Metro

50 Feared Killed As Suspected Herdsmen Invade Benue Communities

Published

1 year ago

March 7, 2023

No fewer than 50 persons have been feared killed during a four-day attack by suspected herdsmen who invaded some communities in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.

It was gathered that the affected communities include Adam, Iyarinwa, Abamde Ityuluv, Waya Boagundu, Agura Ayaga and Azege areas in Turan Council Ward, Kwande LGA.

The immediate past Chairman of the LGA, Tertsua Yarkbewan, while speaking to journalists on the phone on Monday, said over 50 people were killed during the attacks by suspected herdsmen.

He said, “My people are being massacred like goats. What we have been hearing is that there are Fulani attacks, especially in Turan in the Kwande axis. Even places where there were no attacks before are witnessing attacks.

“Now, every day you hear that five or four people were killed, you cannot have the exact number of those that have been killed because some corpses are still in the bush and yet to be recovered. But looking at the number of people being killed in the past few days, I think the casualty figures should be over 50.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, when contacted, debunked the casualty figure.

She said, “They have not given me the report but it is not up to 50; the initial report they gave me there was a change of leadership of the division. The new DPO just reported last Friday and when I asked him to give me a situation report he said the area is calm now.”

Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the APC, Hyacinth Alia, in a statement issued by one of his media aides, Isaac Uzaan, condemned the attacks on communities in Kwande and Gwer-West by suspected herders.

He also expressed deep concern over the herdsmen invasion of communities in the state and the gruesome killing of citizens, adding that the situation had become a new normal in the state.

“The Benue APC governorship candidate faulted the resurgence of the brutal killings of Benue citizens, wondering why such was coming at the heels of the presidential and National Assembly elections that produced Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the statement said.

In his reaction, the acting Chairman of PDP in the state, Isaac Teryila, condemned the attacks that resulted in the loss of people’s lives, the destruction of property including farms and the consequent displacement of people from their lands in the state.

“Those attacks, if not halted by security forces, will further worsen the problem of low voters’ turnout at the coming governorship and state House of Assembly elections slated to hold on March 11, 2023, across the state.”
PUNCH

Metro

VIDEO: Hundreds Of Abandoned Ikoyi Towers Illegal Occupants Get 48-hour Eviction Notice

Published

2 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Editor

The Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources has issued a 48-hour eviction notice to illegal occupants of the Ikoyi Towers in the Lagos Island area of the state.

The state Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this during an inspection of the estate on Saturday.

In a post on X.com, Wahab stated that hundreds of undocumented residents were seen in the premises, which lacked sanitary provisions.

He added that they pose security and environmental threats to the state, hence the eviction notice.

Wahab wrote, “Abandoned Ikoyi Towers which we observed were housing illegal occupants posing a security threat to the environment and a nuisance to the state.

“An undocumented number of persons running into hundreds were seen on the premises with no sanitary provisions and whose daily activities could not be ascertained.

“They have been given a 48-hour vacation notice to leave the area.”

The commissioner further stated that the team also conducted an inspection to assess the enforcement of Osborne under bridge after the illegal structures harbouring several people were removed.”

Recall that on Wednesday that the state government discovered 86 partitioned rooms under the Dolphin Estate Bridge in Ikoyi, where tenants were said to be paying N250,000 per annum for the makeshift apartment.

Watch video below courtesy The PUNCH

𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐀𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐤𝐨𝐲𝐢 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝟒𝟖-𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞
The Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources has issued a 48-hour eviction notice to illegal occupants… pic.twitter.com/yrd5e2SS95
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) May 4, 2024

Metro

5-year-old Girl Allegedly Defiled, Mother Demands Justice

Published

3 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Editor

A woman, Rita Ebirim, has demanded justice following the alleged defilement of her five-year-old daughter by her brother-in-law in Lagos.

The distraught mother, who spoke with our correspondent on Friday, explained that her estranged husband had filed a divorce on August 2, 2022, and while waiting for the trial, she was ordered by the court to allow the father to have access to their daughter.

Ebirim explained that her daughter was defiled during her second visit to her father by his brother.

She said, “One day in February last year, he came to pick her up for the first time in the morning and returned her in the evening. That day I sensed that something was wrong with my girl and I voiced my suspicion to my lawyer but he waved it off.

“The next time, he came to take her to visit him and she returned to me at night beyond the speculated time. Later, when I wanted to bathe her, she started crying, pushing my hands away, that I shouldn’t touch her ‘there’.

“When I asked her who touched her there she told me her uncle touched her.

Ebirim said when she called her daughter’s father, he said he didn’t do anything to her and immediately told her to take the girl to the hospital “knowing full well that it was late at night”.

“I took her to two hospitals and after she was examined, the doctors said she had bruises on her private parts, that she had been sexually molested,” she added.

Suspect remanded for allegedly defiling three-year-old daughter
Sunday Special learned that the case was reported to the Ketu police station and also the Lagos State Sexual and Domestic Violence Agency.

“Although the suspect was arrested, he was later released on bail, and up till now, we are still awaiting a hearing in court. The case has needlessly dragged on and it feels that justice is elusive,” Ebirim added.

Giving an update on the case, the Executive Secretary of the DSVA, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, in a chat with our correspondent, disclosed that a forensic interview had been conducted for the child and that the case had been referred to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

She said, “The agency received a report of an alleged case of defilement on February 20, 2023, against one X. It was alleged that Mr O has allegedly abused her sexually during her visit to Mr O.”

Vivour-Adeniyi further said the agency immediately referred the case officially to the Ketu divisional police station on the same day.

“The case was also referred to State CID, Panti, on February 21, 2023, where investigations were conducted with all parties involved. Two officers from the agency were also assigned to support the survivors’ mother at the police station.

“The agency subsequently referred the case to Cece Yara Child Advocacy Centre for a forensic interview to be conducted. The forensic interview was successfully conducted in April 2023. The case file was forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for legal advice,” she added.
PUNCH

Metro

VIDEO: Woman, Baby Involved In Lagos Car Accident

Published

3 hours ago

May 5, 2024

Editor

A woman, her toddler and a motorcyclist popularly known as Okada rider were reportedly involved in a car accident on the Festac Link Bridge in the Ammuo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State on Saturday night.

It was gathered that the incident occurred on Saturday night around 11:00pm.

Joshua Davids, who witnessed the accident, said, “What really happened at Amuwo Link Bridge, tonight’s accident, is that the car, the driver hit a woman and a baby on her back. So actually, they have rushed the woman and the baby to the hospital.

“The driver is safe because there is an airbag. There is protection for him in the car. So he is safe now and he has already rushed the woman and her baby to the hospital.

When asked about the Okada rider, he said, “They have also rushed him to the hospital. The three of them are unconscious. I was walking down from the back, from the backside. I was also coming from Festac, so I saw everything that happened. He also almost hit me.”

David, who showed his injury in a video, added, “I have to save myself. I have to. If not, what would I be saying by now? I thank God for my life. Thank God. Thank you very much.”

Another witness who spoke anonymously to our reporter said, “I was on my way home, I had a loud sound coming from the top of the bridge. I rushed down and saw a woman with her toddler on the ground. The bike rider seemed unconscious.

Narrating what might have happened that led to the crash, he said, “The vehicle had double-crossed his lane and jumped into the other lane coming towards Festac and had hit the Okada rider, and the Okada rider was carrying a woman and her toddler.

“She had injuries on her legs I asked her where she felt pain, and she said her head mostly. The driver who drove the car was okay and rushed the victims to the hospital.”

The police had yet to reach the venue of the incident as of the time of filing this report.

𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍: 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭
A woman, her toddler and a motorcyclist popularly known as Okada rider were reportedly involved in a car accident on the Festac Link Bridge in the Ammuo Odofin Local Government Area of… pic.twitter.com/3uBNaLhrBf
— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) May 4, 2024