TheNewsGuru

Tag: Benin

  • AFCON Qualifier: Super Eagles arrive Benin Republic by boat [Photos]

    AFCON Qualifier: Super Eagles arrive Benin Republic by boat [Photos]

    The Super Eagles have arrived in Port Novo, Benin Republic for their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against their neighbours.

    Gernot Rohr’s men upon arrival in the city by boat had their mandatory COVID-19 tests.

    “We have arrived in Porto Novo. We also had our mandatory Covid test done at the point of entry,” read a tweet on the team’s official handle. “We’ve settled in and lodged at the Golden Tulip Le Diplomat Hotel in Cotonou.”

    Nigeria are billed to take on the Squirrels of Benin Republic in a Group L 2021 AFCON qualifier on Saturday, aiming to book a place in the competition scheduled to take place in Cameroon.

    The 2013 African champions have called up 20 foreign-based players including in-form Leicester City forward, Kelechi Iheanacho for the game.

    Although the Benin Republic shares a border with Nigeria, reports suggest the Eagles are going by sea largely due to the concerns over the condition of the road connecting the two nations.

    There were fears over the move to travel by sea but the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Head Coach of the side, Gernot Rohr, have assured the team that they will enjoy the trip.

    After Saturday’s encounter, the team will return to Nigeria to face Lesotho in another AFCON qualifier on Tuesday in Lagos State.

    Rohr’s men are top of Group L standings after four games in which they have amassed eight points with their neighbours trailing them by just a point.

  • Obaseki demolishes Oshiomhole’s deputy, lawmaker’s houses in Benin

    Obaseki demolishes Oshiomhole’s deputy, lawmaker’s houses in Benin

    The Governor Godwin Obaseki led Edo State Government on Tuesday evening, demolished a property belonging to the immediate past deputy governor of the state, Dr. Pius Odubu.

    Also demolished were properties belonging to a member of House of Representatives representing Owan Federal Constituency of the state, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere; and that of the owner of Sports Marketing Outfit, Pamozi, Mr. Mike Etamuagbon.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG gathered that the properties demolished were all situated at the Government Reservation Areas (GRA) within the state capital, Benin City.

    According to reports, Odubu’s property was occupied by his younger brother and his family at the time it was demolished, while that of Ihonvbere was still under construction.

    While reacting to the destruction, Odubu described the demolition by the state government as unfortunate, saying the matter was already before the court.

    He said he had read on the newspaper in January this year that his Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to his property situated at Dennis Osadebe Avenue in the Government Reserve Area (GRA) in Benin City had been revoked.

    “But the information concerning the demolition came to me this afternoon, March 23, that my property situated at Dennis Osadebe Avenue has been brought down by agents of the government on the directive of the governor.”

    “Before now, my attention was brought to a publication in the Observer newspaper in January that the C of O of my property have been revoked without prior notice given to me.

    “I went to court on the matter and I am surprised that after they have been served, the government still went ahead to bring down my house with a bulldozer.

    “My younger one was in the house when it was brought down and they did not give them notice nor allow them to remove any of their properties before destroying the place,” he said.

    Narrating the incident, Mrs. Precious Odubu, wife to the former deputy governor’s younger brother, said at about 4pm, she noticed some policemen who came into the compound and she approached them to inquire about their mission.

    “The way they came in, not through the main gate, I was afraid and asked about their mission and they told me that they want to demolish the house and if there are children in the building they should be brought out.

    “Without even waiting for my response, they just brought in their bulldozers and started destroying the house without allowing us to remove our properties,” she explained.

  • Nearly 5,000 people displaced by Nigeria’s communal violence arrive in Benin

    Nearly 5,000 people displaced by Nigeria’s communal violence arrive in Benin

    Nearly 5,000 people, displaced by Nigeria’s communal violence, have arrived at Beninese villages in Pobè, a border commune located about 100 km from Cotonou, PANA learned on Saturday from sources close to the authorities of the commune.

    They said 4,477 people made up of 2,163 men and 2,314 women have taken refuge in the commune of Pobè for a week.

    “A total of 688 households are affected by this massive displacement of Nigerian citizens after the inter-community clashes between the Peulhs and the Nago in the border area,” according to a publication of the communal communication unit.

    Welcomed in the Igana district, they have been visited by the political and administrative authorities who reassured them of the arrangements made for their safety and to offer them better living conditions.

    “I can assure you, you are our brothers and sisters, you are our parents, you are our friends. So your safety will be assured. That is why the police are already mobilised for you,” said the mayor of Pobè, Adebayo Simon Dina.

    The National Civil Protection Agency, the Beninese Agency for Integrated Border Management, the World Food Programme, UN Children’s Fund, Care Benin-Togo, the Police, Departmental Directorates of Health and Social Affairs, are, among others, the organisations that have already visited the displaced persons.

    (PANA/NAN)

  • Accident: 4 burnt to death on Ijebu Ode-Benin expressway

    Accident: 4 burnt to death on Ijebu Ode-Benin expressway

    No fewer than four persons were burnt to death on Sunday in a lone accident involving a 14-passenger commercial bus at Atoyo, inbound Ogbere on Ijebu Ode -Benin expressway.

    Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, the Public Relations Officer, Ogun Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), confirmed the incident to newsmen in Abeokuta.

    Akinbiyi, who said that the accident occurred around 11:50 a.m., noted that it was caused by brake failure and disobedience on the part of the driver of the bus.

    “A tanker loaded with black oil inbounds Benin through the Ijebu Ode-Benin expressway, spilled its content on the road due to leakage from the tanker and had to stop when the attention of the driver was called by other drivers driving in the same direction.

    “However, when TRACE, Federal Road Safety Corps and the police got to the scene, they had to divert and re-route traffic, so that inbound traffic to Benin can join the outbound traffic section.

    “Because it is not safe for vehicles to drive on the black oil which has already covered the length and breath of the inbound section,” he said.

    According to him, the driver of the commercial bus disobeyed the warning at the diversion point and choose to drive on the black oil.

    “In the process, the driver experienced a break failure, lost control and ran into the bush hitting a tree in the process before the vehicle was engulfed in fire, burning four passengers to death out of the 14 on board the bus.

    “The whereabouts of the remaining 10 can not be ascertained as at the time of filling this report,” he said.

    He said that the deceased were burnt beyond recognition, adding that the number plate of the vehicle could not be ascertained.

    Akinbiyi disclosed that the Ogbere Divisional Police command had taken over the case, saying the driver of the tanker loaded with the black oil is already in the custody of the police.

    The TRACE spokesman called on drivers, particularly, commercial vehicle drivers to cooperate and show understanding with traffic managers so as to make the road safe for all users.

  • Security in Benin city worsens amid cult killings

    Security in Benin city worsens amid cult killings

    The security situation in Benin city, the Edo capital has taken a turn for the worse following a jump in cases of kidnapping, armed robbery and cult-related killings, checks have revealed.

    The upsurge in the crimes was first noticed since the #ENDSARS protests that led to the release of no fewer than 1900 from two Correctional Centres, burning of at least eight police stations and the looting of their armouries by hoodlums.

    Night life in the capital city, in the meantime, has since ground to a halt as incidences of kidnappings and armed robbery have escalated.

    While residents of the capital city were still reeling from the high crime rate, cult related killings, mostly linked to clashes between rival Vikings and Aye confraternities, have only heightened the fears of the residents in different parts of Benin.

    The tally from the cult related killings indicated that no fewer than 30 people were killed within the past week, with three others similarly killed on Sunday by suspected cultists in the city.

    Two of the bodies were discovered at Urohra Junction, one by pipeline junction in Eyaen. and on Saturday, two bodies were found around Uselu, while Evidence Street by Isihor accounted for three others.

    Before then, several people lost their lives in different parts of the city, including Idogbo, Y-Junction, Nomayo, Three House all along Sokponba Road, Ogida Barracks, Siluko road, Costain area in New Benin, Aduwawa near Oando filling station, Upper Mission, near Ewa Road junction, Cherubim and Seraphim area of Upper Mission.

    Meanwhile, the police are soliciting for information from the public that would help them recover stolen arms and ammunition from the police stations that were looted, trashed or burnt in the state.

    When contacted, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Babatunde Kokumo, said the attack on police facilities, burning of police stations and patrol vehicles during the EndSARS protests, that turned violent, had affected their operations.

    He, however, assured that the police will gradually resume work at their duty posts to check crime and criminality in the state.

    According to him, in Upper Sokponba in Ikpoba-Okha axis, three police facilities were burnt down displacing the DPOs and other police officers in these divisions.

    “These officers now report at the state command headquarters, we now send them on patrol from there so you should expect some hitches, but we will continue to work and get things right.

    “The EndSARS protests, which were hijacked by hoodlums, has actually impacted negatively on police operations and unleashed attacks on police facilities.

    “How do you expect, where 200 inmates escaped, for things to be normal? We were doing our best to arrest the criminals in Edo before the jail break and we are equally trying our best now to see that the escapees are re-arrested and brought to book,” he told NAN.

    He urged the media to cooperate with and appreciate the efforts of the Police, especially now that they are expected to stem the tide of crime, whereas they lacked operational vehicles, arms and ammunition.

  • 100L UNIBEN student, Uwaila, gang-raped, murdered inside church buried

    100L UNIBEN student, Uwaila, gang-raped, murdered inside church buried

    It was an atmosphere full of emotions on Friday during the service of songs and burial of the 100 Level Microbiology student of University of Benin (UNIBEN), Uwaila Vera Omozuwa, who was gangraped and murdered inside a Redeemed Christian Church of God parish in Edo State.

    The cleric in charge of Peace Sanctuary of the RCCG, Benin, Pastor Dele Balogun, described the late Omozuwa as a very devout member of the church, who did not joke with the things of God.

    Pastor Balogun also noted that although the incident was painful, but the murdered undergraduate was committed to God’s work to the end.

    Omozuwa’s remains were later interred at the Third Cemetery, Benin.

    The members of Omozuwa’s family, in a press statement, described the gangraped undergraduate as a very hardworking and committed daughter, who would be greatly missed.

    They said she lived her life as a dedicated Christian, who took the things of God very seriously.

    The undergraduate was reading her books inside the church, when she was gangraped and murdered.

    Edo Commissioner of Police, Babatunde Kokumo, later paraded six suspects: Nelson Ogbebor, Akato Valentine, Mrs. Tina Samuel, Mrs. Mary Ade, Nosa Osabohien and Collins Ulegbe, in connection with the dastardly act.

  • BREAKING: Prisoners freed after jailbreak in Edo as thugs hijack #EndSars protest [+Video]

    BREAKING: Prisoners freed after jailbreak in Edo as thugs hijack #EndSars protest [+Video]

    By Emma Ovuakporie

    #EndSARS protest was on Monday hijacked by rampaging thugs who attacked and freed inmates from Benin Custodian Facility in Edo State.

    A reliable source privy to this development told TheNewsGuru (TNG) that the hoodlums had stormed the custodian facility at about 9am chanting war songs and attacking prison officials.

    “At a stage, the prison officials started firing the protesters but they were over powered by the angry youths.

    “As I speak to you now virtually all the government vehicles parked within the facility have been destroyed.

    ” I doubt whether there’s any prisoner still left in the facility here in Benin.

    Watch video:

  • JUST IN: FG finally agrees to repair Benin-Sapele-Warri expressway

    JUST IN: FG finally agrees to repair Benin-Sapele-Warri expressway

    The federal government (FG) has finally agreed to carry out repairs work on the ever busy Benin-Sapele-Warri expressway.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) had earlier reported on the bad state of the road from the death trap fringes of Benin City through the horrible Ologbo axis to gully-prone Oghara, wobbly Sapele bridges and the outskirts of Warri.

    Also, during a debate recently on the floor of the Senate, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege had lamented the current state of the road, stressing the road is nothing to write home about.

    However, following constructive and fruitful engagements between the Delta Central Senator and the Minister for Works, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, the road would now be fixed.

    According to a statement by Yomi Odunuga, Special Adviser to the DSP on Media Matters, the Federal Ministry of Works was finalising preparations to undertake major works on this very important national corridor.

    Omo-Agege commended the Minister’s responsiveness, understanding and assurances on the need to urgently overcome the obvious and very serious challenges that the present state of the road poses to citizens.

    TNG reports the deplorable state of the Benin-Sapele-Warri expressway has caused untold hardship on the people and businesses operating in large parts of the Niger Delta region.

  • GRAPHIC VIDEOS: Two confirmed dead, scores injured as hoodlums shoot #EndSARS protesters in Benin

    GRAPHIC VIDEOS: Two confirmed dead, scores injured as hoodlums shoot #EndSARS protesters in Benin

    At least two persons have been confirmed dead and scores injured as hoodlums fired gun shots at #EndSARS protesters in Benin, capital of Edo state.

    One of the dead protesters was identified simply as Ikpomwosa.

    The peaceful protest by hundreds of youths which began at the city centre, later turned bloody, as the hoodlums clashed with the protesting youths.

    It was gathered that some youths, called Ogbe Boys who collect revenue for Oredo local government council, accused the protesters of preventing them from collecting money from vehicles using the car park.

    The hoodlums were said to have suddenly appeared with guns, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons to attack the protesters.

    While some of the protesting youths took to their heels, others stayed back to persuade the hoodlums that the peaceful protest was for all of the youths and that they were not out to fight anybody.

    It was further learnt that the hoodlums who were clad in red T-shirt, were saying “why are they disturbing our work,” and in the process brought guns, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons to attack the protesting youths.

    Some of those who received gunshot injuries in the ensuing violence were later rushed to the nearby Central Hospital.

    The body of Ikpomwosa was conveyed in an ambulance through the Reservation Road to the Government House.

    One of the injured persons, Abere Godswill, said the hoodlums descended on him thinking he wanted to video as they removed cutlasses from their vehicle

    “I didn’t join the protest, I was coming from the bank when I met them on the road. Because I held phone in my hand, they started beating me saying I wanted to video them. They collected the phone and I had to run for my life,” he said

    The youths however, later regrouped after the hoodlums had been chased away and continued the protest.

    Also speaking, one of the protesters, Efosa Igbinoba, said they were at the Ring Road to protest police brutality and good governance in Nigeria, only to be attacked by hoodlums.

    “We started the protest from Sapele Road, but on getting to the Ring Road, hoodlums just appeared from nowhere with cutlasses and guns to attack us and disrupt the protest.

    “Our demands are, don’t end SARS and come with SWAT. Police should be reformed as well as reduction of salary of the members of the House of Representative and the Senate,” he said.

    Another protester, Victoria Nkechi, (60), said she is on the street to support the youths in their protest for good governance.

    “Years ago, I called for protest due to bad governance, but no body listened to me. Today, I am glad that they are protesting for good governance today,” she said.

  • Travellers lament as Benin-Warri expressway remains impassable [PHOTOS]

    Travellers lament as Benin-Warri expressway remains impassable [PHOTOS]

    Travellers have lamented the situation of the federal government expressway from Benin to Warri as the state of the road is nothing to write home about.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the expressway from the death trap fringes of Benin City through horrible Ologbo axis to gully-prone Oghara, wobbly Sapele bridges and outskirts of Warri is a terrible nightmare for travellers.

    To reach Warri from Benin, a distance of just 100 kilometres that was initially 60 minutes drive, now takes over five hours journey.

    A failed section on the Benin-Warri expressway
    A failed section on the Benin-Warri expressway
    Mounting traffic as a result of a failed section on the Benin-Warri expressway
    Mounting traffic as a result of a failed section on the Benin-Warri expressway

    This is even as a gas truck trying to manoeuvre through potholes on the bad portion of the road at Ugbenu axis in the Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State on Sunday fell into a ditch, bursting into flames.

    Although there were no casualties as motorists scampered for safety, causing major traffic gridlock, some travellers who spoke with TNG decried the state of the road and called on the government to urgently do something about it.

    “I have been in holdup for the past 1 hour now. Just from Warri to Oghara I am spending 2 hours on this road. It is sad. This is absurd and ridiculous. The federal government should take responsibility. We all use the road and so it should be fixed,” Mercy Francis said.

    A motorist, who identified himself as Henry, told TNG, “It is pathetic, it took me almost 2 hours to get to Oghara from Mosogar. Ordinarily, this was supposed to be a journey of about 14 minutes. It is a shame. We pass through hell on this road.

    “Benin to Warri road is becoming worse on a daily basis. Benin to Warri that used to be an hour and 30 minutes drive for me back then has turned 5 hours drive for me today with serious manoeuvring to do”.

    On his part, Jeffrey Onwuka said, “Do our so-called leaders and politicians see this road? Is it that there is no money to put these roads in good shape or that they just want us to suffer? The government should act!

    “Sometimes, I wonder if this is a country that’s full of oil and agriculture. Look at common Benin republic, Togo and even Ghana they have good roads and steady light constant without stop.

    “Then you tell me that we have a government when they always embezzle us and secondly they will also send police to wait for people on their way home to search and collect their things. God help the Nigeria situation because lives are in danger for the road and bridge sake”.

    Meanwhile, as Nigeria marked 60 years of nationhood, the Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa called on the Federal Government to embark on a total reconstruction of Benin-Warri highway, saying the road has collapsed.

    The Governor made the call at an interdenominational thanksgiving service at Government House Chapel, Asaba to mark the independence anniversary of the country.

    He said that the poor state of the roads had accounted for the loss of many lives and goods in accidents and robberies and also often resulted in the loss of man-hours through unending traffic snarls.

    “I will use this opportunity to appeal to the Federal Government to attend to the Benin-Warri road; it requires total reconstruction.

    “The interventions we have been doing over the years definitely cannot bring any solutions at the moment. We will see what we can do as soon as the rains are over, but that road requires total reconstruction. It is beyond our limit as a state and we hope that the Federal Government will look into that,” the Governor said.