By Suleiman Yakubu

The National Emergency Management Agency said it will continue to partner and synergize with the Federal Fire Service for effective service delivery.
The Head of Operations of the Niger State office of the agency in Minna, Hajiya Zainab Suleman Saidu, stated this when she received the Assistant Controller General of Fire Service in charge of Zone G and the FCT Abuja, Ahmed Garba Karaye, who paid her a familiarisation visit at her office in Minna.
She said partnership and synergy with the federal fire service will bring about much-needed achievements in the area of emergency situations in the state.
Hajiya Zainab Suleman Saidu maintained that provision of relief materials as well as sensitization on how best to mitigate the occurrence of natural disasters were among its saddled responsibilities.
The Minna Head of Operations of NEMA disclosed that the Minna office was equally overseeing Niger and Kwara states for optimal performance.
She thanked the Assistant Controller General of Fire Service, Ahmed Garba Karaye, and his management team for the visit and hoped that it would be sustained.
Speaking earlier, the Assistant Controller of Fire Service Zone G and the FCT Abuja, Ahmed Garba Karaye, said he was in her office to familiarise himself with the noble functions and activities of NEMA in the state.
Ahmed Garba Karaye reassured the agency of his continued good working relationship as a wonderful stakeholder in emergency management for the citizens.
Also speaking, the branch secretary of the Red Cross Society in Niger State, Mr. Gideon Adamu Paiko, called for a rigorous sensitization campaign among the riverine communities to desist from erecting or building on waterways to avoid unnecessary flooding.
Mr. Gideon Adamu Paiko also stressed the need for the local government councils in the state to embark on clearing heaps of refuse in our drainages, which, according to him, were the major causes of floods and have led to the loss of many lives and properties.

By Suleiman Yakubu

Five workers of the SnnoHydro Power Project at the Zungeru Hydro Power Dam in Niger State are to share a total of six years and 10 months in a correctional facility after they were convicted and sentenced by Minna Chief Magistrate Court No. 1.
Also, the court convicted two people for conspiring among themselves to vandalise an armoured cable from the powerhouse of the Zungeru Hydro Power Dam.
The presiding Chief Magistrate, Hajiya Ummulkhatum Mohammed, while passing her sentence, said the sentences of three others were without the option of a fine, while one of them was with a N50,000 fine option.
The convicts were Haliru Garba, a security man attached to the Zungeru Hydro Power Dam; Olore Joshua, a welder with SnnoHydro Power Project, Musa Magaji, and Yusuf Anas
Hajiya Ummulkhatum Mohammed convicted them after they all pleaded guilty to the three-count charges brought against them by the men of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligent Department (SCIID) of the Niger State Police Command.
The four convicts were arraigned in court on a charge sheet marked MN/12/90/2023, which bothered on criminal conspiracy, theft, and mischief in relation to electricity.
According to Police Prosecutor Ahmed Saidu ASP, the three-count charges contravened Sections 97, 287, and 334 of the penal code law.
When the charges were read to them by the Presiding Chief Magistrate Hajiya Ummulkhatum Mohammed, they all pleaded guilty, and the police prosecutor prayed the court to invoke Section 190 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of Niger State (ACJA) and convict them summarily.
She then convicted and sentenced them to a total of six years and ten months to be shared among themselves, and she ordered them to pay the sums of N8,816,000 as compensation to the nominal complainant.