A High Court sitting in Osogbo on Wednesday sentenced  Adedeji Adesola, the receptionist that received late Timothy Adegoke when he lodged in the Hilton Hotel, Ile-Ife on Nov. 6, 2021, to two years imprisonment for altering the receipt issued to the deceased.

The owner of the hotel, Adedoyin, and two other staff of the hotel was sentenced to death by hanging by the same court on Tuesday.

 Adesola was said to have fabricated another receipt as directed by her employer (Rahman Adedoyin ) in order to conceal any traces of the deceased death from the police.

Delivering judgment, Justice Adepele Ojo, who sentenced Adesola said the two-year jail term starts from the first day she was detained for the crime.

Adesola was arraigned alongside six others on 11 counts bothering on conspiracy, murder felony among others, and they all pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

 The case file number: HOS / 5C/ 2022 dated Feb.14, 2022, and filed on Feb. 17, 2022, was substituted with: HOS/5C/ 2022, dated Feb. 22, 2022, and filed on March 2, 2022.

Adegoke was a postgraduate student at the Obafemi Awolowo University ( OAU). He left Abuja on Nov. 5, 2021, to sit for his last examination at the university at Ile-Ife.

The deceased had lodged at the Hilton hotels belonging to Adedoyin, where he allegedly lost his life and was declared missing on Nov. 7, 2021, after his classmates discovered that he did not show up in class at Moro Distance Learning Centre of the university.

Also, the police investigation revealed that he had told his family of his plans to check into Hilton hotels in Ile-Ife, where he usually stayed whenever he arrived in Ife, but this was initially denied by the hotel management.

Police investigation further revealed that one of the white Hilux vans allegedly used in carrying the deceased’s body by the son of the owner of the hotel, Raheem Adedoyin, was later recovered in an undisclosed place in Abuja.

Adedoyin’s son was the managing director of the hotel and reportedly supervised the dumping of Adegoke’s body in a shallow grave along Ife highway before it was recovered by the police.

At least, 50 members of the Baptist Church, including a pastor, were killed in bandits’ recent attacks in Mangu and Barkin Ladi Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Plateau State,  Rev. Keoleh Saleh, the President of the Baptist Conference has revealed.

Saleh disclosed this on Sunday in Jos, adding that over 500 of its members were also displaced.

”This unfortunate carnage affected the Baptist Church seriously; In Kantoma where we have a big church, we lost over 31 members, including a Moderator.

” Twenty-three women were made widows on account of the attack. We lost nine members in Jwak Maitumbi and a member in Kombili.

”Most of our members displaced in over 10 local churches are taking refuge in different places.

”We have located four centres in Jos metropolis where a family is hosting between 10 to 20 people, and we have over 200 displaced persons in Jos.

”We have 50 in Barkin Ladi, over 200 in Salama Baptist Church in Mangu and 78 others that included 44 little children at Bwarak, Pankshin,” he said.

Saleh explained that in the last one week, the church spent over N3 million to cater to the needs of its displaced members taking refuge in its various local churches.

”Within one week, we have spent about N2m to get relief materials, but this is not enough, and our Baptist partners assisted us with N1m to make it N3m. But it is still not enough. We provided foodstuffs, clothing, shoes, mats, blankets and other items,” he said.

Rev. Israel Akanji, the National President of the Nigeria Baptist Convention, who visited the displaced members, offered prayers and financial assistance to the victims of the attacks.

He called on government and security agencies to intensify efforts toward bringing succour to the victims and finding lasting solutions to the spate of killings in the state and nation at large.

”This is a farming season, and the government should think of returning these people to go to their farms.

”Whatever we are doing now will not be forever, government should wake up to its responsibility and ensure a safe place for these people to return to their farms,” he said.

…Seizes 2.654 Kg Of Drugs, Arrests 26 Suspects In Gombe***

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has intercepted a consignment of 32 pieces of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), on its way to bandits’ camp in Niger.

The Director, of Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Babafemi quoted the Chairman, of NDLEA, retired, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa as ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect, Musa Muhammadu caught with the explosives on Monday, May 22 on Wawa Road, Kainji, Niger to the military authorities.
He said that the agency had intensified operations at drug joints and routes nationwide, ahead of the May 29 inauguration of new administrations across the country.
Babafemi said that operatives of the agency at the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO) export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International (MMIA) Airport Ikeja Lagos, also intercepted a consignment of 30.10kg methamphetamine.
He said that the consignment was billed to London.
He added that another shipment containing 379 grams of the same illicit substance concealed in the false bottom of six black soap containers was recovered.
Babafemi said that the drugs were packed in a carton containing local hand fans, heading to Cyprus in Europe.
He also said that the officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), of the agency carried out the operation in a courier company in Lagos.
Also, in Adamawa operatives on stop and search patrol on Michika- Bazza Road on Friday, May 26 arrested a Cameroonian, Ndawai Ngalou with a pair of Nigerian Army camouflage uniforms bearing Sunday U and two ATM cards belonging to Turaki Mohammed and Ekene Izuegunam.

In another development, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Gombe State has seized 2,654 kilogrammes of illicit drugs and arrested 26 suspected drug dealers.

This is contained in a statement by Mr Okechukwu Nkere, the Commander of the Agency on Sunday in Gombe.

He said: “NDLEA Gombe State Command embarks on a mop-up operation bursts various drug joints and black spots in the state, arrests 26 drug suspects and seize a total of 2,654kgs of drugs”.

According to him, the mop-up operation is part of preparations for the May 29 inauguration of the new administration in the state.

Nkere said the seized drugs included 2.570kgs of Cannabis Sativa and 84 grammes of psychotropic substances, bringing the total seizure to 2.654kgs.

He warned drug peddlers to desist from the act or face the wrath of the law.

“We will ensure that we go into nook and crannies of the state to fish out perpetrators.

“We will also raid and dislodge drug joints across the state at different locations to ensure the state becomes drug-free,” he said.

The exercise, he said, would be sustained beyond the handover ceremonies to make the state free of drug abuse.