A 36-year-old woman, Stella Gilbert, has been sentenced to death by Ikeja high court on Tuesday, for stabbing her neighbour, Mrs Stella Godwin, during a fight at their residence in Ajegunle, Lagos.

The convict stabbed the deceased on the chest and arm with a knife during a fight.
Murder contravenes Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2011 and is punishable with death by hanging.

The fight was reportedly over a bench in the premises of their single room apartments also known as ‘face’me-I-face you’.

The fight was caused by an argument over who should be using the bench belonging to their former neighbour.

Justice Raliatu Adebiyi sentenced Gilbert after dismissing her claim of self defence.
The judge held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

“The defendant in this case used a knife on the deceased; by any standard, a knife is a lethal weapon. The evidence of PW2 (Prosecution Witness 2), the cousin of PW1 (the deceased’s husband), and that of PW3, the female police officer, was that the deceased was stabbed on the chest. The coroner’s report tendered in evidence by PW4 confirmed that the deceased was stabbed on the chest. The chest is where the heart is; the defendant, by stabbing the deceased on the chest, a very fragile part of the body, clearly intended to cause the most harm to her. The death of the deceased occurred as a result of grievous injury caused by the defendant. The defendant is culpable of the offence of murder,” she said.

The judge remarked that a lot of cases in courts were caused by animosity and violence due to individuals living in close proximity in the metropolis. She said that the situation called for improvement in social housing in Lagos State.

“From the evidence, the fight took place in a room; though no evidence was given about the size of the room, it could not have been a very large room. The evidence was that the deceased and the defendant lived in a house consisting of rooms occupied by families popularly called ‘face-me-I-face-you’. It is worrisome that the level of violence, unnecessary animosity and death, which occur among our citizens as a result of living together in close proximity without sufficient personal space and boundaries, remain unabated. There is clearly a need to improve social housing and living conditions. The court hopes that this message will be conveyed to the necessary authorities through prosecutors who have the responsibility to prosecute these cases and should be able to provide vital statistics,” she urged.

Following the conviction of the Gilbert, her counsel, Mr Y. E. Yusuf, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy.

“The defendant has been in detention for six years; during that time, she lost both parents and her brother. She is in her late 30s and unmarried, she has gone through a lot. She was not harbouring the intent to murder when the incident occurred. I want my lord to temper justice with mercy and refrain from giving the defendant the maximum sentence,” Yusuf urged.

However, the judge passed death sentence on Gilbert.

“The defendant, Stella Gilbert, is hereby sentenced to death. May God that grants life have mercy on your soul,” she said.

On hearing the sentence, Gilbert collapsed on the dock. Wailing loudly, she said:

“Please ma, temper justice with mercy, why me oh, only me…”

In her tears, she was led out of the courtroom and had to be carried by a mobile policeman and a prison warden out of the court complex to avoid disruption of proceedings in other courtrooms due to the commotion.

According to the state counsel, Mrs O. R. Ahmed-Muili, the convict murdered Godwin, mother of three, on June 22, 2013, at No. 59, Ojora St., Ajegunle, Lagos.

Yemi Osinbajo’s convoy was today, block by some aggrieved protesters along Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Expressway in Abuja today.

According to reports, the protesters had blocked the convoy of the Vice President, as he was heading to the airport, when he ran into a barricade at Goza village.

Gbagyi village residents had gathered on the major road connecting the airport to the city. They were protesting the alleged invasion of their land by the military.

Osinbajo’s security aides could not appease the protesters, forcing the Vice President to step out of his car.

The Vice President’s Special Assistant on Media on Publicity, Laolu Akande, also confirmed the report in a tweet, saying, “On his way to the airport just now, VP Osinbajo runs into a group of FCT residents protesting alleged land takeover bid by the military. “He gets down, engages the people, proposing to meet with their leaders on the matter & intervene with a view to finding an amicable solution.”

Watch the video below;

The Nigerian police on Tuesday arraigned Senator Ademola Adeleke on Tuesday before Mpape Magistrate Court, Abuja over fresh charges brought against him by the police.

Adeleke who honored an invitation by the police at the Force Headquarters on Monday but was later detained.

He was arrested in September 2018, a few days to the Osun governorship election in which he was the most potent opposition challenger.

He was accused of writing WAEC with muddled identity in order to beef up his credentials for the governorship election that was then upcoming.

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Photos Credit: ChannelsTv

The Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Agriculture, State Task force on Environment and Special Offences Enforcement Unit and officers of the Nigeria Police Force says it has seized 30 Tonnes of animal hides and skin popularly known as ‘Ponmo’ presumed to be poisonous and unhealthy for human consumption at a ware house located at College Road in Igando area of Lagos State.

Oluwatoyin Suarau, who disclosed this at a news conference, said a special operation which led to the arrest of operators of the factory was based on a tip off by concerned members of the public who became suspicious of activities in the ware house where offensive stench ooze out during the preservation of the consignment.

Oluwatoyin said that the bonfire made with Jamaica rubber, which was also confiscated, in the processing of the ‘Ponmo’ emits a thick toxin smoke which spread within the complex and adjoining neighbourhood adding that the smoke and the unhygienic way of processing the cow skin is harmful to human health.

The Commissioner while stating that investigation into the source of the poisonous ‘Ponmo’ has since commenced, noted that the Ministry of Agriculture has set up a monitoring and investigation committee headed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Olayiwole Onasanya to get the source of the poisonous ‘Ponmo’ and dislodge factories and illegal abattoirs where the they are being processed.

“This committee would work with relevant government agencies to fish out any other illegal ‘Ponmo’ processing factory and illegal abattoir whose activities poses great danger to the public” he said

A 200 level student of Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) identified as Emem Jimmy, was shot dead by notorious phone snatchers during the weekend.

Jimmy, a political science major of the university was shot dead along Wilson Idiong street, close to the Obio Akpa campus of the University in Oruk Anam local government area of the state.

According to eyewitness report, the deceased attempted to resist the unknown gunmen from snatching his phone before he was shot dead.

The Head, Directorate of Information, Public Relations and Protocol of the University, Mr Akaninyene Ibanga, who confirmed the incident, said the victim died though he was immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment.

A statement from the Ibanga read;

“Late Emem was shot between the hours of 8.30 – 9pm at Wilson Idiong Street, off Ikot Okoro Road, Obioakpa, Oruk Anam Local Government Area in an attempt to resist unknown gunmen from snatching his phone. He was rushed immediately to the hospital for treatment which the University Management took over the hospital bills just to save his life but on Saturday late Emem could not survive the struggle with death, so he finally passed on at about 12.30pm.”

Operatives of the Uyo Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested four internet fraudsters in Calabar, Cross River State, following two seperate raids carried out in the early hours of Saturday, May 4, 2019 and Sunday, May 5, 2019.

The Saturday morning operation led to the arrest of a known “yahoo” kingpin, Akpojivi Joel Onoriode, a 29-year-old graduate of Delta State University, Abraka who is married with two kids.

Onoriode was arrested in his lavishly furnished duplex located at Plot 10, Block VI, Unical Satellite Town, Calabar, which he confessed was purchased with proceeds from his illicit “yahoo” business. He confessed that he had been in the “yahoo-yahoo” business for a long time and was known as “Blinks” or “Mr White”. He admitted that he has been in the “yahoo” business for a very long time and currently operates an offshore account in China.

He said: “I was really known in my school then as a yahoo boy. I have two kids. I didn’t want to bring them up where people will say, ah! your father is a yahoo boy. That was why I relocated my family from Asaba to Calabar.

“When I came out now and saw you people and the bus outside, my mind just told me there was a problem.”

While conducting a search on the premises, three luxury cars were recovered from him – ZDX Acura car, E 300 Mercedes Benz and a Range Rover SUV. The Range Rover could, however, not be moved out of the premises with other exhibits due to mechanical problems. Other items recovered include, two iPhones, one Nokia phone, and documents of landed properties owned by the suspect.

The morning raid on May 5, 2019 led to the arrest of Ifeanyi Chukwudi, Godwin Joseph and Iluobe Daniel. They were picked up at different locations within Calabar, following intelligence reports gathered by operatives of the Commission, as a result of the high rate of cybercrime in the town.

Chukwudi confessed that he specialized in love scam, admitting that he had “made a lot of money from the business (yahoo-yahoo)”.

He said: “I have defrauded women from the UK (United Kingdom). They usually pay me after we get engaged, and then, they will now want me to come over, that’s when they send me money and that’s how I get paid.”

Some of the items recovered from his apartment at Effiong Close, Satellite Town, Calabar include: one iPhone 8 Plus, one HP laptop containing fraudulent letters of false claims, and nine SIM cards.

Joseph and Daniel were arrested at Itagbor Agbeansa area of Calabar. A Toyota Camry LE, one HP laptop containing scam emails and several exotic phones were recovered from them.

They will soon be charged to court.

The Plateau state police command have recovered the corpse of a student of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Mercy Naan, who was declared missing on May 3rd.

A statement released by the command’s spokesperson, Terna Tyopev, says Naan who is 2nd year student of the department of Marketing, was declared missing by her parents on Friday May 3rd after no one could reach her. Her parents alerted the school security who then alerted the police.

The statement in part reads;

“The body was recovered on Sunday, May 5, after we received information of an unbearable odour from room 23 in Zion Hostel of the University. Yesterday, at about 3:30 p.m, our Angwan Rogo Division received a distress call from the the school’s security department, that on the same date, at about 3 p.m., some students raised an alarm over an unusual odour from room number 23, Zion Hostel, in Naraguta area of the school.

“Immediately we received the report, a combined team comprising of the Police, the University security and Medical personnel mobilised to the scene.

“On arrival, we forced the hostel door open and the motionless body of one Mercy Naan, a 23-year-old 200 level student of the Department of Marketing, was seen and recovered.” he said

Tyopev added that the victim was confirmed dead at University Clinic and her corpse had been deposited at UNIJOS’ mortuary for autopsy. He added that detectives had begun investigation on the incident, and asked the public to help with relevant information.