Metro

Police, Respondents Differ Over Uncovered ‘Ritual Den’ In Benin

Published

3 years ago

August 18, 2022

By Joseph Kanjo, Benin

Respondents at the area where Edo State Police Command was said to have bursted and uncovered a ritual den have differed from the police’s report.

The Police Command in a statement made available to newsmen late Wednesday night made known to the public that it men bursted a ritualist den and discovered mummified bodies numbering about twenty (20)

In the statement made available to newsmen at around 10:26 P.M on Wednesday night, August 17, the command’s Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Jennifer Iwegbu said “15 mummified male corpses, 3 mummified female corpses and 2 mummified children corpses were discovered at the scene,” by men of the command who invaded the area after credible information.

Iwegbu in the statement named suspects arrested at the shrine as: Chimaobi Okoewu and Oko Samuel ‘M’ both of Afikpo in Ebonyi and Gideon Sunday ‘M’ of Akwa-Ibom State, adding that others, while sighting the police escaped.

The statement reads in part: “Following credible information at the Command’s disposal that some corpse were discovered in a building along Asoro slope off Ekenhua road, Uzebu quarters,Benin city. Operatives of the command immediately swung into action and mobilized to the scene.

“At the scene, 3 suspects, Chimaobi Okoewu ‘M’ and Oko Samuel ‘M’ both of Afikpo in Ebonyi and Gideon Sunday ‘M’ of Akwa-Ibom State were arrested while others fled. An intensive effort is ongoing to arrest the other fleeing suspects.”

Also addressing newsmen after a visit to the scene of the crime on Thursday, Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, who named owner of the morgue as Chukwu Otu said the man was on the run, adding that five shrines were found at the uncompleted building with stains of blood of animals such as dogs and chicken.

Nwabuzor, who said one of the suspects arrested for the crime confessed that Mr. Otu is a mortician with one of the private hospitals in Benin, however, argued that the place cannot be a morgue as speculated in some quarters. When asked if the bodies discovered had tags as speculated in some quarters, the PPRO admitted that the bodies were tagged as being done in morgue, insisting that the place is not a morgue because it is still under construction and has no modern facilities.

“The place cannot be a mortuary because the building is a fresh building which is under construction. This is because when the police visited the scene, we saw people working there; people fixing POP and other works still ongoing, so it cannot be a morgue,” he added.

He continued: “Other items discovered at the scene are five shrines. We had blood stain of animals such as fowl, dog in that place. Three persons who claimed to be working there were arrested. Just after the raid, a certain man came to the scene of the crime in the night and he was equally arrested.

“The owner of the place as we speak is on the run. His name is Chukwu Otu. Investigation is ongoing.”

But speaking during INFO DAILY visit to the scene of the crime which was already cordoned off with over 30 vigilantes securing the place, one of the casket-makers at the place who does not want his name mentioned, disagreed with the police’s claim. It is worth mentioning that the area already housed two morgues.

He said the uncompleted building is a new mortuary under construction, adding that the man is a mortician who relocated from First East Circular, Benin to the new site (Asoro Slope, Ekewan Road, Benin City), just as he added that bodies police discovered were relocated from First East Circular to the place.

The casket-maker said the man is known to be a traditionalist hence the shrines police claimed to have discovered from the scene (uncompleted building) are what he used for his traditional worship.

He said, “That place is a mortuary, no doubt. He is a well known and a strong traditionalist, I am just surprised how he brought his shrine to his morgue. He has four morgues in this town. He just relocated from First East Circular to here, Ekewan Road. So, that place is a morgue,” he added.

In what seems to be a corroboration to the casket-maker’s claim, a man who identified himself as Nappiar Osaro, who our correspondent incidently met at the scene of the crime, said he came to claim the corpse of his late mother just to discover the place had been labelled a ritual den.

According to him, his mother died in 2021 and the remains were deposited at the morgue. He added that the morgue was as at then located at First East Circular before it was relocated to the present site.

He said he would have claimed his mother’s remains for burial but financial constraints made it take so long before coming this period just to hear a different story about the place. He added that, being ready for the burial, he had gone to the First East Circular to request for the remains of his late mother but he was told by people in the area (First East Circular) that the morgue had been relocated to Asoro Slope, hence he traced the place two days back but the remains were not released to him because as at that time he was not with the identification card the management of the morgue issued to him when he deposited body of his late mother. He said this made him to go back home while booking appointment for Thursday (today), but unfortunately the place has been in the public place for the another story entirely.

However, whether the morgue is a registered one is what could not be ascertained as at the time of this report.

Metro

Train Attack: Terrorist Leader Gave Mamu N50m From Ransom — DSS Operative

Published

10 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A Department of State Services (DSS) investigator has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Tukur Mamu was offered a N50 million share by Shugaba, the leader of the terrorist group, who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna-bound train in 2022.

The DSS operative, who testified as the 6th prosecution witness (PW-6) in the ongoing terrorism trial of Mamu, the alleged terrorists’ negotiator, told Justice Mohammed Umar while being led in evidence by the DSS lawyer, David Kaswe.

The witness, who gave his testimony behind a witness screen for security reasons, said the group also asked Mamu to teach them how to open a website for their terrorist activities.

He stated this while interpreting four voice notes played in the courtroom containing the defendant’s telephone interactions with the terrorists who held the abducted train passengers hostage.

The audio recordings were extracted from Mamu’s mobile telephones during interrogation after he was arrested in Egypt and brought back to Nigeria.

“The first voice note that played was for the defendant (Mamu) fixing a date for the delivery of the ransom.

“The second voice note that played for five minutes was the voice of Shugaba, the leader of the terrorist group.

“In the voice note, he was appreciating the defendant’s effort and asked him to remove N50 million for his personal use from a particular tranche of ransom sent to them.

“The last voice note that played, Baba Adamu, who is their spokesperson, was heard requesting the defendant to help them procure speakers and a public address system for their preaching activities, and the defendant responded that he was going to look into their request.

“They also requested that the defendant teach them how to open a website for their activities,” the witness said.

Mamu was alleged to have convinced the terrorists to discuss ransom payments with individual families of the hostages of the train attack instead of the Chief of Defense Staff Committee set up by the Federal Government for his personal financial gain.

The defendant was said to have been nominated by the terrorists who attacked the train sometime in March 2022, where scores of passengers were held hostage.

Mamu was alleged to have collected ransoms on behalf of a terror group from families of hostages, confirmed the amount, and facilitated the delivery of the same to them.

The PW-6, while being led in evidence by the prosecuting lawyer, Kaswe, told the court that after Mamu was brought back from Egypt, he submitted his Samsung tablet and two phones to DSS officials.

The witness, who said he was part of those who investigated the case, told the court that when the defendant was intercepted in Egypt, he put a call to his in-law, identified as Mubarak Tinja and directed him to move out all his valuables, comprising of cash, cars and other items of values, from his house to a safe location, to avoid detection by security agents.

“The defendant was subsequently arrested in Egypt and returned back to Nigeria, where a team of investigators was on the ground to receive him.

“A duly endorsed search warrant was executed in his property and office in Kaduna, during which cash, in both local and foreign currencies, vehicles, and other valuables were recovered.

“In compliance with his directive to his in-law, Mubarak Tinja, and the other dependants in the house, some cars and cash were moved out of the house to various locations,” he said.

He said investigators later traced and located some of the items, including about 300,000 US dollars, about seven cars, including a Toyota Camry (Muscle), a Peugeot 5008, a Lexus, a Mercedes E350, and a Hyundai car.

Vehicle documents relating to the cars were later tendered by the prosecution through the witness, which the court admitted in evidence.

The witness added that when the defendant was brought back to the country, he “handed his Samsung tablet and two of his phones to our exhibit keeper, who sent them to our forensic department for forensic analysis.

“The outcome of the forensic analysis, which included the voice notes of the conversation between the defendant and the terrorists, was part of the content that was presented to the interrogation team and the items recovered from his home.

“He (the defendant) was subsequently interviewed, during which the content of his phones and other items were presented to him.

“During the interview, the defendant admitted giving instruction to Mubarak to move his belongings from his house.

“He also admitted communicating with the terrorists, using his voice notes, which were extracted from his two phones and Samsung tablet.”

He added that the defendant also admitted owning a pump-action gun, which was recovered from his house, which he claimed was duly licensed.

The witness, however, told the court that investigators later discovered that the licence expired in December 2021, nine months before he was arrested.

The DSS operative said about 98 per cent of the conversation on the voice notes is in Hausa Language, some of which were translated to English by him, because there were too many.

Kaswe then applied to tender the recorded voice notes stored on compact disk plates and flash drives, which the court admitted, after Mamu’s counsel, Johnson Usman, reserved his objection until the final address.

The recorded conversations were played in the courtroom.

The witness added that in the course of the investigation, two victims volunteered written statements in which they recounted their experiences.

He said one of the statements was written in English and the other in Hausa.

He, however, said that the victims, a male and female, were no longer available, because they expressed their unwillingness to attend court to testify because of fear and trauma.

The court admitted the statements of the victims in evidence and marked them as exhibits after it was not opposed by Usman.

The court also admitted in evidence eight statements made to investigators by Mamu and video recordings of the statement-writing sessions.

Kaswe then informed the court that he would be bringing a formal application for the court to visit where the items recovered from Mamu’s house and office are kept.

Metro

PHOTOS: Fire Guts Factory In Anambra

Published

11 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

Production machines, office equipment, and other valuables worth billions of naira were on Wednesday razed by a mysterious fire at a factory in Abubor Nnewichi, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The fire, which sources said started around 5:50 a.m., destroyed goods in the production process and finished products as well as office equipment.

A resident of the area, who identified himself as Obinna Okoye, said the fire took them by surprise as they were still asleep when it started.

He, however, said firefighters were on around to battle the inferno.

“The fire service men are still trying to quench the fire. You know how inflammable pampers and tissue papers can be,” he added.

Confirming the incident, the Commander of Fire Service in charge of Nnewi zone F Machine Parts, Jeremiah Anwuobi, said the fire had been brought under control.

Anwuobi disclosed that his office was alerted by 5:30 a.m. when they rushed to the scene of the incident to fight the fire.

He, however, said no casualties were recorded, while the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

Reacting to the incident, an Internal Auditor of the company, Chikelu Edwin, described it as a mystery fire.

Edwin said there was no electricity supply at the section where the fire started at the factory, which surprised them.

See more photos below:

Metro

Police Stop Egungun Festival In Lagos Community

Published

18 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Police Command has ordered the suspension of an Egungun festival in Oregun area of the state, earlier fixed for Friday and Saturday.

The command has also arrested suspects linked to the circulation of posters and social media posts warning residents against free movement in the area during the festival.

According to a statement signed on Wednesday by the command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, the suspects, allegedly acting under the name “Oje Parapo of Oregun,” were apprehended after distributing handbills that restricted people’s freedom of movement, expression, and dignity.

The police described these actions as capable of inciting fear and disturbing public order.

“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Olohundare Jimoh, has therefore ordered an immediate suspension of the festival scheduled for November 27 and 28, 2025.

“He warned that the command would not tolerate any activity capable of breaching public peace, threatening safety, or disrupting law and order in the state,” the statement read.

The police vowed that no cultural event or gathering that could heighten tensions or endanger lives would be permitted in the state.

“In a similar incident on November 23, 2025, at Mafoluku in Oshodi under Makinde Division, the police swiftly arrested 12 individuals behind another attempt to incite disorder through circulation of provocative publications.

“All suspects remain under investigation and will be charged upon conclusion of inquiries,” the statement added.

Reiterating the suspension, CP Jimoh directed the Oje Parapo group to desist from any attempt to proceed with the festival, stating that security for such an event could not be guaranteed.

He condemned the fear already created among residents as unacceptable and warned that anyone attempting to undermine public peace would face the full weight of the law.

The command urged Lagos residents to continue their lawful activities without fear, assuring them of sustained protection of life and property.