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Court Lifts Ban on Abalaka’s HIV Vaccine

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Federal High Court in Makurdi, Benue state on Friday lifted the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC’s) ban on the use of Dr Jeremiah Abalaka’s patented vaccines for the treatment of HIV.

The court, presided over by Justice Binta Nyako, also restrained the federal government and NAFDAC from further interfering with the use of the vaccines.

Abalaka, an Abuja based medical practitioner, had challenged NAFDAC for banning him from using the vaccines he discovered in 1999 for the treatment and prevention of HIV.

Joined in the suit were the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation.

Testifying before the court, Abalaka, who also called three witnesses, said he discovered a recipe to turn the virus in the infected blood of HIV infected person into both preventive and curative vaccines.

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He said he applied for the patent of the discovery and was granted on July 22, 1999.

“I wrote to health institutions and authorities in Nigeria to draw their attention to the discovery to collaborate with me to test and confirm the breakthrough.

“This was in order to bring succour to sufferers of HIV but the letters were ignored.’’

Abalaka said the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) took him up on the discovery and confirmed the potency of the drugs.

“This was done through a report on Feb 28, 2000, but the Federal Government discontinued further collaboration with me and the institute.’’

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He disclosed that various agencies of federal government, including its hospitals, had purchased the vaccines from him and applied them on their own patients who had HIV and many were cured.

“When the FG discovered that the vaccines were potent, it sent agents to me with the sum of N10million for the breakthrough to be announced in Atlanta Georgia, USA, but I refused’’, Abalaka had alleged.

Abalaka said his vaccines were then banned from being used for the treatment of HIV epidemic in Nigeria by NAFDAC.

Paul Omale, his counsel,  had urged the court to determine whether the defendants had justified their banning the vaccines and “sentence about 3.5 million Nigerians to death’’ while there was effective and safe vaccines to cure them.

Omale further urged the court to determine whether the defendants had shown any harmful side effect of the vaccines.

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Mr Uche Ezekwesili, counsel to the defendants, however, abandoned their plea as he could not call witnesses to justify the ban.

Delivering judgment, Justice Nyako said since there was no cure yet for HIV, it was only fair for the defendants to have allowed the plaintiff to use the vaccines on infected persons with their consent

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Court Remands Akujobi, Ex Access over alleged Theft of N294.5m

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Chinonso Akujobi, former staff of Access Bank in Lagos, has been remanded in Ikoyi prison after she was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N294.5m.

Court Remands Akujobi, Ex Access over alleged Theft of N294.5m

Akujobi who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.

EFCC alleged that Akujobi stole the money between January and December 2025 while under the employment of Access Bank Plc.

As stated in one the charges, the defendant stole the money through unauthorized payments from the general ledger of Access Bank to her account number 0036668871 with the name Chinonso A., Uchechi A. and Florence A., thereby committing an offence of stealing, contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

‎The defendant pleaded “not guilty“ to the charges when they were read to her.

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‎In view of this, S.M.Yabo, prosecution counsel, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed for the remand of the defendant in a Correctional centre.

Justice Ijelu, thereafter, adjourned the case till October 8, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and the commencement of trial.

The Judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi correctional Centre.

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NSIB Faults Runway Identification, Reveals Cockpit Disagreement in Asaba Jet Incident

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The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says the flight captain of the VMO Aero aircraft that landed on a roadway near Asaba Airport in Delta State told investigators that the observer pilot mistakenly identified the paved road as the runway before touchdown.

The bureau disclosed this in a preliminary report released on Thursday on the June 10 incident, which prompted the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ground the private jet.

The aircraft had seven people on board, including the pilot-in-command (PIC), second-in-command (SIC), an observer pilot, a cabin crew member and three passengers.

According to the report, the aircraft was cleared by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to approach Runway 11 at Asaba Airport after the crew requested a right orbit.

The crew initially discontinued the approach, executed a missed approach and repositioned for a second landing attempt.

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NSIB said the crew reported that the aircraft’s navigation systems indicated it was correctly established on the published RNAV Runway 11 approach.

“The PIC and SIC reported that the observer pilot identified the paved surface ahead as the runway,” the report stated.

However, the observer pilot gave investigators a different version of events.

According to NSIB, he said the aircraft remained inside cloud until late in the approach and that the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) repeatedly issued “TERRAIN, TERRAIN, PULL UP” alerts.

He also said he observed a telecommunications mast directly ahead and instructed the flight captain to abandon the approach and climb immediately.

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The bureau further disclosed that a cabin crew member reported that one of the passengers became concerned after overhearing discussions among the pilots and asked whether one of them was undergoing training. The passenger was reportedly reassured that all three pilots on board were experienced captains.

NSIB said no abnormal events were reported in the cabin before touchdown.

The aircraft eventually landed at about 8:57 a.m. on an under-construction paved roadway near Asaba Airport instead of the designated runway.

The bureau said its investigation into the incident is ongoing, while the preliminary report highlights conflicting accounts among the cockpit crew over the circumstances that led to the erroneous landing.

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EU warns Meta over addictive Facebook, Instagram designs, threatens fines

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European Union has warned Meta Platforms Inc. that it could face a significant financial penalty unless it changes what regulators describe as the “addictive design” features of Facebook and Instagram.

EU warns Meta over addictive Facebook, Instagram designs, threatens fines

The European Commission issued the warning in preliminary findings released on Friday, saying Meta had failed to sufficiently address risks posed by its platforms, particularly to children and vulnerable users.

The Commission said features such as infinite scrolling, personalised content recommendations and automatic video playback were designed in ways that encouraged excessive engagement with the platforms.

EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said protecting the physical and mental well-being of European citizens should be a priority for social media companies.

The Commission said Meta should consider introducing design changes, including disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, providing effective screen-time reminders and adjusting recommendation systems to reduce the focus on maximising user engagement.

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The findings were issued under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which sets obligations for major online platforms to address risks associated with their services.

Meta, however, rejected the Commission’s conclusions, saying it disagreed with the findings but would continue engaging with European regulators.

The company said it had already implemented measures aimed at protecting younger users, including Teen Accounts that allow parents to manage screen time limits and restrict access during night hours.

The EU said its investigation, which began in 2024, found that existing time-management tools on Facebook and Instagram could easily be bypassed, while parental controls required technical knowledge that limited their effectiveness.

Regulators also expressed concerns over children’s nighttime use of the platforms and the possibility that features such as Reels and Stories could encourage compulsive behaviour.

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If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to six per cent of its annual global revenue under the DSA.

The warning comes as the EU steps up efforts to strengthen online safety measures for children, with an expert panel established by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expected to present recommendations on protecting minors online.

Several EU member states, including France, have also supported discussions on restricting social media access for children, following Australia’s decision to ban users under 16 from accessing social media platforms.

Meanwhile, the Commission is continuing a separate investigation into whether Meta’s recommendation algorithms create “rabbit hole” effects by directing users towards increasingly extreme content.

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