Workers of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu have foiled a suspected attempt to abduct the Medical Director of the institution, Professor Monday Igwe.

Eye-witnesses said three stern-looking men had arrived at the facility Thursday afternoon in an unmarked Toyota Sienna bus, and moved straight to the office of the Medical Director, a development that caused panic among the workers.

According to the sources, the men had wanted to drag Igwe out of his office before words went out.

While workers started milling around the MD’s office, some of them who were already agitated demanded to know the mission of the ‘intruders’.

They were said to have quickly raised the alarm which attracted the attention of other staffers of the establishment.

“By this time, the hospital’s security personnel locked the entrance and exit gates, ensuring that nobody came in or went out of the premises while information was quickly sent to the DPO, New Haven Police Station,” one of the sources said.

It was further gathered that upon the swift arrival of the police, the suspects disclosed that they were police officers from the Zone 13 Command, Ukpo in Anambra State.

They were said to have claimed to have come to arrest the medical director based on a petition against him.

Their explanation did not go down well with the enraged workers who queried the surreptitious manner they wanted to whisk their boss away.

But, the DPO took the men to the state police command headquarters where further investigations were being carried out.

Speaking with newsmen on Friday, a leader of one of the unions in the hospital accused one of the staff of the school of post-basic psychiatric nursing of being behind the petition.

The unionist who wondered why the staff in question had been embroiled in one crisis or another in the hospital in the last 13 years, was reported to have engaged the services of non-existent civil society organisations to destabilise the hospital.

“Those people actually came with sinister motives. It took the intervention of the workers to save the situation before the DPO came with his men. They wanted to literally abduct him, but we resisted their attempt,” he said.

Neither the police nor the institution’s Medical Director would speak on the issue.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has unveiled a list of 10 goods rejected abroad, blaming the rejection on non-adherence to standardised clearance procedures by stakeholders.

She said some of the commonly rejected export food commodities from Nigeria from 2018 till date and in the top 10 include sesame, beans, melon seeds, peanut and smoked fish/fish meal, ginger, spices paper, hibiscus flower, palm oil and ogbono.

The Deputy Director, Export Division, Ports Inspection Directorate, NAFDAC, Sanwo-Olu O.A. stated this in an address she delivered at the 3rd CHINET Aviacargo conference in Lagos, with the title, “Unlocking the Logistics Barrier to Improving Agro Exports Products.”

She blamed the rejection on non-adherence to set standard by freight forwarders, cargo handlers, airlines/carriers, regulatory agencies, as well as poor inter-agency collaboration, amongst others.

Sanwo-Olu called for collaboration among stakeholders to ensure that export trade meets the requirements of the country’s trading partner, in terms of quality, standards and quantity as trade increases.

Over 40, 000 youth aged 15 to 24 years in Ghana are living with HIV, according to the Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene.

He gave these troubling statistics at the Joy Christian Forum dubbed, “Chastity and Morality: How are the Youth Staying Chaste in Today’s World?” last week Monday.

The forum sought to discuss and find answers to some of the thorny immoral issues plaguing the youth in recent times due to scarcity of jobs and exposure to all kinds of financial and sexual pressures as well as various forms of immorality.

According to Dr Atuahene, out of a cumulative figure of 355,000 Ghanaians living with the virus since the first case was recorded, 11 per cent comprise the youth.

“Although it’s the commission’s aim to reduce infections by 17% every year, we are unable to because of hikes in immoral activities,” Dr Atťuahene revealed.

He, however, admitted that they were able to reduce infections by 8 per cent in 2022.

“When we talk about HIV, we focus more on new infections because the more people get infected, the more we keep adding on to the existing number,” the AIDs Commission boss stated.

He explained that more women contract the virus because their genitalia is a receptacle. Moreso, the vagina lining and the tissue beneath it are quite fragile, making women more susceptible to HIV infection.

Dr Atuahene also mentioned that people who have untreated sexually transmitted diseases have higher risks of getting HIV and as a matter of fact, 10 to 13 per cent of people with STIs have HIV.

“If you have chlamydia, chancroid, or any ulcerative infections then you become even more vulnerable. When you sleep with anybody, because you have some ulcers down there, you’re most likely to get infected,” he explained.

Dr Atuahene therefore encouraged the youth to stay away from immoral behaviours that could endanger their lives.

The forum was headlined by revered and knowledgeable family life and youth counsellors such as Elder Amos Kevin-Annan, Convener of Singles in 3-D Summits, Rev Mrs Catherine Onwioduokit, a family life counsellor and Founding President, Family Renaissance International, as well as Ps. Andrew Yarquah, a pastor and counsellor based in Kumasi.

Host of Joy FM’s Christian Talkshow, “A Walk With Jesus” and daily devotion, “Joy Time In His Presence” and Prayer Line, Ps. Ato Acquah moderated the discussions.

The program was aired on Joy FM and all Joy social media handles.