An Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrates’ Court has granted bail to three men arraigned for allegedly being in possession of substances suspected to be hemp. The defendants — 26-year-old Adefila Oluwanifemi, 23-year-old Peter Benson, and 20-year-old Jamiu Yekini — were brought before the court on Tuesday on charges bordering on unlawful possession of Indian hemp. They, however, pleaded not guilty to the allegations. Prosecutor, Inspector Akinwale Oriyomi, told the court that the suspects were arrested on November 15 at about 11 a.m. in Ado-Ekiti after being found with weeds suspected to be hemp and other illicit substances. He noted that the offence…
Author: Adeboye
A late-night fire has claimed the lives of two children and rendered dozens of residents homeless after sweeping through a cluster of makeshift buildings in the Rumuola area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State. The inferno, which broke out around 10 p.m. on Sunday, destroyed an entire shanty settlement behind the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, displacing no fewer than 27 families. Eyewitnesses said the fire started in a room where a woman, whose identity was withheld, had left food cooking on a stove before stepping out to buy ingredients. She reportedly locked the door with her four children inside…
The Gombe State Police Command has recovered 66 parcels of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp after intercepting an unregistered vehicle along the Kuri–Deba Road on Monday night. PUNCH Metro learnt that operatives of the Deba Division carried out the operation around 9:30 p.m. following credible intelligence from surveillance officers who had tracked the suspicious movement of an ash-coloured, unregistered Toyota Corolla. The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, said the Divisional Police Officer immediately deployed a team to the scene after receiving the alert. “On arrival, our operatives sighted three suspects attempting to deliver the suspected illicit…
The Imo State Police Command has concluded plans to arraign five men accused of brutally assaulting a 55-year-old woman, Mrs Ndidiamaka Agu, in the Emekuku community of Owerri North Local Government Area. The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Henry Okoye, disclosed this on Monday in Owerri, noting that the arrests followed an order by the Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, who on November 3, 2025, directed a thorough investigation after a disturbing video of the attack went viral. Okoye said five of the six suspects captured in the footage had been apprehended, while efforts were ongoing to track down…
The family of a 33-year-old private lesson tutor, Ashogba Sowedo, has appealed to members of the public to assist in locating him after he disappeared from his home in the Badagry area of Lagos State on October 18, 2025. It was gathered on Monday that Sowedo, a father of one, had a history of brief disappearances linked to severe malaria episodes, which sometimes left him confused and unable to find his way home. His uncle, Setonji Adele, who spoke with our correspondent on the phone, said the teacher combined home tutoring with running a small phone-charging shop established for him…
The widow of the late Bamidele Akingboye, former Social Democratic Party governorship candidate in the 2024 Ondo State election, Mrs Christy Akingboye, has dismissed allegations suggesting she had a hand in her husband’s death. Speaking with journalists in Lagos on Monday, Christy described the claims circulating in parts of the family as “wicked, fabricated and deliberately aimed at tarnishing my image and that of my children.” She revealed that her husband had battled bipolar manic disorder since 2019, a condition that triggered severe manic episodes, suicidal tendencies and erratic behaviour, forcing the family to manage his illness discreetly to shield…
A member of the United States Congress, US lawmaker condemns abduction of Kebbi schoolgirls, killing of VPRep. Riley M. Moore, has expressed outrage over Monday’s attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in the Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, where terrorists killed a vice principal and abducted about 25 schoolgirls. The armed gang reportedly stormed the school in the early hours, shooting sporadically before whisking the students away. The incident has intensified concerns over the resurgence of mass abductions in the North. Reacting in a post on his official X handle, Moore claimed the attack took…
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Monday presented a N492.8bn budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly, even as the parliament battles an internal crisis over an alleged plot to impeach the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji. The appropriation bill, tagged “Budget of Economic Consolidation,” was laid before the lawmakers at a time 12 members of the Assembly recently passed a vote of no confidence in the Speaker. The aggrieved legislators had accused Oladiji of diverting N50m meant for a public hearing and mismanaging monthly operational funds. Oladiji, however, dismissed the allegations, describing the reported impeachment…
Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has reopened his long–running feud with ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, barely two days after both men publicly appeared to have ended years of political hostilities. The fresh outburst came in a ‘Thank You’ message Fayose reportedly sent to Obasanjo after the former president attended his 65th birthday celebration in Lagos on Saturday. At the event, Obasanjo had taken a swipe at Fayose while recalling the efforts made to broker peace between them. He noted that the ex-governor had sent several emissaries—including former Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka—to persuade him to accept the invitation. “You are not…
A coalition of young citizens in Ondo State has launched a political support movement to drive mobilisation for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reelection bid in 2027. The group, operating under the name Ondo Youth Alliance for Tinubu (OYAT), comprises several youth associations and clusters across the state. Its leaders say the platform was created to coordinate grassroots support and deliver what they described as a “landslide victory” for the president in Ondo State. Speaking with journalists on Monday, the Director General of the group, Thalis Olonite Apalowo, said the alliance was confident of securing overwhelming youth votes for the president,…