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News_Naija

Groups Seek Increased Protection For Female As Police Crack Down On Ekiti Rapists

ABIODUN NEJO writes that the arrests over cases of rape made by the police in three and half months in Ekiti State is a fresh cause for concern Despite the fact that Ekiti State Government, security agencies and relevant civil society organisations in the state have been unrelenting in the fight against violence against women, rape incident still appears to be rampant. The disclosure by the Police Commissioner in Ekiti State, Joseph Eribo, recently that operatives of the State Criminal Investigations Department made arrests in 12 rape cases and two others of abuse of nine years old girls between January and mid April brought the situation to the fore once again. More worrisome is the fact that the victims in the 12 rape cases were mainly minors as the data showed cases involving nine minors and three adults. Four of the affected minors were aged three, four, five and eight years old.  The state government has been fighting rape with public sensitization, laws and enforcement and as well emplacing policies that will dissuade the social vice, just as civil society organisations are coming up with various strategies to reach communities and stakeholders to eradicate rape. Among initiatives of the state government is the ‘Name and Shame’ policy whereby photographs, names and addresses of convicted rapists are placed in strategic locations to shame them and deter would-be rapists while the convicts’ names are also entered into the Sex Offenders’ Register. A lawyer and Executive Director of Gender Relevance Initiative Promotion, Mrs Rita Ilevbare, listed efforts of the state government in the regard to include “putting in place of policies and laws, political will and institutional facility like the Sexual Assault Referral Centre”. Ilevbare added that “the state Ministry of Justice is prosecuting, the Ministry of Women Affairs is providing psycho-social support and even the various preventive activities that the Office of the Wife of the Governor is embarking on. “The governor’s wife, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, also ensures that she takes care of the children so that they can go back to school, to make them less exposed. When children are not in school and hawking around, they are likely to be exposed to violence,” Ilevbare said. But reeling out the incidents which were transferred to the State CID from various divisions and other sources between January and mid-April 2025, the police commissioner said, “On January 29, a case of rape was reported at Oye-Ekiti on behalf of a five years old victim. “The suspect, 30 years old Damilola Oladunjoye, lured the victim to his room and had carnal knowledge of her. The case has been charged to court”. The CP added that on February 2, a case of defilement of a nine-year-old girl was reported at Ikere-Ekiti. The victim was lured by the suspect, 17 years old Seun Jonathan, to his room where she was sexually assaulted. The case has been charged to court. He said, “On February 15 in Ado Ekiti, a case of defilement was reported on behalf of a four years old victim. The suspect, 15 years old Daniel Ademola, lured the girl child to an isolated place at Okeila area and took advantage of her. “The suspect confessed to the alleged crime and was subsequently charged to court”. Eribo stated that another suspected rapist, 35 years old Peter Ileteogu was arrested based on a petition received from Ekiti Sexual Assault referral Centre, Ado Ekiti, on behalf of a 15 years old victim. The police boss said, “The suspect lured the victim, who is his younger sister and sexually assaulted her. The suspect had been charged to court”. He added that one 31 years old Ademola Ariyo was also nabbed by detectives from the CID on February 27 for allegedly raping a 15 years old girl who he lured to his room. “The case was transferred from Ilupeju Division to State C.I.D, Ado-Ekiti. The case has been charged to court”. The list included the case of rape on March 4 at Ifaki Ekiti of a 25 years old, who is a younger sister to the girlfriend of the suspect, 32 years old Tosin Akindolu. Narrating how it happened, the CP said, “He lured the victim to a hotel room at Ifaki Ekiti where he forcibly had canal knowledge of her. The suspect confessed to the alleged crime and was charged to court”. Also, a 15 years old girl was allegedly raped by a 19 years old man, Taiwo Olujobi in Ado Ekiti on March 6, following which the suspect was arrested. He said, “The suspect lured the victim to his house at Okeoriomi Area of Ado Ekiti where he had canal knowledge of her. On interrogation, the suspect confessed to the alleged crime and was later charged to court”. Also, two suspected rapists, 19 years old Michael Omoyejowo and 17 years old Olamilekan Ajepe, on March 13 conspired at Ido Ekiti and gangraped their schoolmate, a 15 years old girl. The CP said, “The victim and suspects were students of the same secondary school. They lured the victim to the first suspect’s house and had canal knowledge of her. Suspects confessed to the alleged crime and were later charged to court”. In another matter, a 34 years old suspect, Ayokanmi Ojoogun, allegedly raped his employee, a 20 years old lady at Iworoko Ekiti on April 2. “The victim was the employee of the suspect in his poultry farm, where he lured her to his office within his farm and had canal knowledge of her. On interrogation the suspect confessed to the alleged crime, but claimed to be consensual sex and was charged to court”. Also, Eribo said that an eight years old girl was allegedly defiled by 55 years old Solomon Ayodele at Igede Ekiti on April 5, saying, “The suspect lured the victim to his house at Igede Ekiti where he sexually abused her. The suspect denied the alleged crime”. The police commissioner said that a case of alleged defilement of a three years old girl by a 17 years old boy, Ayomide Julius, on 15th April was referred from the Rapid Response Squad of the state police command to the CID. He said, “The victim alleged that the suspect fingered her private part in the toilet. On interrogation the suspect confessed to the crime and will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is completed. He said another rape incident occurred between students of a university at Ikere Ekiti where the suspect, 27 years old Oluwafemi Bejide, allegedly raped his 18 years old school mate on April 15. The CP said that the victim and the suspect were students of the same university, adding, “The suspect lured the victim to his house at Ikere Ekiti and forcibly had canal knowledge of her. The suspect confessed to the alleged crime. He will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is completed”. According to the police boss, two other cases involving abuse of children were recorded in the 14 months period including one referred to the CID from a Magistrates court on March 23. He said, “A nine years old girl was abused by a 35 years Amaka Nwaogalanya resident at behind Ologede Division, Ado Ekiti. The suspect was alleged to have beaten the victim and broke her arm. She was arrested, on interrogation, she confessed to the alleged crime and was charged to court. “Also, on April 2nd, a case of child abuse against a nine years old girl was reported at Ire Ekiti against 42 years old Okedunoya Owolabi. The suspect, who is the biological father of the victim beat her up and inflicted injuries all over her body. “The video went viral on social media. On interrogation the suspect confessed to the crime and was charged to court,” Eribo said. Gender advocate and Executive Director, Balm in Gilead Foundation for Sustainable Development, Dr Oluwatumininu Akerele, said, “Rape continues to occur due to entrenched patriarchal values, weak law enforcement, poor sexuality education, drug abuse and societal stigmatization of survivors”. On what could be responsible for adults having interest in violating minors, the BIGIF ED said, “Several factors contribute, including psychological disorders, distorted sexual fantasies, abuse of power and trust and harmful cultural beliefs that promote child exploitation. “In some cases, perpetrators believe children are easy targets due to their vulnerability, silence or inability to defend themselves or speak up”. She added, “However, the increase in reported cases, especially involving minors, may also reflect growing awareness, improved public education and the gradual breakdown of the culture of silence. “Survivors and families are increasingly encouraged to report and seek justice as a result of advocacy and better implementation of protective laws unlike before when cases were treated as family matters that should not be heard outside. Akerele called on society to “reject harmful norms, support survivors without stigma and normalize open conversations on child safety. Communities should have a community structure/committee to respond and address cases of abuse on children. “The Police need continuous training on handling sexual violence cases with sensitivity and urgency, especially those involving children,” the BIGIF boss said. She also urged governments to “strengthen enforcement of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act and Child Rights Act, fund survivor-centered services, and scale up public sensitization campaigns and comprehensive sexuality education in schools. “I also advocate that special fund should be allocated to both the law enforcement agencies and community child protection structures to effectively respond to cases of Gender-Based Violence at the grass root level. At BIGIF, we emphasize the importance of community involvement in child protection. Parents and caregivers must foster trust with their children, listen to them, and know the signs of abuse”. BIGIF urged all stakeholders – government, civil society, and the media – to intensify efforts in creating safe, youth-friendly environments, saying, “Let us work together to ensure every child is protected, every survivor is supported and every offender is held accountable”. The GRIP ED, Ilevbare, blamed persistence of rape on “our cultural and societal attitude to issues that concern women, the unequal power relation, the issue that women are people that can be trampled upon or that can be treated anyhow”. She said that digging deep into the perpetrators in rape cases in the instant situation with majority of the cases having to do with minors, “you will see that the perpetrators are not far from the victims cutting across fathers, brothers, religious leaders and uncles around the premises of those children. “Such shows that men who should stand in position of protection are the ones now abusing women”. She dismissed insinuation that indecent dressing or where the female go induced rape, querying, “How did the children aged three, four and five dress? Where could three, four and five years old have gone to that would warrant their being raped? Did they go to club house, did they follow any man anywhere?” Ilevbare urged that society should channel the same energy used for issues concerning man to those concerning women, adding, “There are laws, we should allow these laws to work. In as much as society will not allow the law to take its course on violence against women, we will not hear the last of it. “But we will not be deterred – for those of us on the field, we who are human rights activists, the various NGOs especially my organization, GRIP, we will continue to push. “I want to advise that children deserve protection and care. Parents must look out for their children. It is frightening that fathers, brothers, uncles, pastors, imams are the ones even violating these children. Parents should be extra careful,” the GRIP ED said.

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Worldnews

Texas Flooding: Who Are The Victims, Whats The Death Toll, Could It Rise?

More than 100 people were killed in the flash floods. Camp Mystic, a camp for girls, is among the worst-hit sites. Flash floods that ravaged Texas over the weekend have killed more than 100 people as of Monday and left many missing in the state in the southern United States. The deaths and destruction caused by the floods have brought the government’s response and warning systems under scrutiny. A warning for flash floods in parts of Texas remains in place through Monday, and the search for missing people continues. Here is more about what happened in Texas and how the government has responded: While residents were still asleep early on Friday, flash floods hit Texas Hill Country, a region spanning central and southern Texas. In under two hours, the Guadalupe River swelled beyond its banks, surging higher than two-storey buildings to about 9 metres (30ft). Drone footage taken on Saturday showed entire neighbourhoods inundated with high volumes of water. Flash floods occur when large volumes of rain fall rapidly and the ground is unable to absorb it. Central Texas is called “flash flood alley” because it is especially susceptible to flooding. Nasir Gharaibeh, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Texas A&M University, told Al Jazeera that flash floods are caused by a combination of factors, including very intense rainfall in a short period, hilly terrain with steep slopes and shallow soil. Kerr County was hit the hardest by the floods, which struck on US Independence Day and the start of a long holiday weekend. That the region was hit by the flood “is not surprising”, Gharabibeh said, adding that Kerr County and surrounding counties “are part of what is called ‘Flash Flood Alley’, a region in Texas with a long history of flash flood events”. The county, home to more than 52,000 people, sits on the Edwards Plateau in central Texas. The county is home to parks and outdoor sites as well as cultural hubs, including the Museum of Western Art. Many girls were killed and others went missing as the floods hit the riverside Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls. The camp is in the Hunt community in western Kerr County along the banks of the Guadalupe River, about 137km (85 miles) northwest of San Antonio. Camp Mystic was founded in 1926 by EJ “Doc” Stewart, a University of Texas football coach. Since its establishment, the camp has operated every summer except for three years during World War II, when the US government leased the camp as a recovery facility for Army Air Corps veterans. The camp runs three sessions every summer, offering more than 30 activities such as archery, aerobics, basketball, ceramics, kayaking and golf. When the flood hit, about 750 people were staying at Camp Mystic. According to Kerr County officials, 10 children and one counsellor from the camp are still missing. At least 104 people have been killed in the flooding across central Texas. Those include 84 people who died in Kerr County alone, among whom are 28 children, according to the local sheriff’s office. The victims include Reece Zunker, a football coach at Tivy High School in Kerrville, and his wife, Paula Zunker, a former teacher at the same high school. The couple’s two children are still missing. Officials said 27 people staying at Camp Mystic have died in the flooding. These include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, 8-year-old twin sisters from Dallas; Sarah Marsh, an 8-year-old from Alabama; Dick Eastland, the director of Camp Mystic; and Chloe Childress, a 19-year-old camp counsellor. Local officials from the neighbouring Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties have reported that 19 people died there in the floods. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Sunday that 41 people across the state were missing – suggesting that the death toll could rise. Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro reported from Washington, DC, that rescue workers had promised to “not give up until the very last person is found – either alive or their body is recovered”. Yes, Kerr County has historically seen flooding from the Guadalupe River. The river experienced major floods in 1936, 1952, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1987, 1991 and 1997, according to a guide prepared by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, a Texas state agency dedicated to conserving the water resources of the river basin. The guide was created in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the leading US agency for disaster response and recovery. The flooding over the weekend evoked memories of a disaster that occurred in July 1987. That flood began as a storm in Mexico and moved across the border, hitting western Kerr County and dumping rain into the upper part of the Guadalupe. The 1987 flood also hit a summer camp, killing 10 teenagers at the Pot O’ Gold Christian Camp near Comfort, Texas, according to local media. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the Guadalupe River on Friday surged past those 1987 levels. President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) made cuts to the NWS, reducing funding and slashing staff. The Trump administration has also proposed cuts and modifications to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US government agency that conducts climate change research. The NWS is part of NOAA. By early June, the NWS lost nearly 600 employees, who were either laid off or retired. The Austin/San Antonio office of the NWS is short of six employees, and the nearby San Angelo office is short of four employees, according to Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, a union that represents government employees, NBC News reported. Some Democrats have argued that understaffing the NWS makes it hard to tackle weather disasters such as the flash flooding in Texas. “I don’t think it’s helpful to have missing key personnel from the National Weather Service not in place to help prevent these tragedies,” Joaquin Castro, a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives from Texas, told CNN. Despite the cuts, the government did issue a series of flood warnings for Texas. On Wednesday, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) announced there was a threat of flooding, activating state emergency response resources. Later that afternoon, the Austin/San Antonio office of the NWS posted on X: “Scattered moderate to heavy showers continue to develop and expand to the Hill Country.” On Thursday, the TDEM in an X post said western and central Texas continued to face a flood threat. The NWS said on X: “Pockets of heavy rain are expected and may result in flooding.” The NWS also issued a flood watch, which is an alert that weather conditions are favourable for flooding. “It does not mean flooding will occur, but it is possible,” the NWS website said. On Friday, the NWS upgraded the flood watch to a flood warning, which means a flood is imminent or occurring. At 1:26am (06:26 GMT), the NWS posted on X “flash flooding likely overnight with significant impacts possible”. About 4am (09:00 GMT), the NWS posted: “A very dangerous flash flooding event is ongoing. … Turn Around, Don’t Drown!” An hour later, the San Angelo office of the NWS issued a rare flash flood emergency, and the Austin/San Antonio office followed suit a short time later. Gharaibeh said it was hard to say whether the scale of deaths and destruction due to the flash floods could have been avoided. “But I believe there is a need for a better warning system specific for flash flooding,” he said. The Trump administration has dismissed allegations that understaffing of weather monitoring agencies was in any way to blame for the crisis, maintaining that the scale of the floods was unexpected and could not have been predicted. Trump told reporters: “This is a 100-year catastrophe, and it’s just so horrible to watch.” Scientists typically use terms like “100-year flood” or “500-year flood” to refer to a flood that is of unprecedented intensity compared with historical records, according to the US Geological Survey. Trump added that he would visit Texas “probably on Friday”. When Trump was asked if the meteorologists who had left the NWS because of the DOGE cuts should be rehired, the president said he “wouldn’t know”, adding, “I would think not. This was the thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people in there and they didn’t see it.” Speaking at a news conference with Abbott, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Trump was using “all the resources at the federal government” for search and recovery operations. “For decades, for years, everybody knows that the weather is extremely difficult to predict, but also the National Weather Service over the years at times has done well and at times we have all wanted more time and more warnings,” Noem said. She added that the Trump administration was “upgrading the technology” that the NWS uses. Abbott posted a statement on Monday saying more than 20 state agencies are responding to the flood emergency. The statement also says that more than 1,750 personnel and more than 975 vehicles and equipment assets have been deployed. About 17 helicopters were deployed over the weekend to search for missing people. Additionally, the Texas National Guard was called up to help with the search operation. “We continue our 24/7 search & rescue operation until every missing person is found,” Abbott wrote on X on Sunday. On Monday evening, the NWS said the chances of new rain are decreasing. The Austin/San Antonio chapter of the NWS posted on X at about 9pm on Monday (02:00 GMT on Tuesday): “Rain chances continue to decrease this evening into the overnight period.” Rain chances continue to decrease this evening into the overnight period. A warming trend is in store for the work week. Rain chances over the coastal plains. Rain chances return for a larger area of South Central Texas over the weekend. #txwx pic.twitter.com/MgO9csrpWf — NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) July 8, 2025 Still, until Monday evening, the Austin/San Antonio chapter, as well as the San Angelo chapter of the NWS, issued a series of flash flood warnings for different cities and regions in central Texas. 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News_Naija

We Were Flogged With Cutlasses, Drank Dirty Water, Urine To Survive Kidnap Victim

In this compelling testimony of survival, hope and the harsh realities of insecurity on the country’s highways, Edafe Ofoluwa courageously tells HIRADAT HASSAN his brutal seven-day ordeal marked by killings, torture and starvation in the hands of kidnappers in Kogi State in March On March 5, you booked a bus from Abuja to Asaba after a visit to the FCT. However, the journey was cut short in Kogi after kidnappers attacked your bus. Can you share your experience with us? On March 5, 2025, I was heading back to Asaba, Delta Stare from Abuja with my friend, who is like a brother to me. We boarded the Amore of God Transport Service 18-seater bus alongside other passengers near Gwagwalada. On our way, when we got to Kogi, immediately after Lokoja, just a few minutes away from an army checkpoint, tragedy struck. Our driver was shot in the face, and the bus veered into the bush. Before we could realise what was happening, some Fulani men rushed out from the bush, took us all captive, and tied our hands behind our backs. We were forced to trek for hours, flogged with cutlasses, and subjected to unimaginable cruelty. I was severely beaten for days, forced to drink dirty water, and even had to drink my urine to survive. We trekked day and night for seven days, with the kidnappers threatening to kill anyone who got tired and couldn’t walk. Initially, there were 12 kidnappers, but the number later reduced to seven – four with guns and three with machetes. Two people managed to escape on the first day, and one more escaped on the third day. The brutality and torture were unbearable, and I thought I wouldn’t survive. However, on the third day, the beating stopped after my family called to say they had raised N4m. Despite this, the kidnappers demanded more. After what felt like eternity, seven of us survived and were released after our ransoms were paid. On the day of our release, we emerged from the Dangote company area in Obajana exhausted but grateful to be alive. The ransom was brought all at once, and we were released the same day. Were the abductors wearing masks or barefaced? Only one person wore a material nose mask, while another guy occasionally put on a mask. How long did it take to get to the kidnappers den and how did you survive the walk? I believe they have a specific location where they collect the ransoms. It’s not like we were heading to a particular place; we were just moving towards Abajana, where they had planned to collect the ransom. The distance from where we were abducted to Abajana is quite far. As for our movements, we were just walking inside the bush, climbing hills, and all that, heading to the location where the ransom would be paid. How would you describe the experience in the kidnappers den? I spent seven days and six nights with the kidnappers. I was tortured alongside the other captives. Like I stated earlier, we were subjected to trekking in the bush for these whole seven days. We were beaten with cutlasses, forced to drink dirty water, and I even had to drink my urine at times to survive. Those who got tired and weak were killed. Were you and the others kidnapped given food by your abductors? They gave us tasteless rice about three or four times, and on other days, garri to drink – each person was given three spoons, and that was all. You said some of the abducted travelers died in captivity. How many were killed and how were they killed? We were 18 captives. Two people escaped on the first day, and another one escaped on the second day. Only seven of us made it out alive, which means that eight people were killed along the way. I can remember that one of them was shot and butchered, while the others were hit with a stone and then butchered. After butchering them, we were forced to walk very fast until we were far from the place where the corpses were, and then we resumed walking normally again. How did they bring the ransom to the kidnappers? We were abducted on a Wednesday, and the following Friday, my family called to say they had the money. My sister’s husband had arrived in Abuja and called the kidnappers to ask if he could bring the money to them. The kidnappers told him to hold on and that they would get back to him later. However, they didn’t call him again until Tuesday morning, instructing him to go to Lokoja and wait for further instructions at 4pm. On Monday night, while still in the bush, we reached a cashew plantation, where we stayed for the night. On Tuesday morning, my sister’s husband received the call by 4pm to go to Abajana, and the kidnappers also contacted other families, telling them to go to Abajana. At around that time, three of the kidnappers left us, while four stayed with us. Only two of the kidnappers who left had guns, while the four who stayed with us had two guns and two cutlasses. As we waited, it started getting dark – it was around 7pm, though I’m not quite sure. When the kidnappers called us to start moving, we trekked for about two to three hours. We didn’t know what time it was, so I’m not sure of the exact duration. When we finally got out of the bush to the main road, opposite the Dangote company, and checked the time with my sister’s husband, it was already past 10pm. How did you continue the journey back to Asaba? We lodged in a hotel at Obajana and then went back to Abuja. The next day, we took a flight back to Asaba. What did the doctor’s report say about your condition after the ordeal? I’ll share it with you. The doctor’s report titled ‘OFOLUWA EDAFE/36YEAR/MALE/HOSPITAL NO: 1468/25’, states, ‘The above named presented with complaints of body aches, groin sores, feet injury and bruises all said to have been sustained following beatings with woods, starvation and prolonged trekking which happened while in captivity in the hands of unknown person which kidnapped him and held him for seven (7) days (5/3/25-11/3/25). On examination, he was in some painful distress with significant groin ulcers, injuries in multiple toes on both feet with healing bruises on several parts of his body. He requested to undergo some investigations and has been placed in analgesics, antibiotics, anthelmintic and multi-vitamins. Kindly provide him the necessary assistance.’ How about your friend you travelled with from Abuja? Did he survive too? Yes, he did, we survived together. He helped me survived. In what way did he help you during the abduction? I had already given up due to the many injuries I sustained, but he kept pushing me, reminding me of my unborn baby and asking me to stay alive for my child’s sake. And I had already called her (wife) to tell her to stay strong, as I wasn’t sure if I would make it out alive. My wife later gave birth three weeks after we were released. You mentioned that you called your wife, were you guys allowed to use your phones? They took my iPhone and my Samsung phone, as well as my friend’s iPhone. In fact, they took everyone’s phone, apart from one other guy’s phone, which they used to make calls. The phone they used for making calls, including calls for ransom, belonged to one of us. It was just a simple torchlight phone, and that was what they used for making calls. If you needed to make a call, they would willingly give you the phone because the purpose of the call was to get money. They would give you the phone to make calls for anything that would result in them getting money. First, you would ask the person you were calling to recharge the phone. You would specifically ask them to recharge the Glo number. You would then ask them to recharge the phone with N3,000. After the recharge, you would make the call. After everything was done, that would be it. All the other phones were taken away from us in the bush. None of the phones remained with us, except for that one torchlight phone. Apart from my two phones, they took my Oraimo ear buds, power bank, and the N5,000 that was left in my pocket. Did you reported the case to the police? Yes I reported to the Divisional Police headquarters in Delta, Asaba. The police report shared states, ‘One OFOLUWA EDAFE ‘M’, a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, came to the station with a sworn affidavit issued at the High Court Of Justice, Delta State Judiciary and reported that he is the rightful owner of an MTN line. That on the 5th day of march, 2025, while on transit along the Lokoja/Okene Expressway, the vehicle conveying him and other passengers was attacked by some unknown persons. That in the process, every occupant of the vehicle was kidnapped and taken into the bush, where they spent six (6) nights and seven (7) days until his family paid the sum of #4,000,000 (Four Million Naira) as ransom for his release. During his stay in the kidnappers den, their captors used their phones to make several calls to relatives of victims in their custody and other unknown person. He has since retrieved the MTN line number  and has started using it though the kidnappers held back their phones.’ With what happened, how does the thought of travelling long distance in Nigeria make you feel? I will never travel long distances by road again in Nigeria, the more reason I refused to come back to Asaba by road after we were released by the kidnappers. It’s something I won’t try again.

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Worldnews

Russia Probes Ex-ministers Death As Body Found Hours After Sacking

Roman Starovoit was found dead near his car in the Moscow region hours after President Vladimir Putin dismissed him. Russia’s top criminal investigation agency is probing the death of Roman Starovoit, a former transport minister whose body was found with a gunshot wound near his car, hours after President Vladimir Putin dismissed him from his post. Authorities on Monday said the 53-year-old politician’s body was discovered near a Tesla vehicle abandoned near a park in the Moscow region, with a pistol, registered in Starovoit’s name, located nearby. The Investigative Committee has opened a case to determine the full circumstances of his death, suggesting it could be suicide. Russian media, citing law enforcement sources, said the gunshot appeared to be self-inflicted. However, the timing of the death has prompted speculation. Putin issued a decree earlier on Monday, removing Starovoit as transport minister, a role he had held for just more than a year. No explanation was provided. Political commentators quickly linked the decision to a long-running corruption investigation in the Kursk region, where Starovoit previously served as governor. The probe centres on whether 19.4 billion roubles ($246m) allocated in 2022 to bolster border defences in Kursk were embezzled. The funds were meant to reinforce Russia’s frontier with Ukraine, but Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border assault into the region three months into Starovoit’s ministerial term – the largest such incursion since World War II. In April, his successor and former deputy in Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with embezzling defence funds. Several Russian outlets reported on Monday that Smirnov, who denies wrongdoing, had told investigators Starovoit was also involved in the alleged fraud. The incident casts a shadow over Russia’s transport sector, already grappling with wartime pressures. Western sanctions have left the aviation industry struggling for spare parts, while soaring interest rates have pushed Russian Railways – the country’s largest employer – into financial strain. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s drone attacks continue to disrupt domestic air traffic, forcing temporary airport closures and leading to logistical uncertainty. Following Starovoit’s dismissal, the Kremlin announced that Andrei Nikitin, former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed as acting transport minister. Photographs released by state media showed him shaking hands with Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin believed Nikitin had the necessary experience to steer the ministry through current challenges. At his meeting with the president, Nikitin pledged to modernise the sector by boosting digital infrastructure to improve cargo flows and cross-border trade. Follow Al Jazeera English:...