Metro

Okomu Attack: INC Talks Tough, Warns Those Twisting The Incident To Desist Or…

Published

1 year ago

June 16, 2024

Editor

…narrates how it all happened

The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has cautioned those twisting the Okomu attack incident to desist from such an act or face the wrath of the law.

Recall that some militia allegedly led by one Lawrence Yanbor invaded the community on May 14, 2024, burnt down over 30 houses in the community, shot some Edo State Security Network personnel in their base in the community and also set ablaze double (85) Horse Power Speed Boat donated by the Edo State Government.

The terrorists were said to have also invaded the community on June 7, attacked military personnel and also shot the traditional ruler of the community.

But some online publications believed to have been paid twisted the story, saying the military carried out the May 14 2024 attack where over 30 houses were burnt, and also that of June 7, 2024 attack, where three military personnel were injured and the traditional ruler of the community shot.

Putting the record straight, Chief Freeman Cousin, INC Chairman, Okomu clan, while debunking the report being twisted that military came to attack Okomu community on the invitation of the traditional ruler, said the report was not only misleading but cooked by some mischievous persons and rumour mongers.

Chief Cousin, who said he is also affected as his house was completely burnt down by the gang, added: “I wish to categorically state that publication by some ill-trained bloggers a few days ago that our king invited Lawrence and his gang for a meeting in disguise for them to be arrested by the military is not true. This is a lie peddled by Lawrence and his supporters. And the online platforms, rather than calling chiefs in the kingdom or persons like me who represent the apex body of the Ijaw nation in the kingdom, failed to do so but went ahead to publish the lies. This is an unprofessional conduct in the little I know about journalism. Now, if we take such online platforms to court, they will call us all sorts of names.”

He added: “This is exactly what happened in Okomu. There was information, according to the 4 Brigade Commander, that there were some persons that were involved in the Okuama killings in Delta State that were hiding in Okomu forest with Lawrence Yanbor. So, on the 7th of May, they went to Okomu community led by 4 Brigade Commander, and from there they went to Okorodudu and to Opuba where Lawrence and his group were hiding. So, on the third day of their stay the soldiers pulled out from the area in line with the directive from the 4 Brigade Commander, believing that there would be peace.

“Lawrence Yanbor and his gang came to Okomu community and alleged that it was Okomu community people that brought the army.

“Lawrence and his gang thereafter invaded the community and burnt down over 30 houses including mine, the base of Edo State Security Network and double (85) Horse Power Speed Boat Edo State Government donated.”

He continued: “After this incident, the Brigade Commander sent another troop to the scene of the crime. Thereafter, they left some soldiers at Makilolo community. They were saddled with the responsibility of maintaining peace through regular patrol between Makilolo community and Okomu community.

“And this was exactly what they were doing when on the 7th of June, on their normal routine patrol, they went to Okomu community and went to the King’s palace to greet him and stayed with him for a while. Immediately they left, according to the King, Lawrence and his gang surrounded the palace, and said they heard that the soldiers were in the palace. But unfortunately, the soldiers had left before they came.

“So, as this happened , the king put a call across to one of the leaders of the troop and informed them that Lawrence and his gang have taken over his palace. They were about entering their boat en route to Makilolo community, but because of the call from the King, they retrieved and as they were trying to get back to the palace for intervention as requested by the king, Lawrence and his gang laid ambush on the soldiers and opened fire on the soldiers.

“At this point, three soldiers sustained injury. The gang scattered the soldiers gunboat glass with bullets.

“After the attack on soldiers, the gang went back to the palace, shot the king, destroyed his house and took away some valuables from the palace. As people tried to rush the King to hospital, the gang stopped them, insisting that he must die. But along the line some persons summoned courage and rushed the king into a wooden boat to an undisclosed hospital in Ondo State. As we speak, he is still receiving treatment,” he narrated.

On allegation that the king invited the soldiers to Okomu to attack Lawrence and his gang and that the soldiers shot him (king), Chief Cousin questioned: “If truely he invited the soldiers, would they have shot him? Would they have destroyed his palace and cart away valuables?”

Chief Cousin thereafter warned those twisting the Okomu attack to desist from such an act, stating that any further twisted report by any platform whatsoever would be attended to legally.

Metro

Tragedy As 12-year-old Falls Into Well In Kwara, Dies

Published

10 hours ago

November 17, 2025

Editor

A 12-year-old girl, identified as Nabilat, has died after falling into a domestic well at Ikoyi Community in the Irewolede area of Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State.

The incident occurred around 10:35 am on Saturday when the victim reportedly went to fetch water but slipped and fell into the well.

The Kwara State Fire Service, in a statement on Sunday by its Head of Media and Publicity, Hassan Hakeem Adekunle, said the service was alerted through a telephone call by a resident, identified only as Mayowa, who witnessed the tragedy.

Firefighters were immediately deployed and successfully recovered the girl’s body, which was handed over to a family member.

“According to the report, the victim went to fetch water and in the process, one of her legs slipped off the ground, which made her tumble into the well,” the statement partly read.

The Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Falade Olumuyiwa, expressed sadness over the incident and cautioned parents and guardians against sending underage children to fetch water from domestic wells.

“The general public must be more careful in their day-to-day activities, and parents should desist from sending underage children to fetch water in domestic wells,” he said.

The incident has reignited concerns about safety precautions around domestic wells, which remain common in several Ilorin communities due to irregular water supply during the dry season.

Metro

PHOTOS: NDLEA Arrests Lagos Hotelier, Seizes 1.7 Tonnes Of Cannabis

Published

10 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a wanted drug baron, Frank Chijioke Ibemesi, known as Chisco Bee, following weeks of surveillance on his operations.

According to a statement released on Sunday by NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, Ibemesi, 42, who runs Franc CJ Ibemesi Nig Ltd and Daisy Garden Hotel in Isolo, Lagos, was taken into custody in the early hours of Saturday, 15 November.

Operatives subsequently led him to a warehouse in the same area where 42 jumbo bags and four cartons of Loud, a strain of cannabis, weighing 1,762.8 kilogrammes, were recovered. At the point of arrest, cash in foreign currencies was also seized, including $11,600, £2,000, €2,200 and 50 Canadian dollars.

Elsewhere, NDLEA officers disrupted an attempt by a syndicate to distribute processed skunk from Orita-Apeje, Araromi-Okeodo forest reserve in the Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State.

After days of surveillance, 11,135 kilograms of cannabis were intercepted on Tuesday, 11 November. Two trucks used for transportation were seized, and seven suspects were detained.

In Edo State, 1,902.1 kilograms of skunk were recovered in separate operations. These included 184.1 kilograms along Oza/Igbanke road, 672 kilograms from Utese forest, and further consignments from vehicles on the Benin-Akure road, where two suspects were arrested.

Additional arrests were made in Ogun State, where four men were found with 68 kilograms of skunk and 3.15 kilograms of methamphetamine along the Ijebu-Ode expressway. In Taraba, two suspects were detained with 172 kilograms and 84 kilograms of cannabis, respectively. In Adamawa, 396,000 capsules of tramadol were seized at Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, while 785 kilograms of skunk were evacuated from a warehouse in Nasarawa.

Operations in Lagos also yielded results. Two suspects were arrested in Surulere with 65.15 kilograms of Canadian Loud, while another was detained in Oyingbo with 141 kilograms of Ghana Loud. In Kwara, officers intercepted a truck on the Ilorin-Jebba expressway carrying 78.565 kilograms of skunk and cartons of rubber solutions. A separate bus was stopped in Ilorin with 20 blocks of cannabis concealed in a jerrycan.

Alongside enforcement, NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign in schools, worship centres and workplaces across Zamfara, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Enugu, Lagos and Ogun.

Chairman of the Agency, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retired), commended the officers involved in the operations across Lagos, Osun, Edo, Ogun, Taraba, Adamawa, Nasarawa and Kwara. He urged them to sustain what he described as a balanced approach to drug control, combining enforcement with public education.

Metro

NAF Hits Bandit Logistics Hub, Neutralises Many In Zamfara

Published

10 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Component of the Joint Task Force of Operation Fansan Yamma (OPFY) has carried out precision air interdiction missions on the Sauri bandit camp in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, destroying a major defensive position and a logistics hub used by the criminals.

The strikes, conducted on November 14, 2025, resulted in the neutralisation of several terrorists and the destruction of critical structures, significantly degrading the gang’s operational capacity in the area.

NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, confirmed the operation in a statement on Saturday.

According to him, the mission followed extensive intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations that revealed heightened terrorist activity, including rustled livestock concealed at a high-ground hideout serving as both a defensive position and logistics hub.

“Acting on this intelligence, the Air Component executed multiple coordinated strike passes on the identified targets, achieving direct hits that dislodged surviving terrorists attempting to flee into surrounding vegetation, where they were subsequently tracked and effectively engaged,” he said.

Ejodame added that the mission demonstrates the commitment of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, who has consistently pledged that the NAF will “find them, hunt them down, and protect our people.”

He said the operation underscores the unwavering resolve of the Joint Task Force and the NAF under Operation Fansan Yamma to deny terrorists safe havens, strengthen security in Zamfara State, and support national efforts to restore peace and stability across the North West.

The latest strike came four days after NAF conducted coordinated air interdiction missions in Borno, Katsina, and Kwara states, targeting bandit and terrorist enclaves.

In Borno, heavy strikes hit ISWAP positions in the Northern Tumbuns—Lake Chad Islands—and Mallam Fatori, where terrorists were mobilising with motorcycles and boats.

In Kwara State, airstrikes on Garin Dandi and Chigogo inflicted heavy losses on criminal elements and created panic within their ranks.

Similarly, in Katsina State, bombardments destroyed key logistics hubs at Zango Hill in Kankara Local Government Area, neutralising several terrorists.

Ejodame noted that each mission reaffirms NAF’s commitment to deploying smarter, intelligence-driven airpower to deliver precise lethality against insurgents and criminals while safeguarding the lives and property of Nigerians.