Author: The Nation

The police in Enugu State have arraigned the traditional ruler of Obeagu Ugwuaji, Awkunanaw Autonomous Community of the state, Igwe Christopher Nyia for alleged attempted kidnapping among other charges.

It will be recalled that members of Obeagu Ugwuaji Awkunanaw Autonomous Community had earlier trooped out en mass in solidarity with their monarch.

Nyia, 60, was arraigned before an Enugu South Magistrates Court presided over by Mr A. P. C. Amalu on four count charges allegedly committed with others at large in November, 2014.

He was said to have conspired to commit misdemeanor to wit: malicious damage/unlawful detention, thereby, committed an offence punishable under Sect. 517 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap. C38, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Nyia was said to have willfully and unlawfully destroyed the house of one Hillary Okoye valued at N1.6 million and committed an offence punishable under sect. 451 of the same law.

He was said to have also unlawfully detained one Chinaza Agah against her will and, thereby, committed an offence punishable under Sect. 365 of the Criminal Code Act.

The last charge was that the monarch attempted to kidnap one Chinaza Agah and, thereby, committed an offence punishable under Sect. 86 (1) of the Criminal Code Act.

When the charges were read, the monarch pleaded not guilty and elected for summary trial.

The defense counsel, Prof. Osita Ogbu applied for the quashing of the charges against his client on grounds that the case had earlier been heard and dismissed by an Enugu Magistrates Court in 2016.

Ogbu said the case was dismissed due to lack of diligent prosecution.

The counsel, who tendered the certified copies of the proceedings, said it was surprising that the prosecution would bring up the matter again.

Read Also: Kidnapped college provost regains freedom in Benue – Police

The defense counsel also said the laws on the basis of which his client was arraigned, did not apply to Enugu State.

He said the law was a creation of the National Assembly adding that the body had no constitutional powers to make laws for an offence applicable to Enugu state.

Ogbu said that criminalisation was a residual matter under the 1999 Constitution and amended except in treasonable felony.

He said his client was charged under the criminal code applicable in Abuja, adding that Enugu State had its own Criminal Procedure Law.

“The powers to enact general criminal laws are incidental which is not applicable here. These offences are under the legislative powers of the state assembly,” he said.

He said that under Sect. 36 (12) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, “a person could only be brought to the court for an offence prescribed by a valid law.

“We urge the court to quash the charges and discharge the accused person as he is not charged under any valid law,” he said.

Ogbu however, applied for the bail of his client should the court find no valid reason to quash the charges.

He said that the monarch was conscientiously attending court proceedings even when the prosecution was not attending prior to the initial dismissal of the case in 2016.

However, the prosecution counsel, Mr D. T. Abi opposed the bail application on the grounds that the allegations were heinous.

Abi however, told the court that the case was not dismissed on its merits but on technical grounds.

He said that under the circumstance, the police have the powers to re-arrest and bring the accused back to the court.

He said the charges were applicable to the state as the NASS had the powers to make laws for good governance of all parts of the country.

Abi prayed the court to discountenance the submissions of the defense counsel and deny bail.

However, Amalu granted the accused bail for N1 million and one surety in like sum.

The matter was adjourned until Sept. 2 for hearing.

Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) at Magbon, Abeokuta, Ogun State, have arrested a 35-year-old tractor operator, Umoru Adams over alleged murder of an unnamed man.

It was said that Umoru trained as a caterpillar operator shortly after he completed his studies at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, where he bagged a National Diploma (ND) in Business Administration.

The operatives arrested the suspect at his parents’ residence in Papalanto, Ewekoro Local Government Area of the State at about 3 am penultimate Thursday.

Read Also: Police arrest two over alleged murder of 38-year-old man in Jos

The suspect, according to the police, had fled the community after he allegedly killed the unnamed victim.

The police were tipped off when the suspect sneaked into the community and was sighted by vigilant residents.

Contacted, the spokesman of Ogun Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) said: ‘’It was a case of murder. The suspect killed a man and ran away from the area. However, he thought that the matter would have been forgotten, hence, he sneaked into the community.

‘’Unfortunately, he was sighted by some people who alerted the police and was promptly arrested and he is currently undergoing interrogation.’’

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) on Friday announced its interception of 21 contraband drugs including tramadol valued at over N5 billion.

The National Public Relations Officer (NPRO) of NCS, Assistant Comptroller Joseph Attah, told newsmen in Ikeja that the drugs were   intercepted when the smugglers of the items were attempting to move them from Lagos to other parts of the country.

The smugglers, according to him, had intended to seize the opportunity of the festive mood of the last Eid-el-Kabir to play a fast one on the Customs.

The seizure was effected on August 3, Attah   said at the Ikeja Training College of the service where the truck containing the drugs is being detained.

Read Also: Onne Customs reject N1m bribe, arrest five over tramadol deal

He said:”On Aug. 13, at about 2 am, operatives of the Headquarters Strike Force Zone A intercepted a truck laden with dreaded codeine, tramadol and other controlled pain killers along Maryland, Ikeja road.

“The intercepted trailer contains illicit drugs and was immediately brought to the attention of the team leader of the force, Assist. Comptroller of Customs Usman Yahya, who deepened preliminary investigation that led to the discovery of a warehouse along Oshodi-Mile 2 road.

“The warehouse was stocked with tramadol, codeine and other unregistered pharmaceutical products without the National Agency for Foods Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) number,” Attah said.

He said the warehouse was immediately sealed with a detachment of well armed officers to guard the place.

Attah said the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), had already directed a thorough investigation with a view to bringing all those connected to the drugs to justice.

He said that evaluation of those intercepted drugs had commenced, adding that a suspect who happened to be the truck driver was apprehended and in custody for judicial process.

The police in Ogun State are currently on the trail of a man who viciously attacked his ex-girlfriend with a machete.

The 28-year-old fleeing suspect, Sola Adelakun penultimate Saturday lured the lady identified as Damilola to a bush at Owode Egba near Siun in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and attacked her with a machete.

It was said that the suspect and Damilola parted ways about two years ago, after she was continuously maltreated.

Damilola was returning home at about 8pm when she ran into Adelakun, who was riding on a motorcycle.

The suspect, according to sources, offered Damilola a lift home on his motorcycle but she initially declined to ride with him.

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Damilola, a nursing mother, however agreed to ride with the suspect after much persuasion.

The journey took a bad turn after Adelakun refused to allow Damilola who was carrying a baby on her back disembark in front of her residence.

He then rode into a thick bush and started hacking Damilola, but fled after the victim’s baby cried uncontrollably.

Damilola raised the alarm that attracted worshippers at a nearby church and she was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The Nation learnt the matter had been reported to the police in the state, while efforts are ongoing to arrest the suspect.

The police spokesman, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi was not available for comments at press time.

Justice Abiodun Adesodun of the Ekiti State High Court, has sentenced a former cashier with the Ado Ekiti branch of Fidelity Bank Plc, Michael Adedayo Ihinolurinjon  to ten years in prison for stealing money from the bank’s vault and diverting customers’ deposits to personal use.

Ihinolurinjon was found guilty of a two-count charge of stealing in a criminal case filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibadan zonal office.

The offence, according to the charge sheet, was contrary to Section 390 (g) of the Criminal Code Laws Cap 16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

The bank had written a petition to the EFCC alleging that while he was  still a staff member, Ihinolurinjon stole a sum of N8, 891, 000 (eight million, eight hundred and ninety-one thousand naira) from its vault.

He was said to have also failed to remit a total of N7, 251,600 (seven million, two hundred and fifty-one, six hundred naira) he collected from customers to the bank’s account.

Read Also: Police arraign three for allegedly stealing MFM’s N2.7m

“Our preliminary review showed that Michael fraudulently diverted the sums of N8,891,000.00 and N7,251,600.00 of the branch vault and customers’ cash respectively. The cash deposit of N7, 251,600.00 received by Michael from various customers between 1/9/16 and 19/9/16 were neither posted to their respective accounts nor the cash accounted for”, the bank stated in a petition dated October 17, 2016.

The bank also accused Ihinolurinjon of absconding from duty ‘upon sighting one of the customers whose cash he had fraudulently diverted’.

Following the petition, the Commission went into a full scale investigation after which the accused was originally charged with obtaining through false pretense in a one-count charge filed in 2017.

The charge was later amended to a two-count, bordering on stealing, upon which he was re-arraigned on June 24, 2019.

While prosecuting the case, the EFCC, through its lawyer, Abdulresheed Lanre Suleman, called nine witnesses and also tendered several exhibits.

After listening to arguments on both sides, Justice Adesodun found the defendant guilty as charged, and sentenced him to five years in prison on each of the two counts. The sentencing, he held, would run concurrently.

The court, however, gave the convict an option of a fine of N100,000 on each of the counts. He was also ordered to pay a sum of N7 million as restitution to Fidelity Bank Plc, the petitioner in the case.

A 40-year old man, Oheneme Kingsley, has said that he paid the sum of N20,000 to some hoodlums  to break into Oko Minimum Security Prison to free his convicted brother.

Kingsley said his brother, Wisdom, an ex-policeman, was convicted for murder.

He said he was asked to pay N200,000 but he could only raise N20,000.

Kingsley was among the three suspects arrested for plotting to release some condemned prisoners inside the Oko Minimum Security Prison.

Other suspects are Raphael Ebisin (34) and Amos Isuku (35).

Read Also: Police foil jailbreak in Nasarawa prison

According to him, “They called me that some Ijaws wanted  to free their people from prisons and that I should pay N200,000 so that my brother could also be released but I told them I didn’t  have any money.

“They said I should send N20,000 which they would use to contact some persons and I did. I sent the money and I was arrested. My brother sent me an account number from prison.”

Raphael who is an international driver said he was contacted by his cousin, Hope, who police described as a notorious kidnapper and had  just left prison custody.

He said Hope told him to come to Ijebu Ode for the purpose of conveying arms and other things which they would use to carry out the attack.

Amos said he was shocked when he was told of the planned jail break but he didn’t report it to the police.

He said Wisdom called him from prions to pay N20,000 but he couldn’t raise the money.

Police Commissioner, Danmallam Abubakar, said the prisoners to be released have been transferred to another facility outside the state for the purpose of security.

He said the suspects were arrested through covert intelligence.