The Ikoyi Division of the Nigerian Police, Lagos has arrested a 32-year-old taxi driver for allegedly kidnapping a police man.
Chidi Nwanu Igwe from Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, came to Lagos in 2005 and worked as a labourer but now drives a Daewoo Saloon Car with Reg. No.: EKY 282 BK as a private taxi or Kabu kabu.
On March 4 at about 10am, Igwe was stopped along Falomo Road in Ikoyi, by a police Sergeant Mr. Babashola Afolayan for allegedly picking a passenger illegally.
Afolayan identified himself, boarded the vehicle and ordered Igwe to drive to the station but the driver allegedly refused and sped off towards Waterside in Ikoyi.
He drove all around Ikoyi and eventually stopped near Alagbon Close where he removed the car’s battery and key and went away.
Igwe was later arrested and arraigned Monday before Mrs. A. G. Omoyele at a Lagos State Magistrates’ Court in Igbosere.
He is standing trial on a four-count charge bordering on unlawful capture and detention, driving without a driver’s licence, causing obstruction on the highway and reckless driving.
Prosecuting Sergeant Cyriacus Osuji told the court that the defendant willingly committed the offences.
He added that the offences contravene Section 269 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Section 45 of the Road Traffic Act Laws of the Fedration of Nigeria (LFN) and Section 18 (1) of the Lacos State Road Traffic Laws 2012.
Section 269 (1) provides for a prison term of 10 years for kidnapping.
Igwe denied the charges and his lawyer, Daniel Abbey, asked for his bail on liberal terms.
Magistrate Omoyele granted him bail in the sum of N20,000 with one surety in the like sum and adjourned till April 5 for mention.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the appointment of Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire as his Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mrs. Orelope-Adefulire, who served as Deputy-Governor of Lagos State in the administration of Babatunde Fashola, according to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, is an accomplished politician with many years of experience in public service.
She has also served as Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in Lagos State.
Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a five-man gang of armed robbers who specialises in car snatching.
The suspects, Apolo Ejah, Michael Yakubu, Samuel Adeniyi, Sunday Oda, Eman Najo, were nabbed in Saturday at the Baruwa Ipaja area of the state, while they were fleeing with a car they stole in Ogun state.
It was gathered that the suspects has carted away a Toyota car belonging to one Benedict Ologbosere at Aiseno close, Ogijo in Ogun and escaped through Ikorodu to Baruwa Ipaja.
Detectives attached to the state Anti-Robbery Sqaud (SARS) led by a Superintendent of Police (SP) Adamu Amadu were said to have trailed the suspected criminals to their hideout where the stolen vehicle was recovered.
Confirming the arrest, the command’s spokesperson, SP Dolapo Badmos said the vehicle was at the SARS base in Ikeja.
She stated that the suspects have confessed to the crime, adding that investigations have commenced.
Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday warned that the state will not tolerate criminality from any quarters.
He spoke after yesterday’s rescue of the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary schoolgirls kidnapped in Ikorodu last Monday.
The governor, who addressed reporters at the Government House in Alausa, said: “Let me warn that the State Government will not tolerate kidnapping or any forms of crime in the state. Our position is clear and unambiguous; Lagos State has the capacity and the will to go after every form of crime and criminality in order to safeguard lives and property in the state.”
He expressed relief and excitement at the rescue of the girls by security operatives.
“The Lagos State Police Command, the Department of State Service and members of the Armed Forces worked tirelessly round the clock in the last six days to secure the release of the children. I thank them for a good job.
“The three girls have been safely reunited with their families and the Government wishes to assure Lagosians that their security is top priority and it will not relent in ensuring that Lagos remains safe and secure,” he said.
Ambode said one of the suspected kidnappers –Emmanuel Arigidi- was arrested during the operation by security operatives to release the abducted children.
“As our daughters are reunited with their mothers and other members of their families, I would like to seize this opportunity to wish all mothers in Lagos State and Nigeria at large a happy Mothers’ Day,” he said.
Five days of anxiety ended yesterday for parents, friends and family members of the three girls kidnapped from Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary (BMJS), Ikorodu, as they regained freedom.
Oluwatimehin Olusa, Tofunmi Popoolaniyan and Deborah Akinayo were abducted from their classroom during prep last Monday.
They were rescued at about 9:45am by a team led by Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni.
Their rescue came two days after Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase deployed the Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT) to complement the efforts of the Lagos State Command.
Three of the suspects were arrested and are at the command’s headquarters in Ikeja.
Among the suspects is Emmanuel Arigidi. Also being held are two others who allegedly registered the mobile telephone sim card that was used to contact the girls’ parents for to demand ransom.
A police source spoke of how security agents infiltrated the gang and worked on their members’ parents in a bid to force the hand of the kidnappers. “The criminals gave up because of too much pressure on them,” he said, requesting not to be named because he is not permitted to talk to the media.
“After Arigidi was arrested, the father of two of the criminals, volunteered to go into the Adamo creeks to speak with the others.
“He went with a canoe after Arigidi gave the police the exact location of the girls. When he got to the creeks, he spoke to them, informing them that the police had arrested one of their gang members.
“He also told them that if they failed to release the girls, the police had stationed their helicopters for aerial bombardment. Seeing no other way out, the suspects quickly took the girls to Igbo-Okuta Bridge, Imota, dropped them there and called in anonymously,” said the source.
Confirming the girls’ release, Owoseni said: “Yes the girls have been rescued. I am with them and about to hand them over to their principal and parents. In continuation of our search for the girls, I received information that they were sighted at Imota area of Ikorodu. I went there to pick them up in my car and they are safe in police custody.
”They were rescued at about 9.44am today (Sunday). I can confirm that some of the suspects were arrested. We are not aware if ransom was paid.”
Owoseni, who slept in the area, said he was driving around Ikorodu in his car when he got a telephone call that the girls were sighted at Imota.
“They were rescued by the Imota police division. I carried the girls in my car and took them to the school to reunite them with their parents and loved ones. The girls are fine but we will not be exposing them to the media as a result of their age (14 years).
“They have gone to shower and after that, their parents will be brought to brief you people,” he said.
Owoseni said yesterday that investment in technology assisted the police to rescue the schoolgirls.
“I want to say that what was employed in rescuing the girls is more of application of intelligence-led policing, using the platform of technology, partnering with members of the community and pressure on the kidnappers.
“What we have done with other security agencies is that we also went for members of their families, including the mothers, the fathers, their children and, with that pressure, they found out that there was no way again for them to continue keeping the girls and that was what led to the success we recorded in rescuing the girls.”
He said the police will continue investigations to round up other members of the gang.
“The Governor has just mentioned that the state has the capacity to pursue any criminal who dares at all to come and disturb the peace or to commit crime in Lagos. I can assure you that we are all secured,” the police chief said.
He said the girls were rescued at Imota but declined to disclose where the suspects were picked so as “not to jeopardise our investigation”.
He confirmed that three suspects were arrested during the operation, adding that the girls were not molested by their abductors.
“There are actually three suspects that we arrested. One was actively involved while the two others are conspirators who in one way or the other aided the kidnapping.
“With respect to the state of the girls, they are very well, they are stable and immediate medical attention to test them has been administered to them by the police medical team and I can as well tell you that as we picked them up, one of the questions we asked the girls was whether they were molested in any way and the three of them stated unequivocally that they were not molested in any way.”
Asked if ransom was paid to the kidnappers, Owoseni said: “When you talk about ransom in cases like this, you are glorifying kidnapping. We should not be talking about ransom anymore in this country because if you do, you are telling others that kidnapping is viable and you can be going and kidnapping people to collect money.”
While the girls were in custody of abductors, the school kept giving information to parents. On Saturday, the school management, raised the hope that the girls would soon be back. In a message, it said: “Beloved, praise God. Thanks for your prayers and support. We are at conclusion of the issue. In few hours we shall rejoice. God is in control, we appreciate.”
On Sunday, another message announced the resque of the girls. It said: “Praised God. All Glory be to God the Almighty and our father. All our students are back in school hail and hearty. Thank you very much for your support and prayers. God is faithfull. Thank you.”
Prime suspect in the abduction of three school girls in Lagos, Emmanuel Arigidi has revealed that twelve people were involved in the operation.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday after they were arrested and the girls recused, Arigidi said the operation was planned at Majidun area of Ikorodu.
“We went to Maya bridge to enter Canoe and went to the school around 8pm. After we gained entrance into the school, we took away three girls and we took them to our hideout,” he stated.
” But along the line, we had disagreement between ourselves and I was actually the one that started it. I told other members of the gang that what we have done is not good and that I don’t like it.
“I know that security in Lagos State is now tight and I was telling others that there was no way we would get away with this kind of job considering the level of security in the state. When I told them that we should end the assignment, other members of the gang threatened to kill me and then I took Canoe to run away.
“Three days after I ran away, operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) then arrested me somewhere in Majidun and that was how I told them how we planned the attack. One thing I will like to say is that if not for the fact that I was arrested, they would not have seen the girls because I was the one that revealed everything to the police,” he narrated.
Following the rescue of the three school girls kidnapped last Monday in Lagos, Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has assured that his administration has the will and capacity to fight all forms of crime and criminality in the state.
The governor, who addressed journalists on the safe rescue of the girls abducted by gunmen from the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School in Ikorodu, warned that the state government will spare nothing to clamp down on all forms of crime in the state.
“Let me warn that the State Government will not tolerate kidnapping or any forms of crime in the State. Our position is clear and unambiguous, Lagos state has the capacity and the will to go after every form of crime and criminality in order to safeguard lives and property in the state,” the governor stated.
He expressed relief and excitement at the rescue of the girls by security operates in the early hours of Sunday, just as he commended the efforts of security operatives who led the rescue efforts.
“The Lagos State police Command, the Department of State Security and members of the Armed forces worked tirelessly round the clock in the last six days to secure the release of the children. I thank them for a good job.
“The three girls have been safely re-united with their families and the Government wishes to assure Lagosians that their security is top priority and it will not relent in ensuring that Lagos remains safe and secure,” he said.
Governor Ambode said one of the suspected kidnappers – one Emmanuel Arigidi, was arrested during the operation by security operatives to release the abducted children.
“As our daughters are re-united with their mothers and other members of their families, I would like to seize this opportunity to wish all mothers in Lagos State and Nigeria at large a happy Mothers’ Day,” he said.
The three girls kidnapped from Babington Macurlay Junior Seminary (BMJS) Ikorodu, have regained freedom.
Oluwatimehin Olusa, Tofunmi Popoolaniyan and Deborah Akinayo were abducted from their classroom on Monday night by suspected pipeline vandals.
It was gathered that the girls were rescued at about 9:45am on Sunday by a team led by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni.
Their rescue came two days after the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase deployed the Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT) to compliment the efforts of the Lagos State Command.
The Nation also gathered that three of the suspects have been arrested and currently at the command’s headquarters in Ikeja.
Among the suspects was one Emmanuel Arikiti, identified as a kingpin and two others who allegedly registered the Sim Card that was used to contact the girls’ parents for ransom.
A police source who disclosed that security agents had earlier infiltrated the gang and arrested their parents in a bid to force the hand of the kidnappers, added that the criminals gave up because of too much pressure on them.
“After Arikiti was arrested, the father of two of the criminals, volunteered to go into the Adamo creeks to speak with the others.
“He went with a canoe after Arikiti gave the police exact location of the girls. When he got to the creeks, he appealed to their baser nature, while informing them that the police have arrested one of their gang members.
“He also told them that if they dont release the girls, that the police had stationed their helicopters for aerial bombardment. Seeing no other way out, the suspects quickly took the girls to Igbo-Okuta Bridge, Imota, dropped them their and called in anonymously,” said the source.
Confirming their release, Owoseni:
“Yes the girls have been rescued. I am with them and about to hand them over to thier principal and parents. In continuation of our search for the girls, I received information that they were sighted at Imota area of Ikorodu. I went there to pick them up in my car and they are safe in police custody.
“There were rescued about 9.44am today (Sunday). I can confirm that some of the suspects were arrested. We are not aware if ransom was paid.”
Owoseni who slept in the area said he was driving around Ikorodu in his car when he got a telephone call that the girls were sighted at Imota.
“They were rescued by the Imota police division. I carried the girls in my car and took them to the school to reunite them with their parents and loved ones. The girls are fine but we will not be exposing them to the media as a result of their age (14 years).
“They have gone to shower and after that, their parents will be brought to brief you people,” he said.
Just last week, I wrote about how Lagos under the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode can be said to be working very well.
In less than a year of taking over from his predecessor, Mr Raji Fashola, whose accomplishments remain a reference point among his colleagues, Ambode has not only sustained the tempo of performance, but seems determined to surpass Fashola’s.
The response I got to my last week’s write-up confirmed that many initially had doubts about Ambode’s ability to live up to expectations, but his performance so far gives a lot of hope that the state is set for yet another glorious era.
Two incidents last week, the kidnapping of three students of the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School in Ikorodu and the ethnic clash that led to the closure of the Mile 12 Market in Ketu are very unfortunate and must be dealt with decisively.
The kidnapping of the girls in a manner similar to that of the Chibok girls who are yet to be found, is very frightening and is capable of putting a doubt on the safety of school children in the state.
Governor Ambode is known to accord safety a high priority judging by the huge amount recently committed to equipping the police command and other security agencies in the state.
Everything possible must be done to ensure that the girls are rescued alive urgently as promised by the governor. There are reports of the kidnappers demanding for ransom and whatever negotiation is going on must be handled carefully.
There is need to crack this case and get to the root of the matter before kidnappers of school children start having a field day in the state. While waiting for the girls to be rescued, school authorities must step up their security. Movement of school buses, pupils and students must be monitored.
The Mile 12 incident should also be properly resolved to prevent a recurrence as the warring groups seem determined to continue to confront themselves in retaliation for their losses.
The swift intervention of the Rapid Response Squad of the police command and the military saved the day in what could have been one of the bloodiest ethnic clashes in the state.
The closure of the market and restriction of movements in the affected streets are in order and must be enforced until peace can be guaranteed in the community.
Ordinarily, the clash said to have been triggered off by an attack on a motorcyclist should not have been enough to lead to the kind of bloody incident recorded last Monday but for the tension which must have been building up between the Yoruba and the Hausa community for whatever reasons.
As Governor Ambode rightly noted, ethnic clashes, usually hijacked by miscreants, are not unusual in a multi-ethnic city like Lagos, but more than ever before, law and order should be enforced in every community.
My worry when I heard of the Mile 12 incident was that it could spread to other parts of the state where Yorubas and Hausas are known to be managing to live in peace despite occasional disagreements. Thankfully it has not and I pray it doesn’t.
Despite the state government efforts to regulate the operation of motorcyclists, the rate at which the crowd of obviously unlicensed Hausa riders, who can barely communicate with their passengers, is growing in New Oko Oba area, is worrisome.
I won’t be surprised if what led to the clash in Ketu triggers off a similar confrontation in New Oko Oba based on the reckless driving one witnesses daily in the Abbatoir area. A stitch in time saves nine.
To keep Lagos safe and peaceful is a task that must be done. Governor Ambode over to you.
More than a year ago, some 50 young people undertook the arduous journey from the town of Chibok in the north-eastern state of Borno to seek sanctuary in the capital city Lagos.
Local parents, appalled by the April 2014 kidnapping of nearly 300 female students by the jihadist group Boko Haram, had sent their own children to stay with friends or relatives until peace returned.
Conditions were tough on the three-day bus journey with little food and water. Now, although the young people are safe from the insurgency ravaging the north-east of their country, their lives in the vast city of Lagos are far from easy.
More than two million people have been internally displaced in Nigeria. The majority have found refuge among host communities, while some live in camps with support from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). They must depend on aid from NGOs, religious bodies and the charity of individuals.
A lack of government oversight means that fundraising is vulnerable to corruption, and some IDP leaders complained bitterly of NGOs that collected money but failed to implement any projects.
In particular, there is little help available for children separated from their parents, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. The plight of the children from Chibok reflects the wider experience of many thousands of young IDPs in Nigeria who face an uncertain future after fleeing violence in the north-east of the country.
Most of the children from Chibok headed for the Lagos neighbourhood of Eleko, where some of them now spend their days wandering the unpaved roads, sharing cramped accommodation at night and coping with an irregular supply of water and power. Many others have been forced to abandon their family friends and relatives to seek work within the city.
Daniel Musa, 15, said that for many months after arriving in Lagos he had been forced to sleep on a bench each night, as his guardian shared a room with eight other people.
Only recently had an arrangement been made for him to pass the night in another building, returning to his relative’s place in the morning to wash and dress.
“I have been here for more than a year with no school or permanent job,” he said. “I just sit around doing nothing most of the time. Sometimes I work digging sand for some construction sites where I get N50 to N100 [for food], ” he said.
Daniel Musa
Daniel said he had done his best to blot out the full horror that the insurgency has caused him and his family, but described the attack that sealed his parents’ resolve to take him and his siblings out of danger.
“One day, Boko Haram attacked us around one in the morning. We packed hurriedly and hid ourselves in the bush. All our food and drink was finished. I escaped to another village wearing just a vest and shorts. From there I got a pair of slippers, a shirt and trousers which I wore to travel down to Lagos,” he recalled.
Daniel was forced to stop studying in year six as local schools had closed in the face of constant Boko Haram attacks. Asked about his future aspirations, Daniel said he would like to continue his studies.
“I would like to work in computers,” he said. “The only help I need is for someone to send me back to school.”
Lacking education, some of the Chibok youngsters in Lagos work washing dishes for food sellers, barely making enough to survive.
About 25 per cent of Nigerian children are in employment, according to the International Labour Oganisation, and the figure amongst IDPs is much higher.
Many young women have been forced to make marriages of economic convenience. Others have found work as maids in the city, while the boys loiter around the streets, waiting for the opportunity to get work as an okada, or motorcycle taxi driver. Even then, unregistered, they risk having their bikes seized by police.
The lucky few who manage to continue studying attend a ramshackle school run by some neigbourhood women whose only qualification is a high school diploma.
The neigbourhood’s government-run community school refused to admit the displaced children, citing over-subscription and their inability to waive fees as the reasons.
Ruth Haruna, 12 and Godia Peters, were both sent to live with relatives in Lagos after girls were abducted in Chibok in April 2014.
The girls attend lessons at the school for IDPs and say they are happy. But they would dearly like to return home to their parents in Chibok, and are clearly traumatised by their experiences.
“I came here because of Boko Haram; they were killing people, burning houses and took some of our sisters away. We miss our properties; my daddy’s car was taken away,” said Ruth, who says she would like to become a doctor.
Ruth and Godia Peters
Ibrahim Musa, another 18 year-old from Chibok, was also sent away to avoid being either killed or recruited into the ranks of the Boko Haram fighters.
“Our parents sent us here because we are still young and once Boko Haram see us, they would kidnap us and train us to start killing people. They kidnap girls too; one of my neighbour’s daughters was abducted at school.”
Ibrahim
Mello Kolo is the chairman of the Hausa community, the ethnic group centred in northern Nigeria, in the Eleko neighbourhood. He said the young people from Chibok faced great hardship, and most of the group had been forced to leave their guardians and seek opportunities inside the city.
“More than 30 of these children have gone inside Lagos to look for work. They need help desperately and time is against them. We have been left here on our own with no help from government or any other organization. It is only the Chibok youth association who come here to check on us once in a while. ”
This is the concluding part of a two-part series of report supported with funds from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Abuja through the ACCESS Nigeria project.
