General News
Over 100 countries expected at Nigeria’s 5th High Level Ministerial Meeting On AMR
By Wumi Tewogbade, Abuja
Nigeria said it has concluded arrangement to host the 5th high level ministerial meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), in Abuja.
This was announced on Wednesday, at the virtual Global Media Briefing organised by Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA) in Abuja.
The theme for the meeting, “One Health — Advancing Global AMR Commitments through Local Action”, the high level meeting would hold from 28th to 30th June 2026.
According to the Ministerial Global Envoy on AMR, Government of Nigeria, Dr. Ayoade Alakija, delegations from over 100 countries are expected to participate along with Presidents of a few countries, such as, Botswana, Ghana and Nigeria.
Dr. Alakija also disclosed that President of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Tinubu, would welcome participants and declare the meeting open.
“The 5th High Level Ministerial Meeting on AMR would be different because not just ministers of health but also ministers of agriculture, environment and finance are being invited to take part to address AMR in all sectors (such as, animal health and livestock, food and agriculture and our environment) – and not just human health,” said Alakija.
“AMR is not just about human health and protecting just our medicines but also about prevention and protecting our animals, plants and our environment. We need to ensure that not only humans are not harmed due to AMR but also our animals, agriculture and food systems and our environment are kept safe so that we all can live in harmony together,” she said.
She noted, “If we invest US$ 1 on AMR, return on investment is US$ 11 – 11 times.
“This upcoming 5th High Level Meeting in Nigeria would focus more on solutions to address the challenge AMR is posing. We also need to ensure AMR response is fully financed including prevention, surveillance, water, sanitation and hygiene. It is strategic investments that our countries and our communities need.
“If we do not have money to fully fund our AMR multisectoral action plans, then how are we going to get the work done? So, we have to involve those who are involved with finances. Media is critical for accountability but also critical for awareness, and keeping the communities we serve involved,” she added.
Alakija cited Abuja Declaration 2001 where African countries committed to invest 15% of their annual budgets on health.
She hopes that the upcoming meeting will also play a historic role in sustainable financing for AMR response.
“Earlier in April 2026, I was at the One Health Summit in Lyons, France, hosted by President of France Mr Emmanuel Macron, where many of the people at the highest level, who were present there, have confirmed their attendance (for upcoming meet in Nigeria),” said Alakija.
She added that Nigeria had been involved with the integrated approach for a while as it was important for all sectors to speak to one another and work in concert with one another:
“AMR has typically been seen often from the lens of high-income countries. We need to address AMR recognising the gaps in all countries and contexts especially low- and middle-income countries – and ways to bridge the gaps in prevention of infectious diseases as well as gaps in stopping misuse and overuse of medicines in food and agriculture sector, animal health sector and environment along with human health sector. AMR commitments like UNGA Political Declaration 2024 needs to be translated into not just actions but local actions which are critical”, the expert said.
Speaking on the severity of AMR, Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR, Dr. Jean Nyemazi stated: “AMR is a big threat and continue to kill many people, especially in LMICs and the Global South.
“AMR is among top 10 global health threats and threatens our animals, food systems, economies and our environment. All Quadripartite agencies are supporting the upcoming high level ministerial meeting on AMR in Nigeria including the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme, and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)”.
Dr. Nyemazi added that the task for this upcoming 5th High Level Ministerial Meeting on AMR in Nigeria would be to enabling the acceleration of implementation of multi-sectoral national action plans on AMR, enabled by effective governance at all levels, sustainable investment at all levels, and walk the talk on the theme of One Health for advancing global AMR commitments through local actions.
He reiterated the role of the Media, stating that it was a strategic partner to “inform, connect and hold us accountable”.
“Evidence-based reporting ensures that AMR is visible as a development, equity and sustainability issue, it shapes the public understanding, support, behaviour change, and sustains pressure for measurable progress”, he said.
Dr. Nyemazi pointed out that the 1st and 2nd High Level Ministerial Meetings that took place in 2014 and 2019 had mostly ministers from European regions in attendance.
Now, ministers of over 100 countries were expected to take part in the upcoming meeting in Nigeria and majority comes from the Global South.
“We see the focus changing from health to One Health – which means we are having more representation from ministries of animal health, food and agriculture, and environment along with human health. When we talk about AMR prevention, we are talking about preventing AMR across all the sectors (and not just in human health)”, he said.
Speaking further, Dr. Nyemazi disclosed that one of the targets of Political Declaration adopted at UN General Assembly High Level Meeting 2024 was to reduce AMR deaths by 10% by 2030 (compared to 4.9 million AMR associated deaths recorded in 2019).
“Simple strategies that are cost-effective and impact public health such as washing hands can help. We also need to ensure equitable access to essential antimicrobials. These are few steps governments can do now”, he said.
On her part, Chairperson, Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA), Shobha Shukla explained that AMR or drug resistance was a problem driven by misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medicines – including antibiotics, antivirals, antiparasitics and antifungals – and results in critical medicines losing effectiveness to treat infections.
Shukla added that as result of drug resistance, medicines become ineffective, and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat:
“All of us are at risk of AMR. But in absence of strong public systems, those in low- and middle-income countries – and especially those who are underserved are at a much-heightened risk of AMR. We have to do better in protecting the medicines that save us.
“We also have to do better in saving lives from preventable infections as well as ensuring right and timely diagnosis and right treatment, care and support for everyone, leaving no one behind.
“Misuse and overuse of medicines is rampant in animal health and livestock, food and agriculture, human health, as well as polluting our environment”, she said.
General News
Mother Subjects Daughter to Abuse, Admits: “I made $300 from my 8-yr-old daughter’s pornographic video’
By Nick Ibe
The viral video on the social media involving an 8-year old girl whose ordeal was caused by her money loving mother has been arrested.
The arrest was facilitated by vigilante police operatives in the area, as well as bloggers and residents who provided information that assisted the investigation leading to the arrest of her 36-year-old mother, Anulika Onyeanusia, Onitsha, Anambra state.
According to the police, the Anambra State Police Command arrested her over alleged child pornography in Onitsha, by uploading a video involving her eight-year-old daughter on a pornographic platform to make money.
Onyeanusia, after the arrest, reportedly, told investigators that the highest amount she had made from uploading such content was $300.
The suspect also disclosed that the eight-year-old girl seen in the video is her second child, while preliminary investigation by the police allegedly revealed that she had also subjected her first daughter to similar acts and uploaded the content on a pornographic platform.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly blamed the act on the devil, telling police: “It is the devil, please forgive me” while adding that her husband was unaware of what she had allegedly been doing to their two daughters.
The arrest followed the circulation of a video showing the woman allegedly using sex toys on the eight-year-old girl. The video prompted police operatives to act on what the command described as open-source intelligence and traced the suspect.
In the disturbing footage, the girl could be heard crying and pleading with her mother to stop as the alleged abuse continued. The police said the video showed the suspect allegedly engaging in the act while apparently producing the content for an online audience.
During the operation, which was carried out on Thursday evening, the command said four children, aged two, three, six and nine years, were rescued.
The Police also disclosed that sex toys and other items believed to be relevant to the investigation were recovered from the suspect.
The command said investigation was ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the alleged abuse and determine whether other persons were involved.
Spokesman for the command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who confirmed the arrest of the suspect and rescue of the children, said, ” The suspect is currently in police custody as the Command intensifies its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the alleged offence and the possible involvement of other persons. The husband of the suspect is also undergoing interrogation to determine whether he has any connection with the alleged offence.
“The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Nnanna Oji, who is deeply disturbed by the alleged act, described it as unacceptable, particularly because it involves the exploitation and abuse of children who are incapable of protecting themselves. He has therefore directed a thorough and professional investigation while ensuring that the rescued children receive appropriate care and protection.
“To this end, the Command notes that beyond the investigation and prosecution, its priority is the safety, dignity and wellbeing of the rescued children.
“The Command will work with the appropriate child-protection and relevant support agencies to ensure that the victims receive the necessary care, protection, counselling and other support required for their recovery. Their identities and privacy will be protected throughout the process, and they will be treated with compassion and sensitivity.
“The Command also commends the vigilante operatives in the area, as well as bloggers and residents who provided information that assisted the investigation and led to the arrest of the suspect”, he stated.
General News
Lawyer Assaulted by Police: NBA Gboko Branch Secures N500 Million General and Exemplary Damages in Makurdi Court
By Our Reporter
In the pursuit of justice for a colleague, B. B. Iliamkondo, Esq., who was recently assaulted and battered by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Gboko Branch, under the leadership of Felix Uwar, Esq., on Friday, 11th September, 2026 obtained judgement in favour of its member.
The facts which impregnated the suit that delivered the sweet victory are that, sometime in May, 2026, a client retained the legal services of B. B. Iliamkondo, Esq. to secure his bail at Koti-Mbaduku, Shangev-Ya, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.
On arrival at the police outpost, the officer in-charge, one Inspector Terngu Ikyuur, demanded for money as a condition for the bail of the said client. Confused, the learned Iliamkondo, Esq. requested to know why he had to pay for bail when it was statutorily free of charge whereupon the police officer got infuriated and ordered him to vacate the police outpost immediately or face being implicated in his client’s cause. Mr. Iliamkondo then made to deliver his written application for the bail of his client but the officer instead seized him by the shirt, stalked him to the ground and cramped him into detention alongside his client and other inmates.
The following day, Inspector Terngu Ikyuur brought Mr. Iliamkondo out of the detention facility and forced him to carry on his head a bucket of faeces and urine passed over night by inmates. The officer compelled him to sing that he was a-charge- and-bail lawyer as he marched Mr. Iliamkondo around the community with a loaded gun pointed at his head all the while, threatening to kill him if he stopped marching.
Upon the intervention of his learned friends, Iliamkondo was later released after being brutalized and stripped half-naked by the police Inspector. Aggrieved, the NBA Gboko Chairman, Uwar, Esq., quickly empanelled a team of lawyers to secure the enforcement of fundamental rights of their learned friend. The team had: I. S. Gese, Esq. ; F. M. Z. Uwar, Esq.; Bem-Ephraim Orlunan Ayati, Esq. ; T. I. Tur, Esq.; S.L.Puusu, Esq. ; B. I. Aker,Esq.; G. M. Jimin, Esq. ; S. S. Gbileve, Esq. ; C. M. T. Uwar, Esq. ; F. Tyoyima, Esq. ; B. E. Atser, Esq. ; and M. I. Tagher, Esq.
The team instituted SUIT NO: MHC/4110M / 2026 before the Benue State High Court of Justice, sitting at Makurdi with B. B. Iliamkondo, Esq. as the Applicant against Inspector Terngu Ikyuur; CSP Banfa U. Nanzing; Commissioner of Police, Benue State; Inspector General of Police; Police Service Commission; and Nigeria Police Force as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Respondents, respectively.
In his judgement delivered on September 11, 2026, Hon. Justice M. M. Ikwulono, upheld the application and entered judgement in favour of the Applicant, Agugu Iliamkondo Benson Bemsen, Esq.
The Court awarded general and exemplary damages in his favour and against the Respondents in the sum of Five Hundred Million Naira (₦500, 000,000.00) only for the violation of his fundamental rights by the police.
The Court also Ordered the police to author and publish an apology to the Applicant in national newspapers with nation-wide circulation, a copy of which shall be furnished to the Applicant.
But besides the court ruling, the NBA has reportedly caused a formal petition to be written against Inspector Terngu Ikyuur and his DPO, CSP Banfa U. Nanzing, for discreet disciplinary action against them.
In their response to the outcome of the matter, the legal team said: “On our part as the legal team, we salute this judgement as sound in law, compensatory to our learned friend and deterrent against the police.
“We equally thank the Chairman of the Gboko Branch of the NBA, Uwar, Esq., under whose watch he ensured that our learned colleague’s humiliation got the justice that he deserves.”
At the time of filing this report, the NPF had yet to react to the judgment.
General News
Alia Denounces Ayilamo Attack, Commiserated With Victims as DSS Arrests 3 Suspects
By Felix Umande
Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has strongly condemned the deadly attack on Ayilamo Community in Logo Local Government Area, describing it as a “despicable act” and a grave threat to peace and security in the state.
The attack, which occurred on Wednesday night, claimed the lives of four police officers and seven civilians, while thousands were displaced.
In a statement on Thursday signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Tersoo Kula, the Governor said the killing of law enforcement officers “is particularly painful and underscores the enormous sacrifices being made by security personnel in the line of duty.”
“This despicable act is an attack on the peace-loving people of Ayilamo and a grave threat to the security and stability of Benue State,” Governor Alia stated.
He described the incident as “a disturbing reminder of the persistent insecurity and repeated attacks on vulnerable communities and law-enforcement officers in the area.”
Governor Alia extended heartfelt condolences to the people of Ayilamo, the families of all victims, and the entire Logo LGA community.
He also commiserated with the Inspector-General of Police and the Benue State Commissioner of Police over the loss of the four officers.
“We honour their courage and sacrifice and pray that God grants their families, colleagues, and loved ones the strength to bear this irreparable loss,” the Governor added.
The Governor commended the Department of State Services for the “prompt and professional operation” that led to the arrest of three suspects allegedly connected to the Ayilamo attack in Benue and Nasarawa States.
He described the arrests as “a significant step towards uncovering the full circumstances of the incident and bringing those responsible to justice.”
“We urge the DSS to intensify its investigation and make the best use of the information obtained from the suspects in its custody,” Governor Alia said.
Governor Alia assured that his administration will continue to collaborate with security agencies to strengthen security in Ayilamo, Logo, and other vulnerable communities across the state.
He appealed to residents of Ayilamo and surrounding areas to “remain calm, vigilant, and law-abiding,” and to provide credible information to security agencies.
“We remain resolute in our determination to protect lives and property, uphold justice, and restore lasting peace across Benue State,” the Governor assured.
