For seizing his tablet so that he would do his homework, a teenage boy axed his mother to death.  

According to Russian police, the 15-year-old, who has not been named, repeatedly struck her on the head while she lay in bed at their home near Moscow.

He then “chopped her up” before nailing her bedroom door shut and calmly going to his local shop in the village of Krasnaya Storozhka to buy chocolate.  

The boy is understood to have played Minecraft before reporting to police in nearby Sergiev Posad, around 46 miles northeast of Moscow.  

The dead woman has been named as Alexandra Gabbasova, 48, an accountant at a furniture factory. 
 

Alexandra was said to have become concerned that her son was playing online games for up to 12 hours a day, and neglecting his school homework. 

“His mother found out that the 15-year-old had neglected his homework while on sick leave [from school] and made a scene,” reported news outlet Mash. 

“She took away all his cords, his phone and tablet. 

“The teenager was offended, found an axe and chopped his mother up with it. 

“Then he went to the police and confessed to killing her.” 

Officers said she had been killed four hours before they arrived at the scene. 

The boy hit his mother “randomly, chaotically” with the axe, according to Telegram channel 112.  

After buying chocolate and playing games, he used the search engine to find the nearest police station and reported that he had killed his mother. 

Teachers have described the young man being held in custody as “quiet” and a student who “studied normally.”

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has announced that all Nigerian women in need will now have access to free Cesarean sections (CS).

The announcement was made by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, on day 2 of the Joint Annual Review (JAR) conference.

“This initiative is part of the new Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation and Initiatives (MAMII) project,” Prof. Pate said, highlighting the government’s commitment to improving maternal and neonatal health in Nigeria.

The statement, which was uploaded on the official X account of the Presidential Media Team on Thursday, November 7, noted that Nigeria continues to face significant health challenges, with maternal mortality at 512 deaths per 100,000 live births and neonatal mortality at 41 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The country also has a low uptake of essential health services.

MAMII aims to reduce these rates by improving access to quality healthcare, strengthening primary healthcare (PHC) services, and fostering greater community engagement in healthcare initiatives.

Tribuneonline

Alani Rafiu, an Islamic cleric, has bagged a life sentence for defiling a 14-year-old year girl (name withheld).

He was sentenced by an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court presided over by Hon. Justice Rahman Oshodi on Monday, 4 November 2024.

Justice Oshodi, who held that the prosecution proved each of the ingredients of defilement against Rafiu, said that the gravity of the convict’s offence could not be overstated as he betrayed the trust placed in him as a religious instructor and family friend.

His Lordship said the convict’s conduct represented a profound violation of secular and religious principles adding that evidence before the court showed a calculated pattern of predatory behaviour.

The court held that the convict deliberately isolated the victim, exploited her vulnerability, and bought her silence with money.

“You betrayed the trust placed in you as a religious instructor and family friend.

“Instead of nurturing and protecting a vulnerable 14-year-old child entrusted in your spiritual care, you repeatedly sexually abused her in a place of worship

The physical and psychological trauma inflicted on this young girl is immeasurable.

“At an age when she should be focused on her education and development, she was subjected to experiences that no child should endure,” Justice Oshodi said.

He further said that there was compelling and consistent proof establishing that the victim was a child and the evidence manifested through multiple sources.

Oshodi, who said the victim, in her evidence, provided a specific, detailed and first-hand account of sexual intercourse with the convict, added that the evidence of the victim was corroborated by the medical report which showed penile penetration.

He said the convict abused religious authority and the sacred space of a mosque to perpetrate sexual violations against the survivor.

The court maintained that places of worship should be sanctuaries of safety and spiritual growth, not venues for the exploitation of children.

Oshodi said: “The prosecution gave evidence that the defendant had sex with her three times in the mosque. The physical and psychological trauma inflicted on this young girl is immeasurable.

“At an age when she should be focused on her education and development, she was subjected to experiences that no child should endure.

“The medical evidence and the prosecutor’s testimony paint a disturbing picture of the physical harm you caused.

“The bleeding she experienced and your callous provision of a handkerchief to clean up the evidence of your abuse demonstrate a shocking disregard for her well-being.

“This court must protect children from sexual predators and send a clear message that such conduct will be met with the full force of the law.”

He further said that there was compelling and consistent proof establishing that the victim was a child and the evidence manifested through multiple sources.

The court, subsequently, convicted Rafiu and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The court also ordered that his name be registered in the sexual offences register as maintained by the Lagos State Government.

The state counsel, led by Mr Babajide Boye, called three witnesses through whom several documents were tendered while the convict testified as a sole witness.

The prosecution submitted that the convict committed the offence on August 17, 2021, in Ikotun, Lagos.

The offence contravenes Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State.

My body is divine. My soul is divine. I was born sacred. To rape such a person is to rape divinity… and it is to God whom the rapist shall answer. — Angela Abraham

The Bauchi Police Command has announced the death of a two-year-old girl suspected to have been sexually abused to death in Bauchi, the state capital.

Making the dreadful revelation on Tuesday, the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, in a statement said the Ningi Police Divisional Headquarters received a report of a motionless body of a two-year-old baby found beside a mosque on Deneva Street, Ningi Local Government Area, with suspected signs of rape.

Wakil stated, “Upon receiving the report, detectives were dispatched to the scene, and the victim’s body was taken to the General Hospital Ningi, where a medical report confirmed that the baby had suffered severe injuries as a result of penetration, which led to her death.

“The state Commissioner of Police, Auwal Mohammed, has directed the Divisional Police Officer to make extra efforts to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

“He also called on parents and guardians to ensure the safety of their children, not to allow them to wander around the streets.”

The command also solicited the public’s assistance with any useful information that could help arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, was on Tuesday told how a 10-year-old rape victim continued bleeding, three days after the incident.

Dr. Edith Onovore, the medical doctor who examined the little girl testified in the ongoing trial of Samuel Olaide, over the alleged rape of the minor, told Justice Rahman Oshodi that the girl’s panties had blood stains and even the sanitary pad she wore was also soaked.

Samuel Olaide is standing trial on a count of alleged unlawful defilement of the victim, in an uncompleted building on April 19, 2022, at Odorogba Street, Iragunshi Eredo, Epe, in Lagos State.

According to the prosecution, the offence which was committed between 1 and 3 pm on April 19, 2022, contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

The witness who was the first prosecution witness and led in evidence–in–chief by the state prosecuting counsel, Bukola. E. Okeowo, told the court that when the victim was brought to the Epe General Hospital, she observed that the victim was calm, and didn’t show any form of distress.

She revealed that when she examined the reproductive system of the victim, the vagina was red, with bruises on the outer part of the vagina while the hymen was missing.

The doctor who said she had been practising for 12 years and had been working with the Epe General Hospital for three years, said the victim narrated to her that she was in her mother’s shop when Olaide, who lives in the neighbourhood, came and dragged her out.

She said the victim told her that Olaide used a white handkerchief to gag her mouth so that she would not be able to scream for help, and then took her to an uncompleted building where he raped her.

When Okeowo asked her to explain further on her observation, during the examination conducted on the victim, Onovore said, “The general observation was that there was no show of pain, the hymen was missing, the sanitary pad she came with was already soaked in blood and her pants as well.

“Penetration into the vagina can cause the hymen to be missing, forcefully putting a hand into the vagina can cause bruises and the hymen missing”.

The witness also told the court that she carried out viral screening for both the victim and the defendant to see if they were HIV positive.

She said, “We also did a screening for the rapist, to know if he had HIV. Her vagina was forcefully and brutally penetrated because the signs were there.

“There was repeated force trauma and too much bleeding.“

When asked if that was the normal thing they do in the hospital, she said, “Yes, we do request that they bring them, and take them back to the police station.”

Asked whether she saw the defendant when he was screened, she answered that she was not privileged to see him, but confirmed that he was presented at their hospital for the screening.

The prosecutor asked her what other steps she took after the examination, she told the court that after the examination, she counselled the victim, and also commended her for coming forward to report the incident because most people don’t.

Under cross-examination by the defence counsel, Mandy Asagba, the witness said she attended to the victim on April 22, 2022, about three or four days after the incident.

She said that the entrance into the vagina was bruised and that in cases of rape, there is no usual way the victims appear, but that there is a way the vagina appears.

Onovore added that the way the vagina appears is the duration and the age. “The younger the child, the more traumatic for the vagina because of the size.

“In this circumstance, being that the victim was 10 years old, the extent of the trauma was much, even up to the time I was examining her, there were still blood and bruises.

“The pad she used and her pants were soaked. It means that it would have been worse than that when she was just raped,’ she said.

Asked whether she saw any sperm in the vagina during the examination, she said no, “I did not see any sperm in the vagina.”

She also said that the victim was awake so she saw the person who raped her and so was able to identify him.

After listening to the testimony, Justice Oshodi adjourned the case till February 11, 2025, for continuation of trial.

PUNCH

• Lawyer berates FERMA

Following the federal government’s neglect of the busy Abuja-Keffi Expressway, an Abuja-based resident, Daniel Dafor, was on Tuesday, seen making repairs on parts of the road specifically between the Nyanya checkpoint and Muhammadu Buhari International Market, using his funds.

This comes after the road’s neglect had caused significant hardship for commuters.

An Abuja-based lawyer Vincent Adodo, in a telephone conversation with The PUNCH on Tuesday, said he had previously alerted the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) about the dire state of the road.

“On October 2, 2024, I sent a formal letter to FERMA’s Managing Director, urging immediate action and even issuing a pre-action notice in case my concerns were ignored,” Adodo said.

Did You Know A Tribe That Prepares Meals Using Water From The Deceased?0:02 / 1:01

“Just two days after submitting the letter, I noticed some repair efforts, but I was surprised to discover that it was the work of one man – Mr. Daniel Dafor – not FERMA.

“While initially I thought that FERMA was behind these efforts, I began to suspect otherwise when I noticed it was only one man who was working on the road day and night.

“Today, I met the man behind these modest efforts. His name is Mr. Daniel Dafor. I approached him while working on the failed portions of the road along the sharp corner.”

He said he sought to know if his efforts were sponsored by the Federal Government, to my surprise, he told me he was undertaking those modest efforts as a volunteer and that the materials he had been using were procured with his resources.

“I bought all the materials myself and work day and night because the situation is urgent, and waiting for the authorities would only cause more delays and suffering for road users,” he said.

Adodo expressed both admiration and disappointment. “Citizens like Mr. Dafor are rare,” he stated. “It is inspiring to see someone use their resources for the public good. But it’s also deeply scandalous that a private individual has to step in where a federal agency, mandated and funded to do so, has failed.”

The lawyer again called on FERMA to wake up from its slumber and repair the failed portions of the Abuja Keffi Expressway.

“Is it not very scandalous that a private citizen is now doing the work of a Federal Government agency?

“It is more disheartening that despite that its attention has been called to the terrible situation of this road, FERMA, an agency of the Federal Government, has deliberately neglected and failed to perform its statutory functions. And yet, this same agency will present a budget to the National Assembly for approval for work that is not being done,” he lamented.

A former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi has weighed into the debate about the high and unsustainable cost of governance in Nigeria.

Dr. Amadi, Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought was a guest speaker at the 6th annual lecture of Just Friends Club of Nigeria (JFCN), which took place on Tuesday, at Bolingo Experia Hotel in Abuja.

Speaking on the topic: High Cost of Governance as an Impediment to Development, the former NERC boss who cautioned that Nigeria’s poor economic situation calls for great prudence and fiscal discipline expressed concern that “Nigeria is highly indebted to the point that we service our debts with almost 80-90% of our revenue.”

He also pointed out that: “We are not just a highly indebted country, we are borrowing to service the debts, further worsening our economic situation. We are stuck in debts after we struggled to free ourselves from debt under President Obasanjo administration.”

Amadi however proffered some solutions.

“The problem with managing cost of governance is that it is multidimensional and must be part of a strategic vision of development. The problem of development in Nigeria can be summed by in three phrases- coherence, comprehensiveness and consistence. Incoherence relates to alignment between institutions, policies and bureaucracy. The overarching element of a strategic vision of development is that it must flow from a proper diagnosis of the problem.

“The problem with the public service is not that we have too many departments, agencies and ministries as much that we have created multiple agencies without clear-cut idea of how each agency reinforces the concept and project of development. Development requires coherent ideas and coherent practice.

We cannot reduce cost of governance in any systematic and effective manner unless we can articulate a strong and coherent vision of government and design simple processes that enable us to deliver. We have to learn from nature itself. Nature fits organ to function. We have to create structure that matches function. Simplicity is an art of genius. We need simple system that are cost efficient and effective.

“The process of development involves three stages: strategy, operation and tactics. In strategy, you start with diagnosis which correctly captures the social pathology that you want to cure. If we mistake the social pathology we administer the wrong cure. From accurate diagnosis we get to directing policy.

“Directing policy asks where you want to be, what new state of affair do you want. When you have a clear directing policy which shows what is changing, then you get to coherent set of actions to create the new future. The problem is that Nigeria’s cost of governance reform does not follow this rigorous analysis.”