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Tag: Delta

  • How fire razed shops at Delta market

    How fire razed shops at Delta market

    Traders at the popular Igbudu market in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State are counting their losses after a fire outbreak destroyed shops with goods worth millions on Wednesday afternoon.

    The fire, which destroyed about a dozen shops at the Nupe Line section of the market, was reportedly caused by a cooking gas explosion at a residence in one of the buildings.

    Sources claimed the owner had flung out the cooking gas after it caught fire, but it unfortunately persisted, spreading to neighbouring shops in the storey building.

    The incident caused panic among buyers and sellers in the usually crowded market as seen in a circulated video clip. 

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    While some persons scampered for safety in the congested market line, some traders made efforts to salvage their goods from buildings close to the burning shops.

    No life was lost in the incident.

    It was learnt prior to the arrival of the fire service who eventually put out the fire, the locals made efforts to contain the inferno.

    The affected traders appealed for government’s aid, lamenting that all their lives savings and goods were gone. 

  • Communities laud firm’s efforts over climate change, hardship in N/Delta

    Communities laud firm’s efforts over climate change, hardship in N/Delta

    The activities of private security firm, Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), have been mitigating climate change and economic hardship across its benefitting Niger Delta communities.

    Over 300 beneficiaries of PINL drawn from Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo communities, posited this at an enlarged press conference held in Warri, Delta state.

    They commended the management of PINL for its efforts aimed at combating climate change.

    This follows the detailing of the company’s onslaught against oil theft by youths of Ijaw extraction and community stakeholders in Bayelsa State, Thursday.

    Speaking on behalf of Community Beneficiaries of Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, in Warri, an activist, Rex Anighoro, noted that the company through its robust Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, have been helping to mitigate the adverse impact of economic hardship in the country.

    He stated: “We recommend and recognize PINL for their exemplary commitment to civic engagement, citizens empowerment, community and sustainable development in our communities, in the broader Niger Delta and beyond.

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    “Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, has set an unimaginable precedent in engaging with stakeholders from the communities in the Niger Delta and beyond, empowering our young people and giving so much joy and smiles to those who have been bitten hard by the harsh economic communities.

    “Their efforts in supporting bills of peace initiatives and fostering a sense of responsibility among our youths, are commendable. Unlike any other company already in the Niger Delta providing pipeline services, PINL has consistently demonstrated an understanding of the critical role of stakeholders, civic actors and the communities, in achieving lasting peace and development.”

    In the same vein, youths of Ijaw extraction and community stakeholders in Bayelsa State, say PINL constantly employs state-of-the-art monitoring systems; installing sensors, cameras and other technologies to detect pipeline breaches, enabling swift responses and minimizing damage.

  • Manhunt for father who ‘killed’ his daughter in Delta

    Manhunt for father who ‘killed’ his daughter in Delta

    The Delta State Police Command have launched a manhunt for a suspect for the alleged murder of his six-year-old daughter, Miss Abigail Stanley.

    The incident occurred at the weekend in Ughelli, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State, the state Police Commissioner, Abaniwonda Olufemi, said.

    Although the circumstances surrounding the incident were sketchy at the time of filing this report, the state Police Command image maker, Bright Edafe (SP) confirmed the incident in a statement. He identified the suspect as Stanley Oviemureye.

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    The police boss said the father of the deceased smashed the head of his daughter several times on the wall, leading to her death.

    The statement reads: “This Command is aware of the gruesome murder of one Abigail Stanley (female ) aged six years, allegedly by the father of one Mr. Stanley Ovemureye.

  • Parents, Delta health ministry biker over nursing students’ fate

    Parents, Delta health ministry biker over nursing students’ fate

    A fresh crisis is in the offing in the Delta government-owned Colleges of Nursing Science following the alleged cancellation of Preliminary Training Studies (PTS) examinations by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, of Nigeria (NMCN) over the manner the exams were being conducted in the State.

    But Delta Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Onojaeme, described the report of cancellation of the examinations by NMCN as baseless.

    A group of Concerned Parents of children in College of Nursing Eku, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, in a save-our-soul letter signed by Mr Paul Erakpobruke and Mr Johnson Ovwile Ejiro to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori appealed he stepped in to arrest the ugly trends in Delta Colleges of Nursing to safeguard the future of their children.

    They alleged that the authorities of NMCN decided to cancel the PTS Exam conducted in the state because it was marred by malpractices and corruption after NMCN conducted an independent and thorough investigation into the issues raised against the PTS Exam and allegedly found them to be true.   

    They frowned at the action of Commissioner Onojaeme whom they accused of hiding the fact of the cancellation of the PTS Exam from the Governor but allegedly window shopping in an attempt to compromise some directors NMCN to get some of the student indexed through the back door.

    According to parents: “Good Deltans, we have been vindicated. The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria has cancelled the PTS Exam and the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Joseph Onojaeme is hiding this fact from the Governor of Delta State.

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    “The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria conducted an independent and thorough investigation of the issues raised against the PTS Exam and found them to be true.

    “The good people of Delta state are now asking Dr. Joseph Onojaeme who is actually corrupt. This Commissioner and his team can no longer deceive us. We now know the truth that this Commissioner who claims to be fighting corruption is the one aiding and abetting the corruption that is destroying the Nursing profession right now in Delta State.

    “One would have expected that with the cancellation of the PTS Examination, the Commissioner would feel remorse and try to amend his ways. On the contrary, he has put in place a wicked agenda to ensure that many candidates who sat for the PTS Exam that has been cancelled will not have the privilege of rewriting it.

    “This write-up is aimed at alerting the entire people of Delta State the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria has cancelled the PTS Exam which was carried out without due process and to be on alert so that their children will not be excluded from rewriting the Exam when the Ministry is ready to conduct another one.

    “Accordingly, we plead with His Excellency, the Governor, to take urgent steps to avert the impending calamity that will befall the Colleges of Nursing Sciences in the state.”

    According to their letter, over 200 students registered for the PTS Exams at Agbor, Warri about 150 students, Eku about 150 students, Asaba about 100 students; while Sapele about 100 registered students for the examination, and that if nothing is done urgently for them to retake the exam, their hope of acquiring a Nursing education will have been dashed.

    They appealed that for equity and fairness, students sent home as a result of the poorly conducted PTS Exam be called back to retake the examination.

    But Delta Commissioner for Health debunked the allegation that NMCN cancelled the PTS Exam held in Delta, urging Deltans and welling Nigerians to disregard the claim as nothing of such happened.

    Onojaeme said: “PTS Exam is not cancelled, they are currently doing Transcript valuation for transcript purposes, nothing more.

    “The PTS exam is not an examination that tests the knowledge of the students, it’s just an exam to regularise them, that is all.  The PTS Exam will stand, they have started their indexing.

    “The PTS exam is at no cost to the students and it’s not an exam that will cause them to fail and be out of school, so, I don’t know why they are scared of such an exam.

    “Take this from me, the PTS Exam has not been cancelled, I was with the Registrar of the Nursing Council, Mr Faruk two weeks ago and we didn’t discuss PTS, our discussions were centred on how he could increase the indexing number because of the pressure on admission from Delta State. 

    “No student was asked to drop out of any of our schools on account of this PTS Exam, because it’s just like an aptitude test and not the main Council exams, you can record this call and hold me responsible on this point.”

  • Delta community raises alarm over land grabbing syndicate

    Delta community raises alarm over land grabbing syndicate

    The people of Ogbe-Obi and Ogbe-Iyase in the Ubulu-Okiti community have warned of potential unrest unless the Delta State government prevents the Isah community in the Ogwashi-Uku kingdom from seizing Ubulu-Okiti land.

    This warning followed a tripartite meeting involving the people of Ubulu-Okiti, the Agidiehe community in Ogwashi-Uku, and the Ani-Agbala community in Ubulu-Uku regarding the alleged encroachment by the Utomi family from Isah-Ogwashi in the Aniocha South Local Government Area.

    The parties to the dispute described the Utomi family from Isah-Ogwashi as intruders, asserting that Isah-Ogwashi does not own any land within the Ubulu-Okiti community.

    Churchill Mafiana, Secretary to the Ubulu-Okiti Land Committee and Chief Patrick Ofuani, who spoke on behalf of the Ogbe-Obi in Ubulu-Okiti, said the land grabbers have caused much havoc to the community as they have prevented Ubulu- Okiti people from farming on the land. 

    Similarly, a representative from Agidiehe Community in Ogwashi Uku Kingdom, Chief Uche Okocha noted that Isah-Ogwashi has no boundary with Ubulu- Okiti. 

    Read Also: Troops foil kidnap attempt in Delta, rescue passengers

    According to Okocha, a joint committee of Ubulu-Okiti and Ogwashi-Uku as far back as 1914 established and graded the boundaries of Ogwashi-Uku and Ubulu-Okiti and there is no dispute as to the boundaries. 

    Another community leader, Mr. Jerry Isichei maintained that Ani-Agbala Community and Ubulu- Okiti have no land dispute as they have always lived harmoniously. 

    The Okwabani of Isah- Ogwashi- Uku, Chief Chinedu Utomi, denied the allegations of land grabbing. 

    He said only a few persons in his community are known to be behind land grabbing, stressing that it is unfair to label Isah- Ogwashi- Uku community as being responsible for the criminal actions of a few persons. 

     He said: “It is not true that Isah- Ogwashi- Uku community as a whole is responsible for this criminal behaviour.

    “This categorisation is unfair to us. It is only a few deviants that are responsible.We have reported these persons to relevant authorities.The Obi of Ogwashi- Uku and the police have invited them, but to no avail.

    “They are on their own.In every society there are bad elements, these are bad eggs that have refused to obey lawful authority.”

  • Troops foil kidnap attempt in Delta, rescue passengers

    Troops foil kidnap attempt in Delta, rescue passengers

    Troops of the Nigerian Army have thwarted a kidnap attempt by a suspected terrorist group on the  46 Km Ughelli-Patani Road in Delta State.

    A post on its official X Handle, the Nigerian Army stated that its troops’ swift response to a distress call resulted in the rescue of passengers who had been kidnapped while travelling in a commercial bus.

    It said the troops upon receiving the distress call, rapidly mobilised and confronted the terrorists, who were armed with assorted weapons.

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    According to the post, a fierce firefight ensued, compelling the terrorists to abandon their captives and flee the scene.

    “The rescued passengers have been taken into safe custody, where they are receiving necessary care and support.

    “Meanwhile, the troops are currently pursuing the fleeing terrorists,” it said.

  • Delta family cries out over missing 25-year-old

    Delta family cries out over missing 25-year-old

    • Say ‘Area Boys’ may have hounded son into hiding

    Following the killing of 17 soldiers in Okuama, Delta State and the backlash from the military that has left many scampering to safety, the Oriabore family in Ugheli are currently ruing the disappearance of their son, Castro Omozokpia Oriabore, whom they said took off following onslaught by rampaging ‘Area Boys’, who are accusing innocent youths of playing informants to the military. His cousin, Smart Emenya spoke with Gboyega Alaka.

    For well over two weeks, Smart Emenya and his relatives in Lagos and Ugheli in Delta State have been embroiled in a search for their cousin, Castro Omozokpia Oriabore, 25.

    According to Emenya, who lives in Ketu, Lagos and works as a businessman, Oriabore, who lived in Ugheli, Delta State, the last they heard from him was that he left their cousin’s place in Oshodi in Lagos, following attempts to kidnap him by some hoodlums.

    Emenya said the young man had had to relocate from his Ugheli base to Abuja, following the manhunt that followed the killing of 17 soldiers in Okuama Community in Ugheli Local Government Area on March 14.

    “According to reports reaching us in Lagos, soldiers had swooped on the community and environs in anger, attacking everybody in sight and burning houses of suspected culprits or conspirators and co-conspirators in reprisal attacks. Unfortunately, some of the Area Boys had turned the heat on innocent men in communities around, accusing them of giving the soldiers information about the culprits of the unfortunate incident. Having seen the way the boys attacked and killed two local workers, our brother decided to relocate from the community to Abuja. However, we learnt they traced him to our cousin’s place in Wuse, Abuja and he had to again run to Lagos.

    “At about that time, I think May 13, he called to brief me of his predicament and told me to send my address and description to my place, which I did. He said he would be coming two days later, on the May 15. However, I waited for him throughout on the 15th and even started calling him when it was getting too late, but his phone was switched off. I later learnt he had lost his phone while trying to escape from the boys. The following day, 31/05/2024, I went to the Divisional Police Headquarters in Ketu to lodge a report of a missing person. In my panic, it never occurred to me to call any of our cousins in Lagos. I just couldn’t think straight. I even thought he had been kidnapped or fallen into the hands of street urchins who may have robbed and murdered him. You know that is common these days. Meanwhile, because he had lost his phone, he could not communicate with me.

    “It was a week after I had lodged the complaint that I learnt he changed his mind at the last minute and opted to go stay with another of our brother in Oshodi. One of our brothers whom he confided in advised him to go to Monday’s place in Oshodi instead. His argument was that if the bad boys could trace him to Abuja, then they could well trace him to my place, since most of our brothers back home knew my place and knew how close I am to him.”

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    Curiously, Emenya said the boys still traced him to Monday’s residence in Oshodi and almost kidnapped him in broad daylight. 

    “Apparently they have informants even within the family circle, as they again traced him to Wilfred’s place in Oshodi, where they caught up with him as he went to buy some stuff across the street. I learnt they started beating him, accusing him of being a traitor and almost forced him into a space bus, until a soldier interfered and saved him from their clutches.

    “Unfortunately, Monday was not at home because it was mid-day, and instead of waiting to tell that one what had happened, he simply packed his stuff and left. Since then, nobody knows his whereabouts. The whole family is perturbed and really frantic, because he is a young man trying to find his feet. To make matters worse, he does not know anywhere in Lagos nor is he familiar with Lagos life. We only hope and pray that he is safe wherever he is.

  • Minister inaugurates multi-million naira gas facilities in Delta

    Minister inaugurates multi-million naira gas facilities in Delta

    Minister of state for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperike Ekpo, has restated federal government’s commitment to leverage on Nigeria’s vast natural gas reserves for national development.

    Ekpo, who spoke yesterday at the inauguration of Nedogas Plant and the 300 MMscfd Kwale Gas Gathering (KGG) Facility, in Kwale, Delta state, described the occasion as “a pivotal step forward in Nigeria’s energy sector.”

    According to him, the gas infrastructure aligns with the federal government’s “Decade of Gas” initiative, which aims to leverage our vast natural gas reserves for national development.

    He said, “I am particularly proud to witness the commissioning of these facilities, which represent major strides in our efforts to harness Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources. The Nedogas Plant and the Kwale Gas Gathering Facility are more than just industrial installations; they are symbols of progress, innovation, and sustainable development.”

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    Nedogas Development Company Limited (NDCL) is a Joint Venture company between Xenergi Limited and NCDMB in collaboration with the NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

    The KGG Facility was designed to handle stranded gas resources in Nigeria’s OML56 oil province by providing the opportunity for independent operators in the area to monetize natural gas from their fields through the gas gathering, compression, injection and metering infrastructure of the KGG for quick access to market.

    “The projects demonstrated the power of partnership between the government, private sector, and local communities and effectiveness of shared vision and collective effort in achieving remarkable outcomes.”

    He said the gas facilities will serve as models for future projects, on how to balance economic development with environmental stewardship.

    Delta Governor, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori, said the occasion marked a significant milestone in “our quest for energy security, economic growth, and environmental sustainability.”

    He said the gas facilities will ensure that Nigeria maximises the utilisation of associated gas, thereby reducing flaring and minimising the environmental impact of our oil and gas operations.

    Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Ogbe, who expressed happiness at gas facilities, noted it exemplifies the board’s mandate to promote the development and utilisation of local capacity in the oil and gas industry.

  • Delta DPP accused of securing convict’s bail

    Delta DPP accused of securing convict’s bail

    The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) of Delta State Ministry of Justice, Mr Anthony Orhorhoro, has been accused of securing the bail of a convict, Mr. Fidelis Ishie, pending an appeal.

    The allegation was contained in a statement by Chief Benson Oyemogum of Ebedei-Uno town, Ukwani Local Government Area, in suit No: MOB/50C/2020: C.O.P. vs Fidelis Ishie filed in 2020, on alleged criminal blackmail and publication of falsehood against him contrary to criminal codes.

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    In the statement, Oyemogum alleged that Ishie was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine and was remanded at the Agbor Federal Correctional Centre in Ika South Local Government Area.

    He alleged that the DPP intimidated the Police lawyer to withdraw from the matter and announced himself as the one conducting the proceedings on behalf of the Commissioners for Police and Justice and Attorney-General.

  • Generator fumes kill three boys in Delta

    Generator fumes kill three boys in Delta

    Residents of the Osubi community in the Okpe council area of Delta state were thrown into mourning on Wednesday, May 8, following a report of the deaths of three teenage boys who left a generator set turned on in their single-room apartment overnight.

    The deceased teenagers simply identified as Isaac, Alex and Ese, were believed to have died from inhaling the fumes of the generator after sleeping off.

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    One of the deceased, reportedly still alive when rescue came, but was passing out excreta, later died.

    The mother of one of the deceased boys is said to manage a restaurant in the area.

    A resident who spoke on the incident said the boys put the generator inside the room over fear of thieves stealing it, adding that the room had no windows.

    The Delta Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Bright Edafe, is yet to respond to a message seeking comments on the incident.