00:00Queen Noamagbe Awuare II is the fourth wife of Benin Monarch, His Royal Majesty, Oba Awuare II and the Queen
00:07is also the biological sister of the Oba's fifth wife, Queen Isosa Awuare II, on Thursday early morning night.
00:15Queen Noamagbe apparently used a proxy TikTok account named Queen Awuare back up and accused the Benin Traditional Council, BTC
00:25of dishonest behavior, categorically stating, the BTC lied that Nigeria prominent social media streamer, Habib Hamzat Adelaja aka Pella was
00:35not authorized access into the palace of the Benin Monarch where she accidentally met Pella and gave him a motherly
00:42welcome as the Queen of the Oba.
00:44An action, the BTC has alleged she breached the palace protocol, hence, she risked being removed or sent packing from
00:51the palace, according to Queen Noamagbe in the apparent TikTok social media proxy account, Pella's visit to the palace is
00:59a mere cover-up, that a lot has been happening behind closed door.
01:02She supported her claim with a document that suggests the Benin Traditional Council was aware of Pella coming to the
01:09palace, and the document dated February 23, 2026 indicated that the BTC received and acknowledged the letter of Pella planned
01:17visit, but,
01:18if the BTC actually wrote back to the BTC actually wrote back to Pella to notify him about the acceptance
01:23or rejection of his request was not stated, this, the president of Iguobasami movement worldwide, Asaro Culture Iyamu counted the
01:32document and said,
01:33The receipt of letter at any institution registry doesn't amount to approval, however, the moment the letter is received at
01:41our revered palace registry, it's forwarded to the private office of Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Omo Nobunedo Uku
01:49Akpilokpolo, Oba Ewuare II.
01:52Oba of Benin will then instruct the secretary of Benin Traditional Council, BTC to either write formally or call those
02:00seeking for approval of their letters especially as it's relate to royal visitations, those who lured and deceived Pella without
02:07the approval of Benin Traditional Council, BTC are the real problem, for the avoidance of doubts, Queen Noamagbe may not
02:15be first Oba wife to be sent packing from the palace over breach to have access into the monarch palace,
02:21The Oba's eldest wife, Queen Erogama Ewuare II had been sent packing from the palace simply because one of the
02:28biological children of the Oba entered the palace allegedly in a manner the Oba did not like.
02:34This was made known in a reactionary public letter issued on December 30, 2025 by Prince Ezelekai Ewuare II, the
02:43Oba's eldest son who is believed to be the next Oba of Benin, according to Prince Ezelekai.
02:49I want to make it very clear. My mother did nothing wrong. Six months ago, my youngest brother allegedly barged
02:57into the palace wanting to see him.
02:59Armed forces of Nigeria, AFN has stated that its men resisted and pushed back a group of Islamic State of
03:06West Africa province.
03:07I swap fighters at Malamfetori area in the Abadam local government area of Borno State early morning on Wednesday, after
03:15the I swap fighters launched a simultaneous five multiple and separate offensive attacks against the troops of the Joint Task
03:23Force.
03:23North East Operation Haddon Kai, this, the Nigeria Army supported its press release with a video of dead bodies of
03:31the suspected terrorists, some of whom, according to the military authority, were well-known ISOP commanders who led other terrorists
03:38to carry out the attacks.
03:40Lt. Sani Uba, the media information officer, Joint Task Force, North East Operation Haddon Kai in a press release issued
03:49a few minutes ago, noted that Niger Republic Air Force supported in the killing of the terrorists and other defensive
03:55-offensive military actions that finally forced other surviving terrorists to withdraw and flee in disarray.
04:02Accordingly, the press release reads verbatim thus, Troops of the Joint Task Force, North East Operation Haddon Kai, OPHK, in
04:12the early hours of Wednesday successfully repelled a coordinated and simultaneous five-pronged terrorist attack on own positions at Malamfetori
04:20in Sector 3.
04:21The terrorists, who advanced in large numbers on foot and deployed armed drones in a desperate bid to breach the
04:28defenses of locations of troops, particularly along the frontage of Bravo Company from the Deguri General Area, were met with
04:35overwhelming resistance.
04:37Having maintained full situational awareness of the battle space, troops had anticipated the attack and deliberately prepared an offensive-defensive
04:46battle designed to decisively defeat and annihilate the assault elements.
04:49Through disciplined fire control, coordinated maneuver and superior tactical execution, the attackers were engaged, disrupted and rooted in disarray, with
05:00no fewer than 80 terrorists neutralized during the engagement.
05:04Additionally, the firefight was further reinforced by precision of close-air support from the air component of Operation Haddon Kai,
05:12complemented by rapid strike passes from allied Nigerian air assets, which compounded the pressure on the fleeing insurgents.
05:20Exploitation of the engagement area led to the recovery of a substantial cache of weapons, ammunition and combat enablers, including
05:2852 AK-47 rifles, 8 PKT machine guns, 7 RPG tubes, 5 general-purpose machine guns, GPMGs,
05:37over 3,000 rounds of assorted 7.62 mm ammunition, 21 RPG bombs, 9 locally fabricated IEDs, multiple magazines, communication
05:51radios and components of armed drones deployed by the terrorists.
05:55Despite the scale and intensity of Nigeria military authority has placed the citizens and residents in the West Africa country
06:03on a high alert over increased security threats in the country,
06:06following apparent multiple suicide bombings on Monday in the northeastern state of Borno State, wherein, the Nigeria police force confirmed
06:1523 people were killed and 108 other persons sustained injuries when bombs exploded almost at the same time at three
06:24different locations in Madaguri, the state capital,
06:27at locations which included the post office area, Monday market access and the entrance to the University of Madaguri Teaching
06:35Hospital, UMTH during the period of IFTA, breaking of fast,
06:39hours after the Borno State command of the Nigeria police force, hours after the Borno State command of the Nigeria
06:44police force had reported earlier on Monday that suspected Boko Haram,
06:48ISWAP terrorists made an attempt to infiltrate into the state capital with sporadic gunshots and explosions at Agilari Cross,
06:55Kofa area of outskirt of Madaguri Metropolitan Council, MMC, and Damboa Madaguri Road in Damboa local government area,
07:03and the latest activities and official reports indicated that the ISWAP and Boko Haram terrorists may have advanced and taken
07:11some positions closer to the state capital,
07:14this, the Nigeria police force said,
07:16the Borno State joint security operatives has began aggressive patrols within the Madaguri Metropolitan Council
07:23and appealed to residents to alert the security agency for emergency response with contact numbers,
07:290-8-0-6-8-0-7-5-5-8-1, or 0-8-0-2-3-4-7-3
07:43-2-9-3.
07:45Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, the media information officer of Joint Task Force in the Northeast Operation Haddon Kai in a
07:54press release on Monday,
07:55said, the headquarters Joint Task Force, Northeast, Operation Haddon Kai, OPHK,
08:02wishes to inform the general public of suicide bomb explosions that occurred at about 7.05 p.m. on Monday,
08:09the 16th of March, 2026, in Madaguri Metropolitan Council, MMC.
08:16The explosions were carried out by suspected Boko Haram terrorist suicide bombers
08:20who detonated improvised explosive devices at three different locations within the city,
08:26namely the post office area, Monday market access and the entrance to the University of Madaguri Teaching Hospital,
08:33UMTH, during the period of IFTA, breaking of fast.
08:37The cowardly attacks targeted crowded public areas in an attempt by the terrorists to inflict mass casualties
08:44and create panic within the metropolis.
08:47Troops of Operation Haddon Kai, in conjunction with the Nigeria Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal,
08:53EOD, team and other sister security agencies,
08:57there may be no doubt that Iran is apparently giving the United States,
09:01U.S. a tougher time at the Strait of Hormuz,
09:03holding strong that none of its enemies and their allies will sail their ship through the Strait of Hormuz,
09:09an action that has since made the U.S. President, Donald Trump to make contradictory statements
09:15after the U.S. Army obviously failed in its intimidating military campaign
09:20and destruction of the Iran naval base, airport control tower, helicopter hangars,
09:25naval mine storage, missile bunkers and anti-aircraft and ballistic missiles defense system,
09:31with a threat to destroy the oil lifeline of Iran at the Khag Island
09:35if Iran continued to block ship from sailing through the Strait of Hormuz,
09:40but yet, as at the time of filing in this report today,
09:43Iran remains deviant to U.S. threat,
09:45with close watchers saying,
09:47Iran may not fight a traditional normal naval war with the U.S. Marines
09:51who are currently on a high-speed traveling from their base in Japan to the Strait of Hormuz,
09:57of which, over 2,500 of the U.S. Marines and sailors have been redeployed
10:02and apparently drawn from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit,
10:06MEU, an elite rapid response force,
10:09and the Marines are traveling aboard an amphibious ready group,
10:13ARG led by the assault ship USS Tripoli,
10:16LHA-7, an assault ship that can function as a lightning carrier,
10:20carrying F-35B stealth fighters and MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft
10:26and the assigned Marines are expected to arrive the Strait of Hormuz in a week or less than two weeks'
10:32time,
10:33but, currently, close watchers said,
10:35Iran is using deviant tactics like GPS jabbing,
10:39swarming drones, and underwater mines to keep the U.S. Navy off balance,
10:44an action that may be the reason the U.S. President,
10:47Donald Trump initially called on the international communities
10:50to help form an international naval coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,
10:56but some European countries like Germany,
10:58United Kingdom, France, Greece, Italy,
11:02and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO refused,
11:06with some heads of the European countries saying,
11:08the war is not our war.
11:10Germany will not participate in any military activity in the Strait.
11:15Any plan to reopen the Strait won't be a NATO mission
11:18and that the U.K. will not be drawn into a wider war.
11:21No sending France warships to the region until the security situation stabilizes.
11:27Italy's current naval missions would not be extended to the Strait.
11:31No Greece military engagement in the waterway.
11:34Following this,
11:35President Donald Trump in a nationwide media chat on Monday,
11:39said,
11:40U.S. don't need them,
11:42we don't need anybody,
11:43we are the strongest nation in the world,
11:45we have the strongest military by far in the world,
11:49we don't need them,
11:50but,
11:51it is interesting,
11:52in some cases,
11:53not because we need them,
11:55because I want,
11:56there may be no doubt that the year 2026 may not be a year of good record
12:00for some men and women of the armed forces of Nigeria,
12:03AFN as multiple reports and official statements have confirmed that some numbers of Nigeria soldiers
12:10have been killed by Islamic State of West Africa province,
12:13ISWAP,
12:14since the beginning of this year,
12:16thus,
12:17the multiple reports suggest,
12:19more than 180 Nigeria soldiers may have been killed in just 73 days into this new year 2026,
12:27which further indicated that an average of 2 to 3 soldiers are being killed daily in Nigeria by the ISWAP
12:34terrorists
12:34who appeared to have increased the daily offensive attacks on Nigeria soldiers since the U.S.-Israel joint war against Iran
12:43began on February 28, 2026,
12:46although some close watchers accused the Nigeria military of always downplaying or reporting a very lower numbers of troops casualties,
12:55but,
12:55the Nigeria Minister of Defense,
12:57General Christopher Moussa stated and confirmed during the week after security chiefs held a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tanubu
13:05at the presidential villa in Abuja
13:07that a lots of Nigeria soldiers has been lost,
13:10but he insisted that contrary to some reports by the media,
13:14the terrorists and bandits are taking more casualties,
13:17specifically stating,
13:18their commanders are being killed every day,
13:21we are sure of victory,
13:22and some reports also suggest that the ISWAP terrorists are increasingly using armed drones for asymmetric warfare and high-end
13:30tech like night vision in recent attacks on military bases in Nigeria
13:35with some foreigners joining the Nigeria ISWAP fighters to launch a Ramadan campaign that saw ISWAP overrunning some military bases,
13:44in Konduga,
13:45Mainik,
13:46Jukana,
13:46and Marte areas of Borno state,
13:49with local media reports stating approximately 40 soldiers were killed,
13:53while ISWAP in a press release claimed to have killed 16 in the initial assault and another 20 in a
13:59subsequent suicide bombing,
14:01on March 4th,
14:02on March 4th,
14:022026,
14:04at least 14 soldiers were reportedly killed during attacks on military bases in Ingosh and other parts of Borno state,
14:11between February 15th and 18,
14:142026,
14:15multiple reports confirmed 8 soldiers were killed and 23 injured at a base in Crosscower in the Kakawa local government
14:23area of Borno state,
14:24another 6 soldiers were reportedly killed in Buu local government area,
14:29earlier in January 2026,
14:32at least 20 soldiers were killed in an attack on a remote base in Malamfetori,
14:37and 8 others were killed in a separate ambush earlier in the month,
14:40this,
14:41former Nigeria presidential candidate in the last concluded general elections in the West Africa country,
14:48Peter Obi in awarded statement during the week,
14:51said,
14:52our nation is clearly under siege,
14:54and the scale of Israeli prime minister,
14:56Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the state of Israel has a lot of organized plans of what yet to be
15:02done in Iran,
15:03specifically saying,
15:04regarding what we will do next in Iran,
15:07we have an organized plan with many surprises to destabilize the regime and enable change,
15:13we have many more targets,
15:15and I will not detail them here,
15:17Benjamin Netanyahu stated this on Saturday,
15:20a day before,
15:21Mojtabakumanei was officially and publicly announced as the Iran's new supreme leader in Tehran's Banak Square on Sunday,
15:28with residents in Middle East reporting with videos that Iran unleashed some numbers of massive waves of FATA-2 hypersonic
15:36glide missiles straight at Israel shortly after the announcement of the Iran's new supreme leader,
15:43Mojtabakumanei,
15:44many believed to be much more aggressive than his father,
15:47Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
15:49the announcement of the new supreme leader was made known after days,
15:53the U.S. President, Donald Trump stated that the U.S. will have a complete control of Iran and determine
15:59its leadership,
16:00which in one of the occasions,
16:02President Donald Trump stated verbatim that,
16:04well,
16:05most of the people we had in mind are dead,
16:08we had some in mind from that group that is dead,
16:11now we have another group,
16:12they may be dead also based on reports,
16:15this,
16:16the Israeli Prime Minister,
16:17Benjamin Netanyahu in a nationwide message to the people of Israel on Saturday as made available by the office of
16:25the Prime Minister,
16:26said countries can now see the hypocrisy of the United Nations,
16:30UN,
16:31following the U.S.-Israel joint war against Iran,
16:34saying,
16:35the war is changing the face of the Middle East and in his words,
16:39Benjamin Netanyahu said,
16:41at the same time,
16:42we brought all of our hostages home,
16:45struck the centers of terrorism in Judea and Samaria,
16:48climbed to the peak of Mount Hermon,
16:50and created buffer zones in Syria,
16:52Lebanon,
16:53and Gaza,
16:54as I promised you two days after October 7th,
16:57we are changing the face of the Middle East,
16:59but we didn't just change the Middle East,
17:02first and foremost,
17:03we changed ourselves,
17:04because after the great disaster of October 7th,
17:07I decided to leave a polar shift,
17:09powerful actions one after another,
17:12proactive and surprising actions,
17:14actions that dramatically change the balance of power between us and our enemies,
17:18the countries around us see the hypocrisy of the UN,
17:21which condemned us without reason in our just war against Iran's murderous proxies in Gaza,
17:27yet that same UN did nothing in the face of the mass slaughter in Iran,
17:32these countries,
17:33which were attacked by Iran,
17:35see the weakness and feebleness of leaders in the West who simply abandoned them,
17:39while Khamenei and his murderers slaughtered tens of thousands of Iranian citizens,
17:44where was the UN,
17:46where were many countries in the West,
17:48and where was the international media that constantly condemns us with fake news,
17:52they were nowhere,
17:53foreign minister of Iran,
17:55Abbas Arachie has said that Iranian soldiers are currently waiting for US ground troops to invade Iran,
18:02saying,
18:03the Iranians are prepared for any scenario,
18:05according to Arachie,
18:07Iran is confident that its soldiers can confront US ground troops,
18:11and if the United States actually decided to begin ground troops invasion in Iran,
18:16it will be a disaster for the US because,
18:19we know we can handle them,
18:20adding,
18:21Russia and China are supporting Iran in the ongoing war with the US and Israel politically and otherwise,
18:27and shortly after the Iran foreign minister made this known in an exclusive interview with NBC News Media on Thursday,
18:35the US Secretary of War,
18:37Pete Hexas visited the US Central Command,
18:40CENTCOM headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa area of Florida,
18:44apparently for a high level briefing and next plan of action discussed with the CENTCOM commander,
18:49Admiral Brad Cooper,
18:51this,
18:52local media in Iran reported on Friday morning that the spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,
19:00IRGC,
19:01Brigadier General Ali Muhammad Naimi says the Iranian armed forces are ready for a long war to punish the aggressor.
19:08The war which began last week Saturday,
19:11has led to the deaths of over 1,300 people in Iran,
19:1512 in Israel and 6 US soldiers.
19:17According to the Iranian Red Crescent Society on March 6,
19:222026,
19:23over 1,332 people have been killed in Iran since the start of the war on February 28,
19:312026.
19:32Hengor Organization for Human Rights
19:35In an earlier report in the conflict on March 2,
19:38the Norway-based NGO stated that at least 1,500 deaths,
19:42specifically identifying 1,300 Iranian military members and 200 civilians among the fallen.
19:50While the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, UNICEF confirmed that,
19:56of the more than 1,300 total fatalities, at least 181 are children.
20:02This includes approximately 175 children killed in a single strike at a girls' primary school in the Manab area of
20:11Iran.
20:12Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs,
20:14the official Iranian government agency reported a death toll of at least 1,230 as of March 5.
20:22On the side of Israel,
20:24Magen David Adem, MDA,
20:27Israel's National Emergency Medical Service,
20:30confirmed nine fatalities specifically from a direct ballistic missile hit on a public shelter in Beit Shemesh on March 1.
20:37The Israeli police in an official police report identified nine killed in Beit Shemesh
20:43and have noted that 11 people remain missing as search and rescue operations continued.
20:48Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv confirmed the death of a 102 United States President,
20:55Donald Trump in a nationwide broadcast issued a few hours ago over the joint Israel-US military actions in the
21:02sovereign nation of Iran,
21:03has said that many Iranian soldiers are willing to surrender in order to save their lives,
21:08but the offensive US-Israel military war or combat on Iran continued,
21:14saying the joint military operations codenamed Operation Epic Fury
21:18has destroyed hundreds of Iranian targets since the military action began on February 28, 2026,
21:26including the killing of the Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
21:30and the new joint war against Iran has resulted to the killing of more than 200 Iranian civilians and military
21:37personnel,
21:38with thousands of people injured,
21:40while over 12 persons have been killed so far in Israel with estimated 500 people sustaining injuries
21:47and the war has forced Iran to launch counterattacks on US military bases in Bahrain,
21:53Kuwait, Qatar,
21:55and the United Arab Emirates, UAE.
21:57This, Iran foreign minister, Abbas Arachi had said Iran will not surrender,
22:03stating that, despite the massive airstrikes on Tehran,
22:06Iran's military capability remains intact,
22:09adding, Iran was able to retaliate faster than it did in the 2025, 12-day war,
22:16and that its,
22:17Mosaic defense,
22:18doctrine makes it resilient to infrastructure damage,
22:21Arachi called the killing of Khamenei,
22:24absolutely unprecedented and a major violation of international law,
22:28warning it had made the conflict,
22:30even more dangerous and more complicated,
22:33saying,
22:34Khamenei was not only Iran's political leader,
22:37but,
22:37a high-ranking religious leader for millions of Muslims,
22:40even outside of Iran,
22:42across the region,
22:43pointing to protests that had erupted in Iraq,
22:46Pakistan and elsewhere where the leader had followers,
22:49In line with this,
22:51Al Jazeera news media also reported some minutes ago that Iranian missiles have been seen over Tel Aviv and the
22:58occupied West Bank,
23:00reportedly breaking through Israel's defense system,
23:03with Iran saying it is targeting Israeli military facilities.
23:07In the six minutes nationwide video broadcast,
23:10President Donald Trump called on members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to surrender their weapons or face certain deaths,
23:18saying,
23:19The death of the three American soldiers killed in action will be avenged by taking more punishing actions against the
23:25enemies.
23:26President Donald Trump said there will likely be additional American deaths during the combat mission in Iran,
23:32which he said would continue until the US achieves its objectives.
23:37Combat operations continue at this time,
23:40in full force,
23:41and they will continue until all of our objectives are achieved.
23:45We have very strong objectives,
23:47he said in a video posted to Truth Social,
23:50without specifying in detail.
23:51United States,
23:53US government under the leadership of President Donald Trump has ordered its citizens out of Lebanon
23:58with the non-emergency citizens specially warned to avoid traveling to southern Lebanon,
24:03although the US embassy in Beirut never mentioned Israel and Hezbollah possible new war in the Middle East as the
24:11reason for its action,
24:12but there are strong indications that the America government took the decision because of the possible military conflicts in the
24:19region,
24:19according to the US government,
24:21it do not want America's citizens to travel to Lebanon due to crime,
24:26terrorism,
24:26civil unrest,
24:28kidnapping,
24:29unexploded landmines,
24:30and the risk of armed conflict,
24:32stating that,
24:33some areas,
24:34especially near the borders,
24:36have increased risk,
24:38while information available on Monday indicated that Hezbollah is preparing to resume retaliatory strikes against Israel
24:45by rejecting US ceasefire deal as Israel Defense Forces,
24:50IDF continued airstrikes on Beirut,
24:53this,
24:53a joint press statement signed and made available on Monday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of
25:00Saudi Arabia,
25:01the Foreign Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
25:04the Federated Republic of Brazil,
25:06the French Republic,
25:08the Kingdom of Denmark,
25:09the Republic of Finland,
25:10the Republic of Iceland,
25:12the Republic of Indonesia,
25:14Ireland,
25:15the Arab Republic of Egypt,
25:16the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,
25:18the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
25:20the Kingdom of Norway,
25:22the State of Palestine,
25:23the Portuguese Republic,
25:25the State of Qatar,
25:26the Republic of Slovenia,
25:28the Kingdom of Spain,
25:29the Kingdom of Sweden,
25:30the Republic of Turkey,
25:32and the Secretary Generals of the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
25:38described the current action of Israel in the Middle East as expansionist agenda,
25:42and,
25:43also on Monday,
25:44the Israel Prime Minister,
25:46Benjamin Netanyahu appears before Israeli lawmakers at the Knesset and said Israel don't know what the days might be,
25:53but they're prepared for any scenario,
25:55adding,
25:56if Ilran attack Israel,
25:58Israel will respond with a force Iranian government will never imagined,
26:02also,
26:02Ilran Observer News Media in a tweet published on Monday,
26:06stated that oil companies around the world are currently advising their staff not to travel to Saudi Arabia,
26:13the UAE,
26:14Bahrain,
26:15Oman,
26:16Kuwait,
26:16and Qatar,
26:17unless absolutely necessary.
26:19It would be recalled that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has historically involved two major wars which occurred in
26:262006 and 2024,
26:29and yet,
26:30possible new war remains in a state of high tension characterized by a fragile ceasefire
26:35and ongoing military operations.
26:37In February 2026,
26:40the Middle East region is currently under a fragile ceasefire that began on November 27,
26:462024,
26:47yet both sides of Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon frequently reported.
26:51Nigeria Police Force under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police,
26:55IGP Ka Yode Egbetokan has kept months since a video went viral on social media platforms,
27:02wherein,
27:03allegation of bringing people illegally to settle inside forest in Edo State was made against the divisional police officer,
27:10the DPO who is currently serving at the divisional police headquarters at Uboha community in the Essen Southeast local government
27:18area in the state,
27:20a state that have witnessed rampant cases of kidnappings in recent time,
27:24especially since the beginning of this year,
27:26despite the fact that the Edo State Governor,
27:29Munday Okpapolo has executed the destruction of numbers of houses or properties of apparent innocent landlords or people who may
27:37not have direct connection with the crime,
27:40it may be recalled that early 2025,
27:43the Governor demolished a residential property on College Road simply because it was linked to a kidnapping gang operating in
27:50the Aduawa,
27:51Ayaan,
27:52and Benin-Auchi Road bypass axis,
27:54even when the building belonged to a woman based in Italy,
27:58just that,
27:59her brother,
27:59Osamede Asimota,
28:01the alleged key leader of the gang,
28:03allegedly used it to coordinate abductions,
28:06this is just one of many properties demolished by the Edo State government over kidnapping in the state,
28:12yet,
28:13records of kidnappings in the state continued to grow higher,
28:16and recent police and military arrests indicated that Edo State
28:20is perhaps under siege of foreign invaders who may have taken over larger part of the state forest to coordinate
28:27kidnappings in the state while working with some of the local residents to perpetuate the criminal act,
28:33it may be interesting to note that,
28:35another set of non-indigenes of the state arrested by the police recently included two persons caught inside the specialist
28:43hospital in Auchi,
28:44the two suspects who were said to be non-indigenes of the state were among the gang of kidnappers behind
28:49the abduction of Dr. Abu Babatunde who regained his freedom after his family reportedly paid a sum of 50 million
28:57Nairas ransom after the doctor and his younger brother were abducted on January 2nd,
29:032026,
29:04while opening the gate to their residence along City Pride Road,
29:08Igbira Camp,
29:09Auchi,
29:10and unfortunately,
29:11the younger brother was later found dead on January 5th near the Oli River along City Pride Road,
29:17with police suspecting he was killed by the abductors,
29:20and the alleged illegal settlers who confessed the Ugboha DPO as their facilitator,
29:26are said to be non-Nigerians from foreign countries.
29:29According to one of the vigilantes who caught the illegal settlers,
29:33the arrested illegal settlers in the forest will be taken to the station.
29:37The vigilante member also said the illegal settlers are not Nigerians,
29:42and close watchers said people are brought in and smuggled into Edo forests illegally and such people may be responsible
29:49for the act of killing.
29:50Day after the Edo State Commissioner of Police,
29:53Monday Hagbonika personally led troops of joint security operatives at the dead of the night
29:58to launch offensive attacks against kidnappers in the forest.
30:01The commander,
30:034th Brigade of the Nigerian Army,
30:05Brigadier General Ahmed Balagun also personally led troops of joint security operatives to the kidnappers' hideouts
30:12and launched massive military clearance and offensive actions against kidnappers.
30:17Both security operations led to the arrest of several suspected kidnappers allegedly caught in the act inside the bush,
30:24with the identities of the arrested suspects indicating that most of the kidnappers terrorizing Edo State are from the far
30:31northern part of Nigeria,
30:33an observation which appeared to have challenged the public policy statement made earlier in January 2026 by the Edo State
30:41Governor,
30:42Monday Okpebholo who stated that many of those involved in the kidnapping surge in Edo State are indigenes of the
30:49area,
30:50saying,
30:50that may be the reason some kidnappers wears face masks,
30:54the governor made this statement as kidnapping in the state appeared to have become worse in 2026
30:59and very rampant in a manner that indicated that an average of 1 to 2 persons are being kidnapped in
31:05a day in Edo State
31:07as more than 60 persons became new victims of the increasing criminal activities in the state since the beginning of
31:142026,
31:15like,
31:16in January 2,
31:172026,
31:19two brothers,
31:20Dr. Abu Ibrahim Babatunde,
31:21a medical doctor on housemanship and Abu Tahir,
31:25a fresh graduate were kidnapped at the gate of their residence along City Pride Road,
31:30Igbira Campinauchi,
31:31the kidnappers initially demanded a 200 million naira's ransom and tragically,
31:36on January 5,
31:37one of the two brothers was found dead.
31:40On January 9,
31:412026,
31:43eight indigenes of a Moga community in the Akoko Edo local government area of the state were abducted from a
31:50hotel along a billow road,
31:51since the start of 2026,
31:54Edo State has experienced a significant surge in kidnappings,
31:58leading to widespread protests at Iqpoma in the Edo Central Senatorial Zone with multiple police rescue operations including the incidents
32:07reported early February 2026,
32:10where police rescued nine victims including five children and a separate group of 14 victims.
32:16This is that,
32:17earlier on January 22,
32:202026,
32:21a farmer named Munday Adaro was kidnapped and later rescued and in late January,
32:26another farmer,
32:28Abraham Udwa,
32:29and his two wives,
32:30Brinda and Anna were abducted from a Goro Amende community but successfully rescued by security forces.
32:36In mid-January,
32:38Akefeva and a former student union leader were kidnapped in Edo Central,
32:44troubled by the surge in kidnapping in the state,
32:47residents and students of Ambro.
32:49In this write-up,
32:50a legal practitioner,
32:51Njoku Jude Njoku pinpoints some fundamentals in the judgment passed against Marzi Namdekanu,
32:58by Justice James Omotosho which convicted and sentenced the Biafra Republic agitation leader to life imprisonment,
33:05and in this press release the legal practitioner issued in late 2025 entitled,
33:10the 24th of November 2025,
33:13the day evidence ceased to matter in Nigerian courts,
33:17judicial silence,
33:18selective justice,
33:19and media complicity,
33:21described Justice Omotosho as unprofessional,
33:24stating that,
33:25The most dangerous aspect of the judgment delivered by Justice James K. Omotosho,
33:30is not merely that it reached a foreordained conclusion,
33:33but that it did so by deliberately suppressing evidence he already admitted on record in his own court,
33:39thereby converting adjudication into a procedural facade,
33:43this was not an error of law or an oversight of fact.
33:46It was a calculated refusal to engage with material evidence whose evaluation would have fatally undermined the prosecution's narrative,
33:54empasing that,
33:55this case is no longer about one man,
33:58it is about whether courts may openly disregard admitted evidence and still be treated as legitimate,
34:04and whether the media will continue to mask such conduct through silence,
34:09a judiciary that can ignore evidence without explanation has ceased to function as a court of law,
34:14a media that refuses to question that silence has abdicated its public duty,
34:19together,
34:20they place the rule of law itself in existential peril.
34:24Continuing,
34:25in details,
34:26Injoku said,
34:27Once evidence is admitted,
34:29it binds the judge absolutely.
34:31The conduct,
34:32protest,
34:33silence,
34:34or alleged boycott of the defendant,
34:36Mazinamdi Kano,
34:38is legally irrelevant to that obligation.
34:40Judgment writing is not a negotiation with the accused.
34:44It is a solitary judicial duty anchored exclusively to the evidentiary record.
34:49A judge may reject defense evidence,
34:52but he must first confront it, evaluate it, and explain why it is rejected.
34:57Silence is not neutrality, silence is suppression.
35:00Had Justice Omotosha evaluated the admitted video exhibit of Theophilus,
35:05T.Y.,
35:06Danjuma,
35:07he would have been confronted with the inescapable reality that public calls for communities to arm themselves in self-defense
35:14against murderous violence were not unique to Namdi Kano,
35:17nor criminalized when made by powerful establishment figures.
35:22Proper evaluation would have compelled the court to accept that Kano's calls for guns and bullets in Los Angeles, USA,
35:29or during broadcasts were framed as community self-defense against the ravages of armed Fulani killer herders,
35:36not incitement to lawless violence.
35:38Had Justice Omotosha evaluated the admitted video evidence of Governor Hope Uzodinma,
35:44he would have known, because Uzodinma stated it publicly.
35:48Ossazawa Kong-Negi, bringing you the news in a more digital way.
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