Amotekun Nabs Kidnappers Posing as Mad People in Ondo
Within a week, 26 suspected criminals were arrested in Ondo State by the state security outfit, Amotekun, including two suspected kidnappers who pretended to be insane. Amotekun Commander, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, revealed that the suspects were involved in various crimes such as stealing, housebreaking, rape, conspiracy to suspect robbery, assault, attempted murder, and kidnapping. Adeleye cautioned the public to be vigilant about individuals pretending to be mentally ill, as some of them only feign insanity to gather information in specific areas where they plan to operate. He also advised people to contact security agencies if they observe any suspicious movements by alleged lunatics.
Adeleye disclosed that Amotekun operatives arrested a kidnapper, Akinmola Oyekanmi, who, along with his gang, abducted a victim from Mowe in Ogun State and traveled to Ondo State before demanding a ransom. The victim was shot dead while negotiations were ongoing, and the suspects fled the scene. Amotekun operatives noticed their movement around Okitipupa and apprehended Oyekanmi, while other gang members escaped. Oyekanmi, a 30-year-old farmer, confessed to participating in two successful kidnappings with his gang and mistakenly shooting the victim during the Mowe abduction. He also admitted that they had not collected any ransom before the victim's death.
Adeleye stated that the suspects had been profiled and would undergo the usual prosecution process with the collaboration of the public prosecution office. He emphasized that there is no hiding place for criminals in Ondo State and urged them to desist from engaging in criminal activities. The Ministry of Women Affairs is also partnering with Amotekun to ensure timely information on criminal activities. Adeleye reiterated the importance of public collaboration in curbing crimes in the state.
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Southeast Cannot Ask for Senate Presidency because It Has "failed to learn from its past mistakes": ACT Chieftain
A chieftain of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and leader of the Arewa Community in Southern Nigeria, Musa Saidu, has stated that the South-east region of Nigeria has no right to demand the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly due to their failure to learn from their past mistakes. He made this statement while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
Saidu claimed that the South-east did not vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC), hence they cannot be in contention for the Senate Presidency.
"How can you come out to say that the President-elect should zone the Senate Presidency to South-east when you didn’t vote for him?
“When you ganged up to defeat the APC even in the stronghold of the president-elect, what were you thinking of?" he said.
He further stated that the South-east had demanded the position of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) in 2019 despite their lack of support for President Muhammadu Buhari.
Saidu emphasized that equity and fairness require that the Senate Presidency be given to the zone that worked for it. He suggested that the South-south zone should be considered for the position because they performed better in terms of voting for the APC in the last election.
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Miracle on Lake Kivu: Two Babies Found Floating on Debris Days After Congo Floods
In east Democratic Republic of Congo, two babies have been rescued from Lake Kivu after being found floating near the shores. This comes after more than 400 people were killed by floods in the area. The parents of the babies have died, but the community is in touch with people who can care for them. It is unclear how the babies survived three days in the lake, but witnesses report they were floating on debris.
The Congolese Red Cross has warned of distressing scenes in the affected villages, with dead bodies piled up and concerns about the smell of decomposing bodies. The number of dead has risen to at least 411, with more bodies being discovered in a later stage of decomposition. Identifying all of the deceased is proving challenging, as some were traders visiting from neighbouring towns. More than 5,000 people are still missing and rescue activities are ongoing.
The floods have also caused significant damage to infrastructure, including schools, health facilities, churches, and water infrastructure. Many local people, including Nobel peace prize laureate Denis Mukwege, have criticized the burial of flood victims in mass graves, while others have condemned the government for not visiting the flood sites. UN chief António Guterres has said that the floods are another illustration of accelerating climate change, which makes extreme rainfall more likely.
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Eight-Year-Old Boy Survives Two Days Lost in the Woods Eating Only Snow
A young boy who had gone camping with his family in Michigan's Porcupine Mountains state park went missing for two days after getting lost while gathering firewood. The eight-year-old boy, Nante Niemi, survived the ordeal by hiding under a log for shelter and eating snow for hydration.
His disappearance sparked a large-scale search operation involving 150 people, who scoured the remote and hilly terrain for him. Fortunately, he was found in good health about two miles from his camp, and has since been reunited with his family.
The police warned that the area is quite remote, and it was made more difficult by the terrain and amount of snow in the area.
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EFCC Nabs Former Minister Sale Mamman for Allegedly Diverting Funds from Power Projects
The former Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday morning in connection with an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the execution of certain power projects.
Sources have revealed that Mamman is being detained at the EFCC headquarters, and he is alleged to have conspired with staff of the Ministry in charge of the accounts of the Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro Electric Power projects to divert money which they shared amongst themselves. The EFCC has uncovered properties in Nigeria and overseas allegedly acquired with the proceeds, and millions of Naira and United States Dollars have been recovered.
The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, was unavailable for comments on the latest development.
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Explosions rock Khartoum, Sudan as warring generals escalate fighting despite truce talks
On Wednesday night, Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, was struck by loud explosions, indicating an escalation in fighting between warring generals despite ongoing truce talks in Saudi Arabia.
The two sides' representatives, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, had flown to Saudi Arabia on Saturday for peace negotiations, which have been labeled "pre-negotiation talks" by Saudi and US mediators. However, the talks have not yielded any visible results, and explosions continue to hit the city, as per residents' reports. There has been no announcement of any progress in the talks being held in Jeddah, the Red Sea port city. A Saudi diplomat acknowledged that a permanent ceasefire was not even on the table, as each side "believes it is capable of winning the battle."
Meanwhile, the UN aid official Martin Griffiths has left Jeddah after proposing a declaration of commitments for the two parties to guarantee the safe passage of humanitarian relief. Since the fighting began on April 15, more than 750 people, mostly civilians, have been killed, while nearly 150,000 refugees have crossed into neighboring countries, and 700,000 people have been displaced within Sudan.
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New Law Puts a Cap on Wedding Expenses in Sokoto State
The Sokoto State House of Assembly has approved a bill that aims to regulate the expenses associated with marriage and other local ceremonies across the state.
The bill, which was sponsored by Alhaji Abubakar Shehu and Faruk Balle, was initially referred to the House Committee on Religious Affairs for review. The committee, chaired by Shehu, presented its report during a plenary session, and the bill was unanimously adopted and passed into law.
The primary objective of the bill is to curb excessive spending on marriage, naming, circumcision, and other traditional ceremonies in the state.
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