Headline
Rivers Civil Servant’s Daughters Held For 12 Years Over N1m Ransom
Published
4 years agoon
By
Editor
Twelve years after the disappearance of his two daughters on farmland in Deeyor community, in the Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, a man, Rowland Monokpo, has said he believes they will return home someday.
Monokpo, a retired civil servant in a radio programme on Rhythm 93.7FM, Port Harcourt, monitored by The PUNCH correspondent on Monday said his daughters were preparing to start university education when they were kidnapped in 2009.
He expressed sadness that the abductors refused to release his two children identified as Scholatica and Maryann, after he paid part of the ransom.
Monokpo said, “I went to Akwa Ibom State to buy palm oil. So, when I returned, I didn’t see them at home. Suddenly, I received a phone call that my two daughters were carried away on the farm.
READ ALSO: Police Exhume decomposing Corpse Of Kidnapped Ex-army Captain In Rivers
“I reported the matter to the police when they (his girls) spoke to me that their condition was critical and they (kidnappers) were threatening to kill them if I did not bring N1m.
“I was able to raise N200,000, which I dropped at Kpopie Junction and they picked it.
“Since that time, I have not seen my two daughters till today. But I am still hoping in God that one day I may see my two daughters.”
He asked the police to reopen investigation into the case and unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of his children.
Monokpo also called on the Rivers State Government, civil society organisations and the international community to join him in the search for the girls.
While noting that he had been battling health challenges as a result of the incident, he said his daughters would have graduated from the university and done other things if they were not abducted.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, asked Monokpo to lodge a formal complaint to his office as he promised to look into the matter.
READ ALSO: Alleged N20bn Bailout Fund: Kogi Assembly Threatens Sterling Bank MD
You may like
Headline
Ghana Defence, Environment Ministers Killed In Helicopter Crash
Published
1 hour agoon
August 6, 2025By
Editor
Ghana’s defence and environment ministers were killed in a helicopter crash Wednesday, the Ghanaian presidency said, hours after the armed forces reported a chopper carrying three crew and five passengers dropped off the radar.
Edward Omane Boamah became President John Mahama’s defence minister earlier this year shortly after Mahama’s swearing-in in January.
Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed was serving as the minister of environment, science and technology.
Everyone onboard was killed in the accident, authorities said.
READ ALSO:Ex-Ghanaian President Mahama Leads Election Mediation Team To Nigeria
“The president and government extend our condolences and sympathies to the families of our comrades and the servicemen who died in service to the country,” said Mahama’s chief of staff Julius Debrah.
Boamah was helming Ghana’s defence ministry at a time when jihadist activity across its northern border in Burkina Faso has become increasingly restive.
While Ghana has so far avoided a jihadist spillover from the Sahel — unlike neighbours Togo and Benin — observers have warned of increased arms trafficking and of militants from Burkina Faso crossing the porous border to use Ghana as a rear base.
A medical doctor by training, Boamah’s career in government included stints as communications minister during Mahama’s previous 2012-2017 tenure. Before that, he was the deputy minister for the environment.
READ ALSO:Guinea-Bissau President, Niger Republic PM, Others Attend Buhari’s Burial In Daura
The Ghanaian Armed Forces had reported earlier Wednesday that an air force helicopter had fallen off radar after taking off from Accra just after 9:00 am. It had been headed towards the town of Obuasi, northwest of the capital.
The statement had said that three crew and five passengers were aboard, without specifying at the time that the ministers were among them.
Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, Ghana’s deputy national security coordinator and former agriculture minister, was among the dead, along with Samuel Sarpong, vice chairman of Mahama’s National Democratic Congress party.
READ ALSO:Ghanaians Protest, Decry ‘State-sponsored’ Harassment In Abuja
As Ghana has pursued increased diplomacy with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — all ruled by juntas who have broken with the ECOWAS west African regional bloc — Boamah led a delegation to Ouagadougou in May.
He had been set to release a book titled “A Peaceful Man in an African Democracy”, about former president John Atta Mills, who died in 2012.
All flags were to be flown at half-staff, Debrah said, while the presidency said Mahama had cancelled his official activities for the day.

Two individuals have been charged in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 26-year-old Nigerian, Ayowale Aladejana, in New Cross, southeast London.
The Metropolitan Police reports that detectives investigating the fatal stabbing of Ayowale charged a man and woman with murder.
“Ben Wazabanga, 23 (24.10.2001) of Fairfax Road, Bedford was charged with murder and possession of a knife on Monday, 4 August. He was remanded in custody and will appear at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 4 August.
“Ronique Belfon, 23 (10.05.2002) of Morinsbury Road, Bedford was charged with murder on Monday, 4 August. She was remanded to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 4 August,” the report read.
READ ALSO:US Will Send Ukraine Patriot Air Defense Systems
Speaking on the incident, Detective Chief Inspector Lucie Card, who is leading the investigation, was quoted as saying, “Our thoughts are with Ayowale’s family and friends at this difficult time.
“I understand this incident will be concerning and we are carrying out a fast-paced and thorough investigation to establish the circumstances. I would encourage anyone who has not yet spoken to us.”
The investigation was reportedly launched after officers were called to reports of a man with stab wounds at a residential address in Monson Road, New Cross, at 19:26hrs on Saturday, August 2.
READ ALSO:UK Opens Application For Chevening Scholarships
The officers were said to have responded alongside the London Ambulance Service and medics from London’s Air Ambulance, however, Ayowale died at the scene despite efforts to save him.
The report added that a post-mortem examination conducted on Sunday gave a preliminary cause of death as stab wound to the chest.
Ayowale’s family are also reportedly being supported by specially trained officers.
Headline
Trump Threatens 250% Tariffs On Foreign Pharmaceuticals
Published
1 day agoon
August 5, 2025By
Editor
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that upcoming tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals could reach 250 percent, after starting at a lower level, while adding he plans to also unveil fresh duties on foreign semiconductors.
“We’ll be putting (an) initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year, one-and-a-half years, maximum, it’s going to go to 150 percent,” Trump said in an interview on CNBC.
“And then it’s going to go to 250 percent because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country,” he added.
READ ALSO:Corporation For Public Broadcasting To Shut Down Following Trump’s Funding Cuts
In the same interview, Trump said he expects to raise the US tariff on Indian imports “very substantially over the next 24 hours” due to the country’s purchases of Russian oil.
While Trump has aimed at products from different countries with varying tariff rates after imposing a 10-percent levy on almost all trading partners in April, these have excluded certain products he planned to target separately.
These sector-specific tariffs have generally come after government investigations that look into the national security concerns surrounding certain imports.
READ ALSO:Immigration Issues Travel Advisory To Nigerians On US Visas
After earlier embarking on probes on imported semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, the Trump administration has signaled plans to wrap up these studies, which could lead to new tariffs.
Already, Trump has slapped steep tariffs of 50 percent on imported steel and aluminum, and also rolled out a separate but lower duty on autos and parts.
AFP
- JUST IN: WAEC Shuts Down Result Portal Over Technical Issues
- Ghana Defence, Environment Ministers Killed In Helicopter Crash
- [VIDEO] Kwam 1’s Airport Drama: FAAN Accuses Fuji Star Of Alcohol Violation
- Edo Bye-Elections: Show You Are On Ground, Idahosa Tasks APC Leaders
- Edo Bye-Elections: Labour Party Missing As INEC Unveils Political Parties Participating
- Over Thirty Young Ladies Accuse Edo Migration Agency Of Raid, Extortion, Agency Denies Allegation
- Edo Govt Bans Kabaka’s Firm, Others From Collecting Revenue
- CBN, UBA, Others In Benin Given Ultimatum To Remove Their Buildings Or Be Demolished
- 17-year-old Nigerian Named World Best In English At 2025 TeenEagle Finals In London
- FG Promotes 30 Senior NCoS Officers To Assistant Controller General
Trending
- News4 days ago
JUST IN: NNPCL Boss, Ojulari Allegedly Forced To Resign
- News3 days ago
Seadogs Champions Social Justice Through Inaugural Art Exhibition In Owerri
- Metro2 days ago
VIDEO: Lagos Residents Lament As Flood Overruns Communities
- Entertainment4 days ago
Popular Nollywood Actress Dies
- Metro3 days ago
Hotel Under Construction Collapses In Edo Kills Owner
- Metro5 days ago
How We Killed Nurse, Child In Abuja School After Collecting Ransom – Suspect
- Metro4 days ago
My Wife Used To Slap Me, Lock Me In The Room, Man Tells Court
- News4 days ago
Immigration Issues Travel Advisory To Nigerians On US Visas
- News3 days ago
7 Essential Blood Tests Every Adult Should Take Regularly
- News4 days ago
FEC Approves N145bn Electrification Projects For UNILAG, UI, Six Others