News
Late Mechanic: Car Owner Denies Reporting Stolen Car To Police
The last is yet to be heard concerning the death of an auto-mechanic, Chima Ikwunado, who was allegedly tortured to death while in police custody in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, as owner of one the cars the deceased and four of his colleagues were allegedly arrested for snatching has exonerated the victim.
Owner of one of the car, which the late mechanic and four others were arrested for allegedly snatching, Mr. Chinedu Ezenwarili, has denied reporting a case of stolen vehicle to the Rivers State Police Command.
It would be recalled that Ikwunado and four of apprentices were arrested by men of the Eagle Crack (E-Crack) Unit, attached to the Mile One Police Division, while test-driving two cars they were repairing along Olu-Obasanjo Road in Port Harcourt for alleged robbery and cultism.
After the death of Ikwunado, his four apprentices namely: Victor Ogbanna, Osaze Friday, Ifeanyi OsujI and Ifeanyi Onyekwere, were charged to court, and are currently remanded at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre.
Briefing newsmen at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre in Port Harcourt, yesterday, Ezenwarili, said he gave his vehicle, a Toyota Camry saloon car, to the late Chima for repairs before he was arrested and charged for stealing same car.
“On December 19, 2019, I gave my Toyota Camry with registration number JRV 29 SX to one Mr. Chima Ikwunado to fix my camber bushing and radiator coat. Chima was my mechanic, and I have known him for more than two years.
“On December 20, 2019, I called his telephone line as prearranged but all my attempts to reach the said Chima Ikwunado via telephone proved abortive as his telephone kept ringing but he did not pick his calls. I got worried as to what must have happened because he was my trusted mechanic.
“The following day, I called Mr. China’s neighbour who told me that Chima was arrested by the Eagle Crack police team from Mile One Police Station for driving against traffic, and he was being detained there,” Ezenwarili stated.
Ezenwarili, who was accompanied by his legal team, wondered why the police released his vehicle to him and still kept late Ikwunado and others in detention until he died 10 days later.
He said he decided to speak to the press in order to dissociate himself from the murder of an innocent man, saying he never reported any matter to the Eagle Crack police team.
Ezenwarili added, “I want the whole world to hear my story so that nobody will associate me with the blood of an innocent man,” he said, pointing out that the deceased never snatched his car and he (owner of the said car) never lodged any complaint in any police station.
Similarly, a group, the Committee for the Defense of Human Right (CDHR) has called on the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Dandaura to identify operatives responsible for the death of a mechanic, Chima Ikwunado while in police custody, and ensure that they face justice.
The immediate past National Publicity Secretary of CDHR, Henry Ekine while speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt, said the group would take all legal majors to ensure justice for late Ikwunado.
Ekine stated that the reason given by the Rivers State Police Command on what caused the death of Chima Ikwunado is unjustifiable.
He also said the committee for the defence of human right will, pointing out that the group will investigate the cause of death of the detainee and defend the matter in court.
“The news is really disturbing to the Committee for Defence of Human Right. The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, from our National Secretariat in Lagos and the Rivers State branch, we are committed to ensuring that the truth of this matter is unravelled.
“The unjustified reaction on the side of the police is unacceptable. We are committed to ensuring that justice is done and that those who are involved in this are brought to book to face the law.
“We are going to push on this to the extreme including taking all legal actions,” he stated.
Ekine also called on the state police boss to prove the integrity of the force by ensuring that any police officer involved in the death of Chima Ikwunado is punished.
“The police should be more professional in their dealings with Nigerians in any issue that comes to the police. The law enjoins that the police should sieve and in fact look through thoroughly in the complaints that come before them.
“The information we have gathered is that the police have gone outside of their powers. We enjoin the commissioner of police in Rivers State to ensure that they do not bring this under any cover.
Dennis Naku & Charity Opara
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had lauded the courage and commitment of troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar gave the commendation during a morale-boosting visit to the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, yesterday, in Abuja.
The CAS said their sacrifices were etched in the history of the nation, and in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who sleep safer because of the troops’ vigilance.
He emphasised that their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity have not gone unnoticed, saying his visit underscored the vital role airpower plays in neutralising threats and protecting communities.
Abubakar pledged continued investment in cutting-edge technology to empower frontline units.
According to him, the NAF remains steadfast in its mission, guided by leadership, strengthened by unity, and driven by the selfless service of its personnel.
The visit comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the importance of public support for military operations and spotlighting the human element at the heart of national defence.
Nigeria’s soft drinks and beverage market continues to show strong growth potential, making it the leading consumer of soft drinks in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association.
A statement by the VDMA disclosed during a press conference held in Lagos ahead of drinktec 2025, that Nigeria consumed over 53 billion litres of soft drinks in 2024, placing it well ahead of other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
Despite challenges such as inflation and a weakening naira, Nigeria’s growing population, rising urbanisation, and expanding middle class are key factors driving demand in the beverage sector.
Bottled water led the segment with 48.7 billion litres sold in 2024, a figure projected to rise by 27% to 62 billion litres by 2028.
Carbonated soft drinks followed with 3.4 billion litres, expected to reach 4.4 billion litres by 2028, while energy drinks are forecasted to grow by 30% over the same period. Juices, though relatively small, are also on an upward trajectory.
“The Nigerian beverage market is expanding quickly due to increasing accessibility and affordability,” VDMA stated, citing data from Euromonitor International.
Set to take place in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.
VDMA, a key exhibitor and technical partner for the event, revealed that Nigerian participation is expected to be strong, especially as the country anticipates economic recovery.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the recent ban placed on a song by Nigerian musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the development as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.
Abdulkareem had waxed a song titled “Tell Your Papa” which criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka said in the piece posted on PM news.
He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he said.
He also pointed out the irony that censorship often benefits the targeted artist.
The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.
The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” Soyinka said.
He warned that the ban creates “a permissive atmosphere of trickle-down power,” where state authorities feel emboldened to clamp down on dissent.
Soyinka’s statement also touched on broader issues of impunity and mob violence in Nigeria, lamenting the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State.
“My heart goes out to friends, colleagues and families of victims and traumatised survivors of this senseless slaughter. Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Referencing the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka criticised the culture of impunity, saying, “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces.”
He called for accountability, warning that “as long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail.”
Soyinka concluded by urging the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers “has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”