The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Gunmen

  • Gunmen kill officer escorting election results in Ogun

    A Police Corporal identified as Sunday Idoko, is said to have been shot dead by gunmen who attacked him while guarding a vehicle conveying election result from Ipokia to Ilaro collation centre.

    The Nation gathered that Idoko was gunned down around 8.00pm on Sunday when the vehicle ran into an ambush laid by hoodlums at Eredo area in Yewa South Local Government.

    The hoodlums opened fire on the vehicle on sighting it.

    The results of the House of Representatives for Ipokia/Yewa South Federal Constituency were being taken to Oronna Hall in Ilaro at the time.

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    The State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the attack and death of the officer, assured that the attackers would be brought to book.

    He said that the election result was, however, intact.

    Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, has given a directive to the effect that the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of State Criminal Investigate and Intelligence Department, Wale Abase, should commence investigation into the case.

    “The unfortunate incident happened on Sunday evening, when he was escorting election results to Ilaro. The hoodlums laid ambushed on the vehicle conveying the result.

    “We are on the trail of the hoodlums and we are going to arrest them,” he said.

     

     

  • Gunmen kill police officer attached to Bello’s aide

    Unidentified gunmen suspected to be political thugs have shot dead a police officer attached to the Personal Assistant to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Kabir Aliu.

    Aliu sustained gunshot wounds when the suspected thugs opened fire on their vehicle while on their way to the governor’s residence in Okene.

    Governor Bello disclosed this on Saturday shortly after casting his vote at his Agassa Uvete ward 011 polling unit in Okene Local Government Area.

    He expressed sadness over the killing, saying that the police were already investigating the matter.

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    The governor waited for close to two hours before accreditation, owing to card reader malfunction.

    He expressed disappointment with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the shoddy arrangement, saying that it did not augur well for a transparent and credible election.

    According to him, “For an election where card readers are expected to shut down at 2 o clock, and in a polling unit such as this, with 844 registered voters, many people will be disenfranchised.”

    He, however, expressed satisfaction with the relatively peaceful conduct while the exercise lasted in the area.

  • Gunmen abduct two saw millers

    • N5m ransom demanded

    Residents of Akunu in Akoko Northeast Local Government Area of Ondo State were in confusion yesterday, as two prominent saw millers, who have their factories at Ikakumo-Akoko, were reportedly abducted by gunmen. The incident happened between Akunu and Ayere in Kogi State.

    Eyewitnesses, Mrs. Kudi Obayan and Mr Bello Michael, said the victims were three and were in a Honda Accord car when the gunmen waylaid them and dragged two of them into the bush.

    They said the third one was spared so that he would inform the victims’ families, to facilitate the collection of ransom.

    Police in Akunu said the spot where the kidnappers struck was in Kogi State.

    The kidnappers, according to a source, have demanded N5million ransom.

     

  • Gunmen abduct saw millers in Ondo, demand N5m ransom

    Residents of Akunu in Akoko Northeast local government of Ondo state were in confusion on Tuesday as two prominent saw millers who have their factories at Ikakumo-Akoko were reportedly abducted by gunmen between Akunu and Ayere in kogi state.

    According to eyewitnesses,Mrs kudi Obayan and Engr Bello Micheal, the victims were three in a Honda Accord car they were travelling when the gunmen waylaid them and took two of the occupants to the bush.

    The other one was said to have been spared in order to report the development to their families for ransom.

    A farmer who was working in his farm during the abduction said he heard the booming of guns along the road in their attempt to seize the two victims.

    It was learnt their vehicle was abandoned on the road, while the third person with the victims narrated his ordeal.

    Police in Akunu said the spot where the kidnappers struck fell within Kogi state territory.

    Soldiers at the military checkpoint in the vicinity, vigilantes and local hunters combed the forest to arrest the gunmen and rescue the victims.

    The kidnappers according to a source, have demanded N5m as ransom for the release of their captives.

    It would be recalled that two persons travelling along Ayere Akunu-Auga-Ise road were kidnapped within the last one week.

    Residents urged the police to increase security network in all border towns of Ondo state.

  • Hoodlums kill four NDLEA officers, burn patrol vehicles

    Hoodlums suspected to be drug peddlers on Sunday night reportedly killed four officers of the Ondo State command of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Ifon, headquarters of Ose Local Government Area of the state.

    Sources said the hoodlums also burnt the official vehicle of the Agency used for patrol in the area.

    It was learnt that the suspected drug peddlers who were three in number carried AK47 rifles and other dangerous weapons when they attacked the NDLEA officers who were on patrol.

    They were said to have emerged on a motorcycle and shot the four NDLEA officers on the chest, but one of the officers narrowly escaped into the bush.

    The NDLEA officers were met unawares at their checkpoint along lkaro, Sabo road. All efforts to escape death failed.

    Five of the NDLEA officers on patrol were said to have been on patrol before the killers emerged.

    All their rifles and personal belongings were carted away by the hoodlums.

    The dead NDLEA officers are Abduljalad Mohammed, Wellinton Emmanuel, Magaji Aliu and Mohammed lliyasu.

    The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Femi Joseph, a Superintendent of Police(SP) who confirmed the incident, said the Police would collaborate with the NDLEA to bring the culprits to book.

    According to him, the state police command was investigating the incident, with a view to bringing the culprits to book.

    He assured that those who perpetrated the devilish act would be apprehended and prosecuted.

    Joseph said the NDLEA and the Police would work together to ensure that justice was done on the matter soonest.

  • Armed men kill policeman in Aba

     

    An unidentified Mobile Police Force personnel was on Sunday afternoon reportedly killed by unknown gunmen in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State.

    Unconfirmed reports have it that the deceased was a security officer attached to a popular hotel located off Azikiwe Road by East in the commercial city.

    The gunmen said to be numbering four, according to reports who came in a tricycle, after killing the Mobile Policeman went away with his AK 47 riffle as they shoot sporadically into the air.

    The incident, which our reporter gathered occurred at about 2pm, caused pandemonium in the area as passersby and visitors to the hotel scampered for safety.

    It was learnt that though the policeman was quickly evacuated to a nearby hospital for prompt medical attention, he was however said to have died before help could come his way due to heavy blood loss.

    It was learnt that a colleague of the deceased had gone out when the gunmen struck.

    A source, who said that he was at the hotel to watch a Spanish football match between Real Madrid versus Girona, told our reporter that they were at the bar drinking and waiting for the match when they heard three gun shots.

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    “People from outside started running while we took cover at the hotel bar. After three minutes later, we came out to find the body of the policeman on the floor.

    “We ran towards there in a bid to assist other hotel boys to see if he could be revived.

    “It was then that they told us that the gunmen came with Keke NAPEP, unknown to the officer, they shut him three times and took his gun.

    “They were two policemen on duty. The other one, we learnt had gone out before the incident happened. He came back to meet the colleague in the pool of his blood.”

    When contacted, the spokesman of Abia State Police Command, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna said he was yet-to-be briefed on the incident and promised to furnish our reporter with information on any development.

    A source within the Abia Police Command, who spoke to our reporter anonymously, confirmed the death of the police officer.

    According to the source, the police are suspecting the gunmen were armed robbers or political thugs who needed the gun to carry out their nefarious act.

    The source, who expressed worries over the recent attack on security operatives, disclosed that yet-to-be known gunmen attacked and killed a member of the Abia State Vigilante Service popularly known as Bakassi Boys at one of the busiest area Ama Hausa by Mosque road and made away with the vigilante personnel’s pump action gun.

     

  • 66 dead in fresh Kaduna crisis

    No fewer than 66 persons have been confirmed killed in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Friday.

    Kaduna state government confirmed the incident and warned all communities against instigating attacks or reprisals.

    A government statement by Samuel Aruwan, media aide to Gov. Nasiru El-Rufa’i on Friday in Kaduna, said that security agencies have been deployed to the area, while arrests have been made.

    “Security agencies today reported the recovery of 66 bodies that were killed in attacks by criminal elements on various dispersed hamlets in the Maro Gida and Iri axis of Kajuru LGA.

    “The settlements affected include Ruga Bahago, Ruga Daku, Ruga Ori, Ruga Haruna, Ruga Yukka Abubakar, Ruga Duni Kadiri, Ruga Shewuka and Ruga Shuaibu Yau.

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    “Among the victims were 22 children and 12 women. Four wounded persons rescued by the security agencies are now receiving medical attention.

    “Government condemns the attacks and commiserates with the families of the victims. Security agencies have been deployed to the area and arrests have been made.

    “Government urges community, traditional and religious leaders in the area to encourage residents to avoid any reprisal attacks and to leave the matter in the hands of the security and law enforcement agencies.

    “The killings are being investigated and residents are assured that indicted persons will be prosecuted.

    “Residents of Kaduna State are enjoined to uphold peace and harmony, shun violence and allow the elections to be held in an atmosphere of calm.”

    According to the statement, any suspicious activity should be reported to the security agencies in person or through the following lines: 09034000060 and 08170189999.

  • Gunmen kidnap UBEC official in Ondo

    A 45-year-old official of the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC), Abuja, Mr. Femi Adesote, has been kidnapped by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen near Auga in Akoko Northeast Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    The victim was returning from Abuja with his aged father and younger sister, who accompanied their father, when the incident happened.

    The victim’s father, Samuel Adesote, reportedly travelled to Abuja on the invitation of his son to receive medical treatment.

    A source said the four kidnappers waylaid them and abducted the victim.

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Ikare, Adeniyi Agboola, was said to have mobilised his men to comb Auga forest with other security agents to rescue the victim and arrest the suspects.

    The Area Commander in Akoko, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Razak Rauf, assured residents that the criminals would be flushed out of Auga forest.

    He said the victim’s vehicle, a BMW with number plate ABJ RSH 862 DV, has been moved to the police headquarters in Ikare-Akoko.

    Auga-Akoko’s monarch Oba Samuel Agunloye, whose driver and wife were kidnapped last year, said but for a brief delay, she and the driver would have again fallen victim yesterday.

    He urged the police to establish a station at Auga, while soldiers should be stationed at a checkpoint in the town, to tighten security.

  • Gunmen kidnap two Bowen varsity workers

    Two members of staff of the Bowen University, Iwo, in Osun State were reportedly abducted by gunmen last night.

    The victims were allegedly abducted at Ile-Ogbo junction on the Iwo-Osogbo Road.

    It was gathered that the yet-to-be identified victims by the authorities of the university, were abruptly stopped by the armed men in their car before they were marched into the bush.

    The third victim, who reportedly escaped from the gunmen, were said to have been shot and reportedly sustained a first-degree injury on his leg.

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    He is said to be presently lying critically ill at an undisclosed hospital in Iwo.

    Spokesperson of the Osun State Police Command Mrs. Folashade Odoro, in telephone chat, said policemen were presently combing the area to apprehend the culprits and rescue those who were kidnapped.

    She said: “Yes, two people were kidnapped,  and our men are already in the bush trying to rescue the victims and apprehend the abductors.”

  • Gunmen allegedly kill businessman’s employee

    The last has not been heard in the case of a businessman, Olusesan Aleilo Olatunji, a victim of serial victimisation by  some people over a housing project. Olatunji has since gone into hiding, after the matter was reported to the police and nothing was allegedly done to protect him.

    The Nation had reported on October 20, 2018, how Olatunji, who is the founder of Olas Exquisite Properties Limited, and his family members were subjected to brutality, after he refused to inflate the cost of a housing estate project his company got in 2016.

    A principal partner in his company, Nelson Okunoghae, an architect, who was to join him for a meeting with officials involved in the award of the contract, was also declared missing in February 2018 on his way to honour the appointment in Abuja.

    In a related development, a Senior Site and Evaluation Manager in Olatunji’s firm, Mr Shola Adegbite, has allegedly been killed by suspected assassins. The incident happened along Sagamu-Benin highway, penultimate Friday, while the deceased was returning home in his car.

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    A source, who did not want his name in print, confirmed that Adegbite was one of the aspirants sponsored by Olatunji for an elective position in Ogun State.

    A source, who spoke with our correspondent in Olatunji’s hometown in Ijebu Ode, said he was a strong supporter and financier of the local branch of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    ”I believe Olatunji’s ordeal may be in relation to his support for some politicians including Adegbite which unsettled certain parochial interests in the party and he was warned several times to stop backing them,” the source said.

    Police spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi was not reachable on his mobile phone line while a text message sent to his phone was not replied at press time.