Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has left for vacation in Europe even as he ordered a probe into the emerging dispute over the kingship of Koka town in Obokun Local Government.

According to a government house statement on Sunday in Osogbo, the governor will also embark on medicals as part of the vacation and is headed to the United Kingdom among other destinations to be announced later.

“I am taking a short break to refresh and get further prepared to serve the good people of Osun state”, the governor stated while taking off at the Lagos airport.

He however directed the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to probe the circumstances surrounding the reported appointment of another king for Koka Ilase, leading to alleged two kings in the same town.

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The ministry was instructed to review the situation and enforce due process of the law in respect of the chieftaincy law and tradition.

“I read of another King appointed outside the one on the stool. The ministry is hereby directed to look into the dispute and issue a report to set the records straight.

“I however urge all stakeholders to remain peaceful as the ministry does the needful. Kingship is governed by extant laws and regulations and the government will stand by the law and tradition of our people”, the governor posited.

There are conflicting reports emanating from Rivers State, with two stakeholders on the Okrika pipeline incident, sharing conflicting signals to the world.

On its part, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) revealed that four corpses had been sighted in connection with the incident, while Indorama Petrochemical Limited (IPL) washed its hands off, denying any link to the reported fatalities.

What is clear, however, is that on Saturday, there was an ugly incident at Jetty Creeks, Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State which cost human lives, and has led to conflicting accounts over what caused the deaths and what the victims were doing at the time of the incident.

The NSCDC Rivers State Command, in an update issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Ayodele, said its undercover team, after conducting further assessment and surveillance of the affected area, sighted four corpses believed to be connected to the incident.

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The command, however, stressed that the identities of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding their deaths were still being verified.

One of the victims was identified as Taribo Levia, whose remains had reportedly been buried according to traditional customs. Other persons reportedly sighted were Ogoloma Tamunoene Fred, Amiso and Belema Siyerminma from Ngabiri.

The command said earlier casualty figures circulating in the aftermath of the incident were not fully verified and might have been overstated.

It said it had commenced further investigation and information gathering with relevant stakeholders to determine the immediate and remote causes of the incident, establish the identities of all victims and ascertain whether anyone remained unaccounted for.

The NSCDC also warned residents against vandalism, unauthorised access to petroleum facilities, illegal tampering with pipelines and the dangerous practice of scooping petroleum products.

According to Ayodele, “The command notes that the initial casualty figures circulating in the aftermath of the incident were not fully verified and may have been overstated. The command is therefore relying on information obtained through its ongoing field assessment and investigation to establish the actual number of victims.

“The Rivers State Commandant noted that the NSCDC has commenced further investigation and information gathering in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to establish the immediate and remote causes of the incident, ascertain the identities of all victims and determine whether any persons remain unaccounted for,” Ayodele added.

But the management of Indorama, through Major Fidelis Akando (rtd.), Coordinator of Pipeline Surveillance in Indorama, dismissed reports linking the company or its facility to the deaths.

Akando, who spoke during an inspection of the area, said he had been stationed at the location since Monday in connection with the lifting of one of Indorama’s by-products, known as cracked C5, into a vessel.

He explained that stakeholders, including security agencies, had been mobilised for the operation and that there was heavy security presence around the jetty and pipeline corridor.

He said: “The distance between the petrochemical refinery and the jetty is about 7.5 kilometres and is covered by security personnel.”

He described as “embarrassing” and “very unfortunate” reports that between 37 and 40 people had died while allegedly scooping petroleum products from an Indorama pipeline.

Akando insisted that no such incident occurred within the facility or the area where he had been stationed since Monday.

He said while people had previously attempted to rupture pipelines carrying petroleum by-products, Indorama had neither authorised nor encouraged such activities.

“If a thief is injured in the course of stealing, will you blame the owner of the house?” he queried, stressing that the company had no connection with the alleged incident.

A visit to communities surrounding the NNPC jetty, in Okrika, also produced conflicting accounts.

Some residents denied witnessing any major fire outbreak or mass casualty in the area, although they acknowledged that people sometimes ventured into the waterways to collect petroleum products during loading operations.

However, residents in other parts of Okrika said some of the deceased were fishermen and had no involvement in illegal oil activities.

Residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that the victims were fishing around a creek near the Beat Four pipeline axis when the incident occurred.

They alleged that the victims inhaled a substance following an explosion and were unable to escape because of the movement of the water.

Arabibia Minanyo, whose husband was among those reported dead, said the incident occurred on Tuesday. She maintained that her husband was not involved in illegal oil activities and had since been buried according to the customs of the community.

The conflicting accounts have heightened calls for an independent and transparent investigation into the incident.

A military aircraft has crashed during an airshow at a base outside Athens, Greece, killing the two pilots onboard.

The incident occurred on Saturday during the annual “Athens Flying Week” airshow, according to the Greek news agency ANA.

The aircraft, identified as an F-4 Phantom, had reportedly just taken off when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed.

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The crash happened in front of thousands of visitors attending the airshow and was followed by an explosion.

The two pilots aboard the aircraft died in the crash, while the circumstances that led to the aircraft losing altitude remained unclear.

A fire service helicopter was dispatched to the scene to extinguish the blaze caused by the crash, according to Greece’s public broadcaster, ERT.

Following the incident, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias cancelled a planned trip to Thessaloniki’s International Fair and travelled to the crash site.

Authorities are expected to investigate the crash to determine what caused the military aircraft to lose altitude shortly after take-off.

See video below