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A Ghanaian police inspector, Ahmed Twumasi, has been arrested for killing his 27-year-old girlfriend, Victoria Daapa, popularly known as Maa Adwoa over alleged cheating in Kumasi.

Twumasi, who is married with children, allegedly shot the mother of one at close range on Thursday 20th April 2023, at Adum in front of Dufie Towers in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi.

Maa Adwoa was rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

The Ghana Police Service, in a press release on Sunday evening, April 23, 2023, disclosed that the suspect was arrested at his hideout at Sekyere near Effiduase in the Ashanti Region.

The statement read, “The Police have this evening arrested a Police officer, Inspector Ahmed Twumasi, who is alleged to have shot and killed a female adult, who was believed to be his girlfriend,” the statement read.

“The shooting incident occurred in Kumasi, in the Ashanti region, on Thursday, 20th April 2023. The suspect, who has been on the run since the incident, was arrested at Sekyere, near Effiduase in the Ashanti Region as a result of a special Police operation, which was launched following the shooting incident. The suspect is currently in Police custody and will be put before the court to face justice.”

According to reports, the police officer suspected Maa Adwoa of cheating on him, and although she denied the allegations, he became increasingly angry.

An eyewitness reported that the officer first kissed Maa Adwoa before shooting her to death.
“After the first two shots, she was pleading with the guy to stop and he added three more shots before jumping into a rickshaw to run away.

Because he was holding a gun, we could not attempt to arrest him,” the eyewitness narrated.

Maa Adwoa’s uncle, who was also present at the scene, stated that the police officer first shot her in the forehead and then multiple times in the stomach and other parts of her body until she fell and died.

Speaking to GHPage, the deceased’s father, Atakora revealed that his late daughter had a man he knew as her boyfriend and they both shared a baby girl.

“The man I know is a footballer. He even has a brother who has played for the Black Stars before. He and Madwoa have a daughter together. I am not aware of this police inspector and his relationship with my child,” the heartbroken father said.

The Special Assistant on Public Communication to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu, has called on the National Assembly to immediately publish a report of its investigation on the N52bn Special Works Programme executed by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo.

Shaibu made the demand against the backdrop of the revelation that the minister bought a house in the United States of America at a cost of over $300,000.

In 2021, the Federal Government, in a bid to ameliorate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, approved the sum of N52bn for the hiring of 774,000 Nigerians across the 774 Local Government Areas for a period of three months.

The 774,000 Nigerians were hired to take on menial jobs including clearing drainages, sweeping markets, cutting grass and other community services.

According to Shaibu, “Keyamo had specifically orchestrated the sacking of the Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment, Nasiru Argungu, insisting that he was in charge of the N52bn project which the National Assembly noted was a flop.

“Both the Senate and the House of Representatives had stated that many of the beneficiaries of the funds did not get anything, while others who got did not do any job. They, therefore, questioned Keyamo’s running of the programme and promised to launch an investigation into the matter.”

Shaibu also noted that “The National Assembly had described the special works programme as a sham and also questioned how the funds were spent. Keyamo had, for the last two years, defended the shambolic implementation of the programme.

“With his open confession that he has acquired houses in the United States of America, I hereby call on the National Assembly to publish its report on the failed project. I also call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately probe the finances of Festus Keyamo, who only became a Senior Advocate two years before becoming a minister.

“It is public record that Keyamo was an activist and a prosecutor for the EFCC, doing mostly pro bono cases before taking public office. However, he now boasts of being a real estate mogul after becoming a minister. 

“This is laughable and an insult to the sensibilities of Nigerians. In any case, Keyamo’s time as Minister of State for Labour and Employment witnessed the highest level of unemployment, which KPMG says is about to hit 40 per cent. Under Keyamo, universities also witnessed prolonged strikes, as the Academic Staff Union of Universities proceeded on 10 months strike in 2020 and eight months of industrial action in 2021. Keyamo clearly failed as a minister but grew wealthier in the process through his so-called real estate business. He thus needs to be investigated with immediate effect.”

In his defence, the minister had said that before his appointment, he wrote to the relevant government agencies, informing them of the closure of his foreign accounts and the repatriation of his funds to the country since Nigerian law does not allow public officials to operate foreign bank accounts.

“My assets declaration is there for all to see. Some of us don’t need government funds or patronage to get by. Whatever we do and whoever we support is out of our deep convictions,” he said.

Reacting, however, Shaibu dared Keyamo to publish his asset declaration form as submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau in 2019.

“Keyamo has one month left on his tenure as minister, which means he will need to declare his assets before the CCB next month. Let him make public his asset declaration forms, before and after office, to prove to Nigerians that he did not steal.

“The truth about Keyamo is that he is a hypocrite, a rabble-rouser who pretends to be on the side of the masses but is only after his stomach. He started as a disciple of the great Gani Fawehinmi but has since strayed from Gani’s ideals by serving as Spokesman for a man who was anathema to Gani and who Gani had accused of forgery and fraud, Bola Tinubu,” he added.

Hours after the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu ordered the demolition of some buildings in Banana Island over defective structures, another building collapse has been recorded in the state.

This medium reports that a five-storey building under construction collapsed on Sunday, 23 April, 2023.

The incident occurred at Ladipo Oluwole Street, GRA, Apapa.

We learned that a thunder strike hit the building under construction and it came down in a massive heap.

Other details of the collapse are still sketchy as at the time of writing this report.

After collecting a huge amount of money as ransom, a notorious bandit kingpin, Dogo Daji, has released four of the 11 remaining students of the Federal Government Girls’ College Yauri, Kebbi state.

It was gathered that two of the released students returned with two babies delivered while in captivity.

Dogo Daji had insisted that some conditions must be met by Kebbi State Government before the remaining girls could be released.

Our sources added that the ransom had to be generated by parents and other stakeholders when Kebbi State Government was reluctant to meet the bandits’ demands.

The parents had to beg Nigerians to come to their aid financially in order to rescue their children from their abductors.

In a letter addressed to all Nigerians in January 2023, the group, known as “Committee of Parents of 11 Abducted Students of F.G.C Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State, Nigeria,” passionately solicited financial assistance towards raising the sum of N100 million as ransom to be paid to the terrorists, in exchange for their wards.

In their letter, the Chairman and Secretary of the ‘Committee of Parents, Salim Ka’oje and Mr. Daniel Alkali respectively, said their female children (aged between 12-16 years) had been in the custody of their abductors for about 20 months now.

“…And the abductors are demanding the sum of N100 million before they release the girls,” they added.

It would be recalled that the 11 students were kidnapped when bandits invaded their school on 17th June 2021.

In November last year, some of the girls had become teenage mothers, while about four others were pregnant.

We cannot independently confirm if the ransom paid by the parents was up to the N100 million demanded by the bandits.

The US military has evacuated embassy staff and families from Khartoum, according to Joe Biden, as other countries are also scrambling to get their nationals out of Sudan amid continued fighting.

France’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that a “rapid evacuation operation” had begun and that European citizens and those from “allied partner countries” would also be assisted, without giving further details.

On Saturday night, US special forces in Chinook helicopters reportedly swept in to evacuate about 70 Americans who were taken from a landing zone at the embassy to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia, according to US officials.

British embassy staff would be evacuated “as soon as feasible” due to safety fears following attacks on diplomatic missions, a UK government source told PA Media. But any evacuation would be “incredibly limited” and focused on the small number of British civil servants based in Khartoum.

Britons were continued to be advised to ensure they had registered their presence with the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) and to stay indoors.

“Due to the increasing attacks on diplomatic missions, we will be evacuating our HMG staff as soon as feasible,” a UK government source told PA Media. “It’s likely any evacuation will be incredibly limited due to the small number of UK staff in the country, and British nationals should remain in a place of shelter.

“There is currently no suggestion British nationals are being actively targeted by armed factions.”
The source said UK options were “likely to be extremely limited for the foreseeable”. They added: “We do not expect any major change in our travel advice to Sudan for British nationals in the coming days.”

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, one of the warring sides, said a US forces mission consisting of six aircraft evacuated American diplomats and their families.

Biden, the US president, said in a statement: “This tragic violence in Sudan has already cost the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. It’s unconscionable and it must stop. The belligerent parties must implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people of Sudan.”

Sudan’s outsider: how a paramilitary leader fell out with the army and plunged the country into warAbdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the nation’s de facto ruler, reportedly agreed to facilitate the evacuation of a number of diplomats and nationals from multiple countries. It came after a promise by his rival – the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti – to open airports for evacuations.

The British government said it was “doing everything possible” to support nationals trapped in Sudan. Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, chaired a Cobra meeting on Saturday morning with the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, and the Africa minister, Andrew Mitchell.

A UK government spokesperson said: “We recognize that the situation is extremely concerning for British nationals trapped by the fighting in Sudan. We are doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum, and the Ministry of Defence is working with the Foreign Office to prepare for a number of contingencies.”

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said: “We will continue to assist Americans in Sudan in planning for their own safety and provide regular updates to US citizens in the area.” Blinken reiterated calls for parties to the fighting to extend an Eid al-Fitr ceasefire into a sustainable cessation of hostilities.

Some foreign nationals began evacuating from a Red Sea port in Sudan on Saturday, Reuters reported, as airstrikes again rocked Khartoum.

The capital’s airport has been repeatedly targeted and many people have been unable to leave their homes or get out of the city to safer areas.

Saudi Arabia has evacuated Gulf citizens from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, 400 miles from Khartoum, and Jordan will use the same route for its nationals.

Western countries were expected to send planes for their citizens from Djibouti, though the Sudanese army said airports in Khartoum and Darfur’s biggest city, Nyala, were problematic and it was not clear when that might be possible.

Saturday’s fighting breached what was meant to be a three-day truce from Friday to allow citizens to reach safety and visit family during the Muslim holiday of Eid. Each side accused the other of not respecting the truce.

The conflict has pitted army units loyal to Burhan against the RSF, whose leader, Hemedti, is the deputy head of the ruling council. Their power struggle has derailed a shift to civilian rule and raised the spectre of civil war.

The fighting has killed more than 400 people and injured more than 3,500, according to the World Health Organization. Battles continue to rage on the streets of Khartoum, stoking fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Heavy explosions that had rocked the city in recent days subsided overnight but bursts of gunfire resumed on Saturday morning. Heavy gunfire, loud explosions, and fighter jets overhead were heard in many parts of the capital, according to witnesses.

Sudan faces a surge in fighting as ceasefire attempts fail before end of EidThe UN has said between 10,000 and 20,000 people have already fled to Sudan’s western neighbour Chad – which is already hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees.

The US and France have bases in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa. Sunak spoke to the president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, on Friday.

British officials said the Ministry of Defence was engaged in “prudent planning”, but would not otherwise comment on what other action would be taken.

Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, said on Friday afternoon that the US had deployed military forces “in theatre” – meaning in countries relatively close to Sudan – to give the White House choices as to how to proceed, with 19,000 US citizens estimated to be stuck in the country.

“Our focus is to make sure that we continue to do the planning, that we create and maintain as many options for our president as possible,” he said at a press conference in Ramstein, Germany.

The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, cut short a tour of New Zealand and Samoa to return to the UK to focus on its response to the crisis in Sudan, as well as to launch high-level diplomacy in an attempt to move the two warring parties towards a ceasefire.

Widow of Late Barrister Godwin Ikoiwak, Barr. Abasiesebanga Ikoiwak, who is standing trial at an Uyo High Court with some of her family members for the alleged murder of her husband, has denied killing the man.

Ikiowak alleged that she was yet to understand the circumstances surrounding the death of her husband and that she and her family members were implicated in the matter by members of her husband’s family.

Narrating her side of the story, Ikiowak said that she did not have a hand in her late husband’s death and that she had no reason to have killed her husband.

“We had no quarrels, we had no fights, we even did not have any misunderstanding to have warranted me plotting his death. 

“If I know of or be a part of anything that led to my husband’s death, may God punish me, may God make me run mad she said.

“My late Husband worked in Uyo, while I work in Calabar. We only interchange visits. 

“My husband who visited us last Christmas left me with the kids and returned to Uyo on the 7th of January, 2022. 

“Following his return to Uyo, my husband and I maintained cordial and effective communications over the telephone,” she said.

The embattled woman added that “a few days preceding the murky day of his demise, I sent my late husband an N500 Naira recharge card after he jokingly said, you women don’t always give.”

She revealed that he received the recharge unit with appreciation and that teasingly he said, “After now, you will look for a way to get the recharge card back from me”. 

“Thus, we played over the telephone and of course, we were used to cracking jokes about every little thing. Those conversations are verifiable as they took place over our cell phones.

“In the early hours of the morning breaking Thursday, 20th January 2022, I had a call from my Husband who told me he was not feeling fine. 

“Suspecting an asthmatic attack as my late husband had asthma, and the attack is usually very fierce and threatening whenever it comes, I assured him that I will be heading to Uyo to attend to him at daybreak. 

“From what my late husband told me, he was asthmatic from a tender age, a medical history that is with the deceased’s family but which they have refused to inform members of the public about.

“I had barely entered Akwa Ibom enroute Uyo when I got a call from my husband’s phone but this time, it was a strange voice, who after identifying me, asked me to come over to St. Lukes Hospital, Anua in Uyo, stating that my husband was there,” she said.

She added that being so directed, she headed straight to Anua, but to her greatest shock, on arrival at Anua, she found her husband already dead and lying in the Casualty Section of the hospital. 

According to her, she was frightened, shocked, and confused beyond words, adding that she was motionless and lost her coordination, and that strength failed her, not knowing what to say or do or even where to go, she said she didn’t know who to turn to. 

She said; ” I managed to ask some questions as to how my husband got there and what happened to him, but there was no response. 

“I searched for the man, who used my husband’s phone to call me but couldn’t find him again.

Initially, I had thought that the caller was a doctor as he was also the person who led me to where the remains of my husband were when I arrived at the hospital, but when I managed to put myself together a bit, I asked for the man’s whereabouts but he was nowhere to be found. 

“The entire episode was and it is still like a dream. To even make matters worse, the family of my late husband decided to add to my pains by lying to the world that I had hand in the death of my husband.

“My husband and I have been married since 2017 and the marriage is blessed with two kids, the second of which was barely six months old at the time of my husband’s demise. I had nothing against my husband when he was alive, and neither did he have anything against me. 

“All the stories you are hearing or reading on social media portraying me as one, who had trouble marriage or as one capable of or actually killing or as having masterminded the death of my husband are cooked up lies and concoctions maliciously and desperately weaved together by the family of the deceased in expression and demonstration of unjustifiable hatred for me and in order to dispossess me and my children of anything they believe their brother and son left behind.

“In a demonstration of their unremitting wickedness, they also went to my village and arrested my aged and sick mother alleging that she also has hands in the death of my husband.

 “As though they have not done enough, they found ways of roping in my elder brothers, alleging that they assisted me in attacking and killing my husband. 

“Meanwhile, my brothers are very responsible and gainfully engaged men, who work and live independently with their respective families outside the state. I said brothers have never lived with me or with the deceased.”

The lawyer explained further that it is “very heartless that they then turned their attention to my innocent aged mother who loves and cherished the deceased as her own son. 

“They raised false and denigrating allegations against my mother, who herself is a poor widow, got her arrested, and continued to persecute my family without a cause.

“How can any right-thinking person imagine me killing my own husband and father of my children, so as to be a widow and shoulder the arduous responsibility of catering for the family alone.”

She then asked that “When it was not easy with both parents, could it be easier with one?”
“If, indeed, my husband was killed by anyone, his blood will hunt after his killers and God will bring the perpetrators of this dastardly act to judgment.

“My late husband’s family believe that they are very rich, powerful, and highly connected people with unfettered access to every tool they need to decimate me and my family, and this, they are doing willfully and freely, even when they know that I am innocent of their allegations but my God will vindicate me and all my persecutors shall see shame.

“St Luke Hospital, Anua, Uyo, still have not explained to me what happened to my husband, how he got into their hospital, and how the case was handled and I also do not understand why the family of my late husband is making me go through so much pain and shame. 

“I need justice for my late husband and I need justice for myself. I want to go home and take care of my two little children as they are all I have left,” she said.

Mrs. Ikoiwak had been accused by friends of her late husband of masterminding his death after he found out that the boy she had been referring to as their houseboy is actually her son.

South African Consul-General, Dr. Bobby Moroe in Lagos, on Saturday, called on Nigerians to choose South Africa as their preferred tourist destination.

Moroe made the call during South Africa Week, held in Lagos, to celebrate the country’s 29th anniversary of democratic rule as well as bilateral and diplomatic relations with Nigeria.

According to the Consul-General, South Africa is a suitable country to visit for business, conferencing, tourism, education, and leisure.

“Today, we are celebrating the diplomatic relations between Nigeria and South Africa, we are also celebrating 29 years of democracy in South Africa.

“We have chosen to celebrate in Nigeria to appreciate the role Nigeria has played in the struggle for South Africans’ liberation.

“South Africa will never forget the role Nigeria has played in its liberation agenda, so this is how we show our appreciation.

“We at South Africa Tourism are excited to be part of the celebration of South Africa Week. We have been here since 2015 and we appreciate the relationship so far.

Married female candidates for the National Youth Service Corps are encouraged to request redeployment if they are sent to a state other than the one where their husbands reside.

The scam revealed this on Monday via its Twitter account.

They are known as PMCs up to the time that qualifying scheme members are sworn in at the various camps to which they are assigned.

They spend a total of 21 days in camp after being sworn in as “corps members,” beginning on the day of deployment.

In a tweet with the subject line “ATTENTION ALL 2023 BATCH “A” STREAM 2 MARRIED FEMALE PCMs,” the scheme “Any married female PCMs who are posted to states where their husbands are not domiciled should report to the nearest NYSC Orientation Camp for their State of Deployment to be amended,” it was stated.

“They are to report during the period of registration at the Orientation Camps with copies of their marital and other relevant documents as evidence.”

On May 22, 1973, the Nigerian government introduced the NYSC program, a program designed to engage Nigerian graduates in nation-building and national development.

The program was designed “with a view to the right stimulation and development of shared links among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity,” according to decree No. 24, on which it was founded.

A graduate must be under 30 years old or not over 30 years old at the time of graduation in order to be eligible for the Programme. As his certificate of completion was issued before he turned 30, a graduate who completed his degree before turning 30 but skipped the service year will still be qualified.

The NYSC Discharge Certificate is replaced for people over 30 by a Certificate of Exemption.

Successful Corps members receive a certificate indicating that they participated in the program satisfactorily at the end of the service year.

Two people, namely Kamoru Lasisi, a student at Lagos State University, and Lateef Atanda, a tiler, died as a result of fighting between members of the Aiye and Eiye fraternities at Ijanikin in the Lagos State local government area of Ojo.

According to information obtained by Newsmen, the neighborhood had been tense for more than two months due to fights between members of the cult organizations.

It was discovered during the battles that the cultists typically used weapons like rifles, cutlasses, and machetes and had established strongholds that threatened the lives and property of locals and business owners operating in the neighborhood.

A local resident who spoke with our correspondent but who asked that his name not be published for security concerns claimed that, in addition to the cultists killing one another, threats brought on by their activities had led to the murder of innocent bystanders in the neighborhood.

The resident said, “The cultists’ attacks in my area are a major concern; initially, they usually go after one another, but now, what they do is go after people that are not cultists in the community. The clashes involve members of the Aiye and Eiye cult groups and each of the groups has a territory in the community that they control.

“In Ijanikin, Aiye cultists are in charge of Alasia down to Adio, Ayetoro, and Ketu areas, but Oto, Cele and Ile Oba Bus Stops, and some parts of Adio are controlled by the Eiye cult groups. Two weeks ago, Aiye cultists stormed the Cele Bus Stop area and shot a 400-level undergraduate of LASU, Kamoru Lasisi. He was shot dead in front of his father’s house despite not being a cultist.

“About two months ago, around 7.50pm, Aiye cultists came to the territory of Eiye cultists to attack a rival and did not meet their target. What they did next was to attack and kill an innocent boy, Lateef Atanda, who just finished writing his WAEC and does tiling business.

“The boy was shot dead on Ago-Idosa Street, Vespa Bus Stop, in the presence of his father, who was pleading with the cultists not to kill him. He was not a cultist and people in the area testified to it. There is always a reprisal for these attacks and it causes unconfirmed killings in the community.”

Another community member bemoaned the situation and claimed that when cults are unable to capture their primary targets, they turn their attention to whomever they find nearby. This individual spoke anonymously to our correspondent for security reasons.

The resident said, “The Aiye and Eiye cultists are hunting one another in the community, and when they are doing so, whoever they see with their targets, they don’t bother to do any fact findings to know if the person is a cultist or not, they just attack and kill the person.

“They operate with guns and other weapons. People are afraid in the Ijanikin community. The painful thing is that we know these cultists in the community as they are not strangers. So, whenever people see them appear in the community, they start running for their lives because they know that an attack can happen at any time.

“Initially, we usually face the cultists to chase them away but we stopped as we don’t have the necessary support. The cultists know the policemen at Ijanikin Police Station and get the information whenever they are coming for a raid and flee the community. We want the police command to bring in external policemen to work with us to do an underground operation to arrest these cultists as we are willing to lead them to their hideouts in Ijanikin.”

When

Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said, “The Commissioner of Police, upon assumption of duty in Lagos State, identified cultism as a major problem in the state and that informed his decision to decentralise our tactical unit by deploying the unit out of the state command and stationed at different parts of the state including Badagry which covers Ijankin and they have started work.

“We are aware that cultism is on the high side in Ijanikin but in the coming days or weeks, there should be a sharp decline in the activities of cultists in that area.”

In the meantime, citizens and business owners in the state have been uneasy due to disturbances and killings caused by cults’ activities.

Idowu Owohunwa, the state’s commissioner of police, announced on Wednesday that he had established a special unit to deal head-on with the growing risks presented by cultists in the state during a parade of 42 alleged members of the group.

Owohunwa stated that the preliminary investigations revealed that the cultists’ supporters or networks had developed the capacity to locally produce semi-automatic and automatic shotguns. He noted that the 42 suspects were apprehended during intelligence-led operations in the Ijora, Orile, Ebute Meta, and Ikorodu areas.

“Our investigations are not only focused on identifying other members of these networks but to also get to the root of the fabricators of these dangerous weapons,” he added.

President-elect Bola Tinubu is scheduled to return to Nigeria today ahead of his inauguration on May 29.

His Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, announced Tinubu’s return to Nigeria on Monday.

The President-elect has been vacationing in France, according to Onanuga’s Twitter post.

According to reports, Tinubu will be escorted to the Defense House from the airport by a motorcade that resembles a carnival. His plane is scheduled to land in the presidential wing of the Abuja Airport.

The president-elect flew from Nigeria to France on March 21. According to his campaign council, the trip was to give him time to rest and make plans for his May 29 inauguration.

After an extremely demanding campaign and election season, Tinubu traveled to France to relax and strategize his transition strategy, according to a statement released by the APC presidential campaign council in March.