Lady, 29, Attempts Suicide In Ilorin Over Unemployment

A 29-year old lady identified as Miss Esther Okafor of Ganmo, a suburb
of Ilorin in Kwara State last Thursday
reportedly attempted suicide over her
unemployment status. The lady was said to have gone to a
secluded location in the area to hang
herself but was intercepted by one Alhaji
Akeem Mustapha, who was said to have
gone there to inspect a building site. When asked why she wanted to take her life
in such manner, Esther responded that she
got tired of looking for a job to no avail. “I am from a poor background. My father is
aged while my mother is no more. I
struggled to see myself through school, but
because I am indebted to the institution to
the tune of N15, 000, I have been unable to
collect my certificate”, she said. Reacting to the incident, the Permanent
Secretary in the Ministry of Social
Development, Culture and Tourism Samuel
Osuolale Ajayi, said youths should be
creative by exploring their inert potentials
for economic gains instead of resorting to suicide which he said is a criminal offence. He added that the ministry would
rehabilitate Esther, a graduate of Health
Information Management from the
University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital and
render any form of assistance that could
make her want to live again.

Police From Force HQ Fail To Arrest Suspects In Ilorin Sallah Stampede

A Special Police squad deployed from Force
Headquarters, Abuja to Ilorin, the Kwara State
capital, to investigate last week’s stampede at
the Ile Loke home of the Sarakis, did not yield
any arrests as the officers said the allegations
they were acting on, did not conform with reality. The police agents, it was learnt, visited the
state on Sunday evening to arrest the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in the state,
Ishola Balogun-Fulani, Yemi Afolayan
(secretary) and the state Publicity Director,
Mas’ud Adebimpe, according to sources in Ilorin. However, upon getting to the scene of the
stampede which left no fewer than 12 persons
dead, the officers were reportedly astonished
that what they saw did not tally with what
they were told. According to sources, the policemen
wondered how people could have suffocated
in a ‘mini-stadium’. Besides, “we could not see any broken down
wall or fence as claimed to be responsible for
the death of the people,” one of them was
quoted to have said. Reacting to the development, the state PDP
scribe, Mr. Afolayan said the Sallah day
stampede was being over-dramatized, noting:
“The venue had been in existence for some
time now but we are today shocked at many
wicked lies being said about Ile-Arugbo (Home of Charity).”

Saraki: Why EFCC Is On My Trail

Former Kwara State governor and
chieftain of the Abubakar Kawu Baraje –
led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr.
Bukola Saraki yesterday attributed his
ordeal in the hands of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the fall-out of internal wrangling in the
party. The former governor, who currently
represents Kwara Central in the upper
chamber of the National Assembly, said
he would not be surprised if he was
invited again by the commission to
answer to alleged financial misappropriation. Information Nigeria reports that Saraki
was a guest of the anti-graft agency on
Monday and Tuesday, where he was
quizzed over the N17billion bond
obtained by his administration in 2010. Speaking with newsmen in Ilorin on
Thursday, Saraki explained that he had
given sufficient information to the
investigators at EFCC on all issues
pertaining to the said bond. He also addressed PDP youths in the
state that thronged his constituency
office to pledge their loyalty and support
to him. Saraki commended the EFCC operatives
for being “professional” in the discharge
of their duties just as he explained that
the N17bn loan was spent on projects
including Aviation College, irrigation
project, Ilorin water reticulation, township stadium, rural electrification,
KWASU, loan refunding and Kwara mall. Saraki said, “Yes I was with EFCC on
Monday and Tuesday to answer queries
on the bond issue. I made it clear that
bond is not money available to any
government just like that; that to access
it you must go through a rigorous process; that we had to submit ourselves
to international evaluation before we
could be given. “I gave them details of how we spent the
bond because if any government wants
to be reckless it won’t be with a bond
that has stringent conditions before you
can access it. I listed the projects we
used the money for and they are all verifiable.”