The Nation Newspaper

Category: Crime Diary

  • Restaurant owner meets man who robbed him instead of calling the cops

    The owner of a Columbia, South Carolina,USA, seafood restaurant sent a powerful message about forgiveness this week when he decided not to press charges against the man who broke into his restaurant.

    A Facebook post explained that the Mr. Seafood restaurant “got hit” over the weekend and had to close on Sunday.

    But after neighbors helped identify the man seen stealing from the business in a surveillance video, the owner, Kevin Scott, decided to talk to him before calling the police.

    “God inspired me,” Scott told Birmingham, Ala.’s WBRC Fox 6 News.

    read also: Suspected hoodlum abducts, chains 12-yr-old girl

    “I talked to the guy, and he said he did it to feed his family, and his story didn’t seem dishonest to me. He apologized and offered to work to pay off what he stole, but I don’t want that. I just don’t want him committing crimes.”

    A few days after the break-in, Scott met the man at the restaurant and later posted a photo of them on Facebook. “Forgiveness is better,” he wrote.

    Locals praised Scott’s decision not to press charges.

    “This speaks volumes. Praying for this young man that he finds a better way. Blessings to you for forgiveness,” one person commented.

    “This is how we should really treat one another, love and sympathy,” another person said. ”This could very well be, and I pray it is the turning point in this young mans life to do right and help his fellow human beings. We’ve got to all do our parts individually to make this planet a better place to live.”

    Courtesy:Yahoo Lifestyle

  • Police launch manhunt for couples who bought sisters stolen from Edo

    Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have launched a manhunt for couples who bought two sisters stolen from Utese village in Ovia North East Local Government Area.

    It was learnt that the police had deployed its men to Enugu and Port-Harcourt in search of the couples.

    Both sisters, aged four and six and identified as Christabel and Amanda were reportedly sold to  different couples for N500,000 each.

    They were allegedly stolen by two girls, Rose and Mary, who rented an apartment in their residence at Utese village.

    Their mother left them in the care of the two girls, while she went to the stream to fetch water.

    Police sources said Mary had been arrested but the whereabouts of Rose is unknown.

    It was learnt that the sisters were first sold to a woman identified as Joy in Agbor.

    Joy was arrested in Onitsha and she confessed to have sold the children to one Ruth Eze, a 58-year old woman based in Onitsha.

    The police source said Ruth sold one of the children to someone living at Ogwashi-Uku, while the other child was sold to a couple at a Catholic Church in Enugu State through one Mrs. Favour Uju.

    A police team that visited Ogwashi-Uku discovered that the women that bought one of the sisters had died,  but had already sold the girl to a couple in Port Harcourt.

    It was also learnt that detectives had taken the suspects to some Catholic churches in Enugu, but they could not identify who they sold the girl to.

    It was said that the parents of the stolen siblings parted ways in the wake of the incident last year..

    The distraught father of the children, Mr Spark Omokpia, promised to do anything to ensure his children returned to him.

  • How we lost millions to fire

    Traders  at Asa Nnentu Motor Spare Parts market in Ugwunagbo LGA popularly known as (Ala Ojii) andAba Motor Park in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State are counting their losses following the fire incidents that destroyed  their  shops recently.

    Goods estimated at over N400million are believed to have perished  at Asa Nnentu Motor Spare Parts market alone.

    Speaking on the incident, Moses Onyebuchi, an electrician and a driver who gave his name as James at the Aba Park, Umuahia, the state capital attributed the cause of the fire to indiscriminate burning of refuse at the back of one of the shops in the market.

    Comrade Ajaegbu Morrison, the Secretary of Patrons of Asa Nnentu Motor Spare Parts Market and one of the victims of the fire incident described that incident as devastating.

    He appealed for help for the victims  from government .

    Ajaegbu said “I was about to pray before going  to bed when my phone rang. I checked my phone to see who was calling and it was one of my neighbors.

    ”He  told me that he learnt that our market was on fire and that it was mainly on F-Line where my shop was located. After some minutes, I got another call from another  neighbor  telling me that my shop was among those  that were razed  by the inferno.

    ”It was then I decided to come and see things for myself .

    ”About 12 shops were affected by the inferno. We don’t use electricity here and so, we can’t say that it was caused by power surge. We stored no  petrol in our shops. So, there was  no way the fire  could have been caused by fuel or electricity surge.

    ”However, when we came back in the morning, we noticed that there was fire in the borrow pit at the back of our shops where the contractors rehabilitating the Aba-Enugu-Port Harcourt road come  to excavate red mud from. How it got to my shops and my neighbours, I can’t really tell.

    ”We are appealing to the federal, state and Ugwunagbo local government authorities to come to our aide.

    ”Since the fire incident occurred, we have been doing practically nothing. We have been sitting here, praying to God to send helpers  our way.

    ”We have reached out to the local government chairman and have been making efforts to reach the state government. They are yet to come and we are not giving up yet. We will continue to make efforts to see that even the lawmakers representing us; Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and Hon. Uzoma Abonta and well-meaning Abians  come to our aide.

    ”We lost over N400m. One of the car engines that got burnt here is over N1million. If you calculate the buildings and the motor spare parts in the shops, it will even be more than that. That is why we are calling on the state governor to come to our aid.

    ”We are not happy that such a thing happened to us. It is not our plans to disturb him, but in this case, we are only appealing to the governor and other well-meaning Abians and Nigerians to come to our aide. It is too much for  us to bear.

    Read also: Updated: Fire guts 70 shops in Minna market

    ”The federal government through NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency) should please come to our rescue. We have our house rents and children’s school fees to pay this January.

    Another victim, Chukwudi Alexander Anucha, a native of Isiala Ngwa South LGA of the State while fighting hard to hold back tears, corroborated Morrison’s account of the inferno.

    He said: ”before the fire incident, I had gone to the bank to withdraw all the monies that I had to buy and stock goods in my shop.

    “There was an engine that I bought for over a million naira. Some people had already indicated interest in buying the  engine. They were supposed to come and pay for the engine in the morning of the unfortunate inferno.

    “There were other engines that people planned to come and pay for this month.

    “We are now surviving through the assistance of some friends and relatives. We are asking for the assistance of government. There is absolutely nothing that was saved from our shops. We are pained by the loss and hope that the appropriate authorities including our dear Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu will come to our aid.

    “We can barely afford food  for our family, but with their assistance, we are confident that we are going to come out of this stronger.”

  • Two killed in Benue community over who control market levy

    Two persons have been reportedly killed and property worth millions of naira destroyed following an outbreak of violence in Kornya , Konshisha Local Government Area of  Benue State.

    Kornya is the hometown of the senator representing Benue -Northeast , Chief Barnabas  Gemade.

    The Nation gathered that violence broke out between two rival groups over who should collect levy at the local market.

    Read also: Oshiomhole, Amaechi, Akume to Nigerians: shun PDP, Atiku

    Members of the rival groups proceeded to set houses on fire and attacked one another with knives and cutlasses.

    Police spokesman, DSP Moses Yamu said he was yet to receive report on the crisis.

  • Man cries out over suspected cultists’ attack on nephew

    A 57-year-old businessman based in Ijebu-Igbo town of Ogun State, Mr Sanya Ademola, has cried out to security operatives to intervene in the constant intimidation and harassment of his nephew, Ajulo David, by suspected members of Ogboni fraternity.

    Ademola, who raised the alarm in Abeokuta, the Ogun-State capital while speaking with reporters, claimed that the suspected cultists led by one Balogun had made life miserable for his nephew and members of his family following his nephew’s refusal to join the cult group.

    Ademola said that the travail of his nephew,  started in August 2014, when the leadership of the cult group in his town became vacant following  the mysterious death of his nephew’s father, Ajulo Ishola, who was the former leader of the group.

    He said: “Since the death of his (Ajulo) father who was the Oluwo and head of Ogboni in his home town occurred, there had been intense pressure on Ajulo to take over as the new leader of the cult group, all to no avail.

    ”In 2016, between January – May,  Ajulo cried out for assistance and reported the case at a police division in the community, when he was brutally attacked by suspected members of the Ogboni group, but the matter was handled with levity and there was no guarantee of Ajulo’s safety. ‘’

    He also noted that Ajulo’s mother was abducted in 2017 by suspected cultists and was released a few days later, because his son rejected to lead the cult group.

    He explained that the fears of the family have been heightened by renewed moves to install a traditional ruler in the town, which comes with traditional rites usually performed by the leader of the cult group, which is still vacant because of Ajulo’s refusal to lead the group.

    Ademola said that his nephew’s neighbours at his Lagos residence had recently sighted some strange old men who stormed the house and threatened to punish Ajulo for turning down his nomination as new head of the cult group.

    He added:  ‘’I am not satisfied with the way the issue was handled by the Police after my nephew reported the case, hence, I want the police and Ogun State government to wade into the matter again, since the cultists are still making continuous threats to our family because of my nephew’s refusal to join their cult group.

  • Our nightmare: Niger communities under siege from Zamfara bandits cry out

    For the people of Munya Local Government Area of Niger State, peace is a scarce commodity, as they now live in fear of attacks from gunmen, who are yet to be identified.

    They have been under siege from heavily armed hoodlums, who unleash terror on them at will. The siege is already taking a heavy toll on their psyche.

    The boundary they share with  Kaduna and Zamfara states  is the source of their problem; the thick forest in between is gradually becoming a nightmare to them as these bandits many times commit crimes in these states and run into the forest or the local government area to seek refuge.

    Some weeks ago, the bandits kidnapped two women in Kaduna area of the border villages, demanding for N10 million ransom from the relations of the kidnap victims.  The husband of one of the women, the suspected kidnappers alleged, was a police informant. A man and his wife were recently shot on their way to Munya town, while the hoodlums had also stolen  1, 300 cattle within the last couple of months.

    These criminal elements, who are said to be among bandits dislodged from Zamfara and Kaduna states, are said to be perpetrating robberies,  kidnappings, cattle rustling and other heinous crimes in the area. They operate with sophisticated weapons such as pump action guns, AK 47 rifles, rocket launchers, machine guns, among others.

    Read also: …Yari’s plea for emergency rule in Zamfara commendable —Sen Marafa

    When our correspondent went to see the vigilante team regarding the security situation in the council, there was palpable fear and tension in the air as another attack was said to be looming; even the driver who took the correspondent, said the attackers can come at any moment; he was in a hurry to go back.

    According to some of the residents in one of the communities, the gunmen usually launch attacks at least once every fortnight, during which they rob and kidnap some of their victims. The situation, they lamented, had become unbearable to them.

    The head of the vigilante team, Saleh Mohammed, said his team and other security agents had been on standby for some days as they noticed some suspicious movements in the forest and they were not willing to take chances.

    “We have noticed some of these bandits in Chuku local government area and we are now on surveillance to see if they will advance or not. Our communities are under threat of attacks. These gunmen have vowed to eradicate our communities.

  • 75-yr-old escapes death as car rams into building, injures daughter

    There was pandemonium on Sunday December 16, 2018, after the driver of a Toyota Camry car marked LND 233 AE lost control and rammed into a building on Santos Avenue in Abule Egba area of Lagos State.

    The incident happened at about 10.30 pm.

    The owner of the building, Pa Ayinla Busari, who runs a pool betting shop outside the building escaped death by whiskers in a bid to avoid being crushed by the car, whose impact left a hole on the building.

    Pa Busari however sustained bruises on his arm and legs, while one of his daughters, Bilikis, was unlucky as the car crushed one of her legs. She is currently receiving treatment at a hospital.

    Witnesses said the driver of the car was drunk and over sped when he lost control and crashed into the bungalow.

    It was said that bottles of beer were found in the car, after the driver escaped from the scene unhurt.

    Read also: How pregnant woman, 80-year-old scaled fence to escape Lagos pipeline fire

    ‘’ It was like a scene from the movies, when the young driver of the car veered off the road and crashed into the building. Bilikis, who was standing outside the house told her father to run inside the building, but one of her legs was smashed by the car,’’ said one of her brothers who asked for anonymity.

    When The Nation visited the scene, residents urged the state government to provide speed breakers on the road to prevent reckless drivers from causing havoc on the road.

    ‘’ This is not the first time we are witnessing accidents like this on this road. Recently, there was a motorcycle accident which almost claim the life of a teenager. The motorcycle’s rider was very reckless and if there were speed breakers, he would not have sped the way he did causing unnecessary accident here.

    ‘’ I therefore want to urge the state government to provide speed breakers on this road and save us from being killed by reckless drivers or commercial motorcycle operators popularly called okada.’’

    Policemen from Oko Oba Division later visited the scene and evacuated the car to their station.

  • Residents raise alarm over pipeline vandals, cry out to police for help

    Residents of Oke-Odo and Pipeline area of Abule Egba in Agbado/ Oke Odo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State have raised the alarm over the activities of fiendish vandals, who damage NNPC pipelines to steal fuel.

    A cross section of the aggrieved residents who spoke with The Nation condemned the incessant activities of the oil thieves operating in the area.

    They decried the indifference of the police authorities to their plight, noting that several complaints made to the divisional police station in Oke Odo, have not yielded fruits.

    Spokesman of the distraught residents, who is also the chairman of Estate/Pipeline Community Development Association, Prince John Okunebe, described the vandalisation as worrisome.

    He noted that several letters had been written to concerned authorities in recent times without tangible result or interventions.

    He said: ‘’ The vandals have been vandalising oil pipelines here and stealing fuel and getting away with it. They would dig out the pipelines from the ground and would not cover them properly before leaving.

    ‘’We have cried out to several concerned agencies, state government and law enforcement agents including the police, all to no avail.

    ‘’ What we want now is for the state government and the police to come to rescue as we do not want to experience what happened at the other side of Abule Egba, where pipeline explosion caused by vandals razed several houses and shops.’’

    ‘’The vandals would come and hurriedly leave without covering the vandalised pipelines while fuel would spill into adjoining drainage in this community. Let the state government construct or build this road, as this would bury the pipelines underground.’’

    Residents also condemned the exposure of pipelines which stretches to Aboru area, urging the Petroleum Pipelines Marketing Company to come to their aid.

    The Baale of Awori community, Chief Lamidi Kosoko, urged the state government to rescue the community from the recalcitrant vandals to avert pipeline explosion.

    Read also: ‘How herdsmen killed my husband on Christmas eve’

    ‘’We want both the police and state government to intervene and address our plight by stepping up security measures here, in order to prevent what happened at the other axis of Abule Egba, where there was pipeline explosion a few days ago.’’

    Another community leader, and Vice Chairman of Community Development Committee(CDC) of the council area, Apostle Moses Oyeledun tasked the federal government on providing adequate measures to tackle vandalism in the community.

    ‘’ What we have noticed lately is that fuel usually spills into our collectors drainage anytime the vandals damage pipeline and steal fuel. Not long ago, the vandals struck and left the pipelines uncovered while fuel spilled into a river in this community killing fishes while pythons emerged from the creek of the river. Not a few residents fled their home for days to avoid being killed or burnt if there is pipeline explosion.

    ‘’We have written several letters to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over this matter. Officials of the corporation from Abuja  visited us and went round the community to inspect the pipelines but nothing has been done since they visited us.’’

  • ‘Car dealer’ arraigned for alleged N1.3m theft

    A 63- year-old car dealer, Alhaji Ahmed Isiaka, has been arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrate’s Court for allegedly obtaining money by false pretence.

    Ahmed was accused of stealing and impersonation.

    He was said to have obtained the sum of N1,300,000 from one Lamidi Sodiq with the pretence to sell a Toyota Sienna car to him.

    Read also: Court dissolves 10-year-old forced marriage in Ibadan

    It was learnt the accused impersonated himself as a car dealer to falsely obtained money from the complainant.

    The police prosecutor, Sergeant, Cyriacus Osuyi, told the court that the offence was punishable under Section 314,287 and 380 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

    He said: “The accused obtained the sum of N1,300,000 from Sodiq sometimes in September 2017 at Mushin(Lagos State) that he will sell a car to him. But he carted away with the money until his arrest.”

    The presiding magistrate, Mrs Ope-Agbe admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N600,000 with two sureties in  like sum.

    The case was adjourned till January 31 for mention.

  • ‘Car dealer’ arraigned for alleged N1.3m theft

    A 63- year-old car dealer, Alhaji Ahmed Isiaka, has been arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrate’s Court for allegedly obtaining money by false pretence.

    Ahmed was accused of stealing and impersonation.

    He was said to have obtained the sum of N1,300,000 from one Lamidi Sodiq with the pretence to sell a Toyota Sienna car to him.

    It was learnt the accused impersonated himself as a car dealer to falsely obtained money from the complainant.

    The police prosecutor, Sergeant, Cyriacus Osuyi, told the court that the offence was punishable under Section 314,287 and 380 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

    He said: “The accused obtained the sum of N1,300,000 from Sodiq sometimes in September ,2017 at Mushin(Lagos State) that he will sell a car to him. But he carted away with the money until his arrest.”

    The presiding magistrate, Mrs Ope-Agbe admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N600,000 with two sureties in  like sum.

    The case was adjourned till January 31 for mention.