Three stowaways have successfully travelled from Nigeria to Canary Islands, Spain, after hiding in the rudder of a Malta-flagged ship for eleven days.

The illegal migrants were rescued by Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service after they were found perched on the Alithini II oil tanker at the Las Palmas port.

The men had symptoms of dehydration and hypothermia and were transferred to hospitals on the island for urgent medical intervention, Spain’s Salvamento Marítimo said.

According to the MarineTraffic website which tracks ships, the vessel left Lagos on November 17 and sailed for eleven days before arriving in Las Palmas on Monday, November 28.

Though extremely dangerous, it’s not the first time stowaways have been found travelling on the rudder of commercial ships to the Canary Islands.

In 2021, a 14-year-old Nigerian boy was interviewed by Spain’s El Pais newspaper after he survived 14 days on the rudder of a ship that travelled from Lagos.

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A while back, a stowaway was found unconscious inside an airplane at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Sunday morning, September 4.
Upon interrogation, the teenage boy said he hid inside the plane because he was tired of Nigeria and wanted to relocate abroad.

The spokesman of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, operators of the MMA2 terminal, Oluwatosin Onalaja, disclosed that the stowaway is from Kwara state but stays in the Badagry area of Lagos.

Onalaja said the 14-year-old was found inside an aircraft belonging to United Nigeria Airlines at the domestic wing of the airport.

“At around 6:10a.m. on Sunday 4th September 2022, United Nigeria (the Airline) informed Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Ltd (BASL) of a 14-year-old stowaway boy found unconscious inside one of their aircraft,” Onalaja said in the statement.

He added that the boy told investigators that he gained entry into the airside through an opening at the perimeter fence at Ile-Zik.

He then passed through General Aviation Terminal, Air Force Hanger and walked down to the Murtala Muhammed Ahmed where he hid himself at the Apron.

“He saw staff on duty at GAT and Air Force hanger but dodged them and passed through the bush.

“The incident boy was brought out of the aircraft and taken to the MMA2 clinic for first aid medical attention. He was later transferred for further treatment to the FAAN clinic where he regained consciousness at about 10:20a.m.

“We are an active part of the ongoing investigation to ascertain exactly what happened and to aid the prevention of any such occurrence in the future,” he said.

It was further revealed that the boy has been discharged from the hospital and taken to the FAAN Crime Office for further interrogation.

Russian billionaire Vyacheslav Taran has reportedly died in a helicopter crash near Monaco.

He is allegedly the third cryptocurrency businessman to die under mysterious circumstances in the past few weeks.

The 53-year-old trader died after the helicopter plunged near the resort town of Villefranche-sur-Mer after taking off from Lausanne in Switzerland on Friday afternoon, November, 25. His 35-year-old French pilot was also killed in the accident.

While another cryptocurrency millionaire Nikolai Mushegian, 29, drowned on a beach in Puerto Rico after tweeting that he thought the CIA and Mossad were coming to assassinate him, Tiantian Kullander, 30, passed away last week “in his sleep.”

According to Mail Online, Taran’s fatal accident occurred in clear, pleasant weather, and it happened after a last-minute cancellation of another passenger’s flight.

After seeing the scene, Nice’s deputy public prosecutor stated that it was impossible to rule out the possibility of third-party interference.

According to the local Press, another unnamed person was scheduled to board the aircraft with Taran but abruptly canceled.

The highly successful offshore specialist who has lived in Monaco for the past ten years has three children with his wife Olga, founder of Hello Monaco media.

The statement from the financier’s company read;

“It is with great sadness that Libertex Group confirms the death of its co-founder and chairman of board of directors, Vyacheslav Taran, after a helicopter crash that took place en route to Monaco on Friday, 25 November 2022.
The board of directors of Libertex Group and company employees extend their most heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the Taran family.”

A formal investigation has been launched into the crash by the French authorities and Airbus, makers of the H130.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba has been sentenced to three months in prison for disobeying a court order by Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Following a lawsuit brought by Patrick Okoli, a former police officer who says he was forcibly and illegally retired from the Nigerian police service, Olajuwon issued the ruling on Tuesday, November 28, 2022.

The affidavits used to support the lawsuit state that the applicant was forced into retirement in June 1992.
On February 19, 1994, a Bauchi high court issued a ruling in favor of the petitioner and nullified the letter ordering his forced retirement as a result of his legal challenge.

The high court also ordered that the applicant be reinstated with all rights and privileges.

In a letter dated October 13, 2004, the Police Service Commission (PSC) instructed the then-IGP to restore the applicant and make a recommendation for promotion in compliance with the court’s ruling.

In order to compel the implementation of the ruling of the Bauchi state high court and the PSC orders, Okoli filed a lawsuit at the Abuja federal high court with case number FHC/ABJ/CS/637/2009.

On October 21, 2011, the Abuja Federal High Court rendered a decision in the applicant’s favor.

The federal high court decision was challenged by the IGP office, but the appeal was denied.

In order to further enforce the order, the applicant wrote to the IGP’s office after contacting the federal house of representatives.

He wrote;

“It is a duty which every citizen, who believes in peace and stability of the Nigerian state, owes the nation and the court has a duty to commit the individual who has failed to carry out the order of the court for contempt, so as to prevent the authority and administration of law from being brought to disrespect and to protect the dignity of the court.

The terms of the Orders of this Court are clear and unambiguous. This court Is satisfied that the respondent (presently and those before him) has had proper knowledge of the Orders of this Court, there is no denial of such knowledge and the receipt of Forms 48 and 49.

The respondent filed a counter affidavit, was duly represented in court by different counsel, who stated how they had written several legal opinions which were not attended to.

The refusal and failure of the respondent to comply with the orders of this court has been proved in this case. The respondent, in this case, the inspector-general of police, in the person of Usman Alkali Baba, is to be committed to prison and detained in custody for a period of three months or until he has obeyed the order of this court, made on the 21st October, 2011, in all things that are to be performed, whichever period is shorter.

If at the end of the three months, the contemnor remains recalcitrant and still refuses to purge his contempt, he shall be committed for another period and until he purges his contempt.”

The Federal government has reportedly approved the commencement of a 14-day paternity leave for all federal civil servants.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, revealed this on Monday, November 28, in a circular with ref no: HCSF/SPSO/ODD/NCE/RR/650309/3, dated 25th November, 2022.

The circular titled, “Computation of Leave Based on Working Days and Approval of Paternity Leave in the Public Service,” stated that this was in line with the provisions of the Public Service Rules, 2021 Edition.

According to her,

“Government has also approved Paternity Leave for serving male officers whose spouse delivers a baby. The period of the leave shall be fourteen working days. The leave shall not be more than once in two years, and for maximum of four children.

Where the family of a male officer adopts a child under four months old, the officer will similarly enjoy Paternity Leave for a period of fourteen working days.

The request for such leave shall be accompanied by the Expected Date of Delivery’s report of the officer’s wife or evidence of approval of the adoption of the child by the relevant government bodies.”

She also said that the effective date of the circular was 25th November, 2022. She said the bonding was important to help the newly-born or adopted baby properly bond with the father in the early period after birth.