The Nation Newspaper

Category: Crime Diary

  • Teenager, dad held for N1.2m ‘fraud’

    The police in Lagos have arrested a 19-year-old boy and his father for allegedly defrauding a businessman of N1.2million under the guise of selling Bitcoins to them.

    The suspects, Emmanuel Amadi and his father, John, were trailed to Iyana Ishashi on Wednesday by operatives attached to the Area ‘F’ Command, following a petition by the victim, Obinna Ekemezie.

    It was gathered that the teenager had met Ekemezie on a social networking site, Facebook, last month where they became friends and he told the victim that he was into foreign exchange (FOREX) business and was looking for buyers.

    Read Also: Man held for allegedly impregnating daughter 

    Ekemezie, who claimed to be into forex and had his businesses in Enugu and Lagos, developed interest in a proposed deal and agreed to send the agreed amount of N1.2million to the teenager’s bank account.

    Upon receipt of the money, Amadi allegedly blocked the victim on his social media platforms they usually communicated through, as well as mobile calls.

    Disturbed by the development, the victim, it was learnt, petitioned the police and supplied them the suspect’s telephone numbers, which they had used in communicating.

    “The phone numbers 0814369123 and 07053248619 were later tracked to somewhere in Iyana Isashi, Lagos, on August 21. His father was arrested because the suspect said he collected N500,000 of the money.

    “The suspect is a serial cybercrime fraudster who has been duping some naive businessmen. He exploits their desire to get forex at low rates from him. Investigation shows that he has done a similar thing to unsuspecting businessmen,” a source said.

  • Two arraigned for alleged assault, phone theft

    Two men, Taoreed Mustapha, 19, and Kareem Lawan, 21, were yesterday arraigned at an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for alleged assault and theft of an Infinix smart phone worth N80, 000, property of Bature Musa.

    Mustapha and co-defendant, Lawan, live in Agege, Lagos.

    They are facing a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, assault and stealing before Magistrate Mrs. M. I. Dan-Oni.

    Prosecutor Inspector Victor Eruada told the court that the defendants with others at large committed the offences on August 13 at 24, Adeniyi Street, Agege.

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    He alleged that the defendants stole the phone belonging to the complainant, Musa.

    Eruada also alleged that the defendants assaulted Mr Muhammed Sani by using a cutlass to inflict injury on his hands and head.

    The prosecutor said the defendants allegedly inflicted injury on Sani while attempting to steal from him.

    The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Dan-Oni granted each of the defendants N100,000 bail with one surety each in the like sum.

    She adjourned the case till September 19.

  • Guard charged with stealing N2.8m

    A guard, Nasiru Abubakar, on Thursday appeared at an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for allegedly stealing 8,000 dollars (about N2.8 million) and a phone belonging to an expatriate.

    Abubakar, who lives at Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, is charged with theft.

    Prosecuting Inspector Patrick Ebri said the defendant committed the offence on May 26, at 3pm, at 33A, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way.

    He alleged that Abubakar broke into the house of the complainant, Mrs. Iryna Dubuchenko and stole the 8,000 dollars and a Samsung J7 phone valued at N150,000.

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    Ebri said the offence contravened Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    After the charge was read to him, he pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate O. O. Fajana admitted the defendant to N300, 000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    She said the sureties must be relations of the defendant and must be employed.

    Falana ordered that the sureties must show evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

    The case was adjourned till September 18.

  • Police arraign dismissed cops for alleged extrajudicial killing 

    The four policemen caught on camera allegedly killing two suspected robbers have been dismissed and charged to court, the command said on Thursday.

    Inspector Fabiyi Omomayara, Sergeant Olaniyi Solomon, Sergeant Solomon Sunday and Corporal Aliyu Mukaila were alleged to have killed the victims on August 19. They were alleged to have shot dead the suspects they arrested for allegedly robbing a man of his phone valued at N450,000.

    The policemen, who had disarmed the suspects of a locally-made gun and cartridges they used in attacking their victim; took them to a commercial bus and suddenly shot them, a video that surfaced online showed.

    The suspects were immediately arrested and subjected to orderly room trial on the instruction of Police Commissioner Zubairu Muazu.

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    According to a statement yesterday by spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), the policemen were found culpable, dismissed and charged with conspiracy and murder before an Ebute Meta Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

    Elkana said they were subsequently remanded in prison custody pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

    He said: “The policemen were subjected to internal disciplinary proceedings at the Provost Department. They were tried on three count charges bordering on discreditable conduct; unlawful and unnecessary exercise of authority and damage to article.

    “The four policemen were found guilty and awarded the punishment of dismissal from service and prosecution. They were subsequently handed over to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Yaba, Lagos for prosecution in a conventional court.

    “The four suspects, ex-Inspector Fabiyi Omomayara, ex-Sergeant Olaniyi Solomon, ex-Sergeant Solomon Sunday and ex-Corporal Aliyu Mukaila were on August 22  arraigned at Magistrates’ Court 5 in Ebute Meta, Lagos for conspiracy and murder and were remanded in Ikoyi prison. The case is adjourned till September 29 for DPP advice. This will act as a deterrent to others.”

  • Police arrest five suspected bandits

    The Katsina State Police Command on Wednesday in Katsina paraded five suspected bandits responsible for robbery, cattle rustling, kidnapping and attacks on villages, including Danbago, Zango, Bela and Chediya in Kankara Local Government.

    Acting police spokesman Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Anas Gezawa told reporters during the parade at the command headquarters that the arrest followed a tip-off by patriotic citizens.

    He added that during investigation, the suspects confessed to being bandits and that they had been attacking villages.

    Gezawa listed the suspects to include Aliyu Musa, 20, Salamanu Isah, 18, Murtala Umar, 22, and others at large.

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    He said: “The suspects attacked the villages, robbing their victims. They stole eight cows. They confessed to killing one person at Santa village. The criminals stole six sheep and food items at Bela and Zango villages. They killed 20 people and rustled two cows.

    “They went to Omodo village where they killed five people, rustled eight cows and six sheep. Other gang members, Sirajo and Bishir, are still at large.’’

    The police also paraded three suspected thieves, who specialised in breaking shops in the Katsina metropolis.

    The spokesman said their arrest followed a tip-off by a shop owner, Alhaji Garuba Shehu of Kofar Marusa quarters, Katsina.

    He said the criminals burgled the shop, stealing MTN, AIRTEL and GLO recharged cards worth N3million and a Techno phone.

    Gezawa went on: “Based on credible intelligence, the command arrested the following suspects, Sanusi Hassan, 19, Abbas Samaila,18 and Aminu Yusuf alias Mashai, the receiver. They confessed to committing the crime. One hundred and ten thousand Naira was recovered from them.”

    The command appealed to the public for support, to rid the state of crimes.

  • Navy transfers suspected oil thieves to EFCC

    The Central Naval Command (CNC) of the Nigerian Navy on Wednesday transferred three suspected oil thieves, a tugboat and a barge laden with 600,000 litres of illegally-refined diesel, seized from them, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for prosecution.

    The suspects, arrested from a vessel by naval operatives, were identified as Kehinde Babade, Agbo Emmanuel and Uchechukwu Ndadim.

    The Navy handed over the suspects to the EFCC for further investigations and possible prosecution at the Forward Operating Base (FOB) FORMOSO in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    FOB Commander Capt. Ibrahim Suleiman said the Navy was determined to tackle illegal activities, especially oil theft, within its Area of Responsibilities (AoR).

    Read Also: Navy seizes 46,000 litres of illegally refined petrol

    He said the barge, which was impounded within the Brass waters, was laden with 600, 000 litres of illegally-refined diesel valued at N150million.

    Suleiman said: “Wherever these products are taken to, we shall find them, arrest whoever is involved and hand them over to the EFCC, which will ensure the offenders are prosecuted.

    “They are hurting the Nigerian economy. They are killing jobs because the international oil companies, whose pipelines they continue to break, will be forced to close down and disengage Nigerians, who are working for them.

    “There is no way they will continue paying so much money and they are not getting value for their money. So, they will be forced to disengage people who ordinarily should be working.”

    He said illegal oil refining was not only targeted at the economy, but also destroying the environment, adding that the Navy would stop the illegal practice.

    Receiving the suspects, EFCC Principal Detective Superintendent Shehu Jibrilla assured the Navy of diligent investigation and possible prosecution.

  • Man accused of stabbing neighbour to death

    An Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wedneday ordered that a 54-year-old man, Tahir Jubril, who allegedly stabbed his neighbour to death with a knife, be remanded at Ikoyi Prison, pending legal advice.

    Chief Magistrate O. Kusanu, who did not take the defendant’s plea, remanded him, pending legal advice from the state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

    She adjourned the matter till September 23.

    Read Also: ‘Jealous’ woman stabs husband over suspicious affair

    Prosecuting Inspector Cousin Adams had told the court that the defendant committed the offence on June 17, about 7:30pm, at his home.

    He said the defendant stabbed his neighbour, Mr. Abubakar Asale, 37, with a knife on the left side of his neck during a fight.

    A fight, he said, broke out between the deceased and the defendant.

    Adams said the offence contravened Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

  • Four policemen arrested for alleged murder

    The police in Lagos have arrested four officers for alleged extrajudicial killing of two suspected robbers in their custody.

    The suspects, identified as Inspector Fabiyi Omomayara, Sergeant Olaniyi Solomon, Sergeant Solomon Sunday and Corporal Aliyu Mukaila, the command alleged, would be charged with murder because they breached the code of professional conduct and use of firearms.

    The suspected killer cops were seen in a video that surfaced on the social media shooting the suspects alleged to belong to a notorious armed robbery gang terrorising Iba residents.

    It was gathered that the policemen had responded to a distress call around 3pm on August 19, from Valentine Anugu, who was robbed of his phone worth N450,000 by four armed robbers on two motorcycles.

    While two of the suspected robbers fled, the others were held, disarmed of the two local pistols, six live and five expended cartridges they had before shooting them inside the commercial bus they (police) used for the operation.

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    Condemning the action of the policemen, spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said they went to the extreme and violated the rules on the treatment of suspects in custody.

    Although the gang was said to be notorious in the area, the police team took their celebration of the arrest to the extreme by killing the suspects, Elkana alleged.

    “The team went to the extreme by killing the suspects, who were already in their custody, instead of taking them to the police station and allowing the normal process of investigation and prosecution to be initiated, as stipulated under procedural laws.

    “That act of extrajudicial killing falls short of police professional standards and cannot be condoned by the command. Police Commissioner Zubairu Muazu has ordered investigation into the incident.

    “The police officers are subjected to internal disciplinary proceedings called Orderly Room trial and if found culpable, will be dismissed from the Force and handed over to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Yaba for prosecution in a conventional court.

    “The public will be updated on the outcome of the investigation and trial,” said Elkana in a statement yesterday.

  • Manager charged with stealing N378m equipment

    A Project Manager, Joseph Olowe, accused of stealing his employer’s equipment valued at N378million, on Wednesday appeared at an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

    Olowe, 42, was arraigned by the police on a two-count charge of conspiracy and theft, before Mrs. K. K. Awoyinka.

    Prosecution counsel Mr. Moruf Animashaun alleged that the defendant and others at large committed the offence in 2015, at the Lagos State Housing Project, Ilubinrin, Ikoyi, Lagos.

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    The court heard that the defendant stole equipment, which included a Banut hydraulic rig, 600 pile driver Banut and six tonner hammer, all valued at N378million, property of Howard Roark Construction Company Ltd.

    Animashaun alleged that the defendant sold the equipment and converted the money realised to his use.

    The offence, he added, contravened sections 287 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    Olowe pleaded not guilty.

    Defence counsel Ms D.A. Oyekun applied for Olowe’s bail “in the most liberal terms.”

    Ruling, Magistrate Awoyinka granted the defendant N500,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum, among other conditions.

    The case continues on September 2.

  • Two friends ‘assault’ Navy personnel

    Two friends, Izuchukwu Nnadozie and Izuchukwu Okorie, on Wednesday appeared at an Ajegunle Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for alleged assault on a Navy personnel.

    Nnadozie, 29, and Okorie, 20, both loaders  at the Maza-Maza motor park on Old Ojo Road, Lagos, are facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, assault and stealing.

    They pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecuting Inspector Ben Aigbokhan said the defendants committed the offences on July 14 at Maza-Maza bus stop.

    He alleged that the defendants were among a mob that attacked a Navy personnel, Umar Mohammed, attached to Western Naval Command, Marine Beach, Apapa, Lagos.

    He said the mob attacked Mohammed with a jackknife, bottle and plank while he was passing by.

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    The prosecutor alleged that the defendants inflicted injuries on the head of the navy personnel and stole his belongings.

    Aigbokhan alleged that the defendants stole an Infinix Hot 6 worth N46, 000, a Texhno TC 66 phone valued at N9,000, the complainant’s identity card and Peugeot 407 saloon car.

    “They also stole his automated teller machine (ATM) cards, his official jackknife and N10, 000.

    “Efforts to recover the items proved abortive,” he added .

    The alleged offences contravene sections 173, 287 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    Chief Magistrate Olorunfemi granted the defendants N100, 000 bail each, with two sureties each in the like sum.

    She adjourned the case till August 26.