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Suspected Herdsmen Kill Farmer In Edo Community

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Tragedy struck at Ubune-Ivbiaro, Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State on Friday as gunmen suspected to be herdsmen killed a middle-age man, Mr. Danjuma Emokpaire on his farm.

Residents of the community, who spoke to journalist on phone, said the deceased was attacked by the armed men while he was about leaving the farm after the day’s work.

The residents, who said they saw the victim going to farm on Friday, added that he was going to the farm to plant yam seedlings.

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One of the residents disclosed that they became worried when in early morning on Saturday, the deceased was not seen at home.

READ ALSO: Police Arrest Woman For Poisoning One-year-old Daughter

According to him, “Yesterday evening (Friday ), there was heavy rainfall late night, so it wasn’t possible for people to know whether he returned from farm or not.

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“But this morning (Saturday ), he was not seen around. This prompted some persons to go to his house and found it locked from the front.

“So, we have to mobilise and go to the farm to search for him. Unfortunately, behold what was seen was unexpected.

“We found him dead. What we see around the scene of the incident indicated that he was attack and killed while on the motorcycle.

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“There was no sign that there was confrontation between him and those that killed him.

“The motorbike was damaged, cutlass and mobile phone cell were taken away by the murderer”, he said.

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The resident, who did not want his name in print, added that the incident had been reported to the Afuze Divisional Police , and some officers were sent to the community who were taken to the farm.

Also speaking, a member of vigilante group in the community, Abdul Saliu Emokpaire, said the corpse of the deceased had been brought home for burial in accordance with Islamic rites.

READ ALSO: Father Of 3 Beats Wife To Death Over House Rent In Rivers

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Emokpaire, who called on the security agencies and the Edo State Government to come to the aid of the community, noted that the community had been gripped with fears, as the people were afraid to go to farm for fear of being attacked by herdsmen.

We call on security agencies in the state and governor Godwin Obaseki that we are mourning one of our illustrious son whose life was cut short by evil men who called themselves herdsmen.

“This is farming season, and this is the time the people of the community who are predominantly farmers are preparing land for cultivation. Fears have gripped the community. We are now afraid to go to our various farms”, he added.

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He further added that some few weeks ago, some farmers were attacked by the suspected herdsmen after questioning why they destroyed their farms and as well as harvested their cassava to feed their cows.

READ ALSO: Students Loan: FG Explains Delay In Take-off, Sets New Date

Meanwhile, a senior police office in the Afuze Divisional Police Headquarters confirmed the incident.

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The officer, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak with the media, said officers had been drafted to the community and visited the scene of the crime.

He also added that the officers obtained the necessary information that was required for investigation.

Contacted, the Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Chidi Nwabuzor, said he was yet to be briefed, but said he would bring the information to the attention of the State Commissioner of Police, CP Funsho Adegboye.

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Metro

LASG Orders Eviction Of Squatters Under Opebi–Mende Bridge

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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.

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“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.

READ ALSO:Adekunle Gold Unveils Street Named After Him In Lagos

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.

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“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.

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READ ALSO:Why DSS Questioned Me Over Viral Threat Video — Lagos NURTW Boss

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.

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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.

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Oil Spill Pollutes Bayelsa Communities

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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.

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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.

READ ALSO:Neconde’s Oil Spill In Delta Community Causes Outrage

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.

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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.

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READ ALSO:Farms Destroyed As Oil Spill Ravages Rivers Community

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.

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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.

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

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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.

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READ ALSO:ARISE News Broadcaster Killed In Abuja

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.

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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.”

READ ALSO:FG Gives Overstaying Foreigners Ultimatum To Regularise Visa

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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.

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