TheNewsGuru

Tag: Death

  • Rann Bombing: Death toll hits 236

    Rann Bombing: Death toll hits 236

     

    The death toll on last Tuesday’s accidental bombing of the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs camp in Rann, Borno State, by the Nigerian Air Force has risen to 236.

    Chairman, Kalabalge Local Government area Babagana Malaria disclosed this on Saturday while briefing the Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai.

    Buratai was in the area for an assessment tour of the affected community.

    Malaria, who demanded adequate compensation for survivors, said over 200 of the deceased had been buried by their relations.

    Malaria said: “With what happened, we are begging Mr. President to compensate us.

    “Many people have lost their lives; most of them were the bread winners.

    “About 234 people and it’s not a small number; we need to compensate these people. 234 buried by the community. And it’s even more than this.

    “The report I received from Maiduguri this morning was that two who are in the hospital have also died. Therefore we need to be compensated seriously.”

    Recall that estimates by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on Thursday put the death toll at over 170, adding that the figure was expected to rise.

     

  • Popular musician, Kiss Daniel narrowly escapes death as robbers attack Calabar Christmas Village

    …Police insists there was no robbery attack

    The annual Christmas fiesta held at the Calabar Christmas Village on Monday turned sour as armed robbers attacked people who had come for the show while a popular Nigerian musician, Daniel Anidugbe, known better in the entertainment circle as Kiss Daniel was performing.

    According to a report by The Punch, the robbers, whose numbers could not be ascertained, stormed the village at about 1am and shot repeatedly into the air while dispossessing people of their valuables.

    However, It could not be confirmed if anyone was killed in the incident, but it was learnt that several people were stabbed.

    It was learnt that some others, who sustained gunshot injuries, had been hospitalised.

    The Calabar Christmas Village, which is located in the precinct of Calabar Municipal Council Secretariat, opens for 24 hours from December 1 to December 31 every year as a central location of revelry.

    It was not clear if Kiss Daniel was injured, but an eyewitness said the robbers rushed to the stage while the pandemonium was on and succeeded in removing some items from the musician before he was whisked away by security operatives.

    An injured shop owner in the village, Glory Andem, told reporters that the presence of robbers became obvious when some spectators started throwing bottles at the musician.

    She said, “It was a serious situation and I got injured. What happened was that some guys came into the village and tried to rob Kiss Daniel when he was singing, ‘Oya talk to me o mama.’

    “They were throwing bottles and other things at him. Before we knew it, they brought out guns and started shooting. Some security men immediately rushed to the singer. But even with the security, the robbers rushed at him and removed his clothes and collected things from him.

    “They would have killed that guy. To be honest, I don’t know how he managed to escape. You know there are several thousands of people in the Christmas village usually and the situation led to a serious pandemonium.

    “They broke up everything in my shop. They took all my money. They robbed a lot of shops. Our chairs were broken. Everybody was running at the same time. It was a terrible experience.

    “Several cars were vandalised. They broke the cars to steal from them. At a point, the lights went off and I thought I was going to die. As I speak with you, I have a serious cut from the incident and I want to go to a hospital to take a tetanus injections.”

    However, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Jimoh Ozi-Obeh, in a reaction said it was not a robbery attack, but a misunderstanding between the organisers.

    He said the original plan was that Kiss Daniel and other musicians would perform at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar, but the venue was changed to the Christmas village without any notice to security agencies.

    “There was no robbery incident in Calabar and nobody was attacked by robbers in any other part of Cross River State. What happened was that the government had initially planned to host the musician at the stadium, but the plan was changed to the Calabar Christmas Village. They probably had misunderstanding with the organisers. It was the change of venue that was not properly organised,” he said.

     

  • Skater, 25 crushed to death by trailer in Ebonyi

    The Ebonyi Police Command has confirmed the crushing of a skater by an articulated vehicle in Abakaliki, on Friday evening.

    Mr Jude Madu, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), confirmed the accident to the newsmen on Saturday, noting that investigations into it had begun.

    According to him, the deceased had been identified and more information on the accident would be released next week.

    “The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the area where the accident occurred will give us more details on Monday to assist us in the investigations.

    “We assure the public that we will get to the root of the matter and ensure that such does not recur,’’ he said.

    A witness, Mr Paul Okofia, said the accident occurred at about 6 p.m. on Friday at the NEPA Junction area of the Old Abakalik-Enugu road.

    “The skater aged about 25, held the edge of an articulated vehicle which was on top speed as has been the practice among skaters who have besieged the town recently.

    “His hands apparently slipped from the vehicle which made him to fall instantly and was tragically crushed by the rear tyre of the speeding articulated vehicle,’’ he said.

    He remarked that the incident caused pandemonium in the area and disrupted free-flow of traffic for several hours along the busy road.

    “Women, especially, wailed on beholding the mangled body of the young skater as those who claimed to know him said that he had been warned repeatedly by his parents to desist from practicing the sport on express roads.

    “A mob gathered to set the articulated vehicle aflame but the police quickly intervened and brought the situation under control.

    “The corpse was eventually evacuated to a mortuary in the town as security agencies restored normal flow of traffic along the road,’’ he said.

    Mrs Eugenia Umeh, a youth activist, regretted the incident and called for stringent measures by the government to stop youths from skating on the roads in the state.

    “The State House of Assembly should immediately pass a law prohibiting such practices while parents and other stakeholders should enlighten youths on the dangers of skating on the roads.

    “The deceased has brought untold anguish and pains to his parents and relations as this should serve as a lesson to others to desist from such practices,’’ she said.

     

    NAN

     

  • Horror: Man stabs lover to death over refusal to make him next of kin

    Horror: Man stabs lover to death over refusal to make him next of kin

    A Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC female staff, Miss Sophia Phillips Horsefall, was killed by her boyfriend and his two accomplice early November, 2016 following her refusal to give him one million naira and make him, (the boyfriend) her next of kin.

    Subsequently, the deceased boyfriend and his two accomplices were, on Wednesday, summoned at a Port Harcourt magistrate’s court by the Department of State Services, DSS.

    The accused, Sotonye Martin, Innocent Oluche and Wachukwu Ugochukwu committed the murder on November 8.

    Counsel to the DSS, Mr. Eze, told the court that the first defendant, Mr. Sotonye Martin, lured the deceased, who he had a 13-year-old daughter for, to the house of the second defendant, Innocent Oluche, where he allegedly stabbed her to death.

    He claimed the first and second defendants later buried the deceased in a shallow grave, noting that they invited the third defendant, Wachukwu Ugochukwu, a spiritualist, to perform some rituals.

    According to him, the accused were brought before the court on a three-count charge which included “stabbing to death with a jack knife and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 316 and punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code Law, Laws of Rivers State 1999.”

    The accused did not take plea.

    Chief Magistrate Alikor referred the case file to the state Director of Public Prosecution, saying her court did not have jurisdiction to entertain matters over murder which was the second charge.
    She remanded the accused in prison custody and adjourned the matter indefinitely.

    Elder brother to the deceased, Mr. Amatu Phillips, while speaking with newsmen, alleged that his sister was murdered by her boyfriend of 13 years, Mr. Martin because of her wealth.

    He claimed she had some money in her account and confided in the boyfriend who later kept on pestering her for financial support.

    According to him, after the sister had allegedly given him money several times, he came again demanding for N1million which she refused.

    He alleged that the boyfriend later lured her to his friend’s house, offered her a fruit juice drink which, unknown to the sister, was drugged.

    He alleged that when the boyfriend noticed that she was dizzy from effect of the drug, he stabbed her on the neck, demanding her ATM card and password.

    He claimed the boyfriend had before that day persuaded his sister to change the name of her next of kin on her bank details to his name.

  • Suya, Isi Ewu, Kilishi can trigger premature death, says health minister

    Suya, Isi Ewu, Kilishi can trigger premature death, says health minister

    The Minister of health, Prof Isaac Adewole has said Suya, Isi- ewu, Kilisi and others are contributing to the cause of premature deaths in the country.

    He disclosed this while delivering a keynote address at the First Annual Black Tie Gala event organised by the Tristate Heart Foundation (THF) noting that the unhealthy diet of Nigerians often lead to hypertension, which is the leading cardiovascular disease in Nigeria, resulting to stroke if untreated.

    Adewole, noted that 1 in every 5 Nigerians is hypertensive and at risk of premature death. He said, “Sadly, there is widespread low consumption of proteins, fruits and vegetables and increasing patronage of fast food outlets by the population,”

    “There is also large promotion of sweetened products such as carbonated drinks, pastries, candies and other refined sugars, while excessive intake of salt is promoted by food additives such as monosodium glutamate common in delicacies such as suya, kilishi, isi-ewu, ngwo-ngwo, among others.”

    He advised Nigerians to give up eating some of their favorite traditional meat-based meals for the sake of their health with emphasis on Suya, Isi ewu, Ngwo Ngwo, Kilisi and others.

     

  • Death of corps members not due to negligence by officials – NYSC

    Death of corps members not due to negligence by officials – NYSC

     

    Following the death of three members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, the scheme, on Saturday, debunked the impression that the deaths were caused by the negligence by its personnel.

    dead-nysc-corp-member

    The NYSC expressed regret over the deaths and condoled the families of three corps members who died during the on-gong 2016 Batch ‘B’ (Stream I) Orientation Course in Bayelsa, Kano and Zamfara States respectively.

    Recall that Ifedolapo Oladepo, who died at National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, orientation camp in Kano State on Tuesday was laid to rest on Thursday.

    The Bayelsa State Orientation Camp in Kaiama, Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area of the state witnessed the death of another female member, Miss Elechi Chinyerem, aged 27. while Udeme Monday, died in Zamfara State.

    The NYSC has however set up “a high-powered committee” to investigate the causes of the death of the trio.

    The NYSC Director-General, Brig. General, Suleiman Kazaure, in a statement issued in Abuja, said, “The death of the trio followed brief illnesses and after medical teams in the camps battled to save them in line with established procedures.

    “However, in view of these unfortunate incidents in Bayelsa, Kano, and Zamfara states, management has set up a high-powered committee to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the loss the Corps members.

    “The NYSC management appreciates the concern of stakeholders, and wishes to assure the general public, especially serving and prospective corps members as well as parents and guardians that the scheme will continue to take measures aimed at ensuring the security and general well-being of youths enlisted to serve the nation on its platform.

    “Their demise, coming in their prime time when they were bracing up for further roles towards advancing their respective families, the nation and the rest of humanity, came as a rude shock to us in the NYSC family.

    “On behalf of the management, staff and corps members nationwide, I wish to express our sincere condolences to the families of the deceased corps members. May the Almighty God grant them eternal rest and give their families and the rest of us the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.

    “While we mourn the demise of these corps members, who, out of patriotic zeal, answered the clarion call to serve their fatherland, we are constrained to correct the impression of negligence being created in some quarters.

    “The management wishes to state that the welfare of corps members has always remained topmost in the priorities of the Scheme, and we have continued to strive to give our best in that regard.

    “The policy of the scheme regarding healthcare during Orientation course provides for the setting up of camp clinic manned by qualified Doctors and other Corps Health Personnel.

    “The clinics, which are also provided with drugs and other basic equipment, are detailed to render round-the-clock medical services on camp with standing arrangement to refer and ensure immediate movement of patients to more sophisticated health facilities when necessary.

    “We want to inform the public that medical teams in our camps have always been guided by the procedures of practice and in the most professional ways possible,” the statement added.

  • Truck crushes 4 school children, woman to death in Delta

    Truck crushes 4 school children, woman to death in Delta

    No fewer than four school children and a middle-aged woman were Wednesday crushed to death by a truck at the popular mechanic village, off Effurun-Warri Road in Delta State.

    The school children were reportedly trying to cross to the other side of the road when the truck ran them over at about 8am. However, in the process of trying to avoid the children, the driver swerved off the road and rammed the vehicle into a store, killing a woman also on the spot.

    An eyewitness who spoke on condition of anonymity said the body of the deceased woman was tore into pieces while two of the children had their skulls ripped open. However, the acting Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, DSP Andrew Animaka, could not be reached immediately for confirmation.

    A woman who escaped death by the whiskers said: “As soon as I noticed the speed with which the driver was coming, I decided to jump to the other side of my store; if not I would have been dead by now.”