Category: Special Report

It has always been the desire of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) to make a positive impact on university education in Nigeria, knowing full well that this higher level of education can play a significant role in the social and technological development of a nation.

We have a vision for a better nation; a Nigeria of frank and candid academicians, dependable and honest artisans, God-fearing and faithful pastors, decent and law-abiding citizens, trustworthy and upright youths, caring and compassionate doctors, honourable and truthful politicians, open and sincere business community, courageous and reliable public servants.We have a vision for a country where judges are just and impartial, soldiers, policemen and women are compassionate and considerate, traditional rulers embody distinction, dignity and decorum, bankers are honest and honourable. We have a vision for a future generation of creative, innovative, inventive entrepreneurs. we want to mould a generation of kind, thoughtful and gentle adolescents, who are motivated to build and sustain a better Nigeria where peace, justice fairness and Godliness reign. We are looking forward with optimism to a Nigeria we can all defend, protect and proud of. We have a desire and an aspiration for a nation whose trust is in the Lord God Almighty. This is our vision at the Redeemer’s University (RUN), where we want to build the future of Nigeria, today. Because you embody this vision, we are honoured and privileged to have you with us as our core partners, as we RUN with the vision for a better nation.

This is in line with the vision of Pastor E. A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of RCCG for the Redeemer’s University. Pastor Adeboye longs for the return to the glorious days of mission schools, where students acquire high quality education with the fear of God and become useful citizens.

The Redeemer’s University take-off campus is strategically and conveniently located within the Redemption City, at Km 46/48, Lagos – Ibadan Expressway, in  Loburo,  Ibafo  in  Obafemi-Owode  Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria.

Professor Zachariah Debo Adeyewa, the current Vice-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University said one of the legacies he hopes to achieve is moving the university to its permanent site in Edo, Osun State. Adeyewa, a professor of meteorology was born on February 22, 1957, and a native of Inisan, Osun State, said funding has been a challenge to many private universities in Nigeria. He thanked Pastor Adeboye for his support for the university. The RUN vice-chancellor said the institution is IT driven in all aspect of its academic and administrative functions and boost of qualified lecturers and administrators. He obtained his first and second degrees in Physics/Meteorology at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria between 1981 and 1989. His PhD programme was sponsored by the International Programme in the Physical Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden. He said private universities are competing well with the public universities and called for the TETFUND be given to private universities for research purpose. Professor Adeyewa is an Associate member of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy, a Guest Scholar in Sweden (sponsored by the Swedish Institute, Stockholm). He is also a visiting scientist (Center of Excellence Fellowship) at the Nagoya University, Japan. Professor Adeyewa was an auxiliary professor of the Department of Meteorology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA between 2004 and 2007. He has been at the Federal University of Technology, Akure since October 1989 where he served in different capacities until his assumption as Vice-Chancellor on October 1, 2011.

They have killed my husband! They have killed my husband!” This was the refrain on the lips of Mrs. Comfort Akinwande, wife of a tricycle operator, Sunday Akinwande, allegedly beaten to death by the children of a female passenger following a disagreement they had over transport fare in Sango-Ota, Ogun State.

The incident, which occurred at Joju area of the town penultimate Wednesday, resulted in a protest by operators of tricycles, popularly called Keke Marwa, as well as other residents. Eyewitnesses said the deceased operator had just returned from the mechanic workshop where he had gone to fix his tricycle when a woman identified as Iya Shaba approached him and said she wanted to charter his tricycle to the bus stop near her residence.

Akinwande was said to have charged N200 for the trip and the woman agreed to pay the said sum. But trouble started for the 37-year-old transporter when upon getting to her destination, Iya Shaba refused to pay the agreed fare. Instead, she offered Akinwande N150.

A resident, Layiwola Isiba, said: “Sunday (Akinwande) had just returned to his park in Maltina Junction, Anisere in Joju area of Sango-Ota when a woman called Iya Shaba chartered his tricycle to a place called Obed Pepple Junction. She had some plastic containers and two kids with her and had agreed to pay N200 only for her to renege on getting to her destination.

“When it was time for the woman to alight at the bus stop, she handed the deceased the sum of N150. She claimed the agreement they had was that she would be dropped at her residence; a claim the deceased said was not true. She left the scene and headed home, but this angered Akinwande who chased her in his tricycle.”

The altercation that ensued angered two grown up sons of the woman who rushed out of their home to confront Akinwande. They allegedly beat Akinwande until he fell down and became unconscious.

Throwing more light on the incident, a source who pleaded not to be named said: “Two male children of the woman, Shaba and Falapa, gripped Sunday for having the audacity to confront their mother. They beat and dragged him on the floor until he collapsed.

“Initially, they thought he was pretending. But it later dawned on them that he was no longer breathing. They even beat the elder brother of the deceased who believed that they beat Akinwande with juju and therefore demanded for the remedy.

“Policemen from Sango-Ota intervened and arrested the errant children while their mother has since bolted into thin air.

“We took Sunday to a nearby private hospital where he was confirmed dead. His colleagues who could not come to terms with his death took him to another private hospital where he was again certified dead.”

Akinwande’s death was said to have angered many residents of the area, who stormed the residence of his alleged killers for a reprisal. The protesters who chanted war songs however vandalised the building when they did not meet the woman at home.

Our correspondent gathered the woman’s husband, popularly called Baba Ibadan, who is also the owner of the building, had been missing for some time, and that was why it was difficult to caution the woman and her children.

Describing the deceased as an easy going person, a resident, Madam Theresa Isiba, said: “Sunday was an unassuming person. He could not hurt a fly. He was a very hardworking person and a responsible family man. Iya Shabi and her children have been terrorising residents unchallenged for some time now. That was why no one could rescue Sunday from them.”

 Lamenting her sudden transition into a widow, Akinwande’s wife called for justice. “My husband was a very gentle person. How do I raise our three children? The enormous task of caring for the family is now my responsibility, and there is no one I can run to for help.

“I want those who killed my husband to be punished accordingly because he was going about his legitimate job when they killed him for no good reason.

“My husband had never had any quarrel with the woman and her children. On the day of the incident, he went to fix his tricycle and only returned to the park at about 4.30 pm. The woman was the first passenger he would pick, only for her to instruct her children to beat up my husband.”

The 33-year-old widow called for diligent handling of the matter so as to bring the masterminds to book.

She added: “The woman called Iya Shaba, who is now on the run, should be arrested and prosecuted because she was the one who instructed her children to beat my husband to death. She should not be allowed to escape justice at all.”

A chieftain of the tricycle operators association in the area, Pastor Mike Oyebade, said: “Sunday (Akinwande) was an easy going person. He served as out treasurer until his death. He was hit with juju and his complexion changed immediately.”

A community leader who did not want his name in print blamed the incident on the inability of the landlords in the area to caution Iya Shaba and her children.

He said: “The landlords in the area have become totally indifferent to the actions of the woman and her children. That was why none of them could come out to rescue the late Sunday when he was being beaten by her two sons.”

The body of the Ondo-born transporter has since been deposited at the General Hospital, Ifo, Ogun State.

Confirming the incident, the spokesman of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, said: “The Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department is currently handling the case. I can confirm to you that two suspects are being detained over the death of the tricycle operator and they will soon be charged to court.”

Since she was brutally murdered in a Lagos hotel in July, the dust is yet to settle on the death of delectable Cynthia Osokogu. The circumstances in which she was killed by two men she had met on Facebook left the whole nation in shock.

Two months after the ugly incident, her body is yet to be committed to mother earth even though the family has performed the funeral rites. Police insisted they were yet to conclude the necessary investigation and so did not release her body the day it was scheduled for burial. The family has tentatively fixed her final burial for October 5.

Equally shocking, however, is that beyond their personal names, not much is known about the family backgrounds of the two suspected killers of Cynthia, Nwabufor Echezona and Ezike Ilechukwu Olisameka. Even their real names are shrouded in controversy as they were initially identified as Nwabufor Okomu and Odera Ezekiel.

While some believe the police could deliberately be shielding their real names for the sake of thorough investigation, our correspondent in Nnewi, Anambra State, where one of the suspects was said to have been arrested, swung into action to locate the affected families, but all the efforts he made in the four quarters of Nnewi , Nnewi North Local Government Area to locate the family were fruitless as nobody seemed willing to be associated with the suspects.

It is a trend that seems to confirm the saying that success has many parents but failure is an orphan. It would most probably have been easier to locate the families of the suspects if they are being honoured for one heroic act or the other.

When the news later broke that the two suspects hailed from Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area, Anambra State, our man again swung into action, but all the efforts he made to locate the families were to no avail. Neither the visits he made to Agulu nor the phone calls he made to prominent indigenes of the town yielded any meaningful result.

At Nwagu junction, he had been told that Agulu has 22 villages that boast of prominent citizens. But as he mentioned the issue of Cynthia’s killers, all the songs that were being sung about the greatness of Agulu ceased and none of the people on hand was willing to be engaged in further conversation.

Taking his destiny in his own hands, our correspondent headed for Okpifite, one of the Agulu villages, but there were no signs of such names. A guide who exhibited some admiration for journalists, however, encouraged our reporter to come back the next day, promising to make his own findings and avail the reporter with whatever information he had.

Rather than return to Nnewi, our reporter went to a neighbouring village named Nkitaku, which is the native community of Governor Peter Obi, and then to Nwanchi village where Igwe Elochukwu Obodoako hails from. He also went to Amaoji, the native home of Chief Azubuike Okoye, but there was no clue of the families.

 Our reporter also visited Obeagu where Sir Eric Okoye of Juhel Pharmacy comes from, and Umuowelle where the Provost of the Federal College of Education, Umunze, Prof. Josephat Ogbuagu, hails from before heading for Nneogidi, the new base of Prof. Dora Akunyili and Umunonwu, the hometown of Dr Ejike Imoke, an international business tycoon, but there was no clue.

After visiting 15 of the 22 communities, our correspondent returned to Nnewi. Nnewi is made up of four quarters, namely Umudim, Uruagu, Nnewichi and Otolo. It hosts most of the manufacturing industries in Anambra State, which is why it is nicknamed the Japan of Africa. But the people were willing willing to speak on any issue but Cynthia’s killers. Those who volunteered to say anything would simply say her suspected killers are not from the area.

Nnewi boasts of such prominent names as the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu; the late Akwueke Nwafor Orizu; former Minister of Finance and Economic planning, Dr. Chu Okongwu; Dr Cosmas Maduka of Coscharis Group, who has the franchise for BMW, Ford, Land Rover, among other vehicles in sub-Saharan Africa and Dr Chika Okafor of Chikason Group, owners of A-Z Petroleum. Others include Chief Joe Obijiaku of Middle Point Group, who has the franchise for Polyguard Auto Care products; Chief Innocent Chukwuma of Innoson Group, manufacturers of vehicles and other items and Chief Gabriel Chukwuma of Gabros International Football.

Everyone our correspondent contacted was willing to speak about the big names from the area, but they recanted as soon as the topic changed to Cynthia’s killers.

On September 12, he returned to Okpifite only to find the village’s vigilance group surrounded by the residents, looking worried as they discussed the presence of kidnappers in the area. When he met the guide that had earlier promised him some information on the family of Cynthia’s killers, he started talking about the arrest of a kidnapping suspect. He reminded the man about their earlier discussion on Cynthia’s killers, but he said nobody had such names in Agulu.

During further enquiries in Nnewi, some residents confirmed that one of the suspects was actually caught in Nnewi but that does not make the suspect an Nnewi man. But a man who said Ilechukwu is from Otolo-Nnewi advised our correspondent to go to Otolo.

At Otolo, our correspondent asked about the Ilechukwu family from the Palace Secretary, Prince Joseph Ikeotuonye, but he said: “Otolo is as large as Awka. There are too many Ilechukwus in Otolo, but it is not to my knowledge that Cynthia’s killers are from Nnewi. What I know is that the police arrested one of them in Nnewi, and he could be arrested anywhere.

‘’I can’t say particularly that I know the family, because the name in the papers is different from the surname, Ilechukwu, that we have in Nnewi. Our own Ilechukwu is a surname but the one in the papers is a middle name.”

On his part, the Chairman of Nzuko Ora Nnewi, the apex decision-making body of Nnewi, Chief Agu Onyeka, said: “Nnewi is big, but we don’t have such a name. If we have it, I will not hesitate to tell you about that family. I only know that one of the suspects was arrested in Nnewi and nothing more”.