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Court Adjourns As Delta Family’s Search For Corpse Hits Five Months

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A Delta State High Court sitting in the Isiokolo Judicial Division has adjourned the hearing till April 17, 2025, in a case of alleged mysterious disappearance of the corpse of a 78-year-old man, Joseph Ighorhiohwunu since November 21, 2024.

The corpse of Ighorhiohwunu had allegedly disappeared from the Nigerian Navy Hospital mortuary, Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State after children of the deceased, Omokiniovo Ighorhiohwunu and Mr. Duke Ighorhiohwunu, deposited the corpse at the mortuary on November 21, 2024.

The suit was filed as a fundamental human rights application under suit no. HCI/FR/32/2024 was brought before the court and filed in-person by one of the children of the deceased, Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho, a human rights activist, who claimed to be acting on behalf of the deceased and in the public interest.

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In the originating process, the applicant had claimed that “Joseph Ighorhiohwunu died while receiving treatment at Group Christian Medical Centre, Effurun” without his knowledge and that he was only made aware of the deceased’s death on 21st November 2024, the day he died.

READ ALSO: ‘Na Your Mama’: Delta Nursing Student Faces Sanction Over Viral Video [LETTER INSIDE]

The applicant further claimed that “the deceased was not diagnosed with a verifiable medical condition and was deposited at the Nigerian Navy Hospital, Effurun on November 21, 2024.”

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The applicant accused several members of the deceased’s family — namely Mr Michael Igho-Amaka, Mr Onajite Ighorhiohwunu, Mr Felix Ighorhiohwunu, Mrs Ese Ighorhiohwunu, Mr Duke Ighorhiohwunu and Mr Sunday Ighorhiohwunu — of colluding to unlawfully remove the corpse from the Nigerian Navy Hospital Effurun and allegedly using the family compound at No.127 Urhu-Egbe Street, Okpara-Inland as an illegal cemetery.

The applicant claims that the family has secretly made burial arrangements and constructed a tomb for the deceased at that location during the pendency of this case and police investigation.

The applicant consequently urged the court to compel all eleven respondents to disclose the whereabouts of the missing corpse, alleging that the body may have been diverted for spiritual or ritual purposes.

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READ ALSO: Four Suspected Kidnappers Die After Gun Duel With Delta Police

At the resumed hearing of the case on April 7, 2025, counsel for the applicant, Andrew Elekeokwuri Esq, informed the court that the applicant had filed a “further and better affidavit” concerning the allegedly missing corpse of the deceased.

In response, the counsel for the 1st to 8th respondents, Barr. A.O.Aderere and the 11th respondent, His Greatness Agadaigho who were present in court, raised objections because they had not been served with the said processes.

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The trial Judge, Hon. Justice O. Aforkeya consequently directed the court bailiff to serve relevant court processes on the respective respondents’ counsel present in court.

READ ALSO: Dead Body Of Missing Delta Secondary Student Found In Uncompleted Building

As regards the 9th respondent (Chairman, Ethiope East Local Government Area) and the 10th respondent (Nigeria Navy Hospital, Effurun), who were neither present nor represented in the court, the judge further ordered the bailiff to serve them with the court processes alongside the hearing notices.

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Following preliminary arguments and a review of the evidence, Justice Aforkeya adjourned the matter to April 17, 2025, for the continuation of the hearing.

Meanwhile, counsel to the 11th respondent, His Greatness Agadaigho Esq., has filed a motion on notice and a counter affidavit on the same day (7th April 2025), seeking an order granting leave to the Applicant/Respondent to claim damages in the sum of N5m against the plaintiff/applicant/respondent, in favour of the 11th respondent.

The motion on notice which was supported by a 9-paragraph affidavit, partly averred that “the 11th Respondent in this suit professionally and comprehensively managed the health of the deceased, Late Joseph Ighorhiohwunu, from 2018 until his death on Thursday, the 21st day of November 2024.”
(PUNCH)

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Residents Flee Kogi Community Over Fear Of Bandit Attacks

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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18 Dead, Dozens Missing In Zamfara Mine Collapse

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Police Confirm Abduction Of 17 Passengers Along Calabar Waterway

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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.

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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.

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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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