Headlines
Osinachi’s Husband Used Her As Beast of Burden While Married to Another Woman – Minister
The Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, said she almost cried when Osinachi’s children narrated their late mother’s ordeal in the hands of their father to her.
The minister spoke on NTA’s Good Morning Nigeria’s breakfast show monitored by The PUNCH.
She said her encounter with the deceased’s children revealed that her husband is married to another woman.
She said the children told her that their late mother had no bank account of her own as all her proceeds were usurped by their father.
The minister said, “Honourable member, the deputy chief whip, happens to come from the late Osinachi’s village and she was out of town (and when she came back), she was in my office to thank me for the visit and she demanded that I should ask one of my aides to take her.
“I asked my CSO (chief security officer) to take her and when they got to the house, with the encouragement I gave the children, they are encouraged to speak out.
“So, more revelations are coming out and (one of) the sons went in and brought out an album; he (Peter) has been married to another woman. You can imagine collecting money from her (Osinachi) and treating this woman as a beast of burden.”
She added, “It is so traumatising, so heartbreaking, the death of Osinachi.
“When I came into the compound, I saw four beautiful children; three boys, one girl. He (Peter) had told the children that they should not speak about the things happening in the house.”
“I came in with all the directors in the ministry. When I asked questions, I saw that the children were not forthcoming. I excused everyone and said I wanted to have a one-on-one with the children.
“I first spoke with Osinachi’s first son. I asked him, ‘Do you love your mother?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Has your mummy taught you to tell lies?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I asked him if she was still alive, and he said she was dead. ‘Do you know that she is now your angel, and she is now watching you?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ ‘So, it will be very sad if you tell lies’.
“I introduced myself, and I told him the President is concerned, every Nigerian is concerned, we all join them to mourn Osinachi’s death, but what we want from him is the truth.
“Then he opened up… And said that their dad used to beat their mom and their mom was always sad. He would beat her and flog her. He said their father would gather them in the room and beat them, and if the mom came into the room to stop him, he would turn back on her and beat her up. And that has always been the issue.
“They said it was their mom that runs around on her gospel music, comes back with her money. If the money is paid through (a) bank account, it was paid into his account. She has no account of her own, any money she has, he collects and gives her peanuts for feeding, and when she cooks, he starts shouting and beating her. And their mom was living in fear and was always sad.
“It was such a horrible story from a young boy who is just 12. I asked him what class he is and he said Class Five. At the age of 12? I said, ‘Why?’ He said he couldn’t even read. So, mentally, this child is already destroyed.”
Tallen added that “the second son repeated the same horrible situation” and the third son too.
The Punch
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has told US negotiators “not to rush into a deal” with Iran, amid anticipation — and mounting criticism — of an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.
“The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
“The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”
The United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports since April 13 after Tehran virtually halted traffic through the economically vital Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began February 28.
“Both sides must take their time and get it right,” Trump wrote in the same Truth Social post, while slamming the 2015 nuclear deal that former president Barack Obama agreed with Iran.
“Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” Trump wrote.
While the White House has not released aspects of the deal, Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Saturday on state television that the two sides were nearing a “a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses,” in “a trend toward rapprochement.”
Several voices, notably among Republican lawmakers close to Trump, expressed fears of an agreement favorable to Iran as supposed aspects of the deal that began to leak.
According to news outlet Axios, a possible agreement would extend the current ceasefire by 60 days, during which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, Iran would freely sell oil, and negotiations would be held on Iran’s nuclear program.
The top Republican senator overseeing defense policy, Roger Wicker, said that agreeing to a “rumored 60-day ceasefire” with Iran would mean, “everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!”
Fellow Republican senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham also voiced opposition to Iran soon gaining benefits such as the ability to sell its oil freely.
“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz, a Republican from Texas, wrote on X.
Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, said the deal “doesn’t make sense to me.”
“We were told about 11 weeks ago by (Secretary of Defense Pete) Hegseth and the Department of Defense that they had obliterated Iran’s defenses, and it was just a matter of time before we had the nuclear material. Now we’re talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran. How does that make sense at all?” Tillis said on CNN’s “State of the Union” morning program.
AFP
Adebayo Adelabu, one of the aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket in Oyo State, has alleged irregularities in the party’s governorship primary election held on Thursday.
Adelabu, who expressed dissatisfaction over the conduct of the exercise, stated that the primary was characterized by misconduct ranging from disenfranchisement of his supporters in some wards and the commencement of election process earlier than scheduled.
Speaking after the conclusion of the primary election at IMG School, Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, the immediate past Minister of Power alleged that the process was neither free, fair nor credible.
He said: “Before our people started getting to their various wards, they have already conducted the election and they wrote the figures they want as results.
“In some wards, our people were prevented from voting. They were intimidated. They were chased away violently. And in some wards, voting did not take place at all.
“All this kind of misconduct is not good at this stage of our democracy in Nigeria, and something has to be done about it.”
Adelabu, therefore, vowed to come up with serious petitions against all the irregularities not just in Ibadan, but across all the five geopolitical zones in Oyo State.
“Also, conduct of many party executives is uncalled for, a lot of people bought forms and they were cleared. And they decided to conduct affirmation of a particular candidate in some wards.
“There was nothing like consensus arrangement. It was just a figment of their weird imagination. The instruction we got from Abuja was that we should all carry out free, fair, and transparent direct primary election where every aspirant will be given a level playing ground and the election will be conducted peacefully.
“Where did they get the idea of consensus candidates? And this is what happened in a lot of the wards. And it didn’t go down well with us. “We don’t want that. We are going to assess the gravity of this gross misconduct and the potential impact on the overall result of this election.
“I will put a petition forward to the appropriate authorities so that it can be deeply investigated and there must be consequences to this. The people who perpetrated this misconduct must be identified and punished. And the aspirants involved also need to be suspended because this is not good for us.
“Democracy is the government of the people by the people and for the people where nobody should be disenfranchised. Once you are a party member, you should have that freedom, that authority to pick an aspirant of your choice as the flag bearer of the party.
“This is Ibadan, this is Oyo State and this the centre of politics in the southwest. And we should be able to lay good examples and the process should produce a candidate that won transparently, freely and fairly,” he said.
Meanwhile, at Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government, Adelabu, polled 430 to defeat his closest rival, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who had 3 votes.
Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has finally won the Saudi Pro League title.
They were confirmed champions on Thursday, thanks to a 4-2 drubbing of relegation battlers, Damac.
The title race had gone down to the final day after Al-Nassr dramatically dropped points against Al-Hilal the previous week.
Jorge Jesus’ side knew there could be no mistakes against a Damac side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.
Ronaldo was on the scoresheet, as his brace helped Al Nassr secure the title ahead of rivals Al Hilal.
