Metro

Woman, 26, Stabs Man Dead Over Demand For More Sex

Published

2 years ago

January 20, 2024

Editor

Twenty-six-year-old Sarah Nwankpo is now cooling her heels in the custody of the Rivers State Criminal Investigation Department. It was for the murder of her male friend, Igbodike Anthony, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

She admitted to having stabbed the deceased during an argument over more sex, in his apartment Obiri-Ikwerre area residence.

During interrogation, it was discovered that she had sneaked out of her boyfriend’s place for the deceased’s residence on December 22, 2023.

Sarah is a Senior Secondary School 3 drop-out who left her hometown in Ezza South Local Government in Ebonyi State, in 2016, in search of greener pastures.

Invitation of death

The incident, as gathered, occurred four months after she moved into Port Harcourt. She claimed that the deceased had been disturbing her with calls to visit him.

She said: “I met him (late Igbodike ) in 2017, in Enugu. When I left my hometown, I went to Enugu where I had two children for a man. I left Enugu for Port Harcourt in August 2023.

“In Port Harcourt, I started dating a man, Joe Ibanga. But I always received calls from Anthony, inviting me to come visit him. Sometimes he sent me money for transport. But I declined because of my relationship with Ibanga.

“On December 22, 2023, he called again and invited me to come over to his place.

“I took an Okada (commercial motorbike) from my residence in Aluu, to meet with Anthony at Kilimanjaro, by Choba junction. He paid the okada rider N500.”

She further stated that she accompanied him to pay his staff their salary for December.

Continuing, she said: “Thereafter, he took me out for shopping on groceries. We went to his apartment at Mercy-land extension, Obiri-Ikwerre. He told me to prepare a meal for him. He had his shower, ate and we had sex. We recorded the sessions for keeps.”

During discussion, she said when she opened up on her affairs with Ibanga, “he laughed at the idea of me dealing with the challenges of raising children and struggling with a relationship that was not financially rewarding.”

“He offered to help me out of poverty if I discontinued my relationship with Ibanga and married him instead.

“He assured me he would offer me a job in his establishment in January 2024 and that he would make me a Manager at his firm. I agreed to visit him again after a week so that we could begin plans to live our lives together.”

However, she stated that a few minutes later, the enthusiasm to pitch a tent with Anthony died, thereby prompting her to announce that she would be leaving his house that evening.

She said: “When I informed him about the sudden change in feeling, he suggested we go to a club and buy shawarma. But I refused, insisting that I wanted to go home.

“After much persuasion from him to spend the night with him, I agreed. I put on one of his pairs of shorts and a shirt and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for us.

“When he finished eating, he told me to caress him. I obliged but later opted out when he demanded sex. I told him I was no longer comfortable.

“My rejection provoked him. He told me to dress up and leave his house. By then it was 10 p.m. I refused to leave and stood up to challenge him. A verbal war ensued.

“He slapped me. I reacted and a fight ensued. He locked the door, picked up a walking cane and threatened to beat me with it.

“In my confused state, I dialed my boyfriend’s number (Ibanga) and tried to explain to him what was happening and begged him to come for my help. But he hung up and never called back.

“Anthony held me as I tried to open the door. I screamed for help, but no one heard me let alone to rescue me. During the fight, he dropped the walking cane. I reached out for it and noticed that it had a detachable holding head.

“I quickly detached the head and saw that a dagger was attached to it. As he charged at me, I stabbed him with the dagger,” she said.

VANGUARD gathered that her attempt to escape from the scene and abandon the bleeding man was resisted, as Anthony held her hair with all his might.

As she made to step out of the apartment and at the same time struggling to release his grip from her head, the owner of the building and his family members were alerted. They were said to have raised the alarm that jostled other occupants from sleep.

While efforts were being made to rush the dying man to the hospital, some tenants overheard the suspect making calls. They seized her phone and locked her up in the victim’s apartment, until the arrival of a team of policemen at about 1 a.m. of December 23, 2023.

The suspect was taken into custody where news of the death of Igbodike’s death reached her.

It was also gathered that while in police custody, some family members of the deceased visited her to know how their breadwinner died.

The widow of the deceased was also said to have visited the State CID for an explanation of how her husband died.

Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command, CP Olatunji Disu, who reacted to the incident, called for caution and restraint in every relationship.

He said, “This serves as a reminder that violence is never the answer and can lead to devastating consequences for all parties involved. The investigation into this case is ongoing.”

Metro

Abuja Court Jails Ex-legislative Aide For N120m Fraud

Published

10 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi on Monday sentenced a former legislative aide and banker, Mr Goni Yilkan, to eight years in prison for obtaining N120.58 million by false pretence.

Justice F. E. Messiri found Yilkan guilty of a two-count employment scam charge, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission revealed in a statement issued via its X handle on Tuesday.

“Yilkan, who hails from Nguru, Yobe State, was found guilty on a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act, and consequently sentenced to eight years imprisonment without option of fine,” the statement read.

According to EFCC, the convict was arraigned alongside one Mohammed Adamu in October 2023, following investigations into a petitioner’s claims of being defrauded by the convict.

One of the charges read: “That you, Mohammed Goni Yilkan, Mohammed Adamu and others at large between 3rd January 2020 and December 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N120, 580, 550 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira) from Mrs. Hindatu Bello under the false pretence that you had the capacity to secure jobs for her candidates in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

In the course of the trial, EFCC said the petitioner explained that “Yilkan deceived her between 2020 and 2021 into believing that he had the capacity to secure employment slots in government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

“On this strength, the petitioner collected varying sums of money from over 60 jobseekers, amounting to N120,580,550.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira), which she allegedly remitted to the convict.”

However, the purported employment offers never materialised, prompting Bello to petition the EFCC.

The prosecution, led by Cosmas Ugwu, called six witnesses and tendered documentary evidence, while the defence, led by J.A. Oguche, presented two witnesses, including Yilkan himself.

In his judgment, Justice Messiri held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, convicted Yilkan, but discharged and acquitted his co-defendant, Adamu.

The judge further sentenced Yilkan to eight years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.

Earlier, The PUNCH reported that the EFCC Ilorin Zonal Directorate arrested 28 suspected internet fraudsters in Kwara State.

The suspects, according to a statement on Monday, “were picked up in the early hours of Tuesday during sting operations carried out in Tanke, University Road, Oshin, and Agbabiaka areas of the state capital.”

Metro

Soldiers Who Sold Arms To Terrorists Sentenced To Death

Published

10 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

A special court-martial of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, Borno State, has sentenced three soldiers to life imprisonment and another to 15 years for illegal arms deals carried out in connivance with police officers and terrorists.

The trial, presided over by Brigadier General Ugochukwu Unachukwu, acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander of Sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), took place at the Officers’ Mess of the Theatre Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.

Delivering judgment, Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullahi, president of the court-martial, pronounced Raphael Ameh, a sergeant; Ejiga Musa, a sergeant; and Patrick Ocheje, a lance corporal, guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Omitoye Rufus, a corporal, was however handed a 15-year jail term.

The soldiers were convicted of offences ranging from theft and unlawful dealing in ammunition to aiding the enemy, all punishable under the Armed Forces Act.

Ameh, who served as an armourer at the 7 Division Garrison, was found to have conspired with a deceased colleague to steal ammunition from the division’s armoury.

He worked with police officers to conceal weapons in bags of beans and smuggle them to Enugu and Ebonyi for criminals.

Abdullahi revealed that bank records linked Ameh to over 100 suspicious transactions between July 2022 and June 2024.

Musa, while serving as armourer of 195 Battalion, was discovered to have collaborated with Ocheje and police officers in selling an AK-47 rifle and large quantities of ammunition.

Records showed he collected more than ₦500,000 from the transactions before he was arrested while attempting to sell more ammunition.

Rufus was convicted for selling 40 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition to a police officer, while Ocheje, who was deployed at the forward operating base in Molai, was found guilty of diverting ammunition during communal clashes at the instigation of a police officer.

He also stole an AK-47 rifle belonging to a colleague.

The court held that their actions directly endangered military operations and national security, amounting to aiding the enemy.

Condemning the convicts, Abdullahi described them as “bad eggs” who betrayed the trust, discipline, and honour expected of soldiers in the fight against insurgency.

He restated the army’s zero-tolerance stance on the sale of arms or ammunition to adversaries “in whatever form or guise.”

Metro

BREAKING: Bodies Of 8 Missing Policemen Recovered In Benue

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Lifeless bodies of the eight policemen who were declared missing after a deadly attack on security operatives at Agu Centre, on the border of Katsina-Ala and Ukum LGAs of Benue State, have been recovered.

Dr Justin Shaku, Chairman of Katsina-Ala LGA disclosed this to reporters in Makurdi on Monday.

According to him, “this brings the number of officers killed to 11 (10 policemen and one BSCPG)”.

The unfortunate incident occurred on Friday, when a team of security operatives came under the attack of armed invaders.

Three personnel were immediately confirmed dead while eight others were declared missing.