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HISTORY OF KOGI STATE AT A GLANCE
Kogi State is one of the 36 States of Nigeria, located in the Nigerian Northern Nigeria. Created on 27th August 1991 from parts of Kwara State and Benue State, Kogi State is noted as being the only state in Nigeria to border ten other states including FCT abuja, Kogi State is nicknamed the “Confluence State” due the fact that the confluence of the River Niger and the River Benue occurs in its capital, Lokoja. Due to its strategic position in the middle of the country and its access to these major rivers, Kogi State is a key center of commercial trade in Nigeria. The majority of Kogi State residents are Igala, Ebira, Okun, bassa and other minority tribes. Agriculture remains dominant in the Kogi State economy.
There are three main ethnic groups and languages in Kogi: Igala, Ebira, and Okun (a Yoruba Group) with others such as Bassa Nge of Bassa L.G.A, Kupa and Kakanda speakers, kabawa who are a people of Nupe extraction under Lokoja L.G.A., Bassa-Komo which is also of Bassa Local Government Area, Oworo people (A Yoruba Group), Igbo, Ogori Magongo, and Idoma.
The name Nigeria, was coined in Lokoja by Flora Shaw in the hill of Mount Patti, the future wife of Baron Lugard, a British colonial administrator, while gazing out at the river Niger .
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS IN KOGI
Adavi : is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria, adjoining Edo State in the south and the state capital Lokoja in the north. Its headquarters is in the town of Ogaminana near the A123 highway in the southwest of the area at 7°36′05″N 6°12′01″E.
Bassa : is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its northern border is the Benue River and its western border is the Niger River. Its headquarters are in the town of Oguma.
Idah: is a town in Kogi State, Nigeria, on the eastern bank of the Niger River in the middle belt region of Nigeria. It is the headquarter of the Igala Kingdom, and also a Local Government Area with an area of 36 km2.
Kabba/Bunu: is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Kabba on the A123 highway in the southwest of the area at 7°49′43″N 6°04′23″E.
Mopa-Muro: is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Mopa on the A123 highway.
Okehi : is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Obangede. It has an area of 661 km2.
Omala : is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria bounded in the north by the Benue River. Its headquarters are in the town of Abejukolo in the north of the area at7°43′N 7°33′E.
Ajaokuta : is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria and a town within it on the left bank of the Niger River. The headquarters of the LGA are in the town of ajodo in the south of the area at 6°40′11″N 8°48′19″E.
Dekina: is a local government area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Dekina, on the A233 highway in the Middle Belt area at 7°41′41″N 7°01′20″E.
Igalamela-Odolu: is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. It is bordered by the Niger River in the west and Enugu State in the east. Its headquarters are in the town of Ajaka in the north of the area at7°10′16″N 6°49′35″E.
Koton Karfe(IGU) : is the headquarters of Kogi Local Government in Kogi State, Nigeria and is located on latitude 8.1046°N and longitude 6.7976°E and in the northern part of the Nigeria between Lokoja and Abuja.
Ofu is a Local Government Area in the central part of Kogi State, Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Niger River forming its western boundary. Its headquarters are in the town of Ogwoawo (or Ugwalawo or Gwalawo) to the south of the area at7°14′09″N 6°55′32″E.
Okene is a town in the Nigerian state of Kogi. The town is based in a Local Government Area of the same name. Okene runs along the A2 highway. It had an area of 328 km² and a population of 320,260 at the 2006 census
Yagba East is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Isanlu on the A123 highway at8°17′N 5°50′E. populated mainly by the Okun people (sub-group of Yoruba ethnic people)
Ankpa is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ankpa on the A233 highway in the west of the area at7°22′14″N 7°37′31″E.
Ibaji is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria in the south of the state separated from Edo State to the west by the Niger River, and bordering Delta State in the south. Its headquarters are in the town of Onyedega on the Niger River in the northwest of the area at6°53′00″N 6°41′00″E.
Ìjùmú is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Iyara. The people of Ìjùmú speak okun dialect of Yoruba language. The major occupation is farming by the men while the women engage in trade. Education is the major industry in Ìjùmú.
Lokoja : is a city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers and is the capital of Kogi State. While the Oworo, Bassa Nge and Nupe are indigenous to the area, other ethnic groups of Nigeria, including the Kupa-Nupe, Hausa, Ebira, Igala, Igbo, Bini/Edo, and Tiv have recently established themselves.
Ogori-Magongo : is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in Akpafa. It was created from the old Okene Local Government Area for the Ogori and Magongo people. They occupy the land from Obehira Ebaba to Lampese up to Ososo in Edo state.
Olamaboro : is a Local Government Area in the southeast of Kogi State, Nigeria, bordering Enugu State and Benue State. Its headquarters are in the town of Okpo.
Yagba West: is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria, in the west of the state adjoining Kwara State. Its headquarters is in the town of Odo Ere.
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Six armoured cable vandals, two motorcycle thieves paraded by Nigerian Police in Niger
The Niger State Police Command has arrested six suspects for vandalizing and stealing armored cables and streetlights in Minna. The suspects, aged 20 to 201, were caught conspiring to commit the crime along Keteren-Gwari Road.
- Suspects’ Names and Ages:
- Umar Mustapha, 40
- Idris Abdullahi, 20
- Mahmud Mohammed, 37
- Musa Zakari, 42
- Aliyu Musa, 60
- Salihu Musa, 45
All suspects reside in Alagbado and Keteren-Gwari area, Minna.
During interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime, and some stolen cables were recovered.
Additionally, two suspected motorcycle thieves, Mohammed Hassan, 22, and Isah Mohammed, 20, from Kpakungu area, Minna, were arrested. They were caught with a red Hajoue cargo motorcycle at Obasanjo complex area on October 22. The thieves admitted to stealing the motorcycle from Tunga area and planned to sell it in Mokwa. The investigation is ongoing.
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A hunter simply identified as Femi has been found dead with bullet wounds in a forest in the Ijebu Igbo area of Ogun State.
A hunter simply identified as Femi has been found dead with bullet wounds in a forest in the Ijebu Igbo area of Ogun State.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, disclosed in a telephone conversation with an Online news source on Monday, that Femi had reportedly gone hunting with one Taoreed on Friday, but failed to return home.
She noted that Femi’s delay in returning home had raised concerns with his wife who reported to the village head.
The village head was said to have organised a search party to comb the forest and the search party found his dead body lying in the forest with bullet wounds.
She said, “On 26/10/2024, one Grace James, a female from Ofemodoko village near Ijebu Igbo reported to the station that on 25/10/2024 at about 1700 hours, her husband, Femi, now deceased, went hunting with an individual known as Taoreed aka Kokoro, but failed to return to their village.
“About 0700 hours on 26/10/2024, his disappearance was brought to the attention of the village head who then organised a search with local hunters. During the search, the body of Femi was found in the forest showing bullet wounds on his back with his gun lying on the ground next to him.”
She added that efforts to locate Taoreed who had gone hunting with Femi proved abortive as he, his wife and his children were nowhere to be found in the village.
The PPRO noted that an investigation has commenced into the matter.
“Suspicion was raised when it was discovered that Taoreed, who had gone hunting with the deceased, had fled the village with his wife and children.
“The body was removed and taken to the State Hospital in Ijebu-Ode for autopsy. This case is currently under preliminary investigation,” Odutola said.
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Alex Ikwechegh: ‘I’ll make you disappear’ says Abia Rep, who assaulted driver
A member of the House of Representatives, Alex Ikwechegh, on Sunday, assaulted an e-hailing (Bolt) driver who went to deliver a package to him.
The distressed driver, Stephen Abuwatseya, in a viral video filmed what transpired between them in Ikwechegh’s residence in Maitama, Abuja.
The video depicted the visibly angered Reps member representing Aba North & South Federal Constituency (APGA) repeatedly slapping and insulting the driver for telling him to come out and get the snail the driver was meant to deliver to him.
In the footage, Ikwechegh insisted that the request was disrespectful given his social status while threatening to make the driver “disappear” without facing any consequences.
“Do you know who I am? I can make this man (driver) disappear in the whole of Nigeria and nothing will happen. Can you imagine this rat? I am not going to give this boy one naira of my money.
Watch the video here: https://t.co/3yBaK8WgiR
“I am not going to call my policemen to beat you up, I will do that myself. I will show that I am a big brother to you, tie you up, lie you down and put you in my generator house. Do you know where you are? Because you saw me sitting outside here. Look at this monkey.”
When the driver requested the delivery fee, the politician slapped him multiple times querying if the driver knew who he was talking to.
“Do you know who I am I just slapped you and there’s nothing you will do. My name is Honourable Alex Ikwechegh, tell them (public) I slapped you. Call the Inspector General of Police that I slapped you, let him come. Record me very well,” he boasted.
Recall that in September 2023, the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Umuahia, Abia State capital, led by Justice Adeyinka Aderibigbe, sacked Emeka Nnamani, who is a member of the Labour Party and ordered that a certificate of return be issued to Ikwechegh, a candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who came second in the 2023 general election.
Nnamani was sacked based on certificate forgery.
The Appeal Court had in 2015 on the petition of Blessing Nwagba, sacked Nnamani on the ground that he was not a registered member of his then party, APGA in his ward at the time of the election and equally directed the police to investigate the allegation of certificate forgery against Nnamani, who said he graduated from the University of Port Harcourt.
After the Tribunal judgment, there was a report (not The PUNCH) that the tribunal sacked Nnamani because of certificate forgery and that there was a court ruling banning him from participating in elections for 10 years.
Although the lawmaker has debunked and described it as a “lie from the pit of hell”, adding, “There was nothing like the court banning me, Emeka Nnamani, for 10 years from contesting an election in Nigeria. That’s a fallacy and a fabrication from the pit of hell, used regularly by opposition parties to pull us back.
“The records of what the court said at that time in 2015 are there. I do not want to bring the competence of the court into question because our jurisprudence is a perfect one and works according to the evidence available to them.
“As of 2015, there were lots of hiccups that my opponent took advantage of mentioning the institution they mentioned, and the institution has since then said that they had issues with the exams and records of the school, which led to misplacement of some records when they were moving from analogue to digital records keeping.