Traditional ruler, 4 others remanded for illegal gold mining in Osun – Newstrends
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Traditional ruler, 4 others remanded for illegal gold mining in Osun

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Traditional ruler, 4 others remanded for illegal gold mining in Osun

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of a traditional ruler, Oba Taofeeq Osunmakinde, and four others in Kuje Correctional Centre over allegations of illegal gold mining.

This decision came on Monday after the defendants were arraigned by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

Justice Emeka Nwite, presiding over the case, directed the detention of Oba Osunmakinde, the Obawore of Ifetuntun in Ife Central Local Government Area of Osun, and his co-defendants.

The co-defendants include Sheu Mustapha, Sabiru Hashim, Danbaba Ibrahim, and Ade Olap Global Resources Limited. The court ordered their remand pending the fulfillment of their bail conditions.

The five defendants are accused of engaging in illegal gold mining in the Lege community of Odigbo Local Government Area in Ondo State. The charges filed against them are in connection with an alleged conspiracy on August 25 to mine gold unlawfully at the Ogunlepo mining site in the same area.

The charges brought forward by the AGF are based on the Miscellaneous Offences Act 2004. If found guilty, the accused could face penalties under Sections 3(6) and 1(8) of the Act.

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During the court proceedings, all five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution, led by counsel Toluwalope Ojo, did not oppose the defendants’ bail request but urged the court to order them to surrender their international passports.

Vincent Ododo, representing the accused, presented a consolidated bail application, noting that the charges against them did not involve capital punishment.

He further emphasized that the first defendant, being a respected traditional ruler, would not evade the trial.

In his ruling, Justice Nwite granted bail to each defendant in the sum of N20 million with one surety of equal value. The sureties are required to reside in Abuja, possess landed property, and present a three-year tax clearance certificate.

Additionally, the defendants must submit their international passports and recent passport photographs to the court’s deputy chief registrar.

The case has been adjourned to September 26, 2024, for trial, with the defendants remaining in custody until their bail conditions are met.

Traditional ruler, 4 others remanded for illegal gold mining in Osun

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Man remanded for allegedly defiling stepdaughter in Benue

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Man remanded for allegedly defiling stepdaughter in Benue

A Makurdi Magistrates Court, on Wednesday, ordered the remand of one Adera Sunday, 40, accused of defiling of his 16-year-old stepdaughter.

The Magistrate, Mrs Sonia Ayange, did not take the plea of the defendant, a resident of Welfare Quarters, Makurdi, for want of jurisdiction.

Ayange thereafter ordered that the defendant should be remanded at the Makurdi Correctional Centre pending further investigation.

She adjourned the case to Oct. 11 for further mention.

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Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, Insp James Ewache told the court that the teenager reported the case at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Makurdi on Aug. 30.

The prosecutor said that the complainant informed the police that her stepfather had been taking sexual advantage of her since she was 13 years of age without her consent.

“He lures her into taking noxious drugs and while under the influence, forcefully takes advantage of her,” the prosecutor said.

Ewache said that investigation into the matter was still ongoing and prayed the court for another date for mention.

He said that the offence contravened Sections 284 of the Penal Code, Laws of Benue State, 2004.

Man remanded for allegedly defiling stepdaughter in Benue

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FG worries over Abuja tremor, says it’s monitoring situation

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Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji

FG worries over Abuja tremor, says it’s monitoring situation

The federal government has said it is monitoring and analysing earth movement in and around Abuja to forestall any further earth tremor in the federal capital territory.

The Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Uche Nnaji, who disclosed this at an emergency press briefing in Abuja, yesterday, said the government would soon implement measures to mitigate the seismic risks.

Over the past week, a series of earth tremors have been reported in some parts of the Maitama, Katampe, and Mpape areas, causing concern among residents.

Tremors are small, mild shaking or vibrations of the ground, often caused by minor movements in the earth’s crust.

It could be recalled that Mpape experienced a similar sequence of earth tremors from September 5 to 7, 2018, which drew significant local and international attention to Nigeria’s increasing seismic activity.

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The recent tremors were accompanied by loud noises and ground shaking, causing widespread alarm among residents.

The minister said “The government is currently processing and analysing comprehensive datasets from its Seismological and GNSS stations to provide relevant recommendations to the FCT Administration.

“We urge the residents of Mpape, and by extension the wider Abuja area, to remain calm and continue their normal activities,” Nnaji said.

Also, the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) has urged residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to remain calm.

NGSA Director General, Prof. Olusegun Ige, made the call in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

He urged the residents of the affected areas and other parts where the tremors were felt not to panic, as the tremors were generally minor and did not pose any threat to the environment.

He said the agency was closely monitoring the situation across Nigeria and would provide updates as required.

The NGSA boss stated that a team from the agency had visited the affected areas for an on-the-spot assessment of the various incidents.

FG worries over Abuja tremor, says it’s monitoring situation

(NAN)

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Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun

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Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun

The Osun State Police Command has said that it has arrested seven suspects for possession of human body parts.

The police made this revelation to journalists while parading the suspects at the Command headquarters in Osogbo on Wednesday.

The suspects paraded include Johnson Daniel, Adetunji Okunade, Olaniyan Azeez, Balogun Temitope Asimiyu, Oladapo Hammed, Kazeem Rasak and Asaka Rauf.

Addressing journalists, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Giwa-Alade Emmanuel also said suspected human bone fragments, a female pant and note books were recovered as exhibits from the suspects at the point of arrest.

He said, “The above named suspects were arrested upon a credible information from a good spirited individual that, one Johnson Daniel ‘m’ a mortuary attendant at lpetu-ljesa sells portions of human remains deposited at the mortuary to native doctors whose names are listed above.

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“The said suspects use these remains gotten from the mortuary attendant (Johnson Daniel) for different ritual purposes. Daniel also confessed that, he conspired with one other mortuary attendant named Adetunji Okunade ‘m’ to sell remnant of water used in bathing corpses to interested native doctors.

“In the course of investigation, search were conducted at the residences of these suspects which led to the recovery of fragment of substances suspected to be human skull at Asaka Rauf ‘m’ and Oladapo Hammed ‘m’ residences while a female pant and a note book containing instructions on ritual practices were recovered from Balogun Temitope Asimiyu’s residence.”

Giwa-Alade hinted that the suspects have been charged to court.

Similarly, the police paraded Taiwo Adekunle, Adebayo Opeyemi, Hasan Ibrahim, Oba Wasiu and Olajide Oladapo for alleged armed robbery.

Exhibits recovered at the point of arrest include a Ford Jeep with registration number SMK945OS, Hunter motorcycle with registration number WWD604QF, one empty shell cartridge, one Iphone and one magnet.

Police parade suspected ritualists, armed robbers in Osun

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