Headline

Edo: Two Suspects Arrested Over Okomu Oil Invasion

Published

4 years ago

February 17, 2022

Editor

The Edo State Police Command has arrested two persons who were allegedly involved in the alleged theft of rubber lumps belonging to Okomu Oil Palm PLC in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State.

The two suspects – Lucky Clark, 52, and Destiny Tibhor, 22 – were paraded on Thursday in Gelegelegbene, Ovia North East LGA of Edo State by SP Bello Kontongs, Police Public Relations Officer, Edo State Command.

Parading the suspects, Kontongs said, Edo State Police Commissioner, Mr. Philip Ogbadu in an attempt to unravel those behind the attack on rubber plantation belonging to Okomu Oil Palm PLC, where two workers were gunned down, lunched a manhunt for the perpetrators and on the 15th of February 2022 arrested the suspects at Okomu Water Ways.

“The Edo State Police Commissioner, Mr. Philip Ogbadu in an attempt to unravel those behind the attack on the facilities and personnel of Okomu Oil Palm PLC, launched a manhunt, and on 15th February, the marine police component under SP Courage Ogonmwan, while on patrol intercepted the suspects at Okomu Water Ways.

“They were arrested with Cuplumps of rubber that were stolen from Okomu plantation. The two suspects during interrogation have confessed their involvement. The police after the attack on the facilities of the company did not seat back to watch.

“Further investigation will determine whether they were among those involved in the attack on Okomu Oil Palm plantation or otherwise,” he said.

Speaking, one of the suspects, Destiny Tabhor, said he was hired by one Lucky Clark to transport the lumps from Okomu Ijaw to Sapele before they were arrested.

“I was seating at home when he (Lucky)came to call me to help him carry rubber from Okomu Ijaw to Sapele, so we were on the way when police arrested us and brought us here,” He said.

Recall that two workers of Okomu Oil Palm Plc, in Ovia Southwest Local Government Area of Edo State were on the 2nd of February,2022 killed by unknown gunmen.

The gunmen were said to have invaded the palm plantation, where about seven workers weeding around the premises of the company were shot and two died instantly.

Headline

Morocco Jails Student One Year Over Gen Z Protest

Published

6 hours ago

October 17, 2025

Editor

A student arrested during Morocco’s youth-led protests has been sentenced to one year in prison, his lawyer told AFP on Friday.

The case marks the first publicly known prison sentence linked to the kingdom’s Gen Z demonstrations, which have been held near-daily between late September and last week to demand social and political reforms.

The student was charged with “participating in an unauthorised and unarmed gathering” and “insulting the judicial police by providing false information”, lawyer Mohamed Nouini said.

“The ruling is unfair, and we will appeal,” he added, arguing that sit-ins did not require authorisation as per a Supreme Court precedent.

The lawyer said his client was arrested on September 30, three days after the protests erupted in the North African country.

According to a report by news website Hespress, citing another lawyer, the student’s arrest was “an unfortunate coincidence” as he was in Casablanca for a family visit.

The other lawyer, Mohamed Lakhdar, told the judge the student had “not insulted” police nor provided false information, telling them he “was just a student”, according to the report.

Hundreds were arrested during the early days of the largely peaceful demonstrations.

Some cities had seen spates of violence and acts of vandalism, while authorities have said three people were killed by police acting in “self-defence” during clashes in a village near Agadir.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) has said roughly 550 people are facing prosecution on suspicion of joining the protests, with some still in detention.

The organisers of the online-based movement behind the nationwide protests, the GenZ 212 youth collective, remain unknown.

The collective has called for “peaceful sit-ins” on Saturday and demanded the release of those arrested during the demonstrations.

The protest came after the deaths of eight pregnant women during Caesarean sections at a hospital in Agadir.

But protesters have also demanded reforms to the education system and a change of government.
AFP

Headline

Trump Refiles $15bn Defamation Lawsuit Against New York Times

Published

7 hours ago

October 17, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump has refiled a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, court documents show, weeks after it was thrown out by a federal judge.

Trump has intensified his long-established hostility toward the media since his return to the White House, and the suit is one of numerous attacks against news organizations he accuses of bias against him.

The Times’ complaint was thrown out in September because District Judge Steven Merryday took exception to its florid writing, repetitive and laudatory praise of Trump, and its excessive 85-page length.

The suit filed Thursday in Florida and seen by AFP runs to less than half the length, at 40 pages.

It takes aim at “false, defamatory, and malicious publications”, highlighting a book and two Times articles.

The lawsuit named the newspaper, three Times reporters and the publisher Penguin Random House as defendants.

It accuses them of making defamatory statements against Trump “with actual malice.”

“The statements in question wrongly defame and disparage President Trump’s hard-earned professional reputation, which he painstakingly built for decades” before entering the White House, the lawsuit says.

The court was asked to grant compensatory damages of not less than $15 billion and additional punitive damages “in an amount to be determined upon trial.”

Trump’s attacks on media outlets have seen him restrict access, badmouth journalists critical of his administration, and bring lawsuits demanding huge amounts of compensation.

In July, Trump sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for at least $10 billion after it reported on the existence of a book and a letter he allegedly sent to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Paramount settled Trump’s lawsuit over election coverage on CBS News’ flagship show “60 Minutes” for $16 million the same month. He had alleged that the program deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 election rival, Kamala Harris, in her favor.

AFP

Headline

Italian Journalist’s Car Bombed, No Casualties

Published

7 hours ago

October 17, 2025

Editor

A bomb destroyed the vehicle of a prominent Italian journalist overnight, without causing casualties, his investigative television news show announced Friday.

Sigfrido Ranucci’s car blew up in an explosion in Pomezia, near Rome, that also damaged the family’s other car and the house next door, according to Report, which broadcasts on RAI public television.

“The force of the explosion was so strong that it could have killed anyone passing by at the moment,” it said in a statement on X.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni strongly condemned what she called a “serious act of intimidation”.

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“The freedom and independence of information are non-negotiable values of our democracies, which we will continue to defend,” she wrote on X.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said he had ordered an increase in the journalist’s security “to the maximum”.

He called the attack a “cowardly and extremely serious act that represents an attack not only on the person but on the freedom of the press and the fundamental values of our democracy”.

The Report show is known for its in-depth investigative reports.

According to the campaign group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Italy ranks 49th in the world in terms of press freedom.

“Journalists who investigate organised crime and corruption are systematically threatened and sometimes subjected to physical violence for their investigative work,” it said in its latest update.

About 20 journalists currently live under permanent police protection after being the targets of intimidation and attacks, it added.

AFP