Metro

Tension In Ekiti As Kidnappers Withhold Victims After Ransom Payment

Published

2 years ago

September 2, 2023

There is palpable tension in Aisegba, Gbonyin Local Government of Ekiti State, as kidnappers have failed to release their victims two weeks after a ransom had been paid.

This development has thrown the family and friends of the victims into serious concern as they are not sure of the well-being of the victims.

The victims are Fagbemi Abayomi from Ilupeju-Ekiti and Ojo Musa from Kogi State, both based in Aisegba Ekiti.

The duo were kidnapped at gunpoint between Ilu-Omoba and Aisegba Ekiti a few weeks back.

According to the wife of one of the victims, Mrs Fagbemi the abductors contacted her on telephone to demand a ransom of 15 million which was later reduced to 10 million a day after.

She noted that after much begging, the abductors agreed to take 1 million from her for her husband while they agreed to take two million from the family of the other victim.

Mrs Fagbemi said both families were shocked after the ransom was paid and the victims were not released for two weeks now.

She regretted that the family laboured hard to raise the money, with their hopes now being dashed by the adamant posture of the captors.

“It is now two weeks after we paid the ransom, my husband has not been freed. This is eliciting serious threat, panic and tension in our town and family.

“Most traumatising was the fact that we have not been able to reach him on telephone for one and half weeks now. The number the kidnappers were using to reach out to us had been switched off”.

The family appealed to the Amotekun Corps and the Ekiti State Police Command to upscale their searches around Aisegba-Agbado-Imesi Irun and Aisegba-Agbado-Ise forests to rescue the victim from the captors.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti State Police Command, DSP Sunday Abutu promised to get back but is yet to reach out to our Correspondent at the time of this publication.

The Commander, Amotekun Corps, Retired, Brigadier General, Olu Adewa said the command is making frantic efforts to rescue the victims.

Metro

Tragedy As UNIZIK Undergraduate Jumps From Three-storey Building, Dies

Published

2 hours ago

June 6, 2025

Editor

Tragedy struck at a private lodge near Royal Kitchen Junction, Ifite-Awka, Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, late Thursday, when a male student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, jumped from a three-storey building and died.

It was gathered that the student (name withheld) jumped from the balcony of the building located near the school after allegedly consuming some unknown substances suspected to be “mkpurummiri”.

According to eyewitnesses near the scene, after the victim fell to the ground, all efforts to bring him back to life proved abortive, as he was later confirmed dead in a nearby hospital, where he was rushed.

One of the sources said, “We suddenly heard a loud thud yesterday (Thursday) evening, prompting a rush to the scene where the young man was found lying in a pool of his own blood, critically injured.

“The victim, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his family, was identified as a tenant in the lodge. Shockingly, when concerned residents checked his room, his roommate was found in an incoherent state, allegedly under the influence of the same substances they had taken earlier.

“Despite efforts to save him, the student was confirmed dead at a nearby hospital. Authorities are working diligently to contact the deceased’s family and investigate the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”

It was further gathered that the roommate of the victim is currently in custody and will be questioned further once he regains stability.

Contacted on the development on Friday, the Chief Safety Officer at UNIZIK, Ken Chukwurah, confirmed the incident, adding that the incident happened at a private lodge outside the school, and an investigation is ongoing.

Chukwurah said, “We are still investigating to be sure of what happened, how it happened and the proper identity of the victim.

“It happened in a private lodge outside the school, and we don’t have control over who is admitted to such lodges.”

Metro

Police Arrest 28 Suspected Cultists In Edo

Published

4 hours ago

June 6, 2025

Editor

The Edo State Police Command has announced the arrest of 28 suspected involved in cult-related activities across the state.

According to a statement issued on Friday by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, the arrests were made during a raid on criminal hideouts.

He stated that following thorough screening, 19 of the suspects were found culpable and subsequently charged to court.

Yamu also revealed that three of the suspects confessed to being members of cult groups and have already been arraigned.

The statement reads, “The Edo State Command has sustained its fight against crime through visibility policing, community engagements and sustained raids of criminal hideouts in the State.

“On 4/6/2025 between 16:00 hours and 22:00 hours, operatives of the Command carried out raids of criminal hideouts within Benin-City.

“During the raids, twenty-eight (28) persons were arrested and professionally screened where nineteen (19) of them found implicated, were charged to court.

“In continuation of its fight against cultism, the command has commenced the house-to-house arrests of identified cult members in the state to ensure that cultism is either eliminated or brought to its barest minimum.

“Three suspects who were arrested from various locations have confessed to being members of the Eiye and Aye confraternities respectively. They have been arraigned before the court accordingly.”

Edo State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, in the statement expressed confidence that the public would feel more secure as a result of the command’s efforts.

He further warned known cultists to either renounce cultism, leave the state, or face the full consequences of the law under the Edo State Secret Cult and Other Related Activities Prohibition Law.

Metro

CBEX Fraud: EFCC Declares Two More Wanted

Published

2 days ago

June 5, 2025

Editor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday declared two more individuals wanted in connection with an alleged fraud case linked to a digital trading platform, Crypto Bridge Exchange, popularly known as CBEX.

The suspects, identified as Folashade Odelana and Bamidele Ayodele Abiodun, were accused of orchestrating fraudulent activities that reportedly led to significant financial losses for unsuspecting investors.

12 persons had been declared wanted by the commission in connection with the same scheme.

In a notice published across its official social media platforms, the anti-graft agency asked members of the public with useful information on the whereabouts of the suspects to come forward.

The notice read, “The public is hereby notified that the persons whose photographs appear below are wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for fraud allegedly perpetrated on an online trading platform called Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX). FOLASHADE ODELANA. Odelana is 31 years old and her last known address is at No. 17, Oremeta Street, Allen, Ikeja, Lagos State.

“BAMIDELE AYODELE ABIODUN. Abiodun is 32 years old. His last known address is at No.17, Oremeta Street, Allen, Ikeja, Lagos State.

“Anybody with useful information as to their whereabouts should please contact the Commission in its Ibadan, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt or Abuja offices, or through these numbers 09-9044751-3, 08093322644, 08183322644, 07026350721-3, 0706350724-5; its e-mail address: info@efccnigeria.org or the nearest Police Station and other security agencies.”

No fewer than 600,000 Nigerians reportedly invested in the scheme and lost N1.3tn after it collapsed in April 2025.