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Adeleke Announces N500Million Fund, Scholarships For Children Of Osun Election Violence Victims
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has announced a ₦500 million Election Violence Victims Endowment Fund to support victims and families affected by electoral violence in the recently concluded governorship election in the state.
Adeleke made the announcement on Wednesday while speaking at the presentation of his Certificate of Return, where he called on the people of Osun State to move beyond political divisions and focus on healing, unity and development.
The governor said the certificate was not a personal trophy but a renewed mandate from the people of the state.
“This certificate does not belong to Ademola Adeleke alone. It belongs to the people of Osun State: our workers, market men and women, youths, traditional and religious leaders, and every citizen who participated in this democratic process,” Adeleke said.
He expressed gratitude to residents for renewing their confidence in his leadership, but acknowledged the violence and deaths recorded during the electoral process.
“Citizens were injured, properties and livelihoods were destroyed and, most painfully, precious lives were lost,” he said.
“It is deeply painful that any family should have to bury a loved one because of politics. No election, political office or ambition is worth the life of a single citizen.”
Adeleke specifically remembered Ezekiel Olapade, Aderogba Ajayi, Remi Abass, Kolade Eluyera and other victims of electoral violence, saying their political affiliations should not diminish the value of their lives.
“Regardless of political affiliation, they were first our brothers, sisters and fellow citizens. To their families, your pain is our pain, and your loved ones will never be reduced to mere statistics,” he said.
The governor also announced that the Adeleke family, through the Springtime Development Foundation, would provide full scholarships up to university level for the children and dependants of those who lost their lives during the violence.
According to him, the ₦500 million Election Violence Victims Endowment Fund will be established by the Osun State Government to support verified victims and affected families.
A Verification and Relief Committee, chaired by the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adewale Olumide Egbedun, will oversee the identification of victims and distribution of the relief.
Adeleke stressed that the intervention would be humanitarian rather than political, promising that eligible victims would not be discriminated against on the basis of political affiliation, religion, ethnicity, gender or social status.
“This is not a political intervention. It is a humanitarian responsibility. No eligible victim will be excluded because of political affiliation, religion, ethnicity, gender or social status,” he said.
“In grief, there is no political party. In our common humanity, we are one people.”
The governor urged residents to put the election behind them and work together to rebuild the state.
“The election is over. The campaign is over. The contest is over. Now is the time to govern, unite, heal and build,” he said.
Adeleke thanked those who voted for him and those who supported other candidates, assuring residents that he remained governor for everyone regardless of their political choices.
“I remain Governor to all, and together we must place Osun State above politics,” he said.
He promised that his administration would continue to focus on infrastructure, healthcare, education, workers’ welfare, youth empowerment and economic development, while prioritising accountability, inclusion and transparency.
“You have given me another opportunity to serve, and I accept this responsibility with humility. I will work harder. I will listen more. I will do more,” Adeleke said.
“Today, we are grateful for victory, but sober in remembrance. Tomorrow, we return to work.”
The governor called for comfort and healing for families affected by the violence, saying, “May God comfort every family that has suffered loss, heal the injured, bless our people, and continue to bless the State of the Living Spring.”
Japa on reverse lane as the United States Department of Homeland Security, DHS, has updated its list of Nigerians facing removal from the country, reducing the number to 112 and publishing their names and photographs online.
The latest list features Nigerians from different parts of the country and was published through the DHS official website.
Among those listed are Cletus Onyali, Olaolu Alabi, Marcus Unigwe, Mkpouto Etukudoh, Blessing Uchanma, Olaniyi Ojikutu, Richard Ugbah, Oluwamuyiwa Olawoye, Anthony Asanya and Ebele Agbasiele
Others identified on the list include Izuchukwu Okoye, Olufemi Olufisayo Olutiola, Abiemwense Obanor, Chibuzo Nwaonu, Oluchi Jennifer Chimdimma Chime, Ifeanyi Okoro, Oluwaseun Kassim, Quazeem Adeyinka and Talatu Dada.
The complete list contains 112 names, with the photographs and details of the other individuals available through the DHS online portal.
The publication comes amid stepped-up immigration enforcement by the US government, particularly involving undocumented immigrants and individuals with outstanding removal orders.
It also comes against the backdrop of efforts by US authorities to obtain increased cooperation from foreign governments in receiving their nationals who have been ordered to leave the United States.
Nigeria has previously faced pressure from the US over the repatriation of its nationals subject to deportation.
The updated publication provides public access to the identities and photographs of the Nigerians currently identified by DHS for removal from the United States.
The Department of State Services, DSS, on Thursday re-arraigned five men accused of complicity in the May 15 kidnap of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and the subsequent killing of two of the victims.
They were arraigned on a seven-count amended charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2026, filed by the DSS on behalf of the Federal Government.
The defendants, accused of being members of the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) terrorist group, are Mahmud Muhammad (aka Abu Bara’a, Abbas Mukhtar); Abubakar Abbas (aka Isah Adam, Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri); Abdulrazak Umar (aka Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid); Yunusa Musa (aka Abu Yunusa Bin Musa); and Shamsu Adamu Sani (aka Abu Itisar).
All five defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them by the Registrar of the court.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who led the DSS legal team, applied for the immediate trial of the defendants in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
He also applied for the names of witnesses lined up to testify in the trial to be shielded and for them to be permitted to wear masks to ensure their protection.
Following no objection from counsel to the defendants, Bala Dakum, Justice Salim Ibrahim granted the request of the DSS counsel.
At the time of filing this report, arrangements for the full-scale trial were being put in place.
LAGOS — A post-mortem examination conducted by the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has confirmed that 20-year-old journalist Pelumi Onifade died from a penetrating firearm injury to the abdomen.
The finding is contained in a six-page autopsy report dated July 30, 2026, and submitted to the Lagos State Coroner’s Court investigating the circumstances surrounding the young journalist’s death during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
According to the report, Onifade died from massive haemoperitoneum, a severe accumulation of blood in the abdominal cavity, caused by a high-velocity projectile that penetrated his abdomen.
The forensic finding provides medical evidence establishing a gunshot injury as the cause of death, while the circumstances surrounding who fired the shot and the events that followed remain matters before the coroner’s proceedings.
How Onifade Died
Onifade was a 200-level History student of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) and worked as an intern reporter with Gboah TV, a Lagos-based online news platform.
On October 24, 2020, during the nationwide #EndSARS protests against police brutality, he was assigned to cover an attempted looting at a government palliative storage facility in the Abattoir area of Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos.
According to accounts presented by his family and colleagues, Onifade was wearing a press jacket and carrying reporting equipment when officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force opened fire while attempting to disperse the crowd.
He was reportedly struck by a bullet and subsequently taken away in a police van, commonly referred to as a Black Maria.
A colleague who was with him at the scene reportedly attempted to identify him as a journalist and explain that he was carrying camera equipment, but those efforts were unsuccessful.
Onifade was not seen alive again after that incident.
Family Searched Police Stations, Hospitals
Following his disappearance, his family and colleagues searched police stations, detention facilities and hospitals across Lagos in an attempt to establish his whereabouts.
According to the family, police authorities denied having him in custody.
Six days later, on October 30, 2020, the family located his body at the mortuary of Ikorodu General Hospital, where it had been registered as a “brought-in-dead” case under body number 1385.
The discovery triggered years of demands for an independent investigation into how the young journalist died and how his remains ended up in the mortuary.
DNA Test Identified the Body
The identity of the body was subsequently confirmed through forensic DNA testing.
Results from the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre established a match between the unidentified body bearing tag number 1385 and reference samples obtained from Onifade’s parents.
The DNA confirmation provided a crucial breakthrough after years of uncertainty surrounding the whereabouts and identity of the missing journalist.
Court Ordered Coroner’s Inquest
The search for accountability later moved into the courts.
In July 2024, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the Lagos State Government and the police to conduct a coroner’s inquest into Onifade’s death.
The objective of the inquest is to establish the circumstances surrounding his death and determine the facts surrounding the actions of the security personnel involved.
The ongoing proceedings before the Lagos State Coroner’s Court are being presided over by Magistrate Temitope Oladele.
Following the submission of the post-mortem report, the court has directed key witnesses, including police personnel who were on duty in the Oko-Oba area on October 24, 2020, to appear and testify.
Rights Groups Demand Accountability
Media Rights Agenda (MRA), which has supported the Onifade family in its legal efforts, has described the post-mortem findings as significant evidence in the case.
Rights activists, journalist unions, and the deceased’s family continue to demand the public prosecution of the police officers who fired the shot and those who supervised the deployment during the Lagos #EndSARS demonstrations.
Japa on reverse lane as US releases names, photos of 112 Nigerians on deportation list
Oyo kidnap: Five defendants plead not guilty to seven count charges
Autopsy Confirms #EndSARS Journalist Pelumi Onifade Died From Gunshot Wound
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