Metro

Oro Worshippers, Church Members Clash, Lagos Tailor Dies

Published

3 years ago

August 25, 2022

A clash between Oro traditional worshippers and worshippers at the Truth and The Spirit Prophetic Church has led to the death of a tailor, Akeem Adebisi, in the Oko-Oba area of Lagos State.

It was gathered that Akeem alongside other Oro worshippers were performing sacrament when they got to know that the church members were conducting a vigil.

The Oro worshippers, upon approaching the prophetess, Mercy Okocha, and her church members, reportedly instructed them to stop the vigil but they disagreed.

It was learnt that the disagreement caused an argument that degenerated into a clash between the Oro traditionalists and the church members who stood their ground on Tuesday.

During the clash, the church members allegedly stoned Akeem to death as some other persons involved in the fight sustained varying degrees of injury.

Our correspondent who visited the scene on Wednesday observed that the church had been deserted.

Property including fans, chairs, and instruments in the church were scattered.

Speaking with The PUNCH, a resident, who gave her name simply as Alhaja Sariyu, said an announcement was made for the Oro procession.

She said, “After the announcement, we went indoors very early only to wake up the following day to discover that there was apprehension everywhere.

“The Oro procession has been on for years. So, nobody expected that this particular one was going to be bloody. As a matter of fact, the church has been there for close to five years.”

A trader in the area, who declined to mention her name for security reasons, said the church led by Okocha was fond of conducting vigil every day, adding that it must be “the reason why the confrontation happened.”

An eyewitness, Jamiu Issa, who participated in the procession, alleged that members of the church instigated a mob action against his colleagues on their way back.

Issa said, “We hold our procession every August 22. Before we started our procession that night, we saw some members of the church outside around 10pm, and Akeem went to meet the woman (prophetess) to suspend their programme and instruct her members to go inside.

“So, when we started at midnight, we saw them again and chased them inside the church. Around 1am on our way back, we saw them again and they started throwing stones, bottles and coconuts at us.

“The prophetess asked her female members to go inside, while she and the male members attacked us. They smashed a coconut on Akeem’s face; he collapsed and started bleeding on the spot.

“We rushed him to about three hospitals but he was rejected. We were told he had lost a lot of blood. He died around 4am on our way to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.”

The PUNCH also visited Akeem’s father, Wasiu Adebisi, who had been distraught over the death of his son, said he got to know about the attack at midnight.

The 62 year-old said, “Akeem is my first male child. He is the one who always announces the preparation of the Oro festival in the town. When the incident happened, his colleagues rushed to call me in the middle of the night, and when I got there, I was told that they hit his head with a coconut.

“If they actually threw it at him from a distance, the impact would not have been that much. It looked like they held him and broke the coconut on his head. I could not bear the sight of him when I got there, I just returned home while his colleagues took him to hospital. It was in the morning that they told me that he died.”

The Baale of Gbirinmi, Oko Oba, Razaq Alawode, while condemning the attack, demanded justice for the deceased victim, adding that the police were invited to restore normalcy in the community.

“Even when the police came to arrest her, they were scared to enter the church. I was the one that led them inside the church where we found some strange spiritual items. We want the police to ensure that justice is served,” Alawode said.

Efforts by our correspondents to speak with a member of the church proved abortive.

Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the prophetess alongside nine members of the church had been arrested in connection to Akeem’s death.

“The prophetess, Mercy Okocha, 50, and nine other members of the church, have been arrested. The corpse was deposited in a mortuary for autopsy. An investigation is ongoing,” Hundeyin said.

However, in his remark, a lecturer in the Department of Religious and Peace Studies, Lagos State University, Professor Kabiru Paramole, told one of our correspondents that the incident was avoidable.

He lamented that the clash happened though both religious groups were chasing a common good for society.

Paramole said, “Religiously, what the Oro people were doing, according to them, was nothing but religion. They were being religious because they wanted to fortify their city from several calamities, pains and negativity happening in the society.

“The Christians too were also having a vigil to achieve the same purpose the Oro worshippers were after. I’m very sure that before any Oro comes out, especially in Lagos State, the news is always everywhere; everyone must stay indoors.

“I don’t know if the same kind of news went around the city this time around. If truly the news went around and the Christians still went ahead to hold their vigil, to me as a scholar of religious studies, that’s a wrong step taken by the Christians because they knew people might come towards where they were having the vigil. A clash would be expected in this kind of case.”

Paramole, however, said the clash would have been avoided if the Oro worshippers and church members explored the option of peaceful engagement.

Metro

Four Die, Three Injured In Delta Crash

Published

11 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

Four persons have lost their lives while three others sustained injuries following a road accident that occurred at the Second Niger bridge in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

According to The PUNCH, the victims were rushed to St. Rebecca’s hospital on Monday.

Eyewitnesses said that the accident involved a truck and two other vehicles along the Second Niger Bridge.

“We saw a truck carrying cement and was at it speed trying to navigate through the bridge but couldn’t control it and it eventually fell.

“The truck crushed two other vehicles and many people died, others sustained serious injuries and were rushed to St Rebecca’s hospital along Nnebisi road,” an eyewitness narrated

Confirming the crash, the Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corp, Delta State Command, Frederick Ogidan, blamed the truck driver for being overly speedy.

Ogidan said, “They were trapped in the vehicle because the vehicle broke down, so our toll truck was there to rescue them.

“Four persons confirmed dead, the vehicle involved is not Dangote but a Bua truck that carried cement.

“It’s unfortunate that a crash will happen on that very good road, it shows that the driver was probably over speedy and lost control.”

Ogidan called on drivers to be more careful, especially during the ‘Ember months’.

He also urged them to obey simple traffic rules.

Metro

Youths Uncover Man Chained By Father For Five Years In Anambra

Published

1 day ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

There was panic in Igboukwu community, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, when members of the community discovered a young man who was chained and locked up for about five years by his father.

According to eyewitnesses near the scene, the man in his mid-20s, identified as Chogbo, popularly called “Agudo,” believed to have travelled to Europe, was found chained and locked up in a hut since 2021 after a search by some youths of the community on Saturday.

One of the eyewitnesses, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “We were passing by near the hut yesterday (Saturday), when we started hearing some strange sounds coming out from the direction of the hut.

“A search was conducted, and when we got there, we found our brother with both hands and legs tied in chains.

“On interrogation, he told us that he had been chained and locked up in that place since 2021. We ordered for the keys to open the chains, and when they brought them, the keys could not open anymore because they have become rusted. We had to forcefully break the keys.

“The victim has been rescued and is receiving necessary medical care. The father told us he travelled to Europe, not knowing that our brother was locked up in a hut for five years without taking his bath. This is barbaric.”

A video currently circulating on social media also corroborates the claims. The viral video showed when the victim was discovered in a hut and being interrogated by the angry youths.

Confirming the development in a press statement on Sunday, the Anambra State Police spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the victim has been rescued and is receiving necessary medical attention at the hospital.

Ikenga said the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Ikioye Orutugu, has commended the youths of the community for the proactive role they played in uncovering the incident, describing their action as a clear example of community partnership in policing.

The statement read in part, “Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Ikioye Orutugu, has directed Police operatives to immediately investigate a disturbing report circulating in the media regarding a young man identified as Chogbo (popularly known as Agudo) from Igboukwu, who was allegedly kept in chains for five years by his father with claims that he had travelled abroad.

“Preliminary inquiries are ongoing to establish the facts, safeguard the victim’s well-being, and the Command assures that where culpability is established, those responsible will be held accountable in accordance with the law.

“Meanwhile, the victim has been rescued and is receiving necessary care.

“The Command commends the youths of the community for the proactive role they played in uncovering the incident, describing their action as a clear example of community partnership in policing.

“Further development shall be communicated, please.”

Metro

UNIZIK Suspends Doctors, Nurses, Security Personnel Over 100-level Student’s Death

Published

1 day ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

The authorities at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, have suspended doctors, nurses and the security personnel on duty at the university’s medical centre following the death of a 100-level Law student of the institution, Miss Isabella Ajana.

The suspension was communicated to them in a statement signed by the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Carol Arinze-Umobi and made available to journalists on Sunday.

Recall that Isabella, reportedly died on July 8, after being denied urgent access to her insulin medication due to an alleged demand for payment by her hostel manager.

The deceased, who was diabetic and a resident of Elmada Hostel, was said to have suffered a medical crisis after she and her roommates lost their room key, which contained her life-saving insulin.

In a desperate attempt to retrieve her medication, the students approached the hostel mistress, identified as “Madam Bright”, and requested the spare key.

However, according to multiple student accounts, “Madam Bright” allegedly refused to release the key unless the three roommates paid ₦120,000 — ₦40,000 each — in line with a purported hostel policy.

Despite explaining the urgency of Isabella’s health condition and their inability to raise the money immediately, their pleas were reportedly ignored.

Her condition quickly worsened, and she was rushed to the hospital, where she was confirmed dead.

The development triggered a series of reactions, public condemnation and online buzz that compelled the University authorities to constitute a committee to investigate the incident and the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.

The Committee, chaired by Prof. Mike Oddih, was mandated to thoroughly conduct their investigations and submit its report within one week.

However, giving an update on the incident about six weeks after, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Carol Arinze-Umobi, in the statement released on Sunday, announced the immediate suspension of the doctors, nurses, and security personnel on duty at the University’s Medical Centre on the day Isabella died.

Arinze-Umobi said the suspension will last for three months in the first instance, pending the conclusion and the outcome of the ongoing investigations.

The Vice-Chancellor further directed the Management of Elmada Hostel, which is a jointly owned, but privately-managed facility located within the university premises where the Isabella resided, to immediately sack the Supervisor on duty at the time of the incident.

The statement read in part, “Following the submission of the investigation committee’s report into the unfortunate death of Miss Isabella Chioma Ajana, a 100-level student in the Faculty of Law, I have taken decisive action to address the matter.

“Arising from the report of the panel, I hereby suspend the doctors, nurses and the security personnel on duty at the University’s Medical Centre on the day the student was rushed there, for three-months in the first instance, during which all investigations would have been completed.

“The University demands the management of Elmada Hostel which is jointly owned, but privately managed, as a matter of urgency, to sack the Supervisar on duty who was in custody of the spare key and could not return it after repented calls on her.

“UNIZIK will re-evaluate relationship with the Elmada hostel, demanding International best practices in students accommodation facilities.

“I wish to assure the University Community and general public that we are committed to upholding the highest standard of care and safety for our students in line with my vision, ‘feeling the pulse of the students, staff and finding solutions’.

“I extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased and assure them that we will do everything possible to prevent such incidents in the future.”
(PUNCH)