The death toll from severe weather that lashed the Texas city of Houston has risen to seven, authorities said Friday.

The three additional deaths came after Houston, the fourth-largest US city, was hit Thursday by heavy rain and winds up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour, leaving downtown streets covered in glass from blown-out windows.

Downed trees and power lines littered residential areas and the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in the suburb of Cypress.

According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, the new victims included an 85-year-old woman who died after her mobile home was struck by lightning and caught fire.

A 60-year-old man was found unresponsive and pronounced dead after going to his truck to try and power his oxygen tank, after electricity was cut across wide swaths of the storm-hit area.

And a 57-year-old man collapsed and died after trying to move a downed power pole.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Thursday after the storm that four people died, though specifics were not immediately available.

Schools in Houston, home to 2.3 million people with an economy centered around oil and petrochemicals, were closed on Friday and non-essential workers urged to stay home.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has fulfilled its commitment to justice by handing over $22,000 recovered from a convicted internet fraudster, Hakeem Olanrewaju, to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

In a statement released on Saturday, EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale announced that the handover took place on Friday in Lagos State.

“We are delighted to be handing over this proceeds of crime today,” remarked the Acting Director of the EFCC Lagos Zonal Command, Michael Wetkas. “The EFCC is willing and always ready to do more.”

At the handover event, FBI’s Legal Attaché Charles Smith praised the EFCC for its collaborative efforts.

“The EFCC and FBI work collaboratively together, and it is thanks to the EFCC that we can recover funds of this nature, especially from Business Email Compromise, BEC,” stated Smith.

“This type of crime cripples businesses in the US, and for them to recover the money within one to two years gives hope to the affected companies and brings some level of justice, even if not all subjects have been identified.”

Smith expressed hope for continued cooperation between the two agencies, emphasising the FBI’s readiness to support investigations.

Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, had previously ordered the restitution of the recovered money to Olanrewaju’s victim in the US.

Olanrewaju was sentenced to two years imprisonment for identity theft and impersonation on August 15, 2023.

A fresh twist has been introduced to the travails of the former boss of the Park Management System (PMS) in Oyo state, Mr. Mukaila Lamidi, popularly known as Auxiliary, as the All Progressives Congress has called on the National Special Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbedokun, to carry out thorough investigation on the various allegations against the suspect to unravel his sponsors and other accomplices.

Lamidi popularly known as Auxiliary was paraded on Thursday at the Eleyele, Ibadan headquarters of the Oyo State Police Command following his arrest by the officials of the Department of State Security last week. The State Commissioner of Police, Adebola Hamzat, told pressmen during the parade that Lamidi would soon be arraigned in court on several charges which included; the murder of one Rahmon which happened in Ibadan in 2021, possession of a large cache of arms and ammunition among other crimes.

In a statement issued today and made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, Oyo APC cautioned against selective justice “as could not have committed the heinous crimes all alone and without the sponsorship or support of the powers-that-be in the state in view of the fact that he was not only a chieftain of the ruling party but also an associate of the PDP governor.

“Arrest and prosecution of Lamidi was long overdue in view of the fact he has always been a thorn in the flesh of the residents of Oyo state and the good people of Ibadanland in particular. It is on this note that we commend the officials of the DSS who eventually got him arrested following a long time of distress calls from his numerous victims. Until recently when the bubble burst between him and Gov. Seyi Makinde, the same man (Lamidi) was untouchable as he got the full backing of the Agodi Government House landlords to run a separate government in the state.

“There is no denying the facts that Lamidi and his vicious gang have violated many innocent people’s rights since May 29, 2019, when Gov. Makinde came into power. Also, it is an established fact that he had in his possession a cache of arms and ammunition which no security agency in the state could boast of. He displayed these weapons at will just like he did on several occasions when he went on political functions and campaigns in the company of Gov. Makinde. There are even claims from certain quarters that weapons meant for the Amotekun Corps in Oyo state ended up in the hands of Lamidi and his gang members.

“Apart from the 2021 incident in which one Rahmon was killed, Lamidi followed the entourage of the governor to Kogi state, Osogbo in Osun state, Ekiti state, Igangan in Oyo state, and many other places where he used the stockpiled arms and ammunition brazenly since he was under the state cover. The question on the lips of the people is; “why did Gov. Makinde keep Auxiliary so close to the seat of power for four good years only to part ways with him immediately he got his second term mandate?

“Many members and leaders of our great Party (APC) have fallen victims to Mukaila Lamidi’s reign of terror in the past but this cannot make us support selective justice. Both the NSA and IGP should wade into the matter and ensure that a thorough investigation is carried out to unmask those who sponsored or backed Lamidi’s criminal acts in the state. With thorough and unbiased investigation, a lot would be revealed and all those responsible for political violence, thuggery, and brigandage in the state over the last five years would be made to face justice.” Oyo APC stated.