The Nation Newspaper

Category: Crime Diary

  • Evil spirit told me to kill my boss, says teenage maid

    A 14-year old girl identified simply as Hannah has said that she killed her 70-year- old employer, Mrs. Helen Adodo, with a stone last week because an evil spirit told her to do so.

    Hannah had earlier lied that it was a four-man gang that stormed their residence and killed the woman while attempting to also rape.

    She later recanted after being subjected to further interrogation.

    Speaking to newsmen at the Edo State Police Command, Hannah said the spirit threatened to kill her if she did not lie about the incident.

    It was learnt that Hannah was engaged four months ago by the children of the late Mrs Adodo to look after their mother who was battling with a stroke.

    Hannah said she washed clothes, gave her madam food and ensured the woman went to bed.

    She said: “Some uncontrollable forces came upon me like breezy. So I lost my senses of what I was doing when the spirit entered my body. I left the dishes I was to wash and went straight to stand on a stone. I later went inside the room where I discovered that my mistress was still sleeping so I hit the stone on her head and she died.

    “So, I scratched my head and turned around four times before I regained my sense. So, when I saw that I have killed her, I held her while she was in her pool of blood and started crying.’’

    Hannah said she is in JSS II at Itohan Girls Grammar School and that she was brought from Abuja to assist the deceased.

    She said the unseen spirit warned her not to tell anyone and that if she did, she will die.

    Police Commissioner, Babatunde Kokumo, said investigation was still on to ascertain whether other culprits were involved.

  • 32-yr-old auto technician allegedly stabs customer at beer parlour

    An evening of fun turned bloody at a beer parlour in the Oke Odunwo area of Ondo State, after a vulcaniser identified as Tokunbo  allegedly stabbed a customer, Akin Ogunmoyewa with a broken bottle.

    The incident, happened penultimate Thursday.

    Tokunbo was said to have arrived at the beer parlour and spent all the money he had, following which he started appealing for money from people at the club.

    Ogunmoyewa arrived shortly after with one his friends and they launched into a long discussion.

    It was said that Tokunbo approached Akin and his friend asking them to stop their conversation and that their voices were disturbing him.

    It was learnt that Akin demanded explanation from Tokunbo as to why they should discontinue the conversation.

    Akin’s action was said to have infuriated Tokunbo, who then allegedly poured a drink he was holding on him (Akin), while the victim’s friend immediately fled the scene.

    ‘’Before other people at the joint knew what was happening, Tokunbo broke a bottle and stabbed Akin on his head and other parts of his body, while people at the joint ran for their dear lives.

    ‘’The owner of the joint held the suspect down till the arrival of policemen from a nearby police division who arrested the suspect and detained him.

    He was said to have been released the next day.

    It was learnt that Tokunbo begged Akin for forgiveness after the victim left a hospital where he was treated and went to the station to write a statement on the incident.

    Contacted, police spokesman, Mr Femi Joseph, promised to revert to our correspondent. He was howver unable to do so at press time.

  • Gas plant operator begs Lagos gov to reopen sealed premises

    Barely eight months after fire gutted the Second Coming Gas Plant in the Magodo area of Lagos State, the owner of the company has appealed to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode over the continuous sealing of his premises by the Ministry of Physical Planning.

    The company’s owner, Dr. Basil Ogbuanu, said the shutdown had wrecked him financially with huge debts hanging on his neck.

    He noted that he had complied with all directives from both federal and state regulatory agencies, who came for inquests following the January 15 inferno.

    Ogbuanu said he was issued a reopening approval on April 9 by the Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC), after inspections were carried out and it was ascertained that the company implemented recommendations as provided by the fire investigation report.

    He said the company had on April 25, written a letter to the Commissioner for Physical Planning, appealing for re-opening of the premises on compassionate ground, adding that a further letter requesting a courtesy call was sent but none of his requests were met.

    In a letter dated May 8, and signed by Ms. O.B. Akinwolemiwa on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Dapo-Thomas, the ministry said it was yet to unseal the premises because of ongoing review of the grant of planning permits for energy-related activities in the state.

    Contacted, Mrs. Dapo-Thomas declined comments on the telephone, asking our correspondent to come to her office for her official reaction.

    “I will not comment on this issue on telephone because I do not know who you are. I will like you to come to my office with your identity card,’’ she said.

    “Since then, efforts to re-open the plant or find out what we did (wrong) have been in vain. We are surprised because all other companies involved in the same business like ours in and around our vicinity were still in operation.

  • Hijacked Rivers passenger bus: Two bodies recovered, six missing, 8 rescued

    Two of the 16 passengers on board a commercial bus that was hijacked by unknown gunmen in Rivers State on Thursday are dead.

    Their bodies were found yesterday following the recovery of the bus by policemen.

    Eight other passengers were rescued alive while six are missing, spokesman for the State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni,said yesterday.

    The bus was on its way to Port Harcourt from Owerri,Imo state when armed hoodlums hijacked it at Elele-Omarelu in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

    Omoni  said: “The Police have rescued the kidnap victims and recovered the bus they were travelling in.

    “ They were rescued at the early hours of today(yesterday). However dead bodies of two of the passengers were recovered,  six are still with them,  but eight of them were rescued alive.”

    The command also regretted the ‘unfortunate’ death of a Catholic priest that was abducted by the criminals before he could be rescued.

    The reverend father was kidnapped two weeks ago.

    His body was abandoned by his abductors.

    The police said that the abductors might have collected ransom from the family before killing him.

  • Hoodlums kill police escort, butcher in Edo

    Hoodlums on Thursday ambushed members of the caretaker committee of Edo state Butchers Union on Benin-Auchi expressway, killing the police escort, Sergeant Jubril and a butcher, Nathaniel Iyamu.

    The 13-man Committee was recently inaugurated to oversee the affairs of the state’s Butchers Union by Governor Godwin Obaseki, following a protracted crisis that  rocked the union.

    Iyamu, until his gruesome death was the vice chairman of the body.

    It was learnt that the chieftains of the union were attacked when their convoy ran into a robbery operation, while returning from Afuze in Owan East Local Government, where the local branch of the union was inaugurated.

    An eyewitness said the armed men abducted some motorists while shooting sporadically.

    The incident occurred near Obadan village along the Benin-Auchi highway.

    It was gathered that the police escort had shot into the air to apparently scare the hoodlums away.

    The witness said the late police escort was running into the bush alongside others when he was gunned down.

    ”The operation lasted for over an hour causing heavy traffic gridlock. Many passengers ran for safety.

    “Some passengers were also robbed of their valuables, while some were taken to in unknown destination.”

    A member of the committee who pleaded anonymity said the lifeless body of the policeman was recovered at about 10pm.

    Contacted, the police spokesman, Chidi Nwabuzor, said the incident was being investigated.

  • Man faces N470,000 visa fraud charge

    A 46-year-old man,  Olusegun Daudu, on Friday appeared in an Osogbo Magistrates’ Court charged with N470, 000 visa fraud.

    Daudu, who is facing a two-count charge bordering on fraud, pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecutor Bab Sambo of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, told the court that the accused committed the offences sometime in 2014 between June and July in Osogbo.

    Sambo said Daudu collected N350, 000 from the complainant, Adebayo Olowofela, with a promise to help him get an American visa.

    According to him, the accused also collected N120, 000 from another complainant, Adekunle Olowofela, for the same purpose.

    The accused had been on the run before he was recently arrested at Oke-Baba Abiye, Ede in Osun.

    The offences contravened Section 421 and of the Criminal Code, Laws of Osun 2003.

    Following the accused’s plea of `not guilty, Magistrate Taofeeq Badmus granted him N500, 000 bail with one surety in like sum.

    Badmus said the surety must be resident within the court’s jurisdiction with an evidence of tax payment.

    Hearing in the case has been fixed for Aug. 13.

  • Gas explosion kills four-month-old, four others in Delta 

    Five persons yesterday died in an explosion which rocked a gas shop near Okwe Market, Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.

    The inferno also razed three shops.

    The victims include a four-month-old baby; a three-year-old child and their mother simply identified as Ada.

    Two teenagers who had gone to purchase biscuits from a provision shop near the gas shop were also killed.

    The Nation gathered that the incident, which occurred at about 1.30 p.m caused pandemonium in the community.

    A witness told The Nation that the fire started from the gas shop after a cylinder spilled its content into the air, causing two smaller cylinders to fly into neighbouring buildings.

    The source said further that a stove used by Ada to prepare meal for her children triggered the fire, when its smoke came in contact with the gas spewed into the air.

    Read also: Kaduna Electoral Commission gutted by fire days to LG polls

    The source said: ‘’The fire started at about 1:30pm in the afternoon at Okwe market. A large gas cylinder crashed on the floor with a loud noise causing two cylinders to fly into nearby shops and buildings.

    ‘’But the explosion occurred when Ada, who came with her four-month-old baby and her little son to stay with her friend, Jennifer, the owner of the shop, who had gone to Onitsha to purchase goods for her provision shop was cooking on a store”.

    The eyewitness said the fire spread to neighbouring shops causing widespread panic.

    He added that Ada died from burns after she tried to rescue her children, who were sleeping in a corner of the shop.

    “The fire had spread rapidly by the time the mother of two realized that her children were inside. She tried fruitlessly to rescue her children. Two other children who came to the shop to make a purchase were also burnt in the inferno”.

     

  • 45-yr-old allegedly rapes 10-yr-old, pacifies victim with N400

    A 45-year old man has allegedly defiled a 10-year old girl in Achalla Umana village, Mgbakwu, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra state.

    The Nation gathered that the suspect, a father of two, simply identified as Anezeofor, gave the victim a sum of N400 to pacify her from disclosing the incident to anyone, particularly her parents.

    The victim, Makuachukwu, was said to be returning from an errand when she was lured by the suspect to his room where she was raped.

    The primary three pupil confessed that the suspect had carnal knowledge of her, after he had forcibly stripped her of her underwear.

    “He tore my pants and climb on top of me and raped me. He later gave me N400 warning me not to tell my parents or anybody what he did to me,” the girl said.

    The mother of the girl, who gave her name as Onyekachi, said she met her daughter on the way with her blood-stained torn pants.

    ”I sent her on an errand and had been waiting for her to come back. I was surprised when I met her on the road shedding tears with her pants torn and stained with blood.”

    She said she quickly raised alarm which attracted sympathisers who assisted her in rushing the girl to a nearby hospital for medical attention.

    The father, a labourer, described the incident as shocking and devastating, calling on government to intervene in the matter.

     The Nation learnt that the suspect had been arrested.

    Contacted, the police spokesman, Mohammed Haruna, promised to revert to our reporter. He was unable to do so as of press time.

  • Family kicks after police detained man over alleged kidnap of ex-wife’s husband

    The family of a 22-year-old man, Shefiu Idris aka Sango, has faulted his arrest and detention by Osun State Police Command, over an alleged kidnap of his wife’s unnamed former husband.

    Shefiu’s wife, Ayo, was also arrested and detained by the operatives of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) from Iwo.

    It was learnt that the couple was apprehended at their residence in the Agbala Imole Tuntun Street in Ejigbo area of the state on July 23 and detained for three days, before they were released.

    According to sources, Ayo had two children with her first husband, before the marriage crashed a few years ago.

    Shefiu’s family described his arrest as unjust adding that he was being unduly punished for a crime he did not commit.

    Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone, Shefiu’s sister, Semiat Idris said: ‘’I was told that my brother, Shefiu and his wife, Ayo were arrested by SARS operatives around 3am on July 23, 2018. They were later transferred to the state police command in Oshogbo. They were released a few days later.

    ‘’My brother is not a criminal. He is a bricklayer and did not snatch his wife from any man.

    ‘’His wife, Ayo, has two children from her previous marriage, and is currently heavily pregnant for my brother. It was such unfortunate that she was detained alongside her husband over an alleged crime they did not commit.’’

    It was learnt that the missing man had just won a huge sum of money from lottery and had disappeared without a trace shortly after he went out to collect his money on a motorbike.

    The Nation gathered that the commercial motorcycle operator popularly known as okada, who conveyed the man to the office of the lottery company and two others have been arrested by police.

    Efforts to contact the spokesperson of Osun Police Command, Folasade Odoro were futile as her mobile telephone line was switched off. She did not also respond to a text message sent to her phone at press time.

  • Missing six-yr-old found four days after disappearing at children party

    Barely four days after he mysteriously disappeared at a children party in Omotoye Estate in Orile Agege, Lagos State, a six-year-old boy, identified as Habeeb, has been found in the Meiran area of Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State.

    The boy, according to a source, was allegedly taken to the party on Monday July 30, 2018, by his father.

    At the party, Habeeb was asked by the organiser of the event, a woman, to move to a particular spot reserved for children.

    A few hours later, the boy was said to have disappeared, while efforts were being made to get more chairs for guests.

    A search party for the boy’s whereabouts did not yield fruit until Thursday evening.

    The source, who asked for anonymity, said the party was an annual event organised by an unnamed woman.

    ‘’We visited several police stations including Elere, Isokoko, Pen Cinema, Abattoir, Oke Odo Police Divisions and Area ‘G’ Command, yet, Habeeb was not found until Thursday, when we were told that he was at Meiran Police Station.’’

    ‘’After he was released to us by the police, Habeeb explained that a man he could not identify took him away from the party to an unknown destination. He however could explain where he was taken to or how he escaped from his ‘abductor’.’’

    The source added: ‘’ We do not know who kidnapped him at the party because he was playing with other children, when he suddenly went missing. Even the woman who organised the party was confused; she also joined us in searching for the boy.’’

    The Nation learnt that Habeeb’s father has since been arrested for interrogation and is being detained at Meiran Police Station.

    Contacted, the spokesman of Lagos Police Command, Mr. Chike Oti, said the boy was found wandering about when he was accosted  by men of the Meiran Police Division.

    He said: ‘’The boy was found wandering aimlessly by our men at Meiran Division. When he was accosted by our men, he could not explain where he was coming from or where he was going to.

    ‘’Later, his mother came to the station and identified him to be her son. The woman explained that the boy had been living with his grandmother since he was born.

    ‘’A group of people led by one Sarki Hausa    came with the boy’s father to the station during which his father explained that he actually took the boy to a party from where the boy mysteriously disappeared. The child was later released to his grandmother, while his father was arrested and detained for negligence.But he has since been released on bail to the Sarki Hausa.’’