Connect with us

News

Court remands Osun monarch, 4 others for alleged illegal gold mining

Published

on

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered that a traditional ruler in Osun, Taofeeq Osunmakinde, and four others should be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre over alleged illegal gold mining.

Justice Emeka Nwite, who gave the order after the defendants were arraigned by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), directed them to be remanded pending the perfection of their bail conditions
Oba Osunmakinde were arraigned alongside Sheu Mustapha, Sabiru Hashim, Danbaba Ibrahim and Ade Olap Global Resources Limited.

The defendants, who were alleged to have committed the offence in Lege Community, Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, were preferred with two counts.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Oba Osunmakinde is the Obawore of Ifetuntun in Ife Central Local Government Area of Osun.

Advertisement

The AGF accused the five defendants of conspiring with others at large on Aug. 25 to engage in the illegal mining of gold at the Ogunlepo mining site in Lege community, Odigbo local government area of Ondo State.

The alleged offence is said to be contrary to Section 3 (6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act 2004 and punishable under Section 1(8) of the same Act.

The monarch and co-defendants were also alleged to have undertaken gold mining on Aug. 25 without lawful authority contrary to Section 1(8) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act and punishable under the same Act.
All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Counsel to the AGF, Toluwalope Ojo, then asked for a trial date.

Advertisement

Although lawyer Ojo did not object to the bail of the accused persons, he, however, requested the court to compel them to deposit their international passports with the court.

Lawyer to the defendants, Vincent Ododo, who moved consolidated bail applications for his clients, prayed the judge to admit them to bail on various grounds.

Part of the grounds he cited was that the 1st defendant was a well-known traditional ruler and that the charges against them did not carry capital punishment while also assuring that the defendants would not fail to appear in court for trial.

Justice Nwite, in a short ruling, admitted them to bail in the sum of N20 million each with one surety in the like sum.

Advertisement

The judge ordered that the sureties must be resident in Abuja with ownership of landed property and must produce a three-year tax clearance certificate.

He also ordered that the defendants must deposit their international passports along with three copies of each of their recent passport photographs with the deputy chief registrar of the court.

The Judge ordered that they be taken to the correctional facility pending their bail perfection.
The matter was adjourned until Sept. 26 for trial.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Warning: Undefined variable $user_ID in /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/comments.php on line 49

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

DAY 13 of Projects Commissioning in the FCT

Published

on

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

President Tinubu Will Commission Roads 01 and 02 Linking Mabushi Bus Terminal and Ahmadu Bello Way Today

#FCTRenewedHope
#FCTProjectsCommissioning

Continue Reading

News

BEWARE: FG warns 26 States of flood, places, Bayelsa, Delta, Lagos, Adamawa, Benue, others as critical risk areas

Published

on

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

The Federal Government has alerted residents of 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to the possibility of flooding between June 22 and July 5, 2026, following forecasts of heavy rainfall in different parts of the country.

The warning was issued by the Federal Ministry of Environment through the National Flood Early Warning Centre under its Erosion, Flood and Coastal Zone Management Department.

The ministry said several communities across the country have been identified as areas that could face serious flood threats during the period.

According to the forecast released on June 22, heavy rainfall is expected in many locations, raising concerns about possible flooding in vulnerable communities.

Advertisement

States placed under the critical-risk category include Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Rivers.

In Abia State, the affected communities include Aba, Arochukwu and Umuahia. In Adamawa, the ministry listed Jimeta and Numan, while Eket, Oron and Uyo were named in Akwa Ibom. In Anambra, Onitsha Inland Town and Awka Urban Drainage Corridors were identified as vulnerable locations.

Bayelsa communities such as Yenagoa, Brass and Nembe Town were also listed among areas that could be affected by flooding.

Other locations mentioned include Makurdi, Gboko and Katsina-Ala in Benue State; Calabar Metropolis and Creek Town in Cross River State; Asaba, Warri and Sapele in Delta State; and Abakaliki, Afikpo and Onueke in Ebonyi State.

Advertisement

The ministry also identified Benin City Urban Core and Auchi in Edo State, Ado-Ekiti and Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State, as well as Enugu, Nsukka and Oji River Town in Enugu State.

In Imo State, Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe were listed, while Lokoja and Ajaokuta were named in Kogi State. Communities such as Ilorin, Jebba and Pategi in Kwara State were also included in the warning.

Several parts of Lagos State were equally listed among the areas at risk.

These include Agege, Alimosho, Apapa, Badagry, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Lekki and Surulere.

Advertisement

In Niger State, Bida, Minna, Mokwa, Suleja and Kontagora were identified, while Abeokuta, Ota and Sagamu were listed in Ogun State.

The flood alert further covered Akure, Owo and Okitipupa in Ondo State; Oshogbo, Ile-Ife and Ilesa in Osun State; Ibadan, Ogbomoso and Oyo in Oyo State; as well as Port Harcourt Urban Core, Bonny, Ahoada and Omoku in Rivers State.

Apart from the states under the critical-risk category, the ministry also placed parts of Adamawa, the FCT, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau and Taraba states under a high-risk category.

Communities listed in this group include Yola North, Yola South, Mubi and Gurin in Adamawa State; Abuja Municipal, Gwagwalada, Kubwa, Nyanya and Wuse in the FCT; Birnin Kebbi and Argungu in Kebbi State; Bako in Kogi State; and Keffi, Lafia, Karu and Toto in Nasarawa State.

Advertisement

The warning also covered Jos and Jos North in Plateau State, as well as Jalingo, Wukari, Takum, Serti and Karim Lamido in Taraba State.

Continue Reading

News

Finally, INEC confirms suspension of staff linked to Emeka Ike’s voter data leak

Published

on

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

Finally, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has confirmed suspended an electoral officer allegedly involved in the voter data leak concerning Nollywood actor and politician, Emeka Ike.

The Commission disclosed that investigations by security agencies and data protection regulators are still ongoing.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, made the disclosure during a fireside chat organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa, PAACA, in Abuja.

The suspension came against the backdrop of a controversy that arose after the voter registration details of actor and politician, Emeka Ike, surfaced online during a dispute linked to a political party primary election in the Federal Capital Territory.

Advertisement

The electoral body said preliminary findings showed there was no external breach of its ICT infrastructure or compromise of its voter register.

Rather, according to the Commission, the data was allegedly accessed using valid credentials assigned to officials involved in the ongoing CVR exercise and subsequently disclosed without authorisation.

INEC said its audit trail enabled investigators to identify the specific user account used to access the voter record, leading to the questioning of personnel with access to the system.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News