The Plateau Police Command on Thursday confirmed the arrest of a 40-year-old man, Victor Dashit, who allegedly strangled his eight months pregnant wife, Irene.

“Victor is in our custody and investigation is on-going. We shall soon take him to court,” its spokesman, Terna Tyopev, said in Jos.

He said that Dashit, a staff of the National Industrial Court, Jos who resides at New Abuja area of Jos, killed the wife, a 33-year-old teacher, at their farm in Kangang, on June 2.

The investigation revealed that Dashit, after killing the woman, invited his brother to help him to convey her to hospital after lying that she slumped few minutes after she complained of feeling dizzy.

A family source said that prior to the incident, the couple had faced lots of problems leading to persistent domestic violence.

He said that the situation got worse in May 2016, when the deceased caught her husband in bed with their house help, one Nora, in their home.

“The woman woke up one night sometime in May 2016 and did not see her husband on the bed. “

After combing the entire house, she peeped into the house help’s room and found her husband on her,” the source said.

He said that Irene sent the girl out of the house, but the girl came back two months later and told the husband that she was pregnant.

“Nora’s pregnancy aggravated the problems in their marriage; at a point, Irene fled to her parents’ house in Gindiri, but was persuaded to return to her husband’s house by their Pastor.

“The Pastor persuaded her to return in November 2016, after intervening in the quarrel. She became pregnant immediately. She said that Irene had two daughters, while the baby, a male, removed from her womb after she died, did not survive. A source at the Air Force Military Hospital, Jos where Irene’s corpse was taken, said that the Dashit who brought the wife on June 2, had claimed that she slumped and died after complaining of dizziness.

“The doctors confirmed her dead on arrival, but rushed her to the theatre for an emergency CS in a bid to save her unborn baby but brought out a dead child,” the source said. Further investigation by the medics, however revealed marks on her neck, which suggested that she was strangled.

“The doctors quickly reported the matter at the Anglo Jos police station where Dashit owned up to strangling his wife,” he said.

Tyopev, while describing the incident as “unfortunate”, blamed the development on alleged infidelity, saying that Dashit had equally confessed to impregnating his housemaid.

“He confessed to holding the woman by the neck, but said he did not intend to kill her,” he said.

The Nigerian Police Force has denied reports started by The Sun Newspaper, that notorious Kidnapper, Evans vanised from police cell.

Recall, it all started when the Sun Newspaper published a report alleging that the kidnapper who was arrested on the 10th of June in Lagos, was no longer in police custody, and his whereabouts was no longer known.

But then, the Police Force has debunked this report, and tagged it as false. Police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood who spoke to newsmen this morning, said;

“The media need to avoid stories that could create fear, tension or misrepresentation among the masses. Where did Evans vanish to? That headline was misleading. The suspect and his accomplices are very much in our custody. We are working hard to ensure that justice is served at the end of the day. There are certain information that are not for public consumption to avoid jeopardising investigation or even national security. Evans is with the police. His whereabouts is known but cannot be made public. We are appealing to Nigerians to remain calm and support the police to conclude its investigation.”he said

The Family of Comedian Chinedu Paul who was lynched and burnt alive alongside two others after he was mistaken to be a badoo member have spoken, and called for justice.

Yet to fully get over the loss of their father and breadwinner 14 years ago, July 1, 2017 inflicted an even bigger wound on the Chinedus – a modest family struggling to make ends meet.

Taking refuge in a rented apartment barely comfortable for them in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, surmounting the hurdles life throws on their path as a unit on daily basis has not been easy. That fateful night, the family’s situation got more troubling.

Their eldest child, Paul, who had been a pillar and fortress for them these past 14 years, was killed in the most brutal manner metres away from their home. The sorrow that has beclouded the household ever since, is indescribable.

A National Diploma holder in Accountancy from the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, the 26-year-old Abia native had woken up that Saturday not knowing what danger lay ahead of him. Trashing his usual domestic chores before going to the store to pick up a few personal items, there was no reason for him to entertain any type of fear.

A promising stand-up comedian, events anchor and farmer, Paul had huge dreams ahead of him. Apart from supporting his three siblings – Elizabeth, Sunday and Ruth with the little money he made, he also looked after their mother, Celestina, a petty trader, from the lean income as well. His fiancée, Esther – a dependable ally – also tasted from his goodwill as well. Such was the 26-year-old’s large heart. But by 11:50pm, everything changed.

Paul, in company with two others – Shola, a rewire, and Sunday, a mechanic – were mistaken to be members of dreaded killer-cult group, Badoo, as they made for the spot where his newly-acquired second-hand car had broken down the previous day. He had gone to pick it up from the painter’s shop when suddenly around Odogunyan bus-stop, the vehicle broke down. The young man will never live to ride in the car.

“Paul had been in the house throughout that Saturday until about 10:00pm when he left for Ikorodu Garage to wait for the mechanic and rewire who were coming all the way from FESTAC,” Elizabeth, younger sibling of the late comedian, told our correspondent during an encounter earlier in the week. “Shola, the rewire, used to be our neighbour here at Ikorodu before he moved to FESTAC after he got married in 2010,” she continued.

“He is a specialist in Honda cars and that was why my brother begged him to come and help fix his vehicle. If not for the traffic they encountered along the way, they would have arrived Ikorodu earlier to tow the car with the SUV Shola brought from FESTAC.

“But before they could get to where Paul’s car was parked, they were stopped by some guys on the road. One of the guys who stopped them told the others that he knew my brother and that they should be allowed to go. The others refused and proceeded to searching the vehicle. They saw the chain Shola wanted to use to tow the vehicle and brake oil in the boot of the SUV.

Immediately the guys saw these, they started shouting Badoo. Even though the other one said he knew my brother well in the area, which another person among them also confirmed, they went ahead to kill the three of them by burning them alive. By the time we got there by 3:00am after receiving a call from somebody who witnessed the scene, it was too late. They had been burnt already,” she said as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her.

Heartbroken at the sight of the charred remains of their beloved Paul, Elizabeth and the rest of the family still find it hard to believe that the person, who had played the role of father to them these past 14 years was indeed no more.

While the loss is a pill too bitter for them to swallow, the misery could have been worse had it not been God’s mercies, our correspondent learnt.

“We all could have been dead by now if not for divine intervention,” Elizabeth told Saturday PUNCH with a firm voice.

“I, my mother, younger sister and Paul’s girlfriend could all have been killed by the same guys after they identified us to be his relatives.

Immediately they saw a small plastic containing gear oil in the boot of the car that conveyed us to the spot where the three of them were burnt, the guys started shouting Badoo family.

They shoved and pushed us about for several minutes and were going to descend heavily on us when one man ordered them to leave us, that if we were indeed Badoo members, we couldn’t have had the guts to come to that place. That was how we escaped being lynched that morning.

“Paul was an easy-going person who would never hurt anyone. He was the only one we looked up to for our needs since our father died 14 years ago. He didn’t deserve to die in such a pathetic manner,” she added.

Still unable to come to terms with the sad reality, Paul’s fiancée, Esther, has been locked in grief since the tragic events of that fateful day.

The lovebirds, who ignited the fire of their relationship on July 1, 2014, were looking forward to capping off that Saturday in style being the 3rd anniversary of their time together.

Apart from gifting his woman a special wristwatch and other lovely items, the 26-year-old comedian had also arranged a nice cake to go along with the mood. But after leaving home around 10:00pm that night and promising to return to her warm embrace not too long afterwards, the journey ended for the Abia native. Esther is still searching for what went wrong one week after the tragedy.

“Life has been empty without Paul,” the 24-year-old lady told our correspondent in a quaking voice. “Though we were yet to marry, he was a huge and special part of my life,” she continued. “That Saturday was the 3rd anniversary of our love story but to now lose him on that same day aggravates the pain I feel inside. Apart from buying a cake, he showered me with gifts as well and we were both looking forward to celebrating with the rest of the family that night before he stepped out and never returned.

“Since that incident, once it is around 1:00am, the exact time I woke up to call his number on the day he was killed, I am no longer able to sleep again. I suddenly wake up and start thinking about him. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to overcome this pain,” she said.

Pastor Femi Adebayo of the Harvest Place, Maryland, Lagos, where the late Paul worships, told our correspondent that a memorial service to honour the victim and also seek for justice, would be organised at the cathedral on Saturday.

After weeks of public furore and media frenzy, a sudden blackout has descended on the case of Chukwuduneme Onwuamadike a.k.a. Evans, Nigeria’s infamous billionaire kidnapper, thus fuelling speculations that he’s escaped, or dead.

Saturday Sun has however gathered that Evans is not dead as his family now fears but has been moved from the Lagos police command headquarters cell by about 30 heavily armed men at midnight few days ago to an undisclosed destination.

Some senior police officers in the know told Saturday Sun he was moved to Abuja Indeed, in the last few days, a palpable silence seemed to have enshrouded the Evans phenomenon.

Where is Evans? It is a question the police is not prepared to officially answer right now. A man who hitherto divulged the details of his criminal life to the public almost on a daily basis is suddenly no longer accessible to even the press corps.

All a Saturday Sun reporter who visited the state police command was told was that Evans is no longer allowed to talk to the press till further notice. The secrecy surrounding his whereabouts in the official quarters baffles those who have closely followed his story since his arrest.

After days of sniffing around the Lagos police formations to get information on Evans whereabouts, it was gathered that the kidnap kingpin had been moved out of the Lagos command headquarters days ago by heavily armed policemen and is yet to be returned.

Police had last week said they had got a court order to detain him for three months to give them enough time to complete their investigation. This followed two suits filed by Evans lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, at the High Court seeking his release and claiming N300m damages from the police.

Some senior police officers who spoke to Saturday Sun on condition of anonymity expressed fears that Evans might not make it to the court.

They argued that he might plot his escape from prison, or get across to some of his members who are still on the run. Their concerns are not farfetched, given that several inmates in the past had reportedly committed much heinous crimes even while in prison.

Some of the officers confirmed that Evans was no longer in the police cell in Lagos. “He has not been returned since he was moved out. Evans is a broken man; police can’t resort to extra-judicial killings at this point. He is cooperating, and he is ready to help return all his ill-gotten wealth as soon as possible”, one of the officers said.

Another reliable source at the police command told Saturday Sun

“Evans is not an ordinary criminal. I guess that they took him out for further investigation but I don’t know why they are yet to return him to his cell.” The source further assured: “No one is planning to kill Evans. I believe that they will return him later. He could be in any good cell in the state for security reasons, but I can assure you that he is not dead yet. Even if anything happens to him, if he dies in custody, it will be as a result of cancer which he claims he is suffering from.”

Yet another senior police officer who preferred anonymity assured that Evans is okay.

“He is okay and seriously cooperating with the police in its investigation. From the look of things, he might not spend up to three months in detention before he’s charged to court. As for his location, I assure you that he is in a protective custody somewhere out of town.” The officer who reinforced fears within the police circle, said that “a criminal is always a criminal,” adding that, “with the number of robbery cases and kidnappings to his credit, he is well known among criminals.”

He told Saturday Sun:

“Within the short period that he spent in our cell, he is already controlling inmates in the cell. They fear and respect him; we do not want to run the risk of allowing him to form another notorious group which is common amongst them.”

On why his family is yet to get access to him, the officer said that they are yet to approach the police.

“A lot of his family members benefitted from his ill-gotten wealth, so they are afraid to come close to the police station.

Evans confirmed that he bought a car for his father and also gave him N3m. The police will recover such money and properties.

We will soon get a warrant to pick his father up and possibly his mother, who also benefitted.”

Calls and text messages to both the Lagos Police Spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole and the Force PRO, Moshood Jimoh on the official position of the Police on Evans’ whereabouts were neither answered nor responded to as at 10pm yesterday.

Source: Saturday Sun

Very early this morning, along Ikorodu Road, Ojota to be precise, a container (cargo truck) fell on two fully loaded commercial (danfo) buses.

The freak accident occurred around 5am this early morning.

We don’t know the number of casualities yet, but 3 passengers were rescued from the wreckage alive. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency officials on ground.

More details soon.

The continuous invasion of underaged sex workers in many Lagos brothels has turned a big headache for adult prostitutes who are now complaining the loss of their clients to those younger ones.

This has led to these adult hookers raising alarm and appealed to the security agents, especially the Nigeria Police, to intervene, not only to look into the ages of those young girls, but as well to save their business.

This new trend in sex business of engaging underaged girls between 12 and 17 years, P.M.EXPRESS gathered thrives because the owners of most brothels have discovered that engaging those girls enhance patronages and boost their customers demand.

P.M.EXPRESS investigation revealed that patrons indeed prefer these underaged girls to adult courtesans due to high quality sexual satisfaction they derived worthy of their monies.

It was also learnt that the girls charge less unlike the older colleagues who have other obligations to meet up.

P.M.EXPRESS interviewed some of the hotel managers and sex workers to know the motive behind the use of under-aged girls and what it will achieve for the management, the victims and how they get them to work as sex workers.

In a chat with P.M.EXPRESS, an hotel manager in Mushin simply known as Mr. Mike, said that there are more than 500 brothels in the area competing for customers and it is the kind of services the customers received that will make them to come back.

He said one of the strategy he adopted was to bring those under-aged girls to boost and attract customers to his hotel.

He said his customers are excited whenever they see those young girls and are motivated to patronize the girls and which is more money to the management.

On how he arranged to bring those girls, Mike said that there are agents who bring them from mostly South-East, Middle Belt and South south States.

“Once those agents are contacted, the number of the girls you demanded will be delivered to you and then the management will then packaged them in such a way to appeal to our customers attraction,” Mike told our correspondent.

He said the agreement are usually on any money realised by those girls will be divided into three: one goes to the management, while the remaining would be shared between the girls and their agent who brought them.

On the social implication and the future of those girls, Mike said some of those girls are spoilt children who enjoy what they are doing while some were brought and forced into prostitution.

One of the adult sex workers, who identified herself as Glory, said apart from the fact that clients prefer those girls which means bad business for them, their ages prick her mind.

“Some of them don’t understand this work, a man will enter their room and will stay there for several hours making different sex demands from them and at the end, such man will pay her very little and leave,” she said.

Some of the patrons who spoke to P.M.EXPRESS said they prefer those young girls because everything about them- breasts, private and other parts of her body is intact and enjoyable.

When our correspondent contacted the Area Commander, Zone D, Mushin, Lagos, he confirmed the development which he described as a menace and dangerous trend in the society.

A resident of Ikorodu, Akinrinlade has shared on Facebook how he was wrongfully attacked by residents in his area who thought he was a member of the deaded Badoo cult group.

Members of the cult have been attacking residents in their homes and places of worship with pestles and grinding stones.

As the attacks continued to rise in recent weeks, residents had begun counter-attacks against suspected members of the cult, and have lynched a couple of persons, one of which includes a comedian, who was mistaken to be a badoo member.

National Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Gani Adams had claimed that high placed individuals are involved in the attacks.

Read Akinrinlade’s story below:

IKORODU’s BADOO BROUHAHA: MY STORY
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The rate at which people are being wrongly accused and molested in this Ikorodu is becoming pathetic, one cant even walk peacefully at anything past 7pm. I got back from work at around 5:21pm, after putting off my wears i decided to take a nap on my bed, suddenly i felt into a deep sleep only to wake up at about 7:39pm, immediately i became conscious to the fact that i don’t have water in my gallon.

Then i quickly decided to go get some water at a nearby tank, i was with my hands free on, i was just hearing “hey hey! what are you coming here to do at this time”?, i replied the questionnaire; “sorry sir, i am actually here to fetch some water”, before i could finished explaining myself, i saw a very furious man and decided to just turn back ‘jejely’ to my house, before i could take three steps forward, i just felt a big and several bang on my face through the back.

At this point i was lost, wondering if the world is ending today. Immediately i saw people gathered, asking in Yoruba; “ki lo de, ki lo sele (what happened, whats going on)”? To cut the long story short, people attested that they know me, even asking the said BABA, don’t you know him?

They all apologized after several slaps and molestation initially, then i just jejely carried my gallon that someone else has helped filled, obviously out of pity then walked towards my house, entered my room, put off my already tattered cloth, sat down and started imagining what just happened, hoping it was just a dream, behold! it wasn’t, it was REAL ‘mehn’!.

Some minutes later while i was still busy pondering on what just happened, i heard some elderly voices at my entrance, they knocked and i saw four elderly men (obviously the landlords of the area) alongside the man that ignorantly dealt with me and one of my neighbours (making six men).

They all said they were sorry for the ugly incident, with the man that punished me particularly holding me tight just to show his level of SORRY state, i almost shed tears? at that point, but had to be a man.

I told them they should just take things easy, that two wrongs can never make a RIGHT. That i am ok now. But trust me the beating was not here ooo. Come and see slaps! Do i blame them? No! But people should apply wisdom.

That was how one of our friends too was lynched to death last Sunday at Odongunyan but glory be to God mine was not beyond control.