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25 years later, 70-year old Catholic Bishop charged with rape of girl 16

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A Catholic Bishop aged 70, has been charged with two counts of rape against a female under the age of 16.

Staffordshire Police say the charges against David James Oakley, the Bishop of Northampton, follow his arrest in September last year. The offences are alleged to have taken place in Staffordshire between February 2000 and February 2001, the force said.

Oakley, 70, is due to appear at Cannock Magistrates’ Court on 14 August. He was 45 years old when the incident allegedly occured.

In a statement, the Catholic Diocese of Northampton – which covers Northamptonshire , Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire – confirmed the charges against Oakley “after an investigation into non-recent safeguarding allegations”.

It said it recognised the case was “very distressing for all concerned”, but could not comment further due to active legal proceedings.

According to the diocese, Oakley was born in Stourbridge in the West Midlands and was ordained in 1980.

He served in several parishes within the Archdiocese of Birmingham before becoming Bishop of Northampton in 2020.

Oakley was also a front runner to become leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales at one point.

 

 

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Enugu State govt suspends monarch for hosting Peter Obi

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The Enugu State Government has suspended His Royal Majesty, Igwe Eze William Ezugwu, the traditional ruler of Ibagwa Ogbozalla Opi Autonomous Community, in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu state.

The state government accused Igwe Ezugwu of violating provisions of the state’s Traditional Rulers Law.

In a letter of suspension dated September 24, the Enugu State Government cited his alleged failure to constitute his cabinet, failure to establish a Town Union governing body, and persistent conduct deemed inconsistent with the laws governing traditional rulers in the state.

The suspension comes barely three weeks after Igwe William Ezugwu received NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi at his palace in Opi, Nsukka LGA, where he reportedly blessed Obi’s presidential ambition.

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Bandits ambush, kill Plateau state deputy commander, operation rainbow CSP Babale

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The Deputy Commander of Operation Rainbow, CSP (Chief Superintendent of Police) Dennis David Babale, has been killed after gunmen suspected to be Fulani Bandits ambushed personnel of the security outfit along the Bokkos-Barkin Ladi road in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Operation Rainbow is a State-backed community security and intelligence-gathering outfit in Plateau State, Nigeria, originally established in 2010 under former Governor Jonah Jang and recently revamped by Governor Caleb Mutfwang to combat rural violence and beef up grassroots security.

The incident reportedly occurred at about 4:06 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2026 when the personnel, travelling in a Toyota Hilux vehicle, came under attack by unidentified gunmen.

Troops of Sector 4, Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), responded to a distress report and moved to the location of the attack.

Sources told reporters that Babale sustained gunshot wounds during the ambush and was evacuated to the General Hospital, Barkin Ladi, for medical attention.

Following the attack, troops, working alongside personnel of other security agencies, launched offensive operations and a manhunt for the assailants within the general area.

Security forces have intensified efforts to track the attackers and prevent further attacks along the route.

 

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What NiMet DG Anosike, others discussed at WMO dialogue in China

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Director General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the World Meteorological Organization, Prof. Charles Anosike and other Chief Executive Officers of similar agencies across the world, have concluded a one week high level dialogue on Climate Science Information for Climate Finance and the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange (SOFE) in Beijing, China.

The event which was hosted by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), took place from September 14 to 18, 2026 and featured discussions on: strengthening the role and leadership development of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in mobilizing climate finance; aligning scientific and technical capabilities with risk-informed, people-centred early warning systems; shifting from technical assistance to sustainable investments by expanding practical cooperation between meteorological frameworks and multilateral financing entities; and support to NMHSs leadership on strengthening strategic thinking and fostering productive partnerships.

Held back-to-back with the High-level dialogue was the 53rd Senior Official Field Exchange to Fujian Province for first-hand exposure to the implementation of Multi-hazard, Alert, Zero-gap and Universal (MAZU) platform – China’s AI-driven meteorological early warning solution in support of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative and disaster risk reduction practices through technical exchanges, field visits and peer learning.

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