Crown FC head coach Ayodeji Ayeni has urged his players to bounce back from the Nigeria National League (NNL) Super 8 opening day defeat to Kun Khalifat FC.

The Ajilete Warriors suffered a 1-0 defeat to Kun Khalifat FC at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba on Saturday.

Ayeni said that the defeat won’t derail their target for promotion.

“As you can see, it is a marathon. It’s not yet over for any team,” Ayeni reacted after the game.

“Our first match doesn’t determine the league and ambition. We can go ahead and win the next two matches.”

Crown FC will lock horns with Osun United in the second match of the tournament on Monday.

The Lagos State University, LASU, has dismissed two senior academic staff members over allegations of sexual misconduct, financial impropriety, and professional misconduct.

The decision, ratified during the institution’s 143rd Statutory Governing Council meeting held on Friday, followed a formal petition submitted by Taofeek Adekunle, a member of the advocacy group Take It Back Movement. The petition accused the affected lecturers of sexually harassing students and engaging in unethical financial practices.

The lecturers include Prof. Olatunji Tajudeen Fasasi Abanikanda, Dean of the Epe Campus and a senior faculty member in the Department of Agricultural Science, and Khadeejat Kareem-Ibraheem, Coordinator of the Department of Animal Sciences, School of Agriculture, were found guilty following a six-week internal investigation.

In a statement issued by LASU Registrar and Secretary to Council, Emmanuel Fanu, on Thursday, both individuals were found culpable of serious breaches of the university’s code of conduct.

According to the statement, Prof. Abanikanda was dismissed for multiple violations, including subjecting final-year students to inhumane conditions during fieldwork at the department’s farm. It was reported that students were forced to remain on the farm from 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. without breaks, food, or shelter, even during severe weather conditions.

The professor was found guilty of sexual harassment of female students, verbal abuse of colleagues and students, and the unauthorised collection of money from members of the university community, all in contravention of the institution’s conduct regulations.

He said, “Dean, School of Agriculture, Epe Campus, Prof. Olatunji Tajudeen Fasasi Abanikannada, was dismissed over multiple allegations, including: Subjecting 400 Level students of the School of Agriculture to inhumane treatment by keeping them on the farm from 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. without break, food, and water even during torrential rainfall that lasted between 4:45 p.m. to after 6:00 p.m., an action prejudicial to the security of the University.

“Sexual harassment of female students of the same school. Subjecting staff members and students to emotional and physical trauma using threats, curses, derogatory utterances, and profane expletives on them, an act unbecoming of a public officer of the University. Unauthorised collection of money from staff and students of the School of Agriculture, contrary to university regulations.”

On her part, Kareem-Ibraheem was dismissed for dereliction of duty and gross financial misconduct.

She was accused of violating institutional procedures and failing to remit over N10 million in revenue generated from the sale of farm produce, which was instead deposited into her personal bank account.

Both cases, the statement noted, represented a clear breach of LASU’s 2017 Conditions of Service (as amended) and posed a serious threat to the values and standards the institution upholds.

The International Press Centre (IPC) has cautioned journalists covering elections to strictly adhere to the codes and regulations during reporting all processes.

Executive Director, IPC, Lanre Arogundade made the call while speaking at a one-day training of North West journalists held in Kano.

He said the meeting, is part support to the media under the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria, Phase II programme.

Mr. Lanre said the aim of the training is to identify challenges journalists faced and provide solutions for the successful election coverage.

Some of challenges identified included insecurity and threats to journalists, political pressure and censorship, fake information and misinformation, poor access to information, among others.

He advised media houses to be ethical and professional during election coverage in Nigeria.

According to him “adhering to the “Nigeria media codes of election coverage” will help in minimising the problems.

“A journalist can rely on the revised Nigeria media codes of election coverage through app store or hard copy for safe election reporting in Nigeria,” he said.

The training was conducted for selected journalists from Kano, Jigawa, Katsina and Kaduna States.