News
Akeredolu to deputy: Swear you didn’t pray for my death or hold meetings on taking over
Rotimi Akeredolu, Governor of Ondo State, on Tuesday left a challenge to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa – swear you did not pray for my death and hold a meeting to plan takeover from me, a development, which seems to indicate the main reason for the present animosity between the hitherto two jolly good fellows and tag-team in the recent political arrangement in the state.
By this, Akeredolu, who threw the challenge through Doyin Odebowale, his Special Adviser on Special Duty and Strategy, seemed to have given insight into the major reason, he had gone for the deputy’s jugular, immediately he returned from a three-month medical tourism in Germany, where he went to treat a yet to be reveal ailment.
Odebowale, a guest on Politics Today, a public affairs Programme on Channels Television on Tuesday, said he had the endorsement of the governor, whom he said was listening from his current abode in Ibadan, Oyo State, where he is currently recuperating, to make the full disclosure on what transpired with the deputy.
His words: “If he wants to see God, let him come out and tell anybody that he did not hold meetings against Aketi, if he’s not expecting him to die so that he can become the governor. I’m telling you clearly now, he expects the governor to die so that he becomes the governor.
“I’m saying it. I want to be sued by him. Let him challenge me. This is not about maligning anybody. I’m telling you what I know, as Aketi’s SA on Special Duties and Strategy and I’m telling you all the things that they did.
“The former APC Chairman, Senator Adamu, said that Aketi was seriously incapacitated when it was a lie. The commissioner for information contacted me and I called the APC Chairman of Ondo State, Engineer Adetimyin and he said Adamu never said so. Okay, I said he never said so, now commissioner, go and say this – I mean, we were in touch with Aketi, because we were privileged. The commissioner made a release but Mr. Aiyedatiwa ordered the commissioner and said why would she do that? He came out with a watery release that did not attest to anything.”
He also explained why his principal is not working from the capital Akure, saying his current heath condition made it impossible for him to return to his previous two-room apartment he used to live in as the renovated governor’s lodge in Akure, before he travelled abroad, hence he decided to stay in Ibadan temporarily to fix a new accommodation that would support his current health challenges.
Hear him: “Aketi came back in September. Where he used to stay – the Presidential Lodge built for the visiting president at that time Olusegun Obasanjo – is a two-bedroom apartment,” he said on the show. Now, he is back. He cannot occupy that place again. The Old Governor’s Office – the Governor’s Lodge built by the previous administration is now the office of the investment outlet called the ODIPA. That’s the office.
“So, the governor has been managing a two-bedroom apartment for six years. But his current state of health would not permit him to pretend that all is well. He would need all the things for him to recover properly. That’s why the new place that is being arranged for him is almost completed.”
He also dismissed the agitation that led some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to demand that the governor appeared in public and returned to the state to work, wondering why such critics would want him back in the state, even when his absence did not affect the smooth running of the government including the prompt payment of salaries.
Stating that the agitation was being engineered by elements even withing the APC family, he said: “When they say they want to see Aketi, do they want to see him at the site so that he would be carrying cement or following workmen? What exactly? The civil servants have been paid all their salaries. Aketi has been signing laws since he came back.”
It was another day of misery in Kwara State, when daredevil terrorists reportedly stormed Yashikira Community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, and as has been the case in many of the attacks, abducting scores of residents including women and children.
But, apparently to register their authority, the gunmen, who were said to have operated for hours without challenge from the security operatives, were said to have torched the palace of the Emir.
The attackers, which reportedly occurred late Sunday night were said to have announced their presence through heavy firing and after storming the palace of the monarch during the period, set it on fire before whisking away their victims, but a similar attempt at the police station in the community, was repelled.
While some of the residents, narrated how the spent hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community, another account said the villagers were caught unawares as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
However operatives made up of the police and military personnel, were said to have launched a manhunt immediately for the immediate rescue of the victims, including throwing a cordon in the area as part of the mission.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
Slavery is a wound on the memory of the Universal Church, Pope Leo XIV, said on Monday, as he issued a fresh apology over the participation of the the Catholic Church in the centuries-long delay in condemning slavery.
The pontiff stressed the position of the church after his predecessors had offered similar apologies, said: “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Writing in a major text that warned about “new forms of slavery” behind the digital economy, the joined John Paul II, who denounced slave trade in 1992 before issuing a sweeping request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000 and Pope Francis who also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery.
In his own vein, Pope Leo, pointed out that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and it also advised European sovereigns on how to justify the enslavement of “infidels.”
He stressed in “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), a document focused primarily on the rise of artificial intelligence, that it was only in the 19th century that “a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated.”
Hear him: “It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.”
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