Adejumo Lateef, a member of the Yoruba Nation agitators, has died while in custody, as confirmed by officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service during a court session at the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, on Wednesday. Lateef, who was the 18th defendant in a case brought by the Oyo State Government, passed away before the group’s arraignment.

The remaining 27 defendants were arraigned before Justice K. B. Olawoyin at Court 3 of the Oyo State High Court. The defendants, operating under the Yoruba Nation movement, are accused of invading the Oyo State Government Secretariat in Agodi, Ibadan, on April 13, 2024, where they declared the formation of a sovereign Yoruba Nation.

The suspects face a five-count charge, including conspiracy, unlawful possession of firearms, unlawful assembly, treasonable felony, and treason. These offences are punishable under Section 37(2) of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Vol. II, Laws of Oyo State, 2000. The prosecution is being led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, S. O. Adeoye.

During the proceedings, the court was informed that the majority of the defendants lacked legal representation. Although some defendants were represented—Adebola Ogungbe for the 3rd, 4th, 9th, and 12th defendants, and Toluwase Ogundeji for the 15th defendant—others were without lawyers. However, two lawyers, Yomi Ogunlola and S. A. Sanmi, volunteered to represent the remaining unrepresented defendants.

Three of the defendants—6th, 23rd, and 24th—requested more time to contact their families in order to arrange for legal representation.

As a result, Justice Olawoyin adjourned the case to the 6th, 8th, and 13th of November 2024 for arraignment and hearing, allowing time for the defendants to secure legal counsel.

The incident has sparked discussions about the treatment of detainees and the handling of the Yoruba Nation movement, a group advocating for the secession of the southwestern region of Nigeria.

The Kremlin was quick to release a statement denying that Vladimir Putin is facing health issues after he mentioned being regularly examined by a doctor.

The 72-year-old Russian president was speaking on television alongside Health Minister Mikhail Murashko in a discussion urging Russians to get vaccinated against the flu.

“The doctors at the Central Clinical Hospital, where I undergo regular check-ups, also recommend getting vaccinated with a domestically produced vaccine,” the head of state said.

This statement quickly sparked a wave of speculation about the Russian leader’s health.

However, the national news agency TASS insisted that Vladimir Putin was not ill, stating that the visit was merely a routine check-up. “He was referring to regular medical examinations,” added Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s health has been the subject of much speculation, with rumors that he may be suffering from cancer or Parkinson’s disease.

Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel’s most-wanted man.

Israeli leaders celebrated his killing as a settling of scores just over a year after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others in an attack that stunned the country.

“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the start of the day after Hamas,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Sinwar’s death is a crippling blow to Hamas, but the group has proven resilient to losses of past leaders. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas of Sinwar’s death.

Netanyahu has said Israel will keep fighting until all the hostages are free, and that it will keep control over Gaza long enough to ensure Hamas does not rearm — an effective occupation that raises the possibility of months or even years of continued fighting.

Sinwar has been Hamas’ leader inside the Gaza Strip for years. He was elevated to the group’s top leadership position in July after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Found by chance

In the past months, Israel has assassinated a string of senior figures from Hamas and Hezbollah with airstrikes. Israel has claimed to have killed the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, but the group has said he survived.

But in Sinwar’s case, troops found him by chance.

Israel military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that Israeli forces identified three Hamas militants running from building to building in Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah. The troops attempted to shoot them before they ran inside a building.

The Israeli military released drone video showing what it said were Sinwar’s last moments: In a room wrecked by shelling, a man sat in a chair, his face covered with a cloth, possibly to hide his identity. The video showed the man, with one wounded hand, throwing a stick at the drone.

The military then fired an additional shell at the building, causing it to collapse and killing Sinwar, Hagari said. He said Sinwar was found with a bulletproof vest, grenades, and 40,000 shekels ($10,707).

Some of Sinwar’s DNA had previously been found in tunnels near where troops found the bodies of six hostages at the end of August, Hagari said. The military believes weeks of searches in the area had pushed Sinwar to come out of hiding, he said.

Photos circulating online showed the body of a man resembling Sinwar with a gaping head wound, dressed in a military-style vest, half buried in the rubble of a destroyed building. The security official confirmed the photos were taken by Israeli security officials at the scene. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The military said three militants were killed in the operation. Police said one of them was confirmed as Sinwar by dental records, fingerprints and DNA tests. Sinwar was imprisoned by Israel from the late 1980s until 2011, and during that time he underwent treatment for brain cancer — leaving Israeli authorities with extensive medical records.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed Hamas fighters, saying it “is time to go out, release the hostages, raise your hands, surrender.”

‘Symbol of resistance’

In the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, one Palestinian woman displaced from her home in the north said she hoped Sinwar’s death would bring an end to Israel’s campaign. “What more goals do they have than that? Enough. We want to go back,” said the woman, Umm Mohammed.

Some praised Sinwar as a symbol of resistance against Israel’s decades-long occupation of the Palestinians in the West Bank. Ahmed Hamdouna, who also fled his home in northern Gaza, said Hamas would be able to replace him. “After the leader, a thousand leaders will come. After the man, a thousand men will come,” he said.