Metro

Obaseki Allegedly Bans APC Campaign Billboards In Edo

Published

3 years ago

October 26, 2022

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has allegedly warned billboard owners in the state not to accept any campaign billboards from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

A member of the billboards association in the state, Mr. Ibrahim Momoh, made the allegation yesterday in Benin City, adding that the governor even threatened that anybody who violated such order would lose his/her board.

When contacted, the State Director, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Mr. Abdul Hakeem Tiamiyu, said that he had the same complaints from billboard owner on the matter.

Comfirming the development on phone, Assistant Secretary, Billboard Owners Association, Edo State Chapter, Mr. Precious Otameh, confirmed the allegation to THiSDAY, saying that “it is true.”

Otameh said that a messag from Edo State Government House said that members of the association should not accept adverts from the APC and other opposition parties in the state.

He said: “We have been waiting for them for guidelines to no avail. They keep telling us not to erect any advert billboard from any opposition party until further notice.

Tiamiyu who promised to make further investigation, told newsmen that APCON as a body is different from billboard owners.

He explained that while the job of billboard owner is to place adverts on billboards, APCON regulate advertising contents to ensure that they conformed to guiding regulations.

“I have heard the same complaints from billboard owners that Edo State Government has warned them not to erect any billboard from APC. I will carry more investigation on this because should this be true, it is quite unfortunate.

“Ours (APCON), is to regulate the content of every advert to ensure it does not fall foul of the law. We don’t erect billboards,” The

Reacting, Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr. Chris Nekhihare, said that the state government has paid for billboards in advance, knowing that elections are coming.

When asked if his explanation suggested no more space for other parties to erect their campaign billboard, Nekhihare said all he knows is that the state government paid for many billboard spaces in advance because it knows election is coming.

Metro

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

Published

5 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

7 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

7 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.