The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Police

  • Police recover vehicle, suspect’s body

    Police recover vehicle, suspect’s body

    An anti-robbery team attached to the Mowe Divisional Police Headquarters has recovered the body of one of the fleeing robbery suspects who engaged it in a gun battle on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

    The robbers engaged the police in a gun battle last Saturday after snatching a Toyota Sienna Bus numbered Lagos LSD 339 CH at gun point near the Redemption Camp.

    Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the suspects, who sustained bullet wounds, were overpowered by the police.

    He said they abandoned the vehicle and fled into the bush.

    The owner of the bus, who was also injured, was taken to the hospital by the police.

    It was gathered that the body of one of the suspects was discovered yesterday when the police combed the area around the scene of the shoot out.

    Adejobi ascribed the success in foiling the robbery to proactive measures put in place by the command and the commitment of officers.

    He said the Commander of Sagamu Area Command, Lanre Bankole, would liaise with Divisional Police Officers in charge of Sagamu, Mowe and Ibafo on how to apprehend the fleeing robbers.

  • Victims of abuse assured of police protection

    Victims of abuse assured of police protection

    Victims of domestic and child abuse can now speak out and be sure of support.

    The Police gave this assurance at a conference on safeguarding Nigerian Children With theme; Building a Child Protection System fit for 21 century, organized by Africans Unite Against Child Abuse ( AFRUCA) and Centre For Children’s Health and Education and Orientation and Protection (CEE-Hope) held in Lagos.

    A police representative CPS Monday Agbonika said the police is presently partnering with Ford Foundation, medical experts, psychologist and counselors under Family Unit Initiative to ensure better support for victims of child abuse and domestic violence.

    Aware of the fear of stigmatization by victims, Agbonika said the unit of the police though carved out from the police station, provides privacy and keep cases confidential.

    According to him, police officials are cut off from victims dealing with only reports with coded with no trace of personal details.

    To help victims mentally, the office is comfortably furnished with provision for juvenile offenders. The facilities for the modern police project section addressing grassroot policing are said to be available in Adeniji, Ilupeju,and Isokoko.

    Agbonika stressed the need for parents to teach their children sex education early and implored the public to always report any criminal act to the police without fear or believe that laws are not being enforced in Nigeria.

    Meanwhile Dr Josephine Effah- Chukwuma, Executive director Project Alert, also emphasized the importance of parents teaching sexual education at an early stage knowing that 69 percent of victims of sexual abuse are children and the act is done by people they are familiar with and trust most.

    She said parent should double their efforts in raising their children and teach them what they need to know because of the advancement in technology.

    Chukwuma challenged the authorities responsible for child care organizations and relevant service providers to ensure strict adherence to policies guiding their operations.

    She added that schools and child care organizations and even parents should teach their children self defense, ensure that employees are screened and certified fit

    Modupe Debbie Ariyo Obe,  founder and chief executive director of AFRUCA, a United Kingdom registered charity promoting the rights and welfare of African Children in United Kingdom, noted the impact of insurgency on school children  and the need to safeguard schools.

    According to her many children have been orphaned, families obliterated, homes destroyed and communities wiped out.

    She added that parents have either been hurt or harmed, leading to inability to work while community economic activity are affected.

    Other highlighted impact included reduction of family income generation, children living on the streets, closure of school and disruption of education.

    Due to Boko Haram’s focus on schools, Ariyo Obe advocated for urgent training of all education workers across the country on terrorism to focus on how it can affect them, how to detect signs and what to do to keep schools and children safe.

     

     

  • Police foil robbery in Ogun

    Police foil robbery in Ogun

    Policemen in Ogun State have recovered a Port-Harcourt-bound luxury bus that was snatched by robbers.

    The command said a patrol team attached to the Odogbolu Division recovered the bus, owned by a transport firm in Lagos, on Monday.

    A robbery gang snatched the bus, marked LSD 235 XJ, and its passengers on the Sagamu-Benin expressway.

    Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the police responded to a distress call and pursued the robbers.

    He said the robbers abandoned the bus and ran into the bush.

    Adejobi said: “The command has viewed the case of snatching a Luxury bus from many angles and the Commissioner of Police, Okoye Ikemefuna, has ordered the Department of Criminal Investigation to look into the matter.

    “We cannot just see it as a robbery incident. We need to widen the scope of our investigation to have clear insight into the incident. Efforts would be made to apprehend the fleeing robbers, particularly the injured ones, as the investigation team collaborates with medical practitioners and traditional healers in the area, since the suspects will surely visit them (medical practitioners) for treatment.”

    Men of the Ishara Division, led by Mr. Mosho Akapo, dislodged a robbery gang at Fidiwo on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway after a gun battle.

    The robbers escaped into the bush. Some of them were injured.

    Long barrel guns, one English double barreled pistol with number 101 and some ammunition were recovered from the scene.

  • Police demand N20,000 for bail, businessman alleges

    The Police in Aguda, Lagos Mainland, are on the spotlight. A businessman, Tunde Adjoto, has accused them of high-headedness and corruption. He also alleged that they wrongly arrested and detained his brother.

    Besides, they demanded a  N20, 000 bribe for his release, Adjoto claimed.

    In a petition to the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Mr Frank Mba, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Adjoto alleged that the station’s officer assaulted him for demanding the unconditional release of his brother, Samson, who was “falsely accused of assault,” which he described as bailable.

    The petition routed through the office of Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), claimed that Samson, a shop owner and his customer who is simply identified as Chuks, were arrested on May 17, following which the police allegedly demanded N20,000 for their bail.

    National Coordinator of NOPRIN Okechukwu Nwanguma said: “Adjoto informed us that a lady parked her car opposite his brother’s shop, went in and slapped a customer known as Chuks for allegedly refusing to move his car backward for her to pull out. The ensuing altercation and fisticuff disrupted his brother’s business and resulted in the damage of his shop’s sliding door and other items. He further informed us that the same woman who caused the fracas went and lodged a complaint of assault against her victims – Samson and Chuks. This prompted the arrest and detention of both men at the Aguda Police Station.

    “Adjoto said he went to the station that same day and waited to see the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to no avail, until late in the night. He informed us that the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Corporal Rahman and the Station Officer exhibited bias in their utterances and actions and in their refusal to allow him see the DPO or take the detainees on bail. Adjoto said the IPO and the Station Officer refused to release the detainees because he refused to pay N10,000 per person demanded by them. He said the Station Officer later attempted to push him out of the station. When NOPRIN inquired from the Station Officer about the allegation of assault on Adjoto, he said, ‘if Mr. Adjoto was assaulted, then he called for it’.

    “Adjoto further informed us that the IPO and the SO ’wants to cajole the detainees to write an undertaking to foot the complainant’s medical bill’ without mentioning anything about the damage at his shop and the fact that the complainant was the first to assault the suspects. Adjoto returned to the station on May 18 at 9.20am, met Inspector Ekon Anthony and Corporal John Okpanachi on duty at the charge room. He said the detainees had been denied access to speak with their lawyers or family.  The police also said Adjoto couldn’t secure bail for the detainees unless the complainant consents and approves. He requested the phone numbers of the IPO and the DPO. But the police officers on duty refused to give him the numbers. NOPRIN requests you to call the attention of the DPO Aguda to these allegations of abuse of due process and corruption,” the petition read.

     

  • Customs officers arrested for raping Facebook friend

    Two officers of the Nigerian Customs Service, Seme Border Command have been arrested for allegedly raping a 23-year-old lady.

    The suspects identified as Felola Uzezi and Mohammed Sanni, have already been transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Panti, for further interrogation.

    The victim told policemen from Area K Police Command that she met one of the customs officers on Facebook and visited him after an invitation. The visit however turned nasty as her Facebook friend and his colleague allegedly raped her.

    It was gathered that the men were picked and quizzed by operatives from Area K Command from where they were transferred to SCID.

    The two men, attached to Gbaji Custom’s checkpoint were alleged to have raped the lady  at Limca Bus Stop area, along Badagry Expressway, home of Felola Uzezi.

    “I met Uzezi on Facebook and became friends with him. After a while, he invited me to his house. Uzezi invited Sanni over to his place when I came to visit him.

    “Uzezi asked me for sex, but I told him that I was menstruating. When his friend Sanni came, they raped me, ” the victim explained.

    The victim later reported  the rape to the police and both suspects were picked.

    Police who visited the scene of the crime, allegedly found blood stains on Uzezi’s bed and a boxer he gave the victim to wipe herself after the act.

    The National Public Relations Officers of the Nigerian Customs Service, Mr. Wale Adeniyi when contacted said he was  aware of the case but details according to him are still sketchy.

    “The Seme Command Comptroller has been notified and he is working with the police for a thorough investigation. We will await a formal report from the police to enable the Comptroller-General take appropriate action. While we await this, we must state that the Service frowns at such heinous crime and perpetrators if found guilty, will be dealt with.”

    Command spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), confirmed the arrest but said that they did not meet on Facebook. She explained that they met at a location in the area.

    Braide said the matter would be transferred to the SCID and that investigation in ongoing to establish what really happened.

     

  • Group tasks police on criminal law implementation

    A human rights group, the Access to Justice (AJ), has urged the police to  effectively implement the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State (ACJL) 2011.

    The law imposes responsibilities on the police, but AJ, in a report released on November 27, last year, said only 29 per cent of officers in Lagos are familiar with the law or have received any training on its provisions.

    To get more policemen acquainted with the law, the group held a seminar at the Area ‘B’ Police Command Headquarters, Apapa, Lagos, with the theme: ‘’Effective Implementation of Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2011.’’

    AJ’s Project Officer Mrs Chinelo Chinweze highlighted the duties of the police under the law, including notification of cause of arrest; information of rights to remain silent and right to counsel; notification of right to free legal counsel; no arrest in lieu of suspects; taking inventory of a suspect’s belongings; making video recordings of confessional statements; police reporting obligations; and women as sureties for bail, among others.

    On notification of cause of arrest, the only exception is where the person is apprehended in the actual course of the commission of the crime or where pursued immediately after the commission of the crime or while escaping from lawful custody.

    The police should also inform the person being arrested of the legal right to apply for free legal representation from the Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Legal Aid Council or any such agency.

    Chinweze said the police violate the law if any officer arrests a suspect’s relative or any person in place of the suspect, adding that where there is no video recording facility,  the law requires that such confessional statement should be in writing in the presence of a lawyer chosen by the arrested person.

    The police is also make a report of all persons who are arrested with or without warrants under state offences to the office of the Attorney-General within one week, while Section 20 provides that officers in charge of police stations are obligated to report cases of all persons arrested without warrant to the nearest Magistrate.

    Area ‘B’ Police Commander ACP Ndubueze Michael Anene praised AJ for organising the seminar, saying police officers would work to implement the law effectively.

    He added that the seminar gave room for officers to express their challenges, as solutions were proffered on how to comply with the law.

    Senior Special Assistant to the governor (Legal Matters) Mr. Akingbolahan Adeniran urged the police to apply the law especially in confessions, as defence lawyers always raise issues as to whether they are voluntary, which further cause trial delays.

    He said since anyone who has been arrested get nervous during interrogation, police officers should interview them calmly and “allow them relax.”

  • ‘How police rescued kidnapped Dutch in Bayelsa’

    The Police in Bayelsa State on Sunday said they adopted high level of professional policing including engaging a negotiator to locate and free the three kidnapped Dutch.

    The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hilary Opara, described the operations that led to the freedom of the Dutch as delicate adding that the aim of the police was to rescue them hale and hearty.

    Gunmen that operated along the waterways of Letugbene, Ekeremor Local Government Area, on May 4, kidnapped three Dutch and two Nigerians who are also naturalized citizens of Netherlands.

    The gunmen, however, released the Nigerian/Dutch citizens, Mr. Femi Soewu and Mr Sunny Ofehe on Monday evening but withheld Mr. Erhard Leffers, Mrs. Marianne Vos and Mr. Jan Andre Groenendijk.

    Ofehe, the Founder/Executive Director Hope for Niger Delta Campaign, a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) based in the Netherlands, brought the Dutch to Amatu ll in Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa State, on a charity mission.

    Though the gunmen had earlier demanded N500million to set the hostages free, Opara said the police were not aware that any ransom was paid to the kidnappers.

    The police boss who spoke in Yenagoa said the police were able to rescue the victims after mounting much pressure on the assailants.

    He said the police employed a negotiator to engage the abductors in discussions in order to determine the state of health of the victims.

    “From the negotiator, we were able to establish that the people were still hale and hearty while we continued with the undercover policing”, he said.

    He said after locating the hideout of the kidnappers in the creeks, the police moved to the area and barricaded it with gunboats.

  • Police arrest 14 ‘pirates’, five ‘paedophiles’

    The police in Bayelsa State have arrested 14 suspected pirates on Igoli River close to Brass Island, Brass Local Government Area.

    Commissioner of Police Hilary Opara said some of the pirates were intercepted by marine policemen on Snake Island in Brass.

    Opara, who spoke yesterday in Yenagoa, said the operatives engaged the hoodlums in a shoot-out before apprehending them.

    He added that 15 other persons were arrested for cultism.

    The police chief said the suspects, including a 22-year-old cult member identified as Small Boy Danger, were held for bloody clashes and killing of four persons in Opolo and Ekeki.

    Opara decried the activities of paedophiles and said five persons, including a 64-year-old man, were apprehended for violating minors.

    He lamented that the prosecution of cases of rape and defilement were stalled because of lack of will by parents and victims to follow them up.

    The police commissioner said the police and the government have set up a committee backed by law to ensure that cases of rape and abuses, including violence against women, are properly prosecuted.

    Opara called on the people to be vigilant, observe and report strange movements to security agencies.

    “People in public places, such as motor parks, should be security conscious.

    “They should observe and report strange objects, abandoned bags and suspicious persons around them,” he said.

  • Police offer N50m for information

    Police offer N50m for information

    The police yesterday offered N50 million reward for anyone with information on the whereabouts of the girls abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

    The girls were abducted from their hostel by the Boko Haram sect on April 15. The sect’s leader Abubakar Shekau has threatened to sell the girls.

    In a statement, police spokesman Frank  Mba assured Nigerians that such information would be treated with uttermost confidentiality.

    The police urged members of the public to be part of the government’s efforts at finding solution to the security challenges in the country.

    The Force urged anyone with such information on the whereabouts of the abducted girls to contact the following telephone numbers:

    09-2914649, 08081777309, 08055547536, 08032125050

    08034617591, 08035969731.

  • Family of seven found dead in Lagos

    A staff of Nigerian Breweries Plc, his wife and five of their children have been found dead in their residence by neighbours in Lagos.

    The man identified as Etim Edet and members of his family were discovered days after they had died in their sleep on their beds at their home in Badigo area of Ijede in Ikorodu.

    It was gathered that neighbours who did not see any member of the family for some days made attempts to find out what was wrong. After knocking for a long time without any response, they left wondering what must have happened to them.

    However, as they went close to their apartment, they perceived some fowl smell and decided to inform the police.
    It was gathered that police operatives who came to the scene broke the door to the entrance of their home only to discover their decomposing dead bodies on their beds.

    Spokesperson to the State Police Command, DSP Ngozi Braide,  confirmed the incident.

    She explained that on May 1, being workers day, about 4pm, there was a report at Ijede Police Station that a family of seven are suspected dead in their home in Ikorodu.

    “Operatives moved in and Edet was allegedly found dead with his wife and five children on their beds at his residence at Bagido area of Ijede.

    “No sign of violence was seen on their bodies. The deceased were suspected to have died from generator fumes. The decomposed corpses have been removed to Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary for autopsy.  The incident is under investigation at Ijede Division,” she said.