Folarin Kehinde

Leading reporters has gathered that Governor Seyi Makinde’s office and most parts of the Oyo State Secretariat in Agodi were not spared by Tuesday’s explosion.

A visit on Wednesday showed that some of the ministries and parastatals suffered severe damages caused by the suspected explosive device.

Among the affected offices were the Office of the Governor, the Governor’s media office, Water Cooperation Building that houses other ministries, the State Secretariat Central Mosque, the Secretariat Chapel, the Revenue House, and the newly built and yet-to-be-commissioned Local Government Service House, and the Local Government Staff Training School.

Glasses were shattered on the floor, ceilings were forced down, doors were forcefully opened and damaged, likewise, Computers were also affected in some offices.

Some members of staff who could not occupy their offices due to damages caused by the explosion were seen in groups discussing the unfortunate incident.

An early morning fire has destroyed good worth millions of naira at IC World Emporia Centre, a popular shopping mall in Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja.

Eyewitnesses say the fire started at about 4am on Wednesday morning.

According to an X user, Mister Mash, efforts to reach the FCT Emergency service proved abortive.

He wrote: “4:13am currently happening right now in Gwarimpa, IC World Emporia on fire.

“I called the @Fedfireng emergency line 0803 200 3557, the woman hung up on me. I called 112, they said I should call 122, I called 122, they said I should call 112.”

The Middle-Belt Youth Forum will, today, stage massive protests against the alarming surge in kidnappings plaguing the Nigerian capital.

Fueled by recent incidents, including the tragic murders of multiple abductees, the youth-led demonstration is expected to be halted at the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The youths are urging a crackdown on kidnappers and bandits and also want the Nigerian government to designate them as terrorists.

Meanwhile, nineteen residents remain captive, including nine whose release hinges on a staggering N700 million ransom.

Already, four hostages, among them a promising young student, have been brutally murdered, allegedly due to ransom delays.

They include Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a 400-level biological science student at Ahmadu Bello University, snatched alongside six siblings.

Her five sisters, including another high-achieving student, Nadherah, remain in captivity after their father’s release.

The kidnappers’ escalating ransom demands were initially set at N60 million and now doubled.

Folashade Ariyo’s family endures similar anguish. Her mother and three siblings are still with the kidnappers.

Folashade, only 13 years old, was killed by the kidnappers, igniting nationwide outrage.

A terrible accident on Tuesday morning claimed the lives of five people, including four students of Fakunle Unity School, after a commercial bus rammed into their tricycle along the Lameco-Stadium road.

The speeding bus, with registration number Abuja RBC 15 ZN, veered off its lane and smashed into the tricycle carrying the students, witnesses reported. The accident left the tricycle’s occupants unrecognisable and dead instantly.

An eyewitness said: “The commercial bus with registration number Abuja RBC 15 ZN was on top speed coming from Stadium but suddenly left its lane and jumped over the road median and rammed into the tricycle conveying the four students of Fakunle Unity School.

“The accident also affected a motorcyclist who was coming behind the tricycle with other vehicles plying the road in front of WOCDIF event centre. The accident was terrible, five occupants of the tricycle died instantly because they were crushed beyond recognition. I think the driver of the bus slept off on the wheel.”

Another source, who is a security agent, confirmed that “five people were killed while several others sustained serious degrees of injuries during the accident. The driver of the bus too was seriously injured and has been taken to hospital. We have towed the affected vehicles to our station.”

Meanwhile, Osun State Federal Road Safety Commission Sector Commandant Henry Benamaisai confirmed the tragedy, stating, “We are currently at the hospital attending to the injured. We will release the full details of the accident as soon as possible.”

Academic gowns allocated for the University of Lagos (UNILAG) post-graduate students have been reported stolen, causing a setback in the preparations for the 54th convocation ceremony.

A total of 340 graduands are set to receive first-class degree certificates during this week’s convocation ceremony. The gowns, which had been paid for by the graduates, were scheduled for distribution in anticipation of the event.

The academic gowns for the post-graduate ceremony were reportedly stolen while being transported on a university bus. Graduates had been required to pay a fee of N15,000 for the collection of these gowns.

Numerous affected students, who were eagerly anticipating the collection of their academic gowns, expressed frustration over the delay caused by the unfortunate incident.

The School of Postgraduate Studies (SPGS) management at the university communicated the setback to post-graduate students through a brief text message and email.

The message read, “Dear graduate, we regret to inform you that the distribution of SPGS academic gowns is now suspended. Sadly, the remaining gowns were stolen, and our bus vandalised this afternoon.”

In response, some affected individuals, like lawyer Malachy Odo, shared their disappointment on social media. Malachy Odo disclosed receiving the notice from UNILAG after paying the required sum.

“I paid 15k for convocation gown yesterday and this is what UNILAG just sent me. This country is not a real place,” he wrote on X.

The FCT Minister, Nyesome Wike, has berated the area council chairmen for leaving their responsibilities when they are needed most.

The minister, who was addressing stakeholders at an emergency security meeting in his office on Tuesday, wondered why the council chairmen would be travelling out of the country even when their areas were facing challenges.

“This time around we will not be happy, where Area Council Chairmen will leave their responsibilities and travel out. We have gotten reports that Council Chairmen travel anytime and then, if anything happens, they will not call anybody’s name except the FCT Minister.

“Recently, NUT embarked on strike and it is not our fault but the Area Councils’. Primary schools are under the body of the Area Councils but again, it will look as if the Ministers are doing nothing but that is not our responsibility. However, we can’t fold our hands and we have invited them to this meeting to see how we can resolve the problem.

“So council chairmen should know that they must live up to their responsibilities. It is not everything that happens, they would say that it is the Ministers that have not taken steps.”

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has convened an emergency security meeting amid the rising cases of attacks and kidnapping in Abuja.

LEADING REPORTERS understands that the meeting which is scheduled to be held at the FCTA secretariat on Tuesday is in response to mounting pressure on government and security agencies to address worsening insecurity in the capital city.

The meeting is expected to have in attendance the FCT Commissioner of Police, Haruna Garba, FCT Commandant of the NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu, and other heads of security agencies.

This paper reports that since the beginning of this year, no fewer than 20 persons have been kidnapped in Abuja.

Over the weekend, kidnappers killed several of their victims to force their families to raise the demanded ransom

Subsequently, the families started crowdfunding, with former minister of communications and digital economy, Ibrahim Pantami, raising N50 million for one of the affected families.

Residents of Sagwari Layout Estate, Dutse, Abuja, where 10 people were kidnapped, had also planned to stage a protest against the alleged inaction of government and security agencies to rescue their neighbours from the abductors.

The protest was, however, canceled in the last minute.

Residents of Sagwari Layout Estate, Dutse, Abuja, where 10 people were kidnapped, had also planned to stage a protest against the alleged inaction of government and security agencies to rescue their neighbours from the abductors.

The protest was, however, canceled in the last minute.