By Suleiman Yakubu

Nigerian Red Cross Society has said it is committed to sensitising the public on the need to embrace disaster reduction risk management in the state.
The Niger State Branch Secretary of Red Cross, Mr. Gideon Adamu Paiko, stated this while speaking to our staff reporter shortly after a road work from Mobil Roundabout to Obasanjo Shopping Complex to mark this year's World International Disaster Reduction Day in Minna.
He said people should cultivate the habit of disaster reduction in their communities, especially those in riverine areas.
Mr. Gideon Adamu said the theme for this year's International Day for Disaster Reduction, "Fighting in Equality for a Resilience Future", was apt considering its importance to safe guard the lives and property of the people.
The state branch secretary said natural disasters can be avoided only if people in the state adopt some guiding principles of disaster reduction and management.
He also appealed to people who always use canoes in their day-to-day activities to use life jackets while boarding a canoe.
Mr. Adamu Paiko said the day was being celebrated in Niger State by the Red Cross in collaboration with NEMA and the Federal Fire Service for the much-needed goal to be achieved.
Also in her brief remarks, the Head of Operations Minna office of the National Emergency Management Agency, Hajiya Zainab Suleman Saidu, said NEMA, as a strong partner to the Nigerian Red Cross, decided to celebrate the day together because of the importance it attached to the day.
She advised the people of the state, with particular reference to the riverine communities, to move far away from river banks to avoid unnecessary flooding.
According to Hajiya Zainab Suleman, floods and other natural disasters were claiming many lives and property from the people, hence the need for them to always take precautionary measures to mitigate them.
Also in his short address, the Assistant Controller General of the Federal Fire Service in charge of Zone G and the FCT, Abuja, Ahmed Garba Karaye, maintained that Redcross has been doing its best in terms of managing disaster situations as well as providing relief materials to victims, hence the need for the organisation to partner with Redcross in the state for optimal performance.

By Suleiman Yakubu

Five persons who were found to be in possession of a human skull are to share a total of 69 years in a correctional facility after being convicted and sentenced by Minna Chief Magistrate Court Number Two, Tunga.
They were sentenced and convicted by Chief Magistrate Fati Umar Hassan after they were found guilty of three counts of criminal conspiracy, trespass on burial grounds, and unlawful possession of a human skull.
According to police prosecutor Inspector Mua'azu Abdullahi, the three counts charges were punishable under sections 97, 213 and 219 of the penal code law, respectively.
The convicts included Ibrahim Jiya, Suleiman Usman, Abdullahi Usman, Idris Mohammed, and Isah Mohammed, all from Sakpe village in the Edati Local Government Area of Niger State.
The police prosecutor had told the court that they were arrested by the police in the Bida Area Command Office after the case was reported and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) for a discrete investigation.
He further told the court that they were caught with a Bagco bag containing a human skull, and during the police investigation, both of them confessed to the police that they met one unknown herbalist in Minna, who contacted them to produce a human skull to be used for money-making ritual purposes to make them rich.
"And in turn, I informed and promised all the convicts of the same address that they would share the wealth from the said criminal activity and contacted them to look for the human skull, and they trespassed inside the Muslim cemetery in Nasarafu village. "You proceeded to dig a grave in the cemetery and dug the human skull of one late Yan Ndako Daniya, who died three years ago, and during the police investigation, you all confessed to the crime", the charges read.
When the three counts of charges were read to them by the presiding Chief Magistrate, Hajiya Fati Umar Hassan, they all pleaded guilty to all the charges.
At this point, the prosecutor, Inspector Mua'azu Abdullahi, prayed to the court to invoke the provisions of Section 157 of the Criminal Procedure Code on them through a summary trial and convict them accordingly.
While passing her judgement, Hajiya Fati Umar Hassan sentenced each of them to 12 years on the three-count charges without the option of a fine or hard labour.