The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bayelsa State command

  • Husband impregnates wife’s sister, strangles baby after birth

    Husband impregnates wife’s sister, strangles baby after birth

    The police in Bayelsa State have arrested a 47-year-old man, Moses Otimba, for impregnating his wife’s younger sister, Joy Mathew, and killing the male child five days after birth.

    Otimba was said to have asphyxiated the child to death and buried him in a shallow grave at a river bank.

    The suspect, an indigene of Ogbogoro community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state, reportedly executed the devilish act in connivance with the 19-year-old girl.

    The two suspects were paraded on Thursday by the Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command, Mr. Asuquo Amba, at the command’s headquarters in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    Amba said policemen from Yenagoa Police Division arrested the suspects, who confessed to the murder.

    The commissioner said: ”Mr. Moses Otimba, male, 47, impregnated one Joy Matthew, 18, a younger sister to his wife, Glory. The pregnant Joy was delivered of the baby by a traditional birth attendant at Amarata, Yenagoa on May 8, 2017.

    ”On May 13, 2017, Moses, Joy and the baby left the birth attendant and went across Swali bridge where Moses took the baby from her mother (Joy), went down the river shore, sniffed the baby to death and buried him in a shallow grave.”

    Amba said Joy, who claimed to be under the influence of ”some spirits”, disclosed the incident to her mother three months after the act.

    He said angered by the development, Joy’s mother reported the matter to the police, which swung into action and arrested the suspects.

    Amba said:  ”The police visited the scene of the incident. By the time they got to the scene, the current of the river had washed off the child’s body.

    ”The suspect, Moses Otimba, has confessed to the crime and Joy Matthew has also confessed on her alleged involvement in the murder of the baby. Investigation is ongoing.”

    Otimba, in his confessional statement said he killed the baby boy because he was ashamed to tell his wife (Glory) and his mother-in-law.

    He admitted killing the baby with the consent of Joy, after discussing his predicament with her.

    Otimba said: ”I killed the baby boy because I was afraid and scared. I did not really know how to face my wife and my mother-in-law that was why I killed the baby. I am really sorry.

    ”I took the baby to the bush in my community and closed his nose until he died. When I was carrying out the act, I was weeping and crying but I had no choice.

    ”When I got to the site, he was five days old then, I closed his nose and within some seconds, he stopped breathing. After that, I started regretting.

    ”The mother of the baby agreed that we should kill the baby. I told Joy that the situation was precarious for me and that I did not know how to tell my wife about the development.

    ”On that day, she was carrying the baby. She gladly gave me the baby to do whatever I wanted to do. My wife was not aware of all of this.  But somehow, I did not know what happened. I learnt the baby’s mother told her mother who alerted the police and we were arrested.”

  • NSCDC operative, armed robber die in Bayelsa gun battle

    NSCDC operative, armed robber die in Bayelsa gun battle

    An operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) attached to the Bayelsa State command and an armed robber were, Wednesday, killed in a gun battle.

    It was gathered that a gang of armed robbers operating in Ogbia Local Government Area laid an ambush for a patrol van of the operatives along Kolo Creek area of the council.

    The armed robbers reportedly hid in the ambush after first attacking a police checkpoint along the road and disarming policemen on duty at about 12:24am.

    A security source who spoke in confidence said the armed robbers caught the policemen off guard and compelled them to surrender their weapons.

    He said the robbers carted away about three Ak47 riffles and several rounds of ammunition.

    He said: “When they escaped from the scene, they sighted a security patrol van man by operatives of the NSCDC and hid in the bush. When the van approached, they opened fire on it killing one of the civil defenders”.

    But he said the operatives fired back and gunned down one of the armed robbers while others later escaped.

    It was gathered that the remains of one the slain armed robber with his pump action rifle were recovered by the personnel and brought to NSCDC headquarters in Yenagoa.

    They reportedly handed over to the stage Commandant of NSCDC, Mr. Desmond Agu.

    When contacted, Agu confirmed that armed robbers laid ambush for a patrol van of the corps and killed one of the operatives.

    He, however, praised his men for fighting back and overpowering them with their superior gunfire resulting in the killing of one of the robbers.

    Agu, however, said he was not aware of the attack on a police checkpoint adding that he had handed over the riffle and the corpse of hoodlum to the state’s police command.

  • Police brutalise 63yr old civil servant in Bayelsa

    Police brutalise 63yr old civil servant in Bayelsa

    Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Bayelsa State command, have been accused of battering Mr. Simon Josiah, a 63-year-old civil servant with the state’s Ministry of Education.

    The policemen attached to the Akenfa Police Station also reportedly descended on the wife of the civil servant, his daughter, Mrs. Odiere and a sympathiser, Mr. Lusty Sylvanus.

    An activist, Mr. Ebikebina Aluzu, who condemned the alleged police brutality, said Josiah was left with broken bones and bruises all over his body while his wife was also left with bruises.

    “His daughter, Mrs Odiere was left with a swollen face, red eye, bruises and shaky tooth. Mr. Lusty who was teargassed and beaten with a fist wrapped with handcuffs was left with a swollen face, red eye, deep cut to his cheek, right ear and bruises on some part of his body.

    “The officers not fewer than 10 descended on their victims with handcuffs, tear gas and sticks. The incident occurred on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, about 12.15pm in Akenfa III, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State”, he said.

    Aluzu said Josiah who reaches at the Yenegwe Primary School just returned from work when the officers pounced on him and gave him and his family the beating of their life.

    “Sympathizers were not spared as one Lusty Sylvanus who tried to hear from a police man what was the problem was also beaten and tear gassed.

    “It is yet to be ascertained why the officers brutalized the people, but those who witnessed the incident said that the police came and arrested one of Mr. Simon’s son who was alleged by his cousin to have stolen his fowl but later turned around to brutalize the people when the boy wriggle his way out of their hands.

    “They said that Mr Lusty only asked one of the officers what the problem was when they pounced on him with torrents of blows leaving him in a pool of his own blood.

    “The police brutalized Mrs. Simon until she became unconscious and they had to revive her by pouring water on her after the police had left.

    “The police did not end up arresting anybody as the woman police among them pleaded on behalf of the victims that ‘they have received enough beatings’.”

     

  • Policemen detained for killing 17-year-old in Bayelsa 

    Policemen detained for killing 17-year-old in Bayelsa 

    About four policemen have been arrested and detained for the alleged extra-judicial killing of 17-year-old boy, Innocent Kokorifa.

    The victim, first out of five children of Mr. Daniel Kokorifa, an official of the Federal Road Safety Corps, was shot dead in a mysterious circumstance by the police Anti-Vice/Anti-Kidnapping team along Airforce Road in Yenagoa, on August 18, 2016.

    Innocent was reportedly running an errand for his mother, Pere, when he was allegedly killed by the police about 11am on the fateful day.

    The victim’s father accused the police of shielding killers of his son and demanded transparency in the handling of the matter.

    But a police source, who spoke in confidence, said some policemen were detained in a cell at the Bayelsa State Command headquarters.

    The source said: “I am not authorised to speak on the matter. But I know those men are in detention and the police authorities are investigating the incident.

    “I do not know the exact number of policemen that are detained but they are between three and four.”

    Efforts to get reaction from the Police Public Relations Officer, Asinim Butswat,  were futile as his mobile phone did not connect.

    The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ogunjemilusi, has remained mute over the matter.

     

  • NCSDC, Airforce team up against vandals, oil thieves

    The Bayelsa State commands of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigerian Air Force, Wednesday, formed an alliance against pipeline vandals, oil thieves, kidnappers and other related crimes in the state.

    The Air Officer, Commanding, Mobility Command, Air Vice Marshal Emmanuel Agungu, and the state Commandant, NSCDC, Mr. Desmond Agu, met at the corps’ command base Yenagoa, the state capital, and agreed to form a synergy in crime fighting.

    Agungu who was newly posted to the state visited his counterpart in the company of air officers demanding partnership to effectively combat oil thieves, vandals and kidnappers.

    Receiving his guests in company with other senior NSCDC officers, Agu said all the security agencies were established in the state by the Federal Government with a singular objective of maintaining law and order.

    He said when security agencies work in unison, they will fulfill the purpose of their mission and make the government, their paymaster happy.

    He told Agungu that the major criminal activities in the region are kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, illegal refineries and oil theft.

    He said the corps under his command had so far destroyed over 3000 illegal refineries in many local government areas of the state.

    Condemning activities of vandals, he said the corps was fighting against them because of their negative impact on the environment adding that farms, rivers and natural habitat had been destroyed by vandals.

    “Illegal refineries are killing the region. Many people are involved in it. But we are not relating because we have so far destroyed over 3000 of such refineries. We are also combating pipeline vandalism and kidnapping.

    “We are fighting vigorously against these vices because of their impact mainly on the environment. When pipelines are destroyed, crude oil spills into the environment destroying farms, water sources and aquatic lives. So, the people no longer catch fish”, he said.

    He maintained that forging a synergy would help the security agencies to form a common front against the vices.

    Agu also acknowledged that in their partnership, there could be inter-agency conflicts arising from misunderstanding among the other ranks.

    “I have alley told my operatives to avoid conflict with other sister agencies. We are one and we must work as a team”, he said promising to provide necessary assistance to the Air Force.

    Earlier in his remarks, Agungu said the NSCDC under Agu was doing its best in the state to protect the country’s resources.

    He said: We need to work together to achieve results. It will be difficult if we don’t work as a team. We are always available because we need to always interact,” he said.