Headline

Crisis Brews As Oil Is Discovered In Delta Community

Published

4 years ago

October 6, 2021

A crisis is currently brewing after oil was discovered in Evue/Igbighogho bushes in Oviri-Olomu Community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.

DAILY POST learnt that five families including Edariese Efedjamah, Irevwiruemu, George Akanuota, Onakota and Ashe families are claiming ownership of the said land.

Four out of the five families, at a press conference held in Udu Local Government Area, said only the five families should be paid compensations and allowed to enjoy the benefits accruable from the land.

They added that only the five families should be entitled to contract awards, employments, Christmas gifts, scholarships and job slots taking place in the land.

While noting that 60 per cent of royalties should be paid to the families, and 40 per cent to the community, the four families said some persons who claimed to be leaders of the community included additional four family names to the already existing five families who originally own the land.

They accused the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, of failure, neglect and refusal to carry them along in the negotiations that led to the acquisition of the land as well as assessment of the project as regards the quantum of compensation payable to them before moving to the land for drilling purposes.

They warned that if caution is not exercised by the NPDC, their actions may lead to a serious crisis in the community.

Speaking on behalf of the Edariese Family, Comrade (Elder) A.P. Edariese said the five families mentioned above owned the land and not nine as forwarded to NPDC by some faceless persons.

He said the five families have been grossly denied their rights to fair compensation for their properties destroyed on the land and totally denied all payments for loss of use of the land as well as their rights to be paid anything under the freedom to operate both at the time of preparation for drilling and now that the company has moved into the land for drilling purposes by NPDC.

While noting that the land is not owned by the Oviri-Olomu Community, Edariese said individuals and families owned the lands.

He said NPDC respects the five families for decency, reasonable fairness and justice allow peace to reign supreme if they want to do business in the land.

Edariese stressed that NPDC imported strange names who have no mandate to lead or represent the community for negotiations against the cries of the five families.

“They refused to hearken to these long calls and cries.

“NPDC is hereby placed on caution, Solemnly advised and warned never to do anything with Chief John Ewenede and his cohorts,” he said.

He said Chief Ewenede and others do not have the mandate of the community to represent the four families in the acquisition of their land by NPDC for the new oil location that’s being developed.

The fallout he said is that one Chief Friday Akporere and other individuals including, Francis Everhe, Pastor David Okoro, Paulina Olosa Orishe sat with NPDC, negotiated the quantum of compensation to be paid to landowners at a meeting.

He said NPDC official land department and consultants, ESV Baridi Baridoma, doing business in the name and style of Baridi Baridoma Consulting, conspired together and inserted four strange names on the location site.

The consultant, NPDC officials, and others were said to have shared the money provided for compensation.

Edariese noted that he and three others were allegedly held hostages at Wellington Hotel in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area by an NPDC consultant.

He said he was forced to collect the sum of N1.5 million on behalf of his family by the consultant.

According to him, “he threatened that I love myself, I should collect the money. That if the Lords in Oviri-Olomu Community knows he is dealing with me, he will be in trouble. I should accept the money. I accepted the money under duress. I had to sign the cheque. He said my family was fortunate because we got the larger sum and others got peanuts.”

Mr. Shedrack Akanuota, a representative of the George Akanuota family, corroborated the claims of Edariese saying, only five families owned the land wherein NPDC is currently carrying out drilling works at the moment and not nine as it was mentioned and forwarded to them by some faceless persons.

He said, “They have really sidelined us yet, operation is going on in this land. I don’t know on whose permission NPDC has gone to carry out their operation.

” So, if they have negotiated with any group of persons before, they should know that they have negotiated with the wrong persons. NPDC needs to correct it now.”

He said NPDC should know that some of the transactions may lead to a crisis in communities where oil is located.

According to him, “NPDC should be cautious of themselves if they are going into communities for transactions to avoid any loss of lives and properties.

“I want NPDC to take note that they have transacted wrong businesses with wrong persons. They need to correct it.”

Mr. David Irhoremu, a representative of the Irhoremu family, one of the families that claimed ownership of the land insisted that only five families owned the land wherein NPDC operates.

He said NPDC does not know the landlords they are dealing with. “They’re dealing with masquerades. Persons who parade themselves to be representative of the community.”

Irhoremu said NPDC is working contrary to the constitution of the Oviri-Olomu Community. “They’re operating outside the constitution. We want to advise NPDC to retrace their steps so that there will be no bloodshed, there will be no court matters.”

Irhiremu said nobody will down with his/hers folded, eyes closed and watched their Godgiven heritage carted away from them by hoodlums.

“We are not against NPDC operating in our land. It is a welcome development that oil is being discovered in our land. But they should follow due process. They should come back to the landlords, there should be an MoU so that there will be peace in the land in the community.”

Present at the press conference were, Comrade (Elder) A P. Edariese, Paul Edariese,Edariese Pius Edariese of Edariese family, David Irhoremu from Irhoremu family, Obakpororo Ashe with Kingsley Ashe, grandchildren of the Ashe family and Shedrack Akanuota from the George Akanuota family in Oviri-Olomu Community in Ughelli South Local Government Area.

Efforts to speak with NPDC were unsuccessful at the time of writing this report.

(DAILY POST)

Headline

Trump Warns Of More Strikes In Nigeria If Attacks On Christians Continue

Published

2 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

US President Donald Trump has warned that he could authorise additional military strikes in Nigeria if attacks against Christians continue, citing the security situation in the West African nation as a key concern.

In an interview with the New York Times on Thursday, Trump was asked whether the Christmas Day strikes in Sokoto State, which targeted Islamist militants, were intended as part of a broader campaign. “I’d love to make it a one-time strike. But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike,” he said.

Trump’s comments follow his 2025 designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” due to what he described as an “existential threat” to its Christian population. The remarks have drawn criticism from Nigerian officials, who insist that jihadist groups target people regardless of religion. “Muslims, Christians and those of no faith alike” are affected, a government spokesperson said, rejecting claims that Christians are being singled out.

When pressed about reports that most victims of jihadist groups in Nigeria are Muslims, Trump responded, “I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it’s mostly Christians.” Nigeria, with a population exceeding 230 million, is roughly evenly divided between Christians in the south and Muslims in the north.

The December strikes targeted camps run by a jihadist group known as Lakurawa in Sokoto, a largely Muslim region near the border with Niger. Both the US and Nigerian authorities have linked the militants to Islamic State-affiliated groups in the Sahel, although the IS has not formally claimed any association with Lakurawa. Details of casualties from the strikes remain unclear, as neither government has provided official figures.

Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar said the operation was a “joint effort” and emphasised that it was not motivated by religion. He confirmed that the strikes had the approval of President Bola Tinubu and included
participation by Nigerian armed forces. Addressing the timing of the strikes, Tuggar added that they were unrelated to Christmas, though Trump described them as a “Christmas present”.

Headline

Science Discovers Why Hungry, Broke Men Prefer Bigger Breasts

Published

2 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A scientific study has found that men who feel financially insecure or hungry are more likely to find larger female breasts attractive.

The research was published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE and was conducted by psychologists Viren Swami and Martin J. Tovée.

The study examined whether breast size acts as a signal of fat reserves and access to resources, and whether men facing resource insecurity rate larger breast sizes as more attractive than men who feel economically secure.

Researchers carried out two separate studies across Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

In the first study, 266 men from three areas in Malaysia were assessed. The locations represented low, medium and high socioeconomic backgrounds. Participants were shown rotating computer-generated images of women with different breast sizes and asked to rate which they found most attractive.

The findings showed a clear socioeconomic pattern.

Men from low-income rural areas preferred larger breasts.

Men from middle-income towns preferred medium to large breasts.

Men from high-income urban areas preferred smaller to medium breasts.

PLOS ONE study showing how hunger and financial insecurity affect men’s breast size preferences
Cover page of a PLOS ONE study examining how resource insecurity influences men’s breast size preferences. Source: PLOS ONE

As stated in the study, “Men from relatively low socioeconomic sites rated larger breast sizes as more physically attractive than did participants in moderate socioeconomic sites, who in turn rated larger breast sizes as more attractive than individuals in a high socioeconomic site.”

The researchers noted that the lower a man’s financial security, the stronger his preference for larger breast size.

The second study focused on hunger rather than income.

In Britain, 124 male university students were divided into two groups. Sixty-six participants were classified as hungry, while 58 had recently eaten. Both groups viewed the same breast size images under identical conditions.

Hungry men consistently rated larger breasts as more attractive than men who were full.

According to the researchers, “Hungry men rated a significantly larger breast size as more physically attractive than did the satiated group. Taken together, these studies provide evidence that resource security impacts upon men’s attractiveness ratings based on women’s breast size.”

The researchers explained that these shifts suggest attraction is not fixed but responsive to immediate conditions.

They noted that men experiencing hunger or financial pressure may place greater value on physical traits that signal access to resources or stability.

The study added that temporary states such as hunger can shape attraction in the same way long-term economic conditions do, reinforcing the idea that social and environmental factors play a key role in how physical attractiveness is judged.

Headline

Man With Lengthy Criminal Record Shoots Nigerian To Death Inside Bus In Canada

Published

2 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A 40-year-old man with an extensive criminal history has been charged with first-degree murder after a Nigerian national was shot dead on a GO bus at the Yorkdale GO Bus Terminal in Toronto, marking the city’s first homicide of 2026.

Toronto Police, in a statement on their website, said officers were called to the terminal, near Yorkdale Road and Allen Road, at about 7 p.m. on Sunday, January 4, following reports of a shooting. Investigators allege that both the suspect and the victim boarded a GO bus at the terminal, where the suspect shot the victim before fleeing the scene on foot.

According to the statement, officers arrived to find a man suffering from a gunshot wound, but despite carrying out life-saving measures, the Nigerian was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim was later identified as Osemwengie Irorere, a 46-year-old man from Nigeria, the Toronto police said in a later statement.

Local media reports noted that an eyewitness who was seated just behind the victim said the bus had been dark and crowded as passengers waited to depart when a single gunshot rang out.

“I assumed it was a popped tyre or something, but immediately after, a guy sitting in front of me got up, shoved his hands in his pocket and ran off the bus,” the witness said, requesting anonymity for safety reasons.

“Right after, I stood up and I looked at the seat in front of me and I saw a guy, bleeding,” he added, saying he could smell smoke in the air after the shot was fired.

Police said the suspect was located and arrested a short time later near the Yorkdale subway station, and a firearm was recovered.

The accused has been identified as Tyrel Gibson, 40, of Toronto. He appeared at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre on Monday, January 5.

Court documents show that Gibson has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2000, with nearly two dozen charges. He has previously been convicted of offences including attempted murder and firearm-related crimes. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, using a firearm, possession of a firearm with ammunition and possession of an unauthorised firearm and was handed a lifetime weapons prohibition. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2017, although it remains unclear how much of that term he served.