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Tag: Police

  • Police frustrating confidence in judiciary, says NBA chief

    Police frustrating confidence in judiciary, says NBA chief

    THE Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ijebu-Ode branch, Mr. Adeniyi Lawal, has said the attitude of the police in Ogun State towards enforcement of court orders is eroding the public’s trust in the judiciary.

    Lawal stated this in his address at the 19th Annual Bar Lecture of the branch held at Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

    The event featured the Ogun State Chief Judge Justice Olatokunbo Olopade, represented by Justice Olanrewaju Onafowokan of the Ijebu-Ode High Court, Mr. Muhammad Dele Belgore, SAN and Sir Jadegoke Adebonajo Badejo, SAN and others.

    Lawal said some policemen had been “subjecting the judgments of High Court judges to scrutiny,” and used the opportunity of executing judgments “to exploit successful litigants.”

    This, he observed, “frustrates the confidence of the ordinary man in Nigerian justice system.”

    He appealed to the Ogun State CJ to assist the NBA in calling the police to order.

    Belgore, who delivered a lecture, advised lawyers to make use of “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis in their day-to-day business because it facilitates rational decision-making.”

    “Lawyers should focus on their strength to minimise their weaknesses and the threats that they face to take the greatest possible advantages of the opportunities available,” Belgore said.

    He added that 21st century clients require better service with lower fees and “they want their lawyers to be more proactive in their transactions.”

    Belgore admonished lawyers to be technology savvy and to acquire new skills which, according to him, include leadership, analytical innovation and creative thinking skills, entrepreneurship, multiple ways of communicating, collaboration, teamwork and networking, cross-cultural awareness and empathy.

    The event also featured the presentation of a posthumous award to the late Prof. Safiriyu Abiodun Adesanya, SAN while Sir Badejo was invested as one of the patrons of the branch.

     

     

  • Umahi condemns killing of man in Ebonyi

    Umahi condemns killing of man in Ebonyi

    Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi Monday condemned the killing of a man in Isu, Onicha local government area by members of a vigilante group.

    According to the governor, the members of the vigilante outfit seized the man, killed him and tied his legs with bags of sand and threw him into the river.

    The governor, who said the incident came after he directed the scrapping of all vigilante in the state, said the Council Chairman and the Coordinator of the Development Centre will have to answer to him for flouting his directives.

    He said: “Another incident happened while I was away. The Chairman of the local government and the Coordinator of the Development centre will have to answer to me.”

    “They must answer to me because I directed that there should be no vigilante for now. It was my directive and vigilante killed somebody, it is terrible. The vigilante just ceased the man according to report, killed him, tied his legs with bags of sand and put him inside the river.”

    “So I want the Chairman and Coordinator to give me report.”

    Umahi who was away on his annual vacation when the incident happened revealed that another development Centre Coordinator is wanted by the police in two states.

    “We have another one in Ohaukwu involving one of the Coordinators in the local government, Offorbuike.”

    “After seven days, I will get rid of him and declare him wanted because the security agents have been on me. He was declared wanted in Enugu and declared wanted in Ebonyi.

    It was gathered that that the coordinator, Offorbike Onwe is wanted for various criminal offences ranging from gun running and car snatching.

    Umahi said the Police will be allowed to do their job in all the cases before the state government will act.

    “So, we are using the opportunity to report to police, SSG who will bring him to see me and I will now make him available the way the Deputy Governor made Ogbonnaya Eneh available in the case of Uzoamaka”.

    The governor also condemned the stripping and flogging of Miss Uzoamaka Chukwu by some persons in the area led by the Coordinator of Ohaozara Development centre, Ene Odii.

    “Stripping the young girl naked and flogging the girl. I watched the video and I felt so terribly about it. It is very inhumane to have so acted but sometime you don’t follow the masses”.

    He, however, condemned pressures being put on the state government to sack political appointees when the police have not concluded their investigations.

    While maintaining that no one is guilty until proven otherwise, Umahi promised that the government will act at the right time.

    “People were expecting that we should sack the Coordinator, no.  I directed the police to prosecute all those involved in the crime and I will act when the police would have finished their work”.

    “They must not do it the way the social media wants us to do it or very ungrateful elements would want us to do it.”

    “We condemn that in totality and we encourage the law enforcement agents to act accordingly, after that we act but the law enforcement agents must prosecute the person”.

    “The security agents respected us so much by not going after our appointees or elected people without first getting clearance from us and I think it is enough respect and we have to also give them their own respect”.

    “Let me emphasize that we can’t sack people anyhow. These are people that were appointed or elected, so if they commit offence, we must allow the law to take its cause and then we can now react”.

    Police spokesman George Okafor confirmed the killing of the man.

    According to him, the Police have arrested six persons over the matter.

    Okafor, a Deputy Superintendent of Police said the command sent divers into the river who recovered the corpse of the victim.

    He promised that all those found culpable of the murder will be prosecuted.

  • Police arrest housewife in Ogun for fracturing child’s arm, legs

    Police arrest housewife in Ogun for fracturing child’s arm, legs

    The Police in Ogun state has arrested a housewife for assaulting  five year-old Iyanu Olanrewaju.  The suspect, Fatimoh Olanrewaju, is the step mother to the victim. The attack left little Iyanu with fractured arm and legs. She is currently on admission at the Children Ward of Federal Medical Centre, Idi – Aba, Abeokuta.

    Fatimoh was arrested by the Anti-Human Trafficking Department of the Ogun State Police Command. The Nation gathered that she committed the crime at their residence at Onihale village on the Ifo Stretch of the old Abeokuta-Lagos expressway. Iyanu was first taken to Ifo General Hospital after the attack, but later referred to the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta as a result of the grave harm suffered.

    Villagers told reporters that the stepmother maltreats the innocent child always. They said when they could not bear the injuries regularly being inflicted on the boy anymore, they had to invite the police. Iyanu’s father, Idowu Olanrewaju, a butcher, told reporters  that he was shocked by the cruelty of his wife to the boy and also confirmed the arrest of the wife.

    Meanwhile, Child Network Protection (CPN), an umbrella body of Non-Governmental Organisations in Ogun State, has picked interest in the case and has also taken over the medical bills of the patient. The State Coordinator, Peju Osoba told reporters that the boy is gradually responding to treatment but may spend months on admission to achieve full recovery.

  • Police arrest suspected armed robber in Lagos

    Police arrest suspected armed robber in Lagos

    The police in Lagos have arrested one Daniel Sunday for alleged armed robbery.

    Sunday, a resident of Odun Street, Bariga, was nabbed by operatives of the Maroko Police Station on Tuesday at about 5:45am after he allegedly snatched a woman’s bag.

    It was gathered that the victim raised alarm, and a team of policemen on patrol went after the suspect.

    According to the command’s spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police (SP) a locally made single barrel pistol was recovered from the suspect as well as the victim’s handbag continuing N14, 600.

    She added that the suspect has confessed to the crime and will be charged to court.

  • Four armed robbers killed in Lagos

    At least four suspected armed robbers have been killed in the last three weeks by police in Lagos.

    In addition, 37 armed robbery suspects, nine alleged kidnappers and 39 cultists were arrested during the period.

    The state Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, who stated these during a press conference at the command’s headquarters, said 20 different weapons with 30 rounds of live ammunition and 38 vehicles were recovered by the police.

    Owoseni said the cultists’ arrest followed intelligence report on their plan to wreak havoc across the state during “their Eight-Eight (August 8) celebration.”

    “All police divisions were put on notice leading to their arrest. One of the groups was going to bury a dead colleague but in the process tried to attack Denton Police Station. But the DPO and his men arrested nine of them on the spot and 21 others were later arrested. Two others were at the Shomolu and Bariga axis,” he said.

  • Police arrest two suspected cultists

    Police arrest two suspected cultists

    The police have arrested two suspected cultists over the apprehension that occurred in Ikorodu on Monday.

    They are Sunday Oteje, 24, a resident of 47, Zion Street and Monday Olatokun, 22, of Unity Road, Ajegunle both in Ikorodu.

    The suspects were allegedly arrested with a cutlass each, while they, with others at large, were planning to wreak havoc in the area.

    Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), said that detectives from the Owode Onirin Division got intelligence report that cultists will be unleashing mayhem on August 8.

    She said the command acted on the information and intensified patrol in the areas, which led to the arrest of the suspects at about 2:20pm on Zion Street while others fled.

    She stated that the suspects confessed to be cultists who were planning to strike, adding that they have been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) for further investigation.

  • Probe begins as police get three versions of budget

    Probe begins as police get three versions of budget

    Jibrin, panel in two-hour session

    The police yesterday retrieved three versions of the budget from ousted House of Representatives Appropriations Committee chairman Abdulmumin Jibrin as probe of his allegation of padding began.

    The Special Investigation Panel (SIP) has started sieving the documents to isolate the padded areas, it was learnt.

    Jibrin petitioned the police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies, alleging the padding of Budget 2016 by Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuff Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Minority Leader Leo Ogor and nine others.

    He claimed that they inserted about 2000 projects worth N284 billion into the budget.

    Jibrin had a two-hour session with the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Amodu Ali-led SIP.

    Jibrin, who submitted more documents on the matter to the investigators, may appear before the panel again either today or tomorrow.

    Based on documents at its disposal, the panel may interact with other members of the appropriations committee, sources said.

    A source said: “The search for padded areas by the panel has started. As at Monday (yesterday), the panel was in receipt of three versions of the 2016 Budget.

    “These versions are the original copy laid before the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, the version  passed by the National Assembly but rejected by the President due to omission of some key projects, such as the N60billion Calabar-Lagos rail project; and the harmonised copy.

    “With the retrieval of these budget versions, detectives have started identifying padded areas by the House members.

    “After locating these padded areas, the SIP will be able to determine the focus of interrogation and the list of those to be questioned alongside the 13 already implicated by Jibrin.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “The SIP may interact with all members of the House Committee on Appropriations and some chairmen of committees.

    “We are also monitoring every claim by members in the media to guide our investigation.”

    For the session with the SIP yesterday, Jibrin arrived at about noon and left around 2pm.

    “Jibrin brought additional documents to support his allegations. What he did was to support every allegation with proof and the sources where he got all the documents. He is trying to prove his case that the padding was criminal.

    “We have requested him for additional facts. So, Jibrin could be with us tomorrow (today) or Wednesday. We have told him additional things to bring as part of our preliminary investigation.

    “We will invite Dogara and the others after we are done with Jibrin, a source said

    he added: “As the investigation progresses, we will inform the public. This is an investigation that will stand the test of time.

    “ The nation should at the end of the day put an end to the culture of padding.  We will be fair to all who will appear before the SIP.”

     

    Last Friday during a visit to the Presidential Villa, Dogara said budget padding was not an offence.

    He said as a lawyer who has been in the legislature for years, he had never heard of where lawmakers were accused of padding the budget.

    His position drew the ire of many on social media who criticised him for his “insensitivity in these hard times”.

    Jibrin also took  him to the cleaners, arguing that “budget padding is an offence”.

     

  • Police arraign school’s workers for alleged N5m theft

    Police arraign school’s workers for alleged N5m theft

    The Special Fraud Unit (SFU) yesterday arraigned two employees of Saint Saviour’s Schools, Ikoyi, Lagos, at the Federal High Court in Lagos, for allegedly defrauding the school of N5.3 million.

    Olawale Azeez, the school’s finance clerk, and Rasheed Lanlehin, an assistant facilities manager, were arraigned before Justice Abdullazeez Anka.

    The SFU said they conspired with the school’s Finance Manager Oladimeji Akinola and Finance Officer Michael Adegbola, said to be at large,  by forging the school’s accounting records, which they sent to its bankers – First Bank Plc and Stanbic IBTC Plc.

    The offence was committed between September 2008 and last May.

    In an earlier charge, later amended, the police alleged that Akinola and Adegbola allegedly defrauded the school of N114.5 million.

    Azeez and Lanlehin pleaded not guilty.

    Justice Anka adjourned till tomorrow.

  • Cultists didn’t kill DPO – Police

    The police in Lagos on Monday dismissed rumour that suspected cultists killed the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Odongunyan, Ikorodu.

    The Spokesperson for the state police command, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police (SP), who denied the claim, said the DPO was neither killed nor kidnapped.

    Reports filtered on social media Monday morning that the DPO was kidnapped and murdered at the wee hours of the day by cultists celebrating August 8, (Eight-Eight).

    The Nation gathered that the hoodlums caused apprehension among residents of Odogunyan, Ita-Oluwo, Ogijo and environs, forcing them to boycott their places of work.

    Our correspondent learnt that some students of the Lagos State Polytechnic located on Odogunyan road also went on rampage, compounding the situation of things in the area.

    A resident, who spoke to The Nation on telephone, said town criers went round the area on Sunday night, urging residents to stay indoors to avoid a recurrence of violence that erupted on July 7.

    “I locked myself and my family members in the house. It was announced that people should avoid going out and so many residents obeyed. What we later heard was that the DPO of Odogunyan was kidnapped and killed, but I do not know if it’s true,” he said.

    Meanwhile, operatives of the Ogun State police command were said to have raided the area following cult clashes and arrested several persons.

    Confirming the arrest, the acting spokesman for the command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said the suspects were being screened.

    He added that those discovered to have no links with the unrest will be released.

    Oyeyemi, however, refused to give the exact number of persons in police net, insisting they were still being profiled.

     

     

     

  • Police arrest four suspected killers of Oyo Assembly member

    Police in Oyo State have arrested four suspects in connection with the killing of a member of the state House of Assembly, Gideon Aremu.

    Aremu was shot dead by three gunmen in his Alakia, Ibadan home on July 1. The assailants were said to have trailed him to his house on a motorcycle.

    The late lawmaker represented Oorelope State Constituency on the platform of the Labour Party (LP).

    Until his death, he was the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Public Relations and Security.

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi offered a N5 million bounty for members of the public that could supply useful information that could lead to the arrest of the gunmen.

    Police Commissioner Leye Oyebade, in a statement yesterday, said the arrest of the suspects was made possible by a combined team of Intelligence Response Team of the Acting Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and detectives from the state police command.

    The statement reads: “Refer to gruesome murder of Hon. Gideon Aremu on July 1, 2016 by some gunmen, who made away with his Samsung phones and some money, I wish to inform you that four suspects have been arrested in connection with the crime.

    “The arrest was made possible by combined efforts of the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and detectives from the Oyo State Police Command.”

    The four suspects would be paraded today at the police headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan.