JAMB suspends use of NIN for 2020 exams

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has suspended the use of the National Identification Number for registration for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination UTME. 

The registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, who stated this while briefing journalists in Abuja today (Saturday) said the move was to provide more time for candidates to get their national identification numbers.

He said the suspension was also to address the technical challenges experienced at some centres.

He asked candidates to disregard the use of NIN for the 2020 registration and strictly comply with other procedures for the registration. He however said that JAMB will consider the use of NIMC for 2021 exams.

The board last year said from 2020, candidates will register for its examinations with their national ID number to solve the challenges of multiple registration.

Iran Says It Unintentionally Shot Down Ukrainian Airliner

After maintaining for days that there was no evidence to show one of its missiles had struck the plane, the Iranian military said it was an accident caused by human error.

Ukrainian jet crash – kills 176

The crash of a Ukrainian jetliner that killed 176 people in Iran touched off mourning Wednesday in both Ukraine and Canada (where many of the victims were from or were headed). A lot of questions have been raised about what went wrong. But U.S. intelligence officials said there was no immediate evidence it was shot down.

Crash Scene

The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at U.S. forces. While the timing of the disaster led some aviation experts to wonder whether it was brought down by a missile, Iranian officials disputed any such suggestion and blamed mechanical trouble.

“The rumors about the plane are completely false and no military or political expert has confirmed it,” Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, was quoted by the semiofficial Fars news agency as saying. He said the rumors were “psychological warfare” by the government’s opponents.

Operation Ayem Akpatuma flags off in Taraba and Benue by the Army

There have been rising cases of torments by hoodlums in Taraba and Benue States. Rigid efforts put forth by both Federal and State Governments to run these terrible activities down  seem to be yielding positive results, as the Nigeria Army, yesterday, flagged off its operation in the state. 

The operation, tagged, ‘Ayem Akpatuma’ (Cat Race), was designed to wash out out hoodlums and other undesirable elements from the state’s southern geo-political zone, which has in recent time been prone to vices ranging from Tiv/Jukun crisis and kidnappings to armed banditry. 

Flagging off the exercise at Kufai Amadu village in Takum local government council, the State Governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku, represented by his deputy, Engineer Haruna Manu, expressed optimism that the exercise would go a long way in checkmating hoodlums’ nefarious activities. 

Similarly, while launching ‘Operation Ayem Akpatuma II’ in Benue State, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai charged the military personnel to be professional in their conduct and adhere strictly to the rules of engagement. Buratai, represented by the Chief of Logistics, Nigerian Army, Major General Joel Unuigbe, tasked the personnel to stem the tide of kidnapping, banditry and other criminal occurrences in the state. 

Buratai said the army would not condone acts of human rights abuse by the troops involved in the exercise, which would be conducted within One Division, Three Division and the 707 Special Forces Brigade areas of responsibility. He said: “The exercise was earlier conducted to stem rising insecurity in the North Central and part of Northwest Nigeria. The attendant successes recorded necessitated the commencement of Exercise “Ayem Akpatuma II”

It’s been 18 Years Ago (9/11)---the Memories of the lost still fresh

The families of those killed in the terror attacks gathered at the Sept. 11 memorial in an annual ritual of mourning.

They gathered at ground zero, where nearly 3,000 people died on that bright September morning. Once more, there was an outpouring of grief, a sound of a bell tolling in mourning and there was the rhythm of names being recited.

Eighteen years have passed since terrorists commandeered airplanes and the twin towers of the World Trade Center were brought down.

The commemoration at ground zero, by now an annual rite of remembrance that follows a familiar, somber script — began with an honor guard carrying the flag.

At 8:46 a.m. on Wednesday, the time when the first plane slammed into the north tower, there was a moment of silence, the first of six marking the strikes at the trade center and the Pentagon, and the plane crash in Shanksville, Pa., as well as the collapse of the twin towers in a blizzard of toxic dust and flaming debris. Bagpipers played “America the Beautiful.”

Nigeria Government warns South Africa over xenophobic attacks

The Nigerian Government is on the standpoint to take further steps to ensure safety and protection of its citizens in South Africa. The position comes in the wake of a round of xenophobic attacks that hit Johannesburg on Monday.

The government described the incidents as unacceptable adding: ‘Enough is enough. Nigeria will take definitive measures to ensure safety and protection of her citizens.’

Leaders of the two countries – Muhammadu Buhari and Cyril Ramaphosa are scheduled to meet in October for bilateral talks and also on matters relating to security of Nigerians in South Africa.

The two met on the sidelines of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD ; held last week in the Japanese city of Yokohama.

Another government to have reacted to the Johannesburg chaos is Zambia which tasked all its drivers plying the route to and from South Africa to suspend their trips till further notice.

Zimbabwe’s Cross Borders Transportation Association also warned that it could halt all South African cross border transport over the situation.

The provincial and national governments have called for restraint in the affected communities and cautioned against use of criminal avenues to express grievances.

The ruling African National Congress, ANC, also expressed their worry over the situation as has the main opposition Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters.

This criminality has been essentially driven by pure criminals against properties of foreign nationals and South Africans alike.

We call on SAPS (police) to take charge of the streets and decisively restore order. Most importantly, we call on South Africans to stop their violent intolerance of black foreign nationals, the EFF statement read in part.