Metro
Vigilantes allegedly execute two men in Enugu, label them robbers
Two men, Stanley Omeke from Aguibeje community and Igbonasi Odo-Okoro of Aji community in Igboeze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, were reportedly executed by the Aji community’s neighbourhood watch on December 16, 2024.
The vigilante group later alleged that the victims were highway robbers who were shot dead during a gun battle, but their families insist the accusations are baseless and are demanding justice.
According to Nmesoma Omeke, Stanley’s wife, the tragic incident occurred after she and her husband had gone Christmas shopping.
She recounted that around 5 p.m., as they waited for a commercial motorcycle at Aji Junction to take them home, members of the local neighbourhood watch approached and began shouting at her husband, demanding that he follow them.
When she and her husband asked what he had done, the vigilantes refused to answer and started assaulting him.
“They wouldn’t explain what he had done. I told my husband to go with them to avoid being beaten, and I rushed to inform his friend, Kingsley Igbonasi, about what had happened. Kingsley left to find out what was going on, but neither of them returned,” she said.
Igbonasi’s wife later revealed that her husband had gone to the vigilante office to inquire about Stanley’s arrest, but he never made it back home. The following morning, rumours began circulating that both men had been executed by the vigilante group at Okpo Union Primary School in Aji.
When Kingsley’s stepbrother, Arinze Odo-Okoro Onuwa, heard the news, he immediately went to the vigilante office but found no trace of the two men. The family then filed a missing persons report at the Igboeze North Police Station.
“The next day, we started hearing rumours that the vigilantes had taken them to a school and shot them dead,” Arinze said.
He also dismissed the vigilantes’ claim that the two men had been caught robbing vehicles on the highway.
“We live in this community. If there had been any robbery, everyone would know. This is nothing but a fabricated story to justify their actions,” Arinze said.
Stanley’s brother, Jude Omeke, received a call on December 17, informing him that his brother had been killed by the vigilantes.
He told Daily Sun that when he contacted the Divisional Police Officer in Igboeze North, he was informed that two bodies had been brought in by the vigilantes. The vigilantes claimed the men were highway robbers killed by soldiers but later admitted in a statement to the police that they had killed the men themselves during a gunfight.
Jude questioned the credibility of their account. “Where is the gun my brother supposedly used? If there was a gunfight, where are the weapons? My brother is not a criminal.
“This was a planned killing. This kind of killing is becoming too common. The authorities must step in and put an end to it. We cannot allow vigilantes to continue taking lives without consequence.”
He further disclosed that Stanley had an ongoing court case involving the vigilantes, suggesting that the execution might have been a targeted act of revenge.
On his part, Arinze criticised the vigilantes for acting as judge, jury, and executioner.
“Even the government doesn’t execute criminals without a trial. What gives a vigilante group the right to kill? If someone commits a crime, you take them to court. This is murder, plain and simple,” he said.
The killings have left both families devastated and seeking answers.
Nmesoma, who has two young children, expressed her heartbreak, saying, “I don’t know if my husband is dead or alive. All I want is the truth. My children need their father, and we deserve justice.”
The families of Stanley Omeke and Kingsley Igbonasi Odo-Okoro are now appealing to the Inspector General of Police, the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and ensure justice is served.
When contacted, the spokesman of the Enugu State Police Command, Daniel Ndukwe, said he was not aware of the incident as he does not have such a report.
Metro
New Baby Killed By Family Dog Who Bit Him 180 Times As Father Jailed for Sixteen Years in U.S.
Baby Jason Anthony Weaver, just one week old, suffered at least 180 dog bites and fatal internal injuries; mother and four other relatives also face charges.
A father in Indiana, United States, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after his newborn son was killed by the family’s pet dog in a devastating attack inside their rural home.
The victim, identified as Jason Anthony Weaver, was only one week old when he was fatally attacked by Chomp, a five-year-old husky and pit bull mix.
According to details reported by the New York Post, the newborn sustained extensive injuries across his head and body, including at least 180 bite wounds.
Medical examinations reportedly revealed severe internal injuries, including brain haemorrhages, rib fractures and tears in his lungs.
The fatal incident occurred in September at the family’s home in rural Markle, Indiana.
Following the baby’s death, the father, mother and four other family members were arrested. Authorities reportedly described the home as being filled with rubbish and insects.
The dog, Chomp, was subsequently euthanised.
The circumstances surrounding the attack led prosecutors to file criminal charges against members of the family, with allegations of neglect forming part of the case against the child’s parents.
Father Accepts Plea Deal, Receives 16-Year Sentence
Jason’s father was initially charged with two counts of neglect and one count of harbouring a non-immunised dog that caused an injury.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the highest-level neglect charge in exchange for a 16-year prison sentence.
The sentence was handed down on Monday.
The case highlights the potential criminal consequences of failing to protect vulnerable children from dangerous conditions, although the precise legal findings and factual basis of the plea agreement depend on the court record.
The baby’s mother, Violet Weaver, is scheduled to appear for a change-of-plea hearing later this month.
Meanwhile, criminal proceedings remain active against the child’s grandparents, Timothy Kinsey, Rita Wickey and Michael Wickey, as well as his uncle, Tony Kinsey.
All four relatives were also charged in connection with the case.
The ongoing proceedings are expected to determine the legal status of the remaining defendants.
A Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt has ordered the remand of three members of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, from Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State; Confidence Amadi, Chikezie Justice and Isaiah Thomas, at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre.
The three men were brought before the court by the Rivers State Police Command on three charges, including conspiracy, alleged cult-related activities and threat to life.
At the hearing on Tuesday, the prosecution asked the court to remand the suspects through an ex-parte application.
The prosecution said the Magistrates’ Court lacked the power to hear the case and that the remand would allow the police to take the matter to a court with the proper jurisdiction.
Presiding Magistrate Obiangeri Onugbum-Onuoha granted the application and ordered that the three suspects remain in the correctional centre.
The case was adjourned until October 2nd, 2026.
The ADC had explained that the three were arrested during a peaceful consultation meeting organized by its House of Assembly candidate for Ikwerre Local Government Area, Jeffrey Wobodo, in Isiokpo, ahead of his campaign activities.
The State ADC Publicity Secretary, Chizy Enyi, alleged that the All Progressives Congress, APC, had been trying to restrict the political activities of opposition parties in Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The ADC, however, rejected the cultism allegations against the three men as baseless and politically motivated, claiming that the arrests were intended to intimidate opposition members.
The Federal Ministry of Education headquarters in Abuja was on Tuesday thrown into turmoil as protesting workers shut down the ministry, booed senior officials and prevented the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, and the Acting Permanent Secretary, Dr. Folake Olatunji-David, from accessing their offices.
The protest, which entered its fourth day, was triggered by a recent circular announcing the concessioning of King’s College, Lagos, a development the workers described as unacceptable and a threat to the future of Nigeria’s public education system.
The protesters, under the Joint Council representing four major staff unions in the ministry, accused the Federal Government of using the King’s College concession as a possible starting point for concessioning other federal unity schools across the country.
They warned that such a policy, if allowed to continue, could increasingly place quality education beyond the reach of children from poor and working-class families.
Addressing journalists at the ministry’s entrance, Chairman of the Joint Council, Comrade Onukhe Abraham, questioned the rationale behind the concession of King’s College, particularly at a time the Federal Government had approved the employment of more than 3,000 Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) staff to address manpower shortages in federal unity schools.
“If Mr President has approved the employment of over 3,000 PTA staff, where will these new workers work if existing teachers are being displaced from King’s College?” he queried.
The workers were particularly angered by a circular reportedly signed by the Acting Permanent Secretary, directing teachers who could not remain at King’s College following the concessioning arrangement to seek postings to other schools in Lagos State.
The circular, they said, had heightened concerns over job security and the future management of federal unity schools.
The unions insisted that King’s College is a national asset that should remain under public management, arguing that its continued accessibility is vital to children whose parents cannot afford expensive private education.
“Once King’s College goes, others will follow. The children of the poor must be able to attend King’s College. It is one of the assets Nigeria has and it must not go that way,” Abraham said.
The workers vowed to escalate the industrial action if the Federal Government fails to reverse the concessioning decision.
“If there is no reversal of the concessioning, there will be no resumption in all the unity schools in the country and the headquarters will remain shut,” the Joint Council warned.
The protesters also rejected a meeting reportedly held on Monday between Education Minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and some leaders of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), describing the outcome as “null and void” because the recognised leadership of the Joint Workers Committee was not represented.
National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Comrade Bola Audu, told the protesters that a fresh meeting between the recognised union leadership and the Minister had been rescheduled for Wednesday at 4pm at the Minister’s Conference Room.
Audu said the recognised Joint Workers Committee remained the legitimate body mandated to negotiate with the ministry on behalf of the aggrieved workers.
Another union leader, Mr. Andrew Adejoh, appealed to the protesters to remain calm and united, saying the proposed meeting with the Minister would provide an opportunity for the unions to properly articulate their grievances and present their demands.
Adejoh urged the ministry to ensure that the meeting was held promptly, noting that many union leaders had travelled from different parts of the country and needed to return home after the engagement.
The unions also accused the ministry of neglecting several longstanding staff grievances, including stagnation of Education Officers, delayed promotions and unresolved welfare issues.
They further raised concerns over alleged plans involving land swaps at Federal Government College, Kano, and the Suleja Academy School for the Gifted in Niger State, describing the developments as part of a growing threat to public education assets.
Meanwhile, Chairman of ASCSN at the ministry, Comrade Ngadi Sampson Chigozie, alleged that security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS), had been deployed around the protest.
He expressed concern over alleged threats to the lives of union leaders, insisting that the workers’ protest remained peaceful.
The crisis took a dramatic turn when the protesters separately booed the Minister of State for Education and the Acting Permanent Secretary as they attempted to enter the ministry, effectively preventing them from gaining access to their offices.
The workers, however, said they remained open to dialogue, provided the Federal Government was prepared to address the concessioning issue and other grievances.
They vowed to sustain the shutdown until concrete assurances were given on the future of King’s College and the broader policy direction concerning federal unity schools.
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