Headline

Ondo, Ekiti Residents Groan Over Deplorable Akure/Ado Highway

Published

4 years ago

October 2, 2021

…Berate FG, Ondo, Ekiti Govts For Lip Service

Residents of Ondo and Ekiti states have berated both the Federal Government and the governments of both states over the deplorable condition of the highway linking both states.

According to motorists and other road users of the highway, the governments had been paying lip service to the reconstruction of the road with nothing significant happening.

The highway, which has continued to give motorists and residents nightmares, connects the capital city of both states, Akure and Ado-Ekiti.

Both Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti and his Ondo State counterpart, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, had severally assured that the road, which had for long been in a bad shape, had been marked for dualization with both governors inspecting the road a few months back, a development which raised the hope of everyone.

DAILY POST had reported a few months ago, how the residents moved against the alleged lackadaisical attitude of the contractor towards the project 15 months after mobilization was said to have been paid by the government for the dualization of the road.

Speaking on the state of the road, motorists lamented that the journey between Akure which used to be a 30-minute trip had become a journey of close to two hours.

According to the motorist who gave his name as Bamidele, sometimes, passengers would have to come down at some portions of the road before the vehicle can move.

“Only God knows the kind of politics going on with this road. All these years, we were told that it would be fixed but it now seems like an eternity.

“Like me, I work in Ado and live in Akure and I ply the road every weekend. You can imagine the agony I go through every day. The trip used to be just 30 minutes drive but now it ranges between one hour 30 minutes to two hours depending on the weather.

“Almost every month, we do see all these government officials inspecting but their actions have not shown anything meaningful.”

Another road user living at Isinigbo emphasised that it was always a herculean task for residents of the community to make it to Akure and back.

The road user, Titilayo Ogendengbe, stressed that taxis always tried to avoid plying the axis because of the road while the few ones doing it increased the fare.

“For us in this part of Akure North Local Government, we have resigned to our fate.

“To me, it is a mystery that a road in the state capital would be left unattended to like this. This is an eyesore, to say the least,” she said.

“You won’t even believe that anytime Governor Fayemi wants to use the Akure Airport, he will take the Igbara-Odo, Igbara-Oke route to link Akure from Ado, a route that is much longer. They know that the road is gone.

“Anytime we want to go to town or come back home, it is always a huge concern. We just hope something is done fast, we are just tired.”

Headline

Gunmen On Motorbikes Kill 22 At Baptism Ceremony In Niger

Published

21 hours ago

September 17, 2025

Editor

Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead 22 villagers in western Niger, most attending a baptism ceremony, local media and other sources said Tuesday.

The shootings happened on Monday in the Tillaberi region, near Burkina Faso and Mali, where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group (IS) are active.

A resident of the area told AFP that 15 people were killed first at a baptism ceremony in Takoubatt village.

“The attackers then went to the outskirts of Takoubatt where they killed seven other people,” said the resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Local media outlet Elmaestro TV reported a “gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification”.

“Once again, the Tillaberi region has been struck by barbarism, plunging innocent families into mourning and despair,” Nigerien human rights campaigner Maikoul Zodi said on social media.

Niger’s military leaders, who came to power two years ago in a coup, have struggled to contain jihadist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence there.

Around 20 soldiers were killed in the region last week.

Human Rights Watch has urged Niger authorities to “do more to protect” civilians against deadly attacks.

The rights monitoring group estimates that the Islamic State group has “summarily executed” more than 127 villagers and Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi in five attacks since March.

Meanwhile, the NGO ACLED, which tracks conflict victims worldwide, says around 1,800 people have been killed in attacks in Niger since October 2024 — three-quarters of them in Tillaberi.

Niger and its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, also ruled by military coup leaders who claim to pursue a sovereignist policy, have expelled the French and American armies that were fighting alongside them against jihadism.

AFP

Headline

Serbia Indicts Ex-minister, 12 Others Over Train Station Tragedy

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Serbian prosecutors filed an updated indictment on Tuesday against 13 people, including a former minister, over a fatal railway station roof collapse that has triggered a wave of anti-government protests.

The prosecution said all those indicted, among them former construction minister Goran Vesic, face charges of “serious crimes against public safety” over the tragedy that killed 16 people last November.

“The indictment proposes that the Higher Court in Novi Sad order custody for all the defendants,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The roof collapse at the newly renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, became a symbol of entrenched corruption and sparked almost daily protests.

Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad initially filed an indictment at the end of December, but judges returned it in April, requesting more information.

The accused were released or placed under house arrest following the decision.

The prosecutor’s office said it had complied with the judge’s request and had now completed the supplementary investigation.

The prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption in Belgrade is leading a separate, independent investigation into the tragedy.

That investigation is focused on 13 people, including Vesic and another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic, who headed the Construction Ministry before him.

In March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) launched a third, separate investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds for the station’s reconstruction.

AFP

Headline

Kazakhstan Bans Forced Marriage, Bride Kidnapping

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Kazakhstan has banned forced marriages and bride kidnappings through a law that came into effect Tuesday in the Central Asian country, where the practice persists despite new attention being paid to women’s rights.

Forcing someone to marry is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kazakh police said in a statement.

“These changes are aimed at preventing forced marriages and protecting vulnerable categories of citizens, especially women and adolescents,” it added.

Bride kidnappings have also been outlawed.

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“Previously, a person who voluntarily released a kidnapped person could expect to be released from criminal liability. Now this possibility has been eliminated,” the police said.

There are no reliable statistics of forced marriage cases across the country, with no separate article in the criminal code prohibiting it until now.

A Kazakh lawmaker said earlier this year that the police had received 214 such complaints over the past three years.

The custom is also present in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, where it mostly goes unpunished due to indifferent law enforcement and stigma surrounding whistleblowers.

The issue of women’s rights in Kazakhstan gained media attention in 2023 following the murder of a woman by her husband, a former minister, a case that shocked Kazakh society and prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to react.

“Some people hide behind so-called traditions and try to impose the practice of wife stealing. This blatant obscurantism cannot be justified,” Tokayev said last year.

AFP