A pedestrian was killed instantly on Thursday evening after being hit by a trailer around Iyana-Church, Olodo Highway, Iwo Road in Ibadan. The driver reportedly sped off immediately after the incident, leaving the victim lifeless at the scene. More details later…
Former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has expressed sorrow over the deadly attack on Oke-Ode in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State that left some vigilantes and a community leader dead. The Kwara State Police Command confirmed that at least 12 persons, including the Baale of Ogbayo, were killed during Sunday morning’s bandits’ attack. According to a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, the incident occurred around 7 a.m. when armed men stormed the Ogbayo area of Oke-Ode, shooting sporadically and targeting members of the local vigilante. Ejire-Adeyemi said four injured victims were immediately taken to the hospital for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were evacuated. In a statement on his X handle on Tuesday, the former Anambra Governor described the incident as “another mindless act of violence” and urged urgent action to halt the cycle of bloodshed. He said, “It is with a heavy heart that I received the news of the tragic killings in Oke-Ode, Kwara State, where innocent lives, including vigilantes and the Baale of Ogbayo, were cut short in yet another mindless act of violence from armed bandits terrorising our nation. “Once again, our nation is thrown into mourning as innocent lives are cut short. These repeated attacks show the urgent need for an emergency on national security. “No Nigerian should have to live in fear in their own home. We cannot continue to normalise tragedy. Obi offered condolences to the governor, the people of Kwara State and the bereaved families. “My heart goes out to the Governor and the people of Kwara State. I reassure you that you are not alone. And to the grieving families, please accept my deepest condolences. “May you find strength and comfort in this difficult time and may the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace,” he prayed.
The men of the Ondo State Police Command have arrested two men in connection with the kidnap and killing of a member of the All Progressives Congress in Akoko-South Local Government Area of the state, Mr Alaba Abe. Abel, who was the coordinator of the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organization in Akoko South-West LG, was allegedly kidnapped and killed by some gun at his house in Supare Akoko community in the council area in April this year during the preparation for the APC governorship primary. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, who confirmed the arrest in a statement on Friday, said the arrest was made by the Special Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the command. Odunlami named the suspects as Mohammed Sheu and Abubakar Umar. She said, ” On 30th On the 14th of November, 2024, men of the Special Anti Kidnapping on Stop and Search at Ikare Junction at about 15.20 pm intercepted one Hiace vehicle popularly known as Hummer Bus conveying passengers to Owo. “During the search, Mohammed Sheu, 21 years demeanour changed, and on reasonable suspicion, he was singled out for brief interrogation. During interrogation, a voice note dropped as a message on his phone, when opened, it was a reply from Sheu’s friend, on the run, who confirmed to have seen his message. “A prior voice note sent by Sheu was opened; he told his friend that he is not financially buoyant and told him to contact him if there is any kidnapping job available that can fetch them some money. “Sheu was later arrested and taken to the station for proper investigation, where he confessed to other crimes he has committed ranging from kidnapping and robbery in various places like Kogi, Niger, Akoko, Ifon, Ipele axis and Owo. Odunlami stated that their style of operation was locating the victim’s residence, going in there and picking them into the bush, after which ransom would be demanded. The PPRO noted that efforts were ongoing to arrest other members of the group. “Further investigation led to the arrest of Abubakar Umar, 24 years old, who also confessed to committing a similar crime as a gang member. “The suspects stated further that they were responsible for the kidnap at Supare Akoko that led to the death of Alaba Abe Excel in April 2024, and in September, they all kidnapped another person in a popular Hotel in Owo,” she added.
Israel conducted raids on Gaza Friday, pressing its year-long war to crush Hamas after dealing it a massive blow with the killing of its leader, Yahya Sinwar. Hailing the killing of Sinwar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack was not over, but added that it was “the beginning of the end”. He called the death of Sinwar, mastermind of the deadliest attack in Israeli history, an “important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas”. I want to sell out 02 Arena for Yoruba language and act – Yusuf Gemini Balogun, oral poet0:03 / 1:00 Chief of Hamas in Gaza at the time of the attack, Sinwar had become the militant group’s overall leader after the killing in July of its political chief, Ismail Haniyeh. US President Joe Biden, whose government is Israel’s top arms provider, said: “This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.” “There is now the opportunity for a ‘day after’ in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.” – Air strikes – Hamas’s October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures that includes hostages killed in captivity. Militants also took 251 people hostage during the attack. Ninety-seven remain in Gaza, including 34 who Israeli officials say are dead. The killing of Sinwar did not spell an end to Israel’s air strikes on Gaza, with several raids overnight and early Friday pummelling the territory, according to an AFP journalist on the ground. According to Gaza’s civil defence agency, rescuers recovered the bodies of three Palestinian children from the rubble of their home in the north of the territory after it was hit at dawn. The Israel military said it was pressing its operation in Jabalia, one of the focuses of the fighting in recent weeks, and where strikes on Thursday killed at least 14 people, according to two hospitals. A UN-backed assessment has found some 345,000 Gazans face “catastrophic” levels of hunger this winter. With the civilian toll in Gaza mounting, Israel has faced criticism over its conduct of the war, including from the United States. Israel’s campaign to crush Hamas and bring back the hostages seized by militants has killed 42,438 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures which the UN considers reliable. Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi vowed to keep fighting “until we capture all the terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre and bring all the hostages home”. – ‘Opportunity’ – Some Israelis hailed the news of Sinwar’s death as a sign of better things to come. “I am celebrating the death of Sinwar, who has brought us nothing but harm, who has taken people hostage,” said one Israeli woman, Hemda, who only gave her first name. Attending a Tel Aviv rally demanding the hostages’ release, 60-year-old Sisil, who also gave only her first name, said his killing presented a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for “a hostage deal to end the war”. According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, Biden called him to congratulate him on Sinwar’s killing, with the two leaders vowing to seize “an opportunity to promote the release of the hostages”. Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government and international mediators to leverage “this major achievement to secure hostages’ return”. Andrew Miller, until recently a senior State Department official dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Israel was unlikely to agree to a negotiated solution to end the war and free the hostages just yet. “I’m not especially optimistic that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition will do this. Another Israeli government might, but they just haven’t… demonstrated a real interest in this track,” said Miller, now at the left-leaning Center for American Progress. But he said Sinwar’s killing might change “the public conversation” and deprive Netanyahu of a stated reason for not reaching a deal with Hamas. – ‘Major achievement’ – With Hamas already weakened more than a year into the Gaza war, Sinwar’s death deals an immense blow to the organisation, but whether it will trigger a shift in its own strategy is unclear. It is also unclear whether his successor will be named in Qatar, where Hamas’s political leadership has long been based, or in Gaza, which is the focus of the fighting. The Israeli military said Sinwar was killed in a firefight in southern Gaza’s Rafah, near the Egyptian border, while being tracked by a drone. It released drone footage of what it said was Sinwar’s final moments, with the video showing a wounded militant throwing an object at the drone. Israel is also fighting a war in Lebanon, where Hamas ally Hezbollah opened a front by launching cross-border strikes that forced tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes. Hezbollah said late Thursday it was launching a new phase in its war against Israel, and that it had used precision-guided missiles against troops for the first time. On the same day, Israel conducted strikes on the south Lebanese city of Tyre, where the militant group and its allies hold sway. The Israeli military said five soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon, taking to 19 the number of troop deaths announced since Israel launched incursions into Lebanon last month. In Lebanon, the war since late September has left at least 1,418 people dead, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the real toll is likely higher. The war has also drawn in other Iran-aligned armed groups, including in Yemen, Iraq and Syria. Iran on October 1 conducted a missile strike on Israel, for which Israel has vowed to retaliate. Tehran’s mission to the United Nations said Thursday that Sinwar’s killing would lead to the strengthening of “resistance” in … Read more
A murder suspect, Okhide Michael, who ran away four years and half years after he stabbed his parents, Clement and Toyin Okhide, to death, has been arrested by detectives from Alausa Division of Lagos State Police Command. Thenewsbearer reliably gathered that Michael was apprehended by the detectives at Ikeja Mall beside Alausa Secretariat at about 8:16am on Thursday, October 17. Michael was reportedly sighted by the mall after 11pm on Wednesday, October 16, which was reported to the Commissioner of Police, Olanrewaju Ishola. The report, it was further learnt, prompted the CP’s directive to the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Alausa Division, CSP Tokunbo Abaniwonda, to ensure the suspect’s arrest. A credible source that spoke with Thenewsbearer said that Michael had moving about the Alausa area begging for alms, but was not recognised as a wanted suspect because of his dirty looks. When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrest of the suspect, saying that an investigation is ongoing. It will be recalled that Michael stabbed his parents to death on February 4, 2020, in their home at Akeem Gbadamosi Street, Ejigbo area of Lagos, and also injured his sister, Mary, before he fled the house. Since then, the Lagos police command had been in manhunt for him to answer for his criminal act. His late father, aged 60, was a lawyer while his mother, who was 50 years old at the time she was killed, was said to be a matron at Isolo General Hospital. Residents told of how Michael had been a student in three private universities but was expelled as a result of his consumption of hard drugs. His parents’ efforts to make him successful in life only ended in their being murdered by him, the residents further said. At the time of the murder, police personnel from the Ejigbo Division, which had CSP Olabisi Okuwobi as the DPO then, recovered the corpses and deposited them at Isolo General Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
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