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Tag: arrest

  • Zamfara House cries out over arrest of Speaker, deputy

    The Zamfara State House of Assembly has sent a save our souls message to President Muhammadu Buhari “to save our democracy” following the arrest of Speaker Sanusi Garba Rikiji and Deputy Speaker Muhammed Abubakar Gumi.

     Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mannir Gidan-Jaja, alleged in Gusau, the state capital yesterday that Tuesday’s arrest of the principal officers by security agents is a result of the impeachment process against Governor Abdul Aziz Yari.

    He said: “We all know there is separation of powers. Nobody said the speaker and other officers stole anything, so, why were they arrested by security agents? The executive should not do anything that will lead to serious crisis in this state”.

    Gidan-Jaja said the House had listed six impeachable offences against Yari including alleged misappropriation of billions of naira.

    Gidan-Jaja alleged that the  money misappropriated by Yari included N11 billion bailout fund, N1 billion agricultural loan released to the state by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and “corrupt abuse of local government funds”.

    He also accused the governor of failing to remit funds deducted for pensions and gratuities to pension fund administrators as provided by law.

    The governor, he added, had also ignored a resolution of the Assembly not to appoint Murtala Jangebe as Chairman of the state’s Universal Basic Education Board.

    He said that the Assembly had passed a vote of no confidence on Jangebe since 2014.

    The House, he added, accused the governor of frequently travelling, thereby negatively impacting on the day-to-day running of government, besides imposing financial burden on the state.

    While condemning the arrest of the Speaker, his Deputy, Majority Whip and supporting staff of the Assembly by security men, he described the action as a clear interference in the functions of the legislature as enshrined in the Constitution.

    He said: “We are also demanding the unconditional release of our principal officers who are currently in detention in Abuja”.

    Part of the allegations levelled against the governor by the 24 lawmakers include: ”Since his(Yari’s) inception in  office in June, 2011, the Governor had five (5) annual  appropriation laws passed by the State Assembly to provide for good governance, wellbeing of the state, social welfare and protection of lives and property of the good people of Zamfara State on the principle of equity and fairness, but over the past five (5) years the issues of low budgetary release (almost as low as 40%) has made virtually all MDA’s in the State which has consequently deprived people of Zamfara state the chance of enjoying dividend of democracy.

    They also questioned the usage of funds meant for Local Governments for state purposes.

     But Governor Yari’s Special Adviser, Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara said the claims in the legislators grievances are “baseless, unfounded, self-seeking with the aim of inciting the general public against the governor for reasons best known to them.”

    The statement said “the allegations like all the others, are as spurious as those on the non-payment of salary with the bailout funds, against which, based on the discrepancy in the recruitment exercise that His Excellency ordered had been abused and used to divert state funds by none other than the same legislators that are now turning around to use it to blackmail the governor.

     “At the moment, an administrative panel is working to ascertain the number of persons known to be genuinely unemployed in the process and not the many names of ghost workers that populate the unpaid people. So far records have shown that the state does not owe any regular worker in its employment.

     “Ordinarily,one would have had no business responding to the wild allegations levelled against Governor  Yari by the state Assembly, it is impossible to ignore such an integral arm of government in the current scheme of things.

     “The said SUBEB chairman was yet to be found guilty by any court of law of competent jurisdiction. adding that the governor has the constitutional right to choose who to work with.

     On governor’s alleged frequent foreign trips:” This position is not in tandem with the realities of today. A checklist of all the states in the federation shows that there is virtually a blanket paucity of funds nationwide and Zamfara State cannot be an exception from this national setback”, the release pointed out.

  • EFCC’s arrest: An act of God to test my faith, says Shekarau

    EFCC’s arrest: An act of God to test my faith, says Shekarau

    The former Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, has said that his arrest and detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has no political undertone.

    Shekarau, who was also a former Governor of Kano State, made the remark while addressing a news conference in Kano on Sunday.

    He said “what happened to me could happen to anybody and it was only Godly for me to accept my fate, good or bad.”

    He, however, insisted that he was ready to spend the next 10 years in the Commission’s custody to prove his innocence.

    “I am not suspecting any political undertone in my arrest but rather regard it as an act of God to test my faith.

    “I was told that one of the beneficiaries of the N950 million in question implicated me; that I was given N25 million as my share of the money but could not state where, how and when.”

    Shekarau, who thanked Kano people and other Nigerians for standing by him, said he was not suspecting anybody behind his ordeal.

    It would be recalled that the former minister was arrested by EFCC on Thursday over alleged sharing of N950 million campaign funds in his house at Mundubawa in Kano metropolis.

    He was alleged to have collected N25 million as his own share of the money and consequently quizzed by the Commission for interrogation.

  • Committee threatens arrest warrant on Sports Minister

    Committee threatens arrest warrant on Sports Minister

    the Senate Committee on Sports, on Thursday threatened to issue warrant of arrest on Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr Solomon Dalong for failing to appear before it for a second time.

    The Chairman of the committee, Sen. Obinna Ogba, who issued the threat in Abuja on Thursday, however, gave the Minister Thursday May 19, 2016 to appear before it.

    He said the minister had failed twice to appear before the committee without any reason, adding that it was an affront and disrespect to the Senate.

    “The sports minister has not been respecting the Senate, we cannot continue this way. We are giving the minister a new date of Thursday next week to brief the Senate on the level of preparation for the Olympics. The Clerk of this committee is hereby directed to write a strongly worded letter to the minister inviting him to come here on Thursday”, he said.

    He added that the committee would not entertain any excuses. He said that the minister had to brief the committee on the level of preparation for the Olympics, World Cup qualifiers, delay in appointing a new Super Eagles’ Coach and the crisis rocking the Nigeria Football Federation.

    He decried the situation where the President of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) would say something and the minister would counter it like they were operating in disunity. He said it appeared the minister lacked the political will to get rid of that crisis.

    “Dalong is a minister and he is not to run the affairs of football federation. As a minister, his function is to supervise and not to run the day to day affairs of the federation.

    “The NFF President would say he wants to employ a foreign coach and the minister would say he has not been given approval. It is not the duty of the minister to give approval or not to give approval.

    “I was the first Vice President of NFA and I want to use this medium to tell the Hon. Minister of Sports what we want to do and not to get approval from him. Whoever runs the Nigeria Football Federation is elected and the person has the mandate of the people”, he said.

    A member of the committee, Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa (PDP – Abia North), condemned the non-appearance of the minister, describing it as an insult.

    “The absence of the sports minister at the Senate committee on sports invitation is an affront on the committee.

    The minister must be cautioned that he should not take the invitation of a Senate Committee for granted next time because the Nigerian people are represented by the lawmakers”, he said.

  • Navy arrests 40 suspected smugglers, oil thieves

    Navy arrests 40 suspected smugglers, oil thieves

    The Nigerian Navy (NN) Tuesday said 28 rice smugglers and 12 suspected oil thieves have been arrested by its personnel in the last seven days.

    This is just as it disclosed that scores of tanks and kegs as well as illegal refineries and boats have been destroyed by naval personnel in the period under review.

    Director Naval Information, Commodore Chris Ezekobe disclosed this in a statement made available to The Nation.

    He said that the arrest were as a result of the Force’ sustained clampdown on crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, smuggling and other illegal activities within the maritime domain.

    While 22 suspected smugglers were arrested by personnel attached to Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) Makurdi; six of them were nabbed by operatives of the Western Naval Command (WNC) attached to the Forward Operations Base (FOB) Badagry.

    According to Ezekobe, the six suspects were intercepted around Askere waterways in a boat enroute Lagos from Cotonou.

    “The suspects were conveying about 200 bags of smuggled rice as at the time of arrest. The clampdown on smuggling has been sustained as NNS MAKURDI; a Nigerian Navy patrol ship intercepted and arrested 22 suspects in two boats.

    “The suspects were conveying about 600 bags of rice. 14 of them are Nigerians, while 8 are Cameroonian citizens. The suspects and exhibits have been handed over to the Nigerian Customs for further investigation and prosecution,” he said.

    On the fight against crude oil theft, Ezekobe said the arrests and recoveries were made in Delta State.

    He said: “The Nigerian Navy patrol team deployed from NNS DELTA discovered and destroyed illegal crude oil refineries set up in Lolomu creek in Gbaramatu Kingdom and Tagola creek all in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.

    “In one of the discovered sites, the patrol team destroyed 11 storage tanks, three Cotonou boats loaded with product suspected to be stolen crude oil, two pumping machines and 40 horse power (HP) fibre boat.”Some of the items destroyed at Tagola creek  are 30 drums of 200 litres each, six GP tanks of 15,000 litres each, six tanks of 10,000 litres each and a locally made gun with one live cartridge. The operators of the illegal refinery fled before the arrival of the naval patrol team.

    “The NNS DELTA patrol team also arrested 10 persons suspected to be engaged in crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism. The suspects were arrested in a speed boat and two large Cotonou boats around the SPDC Forcados area.

    The Cotonou boats were laden with unquantified product suspected to be illegally refined AGO in GP tanks. The team also recovered seven outboard engines and 13 pumping machines.

    “Additionally, two suspected crude oil thieves were arrested around Ugwangue Warri South West LGA of Delta State. Some items recovered from them are a Cotonou boat conveying 40 drums of substance suspected to be illegally refined AGO.

    “The Nigerian Navy is sending a clear message to the criminals to desist from their acts of economic sabotage or face the full wrath of the law. This is because there will be no hiding place for them in our maritime environment.”

  • NDLEA arrests 24 drug traffickers in Bayelsa

    NDLEA arrests 24 drug traffickers in Bayelsa

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Bayelsa State Command, Friday said it arrested 24 suspected drug traffickers in the state.

    The agency said out of the number, 20 suspects were males while four were females.

    The NDLEA spokesman, Mr. Ikenna Osakwe, in a statement on Friday said that the suspects were arrested in March, within the Yenagoa metropolis and on the East-West Road area of Bayelsa.

    Osakwe, a Superintendent of Narcotics and Principal Staff Officer, Public Affairs, said during the period, 8.706kg of illicit drugs were seized.

    He said: “It is worthy of note that of the above quantities, Cannabis Sativa and psychotropic substances accounted for a substantial part of the recovered illicit drugs.

    “It is becoming worrisome that adolescents and youths are adopting novel means of substance abuse in our communities which has led to the rise in illegal sale and consumption of psychotropic substances in the state.”

    He called on parents and guardians to increase their vigilance and monitor their children and wards closely at home and in the school.

    He said: “This is to ensure timely intervention where substance abuse is noticed. They are also encouraged to avail themselves of information on latest trends in substance abuse to ensure possible identification where and when it occurs.

    “Irrespective of the fact that criminality is not the exclusive reserve of any sex, it is becoming increasingly regrettable that women who should be home and by extension, nation builders, are becoming more involved in illicit drug dealing. This raises even more concern when the women in question are mothers or expectant mothers.”

    He further called on the State Ministry of Women Affairs and other female rights advocacy groups and organisations to partner with the command to enlighten and sensitize female folks on the dangers of illicit drugs.

    He appealed to the general public to desist from accepting parcels, consignments or luggage from friends and relatives for onward conveyance without consciously and painstakingly evaluating their contents.

    He said investigation revealed that individuals unknowingly become drug couriers for friends and relatives.

    But he said that ignorance of the law was not an excuse and such actions could not only be perceived as carelessness, but even criminal negligence.

    “All well-meaning residents of Bayelsa State are also encouraged to maintain vigilance in their communities and report illegal drug activities to the Command for prompt action,” he said.

  • Police arrest eight persons over Abuja clash

    Police arrest eight persons over Abuja clash

    The Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Wilson Inalegwu, said eight suspects had been arrested in connection with the clash in Gwagwalada on Saturday.

    Inalegwu told newsmen in Abuja on Thursday that investigation on the incident in which houses, shops and vehicles were destroyed, had reached advanced stage to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the fracas.

    “All those found wanting will soon be taken to court for prompt prosecution,’’ he said.

    He said that no stone would be left unturned in applying the law fully in order to serve as deterrent to anyone who may want to follow the same barbaric path.

    He disclosed that normalcy had returned to the area and assured residents of the FCT that security agencies are on top of the situation.

    NAN recalls that the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, had while reacting to the incident, directed the security agencies in the territory to arrest those involved in the clash.

    The minister also directed the agencies to ensure that all those involved in the fracas faced the full wrath of the law, saying that nobody was above the law.

     

  • Navy arrests man with explosives in Warri creeks

    Navy arrests man with explosives in Warri creeks

    What could have turned out to be another disastrous event in the creeks of Delta state was over the weekend salvaged as men of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta arrested a suspect with huge sausages of explosives and connecting devices.

    Parading the suspect and seven others, who were arrested at different times for various offences, at the jetty of the Warri Naval Base, the Base Operations Officer of the NNS Delta, Commander Shehu Tasiu, said the suspect with the explosive materials, who gave his name as Sabbath Enaizigha, was arrested somewhere in Warri South-West council area of the state.

    Tasiu, who later handed the suspects over to the representatives of the Warri Area Command of the Delta state police command, said other persons arrested were caught in activities ranging from oil theft to illegal crude oil refining and impersonating.

    Beside Enaizigha, who was arrested with explosives last Friday, other persons paraded were Uwatse Samson and Sunny Saidu, who were arrested together on a boat loaded with illegally refined diesel fuel oil.

    Favour, Godpassdem, Doughe and Adeoye were arrested in another operation, caught with a Cotonou boat, which was loaded with 100 metric tons of illegally refined diesel.

    “Mr Sabbath was arrested on Friday by our patrol team at an undisclosed location in Warri South-West council area. Our patrol team sighted them at a beach and their behaviour was suspect. Consequently, our men moved towards them and on sighting our men, they took off, unfortunately Mr Sabbath was caught. We saw him with cutlass and there was a boat. On searching the boat, we found detonating cuts, explosive powder, cutlasses, batteries, a telephone and one bale each of red and white materials (cloths).

    “Mr Sabbath was also seen tying this red material on his legs and the white material round his neck. Although he claims not to know anything about the boat, when you go to check the boat you will see that the boat too has these red and white materials tied on it. We have done our preliminary investigation and he will be handed over to the police for further investigation and possible prosecution,” he said.

    He had earlier said “we have made several arrests between 23 and 25 of March; eight persons in four different operations. We arrested two persons; Mr Uwatse Samson and Mr Sunny Saidu, on March 23, for suspected illegal oil bunkering activities at a camp jointly operated by Mr Cheke, Mr Gamu and Mr Benson Uwatse in Ugbodede. That camp is known for cooking of stolen crude oil.

    “When our patrol team got there, they were cited with a boat, loaded with illegally refined product, suspected to be A.G.O. They were arrested by our men and the boats were burnt insitu.

    “Another arrest was made on the same day; 23rd of March, 2016. This time around four suspects were arrested along Escravos Channel. They are Mr Favour, Mr. Godpassdem, Mr Doughe and Mr Adeoye. They were also arrested for carrying illegally refined product for which they did not have legal papers and they could not explain the circumstances under which they got the product. They were carrying about 100 metric tons of illegally refined A.G.O in a Cotonou boat,” Tasiu said

     

  • Lawmaker calls for arrest of ‘political killers’

    A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Oluyinka Ogundimu, has reiterated the need for political killers to be arrested and prosecuted.

    Ogundimu, who is the Chairman Committee on Finance, gave this advice at a programme organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly Correspondents Association (LAHACA).

    Ogundimu, reacting to incessant political carnage, stated that “he is working with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on how to forestall future occurrence and punish perpetrators of previous killings”.

    He said there were plans for the youth in his constituency to channel their energies to sports.

    The lawmaker explained that the House of Assembly has been known for effective oversight, saying that that was done through monitoring and corrective measures.

    In his comment on the new law on Employment Trust Fund which is meant to create jobs, Ogundimu said the N25billion, which would be pumped into the state’s economy, would be adequately monitored.

  • Arrest, prosecute all political killers – Lawmaker

    A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Oluyinka Ogundimu has reiterated the need for all political killers to be arrested and prosecuted to forestall future occurrence.

    Ogundimu, who is the Chairman House Committee on Finance, gave this advice while speaking on a programme organized by the Lagos State House of Assembly Correspondents Association (LAHACA) designed for lawmakers to give account of their stewardship.

    It would be recalled that a serving youth corps member, Dumebi Samuel was killed during Rivers re-run that took place on Saturday 19the March.

    Samuel was attached to Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) as an Ad-Hoc staff but was killed during the election.

    A similar incident also happened at the lawmaker’s constituency, Agege constituency in the last general elections where a youth, Eyitayo was gruesomely murdered by political thugs.

    Ogundimu who was reacting to incessant political carnages, stated that “he is already working with the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode on how to forestall future occurrence and also bring perpetrators of previous killings to book.”

    He disclosed that there were plans in the pipeline for the youths in his constituency, adding that the young ones in the society would have to channel their energies to sports.

    The lawmaker however pointed out that in trying to encourage the youths to take part in sports, it must be an effort for them to earn income rather than just exercising themselves.

    While commenting on the relationship between the executive and legislature in the state, Ogundimu said “the relationship between the two arms of government should not be the kind that we have between pepper and eyes.”

    He explained that the state House of Assembly has been known for effective oversight, saying that that was done through monitoring and corrective measures.

    “We are doing our monitoring, we don’t have to be confrontational; we still get them corrected where it is necessary. When we blow the whistle, it serves as corrective measure. There is no arm of government that can work in isolation,” he said.

    In his comment on the new law on Employment Trust Fund in the state which is meat to create enabling environment for job creation, the lawmaker stated that the N25bn which would be pumped into the economy of the state for a space of four years would be adequately monitored.

    He stressed that before the House passed the Bill, there was an improvement in comparison with the Security Trust Fund, saying “we made sure that the executive sent the administrative guidelines before passing the Bill.”

    He added that there is also a standing committee of the House that would carry out the required monitoring of the Employment Trust Fund to ensure that the money is judiciously expended.

  • Doctor fingers parents in hubby’s arrest

    Doctor fingers parents in hubby’s arrest

    A 28-YEAR-OLD doctor, Nono Orji yesterday cried out over the arrest of her hausband, Ugo Madugba, by the police at her parents’ instance.

    Orji claimed that her husband was arrested by operatives of Dolphin Police Division in Ikoyi on Wednesday because her parents are against their marriage.

    All those who acted as witnesses to their union, she added, have also been arrested and are in police custody.

    In a message posted on Facebook yesterday, Orji, a medical officer in a private hospital, said: “The Nigerian Police in Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi just arrested an innocent 30-year-old man called Ugo Madugba for an offence of marriage. Marriage has become a crime in Nigeria, according to Dolphin Police Station in Ikoyi. Mr Ugo got married to Dr Nono, a 28-year-old medical doctor.

    “Her father has been very distraught about it and has used the police to threaten the young couple to the extent of arresting all those who acted as witnesses to the marriage who are now in custody.

    “He has been denied access to his family and friends and information reaching us has it that his lawyer was also denied access to him.”

    She urged Nigerians to prevail on the police not to kill her husband, saying: “There is a belief that a plan to poison Ugo is being hatched. Please, forward this message to as many people as possible; let’s save Ugo’s life.”

    Orji, in another Facebook post, said her parents were trying to force her to marry another man, adding that when she refused, they accused her husband of hypnotising her.

    Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), said Commissioner Fatai Owoseni “has looked into the matter and discovered that the Dolphin Divisional Police Officer (DPO) erred.”

    Badmos said “the culpable DPO has been sanctioned.”