Crime
Why We Assassinated Naval Officer, Suspects Admit
The three suspect detained in connection with the murder of Sub-Lt. Samuel Akingbohun, a naval officer, in ldo-Ani, Ose Local Government Area, Ondo State, have explained why and how they killed the officer following an incident.
The accused, Ayomide Sambo, Johnson Adeleke, and Shagari Francis, all 17, admitted to killing the officer in an interrogation when they were being paraded by the state police command. They did this because the officer had attacked one of them.
The three suspects have just graduated from the town’s high school.
They narrate how they used an iron rod to hit the deceased officer’s head and scrotum.
Ayomide Sambo, aged 20, narrated that the naval officer physically assaulted his friend, Johnson Adeleke, by slapping and giving him a headbutt, while trying to contest for the right of way in the community.
“We were so annoyed that we went after him and we cornered him at a junction, where we attacked him using an iron rod.
“We were on our way to collect a power bank when we encountered the naval officer. He was coming from the opposite direction, and the portion he was coming from was bad.
“We were both trying to take a good path when my friend used his shoulder to shove the officer. “In annoyance, the naval officer slapped him and also gave him a headbutt. We started to beg the naval officer. After the naval officer had left, my friend said it was fake military personnel.
“It was then that we took a bike and traced him to the junction and challenged him.
“The naval officer and my friend started fighting. It was in the process that I picked up an iron rod and began to hit him all over his body. My friend also collected the iron rod from them and started hitting him.
“But the two of my friends are now denying it and saying that I was the only one that hit him with the iron rod.
“We have never seen the officer before. That was the first time we set our eyes on him. Even the Okada rider that carried us was saying that where my friend hit him with the iron rod was dangerous.
“We were arrested while trying to flee from the town. I was first arrested, while the other two were arrested the following day after I told the naval officers their whereabouts. The two of them are now saying that I was the only one that hit him.”
The second suspect, Johnson Adeleke, aged 20, however denied his involvement in the beating and killing of the officer.
Adeleke said: “When I was on my way to remove my power bank, I mistakenly hit my elbow with the navy officer. He slapped me and gave me a headbutt. At that moment, we didn’t know that he was a naval officer.
“After the fisticuffs, we took a bike and traced him. After catching up with him, I confronted him, but he refused to say anything.
“The friend of the naval officer used his elbow to hit Ayomide, it was at that point that Ayomide picked up the iron rod and started hitting him. I did not hit him at all, it was Ayomide that was hitting him.
“I was already out of Idoani in a bid to escape when my mother’s elder brother called me to report to the station.”
The third suspect, Shagari Francis, 17, in an interview said: “I didn’t hit the naval officer. I was just following them. I was arrested when my mother took me to the station to ask if I was part of them.”
Commenting, the spokesperson for the command, Funmi Odunlam, said the suspects would soon be charged in court for prosecution after police investigation.
Odunlami said, “Currently, three suspects are in custody, and in the course of interrogation, we realised that one Ayomide Sambo was one of those mobilised to the scene, and when he got there, he carried an iron rod, hit him on his head and his testicles, and started stoning him.
“Later, he became unconscious, and he was rushed to the hospital in the town, where he was confirmed dead by the Doctor.”
Former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has strongly denied allegations that his properties are proceeds of crime, as he challenges the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in court over an interim forfeiture order.
Malami, in a sworn affidavit before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, maintained that all assets linked to him were lawfully acquired through years of legal practice, business investments, loans, and other legitimate sources of income.
He faulted the EFCC’s position, insisting that the agency failed to present credible evidence connecting any of the properties to unlawful activity.
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According to him, the claims were based on speculation rather than facts.
“There is no document before the court showing these properties were acquired with proceeds of crime,” he argued.
The former Minister of Justice also accused the anti-graft agency of inflating the value of his assets, alleging that properties worth hundreds of millions of naira were wrongly presented as being worth billions.
He further stated that independent valuations had shown significantly lower and more accurate figures.
Malami explained that his wealth was accumulated over decades through legal practice, investments in sectors such as hospitality, agriculture, and education, as well as loans from commercial banks, asset sales, and earnings from book-related activities.
He added that all his income had been duly declared to relevant government agencies.
He also alleged procedural violations, claiming that operatives of the EFCC acted outside their legal authority by seizing properties and evicting occupants without a final forfeiture order.
The EFCC, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, had earlier obtained an interim forfeiture order over the assets, linking them to suspected proceeds of unlawful activities.
However, Malami is urging the court to dismiss the order and restore his properties.
A South African court has sentenced opposition leader Julius Malema to five years in prison following his conviction for illegal possession and public discharge of a firearm.
Malema, who leads the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was found guilty on multiple counts linked to a 2018 incident during the party’s fifth anniversary celebration in the Eastern Cape.
At the event, he was captured in a widely circulated video firing a semi-automatic rifle into the air.
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According to court proceedings, Malema argued that the act was merely celebratory.
However, the court rejected his defence, ruling that the action was not spontaneous but deliberate.
The presiding magistrate described the incident as premeditated and emphasized that Malema’s position as a prominent political figure placed a higher burden of responsibility on him.
The charges against him included unlawful possession of a firearm, discharging a weapon in public, and reckless endangerment.
The court held that such actions posed a serious threat to public safety and could not be excused under any circumstances.
Despite the five-year sentence, Malema was granted leave to appeal, meaning he will not be taken into custody immediately.
He walked free from the courtroom and was greeted by hundreds of supporters who had gathered outside.
Addressing the crowd, Malema alleged that the ruling was politically motivated, claiming that certain forces were attempting to silence him.
His supporters responded with chants and songs, showing continued loyalty to the outspoken politician.
Malema, a former youth leader of the African National Congress (ANC), was expelled after a fallout with former President Jacob Zuma.
He later founded the EFF, which has since grown into one of South Africa’s most influential opposition parties.
Reacting to the development, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula suggested that the case reflected broader political tensions.
However, lobby group AfriForum, which initiated the case after the video surfaced, insisted the prosecution was based strictly on enforcing the law.
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has issued a warrant of arrest against former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, over their alleged involvement in a multi-million naira fraud case.
The arrest order was issued on Thursday, April 16, 2026, by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court after the two defendants failed to appear in court for their scheduled arraignment.
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The duo, alongside a third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, are facing a 21-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The charges border on alleged criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent contract awards, and the diversion of public funds totaling $1.3 million and N746,574,303.
At Thursday’s proceedings, only Mohammed was present in court.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences occurred between May 2021 and September 2022 in Abuja.
The anti-graft agency accused Farouq and Alkali of misappropriating funds meant to be refunded to the ministry by a private firm, Visual ICT Limited.
The money was reportedly linked to excess payments under the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO) for the validation of Rapid Response Register beneficiaries.
The prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, told the court that although the charges were filed on December 15, 2025, the two defendants could not initially be served.
He added that despite assurances from their legal representatives, they failed to present themselves in court.
Jacobs further revealed that Farouq had earlier requested the release of her passport for a medical trip to Saudi Arabia in 2024 but has yet to return it or provide any medical report to justify her absence.
“My lord, since that passport was released to her, she has not returned it to the Commission, and no medical report has been submitted,” Jacobs stated, questioning the validity of the health claims presented by her counsel.
Counsel to the first defendant, Abdul Ibrahim, attributed his client’s absence to ill health and attempted to tender an affidavit to that effect, but the court rejected the application.
The EFCC also sought to amend an earlier ex-parte motion to focus on the first and second defendants and requested a bench warrant to compel their appearance.
The prosecution supported its request with an affidavit stating that both defendants had been granted administrative bail but failed to report back.
In response, the defence counsel pleaded with the court to grant a six-week extension to produce Farouq in court.
However, in his ruling, Justice Onwuegbuzie granted the EFCC’s application and issued a warrant for the arrest of the two defendants.
The case was subsequently adjourned to May 18, 2026, for arraignment and commencement of trial.
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