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BBC News
16 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Owo attack suspects trial dey set to begin after three years
Court for Abuja don fix August 19, 2025 to start di trial of di five suspects wey dey face accuse say dem bin St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo state , South-West, Nigeria. Di five suspects dey face nine count charges of terrorism sake of say dem be di suspects wey bin attack Saint Francis Catholic Church for Owo, Ondo State for 2022. Na ova 40 worshippers bin die for di bombing attack wey wound plenti pipo wen jaguda pipo bin attack di church during Sunday mass. Nigeria govment also accuse dem say dem be members of di Al-Shabab terrorist group wey get branch Kogi State. Di suspects plead not guilty to di nine counts of terrorism wey Nigeria goment sama dem. Justice Emeka Nwite of di Federal High Court, Abuja wey preside ova dia arraignment on Monday 11 August, order di suspects to dey for di Department of State Services [DSS] hand. Dis na di first time dem dey arraign di suspects for court since 2022 and na three years afta di Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor bin tok say dem arrest dem. Di National security Council bin link di attack to collabo wit Islamic State West Africa Province [Iswap]. Former Govnor of Ondo State, di late Rotimi Akeredolu, wey be govnor dat time bin describe di attack as crime against humanity. Im bin tok say di attack, even though e dey terrible, no go stop di indomitable spirit of di pipo of di state as dem dey try to fight insecurity. Di Owo massacre E go hard for pipo to forget di massacre wey happun for Owo, Ondo state south-west Nigeria on Sunday June 5, 2022. Some jaguda pipo carry gun enta di town and attack St Francis Xavier catholic church during Sunday mass. Di Pope dat time, late Francis and former President of Nigeria, late Muhammadu Buhari bin condemn di attack. Police for di state say dem bin don begin investigate di mata and e no tey dem arrest dis suspects wey show face for court.
BBC News
18-07-2025
- BBC News
'No student deserve to die in dia pursuit for education' - School tok afta landlord allegedly kidnap male, female students bifor killing dem
Di management of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko for Ondo State, southwest Nigeria don react to di death of two of dia students wey jaguda pipo allegedly kidnap and murder. Di university for statement tok say no student deserve to die in dia pursuit for education, and nobody get right to cruelly murder dem. Dem also add say, "Security operatives dey do dia best to provide beta security and dey collabo wit oda state security apparatus to fish out dangerous elements from di community". Dia reaction dey come afta Ondo State Police Command confam say dem don arrest three pipo in connection wit di alleged abduction and killing of di two students. Na for 20 June, colleagues of Andrel Okah wey dey di Department of History and International Studies and John Abba of di Department of Economics, bin declare dem missing. Dia disappearance bin spark widespread concerns for di university as nobody sabi dia whereabout. Landlord of one of di students two odas suspects arrested - Police On Thursday, 17 July, di Ondo State Commissioner of Police Oga Adebowale Lawal, for one press briefing tok say dem don arrest di landlord of one of di deceased, on top accuse say e get hand for di crime, plus two odas. For statement, di CP say, "Following a petition dated June 24, 2025 wey G.O. Omoedu & Co., Legal Practitioners submit on behalf of one Mr Emmanuel Peter of Shagari Village, Akure, Ondo State, di command launch one intensive investigation into di reported abduction of im younger brother, one Abah John Friday, 25, and im friend, Okah Andrel Eloho, 19, both students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, wey go missing on June 20, 2025." E explain say wen dem receive di missing pesin complaint, dem begin investigation wey lead to di arrest of di suspects. Di police oga explain say one of di suspects Ojo Michael don confess say e participate for di robbery, abduction plus eventual murder of di victims. E further disclose say na one Oladele Femi wey be di landlord of di male victim allegedly engage am to do di work. "Michael also admit say im rape di female victim. Dem execute her along wit her friend wen she unmask im identity so dat she no go expose dem," di CP tok for di statement. Di CP add say dem also arrest Oladele Femi, wey during confess say na im dey behind di crime. Acting on dis confession, detectives bin recover di body of di female victim for inside one bush near Ode-Ekiti, and dem don deposit am for General Hospital Mortuary for autopsy." Di police boss also say dem dey try recover di remains of di male student, "wey dem believe say one of di accomplice wey still dey at large dump im body for river." who is believed to have been dumped in a river by an accomplice still at large." Di case of abducting students no dey new for Nigeria. According to one verified UN report, in di last 10 years, conflict-related violence don lead to di abduction of more dan 1,680 children from school and elsewhere; 180 children don die sake of attacks on schools; an estimated 60 school staff kidnapped and 14 killed; plus more dan 70 attacks on schools.
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ondo state govment tok why dem demolish Owo massacre memorial park wey late ex-Govnor Akeredolu build
Report say dem don demolish di memorial park wey Ondo state govment bin build in honour of victims of di Owo attacks wey happun for June 2022. Di Memorial Park na in honour of di victims of 5th June, 2022 massacre for St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church for Owo, Ondo State. Pipo of Owo no go forget Sunday June 5, 2022 anytime soon as e mark one bad day wen some unidentified gunmen enta di town and attack di catholic church wia pipo die from gunshots. Na dose wey die during di attacks make di state govment build a memorial park in honour of dem. Dem build di memorial park opposite di palace of di traditional ruler of di town, Olowo of Owo. According to di former Ondo state Govnor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, di reason for di memorial park na to immortalise di victims attacks. Di recent demolition don cause serious reactions from di pipo of Ondo state wey dey question why dem pull down di building. Why dem demolish di memorial park According to video wey dey go viral for social media, one caterpillar bin estroy di memorial park. Howeva, Yomi Oyekan wey be di special assistant to di Ondo State govnor on Digital Media, say di reason why dem pull down di building no be for political reason but for sake of spiritual. E say di Olowo-in-council bin request say dem wan demolish di building becos symbol of death no suppose dey face di palace of di king. In Yoruba tradition, symbols of death must not face di palace. "Di Olowo-in-Council make a formal request through di LG, and Govnor Aiyedatiwa to respectfully approve am." "We honour di sincere efforts of di late Gov. Akeredolu, wey build di monument wit love, but tradition matters. Also, informate from di Olowo-in-council na say, di traditions of di town no allow make dem celebrate deadi body around di palace. According to di council, dem advice di late Govnor Akeredolu dat time make e no build any di structure for di place but e no gree. "E must dey clear say di decision to build di structure for di particular location no go well wit di Olowo-in-Council wey di pipo of di community bin frown at wen di late di late Govnor Akeredolu conceive am." Dem add say dem advice di "late govnor say to celebrate di dead around di palace no dey in line wit di age-long culture and traditions of Owo, but di govnor no listen." Akeredolu side react Meanwhile, according to di former chief press secretary to di late Akeredolu, Richard Olabode, e say di intentions na only to honour di memories of di victims wen dem build di park. E say dem no bury any deadi bodi for di memorial park, but na just to dey remember di pipo wey lose dia lives for di attack. "No bodies or corpses dey buried for di memorial park, di park na to celebrate di lives and memories of di departed souls." Olabode say di late Govnor Akeredolu bin call a meeting wit di Olowo of Owo and im chiefs, wia e tok di vision for di park, and add say dem no go bury any deadi bodi for dia. "Di Olowo and im chiefs agree to di site. I dey present for di meeting. Di late Govnor Akeredolu respond to di tragedy of June 5, 2022, wit courage and e do wetin any responsible and responsive leader go do anywhere for di world."
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Di abandoned community wey still dey live wit wetin remain of di Nigeria-Biafra war
Odukoya Akinmeje dey veri young wen e experience di Nigeria-Biafra war wey enta dia community, Foriku for 1967. Like oda young boys for di community, e no sabi how war take enta Foriku, but one tin wey pain am na wetin e and im papa and mama go through during di period of di war. Di sounds of bullets, di presence of sojas and di constant need of food by di pipo, na one of di memorable experience of Odukoya wen di war dey go on. Howeva, dis na ova 54 years afta di Nigeria-Biafra war bin happun and end, but Foriku neva recova finish as tins wey still remain from di war don destroy dia farmlands according to di residents. Foriku-Boridele dey located near di Ore, present day Ondo state southwest Nigeria, and na one of di battleground during di Nigeria-Biafra war wey also dey known as di civil war. BBC Pidgin enta di town to see wetin di sojas leave behind, di pain of di residents of Foriku as dem live wit wetin remain from di Nigeria civil war and wetin di war cost dem till now. Di civil war bin start for January 1967 between di military forces of di Nigerian govment and di Biafra sojas. Di fight na sake of request wey Biafra say dem wan get dia own territory and stand alone but di Nigerian govment no gree. Dat war wey happun between 1967 to 1970, millions of pipo wey include sojas and civilians, many of dose wey be women and children bin die. "E get one man wey get one leg, e run come our community to tell us say war don reach Ore. By dat Saturday, di road don full wey pipo dey carry food so dem fit run comot," Odukoya recall how e witness wen di war enta dia community. "We run comot but dem tell us say di war don end. E no reach one week wey we return wen anoda war begin again and we begin see sojas dey march by di roadside. Around 2 o clock for night na im di battle start." Odukoya don become di head of Foriku community and di trauma of di war experience still dey fresh for im mind. Foriku get abandoned war equipments wey di sojas leave behind afta di war, several residents wey we speak to tell BBC Pidgin say di war really destroy dia land. Some explain say wen dem cut bush and wan burn am, different tins go dey explode sake of say some of di chemicals wey dem use during di war dat time still dey ground. 'Different tins go dey explode' Johnson Danjuma na one of di resident for Foriku community, im papa settle for di community plenti years ago as a farmer. E bin hope say di farmland go yield and dey fertile like how im papa tell am many years ago, but since afta di war, e say dia farmlands don destroy and di fear of bullets neva comot for dia minds. Ova 54 years afta di war, Danjuma sleep and wake near di armoured tank left behind by di sojas. E dey always remind am of how e and im family bin struggle during di war, even though im bin dey veri small dat time. "My papa carry us go hide for one place. We just dey bush, no be wia papa dey di children dey. Biafra sojas dey, Nigerian sojas dey. Danjuma say some pregnant women born pikin for bush during dat time of war, and e no pray to experience dat kain war again. Meanwhile, Gbenga Adeyemi wey be di youth leader for Foriku community say afta di war, plenti of dia youths bin die sake of say dem drink water wey di chemical wey dem use during di war don enta. "According to history wey I hear, some of our youths here, during di time wey di war end, dem drink di water and dem die prematurely becos of di chemical. Our land don spoil, di land no good again and dem no rememba us," Gbenga tok. 'Na fear our pikin take dey go school' Foriku community dey live witout any social infrastructures and di aftermath dey impact di children, as dem travel long distance to get education. As we waka di community, no visible site of drinkable water, no health facility and no school. Elizabeth Iwam wey grow up for di community bin narrate to us how she dey trek long distance to go school. She say she go school reach form 3 bifor she drop comot. Now, di chidlren for Foriku travel as far as Ore, a neighbouring town wit about 11km distance to access education. Coupled wit dat is the fear of di war wey once invade dia community. "Since wen di war don finish, we dey suffer for here, no school, no evritin, notin wey dem do for here, especially dat education." "Wen I dey small, wey di war don happun finish, na fear we dey take go school, na di same fear our pikin dey take go school". Elizabeth wit oda women for di community dey hope say one day, dem fit get help to access basic social amenities like oda communities.
Zawya
17-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Nigeria: Take advantage of AfCFTA to expand your business — NEPC charges exporters
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has urged Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand their export business, saying the agreement holds the potential to drive unprecedented economic growth. The Executive Director of NEPC, Mrs Nonye Ayeni, made the call during a one-day workshop on positioning SMEs to leverage AfCFTA, held in Akure, the Ondo State capital. She said the development would not only add value to local products and services but also reduce overdependence on imports. Ayeni, who was represented, said embracing AfCFTA would also increase healthy competitiveness through improved processing, packaging, and branding—factors she noted would boost local production. She stated that the workshop, themed 'Positioning of SMEs to Leverage on AfCFTA', was designed to equip exporters with the necessary knowledge and guidance to access business expansion opportunities and learn from a wider community of exporters. 'The essence of this programme is to sensitize exporters in Ondo State and its environs on the need to prepare themselves, and we as a council have the statutory mandate to position them to take advantage of this trade agreement. 'The AfCFTA agreement made the easy movement of people and goods across the African continent with lesser barriers in terms of tariffs because with AfCFTA, there's less tariff to be paid or no tariff in some instances. 'We are also putting them in conditions to know the criteria that is necessary for export to meet for Africa, Asia, and Europe. There are some criteria they need to meet in terms of how they prepare their products, standardization, quality, marketing, and even finance. 'Those are the kinds of programmes we've been able to package for exporters in Ondo State to benefit from.' Speaking further on the benefits of the initiative, she said:'With AfCFTA, Nigeria will be able to have a larger market for them to be able to export Nigerian products and in doing this, local industries will come up and a lot of jobs will be created. So there's a lot of potential for Nigeria and benefit for Nigeria to key into AfCFTA.' The NEPC State Coordinator, Mrs Iyabode Abe, explained that the workshop was also intended to provide a comprehensive overview of AfCFTA and expose SMEs to the guidelines for import and export processes within one of the world's emerging largest markets — Africa. Abe said, 'Understanding the procedures, regulations, and compliance requirements of the AfCFTA are crucial for any exporter seeking to enter or expand their market share within Africa. 'It is, therefore, essential that we equip ourselves with the necessary knowledge and insights to ensure smooth and successful trade operations. 'This workshop aims to demystify the AfCFTA processes and provide you with practical guidance on how to meet the requirements for exporting. 'We will explore the key regulations, documentation, and procedures that Nigerian exporters must adhere to in order to gain market access and thrive in this competitive environment.' One of the participants, Babatunde Fatimero, thanked NEPC and the Federal Government for the initiative and the opportunity to understand the wider African trade environment. 'We just want to thank them and appeal to them not to leave us alone, but to continue guiding and encouraging us to key into this great initiative,' he said. Copyright © 2022 Nigerian Tribune Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
