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US-based Nigerian Arrested, Charged with murder
A 36-year-old Nigerian woman living in Texas, Gbemisola Akayinode, has been arrested and charged with felony murder following the death of her nine-year-old daughter, Oluwasikemi, who was left inside a parked car for several hours in extreme heat.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest, with Sheriff Ed Gonzalez disclosing that the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled the child’s death a homicide caused by hyperthermia, severe overheating of the body.
“Today, our Homicide Detectives and Violent Criminal Apprehension Team arrested Gbemisola G. Akayinode for the murder of her nine-year-old daughter,” Sheriff Gonzalez announced on X (formerly Twitter).
“The child’s death has been ruled a homicide as a result of hyperthermia. She is charged with felony murder and booked into the Harris County Jail.”
According to court filings, emergency responders were called to an industrial complex on Mayo Shell Road in Galena Park, near Houston, on July 1, after reports that a child had been left unattended inside a vehicle.
The girl was rushed to Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators say Akayinode arrived at work around 5:45 a.m., leaving her daughter in the car with food, bottled water, a rechargeable fan, and ice cubes.
She reportedly gave the child melatonin to help her sleep and lowered the rear windows halfway before heading to her job at a nearby manufacturing plant.
When Akayinode returned to her car at about 1:53 p.m., she found her daughter unresponsive and called for help. Paramedics attempted CPR, but the girl was later confirmed dead.
Court documents indicate that the child was left inside the vehicle for more than eight hours on a 99°F (37°C) day.
The mother allegedly told investigators that she had brought her daughter to work several times before because she couldn’t afford childcare until her next paycheck.
However, authorities discovered that her supervisor had been assisting her financially with daycare payments, contradicting her claim.
Local outlet KHOU 11 reported that Akayinode initially blamed her daughter’s death on prescribed ADHD medication but later admitted to giving her melatonin both the night before and on the morning of her death.
Investigators also noted that Akayinode had placed a sunshade on the car’s front windshield, which made it difficult for anyone passing by to notice the child inside.
The case has drawn renewed attention to the growing number of child deaths linked to overheated vehicles in Texas.
According to state authorities, four children died under similar circumstances during the first two weeks of July alone.
In one separate case, a mother claimed her two children died in a hot car after wandering out of their home while she slept.
Another woman was charged in August after allegedly leaving her 15-month-old baby in a car while she went to work.
Akayinode remains in custody at the Harris County Jail, awaiting her next court appearance.
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Breaking: Nigerian Workers Demand N300,000 Minimum Wage, FG Faces Fresh Salary Pressure
The Federal Workers Forum, FWF, has demanded an immediate increase in the federal minimum wage from N70,000 to N300,000, noting that the current salary structure can no longer sustain civil servants amid Nigeria’s rising cost of living.
The Forum made the demand in a letter dated September 2, 2026, addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly, with the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Head of the Civil Service of the Federation listed among the recipients.
The workers also proposed a new salary structure that would place the highest-paid Level 17 officer on a monthly salary of N1.5 million, while Level 1 Step 1 workers would earn N300,000.
“We call for justice and immediate wage review now, adjust the federal minimum wage to N300,000 and a maximum wage of N1.5m for the Level 17 officers,” the Forum said.
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The FWF argued that the Federal Government had not fully implemented the 2024 minimum wage agreement, claiming that federal workers had yet to receive the full consequential adjustment and associated allowances.
“It will surprise you to hear that the Federal Government has not fully implemented the new national minimum wage since July 2024. We have been in the battle for full consequential adjustment of the new minimum wage,” it said.
Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in August 2026, demanded an upward review of the minimum wage to N500,000.
In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu’s government increased the minimum wage to N70,000 per month from N30,000.
However, the cost of living for many Nigerians has tripled between 2024 and 2026.
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The Federal Government has said Nigeria will never support a military coup or any unconstitutional change of government, following claims that the country backed a failed coup attempt in the Niger Republic.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, made this known in a statement issued on Thursday.
According to the statement, the claims circulating on social media are baseless and misleading.
Enikanolaiye said Nigeria remained committed to democracy, constitutional rule and political stability in West Africa and would not support any attempt to remove a government through unconstitutional means.
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“Nigeria will never support illegality or unconstitutional change of government anywhere, no matter who is involved or which country is concerned,” he said.
The minister also rejected claims that Nigeria, through its membership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), supported or endorsed the military takeover in Niger.
He said the Federal Government had already stated its position on the situation in Niger in an earlier statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 30, 2026.
According to him, Nigeria remains deeply concerned about developments in Niger and wants the country to return peacefully to stability and constitutional order.
Enikanolaiye said Nigeria’s close historical, cultural and fraternal ties with Niger made peace and stability in the neighbouring country particularly important.
“Nigerians at home and abroad should disregard the videos and narratives circulating online, they are intended to create confusion and tarnish Nigeria’s image,” the statement said.
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