The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Police

  • Police: we are closing in on Asadu’s killers

    Police: we are closing in on Asadu’s killers

    The police authorities yesterday said they were closing in on the killers of Kwara State former Police Commissioner Chinweike Asadu, who was killed by gunmen in his Enugu home last month.

    Deputy Force Pulic Relations Officer Frank Mba said the police have made tremendous breakthrough in the investigation on the killing.

    He explained that because of the sensitive nature of the case, the police were keeping the progress on its investigation close to their chests.

    According to him, some of the gang members, who allegedly killed Asadu, are still at large.

    Mba said publicising the progress of the investigation might make them to remain on the run.

    He said: “We are deliberately keeping the investigation under wraps in order not to jeopardise what we are doing or open up so that other suspects, who participated in the murder, who we are closing in on, would not find out the slightest clue and run away.

    “Those who killed Chinweike have murdered sleep and they will not sleep again. We are closing in on them and, very soon, we will tell the whole world what happened.”

    The spokesman said the police were worried about the indreasing number of unprovoked attacks and killing of police officers in in the country, including the recent killing of some police officers in Bayelsa State.

    According to him, the police management team is designing a new operational order that will reduce the spate of attacks on police officers and other security personnel in the country.

    Mba added: “The challenges are not unsurmountable and we will cross over it. We believe that it is unfair for people to see police officers on official assignments as ready targets to be brutally murdered.

    “Even with the killings, the Nigeria Police Force will not be forced into abdicating its primary duty of providing security for Nigerians. We will soon be on top of the situation.”

     

  • One up for the Police

    One up for the Police

    •Thumbs up for the Nigeria Police for cracking the ‘ABSU’ gang rape case

    It must rank among the most sordid tales out of Nigeria in recent times. Last September, four men had gang-raped a lady. Not satisfied with their fiendish act, they had recorded their atrocity on a video clip, exposing the lady’s face and all, while being careful to conceal theirs. These men from Hades had gone on to post the moving picture on You tube in the World Wide Web. Expectedly, it was an instant hit, going viral immediately as the entire voyeuristic world fed frenzy on Nigeria’s collective shame.

    To further hide their bestiality and mislead investigators who were sure to get on their trail, the four rapists labelled their video to suggest that the lady in question was a student of the Abia State University, ABSU, at its Uturu campus, Abia State. The incident naturally set ABSU – the students, management and the entire university community on a spin. Even the Abia State government was caught in the ensuing opprobrium, taking so much flak for ‘mishandling’ the matter. The ABSU authority insisted that it had no such lady student as exhibited in the video but people thought it was merely living in denial and trying to cover up a sordid episode.

    This gang rape could only have been second to the Aluu-four case in which four University of Port Harcourt students were lynched by a mob and later set ablaze in Aluu community in Rivers State. The manner of killing of these students purported to be violent cultists, which was also immediately posted on the internet would set the chill down the spine of the watching world as people wondered whether such bestiality was still possible in this age.

    While Nigerians had put the ‘ABSU gang-rape’ case behind them, consigning it into the Nigeria Police archive of multitudinous unsolved criminal cases, some cheery news broke out in the bleak horizon. The Rivers State Police Command reports that it has cracked the ‘ABSU gang-rape’ case. According to information contained in the Nigeria Police newspaper, The Dawn (March 11-24, 2013 edition), the matter did not take place in ABSU or Abia State afterall; the crime was committed in Obite, in Etche Council Area of Rivers State. The victim was also found to be a married woman and the suspects allegedly her husband’s cousins.

    The police had unravelled the case through tracing a man who identified and confirmed that the lady in the video clip was his wife and that the suspects were from his community. The police noted that a painstaking tracing established the identity of the suspects, leading to their arrest. Three of them have already been arraigned at the Magistrate’s Court 9 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The fourth suspect is reportedly at large.

    Though we are at a loss as to why the police would choose their in-house journal to report a major breakthrough of this magnitude to the public, we must not hesitate to commend their effort and tenacity at unravelling this case that shocked not only Nigerians but the world. Considering that the Nigeria Police lack forensic equipment and sophisticated e-crime know-how, we laud their ability to follow this horrid episode through to the prosecution stage. When the case is concluded, we will expect the police to tell the story in full and we urge the Police authority and the inspector-general to uphold, reward and generally encourage the team that cracked this case, to stand as an example to the officers and men of the Nigeria Police.

     

  • Police, NSCDC’s roforofo fight

    Police, NSCDC’s roforofo fight

    It was the late Afrobeat king, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, who invented the phrase “roforofo fight” to describe a messy, weird tango between two people or a group of people. Many years after Fela’s death, the word “roforofo” has again been brought to the front burner.

    The story goes thus: Two officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, were in the early hours of last Wednesday allegedly killed by some policemen over an operational disagreement in Ikorodu on the outskirts of Lagos. Five other NSCDC officials were said to have sustained various degrees of gunshot wounds during the unfortunate encounter. The slain officials were on duty with their colleagues when a disagreement ensued between them and the police.

    The NSCDC officials were said to have successfully arrested some pipeline vandals with their exhibit. They were taking the suspects to their office, when one of the suspects made a call. Shortly after, the NSCDC officials encountered the policemen who opened fire on them. Two NSCDC operatives were instantly killed, while no fewer than five others were hit by bullets as they scampered to safety. The vandals who had earlier been apprehended were then allegedly released by the police.

    The incident has fuelled speculations that the policemen that killed the NSCDC officials were collaborators in pipeline vandalism. But, in a swift reaction, the police, through Ngozi Braide, the spokesperson for the state Police Command, denied the allegation. She said: “There was a distress call from DM Security PPMC, Mosimi, that they were experiencing drop in pressure on the pipeline. The Unit Commander in charge of Konu immediately pulled out his men on Konu axis under Inspector Sunday Gabriel to proceed to the scene. As they were approaching, they heard sound of serious gun firing in their area of pipeline coverage and the Inspector instructed his men to proceed to that direction… Upon arrival, they saw a group of Civil Defence Corps members coming out from the direction where the shooting was earlier heard. The NSCDC men challenged the policemen who were about four in number on what their mission was in the area, saying that it was their sole responsibility (Civil Defence) to guide and protect pipelines.

    “At this juncture, there was an argument between the NSCDC and the police. The most senior NSCDC officer, DSC Olufemi, ordered his men who were about 14 in number to disarm, arrest and handcuff the police team leader and the three other members of his team. The NSCDC succeeded in disarming the police team leader, Inspector Sunday Gabriel, handcuffed him, collected his service pistol, walkie-talkie and Police I.D card…”

    These two storylines suggest that we are really in a big mess in this country. It is quite evident that there is deep-seated animosity between our various security agencies. This has impacted negatively on inter-agency cooperation and the overall security of the nation. Taking the two stories on their face value, one cannot but be amused and even amazed by the spirited defence put up by the Police.

    Who will believe such a cock-and-bull story that a team of NSCDC officials ‘overpowered’ a team of well-armed policemen, handcuffed and leg-chained their leader, an inspector, and even collected his service pistol in the process? Perhaps, that story is meant to be told to the marines as the public need not go too far to know who is saying the truth between the two agencies.

    The issue of incessant pipeline vandalism has become worrisome to all patriotic Nigerians in recent times. In fact, it has become a big epidemic begging for urgent solution. Not only have the activities of the vandals led to a sharp drop in revenue earning from oil, in many instances, it has also caused untold hardship to many families through uncontrolled fire outbreaks resulting in death and destruction.

    Usually, the picture that has been created is that of a booming illicit trade that is being aided, and or supported by unscrupulous security agents. This is so because the thriving business has gone on for several years without the security agents being able to apprehend the real perpetrators. In the latest incident, some vandals were allegedly caught in the act. Diligent investigation could have led to the arrest of the big brains behind them. But what did we find? Two government agencies traded bullets, so to say, over the arrest. Not only were the vandals freed after what seems like a conspiracy between them and one of the security agencies, some security agents met their untimely death while others were injured. This is a national shame of a scandalous proportion!

    The whole thing reeks of the depth of infamy into which the country has sunk because of unbridled corruption that has become a cankerworm in our body politic. Or else how can one explain all these perennial clashes by security agencies over security issues that have telling effects on the well-being of the nation at large?

    Many Nigerians believe that most of the security problems we encounter on a daily basis are being instigated by unscrupulous security agents themselves. Take for instance, the issue of Boko Haram. Even the President himself has cried out that Boko Haram agents have infiltrated the security agencies and the government itself. This, the President said, had hampered all efforts to find a lasting solution to the menace in the country. And from what has been going on all over the country, it is as if the security agencies as presently constituted may never find solution to the myriad of security problems confronting the nation. They seem to be more interested in the pursuit of filthy lucre with unfair and foul means.

    This worrying situation has prompted various security analysts to harp on the need for cooperation among the security agencies, as a way of devising a concerted template to fight crime and criminality in the country. But rather than cooperating, what you find playing out everywhere is attempt to outdo or undo one another by the plethora of security agencies in the country. In many instances, these unhealthy rivalries have manifested in open public confrontation resulting in loss of lives and injuries to security agents and innocent members of the public.

    If it is not the army versus the police, it could be the navy or air force slugging it out with the police. There has not been any love lost between the Police and the State Security Service (SSS) either. If the Police-SSS rivalry has not led to open confrontation involving shooting, at least, it has manifested in inter-service distrust. A case in point is the mess created by the two sister agencies on the investigation into the murder of Olaitan Oyerinde, the former personal secretary to Adams Oshiomhole, the governor of Edo State. Up till now, that riddle has not been solved.

    Today, we are confronted with the bloody encounter between the NSCDC officials and the Police. Like I said earlier, this is a big shame. Fighting over whose right it is to apprehend pipeline vandals is out of the question. Any security agency or even an ordinary citizen has the right of arrest under the constitution. Therefore, to disagree on such an issue as who, among or between two sister agencies, has the right to arrest vandals, smacks of a hidden agenda or lack of proper orientation as members of a security outfit worth its name.

    We need to be careful in this country and avoid causing unnecessary commotion through needless disagreements between our security agencies leading to avoidable death, injuries and destruction at all times. That is why this latest crisis between the NSCDC and the Police must be thoroughly investigated by an independent, impartial body. Certainly, not by any department of the Police as they are party to the crisis. This way, the truth behind the fracas will be unearthed. Steps can then be taken to forestall a recurrence of such a national embarrassment. Somebody should save us from the incessant upheavals among our security agencies and agents. And urgently too!

  • Police deny arresting killers of Kwara CP

    The police in Enugu State yesterday denied reports that the killers of the Kwara State Police Commissioner, Chinweike Asadu, have been arrested.

    The Commissioner of Police, Tonye Ebitibituwa, in a statement, described the story as false and misleading.

    The commissioner said the report being credited to the state command that three suspects have been arrested and handed over to the police by a private security company was a fabrication.

    According to Ebitibituwa, there was the need for information to be verified before it is published to avoid giving the public wrong impression.

    He said the matter is still being investigated.

    The commissioner solicited the cooperation of the media and the public in ensuring that there is useful and timely information to the police to ensure a crime-free society.

     

  • Police rescue kidnapped septuagenarian in Edo

    Men of the Edo State Police Command have rescued a 77 years old woman, Madam Grace Agbonkpolor, from the den of her abductors.

    Madam Agbonkpolor was abducted by gunmen at her Benin City residence and had spent four days in captivity before she was released.

    She was earlier kidnapped in December, 2010 and was released after some ransom payment was made.

    Police sources said her release was made possible after one of the kidnapers was arrested while attempting to collect the ransom at Obarenti village along Benin- Sapele Road.

    Family sources said the septuagenarian was traumatised and is appealing for more police protection as other members of the gang were yet to be arrested.

    Meanwhile, the abductors of a lecturer at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma are demanding for N10m ransom.

     

  • Outrage as police detain minors for ‘theft’

    The detention of three minors for alleged theft by the Delta State Police Command in Warri, Delta State, on Sunday has sparked public anger against the ‘B’ Division Police Station in the Oil City.

    The children – aged between six and nine years – were allegedly picked up by policemen from the ‘B’ Police Division, Okumagba Layout, over allegations that they stole a bicycle.

    Two of the ‘suspects’ are brothers.

    They were picked up after a man reported that the trio stole his son’s bicycle.

    It was gathered that efforts by their parents to secure their release on Sunday were futile.

    This was because the investigating officer insisted on collecting N10,000 per child for bail.

    Much to the annoyance of the parents, the minors were reportedly locked up with other crime suspects in the cell till yesterday.

    A source said: “All our efforts to secure their release yesterday proved abortive because the police demanded N10,000 per person.

    “We cannot understand how the police can detain children, who are less than 10 years, with suspects who could be hardened criminals and even paedophiles.

    “This morning, they released the youngest child, who is six years old, because they said their investigation showed that he is innocent.

    “One of the nine-year-olds was released after his mother paid N6,000 yesterday morning.

    “But the other one is still there because his father said he won’t pay any money for his release.”

    Efforts to reach the Divisional Police Officer, T.M Samuel, were abortive.

    The Commissioner of Police, Ikechukwu Aduba, was yet to respond to a text message sent to him yesterday.

    One of the mothers told our reporter at about 6pm yesterday that her husband was on the way to ‘B’ Division police station to secure the release of one of the boys.

    She said: “Although they (police) demanded N10,000, we were only able to raise N6,000 and that was what he took to the station.

    “I pray that they will release him.”

  • Police to impound unregistered cars in Edo

    Worried by the spate of car thefts and general insecurity across the country, Motor Dealers Association in Edo State has asked the Nigeria Police to apprehend drivers and impound any vehicle plying the roads that does not have a dealer’s number.

    Chief Andy Omokaro, chairman of the association, gave this indication yesterday at a press conference in Benin City, where he exonerated registered car dealers of complicity in the general insecurity in the state

    He said, “We have just written the FRSC, Motor licensing office, Commissioner of Police and the Directorate of State Security Services (SSS) asking them to arrest persons who drive unnumbered vehicles without dealers number. Such vehicle must be impounded because they may have been stolen to be used for criminal activities.

    The Chief Executive of Andy Motors also said motor dealers task force has the duty of visiting motor shops across the state once in a week and keeps a record of the history of the vehicles sold in a dealer’s shop.

  • Security beefed-up in Kano for Easter

    Security has been beefed up in Kano by operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the Police to guarantee a hitch-free Easter celebration on Sunday in  Kano.

    Despite the ongoing house to house search by security men for suspected terrorists, as well as illegal weapons, the 3rd Brigade Headquarters of the Nigerian Army in Kano has also deployed additional troops to beef up security arrangements in the state.

    The Police Command headquarters  in Bompai has deployed 4,000 police officers to beef-up security arrangements in the metropolis for today’s Easter celebrations

    Our reporter observed the presence  of many  armoured personnel carriers from the 3 Brigade patrolling the streets, during his visit to some parts of the metropolis, while the Police have also deployed officers to beef up security in strategic locations.

    Also, our Correspondent noticed increased presence of security personnel in most churches in Sabon Gari,  mostly inhabited by non-indigenous community, who were  gripped with fear over the bomb blast recently rocked the New Road motor park which claimed so many lives.

    At the close of the day, our investigations revealed that most of the churches have also made alternative security arrangements to ensure violent-free celebrations, following the engagement of private security outfit to beef up security.

    The Kano State Police boss, Musa Daura , when asked of security arrangements, disclosed that his Command has deployed 4,000 police officers as part of the Easter security build-up, adding that the normal stop and search security arrangement and surveillance activities are also part of efforts to ensure a smooth Easter celebration.

    “The Command is leaving nothing to chance to ensure we have violent-free Easter celebration, you are aware we have raiding flash points during which a number arrests of suspects were made and a number of weapons of mass destruction intercepted, this is all part of the efforts to usher in a hitch-free Easter.”

    Captain Ikedichi  Iweha, who is the spokesman of the JTF in Kano, disclosed that the military has placed its soldiers on red alert: “We are working very hard and as I speak with you now, military men deployed to the streets of Kano have been doubled, while the house to house search is still in progress.

     

     

     

  • Two dead, five injured in Police, Civil Defence clash

    Two Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) died early yesterday in a clash with the police in Ikorodu, on the outskirts of Lagos.

    Trouble, it was learnt, began around 3am over what was called “operational disagreement”.

    Five other Civil Defence officials were said to have sustained gunshot injuries.

    The dead, Gabriel Adaji and Innocent Akegbe, were said to be on duty with their colleagues before the clash with the police. It was gathered that the NSCDC officials had arrested some pipeline vandals with their exhibit when the police intervened.

    Sources said as the Civil Defence officials were taking the suspects to their Alausa, Ikeja office, one of them made a call. “It was not long after the call that they encountered the policemen that opened fire on them,” a source said.

    Deputy National spokesman of NSCDC, Sola Odumosu, told The Nation that his colleagues were killed by the police. The police, he claimed are collaborators in pipeline vandalism.

    He said: “In what could be described as a commando attack, policemen ambushed and opened fire on men of the anti-vandalism squad of the Lagos State Command of NSCDC, killing two of them on the spot while others escaped with gunshot wounds in Ikorodu area.

    “The incident occurred at about 3am. The officers and men of the corps were returning from a successful anti-vandalism operation where vandals were arrested with their exhibit. However, as the suspects were being transported back to the state headquarters of the Corps, an eyewitness said the vandals made calls to their police collaborators for support since they could not overwhelm the Corps officials.

    “Immediately the police got wind of the information, they laid ambush for the Corps operatives and opened fire on their patrol vehicles, killing two operatives instantly. Others made desperate efforts to escape but they were also hit by police bullets. The vandals were released immediately by the police”.

    Another senior NSCDC official recalled: “Around midnight, a team of NSCDC officials had arrested some suspected vandals during a raid. After the raid, the officials were driving along the Expressway when they were accosted by a team of mobile policemen. An argument ensued as one of the policemen said we had no right to operate in the area.

    “Our men explained that it was their duty to protect all government facilities, including oil pipelines. After sometime, our men left, but unknown to them, a team of policemen laid ambush ahead. The policemen opened fire on our men, killing two and injuring five. The policemen then fled.”

    Hours after the incident, pandemonium broke out about 8 am in Alausa as the police and Civil Defence men clashed.

    Civil servants who were resuming for work at the state Secretariat ran for safety as sporadic gunshots were fired into the air.

    Angered by the loss of their colleagues, some men of the Civil Defence pounced on two policemen in front of their office.

    Other policemen rushed to the scene to rescue their colleagues, leading to sporadic gun shots.

    The assaulted policemen were forced into the NSCDC premises. Officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) were quickly drafted to the scene to quell the clash.

    Fully armed RRS officers stood in front of the NSCDC office apparently to prevent the police from storming the place to free their men.

    A vehicle marked CD 15 A01 allegedly used by the police during the Ikorodu clash was parked on the Alausa premises of the NSCDC yesterday.

    NSCDC’s spokesperson Kehinde Dada, said his colleagues’ bodies had been taken to the Military Hospital Mortuary, Yaba.

    In a statement, spokesperson to the police Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said: “At about 0145hrs, there was a distress call from DM Security PPMC, Mosimi that they were experiencing drop in pressure on the pipeline. The Unit Commander in charge of Konu immediately pulled out his men on Konu axis under Inspector Sunday Gabriel to proceed to the scene.

    “As they were approaching, they heard sound of serious gun firing, the Inspector instructed his men to proceed to the direction where it was coming from as it could be vandals. Upon arrival, they saw a group of Civil Defence Corp members coming out from the area where the shooting was earlier heard.

    “The NSCDC men challenged the policemen who were about four in number on what their mission was in the area; saying that it was their sole responsibility (Civil Defence) to guard and protect pipelines. At this juncture, there was an argument between the NSCDC and the police and the most senior NSCDC officer, DSC Olufemi ordered his men who were about 14 to disarm, arrest and handcuff the police team leader and other members of the team. The NSCDC disarmed Inspector Sunday Gabriel, handcuffed him, collected his service pistol, walkie-talkie, and Police I.D card. As they were about dragging him into one of their standby Hilux vehicles, a phone call was put to the Police Unit Commander reporting the situation. The three other officers resisted the arrest and this infuriated the Civil Defence officials who started shooting sporadically to intimidate and subdue the police officers”.

    Braide noted that before the police commander’s arrival the scene, the NSCDC officials had taken to their heels, abandoning the handcuffed police Inspector with one of their colleagues.

    She said it was shocking that at about 4am, the Civil Defence Corp Commander called the Police Commander, Mosimi to say that he lost two of his men and their bodies had been deposited at the hospital.

    “Up till now, the pistol of Inspector Sunday Gabriel who was badly beaten and stabbed by the NSCDC officials including his other accoutrements are still with NSCDC.

    Subsequently, far away in Alausa, Ikeja, at about 0800hrs today, the NSCDC officials abducted and assaulted three policemen – Sgt Charles Igiebor, Corporal Ekun Julius and Cpl Okoro Charles – who went for National I.D Card registration exercise. They also started attacking policemen on sight in other parts of the state.

    “The Commissioner of Police Lagos State Command, immediately went on air to warn policemen not to engage in any form of confrontation with the NSCDC officials.

    However, investigation into the matter has commenced while Lagosians are advised to maintain peace and remain calm,” Braide added.

    The Commandant General of the NSCDC, Dr. Ade Abolurin urged his men to continue to work with sister security agencies in order to curb vandalism and oil theft.

    While briefing the anti-vandalism squad in Abuja yesterday, Abolurin also cautioned Corps personnel, especially the Lagos State Command, to be calm, law-abiding and not carry out any reprisal attack or transfer aggression, but to maintain the status quo of friendship with other agencies.

    He urged the personnel to be resolute and dogged in fighting vandalism.

    The Federal Government, he said, through an Enabling Act, mandated the Corps to carry out the function of mounting surveillance, protecting critical infrastructure of Government, arrest and prosecute anyone caught in the act of vandalism as well as those suspected to be collaborators.

    He said though the Corps might be facing teething challenges in terms of cooperation and assistance from some quarters, his men should not be deterred from discharging their duties with honesty of purpose and integrity.

    Abolurin charged his men to ensure that anytime they want to embark on any operation, they should liaise with the military formation within their locality so as to do it jointly to avoid what happened yesterday.

    He said the military had agreed to collaborate with the Corps in stamping out vandalism, illegal bunkering and oil theft.

  • Boko Haram: Police, SSS, others meet in Ogun

    The police in Ogun State yesterday met with the heads of the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria Prison Service (NPS) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday to map out ways to effectively secure lives and property.

    The meeting was held at the Command Headquarters in Eleweran at the instance of the Police Commissioner, Ikemefuna Okoye.

    The agencies resolved to work in synergy to tighten security.

    Also at the meeting were the Comptrollers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the State Traffic Unit (TRACE) and the State Vigilance Service.