Below The Headlines - 138
Oblo says he killed only 4 people and Nigerian Christians enter the MAGA orbit
The latest chapter of The Whispering Class dropped this week. This one is about Akiga Sai and Tivland. Our podcast with Chris Ihidero, recorded in person in Lagos, also came out this week. It’s worth your time.
Enjoy the week’s selection below
Nigerian Media
Daily Trust went to investigate the aftermath of an airstrike on a market in Borno in April that killed hundreds of people:
One of the most emotional accounts came from Ibrahim Mohammed, a survivor who said he nearly lost his entire family in the strike. Standing amid the ruins, he recalled arriving at the market after the attack in search of his relatives.
“I discovered that my siblings had been killed. My father and brothers had gone to trade that day. I saw many dead bodies, tea sellers, bean cake vendors and traders all lying there.
“People like Shoni, Bamori, Babari Chonlu, Umaru, Warsu, Gimsimi, Abubakar, Modu Bukar, Bulama and many others were killed,” he said, describing the situation as unforgettable.
Mohammed also said the tragedy was not only personal but deeply political.
“For over 10 years, we have been fleeing from Boko Haram and ISWAP. But now, even the military meant to protect us is bombing us,” he said.
He strongly rejected claims that insurgents were present in the market, saying,
“We confirmed from the bodies that no one had a gun. These were ordinary villagers. The military only said these things to defend themselves,” he alleged.
A visit to Jilli revealed a landscape of destruction as burnt wooden stalls stand where traders once gathered. Charred remains of structures are scattered across the sand. The silence is heavy, broken only by the wind moving through the ruins. The market is barely recognisable.
Nigeria Police and their favourite money earner:
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has impounded more than 30 vehicles for operating with tinted glasses, obscured number plates, and improper registration as it commenced the enforcement of the ban on tinted vehicles across Abuja.
Addressing journalists at the command on Friday, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, said the operation was aimed at tackling the growing use of such vehicles by criminals involved in one-chance robberies, kidnappings, and other violent crimes within the territory.
According to him, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has given the command the go-ahead to enforce the ban.
Sanusi said intelligence reports indicated that criminal elements deliberately use tinted vehicles and concealed number plates to hide their identities, evade detection, and frustrate law enforcement efforts.
He said: “The IG has given us the mandate to begin the enforcement of the ban on the use of tinted vehicles and other offences as earlier stated.
“Intelligence reports at the disposal of the command indicate that many criminal elements deliberately use such vehicles to conceal their identities, evade detection, and frustrate law enforcement efforts. This poses a serious threat to public safety.”
I feel like I have an article to write about this:
Fresh panic gripped residents of Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, on Wednesday following another reported gas leak at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Epe Garage, and Anglican Girls Grammar School, Obalende, leaving scores of students and staff requiring medical attention at the General Hospital, Ijebu-Ode.
The latest incident marks the third occurrence of the mysterious gas leak within two months, heightening concerns among residents over its potential health implications and environmental impact.
The first incident, recorded in April, reportedly left about 40 students hospitalised, while another gas leak last month affected nearly 100 students who were subsequently treated for exposure-related symptoms.
The state government had earlier disclosed that monitoring equipment deployed to the area detected the presence of methane gas, which officials identified as the substance responsible for the recurring incidents.
A resident, who spoke with newsmen on condition of anonymity, said the latest episode occurred during school hours when students and teachers suddenly perceived an offensive odour that triggered panic across the school premises.
“The gas leak incident occurred again during school hours when students and teachers suddenly perceived an offensive smell, causing discomfort, breathing difficulties and panic within the school premises,” the resident said.
“Some of the affected students and staff members were subsequently taken to the General Hospital, Ijebu-Ode, where they received medical attention. Some of the students were still on admission. The general complaints were discomfort and weakness, while some of them even fainted.”
The resident urged the government to urgently investigate the recurring phenomenon and provide a lasting solution.
Please note that, on behalf of all well meaning accountants everywhere in the world, we categorically reject this fella as one of us:
The collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force Zone 2 Command and the International Criminal Police Organisation, INTERPOL, has resulted in the arrest of a 50-year-old accountant, Olusola Ajayi Joshua, nearly a year after he allegedly left the country while under investigation for a high-profile burglary case.
Joshua was apprehended following investigations into a petition dated July 11, 2025, submitted to the Office of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2 Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos, by a woman who reported a burglary at her residence on Sesayon Street in the Government Reserved Area, GRA, Ikeja.
The petitioner alleged that unknown persons broke into the property and made away with household items and other valuables estimated at over N150 million.
She reportedly suspected Joshua, who had worked as an accountant in her late father’s company for more than 17 years, along with six other individuals, of having links to the incident.
According to the complainant, she had entrusted Joshua with a spare key to the apartment in 2022 to enable him gain access to the property when necessary, particularly during the rainy season, to assist in clearing water caused by roof leakages.
She stated that upon visiting the apartment in July 2025, she discovered that it had been broken into and several valuable items were missing.
Following the complaint, detectives attached to the Zonal Servicom Team, formerly known as the Zonal Strike Force Team, launched an investigation that led to the arrest of six suspects who allegedly had access to the residence.
The six suspects were later arraigned in court after investigations were concluded.
Police, however, said further inquiries revealed that Joshua, who also had access to the property, had travelled to Canada in July 2025 shortly after the alleged burglary and was subsequently declared wanted.
“Only”:
THE police in Lagos State have recorded a major success in the fight against the rising wave of violent killings and attacks by rival cult members in Ishashi, Shibiri, Ajangbadi and Ilogbo, all in the Ojo area of the state. More than ten people have been killed during attacks and reprisal attacks by rival cult groups. One of those arrested is Emmanuel, alias Oblo, chairman and one of the leaders of the Neo Black Movement, popularly known as the Aiye Confraternity.
Emmanuel has claimed that he was only involved in the killing of four members of rival cult groups, but his gang has been linked to the killing of more than ten people around Ajangbadi, Shibiri, Ishashi, Ilogbo and other communities.
Emmanuel, who holds the position of chairman in the cult group, and three other members of his gang – Ayoola, Ebuka and Chinedu – were arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command Tactical Squad in Ajangbadi on the order of the state Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Tijani, following the incessant cult clashes in the area. The police are also on the trail of other leaders and members of the group, including David, Emma, Paragon, Fela, Santa and AB, alias Awilo.
Non-Nigerian Media
Tomi Adedeji has been doing a YouTube series on the history of Christianity in Nigeria. For the final part on the Nigerian church going global, I sat down with him to share some of my thoughts.
Quarter of a century divorce battle now over:
A mum-of-three embroiled in what is believed to be Britain’s longest-running divorce has been awarded £6.6 million from her fraudster ex-husband’s fortune, concluding a 24-year battle.
Varsha Gohil, 61, from north London, first filed for divorce from her solicitor ex-husband Bhadresh Gohil in May 2002, citing adultery and unreasonable behaviour. She had at the time accepted a financial settlement from her then-husband, a £270,000 payout and the family’s Peugot, but had suspected Gohil was hiding the true extent of his wealth.
She was proven right over the following two decades, and has now been handed a major court victory after multiple battles exposed her ex-husband’s concealed fortune.
[…]
Bhadresh, a former solicitor who previously acted for associates of James Ibori, the controversial former Nigerian governor, was the central figure in a significant fraud and money-laundering scheme. Lawyers prosecuting the case said he had helped aid the scheme by laundering millions through his firm’s client accounts, and the Crown Prosecution Service subsequently froze assets amounting to approximately £28 million.
The funds were found stashed away among a network of companies and entities around the world, sparking a new round of legal battles that in 2015 reached the Supreme Court. Justices at the UK’s highest court ruled then that Mrs Gohil could challenge her original settlement, finding that spouses who failed to provide full financial disclosure should not be able to offer deceptive settlements.
A sad story that seems to involve two people of Nigerian origin:
A man has been charged with murder after an assault in Lewisham.
Police were called at around 04.40hrs on Sunday, 24 May to Lewisham High Street following reports of an altercation.
Officers attended the scene and discovered a 41-year-old man with a serious head injury. He was treated at the scene by colleagues from the London Ambulance Service and taken to hospital. On Saturday, 30 May he was sadly pronounced dead.
He can now be named as Taiwo Ekerin. His next of kin are being supported by specialist officers.
Maxwell Oguanaya, 32 (21.07.1993), of Eastfield Road, Enfield, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Thursday, 4 June. He was charged on Friday, 5 June and appeared at Ealing Magistrates’ Court on the same day. He was remanded in custody and will next appear on Tuesday, 9 June
Éwèdu and ìlá in the NYT:
In West and Central Africa, many soups and stews are built on vegetables, fruits or seeds that add an elemental viscosity, an incredible (and sometimes startling) stretchiness described as “draw.” Éwèdu soup, for example, uses a leafy green vegetable with a sublime pull. There’s ogbono soup, which uses àpọ̀n, a type of ground wild mango seed with a similar heft, and ìlà àlàsèpò, which uses the okra fruit and means “okra cooked together.” All possess this magnificent quality.
Growing up in Lagos, I knew okra as just ìlá, its name in Yorùbá, which can also refer to any soup from southwest Nigeria where okra is the star ingredient. For this take on draw soup, I let okra lead. With that in mind, you’ll want to find the freshest okra, which is essential to this dish’s success. But if you can’t find it — or don’t have time to get the plump, ripened pods from farm stand to pot before they start turning woody — then frozen will do just fine.
The dish begins with okra pods, chopped into confetti-like bits and releasing their fragrant grassy notes with every cut. They’re then brought to a simmer over low heat. Whole bean írù or dawadawa powder (both fermented locust beans) and dried crayfish season the broth with a robust umami.
Of course, okra loves balance, and here, plump, saline shrimp accentuate its heft. Fresh chopped spinach leaves wilt lovingly into the soup when added. A finish of red palm oil melts, slicking and coating all in the path of its gentle flow and complimenting okra’s springy bounce. It’s also essential for adding a creamlike richness to the soup. This recipe guides you toward an essential balance of textures and a layering of flavors that are evident within each spoonful. When served with a starchy swallow or a simple steamed grain, the soup is a delight, a full meal to ease you into the next moment in your day.
Your ìlá can be yours to define. Add meat, tripe, smoked fish or roasted mushrooms. Your goal is to understand okra’s flexibility, to grasp what it can or can’t do. Whether okra is new to you or a staple of your spring and summer soups, with this recipe it’s yours to discover multiple times over.
Nigerian Christians are lobbying MAGA:
Thousands of people, both Christians and Muslims, are killed in attacks in Nigeria every year, mostly in the north, where the state is weakest. The violence stems from jihadism, banditry and conflicts between herders and farmers. Only a small fraction of incidents involve Christians being directly targeted for their faith.
Yet pressure groups claim that Christians are systematically persecuted and demand American intervention. “If international attention is what is required to spur decisive governmental action, then the Christian community in Nigeria welcomes it,” says Archbishop Daniel Okoh, who leads the Christian Association of Nigeria.
The archbishop and others echo a narrative forged in America that resonates with officials in the Trump administration. MAGA-friendly missionary groups argue that “mainstream media” underplay the threat to Nigerian Christians. To counter this, the groups package violent scenes into videos for social media to show “the truth” about persecution. “Not every video we see is doctored or manipulated,” says Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations, an American think-tank, “but at some point, you find it impossible to tell the difference.”
One source of viral content is Equipping the Persecuted, an Iowa-based missionary group that runs a website called Truth Nigeria. The site says it reports on violence in Nigeria “with fearless honesty”. But it pursues a clear narrative of Christian victims and Muslim perpetrators, mixing reports of attacks in Nigeria with MAGA-minded content such as reports on supposed mass vigils in Africa for Charlie Kirk, an American right-wing activist who was murdered last year.
Christian activists approve of the country’s re-designation by America late last year as a “country of particular concern” for religious freedom. They have also welcomed American air strikes against terrorist groups in northern Nigeria and the dispatch of American soldiers to help the army fight militants.
Other benefits may come in the form of money and power. The bill making its way through the House recommends that some funds be dispensed to “faith-based organisations”. Nigerian groups may get a slice of this pie, as well as a bump in donations from sympathetic American Christians. They may also hope for America to boost their influence vis-à-vis prominent Muslim politicians from northern Nigeria.
The National Museum in Lagos has had a quite snazzy makeover:
Gazing at two large engraved 16th-century elephant tusks on display at Nigeria’s National Museum Lagos, a guide surprised visitors by telling them: “You can touch them gently”.
One of the three galleries at the museum in Nigeria’s cultural and entertainment hub has been remodelled to allow visitors to interact with some artefacts, reversing the typical ban on touching exhibits, as well as take unrestricted photographs in an effort to engage younger audiences, curator Nkechi Adedeji told AFP.
As the group felt the texture of the elephant tusks to the tune of Afrobeats softly playing on overhead speakers, a young photographer was busy snapping away, likely for a social media post.
According to Tinuke Odunfa, the interior designer of the gallery, the plan was to modernise the space and present Nigerian history in an “intentional” and “immersive” environment.
“Everything was intentional in terms of how the space should be experienced, in terms of the colours, how the space leads you,” Odunfa told AFP.
I wonder if Nigerians even know some climate groups are fighting to stop a multibillion dollar investment in the country:
What if one of the world’s biggest meat companies expanded into Africa with a multibillion-dollar plan, but offered few details about what it would actually build, where it would go, or who would benefit?
That question is driving a growing backlash against JBS, the world’s largest meat company, over a still-murky proposal to build at least six slaughterhouses in Nigeria.
According to Inside Climate News, environmental groups and civil society advocates have said the company’s secrecy is raising urgent questions about pollution, land use, and the real impact on local communities.
The proposed $2.5 billion investment would mark JBS’s first major move into Africa, but critics have said it could deepen climate and food-system problems rather than solve them.
JBS said in 2024 that it had reached an agreement with the Nigerian government as part of a broader $6 billion global expansion plan.
But advocates said the company shared few details about what it intends to build, how the projects could affect nearby communities, or where the meat would ultimately go.
That lack of transparency is now at the center of a legal challenge. In April, Greenpeace International sent JBS a formal letter arguing that the company’s reincorporation in the Netherlands could subject it to a legal “duty of care” over environmental and human rights harms.
Scrutiny intensified after protesters gathered outside JBS’s first annual meeting in the Netherlands, holding a banner that read, “JBS: Keep your bloody business out of Africa.”
Greenpeace’s letter also asked the company to turn over information about its Nigeria plans, but JBS declined, saying it complies with the law and is helping support food security.
Remember the couple who fled to Nigeria after their child died?
A couple who fled the country while under investigation for the murder of their eight-month-old son have been jailed over his death.
Devaun Rose-Turner, had suffered more than 80 separate injuries during the eight weeks leading up to his death in Biggleswade in December 2021.
On Wednesday his father Emmanuel Turner was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years for the murder of his son.
Devaun’s mother, Shandies Rose, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter, and was jailed for 12 years.
In sentencing the pair, the judge, the Honourable Mrs Justice Farbey KC, said: “Both of you knew about his pain. Both of you decided to keep it hidden so he received no medical help.”
Luton Crown Court heard that emergency services were called to the family home at around 7am on 11 December 2021 after Turner reported Devaun was not breathing. He was taken to hospital but died later that morning.
Medical examinations found that the youngster, of Biggleswade in Bedfordshire, had suffered extensive injuries during repeated episodes of physical abuse which took place over several weeks, including just hours before his death, prompting a murder investigation.
Detectives also established that Devaun had been in the sole care of his parents throughout that period.
The pair were arrested on suspicion of murder in 2022 but were released under investigation as detectives continued to build the evidential case.
However, in August 2022, officers learned Turner and Rose had travelled to Nigeria, despite the investigation remaining ongoing.
They eventually returned to the UK on 10 May 2025, where they were met by arresting officers at the airport and subsequently charged and remanded into custody.
News from Saskatoon:
Businesses and non-profit organizations regularly open and move in Saskatoon. Today, the StarPhoenix spoke with Olugbenga and Oluwatoyin Fakoyejo who recently opened Royal Premium Restaurant Pastries and Lounge in Stonebridge.
The couple came to Canada from Nigeria about eight years ago and started catering events in both Saskatoon and Calgary about five years ago. They decided to open their own restaurant, offering the flavors of Nigeria and West Africa, as well as Caribbean and American Cuisine.
We opened our restaurant based on our client’s request. They wanted more of the quality and menu style we offer, on a daily basis. We got the encouragement from our client base to open and offer them something exciting.
We were able to look at what would be our contribution to the province in terms of also promoting trade and tourism by bringing the best of African flavors to Saskatoon. We have variety with quality and an upscale restaurant to have your dinner and your lunch and breakfast, that will also be affordable. More importantly, we are able to offer different segments of the Saskatoon community the best tastes of Africa.
Oriyomi did not end up living up to his name:
Neither the TSA nor United Airlines is answering questions about how a man managed to sneak on board a plane at Bush Intercontinental Airport last month.
According to a criminal complaint, Abdulrahman Oriyomi’s flight reservation had been canceled, and the boarding pass he had appeared to be a forgery.
Police say surveillance video showed him speaking with a TSA agent the morning of May 18. He was then escorted to another TSA booth where his picture was taken, and he was allowed to pass through security.
Michael Matranga, a former Secret Service agent who now runs the consulting group M6 Global Defense, said TSA agents should never have allowed Oriyomi through security without a valid boarding pass.
“I think this is a pretty significant breach, not just because of the fact that he ended up on the plane; it’s the multiple layers and failures to even get on the plane,” Matranga said.
Police say Oriyomi then approached a gate and tried twice to scan the fake boarding pass, but to no avail.
More than an hour later, they say he showed up at another gate where United gate agents were scanning boarding passes.
Police say Oriyomi walked right past the agents while they were busy with other passengers.
“They’re not paying attention to his diversionary tactics. They’re distracted, they’re not situationally aware,” said Matranga.
Police say Oriyomi hid in the plane’s restroom as it taxied to the runway, and that a passenger alerted flight attendants to his presence.
Once the flight crew realized he wasn’t supposed to be on the plane, it returned to the gate where it was met by police, an explosive device unit and the FBI.