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Tag: killed

  • Monarch, five others feared killed in post-poll clash

    Monarch, five others feared killed in post-poll clash

    Six people, including a traditional ruler, were feared dead yesterday during a clash between supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Peremabiri, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    The Paramount Ruler of the community, Chief Progress Neverdie and five other persons were said to have been shot during the fracas which occurred when results for the governorship election in the state were being collated in Yenagoa.

    It learnt that when it became obvious that the PDP candidate was poised to win the poll, the party supporters started celebrating and taunting the loyalists of the APC.

    Peremabiri is the community of the ex-militant leader, Mr. Eris Paul, popularly known as Ogunboss.

    Neverdie, who was reportedly shot at the back, was said to have been rushed to the Federal Medical Centre.

    Sources said he was unconscious and in a critical condition as he was being taken to the hospital.

    News of the incident filtered into Yenagoa shortly after the police urged the winners of the poll to celebrate with utmost modesty.

    The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Peter Ogunyanwo ,also thanked the general public for cooperating with all security agencies to conduct a peaceful and orderly rerun election.

    He said: “It is hoped that this trend would be improved upon in subsequent elections. The Command in the meantime appeals to all, that as the results are being announced, members of the public should co-operate with security agencies in sustaining the existing peace in the state.

  • Four female suicide bombers killed in Borno

    Four female suicide bombers killed in Borno

    Four female suicide bombers died, killing one other person and wounding 10, when civilian guards prevented them from entering Maiduguri, yesterday.

    Spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency Sani Datti, said the women blew themselves up when they were stopped for a body search by self-defense fighters on the outskirts of the city.

    The morning attack is the latest in a wave of suicide bombings blamed on Boko Haram terrorists that have killed hundreds in recent months.

    Suicide bombers killed up to 55 people in mosques in Maiduguri and Yola on Friday.

     

  • Driver killed in Ibadan NURTW fracas

    Driver killed in Ibadan NURTW fracas

    •15 injured

    A middle-aged commercial bus driver has been hacked to death in a riot between tipper drivers and members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State.

    It was gathered that the NURTW members were protesting the death of one of their colleagues.

    The riot started on Sunday night at a party in Omi Adio motor park and continued till Monday night.

    Over 10 vehicles travelling on the Ibadan-Abeokuta Expressway were damaged.

    Sources said the riot was the aftermath of an accident involving a truck in which three persons, including a bus driver and a baby, died two weeks ago.

    It was gathered that the truck driver was sighted at the Sunday party and was challenged by some NURTW members.

    In the ensuing fight, one of  the bus drivers was killed.

    Some youths and thugs  joined in the fracas, wielding weapons, such as iron rods, cutlasses, clubs and knives.

    Men of the state security outfit Operation Burst and a team of anti-riot policemen from Iyaganku Police Station were drafted to the scene of the violence.

    Women from the popular Omi Market ran away.

    The Balogun of Omi, Chief Mukaila Adebayo (alias Mokas), called on the commissioner of Police to ensure there was peace in the town.

    Police spokesman Adekunle Ajisebutu described the incident as a minor accident between a tipper driver and a commercial motorcycle operator, whose motorcycle was crushed by the tipper driver.

    “As a result, there were skirmishes but the matter was later resolved amicably on Monday. There was no death,” he said.

     

  • AAU prof abducted, killed by in-law, say police

    AAU prof abducted, killed by in-law, say police

    •72 suspects paraded

    There were more details yesterday on how a Professor of Agricultural Economics and Extension at the Ambrose Alli University (AAU) at Ekpoma, Edo State, Prof. Paul Erie, was killed by his abductors.

    The late expert was said to have suffocated to death when his abductors tied his nose to prevent him from making noise.

    The police said the suspected mastermind of Prof. Erie’s abduction is one of his in-laws, Lucky Ameyi (aka Nigga).

    It was learnt that Ameyi and his six-man gang abducted Prof. Erie on June 16.

    After a three-month search, the police were said to have got information on the suspected abductors, following the release of three Chinese.

    The decomposing body of Prof. Erie was exhumed on October 1 and the mastermind was reportedly arrested in Lagos State.

    Ameyi told reporters yesterday that he would have released Prof. Erie, if he knew they were in-laws.

    The suspected gang leader said he had participated in several kidnappings.

    Those paraded included 14 suspects who specialised in vandalising telecommunication mast, a “notorious” kidnap leader, Charles Ohwofase, who has been implicated in several abduction cases, and 20 teenagers, who were caught during initiated into a suspected cult group, the Osundu Confraternity.

    Items the police recovered from the suspects included two AK-47 rifles, one revolver pistol, two pump action gun, 14 locally-made guns, 150 rounds of 7.62mm, 130 live cartridges, 20 KVA generating sets, one 100KVA generating set; N149,000 cash and six vehicles.

    Police Commissioner Chris Ezike said 72 suspects were arrested in the last six weeks.

    He said three of the suspects died in a shootout with the police.

    The police chief advised the residents to give more support to the police.

  • ‘No Cross River pilgrim killed in Hajj stampede’

    The Cross River State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has said no pilgrim from the state was among the dead in this year’s Hajj stampede in Saudi Arabia.

    Head of Islamic Affairs in the State Department of Religious Matters and Coordinator of the 2015 Hajj operations, Mallam Bello Audu, told reporters in Calabar, the state capital, that he had been in touch with the 37 pilgrims from the state, adding they were “hale and hearty”.

    Audu said: “We give glory to Almighty Allah that no pilgrim from the state was missing when a head count was done for the 37 pilgrims from the state in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. We also thank Governor Ben Ayade, who has promised to always listen to Muslims in Cross River State and give them their rights.

    “That nothing happened to the pilgrims from Cross River State shows that the governor’s prayers have been answered as a good believer and a man of God.

    “We regret the loss of lives at Jamarat. As Muslims, we condole with the affected persons and their families in Nigeria and in other countries with prayers that Almighty Allah will grant the dead Aljanna Firdaus (Paradise) as well as grant the victims’ families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

  • Concerns for baby whose dad was killed by policeman in Port Harcourt

    Concerns for baby whose dad was killed by policeman in Port Harcourt

    He was not born when his father was killed by a policeman in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, for allegedly not giving a N100 bribe. His mother was delivered of him two months after the sad incident. After his birth, he was named ThankGod David Legbara. His father was David Legbara. He was a commercial bus driver in Port Harcourt. He was murdered on August 7 by a policeman attached to Kala Station for refusing to give bribe.

    His father’s death automatically made him fatherless. Now there are concerns about what tomorrow holds for him. His mother, Gift Legbara, can barely afford to feed him well.

    Legbara’s death created a scene that almost truncated business activities in Port Harcourt. There were protests for three days protest by angry commercial drivers under the aegis Rivers State Association of Road Transport Workers. Some of the protesters went nude demanding compensation to the family of the deceased and scholarship for the then unborn baby.

    The then Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, in a statement, confirmed that a police officer on stop-and-search duty shot the victim. He also assured the protesters that the police would ensure the safety of the widow and contribute to the welfare of the baby, who was born a fortnight ago.

    Mrs. Legbara and his baby are now at their home in Mgboushimini community in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area. She was lucky to have a safe delivery because the maternity where she delivered had no facility to handle emergency situation.

    When Niger Delta Report visited the family, it was evident they need help. Their living condition is nothing to write home about. The area they live is a swamp waterfront settlement; their house is made up of wood and red mud.

    Narrating what she went through as a pregnant woman when the sad news was broken to her, Mrs. Legbara said it would have been a double tragedy.

    “I almost gave up the ghost. I thought it was a dream, later it looked as if I was in a different world where nothing existed. But I thank God that I didn’t die with the pregnancy.  When my husband  died, I was in the market. I felt cold in my whole body, I felt like eating but I couldn’t, I was restless. I was feeling cold seriously. One of my customers came to the shop to patronise my goods, but because of the cold I could not attend to her. She asked if I was okay, I told her I didn’t know what was wrong with me. After that, someone called me and told me that they shot my husband. I told her to be serious that it was not a joking matter; she still repeated it that they shot my husband but refused to tell me where the shooting took place.”

    She continued: “That day I felt like dying. I said ‘God, where will I start from? I don’t have anybody. He was the only hope I had, he was the breadwinner of his family.  I told the people who informed me about my husband’s death to allow me go with them to see him but they refused due to my condition. The onlookers started blaming the woman who informed me of my husband’s death.  In spite of our poor condition, we were very happy as husband and wife. The police murdered my husband at the time that things were about to get better. As a commercial driver, he drove another man’s vehicle and rendered account daily. But later he got a vehicle to drive on hire purchase and he had completed the terms of agreement, meaning that the bus now belonged to him before he was killed.”

    Mrs. Lagbara wants the police to assist train her baby to the university level. She noted that her late husband planned to ensure that his children got good education.

    “The police officer who killed my husband did not allow him to have more children with me. This is my first issue after our marriage. To be frank, I need help from the government. I don’t have anybody who will help me. I want them to train the child from nursery school up to university level.”

    Mr. Gobari Deebom, a lawyer, said: “We have not relented since the day of the occurrence of this incident even till now, because our interest is how to sustain the interest of the family; especially the wife and the new born baby. Our plan is how to give him a befitting education from nursery to university and for the baby to be an independent person in life.

    “We have written to the Inspector General of Police. The time frame we gave to them has elapsed, not even a call from any of them, despite that we are not relenting. We have also written letters to the governor of Rivers State pleading with him to assuage the pain of the wife, the new born baby and the aged mother at home on sympathetic ground; we are hoping that our governor as a liberal man will assist the family. Though they have not called but we still hope in God that things will work out fine.”

    For now, all eyes are on the police to fulfil the promise of helping train the baby. Many are also waiting to see what will become of the killer cop. Justice, observers insist, must be done.

     

  • ‘Policemen killed our son’

    ‘Policemen killed our son’

    The family of Ikechukwu Vincent Uwagbaokwu, a polytechnic student killed in Umuahia, Abia State on September 10, has accused policemen from the state command of the murder.

    The Uwagbaokwus have also petitioned the state Commissioner of Police Joshak Habila over the killing.

    The police denied the accusation.

    The family of the slain student, in their petition through their counsel Dr. Godwin Chionye, accused the police of the gruesome murder of the 21-year-old Imo State Polytechnic student.

    The petition read in part: “On the 10th of September, 2015, Mr Ikechukwu Vincent Uwagbaokwu, a Marketing student of Imo Polytechnic went to bed at about 9:00pm but at about 10:50pm there were persistent banging on the door of the family house of the Uwagbaokwus.

    “When Mr Anthony Uwagbaokwe [brother of deceased] came out to see who was banging on their door, he saw about ten fierce men in police uniform who had taken strategic positions in all the surroundings of the house.

    “One of the men in uniform who came with a Hilux pickup van and black Camry Saloon car, hit the door of one of the occupants [names withheld] and forced it open, and when the occupant came out, the men in police uniform, who refused to identify themselves, said that he is not the person that they are looking for.

    “The police went to the direction pointed to by the man they first met who allegedly directed them to the place they were looking for and the armed policemen forced the wooden door open and on sighting Ikechukwu Vincent Uwagbaokwu, one of the policemen shot him and he died immediately.

    “Our clients raised alarm but nobody came to their rescue. The matter was reported to Ehimiri Police Station in whose jurisdiction this area falls, but the police could not give any useful assistance as they denied sending policemen out on that day to effect any arrest.”

    The family’s lawyer said that after the incident his clients reported the matter to the Ehimiri Police Station where the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) gave them order to deposit the deceased at Madonna  Mortuary in Umuahia.

    In his reaction, the father of the deceased, Mr. Emmanuel Uwagbaokwu, a 54-year-old house builder, said, “I am not suspecting but those who killed my son were policemen from Ehimiri Police Station, Umuahia”.

    Uwagbaokwu who was crying, said, “Immediately I reported the matter to Ehimiri Police Station and the DPO there denied sending his men to duty to that area that night, he however ordered some police team to follow us to the scene of the incident. On the way, the team dodged us and they did not reach our house”.

    He called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase to order for full investigation in order to unravel the killers of his son.

    “My son Ugochkwu, who was sleeping at the corridor allegedly heard when one our neighbours [names withheld] showed them Ikechukwu’s room”.

    Reacting to the allegation, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Ezekiel Onyeke in a telephone chat denied the involvement of the police in the killing of the student.

     

  • My husband is alive, insists wife of policeman reportedly killed by pipeline vandals

    My husband is alive, insists wife of policeman reportedly killed by pipeline vandals

    AS the search for the corpse of the policemen allegedly killed by pipeline vandals in Ikorordu, Lagos, continues, the wife of one of the missing men, Mrs. Fatima Yakubu, insists that her husband, Inspector Yerima Yakubu, is alive and would return soon.

    Some Ijaw youths, suspected to be pipeline vandals, were said to have opened fire on some policemen on Ishawo Road, Ikorodu, Lagos State, on August 3, killing four of them.

    The deceased policemen were identified as Inspector Yerima Yakubu, Corporal Adakuro Peredigha, Sgt Obi Chukwudi and Sergeant Okoh Endurance.

    It was gathered that three of the deceased policemen were attached to the Owutu Police Division, while the remaining one was from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command.

    Residents said the Ijaw youths took away the corpses of three of their victims.

    Our correspondent, who visited Inspector Yakubu’s house at the Police Barracks in Ikeja, saw sympathisers trooping in. Fatimah and Inspector Yakubu (49), who hails from Ebiewakpi in Auchi area of Edo State, are blessed with five children.

    Fatimah, who was seated in the living room, tried not to break down in tears as she kept saying that her husband was alive.

    She said: “I know that my husband is still alive because he has not appeared to me. Let us go and beg the militants to release him to me and my children. I only shed tears of joy because I know that he is alive and would return to me.”

    According to her, the police authorities were yet to inform her about her husband’s death, adding that she only learnt of the incident on the pages of newspapers.

    “The last time I saw my husband was Sunday, August 30, 2015, before he left for work at about 5 pm. The next day, we were expecting him to return around 10 am as usual, but he never came back.

    “I called his numbers but none of them was going through. I then called his friend who assured me that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, was in town and that they were in Obalende providing security for him.

    “I know what his job entails, so I was not bothered, although I found it strange that he never called us to explain why he did not come back. I assumed that his phones could be bad.”

    The picture of her husband’s whereabouts became clearer when a neighbour came to their house with a copy of a newspaper report on her husband’s death, consoling her over what had happened to her husband.

    She said: “It was the next day that I received calls from people in the village, asking how I was doing. Relatives who had never called the family for years called to ask how I and the kids were doing. It was then that I knew that something was wrong.

    “Later in the day, our neighbours, family and some of his colleagues started trooping into the house with the newspaper report that three policemen were killed in Ikorodu and my husband was one of them.

    “I refused to believe it and I thank God that the next day, the DPO called and said that I should not worry, that my husband is still alive. He assured me that they were looking for him.

    “I know he will be found. All I am asking is that they (vandals) should please return him to me. If it is possible, I am ready to go to the creeks and beg that my husband’s life be spared.

    “My husband is the greatest man to me and our five kids. I refuse to believe that he was killed. I know that he is alive and would return to me one day.

    “Please, stop crying over a man who is still alive.”

    Inspector Yakubu’s eldest child, Rukayat, also shared her mother’s belief that their father will return. Rukayat, who is expected to resume at the University of Benin where she intends to study Accounting, wondered why sympathisers would conclude that their father was late.

    She said: “He cannot just disappear like that. My dad is very much aware that school will resume soon. His life dream for me is to become an accountant and I had reassured him in the last two weeks that I will become the Accountant General of the Federation in the future.

    “He cannot just leave us like that. I assure you, he will return to us.”

    Describing his father as a unique policeman, Rukayat said his father was gentle and can never take the law into his hands.

    “You will not understand how special he is. That is why all of us (children) are more attached to him than our mother.

    “He will return. I know that he will return,” Rukayat said with confidence.

    Also sighted in the house was little Shafili, who was yet to understand why so many people were visiting their home to console her mother.

    Battling with the piece of meat that had been handed over to her, Shafili reminded her mother that she needed to allow her to go and play with her friends.

    “Let me go and play. I don’t know why you are forcing me to sit down with you. I will report you to my daddy when he returns,” she screamed at her mother, who was trying to force her to hang around them in the living room.

    Amongst the early callers were Afemai Youth Club of Nigeria, Iluoreh Age Group and Agbaegbeobo Women and sons and daughters of South Obie Iyakpi, West of Edo State, resident in Lagos State.

    During a joint meeting on the issue, they all assured his wife that they would do everything within their power to reach out to the militants for possible release of their loved one.

    The President of Afemai Youth Club, Barrister Tony Dania, pleaded with the vandals to release their brother as he is not only a father but a living example for his immediate community.

    “He is such a peace-loving person that most of the time, we wonder if he is actually a policeman. He is a simple, humble man who does not oppress people because of his job. He is a peace-loving person and will be greatly missed if he does not return alive.

    “We are calling on the police authorities to assist us in ensuring his safe return.”

    Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command has assured that they have intensified effort to guarantee the safe return of the missing policemen.

    A source said that two of the vandals who were involved in the disappearance of the policemen had been arrested and were cooling their heels in the cell of Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Lagos State Police Command while the search for them continues.

    The new Public Relations officer of the Lagos State Police Command, DSP Joe Offor, could not be reached for comment as arrangement was being concluded for his takeover from the former PPRO, DSP Patricia Amadin.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • 56 villagers killed in Boko Haram attack

    56 villagers killed in Boko Haram attack

    Fifty-six persons were killed at the weekend at Badu village in Nganzai Local Government Area of Borno State by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members.

    Badu is located 68km from Maiduguri, the capital. The residents are farmers and herdsmen.

    Governor Kashim Shettima announced the attack on Saturday when he hosted the parents of the abducted Chibok girls in Maiduguri.

    He said: “As President Muhammadu Buhari directed me to address you on the abduction of your daughters in April last year by Boko Haram, the security agencies hurriedly briefed me on another insurgents’ attack at Badu village, where 56 people were killed. Houses were torched. This is madness. The President asked me to commiserate with everyone of you. He said you should be patient.

    “This Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast is not based on either religion or ethnicity. It is a total madness of massive killings and destruction of people’s property.

    “I have set up an emergency committee to go to the village tomorrow (Sunday) to give relief assistance to the affected people.”

    A military source said: “One of the villages in Borno north was attacked by the insurgents while fleeing the Lake Chad Basin areas at the weekend.”

  • One feared killed in Ogun dispute 

    One person was feared dead and others injured yesterday during a confrontation between suspected land grabbers and residents of Oke-Ore community in Atan, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Council of Ogun State.

    It was gathered that the suspected land grabbers had stormed the rustic community with weapons, ostensibly to enforce a court judgment over a controversial land.

    But a detachment of soldiers stormed the area and arrested the suspected leader of the gang, identified as Mutairu Owoeye.

    He was handed over to the police.

    A leader in the community, Chief Amosun Yomi, told reporters on phone that a fight ensued when Owoeye led his gang in company of some policemen to the area to enforce the court judgment.

    He said: “We were not aware of any court judgment. The development unsettled us as they started shooting indiscriminately. A stray bullet hit one 18-year-old Bidemi Akinde, who went to eat and he died immediately.

    “A relation of the boy, who is a captain in the Army, was contacted and his arrival paid off as Owoeye was arrested. With the dead boy’s body, we went to the Police Area Command at Ota.

    “As it is now, we are in fear of another attack by Owoeye’s boys on the community.”

    The community’s Iyalode, Chief Olufunmilayo Idowu, who decried the incident, pleaded with the state government and security agencies to come to the aid of the residents.

    Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who confirmed the incident, said preliminary report indicated that Owoeye and his boys stormed the community.

    He said those found culpable would not escape justice.