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Traditional Healer Bags Life Sentence For Abducting, Defiling 2 Teen

Published

4 years ago

January 13, 2022

A traditional healer, Prince Tom, was on Wednesday sentenced to two life sentences by an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court for abducting and defiling the 15-year-old daughter of his patient.

Justice Abiola Soladoye sentenced Tom after finding him guilty of a two-count charge of defilement and kidnapping.

Delivering the judgment, Soladoye said the evidence of the first prosecution witness (the survivor) was consistent and remained unshaken during cross-examination.

The judge noted that the evidence of the second prosecution witness (survivor’s mother) and other witnesses also corroborated key facts of the survivor’s evidence.

“The defendant is toxic in character, he used the name of God to deceive his victims; he is mean and callous.

“His attitude even while in the dock is wicked, deadly and nonchalant

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“The defendant extorted the mother of the victim and brainwashed the family that he will heal their sick breadwinner.

“This is a note of warning to parents not to entrust their wards to strangers. This is a case of man’s inhumanity to man.

“The prosecution has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt. In view of all evidence presented in court, I am convinced that the accused is guilty of these two counts.

“The defendant is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment for count one (defilement) and life imprisonment for count two (kidnapping). The sentences are to run concurrently,” the judge said.

While testifying on June 22, 2021, the survivor told the court that she met Tom for the first time when he came to her family to treat her father who had suffered a stroke.

She said he was introduced to the family through a member of her mother’s church.

She said the convict had charged N25,000 as part of the fee to treat her father and she was instructed by her mother to go with Tom to a Point of Sale (POS) to withdraw the funds.

She said she was abducted by the convict who thereafter, called her mother to demand “transport money” for her to return to her family and her mother sent N10,000 (N5,000 in two tranches) to meet Tom’s demands.

The witness narrated that Tom took her to Osmak Hotel, Mushin Lagos where he defiled her at gunpoint. He fell asleep after the defilement leaving the room key on the bed.

The teenager said that using the key, she escaped from the hotel room and alerted the hotel staff and the authorities to her ordeal.

Daily Trust

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Sokoto Officials Deny Mosque Attack as Bandits Kill Five in Gatawa Raid

Published

3 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Trends Admin

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Sokoto Officials Deny Mosque Attack as Bandits Kill Five in Gatawa Raid

Chairman of Sabon Birni Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Ayuba Hashimu, has dismissed viral reports alleging that bandits attacked a mosque in the council area, killing an Imam and several worshippers.

Some online platforms had circulated claims that armed bandits stormed a mosque in Sabon Birni, murdered the Imam and congregants, and abducted others.
However, Hashimu, speaking by telephone, described the reports as entirely false.

“I don’t know any mosque that was attacked, not to talk of killing of an Imam and worshippers. The story is false,” he stated.

A member of the state legislature representing the area, Hon. Aminu Boza, also debunked the claims, insisting that no mosque attack occurred on Saturday.

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“I don’t know how they got their story, but it is not true. No mosque was attacked by bandits,” he said.

While officials denied the alleged mosque incident, a separate early morning assault on Gatawa town within the same LGA resulted in five deaths and left one person critically injured.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Daily Trust that six people — including two married women, two teenage girls and two young boys — were abducted by attackers suspected to be bandits.

“The bandits invaded our community around 1:30 a.m. and started shooting sporadically. Our vigilantes engaged them, but four of them paid the supreme price on the spot. Two others sustained gunshot injuries and were taken to the hospital, but one later died,” the resident said.

He added that the attackers also stole livestock as they fled.
“We heard them exchanging fire with security agents, but none of the abducted persons was rescued,” he recounted.

Sokoto Officials Deny Mosque Attack as Bandits Kill Five in Gatawa Raid

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FG Begins Recovery of 157 Almajiri Schools

Published

3 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Trends Admin

Almajiri school

FG Begins Recovery of 157 Almajiri Schools

The Federal Government has commenced the official recovery of 157 model Almajiri schools built during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, in a renewed push to overhaul Almajiri education across the country.

The move was confirmed by Nura Muhammad, spokesperson for the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE), during an interview in Abuja on Sunday. He described the recovery process as a crucial step toward fully revamping and institutionalising Almajiri education.

Muhammad explained that the effort follows the establishment of a legally backed national body now responsible for all Almajiri-related programmes — a structure he said was missing during earlier reform attempts.

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While commending former President Jonathan for constructing the schools, which he described as “a noble and well-intentioned stride toward modernising the system,” Muhammad noted that the previous initiative struggled due to weak policy implementation, including inadequate engagement with Alarammas, the traditional Qur’anic teachers who play a central role in the Almajiri system.

He added that the lack of a strong institutional framework — with the project operating only as an initiative under the Federal Ministry of Education — contributed to its challenges.

According to him, the Commission is now strengthened by law and guided by the newly adopted National Policy on Almajiri Education, positioning it to deliver sustainable reforms.

Muhammad expressed confidence that harmful practices linked to the Almajiri system would be addressed, emphasising that all recovered schools would soon be fully under the Commission’s control and rehabilitated to serve their original purpose.

FG Begins Recovery of 157 Almajiri Schools

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Delta State Police Arrest Suspects in Killing of Retired Justice Ifeoma Okogwu

Published

9 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Trends Admin

Justice Ifeoma Okogwu

Delta State Police Arrest Suspects in Killing of Retired Justice Ifeoma Okogwu

The Delta State Police Command has made a significant breakthrough in the investigation into the murder of retired Justice Ifeoma Okogwu in Anambra State, arresting key suspects linked to the case.

Spokesperson SP Bright Edafe disclosed on Sunday that operatives of the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), acting on credible intelligence, apprehended 25-year-old security guard Godwin Mngumi on 6 December 2025. Mngumi allegedly murdered the retired judge, and authorities also recovered the deceased’s mobile phone from him.

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According to Edafe, Mngumi confessed to inviting a friend, Nnaji Obalum, and another accomplice — who remains at large — to the residence where the crime was committed. Obalum has since been arrested, while a manhunt continues for the third suspect.

The arrests mark a major step forward in the effort to bring all perpetrators of the high-profile murder to justice.