Oduduwa News

No fewer than six people have been arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC) in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, for alleged energy theft.

The suspects which included a school teacher and a Person With a Disability(PWD) were paraded at the Osun State Command of NSCDC along Iwo road.

The Sector Commandant of NSCDC, Agboola Sunday, while parading the suspects, revealed their names as Jaye Abayomi (22yrs), Patrick Femi (37yrs), Abidemi Enoch(33yrs), Jackson Imukoro(35yrs), Fatima Adeleke(39yrs), Azeez Mutiu(40yrs) and Micheal Sunday. He added that they were arrested on October 13th 2023 in the Awosuru, Alekuwodo, Jaleyemi, Omigade and Ogo-Oluwa areas of Osogbo.

A school teacher named Patrick Femi confessed to having bypassed his electricity meter after the terminal for recharging the prepaid meter was faulty. Also, a PWD named Abidemi Enoch confessed to having bypassed his meter when he exhausted his electricity units and was unable to purchase tokens.

Similarly, the spokesperson of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company(IBEDC), Osun region, Kike Owoeye disclosed that over 100 people have been arrested for energy theft in the last seven months.

She explained, “Energy theft has to do with meter bypassing, meter tampering and illegal connection. Anybody that is found guilty of these will be prosecuted. They will be arrested through the help of law enforcement agencies and ensure that they are charged to court. We are yet to secure any conviction on the cases at hand.”

A pastor with the Christ Liberty Evangelism Church, Rosco, Iyana Iyesi, Ota, Oyenekan Oluwaseyi, and three others have been arrested with a human skull in the Saje Area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital.

ODUDUWA NEWS learnt on Sunday that Oluwaseyi and the three others, 30-year-old Ibrahim Agbowewe, 40-year-old Suleiman Ogunbunmi, and 57-year-old Gafari Akinsanya, were arrested by men of the state police command in the early hours of Saturday.

A source in the command told Newsmen that the suspects claimed they had intended to use the skull for rituals.

The source added that the arrest was made following a tip-off from members of the public about the suspects’ suspicious movement and activities in the area.

Following the intelligence, policemen were said to have stormed the area and arrested the suspects.

Oduduwa News gathered that other items such as one big calabash, one black Toyota Camry car and one ram found with the suspects had been recovered and taken to the police station.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Omolola Odutola, who confirmed the arrest, told Newsmen that the four suspects had confessed to the crime.

“We arrested the four of them. They have since confessed that they wanted to use the head for blessings and money rituals. The investigations are ongoing to unravel more details about the incident,” Odutola told Newsmen on Sunday.

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, disclosed this in its September Consumer Price Index report on Monday.

On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 5.94 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in September 2022, which was 20.77 percent.
This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in September 2023 compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., September 2022).

Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in September 2023 was 2.10 per cent, 1.08 per cent lower than the rate recorded in August 2023 (3.18 per cent).

A man who claims to be the chairman of Shokeye Community Development Area in Ogun State has slammed Governor Dapo Abiodun over the distribution of palliatives in the state.

In a video now trending on social media, he is seen with a branded bag palliative, which, according to him, contains rice for 147 households in Shokeye Estate.

He said, “I was just at home when they brought this for me as palliative for the whole of Shokeye Estate. In this estate, we have 147 houses with families and tenants.

“I’m confused now; I don’t know how to share this with 147 households in Shokeye Estate.

“I’m talking to Dapo Abiodun now; if you people know that you cannot do something, then don’t do it.

“We are not hungry; we are not beggars. So we don’t need your rice as palliative. This is not even up to one-eight of a bag of rice.

“We don’t need this rice; if you want to give us palliatives, don’t insult us. This is an insult. Shokeye Estate refuses to be insulted.”

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Femi Falana, says it is against the federal character principle for the chairmen of the two anti-graft federal agencies in Nigeria to come from the same geopolitical zone.

The senior lawyer said if the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is from the northern region, the southern region should produce the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

“If you are going to have the EFCC and the ICPC, the heads cannot come from same zone,” Mr Falana said on Monday.

Mr Falana also said the recently appointed chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, is “eminently qualified” to head the anti-graft agency having previously served as Chief of Staff to the EFCC Chairman (2016-2018) and Secretary to the Commission (2018-2023) as well as having 22 years cognate experience.

Both Mr Olukoyede and ICPC Chairman, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN), who has been in office since February 2019, are from the South-West geopolitical zone.

On October 12, 2023, President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mr Olukoyede as the new EFCC boss for a renewable term of four years in the first instance, pending Senate confirmation.

Mr Olukoyede’s resignation followed the controversial resignation of embattled ex-EFCC boss, Abdulrasheed Bawa, who was suspended on June 14, 2023 and detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) over “weighty” allegations of abuse of office levelled against him.

Many lawyers and analysts have criticised the appointment of Mr Olukoyede, saying he is not an Assistant Commissioner of Police and not qualified to lead the EFCC.

However, Mr Falana said there Mr Olukoyede is qualified to lead the anti-graft commission having previously served in some high capacity in the agency.

“There is no issue; the only issue that has been raised has to be considered by the government is that

The Oyo State Commissioner of Education, Prof. Salish Abduwlahid has confirmed closure of schools in Iwajowa Local Government due to the renewed clash and hostage between farmers and herdsmen resulting to the loss of lives while several others injured.

Confirming this today to the Correspondent of Oduduwa News in a brief chat, the Commissioner affirmed the proactive decision as a measure to safe the lives of innocent students.

The crisis which occurred few months ago was renewed last week Friday and has been a major concern for the government and all other stakeholders.

An eyewitness who spoke to ODUDUWA NEWS confirmed also that many lives lost while several other community residents have been injured in the crisis that began last week Friday.

Two members of the Amotekun Corps were reported to have died, though this has not been officially confirmed.

Schools and other institutions in the community have been closed as residents scamper for safety.

According to an eyewitness, schools in neighbouring communities like Iganna have also been shut down since the violence escalated on Saturday, October 14.

“Yes, the violence began four days ago. Injuries were recorded, but we are on the way to curb the violence. For now, I cannot provide more than this information,” he said.

This won’t be the first time the community, situated in the Oke-Ogun region of Oyo state, would experience violent farmer-herder clashes.

Recently, there was a bloodbath in the area leading to the death of locals and Fulani herders amid renewed violence often emanating from land disputes and cattle destroying farms of the host communities.

Suspected thieves have reportedly raided the palace of the Olu of Ogunmakin town in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, late Oba James Sodiya, carting away his staff of office and crown.

The attackers reportedly broke into the palace of the late monarch, who died barely two months ago, on Thursday.

Confirming the incident, the Ogun State Police spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, while addressing the newsmen in Abeokuta on Saturday, disclosed that three suspects have been arrested in connection with the crime.

Describing the incident as an abominable act, Odutola stated that “the police had recovered the crown but are still searching for the staff of office. “The suspects, Oke Oladipupo,Amusa Kazeem and Johnson Oluwole, were alleged to have entered the house where the property of the late king was kept at about 2:00 hours on October 12, 2023. An act described as an abomination.

“The staff of the office has not been recovered, but intensive action is ongoing to recover it. The suspects have been arrested and are undergoing interrogation.”