Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested one of the persons alleged to be involved in the killing and decapitation of the Divisional Police Officer of Ahoada Division in Ahoada East Local Government Area, Mr Bako Angbashim, a Superintendent of Police.   Meanwhile, the Ogoni ethnic nationality in Rivers State, where Angbashim served before his redeployment to Ahoada, has said they were not the people that killed five members of Angbashim’s family. It will be recalled that the family of Angbashim, four children and wife, were allegedly killed by criminals, allegedly forcing the slain DPO to go diabolic in the line of duty. But, the Ogonis in a statement in Port Harcourt, yesterday by the Ogoni Peoples Assembly, OPA, said the slain DPO did not lose his family members in Ogoni land as insinuated. The leader of OPA, Rev. Probel Williams, said the deceased DPO had a very good and cordial relationship with the people of Ogoni when he served as the DPO of Bori, Khana LGA, adding that his family members would not have been killed in the area. Williams said the support given to the deceased contributed to his crime-fighting success, stating that his presence brought sanity and restored security in the area. However, the police in the state said they had detained one of the persons, involved in the killing of Angbashim. It said youths had arrested the suspect and were about to lynch him before he was rescued by the police and then detained. The Public Relations Officer of the Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the development, said the suspect was arrested by youths and was about to be lynched before police came to the rescue. Speaking earlier to youths, who apprehended him, the suspect whose name was not disclosed, said his boss, 2Baba Gift David Okpala Okpolowu, popularly called 2Baba, had over 40 guns in his custody. He said his boss had contacted a native doctor from the Ogoni area of the state, who helped them kill the DPO spiritually to enable them to defeat the gallant officer. He said: “I will not lie, when they killed the DPO, I was not there. I was across the river. I will not lie, I have a conscience. When they brought the DPO, I did not see him. I swear. I don’t know where they buried him. But I know where they brought him from. “2Baba has over 40 guns since I went there. The person who supplies guns to him, he called the person on the phone, pays the person, and then they will supply the guns. I don’t know him.”

  A landlord identified simply as Michael has allegedly poured hot water on an 11-year-old girl identified only as Princess. PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident happened on Saturday in Mowe, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. Following the incident, the sister of a tenant in the house, who gave her name as Ejiro, said her sister had planned to leave the apartment which she rented. She noted that this was due to the fear of being beaten by the landlord who had allegedly made it a habit to beat the girl and her mother when she (mother) was still with the man. “I am here to see my sister at Baba Ticket area, Oniru Phase 3, Mowe. My sister told me her landlord beats the daughter of his estranged wife. I thought it was a normal beating, but last Thursday, I heard the sound of someone throwing punches at somebody. “I asked who was being punched. A neighbour told me it was the landlord punching his daughter. When we rushed there, we saw that he held a whip and was beating her. When I asked him why he was beating her, he said the girl refused to go to school. “We begged him to stop and he did. On Friday morning, he still beat the girl. My sister has said she is planning to pack out of the apartment because the landlord may descend on his tenants too one day and she may be a victim. “This (Monday) morning, I saw injuries on the girl’s body. I was so scared. He had poured hot water on the girl’s body on Saturday. The girl’s brother told us that when they were hungry, they told the man, and he in turn asked the girl to put water on the stove. “Then he began beating her and when the water was hot, he poured it on her body. We heard her screams that night,” Ejiro told our correspondent. She added that there was also a day the man beat the girl for three hours because she ate bread. When contacted, Princess’ mother, Grace Ojile, said the man had always been beating the little girl. “(He poured) hot water on her body. If you see the back, it’s all burnt. He inflicted injury on her head last week, I just heard that. I’m with her at the hospital,” a worried Ojile said. In pictures obtained by our correspondent, scars suspected to be from the hot water injury were seen on parts of Princess’ arm. Princess, who spoke from the hospital bed on Monday night, said, “He poured hot water on me on Saturday; boiled water.” Details of why the landlord had been allegedly abusing the girl is still sketchy as of press time, but a source in the Ogun State Police Command said the man claimed Princess was beaten because she refused to go school. “He said the girl was seen roaming about when she was supposed to be in school and that the girl had said she was not interested in going to school again. But if she had said that, it shows that something is wrong somewhere and treating her like that was not the way forward.” PUNCH Metro gathered that the matter was reported by a concerned resident at the Mowe Police Station. The Mowe Divisional Police Officer of the station, Afeniforo Folake, said the suspect had been detained, adding that the matter would be transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department, Eleweran, for further investigation. The DPO said, “I have arrested the man and detained him. The man overreacted. The girl has been discharged from the hospital and the case has been transferred to the state CID.”

  The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have resolved to ground activities nationwide from October 3, 2023, following what the Labour Unions tagged as the “failure” of government to successfully implement policies to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians following the removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, The PUNCH exclusively gathered. The PUNCH reports that the NLC national president, Joe Ajaero, during a virtual National Executive Council meeting which was held on Zoom, Tuesday told members of NEC that a meeting was held with the officials of the TUC to deliberate on ways forward. Ajaero noted that it was resolved that the two centres work together to make their stance known to the government. A source who was present at the meeting noted that some members of the NLC initially objected to the development of the NLC working together with the TUC. “Initially some members did not want us to work with the TUC but as of now, we don’t have a choice. The government has not been proactive. So it is going to be a definite action this time around.” The PUNCH reports that the 21-day ultimatum given by the NLC ended last week. The national president of the NLC, Joe Ajaero had complained that “none of the demands put before the Federal Government had been addressed.” The union first observed a two-day nationwide warning strike on September 5 and 6 to show its readiness for the indefinite strike later in the month. Among other things, the NLC and the TUC are asking for wage awards, implementation of palliatives, tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers and a review of the minimum wage.

  The Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi has asked supporters of the Presidential Candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party, popularly called ‘“Atikulated’ and Obidients” respectively, to leave President Bola Tinubu alone. Umahi was speaking while unveiling his policy direction for the Ministry, in Abuja, on Tuesday. He described as sad the unwholesome attention being paid to demands for the release of the academic records of President Tinubu by the Chicago State University when the President’s performance throughout his public life shows the character of “an A student.” The Minister said, “This (President Bola Tinubu) is a man who is the answer to the prayers of Nigerians to God. “This is a man who has passed through all the stages… look at his appointments in the FCT, Works, Finance and all others. This President is the last hope for this country, his renewed hope agenda needs the support of all of us. “All those ‘Atikulated and Obidients’, let them bring their (principals) who filed WAEC certificates; what did they score? They are challenging someone who is an ‘A’ student.” The minister came down hard on some State Controllers of Works whom he accused of failing to live up to their obligations of ensuring road projects are properly done. He said save for the Director in the South West and his team whom he gave a pass mark, the rest need to sit up or risk losing their positions.

  The Independent National Electoral Commission said the Edo governorship election will be held on September 21, 2024, while that of Ondo state will be held on November 16, 2024. INEC noted that the declaration is in pursuance of the provisions of Section 178 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) states that election into the said offices shall be held not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the tenure of the last holder of the office. Similarly, Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 requires the Commission to publish Notice for the Election not later than 360 days before the date of the election. The commission further said that details of the elections would be published and made public both on the INEC website and across its social media platforms. In a statement signed by the National Commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, on Tuesday, the tenure of the governors of Edo and Ondo states will end on November 11, 2024, and February 23, 2025, respectively. The statement read in part, “The latest date for Election to the office of Governor, Edo State, is October 12, 2024, while that of Ondo State is January 24, 2025. “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution and the Electoral Act, the Commission issues the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Edo and Ondo State Governorship elections as follows: The Edo governorship election will hold on Saturday, September 21, 2024. “Party primaries will hold from February 1-24, 2024 while the submission of the list of nominated candidates via the online portal will start at 9.00 a.m. on March 4, 2024, and close at 6.00 p.m. on March 24, 2024. “The final list of candidates will be published on April 23, 2024, while the campaign in public by political parties commences on April 24, 2024, and ends 24 hours prior to election day on September 19, 2024.” For Ondo state, the commission added “The governorship election will hold onp Saturday, November 16, 2024. “Party primaries will hold from April 6-27, 2024 while the submission of the list of nominated candidates via the online portal will start at 9.00 am on April 29, 2024, and close at 6.00 pm on May 20, 2024. “The final list of candidates will be published on June 18, 2024, while the campaign in public by political parties commences on June 19, 2024, and ends 24 hours prior to election day on November 14, 2024.”

  Nigeria’s local currency, the naira, has set a new record, falling to its lowest against the dollar at the parallel market. Currency traders in Lagos, also known as Bureaux De Change operators (BDCs), quoted the naira at N1,000 to the greenback at the street market. The traders, on Tuesday, put the buying price of the dollar at N990 and the selling price at N1,000 — leaving a profit margin of N10 . The figure represents a depreciation of N7 or 0.7 percent from the N993/$ it traded on Monday.

  Eight people, including four children, died by electrocution in two slums after torrential rains lashed Cape Town, South African authorities said Tuesday. The deaths occurred on the outskirts of the southern port city, its disaster risk management unit said Tuesday. Local media reports said the electrocutions were caused by illegal power connections. Many people in informal settlements around Cape Town live in makeshift homes built with corrugated iron sheets. Record levels of rain fell on the Western Cape region, where Cape Town is located, between Sunday and Monday, Anton Bredell, the provincial minister for environmental affairs said. He said things were “under control,” adding: “We are busy with the mop up, the recovery phase”. About 1,500 structures and 6,000 people were affected by flooding, he said. Scores of people were evacuated, according to city authorities. AFP

  The impeached chairman of the Ijebu East Local Government (LGA), Wale Adedayo, has been arraigned by the Ogun State Police Command on a two-count charge for allegedly publishing an alleged false story about local government funds diversion by the state government. This follows a petition filed by the state government over the alleged zero allocation and diversion of local government funds by the state government, an allegation which has been denied by the government. Adedayo, who was arrested by the police on Monday, has since been arraigned at the Customary Court 2 in the Isabo area of Abeokuta, the state capital. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge proffered against him. The counsel to the defendant, Kayode Akinsola, prayed for the court to grant his client bail, promising that the defendant would not jump bail if granted and would honour all conditions attached to the bail application to which the prosecuting counsel, Olaide Rolly, did not object. Delivering her judgement for the bail application, the presiding judge, A K Araba, admitted the defendant to bail of N2 million and two sureties with landed properties, among others within the jurisdiction of the court. The case has however been adjourned till October 20 for the next hearing while the defendant has been remanded at the Ibara Correctional Centre in Abeokuta.

  Gunmen have reportedly shot three students of the Isa Mustapha Agwai l Polytechnic in Lafia, Nasarawa State. It was gathered that the assailants also abducted one female student simply identified as Ajoke, an ND ll student of Science Laboratory Technology. Daily Trust learnt that the incident occurred around 08:00pm on Monday. The students, who sustained gunshot injuries, were said to be receiving treatment in a hospital. Details shortly.

  The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has said NPower payment list contains names of persons that shouldn’t be on the programme. Edu who stated this during a chat with Arise TV concerning recent developments in her ministry, said a lot of challenges with the NPower programme had been unraveled, adding that the ministry was working to rectify them. She said, “First of all, when we came onboard, we found lots of issues with the NPower programme that made us re-engage the entire plan. One of the things was that there were persons registered on the NPower beyond the envelope that was provided for the programme. “Secondly, funds were released for payment for people under NPower and they were not paid in a timely manner by the managers of the funds of the NPower beneficiaries. There were also people who were on the payment list who are not supposed to be there, and there are persons who are there but are not providing any services but have been enrolled to have payment. “And there are people whose time with the NPower had elapsed since a year ago but they still believe they should continue to get payment, so they called it exit plan, exit payment and so on. “So the first thing we did was to set up a committee to look at these issues which has the secretary of the ministry as the head, and we have received our first report.” The minister also said that Tinubu’s administration was committed to pulling 133 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, and by next year, at least 20 million Nigerians would be out of poverty. “For poverty alleviation, we are targeting at least 133 million Nigerians between now and 2030 which is in line with the SDGs that we signed at the United Nations. “But beyond showing commitment to the UN, the president is very committed and concerned about the plight of Nigerians and about pulling them out of poverty. The difference here is that we are not going to continue doing things the same way and expect different results. “There are different plans we are working on and we believe very strongly that by the next one year, we should be able to say that at least we have removed 20 million Nigerians out of poverty,” she said.