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The glamorous lovers’ day celebration on Monday turned bloody at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) when gunmen killed two students. Daily Sun gathered that the clash was between two rival cult groups, namely, Black Axe and the Buccaneers,’ over a female student allegedly snatched by the Capone of the Black Axe for Valentine celebration.

The action of the Capone , the source said did not go down well with the other group leading to the clash.
A student who witnessed the shooting said besides the two cult members who were shot dead, about four others sustained injuries and were ferried out of the campus by their leaders to shield their identity.

The sources said the cult members who carried out the attack were not UNILAG students but members from another campus, adding that the attack was carried out in a commando style with sporadic shooting.
An undergraduate student of English Department told Daily Sun that the Buccaneers’ group attacked the Black Axe members while another student returning from the Mosque said those who carried out the killing were not from UNILAG because they did not cover their faces.

It was learnt that as soon the shooting started, students scampered for safety while others took cover behind the wall and under cars packed around, while others ran into the halls to avoid being hit by stray bullets. 
A senior lecturer who confirmed the killings said the university management had met to curtail any reprisal attack while security personnel had taken over the investigation of the deadly cult clash.
When Daily Sun visited the troubled institution yesterday, there was uneasy calm, as most staff and students rebuffed efforts made by the reporters to get their comments.

However, one of the students who resides at Sodeinde Hall, said there was sporadic gunshots outside the premises which caused panic everywhere. 
It was gathered that the crisis, which erupted when the students were at the peak of lovers’ day celebration, created stampede on the campus as people ran for safety.

One of the victims of the attack reportedly ran into Sodeinde Hall for help, from where he was taken to the hospital.
Although the Hall Master of Sodeinde Hall declined comments on the issue, one of the officials, who wouldn’t want his name published, said the attack could not be linked to any cult group. He said there was increasing speculation that the perpetrators of the attack could be fighting for love. Efforts made by Daily Sun our reporter to ascertain the identities of the victims were unsuccessful.
The news bulletin of the university, Information Flash (ISSN 08195540) also captured the incident, while assuring the staff and students of the university of adequate security.

“The attention of the universities authorities has been drawn to the incident which occurred in one of the Halls of Residence in the late hours of Monday, February 14, 2011 where two persons were reportedly injured in fracas. The university management has commenced investigation into the unusual incident, in particular at a time when preparation for the first semester examinations due to commence on February 21, 2011 are in top gear. Security has been intensified to ensure safety of life and property on campus. Law enforcement agents have been involved to assist the university in this respect,” it said. 
Daily Sun learnt that students are leaving the campus because of the fear of reprisal attack while some parents called their wards on phone to return home until the situation is brought under control. 

The Deputy Registrar Information of UNILAG, Mr. Dare Adebisi refused to pick his calls or replied to text message sent to his phone.
When the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Samuel Jinadu (DSP) was called thrice, he promised to contact the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area and did not call back as at the press time....

As part of its restructuring strategy for enhanced growth and market competitiveness, Ecobank Nigeria recently announced the disengagement of about 400 members of staff.

This is part of the Ecobank Group strategy designed to consolidate and optimise its operations.

Announcing the shake-up, Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Jibril Aku, said the action was predicated on the bank’s strategy to drive performance and deliver optimum value to all of its stakeholders with a highly efficient structure.

He assured customers of unhindered service delivery and pledged that Ecobank will live up to its vision to build a world-class pan-African bank that will contribute to the economic development and financial integration in Africa.

Naija don dey hard o ! Even Oil Company staff don dey kidnap !.

Omotayo Mobolaji Johnson, a geologist and staff of Chevron PLC has been arrested in connection with the attempt to kidnap a bank executive at Ikoyi, Lagos.

Two middle-aged suspects, Tommy Ebikeme and Edward Anigbhoro were also arrested during the June 1st kidnaping which the police said was masterminded by Mr. Johnson who allegedly used a pseudo name ‘Olumide.’ He was allegedly assisted by a woman called Anita to recruit both Mr. Ebikeme and Mr. Anighboro who are militants from the Niger Delta, to carry out the kidnap.

Their luck ran out when the police got a tip off and arrested them when they were about to kidnap their victim at Ikoyi.

The Lagos State commissioner of police, Marvel Akpoyibo while parading the suspects at the state command yesterday said the command’s intelligence -led policing strategy led to the arrest of the suspect.

“Events that led to the arrest of the suspects started on June 1st, 2010, when the command’s intelligence Unit intercepted information that a group of persons had perfected plans to kidnap a high profile target in Lagos. Members of the gang recruited from the Niger delta of Nigeria were said to have intended to kidnap the target victim from his office in Lagos island and whisk him away to Ibadan, where Omotayo Mobolaji Johnson had a farm at the outskirt of the town where the victim was to be taken to, after which a demand for ransom will be made.” He said, “Acting on the strength of the information, intelligent and undercover operatives were deployed in and around the office and premises of the target victim for high level surveillance mission, the efforts of the police yielded positive result when hours later, operatives were able to effect the arrest of three suspects connected to the plot.”

Mr. Akpoyibo added that preliminary investigation shows that the kidnap was masterminded by Mr. Johnson.

“His wife works in one of the companies owned by the father of the target victim. The suspect worked with one Anita now at large. Mr. Johnson owns a four star hotel and other investment in Ibadan. He promised the other suspects a cash reward of ten million naira from a windfall of fifty million naira expected to be made from the illicit deal if the victim was taken to Ibadan. Some substances recovered from the suspects include sleep inducing drugs, syringes which they had intended to inject the victim with the substances Halothane and Velum to facilitate his losing consciousness before moving him to Ibadan.” Mr. Akpoyibo said.

Mr. Johnson however declined to comment on his involvement in the crime. He said “I will not say anything until my lawyer is here.” Mr. Ebikeme however confessed to the crime. He indicted Mr. Johnson saying he was the one who recruited them and drove them to the scene of the botched kidnap.

The oil company, Chevron could not be reached as at press time for its comment.

For the sake of a “distinctive identity” and a desire to attract and retain a high calibre workforce, the Senate has approved a 100% increase in the salaries of the National Assembly workforce.

The new increase is coming at a time when the legislators are also considering increasing their pay by 68%, but will apply across the Legislative aides, the National Assembly staff and the management staff.

Discussions on the new salary structure was concluded in the Senate on Wednesday, following the adoption of a report of the Senate committee on establishments and public service, which reviewed the consolidated legislative salary structure for staff of the National Assembly.

The increase is a result of an agreement reached by the National Assembly service commission and the Parliamentary Staff Association on Nigeria.

The increment, according to the committee’s report, will take effect from January this year, but will be deployed in batches: 50% to be paid immediately, while the balance will be spread over the next eight years.

The 50% balance will be added up incrementally by 20%, 15%, and 15% after the second, sixth, and eight year respectively.

The cost

The implementation of the immediate 50% salary increment will cost the nation a whooping N11 billion annually, N4.65 billion above the N6.3 billion that it costs to service the National Assembly workforce currently.

The Senate, however, argued that it is a necessary step to strengthen the autonomy of the National Assembly.

“...there is the need to create an identity for the National Assembly service, in line with the constitution of Nigeria, which makes it an independent arm in tandem with the concept of separation of powers,” Mohamed Ahmed, chairman of the Senate committee, stated in the committee’s report.

He added that it was “imperative to establish a pay structure which will ensure good salaries and reasonable allowances that will attract and retain high calibre of staff, even from the academia and the private sector, as is the case in other parliaments of the world.”

With the initial 50% increase, grade level 17 officers with the National Assembly service commission will earn N5.25 million annually. A graduate at grade level 8 will earn N1.25 million annually, while the least - grade level 3 - will earn N404 thousand annually.

The National Assembly service commission has 317 staff and will cost a total of N4.57 billion annually.

The bulk of the money will, however, be spent on the legislative aides working directly under the lawmakers.

The legislative aides numbering 2 942, will cost the government N6.02 billion annually, till the next increment in 2012.

The third batch of employees, the National Assembly management staff, numbering 3 167, will cost the nation N4.576 billion annually.

“The committee is (also) of the strong opinion that an improved salary structure will encourage hard work, honesty, dedication, and commitment of staff; and will reduce corrupt tendencies and practices in the service,” Mr. Ahmed said..

Barely two months after it laid off about 1400 members of staff, Intercontinental Bank Plc, one of the rescued banks, has again laid off another 1200, bringing the total number of sacked staff to almost 3000 in three months.

The bank, according to a statement issued yesterday, said the downsizing of its Support Staff cadre by 1182 is part of its repositioning exercise.

“Intercontinental Bank has announced the down-sizing of the Support Staff cadre by 1182 as part of the repositioning exercise in the Bank. The disengagement exercise, which took place yesterday, marks the conclusion of the right-sizing exercise embarked upon by the Bank last December,” the bank statement said.

The bank also said the exercise was carried out after due consultation with the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), and the local chapter of NUBIFIE, where the terms of disengagement were agreed upon.

The bank claims that the exercise was done based on clearly-defined criteria agreed by the Union and the bank, which will see the affected staff leaving with an enhanced severance package approved by the Board of Directors of the bank and in line with the collective agreement with NUBIFIE.

“Each of the affected staff will have access to three months free Medicare under the existing Health Insurance Scheme (HIS),” the statement said.

In December 2009, the bank eased out about 1339 members of its staff as part of its restructuring exercise.

Shareholders’ Interest

The bank last year launched a three-phased “Project Transformation” strategy aimed at stabilising, rebuilding and consolidating the bank for greater efficiency and profitability.

“The exercise, which is part of the strategic plans to reposition the bank to profitability level, affected Senior Manager to Executive Trainee Grades. This exercise was carried out with due consideration of a number of assessment criteria,” it said.

Hassan Adeleke, the National President of NUBIFE said the union is aware of the layoff. “It is true that we were notified. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) is aware, NUBIFIE is aware and even ASSBIFI is aware. We had a dialogue with them and we were able to win what I think is right at this point. By this, we can follow up the lay off process. That they informed bank unions means they have followed due process. If there is any fallout of our agreement, we would be able to take it up with them,” he said.

The bank also faulted a story that it has concluded plans with Standard Bank for the acquisition of stakes in Intercontinental Bank.

Intercontinental Bank’s Group Managing Director, Mahmoud Lai Alabi, said although the bank is in the process of discussion with all those who have indicated interest in the bank, including Standard Bank, “no detailed discussion or negotiations have even commenced, not to talk of allotment of shares.”