Lifestyle

120 homeless as fire guts 44 rooms in Kwara

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No fewer than 120 people were rendered homeless, while 44 rooms were destroyed on Monday in Megida Onikahun compound, Edun Isale in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State where fire engulfed the ancient compound and the market in the area.

PUNCH Metro gathered that four aged people were evacuated by some Good Samaritans from the house as thick smoke engulfed the traditional building.

The Kwara State Fire Service however said that no one was injured in the incident which lasted for more than one hour before its men put out the raging fire.

Head of Media and Publicity of the state fire service, Hassan Adekunle, said the fire incident which started from a refuse dump in the morning was attended to around 11:08am by the state firefighters.

According to Adekunle, “The Kwara State Fire Service operatives responded to a fire incident at Megida Onikanhun Compound, Edun Isale, Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State on Monday, January 15, 2024.

The firefighters, upon arrival, found the entire compound and Edun Market engulfed in flames due to a late call. To enhance firefighting efforts, part of the fence was dismantled for better access.

“At 11:22 am, an assistant message was sent to the Brigade Headquarters for additional manpower, and the proficient firefighters successfully brought the situation under control within an hour before completely extinguishing the fire.

“Investigation revealed that an unknown person had ignited refuse, initially mistaken for harmless smoke. Unfortunately, it had spread to the nearby compound, lamenting that the incident left over 120 occupants homeless, affecting 44 rooms and a mosque in the 75-room Magaji Onikanhun Compound. Fortunately, there were no casualties”, he said.

“The Federal Fire Service and officers from the Department of Disaster Management of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and State Emergency Management Agency were present at the scene. The NSCDC officers ensured crowd control to prevent potential looting, safeguarding both market goods and the firefighters”, he said.

Adekunle said he expressed condolences to Magaji Megida Onikanhun’s representative, Kuranga Adebayo on behalf of the Director of the state Fire Service, Prince Falade Olumuyiwa, after the fire had been put under control.

He said that the director urged the general public to always play safe especially during this period of dry season and not to hesitate to call the fire brigade on time whenever there is any fire emergency in their areas, as this would save lives and property in the state.

Lifestyle

Kwara government provides free bus rides for students, staff

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The Kwara Ministry of Tertiary Education has met with stakeholders to work out modalities on transport palliatives by the government to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal on staff and students.

The permanent secretary of the ministry, Habibat Saidu, disclosed this after an interactive meeting with the stakeholders in Ilorin to map out the strategies to be adopted on Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s directives.

The meeting had in attendance AbdulRazaq Jiddah, the deans of student affairs of all public tertiary institutions in Kwara, representatives of students’ unions across the tertiary institutions, and representatives of the state chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).

The permanent secretary urged stakeholders in various sectors to complement government efforts.

According to her, the interactive meeting is meant to embrace suggestions on allocating the buses to strategic routes within the metropolis to achieve the desired target.

Ms Saidu reiterated that the transportation palliative for staff and students of tertiary institutions is free of charge, warning against extortion.

The Kwara official stressed that staff and students would benefit from the free bus ride only if they presented their institutions’ identification cards.

Mr Jidda urged the students to reciprocate the Kwara government’s gesture by conducting themselves in an orderly manner to sustain the free transportation palliative.

He disclosed further that more palliative measures to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal are underway by the state government.

Speaking on behalf of the students, the NANS chairman Kwara chapter, Yusuf AbdulGafar, suggested that the buses could be stationed at institutions in rural areas to convey students within such rural communities.

The Kwara government had on June 12 approved the deployment of government buses to support the movement of students and workers in public tertiary institutions within Ilorin and its environs to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal.

Lifestyle, Politics

Tinubu mourns victims of Kwara tragic boat accident, orders investigation

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President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday expressed sadness over the boat mishap, which occurred in Kwara State, claiming at least 100 lives.

He also directed the relevant authorities to “unravel the immediate and remote causes” of the accident and to provide immediate relief and assistance to the survivors and families of victims.

Tinubu’s condolence message is contained in a statement signed by the State House Director of Information, Abiodun Oladunjoye, titled ‘President Tinubu mourns victims of Kwara boat accident, orders a thorough investigation.’

The PUNCH reports that the boat accident killed over 100 persons who were wedding guests at Egbu village in Patigi Local Government Area of the state.

The President said;

“I am deeply saddened by the news of the tragic boat accident that claimed the lives of our people in Kwara State.“That the victims were guests at a wedding ceremony made the unfortunate accident more painful.

“My heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families and friends of victims of the tragic mishap.”

He also sympathised with the government and the people of Kwara State over the accident. Praying that their loved ones find comfort in these trying times.

While urging the Kwara State Government and relevant Federal Government agencies to look into the circumstances surrounding the boat accident, President Tinubu promised that his administration would look into the challenges of inland water transportation in the country to ensure the matter of safety and operational standards are strictly adhered to.

“The Kwara State Government and relevant federal agencies should work together to unravel the immediate and remote causes of this unfortunate accident.

“Immediate relief and necessary assistance should also be provided to the survivors and families of victims,” the President said.

Lifestyle

4 abducted Kwara truck drivers regain freedom

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Four truck drivers who were abducted by gunmen in Kwara State have regained freedom. Spokesperson of the state police command, Ajayi Okasanmi confirmed their release on Thursday, January 19.

Okasanmi also said they are yet to make any other arrest asides the two made earlier.

He told Daily Trust;

“Yes, they have been released but I cannot give you further details now except I get to the office because I am on transit coming from Patigi Local Government Area and the network is poor.

“But we are yet to make additional arrests from the two we already made and they are still under investigation.”

A family member who preferred anonymity told the publication that the truck drivers were released after they paid an undisclosed sum as ransom.

Lifestyle

Police kill three suspected kidnappers in Kwara

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Police operatives in Kwara have killed three suspected kidnappers in the state.

The spokesman for the state police command, Okasanmi Ajayi, who confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday, said the incident happened at Obbo Ile/Osi forest in Ekiti Local Government Area of the state.

The statement read: “Operatives of the Tactical Team of the Kwara Police Command in conjunction with the vigilance team and local hunters, were on the trail of the kidnappers who were abducting and in few cases killing their victims in Kwara South Senatorial District.

“One of the cases is the recent kidnapping and killing of a women leader in one of the political parties in the country and others in Obbo, Eruku and Isapa axis.

During the exchange of fire between the kidnappers and the joint teams of local hunters, vigilance, and police, three of the kidnappers were neutralised, while others escaped with gunshot injuries.

“Exhibits recovered from the suspects include one cut-to-size locally-made pistol, one locally-made gun, four cutlasses, a bunch of charms, two half-eaten roasted yams, one empty water bottle, and six expended cartridges.

“One of the neutralised kidnappers was identified as Dogo, who had been on the wanted list of the police for the killing of one Femi Afolayan for failure to pay ransom sometime in February 2022.”

Lifestyle

Court convicts two men for internet fraud in Kwara

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The Kwara State High Court, Ilorin, on Tuesday convicted the duo of Abdulkareem Jamiu and Zakariyha Ibrahim for internet fraud.

The two men were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged impersonation, love scam and other internet related frauds.

The defendants were convicted by Justices Adenike Akinpelu and Sikiru Oyinloye respectively.

They pleaded guilty to their charges.

Following their guilty pleas, the prosecutors, Innocent Mbachie and Aliyu Adebayo, called a witness each to review the facts of the cases.

The counsels told the court to consider the guilty plea entered by the defendants, the extra-judicial statements and all the exhibits tendered and convict them accordingly.

In her ruling, Justice Akinpelu held that the commission had successfully established the case against Jamiu and convicted him.

She sentenced the defendant to six months in prison with an option of N150,000 fine.

The judge ordered that one iPhone XR which he used to perpetrate the crime and the sum of N7.3 million recovered from him be forfeited to the Federal Government.

Justice Oyinloye sentenced Ibrahim to six months in prison with an option of N100,000 fine.

He ordered that the convict’s Infinix phone recovered from him at the point of arrest and the sum of 50 Canadian dollars which he got as restitution be forfeited to the federal government.

Lifestyle

Court convicts two men for internet fraud in Kwara

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Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin, on Thursday, convicted two men – Okolie Francis Uchena and Adeyemo Adewale Quadri – for internet fraud in the state.

The duo were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on separate charges contrary to Section 321 and punishable under Section 324 of the Penal Code Law.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The EFCC counsel, Andrew Akoja, called witnesses through whom fraudulent messages printed from the defendants’ phones as well as the device used in perpetrating the crime were tendered.

He urged the court to hold that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convict the defendants.

In his judgment, Justice Abdulgafar held that the court had carefully considered the plea of guilt entered by the defendants, the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, exhibits tendered, and the extra-judicial statements of the defendants and was satisfied that the prosecution had established its case against the defendants.

He sentenced Uchena, who claimed to be a Lottery Agent, to one-year imprisonment each on counts 1 and 2.

The judge, however, gave the convict an option of N50,000 fine on count 1 and N200,000 on count 2.

He also ordered the forfeiture of $200 which the convict raised as restitution and iphone 11 used to perpetrate the crime to the Federal Government.

The judge sentenced Quadri to suspended six months imprisonment each on counts 1 and 2.

He also ordered the forfeiture of the iphone 11 used by the convict for the crime to the federal government.

Entertainment

Four gunmen kidnap man in Kwara

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Four unidentified gunmen have, on Monday, reportedly kidnapped a middle age man on his farm in Kwara state.

The victim, popularly called Alhaji Elefo, was said to have been kidnapped while he was carrying out some activities on his farm.

The farm, according to report, is located at Tafa village near Ballah town in Asa local government council area of Kwara state.

Being a planned crime, the kidnappers were said to be armed with gun and other dangerous weapons during their raid of the victim’s village.

Although the police said it is yet to get details of the kidnap, the command noted that its men are in search of the criminals.

“We are working round the clock to ensure the victim get freedom from the kidnappers,” an officer who pled anonymity said.

Entertainment

NSCDC recovers abandoned baby in Kwara

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The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday recovered a day-old baby abandoned at a dumpsite in Kwara State.

The NSCDC spokesman in the state, Babawale Afolabi, who disclosed this in a statement in Ilorin, said the incident occurred at Dokoyirigi Compound in Patigi, Edu local government area of the state.

The statement read: “In the early hours of Friday, one of our officers at the Patigi Divisional Office was on her way to the office when she discovered an unidentified baby girl.

The baby was left in a stinking dumpsite located around the Dokoyirigi area of the town.

“She said the baby who was already becoming unconscious was a girl and the officer quickly took her to the general hospital in Patigi.

“The baby was immediately attended to and her medical condition has stabilised.”

The spokesman, however, said the agency has commenced moves to get the child’s mother.”

Entertainment

Son allegedly kills father, sells body parts to ritualists in Kwara

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The police in Kwara State have arrested a man for allegedly killing and selling the body parts of his father, Michael Olagunju, to some ritualists in Kajola, Odo-Owa in the Oke-Ero Local Government Area of the state.

Ripples Nigeria learnt that Olagunju was allegedly murdered on his farm at Kajola last Thursday by his son, who was said to have connived with some ritualists to remove his father’s body parts, including his two hands and his heart.

An uncle of the suspect, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the family members believe that the suspect had a hand in his father’s death, saying it was the reason he was handed over to the police.

Meanwhile, the development was confirmed by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Ajayi Okasanmi.

Okasanmi said, “A farmer was killed on his farm at Kajola in Odo-Owa last week. One suspect has been arrested in connection with the crime. The Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Bagega, has ordered discreet Investigation into the matter.”

World News

Kwara, Sokoto courts jail corper, Facebook fraudster for love scams.

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A member of the National Youth Service Corps serving in Ibadan, Oyo State, Caleb Oyeyemi, has been sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for Internet love scam by a Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin.
Justice Adenike Akinpelu, on Monday, found Oyeyemi guilty of two counts bordering on sex scam preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.


Oyeyemi, 21, a native of Odo-Owa in the Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State, was arrested on March 16, 2020, by operatives of the Ilorin zonal office of the EFCC, who acted on an intelligence report.
According to the report, Oyeyemi allegedly posed as a white prostitute to defraud one Wilson, a white man, of $100 in exchange for sex.
He confessed to the crime and was arraigned on November 26, 2020, and pleaded guilty to the charges.
Delivering her judgment, Justice Akinpelu said, “The plea of guilt entered by the defendant is a total admission of the crime.”
The judge pronounced Oyeyemi guilty of the charges and sentenced him accordingly.

The judge sentenced him to one year imprisonment on each of the counts; the terms are to run concurrently.
Justice Akinpelu, however, gave the convict an option of N200,000 fine on each of the two counts.
She ordered that the convict’s phones and the manager cheque (bank draft) of N80,000, which he brought to the EFCC office, be forfeited to the Federal Government.

Entertainment

Lecturer, twins jailed for Internet fraud, love scam in Kwara

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A lecturer at the Kwara State College of Health Technology, Offa, Abdullahi Opashola, and twin brothers, Taiye and Kehinde Adebayo, on Thursday, were convicted by Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, over offences bordering on impersonation and Internet fraud.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted Opashola on a separate one-count charge, while the Adebayos were prosecuted on seven counts each, which they all pleaded guilty to.

In a statement released by Wilson Iwijaren, Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, the charge against Opashola read: “That you, Opashola Abdullahi, (alias Devin Snow), sometime in August 2020 in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did attempt to cheat by impersonation, by portraying yourself as a female, named Devine Snow, via your email address, devinesnow677@gmail.com, to one Eugene Myvett, to induce him to send you $200, a representation you knew to be false, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 95 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 324 of the same law.”

Meanwhile, the charge against Taiye read: “That you, Taiye Adebayo, sometime in January 2020, at Ilorin, within the judicial division of the Kwara State High Court, did cheat one Gary Brenton, who you met on TWOO dating site, of the sum of $490 received via gift cards when you pretended to be a female, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 320 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 322 of the same Penal Code.”

Following the guilty plea of the defendants, two operatives of the EFCC, Paul Kera and Emezie Dominic testified against Opashola and the twins, respectively.

Delivering judgment on the two cases, Justice Akinpelu found Opashola guilty of the charge against him and sentenced him to four months’ imprisonment, however, the 26-year-old lecturer was given an option to pay a fine of N150,000.

Meanwhile, for Taiye and Kehinde, Justice Akinpelu pronounced each of them guilty as charged and sentenced them to 42 months imprisonment each (six months on each of the seven counts) preferred against them, however, she gave the brothers an option of fine of N50,000 on each of the count.

He ordered that the laptops and phones used by the convicts to commit the crimes to be forfeited to the Federal Government.

Politics

Kwara govt assures residents of safety amid influx of herdsmen

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The government of Kwara State has assured residents of their safety and security amid the influx of herdsmen into the State.

This was contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Professor Mamman Sabbah Jibril.

He said that government has put in place measures to prevent any crisis between host communities and herders in the state.

Jibril also added that the leadership of Miyetti Allah has also committed to disallow night grazing or cattle grazing by underage persons in the State.

The statement issued by Jibril reads thus; “In the light of some unfortunate developments in some neighbouring states, we urge our people not to entertain any fear as proactive measures have been taken and are being taken to maintain peace and ensure security of lives and property of every resident.

“The government is working with all security agencies, Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs) of local governments and the leadership of Miyetti Allah to strengthen the existing peace between various economic interests,” the statement added.

It said, “At the instance of His Excellency, the Governor of Kwara State, the office of the SSG has held briefings with various stakeholders across the state on the need to ensure that all hands are on deck to protect lives and property.

“The leadership of Miyetti Allah has also committed to disallow night grazing or cattle grazing by underage persons.

“Assisted by the security agencies, the DPMs across the 16 local government areas have been directed to work with local communities and legitimate herders to keep the peace,” it concluded.

Business

Abia, Kwara, paid highest price for petrol in December – NBS

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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Saturday residents of Abia, Kebbi and Kwara States paid the highest price for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol in December last year.

The NBS, which disclosed this in its “PMS Price Watch for December 2020,” said residents of Abia paid N176.19 for petrol while those in Kwara and Kebbi paid N172.43 and N169.92 respectively.

States with the lowest prices of petrol were Bauchi (N162.57), Katsina (N160.25) and Kaduna (N155).

According to the bureau, the average price paid by consumers for petrol increased by 14 percent year-on-year and decreased month-on-month by -0.94 percent to N165.70 in December from N167.27 in November.

Similarly, the average price paid by consumers for Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) otherwise known as diesel increased by 0.28 percent month-on-month and decreased by -2.37 percent year-on-year to N224.37 in December, from to N223.74 in November.

States with the highest average price of diesel were Taraba where residents paid N266, Adamawa N262.50 and Zamfara N257.50.

While Osun (N201.09), Gombe (N197. 50) and Kwara (N195) are the states with the lowest average price of diesel.

World News

Kwara gets N7b grant from UBEC to fix schools

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Seven years after blacklist, Kwara Government said it has received N7.2 billion grants from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

This is the first time since 2013 when the state was blacklisted from the national scheme.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has spent the last one year working to reposition basic education in the state, beginning with the payment of N450 million diverted funds which had brought the state under the hammer of the UBEC.

The N7.2 billion is a accumulation of UBEC grants that were not accessed between 2014 and 2019.

The money was not accessed because the former administration failed to pay its counterpart funds, Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development Hajia Fatimah B Ahmed has said in a statement.

The UBEC grants are meant for rehabilitation of dilapidated basic schools, construction of new ones, equipment of the schools with ICT tools, training of teachers, and project evaluation, among other purposes contained in the UBEC work plan.

The commissioner added: “This money would be spent in phases over the next two years to fix up to 600 elementary schools out of the over 1400 decrepit basic education facilities across the state. “The projects would be monitored by UBEC to ensure compliance with the work plan submitted by the government.

“This development has taken Kwara State out of the bottom position in the ranking of states with highest figures of outstanding UBEC grants.

“The pitiful state of basic education infrastructure in the state is a reflection of the failure to access UBEC funds and the near-zero investments in the sector over the past few years.”

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