By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The police confirmed the release of Justice Faruk Hassan Bunza, a judge of the Kebbi State High Court, who was abducted from his residence in the Bunza council area.

Bandits abducted Mr Bunza from his residence on July 26.

A statement on Monday by Bashir Usman, the command’s spokesman, said the judge’s family and the state ministry of justice confirmed his freedom.

“His release has been confirmed by his family and the State Ministry of Justice. Although the kidnappers made a ransom demand, the command maintains its firm stance against ransom payments,” he said.

He stated that with Mr Bunza now released, police and other security agencies had intensified investigative efforts to track down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Dangote Cement Plc, Obajana Plant, has deepened its social footprint by distributing educational materials in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

General Manager, Social Performance Department, Dangote Cement, Obajana Plant, Ademola Adeyemi, described it as an extension of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) schemes.

According to him, the Lokoja educational intervention came days after Dangote Cement Plc distributed similar education materials to pupils in public schools in its catchment communities of Oyo, Iwaa, Obajana and Apata; and commissioned a multi-million-naira hospital in Obajana,which added to the growing list of social investments that includes an earlier hospital project in Iwaa and Oyo Communities.

He noted that while, over the years, the company has invested billions of naira in a wide range of social programmes for host communities, including empowerment programmes, road construction, and potable water projects, it remains resolute in its commitment to sustaining and expanding its interventions.

He noted that the company’s corporate social responsibility programmes are aligned with government development priorities and are implemented through sustained, mutually beneficial partnerships.

A statement from the company and made available to newsmen in Lokoja said: “The educational materials distributed included school bags, exercise books, writing materials, water bottles, and other essential learning aids aimed at enhancing the learning experience of the pupils and preparing them for the next academic session.”

It said:” The intervention was informed by findings from a needs assessment conducted by Dangote Cement Plc. During the assessment, it was observed that several pupils attended school without school bags, while others carried their books by hand. It was also discovered that many students lacked essential learning materials such as exercise books, pens, pencils, and other basic learning materials.”

Speaking, Head Teacher of UBE LGEA School, St. Luke Model II, Adankolo, Lokoja Local Government Area, Abubakar Sanni, expressed profound appreciation to the management of Dangote Cement Plc for the gesture.

The Head Teacher expressed gratitude to the Group President of the conglomerate, Aliko Dangote, for extending the company’s educational support programme beyond its host and impacted communities to schools located at the state headquarters.

The beneficiaries, school management, parents, and community stakeholders expressed gratitude to Dangote Cement Plc for the timely intervention and prayed for the continued growth and success of the company in its efforts to improve lives and support sustainable community development.

The North-West Development Commission is partnering Dala Orthopaedic Hospital Kano, to explore ways of making quality healthcare more affordable to patients in the country.

This was disclosed by the Managing Director (MD) of the Commission, Professor Shehu Abdullahi Ma’aji recently in Kano when he hosted the Chief Medical Director of the Dala Orthopaedic Hospital, Dr. Isa Nurudeen.

Professor Abdullahi maintained that, as an intervention agency, the Commission would carry out a needs assessment of the operational requirements of the hospital, most especially on the energy component, required to power the hospital’s sophisticated equipment, based on which the Commission would come up with a partnership framework that would support in minimising the running and maintenance cost burden on the hospital.

He expressed the hope that, by the time the Commission wades in and subsidise the operational cost, the gesture would automatically translates into reduction of service charge on respective patients.

Professor Abdullahi explained the Commission’s readiness to extend similar gesture to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Shika, Zaria; and Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.

He observed that all the three hospitals situated within the North-West region of the country “offer their services to generality of mankind” and as such, should be supported in whichever way possible to enhance the quality of their service delivery system; and to as well make the services more accessible and affordable.

Professor Abdullahi added that training of technical personnel on equipment operation and maintenance would be another component of the partnership between the two organisations. This is to ensure that operation and maintenance challenges are immediately tackled without waiting for the manufacturers to intervene.

He expressed the believe that by the time these healthcare facilities function optimally, it would reduce the frequency of Nigerians travelling overseas on medical tourism and would in turn boost Nigerian economy.

Earlier in his submission, the Chief Medical Director of Dala Orthopaedic Hospital, Dr. Isa Nurudeen explained that the purpose of the visit was to solicit the support
and assistance of the Commission to tackle some of the operational challenges facing the hospital.

He specifically emphasised on the energy needs to power their equipment, most especially the new sophisticated MRI machine recently donated by the NNPCL.

He explained that for the machine to operate optimally, it needed to run 24 hours continuously on electricity which is costly and beyond what the hospital management could afford considering the high cost of electricity from the national grid and the prohibitive cost of diesel in the country.

He then appealed to the Commission to come in and assist in providing a sustainable alternative source of energy to power the equipment.

The North-West Development Commission was established in 2024 by Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to among others, accelerate infrastructure development and address long standing developmental gaps across the region.

In a statement by Abdulrashid Safana the Head press and public relations says the core mandate areas include security, agriculture, health, education, environment, women and youth development.