Metro

Court Orders Rivers To Pay Residents N1.1bn For Unlawful Demolitions

Published

5 months ago

March 26, 2025

A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has ruled that the state government must pay N1.1 billion to residents whose properties were unlawfully demolished at Mile One and Two waterfronts in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area.

The court also found the government guilty of forcefully taking over their land.

The affected residents, from areas including Egede, Iruala, Elechi Phase One, Elechi Beach Waterfront, Nanka, Ogwu Waterfront, Okwele and Soku Waterfront, who sued the government in 2022 for violating their fundamental rights.

In his ruling on Wednesday, Justice Sika Aprioku stated that the government did not notify the residents before demolishing their homes and failed to prove that it had legally acquired the land.

The court also criticized the government for not providing alternative housing or compensation to the displaced residents, but instead using the police to forcefully take over the land for urban development.

The judge ordered the state to pay N900 million as compensation for the rights violations and an additional N2 million as a fine.

Speaking to journalists, the residents’ lawyer, Tonye Igeri from the Justice and Empowerment Initiative, expressed joy over the ruling.

“This judgment restores hope to the victims who were made homeless by the government’s actions,” Igeri said.

Igeri added that efforts would be made to ensure the victims receive the awarded sum, noting that many had already died or lost everything.

“My advice to the government, as the court stated, is to properly identify affected property owners, provide alternative shelter, or compensate them adequately before carrying out demolitions,” he said.

A representative from the Rivers State Ministry of Justice declined to comment on the ruling.

Related Topics:Court Rivers Rivers government

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Metro

Gateman Arrested For Allegedly Defiling Four-year-old Pupil In Oyo

Published

20 minutes ago

September 5, 2025

Editor

A 26-year-old gateman identified as Josiah Ayomide has been arrested for allegedly defiling a four-year-old pupil in one of the schools in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The suspect was paraded alongside other suspects arrested for offences ranging from theft, banditry, rape, and other crimes at the Oyo State Police Command, Eleyele, Ibadan, on Thursday.

In his briefing, the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Adewale Osifeso, said the suspect was nabbed after the victim complained of severe vaginal pains to her parents at home.

Osifeso added that after a thorough investigation and probe, the suspect confessed to the crime.

The police spokesman said the victim later told her mother that her school gateman had unlawfully raped her while she was in the school.

According to the report, “The victim was taken to the Police Medical Clinic, Eleyele-Ibadan, for medical examination and treatment, and the medical report revealed that the hymen was not intact, with tenderness around the vulva and vagina and bruises.”

Osifeso said the suspect would be prosecuted upon completion of the investigation.

Metro

Panic As Fire Guts Fuel Station In Ikorodu

Published

2 hours ago

September 5, 2025

Editor

Photo: File Copy

There was pandemonium on Friday when fire gutted A1 Petroleum Filling Station, an independent oil dealer located on Isawo Road, off Agric Bus Stop in Ikorodu, Lagos.

As of 1 p.m., the extent of property destroyed and possible casualties had not been confirmed. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Men of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, supported by other emergency responders, were at the scene battling to contain the inferno, which reportedly began from a diesel-laden truck within the premises.

Metro

DSS Charges Top Ansaru Leaders Over Terrorism, Kuje Prison Break Roles

Published

2 hours ago

September 5, 2025

Editor

The Department of State Services (DSS) has brought terrorism charges against two senior commanders of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-linked terror group, over their alleged role in violent attacks across Nigeria.

The suspects are Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar, who is described as the Emir of Ansaru, and his deputy Mahmud al-Nigeri, also called Malam Mamuda. They were recently captured during security operations.

According to the DSS, the charges against them include leading a terrorist organisation, funding its activities, recruiting members, and planning violent operations nationwide.

Their arraignment at the Federal High Court in Abuja is expected soon.

Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA), said the two men were behind the July 2022 Kuje prison attack, where more than 600 inmates, including Boko Haram suspects, escaped.

Ribadu explained: “Abu Bara was the coordinator of terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and the mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to finance terrorism.”

On Mamuda, Ribadu revealed that he trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadists from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specialising in handling weapons and making explosive devices.

The NSA also linked the suspects to the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, the 2019 kidnapping of Musa Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, and the kidnapping of the Emir of Wawa.

Ribadu described their arrest as “a turning point”, noting that the duo maintained strong networks in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.