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Priests Bag 40-Year-Jail Terms For Abusing Deaf Children

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Two Roman Catholic priests were each sentenced to more than 40 years in prison in Argentina for sexually abusing deaf children , a court in the western city of Mendoza ruled Monday .

Argentine priest Horacio Corbacho was sentenced to 45 years in jail , while a 42 – year sentence was imposed on Italian Nicola Corradi for the abuse of some 20 children at the Provolo Institute for deaf and hearing-impaired children between 2004 and 2016 .

The court said the sentences took into account the aggravating circumstances that the priests were responsible for the children’ s wellbeing , as well as the fact that the victims were minors .

The institution ’ s gardener, Armando Gomez , was also jailed for 18 years for sexual abuse.

Outside the court , a group of young people waited for the ruling with banners supporting the victims.

Corbacho , 59 , and 83 – year – old Corradi had been held in preventive detention since their arrest three years ago on charges of child sex abuse at the school.

Apart from the gardener, several other staff at the school were taken into custody after the allegations of abuse first came to light in 2016 , and the institute , 1 , 000 kilometres west of Buenos Aires , was shut down.

They included a 42 – year- old Japanese nun , Kosaka Kumiko , who was arrested later after surrendering to authorities . She was charged with complicity with the two priests.

The trial began on August 5 and heard evidence from 13 victims from the institute during in – camera hearings.

( AFP)

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UNILORIN Extends POST-UTME Registration

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The University of Ilorin, Unilorin, has approved an extension of POST-UTME registration by one week to cater for days of technical hitches.

This is contained in a statement issued in Ilorin on Sunday by Mr Mansur Alfanla, the Registrar of the university.

He announced that the new deadline for registration is Dec. 17, 2023.

READ ALSO: UNILORIN Grants Staff Children 25% School Fees Discount

It would be recalled that the deadline of the POST-UTME registration was December 10, before the extension.

The registrar therefore advised intending candidates to register within the extended period as there would not be further extension.

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Disclose How Much Oil Nigeria Produces, Exports Daily, SERAP Tells NNPC

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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has urged Mele Kolo Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited to disclose how much oil Nigeria produces and exports daily within seven working days.

SERAP alleged that the NNPCL had failed to disclose the amounts of barrels of oil the country produces and exports according to information at its disposal.

The organization also asked Kyari “to disclose how much of the revenues generated from oil have been remitted to the public treasury since the removal of subsidy on petrol.”

READ ALSO: Publish Campaign Funding Sources, SERAP Tells Atiku, Tinubu, Others

This was disclosed in a letter signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, noting there was a legitimate public interest in disclosing the information sought.

“Nigerians are entitled to the right to receive information without any interference or distortion, and the enjoyment of this right should be based on the principle of maximum disclosure, and a presumption that all information is accessible subject only to a narrow system of exceptions.”

“By Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2011, SERAP is entitled as of right to request for or gain access to information, including information on the details of barrels of oil Nigeria produces and exports every day and the total amounts of revenues generated and remitted to the public treasury.”

READ ALSO: SERAP Drags Akpabio, Oshiomhole, Others To Court, Wants Their Salaries, Pensions Stopped

SERAP argued that the “Opacity in the amounts of barrels of oil the country produces and exports daily, the revenues generated and remitted to the public treasury would have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of the citizens and the public interest.”

The organization said it would consider appropriate legal actions to compel the NNPCL to comply with the requests in the public interest, if it did not get any response within seven days.

SERAP recalled that the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had last week alleged that “the NNPCL is failing to remit enough foreign exchange into the treasury despite the removal of fuel subsidy.”

According to the organization the NNPCL has a legal responsibility to promote transparency and accountability in barrels of oil the country produces and exports every day.

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Foundation Trains 50 Women Farmers In Bauchi

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A Bauchi based Non Governmental Organisation known as Al-Muhibah Foundation, has conducted a three-day training for 50 women farmers on fonio farming in the state.

The founder of the foundation, Hajiya Aisha Mohammed who is also the wife of Gov. Bala Mohammed, stated this at the end of the training for the women on Sunday.

According to her, the project was funded by the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) and aimed at empowering women in the area of farming fonio locally called acher.

She explained that 25 women were selected from Alkaleri and 25 from Tafawa Balewa local government areas of the state respectively.

READ ALSO: UNFPA, Al-Muhibah Foundation Train 60 Persons With Disabilities On Skills Acquisition In Bauchi

She said the decision to settle for fonio acher farming training was as a result of its nutritional value, adding that Bauchi state was among the states facing malnutrition problems due to the lack of adequate nutrition diet for children.

“It is on this basis that looking at the nutritional value of Acha fonio, are the opportunities in helping to reduce the cases of or curb severe malnutrition.

“We also key into the Islamic Development Bank policy to learn how to empower women through interventions that improve health, food security, economic opportunities, education, access to technology which would enhance women’s financial literacy and business skills.

“Today, the 50 women farmers have received farming tools, insecticide, fertilisers, farmland, seedlings, capacity building training as well as 20 water pumping machines to each of the two LGAs,” she said.

The governor’s wife further explained that the project was to also ensure that the productivity, sustainability and profitability of the Fonio-Acha value chains were sustained, developed and expanded in the two benefiting LGAs by empowering women groups in the local production of the crop.

READ ALSO: Bauchi School With 45 Classes, 45 Toilets Lauds UNICEF’s Sanitation Programme

Earlier, the Finance and Administration Officer of the Foundation, Mr Stephen Goyit, explained that ISDB sponsored 70 per cent and Al-Muhibah Foundation sponsored 30 per cent of the project.

He said based on the project design, the 40 water pumping machines and accessories were distributed to the women farmers in a cluster for easy monitoring.

Goyit added that a total sum of N30,000 was given to each of the beneficiaries for feeding and transportation allowances.

One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Grace Yohana who expressed happiness to have received the training, appreciated Al-Muhibah Foundation for the ‘kind gesture’.

I’m very happy about this intervention. They gave us N30,000, we learned many things about fonio farming and the state Ministry of Agriculture has also promised to give each of us one bag of fertilizer,” she said.

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