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News_Naija

Oyo Firefighters Save Community From Petrol Tanker Disaster

Members of the Oyo State Fire Service Agency have prevented a petrol explosion after a tanker carrying 45,000 litres of premium motor spirit lost control while in motion, fell by the roadside, and its contents began gushing out. Multiple witnesses told The PUNCH on Friday that the incident occurred at Onigari village in Oyo, on the Oyo/Ogbomoso expressway, around 12:20 pm on Thursday. An eyewitness, Remi Olasunkanmi, said, “The incident occurred when the driver was trying to manoeuvre the potholes. Immediate intervention and deployment of the fire service men saved the day, the petrol tanker would have gone in flame.” The state Chairman of the Fire Service, Maroof Akinwande, confirmed the incident to our correspondent in Ibadan, the state capital, on Friday. He said, “The Oyo zonal command saved the falling petrol tanker trailer from explosion at Onigari village, Oyo, on the Oyo/Ogbomoso expressway.
“The incident was reported at exactly 12:34hrs, on Thursday July 3, through running caller and Wahab Akeem to a petrol tanker accident at the above address. “Immediately, the firemen led by CFS Tijani promptly deployed to the scene of the incident and on getting there, we met an IVECO trailer tanker with the Registration No: Kaduna: BKA 661 XA of 45,000 litres capacity loaded with PMS lost control whilst in motion and fell by the roadside, cab detached and contents gushing out. “The agency personnel swiftly swung into action by applying necessary chemicals and observing all precautionary measures to avoid imminent fire and likely explosion that might lead to fire disaster. “A team of SAFER highway patrol were also in attendance for security cover,” the chairman explained.

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News_Naija

Man Bags Life Jail For Robbery, Kidnapping In Anambra

A High Court sitting in Neni, Anambra State, presided over by Justice G.C Anulude, has sentenced one Nonso Anunuobi to life imprisonment for his involvement in a case of conspiracy, armed robbery, kidnapping, and attempted murder. The defendant, was charged with conspiracy, armed robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder contrary to Criminal Code Act and the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, alongside other relevant legislation. The verdict, delivered by the judge of the Anambra State High Court 1, followed a painstaking trial process that lasted several years, during which damning evidence was presented against the convict. According to details of the case (Charge No. NN/5C/2019), as obtained by our correspondent on Friday, the defendant, alongside his gang members, waylaid their victim, one Aloysius Obidinma, at Ifitedunu in Dunukofia Local Government Area of the state, while he was returning to Onitsha from his hometown. It was gathered that the unsuspecting victim was ambushed, brutally assaulted, shot, and dragged into the criminals’ vehicle. The hoodlums, it was further revealed, dispossessed the victim of his car, laptop, phones, and other personal effects, before demanding ransom from his family as a condition for his release. Their dastardly acts, were however exposed when law enforcement officers, swung into action, tracked one of the stolen devices which eventually led them to apprehend the culprits. The Prosecution, led by the Assistant Chief State Counsel, Fabian Okeke, provided substantial evidence linking the culprit to the heinous crime, and reminded the court that “under the law, a conviction for armed robbery ordinarily attracts a death sentence”. The defense counsel, however, passionately pleaded for leniency on behalf of the accused. However, in his judgment, Justice Anulude, after careful consideration of the final addresses and the weight of evidence before the court, convicted the defendant and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The judge noted, “While the law stipulates death for armed robbery, the peculiar circumstances and the plea for mercy influenced the decision of the court. “The court finds the accused guilty as charged and the cruelty of the acts committed cannot be glossed over. “This judgment will serve as a strong deterrent to other criminally-minded elements who may wish to terrorise law-abiding citizens in the society.” Reacting, the Assistant Chief State Counsel, Fabian Okeke, while expressing satisfaction with the ruling, reiterated the need for continuous collaboration among the police, the judiciary, and the public to sustain the gains made in the fight against violent crimes in the state.

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News_Naija

70-year-old Man Kills Sister Over Family Land In Jigawa

A tragic case of culpable homicide has rocked the Galadanchi village in Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa State, leaving a family in shock and grief. According to a statement made available to journalists in Dutse, the State capital, on Friday, by the Police Public Relations Officer, Jigawa State Command, SP Shi’isu Adam, the incident occurred on July 1, 2025, around 1530hrs. “The Jigawa State Police Command is currently investigating a tragic case of culpable homicide that occurred on July 1, 2025, around 1530hrs in Galadanchi village, Dutse LGA,” SP Adam stated. “The suspect, 70-year-old Adamu Yakubu, allegedly killed his 45-year-old sister, Hannatu Hashimu, over a land dispute stemming from family inheritance. “The suspect allegedly stabbed his sister with a stick during a heated argument over the sharing of family inheritance land,” SP Adam revealed. The altercation began as a verbal disagreement but escalated into physical violence, resulting in the tragic death of Hannatu Hashimu. The deceased exited the house bitterly and fainted upon entering the matrimonial house, prompting relatives to rush her to Dutse General Hospital. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead by the medical doctor on duty, leaving the family in mourning. The Police statement highlighted that “the suspect was arrested and is currently in police custody, assisting with the ongoing investigation.” However, SP Adam disclosed that the assault stick was recovered and kept as an exhibit, and the suspect will be arraigned in court upon completion of the investigation. The Jigawa State Police Command has strongly condemned the incident and urged members of the public to seek peaceful and legal ways to resolve family and land-related disputes. The Command also expresses its condolences to the family of the deceased and assures the public that justice will be served.

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Worldnews

State-sponsored Islamophobia In France Encourages Violence

Attacks against the French Muslim community are on the rise as the French state doubles down on anti-Muslim racism. On June 27, El Hidaya Mosque in Roussillon in Southern France was attacked and vandalised. Windows were smashed and furniture overturned; the walls were plastered with racist flyers. Earlier the same month, a burned Quran was placed at the entrance of a mosque in Villeurbanne of Lyon. Unfortunately, virulent Islamophobia in France has not stopped at vandalism. On May 31, Hichem Miraoui, a Tunisian national, was shot dead by his French neighbour in a village near the French Riviera; another Muslim man was also shot but survived. A month earlier, Aboubakar Cisse, a Malian national, was stabbed to death in a mosque in the town of La Grand-Combeby by a French citizen. There has been a significant spike in Islamophobic acts in France – something the French authorities remain reluctant to publicly comment on. One report showed a 72 percent increase in such incidents between January and March 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. There are various factors that have contributed to this, but central among them is the French state’s own Islamophobic rhetoric and anti-Muslim policies. The most recent iteration of this was the release of a report titled “The Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islamism in France” by the French government. The document claims that the Muslim Brotherhood and “political Islamism” are infiltrating French institutions and threatening social cohesion and names organisations and mosques as having links to the group. The report came out just days before Miraoui was shot dead and two weeks after the French authorities raided the homes of several founding members of the Brussels-based Collective Against Islamophobia in Europe (CCIE) living in France. With the rise of anti-Muslim attacks and discrimination in France, it is increasingly hard to believe that the obsession of the French state and government with what they call “Islamist separatism” is not, in fact, inciting violence against the French Muslim population. The idea that French Muslims are somehow threatening the French state through their identity expression has been championed by the French far right for decades. But it was in the late 2010s that it entered the mainstream by being embraced by centrist politicians and the media. In 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron, who also embraced the term “separatism”, called for the creation of a “French Islam”, a euphemism for domesticating and controlling Muslim institutions to serve the interest of the French state. At the heart of this project stood the idea of preserving “social cohesion”, which effectively meant suppressing dissent. In the following years, the French state started acting on its obsession with controlling Muslims with more and tougher policies. Between  2018 and 2020, it shut down 672 Muslim-run entities, including schools and mosques. In November 2020, the French authorities forced the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), a nonprofit organisation documenting Islamophobia, to dissolve; the organisation then reconstituted in Brussels. In December of that year, they targeted 76 mosques, accusing them of “Islamist separatism” and threatening them with closure. In 2021, the French Parliament passed the so-called anti-separatism law, which included a variety of measures to supposedly combat “Islamist separatism”. Among them was an extension of the ban on religious symbols in the public sector, restrictions on home schooling and sports associations, new rules for organisations receiving state subsidies, more policing of places of worship, etc. By January 2022, the French government reported that it had inspected more than 24,000 Muslim organisations and businesses, shut down more than 700 and seized 46 million euros ($54m) in assets. The report released in May, like many official statements and initiatives, was not aimed to clarify policy or ensure legal precision. It was supposed to politicise Muslim identity, delegitimise political dissent and facilitate a new wave of state attacks on the Muslim civil society. The report names various Muslim organisations, accusing them of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood. It also argues that campaigning against Islamophobia is a tool of the organisation. According to the report, the Muslim Brotherhood uses anti-Islamophobia activism to discredit secular policies and portray the state as racist. This framing is aimed to invalidate legitimate critiques of discriminatory laws and practices, and frames any public recognition of anti-Muslim racism as a covert Islamist agenda. The implication is clear: Muslim visibility and dissent are not just suspect — they are dangerous. The report also dives into the Islamo-gauchisme or Islamo-leftism conspiracy theories – the idea that “Islamists” and leftists have a strategic alliance. It claims that decolonial movement is challenneling Islamism and references the March Against Islamophobia of November 10, 2019, a mass mobilisation that drew participants from across the political spectrum, including the left. The report that was commissioned under the hardline former Interior Minister and now Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, who back in 2021 accused far-right leader Marine Le Pen of being “too soft” on Islam. All of this – the report, the legislation, the police raids and rhetorical attacks against the French Muslim community – follows the long French colonial tradition of seeking to rule over and control Muslim populations. The French political centre has had to embrace Islamophobia to contain its falling popularity. It may help with narrow electoral victories over the rising far right, but those will be short-lived. The more lasting impact will be a sigmatised, alienated Muslim community which will increasingly face state-incited violence and hatred. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Follow Al Jazeera English:...