EBERE WABARA

banditry’ is sheer verbosity! Of course, robbery and armed robbery

“Ban condemns crack down (crackdown) on Cairo protesters”

Lastly from the Back Page of The PUNCH under review: “…whereas they are kept at arms’ length.” Friday musings: arm’s length

“Former Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko (right), paying his (it could not have been another person’s!) last respect (respects) to the late (we do not pay last respects to the living!) General Evangelist…at the lyingin-state and commendation service for the late (again, what’s going on with this back page caption?) clergyman in Akure…on Thursday.” (Source: as above)A rewrite: …Mimiko paying last respects to the General Evangelist…at…for the clergyman….

“…said that (sic) the aforementioned are (were) the younger generation of leaders who failed the nation.”

“State of emergency has restored normalcy in (to) North”

“NIMASA alerts ships (ship owners, you mean?) on (to) danger spots”

“Besides, the state government on Sunday began the fumigation and clearing of drainages in six areas of the Maiduguri metropolis….” Conscience, nurtured by truth: ‘drainage’ is uncountable.

“Bank of England’s rate policy may highten (heighten) inflation”

“Maid set ablaze dies in hospital, as police pledges (pledge) justice”

“They may not have triumphed in their efforts to (at) nation-building....”

“Your wise counsels and dogged commitment to the progress and unity of this nation has (have) remained exemplary.” (Full-page congratulatory advertisement by Dikko Inde Abdullahi, CFR, Former Comptroller General, NCS) ‘Counsel’ is a non-count noun.

“Some allege without proof that Tinubu is the force behind Bamidele in his determination to confront Fayemi….” If the word ‘allege’ means ‘to assert something without any proof’, then delete ‘without proof’ from the extract!