adebukola adebanji's blog

A 52-year-old psychiatric patient, identified as Tope Ogunmodede, has reportedly hanged himself in his house located at the Lafe area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Friday.   According to a source, it was suspected that the deceased, a cobbler, must have taken his own life out of frustration, following his health challenge, which he and his family had reportedly been battling with for the past 32 years. The source narrated that the deceased's family had spent a lot of money to treat the ailment without any fruitful result.   The deceased, who stayed in the same house with his mother, Mrs Comfort Ogunmodede, was said to be due for a check-up last Thursday but the appointment had to be shifted to Monday because of the public holiday.   The mother, whom Tope stayed with, was said to have discovered the lifeless body of her son hanged in one of the rooms in the house.   Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Wole Ogodo, stated

A huge stampede killed at least 717 people and injured hundreds more at the hajj in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, in one of the worst-ever tragedies at the annual Muslim pilgrimage. The stampede, the second deadly accident to hit the pilgrims this month following a crane collapse in Mecca, broke out during the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual, the Saudi civil defence service said. Bodies of pilgrims wearing traditional white clothing were left scattered by the crush, surrounded by discarded shoes, flattened water bottles and umbrellas that had been used for protection from the sun. The civil defence service said that it was still counting the dead, who included pilgrims from different countries, and that at least 863 people had also been hurt. Nearly two million people from across the globe were attending the hajj, one of the largest annual gatherings in the world. Iran said at least 43 of its citizens were dead and accused Saudi Arabia of safety errors that caused the

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Thursday arrested a student and four other suspected drug traffickers with 10.255 kilogrammes of narcotics at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA), Lagos. Speaking on the arrest, NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr. Ahmadu Garba said that the suspects were apprehended for their involvement in smuggling drug hidden in garri adding that two of the drug suspects were coming from Brazil with cocaine while three others were going to South Africa, Dubai and Pakistan when they were arrested. Mr. Garba further gave the names of those apprehended as "26 year old student Okonkwo Daniel Anagor, was caught with 2.810kgs of Tramadol on his way to Dubai, Lawal Monsuru Ademola, 33 year old trader was arrested with 3.310kgs of methamphetamine on his way to South Africa while Ogbonna Donatus Chigozie was caught attempting to smuggle 610 grammes of cocaine to Pakistan. Two other suspects, Okoro Chibueze Augustine and Ok

MAIDUGURI, (Reuters) – Suspected Boko Haram militants attacked Nigeria’s northern city of Maiduguri in Borno state on Wednesday from a cashew plantation a few kilometres from the Giwa barracks, military sources said. Residents said they heard heavy shooting and explosions on the outskirts and began fleeing their homes. “I’m trapped near the University of Maiduguri now,” local resident Kabir Olaoye told Reuters by phone. The shooting began around 6:45 p.m. (1745 GMT), he said. The city of around two million people is the birthplace of the jihadi group, which has killed thousands in its attempt to carve out an Islamist state in the country’s northeast. Maiduguri has not experienced an attack since two major takeover attempts in late January and early February and several bombings in March. Boko Haram claimed an area larger than Belgium last year and was fast becoming a regional threat after it increased cross-border incursions. Chadian and Nigerian troops entered

A suspected member of the armed robbery gang that attacked a bank in Lekki, Lagos in March this year says he was given only N50,000 from the operation that claimed the lives of three police officers and a teenage street hawker. Ekelemo Kuete. The suspect, an Ondo state indigene, who is one of the four arrested this week (all 4 pictured above), said 15 of them went for the operation and that he was the one that drove the speed boat that took the robbers to the crime scene and drove them after they had completed their operation. Scene of the robbery "We were 15 in number that went for that operation and we used two speed boats. Five of us stayed back in the boat at Lekki while the other 10 went inside the bank. When they killed the policemen and two other civilians I queried them but they didn’t listen.  I am the speed boat driver that took the armed robbery gang to Lekki on March 12, 2015. I didn’t want to go, they forced me, and after the operation, they

Mrs Roseline Akinsola, 50, on Monday delivered a set of twins after 14 years of childlessness. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Akinsola, who works at the Ekiti State Christian Pilgrims Board, was full of praises to God for answering her prayers. The mother of two girls, who weighed 4.2kg and 2.3kg, advised other couples in need of children not to lose hope. In an interview with NAN, she expressed gratitude to God for giving her the children after several years. "I thank God for the new name he has given to me; before, I was being called Iya Iyanu’’ without a child, but today, my name has changed to “Mummy Twins.’’ Many of my colleagues, friends and neighbours mocked and sidelined me, but because I stood firm on the words of God, He answered my prayers. I thank my husband, who inspite of the troubles and problems from family members, friends, colleagues and neighbours still believe in me and God. He stood by me like a father in all ways and also be

Nigeria’s Dr. Benjamin Ola Akande of St. Louis, Missouri, has been named the 21st president of the 164-year-old Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. He will take office July 1, succeeding Dr. George B. Forsythe, president since 2008, who is retiring after 10 years at Westminster. Dr. Akande, a Nigerian-born American citizen, was introduced Friday, May 8, to a large audience of about 200 faculty, staff and students. He served as a professor of Economics and Dean of the George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology at Webster University in St. Louis. He also leads Webster’s global Office of Corporate Partnerships. “We’re proud to introduce Dr. Akande as president of Westminster College,” said Wallace L. Head, chairman of the Westminster Board of Trustees. “We’ve achieved our year-long goal of finding the most qualified person to lead Westminster and to continue executing our strategic plan. “It includes developing leaders for a global community by es

Buhari, who stated this when Delta State All Progressives Congress members visited him in Abuja, said he took the decision because he believed Nigeria must be free. Buhari said, “Going through the court is not easy, both materially and physically, and I maintained that consistency because my view about my country is that Nigeria should be truly free.” He condoled with the delegates over the killing of some people during the last general elections. The president-elect added, “I understand why many of you, who were denied the opportunity to choose those you want to represent and lead you are taking the line I took in the last 12 years in line with our constitution. “Whether you get it or not, the most important thing is that you believe in the system and you should continue to try until the system is perfect. “I express my condolence to you for the people murdered and I assure you that my objective of remaining consistently in partisan politics is to make sure th

Following earlier reports that he suffered a relapse of his Kidney ailment and had to be admitted to a Lagos Hospital, popular music producer/singer, OJB Jezreel has denied the reports. He cleared the air via a Facebook status update on Monday. "I'd like to set the record straight, am at home and healthy with my family going about my normal business. "Obviously bloggers don't research before they post. If they did they would know that a transplant patient will always do routine checkups because of infections etc", he wrote.

In a newly issued Most Wanted list, the United States has maintained the $7 million (N1.4 billion) bounty it placed on Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram. Shekau’s name is included in the list of 71 most-wanted terrorists in the world released by the US on Wednesday, May 6, 2015. The list carried a total bounty sum of $375m (N74.6bn) as “rewards for information that leads to (the terrorists’) arrest or conviction.” The highest bounty on the list ($25 million) is placed on Ayman al-Zawahiri, suspected to be one of the doctors and advisors to Osama bin Laden, the late leader of Al-Qaeda. Four Islamic State terrorists appeared on the list with a total of $20 million bounty on them. The list also includes senior members of the Islamic State Group (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and two female members of a Turkish military/political party and the terrorist group, Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front. The Nigerian military has said that finding Shekau is not its pri

ATLANTA (CNN) Nine Georgia deputies have been fired in connection with the death of a 21-year-old student in Savannah, Georgia, authorities announced Friday. The firings are related to the case of Matthew Ajibade, who died in an isolation cell on New Year’s Day, said Gena Bilbo, the Chatham County Sheriff’s spokeswoman. Two of the nine deputies who were fired had been on paid leave. Ajibade, who was from Nigeria, was arrested on January 1 after police received a phone call about a domestic disturbance. Authorities arrived and saw Ajibade holding a women under a blanket, according to an incident report. Her “face was bruised, and her nose was bleeding,” the report said. The Sheriff’s Office said Ajibade “became combative during the booking process.” His family has hired Mark O’Mara, a CNN legal analyst who represented George Zimmerman in the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin. Ajibade had bipolar disorder, O’Mara said. After Ajibade’s death, the Georgia Burea

This is very very serious

A robbery gang over the weekend at Ughelli, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, shot the pastor and founder of an Ughelli based prayer group while attempting to steal his Jeep. The pastor identified as Steve Akpokomuaye, was said to be driving home from church along the Oviri-Ogor road where he had gone for a prayer session when he was double-crossed by the gunmen in a Camry car and two motorcycles. According to witnesses, the pastor who was alone in the car was asked to come down from the vehicle with the intention of stealing the car. The witness who gave his name as Efemena, said: “An argument ensued between the gunmen and the pastor leading to the shooting of the pastor on the leg. Though the bandits failed to abscond with the car, they fled the scene immediately they shot their victim.” Confirming the incident to newsmen, a senior member of the Ughelli vigilante who spoke on anonymity stated that a combined team of the vigilante and police chas

A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, has sentenced Happiness Eboh to five years in prison for duping some persons seeking employment with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. According to a statement made available to our correspondent in Osogbo on Sunday by the NSCDC, Justice Babs Kuewumi found Eboh guilty on the count of conspiracy. He, therefore, sentenced him to five years in prison with hard labour for the crime he was said to have committed in Osogbo, the Osun State capital between January 30th and May 7th , 2013. The security agency had arraigned Eboh alongside two other persons who are now at large on four count charge of stealing,conspiracy, impersonation, and advance fee fraud. The convict was said to have obtained a sum of N5,000 from Issa Musa under the false pretence of securing employment for him in the NSCDC, thereby commited an offence contrary to and punishable under section 8 (a), (b) and (c) of the Advanced Fee Fraud Relat

This is something to really wonder how this is possible

Gunmen on Friday evening abducted a lecturer of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Dr. Femi Omisore, on his way to attend a funeral at Oye Ekiti in Ekiti State. Our correspondent gathered on Sunday that Omisore, a lecturer at the Department of Environmental Design Management of OAU, was abducted in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on his way to attend the ceremony. His captors, who were said to be armed with guns, were said to have trailed him for a while and his driver tried all he could to avoid being overtaken by the hoodlums. On catching up with him, the hoodlums were said to have killed the driver out of anger and forced Omisore out of his car before he was taken away to an unknown place. The gunmen, it was farther gathered, fired several shots at the petrol tank of the lecturer’s car and ensured that the car caught fire before they left the scene. The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, OAU chapter, Dr. Caleb Aborisade, confi

A yet to be identified man and an indigene of Ido Ekiti has been killed in a Wednesday kidnap operation of a senior Nurse working with the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti, Mrs Margaret Aladeneka. The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Majekodunmi Ayodele, who revealed this on Thursday to journalists also raised the alarm over Wednesday invasion by some youth who accused the hospital of not giving preference to indigenes in employment exercise. Ayodele alleged that the youths under the platform of Ido Youths Vanguard pelted the Olojudo of Ido Ekiti, Oba Ilori Faboro, with pure water sachet for mediating in the issue. He stated that Mrs Aladeneka, who hailed from Akwa Ibom State but married to an indigene of Ondo State was abducted on Sunday along Ipere –Iludun-Ido road while traveling on the bad and lonely road with her husband. He said another occupant of the vehicle, whose identity was not revealed was killed during the operation, giving an indicatio

A 19-year-old man, Tunde Ahmed, who allegedly defiled a six-year-old daughter of his neighbour was yesterday arraigned at an Apapa Magistrates’ Court, Lagos. Ahmed, who resides at Abule Ado area of Lagos State, is standing trial on a two-count charge of indecent treatment of a child and child defilement. The prosecutor, ASP Soji Ojaokomo, told the court that the accused committed the offences on April 7 at his residence. Ojaokomo said that the accused, who was living in the same building as the parents of the girl, lured her into his room, where he inserted one of his fingers into her private part. “Ahmed also forcefully had carnal knowledge of the child without her consent,” he said. He said that the offences contravened Sections 135 and137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 135 stipulates that any person who unlawfully and indecently deals with a child is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment

Some of thousands of Nigerians told to leave neighbouring Niger in the past week due to threats from Boko Haram militants have died en route from lack of food and water, evacuees told Reuters. Niger has evacuated Nigerians living around Lake Chad, military and aid officials told Reuters on Tuesday, as the armies of four west African nations battle to quash the Islamist militants.  I counted over 50 people that died on our way out of (the town of) Lalewa when the Niger soldiers were chasing us as if we are animals,” said 45-year old Ibrahim, one of the group who was originally from Nigeria’s Kebbi state. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator OCHA said that 25,000 people had arrived in the towns of N’Guigmi and Bosso in southeastern Niger after fleeing their island homes on Lake Chad. OCHA said most of these families needed shelter, food and water. The governor of Niger’s Diffa region initially told people to leave by Monday for security reasons after an attack