News

How Killers Planned Kwara Oba’s Murder In Beer Parlour

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2024

Fresh facts have emerged that the killers of the Olukoro of Koro in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Olusegun Aremu-Cole, perfected the murder plot in a pub, popularly called beer parlour, in the town.

Oba Aremu-Cole, a retired senior military officer, was shot dead on Thursday night by the assailants, who invaded his palace, and his wife and two natives who live near the palace were whisked away to an unknown destination.

He was crowned in 2017 and he would have been 66 this year as he was born in 1958.

It was gathered that the killers also lured a salesgirl at the pub to lead them to the palace, which is located in the area.

A source in Koro, who did not want his name in print, confided in The PUNCH on Friday that when the assailants arrived in the town on Thursday evening, they settled in the pub to take some drinks.

The source stated, “After spending several hours at the relaxation centre and being good customers, they now asked the salesgirl to lead them to the palace to pay obeisance to the monarch and discuss the progress of the town.

“The girl ignorantly led the three men to the palace to see the monarch and went back to continue her work at the joint.”

Another native of Koro, Funsho Akorede, said the monarch had just returned from a journey and was relaxing when the gunmen attacked him.

He added that following the killing, a team of soldiers had been dispatched to comb forests in Kwara and neighbouring Kogi and Ekiti states to smoke out the assailants.

The immediate junior brother to the monarch, Mr Adelaja Aremu, on Friday, narrated how gunmen killed the Oba.

Adelaja, who spoke in a telephone interview with Saturday PUNCH, noted that the assailants shot his brother dead for refusing to follow their orders to stand up and come with them.

He said, “I am his immediate younger brother and I live very close to the village. Immediately gunshots were heard in the palace, I was contacted and told the gunshots.

“They (gunmen) came into the palace and met him (the monarch) and asked him to stand up. They wanted to abduct him. He refused to get up, saying that nobody could command him like that. He refused to take orders from unknown people, so they shot in the air to scare him but he wasn’t afraid.

“Of course, they knew that they met a stubborn person and that was how they shot him. This was what the houseboy told us. He (houseboy) bolted out of the palace through the back door when my brother was shot, but he saw all that transpired.”

When asked if the family had been contacted over the abduction of the monarch’s wife and the two other abductees, Adelaja stated, “The other two who were kidnapped are our neighbours because I live in the palace too anytime I am around. I can’t disclose whether or not the kidnappers have contacted anyone, but we hope that the police will do their work.”

Adelaja disclosed that this was not the first time bandits had terrorised residents of the town.

He added, “For me, I think it’s the peculiar nature of our location. I try to farm at home and these bandits have been raiding our community and I have been calling the attention of the authorities to my encounters with them.

“When I had my first encounter with the bandits, I reported to the police but nothing happened. The second time I had an encounter with them, I informed the police again. Even when the All Progressives Congress women leader was killed by bandits during electioneering, the governor came to see the late monarch, but nothing changed after he left.

“These bandits have camped themselves in certain areas and we are at their mercy because we don’t have people to speak for us. None of our people go to their farms anymore because bandits will go to farms and kill people.

“When they first raided my farm, they rustled the cattle in my ranch. I restocked and they returned in May last year and rustled 74 of my cattle again. They also attacked the man I hired to tend them and left him for dead on the farm.”

PUNCH

News

Anambra Poll: CDD Releases Post-election Findings, Recommends improved INEC’s Operational Capacity

Published

4 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), has released its post-election findings on the just concluded Anambra governorship election, recommending improvement in INEC’s operational capacity, prioritised voter education, issue-based campaigns, amongst others.

In a post-election press briefing held in Akwa on Sunday, the CDD said the “2025 Anambra election reveals that Nigeria’s electoral challenges are deeply linked to wider governance failures; weak institutions, elite dominance, economic hardship, insecurity, and lack of accountability continue to shape voter behaviour and electoral outcomes.”

In the post-election statement signed by Dr. Dauda Garuba, Director, CDD, and Professor Victor Adetula, Chair,
CDD-West Africa Election Analysis Centre, recommended that the “ongoing electoral reforms must target improving INEC’s operational capacity through timely funding, decentralised planning, and consistent communication.

“Such operational issues include logistics, mandatory real-time result publication via IReV, early voting for essential personnel and adequate personnel training.”

The CDD, while urging political parties to prioritise voter education and conduct issue-based campaigns, the organisation urged politicians to uphold internal democracy and adhere to transparent campaign financing.

“Elections cannot be treated as temporary security events. The government at all levels must develop a more sustainable security architecture that addresses root causes and provides year-round safety for residents.

“Only then can we safeguard electoral processes without relying on massive deployments that strain national resources and offer no long-term protection.”

The CDD, while decrying the prevalent of vote trading in the election, said conscious steps must be taken to discourage this “through deliberate efforts to deliver good governance while promoting civic education across all strata of society to discourage transactional politics.”

“The National Orientation Agency must take centre stage on this. Ongoing reforms of the electoral act must take into consideration the need to arrest and prosecute electoral offenders.”

The CDD said that “as the country prepares for the 2026 off-cycle elections and the 2027 general elections, these reforms must be prioritised.”

It added: “Nigeria’s democratic survival depends not just on voting but on the strength of the institutions and the governance practices that surround it.”

News

UPDATED: INEC Declares Soludo Winner Of Anambra Guber Poll

Published

12 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has been declared the winner of the Saturday, November 8, 2025, Anambra State governorship election by the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Edoba Omoregie.

Soludo, who polled a total of 422,664 votes, defeated his closest rival, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Nicholas Ukachukwu, who scored 99,445 votes, while the candidate of the Young Progressives Party, Sir Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes.

According to INEC, a total of 16 candidates from various political parties participated in the election.

The state had 2,788,864 registered voters, out of which 598,229 were accredited. A total of 595,298 votes were cast, while 11,244 votes were rejected across the 21 local government areas.

From the results announced, Soludo of APGA won in all 21 local government areas of the state in a landslide victory.

Announcing the results at the INEC headquarters in Awka on Sunday, Omoregie said, “The number of registered voters was 2,788,864, while accredited voters were 598,229. The total valid votes stood at 584,054, rejected votes were 11,244, and the total votes cast amounted to 595,298.”

He added, “After collating the results as tallied into Form EC8E, it is now my privilege to declare the figures each candidate scored according to their political parties.

“There were a few areas affected by incidents, leading to cancellations in some wards across Anambra West, Anaocha, Awka South, and Onitsha South LGAs, amounting to 10,481 affected votes. However, the margin of lead between the top candidates did not affect the overall outcome of the election.

“I, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, Returning Officer for the 2025 Anambra State Governorship Election, hereby declare that the election was peaceful. Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, having scored 422,664 votes — the highest number of valid votes cast and having satisfied the requirements of the law — is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”

Breakdown of results:

Total registered voters: 2,788,864

Total accredited voters: 598,229

Total valid votes: 584,054

Rejected votes: 11,244

Total votes cast: 595,298

Votes by political parties:
A – 224
AA – 1,145
AAC – 292
ADC – 8,208
APC – 99,445
APGA – 422,664
APM – 892
APP – 73
BP – 126
LP – 10,576
NNPP – 525
NRM – 36
PDP – 1,401
SDP – 241
YPP – 37,753
ZLP – 453

News

BREAKING: Soludo Sweeps Anambra Guber Election

Published

16 hours ago

November 9, 2025

Editor

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the Anambra governorship election, Prof. Charles Soludo has been declared winner of the poll.

Returning Officer of the election, Prof. Edoba declared Soludo winner having polled
422,664 votes to defeat his closest opponent.

More details coming