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Five arrested after Iain Duncan Smith ‘hit on head with traffic cone’

Duncan Smith

Five arrested after Iain Duncan Smith ‘hit on head with traffic cone’

Five people have been arrested after Iain Duncan Smith was allegedly hit on the head with a traffic cone during the Conservative party conference.

Greater Manchester police (GMP) said it arrested three men and two women after reports that the former Tory party leader was pursued and attacked at around 4pm on Monday.

Duncan Smith claimed he was pursued while walking to a Brexit talk on the fringes of the party conference in Manchester.

He was believed to be walking to the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly hotel where he was due to give a talk with the Brexit minister, David Frost.

Duncan Smith told the Spectator magazine: “I can’t tell you very much other than they just followed us, used abusive language, attacked us and used a cone.

“I have to say I would have very nearly been done for assault myself. I turned after them and they sort of backed off and I dropped the cone.

“They were shouting all along and then they smashed the cone on the back of my head, and so I turned and grabbed the cone and looked at them, and I took a pace towards them and they backed off.”

A video posted to Twitter said to be filmed after the cone incident shows Duncan Smith being followed down the street as someone shouts “Tory scum” to the banging of a drum.

Duncan Smith added: “I threw the cone on the ground, said ‘pathetic’ and turned and walked off. They were incoherent, they were stupid.”

A friend of Duncan Smith’s told PA Media he was walking with his wife, Betsy, at the time and escaped without injury. GMP said officers were at the scene on Portland Street within three minutes, after receiving reports of an assault, and that those arrested remained in custody.

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Aviation Minister directs agencies to probe incident involving Air Peace, Oshiomhole

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has ordered a thorough investigation into the recent altercation between Air Peace and Senator Adams Oshiomhole at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.

The directive, announced on Friday, June 13, comes in response to a public dispute following an incident on Wednesday, June 11, in which Air Peace accused the senator, who represents Edo North, of disrupting operations after allegedly missing a scheduled flight.

Videos circulating on social media showed Oshiomhole addressing an airport official and later sitting in protest in front of a gate at Zulu Hall, located at the airport’s Terminal 1.

Oshiomhole, in his defence, denied causing any disruption and instead accused the airline of extortion, claiming passengers who had already checked in online were told to pay additional fees before boarding.

Air Peace, in a strongly worded rebuttal, dismissed the senator’s allegations as “deliberate falsehood” and insisted that no passenger was asked to pay extra after the check-in deadline had passed.

Keyamo confirmed that he had been in direct communication with both parties since the incident and appealed for restraint in their public exchanges.

“In the wake of the incident at the Lagos Airport last Wednesday involving AIRPEACE Airline and His Excellency, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, I have been in direct contact with both parties since that morning,” the minister said.

“Whilst appealing to both sides to halt the public accusations and counter-accusations, I am further directing the relevant aviation agencies to thoroughly look into the issue, collect all available evidence and revert to my office so we can deal with the issue in such a way as to guide future conduct in similar situations.”

Keyamo also cautioned aviation authorities against rushing to conclusions, urging them to observe due process and the principle of fair hearing before issuing any determinations.

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Nigerian Correctional Service officer attempts suicide in Zamfara

A staff member of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Abdullahi Nura, who serves as a Chief Correctional Assistant at the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Gusau, Zamfara State, attempted suicide early Wednesday, June 11, by jumping into Gusau Dam.

According to a statement from the Public Relations Officer of the Zamfara State Command, ASC I Mustapha Abubakar, “the officer had reported for duty before hiring a commercial motorcyclist who conveyed him to the Gusau Dam, the largest and deepest dam within the metropolis.”

“Upon arrival, he suddenly jumped into the water in an apparent suicide attempt, for reasons best known to him,” Abubakar said. “The motorcyclist quickly alerted staff and security personnel at the dam site, who responded swiftly and rescued the officer from drowning,” he added.

Nura was found wearing his service uniform and in possession of his official ID card.

“The Nigerian Correctional Service State Headquarters was immediately informed, prompting a rapid response,” the statement said.

“The State Controller of Corrections, CCS Musa Tanko, promptly deployed a team of officers who evacuated the victim to the MSCC Medical Clinic in Gusau, where he is currently receiving medical attention.”

The statement confirmed that the officer “has regained consciousness and is responding positively to treatment.”

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Police Kill Suspected Kidnappers, Rescue Abductees In Delta, Katsina

Police authorities, in partnership with other security agencies, have recorded major successes in their sustained efforts to crack down on violent crimes in the country. The latest is the rescue of abducted persons, the killing of suspected kidnappers, and the recovery of large caches of illegal firearms and ammunition in Delta and Katsina states.

A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, says that in Katsina State, a major success was recorded on June 8, 2025, when a combined JTF comprising police operatives and other security agencies foiled a kidnap attempt along the Danmusa–Mara Dangeza village road in Danmusa Local Government Area (LGA).

Adejobi said this was possible by engaging a group of armed bandits attempting to flee with kidnapped victims in a gun battle that led to the rescue of eleven victims.

Meanwhile, in the South-South region, Delta State, to be specific, police authorities arrested one Abubakar Hassan, who is a key suspect in an interstate kidnapping syndicate operating within Delta, Rivers, Imo, and Enugu states.

The officers attached to the CP-Special Assignment Team did so while acting on credible intelligence.

During interrogation, Hassan confessed to leading operations along the Ughelli-Ozoro axis of the oil-rich state.

He also led police operatives to his hideout in a forest in Ozoro. There, officers recovered two AK-47 rifles, four magazines, and thirty-two rounds of live ammunition.

Last week, security agents killed four suspected kidnappers in a joint operation between the police and local hunters.

The raid also led to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle and live ammunition. It was a coordinated offensive that began in the early hours of Tuesday, June 4th, around 3 a.m., as intelligence reports pointed to the presence of suspected kidnappers operating along the Abraka railway axis.

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