Protest: Yaba College of Technology has suspended academic activities in the school for four weeks

The management of the Yaba College of Technology has suspended academic activities in the school for four weeks as students continued protesting against the death of a final year student of the institution, Comfort Dazan, on Thursday.

The angry students went on the rampage in the college, shutting all its entrances and singing solidarity songs to protest against Dazan’s death, which they claimed was as a result of the poor state of the medical facility in the school, The PUNCH reported.

It was reported that Dazan, a Higher National Diploma II student of the Office of Management Technology department, passed on after she fell ill and was rushed to the college’s medical centre, which allegedly demanded N35,000 before she could be attended to.

It was learnt on Thursday that though the protest continued, the presence of riot policemen at the school entrances, prevented the students from marching to the streets.

It was gathered that apprehension made the management to suspend academic activities for four weeks.

The Head, Public Relations Unit, Charles Oni, said in a statement that the suspension of academic work was to mourn Dazan.

He said, “The academic board of the college has suspended academic activities in the school for four weeks to allow the management, workers and students to mourn the loss of Dazan, who died on Wednesday.

“To forestall further destruction of the school property, students are to vacate halls of residence latest at 12pm on Thursday, February 11. The management has pledged to attend to other issues and requests by students in due course.”

It was learnt that the students, during the protest, vandalised the college’s medical centre’s ambulance, burnt a 5KVA generator, and damaged some vehicles belonging to the school and individuals.

Meanwhile, the authorities of the Federal Medical Centre, Oyingbo also on Thursday, admitted that Dazan died in the hospital.

In a statement by the FMC Head, Clinical Services, Dr O.T. Aseru, FMC said 27-year-old Dazan died just 10 minutes after arriving at the centre from the school medical centre.

Aseru added that Dazan was “very pale, cold, clammy, anxious and gasping” when she arrived at the hospital about 1am on Wednesday with a nurse from the college.

Also, at the University of Lagos, normalcy had returned with huge police presence observed at about 12.30pm on Thursday.

Some medical students of the university and their parents had on Wednesday disrupted academic activities, alleging that the school management deliberately introduced an academic promotion policy that would frustrate them from proceeding to the university’s College of Medicine, Idi-Araba, to continue their programme.

EFCC:Tompolo declares wanted

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Thursday declared a former Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, wanted.

The anti-graft agency, in an advertorial signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said it decided to declare Tompolo wanted following two bench warrants issued against him by a Federal High Court in Lagos, where he has been charged with a N45.9bn fraud.

In the said advertorial, which carried a photograph of Tompolo, the EFCC described him as a 47-year-old, dark-complexioned man from Okerenkoko, Gbaramotu Kingdom in the Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, according to The PUNCH.

Tompolo, whose address was given as No. 1, Chief Agbanu Street, DDPA Extension, Warri, Delta State, speaks both Izon and English languages, according to EFCC.

The public announcement issued by Uwujaren read in part, “The general public is hereby notified that Government Ekpemupolo (a.k.a. Tompolo), whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in relation to the offence of conspiracy and illegal diversion of the sum of N34,000,000,000.00 and N11,900,000,000.00 belonging to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.”

Justice Ibrahim Buba of a Federal High Court in Lagos had issued a bench warrant against Tompolo on January 14 after he shunned a summons dated January 12, 2016 issued by the judge to appear in connection with the fraud charges filed against him and nine others by EFCC.

Justice Buba had ordered the law enforcement agencies to produce Tompolo before him on February 8 for him to answer the charges, but rather than appear in court on January 8, Tompolo brought an application seeking to quash the bench warrant and arrest order.

The judge, who dismissed the application for lacking in merit, renewed the arrest warrant and directed all law enforcement agencies to produce Tompolo before him on February 19.

Tompolo’s lawyer, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), after failing to get the bench warrant vacated, turn down the responsibility of undertaking to produce his client in court.

Oyetibo said it was the responsibility of the prosecution to produce the suspect in court.

The EFCC filed 40 counts against Tompolo and nine others, including the immediate-past Director-General of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi.

Kim Kardashian sparked speculation she may finally be ready to introduce her and rapper Kanye West's son to the world

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Kim Kardashian boards a private jet with North, Saint and Caitlyn Jenner on the way to New York.

Fans' prayers to see Saint West's face may soon be answered.

Kim Kardashian sparked speculation she may finally be ready to introduce her and rapper Kanye West's son to the world when she boarded a private jet to New York ahead of his fashion show with both of her children in tow.

Caitlyn Jenner was also photographed trailing behind the 35-year-old reality star, who made two trips on the tarmac to carry her precious cargo North and Saint on to the plane. Jenner and Kardashian will join West and their other family members — Kris, Kylie and Kendall Jenner — in the Big Apple for fashion week.

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Kardashian, her two kids and Caitlyn Jenner will attend Kanye West's fashion show at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

West is set to premiere his new fashion line, Yeezy Season 3, on Thursday at an extravagant event at Madison Square Garden. He will also debut his new album "T.L.O.P." at the sold-out show, which will be streamed in more than 700 theaters in 23 different countries.

Saint could potentially upstage his famous father this week, however, if his famous parents decide to show him off for the first time during their trip to Manhattan.

Kardashian and Saint have rarely left their home since the baby was born on Dec. 5, though the "Keeping Up with The Kardashians" star did give her followers a first glimpse of her son's hand on Instagram on Jan. 3.

Bill Cosby's wife Camille loses quest to get out of deposition in defamation case

                                     BRYAN BEDDER/GETTY IMAGES

Camille Cosby has stood by her husband as more than 50 women have stepped forward with various claims of sexual assault.

Camille Cosby has lost her bid for "complete avoidance" of a deposition demanded by seven of her husband's accusers.

The federal judge hearing her appeal in Massachusetts issued a ruling Thursday that rejected her claim she's off limits and ordered the 71-year-old spouse to sit for the grilling.

The judge further declined her request for a formal protective order limiting the scope of questioning in the pending defamation case.

But it wasn't all bad news for Bill Cosby's wife of more than five decades. U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni did open the door for Camille to refuse to answer some inquiries related to her private conversations with Cosby.

He said U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy erred last December when he ruled that the Massachusetts marital disqualification rule only offered protection for Camille during trial testimony, not pre-trial discovery.

In fact, the rule "does apply to deposition testimony," so Camille could object to some questions on that basis, Judge Mastroianni said.

Camille's original deposition was set for Jan. 6, but the court postponed it pending the outcome of her appeal.

Camille stepped up her legal battle shortly after Cosby was charged with felony aggravated indecent assault in Pennsylvania on Dec. 30.

She filed paperwork expressing her concern she would be probed on the topic of her husband's sexual "proclivities."

"Mrs. Cosby's knowledge of her husband's 'proclivities' are not just irrelevant, they are precisely the type of intimate information that both Massachusetts and federal law protects," her paperwork argued.

The civil lawsuit at issue was brought by accuser Tamara Green in December 2014 and now includes plaintiffs Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz, Louisa Moritz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis and Angela Leslie.

The women claim Cosby sexually assaulted them decades ago and then defamed them more recently by calling them liars after they spoke out about his alleged abuse.

Cosby, 78, has counter-sued in the case, claiming the women are trying to "assassinate" his "honorable legacy."

Camille has stood by her husband as more than 50 women have stepped forward with various claims of sexual assault.

"The man I met and fell in love with, and whom I continue to love, is the man you all knew through his work," she said in a 2014 statement that accused reporters of not properly vetting the accusers.

"He is a kind man, a generous man, a funny man, and a wonderful husband, father and friend. He is the man you thought you knew," she said of Cosby.

Lawyer Gloria Allred now represents 29 Cosby accusers and was in court in Los Angeles last week when a judge ordered Cosby to sit for a second deposition in a civil lawsuit brought by her client Judy Huth.

Huth, 57, sued Cosby in December 2014 claiming he lured her to the Playboy mansion in 1974 and sexually assaulted her when she was only 15 years old.

Allred was in Colorado on Thursday with two other accusers — Beth Ferrier and Heidi Thomas — for an event supporting proposed state legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations on felony sexual assault.

Colorado currently has a 10-year statute of limitations on adult cases that don't involve DNA evidence.

"The courthouse door should never be slammed shut to prevent rape and sexual assault victims from seeking justice because of an arbitrary time period called the statute of limitations," Allred said.

Sixteen states including Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota and West Virginia do not have a statue of limitations on felony sexual assault cases.

A rep for Cosby praised the ruling Thursday, calling it a “critically important decision by the Court today, agreeing with Mrs. Cosby's appellate argument, affirming the confidential nature of and protection afforded to marital communications.”

With dailynews

Health Minister Allays Zika Virus Fears In Nigeria

The Minister of Health has been giving an update on the outbreak of Lassa fever in different parts of the country, saying the disease has so far affected 20 states of the federation, according to Channel News.

Professor Isaac Adewole addressed a press conference in the nation’s capital, Abuja, on Thursday.

“You will all recall that on the 8th of January 2016, I briefed the nation on the current outbreak of Lassa fever that started in December 2015 and which has now affected 20 states of the federation.

“As of today, Nigeria has recorded 176 cases with 108 deaths, giving a case fatality rate of 61.4%.

“It is important that I inform the nation that this current outbreak is under control as evident by decline in new suspected cases, new laboratory confirmed cases and newly reported cases by week.

“Despite this achievement however, you will all agree with me that it will be too dangerous for us as a nation to go complacent at this stage,” he said.

The Minister also dismissed fears about the possible outbreak of Zika virus in Nigeria, saying there is no need to worry.

“Although two African countries have reported Zika infection in the recent outbreak and in the past many others, causal relationship between Zika virus infection, birth defect and neurological syndromes have not been established in this continent.

“Nigerian scientist working in Western Nigeria in 1954 discovered Zika Virus in Nigeria. Further studies in the years 1975 to 1979 show that 40% of Nigerian adults and 25% of Nigerian children have antibodies to Zika Virus, meaning they are protected against this virus.”