Kenya’s President William Ruto has sent engineers to the home of the late marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum, with instructions to build a three-bedroom house.

Kiptum had planned to build a home for his family before he was killed in a road accident last Sunday.

The president’s office has denied local media reports that the house has to be ready by Kiptum’s funeral next week.

Excavations have already started, the family spokesman said.

The house is being built on a four-acre farm which Kiptum had bought about 16km (10 miles) from the family home in the Rift Valley, where he was planning to construct his home later this year.

“There are three engineers here who are being supervised by senior government officials,” family spokesperson Philip Kiplagat told the BBC.

It is hoped that the house will be ready by the end of the 40-day mourning period.Kiptum’s funeral is due to take place on 24 February.

Police said Kiptum, a 24-year-old father of two, was killed after the car he was driving veered into a ditch.

His Rwandan coach Gervais Hakizimana also died in the accident while a woman passenger was injured.

Kiptum’s father has called for an investigation, saying that four unidentified men had visited his son days before his accident.

The suspects are currently in police custody for questioning after being arrested, according to local media.

Kiptum’s death, just four months after he broke the marathon world record, shocked Kenya and the world of athletics.

He had been planning to attempt to become the first person to run a marathon in under two hours at the Rotterdam marathon in April

A Taiwanese YouTuber has been jailed in Cambodia for attempting to stage his own abduction with a friend.

Chen Neng-chuan was arrested with his friend, Lu Tsu-hsien, after posting a video of them apparently being detained and beaten up by security guards in the port city of Sihanoukville.

The area has become notorious for gangs kidnapping people and then forcing them to carry out online scams.

Both men have been sentenced to two years in prison.

The pair were arrested after Chen – known online as Goodnight Chicken – posted videos on Monday, in which they claimed they had been kidnapped and needed help.

The following day, Chen’s wife announced on social media that her husband had gone missing. He then posted another video claiming they were fleeing the kidnappers and said he had been injured in the ordeal, with part of his head shaved.

But online sleuths quickly started casting doubt on the story.

Online influencer Liu Yu managed to pinpoint Chen’s location using the footage he had posted, and showed that Chen appeared to have circled an area instead of running away as he claimed.

He also questioned why his abductors would have allowed him to keep his equipment for live streaming.

Soon after, the pair were arrested in their hotel room. They were then paraded in front of the media along with props found in their room.

The provincial court said on Friday that they had been found guilty on charges of “incitement to cause chaos to social security”.

The provincial government said the men produced videos with “fake content that affects the honour, order, and security” of the province.

They were both handed two-year sentences and ordered to pay a combined fine of around $2,000 (£1,590).

Online scam-related human trafficking is a huge problem in Cambodia, and Sihanoukville is one of the worst areas for it.

A UN report released last year estimated that around 100,000 people had been forced into working these scams in the country.

Most victims are men from Asia, but some have come from further afield such as Africa and Latin America.

Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has picked one of his party’s leaders as PM candidate.

Omar Ayub Khan will run against the candidate of Imran Khan’s rivals, who have agreed to a coalition.

Khan-backed independents unexpectedly won the most seats in last week’s election, but they did not have enough seats to form a government.

This has led to days of deal-making as the constitution requires the formation of a government by 29 February.

A senior leader of Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party, Asad Qaiser, announced Mr Ayub as his pick for PM after meeting with the former premier in prison.

Members of Pakistan’s National Assembly will elect the new speaker and 56-year-old Mr Ayub will face off against the nominee of former PM Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), who joined forces earlier this week.

Mr Ayub is on the run from criminal charges, including those related to riots that followed Imran Khan’s arrest last year. But that does not disqualify him from seeking the PM post.

If elected PM, Mr Ayub said his top priority is to free political prisoners. He won last week as an independent backed by PTI.

He is the grandson of Mohamed Ayub Khan, a military dictator and Pakistan’s president from 1958 to 1969.

With the PPP’s support, Mr Sharif on Wednesday put forward his brother Shehbaz as the PML-N’s PM candidate.

The vote for Pakistan’s next prime minister will take place after all new members of the National Assembly take their oaths, and the speaker and deputy speaker have been elected.

Independent candidates – a majority affiliated with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – won 93 of the 265 National Assembly seats that were contested in last Thursday’s election. The PML-N won 75 seats while the PPP came third with 54 seats.

The PTI argues that its allies should have won even more votes and seats, alleging vote fraud and interference – which electoral officials have denied.

Earlier this week, a politician from the Jamaat-e-Islami party gave up his seat because he says the vote was rigged in his favour.

“We will not allow our mandate to be stolen,” Mr Ayub said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“PTI as a party will work for strengthening democratic institutions in Pakistan so that the country’s economy can be put on a path of positive trajectory and we can initiate our reforms programme to benefit the people of Pakistan,” he said.

Mr Ayub was first elected into the nation’s National Assembly in 2002 as a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, a breakaway party from the PML-N.

He joined PML-N in 2012, and then moved again in 2018 to join PTI.

He was a minister in Khan’s cabinet from 2018 until the ex-PM’s ouster in April 2022.

He was appointed PTI’s secretary-general since 27 May 2003, shortly after Khan’s arrest.

Kwara State Ministry of Health, on Thursday, sealed an illegal private mortuary in Ilorin, the state capital.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Ahmed El-Imam, ordered the closure during an unscheduled visit to the facility, known as Omosebi, along the Ga Akanbi area of Ilorin metropolis.

The decision, according to the commissioner, is to ensure compliance with standards of care for the good people of Kwara State whether alive or dead.

The Commissioner noted that the facility, often referred to as ‘Omosebi’ is unknown to the ministry of health as a registered mortuary service provider.

Addressing journalists shortly after ordering the official closure of the facility, El-Imam said “it is important to preserve the dignity of our dead ones and ensure that infectious diseases do not reach the living from poor management of their remains; this facility does not meet the required standard.”

The visiting team included the Permanent Secretary, Directors from the state ministry of health and an officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

The Director, Medical Services and Training, Dr. Musiliu Odunaiya, said the morgue handlers were required to report to the state ministry of health headquarters.

He called on members of the public to take the remains of their loved ones to available government-owned facilities where their safe custody could be guaranteed.

Ogun State Police Command has smashed a seven-man gang that specializes in selling human parts for rituals.

The State Police Commissioner, Abiodun Olamutu, revealed this on Thursday, saying that a human heart and two kegs filled with human bodies were parts of exhibits recovered from the suspects.

The men arrested included Moses Abidemi, Oluwo Monday, Prophet Peter Akiwunmi Ifatosin, Jamiu Yusuf, Sheriff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitoura.

Olamutu said the Divisional Police Office, Onipanu, received a report of a missing lady, Ms Sulaiimon Adijat on January 9 who was invited out on a date by one Adebayo Azeez.

“Despite frantic efforts to locate her whereabouts, her mobile phone has been switched off since the day she was reported missing.

“Consequently, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the command was drafted to unravel the mystery behind her disappearance and a technical-based investigation was embarked on,” the CP said.

The police boss said investigation revealed that the suspects were involved in a money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ to produce N200m within seven days.

“Oluwo Monday charged the duo of Agbai and Alioneitouria N800,000 to prepare the materials for the ritual.

“Oluwo Monday, in furtherance of his criminal intention, later contacted one Peter, who was not new in the trade of human parts, to source for a lady between the age of 18 and 20 years,” he added.

According to him, Peter was to deliver the lady’s mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breasts, vagina and two wrists that would be used for the ritual.

“However, on January 10, Sheriff and Osojieahen collected the ritual money from Oluwo and travelled back to their location in Edo State.

“Trouble started when Osojieahen used the ritual element as directed by Oluwo, and complained bitterly that it failed to yield the expected sum of 200 million in seven days.

“A search was conducted in the shrine of Moses on Feb. 3 and 10, where female handbags, two cement sacks containing human bones were recovered,” he said.

The Kano state police command has arrested three suspects for allegedly kidnapping and killing their neighbour’s fourteen-year-old son.

Confirming the incident in a statement on Thursday, the state’s police public relations officer, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said the command received a report from one Rabiu Abdullahi of Hotoron Fulani Quarters Kano who said he received a phone call from an unknown person that his son, Abdullahi Sani, of same address, was kidnapped and a ransom of N4 million was demanded for his release.

The police spokesperson said, “The situation prompted the Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Usaini Gumel, to engage a team of policemen from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Command to ensure the rescue of the victim and arrest the perpetrators.

“The team immediately swung into action. Preliminary investigation led to the arrest of the principal suspect, Ismail Adamu, 22, of Hotoron Fulani Quarters, Kano.”

According to Mr Kiyawa, Mr Adamu, who confessed to having conspired with one Risi of Mariri Quarters Kano to kidnap the victim, said, “The suspect further revealed that they took the victim to Sabuwar Zara Village where they stabbed him in his neck and threw him inside a soakaway at an uncompleted building in Sabuwar Zara Quarters Kano, and later contacted the father and demanded N4,000,000 for his release.

“Furthermore, the crime scene was visited by the police operatives where the deceased’s body was removed from the soakaway and evacuated to Abdullahi Wase Specialists Hospital Kano, where a medical doctor certified the body dead, and it was deposited at the hospital’s mortuary.

“The discreet investigation led to the arrest of two suspects: Musa Usman, 17, of Hotoron Fulani Quarters Kano, and Abdullahi Usman, 20, of the same address that assisted the principal suspect in the negotiation of the ransom with a mobile phone,” he said.

Stating that the suspects would be arraigned upon completion of the investigation, Mr Kiyawa added, “The Commissioner of Police appreciates the good people of the state for their support, cooperation, and understanding, reiterating that the police command remains resolute towards fighting all forms of crime and criminality in the state.”

Reconstruction and recovery in war-torn Ukraine would cost $486 billion over the next decade, up from $411 billion estimated a year ago, a UN-backed study published Thursday revealed.

The updated Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA3) issued by Ukraine’s government, alongside the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the UN – covers damage incurred since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion on 24 February 2022 to Dec. 2023.

The highest needs are in housing, or 17 per cent of the overall estimated costs, followed by transport, commerce and industry, agriculture and energy.

Social protection, livelihood support, and explosive hazard management are pegged at under 10 per cent.

Across all sectors, the cost of debris clearance and management and demolition where needed is almost $11 billion.

“Despite the ongoing full-scale war, the Ukrainian government, with the support of international partners, continues to implement a rapid recovery programme.

The execution of the third Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment allows us to approach this process more systematically,” Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, said in a joint press release.

Direct damage in Ukraine has now reached almost $152 billion and is concentrated in the regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Kyiv – the same areas that suffered the greatest damage as reported in the previous assessment.

The RDNA3 found that 10 per cent of housing stock across the country – some two million homes – has been damaged or destroyed, prolonging the displacement of Ukrainians from their communities.

Furthermore, the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and the hydropower plant last June has resulted in significant negative impacts on the environment and agriculture while worsening the plight of people already struggling to access housing, water, food and health services.

The Ukrainian authorities estimate that roughly $15 billion will be needed this year alone for immediate reconstruction and recovery priorities at both national and community levels.

Focus is particularly on supporting and mobilizing the private sector alongside the restoration of housing, soft infrastructure and services, energy and transport.

Roughly $5.5 billion has already been secured so far from both Ukraine and international partners.

Mr Shmyhal noted that reconstruction needs have continued to grow over the past year.

“The main resource for Ukraine’s recovery should be the confiscation of Russian assets frozen in the West. We need to start this process already this year,” he said.

The RDNA3 lists critical investment needs for short-term recovery and medium-term reconstruction. Where possible, it considers and excludes needs that have already been met through the state budget and support provided by partners and the international community.

The assessment also highlights the continued need for reforms and policies that catalyze private sector involvement and ensure an inclusive and “green” recovery.

It also provides stronger data analysis of the impact on both vulnerable people and communities.

Denise Brown, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, underscored the need to invest in the Ukrainian people because the country’s future depends on them.

“The war is not over; the suffering is not over,” she said. “But, communities in Ukraine are demonstrating significant courage and commitment in driving their own inclusive recovery processes, and they need the continued support of their international partners.”

The findings in the RDNA3 complement the Government’s Ukraine Plan and the European Union (EU) Ukraine Facility, both of which are forthcoming. These instruments lay out a reform and investment agenda for the next four years as Ukraine prepares to join the EU.

Mr Shmyhal said the government “is creating conditions to attract private investments, which will accelerate the reconstruction process and transform our country on its path to the EU.”

Since the last assessment in March 2023, the authorities, supported by partners, have met some of the most urgent needs, such as disbursing $1 billion for housing sector recovery and carrying out more than 2,000km of emergency repairs on motorways, highways and other national roads.

The war has also taken a toll on Ukraine’s culture and tourism sectors. Damage is estimated at nearly $3.5 billion, up from $2.6 billion last year – a 40 per cent increase.

Nearly $9 billion will be needed for recovery over the next decade, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said this week.

A total of 4,779 cultural and tourist assets in Ukraine have been reported as damaged, including buildings of heritage value, works of art, workshops for creative industries and tourism facilities.

The Kharkiv region was the worst affected, accounting for one-quarter of the damage, followed by Donetsk and Odessa.

The Taiwan government on Thursday defended its coastguard’s actions after two Chinese fishermen died in a speedboat crash near the Kinmen Islands.

A Chinese speedboat on Wednesday illegally entered Taiwanese waters and capsized near the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands as it was being chased by Taiwan Coast Guard personnel, according to Taipei.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the top body responsible for China affairs, on Thursday said that the coast guard officers lawfully performed their duties and their actions were not improper.

“During the enforcement process, the Chinese ship capsized due to its refusal to be inspected,’’ the MAC said in a statement which it said was based on a preliminary investigation.

The council said that four Chinese people fell into the sea. Two of them were rescued by Taiwan’s coastguard personnel and later died in hospital.

On Wednesday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office strongly condemned the case, demanding an investigation and assistance to the families of the victims.In Taipei, MAC Minister Chiu Tai-san told reporters on Thursday that China would soon be given the results of the investigation.

According to the MAC, over the years some Chinese residents have come into Taiwan waters and engaged in various illegal actions such as exploding fish, poisoning fish and pumping sand.

“We deeply regret that the Chinese crew refused to cooperate with our law enforcement work,’’ the council said, urging the Chinese authorities to act to prevent residents from engaging in such actions.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ebonyi has apprehended two suspected hoodlums who allegedly robbed accident victims of their belongings.

On Thursday, sector commander Igwe Nnabuife said in Abakaliki that the lone crash involved a Ford Aspire bus, which lost control.

He said the vehicle, which was conveying nine passengers, had a crash on the Abakaliki-Enugu expressway on February 13 at 1:44 p.m.

“No life was lost. Some of the accident victims who sustained injuries have been taken to hospital for treatment. We were able to recover some of the money and other items stolen from the accident victims,” Mr Nnabuife said.

The sector commander said the suspects had been handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and would be charged in court upon completing ongoing investigations.

“They started looting helpless victims of their money and other things they could lay their hands on.

“Responders at the scene of the accident chased them away, and they were later arrested by my men, who prevented them from being mobbed by angry people,” he said.

The sector commander described the act by the hoodlums as unfortunate.

Mr Nnabuife expressed satisfaction with the media partnership so far and urged journalists to continue to educate the general public on societal values.

Operatives of the Oyo State Police Command have arrested five suspects for the murder of a retired permanent secretary in the state civil service, Mrs Olaitan Gbenle.

Thirty other suspects were arrested for various crimes.

The state Commissioner of Police, Adebola Hamzat, announced the arrests during a press briefing at the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan.

According to a message posted on the command’s X account on Wednesday, Gbenle’s suspected killers allegedly strangled her to death after robbing her of valuable possessions.

According to police reports, the suspects voluntarily confessed to the crime.

The statement quoted the leader of the gang as saying that Gbenle was murdered because she recognised him during the robbery.

He was said to have admitted his involvement in multiple robbery operations.

He reportedly said in his confession statement that, “This is my second time taking part in robbery operation. I lived in the same neighbourhood as the deceased in Apata area of Ibadan.

“We strangled her to death, knowing fully well that she recognised me during the operation as one of her neighbours. The fear of possible arrest by the security operatives made us take the decision.

“We sold the two vehicles out, (Toyota Camry and Toyota Corolla) for N4m out of which we were paid only N2m before the police swooped on us.

“My own share of the money was N200,000.”

The command also arrested suspected ritualists in the Saki area of the state with a fresh human head cut off from a freshly exhumed corpse and a pot containing concoctions used for ritual purposes.

Among the items recovered from the suspects are 18 cars, a DAF trailer, 2,137 cartons of Maggi valued at N18 million, an electricity generating set, four live cartridges, 64 mobile phones, a master key, and a cash sum of N820,000.

Kenyan police on Wednesday said they have recaptured a man whose escape from custody made headlines following his arrest on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend in the United States.

Kevin Kangethe was detained pending extradition to the United States over the death of Margaret Mbitu, whose body was found in an airport car park last year, but slipped out of a police station last week.

“We have re-arrested the suspect and he is now in custody,” Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei told AFP.

He said Kang’ethe was hiding out at a relative’s home on the outskirts of Nairobi, where police found him late Tuesday after a days-long manhunt.

“He will now be taken to court to face charges of escaping from lawful custody as he awaits extradition,” he said.

The escape had left police red-faced, with Bungei describing the events at the time as “embarrassing”.

US and Kenyan authorities had launched a manhunt after Mbitu was found stabbed to death in a car park at Boston’s Logan airport in November.

An arrest warrant was issued for Kang’ethe after he fled the United States for his native Kenya, where he was arrested in late January.

Police said the suspect, who media reports variously said was aged 40 or 41, had been removed from his cell on Wednesday last week for a meeting with his lawyer, when he ran away.

At the time of the escape, the station commander was chairing a meeting with anti-crime personnel in her office, it said, adding that officers gave chase but were unable to catch Kang’ethe.

Four police officers, two relatives and the lawyer were arrested in connection with his escape and remain in custody.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, says it has arrested four suspected fraudsters in Maiduguri, Borno State.

This is contained in a statement by Dele Oyewale, EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, on Tuesday in Maiduguri.

He said operatives of the commission arrested the suspects at the former Trafalgar Hotel, Bolori area of Maiduguri, following actionable intelligence on their criminal activities.

Oyewale said the operatives recovered four smartphones, three HP laptops and power banks from the suspects.

He said the suspects would soon be charged to court.

A teenage girl, Mashenka Reid, has allegedly shot dead her father and young brother, then called 911 on herself.

The incident happened in Reno, Nevada, United States of America.

Reid told the Nevada dispatcher, “I just couldn’t resist the urge to kill somebody,” according to court filings.

Reid, 17, was arrested Friday afternoon after police found her dad and brother dead from gunshot wounds in the family’s Reno apartment, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Reid’s younger sister was also home but she survived by hiding herself inside a locked bedroom, which a police officer had to kick in to take her to safety.

According to the report, the first 911 call about the incident came from a neighbor reporting gunshots and screams for help.

Authority said Reid herself dialed 911 and allegedly confessed to killing her family members, according to an affidavit filed in Reno Justice Court obtained by the paper.

“I shot my dad. I shot my brother. My brother is dead.

“I just couldn’t resist the urge to kill somebody,” she allegedly told the emergency operator, the document said.

Reid also said she dropped the suspected murder weapon, a Walther PPS, inside the apartment.

Her brother was found lying on the couch with a gunshot wound to the head, the affidavit stated, while the father was discovered in the garage with gunshot wounds to his chest and back.

There was no word from the authorities on a possible motive for the double homicide.

Reid has been charged as an adult with two counts of open murder and an additional count of attempted murder with a deadly weapon. She is due in court for a bail hearing on Thursday.

Arik Air says its Abuja to Benin flights will be reintroduced effective February 20.

The company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Adebanji Ola, confirmed this during an interview on Tuesday in Lagos.

Mr Ola said the Abuja to Benin flights suspended in 2023 for aircraft checks had been concluded.

He noted that the frequency would be increased to four times weekly.

Mr Ola assured the company’s customers of efficient service delivery and safety.

He added that Arik Air had increased the frequency of its Lagos to Benin and Lagos Warri route services.

Mr Ola said that effective February 19, both two routes would operate daily.

Armenia says four soldiers have been killed and a fifth wounded, in the first flare-up of violence on the border with Azerbaijan since the two neighbours began talks on a peace deal.

Azerbaijan said it had destroyed an Armenian combat post in the south in retaliation for an earlier incident.

Last year Azerbaijan recaptured its Nagorno-Karabakh region held for decades by ethnic Armenians.

Armenia has now accused its neighbour of trying to escalate tensions.

The attack in Armenia’s south-eastern Syunik province also comes days after Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev won a fifth term in office, and local commentators have raised concerns that he may be considering further military action to seize Armenian territory.

The defence ministry in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, said its attack on the Armenian position near Nerkin Hand came after an Azerbaijani soldier had been wounded few kilometres away on Monday.

It also highlighted a separate border incident hundreds of kilometres north, denied by Armenia.

Only recently Azerbaijan’s top officials said relations between the two neighbours had become calmer in the past six months.

The foreign ministry in Baku said the “provocation” by Armenia’s military and political leaders was a serious blow to the peace process in light of recent stability.

It said that because the first shooting took place in areas overseen by the European Union’s mission in Armenia, the incident raised “serious concerns about the aims and purposes of this mission”.

More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Azerbaijan’s military conquest of Karabakh last September. The South Caucasus territory, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, had been recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan but had been in Armenian hands for more than 30 years.

The latest flare-up has revived suggestions that an emboldened Azerbaijan, backed by Russia, may be trying to force Armenia to open a rail and road route known as the Zangezur corridor through Armenian territory to its exclave of Nakhchivan and possibly Turkey too, before any peace agreement is signed.

Neighbouring Iran is also concerned by Baku’s plans to link Turkey to Azerbaijan through Armenia.

Russia has urged the two neighbours to exercise restraint. It has peacekeepers stationed in Karabakh who are due to leave the region next year but the Kremlin is keen to maintain presence in the area.

Armenia has recently distanced itself from its former Russian ally after it failed to prevent Azerbaijan’s military recapture of Karabakh.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this month that Moscow could no longer be considered Armenia’s primary defence partner and Yerevan now sees France and India as two of its biggest arms suppliers.

Removing Russia’s influence could prove to be a challenging task for Armenia. A significant portion of Armenia’s infrastructure, including railroads, gas, and electricity are under Russian control.

There is a Russian military base on Armenian territory, and Armenia is a member of both Putin’s military and political blocs.

Russia’s presence extends to the protection of Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Iran through Russian border guards – who also operate at the international airport in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan.

Armenia has also been discussing constitutional changes, demanded by Azerbaijan as part of the proposed peace deal, to remove references to the goal of unification with Nagorno-Karabakh from its main law.

Baku sees this as a continued legal claim to Azerbaijani territory.

Tens of thousands of Armenians have signed a petition objecting to the constitutional change and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s popularity has declined in Armenia since the military defeat,Pro-government commentators in Azerbaijan have blamed the flare-up in violence on Armenian opposition voices, rather than the prime minister, suggesting they have influence over some sections of the Armenian armed forces.

Five persons were confirmed dead, while 12 others sustained injuries in an accident on Tuesday along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The accident occurred at 1:07 p.m., a few metres after Foursquare on the highway, and it involved a Mazda bus with registration number SMK 685 YG and a truck marked ZE 121 OG.

The Federal Road Safety Corps spokeswoman in Ogun, Florence Okpe, confirmed the incident to journalists in Abeokuta on Tuesday.

According to Ms Okpe, the accident was caused by the driver of the Mazda bus, who lost control of the wheels while sleeping.

“A total of 18 people, comprising 10 men and eight women, were involved in the accident. Twelve people were injured, and unfortunately, five persons were also recorded dead from the crash.

“The suspected cause of the fatal crash was fatigue, which led to loss of control because the driver slept off on the wheels and rammed into a moving truck,” she said.

The FRSC spokesperson added that the injured victims were taken to Victory Hospital at Ogere while the corpses were deposited at the FOS Morgue in Ipara.

The Adamawa State Police Command has apprehended four people for allegedly attacking the state Commissioner of Environment, Muhammed Sadiq, and robbing him of his official vehicle and other valuables.

It also recovered the stolen Toyota Hilux including a barreta pistol, three live ammunition, two anti-trackers, phones, and cash in foreign currency.

A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Suleiman Nguroje, gave the names of the arrested suspects as Salihu Buhari, 38 years old, and Abdullahi Abubakar, 35, both from Garoua in Cameroon Republic; Isa Adamu, 55, from Tudun Wada, Sokoto State; and Mustapha Muhammed, 47, of Lelewalji, Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

According to Nguroje, the suspects were nabbed by a combined team of police operatives attached to Girei Divisional Police Headquarters on Monday after they attacked the Commissioner in the early hours of the day. He was taken to a hospital where he is currently receiving medical attention.

He said the success followed an operational strategy introduced by the police to check criminal activities such as armed robbery, shila gangsterism, kidnapping, among others within and outside the state capital.

The Niger State Police Command has confirmed the murder of one Idris Ahmadu of Nasarawa village, Lapai Local Government by his newlywed wife, Aisha Aliyu.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday.

The command through the Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, who confirmed the incident in Minna said Aisha Aliyu stabbed her husband to death and disappeared from the scene..

He stated, “Today 12/02/2024 (Monday), at about 1200hrs, information was received that in the early hours, one Idris Ahmadu of Nasarawa village, via Lapai was stabbed to death by his wife, Aisha Aliyu, 19/20yrs of the same address.

“Before the arrival of the police at the scene, the suspect had fled to an unknown destination; effort is being intensified to arrest the fleeing suspect.”

He disclosed that the case is currently under investigation.

A source from the area said before the incident, the newly married couple had a minor argument on Sunday evening after which they reconciled before going to bed.

According to the source, at midnight, the mother of the deceased heard him screaming and rushed out alongside other residents only to find him in his pool of blood on the floor while his wife was nowhere to be found.

It was further gathered that the couple got married on December 31, 2023, after dating for some years.

It was learnt that Aisha had met another man and decided not to marry Idris but was prevailed upon by family members.

The source added that she reluctantly agreed.

Zamfara State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, has apprehended seven criminal suspects, involving a 70-year-old man, for alleged vandalisation of public property.

According to the Commad’s Commandant, Dani Mustapha, the command recovered 10mm iron rods, 11 shovels, 6 diggers, machetes, holes, and hammers from the suspects.

The suspects were paraded on Monday at the command’s headquarters in Gusau, the State capital.

The Commandant, represented by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SC Ikor Oche, disclosed that the suspects were arrested around Samaru and Mailaina garage in Gusau metropolis.

He said the seven suspects included a 70-year-old man, Sani Abubakar, with exhibits such as bunches of iron rods, diggers, shovels, machetes, holes, and hammers.

He assured that Zamfara NSCDC under Commandant Sani Mustafa would not relent in his efforts to sanitize the state and fight crime and other heinous activities.

The Federal Government has placed a N2 million bounty on Anambra State-based lawyer, Adachukwu Chukelu-Okafor, currently at large, for allegedly burning her 11-year old home help.

She was alleged to have used hot pressing iron and knife to burn and chop in pieces the private parts of her home help.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja, following a viral video of the girl after she was abused and returned to her aunt, who gave her out as a house help.

“Please Nigerians go out there search for this woman, bring her out, call any police station and hand her over. The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs is offering N2 million to anybody that will lay hands on this woman and hand her over to the Police.

“We need this woman urgently because the girl is in pain and has been in the hospital. It could be your child or anybody’s relation, so let us not fold our hands. We will give N2 million to anybody that will give necessary information to the police or the women affairs ministry on how to get Adachukwu, the barrister, who did all those harmful things to her house help.

This woman will be apprehended by the police who have been looking for her and she is nowhere to be found,” she said.

Mrs Kennedy-Ohanenye also urged the public to divulge any information that would enable the authorities to apprehend the suspect, who has gone into hiding, to ensure justice for the victim.

“This issue of Adachukwuchu who burnt her 11-year-old house girl with hot knife, putting it in her private parts and at the same time using hot pressing iron to do other damages on her is of grave concern to the Federal Government.

“I kept quiet initially because I thought that by now it would have been solved by the state since they are aware of it. For the fact that it still hasn’t been solved, I have decided to wade in.

“Some people will say why is the ministry always getting involved. Let me explain that it is within my purview to get involved in anything that involves women and children across Nigeria. I have every right to get involved in it,” she said.

The minister also revealed that the government would soon make a pronouncement on the issue of employing underage home helps that are less than 18 years, to end cases of child abuse and violation.

According to her, there will be an enforcement programme to that end to be driven by the Federal Ministry of Justice.

“Again, in a couple of days, there will be a pronouncement from this ministry on taking home helps that are less than 18 years. We are going to put a stop to it, there will be a pronouncement within a week and an endorsement programme towards that action.

“And we will need the whistle blowers, who are Nigerians, to come and fight for your country, especially now. Come out and give information of anything that you feel will help this country,” she urged.

A video of the home help, lying on a hospital bed after being allegedly abused, went viral, sparking public outrage.