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Court Frees Armed Robbery Suspect Over Absence Of Prosecution Witness

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Reprieve came the way of one Ojo Gbenga, a suspect standing trial for alleged armed robbery and conspiracy, as an Ikeja High Court on Monday struck out his case due to absence of the prosecution witness.

According to Justice Oyindamola Ogala, the “defendant’s presumption of innocence is still valid’’.

The defendant should be released in the absence of any matter in any other court.

“The prosecution is at liberty to re-arrest when the victim (who is the prosecution witness) is ready to reopen the case,” Ogala said.

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The state prosecutor, O.A Azeez, told the court that the prosecution witness, who is the victim in the matter, relocated outside of Lagos State after the incident, hence his absence.

Azeez said that he also tried to contact the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) in charge of the case but the effort was not fruitful.

The defence counsel, Bidemi Ademola, told the court that the matter should be struck out since the prosecution witness had relocated with no intention of coming back to Lagos.

He said that the defendant has been in custody since 2022 and should not be kept there indefinitely.

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NAN reports that the defendant was first arraigned on August 3, 2022, on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and armed robbery.

Gbenga was alleged to have carried out the act in company of others, now at large, on February 26, 2022, at about 10:30 pm, in Ojo-Ladipo Street, Ikotun area of Lagos.

The offences, according to the prosecution, contravene sections 299 and 297 (2) (a) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, C. 17, Vol 3, Law of Lagos State, 2015.

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Metro

Man Arrested For Killing Mother, Sister In Enugu

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The Police in Enugu state have said that the command will soon arraign in court a man, Mr. Somadina Orji who allegedly killed and buried his mother, Charity, and sister, Ukamaka, in shallow graves at Umuagu Inyi, in Oji River Local Government area of Enugu State.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Daniel Ndukwe confirmed the development to Vanguard, on Sunday, saying, “Yes, the young man has been arrested and is investigation ongoing after which we will arraign him in court.”

Somadina had reportedly killed his mother, Mrs Charity Orji, and his Sister, Miss Ukamaka Orji, and buried them in a shallow grave at their backyard.

The Orji family who hail from Igboariam in Anambra State were said to have had their tragic ends on Monday, December 4, 2023.

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The suspect, Somadina, was reported to be a drug dealer and had issues with his mother for a long time before he decided to kill her.

A Community leader in Inyi, Mr Ben Obi, stated that the problems started weeks ago when the suspect had an issue with the younger brother.

“He wanted to hit him and the mother stopped him and reported to the kingsmen to come and chase him away from the house because he wanted to kill the younger brother,” Obi said.

The younger sister was said to have been missing for two weeks before he had the problem with the mother.

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However, Obi further explained that the mother went for a condolence visit at Akpugoeze, and upon her return in the afternoon, the son, Somadina, killed and buried her in a shallow grave in their backyard.

He said that when the younger brother came back and was looking for the mother, he suspected something and raised an alarm.

“When the villagers gathered at the compound upon interrogation, Somadina confessed that he had killed the mother. He also confessed that he killed the younger sister some weeks ago,” Obi said.

Obi disclosed that when the Police were invited, the remains of the mother and of the sister were exhumed and deposited at the mortuary and the suspect was arrested.

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Obi also explained that Charity until her death was a hustling Woman who sold prepared Cassava food to feed her Family.

Lamenting the high use of hard drugs in the Community, Obi said that absence of governing bodies in the Community such as the traditional ruler, town Union, and President General to help the government in checkmating the use of hard drugs caused incidents.

He called on the government to come to their rescue to avoid such tragedy in the future.

Also condemning the act, the coordinating President General in Oji River local government area, Mr Ejike Tasie said the use of hard drugs in the Inyi Community was alarming and called on the anti-drug agency to help them checkmate the use of illicit drugs in their various communities in the local government area.
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Oyo: Chief Imam of Tede Is Dead

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The Chief Imam of Tede, in the Oke Ogun geo-political zone in Oyo State, Alhaji Ahmad Tijani Adedigba, is dead.

DAILY POST reports that the Chief Imam, until his demise, was the Chairman of the Oke Ogun League of Imams and Alfas.

The state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, in his reaction, described the late Adedigba as a great leader and lover of peace.

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He added that the deceased contributed immensely to the religious harmony being enjoyed in the Oke Ogun area of the state.

Makinde, in a statement made available to DAILY POST on Sunday, added that the entire Muslim community will miss the deceased.

The governor said, “I received with sadness the news of the death of Alhaji Ahmad Tijani Adedigba, the chairman of the Oke Ogun League of Imams and Alfas and Chief Imam of Tede in Atisbo Local Government Area of the state.

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“The late Chief Imam was a man of peace and a great leader, who provided direction to the Imams and Alfas body and contributed to the peaceful religious atmosphere in Oke Ogun.

“While submitting to the will of Allah and praying to God to grant his soul Aljanah Firdaus and also abide with everyone he left behind, I am certain that the body and the Muslim Ummah in Tede will miss his immense contributions.”

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Groom, 25 Others Arrested As NDLEA Burst Drug-fueled Wedding Reception

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) successfully intercepted what was purportedly a wedding reception but turned out to be an illicit drug party.

The bust resulted in the arrest of the groom and 25 individuals, as confirmed by Femi Babafemi, the Director of Media and Advocacy, in a statement posted on his Facebook account on Sunday.

Say a prayer against the demon of drugs in the lives of our youths this Sunday as #ndlea_nigeria busted another drug party organised as a wedding reception. Groom and 25 others arrested,” he wrote.

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The statement also said the big cartels also suffered heavy losses some hours before the arrest with the seizure of their cocaine consignments.

The big cartels also suffered heavy loss hours ago with the seizure of their cocaine consignments,” the statement read.

The arrested individuals, including the groom, are now in custody as investigations proceed.

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