A former student of Hillcrest School, Jos, has dragged the school authorities before a Jos Federal High Court, demanding N100m as damages over the `deliberate cancellation’’ of his admission.

The minor, who sued the school through his friend and guardian, Mr Steve Gukas, accused Hillcrest School management of breaching his fundamental human rights to education by denying him the opportunity to continue his studies in the school.

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The News Agency of Nigeria reported that joined in the suit are the Registered Trustees of Hillcrest School, Jos, and Mrs Anne Lucasse, the Principal, as 1st and 2nd respondents respectively.

When the case came up before Justice Musa Kurya, the Judge, on Thursday, the minor, through his counsel, Mr Silas Onu, in an Originating Motion, prayed the court to declare the management’s action as “contrary, and in violation of the African Charter on the right and welfare of the child.’’

Onu told the court that the minor was rightly admitted into the school, but that on September 10, 2017, the management “blatantly and illegally cancelled his admission because he was said to have an allergy for nuts.

The school had claimed that they could not manage that allergy.

The lawyer argued that the health challenge of the plaintiff was well known to the school management before the admission since it was captured in the medical report obtained from the Jos University Teaching Hospital.

“Because of the physical and mental torture the minor has suffered as a result of the unlawful, illegal, immoral, discriminating and unjustifiable cancellation of his admission, we are demanding the sum of N100m being general and exemplary damages.

“My Lord, we are urging the court to give a mandatory injunction compelling the respondents, jointly or severally, to immediately pay the said amount to my client,’’ he said.

But the counsel to Hillcrest, Prof. Clement Dakas (SAN), objected to the claims of the minor and challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter.

Dakas said Hillcrest School was not a federal institution and could not, therefore, be sued in a Federal High Court, arguing that the case should be dismissed since it was lacking in merit.

“My Lord, I want to point out that the application does not fall under the ambit of this court because Hillcrest School is not a federal institution.

“By law, this court lacks the jurisdiction to hear such an application. I hereby urge the court to dismiss it for lack of merit and with cost against the applicant,” Dakas pleaded.

READ ALSO: FCT police arrest suspected car snatchers at Jos hideout

In response to Dakas’ claim, however, Onu argued that the court had the jurisdiction to hear fundamental human right cases, especially when they affected the African Charter and the right and welfare of a child.

Justice Kurya, after listening to the arguments of the two counsels, adjourned the case till Sepember 28 for ruling on the issue of jurisdiction.

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Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, on Thursday called on the Nigeria Labour Congress to shelve its warning strike in order to allow the office to complete the process of payment of salaries of civil servants.

Idris, who said this in a statement issued in Abuja, noted that the industrial action had led to a situation where workers who were directly involved in the release of funds for payment of salaries could no longer have access to their offices.

He maintained that the payment of salaries could not be achieved under an atmosphere where critical stakeholders were not allowed access into their offices.

This, he noted, might make it difficult for the Federal Government to fulfil its promise of payment of salaries to workers before the end of the month.

Idris appealed to labour unions to shelve their strike in order to enable the office pay salaries to workers.

He noted that while he reported to duty on Thursday with members of staff of his office, they were denied access as the gates were shut.

He explained that after much appeal to the labour union leaders, he was allowed to go into the office, while the gate remained shut to other members of staff.

This development, he noted, had made it practically impossible for the office to complete the process of payment of salaries.

Idris said, “We have a standing order from Mr President to pay workers’ salaries from the 25th of every month, which we have strived hard to fulfil to Nigerian workers, and this month will not be an exception.

“I must explain that salary payment involves a number of processes that do not begin and end with the OAGF. There are other critical stakeholders like the Cash Management Department in the Ministry of Finance and others, who are supposed to do their beat before we can finalise.

“On coming to the office this morning, we met the gates of the office locked and wondered how we could keep this promise if we are being locked out of the office. After speaking with the local arm of the labour in the office on the need to pay salaries, they conceded to allow me and some of my staff in, but the gates are still locked.

“I therefore appeal to labour to open our gates so that we can have unhindered access to meet their needs.”

He added that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari had demonstrated high commitment towards meeting the welfare of Nigerian workers.

Some of the steps taken by the government to promote workers welfare, according to him, are the payment of over N50bn for promotion arrears from 2012 to 2016; and approval of another N60bn for the payment of salary arrears from 2011 to 2016.

Others are the President’s recent approval of N22.68bn for the payment of pension arrears to the retirees of the defunct Nigeria Airways, which had been outstanding for over 14 years, as well as approval of N20bn to meet the demand for infrastructure development in both federal and state universities.

“We are all working for the same system and we should do nothing that can threaten the economy and lead to the collapse of the same system,” Idris added.

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Femi Makinde, Osogbo

The Returning Officer in Osun State governorship election, Prof. Joseph Fuwape, asked the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke,  to seek redress in court if he noticed an error in the results already announced.

Fuwape, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, said this when the PDP agent, Mr Dele Adeleke, raised an observation that there were errors on the results of the local governments announced last Sunday.

Agents of the All Progressives Congress, National Conscience Party and others also asked Adeleke to take his case to the tribunal for redress.

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Chidiebube Okeoma, Owerri

Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command have rescued an undergraduate of Madonna University, Okija, Anambra State, Esther Nnabuo, from her abductors.

The police also recovered the N200,000 the family of the 18-year-old paid for her freedom.

The state Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galadanchi told journalists on Thursday at the command headquarters in Owerri that the victim was rescued unhurt.

The CP identified the suspects as Onyekachi Chinemerem (23), of Isiala Ngwa of Abia State; Uchechukwu Nwakoma (36), of Isiala Ngwa of Abia State; and Onyewuchi Chibueze (27), of Mbaitoli, Imo State.

The police boss said the handset used in the negotiation for the ransom was recovered by the command.

The CP said, “Sequel to the kidnap of Miss Esther Nnabuo, operatives of the command swiftly swung into action. The victim is a student of Madonna University, Okija, Anambra State. She was abducted at Ukwo Orji, in Mbaitoli LGA.

“In the course of investigation, the victim was rescued unhurt through intelligence and data tracking analysis at Ukwo Orji Forest. Three suspects were arrested, while the victim’s telephone and the ransom were recovered.

“The names of the suspects are Onyekachi Chinemerem, of Isiala Ngwa, Abia State; Uchechukwu Nwakoma, of Isiala Ngwa, Abia State; and Onyewuchi Chibueze, of Mbaitoli, Imo State.”

The CP said the suspects had made confessional statements and would be charged to court accordingly.

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’Tunji Ajibade

tunjioa@yahoo.com 08036683657

It is the last Friday of the month when I focus on occurrences on television.  The programme, ‘Journalists’ Hangout’, on TVC News recently had in attendance Mr Martins Oloja. He’s a columnist of The Guardian newspaper. One of the topics treated was the 2019 elections and collection of Permanent Voter Card. The panelists noted that the rate of collection of PVCs according to INEC was low.  It’s more so in parts of the South than the North of Nigeria. In the programme, Oloja pointed out that although the North appeared silent at the time, it was working actively towards the 2019 elections. The North, he said, was mobilising its people on several fronts, including getting the masses to register and collect their PVCs while the South was busy making noise in the traditional and social media. He notes further that most people in the South are too proud, aloof, making too much noise online without taking the essential democratic steps that determine who gets political power.  My addition to that is to note how in the last Ekiti and Osun governorship elections politicians had to deploy money to lure (supposedly highly educated southerners) to the voting booths; meanwhile, supposedly illiterate northerners would always fill voting booths to willingly cast their ballots.

As Oloja makes his comment, I almost clap, noting immediately someone who understands the way the North operates. The same was a major conclusion I had reached back in the days of the struggle against the cancellation of the June 12, 1993 election. While some in the South went about shouting themselves hoarse and threatening the consequences for Nigeria if the June 12 mandate was not validated, the North, that is the more relevant personalities, was silent, or seemingly so. My view then that when the North was silent, that was when it was most active, was confirmed after General Olusegun Obasanjo was released from prison in 1998. Gen Ibrahim Babangida visited him in his Ota home. Asked by journalists what he came to do, he said he came to see Obasanjo because the retired General mattered and would continue to matter in Nigeria.  People such as Prof. Ango Abdullahi, a former VC of Ahmadu Bello University, had since affirmed that the meeting where the North resolved to adopt Obasanjo as the PDP presidential candidate was taken in his house. The North was silent but had its way that time, while those who only shouted had their say.

As time passes, I shall be stating a few things that I admire regarding the way the North operates both in the traditional setting and in modern politicking. Smooth, silent operators they are, master strategists, generally more skilful at how to silently organise and grab power.  With close to three decades of contact with the North, I suppose I should know a few things. They are things some may loathe to read. But some of us, including Oloja, who observe facts and like to state them as facts aren’t worried about the usual unwholesome reaction from those who think their view must always be the only view in town, and that the South can never have anything to learn from the North.

Just as Oloja had a different but factual viewpoint that time, it’s good to always have around people who have a different and clearer perspective wherever those who are headstrong but mistaken in their views are gathered.  On a BBC World Debate shown the other day, there was that discussion about the influence of hyper-partisanship in news reports.  One white panelist went on and on about hyper-partisanship in news reports driven by tribal affiliations in Africa. He was practically saying party affiliations, race issues and governments do not colour reportage anywhere else apart from Africa.  However, there was a New York Times resource person on the panel who stated at 9:52pm Nigerian time that hyper-partisanship didn’t take place only in Africa. It was good he refocused and resituated the narrative in the course of the debate. He helps argue that tribalism, party affiliation or racism that colours news reports isn’t the exclusive preserve of Africa as the first panelist wants viewers to run away with, but it happens in every country where human beings exist.

Meanwhile, the US Consul-General in Nigeria, John Bray, was shown by Channels TV at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Lagos, the other day. He was shown ceremonially beating our African-styled gong for a long time at the exchange, making one wonder if he would ever stop. Bray obviously enjoyed the thrill of beating a real African gong. He wasn’t afraid of beating it well, confident that our gong was strong and wouldn’t break. He wasn’t like the CNN’s Richard Quest who beat the gong in 2017 as though it would scatter in pieces. Quest even went ahead to comment on his programme about our gong as if he had reservations that we didn’t import a white man-made bell and he wanted ours sent to a museum. It was good seeing a US official treating our gong the way we like to treat it. I’m gratified also that, just as I had once stated on this page, the management of the stock exchange didn’t allow itself to be intimidated by Quest’s comment and change the gong. We are Africans and many of us are proud of what is ours, confident of ourselves enough to flaunt what we have in the face of any foreigner anywhere.

I guess Channels TV’s Sports Department is reorganised and is getting better. In the course of its 10pm news bulletin, recently, and at exactly 10:54pm, the sports presenter reported that Nigeria beat Equatorial Guinea by 3 goals to 1. That was at the CHAN football tournament held in Morocco. This report came about an hour after the match ended. The result had even been displayed on Channels TV’s scroll bar much earlier. I point this out because I had once raised concerns on this page in the past that this station reported outcomes of important football matches played late into the night the following day – sometimes 13 hours later. I had added then that such wasn’t news anymore on a news station operating 24 hours, and called for a reorganisation.

The Americans remain an example of patriotism, doing what is good for one’s nation and being proud of it no matter what foreigners say. Mike Pompeo was the CIA Director in January.  The BBC showed  an interview it had with him on January 30, 2018.  Pompeo was asked about the intricacies of being a spy chief, stealing information from other nations. At 5:07pm Nigerian time, Pompeo said, “We will do the damndest to steal secrets on behalf of the American people.” He proudly added that the Americans were the best spies in the world. “We are the world’s best espionage service; I’m extremely proud of that.” When he became the US Secretary of State (Foreign Affairs), Pompeo said America wouldn’t take rubbish from Iran over its controversial nuclear programme. For this, Iran said the present world has no place for former spies who specialise in stealing.

By the way, governments in Nigeria have a way of confusing citizens even when their intention is to clarify issues. In the process, one is left to wonder if it is government officials who are more confused or their listeners. On TVC News, January 29, 2018, the Lagos State Government had an advertisement in which it called on citizens to pay their taxes. It says whoever works in Lagos must pay taxes in Lagos State.  Of course, there are millions of people who work in Lagos but live in neighbouring states. Days earlier, I took note that the then Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said where Nigerians live is where they should pay tax. She stated this after the Niger State Government wrote a petition to her office, complaining that the Federal Government was wrong to deduct taxes of people who worked in Abuja but lived in Suleja (Niger State). One day, both governments and their citizens will have their heads cleared of all confusion regarding who should do what and who is entitled to what. That, in a deliberately distorted federal arrangement that’s capable of confusing even the best professor of federalism.

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Adelani Adepegba, Abuja

The United States Institute for Peace and the International Republican Institute have said Lagos, Rivers, Anambra, Adamawa, Ekiti, Plateau, Kano and Kaduna, may erupt in electoral violence during the 2019 elections.

The institute in a report co-sponsored by Fund For Peace, Middle East and Africa Centre and other international organisations, stated that social and economic inequalities, ethnic and religious divisions, and corruption contributed to the risks of electoral violence in the country.

They noted that violence might erupt in the states during the forthcoming general election if not properly managed.

In a ‘Special Report on Preventing Electoral Violence in Nigeria,’ presented in Abuja on Thursday, the international bodies posited that the challenge required innovative approaches on account of the shift in the dynamics of violence since the last elections in 2015.

The report said, “In addition to the broad trends and shifts identified earlier in the report, the eight states’ profiles that follow illustrate the distinct combination of risks faced in different parts of Nigeria across the country’s various political zones.

“While not intended to be exhaustive, these profiles demonstrate the diversity of challenges across the country.

“They clearly show the limitations of pursuing a single strategy to mitigate electoral violence and argue for adaption and innovation, on a state-by-state basis.”

The report further revealed that public confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission for credible elections was low, stating that the electoral umpire would benefit a lot from a transparent result management and staffing reforms.

It further predicted that grievances arising from recent local government elections might also have significant consequences for the national elections.

It suggested that successful state-level initiatives in Plateau State would tamp down on religious intolerance.

The Programme Director, Fund For Peace, Patricia Taft, added that the findings showed that pre- and post-election conflicts were usually orchestrated, and not spontaneous as they appeared.

She said the active involvement of the civil society and Non-Governmental Organisations as peace brokers should be explored to build trust in the polity.

The agencies unanimously called for greater attention to be paid to preventing violence at the local level, and strong will from political parties to consciously prevent violence.

In his remarks, the Convener, Centre For Peace and Development, Jibril Ibrahim, warned against the circulation of fake news, adding that unverified stories were responsible for most of the conflicts recorded in recent times.

The police could not be reached for reaction as the force spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, did not respond to calls. He had yet to reply to a text message as of the time of filing this report.

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Oluwatosin Omojuyigbe

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a security guard for allegedly stealing a vehicle belonging to a lawyer, Fatiu Badmus.

The police alleged that the guard, Mohammed Usman, connived with some people to steal Badmus’ Toyota Corolla, valued at N1.6m.

It was gathered that on September 8, 2018, the legal practitioner parked the car in front of his office, where Usman worked as a guard.

Badmus, in his statement to the police, said he brought the vehicle to his office that morning and still sighted it around 8.40pm when he went out to see a movie.

“I returned to my office at 11pm to continue the assignment I planned to deliver to my clients the next day. I saw the car in front of the office when I returned and I confirmed that the doors were locked.

“The next morning, my subordinate, who was sent on an errand, came in and asked me if I sent someone on an errand with my car and I said no. He later told me that my car was not where I parked it again.

“I put my hand inside my pocket and my car key was there. I went outside to check where I parked the car, but it was not there. I quickly called the security guard to ask him about the vehicle only for him to tell me that he saw two guys going away with it and he did not confront them,” he added.

However, Usman told the police that he was praying when he heard a noise outside.

He said, “I was fasting on the day of the incident, so I went in to pray. While I was praying, I heard the noise of some people outside. Because I was praying, I could not come out. It was around 5am when I was asked about the car that I noticed that it was not where it was parked.”

Usman was arraigned before an Ogba Magistrates’ Court on two counts of conspiracy and stealing.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The charges read, “That you, Mohammed Usman, and others at large, on September 10, 2018, around 4am at Alausa, Ikeja, in the Ikeja Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony, to wit; stealing, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

“That you, Mohammed Usman, and others at large, on the same date, time and place, in the aforesaid magisterial district, did steal a Toyota Corolla Saloon car, gold colour, with number plate, CJ 593 FKJ, valued at N1.6m, property of Fatiu Badmus and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 287 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.”

The magistrate W.A. Salami granted Usman bail in the sum of N200,000, with two sureties in like sum.

The matter was adjourned till October 3, 2018.

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Oladimeji Ramon

Ahead of Saturday’s direct primaries of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, members of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria, popularly called PSP operators, on Thursday embarked on what they called a ‘free-waste-collection’ rally on major roads in the state in support of a governorship aspirant, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

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The rally came about a week after the PSP operators at a press conference declared their support for Sanwo-Olu, who had declared his intention to take over from the incumbent governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.

The PSP operators adorned their waste collection trucks with banners and campaign posters of Sanwo-Olu, while some of them also were decked in vests and fez caps bearing the aspirant’s photograph.

During the rally, which reportedly took place simultaneously in different parts of the state, the association members packed waste dumped on major roads.

Speaking in Alimosho, the Chairman of the association, Alhaji Ola Egbeyemi, said the PSP operators were convinced that Sanwo-Olu, if elected to replace Ambode, would restore Lagos to its former clean state and also restore the jobs of the 25,000 workers engaged by the association members.

Egbeyemi said, “We are very sure that if all the votes of the masses are given to Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos is going to reclaim its past glory; that is the purpose of this support rally.

“We have declared a day of free refuse packing from the highways so that everybody will know that we can do it.”

Also speaking, the association’s Vice Chairman, Mr David Oriyomi, said the association went political because the earlier waste management arrangement put in place “by our grand patrol, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was thwarted through political means. It is therefore imperative that we put it right through political means.”

The association’s spokesman, Mr Olugbenga Adebola, added that the PSP operators were saddened to see their achievement of turning Lagos State into one of the cleanest cities in the world being reversed in the last three years.

READ ALSO: Fuel supply threatened as oil workers join strike

He said, “What we are doing today is a free service to drum up support for Mr Babajide  Sanwo-Olu.

“As it has been established, through the effort of the PSP operators and the support given by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, we were able to move Lagos from one of the dirtiest cities in the world to one of the cleanest with a lot of awards and accolades.

“It saddens our heart to see our labour of making Lagos one of the cleanest cities in the world being reversed in the past three years.”

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Friday Olokor, Alexander Okere and Sampson Itode

The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Thursday called on the Federal Government to effect the payment of N1.1tn which had been earmarked for the funding of public universities for the last six years.

The union also said it had commenced mobilisation of its members in all the zones for a strike which it said would begin soon.

Speaking during a press briefing in Jos, the Plateau State capital, the coordinator of ASUU, Bauchi Zone, Prof. Lawan Abubakar, also faulted the claim by the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, that the Federal Government had approved the release of N20bn to the union, saying the union did not collect grant from the government, thus, the money was for the universities.

The zone comprises Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Bauchi State University; Federal University, Kashere; Gombe State University; University of Jos; and Plateau State University, Bokkos.

“What will N20bn do for the 64 public universities in this country? What we want now is the N1.1tn. That is the amount that the government should release; not the N20bn,” Abubakar said.

According to the documents released by ASUU, the Federal Government was to provide funds for the revitalisation of the university system between 2013 and 2018. Under the arrangement, the universities were to get N200bn funding in 2013, while N220bn was earmarked for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Also, a dedicated revitalisation account was to be opened at the Central Bank of Nigeria by the Federal Government, and funds paid on a quarterly basis from which the universities would draw the funds.

But while frowning upon the refusal of the Federal Government to honour the agreement, Abubakar stated, “I cannot be definite on the date for the commencement of the strike action. We are still mobilising. We will submit a report on this mobilisation from the various zones and the national leadership will invite the National Executive Council that will now take that decision.

“The N20bn claim by the Minister of Finance was one of the conditions we gave and agreed upon with government in 2017 to suspend the strike then. And the government promised that it was going to release the N20bn in two weeks. That was in 2017, and here we are in September 2018. When the government sensed that we were mobilising our members to take action on those issues, including the N20bn, which was just a palliative, it decided to be political.”

The zone also said it was not comfortable with Wale Babalakin (SAN) as the leader of the government’s renegotiation team, alleging that Babalakin had been antagonistic of the process by being absent from meetings, among other things.

He added, “The kind of individual we want to head the government team must be a stakeholder in the Nigerian public university system and must be committed to solving the problems that we have in the university. With that and with a change in the personality that has such interest, we will simply come back to the table and continue with the renegotiation.”

Meanwhile, the coordinator of Port Harcourt Zone of the union, Uzo Onyebinama, has described the proposed education bank and tuition scheme by the Federal Government as a ploy to commercialise public university education and serve as an incentive for private universities in the country.

Speaking with journalists at the University of Port Harcourt on Thursday, Onyebinama explained that the scheme, if approved, would deny poor people access to higher education.

He added that the Federal Government’s introduction of the scheme into the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement process was an attempt to blackmail the union before the students.

He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to restart the renegotiation process by reconstituting the current government team and implementing the outstanding components of the 2017 Memorandum of Agreement, while imploring governors to tackle the issue of underfunding and desist from interfering in the administration of state universities.

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Idris Adesina

Nigeria face defending champions USA in the quarter-finals of the  2018 FIBA Women’s World Basketball Cup in Spain on Friday.

D’Tigress  reached the quarter-finals after beating Turkey and Argentina in Group B to finish second behind Australia. They also narrowly beat Greece in the quarter-final qualifiers on Wednesday.

But the USA have been unbeaten in the competition as they got all three wins to top Group D to hit the quarter-finals.

According to FIBA statistics, both countries have only met once in the history of the competition – at the 2006 edition, which was the last for Nigeria before 2018. The Americans routed the Africans 79-46 in the encounter.

The Americans lead the World Cup in points (96.3 points per game), assists (26 per game), field goal percentage (52.1 per cent) and free throws (86.4 per cent). The USA have six players averaging double figures per game – Breanna Stewart, A’Ja Wilson, Tina Charles, Nneka Ogwumike, Diana Taurasi and Elena Delle Donne.

However, Nigeria rely on former WNBA star Evelyn Akhator, Sarah Ogoke, Atonye Nyingifa and Promise Amukamara to stage an upset against the world champions.

D’Tigress guard Nyingifa said the match would be tough.

“We know they will come out hard and tough against us – setting their best foot forward. They have a lot of tall players in their team, they have players with great speed and they are the favourites to win the title,” she said.

“But we will not let that deter us as we are going out there to give our best and play our hearts out against them. We will do what we have been doing in the past three games – which has been to stay together and play with determination and unity. We want to go as far as we can and we strongly believe we can achieve it.”

Besiktas of Turkey forward Akhator said, “We were not given a chance to come this far (reaching the quarter-finals) but we are here. We believe we can beat the USA after we have beaten some teams in the top 20 in the world.

“Basketball is beyond what each team has in firepower rather it has included a dint of luck after hard work and determination. We are not looking down on ourselves. We are going out there to face the US and beat them by God’s grace.”

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What looks on paper like a no-fee or low-cost account may not actually be the one that is best suited to your needs. Here are 10 questions to ask to help figure out if your account is right for you, according to ettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com.

• Can I use an ATM for free?

ATMs allow you to withdraw money from your current account without visiting a bank branch. But some withdrawals could cost you. Many banks charge you to use machines operated by other banks or third parties, and those fees can add up quickly. If a bank has a large network of ATMs, you have better access to no-fee withdrawals. In addition, some banks reimburse you for ATM fees.

• What happens if I try to withdraw more money than I have in my account?

Withdrawing more than the amount in your account is called an overdraft. Unless you have opted into a bank’s overdraft service, your transaction will typically be declined. Overdraft service generally allows your transaction to go through, but you will be charged a fee. You can also enroll in optional overdraft protection, which allows you to cover an overdraft with money from another account, such as your savings or a credit card. Keep in mind that this protection can result in a fee, and if you pay for the overdraft via a credit card, it may also be subject to interest.

• Is there a fee?

Some banks charge monthly fees to maintain your account. In many cases, though, they waive those fees based on certain conditions, such as regular paycheque direct deposits.

• Do I need to keep a certain amount of money in my account?

Some banks require you to pay a fee if you don’t maintain a minimum or average balance in your account, though those fees also may be waived based on certain conditions.

• Is there a branch nearby?

Unless you don’t mind doing all your banking online or over the phone, you might want to consider an institution with a branch close to your work or home. It may be worth spending some time on the bank’s website to figure out what transactions will require you to visit a branch.

• Can I access my account information online?

You may be able to check balances, transfer money, receive statements and pay bills online. If you don’t have easy access to a branch, online banking can be very valuable.

• Is mobile banking available?

Some banks have mobile apps for convenient banking on the go. For example, you may be able to deposit cheques by taking pictures of them with your phone. You may want to consult reviews of your bank’s app to see what specific services are offered, since it can vary.

• Will it cost me to transfer money?

Many banks don’t charge you to pay bills directly from your bank account. If you are transferring money to another person, banks generally won’t charge you if that person also has an account with the bank. However, if you are transferring or wiring money outside the bank, you may be charged a fee.

• Do I have to pay for cheques or replacement fees?

At many banks, your first book of cheques is free, but you will likely pay for additional ones. Some banks also charge you to replace lost or stolen debit cards. What is more, some banks limit the number of cheques you can write from your account each month, and charge a fee if you exceed that number.

• Does the account pay me interest?

Generally, if some bank accounts pay interest, the rate is very low. High-yield bank accounts offer higher interest, but typically require higher balances. Savings accounts offer higher rates, but because the accounts are intended for saving, they are subject to different rules. Some regulations, which apply to all banks, limit the number of withdrawals you can make from savings accounts each month, and some banks may charge for frequent savings withdrawals. It is a good idea to check your bank’s deposit agreement and any disclosures to see what applies. You can do this while you are looking at what interest rate the account may pay.

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Olaleye Aluko, Abuja

A speaker at the Women in Management, Business and Public Service summit in Abuja, Dr Mairo Mandara, has revealed how some of the rescued Chibok schoolgirls in Borno State were taken through intensive school classes and thereafter sat for the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination.

Mandara, a former Country Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, added that four of the girls are now undergraduates in a university overseas.

At the WIMBIZ summit on Thursday, the speaker said the Chibok schoolgirls could neither read nor write upon their return from the terrorists and had to be taken back to Senior Secondary School Class 1.

She also stated that health indices such as maternal and child mortality, as well as immunisation, were directly dependent on the education of women.

WIMBIZ is a non-profit organisation that has, over the last 16 years, implemented programmes that inspire and advocate more women representation in leadership positions in the public and private sectors.

The organisation has over 5,000 women in its database and has organised programmes influencing over 93,800 women since inception.

Mandara said, “We graduated about 75 girls from our scholarship scheme last year.  Nearly two-thirds of them were the escaped Chibok schoolgirls that everybody was abusing the government that they didn’t know where those girls were. They were with us; we just kept quiet about them. They had been abducted when they were writing their secondary school examination. But when we took them over, they could neither read nor write.

“We now took them back to secondary school, created a special class for them and really taught them how to read and write. This book – the Queen Primer – was used to teach them and they had to repeat school. But after then, they sat for and passed their WASSCE and their Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. Apart from the Chibok schoolgirls, there were some other 25 girls who were from the Jos, Plateau State’s communal crisis. Four of all these girls are now undergraduates in a university overseas.”

Mandara advocated more education for women, noting that statistics showed educated women did not have issues with health and proper living.

“When I went for my residency programme as a doctor, I came across issues that were particularly related to inequality and social injustice. I saw severe acute malnutrition. I saw young girls at the ages of 13 and 14 being pregnant. I saw infant and maternal mortalities.

“As I saw these things, I was no longer contented and I, therefore, moved into public health where I would be able to stop women from coming to the hospitals with these issues. I came to a discovery that a lot of the poor health indicators, maternal and child mortality, immunisation and everything you can think of about the health of a woman and the children are directly dependent on the education of the woman,” she noted.

The Chairperson of WIMBIZ Executive Council, Mrs Olubunmi Aboderin-Talabi, urged women to aim for success at all times and take on more challenges in public and private leadership.

Aboderin-Talabi, also the Publisher of Clever Clogs Books, said, “I know someone who wherever she goes or whoever she meets, she would always smile and say good morning whether she knows them or not. And then one day, I asked her, why do you do that? And she said, ‘It is because you never know whether that person may be suicidal or sad and just by being friendly, you could turn things around for them.’ I want us to borrow from that principle.”

Another speaker at the summit, a former Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, said women in top public and private sector positions should not allow their gender to stand in the way of quality and successful leadership.

“My appointment as a minister came as a result of the fact that the government had promised to meet the 35 per cent requirement for women in leadership.  Now in that office, I worked with several men but I never spared any wrongdoing either from men or women. I went by the books and the rules. Some men had to resign forcefully while others went through the queries and discipline. The office gave me the authority to exercise and I didn’t allow anyone to disrespect that authority,” Ochekpe said.

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• Thugs set campaign vehicle ablaze in Ondo

Simon Utebor and Peter Dada

Suspected thugs on Thursday unleashed terror on Brass Island in Bayelsa State, attacking the secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party in the area and opening fire on security operatives.

This is just as suspected political thugs attacked some supporters of an All Progressives Congress House of Representatives aspirant, Mr Olatayo Aribo, and set one of his campaign vehicles ablaze in Ondo State.

In the Bayelsa incident, business and commercial activities were reportedly paralysed as PDP loyalists and other residents fled their homes.

It was learnt that the five-man gang, allegedly led by one Aboye  from the neighbouring Rivers State, invaded the community in the early hours of Thursday.

They were said to have shot continuously to scare the people before carrying out the attack.

Briefing journalists in Yenagoa on Thursday, the Caretaker Chairman of the Brass Local Government Area, Victor Isaiah; the Deputy Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere; and the Senator representing Bayelsa East Senatorial District, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, condemned the attacks.

They alleged that the attacks were carried out by thugs loyal to the opposition All Progressives Congress in the area.

The caretaker chairman condemned the activities of APC chieftains in the area.

He accused them of masterminding the crisis rocking Brass Island, especially the killings and maiming of residents in recent times.

Isaiah said, “The APC thugs, armed with AK-47 rifles, invaded the Twon-Brass community in the early hours of today (Thursday) and attacked the PDP secretariat. They launched manhunts for the PDP members in the area.

“The thugs were led by Aboye. The onslaught lasted several hours. During the shootout, the PDP secretariat was attacked, while they opened fire on the security operatives.”

He said the operation was carried out on the orders of some APC leaders who were billed to attend a funeral in Twon Brass this weekend.

According to him, insecurity, sequel to the activities of the political thugs of the APC, is becoming a recurring decimal.

He called on the Inspector-General of Police and other security operatives in the state to be alive to their constitutional responsibility of securing the lives and property of people in the state.

The Senator representing the area, Murray-Bruce, called on the authorities to invest more in security.

He said the police station on Brass Island was in a sorry state.

Murray-Bruce said, “The structure is not befitting. There is the need for the police authorities to invest more in their personnel.

“Mr IG, there is the need for more investment in personnel because of the sensitive nature of their constitutional responsibilities.”

The Deputy Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Ingobere, called for a thorough investigation into the incident and arrest of the culprits to serve as a deterrent to others.

The APC Publicity Secretary in Bayelsa State, Doifie Buokoribo, could not be reached for comments as his telephone line did not connect and he had yet to respond to a text message sent to him as of press time.

The spokesman for the state police command, Mr  Asinim Butswat, said the incident was a clash between cults, adding that he could not tell if the PDP secretariat was attacked.

Butswat said, “I have not been briefed that police operatives in the area were attacked. I am also not aware that the PDP secretariat was attacked.

“We are investigating the incident to know the cults that were involved in the clash. Also, nobody was injured during the clash.”

The attack on the APC Ondo State House of Representatives aspirant happened on Wednesday.

The incident happened in Owo, the headquarters of the Owo LGA of the state and hometown of the state Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu.

According to a source, the attack occurred between 10pm and 11pm at the Post Office area of the town.

The source noted that the two victims of the attack, identified as Lanre Kako and Tope, who were inside a bus, stopped at the area to buy suya when the hoodlums struck.

“When the thugs saw the campaign vehicle, they fired shots at it, but the occupants escaped. It was afterwards that they set the vehicle ablaze; but no one was killed or injured.

“Even though the people around the area put off the fire, the thugs reinforced and came back to set the vehicle on fire again until it got burnt completely,” the source added.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident, saying the command had commenced investigation into it.

He, however, said no casualty was recorded and no arrest had been made.

He said, “It was a fight among members of a political party, but nobody was killed.  We have also begun investigation into the incident.”

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Chidiebube Okeoma, Owerri

THE Imo State Police Command has arrested a 20-year-old-man, Victor Onumajuru, and his 25-year-old accomplice, Chibyke Chikere for allegedly raping a 19-year-old girl.

 Parading the suspects, the state Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galadanchi, revealed that the suspects abducted and raped their victim on August 29 at their hideout.

 The police boss disclosed that on receipt of intelligence, the operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit swung into action and arrested the suspects.

 The CP said, “On August 29, a gang of five men kidnapped the victim and took her to their hideout.

 “The operatives of the Command’s Anti-kidnapping Unit acted on a credible intelligence, rescued the victim and subsequently arrested the suspects in possession of the victim’s GSM handset.

“The suspects unlawfully had carnal knowledge of the victim while in captivity. They have made useful statements and they are helping the police in the investigation process.

“It is a case of kidnap, armed robbery and rape. The suspects are Victor Onumajuru, 20, of Amauzari in the Isiala Mbano LGA and Chibyke Chikere, 25, of Anara in the Isiala Mbano LGA.

“The victim is a 19-year-old girl from Mbieri in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State. One handset belonging to the victim was recovered from the suspects as an exhibit.

 “It is very unfortunate that children who ought to give their lives good meaning by either going to school or learning a trade are engaging in this kind of crime. My command will not spare any lawbreaker. I want to assure Imo people that we will continue to close in on the bad elements.”

Galadanchi, however, promised to prosecute the suspects to serve as deterrent to others.

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Chux Ohai

It is unusual, especially in this part of the world, for an entertainer to attribute his success or popularity among fans to his looks or a natural endowment, but comedian Woli Arole (real name is Toyin Baiyegun) hardly thinks so.

Clearly relishing the popularity and goodwill that he has been enjoying, barely three years after dumping his hard-earned degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, for a career in comedy, Arole confessed, in an interview with our correspondent, that he owed his rise to the limelight to his luxuriant beard.

“My beard is my trademark. It is the first thing that my fans notice when they meet me for the first time,” he said.

Beard or no beard, Woli Arole seems to be determined to conquer new heights. Unknown to many fans, the artiste, who also claimed that his mother had a strong influence on his style of comedy, is on the verge of releasing a new comic movie titled, The Call.

The movie, which has already been screened in Dublin, Ireland, has some of the most talented actors in the country on its cast. They include Hafiz Oyetoro, aka Saka; Segun Arinze, Yinka Quadri, Kevin Ikedugba, Samuel Ajibola and Ashiri, no name but a few.

“The movie tells the story of a young man who discovers by accident that he is gifted with the power of prophecy,” the comedian said.

Explaining why he decided to shoot the movie, Arole also said that he was moved by an urge to address what he described as the level of waywardness among the present generation of young Nigerians. “I decided to use entertainment to drive home the message because this is what most youths want to identify with,” he said.

The film will hit the cinemas in Nigeria in January, 2019.

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