A 52-year-old pastor of The Redeemed Christian Church of God RCCG, Gabriel Diya, his 16-year-old son, Praise Emmanuel Diya and 9-year-old daughter, Comfort Diya, drowned inside the swimming pool in the Costa del Sol resort in Southern Spain on Tuesday December 24th.

Gabriel Diya who was until his death the Minister in charge of the Open Heavens of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Charlton, South-East London, was on a family vacation with his wife and their children. Unfortunately, his daughter Comfort got into difficulty while playing in one of the 21 swimming pools in the resort.

Himself and his son jumped in to try to save her but also struggled in the water. Despite poolside attempts to resuscitate them, all three died at the scene. His wife, Olubunmi, who was with them prayed fervently as CPR was performed on her husband and children. Sadly, they were all confirmed dead by the doctors.

Post-mortem examinations carried out on Christmas Day confirmed death by drowning. After the incident, police carried out an investigation and could find nothing wrong with the pool’s filtration and pump system. The pool has since been reopened to the public.

The UK’s central office of RCCG has since described the unfortunate incident as a “tragic accident”. In a post shared on Facebook, the church said

“With heavy hearts, we extend our condolences to the family, parish, friends and associates of Area Pastor Gabriel Diya who sadly passed away, along with two of his children – Comfort Diya (9 years old) and Praise Emmanuel Diya (16 years old) – in a tragic incident while on a family holiday in Spain on 24th December 2019.

Pastor Gabriel Diya, who was also the Parish Pastor of Open Heavens, Charlton in London was aged 52. He is survived by his wife Assistant Pastor Olubunmi Diya and their daughter.

At this very difficult time, our prayers are for Pastor Gabriel Diya’s family, the parishes that were under his supervision, friends, associates, members of RCCG and the general public”.

The Ogun State Police Command says it has arrested a 37-year-old man, Mutiu Sonola, for beating his wife, Zainab Shotayo, to death.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed this in a statement forwarded to Channels Television on Thursday.

He explained that the suspect was arrested on Wednesday following a complaint lodged by the father of the deceased at a police station in Abeokuta, the state capital.

“The father of the deceased complained at Ibara Division that he was called on the phone that his daughter was having a misunderstanding with her husband and that she has been beaten to coma by the husband.

“He stated further that he quickly raced to the scene and rushed her daughter to the General Hospital, Ijaye where the doctor confirmed her dead,” Oyeyemi said.

He disclosed that as soon as the suspect realised that his 34-year-old wife was dead, he took to his heels.

On the strength of the report, the Divisional Police Officer in Ibara, Dada Olusegun, was said to have mobilised operatives and went after the suspect.

“His hiding place was eventually located and he was promptly arrested,” the command’s spokesman said, adding, “Preliminary investigation revealed that the man is fond of beating the deceased at any slight provocation and that the incident of that fateful day was a very minor disagreement.”

He noted that the body of the victim has been deposited at the morgue for autopsy.

The Commissioner of Police in Ogun, Kenneth Ebrimson, has also ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and prosecution.

The Kano State Government has banned persons of opposite genders from plying same commercial tricycles across the state from January, 2020.

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje revealed this on Wednesday at the closing ceremony of 77th annual Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) organised by Zone A of Muslim Society of Nigeria (MSSN) held at Bayero University, Kano.

Mr Ganduje said the state government is committed towards upholding Islamic values.

Commercial tricycles, popularly known as ‘A daidaita sahu’ in Kano, were introduced by a former governor of Kano, Ibrahim Shekarau, as a means of transportation for women only.

This was after Mr Shekarau’s government banned commercial motorcyclists from conveying women. Since Mr Shekarau’s exit as governor, however, tricycles have been allowed to carry people of both sexes, a move the state government has now said will be changed.