Metro
Rape Accusation: Nigerian Commits Suicide in US, Announces Own Death
A creative designer and founder of Uhuru Designz, a United States of America-based clothing company, Izuchukwu Madubueze (simply known as Izu), has taken his own life over an allegation of sexual assault.
Izu, who resided in Tampa, Florida, reportedly moved to the US some years ago.
While his Lagos-based friend, Nelson Greyhood, confirmed the suicide to PUNCH Metro, efforts to speak to his family members proved abortive.
The telephone line of his brother, Ekene, was not reachable.
Our correspondent, however, read Ekene’s status update, indicating that his phone was ‘blowing up’ from multiple calls, as he asked his friends to send him text messages.
He had yet to respond to a text message from our correspondent.
Izu reportedly graduated from King’s College, Lagos, in 2013, before getting a scholarship to study at the University of Florida.
The King’s College Old Boys’ Association confirmed his death on its Twitter page.
PUNCH Metro gathered that a Twitter influencer and female rights activist, Nanichi Anese, added Izu’s name to a list of sexual offenders on the social media late June 2020.
She claimed to have received information from some anonymous ladies, who alleged that the victim sexually assaulted them.
Izu, who was contacted by friends, who saw the post, reached out to Anese, demanding the identities of his accusers.
However, Anese allegedly declined the request, saying she had sworn to protect the ladies.
After failed efforts to clear his name, the victim was said to have taken his own life.
Izu announced his own death on Twitter using Crowdfire App, an application which allows users to schedule their posts.
“Oh and if you’re reading this, I’m dead lol,” he wrote on July 17, 2020.
As reactions trickled in, his accuser, Anese @nanichianese, claimed she had spoken to him and they had apologised to each other.
When the criticisms increased, she deactivated her Twitter account.
However, before deactivating the account, Anese said her intentions were noble.
“I’m aching right now and have so many thoughts, so much anger, pain, guilt, sadness. But this isn’t about me. It never has been. For those of you healing so many wounds right now, I’m sorry if any of your pain has come at my hands. This is the last of what I would ever wanted and I am really struggling because my friend is gone,” she wrote.
Findings from earlier tweets by @nanichianese showed that she had listed the names of some men, including Izu, accusing them of sexual assault.
She urged them to have some “introspection” on their past dealings and seek the forgiveness of their former girlfriends.
“I have remained steadfast and will continue. No stories will be released, no names will be released. I stand by that and will not waiver. Deal with that as you see fit and do not attach me to anything. But this thread will live on,” she wrote on her timeline.
Izu, in a private message to Anese, whom he said was a friend, demanded details of the allegations against him.
He lamented that a lot of people had been calling him after seeing his name on the list.
Anese said she was told “the harassment was not physical.”
“Again, thanks for your response; I thought we had a better relationship than this Nani, but it’s cool, I can’t shoot the messenger. No one comes to mind still. My phone is blowing up, and I myself, I’m still shocked. If you could let the person know I sincerely apologized for any way I harassed them that’d be greatly appreciated. If they need to talk, they can reach me on (phone number). Feel free to post this too,” he wrote.
However, Anese said the victim declined to speak with him.
Izu expressed frustration at the accusation and released private messages of a lady, who asked to date him in 2017.
He said while he did not wish to discredit any supposed victim’s story, his efforts at knowing his offence had been futile.
“I am still pretty clueless as to who this is, so if you feel comfortable enough, please feel free to reach out to me so I can understand wherever I went wrong and make amends and do better overall,” he wrote.
His friend, Greyhood, told our correspondent that Izu later killed himself.
He said, “He schooled in the University of Florida, where he studied something like Criminology or so. He was staying in a small apartment before he moved to a big warehouse as his company was doing fine. He was a great guy with strong will. He moved to the US more than four years now on scholarship.
“It was actually over there that the rape allegation trended. The woman compiling the list of the supposed sexual offender is also in the United States.
“I went on Twitter and saw the whole story and how he pleaded to know the accusers and even brought out his past relationships, saying he had never abused anyone in his life.
“His friends close to him in Florida confirmed that he’s dead. The Crowdfire app he used to post his death allows people to schedule their posts. So, it dropped online after he took his own life.”
PUNCH Metro observed that a petition on change.org calling for the prosecution of Anese had been signed by over 5,000 people.
Thousands of Nigerians on Twitter also called for justice for the victim, with the hashtag#JusticeforIZU, trending for hours.
The Punch
A senior Nigerian Police officer and his wife have been confirmed dead after a brutal domestic altercation in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
The tragic incident, which occurred on Tuesday in the Ita-Eku area along Igirigiri Road, has sent shockwaves through the community.
It was gathered that the policeman identified as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Leramo Caleb, allegedly engaged in a heated argument with his wife, Tate, over accusations of infidelity. The situation spiralled out of control, leading to a deadly confrontation.
It was reported that the wife allegedly attacked the officer and cut off his manhood. Spokesperson of the State Police Command, SP Sunday Abutu, confirmed the incident.
He said, “We got a report that a couple, husband and wife died and we went to the scene and took them to the hospital where they were confirmed dead.”
“We suspected a case of violence between the couple and a knife was recovered at the scene. The police have commenced a proper investigation into the matter. It is true, the man was a police officer.”
An official statement from Abutu, said the Commissioner of Police has directed the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) to immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the unfortunate incident to ascertain the cause of their death.
He said, “A distress call was received on 18/02/2025 at about 07:00hrs that a murder case occurred at Igirigiri Road, Odo-Ado area of Ado-Ekiti.
“Operatives from Odo-Ado Division were immediately deployed to the scene, and on getting there, one Leramo Caleb was found in a pool of his blood with his private part completely severed, while his wife, one Taiwo Leramo, was also found in a pool of her blood with brutal head injuries.
“They were rushed to the hospital, where they were both confirmed dead by the medical doctor. Their bodies have been deposited in the morgue for preservation and further medical examination.
“The CP has directed the SCIID to conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain the real cause of their death.
“Meanwhile, a cutlass with bloodstains was recovered from the scene.”
Reports indicate that the late officer was in his second marriage, which ended tragically.
The couple’s bodies have since been deposited in a morgue.
In its effort to create a conducive and stress-free atmosphere for the processing and production of driver’s license, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has commissioned its first mini print farm in Lagos, the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP) can report.
The event, which coincides with the celebration of the 37th anniversary of the Corps, marks a landmark achievement in the annals of the Corps’ history, and had in attendance top government functionaries including Assistant Corps Marshal Godwin Omiko of Motor Vehicle Administration, who represented the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed; Permanent Secretary, Motor Vehicle Administration Agency, Mr Abdul-Rasheed Muri-Okunola; Corps Public Education Officer, ACM Olusegun Ogungbemide; Engineer Kayode Oladosu, who represented the Director, Vehicle Inspection Service; Corps Commander, National Driver’s Licence, Ann Oladayo-Odeleye and Corps Commander Print Farm Kado Abuja, Remilah Haggai, who delivered the Vote of thanks at the end of proceedings.
Others were Zonal Commanding Officer, RS2 Lagos, Assistant Corps Marshal Adeoye A. Irelewuyi; Corps Commander Kehinde G. Hamzat, Sector Commander RS2. 1 Lagos State Command and Deputy Corps Commander Olawale Kareem, DCC, Mini Print Farm, Lagos.
In his address, and speaking through his representative, ACM Omiko, Corps Marshal Mohammed went down memorylane, tracing the achievements of the Corps since inception, and acknowledging the efforts of stakeholders, successive governments and the general public in sustaining the Road Safety legacy, with special emphasis to the creation of the print farm.
He noted that while the Corps maintains a central data base, the print farms have to be strategically located to enable speedy processing and production for those in Lagos and environs. The database remains intact, but for printing purposes and convenience of distribution, all applicants from the southwest will be printed at the mini print farm in Lagos.
“The reason behind having a mini plant was conceived some years ago, 2011 to be precise, when it was rampant and very easy for somebody to abandon his driver license here in Lagos State and go to Ogun State to acquire another one.
“So there was the need to streamline the process and making sure that an applicant is only entitled to one driver license.
“And by 2014, we now have the main print farm, which is there in Kano. Now, the essence of this print farm is, as I said earlier, to ensure that those biometric investigations are done, and to revalidate our driver license for national security and for expository with other nations. We have had this, and of course, not without challenges, as we all know,” he said.
While acknowledging that there were challenges, he noted that the team, led by Corps Marshal Mohammed, were able to resolve all, ensuring that all the backlog of driver licenses are sorted out, and part if the resolution is the activation of the Lagos print farm, which is the third in the series.
He added: “The Lagos mini print farm has the capacity of producing 1,800 cards per hour. Meaning that in a day, full capacity of six hours working, we are having 9,000 cards on a daily basis. To put this together, I believe that in the next couple of months, the backlogs of cards per hour for Lagos State and its environment will definitely be a thing of the past, and we expect that the general public should have their drivers licence in a record time.
“Most of the drivers’ licences that have been produced have also dispatched to the various states internal revenue services. So, as we speak, about 270,000 of these drivers’ licenses are lying in these offices across the nation without been collected by their owners,” he said informing that with the new print farm coming on board, more cards will be injected into the system.”
He therefore, appealed to the general public to go to their various states, internal revenue services, or FRSC offices, where they applied because a lot are lying there uncollected, noting that FRSC is not directly involved in the distribution of licences after production.
“All licences are presently at the point of application,” he concluded while frowning at the fact that a humongous 270,000 licences are lying uncollected.
The essence is to ensure that every man or woman driving on Nigerian road is properly licensed, and also receive their cards in record time.
In his response, Mr. Rasheed Muri-Okunola, who represented the Lagos State Government, thanked the FRSC for the laudable initiative centered on solving problems
“It’s a brilliant initiative. It’s a welcome idea. We hope, like they’ve all said, we hope the backlog and the many problems we’ve been having in the past will come to an end. I can’t wait to see your print farm.
“I was here when you first commissioned and so we think and hope, since it’s going to start running now, all those problems of going to Abuja, waiting for Abuja to give us our driver’s license and all that will end starting from today,” he said.
Another stakeholder in the project, who represented SW Global Limited, Mr Hassan Ozigi, also hailed the initiative, acknowledging the efforts the MVA and CITOS teams have put in place to get it working.
Also speaking, the Director of Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS), Engineer Akin George Fashola, represented by Engineer Oladosu Kayode, appreciated the FRSC for the initiative, and acknowledged that it would eliminate a lot of bottlenecks in receiving processed licences.
“Once it is processed here, of course the same printing will be carried out here. So in no time, we will get this driver’s licence,” he said pledging more cooperation.
Earlier in her welcome address, Corp Commander Anne Odeleye, in charge of the National Drivers License, Abuja, had narrated how far the Lagos project has gone, saying every issue of the past has come to an end with the mini-print farm activation.
The newly appointed Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Moshood Jimoh, on Tuesday, assumed duties at the Command’s headquarters in Ikeja during a colourful ceremony.
Jimoh replaced CP Lanre Ishola, who wC
Das sacked following roles played in the ongoing Lagos State House of Assembly crises.
In his inaugural speech, Jimoh, who was a former Force spokesperson, and presently the 41st CP of the state, reiterated his commitment to non-tolerance of crimes and criminalities, promising to redouble efforts towards ridding the state of any form of insecurity.
He also expressed his appreciation to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu among others for the belief they have in him.
Below is his full speech, according to a statement made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP).
“It’s pertinent to acknowledge that my predecessor and the senior officers have thoroughly briefed me on the crimes situation and all other issues of concern in Lagos State. They have done their best under the leadership of my predecessor to ensure peace, security and protection of all Lagosians in the State. Their achievements will definitely be improved upon and strengthened to further reduce all forms of crimes and criminalities throughout the length and breadth of Lagos State to barest level.
“Though crimes and criminalities in the State is not alarming and is surmountable, the Police under my leadership will redouble our efforts and work assiduously with the State Government and good People of the State to further reduce the fear of crime, the commission of crimes and all forms of criminalities in the State to minimum level to enable the law abiding people of the State and corporate entities both local, and multinationals to go about day to day businesses and their means of livelihood peacefully. The Police under my command will work very hard to ensure protection of the huge investments of all investors (Government Investments, and Local and Foreign Investments in the State).
“Before going to the details, permit me to express deep and sincere appreciation to the Inspector General of Police, the indefatigable 22nd indigenous Inspector General of Police, Federal Republic of Nigeria, IGP KAYODE ADEOLU EGBETOKUN, PhD, NPM for finding me worthy and entrusting me with the responsibility of serving as Commissioner of Police, Lagos State.
“I therefore wish to assure you all that Policing with International best practices and standards which is one of the key Policing visions and missions of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode ADEOLU EGBETOKUN PhD will be strictly adhered to and fully implemented for the benefit of all Lagosians and visitors to the State.
“The Lagos State Police Command as a lead internal security agency in the State has crucial roles in combating crimes and criminal activities in the State and make the State safer for all the people of the State. To achieve these objectives, the Command will work closely with Government of the State, prominent and eminent personalities, critical stakeholders, investors, public-spirited individuals, the traditional rulers, religious leaders, and all other stakeholders and groups that are committed to partnering with the Police to ensure security and safety in the State.
“The Lagos State Police under my leadership will prioritize effective synergy, partnership and cooperation with Sister security and safety agencies and services in the State. This is to sustain, further improve and strengthen the already established cordial relationship between the Police and the other security and safety agencies in the State. I, therefore, respectfully wish to assure these critical security stakeholders of the commitments of the Command in this regard. It’s imperative to emphasize that under my leadership, the Command will foster more closer collaboration with key security agencies complimenting the Police to implement a unified strategies to tackling crime in Lagos State. Our collective commitment and collaboration will definitely ensure a more secure and safer Centre of Excellence for all Lagosians
“New and varied Crime Prevention, Control and Management Strategies will be adopted and implemented to nip in the bud all forms of Crimes, most especially violence crimes and promptly detect those crimes that may occur. The Command will be more proactive in crime fighting and prevention to detect and, act and deal according to the Laws with early warning signals of crimes and other threats that can snowball into disturbances of public peace and public safety, or break down of law and order appropriately.
“Relying on the actionable intelligence and crime mapping tools of the Command, Crimes of violence and other sundry crimes will be fought and dealt with head on. The strategies, tactics, methods and techniques being implemented by the Command to fight crimes such as traffic robbery, robbery, cultism in all ramifications, curbing of violent crimes around identified black spots and other notorious crime scenes will be reinvigorated and improved upon to achieve results and get the criminals off the streets of Lagos. The full weight of the law will be applied on who will be criminals in the State. They are hereby strongly warned and advised to repent, abandon the crimes or leave Lagos State. The State will be too hot henceforth for the men of the under-world and it will be a no-go area for criminals and their cohorts.
“In curbing the menace of cultism in some parts of the State, the Lagos State Police Command will sustain its onslaught on cultism. More than fifty (50) suspected cultists arrested in the acts have been arraigned in court and currently under prosecution. We, therefore, call on parents and guardians to prevail on their children and wards to desist from cult-related activities or face the full wrath of the law as the Command will stop at nothing to rid the state of all acts of cultism.
“The Command will continue to uphold an open-door policy, ensuring a people-friendly and community-oriented approach to policing for all Lagosians. We will foster unhindered communication, deliberation and collaboration between the police and the public. The people of the State will have unhindered opportunity to interact with the police freely at all levels to strengthen the trust, accountability, and mutual respect on both sides.
“At this juncture, let me assure Lagosians that under my leadership, human rights abuses will not be tolerated no matter how minor it may be. Our approach to policing will be firmly rooted on the dictates of international best practices in Policing. While professionalism, respect for human rights and human dignity of every Lagosian will be religiously observed. Every action taken by Police personnel across the Command will reflect our commitment to rule of law, justice, accountability, and the protection of citizens rights at all times. All Police personnel throughout the Command are under strict instructions to be civil, polite but firm in carrying out their official duties, obligations and other responsibilities. The good people of the State are also implored to respect the Police officers on their duty posts and be law abiding.
“It is pertinent to underscore that the Command will uphold the zero-tolerance POLICY of the Inspector General of Police, IGP KAYODE ADEOLU EGBETOKUN PhD, NPM against corruption and all forms of unethical practices. We will ensure accountability, integrity, and professionalism in all our Police operations, law enforcement duties and other statutory responsibilities and obligations.
“The Command is not unmindful of the concerns and complaints of members of the Public about unsatisfactory conduct of few Police officers which is not condoned at any time and which some personnel have been punished for in line with police disciplinary processes in the past. However in case of act of any right violation, I urge Lagosians to promptly reach out to the Lagos State Police Command’s Complaint Response Unit (CRU) by calling 09111111150 or via WhatsApp at 09111111151. Additionally, our official social media handles: @LagosPoliceNG (X), @policeng_lagos (instagram) and our website, www.lagos.npf.gov.ng, are always open for complaints for swift and effective responses.
“Your concerns will be treated with the utmost confidentiality, urgency and promptly redressed. You can also make a formal complaint at the nearest police station or report to me personally on 08032569029.
“In line with the policing vision of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, NPM, PhD, we will place the people at the core of our mission, foster trust, collaboration, and accountability. This is to build stronger bridges of trust between the Police and the community in ensuring a more inclusive, people-centered approach to policing.
“I wish to significantly place on record, on behalf of the entire Officers and Men of the Lagos Police Command, our deep appreciation and sincere gratitude to His Excellency, Executive Governor of Lagos State Mr Babajide O. Sanwo- olu for the time to time huge logistics provisions to the Lagos Police, the tremendous support and immense assistance he has continuously provided to the Lagos Police Command has made the general administration and operational activities of the Command much more easier. These logistics includes provision of patrol and operational vehicles, and utility trucks, Communication equipment, personnel protective equipment, and other infrastructural provisions throughout the State. Your Excellency, we are indeed very grateful and passionately appeal that you continue to assist and support us further in the these regards and other area of needs. Furthermore, we will collaborate closely with the Lagos State Government agencies complementing the Police in law enforcements, traffic management and general orderliness in the State.
“I will also like to appreciate the longstanding support of His Royal Majesty, Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, CFR, D.Sc. (Honoris causa) LL. B B.L.MNIM Mni f. Nig. Law Sch., and other noble, highly respected Royal highnesses and fathers along with other members of the Lagos State Council of Chiefs and Obas. Their immense support towards ensuring peace in their respective domains is very much recognized, appreciated and commendable.
“The training and retraining and capacity building development of all police personnel will be a top priority to ensure that they are well-equipped with optimal knowledge and modern know-how in the discharge and performance of their duties, and in their relationships with members of the general public and all Lagosians.
“The Command as I mentioned earlier will work in close collaboration with other intelligence and security agencies to enhance coordination and intelligence- sharing for overall public safety and security in the State.
“Also, my immeasurable gratitude and appreciation goes to the teeming community of captains of industries, local and foreign investors and the bankers’ forum for their continued backing for the Command.
“In the same vein, I must not fail to express my sincere appreciation to our highly respected and valued very senior Police officers in the state who have served and retired meritoriously at the highest levels of the Force. I will always rely on them for advice, guidance and other assistance.
“I cannot end my speech without expressing our profound gratitude and appreciation to highly esteemed media correspondents, practitioners, editors, managers and the entire media industry both traditional and new media for your unflinching partnership and continuous supports to the Lagos Police Command which has greatly improved the partnership and cordial relationship between the Police and general public in the State.
“Your sacrifice and selflessness will not be taken for granted. This very important friendship will be taken to higher level under my leadership.”
