Metro

Benue Farmer Slumps, Dies Over False Alarm

Published

9 months ago

April 2, 2025

A 54-year-old farmer, Jeremiah Onuminya, from the Usha community in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State, has reportedly slumped and died after a false alarm was raised about an attack by suspected herders.

Sources in the community told The PUNCH that Onuminya was heading to his farm on Monday, March 31, when some youths suddenly shouted, “Fulani! Fulani!!” in panic.

Attempting to flee, he ran for his life but collapsed a few meters from his house and died on the spot.

The incident occurred days after 20 cows were allegedly poisoned on a nearby farm, a situation that had heightened tension in the community.

Confirming the incident in a statement on Wednesday, the Chairman of Agatu Local Government, Melvin James, expressed condolences to the deceased’s family. He said initial investigations, corroborated by security agencies and the family, suggested that Onuminya collapsed from exhaustion while trying to escape, with no evidence of an attack.

“In an effort to determine the exact cause of death, the chairman suggested an autopsy; however, the family declined, accepting that Mr. Onuminya’s passing resulted from health complications,” the statement, issued by his media aide, Solomon Obochi, read in part.

James urged residents to avoid spreading unverified information that could incite panic and disrupt the fragile peace in the area. He warned that false alarms posed serious risks to public safety and efforts toward security and unity in the community.

Meanwhile, the Benue State chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Risku Mohammed, had accused a local farmer of poisoning 20 cows belonging to one of its members.

Metro

Auto-crash Claims 2 Lives On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Published

9 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, TRACE, on Friday confirmed that two people died in a lone accident around Oremeji Bus Stop on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Corps’ spokesperson, Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abeokuta.

Akinbiyi said the accident, involving a Mazda bus with registration number YNF 414 XN, occurred at about 1:30 a.m.

He explained that the two occupants of the vehicle, the driver and conductor, both adult males, died on the spot, adding that no injury was recorded.

According to him, eyewitnesses said the bus lost control due to speeding, hit a road barrier, and somersaulted.

Akinbiyi further said the vehicle, which was conveying live chicks, had been towed by the Ibafo Motor Traffic Division of the Police for further investigation.

He added that the remains of the victims had been deposited at the Divine Touch Hospital morgue in Ibafo by operatives of TRACE, the police, and the Ogun State Emergency Services (OGSAES).

He noted that traffic was briefly affected during the rescue operation but was later restored through the efforts of TRACE and the police.

Metro

Court Sentences Man To Death For Killing Son

Published

22 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The Kano State High Court has sentenced Abubakar Alhaji Sabo to death by hanging after finding him guilty of killing his newborn son.

The Kano State Government prosecuted Sabo before the court on charges of culpable homicide and causing grievous harm.

He was accused of force-feeding the infant with a local insecticide known as ‘fiya-fiya’, resulting in the child’s death.

Sabo killed the baby after the mother, his girlfriend, refused to obey his instruction to kill the child to avoid the shame of fathering a child out of wedlock.

Following the incident, he was also found guilty of striking the girlfriend’s father on the head with a brick after he caught Sabo poisoning the baby.

During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Barrister Safiya Yalwati Yahaya, presented three witnesses, while the defendant testified in his own defence.

After reviewing the evidence presented by both parties, Justice Aisha Yau, who presided over the case, found him guilty of infanticide and sentenced him to death by hanging.

The court also imposed an additional three-year prison sentence for causing grievous harm.

Metro

Nine Kwara Victims: Kidnappers Insist On N300m Ransom

Published

22 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

No progress has been recorded on the bandits demand for N300m ransom for the release of nine victims abducted in Adanla community of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara state on Boxing Day, December 26, 2025.

Coordinator of the Joint Security Watch for Kwara South Senatorial District, Zubair Olaitan, disclosed this on Wednesday.

According to DAILY POST, the bandits have so far made three contacts with the community leaders that “if the N300m is not paid, the victims will not be released.”

The bandits seized the nine victims in an attempt to abduct the King of the community, and his wife on Boxing Day, but failed.

The King, David Olarinoye, was away to Igbaja town for a programme when the armed bandits invaded his community.

The bandits, however, later seized nine other victims in the community and marched them to the bush.

While seven victims were abducted at the palace of the King, two others were captured on their way to the bush.

Following the abduction, the bandits demanded a N300m for the release of the abducted victims, resisting any negotiations for reduction of the ransom.