Two young men who were contracted by tenants of a three-storey building in Aba, Abia State to evacuate their sewage have died inside the pit, leading to the arrest of some of the tenants by the Police.

The incident happened on Sunday night at No.10 Powerline off Omuna Road at midnight.

It was gathered that the deceased who arrived the compound with their Ladder and buckets, were evacuating sewages when tragedy occurred.

It was also gathered that the Ladder they were using, broke into two, resulting in the two workers crashing back into the pit, which eventually resulted in their unfortunate death.

Responding to the development, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, ASEPA Aba zone, sealed the three-storey building to allow proper investigation.

The Deputy General Manager of ASEPA Aba zone, Okezie Ezengwa who confirmed the incident, expressed sadness about the death of the two youths but blamed the situation on carelessness and unwholesome environmental practices.

“We have been preaching against the use of this manual techniques in evacuating sewage.

“There are approved vendors, why will you use lander to climb into underground and use buckets to scoop sewage and empty into public drains?” Ezengwa asked?

Meanwhile, the building was sealed by ASEPA officials while the corpse of the victims were evacuated to the mortuary.

A Minna Senior Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a 25-year-old man, Bala Aliyu, to 13 years in prison and ordered him to receive 20 strokes of the cane for sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl in Bosso area of Minna, Niger State.

Senior Magistrate, Samira Jibrin Wambai of Court No. 9, also ordered Aliyu to pay ₦250,000 compensation to the victim.

The sentence was enforced at the palace of the District Head of Bosso, Malam Muazu Adamu Laka, where Aliyu received the 20 strokes in the presence of members of his family and the wider community.

The case was prosecuted by the Niger State Child Rights Protection Agency, NSCRPA, led by its Director-General, Ummul-Kalthume Muhammed.

Reacting to the judgment, Muhammed described it as a significant step in the fight against child sexual abuse and gender-based violence.

She warned perpetrators that the state would not shield them from justice, while urging communities to stop protecting offenders and report suspected cases of abuse to the authorities.

Prosecuting counsel from the Niger State Ministry of Justice, Aisha Ashafa, also described the judgment as a precedent-setting decision.

Ashafa disclosed that the victim’s mother had initially considered withdrawing the case before eventually allowing the legal process to continue after understanding the importance of pursuing justice.

She urged parents, traditional rulers and community members to promptly report suspected cases of child abuse to the NSCRPA or the police.

The District Head of Bosso, Malam Muazu Adamu Laka, also expressed satisfaction with the enforcement of the court order, saying it would help residents understand the seriousness of child sexual abuse and serve as a deterrent to others.

The death toll from a series of attacks along the Rafin Kada–Wukari road in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State has reportedly risen to 11 following fresh casualties recorded along the troubled route.

The latest incident, which began on Tuesday, reportedly claimed the lives of six passengers who sustained gunshot injuries while travelling in a separate vehicle from Donga.

The development came after a former Ason Youth Leader was reportedly shot dead while travelling from Wukari to Rafin Kada. A former councillor, who was also attacked, reportedly sustained injuries but narrowly escaped death.

DAILY POST further gathered that three individuals returning from a market in Wukari to Rafin Kada were subsequently shot dead along the same route.

The attacks were said to have occurred along the stretch between the Mobile Police and military checkpoints, raising fresh concerns over the safety of commuters and residents despite growing optimism that relative peace had returned to the area.

Rafin Kada has reportedly been thrown into mourning following the latest violence, while tension has heightened across surrounding communities.

The incidents came against the backdrop of recurring attacks along the Rafin Kada–Wukari axis. Previous security and peace monitoring reports have documented attacks on travellers along the route, while troops of Operation Whirl Stroke have also conducted security operations around the Rafin Kada area.

However, DAILY POST could not independently verify the identities of all 11 deceased victims or the circumstances surrounding the reported deaths of the six passengers as of press time.

When contacted, the Taraba State Police Command, through its Public Relations Officer, Victor Mshelizah, said he was having difficulty reaching the Divisional Police Officer because of poor network connectivity.

“Network has not been good. I am trying to reach the Divisional Police Officer, but I couldn’t, though I will keep trying,” Mshelizah said.