A 30-Year old man identified as Prosper Igboke, has reportedly died after jumping down from a two storey building in Nnewi, Anambra State.
The deceased, a pastor of a Pentecostal church and native of Umunneochi, Abia State was said to have jumped down from the building after he was jilted by his female lover.
A relative of the deceased who preferred anonymity said the lady had declined his marriage proposal after seeing her through university education.
“The incident happened recently. The man was 30 years old at the time of his death. His girlfriend, whom he intended to marry, disappointed him after seeing her through the university.
“He jumped down from a two storey building and died. I am surprised that a man of this age and a pastor could do that.
“He will be buried in a forest for committing sacrilege according to the tradition of Leru Autonomous Community of Umunneochi LGA in Abia State.
The Nation gathered that the deceased was eventually buried in a bush in his community.
Benue State Judiciary has been thrown into mourning following the brutal murder of retired Justice Margaret Igbetar.
Justice Igbetar retired as President, Benue Customary Court, and lived a quiet life in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
The Nation learnt that the retired jurist who was last seen on Tuesday lived in her Gboko Road sprawling compound.
She was said to have been found dead on Friday in a pool of her own blood. Her remains were found in the kitchen with a deep cut on her back.
The Benue State Police Command confirmed the incident, saying that it had arrested one Aondohemba Joseph, over the death of Justice Margaret Igbetar.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Sewuese Anene, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Saturday in Makurdi.
“On August 24, information was received at ‘E’ Police Division Makurdi, that Justice Margaret Igbetar (rtd), could not respond to calls and was nowhere to be found. Detectives were immediately deployed for investigation.
“A search conducted within her house at Wantor Kwange Street, Gboko Road, Makurdi, led to the discovery of her body,” the statement said.
The deceased was born on October 17, 1950, in Mbape, Shangev-ya, Tsar-Mbaduku, in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State.
She started her career as an Assistant Registrar, Grade I Area Court, Katsina-Ala, Benue State in 1971, and rose to become a judge of the Customary Court of Appeal in 1995, a position she held till 2003 when she was appointed President of the court.
Igbetar was a founding member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers, Benue State, a life member, the first Chairperson of the Benue branch and a National Trustee of the association.
The late Justice served as a member of the Election Petition Tribunal, Bauchi State, between 1998 and 1999, the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal Imo/Abia State in 1999 and the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Kebbi State.
She was also a member of the Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution in 2000.
A 15-Year-Old, Adamu Ibrahim, has been arrested by the Bauchi State Police Command for chopping off the hand of a farmer in Jital village, Bauchi Local Government Area (LGA).
The Spokesman of the Command, SP Ahmed Wakil, disclosed this in a statement he issued on Saturday in Bauchi.
He said police operatives had arrested the suspect, Adamu Ibrahim, of Jital village along Gombe Road, Bauchi State, for trespass, mischief and causing grievous hurt.
According to Wakil, “A disagreement ensued in the course of which the suspect stabbed the victim upon asking him to vacate his farmland.
“In addition, the suspect drew his machete and chopped off the left hand of the victim.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect had on several occasions trespassed on the victim’s farmland with his cows while rearing,” he said.
The Police spokesman explained that the unfortunate incident followed a series of complaints to the suspect’s father by the victim for intrusion into his rice farmland by the suspect.
“The investigation revealed that on the 24th of August, 2023, the suspect who was armed with a stick and machete, again went to the victim’s farmland and destroyed crops, whose value is yet to be ascertained,” Wakil said.
According to him, on receiving this report, police operatives swung into action and activated more preventive measures to avert a possible herder-farmer clash in the area and arrested the suspect.
“The victim was rushed to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, for medical attention and he is responding to treatment,” he said
Meanwhile, Wakil said the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Auwal Mohammed, had warned herders to keep away from farmlands in the state.
He said the CP directed that the suspect be charged to court upon completion of discreet investigation.
More than one year after a policeman, Sergeant Edison Fulman, was killed by hoodlums in Etegbin, a coastal community in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State alongside 13 workers of a real estate firm, distraught family members of the victims have continued to recount their ordeal in the search for justice. The suspected culprits were freed by the court following legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice which stated that the suspects had no case to answer. Also, the court ordered the police to fish out two persons it cited as the real masterminds for prosecution, yet, the police have failed to unravel the suspected culprits and bring them to justice. However, a 10-month-long investigation by the Head of Investigation Desk, KUNLE AKINRINADE revealed a lack of diligent prosecution and discovered that one of the names mentioned in the legal advice was actually one of the freed suspects.
It was a beautiful Monday morning in Etegbin, a coastal community in Ojoo Local Government Area, Lagos State on February 14, 2022, a day globally dedicated to celebrating love otherwise called Valentine’s Day. Cheerful residents, fun seekers and revelers were enjoying the bliss that usually comes with the day when an unexpected mayhem caused by hoodlums ruined the beautiful atmosphere, turning an otherwise blissful day into a black Monday.
Like an invading troop, hoodlums numbering more than 200 attacked some policemen deployed to protect a landed property belonging to a real estate firm owned by one Chief Moruf Owonla who had bought some hectares of land from one Adeoku Family.
While the brutalised cops escaped death by a whisker as they were rescued by a reinforcement of policemen from the neighbouring station, a Mobile Police Sergeant, Edison Fulman, was not among the lucky ones. Although Fulman with Force Number 500314 was armed with his official assault rifle and was said to have put up a brave fight to repel the invaders, he was eventually disarmed by the hoodlums who did not only shoot him dead but also stabbed his body with pieces of broken bottles to satisfy their gory lust.
Sergeant Fulman, a father of two boys, was already lying lifeless in a pool of blood by the time some policemen sent from Ajangbadi Police Division to rescue him and his badly injured 16 other colleagues arrived the scene.
After killing Fulman and injuring his colleagues, the invaders had encircled the operational site of the real estate developing firm and attacked the workers at the site. About six workers were abducted while others fled in different directions.
Still, the hoodlums embarked on a house-to-house search for the fleeing workers and smoked no fewer than six of them out, bringing the number of workers abducted to 12.
The abducted workers identified as Ganiyu Ogunbakinde; Olamide; Omoakin; Jamiu Adegoke; Azeez; Oloye; Akeem; Taiwo; Dayo, Wasiu, Olamide Akinromola; Jamiu Adegoke, and Emmanuel, were said to have been marched to a remote location in the riverine town where they were allegedly killed. Their bodies were later found floating on the Lagoon around the community.
The Nation had exclusively reported the incident on Saturday, February 26, 2022, detailing how the violence broke out following a court judgment that gave ownership of some hectares of land to the Adeoku Family in Etegbin.
The report entitled ‘Bloody day in Lagos community’ captured the violent attack on a team of policemen attached to the Zone 2 Police Command, Lagos, who were deployed to the community to maintain law and order in the aftermath of possession of the disputed property by the Adeoku family.
A protracted legal tussle had earlier ensued between Adeoku Family and another family over the ownership of hectares of land in the community. The matter was heard by Justice O.H. Oshodi of the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, who delivered judgment in favour of the Adeoku Family in 2013.
Following the judgment, a possession order was given by Justice Oshodi on February 11, 2021, and a certificate of warrant of possession otherwise called Form ‘O’ was issued to the victorious family to take possession of the said property.
Subsequently, a team of 17 policemen were drafted from the Zone 2 Police Headquarters, Lagos to maintain law and order at the site of the property while the court sheriffs executed the warrant of possession on February 11, 2022. Three days later, hoodlums who were protesting the outcome of the court judgment attacked the police team, killing Sergeant Fulman in the process and injuring others while they also allegedly abducted and killed 13 others.
The hoodlums allegedly launched the attack immediately after the exit of the Commander of the Lagos State Special Task Force on the Environment, Shola Jejeloye, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) who had visited Etegbin following a false distress alarm that some land grabbers had stormed the community. CSP Jejeloye and his team had left the community upon realising that some policemen from Zone 2 headquarters had been officially deployed to maintain law and order in the town.
Sorrowful songs of victims’ family members
Since the incident occurred more than a year ago, the family members of the victims have been wailing and hoping that justice would be served in the matter.
The elder brother of the slain policeman, Fanny Fulman, was yet to get over the gruesome killing of his brother when he spoke with the reporter. In a broken voice intermittently punctuated with heavy sighs, he said that he was yet to get over the death of another younger sibling who was killed in cold blood by bandits in Zamfara State when Sergeant Fulman was killed.
According to Fanny, his sadness started over three years ago when he lost one of his younger brothers, a soldier, who was killed by bandits during an ambush in Zamfara State. While he was yet to get over the pain of losing his younger sibling, tragedy again struck on February 14, 2022 when he lost another younger brother, Edison Fulman, a police sergeant attached to Zone 2 Police Command, Lagos.
“He was my younger brother. He was 36 years old when he was killed,” he said in a tone betraying emotions.
“I am not happy with everything about the death of my younger brother, Sergeant Fulman, because his death came just when I was trying to get over the killing of my immediate younger brother, Corporal Wilfred Fulman, by bandits in Zamfara State while he was on military operations.
“The police called us shortly after he was killed and said that his body was in the mortuary, leaving our family completely shattered.
“We later buried his body in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State, our home state.
“He is survived by two children; a seven-year-old and a four-year-old. The seven-year-old is living with me in Lagos while his four-year-old son lives with his widow in our village in Adamawa State.
“My brother’s widow now sells charcoal. We actually set up the business for her so she could eke out a living for herself and her little son since she’s still a young woman.
“He actually met my brother in school and they hit it off from there.”
Like Fanny, Modinat Ogunbakinde, whose husband was one of the workers abducted from the property firm at Etegbin, life has become a nightmare for her and her four children since their breadwinner was abducted and killed.
She said: “I actually had a premonition that all was not going to be well at my husband’s office. I told him several times, but he kept saying that there was nothing to worry about his safety.
“When he was leaving home for work on that fateful day, he gave our daughter N500 and subsequently sent a sum of N2000 into her bank account. I was then shocked that his office at Etegbin was attacked by hoodlums.
“Things have become so tough for me and my children ever since. We can barely feed or take care of ourselves from the petty trading I am doing.”
For Adijat Adegoke, whose husband, Jamiu Adegoke, was also abducted and allegedly killed, life has become nightmarish for her and her four children.
“Things have been tough for us since my husband left home for work and was abducted,” Adijat said.
“I have four children with Jamiu. He left home in Ijanikin in the Ojo Local Government Area on February 14 for Etegbin town where he was attacked alongside other persons, abducted, and killed.”
Like others, Tolulope Akinromola, whose husband Olamide was one of the slain workers, gave an account of her husband’s last moments, saying: “My husband left home on February 10, 2022, for his workplace at Etegbin in Ojo council area and we still communicated on the phone in the morning of February 14.
“Shockingly, moments after our phone conversation, someone I didn’t know used my husband’s phone to call me and said that the owner of the phone had just been killed alongside others, and the phone was immediately switched off.
“Since then, his body has not been found to give him proper burial while my child and I have been wallowing in penury.”
Police investigation, arrest of suspects
A few weeks after the report was published by this newspaper, police authorities commenced an investigation into the incident, which lasted six months. During the investigation, detectives quizzed the head of the Lagos State Special Task Force on the Environment, Shola Jejeloye, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), for his alleged complicity in the incident. Arrested in connection with the death of the Police sergeant are: Sikiru Lamidi, Ayepe Moshood, Festus Onifade, Buhari Musa, Sarafadeen Saka, Moses Adeola and Sabitu Anafiu, while others were said to have fled.
In August 2022, the report of the police investigation said the suspects were found to be the masterminds of the tragic killing of Sergeant Fulman and the 13 workers they abducted during the incident and that the suspects must face prosecution.
The police report explained further that the abducted persons were allegedly killed and their bodies were thrown into the Etegbin Lagoon. The police investigation report also revealed that a mob prevented detectives and personnel of the Force Marine Police Unit from carrying out a search on the Lagoon with a view to recovering the bodies of the slain abductees.
A copy of the report obtained exclusively by our reporter alleged that the hoodlums were led by Sabitu Anafiiu, who seized the visit of the Task Force team led by Jejeloye to launch an attack on the 17 policemen stationed in the community to enforce land possession by a real estate firm that had secured judgment over a landed property purchased from Adeoku Family.
The report dated August 4, 2022, and signed by the Commissioner of Police, Homicide Section, Force Criminal Investigation Department(FCID, Abuja, CP Chollom Dung Gyang, said that the outcome of the police investigation confirmed the suspects were culpable in the killing of Sergeant Fulman, abduction of others and wanton destruction.
The report titled “Police investigation report on the case of conspiracy, malicious damage, arson, inciting public violence and murder,” read in part: “Investigation so far carried out revealed that the missing (abducted) persons were allegedly killed and their corpses thrown into the Etegbin Lagoon…efforts made by detectives and the personnel of the Force Marine Unit, Lagos, to search the Lagoon with a view to recovering the corpses allegedly dropped therein proved abortive as a mob prevented them (detectives) from having access to the area.
“Based on the above findings, it is recommended that Sabitu Anafiu alias Major; Sarafadeen Saka; Festus Onifade; Moses Adeola; Sakiru Lamidi; Moshood Ayepe, Lateef Oluwaseyi; Omoowo Rafiu; Omoowo Gafar; Onyeka Ibekwe and Jimoh Seliu to be charged to court for conspiracy, murder of Sgt Edison Fulman; Arson and unlawful possession of weapons.”
The police subsequently arraigned the suspects before a Yaba Magistrate’s Court on a five-count charge, namely conspiracy to commit murder, murder, arson, criminal damage to property, and breach of peace vide a charge number: MUC/MCY/871/2022.
In September 2022, the court asked the police to seek the legal advice of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice while the suspects were remanded in prison.
The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office charged with the prosecution of criminal offences. Established by a gazette No 4 of 4th July 1968, the functions of the directorate also include issuance of legal advice on case files sent by the police to proceed or discontinue prosecution against defendants in criminal cases.
But while the family members of the victims were hoping that justice would be properly served in the matter, their hopes were dashed with the release of the suspects by the court acting on the DPP’s legal advice that the suspects had no case to answer.
How the trial was stopped and suspects freed
In a prepared Legal Advice to the court, the DPP said that the suspects had no case to answer and should be immediately freed.
The certified true copy of the legal notice dated October 20, 2022, reads: “After carefully considering the facts available in the duplicate case file, this office is of the considered view that there are insufficient facts to establish the prima offence of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, arson, criminal damage to property or breach of peace against the suspects: B1-Sabitu Anafiiu; B2-Sarafadeen Saka; B3-Festus Onifade; B4-Moses Adeola; B5-Sakiru Lamidi; B6-Moshood Ayepe; B7-Lateef Oluwaseyi; B9- Seliu Jimoh; B10-Segun Anifowoshe; B11-Uchenna Okoye; B12-Onyeka Ibekwe; B13-Augustine Olikagu; B14-Omoowo Rafiu; B15-Omoowo Gafar and B16-Michael Ebhaleme.
“In view of the foregoing, this Office is of the view that the suspects had no case to answer. Consequently, Pages B1-Sabitu Anafiiu; B2-Sarafadeen Saka; B3-Festus Onifade; B4-Moses Adeola; B5-Sakiru Lamidi; B6-Moshood Ayepe; B7-Lateef Oluwaseyi; Page B9- Seliu Jimoh; B10-Segun Anifowoshe; B11-Uchenna Okoye; B12-Onyeka Ibekwe; B13-Augustine Olikagu; B14-Omoowo Rafiu; B15-Omoowo Gafar and B16-Michael Ebhaleme are discharged and are to be released immediately, if still in custody. Also, Page A19 (CSP Shola Jejeloye, has no case to answer.
It added: “This office, however, observed that certain names; one Major with (MTN) telephone number 08034587089 and Mohammed with telephone number 09084543031 were prominently mentioned as being those who led armed thugs that unleashed the attack against policemen and inhabitants of Etegbin community on 14th February 2022, leading to the death of Sgt Edison Fulman and others. They were never arrested nor investigated as to their involvement and none of their statements were included in the duplicate case file.
“The office, therefore, advises that the police should carry out a discreet investigation to unravel the identities of the said Major and Mohammed and their culpability in the attack in Etegbin community on 14th February 2022.”
How DPP’s advice misled court to free suspects
Like a victim of murder hurriedly buried by assailants in a shallow grave showing a part of the body, documents and facts gathered during findings by our correspondent revealed that the legal advice by the DPP office misled the court to free the suspects, some of whom are said to be highly connected with influential politicians in the state.
For example, the DPP’s legal advice asked the court to release the suspects including Sabitu Anafiu, and also asked the police to go after one Major and Mohammed for their complicity in the heinous act.
Ironically, in an exclusive copy of the police investigation report which the DPP acted upon to send a piece of legal advice to the court, it was discovered that Sabitu Anafiu aka Major was clearly written as the first suspect, contrary to DPP’s legal advice that separated Anafiu’s alias (Major) from his name and asked the police to unravel Major’s real identity. His statements at FCID were also included in the case file.
Also, in the two statements written by Anafiu on March 7, and March 14, 2022, at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, Lagos, which our correspondent obtained, the suspect (Anafiu) conspicuously wrote his mobile number as 08034587089 which is the same phone number the DPP wrote in the legal advice as belonging to “one Major”.
The inclusion of one Mohammed by the DPP as the other person that should be arrested and investigated alongside Major (Anafiu) for their complicity in the matter is bizarre. In contrast, the two Mohammeds mentioned in the case file which the DPP relied on to offer the legal advice were actually victims of the attack on February 14, 2022. One of them is Mohammed Bolodeoku, a prosecution witness who testified that Anafiu a.k.a. Major and other freed suspects including Sarafadeen Saka; Moshood Ayepe; Moses Adeola aka Olori Odo on the evening of February 12, 2022, at the palace of a traditional ruler in Etegbin had sought his cooperation to arrange some men that could help chase away the people whom the court had adjudged the rightful owner of the landed property and that he turned down the offer. He added that he managed to escape death by a whisker when the hoodlums abducted the staff of the estate developing firm.
One Mohammed Bolade also mentioned in the report had his house burnt down by the suspects allegedly led by Anafiu and his group.
The 9mobile telephone number 09084543031, which was given as that of Mohammed mentioned in the DPP’s Legal Advice, was discovered to belong to a different person whose name is extraneous to the case file as records at 9mobile office in Lagos showed that the owner of the phone line is
Seriki Mohmed, a resident of Etegbin. Further findings by our reporter confirmed Seriki to be one of the chieftains of a community development association in Etegbin community.
Sabitu Anafiu same as Major
Discreet checks carried out by our correspondent at one of the MTN offices in Lagos also confirmed Anafiu as the owner of the telephone number that the DPP wrote in the Legal Advice as that of Major. The information displayed on the database of the telecommunication company sighted by our correspondent also gave his address as No 1 Baale Compound, which tallies with the address he wrote on his two statements at FCID, Alagbon, Lagos. It was confirmed that the telephone number was obtained and registered in 2011.
Further checks confirmed Anafiu as the owner of the telephone number and that he is also Major, contrary to what the DPP made the court to believe in freeing the suspect and others.
Our correspondent embarked on undercover investigation, posing to Anafiu, a former police corporal, on his MTN mobile phone number 08034587089 as a troubled family member of a deceased land owner, whose property was snatched by a notorious land grabber in Etegbin.
In the conversation, which was recorded by our correspondent, Anafiu admitted that his alias is Major and that he is popularly known by the alias in the Etegbin community.
He said: “The land you are talking about has brought about a severe problem to the extent that we were taken to Force (Police) headquarters in Abuja and we are also in court.
“You will have to come to Etegbin since you have the documents of purchase issued on the land. Just ask for Major from anyone in the community when you arrive.
“I was told your real name is Sabitu Anafiu,” the reporter asked.
“I am also known as Major in the community,” Anafiu responded.
Family members kick, demand retrial
Pained by the twist to the case and the controversial release of the suspects, distraught members of the victims’ families are demanding justice over the gruesome killing of their loved ones.
Fanny Fulman Demanding a fair retrial of the case and punishment for the perpetrators, Fanny Fulman said: “Me and my brother, who is also a policeman based in Yola, Adamawa State, attended the court sittings at the early stage of the case, but we were shocked the murder suspects were subsequently freed based on advice from the DPP.
“All we want is justice over this matter because he was killed while on official duty at the community (Etegbin) where he was killed by hoodlums suspected to be land grabbers, who unleashed violence on a police team comprising my late brother and others.”
Adijat Adegoke bemoaned the shoddy prosecution of the suspects and their release from prison where they were remanded.
“The detectives from Force Headquarters spoke with us during the investigation of the case and we were told that some suspects were arrested.
“It is unfortunate that the suspects have been freed while we continue lick our wounds.
“For us, the only thing that could assuage our pain is to see that the culprits are brought to justice and they pay for their crime.
“At least, if my children and I cannot see my husband again, we would be satisfied that those who kidnapped and abbreviated his life dastardly did not go scot free.”
Modinat Ogunbakinde lamented that the only thing that can alleviate the pain of her husband’s death is for justice to prevail.
“What is more troubling for me is his unknown whereabouts. A Yoruba proverb says a dead child is better than a missing one.
“His children have remained sad that their father’s whereabouts are unknown and that there has not been any effort made by security agencies to unravel his location and bring his abductors to justice one year after the incident.
“We are not even aware that those arrested for complicity in the attack and abduction have been freed by the court while we continue to hope for justice.”
Tolulope Akinromola also asked both the police authorities and state government to revisit the case with a view to bringing the culprits to book.
“What we want is justice. The people who killed my husband must be brought to book no matter how long it takes while his body should also be retrieved and given to us for a befitting interment,” she said.
Our correspondent made fruitless attempts to get the police response to the truncated prosecution and the delay in carrying out the investigation and retrial of the case.
When our correspondent contacted the Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of FCID, Niyi Ogundeyi on the telephone on July 7, 2023 for comments and even sent a Whatsapp inquiry to him on the phone, he promised to revert to our correspondent via a WhatsApp message. He was yet to do so at press time.
Also, when our correspondent contacted the Director of Public Affairs of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Grace Alo, for her reaction via a telephone conversation, she promised to get back to our correspondent after listening to the thrust of the inquiry. She also requested an SMS message detailing the suit number, which the reporter sent to her phone. She however did not revert as promised and did not answer subsequent calls our correspondent made to her.
Three months ago, when Precious Emeh Udoh decided to leave her village, Amaekpu Ohafia, in Abia State, her priority was survival. She was desperate for a new beginning. Life in the village had become so difficult and she needed to take care of her four-year-old daughter.
Feeding was difficult and she wasn’t on good terms with her daughter’s father, Uchena Boko. She decided to migrate to the state capital, Aba, and find work to support herself and her child. Desperate for a new beginning, she relocated to Aba, unto a fatal end.
Precious migrated to Aba in in May and with the help of her cousin and friend, she quickly settled and got a job with a certain Madam Uloma, a restaurateur. Madam Uloma employed her as an attendant to manage one of her lotto shops. Precious would go to the lotto shop in the morning, and at the close of work, she returned to Madam Uloma’s house to sleep. She craved the indulgence of her madam to stay with her four-year-old daughter, and the madam agreed.
Gradually, brilliant spokes of sunlight illumined the dark pall that seemed to cloak her life. Things improved for Udoh; or so it seemed. About a month after her relocation to Aba, she met a man, who declared his love for her.
Less than 48 hours after they met, he proposed marriage to her, promising to take care of her and her baby.
Udoh thought she was lucky. She couldn’t believe her good fortune; being a single mother, she rarely encountered a man who would eagerly marry her and take care of her child. Hers was a pleasant exception, however. Her man was in a hurry to marry her and he was eager to take her home to see his family. Enamoured with her newfound beau, Udoh paid no heed to the counsel of her madam and friend who urged her to take things easy.
According to a source, things went awry for the 23-year-old when her boyfriend called her late one evening asking her to meet him. He also instructed her to come with her baby. Her friend reportedly tried to dissuade her from going out that night, but Precious, clutching her baby, spurned her counsel and left to see her boyfriend that evening. She and her baby never returned.
Worried about her prolonged absence, her friend reported her absence to their madam. All efforts to reach her through her phone proved abortive. Both Udoh and her boyfriend’s numbers were switched off. It was as if they disappeared into thin air with the four-year-old child.
Meanwhile, Madam Uloma came under serious pressure from Udoh’s family and friends. Some even accused her of using Udoh and her daughter for money rituals.
Two months into her disappearance, last Tuesday to be precise, Madam Uloma and Udoh’s cousin were in a commercial tricycle on the Aba-Owerri Road when they saw Udoh’s lover on his red motorcycle. They quickly alighted and raised alarm. The boyfriend was apprehended and taken to the Central Police Station in Aba.
One of those who helped apprehend the suspect was Tochukwu; according to him, “Along Aba-Owerri Road, the cousin and Madam Uloma were going somewhere when they saw the man that took Precious (Udoh). They raised alarm and pursued him with their tricycle. I parked and asked them what the matter was. They explained everything to me. I told them that I would involve the police so that the guy will not run away. I followed them to the Aba Central Police Station (CPS) where the complaint was initially lodged. We started waiting for the Investigating Police Officer (IPO). He came very late. I left and told them I would come back and follow up with the case the next day. I returned to the police station the next day. Initially, the suspect said Precious (Udoh) was in his house and that she was pregnant. He said he would marry her. He made this statement in front of me.
“However, after serious interrogation, he changed his story. He then confessed that Precious was no longer alive and that her four-year-old daughter has been sold. I felt very bad. I was really devastated,” said Tochukwu.
According to him, the suspect later changed his story and alleged that it was Boko, the father of Udoh’s child, that contracted him and some others to carry out the job. According to him, the child’s father had told them that he had advised Precious that they should sell the child, but she refused hence he contracted them to help him carry out the job.
The police went to Ohafia to arrest Boko based on the suspect’s confession.
However, speaking with an indigene of Amaekpu familiar with Udoh and Boko, he said Boko had issues with both Precious and the mother. Igwe said:
“Boko is a commercial cyclist. When Precious (Udoh) returned to her mother with his child, he was supporting them financially but the demands became too much for him to shoulder. He told Precious (Udoh) to give him the child so that his family would take care of her while he provided for her upkeep, but she refused. That led to the disagreement between them.”
Efforts to get police reaction to the incident proved abortive as the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Chioma Maureen Chinaka failed to respond to The Nation’s enquiry by press time.
A Lagos-based mechanic has been arrested after he allegedly killed his wife who confronted him for sleeping with another woman in the Owode area of Sango-Ota, Ogun State, reports Head of Investigation, KUNLE AKINRINADE.
Rofiat Okewola, a tailor, was furious when she caught her husband making love to a woman in an apartment in the Owode area of Sango-Ota, Ogun State on August 6. She had dashed out of her shop on Bosun Adeyemi Street in the Adalemo area of Lagos State and rushed home to confront her husband, Oluwole Okewola, and the strange woman. But the mother of four didn’t come out alive.
Findings revealed that when Rofiat confronted her husband and his lover who bolted immediately, her husband dragged her outside the love nest and smashed her head against the wall at the back of the building in a fit of fury.
A video of the scene obtained by our correspondent during a visit to the community shows the deceased gasping for breath after her head was hit against the wall before collapsing to the ground. Afterwards, her lifeless body was placed in the open outside.
The back of the building bears a gory reminder of the incident as blood from Rofiat’s battered head stained the wall.
The embattled husband, who works as a mechanic in the Abule Egba area of Lagos State was swathed by an angry mob who intercepted him as he attempted to flee. He was subsequently taken away by men of the Sango-Ota Divisional Headquarters led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).
The angry mob condemned his action, stressing that he could have simply sent his wife packing instead of killing her.
One of the residents said: ‘’Why did you refuse to take the woman to the hospital as soon as she passed out after you brutalised her?” The suspect couldn’t offer any explanation as he babbled his regrets.
One of the friends of the deceased, Biola aka Dasol said: ‘’Rofiat was the chief whip of the tailors association in this community. She was also in charge of the preparation for a party that was to be held by the association. I was to accompany her to the market to purchase some items needed for the party last week.
“I spoke with her on the phone on the day of the incident around 12 noon. Surprisingly, I was at a party when the chairperson of the tailors association at Adalemo broke the news of her death to me on the phone.
“I rushed to the scene with another mutual friend of ours and met her lifeless body on the ground. Her husband is hot-tempered. She (Rofiat) used to hide her domestic travails from me. However, there was a day I stumbled on a footage on her mobile phone showing her badly brutalised body as a result of the beating meted out to her by her husband, while I wanted to view some trending fashion styles but she only described it as a long story,” said Biola.
According to her, the deceased had two children, aged seven and six respectively, with her husband. “Okewole had a wife before he married Rofiat. Rofiat was the jealous type and she told me that she discovered he was having a love affair with one woman called Iya Michael.
“Rofiat went to the house to collect some money for food from her husband when she found out that her husband was romping with another woman and she became angry. She went to her mother who lives nearby and her mother told her of the dream she had wherein she saw that Rofiat would have a fatal fight with her husband, hence, she warned her against fighting her husband for flirting with another woman,” she said.
But Rofiat failed to heed her mother’s warning. She went back home and confronted her husband during which the latter smashed her head against the wall. Her husband reportedly tried to flee from the scene but he was intercepted by residents who took him away to their station.
Another source identified simply as Mayowa said: “Rofiat came to my shop on the evening of Saturday, August 5, and she played with my little child. She once told me of how her husband serially brutalised her but I advised her against divorce because the marriage was her second marriage.
“I was shocked when I received the news of her death. When I rushed to the scene of the incident, I saw that her blood was splashed on the wall of the house indicating that her head was smashed against the wall of the building.
“Her husband is a mechanic and he has another wife, while Rofiat is his second wife. He killed Rofiat for challenging him while making out with another woman in his residence.”
AbdulHamid Akanji, a chieftain of the tailor association which the late Rofiat served as the disciplinary officer called for justice over her brutal killing by her husband.
He said: “I am shocked that Rofiat was killed and the manner of her death. She was a committed chieftain of our association and served as the disciplinary officer of the association. We want her husband to face justice and the consequences of what he did in accordance with the laws of our country.
“Until her unfortunate death, she took care of her aged mother among other dependents. Hence her death is a big loss to her entire family. I am seeking the assistance of the public to take care of the little children left behind by Rofiat as there is no one to care for them.”
The Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Ogun Police Command, Omotola Odutola, confirmed the incident via a brief WhatsApp message she sent to our correspondent.
‘’Yes. It (incident) happened,’’ she wrote.
However, in another audio file sent to our correspondent, Odutola said: ‘’On the 6th of August 2023, around 4 pm, one Segun Oso (male) of No 19 Alfa Oseni Street, Sango-Ota reported to the Sango-Ota Division that his sister, Rofiat Okewola, 33 years( old) of No 5, Odelusi Street, Ijoko-Ota had an argument or something you could call misunderstanding with her husband, Oluwole Okewola of the same address as the wife.
“During the course of the argument, the husband hit the head of his wife (Rofiat) on the wall and she became unconscious. According to the person that reported to the police, the victim was rushed to Life Line Hospital in Ota, where she was confirmed dead on arrival by the doctors on duty.
“This report made the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Sally Dahiru, visit the scene. The corpse was evacuated to Ifo General Hospital’s mortuary for autopsy and pictures was (sic) taken. The case will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) at Eleweran, Abeokuta for further investigation.”
A few days ago, two cases of child abuse by supposed mothers were recorded in Anambra State; one in Nnewi and the other in Onitsha. While the one in Nnewi involved a nine-year-old girl reportedly abused by her guardian, that of Onitsha involved a seven-year-old boy said to have been battered by his aunt.
In the Nnewi incident, a 25-year old woman, Chinyere Ifesinachi, was said to have tortured her little house-help identified as Idinmachukwu for purportedly throwing her baby on the floor. The suspect, a native of Alor in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state married to an Enugu man, reportedly used both cane and pestle to inflict varying degrees of injury on the victim. As usual, she blamed the devil for the act, pleading for mercy.
The parents of the child had revealed that their little daughter was sent to live with the suspect after she was delivered of twins. The father said: “It was out of pity that we decided to send our little daughter to her after she was delivered of a set of twins, which made it really difficult for her to cope.
“Our daughter left us since March, but it is very unfortunate that barely two months of her stay in Onitsha, she got all kinds of ill-treatment from a woman who is supposed to be her guardian.”
While the dust raised by the ugly incident was yet to settle, another woman was said to have battered another underage child in Onitsha barely five days after. The suspect, Abigail Eguta, had reportedly brutalised his seven-year-old cousin over his inability to recite the English alphabet. The 24-yaer-old woman, who admitted inflicting injuries on the victim’s body, also accused the boy of eating the fish she bought for Sunday meal.
She said: “Actually, it was not my intention to flog him in the eyes or to make him blind; it was by mistake that the beating extended to his eyes. I am very sorry. Please, forgive me. It is the handiwork of the devil,” she sobbed.
The suspect, said to be a biological sister to the victim’s mother, however claimed she was beaten by her husband, a businessman, when he returned and saw what she did to the boy. The victim, simply identified as Sunday, was brought to the office of the Commissioner for Women Affairs in the State by some good-spirited individuals who rescued him from the suspect.
The source further said it was barely a year the victim, an out-of-school child, was brought to the suspect said to hail from Ikwo in Ebonyi State, but residing in Onitsha with her family. The visibly malnourished boy also sustained swollen eyes he could hardly see with, as well as bruises on different parts of his body.
Reacting to the Nnewi incident, the Com missioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department of the Police Command, Awka, adding that the arrested suspect would be charged to court after investigations.
Appreciating those who raised the alarm that attracted her attention to the incident, Obinabo warned that anyone caught abusing any child in the state would face the consequences, just as she assured the victim of her safety, adding that she would not be returning to her guardian’s house after she was taken to hospital for medical examination. She also commended the police command for continued partnership with her ministry in ensuring such cases were handled professionally and in record time.
On the Onitsha incident, the Commissioner condemned the act, describing it as unjustifiable and unacceptable. She decried rising cases of child abuse in the state, regretting that such heartlessness was becoming rampant among young mothers.
“One wonders why many guardians will have the minds to treat someone else’s children who are in their custody as if they are animals while they pamper their own children,” she said.
While reprimanding the suspect for what she described as “wickedness against another person’s child”, Obinabo reassured her Ministry’s commitment to fishing out and legally dealing with such wicked guardians in the state. She also ordered the transfer of the case to the Anambra State Police Command for proper investigation, after which the suspect would be charged.
Meanwhile, the victim has been taken to an undisclosed hospital in Awka for proper medical attention. Also reacting, Executive Director, Gender Perspective and Social Development Centre (GPSDC), Eucharia Anekwe, described the ugly trend as annoying, stressing the need to declare state of emergency on violence against children and widows. She also advocated the establishment of a task force on gender based violence at state, local and ward levels to ensure that such incidents were nipped in the bud.
She said: “The wave of violence on children is on the high side now and of great concern to us. It is more annoying when you see young mothers being prime suspects. It is most annoying that these women have carried their own children under the nine-month labour, yet they have the mind to perpetuate such dastardly act.
“We’ve been pushing for a task force on gender-based violence at state, local and ward levels. This will not only ensure such incidents are nipped in the bud but that perpetrators are finished out before it escalates.
“Thank God that the governor and state judge instituted the gender-based violence courts at the magistrate and high court levels. At least the two are doing justice to the cases. There’s also the need to declare a state of emergency on violence against children, women and even widows.
A veteran journalist, Tony Okafor, called for government legislation banning infants from serving as house helps in the state. He also canvassed for the establishment of bodies saddled with the responsibility of regulating engagement of house helps and sundry services in the state.
He said: “The two cases involved are about infants. Therefore, there should be government legislation banning infants from serving as house helps in the state. This will make it a strict liability offence for anybody engaging the services of an infant as house help.
“Again, government can go ahead to institute a body that will officially regulate the engagement of house helps and sundry services in the state. This will make it easy for government to have a register of house helps and punish accordingly those who engage in illegal engagement of such services, ditto maltreatment of such persons.
“Beyond these, there should be an unencumbered free education for children in the state from primary to junior secondary school levels. Findings have shown that ‘legal and illegal’ levies in primary schools in the state have made it excruciatingly difficult for parents to see their children through basic education, hence the resort to sending out their children and wards as house helps.”
On his part, Executive Director, Catch Them Young Community Initiative (CATYCOI), Nonso Orakwe, said it was high time the child’s act/law on parents that abuse children was brought to the fore. He also called on the Ministry of Women Affairs to develop a system where those with the intention to enjoy the services of a house help would secure approval from government to enable both parent and government checkmate the ugly trend.
“The rate of child abuse in Anambra State is seriously alarming. Parents should take ownership of their children by training them by themselves. It’s quite annoying to see some barbaric attitude from some parents on some children who are there to assist them at home.
“This is the time to dust a child’s act/law on the parents that abuse these children. Parents who know they cannot take care of their children should not give birth to them or take them as house helps. The Ministry of Women Affairs should develop a system where anyone that wants to get a house help will apply and get approval from the government. This will enable both the parent and government to checkmate this ugly trend,” he said.
Chinaza, a native of Etinasa, Awo Idemmiri in Orsu Local Government Area, Imo State, has lived with alleged notorious bandit Chukwumere a.k.a. Odumodu for five years.
Within that period, she had two kids for the deadly kidnapper alleged to have killed and maimed many residents of Anambra and Imo states where he ran a gang that operates from a camp until he was shot dead by the police during one of his deadly operations last week.
She is also pregnant with her third baby for the deadly kidnapper credited with destroying his victims’ property running into millions of naira.
Chinaza was one in a host of teenage girls Odumodu had held hostage as sex slaves in his camp at Awo Idemmiri before he met his untimely death at the hands of security agents. There were speculations that he abducted about 13 such girls whose age ranged between 15 and 20 years and forced them into marriage.
Rescued from Odumodu’s hideout, the young girls spotted bushy and unkempt hair. Their plum bodies however leaves an observer with the impression that they were well fed and indulged to the point of being spoilt.
Some of the girls paraded by the police in Awka, Anambra State capital, had their babies with them while some others were pregnant at the time Odumodu’s hideout was busted.
Most of the girls claimed that Odumodu forced them into marriage and even entered into blood covenant with them not to sleep with other men, reveal his secret or tell anyone where they were staying.
Like Chinaza, Chinaemerem Obiajunwa, who is nursing an eight-month-old baby boy, claims she was forced into her marriage with the deceased bandit and had lived with him for about seven years. She had dark patches around her eyes, indicating that she was either punched in the face or she has not been applying cream on her body for a long time.
With her baby lying playfully beside her on the bare floor, Chinaemerem was asked why she decided to live with a known killer for so many years but she said she did not do so out of her own free will.
She said: “It was not that I chose to live with him; he forced me to do so.
“And it was not that my parents did not know about it, but they feared that if they talked he would come to the village and kill them.”
Chinaemerem reiterated the fact that Odumodu entered into a blood covenant with her and the other girls in his harem, raising her hand to show a ritual that was performed with her finger.
“He packed us into one place and told his men to surround us. Then he entered into a blood covenant with us, saying that if we we slept with any man or tell anyone about him, we would die.
“He even said that if I told my brother Agu, who works with Ebubeagu (Southeast securityoutfit), I would die.”
Precious Ojioru, a native of Umumma, Oru East Local Government Area, said she was abducted by Odumodu a few weeks ago at a market where she had gone to buy some foodstuffs.
The light-complexioned girl, who spoke in Pidgin English, said: “He met me at the market where I had gone to buy something and asked me to come.
“He asked where I came from and I said Umumma. He said, ‘oh so the people from there told you to come check on me’, and I said no. He took me to one place and kept me there.”
Another light-complexioned girl, who also attested to Odumodu’s notoriety, said she was impregnated by him, having dated him for eight months.
She too said her parents were aware that she was staying with the criminal but were helpless because if they dared ask any question, Odumodu would come to the village and kill them.
Some residents confirmed that they were aware that some criminals were operating in the area but could not talk because the criminals had informants among the villagers.
A pharmacist, who claimed that his house was burnt to ashes a few months ago, declined comment on the issue because of the notorious activities of the gangsters.
“They burnt my house, my hospital, stole all my property including iron sheets, doors and windows,” he said.
Another resident, John Agu (not his real name), said: “Odumodu who was killed last week had always claimed he was only in the bush checkmating the Fulanis, but he was busy kidnapping little girls who he kept hostage in his house and was using them as sex slaves. Nobody dares say anything because the boys are deadly.”
Agu disclosed that most of the residents were aware of his operations but could do little or nothing about it because the police were nowhere near them.
“We don’t see the police personnel in the area except a few times we see military patrol. But they don’t stay there. As soon as they leave, the boys return to the area to continue their business.”
He said that many people, including traditional rulers and chiefs, had deserted their homes for a safe environment.
“These bandits are even burning people’s businesses at the slightest provocation,” he said.
Another resident, who identified himself simply as Kelechi, urged the federal and state governments to do something urgently about the activities of the criminals in the villages. “We are helpless and need the intervention of the government both at federal and state levels to put an end to this incessant attacks on our homes and kidnapping of our daughters.
“Definitely, these criminals cannot say they are protecting us from invaders. They are the ones invading our homes and families,” he said.
A traditional ruler who pleaded anonymity said: “The bandits are not holding only the girls, hostage, they are equally holding their parents hostage.
“And you don’t blame the parents because they are afraid to inform the police about the activities of the criminals due to lack of trust.
“The people are living in fear and they don’t know who to believe will not expose them to the criminals.”
He noted that the criminals had burnt several houses in the area, particularly those they perceive to belong to their enemies.
The hoodlums are in the habit of first instilling fear in the residents by burning several homes belonging to government officials including lawmakers. At one time, they were even beheading people.
A member of the House of Assembly representing Orsu state constituency, Hon. Ekene Nnodumele, was a victim. In a chat with our correspondent, Nnodumele said that bandits are not domiciled in Orsu Local Government Area only; they are in almost all the local government areas in the state.
Talking about the girls rescued from the den of Odumodu, he said that those who rescued them should know exactly what to do with them.
He said: “Odumodu is already killed. I can’t talk about a dead man or how to resurrect him. So, talking about him is very retrogressive. The issue is what do we do to make progress?”
He said that the way to tackle the issue of crime and criminality is to ensure that the police or security operatives make their phone numbers available to community leaders and community chiefs and traditional rulers to assist them in reporting every crime around their communities and to report people or criminals on the police wanted list.
“The police will also do well to mention those that they are looking for so that when we see them, we report to them.
“Because if somebody is on the wanted list and people don’t know that they are wanted, it may be very difficult to aid the police to apprehend them.
“The indigenes will help the police, but the police should make their numbers available. You can’t call a man you don’t know how to reach.
“You can’t report to them in the air; you do so when their numbers are given through the traditional rulers and town union presidents-general.
On the effort of the state House of Assembly in terms of security, he said: “I don’t know what the members are doing collectively. But as individuals, they are trying to protect their different constituencies in their own ways.
“A man who is not in charge of security may not tell you what he is doing to curb insecurity in his area.
“Lawmakers are not the executives. We don’t have those implementing factors or executive powers to issue orders. “All we can do is to make motions and motions are persuasive, urging the governor and security.
“We cannot order them as members; we can only urge them.
“But the truth is that everybody should be part of the security situation to assist the police, because these criminals buy food somewhere, they collect money somewhere.
“Those girls gave birth in hospitals. Doctors are aiding them. Some of the criminals have bullet wounds and doctors treat them. Some go to bone mending homes to treat their broken legs and arms, and some of them carry their guns to these places and people see them.”
Some people, particularly the security agents, claim that Odumodu and his gang belong to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed militia. But the IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, dismissed the claim, saying that it was a case of giving the dog a bad name in order to hang it.
The police in Imo State, through its Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, agreed that fear is responsible for people’s unwillingness to report the criminals and crimes committed in their communities.
Okoye, however, disagreed with the suggestion made by the lawmaker that the police should make their numbers avaliable, saying that the authorities had always reached out to the community, urging them to contact the police to report any crime-related operation going on in their areas.
He said: “I had gone to radio broadcasting stations to make announcements and offer contact to the public on how to reach the police control room, and even gave out emergency numbers they can call.
“We also have patrol teams and police stations in these troubled areas.
“So, I think the issue is that the girls have sympathy for Odumodu and his criminal gang probably because he was their husband
“But we are going to investigate the allegation of kidnap raised by the young girls. But I think they have sympathy for him probably because of what they got from him or because he was their husband.”
A mid-day invasion and attack by hoodlums suspected to be land grabbers in a community in Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State penultimate Tuesday has led to protest and outcry by residents and victims, reports KUNLE AKINRINADE.
Aggrieved residents of Idioyin-Imoke community in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State penultimate Tuesday staged a protest following an attack by hoodlums suspected to be land grabbers earlier in the day.
It was gathered that the machete- wielding hoodlums invaded the community and attacked some residents at a place called Base on Tuesday.
They were said to have attacked other residents and injured several people, resulting in a pandemonium.
The protesters who carried placards with various save-our-soul messages chanted solidarity songs as they converged on the village square shortly after the hoodlums retreated.
Some of the messages on the placards read: “We want peace in Imokelan d; Governor Sanwo-Olu, save our souls in Imoke community; we want peace and not war in Imoke community, and so on.
Our correspondent gathered that the protesters later marched on the streets as more residents joined the crowd to ventilate their grievances over what they described as incessant attacks and violation of their rights by suspected land grabbers.
One of the victims of the attack, James Olaolu, said: “The hoodlums were 15 in number and were led by Moruf Apena who first punched me in the face before others manhandled me and other workers, seizing my mobile phone.
“The hoodlums chased us from the site where we were working. They also collected money from the workers at the site. They have since taken over the property and converted it to a joint where they drink and smoke.”
Another victim identified as Sarafa Adeboye, the Balogun of Imoke community, said the hoodlums, who were armed with machetes and charms, beat him mercilessly and threatened to serve him permanent disability if he ever set foot on the property again.
Adeboye said: “Around noon yesterday (Wednesday), about 12 hoodlums led by one Moruf Apena stormed the town and attempted to brutalise me, but I managed to escape by running towards my car. They kept chasing me and threatened to teach me a bitter lesson.
“I want the state government and police to intervene and stop the hoodlums from further attacking us in the community, otherwise, people may start relocating from Idioyin-Imoke for fear of incessant harassment by hoodlums.”
It was learnt that many of the victims who sustained machete cuts were being treated in the hospital.
One of the people injured, Azeez Olawale, lamented that he was caught unawares by the hoodlums, who attacked him with a machete and almost killed him.
He said: “I was returning from an errand for my uncle when I passed through the scene unaware of what was going on at the time.
“When I tried to run away, the hoodlums gave me a chase, caught up with me and started attacking me with their machetes.
“I was pleading for my life but they kept hitting me with machetes and plank until some residents dared them and they beat a retreat.
“As you can see, my arm, hands and other parts of my body have been cut with machetes.
“This is not the first time the land grabbers would be terrorising this community and innocent residents. But the latest attack is the height of their criminal activities, hence, the ongoing protest.”
Olawale added: “There are other victims at various hospitals around Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area whose fate is unknown as we speak.
“I want to urge the state government to stop these mindless hoodlums from further unleashing violence on the people of Imoke community in a bid to covet landed property.”
In a telephone conversation with our correspondent, however, Chief Apena described the allegations as false. He explained that there was no protest in the community and that no one was brutalised by land grabbers.
He described those fuelling reports of violence as mischievous elements who lost out in the contest for leadership of the community.
Apena said: “All these allegations are being masterminded by one Saheed Adeboye, who was removed as the Baale (head) of the community.
“He was the one who brought in a popular land speculator to engage in the unlawful annexation of landed property belonging to people.
“There was no time that I know when people were attacked anywhere by my people, because I was legitimately installed as Baale by the Gbadewolu of Araromi, Oba Lukman Adebambo, upon nomination by my family.
“Adeboye has been removed as acting Baale and he is not known or recognised by the Ibeju-Lekki Local Government and the official gazette of the state government.
“The base mentioned here is a place where people sit and meet in the community. It is like a village square and was built by the people of this community.
“I did not go there to chase anybody away, not to talk of leading hoodlums to brutalise people there.
“Imoke is currently peaceful and everyone is happily going about their endeavours without fear or intimidation.
“We are law-abiding, and if there is any reason to assert our authority, we have always done so lawfully, most times with the help of police to enforce our rights to any property.”
It will be recalled that the community was recently rocked by crisis following the installation of two Baales, Saheed Adeboye and Moruf Apena, by two different monarchs, leading to a supremacy tussle between the two factions.
While Adeboye was said to have been installed as Baale for Imoke a few years ago by the immediate past Onibeju of Ibejuland, Oba Olusegun Rafiu Salami, Apena was appointed as Baale of the same community by the new monarch of a neighbouring town, Gbadewolu of Araromi, Oba Olayemi Lukman Adebambo.
The spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Benjamin Hundeyin, was not available for comments at press time. Calls and messages forwarded to his phone by our correspondent were not responded to.
Computer-related frauds have become a blight on the Nigerian society. The involvement of many Nigerian youths in the criminal activities is not only giving the country a bad name, it is also causing many foreigners to be wary of Nigerians. Although the (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission), the anti-corruption agency saddled with the task of arresting the crime, arrests and prosecutes offenders almost on a daily basis, the number of Nigerian youths perpetrating the crime continues to surge. GBENGA ADERANTI looks at why it is increasingly difficult to win the war
It was Monday morning in a Lagos neighbourhood, and music was blaring from the speakers of a brand of Toyota car popularly called Muscle.
On the same street in the neighbourhood were numerous other exotic cars, doing virtually the same thing and provoking the reporter’s curiosity as to why there could be such wild celebration in the neighbourhood so early on the first working day of the week.
“Don’t you know them?” one of the residents asked as he made to offer an explanation. “They are internet fraudsters who some people call Yahoo Boys. Since they moved into this neighbourhood, we have lost the serene atmosphere we once enjoyed.”
But it is not only the cacophony that worries the innocent neighbours; the smell of the various substances they smoke or inhale day and night is also a source of concern for many.
Elsewhere in neighbouring Ogun communities, concerned residents are also lamenting the unseemly lifestyles of many of their young men. Such is the detestation that many landlords in the area have for the young people in the affected communities that there is now an unwritten law not to give Yahoo Boys accommodation.
The continued rise in the number of internet fraudsters is in spite of the efforts that has been made by the Buhari administration to arrest the evil since it mounted the saddle in 2015.
But while the EFCC has sustained its aggressive attacks on perpetrators of internet fraud, the menace is far from being exterminated. As the EFCC is fighting the battle, the internet fraudsters are devising other means to circumvent the activities of the agency.
In a chat with our correspondent, a source close to the EFCC, who pleaded anonymity, said the Commission had been working hard to bring individuals whose fraudulent activities are bringing Nigeria’s name into disrepute to book, but some issues needed to be addressed before the war against cyber-crime could be won.
The source said: “When you consider the number of arrests the Commission makes on a daily basis across its zonal commands coupled with the increasing number of convictions secured, you will agree that the EFCC is winning the war against cybercrimes.
“Why it may seem that the EFCC has not totally won the war is due to some challenges, some of which include the staff strength of the Commission.
“Besides, I understand that the Commission currently has 14 zonal commands plus the headquarters. So, it can’t cover the whole country.
“I feel the members of the society have to also take ownership of the fight against cybercrimes.
“Another issue is that cybercrime keeps evolving. It comes in different forms. But the Commission is doing its best to tackle the menace, particularly because it has the capacity to stamp it out of our society.
“Having said this, I think the Commission has to enhance its public enlightenment activities.”
A Lagos- based lawyer, Toheeb Ramon, believes that putting an end to cybercrimes in Nigeria could be a herculean task. He said the activities of Yahoo Boys had continued to soar despite EFCC’s efforts in arresting the crime “because cybercrimes are complex.”
According to him, cybercrime is a technology-based offence, which would require the government to establish a dedicated agency that will be adequately trained in fighting it.
He said: “The EFCC is saddled with too much responsibility. I don’t think it has the needed technologies to combat this menace, particularly when you look at Part 3 of the Cybercrimes Act, Offences and Penalties, where various offences are created with punishments.
“Such offences need advanced technologies to combat them. Nigeria lacks the hardware to track computer-related crimes. As a result, the offenders have not been tamed,” he said.
Stating the position of the law on the internet fraud, he said before the enactment of cybercrimes law in Nigeria in 2015, the traditional legal framework for combating cybercrimes and related offences were the Criminal Code; Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2004; Money Laundring Act and the Cybercrimes Prohibition Prevention Act 2015.
The Cybercrimes Prohibition, Prevention Act 2015, he said, is meant to address the limited nature of the applicability of the previous Acts or codes and the increase in the menace of cybercrimes in Nigeria.
Ramon said: “The Cybercrimes Prohibition, Prevention Act 2015 can be considered as the first dedicated Act to address the menace of cybercrimes in Nigeria, particularly in view of Section 1 of the Act, which espouses the objective of the Act to provide a unified legal framework for the prohibition, prevention, detention, prosecution, and punishment of cybercrimes in Nigeria.
“However, to properly address this menace, the provisions of Section 43 (1)(d) and (c) respectively should be implemented in order to improve research and expertise on cyber security and to equip the nation with technical know-how on how to prevent and combat cybercrimes, “ he added.
Even so, many more youths are being attracted to the condemnable activities as a result of the mild punishments they get from the courts. The majority of the suspects often get a slap-on-the- wrist punishment from the judiciary.
In a report released early this year by the EFCC, the Ibadan Zonal Command secured the conviction and sentencing of a serial internet fraudster and ex-convict, Olayinka Ridwan Olatunji, to two years imprisonment and a fine of N500, 000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) before Justice Demi Ajayi of the Federal High Court, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Olatunji had, on October 21, 2022, been convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment by Justice Uche Agomoh of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State for a similar offence.
Also, 17 cybercriminals were convicted and sentenced to various jail terms before Justices Ladiran Akintola, Mohammed Owolabi, Iyabo Yerima and Olusola Adetujoye of the Oyo State High Court and Justices Olugboyega Ogunfowora and A.A. Babawale of the Ogun State High Court, sitting in Abeokuta, respectively.
The convicts were Oyeyemi Lukman Oluwaseun, Salaudeen Yunusa Olamilekan, Sadiq Adekola Ahmad, Ali Akorede Omosebi, Adebola Ayomikun Adetosoye, Toheeb Olalekan Adeleye and Aliu Sodiq Alabi.
Others were Oyesanya Oyekole Olakunle, Adekunle Damilare, Olalekan Habeeb Aremu, Adeagbo Toyeeb Tola, Fabiyi Lukumon Ayo, Tobiloba Isiah Seyi Adams, Akinrinola Saheed Abiodun, Nwaoha Christian Israel Adetola and Hassan Nofiu Ayomide.
The convicts were prosecuted by the EFCC between March 6, 2023 and March 30, 2023 on separate one-count charge each. They all pleaded “guilty” when the charges were read to them.
Consequently, prosecution counsel, Akorede Olushesi, Musa Galandanchi, Modupe Akinkoye, Chidiebere Okoli, Oyelakin Oyediran, Mabas Mabur, Lanre Suleiman and Samsudeen Bashir, reviewed the facts of the cases, tendered several documents that were admitted in evidence and urged the courts to convict and sentence the defendants, as charged.
Omosebi, Adetosoye and Adeleye were convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment each, while Oyesanya, Adekunle, Fabiyi, Adams and Ahmad were convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment, with an option of N50,000 fine each.
Also, Akinrinola was sentenced to one year community service, while Oyeyemi and Alabi were sentenced to six months community service each. Olalekan and Adeagbo were convicted and sentenced to four months community service each.
Furthermore, Nwaoha, Osibanjo and Hassan were convicted and sentenced to two months community service each, while Salaudeen was convicted and sentenced to a fine of N40,000.00 (Forty Thousand Naira).
The Courts ordered that the convicts restitute their victims and forfeit all items recovered from them to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In his reaction, Ramon said the mild punishments might be as a result of the inadequacy in the law used to charge the suspects to the court.
He described the cybercrimes Act enacted to address the said inadequacies as a radical piece of legislation.
He said: “It is structurally deficient and the said Act provides no structure to give teeth to the law.
“The suspects, before the enactment of the Cybercrime Act, had been charged under various laws such as Criminal Code, Penal Code, Money Laundry, etc.
“In other words, there were no proper Acts before now against the offences; and it is even more difficult now because the offences are technologically inclined. It is wrong to have overburdened the Federal High Courts.”
He further disclosed that it is very difficult to secure conviction against the suspects because “cybercrimes offences such as hacking, sending of malicious spam emails, phishing, cyber-bullying, identity theft, credit card theft, virus-malware and others are very difficult crimes to prove.”
He stated also that the country lacks advanced technology know-how needed to combat the same, adding that the courts are not to blame because most suspects are prosecuted without enough evidence.
He said: “I, therefore, refuse to deceive myself that the EFCC is winning the war against this menace because the cybercrimes acts itself which should have been of help lacks prosecutorial direction.
“S47 of the Act stands as a hindrance to the successful enforcement; and this lacuna makes the full implementation of the Act impossible.
“For Nigeria to win this war against cyber-crime, Nigeria needs advanced technology know-how, establish agencies for these crimes with prosecutorial powers, train the officers, review our laws to reflect the reality of the crimes and move with the technology.”
Ramon called for the implementation of Section 43(1) (d) to (e) of the cybercrime Act in order to improve research and expertise on cyber security and to equip the nation with technical Know-how on how to prevent and combat cybercrimes.
Ramon, who emphasised the need for collaboration among various agencies in the area of information-sharing to ensure effective, efficient and coordinated fight against cybercrimes, also advocated the need for centralised banks to maintain order to provide law enforcement agencies with information on individuals.
It was gathered that the retribution as provided by the law could be the reasons why some of them go back after serving their sentences or paying their fines.
A security expert, Goodluck Uguoji, blamed decadence in cultural value for the upsurge of internet crimes among Nigerians. Uguoji, Chairman of Fiyeth Security, said most parents nowadays do not question the extravagant lifestyles of their children or wards.
Uguoji said: “Most of the parents are no longer in control of their children, unlike in the olden days when parents monitored their children. Then, you dared not spend the money you couldn’t explain the source. The parents would query you.
“Nowadays, parents don’t bother about their children anymore. Some parents even encourage their children to engage in internet fraud. To them, the end justifies the means, provided he gets money, nothing concerns anybody.
“There is no more value system. Then, whatever money you got, you must be able to account for it.”
He also blamed bad government for the preponderance of internet fraudsters in the country, saying: “If people are not employed, an idle hand is the devil’s workshop.
“Most of these people are not employed, yet they want to survive, especially youths. The only available thing they can do is Yahoo Yahoo.”
While many do not want to commit crime, the security expert disclosed that youthful exuberance could be the reason why some have joined the fray of cybercriminals.
According to Uguoji, many of these youths want to get rich quickly, yet they are not ready to work. “Even if you are ready to employ them, they are not ready to work,” he said.
He is of the view that the EFCC should be an independent body that is not under the control of the government in power.
A serving police officer, who heads a task force on anti-cultism, expressed doubts if the war against cybercrime could evef be easily won.
He said the job of combating cybercrime is difficult because the majority of the “Yahoo Boys” have one link or the other with some police officers.
“Most of the security personnel, even at the higher level, have a sort of understanding with them,” he said.
He added that in many cases when you are sure that a suspect is involved in cybercrime, even prosecuting him or her is difficult, as victims don’t often come out to complain.
“If nobody comes forward to lodge a complaint that he or she has been defrauded, how do you prosecute such a suspect? Most times, we don’t have a complainant. How do you prosecute somebody without a witness or a complainant? It is difficult,” he said.
He accused some law enforcement agents of having the habit of collecting money from the fraudsters and allowing them to go scot-free.
“Some operatives, after arresting these boys, would ask them to pay in dollars. Whatever they see on their phone, the operatives would tell the internet fraudster to convert this into dollars and pay into a certain account. The money which was paid, to whose account?
“Many of the vehicles that were seized, where are they?” the source quipped.
Our correspondent also gathered that internet fraudsters have a strong association/platform that caters for their interests. Investigation showed that they have matrons and patrons who they can talk to and who also assist them in talking to those who are in authority.
“There is nowhere they cannot penetrate,” he said.
Another source, who pleaded anonymity, said: “Even in this state, they have a platform: ‘Yahoo Mothers platform’. On this platform, all the mothers of Yahoo Yahoo boys regularly discuss how protect their children.”
The source, who disclosed that 70 per cent of Yahoo Boys engage in money rituals, explained that it is hard to search their houses and not find charms, including traditional soaps.
Contrary to the belief in certain quarters that it is only the EFCC that can prosecute internet fraudsters, the source disclosed that the police too can prosecute internet fraudsters but “always feel embarrassed and frustrated whenever the fraudsters are left off the hook by the court for lack of evidence.
“Though granting a suspect bail is not the end of prosecution, when you don’t have a complainant in a case you are prosecuting, what do you do?”
He, therefore, advised that if the police and the EFCC could intensify efforts in investigating ostentatious living, the war against internet fraudsters could be won.
“But we are most times impeded by external forces that normally checkmate our activities. But if I happen to be the chairman (of the Task Force), I will try my best,” he said.
Though many have dismissed those who are into cybercrime as a bunch of unruly youths, the source warned that the government should be hard on them, considering the role they played during the 2022 #ENDSARS protests.
He further stated: “They are absolutely behind the #ENDSARS. Their aim was to cage the Nigeria Police Force, and they succeeded.
“In a situation whereby an operative does not have absolute power to prosecute, arrest and prosecute, what do you expect?
“Small things like this, they have sent it to their platform, they will invade the station.”
In a rather sad twist, internet fraudsters are also said to have also been found to be involved in abductions.
In another interview with a top cop, who also pleaded anonymity, he said perpetrators of cybercrimes don’t hesitate to take on whosoever they feel has double-crossed them or has cheated them out of a deal.
The cop said: “Seventy per cent of internet fraudsters are cultists. They always seek power in order to protect their business. They also involve in kidnapping, though they don’t see it as kidnapping.
“Some of them are in the habit of abducting whosoever has cheated them in a deal. The normal practice is to call the victim’s family members and seek ransom to offset whatever they feel the victim had taken from them.
“In doing this, many of them have died in the process.”
He also disclosed that though the police and the EFCC work together to fight internet fraudsters, a superiority contest between them has been a bane to staging a successful campaign against Yahoo Boys.
He, therefore, advised that the Presidency should wade in on the inter-agency rivalry, saying: “It is causing lapses in security configuration. Police want to get the glory, DSS wants the glory, EFCC wants the glory. But, at the end of the day, we are all losers.
“Often times, when the EFCC operatives comet o the state, they don’t report at the state headquarters. But when it becomes an issue, that is when they call the Police Commissioner.
“How will you enter my jurisdiction without informing me?”
Adeyemi Mudashir, a graduate of Sociology, told The Nation that most of the perpetrators of this crime are literate and know the penalty for the offences.
He said many of them have made so much money that they can afford to hire some of the best lawyers around any time kasala bursts”.
Speaking on how to win the war against cybercrimes, Uguoji said technology has made it difficult for anybody to commit a crime and get away with it, especially, with the introduction of National identity Number (NIN).
“It is easy to trace internet fraudsters provided service providers are ready to cooperate with the EFCC and the police. If a perpetrator is tracked and made to face the music, internet fraud will reduce in Nigeria.
“But the problem with Nigeria is that the criminals are the stronger one now because they have enough money to bribe and nobody is prosecuting them. That itself is an incentive for crime.”
Stick and carrot approach
On the way out, a police source said the government should adopt a stick and carrot approach in dealing with the cybercrime menace.
While it is good to sanction those who are into cybercrime, he opined that the National Orientation Agency has a lot of work to do in these areas.
He said: “Let them go on air to educate our youths because the majority of these youths are not ready to listen to the police.
“If the government does jingles and publications, stating the punishment for offenders, it will register in their subconscious minds.”
