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Edo: ICPC Loses Appeal Challenging Reinstatement Of Its Staff

Published

4 years ago

December 6, 2021

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has lost appeal filed at the Benin Division of the Court of Appeal where the anti-corruption body challenged the reinstatement of one of its staff, Rhiuyiosa Albert Osarumwense.

Recall that Justice Oyebiola Oyewumi of the National Industrial Court, Akure, in February 2020 ordered the ICPC and its Chairman to immediately reinstate Edo-born Albert Osarumwense who he said was wrongfully dismissed by the Commission in October, 2015.

In the suit number NICN/BEN/01/2016, Justice Oyewumi ruled that the nature of employment of Albert Osarumwense was one with statutory flavour.

He further ruled that Osarumwense is entitled to be paid all his salary and other allowances from the month of October, 2015 when his employment was terminated till the day of his reinstatement.

Delivering his judgment in Appeal no: CA/B/44M/2021, Justice M. A. Danjuma of the Court of Appeal, Benin, held that the ICPC was not ready to go on with its appeal and therefore dismissed it.

A certified copy of his ruling signed by the Chief Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Adaeze Oby Aziwe Esq reads: “That the non compilation of the Record of Appeal nor its transmission up to this time and inspite service of a Hearing Notice for the case today and still without any response indicating the existence of any such application for the discretionary respite of an elongation of time to so compile and transmit Record of Appeal towards prosecution, clearly strengthens the fact that there is no desire to prosecute the Appeal left as a sword of damage in the clog of a subsisting Judgment as alleged by the Applicant in his affidavit to the Motion.

“That Notice of Appeal is struck out and the Appeal dismissed pursuant to Order 8 Rule 18 of the Court of Appeal Rules. 2016.”

Reacting to the judgment, counsel to Osarumwense, Olayiwola Afolabi, Esq., said the Court of Appeal has dismissed their case, adding, “the Court of Appeal is the last bustop when it comes to labour matters, they can’t go to Supreme”

He said he believed that ICPC would comply with the ruling of the Court as the Commission is headed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) “who knows the law.”

Headline

UK Links Nigeria, Others To Poisonous Alcoholic Drinks

Published

5 hours ago

October 22, 2025

Editor

Nigeria and seven other countries have been added to a UK Foreign Office list warning of the risks of methanol poisoning from counterfeit or tainted alcoholic drinks.

Other affected countries that have warned of potential risks include Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Uganda, and Kenya.

The countries are included in the updated travel guidance following incidents involving Britons in those countries.

The advice previously covered Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Turkey, Costa Rica and Fiji and followed a number of high-profile incidents, including the death of six tourists in Laos last year.

The UK foreign Office warned travellers to watch out for signs of methanol poisoning such as blurry vision and confusion, which could lead to serious illness and death.

Methanol is an industrial chemical found in antifreeze and windscreen washer fluid. It is not meant for human consumption and is highly toxic.

With instances of unscrupulous backyard brewers adding methanol to drinks to extend their reach, and some bars and street vendors mixing it with spirit-based drinks and cocktails to cut costs, the Foreign Office has said it is crucial to be cautious.

The Foreign Office advised British nationals going abroad to purchase sealed drinks from licensed establishments, avoid homemade alcohol and pre-mixed spirits, cocktails and drinks served in buckets or jugs.

Travellers are advised to watch out for warning signs of poisoning, which include nausea, vomiting, dizziness and confusion.

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Mosquitoes Discovered In Iceland For First Time

Published

16 hours ago

October 21, 2025

Editor

Mosquitoes have been discovered in Iceland in a first for the island nation, which has long been one of the world’s mosquito-free places, a researcher told AFP Monday.

Three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes, two females and one male, were sighted around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the capital Reykjavik, according to Matthias Alfredsson, an entomologist at the Natural Science Institute of Iceland.

“They were all collected from wine ropes… aimed at attracting moths,” the researcher said in an email, referring to a method of adding sugar to heated wine and dipping ropes or strips of fabric into the solution, which are then hung outside to entice the sweet-toothed insects.

Along with Antarctica, Iceland has long been one of the few places on earth without a mosquito population.

“It is the first record of mosquitoes occurring in the natural environment in Iceland. A single Aedes nigripes specimen (arctic mosquito species) was collected many years ago from an airplane at Keflavik airport,” Alfredsson said, adding that “unfortunately, that specimen is lost”.

Their presence could “indicate a recent introduction to the country, possibly via ships or containers”, he said, but further monitoring in spring would be necessary to determine their further spread.

Rising temperatures, longer summers, and milder winters, all brought on by climate change, create a more favourable environment for mosquitoes to thrive.

But Alfredsson did not believe that a warmer climate explained the discovery.

The species “appears to be well adapted to colder climates”, which “allows them to withstand long, harsh winters when temperatures drop below freezing”, he said.

He added that its “diverse breeding habitats… further enhances its ability to persist in Iceland’s challenging environment”.
AFP

Headline

Trump Urged Ukraine To Give Up Land In Peace Deal Talks — Official

Published

17 hours ago

October 21, 2025

Editor

United State President Donald Trump pressured Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to give up the eastern Donbas region in exchange for peace during “tense” talks last Friday in Washington, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

The source added that the talks with Trump were “not easy”, and that diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war felt like they were being “dragged out” and “going in circles”.

Zelensky met Trump at the White House last week, hoping to capitalise on the US leader’s growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reluctance to accept a ceasefire.

But he instead left empty-handed after Trump — who spoke with Putin the day before — denied his request for long-range Tomahawk missiles and pressured him into making a deal.

When asked if Trump urged Zelensky to pull out of land Ukraine still controlled — one of Putin’s key demands — the Ukrainian official told AFP: “Yes, that’s true.”

Following his meeting with Zelensky, Trump said on social media that their talks were “very interesting and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing and make a DEAL!”

Trump promised to end Russia’s three-and-a-half-year invasion within “24 hours” of his inauguration in January, but has failed to extract any concessions from Putin.

His position on the war has repeatedly shifted following his conversations with both Putin and Zelensky.

AFP