Metro

Residents, ‘Ogogoro’ Traders Panic As Erosion Hits Delta community

Published

2 years ago

July 16, 2023

Residents and traders of Bomadi-Overside community in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State have called on Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to intervene and arrest the frequent erosion ravaging the commercial hub of the council area, which is on verge of being washed away by the dreadful phenomenon.

Calling on both the state and federal governments, landlords, residents and traders on the locally-made gin, popularly known as Ogogoro, appealed to Gov. Oborevwori and the management of NDDC to make haste to avoid catastrophe befalling the community.

Mr Peter Oseghe, who spoke to Vanguard on behalf of Bomadi-Overside landlords, narrated the impact of the River Dragon on residents of the community, noting that they were living in fear, particularly during the night hours when everybody is asleep.

He said: “We are living in absolute fear because the incident occurs every month now. Initially, it was not so when I came to this place, but now we’re experiencing continuous erosion phenomena eating deep into our land and houses.

“I am a landlord and when I built my house years back, the coastline was far away, we walked a long distance to fetch water from the river. But now, my house is very close to the shore and we’re living in fear, my tenants and I cannot have a good sleep during the night hours.

“So, we are appealing to Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori and the management of NDDC to make haste to come to our aid because anything can happen anytime, most especially in this flood season coupled with the rains.

“We have made individual efforts to curb the situation but it is beyond our control, government should intervene to either pile the waterfront or construct a seawall to arrest the situation”.

However, findings by Vanguard revealed that, if urgent steps are not taken by appropriate authorities to curb the situation, Bomadi-Overside, which is the commercial hub and cosmopolitan community in the local government area, will be washed away with the frequency of occurrences of the incident.

Mr Tinto Eniekezimene and Mrs Gbebe, speaking on behalf of Ogogoro Union traders, however, disclosed that countless houses had been washed away by erosion over the years.

“We have lost countless houses to this erosion, we cannot count them because the waterfront you see here was far away from this place years back. Mr Gabriel’s house has also been washed away and we cannot continue to fold our arms to watch anymore.

“We observed that the river current is directly facing this side, eating deep into the land while there is sandbank across the river.

“The apparent solution to this situation is to dredge the sand from across the river to this side and to either pile the waterfront or build a seawall to control it.

“This is beyond our capacity and that is why we’re crying to Gov. Oborevwori and the federal government to come and help us out of this dreadful situation.

“Delay is dangerous in this issue as the occurrences this year alone have taken much of our land and still encroaching as we are speaking to you”, they said.

Metro

NDLEA Arrests 54 Suspected Traffickers, Seizes 1,506.57kg of Drugs In Edo

Published

8 hours ago

October 7, 2025

Editor

Operatives of the Edo State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have arrested 54 suspected drug traffickers with 1,506.57kg of various narcotic drugs.

The state commander of the agency, Mitchell Ofoyeju disclosed this on Tuesday while presenting the operational scorecard of the command in Benin City.

Ofoyeju said the seizure of the drugs and arrest of the suspects took place in the month of September.

He added that a total of 66,078,57kg of skunk cannabis were destroyed by the Command in the period under review.

The Commander, who said that the command recorded significant successes in its operations within the month, added that it was part of its concerted effort to combat drug trafficking and abuse in the state.

He gave the breakdown of the arrested suspects to include 43 males and 11 females.

He also added that during the operation six illicit plantations spanning over 26.43 hectares were destroyed.

Ofoyeju explained that the destroyed plantations were located at Ugbogui Forest, Ovia South West, Ataroro Forest, Owan West, Urohi Forest, Esan West, and Ogu Forest, Igueben Local Government Areas of the State with an estimated yield of 66,078.5715 kg of skunk cannabis.

“The command also intercepted 1,506.57kg of illicit drugs,” Mitchell stated while emphasising the command’s commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks operating within the state.

“The breakdown of the seized drugs is as follows: Cannabis Sativa 1,502. 26 Kg, psychotropic substances 4.27kg including tramadol 3.964kg, nitrazepam 0.087kg, Swinol 0.0445kg, Danabol (Molly) 0.1163kg, methamphetamine 0.0184 Kg, cocaine 0.028 Kg and heroin 0.014kg”, he said.

The NDLEA Commander in the state while expressing determination in the command’s campaign against drug trafficking, reiterated the importance of strategic operations in safeguarding communities and reducing drug demand.

He posited that the successs signified a critical step toward reclaiming the safety and health of citizens, as Edo State continues to grapple with the pressing issues of drug trafficking and abuse.

Metro

Army Officer Dies After Wife Allegedly Sets Him Ablaze In Akwa Ibom

Published

8 hours ago

October 7, 2025

Editor

A Nigerian Army officer, Lieutenant Samson Haruna, has died after sustaining severe burns when his wife allegedly set him on fire during a domestic dispute in Akwa Ibom State.

The incident reportedly occurred on September 22, 2025, at the Wellington Bassey Barracks in Ibagwa, Abak Local Government Area of the state.

According to a report shared on X by counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama on Tuesday, the late officer, who served as a Regimental Medical Officer with the Army’s 6 Battalion, had a heated altercation with his wife, identified as Mrs. Samson Haruna, which escalated violently.

Sources cited by Makama alleged that during the argument, the woman doused her husband with petrol and set him ablaze.

Lt. Haruna was first treated at the military medical unit within the barracks before being transferred to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, where he later died from his injuries despite efforts by medical personnel to save him.

Military sources confirmed that the suspect has been arrested and remains in custody as investigations continue into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Metro

Stop Using Edo Money For Federal Roads, Residents Tell Okpebholo

Published

13 hours ago

October 7, 2025

Editor

Residents of Benin, the Edo State capital have urged Governor Monday Okpebholo to stop using money accruing to the state on federal government projects.

The residents, who frowned at the governor’s unrelenting efforts in fixing federal roads, lamented that most state-owned roads are in the state of disrepair.

According to the residents, roads in the Government Reservation Area (GRA) have failed and are not motorable, adding that several other state-owned roads have failed and are in need of urgent repairs.

An Activist and head of Talakawas Parliament, in Edo State, Kola Edokpaiyi, said it was ‘busy body’ that made Okpebholo to abandon state-owned roads that are crying for attention in favour of federal roads.

He said, “There are so many deplorable state roads in Edo State that are not motorable. We expect the Governor of Edo State to quickly give attention to them all before considering Federal Roads if the state is too rich.

“The Minister of Works, Mr. David Umahi has visited federal roads in Edo State about two times to ascertain how deplorable the roads are. He has already given the brief to Mr. President. We expect the Minister to swing into action based on the huge finance allocated by Federal Government to get the work done.

“I want to appeal to His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo to address the so many state roads that are bad.”

Also, a commercial driver, who plies between Ring Road and Ebvuotubu, Joseph Ikpigho, said he spent more money to fix his car due to bad roads.

Recall that Okpebholo has embarked on reconstruction of 23 kilometres of the Sapele Road axis of the East-West road.

He is also assisting the Federal Government to fix failed portions of the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi highway.