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Tag: Hoodlums

  • Hoodlums kill one in attack on patrol van

    There was panic in parts of Asaba on Monday, Delta State capital, after hoodlums attacked a patrol van attached to ‘C Division’, leaving one of the five officers dead and another in critical condition.

    The Nation learnt three  policemen fled  the scene.

    It was gathered the hoodlums ambushed the five policemen, about 8:30 pm.

    They attacked the officers with machetes and other dangerous weapons.

    It was learnt the hoodlums stole two AK 47 rifles abandoned by the fleeing policemen.

    According to an eyewitness account, two policemen were severely cut with machetes; three escaped with injuries.

    One of the officers later died in hospital from excessive loss of blood.

    Police Commissioner Mr. Muhammad Mustafa confirmed the incident, saying some suspects had been arrested.

    This brings the number of attacks on patrol teams by gunmen to three within two months in Asaba.

    It was gathered two months ago, two AK 47 rifles were reportedly stolen in a similar attack at Isse-Asagba.

  • Families accuse hoodlums, police, task force of invading land

    Some families in a community in Eti-Osa East Local Council Development Area of Lagos State have lamented the destruction of their properties by unknown people.

    The families claimed that the assailants came with policemen two weeks ago to dislodge them from their land.

    They said five persons, including two men, two women and a child were injured

    During a protest on Saturday at Idi-Obi Egan Village, the families appealed to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to investigate the assault.

    The families’ spokespersons, Alade Rufai Ifamoluwa and Alhaji Kolawole Amode, described the attacks as “callous.”

    Ifamoluwa said the assailants destroyed their forefathers’ graves and symbol of their deities.

    “They destroyed the perimeter fencing, entered our land and demolished our houses. They did not even spare our shrines.  I have been arrested twice and taken to Ikoyi prison before my people came to bail me and others. After that, they still used policemen to threaten us. This land remains our source of livelihood. The people also destroyed the equipment I used for my business here,” he said.

    The families, Amode said, had sacrificed and did not deserve the assault.

    He said: “We are all begging Governor Ambode to help us by looking into what is happening to us here in our community. As far back as 500 years, our forefathers lived here and there was no problem but since two years ago, we began to have issues with our land. We have lost 400 hectares of the land to the state government out of 500 hectares since year 2000. The remaining 100 hectares is what the government left for us, yet we are being disturbed by some faceless groups, that are dropping the name of the government to foment crisis.

    “They came with mobile policemen and task force officers, they drove our wives and children, who are living here away, broken our homes. So we don’t know what to do again. We are begging Lagos State Government under Governor Ambode to help us to protect our land so that we can have rest of mind.

    “We want government to help us call some developers working on our land to leave, because they are selling the land to other people.”

    Amode said he and his brother were detained at Ikoyi Prison on two occasions because of the issue.

    Imam Mustapha Adeniyi, who bought one hectare of land from the family, said some people working on his site were injured during the attack.

    “I learnt they came with harmful objects to destroy things here.  This is one of my workers, who were wounded that day. I was on my way when I was told not to come here, else I would be wounded. I bought the land from Ifamoluwa family and I have almost one hectare of land, which belongs to me and my elder brothers in London. I am using this opportunity to beg the government to see to this issue.  I learnt that the government said they don’t have anything to do with the destruction, and that is why they should investigate the matter,” he said.

  • Hoodlums set Imo Magistrate Court on fire

    There was pandemonium in Orlu Council Area of Imo state on Wednesday when yet-to-be identified hoodlums attacked a Magistrate Court in Olru, the Council Headquarters and set it ablaze.

    The fire according to eye witnesses, destroyed all the documents in the Court’s documents keeping department before it was put off.

    The said Court is on the same premises with the Orlu High court.

    A Staff of the Court who preferred not to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, told journalists that the hoodlums fled after setting a session of the Court ablaze .

    He said that the security men attached to the Court premises were attracted by the inferno but could not get there before the attackers escaped in a waiting vehicle.

    The source disclosed further that there was no premidated reason for the attack, adding
    that nobody was in Court when the hoodlums struck.

    According to him, “this Court treats cases like every other Court. There is no development in the past suggesting the attack. Police investigation will reveal the reason for the arson.”

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    Journalists were not prevented from taking photographs of the burnt Court.

    The Police spokesperson in the state , Andrew Enwerem, a Superintendent of Police, who confirmed the incident, said that it was a suspected case of arson .

    Enwerem who said that the Commissioner of Police , Dasuki Galadanchi, had mandated the Area Commander in charge of Orlu zone to commence full investigations into the matter said that only the session housing the Court’s documents was affected.

  • Hoodlums kill police escort, butcher in Edo

    Hoodlums on Thursday ambushed members of the caretaker committee of Edo state Butchers Union on Benin-Auchi expressway, killing the police escort, Sergeant Jubril and a butcher, Nathaniel Iyamu.

    The 13-man Committee was recently inaugurated to oversee the affairs of the state’s Butchers Union by Governor Godwin Obaseki, following a protracted crisis that  rocked the union.

    Iyamu, until his gruesome death was the vice chairman of the body.

    It was learnt that the chieftains of the union were attacked when their convoy ran into a robbery operation, while returning from Afuze in Owan East Local Government, where the local branch of the union was inaugurated.

    An eyewitness said the armed men abducted some motorists while shooting sporadically.

    The incident occurred near Obadan village along the Benin-Auchi highway.

    It was gathered that the police escort had shot into the air to apparently scare the hoodlums away.

    The witness said the late police escort was running into the bush alongside others when he was gunned down.

    ”The operation lasted for over an hour causing heavy traffic gridlock. Many passengers ran for safety.

    “Some passengers were also robbed of their valuables, while some were taken to in unknown destination.”

    A member of the committee who pleaded anonymity said the lifeless body of the policeman was recovered at about 10pm.

    Contacted, the police spokesman, Chidi Nwabuzor, said the incident was being investigated.

  • Nine killed in fresh Benue gunmen attack

    Armed men struck afresh at  Tse- Ujo village, Katsina Ala Local Government area in Benue state on Thursday killing 10 persons, according to residents.

    The hoodlums invaded the village at about 8am allegedly in search of a rival gang member but left disappointed as they did not find him.

    Read Also:Gunmen kill police escort, butcher in Edo

    They were said to have returned in the evening and when they still did not find their target, decided to vent their anger on innocent villagers, shooting indiscriminately.

    Ten were thus gunned down.

    The police said Friday that nine were killed

    Spokesman for the state police command, Moses Yamu, a deputy superintendent, said policemen had been drafted to the area.

    Governor Samuel Ortom condemned the incident and asked  security agencies to go after the bandits.

    The governor described the attack as unacceptable.

    Ortom, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase assured the people of Katsina-Ala that steps had been taken to prevent further attacks in the area, adding that three persons had been arrested in connection with the attack.

    The governor also  reassured the people of the state that his administration will not allow armed militia to continue to terrorise communities.

    “He encouraged anyone with information that can lead to the apprehension of the gang to contact the police, Department of State Services or the military,” Akase said.

    Hoodlums  have consistently targeted Katsina Ala over the last few months killing people and setting houses ablaze.

  • Hoodlums kidnap clerics, lecturer

    A Catholic priest, Revd. Fr. Leo Michael, has been kidnapped at Irepeni village in Adavi Local Government of Kogi State.

    The Nation learnt the incident occurred on Tuesday.

    The cleric is a priest at St. Michael Catholic Church, Obajana.

    A source said a yet-to-be identified pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was also abducted at the same spot on his way to Okene.

    A Chemistry lecturer with the Kogi State College of Education (Technical), Kabba, Mr. Aronimu Samuel Babatunde, was said to have been kidnapped on the Okene-Kabba Road.

    The Diocesan Chancellor of Lokoja Diocese, Bishop Peter Adinoyi, said the abductors emerged from the bush, near Irepeni village, close to a roadblock and dragged Rev. Fr. Michael and one other, believed to be a pastor with the RCCG, out of their cars, into the bush.

    They abandoned the victims’ vehicles.

    He said the abductors had contacted the church, adding they had reduced the ransom from N50 million to N8 million.

    Bishop Adinoyi implored the government to intervene.

    Police spokesman William Aya confirmed the abduction of the Catholic priest.

    He, however, said he was unaware of the kidnap of the RCCG pastor and the lecturer, adding the police were trailing the abductors.

     

  • Hoodlums allegedly kill NNPC’s contractor’s guards

    Suspected hoodlums have killed two guards working for Topline Security, a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s  (NNPC’s) contractor, which protects pipelines.

    The Nation learnt that the incident occurred during a clash with indigenes at Ilashe, a Lagos riverine community.

    The deceased, Bello Williams and Oluwasegun Olusanya, were reportedly killed with machetes last Wednesday  and their bodies dumped in shallow graves on the island.

    It was gathered that the guards had been at loggerheads with the residents, who accused them of brutality, vandalism and sexual assault.

    The Nation last month reported a near-death experience in the hands of the guards, who had threatened to shoot at jerry cans laden with petrol to cause explosion than allow naval operatives recover them.

    Following that incident, it was learnt that the guards accused the locals of informing naval operatives, who came for an on-the-spot assessment, leading to violence.

    The Nation gathered that some of the guards were killed and others abducted during a similar clash weeks ago.

    But Topline Security at the weekend accused the Navy of killing the deceased and kidnapping two others, Abayomi Ojugbele and Benedict Orme, who they said, sustained gunshot injuries.

    It was learnt that the firm’s coordinator, Chief Joshua Aminu, at a media briefing, said the incident occurred around 3:30pm on July 11.

    Aminu, it was gathered, alleged that a naval officer, Aminu Goni, led a team, which stormed the island in two speed boats and shot Topline Security guards, who were at their duty post.

    He said he tried to contact the officer when he was informed of the invasion, but could not get him on the phone, adding that Goni later contacted him and said there was a misunderstanding between naval operatives and Topline Security guards.

    Aminu said the guards would no longer work unless they were allowed to resume bearing arms.

    He said: “If we must continue our job of protecting pipelines, we must be allowed to protect ourselves by carrying light arms.  We do not have any ulterior motive, we are only concerned and doing our best to protect our national interest by safeguarding petroleum pipelines.

    “Goni later called and told me that a misunderstanding broke out between his personnel and my men. I said he should rescue my men. Goni assured me that the situation was under control and that he would take my men to hospital. He said it was a mistake.

    “I called him later in the evening and he said my men were responding to treatment.  I requested to visit them, but he said they would be discharged the next day and that there was no need.

    “I called Goni again that evening and asked if the incident was truly a mistake because based on what I had seen, naval personnel shot at the windscreen and one of the bullets went through the driver’s seat.

    “I told him how his men punctured the four tyres of the patrol vehicle.  Goni said I should not worry. That he was coming to see me and we would settle the matter.

    “I became angry and called NNPC to inform them that I was not working again. I also called Topline management in Abuja to inform them of the development. Goni did not know that I have investigated and found out that he led the naval team that perpetrated the act.”

    On how the bodies were discovered, Aminu said he went round with his men the following morning to ascertain the level of damage, adding that the bodies had machete cuts and were dumped in a hole in a tent.

    “I called Goni to inform him of what I had seen.  I had to put it straight to him that based on my findings; Navy personnel had killed two of my men. He denied it, saying my men were with him in the hospital. I told him I have seen their bodies.  He said that was not possible, adding that he would come to see things.

    “I also called the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) in charge of Western Naval Command, Lagos, Sylvanus Abbah and told him what had happened and that the perpetrator had promised a comeback.  I reminded him of the agreement the Navy had made to protect us while we discharge our duties.

    “To confirm my report, Abbah sent some of his officers to see things. They came, walked round the scene and concluded that the boys would have been involved in pipeline vandalism and met their waterloo.

    “This angered my men, so I informed the police of the murder. They came, brought out the bodies and it was discovered that they were killed with machetes. They had machete wounds all over them,” he told reporters.

    Abbah denied the allegations that the deceased were killed by his men.

    He said: “The persons killed were killed with machetes.  What will the Navy be doing with machetes? The fact is that these so-called guards engage in crimes. They claim they have not been paid for 15 months and they are still working, why? Because they are siphoning fuel. They are even defiling women in the villages and committing atrocities.

    “Two of their men are with us at the Navy hospital because we want to use them as evidence.

    “We met the management of Topline Security in Abuja and it was resolved that no arms should be carried by their operatives again.

    “So, if they are saying they want to carry arms, such arms should be licensed by the police.”

    Police spokesman Chike Oti said the matter was being investigated, adding that 15 suspects had been arrested.

    He said: “The killing of two Topline guards in the riverine community of Ilado Odo is being investigated by the command. Fifteen people have been arrested and are helping the police in their investigation.”

  • Hoodlums abduct INEC official in A’Ibom

    ….Demand N10m ransom

     

    Hoodlums suspected to be cultists have abducted a staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), serving at the commission’s area office in Ukanafun local government area of Akwa Ibom state.

    The victim, one Otobong Sylvester Ukpong, an indigene of Iwukem village in Etim Ekpo local government area, was reportedly kidnapped Tuesday morning while going to work.

    Our correspondent gathered that the incident occurred near the Government Primary School, Oruk Ata2 along the Ukanafun-Azumini expressway.

    The victim’s brother, Mbetobong Sylvester Ukpong, told reporters, “My brother was kidnapped at Uruk Ata2, in the morning hours of Tuesday, June 5, 2018, on his way to work in his office at Ukanafun Local Government Area office of INEC”.

    Read Also:Gunmen abduct wife of retired Agip employee

    Mbetobong explained that his brother, whom he explained, “is the last in the family”, was on a major mission to the office, despite crisis of insecurity in the area, to distribute Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) to the electorates.

    He said his brother’s captors have contacted the family, and are demanding N10 million as ransom. “They used my brother’s phone number to call the family to disclose their ransom before they release him, but the elders of the family have told them such demand is outrageous for a largely peasant family to pay”, he said.

    When contacted, the police public relations officer (PPRO), Odiko MacDon DSP told our correspondent that he was yet to be officially briefed by the Etim Ekpo Area Command on the incident.

    “Somebody called me from that axis of the state that a staff of INEC has been kidnapped, but as I speak I can’t confirm that information because I have not been officially briefed by the Etim Ekpo Area Command,” he said.

    It could be recalled that there have been series of killings and abductions in the area, the recent being the kidnap of two female students of Obong University, a private varsity in the area.

  • Hoodlums abduct three girls, three church elders in Akwa Ibom

    •Emmanuel to expose killers in Ukanafun and Etim Ekpo local govts

    Three women students of Obong University at Obong Nntak in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have been abducted by armed hoodlums.

    The abductors reportedly attacked the institution’s girls’ hostel and took the girls away.

    Police spokesman Odiko MacDon, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the raid on the institution’s female hostel by suspected militants.

    He said one of the students sustained gunshot wounds on her shoulder.

    The spokesman said the injured student “was rescued and taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment”.

    Also, Governor Udom Emmanuel has vowed to expose those behind killings and kidnappings in Ukanafun and Etim Ekpo local government areas.

    Emmanuel addressed reporters at the weekend as part of activities marking his third year in office.

    The governor said investigations had begun into the incidents to fish out the sponsors and perpetrators of the bloodshed in the local government areas.

    He blamed the crimes on desperate politicians, warning that his administration would not spare any culprits, however highly placed.

    Also, the whereabouts of three elders of Qua Iboe Church (QIC) at Uruk Ata2, who were reportedly seized by the hoodlums at the weekend, are still unknown.

    Emmanuel, who condemned the incident, blamed it on desperate politicians, whom he accused of being behind the mayhem.

    The governor urged parents to warn their children against cultism.

    He said: “Although I don’t like to speak on security issues, insecurity in Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun is being sponsored and we are tracking the sponsors.”

    Tracing violent crimes in the area to cultism, Emmanuel declared secret societies as outlawed associations in the state.

    The governor regretted the increasing wave of the malaise, saying parents should warn their children on the evil of cultism.

    He added: “Don’t allow your children to be initiated into cultism.”

    The governor enjoined security agencies to work towards dislodging the criminal elements and make the state safe for investors, tourists and visitors.”

     

  • APC postpones LG congress in Imo as hoodlums torch secretariat

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress APC), Chief John Odigie- Oyegun, yesterday confirmed the postponement of today’s local government areas congress in Imo State.

    He made the confirmation with one of our correspondents yesterday as hoodlums torched the state secretariat of the party in what was thought to be a continuation of the crisis that erupted during last week’s ward congress.

    The postponement of today’s LG congress in the state is said to have been done pending the receipt of the Appeal Committee’s report on the Ward Congress conducted in the state.

    Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, was said to have met with Chief Odigie-Oyegun and other members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) where the decision was reached.

    According to the National Chairman, a new date for the LG congress will be announced in due course.

    When contacted at about 9 pm last night, he said: “Yes, the party has shifted the local government congress in Imo pending the report of the Appeal Committee.”

    Yesterday’s fire affected only the interior of the party’s secretariat, burning many official files and other documents.

    It appeared the fire brigade was not contacted to salvage the situation as fire fighters were not seen around the area when The Nation got to the scene last night.

    People only gathered far off to watch smoke billow from the building.

    Party Chairman, Hilary Eke, confirmed the incident.

    He said the unidentified hoodlums attacked the secretariat at about 6.30 pm.

    He said he had “already petitioned the inspector General of Police over the attack on the secretariat the other Saturday.”

    The building was first vandalized last Saturday by thugs during the botched ward congress.

    Eke said his duty “is to report to the police and the police have the duty to investigate.”

    The party in the state has been embroiled in crisis over alleged hijacking of sensitive materials for the ward congresses by a party official.