ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

A young woman identified as Ihunda Nkiruka Jennifer, who was earlier declared missing after being abducted in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has been confirmed dead.

Her sister, Nurse Jane Ogbu, had earlier raised alarm on social media, calling for urgent public assistance to help locate her sibling. She explained that Jennifer was reportedly abducted by unidentified men, adding that she managed to throw her personal belongings out of the vehicle in a desperate attempt to signal what was happening before she was taken away.

In an update shared on Thursday, June 5, the family confirmed the worst fears that Jennifer had been found dead.

According to accounts from relatives, the incident is believed to have involved suspected “one-chance” operators, a term commonly used to describe criminals who rob passengers inside commercial vehicles.

The family stated that the search for Jennifer led them to a medical facility near the Air Force Road axis in Port Harcourt, where they were later informed that her body had been deposited at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) mortuary.

Preliminary accounts from the family suggest that Jennifer may have been picked up around the Rumuosi area and later thrown from a moving vehicle along the Eliozu axis, close to Harmony Estate. They further alleged that she sustained severe injuries after being forced out of the vehicle and may have struggled with her attackers before her death.

The tragic development has sparked renewed concern over the rising cases of violent robberies and abductions involving commercial transport vehicles in parts of Port Harcourt and other major cities.

Authorities are yet to issue an official statement on the incident as investigations are expected to continue.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

An ISIS bride whose family bought a teenage s£x slave for £7,500 has been charged with crimes against humanity.

Zeinab Ahmad, now 31, is said to have forced the 15-year-old girl to perform domestic duties and stood by as she was repeatedly r@ped by her father.

Zeinab abandoned her nursing studies in Melbourne, Australia, to join ISIS in Syria, where the alleged offences occurred, in 2014.

Her father Mohammed allegedly told the girl: “I bought you for the purpose of r@ping and at the same time serving the home.”

Melbourne Magistrates Court also heard that the father said to his family: “I bought her for s£x and to do housework.”

He bought the teen as a slave with his wife in Raqqa, the capital of ISIS-controlled Syria, police told the court. The alleged victim was brought back to the family home which the parents shared with their five daughters

Zeinab witnessed her father hit the girl and drag her by the hair down two flights of stairs, it is alleged. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was beaten two or three times a month while the family watched on, police said.

Detective Senior Constable Marc Clendenning told to the court Zeinab, then aged 22 and 23, “did not physically hurt her, although she did threaten her very badly and ordered her to do things around the house.”

In an interview with the police, the girl said that Mohammed s£xually assaulted her “many times”. She was sold on more than a year later after Mohammed told her she was “bad” and did not follow orders, local media in Australia reports.

Zeinab and her mother Kawsar Ahmad were among a group of ISIS brides arrested last month when they returned to Australia from Syria.

Zeinab is charged with two counts of slavery. She is accused of helping her family to enslave a Yazidi girl – a member of the Kurdish ethnic minority which lives in Syria. The girl is said to have been one of more than 6,800 Yazidi women and children who enslaved and repeatedly r@ped by members of ISIS.

Zeinab asked to be released on bail in Melbourne magistrates’ court on Thursday, June 4.

The Australian Federal Police have argued she would pose an unacceptable risk if she was released on bail.

Detective Clendenning said Zeinab had been married to multiple members of ISIS and was still the wife of an ISIS member currently being searched for by police.

He told the court: “The accused has never explicitly renounced or stated that she no longer supports Islamic State since her surrender to Kurdish forces.”

She is charged with two crimes against humanity: enslavement and use of a slave.

Her mother Kawsar is charged with four crimes against humanity.

Each holds a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. The two-day hearing continues on Friday, June 5.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has revealed that a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has reserved a ruling on the bail application filed by social media influencer and relationship therapist, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, popularly known as Blessing CEO, in her ongoing N36 million fraud trial.

In a statement shared on the commission’s official X handle on Friday, the statement noted that the defendant is facing a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and stealing.

In the statement, the Commission said: “Court reserves ruling on Blessing CEO’s bail application. Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, June 5, 2026, reserved ruling until June 9, 2026, on the bail application filed by social media influencer and relationship therapist, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, popularly known as Blessing CEO.”

The EFCC said she is being prosecuted by its Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 over allegations that she obtained N36 million from one Mrs Ifeyinwa Nonye Okoye between July 14 and 17, 2024, under the pretence of leasing a six-bedroom duplex in Lekki, Lagos.

During earlier proceedings in the matter, the defence counsel told the court that N24 million had already been refunded and urged time to resolve the outstanding balance. However, the EFCC opposed any private settlement, insisting the criminal trial must proceed.

Justice D.I. Dipeolu had earlier ruled that the proceedings could not be halted by negotiations between the parties, ordering that the defendant remain in custody pending further hearing of the case.

The matter has now been adjourned till June 9, 2026, for ruling on the bail application.