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Tag: kill

  • Assailants kill 16, injure many in Plateau

    Assailants kill 16, injure many in Plateau

    At least 16 people were reportedly killed on Saturday night, while many others were injured in a gunmen attack on Lisham Kwahasnat community of Mangu Local Government, Plateau State.

    A community leader, who does not want his to be mentioned, told The Nation that the gunmen are suspected to be killer-herdsmen, who invaded the community at about 10:55pm when the inhabitants were preparing to go to bed. 

    He said the gunmen, on entering the community, opened fire on the residents at random and shot anyone, adding that in the operation, which lasted about an hour, 16 people were gunned down, while those who sustained injuries were taken to Mangu General Hospital for treatment. 

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    It was gathered that the 16 persons were given mass burial yesterday. The National President, Mangu Development Association (MDA), Sir Joseph Gwankat, who confirmed the incident, said the latest attack on the people of Lisham Kwahasnat community was a shock to peace-loving people of the council and the  state. 

  • Court remands 75 persons over conspiracy to kill Rivers DPO

    Court remands 75 persons over conspiracy to kill Rivers DPO

    The Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has remanded 75 persons in the Correctional Centre for conspiracy in the murder of the District Police Officer (DPO) of Ahoada Police Division, SP Bako Angbashim.

    The suspects were arraigned on two counts of conspiracy to murder and felony. They were arrested after Angbashim was killed and his body dismembered by a cult group in Ahoada East, led by David Gift, popularly called 2baba.

    Among persons arraigned and remanded were a former Chairman of Ahoada East council, Cassidy Ikegbidi, Eze Ekpeye Logbo and Ngozi Angwo.

    The defendants, who were arraigned by the Commissioner of Police, failed to take their plea. A bail application by one of the defendant’s lawyer, Dejo Lamikara, was opposed by the prosecuting lawyer, SP Eniyepere Sikpi.

    But the trial Judge, Justice Sika Aprioku, after listening to the argument by the lawyers, ordered that the defendants be remanded in the correctional centre and adjourned the case till November 21 for plea and bail consideration.

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    Youths and the student community in Ekpeye have called for an end to the politicisation of killings in their area.

    Secretary-General of Ekpeye Youth Worldwide, Adokiye Oyagiri, said some youths of the area were being used to make inciting statements against leader of the House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, who represents Ahoada East II.

    He said: “I think it is everybody’s right to talk about the insecurity, but where there is an issue is when people begin to make false allegations and claims that cannot be substantiated. We all know that immediately the DPO of Ahoada East was killed, the governor placed a N100 million bounty on the killers. Till today, we are yet to hear from the police if he has been captured or not.

    “A few days ago we had some other killings and we do not have details and we do not know when it happened until we heard the news that people had been killed”.

  • Gunmen kill five in Rivers community

    Gunmen reportedly loyal to a wanted kingpin, David Gift, aka 2Baba, at the weekend killed five people in Odiemerenyi Community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State.

    They were said to be members of the Iceland cult group led by 2Baba, who is wanted for the murder of a Divisional Police Officer, Bako Angbashin, in Odumude community, Ahoada East council.

    A source said the cultists stormed the community about 1am yesterday, killed two of his brothers and another person in their compound. He added that the hoodlums killed five persons in the community.

    According to him, the miscreants vowed to continue in their rampage until the police release their sponsors and sympathisers.

    He said: “We were in the room about 1:02am on Sunday, when we heard footsteps and dogs started backing. One of my younger brothers came out and demanded to know who they were. They replied that they came to kill everybody.

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    “While he pleaded with them, they shot him, passed two doors in my house and shot my two other brothers. They went to another compound, shot another person and went into the village and shot my family member. Five persons were killed. That was what happened.

    “We are tired of crying; it is like the government doesn’t know what to do. Let the government put more efforts and rescue us from this people because we are in pains.

    “One of the people they killed is called Obobula, also known as Bestman. Another person is Chibogu.”

    Police spokesperson Grace Iringe-Koko promised to get across to the Divisional Police Officer to confirm the development.

  • ‘I didn’t kill my wife’

    An electrician, Ismaila Salau, yesterday told a Lagos High Court in Igbosere that he did not kill his wife with a pestle and dump her in a stream.

    Salau, 49, was arraigned in 2015 by the Lagos State Government on a one-count charge of murdering his wife, Silifat Yakubu, in 2014.

    The government told Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye that the defendant allegedly committed the offence about 11pm on October 3, 2014, at 18, Igbele village, Araromi, Badagry.

    It said Salau killed Yakubu by hitting her on the head with a pestle and dumping her in a nearby stream.

    The alleged offence contravenes Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

    Salau pleaded not guilty.

    At the resumption of trial yesterday, Salau opened his defence.

    Led in evidence by his counsel, Mr. A. A. Babalola, the witness said he could not have killed his wife that night, because he was held up in traffic after running errands for a friend.

    He said he left home around 6am and returned the following day at 4am because his friend sent him on an errand.

    “I was held up in traffic until the early hours of the following day. My car also fell into a ditch due to flood’, Salau told the court.

    He said he phoned his wife, who was visiting her parents during the Sallah festivities.

    Salau said when he got home; he did not see his wife and her phone was switched off.

    He said he called his elder daughter, who told him that the deceased left her mother’s house since 8pm.

    Salau narrated how he went for a village meeting the following day and heard about an expectant mother who drowned in a stream.

    He said: “I then told the baale (village head) that my wife was missing. He asked me and my wife’s elder brother to go to the Badagry General Hospital mortuary where the body was deposited to check if it was my wife.

    “When I saw the body, I knew that that was my wife.”

    During cross-examination by prosecuting counsel Jubril Kareem, Salau said he did not report his wife’s absence to the police.

    He denied making a confessional statement to the police.

    Justice Ipaye adjourned further hearing till April 9.

     

  • Suspected cultists ‘kill’ gas station manager 

    …Three arrested  

    Residents of Odogunyan, Odokekere, Agodo Segun and Odonla areas of Ikorodu, Lagos, have lamented the invasion of their communities by suspected cultists.

    They alleged that there have been resumed cult activities in the last three weeks, which has led to the death of a gas station manager identified as Kamarudeen Elegbede alias Oosa.

    Elegbede, The Nation gathered, was whisked off his place of work by cultists, who accused him of rescuing a young man shot three weeks ago.

    It was learnt that a resident of Odogunyan was shot in the leg during a gun battle between members of Aiye and Eiye cults.

    Elegbede was said to have taken the gunshot victim to a place where he was treated and the bullet removed from his leg, which angered the cultists.

    It was gathered that the hoodlums later came for him, killed him and dismembered his body before dumping the parts on the road.

    A source said the cultists had made life unbearable for people in the communities since then, adding that they usually went from house to house robbing people.

    He said: “I took my children to their grandmother at Odogunyan. When I later visited her, she advised me to take them back home, saying the area was no longer safe.

    “Although there had been cult clashes since January, peace returned after security agencies carried out patrols and operations.

    “But in the three weeks, cultists have been unleashing terror on the people.

    “They move from house to house robbing people. They demand money and valuables. They beat people up. They killed a philanthropist in the neighbourhood because he helped a young man, who was shot in the leg by the cultists.

    “He took the victim where he was treated and the cultists went to the filling station where he worked, killed and cut him into pieces.

    “Since then, people have been living in fear. The motorcycle park used to be active till midnight, but now once it is 8pm, everywhere is deserted.

    “Churches have stopped organising vigils because people don’t attend. The thing is affecting commercial and social activities. We appeal to the police and other security agencies to assist us. They should help us by arresting these cultists.”

    Police spokesman Chike Oti said it was a lie that cultists terrorised residents in that area.

    He confirmed the murder of Elegbede, who he said was a vulcaniser, but worked as a night guard at the filling station.

  • Suspected ritualists allegedly kill 70-year-old woman

    A 70-year-old grandmother, Mrs. Medinat Ala, has been reportedly killed in Ikare-Akoko, the headquarters of Akoko Northeast Local Government Area of Ondo State, for alleged money rituals.

    Sources said her breasts and other sensitive parts were removed by the suspected ritualists, who attacked her in her home at night.

    The deceased, a petty trader, sold goods in front of her family house.

    It was learnt that another woman, who lived in the same house with the late Mrs. Ala, who woke up and heard strange voices when the deceased was being attacked by the suspected ritualists, was seriously injured. She has been hospitalised.

    It was learnt that a pestle was used to kill Mrs. Ala. Her remains have been taken to the Specialist Hospital mortuary in Ikare Akoko.

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) for Ikare Akoko, Abayomi Fidelis, who led his men to the scene of the incident, said the doors to the house were not broken before the murder was committed.

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    He described the incident as “constructive killing”.

    Two residents of the house have been arrested as principal suspects. One is a son of the late woman, while the second person is a tenant.

    Youth leaders Akintoye Sunday Olona and Adeyemi Bayegun, a lawyer, said Ikare was in a sorrowful mood.

    They said meetings were being convened to unravel the mystery surrounding the death.

    A neighbour of the deceased, who spoke in confidence, described the woman as easygoing.

  • Cultists kill policeman, three others in Bayelsa

    Gunmen suspected to be cultists have killed an unnamed policeman and three others in two incidents in Bayelsa State.

    It was gathered that the policeman, attached to the Police Mobile Force, was gunned down in Yenagoa.

    The three others were killed at Otuesiga in Ogbia Local Government.

    The policeman was said to have run into cultists protesting and shooting at Tombia, following the alleged arrest of their leader.

    Sources said on sighting the policeman, the cultists saw him as their enemy and shot him.

    At Otuesiga, it was learnt that suspected cultists stormed the community to kill two of their rivals.

    The gunmen were said to have located their enemies, shot them while a passerby was hit by a stray bullet.

    The new Police Commissioner, Mr. Ebere Onyeagoro, confirmed the killing of the policeman.

    He said: “The command regrettably lost one of its men on way to duties. That is one of the hazards of the job. We are doing our best to make sure such incident does not occur. It is essentially as a result of cultism.

    It was unfortunate that the officer ran into them and was killed.

    “We will do our best; we will sustain all patrols to make sure we curtail the acts of these cults. The fact is that crime does not pay in any way. We will not reward crime.

    “The parents and the good people of Bayelsa should advise their children and wards to shun crimes and violence. We are on top of the situation and are working on intelligence. At the end, those concerned will be brought to book.”

    Onyeagoro said cultism, robberies and other crimes would be dealt with.

    He said on assumption of duty last Friday, he noticed that the prevailing crimes were cultism, robbery, rape, indecent assaults, chieftaincy tussle, communal disputes, among others.

  • Troops kill Boko Haram insurgents in Borno

    Troops of 83 Division Task Force on Operation Lafiya Dole on Sunday killed three Boko Haram insurgents on a “looting and extortion mission” in Kulamari, Borno State, it was learnt yesterday.

    A statement by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen Chukwu Texas, reads: “Troops of 82 Division Task Force Brigade deployed on Operation Lafiya Dole, while on fighting patrol at Kukawa, got information on the terrorists’ activities in Kalamari, 30 kilometres from Kukawa, in Borno State.

    “The terrorists, who were on a looting and extortion mission, were confronted by troops and in the ensuing gun battle, three of the insurgents were neutralised.

    “Three AK-47 rifles; two magazines and four rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were recovered.”

    Gen. Chukwu added that the troops are still in pursuit of the fleeing insurgents, stressing that “the gallant troops have continued with aggressive fighting patrols as efforts are on to track down fleeing members.

  • Suspected herdsmen kill worker

    Suspected Fulani herdsmen have killed a worker of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi (UAM), Isaac Egbunu.

    The late Egbunu, a Software Development officer with the ICT unit, was ambushed about 5 pm on Lafia/Makurdi federal highway in Kadarako.

    A worker with the ICT Department, who pleaded for anonymity, said the deceased was returning from Jos, Plateau State.

    He said: “A colleague was driving his car while he sat at the back, but on getting to Kadarko, gunmen emerged from the bush and shot him. He died instantly but the driver managed to drive the car miles away from the scene.”

    Egbunu’s colleagues are mourned him, describing him as easy going and hardworking.

  • ‘Herdsmen’ rape, kill widow

    Suspected herdsmen have raped and killed a widow at her farm in Nteje, Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.

    A community source, who pleaded for anonymity, said the body was discovered on Saturday.

    But the traditional ruler, Igwe Rowland Odegbo, said the deceased was not from his community.

    According to him, the deceased was taken round the community and no one could identify her.

    He added that the incident occurred in a land belonging to their neighbours, Umueri.

    He said: “The incident happened in a land belonging to our neighbours, Umueri; that was where she was found, so we suspect that she may be from Umueri or even Aguleri.

    “The matter has already been lodged at Otuocha police division in Anambra East council.”

    But another source insisted that the woman was from Nteje and completed the funeral rites of her husband in February.

    Nobody could, however, give her name.

    Police spokesman Princess Nkeiruka Nwode denied the incident had anything to do with herdsmen.

    She said: “I don’t know if the woman was murdered by Fulani herdsmen. There is nothing to show that Fulani herdsmen were involved in her death.

    “That matter is a sensitive issue and I don’t want you to report what would breach peace.”

    She said one person was arrested in connection with the matter, adding that investigation is on.

    Another source said the deceased might have been a victim of the crisis between the neighbouring communities Umueri and Aguleri, which started last week.