Tag: arrested

Nemesis yesterday caught up with a 24-year-old fake soldier, Israel Amusu, from Igbira Ikenesido, Kogi State. He was arrested for attempting to snatch a Golf II Volkswagen Car, with registration number FH 135 APP on November 7. The car belongs to Ebenezer Olamidele, an electrical engineer, at Jokoro Street Elere, Pen Cinema, Agege, a Lagos suburb.

Speaking with reporters, the suspect said: “I got admission to study Mass Communication in one of the nation’s universities, but I had a financial problem. My father, a furniture maker, died four years ago and my mother, a food vendor had no money to sponsor me.

“Some time ago, I met Kevin, aka Ogbanje, who claimed to be a soldier at the old Sango toll gate, in Ogun State. He was going to the NYSC orientation camp at Iyana-Ipaja and we exchanged phone numbers.

“Two weeks later, he called me on phone to meet him at the toll gate. When we met, I took him to No. 32, Jankara Street, Agbado-Ijaiye to meet my family. I later followed him to Iyana-Ipaja.

“He said the Army could recruit me. He, therefore, invited me to a parade telling me that I could be recruited if I performed well. He took me to a corner and brought out an Army uniform and boot and asked me to wear it. He wore his own Army uniform with a Lance Corporal rank. I wore the one with private rank.

“I was having N1, 500 on me. He took it and bought a N500 worth of Baron hot drink and pocketed the balance. As we were drinking, we saw a Golf car coming, we had a motorcycle, and he used it to block the car and ordered the driver to come out. He searched the car, collected the driver’s money, handsets, wrist watch and pushed him out. He tried to ignite the engine, but couldn’t.

“When the driver raised the alarm, people came to his rescue, my friend escaped with the motorcycle. I was caught.

“The mob arrested me. They wanted to set me ablaze but some good Samaritans among them pleaded with them to save my life and they handed me over to Elere Police Station. I was later transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Lagos State Police Command.”

The Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, has ordered the SARS, to fish out the fake soldier from his hiding place.

But Amusu gave the SARS operatives a wrong address of the fleeing man.

SARS’s chief, Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP) has released the car to its owner. The fake soldier is cooling his heels at the Scorpion Cell, Police Headquarters, Ikeja, until investigation is completed.

Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday arrested a cannabis dealer during a raid on drug traffickers’ hideout in Mushin, a Lagos suburb.

The 38-year-old suspect, Dada Etop Ejalonibu, is said to be on the command’s list of wanted drug dealers.

Lagos State Commander of NDLEA Aliyu Sule described Ejalonibu as a “major distributor” of cannabis in Mushin.

“We carried out two separate operations on their hideouts where the suspect who has been on our wanted list was arrested. In the first operation, 475.6kilogrammes of dried weeds of cannabis were seized; another 108.4kilogrammes were recovered in another operation bringing the total quantity of seized cannabis to 584kg,” said Aliyu.

He said the suspect is being interrogated.

The suspect admitted ownership of the drugs, saying joblessness forced him into the illicit trade.

“I have been dealing in drugs for the past three years. At the time of my arrest my partner had gone out. I dropped out of the university in 200 Level due to lack of sponsorship.

“The cannabis trade enable me to take care of my wife and three children. I had wanted to quit but the profit is high and there is no alternative job opportunity,” said the Osun State born drug dealer.

NDLEA’s Chairman/Chief Executive Ahmadu Giade described the raid as part of the agency’s effort to ensure a hitchfree Yuletide.

He said: “The raids being carried out in Lagos and other states are designed to cut off drug supplies to addicts.

“The strategy is yielding good results; imagine the seizure of 584kg of cannabis in two raids. There will be series of similar operations between now and December to ensure a safe and peaceful end of year celebrations. Any person connected to this case will be brought to book. The raids will be extended to key points in the country in the days ahead.”

The police in Enugu State have arrested four suspected kidnappers, who allegedly abducted an eight-year-old boy and two others.

The victims were rescued unhurt.

The suspects, Victor Augustine, from Kogi State; Ezeani Chidiebere, from Imo State; Ogbonna Nwobodo, from Enugu State and Matthew Baba, from Benue State, were said to have abducted little John Ogiri and two other unnamed persons at Aguwani Zone 1, Akwuke, Enugu South Local Government.

The victims were allegedly taken to an uncompleted building in the area.

The mother of the boy, Mary Ogiri, was said to have raised the alarm, which attracted her neighbours.

It was learnt that some people quickly alerted the police on the incident.

Following a tip-off, the police reportedly trailed the suspects to the uncompleted building and rounded them up.

Spokesman for the police command, Ebere Amaraizu said investigation has begun into the incident.

He added that the suspects were helping the police in the investigation.

Police Commissioner Musa Daura hailed the Awkunanaw Division of the command for its swift response and the public for heeding the woman’s cry for help.

He urged the public to be security conscious and pass vital information to security agencies.

Four suspects allegedly involved in the attack on the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of Nigerian Compass , Sina Kawonise and others have been arrested by the police in Osun State.

According to the police spokesperson, Mrs. Folashade Odoro, the suspects were arrested by a patrol team with the joint effort of the military personnel.

She said one dane gun, four mobile handsets and N58,000 were recovered from them.

Kawonise, who is a former Commissioner for Information in Ogun State, was shot on Monday while returning from Awka, Anambra State, where he had gone to present a keynote address at the 17th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Anthropological and Sociologist Society.

The police, however, claimed that the victims were attacked on Owena/Ilesa road.

Also attacked were Samsudeen Hammed, Yusuf Yaya from Adamawa State, Sunday Ayo from Osun State and Kowei Ebidubagha from Ogun State.

The Commissioner of Police, Mrs Kalafite Adeyemi, has visited the victims in the hospital.

The police in Kwara State have arrested a woman for allegedly killing her husband, a soldier, for reasons that are yet to be explained.

Military authorities arrested the wife and handed her over to the police.

Sources at the 22 Armoured Brigade, Sobi, Ilorin, said the incident occurred last week.

The late soldier’s neighbours at his Block 55 home were in shock over the incident.

It was gathered that the woman allegedly bathed her husband with acid at 10pm, a few weeks after she was said to have attempted to poison him.

The man was said to have recently returned from the military hospital for food poisoning.

The deceased, identified as Sergeant Kayode, hailed from Iloffa in Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State. His wife was said to hail from Kaduna State. They have two children.

The deceased, believed to have been in his 40s, worked with the Supply and Transport Corps of the Brigade.

A source said authorities were shocked because the late soldier was not known to be violent.

Investigators were told that neighbours raised the alarm following a scream from the couple’s room.

It was learnt that the soldier was found to have been bathed with acid.

Although the woman reportedly denied involvement initially, investigators were said to have discovered a bottle containing acid in the room.

The woman reportedly said the door to their room was locked from behind during the acid attack.

This was said to have prompted investigators to hold her as the first suspect, before they found the bottle.

A source said: “The military set up a Board of Enquiry into the matter and it was after the investigation that the case was transferred to the police.”