Metro

Woman Exhumes Ex-husband’s Corpse, Fights Son Over Property

Published

3 years ago

December 26, 2022

A businessman, Dapo Olofinmakin, has accused his mother, Olufunmilayo, of exhuming the corpse of his late father, Segun, in a bid to sell his property on Sanya Street in the Aguda area of Lagos State, where he was buried.

It was gathered that Dapo, 47, had opposed the plan by his mother to move the body to another location to facilitate the sale of the building.

In a bid to achieve her aim, Dapo, while speaking to our correspondent, alleged that his mother mobilised policemen from the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, to arrest him at his father’s house.

He noted that the policemen, who arrested him and his daughter around 7.30am on October 30, 2021, detained them for 13 hours, adding that when they returned home, his father’s remains had been removed.

Dapo said, “I am the only child of my mother and father; sometime between 1982 and 1995, my father was not around to manage his property because he had some challenges. During this period, my mother got married to one Alhaji Onisemo, who is now late, and she gave birth to my stepsister, Bukola.

“I was in South Africa when my father died and could not return home to bury him because of the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. So, it was my uncle, Olu Akomolafe, who is my mother’s brother, and members of the Sanya Street Landlord Association that buried my father.

“When I returned from South Africa, my mother started claiming she owned my father’s house. While my mother, a family member and I were at loggerheads over claims to the property, on October 28, 2021, she came with policemen around 7.30 am to arrest me at my father’s house.

“They took me to the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, where I was detained till they exhumed my father’s corpse on that same day. I was later released around 8pm. As I speak to you, I don’t know where she buried my father’s corpse or what she did with the corpse. She did all these things because she wanted to sell that house and I refused.”

Dapo stated that some tenants in the house saw his mother removing the body from the grave.

The Ondo State indigene, who stressed that his mother was claiming his father’s house despite leaving him a long time ago and remarrying, urged relevant authorities to intervene in the matter.

Contacted for a reaction, Olufunmilayo, who insisted that she built the house, said a lawyer would get in touch with our correspondent.

“That boy is a liar. I built that house and he’s here laying claims to what is not his property; my lawyer will contact you later,” she said.

When the lawyer did not reach out, The PUNCH called the woman to inform her and demand his contact.

The lawyer’s phone number rang out twice without a response.

He also failed to reply to a text message from our correspondent as of press time.

The PUNCH further reached out to Olufunmilayo to inform her of the refusal of her lawyer to respond, adding that it constituted a waiver of her rights to react to the allegations.
She did not respond to the text message.

Dapo’s uncle, Olu, who is a sibling of Olufunmilayo, said the deceased was the owner of the property.

He said, “I am a pastor and I will not tell lies. Late Segun, my in-law, owned that house legally and it is now his son’s. My sister left (Segun) and remarried in 1982 and she had children with the other man and when my in-law died in 2020, she did not even attend his burial.

“I and members of the Sanya Street Landlord Association, Aguda, buried Dapo’s father because he was not in the country when his father died. I was surprised when I heard that my sister had gone to exhume his corpse and she is claiming the house, which is not hers.”

The Chairman of Sanya Street Landlord Association, Olu Francis, also said the property was built by the late Segun.

He said, “Olufunmilayo’s younger brother, Olu, who is a pastor, and members of our association, buried Segun at his house when he died. I was surprised to hear that the woman exhumed the corpse and is now claiming the house. Dapo is the only child that the man (Segun) had before he passed.”

The property developer, Wale Ojeyemi, said he was in possession of one of the house documents, adding that it was in the name of Dapo’s father.

When contacted for a reaction, the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Hauwa Idris, said she could not react until she checked the records.

She said, “There is no police reaction to this matter until I am able to get details of the case.”
PUNCH

Metro

Troops Destroy Bandits’ Camp, Arrest Seven Suspected Cultists In Benue

Published

14 hours ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Army has intensified coordinated offensives across the North-Central, destroying a major bandits’ hideout in Taraba State and arresting seven suspected cultists in Benue in separate operations under the ongoing security push.

The fresh operations, conducted by troops of 6 Brigade, Jalingo, and Joint Task Force Operation Whirl Stroke, form part of broader kinetic deployments targeting bandits, violent gangs and criminal networks across Taraba, Benue and adjoining corridors.

In Taraba, troops under Operation Lafiya Nakowa conducted an extensive clearance operation on Friday around remote border villages in Takum Local Government Area.

The patrol, which covered Tor-Tser, Kofar Ahmadu, Tornyi, Unom, Mbayongo and Yongogba, followed credible intelligence on the presence of armed groups believed to be plotting attacks and using scattered farmlands as staging points.

According to a Saturday statement issued by the Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Umar Muhammad, troops received updated intelligence mid-operation that bandits had been sighted around TY Farm in Tati, sparking rapid redeployment.

“Confronted with the troops’ superior firepower, the bandits fled deep into the forest,” the Army said.

The soldiers then discovered and destroyed a major hideout at the farm location, recovering one Dane gun and other items believed to have been used by the fleeing fighters.

The Commander, 6 Brigade and Sector 3 OPWS, Brigadier General Kingsley Chidiebere Uwa, praised the soldiers for their conduct, saying their responsiveness was evidence of improved tactical mobility and renewed operational discipline.

He also reaffirmed the brigade’s resolve to tighten dominance around rural axes vulnerable to ambushes, illegal taxation and night incursions by armed cells.

Uwa urged locals to remain active partners in early-warning, stressing that actionable tip-offs have been critical to recent breakthroughs.

He called for “timely and credible information to aid ongoing operations.”

In a related development, troops of Operation Whirl Stroke carried out a precision raid on a suspected cult base in the North Bank axis of Makurdi, Benue State, an area repeatedly flagged for youth gang violence and drug-use clusters.

The raid, conducted on Thursday, October 30, led to the arrest of seven suspects, believed to be linked to armed robbery, drug activities and cult-linked retaliatory attacks within the state capital.

“During the operation, troops apprehended seven (7) suspected cultists believed to be involved in various criminal activities, including armed robbery, drug abuse, and cult-related violence.

“Items recovered from the hideout include two (2) locally fabricated pistols, one (1) laptop, one (1) cartridge, one (1) round of 7.62mm ammunition, one (1) empty 7.62mm shell casing, one (1) dagger, and several bags containing charms and other incriminating materials,” the statement partly read.

All seven suspects are now in military custody awaiting profiling and handover to relevant investigative agencies.

Force Commander OPWS, Major General Moses Gara, commended troops for their “professionalism, vigilance and resilience,” and directed continuous pressure on splinter gang structures within North Bank and neighbouring university communities.

He also issued a caution to youths, particularly tertiary institution students, warning against the lure of cult group identity.

He urged them to “shun cultism, drug abuse and other forms of criminal behaviour,” stressing the importance of discipline and patriotism.

Gara added that recent security gains will be consolidated, pledging that the Joint Task Force will continue large-area sweeps as part of its mandate to stabilise Taraba–Benue theatre communities.

Both operations came amid renewed concerns about arms trafficking routes linking Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa and border forests stretching into Cameroon.

Metro

Police Bust Kidnap Ring, Rescue 23 Foreigners, Arrest 14 Suspects Near Abuja

Published

1 day ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has dismantled a transnational kidnapping syndicate that demanded N230 million ransom from foreign nationals lured into Nigeria under the guise of lucrative job offers.

Operatives of the command’s Scorpion Squad launched the sting operation around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State, a border community near Abuja.

Fourteen suspected kidnappers were arrested and 23 foreign nationals rescued in the process.

According to police findings, the victims, all West African nationals, were deceived into travelling to Nigeria by a criminal network posing as employment recruiters.

Upon arrival, the victims were held captive, and the kidnappers demanded ransom from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.

FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said on Friday that investigations identified the ringleader as Abubakar Jigiba, a suspected notorious cross-border criminal with known residences in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria.

The syndicate, she explained, demanded four million CFA francs (about N10 million) per person, a total ransom demand of N230 million.

Adeh confirmed that efforts are ongoing to track down the principal suspect, Abubakar Jigiba, and his brother, Sougule Zoubere, both of whom remain at large.

She said: “In a major breakthrough against kidnapping and human trafficking, operatives of the FCT Police Command’s Scorpion Squad have successfully arrested fourteen (14) suspected kidnappers and rescued twenty-three (23) victims, all foreign nationals, from captivity.

“The intelligence-led operation took place at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday, 21st October 2025, at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State.

“The operation followed a report indicating that several foreign nationals had been lured into Nigeria under the pretext of lucrative job offers. Upon arrival, they were held hostage by their abductors, who demanded ransom payments from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the syndicate is coordinated by one Abubakar Jigiba, a transnational criminal kingpin with known residences in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria. His younger brother, Sougule Zoubere, handles the recruitment, kidnapping and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria, where they are detained pending ransom payments. The group demanded four million CFA (N10,000,000) for each victim.

“Further investigations revealed that the victims were trafficked into the country through illegal border routes in a journey lasting about three days. They were subsequently confined in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under inhumane conditions.

“Acting on actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence, the Scorpion Squad traced the hideout to the above address, where a total of twenty-three (23) victims — fourteen (14) males, eight (8) females and one (1) child — were rescued unhurt, except one who sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for treatment.”

Metro

Woman Begs Court Not To Grant Husband’s Prayer For Divorce

Published

1 day ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

A housewife, Fauziya Ibrahim, has begged an Area Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, not to grant her husband, Hamza Musbau’s prayer of divorce.

She told the court that she does not want her marriage dissolved.

“I have been married to my husband for 16 years and I want to remain in this marriage,” she told the court.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),Earlier, Hamza prayed for divorce on grounds of lack of love and affection.

The judge, Mr Toyin Aluko, said that on the strength of the provisions of the Holy Quran, Almighty Allah allows a wife to seek for settlement, just as divorce is allowed.

He, therefore, advised Fauziya to try her best to make peace and settle any misunderstanding between them.

Aluko adjourned the case.