The Niger State Police Command has arrested seven suspects in connection with cult-related activities at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, following the killing of a student earlier this year.

This was disclosed in a statement made available on Tuesday by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun.

The command recalled that on June 23, 2025, at about 3am, there was a report of an unfortunate attack on a student of the IBBUL identified as Abdulwahab Jafar, 23 years of Paiko at his lodge in the school, among other attacks leading to the loss of life of the said student.

According to the police, the June 23 incident sparked unrest in the Lapai community, prompting the deployment of tactical teams to restore normalcy. Subsequent investigations by the Command, jointly conducted by the Tactical Support Team and the Force Intelligence Department, led to the arrest of 19 persons across Lapai and other locations in the state.

Wasiu said the investigation was later narrowed down to seven suspects on charges including criminal conspiracy, robbery, unlawful society, internet fraud, possession of dangerous weapons, and suspected culpable homicide.

Abiodun said the suspects are ”Idris Hamza, 27, and Suleiman Damilare, 27, both of Maikunkele; Abdulsemiu Bashir, 23, of Lapai; Bawa Aliyu, 27, of Suleja; Yakubu Musa, 24, of Maikunkele; Samson Abbah, 28, of Rafin-Yanshi; and Solomon Musa, 28, of Maitumbi.”

Abiodun said Idris Hamza and Suleiman Damilare were arrested “on June 27 at Fadikpe with cannabis, charms, and local black soaps with a Toyota Corolla vehicle at one Abdullahi Ahmed a.k.a catch-up residence.

“The suspects confessed to members of Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM) and further confessed to having carried out a series of cultist activities in IBBUL such as initiation of members e.g Jolijoli and other members,’’ Abiodun said.

The statement added that Abdulsemiu Bashir, suspected to be a rival member of the group known as VIKINGS, was arrested in Lapai on June 29.

Police found him in possession of “16 SIM cards, POS machine and sum of seventy-seven thousand naira. He claimed that he bought the SIM cards from one Audu, another member of VIKINGS presently at large.

“The SIM cards were confirmed to be from stolen/robbed phones of victims,” Abiodun said.

Bawa Aliyu, Yakubu Musa, Samson Abbah, and Solomon Musa were also linked to cult-related robberies and attacks on students, the statement said.

According to Abiodun, “Samson Abbah “was also mentioned as the group Admin officer of their WhatsApp platform for Minna zone.

“The platform was named as ‘Men that matters’ before he changed it to ‘Football News’, where they discussed their nefarious activities,” Abiodun said.

Abiodun said investigation is ongoing, “and effort to identify either VIKINGS or NBM members responsible for the attack of the deceased is intensified, as it was established that the attack was cultists related.

“Further development will be made public.”

In a separate operation, three suspects were arrested for conspiracy and theft of motorcycles. On September 9, Bashir Yahaya, 23, of Fadikpe, was intercepted with a sack containing motorcycle parts.

“He confessed to having stolen two motorcycles from Fadikpe area and that he usually sells the parts at Sabon-Gari and Kasuwan-Gwari areas of Minna.

“Case is under investigation,” Abiodun said.

Earlier, on September 4, Lawali Bello, 27, of Iri Village, Rijau, was arrested for stealing a Bajaj motorcycle on September 2.

“A report was made at Rijau Div stating that on 2nd September 2025 around 10.30am, unknown persons invaded a residence at Iri Village and stole a Bajaj motorcycle.

“Police surveillance team of Rijau Div arrested one Lawali Bello 27yrs of the same village with the said Bajaj motorcycle.

“He confessed to the crime and he was charged to court for prosecution,” Abiodun said.

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM

Kazakhstan has banned forced marriages and bride kidnappings through a law that came into effect Tuesday in the Central Asian country, where the practice persists despite new attention being paid to women’s rights.

Forcing someone to marry is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kazakh police said in a statement.

“These changes are aimed at preventing forced marriages and protecting vulnerable categories of citizens, especially women and adolescents,” it added.

Bride kidnappings have also been outlawed.

“Previously, a person who voluntarily released a kidnapped person could expect to be released from criminal liability. Now this possibility has been eliminated,” the police said.

There are no reliable statistics of forced marriage cases across the country, with no separate article in the criminal code prohibiting it until now.

A Kazakh lawmaker said earlier this year that the police had received 214 such complaints over the past three years.

The custom is also present in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, where it mostly goes unpunished due to indifferent law enforcement and stigma surrounding whistleblowers.

The issue of women’s rights in Kazakhstan gained media attention in 2023 following the murder of a woman by her husband, a former minister, a case that shocked Kazakh society and prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to react.

“Some people hide behind so-called traditions and try to impose the practice of wife stealing. This blatant obscurantism cannot be justified,” Tokayev said last year.

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM

The Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja on Monday granted former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, permission to engage forensic experts to examine WhatsApp conversations and a mobile device marked “iPhone 2” tendered as evidence in his ongoing $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud trial.

Justice Rahman Oshodi gave the ruling after Emefiele’s lead counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), applied for leave to allow an independent forensic expert to inspect the handset and verify the authenticity of the extracted WhatsApp messages already admitted as exhibits.

“The defence seeks the court’s leave to call a forensic expert to examine both the mobile device and printed conversations allegedly linked to the defendants,” Ojo told the court.

Emefiele, alongside his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is standing trial on 19 counts bordering on abuse of office, receiving gratification, corruption, and fraudulent property transactions involving $4.5bn and N2.8bn.

The charges were brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

However, EFCC counsel, Chineye Okezie, opposed the application. She argued that the exhibits admitted during trial should remain strictly in the court’s custody until proceedings are concluded.

Okezie also faulted the defence for failing to disclose the name of the forensic laboratory or the qualifications of the personnel expected to handle the device.

She urged the court to mandate that the EFCC’s Director of Forensic Department select the laboratory, ensure the exercise is monitored by a prosecution-nominated representative, and preserve the chain of custody.

Ruling on the matter, Justice Oshodi held that the defence was entitled to an independent forensic review, provided safeguards were in place to protect the integrity of the evidence.

He ordered that the inspection be conducted in the presence of representatives from all parties, with each side allowed to bring no more than one lawyer and one forensic expert. A court representative is also to supervise the exercise, which must take place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on September 24 and 26, 2025.

The judge further directed that the chain of custody of Exhibit E (iPhone 2) must be preserved and that the device remain in the court’s custody at all times.

The trial was adjourned to October 7 and 8, 2025, for continuation, and October 9, 2025, for further hearing.

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

TUMBLR

INSTAGRAM