The Nation Newspaper

Tag: kill

  • Gunmen kill eight in Port Harcourt

    Gunmen kill eight in Port Harcourt

    Suspected gunmen have killed eight people in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    The attacks occurred a few days after suspected cult members killed 15 persons at Egi communities in Ogba/Egbema Ndoni Local Government.

    Three persons were also killed in Khana Local Government. One of the cult members in the council was beaded and the head was taken away.

    A source said the gunmen opened fire at two drinking joints on the ever-busy Aggrey Road in the old Port Harcourt Township, popularly called Town.

    It was learnt that the hoodlums first stormed a popular drinking joint- Love Garden, where they killed four persons, including a middle-aged woman, on Monday night, while the other four people were shot dead at Bimo Bar, the same night.

    The source said many people, including passersby, were hit by stray bullets, while others sustained injuries while scampering for safety.

    They were being treated in hospitals in Port Harcourt at press time.

    Policemen from the Rivers Command reportedly moved the bodies to the morgue of an undisclosed hospital in Port Harcourt.

    The deputy police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the shootings involved two rival cult groups, adding that the command had begun investigations.

    Police Commissioner Tunde Ogunsakin warned criminals to desist or face the wrath of the law.

  • Car thieves kill doctor, rape fiancée

     

    • “Command” charm fails car snatcher


    A gang of car thieves led by one Solomon Abuede Tuesday narrated how they killed a medical doctor, raped his fiancée and dumped his body in a well.

    The act was committed at Ekpoma, headquarters of Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

    Solomon said the doctor was first strangulated before they tied his body to a wood and throw his body inside a well.

    He said they were told to kill any victim with flashy cars.

    Solomon was among 46 suspects arrested for various crimes across the state since June.

    He said he has been involved in several car snatching especially at Ekpoma axis.

    A 61 year old man, Sunday Oviasogie, was named as the chief sponsor of Solomon’s gang.

    Sunday confessed that he has received over 50 stolen cars and has been in the business for the past 15 years.

    Another gang, Ehis Ogbefu and Innocent Sunday said a ‘command charm’ they procured for N60,000 failed them.

    They were arrested at Ewohimin with a Lexus Jeep they snatched in Delta State.

    Ehis said, “We did the command charm at Ubiaja. Anybody we talk to even policemen will obey us. The charm worked on the woman we collected the car from but it did not work on policemen at Ewohimin.”

    “The charm is just alligator pepper and some leaves the man asked me to chew. When I talked to the police, they still arrested us. When I go back, I will demand my money from the man because the charm failed.”

    Edo State Police Commissioner, Foluso Adebanjo said a total of 2,112 live AK47 ammunition, 14 assorted guns, 22 live cartridges and seven cars were recovered.

    Adebanjo urged Edo residents to be vigilant in the face of insecurity experienced in parts of the country.


  • Police kill kidnap suspects in Edo

    The police in Edo State have killed six kidnap suspects in a forest on Igbanke-Evwohimi Road in Esan South East Local Government Area.

    The suspects were killed during an exchange of gunfire between the police and the suspects.

    Police Commissioner Foluso Balogun, who displayed the bodies, said operatives of the command stormed the kidnappers’ den with four suspects, following the kidnap of a woman.

    The commissioner said the woman was kept in the forest.

    He said: “On getting to one of their hideouts, our operatives disembarked with the suspects but their colleagues opened fire on our men.

    “The police engaged the gang in a gun battle and two of the kidnappers were killed.

    “Simultaneously, the other four suspects, who fled, were killed in the crossfire.

    “One pump action gun with four rounds of live cartridges were recovered from the assailants.

    “Our men chased those who fled into the  bush. We also searched the scene and a huge sum of foreign currencies and arms were recovered.”

    Balogun said the bodies were pronounced dead on arrival at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital.

    He said policemen were still combing the bushes for those who escaped.

    Items recovered at the kidnappers’ den included a Mercedes Benz C-Class car with registration Number AGL 133 CX, $8,200, 20,000 Francs, five Dirham, N8,500, 12 sim cards, four cut-to-size single barrel guns, 72 live cartridges and one locally made revolver pistol.

  • Bombers kill 40 at football viewing centre

    Bombers kill 40 at football viewing centre

    No fewer than 40 people were last night killed in a bomb blast at a football field in Mubi, Adamawa State.

    French News Agency AFP reported the death toll, citing a police source.

    “There has been a bomb explosion at a football field this evening and so far more than 40 people have been killed,” an officer in the town said.

    The bomber struck the town of Mubi in the evening, said Emmanuel Akinyele, a church pastor.

    A military source said several bodies had been recovered, adding that the dead and wounded were still being evacuated from the area.

    A military source told Reuters that the number of those dead and injured is not clear at this time. He added that several bodies were recovered, while the wounded are still being evacuated.

    A witness told the news agency that the victims were  watching a televised match.

    No group has claimed responsibility, though Boko Haram has staged attacks in the area in the past. The same group abducted over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, on April 14 and is still holding them captive.

     

  • Cameroun soldiers kill 40 Boko Haram militants

    Cameroun soldiers kill 40 Boko Haram militants

    •Abducted Italian priests, Nun freed

    Cameroun security forces at the weekend killed no fewer than  40 Boko Haram militants in clashes in the country’s far north, state radio said yesterday shortly after the release of two Italian priests and a Canadian nun suspected to have been held by the Islamist group.

    A Cameroun Presidency source confirmed the clashes, which took place west of the town of Kousseri, in the region bordering Nigeria and Chad. Cameroun, which has been criticised by Nigeria for not doing enough to fight Boko Haram, deployed some 1,000 troops in the far north last week as it steps up the fight against the Islamist militants

    The two Italian priests and the Canadian nun were seized by gunmen in Cameroun in April, according to officials.

    The ex-hostages boarded a plane to the capital, Yaounde, yesterday.

    The three were kidnapped by gunmen from the building where they were staying in the northern district of Maroua in the early hours of April 5.

    No group claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion has fallen on Boko Haram.

    Boko Haram Islamists kidnapped another priest as well as seven members of a French family in northern Cameroun last year.

    Italy’s foreign ministry confirmed the release of Italian priests Gianantonio Allegri and Giampaolo Marta and Canadian nun Gilberte Bussier in a statement yesterday.

    It thanked the Canadian and Cameroun authorities but gave no details of how the three were freed.

    Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said news of the release “fills us with joy”.

    The priests had been working on improving water supplies and fighting the spread of HIV AIDS, as well as their religious duties, according to their diocese in the Vicenza region of Italy.

    One of the priests had been in Cameroun for more than six years, while the other had arrived about a year before the abduction, Italian media reported at the time.

    Cameroun announced it deployed about 1,000 troops to its border with Nigeria last Tuesday to fight the growing threat from Boko Haram.

    Thousands of people have died since Boko Haram began a violent campaign against the Nigerian government in 2009 and in the subsequent security crackdown.

     

  • Naval officers kill two pirates

    The Navy has killed two pirates, who hijacked an oil tanker around the Lagos anchorage.

    The pirates, alongside their colleagues, hijacked M.T. SP Brussels and killed two crew members, following a gun duel with police officers onboard the ship.

    A source said the vessel was hijacked on April 30 and the crew held hostage.

    It was learnt that the navy deployed two patrol boats, NNS BENIN and NNS IKOT-ABASI to the area and rescued 15 crew members and the two police officers onboard.

    It was gathered that eight armed pirates accosted the oil-laden vessel at 120 nautical miles outside Lagos waters.

    The source said: “Six of them came on board the vessel, leaving their colleagues to man their boats.

    “There was exchange of gun fire between the pirates and the police officers. In the process, two crew members were killed.

    “Naval vessels were asked to locate and investigate the incident. The team from NNS Beecroft intercepted the vessel,” he said.

    “The deployment of Marine Police from 43 Police Mobile Force, CMS, Lagos on April 13, was uncalled for.

    “Deployment of policemen on board vessels outside the Fairway Buoy is illegal and outside the police’s constitutional responsibilities.

    “Naval personnel would have known better than to shoot from an open deck like the police did, making themselves sitting ducks for the enemy fire.”

    The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Sanmi Alade, said investigation was ongoing.

    The FOC said the vessel would remain in the navy’s custody, until investigations were concluded.

    MT SP BRUSSELS is a Marshall Islands registered oil tanker.

    The 14 metric tonnes capacity tanker last communicated its position on April 11, when it was at UTC terrestrial heading to its destination at Lagos offshore before it was hijacked.

  • Gunmen kill 15 in Taraba’s bloody Easter

    Gunmen kill 15 in Taraba’s bloody Easter

    It was a bloody Easter Sunday in Taraba State yesterday. No fewer than 15 persons died when unknown gunmen attacked Gidin-Doruwa village in Wukari Local Government Area. Twenty residents were injured.

    Residents said over 52 houses were torched, including the family house of Daily Independent’s reporter Janet Audu, in Jalingo during the attack.

    The attack came barely 24 hours after Acting Governor Garba Umar visited Wukari to plead for peace.

    Eye-witnesses said the gunmen opened fire on the town at about 1:30a.m on Sunday when Christians were still celebrating the Night of Light to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

    When the residents, confused and scared, began to run, their attackers set their homes ablaze. Churches were almost burnt.

    A source said when the CRCN Church caught fire, the youth in the neighborhood started destroying some mosques.

    Fleeing residents said the attackers came from “all corners” and cordoned the town before they started shooting without provocation. They sustained the gun fire till yesterday evening.

    The arrival of riot policemen and soldiers did not deter the assailants who came in large number, carrying sophisticated weapons.

    One resident said: “The situation here is so bad that some of the security personnel may have decided to retreat.

    Police spokesman Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Joseph Kwaji, said the arrival of riot policemen from the state command could not end the shootings, and the command got reinforcement from Mopol 34 Squadron, Gombe and 14 Squadron, Adamawa State.

    Kwaji told The Nation that he was still expecting reports from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) on the casualty figures.

    “I am trying to get detailed information from the DPO. We are aware that a village in Wukari has been attacked, but I can’t precisely tell the media the number of casualties, the injured and houses burnt now.

    “Today’s (yesterday’s) attack and killings were carried out by unknown gunmen,” he said.

    The Divisional Secretary of the Red Cross Society of Nigeria, Lucky Navokhi, was also not certain about the casualty figure and other fatalities.

    “Hostilities are still on so we don’t have accurate information to make public now,” he said.

    Umar has condemned the killings as “unfortunate, barbaric and unacceptable”.

    Speaking through his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Aaron Atimas, the acting governor promised that “government would do everything possible to protect lives and property of the citizenry.

    “The perpetrators of the crisis must be brought to book. Government cannot fold her arms and watch her citizens die in the hands of heartless people,” Umar said and appealed to the people to be calm.

    Commissioner for Information Atte Sale Kundu said he felt sad that in spite of the acting governor’s appeal to the people to embrace peace, the crisis was still far from over.

    “We don’t know where the problem is coming from,” he said.

    For several weeks, Southern Taraba has been a theatre of war. The violence started from Ibi, Gassol and Takum local government areas and now concentrated in Wukari. Police said last Tuesday, 24 persons were feared killed, 34 injured while 99 houses were torched during hostilities in Wukari.

  • Gunmen kill five-year-old in Bauchi

    The police in Bauchi State have said suspected gunmen set ablaze some houses in the staff quarters of the Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yana, killing a five-year-old girl yesterday.

    Police spokesperson Haruna Mohammed told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the gunmen burnt a telecommunication mast in the town.

    He said they stole a car belonging to the head teacher. The spokesman assured the public that the pupils were safe.

    Mohammed said: “Unknown gunmen attacked the staff quarters of GGSS Yana, Shira Local Government Area at 2.30 am yesterday.

    “They set the school bus ablaze; and in the process, a five-year-old girl was killed. They destroyed the vault of a bank,’’ he said.

    The spokesman said a combined team of security forces are on the attackers’ trail.

    On April 15 , the police confirmed that some gunmen snatched two United Nations vehicles, marked 206 UN and 139 UN in Soro, Ganjuwa Local Government Area.

    On April 17, the police said a team of security forces foiled an attack on Misau, Misau Local Government Area.

    Mohammed said some suspected robbers had snatched a vehicle belonging to the State Television Authority, marked 04C-04 BA.

  • Gunmen kill Ogun vigilance leader in church

    Gunmen kill Ogun vigilance leader in church

    IT was bloody yesterday at a church in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State where unknown gunmen killed a 69-year-old man.

    Chief Tola Okuneye, a.k.a Ajagajigi, was seated during the service at St. John Anglican Church, Oke-Sopen, in the accient town when five gunmen, who rode in vehicles painted in Lagos commercial yellow colour, stormed the church and shot him. At about 11a.m.

    The gunmen pretended to be worshippers.When they saw Okuneye, Chairman of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee, they shot him in the head and chest. He died on the spot.

    There was confusion within and outside the church. Gunshots rang out repeatedly. “Many were injured in the ensuing stampede,” a witness said.

    The assailants fled the scene without taking anything away. Okuneye’s body was deposited at a mortuary in Ijebu-Igbo.

    “The killers struck at the time Rev. Oke was about to mount the pulpit. The young men walked into the church hall and headed straight for where the late Okuneye sat, brought their guns and fired him at close range, a witness recalled.

    One of the church leaders, Mr Kole Okunaiya, tried to challenge the gunmen, demanding what they were looking for, but the attempt was rebuffed.

    “There was confusion when gunshots began to sound. We were shocked and everybody was jittery. The service came to an end abruptly. Some people, especially the elder are still in shock as I am talking to you now,” said a witness.

    “Okuneye was well known in the town and neighbouring towns. He was among the earliest artisans in the business of furniture making in Ijebu,” the witness added.

    Police Commissioner Ikemefuna Okoye said police were aware of the killing. “No arrest has been made yet but we are investigating.”

    Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun assured that government would do its best to get Okuneye’s killers.

    Amosun spoke during a condolence visit to the family of the deceased and the scene of the killing in Ijebu-Igbo.

    ‘’The heinous manner with which the life of a good citizen who had invested in security was terminated is uncalled for.

    ‘’I don’t know why men of the underworld will terminate the life of a man who will not hurt a fly. They even went as far as carrying out the dastardly act in the sacred house of God.

    ‘’This was a man who did his best on security of lives and property as a way of serving humanity. As a government, we will do out best to ensure that the perpetrators of this act are brought to justice’’, Amosun said.

    The governor was accompanied by Police Commissioner Okoye, Director of State Security Service, Mr. S. Charanchi, and members of his cabinet. He condoled with the Okuneye family and grant the son of the deceased, Gbenga Okuneye, and Presiding Bishop, St John’s Anglican Church, Oke-Sopein, Ijebu-Igbo, Rt. Rev. Gbetogo Kuponu, thanked the governor and security chiefs for their concern, praying that the present administration in the state would achieve all its dreams and aspirations.

  • Two human rights lawyers shot dead in Delta

    Legal practitioners in Delta state have been thrown into mourning following the gruesome assassination of two lawyers on Thursday.
    Renowned lawyer and human rights activist Mr Horrace Egbon Dafiogho and his junior colleague, identified as Sam Ekwajor, were shot dead along Ughelli – Ozoro road on Thursday.
    It was gathered that the duo were on their way to Ozoro, where they are defending suspects in a high profile kidnap case involving a prominent politician in the state, when they were killed.
    Although the circumstance surrounding the killing was yet unclear, it was gathered that the incident has led to shock and panic among legal practitioners in the state.
    The National Coordinator, Forum for Justice and Human Rights Defence, Mr Oghenejabor Ikimi, told our reporter he was stupefied by the development.
    He said, “It was last night that I just heard the news and it is very surprising to me. Why would anybody kill a lawyer and an activist who spends his time defending the less privileged in the society?”
    Our reporter gathered that prior to his death on Thursday the legal practitioner had raised the alarm over threat on his life.
    One his colleagues told our reporter, “He even told the judge hearing one of his cases that his life was being threatened.”