A suspect has been arrested by the Ebonyi State Police Command for the alleged beheading of a middle-aged man, Dick Nnachi, in Oso-Edda, Edda Local Government Area.

DSP Joshua Ukandu, the police spokesperson, confirmed the arrest and linked the attack to a longstanding land dispute between Oso-Edda and the neighboring Amasiri community in Afikpo Local Government Area, which has lasted over a decade.

Authorities have deployed officers to the area, and while normalcy has returned, investigations continue.

Separately, on January 18, a similar tragedy occurred in Amai community, Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State, where a 70-year-old man, Mr. Aghanti, and his 50-year-old daughter, Mrs. Atagoshi, were reportedly beheaded over a land dispute.

The victims were allegedly lured into the bush by the suspect under the pretense of discussing the land issue, and their headless bodies were later found.

Barely 48 hours after residents and business owners around Jakande Estate Gate, Oke Afa, Isolo, raised alarms over heaps of refuse littering their estate road, the Lagos State Government has intensified enforcement against indiscriminate waste disposal across the state.

Residents had complained about the stench and health risks posed by uncleared refuse, blaming people from neighboring communities for dumping waste in the area. In response, the Lagos State Wastewater Management Office sealed off a residential property on Apongbon Street, Lagos Island, for discharging faeces into public drains.

The building, identified as Pa Kasumu Adepeju Olaniyonu House, was shut for causing public nuisance and environmental pollution.

In a coordinated operation on August 29, officials from the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) arrested over 40 individuals along Ozumba Mbadiwe Road and parts of Lekki for illegal dumping and street mischief. The suspects, aged between 18 and 45, are being processed for prosecution.

Additionally, LAWMA’s Waste Infractions Surveillance Investigation Team arrested eight people along the Lekki-Epe Expressway for disposing refuse at unauthorized sites, including 37-year-old Oluwamomi Mankinde and 39-year-old Martha Simon.

Tokunbo Wahab, Commissioner of Health and Water Resources, urged Lagosians to adopt proper waste and hygiene practices, warning that the government would not tolerate actions undermining environmental safety.

Residents of Isolo have expressed hope that the clampdown will extend to their community. Vulcaniser Kazeen Balogun said, “If LAWMA can arrest people in Lekki, they should also come here. The odour is a big health risk.” Another resident, Olayemi Abiodun, called for stricter monitoring to deter outsiders from dumping refuse in Jakande Estate.

For now, Lagos residents await whether the renewed enforcement will reach neglected communities overwhelmed by waste.

More than 23,659 people are still missing across Nigeria, leaving 13,595 families — mostly women — in distress, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The grim figure was disclosed on Sunday by Mr. Ishaku Luka, Team Lead for Protection of Family Links at the ICRC in Damaturu, during events marking the International Day of the Disappeared.

Luka said that 68% of those searching for missing loved ones are women, while 59% of the missing were children at the time they disappeared. Yobe State alone accounts for around 2,500 of the cases, with the majority reported from Gujba Local Government Area.

“Each missing person represents a family trapped in pain and uncertainty, often facing legal, social, and economic hardships,” Luka said, stressing that the plight of these families is one of the overlooked consequences of conflict, disasters, and migration.

He urged authorities, communities, and all parties to conflict to take greater responsibility in preventing disappearances and protecting civilians.

Providing updates on ICRC’s work, Luka revealed that between January and June 2025, the organisation documented 451 new cases and resolved 515. In that period, seven children separated from their families were successfully reunited.

“Every day, we help reunite 20 people globally. Every hour, we clarify the fate of two missing persons. Every minute, we help four people contact their families,” he noted.

ICRC representative Hassan added that healing does not come with time alone, but with answers, acknowledgment, and support. He highlighted the ongoing support provided in states like Borno and Adamawa, including mental health services, livelihood aid, and family orientation programmes in partnership with the Nigerian Red Cross Society.

He called on Nigerian authorities to fulfill their legal and moral obligations — by clarifying the fate of missing persons, respecting the dignity of the deceased, and supporting affected families.

Globally, over 94,000 new missing persons were registered in 2024, bringing the total to 284,400 — a figure the ICRC believes underrepresents the true scale of the crisis.

“No family should have to live with the torment of not knowing. We renew our commitment to advocate for the disappeared and stand with their families,” Hassan said.