The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Police

  • I-G orders tight security around INEC facilities, IDP camps

    I-G orders tight security around INEC facilities, IDP camps

    The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, on Thursday ordered tight security around the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) headquarters and centres around the country ahead of the general elections.

    This is contained in a statement signed by the force spokesman, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, an Acting Commissioner of Police.

    Abba also ordered tight security around all key and vulnerable points across the country, including “Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, Media Houses and Service Providers Installations.’’

    The others are Banks, Hospitals, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) lodges, Hotels and Government offices, among others.

    The I-G said the measure became imperative to ward off any attempt by hoodlums to attack the facilities.

    He solicited cooperation from the public in the bid to stamp out crimes in the country, and assured that the police had perfected strategies to guarantee hitch-free elections on March 28 and April 11.

  • APC protests indiscriminate killing, arrest of members in Rivers

    APC protests indiscriminate killing, arrest of members in Rivers

    Thousands of protesting members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Thursday shut down Port Harcourt, kicking against the indiscriminate killing, arrest and detention of members of the ruling party in the state.

    The protesters, armed with placards bearing various inscriptions and chanting anti-Federal Government songs, occupied the Rivers police headquarters on Moscow Road for some hours, vowing to continue doing so daily, until the police stopped the indiscriminate arrest of APC members in the state.

    The leaders of the protesters were later received by the Rivers Commissioner of Police, Dan Bature, and they subsequently proceeded to the state’s headquarters of the Department of State Security (DSS), both in Port Harcourt.

    The aggrieved APC members were led by the Rivers Commissioner for Agriculture, Emma Chindah, and the Chairman of Asari-Toru Local Government Council of the state, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree.

    As early as 6 a.m., the protesters had taken over the major roads and streets in Port Harcourt, leading to huge traffic, with the Rivers police command deploying many Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and Toyota Hilux patrol van, having many battle-ready officers and men, but nobody was harassed for the over five hours that the peaceful protest lasted.

    Some of the placards read: “Another Mbu is here”, “Stop politically-motivated arrest of APC members”, “CP Bature, be neutral”, “Nigeria police or PDP police”, “CP Bature, be professional”, “Use police against criminals, not against citizens”, “Leave Rivers APC members alone, Nigeria police”, “Is Nigeria Police Force an arm of PDP in Rivers State?”, “Don’t make Rivers a police state”, “Have police stopped being our friends? CP Bature, please answer us now” and “We say no to indiscriminate arrest of APC members.”

    Others included: “Mbu and Bature, any difference?”, “Stop harassing and arresting APC members in Rivers State, Nigeria Police”, Nigeria Police Force, agent of PDP”, “Release our brothers now”, “Police in Rivers State acting as security of PDP”, “Democracy is threatened by police in Rivers State”, “Release our husbands now” and “We say no to violent elections, unjust arrests in Rivers State.”

    The Rivers agric commissioner said: “What we want Nigerians to know is that before the whole world, at an APC rally on February 17 in Okrika, PDP’s armed thugs came to the place (playground of National School, venue of the campaign of Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside), in a programme transmitted live on national television stations and started shooting indiscriminately. A policeman was killed and over 50 persons were injured. Imagine killing a policeman in uniform and keeping his family members in the situation they have kept them. Till today, we do not know those who have been arrested by the police.

    “Every now and then, APC members are arrested in Rivers State. Have police become an arm of the PDP? Is indiscriminate arrest part of their tactics for the elections? The people of Rivers State have come here to say in unequivocal terms that it will not work.

    “If we check and there is no change, we are going to occupy permanently, the Rivers State Police Headquarters, in a lawful manner, until they give us justice. We have come here to look for freedom. The freedom we are looking for is from the Nigeria Police Force. The policemen in Rivers State have turned themselves into the arm of the PDP. Rivers State needs freedom. Rivers State cannot be turned to a police state. We have elections in nine days. Virtually everybody who is here has been marked for arrest, including myself, probably after making this speech. We have to look for our freedom. Freedom we must get.”

    The chairman of Asari-Toru LG council, in his remarks, declared that the members of the APC in Rivers had lost confidence in the police in the state.

    Flag-Amachree said: “The Chairman of Etche LGA (Charles Anyanwu, of the APC) is already in detention. We are not comfortable with the way the police are harassing and arresting APC members in Rivers State. CP Bature has assured us that the police will make sure that everybody in Rivers State will be protected. We want free, fair and credible elections in Rivers State.

    “CP Bature told us that the matter of the arrested APC chieftain is in court and that we should go to court. The truth is that we do not have confidence in the police. That is why we are here (Police Headquarters in Port Harcourt). We have registered our complaint. We are going to be watching them as the days go by. Police are now an arm of the PDP.”

    While also speaking, one of the protesters, Victor Chioma, who is from Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers state, where the governorship candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Nyesom Wike, hails from, expressed displeasure that President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience, are both ruling and mismanaging Nigeria, in spite of the fact that Nigeria’s constitution did not provide any role for First Lady.

    Chioma also stated that the upland/riverine dichotomy in Rivers state must be upheld, while condemning Wike’s scheming to succeed Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who are both Ikwerre from the same Rivers East Senatorial District.

    Another protester, Peter Ibianga, noted that policemen were arresting and detaining APC members in Rivers state, in order to prevent them from being around during the March 28 and April 11 elections.

  • Businessman kidnapped in Aba, as pregnant woman die mysteriously

    A businessman identified as Josiah Alaobi has been reportedly kidnapped in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State by unknown gunmen.

    Alaobi, a building material dealer in Ariaria International market was said to have been kidnapped at 147 Chinyere Avenue, off Faulks road Aba by yet to be identified gunmen who were trailing him.

    An unconfirmed report has it that the abductors were demanding undisclosed amount of cash which it was not clear whether they have paid as at the time of this report.

    It was learnt that the matter has been reported to the Ariaria Police Division.

    In another development, the mystery surrounding the sudden death of a pregnant 20-year-old lady identified as Akudo Michael from Umuocham village, Abia State is yet to be unraveled by the police in Isiala Ngwa police division.

    Unconfirmed report has it that the deceased had been away from the village for a while and have allegedly been living with a man, whose identity was yet unknown.

    It was gathered that on that fateful day, the villagers met her lifeless body dumped in a particular part of the community by unknown person.

    Members of the family were yet to be contacted for comments, but a source in the area said that the matter has been reported at the Isiala Ngwa Police Division.

    No official comments from the police as at the time of this report.

  • Police kill two robbers in Ekiti

    Police kill two robbers in Ekiti

    Police in Ekiti State on Wednesday killed two robbery suspects in continuation of their onslaught on criminals.

    The two suspected robbers were gunned down in a shootout with operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) along Ilawe-Ikere-Igbara Odo axis of the state

    Their corpses were paraded at the state police command headquarters along Iyin Road before they were conveyed to the morgue.

    The suspects who were four in number in a Volkswagen car were stopped by the SARS men for stop-and-search but they reportedly opened fire on the policemen.

    Two of the suspected fled into the bush while the remaining two continued to engage the armed policemen in a gun duel by they fell to the superior firepower of the policemen.

    One of the deceased whose name was given as Ojo Sunday who specialized in attacking heavy duty vehicles was said to have killed a trailer driver recently and has been on the wanted list of the command.

    Speaking while parading the bodies of the slain robbers, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Alberto Adeyemi disclosed that Sunday had escaped police custody last year after being caught but later returned to robbery to unleash more terror on residents.

    Weapons found on the robbers, according to Adeyemi, include a Russian style single barrel pump action, 25 cartridges, Bournvita cocoa drink, and some little amount of money.

    The PPRO warned landlords to always be cautious of the means of livelihood of their tenants, to forestall them from harboring robbers as neighbours.

    He said: “The SARS operatives were on routine patrol early this morning around 1.45am along Igbara Odo-Ilawe-Ikere axis, they saw a Volkswagen car and stopped it for a search, but the occupants jumped down and started firing and the two robbers ran into bush with remaining engaging the police in a serious shooting.

    “The police were able to overpower them, as two of them were shot on the spot and died. Their corpses were brought to headquarters.

    “On getting here, we noticed one of them was a notorious armed robber named Ojo Sunday whose modus operandi had been to attack trailer drivers carrying cement along Igbara-Odo road ,  killed  the driver and the bus boys  and thereafter carry the  cement to Akure or places them for sale.”

    He said Ojo recently attacked a trailer driver, but was caught during an investigation and was detained in the police cell.

    Adeyemi added: “But Ojo  escaped on  1st October,  2014, by breaking the cell at  night and we have been  on his trail,  but it was when the corpse was brought here that we were able to identify him and his accomplice.

    “Even year, Ojo and his accomplice, Michael Adedeji robbed a trailer and later discovered about 600 bags of cements that he had sold to Akure.

    “We were able to recover them and we have been looking for them and other members of the gang because the vehicle they robbed is already here with us and it might be a stolen vehicle.”

    Adeyemi said the police is investigating the matter to find out whether the vehicle belong to any of the suspect or was hijacked from owners.

    He urged landlords not to admit criminals and urged residents to be more security conscious.

     

     

  • Polls: Lawyer seeks to stop police from embarking on strike

    Polls: Lawyer seeks to stop police from embarking on strike

    An activist-lawyer Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa has sued the police at the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to restrain officers from embarking on strike as from March 28, a day scheduled for the presidential election.

    He is claiming that if the police should down tools and go on strike, their action would hinder or frustrate the exercise of Nigerians’ civic duty to participate in the elections, since they would become apprehensive and anxious about his safety.

    The lawyer said elections are usually characterised by violence in some areas, therefore, allowing the police to embark on strike could scuttle the elections.

    Adegboruwa is also contending that being categorised as part of those rendering essential services, the police cannot go on strike, since the Police Act makes it mandatory for them to offer protection for life and property.

    Inspector-General of Police Suleiman Abba and the Nigeria Police Force are the respondents.

    Adegboruwa is seeking a declaration that the respondents, their officers, employees and all policemen and policewomen under them, being within the rank of those who are rendering essential services of offering protection for the life and properties, amongst others, are not entitled to disengage from or withdraw such service, under any guise whatsoever.

    He is praying for an order of injunction restraining the officers from disengaging from or ceasing to perform their statutory responsibilities.

    Adegboruwa, a pastor and former student union activist as well as member of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) and Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), said it is his desire to exercise his franchise in the general elections.

    “Very recently, the respondents, their officers and all policemen and policewomen under them, decided to disengage from and to withdraw their services from March 28, 2015. No duration was stated for the said action.

    “I know as a fact by virtue of my activities and profession that the respondents and all their employees render essential services of constant, effective and continuous protection for my life, my properties and those of other Nigerians.

    “During most elections, they pilot voting materials; they are stationed at polling units to protect voters and electoral commission personnel.

    “I know as a fact that in Nigeria, voting is very sensitive and incidents of violence are often recorded from thugs and armed men recruited by some politicians and thus there is need for the presence of the respondents at the polling units on the day of any election for me to be well assured of peace and safety during any election, or else there will be great threat to my life and the lives of all Nigerians should the respondents withdraw their services on any date scheduled for elections in Nigeria. Presently, national elections are scheduled for March 28 and April 11, 2015, respectively.

    “Since the respondents announced their decision to disengage from service, l have been apprehensive because of the consequence of approaching the polling booths to cast my vote without the presence of the Respondents in my polling booth/voting point at Lekki where l reside.

    “My life will be exposed to danger if the service of the respondents is withdrawn as threatened and as such it will be difficult for me to exercise my franchise.

    “The withdrawal of the respondents’ services will impact negatively on my life and properties and the lives and properties of the citizens of Nigeria.

    “It will be improper for the Respondents to withdraw their services by refusing to protect my life and property and the lives and properties of all Nigerians on the dates re-scheduled for the National Elections.

    “An attempt by the respondents to withdraw their services, now, during or after the elections will further add to the tension that followed the postponement of the elections on 14th February, 2015 on account of insecurity and thus, capable of generating brickbats, tension, pressure and instability in the country.

    “I verily believe that it will better serve the interest of the citizens of Nigeria better if this Honourable Court restrains the Respondents from proceeding to implement their decision to withdraw their services,” Adegboruwa said.

    The suit, filed Wednesday, is yet to be assigned to a judge.

     

  • Polls: Police will be impartial – IGP

    Polls: Police will be impartial – IGP

    The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba has promised that the police will be impartial in the discharge of their duties during the forthcoming election.

    This was disclosed in Abuja on Tuesday during a strategic meeting with Assistant Inspector General of Police and Commissioners of Police of various divisions and States.

    Abba also warned electorates who would want to disrupt the election process to stay away or face the wrath of the law.

    He said: “Police will be impartial during the election. We have been impartial and we will continue to be impartial. We will strategise to make sure that we are non-partisan and that we exhibit impartiality on the days of elections and days after.

    He revealed some of the preparations put in place to perfect their plans for the election.

    “We have been lecturing our officers and we have conducted trainings just to make sure that our men understand their roles, we published guidelines for them with regards to their conduct during the election. All these are tailored towards making them non-partisan and impartial,” he said.

    The IGP also noted that he would not tolerate any form of electoral misconduct adding that anyone caught will be arrested and prosecuted.

    He said: “if you are not going to add any value to the polling unit, stay away. Anyone who tries or who attempts to disrupt the election will be arrested and prosecuted.

    “The attempt can be outside the polling unit, around the unit, collation centres, it can even be after the declaration of result, whoever wants to take the laws into his own hands should have a rethink because we will not tolerate their acts.

    He added: “It is better you leave if you know you cannot behave yourself well at the polling unit because attempt to intimidate anyone is an offence, soliciting for votes is an offence, and carrying of weapon is also an offence.

    “I would advice my enemy to stay away but if you choose to stay around, keep your cool because there are many temptations.

    Abba however assured electorates of adequate security. “We will make sure that nobody disrupts the peace of the electoral processes and we will ensure that the place is secured enough for electorates to cast their votes and secured enough to prevent crimes outlined in Section 129 of the electoral law,” he added.

  • One arrested as Police rescue kidnapped woman

    The Special Anti – Robbery Squad (SARS) in Ogun Command have rescued a kidnapped victim, Mrs. Abosede Adenuga and arrested one of the suspected abductors, Tunde Akilo.

    The victim who was abducted on Monday in Lagos around 10:30pm was rescued by the SARS operatives when the gang was heading to the Ijebu area of Ogun state to hide her but ran into an ambush laid against them by the SARS at Imodi Ijasi along Ijebu Ode/Ikorodu road.

    The kidnappers, who on sighting the Police attempted to escape, were prevented following a pursuit by the police and in the process rescuing the victim.

    According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, a cut-to-size double barreled gun loaded with live cartridge, four live cartridges, a Volkswagen car marked MUS 471 AU and assorted charms were recovered from them.

    Adejobi said the Commissioner of Police, Val Ntomchukwu, lauded the SARS operatives for their courage and members of the public who provided the information about the kidnapping.

    He also assured the public of the commands commitment to always provide adequate security for lives and property in the state

  • Police recover 23 vehicles, 17 in Ibadan

    Police recover 23 vehicles, 17 in Ibadan

    The police in Oyo State have recorded a major breakthrough with the recovery of 23 vehicles, 17 motorcycles and 3,000 live ammunition.

    Commissioner of Police Muhammad Katsina aanounced this while parading the suspects and the recovered vehicles at the state headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, the state capital.

    He said: “The cars were recovered from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Kwara and Kano states. The command’s intelligence gathering has paid off.

    “The Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) conducted a painstaking discreet, diligent investigation leading to the recovery of assorted cars, which were snatched from their owners and stolen from where parked.

    “Two cars were recovered from Lagos, five from Ogun, two from Oyo, 11 from Kwara and Kano states.

    “Adejuwon Olanipekun aka Marchal, a member of a notorious robbery gang, which specialises in snatching posh cars, was arrested on February 19 on the Lagos/Ogun State axis.

    “Other suspects are Funsho  Aderope Jeffery, Oyelade Ganiyu, Bala Aliu, Yahaya Mohammed (receiver based in Kano), Oladotun Oluwafemi, Babalola Kazeem and Suaibu Busari aka Damenda.

    He said two locally made cut-to-size single barrel guns with two live cartridges and 49 live berretta pistol ammunition were recovered from them.

    Katsina added that 17 motorcycles were also recovered from a syndicate, which rebrands stolen motorcycles.

    Over 3,000 rounds of 7.6mm live ammunition were recovered from some hoodlums at Idi-Iroko community, Soka, Ibadan.

    Five suspects who specialise in selling human parts were also arrested. Katsina said the suspects have excavated six graves at Muslim cemetery in Apete.

    The suspects are Abati Kolade, Tayo Akinrinola, Ramon Korede, Mojeed Adediran and Saki Adediran.

    Praising the policemen, Jamiu Adebayo, whose car was recovered, thanked the security operatives for their timely response.

    He said:” My brother sent on an errand with his car on March 6, but on getting to Oke -Ado three people on a motorcycle told me that my tyre was flat.

    “As I wanted to get down, they dragged me away and took the car. I called my brother immediately and we reported the matter to the police and our car was found two hours later.”

  • EFCC, Police, others plan security centre to curb bank frauds

    EFCC, Police, others plan security centre to curb bank frauds

    The Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) is to establish a Security Operations Centre (SOC) to combat bank frauds.

    NeFF comprises the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Police, Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and banks.

    Its Chairman, ‘Dipo Fatokun, said at its first quarter meeting in Lagos last weekend, that the centre would be owned by the banks but controlled by CBN. It would be carried out of the Nigeria Banking Risk Information Centre (NIBRIC).

    Fatokun, who is CBN’s Director of Electronic Payments Unit, said NIBRIC is a model of the South Africa Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC).

    NIBRIC, he said, would start small, think big and scale up fast with the first phase focusing on commercial crime, setting up of a forensic laboratory and a SOC Centre.

    The centre would be not-for-profit and be  dedicated to managing banking risk, with special focus on fraud.

    Fatokun said, there is need to copy what is done in other countries in order to tackle the menace at home.

    The SOC, which will be real-time, is a byproduct of an understudy by NeFF team of SABRIC and its successes in combating financial crime, he said.

    According to him, the project will create a safer payment system, increase user confidence and facilitate collaboration among players in the payments ecosystem.

    NIBSS’s Head, Information System Security Olufemi Fadamo said there is a rise in across the counter and insider-related bank frauds, attributing it to the growth in the use of mobile banking, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), e-commerce, Point of Sale (PoS) machines, cloud computing and social media.

    He said between 2013 and last year, reported attempted frauds stood at N26.9 billion, putting the actual loss at N6.9 billion. He added that the figures are only for transactions processed through the Nigeria Central Switch.

    This year, Fadamo said, it is expected that fraudsters would shift their target from banks to Other Financial Institutions (OFIS), such as microfinance banks, primary mortgage banks, deposit non-financial institutions, among others, because commercial banks are strengthening their processes and technologies.

    General Manager, Union Bank Plc and President, Information Security Society of Africa- Nigeria (ISSAN), David Isiavwe, said banks were attractive targets to cyber-attackers because the world is a global village with no boundaries to communication.

    He said an effective security strategy, like SOC, is required to consolidate security solutions in banks, such as Antivirus, firewalls, intrusion detection system, web application firewall, network access control (NAC) among others. The SOC, he said would  optimise the productivity and the efficiency of users managing these solutions.

    Isiavwe described a SOC as a centralised unit that can be used to manage information, applications, databases internet security to provide continuous prevention, protection, detection and response capabilities against modern internet attacks. A SOC within a building or facility, he said, is a central location from where staff supervises the site, using data processing technology.

     

  • Police: why we stopped Buhari’s one million man march

    The police authority in Kano has explained why it stopped Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s one-million-man march by youth groups.

    Briefing reporters on the development, police spokesman Magaji Musa Majia said the Sani Abacha Stadium venue proposed by the group for the rally was already booked for a Premier League match between Kano Pillars and Bayelsa United.

    He said the booking of the venue was done by the supervising authority on first-come-first-served,  adding that three groups applied to use the venue on the same day.

    The police spokesman said: “The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and a Muslim group, whose Quran recitation was scheduled for Saturday, were among the groups, which applied for the usage of the facility. NFF got the nod on the basis of first-come-first- serve.”

    He said a street procession proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Agriculture, Dr. Baraka Sani, was denied permission, stressing that “Kano is not like other cities and we have the responsibility to safeguard its security.”

    Majia dismissed as a blackmail, insinuations that the police action was politically-motivated,  adding: “In a free world, people are free to hold an opinion.”