The Kogi State Commissioner of police, Mr. Besan Gwana has confirmed the dismissal of Cpl. Onoja John from the police force, over his alleged shooting of a tanker driver along the Okene-Lokoja road, last week Thursday.
The CP who said that the IGP frowns at acts such as the shooting of any Nigerian by a policeman, said the accused had undergone orderly room trial, dismissed and will soon be charged to court.
The London Metropolitan Police investigating a case of money laundering against former Delta Sttate governor, Chief James Ibori have been accused of bribery and corruption by Mr.BhadreshGohil, a lawyer who represented Ibori.
According to several United Kingdom (UK) newspapers published yesterday, there have been calls for an independent investigation into the bribery allegations leveled against the police. According to the Sunday Times of London, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is currently facing “serious questions” over allegations of bribery that could jeopardise investigations into Ibori’s case.
“ The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is facing serious questions over an alleged cover-up that could jeopadise the high-profile conviction of a billionaire Nigerian politician.
“ The crisis follows the dramatic collapse of a case involving BhadreshGohil, a lawyer who represented James Ibori, a former governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta state. Gohil was cleared at Southward Crown Court last week after the CPS withdrew a charge of perverting the course of justice.
“ Gohil had been accused of leaking fabricated documents to media organizations and MPs on the home affairs select committee. The documents claimed a police officer involved in the Ibori inquiry had received corrupt payments from RISC Management, a private detective agency that worked for Ibori.
“The decision to prosecute Gohil backfired when CPS lawyers were accused of withholding key documents, which could have proved police corruption.”
The Guardian of London also reported that the CPS was accused of suppressing police corruption evidence in what has been called a “misconduct of a particularly serious nature”.
The paper said: “The accusation has been made in the trial of two men charged with fabricating claims of corruption involving Metropolitan police officers. The trial collapsed last Thursday at Southwark crown court in London after senior lawyers at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to abandon the case. The CPS said new information has come to light, but did not elaborate. It did not comment ibt he allegation of serious misconduct.”
Mr. Gohil has been accused of perverting the course of justice by faking documents to make it look as though, the Metropolitan Police were taking bribes. Gohil, who had already pleaded guilty to a charge of money-laundering said he was trying to expose corruption in the police.
“ I was a whistle-blower and instead of investigating what I had uncovered and put forward, I was persecuted,” he said. In court, defence lawyers had alleged that there was “clear and compelling evidence” of police accepting bribes in return for “unlawfully providing sensitive information” to private detectives. It was also alleged that the police own investigation into the matter was “deliberately designed to find no evidence of corruption and that the prosecution service “deliberately withheld evidence.”
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested seven suspected cultists who allegedly engaged in supremacy battle in Bariga area of the State on Saturday, leading to the killing of a 65-year-old woman.
The deceased, Adejoke Adefuye was burnt beyond recognition when her house located at 19, Oshinfolarin Street in Bariga was set ablaze by the rival cult groups.
Trouble had started when members of Eiye confraternity led by one Ibrahim Balogun clashed with another rival cult group known as Aiye confraternity led by a man simply identified as Gideon in a supremacy fight at the area.
The cultists, according to reports, vandalized some vehicles parked along the road in the area, while two members of the Aiye confraternity known as Bobo and Abayomi Olubola lost their lives in the fracas.
A statement issued on Sunday by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Dolapo Badmus, confirmed the arrest of the cultists, as well as some of the equipment used to carry out the operation.
Badmus said the second in command of one of the cult groups was among those arrested, while three power bikes, one live/expended cartridges and a tricycle popularly known as Keke Marwa used to get to the scene were also confiscated.
She said the cultists have been terrorizing the area for some days and that they were able to make some arrests due to the quick response to the distress calls received concerning the fracas.
Those arrested, according to Badmus includes Afees Olaide Fagunwa, Nurudeen Lateef, Richard Ewa, Richard Abayomi, Mohammed Musa, Kayode Dada and Adams Adelakun.
She said that the bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the Gbagada General Hospital for autopsy by the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU) while other occupants of the burnt building who sustained minor injuries were treated by the Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS).
She said investigation into the matter had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, has said the command is on the trail of suspects involved in the killing of a police officer, Cpl. Sunday David at Agege, a suburb of Lagos on January10.
“We are making efforts to track down those criminals so that we can get to the root of that matter and get to know the people behind it,” he said.
“Detectives are still working on the case; you have to be patient with us as such cases are not cases you can just close and open your eyes and pick out the suspects,” he said.
Residents of the area recalled that trouble started when a suspected alleged to be an internet fraudster, was approached by some people who were asking him for some money.
They said when he refused to respond to their demands, they decided not to let him go and he asked the late police officer for a help.
“On getting to the scene, David, while trying to shoot in the air, allegedly shot two persons who later died at the hospital,” one of the residents said.
They further said that David and the suspect tried to escape in a car but some people ran after them by a motorcycle and allegedly killed them.
Following public outcry on the shabby dressing as well as impersonation of operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Sqaud (SARS), the Nigeria Police yesterday unveiled a uniformed dress code for the unit.
The new uniform, which has unique numbers for the Federal SARS as well as the various state, was introduced in furtherance of efforts by the Inspector General of Police ( IGP ) Solomon Arase to emplace an accountable police.
While unveiling the new kit at the police headquarters in Lagos, the Commissioner Fatai Owoseni said the force has recorded negative image through the actions and conducts of personnel in SARS.
Aside professionalising SARS by splitting it into the Striking and Investigation departments to curb excesses of the operatives, Owoseni said the IGP introduced the set of uniforms so that SARS operatives can be identified.
“The IGP came up with the outfits in which the public can easily identify and recognise SARS operatives when in operation. He wants to give them decent identity by taking them out of the practice of just wearing anything, thereby checking impersonation.
“Henceforth, any police person displaying just black t-shirt and claim to be a SARS personnel is not. This uniform will also help check the excesses of illegal policemen. We are improving our policing method to be public friendly,” said Owoseni.
Following public outcry on the shabby dressing as well as impersonation of operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Sqaud (SARS), the Nigeria Police Friday unveiled a uniformed dress code for the unit.
The new uniform, which has unique numbers for the Federal SARS as well as the various state, was introduced in furtherance of efforts by the Inspector General of Police ( IGP ) Solomon Arase to emplace an accountable police.
While unveiling the new kit at the police headquarters in Lagos, the Commissioner Fatai Owoseni said the force has recorded negative image through the actions and conducts of personnel in SARS.
Aside professionalising SARS by splitting it into the Striking and Investigation departments to curb excesses of the operatives, Owoseni said the IGP introduced the set of uniforms so that SARS operatives can be identified.
“The IGP came up with the outfits in which the public can easily identify and recognise SARS operatives when in operation. He wants to give them decent identity by taking them out of the practice of just wearing anything, thereby checking impersonation.
“Henceforth, any police person displaying just black t-shirt and claim to be personnel of SARS is not. This uniform will also help check the excesses of illegal policemen. We are improving our policing method to be public friendly,” said Owoseni.
A policeman yesterday allegedly shot dead a tanker driver on the Okene-Lokoja Road in Kogi State, following an argument over money.
The incident, which occurred at Osara in Adavi Local Government Area, caused a gridlock.
Commuters were stranded because tanker drivers blocked the road with their trucks.
Police Commissioner Bensan Gwana, who visited the scene, said the suspect had been arrested and would be prosecuted.
He urged drivers to remove their tankers to ease traffic.
Gwana warned trigger-happy policemen to desist from killing innocent people.
A policeman was Thursday reportedly killed a tanker driver along the Okene-Lokoja road in Kogi State following an argument between them.
The incident which occurred in Osara in Adavi Local Government Area, led to traffic gridlock on the ever busy road as tanker drivers took over the road in protest.
Thousands of commuters were stranded as the drivers blocked the road with their trucks.
The state commissioner of police, Mr. Bensan Gwana who visited the scene said the policeman involved has been arrested and will be prosecuted for the offense.
The commissioner said he has pacified the tanker drivers to open up the road for the commuters to move to their various destinations.
He warned trigger happy policemen to desist from harming innocent people adding that the law will take its cause on any offender.
For the Criminal justice system to be effective, there is need for the Nigeria Police to be included in the process of law making.
This was the view of the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni who hosted members of the state Law Reform Commission (LAWRECOM) on Thursday.
Owoseni noted that the setbacks evident in the justice sector were majorly as a result of the lack of consultation of prosecuting agencies by lawmakers.
While noting that the police does not have control over the lawmakers, Owoseni said some of the laws the legislature usually create turn out to be bottlenecks for the police.
He condemned the proliferation of government owned agencies by legislative Acts, noting that the police still receive the bashing for their failures.
According to him, the police receive most of the condemnation from the public, even when the agency was not to be blamed.
The criminal justice system has always passed the bug with one agency blaming the other.
“If a judge does not sit, it is the police. If the prison authority fails to bring an awaiting trial inmate to court, it is still the police that is blamed. If there is jail break, the police is blamed.
“The problem is that lawmakers do not come for police imput before making laws. We only enforce. Most times, these lawmakers create just to suit their whims and caprice and failure of each is blamed on the police. This is the kind of burden the police carry,” said Owoseni.
While commending the members of the commission who were led by its chairman, Gbolahan Elias, Owoseni said their visit would cement the relationship between both parties.
“Visits like this cement our relationship. It will help us see the areas where there have been gaps and to also see the areas we need capacity building for our police officers. Since we enforce the law, it will enable us to give them input,” he said.
According to the Commissioner, most of the grey areas in the Administration of Criminal Justice have been corrected particularly in Lagos State, just as he stated that the holden charge provision in the law was commendable.
“Most of the areas where we used to have challenges in prosecuting such as holden charge have been taken care of in the new law.
“Now, we are allowed to take our suspects to court for remand and we have a window of opportunity within which we are enabled to complete investigation.
“That is why institutions like this and interaction of this nature is of great help.
“The new law has put us on our toes. It is in line with the policing philosophy of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase, which is intelligence led.
“Police men do not have to arrest suspects and arraign them before looking for evidence for trial. We are interested in knowledge based policing, so, we won’t have a situation where u charge a suspect to court and start scouting for evidence to prosecute. We are supposed to prosecute and not persecute,” he said.
Earlier, Gbolahan explained the need to partner with the police, noting that their imputs as the enforcement agency was necessary in the planned review of the state’s Criminal Justice Law.
A 22 year old pregnant house wife Aisha Abdullahi, was reportedly raped to death by unknown persons in Kano.
The deceased, after the brutal rape by the unknown persons, was left in a pool of blood when the husband returned home and found her dead.
The Police Spokesman in Kano, DSP Musa Magaji Majia, who confirmed this to reporters Thursday, said the police have already started investigation on the matter.
Majia said the husband of the deceased, Abdullahi Mohammed immediately reported the incident to the Police where it was discovered that the wife was raped to death.
According to the police spokesman, the incident occurred when the husband was not at home.
It could be recalled also that two weeks ago, two persons, Nura and Haruna were in court facing charges of alleged gruesome murder of yet another house wife at Khadija Muhammad of Jain quarters.