Metro

Motorists, Commuters Lament Slow Pace Of Repairs On Benin-Sapele Road

Published

2 months ago

September 29, 2025

Editor

Residents living on the Benin-Sapele Road axis of the ancient city on Monday decried the slow pace of the ongoing repairs on the highway.

Signs of the failed road stretching from the By-pass axis to the Ologbo-koko Junction began in 2018 due to poor drainage design or failure to maintain drains.

At a stage, the road became near impassable due to political differences between the state government who ought to have done some palliative work, and the Federal Government whose duty it is to rehabilitate the road that linked the west to the South-south corridors.

Signs of relief however set in when the current Edo State Government took over a portion of rehabilitation the road earlier embarked upon by Levant Construction Firm.

However, despite the take over of the portion of the ongoing repairs, there seems to be no tangible improvement.

Lamenting the slow pace of the ongoing repairs, a resident of Ogheghe by the by-pass who identified himself as Igbinovia Lucky, said since he moved into his apartment in 2022, it has been a nightmare coming to the city and going back home at close of work.

According to him, more times are spent on the road especially in the evenings when workers are going back home.

He said most times, a journey which ordinarily should take an average of 30 – 45 minutes, lasts up to 5 or 6 hours.

Also, a transporter, Sunday Ochuko, who ply the road said the bad state of the road has drastically reduced the number of hours and trips per day for drivers.

“The bad state of the road has increased accident risks occasioned by trucks that often get stuck, tip over, or delay for days. The end results is incidents of theft, livestock being abandoned or offloaded from trucks, and security concerns including kidnappings along certain stretches.”

According to him, vehicles suffer greater wear and tear with motorists spending more on fuel (due to inefficiencies, slow speeds, detours) and repairs.

“Apart from businesses, individuals are affected. What might be a 1‑hour trip becomes 5‑6 hours. This reduces the number of trips, lowers work hours, and increases delays in supply chains.

“The corridor is vital for trade between Edo and Delta states, but poor road quality makes it harder to move goods efficiently to market, possibly reducing competitiveness”, Ochuko said.

He continued: “Farmers face similar difficulties transporting produce; some goods spoilt or get damaged before reaching markets, thus reducing their incomes, reduced food supply and raising costs.

“Fares for passengers have nearly doubled on the Benin to Sapele route. Transport operators are making fewer trips per day.”

On her part, a fruit seller who buys fruits from Benin to sell in Sapele lamented the delays and losses of goods due to damage, spoilage, or pilferage.

She said due to the bad road, sellers many times have to raise prices because transporters who pass along the road Increased fares.

Metro

My Wife Sold My Property After Giving Her Money For Business — Husband

Published

1 hour ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

…I sold his property to feed our children after he abandoned us — Wife

An Upper Area Court in Kubwa, Abuja, has dissolved a 16-year-old marriage between Hajarat Isa and her husband, Muhammed Hassan, for lack of love.

The judge, Mohammed Wakili, dissolved the marriage according to Islamic Law, following Hajarat’s prayer for divorce on the said ground.

Wakili ordered that the divorce certificate be issued to the plaintiff adding that she would not observe “Iddah” because the couple did not consummate since 2022.

Iddah is a waiting period to be observed for three months before contracting another marriage.

Earlier, the petitioner, a mother of four, had told the court she got married to the respondent under Islamic law in 2008.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),she said that she was no longer interested in the marriage and prayed that the court grants her request for divorce on grounds of lack of love.

The respondent, however, said that he divorced his wife and remarried her in 2022 which was in his absence because he travelled to his hometown while the marriage was contracted.

”I will grant her divorce, but I want her to return all my belongings in her possession.

“She sold my television, a play station I bought for the children and my clothes and shoes.

“We have not consummated the marriage since 2022 and I gave her a shop and capital to start a business before I travelled.

When I got back she sold my gym equipments,” he said.

The plaintiff said that in 2022, the respondent travelled to his home town for one year and seven months and only sends money once in a while.

“I was the only one taking care of our four children and two more he had with his ex-wife.

“I sold the said items to take care of our children.

“I am a private teacher and was paid only N15,000 when he left.

“I later fell sick and that was when he returned.

“My younger brother had to come to help me with the children while my older sister took care of me,” she said.

She added that she did not sell his gym equipments but had explained to him that they got stolen and the reason she sold other items was for upkeep.

The respondent, however, told the court that he believed the plaintiff may have sold the items for upkeep while he was away and forgave her for it.

Metro

Man Accepts Money To Divorce Wife

Published

1 hour ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Matero Local Court in Zambia, has heard a startling case in which a man admitted to divorcing his wife after being promised K7,000 by her lover, who had impregnated her

According to Zambia Observer, Innocent Chileshe told the magistrate, Lewis Mumba that he agreed to end his marriage after Innocent Mutonga, a married man who was in a relationship with his wife, offered him money to clear the way for their union.

“Your honour, this man was in a sexual relationship with my wife, and she even became pregnant for him. I was the one taking care of the pregnancy, yet he is the one responsible,” Chileshe testified.

He said the court had earlier ordered Mutonga to pay him K15,000 in compensation for adultery.

But after the ruling, Mutonga allegedly approached Chileshe with a new proposal.

“He told me to divorce my wife in exchange for K7,000 so that he could continue freely with her. I accepted the offer and gave him the divorce papers, but he never paid me,” Chileshe told the court.

Chileshe added that he not only supported his wife during the pregnancy but also continued to provide for her and the child after birth, responsibilities he argued belonged to Mutonga.

Mumba found Mutonga guilty of contempt for failing to honour the original order and directed him to pay K165 or face 14 days in remand.

He further warned him to strictly comply with the earlier K15,000 compensation ruling.

The unusual case has drawn attention for highlighting how adultery disputes and financial negotiations have increasingly become entangled in local courts, raising questions about justice, dignity, and the limits of compensation in marital breakdowns.

Metro

Ngige Recounts Attack On Convoy By Gunmen

Published

11 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

A former Anambra State Governor and ex-Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has narrated how his convoy was attacked by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.

Ngige said the incident occurred when his personal aides were returning from an errand, resulting in the death of a woman, while his police orderly was shot in the leg and stripped of his rifle and uniform.

He disclosed this to journalists on Friday, when the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, visited him at his country home in Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, to commiserate with him over the attack.

Ngige said he had been in Anambra since Saturday and had sent his personal aides on errands, including taking one of his vehicles for maintenance, when they were ambushed on their way back.

Dispelling rumours of his death, he said, “As you can see, I am alive; I am not dead, so there should be no panic. They attacked my convoy while they were returning around Umuoji. They saw some vehicles racing towards them, which later reversed, chased after them and started shooting.

“The assailants were all dressed in police and army uniforms. My convoy driver managed to manoeuvre until they ran into a shop. They caught up with my police security man who battled with them until his bullets were exhausted.

“They took away his rifle and uniform after shooting him in the leg.

“They told the two policemen that they were serving a ‘zoo government’. I think something is in the offing. They are seizing arms and mopping up police uniforms.

“I have spoken to the governor of the state, who assured me they will be tracked down. If they are not tracked down, it can lead to potential danger and an unravelling of the calmness we have enjoyed in the state for the past three months.

“You know we are entering the Christmas season and our people will be coming home. They need to be tracked down because this is a gang with a modus operandi of operating in police uniforms.”

On whether he believed the attack was targeted, Ngige said it was possible because his pilot driver and convoy are well known, but added that it might also be coincidental.

“My pilot driver is very well known. Anywhere people see him, they know Ngige is around. He has driven me for 22 years. So, on that basis, I may say they knew it was my convoy and decided to attack.

“On the other hand, it may be that they just saw a convoy with policemen and attacked them to harvest guns and uniforms. So I’m not insisting it was targeted. Anyone who targets me is wasting his time,” he added.

Speaking on the attackers’ reference to serving a “zoo government” and the recent tension surrounding the incarceration of the Indigenous People of Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu, Ngige said the situation called for a political solution.

“When they told the security men that they were serving a ‘zoo government’ and should tell their masters they are coming for them, you know what that means.

“My take is that Nnamdi Kanu’s case requires a political solution. I met former President Muhammadu Buhari over it. Governor Soludo has also said he wants Kanu released to him. But even if they don’t want to release him to us, they can release him to Britain.

“Why I say so is because the symptoms he is exhibiting are bizarre. I am not a psychiatrist, but something is wrong. Even the doctors who conducted the psychiatric evaluation missed something. There is a mania component. In such cases, the court normally discharges the person. This is elementary psychiatry, and I am a medical doctor,” he said.

Also speaking, Obi, who visited Ngige in Alor, thanked God for sparing the former governor’s life and commiserated with the family of the woman who was shot dead while making a video of the incident.

Recall that unidentified gunmen attacked Ngige’s convoy along the Nkpor–Nnobi Road in Idemili North Local Government Area on Thursday.

According to Ngige’s former media aide, Sir Fred Chukwuelobe, the former governor was not in the convoy at the time of the attack.

A policeman in the pilot car was shot, and his gun and uniform were taken by the assailants, who were reportedly dressed in police and military uniforms.

Eyewitnesses said a woman who was recording the shooting was fatally shot, while a shop owner who rushed out to observe the commotion was also hit but survived and is scheduled for surgery to remove bullets lodged in his body.

“No policeman was killed. The escort leader who was shot has been operated upon and is expected to make a full recovery,” one eyewitness said.