News
Student dies by suicide days after Oyo Police detention over ₦8,000 debt
The 30-year-old aluminium fixer and student of a polytechnic in Kwara State had spent days in police detention and prison custody following a dispute that began with an alleged N8,000 debt.
His parents had stood as sureties to perfect his bail.
He was finally home and free.
But his mother, Simiat Mohammed, said the son who returned to the family was not the same man who had left days earlier.
He barely ate. He withdrew from people. Again and again, she said, Al-Amin complained about the humiliation of being detained, taken to court and remanded in prison over an allegation he insisted was untrue.
“He kept saying that they wanted to tarnish his image because he came from a poor family and that he was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit,” the grieving mother told Saturday PUNCH amid tears.
Three days after his release, tragedy struck.
On September 17, Al-Amin ingested rat poison at his residence in Ibadan.
Before then, according to his family, he recorded a voice note expressing frustration and saying what would become his final words to his mother.
“He said the frustration was too much and asked his siblings to take care of me. He mentioned my name and apologised, telling me not to be angry with him,” Simiat recalled.
The family rushed him from one hospital to another in a desperate attempt to save his life.
His father, Habeeb Mohammed, said three hospitals rejected him before the family eventually got to the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
“We were asked to make some payments before he could be attended to. After we paid, the doctor came and told us that he was dead,” he said.
For the Mohammed family, the death brought a devastating end to a chain of events that they say should never have gone beyond a minor disagreement.
How N8,000 debt became police case
According to Simiat, her son had borrowed N23,000 from a Point-of-Sale operator identified simply as Kazeem.
Al-Amin had repaid N15,000, leaving a balance of N8,000.
But a disagreement subsequently broke out, during which Kazeem allegedly seized Al-Amin’s mobile phone over the unpaid balance.
The 30-year-old later returned to retrieve his phone, leading to a struggle.
His mother said the confrontation was minor, but it set off events that eventually took her son through vigilante detention, a police cell, a courtroom and prison custody.
After the altercation, Al-Amin was allegedly detained overnight by a vigilante said to be the father of one of Kazeem’s employees.
The following day, September 9, he was allegedly handed over to officers at the Sanyo Divisional Police Station in Ibadan.
Simiat said she received a call the next day asking her to come to the station.
Like many mothers visiting a detained child, she went there carrying food.
“When I got to the station, I went with food for my son, but they did not allow me to give it to him. After some time, they brought him out of the cell and I spoke with him,” she said.
During that brief encounter, Al-Amin maintained his innocence over another allegation that had entered the dispute that he damaged a mobile phone belonging to Kazeem.
“He told me that he did not touch the phone, let alone spoil it. He said the only money he owed Kazeem was N8,000 and that he went to retrieve his phone after it had been seized, which led to the struggle,” she added.
‘They said they would jail him’
What Simiat expected would be resolved as a dispute between two young men allegedly took a more serious turn.
She claimed that the Investigating Police Officer, identified as Adekeye, insisted that Al-Amin would be prosecuted despite the family’s appeals for a settlement.
According to her, the family was asked to provide N100,000 for bail and another N70,000 for the damaged phone.
“When Kazeem came to the station, I pleaded with him that we should settle the matter. I also pleaded with the DCO, but he later sent me out of his office.
“The IPO, Adekeye, also said she would ensure that my son was jailed. There was even a police officer pleading on our behalf,” she alleged.
The deceased’s father, Habeeb, gave a similar account.
He alleged that the matter was escalated because the complainant’s father was known to the Divisional Crime Officer.
“When I got there, I begged the DCO that the matter could be settled amicably. But because the father of the complainant was his friend, he said he would deal with my son and send him to prison,” he stated.
The family further alleged that Al-Amin complained of harsh treatment while in detention and said he was pressured to admit that he damaged the phone.
Saturday PUNCH could not independently verify those allegations.
From police cell to prison
On September 10, the family said Al-Amin was taken to court in the Mapo area of Ibadan.
His mother claimed nobody informed the family beforehand.
They only learnt that he had been taken to court after receiving a telephone call.
At the court, the family encountered a lawyer identified as Boluwatife, who, according to Simiat, offered to represent Al-Amin free of charge after hearing about the case.
The court granted him bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.
But freedom did not come immediately.
Pending the perfection of his bail conditions, Al-Amin was taken to the Agodi Custodial Centre.
For four days, his parents worked to secure his release.
Eventually, Simiat and Habeeb stood as sureties, and their son walked out of custody on September 14.
Police deny charging Oyo student over ₦8,000
Meanwhile, Oyo State Police Command has disputed the account surrounding the arrest and prosecution of a student, Al-Amin Mohammed, who later died by suicide, saying he was not arrested or charged to court over an outstanding ₦8,000 debt.
The Command said Mohammed was charged with assault and malicious damage after allegedly assaulting a female Point-of-Sale operator and damaging her Airtel SIM registration machine valued at ₦177,000.
The police position differs from the account given by Mohammed’s family, which said he was arrested and taken to court following a dispute over an ₦8,000 debt owed to the POS operator.
In a statement on Saturday, the Command described a publication alleging that Mohammed was detained over the debt as “false, unfounded and misleading.”
“The Command wishes to categorically state that the narrative is false, unfounded and misleading, as it does not represent the circumstances of the case or the basis upon which the suspect was charged to court,” the statement said.
According to the police, investigation established that Mohammed approached the POS operator to collect ₦23,000 in cash, with the intention of transferring the same amount to her through a POS transaction.
“The complainant obliged and handed the suspect the said sum in cash. However, immediately after collecting the money, the suspect left the scene without effecting the intended transfer or returning the money.
“Following persistent efforts, the suspect eventually refunded ₦15,000, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦8,000, which he subsequently refused to pay. Consequently, the complainant took possession of the suspect’s mobile phone pending the refund of the outstanding ₦8,000,” the Command said. (PUNCH)
A man reportedly from Uburu in Ebonyi State has been arrested in Ikpeze, Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State, over the alleged rape and killing of a young girl from the Onuoha family.
According to reports, the suspect allegedly raped the girl before killing her and dumping her body in a nearby bush.
The incident has sparked concern among residents, with many calling for a thorough investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the young girl’s death and ensure that justice is served.
The identity of the suspect and other details surrounding the incident have yet to be fully disclosed.
As of the time of filing this report, the Imo State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
Further details are expected as investigations progress.
UPDATE: Young Woman Umuora Mmesoma, Reportedly Killed by Ex-Boyfriend in Anambra, Buried
Meanwhile, Umuora Mmesoma, a young woman reportedly killed by her former boyfriend in Uga, Anambra State, has been laid to rest.
Mmesoma was reportedly declared missing on Friday, October 16, 2026, before her body was later discovered.
According to accounts circulating on social media, her former boyfriend, identified as Chima, allegedly killed her following the end of their relationship.
The suspect reportedly confessed to the crime, claiming that he killed Mmesoma in his house, placed her body inside a bag and dumped it at another location.
Her burial has left family members, friends and loved ones mourning the tragic loss of a young life.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals following a major security breach reportedly involving about $6.3 billion in digital assets.
The exchange said its preliminary investigation indicated that an attacker may have gained unauthorised access to its systems through a compromised laptop belonging to an engineer.
In a statement released on Thursday, Binance disclosed that it was working with blockchain intelligence firms, cryptocurrency issuers and law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident and recover the affected assets.
“The estimated total impact sits at around $6.3B. We have worked with blockchain partners to freeze affected assets, with $3 billion frozen on-chain so far,” the company said.
Binance explained that its initial findings suggested the attacker had compromised a DevOps engineer’s laptop, potentially enabling access to a service container through which unauthorised withdrawal transactions were submitted.
However, the exchange said it had found no evidence that private keys, which provide access to cryptocurrency wallets, had been exposed.
The company subsequently suspended deposits and withdrawals while its security team conducted checks and worked to contain the incident.
“Our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating. User funds are completely safe,” Binance said in a post on X.
North Korean Hackers Suspected
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has linked the incident to TraderTraitor, a cybercrime operation associated with North Korean hackers.
If the reported losses are confirmed, the incident would rank as the largest cryptocurrency theft on record, surpassing the $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft from the Bybit exchange in 2025, which was attributed to North Korean hackers.
However, investigations into the Binance incident are ongoing, and the full circumstances surrounding the attack have yet to be conclusively established.
The incident has renewed concerns about the vulnerability of cryptocurrency platforms to cyberattacks, particularly those involving compromised employee devices and unauthorised access to internal systems.
Tether, Circle Freeze Funds
Major cryptocurrency companies have moved to limit the potential losses by freezing digital assets believed to be connected to the incident.
Tether Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino said the company had frozen approximately $1.5 billion in USDT, its dollar-linked stablecoin.
Circle, the issuer of another major stablecoin, also reportedly froze about $800 million in assets amid reports of a potential security breach at Binance.
Binance said the amount of frozen funds could increase as investigators and industry partners continue tracing transactions across different blockchain networks.
The exchange is working with relevant stakeholders to identify the movement of the affected assets and prevent further transfers where possible.
Bitcoin, BNB Prices Fall
The reported security breach triggered a negative reaction in the cryptocurrency market, with major digital assets recording significant declines.
Bitcoin fell by approximately four per cent to $77,229 in the hours following reports of the incident.
BNB, the native token of the blockchain ecosystem developed by Binance, also dropped by about 7.5 per cent.
The price movements reflect investor concerns about the potential consequences of a major security incident at a leading cryptocurrency exchange.
Binance, which was established in 2017, reportedly holds approximately $140 billion in digital assets, making its security arrangements and ability to protect customer funds significant to the wider cryptocurrency industry.
CZ Says Customer Funds Should Be Covered
Binance co-founder and former chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ, also commented on the incident.
Although he stepped down from management of the exchange in 2023 following a settlement with United States authorities over anti-money-laundering compliance failures, Zhao said he expected customer funds to be protected.
As a shareholder, he expressed confidence that users would not ultimately bear the financial losses associated with the incident.
Binance has also indicated that it would cover eligible customer losses using its own resources, including its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), an emergency fund established to provide an additional layer of protection for customers.
The company’s final assessment of the losses and the extent of customer exposure will depend on the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
Polymarket Reports Separate Security Incident
The Binance incident emerged just hours after Polymarket, a popular prediction market, reported a separate security issue involving one of its third-party service providers.
Polymarket temporarily suspended trading after discovering that the provider had been compromised, potentially exposing some users to unauthorised activity involving their accounts.
The platform said it had referred the matter to law enforcement and promised to compensate affected users.
The two incidents have raised fresh questions about the security of cryptocurrency trading platforms and the risks associated with third-party technology providers.
In recent years, cryptocurrency exchanges and decentralised finance platforms have repeatedly been targeted by hackers seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in software, digital wallets and internal security systems.
Crypto Industry Faces Growing Security Threats
The reported Binance breach comes amid continuing concerns over cryptocurrency theft and the growing sophistication of cybercriminal operations.
According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, North Korean-linked hackers stole approximately $2 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, representing a 50 per cent increase from the previous year.
In another major incident, hackers reportedly stole about $280 million from the Drift cryptocurrency exchange in April.
The latest developments have highlighted the importance of stronger cybersecurity controls, effective monitoring of employee devices, rapid detection of suspicious transactions and cooperation between cryptocurrency companies and law enforcement agencies.
For Binance, the immediate priority remains containing the incident, tracing the affected funds and establishing the full extent of the losses.
The company is expected to release a detailed technical report after completing its investigation and verifying the facts surrounding the breach.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, the Islamic lesser pilgrimage, as part of a religious visit to the Kingdom.
Tinubu arrived at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on Thursday evening, where he was received by Nigeria’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yakubu Gambo, and the Saudi head of royal protocol, Ahmad bin Thafir.
The President is expected to proceed to Makkah, the holy city where Muslims from across the world gather to perform the religious rites associated with Umrah.
According to the travel schedule, Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria next week after completing the pilgrimage.
Umrah is a voluntary Islamic pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time of the year, unlike Hajj, which takes place during a specific period in the Islamic calendar. The religious exercise involves a series of rites performed in Makkah and is regarded by Muslims as an opportunity for spiritual reflection, repentance and seeking Allah’s blessings.
The visit marks another religious journey by the President since assuming office on May 29, 2023.
Tinubu previously visited Makkah in November 2023, shortly after participating in the Saudi-African Summit in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital. During that visit, he also performed Umrah and sought divine guidance for his administration and the affairs of Nigeria.
His latest trip comes as his administration continues to grapple with major national issues, including economic reforms, the cost of living, security challenges and efforts to stimulate investment and economic growth.
Although the visit is primarily religious, it also highlights the President’s continued engagement with Saudi Arabia, an important partner for Nigeria in areas such as energy, trade, investment and religious affairs.
Since taking office, Tinubu has undertaken numerous foreign trips involving bilateral meetings, multilateral summits, investment engagements and diplomatic visits across several continents.
The frequency of presidential foreign travel has also generated public discussion about the costs, benefits and outcomes of overseas engagements, particularly at a time when Nigerians are concerned about economic hardship and the need for improved living standards.
The Presidency has consistently maintained that international engagements are intended to strengthen Nigeria’s diplomatic relations, attract investment and advance the country’s economic and strategic interests.
Tinubu’s return next week is expected to mark the conclusion of the religious visit, after which he is expected to resume his presidential responsibilities in Nigeria.
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