Tag: Police

The Rivers State Police Command has arrested 16 persons in connection with the murder of Inspector Christiana Erekere, who was attacked at her duty post on April 25, 2024, at about 4 pm.

Confirming the arrest, the police public relations officer, SP. Grace Iringe-Koko, said preliminary investigations showed that the incident occurred when a group of individuals travelling on a Lexus salon car was stopped for routine checks at the checkpoint in front of Bori Police Station.

She said: “However, the occupants became agitated and proceeded to barricade the road, obstructing the movement of other vehicles. After completing the necessary checks, the police officers requested that the individuals leave the scene.

“Unfortunately, they refused, alleging that Inspector Erekere had recorded a video of their disruptive behaviour using her mobile phone.

“In their attempt to seize Inspector Erekere’s phone forcefully, they launched a violent attack against her, striking her with stones.

“The severity of the assault caused Inspector Erekere to lose consciousness, and she was immediately transported to Nnadum Hospital in Bori. Regrettably, she succumbed to the injuries sustained during the attack.”

Read Also: Police recover stolen goods worth over N800,000 in Imo

She said in the ongoing investigations of the police, all individuals involved in the killing of the female inspector would be brought to justice.

She said: “The Rivers State Police Command has initiated a thorough investigation into this abhorrent incident, and all individuals involved will be apprehended and brought to justice.

“The command extends its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased colleague during this difficult time. Inspector Erekere’s remains have been transferred to the mortuary pending an autopsy.

“The Rivers State Police Command deeply regrets this unfortunate incident and reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that the perpetrators of this heinous crime are swiftly apprehended and held accountable for their actions.”

In a successful operation the Imo State Police Command has retrieved stolen items worth more than N800,000, subsequently returning them to their rightful owner.

According to a statement by the state police public relations officer, ASP Okoye Henry, on Monday, the recovery was made on April 10, 2024, at about 3:30 am, when operatives of the Owerri Urban Area Command were on a routine night patrol along West-End road, Owerri.

The stolen items, which included a television set, a home theatre, and over 50 hi-target/wax hollandaise wrappers, were abandoned by suspected shop burglars who fled upon sighting the police.

Read Also: Owerri Zone and Imo 2028: The sabotage within

Okoye said: “After a thorough investigation, the recovered items were released to the CEO of Vivee Couture and Fabric Enterprise, whose store was burgled and looted on the same night.

“The CEO expressed her gratitude to the Commissioner of Police and the Area Commander for recovering some of the stolen items and urged the public to support the police in the fight against crime and criminality.”

Okoye assured that efforts are being made to arrest the fleeing suspects and bring them to justice. 

• …mount surveillance within FCT

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Commissioner of Police (CP), Benneth Igweh has said officers are everywhere in search of the fleeing Suleja inmates that escaped last week.

Igweh vowed to do everything e to recapture them.

Out of the 119 inmates that escaped only 13 of them have been recaptured and brought back to the 250 capacity custodial centre located in Suleja,  about 80km from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The fleeing inmates escaped from the facility last Wednesday night following torrential rainfall and storms which pulled down part of the buildings and its perimeter fence.

The CP who spoke on a radio programme monitored by our correspondent on Sunday in Abuja said: “We have tightened up security in the nation’s capital in response to the Suleja jail break where over hundred of inmates escaped from the correctional facilities”.

Read Also: Adamawa alerted to influx of herders, need for police deployment

Igweh implored residents of the territory to assist security agencies in giving vital information about any escapee who may want to infiltrate FCT.

He urged residents to report any suspected characters to the police, warning them not to accommodate unknown strangers during this period.

The police boss assured that his men would smoke out any of the escaped inmates who chose to hide in FCT.

He told the residents that the police are working with the Nigeria Correctional Service to unveil the identity of the escapees for proper action.

He however warned the escapees not to dream of entering the nation’s capital.

Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Police Command, have arrested two notorious robbery kingpins in connection to a series of car thefts from unsuspecting residents in FCT and its environs.

The robbers are; Ibrahim Haliru ‘m’ 45 years old (an ex-convict) from Kano state and Babangida Mohammed ‘m’ 27 years old from Mararaba, Nasarawa state.

They were arrested on April 23, at about 3:00 pm.

The suspects, who have been on the wanted list of the command for the past few months, were trailed to and arrested with the aid of digital reconstruction intelligence in a hotel in Nasarawa while lavishing the proceeds of their crimes.

Read Also: Adamawa alerted to influx of herders, need for police deployment

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh: “Exhibits such as five (5) vehicles, removed from where parked and myriads of items reasonably suspected to be charms were recovered from the suspects.”

While urging residents to take all necessary steps in protecting their valuables, the Commissioner of Police in FCT, (CP) Benneth Igweh, reaffirms his unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and security of life and property of the residents of FCT.

He also called on residents to be vigilant and take advantage of the police emergency lines in reporting suspicious activities through 08032003913, 08028940883, 08061581938, and 07057337653 PCB: 09022222352, CRU: 08107314192.

Anambra State police command has apprehended 16 alleged cult members terrorizing and killing people in the capital city of Awka

 Also, 21 others have been declared wanted by the command

 Awka capital city has been on fire as a result of cult-related killings in the past one month, with no fewer than 34 persons killed since Easter.

 The killings made the member, representing Awka South 1 Constituency, Hon. Henry Mbachu, and other stakeholders to raise an alarm on Tuesday, saying, enough is enough.

The lawmaker and the other stakeholders of Awka origin, said they would hold a summit in May, to find a lasting solution to the mayhem.

Read Also: Supremacy war: Oba of Benin suspends aides for pledging allegiance to Ooni

However, the Police Command has tracked down and arrested no fewer than 16 alleged suspects involved in the mayhem.

In a statement by the command’s spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said 21 other suspects who were alleged to have been involved in the killings are now on the run, and had been declared wanted.

He said the arrested cultists were nabbed during a series of intelligence-led manhunts and had been equally detained on the orders of the Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Adeoye.

He said the CP and other senior officers had vowed that cultists responsible for the spate of killings in the state capital had enjoyed tranquility for an unbroken six months period, and they must pay for their crimes.

 He said the CP had also charged the Special Anti-Cult Squad (SPACS) to redouble its efforts and hunt down those who were still at large among the identified cultists.

 “The Commissioner also called on community and religious leaders to speak out against the evil of cultism in society,” Ikenga wrote.

• Victim’s husband hails state govt for taking over wife’s medical bills

Police operatives of the Enugu State Command have arrested two male kidnapping suspects allegedly involved in the abduction of a heavily pregnant woman along Eke-Egede Road in Udi LGA, around 9:45 p.m., on April 22, 2024.

 The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, has equally ordered the manhunt of other members of the kidnapping gang at large.

The arrest was confirmed in a statement issued on Saturday by DSP Daniel Ndukwe, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Enugu State Command.

Read Also: Supremacy war: Oba of Benin suspends aides for pledging allegiance to Ooni

 The victim’s husband, Mr. Ekene Igwe, has also hailed the Enugu State government for its quick intervention, including taking over his wife’s medical bills.  Ndukwe on his part said CP Uzuegbu swiftly led a crack team of police operatives, complemented by the Neigbourhood Watch Group and Forest Guards, to rescue the woman on April 23, 2024, around noon, barely 24 hours after her abduction.

According to him, “Providentially, the woman, later identified as Chinwendu Igwe and already in her expected period of delivery, delivered a male child and, upon her rescue, was taken to the hospital, where she and the baby were medically attended to and are in good condition courtesy of the Enugu State Government, which has undertaken to foot the medical bills of the mother and newborn.

“A preliminary investigation into the incident has revealed that the woman, unaided and for reasons yet to be ascertained, knowing that she was within her expected period of delivery, embarked on a journey by land with two of her children from Lagos to her paternal home in Egede, Udi LGA.

 “She got to  9th Mile around 9 p.m. and boarded a commercial motorcycle with her children.

“However, while on their way, the abductors attacked them, beat up the motorcyclist, and abducted the woman into the forest, leaving the rider and the children behind, before a team of Police operatives from the Ezinze Police Division of the Command that responded upon intercepting information on the incident could get to the scene.”

• I’ve no hand in Michael’s killing, says alleged land grabber

The family of the late transporter, Ajayi Michael, allegedly killed during a crisis among road transport workers at Alimosho Local Council Develoment Area (LCDA) in Lagos State, still cries out for justice.

Michael’s family had petitioned a deputy inspector general (DIG) of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), over the alleged involvement of Abiodun Ejigbadero, in the murder.

It urged the DIG to take over the case, alleging Ejigbadero, a top politician, would use his influence to evade justice.

The family’s counsel, Gbenga Babawibe, said Ejigbadero, son of the late Jimoh Ejigbadero, on April 16, allegedly attacked Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) branch office at Iyana-Ipaja.

Trouble began when the LCDA chair, Sulaiman Jelili, withdrew Ejigbadero’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) collection contract.

An angry Ejigbadero was said to have stormed the office with thugs to remove the new contractor.

In the fracas, Michael was shot dead, with others suffering gunshot wounds.

The police came and arrested Jelili, chair of NURTW  chapter, Adedayo Omolani, Ejigbadero and others. They were later released.

 Residents had always complained that Ejigbadero was intimidating them with fake documents to take over their land.

They alleged he said his father bought the lands from Alimosho Municipality, and accused him of extorting money from anyone owning shops..

“He claims his father owns the land. If we go to the police to complain, nothing happens.”

However, Ejigbadero said: “The land in the area is owned by my father and we have a court ruling that supports this.

“We have collected dues for over 10 years. We collect money and use it to help the people.

“The council chair is attacking me beause we are in opposing camps. Since then he has taken over almost all my jobs.

“I am not a union member, I only collect royalties on my father’s land. I’m not a tout.

Read Also: Bauchi police kill eight kidnappers, rescue three hostages

“One of my boys called me that a man sent them away, that the chairman told him we have a problem. I told him the place was not assigned to me by the chairman and that I was only operating on my father’s land. We earn N15,000 per day. So, I told him it’s not fair as he has his own establishment.

“I got a call they were going to attack my men, and I called NURTW chair in the state, Mustapha Adekunle (Sego), and he called everyone to order.

“Last Monday, I received another call that the criminals were planning to attack. I called the Gowon Estate Divisional Police Officer and he said he would take action.

“I called the area commander and went there the next day. Instead of the police taking action, I was told to write a petition and I asked my lawyer to do that’’.

“I have no knowledge of Michael’s murder. I don’t have a gun and I didn’t buy one for anyone,” he stressed.

Police spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, said: “I am not aware of this matter but I will find out. We will investigate.”