metropolitan Police is continuing with its case against former Governor James Ibori. It will give most Nigerians cause to cheer that the U.S. also does the same and continue their cases."

He also urged the lawmakers to expand on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, saying that the FCPA allowed for the prosecution of a number of corrupt businesses and sent a wave of panic among those who were previously able to get away with their corruption.

Ribadu spoke on the need for electoral reforms in Nigeria saying the successful election in Anambra was possible because 'President Umaru Yar'adua and his cronies were distracted and unable to meddle in the democratic processes'.

Daily Trust

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Umaru Yar'Adua back in Nigeria

President Umaru Musa Yar'adua's long medical sojourn in Saudi Arabia ended early this morning when two planes landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja. While the first plane, an air ambulance, landed at 1.47am, a second one, the presidential aircraft, landed at 1.54am.

As soon as the first plane landed, the small convoy of cars already waiting at the Presidential Lounge drove to the tarmac and came to a stop near it. There were about five cars, one of which was a Ford ambulance recently acquired by the State House.

Soon after the two planes landed, Daily Trust learnt that a large group of security agents and Foreign Ministry protocol officials who moved towards them were chased away by presidential bodyguards. Only a handful of bodyguards and the planes' crew members were allowed near the planes as the president alighted, so it was not clear whether he walked into the waiting cars or was helped into them. The scene was also dark, but the ambulance was seen moving towards the parked planes.

Yar'adua had been away from the country for 90 days. He had earlier departed Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at 9pm Nigerian time [11pm local Saudi time] last night in a convoy of three different aircraft.

Indications that Yar'adua was about to depart the Saudi Kingdom first became manifest yesterday when a long convoy of royal cars and police escort vehicles were seen at the Royal Guest House in Jeddah, where he had been recuperating for several weeks since he left the King Faisal Hospital in December. At around 7pm Nigerian time yesterday, the convoy drove out to the airport, and two hours later the president's plane departed for Nigeria.

Signs of his return however became more visible as the night wore on, and our reporters saw columns of soldiers with armoured personnel carriers taking positions at Wuse, at the intersection between the Airport Road and Olusegun Obasanjo Way. Our reporters also saw a small convoy of cars sweeping into the airport's presidential wing at about 11pm. It included a Ford ambulance.

Yar'adua's return plans were a tightly-kept secret, as several government officials said last night that they were unaware of the president's impending return. However, there were indications that Acting President Goodluck Jonathan's office got wind of them, because some items on his itinerary for today were hastily cancelled. Jonathan's office had earlier invited media chiefs from all over the country to dine with him in Abuja tonight, but late in the afternoon yesterday, officials called and cancelled the dinner without advancing any reasons. Earlier yesterday, Jonathan held a long meeting with Niger Delta community leaders and state governors, following which he suspended the on-going Niger River dredging project.

Daily Trust also learnt that the 6-man delegation of Federal Ministers that arrived in Jeddah early in the morning yesterday delivered the Nigerian government's letter of thanks to the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal. The letter, addressed to Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, thanked him for his generous hospitality to Yar'adua while the treatment lasted.

However, the ministers' plans to fly on to Jeddah to see Yar'adua were aborted when they heard that the ailing president was already on his way to the airport, on his way home. The ministers then quickly changed their plans and are expected to return to the country this morning, in time for today's meeting of the Federal Executive Council, likely to be chaired by Yar'adua himself.

The ministerial delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Chief Ojo Maduekwe, comprised Secretary to the Government of the Federation Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, Health Minister Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, Petroleum Minister Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, Agriculture Minister Dr. Abba Sayyadi Ruma as well as Attorney General and Minister of Justice Adetokunbo Kayode, SAN. Their trip was at the behest of the FEC, which directed them on Wednesday last week to undertake the trip, officially billed to thank the Saudi King and to see Yar'adua. Many observers however saw it as the first step in invoking Section 144 of the Constitution to declare Yar'adua permanently incapacitated from holding his office.

Yar'adua had been out of the country since November 23, last year when he left for Jeddah to treat an ailment later described as pericarditis, or inflammation of the heart's linings. The president also has a long history of kidney disease. Two weeks ago, when Yar'adua failed to transmit a letter of medical vacation, the National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution recognising Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President. He is expected to relinquish the role today with Yar'adua's return.

Daily Trust

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