News

Delayed inquests into deaths of Stephen Port’s victims open

The delayed inquests into the deaths of four young men who were victims of the serial killer Stephen Port open on Tuesday, as the lawyer for their families said the hearings marked a key step in their “quest for accountability”.

Anthony Walgate, a 23-year-old fashion student from Hull, Gabriel Kovari, 22, originally from Slovakia, Daniel Whitworth, 21, a chef from Kent, and Jack Taylor, 25, a warehouse supervisor from Dagenham, east London, were killed between June 2014 and September 2015.

Port, now 46, was found guilty of their murders and sentenced to a whole-life order in November 2016 at the Old Bailey in London. His trial heard that the former chef drugged and raped the men before dumping their bodies near his flat in Barking, east London.

The inquests are being held at Barking town hall, just yards from where they were each given fatal overdoses of the date rape drug GHB by Port. Their families have campaigned for answers as to why Port was not stopped sooner.

Before Tuesday’s hearing, the families’ lawyer, Neil Hudgell, said: “It has been seven years and three months since Anthony Walgate was murdered; seven years and one month since Gabriel Kovari was murdered; just over seven years since Daniel Whitworth was murdered; and just over six years since Jack Taylor was murdered.

“Their families have felt every single day of their absence. They have waited with great patience and conducted themselves with real dignity. Yet they’ve always wondered about whether there would have been a different outcome if the police had investigated Port properly and taken their concerns seriously, and if their boys hadn’t been gay. For them, the inquests mark a key step in their quest for accountability.”

On Friday, Sarah Munro, assistant coroner for the east London area, told jurors to focus on the evidence in court as they were sworn in.

She said: “On Tuesday … we will commence hearing inquests into the deaths of four young men who were murdered by a man called Stephen Port in 2014 and 2015. They were killed by him with overdoses of a date rape drug called GHB and their bodies were discarded by him yards from where we are sitting now.”

The inquests, which were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, are expected to last between eight and 10 weeks.

Sentencing Port in 2016, Mr Justice Openshaw said: “The murders were committed as part of a persistent course of conduct of the defendant.”

The Metropolitan police said it was offering every support to the families, and had been assisting the coroner for some months in providing all statements and information required to aid the jury “in thoroughly examining what happened.”

In a statement, Commander Jon Savell, head of profession for investigations at the force, said: “At the time of Port’s conviction, we apologised to the victims’ families and Daniel Whitworth’s partner for how we initially responded to the deaths, and I would like to apologise again.

“It is extremely important to us that members of the LGBT+ communities trust the police and feel confident they are being provided with the best possible service. We welcome the help and support of our independent advisors and a whole range of community partners to help us achieve this.”

News

Bandits kill one, kidnap district head, eight others in Kebbi

Bandits have kidnapped Alhaji Isah Daya, the district head of Kanya under the Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

The bandits kidnapped the monarch and eight others when they stormed his village on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

The bandits also k!lled one and injured three persons during the attack.

The spokesperson for the State Police Command, Nafui Abubakar, who confirmed the attack, gave the name of the deceased as Sherriff Alhaji Almu.

According to the PPRO, a combined security team led by the police has launched a manhunt on the abductors of the monarch to rescue the abducted persons.

He noted that the Kebbi State Government has provided the needed logistics to tame banditry in the affected towns, particularly Kebbi South, Zuru Emirate.

The attack came a few days after bandits k!lled the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Suru Local Government Area of the state.

News

FG mobilises Julius Berger to complete N820b road projects

The Federal Government has told Julius Berger Nigeria Plc to fast-track the completion of the rehabilitation of the 82-kilometre Section II of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway and the construction of the Bodo-Bonny road with bridges across the Opobo Channel, Route 430 in Rivers State.

Works Minister David Umahi said the government could not continually negotiate with the contractor over the same projects.

In a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media, Uchenna Orji, during a meeting with Julius Berger, represented by its Executive Director for Projects, Benjamin Bott, and the Head of Contract Management, Omonigho Brown, the minister stressed the need for contractors handling Federal Government’s projects to exhibit corporate nationalism in price negotiation in the face of the daunting economic challenges facing the country.

Umahi said the Federal Executive Council (FEC), at its meeting on September 23, approved the re-scoping and downward review of the contracts.

He said: “We have Section II, which is 82 kilometres by two, which is the section that JBN Plc is working on.

“And so, if you check what FEC approved on September 23, FEC had approved that the total contract sum within the scope of Berger would be N740 billion. This means that if you remove N391 billion paid already, you now have about N340 billion remaining. This is the scope of their work for the 164 kilometres.”

The minister urged the contractor to mobilise for work on the four sections of the Abuja-Zaria-Kaduna-Kano project to finish the job within 14 months.

News

Police thwart plan by armed men to kidnap a foreigner in Anambra, recover four dead bodies

Police Operatives in the morning of Sunday, October 6th, 2024 thwarted the abduction/kidnapping plan of a foreigner by suspected armed secessionist members in Ogbunka village.

The Operatives courageously engaged the hoodlums in a gun battle and saved the VIP.

SP Tochukwu Ikenga, Police Public Relations Officer who disclosed this in a statement said during the gun duel, two Police Operatives who were hit by bullet escaped with the foreigner.

He added that they are stable and are currently receiving treatment in a hospital.

Meanwhile, Operations are ongoing in the area for the possible arrest of the Armed men.

Also, Police operatives attached to Nimo Police Station responded to a distress call on 6/10/2024 by 8:25 pm of a suspected cult clash at Umuka, Nawfia. The Operatives upon arriving at the scene, found four lifeless bodies of young men in a pool of blood with suspected multiple gunshot injuries lying on the road.

The victims were confirmed dead by a doctor on duty and have been deposited to the morgue.

They were later identified as one Ebuka Nwaonkwube Ekenta of Mmimi village Nawfia, Nnatuanya Junior A.K: A Starboy of Mmimi village Nawfia, Aniemena A.K.A Osama of Umuariam Village and one Ahmed Auwal.

Information from eyewitnesses and some villagers reveal that the victims are known for their nefarious activities and are always in rivalry with another cult group in the area.

Furthermore, Joint patrol with Operatives of the Special Anit Cultism Squad (SPACS) has been intensified in the area.

In another development, the Commissioner of Police *CP Nnaghe Obono Itam* has ordered
immediate investigations into the gruesome murder of a 17-year-old girl suspected of being used for ritual purpose.

The girl’s lifeless body was found in a bush at Omasi village on 6/10/2024 by 4:25 pm and she was later identified as one Chinasa Adigwe from Umueje village and her private parts were cut off in a bush at Omasi Village before Police were alerted. The body has been recovered and deposited in a morgue.

The CP while condoling with the family, friends and Community of the deceased states that the Police shall do everything possible to make sure that those behind the barbaric act are arrested and justice served.