Metro

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

Published

3 years ago

August 18, 2022

Editor

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

LASG Orders Eviction Of Squatters Under Opebi–Mende Bridge

Published

11 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has ordered the immediate eviction of squatters and traders who have converted the space beneath the yet-to-be-commissioned Opebi–Mende Bridge into makeshift homes and shops.

The directive followed an unscheduled inspection of the bridge on Thursday by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Olufemi Daramola, and the Permanent Secretary, Olatokunbo Oyenuga.

According to a statement signed and released by the Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Kunle Adeshina, Wahab directed security agencies to immediately move in and dislodge all squatters and demolish illegal structures erected beneath the bridge.

“The Lagos State Government has given a marching order for the immediate dislodgement of all types of squatters who have converted the underbelly of the new but yet-to-be-commissioned Opebi–Mende Bridge into homes and stores,” the statement read.

Wahab said the state government would not allow any part of the newly built infrastructure to become a haven for miscreants, stressing that protecting lives and property remained a core duty of the administration.

“It is disheartening that an iconic project which is almost ready for commissioning, has suddenly been taken over by different shades of miscreants and squatters.

“Even some people from the Cane Village have come to the underbelly of the bridge to create an illegal settlement. We will not only dislodge them but also permanently monitor the location to ensure they do not return,” Wahab was quoted as saying in the statement.

Reinforcing his stance in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Wahab wrote that the Sanwo-Olu administration “will not tolerate lawlessness,” warning mechanics who have turned the adjoining open space into workshops to vacate immediately or risk having their vehicles impounded.

“Security agencies will move in immediately, and we will sustain monitoring to ensure squatters do not return. The Opebi–Mende Bridge is a huge investment by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu–led administration, and we will protect it for the benefit of law-abiding citizens,” he wrote.

The Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Engr. Daramola, noted that the state had invested heavily in the project and warned that failure to act swiftly could turn the area into a slum. He pledged to collaborate with the Ministry of the Environment to clean up and maintain the site.

The Opebi–Mende-Ojota Link Bridge, initiated by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was flagged off on 26 January 2022.

It is approximately 3.9 km long and is designed to connect Opebi in Ikeja through Mende to Maryland and Ojota, offering relief to motorists in the Ikeja-Ojota axis by easing congestion on roads such as Mobolaji Bank-Anthony and Kudirat Abiola Way.

Meanwhile, Lagos State Government has intensified enforcement operations to remove illegal structures under bridges and drainage channels in places like Ijora, Apongbon, Obalende, and Adeniji-Adele, as part of efforts to reclaim public space and address environmental, safety, and traffic concerns.

Metro

Oil Spill Pollutes Bayelsa Communities

Published

11 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

An oil spill from an 8-inch crude delivery pipeline at Oil Mining Lease 29 has polluted Nembe communities around the Santa Barbara River in Bayelsa.

The OML 29 asset is operated by Nembe Exploration and Production Company Limited, formerly Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the leak at Tora area in Nembe occurred on October 1, discharging a yet to be ascertained volume of Crude stress into the Santa Barbara River and surrounding areas.

According to a letter to the operator of OML 29 by the legal counsel to the Opu Nembe Kingdom, signed by Mr Iniruo Wills, Managing Partner of Ntephe Smith and Wills, the spill has adversely impacted the people who depend on the Santa Barbara River.

The letter sighted by a NAN Correspondent was in response to an invitation to a Joint Investigation Visit to the spill site to ascertain the cause and volume of the spill.

The oil firm had confirmed the oil spill in a letter Ref: NEPCo/HSE-JIV/2025/04 dated October 5, which proposed a JIV for October 6.

The Nembe communities, in response to the letter, kicked against the October 6 date and opted for October 9.

“We remind you, as you are quite aware of already, that the Community requires and deserves decent notice to assemble a competent JIV team, some of whom usually come from Lagos, Port Harcourt and/or Yenagoa, in order to ensure due diligence and avoid or countervail the perennial practice of manipulating the JIV process and suppressing critical information.

“Please note that our clients demand a thorough and competent investigation of this spill, and adequate management (including swift post-spill assessment and remediation).

“Beyond this spill, for the records, we demand on behalf of our clients again for a top-level engagement (Company, Community Technical Team, and Regulators) for a lasting overall framework to put a stop to this unbearable and continual burden,” the letter read in part.

Numerous oil spills in Bayelsa communities such as in the Obololi community and the Ogboinbiri area had been reported, leading to environmental contamination, loss of livelihoods from fish farms and farmlands, and health concerns, including water scarcity and potential outbreaks.

These recurring incidents, often attributed to equipment failure on pipelines operated by companies like Oando and Shell, have resulted in resident frustration over inadequate cleanup, lack of relief, and the spread of pollution into streams, creeks, and farmlands.

NAN

Metro

FULL LIST: Police Arrest Suspects Involved In Death Of Arise TV Presenter

Published

17 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has confirmed the arrest of 12 suspects involved in the armed robbery incident that led to the death of Arise TV presenter, Somtochukwu Maduagwu.

According to the police, the suspects are: Shamsudeen Hassan ‘m’ from Katsina State, Hassan Isah ‘m’, 22 years from Kaduna, Abubakar Alkamu a.k.a. abba ‘m’, 27 years from Katsina, Sani Sirajo a.k.a. dan borume ‘m’ 20 years from Katsina, Mashkur Jamilu a.k.a. abba ‘m’ 28 years from Kaduna and Suleiman Badamasi a.k.a. dan-sule ‘m’ 21 years from Katsina.

Others are Abdul Salam saleh a.k.a. na-durudu ‘m’ from Katsina, Zaharadeen Muhammad a.k.a. gwaska ‘m’ 23 years from Kaduna, Musa adamu a.k.a. musa hassan ‘m’ 30 years from Katsina, Sumayya Mohammed a.k.a. baby ‘m’ 27 years from Kaduna, Isah Abdulrahman a.k.a. abbati ‘m’, 25 years from Kaduna and Musa Umar a.k.a. small ‘m’ 31 years from Borno.

The police added that shortly after the robbery incident, four (4) of the suspects Shamsudeen Hassan, Alkamu, Sirajo and one other person were apprehended through the tracking of phones stollen from the apartment during the robbery.

“During interrogation, Shamsudeen Hassan confessed that he shot the security guard when he attempted to prevent them from gaining access to the apartment,” the statement read.

“Sani Sirajo confessed to have tried to hold Somtochukwu Christella Maduagwu from falling off the three-storey building but was overwhelmed by her weight.

“Shamsudeen further confessed that he drove the white honda CR-V jeep out of the apartment after the operation. The four suspects admitted that they each received ₦200,000 from the proceeds of the crime.”

Recovered exhibits include: One fabricated ak-47 rifle, 36 rounds of 9mm live ammunition, one locally made pistol, one pump-action gun, two live cartridges, four mobile phones of the victims, two sharp knives, one cutlass and nine torchlights used during the operation.

The police said: “In continuation of investigations, yesterday, 08/10/2025, acting on a tip-off and actionable digital intelligence also provided by us, the remaining members of the gang, Musa umar a.k.a. small, Hassan Isah and other accomplices involved in the Gishiri robbery were intercepted while enroute to an already planned armed robbery operation scheduled to hold at maitama in the early hours of this morning.”

According to the statement, all suspects have confessed to the crimes while investigation is ongoing.