Kidnappers have reportedly killed Mr Nelson Adepoyigi, chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ward 5 of Ose Local Government Area, Ondo State, after rejecting an initial ransom offer.

Adepoyigi was seized on Monday at the entrance to his farm along the Ifon-Owo road in Ifon.

His abductors soon demanded ₦100 million, but relatives could raise only ₦5 million.

When two family representatives took that sum to the kidnappers, they were detained as well.

The gang then raised its demand to ₦30 million for all three captives.

Local Government chairman, Mr Clement Ojo confirmed that Adepoyigi was shot dead on Friday, while the two emissaries were released.

Describing the incident as “sad and painful,” Ojo said, “While we are grateful that the two volunteers have now regained their freedom, it is deeply saddening and utterly painful that the life of Mr. Nelson Adepoyigi was brutally cut short by his captors.”

He praised the late party official as “a man dedicated to the progress of the party,” adding that Adepoyigi would be “forever remembered and honoured” at the grassroots.

Lamenting rising insecurity in Ose, Ojo noted, “We are now at a critical juncture where security challenges have become a serious threat to the safety and freedom of our people.”

“Only a few days before this incident, another resident narrowly escaped being kidnapped while parking his motorcycle.”

“This pattern of brazen abductions, even at the very gates of people’s homes, confirms that insecurity has taken a dangerous and intolerable dimension.”

Attempts to reach state police spokesperson Mr Olayinka Ayanlade were unsuccessful, as his phone line was unreachable at press time.

At least 105 people, organisations, and all seven villages in Mburubu, Nkanu East LGA, have received fresh grants aimed at energising agriculture and local enterprise.

Individual recipients collected between ₦200,000 and ₦500,000; each village, Umudara, Uhuegbe, Uhuagu, Obinagu, Umunafor, Amanator, and Amachi—got ₦1 million, while Mburubu’s youths shared a dedicated ₦3 million package to spur innovation.

Handing over cheques on Saturday, Enugu State Commissioner for Innovation, Science & Technology Dr Lawrence Ezeh said the funding “was meant to empower the grassroots.”

A prince of the community, Ezeh framed the effort as support for Governor Peter Mbah’s push to “eradicate poverty from every household.”

“This is personal money, but I am driven by a shared mission with His Excellency, Governor Peter Ndubisi Mbah, to ensure that poverty is eradicated from every household in our dear state,” he told the crowd.

“We must ask ourselves every day: how are we supporting the government to bring prosperity to our people?”

He urged beneficiaries to invest the funds wisely so that “more people can benefit in the next round” and challenged other wealthy indigenes to follow suit:

“This money is not for lavish spending. It is for farming, for trade, for enterprise. Let it be seed capital that yields harvests of prosperity.”

Ezeh also appealed for continued backing of Governor Mbah’s programmes, stressing that “the transformation of Enugu State requires unity of purpose.”

Community members hailed the initiative as “timely and transformative.”

Chief Emmanuel Edeh remarked, “He is not just talking about change, he is making it happen.” Mrs Cecilia Aniobi, who received ₦300,000 to expand her cassava farm, added, “This is the first time many of us are getting direct support without political strings.”

“With artisans, small-scale farmers, traders, and traditional leaders among the beneficiaries, the commissioner pledged future rounds of support, provided today’s grants are “seed capital that yields harvests of success.”

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, says new bus terminals will be constructed in Bwari and Gwagwalada Area Councils to complement the hubs already under way in Mabushi, Kugbo, and the Central Business District.

Speaking on Saturday after inspecting renovation work at the Abuja International Conference Centre and a 12-kilometre road project in Ushafa, Bwari Area Council, the minister laid out the plan:

“Obviously, last time we went to Mabushi and Kugbo bus terminals. Of course, we will have another one in the Central Area.”

“We have agreed that we are going to establish one in Gwagwalada and one in Bwari, so that you have people who will take you from Bwari down to the city. Either you are going to the Mabushi area or to the Kugbo bus terminal, or to the Central Business Area bus terminal. The same thing applies to Gwagwalada.

“By the time we have done that, you can imagine that people will be safe, people will be secure. You can now go to any bus terminal, board a bus or a taxi, and go to where you are going without having this problem of ‘one chance’.”

“Except you on your own decide to go on the road to stay and take taxis. In that case, government has done what it is supposed to do, so it is no longer our problem.”

Wike stressed that the administration is widening development beyond the city centre:

“I have said severally that we are not concentrating in the city, we are also paying attention to the satellite towns. The total road length is not less than 12 kilometers. That has linked up the entire Ushafa.

“Yesterday, we were at Gwagwalada and Kwali. That tells you that the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is also particularly concerned about paying attention to the satellite towns.”

“You know that we are also working on Kuje to Gwagwalada dualization.”

Highlighting ongoing upgrades at the International Conference Centre, he added:

“You can also see we are just coming from the International Conference Center, which is world-class. You can remember the directive of Mr President that we should give Nigerians the best as we can, and that is what we have done.

“All the projects will not be commissioned by Mr President. I mean, others will also do, like schools and the rest of them. But basically, the major ones that touch the satellite towns, and the major ones that touch the city, we think that Mr President will do.”

“I pleaded with Mr President, one or two of the roads in satellite towns, Mr President should be able to go, so that the people will see Mr President and appreciate him for the job that he has done.”

Wike argued that bringing infrastructure closer to residents will curb daily migrations into the capital:

“From here to the city is not up to 35 minutes, and that is the essence of decongesting the city, making people to stay within their satellite towns.”

“Because if you provide the amenities, nobody will be interested in moving to the city. Rural-urban migration is actually because of lack of amenities and infrastructure in the rural areas.”