Metro

ASUU Strike: UNIBEN Staff Commits Suicide Over Financial Difficulties

Published

3 years ago

September 10, 2022

A member of staff of the University of Benin, Prince Carter Oshodin, has committed suicide on Friday over his dire financial situation.

Oshodin, who had not been paid his salary for months due to the strike action embarked by university unions, was a data entry personnel at the university.

It was gathered that the Non-Academic Staff Union which the deceased belonged to has called off its strike recently, but the members had yet to be paid their salaries.

Oshodin’s Facebook confirmed his job description at UNIBEN.

A professor in the University, who would not want his name mentioned due to the emotional nature of the case, told Weekend PUNCH on Saturday that it is disheartening that they have not been paid since the strike action began. He also wondered why those who called of their strike are still not been paid by the government.

He said, “Yes he is our staff that killed himself due to lack of money. Even some months ago, he was quoted to have been advising people on coping strategies and yet he took his life which has put his family in a bigger problem.

“We have been paid no dime since we went on strike. This is the 10th of September, the non academic staff that has since resumed have not been paid anything. Boko Haram! No to Western education!”

Another colleague simply known as Edward said the Late Oshodin on his Facebook page lamented that he could not meet his financial and was finding it increasingly difficult to pay his two daughters’ school fees.

He said, “He committed suicide on Friday and according to a post on his Facebook, he said he was facing financial difficulties and could pay the school fees of his two young daughters. It is a pathetic situation.”

As at the time of filing this report, UNiBEN’s Public Relations Officer, Dr Benedicta Ehanire told the reporter to send her a text message, which has not been replied, while Edo State Command Police Public Relation Officer, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, has also not replied a message sent to him.

Metro

Police Vows To Arrest Killers of NSCDC Officers In Edo

Published

2 hours ago

September 10, 2025

Editor

The Edo State Police Command on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to collaborate with other security agencies to bring to justice those behind last week’s killing of eight Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps personnel in Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area of the state.

The operatives, attached to the BUA Cement Factory, were ambushed and killed by suspected kidnappers.

During the attack, a Chinese expatriate was abducted, while four others were rescued. Four additional victims sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

The state Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, expressed the command’s readiness when he paid an on-the-spot assessment visit to Okpella on Tuesday.

In a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, the CP condemned the killings, describing them as “a dastardly act that will not go unpunished.”

Agbonika commiserated with the NSCDC, assuring that the police were intensifying efforts to ensure the safe rescue of the abducted Chinese national while strengthening security around the cement factory and its environs.

“The Edo State Police Command remains steadfast in its duty to protect lives and property and will not relent until criminal elements threatening the peace of the state are identified and made to face justice,” the CP stated.

Metro

Tragedy As Traders, Ocha Brigade Clash At Onitsha Market

Published

17 hours ago

September 9, 2025

Editor

Tension gripped Onitsha on Tuesday following reports that operatives of the Anambra State government-backed OCHA Brigade allegedly opened fire at the bustling Onitsha Main Market, Emeka Offor Plaza axis, which allegedly left four people, including a pregnant woman, dead.

But the police in Anambra State, which confirmed the incident, stated that one of the female victims died on arrival at the hospital, adding that seven persons sustained injuries from the incident.

They also confirmed that the seven victims who received gunshots have been evacuated to the hospital, adding that normalcy had been restored to the market.

They identified the victims as Ebuka Orakwe (male), Orum Oluebube (male), Anthony Kosisochukwu (male), Ifeoma Ezema (female), Chinwe Igwe (female), 22 years old, and two others, whose names they could not disclose.

Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred on Tuesday morning, sparking panic and outrage among traders and residents who fled the scene for safety.

According to reports, the victims, who had merely gone out to earn their daily bread, were shot by armed men allegedly operating for the state government OCHA brigade. The reasons behind the gunfire could not be determined.

A trader had said: “This is heartbreaking. Four innocent people who left their homes this morning have been cut down in cold blood. Among them is a pregnant woman. Anambra people are now living in fear because criminals have been handed guns and uniforms in the name of government enforcement”.

However, confirming the incident, the Anambra State Police Command, in a statement by its Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, stated that it swooped in to restore order in the troubled market after receiving a distress call.

He stated that an altercation had ensued between the personnel of the Ocha Brigade, an Anambra State Environmental Law Enforcement outfit, allegedly with some traders, during which seven traders sustained gunshot injuries. He said the incident triggered unrest within the market.

“Upon receipt of the report in early hours of today 9th September, 2025, the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Ikioye Orutugu, immediately deployed tactical teams and other security agencies led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, in company of the Area Commander Onitsha, the Divisional Police Officer Main Market, and the Commander of the Anti-Cultism Squad, to the scene.

“The Operatives swiftly addressed and calmed the traders, restoring order and dispersing them back to their shops and lawful businesses. The victims of the gunshots were promptly evacuated to a hospital and were identified as Mr. Ebuka Orakwe (m), Orum Oluebube (m), Anthony Kosisochukwu (m), Ifeoma Ezema (f), Chinwe Igwe (f), 22 years, and two others, names yet to be identified.

“Regrettably, one of the female victims was confirmed dead on arrival at the hospital. Her body has been deposited at the hospital morgue for autopsy and preservation. The other victims are currently receiving treatment, have been stabilised, and are responding positively”, Ikenga stated

He added that normalcy had since been restored in the area, while patrols and monitoring continue to ensure sustained peace.

Metro

Lifeless Body Found Inside Car at N’Assembly Complex

Published

2 days ago

September 8, 2025

Editor

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command said it has begun investigations, following the discovery of a lifeless body inside a vehicle at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

Some reports had stated that the body was that of a 55-year-old man, identified as Gaddafi Iwar, who was a construction worker, working on one of the sites within the complex. According to the reports, the vehicle had been parked in the same spot for days before the discovery of the decomposed body.

Only recently, the Police said it had launched an investigation into the suspected suicide of a 30-year-old man identified as Ik Ojo, in the Kagini–Dei-Dei area of Abuja.

The probe follows the discovery of Ojo’s today, as seen in a viral video on Saturday, with friends and neighbors stating suspicions of foul play in the situation.

In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Josephine Adeh, on Monday, the security agency said the corpse was believed to be that of a labourer found around 9 am on Sunday, September 7th, inside a red Peugeot 406, parked at a construction site within the complex.

Adeh said Officers from the National Assembly Division responded to the distress call and evacuated the body to Asokoro General Hospital, where medical staff confirmed the body was already in advanced state of decomposition.

“On September 7, 2025, at about 09:00 hours, the FCT Police Command received a distress call reporting the discovery of an unidentified male, suspected to be a labourer, found lifeless at a construction site within the National Assembly Complex.

“The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), National Assembly Division, immediately responded to the call and, upon arrival, discovered the deceased inside a red Peugeot 406 motor vehicle with registration number BWR-577 BF. The body was promptly evacuated to Asokoro General Hospital, where medical personnel confirmed that it was already in an advanced state of decomposition,” the statement partly read.

The Police Spokesperson stated that the FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Ajao Adewale, had ordered a discreet probe to determine the circumstances of the incident, and that efforts be intensified to establish the identity of the deceased.

“The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, has ordered a discreet investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, and directed that efforts be intensified to establish the identity of the deceased. Further updates will be communicated as the investigation progresses,” she s