Labour minister, Ocholi dies in car crash

The Minister of State for Labour, James Ocholi, has died in a road crash along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.

The accident in which Ocholi’s wife, Blessing and son, Aaron also died, occurred at Rijana, Kilometre 57 on the highway.

Ocholi and his wife were married for 27 years.

Kaduna State sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Mr. Francis Udoma said: “The minister and his son died on the spot; the wife died in the government hospital in Doka, Kaduna State.

“The driver, the chief detail, the orderly and the P.A (Personal Assistant ) were injured.”

Commercial transporters clash with FRSC over Sept 1 introduction of speed limit device

A major crisis that may disrupt road transportation in Nigeria for a long period if not averted by the Presidency has broken out between commercial transporters in the country and the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC.

The crisis of confidence between the two parties arises over the decision by the commission to introduce speed limit device technology on commercial vehicles with effect from September 1 this year. N35,000 for device, N1,000 for installation.

It was learnt that the FRSC is working with a private Nigerian firm to enforce the controversial deal, which would require each vehicle owner to buy the device for N35,000 and pay additional N1,000 for installation.

The transporters claim that with each of the 25 million vehicles in Nigeria paying N36,000 to the FRSC, it would rake in at least N900 billion from innocent Nigerians for a technology that would not add value to their lives.

Ex-FRSC boss in trouble after buying N13m Govt Jeep for N150,000

A former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Haladu Hananiya, is in trouble for allegedly paying N150,000 for a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser jeep worth N13 million.

Mr. Hananiya is alleged to have used his position as former Chairman, Governing Council of the Adamawa State University, ADSU, to convert the vehicle to his personal property.

The university bought the brand new vehicle on January 28, 2015, several months after the former FRSC boss ceased to be chairman of the institution’s board. 

Seven days later, the car was passed to Mr. Hananiya who bought it off as scrap, paying a token 

N150,000.

A whistle blower, one Luka Ibrahim Monduva, first made the alleged scam public in a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. 

Mr. Hananiya was appointed chairman of ADSU governing council on August 16, 2014.

About two months into his four-year tenure; the state government sacked the board on October 8, 2014.

Dasuki: Buhari Never Ordered Dismantling Of Military Checkpoints

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) has said that President Muhammadu Buhari never ordered the dismantling of all military checkpoints in the country.

His statement overrides the statement made by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Ismail Aliyu, who after a security meeting last month, announced that the president had ordered the dismantling of military roadblocks and directed the police to take over internal security.

Dasuki, who met top military and security chiefs in his office in Abuja yesterday clarified that the directive of the president was never a blanket order to remove all military checkpoints.

The NSA said military roadblocks in flashpoints would continue to be maintained while those in relatively peaceful areas would be dismantled but soldiers would continue to be positioned in those areas while not blocking roads.

He said it was both conventional and the global practice for governments to increase security measures whenever insecurity is heightened and appealed to citizens to endure the temporary inconvenience the roadblocks may cause.

We Were Paid N2,500 To Bomb Yola Barracks – Arrested Kids

There was a bomb attack on Thursday in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State, the Adamawa Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Luka Ikpi, told journalists.

The magnitude of the explosion which extended to the state headquarters of

the FRSC, according to him, made the sector to draft its intelligence officers to the scene of the incident which was opposite the command.

He said, “When I heard the loud bang, I had to run out of my office to inquire what really happened.”

It was gathered from a resident of the state, Abraham Tunoh, that the bomb, which occurred on Thursday at the Kofare area of Yola, close to a mechanic workshop along Numan Road, was in possession of four children. The children told the police that an unknown man gave them N2, 500 to carry out the attack.