A microfinance bank, ASHA Microfinance Bank, on Thursday, held a medical outreach and sanitation at the Oyigbo market in Lagos State as part of its ‘CLEAN-A-MARKET’ campaign. The exercise, which was held at the market square, involved participants getting tested for blood pressure and sugar level tests, among others. It also involved the cleaning of waste by members of the microfinance bank team alongside some members of the market. Speaking to PUNCH Metro at the event, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of ASHA, Funmilola Paseda, disclosed that the initiative was aimed at promoting environmental hygiene, public health awareness, and encouraging active participation from traders in the marketplace. She explained that part of their community efforts is the Clean a Market Initiative, which involves sweeping the market and supporting traders with health checks such as blood pressure and temperature monitoring. “We are a bank, as you know, and we support women’s empowerment. We encourage and promote financial inclusion. We also create time to support our environment. “We are here to support with cleaning the environment, with sweeping, as you have seen us do since morning. “Apart from that, we are also here to help the traders look at the status of their health,” Paseda said. She noted that beyond showing concerns for the traders, the firm also offered them loans to support their businesses. “We’ve provided what we call a borehole system to major communities where we operate, so they have access to clean water,” she added. A beneficiary who identified herself simply as Dasola commended the bank for the gesture, stressing that the initiative had further encouraged them to maintain cleanliness in the market. She said, “They’ve come to help us clean the market. They’re trying, it is nice, and we’re happy. We, the traders, clean the market every morning before sales, but today, they’ve helped us make it cleaner. With the donation, our market will be cleaner.” Another trader in the market noted, “It’s very good and I love it. God will bless them, promote them, and prosper them. The highlight of the campaign included the donation of a refuse bin, brooms, aprons, and umbrella stands to the market. PUNCH Metro reported on Monday that the Redeemed Christian Church of God, The Calvary Zone, Oshodi, carried out its annual medical outreach that benefited about 500 residents over the weekend.

The Ilaje community in the Bariga area of Lagos State has vowed to resist the renaming of Ilaje Street after the music legend, King Sunny Ade, accusing the local council authority of attempting to erase its historical identity. Last Friday, the immediate past Chairman of the Bariga Local Council Development Area, David Kolade Alabi, announced the renaming of several streets, including Ilaje Street, as part of efforts to honour notable figures. However, the move has sparked intense backlash both on the streets and online, where critics allege it reflects ethnic bias and a disregard for local history. Protesters from the Ilaje community took to the streets on Wednesday, demanding a reversal of the name change, arguing that the council’s decision undermined the cultural and historical heritage of their people. In an exclusive interview with PUNCH Metro on Thursday, the President General of Egbe Omo Ilaje Worldwide, Raphael Irowainu, condemned the renaming as a “calculated attempt to decimate” the Ilaje people in Lagos State. “It was a calculated attempt by the political elites and some Yoruba ethnic groups to erase the historical and cultural involvement of the Ilaje people in the creation of Lagos State. “The Bariga community was founded in 1948 by our great-grandfathers. The entire place was like a forest.” They were the ones who made the road before the state government took over later,” Irowainu said. He further alleged a pattern of targeted and deliberate marginalisation of his people in the state. He said, “On March 7, the Lagos State Government, in connivance with some persons, went to another Ilaje community and demolished the area. “A monarch in Oworo sent people to demolish parts of Ilaje in Oworonshoki. Go to Majidun, and you will hear a similar story. These are calculated events to erase and decimate the Ilaje people.” Highlighting the group’s historical significance, Irowainu added, “The Ilaje are among the three early settlers of Lagos State —alongside the Awori and Ijebu. “We are not strangers. We are Yorubas just like any other Yoruba. Ilaje is a recognised sub-ethnic group in Yorubaland.” He also questioned the rationale behind honouring King Sunny Ade in an Ilaje territory when other areas could be named after the revered music icon. He said, “They now want to rename Ilaje Street to King Sunny Ade Street, when we have Ondo Street in Ebute Meta. Why not rename that one if they truly want to honour him? This is a war against the Ilaje people.” Disclosing that the community had already filed a petition against the decision, Irowainu threatened legal action, arguing that the LCDA lacks constitutional authority to rename streets. “If it requires going through legal means, we will do it. Even the so-called LCDA is illegal. “The constitution only recognises 20 local governments—not LCDAs. It’s only the local governments that have the power to rename streets, and even at that, there must be consultation with the affected communities,” he maintained. The former council chairman, who initiated the renaming, had defended the decision, saying it was meant to celebrate individuals who had brought global recognition to Bariga. “As an administration, we took our time to reflect on a number of our people who have put the name of our local council out on the global map through their respective God-given talents and crafts,” David had stated. Efforts to reach the new LCDA Chairperson, Bukola Adedeji, for comments on whether the council would review the street renaming were unsuccessful, as she did not respond to calls or text messages sent by PUNCH Metro on Thursday.

A commercial driver, Olumide Lawal, has narrated how a suspected ritualist, Salawu Omikansola, killed and dismembered his 16-year-old son, Wahab Lawal, for ritual purposes in the Igbile Ijebu area of Ogun State. Lawal disclosed this in an exclusive interview with PUNCH Metro on Wednesday. PUNCH Metro reported that the Ogun State Police Command, in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, disclosed that Lawal had reported his son missing on July 21. Odutola had noted that on July 23, the decomposed body of the boy was found along the expressway with some body parts, including his head, wrists, heart, and genitals, mutilated. Odutola had also disclosed that police operatives, while acting on credible intelligence, arrested Salawu Omikansola and Serefusi Agemo in connection with the incident. Speaking with our correspondent, Lawal narrated that his mother had called him to ask if Wahab was at his place because they couldn’t locate his whereabouts. Lawal noted that upon receiving the call, he drove from Ijebu-Ode to Ijebu Igbile to meet his mother, and they both searched the entire community without any trace of the missing son. He narrated that he reported the matter immediately to the police, and they continued the search until Wednesday, when some members of the Igbile community told him that they saw his clothes and sandals along the road. He continued, “On Wednesday, I left home by 4 a.m. because I was uncomfortable, and I continued to search everywhere, but I couldn’t find him. I went home, but at about 2 p.m., when I returned to Igbile, some women came to me and said they saw clothes and sandals that looked like those of my child I was looking for when they were returning from the farm, and they were suspecting that my son had been killed. “I was surprised — how could he have been killed? And I said they should take me there. The people were scared, so I took a bike and when I got to the scene, I met my son’s corpse. He had been killed. His head, his two wrists, his heart, and his private parts had been chopped off.” He said he reported the discovery to the police, who instructed that the deceased’s body should be buried. Following the discovery, Lawal noted that he began to sniff for information in the area and eventually learnt that some vigilantes had accosted a man with bloodstains all over his body on the day his son went missing. Armed with the information, he began a hunt alongside the police for the suspect, and they eventually arrested him. Lawal narrated that following the suspect’s arrest, he confessed that he was allegedly instructed by a traditionalist to kill the boy. He continued, “While I was sniffing around for information, I heard from someone that someone was accosted at about 1 a.m. on Monday by vigilantes, and the person had bloodstains on his clothes and body. But when they asked him where he got the stains, he said he had gone to kill a dog for someone celebrating Ogun Ajobo, which made the vigilantes free him. “Someone pointed the suspect out to me, and I informed the police, who arrested him and took him to their station. I believe that after he was investigated, he began confessing that he was sent by one Serefusi to kill the boy. “He gave the police the details of how they killed the boy and dismembered his body, which prompted them to arrest Serefusi. He said he was scared when he was asked to kill the boy, but Serefusi told him not to be afraid. Serefusi is the head of the Agemo worshippers in the community.” Lawal concluded by appealing to the state government and all relevant institutions to ensure that justice prevailed in the matter. “My appeal to the government is that they should not let the death of my son be in vain. I want justice for him because I am beginning to hear that Serefusi is influential and has backup that may help him evade justice,” Lawal concluded. As of the time of filing this report, our correspondent could not obtain comments from the suspects, Omikansola and Serefusi, as they remained in custody. PUNCH Metro reported on a similar incident on Thursday when the Anambra State Police Command arrested one female suspect identified as Somtochukwu Nwafor, aged 24 years, in connection with the murder of a pregnant nurse in Umueri village, Ogbunike, in the Oyi Local Government Area of the state. Our correspondent had gathered that the prime suspect, who is currently on the run, lured the nurse on the pretence that he was seeking medication, after which he killed the victim and buried the mutilated body parts in a soakaway pit.

Seven farmers who were kidnapped last Saturday while working on their farmland in Itaogbolu, Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, have regained their freedom. The victims were released on Wednesday night after spending five days in captivity, a relative of one of the abductees told the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday. The relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “I’m happy to tell you that the kidnappers released all seven farmers on Wednesday night. They are back with their families. “I want to let you know that when the kidnappers demanded ransom, which was N100 million initially before it was reduced to N20 million, we were only able to raise N5 million. “They were released in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti, on Wednesday night after collecting the N5 million and food items. “The victims are now in the hospital for medical attention.” Efforts by NAN to speak with the state Commander of Amotekun Corps, Mr Adetunji Adeleye, were unsuccessful as calls to his cell phone were not answered. When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Olushola Ayanlade, simply said, “I’m not aware of their release.” NAN