Crime
PHOTOS: UK court sentences Nigerian man to life imprisonment for k!lling ex-girlfriend
A Nigerian man who m8rdered a woman he worked with after she ended their brief “controlling relationship” has been given a life sentence in the United Kingdom.
LIB reported that Adedapo Adegbola, 40, fatally st@bbed Stephanie Irons, 23, in the neck, at her home in Mapperley, Nottinghamshire, on the evening of 21 October, 2025.
Adegbola relocated to the UK in 2022.
Nottingham Crown Court heard Adegbola, a social worker, “had become obsessed” with Irons and planned to kill her.
On Thursday, February 5, 2026, Adegbola was told at the same court he would spend a minimum term of 25 years in prison following his guilty plea last month.
Speaking in court, Irons’s mother said: “I have no words to say how broken I am to have lost her in such a horrific way.
Adegbola sobbed as the mother described her daughter’s “compassionate and caring” nature.
“She lit up the room and could make even the saddest person smile,” she said.
“That’s because she wanted to make a happy and kinder world.”
Sentencing Adegbola Judge Nirmal Shant KC said: “You had been in a brief relationship with Stephanie Irons after you met as work colleagues.
“Your controlling behavior led her to end the relationship. What is plain is that you were not prepared to accept that.
The court heard Adegbola had purchased two knives and travelled by taxi to Irons’s home in Westdale Lane West, unknown to her, after they finished work on 21 October.
He arrived about 20 minutes later than her and after she appeared to take her bins out, he entered, leaving an hour and 50 minutes later.
Prosecuting, Peter Joyce KC told the court Adegbola had sent a number of screenshots of sexually explicit messages from Irons’s phone to colleagues “probably after he had k!lled [her]”.
Concerned for Irons, two colleagues visited her home in Mapperley but when there was no answer, they called the police.
Officers were eventually able to get into the flat through a rear window.
The court heard Irons was found lying on her back on the floor, surrounded by blood.
Joyce said: “It is the prosecution’s case that he has become obsessed with this woman and could or would not accept that the relationship was over.
Before Adebola m8rdered Irons, the court heard colleagues had become concerned by his behaviour towards her.
On 15 October, he purchased two knives “in order to k!ll” Irons.
Days later, he went to her home armed with a knife and inflicted a number of cuts to her as well as the fatal blow to the front of her neck.
The court heard after attacking her, Adegbola sat on the sofa “as she lay d3ad, or dying”
He then left taking with him her phone and her keys, locking her inside before fleeing and disposing of his shirt, trousers and the m8rder weapon on his way.
What you did on that day was to take the life of a young girl who was compassionate and accomplished and whose only fault was to love you at one time,” the judge said.
Adegbola handed himself into the police on 22 October, after feeling to Hull, and later pleaded guilty to murder in January.
Det Insp Stuart Barson, the senior investigating officer in the case, said Irons’s family had shown “incredible strength and bravery” throughout the investigation.
In a statement read out on the family’s behalf he said: “We have lost our beautiful daughter and shining light.
“No-one will ever take away the pain that’s been caused the this senseless act.
“She was the kindest, sweetest person anyone could meet and our lives will never be the same.
“She touched so many lives with her personality and kind soul.
“While justice will be done, time will never heal our loss.”
A number of police officers were in court on Thursday, at the request of Irons’s mother – a former officer – so she could thank them.
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Crime
PHOTOS: Two criminal suspects arrested while butchering rustled cattle meat as troops neutralize armed bandit in Benue
Troops of the Joint Task Force, Operation WHIRL STROKE (OPWS), have neutralized an armed bandits and arrested two suspected cattle rustlers in Benue State.
Acting Media Information Officer, HQ JTF Operation WHIRL STROKE, Lieutenant Ahmad Zubairu Zubairu, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday, February 6, 2026 said the suspects were arrested while butchering rustled cattle meat inside a residential building in Agagbe community.
According to the statement, three other suspects were earlier arrested in connection with the cattle rustling incident in the community and subsequently handed over to the Nigeria Police Force in Naka for further investigation.
“Troops of the Joint Task Force, Operation WHIRL STROKE (OPWS), have continued to sustain an enhanced operational tempo through intelligence-led aggressive fighting patrols, recording significant successes against criminal elements across parts of Benue and Nasarawa States,” the statement read.
“On 3 February 2026, troops of Sector 1, OPWS, acting on credible intelligence regarding the activities of armed herders in Ayamba Village, Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, swiftly mobilised in conjunction with personnel of the Nigerian Police Force and operatives of the Benue State Civil Protection Guard to the location.
“Upon arrival at Ayamba Village, contact was made with the armed elements, leading to a brief engagement during which one armed bandit was neutralised. Troops also recovered one AK-47 rifle, three rounds of 7.62mm x 39 special ammunition, and two magazines from the scene.
“Similarly, on 4 February 2026, troops of Sector 2, OPWS, deployed at Patrol Base Agyaragu in Nasarawa State, received actionable intelligence from a local hunter about suspected armed robbers lurking along the Asupe–Ome Road in Obi Local Government Area. Acting promptly on the information, the troops moved to the general area in collaboration with the hunter.
“During the operation, one suspected armed robber, identified as Adam Paul, aged 34, was arrested, and one AK-47 rifle was recovered. Preliminary interrogation revealed that the suspect obtained the weapon from one Tela Obu, a resident of Duduguru Community in Obi LGA.
“Two other suspects, identified as John Amos and Elisha, also residents of Duduguru Community, fled the scene and are currently at large. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the suspects.
“In another development on the same day, troops of the COAS Intervention Battalion IX, deployed at Agbaragba in Benue State, responded swiftly to a distress call from local residents concerning the mobilisation of some youths from Agagbe community to rustle cattle.
“On arrival at the location, troops discovered several dead cattle at different points. However, three suspects were arrested in connection with the incident and subsequently handed over to the Nigeria Police Force in Naka for further investigation and prosecution.
In a similar vein, on 5 February 2026, troops deployed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Agbagbe received credible intelligence indicating that some youths were actively butchering rustled cattle meat inside a residential building within Agagbe Community.
“Two suspects were apprehended at the scene while in possession of mutilated and butchered meat believed to have been obtained from rustled cattle.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects were allegedly involved in cattle rustling activities within the general area, a criminal act that has continued to threaten livelihoods and undermine peace in rural communities. The arrested suspects have since been taken into custody for investigation and possible prosecution in line with extant laws.
“The Force Commander, Joint Task Force Operation WHIRL STROKE, Major General Moses Gara, commended the troops for their resilience, vigilance and aggressive posture in denying criminals freedom of action.
“He stated that the recorded successes are in line with the directive of the military high command, for commanders to scale up and intensify aggressive fighting patrols while enhancing intelligence-driven operations.”
Major General Gara further charged the troops to sustain the momentum and maintain a strong fighting efficiency to deter and neutralise criminal activities within the Joint Operations Area.
He also expressed appreciation to local communities and members of other security agencies for their continued support and cooperation, which have contributed significantly to the successes recorded by Operation WHIRL STROKE.
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The Abia State Police Command has arrested one Uchechukwu Uchegbu, for k!lling his father, Emmanuel Uchegbu, over a long-standing property dispute.
The incident occurred in Elugwu Nkata community in Umuahia North Local Government Area of the state.
A family member, Chinedu Uche, who spoke to Punch on Thursday, February 5, 2026 said that the conflict began when the suspect allegedly tried to convert a family land for personal use, a move his father resisted.
The disagreement reportedly escalated into repeated assaults over the years.
“He started suddenly having money and began forcefully claiming lands that were meant to be shared among my father and his siblings. He even decided to build a house on one of the lands that had not yet been divided, which made my father furious,” he said.
“The land he claimed shares a boundary with my father’s property. He tried to encroach on my father’s land, but my father refused. That’s where the dispute started. On several occasions over the years, he allegedly beat up his father, destroyed his properties, and threatened to seize his father’s house, claiming that because he had money, he could take it over.”
According to the family member, the final alleged assault occurred on January 1, 2026, when the suspect reportedly attacked his father with a cutlass, leaving him critically injured.
The elderly man was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, where he remained hospitalised until his d3ath on January 31.
Uche said the suspect was briefly arrested after the January 1 incident but was released, only to be re-arrested following his father’s d3ath.
The spokesperson of the command, Maureen Chinaka, who confirmed the incident said the suspect is in custody and that an investigation is ongoing
“Yes, there is a case under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department. The suspect has been apprehended and remains in our custody while the investigation continues,” she said.
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