Metro

Conflicting Figures Trail Anambra Boat Mishap

Published

3 years ago

October 9, 2022

Conflicting figures are surrounding the number of dead bodies and recovered persons at the scene of a boat crash that occured at the Umunankwo community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Friday.

While the Anambra State Government through a statement from the governor’s press secretary, Christian Aburime, late on Saturday, indicated that more 30 people had been rescued while six people including two kids and two ladies were confirmed dead, the former Transition Committee Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area, Arinze Awogu, gave the figures of recovered dead bodies as 13, adding that before the end of the day, more bodies would be recovered.

Again, an indigene of the area, identified as Eze Ogbugbulu, said 16 bodies had been recovered, including children.

The statement from the governor’s press secretary with the caption, ‘Update on the Ogbaru boat mishap’, said the engine of the boat failed three minutes into the journey and the surging waves hit the boat on a collapsed bridge and it subsequently capsized.

It reads, “The following are more facts emanating from the unfortunate boat mishap in Ogbaru.

READ ALSO: Flood: Many Feared Dead As Church Building Collapses During Service In Anambra
“About 40 passengers were said to have boarded the ill-fated boat. The engine of the boat was said to have failed three minutes into the journey and the surging waves hit the boat on a collapsed bridge and it subsequently capsized.

“More than 30 people were rescued by expert swimmers. Six people including two kids and two ladies were confirmed dead. The above update have become necessary to avoid unfounded speculations and undue sensationalisation of the unfortunate incident.”

The Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Authority, South-East, Mr Thickman Tanimu, had told journalists on Saturday that 85 people were in the ill-fated boat.

Tanimu had said, “What I suspected happened on Friday at Ogbaru, Anambra, going by the report we received from the State Emergency Management Agency, is that the water kept rising and the people were trapped.

“They decided to escape the rising water and 85 of them jam-packed inside the boat which capsized due to the rising flood. It is very unfortunate because the flood has covered many houses up to roof level.

“Out of the 85 persons, nine were found and the remaining 76 are no where to be found. Also at Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area in Enugu, two men and a pregnant woman died in the flood.”

Another source in the area told journalists that the speed boat involved in the mishap could not contain 50 passengers and that the incident was not a result of the flood but a human error.

He said the boat rider was inexperienced and unable to control the boat which he said developed electrical fault few minutes after it set sail.

“The boat owner who used it to ferry people was not available when passengers thronged demanding that his brother should carry them in the boat. But fate failed them when the boat engine developed a fault and the young lad who tried effortlessly to start the engine could not control the waves which pushed the boat and it hit Osamala bridge and capsized,” the source said.

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Metro

Police Arrest Siblings Over Communal Clash In Ondo

Published

10 hours ago

September 14, 2025

Editor

Ondo State Police Command has arrested two brothers, Ogunsemore Gbadebo and Michael Ogunsemore for their allegedly involvement in a violent communal clash that occurred in Eki/Oboto Community of Ilaje local government area of the State.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the suspects had been locked in a prolonged land dispute with the monarch of the community, Oba Oyetayo Ofoaye of Aboto.

According to the. state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olusola Ayanlade, the matter was first taken to the Okitipupa High Court, which ruled in favour of the monarch.

However, not satisfied with the verdict, the siblings filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Akure, where the appellate court again upheld the Oba’s position.

The PPRO alleged that the brothers resorted to self-help thereafter, recruiting armed thugs to unleash violence on the community rather than accepting the judgement of the Appeal Court.

It was learnt that the attack reportedly perpetrated by the suspects and their gangs, displaced residents, destroyed huts, palm produce, and other valuables, while one Jeremiah Okuntimehin sustained machete injuries in the fracas.

“This criminal escalation turned a civil dispute into a grave security threat, prompting swift police intervention,” the PPRO said.

According to the police spokesman, the police launched a coordinated operation that led to the arrest of the brothers – Gbadebo and Michael, who have since been arraigned in court.

He added that efforts were ongoing to track down other fleeing members of the group who took part in the unrest.

Ayanlade stressed that the arrests marked a decisive step in restoring peace to the affected community, warning that communal violence will not be condoned under any guise.

Commissioner of Police in the State, CP Adebowale Lawal cautioned individuals and groups against undermining judicial decisions or taking the law into their own hands, warning that such acts would attract the full weight of the law.

He assured residents of Eki/Oboto and Aboto of adequate police presence and urged them to remain calm, law-abiding, and cooperative with security agencies.

The CP also emphasised that dialogue and peaceful engagement remained the only sustainable means of resolving communal disputes.

Metro

Foreign Currency Found On Beggars As 40 Evacuated In Kwara

Published

10 hours ago

September 14, 2025

Editor

The Kwara State government has again evacuated another set of 40 beggars from the street of Ilorin, the state capital.

The evacuation of beggars was carried out by the officials of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development in collaboration with operatives of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS), Kwara State Command.

During a search conducted on the beggars, a foreign currency (US dollar) was found on one of them, Musa Mahmuda, who claimed to be from Kano State.

A sharp knife was found in the possession of another beggar.

Seven of the evacuees were second term offenders, having been arrested during a previous evacuation excercise but they returned to the streets again.

The operation was conducted at Tipper Garage in Tanke, Offa garage and Garin Alimi areas – all in Ilorin metropolis.

The Commissioner for social Welfare and Development, Dr Mariam Imam, expressed delight that the excercise was yielding the desired results, saying the number of those evacuated from the streets in the latest exercise has “dratically reduced from 94 arrested during the last time to 40”.

She said the ministry’s evacuation team was changing its “strategy as the beggars too were changing their tactics and locations to evade being evacuated from the streets.”

She implored those patronising the beggars to stop doing so and channel their offerings through religious organisations, orphanages and places of worship, reiterating that street begging has been outlawed in the state.

The head, Non-custodian Centre, Nigerian Correctional Services, Kwara State Command, Adebayo Okunola, said the appropriate punitive measures will be meted out to the arrested beggars to serve as deterrence to them and others.

“We will make sure that they clean the streets, they will sweep the streets so that they will know that there is dignity in labour,” he stated.

Metro

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

Published

11 hours ago

September 14, 2025

Editor

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, alongside three Nigerian accomplices in connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg.

Kumar was apprehended alongside Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode and Bakare Korede Muheeb at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.

The tramadol shipment worth N3,990,000,000 in street value was imported from Delhi, India, disguised as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons and arrived the import shed of the Lagos airport on an Ethiopian Airline flight on Monday 8th September 2025.

NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said a team of NDLEA officers who had put the consignment under surveillance, swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers who were trying to move the shipment out of the airport in two trucks on Thursday, September 11th.

Babafemi said a follow-up operation the following day, Friday, led to the arrest of the Kumar, when he was trying to take delivery of the consignment.

At the Terminal 2 departure of the airport, NDLEA operatives on Sunday, September 7, intercepted a passenger Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi while travelling on a Qatar Airline flight to Doha.

“A search of his bag led to the recovery of 900grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis concealed in crayfish. As a first-time traveler, Onyeganochi claimed the bag was given to him to help take to Doha by a Qatar-based Nigerian Ohaodiegwu Anthony Uchenna who actually followed him to the airport.

“His confession led to the arrest of Uchenna who was still within view. Operatives who later conducted a search of Uchenna’s hotel room in Ajao Estate discovered additional 200grams of the same psychoactive substance.

“He claimed he was to return to Doha days later and pick the bag from the unsuspecting Onyeganochi if he had succeeded in escaping security checks,” the NDLEA said.

Meanwhile, at the Tincan Port in Lagos, a total of 161 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 81.7kg and 1.2kg hashish oil were recovered from a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts and used vehicles imported from Montreal Canada during a joint examination of the shipment on Tuesday 9th September.

Two suspects including John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

Another shipment of Canadian Loud with a total weight of 65kg was tracked from the port to Third Mainland bridge where NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveying the consignment, recovered it and arrested the driver Abubakar Ibrahim, 42 on Thursday 11th September.

Two separate shipments of methamphetamine concealed in picture frame and Loud, hidden in video players were seized at two courier companies in Lagos on Monday 8th and Thursday 11th September respectively by NDLEA operatives.