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Passengers allegedly abducted from 18-seater bus on Kogi-Abuja highway

Passengers were on Wednesday evening abducted from an 18-seater bus at Ochonyi-Omoko village along the Abuja-Lokoja highway in Kogi State.

The incident happened around 8pm, according to a passenger, Benjamin Isaac, who escaped from being abducted by the bandits.

He alleged that the attackers hid in a bush and opened fire on the moving vehicle, deflating the back tyres and forcing the car to a stop.

He explained, “They opened fire on back tyres which forced the driver to lose control. When the driver veered off the road, the gunmen came out of hiding and ordered all the passengers to come out. They led us into the bush at gunpoint.”

Isaac said he miraculously managed to escape from the scene with other passengers and ran into the bus to avoid being abducted by the bandits.

A vigilante, who sought anonymity confirmed the abduction, saying he was performing ablution nearby when he was startled by the gunshots.

He added that immediately after his prayers, he reached out to his colleagues and mobilised to the scene, stressing that they discovered a bus abandoned by the roadside without passengers inside.

He explained that was when they discovered that some passengers from the bus were abducted, saying that he and his colleagues were still combing the forest to trace the gunmen and rescue the victims.

DSP Williams Ovye Ayah, the spokesman of the Kogi State Police Command, did not respond to calls put across to him to confirm the incident as of the time of filing this report.

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Adeleke accuses Oyetola govt of looting government assets

The Osun State Governor-elect, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has warned Governor Gboyega Oyetola and his allies against diversion and looting of government assets and public properties.

Adeleke alerted the general public to clandestine moves to convert public properties to private ownership and bankrupt state finances ahead of change of government.

The governor-elect in a statement by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, alleged unwholesome criminal activities by some government functionaries and appointees, including some serving commissioners and top government officials under the watch of Governor Oyetola.

Adeleke said that the appointees are stealing and converting state assets into private ownership, illegal awards of licences and incurring of superfluous loans and expenditure.

According to the statement, “We have it on good authority that Osun state assets within the state, Kogi, Lagos, Abuja and outside the country are being tampered with for private acquisition.

Adeleke stated that he has detailed reports that several properties are currently being processed for ownership transfer.

“Emerging reports also indicate several shady conducts ongoing within the state finance ministry aside N17 billion loan allegedly taken by the Governor to prosecute the lost election, we are inundated with credible reports of emergency contract awards, hurried processing of payments vouchers and a grand agenda to incure further debt under the guise of project implementation. There is an elaborate plot to further bankrupt the state to complicate governance under the new administration,” he said.

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Governor Oyetola set to engage 50 lawyers to challenge Adeleke’s victory in Osun guber polls.

The Governor of Osun state, Gboyega Oyetola may hire no less than 50 lawyers, including senior advocates, to challenge the victory of Ademola Adeleke, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, in last Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

This hint of action was given on Tuesday, by a member of the governor’s legal team, Kunle Adegoke.

In an interview with Punch, Adegoke revealed that the results declared by INEC was undergoing review.

He said, “We are still reviewing documents and the legal team is actually working. In an election of this nature, the documents will be so many; so it is important to look at them critically before we make a decision and that is exactly what we are working on right now.

“Dr Biodun Layonu (SAN), is the leader of the team. The legal team is not complete yet because there are so many others that will still come in.

“In the meantime, the two members of the legal team we can reveal are Dr Biodum Layonu and Kunle Adegoke. Others that may come in are people we may not know but as soon as we are ready to move, we will notify the press.

“The membership can’t be determined as many lawyers are interested in joining the team. You know election petition is a special case. So, we allow as many lawyers that are interested to come in. We may run into 50 or more members.”

However, PDP and the governor-elect, Adeleke warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against allowing the All Progressives Congress to tamper with election materials.

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Awujale Of Ijebu-land Sues Gospel Singer Yinka Ayefele Over Alleged Defamation.

The Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, has sued Yinka Ayefele, owner of internet fresh FM 105.9 radio Station at the High Court of Oyo state over alleged defamation.

He is asking for N200 billion as damages and compensation for the defamation contained In the radio programme.

The claimant said on December 22, 2019 during the course of the radio station programme, entitled, ‘Talk your own with Chikito Duru’, the defendant stored on his news server published or caused to be published by his internet website, which has the address http://www.facebook.comfreshfmibadanvideos from Dec 22. 2019 till Sept 4, 2020.

In a statement of claim, the counsel to the claimant, Ayanlaja Adesanya, noted that the said words referred and were understood to refer to the claimant in their natural and ordinary meaning and are calculated to disparage the claimant in his status as a person of global repute and in his office as the Awujale and paramount ruler of Ijebuland.

“The claimant has also been injured in his credit, character and reputation and has been lowered in the estimation of right thinking members of society generally and hurt in his feelings.

“The defendant published the said words concerning the claimant out of malevolence or spite to promote the defendant’s business with a view of increasing profit in terms of financial income and gain,” he maintained.

The claimant insisted that the defendant was aware that the said words were defamatory and are untrue, since it was alleged to have occurred in 1984, adding that the defendant was reckless to check whether or not the publication was true, but blinded by the prospect of the material advantage of using the person and office of the claimant to attract more listeners to it’s programmes.

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KEKE RIDER SHOOT DEAD BY A PASTOR POLICE ESCORT IN DELTA

Delta State Police Command on Monday confirmed the arrest of Apostle Michael Akpor, the founder of Palace of God Bible Church at Uti Street, Effurun in Delta State in connection to the murder.

The cleric was arrested alongside the mobile policemen attached to him for allegedly shooting two persons to death at the Ugbolokpoko Junction in Effurun on Tuesday.

Two tricycle passengers were shot dead while the tricycle rider was injured by a police escort at Ugbolokposo in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State on Tuesday evening.

A witness, however, explained that the tricycle rider was trying to overtake the VIP convoy when the armed escort of policemen opened fire on the occupants.

In the process, two persons were shot dead while the Keke (tricycle) rider sustained gunshot injuries.

It was gathered that one of the deceased, a ticket collector at Ugbolokposu Junction was identified as Apepe and the other was a meat vendor at Effurun Market simply identified as Charlie.

Angry youths and tricycle riders following the incident, in a show of solidarity, stormed the Ebrumede Police Station Tuesday night and threatened to set it on fire.

However, the police during an investigation revealed that the mobile policemen escorting Apostle Michael Akpor were the ones involved in the killing at Ugbolokpoko Junction.

The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bright Edafe, who confirmed the development to news men said the investigation was still ongoing.
Source Sahara reporters

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23-year-old man hacks girlfriend to death with machete over iPhone in Delta

A 22-year-old female student of the Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro, Gift Oloku, has been killed by her boyfriend over iPhone.

The incident happened at Etevie quarters in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area of the state on Saturday, July 16, 2022.

The suspect identified as Godspower Adegheji, 23, allegedly hacked the deceased to death with a machete.

Spokesperson of the Sate Police Command, DSP Bright Edafe, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday, said the suspect has been arrested

According to Edafe, the suspect killed the Gift after she mistakenly broke his IPhone while they were fighting.

“This is Godspower Adegheji of Etevie quarters Ozoro, age 23yrs, he killed his girlfriend Gift Oloku ‘f’ aged 22yrs in ozoro using a machete after she mistakenly broke his IPhone 11pro max while they were fighting cos she went out without telling him. He has been arrested.” the spokesperson stated.

According to The Nation, trouble started on Saturday night when the suspect accused the deceased of infidelity after she went out without telling him and a fight broke out between them, leading to her death.

The suspect took the corpse to the State General Hospital on Sunday morning where the victim was confirmed dead.

A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “It happened today (Saturday) at Ozoro. A guy beat his girlfriend to death with machete. People said he was high that he didn’t do it with his clear eyes because he didn’t run away after killing her, instead, he rushed her to a general hospital

“I just confirmed that the girl is a student of the school, but the guy is not. Maybe he has graduated. The guy must have been on drugs last night It was this morning that the guy regained himself. After seeing what he had done, he rushed the girl to the hospital.”

A video footage making the round online showed the lifeless body of the deceased lying on a stretcher while the suspect was being flogged by a mob.

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Osun: I’m Not Aware Of PDP Victory, Oyetola’s Loss – Adamu

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, on Sunday disclosed that he was unaware a winner has emerged in the aftermath of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.

Adamu’s statement is coming in the wake of the party’s candidate, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s loss to the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, Ademola Adeleke.

Oyetola had polled 375,027 votes and won in 13 local government areas of the state to come second behind Adeleke in the election.

When asked to make comment after the election, the governor said the leadership of the APC in the state will respond to the result of Saturday’s governorship poll after studying it.

He also called on his supporters to remain calm, and go about their respective businesses without fomenting trouble or resulting to violence.

His loss in Saturday’s poll has, however, come to the APC national chair as a surprise.

Adamu, who appeared on Arise TV programme on Sunday, denied having knowledge of the winner of the Osun governorship election.

He told the presenter, “With due respect, my dear brother, I am just really hearing this from you. I have not formally heard the announcement from INEC, which is the independent commission responsible for election in Nigeria.

“I have not heard from them yet. Once I hear formally from INEC, I can be in a position to answer this particular question.”

When reminded that the results and the breakdown of the ballots from the 30 local government areas were all over the pages of major newspapers across the country, Adamu remained adamant.

“Between me and you, I have not formally heard from INEC and I have not read the papers you are talking about. I do read some papers on my table before I have my breakfast but I haven’t done that today yet,” he said.

When prodded further on whether the party will accept defeat if he finally gets to see the result and breakdown of voting pattern, the APC chair stuck to his gun.

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15 things to know about Osun Gov-elect, Adeleke

1. Ademola Nurudeen Jackson is from the Adeleke family of Ede, in Osun State.
2. He was a Senator that represented the Osun-west senatorial district between 2017 and 2019.
3. Adeleke is a father of five including B-Red and uncle to popular musician, Davido.
4. Adeleke commenced his primary education at Methodist Primary School, Surulere Lagos State then relocated to Old Oyo State and attended Nawarudeen Primary School, Ikire.
5. He progressed to The Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School, Ede also in the then Old Oyo State and later moved to Ede Muslim Grammar School Ede, where he finished his secondary school education before relocating to the United States.
6. He started higher studies at Jacksonville State University, Alabama in the United States where he majored in criminal justice and with minor in political science.
7. After much controversies surrounding his educational qualification, he went back to school and got enrolled at Atlanta Metropolitan State College in the United States where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice in 2021.
8. Adeleke started his political career in 2001 alongside his late brother Senator Isiaka Adeleke who died on April 2017.
9. He was a member of the All Progressives Congress until he decamped to the People’s Democratic Party in April 2017.
10. He contested in the Osun west 2017 by-election after the death of his brother, emerging as the winner under the People’s Democratic Party.
11. Adeleke ran for Osun state governorship election under the PDP against top contenders Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola of APC and Iyiola Omisore of SDP on 22 September 2018.
12. The election was declared inconclusive by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and a rerun slated on 27 September 2018. The candidate of the APC Oyetola was declared winner after the run-off. Adeleke protested the result describing the election as a “coup”.
13. On 22 March 2019 the tribunal sitting in Abuja declared Adeleke the winner of the election.
14. The Supreme Court later affirmed Gboyega Oyetola as the authentic winner of the 2018 Osun State governorship election on Friday, 5 July 2019.
15. He contested the 2022 Osun state gubernatorial election and won with a total vote of 403, 371 over the incumbent governor, Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola, who got a total vote of 375, 027.

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192 National Assembly members set to dump APC

The Planning and Strategy Committee of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Organisation has notified the hierarchy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the possibility of about 192 National Assembly (NASS) members defecting from the ruling party to opposition parties.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that this follows the outcome of the party primaries in May and June where some top members failed in their bid to secure their return ticket.

The committee was chaired by a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal. Members included a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; serving senators Opeyemi Bamidele, Ishaku Abbo, Grace Bent and Basiru Ajibola; member of the House of Reps, Musa Sarkin-Adar, Komsol Longgap and Olawale Raji; former senators Adesoji Akanbi, Abu Ibrahim and Magnus Abe.

Some others were the Director-General, Tinubu Support Group, Umar Mohammed; Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Silas Agara; former deputy governor of Lagos State (under Tinubu), Femi Pedro; Safaa Adam; Amina Indala; Kashim Imam; Akin Awodeyi-Akinseyiwa; Saadatu Garba; Abubakar Sanusi and M.T Usman.

“There is a need to reach out to the principal officers of the National Assembly and the party leadership at the national, state, zonal and local government levels to mitigate and assuage the aggrieved persons.

“It is worrisome that 22 serving senators and 170 National Assembly members are set to defect from the APC,” the report, sighted by this newspaper, reads in part.

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Ademola Adeleke Defeats Tinubu’s Cousin, Incumbent Governor Oyetola

Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won 17 of the 30 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the Osun State governorship election.

Incumbent Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC), however, won in the remaining 13 LGAs.

This comes as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collates the results of the governorship election conducted on Saturday.

The collation exercise, which commenced in the early hours of Sunday, is ongoing at the INEC office in Osogbo, the state capital.

See the breakdown of the collated results for the 30 LGAs below:

Ife East LG

APC – 19,353

PDP – 18,071

Ife South LG

APC – 12,481

PDP – 9,116

Atakunmosa East LG

APC – 7,449

PDP – 6,992

Irewole LG

APC – 18,198

PDP – 14,216

Egbedore LG

APC – 9,228

PDP – 13,230

Ede North LG

APC – 9,603

PDP – 23,931

Ejigbo LG

APC – 14,355

PDP – 18,065

Isokan LG

APC – 10,833

PDP – 10,777

Ede South LGA

APC – 5,704

PDP – 19,438

Iwo LGA

APC – 17,421

PDP – 16,914

Ola Oluwa LGA

APC – 9,123

PDP – 7,205

Aiyedaade LG

APC – 14,527

PDP – 13,380

Ori Ade LG

APC – 14,189

PDP – 15,947

Irepodun LG

APC – 12,122

PDP – 14,369

Ife Central LG

APC – 17,880

PDP – 13,532

Ifedayo LG

APC – 5,016

PDP – 4,730

Ife North LG

APC – 9,964

PDP – 10,359

Olorunda LG

APC – 18,709

PDP – 21,350

Orolu LG

APC – 9,928

PDP – 10,282

Obokun LG

APC – 9,727

PDP – 13,575

Boripe LG

APC – 21,205

PDP – 7,595

Odo Otin LG

APC – 13,482

PDP – 14,003

Aiyedire LG

APC – 7,868

PDP – 7,402

Ilesha West LG

APC – 10,777

PDP – 13,769

Ifelodun LG

APC – 16,068

PDP – 17,107

Atakunmosa West LG

APC – 6,601

PDP – 7,750

Ila LG

APC – 11,163

PDP – 13,036

Osogbo LG

APC – 22,952

PDP – 30,401

Ilesha East LG

APC – 13,452

PDP – 10,969

Boluwaduro LG

APC – 5,649

PDP – 5,869

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