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Tag: arrest

  • Philippines police arrest five Nigerians for kidnapping

    Philippines police arrest five Nigerians for kidnapping

    Five Nigerians have been arrested in the Philippines for allegedly kidnapping their compatriot.

    The suspects were arrested in Angeles City, Pampanga on Thursday.

    The suspects, namely Evans Enwwereaku Chinemerem, David Chidera Ibegbulamo, Nwokeke Christian Ihechukwu, Nwokeke Cajothan Chinemmerem and Okonkwo Emmanuel Kosiso, who are all residents of Angeles City, are facing criminal complaints of kidnapping for ransom and violation of Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

    Central Luzon Police director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan said the suspects were arrested when operatives of the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group, together with Mabalacat City and Angeles City police, raided their hideout in Barangay Malabanias at around 5 a.m.

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    Maranan added that the operation was based on information from the Anti-Kidnapping Group that the suspects kidnapped their fellow Nigerian, Kingsley Chukwuemeka Ikeagwuana, a student residing at Urban Resort Residences in Paranaque City and held the victim for ransom.

    “Hopefully, this will serve as a warning to those who want to commit crimes and to thieves,” he said.

    Three firearms, two .45 caliber pistols and a .38 caliber revolver with ammunition were seized from the suspects.

    The suspects are under police custody.

  • Married woman arrested for faking kidnap, sharing ransom with boyfriend

    Married woman arrested for faking kidnap, sharing ransom with boyfriend

    • Another fakes own kidnap to test lover’s loyalty

    Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command have arrested an expectant mother who faked her own kidnap and demanded for N2 million as ransom from her husband.

    It was gathered that the woman shared the ransom money with the man suspected to be her boyfriend, and whom she connived with to defraud the husband.

    FCT Commissioner of Police Benneth Igweh, who paraded the suspects yesterday, said: “About 19:40hrs on March 11, one Chiedozie Ubah of Saburi II Dei-dei, Abuja, reported at Gwa Gwa Police Division that his pregnant wife, Rosemary Ubah, left for the hospital on same date but did not return home. He later received a call from his wife’s number telling him that she had been kidnapped and demanded for two N2 million ransom before her release.

    “He transferred the money into his wife’s account as instructed and later brought his wife to the station after her release. During interrogation, the wife freely confessed to have conspired with one man named Walter Ezeala living on the same street with them at Saburi to extort money from her husband.

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    “The said Walter was arrested and he confessed that he got N800,000 from the ransom money.

    “N793,500) cash, two ATM cards and two android phones were recovered from them.”

    In a similar development, Igweh narrated how operatives of the command arrested a man who faked also his own kidnap to test the loyalty of his girlfriend.

    He said: “About 5:30pm on March 14, one Akuh Chinemezeh reported at APO Divisional Headquarters that his younger brother, Pascal Akuh (28), called him saying he was arrested and taken to SCID custody. On the strength of this, the police and suspect’s family went to SCID, IRT and FCID detention facilities, only to discover that he was not in any of them.

    “With the help of a tracker, the suspect’s vehicle was traced to an area in Wumba, Apo. Acting on this intelligence, the police operatives from Apo Division mobilised to the scene, searched the entire axis and subsequently traced the suspect to a hotel in Lokogoma later in the night and arrested the suspect.

    “During interrogation, he confessed that he faked his own kidnap to prank the lady he intended to marry to know if she really loves him. He will be arraigned in court soon.”

    The police also paraded one Alex Lorjaa, a dismissed military officer, who uses military uniform to rob and kidnap.

    Lorjaa confessed that a serving military man initiated the plans and he only supports him.

  • Police arrest man for allegedly producing bullets

    Edo State Police Command has arrested a 25-year-old man, John Omosuanfo, for allegedly producing bullets from expended cartridges.

    He was nabbed at Iyoha village in Estako West Local Government after his brother used one of the bullets to shoot a rival cultist.

    John told reporters when he was paraded yesterday that he used the bullets he manufactured to hunt animals and not for robbery or cultism.

    He said attempt by his brother to lure one Lucky into the Jurist Confraternity led to a family fight and both parents were injured.

    John said: “I picked expended cartridge and removed the under. I covered it back with slippers and loaded it with local gunpowder. I used it for hunting animals. I don’t sell the bullets. I was arrested because my brother used one of the cartridges to shoot some boys.

    “My brother was having an issue with a boy at a bar. My brother told the boy to join Jurist Confraternity, but the boy said he would prefer to join Vikings. My brother went to his house to make peace, but fight started. The boys came to our house and used cutlass to attack our father.

    “That was why my brother shot them.”

    John’s brother, Omomoh, who was also paraded, said: “Sunday wanted to initiate Lucky into Jurist, but Lucky refused. He asked them to leave the bar since they did not want to join Jurist.

    “He went to their house to apologise, but fight started. So I destroyed their property because they injured me. They came to our house and didn’t find us. They used machete to attack our father, consequently our younger brother shot them.”

    But Sunday Anthony, Lucky’s brother, who was also paraded, said he returned home from Jattu and saw some boys fighting his brothers and using cutlass to attack their father.

    “The boys destroyed our belongings and used cutlass to attack our father. We went to their house to retaliate, attacking their father with a cutlass. As we were leaving, Sunday brought a gun to shoot us.”

  • Buhari promises to arrest, prosecute corrupt people

    President Muhammadu Buhari has again said corrupt people will be arrested, prosecuted and their illegal wealth confiscated and return to treasury. The president made the promise yesterday in Dutse, the capital city of Jigawa state while addressing a mammoth crowd during his presidential campaign in the state. He said, “if you give me another opportunity, all corrupt people will be arrested prosecuted and we will confiscate all their illegal wealth and return such to treasury.”

    President Buhari said he has delivered on his three major campaign promises of fighting corruption, tackling insecurity and ensuring economic development. Also speaking, the Jigawa state governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar, assured President Buhari of all Jigawa votes in the presidential election. “PDP is dead in Jigawa state and it can no longer make any impact,” he said.

    Governor Abubakar expressed his appreciation to the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari for the construction of Kano-Shuwari-Maiduguri dual road and the long abandoned Shawari-Kwanar-Huguma road which was rewarded when Buhari assumed to office. The national chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, said President Buhari’s integrity will lead the APC to victory in 2019.

    Speaking earlier in his well come address, the Jigawa state chairman of the APC enjoined all the youths to votes for President Muhammadu Buhari because his government established laudable youth empowerment programs which are positively affecting the social and economical lives of the people. He therefore called on Nigerians to reelect Buhari so that he will finally terminate corruption and insecurity in the country while improving the socio-economical lives of people.

  • Police arrest suspected hackers, robbers 

    The Lagos State Police Command said yesterday that it had arrested suspected robbers who dispossessed people of their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and hacked into their accounts.

    Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal, speaking during his weekly briefing on the activities of the command, said the police on October 7, about 12:30am, received information that armed men were making unauthorised withdrawals at a commercial bank ATM stand in Alaba.

    “Based on the information, operatives from Ojo Police Station and Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) Ikeja mobilised to the scene and arrested two of the robbers, Olalekan Ayoola and Sodiq Olalere, while others escaped.

    “They were searched and in the process, banks’ ATM cards and one Nokia phone belonging to a victim were recovered,” Edgal said.

    He said the suspects confessed to belonging to a gang called “Blue Water Boys”, who have been terrorising residents of Ojo, Agric, Okokomaiko, Ajangbadi, Ijanaiji, Iba and environs.

  • Police arrest over 1,000 suspected robbers, kidnappers in one year

    The police have said they arrested over 1,000 robbery, kidnapping and cattle rustling suspects within one year of creating the Operation Absolute Sanity on the Kaduna/Abuja highways.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Force, on July 25, last year, started the operation on the highways.

    The team includes Police Mobile Force, Counter-Terrorism Squad, Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Intelligence Response Team, Special Tactical Squad, Force Intelligence Branch and police helicopters.

    The operation was to complement and augment the current Joint Police/Military operations on the ground before now.

    The Force spokesman Jimoh Moshood, an Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja, the nation’s capital, on the arrest of 32 suspects for alleged robbery, kidnapping and cattle rustling.

    The spokesman said the suspects were apprehended at Tafa in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    He said the police also made arrests in Kogi, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), among others.

    According to him, the force will not relent in its efforts to reduce crimes to the barest minimum across the country.

    Moshood noted that the operation would be sustained and extended to other parts of the country.

    The spokesman said the 32 suspects allegedly specialised in attacking travellers on the Kaduan/Abuja highway.

    He added that items recovered from the suspects included 22 AK-47 rifles, one Toyota Corolla car and 127 AK-47 ammunition.

    Moshood said the suspects, who confessed to the various roles they played in the crimes, would be charged to court on completion of investigation.

    The spokesman noted that contrary to insinuation by the public, the police did not release suspects after presenting them to the media.

    “The police do not release suspects after parading them, as alleged by members of the public,” he said.

    Moshood said the police would always ensure that suspects arrested were prosecuted according to the laws of the land.

    The spokesman, who said several convictions had been secured, added that the police and the judiciary must work together to achieve results.

    He urged appropriate authority to dispense cases to avoid the recycling of suspects by the police.

    Also, the police said they arrested 31 suspects for their alleged kidnapping, killing, armed robbery and other crimes.

    The suspects were said to be responsible for the kidnap, killing and robberies of innocent commuters, travellers and villagers in villages and towns on the Abuja-Kaduna–Birnin Gwari-Funtua–Zamfara State axis.

    The police said the suspects belonged to six gangs who were also said to be responsible for the kidnap of Sheik Mohammed Ahmed Alqarkawi in Kaduna State.

    Some of the gang members allegedly collected N12 million ransom before the Islamic scholar was released.

    The Sheik’s abduction led to the death of four operatives of IGP Intelligence Response Team: Inspectors Benard Odibo, Mamman Abubakar, Haruna Ibrahim and Sergeant Emmanuel Istifanus.

    The operations of some of the suspects, the police said, led to the death of many innocent Nigerians in the FCT, Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara, Kogi, Benue and Plateau states.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja, Moshood said the arrests followed a repositioning of Operation Absolute Sanity with more operatives and investigators of IGP Special Tactical Squad.

    The operatives, led by Kolo Yusuf, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), were deployed to unravel and arrest those behind crimes and bring them to justice.

    Moshood said: “A total number of 31 suspects in six different gangs, including three commanders of bandits killing innocent people in Zamfara State and those responsible for the kidnap of Sheik Mohammed Ahmed Alqarkawi in Kaduna State and collection of N12 million ransom before he was released, were arrested.”

    Items recovered from them include 22 AK-47 rifles, one LAR rifle, two single-barrelled guns, one locally-made pistol and one Dane gun and 247 rounds of ammunition.

    The Police said most of the suspects confessed to the criminal roles they played in the commission of the crimes they were alleged.

    The Police also said most of the victims, some of whom were rescued from their captivities also identified them as those responsible for the kidnaps, armed robberies and car snatching.

  • INEC to arrest, prosecute vote buyers in Osun election

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned that it will arrest and prosecution anyone found inducing voters with money or material things during the September 22 governorship election in Osun State.

    The commission’s Deputy Director, Voter Education and Publicity,  Stephen Ojewande, made this known yesterday in an interview with The Nation.

    Ojewande said the Electoral Act frowns at voters inducement in any way, as Section 12 of the document stipulates a maximum fine of N500,000 or 12-month jail term or both for anyone convicted of inducement.

    He said the popularity which the crime has gained in recent times is a source of worry for the commission.

    The INEC official explained that sensitization against vote buying is already integrated in its voter education programme, as its officers have been explaining to voters that they cannot own a government that emerges through vote buying.

    He added that the electoral umpire is also out to fish out any of its staff that may be involved in such, adding that the law will be applied appropriately. He said the commission will continue to discourage voters not to sell their votes.

    Ojewande said: “Any act of lawlessness is anti-societal development. We will ensure the arrest of anyone caught with voter inducement this time, because it is against the law. They will be prosecuted. In fact, INEC is looking for scape goats in this area.”

    Vote-buying allegedly reigned in the last governorship elections in Ondo and Ekiti states.

    On the level of preparation, particularly with card readers, Ojewande said the machines are being tested from time to time and that there are enough back-ups for them.

    He disclosed that some of the machines were used in the last governorship election Ekiti State and in the House of Assembly by-election held in Oyo State recently.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Police arrest 57 for alleged homosexuality

    The Lagos State Police Command yesterday paraded 57 men for alleged homosexuality.

    The suspects were reportedly arrested in the wee hours of Sunday at Kelly Ann Hotel/Event Centre at 3-7, Adenrele Street, Egbeda, during an alleged initiation into a gay club.

    While one of the suspects admitted to the offence, saying he wanted to secure visa to the United States of America (U.S.A) or Canada through the club, others denied being homosexuals, insisting that they were at the hotel for wedding, trading and leisure, among others.

    Those arrested are: Prince Collins, 23; Emmanuel Odiza, 25; Ola Rotimi; Miracle Onyeka; Wole Ojo, 24; Daniel Sukari; Wealth Olasunkanmi, 25, Madu and James.

    Parading the suspects, Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal said the command got intelligence around 12.30 a.m on Sunday that some men were about to be initiated into a homosexuals’ club between 1 a.m and 2 a.m at the event centre.

    The police chief said the action contravenes Section 1(1) of The Same Sex Marriage Act, 2014.

    He added that it was on the strength of the information the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in charge of Shasha and Idimu stormed the location around 2 a.m.

    “On arrival, about 80 men were met in a hall, taking different types of drinks, including banned substances, like Tramadol, Shisha, laced with substances suspected to be marijuana.

    “As soon as they sighted the police, they ran towards different directions. But the team arrested 57 of them. Investigation into the case is ongoing.

    “The youths have graduated from cultism to homosexuality. This is a dangerous dimension. We must stop them before they infiltrate our streets and schools. This war against gay should not be left for security agencies alone.

    “We are fighting cultism, drugs and, at the same time, homosexuality. I think all hands must be on deck to stop this act. Information was received from a sister agency. It is commendable.

    “I appeal to the public to emulate the informant and give us reasonable information that will lead to the arrest of suspected gay. We are on the trail of others now on the run.

    “I want to advise parents to be weary of the people their children move with and where they go to at a particular time.”

  • Police arrest most wanted ‘criminal’

    An alleged most wanted criminal, Usman Fashola, 31, alias Awolowo, has been arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police’ (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

    Fashola, said to have formed a gang while in prison custody, was said to have been responsible for robberies in Lagos and neighbouring states.

    He was paraded yesterday alongside two others, Opeyemi Oni, 28 and Oyeniyi Olaotan 26, by Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal.

    Edgal said the gang specialised in robbing motorists and passengers of their belongings, adding that they also engaged in house-to-house robbery.

    He said the suspects confessed that they were ex-convicts, adding that a search was conducted at their Sango, Ogun State, hideout, where two guns were found.

    Fashola, who admitted he was a vicious robber, told reporters that he had repented and was about disposing his weapons before he was arrested.

    He said: “I was a notorious criminal. I will not deny it, but I have repented. I have even robbed in front of Alakara Police Station where my boy shot someone.

    “I am a strong man. I have been to prison three times. I was released from prison through the help of my aunty. After my last release, my wife reported me to my mother. My mother, who was furious, removed her clothes and placed a curse on me.

    “She said if I went to rob again, I would be arrested and I said Amen. So, I contacted a friend to buy my gun because I was done with crime. It was while I was taking the gun to him that the police arrested me.”

    IRT operatives arrested four suspected robbers at Ayodogo Street, Ijoko Road, Sango.

    The suspects, it was gathered, burgled Anthony Onyawune’s residence while he was away in the East and carted away his valuables.

    Edgal said a Toyota Avalon car, 2016 model, unregistered Subaru SUV and 10  ATM credit cards were recovered, adding that the suspects would be arraigned.

  • Police arrest five for alleged abatement, forgery

    Sokoto State Police Command has arrested five suspects for alleged abatement and forgery of the National Identity Card.

    Spokesperson Cordelia Nwewe, who presented the suspects to reporters in Sokoto at the weekend, said two of the suspects were workers of a commercial bank, adding that the other three were business centre operators.

    She said based on information and intelligence report, operatives of the State Investigative Bureau (SIB) arrested five suspects in connection with the crime.

    “One Nasir Sifawa went to open an account with a commercial bank in Sokoto, where he met the accounting officer, Mudassiru Taofeeq, who enquired from him about the National Identity Card.

    “In the process, the officer informed his colleague, Perez Percy, who in turn demanded N4,000 and Sifawa’s details together with his passport photograph.

    “Eventually, a temporary slip of the National Identity Card was produced for Sifawa by the bank officer and was used to open the account,” Nwewe said.

    She added that Sifawa innocently and ignorantly took the forged slip to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) office in Bodinga Local Government.

    “This was with the aim of collecting the original National Identity Card, but when an NIMC official collected the slip, he discovered that it was a forged document.

    “As such, he alerted the NIMC head office in Sokoto, who in turn informed the command about the incident.

    “The suspects are cooperating with the police in their investigation,” the spokesperson said.

    The command has also arrested five robbery suspects.

    Nwewe said information about the suspects was reported at Gudu Police Division in Gudu Local Government.

    “The suspects blocked travellers from Niger Republic coming to Sokoto on the road near Boto village in Gudu Local Government.