The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Police

  • Police arrest Oni’s aide for ‘disrupting’ Ekiti teachers’ test

    Police arrest Oni’s aide for ‘disrupting’ Ekiti teachers’ test

    •TDNA turnout low

    The police in Ekiti State yesterday arrested an aide of ousted “Governor” Segun Oni, Mr. Lere Olayinka, who allegedly disrupted the Teachers Development Needs Assessment (TDNA) test at the Ola-Oluwa Muslim Grammar School centre in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

    Olayinka allegedly led a group of suspected thugs, who threw stones at the teachers in the examination hall.

    Police spokesman Victor Babayemi confirmed the arrest.

    Babayemi said: “As the organ of the government charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order, our men were posted to various centres to ensure that the on-going TDNA is without hitch.

    “Consequently, Lere Olayinka was arrested for conducting himself in a manner likely to cause a breach of public peace at a TDNA centre. He is presently being interrogated. The outcome of the interrogation/investigation would determine what the next action would be.

    “We reiterate that we are doing our job professionally without sentiments. Anybody who contravenes the law would be made to face the music, irrespective of his/her status or political affinity.”

    In a statement, Governor Kayode Fayemi’s media aide, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, said Olayinka’s arrest has upheld the government’s position that some disgruntled politicians were at the root of various labour crises in the state.

    Oyebode said: “The state government raised the alarm recently that some politicians were responsible for various allegations and protests by the National Union of Local Government Employee (NULGE).

    “It also alerted the public to plans by some politicians to frustrate the TDNA by spreading falsehood and harassing teachers, who already had the conviction that the test would impact positively on their careers. The arrest has vindicated our position.

    “It is needless to say that Olayinka’s physical attack on the teachers was part of the calculated attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his pay masters to frustrate the TDNA and other government policies. Apparently piqued by the determination of the teachers to take the test, he resorted to physical attack.

    “While we hail the police for rising to their responsibility of maintaining law and order, we hope they will, through their investigation, unmask the masterminds of the plot and bring them to book.

    “The Fayemi administration is committed to maintaining the peace that has been the hallmark of the state since the inception of this administration. We are also committed to policies that will enhance development in all sectors. Teachers and indeed workers are assured of adequate security as they go about their work.”

    The turnout of teachers for the test was low.

    Less than 100 of the 6,000 teachers expected for the test turned up.

    At the Ola-Oluwa Muslim Grammar School, over 3,000 teachers were expected, but only 35, including the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), Mr. Sola Adigun, and executive members of the union, wrote the test.

    At the African Church Comprehensive High School, Ikere Ekiti, only 28 teachers wrote the test.

    No one turned out in Omuo, Ido and Aramoko Ekiti.

    There was heavy presence of security personnel around the centres in Ado-Ekiti.

    Commissioner for Education Mrs. Eniola Ajayi said: “We thank God that some teachers wrote the test, which is aimed at developing human capital in our education sector.

    “You could see the level of failure recorded in the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) this year. This is to tell you the level of rot in the system, which we were able to expose by canceling the so-called miracle centres.”

    Commissioner for Labour and Human Capital Development Wole Adewumi said:

    “We have told the teachers that the competency test is not meant to ridicule, demote or sack them, but to develop their skills and make Ekiti great.”

     

  • Bomb factory found in Minna

    A discrete raid by Police in Minna, Niger State capital on Saturday night led to the discovery of a bomb  factory in Maitunmbi quarters of the town believed to belong to the  Islamic fundamentalist sect – Boko Haram.

    Acting on the tip-off by one of the five suspects earlier arrested over the killing of three Policemen in two operations in the town last week, a team of armed plain cloth men stormed the sect’s bomb factory behind a popular private school in the area at about 8:30pm.

    The raid which lasted for about two hours led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police from the state Command headquarters recovered from the building two domestic gas cylinder already prepared for explosion.

    Other lethal weapons found in the house include about 30 disposable food beverage and soft drinks cans as well as body spray cans all stockpiled with explosives, 25 kilograms of fertilizer, batteries, remote control devices and other electrical gadgets.

    Though no arrest was made at the time of the raid, it was gathered that the team deployed the best practice in carrying out the raid as majority of the residents in the neighborhood did not know of their action while it lasted.

    When contacted the state Police Public Relations Officer Mr. Pius Edobor refused to give details on the raid, but promised a statement later.

    According to the Police spokesman, ”We are still on that operation, we will issue a statement later.”

    Meanwhile a serious hunt for was launched by a Joint Military Team (JMT) of about 40 armed military, Police and State Security Service (SSS) to comb for armoury of members of the sect in Maitunmbi area on Sunday morning.

    End.

  • I’ll use Police N5m for prison reforms, says Ugolor

    The Executive Director of the African Network for Environment and Economic Justice, Rev. David Ugolor, has promised to use the N5million compensation awarded to him by the court against the Nigerian Police Force as “seed money for prison and police reforms.”

    Ugolor was arrested and remanded in Oko prison after a suspect in accused him of sponsoring the murder of the Private Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde.

    He was granted bail by an Edo State Criminal High Court and awarded N5million damages by Justice Esther Edigin.

    Ugolor, in a chat with our correspondent, said his experience during the period exposed him to the treatment inmates suffer in Nigeria prisons.

    He said his interaction with inmates at the prison showed that more than 90 percent of them were awaiting trial while many of them are innocent of crimes they were accused of.

    According to him: “What people are going through in Oko prison will make you lose confidence in the Nigeria project.

    “The way people are treated in Oko prison even animals will not be treated that way. The kinds of food given to inmates are not worth it.”

    He added: “It is a bitter experience. I would rather not see this experience as a bad one because it provides me an enormous opportunity to do more work.

    “We are now going to expand our work to fight for more prison reform and police reform. It is now increasingly clear that in Edo State, public interest litigation process needs real focus by the civil society.”

    On the N5million awarded to him by the court, the activist said it will be put in public litigation programme.

    His words: “I have nothing to do with that money. I will use that money to support initiatives for setting innocent prisoners free. “Police will have to pay the money. They cannot go around it. The money will be the seed money we will use to establish the public litigation programme for prison and police reform campaign in Nigeria and we are starting from Edo State.”

    He described the late Olaitan as a fantastic friend, stating his family will be consoled only when the police fish out his killers.

  • ACN leaders allege intimidation by LP, police

    ACN leaders allege intimidation by LP, police

    •Ajatta, others report harassment to police

    Leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State yesterday accused Governor Olusegun Mimiko of intolerance. They alleged that the ruling Labour Party (LP) and the police have struck a deal to molest opposition figures ahead of the October 20 governorship poll.

    The party chieftains, who spoke with reporters in Akure, including former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Wumi Adegbomire, former Commerce and Industry Commissioner, Prince Olu Adegboro, former House of Representatives member, Dr. Jayeola Ajatta and Prof. Agboola Ogunlowo alleged that suspected LP thugs were harassing ACN members and disrupting their meetings.

    Adegbomire, an associate of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the Asiwaju of Akureland, attributed the onslaught to the growing popularity of the ACN and its standard bearer, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu. He added that the defection to the opposition party has made the governor jittery.

    Adegbomire hailed the people for shunning what he described as “the evil of the Labour Party”, which he said had enslaved the land and misused its resources for political trivialities.

    The defunct Action Group (AG), Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and Alliance for Democracy (AD) chieftain said many people have been cajoled by Mimiko with sweet words, thereby deluding themselves into thinking that the various awards given him were due to good performance.

    He added: “If you have performed as you have claimed, why are you afraid of the opposition? The governor is afraid of the opposition because his achievements are fake and unsubstantiated. Where are the roads he has built? Where are the health centres? Where are jobs for the youth? Where are the schools he has built, apart from the over-exaggerated mega schools? Can he tell us how much he has received and how much he has wasted on awards? He will know on October 20 that he is not popular and we cannot be deceived in Ondo State.”

    Ajatta condemned the invasion of his street in Ikaramu-Akoko by policemen who scared the people, making the elderly and children to panic.

    He said: “Eight police vehicles came to my home and policemen drove recklessly, harassing me, my household and neighbours who identify with the ACN. This is why I will report the incident to the Commissioner of Police. It is terrible. I am a responsible citizen. Before I came into politics, I had made my name. I am an elder in my community. I am a leader in my party. Why should anybody send police to harass me in my home? It is absurd.”

    Ajatta said the election would be decided by competence, past performance and record, adding that power shift is the goal of the people.

    He added: “Harassment, molestation, repression and intimidation of the opposition cannot work in Ondo. Nobody will run away from anybody. The state belongs to all of us. Instead of providing jobs for our youths, they are turning them into thugs. This will soon stop.”

    Prof. Ogunlowo decried the defacement and tearing of ACN posters across the 18 local governments by hired thugs, saying it is the height of intolerance.

    He flayed the governor and LP chieftains for being desperate to hold on to power despite the handwriting on the wall that their days are numbered.

    The academic said ACN leaders and supporters would not yield to the intimidation of any power monger in the state.

    He said: “This is a civilised state. What is required is political tolerance, which is critical to peace and tranquility. The harassment of ACN leaders shows that the ruling party is gripped by the fear that it will lose this election, and indeed, Labour Party will lose the election.”

    Former AD Women’s Leader, now an ACN leader, Princess Grace Animola, said the people of the state have realised the error of making an impostor a governor in 2007. She said Mimiko has disappointed the masses.

    According to her, the governor has been flaunting markets and bus stops, which are under local governments, as the achievements of his administration.

    Animola said: “Who can scare people like us with thugs in this state at this stage of our lives? This strategy of intimidation, attack and psychological assault will not work in a politically-conscious and sophisticated state like Ondo. It is counter-productive. It will not work. It’s a waste of time.”

    A party elder, Chief Bankole Ajayi, the Patron of the Egbe Omo Yoruba in the United States, said politics is still backward in Africa and Nigeria because retrogressive elements are in power.

    He added: “I have relocated home from the U.S. because of this election. I went round my state and saw the emptiness. Achievements are advertised in the media without concrete proof. I went to the Specialist Hospital in Akure, which was established in 1947 and the x-ray machine was faulty. The hospital was like a market as people were not attended to. The emergency ward was an eyesore. I can’t see the evidence of good governance. This is why this election is crucial.”

     

  • 35 lawyers to boost model police scheme

    With the first barch of 35 lawyers, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) M.D. Abubakar has kickstarted the Model Police Station Scheme (MRSS) aimed at improving policing.

    The pilot scheme started in the Isokoko Police Station at Agege, a Lagos suburb, where the IGP is test running the project.

    The lawyers drawn from seven law firms, were presented to the media during the launch of the Legal Advice Scheme by the Justice For All (JFA) and the Department for International Development (DFID) at Isokoko.

    The lawyers are expected to partner with the police to ensure that the MRSS at Isokoko becomes effective. They are expected to routinely visit the station to monitor and document how police officers treat suspects and other visitors.

    The initiators said that the scheme would improve community policing and eradicate abuses of suspects, rights at police stations when it takes off in all police formations nationwide. JFA’s project consultant Tony Cross, said that the Legal Advice scheme would boost residents’ confidence to report crime in their communities.

    He said: “The Legal Advice scheme will have lawyers from seven law firms and each law firm will send five lawyers to partner with police officers at the Isokoko Police Station to ensure that the MPSS.

    “The lawyers will randomly visit the station in a routine day and night to monitor the suspects, cell and to document what they observe. The aim is to make sure that police officers act in accordance with the law.

    “Also we have printed these rights in leaflets in five different languages so that the suspects will have access to them. The scheme also provides the suspects with free legal services from the lawyers.”

    Speaking on behalf of lawyers, Segun Oyewale said for the scheme to work, the government should provide logistics, equipment and better packages for the police boost their morale.

    Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Community Policing Mr Lawal Ado, who represented the IGP, said the police would provide the enabling environment for the scheme to work.

  • Police arrest three ‘bloody Sunday’ suspects

    Police arrest three ‘bloody Sunday’ suspects

    •RPGs, IED, rifles from gang members recovered

    THE police said yesterday that they had made a breakthrough in their investigation of the “bloody Sunday” robbery.

    Three suspected members of the gang behind the mid-Sunday robbery, which sent the city into panic three weeks ago, were paraded at the Lagos Police Command, Ikeja.

    They are: Uche Okeagbu (23), Emmanuel Ezeani (23) and Chinonso Nwuaugwu (23).

    Also on parade before reporters were four vehicles, which hitherto served as their mobile armoury. The mobile armoury ( Infinity and Toyota Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and two volkswagen buses), had been re-constructed to conceal arms and ammunition from the prying eyes of security agents.

    Found in the improvised chambers were: two rocket-propelled grenade launchers, five dynamites with a detonator, two general purpose machine guns, nine AK47 riffles, 225 AK47 magazines (fully loaded), 260 rounds of GPMG live ammunition, and over 10,000 rounds of live AK47 ammunition.

    Okeagbu participated in the bloody Sunday robbery in which three policemen were killed. But Nwuaugwu, an active member of the gang, claimed he was “not in action” on that day. He had taken active participation in other operations carried out by the gang.

    Ezeani, who was identified as a brother to one of the fleeing gang leaders, was arrested in the gang leader’s house.

    He was accused by the police of being privy to all the meetings held by the gang.

    According to the police, the gang had successfully carried out seven raids on banks in seven states.

    Okeagbu, who participated in the September 9 attacks, said their target was usually 10 operations at a stretch, after which members of the gang will travel out of the country to allow the manhunt for them fade out.

    He said: “On that Sunday, we had people we targeted for the operation. We came with information on those we robbed. Those that were shot were people that wanted to disturb our operations. But the policemen we killed were not chasing us. They were going on their own. We do not like seeing policemen when we are in action and that was why we killed them.

    “Whenever people see armed robbers, they should not try to stop them. The civilians that we fired were the ones that tried to stop us. We do not tolerate such when we are operating because our business is a matter of life and death thing.”

    The suspect also confessed to taking part in a bank robbery in Kwara State. The operation was less than four days after the Lagos multiple attacks.

    According to Okeagbu, the gang had taken over a police station, few meters away from the bank, before the laucnhed the attack.

    He said: “Before that particular operation, we took over the police station that was close to the bank. We shot at the station and all the policemen on duty ran away.

    “We then moved straight to the office of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), knocked on his door and he asked us to enter. As at that time he did not know what was going on. He offered us a seat and we now told him that our gang is operating outside and that he should cooperate and he said there was no problem. We were with him until our members outside signalled to us that the operation was over.”

    Okeagbu informed that the gang has no female member, saying that the person being erroneously taken for a woman is actually a man.

    “He is just big and have breast like a woman. He also behaves like a woman. He is a man”, he said.

    Police Commissioner Alhaji Umar Manko, who paraded the suspects in the company of his Area Commanders, said that acting on a tip-off, the State Special Anti-robbery Squad ((SARS), led by its commander, Mr Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP), stormed Ilemba-Hausa in Ajangbadi and arrested the suspects on September 23.

    He noted that during interrogation, Okeagbu gave information, which led to the recovery of huge arms and ammunition concealed in two buses marked LSD467AR and AGL506XB.

    The vehicles, the police chief said, were carefully parked in Okeagbu’s residence.

    Manko said whenever the gang operated, they drove the buses (stuffed with groundnuts or cassava) to the location, parked them in front of their target of attack and after the operation, they drove away to beat security checks.

    He said one of the gang’s operational vehicles also has a censor Close Circuit Television (CCTV) to monitor whoever was trailing them.

    Manko said his men are on the trail of other members of the gang who, he said, have their hideouts across the country.

     

  • Police move to curtail banditry in Sokoto

    Police move to curtail banditry in Sokoto

    Sokoto State Police Commissioner Shuaibu Lawal Gambo yesterday said his command has mobilised two armoured vehicles to curtail cross-border banditry and smuggling of arms and ammunition into the country.

    He said: “We are working with the Nigerian Immigration Service to fight border crimes.”

    According to him, the command has re-strategised its mode of operations, using the special unit squad to fight border crimes.

    Gambo said his command would not compromise security, adding: “We need the support of the public to perform our constitutional duties.”

    Addressing reporters in his office in Sokoto, the police boss said security was a collective responsibility that required everybody’s support.

    His words: “Security is paramount in attaining development. We require the support of reporters and the public to achieve this.”

  • Arepo NNPC killing: Police arrest six suspects  

    Arepo NNPC killing: Police arrest six suspects  

    Operatives of the Police Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism Unit, Force Headquarters Annex Lagos, have arrested six suspected vandals alleged to have participated in the incident that led to the killing of three Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) staff at Arepo Village, Owode in Ogun state.

    Those arrested are Posibi Ruben, Imerepmamu Ijebu Joel, John Aye Isaiah, Saheed Onisa Mudashiru, Ineye Okpose and Timi Gnungunu.

    Joel told investigators he knows where they buried the NNPC officials.

    He said: “I don’t know the exact spot where the killed NNPC officials were buried but my friend called Showebune told me the NNPC official were killed and buried at a land across the river.

    “I know the land where they were buried but I don’t know the exact spot.

    “Shortly after the incident, my landlord told me to be careful that my Ijaw brothers have caused trouble in the area by killing the NNPC officials who came for maintenance.’’

    He confirmed Tokuwa, Egbe, Egbekowhea, John Togo and Bashiru killed the NPPC officials, adding, “I know their houses and I can take the police there.”

    Last August, suspected vandals burst pipelines to siphon petroleum products at Arepo village, leading to a fire outbreak.

    Maintenance engineers sent by the NPPC to repair the ruptured pipeline were killed while carrying out the exercise.

    The hoodlums, using canoes and speedboats, reportedly descended on the engineers and other security operatives at the scene.

    The Assistant Commissioner of Police –in- Charge of the Task Force, Friday Ibadin, confirmed the arrests.

    Ibadin said the police have been on the trail of the suspected vandals since the incident occurred.

    According to him: “We got a tip- off that the same vandals who escaped after the incident were back to continue their normal business of vandalisation.”

    Policemen led by the Lagos Sector Commander, Mr. Onaghise Osayande, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), stormed the area and arrested those suspected vandals.

    About 200 gallons of 25 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) were recovered with hundreds of abandoned empty gallons.

    It was discovered the suspects knew what happened to the dead NNPC officials during investigations.

    Another suspect, John Aye Isaiah, popularly known as JTF, said: “Two weeks ago, I came back from a church programme and heard that some guys went to quench the fire.

    “I heard they exchanged fire with them and they killed the NNPC, the security and people that went there for the operation.

    “I know some of the people involved. They include Nduka, who stays around Isawo in Ikorodu and Beekay Austin, who lives at Ikorodu.

    “Others are Pasco, Epeu and Peresi, who all stay in Ikorodu.”

    He added: “I am not a vandal but sometimes I do buy PMS from them at cheaper prices.”

    Another suspect, Ineye Okpose, popularly known as pastor, advised the police to direct their search to Ondo state as he understood the remaining suspects have relocated.

    “They should look out for one notorious vandal called Togo, who happens to be my neighbour. I overheard when they were arguing with his boys that it’s time to relocate to another state as the police is coming for an arrest,” he said.

    Force Police spokesman, Frank Mba, a Chief Superintendent (CSP), said that police are on the trail of the other suspects still at large.

    He called on the Arepo community to help fish out the hoodlums.

    The suspects, he said, would soon be charged to court after completion of investigations.

  • Police arrest kidnappers of Dangote’s cousin

    Police arrest kidnappers of Dangote’s cousin

    A gang, which abducted a cousin of the Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and collected a ransom of N32million, has been arrested by the police.

    The victim Yahaya Aminu, was kidnapped on September 2, at the Falomo, Ikoyi branch of GTBank, Awolowo Road, Lagos.

    He has, however, been rescued. Two locally made pistols with 16 cartridges and a Kia Cerato, marked DN735APP, belonging to the victim, was recovered.

    It was gathered the gang  also kidnapped Mr Debasis Mitroroy, also of Dangote Group.

    The  gang had kidnapped an Indian, demanding 200,000 dollars as ransom, which was paid.

    The suspect, Pius Uba Livinus and two others; Kelechukwu Onyema and Ayebe Segun, were arrested by operatives attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, Lagos.

    Livinus’father, a former police Inspector, who was dismissed in 1995, is also being held for attempting to protect the suspect.

    The ex-Inspector was arrested after his son confessed that his father, who had earlier denied knowing his whereabouts when police invaded their home, has been protecting him from being arrested.

    The suspect’s father had told policemen that he had not seen Livinus for over two months. But the suspect later  confessed that he has been with his father since he kidnapped the Indian last year.

    It was gathered  that that the suspect was arrested in February for a failed kidnap operation and charged to court but he found his way out of prison after two months.

    The suspect, who said his father is also being detained in connection with the crime,  had participated in three  kidnap operations.

    Police spokesperson Ngozi Braide said Livinus (25) , Oneyema (27) and Segun (32) would be prosecuted .

  • Police, Hausa community clash in Owerri

    Many people were injured yesterday in a clash between policemen and the Hausa community in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

    Heavily armed policemen and vigilance groups stormed Douglas Road to eject Hausa traders from the area, but the traders fought them.

    It was learnt that the police were acting on a security report that Boko Haram members had infiltrated the area.

    The police shot tear gas canisters into the air to scare the traders , but they insisted that they were not a security risk.

    The situation degenerated into a free-for-all, in which many people were injured.

    An eyewitness said the fear that members of the Boko Haram sect may be in the vicinity led to a stampede. He said passers-by scampered to safety and people abandoned their vehicles and fled.

    A witness said the Hausa traders fought the security agents with assorted weapons.

    He said: “The traders were served quit notices sometime ago because of the heavy traffic and avoidable accidents caused by their trading activities. “They constitute great nuisance in the area and the security situation in the country demands stringent security measures.”

    A Hausa trader, simply identified as Farouk, said they were never served quit notices.

    He said: “Some people were saying that we are Boko Haram members and that they will send us out of the state, but we are law-abiding Nigerians and are only doing our lawful businesses.”

    A government source, who did not want to be named, said the traders were served a notice to leave the place by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

    The source said a task force went there to enforce the order after the expiration of the notice, but it was resisted by the traders.

    Police spokesman Vitalis Onugu said he was yet to be briefed about the incident.