The Supreme Court judgment granting inheritance to the girl child in Igboland has put an end to a culture that has held the society together as patriarchal. TONY OKAFOR assesses how this judgment may improve the lot of the girl child in the area of inheritiance Before the judgment, it was almost like an abomination, to say the least, for a typical Igbo father to bequeath an estate to his female child. This practice necessitated the saying, ‘Nwanyi bu ama onye ozo’ (a girl child belongs to another family).
What did the Supreme Court say? The apex court in what has been described as a landmark decision, upheld the right of a female child to inherit the property of her father in a unanimous decision. By that judgment, the court voided the age-long Igbo tradition and customary law, which forbade a female child from inheriting her father’s estate.
The Supreme Court voided the tradition and custom on the grounds that it was discriminatory and conflicted with the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The court specifically held that the practice conflicted with Section 42(1) (a) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution.
The judgment was given in an appeal marked: SC.224/2004 filed by Mrs Lois Chituru Ukeje, wife of the late Lazarus Ogbonna Ukeje, and their son, Enyinnaya Lazarus Ukeje, against Ms Gladys Ada Ukeje, who is the deceased’s daughter.
Gladys had sued the deceased’s wife and son before the Lagos High Court, claiming to be one of the deceased’s children and sought to be included among those to administer the deceased father’s estate.
The trial court found that she was a daughter to the deceased and that she was qualified to benefit from the estate of her father, who died intestate (without a will) in Lagos in 1981.
The Court of Appeal, Lagos, to which Lois and Enyinnaya appealed, upheld the decision of the trial court, prompting them to appeal to the Supreme Court.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal, Lagos, was right to have voided the Igbo native law and custom that disinherit female children. Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, who read the lead judgment, held that: “No matter the circumstances of the birth of a female child, such a child is entitled to an inheritance from her late father’s estate.”
Justice Rhodes-Vivour added, “The Igbo customary law, which disentitles a female child from partaking in the sharing of her deceased father’s estate is a breach of Section 42(1) and (2) of the Constitution, a fundamental rights provision guaranteed to every Nigerian.
“The said discriminatory customary law is void as it conflicts with Section 42 (1) and (2) of the Constitution. In the light of all that I have been saying, the appeal is dismissed. In the spirit of reconciliation, parties are to bear their own costs.”
The judgment has evoked mixed reactions from custodians of Igbo culture, lawyers and commentators.
Victor Ononye, a public affairs commentator said, “That judgment will haunt those who delivered it, because what goes around comes around. You do not give a judgment that not only negates the tenets of age long tradition and culture and foist disharmony on families, where women scorn and wantonly abandon marriages and return home to cause trouble with their male siblings.
“Those judges merely countered natural justice. Right from the time of Adam and the Biblical time, men were established as heads of families and I hope those judges have families. The judgment was more of an academic exercise that conflicts with tradition and culture.
“They have created another round of trouble. By the way, in Igboland, few women, who do not marry, always have a place to stay. The courts should be mindful not to set fire on families. They should also deliver judgments that can stand the test of time.
“A good percentage of women desire to marry, leave their fathers’ compounds and start new families with their husbands without creating division in their fathers’ compound. Why would any sane woman come back to split her father’s family, married or not? That judgment is something else.”
For Uche Okafor, a lawyer, the judgment will need distinction or review.
He said, “The Supreme Court judgment needs judicial interpretation/review. The judgment was about an unmarried daughter of a deceased man, who was denied her father’s hereditament. If the woman was married, would the Supreme Court have given the same opinion? Would that not amount to equity aiding double plates for a married woman to get shares from her matrimonial home as well as from her maiden home? I think the judgment needs to be distinguished.”
But Chief Akunwebe Emechebe, an Igbo culture enthusiast, disagreed with the lawyer.
He said the judgment should apply to both married and unmarried daughters of a man.
Emechebe stated, “The court interpreted and applied the law as it is. Our laws – the constitution, the statutes and the international conventions – frown on discrimination against persons on the grounds of sex and not on the grounds of the marital status of a person.
“Unless and until these laws are amended to bring the aspect of married or unmarried in the laws, the position of the laws as it is today is the position taken by the Supreme Court.
“The courts are not interested in whether the female in question is married, unmarried, remarried, divorced, etc in their decisions.”
The Bishop, Diocese of the Niger, Anglican Communion, Anambra State, Rt. Rev. Owen Nwokolo, described the judgment as a welcome development.
He said female children were not second class citizens and should not be treated like one.
The cleric stated, “Female children should be accorded the same rights given their male counterparts and therefore should not be discriminated against.
“Families should put the judgment in practice and female children should stand up and claim their rights. It is not only Supreme Court judgment, but a God-given right and they should claim that right.”
Ngozika Iheagwam, a housewife saw the judgment as an unwanted reversal of a people’s culture and opined that the ruling would cause chaos in many Igbo societies.
She said, “What concerns the Supreme Court with the Igbo culture? Every woman should look forward to getting married and settling down in her matrimonial home.
“Why should she start going back to her father’s home to start fighting over property with her male siblings? That judgment will manifest absurdity in Igboland. I don’t support it.”
The President, Ohanaeze in Anambra State, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, said bequeathing property to a man’s daughter was not alien to Ndigbo, and as such, the Supreme Court judgment should not be seen as strange or a surprise to Igbo people.
He said, “Most fathers buy cars, build houses and so on for their daughters upon marriage. So, it’s wrong to say that the Igbo don’t give their daughters their property.
“If a daughter is not married or is divorced, our custom and tradition require the father to provide accommodation for her in his house. If a man has a commercial property, say a house, he can give a part of it to his daughter to manage and earn money from it accordingly. All these are done in Igboland. So, it’s wrong to say that a girl child in Igboland is disinherited from her father’s property.
“But I must say that not everything can be shared between the male and female children of a man.
“Ancestral property is exclusive to male children of a man and our daughters know that very well.”
He added that it would be an absurdity and even an abomination for a man to bequeath such ancestral property to his daughters.
“Who will ever think of a man to give his Obi (ancestral home/house) to a daughter, who may be married to an Ibadan man in the name of equity or law? That’s unthinkable. Therefore, the Supreme Court judgment has limitations or exclusions like any other law, but it is not totally strange to us, the Igbo,” Okeke-Ogene stated.
For the traditional ruler of Nawfia and Umunri, Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo, the Supreme Court judgment could be enforced but would be difficult to implement in most Igbo communities.
According to him upon marriage, daughters are settled by their parents, who give them certain shares of the family property, a privilege he said male children do not enjoy during their marriage.
The monarch stated, “Igbo people don’t bequeath the female children certain property for security reasons.
“Certain property, particularly land, in Igboland belongs to the living, the dead and those yet to be born. So, you don’t give such out to a female child, who may have a bad marriage and such property will be lost forever.
“Some revert to the families upon the death of the beneficiary; that is why the Igbo don’t give such property to women, who may even transfer the land to philanderers.”
Only time will tell how the judgment will fare in the Igbo society.
The photo of the security guard who allegedly killed a 35-year-old bride to be and buried her in a shallow grave has been released.
Joy Obiageli Onakanse went missing two weeks ago. When her family members couldn't reach her, they filed a missing person report.
A tip-off that the security guard of the compound where Ms Joy lives was seen driving one of her cars with his wife and children inside sparked an investigation. The investigation uncovered the shallow grave in Asaba where the body of the deceased was buried
The security guard named Isaac Sunday, from Niger State, was arrested. A Nollywood movie director named Nonso Ekene, from Anambra state, who was living in the same compound with the deceased was also picked up for questioning.
Former Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (retd.) has advised the Federal Government to allow regional security outfits to transform into state police.
He, however, recommended that institutional and constitutional mechanisms be put in place to checkmate the arbitrary use of the state policing structures.
The retired military officer spoke on Saturday in his Yakoyo, Osun State country home, while receiving a team from Osun state Ministry of Information and Civic Engagement, led by the Special Adviser to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Civic Engagement, Mr. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye.
In a statement by Oyintiloye on Sunday titled ‘Security should be community-driven – Gen. Akinrinade,’ made available to The PUNCH in Osogbo, Akinrinade also commended efforts of regional security outfits in tackling security challenges facing the country, adding that efforts to secure the nation should be community driven rather than based on centralised structure.
Akinrinade emphasised the “need for the federal government to embrace state police by giving the leverage for all regional security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West, Hisbah in the North among others to metamorphose into state policing structures.”
Reacting to move to subsume Amotekun security initiative under community policing of the Nigerian Police Force, the elder statesman said a state should not be expected to use its resources to run a policing system that is not exclusively under its supervision.
He then suggested that a state should be allowed to use its resources for its own policing arrangement backed up by legislative enactments.
He said, “Policing system in every country is naturally meant to be driven through community structures for excellent and effective intelligence gathering which is the onus of security system.
“The centralisation of the security system by the federal government which brings about the enlistment of non-indigenous personnel into the policing structure of a state as against the use of indigenous individuals like the case of foreign countries has rendered Nigeria’s policing system ineffective and unproductive.”
Commenting on security in the region, Akinrinade commended Oyetola and his other colleagues in South West for the creation of Amotekun Security Outfit.
He also said elders in the state were impressed with Oyetola’s performance, “through his service-driven leadership occasioned by his people-centred governance within about half of his first term in office. While it’s believed that the second half of his administration will even be more efficient and productive.
“As a leader with a listening ear who takes people’s demands and yearnings as imperative above any other thing, he (Oyetola) has been able to engender peace and stability in the polity by moving away from controversial policies which do not conform with the opinion poll,” he added
My Guy who is addicted to F*CK ..... Don Stop am ....
I Was discussing with him the other day , he said that he cannot stop .... that sex too sweet ..... this guy dey make more than 700k per month , but he can only save 100k .... other remaining na hotel and girls ...
I Know say the thing dey worry him too much .... so last week ... he came to me looking so depperesed , i asked him why ... he told me that this sex addiction thing is getting out of hand ooooo , he told he that 3 girls a day no dey do him again .... that he cannot sleep again without having a party .....
that is when i know say .... the girl weah do that guy this juju settle down run that stuff ooooo .... so i started thinking of a way to set my guy free ...
i went to one old baba .... the man laughed after telling him the story .... he asked me to call my guy and ask him ... if he can have sex when ever he get injury for his GBOLA ..... Na him my guy come reply me .... which kind of useless question is that one ..... but after much bragging .... he come ask me .... who go fit knack when he get injury for GBOLA ....
So that Old baba laughed and gave me one stuff .... he told me that if my guy wants to stop having sex too much , that he should help himself .... let him be using that stuff weah he give me ...
i asked the man if the stuff na charm .... he said NO ..... say anywhere the stuff Drop for human skin ... say without you even knowing that the stuff will give you small soft INJURY oooooo...
i went him , call my Guy and gave him the stuff .. i explained everything to him .... , Dear Nairalanders ... the guy nearly killed me oooo , he i wan destroy hin Gbola ....
But after much aguement ... the guy come agree ... because that the only way left.
he come use that stuff .... use broom stick collect 1 drop , but it on top his GBOLA CAP ... and wipe it .... later him come discover say small injury dey there ...
E Take the injury 2 weeks to heal perfectly ..... during that time , to masturbate dey even hard for him ...... talk more of putting his gbola in any hole ...
this is how my guy no knack for 2 weeks oooo ....
He come tell me say after that 2 weeks , say the first time weah he touch a babe ... say the stuff sweet ooooo die ...
i told him ... for anybody to enjoy sex .... fix a date to be having it ...... not on daily basis ...
he applied the stuff for more 3 months .... and this is how my guy stopped his own SEX ADDICTION.....
An eyewitness posted video of the ex-convict, who allegedly raped a 4-year-old girl inside a mosque in Bauchi.
Recall that the state police command on Friday, September 4, paraded 50-year-old Yusuf Bako, who allegedly lured the victim, Hauwa Jamilu to a Mosque located at Aminu Street and had canal knowledge of her.
According to Ibrahim Garba Tilde, the victim was taken to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (Atbuth) where she received treatment.
He wrote;
"Fyade in the mosque The success of a wicked man in wunti street in Bauchi city, he red a 4 year old girl in the mosque and rape her, he destroyed the girl's pardon, she was shed blood, she was taken to the hospital of sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (Atbuth)
The people of the neighborhood have been given all the tsiya before the police came, who was asked to say that their own group is a group, they have taken 5 of them in Bauchi neighborhood, and the group said in the mosque they need to be fyaden, the original man Yakubu area is a bath in Bauchi town
It's almost 5 days in wunti street playing with small children and women sharing money and minutes, before today he deceived 4 years old to the mosque he has rape, right now he is state cid Bauchi. May God bring an end to this disaster amen."
A suspected bandit was killed when members of the Vigilante Group in Yantara village in Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina State, confronted bandits who attacked the village on Tuesday.
A 30-year-old man and resident of the village identified as Mamman Dahiru also lost his life in the process.
The spokesman for the Katsina police command, SP Gambo Isah, confirmed the development on Wednesday.
It was learnt that the bandits had stormed the village around 1 a.m on Tuesday.
The bandits reportedly assaulted residents, looted some houses, and rustled some animals.
Members of the vigilante group were said to have laid an ambush for the bandits and swooped on them, during which the two men were killed.
The police spokesman said, “The incident happened about 1.a.m on Tuesday. The bandits had attacked Yantara village and the vigilante group in the area engaged them during which an unidentified bandit was killed while a 30-year-old man from the village, Mamman Dahiru was also killed.”
AN indigene of Zamfara State, Malam Ibrahim Ibrahim, who was arrested and detained for three years by Saudi Arabian Government, has been released.
Receiving the detainee in Government House on Tuesday, Governor Bello Matawalle commended the Saudi government for keeping its promise.
Matawalle said he was in Saudi Arabia several times to beg the Saudi government to release the victim, who he said, was wrongly arrested for drug trafficking.
Matawalle commended the Federal Government, Saudi Arabian embassy as well as Special Adviser in Diaspora, Abike Dabri, for their efforts in ensuring Ibrahim’s release.
Speaking with newsmen, Ibrahim commended the effort of the governor, who played a key role in his release.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim has been appointed as Senior Special Assistance to Governor Bello Matawalle.
I’m glad you are growing into the man God destined for you to be - Tonto Dikeh writes Oga Bobrisky
Popular Nigerian cross dresser Okuneye Idris otherwise known as Bobrisky recently clocked 28 and his close friend, Tonto Dikeh took to her social media page to celebrate him.
The actress appreciated God for shaping Bobrisky’s destiny as she noted that she’s glad Bobrisky is growing into the man God destined for him to be
Tonto shared a lovely photo of her bestie and wrote ;
To know you is to truly Love you.. Happy birthday To Us.. Congratulations on your new toys and your New Smart home… I’m glad you are growing into the man God destined for you to be…
May Gods Love Guide you, Thank God for your growth.. May his Love encompass you… Have a blast Gee
A rather interesting video which has begun making rounds on the internet shows a set internet fraudsters better known as “yahoo boys” beating up another set of yahoo boys who allegedly defrauded them.
According to reports surrounding the video, the yahoo boys being punished in the video were not smart enough to cover their tracks after defrauding the other yahoo boys, hence the reason why it was easy to track them down.
The second set of cyber fraudsters were stripped down and given punishment while they were also beaten.
As can be seen in the video, corporal punishment was dealt on two young guys who were half-naked and were paraded by some other guys who happen to be the scam victim .
Nollywood actress, Nkechi Blessing has cleared the air on claims that it is ‘audio giveaways’ she has been doing on her social media pages.
‘Audio giveaway’ simply means that she feigns giving her fans money via social media probably in an attempt to stay relevant.
The claims come from her fans who labelled her gesture as fake because they are yet to see who wins the free money she says she has been dolling out.
In reaction, Nkechi Blessing took to social media with a video showing her explaining why she thinks those holding such thoughts are “dumb”.
“I’ve not said a word about this before because it does not make sense. But I think it’s something I need to talk about.
“A lot of people are saying “all of your giveaways are audio.” Is it not stupid? Does it make any sense?”, she asked.
Part of the allegations against her is that she pays the giveaway money into various bank accounts opened with different names but all belonging to her.
The suspicion was drawn when fans noticed that the winners of the giveaways announced by Nkechi Blessing apparently do not exist.
Explaining the absurdity in such thought, Nkechi Blessing wonders how possible it is for her to “go into different banks and open different bank accounts with different names only to win my own giveaway. The people saying it, are they dumb?”, she queried.
She also said that it is impossible for her to “operate over 200 accounts”.
“How can they say ‘you are the one doing giveaways, you are the one winning it” with all the account numbers that are visible and obvious?’
“I did not want to talk about this but it is telling on my reputation, it is like a dent”, she said.
David Oyedepo, presiding bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, says he will lay his bare hands on COVID-19 patients brought to him for prayer.
The clergyman, who spoke during the church’s covenant hour of prayer, asked Christians to understand that what they carry is “eternal life”, not “human life”.
“You can imagine a medical doctor, going back there to minister to coronavirus patients (documented testimony). He found something, while others are scared by everything they can see,” he said.
“Can you imagine anyone bringing coronavirus patients to me and I won’t lay hands on him? Will I wear gloves to lay hands on them? I will lay hands on them; breathe into them; embrace them. What you carry is eternal life, it’s not human life. You should know that.”
Oyedepo called out those who wear hand gloves and face masks to protect themselves from contracting the virus, wondering why they do not usually do the same while eating.
The cleric, who has constantly played down the existence of the virus, said people will realise soon “that they have been grossly deceived.”
“Someday, they will know that they have been deceived. They will all know that they have been grossly deceived,” he added.
“You’ve covered your mouth: do you cover it when you want to eat or there is no coronavirus when you are eating? I just look at it and say, ‘what is all these?’”
He added that the novel virus is a ploy by the “devil to dehumanise humanity”, noting that he would not back down on his mandate to “liberate the world”.
Despite Oyedepo’s claim, there’s currently no proven evidence that the killer virus can be cured through laying of hands.
Frankline Ndifor, a Cameroonian pastor, said to have laid hands on those infected with COVID-19 to “cure” them reportedly died of the virus weeks after.
However, Oyedepo has continued to make headlines over his criticism of the existence of the virus and government’s measures aimed at fighting the pandemic, including the closure of churches.
A 26-year-old man has been allegedly tortured to death by members of the Irri Community Vigilante Group in the Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the victim was tortured to death on Friday over the disappearance of N70,000 belonging to his uncle, who is a member of the vigilante outfit.
A source in the community told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that the victim, who hailed from the Emede community, visited his uncle in Irri.
The source stated, “In the course of his stay, he was accused of stealing N70,000 kept in the custody of his uncle, which he later confessed to after severe torture.
“Though the boy was not the only person in the house when the money got missing, but the uncle’s suspicion towards his nephew was because he was the only one who heard the phone conversation the uncle had with a friend over the N70, 000 kept in the house.
“When the uncle discovered that the money had been stolen, he summoned the nephew for interrogation and had him severely beaten up, but didn’t get any positive response from the victim; he consequently invited other members of his group.
“The vigilantes came and brutally tortured the victim; before the intervention of neighbours, he was already unconscious and finally died before they could rushed him to hospital.”
It was learnt that the deceased’s family paid back the N70,000 and demanded that their son must be brought to them alive.
When contacted the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, on Saturday promised to get back to our correspondent with the details of the incident but had not done so as of the time of filing this story on Sunday.
But a source at the Oleh Divisional Police Station said some persons had been arrested in connection with the young man’s death, while other had fled the community.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, has called on the Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, to banish the 12 monarchs who went to Abuja without the state government’s authorisation.
He said oil magnate, Prince Arthur Eze, who led the monarchs on the trip, should also be punished accordingly for what he described as sabotage.
Obiano had suspended the 12 monarchs for one year because of the trip which the state government has described as an affront and a breach of the rules and protocols guiding traditional rulers in the state.
But Ngige, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Saturday, said the monarchs’ suspension was not enough punishment.
He said, “When somebody is suspended from performing the functions of his office, it’s natural that he should be banned from being in that vicinity. Allowing him to stay around is risky because he is a threat to peace. In order to avert such a threat, he should be sent out to another place to prevent possible conduct likely to cause the breach of law and order in the vicinity.
“So, I advise the Anambra State government to relocate the 12 traditional rulers from their communities to avoid a situation likely to cause the breach of public peace. The businessman (Arthur Eze), who took them (monarchs) on the Abuja trip, should be punished for sabotage.”
How, Eze’s media aide, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, described Ngige’s call as unconstitutional and ultra vires the powers of a state governor.
I guess this would be an intriguing topic talking about it, but then I would relate it to you.
For a quick understanding. I loved MJ’s dance steps- THE BREAK DANCE; so, I learnt it. Yes, I learnt how to break dance, I STILL DO!. If you know you know!!!��
But you see, I have never studied to know what kept him at that position until his death. MJ died in year 2009 @ 50.
Fast forward to today for the first time, in my research I am just discovering what kept him. His dance steps after 11 YEARS. And this didn’t come easy.
The research shows that his feet was the only part of his body no man ever saw till he died; he was always on socks. At his death autopsy report revealed that those feet were seriously deformed possibly from excessive dance stunts. They were calloused and looked decayed, and must have been very painful.
This is to say that MJ, had to undergo this level of pain to remain the KING OF POP.
Up until now, nobody had ever stepped into his shoes. I didn’t even know the level of pain he had to endure to keep himself at the top. He was a dance god!
You see, many of us, point at several people that we feel are celebrities probably because of the influence they weld and we say we want to be like them without knowing the level of the sacrifice they had to go through to keep themselves at the top. Michael Jackson literally had to move on decayed toes, to keep up the glory.
LIKE NO BLOOD NO GLORY.
He BLED TO DESTINY…. This is a guy who we as Christians believe that he didn’t know God. ( Who even knows if we would see him in heaven ��) Yet he understood the code for maintaining relevance.
But you see our today Christians, we want the glory but we don’t want to work for it, we want to be top ministers whom God uses mightily, put we don’t want to work it out. We are lackadaisical, sluggish, lazy. ����
We are literally begged to pray, to study the word of God, we are begged to have fellowship/intimacy with God.��
Many of us have ministries committed to us but we don’t want to have a relationship with the master who gave us the work to do for sustenance. ��
We practically do not want to commit ourselves but we want to remain relevant.
Many of us want to be the Kathryn kulhman of our time, but had never cared to know the secret that kept her in ministry until her death.
Many have coveted the spirit of Billy Graham on his passing, but nobody wants to know the secret that kept Billy.
Many have also coveted the spirit of Dr. Morris Cerullo on his passing but they done want to know the secret behind the influence he welded.
Many of us have also coveted the spirit of Archbishop Benson Idahosa but do not want to bend down and observe the secret of his success in ministry.
We want to be like Pst Chris, Bishop Oyedepo, Prophetess Dr. Juanita Bynum…. But we don’t want to pay any sacrifice.
Have you ever seen Pst Chris pray? Have you seen Mama Bynum pray?
But you want to be like them? Chaiii.
All we want is jumping from pillar to post, being in every program and on every stage.
You see, truth is that people know what flows from you and the moment the little fire in you dries up vuum, they migrate to the next available minister…. And you become a bygone story of “THERE WAS”
This is the result of the ten foolish virgins that were seen everywhere but they did not take an extra oil of sustenance to keep their fire burning.
What is that extraordinary thing you do that keeps you breathing and burning always?
MJ bled till he died, because what he was doing was so and very important to him.
Today, many of us are joking with what was committed to us because, we don’t know that we are bearing destinies in our womb.
Refuse to joke with what God had committed into your hands….
Work it out.
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestations of the sons of God....{who have refused to be stale, stagnant and old…. That they remain in the system were God used to be} Romans 8:18 the brackets are mine ooo!
The Federal Government has approved the payment of stipends to the exiting N-Power beneficiaries under the National Social Investment Programmes.
It said on Thursday that the approval was given for the payment of the outstanding stipends for the exited N-Power Batches A and B beneficiaries.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, said the approval for payments up to June 2020 had been forwarded to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for final checks and payments.
She said the only outstanding approval waiting to be forwarded to the accountant-general’s office was for the payment of July 2020 stipends for Batch B beneficiaries.
The humanitarian ministry, in a statement issued in Abuja, however noted that about 14,000 beneficiaries that were omitted by the AGFs office during the payment from March to June 2020 could be among those rejected by the GIPMIS payment platform.
It said this was due to discrepancies identified with their accounts as conveyed to the ministry by the AGFs office.
It said based on the report from the AGFs office, any beneficiary receiving payment from other government payment platforms would be rejected by the Government Integrated Financial Management System.
“Hence their payment will be withheld,” the ministry said in the statement issued by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Nneka Anibeze.
The ministry said it had requested for the details of those affected and the reasons for their rejection from the AGFs office and promised to communicate that to the affected beneficiaries.
“However, if the rejection was done in error, those affected should rest assured that they will be paid all that is due to them as soon as the error is rectified by the AGFs office,” the statement added.
Umar-Farouq also explained that the Batches A and B N-Power beneficiaries knew from the beginning as they were informed that the programme was for 24 months.
Landlords and residents of Oluwatedo community, Ogere, in the Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, have started deserting their houses due to the continuous killing of people by a suspected serial killer, Feyisola Dosumu, aka Spartan.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the latest in the killing spree of the suspect was a community leader, Elder Olatunji Oladeji.
The 53-year-old Olatunji was said to be the Vice-Chairman of the Oluwatedo Community Development Association.
Olatunji’s son, Samuel, told our correspondent that his father had been living in the area for 30 years before he was killed on Friday, August 21, 2020.
He lamented that Dosumu butchered his father in the head and fled the scene.
Samuel stated, “My dad was returning from work and was about to enter the house when this man confronted him and hacked him to death. He butchered my father as if he were an animal. That was around 7.30pm. There was no disagreement between them. People saw him, but could not go near him.
“He has killed a lot of people in this community. Whenever he kills anyone and people go after him, he marks the faces of his pursuers and goes to kill them in their houses.
“About a month ago, he killed a nursing mother, Mummy Seun. He raped the woman and hacked her to death with a cutlass. My father and I carried the woman’s corpse from a mortuary to the place of burial. But my father did not say anything to warrant this senseless killing.”
Samuel, who vowed to leave the community, lamented that many landlords had been deserting their houses because of the suspect.
“Nobody can sleep with their two eyes closed again. He has turned this place to a horror community. The blood of many innocent people has been spilled,” he added.
A landlord, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suspect had allegedly killed 15 residents since February 2020.
He alleged that Dosumu only went after settlers.
“He is an indigene of Ogere, but nobody knows where he lives. Once he kills anyone, he will run away. The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, and the Area Commander visited one month ago after he killed a nursing mother and another person. They promised to do something about him. In fact, it was Elder Olatunji, who addressed the CP and pleaded for help. But four days after the visit, everybody left and the man resumed the killing.
“We are tired. Whatever the government can do, they should do it before he finishes everybody.”
Apart from Ogere, the suspect had allegedly been terrorising residents of Iperu, the hometown of the state governor, Dapo Abidoun.
The suspect, alleged to be a notorious cultist, graduated from a polytechnic in Abeokuta.
He was said to have been admitted to the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, for treatment after he developed a mental problem.
Dosumu, however, escaped back to Ogere remains elusive to local vigilantes and security agents, and the police have declared him wanted.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident, adding that the police would soon get the suspect.
“We are seriously on his trial and any moment from now, we are going to get him. We have about five of our tactical teams in that place now looking for him. We will get him,” Oyeyemi stated.
Gunmen who allegedly raided houses in Damba-Kasaya community in Chikun LGA of Kaduna state, have reportedly kidnapped some students of Prince Academy who were receiving lessons for their JSS3 exams.
Bawa Wakili, a resident of the community who spoke to TheCable said the gunmen came “in a large number like they always do” and were shooting sporadically throughout the operation.
He said;
“They abducted many people in the village, then they went to Prince Academy and abducted many of the students who were receiving lessons for their JSS3 exams.
“I cannot say how many people were kidnapped, but they went away with many people. Soldiers who came to the rescue , turned back after some few kilometres, leaving some of the villagers who accompanied them to rescue the victims.
“The villagers, not knowing that the soldiers had withdrawn, kept pursuing the bandits in the bush, the bandits fired at them and one person was killed.”
So churches officially open today after the lockdown in Lagos State
I planned to attend 8 am mass at St. Mary Catholic Church in Isolo. Left home around 7:45 and couldn't get transport bus going towards the location i was going.
When i finally board a bus it was already 7:50 and before i got to the church it was 8:05
The gate to the entrance of the church was closed. The uniformed men standing there said the provided seats was already occupied and instructs us to go Domus Maria (a building owned by St Mary's Catholic Church which comprises of halls. Some of the halls are use to celebrate 7 am mass) that 8:00 am is being celebrate there and there's still empty seats there.
I got to Domus Maria
Before you enter, your temperature will be check, then you wash your hands before sanitizing it. Then nose masks is compulsory
Gladly, the mass has not started. It was shift to 8:30 am
Inside the hall, we all sit some distance from each other
I must confess, i was glad to be in the house of the Lord today
Crime / Re: Bitcoin Lord Released From EFCC Custody, Buys New Car by AprokoGirl: 7:19am On Sep 17, 2020 
