News
Bandits hold on 90-year-old monarch, kill three in renewed onslaught in Kogi
Even with the intervention of its representatives at the National Assembly, bandits, are said to be unrelenting in their attacks on communities in Kogi State, with Okoloke community, Yagba West Local Government Area, now under a siege.
The latest in the onslaught was the killing of three men on Saturday by the gunmen, who are said to still be holding Dada James Ogunyanda, a graded chief and the monarch in the area, who kidnapped from his palace in the early hours of Thursday.
Reports, quoting sources, said the slain men were identified as two local vigilantes and a telecommunications worker who had gone to inspect a telecommunications mast in the area, adding that the attackers had initially demanded a ransom of ₦100 million for the release of the nonagenarian ruler, recently reduced the ransom to ₦12 million.
A person familiar with the discussions told our correspondent that the bandits were informed of the monarch’s frail health and his need for regular medication.
Channels Television, quoted a source, as saying the kidnappers then instructed that his drugs be packaged and dropped at a designated location for onward delivery, but before the community could act on the instructions, the gunmen struck again on Saturday morning, killing the three victims, adding that vigilantes had accompanied the telecoms staff to the site when they encountered the armed assailants in the bush.
One Olusegun Iselaye, a resident, who captured the incident via his Facebook, wrote: “We are heartbroken and outraged to report that just days after the kidnapping of our traditional ruler in Okoloke village, Yagba West, we have now lost three more innocent lives to bandit attacks in the very same community.
“This senseless violence is unacceptable and underscores the urgent need for effective security measures. While we appreciate the efforts of Senator Karimi and his Kwara counterpart in raising the issue of insecurity in our region at the National Assembly just days ago, the continued inaction on the ground is deeply concerning.
“As of the last update, there has been no visible police presence or action in Okoloke, allowing these horrific killings to occur. This lack of response is a clear failure and further traumatises our already fearful communities.
“This tragedy in Okoloke further highlights the critical flaws in the current security strategy in Yagba West. As we stated previously, the presence of soldiers has not brought the desired security and has instead led to deeply troubling issues, including extortion and harassment of our people. The situation is dire. We urgently call on the Kogi State Government to recognise the gravity of this escalating crisis. The continued reliance on the current military deployment is clearly not working and has even created additional problems.”
Tosin Olokun, Chairman of Yagba West LGA, who was reported to have visited the grieving community, was said to have assured residents that concerted efforts were underway to rescue the monarch and to curtail the rising wave of banditry in the area.
The corruption profile of Nigeria has dipped again in global reckoning with Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index, announcing that it slipped two places to 142nd out of 182 countries in the 2025.
In the damning report, which underscored the nation’s poor performance on the global anti-corruption ranking, Nigeria showed poor progress from its position in 2024 index, where it ranked 140 out of 180 countries with a score of 26 out of 100.
The addition of two countries in the latest rankings saw Nigeria maintain its score of 26 despite dropping two places.
Ranks can change if the number of countries included in the index changes, but a country’s score is the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.
In its latest report, sub-Saharan Africa was the lowest performing region with an average score of 32 out of 100, with only four of the 49 countries scoring above 50.
Seychelles maintained the region’s highest scorer, with 68, followed by Cabo Verde (62), Botswana (58) and Rwanda (58), while Sudan (14), Eritrea (13), Somalia (9) and South Sudan (9), maintained the bottom spots.
Nigeria’s progress in tackling corruption, despite President Bola Tinubu’s repeated pledge to tackle the menace, has been slow.
Nigeria, which best performance in the last decade was in 2016 when it ranked 136th and had a score of 28, scored 24 out of 100 in 2022, and ranked 150th; while in 2021, it scored the same but placed 154th — its worst performance under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Paul Banoba, regional advisor for Africa at TI, said public sector corruption always hits the most vulnerable people hardest, adding: “African governments need to urgently translate anti-corruption commitments into decisive action by further strengthening accountability institutions and increasing transparency, protecting civic space and supporting the public.
In 2024, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), controversially named Tinubu a finalist for its ‘Corrupt Person of the Year’ award.
“The police must open the secretariat because they are required to comply with the court order. The closure resulted from disagreements within the party over who constitutes the genuine leadership, but that matter has already been settled by the court.
This was the position of the Nyesom Wike camp of the Peoples Democratic Party, as it prepares to take possession of the Wadata Plaza complex in line with the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division verdict, last month recognising it as the authentic leadership.
The PUNCH, quoted Jungudo Mohammed, spokesman of the National Caretaker Committee, raised by the camp last year, explained that members did not take over on Monday, due to ongoing administrative and security processes.
The paper quoted Mohammed, National Publicity Secretary of the National Caretaker Committee, as saying: “I am not aware that the police declined our request, and I do not believe that is true. The police are the appropriate authority to confirm why the secretariat has not yet been opened, and we cannot force them.
“They are still carrying out their administrative and security processes before taking final action. However, we are certain that the secretariat will be reopened.
“Therefore, the police are expected to reopen the secretariat to allow for the lawful activities and business of the political party. It is not true that the police declined our request; what we know is that they intend to reopen it once their internal processes are concluded.”
When asked about their next steps if the police failed to reopen Wadata Plaza, Mohammed said, “We are law-abiding people and leaders, and we will continue to engage the police respectfully to understand any delays and address any concerns they may have.
“We will not resort to violence or unlawful actions. The police are a law-enforcement agency and must comply with court orders, and we are confident it will not escalate to any conflict.
“What we know for certain is that the secretariat will be reopened for party activities. The exact date for reopening is not yet known because administrative processes sometimes face delays, even after tentative timelines are given. Nonetheless, once those processes are completed soon, we remain optimistic that the secretariat will be reopened.”
On Sunday, both the Wike-backed PDP camp and the Tanimu Turaki (SAN)-led NWC exchanged words over the planned reopening of the secretariat.
While the Wike-backed camps insisted it would go ahead with the takeover of the headquarters, the Turaki camp, backed by Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara) and Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), had stated that the police would bear the responsibility if anything happened at the party headquarters.
On January 30, 2026, a Federal High Court in Ibadan nullified the PDP National Convention held on November 15, 2025, and barred Turaki (SAN) and several others elected during the election from presenting themselves as national officers of the party.
Prior to the ruling, PDP governors had endorsed the Ibadan convention, which had elected Turaki and the National Working Committee members for a four-year term.
While the governors oversaw a transition from former Chairman Umar Damagum to Turaki before Damagum’s tenure ended on December 9, the Wike-aligned faction formed a 13-member caretaker committee on December 8, appointing Abdulrahman Mohammed as acting national chairman, Samuel Anyanwu as acting national secretary, and other officials with a 60-day mandate.
Efforts by both factions to hold a meeting at Wadata Plaza on November 18, 2025, ended in violence, after which the police sealed the PDP National Headquarters, which had remained closed for nearly three months.
Following the ruling of the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, which favoured the Wike camp, the party pledged to hold a fresh convention to elect new party officials.
INEC subsequently invited the Wike-backed faction to represent the PDP in line with the court order.
At the meeting, Anyanwu announced that the Wadata Plaza Secretariat would be reopened for their use on Monday, a move the Turaki-led NWC kicked against.
Apparently to press home a vital message, Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State, on Tuesday, stormed the National Assembly complex, venue for the on-going, electoral reform protests with his son in tow.
The former governor, who for eight years, served as Minister of Transportation in the government of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, said the presence of his son, a medical doctor, was to serve dual purposes – to emphasise that the protest did not exclude anyone and for him to attend to the medical needs of the protesters.
The protest, which began on Monday, was called to demonstrate against the Senate’s rejection of mandatory electronic transmission of election results in future elections in Nigeria, particularly that of 2027.
Stressing that his son had to come along in case the demonstration turned violent and injuries are sustained, the former Minister, explained that he came with his son to demonstrate his belief that during major protests, leaders should be at the forefront with their families.
Amaechi, currently a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), called on Nigerians to rise up against the bad governance of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he accused of being opposed to electronic transmission of election results because it feared losing elections.
His words: “I believe that the opposition parties should come out – PDP, ADC, everybody should be out – to protest against the attempt of one party. If we come out, and they say the opposition has hijacked (the protest), what is APC doing? Are they not hijacking?
“What are they afraid of? I thought they said they have 31 governors and Tinubu is not Jonathan. The only way a good politician will know he has done well is by the people.”
He further stated that while Senate President Godswill Akpabio and President Bola Tinubu may ignore the demands of Nigerians, opposition parties and civil society organisations would persist until the decision is reversed.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force barricaded major roads leading to the National Assembly, where the Senate is scheduled to hold an emergency plenary session on Tuesday.
The protest is being led by human rights activist Aisha Yusuf, alongside several civil society groups that initiated the demonstration on Monday.
Nigeria very corrupt – Transparency International *Record dips again
Wike group demand police vacation, reopening of PDP Secretariat
BREAKING: Amaechi storms NASS protest with son *No Nigerian should be left behind
-
News3 weeks agoPresidency: Tinubu has compensated Wike *Fubara must be left alone
-
News4 weeks agoFayose to ADC: You’ll meet you waterloo if fail to field Obi
-
Editorial1 week agoClosure of Onitsha Main Market: How not to gaslight the people
-
News6 days agoBREAKING: Senate delivers fatal blow! *Throws out electronic vote transmission
-
News4 weeks agoRivers: G-27 depletes! *Fubara yet to receive impeachment notice
-
News4 weeks agoTinubu killing free speech in Nigeria – Atiku *Calls for foreign intervention
-
News4 weeks agoFresh carnage, as Niger again, comes under heavy terrorist attack
-
News4 weeks agoTambuwal: With clueless policies, weird politics, Tinubu destroying Nigeria