Metro

Alleged Blasphemy: Shariah Court Orders Arrest Of Embattled Bauchi Imam

Published

2 years ago

May 31, 2023

Editor

The Upper Shariah Court of Appeal No 1 sitting in Bauchi on Wednesday issued a warrant of arrest against the embattled Imam of Dutsen-Tanshi Jumma’at Mosque in Bauchi, Idris Abdul’aziz, over his failure to appear before the court.

The embattled cleric was initially arraigned before the Bauchi Magistrate Court 1 by the state Commissioner of Police for alleged incitement to public disturbance of peace and blasphemy.

Upon his arraignment, he was remanded at the Bauchi correctional centre before he was eventually granted bail.

The police had arraigned him before the court following a petition written against him, alleging that during one of his Tafsir sessions during this year’s holy month of Ramadan he made blasphemous comments against Prophet Mohammed and some notable Sufi clerics.

However, the case was transferred to the Upper Shariah Court of Appeal 1 Bauchi for trial.

When the case was called during the court’s sitting on Wednesday, the cleric was absent in court, with the prosecuting counsel, Aliyu Bn Idris, saying that the defendant’s absence was deliberate.

The defence counsel, however, Barrister Sadiq Abubakar Ilelah, however, informed the court that the cleric was not in court due to his sickness and pleaded for an adjournment to enable Idris to come to court.

In a bench ruling, the presiding judge, Hussaini Turaki, held that Idris’ failure to come to court despite being issued with a summon to that effect amounts to contempt of court.

He subsequently issued a bench warrant for the cleric’s arrest with a view to forcing him to appear before court at the next adjourned date.

Turaki then adjourned the case to Monday, June 5, 2023.

Speaking with journalists after the adjournment of the case, counsel to Idris, Barrister Ilellah attributed his absence in court to an undisclosed ailment, saying that, “The Imam was sick. That is why he could not attend the court sitting.”

Ilelah informed the defence had filed a motion, seeking an adjournment to enable the cleric to appear on the next adjourned date.

According to him, “the judge refused our plea that our client be given another opportunity to appear before the court, arguing that he disrespected the summons of the court.”

The prosecuting counsel, Idris explained to journalists that the case was transferred from Magistrate Court 1 to the Upper Shariah Court of Appeal in order to start afresh and lamented that the cleric was not in court for the commencement of trial.

“Unfortunately, the defendant could not come to court, but they have filed a notice of preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the court.

“However, we argue that he is supposed to appear before the court before they move their motion.

“We applied for a bench warrant to be issued against him since he has refused to come to court, and the court ruled in that favour,” the prosecutor said.

Metro

Stop Using Edo Money For Federal Roads, Residents Tell Okpebholo

Published

2 hours ago

October 7, 2025

Editor

Residents of Benin, the Edo State capital have urged Governor Monday Okpebholo to stop using money accruing to the state on federal government projects.

The residents, who frowned at the governor’s unrelenting efforts in fixing federal roads, lamented that most state-owned roads are in the state of disrepair.

According to the residents, roads in the Government Reservation Area (GRA) have failed and are not motorable, adding that several other state-owned roads have failed and are in need of urgent repairs.

An Activist and head of Talakawas Parliament, in Edo State, Kola Edokpaiyi, said it was ‘busy body’ that made Okpebholo to abandon state-owned roads that are crying for attention in favour of federal roads.

He said, “There are so many deplorable state roads in Edo State that are not motorable. We expect the Governor of Edo State to quickly give attention to them all before considering Federal Roads if the state is too rich.

“The Minister of Works, Mr. David Umahi has visited federal roads in Edo State about two times to ascertain how deplorable the roads are. He has already given the brief to Mr. President. We expect the Minister to swing into action based on the huge finance allocated by Federal Government to get the work done.

“I want to appeal to His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo to address the so many state roads that are bad.”

Also, a commercial driver, who plies between Ring Road and Ebvuotubu, Joseph Ikpigho, said he spent more money to fix his car due to bad roads.

Recall that Okpebholo has embarked on reconstruction of 23 kilometres of the Sapele Road axis of the East-West road.

He is also assisting the Federal Government to fix failed portions of the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi highway.

Metro

Fire Guts Section Of Rivers Secretariat

Published

19 hours ago

October 6, 2025

Editor

A section of the Rivers State Secretariat was on Monday evening gutted by fire, leaving parts of the complex damaged before it was brought under control.

The fire, which reportedly started a few minutes past 5 p.m., was contained through the swift response of the Rivers State Fire Service.

Eyewitnesses said the blaze spread rapidly before firefighters arrived at the scene to extinguish it, preventing further damage to nearby offices.

Although the cause of the fire has not been officially confirmed, preliminary reports suggest that an electrical fault may have triggered the incident.

The Rivers State Head of Service, Inyingi Brown, also attributed the outbreak to an electrical fault, urging workers to ensure that all electrical appliances are switched off before leaving the office.

An unconfirmed source indicated that the fire may have affected the state Pension Commission, though the extent of the damage remains unclear.

Authorities are yet to release an official statement on the full impact of the incident as investigations continue.

Metro

18-year-old Hangs Self, Police Launch Investigation

Published

2 days ago

October 5, 2025

Editor

The Benue State Police Command has confirmed the death of an 18-year-old identified as Tersoo Veregh, who allegedly took his own life in Makurdi, the state capital.

According to Zagazola Makama, the deceased’s father, Mr. Veregh Nathaniel, of Iorkyaako Street, High Level area of Makurdi, made the tragic discovery around 2:00 a.m. on October 4, when he stepped out of his room to ease himself and found his son hanging from the ceiling.

Following the report, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of ‘B’ Division, Makurdi, led a team of detectives to the scene. The body was photographed and later taken to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital mortuary.

Police authorities said an investigation has commenced to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.