The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, for allegedly disguising himself as a mentally unstable person while secretly cultivating a cannabis farm in Awka, the state capital.

The Spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, stated in a press release on Thursday that operatives attached to the operations department arrested the suspect during a patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway, near Ngozika Estate, on Wednesday.

The statement read in part, “The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, who pretended to be mentally unstable while secretly cultivating a marijuana farm in Awka, the state capital.

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“The police operatives attached to the Operations Department, Awka, nabbed the suspect on September 17, 2025, during a routine patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway near Ngozika Estate.

“He later led the team to the hidden farm, where large quantities of weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa were recovered.

“The Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, noted that the arrest reflects the Command’s renewed strategy of cutting off criminal supplies by targeting drug dealers who embolden cultists and violent offenders.”

According to him, the CP further directed that the suspect should be handed over to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, Enugwu-Ukwu, for discreet investigation to trace his buyers and dismantle the wider distribution network.

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The PUNCH had reported that the police command has arrested no fewer than 54 suspects, comprising 39 males and 15 females, for various offences ranging from kidnapping, cultism, hard drugs and banned substances.

Ikenga said the arrests were followed by coordinated raids by police operatives in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area, and Ifitedunu, Dunukofia LGA, in separate raid operations.

According to him, the coordinated operations were in line with renewed strategies aimed at restoring sanity in the state and curbing the growing menace of crime among young people between 18 and 26 years.

The death toll from the tragic fire at Afriland Towers Fire on Broad Street, Lagos Island, has climbed to 10, following confirmation that six employees of United Capital Plc died in the inferno.

LEADERSHIP reports that the six-storey commercial building was engulfed in flames on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, after a fire reportedly broke out in the inverter room located in the basement around 1:30 p.m. Thick smoke filled the building, sending panic among occupants, with some seen attempting desperate escapes through windows using a ladder as emergency responders battled the blaze.

United Capital, a financial and investment services firm that occupied the 3rd and 4th floors of the building, announced the deaths of six of its staff members in a statement released Thursday morning.

“It is with profound grief that the Management and Staff of United Capital Plc announce the passing of six of our dear colleagues, following the tragic fire at Afriland Towers on Tuesday, September 16, 2025.

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“Our departed colleagues were an integral part of our company and family. Their painful loss leaves an immeasurable void. We extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences to their families, friends, and loved ones, and we continue to hold them in our thoughts and prayers, as well as provide all the support we can to them during this most difficult time.

“We are making preparations for an appropriate memorial service to honour their lives and mark their passing with dignity and solemnity. We thank the emergency services and all those who responded for their valiant assistance at the time of the incident.

“In this moment of untold grief, we stand together in solidarity, drawing strength from one another as we navigate this period. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.”

This latest confirmation came just hours after the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) disclosed that four of its senior staff also died in the incident, bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to 10.

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Emergency responders, including officials of the Federal Fire Service and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, rescued at least nine people during the operation. Five were successfully revived, while four remained unconscious.

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement on Tuesday, “A total of nine victims have been rescued. Five individuals have been resuscitated. Several others escaped unhurt, while efforts are ongoing to revive the remaining four.”

Although emergency agencies were yet to release an official casualty figure, eyewitnesses and company insiders had earlier claimed that “not everyone made it out alive.”

Attempts to reach the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the National Emergency Management Agency, and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency for an update were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.

Lady-justice
Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a 61-year-old teacher, Igwe Ngozi, to 14 years imprisonment for sexual assault of a seven-year-old child.

The judge sentenced and convicted Ngozi after finding him guilty as he pleaded to an amended one-count charge brought against him by the state government.

The charge bordered on sexual assault by penetration.

The prosecution alleged that the defendant, on or about February 2019 at Linsey Nursery and Primary School at Igbo-Efon Alpha Beach Road, Lekki, Lagos, attempted to assault a seven-year-old girl by penetrating her vagina with his finger.

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His offence is contrary to the provision of Section 262 C.17, Vol. 3 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
However, Ngozi was initially charged with one count of sexual assault by penetration, which is punishable by life imprisonment, but approached the prosecution for a plea bargain.

He had pleaded not guilty to the charge when he was initially arraigned sometime in February 2019.

The victim’s mother (PW1) testified that the incident occurred one day when she observed that her daughter’s pants were messy and that she had been complaining of lower abdominal pain.

She told the court that her daughter said her class teacher had been inserting his finger into her vagina, and that each time he did that, she became scared and sometimes screamed.

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The state counsel, S.O. Dada, informed the court on June 16, 2025, and filed on June 19, 2025, that Ngozi had agreed to a plea bargain agreement, which necessitated the amended charge of attempted sexual assault by penetration.

He was therefore re-arraigned on July 17, 2025, and he pleaded guilty.

While delivering judgment yesterday, Justice Oshodi held that he was satisfied that the convict was competent to enter the plea bargain agreement.

The judge held that, “The first charge is punishable by life imprisonment. However, through the plea bargain process, you have pleaded guilty to this lesser charge, and I am bound to sentence you according to the agreed terms.”

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“As a class teacher, you were supposed to protect the child, but unfortunately abused a seven-year-old child, causing physiological trauma to the victim.”

“Igwe Ngozi, I have considered your breach of trust as a teacher and the trauma inflicted upon her; I find the maximum sentence appropriate.”

The court therefore found him guilty as charged and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment. The court ordered that the sentence should begin from the date he was remanded in custody.

The judge also held that the convict should be registered as a sex offender in furtherance of Sections 33 and 38 of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law of Lagos State 2021, and also serve his sentence in the place he has been held during his trial.