Crime
PHOTOS & VIDEO: Kwara traditional worshipper accuses neighbours of burning her house
A woman and practitioner of traditional religion has accused her neighbours in Ilorin, Kwara State, of carrying out a targeted arson attack on her home following repeated threats due to her faith.
The allegation was made public in a report accompanied with a video of the burnt property shared on X on Saturday by user Bennylee, known as #itsbennylee, who said the woman had been subjected to sustained hostility since relocating to the predominantly Muslim community.
According to the report, the woman, described as a lawful property owner and an Oníṣẹ̀ṣẹ̀ (traditional religion practitioner), legally built a house in the area, exercising her constitutional right to reside anywhere in Nigeria.
However, shortly after moving in, some residents allegedly expressed opposition to her presence, openly stating that they did not want a traditional religion practitioner living among them.
The report claims the hostility escalated from verbal opposition to intimidation and direct threats, prompting the woman to report the matter to a nearby police station in Ilorin.
Police intervention reportedly led to the summoning and warning of those involved, with officers affirming her legal right to practise her religion and live in the community.
Despite the warning, the threats allegedly continued.
She was reportedly told that her house would be set on fire if she refused to abandon her religious practices.
Initially dismissing the threat as empty, the woman later received a distress call on January 1, 2026, while she was away attending the Osun Festival at another residence.
A neighbour informed her that her Ilorin house was on fire. The property was later confirmed to have been burnt.
The report described the incident as a deliberate act of arson, carried out after explicit religious threats, and not an accident.
The statement read, “This report is made on behalf of a Nigerian woman, a lawful property owner and practitioner of traditional religion (ONÍṢẸ̀ṢẸ).
“She legally built a house in Ilorin, Kwara State, which is her constitutional right as a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“From the beginning of her presence in this Ilorin Muslim community, some individuals openly stated that they did not want an ONÍṢẸ̀ṢẸ practitioner living among them. She was repeatedly threatened and intimidated solely because of her religious practice.
“Due to these threats, she reported the matter to the nearest police station in Ilorin. The police summoned the individuals involved and warned them that she has a legal right to live and build a house in any community of her choice in Nigeria.
“Despite this police warning, the threats escalated. She was directly told: ‘Since your house is what is keeping you here in our midst, if you refuse to stop your traditional religion practice, get ready to see your house set ablaze.’
“She initially considered this an empty threat. However, on January 1st 2026, while she was away attending the Osun Festival at her other residence, a neighbor urgently called to inform her that her house in Ilorin was on fire.
“The house was later confirmed to have been burnt, validating the earlier threats.This was not an accident.This was arson following explicit religious threats.
“This report is shared:• For public record,• For her safety • For accountability, • To notify authorities, media, and human-rights organizations. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians. No woman should be threatened, attacked, or displaced because of her religion or belief. Justice will be pursued.”
As of the time of filing this report, the Kwara State Police Command had not issued an official statement on the incident or confirmed whether arrests have been made.
Attempts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, in Kwara State proved abortive, as calls made three times went unanswered. A text message sent to the PRO also had not received a response at the time of reporting.
𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐊𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞
Credit: X | itsbennylee
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Follow us for more breaking news and videos pic.twitter.com/oLqqRVFdzK— Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) January 3, 2026
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Barely three years after he was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for dealing in illicit drugs, an 80-year-old man, Jeremiah Isaiah Nkanta, has again been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for returning to the criminal trade.
Nkanta, described by the agency as a notorious drug dealer, was first arrested by NDLEA operatives on December 14, 2022, and subsequently prosecuted and convicted by a Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where he was sentenced to two years in prison.
However, findings revealed that the octogenarian, who appeared unrepentant after serving his jail term, returned to the illicit drug business.
Following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, January 10, 2025, tracked him to his residence in Mmanta–Abak village, Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
A search of his house led to the recovery of 5.7 kilogrammes of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed within the premises.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the agency also disclosed that its operatives recorded another major breakthrough in Akwa Ibom State with the arrest of a suspected drug trafficker using mannequins to conceal opioids.
Babafemi said NDLEA officers on patrol along the Oron–Ibaka Road in Oron Local Government Area intercepted a 37-year-old businessman, Ani Onyebuchi Romans, on Friday, January 9, while he was travelling with full-body mannequins meant for his clothing business in Cameroon.
A thorough search of the mannequins, however, revealed that they were stuffed with 5.3 kilogrammes of tramadol pills.
According to the suspect, who claimed to reside in Cameroon, he was returning to his base after the Christmas and New Year holidays when he was apprehended.
Investigations further revealed that the drugs were purchased in Onitsha, Anambra State, and were being trafficked to Cameroon for sale using the mannequins as concealment.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives carried out coordinated raids across several locations, leading to the arrest of notorious drug dealers and the seizure of large quantities of illicit substances.
Among those arrested was Remi Bamidele, 45, popularly known as Aluko the Mafia, who was apprehended at Sasa area of Ibadan on Thursday, January 8.
Recovered from him were 10.696 kilogrammes of Colorado, Scottish Loud, Ghana Loud, Canadian Loud and skunk, all strains of cannabis. Two vehicles—a Toyota Venza and a Toyota Yaris with registration number HG 06 LYD-were also seized from him.
At the Adegbayi area of Ibadan, NDLEA officers arrested Adeola Toheeb, 27, on Friday, January 9, with various quantities of Colorado, Ghana Loud and skunk.
Similarly, Habeeb Ali, 29, was arrested at Ring Road, Ibadan, with 1.264kg of Colorado, Scottish Loud and skunk, alongside a cash exhibit of ₦1,307,100, recovered at the point of his arrest on Saturday, January 10.
Edo, Niger, Taraba, Adamawa busts
In Edo State, a dispatch rider, Osagbovo Edigin, 30, alongside Ebimi Labo, 28, and Akhimie Success, 25, were arrested on Friday, January 9, at Ihama/Airport Road GRA, Benin City.
The arrests followed the seizure of 118 grammes of Canadian Loud and a wrap of Colorado.
Also in Edo, Jimoh Agbonmhegbe, 49, was arrested at Irrua with 17.552kg of Colorado, Loud and skunk, while Evelyn Okoyomon, 38, was apprehended at Ubiaja with 930 grammes of skunk on Wednesday, January 7.
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives recovered 4,000 pills of tramadol (225mg) from a 22-year-old suspect, Nazifi Umar, at Dakwa town, Tafa Local Government Area.
Similarly, in Taraba State, Yusuf Usman, 41, was arrested at Lankaviri, Yorro Local Government Area, with 100 blocks of skunk weighing 47kg.
In Adamawa State, NDLEA officers recovered 30,950 capsules of tramadol from the residence of Ugwoke Chibueze, 40, in Bachure area of Yola South Local Government Area, following his arrest at the Lamido Aliyu Mustapha International Airport, Yola, on Tuesday, January 6.
Babafemi added that the agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across the country in the past week.
These included sensitisation lectures at Government Day Science and Technical College, Babura, Jigawa State; Abiayubal Ansari Islamiyya School, Fagge Local Government Area of Kano State; and among youths of Oshituma Umuogudu Akpu Ngbo in Ebonyi State, among others.
While commending officers and men of the Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Taraba, Edo, Oyo and Niger commands for their efforts, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised their operational successes.
He said their achievements, “especially the balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, are well appreciated.”
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Crime
PHOTOS: Nigerian man sentenced to d3ath in Malaysia for m8rder of his 4-year-old step-grandson
A Nigerian man has been sentenced to d3ath after being convicted of m8rdering his four-year-old step-grandson in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
LIB reported that Ibekwe Emeka Augustine threw the child from the third floor of an apartment building on Sunday, November 29, 2020 after he failed to rape his stepdaughter, who is the victim’s mother. Read other reports HERE and HERE
High Court judge K. Muniandy sentenced Ibekwe, 48, to d3ath on Friday, January 9, 2025 after finding him guilty of m8rder, ruling that the prosecution had proven the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
“You are sentenced to death by hanging until you are d3ad. However, you have the right to appeal against the sentence at the Court of Appeal,” the judge said.
Moments before the sentence was passed, Augustine, handcuffed and dressed in a white T-shirt and black trousers, pleaded for leniency.
“I regret everything that happened, and it will not happen again. I remember going swimming and playing football with him. Please have mercy on me. Everything is in your hands,” he said.
Augustine appeared solemn as he was led out of the courtroom. An interpreter was present throughout the proceedings.
He was charged in 2020 with m8rdering the boy between 7.45am and 8.15am at an apartment unit in Setapak on Nov 29, 2020, which carries the d3ath penalty or a jail term between 30 and 40 years upon conviction.
In addition to the m8rder conviction, Augustine was sentenced to one year for one count of attempted suicide, five years for s3xually assaulting his then 25-year-old stepdaughter, five years for attempted m8rder of his son, then aged 7; and 14 years for causing grievous hurt to his wife, then 48, who suffered a broken hip.
Muniandy ordered that all jail sentences run concurrently, which is 14-years, from Augustine’s arrest on Nov 29, 2020.
“All these inhumane and despicable acts of the accused could have been stopped as the accused’s wife attempted to do so, but the accused persisted even after grievously injuring her.
“The victims were all traumatised by the entire incident and had to run away from the home before anything more dreadful was inflicted on them.
“Then they found the grandchild dead on the ground as he was thrown away mercilessly by the accused, who then attempted suicide.
“Such conduct cannot be excused on the grounds of self-intoxication with drugs or his attempt to end his own life,” he said.
In mitigation, defence counsel Zulkifli Awang argued that his client should be spared the death penalty, saying the murder was not premeditated and that his client was not a hardened criminal incapable of rehabilitation.
“The facts show that his actions were due to schizophrenia and that he was of unsound mind, although the court had ruled that self-intoxication is not a defence.
“But I want to stress that what occurred was due to his insanity, due to drug consumption.
“He has been in remand since his arrest, and he is repentant. Imprisonment would be a more appropriate sentence. It is not necessary to take another life,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Zaileen Nadia Zubir urged the court to impose the death penalty, stating that Augustine had admitted to committing the acts due to prolonged consumption of drugs and not schizophrenia.
“He dangled the child by the leg outside the window before throwing him out, an act witnessed by the boy’s mother.
“He had admitted that it happened because of drugs and not because of schizophrenia, and he heard voices.
“He knew his actions were wrong and apologised,” she said.
The trial began in January 2024 and concluded in December the same year, with testimony from 22 prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses, who were Augustine himself and consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony.
After the proceedings, Zulkifli said a notice of appeal against the d3ath sentence would be filed.
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