POLICE Commissioner Abdulmajid Ali has urged the caretaker committee chairmen of 20 local government areas in Ogun State to assist the police rid their domains of kidnapping, cultism, ritual killings and land grabs.
Ali spoke at his maiden security meeting with the chairmen in Eleweran, the command headquarters.
He said the police was determined to tackle kidnappers, land speculators, cultists and operators of unregistered vehicles.
Ali added that the police required the help of the council chiefs to succeed.
The police commissioner noted that the command has been proactive on many security challenges and would continue to tackle them as they arise to ensure adequate security of lives and property.
He encouraged the chairmen to be more involved in community policing, stressing that the command was ready to refer some community-based conflicts to them for resolution.
Mr. Mojeed Ekelojumati of Ijebu North Local Government Council, who responded on behalf of his colleagues, said the security meeting would go a long way in promoting effective policing and peaceful coexistence among the people.
The Lagos State Police Command and the Directorate of State Service yesterday warned members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) against creating chaos in the state over leadership crisis.
The warning came on the premise that leadership of the union had been sacked by the national body.
At a meeting with NURTW Lagos Chairman Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede, the security chiefs urged those trying to cause trouble to have a rethink.
Owoseni, who was represented by Mr Babatunde Kokumo, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, said: “The command is not interested in the affairs of the union. Our main preoccupation is to maintain law and order, so, we are ready to deal with anybody trying to cause confusion in the state. Your union is very important to us in that we need information from you to combat crimes. We are focusing on intelligence gathering; hence we need your support.”
Agbede described as rumour the dissolution of state councils by the national body.
“This is to inform you that all the zonal, state councils, branches and unit executives remain intact. l am using this opportunity to tell you to disregard the rumour,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police said it arrested 14 suspected cult members for allegedly terrorising Mushin residence.
The command’s spokesperson, Patricia Amadin, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in a statement said the suspects were arrested on Monday at Mushin Area of Lagos.
She said: “In a bid to make good its promise to chase out armed robbers and cultists from the state, the command has smashed a notorious robbery/cultist group. This group has continuously unleashed terror on the residents of Mushin and Idi-Oro Areas of Lagos.”
According the statement, the command swooped in on the gang and 14 members were arrested following a tip off.
It stated that the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, urged the people of Lagos to be calm and continue to furnish the police with useful information.
Owoseni also warned all cult members and robbers to desist, saying the police would employ all legal means to deal with them, their sponsors and benefactors.
He added that unless the group desists from its nefarious activities, there shall be no hiding place for them.
The Edo State Police Command has arrested a man it described as a notorious kidnapper, Amacauley Ikhuakpogba.
The suspect was reportedly arrested at Iguobazuwa, headquarters of Ovia Southwest Local Government Area.
He was said to have been arrested during a routine stop-and-search.
Ikhuakpogba is said to have committed several kidnappings and robberies.
He was among 35 suspects the police paraded yesterday in Benin, the state capital.
The suspect told reporters that he carried out two kidnappings and eight robberies.
Ikhuakpogba said he collected N500,000 ransom from one of his victims.
Other suspects were said to have robbed, kidnapped, snatched cars and raped women.
A dropout from the Nigeria Military School, Hope Obasuyi, who had allegedly been posing as a soldier to residents, was also paraded.
The 27-year-old was arrested in Benin after a phone he allegedly stole was taken to a relative of the phone owner for unlocking.
He said he was kicked out of the military school in 1994 because he attended a party against the school’s rules.
The “soldier” said he used the extra military camouflage given to him to sew a uniform and pretended to be a soldier.
Obasuyi said he was a welder, adding that he sometimes used the uniform to get many facilities, especially mobile phones from people.
Items recovered from the suspects included five AK-47 rifles, 25 cut-to-size guns, four double-barrelled guns, four single-barrelled guns, three pump action guns, 52 live cartridges, three cars, one motorcycle and seven assorted mobile phones.
Police Commissioner Adegbuyi Samuel said the 35 suspects were among 117 arrested in July and August.
THE Ondo State Police Command has started investigations into the disappearance of a four-year-old boy, Sunday Daniel, who was reportedly kidnapped from his mother’s shop in Akure on Monday.
Police spokesman Wole Ogodo said Daniel was declared missing by her mother after “she had made frantic efforts to find him, but to no avail”.
The boy was reported missing from her mother’s shop, where she sells alcoholic drinks in a motor park.
Ogodo said officers of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID) were already investigating the matter.
He added that the mother of the missing boy, Mrs. Maria Sunday, reported the case at the Ifesowapo Police Post after all efforts to find her son failed.
The police spokesman said Mrs. Sunday, in her statement, alleged that one of her male customers was suspected to be responsible for the incident.
Ogodo assured that the police would employ all necessary strategies to rescue the boy.
He advised parents to always look after their children to avoid similar situation.
The suspects in the Ikorodu banks robbery have told the Federal High Court in Lagos that the confessional statements they made to the police were not voluntary.
Their lawyer Olusegun Akanbi prayed the court to order the police to produce them if they were still alive.
He said the suspects “made confessional statements to press out of duress”.
He argued that it was illegal for the police to parade criminal suspects and have them grant interviews under compulsion.
The lawyer prayed the court for an order compelling the police to produce the four suspects in court because their families were denied access to them.
They are Agbojule Bright, Promise Abiwa, Monday Omoboye and Monday Ikuesan.
They were paraded on July 6 in connection with the robbery at the Ipakodo branches of two banks in Ikorodu.
The police said they were part of an 18-man gang, which made away with about N80 million on June 24.
The four suspects had reportedly confessed to playing various roles in the alleged crime. Three Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) allegedly bought with the proceeds were recovered from them.
Akanbi claimed that the police violated the suspects’ right to remain silent or to avoid answering any questions until after consulting with a lawyer – in line with Section 35(2) of the 1999 Constitution.
According to the lawyer, the suspects might not get a fair trial since they had “suffered prejudice due to unfair publicity and unprofessional acts of the defendants.”
He claimed that the police refused to allow him or the suspects’ family to see them in detention.
“The applicants’ counsel were not allowed to see the applicants or even to have a brief interview with them when they visited the defendants on July 15.
“The applicants’ constitutional rights under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution are at stake because the defendants had taken a biased position by denying the applicants’ family or their counsel their right of visiting them in police custody.
“It will be in the interest of justice if the applicants are brought before this court so that the court can ascertain whether the applicants are still alive.
“It will be in the interest of justice if the applicants can be charged by the defendants to court since they have already spent over 24 hours in custody.
“Failure to do this will amount to usurpation of the constitutional powers of the judiciary,” the lawyer argued.
He claimed that the suspects were entitled to N5 million damages for what he described as their unlawful detention.
Justice Mohammed Yunusa adjourned to September 7 to enable the Inspector-General of Police Solomon Arase respond to the suit.
Three men have been sen tenced to six weeks’imprisonment for obstructing a police officer from performing his duties.
The defendants Muhammed Yusuf, Usman Idris and Lawal Hassan were among 11 accused persons arraigned before Chief Magistrate M.O.A. Ogunsanya of an Ogba Chief Magistrate Court, Ikeja.
They were charged with three counts of conduct likely to cause breach of peace, for unlawfully obstructing an officer from performing his duties and disorderly behaviour.
Police procecutor Femi Alabi said the accused persons committed the ofence on August 10, 2015. The eight others, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, are: Ibrahim baba, Bashiru Abdulahi , Salisu Gambo,Abdulahi Usman,Kayode,Abbass Salisu Rufus and Hamed Lawal.
The convicted persons, were, however, given an option of N10,000 fine.
Those who pleaded not guilty to the charge where ordered to be remanded in prison custody pending when they would perfect their bail conditions.Chief Magistrate Ogunsanya imposed bail condition of N50,000 and two sureties like some for each of the accused persons.
But for the police, scavengers would have dug out and gone home with over 6,000 cartons of hazardous imported poultry buried by officials in a Kaduna State dumpsite. ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE reports
The police in Kaduna Kaduna State have arrested 34 people accused of exhuming and planning to eat or sell poisonous poultry products buried at a dumpsite.
One of the scavengers told our reporter that he took no more than one carton.
Another, a lady, said she was unaware that the toxic birds were disposed of by the authorities.
The suspects
Of the 34 suspects, now with the police, 11 were women, 23 men.
The incident took place in Mando community.
Owing to the Federal Government’s ban on imported poultry products, especially chicken and turkey, said to cause non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and antibiotics resistance, the Federal Operating Unit (FOU) Zone ‘B’ of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) conveyed over 6,000 cartons of the hazardous birds to the Mando dumpsite where there were buried.
Unbeknown to the Customs men, they were being closely monitored. Scarcely had the personnel driven off when scavengers swooped on the dumpsite, digging away to take home the poultry products feared to cause cancer and lung and kidney diseases, among others.
Director General of National Agency for Foods Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii warned Nigerians to avoid imported smuggled chicken and turkey because they have been found to contain substances that can predispose one to kidney, liver and lung diseases as well as certain types of cancers and drug resistant-bacterial infections.
The products were seized at Gadan Wali near Wawa town in Niger State.
Comptroller, ýFOU Zone ‘B’, Masaya Ajiya Malam spoke during destruction of the poultry products along Birnin Gwari Road, Kaduna dumpsite, saying that despite the ban, some unscrupulous individuals still engage in the act.
The poultry products were disposed of at the Kaduna dumpsite, with men of the state Environmental Protection Agency (KEPA) watched. A certain chemical was mixed with fuel and poured on the products before setting it ablaze. But due to the wet conditions of the imported chicken and turkey, they could not burn properly, a situation which forced the government agencies to bury the rest of the products.
It was after the burial that the scavengers moved in.
Speaking to newsmen shortly before the suspected scavengers were paraded by the Kaduna State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Zubairu Abubakar, PRO of the Customs FOU, Kaduna, Ado Idris said the poultry products were toxic.
He lamented that after the Customs destroyed the seized poultry products in the presence of relevant agencies, some Nigerians who were fully aware of the toxicity of the poultry products went to the site to exhume them to eat and sell to members of the public.
Zubairu Abubakar said the 34 suspects arrested at the dumpsite will be charged to court for consumption and sale of toxic and adulterated foods.
One of the suspects, Haliru Musa told The Nation that they were seated at the motor park when they saw people passing with cartons of chickens, and they decided to join too.
According to him, “I was with my friend at garage, it was in the morning, suddenly, we saw people coming from Birnin Gwari Road with cartons of chicken. Initially, we didn’t know what they were carrying until some people said it is chicken buried at the refuse dump site. So, me and my friend too decided not to be left behind in the largesse”.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, has approved the redeployment of four Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs).
This is contained in a statement issued by CP Emmanuel Ojukwu, the Force Public Relations Officer, in Abuja on Monday.
The affected officers are; DIGs Dan’Azumi Doma, formerly in charge of Force Criminal Investigations department, now heads the Department of Finance and Administration.
Others are; Kakwe Katso, formerly in charge of Research and Planning, now in charge of Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department, Abuja.
Mrs Chintua Amajor-Onu, formerly AIG in charge of Force Investments, now DIG in charge of Department of Information and Communications Technology, Abuja.
Mr Jubril Adeniji is the new DIG in charge of Department of Research and Planning, Abuja.
The statement said that the redeployment is with immediate effect.
It noted that DIGs Mamman Tsafe, in-charge of Department of Logistics and Supply, Abuja, and Saliu Hashimu, in-charge of Department of Training and Development, Abuja, are to maintain their duty posts.
DIG Sotonye Wakama, of Department of Operations, Abuja, is also to maintain his duty post.
The robbery suspects who allegedly robbed banks in Ikorodu have told the Federal High Court in Lagos that the confessional statements they made to the police were not voluntary.
Their lawyer Olusegun Akanbi is also praying the court to order the police to produce them if they are still alive.
He said the suspects “made confessional statements to the members of the press out of duress”.
He argued that it is illegal for the police to parade criminal suspects and have them grant press interviews under compulsion.
The lawyer is praying the court for an order compelling the police to produce the four suspects in court because their families were denied access to them.
The accused persons are Agbojule Bright, Promise Abiwa, Monday Omoboye and Monday Ikuesan.
They were paraded on July 6 in connection with the robbery of the Ipakodo branches of First Bank and Zenith Bank in Ikorodu.
The police said they were part of an 18-man gang which made away with about N80million in the robbery on June 24.
The four suspects had reportedly confessed to playing different roles in the alleged crime while three Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) allegedly bought with the robbery proceeds were recovered from them.
Akanbi claimed that the police violated the suspects’ right to remain silent or to avoid answering any questions until after consulting with a lawyer in line with Section 35(2) of the 1999 Constitution.
According to the lawyer, the suspects may not get a fair trial since they have “already suffered prejudice in the eye of the public due to unfair publicity and unprofessional acts of the defendants.”
He claimed that the police refused to allow him or the suspects’ family members to see them in detention.
“The applicants’ counsel were not allowed to see the applicants or even to have a brief interview with them when they visited the defendants on 15th July 2015.
“The applicants’ constitutional rights under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution are at stake because the defendants have already taken a biased position by denying the applicants’ family or their counsel their right of visiting them in police custody.
“It will be in the interest of justice if the applicants are brought before this honourable court so that the court can ascertain whether the applicants are still alive.
“It will be in the interest of justice if the applicants can be charged by the defendants to court since they have already spent over 24 hours in custody.
“Failure to do this will amount to usurpation of the constitutional powers of the judiciary,” the lawyer argued.
He claimed that the suspects were entitled to N5million damages for what he described as their unlawful detention.
Justice Mohammed Yunusa adjourned to September 7 to enable the Inspector-General of Police Solomon Arase respond to the suit.
Ondo state Police command Monday arrested a 30-year old woman, Mrs Toyin Akinrosotu for allegedly killing her six months old baby during a scuffle with her neighbours.
Mrs. Akinrosotu, according to sources was arrested by the Police in Idanre, headquarters of Idanre Local
Government Area of the state.
The Police argued that the suspect was responsible for the death of her toddler who was in her custody as at the time he died.
It was learnt that the suspect was holding the deceased baby when she engaged in a physical combat with some people and in the process battered the baby.
The deceased reportedly died at a private hospital where he was rushed to after been battered during the scuffle between her mother and her neighbours.
The remains of the deceased baby was said to have been deposited at the morgue of Idanre General Hospital for postmortem.
Sources said the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID) of the state Police Command was probing the cause of the scuffle that led to the death of the baby.
The Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), Mr. Wole Ogodo, said the mother of the baby reported the matter to the police and upon investigation, the suspect was arrested.
Ogodo disclosed that the command has launched investigations into the cause of the death of the baby, adding that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
