Grave Diggers Caught with Fresh Human Heads

Four members of a grave scavenging syndicate were over the weekend caught in possession of human heads in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The gravediggers, Olomofe, 45; Adewale Abiodun, 40; Akinola Sunday, 69; and Oluwadare Idowu 67 who were workers at a public cemetery owned by Akure South Local Government along Imafon road, Akure were nabbed while trying to severe the head of a newly buried corpse.

The four suspects are already cooling off in the police net after being quizzed by detectives at the Ondo State Police Command.

It was gathered that on May 23, 2020, the suspects had tried to exhume the corpse of a young tipper driver buried a few hours earlier on that day.The bubble burst for the grave digging syndicate after some of the bereaved came back to the cemetery a few hours after they left to make arrangements towards cementing the grave.

According to a family member who craved anonymity the criminals were also caught in possession of a female human head and four other fresh severed heads.

“It was when we caught them in the act that we started beating them and we discovered that they were in possession of other human heads.We immediately contacted men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) who came to pick them up.”

Meanwhile, residents of the community have appealed to both the local and state government to relocate the cemetery from the area.

According to them, such facilities should not be found within urban centres due to the health risks and other societal danger it portends.Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Ondo State Police Command, ASP Tee-Leo Ikoro said that investigation had begun into the matter towards unraveling other members of the syndicate.

While assuring of diligent prosecution of the case, ASP Ikoro said, “the ongoing investigation will reveal everything, particularly other members of the gang.

“From what we have found out, it shows that it’s not their first time. It’s something they have been doing, it’s a routine thing.

“Like we always hear, very many days for the thief, one day for the owner. I think this time, their cup is full,” Ikoro stated.

Daily Post

Man Falls from a Tree and Dies while Attempting to Commit Suicide

A 71-year-old man from Lusulu in Binga died after falling from a tree while trying to commit suicide, police have confirmed.

The incident occurred on Monday afternoon.

Matabeleland North police spokesperson Chief Inspector Siphiwe Makonese said Sianganda Mudenda of Zungwane 11 Village in Siandindi area had earlier attempted to hang himself from the roof truss in his bedroom hut but his 16-year-old granddaughter begged him not to hang himself.

The two were alone at home in the absence of the now deceased’s wife Mrs Noloa Mudenda (66).Determined to end his life, Mudenda later went outside the bedroom hut after lying to his granddaughter that he wanted to get something from a tree in the yard.

“On 18 May at around 4PM the now deceased was at his homestead with his granddaughter aged 16. He tried to hang himself from the roof truss in his bedroom hut and was restrained by the granddaughter,” said Chief Insp Makonese.

She said Mudenda later went outside after telling his granddaughter that he wanted to get something from a tree.

The minor reportedly begged her grandfather not to climb the tree to no avail.-@ncubeleon

US Issues New Travel Ban On Brazil

The United States of America has issued a travel ban on people travelling from Brazil after the South American country recorded 330 890 coronavirus cases including 21 048 deaths as of Friday 22 May, overtaking Russia for second place in the world for the highest number of cases, after the US.

The ban affects individuals who have been in Brazil within 14 days immediately preceding their attempt to enter the United States.

Issuing the ban, President Donald Trump said:I have determined that it is in the interests of the United States to take action to restrict and suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of all aliens who were physically present within the Federative Republic of Brazil during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States.

Johns Hopkins University asserts that the proclamation is aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus coming into the United States from Brazil.

Meanwhile, some European countries are reopening their economies despite experts warning against reopening too soon, and recommending some form of confinement measures until a vaccine or treatment is developed.

Governments are however feeling immense pressure to ease lockdowns which have had an adverse impact on economies.

CNN

Nigeria's Economy Grows by 1.87%

Nigeria’s economy grew 1.87% in the first three months of 2020 from a year earlier, the statistics office said on Monday, shrinking from the previous quarter as oil prices and international trade fell due to the coronavirus pandemic

It is the slowest quarterly growth rate in one-and-a-half years, and comes as Nigeria has still not recovered from a 2016 recession that sent more than 13 million people into unemployment.

The slowdown reflects “the earliest effects of the disruption” from the global outbreak, said Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, and comes as the government expects Africa’s largest economy to contract this year as much as 8.9% in a worst case scenario.

Nigeria’s crude production was 2.07 million barrels a day, the statistics office said, the country’s highest level in more than four years.

But a global oil price crash due to reduced demand from the pandemic threatens to offset those gains, with annual growth in the oil sector contracting 1.3% from the previous quarter to 5.06%.

The non-oil sector was also hit: growing by just 1.55%, which was down 0.72% from the last three months of 2019, the statistics office said.

The World Bank expects the coming recession to be “much more pronounced” than in 2016 and potentially Nigeria’s worst financial crisis in four decades.

africanews.com

Novel Innovations in Ogun state Agric sector

Ogun State Government has commenced plans to engage 10,000 farmers who will be supported for mechanised farming. Governor Dapo Abiodun said 10,000 youths would be supported across the zones, to plant cassava, maize and rice, which are crops the state is a leading producer.  According to the Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Kunle Somorin, each farmer will get a parcel of land and be supported with clearing, seedlings, extension and off-taker services to ensure the profitability of their ventures.

The initiative, which has the buy-in advantage, is a partnership arrangement to be funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the state. Currently, the state has partnered China, African Development Bank (AfDB), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the CBN to invest in the sector through the Public-Private Partnership Programme (PPP).

During the three-day visit by AfDB officials to the state, the Governor said his government welcomes investors coming in their large numbers into the state. He said: “Once foreign exchange was removed from food items like rice, maize and cassava, the local demand for the items would be stimulated, thereby, helping to encourage local production. This administration would be focused on producing cassava, rice and maize, in the belief that the focus would help stimulate the local economy as there won’t be foreign exchange. We would be engaging the CBN through its different programmes and also issue Certificate of Ownership to the farmers.”The leader of the AfDB Team, Oladapo Olagoke said the bank was looking at how it could use the agricultural potentials of the state to empower its people, adding that it has come up with a ‘Next Steps’ model, which he said would help to take the discussion to a point of reality.

Olagoke disclosed that the bank was also willing to turn the state into the hub for Agro Industrialisation in the country by using the state as an example to others in terms of creation of jobs for youths and how they could incorporate and develop programs that would empower the private sector to drive the agenda of agricultural transformation in the state.

While hosting the Executive Director/CEO of NEPC, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, Abiodun, who solicited collaboration to enable seamless export of goods and services produced in the state, said food items are going to be the state’s items of focus, “our produce of focus, our crops of focus, we will be producing cassava, rice and maize, believing that will stimulate local production, since there won’t be forex for them.

“We have engaged the CBN and they have different interventions like the Anchor Borrowers Programme, the Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme, the Agro Small and Medium Scale Enterprises scheme, among others; we will provide the land for our youths and cooperative, we will give them the certificate of ownership for those lands, as it will give them a sense of ownership.

“In view of the issues we have with cattle and ranching today, we have resolved to have own ranch in the state, we believe that we can have a world class ranch, a world class abattoir that can provide beef services to supermarkets, individuals,” he said. Awolowo promised to use his good office to fast-track the vision of the Governor, especially, in the area of agricultural productivity and human capital development. He said with the private sector background of the Governor, he would be able to transform the state into an industrial giant and a hub that would earn foreign exchange for the country through exporting finished products.

In addition, Abiodun has begun collaboration with relevant financial institutions in the country that are capable of providing credit support to cooperative societies and other micro, small and medium scale enterprises in the state. At this year’s International Day of Cooperatives Celebration with the theme: “ Coops for Decent Work,” the governor said his administration would provide an atmosphere that provides adequate motivation for cooperative societies to excel.

Another area of focus is the plan to exploit the potentials of the dairy market. It was learnt that the management of the Global Diary producers made an investment visit to the Governor recently in Abeokuta.  The Governor, who expressed joy, considering the opportunity the agricultural sector brings to the state, said the sector being one of the biggest pillars of his administration could help boost the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and also help reduce the rate of employment.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, Irish Diary Milk, Global, Samir Boudjada noted that they chose the state because of its proximity to Lagos State, and that the state was strategically relevant and had passed all tests.“This is the ultimate state for us, the feedback is really positive and we are looking forward to being part of this private partnership and creating jobs in Nigeria. This is the gateway state close to Lagos and you know when you are sighting a factory, you need certain parameters, we need a seaport that we can export out our goods, so, Ogun State is strategically relevant to the business of this nature and we did not make a mistake, Ogun State has passed all the tests,” he said.

The Guardian Newspaper