Category: News

After days of protests by Nigerians against police brutality, President Muhammadu Buhari and dissolved the Special Anti Robbery Squad of the Police.

In a live broadcast on Sunday, Muhammed Adamu, inspector general of police, said the unit had been abolished “with immediate effect”. He added, however, that all SARS officers would be redeployed to other police commands, formations and units.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has long been accused of harassment, unlawful arrests, torture and even murders. Thousands of Nigerians marched across the country with several protests staged in Nigerian foreign missions worldwide.

Freed Port Harcourt-based female lawyer Miss Bisola Ajayi has disclosed that she escaped death by divine providence, following the timely intervention of operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, Rivers State Command.

Miss Ajayi, who disclosed that her captors increased their ransom from N50 million to N200 million, said the boys that kidnapped her last Sunday, had concluded to take her to the swamp to be killed before policemen suddenly appeared.

She made the disclosure while fielding questions from reporters shortly after the State Commissioner of Police, CP Joseph Mukan, had briefed the media on her release.

The lawyer said the hoodlums became afraid of how news about her abduction had gone round and had resolved on Wednesday night to kill her.

Ajayi narrated:
‘On Sunday evening, I was taken (kidnapped) by unknown gunmen in front of my house. They shot at me and took me in front of my family members. In fact, the told me they came for my family members.

‘I didn’t know where they kept me. But, they asked for ransom of N50 million. By the next day, the ransom went up to N200 million because everybody has reported that I was missing.
‘In fact, as at yesterday (Wednesday), they had decided that they would kill me. I want to thank everyone that ensured that I came home alive.
‘Some of the boys were violent, they kept on beating me. But, there were a few of them that told me that they would let me go if the ransom is paid.
‘There was one of them, in particular, that was surprised that I didn’t have a bullet wound. He thought that I have some charm on me. So, he kept on checking my body. I told him no, that it was Jesus Christ that saved me.
‘They were looking for how to kill me because they were certain that with the news that had gone round, somehow, something was going to go wrong. So, they planned yesterday night to move me into the swamp to kill me. So, the Police came just in time. All I could do is just to pray,’ she stated.

The lady, however, thanked Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, Nigerian Bar Association and others that contributed to her safe rescue.

‘I just want to thank the Governor of Rivers State (Nyesom Wike), the State Commissioner of Police (Joseph Mukan), National President of Nigeria Bar Association and Chairman of Port Harcourt branch of NBA, the Anti-Kidnap Unit and everyone that put in the effort to get me freed from them (kidnappers),’ she expressed.

Her rescue came barely two days after the State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, disclosed that preliminary investigation had revealed the gang behind her abduction. He disclosed this when members of the task force set up by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to secure the release of the young female lawyer visited him in Port Harcourt.

The mother of 21-year-old Blessing Olusegun is demanding the cause of her daughter’s death whose body was found lying on a beach in East Sussex, a region in the United Kingdom, according to the Evening Standard.

One of Olusegun’s close friend and work colleague, Christiana Sofolabo, described her death as “mysterious“.

However, the Sussex police, while describing the death as “unexplained” have said they are not currently treating it as suspicious.

Olusegun was a London business student who was on a one-week placement as a live-in carer for elderly dementia patients at a home run by Agincare in Bexhill, a seaside town, two hours drive from London.

According to CCTV footage, she was walking towards the beach around 1 am on September 18, but cameras did not reveal what happened next.

Ms Olusegun was speaking on the phone to her boyfriend and a close friend and told them to stay on the line.

Her iPhone and slippers were also found a few metres from her body.

“I’m devastated beyond words,” Mrs Esther Abe, Olusegun’s mother told the UK-based Evening Standard. “I spoke to Blessing the day before and she was fine.

“Then the police came to say she was dead. A member of the public saw her body on the beach early in the morning.

“I’m a mother and I need to know what happened to my daughter. Did she come to harm?

“Blessing did not have any friends in Bexhill – all of them are in London. She was only supposed to be there for a week.

“She had so much to do in her life. Now I will not see her mature into a beautiful, gorgeous and talented woman. I don’t know what I am going to.”

Police Statement:

The Sussex police have said they are still investigating the death in a bid to establish the cause of death.

“On Friday September 18, the body of a woman was found lying on the beach at Bexhill near Galley Hill,” the police said.

“The body was identified as that of Blessing Olusegun, 21, of Eltham, London.

“Police have been investigating the circumstances and the death is being treated as unexplained though not suspicious at this stage.

“A post mortem took place on September 24 and further forensic tests are being carried out in order for the cause of death to be established. Police enquiries are continuing in liaison with the Coroners Officer.”

We call on the US, UK and the EU to issue visa ban against the Inspector General of Police, Director General of SSS, Chief of Army Staff, other heads or security agencies or any State Commissioner of Police, Director of SSS or Army Commandant at the state levels who oversees the clampdown on protesters tomorrow.

It is no longer news that Nigeria is increasingly becoming a repressive state, and the security agencies have surrendered their constitutional responsibility and made themselves a tool in the hands of the government. These security agencies have criminalized the act of protest, an otherwise constitutional right, in an attempt to shield the government of the day from criticism.

Sadly, the Nigerian judiciary has not been able to stand up and be counted. The citizens are, therefore, left at the mercy of state actors who have developed the penchant for indiscriminately arresting protesters.

As members of the civil societies get ready to lead a citizen movement against bad governance in Nigeria, tomorrow, it is imperative to call on the United States of America, United Kingdom and the European Union to place visa ban on any member of the security agency who makes himself available to the government of the day, tomorrow, for the purpose of suppressing the protesters. This visa ban should equally be extended to their family members.

This call is made with deep sense of responsibility, as it appears that the only wedge between state actors in Nigeria and totally authoritarianism is visa ban.

Signed:
Comrade Deji Adeyanju
For: CONCERNED NIGERIANS GROUP

The Nigerian Government has received samples of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Russia’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Alexey Shebarshin, delivered the samples to the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, on Friday in Abuja.

The minister said the vaccine would be referred to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control as well as the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, amongst other agencies, for review and possible validation.

Russia had in August announced that it had produced the first batch of its COVID-19 vaccine after President Vladimir Putin announced it had been first in the world to approve a vaccine.

Putin said the vaccine was safe and that one of his own daughters had been inoculated, though clinical trials were not yet complete and final stage testing involving more than 2,000 people only started this week.

The Russian vaccine is called “Sputnik V” after the Soviet-era satellite that was first launched into space in 1957.

Heavy Drama As Ekeh Nnamdi Roll In Mud After His Lover Miss Charity Odunze Rejected His Proposal At Relief Market, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. Mr Ekeh who is a bricklayer while speaking with journalists said from his little income that he trained Miss Charity in the university only to be dumped after 5 years.

Ekeh advised men to use their money for gambling than investing it in any woman. Ekeh also stated that Miss Charity was the 3rd woman to treat him in such manner, he concluded that majority of women out there are fraudsters who sees relationship as opportunity to dupe innocent men.

Lord have mercy on ingrate. Sad.

About two weeks ago, we saw a video online about a mother of two who was allegedly abandoned by her husband due to her blue eyes. Her two children have similar blue eyes. In the video, she claims her husband abandoned her because of her blue eyes and because her two children have similar eyes. The story caught my attention as a paediatrician and a mother.

My first reaction was to organise a meeting with husband and wife’s family to educate them. However, I had my doubts about the story. This was mainly due to the fact that Risikat had the said eyes from birth and husband married her with the same. And went ahead to have three children. I started to wonder about the initial story more and more as the husband, Abdulwasiu, was interviewed and he told his own side of the story.

Now, what followed was what I didn’t prepare for. The family were turned into stars with all kinds and shades of people trooping to the poor neighbourhood where she lives with her parents. Politics also came in and we have heard all types of promises from the family and social media.
What’s the real story?

The young family of Abdulwasiu and Risikat suffered from financial shocks that arose from the admission of the twins they had close to two years ago. That was her second birth and the babies were born prematurely. They ended up at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital neonatal intensive care unit. The family spent all they had and sold practically all they had. Thereafter, one of the twins died. Risikat had difficulties coping with no food and other necessities. She moved back to her parents’ house. Yes, hubby isn’t a saint and his family didn’t do their best for the young couple. However, it was the lack of sustainability that led to the crisis.
From the stories told, I am sure this is obvious.

Both Risikat and her husband are not educated. Risikat (dropped out of doing her WASSCE because of lack of money) had a small patent medicine shop which crumbled during the said admission of the twins. The husband is a vulcaniser and owns a bike. Do you see the family dynamics? There are millions of young families like this in Nigeria without social security. No health insurance and no support for the children too.

I am therefore surprised at the media hype and story line without anyone stopping to ask questions. I suspected some people wanted to gain from the story and exploitation of the naive lady had started in earnest with someone appointing herself as her manager and another, her lawyer. She has suddenly become a big company that needs to be managed. And percentages are already being discussed. Sad!
What the family needs is a means of livelihood. Get a tricycle (Marwa) for the husband and get a patent medicine shop going for the wife. Support them with a little cash and foodstuff. If assisting them with accommodation is on the table, do so in an area they can sustain in the next two or three years.

Some of the most absurd things I have heard in the saga is that the children will be placed in a highbrow school where hundreds of thousands will be spent. By who and for what purpose? Even I won’t send my grandchildren to such schools! Help the family put the children in a school they can go on paying themselves in the next two years. Don’t create a false status in the family and throw them into disarray.
Assist them realistically and in a way that is sustainable. Don’t widen the rift in the family by pulling the lady further from her husband. Talks about relocation to Lagos to model smack of attempts to explore, expose, use and gain from the lady. At the end, she is dumped!

Can you locate the lady and her children? Ordinary people. Let them go on with a better life in peace. Instead of running to each case that’s hyped in the media, my prayer is that government becomes more responsible towards providing basic education, universal health coverage, good housing, potable water and social safety nets for its citizens. This is not about Kwara State alone but Nigeria as a nation. Our citizens deserve better deals.

Prof Aisha Ahmed Gobir is a Paediatric Consultant at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.

Fortunes have come the way of Oreofeoluwa Lawal-Babalola, a young boy who went viral in a recent video begging his mother to Calm Down and rest a little, when mother tried to whip him.

This is just as an Abuja-based real estate outfit, T Pumpy Concept Limited has signed the young boy as one of its brand ambassadors, NIGERIA DEFENDER reports.

The 4-year-old kid became a social media sensation after a video of him trying to convince the mum from punishing him in a dramatic way him went viral online.

Oreofeoluwa signed a two-year contract with the real estate company on Saturday at its corporate headquarters in Abuja.

Speaking shortly before the contract was signed, the MD/CEO of T Pumpy Concept Limited, Mr. Akintayo Adaralegbe, said he was moved by the boy’s courage and boldness during the conversation with his mum in the viral video.

He described his action as smart, intelligent and resilient.

“While many people only watched and laughed over the 3-minute-18-second footage I learnt a lot from it.

“He’s courageous, bold and innovative. It reminds us that as a people, no matter the situation, we should learn to CALM DOWN!

“We decided to bring him on board because of his courage, tenacity and power to negotiate, which are some of the things what T Pumpy stands for.

“On behalf of the staff and management of T Pumpy Concept Limited, I welcome Master Oreofeoluwa to this family.”

Speaking shortly after signing the contract on behalf of the young man, his mother, Mrs. Lawal-Babalola, thanked T Pumpy for reaching out to the son.

She promised to do everything within her power to make sure the young man attains his dreams.

When asked to comment on his new endorsement, a visibly-elated Oreofeoluwa said “before you buy any land in Abuja, calm down and come to T Pumpy Estate, the developer that cares and your future is assured.”

T Pumpy also signed Ibadan-based comedy merchant, Ayo Ajewole, famously known as Woli Agba and Kannywood actress, Nafisa Abdullahi as its brand ambassadors.

Meanwhile, T Pumpy also parades other top entertainers such as Nollywood actors, Femi Adebayo, Tayo Odueke AKA Sikira Sindodo, singer Sule Alao Malaika, Keji and Osundare Damilare also known as Asiri comedy.

The T-Pumpy Concept team has decades of providing industry-acclaimed off-site home designs and constructions with housing estates spread across Lugbe, Guzape, Karasana, kyami, Life Camp, Jabi, Wawa and Kuje.

Whether you’re interested in a manufactured home or an innovative modular design, the T-Pumpy Concept team continues to deliver what home buyers are looking for in their new homes along with the quality construction they expect and deserve.

Owner of popular down town restaurant, Iyabo Popoola known is Nigeria social circle as Iyabo Onigbin is dead.

Iyabo a very popular socialite and caterer in the late 90s till early years and post millennium held sway as the most frequent joint by most Yoruba artists when they visit London.

Iyabo Onigbin Restaurant, located 201 Lewisham Way, London SE 1UY played host to top Fuji and Juju musicians and politicians on short visit to London.

Her hubby died about a year ago while sources disclosed to Newsmen that she has been battling an undisclosed illness for a while.

She has sold her business interest years back due to bad health condition including eye issues.

May her soul continue to rest in peace and may Iyabo find peace with her maker, Amen.