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Tag: Police

  • ‎Rape suspect denies allegation, says it was a mutual consent

    ‎Rape suspect denies allegation, says it was a mutual consent

    A security officer, Kenechukwu Okonkwo who is facing a rape charge, has denied raping his lover, Faith.

    Okonkwo at the resumed proceeding Tuesday told a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja what transpired between him and Faith, 29, who is now alleging that he, raped her.

    The defendant is standing trial for alleged rape charge contrary to Section 258 sub section (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011 on or about the 27th day of December, 2013 between 10:00p.m to 11:00p.m at Salawe Street, Ikosi Ketu, Lagos.

    Led in evidence by the defense counsel, Worer Oduagbaka, the defendant told the court presided by Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye that he did not rape Faith, but that she willingly consented that he should make love to her.

    The defendant who gave his evidence in pidgin English said he met Faith, who was one of the suppliers at the super-market where he works as a security personnel, and that they became friends and started dating.

    “Shortly after I met her, I lost my father and travelled home. When I came back, Faith came visiting and I told her everything that happened in the village. I also asked her to marry me because my mother had asked me to get married quickly being the only son and she accepted to marry me.

    “After some time, she came to my house one Sunday and told me that she is currently dating one rich man that lives in Magodo. She also told me the man promised to take care of her and her family because she told him she was a virgin. I then told her to follow her heart.

    “Few weeks after, Faith called me that she wanted to see me and I told her that I was at work and would close late. She kept calling me and when I eventually closed, I met her, already waiting for me at home around,” Okonkwo said.

    “The witness also told the court that, Faith hugged him when he returned home and they both walked to his room and she prepared noodles for him while he left to have his birth.

    “When I returned, she had already removed her clothes and hung them leaving only her tight (underwear) and singlet”.

    “We both ate the indomie she cooked, thereafter, I slot in a DVD (Love movie) and I laid on the bed. Faith later joined me on the bed and we started playing together.”

    According to the defendant, “Faith asked me to stop and asked me if I would marry her then I told her yes if she’s also ready. She then removed her underwear by herself and we made love.

    “The next day, I prepared and left for my place of work and after sometime, a man came looking for me and asked if I am Kenechukwu and I affirmed, then two policemen came and arrested me”.

    Okonkwo further told the court that he was taken to the Police station in Ikosi and the Policeman there asked him what happened and he told him everything that happened.

    “He asked if I can write and I said I can’t. The policeman wrote down all I told him and read it to me and later asked me to sign on it, and I did”.

    “The man that came to arrest me with the policemen later came and took me away to Isheri police station in Faith’s lover’s car”.

    Okonkwo told the court how another set of policemen received him at Isheri police station and informed him that the statement he made earlier will not work again.

    “A Policeman later put me in a separate room and asked for my name after which he asked me to sign a statement he wrote for me. I asked him to read it to me but he refused and started to beat me in which he removed one of my tooth in the process.”

    The defendant said he was taken to his house by the policemen who conducted a search of his house but could not find any evidence on whether he raped the victim.

    Okonkwo maintained that he did not rape Faith as she did not raise any alarm while they were making love.

    Justice Ipaye thereafter adjourned the matter till April, 13, 2016 for further hearing.

     

  • Police nab three for murder of task force leader

    Police nab three for murder of task force leader

    The Police have arrested three suspects for allegedly masterminding the death of a 27-year-old man, Joseph Anyigor in Ndieke Ndiagu village in Amagu community, Ikwo local government area of Ebonyi state.

    The deceased it was gathered was beaten to death for driving recklessly at the market.

    Anyigor was a taskforce Chairman of Motorcycle Transport Union in Ndiagu Amagu.

    He had a scuffle with members of his union who alleged that he drove his motorcycle recklessly at Afia Igwe Market Square and the union members attacked him which led to his death.

    Police spokesman, ASP George Okafor confirmed the incident.

    He said: “On March 4, 2016, the Chairman of Ndieke Ndiagu Amagu, Earnest Nwoba in company of Walter Nwanchor Nwangbo and Godwin Anyigor reported at Ikwo Police station the death of Anyigor at about 4:30 pm.”

    “There was a fight between the late Anyigor and his taskforce members on the way he drove his vehicle at the market square.

    “We are yet to discover what actually transpired that led to the death of the young man. Whatever the situation, it couldn’t have led to beating him to the extent that he died.  We’re yet to know if they used weapons on him or just fist that really killed him.”

    “The deceased was the chairman of taskforce unit of the Motorcycle Union in the area and it was his fellow taskforce members who alleged that he rode his motorcycle carelessly or recklessly within the market area, may be in a bid to get him down, a scuffle ensued.”

    He disclosed  that Chukwuma Nwangbo, Nwabueze Nwoba, Emmanuel Igboji, have been arrested in connection with the crime while  the deceased has been deposited in Onueke General Hospital in Ezza South local government area of the state as investigation into the matter continues.

     

  • Police wades into DPR, IPMAN feud in Kwara

    Police wades into DPR, IPMAN feud in Kwara

    The Police in Ilorin have waded into the feud between the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and members of the Kwara State Branch of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).

    The Head of Operations of the DPR office in Ilorin, Mr Ibitayo Oyedele, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Ilorin.

    He said that the Controller of the DPR in the state, Mr Philips Salvation, had petitioned the police and the DSS over an alleged manhandling of some DPR workers by IPMAN members.

    According to him, the police have invited some officers of IPMAN for questioning on the development.

    NAN recalls that both DPR and IPMAN members have been at loggerhead since 2015 when the DPR controller refused to allow them to sale fuel above the approved pump price of N86.50.

    Oyedele told NAN that it was not true that independent marketers bought their fuel at higher prices from private depots.

    The head of operations said that fuel sold by the independent marketers were imported by NNPC and sold to them at the official price.
    He also said that independent marketers who bought fuel from distant PPMC depots were paid for bridging.

    “It is not correct that marketers lift petrol at higher prices from distant depots, every extra expenses incurred by marketers is defrayed by the Federal Government,” he said.

    Oyedele said that because the controller refused to shift grounds and allow the marketers to sell at exorbitant prices, they had refused to sell their products to the public.

    According to him, this is the main cause of the acute fuel scarcity in Kwara, particularly in Ilorin, the capital.

    Oyedele alleged that a factional leader of IPMAN, Mr Olanrewaju Okanlawon, had led some members of the body to assault DPR officials, who had come to seal off his filling station at Ajase Ipo Road, Ilorin.

    Efforts to get the reaction of the IPMN chief on the matter yielded no dividend as his mobile phone was switched off.

  • Police seek order to hear Ese’s testimony in camera

    Police seek order to hear Ese’s testimony in camera

    The Federal High Court, sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, yesterday, ordered the further detention of Yunusa Dahiru, alias Yellow, in Okaka Prisons, for the alleged abduction of 14-year-old Ese Oruru, following discrepancies in his bail application.

    Justice H.A Ngajiwa ruled that Yunusa remain in prison custody pending the determination of an application seeking his bail.

    Also, at the resumed hearing, the state, through the police, sought the approval of the court to hear Oruru’s oral evidence in camera.

    Ngajiwa made the remand order following the inability of the suspect’s five-man team of lawyers, led by Kayode Olaosebikan and the prosecution three-man team, headed by Kenneth Dika, to present evidence of judicial precedent in their arguments.

    The judge concluded that the bail application suffered a setback because the lawyers could not present all authorities they mentioned as directed by the court.

    Dahiru is facing a five-count of criminal abduction, illicit sex, sexual exploitation and unlawful carnal knowledge of 14-year-old Oruru.

    He was brought to court at 10 am, escorted by prison officials.

    The Kano-born Dahiru looked pensive and lean in his green traditional Hausa attire.

    Following his stalled case, Yunusa was ordered by the judge to step out of the dock.

    The prosecution, however, brought a prayer before the court asking it to allow Oruru to be quizzed and his evidence taken in camera because of her age.

    The prayer was opposed by Yunusa’s lawyers, who insisted that examinations and cross examinations must be done in open court.

    The  seven-paragraph affidavit asking for Yunusa’s bail was deposed to by Oladeji Maxwell of Olaosebikan and Co., while the prosecution affidavit rejecting the application was deposed to by Debo Waheed.

    The prosecution asked the court to decline the bail request by Yunusa’s legal team, which consisted of Audu Bulama, Oche Alex, Yahaya Sheriff and Huwaila Mohammed.

    In its argument opposing the application, the prosecution noted that it was difficult to bring Yunusa from the Muslim Council in Kano where he was first arrested.

    He argued that if the accused was granted bail, it would literally put an end to the case.

    ‘’It took the police since August till now to get the suspect arrested. If he’s granted bail, he will not come back to this court because he is not even resident in this jurisdiction’’, the prosecution said.

    But Yunusa’s legal team, however, argued that since it was a ‘bailable’ offence, there was nothing stopping the judge from granting the prayer of the accused.

    Olaosebikan  called on the judge to discountenance the prosecution’s resistance, arguing that the statement was an indictment on the police.

    He said: ‘’ It is preposterous that a member of the police force would say that they cannot retrieve Yunusa from the Muslim Council in Kano, when members of that body are civilians. The court should not rely on that argument.

    But Ngajiwa reserved ruling on the bail application and ordered that Yunusa be sent back to prison.

    “Ruling is reserved for the  March 21 and suspect is to be remanded in prison custody’’, he said.

    Speaking outside the court, the defence lawyers insisted that the case was that of a ‘Romeo and Juliet’, adding that the argument that the girl should be shielded was untenable.

    ‘’Their reason is that they don’t want publicity for the girl, but our position is that the matter is in the public domain. The prosecution created a media nightmare for the girl. They dug the pit, let them wallow in it.

    ‘’ Our contention is that what they are trying to prevent has occurred. The trial started in the media. So they can’t stop what they started’’, Olaosebikan said.

    During the last session, Yunusa,  who was brought in handcuffs, admitted impregnating the teenage girl, but pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the five-count.

    The police accused Yunusa of conspiring with Dankano Mohammed and Mallam AlHassan to ‘abduct, coerce, deceive and sexually assault’ the Delta-born Miss Ese Oruru.

    The police alleged that the suspect committed an offence punishable under Section 27(a) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.

  • Should states have their police

    Should states have their police

    A fresh wave of violence has hit parts of Rivers State, with 35 persons killed in the last two months. Many of the victims were beheaded. The police appear incapable of dealing with the problem. The affected communities live in fear of attacks. Is state police the solution? ADEBISI ONANUGA asks.

    In the past two months, there have been killings in Rivers State. Hardly a day passes without people being killed. Life has become so cheap in some parts of the state as  people are being decapitated and their heads taken away.

    Thirty-five people have been killed in some communities. Eleven days ago, masked gunmen invaded Omoku, headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government, and beheaded the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ward 4 Chairman Franklin Obi. They took his head away.

    His wife and 18-year-old son, Bestman, were also killed. The killings are coming ahead of Saturday’s legislative rerun.

    Also last month, 25 persons were killed in Omoku, 10 of them beheaded and their heads taken away by masked gun men.

    Rivers State Police Commissioner Musa Kimo said the police will arrest those behind the dastardly acts and prosecute them to deter others. On March 8, there was tension in Buguma following the killing of an APC member, Ofinijite Amachree.

    Amachree was burnt alive in Buguma in Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State. Between March 5 and 6, five persons were clubbed to death.

    Amachree’s murder took place barely 48 hours after Obi was beheaded.

    Four APC members were killed in Obibi, Etche Local Government, while Gabriel Cookey was clubbed to death in Opobo, headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro.  A man, popularly known as Kpom Kpom, was killed and burnt.

    The killings in Rivers State communities are not limited to politicians.

    On February 14, a fight between rival cult groups left no fewer than 18 persons dead in Omoku. According to eye witnesses, a cult group, the Icelanders invaded the community around 11.00 p.m, killing and injuring others. Among those killed, according to eye witnesses, were a couple and two brothers of the same parents.

    It was learnt that many of those killed were beheaded, with the killers allegedly making away with their heads.

    One Elder John Awo, who hails from the community, said that the killers operated freely, despite the presence of security operatives and check points on major junctions.

    On Ndoni Street, an eye witness, Benedict Ajie, said he heard gunshots on the street at about 9 pm, and by dawn he found that at a house opposite his own, two of his kinsmen, two young brothers, had been shot dead.

    He said on Ndoni Street alone, eight persons were shot dead that night.

    Days after the Omoku killings, a former member of the Rivers House of Assembly, Monday Eleanya, who represented Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Constituency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was shot dead as he was driving out of his residence on Ada-George Road in Port-Harcourt. The deceased had just defected to the APC.

    On January 5, masked gunmen invaded Elibrada Carnival and killed two suspected cultists.

    It was gathered that after the unidentified gunmen laid siege to the community, one of the boys that had been terrorising Emohua was picked.

    His remains were discovered later, at Elibrada Junction, his head was  severed from his body and placed separately on a clean George wrapper. His body was found in the bush.

    The killings followed the Supreme Court’s pronouncement upholding the governor’s election. Observers are worried that the police appear incapacitated to check the increasing violence and the beheading in some of the communities. Are the police helpless?

     

    Lawyers’ views

     

     A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), believes a centralised police cannot enforce law and order adequately everywhere.

    “I can’t see how just (Inspector-General of Police) Solomon Arase can be expected to guarantee the safety of all Nigerians. It makes no sense.

    “Whereas you could remove police from the exclusive list, enable the 774 Local Governments – not even states – to have authority over municipal policing, and then define what each person can do.

    “In America, the FBI deals with Federal cases. Other police, such as the famous New York Police Department (NYPD) deals with New York issues,” he said.

    Agbakoba said without state police, even governors have no control over law enforcement in their domains as the police do not take orders from governors.

    “As we stand today, the only responsible sovereign is President Buhari and the ministers. I was at a conference where Adams Oshiomhole (Edo State governor) was also speaking and I told him that he’s not a sovereign.

    “I reminded him that former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi was not allowed to get into his house by Joseph Mbu (former Rivers Commissioner of Police). This shows that a Commissioner of Police can actually be the sovereign of the state.

    “If the Commissioner of Police of Lagos State wishes to arrest the governor, he can do so. You can then talk about immunity, but the commissioner can do so.

    “When Asiwaju Bola Tinubu wanted to remove the market in Falomo, rightly or wrongly, the police put two tanks there. So, a country where sovereignty is only in the Federal Government is problematic.

    “They (Federal police) can’t see everything. The nature of our federalism creates a lot of inefficiency. “

    A member of the Ogun State Judiciary Service Commission, Abayomi Omoyinmi argued that the Police have failes on several occassions.

    “The confidence is low and the urge to serve is lacking,” he said.

    He said officers’ welfare should be addressed and the government should recruit more hands.

    Former Chairman, NBA, Ikeja Branch, Monday Ubani said the recent killings in Rivers State attest to the fact that matters have snowballed out of the hands of the security forces.

    He added that rerun election taking place next week has added more impetus for anticipated violence and killings.

    Ubani regretted that Rivers State has become a theatre of the absurd.

    “The killings and the frequent eruptions of violence all over the state has made that state the unsafest  for now unless something drastic is done to change that negative perception,” he said..

    “Can we safely conclude that the security agencies in Nigeria have failed to tackle the spate of grievous insecurity in Rivers State? One is clearly tempted to shout ‘yes’.

    “What more evidence should we demand when on daily basis lives are lost, properties destroyed, communities sacked and people are scattered all over the place,” he asked.

     

    The way out

     

    Agbakoba said not only is state police required, but that there should be municipal policing.

    He believes the police should be removed from the exclusive legislative list and placed in the concurrent list so that states can have their own police.

    Said he: “They (Federal police) can’t see everything. The nature of our federalism creates a lot of inefficiency.” He added that country where sovereignty resides only in the Federal Government is problematic.

    Omoyinmi said state policing may be the solution.

    “In any case some states in the country have taken full responsibilities financially in making sure that the police in their state are not neglected in the performance of their duties of preventing crimes and providing security for life and properties.

    “I will ultimately support the regional policing to be experimented for sometime and may be state police after about a decade of regional police,” he said.

    Ubani said state police can be the panacea for insecurity.

    “State police is desirable in a multi cultural and multi religious country like Nigeria but one must be careful to qualify it to be that the State Police Force must be neutral, patriotic and selfless not under the whims and caprices of the governor or party in power.

    “If these measures cannot be guaranteed it may be more dangerous and deadly than what we are witnessing presently. State Police can work in a country where institutions that will checkmate the excesses of the governor are very independent and effective. Can this ideal situation be guaranteed?

    “There is no space here to enumerate what we as a nation stands to gain in having an impartial, independent and highly monitored State Police that will serve generally the interests of citizens and the State. A trial may convince us.”

    In the short run, the former NBA Ikeja branch Chairman advised that the Nigerian police must demonstrate capacity immediately as there is evidence that they have not tackled this graven insecurity appropriately and effectively.

    “In addition to the Police to man Rivers State, the Nigerian  Army must be deployed  in the interim to curtail this present madness otherwise all the citizens in Rivers will become endangered specie, if they are not already.

    “If these measures are not deployed promptly to stem this insecurity it may spiral into a full blown state of lawlessness and war that may necessitate the declaration of state of emergency which may not be in the interest of the citizens and the state,” he stated.

     

  • FG begins new training programme for police officers

    FG begins new training programme for police officers

    Towards its criminal justice and police reform agenda, the federal government has commenced a new training initiative that will better equip the Nigeria Police Force to more effectively discharge its roles and functions.

    It will also make the force a more potent tool in fighting corruption within the force and in the country.

    The training programme, according to a statement issued on Monday by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, commenced on March 9, under a collaborative effort between the Presidency and the Nigeria Police Force.

    The first in a four-part series of courses on Strategic Leadership and Management was completed on Friday.

    The training programme, also organised with the support of the Ministry of the Interior and CLEEN Foundation, a law enforcement Non-Governmental Organization, was sponsored by the Anti-Corruption and Criminal Justice Reform Fund administered by Trust Africa, an international NGO. 

    In its first part, twenty police officers of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police drawn from across the country were taken through seven modules.

    Each of the modules are designed to sharpen the skills of the senior police officers and enable them translate the strategic vision and policing agenda of the Police High Command into manageable and measurable operational directives with the goal of overall nationwide effective criminal justice administration.

    A total of 100 senior Police officers will be trained over the duration of the courses and at the end of the fourth course, the training program will be transferred to one of the Police training institutions along with a standardised curriculum and training manual. 

    The course was facilitated by the following: Professor Olu Ogunsakin, a consultant for the Justice for All Programme of the UK Department for International Development , Professor Todd Foglesong, a Professor of Global Studies with the Munk School of Global Affairs of the University of Toronto.

    Others are Professor Etannibi Alemika, a Professor of Criminology of the University of Jos, Professor Abubakar Mu’azu, a Professor of Communications of the University of Maiduguri, Mrs. Kemi Okenyodo, the Executive Director of Partners West Africa – Nigeria, Mr. Fola Arthur-Worrey, most recently the Executive Director of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, and DIG Saliu Argungu Hashimu, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police on Training and Development. 


    The following modules were covered during the course: Strategic Leadership, Management and Planning; the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the Police; Effectively Tackling Corruption within the Police and in the Larger Society; the Psychology of Policing, Measuring Performance as a Management Tool, and nvestigative Policing and Network and Relationship Building.

    The just completed first part of the training course was held in the Conference Room of the Inspector-General of Police at the Force Headquarters in Abuja between March 9 and 11, 2016. The other parts of the training would be done later this year.

  • Four women held for child theft in Jos

    2 men held for kidnapping

    The Plateau State Police command has paraded four women for allegedly stealing a one month-old child while the child was asleep.

    The suspect criminals, Rukaya Abdulahi, Nancy Ezekiel, Tongret Amos and Jeniffer Sati Sabo were among 26 other criminals paraded at the Jos police headquaters on Monday by the State Commissioner  Mr. Adekunle Oladunjoye.

    According to the commissioner, “One Talatu Abdulahi of new Abuja, Dadin Kowa Jos left her one month-old baby on bed in her room and left to visit a neighbor. The mother of the baby returned to the room in ten minutes to discover her baby had disappeared from her room.

    “The mother promptly reported the missing baby to the police and the police immediately sprung into action in a short while and recovered the baby from the suspects” he said

    While explaining her involvement in the crime, One of the suspects, Nancy Ezekiel, who trades in palm oil between Jos and Imo claimed that she took the baby after the mother of the baby agreed to sell the baby.

    According to Nancy Ezekiel “We both agreed to carry out the deal, we also vowed never to disclosed the deal to anyone while the baby remains with me. I was shocked to hear the mother report her baby was stolen after she agreed to sell the baby.

    However, mother of the stolen baby Talatu Abdullahi who earlier reported the alleged missing child to the Police denied any agreement to sell her baby. She however said, “I decided to sell the child because my father threatened to kill me if have a child out of wedlock.” The police commissioner said the suspects will be taken to court as soon as the processes are completed.

    The command also paraded suspected kidnappers who lured a 3 year old boy from Jos and took him to Bauchi from where the criminals called the family to demand N250,000 ransom.

    According to the police boss, “the 3 year old boy, Ahmed Hanif Abubakar was sent on errand by his mother when he was abducted by the suspect Umar Isa. The suspect took the boy to Bauchi, hid him in costudy of one Islamic teacher and returned to Jos.

    “The same suspect sent a phone number to the parents of the boy asking them to call the phone if they want to know the whereabouts of their son. He also directed the parents to go and pay the demanded ransom in Zaria.

    The parents of the boy however negotiated the ransom down to N150,000.00 which the suspect agreed to collect in a bush along Kaduna road, but unknown to the suspect, the police laid ambush near the point where the payment was to be made. The suspect was apprehended while trying to pick the money from the point it was dropped.

    The suspect led the police to arrest the Islamic teacher Jibrin Musa from Soro village in Bauchi state where the abducted boy was eventually rescued. The boy has been returned to his parent while the police prepare to arraign the suspects in court.

    The police commissioner, Mr. Adekunle maintained that the landmark successes recorded within the first quarter of the year by the Command is as a result of the  security mechanism and robust strategies put in place against criminal elements in the state.

    He appealed to citizens to be vigilant and report any criminal elements aimed at causing mischief in the state.

  • Fuel scarcity: Unknown soldiers beat up station manager

    Fuel scarcity: Unknown soldiers beat up station manager

    The Station Manager of Forte Oil former African Petrol (AP) in Damaturu, Yobe State capital was on Saturday night beaten up by unidentified soldiers for refusing to sell fuel to them in jerry cans.
    The Manager, Auwulu Hassan who is now on admission with injuries at Gen. Sani Abatcha Specialist Hospital in Damaturu told journalists who visited him at the hospital that he was beaten in front of the Divisional Police Officer of ‘A’ Division where he ran to when the soldiers descended on him in front of his filling station.
    “I was about leaving the station when some soldiers approached me that they are coming from Brutai and going to Maiduguri so I should get them fuel. I told them we have close but I can get them 30ltrs that will take them to Maiduguri, but they said no, they want the fuel in jerry cans. Then I told them I can’t give them in jerry cans and urged them to accept the 30 liters that would help them to get to Maiduguri.
    “While we were arguing over this, one of them called one among them to go and bring the jerry cans. Within that time, I found a way of escaping from their sight because I noticed they were not ready to listen to me.
    “I went and did my evening prayers, came back and sat opposite the filling station then I saw five soldiers coming towards me. Before I could say anything, they started beating me up and everybody there were surprised. One of the people wanted to call with his phone and they collected the phone and started beating him.
    “It was at that point that I ran to ‘A’ Division Police Station. They followed me to the Police Station and in front of the DPO they were still beating me,” Auwulu narrated.
    The Independent Marketers in the state through their Chairman Alhaji Audu Girgiri have vowed not to open their fuel stations or receive any supply if the soldiers are not apprehended.
    Alhaji Girigiri who spoke with reporters at the Amenity ward of General Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital where he went to sympathize with his member, described the action of the soldiers as “primitive and uncivilized”.
    “We cannot condone this kind of treatment on our members. If the military authority does not take action to punish those soldiers within the next 48 hours, all fuel stations in Damaturu and the entire Yobe will be close,” Alhaji Girigiri warned.
    The Chairman also expressed reservation over the performance of the petroleum taskforce in the state describing it as a failure.
    “I think the Petrol TaskForce in the state is a failure because it has created more problems to the common people than solution. It is this task force that is causing scarcity and hardship for people in Damaturu presently unlike before when fuel us to be available,” he explained.
    The spokesman of 3 Div (Tactical Headquaters) Damaturu Col. Ogunsanya in a text message said that he was not aware of the matter.
    The beaten station manager later Sunday evening said some high ranking military officers have visited him at the hospital to apologize on behalf of the soldiers and promised to fish them out for appropriate punishment.

  • IGP deploys DIG, AIG, CPs, officers for Rivers re-run election

    IGP deploys DIG, AIG, CPs, officers for Rivers re-run election

    As part of efforts to prevent electoral violence in the forthcoming re-run election in Rivers state, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase has deployed his men to the state.

    The rerun election is scheduled for Saturday,19th March 2016.

    According to a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the Force Spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole the IGP directed that the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Department of Operations (DIG) Sontoye Wakama, proceed to Rivers to meet with stakeholders and Police officers in the State Command on the need for peaceful conduct before, during and after the election.

    The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 6 Calabar, Adisa Baba Bolanta has also been directed to relocate to Port Harcourt on14th March, 2016 for pre-elections preparation.

    The Police High Command explained that the deployment is with a view to emplace conducive environment for free, fair and credible election.

    According to the statement, three Commissioners of Police (CPs) have also been deployed to supervise security arrangements within the three Senatorial Districts of the state; Rivers East, Rivers West and Rivers South East.

    In addition to the senior officers, the police boss also stated that 6000 conventional Policemen and 14 Units of Police Mobile Force personnel (MOPOL), would be deployed to compliment the personnel of Rivers State Command during the election.

    The IGP, while assuring the electorates of a secured and enabling environment to exercise their franchise, warned all security details to desist from accompanying their principals and politicians to polling booths and collation centres during the election.

    He noted that only security personnel specially assigned for election duties must be seen within and around the election designated places.

  • Okada robbery gang members arrested

    Okada robbery gang members arrested

    Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested three teenage robbers, who specialise in “okada” snatch and run” .
    Members of the gang, including Daniel Dali, 19; Emmanuel Ashaolu, 17 and Ikenna Bright, 17, were arrested on Friday in Ajegunle by the surveillance team of RRS on regular patrol of the area.
    Dali, an okada rider from Cotonu and Ashaolu were reported to have snatched a handbag from a lady, but unknowingly to them, the bag contained two wraps of “fufu” and stew.
    Their victim’s shout for help prompted the RRS team to pursue the duo on okada leading to the arrest of Ashaolu while Dali escaped.The RRS team mobilized a decoy Team of RRS Intelligence who combed the area late in the night, leading to the arrest of Dali, the okada rider and Bright.
    At the suspects’ apartment, two other roommates were also arrested but later released after cross examination by the RRS officials.
    However, Dali on interrogation stated that he is the okada rider for the syndicate and disclosed that he started the business of okada snatching and run in April 2015 after the death of his mother.