The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Four policemen

  • Four policemen sacked over N350,000

    The Lagos State Police Command has dismissed four policemen for corrupt practice.

    Sergeants Gbemunu Afolabi and Afolabi Oluwaseun, Corporal Adigun Omotayo and Inspector Amiete attached to Ijanikin Division were found guilty on all counts.

    While Sergeants Afolabi and Oluwaseun and Corporal Omotayo were dismissed, Inspector Amiete was recommended to Zonal Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) for dismissal.

    A statement by police spokesman Chike Oti, a Chief Superintendent (CSP), said: “Based on the recommendation of the adjudicating officer, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Imohimi Edgal, has approved the dismissal of the following Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs) from the Nigeria Police Force, namely Sergeants Gbemunu Afolabi and Afolabi Oluwaseun and Corporal Adigun Omotayo. Meanwhile, the recommendation for the dismissal of Inspector Amiete has been forwarded to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2 for approval.”

    The command on December 26 issued a statement to the effect that the aforementioned policemen were being investigated for discreditable conduct and corrupt practices in a case involving  Ifunanya Theodore, a Nigerian living in Togo, on homebound journey to the country for the Yuletide.

    The quartet on December 17 arrested Theodore for “armed robbery” and recovered N350,000 from him. After investigation, Theodore was exonerated from the allegation, but the money found on him was not returned.

    When his request for the release of his money was not attended to, he notified the Area ‘K’ Commander in Morogbo, Hope Okafor, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), who directed that his money be released to him without delay.

    Edgal directed that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Ijanikin Division be issued a query “and may likely be reported to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) if his response is not acceptable.”

    Oti said the four officers shoddily handled the allegation against Theodore and had conducted themselves in a manner unbecoming of their status in the Force.

    “The Commissioner of Police has redeployed the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ijanikin Division, Eugene Ubine, a CSP, for lacking supervision of his men. He (Edgal), therefore, warns Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers and Heads of Department to strictly monitor the activities of their men for better service delivery. He said the punishment meted out to the policemen is intended to deter others,” Oti said.

  • Four policemen detained as FSARS ‘kill’ teenager

    Operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Ikeja yesterday shot a teenager dead in Lagos.

    The incident occurred at Ilepo, Satellite Town, while the operatives were said to be chasing criminals.

    It was gathered that they fired sporadic shots, one of which hit the teenager, said to be on errand.

    The news of the teenager’s death sparked protests on the social media, fuelling the clamour for the scrapping of the FSARS.

    Reacting to the incident, police spokesman Chike Oti, a Chief Superintendent (CSP) said four of the policemen had been detained for questioning.

    Oti said: “The attention of the Commissioner Police (CP) has been drawn to the news making the rounds on the social media that SARS operatives accidentally shot and killed an eighteen-year-old boy at Satellite Town Lagos.

    “In view of the unfortunate incident, the CP ordered that the policemen involved be arrested for questioning.

    “However, it must be stated that the FSARS operatives left their base in Ikeja today August 1, to Satellite Town, Lagos, with a clear directive to arrest notorious armed bandits that have made life unbearable for the people of the area.

    “They succeeded in arresting one of the hoodlums but the rest of the gang opened fire on the policemen leading to a shootout.

    “The CP has ordered an investigation into the matter. The team is mandated to investigate, arrest and prosecute anyone found culpable in the shooting saga- civilians and policemen alike.

    “Further development on this matter would be communicated to the public as usual.”

  • Robbers kill four policemen, six others in Kwara

    Robbers bearing sophisticated weapons invaded Kwara State town of Offa yesterday, killing no fewer than 10 people including four policemen and raided five banks in a commando-like manner.

    Gaining access to the town from Ijagbo in the western end, the robbers shot sporadically, killing four policemen at a police station in the entrance to town, and six others, including passers-by. A commercial motorcyclist was among the dead, according to eyewitnesses.

    They reportedly used dynamite to break the vaults of the commercial houses made up of three new generation and two old generation banks.

    Eyewitnesses who recalled the deadly incident told our reporter on the telephone that “The robbers carted away substantial amount of money from the banks’ vaults. They blew open the security of the banks with dynamite.  Many passers-by were hit by stray bullets. A commercial motorcyclist was among those killed.”

    It was gathered that the bandits, numbering about 15, came in about four vehicles. They blocked access to the town from Ilorin and Osogbo. They operated for about one hour from around 4:30pm.

    They reportedly escaped from the town with their loot through Igosun area.

    Bodies were seen in some parts of the town where the policemen operated after their departure.

    The injured were taken to the Offa Genera Hospital.

    Kwara State police Spokesman Ajayi Okasanmi who confirmed the raid, said victims included policeman and other individuals.

    He promised to make details available after full investigation.

  • Four policemen, six soldiers killed in Rann attack

    Four policemen, six soldiers killed in Rann attack

    The Police in Borno yesterday confirmed that four policemen and six soldiers were killed in the Boko Haram attack in Rann community of Kala Balge Local Government Area of the state.

    Commissioner of Police Damian Chukwu, stated this at the monthly police meeting in Maiduguri.

    “In the recent attack in Kala Balge Local Government Area, four mobile policemen and some six soldiers were killed.

    “The police are part of the counter-insurgency campaign to restore peace and stability, and were deployed to various locations,” Chukwu said.

    He also said over 500 men had been deployed in Operation Lafiya Dole, and reiterated the commitment of the command to the successful implementation of the counter-insurgency campaign.

    The News Agency of Nigeria  (NAN) reports that the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs  (UN-OCHA) had said that three aid workers were killed and three others sustained injuries while a nurse was declared missing during the terrorists’ attack in Rann on March 1.

    The UN agency said the aid workers were providing humanitarian services to over 50,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled their homes due to the ongoing conflict in the region.

  • Four policemen remanded for alleged murder

    Four policemen remanded for alleged murder

    Four policemen attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos State have been remanded in prison custody in Benin, the Edo State capital, for allegedly killing a car dealer, Benson Obode.

    The policemen – Adedeji Adeleke, 33; Oniyo Musa, 35; Abena John, 33 and Henry Shobowale, 32 – allegedly went to Edo State to probe a car theft.

    They were said to have arrested Benson on May 21 without his family’s knowledge.

    After 63 days, the family said they found Benson’s body in a mortuary, where the policemen allegedly dumped it.

    The police were said to have described Benson’s killing as “death from a mob action”.

    The late Benson’s Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card was said to have been collected from him and over N200,000 withdrawn from his account.

    Police Commissioner Chris Ezike told reporters yesterday in Benin that the four policemen were arrested after detectives from the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID) took over the matter.

    The police chief said the four policemen were tried, dismissed and charged to court for alleged murder on October 19.

    He said the case file had been forwarded to the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.

    Ezike paraded 52 suspected kidnappers and robbers as well as 35 suspected cultists.

    The police chief urged a suspect he described as a notorious kidnapper – Arikpo Nwagbara – to report to the nearest police station.

    He said five suspects were arrested for their alleged link with the November 3 Igarra bank robbery in which six persons, including two officers, were killed.

    Items reportedly recovered from the suspects include five assorted vehicles, 131 rounds of ammunition, four live cartridges, 47 AK-47, magazines, 21 AK-47, one pump action, two G3 rifles and 34 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

     

     

     

     

  • Four policemen, five insurgents killed in Yobe

    Four policemen, five insurgents killed in Yobe

    Disturbed by the wave of recent attacks in some parts of the state, the Yobe State Government has imposed a fresh restriction of movement across the 17 local government areas of the state.

    The announcement of a fresh 6 pm to 7 am curfew came as four policemen were reported killed in a dawn attack on Thursday by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Babangida, the headquarters of Tarmuwa Local Government Area, about 50km from Damaturu the state capital.

    A statement signed by Abdullahi Bego, the Special Adviser to Governor Ibrahim Gaidam on Press Affairs and Information, noted that the restriction of movement starts from 6 pm to 7 am with effect from Thursday April 13, adding that the decision was taken following a meeting between Governor Gaidam and law enforcement agencies in the state.

    Gaidam in the statement also enjoined the public to continue to use the GSM numbers provided by the JTF to report any suspicious movements in their neighborhoods.

    The Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Rufai, who confirmed the incident, said the insurgents attacked the Divisional Police Station at Babangida at about 1 am, killing four policemen.

    Witnesses said the gunmen, who were many, stormed the Divisional Police Station of the area in the early hours of Friday and engaged the policemen on duty in an encounter that lasted for almost an hour.

    CP Rufai said his men fought gallantly to repel the attack but lost four of his men with two others sustaining injuries and were receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

    Rufai, however, disclosed that the police killed five of the insurgents and injured many but the hoodlums carted away their dead members.

    “We will continue to discharge our responsibility as security men by ensuring that law abiding citizens have a conducive atmosphere to go about their legitimate business,” he said.

    He called on the general public to support security forces in the fight towards lasting peace in the state.

    Thursday’s attack occurred four days after the insurgents had attacked men of the JTF in Tumbulgi Village in Geidam Local Government Area of the state where an army officer and five insurgents were were killed according to JTF spokesman. Lt. Lazarus Eli.