Headlines
Those Who Raped, Killed UNIBEN Undergraduate Will Be Arrested, Says Adeboye
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Enoch Adeboye, on Sunday, reacted to the reported rape and subsequent death of a University of Benin (UNIBEN) undergraduate, Vera Omozuwa.
The crime reportedly took place inside a hall of one of the parishes of the RCCG on Ikpoba Hill, Benin city.
Mr Adeboye, in a statement posted on his official Facebook page late Sunday, commiserated with the family and also said the RCCG management would cooperate fully with the police to unravel the crime and arrest the perpetrators.
PREMIUM TIMES quoted the police in Edo State as saying “they are searching for people who might have witnessed the assault that led to the death of a female student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Edo State.”
Preliminary reports indicate that the victim, a 100-level student, was beaten inside a hall in the said parish, where she had gone to study.
The 23-year-old died on May 31, 18 days after, at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
“As at the day of the incident, she was in a coma, so the police could not obtain a statement from her on what happened,” the police spokesperson in Edo, Chidi Nwabuzor, told PREMIUM TIMES, Sunday evening.
“It’s unfortunate that no person is coming out as an eyewitness (witness) to give (an) account of what happened,” he added.
The university had earlier expressed shock at the development.
RCCG reacts
“All I can do at this time is to pray for the family of Omozuwa and do everything possible working with relevant authorities to bring the perpetrators to book,” Mr Adeboye, a former lecturer, said. “I and members of my family condemn this act strongly and urge everyone to stay calm as we are already looking into the matter and cooperating with the police to establish the facts of the shocking situation… #justiceforuwa.”
The hashtag, #justiceforuwa is currently trending on social media networks with hundreds of Nigerians calling for an efficient investigation and arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.
Sexual assault, rape and murder are prominent crimes security operatives in Nigeria continue to battle weekly in many states across the country.
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Hon. Abubakar Gummi from the House of Representatives after he left the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmaker represented the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency in Zamfara State.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the ruling, holding that Gummi’s defection breached the Constitution.
The court said the seat does not belong to any politician but to the political party that sponsored the election.
According to the judgment, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, is barred from recognising Gummi “as a member representing Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency.”
The judge also instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission to “conduct a fresh election” for the vacant seat within 30 days.
The case was instituted by the PDP and its Zamfara chairman, who insisted that Gummi’s move to the APC had no legal justification. They argued that there was no division in the PDP to support his defection, as required by Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Gummi, through his counsel, claimed he left the PDP due to internal crises which he said made it “impossible” to serve his constituents effectively. The judge, however, dismissed his arguments and granted all the reliefs requested by the plaintiffs.
Justice Egwuatu, in a firm comment, warned politicians against what he described as reckless party hopping.
“Political prostitution must not be rewarded,” he declared, adding that lawmakers must not transfer votes won on one party’s platform to another party.
The court also ordered Gummi to refund all salaries and allowances received from October 30, 2024, until the date of judgment. He is also barred from earning any further benefits as a member of the House.
Additionally, the judge imposed a N500,000 cost against the defendants in favour of the PDP.
