PINK REPUBLIC/ MY BLOG IS A STORY MARATHON.

 A teenage girl escapes from a South Dakota home where she was forced to take illegal substances while being sexually assaulted.  Police in Sturgis received a frantic 911 call from a 15-year-old girl at 8 a.m. on October 7th. The young girl was very shaken up and had a harrowing tale to share with officers.  The teen told officers she had been held captive in a home by 32-year-old Michael Wilson, pictured below. She told police Wilson forced her to take illegal substances and forced himself on her. The young female victim was eventually able to bravely escape the home and immediately found a way to call 911. Authorities say it is unclear how long Wilson held the teen-victim hostage. They say Wilson and the victim knew each other prior to the incident but did not disclose the extent of their relationship. Officers quickly descended on Wilson's home. Upon arrival, they found Wilson attempting to leave the home in a vehicle with three other people.  When Wilson saw offi...

 Abia Taskforce Arrests Four Impostors Posing as NURTW Members for Extortion in Aba The Abia State Harmonized Taskforce (ASHTF) apprehended four individuals on Thursday, October 9, 2025, for impersonating National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) members and engaging in extortion, intimidation, and illegal enforcement along Port Harcourt Road in Aba and surrounding areas. The arrests took place at Flyover Junction in the Ugwunagbo area during an operation led by ASHTF Aba Area Coordinator, Mr. Uche Wogu, following multiple complaints from market women, tricycle (Keke) operators, and traders. According to a statement by ASHTF spokesperson Miracle Chukwunenye, the suspects, led by one Mr. Ahuama, were caught extorting money from traders and tricycle operators under the false pretense of being NURTW officials. “Upon arrival, the Taskforce, in collaboration with the police, arrested Mr. Ahuama and three accomplices,” Chukwunenye said. “Investigations revealed they had impounded ...

 Alleged N110.4b Fraud: How Abdulsami Hudu made Multi-million Naira Withdrawals from Kogi Government Account- Witness The Sixth Prosecution Witness, PW6, Mshelia Arhyel in the trial of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, on Thursday, October 9, 2025, narrated before Justice Maryanne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Maitama, Abuja how the third defendant, Abdulsami Hudu made multi-million naira withdrawals from Kogi State Government Account. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is prosecuting Bello alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge, bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N110.4 billion. The witness, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc was in court on a subpoena to tender bank statements on the accounts of Kogi State Government House, Macelina Njuku, Bespoque, Aleshua Solution Services, Wales Limited, Jagaya limited and Jimeta among others under the guida...

 $4.5bn: Court Admits More Evidence Against  Emefiele Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on October 9,2025, admitted more evidence against a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, in an alleged $4.5bn fraud. Emefiele is standing trial on a 19-count charge bordering on receiving gratification and corrupt demand preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). His co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is facing a three-count charge bordering on unlawful acceptance of gifts by agents. The case was adjourned till December 2 and 3, 2025 for mini trial.

 STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE PRESIDENT TINUBU PARDONS HERBERT MACAULAY, VATSA, LAWAN, GRANTS CLEMENCY TO 82 INMATES Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, sentenced to death over a treason charge in 1986, has received a posthumous pardon from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Vatsa, a poet, was among the 17 people who received presidential pardons following the endorsement of the National Council of State, which met in Abuja on Thursday. President Tinubu also granted a posthumous pardon to Herbert Macaulay, a Nigerian nationalist and co-founder, along with Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). Macaulay was the party's first president, which played a pivotal role in Nigeria's struggle for independence. However, in 1913, Macaulay was believed unjustly convicted by the British colonialists and banned from public office. Macaulay died in 1946, but the stigma of being an ex-convict was not exorcised from his records until now. President Tinubu also pardon...

 South Sudan president fires military chief after three months, reinstates predecessor South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has removed the country's military chief and reinstated his predecessor whom Kiir had sacked three months earlier, state-run television announced, Reuters reported. The moves add to relentless turnover within the ranks of South Sudan's military and government as Kiir contends with armed conflict and speculation within the country about his eventual succession. Kiir, 74, has led a transitional government in the impoverished and fractured nation since independence from Sudan in 2011. Scheduled elections have twice been postponed and First Vice President Riek Machar, Kiir's main rival during a 2013-2018 civil war, was charged last month with treason. The South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation announced late on Wednesday that Kiir had appointed Paul Nang Majok to replace Dau Aturjong as the new Chief of Defence Forces, without providing a reason for the de...

 DRC's Tshisekedi urges Rwanda's Kagame to 'make peace' in Brussels encounter President Felix Tshisekedi has appealed to his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame to "make peace" with the Democratic Republic of Congo, AFP reported. Tshisekedi, 62, issued the call as he took the podium after Kagame at the Global Gateway Forum, an investment conference in Belgium's capital Brussels. "I call this forum as witness, and through it the entire world, to reach out my hand to you, Mr President, so that we may make peace," Tshisekedi said. The eastern DRC, a region bordering Rwanda with abundant natural resources, has suffered extreme violence for more than three decades. Kinshasa claims Rwanda backs M23 rebel group, which is active in eastern DRC, but Kigali denies. M23 seizes swathes of land in eastern DRC The M23 rebel group, which resumed fighting at the end of 2021, has seized swathes of land in the region, triggering a spiralling humanitarian crisis. Kagam...