The Unimaginable!!

Members of the Agbarho Community Vigilante in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State on Monday allegedly shot dead a nine-year-old boy, Oghenekobiruo Peter, with another seriously injured.

The Catholic bishop of Awka Diocese, His Lordship Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, has condemned the recent attack on the priests and students of Sacred Heart Minor Seminary, Jalingo, Taraba State by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

The Bishop while reacting to the attack said Christians must look for a way to safeguard themselves as it had become obvious that they were no longer needed in Nigeria.
He accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s led Federal Government of Nigeria of being insensitive to plights of the hapless Nigerian Christians

“Some people, somewhere have declared full scale war against Nigerian Christians. We have to be vigilant. It is obvious we are no longer needed here. We have to find a way to safeguard our lives.

“We must defend ourselves. We’ll not allow these bloodsucking demons to continue to kill and maim us like chickens,’ Bishop Ezeokafor fumed,” he said.

The Catholic prelate who spoke at St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Awka, shortly after the news of the seminary attack filtered in, challenged the federal government to come out clean by putting a stop to the mindless killing and maiming of Nigerian Christians.

It was reported that suspected Fulani herdsmen in the early hours of Monday, 28 May, 2018 at about 12:30am attacked the priests and students of Sacred Heart Minor Seminary, Jalingo the capital Taraba State.

According to the report, the assailants shot sporadically at the Rector’s residence, broke window glasses in the process, shattered windscreen of one of the vehicles belonging to one of the priests, shot and injured one of the priests, Rev. Fr. Cornelius kobah on the leg, and beat up Fr. Stephen Bakari.

“From their conversation we were able to understand that their grievances against us is that the security men in the Seminary have been challenging their decision to graze right inside the Seminary: around the classes, football field, laundry etc. They said even inside the church if they see grass their cows will graze.

The Police in Lagos have arrested a 25-year-old man for luring a woman to a hotel in Lagos, where she was drugged and raped.

The two had earlier met on a social media platform.

Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi said that the suspect invited the victim to De-Didos Hotel on March 4 where the crime was committed.

“The suspect was said to have stolen one Infinix Note 3 phone, one Nokia touch phone, one voter’s card and disappeared ever since.

“Based on this development, detectives investigating the case tapped into our robust partnership with community members and hoteliers in the area.

“They circulated the suspect’s details to hotels in the area and to all nooks and crannies of Ajangbadi.

This paid off on May 25 when the suspect went to one of the hotels to lodge and he was promptly arrested by the operatives of the Command,” he said.

The CP further advised members of the public to be mindful of who they interact with on the social media.

The youths should be wary of those luring them with promises of gift and better life and must always seek the advice of their parents at all times about people making promises to them”, he advised.

Two Catholic priests were on Monday morning beaten with one shot in the leg when gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen attacked a minor seminary in Jalingo, Taraba State capital, the Punch reports.
During the attack, some students were injured and many cars destroyed, even as those wounded were said to be receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo.

The Director of Caritas Nigeria, an agency of the Catholic Church, Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey, revealed this in a WhatsApp message.
He said, “Please Frs, pray for us. Our minor seminary in Jalingo has just been attacked by the Fulani, some students are injured, some cars destroyed, two priests beaten and one shot on the leg. They are currently receiving treatment at FMC.”

A member of the Boko Haram sect on Monday sneaked into Muktum village and slaughtered his biological father, Malum kwaramtcheri in Gujba local government area of Yobe State.
It was gathered that the terrorist had entered the village around 11:30 pm in company of four others and carried out the dastard act.

A resident in the village, Usman Kura told newsmen that the slain father was a former councillor and renowned politician in Ngirbuwa town.
Police Public Relations Officer in the State, DSP Zubairu Jafiya, who confirmed the incident, said the attack was perpetrated by a gang of four suspected Boko haram members.
He said the attackers, who were in possession of gun scared residents and killed the victim, one Alhaji kwaramtcheri.
“Detail is sketchy and no arrest have been made, but investigation is ongoing,” he said.

Justice Hakeem Oshodi of the Ikeja Division of the Lagos State High Court on Thursday fixed November 3 for the trial of Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike (popularly known as Evans) and five others.
The defendants – Evans, Uche Amadi, Ogechi Uchechukwu, Nwachukwu Okwuchukwu, Chilaka Ifeanyi, and Victor Aduba – pleaded not guilty to an amended two-count charge of conspiracy and kidnapping.
They were accused of conspiring on February 14 at about 7:45pm at Ilupeju, Lagos, to kidnap Donatus Dunu and collect €223,000 for his release.
At the last court sitting in August, when the defendants were first arraigned before the judge, Evans and Mr. Amadi pleaded guilty to the two counts.
Mr. Nwachukwu pleaded guilty to conspiracy and not guilty to kidnapping.
Ms. Uchechukwu, the only female in the group, and Messrs Ifeanyi and Aduba, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
But on Thursday, amidst a heavy security presence that included the police anti-bomb squad around the court premises, the defendants were unanimous in their plea before the judge – all said they were not guilty of the charges against them.
Before their charges were read, Ike Chika, the prosecuting counsel, informed the court of their intention to bring an amended charge which would require the defendants to take fresh pleas. He added that the amended charge had already been served on the defence.
The statement elicited arguments between the prosecution and defence counsels, with the latter claiming they were just served minutes before the day’s proceedings began and, therefore, did not have the opportunity to discuss with their clients.
I need a new date to confer with my clients because I have not discussed with them on the implication of the charge as amended,” Olukoya Ogungbeje, counsel to Messrs Evans and Amadi, said.
O. Ajanaku, counsel to Mr. Okwuchukwu, however, urged the court to continue with the case as his client was ready.
“There is nothing new in the charge, just a change in the section of the law that the second charge was attributed to, the charges remain the same and I am ready to commence in the case.”
Ms. Ike, the lead prosecuting counsel, also argued against the move for adjournment saying the defence counsels were only attempting to derail the case.
“According to Section 155(1) of the Criminal Justice Administration of Lagos State, in case of an amended charge, the law does not require any formal application, all that the law needs to do is to take fresh plea to the new charge, there is no material change in the charge, the request is an attempt to derail the case,” the counsel said.
The amended charges retained the accusations of conspiracy and kidnapping but changed the section in the Law on punishments regarding the offences allegedly committed.
Justice Oshodi, after listening to arguments, gave a 45 minute recess to allow the defence counsels confer with their clients on the amended charge, noting that the defendants should be given every opportunity to defend themselves.
Upon resumption of the matter, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit felony to wit kidnapping under Section 411 of the Lagos State Criminal Laws and also kidnapping.
Mr. Ogungbeje then informed the court that since the defendants had taken a fresh plea, he will be withdrawing a motion he filed earlier to notify the judge of his clients’ intention to change their guilty pleas to not guilty.
The judge said the amended charge had rendered the application unnecessary and then struck it out.

Speaking to journalists after the court proceedings, Mr. Ogungbeje said his clients’ initial guilty plea was due to pressure from the prosecution, the Lagos State government, and the Nigeria Police Force.
“I must say that my client was pressurised by the defence counsel and police to plead guilty but he has now said it today, that he is not guilty,” Mr. Ogungbeje said.
“He has been extorted too and we have called on international organizations to look into his case of financial extortion and molestation of his girlfriend, we would not rush issues but we are right on course.”
Last week, Mr. Ogungbeje had filed a petition to the Police Service Commission alleging extortion and sexual molestation of Evans’ girlfriend by the police.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he was shocked by the claim made by Boko Haram on the amount of supply they receive from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) but assured of Nigeria’s ability to contain the terrorist group.