Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top news stories you shouldn’t miss: 

Sylvester Oromoni Jnr.: No proof of chemical intoxication – Pathologist

A consultant pathologist at the Central Hospital, Warri, Delta, Dr Clement Vhriterhire, who carried out the first autopsy on Dowen College Student, Sylvester Oromoni Jnr., said there was no proof of chemical intoxication in his body.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Vhriterhire conducted the first autopsy on the deceased 12-year-old student on Dec. 2, 2021, in Warri.

Testifying on Monday before an Ikeja Coroner’s Court, the pathologist, while responding to questions from the Coroner, Mikhail Kadiri, said contrary to social media reports, there were no signs of chemical intoxication found in the deceased.

The pathologist said his findings revealed that Oromoni died from acute inflammatory pneumonia due to severe sepsis.

ASUU extends strike by two months

Rising from an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC) at the University of Abuja, yesterday, ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said: “Having taken reports on the engagements of trustees and principal officers with the government, the union concluded that government had failed to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA) within the four-week roll-over strike period and resolved that the strike be rolled over for another eight weeks to give government more time to address all the issues in concrete terms so that our students will resume as soon as possible.”

President, National Parents-Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, in reaction, said ASUU and the Federal Government could sort out their differences without making students victims.

While the ASUU strike lingers, members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), are also threatening to down tools over agreements reached with the union.

We have three more days to fly – airline operators

Airline operators in the country, yesterday, said they had only three more days to fly due to the high cost of aviation fuel.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, who spoke on behalf of the operators, said this during a public hearing by the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee investigating the scarcity of aviation fuel in Abuja.

Onyema accused aviation fuel marketers of not speaking the truth about the actual landing cost of aviation fuel, saying if drastic measures were not taken, the least air ticket would go for as high as ₦120,000.

He urged the House to give operators of airlines licence to import aviation fuel, saying this would reduce unnecessary burden on the citizenry.

LCC announces date to resume tolls on Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge

The Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC) has announced plans to resume activities at the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge Toll Plaza by April 1.

According to a newspaper advert placed in The Nation newspaper Monday, the LCC managing director, Yomi Omomuwasan, said motorists would be offered a two-week toll-free passage.

The announcement comes 18 months after the toll Plaza was shut down after the October 2020 #EndSARS protest in the state.

Hold govt responsible if we shut down – COE, COEASU

Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), has asked Nigerians to hold the Federal Government responsible if it shut down colleges of education across the country.

The union also called on the government to demonstrate genuine concern for teacher-education in the way issues concerning the sub-sector in education, represented by the Colleges of Education, were being handled.

The union in a statement by its President, Dr Smart Olugbeko, yesterday, stated, “Government has refused to redeem her recurring promises to release the ₦15 billion Revitalisation Fund it pledged since 2018.

“The implication of the non-release of the fund is the deplorable conditions of the teaching-learning infrastructure that would have been addressed if the fund is released.”