Breaking News
DSS Seize Grenades, Ammunition from Benue Youth Leader, Testifies In Court
The Federal High Court in Abuja has heard how Silas Oloche, a Benue community youth leader allegedly mobilised ammunition for a planned retaliation against Fulani herders following recurring attacks in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.
The revelations emerged during the trial of the accused person who is facing 6 count charges bordering on alleged unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
At the commencement of proceedings, the Department of State Services (DSS) operative codenamed XX, who testified as the prosecution’s first witness, told the court that Oloche was arrested on August 2, 2025, in Ogbasi, Agatu LGA, allegedly in possession of 18 hand grenades, 683 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammunition, 62 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm ammunition, and 136 live rounds of shotgun ammunition.
The witness, attached to the DSS Security Investigation Department, said the defendant was subsequently transferred from the Benue state command to the DSS National Headquarters in Abuja for further investigation.
According to the witness, Oloche was interviewed in the presence of a Legal Aid counsel and allegedly confessed to purchasing the ammunition from a man identified as “Chocho” for over N2 million.
The operative further told the court that the defendant volunteered a written statement and consented to the him writing it on his behalf because he could not write.
The court admitted the investigation report, the defendant’s written statement, the recovered ammunition and grenades, as well as an audio-visual recording of the interrogation into evidence.
During the open court playback of the video recording of the defendant’s extra-judicial statement, the defendant narrated years of violent attacks on Agatu communities by Fulani herders.
In the video, Oloche identified himself as the youth leader of Agatu and said the crisis dated back to 2013, arising from repeated attacks on farmlands and communities.
He recounted a series of meetings allegedly involving government officials, traditional rulers, security agencies, and Fulani representatives in Kogi, Benue, and Nasarawa states aimed at resolving the conflict.
According to him, agreements reached for the herders to vacate occupied farmlands were repeatedly ignored, while crops continued to be destroyed by cattle.
The defendant in the video, stated that frustration grew within the community following what he described as repeated attacks and lack of government intervention.
He told the investigator in the video that he led a mobilization to gather funds to purchase ammunition after allegedly receiving information that Fulani groups were prepared for confrontation.
Oloche admitted obtaining ammunition and keeping it in his house but claimed they had not yet acquired guns before security operatives arrested him.
He further stated that the community intended to retaliate against attacks but could not proceed because they lacked sufficient ammunition and firearms.
According to him, he was given money by displaced villagers and grieving families after retrieving bodies from attacked communities.
He also alleged that repeated appeals were made to authorities without intervention, which he said fuelled anger and thoughts of retaliation within the community.
At the end of the playback, the prosecution tendered the defendant’s extra-judicial statement.
However, defence counsel Noah Imoni objected to its admissibility, arguing that the statement was not voluntarily obtained.
The defence alleged that the defendant was beaten, tortured, and traumatised during interrogation, while also questioning the role of the Legal Aid lawyer present during the interview.
In response, the prosecution urged the court to conduct a trial-within-trial to determine whether the statement was voluntarily made.
The trial judge, Justice Joyce Abdumaliki subsequently ordered a trial-within-trial.
Earlier in the proceedings, the defence had urged the court to vary the defendant’s bail conditions, arguing that the requirement for two sureties resident within the Federal Capital Territory with fully developed properties in Abuja metropolis was too stringent.
The prosecution opposed the application, insisting that the nature of the allegations and proof of evidence before the court justified the existing conditions.
The court reserved ruling on the bail variation application to a date to be communicated later.
The court fixed July 8, for commencement of trial within trial and continuation of trial.
Breaking News
POLITICS: Wike-led PDP Faction Takes Over Party Secretariat In Oyo
Members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, loyal to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, have taken over the secretariat of the party in Oyo State.
The secretariat, located in the Molete area of Ibadan, was in the custody of the faction loyal to Governor Seyi Makinde of the state until Thursday when the members loyal to Wike took over the premises.
DAILY POST gathered that the PDP members stormed the secretariat on Thursday and occupied the premises with hundreds of members of the party in attendance.
PDP chairman in the state, Professor Abdulrahman Akinoso, confirmed the development to DAILY POST.
Akinoso in a telephone conversation with DAILY POST on Thursday, insisted that the real owners have taken over the premises.
He said, “It is true. It is not faction. It is PDP. We have taken over the premises. It was in the morning. We were there in the morning. We just left the premises. We are now in control. We have taken over the premises.” .…For more, Complete your reading.
Breaking News
POLITICS: Foreign Recognition Won’t Secure Re-election – ADC Tells Tinubu
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has told President Bola Tinubu that foreign recognition will not secure him another term in office, insisting that Nigerians will judge his administration by its performance, not by diplomatic gestures from other world leaders.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party reacted to the Presidency’s celebration of a purported letter from United States President Donald Trump to Tinubu.
The ADC said presenting the letter as an endorsement of Tinubu’s administration was misleading, stressing that diplomatic correspondence between world leaders is a normal part of international relations.
“The Presidency’s attempt to present President Donald Trump’s letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as though it were a referendum on the state of the nation is not correct,” the party said.
According to the ADC, countries cooperate, leaders exchange views and letters regularly, adding that such communication does not amount to an endorsement of a government’s performance.
The party accused the Tinubu administration of being desperate for international validation instead of focusing on solving Nigeria’s challenges.
“It is apparent that this administration is desperate to seize upon any gesture of international recognition as proof of success at home,” the statement said.
The ADC maintained that “a letter from a foreign president, however well-intentioned, cannot substitute for the verdict of the Nigerian people.”
It added that the true measure of any government is not what foreign leaders say about it, but what citizens experience daily.
The opposition party argued that Trump’s letter had not changed the reality facing millions of Nigerians, especially those affected by insecurity.
“For the millions of Nigerians still living with the consequences of this government’s failures, President Trump’s communication changes nothing. It did not say that insecurity has been overcome or that Nigerians can once again travel freely, farm safely and sleep without fear,” the party stated.
The ADC also pointed to the continued captivity of hundreds of women and children in parts of Borno State and Kaiama in Kwara State, while many communities in Benue and other parts of the country still live in constant fear because of insecurity.
The party further noted that, despite the Presidency’s celebration of the letter, the United States Department of State has not changed its travel advisory for Nigeria.
According to the ADC, several Nigerian states remain under Level 3 and Level 4 travel advisories, with American citizens still being urged to reconsider or avoid travel because of crime, terrorism, kidnapping and civil unrest.
“We therefore wonder how correspondence from a government that designates several Nigerian states as ‘Do Not Travel’ areas can be regarded as an endorsement,” the party said.
It argued that the travel advisory shows the international assessment of Nigeria’s security situation remains different from the image the Presidency is trying to project.
The ADC said Nigerians are more concerned about their safety than diplomatic exchanges between presidents.
“The daily reality of Nigerians is shaped not by diplomatic correspondence, but by the guarantee that they can go about their lives without falling victim to violent crime or terrorism,” it said.
The party stressed that Trump’s letter was simply communication between two presidents and “does not amount to an endorsement of this government’s overall performance.”
It urged the Tinubu administration to focus less on celebrating diplomatic courtesies and more on delivering measurable improvements in the lives of Nigerians.
“Ultimately, Nigerians will not judge this government by the letters it receives from foreign capitals. They will judge it by whether .…For more, Complete your reading.
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