Masqueraders, Muslims’ Clash: Osun Court Adjourns Murder Case

By Yinka Kolawole

The State High Court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State’s capital, has adjourned the murder case filed by the state against Mr. Kayode Esuleke, his son and two others due to the absence of the defendants.

The court, yesterday, decided to adjourn till Tuesday, September 14, because of the absence of the masqueraders in the court.

It would be recalled that on June 27, masquerade worshippers in Osogbo allegedly attacked Kamorudeen Central Mosque, located at Oluode Aranyin during an organised prayer for the nation

One Moshood Salawudeen, from Iwo area of the state, was allegedly killed while 14 others sustained injuries.

Following the incident, the police arrested the leader of masquerade worshippers, Esuleke, a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, his son, Fashola Esuleke, Adeosun Kola and Idowu Hakeem for alleged murder.

The police also arrested the chief Imam of the Mosque, Mr. Kareem Yunus, and three others, namely Salawu Jimoh, Alarape Sulaimon and Raimi Saheed for alleged assault.

However, the Muslims were arraigned for assault while the custodians of the masquerade were arraigned for unlawful vandalisation of the mosque and a Toyota Camry.

The magistrate court granted all the defendants bail.

In a fresh suit, the state prosecution department, however, filed a murder case against the masqueraders.

The counsel for the traditional worshipers, Mr. Abimbola Ige, yesterday told the court that the defendants were not properly served on the suit and promised to present them at the next adjournment date.

He said that Esuleke was sick but had been discharged from hospital while three others were not in the state.

The State Prosecutor, Mr. Moses Faremi, said he was not aware of Esuleke’s sickness and prayed the court to grant the adjournment.

Justice Ayo Oyebiyi of the High Court adjourned the case till September 14, 2021, for arraignment.

Kwara Gov Harps on Solid Education for Sustainable Devt

– By Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The Kwara State Governor, Mr. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, yesterday said that no sustainable development could be achieved without solid education.

AbdulRazaq made the remark when he spoke at the Kwara Education Futures Summit, which was held in Ilorin.

He said: “This is why my first preoccupation in office had been to check up on the state of our schools. It was a sorry tale. The basic education had simply collapsed.

“We got down to work immediately. Two years down the road, my team and I are proud to report that the situation has changed.

“We have restored our relationship with key partners after years of blacklist. We have reshaped public perception about teaching by engaging the best minds into the system. Work is ongoing in some 600 basic schools to give our children a befitting learning environment.

“Our goal is to make public schools the first choice for all in terms of the quality and relevance of our infrastructure and teaching staff in the digital age.

“As a show of our commitment to education, we have recently surpassed the UNESCO budgetary threshold of 26 per cent. Even so, it is clear that the government cannot do this alone.

“Huge gaps still exist. For instance, our recent school census across four local government areas show that 41 per cent of our teachers are absent at their duty post.

“No single teacher was seen in 54 of the 368 schools sampled, while 23 per cent of students on head teachers’ record were not in school during the census.

“Only 15 per cent of the schools sampled were rated as needing no repair, implying that 85 per cent of our classrooms require various forms of rehabilitation.

“The picture is bleaker when you consider availability or adoption of technology in our schools. The gender parity index for ratio of girls to boys in our school is another source of worry.

“So, we need everyone on board. We do not have all the answers. And we certainly do not have enough resources that will provide the right environment for every Kwara child to thrive in the new world, irrespective of their social standing.”

AbdulRazaq noted further that “this Kwara Education Futures Summit, we will analyse the current state of education in Kwara and develop actionable plan to build a new generation who can hold their own anywhere in the world.

“Already, we are building a legal framework to support our efforts. We now have a bill for a law to establish Kwara State Education Trust Fund.

“When passed, this fund will supplement the sector’s finance, promote technologies, and leapfrog the sector’s development through our Kwara Education Transformation Agenda (KWETA) plan.”

The governor, therefore, said that, he was confident in the future of education in the state as the best brains and hands are working on it.