A High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, has cleared a UK renowned medical doctor, Dr. Reuben Olu Obaro, and his wife, Ayodele, of corruption charges, falsely levelled against them by the Independent and Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). In his ruling on the case, Justice A.O. Ebong dismissed all the charges against the couple stating that the case was ‘frivolous’ and ‘unfair to the defendants,’ describing it as, ‘unfounded in all ramifications.’

ICPC had, in an eight-count charge, accused the prominent radiologist and his wife, a practising nurse in the UK, of misappropriating part of the funds provided as a seed grant by SURE-P to support the setting up of a specialist stroke management hospital in Nigeria. Right from the beginning, questions abounded as to the real motive behind ICPC’s investigation when the couple had just hit the ground running with this gigantic project- first of its kind in Nigeria.

ICPC however, commenced a two-year investigation followed by a full-blown trial, which dragged on for another two years. Upon examining all the evidence and listening to all the witnesses against the defendants, Justice Ebong dismissed the case in totality.

According to Stroke Action Nigeria, stroke continues to affect about 200,000 people annually in the country. The successful setup of the planned Stephen James Stroke Centre of Excellence by the couple would not only have provided critical healthcare to thousands of stroke patients but would have also provided numerous jobs for Nigerians. Also, the centre would have contributed immensely to local capacity building by training personnel to manage the disease in Nigeria.

In his closing remarks during the judgement, the honourable justice reprimanded the prosecution for the potential damage this kind of frivolous trials have on the country and its citizens. “It is common knowledge that at various times the Federal Government has made efforts to rebuild the negative image of our nation in the international arena. This sort of dubious and frivolous attack on the character and reputation of citizens as exemplified in this trial, cannot aid that effort,” said Justice Ebong.

The court also ordered that the land documents and funds arbitrarily seized from the couple by the ICPC during the investigation, should be returned. However, as at the time of writing this report, the prosecuting agency has not obeyed that order.

Together, the couple run MACT-BRIDGE THE GAP, a family funded charity registered with the Charity Commission, UK. Through their charity, Dr and Mrs Obaro have run medical missions across Nigeria, sent medical equipment to medical facilities, books and computers to schools and awarded scholarships as well as supported orphanages over the years.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating disease. Despite decades of research, science has not pinned down causes or discovered highly effective treatments. And while a healthy diet, regular exercise, and other measures can help people slow or avoid AD, we badly need more routes for preventing it.

That's why a new study is so intriguing — and potentially game-changing. Researchers have found that the risk of death due to AD is markedly lower in taxi and ambulance drivers compared with hundreds of other occupations. And the reason could be that these drivers develop structural changes in their brains as they work.

In the past two decades, small studies demonstrated that London taxi drivers tend to have an enlargement in one area of the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved with developing spatial memory. Interestingly, that part of the brain is one area that's commonly damaged by AD.

These observations led to speculation that taxi drivers might be less prone to AD than people with jobs that don't require similar navigation and spatial processing skills.

A recent study explores this possibility by analyzing data from nearly nine million people who died over a three-year period and had occupation information on their death certificates. After accounting for age of death, researchers tallied Alzheimer's-related death rates for more than 443 different jobs. The results were dramatic.

One possible explanation is that jobs requiring frequent real-time spatial and navigational skills change both structure and function in the hippocampus. If these jobs help keep the hippocampus healthy, that could explain why AD-related deaths — but not deaths due to other types of dementia — are lower in taxi and ambulance drivers. It could also explain the older studies that found enlargement in parts of the hippocampus in people with these jobs.

And why aren't bus drivers, pilots, and ship captains similarly protected? The study authors suggest these other jobs involve predetermined routes with less real-time navigational demands. Thus, they may not change the hippocampus as much.

A single research study is rarely definitive, especially an observational study like this one. Observational studies can only identify a relationship — not establish a firm cause — between a protective factor and a condition like AD. There could be other explanations for the findings. For example:

And even if driving a taxi or ambulance could lower your risk of AD-related death, what's the impact of GPS technology now in widespread use? If these jobs now require less navigational demand due to GPS, will the protective effect of these jobs evaporate?

You might wonder if these findings can be applied to anyone who wants to lower their risk of AD. For example, could outdoor treasure-hunting activities that require complex navigational skills, such as orienteering and geocaching, help stave off AD? At least one small study found that orienteering experts had better spatial memory than orienteering novices.

Could puzzles, video games, or even board games designed to build spatial skills reduce the risk of AD? Think Rubik's Cubes and jigsaw puzzles, Minecraft and Tetris, chess and Labyrinth. A round of Battleship, anyone? And if these activities are actually helpful, how often would you need to play?

I look forward to the results of studies exploring these questions. Until then, it's best to rely on experts' recommendations to reduce your risk of AD, including high-quality sleep, diet, and regular exercise.

I find this new research about taxi and ambulance drivers having lower rates of AD-related death fascinating. Considering how often we hear about the risks of certain jobs, it's encouraging to hear about occupations that might actually protect you from disease.

If confirmed by other research, the results of this study could lead to a better understanding of Alzheimer's disease — and, more importantly, how to prevent it.

Harvard Health Publishing

KEHINDE ABDULSALAM

The Federal Government has called for more private sector funding to close an energy gap of $2.48 billion meant for 80 million Nigerians to have access to electricity.

The Managing Director and CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Mr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, disclosed this on Saturday at a workshop for members of the House of Representatives by the agency in Abuja after it held a similar one for the Senate.

Ahmad said the $2.5bn is the investment required to provide access to the current 80m Nigerians without electricity.

“India used to be the country with the highest people without access to electricity but I am sad to say that Nigeria has overtaken it and recently the figure is at 80m Nigerians without access to electricity.”

While he called for an improved budget for REA to realise this, he said: “It is very risky to rely on government budget as that is not enough. We need to device policies where we can get more private sector investments.”

The Minister of State for Power, Mr. Goddy Jedy-Agba, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr. Chinyeaka Ohaa, called for the lawmakers’ support to REA.

“Over 80 million Nigerians lack access to reliable electricity. To change this narrative, we must continue to strategically deploy renewable, off-grid technologies to power Nigeria, one community at a time.”

Declaring the workshop opened, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the workshop was strategic and could not have come at a better time than this time.

“On behalf of the speaker, I declare this workshop opened,” said Chairman, House Committee on Power, Magaji Da’u Aliyu, who represented the Speaker.

On his role, Aliyu said with the workshop, the Members would do the needful and to consult with REA to ensure proper budgeting.

He said over N200m projects are uncompleted in the portfolio as he urged the REA to be better guided towards providing more access to rural electricity.

Executive Director, Rural Electrification Fund (REF) at REA, Dr. Sanusi Ohiare, said REA since 2016, has connected 103,500 homes, impacted 460,720 people, created 5,042 jobs and sourced $561m investments.

Ohiare said the lawmakers should strengthen the agency noting that despite the several review of the Oronsaye agencies merger report, REA is still part of the agencies penciled for scrapping

https://dailytrust.com/fg-seeks-private-funding-to-close-2-5bn-electricity-gap

Bosnian professional footballer Sead Kolasinac has completed a loan move to German giants Schalke after spending three years with the North London club.

Sead Kolasinac came through Schalke's youth system ten years ago before completing a transfer to Premier League giants Arsenal in 2017.

However, the Gunners only agreed to send the 27-year-old defender back to Germany on loan where he will be for the next six months of his career.

According to the report on Mirror, Sead Kolasinac will decide whether to stay permanently at Schalke at the end of the season or make a return to the Emirates stadium.

Arsenal set to sign Real Madrid star as replacement for top defender who's on the verge of joining German giants

"I'm happy and proud to be wearing the royal blue of Schalke 04 once again.

"The club is currently in a difficult situation. Over the coming weeks and months I want to do my part in order to help us pick up as many points as possible.

"We will manage to stay up together, I'm 100 per cent convinced of it

"I'm also very happy to be reunited with several familiar faces, both in the team and backroom staff. I never lost touch with FC Schalke 04.

"Returning to Gelsenkirchen was something I really wanted to do."

Meanwhile, Arsenal are currently not having it rosy this season in the Premier League as the Gunners are occupying 13th position with 20 points after 16 games.

Sead Kolasinac, Bosnian footballer, completes loan move to Schalke from Arsenal. Photo by Peter Powell

Earlier, Legit.ng had reported how Folarin Balogun could be departing Arsenal football club as a free agent as reigning Premier League champions Liverpool are keen on making a move for the star.

Tension as Arsenal, 1 other Premier League giant plotting surprise move for Barcelona star

The youngster who is currently a member of the England U20 team is, however, eligible to play for the Nigeria national football team as his parents were born in the West African nation.

The 19-year-old was earlier linked with Sheffield United and Brentford as he had been with the Gunners since the age of eight.

It was gathered that there is an ongoing negotiation between the player and Arsenal, but they are yet to reach an agreement despite Mikel Arteta wanting him to stay.