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Ozoro: Women’s Federation Calls For Justice, Accountability

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The Nigeria Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW Nigeria) has demanded full prosecution of all perpetrators involved in the attack on women in Ozoro, Delta State during a festival.

The National President, Ojobo Atuluku, made the federation’s position known in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that women were reportedly harassed and assaulted during the recent Ozoro Festival.

While condemning the attacks, Atuluku said what happened was not culture but criminality.

“It was gender-based violence in its most brazen form, inflicted on women who had every right to be safe in their own community.”

According to her, all the perpetrators including organisers, participants, and enablers should be prosecuted under all applicable laws, with independent oversight to prevent compromise.

She said that investigation and sanction of traditional authorities in the affected community should be carried out.

“Where culpability, negligence, or complicity is established, we call for the removal of all implicated office holders up to and including the relevant First Class Chief under applicable chieftaincy laws.

“We demand mandatory regulation of cultural festivals to ensure compliance with human rights and public safety standards before any event is permitted to proceed.”

While acknowledging the swift action of the Delta State Police Command in arresting the alleged organiser and other suspects, she said arrests alone was not justice.

“Justice requires thorough investigation, transparent prosecution, and consequences that leave no doubt that violence against women will not be tolerated in Nigeria under any circumstance, and certainly not under the cover of tradition.”

According to her, the acts violate the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Section 34, right to dignity), the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, and the Criminal Code Act.

She said that they also breached Nigeria’s international obligations under CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol, which required the State to protect women from violence and harmful practices.

The federation also demanded comprehensive support for victims including medical care, psychosocial services, legal aid, and witness protection.

It called on the Federal Government and the state governments to enforce all relevant legal frameworks.

Atuluku also called on traditional rulers across Nigeria to recognise that leadership carried responsibility and that no cultural event should ever become a platform for abuse.

She urged civil society, professional bodies, and the media to sustain pressure until justice was fully achieved.

“This incident is not isolated. It is a stark reminder that too many Nigerian women still navigate spaces where their safety is not guaranteed.

“That must change, and it must change now.

“BPW Nigeria stands in unwavering solidarity with the victims and we will continue to advocate, mobilise, and pursue all lawful measures including strategic litigation, until every Nigerian woman’s dignity and safety are protected.

“An injury to one woman is an injury to all,” she added.

(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

 

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How 2018 Federal Legal Advice Exonerated Saraki In Offa Robbery Case

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In light of the Kwara State Government’s fresh prosecution of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and his successor over the Offa robbery, fresh facts have emerged on why the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. E. U. (Etsu Umar) Mohammed gave the duo a clean bill of health.

The Federal Director of Public Prosecutions cleared former Senate President Bukola Saraki of involvement in the Offa bank robbery in 2018, citing no evidence of a connection.

It was gathered that the DPP reviewed a 16-page police report prepared and signed by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and then head of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) at Force Headquarters, Abuja. The report detailed investigations into the April 5, 2018, multiple bank robbery attack in Offa, Kwara State.

The DPP in his first report dated June 22, 2018 and signed on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, prepared a five page legal advice in which he noted in paragraph 5 (f) that “for the Senate President (Saraki) and the Kwara State Governor (Ahmed), his office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects. Hence, it is our advice that further and thorough investigation in this regard be carried out”.

Following the submission of a second report by the police investigating team to his office on July 27, 2018, the DPP prepared a second legal advice, which was dated August 23, 2018. The three-page legal advice also has only three paragraphs.

In paragraph 3 (vi), he noted that “with regards to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, since there is no departure from the earlier findings in the interim report, this office is still unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide punishable with death”.

Both legal advices had recommended six people for prosecution. They are: Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Ibrahim, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran, and Michael Adiukwu.

One of the suspects, Michael Adiukwu, later died in police custody, while the other five had since been tried at the High Court in Ilorin.

During the trial, the suspects revealed how they were coerced into incriminating Senator Bukola Saraki.

They mentioned several inducements dangled before them, including money and the promise of a visa to travel out of the country.

The suspects have since been convicted and their convictions confirmed by the Court of Appeal. The matter is now pending before the apex court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

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₦400m Ransom Demanded As Gunmen Abduct Another Kwara Ruler

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Terrorists have abducted a traditional ruler in Olayinka community, located in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Salman Olátúnjí Aweda and are demanding a ₦400 million ransom for his release.

The abduction occurred on April 18, 2026, when armed men, suspected to be militia herdsmen, invaded the community and took the monarch, his wife, and another resident into the forest.

According to JomogNews, residents who witnessed the incident said the terrorists, numbering over 10, invaded the monarch’s residence around Saturday midnight, forced the door open, and abducted him alongside another person in the house.

The assailants reportedly led both victims into the bush.

Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mr Abdulrasheed Femi Yusuf, visited the community on Saturday on a sympathy visit and assured residents that efforts were underway to secure the monarch’s release.

“We are deeply concerned about this incident, and we are taking swift and decisive action in collaboration with security agencies,” he said.

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Living Faith Church Founder Declares Week Of Vengeance Against Insecurity Sponsors

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Bishop David Oyedepo, General Overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide, has declared that bandits and their sponsors will face divine judgment and retribution within seven days.

Speaking on Sunday, April 19, 2026, during a service themed “Covenant Day of Vengeance” at the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, the cleric stated that those responsible for killings and kidnappings would face imminent consequences.

“I declare judgement on those who caused these tragedies and their supporters in the name of Jesus,” he said.

The cleric further asserted that divine retribution would occur within a short timeframe.

“Unless I am not sent, this will happen in the next seven days,” he added.

Oyedepo also expressed confidence that Nigerians would soon witness outcomes of what he described as divine intervention, noting that the coming days would bring “testimonies of vengeance.”

 

 

 

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