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Birmingham man fatally shot by police during arrest, inquest hears

Birmingham man fatally shot by police during arrest, inquest hears
A 52-year-old Birmingham man was killed by a ricocheting police bullet when he refused to leave his room during an attempted arrest, an inquest has heard.
Trevor Smith, a van driver who was suffering from mental health problems, was fatally shot when officers attempted to arrest him at his home in Lee Bank, in the early hours of 15 March 2019.
Jurors heard how Smith had been reported to police by his former partner for threatening behaviour towards her. She alleged he once held a gun to her head, and sent her a WhatsApp message showing a gun on his sofa in which he threatened to “do her in”.
She also said that after they broke up in January 2019, he sent “intimate” videos of her to friends and had received a number of greetings cards from Smith containing threats, one of which was a sympathy card with her photo on it saying: “RIP, you’re always in our thoughts – not.”
Following her complaints, police secured a warrant to arrest Smith and search his property for the firearm. A black imitation firearm was discovered at the property.
Summarising the circumstances of Smith’s death, the senior coroner Louise Hunt said that during the execution of the warrant, Smith remained in his bedroom where he sat on the end of the bed with a duvet held in front of him and one of his arms was not visible.
A police dog was brought on the scene and started barking. Smith dropped the duvet and one of his limbs moved, and one of the police officers fired a weapon, with the bullet ricocheting off the bed frame and hitting Smith.
Smith received CPR and an ambulance attended the property, but he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. A postmortem confirmed he died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Smith’s family described him as “a very bright, talented and creative individual”, a well-dressed “fashionista” and an avid football fan who was popular across Birmingham. “Trevor’s life mattered and he did not deserve to lose it in this way,” his sister Lorna Webley said.
“One Friday morning, someone took my brother’s life in three seconds. At this moment, we cannot explain the proper reason for any good cause for his death.”
She said Smith, a father of two, had “battled with mental health challenges for many years, often dismissed by others as bad behaviour” and that he was deeply affected by his father’s death in 2017. In the months before his death his mother noticed Smith seemed depressed and his usual smart dress had become unkempt.
The inquest heard that in January 2019, Smith had overdosed in an attempt to take his own life and left three suicide notes, after which he was referred to Birmingham and Solihull mental health NHS foundation trust.
Hunt said that over the course of the inquest, jurors would also hear about an “issue” with the defibrillator used during resuscitation attempts and “whether there was any delay in an ambulance attending because there was a mix-up in the address”.
The inquest, being held at Edgbaston cricket ground because of the Covid pandemic, continues.
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Police foil N14m ransom payment, rescue kidnap victim, arrest suspects

A kidnap victim, Semiu Ogunniyi, who was abducted from a hotel in Ikare-Akoko, Akoko North-East Local Government Area of Ondo State, has been rescued by police operatives and local hunters.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Wilfred Afolabi, who disclosed this, revealed that one of the suspected kidnappers involved in the abduction of Ogunniyi, Muhammed Babuga, was arrested in the course of the rescue operation.
According to Afolabi, the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of N14 million for the release of the victim, after which the movement of the suspects was trailed through actionable intelligence.
The police boss disclosed that during the interception, the suspects engaged the operatives in a fierce gun duel, with several suspects sustaining gunshot injuries during the exchange of gunfire.
While speaking with newsmen at the headquarters of the state police command, Afolabi added that two suspected kidnappers, Ibrahim Umar, 25, and Paul Osanyinduro, 38, were arrested in Owo, headquarters of Owo Local Council Area of the state. Abubakar Bamoh, 30, a logistics provider for the kidnappers terrorising various parts of the South-West, was also arrested.
He said, “Command also arrested 3 suspected kidnappers who have confessed to their involvement in various kidnapping cases across the state. This operation marks yet another success in the Command’s ongoing offensive against kidnapping and violent crime in the state.
“Acting on credible intelligence regarding the activities of one Abubakar Bamoh, male, aged 30 years, an indigene of Bunza Local Government Area of Kebbi State, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Command swung into action and successfully apprehended the suspect at one of the Fulani camps in Igbara-Oke, Ondo State.”
(Daily post)
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SERAP demands explanation over missing N500bn oil revenue from NNPCL

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has asked the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mr Bayo Ojulari, to immediately account for and explain the whereabouts of the N500 billion oil revenue the company allegedly failed to remit to the Federation Account between October and December 2024.
In a letter dated May 17, 2025, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP cited recent revelations by the World Bank which showed that out of N1.1 trillion earned from crude oil sales and other income in 2024, only N600 billion was remitted by the NNPCL, leaving a staggering N500 billion unaccounted for.
The organisation is demanding full disclosure and recovery of the missing funds, and has threatened legal action should the company fail to act within seven days.
“SERAP is writing to request you to use your good offices and leadership position to promptly account for and explain the whereabouts of the missing N500 billion, which the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited failed to remit to the Federation Account,” the letter stated.JAMB’s
SERAP also urged Ojulari to identify and surcharge those responsible for the missing funds and hand them over to anti-graft agencies for investigation and prosecution.
“SERAP urges you to promptly identify those suspected to be responsible for the alleged missing oil money, surcharge them for the full amount involved, and hand them over to the ICPC and the EFCC,” the group wrote.
Citing the World Bank report, the group noted that revenue from oil sales and other sources was expected to be fully paid into the Federation Account and shared by all tiers of government, but the NNPCL failed to comply.
“Nigerians have the right to know why the NNPCL is remitting only 50 per cent of the gains generated from the removal of petrol subsidies to the Federation Account,” SERAP said.
“The failure by the NNPCL to remit the money is a grave violation of the public trust and the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, national anti-corruption laws, and international obligations under the UN Convention against Corruption.”
SERAP warned that the alleged disappearance of such a large sum has serious implications for economic development, poverty alleviation, and the provision of basic public services at a time of national hardship.
“Despite the country’s enormous oil wealth, ordinary Nigerians have derived very little benefit from oil money primarily because of widespread grand corruption, and the entrenched culture of impunity of perpetrators,” the group added.
It stressed that the failure of the NNPCL to uphold transparency and accountability standards has worsened the country’s fiscal crisis.
“The missing oil revenue reflects a failure of NNPCL accountability more generally and is directly linked to the institution’s continuing failure to uphold the principles of transparency,” SERAP noted.
Citing paragraph 3112(ii) of the Financial Regulations 2009, the group said any public officer who fails to account for government revenue “shall be surcharged for the full amount involved and handed over to either the EFCC or the ICPC.”
News
Security Operatives Nab ‘Wanted’ Kidnapper In Abuja Hajj Camp

Security operatives have reportedly arrested a wanted kidnapper at the hajj camp in Abuja.
A security source at the camp confirmed the arrest to our correspondent, on Sunday.
He said the suspect was nabbed during screening of pilgrims who were preparing to be airlifted to Saudi Arabia. He disclosed that the suspect identified as Yahaya Zango resided at Paikon -Kore in Gwagwalada area council of the FCT.
The source said security agencies had declared him wanted, following his alleged involvement in some kidnappings.
He said the suspect presented his passport alongside other Muslim contingent from Abuja who were on their way to observe this year’s hajj. “It was this afternoon during the screening at the hajj camp in airport when the DSS operatives apprehended him and whisked him away,” he said
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