In a significant legal blow to former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, the Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected his request to suspend proceedings in his trial for alleged N80.2 billion fraud.

Bello sought a stay of execution citing an ongoing appeal by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against a contempt application he filed against EFCC chairman, Ola Olukayode.

Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the ruling on Friday, rejecting Bello’s application presented by his lawyer, Abdulwahab Mohammed.

Nwite stated that “The application cannot be entertained unless the defendant is present in the court. In the absence of the defendant in court, the motion on notice filed by the complainant can only be conducted if the defendant is in court”.

Justice Nwite admonished Bello for undermining the seriousness of the criminal case by opting to stay at home and disregard court orders.

More to follow……………. 

In the bid to address the dangers associated with emailing test results of patients, SYNLAB Nigeria, a member of the SYNLAB Group, with ISO15189 Certification in medical diagnostic services, has come up with a secured patient portal as a safer alternative.

Biztellers reports that SYNLAB is a global diagnostic service provider with presence in 35 countries and over 30 active locations across Nigeria.

According to SYNLAB Nigeria its secured patient portal has numerous advantages such as, restricted access which confers on the portal offers a more controlled environment for accessing test results.

It pointed out that the individualised log-in credentials, drastically reduces the risk of unauthorised access, ensuring that only the intended recipient or the patient, can gain access to the confidential health information.

Still on the features, SYNLAB Nigeria highlighted that it comes with enhanced encryption.

It was gathered that this added layer of security, safeguards the transmission and storage of test results, protecting them from interception by malicious entities.

The SYNLAB Nigeria’s patient portal has a user-friendly interface, which ensures that patients could easily access and intuitive advantage of by registering on the firm’s website.

On the SYNLAB Nigeria’s website, it stated, “They can also contact our customer support on ng.enquiry@synlab.com, WhatsApp 08104607653 or walk into any of our 32 physical locations across the country to register”.

Using the patients’ portal, SYNLAB Nigeria maintains has become necessary because while the convenience of email is unquestionable, the risks associated with transmitting sensitive health information, such as test results, cannot be ignored.

“In an era where individuals access their email on various devices, the potential for unintended exposure is a critical concern.

“By embracing the secured patient portal, patients can avoid these risks, ensuring that they access their test results in a secure and confidential manner.

“Beyond safeguarding sensitive information SYNLAB also seeks to foster a culture of privacy and security in healthcare interactions through the adoption of the patient portal,” it added.

The diagnostic expert noted that unintentional access compromises patients’ privacy with high potential for ethical and legal issues.

To drive the point home, SYNLAB Nigeria share a case scenario, using fictitious names.

It stated, “Sarah, wrestling with the news of an unplanned pregnancy, had decided to confide in her mother when the time was right. However, the delicate balance of trust was disrupted when the mother, Anne, curious about an email notification on the shared family computer, opened a document containing Sarah’s test result.

“The consequences of this unintended intrusion were felt immediately. Instead of the empathetic and supportive conversation that Sarah had hoped for, Anne’s discovery led to a confrontational exchange fuelled by emotions of betrayal and disappointment.”

SYNLAB Nigeria opined that this possible scenario draws attention to the inherent risks associated with delivering sensitive test results via email.

“In an age where digital communication is commonplace, the convenience of email often comes at the cost of privacy, as demonstrated in the story of Anne and Sarah.

“The email, a seemingly innocent means of communication, became a channel for unintended consequences. It allowed Anne access to information that Sarah had not yet shared, and the resulting breach of trust altered the trajectory of their relationship,” it added.

The diagnostic expert, also noted that Anne’s inadvertent access to Sarah’s test results underpinned the potential for unintended recipients to view confidential information.

It is the considered opinion of SYNLAB Nigeria that in the healthcare space, where privacy is paramount, this poses a significant risk to patient confidentiality.

Against this backdrop, SYNLAB Nigeria highlighted other dangers of emailing patients’ diagnostic results, as lack of encryption, saying emails, even those containing sensitive health information, were often transmitted without end-to-end encryption.

The firm also pointed out that absence of encryption exposes the data to potential interception, especially when accessed on public networks, adding that it further jeopardises the confidentiality of the test results.

Expatiating on limited control, it said when an email is delivered, control over who can access the information diminishes using the case point of Anne and Sarah, adding that lack of control over who could view the results led to a breach of Sarah’s privacy and a breakdown in trust.

It also raised the issue of digital sharing, which might be indiscriminate.

SYNLAB Nigeria noted that once someone accesses a digital document, the person could easily share it in one click to anyone else.

“The document alone can be transferred to other platforms and shared or the whole mail can easily be shared. Imagine that Anne, shared Sarah’s result to her father and siblings immediately she saw it,” it pointed out.

SYNLAB Nigeria is the leader in medical diagnostic services and specialty testing in Europe and offers a full range of innovative and reliable medical diagnostics to patients, practising doctors, hospitals and clinics, governments and corporates.

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has expressed empathy with job seekers in the state, listing several measures his administration is pursuing to address the challenge.

This came to the fore in Osogbo on Thursday at a Careers and Employment Opportunity Fair organised by the Ministry of Political Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations in collaboration with Federal Agencies domiciled in Osun State.

Gov Adeleke, represented by the Head of Service, Elder Ayanleye Aina described the job fair as one of the many initiatives of his administration to open up the job market, create enabling environment and ensure the engagement of thousands of the unemployed youth.

He commended what he referred to as the huge Federal presence in Osun State, and pointed out wide opportunities existing for job seekers through appropriate liaison with such agencies and their partners.

According to the governor, his government is doing more to address the unemployment crisis.

He said, “As a Government we are determined to address the unemployment question through multiple approach. The job fair is only a starting point to exploit opportunities across federal establishments domiciled in the state. Job fairs are potent platforms but our government is doing more than that.

“Part of our employment agenda is to deepen the state economy by encouraging agro-industrial activities among the young and the old. Diversifying the economic base of the state possesses the potential to meaningfully engage our youth.

“Additionally, we are pursuing the localisation agenda in our project implementation. This policy is building the capacity of local contractors and local business to employ more Indigenes in the construction industry.

“Localisation not only strengthen local economy, it imparts technical skill in the local population which increases the employability of our population.

“Our administration is also reviving the technical vocational technical colleges across the State. The focus is to expose our youth population to technical skills to enable them offer services for self-employment.

“The public is also aware of our cooperative loan scheme which is targeting local SMEs. About Four Billion Naira is billed to be disbursed. A strong SMEs increases the capacity of small business to employ more job seekers.

“More importantly, our government is working on a programme of match making between young entrepreneurs and financial institutions. Details of this will be unveil in the upcoming series named “Engagement With Osun Young Professionals”. The Policy Integration Unit in my office is working on this particular plan.”

Gov Adeleke, however, encouraged the young and generality of job seekers to improve their skills, both for self-employment and employability adding that “we must move beyond our paper qualifications to skill acquisition.”