News

#EndSARS: Woman Whose Husband Missing For Eight Years Demands N20m Compensation

Published

5 years ago

January 11, 2021

A woman, Rita Okungbowa, who appeared before the Edo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry for victims of SARS and related abuses, has asked the panel for N20 million compensation for the alleged death of her husband in the hands of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, (SARS).

She had told the panel that it has been eight years since the operatives of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, (SARS), invaded their house and whisked her husband away and his whereabouts has remained unknown to her.

Mrs. Okungbowa told the panel that her husband, a Bini movie director, Prince Osayande Okungbowa was tagged a kidnapper and was taken away by the men of the disbanded SARS and that every effort made to know which of the prisons he has been kept has proven abortive, noting that even when she displayed his photograph before other inmates, they all denied seeing person like him.

Mrs. Okungbowa told the panel that having waited till date, she was left with no option than to conclude that he may have been killed by the men of the disbanded SARS.

According to her “On the 12 day of September, 2012, the SARS came to my own house, and picked my husband, they alleged him to be a kidnapper.

“My mother-in-law and I went to the State Criminal Investigation Department, and immediately I mentioned the name of my husband, they drove us away. They did not allow us to see him.

“The next day, we also came, they did not allow us to also see him.

“So, one of the police officers then told us that they have taken him to the court and thereafter, to the prison.

“I asked which of the prison, they said the white house (that is the maximum Correctional Centre at Sapele road), we went there, we did not see him, we went back to the station, but they later referred us to Oko Correctional Centre, and we did not see him there.

“So, I decided to take a lawyer, and when we got to the station, the OC then asked, who is in charge of the matter, they told us one Sergeant Esezobo was the Investigating Police Officer, IPO.

“When we asked for the said Esezobo, they said he has gone to the carteen and we went to the carteen and immediately he saw us, he ran away.

“So I have been going to the police station to search for him (my husband) and I have not set my eyes on him for the past eight years and because of that, I decided to approach the panel so that they can help me ask the disbanded SARS where they kept my husband.

“It is now eight years and some months”.

The distraught woman pleaded with the panel to compel the SARS to compensate her to enable her give her children a better life.

“The panel should help me to tell them to provide my husband if he is still alive and if he is no more, the panel should compell them to come and settle me.

“They should pay me N20million because I have been passing through hard times. Look at my two kids, they have not been going to school for a very long time.

“In fact, even house rent, I can’t pay. I sleep in the church, Celestial Church of Christ, that is where I normally stay because there is no money to rent a house.

“I don’t have anything doing, I go out to wash people’s clothes just to survive, is that not painful?

“They should settle me with N20million so that I can start a good business and to also take my children back to good school”, she said.

News

Trump’s Airstrikes: Halt Military Cooperation With US Immediately – Sheikh Gumi Tells Tinubu Govt

Published

8 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has called on the Federal Government to immediately halt all military cooperation with the United States following reported US airstrikes.

Gumi warned that American involvement could worsen Nigeria’s security challenges and undermine national sovereignty.

Gumi made the call in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Friday.

He said while Islam permits the fight against terrorism, such actions should only be carried out by what he described as “clean hands,” arguing that the United States lacks the moral authority to lead such efforts because of its global military record.

According to the cleric, Nigeria made a mistake by allowing foreign powers to play a role in its counterterrorism operations, insisting that “terrorists do not truly fight terrorists” and that such interventions often result in civilian casualties and hidden political motives.

Gumi warned that allowing Nigeria to become a theatre of war would attract anti-US forces into the country, further destabilising it.

He also cautioned that US involvement, particularly under claims of protecting Christians, could polarise the country along religious lines.

The cleric further argued that airstrikes alone cannot defeat terrorism, stressing that effective counterterrorism requires strong ground operations, which he said Nigeria has enough personnel to carry out if properly organised.

“This is the mistake Nigeria has made. Terrorists don’t fight terrorists in truth; they may only kill innocent people and have ulterior motives behind the drama of fighting ‘terror’.

“As a principle, no nation should allow its land to be a theater of war. And no nation should allow its neighbors to be their enemies.

“If Nigeria wants military assistance, China, Turkey, and Pakistan can do the job effectively,” part of his statement reads.

News

Shehu Sani Reacts To Trump’s Military Strikes In Nigeria

Published

9 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

Former lawmaker, senator Shehu Sani, has reacted to reports of United States military strikes on terrorist targets in Nigeria’s North-West, saying foreign powers cannot permanently handle the country’s security challenges.

Sani made the remarks on Friday via his X handle while responding to a post by the United States Africa Command, AFRICOM, which indicated that the strikes were carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

According to him, if the reported strikes were indeed a joint operation with Nigerian security agencies, then such action was justifiable, given the threat posed by terrorist groups in the region.

He described terrorists operating in parts of northern Nigeria as “cancerous cells,” stressing that they survive through violence and should be confronted decisively.

Sani also dismissed narratives suggesting that terrorist attacks target only one religious group, describing such claims as false and misleading.

He said: “If actually, the military strikes against the terrorists targets in the North Western part of Nigeria were a joint operation with the ‘Nigerian Authorities’ as posted by the US AFRICOM on their verified X handle, then it’s a conscionable action.

“Terrorists have become cancerous cells in our part of the country.They live by the sword.The narrative that the evil terrorists only targets one faith, remains absolutely false and misleading.

“Again, the ultimate security and peace in our country lies with ourselves and not with the US or any foreign power. They can complimentarily or unilaterally strike, but they can’t eternally fight our battles.”