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Alleged Murder: Former Delta PDP LG Chairman Narrates Ordeal Two Years After Release From Police Den

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The immediate past Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta State, Chief (Dr.) Kings Okpako popularly known as Kuti, who hails from Erho-Abraka, was arrested two years ago in connection with the murder of an indigene of Abraka.

Recently, he spoke with journalists two years and four months after he was set free by the police, just as he celebrated the anniversary of his freedom.

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According to him, he was found innocent and released by the Nigerian police that held him in detention for four months.

The politician who stormed Ebenezer Church, Erho Abraka for the oath-taking said he was set-up.

His words: “I came this day to take an oath before the Lord Almighty as Samuel and Abraham did in the scripture. I come before the altar of God. If I deceive the whole world can I deceive my God?”

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“There is the insinuation that I tied someone in the bush that I wanted to use to bury my mother; that I belong to a secret society.”

According to him, he took the oath because he is bitter.

Recounting some of his ordeal as a politician, he recalled how he was kidnapped on the 29th of January, 2013.

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In his words, “I was kidnapped in Asaba on my way from Benizia Hotel where I went for Okowa’s first tenure as the Chairman of the party in Ethiope East. For 6 days I was in the forest. Friends and some political allies paid the ransom which led to my release. Some said “Kuti went to hide himself in bush so government can give him money.

“April 14, 2007, my house was burnt during the gubernatorial election that brought Uduaghan in. My cousin and his pregnant wife were murdered in my house. The insinuation was that “Kingsley Okpako used them for money ritual”. It’s laughable. Thank God the fresh bodies were met instantly right there.

“Then January 28, 2019, when a young illustrious female of this soil was killed, an agreement was dubbed against me. It was insinuated that Kings knows about it and I was arrested to Abraka Police Station. I was beaten up like an armed robber, like a dog left, right and center. I was taken to Obiaruku, then the next day to Asaba. An interview was conducted by the Commissioner; he came to see that I was innocent. In a bid to release me, SARS and IRT said no to the CP. They drew me back again, slapped me and smuggled me to Abuja where I was incarcerated for 4 months. At the end, I was taken to court and vindicated.

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“I was not even in town that day and I knew nothing about it. Thank God for today that the mother of that sane girl is now confessing that she is the one that manipulated her daughter to join the secret cult in Abraka for ladies called Jezebel. She was tortured during her initiation and she died and was dumped at the Isoko park. That vindication is not yet known. I’m not here to speak on that alone. Four months of incarceration for a man that lives in an air conditioned house and car? I was made to sleep on the bare floor for four good months from on the 28th of June to the 28th day of October.”

He continued: “As the then Chairman of my party in the local government, I was in Abuja in Transcorp Hotel after we went to the field where we were voting in Jonathan’s second tenure which he won in grandstyle. I began to receive phone calls from different quarters. Those that don’t even know me began to call me. Where you dey? I said I’m in Abuja and I dey field dey vote. Some said the situation is this, some say he done die, some say they cut my hand. What happened?

“Some said I dey come from witch for night, nai I fall for Ogboru  compound, I kon dey confess witch say na me nor dey make Ogboru win elections for Ethiope East and Delta State so that I’m a witch and that anywhere they see me, they should mob me.

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“There have been stories of people wanting me to be murdered in this place for reasons I don’t know. Is it jealousy, blackmail, envy, I don’t know. What have I really achieved in life? I’m the only child, one seed of corn does not get lost in fire.

“Right now they are confessing with their mouth one after the other. Those involved in this blackmail in Abraka and beyond, if they don’t repent from their act, they will die in penury one after the other. I thank God for the oath I have taken this morning.

“I make bold to say that nobody has assisted Great Ogboru in Delta State than me. You can ask those working with him. I sponsored his rally in Benbo Game Village with my 4 Lexus car in 2003… there was no blackmail then. Because I left them and said enough is enough, then I became an enemy of them all. But I thank God for my confidant who has been there for me…for those who stood by me in thick and thin. If I lie before the whole world, I won’t lie in the temple of God.

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Speaking further, he disclosed that he has taken an oath before God and expressed pains over the insinuations about him by his kinsmen, saying he is innocent of all the allegations.

“People were responsible to tag this person on Facebook and Google that I’m a ritualist and I kill people to make money in my community. I have offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Aba, Warri, Onitsha. I have never been a ritualist there. It’s only in my community that this tag is on me.”

During his oath-taking at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Erho which he was instrumental to building, his prayer was thus: “Sir my Lord, this egg will stand as a witness, vengeance to fight that cause. The battle is not of me but of you my creator. If I know about all these, may my life shatter like these raw eggs. If I know nothing about all these Lord, then call them to question and they won’t confess, the rest is left to you my Lord. This is my witness.

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“I’m not here this day to exhibit my academic know how or financial prosperity but I’m here to prove to God why he should put an end to this cause. More than 15 years ago, I singlehandedly built this church. I started the building of this church… then tell me why God won’t be with in my life? The plan of the devil against my life will not stand. When this mayhem started on the 28th of June 2019, my political friends and family abandoned me. My friends from the palace where I’m a Chief abandoned me. My Elite members in Lagos where I was the President abandoned me. In fact till this day they suspended because of what they saw online on Google. Thank God for technology.

“But I’m here today to take an oath that if I knew anything about all these, may I die like these raw eggs. May I be shattered in my life. But if I’m not, anybody that typed that message on Google to ruin me down politically, socially, mentally God will answer them. If I can roof a house before God, why can’t God roof my life? He will always roof my life and I present it today as a challenge to him that God, go and fight this battle. As you stood for me, from the beginning of this case to the ending, fight this battle with anyone connected with this blackmail about me. I give them two weeks and fourteen days, Father go and fight this battle. Let them confess and die. Majority of them sat in the canteen to type what will ruin me but thank God. You are not just my creator, but you rescued me. You took me to the promised land. You know the purpose why You brought me to this community. I have been a philanthropist here for the less privileged and the widows. So long as I am, that is the cause they are fighting. They will never stand. God this battle is of You and not me. You said many are the afflictions of the righteous but you God, you stand for us in time of need. You make an edge and that edge is what I’m asking of you today. Among the fruits of the spirit, I like one indicated there- Long Suffering.

“Lord I have suffered enough. You said you will not give us temptation that we will be unable to bear. Lord I have bared enough. Lord if I am guilty may I pay with my blood and may I die in penury. May my dreams be shattered! But if I’m not, Father go and fight this cause. My God, Jehovah Shammah, Jireh, Nissi go and fight this battle because the battle is of you and not of me. Let them drink of their own blood. I rest my case.”

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Serbia Indicts Ex-minister, 12 Others Over Train Station Tragedy

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Serbian prosecutors filed an updated indictment on Tuesday against 13 people, including a former minister, over a fatal railway station roof collapse that has triggered a wave of anti-government protests.

The prosecution said all those indicted, among them former construction minister Goran Vesic, face charges of “serious crimes against public safety” over the tragedy that killed 16 people last November.

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“The indictment proposes that the Higher Court in Novi Sad order custody for all the defendants,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The roof collapse at the newly renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, became a symbol of entrenched corruption and sparked almost daily protests.

READ ALSO:FG Panel Indicts AFN In Ofili’s Paris Olympics Omission

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Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad initially filed an indictment at the end of December, but judges returned it in April, requesting more information.

The accused were released or placed under house arrest following the decision.

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The prosecutor’s office said it had complied with the judge’s request and had now completed the supplementary investigation.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests Indian Businessman, 3 Others Over Alleged Trafficking Of N3.9bn Tramadol

The prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption in Belgrade is leading a separate, independent investigation into the tragedy.

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That investigation is focused on 13 people, including Vesic and another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic, who headed the Construction Ministry before him.

In March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) launched a third, separate investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds for the station’s reconstruction.

AFP

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Kazakhstan Bans Forced Marriage, Bride Kidnapping

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Kazakhstan has banned forced marriages and bride kidnappings through a law that came into effect Tuesday in the Central Asian country, where the practice persists despite new attention being paid to women’s rights.

Forcing someone to marry is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kazakh police said in a statement.

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These changes are aimed at preventing forced marriages and protecting vulnerable categories of citizens, especially women and adolescents,” it added.

Bride kidnappings have also been outlawed.

REAS ALSO:What To Know About Albania’s AI Minister, Diella

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Previously, a person who voluntarily released a kidnapped person could expect to be released from criminal liability. Now this possibility has been eliminated,” the police said.

There are no reliable statistics of forced marriage cases across the country, with no separate article in the criminal code prohibiting it until now.

A Kazakh lawmaker said earlier this year that the police had received 214 such complaints over the past three years.

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The custom is also present in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, where it mostly goes unpunished due to indifferent law enforcement and stigma surrounding whistleblowers.

READ ALSO:California Lawmakers Approve Ban On Face Masks For Authorities

The issue of women’s rights in Kazakhstan gained media attention in 2023 following the murder of a woman by her husband, a former minister, a case that shocked Kazakh society and prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to react.

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“Some people hide behind so-called traditions and try to impose the practice of wife stealing. This blatant obscurantism cannot be justified,” Tokayev said last year.

AFP

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Russia Arrests Woman For Detonating Bomb On Railway

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Russia’s FSB security service said on Tuesday it had arrested a woman in her fifties accused of detonating explosives in a bid to sabotage the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The suspect was allegedly working on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, the FSB said, in the latest incident of alleged covert activity during the countries’ conflict.

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In August 2025, following the instructions provided by the adversary, the suspect manufactured a homemade explosive device from publicly available components, placed it on the railway tracks and triggered it,” the Russian agency said.

READ ALSO:Russia Hits Ukraine With ‘Massive’ Deadly Overnight Strikes

“She recorded the moment of the explosion on her mobile phone camera and sent the footage as a report to the handler to receive a reward.”

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The statement did not name the suspect but said she was born in 1974 and carried out the alleged attack in eastern Siberia’s Zabaikalsky region.

The FSB warned Russians that it was monitoring social networks and online messenger services such as Telegram and WhatsApp for evidence of Ukrainian services recruiting Russians to carry out sabotage.

READ ALSO:Again, Russia Claims Another Village In Ukraine’s Region

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Separately, the agency told state news agency TASS that a man had been sentenced to 18 years and six months for transporting explosives on behalf of a “pro-Ukrainian” group.

A resident of the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, had, the FSB said, established contact through the Telegram app with a banned “terrorist organisation”.

He allegedly retrieved explosives from a cache on the orders of this group before waiting for “further instructions”, according to the same source cited by TASS.

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He was jailed by a military tribunal.

AFP

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