Crime Facts

‘We Are Waiting,’ Oyebanji’s Camp Dares Oni To Challenge Ekiti Poll Result

  The Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO) Campaign Organisation has dared former governor Segun Oni to challenge the outcome of the just concluded governorship election in Ekiti State. Mr Cyril Fasuyi, who is the Director-General of the organisation, stated this during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics a day after the poll held. “It is usual for Engineer Segun Oni and his team,” he said of the reaction from Oni who was the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the election. “When you see a man that has a habitual way of thinking that if it is not him, then it is nobody; then you won’t be shocked that a party that was defeated with over 100,000 votes … comes to say it rejects the result, it is amazing. “There is nothing wrong, he is free to go anywhere. In court, there is this usual parlance that he who alleges must prove; so, we are waiting, they should bring out all the proofs they have against us.” The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Biodun Oyebanji, as the winner of the keenly contested election. Oyebanji polled 187,057 votes – over 100,000 votes more than that of his closest rival, Oni who scored 82,211 votes in the election. Mr Bisi Kolawole of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came third in the poll with 67,457 votes.   Biodun Oyebanji turned up to vote in the Ekiti governorship elections on June 18, 2022. Sodiq Adelakun/Channels Television Biodun Oyebanji turned up to vote in the Ekiti governorship elections on June 18, 2022. Sodiq Adelakun/Channels Television A day after the APC flagbearer was returned elected, Oni who was governor between 2007 and 2010, through his media aide, Moses Jolayemi, rejected the outcome of the election, citing electoral malpractices allegedly by the ruling party. Jolayemi had also accused the APC of hiring hoodlums for vote-buying and snatching of ballot boxes – claims which the APC swiftly denied. “I was the director-general of BAO campaign organisation; I have knowledge of everything that was done and there was nothing (to suggest vote-buying) in the entire budget of BAO campaign organisation,” Fasuyi stressed. “There was only one budget to which I was a party and there was no line called vote-buying. I was a principal actor from the beginning to the end.” Reacting to the arrest of some persons by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of vote-buying, Fasuyi stated that the APC has no connection with the activities of the suspects. According to him, it could be a ploy by perceived opponents seeking to link the ruling party to a crime it has not committed.

19 die in Niger, Oyo road accidents

  NINETEEN persons lost their lives in two separate accidents in Niger and Oyo states, weekend, while many sustained injuries. A mother going to church, yesterday, with her three children, was knocked down by a commercial vehicle at Moniya in Ibadan, Oyo State capital. It was gathered that the driver of the vehicle that rammed into the victims, killing one and injuring three others, sped off away. A mother going to church, yesterday, with her three children, was knocked down by a commercial vehicle at Moniya in Ibadan, Oyo State capital. It was gathered that the driver of the vehicle that rammed into the victims, killing one and injuring three others, sped off away. Read Also: Buhari to Jonathan: Don’t allow recent road accident stop you from peace-building travels An eyewitness said the incident occurred at the popular Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, filling station, Onikoro, Moniya, on Ibadan/Oyo expressway. It was also gathered that the injured victims, with compound fractures, are currently receiving treatment at Happiness Medical Clinic, Onikoro, Moniya, Ibadan. On a visit to the clinic, the injured victims, Deborah, 10 years; Ayo, three years and two months old boy were still unconscious while Stephen’s corpse had been released to the family for burial. A family source, however, said: “They were going to church in the morning when it happened at the front of NNPC, Onikoro. The commercial vehicle, Micra, lost control and cleared the four children, who just alighted with their mother from another commercial vehicle. The driver ran away immediately and we are yet to set our eyes on him. “The mother was just lucky because nothing happened to her. Only the children were affected. Unfortunately, we lost one, Stephen. Stephen and others were waiting for their mother who wanted to collect change from the driver when the other Micra lost control and hit them.” When Vanguard approached an Investigating Police Officer, IPO, in charge of the accident, Olumide, at the hospital, he said: “I am not authorised to speak on the matter with journalists, kindly get in touch with DTO in the office.” When contacted on phone, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, confirmed the incident. He said: “An investigation is ongoing and updates would be provided accordingly, please.” 18 die in Niger In a related incident, 18 passengers of a Lagos-bound 18-seater bus were burnt to ashes in an accident that occurred along Bida-Minna road, Saturday. An eyewitness disclosed that the bus rammed into a tipper that broke down in the middle of the highway. He said: “A tipper lorry broke down on the major road and the driver of the bus rammed into it and it caught fire immediately. “There was no sign to indicate any danger ahead, hence the gravity of the accident as they all perished as the fire consumed all of them.” Niger State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, who confirmed the incident, however, explained that one of the victims is currently receiving treatment at the Minna General Hospital, while the corpses of the victims have been given mass burial in Minna. Editor’s Note: This photo is for illustrative purpose

Anxiety in Lagos as petrol queues resurface

  Queues for petrol have resurfaced in Lagos as motorists throng filling stations to fill up their tanks. The new development is coming days after scarcity surfaced in Ibadan, Oyo state capital. In February, Nigeria experienced petrol scarcity — lasting for over one month — caused by the recall of off-spec petrol in circulation. On Monday, queues were noticed in some filling stations visited by TheCable, resulting in panic buying motorists.   At some filling stations in Ikorodu, sales of the commodity were restricted to two or three pumps even as other filling stations shut down services.   Last week, the South-West zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) threatened to direct its members to increase the pump prices of petrol and diesel.   Dele Tajudeen, IPMAN zonal chairman in the South-West zone, had claimed that his members had been unable to buy the products from any of the government-owned depots for the past six months, forcing them to purchase from private depot owners who had continued to take advantage of the situation.

Okotie begs Tinubu, Atiku to step down, wants to succeed Buhari

  The Founder of Household of God Church, Reverend Chris Okotie, has asked political parties’ presidential candidates to step down for him in his bid to take over from the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). This is as he also urged Buhari to hand over to him as Interim President in 2023, noting that he was the right person to right the wrongs in the country. The cleric made the call on Sunday while addressing journalists at his Church, Oregun, Ikeja when celebrating his 63rd birthday anniversary. Explaining the rationale behind his request, Okotie noted that he had proposed to become the interim president because that was the “solution” for the country’s challenges. According to him, we are blessed as a nation with all human and natural resources yet we are not moving forward. Through my government, everything will be alright. “I want to appeal to all presidential candidates to withdraw from the race and allow me to come in as the interim president. I want to implore Asiwaju to support my government for the betterment of the country and I also want to tell Obi that the system that introduced him cannot take him anywhere, because he cannot operate in the system we have now. All the presidential candidates should support me to succeed President Buhari as the interim president. “We must also rise above tribe and religion because there is an imbalance in the country and we are not practising federalism instead, what we are practising is a presidential system of government. Since 1999, things have been declining because the presidential system of government we are practising has failed us. “We must get rid of the National and State Assemblies because maintaining each member cost the country billions of naira. Some of the standing committees at both assemblies are not useful to the country, they are only representing themselves, not the populace. says as he arrives in Lagos “For the best of the country, both assemblies should be scrapped and the money for maintaining them should be used for something else. What we have in Nigeria today is the government of the party, by the party and for the party. “Ministers and the Commissioners should also be expunged because Nigeria’s democracy has been hijacked by the elite for their interest and they are deceiving the downtrodden who don’t know anything. And the most important of all is our constitution. It should be changed to a people-oriented constitution, not the military one we have now. After the change, we can then restructure the country for the better.” On his plans for the country after becoming the interim president, Okotie said, “If I am made the interim president, our government will be a transparent one and we will redirect the steps of the youth who are into internet fraudsters and turned them to better persons in the society and empower them. “While a young person with inclination to technology advancement will ensure financial accountability of government and each state will have control of their national resources. First, we emulated the British and now we are copying the American style of democracy that didn’t take us anywhere. “The presidential system of government has failed us woefully. We should enable professional associations constitutionally to acquire legislative power as a replacement for the removal of the legislature from our political system. “And we should also embrace the concept of aboriginal democracy, that is a government from the people, for the people and with the people. This is distinct from the current experience of political parties which is the government of the party, the party and for the party. “My government will be that of National Reconciliation and Reconstruction. The interim government shall address aberrations and anomalies in the polity. I want to implore all Nigerians to join hands in the conversations that would enable a transition to an interim government at the end of President Buhari’s administration”.

Mbaka Distances Himself From Protest Against Bishop By His Follower

  The Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu Nigeria, Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka, has distanced himself from Sunday protests by the Adoration congregation. Thousands of his followers had thronged the Adoration ground in Emene to protest against the suspension of activities in the ministry. Some of the protesters called the Bishop of Enugu Diocese unprintable names and called for his removal. However, in a statement personally signed by Mbaka, he said “my attention has been drawn to activities that took place in the Adoration ground on Sunday. I am not in any way involved in such activity. “We received with obedience the directive issued by my Bishop, His Excellency, Most Rev CVV Onaga on June 17, 2022 “May I therefore appeal to the faithful, in particular members of Adoration Ministry Enugu, Nigeria, to remain calm and United with the body of Christ in the Diocese and also refrain from any measure of violence either in action or by abusive utterances. “Those who take to attacking or insulting my dear Bishop, should desist from such. “The Bishop is the Shepherd of the Church in the Diocese and we remain his flock who in every way and at all times is expected to be respectful, obedient and willing to respond favourably to his apostolic directives. “May I also remind you that all Adoration activities have been suspended till further notice. “Adoration Ministry is ever submissives to the mother Church. I enjoin all adorers to know this and remain constantly in prayers for the manifestation of the wiil of God in the life of the Ministry.’

No Part Of Nigeria Is Safe Again, Gani Adams Tells UN, EU, Others

  Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has called on the United Nations and other international organisations to urgently intervene in the rising insecurity in Nigeria, saying “No part of Nigeria is safe again.” The Yoruba war general stated this in a letter addressed to the UN Secretary General, Mr António Guterres, and copies sent to the European Union, African Union, United States State Departments, the International Association for Religious Freedom in the United Kingdom, Council on Foreign Relations and other international organisations. Daily Trust reports that this was the second letter that Adams would be writing as a similar letter directed to the same organisations was written about the same time last year. In the letter entitled, “Avoiding a replica of the Bosnian War in Nigeria,” he warned that the present insecurity if not tamed could consume the whole country. He noted that what happened in the defunct Yugoslavia, which led to the balkanisation of that country “Is becoming like a child’s play in Nigeria.” The letter read in part, “Pitiably, terrorists moving from northern Nigeria to the South are being embraced, encouraged and empowered by powers that be in Nigeria. “I am raising this alarm now because the effect of this dangerous trend may ultimately balkanise Nigeria and affect sub-Sahara Africa. “Similar alarm was raised in defunct Yugoslavia and sadly, nobody put in check the pogromists whose actions led to the massacre in that geographical location.”

APC Ticket: When I Was Almost Fed Up, I Resorted To Prayers – Tinubu

  The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has recounted the struggle to emerge as the flagbearer of the ruling party in the 2023 general elections. Recalling that his victory at the party’s presidential primary did not come easy, he said he fought a hard battle to clinch the ticket. Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, relived his experience on Sunday when he paid a visit to the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, at his palace to receive royal blessings shortly after he returned to the state. “There is no Lagos indigene that has had the opportunity to become President of Nigeria, despite the contribution of the state to the national stability and progress,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by Mr Gboyega Akosile, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State. “The highest position attained by any Lagosian in national leadership is the position of Chief Judge of the Federation. I took up the fight to break this jinx. The battle to secure the APC ticket was hard. When I was almost fed up, I resorted to prayers. I also poured out my mind when I felt there was a gang up against my person. Thank God that I have brought home the presidential ticket.” The APC presidential candidate added, “The task ahead is to galvanise our people to get their voter’s cards and vote to enable us realise this ambition. “Getting our people to vote is the most important task before all of us. We need to take this message to our people across communities and sensitise them on the need to vote in the general elections.” APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu said his victory at the party’s primary election came as a surprise to him. Akiolu, in his response, described Tinubu as his “stubborn son”, saying it was time for political leaders in South West to close ranks and work for the victory of Tinubu at the 2023 presidential election. He stressed that the massive support received by the APC chieftain across the country must be complemented by politicians in the region. “Your emergence as the presidential candidate of your party is the beginning of another journey in your political career,” the monarch said. “All Yoruba ancestors shall be with you on this journey to make our fatherland a better place.” Tinubu left the palace to his house on Bourdillon Road in Ikoyi, where some APC governors led by the chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, Atiku Bagudu, were waiting to receive him. Earlier, all roads leading to the presidential wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) were a beehive of activities as supporters trooped to the airport to receive Tinubu. Tinubu’s arrival in the state is the first since he won the APC presidential ticket. His aircraft touched down in Lagos in the company of some notable APC leaders. Various groups of artisans, women, and youth among others were among those who welcomed Tinubu back to his base, alongside cultural troupes and musical bands. Those on his entourage included the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State; Senator Kashim Ibrahim; former APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole; and Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, among others. Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State; Senator Solomon Adeola; Senator Tokunbo Abiru; Lagos APC chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi; and members of the Lagos Executive Council led by Governor Sanwo-Olu joined the dignitaries who received the APC presidential flagbearer at the airport.

NDLEA intercepts ‘Mkpuru Nmiri’ consignments in Lagos airport

  Operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have foiled an attempt by drug traffickers to export parcels of methamphetamine, popularly called Mkpuru Mmiri. Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this, yesterday, said the drugs, which were concealed in cornflakes packs and body cream containers, were to be exported to Malaysia and Australia. He said the drugs were seized at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, and a courier company in Lagos.   He said: “As a result, two freight agents, Nneji Anoma and Etoh Barnabas, involved in the bid to export nine parcels of methamphetamine were arrested on June 15. “The drug, which weighed 1.45kg, was hidden in packs of cornflakes to Malaysia through the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) export shed of the MMIA. “Operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) at the agency attached to a courier company also intercepted a kilogram of methamphetamine concealed in body cream containers heading to Australia.”

Atiku: Okowa’s experience as senator will be useful for needed reforms to reformat governance

  Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his running mate, will be an asset to the party’s campaign. On June 16, Abubakar named Okowa as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election. In a message to Nigerians on Sunday, Atiku said the office of the president requires clarity of mind on decision-making from the holder of office. He added that the decision of picking a running mate — and how it was done in countries that have acquired more experience in democratic acculturation — provides a window of assessing preparedness for the job that lies ahead.   He said in meeting up with the expectation, and more importantly to ensure that he makes a pick of a running mate that Nigerians would be proud of, it became necessary to be introspective about his choice. “The Governor of Delta State, Okowa, and I share a lot of personality attributes in common. He is a fine gentleman, but tenacious,” NAN quoted him as saying. “His experience as a senator will come in handy in some of the legislative reforms that are urgently needed to reformat our governmental processes.   “Okowa and I are incurable optimists in the future of Nigeria and the promises it holds as one united, peaceful and prosperous country. “Having him on the ticket brings a lot of asset to our campaign.” He added that in the months ahead of the general election, he and Okowa together with PDP leaders and Nigerians would work hard to ensure a convincing victory for the party. “A victory for the PDP in the general election is a victory for Nigeria. When we win, Nigeria wins,” he said. “The stakes in the election are very high, and it gives me tremendous joy that I can count on your support to win the election and get to work in earnest.”

Ogun gunmen take cigarettes, rice, free abducted church leaders

  The two worshippers abducted last Monday by gunmen at the Celestial Church of Christ, Oshofa, Wasimi, in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, have been released. The founder of the church, Oluwatomisin Olugbebi, said the victims were released on Saturday. PUNCH Metro had reported that gunmen, who wore masks and fez caps, invaded the church and abducted the Assistant Shepherd (assistant pastor) of the parish, Oluwaseun Ajose, and a Sunday school teacher, Dagunro Ayobami. The gunmen had reduced their demand from N50m to N10m last Thursday. But on Sunday, Olugbebi disclosed to our correspondent that the church leaders were released after N1m ransom was paid. He said, “They called on Saturday morning and demanded foodstuffs (rice, beans), cigarettes and gin. They said we should pay N1m for the two of them. I pleaded with them that we didn’t even have up to that, but they said they won’t accept anything less than a million. “When we heard this, the family of the victims sat on how to get the money and they raised a total of N221,000. Thankfully, well-wishers and other church members balanced it up. “They did not give a specific location where we should drop the money. They asked to speak to the sister of one of the victims and told her to come to a certain location. When she got there, she called them and they told her to give the phone to the bike rider. “They told the bike rider their location without disclosing it to her. The bike rider then took her to the location where the money and the requested foodstuffs were dropped. After like 10 minutes, they asked her to come and pick them (victims) up at the bus stop.” The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, confirmed the release. He said, “They regained their freedom last night (Saturday) due to sustained pressure mounted by the police on the kidnappers.”