Metro

Drama As Wheelbarrow Pushers Protest Alleged Extortion In Benin [VIDEO]

Published

4 years ago

January 21, 2022

Wheelbarrow pushers in Benin under the auspices of Wheelbarrow Pushers Association majorly from northern Nigeria on Friday protested against what they regarded as excessive billing and extortion by some persons popularly called agbero who collect money from them in the name of government.

The protest coincided with the ‘End Hardship in Nigeria Campaign’ organised by The Peoples Alternative Movement in Benin.

They are the persons who help individuals to convene their loads from one point to another particularly at the King’s Square popularly called Ring Road due to the poor arrangement of transportation system in Benin.

The protesters who besieged the King’s Square in their hundreds stopped all members from working as a way of driving their grievances home.

Trouble, however, started when they sighted someone pushing wheelbarrow with loads which made them in their large number accosted the person resulting to almost a state of violent if not for security personnel who promptly intervened.

Speaking, a young man who claimed to be chairman of the association and identified himself as Otunba Adebayo said the revenue collectors started with N50 per day for a wheelbarrow before they increased it to N700, adding that they now pay to different groups numbering three that come to them morning, afternoon and evening.

“We came out today for the protest because of the problem we have been facing in the Oba Market.

“When they started, they were collecting N50. From N50 it is now N700. We are not slave. That is the reason for the protest. The money they are collecting from us is too much. Government didn’t ask them to collect N700 from anybody. Government did not also tell them to fight anybody, injured people in the market. The embarrassment is too much. If you go to hospital now, you will see a lot of the wheelbarrow pushers lying in hospitals. Some of us have given up the trade.

“How much are we working? Some will rent wheelbarrow for N300 and work at most N3000 while some will not work as much as that. That is how we have been sustaining ourselves in the business. Those that work between N700 and N1000 a day, if you remove N300 how much will now be left for the person? Nothing

“The protest will from today last till next week if government did not answer us or do something positive,” he vowed.

Watch video…

Metro

Court Sentences Man To Death For Killing Son

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The Kano State High Court has sentenced Abubakar Alhaji Sabo to death by hanging after finding him guilty of killing his newborn son.

The Kano State Government prosecuted Sabo before the court on charges of culpable homicide and causing grievous harm.

He was accused of force-feeding the infant with a local insecticide known as ‘fiya-fiya’, resulting in the child’s death.

Sabo killed the baby after the mother, his girlfriend, refused to obey his instruction to kill the child to avoid the shame of fathering a child out of wedlock.

Following the incident, he was also found guilty of striking the girlfriend’s father on the head with a brick after he caught Sabo poisoning the baby.

During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Barrister Safiya Yalwati Yahaya, presented three witnesses, while the defendant testified in his own defence.

After reviewing the evidence presented by both parties, Justice Aisha Yau, who presided over the case, found him guilty of infanticide and sentenced him to death by hanging.

The court also imposed an additional three-year prison sentence for causing grievous harm.

Metro

Nine Kwara Victims: Kidnappers Insist On N300m Ransom

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

No progress has been recorded on the bandits demand for N300m ransom for the release of nine victims abducted in Adanla community of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara state on Boxing Day, December 26, 2025.

Coordinator of the Joint Security Watch for Kwara South Senatorial District, Zubair Olaitan, disclosed this on Wednesday.

According to DAILY POST, the bandits have so far made three contacts with the community leaders that “if the N300m is not paid, the victims will not be released.”

The bandits seized the nine victims in an attempt to abduct the King of the community, and his wife on Boxing Day, but failed.

The King, David Olarinoye, was away to Igbaja town for a programme when the armed bandits invaded his community.

The bandits, however, later seized nine other victims in the community and marched them to the bush.

While seven victims were abducted at the palace of the King, two others were captured on their way to the bush.

Following the abduction, the bandits demanded a N300m for the release of the abducted victims, resisting any negotiations for reduction of the ransom.

Metro

Man Arrested In Edo For Alleged Abduction Of 4-year-old

Published

15 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

21-year-old ThankGod Destiny has been arrested by the Edo State Security Corps, ESSC, for allegedly kidnapping a four-year-old boy in the state.

Deputy Corps Commander, Operations, of the ESSC, Richard Balogun, who disclosed this to newsmen in Benin on Thursday, said the suspect has been handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.

Balogun, while disclosing that the incident happened on January 4, 2026 at Ikpoba Hill, Benin, said the arrest of the suspect followed an alarm raised by a commercial bus driver and a female passenger.

The ESSC commander said, “On January 4, 2026, a woman went out with her son at lkpoba Hill in Benin city. A few minutes later, the son disappeared from her sight.
This suspect identified as ThankGod Destiny had allegedly kidnapped the four-year-old boy.

“The little boy was hurriedly taken into a commercial bus going towards kings Square in Benin city.

“The driver of the bus who noticed a great difference in resemblance between the little boy and the man, however questioned where he was heading with the little boy.

“He lied that the boy is ill and he is taking him to the hospital. But later on, a female passenger asked him about his destination with the boy. He replied that he was going to buy the boy shoe.

“The various replies made the driver and the woman raise the alarm. The alarm attracted men of the Edo State Security Corps who were on patrol. The suspect was immediately arrested and the kidnapped little boy rescued unhurt.”

Balogun, who said the victim has been reunited with his family, assured that the Corps will continue to hunt for criminals in the state.