metro
Abductors of Lagos trader demand ransom in dollars
- Release victim but vow to come back for balance
An abducted Lagos-based Igbo businessman, Timothy Uche, has regained freedom some days after his family was made pay ransom in dollars.
Uche, who deals in different kinds of electronics, was kidnapped in the Ejigbo area of Lagos State last Friday.
His abductors, a gang of four kidnappers, had waylaid him in the Iyana-Ejigbo area and fired several shots at his car. He waa dragged out of the vehicle and whisked away to an unknown destination.
The gunshots made everyone around the area, including tricycle riders, to scamper for safety.
It was gathered that as soon as he was taken away, his telephone lines were immediately switched off.
He could neither be reached through his lines nor did the kidnappers call any member of his family for over 48 hours.
It was learnt that after the incident was reported at the Ejigbo police station, the DPO deployed a tracking system which indicated that Uche had been taken away through Liasu and LASU roads.
His abductors later called Uche’s wife on Sunday and demanded N70 million naira ransom for the release of his husband.
Eventually, after a lot of plea, the kidnappers agreed to take N5 million.
While the family and friends of Uche were gathering the money, the captors placed a clause that the N5 million value must be converted to United States Dollars.
The family members started running around to raise the money and convert it to dollars.
News broke on Tuesday morning that Uche was released.
Uche narrated his ordeal to Credible News correspondent who visited him.
”I was kidnapped on Friday, March 10, 2023, around 9:30pm, when I closed from my shop situated on Ifoshi Road, close to Iyana Ejigbo, Lagos.
”On that fateful day, three armed men and a ‘pregnant woman’ shot sporadically at my car when I entered it to make a U-turn to pick up my children, who were still in the store waiting for me. The next thing I saw was people and tricycle riders running for safety. I was left alone at this point.
”They shot at the front, back, and sides of my car to ensure that I cannot escape. They even fired a bullet at my seat, which burned the upholstery of the seat but didn’t touch me. But to my greatest surprise, none of these bullets touched. At that point, the abductors whisked me away to an unknown destination.
”They drove through Egbe, Idimu, and Liasu roads to an apartment in the Ayobo area of Lagos State, where I was kept for three days. While I was struggling with them in their vehicle, they used knives on me and the gun which could not penetrate. ”There were bruises on me but the knives could not penetrate. I had bruises, but my clothes did not tear. One of them even cut through my signet but the knife could not enter me. If not God, who could have done it for me?
“For the three days, I spent in their custody, I was fed and medically treated.
“This is the third time these kidnappers have come for me. The last one was two months ago. While I was in the kidnappers’ den, one of them said they had been monitoring me since Monday of the same week.
“On Sunday, one of the kidnappers used my phone to call my wife, demanding N70 million in ransom. When they discovered that she could not raise the money, they agreed to N15 million, and when they observed that the money was not available, they requested N5 million, stressing that they would come for the balance later.”
Asked if those that kidnapped him were Igbo or Yoruba. Uche said they spoke in English each time they were together. “I also heard two or three of them communicating in the Igbo language at other times. I later found out that one of the kidnappers who dressed like a pregnant female is actually a male.
“But, before I was released, one of the kidnappers tapped at me where I was praying and said: ”It is okay, your prayers have been answered. Let us do what we want to do and leave here. But you must promise to give us the balance.’ They told me that they will still come back for me.’
“When the ransom was paid, I was blindfolded by my abductors, who dropped me somewhere at Ayobo on Tuesday, where my family members came to pick me up. My phone is presently with the kidnappers.”
metro
FG secures release of 6 women arrested for human trafficking in Cape Verde
FG secures release of 6 women arrested for human trafficking in Cape Verde
The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has successfully secured the release of six Nigerian women who were wrongfully detained in Cape Verde over baseless trafficking accusations.
Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, the spokesperson of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, revealed via a statement on Wednesday, April 16 that the Nigerian Mission in Guinea Bissau worked closely with the Cape Verdean authorities to ensure the women’s release.
She noted that the women had travelled to Cape Verde for vacation but were unfortunately arrested on unfounded human trafficking charges, which were eventually proven to be false.
Ebienfa mentioned that the minister expressed his satisfaction with the successful resolution of the matter and reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding the rights and well-being of Nigerians abroad.
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The statement read, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to happily inform you that the Nigerian ladies who were detained in Cape Verde have all been released and have left the country, too.
“The Ministry engaged Cape Verde authorities via our Mission in Guinea Bissau to secure their release.
“The six ladies travelled to Cape Verde for a holiday and were unfortunately detained on allegations of trafficking, which turned out to be false.”
FG secures release of 6 women arrested for human trafficking in Cape Verde
metro
Bayelsa lawmaker, Wike’s ally exchange blows amid tension over scheduled event [VIDEO]
Bayelsa lawmaker, Wike’s ally exchange blows amid tension over scheduled event [VIDEO]
A lawmaker in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and an ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike were captured engaging in a fight.
In a video circulating on social media, the Chief Whip of the Assembly, Hon. Gabriel Ogbara, was seen engaging in a heated struggle with the Ogbia Ward 8 Coordinator of the pro-Wike political group, the NEW Associates.
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The footage was posted by George Turnah, a known supporter of Wike and a former legal adviser to the PDP in the South-South zone.
Turnah, who was recently suspended by the Bayelsa PDP, has been at loggerheads with Governor Douye Diri over plans to organize a rally in Yenagoa in support of Wike. The event is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 2025.
Despite both Diri and Wike belonging to the PDP, the two powerbrokers have been locked in a quiet political rivalry, particularly over control of the party’s structure in the South-South. Governor Diri currently chairs the South-South Governors’ Forum.
Bayelsa lawmaker, Wike’s ally exchange blows amid tension over scheduled event [VIDEO]
metro
How Obasanjo, Jonathan, Buhari paid lip service to power sector – Minister
How Obasanjo, Jonathan, Buhari paid lip service to power sector – Minister
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has blamed previous Nigerian presidents and leaders for the lingering crisis in the country’s power sector.
Speaking while receiving a World Bank delegation in his Abuja office, Adelabu said successive administrations failed to take decisive action, leading to the degeneration currently plaguing power generation, transmission, and distribution.
He, however, expressed optimism under the current administration, noting that President Bola Tinubu has shown genuine concern and given total support toward reforms aimed at revamping the power sector.
“We actually have a past that we are not proud of. Over the years, we have only been paying lip service to transforming the power sector but have not worked the talk.
“Previous administrations have kept on doing the same thing all the time and you cannot get different results for that, which is why we have decided to do things differently this time. In all the segments across the sector, we must run away from the past,” Adelabu said in the statement by Bolaji Tunji, his special adviser on strategic communications and media relations.
He said the neglect of critical power infrastructure over the years, “including thousands of kilometres of transmission lines and hundreds of thousands of transformers”, has deepened the challenges in the sector.
“How will you explain the kind of infrastructure that we put together for our transmission network across the country? Thousands of kilometers of power line, thousands of power transformers, hundreds of thousands of distribution transformers that we have not maintained over time and expect them to keep sustaining our energy supply. It is not possible,” Adelabu said.
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“How do we allow our people to be vandalising infrastructure and expect stable electricity? So how do you have a sector with over 12 million customers and our meter is not more than six million and we expect to have a stable industry? No, it’s not possible. So what has happened with past governments?
“In 1984, when the military was in power here, we achieved a 2000 megawatts. Between 1984 and 2023, it took us 40 years to add additional 2000 megawatts. Now we have an average of 5,800 megawatts generation within one and a half years that we came to the office.
“What I’m saying is that, if the past administrations have been adding things like this, we will not be where we are today. And that is why I said that President Tinubu is actually laying the kind of foundation that we need for our country to grow”, he added.
He blamed the Muhammadu Buhari administration for stalling on the Siemens power deal signed in 2019.
“We entered into the Siemens contract in 2019. We never lifted a finger until 2023, when this government came on board. So you can now imagine since this President came in and now look at the mileage we have achieved,” he said.
The minister, however, noted that the pilot phase of the Siemens power project is nearly complete in under two years, expressing confidence in a brighter future for the power sector.
The minister implored the World Bank team to continue to support the Tinubu’s administration to ensure that the investment of the current administration succeeds.
“One thing that this administration has brought to the table is the seriousness, the determination, the commitment to make sure that the power sector is transformed.
“There is very little you can achieve in your agriculture sector, in your transportation sector, in your defense, education, or health; without stable and efficient electricity supply.
“That is why the President is really focusing on this, and he is supporting whatever we need to do to make sure that we transform this sector. He is ready to give us that support”, he noted.
How Obasanjo, Jonathan, Buhari paid lip service to power sector – Minister
(DailyTrust)
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