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Tag: arrest

  • Two drown fleeing from arrest

    Two youths from Obunagha community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State drowned yesterday when they attempted to evade arrest, after they were caught smoking cannabis sativa (Indian hemp).

    One of the deceased, whose body was recovered by divers, was identified as 32-year-old Meipor Ebinimias, an indigene of Obunagha and father of three kids.

    His body was discovered on Saturday evening by a search party from the community.

    But it was learnt that the remains of the other victim, who was referred to as a visitor to the community and an Igbo man, had not been found.

    An indigene of the community, who simply identified himself as Preye, said the drowned youths were found smoking the prohibited substance in one of the classrooms of the community’s primary school.

    He said: “Youths usually gather at the community’s primary school to smoke hard drugs. Sometimes, the chiefs of the community alert the police on the activities of those youths and accuse them of using the community for violent crimes in the state capital.

    “On Friday evening, some youths gathered, as usual. On sighting the patrol vehicle of the State Special Security outfit, Operation Door Akpoor, they panicked and jumped into the river behind the school. Unknown to them, that part of the river was shallow and filled with dangerous woods.”

  • Controversy over arrest of Ibeju-Lekki youths

    Who ordered the arrest of six persons from the Oko-Olomi and Otunla villages in Ibeju-Lekki,  Lagos? Does their arrest have  to do with land disputes; robbery charges or an attempt on the life of a monarch, Oba Tajudeen Elomoro.

    These are the knotty issues the police must resolve for peace to reign in the area.

    The communities, Oko-Olomi and Otunla villages, are alleging that the traditional ruler of Iwerekun Elemoro land, Oba Tajudeen Elemoro instigated the arrest and detention of six indigenes of both villages for alleged robbery.

    But Oba Elemoro has debunked the  communities’ claims that he has been using policemen and thugs to harass their indigenes.

    Those arrested and charged to court by the police include Kufuli Batunde, Segun Eleku, Akorede Eleku, Lawal Dada, Luqman Adeniyi and Tajudeen Eleku. Speaking through their lawyers, Messrs Bamidele Ogundele and Michael Bayowa at a press conference in Lagos last week, the Oko-Olomi and Otunla villages claimed that the youths were arrested on December 23, 2014 within the premises of the Ikeja High Court.

    The lawyers claimed that the arrest was to frustrate the communities’ pending cases against the monarch before Justices Kazeem  Alogba and Oluwatoyin Ipaye, both of the Ikeja High Court.  The lawyers said those arrested  were arraigned last December 24,before Magistrate Abimbola Komolafe of an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court and were granted bail. But  in a statement by his lawyer, Mr Taofik Elias, Oba Elemoro said the allegation against his client was baseless because the persons arrested were involved in the November 24,2014 attack on the Elemoro Palace.

    According to Elias, the suspects were allegedly attempting to gain entrance into the monarch’s house but were thwarted by arrival of policemen from the nearby Elemoro Police Station.

    He claimed that after the incident, the monarch was taken to the General Hospital, Epe for treatment for shock and insomnia.

    “The police were invited and the Oba told them that he can identify the attackers and that they were from Oko-Olomi and Otunla villages.

    “Furthermore the suspects were arrested outside the gate of the Ikeja High Court. There was no arrest made within the premises of the court,” Elias said.

    According to him, after their arraignment on December 24, 2014, they were unable to perfect their bail conditions and were taken to prison.

    The lawyer said he was reliably informed that the police were planning to withdraw the charge against the suspects.

    Elias said he had therefore petitioned the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, M.  Ade Ipaye, to take over their prosecution.

    “This case is not about the civil suits because the judges have already asked parties to maintain the status quo with regards to the issues before the court. This case is about an attempt on the life of the monarch and we want to pursue it to ensure that justice is done.”

     

  • APC lawmakers to Fayose: you can’t arrest us

    APC lawmakers to Fayose: you can’t arrest us

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) members in the Ekiti State House of Assembly have faulted an alleged directive from Governor Ayo Fayose calling for their arrest for holding a plenary in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, last Thursday.

    They claimed that the governor has directed the Ministry of Justice to write a memo authorising the commissioner of police to arrest them for conducting a sitting in which some resolutions were made.

    The APC lawmakers maintained that they cannot be arrested for performing their constitutional duties, adding that they acted in line with Section 101, which allows them to sit in another location in the state capital, if their security cannot be guaranteed in the House of Assembly complex.

    In a statement yesterday by the Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin, the lawmakers said political thugs have continued to lay siege to the Assembly complex and the situation has endangered their lives.

    “The governor or the police cannot arrest us for performing our constitutional duty. Section 101 of the constitution  makes it explicit that the House can regulate its activities, including conducting its sittings in public buildings in the state capital.

    “The Supreme Court had also ruled that the House can conduct its sittings in public places in the state capital if conditions exist that endanger members in the conduct of their sittings.

    “Governor Fayose has kept armed thugs permanently in the House of Assembly to attack us. We can’t put ourselves in harm’s way, yet we have a responsibility to our constituents to make laws for good governance.

    “This is why we followed the law to sit to consider issues on the ongoing constitutional amendment.

    “Ekiti State has just one House of Assembly. That is why the National Assembly acknowledged the receipt of our resolutions on the constitutional amendment.

    “If they are sure of their status, let them approach the National Assembly or the Judiciary for recognition.”

  • MASSOB to resist arrest of leader

    Members of Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) have warned that the group will resist any move by the police to arrest its leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.

    They noted that arresting Uwazuruike would amount to flouting a court order to that effect, adding that such action would force the group into discarding its non-violence approach to the struggle.

    Addressing reporters in Aba, Abia State capital, the Acting Director of Information of the group, Mr. Sunny Okereafor, said the warning became necessary following intelligence report the group received hinting that the police were planning to arrest their leader against a court injunction restraining police from arresting him.

    Okereafor condemned Uwazuruike’s invitation by Imo State Police Command over the Okwe incident which he said their leader knew nothing about.

    He said: “The Okwe incident is a family matter that does not require the involvement of police for settlement.

    “The unfortunate incident at our headquarters in Okwe was a family matter, we are going to handle it the way the Igbo communally resolve their problems which do not require the involvement of police.

    “Before inviting our leader, they should first account for the thousands of MASSOB members they massacred and have not told the public their whereabouts.”

    He said that there was no crack in the group, adding that what happened was an infiltration of the group’s hierarchy by a politician with the intent of causing discontent among its ranks.

    He called on Ndigbo to rally round the movement which, he said, was determined to liberate them from bondage through its non-violence struggle.

    It was alleged that serious hostility had broken out at the headquarters of MASSOB at Okwe in Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo State between some members of the movement and loyalists of Uwazuruike which allegedly led to the death of four people.

    As a result of this development, Imo State Police Command invited Uwazuruike for questioning and threatened to declare him wanted if he declined to report to the command’s headquarters in Owerri.

    Uwazuruike later headed for an Owerri High Court where he obtained an order restraining the police from arresting or declaring him wanted if he fails to honour their invitation.

  • How I evaded arrest for years -Nigeria’s ‘most wanted’ alleged robbery gang sponsor

    How I evaded arrest for years -Nigeria’s ‘most wanted’ alleged robbery gang sponsor

    His arrest came after years of manhunt by the police. It also constituted a piece of surprise for many because of the myth that surrounded his name. Obinna Okorie Emeka, an alleged sponsor of robbery gangs declared by the police as most wanted, was said to have the mastermind of numerous trucks and containers hijacked by dare devil bandits in different parts of the country.

    Many members of the gangs he allegedly sponsored were said to have been killed or arrested by law enforcement agents while others had been tried and jailed, but Obinna remained elusive until he was recently arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command.

    Even the men that worked for him were said to have believed that he was too smart to be arrested by the police, particularly because he had the power to appear and disappear at will. Many police stations and commands, especially Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FedSARS) who had some years back arrested container and truck hijackers who claimed that Obinna was their chairman, were said to have tried in vain to track him down. Hence his designation as the most wanted sponsor of armed robberies. He was also regarded by the police as the biggest receiver of stolen goods in Nigeria.

    Asked how Obinna appeared on the wanted list of SARS, a police source said that SARS operatives had arrested and investigated more than eight armed robbery cases in which the suspects confessed that Obinna was their chairman and sponsors, and that he was the receiver of all the containers and trucks they had hijacked or diverted.

    The matter got to the knowledge of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, who immediately directed the officer in charge of SARS, Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police, to launch a manhunt for Obinna. Kyari swooped into action with his men and got Obinna arrested after he had given them some tough time.

    Upon Obinna’s arrest, it was discovered that his full name is Obinna Okorie Emeka, a 33-year-old indigene of Omo village in Olumba Local Government Area, Anambra State. But he was said to be resident at Ngozika Estate in Awka, Anambra State capital, where he was dealing in fairly used clothes. He was said to have been travelling to Cameroon to import the clothes before he ventured into crime.

    During his days as a pupil, he was said to have been very brilliant as he always came second or third in a class of 60 pupils. He, however, could not proceed to secondary because of his father’s early death and the poverty that ravaged his family. He was said to have avoided marriage for fear that policemen might storm the wedding venue to arrest him or use his wife to track him down. He did not have a girlfriend either for the same reasons.

  • Police arrest suspect

    Police arrest suspect

    The police in Delta State have smashed a car robbery syndicate, which specialises in refurbishing stolen cars. They also arrested a suspect.

    Spokesperson DSP Tina Kalu, who confirmed the incident, said the police acting, on a tip-off, stormed a painter’s workshop belonging to Akposere Philip at Abraka in Ethiope East Local Government and recovered a Honda Accord Wagon with number plate BEN 994 RF.

    She said preliminary investigations showed that the vehicle was snatched at gunpoint from its owner at Ikpoba Hill in Edo State.

    Kalu said two other vehicles being refurbished were recovered from the workshop.

    Also, the police arrested a notorious armed robber on the wanted list.

    The suspect was identified as Tochukwu Bright.

    According to her, the suspect two months ago shot a female victim, Chinelo Okonkwo and robbed her of her Honda saloon car with registration number NSR 273AG.

    Items recovered from him included one bag and a German made revolver pistol with nine rounds of 9mm live ammunition.

    Operatives of the Delta Police Command have arrested three suspects allegedly involved in the sale of stolen vehicles.

    Kalu said the suspects, Ikechukwu Okafor and John Okibe were arrested at the River Niger Bridge Head while attempting to drive a Toyota Camry into Onitsha.

    She said upon interrogation, the duo confessed that they snatched the vehicle from its owner in Abuja and were on their way to Ihiala in Anambra State to deliver the car to a receiver.

    Kalu said the third suspect, Christopher Okolie, was arrested after detectives moved with the suspects to Ihiala and arrested the alleged receiver.

  • APC cries out over arrest of its leaders

    •’AIG’s advert unacceptable’

    •Party queries suspects’ release

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has alerted the public to alleged plans by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government to arrest its leaders in Osun State.

    It said the ploy was to destabilise the APC and intimidate its members and supporters ahead of Saturday’s governorship poll.

    In a statement yesterday, APC National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the arrests were earlier scheduled to start tomorrow, but began yesterday following the success of the party’s rally in Osogbo.

    The APC said: “The mammoth crowd that turned out for the rally today (yesterday) destabilised the PDP and the Federal Government and they fast tracked the arrest of our leaders in all local government areas.

    “Already, a special team from Abuja has arrived in Osogbo solely for this purpose and, at least, one of our leaders, Hon. Oke, has been arrested. The arrest and intimidation of opposition members put a question mark on President Goodluck Jonathan’s assurance to the international community that the Osun election will be free and fair.

    “As we have always said, election is a process. Rigging is not restricted to the voting day alone. Arrest and intimidation of the opposition ahead of voting constitute rigging. Therefore, by engaging in the mass arrest of our leaders in Osun and deploying highly-partisan security agencies in the state, the Federal Government has kick-started the process of rigging Saturday’s election.

    “We are alerting election observers, the international community and all Nigerians to the evil machinations of the PDP and the Federal Government for the Osun election. We urge all men and women of conscience to prevail on those who are bent on fomenting anarchy in Osun State to give peace a chance. We ask for nothing more than a level playing field for all candidates in the election. We want the election to be a celebration of democracy rather than a trigger for chaos.”

    The APC, in a statement by its Osun State Publicity Director, Kunle Oyatomi, has demanded the withdrawal of an advert running on the National Television Authority (NTA), Osogbo, placed by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 11, David Omojola, saying it amounted to “an official threat of assassination from the AIG’s office”.

    NTA-Osogbo has been running an advert in Ijesha dialect, warning one SOJI not to put his life on the line in the process of fighting against electoral fraud.

    According to the APC, the “obvious reference” in that advert was Governor Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, whose middle name is ADESOJI.

    In a letter dated August 4 to the AIG, the APC demanded that in the alternative to withdrawing the advert, the AIG should publicly clarify that the governor was not the object of the advert.

    It said Aregbesola would never surrender to intimidation, fraud or threat of assassination in his fight against evil and injustice.

    The APC alleged that four suspects, who were caught thumbprinting ballot papers in Akoda, Ede, had been released by the military.

    The suspects were apprehended by members of a vigilance group and handed over to the military.

    According to the APC, it was discovered yesterday that the suspects had been released.

    The party said some suspected PDP thugs, who were arrested last Saturday in possession of guns, had been released by the police.

    It said: “During the PDP’s rally in Osogbo last Saturday, the police were reported to have arrested some PDP thugs caught with guns and other ammunition in their possession. But as you read this, the thugs have also been released.

    “The big question is why should the military and the police release suspects caught in illegal acts, who are supposed to be in custody, preparatory for court charges.

    “Secondly, in the case of Akoda, the question is who gave the suspects ballot papers, if not the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that is supposed to be in exclusive possession of ballot papers?

    “There appears to be a synergy among the military, police, PDP and INEC to rig Saturday’s election. The APC, therefore, demands explanations on why the suspects arrested in Akoda and Osogbo were released by security agencies to continue their criminality.

    “INEC must provide Nigerians with an answer on how the criminals broke into its storehouse and stole the ballot papers they were thumb printing?

    Nigerians and the world should not be deceived. There is a criminal conspiracy of the highest pedestal of the security agencies, the PDP, INEC and the government in Abuja to criminally bastardise democracy and destroy the electoral process through coordinated fraud.

    “No matter what the combination of these forces do, APC will prevail and win the election on Saturday with the people’s mandate.”

  • Police arrest robbery suspects

    Police operatives have arrested four suspected armed robbers in separate locations in the Lagos metropolis. They were arrested by policemen attached to Aguda and Surulere Police stations.

    Confirming it yesterday, police command spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said: “On Tuesday at about 1am, policemen attached to Aguda Division were assisted by a security guard at Kilo Bus Stop Surulere to arrest three armed robbers.”

    She gave the names of the suspects as: Opeyemi Awelewa of 3A, Karomi Street, off Adedeji Street, Itire; Ogunsani Abeeb of 31, Owoseni Street, off Kilo Aguda and Gbenga Ikujorimi of 1, Odunsi Street, Lawanson in Surulere.

    They were arrested for allegedly robbing Jude Adewo, who resides at 49, Adetola Street, Aguda, Surulere of N6,000, one dollar and two handsets at Kilo Bus Stop, Surulere.

    Braide said efforts were being intensified to arrest other fleeing members of the gang, adding that the case was under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.

    She akso said that “a robbery suspect, Rasheed Adeshina of 13, Taiwo Street Idi-Araba, was arrested on Itire Road, Surulere, with a knife by neighbours and handed over to the police.

    “The suspect with three others at large, armed themselves with guns and knives allegedly robbed residents of 21, Itire Road in Surulere of their money and phones. The case is under investigation at the Surulere Division”.

  • Jonathan orders arrest of perpetrators

    Jonathan orders arrest of perpetrators

    President Goodluck Jonathan directed yesterday the police and security agencies to apprehend the perpetrator of yesterday’s attack on Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in Kaduna.

    The President’s directive was announced in a statement by his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati.

    The statement said: “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan condemns the bombings in Kaduna today which appeared to have targeted former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari and prominent Islamic cleric Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi.

    “President Jonathan denounces the dastardly targeting of the prominent political and religious leaders by terrorists and enemies of the nation in an odious attempt to inflame passions and exacerbate disquiet, fear, insecurity and sectional divisions in the country.

    “While thanking God Almighty for sparing the lives of General Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, the President extends sincere condolences to the families of those who were sadly killed by the bomb blasts.

    “President Jonathan also commiserates with all those who were injured in the twin bombings in this Holy Month of Ramadan which defy the tenets of Islam, and provide further proof that the terrorists are nothing but blood-thirsty extremists bent on undermining the unity and progress of the nation.

    “The President assures residents of Kaduna and all other Nigerians that the Federal Government will continue and further intensify its ongoing efforts to effectively curb the menace of terrorism in the country.

    “He has specifically directed the Police and other national security agencies to take all necessary actions to apprehend the perpetrators of today’s attacks on Kaduna and urges all residents of the city to give them the fullest possible cooperation and support as they work to bring the terrorists to justice.”

  • Police confirm arrest of 26 MASSOB members

    The Imo State Police Command confirmed  yesterday that the 26 members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), arrested last weekend by soldiers in Owerri for wearing the Biafran uniform, have been charged to court and  remanded at the Okigwe Prison.

    Police spokesman Andrew Enwerem had denied knowledge of the whereabouts of the men.

    But Police Commissioner Abdulmajid Ali, who spoke to reporters at the command’s headquarters, said the Army handed over the MASSOB members to the Police on Monday night and they had been charged to the Okigwe Customary Court.

    He said: “The MASSOB members were handed over to the Police by the Army on Monday night and we took them to court on Tuesday after preparing their charges. So the information that they are missing or that their whereabouts is unknown is untrue.”