Metro
20 Die As Boat Explodes, Sinks In Bayelsa
Published
1 year agoon
By
Editor
A wooden cargo boat, identified as ‘Godbless Dickson’, laden with cargo and over 64 passengers and crew exploded, burst into flames leaving 20 dead in Bayelsa waterways.
The tragic incident occurred on Wednesday along the Ezetu 1 community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa.
ASP Musa Mohammed, the Police spokesman in Bayelsa said 20 people have been so far confirmed dead. He added that rescue efforts by the Marine Police unit were still ongoing.
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The ill-fated cargo boat laden with farm produce from the rural settlement was en route Swali market in Yenagoa.
Mr Ogoniba Ipigansi, Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Bayelsa Chapter, also confirmed the incident on Thursday.
He said that a rescue team of the union, consisting of two speedboats, had been dispatched to the scene to assist the passengers on board.
He said that the exact number of casualties was yet to be ascertained, as the rescue was still underway and several people on board were yet to be accounted for.
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‘I rescued 10’
A speedboat operator, Mr Augustine Amayoro, who participated in rescue efforts, said he rescued 10 persons from the scene, leaving other passengers stranded in the nearby fishing camp.
It was gathered that the wooden cargo boats were exempted from the state government’s ban on night navigation on waterways.
Due to the slow pace of navigation, the cargo boats set sail a day ahead of the targeted weekly market days of Thursdays. It is when farm produce usually flood the Swali waterside in Yenagoa.
Meanwhile, Chief Target Segibo, Chairman of Southern Ijaw LGA, who bemoaned the loss of 20 persons in the incident, described the disaster as regrettable.
He called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to strengthen safety regulations in the marine transport sector.
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Metro
Police Arrest Siblings Over Communal Clash In Ondo
Published
6 hours agoon
September 14, 2025By
Editor
Ondo State Police Command has arrested two brothers, Ogunsemore Gbadebo and Michael Ogunsemore for their allegedly involvement in a violent communal clash that occurred in Eki/Oboto Community of Ilaje local government area of the State.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the suspects had been locked in a prolonged land dispute with the monarch of the community, Oba Oyetayo Ofoaye of Aboto.
According to the. state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olusola Ayanlade, the matter was first taken to the Okitipupa High Court, which ruled in favour of the monarch.
However, not satisfied with the verdict, the siblings filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Akure, where the appellate court again upheld the Oba’s position.
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The PPRO alleged that the brothers resorted to self-help thereafter, recruiting armed thugs to unleash violence on the community rather than accepting the judgement of the Appeal Court.
It was learnt that the attack reportedly perpetrated by the suspects and their gangs, displaced residents, destroyed huts, palm produce, and other valuables, while one Jeremiah Okuntimehin sustained machete injuries in the fracas.
“This criminal escalation turned a civil dispute into a grave security threat, prompting swift police intervention,” the PPRO said.
According to the police spokesman, the police launched a coordinated operation that led to the arrest of the brothers – Gbadebo and Michael, who have since been arraigned in court.
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He added that efforts were ongoing to track down other fleeing members of the group who took part in the unrest.
Ayanlade stressed that the arrests marked a decisive step in restoring peace to the affected community, warning that communal violence will not be condoned under any guise.
Commissioner of Police in the State, CP Adebowale Lawal cautioned individuals and groups against undermining judicial decisions or taking the law into their own hands, warning that such acts would attract the full weight of the law.
He assured residents of Eki/Oboto and Aboto of adequate police presence and urged them to remain calm, law-abiding, and cooperative with security agencies.
The CP also emphasised that dialogue and peaceful engagement remained the only sustainable means of resolving communal disputes.
Metro
Foreign Currency Found On Beggars As 40 Evacuated In Kwara
Published
6 hours agoon
September 14, 2025By
Editor
The Kwara State government has again evacuated another set of 40 beggars from the street of Ilorin, the state capital.
The evacuation of beggars was carried out by the officials of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development in collaboration with operatives of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS), Kwara State Command.
During a search conducted on the beggars, a foreign currency (US dollar) was found on one of them, Musa Mahmuda, who claimed to be from Kano State.
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A sharp knife was found in the possession of another beggar.
Seven of the evacuees were second term offenders, having been arrested during a previous evacuation excercise but they returned to the streets again.
The operation was conducted at Tipper Garage in Tanke, Offa garage and Garin Alimi areas – all in Ilorin metropolis.
The Commissioner for social Welfare and Development, Dr Mariam Imam, expressed delight that the excercise was yielding the desired results, saying the number of those evacuated from the streets in the latest exercise has “dratically reduced from 94 arrested during the last time to 40”.
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She said the ministry’s evacuation team was changing its “strategy as the beggars too were changing their tactics and locations to evade being evacuated from the streets.”
She implored those patronising the beggars to stop doing so and channel their offerings through religious organisations, orphanages and places of worship, reiterating that street begging has been outlawed in the state.
The head, Non-custodian Centre, Nigerian Correctional Services, Kwara State Command, Adebayo Okunola, said the appropriate punitive measures will be meted out to the arrested beggars to serve as deterrence to them and others.
“We will make sure that they clean the streets, they will sweep the streets so that they will know that there is dignity in labour,” he stated.
Metro
NDLEA Arrests Indian Businessman, 3 Others Over Alleged Trafficking Of N3.9bn Tramadol
Published
7 hours agoon
September 14, 2025By
Editor
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, alongside three Nigerian accomplices in connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg.
Kumar was apprehended alongside Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode and Bakare Korede Muheeb at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.
The tramadol shipment worth N3,990,000,000 in street value was imported from Delhi, India, disguised as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons and arrived the import shed of the Lagos airport on an Ethiopian Airline flight on Monday 8th September 2025.
NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said a team of NDLEA officers who had put the consignment under surveillance, swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers who were trying to move the shipment out of the airport in two trucks on Thursday, September 11th.
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Babafemi said a follow-up operation the following day, Friday, led to the arrest of the Kumar, when he was trying to take delivery of the consignment.
At the Terminal 2 departure of the airport, NDLEA operatives on Sunday, September 7, intercepted a passenger Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi while travelling on a Qatar Airline flight to Doha.
“A search of his bag led to the recovery of 900grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis concealed in crayfish. As a first-time traveler, Onyeganochi claimed the bag was given to him to help take to Doha by a Qatar-based Nigerian Ohaodiegwu Anthony Uchenna who actually followed him to the airport.
“His confession led to the arrest of Uchenna who was still within view. Operatives who later conducted a search of Uchenna’s hotel room in Ajao Estate discovered additional 200grams of the same psychoactive substance.
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“He claimed he was to return to Doha days later and pick the bag from the unsuspecting Onyeganochi if he had succeeded in escaping security checks,” the NDLEA said.
Meanwhile, at the Tincan Port in Lagos, a total of 161 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 81.7kg and 1.2kg hashish oil were recovered from a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts and used vehicles imported from Montreal Canada during a joint examination of the shipment on Tuesday 9th September.
Two suspects including John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, were arrested in connection with the seizure.
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Another shipment of Canadian Loud with a total weight of 65kg was tracked from the port to Third Mainland bridge where NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveying the consignment, recovered it and arrested the driver Abubakar Ibrahim, 42 on Thursday 11th September.
Two separate shipments of methamphetamine concealed in picture frame and Loud, hidden in video players were seized at two courier companies in Lagos on Monday 8th and Thursday 11th September respectively by NDLEA operatives.
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