Two teachers sentenced to 44 years jail term for r*p* of Students

An Ekiti High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, sentenced two teachers to 44 years imprisonment for offence of rape without an option of fine.

The Prosecution, Mr Kunle-Shina Adeyemi told the court that the defendants, Gbenga Ajibola (43) and Olaofe Ayodele (52) were arraigned before Justice Adeniyi Familoni on March 2, 2022 on a three count charge bordering on rape and abuse of office.

He said that the defendants sometimes in Nov, 2019 in Ado-Ekiti raped two female students of 17 and 15 years respectively names withheld.

According to him, the offence contravened Section 31(2) of the Childs Right Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

In her testimony before the Court, one of the victims said that one of the convicts, Ajibola was her Computer teacher, and always disturbing her while in class.

“On this fateful day, he told me to be in mufti and gave me N200 to go and wait for him in front of a filling station along Bank Road.

“He later came there alongside Mr Olaofe, but before they came, one of my classmates also met me there, he told me that Mr Olaofe asked her to wait here for him.

“When they came, we all left for a hotel, around Oke-Ila area of Ado Ekiti, on getting there, we were taken to different rooms where Mr Ajibola had sexual intercourse with me.

“After that day, he continued to disturb me, when I could no more bear it, I narrated what happened to my mother who later took the matter up,” she narrated.

To prove his case, the prosecutor called four witnesses and tendered statements of the victims and defendants, medical reports, as well as report of the Panel of enquiry among others as exhibits.

Also, Counsel to the defendants, Mr Lawrence Fasanmi called six witnesses to prove his case.

In his judgement, Justice Familoni said, the defendants shared their minds and mulled the voice of conscience as they took advantage of the victims with reckless abandonment.

“They deserved severe panel sanction for their misdeeds to serve as a warning and deterrent to others who may want to follow their footsteps,”.

Justice Familoni thereby sentenced the defendants, Ajibola Gbenga and Olaofe Ayodele to 20 years imprisonment each without an option of fine on count one and two years each on count two without option of fine, making 44 years imprisonment, saying that it should run concurrently. (NAN)

Multichoice announces price increase for GOtv, DStv subscription packages

A leading pay-TV operator, Multichoice Nigeria, has announced another round of price increases across its subscription plans for both DStv and GOtv services. The new prices will come into effect on March 1, 2025.

In a notice sent to customers on Monday, the company outlined the upcoming changes, which will see significant price hikes across various packages.

The DStv Compact bouquet will rise from N15,700 to N19,000, reflecting a 25% increase. The DStv Compact Plus package will see a 20% jump, from N25,000 to N30,000.

The highest-tier DStv Premium package will also experience a 20% hike, increasing from N37,000 to N44,500.

For GOtv users, price adjustments are equally notable. The Jinja package will increase from N3,600 to N3,900, while the Jolli package will rise from N4,850 to N5,800.

The GOtv Max package will go up from N7,200 to N8,500, and the GOtv Supa package will climb from N9,600 to N11,400. The GOtv Supa Plus package will now cost N16,800, up from the previous N15,700.

The official notice from Multichoice, titled “Price Adjustments for DStv and GOtv Packages,” explained that the new prices were necessary to maintain the delivery of high-quality content and service.

The company noted that the adjustments were essential to ensure the continued provision of both local and international content through advanced technology.

“Dear Customer, please note that effective 1 March 2025, there will be a price adjustment on all DStv packages. This is to enable us to continue to offer our customers world-class home-grown and international content, delivered through the best technology,” the statement read.

This price increase follows a similar one implemented in May 2024, with Multichoice citing inflationary pressures, rising operational costs, and currency depreciation as the key reasons for the hikes.

The company pointed out the challenges posed by the significant drop in the naira’s value and the growing expenses tied to inflation in the country.

You got it all wrong – Presidency replies Osinbajo over IBB tormenting Tinubu’s comment

The Presidency through the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has strongly disagreed with Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s assertion that former military President Ibrahim Babangida was a “tormentor” of President Tinubu.

The controversy arose during the public presentation of Babangida’s autobiography, A Journey in Service, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja last week. Osinbajo, who reviewed the book, reflected on Tinubu’s role in resisting the military’s dissolution of the Senate after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

He humorously remarked that Tinubu, who was then a senator, was “tormented” by the military, including Babangida, for his attempts to reinstate the Senate, even suggesting that Tinubu was at the event to honor one of his tormentors.

However, Onanuga, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, rejected Osinbajo’s characterization of Babangida. He emphasized that Babangida had actually been a significant source of inspiration for Tinubu’s political career.

According to Onanuga, Tinubu’s resistance to the military government, and the political course he charted thereafter, was deeply influenced by Babangida’s leadership and the broader political context of that era.

“I think the former Vice President got it wrong. I think Babangida was not really a tormentor of President Tinubu, don’t forget that President Tinubu said in his own extempore speech that he held Babangida as something, that he was the person that inspired him to get into politics.

“When Babangida came in, he was talking about new breed politicians and so on, and Tinubu like many of them were already technocrats or in private business and so on. All of them came out to participate in politics, that was what brought him in. So, he came there to pay homage,” Onanuga said.

Onanuga clarified that the real torment began under General Sani Abacha’s regime, when Tinubu, alongside some colleagues, made an effort to reconvene the Senate in Lagos.

He also praised Babangida for eventually acknowledging that MKO Abiola won the 1993 presidential election, although he noted that the admission came too late.