₦airaland Forum

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

A 26-year-old house maid, Miss Mary Atte, arrested and charged before Isolo Magistrate’s court and remanded in prison for stealing her boss’ N2m, has refused to leave prison. She said she preferred to stay there in good faith.

She explained in the open court that the prison condition was far better for her than when she was outside and would continue to remain there for her comfort.

The shocking declaration amused the litigants present in the court including P.M.EXPRESS correspondent covering the court.

Atte made the confession when her matter was struck out for lack of diligent prosecution by the presiding Magistrate, Mrs A.K. Shonubi and was released to go home.

When the Magistrate set her free, she became angry and protested openly in court that she was going back to prison and she actually went back as she said.

Before she joined the bus back to the prison, Atte told our correspondent that she was brought to Lagos from her village in Benue State by her sister she simply called Esther.

She said Esther sent her to one man as house help where she served for some months and the man did not pay her the agreed salary.

She said she left the place and went to another man’s house, one Aneke Andrew’s house at John Ije close at Okota as maid and served for some time before Andrew came with another story and did not pay her.

She said when the time reached for the man to pay her, he alleged that she stole his dollars valued over N2m which she denied.

Atte said she was arrested and taken to the police station before she was charged to court for the alleged offence and remanded in prison since December 20, 2016.

According to her, she was initially afraid when she was brought to the prison at Kirikiri, not until she settled down she realized it was a blessing in disguise.

She said the women there are treated fairly and compassionately which she had lacked over the years and would like to stay there despite being freed by the court.

She said if they refuse to take her back into custody, she will plead with the matron to employ her there so that she will remain in that environment where people care for others.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered the prison officials carried her on their vehicle because she still had her property in the prison she supposed to take after she was released.

By Emma Njoku

A report of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on the December 10, 2016 rerun legislative elections in Rivers State has indicted security operatives who participated in the poll.

The report of the administrative enquiry into the rerun election, set up by the Commission, detailed how security operatives engaged in snatching of electoral materials, intimidation of voters and deliberately refusal to accompany electoral officers to their duty posts.

Security operatives were accused of having actively participated in electoral offences. Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike had written a petition against security agencies.

With the INEC report, he has been vindicated.

The INEC report said: “As part of preparations for the elections, the entire 23 Electoral Officers (EOs) in the state were replaced with new ones from Plateau, Anambra and Oyo states. They all reported in Rivers State on November 28, 2016 and were posted accordingly to the local government areas.
“Reposting of EOs was rather late, making it difficult for them to understand the environment and prepare adequately for the elections…

“One of the low points of the Rivers rerun elections of December 10, 2016 was the flagrant intervention of security operatives in the process. This was widely identified by staff of the Commission and independent observers alike, as one major factor that led to the failure of the process in some local government areas. There were too many security agencies involved in the process, outside the framework of the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

“It was not clear whether many of them were acting as part of their various organisations or as groups and individuals serving political interests. Most importantly, many of them showed profound political partisanship.

“Ironically, security operatives, who were expected to protect the process, turned on it. There were reported cases of wilful obstruction of the process by security operatives, including snatching of materials and intimidating voters. In other cases, they refused to accompany and protect men and materials for elections.

“But, the most mind-boggling were cases of hostage-taking, hijack of materials and physical attacks on INEC officials perpetrated by security operatives. Of singular note was a certain policeman named Akin Fakorede, who ostensibly is a commander of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), in Rivers .

“Fakorede first tried to lure INEC staff to travel with him from Port Harcourt to Emohua LGA, under the pretext of enabling them to collate results.

“But, for the intervention of National Commissioners, we suspect that he would have put our staff in harm’s way. When he failed in his initial bid, he stalked the INEC officials to the collation centre in Port Harcourt and physically assaulted Dr. C. Odekpe and Mrs. Mary Tunkayo. In fact, Dr. Odekpe ended up with a gash on his head and both spent days at the Air Force hospital in Port Harcourt.

“The security situation was worsened in some areas by the activities of political thugs and militants. Etche, Akoku-Toru and Emohua are examples of areas where both the security operatives and the militants caused serious mayhem…”

On alleged partisanship of INEC staff, the report said “there were very credible allegations that members of staff at the INEC office in Port Harcourt were split between the two main political parties in the state, namely, the ruling PDP and the APC.

The report stated: “It was clear that confidential information, including documents, was routinely leaked to political parties from the INEC office.

“The REC, Administrative Secretary and several EOs, in their depositions to this committee, confirmed these widespread accusations of partisanship.

Among other things, this created a deep crisis of confidence that affected administration of election.”

Meanwhile, INEC said it was yet to receive the official report of the police investigative panel on the December 10, 2016, legislative rerun elections in Rivers.

The commission’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

The panel’s report, submitted to police authorities on February 7, 2017, indicted 23 electoral officers for allegedly collecting monetary inducements to rig the elections.

Out of over N360 million said to have been received by the INEC personnel, the panel publicly displayed N111 million which it recovered from the officials who participated in the polls.

lalasticlala

A 40- year -old businesswoman, Joy Okafor, was on Tuesday arraigned in a Karmo Grade 1 Area Court , Abuja, for alleged joint act, extortion and causing hurt.

The defendant, of Angwan Cement, Life Camp Abuja, denied committing the offences and queried “ how can I beat a man this bad. ’’The prosecutor, Florence, told the court that one Usulor John of Karmo village, reported the matter at the Utako Police Station Abuja, on February 19. Auhioboh said that the complainant alleged that on that same date the defendant and others now at large beat him up at a garden in Utako, broke his neck, jaw and hand.

Auhioboh said that the complainant alleged that on that same date the defendant and others now at large beat him up at a garden in Utako, broke his neck, jaw and hand.

Auhioboh said that the complainant alleged that on that same date the defendant and others now at large beat him up at a garden in Utako , broke his neck, jaw and hand. The complainant also alleged that he was disposed of his Nokia 920 phone valued at N48,000, a wallet containing N23,000, business and office identity card.

The complainant also alleged that he was disposed of his Nokia 920 phone valued at N 48, 000, a wallet containing N 23, 000, business and office identity card.

Auhioboh said that the offences contravened Sections 79, 292 and 247 of the Penal Code. The counsel.

The counsel to the defendant, Charity Nwosu , applied for her bail and assured the court that the defendant would not jump bail. The judge , Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq , granted her bail in the sum of N 30, 000 and one surety in like sum.

The judge, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, granted her bail in the sum of N 30, 000 and one surety in like sumSadiq said that the surety must reside within the court ’s jurisdiction and adjourned the case till March 23 for further hearing.

Sadiq said that the surety must reside within the court ’ s jurisdiction and adjourned the case till March 23 for further hearing.
( NAN)

lalasticlala

Samson Folarin

A Lagos driver, Shakiru Bello, who was arrested for allegedly killing his wife, Sherifat, said he cut her remains into pieces to escape the wrath of her father , Akeem Atanda, and to avoid being prosecuted for her death.

Shakiru added that after hiding her remains in different uncompleted buildings in Lagos , he fled to Ibadan, Oyo State.

A team from the Ijora Badia Police Division , led by the Operations Officer , ASP Talabi Segun, recovered Sherifat ’ s head and neck in Morocco , Yaba, while other parts of her body were recovered in another uncompleted building on Moshalashi Street, Somolu .

Our correspondent gathered that Sherifat and Shakiru, who were married for over nine years, were separated in July 2016.

The victim , who lived on Daramola Street in the Ijora Badia area , had, however , last Monday reportedly demanded money for the upkeep of their three children.

Shakiru was said to have invited her to a location where they allegedly met . She never returned home.
The victim ’ s father , Akeem , on Tuesday reported a case of missing person to the police, leading to a search for the suspect.

A source said Akeem told policemen that an unidentified number called him that his daughter fell into a lagoon .

The source said , “ The police tracked the number, and discovered that the caller was in Ibadan. He ( Shakiru) was arrested and brought down to Lagos around 1am on Saturday. ”

The suspect was said to have led the police to the two uncompleted buildings where the remains of the late Sherifat were recovered.

Shakiru said , “ After we separated, I secretly reconciled with her and we started meeting. On the average , I gave her N 15, 000 in a week. On that Monday , she called me that she needed money and we agreed to meet.

“ I gave her N10,000 that evening . She later begged me to accompany her to Lagos Island where her niece was admitted in a hospital. We took a motorcycle and were on the Third Mainland Bridge when a truck hit us from behind.

“ I took her to my house on Olaleye Street , Somolu , around 12am . I went out to get her balm and some drugs . Unfortunately , she died . I was afraid of her father , who didn ’ t want to see us together. Also , I couldn’ t report to the police, so I decided to put her body in a sack and dispose of it. When it was not going into the sack, I cut off her arms , head , legs and other parts . ”

A police source, however, told our correspondent that the private parts of the victim were missing, saying the suspect might not be acting alone.

Our correspondent visited Akorede Street, Ijora Badia , where scores of sympathisers besieged the victim ’ s parents ’ house.

Sherifat ’ s younger sister , Shakirat Kareem, said her sister was separated from the husband sometime in July 2016.

She said , “ He told her that he was given a medicine which both of them must rub on their bodies before making love. My sister tricked him and secretly told another relative , who informed my father . My father ordered us to go and pack her luggage . That was how they separated.

“ But four weeks ago , he called her on the telephone and said he wanted to see her, but my sister refused . I grabbed the phone from her and told him never to call her again . ”

The victim ’s father, Akeem, said he was informed that his daughter was missing lastTuesday, adding that when he called the suspect , he denied knowing her whereabouts.

He said , “ He told us he was at a traditional healing home in Ibadan where he was receiving treatment for an accident . When we got there , the owner of the home denied seeing him.

“ We went to his mother ’ s house and she said she was coming out to see us . We later noticed she had sneaked out through the back door and escaped.

“ The police in Lagos later asked us to come down ; that they had arrested him . The Area Commander , Area B , told me that my daughter had been killed and her corpse cut into pieces.

“ The police should arrest all those involved in the killing .I want justice for her. It is unfortunate that my daughter has three children for him . ”

The state Police Public Relations Officer , SP Dolapo Badmos , said investigations were ongoing.

“ The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, has directed that the suspect be prosecuted in a law court at the end of investigations, ” she added.

lalasticlala

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

A serving pastor with popular Lagos church, City of Dominion Deliverance Ministry, Ken Egbule has been sacked by the church management for allegedly obtaining by trick sex from some female members of the church.

Delta State-born Egbule was chased away from the church located at Ogunbambi Street, off Padolf Avenue, Hostel Bus stop in Egbe, a suburb of Lagos.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that apart from allegedly obtaining sex from these women, he was also accused of collecting fees for prayer from any member of the church who wanted special prayer.

But he met his waterloo after he got engaged in a fight with a certain female member of the church simply identified as Ada, who accused the sacked pastor of sleeping with her bosom friend.

A source told our correspondent that Ada, who had come to the pastor’s house unannounced, caught him right in the act with her friend, This resulted into an heated arguments and later to fight.

The brawl was later reported to the General Overseer of the church, Pastor Mrs Mary- Sherry Osakwe, who then summoned Egbule to know what led to the fight.

It was right then that the church leader discovered that Egbule had allegedly slept with most of the female members of the church both single and married.

Our correspondent learnt that some of these women also came to testify and confessed of their encounter with Egbule and how he had also tricked them to part with money as prayer fees.

Consequently, the pastor was sacked and his dismissal was announced to the entire congregation during last Sunday service.

When our correspondent contacted the church’s General Overseer, she confirmed the incident and said she had to send Egbule away for his shameful conduct which was not in line with the teaching as a Christian.

On why she did not give him opportunity to repent instead of sacking him, Pastor Mrs Osakwe said Egbule did not only had issues with those female members of the church, they were not happy that he had been tricking them to part with money for prayer.

The female clergy said keeping such character in the church will not be in the interest of the members and the entire church.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that 50-year-old Egbule was married and had two children but sadly couple of years ago, both the wife and the two children had died and since then, he had not married.

Our correspondent learnt that the case of sexual assault has been reported to the police by the victims but the General Overseer has prevented the members from further pursuing the assault in court.

lalasticlala

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

A 27-year old woman, Mrs Sandra Edodo has lost her pregnant after she was beaten up by her Liberian male co-tenant, Tobias Omombo over an alleged adulterous lifestyle of her husband.

The incident happened at 9, Kasumu Ogunmakinde Street, Afolabi area of Akesan, Igando, a suburb of Lagos.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the pregnant woman was battered by Omombo after she challenged him over an alleged secret arrangement by him to give his niece (Azuka) as a lover to her husband.

The fracas that ensued between Edodo and Omombo led to him hitting her in the belly and in the process affected her womb and she started bleeding.

She was rushed to a hospital where the doctor confirmed that she has lost the pregnancy.

Following this, the matter was reported to the police who arrested Omombo over the incident.

Our correspondent learnt that Edodo’s husband was present when she was attacked and did not do anything.

When our correspondent also contacted Omombo, he said the victim angered him when she accused him wrongly of arranging his nice to be sleeping with her husband, whereas the husband has stopped sleeping with his wife since she became pregnant.

He denied making such arrangement and did not know if Azuka have any kind of sexual relationship with her husband.

Omombo was brought before Ejigbo Magistrate’s court on Monday but the trial was stalled because his counsel said he was facing similar charged before the court.

Consequently, he was returned to the station where the police is expected to properly charge him for the alleged offence.

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By Hameed Oyegbade, Osogbo


A lady suddenly started display madness on the road at Akindeko popular market, near Olaiya junction in Osogbo, capital of Osun state on Saturday evening, Daily Trust correspondent stumbled on the scene.

The lady caused confusion in the market for over an hour as there was no vehicular movement owing to the way she took over the road and obstructed traffic which caused traffic gridlock at the time of filling this reports.

The passers-by and onlookers including the commercial motorcycle operators, popularly known as okadamen and mini-township commercial bus drivers turned her to entertainer, watching her lunatic display as if it was a movie.

The areas boys and street urchins in the area took the advantage of the situation to harass and extort some people as the development led to security threat in the popular market.

Daily Trust correspondent notified the Police Public Relation Officer,(PPRO) of Osun State Police Command, SP Folasade Odoro and she assured that policemen would be deployed to the area immediately.

Few minutes later, policemen came and took the lady away and the crowd dispatched, paving way for vehicular movement.

Peter Dada , Akure

Residents of an unnumbered building on Adekoya Street in the Ilepa Area of Ikare Akoko , headquarters of Akoko North-East Local Government Area of Ondo State , have fled the house following a tragic incident that occurred at the place on Saturday, February 12, 2017 during the birthday party of a young man identified only as Azeez.

The celebrant , according to findings by Saturday PUNCH , had invited several of his friends over to the house on that fateful day for his party when the unexpected happened.

Azeez, as part of efforts to make the occasion interesting for guests , mixed a certain plant called ‘ gegemu’ along with other substances to boost the alcoholic content of the local wine . Crisis was however said to have begun by midnight , several hours into the ceremony , when those, who drank the concussion started reacting negatively.

By the dawn of the next day, two young men had died while several lay in critical conditions across various hospitals. One more victim passed away four days after the tragedy, bringing the number of the dead to three.

According to a resident, who asked not to be named , one of the victims identified as Kazeem Ogungbemi , was reported to have collapsed several times during the party before being rushed to a government -owned hospital where doctors’ strike and lack of personnel to attend to him cost him his life.

“ We woke up on that day to learn that many of the boys who attended that party drank ‘ gegemu’. I have never seen such a thing before in my life. They did not go for soft drinks but went for that type of harsh mixture that even adults too cannot stand.

“ Before Kazeem died , he collapsed several times with blood gushing out of his mouth and nose. He died while being rushed to a private hospital following the non- response by officials at the government hospital, ” the source said.

Relatives and neighbours of the victims refused to speak to our correspondent during a visit to the area on Thursday. A handful , who however spoke , refused to give their names or allow their photographs to be taken.

A middle -aged woman , whose son was revived the next day after the incident , told Saturday PUNCH that they were yet to get over the fear and shock the incident left them.

“ My son has not been able to speak even though he is in a stable condition now . I have spent so much money trying to save his life and ensure that he is back to normal . I still cannot understand what is really going on , ” the enraged woman said.

A youth leader in the community, Ibitoye Kehinde, told Saturday PUNCH that the incident still surprised many of them because it was the first time that such was happening in the town.

“ I was surprised by the incident; we pray that this would not happen again . Azeez plucked the plant (gegemu) and soaked it inside water for seven days before mixing it with other alcoholic substances to make it appeal to guests . It was a deadly move which has thrown the entire community in sorrow , ” he said.

When contacted , Public Relations Officer for the Ondo State Police Command, Mr . Femi Joseph, confirmed that the drinks consumed by victims indeed contained toxic substances harmful to the body . He said that investigation into the matter had started and that they were on the trail of Azeez and his cohorts.

By Obinna Chima

In line with its determination to boost dollar supply in the economy as well as to bridge the wide gap between the interbank foreign exchange (FX) market and the parallel market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday pegged the Naira exchange rate for payment of school fees (strictly universities) abroad and Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) at N375 to the dollar.

The central bank disclosed this in a closed-door meeting it held with all chief executive officers of commercial banks as well as other authorised FX dealers in attendance. The meeting took place in Lagos.

A source who was at the meeting said the new rate for school fees and PTA would become effective from Monday.

According to the source, the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele who chaired the meeting, assured that the central bank would provide enough dollars to meet all FX demands for these invisible items.

“For tuition fees, the CBN said it would only cater for those in the universities and the persons involved can only get $15,000 per term and the FX would be wired directly to the school abroad. We (the banks) were all told to ensure compliance and that heavy sanction awaits any authorised FX dealer that flouts this rule,” the source added.

THISDAY also gathered that applicants for FX for tuition fees must have tax clearance certificates and Bank Verification Number.

The move, according to another source is to drastically reduce FX round-tripping which appears to be one of the factors responsible to the wide gap between the interbank FX market and the parallel market.

On the other hand, for PTA, the source said: “People are entitled to PTA only if their flight(s) is not less than five hours and they are only entitled to $4,000 per quarter.

“The CBN has also undertaken to provide enough dollar liquidity to see these through.”

Emefiele had while making a presentation to members of the National Executive Council (NEC) on Thursday appealed for patience, saying that the CBN was working on halting the widening gap between the interbank FX market and the parallel market.

The NEC members had generally expressed concern over the current situation of the exchange rate and called for an urgent review of the current forex policy, especially the gap between interbank and the parallel market rates.

But Emefiele sued for patience and understanding, assuring that the situation was being closely managed.

Meanwhile, the Naira maintained its value of N516 to the dollar on the parallel market yesterday.

A man believed to be in his early 60s, has set himself ablaze in a rented hotel apartment in Nyanya, a satellite town of Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The incident which occurred in the early hours of Thursday, also saw the entire hotel completely raid by fire, even as the deceased, Dr. Isaac Ojukwu, was equally burnt beyond recognition.

Narrating the ugly incidence to newsmen in Abuja on Friday, the Owner of the burnt Hotel and Associate, Professor at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Sylvanus M. Itodo (MON); said it still remained a shock, how an adult would just wish to take his own life, without a particular known reason.

“We were all sitting together that fateful night (Wednesday night) before he left to watch football match and I also left the hotel premises by 11pm, to go and sleep.

“It was around 12am that I recieved a phone call from one of the boys in the hotel, crying, that my hotel was on fire. Before I could get down here, the flame was everywhere; and it took the efforts of the Federal Fire Service to prevent the inferno from escalating to the surrounding houses,” Itodo lamented.

Our investigation revealed that, the deceased, who hailed from Ohuhu in Umuahia area of Abia State, had been staying in the apartment, Boundary Plaza Hotel, Nyanya, for the past 5 years.

Though we gathered that he was married to a German woman with kids, it was, however, revealed that, none of his family members, including the wife or children, had paid him a visit all through his stay in the hotel.

An eye witness account by his direct neighbour, Ohize Yakubu, who has been living in the hotel apartment since the day of his wedding in 2013; said, those lodging in the hotel made frantic efforts to pull the deceased out of the building but he struggled and ran back into the burning room.

“We went to watch Arsenal and Bayern match that night, I came back to the hotel and Dr. Isaac came in 5 minutes later. After some minutes, I started hearing strange sound from his room, which is directly opposite my room. He was not shouting loud enough, all I could hear was ‘yeh’, ‘yeh’.

“At first, I was scared to open the door, because I didn’t know if it was a robbery attack, until I heard and recognised the voice of one of our neighbours, beckoning on Dr. Isaac to open the door and come out, shouting fire, fire.

“Then I asked my wife to take my son and rush out of the building while I joined other neighbours and we forced his door open, we met him standing in the sitting room while fire was burning in the bedroom.

He was unhurt, we then held his hands and asked him to follow us. All of a sudden, he struggled his way from our hands and ran into the burning room.

“At this point, everyone ran back as the inferno had started escalating and all my belongings got burnt.

My wife only escaped with my son. I was engaged in the process of rescuing Dr. Isaac, and lost all my belongings in the process”, Yakubu narrated.

In the case of Mr. Promise Nkwachukwu Okem, a young man who arrived Nigeria from Ghana, one month ago, he was able to pick a few things from his room (downstairs), before the fire degenerated into the zone.

He, however, said, two ladies who just finished serving the NYSC and searching for jobs, were not that lucky, as they could not pick anything from their rooms, save for their night gowns. “They could not pick anything from their rooms”, Okem said.

As at the time of filing this report, no one could explain in clear terms, what could have gone wrong with the deceased, to have warranted him taking his own life.

Even though the corpse has been deposited at the Asokoro General Hospital by the Police, the family members are yet to arrive Abuja.

“I’m following through on what I pledged,” he said, pointing out that the travel ban was only holding true to his campaign promises rather than deceive his supporters by reneging.

One Alex Umukoro, on Thursday, pleaded with an Agege Customary Court in Lagos State to dissolve his marriage on the grounds that his wife, Mary, was bad luck.

He accused his wife of adultery, saying anytime he has sexual intercourse with her, things go wrong in his life.

Umukoro, an indigene of Delta State, told the court that he was no longer interested in his 25-year-old marriage that is blessed with four children.

Speaking before the President of the court, Mr. Phillips Williams Umukoro, resident of Adewunmi Street in Orile Agege, described his wife as a flirt and trouble maker.

The father of four urged the court to dissolve the marriage without further delay saying, “My wife flirts with different men in our neighbourhood. I warned her to desist from such acts until l caught her sleeping with one of our neighbours in his room.

“Mary went to the village in 2011 to confess her adulterous acts, afterwards, a traditional cleansing was performed on her and l accepted to forgive her after much pleading.

“But my wife never stopped her immoral ways. She kept conversing with the same man and flirting about.

“On one occasion, l caught my wife signaling to my neighbour’s husband to meet her up. Due to my wife’s immoral ways, business has not been going smoothly for me.

“I became scared to have sexual intercourse with her because whenever l do, thing becomes hard for me financially, I become so broke and frustrated.

“She is stubborn and lacks in her responsibilities to the family.

“My wife always spends her money on frivolous things and her concubines.

“She does not take proper care of the children and I am seeking immediate dissolution of our association,” he added, pleading with court to grant him custody of their four children.

The respondent, a petty trader, who pleaded guilty to the allegations, begged court to save her marriage amid tears.

In his ruling, the court President scolded the woman and advised her to change her adulterous ways.

Williams adjourned the case till February 28 for possible reconciliation, urging the couple to keep the peace, pending the outcome of the court’s proceedings.

Samson Folarin

A painter, Mr . Ese Akpan, had told his family on Tuesday that he was going out to get the money owed him by a construction company.

He , however , did not get to his destination , as he was killed by a stray bullet from a police team escorting a bullion van to a bank.

According to a Closed -Circuit Television camera , which captured the scene , Ese was shot at exactly 1. 45pm on Old Aba Road , Rumuomasi, Port-Harcourt , Rivers State .

PUNCH Metro , which obtained footage of the incident , observed that Camera 4 captured Ese as he walked along the road while the police van came behind.
The second side , captured by Camera 1, showed a woman with a baby standing at the bus stop as Ese approached .

There was a sudden gunshot which hit the 60- year -old , while the frightened woman fled the sight.

About two minutes afterwards , some sympathisers , including workers of First Rivers Hospital Limited , a private facility in front of which the incident occurred, rushed to help the victim.

An official at the hospital, who did not want to be identified , said a few minutes after the victim was taken to the hospital, a man came in to check on him .

He said , “ The man said the escort team was coming from an eatery at Rumukoro where the operatives had gone to pick some money. He said they were heading towards a bank in the area and he was driving behind the van when they fired the shot. He said they usually did that when they approached where they were taking money to . Unfortunately , the man was hit by the bullet . He told us to save his life . ”

A senior official at the hospital , who spoke for the management , said efforts by the hospital to save Ese were abortive.

“ Our doctors, nurses and matrons were all involved in the battle to save his life. He lost a lot of blood. The bullet destroyed his internal organs . We took him to the theatre , and our workers even donated three pints of blood to save him , but he died . He was able to give us his name and address before passing on , ” she added.

She noted that the hospital reported the matter to a police station in the area.

The widow of the victim, Mrs. Christiana Akpan , said when she attempted to report the case at the Area Command, Moscow Road, she was chased out of the command.

She added that when she went to the governor ’ s office , she was not given any audience.

Christiana told PUNCH Metro that her husband had left the house with a plan to demand payment of a debt owed him by a construction company.

She said , “ He worked as a painter and had executed a project for a construction company last year . He used the money that we saved for our house rent to complete the project . The firm paid him part, but still owed him about N 266, 900.

“ Since that time , he had been going to ask for the balance without any result. Our landlady recently served us a notice to quit and he became desperate to recover the money.

“ On Tuesday, January 31, around 1pm, we both left the house and when we got to Mile 1, we parted ways . I went to see a friend , while he went to the company. It was not up to one hour that I was called that my husband had been shot.

“ I went to report at the area command , but immediately I said policemen shot my husband , I was chased out . I went to the governor ’ s office and I was sent away like a thief. ”

PUNCH Metro learnt that the deceased , who was survived by four children, had been taken by the family to a mortuary in his hometown in the Essien Udium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

The family ’ s first child , Kingsley, demanded that the government bring the culprits to book and pay the damages .

“ Before my dad died , he told me that he was shot by the police. The police are silent about the case and have refused to do anything. We want the government to bury him and pay damages, ” he added .

Another member of the family , Blessing, asked the authorities not to sweep the case under the carpet .


The state Police Public Relations Officer , DSP Omoni Nnamdi, said he was not aware of the incident, promising to get back to PUNCH Metro .

He had, however, yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.

A LIST of suspects who will face trial over the $151million and N8billion found in fictitious bank accounts is in the works, The Nation learnt yesterday.
On the “long” list are bankers and civil servants, Attorney-General of the Federation Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) said.

He declined to name the suspects but stressed that the government is interested in knowing how the funds were sourced and lodged in the accounts.

Malami, who spoke with our correspondent from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said: “But investigation is in top gear and I will not want to jeopardise it by giving out names of those affected.”

Pressed for more comments, Malami said: “I am not certain of the number now but it is huge because it involved a syndicate.

“The culprits include civil servants and bank officials who all connived to stash away these recovered monies.”

He stressed that “no businessman was implicated but the suspects, who are many, are mostly civil servants and bank officials”.

Another government source said the suspects would be named in court when charges are preferred against them.

But there were strong indications yesterday that a commercial bank had written the Federal Government, owning up to the lodgment of $136,676,600.51 in a fictitious account with it.

The bank has promised to remit the slush funds into a dedicated account provided by the government.

The government official, who pleaded not to be named because of “the sensitivity of the matter”, said: “Before the government released the fact-sheet on the recovery of $136,676,600.51, it got a letter of from a commercial bank owning up that the cash was wired into a fictitious account in one of its branches.

“The bank also made a commitment to remit the seized cash to a dedicated account which has been provided by the Federal Government. We are expecting the refund from the bank any moment from now.

“We have the required evidence from the bank with the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation(OAGF).”

The government source spoke on the investigation, saying “it is almost completed”.

He agreed that Nigerians were eager to know the suspects, but insisted that “we will release their names only after charges have been preferred against them in court”.

Also yesterday, a Federal High Court sitting in Kano, presided over by Justice Zainab B. Abubakar, ordered the forfeiture of the US$9,772,00 and £74,000 by a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu, to the Federal Government.

The order was sequel to an ex-parte application by the EFCC seeking an interim forfeiture of the recovered money to the Federal Government.

A statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said the ex parte application was moved by Salihu Sani, counsel to the applicant.

The statement said: “In her ruling, Justice Zainab held that the sum of $9,772,000 and £74,000 which are now in the custody of the applicant (EFCC) are in the interim forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

“On the 3rd day of February, 2017, operatives of the Commission had stormed a building belonging to the former NNPC boss and recovered a staggering sum of $9,772,000 and £74,000 stashed in a huge fire proof safe. On February 8, 2017, Yakubu reported to the Commission’s Kano Zonal Office where he admitted being the owner of both the house and the money recovered.

“Yakubu is still in custody assisting the investigation.”
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Sunday said the “whistle-blower policy has started yielding fruit as it has so far led to the recovery of US$151 million and N8billion in looted funds”.

He said: “The looted funds, which do not include the $9.772 million in cash allegedly owned by a former Group Managing Director of the NNPC (which was also a dividend of the whistle-blower policy), were recovered from just three sources through whistle-blowers who were recovered from just three sources through whistle-blowers who gave actionable information to the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation.

“The biggest amount of $136,676,600.51 was recovered from an account in a commercial bank, where the money was kept under an apparently fake account name, followed by N7billion and $15million from another person and N1billion from yet another.

‘’When we told Nigerians that there was a primitive and mindless looting of the national treasury under the last Administration, some people called us liars.

“Well, the whistle-blower policy is barely two months old and Nigerians have started feeling its impact, seeing how a few people squirreled away public funds.

“It is doubtful if any economy in the world will not feel the impact of such mind-boggling looting of the treasury as was experienced in Nigeria.

‘’Yet whatever has been recovered so far, including the $9.8million by the EFCC, is just a tip of the iceberg.”

A middle aged Nigerian man has discovered that a young man he raised from birth and who is now 32 years old is not his biological son , after all.

The Nigerian man who resides in the United Kingdom, Mr . Oscar, was forced to arrange for a DNA test to determine the paternity of his erstwhile son, Valentine, when his wife allegedly told their presumed son that Oscar was not likely to be Valentine’ s biological father.

Valentine had dragged his supposed dad , Oscar , to a DNA test centre in Britain after his mother informed him a month ago that the man who had brought him up for the last 32 years may not actually be his dad.

As a doting father , Oscar had brought Valentine to England from Nigeria and put him through school.

When the result of the DNA test was read to him , Oscar wailed in agony as the results said there was “ no per cent chance ” he and Valentine were father and son.

Oscar wailed in despair as he asked : “ He ’ s not my son ?”

Valentine was speechless.

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

A 25-year old year man, Israel Bassey has been arrested and charged before a Lagos court for allegedly attacking a lady, Azeezat Adigun and inflicted an injury on her head with a cutlass for refusing to befriend him.

The incident happened at Olabisi Street off Liasu Road in Idimu, Lagos where both the victim and the suspect reside.

Akwa Ibom State-born Bassey was arrested alongside 39-year old Mercy Edwin for her undisclosed role in the incident which left Azeezat badly injured.

On 11 February, Police source said Bassey reportedly brought out cutlass during a disagreement with Azeezat and inflicted a deep cut on her head. She fell down and was rushed to a hospital where she was operated for several hours.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that both Bassey and Azeezat live in the same area and Bassey had made a move to build a relationship with her. However, he was rebuffed as Azeezat said she would not want to have anything to do with men living in the same area with her and besides, they were not from the same background.

But on the day the incident happened, it was learnt the two had a disagreement and Bassey who had nursed anger over the rejection did not waste time to vent his anger on her.

The suspect reportedly brought out the cutlass and attacked the victim on her head which gave her deep cut and affected her brain.

The matter was reported to the police at Ikotun division and the suspects were arrested and charged to court with assault under the Criminal Code.

They pleaded not guilty.

The presiding Magistrate’ Mrs J.O.E Adeyemi granted them bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum.

They were remanded in prison custody pending when they will perfect their bail condition.

The matter was adjourned till 13 March 2017.

The Nigeria police on Monday again invited the publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, to a meeting on Thursday with the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigations Department(SCID) in Lagos.

The invitation, which came in the form of a text message, did not disclose the purpose of the meeting.

It merely invited Mr. Sowore and his colleagues to meet with the police authorities for an interview at 10a.m at the SCID headquarters in the Yaba area of Lagos.

Mr. Sowore was on January 9 physically assaulted in Lagos by one Lekan Fatodu over a report by SaharaReporters detailing how Mr. Fatodu was allegedly used as a front by former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode to corner public funds through the office of the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.

When Mr. Sowore was brought before Fatai Owoseni, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, the police claimed a petition alleging criminal libel had been submitted by Mr. Fatodu against Mr. Sowore.

The following day when Mr. Sowore arrived at the SCID, the police were more interested in “mediation”, asking Mr. Sowore to meet Mr. Fatodu to resolve their differences.

Mr. Sowore refused, saying the police had been dishonest in the handling of the case.

His attorney, Femi Falana, on January 12 issued a statement saying the allegations of threat to life, criminal libel and extortion stated in Mr. Fatodu’s petition were false.

A few days after Mr. Sowore’s release, a strange dimension to the matter arose when a lawyer, Ugochukwu Osuagwu, issued a statement claiming that Mr. Sowore had been barred from leaving Nigeria over Mr. Fatodu’s petition.

Mr. Osuagwu is the same lawyer who, in January, addressed a petition to the police on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, Yusuf Buratai, which led to the arrest of two Premium Times journalists a few days after Mr. Sowore was attacked and arrested in Lagos.

The continued police harassment of Mr. Sowore and other journalists has attracted condemnation by press freedom bodies across the globe.

Mr. Sowore told our reporters he plans to honour the invitation of the police on Thursday, an event which coincides with his birthday.

US President, Donald Trump, has remained silent over the phone conversation he reportedly had with President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria (http://dailypost.ng/2017/02/13/trump-told-buhari-phone-presidency/) on Monday.

The US government has not reported the conversation on its website or mentioned it on any of their official social media accounts like @USAgov, @WhiteHouse, etc.

Trump, who is notorious for his use of Twitter, has also not tweeted about it either from his personal
account@realDonaldTrump or the official account @POTUS.

He, however, tweeted about the visit of the Prime Minister of Canada, Justine Trudeau from his personal account.

Even the United States Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria, has failed to acknowledge the phone conversation
via@USEmbassyAbuja.

However, the official accounts of the president of Nigeria, @NGRPresident; the government of Nigeria, @AsoRock; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, @GeoffreyOnyeama and more than five media aides of Buhari (Femi Adesina, Garba Shehu, Tolu Ogunlesi, Bashir Ahmad and Lauretta Onochie) have all spoken about it.

By Muideen Olaniyi


The Citizens Support for Good Governance in Nigeria (SGGN), a coalition of pro-Muhammadu Buhari organizations, has scheduled rallies across the major cities this week.

The rally tagged “I Support President Buhari,” is expected to be held in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna and Kano.

The co-convener of the rallies, Comrade Moses Abdullahi, in a statement yesterday, said it will hold in Abuja on Tuesday and Thursday; Kaduna and Kano on Wednesday, while it will end on Thursday in Lagos.

Comrade Abdullahi said Nigerians from all walks of life will be mobilised to come out for the “mega rally” aimed at supporting President Buhari who “means well” for the country.

“We know he (Buhari) will not steal our resources. We must support President Buhari. Our economy today is in chaos not because of him, but because of the lies and deceit of 16 years he inherited.

“PMB is not out for quick fix measures; he is out to make sure the foundation of this change is well laid such that even in the next 100 years, we will never suffer what we have gone through before today.

“The pains and agony of today are temporary. If we rally round PMB and support him, we will ensure all the enemies of our progress and agents of corruption will be shamed and exposed,” he said.

He appealed to all Nigerians, especially, those who believe in what the president stands for, to come out en masse and show their undying love for the Buhari-led administration.

From: Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The Federal Government, yesterday, shed light on why the lead prosecution counsel in the trial of Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court, Charles Adeogun-Philips allegedly withdrew from the case last week.

Rather than step down from the case, the federal govermment said it sacked Adeogun-Philips
for unprofessional conduct.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) said Adeogun-Philips was actually sacked by the National Prosecution Coordination Committee (NPCC) which engaged his services.

The AGF, who spoke through his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Salihu Othman Isah, explained that NPCC actually withdrew the fiat issued to him to prosecute the case over non disclosure of conflict of interest and for other sundry reasons.

He further explained that the NPCC discovered that the lawyer was handling a brief in an ongoing suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which he failed to disclose when he was engaged.

The suit in question involves an Executive Director in a first generation bank, who was alleged to have transferred $40 million into a second generation bank, on behalf of former minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke as part of the $153, 310, 000.00 she was alleged to have siphoned from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The EFCC is currently prosecuting the case before the Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court, Lagos, pursuant to Section 17 of the Advanced Fees Fraud and Other Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006 as well as Section 44(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Government said this unprofessional conduct of the lawyer amounts to conflict of interest.

Isah, who is also head of Communication and Public Affairs, National Prosecution Coordination Committee (NPCC) revealed, in the statement, that Adeogun-Philips’ sack was conveyed to him vide a letter titled, ‘Withdrawal of your name as a member of Team 16 of the National Prosecution Team handling charges No. FHC/ABJ/C/232/16-FRN vs Sylvester N. Ngwuta’, dated February 6, 2017, and signed by Sylvester O. Imhanobe, Esq, Special Assistant to the President on Research and Special Projects who, also, doubles as Secretary of the Committee.

Adeogun-Philips had acknowledged receipt of the letter through an email message dated February 6, 2017, he sent to the Committee secretary and copied to Mr. Muhammed Umar Etsu, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF).

“I regret to inform you that Malami has withdrawn your membership of the National Prosecution Team.

“Consequently, you can no longer lead Team 16 engaged to prosecute the Charge No. FHC/ABJ/C/232/16-FRN vs S.N. Ngwuta. Furthermore, the fiat issued to you in respect of the case you presently handle is withdrawn,” the letter read in part.

“The Chief Accountant confirmed to me that you have been paid first installment fees which cover services till the close of the prosecution’s case.

“Please return to me all properties of the Ministry/NPCC in your possession, if any,” the letter further added.

Meanwhile, other members of Team 16 of the NPCC, comprising Hajara Yusuf, Dr. M. Lawal Yusufari and Ibrahim Waru remain intact.

In the meantime, a Principal State Counsel in the DPPF’s office, Hajara Yusuf, will lead the team.

The development has rested insinuations that the lawyer withdrew from the case in protest over last Tuesday’s dropping of charges earlier instituted against the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Ahmed Gambo Saleh and two other officials of the apex court, Muhammad Abdulrahman Sharif and Rilwanu Lawal, which, he is also handling for the federal government.

A pastor, Christopher Sule, who claimed to be pursuing second degree at a theological seminary in Jos, Plateau State, has been apprehended for maltreating his daughters for their inability to recite what they were taught in school.

Their mother has received a dose of the treatment for coming to their rescue. The pathetic story of the children, who are eight and six years old, was heartwrenching, based on the injuries inflicted on them.

Narrating their ordeal, Mrs Rachel Christopher, who could not hold back tears, she and her daughter had lived under constant beating and harassment.

She alleged that for the past three years, they had been in bondage and under the yoke of maltreatment by her husband who under slight provocation would descend on she and the children to stupor.

Mrs Christopher, who said friends and relations intervened severally without any remorse from her husband, stated that management of the school where the children attended last week noticed several lacerations on their bodies as result of severe beating over a minor issue.

The management of the school reported the incident to the National Security and Civil Defense Corp at Jos South Local Government secretariat and the father was apprehended for interrogation.

“My husband was arrested and taken to the local government secretariat, though he has been beating them but the last one was so terrible that I had to struggle with him to rescue the children. But I got the beating of my life in the process. The beating has become so rampant that the people in the neighbourhood no longer intervene,” she claimed.

According to her, she had threatened several times to park out of her matrimonial home along with her children but was often prevailed upon by family members to stay for the sake of her children and pray for her husband to turn a new leaf.

Said she: “ It is like my husband is under a spell or spiritual attack. Anytime my husband carried out this evil act, he always came back, pleading and telling me to pray for him because he did not know what came upon him. We have fasted and prayed together over this issue”

Speaking on the circumstances leading to his action, Pastor Christopher Sule said he could not justify his action and confessed that he flogged his daughters more than the offence they committed.

“I don’t know what came upon me, though I have been beating them that way for the past three years. I always regretted my action. By nature I am temperamental, and I need deliverance,” he said.

Sule, who wept profusely, admitted flogging them and told Sunday Tribune at the Secretariat of Jos North Local Government, where he was taken to, that he flogged them when they could not recollect what they were taught in school. However, he pleaded for mercy, promising to love his children.

The chairman of Jos North Local Government, Comrade Jonathan Pwakim, who confirmed the incident, said the council will henceforth collaborate with Child Protection Agency and State Ministry of Women Affairs to enlighten parents on the danger of child abuse.

Comrade Pwakim said Pastor Christopher would be handed to relevant law enforcement agencies for prosecution to serve as a deterrent to others.

By Ngozi Uwujare

In what appeared to be a classic tale of someone who cut her nose to spite her face, a heartless mother who felt the best way to deal with a husband for failing to provide for the family was to poison their two children that subsequently killed one of them, the son, is facing the wrath of the law.

The fincident took place last December in Kolo, Ogbia Local Government area, Bayelsa State, where 32 year old Helen Okwata Azibabeh forced her two children to drink Parafox, a popular herbicide used for curbing weeds. Although, her one year old daughter, Gloria, escaped death by the whiskers, her two year old brother, Innocent, was not so lucky as he died instantly after swallowing the lethal substance.

Azibabeh’s atrocity was subsequently discovered by her elder sister who promptly reported to the police when she ran to her for help.

Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Amba Asuquo, confirmed the transfer of the case to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation Department where the suspect is languishing in detention. He told.

Saturday Sun of the suspect’s claim that frustration arising from her husband’s failure to buy Christmas dresses for her and her children triggered her homicidal instinct.

When Saturday Sun spoke with the suspected murderess, she stressed that her anger was really directed at her husband. “I didn’t see any of the Christmas clothes my two children could wear,” Azibabeh said.

She reconstructed the dark drama of December 22, 2016: “Early in the morning, I went to the market and bought Parafox, a substance that is used to kill grasses and I gave it to my two children to drink.

Gloria was able to survive due to self-medication and hospital treatment, but her brother, Innocent died on the spot after he drank the poison.”

Continuing her dark tales, she said: “I ran to my elder sister’s house and confessed to her what I have done to my two children. She assisted me to rescue Gloria by administering some medication, and we later took her to the hospital. Thereafter, she reported me at Kolo Police station and I was arrested.”
A remorseful Azibabeh told.

Saturday Sun: “I used to have two children. I killed one by myself, now I am left with only one. I want God to forgive me and intervene in my life. I have learnt my lesson. Nigerians should forgive me,” she wailed.

According to CP Asuquo, police have recovered the poisonous substance, but the corpse of the two- year -old victim would not be buried until after a postmortem.

The suspect is to be charged to court for murder as soon as investigation is concluded, the police boss said. “In the meantime, she will continue to be in police custody,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ahmed Abdul of the State Criminal Investigation Department.

lalasticlala

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA – An Abuja High Court has okayed a soldier, Lance Corporal Oge Etudo to die by hanging after he was found guilty of rape and culpable homicide.

The 30 years old convicted soldier was said to have on March 27, 2014, at Dei-Dei suburb of the FCT, abducted, stabbed and raped a married woman identified as Binta Usman Kadede to death inside the bush.

The randy soldier was previously attached to a battalion of the Nigerian Army at Lungi Barracks in Abuja.

The convict was found to have acted in breach of sections 220 and 221 of the Penal Code law.

Trial Justice A.S. Adepoju who declined plea of allocutus by the defence lawyer, stressed that pictorial evidence adduced before the court showed that the defendant gruesomely murdered his victim.

“I will not also show mercy to him”, the Judge who was almost moved to tears declared.

Consequently, the court convicted the defendant on a two-count criminal charge that was entered against him by FCT commissioner of police.

The charges read: “That you L/Cpl Oge Etudo “M” 27 years of Nigerian Army, Lungi Barracks Abuja on or about March 27, 2014, at about 1600hrs at Dei-Dei, near Conoil filling station, Abuja within the Abuja judicial division did committed culpable homicide punishable with death in that you caused the death of one Binta Usman Kadede “f” of Dei-Dei village Abuja by stabbing her on the neck and body with knife which resulted to her death when you know that death will be the probable consequences of your act. You thereby committed an offence contrary to section 220 of the Penal Code and punishable under section 221 of the Penal Code.

“That you L/Cpl Oge Etudo “M” 27 years of Nigerian Army, Lungi Barracks Abuja on or about March 27, 2014, at about 1600hrs at Dei-Dei, near Conoil filling station, Abuja within the Abuja judicial division did rape one Binta Usman Kadade “f” of Dei-Dei village by forcefully having sexual intercourse with her against her wish and thereafter stabbed her neck and body with knife to death you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 282 of the Penal Code and punishable under section 283 of the Penal Code”.

The defendant had earlier pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

He equally entered a no-case-submission after the prosecution closed its case after it called four witnesses and tendered 21 exhibits.

Following the dismissal of his no-case-submission, the accused soldier decided to testify for himself, maintaining that he was innocent of the charge.

While denying knowledge of the crime, the defendant who was earlier dismissed from the Army, told the court that although he was at Dei-Dei on the date of the incident, he said he was only there to see a friend called Igwe to discuss his wedding plans with him.

“I was a guard commander in my Commander Tango’s house. I took a break by 10 am after submitting my arms and ammunition to my junior, I left to Dei-Dei to see my friend called Igwe at Dei-Dei to discuss about my planned white weeding.

“I stopped at Dei-Dei to urinate, in the process I was attacked by some hoodlums who inflicted injuries in me. I ran to the Conoil filling station”, he added.

He told the court that at the time he was attacked, he was in his military uniform and was carrying a cash of N55, 000 on him.

“On reaching the Conoil, I shouted thief! thief! and fainted due to loss of blood.

“I did not know what happened after regaining consciousness, I found myself in the hospital naked.”

Nevertheless, one of the prosecution witnesses, Usman Ishaq, a security guard at a block industry in Dei- Dei, told the court that he saw the defendant force the deceased into the bush.

“He was a passenger on a motorbike,(okada) when he came towards the deceased side, he told the Okada rider to stop. He dropped from the motorcycle and asked him to go. And he forced the deceased – a milk seller, into the bush.

“When I got to the point where they entered the bush, I met the accused person on top of the deceased with knife. He was stabbing her on the neck and on the abdomen”.

The witness said he mobilized people who got him arrested after attempting to escape.
Husband of the deceased, Usman Adamu, also testified as PW2.

The prosecution counsel, Mr. Simon Lough, further tendered a medical report signed by a Chief Consultant Pathologist, Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, Abuja, Dr. A.U. Mukthar.

The report which was admitted in evidence by the court reads: ” The body of a middle aged female with obvious sharp metal object injuries to the neck anterior abdominal wall around the umbilicus and around the Vulva areas. The neck injuries revealed sharp mental lacerations on the back of the neck with cervical fractures and severe haemorrhage.”

After evaluating the evidence and exhibits placed before her, Justice Adepoju held that the prosecution successfully proved its case against the accused person.

“The observation of the Doctor stating that there were injuries around the vulva area with cervical fractures and corroborated the uncontradicted evidence of the eye-witness who saw the accused person on top of the deceased with a knife and who when he saw him adjusted his repaired trouser.

“The blouse won by the deceased was ripped open around the neck and in front evidenced the use of force and struggle with the deceased by the accused.

“The court would be satisfied that there was penetration even if the hymen was not ruptured or if there was no emission of semen. The slightest penetration is sufficient to conclude that there was penetration.

“I am satisfied that the prosecution has proven that the accused person penetrated the vagina of the deceased. Photographs of the deceased showed that the blouse that was worn by the deceased was ripped open around the neck and in front”.

The court held that the prosecution established the required ingredients of the case of rape under section 83 of Panel Code.

“The accused is hereby convicted of the offence of rape.

“The accused person is hereby sentenced to death by hanging for the offence of culpable homicide under section 221 of the Panel Code.

“He is to pay the supreme price for his callousness and his ungodliness.

“He has shown no mercy by slaying the victim, I have no mercy for him as well. On the charge of rape, the accused is sentenced to five years imprisonment with hard labour. The terms are to run concurrently”, Justice Adepoju held.

By Oluwatoyin Malik


Amiddle age man, Ridwan Oladiran on Thursday in Ibadan, Oyo State, set his ex-girlfriend’s property on fire at Aribidesi Compound, Akuro area of the capital city, while she was also injured over her decision to opt out of their relationship.

According to information gathered by Metro, the man had gone to the lady’s residence in the morning to set her mattress and clothes ablaze, a situation that made residents to believe that the lady was caught in the fire that they saw raging in her room.

It was learnt that the lady, one Motunrayo Ajibola decided to quit her relationship with the man as a result of what she referred to as maltreatment.

Metro was reliably informed that the lady told the police that she was once pregnant for the man but lost the pregnancy incessant beatings.

She was reported to have lodged a complaint at Iyaganku Division after she was treated of her injuries in an undisclosed hospital.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, a Superintendent of Police, confirmed the incident but said that the suspect was on the run, adding that efforts were on to apprehend him.

A woman in South Africa is facing a 15-year jail term for allegedly lacing her vagina with poison so she could kill her cheating husband.

Trending Post reports that the woman identified as Beatrice who has been charged with attempted murder had been complaining to her friends about her husband's adulterous ways and decided to punish him in the most unusual way.

It was gathered that Beatrice put a very potent liquid rat poison she found on Google in her private parts with the hope that her husband, Khumalo , would give her a cunnilingus which would kill him in the process.

After she was arraigned in court, Beatrice reportedly said:
“I told him not to sleep around on me, I bet he won’t do it no more. I knew something was wrong when he wouldn't leave the house to come get this vagina; he knows we always f*ck Thursday.”

The woman Beatrice suspected her husband was sleeping with identified as Valerie Sithole, stated in court documents she knew something was wrong after she had not seen Khumalo in four days.

Beatrice was charged with attempted murder and faces 15 years in prison. She is being held on R150,000 bond.

Giving evidence in the case, Khumalo said he knew something wasn’t right before he went down on his wife because she had been playing a song titled 'Poison' on repeat all day long.

He said his instinct save his life as he refused to go down on her despite her insistence and promised to stop cheating on his wife though he vowed never to eat or drink anything she gives him as long as they remain married.

By Perez Brisibe

UGHELLI— SUSPECTED herdsmen, numbering over 20, yesterday, blocked the Ohorhor-Bomadi Road, Delta State, attacking and dispossessing passengers of their valuables.

The Ohorhor-Bomadi Road is a major road linking many Ijaw communities in Bomadi and part of Burutu Local Government areas of the state.

Although details of the incident was sketchy at press time, sources at the community told Vanguard on phone that the herdsmen barricaded the road for over 50 minutes, as they unleashed mayhem on travellers.
Acting Chairman of Ohorhor community, Mr. Power Oba, told.

Vanguard : “I was not around when they stormed the road. But I was informed on phone that they barricaded the road about 3p.m., and disposed passengers of valuables.”

Giving details of his ordeal, a passenger, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “It was a scary sight as they freely robbed us without fear that police might drive into them.”

Attempts to speak with the state Police Public Relations Officer, Andrew Aniamaka, was fruitless as calls to his phone were unanswered.

Leon Usigbe - Abuja


SOLDIERS who have been providing close body protection for President Muhammadu Buhari have been disengaged from the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

They have been replaced by personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS) just as it was in previous dispensations.

It was learnt that the president authorised the redeployment before he left for his medical vacation in the United Kingdom.

The deployment of the soldiers to protect the president at the inception of his administration in 2015 generated heated controversy as both his then Chief Security Officer (CSO) and DSS personnel, Abdulraman Mani, and the Aide de Camp (ADC) to the President, Colonel Lawal Abubakar, were involved in public spat.

While Mani argued that it was the responsibility of the DSS to provide close body protection to the president while members of other services could man the outer protection ring, Abubakar insisted on having military personnel as close bodyguards.

At the heat of the disagreement between the two top security aides to the president, Mani wrote a well publicised memo dated Friday, June 26, 2015, arguing against the position of the ADC’s directive to have soldiers close to the president.

He backed up his claim with relevant portions of the constitution and copied National Security Adviser (NSA), the Chief of Defence Staff and the Director-General of the DSS.

Aspects of the memo read: “In fact, the issues raised in the aforementioned (ADC’s) circular tend to suggest that the author may have ventured into a not-too-familiar terrain.

“The extant practice, the world over, is that VIP protection, which is a specialised field, is usually handled by the Secret Service, under whatever nomenclature.

“They usually constitute the inner core security ring around every principal. The Police and the military by training and mandate are often required to provide secondary and tertiary security cordons around venues and routes.

“However, all other security agencies, including the army, the police and others, also have their roles to play. It is on this note that heads of all security agencies currently in the Presidential Villa and their subordinates are enjoined to key into the existing command and control structure. They are to work in harmony with each other in full and strict compliance with the demands of their statutorily prescribed responsibilities.

“Meanwhile, joint training programmes and other incentives will be worked out in the days ahead to ensure that all security personnel at the Presidential Villa are properly educated to understand their statutory roles and responsibilities.

“This is with a view to avoiding obvious grandstanding, overzealousness, limited knowledge or outright display of ignorance in future.”

Buhari, who sided with the ADC, retained the soldiers and relived Mani of his appointment.

It was gathered that the President has apparently made a u-turn having been inundated with reports of lapses on the part of the military bodyguards.

The present CSO, Bashir Abubakar, was also said to have expressed reservations about the handling of the president’s protection by the soldiers.

With the redeployment of the soldiers, DSS personnel now man all the security points that were previously the responsibility of the soldiers in the Presidential Villa.