The Nation Newspaper

Category: Crime Diary

  • Teenager gang-raped

    Suspected cultists have allegedly gang-raped a 14-year-old girl at Oba in Idemili-South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

    The six suspects were said to have lured the teenager to an uncompleted building where they had carnal knowledge of her for two days.

    The Nation gathered that the victim, a pupil, was drugged and abducted by the suspects, who threatened her with two double barrel guns.

    Confirming the incident, police spokesman Haruna Muhammed said the suspects had been arrested.

    Read Also: 69 percent of rape survivors under age 18 – WARIF

    He said they confessed to be members of Junior Vikings (JVC), adding that two arms were recovered in their possession.

    Muhammed said: “At about 8:15pm, operatives attached to the Command Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) arrested Chinedu Umera, 18, Uboh Oluebube, 16, Obute Chinwendu, 17 and Chukwuma Amazu, 18.

    “The suspects and two others at large went to Anglican Girls School, Oba on July 17 at about 5pm, drugged and abducted a 14-year old girl.

    “They took her to a building at Oba, robbed her, threatened her with two double barrel guns and had sex with her for two days.”

    He said the victim had been taken to hospital, adding that the suspects would be arraigned after investigation.

  • Suspected cultists gang-rape teenage student in Anambra

    A 14-year old girl was reportedly raped by a group of suspected cultists in Oba, Idemili-South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

    The suspects, numbering six were said to have lured her to an uncompleted building where they had carnal knowledge with her for two days.

    The Nation gathered that the victim, a student, was drugged and abducted by the suspects who threatened her with two double barrel guns.

    Confirming the incident, the Police spokesperson, Haruna Muhammed said the suspects had been arrested.

    He said the suspects confessed to be members of Junior Vikings(JVC), adding that two arms were recovered in their possession.

    Read Also: Trader faces rape charge

    He said, “At about 8:15pm, operatives attached to the Command Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) arrested one Chinedu Umera,18, Uboh Oluebube, 16, Obute Chinwendu, 17 and Chukwuma Amazu, 18 years.

    “Suspects and two others at large went to Anglican Girls School Oba on the 17/7/2019 at about 5:pm, drugged and abducted a 14-year old girl.

    They took her to a building at Oba, robbed, threatened her with two double barrel guns and had unlawful carnal knowledge with her for two consecutive days.”

    Mohammed revealed that the victim was taken to the hospital for medical attention, adding that the suspects would be charged after investigation were concluded.

  • 32-year-old charged with stealing bags of rice

    A 32-year-old man, Festus Oluwaseun, was on Monday arraigned before an Osogbo Chief Magistrates’ Court in Osun State for alleged theft of 250 bags of rice.

    Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Idoko John told the court that the accused committed the offence on July 23 around 1:17pm at Baruwa, Osogbo.

    He alleged that the accused stole 250 bags of rice worth about N3.3 million, owned by one Fashola.

    Idoko said the offence contravened sections 419 and 390(9) of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol.11 Laws of Osun 2002.

    The accused pleaded not guilty.

    Defense counsel Ola Ibrahim prayed the court to grant his client bail in the most liberal terms.

    Magistrate Rofiat Olayemi granted the accused N1million bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    She said the sureties must live within the court jurisdiction with evidence of tax payment and two passport photographs attached with an affidavit of means.

    The case was adjourned till September 2.

  • NDLEA seizes 702.063kg of hard drugs

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kano said the command in July seized over 702.063 kilogrammes of hard drugs.

    Commander Dr. Ibrahim Abdul, who briefed reporters on the activities of the command this month, said: “Our fight against sales and consumption of hard drugs has made Tramadol and other illicit drugs scarce in Kano.”

    He said the agency arrested over 153 suspects with hard drugs, adding that 25 of them were prosecuted and are serving sentences.

    Abdul said 72 cases are pending at the Federal High Court, Kano, noting that the command is doing everything to ensure justice is done.

    “During the month under review, we seized 523.978 kilograms of cannabis, 178.322 kilograms of psychotropic substance, three grams of cocaine and 0.3 kilograms of heroin,” he said.

    Abdul said the command had also dislodged 35 hot spots within and outside the metropolis.

    “They include Gwammaja Secondary School, Dan-agundi, Gwale Cemetery, Abdullahi Bayero Road, Sabon Gari and Limawa-Hotoro.”

  • Gunmen kill three in Benue

    GUNMEN on Monday shot dead three persons in Katsina Ala, Benue State.

    The deceased were travelling to Makurdi in a private vehicle with the correspondent of Bussinessday, Benjamin Adesan.

    An eyewitness said the incident occurred near Kiilometre 5, Katsina-Ala-Makurdi Federal Highway.

    The journalist, who was returning to Makurdi from Katsina-Ala, boarded a public transport, but later changed his mind and opted for a private vehicle.

    He said the vehicle was believed to convey huge sums of cash by revenue collectors.

    Gunmen trailed the vehicle and opened fire on the occupants, killing three of them on the spot.   

    Police spokesperson Anene Kate could not be reached for comments last night.

    The Nation gathered that Adesan was receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Makurdi.

    The bodies have been deposited in a mortuary in Gboko.

  • Ex-NULGE chair abducted in Edo

    A former Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Akoko-Edo branch, Edo State, Alhaji Jimoh Olumoye, has been kidnapped while going to farm.

    He was abducted on the Igarra-Okpe Road on Sunday afternoon while driving his car to pick his children from the farm.

    A member of the family, who preferred anonymity, said his children raised the alarm when they saw their father’s car with the doors opened and his phones abandoned.

    The source said: “His children had gone to the farm early in the morning and he promised to pick them in the afternoon before he would attend a family meeting.

    “The children waited for their father and when they did not see him, they trekked home. When returning home, they saw his car with the four doors opened and his phones abandoned. After searching for their father fruitlessly, they went home to inform the family.

    “We have been praying for his safety. We are worried because he is a civil servant who also farms to augment his salary. We appeal to his abductors to release him. He has an aged mother and everybody is afraid of breaking the news to her. We are really worried.”

    The source said the family had lodged a complaint at Igarra Police Station.

    It was gathered that vigilance groups at Igarra, Ojah, Ogugu and environs in Akoko-Edo Local Government and their counterparts in Owan East have been mobilised to comb the forests to rescue the victim.

    A member of a vigilance group said: “It was only the State Security Service that responded to our call immediately we heard about the incident and called them. We have mobilised our members and we trying to track the kidnappers down in the forests so that they will not escape to neighbouring states.”

    Police spokesman Chidi Nwabuzor could not be reached for comments last night.

  • Soldier stabs driver to death in Edo

    Edo State Police Command has arrested a Lance Corporal, Moses Oguche, attached to the 4 Brigade, for allegedly stabbing a driver to death.

    The deceased driver, simply identified as Mr. Ogbimi, worked with the Big Joe Motors, Benin and had gone to Okene in Kogi State to alongside a mechanic,  repair a broken down vehicle belonging to the company when the incident occurred.

    Witnesses said trouble started when the towing van driven by the deceased had a collision with a silver colour Nissan Premera marked Abuja- KWL 811-AP, belonging to the suspect.

    The soldier, who was said to be in mufti, stabbed the driver during an argument that ensued between them and later fled the scene, to prevent being attacked.

    He was said to have been pursued by passersby and he later abandoned his car and ran into a bush at Agbede in Edo State.

    Read Also: Woman stabs brother to death in Kano

    Policemen in the area were alerted and they took him into custody with his vehicle at Agbede Divisional Police Headquarters.

    It was gathered that some armed soldiers stormed Agbede Police Station in two Hilux vans to rescue their colleague, but were prevented by residents and policemen.

    Sources said Police Commissioner DanMallam Mohammed ordered the transfer of the suspect to the police headquarters in Benin City.

    He said justice will be done, as nobody is above the law.

    “The case is under investigation. It is a case of murder. He is a Nigerian and he is not above the law.

    “I assure that justice will be done in this case,” DanMallam said.

    The Public Relations Officer for 4 Brigade, Capt. Maidawa Ibrahim Mohammed, said the loss of life was regrettable.

    He said: “The loss of life in this controversial circumstance is highly regrettable. This is certainly not in line with the professional disposition of the Army, which places high premium on the sanctity of human lives. As alleged, this unfortunate circumstance will be thoroughly investigated and if established, justice shall take its course. I want to assure the public of the safety of their lives and property.”

    A worker in the transport firm, who pleaded anonymity, said the management and the bereaved family have been invited by the police at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID).

  • Man jailed for stealing phone

    A 43-year old man, Alexander Iyere, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment for stealing a Hot 5 Infinix phone worth N45,000.

    The phone was said to belong to Mr. Atokoh Daniel Uche.

    Iyere was arraigned on a one- count charge of stealing punishable under Section 390 (9) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 48 Vol II Laws of defunct Bendel State of Nigeria 1976 as applicable in Edo State.

    He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    Read Also: Guard jailed for stealing N10m jewellery

    Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Patrick Agbonifo, who called two witnesses, told the court that Iyere belonged to a gang that terrorised people around the New Benin axis.

    He said the convict tricked the victim by telling him that he needed to use his phone to make an important call, as his wife was at the point of death in hospital.

    He said Iyere ran away with the phone, but the victim recognised him after one week.

    Magistrate Ivie Akere found the accused guilty of the one-count charge and sentenced him to six months imprisonment without an option of fine.

  • Activist seeks justice over forcible ejection from home

    A Lagos Island based human rights activist, Prince Apata Akinsemoyin, has cried out for justice over his alleged forcible ejection from his residence.

    He said he was thrown out his rented two bedroom apartment at 149 Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos Island, while an appeal suit concerning his tenancy was pending before an Ikeja High Court.

    The suit, ID/2691/MJR/2019 was an appeal instituted by him against the judgment given by a magistrate’s court to a man to whom the building was currently leased to.

    He said his belongings were thrown out by policemen led by sheriffs from Igbosere High Court on July 17, 2019, despite the pendency of the suit.

    “We had a disagreement over arbitrary increment in rent and the developer who was not known to us took us to Ikeja Magistrate’s Court at Ogba,” Akinsemoyin said.

    “The presiding magistrate did not allow me to state my own side of the story and instead passed judgement against me.

    “Dissatisfied, I wrote petitions against him to the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission which advised me to appeal the judgement and I did.

    Read Also: Activist decries rising wave of cultism in Delta communities

    “It was strange that I was thrown out forcibly from my apartment while my appeal is still pending before an Ikeja High Court.’’

    Akinsemoyin said the court sheriffs ignored his protest that the matter had been appealed.

    “They chose to ignore the court document and instead carried out the unlawful ejection. As I speak, I am squatting in the house of my relatives with my family. It is the height of injustice for judicial officers and the police to connive against a party to a suit pending before the court.’’

    He appealed to the concerned authorities to intervene  “in the interest of justice and rule of law, as I am adequately protected from being subjected to ant form of harassment and intimidation having filed an appeal against the judgment of the lower court.

    “What the masterminds of my ejection did was self-help and it’s against the sanctity of the judiciary as they should have waited for the outcome of the appeal before carrying out their misguided action,” he added.

  • Man cries out over alleged threat to life

    A survey technician based in Ogun State, Mr. Enitan Julius, is alleging threat to his life by unidentified persons.

    Enitan wants the security agencies to save him from his traducers  who,according to him,want to force him to    occupy the  vacant royal stool in his home town in Yewa North Local Government Area of the State.

    Enitan told reporters in Abeokuta,the state capital,  that he had been living in fear for over 16  years now, after some people believed to be his kinsmen launched attacks on him.

    He said his travails began in 2003 after the traditional ruler of his home town joined his ancestors, and subsequent search for a successor by the town’s king makers.

    “I am a Christian from one of the four ruling houses in my town. I was selected by my ruling house for the vacant royal stool of my town after the then traditional ruler of the community passed on, an offer I rejected because I could not submit myself to the traditional rites, among which was the drinking of concoction made from human blood, attached to the throne”. Enitan said.

    He explained that his refusal to accept the offer was among others hinged on the calamities which always befall the families of monarchs  of the town, citing the mysterious death of his younger brother, Adam, who occupied the stool after he rejected his selection to the stool.

    “My younger brother died after taking some prepared concoction while undergoing the traditional rites and people attributed his death to his acceptance to ascend the throne. The  development further aggravated my fear and made me less interested in the stool,” he said.

    Read Also: Man returns to jail for stealing 40 crates of drinks

    Enitan said he had been attacked at his residence and office more than three times since his refusal to ascend the throne.

    He claimed that his wife, Abosede and youngest child Oluwatunmise were almost abducted during one of the attacks on his residence by hooded assailants.

    “I was attacked and wounded in the process and had to report the case at the Adatan Police Station, for investigation,” he said.

    “Since it is now obvious that I will be picked again for the stool with the deteriorating health of another brother of mine who is the current occupier of the stool my mind has not been at rest because I know that I will be in , for another trouble.”

    He said he could no longer sleep with his two eyes closed and has subsequently   moved his family out of the country.

    He added that he was trailed early last month along the Ilaro-Ibese road by some strange men who were on a motorcycle, noting that “it was providence that saved me as the men hurriedly turned back on sighting a police check point along the route.”