The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria Police Force

  • I-G orders investigation into alleged comment by policeman

    I-G orders investigation into alleged comment by policeman

    The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, has ordered investigation into an alleged statement credited to a policeman, Inusa Biu, on his Facebook account.

    The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) reports that an online publication on HOTGISTNAIJA on April 26, credited a statement to Inusa captioned “Policeman threatens to kill 200 Nigerians if Buhari dies.”

    The Force Spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

    Moshood stated  that policemen Were under obligation not to make unauthorised public comments.

    He said Nigeria Police Force is a highly discipline organisation with full observation and compliance with professional ethics and decorum.

    The spokesman said that the comment was a distraction “and absolutely a shadowy imagination of the writer and should be disregarded.”

    He assured the public of police renewed determination and commitment to maintain law and order.

  • Lawmaker accuses security personnel of sexual harassment

    A member of the House of Representatives, Abudulrahman Abubakar (Adamawa-APC), on Tuesday alleged that security personnel at checkpoints in the North-East sexually harassed girls under the guise of conducting checks.

    Abubakar made the allegation while moving a motion on the need to investigate the activities of security personnel at the checkpoint along the Yola-Girei road in Adamawa.

    He said the checkpoint was manned by officers of Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

    According to him, commuters on the road are regularly subjected to harrowing experiences at the checkpoint by the officers.

    The lawmaker alleged that commuters were often diverted into secluded areas under the guise of intensive checks and were harassed and intimidated.

    According to him, the officers, oftentimes, allegedly abuse hapless young girls sexually.

    He said that due to lack of substantive evidence, appropriate authorities often turned blind eyes to these unfortunate incidents.

    The legislator said that the situation had turned the checkpoint into a tool of flagrant extortion, harassment and abuse of commuters at gunpoint.

    According to him, if the brutality and harassment of commuters are not checked and officers duly sanctioned, they can become more emboldened to commit worse crimes.

    In his ruling, Speaker of the House, Mr Yakubu Dogara, mandated the Committee on National Security and Intelligence to investigate the allegation and report back to the house within six weeks.

     

  • JAMB arrests 25 persons over illegal sale of UTME materials

    JAMB arrests 25 persons over illegal sale of UTME materials

    The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has arrested 25 persons over illegal registration and sale of 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) materials.

    JAMB registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede said the individuals arrested were  selling registration materials to the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to candidates.

    The suspects, he said, were arrested by a combined team of Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU); members of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Police Force.

    Oloyede said the e-Brochure and e-Syllabus, which were meant to be free were being sold by the culprits as high as N800 each nationwide.

    He also said the culprits were extorting money and inflating cost of registration for candidates.

    “Our quality assurance unit, particularly the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit had to go out to see what was happening, following reports of extortion.

    “We were having reports that candidates are paying more than the N5,500 that is required.,” Oloyede said..

    “Some of them inflated the prices of registration and application documents, so we had to arrest them to show Nigerians that those items were not supposed to be sold.

    “The arrests were carried out across the country yesterday April 1, and we have handed them over to the Nigerian Police for prosecution, ” he said.

    He urged applicants seeking to register for the forthcoming UTME to go about their registration in line with due processes, to avoid hitches associated with irregularities.

    He noted that JAMB would stick to its stipulated  April-ending deadline  for registration for this year’s examination.

    Oloyede debunked complaints about  poor internet connectivity.

    According to him, many of the business centres who wanted  JAMB  to return to the old practice or producers of the scratch cards are behind the complaints.

    Oloyede also assured all applicants that they would be registered for the exercise before the end of the month.

  • Packaged poison

    Packaged poison

    • Nigeria must do more to combat re-packaging of expired products

     

    The discovery of a large amount of expired consumer goods being repackaged for sale in two four-storey blocks of flats in Kirikiri, Lagos, points to how extensive the despicable trade in products unfit for human consumption is in Nigeria.

    The discovery was made by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), which was acting on a tip-off from concerned Nigerians. The eight apartments were filled to overflowing with a huge variety of consumer products, including personal hygiene products, beauty creams and baby products.

    The apartments were, in effect, warehouses where wrappings and packages bearing old expiry dates were replaced with new ones set well into the future. The alleged culprit is a well-known wholesaler and distributor of consumer products, and is likely to have exploited his extensive network to shops and supermarkets across the nation to perpetuate his nefarious activities.

    It is difficult to over-estimate the inhumanity of the trade in expired products. Many goods become harmful if not downright toxic when they reach their statutory expiry dates; selling them to an unsuspecting public amounts to virtual mass-poisoning. Since most of these goods are sold in heavily-patronised markets and shops all over the country, it is difficult for customers to suspect that anything is amiss.

    The extensive planning which goes into repackaging expired goods for resale is a grim testimony to the cold-blooded cruelty of those who perpetrate it. Careful attempts are made to ensure that the wrapping and packaging used is very similar to the original; efficient logistics and distribution processes are established in order to ensure that the expired products reach every nook and cranny of the nation without being traceable to their original source; deliberate efforts are made to suborn officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigeria Police Force and regulatory bodies in order to guarantee the safe passage of such goods into and across the country.

    Indeed, what is most shocking about this particular case is the way in which the alleged culprit has apparently been able to get away with his activities for years without detection. He was able to convert several residential apartments into virtual warehouses without attracting any suspicion. Dozens of trucks were able to deliver expired goods to the houses and take them away over time without challenge. In spite of the police, military and customs checkpoints which litter the country’s roads and expressways, the repackaged goods were never apprehended in transit.

    None of the established procedures for identifying, isolating and destroying expired goods appear to have been adhered to. As goods approach their expiry date, they are normally withdrawn from shop shelves and sent to bodies like SON, where they are destroyed in controlled environments. In this case, there was a clear failure to track the distribution and sale of these goods in order to ensure that they could be promptly recalled and destroyed upon expiry. The collusion of retail outlets in achieving this dubious end cannot be ruled out.

    SON must transcend the ritual of self-congratulation that it often indulges itself in when it makes seizures like these. Far from demonstrating its vaunted effectiveness, these incidents actually underline a troubling lack of institutional capacity. The trade in expired products is profitable only because SON and sister organisations like the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) are not making it more difficult for criminal entrepreneurs to get away with it.

    SON must improve its capacity to monitor consumer goods and ensure that expired products undergo the statutory process of withdrawal, recall and destruction. Routine checks of all importers, wholesalers and distributors must become standard practice. A reporting system must be developed to enable retailers to update SON on the status of their goods. Nigeria can no longer be a country in which poisonous profits are easily amassed.

  • AIG Adamu charges newly promoted officers

    Mr. Mohammed Adamu, the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police, Zone 5, on Tuesday advised the 49 newly promoted officers in the zone to be loyal and more committed to their duties.

    Adamu gave the advice in Benin while decorating the officers with their new ranks.

    He said that their promotions came at a time when their commitment and loyalty were needed most in combating crimes and insecurity in the country.

    The police chief urged them to be more dedicated, disciplined, loyal and committed to the force and their duties.

    Adamu said that the promotion was part of the ongoing exercise by the Nigeria Police Force toward enhancing the welfare of officers and men.

    According to him, 3,186 Assistant Superintendent of Police were promoted to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police nationwide, including six from the zone.

    He also said that 12 Sergeants from the zone were among the 7,628 promoted to the rank of Inspector, while 31 Corporals were among the 7, 206 promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

    Adamu promised officers and men in the zone that they would continually be considered for promotion.

    Responding on behalf of the newly promoted officers, DSP Solomon Ikuero said that they would be loyal and committed to the force and their duties.

     

  • Dogara’s outrider dies in crash

    Dogara’s outrider dies in crash

    Aminu Salisu, one of the outriders in the convoy of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara has died in a crash.

    The Nation learnt that Salisu who was a Sergeant in the Nigeria  Police Force, was involved in a collision with a car while piloting the Speaker home on Wednesday evening.

    The accident occurred along Aminu Shagari Way when a car suddenly intercepted Salisu’s BMW motorbike at the junction leading to the SGF and DSS offices, while it was on top speed.

    Salisu died instantly, The Nation learnt, and his body was subsequently deposited in a yet-to-be-disclosed morgue.

    Officers of the Police Force working in the National Assembly were in a gloomy mood yesterday as the news of the death of the Benue State- born officer circulated around the Complex. They spoke positively of his person and character.

    Salisu, it was gathered, had been in the convoy of the Speaker when he ( Dogara) went to Sheraton Hotel earlier on Wednesday morning for a retreat for the wives of Rep members. So, it was mystifying for many when they learnt he was dead by evening of the same day.

    The late officer who hailed from Okpokwu Local Government area of Benue State was married with four male children and lived in Dede Police Barracks, Abuja until the time of his death.

    The Speaker’s media team is yet to respond to inquiries on the incident at at the time of filing this report.

  • Police arrest four suspected kidnappers

    Police arrest four suspected kidnappers

    The Nigeria Police Force said it had arrested four suspected members of a vicious Kidnap for Ransom gang in Abuja and Kano, respectively.

    The suspects are: Uche Obiora, Michael Ishaku, Raphael Dauda and Mohammed Haruna, whose room was used to keep the victims for nine days at Mpape Quaters in the FCT.

    Force Spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, a Chief Superintendent of Police, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja.

    Moshood said that items recovered from them include, one Operational, Abuja colour Mazda, with reg No. SNK 891 TM, one AK 49 rifle and 59 7.65 mm live ammunition.

    He said that the suspects were arrested with the assistance of the Inspector-General of Police’s Special Tactical Squad.

    He said the suspects confessed to the crime and admitted to have collected N1 million ransom money before releasing their victims.

    The Force Spokesman said investigation was being intensified to arrest the other fleeing members of the syndicate.

    In a related development, the Nigeria Police Force said it had also arrested three suspects for conspiracy and car snatching.

    The suspects are: Ibrahim Mohammad, Surajo Yakubu and Danlami Musa.

    The spokesman said items recovered from them include, a Peugeot 406, Toyota Camry Golden colour,Toyota corolla, Green colour and Honda Civic black color.

    He said that the suspects who confessed to be members of a car snatching syndicate were arrested on Jan. 28, and they specialised in “drugging” drivers using soft drinks.

    Moshood said Investigation was being intensified to arrest the remaining gang members, adding that the suspects would be arraigned in court on completion of investigation.

    He said that other suspects arrested by the police included, one John Jumare 35, of buggai village in Chukun Local Government Area of Kaduna State and Uche Maxcillenous, 35.

    The spokesman said Jumare and Maxcillenous were arrested for being in possession of unlawful firearms and ammunition and
    receiving stolen cars, respectively.

    He said three locally made Rifles with 51 rounds of 7.65 mm were recovered from Jumare and a Honda Hennessey 2000 model and two Honda Civic cars of 1996 models were recovered from Maxcillenous, respectively.

    He said the suspects who confessed to committing the crimes would be charged to court on completion of investigation.

     

  • Ex-Rep Nze Duru spends fifth day in police custody

    Ex-Rep Nze Duru spends fifth day in police custody

    Former member of the House of Representatives and Vice Chairman of First Guarantee Pension Limited Nze Chidi Duru is spending his fifth night in the cell of Zone 2 Police Command.

    He was invited last Thursday by the Lagos State Commissioner Fatai Owoseni, who later referred the case to the Zone 2, headed by Assistant Inspector General of Police Kayode Aderanti.

    He was subsequently detained.

    His detention was in connection with the crisis involving FGPL and National Pension Commission, which took over FGPL in 2011.

    The legal practitioner was said to have been detained following an accusation by the National Pension Commission that the Vice Chairman of FGPL invaded the premises of his company with the help of some armed men in police uniform. It was alleged that he broke into the office and stole documents belonging to the company, including laptops and car keys.

    But Duru denied the allegations.

    The Nation learnt that he collapsed inside the police cell and was rushed to the emergency unit of Police Hospital in Ikoyi. He was still in the private ward in the hospital as at the time of filing this report.

    Speaking from his hospital bed yesterday, the former parliamentarian said the police acted illegally.

    Duru, who accused the police of being biased in the way they have handled the matter, said court verdicts on FGPL crisis were in his favour.

    Rather than comply with court rulings, he accused the police of acting in cahoots with PenCom to intimidate him.

    Lamenting about his state of health, he alleged that he was not allowed access to his drugs, an action he claimed aggravated his condition while in cell.

    Calls to AIG Aderanti’s Owoseni mobile number were not answered as at the time of filing this report.

    Following a controversial target report, PenCom dissolved the management of FGPL in 2011 and imposed an interim management committee, which runs the firm till now.

    In his ruling on the matter on July 12, 2012, Justice D.U. Okorowo nullified the target report and ordered a restoration of FGPL board and management.

    A criminal charge against Duru preferred by the Economic and Fiancial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the same matter was also struck out last November.

  • NCC donates equipment to Police IT unit

    NCC donates equipment to Police IT unit

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Thursday in Ibadan donated computer accessories to the Nigeria Police Force, Oyo, to strengthen the command’s intelligence and information gathering unit.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mrs Hafsat Lawal from the Legal and Regulatory Services Department of NCC presented the equipment at the State Police Command, Eleyele in Ibadan.

    Among the items donated are computer sets, laptops, printers and other accessories.

    Lawal said that the donation was informed by the request of the Inspector General of Police, urging all stakeholders to support the police with equipment capable of enhancing their jobs.

    She said the commission as a responsible and responsive government agency considered the donation of the IT equipment as important tools for enhancing modern effective policing.

    Lawal, who Heads Disputes and Litigation unit of the NCC, expressed optimism that the donation would help the police spread its online and Information Technology (IT) unit in combating fraud and other vices in the country effectively.

    Responding, CP Sam Adegbuyi expressed appreciation to NCC for the donation, assuring that the gesture would further strengthen the command in combating criminal activities, particularly cybercrime.

    Adegbuyi who described the IT unit as one of the engine rooms of the force stated that the command would make the best use of the gadgets.

  • Idris to CPs: Intensify raids on flashpoints

    Idris to CPs: Intensify raids on flashpoints

    The Nigeria Police Force has directed its officers and men to intensify on-going raids on identified criminal hideouts and flash-points nationwide.

    The move is part of “elaborate security arrangement and crime prevention strategies’’ announced by the force on Friday to ensure a crime-free Christmas celebration.

    In a statement, the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Don Awunah, said the directive was from the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris to Commissioners of Police in the 36 states and the FCT

    Awunah said, “ The Nigeria Police Force has put in place a robust and elaborate security arrangement and crime prevention strategies to ensure crime free Christmas celebration nationwide’’.

    Accordingly, conventional policemen and the personnel of the specialised units of the force have been deployed to provide effective security and protection of life and property nationwide during the Christmas

    “The specialised units comprise the Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit, Special Protection Unit, Federal Highway Patrol, Explosive Ordinance Department, the armament unit, Sniffer Dogs Section, the Marine Police and Police Air Wing.’’

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that other security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), had announced similar measures.

    Awunah said that police patrol teams had already been deployed on highways and major roads across the country, while surveillance squads would cover worship centres and other public places.

    He advised motorists, commuters and other road users to cooperate with police detachments and personnel deployed to maintain law and order on the highways and major roads nationwide.

    “The IGP has directed the Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and Commissioners of Police in charge of zonal and state commands to personally be on the ground to coordinate the operations in their jurisdictions.

    “The police officers and men are under strict instructions to be very polite and civil but firm in the discharge of their duty during the period.

    “They are to observe and respect the diversity and peculiarity of the people, display courage, show compassion and demonstrate professionalism in their interaction and engagement with the citizenry throughout this period.’’

    Reaffirming that the ban on the use of fireworks remained in force, the police spokesman advised parents and guardians to prevail on their children and wards to desist from these acts.

    He noted that the use of fireworks was capable of causing tension, fear and apprehension, and warned that violators would be promptly arrested and prosecuted.

    “ The IGP on behalf of the entire officers and men of the force heartily rejoices and felicitates with all Christians in Nigeria and worldwide as they celebrate this year’s Christmas.

    “He encourages them to propagate peace, demonstrate love, forgiveness and tolerance by promoting harmonious co-existence with fellow citizens, irrespective of religious, ethnic or political inclination.

    “Finally, the IGP expresses satisfaction and gratitude to the members of the public for their cooperation with the personnel of the force across the country.

    “He, therefore, enjoins every Nigerian to sustain the support for the Nigeria Police Force during the Christmas and into the New Year 2017,’’ he said.