A 32-year-old businessman, Ezekiel Igbokwe, has been arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly killing his wife’s lover, Victor Olatundun.

Igbokwe was said to have killed Olatundun after he caught him having sex with his wife at their matrimonial home.

The suspect allegedly committed the offence at about 12am at Peace Lodge on Itura Street, Awa Ijebu, Ijebu-North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The suspect, who committed the crime on Wednesday, July 27, was arrested by the police the following day.

Igbokwe and his 28-year-old wife were among the 23 suspects paraded at the Ogun State Police Command headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, on Thursday, for various offences ranging from murder to illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

Igbokwe, who said he was a businessman, explained that he had returned from his trip to Onitsha and met Victor on top of his wife on their matrimonial bed.

He said he picked a machete in the toilet and cut the victim in the neck and hand.

Olatundun reportedly died on the way to the hospital.

Igbokwe, who deals in electronics, said he was born in Ago Iwoye, Ogun State.

He said, “I travelled to Onitsha on July 25, and when I came back on July 27, I met a man inside my room making love to my wife. Then we started fighting. The man was stronger than me. When I saw he could overpower me, I got a cutlass in my toilet and dealt him blows in the hand and neck. On the way to the hospital, the fuel in the car finished and he died.”

Igbokwe said he committed the crime due to anger, adding that he never meant to kill the victim.

He claimed that he had never met Olatundun before, saying he also never suspected that his wife was having an extra-marital affair with anyone.
We where told that Igbokwe and his wife, Juliet, have three children aged nine, seven and five.

Juliet, who sobbed intermittently, said her alleged lover had been pressurising her for a relationship for some time.

She explained that she had always told him she was married, but the victim never gave up until he ended up at their matrimonial home on that night.

Juliet, who said she sold snuff, said Victor was her supplier and he pestered her for six months before she finally gave in.

She said she suspected that the deceased used a charm on her, as she could not explain how it all happened.

She said, “He had been disturbing me that he wanted to marry me, but I said I was married.

“On the day of the incident, I really can’t say if he used a charm on me. All I know is that he called me that he wanted to see me and I told him not to come; he knew my house and when he came, I didn’t know what happened.

“He used to come and deliver snuff to me in the house. On the day of the incident, he told me he was coming from somewhere and that it was already late. He wanted to sleep in our place till the next day. He didn’t know that my husband was away. He tried to sleep with me, but later he didn’t.”

Juliet, who claimed that she got married to her husband in 2005, said the husband did not take good care of her and the children.

She said their marriage had been turbulent and fraught with fights and quarrels.

The mother of three said each time there was a fight, her husband would leave the house for months.

Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, on Saturday advised President Muhammadu Buhari against marginanisation of any part of  the country in his appointments.

In the statement by his media aide, Mr. Maximus Ugwuoke, which was apparently released in response to media reports that the cleric attacked the President in a recent message, where he lamented the level of hunger and hardship in the country, Mbaka said that he only admonished the President against marginalising parts of the country in his appointments.

The statement reads, “Fr. Mbaka equally advised the President on being careful about how he appoints people to prominent positions, so that no region will appear marginalised, as happened in Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation board and charged the President to make sure that those around him are not misguiding him.

“He advised the President on human empowerment and making sure that those who worked for him (Buhari) during the election ought to be empowered – as one good turn deserves another.”
“Fr. Mbaka merely reinstated the obvious sufferings that Nigerian are facing (which even the President himself had at points acknowledged and sued for patience and perseverance) and advised the President on the ways to tackle it, that is, by engaging economic gurus and listening to good advisers.

“He pleaded the President to begin a war against hunger, as many are dying hopelessly.

“He stressed that if the hunger, anger and danger continue, Nigerians may not vote for him again, as they would mistake him for the cause of these maladies while in fact he is a solution.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has presented food and non-food items to the military for Operation Safe Corridor Programme meant to de-radicalize, rehabilitate and re-integrate eight hundred (800) repented and surrendered Boko Haram insurgents to fast track peace process in the North east.

Suspected terrorists arrested while attempting to escape into Cameroon through Taraba and Gumti, Adamawa State. File photo NEMA’s Director General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani Sidi who made the presentation in Gombe, said “The initiative, which is in line with international best practices allowed those engaged in the fighting to voluntarily surrender and embrace peace so that they undergo rehabilitation”. He said NEMA would play its role in the programme by providing regular support of food and non-food items for their up keep. Items to be released for this purpose every three months include; 410 bags of rice, 400 bags of beans, 200 bags of millet, 200 bags of sorghum, 750 cartons of spaghetti, 50 cartons of Maggi cubes and 810 cartons tomato paste.

 A statement signed by Sani Datti said,  “Other items are 101 Vegetable oil in 20 liter kegs, 101 palm oil in 20 liter kegs, 50 bags of salt, 100 bags of sugar, 420 cartons of milk and 420 cartons of Milo chocolate. “The non- food items include; 800 pieces of mattress, 500 hundred pieces of blanket, 500 pieces of nylon mats, 1000 plastic buckets, 1000 plastic spoons, 1000 plastic cups 1000, plastics plates, 1000 plastic pairs of slippers, 2000 men’s wear, 63 cartons of bath soap and 1000 bath towels”. Receiving the items, the Coordinator of  Operation Safe Corridor, Brigadier- General BM Shafa said the initiative was designed to de-radicalize, rehabilitate and re-integrate willing and repented Boko Haram insurgents who have come out to surrender to the military and believing that it would quicken the peace process in the North east. “Between September last year and February this year a good number of Boko haram have come out to surrender” he added. He thanked the Gombe State Government for providing the location and giving them all the necessary support. About eleven (11) agencies of Federal Government are directly involved in the Operation Safe Corridor programme.

Abuja—The Federal Government yesterday said it was ready to pay death benefits, promotion arrears and other outstanding debts running close to N300 billion to civil servants. Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja. She said government would pay the outstanding arrears to federal civil servants in phases, particularly those on promotion arrears, repatriation allowance and death benefits, among others, amounting to about N293 billion.

Oyo-Ita, who addressed the press during the 2016 Civil Service Week celebration, said President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to explore ways to make the payments. She said government had delayed payment due to financial challenges currently facing the country. Oyo-Ita stated that the affected workers would be paid their benefit claims after the conclusion of the phased payment formula, which the Service was reconciling in collaboration with the office of the Accountant

General of the Federation. She assured that staff welfare would be addressed from many fronts, noting that the service was exploring the possibility of providing bulk payments of rent allowances for workers within this financial year. Mrs. Oyo-Ita stated further that a committee had since been set up on national salary review and would sit with the relevant stakeholders to take a decision on pay rise. She added that there was no plan to retrench workers, saying “it is cruel to throw people into the labour market.”

The Nigerian President has reiterated the commitment of his administration to the clean-up of Ogoniland in Rivers State.

President Muhammadu Buhari said this during the inauguration of the board of trustees and members of the governing council for the clean-up at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The federal government recently launched the clean-up of Ogoniland with a promise to expedite action on it.

But criticisms have trailed the delay in kick-starting the project, weeks after the exercise was launched.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, it will take between 25 to 30 years to restore the oil-polluted environment to a clean state.

President Buhari had made similar promise in January 2016 during a visit to the United Nations office in the Kenyan capital, where he urged the United Nations to give more support for his administration’s efforts to clean up the region.

“When I came into office on May 29, 2015, one of the first tasks I carried out was to authorise the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) for the clean-up of Ogoniland.

“The devastation caused by oil spillage has destroyed many lives and livelihoods and is clearly one of the reasons why many people in that region lost faith in government and resorted to the many criminal activities we are seeing in the region today.

“The action our government took to implement UNEP’s recommendations has given the indigenes of the region hope that there are better days ahead.

“Let me, therefore, express appreciation on behalf of the government of Nigeria to UNEP and other development partners for their cooperation and support on this very delicate matter and also request for their continued support as we implement the recommendations and transform the fortunes of the region,” President Buhari said.

The Nigerian Army and Nigeria Police were on Wednesday engaged in a gun battle in Geidam Local Government Area of Yobe State.
Residents of Geidam town told Channels Television on phone that “sporadic and prolonged gun duel between the two Nigeria forces has caused “pandemonium” in the town.

Witnesses said the two forces engaged themselves in a serious gun battle as sounds of both small and heavy weapons are being heard across town with much concentration around the Mai Idris Aloma Polytechnic laying in between the military base and the Geidam Police station.

The spokesman of the 27th Task Force Brigade in Yobe State, Lt. George Okupe and the Police Public Relations Officer ASP Samaila Solomon, who both confirmed the clash said it occurred as a result of little misunderstanding between both parties.

The officers who could not give further details on the misunderstanding said the situation is currently under control.

On the level of casualties and destruction as a result of the gun duel, they said it’s too early to assess the extent of damage but details will be given as they unfold.

This clash between security forces is the first since the commencement of the Boko Haram insurgency in Yobe State.

Geidam is 184 KMs away from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital and shares common border with Yunusari Local Government Area bordering the Niger Republic.

Nurses at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Ugbowo, Benin-City are appealing to security agencies in the state to protect them from the frequent kidnappings which is already affecting the quality of service delivery.
The nurses made this appeal during a peaceful protest to the headquarters of the Edo State Police Command in Benin City.

They said that the recent incident which is the fourth in less than two months occurred on Wednesday at the Iguosa axis of Benin City, the Edo State capital.

The constitution allows the lawmakers to reduce the amount in the appropriation bill but they cannot increase it.

This is the view of a Snr Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, who spoke on the issue in an interview with Channels Television.

Mr Falana said that the lawmakers need to understand the limit of their powers with regards to the passing of the budget.
The President shall prepare and lay before the National Assembly. It (the constitution) does not say in the course of debating the budget, the National Assembly shall prepare and lay before itself.

“Once you understand that, you will agree with me that any attempt to rewrite the budget without sending it to the Executive is illegal.

“What the National Assembly can do by way of debating or scrutinising that budget is (to ensure) that nobody has played a fast one on the country.

“If there is any suspicion that the figure has been inflated, the National Assembly can look at it but they cannot increase that figure.

Men of the Department of State Security Service (DSS), have sealed the office of the House Committee on Appropriation. This comes as the budget padding scandal rocking the House of Representatives continues.

The former chairman of the committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, is said to have petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over his claim of budget padding by the principal officers of the House.

This move by the DSS is believed to prevent any attempt to tamper with documents in the office of the appropriation committee.

The DSS officials were said to have stormed the appropriation committee’s secretariat in the National Assembly complex and locked it up.

The Sokoto State Government said on Thursday that it had discovered no fewer than 12,915 ‘ghost workers,’ in the payrolls of the 23 local government areas of the state.

Alhaji Mannir Dan-Iya, the Commissioner for Local Government and Community Development, disclosed this at a media briefing in Sokoto.

”The ministry, through the monitoring department and other stakeholders have concluded a local government junior staff verification of about 58,143 workers, comprising of scheduled and unscheduled staff.

”The verification exercise yielded fruitful result, whereby about 12, 915 workers, comprising of seat-at-home and ghost workers were fished out of the local governments’ staff payrolls.
”The state government also saved over N 319m from the exercise, hence, it was a huge success,” he said.

Dan-Iya said that the ministry is planning to conduct a similar verification exercise of senior staff, whose salaries are paid through their respective banks.

A suspected cult group on Thursday killed a father and his son in Makurdi, the Benue State capital. It was alleged that one of Akogwu’s sons, who is now at large, is a member of the group.

It was further learnt that the suspected cultists at about 4am invaded residence of the deceased in search of the son.

A neighbour who simply identified himself as Mr Adah said that the cult group laid ambush around Akogwu’s apartment.

He said, “It was when the mother of the boy, a food seller, who usually came out early to prepare for her business, opened the door that she stormed into them and started shouting.

“The screaming attracted the deceased’s husband’s attention. He quickly took his cutlass behind his bed and ran out to find out why the wife was shouting. It was at that point that the cult boys opened fire and killed him instantly. They sighted the son and also shot at him and killed too.

Mr Adah said that the killers attempted to set the corpses and their home ablaze but the arrival of the police stopped them.

Sacked factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen Ali Modu Sheriff and eight others have approached the Federal High Court, Abuja for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the party from conducting the national convention slated for August 17.

He also wants an order restraining the PDP from presenting anybody or sponsoring any person for election into its offices pending determination of the suit.

He asked for an ancillary order directing the Nigerian Police to enforce the orders of the court until all applications are disposed of.

While this was going on, the Ahmed Makarfi-led PDP approached an FCT High Court challenging the power of Justice Okon Abang to hear the suit filed by Senator Sheriff.

They specifically asked the court to restrain Justice Abang on the grounds that there is a circular from the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court restraining all judges handling PDP leadership tussle cases to stop further action pending the outcome of the appeals before the appellate court .

But the prayers were not granted by Justice Olukayode Adeniyi, who held that the application lacks merit, as the applicant who is listed as PDP is not a natural person as such not entitle to any fundamental human rights.

The Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta had on the July 8 directed all judges of the Federal High Court to stay clear of any matter concerning the PDP crisis pending the determination of appeals before the appellate court.

It is not clear if Justice Okon Abang, who is in procession of the case filed by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff will hear the case.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Gabriel Olonisakin, says that the change of leadership style by the current crop of military has contributed largely to the success of the fight against terrorism and internal aggression.
The Military Chief said this on Wednesday at a lecture series on military leadership at the National Defence College in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

He said that no amount of equipment or technological superiority would ensure military success against any form of aggression without effective leadership at the operational, strategic and tactical level of the military.

General Olonisakin noted that all military level must interact effectively if the war against both internal and external aggression is to be won.

He added that the military is also working on improving the welfare of personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces to sustain the new style of leadership.

The President, Muhammadu Buhari has flagged off the Abuja-Kaduna railway services.





The project was initiated by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

> Reports say the gun battle between militants and security operatives earlier on Tuesday, July 26, led to the death of six policemen. The incident happened in Adaxson community on LASU Road in Lagos state. we  had earlier reported that the militants stormed Ewedongbon community in the Igando area of the state shooting sporadically and killing residents.