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Tag: Delta

  • VIDEO: Angry youths match against SARS in Delta, bring coffins

    VIDEO: Angry youths match against SARS in Delta, bring coffins

    There was tension in Delta State on Sunday following an alleged killing of a yet to be identified man by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.

    Some aggrieved youths in Ughelli, Delta State on Sunday came out en masse to protest against police brutality in the Southern state.

    The irate youths as seen in a viral video hired a truck and loaded it with coffins.

    In the video, some of the protesters demanded that the government should ban SARS officials from operating in the Ughelli part of Delta State.

    Watch video:

    Meanwhile, the Hon. Minister of State, Labour & Employment, Festus Keyamo in a series of tweet on Sunday clarified some of the controversies surrounding the incident.

    According to Keyamo (a) The outfit involved in this case is called Operation Delta Safe and not SARS (b) the victim was not shot as confirmed by his brother, but fell out of the Police vehicle when being taken to the station after arrest. The brother said he was pushed; the Police said he jumped.

  • Delta chief priest stabbed to death for impregnating Muslim lady

    Delta chief priest stabbed to death for impregnating Muslim lady

    The Chief Priest of the Igbudu community in Warri South council area of Delta, Victor Alawuru, has been stabbed to death for allegedly impregnating a Muslim lady.

    According to reports, the incident happened along Degbori Street in the Hausa Quarters axis of the community with people running helter-skelter in the neighbourhood on Friday evening.

    It was gathered youths of the Igbudu market sought to launch a retaliatory attack on the hoodlums believed to be some ‘Hausa boys’.

    The victim, 23, was said to be a grandson of Alawuru, a popular family name in Warri and Udu areas, and only took up his priestly duties about two years ago.

    According to residents, the victim impregnated a ‘Hausa lady’, which did not go well with her Muslim parents, who are against the relationship based on religious differences.

    Some others claimed that he (the victim) was killed because he rejected the pregnancy.

    It was gathered the deceased had gone for a festival on the street when he was attacked and stabbed by hoodlums reportedly from the Hausa enclave.

    “The deceased was killed because a Hausa lady got pregnant for him. He allegedly rejected the pregnancy. The incident has brought serious tension,” a source claimed.

    Another source said: “The hoodlums who are believed to be from the Hausa community attacked and stabbed him to death on Thursday.

    “The Igbudu community youths are angry over the death of the deceased. Thus, fighting, robbery, and a riot broke out between the Urhobo and Hausa groups.

    “The ever-busy Igbudu market was forcefully closed on Friday evening as traders ran away for the safety of their lives. And there are fears that the youths may avenge the death of the chief priest.

    “The incident is a bad one because cult groups have taken over the fight. The last person that was killed by the same group during the lockdown was the younger brother of Mr. Victor. The people of the priest are angry”.

    A senior police source at the Warri Area Command revealed that the parents wanted the girl to terminate the pregnancy but she refused.

    “They said a Hausa girl was pregnant for him and the parents wanted her to terminate the pregnancy but she ran to the police station.

    “So the girl said Christian girls do get pregnant for Muslims so why can’t she? And she decided to keep the pregnancy.

    “They were having a festival in that area and the said chief priest was passing. They said some Hausa boys now pointed that ‘look at the man that brought disgrace (impregnating the Hausa girl) to us’ and one of them stabbed him to death,” the police source disclosed.

    Asked if the chief priest had rejected the pregnancy, the Police said “he didn’t. They said their daughter shouldn’t have been pregnant for a non-Muslim”.

    Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, confirmed the killing of the chief priest by suspected ‘Hausa boys’.

    “Yes, the chief priest was killed but not because he was a chief priest. The area is calm now,” the PPRO said.

  • #ENDSARS protest returns: SARS operatives kill man in Delta, flee with victim’s SUV [Video]

    #ENDSARS protest returns: SARS operatives kill man in Delta, flee with victim’s SUV [Video]

    The Nigeria Police Force’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS came under attack on Twitter yesterday after some SARS operatives allegedly shot dead a young man in front of a hotel in the Ughelli area of Delta State.

    The operatives allegedly shot the citizen and left the scene.

    A trending footage shows them spending off in the victim’s vehicle – a white Lexus SUV.

    Meanwhile, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Minister of Youths and Sport Development, Sunday Dare, and a global rights group, Amnesty international, were among prominent voices which condemned the recurring SARS brutality.

    Atiku, wrote on Twitter, “The SARS unit of the police was set up to confront violent crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping and other related crimes. However, the unit has today morphed into an oppressor of the Nigerian masses who strive every day for a better life.

    “It is expedient that the activities of SARS are reviewed to ensure that the rogue elements are excised from the unit and sanity returned to its operations.

    “I strongly condemn their cruel actions against our people, and I urge the government to rise to the occasion and nip this monstrosity in the bud with the seriousness it deserves. Reports of intimidation, harassment and outright extortion by officers of SARS have continued unabated.”

    The minister said the Federal Government would look into the reports of harassment of Nigerians by SARS.

    In a statement issued on Saturday by John Joshua-Akanji, his special assistant, Dare said he had been monitoring reports of the attacks by SARS, adding that relevant government agencies will investigate the incidents.

    He said, “The ministry of youth and sports is worried about the menace, increasing harassments and attacks by SARS, especially targeted at youths and other innocent members of the public, and brought it to the attention of the relevant security agencies in Abuja,” the statement read.

    “The minister of youth and sports development, who has also been monitoring the reports of alleged SARS harassment and attacks, has called for immediate investigations that will unravel the truth.”

    Meanwhile, the Amnesty International said, “SARS officers are getting rich through their brutality. In Nigeria, it seems that torture is a lucrative business. End SARS now, end police brutality.

    “The majority of the victims of torture in SARS custody are poor and unable to hire legal representatives. In some cases when detainees cannot afford to pay bribes, they are simply tortured more.

    “The complete failure of Nigerian authorities to bring an end to the gross human rights violations perpetuated by the SARS or to bring any SARS officer to justice is shocking and unacceptable.”

  • Driver crushes female motorcyclist to death in Delta, flees scene

    Driver crushes female motorcyclist to death in Delta, flees scene

    An unidentified middle-aged woman was on Friday, crushed to death after a Lexus Jeep rammed into her motorcycle along the New Sapele/Agbor Road opposite Ebedei Secondary, Adonishaka in Ukwuani LGA Delta State.

    Three persons including a pastor with Winner’s Chapel ,simply identified as Pastor Ngbomini, survived the accident, it was learnt.

    It was learnt a speeding Lexus Saloon car veered off its lane after a burst tyre and crushed the woman who was heading to Obiaruku on a motorcycle.

    Eyewitness confrim the woman died on the spot while the driver of the vehicle fled the scene of the accident.

  • Four drown as flood sacks Delta communities

    Four drown as flood sacks Delta communities

    Tragedy struck on Tuesday at Omeligboma camp in Oko community, near Asaba, Delta State, where four persons drown while fleeing from ravaging flood.

    The victims, whose identities were yet to be ascertained, were on board a boat escaping from the menacing flood when the boat suddenly capsized at the middle of the river.

    They were said to be rushing out of the trapped settlement to higher grounds when the unfortunate incident occurred.
    Captain of the ill-fated boat was said to be the only survivor of the mishap.

    The camp, our correspondent learnt, had earlier be diserted following repeated warnings by government officials that those in flood prone areas should relocate to higher plains to avoid being trapped in the predicted flood.

    However, some persons stayed behind, hoping for divine intervention to stave off the disaster.
    The victims of the boat mishap were said to be among those who stayed back until the flood assumed unbearable dimension before they attempted to flee using the boat.

    As at the time of filing this report, the bodies of the victims were yet to be recovered, although local divers were said to have intensified search.
    Meanwhile, the ravaging flood has already submerge thatched houses, farm produce and other properties in the camp.
    This is even as the flood has already cut off Asaba-Ase road leading to several communities in Isoko and Ndokwa areas of the state, with reaidents describing the disaster as unexpected.

    Most of the residents of the community, including traders from different parts of Delta State, where in the community market when the ravaging flood cut-off the access roads.

    President-General of Isoko Development Union, Iduh Amadhe who visited Ekregbesi community in Uzere Kingdom, Isoko South locality said, urgent intervention must be taken to rescue the people who are trapped.

    Amadhe added that if urgent steps are not taken, over 40 vehicles may remain at the other side of the road till November 2020.

    A trader from Igbide, Miss Florence Godspower said she passed through the road in the morning with her goods to the market, but suddenly, they were informed that the road has been cut by the ravaging flood.

    She said to cross one person across the flooded portion of the road, a commuter will spend N500 while speed boat from the market area, costs N2,000 each.

  • Defection: We’ll not miss Uduaghan – APC

    Defection: We’ll not miss Uduaghan – APC

    The Delta Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that it would not miss the former governor of the state, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, who defected from APC to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday.

    The APC announced this on Monday in statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Sylvester Imonina in Asaba, while reacting to Uduaghan’s defection.

    According to the statement, the Delta APC will not miss him in any way because APC accommodated him out of compassion as an orphaned politician displaced by the same PDP he has returned to. We wish him well.

    “In the past two weeks, there have been rumours of perfection of plans by the former Governor to defect to the PDP. Today, the 28th of September, 2020, those behind the rumour have been justified by the formal defection by him to the PDP.

    “Well, for records purpose, Gov. Uduaghan came into APC as a loner and he has returned to where he came from in the same way.

    “In politics and in line with freedom of association as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, he has the right to choose whosoever to associate with for whatever reasons.

    “However, he should not forget the fact that when the PDP was uninhabitable for him, he was housed by Delta APC, despite the fact that he did not come to APC with anybody.

  • [ICYMI] Decomposing bodies of four ‘yahoo boys’ found in Delta apartment

    [ICYMI] Decomposing bodies of four ‘yahoo boys’ found in Delta apartment

    Operatives of Delta State Police Command have discovered four dead bodies at a private apartment in the university community of Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State.

    As at the time they were discovered, their stomachs had protruded with their skin peeling off.

    The deceased persons, all males, were said to have consumed a meal of noodles the previous night.

    Two others who also partook in the meal are now battling for survival at the hospital they were rushed to. A seventh victim has already regained consciousness at the hospital.

    The seven middle aged men suspected to be Yahoo boys, were cramped into the one room apartment.

    Neighbours in the area had woken up to a foul smell coming out from one of the rooms in the compound and immediately alerted the local vigilance members, who in turn informed the police of the development.

    On arrival, seven persons were found in the single room apartment.

    Public Relations Officer of the state police command, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya who confirmed the incident, said the victims were not students of the Delta State University (DELSU).

    “It’s not hostel room but a private apartment. They are not students. According to the caretaker, the room was rented to one person but at times, he brings seven or nine people.

    “But on this particular occasion, they were seven in the room. It was the vigilante who called the attention of the police.

    “Residents of the compound called the vigilante that an offensive odour was coming out of a room but by the time they got there with the police they found out that four people were dead, two unconscious and one conscious.

    “They were rushed to Eku Specialist Hospital. Doctors confirmed the four of the boys dead while two are still receiving medical treatment.

    “The one that was conscious said the previous night, they prepare noodles to eat only for him minutes later to started feeling unease. By the time he got up, others were lying down.

    “They are not students of the university. They only live in Abraka. The room was just a room apartment. Their bellies were swollen and their bodies were peeling as if they were poured hot water,” she said.

  • Ex-Delta Gov, Emmanuel Uduaghan yields to pressure, abandons APC for PDP

    Ex-Delta Gov, Emmanuel Uduaghan yields to pressure, abandons APC for PDP

    Immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan is set to officially return to the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) from the All Progressives Congress (APC), TheNewsGuru.com, TNG can authoritatively report.

    TNG reports that Dr Uduaghan who governed the state from 2007 to 2015 under the PDP platform left for the APC in August 2018.

    According to authoritative sources, Dr Uduaghan’s decision to return to the PDP is based on months of intense, strategic meetings and lobbying initiated by his predecessor Chief James Onanefe Ibori; his successor and incumbent, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and other leaders of the party in the state and at the national level.

    Impeccable sources within the Delta State Government House also confirmed seeing the ex-governor around a couple of times meeting with Governor Okowa and other PDP power brokers in the state.

    It was gathered that the misunderstandings which led to the ex-governor’s defection to the APC two years ago had all been resolved hence his readiness to return to the party.

    Confirming the development, a prominent member of the PDP in the state and Uduaghan’s 2007-2015 administration said: “His Excellency, former Governor Uduaghan is joining us (PDP) soon. A big ceremony is being put in place by Governor Okowa to welcome him to the family where he rightly belongs. We are happy that our leader is coming back”, top member of the then Uduaghan’s administration confided in this reporter.

    TNG reports that aside ruling the state for eight years, the former governor served as Secretary to the State Government under the Ibori administration. He was also a former commissioner for health in the state. The incumbent governor, Okowa also served as Secretary of State to the Uduaghan government before he was elected senator.

    Meanwhile, the medical doctor turned administrator and politician is yet to issue any official statement concerning his return to the PDP.

  • One dead, four injured as building collapses in Delta

    One dead, four injured as building collapses in Delta

    One person died and four others were injured after a building collapsed in Okwe, Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.

    It was gathered that the one-storey building was originally a car park which was remodelled. It was being roofed when it collapsed. The owner, Capt. Sam Akaraiwe (rtd), supervised the work.

    The structure was being built in a compacted space in the compound with two structures – an uncompleted decked building and a bungalow where the owner resides. Another structure at decking level was also being built in the limited space.

    Neighbours tried to rescue those trapped in the rubbles before rescue workers arrived with two excavators.

    Akaraiwe was injured on the head. His ringing phone helped rescue workers to locate him in the debris.

    A survivor, Ike Ifenacho, said he was on the roof doing skeletal wood work when he noticed the building was caving in and so jumped off. He sustained minor injuries on his jaw and leg.

    An eyewitness, Friday James, said he heard a big bang and ran out of his house. He quickly mobilised others with shovel and started digging to rescue those trapped under.

    According to him, three persons were rescued while one person was brought out dead.

    Chairman of Oshimili council Uche Osadebe blamed the collapse to the use of substandard materials and self-supervision. He added that the building was also not approved by relevant government ministries and agencies.

    An official of Red Cross and Leader of Disaster Management Team in the council, Sunday Moses, and Head of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) Okpor Daniel said four persons were rescued alive while one was brought out dead from the rubble.

  • Gunmen kidnap 33-year-old entrepreneur in Delta

    Gunmen kidnap 33-year-old entrepreneur in Delta

    A 33-year-old woman identified as Mrs. Akpezi Okpidi was on Saturday morning reportedly kidnapped in Ughelli town, Ughelli North council area of Delta State.

    According to reports, the incident happened at about 8 am, while the victim was headed for her shop in Otovwodo, a very busy part of the town.

    The kidnapped victim is believed to have been waylaid along the Ughelli Township Stadium axis of the community.

    A source close to the victim disclosed that she was whisked from her Honda car into a black tinted GLK Benz driven by the suspects.

    It was gathered that the suspects, whose numbers could not be ascertained, drove through the Ughelli/Patani Expressway.

    “She was kidnapped this morning. She was taken from her car on her way to work. It appears there were no gunshots. No one is over there yet to get a photo,” the source said.

    Meanwhile, the Delta State Police Command was yet to issue an official statement concerning the incident as at the time of filing this report.