Pat Utomi Blasts ‘Crude’ Police Extortion After Grueling Lagos Asaba Road Trip

Former presidential aspirant and political economist, Pat Utomi, has strongly criticised what he described as crude police extortion and poor road conditions after enduring a frustrating journey from Lagos to Asaba.

Utomi revealed that a trip which should have taken only a few hours stretched into an exhausting 15-hour ordeal, despite the vehicle experiencing no mechanical issues.

Sharing his experience on X (formerly Twitter), Utomi explained that his car departed Lagos at 5:00 a.m. and did not arrive in Asaba until after 8:00 p.m. He noted that the vehicle reached Benin City by 10:30 a.m., a journey that used to take just three hours in the 1980s.

According to him, the real nightmare began in Edo State, where it took six hours to cross Benin, largely due to incessant police checkpoints, extortion attempts, and severely deteriorated roads.

“The real news is that it took six hours to cross Benin,” Utomi wrote. “From police trying to extort money to terribly bad roads, detty December truly got dirty.”

He further condemned the conduct of some police officers, describing their actions as shameless and aggressive.

“The police extortions were beyond crude,” he added. “Questions like, ‘Why are you in Edo with a Lagos licence plate?’ Many people paid just to move on, only to get stuck again on impassable roads and in communities protesting lack of electricity.”

Utomi’s account has sparked renewed conversations online about road infrastructure, police conduct, and the daily struggles faced by Nigerian travellers during peak travel periods.

Tenant Allegedly St@bs Landlord In Delta

A tragic incident has rocked Boji-Boji Owa in Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta State, where a landlord, Mr. Lucky Obaze, was allegedly st@bbed to d3ath by his tenant during a dispute over a ₦1,500 electricity bill.

The suspect, identified only as Chiboy, is reportedly from Calabar, Cross River State.

According to Ika Weekly Newspaper, Chiboy and his brother, Victor, occupied a one-room apartment in a building owned by Mr. Obaze’s late father. The deceased, an indigene of the Owa-Oyibu community, lived in the same compound with his wife and six children.

Recounting the tragic event, which occurred on December 21, 2025, one of the victim’s children, Master Success Lucky, said the altercation started when his father went to collect the monthly electricity bill, as he routinely did.

“My father went to Chiboy to collect the ₦1,500 light bill, and they started arguing,” the visibly distressed boy said.

“I was alone with my father. If my mother had been around, this wouldn’t have happened. They fought downstairs where Chiboy stays, and afterward my father went upstairs to rest.”

He continued, “Suddenly, Chiboy came upstairs with a knife. I tried to stop him, but he was stronger than me. He met my father sitting in the parlour and st@bbed him.”

The victim’s wife, Mrs. Helen Obaze, has called on security agencies, the Nigerian government, and human rights groups to ensure justice is served.

Overcome with grief, she lamented that she has been left to single-handedly care for their six children.

Mrs. Obaze added that her husband’s body has been deposited at the mortuary to allow the police to carry out a full investigation into the incident.

‘Call Of Duty’ Creator Dies In Fiery Car Crash

Vince Zampella, the legendary co-creator of the global video game phenomenon Call of Duty, has reportedly died after a tragic car accident, according to a confirmation released Monday by gaming powerhouse Electronic Arts. He was 55 years old.

Local outlet NBC4 reported that Zampella was driving his Ferrari along a scenic mountain route north of Los Angeles on Sunday when the vehicle suddenly left the road under unclear circumstances, slammed into a concrete barrier, and erupted into flames.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) stated that both Zampella and a passenger were thrown from the car and later succumbed to injuries sustained in the crash. Dramatic videos circulating on social media showed the wreckage of the cherry-red Ferrari completely engulfed in fire on the roadside.

Authorities confirmed that investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the accident.

Zampella was widely celebrated as a trailblazer in the gaming world and a driving force behind the evolution of modern first-person military shooters. He co-created the Call of Duty franchise and later founded Respawn Entertainment, the studio responsible for hit titles including Titanfall, Apex Legends, and the Star Wars Jedi series.

He began his journey in the gaming industry in the 1990s and went on to co-found Infinity Ward in 2002. The studio released the first Call of Duty game in 2003, launching a franchise that would grow into one of the most successful in gaming history, boasting over 100 million active players each month.

Infinity Ward was later acquired by Activision, solidifying Zampella’s status as one of the most influential and respected figures in contemporary video game development.