Metro

South African police ‘rescue’ lady from Nigerian Pastor

A Nigerian Pastor, Peterside Idah, who once played for the Nigerian national football team, and now resides in South Africa, has been fingered in a row involving a South African lady

Published

6 years ago

June 27, 2018

Africa News Watch

A Nigerian Pastor, Peterside Idah, who once played for the Nigerian national football team, and now resides in South Africa, has been fingered in a row involving a South African lady.

Police in Gauteng, South Africa, say they have rescued a young woman from the home of the ex-Nigerian goalkeeper- turned pastor. The ‘rescue’ came after the lady’s mother, Suzan Mabelane, claimed her daughter was held against her will.

Mabelane claims that her 21-year-old daughter Pabalelo, started acting strangely since joining Peterside’s Christ Ambassador Church last December.

According to Mabelane, Peterside accused her and her mother of witchcraft, claiming they tried to introduce her daughter to witchcraft practices, an allegation which they both denied.

Sources say that Peterside went as far as deposing an affidavit at the Kempton Park police station appointing himself as the girl’s legal guardian, allegedly without the mother’s consent.

In a copy of the affidavit, Peterside wrote that he was staying with Mabelane’s daughter Pabalelo.

However, Mabelane alleged that the pastor had hypnotised her daughter and that she no longer wanted anything to do with her family.

“Imagine not knowing or seeing your daughter for five months and when you find out where she is, a pastor tells you that she is no longer your child. The worst thing was when he called me a witch because I was asking him to give me my child back.” said Mabelane.

“She asked me to give her R8 000 to pay a deposit for a flat but when I asked her how she was going to pay rent, she said God will provide. That’s when I started to get worried,” she added.

The police would have none of it and ordered Pabalelo to pack her bags.

Police spokesman Kay Makhubele confirmed that the provincial police commissioner had instructed police to intervene in the squabble between Peterside and Mabelane.

“The police successfully rescued a girl from a pastor’s house in Kempton Park …”
He said the police were now receiving conflicting stories, with the girl now claiming that she ran to the pastor’s house after her mother and her granny tried to force her to undergo traditional training to become a sangoma.

In his response, Pastor Peter side said:

“I don’t have to answer to you my friend [I am] a journalist, all I ask is do your job as a pro and do an investigation and make sure you come up with the truth ’cause you will meet me in court if you publish what is not the truth and I will keep our conversation as evidence.

If you are wise like I believe you are, call the police officer that came to my house and ask them what truth they found out, it will help you my friend. And pls, come to our church on Sunday and find out what kind of cult you think we are.

Pls, am blocking you know (sic). And am enjoying my football [in Russia]. If you need more info on what to write, my name is Idah Peterside I played for Morocca (sic) Swallows and Tembisa Classic and I played football for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, since you have been sent to tarnish the image I have built in South Africa for twenty years because of xenophobia.

Did I add that the police have called me to apologize because they found out that the woman is lying because I will open a case against them.

Is it wrong to be a foreigner in South Africa?”

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Metro

Finland-based Nigerians in panic as authorities search for Simon Ekpa’s sponsors

Published

3 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Some Nigerians based in Finland have been thrown into panic mode following the arrest and detention of the self-styled Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRIGE), Simon Ekpa, who was arrested on Thursday by Finnish authorities on terror-related charges.

Ekpa was arrested alongside four other individuals by Finnish authorities on suspicion of terror-related activities, including incitement to violence and financing terrorism.

The dissident had made himself infamous by using the social media to promote violent activities in southeastern Nigeria, including attacks and murder of civilians and security personnel.

According to some Nigerians in European country, following the arrest of the separatist leader and the four individuals suspected to be sponsors of his group known as IPOB-AutoPilots, the police have begun a manhunt for other sponsors, thus creating panic in the Nigerian community and those who may have had dealings with the agitator.

Several sources who spoke to journalists, said Nigerians in the European country are afraid of commenting on the arrest of Ekpa over fear of being attacked.

A Nigerian community leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said that the Igbo community in the was gravely affected by the violent acts of the secessionist group.

“Everyone is afraid to speak about Ekpa’s arrest. The key people in Finland and the Igbo community at large are not ready to lend their voices either,” he said.

He added that some persons were being accused of reporting Ekpa to the police and were being threatened.

“A particular person they accused now, they’re after him. This happened before he (Ekpa) was even remanded; what will happen when they imprison him? Everyone is afraid. These people are very deadly.”

Another Nigerian who spoke acknowledged that there was serious tension among Nigerians in the country.

“People don’t want to speak about Ekpa for fear of being hunted by his followers. We believe that they will hunt whoever comes out to talk about their leader. But the Finnish Government is trying to get rid of the situation.”

Metro

65% of Nigerian households lack money for healthy food—Survey

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that around 65% of Nigerian households, which is about two-thirds of the population, lack the financial means to eat healthy food.

According to the survey by the agency, the decline is a reflection of the multidimensional poverty in the country and the impact of continuous reduction in the purchasing power of Nigerians due to rising prices of goods and services.

And as a result, two-thirds of households in the country lack money to eat healthy, nutritious food, the NBS said.

Titled “Nigeria General Household Survey – Panel (GHS-Panel) Wave 5 (2023/2024),” the survey examined demographics, education, and health trends in Nigeria, comparing data from Wave 4 (2018/19) and Wave 5 (2023/24).

On food insecurity, the survey stated:

“Approximately two out of three households indicated being unable to eat healthy, nutritious or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days.

“Similarly, 63.8 per cent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to lack of money, 62.4 percent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 percent ate less than they thought they should.”

It added that between Waves 4 and 5, the proportion of households that reported being worried about not having enough food to eat because of lack of money increased significantly, from 36.9 percent to 62.4 percent.

On access to energy, the survey revealed said:

“82.2 percent of urban households have electricity, compared to 40.4 per cent in rural areas. Nigerian households face an average of 6.7 power blackouts weekly.

“Cooking typically involves traditional three-stone stoves (65.0 percent), primarily using wood as fuel (70.2 per cent), but with use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rising significantly.

“Many households lack toilet facilities and rely on tube wells or boreholes for drinking water. Waste disposal is mostly informal, with 45.6 percent of households using bushes or streets,” it added.