NO fewer than 55,000 Nigerians were among the over two million pilgrims who converged on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia yesterday to mark the climax of this year’s pilgrimage. This is as millions of Muslim faithful across the globe celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir today. The Mount Arafat event features pilgrims’ supplication for Allah’s guidance and forgiveness. It also involves staying at Arafat from sunrise until sunset as a major rite of the pilgrimage. The News Agencyu of Nigeria (NAN) reports stated that the movement from Muna, where the pilgrims spent the night in tents, started as early as 12 midnight on Sunday. It was completed at about 6am. Pilgrims were camped in the tents, fully equipped with cooling system, to alleviate the high temperature which sometimes rose to 44 degrees Centigrade. At the inaugural movement of the pilgrims to Arafat, the Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abdullahi Mukhtar, said the Commission commenced the movement early to r...

There was chaos yesterday in Odo Oro, a community in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, when a man suspected to be mentally deranged stabbed the monarch to death. The Onise of Odo Oro, Oba Gbadebo Ogunsakin, was allegedly attacked by the “madman” in his palace in broad daylight. The town is currently mourning the demise of their traditional ruler. The residents gathered in groups yesterday to discuss the monarch’s killing. The suspected lunatic reportedly stabbed Oba Ogunsakin when the monarch wanted to leave the palace in his car. A source told The Nation that rituals were conducted last night to appease the gods for the incident. A formal announcement of Oba Ogunsakin’s transition is expected to be made by the state government as soon the rites of passage are concluded. Attempts to speak with the community’s chiefs proved abortive. Many of them were said to be in an emergency meeting on the burial rites for the late monarch. Oba Ogunsakin’s death sparked o...

Dawn broke last Friday at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, like every other day. The atmosphere was calm as students filed into their classes for lectures. Then came the news that the school has lost accreditation for Law, Dentistry, Botany, Fine and Applied Arts, Family Nutrition and Consumer Sciences. The news shook the campus. Students of the affected departments, who had gathered for classes in the early hours of the day, left their lecture rooms dejected. They could not stomach the news. While many had no words to describe the development, it was a moment of lamentations for some whose academic pursuits are hanging in the balance. The National Universities Commission (NUC), last week, notified the OAU management that it had withdrawn accreditation for five disciplines, prompting the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to request prospective students who chose the courses to change to other disciplines. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the Dep...

The Federal University of Technology, Minna has dismissed a lecturer from the Department of Geology over an alleged case of sexual harassment. The dismissal of the lecturer was approved during the University Council’s 131st meeting. The alleged sexual harassment was against a female student in the department. The Council has also approved the withdrawal of 13 students for poor academic performance. All the affected students, except one, are Masters’ students. Six of the students are from the department of Biochemistry, three from the department of Mathematics, two from the department of Mechanical Engineering and one from the department of Computer Science.

The leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has accused the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of inducing senators to impeach the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki. The opposition party also alleged that the government was in the process of forcing the reopening of the Senate, contrary to Section 12 of the Senate Standing Rules. The Senate is currently on annual recess and is expected to resume session on September 25, to begin legislative business. But the PDP said the Presidency was offering each lawmaker $1 million to impeach Saraki for defecting from the APC to PDP. The Presidency however, said its call for the National Assembly to resume duties was to enable the federal legislature process the 2019 election budget for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). President Muhammadu Buhari had, a week before the National Assembly proceeded on its annual vacation, submitted a budget of N242 billion for the INEC ...