Author: Kwara Reporters

The kidnapped pupils and staff of Apostolic Faith Group of Schools, Emure Ekiti have regained their freedom.A confirmation from the Ekiti State Police Command Spokesperson, Sunday Abutu on Sunday morning, however, indicated that the driver is dead.The abductees were said to have been released in the early hours of Sunday.They were kidnapped on Monday evening along Emure – Eporo Road while returning to Eporo after closing school.The kidnappers shot at the bus and later whisked away nine persons comprising five students, three female teachers and a driver among the occupants of the bus.The police PPRO said, “All victims were rescued…

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has revealed how villagers his guns after troops killed terrorists.According to him, this happened when he was the Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) in the Northeast.He spoke when he featured on 30 Minutes on Trust TV.The CDS said: “When I was a theater commander in the North East – Harden-Kai – for 19 months – sometimes terrorists would come to a village with weapons to launch an attack and we would kill them, but before we would get there, all the weapons would have been hidden.“And they would dig…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered over N30bn from the N37,170, 855,753.44 allegedly laundered in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs under the former minister, Sadiya Umar-Farouk.Sources in the anti-graft agency, who spoke with our correspondent on Friday, said the commission had also uncovered over N500m from the scam associated with Umar-Farouk’s successor, Betta Edu, who was recently suspended by President Bola Tinubu.Saturday PUNCH had in December reported that N37,170,855,753.44 was transferred from government coffers and sent to 38 different bank accounts domiciled in five legacy commercial banks belonging to or connected with a contractor, James Okwete.It was gathered…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress as winner of the Surulere Federal Constituency 1 Bye-Election.Declaring the results, the Returning Officer for the bye-election, Prof Simeon Adebayo, revealed that the APC Candidate scored a total of 11, 203 votes.Kayode Laguda, a former chairman of the All Progressives Congress in the Surulere Local Government replaces Femi Gbajabiamila who was appointed Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.Gbajabiamila was the Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2019 and 2023 and had won his re-election into the House for the sixth consecutive term to…

An Islamic cleric, Imam Abdulrazak Aduagba has advised the Kwara state Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to redistribute the controversial N17.8billion Naira earmarked for the construction of Kwara Hotels into more meaningful projects spread across the 16 Local Goverment Areas of the state.The cleric who spoke today at the Ansarul Islam Moulid Nabiy, Gaa-Akanbi, condemned the decision of the Kwara government to go ahead with the project in spite of overwhelming public outcry against it.He stated that instead, the Kwara government could consider the possibility of identifying a major impactful project worth one billion Naira in each LGA of the state and…

A yet-to-be-identified man has been crushed to death by a truck driver at Mile 12 Market along Ikorodu Road in Lagos State.The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday.According to a statement made available to PUNCH Online by the Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Adebayo Taofiq, the driver of the containerised truck with number plate LSR 901 XV lost control of the vehicle due to a brake failure while travelling at full speed.The statement partly read, “Operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority today apprehended an articulated truck driver after crushing a scavenger pushing wheelbarrow…

• Says Senator rode to power by appealing for equity, fairnessA political group in the southern district of Kwara State, Consensus Movement, has lampooned the lawmaker representing Kwara South, Senator Lola Ashiru, over his recent comment on the zoning arrangement of governorship ticket in 2027.Addressing a press conference in Offa on Saturday, the leader of Consensus Movement, Hon. Femi Agbaje Whyte, said the Senator was engaging in double standards because he rode to his senate seat on the back of appeals for equity and fairness.The press conference was attended by several stakeholders in Kwara South, including leaders and members of…

By Buoye David OlusegunThe recent article by the Kwara State Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Dr. Segun Ogunsola, titled “Floating Over Ten Industries: How Gov AbdulRazaq Returned The Lost Glory Of Kwara” has sparked a wave of disbelief and frustration among the people who have actually witnessed the true glory of Kwara. It is truly astonishing how the current administration tries to paint a rosy picture of their achievements while disregarding the realities on the ground.To claim that the lost glory of Kwara has been returned is a slap in the face to those of us who remember the…

Fresh facts have emerged that the killers of the Olukoro of Koro in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Olusegun Aremu-Cole, perfected the murder plot in a pub, popularly called beer parlour, in the town.Oba Aremu-Cole, a retired senior military officer, was shot dead on Thursday night by the assailants, who invaded his palace, and his wife and two natives who live near the palace were whisked away to an unknown destination.He was crowned in 2017 and he would have been 66 this year as he was born in 1958.It was gathered that the killers also lured…

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has fixed the final fare prices for the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage exercise.The commission had earlier in October, pegged the initial fare deposit at N4.5m, noting that the fixed amount was “in tandem with the dollar rate that will determine the final cost of the coming Hajj”, and that the amount would give the commission a more realistic figure in bargaining for the cost of accommodation, airline fares, feeding, and other necessities.However, in a statement signed by NAHCON’s Assistant Director of Public Affairs, Fatima Usara, on Saturday, the Commission said it had made efforts to…