A dramatic armed robbery unfolded on Friday at a commercial bank in Ughelli, Delta State, resulting in a bank customer being robbed of an undisclosed sum of money and multiple shootings that injured three people, including a private security guard.

The robbery, executed by a gang of five armed men using a Toyota Venza, occurred in broad daylight and triggered widespread panic along Isoko Road in Otovwodo, where the bank is located.

According to The Nation, eyewitnesses reported that the robbers, who had apparently trailed their victim to the bank premises, fired shots sporadically before snatching three “Ghana Must Go” bags filled with money as the customer approached the bank’s entrance.

The assailants’ gunfire injured a private security guard and two other individuals.

Emergency services responded promptly, and the victims are currently receiving medical treatment. The severity of their injuries has not been disclosed.

The Delta State Police Command, through its spokesman, SP Bright Edafe, confirmed the robbery.

Edafe clarified the nature of the incident, emphasizing that it was not a bank heist but a targeted attack on a bank customer.

“A bank customer was double-crossed before he could get to the bank. It’s not a bank robbery,” Edafe stated.

In response to the robbery, law enforcement authorities have increased security measures around the bank and other critical areas within the metropolis. The heightened security presence aims to reassure the public and prevent further incidents.

The incident has had a considerable impact on the local economy, with many shop owners around Upper Agbarho Junction along Isoko Road opting to close their businesses for the day due to safety concerns.

Afrobeats singer, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has suggested he may leave his first child, Aurora Imade Adeleke, in the custody of her mother, Sophia Momodu.

Recall that this follows Momodu’s recent counter-affidavit, which claims that Davido is unfit to raise their daughter.

In her response, Momodu alleged that Davido’s home environment is unsafe for a young girl, referencing the tragic death of his son, Ifeanyi, in 2022 to support her claim.

The circulating document partly states, “The applicant cannot take proper care of our daughter because he lives a controversial lifestyle (negative media attention) that will expose our daughter to more negative trauma at her tender age.”

The affidavit further contends that Davido’s frequent travels, the presence of unsavory adults in his home, and his estrangement from their daughter make him an unsuitable custodian.

Momodu also questioned the suitability of Imade being raised in a household with Davido’s new wife, citing concerns about proper upbringing.

Momodu’s statement included, “The fact that the applicant lost his son in his house in rather unfortunate and questionable circumstances shows that our daughter cannot be placed in the custody of the applicant.”

In response, Davido expressed his ongoing grief over his son’s death in a post on X.com, criticizing Momodu for repeatedly bringing up the tragedy.

He wrote, “ Your constantly bringing up the death of my child at any point you can to just remind us of this tragedy that haunts us everyday of our lives.”

Davido indicated his readiness to relinquish his pursuit of Imade’s custody, expressing hope that Imade will one day understand his efforts.

“Imade will grow up to see I fought for her. As for now, you can have her. P.S: she won’t be a child forever… enjoy, Imade Aurora Adeleke! Your father loves you!,” Davido wrote.

He further lamented the backlash he faced, noting, “All I asked for was ‘joint custody’ but cus it’s Davido yall wanna act like yall can’t read! SMH I’m off this … yall be blessed and I pray this never happens to you.”

Naija News previously reported that Davido had taken Momodu to court, seeking custody of Imade, and claiming he had been responsible for her education, housing, transportation, living expenses, health care, and periodic travel.

In response to the lawsuit, Momodu stated that since their relationship ended in July 2022, Davido had neither contacted Imade nor provided emotional and financial support.

She insisted that Davido had chosen not to see Imade and that she had never denied him access to their daughter.

Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, says the All Progressives Congress (APC) will win the forthcoming governorship election in Edo state.

Oshiomhole spoke in Abuja on Friday after he led Monday Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Dennis Idahosa, his running mate, to meet with President Bola Tinubu at the State House.

The former governor of Edo said the crisis within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state is an advantage for the APC to win the forthcoming election.

He denied allegations that the APC orchestrated the crisis that led to the invalidation of the PDP governorship primary.

Oshiomhole said the crisis was an internal affair of the PDP, which had nothing to do with the APC.

On Thursday, the federal high court Abuja nullified the primary election that nullified Asue Ighodalo as the PDP guber candidate in Edo

“I think you should dismiss that because this is PDP versus PDP, and you know that by law, another party cannot go into intra-party conflicts in court. So if it is convenient for them to explain that, you can dismiss it without asking me,” he said.

“The fact that there had been division in Edo before their primaries and after their primaries is an open secret, and the issues in dispute are also very open.

“The PDP legacy group complained that the man they gave their master bedroom to has completely chased them out of the building, and now they’re under the rain, and as we speak, they are still trying to settle.

“Those who couldn’t find accommodation, we picked them one by one, and don’t forget that those on Osadebe Avenue were my own creation in the sense that I supported Obeseki to become governor, and so I have people who still have affection for me.

“Edo people won’t forget in the hurry what I did when I was governor and those of them who didn’t quite readily appreciate it now compare the past with the present.

“So if they have disputes or disagreements that they cannot settle and they choose to settle them in court, the court will nullify the process.

“I mean, you read the judgment, not me. How can anybody say… if you know Dan Orbih, the leader of Legacy Group, he was my fierce critic when I was in government, so what power do I have? How can we, as a non-state group, have the power to influence a seasoned politician to move against themselves?

“So this is purely PDP intra-party, and I think the lesson is very clear, namely that parties must be encouraged to obey the laws that regulate the conduct of primaries and that rules are meant to be obeyed if you formulate your constitution.

“It is the basis of the contract between party members. Now, the Electoral Act is meant to ensure that everybody plays the game within the rules, so we have nothing to do.”

Oshiomhole told State House correspondents that he led the APC candidates to the president to update him on the campaign activities.

“He is the leader of the party, so we went to give him an update on the campaigns, on what we are doing, and on the fact that we are harvesting more and more people every day,” he said.

“I’m surprised that rather than speculating about who will face what, you are not a witness to the fact that the entire PDP in Egor decamped to the APC a month ago.

“Just last week in my local government, the remaining remnants of the PDP decamped to the APC and across Edo central, doing the same thing. People are jumping out because the umbrella is leaking and this is rainy season.”

Fresh queues for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, surfaced in Abuja, parts of Niger and Nasarawa States on Friday, following the closure of many filling stations operated by independent marketers.

Dealers closed their retail outlets due to their inability to access petrol as a result of the hike in the ex-depot price of the commodity to N710/litre by private depot owners.

Motorists besieged the few stations that dispensed petrol on Friday, particularly those operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and some major oil marketers in Abuja and neighbouring states.

This led to massive queues in outlets, such as the NNPC mega station on the Gwarimpa axis of the Zuba-Kubwa Expressway, Conoil and Total filling stations directly opposite the headquarters of NNPC in the Abuja city centre, and Salbas filling station at the Dei-Dei end of the Zuba-Kubwa expressway, among others.

Independent oil marketers, who own over 70 per cent of filling stations across the country, blamed the hike in the ex-depot price of petrol as dispensed by private depot owners.

The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, told Saturday PUNCH that private depot owners had raised the ex-depot price of PMS to N710/litre, whereas the pump price of the commodity at NNPC retail stations was N617/litre.

Maigandi said, “The current situation is a result of how the private depot owners have been selling their products. It has been very difficult for independent petroleum marketers to get the product and sell it in Abuja and neighbouring states, as well as in other states in the North.

“So, the queues you are seeing now are because of the cost of PMS by private depots. The private depots are selling at N710/litre, but if you check the price of the same product at NNPC retail outlets, it is N617/litre.

“Therefore, by the time the independent marketers buy from private depots and bring it to our filling stations, we will not be able to sell our product because our cost price is already so high, while the cost at NNPC retail outlets is far lower.

“And you know that when we buy it at the rate of N710/litre, we have to add transportation cost again because there is no equalisation. And when we add the cost of transportation, the pump price is going to be higher than the N710/litre ex-depot price, whereas NNPC stations sell at N617/litre.”

Maigandi explained that because of the widespread number of stations operated by IPMAN, any distortion in the supply of products to members of the group would lead to fuel queues because major marketers and NNPC stations were fewer in number.

On whether IPMAN members cannot get direct PMS supply from NNPC, instead of buying the product from private depots, he replied, “That is what we have been negotiating with them (NNPC), and they promised us that they will start giving us our allocation.

“They have started, but the quantity is small compared to the number of retail outlets operated by IPMAN nationwide. We are getting products from NNPC, but the volume is too small for our members.

“So, we are requesting additional volumes because, in Abuja alone, we have over 250 retail outlets belonging to IPMAN members. This is just for Abuja. We have not talked about Niger, Kaduna, and other states in the North, not to mention the number nationwide.” 

Maigandi, however, stated that the queues for petrol were not pronounced in remote villages, adding that “when you go to the villages, you will see that there are no queues.”.

“But in the city centres, where you have NNPC stations selling very cheaper than the N710/litre price, you will see queues there, as well as in front of the few outlets that have products to dispense.”

The IPMAN president said petrol was not scarce, as there were enough volumes in-country concerning what was imported by NNPC – Nigeria’s sole importer of the commodity.

“There is no scarcity. There is the product. The queues are caused basically by the market challenge, as I have explained to you. But as soon as we get products from NNPC or at fairly good prices, we will dispense and the queues will vanish,” he stated.

Officials at the Federal Minister of Petroleum Resources confirmed that there was enough product in-country, and stated that the market had been deregulated.

“It is a deregulated downstream oil sector, so dealers buy and sell based on demand and supply. There is enough product from NNPC. There is no scarcity,” an official at the ministry, who requested not to be named due to a lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

Another official at NNPC assured motorists that the queues would clear out fast because the company had enough product in-country.

The United Nations has again predicted that 82 million Nigerians, may go hungry by 2030, calling on the government to tackle climate change, pest infestations, and other threats to agricultural productivity.

The prediction comes in the wake of a persistent hike in food prices in the country.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s food inflation rate hit a record high of 40.66 per cent in May 2024, surpassing the previous month’s 40.53 increase.

This surge represents the largest year-on-year increase in food prices since records began in 1996.

Historically, food inflation in Nigeria has averaged 13.42 per cent, with the lowest point of -17.50 per cent in January 2000.

In 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organisation predicted that no fewer than 2.6 million Nigerians in Borno, Sokoto and Zamfara states, and the FCT may face a food crisis between June and August 2024.

According to a government-led Cadre Harmonisé analysis released in March, 2024, approximately 4.8 million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states are experiencing severe food insecurity, the highest level in seven years.

Also, as Nigerian workers commemorated the 2024 May Day, Organised Labour expressed concern about the country’s rising food prices and fuel scarcity, saying that the current situation threatened the survival of workers.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba, also recently warned that a hunger riot might soon break out in Nigeria, calling on the Federal Government to act fast.

Speaking recently at the launch of CropWatch in Abuja, the Resident Humanitarian Coordinator of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, represented by one of the UN officials, Taofiq Braimoh, said, “The government of Nigeria, in collaboration with others, conducts an annual food security survey. This year’s results are alarming: approximately 22 million Nigerians will face food insecurity in 2024, and around 80-82 million are at risk of severe food insecurity by 2030.

“Nigeria, like many countries, grapples with food insecurity, climate change, unreliable water patterns, pest infestations, and other threats to agricultural productivity. As an agrarian society, our farms’ success directly impacts food availability for our population. Leveraging technology is crucial to strengthening our agriculture sector and ensuring food security.”

He stressed that satellite-based crop monitoring provided real-time data on crop conditions, enabling farmers and policymakers to make informed decisions and optimise agricultural practices.

He noted that the technology could help expedite the accomplishment of sustainable development goals in food and agriculture.

Kenyan President William Ruto has announced measures to cut government spending after a finance bill meant to raise taxes triggered violent protests across the country.

Ruto said he declined assent to the controversial bill after reflecting on the conversation around its content.

The protests had left over 23 people dead as demonstrators breached the national assembly for the first time in Kenya’s history.

During an X-Space engagement with Kenyans on Friday, Ruto said the bill was marred with “falsehood and propaganda”.

The president explained that the bill provided interventions that would have created more jobs and protect Kenyan industries.

The presidency said the bill was meant to plug Kenya’s ballooning budget deficit and reduce reliance on borrowing.

Kenya’s public debt currently stands at 68 percent of GDP, significantly higher than the 55 percent recommended by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

AUSTERITY MEASURES

Ruto said his administration has settled on slashing various governance costs after wide consultations.

The president announced the resolutions in a separate speech at the State House in Nairobi.

Part of the cuts include the removal of budgets in the offices of the first and second lady.

“The budgetary provisions for confidential budgets in various executive offices, including my office, shall be removed, and the budget for renovations across the government reduced by 50 percent,” he added.

Ruto also dissolved 47 state corporations with overlapping functions “resulting in the elimination of their operational and maintenance costs”.

“Their functions will be integrated into the respective line ministries,” he said.

France have advanced to the semi-final of the 2024 European Championship.

The French team defeated Portugal 5-3 in penalties in the quarter-final encounter at the Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, on Friday.

The match ended goalless after 120 minutes of football that failed to meet expectations.

Both nations failed to play to live up to their full potential, with shots from Theo Hernadez and Kylian Mbappe the only real chances of a turgid first half.

The teams improved their performances after the interval, particularly the Selecao, with chances for Bruno Fernandes, Joao Cancelo,  and Rafael Leao.

The Portuguese had more opportunities in extra time but could not score, and the tie went to the lottery of penalties to decide the winner.

Ronaldo, goalless in his final Euro tournament, converted his kick in the shootout, but Joao Felix missed before Hernandez sent Costa the wrong way to send Didier Deschamps’ goal-shy side into the last four of the tournament.

France will face Spain, who dumped hosts Germany out with a 2-1 win in extra-time earlier in the day, in the semi-final.

Mikel Merino scored the all-important winner in the 119th minute after Florian Wirtz’s 89th-minute goal had cancelled Dani Olmo’s strike after the interval to force the additional period. Dani Carvajal was shown a red card for two bookings and will miss the semi-final match against France

A house of representatives committee has invited Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, the minister of women affairs, over the “N1.5 billion” debt owed to contractors.

Kafilat Ogbara, chairperson of the house committee on women affairs and social development, issued the summons at the panel’s sitting on Thursday.

The committee is investigating the alleged diversion of N1.5 billion meant for the payment of contractors.

Some contractors had petitioned the committee, alleging non-payment for contracts they had executed for the ministry.

When he appeared before the committee, Aloy Ifeakandu, director of finance in the ministry, said he was instructed by his “superior” not to issue any payment to contractors.

‘FUNDS HAVE BEEN DIVERTED’

Ogbara further alleged that the ministry awarded contracts not included in the 2023 budget, while the funds were diverted.

“Money for contractors has not been paid, and money has been diverted,” Ogbara said.

“So, how do you pay these contractors?”

Ogbara said the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) is also probing the ministry over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Responding, the director of finance said he assumed office at the ministry in September 2023 and does not know what happened before he came on board.

“The individual contractors have their files. It can be traced. As at the time I took over, there was no balance in the vote,” he said.

Consequently, Ogbara invited the minister to appear before the committee next Tuesday.

“We are giving until Tuesday for the ministry to bring all documents to come and defend where the N1.5bn disappeared to,” the committee chairperson said.

In June, Kennedy-Ohanenye filed a N1 billion defamation of character lawsuit against Ogbara.

In an interview on June 5, Ogbara said there are “many petitions” against the minister, adding that the parliament is investigating the minister.

The minister had denied the allegations, saying she was not under investigation over claims of fund misappropriation.

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) say they will be protesting their four-month salaries withheld by the government.

The unions asked their branches in universities to go on an individual protest on July 9 ahead of a joint protest to follow on July 18.

In a resolution seen by TheCable on Friday, the joint action committee (JAC) of NASU and SSANU said a strike would come thereafter.

Both unions are demanding the release of the four-month salaries of their members withheld during an eight-month strike in 2022.

The salaries of university staff who embarked on the strike were withheld by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

In October 2023, President Bola Tinubu approved the release of four months of the withheld salaries of members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Left out in the payments, SSANU and NASU alleged unfair treatment and discrimination against non-academic staff by the government.

The unions have since been at loggerheads with the federal government, initiating talks with the education and labour ministries.

The JAC, after a meeting, said its engagement with the education and labour ministers “has not shown any convincing commitment to the payment of the withheld salaries”.

SSANU and NASU ordered a series of industrial actions including a general meeting on July 8 to inform its members of the government’s “insensitivity”, the two protests, and another meeting to determine if an indefinite strike is to follow based on the response.

• Says musician once threw her out with daughter during holiday in US

Sophia Momodu, the estranged lover of popular Afrobeat musician, David Adeleke a.k.a. Davido, has told the Lagos State High Court sitting in Yaba that the musician should not be granted custody of their daughter.

This, she said is because Davido is more interested in exploiting her sexually than catering for their daughter’s welfare.

“The applicant is not fit to be granted custody of our daughter because he is not available and does not possess the ability to dutifully care for her,” she stated in a counter-affidavit she filed in opposition to Davido’s suit seeking custody.

Contrary to Davido’s claim that he had consistently fulfilled his financial obligations towards his daughter, Ms. Momodu said the child was almost ejected from school because the artiste refused to pay tuition fees.

She stated that while their relationship lasted, Davido never showed true commitment or love for their daughter.

“He always used the condition of my making myself available for his sexual pleasures as a pre-condition to visit our daughter or show some fatherly love to her.

“The applicant, apart from his cravings for sex, only comes around to spend time with our daughter when he wants to use our daughter for his media stunts or promotions.

“The applicant has always been known to go away and stop communicating with our daughter, to stop making payment for school fees and/or payment of maintenance for our daughter whenever I refuse his sexual advances,” Ms Momodu stated.

The respondent stated that Davido once threw her and their daughter out of his home in Atlanta (USA) during a summer holiday in 2017, and they ended up squatting with a friend.

Ms. Momodu stated that she never denied Davido access to his daughter and that it was he who chose to be “an absentee father”.

She said she has been responsible for her accommodation, and that David always had access until he chose to abuse it by visiting at odd hours to demand sex.

“When I noticed that the intention of the applicant for coming late at night to my house was not to visit our daughter but to seek sexual favours even after our relationship had ended, I told him to desist from such late-night visits as our daughter who needed to be in school in the morning would have slept at the time of his late-night visits.

“It was when I refused the applicant ingress into my house at ungodly hours of the night on the pretext of visiting our daughter that he decided to stop visiting or calling our daughter, and this has been the pattern with the applicant all through his relationship with our daughter.

“Whenever I refused to be his sex slave, he would stop caring for his daughter and abandon her and use the fact of our daughter’s sadness due to his absence to force me to accede to his unwholesome demands.

“I have never stopped the applicant or his family members from coming to visit his daughter, calling or reconnecting with our daughter,” Ms. Momodu stated.

The respondent stated that contrary to Davido’s claim, he has not been faithful in paying their daughter’s school fees, having defaulted in 2021 and 2022, with the school writing to her in January 2023 over unpaid tuition.

“The school wrote via email notifying me that our daughter would not be allowed entry into the school except all outstanding fees from 2021 to 2023 were paid off,” she stated.

Ms. Momodu told the court that it was Davido’s father who intervened and paid the school fees.

She stated that contrary to Davido’s claim, she has been the one paying the rent of the apartment where she lives with her daughter, adding that Davido did not buy any house for them.

Ms. Momodu said she has been providing the best care for her daughter despite her father’s negligence and would continue to do so as a loving mother.

The respondent was represented at Friday’s proceedings before Justice A. J. Bashua by a legal team led by Chief (Dr) Anthony Idigbe (SAN) of Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors.

Chief Idigbe drew attention to the publication of a hearing notice in a national newspaper by Davido’s legal team, in which the name of his daughter was mentioned four times.

The judge agreed with Chief Idigbe that while the press was free to report, the child’s name ought not to be mentioned at all.

The judge then asked members of the press, litigants and all other counsel not involved in the case to leave the courtroom during the hearing.

Before they left, Chief Idigbe, with the court’s permission, drew the pressmen’s attention to Section 143 of the Child’s Right Law of Lagos State 2015, which provides in a case involving a minor: “No person must be allowed to attend court other than the members and officers of the court, the parties to the case, their solicitors and counsel, parents and guardians of the child and other persons directly concerned in the case.”

Chief Idigbe also referred to Section 144 of the Law, which prohibits the publication of a child’s name.

The section reads: “No person must publish the name, address, school, photograph, or anything likely to lead to the identification of a child in a matter before the court, except as required by the provisions of this law.”

The SAN further referred to Section 145 of the Child Rights Law, which provides: “The proceedings in the court must be conducive to the best interest of the child and must be conducted in an atmosphere of understanding, allowing the child to express himself and participate in the proceedings.”

Ms. Momodu, in the counter-affidavit, also faulted the publication of the suit in a national newspaper.

“The applicant (Davido) in publishing this suit in a national newspaper has exposed our daughter to great danger.

“I would have to implement extra security measures to ensure the continued safety of our daughter in school,” she stated.

At the end of the proceedings, it was learnt that the court referred the case for possible settlement by the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) section of the court during Settlement Week.