Prophet sentenced to life imprisonment for r3ping 13-year-old girl in Ekiti

An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, on Monday sentenced a 47-year-old cleric, Prophet Adeleye Akingbaso, to life imprisonment for raping a 13-year-old girl.

The convict was arraigned in September 2022 on a two-count charge bordering on r3pe and coercion.

The charge read, “The Prophet, sometime in July 2022, at Ado-Ekiti, did r3pe a 13-year-old girl. Also, in July 2021, Prophet Adeleye coerced the victim to engage in a sexual act to the detriment of her physical and psychological well-being.

“The offences are contrary to Section 31(2) of the Child’s Rights Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012 and Section 4 of the Ekiti State Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, No.18 of 2019,” the charge stated.

In her testimony before the court, the victim, who described the cleric as a friend to her mother and was sleeping over in their house, said that the man committed the act one night when her mother was on night duty.

“He woke me up at midnight and said I bedwetted, which was strange to me. He brought out a bottle of shea butter and rubbed it on my vagina; that was all I knew. I later discovered I had been r3ped that night. He threatened me that he would curse me and I would die if I told anybody,” she said.

“He came to our house again on the following day when my mother was not around. I was in the kitchen, and he told me he wanted to complete what he started the previous night. He attempted to rough-handle me, but I escaped and shouted for help, following which our neighbours came to my rescue. They called and informed my mother of the incident. She came home and later reported the case to the police."

To proof his case, the prosecutor, Taiwo Ariyo, called four witnesses and tendered the statement of the victim and medical report as exhibits, while the defendant, who spoke in his own defence through his lawyer, Adelanke Akinrata, called no witness.

In the court judgment, Justice Blessing Ajileye found the cleric guilty on the two counts.

Ajikeye said, “In conclusion, this court has found the defendant guilty on the two-count charge of r3pe and coercion and convicted him accordingly. This will serve as a deterrent to others in the class of the defendant who has not been caught up by the nemesis of law.

“On count one (rape), the defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment and on count two (coercion), the defendant is sentenced to three years imprisonment. Justice Ajileye pronounced that both terms are to run concurrently.” 

Bauchi orders closure of all schools for 5 weeks school for Ramadan fast

The Bauchi State government, through the Ministry of Education, has announced the closure of all schools in the state for five weeks in preparation for the 2025 Ramadan fast. 

The announcement is contained in the approved school calendar for the 2024-2025 academic session in the state. 

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Friday, Feb. 28, Mr Jalaludeen Maina, the Information Officer, Ministry of Education, said the holiday had already been incorporated in the calendar long before now. 

He explained that the closure would take effect from March 1 to April 5. 
 

Maina said the closure affected all the institutions of learning, which include all public and private primary, Junior and secondary schools, as well as higher institutions of learning in the state. 

“Yes, we are closing all our schools and this is included in our 2024-2025 approved calendar for the academic session that our students are not going to do the Ramadan fasting while in school. 

“The five-week holiday is for Ramadan fasting and immediately after the fasting, they will resume and continue with their academics,” he said. 

Some parents in the state have complained that the development would affect their children’s educational progress.

Three siblings m$rdered and stuffed in deep freezer to be buried March 8

The three siblings k!lled and their bodies stuffed inside a deep freezer in Nnewichi, in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State, will be laid to rest on Saturday, March 8.  

It was reported that the three siblings- a boy aged 5, and two girls aged 7 and 9 – were m#rd£red in their home and their bodies were stored in a deep freezer in Nnewichi, Nnewi, Anambra state, by yet-to-be-identified assailants.

The eldest of the siblings, a girl, Ejezie Chikaima Daviana, with the second daughter, Ejezie Chimziterem Dominica and the only son, Ejezie Chimdilim David, were in the house when their mother, Mrs Chikazor Ejezie, said to be a lecturer and a nurse, left home to partake in an examination on the fateful day. 

According to a burial announcement signed by the father of the deceased, Mr Udochukwu Ejezie, on Sunday, February 23, the burial mass vigil will be held simultaneously on Thursday, March 6, at St. Anslem’s Catholic Parish, Irrua, Edo State and at St. Luke’s Catholic Chaplaincy in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi from 5pm. And on Friday, March 7, 2025, there will be a vigil mass at the Ejezie’s compound in Umueze Uga, Agusta Local Government Area of Anambra State by 4pm.

The burial poster reads in part

“The Ejezie’s family of Umuokwara Umucheke Umueze Uga in Aguata LGA of Anambra State and the entire Catholic community of St. Michael’s Parish Umueze Uga, St. Luke’s Cath. Chaplaincy, NAUTH, Nnewi, St. Anslem’s Catholic Parish, Irrua Edo State, wish to announce the gruesome murder/burial of their three iblings and Martyrs who were murdered and stacked inside a deep freezer by a yet-to-be identified person.

“On Thursday, March 6, 2025, mass for the dead at St. Anslem’s Catholic Parish, Irrua Edo State. On the same day, there will be a vigil mass at St. Luke’s Catholic Chaplaincy NAUTH Nnewi by 5pm.

On Friday, March 7, 2025, there will be a vigil mass at Ejezie’s compound Umueze Uga, Anambra State by 4pm.

On Saturday, March 8, 2025, at about 7am, bodies leave Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital’s Morgue, Nnewi to their hometown, Uga. Burial mass starts by 10am at Ejezie’s Compound Umueze Uga.

On Sunday, March 9, Thanksgiving mass at St Michael’s Catholic Church, Umueze, Uga. May their immaculate souls rest in perfect peace. We invite all lovers of children to be with us in this trial moment.”

The father of the kids, Udochukwu Ejezie, further said the burial announcement was made public “to correct every speculation and misinformation already making the rounds in the social media claiming that the children have been buried”.

“We requested for the permission for us to bury the children and the police have given the family the go ahead to do so, just as the result of the autopsy is been awaited. But sadly, reports have been making the rounds in the social media that they were already buried. That is not true.

We want to urge all those spreading this misinformation in the social media to restrain caution and respect the wishes of the family as we mourn our de@d,” Ejezie added

No arrest has been made so far in connection with the killing. The police have however conducted an autopsy and a result is being awaited.

Abia community discovers 30 bodies of suspected ritu@l k!lling victims

 

Over 30 bodies of victims of suspected ritu@l k!llings have been found in the past year in the Imo River in the Oriendu autonomous community, Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State. 

The traditional ruler of the community, HRH Eze Philip Ajomiwe, disclosed this to journalists in his palace after the body of another woman was found. 

Eze Ajomiwe said: “The bodies, like the recent one, are either completely naked and without their private parts or in a bag. There have also been cases of two decomposing bodies seen beside the NNPC pipeline. 

“The victims are mostly young girls. The ritualists from Imo usually come at night to dump the bodies of their victims inside the Imo River, and in the morning, we wake to see them.” 

The monarch expressed concern that the situation was getting out of hand and had created fear in and around the community. He added that no arrests have been made yet. 

He stated that efforts by the community’s vigilante group to arrest the suspects had failed, too, because the group was not as equipped as the suspects were said to be. 

“So, we’re appealing to the state government to empower the vigilante group with the necessary logistics and the wherewithal to enable it to match the suspects,” he said. 

He said that his complaints about the situation to security agents had been unsuccessful, noting that the latest was a letter to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly on February 7. 

“We have reported even to the DSS, and they came here and held a meeting with us. We need the Government’s intervention to apprehend those behind this atrocity.”

India bans drugs blamed for opioid crisis in Nigeria and other countries

 

India has banned the manufacture and export of the highly addictive opioids tapentadol and carisoprodol after an investigative report exposed their role in a growing drug crisis in West Africa.

The move comes after a BBC investigation revealed that Mumbai-based Aveo Pharmaceuticals was illegally exporting the drug combination to countries including Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.

Secretly recorded footage showed an Aveo director admitting the drugs were "very harmful" but profitable. Following the revelation, authorities raided the company’s factory, seizing its stock.

The Indian health ministry announced on Sunday that it had initiated the process to revoke export and manufacturing licenses for the combination, calling the drugs a serious health risk. The ministry also suspended all operations by Aveo after an audit conducted by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and the Maharashtra state regulatory authority.

“Approximately 1.3 crore tablets and 26 batches of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients of tapentadol and carisoprodol were detained to prevent further distribution of these potentially dangerous drugs,” the ministry said in a statement.

India’s Food and Drugs Administration vowed stricter monitoring to prevent future illegal exports and protect the country’s pharmaceutical industry. The Drugs Controller General, Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, stated that permission to manufacture and export the combination had been withdrawn due to its high potential for abuse and harmful effects.

Authorities say the combination of tapentadol, a potent opioid, and carisoprodol, an addictive muscle relaxant, is already banned for medical use in India due to its severe health risks, including breathing difficulties, seizures, and fatal overdoses.

Despite this, the drugs have been flooding West African markets, particularly Nigeria, where an estimated four million people abuse opioids. The World Health Organization estimates that 100,000 people in Africa die annually due to "falsified or substandard" medications.

The BBC investigation found that Aveo and its sister company, Westfin International, had shipped millions of these pills to West Africa, where they were openly sold on the streets. In a secretly recorded exchange, Aveo director Vinod Sharma acknowledged the dangers of the pills, stating, “This is very harmful to the health,” before admitting, “Nowadays, this is business.”

When an undercover BBC operative posed as an African businessman and suggested selling the pills to Nigerian teenagers, Sharma replied, “OK.” He also explained that taking two or three pills at once would allow users to "relax" and get "high."

In response to the allegations, Aveo Pharmaceuticals issued a statement rejecting the claims as "entirely baseless and without merit," insisting that the company had always adhered to regulations.

However, the national drug regulator clarified that while tapentadol and carisoprodol are individually approved in India, their combination is not. Officials emphasized that several companies in India were producing similar illegal combinations and that legal action was being pursued against them.

Court clears IPOB leader of terrorism charges, awards N5m damages against FG

 

Justice I.N Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, Imo state has cleared the Head of the Directorate of State of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Chika Edoziem, of all charges related to terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping, and violent criminal activities.

Edoziem, who ranks next to the detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was previously declared wanted and listed as a security threat in a government publication.

A judgment delivered in the case between Edoziem and the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff, Justice Oweibo, held that Edoziem’s designation as a wanted person, terrorist, insurgent, kidnapper, and violent criminal was illegal and a violation of his fundamental rights.

Justice Oweibo ruled that the March 22, 2024, publication of Edoziem’s name and photograph in the Ministry of Defence’s First Edition of 2024 was done in gross violation of his constitutionally guaranteed right to dignity of the human person, making it unconstitutional.

Justice Oweibo ordered the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff to immediately retract the unconstitutional declaration of Chika Edoziem as a terrorist, insurgent, kidnapper, violent criminal and wanted person, tender an unreserved public apology to Edoziem in two national newspapers and further awarded N5m in damages for the infringement of Edoziem’s fundamental right to dignity of the human person.

Man slumps and d!es close to a funeral home in Aba

A yet-to-be-identified man slumped and d!ed along Osisioma junction in Aba, Abia State.

 

A resident, Sandra Okereke, said the incident happened close to a funeral home on Wednesday, February 19, 2025. 

 

According to her, the man slumped immediately after he alighted from his vehicle.

 

'Happening Now in Osisioma junction. Is life not mysterious? This healthy looking man. Just slumped at Osisioma Junction now close to Apams Funeral Home, Aba after stepping out of his car. He d!ed instantly. Due to the uncontrollable number of people, his corpse was carried to a nearby mortuary. Attempts are being made to communicate to his people. His phone is automatically locked. You can share this post so that we can locate the family," she wrote. 

See his picture below… viewers discretion advised.

 

Police officer and his wife hack each other to d3ath during v!olent altercation in Ekiti

A senior police officer and his wife have d!ed in a domestic altercation in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The tragic incident occurred on Tuesday, February 18, 2024, in the Ita-Eku area along Igirigiri Road. 

It was gathered that the policeman identified as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Leramo Caleb, allegedly engaged in a heated argument with his wife, Tate, over accusations of infidelity. 

The situation spiralled out of control, leading to a deadly confrontation. 

It was reported that the wife allegedly att@cked the officer and cut off his manhood. 

In retaliation, the enraged policeman picked up a machete and hacked his wife to d3ath, smashing her head and face in a gruesome act of v!olence. 

Spokesperson of the State Police Command, SP Sunday Abutu, confirmed the incident.

“We got a report that a couple, husband and wife d3ad and we went to the scene and took them to the hospital where they were confirmed d3ad,” he said.

"We suspected a case of v!olence between the couple and a knife was recovered at the scene. The police have commenced a proper investigation into the matter. It is true, the man was a police officer.

It was further gathered that the late officer was in his second marriage, which, unfortunately, ended in tragedy. 

The couple’s bodies have been deposited at a morgue in an undisclosed hospital. 

Trump administration gives schools two weeks to eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs or risk losing federal money

The Trump administration is giving America’s schools and universities two weeks to eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives or risk losing federal money, raising the stakes in the president’s fight against “wokeness” and sowing confusion as schools scramble to comply.

In a memo, the Education Department gave an ultimatum to stop using “racial preferences” as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring or other areas. Schools are being given 14 days to end any practice that treats students or workers differently because of their race.

Educators at colleges nationwide were rushing to evaluate their risk and decide whether to stand up for practices they believe are legal.

The sweeping demand threatens to upend all aspects of campus operations, from essays on college applications to classroom lessons and campus clubs.

It’s meant to correct what the memo described as rampant discrimination in education, often against white and Asian students.

“Schools have been operating on the pretext that selecting students for ‘diversity’ or similar euphemisms is not selecting them based on race,” said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights. “No longer. Students should be assessed according to merit, accomplishment, and character.”

The guidance drew sharp backlash from civil rights groups and university groups. Some believe its vague language is meant to have a chilling effect, pressuring schools to eliminate anything touching on the topic of race even if it may be defensible in court.

“Creating a sense of risk around doing work that might promote diverse and welcoming campuses is much more of the goal than a clear statement of existing law,” said Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents.

The memo is an extension of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

Angry mob k!lls two men in Abuja after accusing them of being ‘one-chance’ robbers

 

An angry mob has k!lled two men along the Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) after they accused them of robbing a woman and throwing her out of their moving vehicle. 

It was gathered that the incident happened around 3pm on Saturday, February 15, 2025 when the suspects,  operating in a commercial vehicle, were accused of robbing the woman travelling from the Gosa area to the city. 

An eyewitness alleged that after dispossessing the woman of her belongings, the suspects pushed her out of the vehicle. 

"The vehicle behind them almost ran over the woman, but thank God, the driver managed to stop just in time,” the eyewitness said.

"That same driver then started chasing the robbers while honking to alert other road users.”

“As the pursuit continued, more motorists and bystanders joined in. Their escape attempt ended at ACO Estate Junction when another motorist blocked their path as they tried to make a U-turn back toward Gosa."

The suspects immediately abandoned their vehicle and attempted to flee on foot, but the growing mob quickly overpowered them. 

According to the eyewitness, one of the suspects was intercepted first and beaten severely before being set ablaze. 

Meanwhile, the second suspect was thrown into a roadside gutter, where he remained motionless, leading many to assume he was d3ad. 

However, upon closer inspection, the eyewitness, who had been videoing the events, realised the suspect was still alive.

“I went closer and saw that he was just sitting in the gutter. I started recording again, and people were asking him questions,” the eyewitness recounted. 

“They asked for his name, but he refused to say. When they asked where he was from, he said Ogun State. They also asked if he was Yoruba, and he confirmed it.”

"While the interrogation continued, members of the mob who had initially assumed he was dead began gathering again. Within moments, the aggression resumed. 

“They started coming back, one by one. Then they poured fuel on him, intending to set him on fire like they did with the other one."

The suspect attempted to escape. He staggered out of the gutter and ran toward a nearby church, Foundation of Truth Assembly (FOTA), possibly seeking refuge.

“He was very weak because they had already beaten him badly before. As he approached the church, someone shouted that they shouldn’t k!ll him there. So, they dragged him away from the church premises to another property nearby." 

The mob continued their assault, pelting him with stones until he d!ed.

The mob set ablaze the vehicle allegedly used to perpetrate their crimes.