The immediate-past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Sunday, asked his counterpart in Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to come out of his hiding and answer his case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Bello has been having a running issue with the EFCC, which declared him wanted after he failed to show up for arraignment at the Federal High Court in Abuja where the anti-graft agency filed N80.2bn fraud charges against him.

The Nigerian Immigration Service also placed Bello on watchlist, ordering that he should be arrested anywhere he was found.

His whereabouts are currently unknown.

Speaking at a Redeemed Christian Church of God in Makurdi, Benue State during the thanksgiving service organised by his aides for his 63rd birthday celebration, Ortom advised Bello to come out of hiding.

He said Bello’s continued hiding would bring disgrace to former governors across the country.

Ortom said, “I want to use this opportunity to advise my younger brother and friend, Governor Yahaya Bello, not to disgrace former governors.

“You don’t need to hide. You don’t need to resist arrest or anything. Go there and respond. The EFCC (officials) are human beings. If they are making inquiries, the laws are there. I have tried to get him on the phone, but I could not. I have tried those around him but I could not, so I want this to be noted. Wherever he is, if he can hear me, thank God the press is here, he should come out.”

Shortly after leaving office in May 2023, the EFCC had invited Ortom and ge visited the Markudi office of the anti-graft agency in June 2023.

Ortom was released to go after being quizzed by EFCC investigators.

The former governor appreciated the people of Benue State for their support of his administration throughout his eight-year tenure and for celebrating him on his birthday.

Ortom described his two terms of office as an uneasy task, as he called on the people to always pray for their leaders.

He expressed appreciation to God for His mercies over his life and family, adding that he left the government house a better Christian.

The former governor urged youths to stop insulting elders on social media and to take advantage of the Internet to add value to their lives and bring development to the state.

“Do not insult the leaders or elders on social media. We all must be part of the process to bring peace so that progress, prosperity and development will come.

“The youth must take advantage of social media to bring development to them and the state,” he said.

The Nigerian Correctional Service has said it would soon display the names and pictures of the fleeing inmates from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Suleja, Niger State.

The Spokesperson NCoS, Federal Capital Territory Command, Adamu Duza, disclosed this to our correspondent on Thursday.

Theheute reports that a relentless downpour on Wednesday night wreaked havoc on the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Suleja, Niger State, resulting in extensive damage to the facility and facilitating the escape of 118 inmates.

The downpour caused severe damage to the custodial centre’s infrastructure, including a breach in the perimeter fence, allowing inmates to flee.

However, 10 fleeing inmates had been recaptured.

Speaking with Theheute, Duza noted that the command was collaborating with other security agencies to recapture the remaining fleeing inmates, adding that their database would soon be made known to the public.
The Medium Security Custodial Centre in Suleja, Niger State, after the damage caused by the downpour.

He noted, “Our intelligence officers, armed squadron officers, in collaboration with the Nigeria police force, DSS, and other security agencies are combing neighbouring communities to find the fleeing inmates.

“Very soon, we shall publish the names and pictures of the fleeing inmates.”

The Oyo State Police Command, on Thursday, announced the arrest of some officers, led by one inspector, Rasheed Saheed, who was involved in the alleged killing of a corper, Damilola Iyanda, in the Ogbomoso axis of the state.

Theheute reports that a police officer allegedly shot a member of the National Youth Service Corps, identified as Damilola, to death in the Ogbomoso Local Government Area of the state.

The late Damilola was serving in Ibadan, the state capital.

Oluwafemi Iyanda, who graduated from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, and the deceased’s brother, said his late brother attended his convocation, after which they headed for an after-party the same day where he was shot dead by the trigger-happy cop.

The police command, in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, said the officers involved in the shooting have been detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku.

The police spokesperson said the Commissioner of Police, Hamzat Adebola, had ordered that the case be taken up by the Homicide Department of the SCID, with the Deputy Commissioner of Police directly in charge of the investigations.

He said, “The command wishes to clear the air about the unfortunate shooting incident that occurred, on Monday, April 22, 2024, at about 0130 hours around a popular nightclub along, “Under G” area, Owode-Ogbomoso, resulting in the demise of Damilola, ‘m’.

“The investigation report reveals that during the early hours of the same date and time, a distress call was received by Operatives of the Command’s Monitoring Unit stationed within Ogbomoso through the director of a popular nightclub within the axis, requesting immediate intervention and protection from rampaging suspected student cultists who were at the time harassing guests and destroying club property.

The statement noted that, in a swift response to the call by the club director, a team of officers led by one inspector, Rasheed Saheed, arrived at the scene.

According to the statement, the altercation worsened as deliberate efforts were made by the suspected cultists to prevent the police from further gaining access to the crime scene as shots were allegedly fired from different angles, including from the intervening officers who fired warning shots to disperse onlookers.

“The incident recorded the death of one Damilola, ‘m’, and the injury of his brother, one Iyanda Femi Israel, who has since been discharged from the hospital after treatment.

“Worthy of note is that the CP has ordered that the case be taken up by the Homicide Department of the SCID with the Deputy Commissioner of Police directly in charge of the investigations,” the statement said.

He said all the officers involved in the incident, including Inspector Saheed, were currently under detention at the SCID, Iyaganku.

The command, therefore, assured members of the public, particularly the student community, of the swift dispensation of Justice.