A farmer, identified as Adegoke, has reportedly beaten a suspected thief to death in Mile 10, Ore, the headquarters of Odigbo Local Government Area.

Several other suspects involved in the alleged theft were also injured in the attack and have been hospitalized.

Witnesses stated that Adegoke claimed the suspects had been stealing produce from his farm, including his motorcycle.

The suspected thieves were said to be from the neighboring Aba Tuntun community.

According to a source, “Some suspected thieves had been stealing the farm produces of one Adegoke, popularly called Ariya. But he had been keeping quiet for long.

“However, nemesis caught up with the thieves, as Adegoke was able to get hold of two persons out of four found on his farm.

“Before now, his Cocoa pods, Kola nuts, and plantains had been missing from his farm often and often, including his motorcycle. But he found two persons culpable of the offence.

“Adegoke beat the two persons to stupor, and in the process, they died. And that has led to intra-communal tension in the area.”

Adegoke was subsequently arrested and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Akure for investigation.

Ondo Police spokesman, SP Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, said the complainant claimed the suspected thieves were around Adegoke farm to pick snails and not to steal.

She said it was the wife of Adegoke that called her husband that thieves were in his farm and he returned to attack them.

The Police spokesman said investigation was still ongoing.

The paramount ruler of Tyoshin Kingdom in Benue State, HRH Ayua Abomtse, has raised alarm over the persistent attacks by armed herdsmen in his domain.

The royal father lamented that the assailants had killed 67 of his subjects since January 2024 and recently destroyed over 20 hectares of his farmland, cultivated with guinea corn and cassava, worth millions of Naira.

Speaking in a telephone interview, the Ter Tyoshin disclosed that the armed herdsmen invaded his farm near Mbakpa Forest along the Naka-Agagbe road, wreaking havoc without restraint. He expressed concern over the impunity exhibited by the herders in Gwer West and other parts of the country, where killings and farm destruction occur unchecked.

The monarch warned that the country was reaching a critical breaking point if urgent action was not taken to address the activities of the armed herdsmen.

“In my domain alone, they have killed about 67 persons from January 2024 to Saturday, November 23. I have been documenting these tragedies, with Nagi village recording the highest casualties,” he revealed.

He accused security forces, particularly the military operation “Operation Whirl Stroke,” of turning a blind eye to the killings and destruction, suggesting that their inactivity had rendered them ineffective.

HRH Abomtse appealed to President Bola Tinubu’s administration to introduce state policing, arguing that local communities would be better equipped to protect themselves against such threats.

“The time has come for the Federal Government to establish state police so that communities can police themselves. It should start at the council ward level to effectively curb the activities of these terrorists masquerading as herdsmen,” he stressed.

The royal father urged the Federal Government to proscribe the unlawful activities of the armed herdsmen, labeling them as terrorists. He also called on the Inspector General of Police to establish a police unit in Nagi village to safeguard the lives and property of his people.

“My people are living at the mercy of killer herdsmen. The government must act decisively to end this nightmare,” he added.

HRH Ayua Abomtse’s plea underscores the dire security challenges faced by communities in Benue State, highlighting the urgent need for proactive measures to restore safety and peace in the region.

The Royal Courts of Justice in the UK has found David Hundeyin, a Nigerian investigative journalist, guilty of libel against Charles Northcott, a BBC journalist.

The court ordered Hundeyin to pay £95,000 in damages for defamatory claims made in his article Journalism Career Graveyard.

The ruling, delivered on October 8, 2024, also mandated the removal of the offensive sections of the article from the hosting website.

Hundeyin had accused Northcott of exploiting his role as director of the Sex for Grades documentary to obtain sexual favors from Kiki Mordi, a Nigerian Emmy-nominated journalist who was the documentary’s on-screen reporter. Hundeyin further claimed that Northcott favored Mordi over Oge Obi, whom Hundeyin alleged was the original mastermind behind the project. Northcott denied these allegations, stating they caused severe professional and personal harm.

The court accepted Northcott’s evidence of the libel’s impact, noting the damage to his reputation and the emotional distress caused. It described Hundeyin’s conduct post-publication, including a social media campaign, as aggravating, stating that his actions were intended to cause maximum harm and humiliation.

Northcott’s analysis showed the article and related posts gained over 40 million online impressions between September and October 2022, a significant proportion of which came from England and Wales. Despite being ordered to remove the defamatory article in July 2024, Hundeyin failed to comply.

Hundeyin’s social media posts included direct provocations, daring Mordi and others to sue him, and he publicly shared unrelated footage of Northcott and Mordi, claiming it supported his allegations. The court dismissed these claims, finding no evidence of an inappropriate relationship and labeling Hundeyin’s actions as trolling and defamatory.

Northcott was represented by Ms. Wilson, while Hundeyin neither attended the proceedings nor sent legal representation.