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25 killed in Rivers illegal refinery explosion

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No fewer than 25 persons have lost their lives following an explosion from an illegal oil tapping point in Omoku, Ogba/Egebema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.

It was learnt that the incident occurred on Sunday morning, after the youths allegedly broke a pipeline belonging to one of the multinational oil firms operating in the areas, and began using jerrycans and buckets to scoop fuel when the tragedy struck.

 A source who pleaded anonymity said while 25 persons were feared dead, many suffered varying degrees of burns and were receiving treatment in different hospitals in the area.

 She said, “It is a very terrible incident. Imagine the death of 25 people in such a time. We learnt some youths bust a company pipeline.

“If you go to the General Hospital and other private clinics in Omoku, you will see many of the injured people scattered all over the place in both government and private hospitals taking treatment.”

 Another source who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said the inferno occurred as a result of attempts by suspected oil thieves to light mosquito coils.

He disclosed, “The leakage was from an obsolete pipeline belonging to one of the oil companies operating in the area.

Speaking, the chairman of Niger Delta Youth Movement, ONELGA chapter, Emeka Ukwuosah, advised youths in the area to engage in meaningful activities and shun illegal oil bunkering.

Ukwuosah said, “Let me join in condemning the illegal oil bunkering going on within ONELGA. We are also calling on the security agencies to be up and doing and check what is happening within that circle.

 “Secondly, we are also calling on the multinationals that own the oil facilities to overhaul their aging facilities to forestall such incidents.”

 On his part, the Assistant Secretary of a vigilante group in the area, Onelga Security Peace Advisory Council, Emeka Agbabere, blamed the incident on illegal oil bunkering.

Agbabere said the vigilante group, the Community Development Committee and the youths were directed by a monarch in the area to put a stop to illegal oil bunkering activities there.

He however expressed dismay that despite their repeated campaigns for the youths to stop illegal bunkering, they paid a deaf ear.

He stated, “We proclaimed that they must put a stop to it and this is the aftermath of it. When they busted the pipeline, fire engulfed immediately and 19 of them died instantly and about 12 in two different hospitals.”

When contacted, spokesperson of the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she would find out and get back to our reporter.

Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report on Tuesday.

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Crime

FBI: Lagos Yahoo Boy Defrauds U.S. President Donald Trump

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation has filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize property belonging to Lagos-based fraudster, Ehiremen Aigbokhan for allegedly stealing more than N460 million in funds meant for U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration.

The FBI is also actively pursuing an arrest warrant for Mr Aigbokhan in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering scheme that targeted a donor intending to contribute to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.

According to legal filings seen by Peoples Gazette, Mr Aigbokhan and his co-conspirators allegedly carried out a sophisticated fraudulent operation using the notorious Business Email Compromise scheme to trick their victims into sending money to cryptocurrency accounts belonging to them.

In the weeks leading up to the inauguration on January 20, 2025, the FBI reported that fraudsters created several fake email addresses to mimic the legitimate ones used for the ceremony, which they sent to dozens of people, requesting donations for Mr Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.

On December 26, 2024, one of these fake emails, with the address @t47lnaugural.com, was sent to a victim to mimic @t47inaugural.com, the official email of the co-chair of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, Steve Wiktoff.

The victim subsequently sent 250,300 USDT.ETH to the criminals. The 250,300 USDT.ETH is estimated to be worth over ₦400 million at the current black market rate.

Within days of receiving the money, the perpetrators immediately disbursed 215,000 USDT.ETH to several crypto wallets before the FBI caught wind of the scam and requested crypto operator Tether to freeze the accounts, which the company voluntarily adhered to on December 31, court documents showed.

Following the scam, the FBI immediately launched an investigation into the matter, and records of the crypto address associated with the scheme were traced back to Mr Aigbokhan in Lagos.

Investigations by the FBI revealed that part of the stolen funds were transferred to a Binance.com account registered to Mr Aigbokhan, who created the account in October 2024.

The Binance account had no prior deposits before receiving transfers from the scam wallet.

Further digital forensics linked the fraudulent email accounts and cryptocurrency transactions to Nigeria, with IP address data consistently tracing logins and email activity to Lagos, corroborating the connection to Mr Aigbokhan.

The agency said 20,017 USDT.ETH was seized from Mr Aigbokhan’s wallet, and another 20,336 USDT.ETH from 0xC7bdBA7ffB126F68E8454C, totalling over N60 million in black market rate, which Rick Blaylock Jr, the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, is asking the court to declare its forfeiture.

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Crime

Plateau: Military Operation Neutralizes Bandits

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Troops of the 3 Division of the Nigerian Army in conjunction with the Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) under Operation Lafiyan Jama’a have neutralized several bandits during joint operations in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.

A statement issued on Friday by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) stated that the clearance operation which took place on Thursday, July 3, led to the killing of scores of bandits.

The statement reads: “In continuation of ongoing efforts to rid the Joint Operations Area (JOA) of criminal elements, troops of 3 Division/Operation SAFE HAVEN under Operation LAFIYAN JAMA’A have sustained aggressive kinetic operations in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, yielding commendable outcomes.

“On 3 July, 2025, troops carried out a clearance operation in the rugged terrains of Tulus and Hokk Communities, located along the Plateau–Nasarawa State border.

“During the mission, contact was made with armed militias in Hokk, leading to a brief but decisive firefight. Several bandits were neutralised, while others fled into surrounding forests.

“Troops conducted a thorough exploitation of the area and, though no further contact was established, have maintained control through mobile and static patrols to disrupt any regrouping attempts.

“These successful actions reaffirm the resolve of security forces to dismantle criminal syndicates and prevent the proliferation of illicit weapons threatening peace and security within the Joint Operations Area.”

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Crime

JUST IN: Kidnapped Bayelsa Judge, Umukoro, regains freedom

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After 13 days in captivity, Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro, a Bayelsa State High Court Judge, who was kidnapped by gunmen, has been released.

The judge was abducted on June 21, 2025, around 7pm by gunmen dressed in combat fatigue in front of a popular eatery at the Ekeki suburb of Yenagoa.

It was gathered that Justice Omukoro was released on Thursday evening and is still with security operatives.

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