Category: News

Days after being declared missing, the body of 26-year-old Lagos banker Osemudiamen Idemudia was discovered in a morgue in the Yaba area of the state, with signs of a violent death. Idemudia, who worked in the Point-of-Sale department of a commercial bank in the Ikota area, was last seen on May 9 near CMS on Lagos Island after leaving work for a scheduled meeting at the bank’s headquarters. A family member, Segun, confirmed to PUNCH Metro that the body was found on Sunday during a desperate search across hospitals and mortuaries. According to him, the banker’s corpse bore deep machete cuts on the head, face, and legs, raising suspicions of foul play. “He was murdered,” Segun said grimly. He also stated that morgue staff claimed the police brought in the body but were unable to provide any information on the officers or the location of the recovery. The victim’s father, Julius, recounted that his son had planned to attend a meeting with a senior bank official at CMS but the appointment was cancelled. After parting ways with a colleague, Osemudiamen was never heard from again. The family became alarmed when he failed to return home, eventually filing a missing person report at Igando Police Station, near his residence in the Akesan area. The family has since buried Idemudia’s remains on Tuesday. Attempts to reach the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, were unsuccessful at the time of reporting, as calls and messages went unanswered. The circumstances surrounding Idemudia’s death remain unclear as the family seeks answers and justice.

The recent proposal by the National Assembly to mandate compulsory voting in Nigeria is not only tone-deaf but dangerously misguided. While high voter turnout is a noble goal in any democracy, attempting to achieve it through coercion rather than trust undermines the very essence of democratic freedom. Instead of punishing citizens for voter apathy, lawmakers should be asking why Nigerians are disengaging from the political process. The answer is simple: decades of broken promises, failed leadership, and rampant corruption have eroded public trust. Nigerians are not refusing to vote because they are unpatriotic—they are refusing because they are tired of being lied to. Voting is a right, not an obligation. And that right includes the freedom not to vote—especially when abstention becomes a powerful act of protest against a political system that consistently fails its people. If the National Assembly is truly committed to rescuing Nigeria’s democracy, it should start by holding elected officials accountable. Instead of proposing a law that criminalizes citizens for staying away from the ballot box, lawmakers should be pushing a bill that jails politicians who willfully abandon their campaign promises. A politician’s manifesto is not a poetic suggestion—it is a binding social contract. When candidates promise jobs, security, infrastructure, and reforms, they are making commitments that must have consequences when deliberately unfulfilled. Introducing legal penalties for serially broken promises would do more to inspire voter participation than any form of mandatory voting ever could. Imagine a Nigeria where public office comes with measurable expectations and enforceable accountability. Where politicians knew that failure to deliver—not due to unforeseen challenges, but due to neglect or deceit—could land them in prison. Such a reform would restore integrity to our elections and separate true public servants from political opportunists. More importantly, it would reignite faith in the system. Citizens are far more likely to vote when they believe their participation leads to real change. Hope, not compulsion, is the foundation of democratic engagement. If Nigerians knew that their votes would lead to real consequences for leaders, apathy would fade—not by force, but by renewed belief in the power of the ballot. Compulsory voting, on the other hand, addresses none of these root causes. It treats the symptom while ignoring the disease. It is a distraction from the real crisis of leadership and accountability. It is not the Nigerian voter who is failing democracy—it is the political class that campaigns on transformation and delivers excuses. Until this trend is reversed, no amount of forced participation will restore legitimacy to our electoral process. Let us stop punishing victims of bad governance, and instead punish those who exploit public trust for personal gain. Let us use our legislative energy not to force votes, but to build a system where votes truly count—and where broken promises come at a cost. Only then will we begin to rebuild the kind of democracy Nigerians not only need—but deserve.

LAGOS, NIGERIA — A construction worker has been confirmed dead following the collapse of a one-storey building under construction at 96 Ishaga Road, opposite Idi Araba Central Mosque, in the Mushin area of Lagos State. The tragic incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, prompting a swift emergency response. The Lagos Territorial Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed the fatality and noted that three other individuals were rescued alive from the debris. “So far, one person has been confirmed dead, while three others have been rescued alive. Search and rescue operations are ongoing,” Farinloye said in a statement. Spokesperson for the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Shakiru Amodu, also confirmed the casualty. “Unfortunately, one adult male has been recovered dead,” he stated. Director of the fire service, Margaret Adeseye, clarified that the building was still under construction when it suddenly collapsed. She reported that three adult males were pulled from the rubble with varying degrees of injury and were receiving treatment. According to Adeseye, emergency responders included personnel from the Isolo Fire Station, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), and the Nigeria Police. “The rescued victims were attended to at the scene and later transported to the hospital for further medical attention,” she added. Authorities are continuing investigations to determine the cause of the structural failure. 🔗Kamal Yalwa