The Nigerian Senate has shed light on the reason behind the recent escape of inmates from the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre, attributing it to the deteriorated state of the prison infrastructure, which was constructed with mud over a century ago.

Following a closed-door session with Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, clarified that the incident at Suleja was not a typical jailbreak but rather a consequence of the dilapidated condition of the prison walls, weakened by age and recent heavy rainfall.

The escape occurred on April 24, 2024, when 118 inmates fled the Suleja Correctional Facility after heavy rain. During his visit to the facility, Tunji-Ojo indicated plans to relocate some Correctional Centres to provide improved facilities.

Senator Oshiomhole highlighted the historical context, stating, “I know exactly that this particular prison was built in 1914. I think that was the year of Southern and Northern Nigeria amalgamation for about 200 people. And they now have about 419 inmates. And some of these places were built with mud.”

He clarified that the prison wall’s collapse due to heavy rainfall was the primary cause of the incident, emphasizing that it was not a deliberate jailbreak.

Despite the escape, efforts by the Minister and security agencies have led to the re-arrest of some inmates, with ongoing efforts to track down others.

In response to the incident, the Senate expressed satisfaction with the Minister’s briefing but stressed the need to modernise prison facilities to meet contemporary standards. Senator Oshiomhole emphasized the importance of investing in correctional facilities and leveraging modern technology to enhance security.

Additionally, the Senate discussed broader issues within the criminal justice system, including the high number of individuals awaiting trial and the financial burden on states to maintain prisons.

Minister Tunji-Ojo assured that the federal government is addressing the situation and implementing measures to prevent future occurrences, affirming that the safety of inmates remains a priority.

“We will have a correctional center that is safe for all inmates,” Tunji-Ojo concluded.

Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman has revealed the most difficult game he played at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro used Lookman majorly on the left wing during the tournament in Ivory Coast and he started six of the seven matches.

Lookman scored three goals and was named in the Team of the Tournament. 

Nigeria encountered the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in the semifinals where they won via penalty shootout.

They went on to play the host nation, Ivory Coast in the final and were beaten 2-1 by the Elephants.

However, the Atalanta forward told Calister Enejele that the Super Eagles’ opener against Equatorial Guinea was the most challenging.

“‘Probably Equatorial Guinea because we played at 2 pm, the heat and humidity was tough for us. Probably you have to say that game,” he said.

The Department of State Security (DSS) has apprehended Alh. Mukaila Lamidi Auxiliary, the former Disciplinary Committee Chairman of the Park Manager System (PMS) in Oyo State.

The arrest comes after Auxiliary had been declared wanted for months by the Nigeria Police Force, Oyo State Command. Auxiliary, who previously held the position of PMS Chairman, has been a subject of intense scrutiny and investigations by the authorities.

The details of the arrest and the charges against Auxiliary are still emerging, but this development is expected to shed light on the ongoing efforts to maintain law and order in the state's transportation sector.

Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a fake medical doctor practising in the Ikorodu area of the state, with a forged certificate from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

According to a video by the TVC posted on Tuesday, the police said they discovered about 200 patient cards with the fake medical practitioner, Tayo Shakirudeeen, an indigene of Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Shakirudeen said he had treated malaria, typhoid, infections and performed operations on children suffering from appendix, after he learnt it where he worked as a Nursing Assistant at The Jones Hospital, Ojokoro along Ikorodu Road.

Asked how many years he had been treating patients with a fake certificate, he said three years claiming that it was his first time performing a proper surgery.

He also said it was a patient he treated that came with the policemen to arrest him, as he regretted his actions.

“I performed vital signs and abdominal scans. Then after confirmation, you do PCV (packed cell volume) and then you prepare the patient for the surgery. You clean the stomach with antiseptic Dettol with water. So after that, you give some anesthesia injection before starting the surgery,” Shakirudden said.

He used a surgical blade “to dissect the stomach, it’s appendix after opening the stomach then you cut the appendix after cutting the stomach then you suction the appendix then you suction the flesh fat and the skin then you pack it with gauze and apply plaster.”

It was gathered that he only holds SSCE from Majidun Grammar School, as he said he was arrested, “after performing the surgery, the patient has been discharged home. So after like three months, the patient came with the police to arrest me.”

He said there were no complications after treating the patient so he did not know the reason why the patent came back with the police.

“I charged one hundred fifty thousand, and I have six workers. My hospital is located in Ikorodu. It’s a new site but somewhere close to Elepe Estate. I regret every bit of my action so I would never advise anyone or if there’s anyone that is still hiding somewhere and doing such a thing they should desist from it,” he added.

Shakirudeen’s hospital is Skyline Medical Centre and noted that he is a married man with three children

Speaking about the certificate the police found with him, he said, “It’s a forged certificate from Obafemi Awolowo MBBS, Medicine, and Surgery. Nobody taught me, but I used to help my boss when he was performing the surgery.”

“To dissect the stomach, it’s appendix after opening the stomach then you cut the appendix after cutting the stomach then you suction the appendix, then you suction the flesh fat and the skin then you pack it with gauze and apply plaster,” he added.

The authorities of Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere Ekiti, have expelled two female students for bullying a colleague.

The development followed the outcry that trailed the video of two female students assaulting another female student of the institution on social media.

This was as the Commissioner for Police in Ekiti State, Mr Adeniran Akinwale, said on Tuesday that he had ordered an investigation into the incident.

The institution’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Temitope Akinbisoye, in a statement on Tuesday, said a disturbing viral video on social media platforms showed “one Miss Opemiposi Precious Bolaji, an 18-year-old 100L Mass Communication student beating her colleague identified as Miss Gloria Ajayi, a 100L Mass Communication student, in a private hostel outside the university campus.

“The university authorities condemn in strong terms, any form of violence or misconduct in our university or by any of our constituents. Such behaviour is entirely inconsistent with the values we uphold and the standards of respect and dignity that we expect from all members of our university.”

Akinbisoye said, “In accordance with our institution’s policies and extant regulations, the affected students appeared before the Students’ Disciplinary Committee at its emergency meeting held on Monday, May 6, 2024.”

He said that having considered the report and recommendations of the SDC, the university authorities had expelled Bolaji, “who was beating her colleague with a stick and threatening to inflict bodily harm on her, having found her guilty of misconduct and flagrant breach of her matriculation oath.”

The PRO further said that Osaro, “who provided the stick with which Ajayi was beaten, was found guilty of misconduct (as an accomplice) and flagrant breach of her matriculation oath and consequently expelled with immediate effect.”

The institution’s spokesperson added that Miss Mistura Adejuwon and Miss Precious Olanrewaju, “who gleefully recorded the video and posted it on social media were warned and advised to always report such incidents to the Directorate of Students’ Affairs and the Security Unit of the university, rather than escalating it on social media.”

He added that Mr Olawale Ajewole, a 200L Mass Communication student, “was exonerated for making efforts to lock Miss Ajayi inside a room to prevent further beating.”

He added that the committee and the university authorities exonerated Miss Ajayi “who was seen being beaten in the viral video but did not retaliate or engage in fisticuffs with her tormentors.”

The PRO reiterated the institution’s zero tolerance for all forms of indiscipline, adding that it was committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for all members of the university community.

He said, “We encourage anyone who witnesses or experiences any form of harassment, abuse or violence against any student to report it immediately to the appropriate authorities.”

Meanwhile, the police commissioner, Akinwale, had directed the Ikere Area Commander to liaise with the management of the institution and “ensure the perpetrator is identified, investigated and made to face the legal consequence(s) of her barbaric action.”

The commissioner, in a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, implored members of the public to be calm and avoid taking laws into their own hands.

He stated, “The state police command is not unaware of a video circulating currently on social media where a female student of BOUESTI was seen assaulting and molesting her fellow female student. The command describes the act as inhumane and unacceptable.”

Nigerian government received $1.36 billion and $1.09 billion in corporate taxes and royalties from Shell Nigeria through its operations of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company of Nigeria Limited in 2022 and 2023.

The company disclosed this in its recently published 2023 Shell Briefing Notes, according to a statement by the firm’s Media Relations Manager, Abimbola Essien-Nelson.

The figure showed that the SPDC paid $442 million, while SNEPCo remitted $649 million in taxes in 2023 alone to the Nigerian government.

However, the figure showed a $27 billion tax remittance decline in 2023 when compared to 2022.

“These payments are Shell exclusive and do not include those made by our partners,” said SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor.

He noted that the firm was focused on Deepwater and Integrated Gas investment in Nigeria.

The development comes months after Shell Nigeria announced in January 2024 that it would exit onshore oil production in Nigeria.

In Bayelsa State, a middle-aged man has died in a brothel after allegedly lodging with a commercial worker.

The lifeless body of the yet-to-identified man was found on Tuesday in a room at the brothel located in the State Capital, Yenagoa.

According to reports, the deceased, who is said to be a father of 12 children visited the brothel to meet his regular customer at Tombia-Amassoma Road axis of Yenagoa.

The deceased, aged 40, from Delta State, was said to be battling stroke before the unfortunate incident, residents of the area disclosed.

He was said to have left home around 8 am on Tuesday to meet a prostitute as he was of the customers to the commercial sex workers at the brothel, but he was later found dead in the quarters.

All the commercial sex workers fled on noticing that the man had died.

As at the time of visiting the scene, people living around the area were trying to get the identity of the deceased in order to contact the relative to evacuate the corpse for burial.

It was gathered that security operatives have previously raided the brothel and earmarked it as a red-light zone.

The commander of Vigilante Group of Nigeria, VGN, in Bayelsa State, Mr Tolumobofa Akpoebibo Jonathan, confirmed the incident.

According to him, the deceased is a 40-year-old father of 12 from Delta State.

… her death is painful, shocking – Daughter

EXACTLY four and a half years after her rumoured death on November 5, 2019, Madam Elizabeth Evoeme, popularly known as Ovularia in the 80s TV sitcom, ‘The New Masquerade’, has passed on aged 81.

Born on December 1, 1942, a family member told Vanguard that she died in Port Harcourt, on Sunday, surrounded by loved ones.

A statement by the Evoeme Emekalam family on her expiration read: “Friends, fans, colleagues, the family of the legendary actress, Elizabeth Lizzy ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme, would like to notify the public, all those who loved her and her work in ‘The new Masquerade,’ of her passing. Elizabeth ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme will be dearly missed and was extremely loved by her family and also by you, her fans.

“We thank you all for your support and for respecting our privacy at this time. God bless you all and may our dear Elizabeth ‘Ovularia’ Evoeme rest in perfect peace, now and always.”

Her daughter, Justina Ngozi Evoeme, who is based in London confirmed Ovularia’s demise, which she described as painful and shocking, adding “I need to get my head around what has happened.”

2019 rumoured death

On November 5, 2019, Evoeme’s rumoured death was reportedly announced on Twitter by one Churchill Ebhodaghe without any detail regarding the cause of her rumoured expiration.

Dismissing the rumour, Ovularia, on November 8, 2019, reportedly said that those behind the rumour deserved to be punished.

She said: “There was never a time I was so sick that it get to the paper or the media. I was never so sick that I needed prayer and I made it public. My sickness is just the sickness of elderly people — arthritis, hypertension,  that’s it.”

Asked if she knew what was responsible for the rumour, she said: “I wish I knew. I wish someone can answer the question for me. Those behind the rumour deserve punishment.” 

Following the rumour of her death then, her on-screen husband, Chika Okpala popular for his role as Chief Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwaogbe alias 4.30 in the sitcom, dismissed the rumour.

“Who’s wishing her dead? I am telling you now that Ovularia is not dead. You can call her on the telephone and she will speak to you. Wishing her death means that she will live longer,” Zebrudaya reportedly said.

It’s not rumour this time – Justina, daughter

Reminded of her mum’s death rumour in 2019, Justina told Vanguard on phone: “It is not a rumour this time. It is real and very painful.”

The suspect arrested in connection with the murder of a lady, Glory Akpaku, in Delta State, Akpoveta School, has narrated how he allegedly killed the victim by stabbing her multiple times.

According to an interrogation video shared on X.com by the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, on Monday, the suspect disclosed that the victim was his sugar mummy before her demise.

PUNCH gathered from the video that things went sour between Akpoveta and the late Akpaku over the sum of N100,000 he allegedly kept with the deceased for safekeeping, but which the deceased allegedly refused to give him when he needed the money.

The suspect claimed that he had gone to Akpaku to demand the money but, instead of receiving it, she insisted that she would give it to him after returning from the market.

The suspect narrated further that he threatened the victim to report their relationship to her son, but the victim threatened back that if he did so, she would not give him the money in her custody.

He added that the threat from his alleged lover infuriated him, which led him to stab her with a knife in the neck, hand, and stomach.

Akpoveta narrated in pidgin English (now translated), “She asked me to save some money with her and that she would return the money to me later. But when I needed the money, she refused to give it to me. Rather, she became angry.

“She asked me to escort her to the market, and I thought she would give me the money, but she insisted that she would give it to me after she returned from the market.

“I told her that I would tell her child, and she said if I told the child, she would not return my money. While she was going in front, I took a knife that I had with me and stabbed her in the neck, hand, and stomach.”

The suspect stated further that he regretted his action but blamed the devil for it.

Reacting to the confession, Edafe urged members of the public to learn from it.

The PPRO wrote, “I share stories like this so we can learn from the mistakes of others. So this suspect allegedly murdered his sugar mummy over her failure to give him back the money she was helping him save. When asked why he did it, he said, ‘NA DEVIL WORK’.”

Meanwhile, giving further updates on the incident, the PPRO noted that the incident happened in April and the suspect would be charged in court upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.

“The incident happened in April. He will be charged in court as soon as the investigation is concluded,” Edafe concluded.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced 44 lists of licensed deposit money banks in Nigeria.

The apex bank disclosed this in a list released on its official website on Tuesday.

According to CBN, Seven banks, including Zenith Bank, Access Bank, First Bank, First City Monument Bank, United Bank of Africa, Fidelity, and Guaranty Trust Bank, have Commercial Banking licenses with international authorization as of April 26, 2024.

Also, fifteen banks have commercial banking licenses with National Authorization.

Similarly, four banks have commercial banking licenses with regional authorization, and four non-interest banks have national authorization.

The bank said the country has six merchant banks licensed with national authorization.

It stated that financial holding companies increased to seven.

CBN added that the country has a Mauritius commercial bank representative office.

The list comes months after the CBN raised the minimum capital requirement for all banks in Nigeria to strengthen the country’s financial sector.