Headline

Ondo Nightclubs Owners Break Silence On EFCC Operatives’ Invasion

Published

1 year ago

June 10, 2024

The Ondo State chapter of the Lounge and Club Owners Association has called on the state and federal government to investigate the raid by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission operatives on a nightclub and a hotel in Akure, the state capital.

The PUNCH reported that operatives of the commission, on Saturday, stormed the nightclubs and arrested about 127 youths who were suspected to be internet fraudsters.

The suspects were apprehended in an early morning raid on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at simultaneous parties held in the state capital.

According to an EFCC statement on Saturday, credible intelligence indicated the party was initially scheduled for Wednesday, June 5, but was postponed to Saturday in an attempt to evade the commission’s security and intelligence networks.

Speaking with journalists in Akure on Monday, the chairman of the association in the state, Mr Abayomi Ajepe, disclosed that the anti-graft commission operatives allegedly stormed the premises of the affected night clubs in a commando-like manner, like armed robbers, and vandalised property worth millions of naira during the sting operation.

Ajepe also noted that many of the customers and guests of the invaded hotel, including a new couple, were embarrassed as the operative was forcing the door open on the guests, adding that the incident had negatively affected the hospitality business in the state as many of their customers were afraid of lodging in their hotels.

He said, “What we experienced on Saturday we never expected of it, because Akure is a very peaceful community, we are not too happy, the incident happened around 1:45 am on Saturday morning and personally I drove to the scene to witness what was going on and on getting there it was barbaric so I have to turn back because I don’t want to get hurt.

“I was on the phone, making calls to authorities but it was later we discovered that these people came from the Ibadan EFCC office because initially, we thought they were armed robbers. So we are telling the whole world that we are not too happy with what happened.

“They took away the cameras, phones, CCTVs, along with about 127 people and some of them were still there. So why they are denying their operations here in Akure? We want the government to check-mate this unacceptable attitude in our community, government needs to come to our aides.”

On the next action to be taken on the matter, the chairman said the association was still consulting their lawyers, either to take legal actions on the issues, lamenting that there had been no business after the incident happened.

Expressing his displeasure about the incident, the manager of the affected night club, the Signatures Elixir, Mr Ayo Abass-Akinwande, said, “At about 1:30 am on Saturday, June 8, 2024, the men of EFCC came into our premises. They were about 40 of them and they came with about 10 unregistered Toyota buses. The only thing that could be used to identify them was their red jackets and the guns.”

He said, “After gaining access to our premises, they rounded everybody up and instructed them to lie down on the floor. Using snooker sticks to beat people to comply, Both male and female customers were dealt with mercilessly. Other members of their team went into the club and rounded everyone up, releasing tear gas in the process. We were lucky to have adequate first aid materials on the premises that were used by our staff to rescue some of the customers who had various forms of medical emergencies. The CCTV engine room was completely turned upside down and the CCTV engine was taken away.”

Similarly, the Chairman/CEO of Alba Royale Hote, Mr Ayo Alabi, confirmed that a lot of things were destroyed in the hotel by the operatives.

“I went there in the morning and I saw the massive damage, I was told that all the guests were seriously dealt with, they took away our CCTV engine, they never invited us, we never had any issue with them and we have evidence on how they carried out the operations,” Alabi lamented.

Headline

Trump Threatens To Unleash ‘Hell’ On Hamas

Published

7 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump has given Hamas until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, warning the Palestinian militant group faced “all hell” if it did not agree to the terms.

The US leader set the deadline — which would fall at 1:00 a.m. Monday in Gaza — after an official for the Islamist movement told AFP earlier on Friday that the group still needed time to study the proposal to end nearly two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

The proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

That would be followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

“Hamas is still continuing consultations regarding Trump’s plan… and has informed mediators that the consultations are ongoing and need some time,” the official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

On Tuesday, Trump gave Hamas “three or four days” to accept his plan, which has been welcomed by world powers, including Arab and Muslim nations.

Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement Friday that the “plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon.”

As Hamas mulled Trump’s peace plan this week, a Palestinian source close to the group’s leadership told AFP on Wednesday that the Islamist movement wanted to amend some clauses, including the one on disarmament.

Hamas leaders also want “international guarantees” for a full Israeli withdrawal and that no assassination attempts would be made inside or outside Gaza, the source added.

Another source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that the group was split over Trump’s plan.

Structurally, the group’s leadership is divided between officials based in the Gaza Strip and those abroad, particularly in Qatar.

Much of Hamas’s leadership has also been wiped out in Israeli attacks throughout the war.

The source told AFP that “the first (opinion) supports unconditional approval, as the priority is a ceasefire under Trump’s guarantees, with mediators ensuring Israel implements the plan”.

“The second has serious reservations regarding key clauses… They favour conditional approval with clarifications reflecting Hamas’s and the resistance factions’ demands,” the source added.

Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said “ultimately it’s not just about convincing Hamas leadership in Doha, but also the leadership in Gaza, as well as Hamas members and fighters in Gaza.”

“Additionally, Hamas must then be able to convince other factions in Gaza,” he added.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

Headline

Israeli Forces Strike Gaza Despite Trump’s Ceasefire Call

Published

7 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Saturday that Israel carried out dozens of attacks on Gaza City despite US President Donald Trump’s appeal to end bombardments after Hamas accepted a ceasefire deal.

“It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump’s call to halt the bombing,” civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force which operates under Hamas authority, added that 20 homes were destroyed in the overnight bombardments.

“The situation is very serious in Gaza City,” Bassal said, adding that his teams were not able to reach all the casualties due to the “presence of tanks and the ongoing bombardment”.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was “checking” reports of overnight bombardments on Gaza City.

Gaza City’s Baptist Hospital said in a statement that it received casualties from a strike on a home in Tuffah neighbourhood, including four dead and “several wounded”.

Nasser Hospital in south Gaza’s Khan Yunis said two children were killed and eight people were wounded in a drone strike on a tent in a camp for displaced Gazans.

The peace plan for Gaza, presented by Trump this week and backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas said on Friday it was ready to release hostages held in Gaza under the Trump plan, but wanted negotiations on the details and a say in the future of the Palestinian territory.

AFP

Headline

Prosecutors Seek 11-year Sentence For Diddy, Citing ‘Lack Of Remorse’

Published

20 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Prosecutors urged a federal judge Friday to sentence Sean “Diddy” Combs to more than a decade behind bars for his conviction on two prostitution-related counts, saying the music mogul had shown a lack of remorse.

“This is not a person who has accepted responsibility,” prosecutor Christy Slavik told the New York court at Diddy’s sentencing hearing.

“His remorse was qualified. It’s as though he thinks the law doesn’t apply to him,” Slavik said in arguing for an 11-year prison sentence for the 55-year-old hip-hop innovator. ” “His respect for the law is just lip service.”

Combs’s lawyers have asked the judge for a 14-month sentence, which would effectively be time served.

Slavik said Combs had booked speaking engagements in Miami next week in anticipation of a light sentence, which she called “the height of hubris.”

Judge Arun Subramanian for his part said federal sentencing guidelines suggested a prison term of between six and seven years although he has the latitude to impose more or less.

The judge also noted an apparent lack of remorse, saying Combs has “challenged his factual guilt full-throatedly.”

Combs was expected to address the court at the sentencing hearing after submitting a letter to the judge on Thursday pleading for mercy and saying he had “lost my way.”

Following two months of often searing testimony, jurors in July rejected the most serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering against Combs, sparing him the prospect of life in prison.

Combs’s mother and six of his children were in court on Friday and have submitted letters to the judge in his support.

In his plea to the judge, Combs apologised for his conduct, saying he was “scared to death” to be away from his family and vowing he “will never commit a crime again.”

“I lost my way,” he wrote. “I got lost in my journey. Lost in the drugs and the excess.”

Combs’s former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, asked the judge in a letter of her own to consider “the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control.”

– ‘Humbled and broken’ –

Ventura, the 39-year-old singer known as Cassie, testified for days while heavily pregnant.

She described in wrenching detail physical, emotional and sexual abuse she suffered while in a more than decade-long relationship with Combs.

Ventura and another woman, identified as Jane, said they were coerced into performing so-called “freak-offs”: sexual marathons with hired men that Combs directed and sometimes filmed.

“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak off in 2016,” Ventura wrote.

“People watched this footage dozens of times, seeing my body thrown to the ground, my hands over my head, curled into a fetal position to shield me from the worst blows,” she said, noting she has nightmares and flashbacks “on a regular, everyday basis.”

Ventura said she and her family had left the New York area for fear of “retribution” from Combs if he is released.

The defense didn’t deny Combs’s sexual activity but insisted it was consensual.

They also didn’t deny Combs’s years of violence against both romantic partners as well as employees — but they said it didn’t meet the legal threshold for the grave charges he faced.

Jurors took their side.

The conviction on lesser if still serious counts stemmed from a federal statute that makes it illegal to transport people across state lines for prostitution.

Combs has been incarcerated in Brooklyn for more than a year.

He said his time in prison has left him “reborn.”

“I have been humbled and broken to my core,” Combs wrote.
AFP