Hundreds of Kenyans on Thursday, July 7,  took to the streets of Nairobi and went to the office of the President to protest the high cost of living in the East African country. 

According to the angry citizens, the price of basic commodities including cooking oil, maize flour, wheat flour, and sugar have doubled in recent weeks, putting pressure on households struggling to make ends meet.

The protesters even threatened that election won’t hold in the country if there’s no food for them eat. 

Business capital reported that some protesters who addressed the media accused leaders of failing to address the issue, leaving them with no option but to fight for themselves.

“Our elected leaders have failed us and Kenyans are going through so much and that is why we are here to demand the reduction of prices for basic commodities,” one of the activists said.

Another protestor said that the government shouldn’t blame the Russia-Ukraine conflict for the high cost of living, claiming that the conflict has just worsened the situation.

“The prices of food were high even before the issue of Ukraine came, we are in this situation because of too much borrowing and the money goes into the pockets of a few,” he stated.

With just 32 days to the elections, the protesting Kenyans lamented that the two front runners in the presidential election , Raila Odinga and William Ruto, are just giving promises instead offering solutions.

“Raila is a friend of the President so it’s just a phone call away, Ruto has been in government for ten years and he is also giving promises, why can’t they help us now? another protester wondered.

Government Spokesperson, Cyrus Oguna defended President Uhuru Kenyatta over the high cost of living currently being witnessed in the country.

Oguna pointed out that the Head of State is not to be blamed for the situation as he attributed it to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

“It is not fair to put this blame on one person, it is not the President. The war in Ukraine has made things difficult for nations across the globe,” he said, adding that the situation was not unique to Kenya alone.

Emmanuel Onakoya, a 60-year-old guard has been arraigned in court for stealing a piano and a plasma television from the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Peculiar Parish, Ayobo, Lagos, where he works.

The suspect who was brought before an Ikeja magistrates’ court on Thursday July 7, was accused of committing the offence on June 19.

The prosecutor, Insp Funmi Akinleye said the defendant told the pastor in charge of the church that thieves broke into the premises when he was not around.

The pastor reported the incident to the police after he found the claim to be untrue. The Magistrate, Mrs O.O. Fajana, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum and adjourned to September 20.

The Westminster Magistrate court in the UK has ruled that David Ukpo who was to donate his kidney to the ailing daughter of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, is not a minor.

Recall that Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, were on June 23 arraigned before the court on charges bordering on conspiracy to arrange/facilitate the travel of another person with a view to exploitation, namely organ harvesting.

The Ekweremadus were arrested after David raised an alarm that he was 15 years old and was brought to the UK for his kidney to be harvested. He was on the verge of being operated on at the Royal Fee Hospital when he opted out and informed the doctors that he was ’15”.

However, his details with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and with two bank accounts he operates in Nigeria show he is 21 years old.

At the hearing of the case today, July 7, the Ekweremadus pleaded not guilty to the charges of human trafficking and organ harvesting in the United Kingdom.

Counsel to the Ekweremadus argued that the victim lied about his age but the prosecution insisted that he is a minor. The court has now ruled that the victim is not a minor.

Thereafter, the judge adjourned the case till August 4. Meanwhile, the UK attorney-general has approved that the case be tried at the Central Criminal Court in London.

The Ekweremadus are to remain in custody till the next hearing.

Photos and a video which captured moment Prophet Chukwuemeka Odumeje’s church was demolished in Anambra state have been shared online. 

LIB reported earlier that a chaotic scene was recorded at Nwagene, Onitsha, as Anambra state government carried out the demolition of The Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention and Deliverance Ministry, a church owned by Prophet Chukwuemeka Odumeje.

Prophet Odumeje was seen in a clip shared online, trying to stop the demolition which started on Thursday morning, July 7. 

The demolition exercise is said to be part of the urban renewal programme launched by the state government. 

Here are photos and video from the scene below…….

The Anambra State governor, Charles Soludo, has confirmed it authorized the demolition of the church of popular Pastor Chukwuemeka Odumeje.

In a press release signed on his behalf by his Chief Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, Gov Soludo said Odumeje’s church and other buildings marked for demolition failed to comply with the government directive to remove the illegal structure built on waterway.

The press release with the title: Anambra State Government begins demolition of illegal structures in Fegge, reads;

“Following the expiration of the more than two weeks notice beginning from April 2022 served on developers and building owners who built several illegal structures along the waterway in Fegge and environs within Onitsha, Anambra state government has begun demolition of such structures.

The exercise which is being carried out by a joint government task force, commenced the exercise from Bida Road by Modebe Avenue, Fegge Onitsha.

The affected buildings include Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention Deliverance Ministries, shops and other perimeter fences

The structures were marked since April, 2022 and all developers and building owners were served notice to remove such illegal structures”

The Federal government has declared July 11 and 12 public holidays to mark this year’s Eid Kabir celebration.

In a statement released, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who announced this, congratulated all Muslims and Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora on this occasion.

“I call on Muslims to continue to imbibe the spirit of love, peace, kindness and sacrifice, as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) and to also use the period to pray for peace, unity, prosperity and the stability of the country, considering the challenges of insecurity we face at the moment” Aregbesola said

The Minister assured that the administration of President Buhari is “committed to the security of lives and properties of all Nigerians, empowering the citizens for successful living, the provisions of social investments programmes and adequate security in the schools” he added.

Aregbesola, while wishing Muslims a happy Eid-el Kabir celebration, urged Nigerians to take responsibility by reporting any suspicious individuals and criminal activities they observed around them to law enforcement agencies with the use of N-Alerts application that has been designed to mitigate security challenges with prompt response from security agencies: as soon as you “See Something Do N-Alerts”, most especially during this festival.

He also enjoined all Nigerians to be vigilant and observant of intruders in their communities. “We must all take responsibility for the security of lives and property as we celebrate this year’s festival” he said.

Aregbesola craves the indulgence of every Nigerians to come together, put our heads, hearts and all we have together, in order to achieve relative peace for harmonious coexistence and put an end to insecurities in Nigeria, he reiterated.

The Minister assured all Nigerians of the government’s protection of all under the law, maintenance of law and order and keeping the peace in all situations.

A chaotic scene was recorded at Nwagene, Onitsha, as Anambra state government carried out the demolition of The Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention and Deliverance Ministry, a church owned by Prophet Chukwuemeka Odumeje.

Prophet Odumeje was seen in a clip shared online, trying to stop the demolition which started on Thursday morning, July 7. 

He was however pushed away by security operatives and stopped from accessing the building. 

Watch the video below…

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has said that former Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, is safe in custody as there was no threat to his life.

The Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Francis Enobore, said this in a statement released in Abuja today July 6. 

Enobore said that it was necessary to address the issue following a publication by an online media organization alleging Kyari was attacked by his fellow inmates.

”The story is false, reckless and mischievous. It is the handiwork of some jobless cheap recognition-seeking charlatans masquerading as newsmen, lacking in intellectual capacity to interrogate what they conjure or hear before feeding the public.

That the author is completely oblivious of where and how detention of a suspect originates speaks volume of his ineptitude and the much his story can be relied upon.

For the record, Abba Kyari is one of the over 800 inmates in the location where he is being kept. However, notable individuals including Ex-Governors, Ministers, Senators and other celebrities of higher social status have passed through the same facility without any threat to their lives, ” he said

Enobore added 

“Those playing pranks with his detention are warned to desist from such unpatriotic acts as they may be asked, through formal litigation, to justify their statement.

The Controller-General, NCoS, Haliru Nababa, is determined to continue to upscale inmates’ welfare, safe and humane custody with fervour.

Therefore, he will not be distracted by inane publications”

Ahead of the 2023 elections, once again the social media gladiators have begun drumming support for their most preferred candidates.

In total, there are 16 political parties in the race led by APC; main opposition PDP; Labour Party, LP; and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.

Atiku Abubakar leads the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; Bola Ahmed Tinubu, All Progressives Congress, APC; Peter Obi, Labour Party, LP; and Musa Kwankwaso, New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.

According to data from google trends, it seems Peter Obi is one of the most searched and talked about candidates. No thanks to the ‘I am OBIdient movement’ that has rented the social media space in support of the Labour Party presidential candidate.

However, analysis of the data shows the searches are coming from the southern states of the country which provides a vivid picture.

Based on the National Bureau of Statistics latest figure, the number of internet subscribers in the South stands at 77 million while the Northern states has 68.5 million.

However, if the presidential election is to be counted based on social media followers, Peter Obi will not be in the top three.

When it comes to social media presence, especially on Twitter, considered the fastest and reliable news source that every political figure or brand tries to exploit and increase its reach, Atiku Abubakar dominates.

StatiSense reports that as at the end of June, Atiku had 4.29 million followers on social media ahead of President Buhari’s 4.14 million followers.

Vice President Osinbajo comes third with 3.84 million, Dino Melaye(3.45m) and Bukola Saraki(2.88m).

Others in the list include Shehu Sani(2.62m) Goodluck Jonathan 1.95m, Ben Murray Bruce 1.85m, Jide Sanwolu(1.70m), Garba Shehu (1.42m) while Peter Obi completes the top 10 most followed politicians in Nigeria with 1.40m.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu has 1.2M, and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso trails with 202.3K followers.

It is important to note that Peter Obi’s media presence is growing rapidly and it added 357k new followers in June.

If Peter Obi is to stand a chance come 2023, he will need the support of at least 15 million real voters at the elections, how this will be achieved remains to be seen.

From the earlier reported google trend search, Peter’s Obi major interest is coming from the South with highest internet subscribers but not voters.

According to the latest update released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the CVR exercise, 10.48 million new registrations have been recorded while 8.63 registrations have been completed as of June 27, 2022.

This means that about 9 million new eligible voters have been added to the country’s voters list which stood at 84 million in 2019.

From the latest data, the youths accounted for 70% of the completed registration in the ongoing CVR, as 6 million out of the 8.6 million new registrations were done by youths.

The top states for registered voters using last election numbers and newly registered are Lagos (6,942,051), Kano (5,838,329), Kaduna (4,239,441), Rivers (3,587,679), Katsina (3,444,064).

Others are Delta (3,242,174), Oyo (3,216,061), Benue (2,717,673), Bauchi (2,711,985), and Anambra (2,651,152).

[NationalDaily]

Major General Bashir Magashi, the Minister of Defence has disclosed that about 600 inmates broke out of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, with about 300 inmates successfully retrieved from the bushes.

Addressing newsmen, Magashi said they suspect the attack to be from the Boko-Haram terrorist sect.

He said, “They came in with high explosives they attempted the initial entry with a very high explosive, but they were unsuccessful.

“Then they attacked another section of the wall with even higher grade explosive which brought the wall down. The forces on ground did everything they could to repel them but the numbers they came with was overwhelming which they were not able to fight against. But they kept on fighting gallantly, unfortunately the breach happened.

“The incident took about 30 minutes, then reinforcements arrived. The inmates here are about 994. And when they broke out, because this people came specifically, we understand they are Boko Haram, they came specifically for their co-conspirators, in order to get them, some of them are now in the general population. So they broke out and other people in that general population also escaped.

“But many of them have returned, they have reported themselves to the police, some we have successfully retrieved from the bushes were they were hiding. And right now we have retrieved about 300, out of about 600 that escaped their cells.”

The federal government has announcedthe restructuring of five electricity distribution companies, also known as DISCOs. 

 Executive Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sanusi Garba, and Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh, confirmed this in a joint statement. 

The affected companies are Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Kaduna Electric, and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED).

Garba and Okoh explained that the announcement followed Fidelity Bank’s activation of the call on the collaterised shares of KEDCO, BDEC, and Kaduna Electric over their inability to repay loans obtained to pay for assets acquired in the 2013 privatisation exercise.

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) would be a placeholder board for IBEDC in a temporary capacity while the PHED undergoes restructuring to prevent its imminent insolvency.

The new boards for the affected discos have been approved and the bureau was collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Power to ensure no service disruptions during the transition.

The statement read; 

RESTRUCTURING OF KANO, BENIN, KADUNA, IBADAN, AND PORT HARCOURT DISCOs

Today we were informed by Fidelity Bank that they have activated the call on the collateralized shares of Kano, Benin, and Kaduna (Fidelity and AFREXIM) DISCOs and that they have initiated action to take over the Boards of these DISCOs and exercise the rights on the shares.

Fidelity Bank’s action is a contractual and commercial intervention and is between the Core Investors in the DISCOs and the lender. BPE is involved because of the 40% shareholding of Government in the DISCOs. Fidelity Bank has informed us that the new Board members of the affected DISCOs will be as follows:

–              Kano DISCO: Hasan Tukur (Chairman), Nelson Ahaneku (Member), Engr. Rabiu Suleiman (Member)

–              Benin DISCO: KC Akuma (Chairman), Adeola Ijose (Member), Charles Onwera (Member)

–              Kaduna DISCO: Abbas Jega (Chairman), Ameenu Abubakar (Member), Marlene Ngoyi (Member)

BPE has nominated Bashir Gwandu (Kano), Yomi Adeyemi (Benin), and Umar Abdullahi (Kaduna) as independent Directors to represent Government’s 40% interest in the three DISCOs respectively, during this transition.

We are engaging with the Central Bank of Nigeria (as the banking sector regulator) to ensure an orderly transition and to ensure that Fidelity Bank does not hold the DISCOs’ shares in perpetuity.

It is envisaged that the majority interest in the entities would be sold to capable private sector investors willing and able to re-capitalize and manage the entities efficiently.

We have also received assurances that Fidelity Bank will participate fully in all the ongoing market initiatives aimed at improving the sector (e.g. National Mass Metering Program).

In the interim, NERC and BPE met on an Emergency Basis and activated the Business Continuity Process and have appointed interim Managing Directors in the affected DISCOs.

1. Kano Disco – Ahmad Dangana
2. Benin Disco – Henry Ajagbawa

iii.            Kaduna Disco– Yusuf Usman Yahaya

Also, with the takeover of Ibadan DISCO by AMCON, the BPE has obtained approval from NERC to appoint Kingsley Achife as the interim Managing Director.

In a temporary capacity the leadership of AMCON will be a placeholder Board for the Ibadan franchise (Ahmed Kuru – Chair, Eberechukwu Uneze – Member, Aminu Ismail – Member). Oluwaseyi Akinwale will represent the interest of Government on the Board alongside the DG of BPE.

Lastly, we are re-structuring the Management and Board of Port Harcourt DISCO to forestall the imminent insolvency of the entity.

As a condition for support to the entity to meet its market obligations, Iboroma Akpana will take over as the Chairman of the Board. Emmanuel Okotete, Eyo Ekpo, Ismaila Shuaibu and the DG of BPE will form the interim Board. Mr. Benson Uwheru will take over as the Managing Director of PHEDC as part of the changes.

Government will support the activation of Emergency funds through the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilization Facility to support the entity while it goes through restructuring and repositioning to serve the citizens of the franchise area better.

We are working with the Honourable Minister of Power to ensure no service disruptions during these transitions. We remain committed to supporting the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry to serve Nigerians better.

Sanusi Garba      Alex A. Okoh

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN NERC      DIRECTOR GENERAL, BPE

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it is working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to curtail vote-buying during elections in the country.

Oyo state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Barr Mutiu Agboke who admitted that vote-buying is major headache for INEC during a valedictory programme/media briefing yesterday in Ibadan, warned politicians to desist from the act in future elections, saying anyone arrested for buying votes during elections would be prosecuted. 

Agboke promised that INEC will ensure transparent, credible, free and fair general elections in 2023. He also appealed to security agencies and the political class to continue to join hands with it to tackle the menace of vote-buying in the country.

Urging residents of the state to collect their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) which he said are key to the participation of any voter in the upcoming election, he noted that “the current voting system is such that without a PVC, no electorate shall be allowed to vote under any condition.”

Agboke also revealed that “INEC has phased out the use of Smart Card Readers and Incident forms.”

A woman has been arrested for allegedly selling her daughter and niece, both aged 14, to two men, aged 59 and 69, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. 

She allegedly sold the teens, who are from Lusikisiki Village in the Eastern Cape, to the men in Matsheketshe Village, Umkhomazi, outside Durban.

Authorities were made aware of the incident after residents saw the girls with the men.

“The act drew consternation from members of the community after noticing the two young girls staying with elder men,” Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza said on Tuesday.

Police were investigating a case of abduction and rape, spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said.

“The girls were found to have been performing duties for these men, including washing, cooking and cleaning the houses,” he said. 

“It is alleged that the girls were also sharing bedrooms with these men. Police arrested the mother [who sold the children to the men] and another 69-year-old man, while another man, aged 59, managed to escape,” Khoza said.

She added one of the children confirmed she was raped.

Both the mother and 69-year-old appeared in the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

The case was postponed to Friday for the accused to make a formal bail application.

Khoza condemned the mother’s alleged conduct.

“This reflects how morals have undergone a radical decline to an extent that people could sell their children. We are baffled by this. We strongly believe that the rule of law, one of the basic tenets of our hard-fought democracy, must prevail.” 

She said police should leave no stone unturned in dealing with the case.

“We want to see justice in this case of children abuse and justice must be delivered without fear, favour or prejudice. We commend the police and social workers for their swift reaction in apprehending two suspects in this case. However, we want to urge our law enforcement agencies to track down the suspect who escaped right under their noses,” she added.

Both teens were being sheltered in a youth and child care centre and are receiving psycho-social support. 

 Zimbabwe’s central bank said it would start selling gold coins this month as a store of value to stop runaway inflation, which has weakened the local currency against the dollar .

The country’s central bank governor John Mangudya said in a statement on Monday that the coins will be available for sale from July 25 in local currency, U.S. dollars and other foreign currencies at a price based on the prevailing international price of gold and the cost of production.

The “Mosi-oa-tunya” coin, named after Victoria falls, can be converted into cash and be traded locally and internationally, the central bank said.

The gold coin will contain one troy ounce of gold and will be sold by Fidelity Gold Refinery, Aurex and local banks, it added.

Last week, Zimbabwe more than doubled its policy rate to 200% from 80% and outlined plans to make the U.S. dollar legal tender for the next five years to boost confidence.

Annual inflation, which hit almost 192% in June, cast a shadow over President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to revitalise the economy.

Zimbabwe abandoned its inflation-ravaged dollar in 2009, opting instead to use foreign currencies, mostly the U.S. dollar. The government reintroduced the local currency in 2019 to aid the economy, but it has rapidly lost value again.

President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Emmanuel Osodeke has said they are ready to call off its nationwide industrial action immediately if the Federal Government signs the negotiated agreement.

In an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday July 5, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke said the union is waiting for a positive response from President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

He also accused the federal government of not taking the aggrieved lecturers serious, hence why they are taking so long to resolve the issues that led to the strike. 

Osodeke said; 

“As far as ASUU is concerned, the strike can end tomorrow, we have finished the negotiations, let the government call us this night that we should come tomorrow and sign the agreement, we will be there.

“Let government tell us they have finished testing the UTAS, we have accepted it. By tomorrow, we will call off the strike. We are finished (with negotiations).

“We are just waiting, and challenging the government. When will they sign the agreement, and when will they accept UTAS? Those are the two questions we need to ask the Nigerian government.”

The ASUU President also said the federal government has failed to pay the striking lecturers their salaries for the past five months, noting that the tool used as a blackmail to punish the university workers will not work.

Judge Otis Wright of a United States Central District Court in California has postponed the sentencing of Nigerian fraudster Ramon Abass known as Hushpuppi to September 21.

“At the request of counsel, the Sentencing is CONTINUED to 9/21/2022 at 1:30 PM before Judge Otis D. Wright II, as to Defendant Ramon Olorunwa Abbas,” the court said

According to court documents by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ), Hushpuppi  in April 2021, pleaded guilty to the multi-million-dollar fraud charges filed against him by the United States government.

A version of Hushpuppi’s plea agreement filed in June outlined his role in a school finance scheme, as well as several other cyber and business email compromise schemes that cumulatively caused more than $24 million in losses. He pleaded guilty to Count Two which is “Conspiracy to Engage in Money Laundering,” an offence that attracts a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment among other punishments including full restitution, his plea agreement with the U.S. government states in part.

Acting United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison said Hushpuppi allegedly faked the financing of a Qatari school by playing the roles of bank officials and creating a bogus website in a scheme that also bribed a foreign official to keep the elaborate pretense going after the victim was tipped off.

Wilkison stated that Hushpuppi played “a significant role in the scheme, funded his luxurious lifestyle by laundering illicit proceeds generated by con artists who use increasingly sophisticated means.”

Hushpuppi was arrested in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate (UAE) in June 2020, and subsequently flown to the U.S.. He pleaded guilty to the charges in July 2021 and was ordered to remain in custody pending sentencing.

The sentencing hearing was initially moved by Judge Wright from February 14 to July 11 and has now been moved to September 21 at the counsel’s request.

He has been in custody since his arrest in Dubai and rendition to the U. S. in June 2020.

Hushpuppi entered into a plea bargain agreement with the U.S. government in July 2021, in the hope of getting a lighter punishment. Despite pleading guilty, Hushpuppi will not be exempted from paying restitution.

The prosecutor said the maximum penalty for the offence that Hushpuppi hopes will be reduced at his sentencing include “20 years’ imprisonment; a 3-year period of supervised release; a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greatest; and a mandatory special assessment of $100.”

Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture has said that removal of petrol subsidy in the country may lead to instability. 

Mohammed who said this in an interview with Reuters on Monday July 4, also said that many countries have introduced measures to help citizens cope with high oil energy prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

He said; 

“When you consider the chaos, the social disharmony and … instability such an action (of abolishing subsidies) would facilitate, is it worth it? I don’t think so.”

Also speaking on oil theft in the country, Mohammed said there are concerns about the culpability of the nation’s security agencies. He also said that barges of oil cannot be stolen and moved on the coastal waters without the collaboration of some powerful stakeholders.

Mohammed also alleged that the new petroleum industry law that allocates money to oil-producing communities would stop attacks. He further blamed the European Union’s climate change policies for stifling investment in the sector.

He said; 

“This puts the figure at about N1.36trillion when converted to naira with the official rate of N416.25 to the dollar exchange rate. In the first quarter of 2022, oil theft was worth N434billion. This menace has prevented Nigeria from meeting its crude oil output capacity.

 “Out of about 141million barrels produced in the first quarter, about nine million barrels were lost to crude oil theft. This menace has become a national disaster and a critical threat to the nation’s revenue base. Various reports confirm that the Bonny Terminal Network, Forcados Terminal Network, and Brass Terminal Network are major routes for this organized crime.

“We believe that climate change is real and important for emission control, but there is a bit of double standard in the EU policy regarding climate change.”

A couple has died of burns in Abule Oturi, Akute, Ogun state, following a domestic dispute.

Reports of the couple began circulating on social media after a journalist narrated the incident.

His tweet read: “At Ajuwon Police Station: Wife separates from abusive husband. Months later (this morning) husband goes to wife’s new apartment doused her with petrol and set her alight. Burning wife grabs husband while she burns. Both with serious burn injuries, need urgent medical care.”

The police have now confirmed the incident and revealed that the couple has died.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said in a statement on Sunday, July 3: “The suspect was arrested on Saturday after concerned neighbours reported the incident to the police at the Otun-Akute division.

“The estranged husband, Ponle, was reported to have told many people in the area that his wife had no right to live alone and vowed that no other man would be with her after she left him due to physical abuse.

“The couple was married for three years and resided in Otun-Akute, until the woman, Lateefat, decided to leave him when she could no longer cope with the abuse.

“Mr Ponle was said to have gone to the residence of his ex-wife and threatened to kill her if she did not return to his house.

“Their neighbours explained that the man was fond of beating the woman, at times almost to the point of death. Their fights were said to have become a community matter as the woman was hospitalised on many occasions until she decided to pack out of his house a month ago when she rented an apartment on the same street.”

The police spokesperson said the suspect went to Lateefat’s house last Thursday, June 30, and threatened to burn her alive but she fled.

Oyeyemi continued: “Mr Ponle went back to the victim’s house on Saturday night (July 2) and met her praying. He poured petrol on her in the room and set her ablaze, but the woman managed to grab him to ensure they burned together until people intervened. They were rushed to a nearby hospital where the woman was confirmed dead.”

The suspect, who was handed over to the police, later died.