2013 Batch ‘B’ NYSC Mobilisation Timetable

S/No Event Date

1 Registration of Foreign-trained Nigerian
Graduates
8th April – 7th June, 2013


2 Submission of Masterlist. Screening/Vetting by Mobilization Officers.
29th April – 6th May, 2013

3 Action by the ICT Department.
29th April – 20th May, 2013


4 Delivery of Preliminary Printouts to CPIs
21st – 23rd May, 2013

5 Return of Corrected Printouts by Institutions to NYSC NDHQ 28th – 31st May, 2013

6 Correction of errors and printing of call-up letters by ICT Dept.
28th May – 11st June, 2013

7 Sorting and Packaging of Call-up letters
11th –17th June, 2013


8 Delivery of Call-up letters to Institutions / NYSC Secretariats
18th – 21st June, 2013


9 2013 Batch ‘B’ Orientation Course
25th June – 16th July, 2013

A 50-year-old man, Emmauel Mathew,  was on Tuesday arraigned before Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf of the Federal Capital Territory High Court for raping three pupils.

News Agency of Nigeria reported that Mathew, who is the pastor and General Overseer of The Choice Bible Church, Mpape, and proprietor of primary school the victims attended, was arraigned on six counts of rape.

He was accused of having carnal knowledge of two seven-year-old pupils and a nine-year-old on different occasions in the school’s office without their consent.

The offence is punishable under Section 283 of the Penal Code.

“Whoever has canal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 14 years and shall also be liable to fine,” the Penal Code reads.

Mathew pleaded not guilty to the charges, but the presiding judge ordered the prosecuting counsel to amend the remaining three counts against the accused.

The prosecutor, Stalley Nwodo, urged the court to fix a date for the amendment of charges.

Baba-Yusuf granted the prosecutor’s application and adjourned the matter until May 8.

A house agent, Mr. Hakeem Olanrewaju, 44, has been arraigned before court 1, Yaba Magistrate’s Court on 429 counts by the State Criminal Investigation Department, for allegedly defrauding 214 accommodation seekers.

The complainants had approached Olanrewaju to assist with their accommodation needs.

The charge sheet, which numbered over 100 pages revealed that Olanrewaju had collected sums ranging from N1.5m to N350, 000 from each of the complainants within nine months.

It reads in part, “That you, Hakeem Olanrewaju, m, and others at large between the month of August 2012 to April 2013 at 12 Daniel Makinde Street, Ketu in Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial District did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit: obtaining money under false pretences and stealing, and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011”

Olanrewaju pleaded not guilty to the charges.

His defence counsel prayed the court to grant him bail under liberal terms.

The magistrate, Mr. P.A Ojo agreed to admit the defendant on bail upon the payment of N500,000 with two sureties each in like sum.

The case was adjourned till June 19.

There was outrage on various social media platforms on Tuesday over the 45-year jail term handed down to 31-year-old Kelvin Ighodalo for stealing a phone worth N50,000, belonging to Governor Rauf Arebesola of Osun State.

He committed this crime during the inauguration of the governor on November 27, 2010 at Government Technical College, Osogbo.

Justice Oyejide Falola of an Osogbo High Court, who heard the case, found Ighodalo guilty on six counts, which included conspiracy, stealing and fraud. He sentenced him to 10-year imprisonment for the first three counts and five years for each of the last three, which included impersonation, obtaining property by falsehood and collusion. But the sentence will run concurrently, which means that he will spend 10 years in prison.

The judgment has gone viral on social media platforms. Many who commented on it described it as ‘too harsh.’

Some others wondered if the heavy penalty on Ighodalo was because he stole from a Very Important Personality in the person of a sitting governor.

Though they all agreed that Ighodalo’s action was wrong and should not go unpunished, they argued that the justice system in the country was selective, punishing only the masses and giving highly placed Nigerians who commit similar criminal offences, a pat on the wrist.

A visitor to punchng.com with the name, Krown, says the verdict shows that the application of criminal laws in Nigeria is favourable to the “political elite and hundreds of their appointees and associates as well as the affluent, wealthy and the powerful in our communities.”

He adds, “I believe the verdict handed down to Ighodalo by Justice Oyejide Falola for 45 years behind bars raised the eyebrow about our entire justice system and why our laws only apply to ordinary Nigerians when it comes to stealing, fraud, forgery, impersonation, deception (in the name of country and people) while our political crooks walk-free regardless of their various crimes!”

Another comment on punchng.com, by Aramide, says though Ighodalo deserves to be punished, the jail sentence is outrageous.

She argues, “In the same country, we have bias in delivering judgement to similar crimes. Nobody is applauding crime but what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

“How much is the whole money he defrauded people of, compared to the pension thief? Yakubu Yusuf did not only steal but also sent so many people to their early graves and denied so many a great future, yet he got N750, 000 option of fine.”

A member of the popular online forum, nairaland.com, Ade Mutiu, asked if the judge passed the harsh judgement in a bid to please the state governor.

He laments, “Sincerely, I just can’t comprehend this. This is outrageous and funny. Forty-five years for stealing a phone? Was it because he stole from a governor or what? So many questions running through my mind.

“The guy stole, fine! He needs to be punished. But why are political thieves not given 45years jail term? Seriously, I am just sad over this. I’m not encouraging such from a young guy but then 45 years is simply too much.”

Meanwhile, another school of thought argues that though the judgement is harsh, it will deter many Nigerians contemplating on taking to crime.

Tunji, on nairaland.com, says, “Some people are justifying what the guy did with an excuse that those in the helm of affairs steal more than what the guy stole. Fine! We all know there is inequality in the land and the judicial system isn’t fair to the ‘commoners’ but doing the same thing (stealing), which we accuse our leaders of doing, is not the way out.

“If all masses resort to stealing, I’m sure we all will be sleeping with one eye closed because we’ll always be our own prey. Our leaders’ kleptomaniac nature isn’t an excuse for us to see spade and call it a tool for digging instead of its real name. The guy deserves the jail term if not for anything, at least for going back to crime after serving a jail term earlier.”

Corroborating Tunji’s claim, an anonymous reader on lindaikeji.blospot.com says despite the ‘skewed’ nature of the justice system, the punishment serves Ighodalo right.

“Stealing is not okay for him, yet he went on to impersonate with the governor’s phone, collecting money from people fraudulently. He deserves what he got. When he is done with the jail term, I am sure he will stay away from crime forever,” the reader explains.

Also, on punchng.com, Akeula Taiwo notes, “We should not justify wrong with the similar wrong. Don’t you know the pension fund case Judge (Justice Abubakar Talba of the FCT High Court) has been suspended? What else could a man who had temerity to pick an elected governor’s pocket, and by that action, defrauded others not do to look for money? Such person is a dare-devil criminal.”

Ighodalo was said to have used the phone to obtain N500, 000 from the Owa of Ilesa, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, and another N200, 000 from Mr. Shengen Rahman, an associate of the governor.

 The Presidency has on Wednesday made it known that President Goodluck Jonathan is now ready to for-go his intentions to run the second term in 2015 if senate eventually pass its proposal for a single non-renewable 6- year enure into law.

But the President’s Special Adviser on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, said the ambition to stage a return would be shelved if Senators decided in favour of a single term for the President and state governors.

Gulak who spoke to Us  in Abuja said, “Nigerians will remember that it was President Jonathan that suggested an idea of a single term tenure from the beginning. So if the proposal becomes a law, the credit should go to the President.

“If it becomes a law and is enshrined in our constitution, the President and everybody will be bound by the provision of that law. Let us wait and see what happens.

“We are not seeing the move as a way of stopping President Jonathan from re-contesting in 2015. The law cannot be made because of one individual.

“When it takes effect, everybody will be bound by it.”

Our correspondent had asked Gulak on the response of the President to a proposal by a Senate committee to introduce single-term tenure and whether the Presidency felt the proposal was targeting at derailing Jonathan’s 2015 ambition.

The PUNCH had on Tuesday reported exclusively that the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution had recommended non-renewable single six year tenure for the offices of President, Vice-President, governors and their deputies.

The Senate panel’s recommendation disqualifies Jonathan and incumbent governors from benefitting from the new arrangement if the recommendation becomes law.

In justifying the move, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, was quoted on Wednesday as saying that the development was the outcome of public hearings across the country.

If passed into law, Jonathan will not be eligible to contest the 2015 presidential election.

Gulak noted that the President should even be given credit for being the originator of the single-term proposal.

Jonathan had in 2011 suggested a single-term of seven years for elective offices to avoid the wrangling often associated with second-term bids.

In a related development, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, said on Wednesday that the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution would answer questions about the nature of Nigeria’s unity.

Tambuwal spoke at the opening of a retreat for members of the House AdHoc Committee on Constitution Review in Abuja.

The committee, headed by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, organised the retreat to allow House members appraise the report of the People’s Public Sessions on the constitution and prepare them for the next stage of the review process.

The public sessions were held across the federation on November 10, 2012, where Nigerians voted on a 43-item template on sections of the constitution they desired amendments.

Tambuwal acknowledged that Nigeria was facing many challenges, which had forced the citizens to ask questions on the nature of the country’s union and assured that the fears expressed by the people would be addressed by the new constitution envisaged.

He said, “As you well know, our country today faces many challenges and some of our people have been asking questions about the very nature of our union.

“We hope eventually to provide Nigerians with a constitution that will answer some of these questions and further cement our hard fought unity.”

The Speaker claimed that reactions from Nigerians since the House publicly tendered the report of the People’s Public Sessions on April 18 suggested that they had confidence in the National Assembly to do a thorough representation of their views in the constitution.

However, he warned the committee members against cutting corners or attempting to impose their own views on the people in the course of appraising the report.

“So far, you have all shown remarkable patriotism but I must again emphasise the need for your work to be free of all personal bias.

“You must work only on data provided by the nationwide public hearing and your conclusion should reflect the aggregate opinion of fellow Nigerians”, the speaker stated.

But the deputy speaker said, “The results of the Peoples Public Sessions as unveiled by the House would be subjected to proper legislative action as required by the Standing Orders of the House and by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

“There are no short-cuts. This retreat will give members of the committee acting on behalf of the entire House the opportunity to brainstorm on the language of the amendments where consensus has been reached.

“It is pertinent to note that the National Assembly is one. For this process to work, the House and Senate Constitution Review Committees must work together to propose the same bills and vote on the same issues.

“The Senate and the House of Representatives must an reach agreement before any section of the constitution is amended. Indeed, two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly must agree (as well).”

Real Madrid’s Champions League campaign had just ended in defeat when Jose Mourinho spotted an opportunity to send a message.

Even though Madrid can still end a mediocre season – mediocre by its high standards, anyway – with the Copa del Rey title, Mourinho is laying the groundwork for a divorce, dropping heavy hints about a return to the English Premier League and Chelsea, the team he managed from June 2004 to September 2007.

‘’I know in England I am loved,’’ he said during a news conference in Madrid after Tuesday night’s elimination. ‘’I’m loved by the fans. I’m loved by the media that treats me in a fair way, criticizing me when they have (to), but giving me credit when I deserve it. I know I’m loved by some clubs, especially one. And in Spain the situation is a bit different because some people hate me. And many of you are in this room.’’

Fans in west London were stunned when Mourinho’s relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich broke down in 2007 after three-plus seasons that included league titles in 2005 and 2006 – the first for the club since 1955 – and the 2007 FA Cup.

Each of his successors – Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafa Benitez – has been judged against Mourinho’s achievements and allure.

Few, if any, have succeeded in matching his success and charisma, particularly not Benitez.

Installed as interim manager in November despite fan opposition that turned his early matches into a cauldron of hatred, Benitez’s reign has underlined the need for a unifying figure to serve as the permanent manager. Benitez already has said he will be leaving when the season ends next month.

‘’One day, naturally, I have to be back,’’ Mourinho said last month in London, where he kept a home. ‘’Chelsea is in my heart.’’

Chelsea players are bracing for the return of the colourful leader.

‘’Everyone who loves Chelsea hopes Mourinho will return,’’ Chelsea defender Bransilav Ivanovic was quoted as telling Serbian newspaper Vecernje Novosti.

Chelsea hasn’t been close to winning the Premier League since Ancelotti delivered the title in 2010, and Chelsea isn’t even assured of a Champions League berth for next season.

‘’With (Mourinho) we can be stronger as a club,’’ Ivanovic said in the Serbian interview last week. ‘’It would add another dimension to Chelsea, and it would be sure to help us become one of the main contenders for the title.’’

Mourinho has retained his swagger in recent years while appearing to tone down some of the bravado, engaging in fewer conflicts with rivals and referees.

It’s unlikely soccer would witness a repeat of the frenzied dash down the touchline by Mourinho at Old Trafford following a second-round win in 2004 en route to the Champions League title with Porto.

When Mourinho’s Madrid won at United in March, he even quietly headed toward the dressing room before the final whistle blew and then praised the losers.

AN Abuja High Court on Thursday declared as null and void the revocation of a plot of land allocated to Turai Yar’Adua by the Federal Capital Territory.

The FCT had revoked the Abuja land allocation in favour of Mrs Patience Jonathan, the current president’s wife.

The court therefore revoked the notice of revocation issued to Turai by the FCT Administration on the plot with the judge, Peter Affen, ruling that taking the land from Turai, wife of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and reallocating same to Mrs. Jonathan served no public interest.

Affen held that “the revocation issued by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Sen. Bala Mohammed, was invalid, null and void’’ and that the plaintiff’s (Turai’s) right of occupancy over the 1.84 hectares of land remained valid and subsisting.

“There is no regular and proper overriding public interest to warrant the purported revocation,’ the judge ruled, adding that it was the dispute between the plaintiff and Mrs. Jonathan that led to the purported revocation.

“The plot belongs to WAYEF, a site for the building of the head office of the plaintiff’s pet project and so the dispute does not amount to overriding public interest,’’ the judge said.

Affen said that the claim by the Attorney-General of the Federation that the plot had earlier been allocated for the building of the African First Lady Peace Mission was wrong.

“There is no evidence in all of the materials before me that the land had been initially granted.

“The minister did not rely on the alleged error while revoking the land but rather relied on evidence of overriding public interest.

The judge said, “The disputed land, plot no. 1347 Cadastral Zone AOO, Central Business District, Abuja, FCT, was initially allocated to Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation while Mrs Yar’adua was First Lady.

“The minister of the FCT, Bala Mohammed, revoked the allocation for what he described as ‘overriding public interest’.

“He then re-allocated the same land to Mrs Jonathan for the building of African First Lady Peace Mission Headquarters on the 2nd of November, 2011.

“The action of the FCT administration is not tenable in law as it was done contrary to the rules and law, and therefore will not stand.’’

Turai had approached the court seeking the restoration of the plot allegedly taken by Patience.

The plaintiff said that the land allocated to WAYEF on Feb 19, 2010, was being trespassed upon by the President’s wife and got a court order dated March 5, 2012 restraining the defendants from affecting WAYEF title and interest over the land.

Those joined as co-defendants in the suit are the Minister of FCT, Federal Capital Administration, the Abuja Geographic Information System, and the AGF.

Reacting to the court verdict on Thursday, Patience said she was not involved in a land tussle with her predecessor as Nigerians were made to believe.

The President’s wife made the clarification in a statement by her spokesman, Mr. Ayo Osinlu.

Osinlu said the land which had been a subject of litigation was between the Federal Capital Territory Administration and Hajia Turai Yar’Adua’s non-governmental organisation.

He said neither the African First Ladies Peace Mission, led by Mrs. Jonathan nor the President’s wife in her personal capacity was joined in the suit.

Osinlu said, “Our office had repeatedly stated that the land, which had been a subject of litigation, was between the FCT Administration and Hajia Turai Yar’adua’s NGO, and neither the African First Ladies Peace Mission, even though it is the original allottee of the land, nor Dame Patience Jonathan, who is the sitting President of the continental body, was joined in the suit.

“For purposes of emphasis, we wish to reiterate that, the land in question was first allocated to the African First Ladies Peace Mission, according to records available to us, during the tenure of Hajia Turai Yar’Adua as President of the Mission.

“If in leaving office she had decided to depart with the land, the FCT has taken appropriate logical action to retrieve the said plot for the original allottee and purpose.

“To this extent, we wish to state categorically that the judgment referred to in the media was not against the person of Dame Patience Jonathan, and we will like the public and well-meaning Nigerians to put the matter in its proper perspective for the purpose of accurate record and common good.”

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has withheld the results of 80,419 candidates among those that sat for the last Saturday’s 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

Of this figure, 12,110 candidates’ results “are withheld for a possible disciplinary action” while 68,309 results “from various centres are still undergoing further screening,” JAMB Registrar/Chief Executive, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, said on Friday during the official release of the results.

“About 40,692 results were invalid due to multiple shading or no shading at all,” he stated.

Ojerinde, who addressed journalists at the examination body’s National Headquarters, Bwari, Abuja, said the irregularities were discovered after processing the answer scripts.

He lamented that candidates had changed their style of perpetrating examination malpractices from wearing ‘magic slippers,’ to wearing “long sleeve shirts that bore imprint of prepared answers.”

He exhibited three shirts seized from candidates as evidence.

Reading a text message received from an unnamed parent, Ojerinde warned the public against patronising Internet fraudsters, who “are already telling candidates that their results could be upgraded.”

“They do not have access to our data,” he stressed.

The JAMB boss said, “40 examination centres were found wanting and their results are under screening. We have ample evidence against them.”

On one Isaac Okeke arrested in Abuja for alleged impersonation, Ojerinde said, “It is true that he was duly registered for the examination but the cyber cafe man gave him a fake e-slip. We thank God the production of fake e-registration slips has reduced.”

Responding to a question, Ojerinde said the board had no record of conviction secured for examination malpractices as “it is a case between the state and those caught. We can only serve as witnesses.”

To buttress the desperation of candidates at the centres, he stated that a Catholic School was involved in examination malpractice without the knowledge of the Reverend Father.

Giving an assurance that a computer based test will still hold on June 1 as scheduled, Ojerinde appealed to candidates to print fresh e-registration slips to further ascertain their centres.

Analysing the results, he said 10 candidates scored 300 and above, 628 scored between 270 and 299, 33,115 scored between 250 and 269, while 704,622 scored between 200 and 249.

About 571,298 scored between 170 and 199; 103,489 scored between 160 and169 while 127,017 scored less than 159.

Mrs. Akudo George is pregnant. The 21-year-old woman got married about 10 months earlier and is naturally excited. She has always been in high spirit though, but an experience she had in Oyingbo market, Ebute Meta in Lagos left her petrified.

Seven months pregnant George was haggling with a fruit seller when she heard someone say, “Please give me money.” She turned to behold a small man standing beside her. The man’s features showed that though small in stature, he was not a kid but a full grown adult.

She recalled, “I was petrified. I just handed the money I was about to pay the fruit seller to the little man. I felt dizzy all of a sudden. The little man took the money and said, ‘thank you very much madam. Don’t be scared. I mean you no harm. Life is tough for people like us. God bless you. You’ll give birth to very tall children’. I said ‘amen’ weakly. It wasn’t a pleasant encounter. I went through the remaining weeks of the pregnancy in a daze. I had heard stories of how normal babies changed to other things in the womb. I had to tell my husband, doctor and mother. I prayed. That was 36 years ago. My son, Chibuzor, grew into a healthy man. But that pregnancy was difficult because I developed high blood pressure because of that chance encounter with a little man.”

If George felt this way just because a ‘little man’ approached her, what about the feeling of the ‘little man’?

Mr. Moses Ogbaji is 29 years old, but his three-foot height sharply belies his age. However, his face and mannerisms show the maturity that is seemingly lacking in his tiny frame.

Ogbaji is a dwarf, but this did not stop him from fantasising about being a pilot, particularly in his childhood. Even as a grown man, Ogbaji said he sometimes wishes he was taller, so he could have a shot at fulfilling his childhood fantasy.

He said. “I wish that I could be a pilot; to be up in the air and travelling everywhere. I remember dreaming about it, especially when I was younger, but a person of my stature cannot be a pilot. So I will have to miss not having the opportunity to become a pilot in my lifetime.”

According to the Little People of America, a non-profit organisation that offers support to dwarfs and their families, dwarfism is “an adult height of four feet 10 inches (147 cm) or under, as a result of medical or genetic condition.”

In general terms, dwarfism is a condition of short stature.

Indeed, job preferences for dwarfs are limited, particularly in a developing country like Nigeria. Dwarfs are also not considered to be suitable for driving, joining the security force or taking part in sporting activities, such as athletics, that tend to emphasise the use of limbs. But beyond that, dwarfs are generally considered to be at a disadvantage in a world dominated by relatively tall people. They are often bullied, cheated and jeered in educational, work and social settings.

Also, dwarfs are called by different names, mostly derogatory, in different places and languages. For instance, they are ‘Arara’ in Yoruba and ‘Gagere’ or ‘Wada’ in Hausa.

In Igbo, the name for dwarfs is ‘Akakpo’, which is sometimes used as an insult to any one considered as short. It is also said that if a woman insults an ‘Akakpo’, she will end up giving birth to one.

But universally, midget is a common term used to describe dwarfs, but it is also often regarded as offensive. In places like Canada and the US, many dwarfs now prefer to be called ‘little people’, but this has not yet caught on across the world, with some people still referring to dwarfs as ‘pygmies’.