NAF Super Puma Helicopter Returns To Service, Feb 4

NAF Super Puma helicopter returns to service, Feb 4. The Nigerian Air Force has reactivated its grounded Super Puma helicopter, NAF 565, enhancing troop transport, casualty evacuation, search-and-rescue, and counterinsurgency operations nationwide.

NAF Super Puma Helicopter

The restoration, led by the Air Officer Commanding Mobility Command and 205 Rotary Wing personnel, underscores NAF’s commitment to operational readiness and national security.

NPF Pensions Holds Pre-Retirement Seminar For Police Officers

NPF pensions holds pre-retirement seminar for police officers. He said that over 5,000 officers were expected to retire in 2026.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Pensions Limited, on Wednesday, organised a pre-retirement seminar for Police officers set to retire in 2026 across the North-West region.

The event, held in Kano, was aimed at sensitising officers to proper documentation and procedures to ensure seamless pension processing.

Speaking at the event, the Commissioner of Police, Pension,  Sani Doki-Yusuf, said the exercise was designed to remind the officers to complete and update their pension documentation to avoid delays and complications.
“The objective is to call our colleagues and ensure adequate documentation of pensions.

“Many retirees face challenges because their records are not updated, leading to delays in payment,” he explained.
He added that over 5,000 officers were expected to retire in 2026.

Also speaking, the director, Nigeria Police Pensions Board and Force Insurance Officer, ACP Lydia Ameh, emphasised the importance of the outreach programme.
“This programme brings pension information directly to retirees, ensuring they understand how to update records and receive benefits without stress.

“Thanks to the commitment of the Inspector-General of Police, officers who complete proper documentation can receive their pensions within three to five working days,” she said.
Ms Ameh commended the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, for prioritising the welfare of serving and retired officers as well as families of fallen personnel.

She said that delays in pension payments in the past were largely due to incomplete documentation, adding that recent reforms had helped to clear outstanding pension liabilities.

The managing director of NPF Pensions Limited, Abdulkarim Shehu-Gezawa, said that NPF Pensions Limited had paid 30,370 retirees a total of N97.5 billion since inception, while N39.5 billion had been disbursed as death benefits to 8,847 next of kin.
“No fewer than 25,572 retirees were currently receiving about N1.5 billion monthly as pensions,” he said.

NPF Pensions Holds Pre-Retirement Seminar

He said that the Contributory Pension Scheme being operated in Nigeria currently was guided under the framework of the Pension Reform Act
2004, as amended in 2014 and the extant regulations of National Pension Commission (PenCom).

He explained that retirees could access their pensions through programmed withdrawals, either monthly or quarterly, or through annuity arrangements with Insurance companies.

Mr Shehu-Gezawa added that the lump sum payment process allows retirees to receive between 25 and 30 per cent of their retirement savings account balance as initial payment.

The seminar included health talks on retirement and presentations on the ‘Psychology of Retirement’, aimed at preparing the officers for life after service.

Cancer Is Not Always Death Sentence: Oncologist

Cancer is not always death sentence: oncologist. “Cancer is not always a death sentence; early detection saves lives,” an oncologist at UCH said.

An oncologist, Adebayo Oladeji, on Wednesday underscored the urgent need to strengthen nationwide cancer screening to enhance early detection and management.

Mr Oladeji, a consultant radiation and clinical oncologist at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, made this known following the commemoration of World Cancer Day.

According to him, early detection of the disease through screening could save an individual.
“Cancer is not always a death sentence; early detection saves lives,” he said.

World Cancer Day is a global awareness day organised by the Union for International Cancer Control on February 4 to raise awareness of cancer and encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.

Mr Oladeji harped on the need for Nigeria to expand decentralised cancer care, invest in radiotherapy, pathology, and diagnostic services, and integrate palliative care at all levels to reduce financial barriers through improved insurance coverage and public funding.

According to him, collective action today will lead to fewer late-stage diagnoses, better survival outcomes and reduced suffering, adding that cancer incidence in Nigeria is steadily rising in both adults and children.

Mr Oladeji noted that this increase is driven by population growth, increasing life expectancy, lifestyle changes, environmental exposures, and improving diagnostic capacity.

He expressed concern that most patients present themselves late and often with advanced disease, which he said significantly reduces chances of survival and increases the cost and complexity of care.

Mr Oladeji said that the Federal Ministry of Health established the National Cancer Control Programme and is upgrading oncology services in selected federal teaching hospitals across the geopolitical zones, including UCH, Ibadan.
He added that initiatives such as the Cancer Access Partnership and Cancer Health Fund are improving access to chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and selected targeted treatments.

“UCH is one of Nigeria’s leading centres of excellence for cancer care, with a full multidisciplinary team covering the entire cancer care pathway, from screening and diagnosis to treatment and follow-up.

This includes pathologists, radiologists, surgical oncologists, gynaecologic oncologists, haematologist-oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation and clinical oncologists, and psycho-oncologists.

“UCH is the first and currently the only centre in West Africa offering High-Dose-Rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer, a highly specialised form of radiotherapy. Despite these strengths, significant gaps remain, particularly in radiotherapy equipment availability and capacity.

“While progress has been made, facilities and resources remain insufficient to meet the growing cancer burden; many Nigerians still travel long distances or experience long waiting times for diagnosis and treatment,” he said.

According to him, although the government plans to leverage the six cancer centres to expand screening across all geopolitical zones, routine screening access remains limited for many Nigerians.

While expressing concerns that cancer care is still largely funded out-of-pocket by patients, he noted that late diagnosis, combined with inequitable access to affordable, quality cancer care, also posed a challenge.

Cancer Is Not Always Death Sentence

“Nigeria’s National Cancer Control Plan recognises palliative care as a core pillar, but implementation has been suboptimal, with services concentrated mainly in tertiary centres. Ongoing advocacy continues for the integration of palliative care at all levels of the health system, from primary to tertiary care,” he said.

Meanwhile, he noted that cancer risk could be significantly reduced through evidence-based measures like avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol consumption, maintaining a healthy weight, and eating a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Among others, he also advised people to engage in regular physical activity, HPV vaccination and safe sexual practices for cervical cancer prevention.

“People should always participate in age-appropriate cancer screening (breast, cervical, prostate) and avoid excessive sun exposure, particularly among people with albinism, and limit exposure to known carcinogens,” he said.