Metro

Fire Razes Valuable Worth Millions In Oyo, Ondo

Published

5 years ago

November 8, 2020

Items worth millions of naira were Sunday razed by fire at grocery and household supermarket, Grandex stores, believed to be owned by Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, wife of the late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

Grandex stores is located at Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The incident which reportedly started at 3:00 pm, from the back of the supermarket, gradually spread to the main store.

The men of Oyo State Fire Service who came to put off the fire were not able to do so as the fire kept raging, while it took the combined efforts of the Federal Fire Service to extinguish the fire.

The federal fire fighters who came later went to the area close to the back of the stores to spray water to the raging fire, which finally put an end to the incident.

The team leader of the Federal Fire Service who spoke with journalists under the condition of anonymity, attributed the incident to electrical sparks and over-loading of electrical sockets.

Those reading newspapers at the popular Osuntokun junction also saved the day as they rallied round to fetch water and bring fire extinguishers to quench the fire before the arrival of fire fighters.

According Mr. Bamidele Osinowo, an eyewitness who spoke with this correspondent said: “It started about 3.p.m. When we heard the shouts from the workers, I immediately called the Oyo State Fire Service.

“I brought out my phone to call the fire people. Within ten minutes, they came with a bigger truck. We moved in to join them to bring extinguishers . Somebody from Zenith Bank brought one another person brought from Afe Babalola Educational Centre, Bodija.”

Mr. Osinowo decried the absence of fire hydrants in the supermarket, saying if the hydrants were there the fire would have been put off on time.

Later, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi arrived at the scene, as some of the aides joined in evacuating goods from the stores, while some stern-looking officers of Operation Burst were on ground to prevent looting.

In a related development, Goods and drugs worth more than N300 million naira were lost to an early morning fire which occurred at Ijomu area of Akure, the Ondo State capital on Sunday.

The fire affected no fewer than 10 entrepreneurs whose shops and medicine store were located in the area.

Alhaji is the owner of Choices Medicine and Supermarket Stores at No. 20 Ijomu Street, Akure, Akure South Local Government Area of the state, was said to have just off loaded two trucks load of drugs into his two stores in the same complex on Saturday night.

Other occupants of the complex are dealers, fashion designers, electrical and electronics dealers.

Mrs. Modupe Daramola, a fashion designer in the complex, lost three industrial sewing and embroidery machines and four sewing machines to the fire.

She disclosed that she also lost a heavy duty power generating set and a refrigerator to the inferno besides several fabrics belonging to her numerous customers.

FILE PHOTO

Metro

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

Published

9 hours 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

11 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

11 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.