The Nation Newspaper

Tag: CCTV

  • CCTV dreams die first

    CCTV dreams die first

    Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have exhumed the controversy over the closed-circuit television project in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that has failed to work, despite government securing a $460million loan from China to fund it. The chamber raised an ad-hoc panel to probe evident collapse of the CCTV project touted to boost security, amidst rising insecurity in the territory.

    The probe followed from a motion moved earlier by a House member, Amobi Ogah, by which the lawmakers decried repayment of the loan for a security infrastructure that has remained largely non-functional. After a robust debate, the chamber resolved to interrogate the failed project and how the loan was utilised, and determine the roles played by ministries, departments, agencies and contractors.

    At the inauguration of the ad-hoc panel, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas described mounting cases of kidnappings and armed attacks in the FCT as “intolerable and deeply troubling.” He lamented that a city once rated among West Africa’s safest capitals has become infested by criminal gangs who “daily harass and abduct residents, almost without restraint.” He questioned why a multi-million-dollar surveillance project designed to strengthen security operations had failed to function.

    Represented by House member, Julius Pondi, Abbas said the green chamber owed Nigerians clear answers on whether the project was properly implemented, abandoned midway or compromised through poor management. The panel, according to him, will undertake forensic review of the scheme, assess its current status and interrogate how well it was integrated into the national security architecture. The probe will also identify lapses, acts of negligence or possible sabotage, and recommend measures for reviving or overhauling the system.

    Read Also: ‘Provide evidence of corruption among judges,’ Appeal Court’s president tasks Nigerians

    Panel chairman, Ojogo Donald, described the failed CCTV project as a “national embarrassment,” noting that an investment of such scale should have offered substantial protection to the capital. “What elevates this situation from mere tragedy to a scandal of immense proportions is the glaring contradiction before us,” he added, alluding to rampant security breaches in the FCT.

    Ojogo was right. The CCTV project was conceived under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration as part of a broader initiative to bolster security, help security agencies monitor key areas and provide real-time surveillance in the FCT. The contract was awarded in 2010 to a Chinese firm, ZTE Communications, after a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Beijing, China; and the project was funded through a $600million soft-credit facility from China‑EXIM Bank, under which $460 million was dedicated to the CCTV project. Under the loan terms, Nigeria enjoyed a 10-year grace period, followed by a 10-year repayment schedule. Only that the project has never delivered on its promise years after the loan deal. Some installed cameras and allied equipment were vandalised or stolen, while others were simply abandoned.

    Corruption and mismanagement were speculated as major factors in the project’s failure, with funds meant for its operation allegedly misappropriated. So, the probe should go beyond lawmakers, it should also involve anti-graft agencies.

  • Fed Govt to install CCTV on Long Bridge

    Fed Govt to install CCTV on Long Bridge

    Minister of Works, Dave Umahi has announced the government’s intention to install Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras on the Long Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

    He said it’s a global practice to do so.

    Umahi made this known during an inspection of the bridge. He explained that cameras would enable security agents to respond to incidents within five minutes, thereby mitigating potential threats and ensuring the safety of commuters.

    “In the next few days or weeks, we will have completed the installation of CCTV on the bridge so that we can monitor activities and ensure that security agencies can respond to emergencies within five minutes,” Umahi stated.

    This initiative is part of a broader effort to address security challenges and improve safety on one of the country’s busiest highways.

    Read Also: Alleged N1.85b fraud: Court sends two REA officials to prison

    Also, Umahi addressed concerns about recent flooding on the Long Bridge. He assured the public that the issues causing the flooding had been rectified, and measures put in place to prevent future occurrences.

    On the way out of incessant flooding in the area, he said: “The problem that caused the flooding has been resolved, and we can assure Nigerians that there will be no further flooding.’’

    The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is a critical infrastructure in Nigeria, serving as a major artery connecting Lagos, the country’s economic hub, with other regions.

    The Long Bridge, a vital part of this expressway, has been plagued by security concerns and incidents of flooding, affecting thousands of commuters daily.

  • Abandoned N500b CCTV project: Senate seeks probe over rising insecurity

    Abandoned N500b CCTV project: Senate seeks probe over rising insecurity

    The Senate yesterday resolved to investigate the abandoned Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras project in the Abuja metropolis.

    The project had been awarded at N500 billion.

    The resolution followed its consideration and adoption of a motion sponsored by Ned Nwoko (PDP, Delta North) at plenary.

    The contract was said to have been awarded to a private firm during the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

    In his lead debate, Nwoko noted that despite a series of security measures already in place, kidnapping and other security challenges had become rampant within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The senator said his Senior Legislative Aide, Chris Agidy, and 18 other persons were abducted two weeks ago from their home in Galadimawa area of Abuja.

    He added that information from security sources on the abduction indicated that 12 of the victims had been killed by their abductors while efforts to rescue the remaining seven were ongoing.

    Nwoko called for a joint security operation comprising the Nigerian Army, the police and the Department State Services (DSS) to rescue the remaining victims.

    He also urged fellow senators to encourage security agencies across the country to install CCTV cameras in Abuja metropolis and other parts of the country.

    In his contribution, Ede Dafinone (PDP, Delta Central), who seconded the motion, said there was an urgent need to stop kidnapping and other security challenges across the country.

    Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA, Abia South) raised the alarm that residents of Lugbe and Kubuwa areas of Abuja could no longer sleep well because of kidnappers.

    He urged security agencies to increase security surveillance patrols within the FCT.

    Read Also: EFCC arraigns three for alleged diversion of N97m cocoa beans

    Also, Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi Central) recalled that the project was awarded at N500 billion for the installation of CCTV cameras in the Abuja metropolis.

    The senator said the contract was awarded during his tenure as FCT Minister between December 2008 and March 2010 under the Yar’Adua administration.

    But he neither gave the name of the contractor nor details about the project.

    Aliero supported the Senate’s move to probe the contract.

    After the debate, Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the matter to voice vote and majority of the senators supported it.

    Akpabio directed the Senate Committee on the FCT to liaise with the minister’s Office to investigate the abandoned contract.

    He urged Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun to increase surveillance patrols in Abuja to prevent kidnapping and other insecurity challenges.

    The Senate President directed the Clerk of the Senate, Chinedu Akubueze, to communicate the resolution to the appropriate authorities.

  • CCTV footage shows Abuja robbery victim died before arrival at hospital – Investigation

    CCTV footage shows Abuja robbery victim died before arrival at hospital – Investigation

    New evidence has shown that Greatness Olorunfemi, a victim of armed robbery on the Maitama-Kubwa Highway, Abuja last Tuesday, was brought into Maitama District Hospital, Abuja lifeless.

    Olorunfemi, a victim of a pattern of robbery popularly called ‘one chance’, had been stabbed by her assailants and thrown out of a moving vehicle along the highway.

    Information gathered by The Nation revealed that on September 26 when the incident occurred, the victim was rushed to the Maitama District Hospital, Abuja.

    Our correspondent visited the hospital yesterday for a better grasp of the circumstances surrounding her death.

    The story making the rounds, especially on the social media, alleged that the robbery victim was not attended to for about 20 minutes after she arrived at the hospital.

    It was also alleged that the hospital insisted on seeing a police report before attending to her.

    Our correspondent, who interacted with some members of the hospital’s staff and also viewed the CCTV footage alongside the hospital’s management led by the Medical Director Dr. Imuentinyan Igbinovia and representatives of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM), reports that Olorunfemi was brought into the hospital dead.

    He said the officials of the hospital he interacted with insisted that there was no need for any police report because the deceased was brought in dead.

    The allegation that it took the hospital 20 minutes to attend to Olorunfemi, who until her death was the Assistant Secretary and Public Relations Officer of the Abuja Chapter of CIPM as well as a member of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) network, is false, as the CCTV footage showed that the vehicle that carried her arrived at the entrance of the Emergency Unit of the hospital at 8:35 pm while a nurse came out to attend to the patient at about 8:36 pm.

    Read Also: CCTV footage showed Abuja one-chance victim died before arrival

    After briefly examining her, the nurse visibly shook her head and returned to the emergency ward.

    The man who recorded the viral video walked into the emergency unit to engage with a medical personnel till about 8:37 pm. He was probably urging the medical staff to do something. The audio of the conversation could not be determined from the CCTV footage.

    The CCTV footage further showed the man behind the viral video walking out of the emergency unit at 8:38 pm, after which the door was shut behind him.

    However, at about 8:40 pm, the nurse reopened the door, came out again and started addressing those who brought in the patient.

    At about 8:41 pm, a female doctor from the Emergency Unit of the hospital, alongside the nurse from the earlier interaction, came out to examine the patient till about 8:42 pm.

    After examining the patient and confirming that the patient was already dead, cold and stiff, the doctor is seen addressing the people again till 8:44 pm before walking back into the emergency ward, and the door was again shut.

    The CCTV footage shows that the man behind the viral video left at 8:43 pm.

    A few minutes later, the lifeless body of Olorunfemi was taken to the mortuary by the staff of the hospital, where it remained at the time of filing this report.

    Speaking with The Nation, the Vice President of CIPM, Abuja Chapter, Daniel Afolabi, explained that the Institute wanted to understand the issues before issuing a statement, hence its visit to the hospital to watch the CCTV footage.

    He said: “We have seen the videos and investigations are ongoing. We have met with the Medical Director, Dr. Imuentinyan Igbinovia. He also confirmed that the Police and YALI team have been here, and the Minister of Health and everyone is interested in the case.

    “So, let us exercise a little patience to get the facts of the incident.

    “We reviewed the CCTV footage with the representatives from the National Headquarters of the Institute, and we will review everything to put our facts together, and we will make them public.”

    In a related development, the Mandate Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Health Services and Environment Secretariat (HSES), Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, has offered her condolences to the family of the deceased.

    Fasawe, according to a statement by the Assistant Director (Information) HSES, Badaru Yakasai, visited the hospital on September 29, at about 1 am.

    She thereafter spoke with the Medical Director of the hospital, requesting a meeting at the hospital as soon as possible.

    The statement reads: “The Medical Director, Dr Imuentinyan Igbinovia provided a verbal report of what transpired, which included information that the victim was brought in dead. In the circumstances, and for clarity, the Secretary requested an autopsy and preparation for a Coroner’s Inquest to ascertain both the cause and circumstances of the death of the victim.

     “The Secretary has been in active and constant communication with relevant parties including the family, the police, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and others with a view to ensuring the case is properly investigated.

    “As such, the Secretariat has set up an independent investigative panel with the Nigeria Police and other stakeholders to fully investigate the case, and to ensure justice is served.

    “The victim was thrown out of a moving vehicle and taken to hospital by good Samaritans. We implore the general public to be vigilant and exercise caution while admonishing security agencies to strengthen security and protection measures across the FCT.”

  • CCTV footage showed Abuja one-chance victim died before arrival

    CCTV footage showed Abuja one-chance victim died before arrival

    Greatness Olorunfemi, a victim of the one-chance incident, was brought in dead to the Maitama District Hospital, Abuja, The Nation has learnt.

    The deceased was stabbed and thrown out of a moving vehicle along the Maitama-Kubwa highway.

    Findings by The Nation revealed on September 26 when the incident occurred, the victim was rushed to the Maitama District Hospital, Abuja.

    On Saturday, The Nation visited the hospital for first-hand evidence on the circumstances surrounding her death.

    The social media has been agog with allegation she was not attended to for about 20 minutes after she was rushed to the hospital.

    It was also alleged that the hospital requested a police report before attending to her, a development that reportedly made her bled to death.

    However, during the visit to the hospital, The Nation did not only interact with some members of staff of the hospital but saw the the CCTV footage with the hospital management led by Medical Director, Dr. Imuentinyan Igbinovia and representatives of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM).

    Until her death, Olorunfemi was the Assistant Secretary and Public Relations Officer of the CIPM, Abuja Chapter. She was also a member of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) network.

    The CCTV footage revealed that Olorunfemi was brought into the hospital dead, and there was no request for a police report having been confirmed dead.The Nation also discovered the allegation that it took the hospital 20 minutes to attend to Olorunfemi was untrue false as the CCTV footage showed the vehicle carrying her arrived at the entrance of the Emergency Unit of the hospital by 8:35 pm.

    The nurse came out to attend to her around 8:36 pm. After briefly examining her, the nurse visibly shook her head, which signified that the patient was dead on arrival. At 8:36pm, the nurse returned to the emergency.

    The man, who recorded the viral video walked into the emergency unit to engage with a medical staff till about 8:37pm. He was probably urging the medical staff to do something. The audio of the conversation could not be determined from the CCTV footage.

    The CCTV footage further showed the man behind the viral video walking out of the emergency unit at 8:38 pm, after which the door was shut behind him.

    However, at about 8:40 pm, the nurse reopened the door, came out again and started addressing those who brought in the patient. 

    At about 8:41 pm, a female doctor from the Emergency Unit of the hospital, alongside the nurse from the earlier interaction, came out to examine the patient till about 8:42pm.

    After examining the patient and confirming that the patient was already dead, cold and stiff, the doctor was seen addressing the people again till 8:44 pm before walking back into the Emergency Unit, and the door was again shut.

    The CCTV footage showed that the man behind the viral video left at 8:43pm.

    Few minutes later, the lifeless body of Olorunfemi was taken to the mortuary by staff of the hospital. As of the time of this report, her body was still at the mortuary in the hospital.

    Read Also: Tinubu returns to Abuja after UNGA, other outings

    Speaking with The Nation, the Vice President of CIPM, Abuja Chapter, Daniel Afolabi explained that the Institute wanted to understand the issues before issuing a statement, which informed its visit to the hospital to watch the CCTV footage.

    He said: “We have seen the videos and investigations are ongoing. We have met with the Medical Director, Dr. Imuentinyan Igbinovia. He also confirmed that the Police and YALI team have been here, and the Minister of Health and everyone is interested in the case. So, let us exercise a little patience to get the facts of the incident.

    “We reviewed the CCTV footage with the representatives from the National Headquarters of the Institute, and we will review everything to put our facts together, and we will make it public to everybody.”

  • Offa robbery: 21 AK 47 rifles carted from police armoury, says witness

    The Nigeria Police High Command on Friday said no fewer than 21 AK47 rifles were stolen from the armoury of a station during the April 5th, 2018 bloody bank robbery and attack on police station.

    The command added one Michel Adikwu now dead and a dismissed police officer led the robbery incident that claimed 33 lives, including nine policemen and women.

    Police said these at the resumed hearing of the case at Kwara state

    High Court sitting in Ilorin, the state capital.

    Five accused persons who were accomplices of the late Adikwu are standing trial.

    They are: Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salaudeen Azeez and Niyi Ogundiran were in court.

    One of the prosecution witnesses led by Prof Wahab Egbewole, Hitila Hassan, an inspector told the court that the closed circuit television (CCTV) footages of the banks disclosed the identity of the accused persons culminating into their arrest.

    Mr. Hassan, an officer attached to the Inspector General of Police

    (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT), said other members of the gang are still at large.

    IRT was set up by the former IGP Ibrahim Idris and it is headed by Assistant Commissioner of police (ACP) Abba Kyari.

    The police officer added that his team came to Ilorin at the behest of the then IGP Idris to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

    He said that his team worked with the officers of the Kwara state criminal investigation department, saying that “we visited the armoury of the scenes of the incident and Offa police station where we discovered that no fewer than 21 AK47 rifles were carted away by the armed robbers.

    “We also gathered from the accused persons that the late Michael

    Adikwu after the attacks on banks headed for the police station and started shouting that he had come on a revenge mission for his dismissal from the force.

    “Then he started shooting sporadically in every direction at the station. Having carefully watched the footages of the CCTV we identified the faces in the camera and the circulated in the social media for Nigerians to assist us in the arrest of the culprits.

    “Through that we generated our intelligence that led to the arrest of one Ibikunle Ogunleye in Oro, Irepodun local government area of the state.

    “Initially, he denied having anything to do with the incident but when confronted with CCTV evidence, he confessed and said he was one of the persons inside the banks wielding AK47 rifles.

    “His arrest assisted us in the arrest of four other accused persons standing trial.”

    Inspector Dauda, an exhibit keeper at the Kwara state Headquarters of the Nigeria Police, Ilorin had testified.

    Read Also: FG, States, LGs share N649.198b monthly allocation

    He disclosed that on April 10,2018, a former Divisional Police officer in Offa local government, CSP Danjuma Adamu handed to him some weapons and ammunition allegedly used in the robbery operation.

    Dauda said that the ammunition included 39 expended 7.6mm ammunition, four expended 5.6mm, two expended blank cartridges, four used bullet, one life 5.6mm ammunition, one Catridge safety box on which Ikoyi South West, Lagos, Nigeria was written and a damaged padlock.

    He also said that on April 15, 2018, Inspector Hassan attached to the Inspector General of Police rescue team also brought one Lexus Jeep on which a sticker bearing “Saraki” was written with it key, a Compressor Mercedes Benz and four Stickers bearing “Saraki”.

    The prosecution tendered all the items as exhibits in the case.

    Friday’s sitting commenced around 9am and ended at 4:23pm

    Justice Halimat Salman adjourned the case till February 19 and 20, 2019 for continuation of hearing.

  • APC: CCTV captured Rivers bombing

    The Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Chief Chris Finebone, has said those that threw explosives into the party’s secretariat at 63, Aba Road, Port Harcourt, were captured on Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV).

    Speaking yesterday in Port Harcourt, Finebone said the bombs and dynamites were thrown from a moving car.

    He noted that the criminals, will soon be apprehended by security agents and prosecuted.

    Police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), yesterday, in a telephone chat, said the the Sunday bombings were under investigation.

    There were explosions beside Rivers APC secretariat and Igboukwu Playground in D-Line, Port Harcourt, venue of the governorship primary, where businessman Tonye Cole was elected as the standard bearer for 2019 election.

    Former House of Representatives member Dr. Dawari George, ex-commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources in the Rotimi Amaechi administration, was the runners up.

    Four governorship aspirants (Cole, George, Dumo Lulu-Briggs and Magnus Abe) were screened and cleared in Abuja by the national leadership, but Lulu-Briggs and Abe boycotted Sunday’s primary.

    Sunday’s primary conducted the indirect mode was approved by the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC).

    Abe, who inaugurated a parallel secretariat at Waterlines on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, organised another primary by direct mode in 319 wards at the 23 councils, which he won.

    George, however, said: “Our party, the APC, has just concluded the primary election in Rivers State to choose a candidate to fly its flag in the 2019 governorship election. I congratulate my brother, Tonye Cole, on his election.

    “I wish to use this opportunity to congratulate our leader, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, party delegates and members for going through the process successfully.

    “I wish to thank my supporters for their tenacity and commitment to our shared vision. My special appreciation goes to the youths of Rivers State, men and women across party divide, who owned the project and drove it with great ingenuity. The support from my family has been tremendous.

    “I still count on your support in my commitment to the victory of APC and the good of Rivers State in 2019.”

    A former governorship candidate, Tonye Princewill, yesterday described Abe’s direct primary as an exercise in futility, declaring that absence of APC leaders from Abuja and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials showed it was a waste of time and a huge joke.

    Princewill called on members to join Cole and other progressives to replace Governor Nyesom Wike next year.

  • RRS nabs phone ‘thief’ caught on CCTV footage

    RRS nabs phone ‘thief’ caught on CCTV footage

    RAPID Response Squad (RRS) operatives  have arrested a suspected phone thief, allegedly captured on a Close Circuit Television (CCTV) footage now circulating on  social media.

    Timilehin Olaniyi allegedly told the RRS that he stole the iPhone 8s in his desperation to pay his  N80,000 school fee.

    Olaniyi, a 200-level student of D. S. Adegbenro Information Communication Technology (ICT) College in Wasimi,  Ogun State,  claimed that he came to the Computer Village in Ikeja on February 16 to sell an iPhone 5s given to him by his course mate to enable him raise money for his school fee.

    A RRS statement yesterday claimed that he stole the iphone 8s  while there. Olaniyi was arrested on Thursday.

    The suspect was tracked and arrested in Wasimi, Ogun State by the RRS Decoy Team.

    The RRS quoted Olaniyi as saying : “I was in Lagos on the invitation of a close friend. He is aware that I was struggling to pay my school fees, so he gave me an iphone 5s to sell in order to raise money.

    “So I went to Computer Village to sell the phone. When I entered the phone store, my plan was to know the price of Iphone 7s but it was not available. I noticed that one of the attendants went out leaving behind an Iphone 8s on the table. I don’t know what came over me. I monitored the other attendant and I went away with the phone.  I never knew I was captured by the CCTV. I sold that iphone 5s to pay my tuition fee while I started using the iphone 8s.

    “It was about the second day that the friend I was squatting with sent me packing from his house over a CCTV footage circulating on the internet of a phone thief. He said I was the one.”

    Olaniyi, it was learnt, failed to open up to his elder brother who saw him sporting a T-shirt he bought for him in the video.

    The brother had gone to hire a lawyer over the case  before the suspect confessed and was arrested few days later.

  • Couple, two others caught on CCTV ‘stealing’at Oshodi

    Couple, two others caught on CCTV ‘stealing’at Oshodi

    Four persons, includinga  couple, Segun Latoye and Toyin Samuel, have been arrested  after being caught on camera in Oshodi, dispossessing passersby of their belongings.

    The others are Jelili Ganiu, 19, and Samson Owolabi, 23.

    The couple were caught on camera thrice stealing from people.

    A statement by the Rapid Response Squad (RRS said the couple dispossessed a woman of her bag containing two mobi1le phones and an unspecified amount of money.

    “After hypnotising their victim, they fled with her belongings. The woman regained her consciousness few minutes later and reported the incident to RRS officers who contacted the person in charge of the Close Circuit Television (CCTV) mobile camera. Their pictures were shown to selected people in Oshodi who could identify them and notify RRS on their whereabouts. They were later arrested. The suspects, who claimed to be husband and wife confessed after watching their video,” RRS said.

    Ganiu and Owolabi were caught on camera stealing what looked like mobile phones from a passerby on the pedestrian bridge.

    They were monitored through the camera exchanging the stolen items with another suspect, who is  at large, before returning to the flyover.

    The suspects were trailed by RRS operatives and arrested near the bridge.

    They confessed to RRS that they stole an Infinix Hot mobile phone from a passer-by on the bridge, saying the person they gave it to,  keeps  the stolen items.

    Jelili added that the fleeing  Omo Nla sells the stolen items and they later share the proceeds.

    The suspect was quoted as saying :  ‘’Owolabi and I are conductors in Oshodi but when there is no  work or we arrive late at the park to reunite with our bosses, we steal phones, purses and other valuables from the users of the pedestrian bridge in Oshodi’’.

    Police spokesman Chike Oti said  the suspects would be charged to court soon.

  • CAUTION! Why you should not use smartphones on the road

    CAUTION! Why you should not use smartphones on the road

    In the video below captured by a Close Circuit Television (CCTV) in New Jersey, a 67-year-old woman was seriously injured when she fell through open sidewalk access doors.

    The woman, who was unaware of the open ditch ahead, fell over and was rescued by public workers and rushed to the hospital.