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Tag: arrested

  • Lawmaker’s brother, two others arrested for unlawful arms possession

    The police in Delta State have said they have arrested three people, including the younger brother to the lawmaker representing Udu State Constituency, Mr.  Peter Uviejitobor, for alleged possession of arms.

    The suspects, Akpevwe Uviejitobor, David Ukiri and Alfred Joseph, were, according to a statement by the police, apprehended by officers posted to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to secure electoral materials.

    The statement, signed by acting police spokesman Orisewejie Chuks said the trio claimed to be vigilance group members detailed by their chairman to escort electoral materials.

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    Expressing shock over the level at which voluntary organisations are meddling in security matters, especially as it concerns the 2019 elections, the police said it is no business of theirs to provide security during the polls.

    The statement added that only the Nigeria Police, Army, Navy, Civil Defence, Federal Road Safety Corps, Immigration, Air Force and DSS are tasked with security responsibility during elections.

    The suspects, The Nation learnt, have been moved to the Force Headquarters, Abuja, for further interrogations.

  • Suspected Abule-Egba pipeline vandals arrested

    The police have arrested six persons  who allegedly vandalised the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines at Abule Egba, Lagos.

    The Nation learnt that their action resulted in the fire which destroyed buildings and vehicles worth millions of naira last year.

    The suspects are Rasak Oyakunle aka Akeregun; Abdulazeez Agboola aka Boggy, 29; Akin Ayansola alias Babalati, 44; Kazeem aka Aladija, 50; Saheed Isiola alias Obama, 36; and Adedipe Dauda Ewenla, 40

    Parading the suspects yesterday, Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal said: “On December 18, 2018, at about 2am, there was a fire outbreak at Isopako Awori in Abule Egba area of Lagos State.

    “The fire emanated from the NNPC pipeline that was deliberately ruptured by the vandals in their bid to siphon premium motor spirit (PMS) from the pipe.

    Read also: Abule-Egba fire: Adeola sympathizes with constituents over incident

    “It destroyed 100 houses and 77 vehicles worth millions of naira.

    “Following the development, operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, were detailed to investigate the incident and ensure that the suspects are nabbed.”

    He said the operatives were mobilised to the scene and they picked up pieces of evidence for analysis, which led to the arrest of the suspects.

    Edgal said during interrogation, Oyakunle confessed to committing the crime and revealed that he owned the generator repair workshop on the spot where the ruptured pipeline was laid.

    “Oyakunle confessed that the workshop was located on the spot to enable them siphon fuel undetected,” he said.

    Edgal said Ewenla had been declared wanted list the incident.

    That the gang, he said, had been in the illicit business for years.

     

  • Fake Atiku’s aide arrested after allegedly defrauding 50 on Facebook

    The operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT) have arrested one Aminu Ahmed Yerima for defrauding more than 50 persons on Facebook, pretending to be an aide to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who is currently the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party.

    Yerima, a master’s degree holder and native of Jada Local Government Area, Adamawa State, where the former vice president hails from, was said to have defrauded his unsuspecting victims of millions of naira.

    The suspect was said to have run into trouble when two of his female victims wrote a petition against him to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, detailing how he defrauded them of the sum of N5 million in a space of six months.

    A police source disclosed that on receiving the petitions, the IGP directed his men at IRT, headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, to investigate the matter and bring the culprits to book.     Yerima, was said to have been traced to Kano State where he was arrested through information he provided on his Facebook account.

    The source further explained that Yerima created a Facebook account using pictures of himself and the former Vice President in Mecca, Saudi Arabia and several other locations.

    He also identified himself on his facebook wall as the personal aide to the former vice president.   According to the source, “Yerima made his victims believe that the former Vice President usually gives out financial assistance and contracts to people who need them, assuring them that he could always help them to facilitate it.

    “A lot of people fell for his tricks because he made them believe that the former vice president would assist them the moment they sought for help.”

    “Since he hails from the same local government area as the former vice president and he had met him on several occasions during which he took photographs with him, including one of the former vice president’s pilgrimages to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, his victims fell for him, the source added.

    The source further revealed that once Yerima had swindled his victims, he would block them off and stop communicating with them.

    Explaining further, the source said: “After we arrested him, we found more than 50 persons he had defrauded and blocked on Facebook. But the women who wrote separate petitions against him were Raliat and Awa Maje. He told them that Atiku was going to give them N15 million and fleeced them of the sum of N5 million separately.’’

    Asked why he went into defrauding people, 29-year-old Yerima, said it was because he was once a victim of fraud.

    He said: “I obtained my master’s degree from the University of Ghana, Accra, in 2014, after getting my bachelor’s degree from Federal University Yola, Adamawa State in 2010.

    “I went into fraud in 2016 after I could not secure a good job and I was also duped by someone on Facebook who promised to link me up to a sugar mummy who would be paying me for sex.

    The fraudsters took N30,000 from me and blocked me from communicating with them on Facebook. Then I thought I could do same and make some money for myself since I had no job. I used the same Sugar Mummy format but it didn’t work.

    When people were not falling for me, I created a new Facebook account, using Manga Mubi as my profile name. I then uploaded several pictures of myself and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is from my local government area.

    Asked how he got to snap a picture with Atiku, he said, “Whenever he is in town, he allows people come around his house and snap pictures with him. I have snapped several pictures with him over the years, including one during my Hajj pilgrimage.

    “I also identified myself as his personal aide and people started contacting me. A lot of them wanted to meet him while some others wanted contracts and financial assistance.

    “Normally, I assured them that I could always facilitate a meeting between him and them, but it would come with a fee.

    “I usually asked them to pay an amount from N500,000 upwards, and a lot of people paid. When they insisted on seeing him, I would tell them that he was out of the country. And when they started becoming troublesome, I would block them from communicating with me.”

    He, however, said he could not remember the names of the people he had defrauded.

    He also admitted learning how to defraud people using fake bank alert.

    “I used it in buying goods in Kano State before I was arrested,” he said.

    Recalling the events that culminated in his arrest, he said: “One of the women who wrote the petition to the police, Raliat, added me on Facebook and started a conversation with me, believing that I was an aide to Atiku.

    “She told me that she needed N15 million for her business, and I assured her that Atiku was going to give it to her, but she would have to give me some money I would use in processing the money for her.

    “I made her believe that Atiku was always traveling round the world, and reaching him was not easy. So, she was always providing money for my movements towards seeing him.

    “I took a total of N2.5 million from her and sent a picture of a bank deposit teller of N15 million, which I said Atiku had approved to be paid into her account. When she waited endlessly for the money and became too troublesome, I blocked all Facebook communications with her. I didn’t know that she reported me to the police. I was in Kano when he came with the police and arrested me.”

     

  • Three fuel attendants arrested, three others held for ‘robbery’

    The Federal Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) operatives have arrested six persons over a robbery at a filling station.

    The suspects, it was learnt, included two fuel attendants and their supervisor.

    The attendants were said to  have connived with others to rob at their outlet, Skepter Petrol Station, Igbo-Elerin bus stop, Ojo, Lagos.

    The suspects are  Obinna Ofoma, 25, Ndukwa Junior, 22, William Okon, 22, Tony Oluchukwu, 28, Charles Mike, 20 and Freedom Daniel, 20.

    Parading the suspects yesterday, Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal said on learning about the robbery, he mobilised operatives from Ilemba Hausa Police Station and FSARS, Ikeja to go after the robbers. But before they got there, he said, the hoodlums had left.

    The robbers, he added, went to hide their guns at their base, where they were, arrested and their weapons, which included two guns, three knives and one axe, seized.

    Edgal said Daniel, the filling station supervisor and Mike, his attendant, were the masterminds of the robbery. The police chief said they confessed that they specialised in robbing petrol stations at Igando and Ilemba Hausa.

    Investigation, he added, was on to arrest other members of the gang.

  • Drivers who planned kidnap of their boss’ wife arrested

    Operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) have arrested two drivers and a native doctor agent for attempting to kidnap Ijeoma Eze-Okafor, a businesswoman.

    The suspects are Emmanuel Okemayin, 27, Austin Anyia, 38, both drivers to the woman’s husband and Arowosola Adewale, 32, an agent to a native doctor.

    Parading the suspects yesterday, Police Commissioner Edgal Imohimi said: “We received information from a credible source that kidnappers had concluded plans to abduct Ijeoma Eze-Okafor.”

    He said as a result, a directive was given to FSARS operatives to infiltrate their camp and play along with them.

    The police boss said the suspects requested for arms, ammunition and a vehicle from the agents provocateur (FSARS men), while the suspects sent the photographs of their target, details of her vehicle and other information to their new partners, unknown to them that they were dealing with policemen.

    He said it took the group 10 days to plan the kidnapping of the businesswoman, adding that on the fateful day, October 29, the suspects surfaced and were arrested.

    During interrogation, the suspects confessed that they were drivers to the victim’s husband, while the third suspect, Arowosola, said he collected N10,000 from the two drivers to enable him hire a native doctor that would protect them after the operation.

    The drivers said they planned to kidnap the woman to punish her for her wickedness.

  • 23 suspected cultists arrested in Ogun 

    The police in Ogun State said yesterday that they have arrested 23 suspected cultists at an initiation ground at Ilaporu in Awa-Ijebu.

    The suspects were reportedly arrested on Wednesday night by policemen attached to Awa-Ijebu Division.

    Those arrested were identified as Samson Oyetusi, Bankole Tunde, Akorede Samson, Dapo Kukoyi, Onafeko Toheeb, Afolabi Wasiu, Adedimeji Mathew, Arewa Samson, Akintunde Oalsunkanmi and Okejimi Oluyole.

    Others include Oladeji Akeem, Azeez Adebayo, Awokoya Kudus, Azeez Seun, Oseni Wasiu, Popoola Sunday, Awojole Bolaji, Yusuf Seyi, Bamidele Adeboye, Jibola Balogun, Tomisin Isaac, Adeshina Seye and Adebayo Adewale.

    Police spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said the suspects had planned to unleash mayhem after initiating new members in their fold.

    He said they came from areas such as Ijebu-Igbo, Ago-Iwoye and Oru-Ijebu for that purpose.

    “As soon as they gathered there, policemen attached to Awa-Ijebu Division, through technical and human intelligence gathering, got wind of the unlawful assembly. The DPO Awa-Ijebu, SP Olu Monday, led his anti-robbery team to the scene where 23 members of the group were arrested.

    “Police Commissioner Ahmed Iliyasu has ordered the transfer of the suspects to Anti-Cultism/Kidnapping section for investigation and prosecution,” said Oyeyemi.

  • Policeman arrested for allegedly shooting driver

    A police officer has been arrested for allegedly shooting a commercial bus driver over N50 bribe.

    The incident occurred at Isuaniocha in Awka North Council Area of Anambra State.

    The victim, Udoka Ezeme, was reportedly shot about 1:30pm at a police checkpoint in the area.

    The Nation learnt that the victim was accosted by policemen at the junction while conveying passengers from Mgbakwu to Unizik tempsite.

    An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, said one of the officers shot the driver after he pulled up by the roadside to answer their query, instead of parting with the usual N50 they extorted from them. “The policemen immediately

    jumped into their Hilux truck and zoomed off, leaving the young man in a pool of blood,” he said.

    The Nation gathered that the victim was taken to a nearby hospital, but was not attended to, as the authorities demanded a police report, a development that caused protest.

    Speaking on his hospital bed, Ezeme denied arguing with the policemen that could have resulted in the shooting.

    He thanked God that none of his passengers, especially a new-born baby behind his seat, was hit by bullets.

    The victim demanded investigation into the incident.

    Confirming the shooting, police spokesman Haruna Mohammed said the culprit had been arrested and detained.

    “Commissioner Garba Umar has ordered a discreet investigation to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he added.

     

  • Councillor arrested for alleged arson

    A councillor in Ethiope East Legislative House in Delta State, Tony Sowho, has been arrested for alleged arson.

    He was nabbed in connection with last Friday’s burning of a police Hilux van during Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) House of Assembly  primaries for Ethiope East.

    Sowho was held with five others.

    The lawmaker representing the constituency in the House of Assembly, Evance Ivwurie, and the council’s Vice Chairman, Christopher Izuwas, were also held.

    Sapele Area Police Command invited them for questioning on the allegation that they masterminded the violence at the primaries, leading to the torching of the van.

    A source told The Nation that the suspect, who sustained burns, was arrested at a private hospital in Ughelli where he was reported to have gone to for treatment after leaving Okpara where he was admitted.

    A leader of Ethiope East Legislative House, who preferred anonymity, said: “Tony was only trying to stop one of the arsonists from setting the police van ablaze when he was injured by fire.

    “He was taken to a private hospital at Okpara from where he was referred to Ughelli for treatment.”

    Police spokesman Andrew Aniamaka described the councillor as “a principal suspect.”

    He alleged: “Six persons have been arrested, including the principal suspect, Tony Sowho, a serving councillor, who set the vehicle ablaze.

    “It is unfortunate that someone, who is expected to be law-abiding, took the law into his hands.

    “Investigation into the matter is on. When concluded, the due process of law will be followed.”

  • Pro-Biafra agitators arrested in Enugu

    Leader of the Biafra Zionists Federation (BZF) Benjamin Onwuka, and many others were yesterday arrested in Enugu State for attempting to take over the Government House in Enugu.

    It was the group’s third attempt to invade the Government House, with the intention of declaring the Republic of Biafra.

    A combined team of security operatives, comprising Department of State Services (DSS) and police were said to have been involved in the operation.

    The Biafra agitators marched from the Presidential Road, through Rangers Avenue, but were stopped at the Bissala Road entry to the Government House by security operatives.

    The group’s Deputy Leader, Ambrose Ugwu, who confirmed the arrest, said the whereabouts of their members was unknown.

    He said: “Our people left this morning (yesterday) for the Enugu Government House to foist the Biafra flag, but they were stopped on getting close to the road leading to the place.

    “DSS operatives stopped them from entering the Government House. They told them to stay within the Bissala Road axis and do whatever they wanted to do.

    “However, our leader refused, insisting that he must be allowed to enter the Government House. After a while, they brought vehicles and told them to enter, claiming that they were taking them to a place for dialogue.

    “As we speak, we have not heard from them. As far as we are concerned, this is abduction, because they were taken to an unknown place. We have gone to the State CID but they are not there.

    “We, therefore, call on the international community to intervene for their immediate release. From the information I have, over 50 of them were arrested though they were not armed; they are just freedom fighters. Should anything happen to them, we will hold the Southeast governors responsible.”

    Both the police and the DSS were yet to make official statements on the reported arrest.

  • Lawyer, six others arrested for N250m fraud ‘plot’

    A lawyer, Kayode Oshiyemi, has been arrested in Ogun State for alleged plot to extort N250 million from a businessman, Alhaji Shakirudeen Olufowobi.

    Also arrested are: Adeborode Ogunlaja, Sodiq Owolabi, Abolaji Alabi, Mukaila Abolaji, Abiodun Adebayo and Abolaji Adebola.

    The arrest of the lawyer followed a petition by Alhaji Olufowobi, the Chief Executive Officer of Al Amin Farm at Imagbon, Ijebu-Ode, to Police Commissioner Ahmed Iliyasu, that the suspect and others were after his life.

    In a statement yesterday in Abeokuta, the state capital, police spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi, an Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the businessman accused the lawyer of making him part with millions of naira on several occasions.

    The statement said Oshiyemi allegedly planned a connivance with some hoodlums to achieve his aim of defrauding Olufowobi.

    The suspects’ plan, according to the police, was to either rope the businessman in for a case he knew nothing about or get him kidnapped for ransom.

    The police added that on the strength of the petition, the officer in charge of the Federal Special Anti – Robbery Squad (FSARS), Mr. Uba Adam, and his team investigated the lawyer’s activities and allegedly caught him on tape planning with others to make the businessman cough out N250 million.

    The statement said one of the suspects narrated how Oshiyemi lured him into the alleged plot to defraud the businessman.

    It added: “On interrogation, Mukaila Abolaji narrated how the lawyer, in collaboration with Adeborode Ogunlaja, lured him into the plan to fraudulently extort money from the complainant and how the money will be shared among them. The suspect said he reluctantly keyed into the plan because of the amount of money involved.

    “Also, Abiodun Adebayo, who regretted knowing the lawyer, in a statement, accused Oshiyemi of using him once to profess a fake miracle in a crusade organised by one of his pastor-friends, where he was asked to tie a life tortoise on his chest and come out while the crusade was going on to confess being a strong member of a cultist group and to say he was disturbed by the pastor’s prayer. The lawyer was unable to deny the allegation.”