Author: Lekan Adeyeye

THE Oyo State Government, on Tuesday, urged the state high court in Ibadan not to grant bail to the ex-queen of Ooni of Ife, Naomi Shilekunola, Hamzat Oriyomi, and a school principal, Fasasi Abdullahi. The court had on December 24 remanded the trio in prison over the death of 35 children during a Christmas Funfair they organised in Ibadan, which resulted in a fatal stampede. The defendants spent both Christmas and New Year’s Day at the Nigerian Correctional Services facility in Agodi. During Tuesday’s hearing at High Court 8, Ring Road, Ibadan, the defence counsel urged the court to admit…

THREE persons repeatedly died in Ogbomoso on Tuesday when a container-laden truck lost control and fell on a commercial tricycle at Takie Junction around 9:30am. Ogbomoso is a town in Oyo state. This newspaper gathered that the articulated vehicle lost control while navigating a bend, causing the container to topple and crush the tricycle, locally known as Keke marwa. An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, said that two female passengers and the tricycle rider were trapped under the container, saying rescue efforts later confirmed all three victims died. Efforts are underway to remove the container from the road to avert further…

Says Her Grace, Philanthropy’ll Remain Reference Points THE Iyalode Musulumi of Egbaland, Dr. Lateefat Oyeyemi Kolapo, has described the passing of business icon and socialite, Princess Khadijat Adebisi Edionsere (Cash Madam) as a huge loss to Ogun State and Nigeria as a whole. In a statement issued on Monday, she said the late Edionsere (nee Elegbede), who was the Iya Suna of Egbaland and Iya Suna of Ogun State, lived an exemplary life and touched lives across divides. “Her grace, elegance and philanthropy stood out, nationwide, and anyone would be proud to have been directly or remotely connected to the…

GUNMEN suspected to be cultists have killed Fisayo Oladipo, a former youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Owo, in the Owo local government area of Ondo state. Oladipo, aged 52, was killed in the early hours of Monday, 6 January. The late APC leader was also a local government chairmanship aspirant during the administration of the late former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. More details shortly…

A POPULAR Ibadan-based broadcaster, Peter Olasupo has been summoned by the International Criminal Police Organization, INTERPOL over allegations of criminal defamation and cyber-stalking. He is to appear at the force headquarters, Shehu Shagari Way, Garki, Abuja, according to a statement posted on his Facebook page on Sunday. Olasupo said he received an official letter on December 30, 2024, requiring him to report to INTERPOL headquarters, saying that his appearance has been rescheduled to Monday, January 13, 2025, to further the investigation. “I recently received a letter with the headline Investigation Activities/Invitation Letter from the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), informing…

TEMITAYO Oluwatuyi, the Secretary to the Ondo State Government (SSG) is dead. Oluwatuyi, popularly known as ‘Tukana’, died on Saturday following complications from a road accident. Although the state government was yet to officially confirmed his death, an impeccable source who confirmed his death to our reporter in Akure said Oluwatuyi died in a private hospital on Saturday. He explained that his demise occurred few weeks after he was hospitalised due to the injuries he survived in a car accident. “Sadly, we lost him today. The doctors could not save his life. They worked tirelessly to help him survive, but…

OYO State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has approved the appointment of new 45 Permanent Secretaries and three Executive Secretaries in the state. This was disclosed in a statement shared with this newspaper by the state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade. The appointments, announced in a document signed by the Head of Service, Mrs. Olubunmi Oni, include significant changes across various sectors. Sixteen Permanent Secretaries have been deployed into the mainstream civil service, while six new Inspectors General of Education, six Permanent Secretaries in the health sector, and seven Permanent Secretaries in the local government sector have also been appointed. Additionally, one…

A FATAL road crash has claimed the lives of 13 commuters in Ondo State. The accident involved two buses at Abule Paanu, before the Ose bridge along the Owo/Ikare-Akoko Highway. Eyewitness accounts revealed that the accident occurred around 10 o’clock on Saturday morning. The source said that 14 people were involved in the crash. However, 13 were burnt beyond recognition while one person was rescued with serious injuries. The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ondo State, Samuel Ibitoye confirmed the incidents to Channels Television in a telephone conversation. Ibitoye said the tyre of one of…

SOME officers attached to the Ogun State Police Command have been arrested for allegedly demanding money from the family of a missing girl before taking action on the case. The Public Relations Officer for the Nigeria Police Force, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a post on X.com on Saturday. Adejobi stated that they were being held in detention. His post partly read: “Otta missing girl: The policemen who demanded money before they could attend to the case have been arrested and are now in detention for disciplinary action. Adejobi further reaffirmed the command’s commitment to locating the missing girl, assuring…

GOVERNOR Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has pardoned Segun Olowookere who was sentenced to death for armed robbery in Osun State. Olowookere was pardoned alongside his accomplice, Sunday Morakinyo, the governor disclosed in a statement on X on Thursday. The claim that the duo got a death sentence for stealing a fowl went viral on social media. But the Osun State Judiciary has clarified that they were convicted for armed robbery, including robbing a poultry in 2010. The governor said that 51 other inmates were also pardoned following recommendations of the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy. “In line…

BETTY Akeredolu, widow of the late former Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, has rejected the planned memorial lecture in his honour, organised by the state government. The lecture, scheduled for Friday in Akure, is part of a series of activities to commemorate the first anniversary of Akeredolu’s death on December 27, 2023. The state government had announced that renowned lawyer, Femi Falani (SAN), would deliver the lecture, with Bashorun Seinde Arogbofa serving as the chairman of the Akeredolu Leadership Lecture Series. However, Betty Akeredolu took to her X account on Wednesday to distance herself and her family from the…

A CHIEF Magistrate Court in Iyaganku, Ibadan, has ordered the remand of three key figures in connection with last week’s tragic stampede at Bashorun Islamic High School. The individuals include the school’s principal, Mr. Abdullahi Fasasi; the proprietor of Agidigbo FM, Alhaji Oriyomi Hamzat; and Naomi Silekunola, the estranged wife of Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ile Ife. Chief Magistrate Olabisi Ogunkanmi, who presided over the case on Tuesday, ordered that the trio be remanded at the Agodi Correctional Center on Tuesday. This followed a four-count charge with the police prosecutor arguing that their actions were contrary to…

GUNMEN have kidnapped some travellers in Emure-Ile in Emure Local Government Area of Ekiti State. It was gathered that the bus conveying the travellers who were returning from Onitsha, Anambra state to Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital was ambushed on Sunday night by the attackers. A source at the Road Transport Employer Association of Nigeria,(RTEAN) Ado-Ekiti Motor Terminal branch, who confirmed the incident, said the driver, Mr. Sunday Emmanuel was kidnapped alongside the passengers. The source said that the kidnappers had contacted the driver’s family demanding a whopping sum of N30 million ransom for each of the passengers. He explained…

FOLLOWING the uproar sparked by the death of 35 children during a stampede at a funfair in Ibadan, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has taken charge of investigations into the tragic incident. The stampede occurred when participants rushed to gain access to the venue of the event reportedly organised by the ex-queen of the Ooni of Ife, Prophetess Naomi Silekunola, and an Ibadan-based broadcaster, Oriyomi Hamzat. Apart from the 35 children who lost their lives in the stampede, six others who were injured were rushed to hospitals. The event was said to have been initially planned for 5,000…

OYO State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has cancelled his birthday celebration in honour of the children who lost their lives in a stampede during a children funfair in Ibadan, the state capital. The governor disclosed this on Friday in Ibadan while receiving the South-East delegation of the Peoples Democratic Party, led by its Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara. He described the incident, which claimed the lives of 35 children, as painful, unfortunate, and preventable and added that he would cancel his December 25th birthday celebrations and spend the day alone indoors. “It is a day that is really sobering…

NOT fewer than 35 minors have been confirmed killed in the Wednesday, December 18, 2024, children’s funfair stampede that occurred at Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan in Oyo State. The Oyo State Police Command also confirmed the arrest of organisers of the children’s funfair. The command’s spokesperson, Osifeso Adewale, disclosed in a statement that Prophetess Naomi Silekunola, the main sponsor of the event and former wife of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has also been taken into custody. “Sequel to the Stampede incident recorded on Wednesday 18/12/2024 at the Islamic High School, Basorun, Ibadan venue of the family…

GOVERNOR Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has expressed concern over a reported death sentence of a young man in the state for stealing a fowl. In a statement on X.com on Tuesday, Adeleke directed the state’s attorney general and commissioner for justice to launch a full investigation into the case and initiate processes to grant the young man a prerogative of mercy. He wrote, “I have received the report of a case of a young man reportedly sentenced to death by hanging in Osun State for stealing a fowl. “Consequently, I have directed the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice,…

TRAGEDY struck as-yet-uncertain number of children have reportedly lost their lives in a stampede that occurred during a children’s carnival in Ibadan, the state capital, on Wednesday. However, this newspaper gathered that over 30 children lost their lives, with many others injured during the incident. In a statement released on Wednesday, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, confirmed that the stampede occurred at a private children’s funfair at Basorun Islamic High School. Oyelade stated that the government swiftly mobilised a rapid response team following the breaking of the incident. The commissioner noted that victims had been swiftly…

A FORMER President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has emphasised that the battle against corruption can only be effective and successful if it begins with accountability among top government officials. The former president said that tackling corruption at the highest levels of leadership would set an example for others and demonstrate the government’s commitment to transparency and integrity. He spoke on Sunday night during an interactive session on Zoom tagged “Boiling Point Arena.” hosted by a private radio station in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital The conversation which was aired by some private radio stations in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital,…

NO fewer than 17,000 ad-hoc staff employed by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State, on Sunday, have alleged the commission of not paying their allowances. The workers who expressed their grievances against INEC were deployed by the electoral body for the exercise after they had undergone technical training. One of them, who simply identified himself as Ade, alleged that they were earlier promised to be paid shortly after the exercise, but they had not been paid up till the time of filing this report. “They are yet to pay us our allowance.…