Metro
BAYELSA: Father Jailed For Raping, Impregnating 14-year-old Daughter

A Bayelsa State High Court sitting in Yenagoa has jailed a 41-year-old man, Baridapsi Needam, to 17 years in jail for raping and impregnating his daughter.
The PUNCH gathered that the victim gave birth to a baby girl while the trial was pending.
Needam in the suit numbered YHC/14C/2022, was charged with rape contrary to Section 1(1) of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law of Bayelsa State, 2021.
The State Prosecuting Counsel and Deputy Director in the Bayelsa State Ministry of Justice, Pere Amanda Egbuson, told the court that investigations revealed that the accused began defiling his daughter when she was seven.
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Egbuson said the accused started by inserting his fingers into the vagina of the victim until he began having sex with her in 2020 before she got pregnant in 2022.
The presiding judge, D.E Adokeme, in delivering the judgement said the prosecution led credible evidence and made reference to the DNA result which revealed a 99.99 per cent positive report that the convict is the father of the child.
Her words: “The prosecution has led credible evidence and made reference to the DNA result which revealed 99.99 per cent report that Needam is the father of the child”.
The court ruled that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offence of rape and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment.
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Speaking after the judgement, Egbuson noted that the judgement will serve as a deterrent to others who engage in such unimaginable acts stressing that a strong message has been sent that the court will not tolerate such heinous acts.
Egbuson said, “The judgment will serve as a deterrent to others who engage in such unimaginable acts. A strong message has been sent that the court will not tolerate such heinous acts”.
She however thanked the Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Biriyai Dambo for his immense support in ensuring that the DNA analysis was carried out to aid the prosecution in pursuit of justice in the case.
Also commenting on the development, a known advocate against violence against women and founder of Do Foundation, Dise Ogbise Goddy Harry, said the CSOs in the state are excited with the judgement of the court.
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According to her, “The State Government through Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Women, Children Affairs and Social Development and the Bayelsa State Gender Response Initiative Team have done well by keeping the victim safe and the innocent baby safe too. This should sound like a warning to all paedophiles to steer clear of our children”.
Needman, who hails from Ogani Wily Kaira Community in Ogoni in Rivers State, was reported to the police by members of the state gender advocacy group, Gender Response Initiative Team in 2022 when a concerned neighbour noticed that the victim was five months pregnant amidst suspicion that the father was responsible for the pregnancy.
The convict was said to have replaced his deceased wife with his 14-year-old daughter who was in JSS3, sleeping with her on his matrimonial bed while her two younger brothers were made to sleep on the floor.
Metro
Residents Flee Kogi Community Over Fear Of Bandit Attacks

Hundreds of residents of Okunran village in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State have deserted their homes following persistent attacks by armed bandits.
A viral video circulating on social media showed the once-bubbling community completely deserted, with houses abandoned and streets empty.
“Okunran, once a bubbling town, is now a ghost town,” a resident said.
The villagers said they fled to escape incessant kidnappings, killings, and ransom demands that have plagued the community.
READ ALSO:Army Kills Notorious Bandit, Babangida, In Kogi
“The government has failed us, security agencies have failed us. If we remain here, we will be consumed by bandits. We are tired of paying ransom and contributing money for bandits,” said Akin Samuel, a fleeing resident.
The Guardian learnt that neighbouring communities, including Okoloke and Egbe, are also considering leaving if the attacks persist.
The abduction of the first-class traditional ruler of Okoloke, 90-year-old Pa. Dada James Ogunyanda, in May 2025, deepened the climate of fear in the area. Although he was released after a ransom was paid, the monarch has refused to return to his palace.
A native of Okunran, Auwal Maroof, who now lives in Lokoja, said the decision to flee became inevitable.
READ ALSO:One Dead, Five Injured In Kogi Road Crash
“We have been praying for God’s intervention, but the insecurity persists to the point that fleeing was the only option to stay alive,” he said.
Egbe, the commercial hub of Yagba, is feared to be vulnerable due to its close connection with neighbouring Kwara State, where the bandits are suspected to be coming from.
Local sources report that at least 10 people, including seven police officers and three civilians, were killed by bandits in Yagba within one week this month.
The Chairman of Yagba East Local Government recently imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in a bid to contain the crisis, while the Kogi State government and the senator representing the district have pledged to rid the area of bandits.
Metro
18 Dead, Dozens Missing In Zamfara Mine Collapse

Rescuers in Nigeria are searching for dozens of people missing after a boulder crashed onto an illegal mine during heavy rains, killing at least 18 people, local sources told AFP on Saturday.
The rock came crashing down on Thursday on the mine in the northern Zamfara state outside the Kadauri village in the Maru district, they said.
“We have managed to pull out 18 dead bodies from the pit and five other survivors who sustained various degrees of injuries,” Sani Lawwali, a miner who works in unauthorised pits, said from Kadauri.
A dozen other miners were still trapped inside and their fate remained unknown, said Lawwali, who took part in the rescue effort.
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“The process is slow and laborious as we use our bare hands to chisel the end of the boulder to make holes for limited access into the pit,” he said.
Rescuers have asked for a bulldozer being used at a nearby road construction site to be brought in to help, but had not yet received a response from the company using it, Lawwali added.
Abubakar Nabube, a local community leader, confirmed the death toll of 18. He said that 15 of those killed came from the nearby Maikwanugga and Damaga villages.
“If no help comes from emergency agencies soon, none of those trapped would come out alive,” he said.
READ ALSO:Bandits Attack Mosque In Zamfara, Kill, Abduct Worshippers
Zayyanu Ibrahim, a resident of Kadauri village said the collapse occurred at one of several newly dug sites in the recently established mining site.
“Dozens of miners were working in the pit while it heavily rained outside. A huge boulder at the mouth of the pit collapsed and buried miners inside,” said Ibrahim, who also confirmed the toll.
Sani Abdullahi, a councillor in the area, said it was difficult to say how many people there were in the pit at the time of the accident.
READ ALSO:Zamfara Gov Disburses ₦322m To Support 8,225 Schoolgirls
Officials from the Nigerian emergency agency NEMA did not respond to an AFP enquiry about the accident.
Zamfara, a poor agrarian state, is rich in gold deposits where illegal artisanal mining thrives in the countryside, despite several attempts by authorities to stop the practice.
The authorities have blamed illegal mining for the worsening of bandit violence, with criminal gangs getting money from protection fees they extort from miners.
Metro
Police Confirm Abduction Of 17 Passengers Along Calabar Waterway

The Police Command in Cross River has confirmed the abduction of 17 passengers by sea pirates along the Calabar Waterways.
The command’s Deputy Public Relations Officer, DSP Igri Ewa, who made the confirmation on Saturday in Calabar, said that the passengers were abducted on Thursday.
Ewa said that the command had already swung into action to ensure the ‘immediate and prompt’ rescue of the abductees.
According to the police spokesperson, a serving police officer in Akwa Ibom and a popular politician in Cross River who were on board the boat narrowly escaped abduction.
READ ALSO:Six Arrested For Alleged Killing Of Police Constable In Bayelsa
A passenger who preferred anonymity told newsmen that the boat was attacked a few minutes after take-off from Oron en route Calabar.
“They stopped our boat, transferred some passengers to their boat, and when their boat was full, they took off.
“When we arrived at the Inland Waterways Jetty, we were thoroughly quizzed by the police. Our statements were later taken before we were allowed to go home.”
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