Metro

Hundreds Rendered Homeless As Rainstorm Destroys Houses In Edo Communities

Published

6 months ago

March 17, 2025

Hundreds of persons have been reportedly rendered homeless in a rainstorm that destroyed over 100 houses in communities in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area Of Edo State.

According to reports, some of the victims sustained various degrees of injuries.

Yekini Idaiye, lawmaker, representing Akoko-Edo I in the State House of Assembly disclosed this on Monday during plenary in his motion of urgent public importance.

Idaiye said the devastating rainstorms happened on Monday, March 10, 2025.

He listed the affected communities to include Ojirami, Dagbala and Ojah, all in ward 5 in the local government.

According to him, Ojirami, Dagbala and Ojah people are mainly farmers and contribute to the economic development of Edo State and Nigeria at large, as they produce cocoa, cashew, garri, maize and palm oil.

“The rainstorms left in its wake the destruction of over 100 houses.
Many of them had their roofs blown off in Ojirami,Oja, Dagbala, all in Akoko Edo Local Government area of the state.

“The people are traumatized by the destruction of their homes with many roofs blown off, making the children, aged and the women vulnerable to varying pandemic.

“Hundreds of persons were affected and various degrees of injuries, depression and anxieties recorded,as they have been exposed to harsh conditions.

“The children who ought to be in school have lost their books to the rainstorm disaster and are looking for shelter to lay their heads,” he said

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lawmaker called on the federal, state and local governments to urgently undertake an on the spot assessment to ascertain the level of damages caused by the rainstorm.

Idaiye, who is the Chief Whip in the House, also called on federal and state relief agencies to provide immediate palliatives to those affected.

He urged the lawmakers at the National Assembly from the state to help by raising similar motions on the floor of the Senate and House of Representatives.

In their various contributions, the majority leader and member representing Ovia North East I, Charity Aiguobarueghian and member representing Owan East constituency, Eric Okaka, who is also the Minority Leader of the House, said that the rainstorm also wrecked havoc in some communities in their constituencies.

They equally called on relevant authorities to expedite action by way of cushioning the effects of the rainstorm disaster on the victims.

Speaking, Blessing Agbebaku, Speaker of the House, who sympathised with the victims, advocated the need for residents to always plant trees, noting that it would help mitigate the effects of rainstorm disaster.

The House, in its resolution called on the National Emergency Agency, NEMA and State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, to provide palliatives to the victims.

The House also called on other relevant authorities to assist the victims of rainstorm disaster in the state.

Metro

Abuja Court Jails Ex-legislative Aide For N120m Fraud

Published

1 hour ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi on Monday sentenced a former legislative aide and banker, Mr Goni Yilkan, to eight years in prison for obtaining N120.58 million by false pretence.

Justice F. E. Messiri found Yilkan guilty of a two-count employment scam charge, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission revealed in a statement issued via its X handle on Tuesday.

“Yilkan, who hails from Nguru, Yobe State, was found guilty on a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act, and consequently sentenced to eight years imprisonment without option of fine,” the statement read.

According to EFCC, the convict was arraigned alongside one Mohammed Adamu in October 2023, following investigations into a petitioner’s claims of being defrauded by the convict.

One of the charges read: “That you, Mohammed Goni Yilkan, Mohammed Adamu and others at large between 3rd January 2020 and December 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N120, 580, 550 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira) from Mrs. Hindatu Bello under the false pretence that you had the capacity to secure jobs for her candidates in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

In the course of the trial, EFCC said the petitioner explained that “Yilkan deceived her between 2020 and 2021 into believing that he had the capacity to secure employment slots in government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

“On this strength, the petitioner collected varying sums of money from over 60 jobseekers, amounting to N120,580,550.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira), which she allegedly remitted to the convict.”

However, the purported employment offers never materialised, prompting Bello to petition the EFCC.

The prosecution, led by Cosmas Ugwu, called six witnesses and tendered documentary evidence, while the defence, led by J.A. Oguche, presented two witnesses, including Yilkan himself.

In his judgment, Justice Messiri held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, convicted Yilkan, but discharged and acquitted his co-defendant, Adamu.

The judge further sentenced Yilkan to eight years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.

Earlier, The PUNCH reported that the EFCC Ilorin Zonal Directorate arrested 28 suspected internet fraudsters in Kwara State.

The suspects, according to a statement on Monday, “were picked up in the early hours of Tuesday during sting operations carried out in Tanke, University Road, Oshin, and Agbabiaka areas of the state capital.”

Metro

Soldiers Who Sold Arms To Terrorists Sentenced To Death

Published

1 hour ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

A special court-martial of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, Borno State, has sentenced three soldiers to life imprisonment and another to 15 years for illegal arms deals carried out in connivance with police officers and terrorists.

The trial, presided over by Brigadier General Ugochukwu Unachukwu, acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander of Sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), took place at the Officers’ Mess of the Theatre Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.

Delivering judgment, Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullahi, president of the court-martial, pronounced Raphael Ameh, a sergeant; Ejiga Musa, a sergeant; and Patrick Ocheje, a lance corporal, guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Omitoye Rufus, a corporal, was however handed a 15-year jail term.

The soldiers were convicted of offences ranging from theft and unlawful dealing in ammunition to aiding the enemy, all punishable under the Armed Forces Act.

Ameh, who served as an armourer at the 7 Division Garrison, was found to have conspired with a deceased colleague to steal ammunition from the division’s armoury.

He worked with police officers to conceal weapons in bags of beans and smuggle them to Enugu and Ebonyi for criminals.

Abdullahi revealed that bank records linked Ameh to over 100 suspicious transactions between July 2022 and June 2024.

Musa, while serving as armourer of 195 Battalion, was discovered to have collaborated with Ocheje and police officers in selling an AK-47 rifle and large quantities of ammunition.

Records showed he collected more than ₦500,000 from the transactions before he was arrested while attempting to sell more ammunition.

Rufus was convicted for selling 40 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition to a police officer, while Ocheje, who was deployed at the forward operating base in Molai, was found guilty of diverting ammunition during communal clashes at the instigation of a police officer.

He also stole an AK-47 rifle belonging to a colleague.

The court held that their actions directly endangered military operations and national security, amounting to aiding the enemy.

Condemning the convicts, Abdullahi described them as “bad eggs” who betrayed the trust, discipline, and honour expected of soldiers in the fight against insurgency.

He restated the army’s zero-tolerance stance on the sale of arms or ammunition to adversaries “in whatever form or guise.”

Metro

BREAKING: Bodies Of 8 Missing Policemen Recovered In Benue

Published

1 day ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Lifeless bodies of the eight policemen who were declared missing after a deadly attack on security operatives at Agu Centre, on the border of Katsina-Ala and Ukum LGAs of Benue State, have been recovered.

Dr Justin Shaku, Chairman of Katsina-Ala LGA disclosed this to reporters in Makurdi on Monday.

According to him, “this brings the number of officers killed to 11 (10 policemen and one BSCPG)”.

The unfortunate incident occurred on Friday, when a team of security operatives came under the attack of armed invaders.

Three personnel were immediately confirmed dead while eight others were declared missing.