The Nation Newspaper

Category: Crime Diary

  • Police yet to receive information on CMD’s son’s kidnap

    The families and relatives of the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Lafia Hospital, Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State were yet to recover from the shock of the Tuesday night kidnap of their son at Ogunmakin area of Ogun State.

    There is no communication yet between the victim’s family and the abductors.

    Last night, the Oyo State Police Command said the kidnap of the son of the CMD of the Lafia Hospital, Apata, Ibadan, Dr. Oladipupo Sule, was yet to be reported officially.

    Police spokesman Gbenga Fadeyi, in a phone interview, told reporters that the spot of the incident falls under the jurisdiction of the Ogun State Police Command, saying that maybe that could be responsible for not receiving official report on the kidnap.

    It was gathered that the kidnappers blocked the road around 7pm and abducted their victims.

    The hospital’s vehicle, a Toyota Sienna car, in which the victims were travelling as at the time of the incident, was abandoned by the kidnappers.

    Read Also: Police begin bush clearing to curb kidnapping in Edo

    The CMD said the vehicle had been recovered by the policemen at Ogunmakin Station in Ogun State.

    The kidnappers, who were said to be 15 in number, comprising mainly youths, were still being awaited to open line of discussion with the victims’ relatives.

    Dr. Sule said: “I am at present in Ogunmakin Police Station as I talk to you. I am distressed and seriously devastated. My son and two others went to Lagos to buy drugs for the hospital and were on the way back from the trip when they were ambushed and kidnapped.

    “The driver said one of the kidnappers communicated in English language and others spoke Hausa or Fulani language. They are yet to talk to me for us to know what their real identities and intentions are,” Sule added.

    The Ogun State Police Command, while confirming the kidnap story through the Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the “police operatives have taken charge of the case. The DCP in charge of operations is leading three units to comb the forests around the scene of the incident with a view to rescuing the victims unhurt and arresting the suspected abductors.”

  • Police nab suspected kidnapper of Delta students

    Men of the Edo State Police Command have arrested a member of the gang that abducted two students of Delta State Polytechnic, Oghara.

    The suspect, identified as Happy Idodo, was nabbed in Benin City, the Edo State capital, while looking for a buyer for the Toyota Camry snatched from the victims.

    Another female suspect belonging to the gang was earlier arrested while attempting to collect the ransom paid for the release of the kidnapped students.

    Happy, who denied being a member of the kidnap gang, said it was his brother, Wisdom, who brought the vehicle to him.

    He said he was into yahoo yahoo business.

    Read Also: Edo police take battle to kidnappers’ den

    Happy said: “I am not a kidnapper. It was my brother who brought this car on Saturday. I was surprised and asked him about it. He said it belonged to his friend. On Sunday, we were going out and the car stopped. As were pushing it, we heard gunshots. The two others ran and where I ran to. I was caught. I called my brother, Wisdom, but he didn’t say anything. I was surprised when police told me that the owner of the vehicle was kidnapped.”

    Narrating their ordeal, the two students, who are lovers, said they were returning from a school party.

    Benjamin Becky, 25, said: “My boyfriend and I were returning from a party at 5am. We were in front of our hostel gate when some boys accosted us and took us away to the bush. We spent three days in the bush; they did not give us any food or water. They wore mask.

    “We were inside the forest under the rain for three days and we were blindfolded. I was not raped.”

    Her boyfriend, Yelsin Eisemage, said he paid N350,000 for their release.

    Police Commissioner Danmallam Abubakar said other fleeing members would be arrested.

  • Edo police take battle to kidnappers’ den

    Edo State Police Command, in collaboration with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Nigerian Army has taken the battle to kidnappers’ den in the forest on the Benin-Lagos Highway.

    The forest, along the highway from Ugbokun junction to military checkpoint, before the Okada junction, is to be cleared.

    However, bulldozers were yet to arrive the spot at press time.

    Police Commissioner Danmallam Abubakar and Edo Commander of the NSCDC, Ayela Makinde, took a walk through the route suspected to be used by kidnappers.

    Read Also: Kidnappers kill eight-year-old girl

    Live ammunition and expended ammunition were recovered at a place close to the highway, believed to be the hiding spot of the kidnappers.

    Some wrappers of the victims were also recovered.

    Abubakar assured the contractors that adequate security would be provided during the clearing of the bush.

    He said the height of the grasses provided an easy cover for the kidnappers to hide.

    “You can see that from these spots, they can see our men, but we cannot see them. This road must be kept safe; we will not allow kidnappers to remain in this state. The battle line has been drawn.”

  • Monarch to punish rape suspects

    The Deji of Akure, Oba Ogunlade Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo, yesterday urged residents to bring rape suspects to his palace for punishment.

    He spoke in his palace before the beginning of a march by stakeholders. The exercise tagged: “A Walk against Rape”, was initiated by the Office of the Wife of the Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu.

    The exercise attracted representatives of non- governmental organisations and interest groups.

    It was led by Women Affairs and Social Development Commissioner Mrs. Titilayo Adeyemi.

    The monarch said the spate of rape cases had reached an alarming level, adding that all hands must be deck to stop it.

    Oba Aladetoyinbo suggested life imprisonment for any person convicted of rape.

    Read Also: House of Reps to investigate rape in school

    He said the institution was ready to introduce traditional punishment for erring persons.

    Said he: “Bring any person suspected of rape to the palace. We have special water we will give to the suspect. Once the person drinks the water, the curse will be on him for life.

    “You don’t have to catch the person in action, once you suspect anybody; we shall make him to drink the water before we hand him over to the police for proper action. But I will first deal with the issue.

    “I am also advocating that rapists should be sentenced to life imprisonment.”

    Participants in the walk thereafter marched from the palace through the popular Oyemekun/Adesida Road to the ‘A’ Division Police Station, condemning rape.

    Mrs. Adeyemi, who represented the governor’s wife, said everybody must come together to speak and take action against rape.

  • House of Reps to investigate rape in school

    The House of Representatives is to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate a rape and assault allegation at the Federal Capital Territory School for the Blind.

    This followed the passage of a motion by Onuh Onyeche Blessing with the title: “Urgent need to tackle the assault and rape by teachers at the School for the Blind, Jabi.

    The House also condemned the rape of a visually-impaired female pupil by a teacher at the FCT school.

    Moving the motion, the lawmaker said: “Recall that on July 16, 2019 Shina Abiola Peller moved a motion on the floor of this honourable House on the need to tackle the scourge of rape and other sexual offences against children.

    “Note that less than 24 hours after the resolution passed by the House on the rape of minors, a worse form of rape and assault against visually-impaired girls was uncovered at the Federal Capital Territory School for the Blind located at Jabi district of the FCT.

    “Also note that FCT administration officials, who visited the school, were shocked by the revelations made by the pupils and teachers over a visually-impaired teacher and one other visually-impaired teacher, who regularly raped and assaulted girls at the school.”

    Read Also: JUST IN: Shiite protest divides House of Reps

    He expressed concern that a teacher in the school, Mr. Ebenezer Olateju, “has since become infamous for leading visually-impaired pupils to hotel rooms where he drugged them before raping them.

    “Aware that the school authority has confirmed six reported cases of rape by Olateju.

    “Also aware that another visually-impaired teacher, Mr. Ilo Chukwuma, was notorious for fondling the breasts and other sensitive organs of the visually-impaired girls.”

    Blessing urged the House to take a firm position in support of capital punishment for perpetrators of rape and violence against underage girls.

    The House also resolved to set up a committee to investigate the molestation of the pupils of a deaf and dumb school at Kuje, Abuja.

    This was sequel to the passage of a motion by a member, Mohammed Musa Pali.

    The lawmaker said the school, which admits children, both boys and girls, of between five and six years, who are mostly defenceless and vulnerable, is being invaded regularly by cultists, who abduct and molest the children.

    The two motions were put to a voice vote.

  • Policemen detained over alleged role in woman’s death

    Three policemen, including an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), are being detained at the Warri Area Command of the Delta State Police Command over their alleged role in the death of a woman.

    The Nation gathered that the policemen, on July 20, at about 7:30pm, stopped the deceased, Mrs. Ugochukwu Grace Dabo, who was driving home in a Toyota Sienna Space Bus registered as AGL 822 EY, near Igbiki junction, Ovwian/Aladja area of Udu Local Government.

    Sources said during interrogation by the patrolling policemen, the deceased was unable to produce the requested tinted glass permit, although other papers were intact, leading to the impounding of the vehicle. They allegedly left the deceased on the spot and drove off.

    “At about 9pm, a man brought the body of the deceased to Ovwian Police Station to report the killing of his wife by gunmen, after she was allegedly abandoned on the road by policemen on patrol, who had seized her car from her.

    “Immediately the man saw the DPO and narrated the matter, he (DPO) called for the arrest of the officers who had been on patrol in the area because, according to him, they abandoned their duty post, which led to the death of the woman. He has transferred them to the Area Command (Warri). The DPO took the body to the mortuary that night. He was very furious that he had just spent six days at the station and some officers had already shown lack of professionalism,” a source said.

    Confirming the development and the steps being taken by the state command, spokesperson Onome Onowakpoyeya, in a statement on Tuesday, said reports so far gathered showed that the deceased was killed by a gang of three at large, adding that Police Commissioner Adeyinka Adeleke had promised to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.

    Read Also: Police save kidnap suspect from mob  

    “However, on the same night, at about 2105hrs, the woman’s husband, Mr. Benjamin Dabo, reported to the DPO at the station that his wife was on her way home with her daughter in a commercial tricycle they boarded, when she was attacked, robbed and shot dead by a three-man robbery gang operating in the tricycle. But her 11-year-old daughter survived the attack and escaped unhurt. She narrated how her mother was killed by men of the underworld, who are yet to be arrested.

    “The police commissioner regrets the unfortunate incident leading to the death of the deceased and commiserates with her family. He assures the public, particularly the bereaved family, of the commitment of the police to investigate the role played by the officers and men in the incident and ensure the arrest of the fleeing robbers,” the statement said.

  • Command parades 16 suspected abductors, 22 others

    KOGI State Police Command on Tuesday paraded 38 suspected criminals.

    Sixteen of them were arrested for alleged involvement in kidnapping across the state.

    Parading the suspects at the command headquarters in Lokoja, Police Commissioner Mr. Hakeem Busari said the arrests followed onslaught against criminals by the operatives attached to ‘Operatives Puff Adder’.

    “The comprehensive crime prevention and control strategies adopted by the ‘Operation Puff Adder’, through intensive patrol, raids of criminals’ hideouts, black spots and flash points, as well as conduct of stop-and-search across the state led to the arrest of 24 suspected criminals terrorising innocent people,” he said.

    The suspected kidnappers included John Okonkwo and Lawal Gambia, who allegedly abducted Uchenna Ogbu, a cow merchant, following which they demanded N10 million ransom.

    “But operatives of the ‘Operation Puff Adder’ swung into action and arrested Okonkwo.”

    Read Also: Controversy over shadow poll in Kogi APC

    Others arrested for alleged kidnapping include Suleiman Usman, Usman Abubakar, Aliyu Abdullahi, Kayode Oloruntoba and Kayode Rufus.

    “Following a tip-off on June 17, at about 1000hrs, troops deployed in Apata area of Lokoja, through an intelligence-led operation, nabbed the suspects in connection with the kidnap of Mathew Palace, at Oyo Palace. During the identification parade, the victim identified one Suleiman as one of the gang members who kidnapped him. Further investigation led to the arrest of other suspects,” the CP said.

    Other kidnap suspects paraded included Musa Ismaila aka Bature, Muhammed Bingiri, Abubakar Yahaya and Umaru Bingiri. They were paraded for allegedly abducting Ardo Gegu.

    Suspected robbers, cultists, extortionists, dealers in illicit drugs and cattle rustlers were also paraded. They included Uche Shigaba, Huluba Wala, Dauda Zhinsu, Ocheme Kizito, Omonaiye Folorunsho and Idris Yunusa.

    Some of the items recovered from the suspects included guns and ammunition, including one Barretta pistol and eight rounds of 9mm pistol, one locally-made pistol, cutlasses, reloaded cartridge, one handbag and Cannabis sativa (Indian hemp) concealed inside a 120-litre drum.

    Busari said investigation is ongoing to arrest other criminals on the run, adding that the suspects will be arraigned.

  • Soldiers begin ‘operation-stop- and-search in Ekiti

    THE Army on Wednesday tightened security on some major highways in Ekiti State, to curb the rising spate of killings, kidnappings and other crimes.

    Soldiers began ‘operation-stop- and-search at some flash points and routes that have become the den of killers, robbers and kidnappers.

    The operations were visible with the presence of soldiers on the Ado-Ekiti-Itawure Road, Aramoko –Igede-Road, Ikere-Ekiti-Ise Road and Ado-Ekiti-Akure Road.

    They stopped motorists moving into the state and conducted routine check of the occupants, while motorcyclists were made to dismount and push their motorcycles for as long as 35 metres before being allowed to take off.

    The Nation learnt that this development could be a reaction to the series of security challenges confronting the state.

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo last week during a condolence visit to Pa Reuben Fasoranti over the gruesome killing of his daughter, Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, by suspected bandits, canvassed for the deployment of soldiers in the highways to prevent killing of travellers by bandits, robbers and kidnappers.

    Many people have fallen victims of kidnap and robbery on these routes, as evidence shows that many people have been kidnapped, robbed and killed by men of the underworld.

    The Secretary-General of Christ’s School Alumni Association, Ado-Ekiti, Mr. Rufus Oladele, was kidnapped on the Aramoko-Efon Road and taken to unknown destination by gunmen.

    He spent four days in the kidnappers’ den before he regained freedom.

    On the same day and at the same spot, a set of twins identified as Kehinde and Taiwo Olowoafara were abducted by gunmen.

    The abductors reportedly contacted the family, demanding N6million ransom for each of their victims.

    Also recently, Felix Akinde, a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), was kidnapped by gunmen at Ita Ogbolu on the Akure-Ado Ekiti Road.

    Read Also: Ekiti spent N3.9 billion on pensions, says Fayemi

    Akinde, who spent eight days in captivity, was later released after an undisclosed amount was paid to his abductors.

    Early this year, an Accounting Officer at Emure Local Government, Mr. Abayomi Ajayi, was killed by gunmen on the Ikere-Ise Road while returning from work. He was in the company of two colleagues- Dr. Fashina and Pastor Onaade, who were kidnapped.

    Speaking with The Nation on the deployment of soldiers, a community leader, Mr. Abdul Lateef Omoboriowo, said the presence of the military was necessary following escalating killings and kidnappings on the highways.

    Omoboriowo, who expressed confidence in soldiers, said there was no doubt that they would reduce the high rate of insecurity.

  • Police nab two suspects for allegedly kidnapping, killing girl

    KANO State Police Command says it has arrested two suspects for allegedly kidnapping and killing an eight-year-old girl, Aisha Umar.

    Spokesman Abdullahi Haruna disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Kano.

    He said detectives from the command’s Anti Kidnapping Squad of “Operation Puff-Adder” arrested the suspects after it received on July 22, a report of a body discovered inside a well at Gandun Albasa, Kano.

    Read Also: Kidnappers kill eight-year-old girl in Kano

    He said the body was evacuated and taken to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital Kano.

    The spokesman said the body was later identified to be that of the eight-year-old girl, who was earlier kidnapped at Tudun Wada in Nassarawa Local Government Area of the state.

    Haruna called on the public to always report any incident, suspicious persons or movement promptly to the nearest police station.

    He said Police Commissioner Mr. Ahmed Iliyasu had directed that the remaining fleeing suspects be tracked and arrested, adding that the arrested ones would be charged to court after investigations.

     

  • Kidnapped women will be rescued, says Edo CP

    Edo State Police Commissioner Danmallam Abubakar has said the three women abducted on Monday will be rescued unhurt.

    The victims, who were travelling from Lagos State to Bayelsa State, were abducted on the Benin-Lagos Highway near Okada junction.

    They were identified as Okuboere, Seifefa and Amara.

    Abubakar, who described the abduction as unfortunate, said his men have been stationed at the forest.

    Read Also: RUGA will not happen in Edo – Obaseki

    He recalled how his convoy ran into kidnappers on the Benin-Lagos Expressway and his men dislodged them.

    The police boss said the Benin-Lagos Highway must be made safe because of its importance.

    He said: “We will rescue them. We are taking the battle to the kidnappers. They think the forest is safe, but we will overcome them.

    “I ran into the kidnappers and we dislodged them. The women will be rescued unhurt.”