An unidentified man is in critical condition after a mob attacked him with hot oil for allegedly stealing groundnut oil at a market near the Alakara Police Station in the Mushin area of Lagos State.

Report has it that the incident occurred on Friday.

According to The Punch, a resident under anonymity on Monday said that the man pretended to be a customer, took the item from a stall, and was caught in the act.

Angered by the theft, the mob reportedly heated some of the groundnut oil he was accused of stealing and poured it on his back.

“He pretended to be a customer, and while the owner of the shop was busy attending to others, he lifted a bottle of groundnut oil and left. He did not know he was sighted by another trader. That was how he was approached and caught with the product. He was stripped naked and beaten by the mob, who then decided to heat the groundnut oil and poured it on his back while he was lying down,” the source said.

The suspect was said to have been left unconscious with severe burns and abandoned near the market.

A resident, Omoluabi Ifeoluwa, who raised the alarm about the suspect’s condition, revealed that the man was found on Sunday lying in a gutter close to the police without receiving medical assistance.

Ifeoluwa, who shared the information on the community WhatsApp group, stated that he received a distress call and contacted health officials and the police.

He wrote, “On receiving a distress call, I was informed that a seemingly lifeless body had been lying in a gutter near Alakara Police Station along Agege Motor Road for over two days without attention. Upon verification of this disturbing report, I promptly contacted the following officials for immediate action: Medical Officer of Health, Mushin Local Government. Supervisor for Health, Mushin Local Government and Divisional Police Officer, Alakara Police Station

Following this, I arranged for an ambulance through the Lagos State Emergency Services, and we proceeded swiftly to the location. On arrival, we found a man in an extremely critical and unhygienic condition.” According to eyewitnesses, he was allegedly caught attempting to steal groundnut oil. As punishment, the oil was reportedly poured on him, and he was left in that state.”

Ifeoluwa explained that after cleaning him up, the general hospital where he was taken refused to admit him.

“We were advised to transfer him to Gbagada General Hospital for further care. Unfortunately, due to a lack of further support, medical acceptance, or guidance, I was unable to continue with the process. With no clear path forward and without institutional assistance, I was left with no choice but to let him go,” he added.

When reached for comments, the Divisional Police Officer, Enyinna Nwankudu, stated that the officers had made efforts to retrieve the man from where he was found.

He said, “When we saw him, we contacted the local government officials and health workers who came to remove him from inside the drainage. He was initially thought to be dead, but he was not. He has been taken care of.”

The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced that all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas are now required to set the privacy settings of their social media accounts to “public.”

F, M, and J visas are nonimmigrant categories issued by the US government for individuals entering the country for educational and exchange programmes.

The mission stated that applicants in these categories must now make their social media profiles public as part of a new visa regulation.

The announcement was made on the official X page of the United States Diplomatic Mission Nigeria on Monday, stating that the new rule takes immediate effect.

“Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their personal social media accounts to ‘public,’” the post read.

According to the post, this requirement is designed to support efforts to verify the identities of applicants and assess their eligibility to enter the United States.

“We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to US national security,” the post said.

When the update was initially announced in June, the US emphasised that a visa “is a privilege, not a right.”

On June 18, 2025, the US Department of State published a notice on its website explaining that under the new policy, “we will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications.”

“To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to ‘public.’”

The statement added, “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision.

“The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission.”

There are concerns that the Senate leadership may clash with the suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, after she vowed to attend the plenary today.

The Senate is, however, preparing for a possible confrontation and has stated that it will not take any official action on the matter until it reviews the Certified True Copy of the court’s ruling.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, in a video circulating on social media, told her excited supporters that she would return to her legislative duties in the Red Chamber on Tuesday.

She also thanked her constituents for their support after the court ruling that upheld her position in the Senate.

She said, “I thank you for your support. I am glad we are victorious today. We shall resume in the Senate on Tuesday by the grace of God.”

A Federal High Court in Abuja had, on Friday, overturned the six-month suspension placed on Akpoti-Uduaghan by the Senate.

The court ruled that the suspension was excessive, unconstitutional, and violated the rights of her constituents, ordering her immediate reinstatement.

The court also imposed a fine of N5m on her for contempt over a Facebook post deemed to have breached an earlier court order.

Justice Binta Nyako, in her ruling, stated that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Facebook post, which contained a satirical apology aimed at Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, violated an interim injunction issued on March 4, 2025.

The injunction had prohibited all parties from making public comments or social media posts related to the ongoing legal case challenging her suspension.

However, less than 24 hours after she announced plans to return to plenary, the Senate stated that it would wait to receive and review the Certified True Copy of the court’s judgment before taking any official steps.

In a statement on Sunday, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, explained that although their legal team was present in court, the full judgment was not read aloud.

He also mentioned that a formal request had been made to obtain the Certified True Copy for a complete understanding of the court’s decision and any specific directives.

The statement partly read, “Pending receipt and examination of the CTC, and acting on the advice of counsel, the Senate shall refrain from taking any steps that may prejudice its legal position.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months in March after a heated session where she accused Akpabio of sexual harassment.

Her suspension drew widespread criticism from civil society organisations and human rights advocates.

She later filed a lawsuit against the Senate and its leadership, claiming that the suspension was a deliberate attempt to silence her and deny her constituents representation.

Following a satirical Facebook post dated April 27, where she offered what the court described as a “mock apology” to Akpabio, the Senate President’s legal team filed a contempt charge against her.

They argued that the post defied the court’s gag order.

During the hearing, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers argued that the post had nothing to do with the suspension case, maintaining it was related to her separate misconduct claims against the Senate President.

However, Justice Nyako disagreed, ruling that the post was connected to the case and constituted a clear violation of the court’s order.

The judge imposed a N5m fine on her and ordered her to issue a public apology within seven days.

The judge further directed that the apology must be published in two national newspapers and reposted on her Facebook page.

As of Monday evening, Akpoti-Uduaghan had not yet published the apology in the required newspapers or on her Facebook page.