The Nation Newspaper

Tag: policemen

  • Alleged robbery: Seven bankers, six policemen held

    Four cashiers, three security guards and six policemen have been held in connection with Wednesday’s robbery at the Okokomaiko, Alaba, Lagos branch of the Fidelity Bank.

    The suspects were arrested following investigations by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) led by Abba Kyarri, a Superintendent of Police (SP).

    The robbery occurred barely a month after a similar attack on the bank, in which a riot police officer was killed. The robbers made away with N24 million.

    Last Wednesday, robbers stormed the bank and blocked two bullion vans as they drove into its premises.

    The robbers were allegedly armed with AK47 rifles and magazines wrapped round their bodies.

    The bullion vans were escorted by seven policemen from the heavily armed Bar Beach Police Station on Victoria Island, with two spy policemen and others.

    The robbers overwhelmed the police escorts, killing two of the spy policemen.

    Eyewitnesses said one died on the spot; the other on the way to the hospital. A police corporal, who was also shot, is critically ill in hospital.

    The robbers broke open the first bullion, carting away all the money in it. They riddled the other van with bullets in their attempt to force it open.

    When they did not succeed, they disappeared with the loot from the first van.

    A police source said: “One of the spy policemen who died was a driver, while the second used to load money into bullion vans. Six policemen have been detained and four cashiers of Fidelity Bank.”

    Another source said: “The matter is now with SARS. It is believed that there is an insiders’ connection. I heard that investigation has started immediately. The Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko is suspecting a foul play, considering that the bank had only recently been robbed in the same manner. He asked why it was always Fidelity Bank.”

    Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide confirmed the incident, saying: “The incident did not occur at Fidelity Bank, but at the bank’s box office, where the bank officials used to box money before moving it out. Only one spy policeman was killed. The robbers would have been caught, but because it was in the market, our policemen did not want to shoot. The bullet could hit innocent people. The car attacked was the bank’s bullion van and it came to pick boxed money. The money taken away was about N24 million.”

  • Anambra Robbery: Seven Policemen still in detention

    The seven policemen attached to the Anambra State Government House who were on duty when a robbery incident took place in the house are still in detention for negligence of duty.

    Also, unnamed civilian who made a suspicious call around 2.am on that day, 10 minutes before the incident, has also been arrested.

    About thirteen days ago, eleven brain boxes of Hilux Vehicles were stolen at the government house, while two of the screens of the vehicles were equally smashed by the hoodlums.

    Following the report to the state police command, the police men on duty on the day were arrested and taken to the B division of the state police command for interrogation.

    The Nation gathered Wednesday, in Awka that the police men had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID’s) detention room.

    When contacted on the fate of the arrested and detained policemen, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Emeka Chukwuemeka, said the incident was being investigated.

    He said the command was working round the clock in making sure that justice was done.

    The Nation also gathered that the policemen were sleeping when the incident happened, while the Hilux Buses, it was learnt arrived from Lagos same day.

    A mechanic in Awka who pleaded anonymity, told the Nation that brain box of each Toyota Hilux  costs between 80,000 to 90,000 naira.

    One of the workers at the government house told the Nation that those women selling “Ogogoro” (hot drinks) at the back gate of the government house should be barred from staying their.

    “Those people give drinks to the policemen and when they are drunk they go to sleep and I believe it was the reason why such thing happened”.

    Meanwhile, the state command had already de-listed the policemen from going back to government house if they were released from detention, while their replacements had resumed work.

  • Three die as policemen chase motorcyclists

    No fewer than three persons, including a commercial motorcyclist, died yesterday as a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus crushed them in Lagos. Although the identities of the deceased could not be ascertained because of the attendant pandemonium, it was learnt that the three victims were young men. The victims, according to sources said, died as the motorcyclist was trying to evade arrest by a police patrol van enforce the Lagos Traffic Law on the Lekki-Epe Expressway. According to an eyewitness, Matty Odoh, the incident, which occurred at Awoyaya Bus Stop, while the patrol team was chasing the motorcyclist, infuriated onlookers who razed the van. It took the intervention of the Nigeria Army’s Quick Response Group (QRG) to restore normalcy, he said. Police spokesperson Ngozi Braide could not be reached for comments as phone calls to her number were unanswered. The army’s 81 Division spokesman, Colonel Omale Ochagwuba, said he was not aware of the incident.

  • Gunmen kill six policemen, 13 others in Plateau

    Nineteen people, including six mobile policemen and 13 civilians, were killed yesterday by suspected Fulani militia in Jol and Rim villages in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State.

    The gunmen also set ablaze  several churches and houses.

    The six policemen were among the team of security agencies drafted in the area.

    They were ambushed on their way to a place which the gunmen were allegedly using as a training camp.

    The Special Task Force on Jos Crisis, codenamed Operation Safe Haven, on Monday discovered a catchment of arms, including five sub-machine guns (SMG) and an undisclosed number of AK-47 rifles.

    A resident of Jol, Amos Dangyang, said the gunmen stormed the village at 1:30am, shooting sporadically.

    Dangyang said: “We were sleeping when they came; they overpowered our local vigilance group and entered the village.

    “We woke up to the sounds of their guns. I managed to escape into the forest; I slept in the bush till dawn.

    “I came out from my hiding place at dawn to see our people killed in Garko-Rim village.

    “Five people were killed and their houses burnt.

    “In Jol, eight people were killed. A church and seven houses were set ablaze; their occupants escaped.”

    Two weeks ago, communities in Riyom raised the alarm that they noticed a Fulani training camp behind a hill near Rim village.

    The Fulani denied the allegation and described it as a false alarm.

    The member representing Riyom, Daniel Dem, said his constituency has been under siege in the last one month.

    The STF did not confirm the casualty figure; residents said two Armoured Personnel Carriers have been deployed in the area.

  • Pipeline explosion in Ogun, policemen missing

    Some policemen have been declared missing after a fierce gun battle with pipeline vandals in Arepo, Ogun State.
    The battle which was said to have started Saturday night, reportedly led to a pipeline explosion at about 12am on Sunday.
    Confirming the explosion, National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA) spokesman for South West, Ibrahim Farinloye said the ruggedness of the terrain was hampering easy access to the scene.
    ” Yes, an explosion occurred in Arepo this morning. we are having difficulty accessing the place because of the rugged terrain,” Farinloye said.
    Details later

  • Seven policemen killed in Jigawa

    Seven policemen and a civilian were killed by terrorists in Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa early Thursday morning.
    The gunmen numbering about 200 reportedly invaded the town at about 1am, blew up the police station and touched a bank and the Shariah court.
    Assistant Inspector General (AIG) , Tambari Yabo confirmed the incident to The Nation when contacted.

  • Three policemen die in auto crash

    Three policemen serving in the Osun State Police Command died on Friday night in an auto crash along Osogbo-Iwo road.

    It was learnt that the policemen attached to the Swift Action Response Squad (SARS) were on patrol around 10.45 pm along Iwo/Ibadan road when a car coming in the opposite direction crashed into their pick up van.

    Two other police men inside the patrol van that sustained serious injury were rushed to an undisclosed hospital by their colleagues who were alerted by passers-by.

    It was gathered that the driver of the vehicle that hit the police patrol van marked Robot at the Niyi Ibikunle junction, Dada Estate did not stop escaped from the scene.

    The Public Relations Officer for the state Police Command, Mrs. Folashade Odoro, said she did not have the permission to speak to the press on the issue.

  • 9 policemen dismissed in Niger

    Niger State Police command dismissed nine policemen from service for various disciplinary offences last year, the State Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Diseye Desire Nsirim has disclosed.

    Ten men including an Inspector were also  were rewarded with a Commissioner of Police Commendation and Award for their dedication to duty and display of gallantry.

    The Commissioner disclosed these yesterday in Minna when briefing newsmen on the activities of the Command in 2013.

    Though the Commissioner did not give details of their offences she only said the dismissal of the policemen was to serve as a caution to others who intended to ply the same path.

    She also said that the reward of other men was essentially designed to spur others to perform better in 2014, as she assured officers and men of the command of prompt and regular reward for hard work.

    Giving a review of 2013 activities by the Command, Nsirim said murder and culpable homicide increased by 32 per cent from 50 cases in 2012 to 84 cases in 2013 while armed robbery activities deceased by 25 per cent, from 50 in 2012 to 36 in 2013 and cases of rape and indecent assault also reduced by 24 per cent.

    She also disclosed that the Command arrested 1,925 suspects in 746 raids adding that 1,876 suspects were convicted in the court.

    Commending her officers and men for the achievements recorded, the Commissioner attributed the drastic reduction of crime to its barest minimum to strategies put in place by the Command to curb the menace of miscreants.

    Some of the strategies according to her include, “constant raids of criminal hideouts and black spots, training and retraining of policemen, police community partnership via community policing, zero tolerance to corruption amongst members of the force, intelligence gathering and visible policing.”
    END

  • Egyptian crisis: 24 policemen killed in ambush

    At least 24 Egyptian policemen have been killed in an ambush attack in the Sinai Peninsula.

    Medical sources and officials said the policemen were in two buses which came under attack from armed men close to the town of Rafah on the Gaza border.

    Three policemen were also reported to have been injured in the blast.

    The military recently intensified a crackdown against militants in Sinai, where attacks have surged since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, BBC reports.

    Egyptian deployments in the peninsula are subject to the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

    There were conflicting reports about how Monday’s attack unfolded.

    Security sources quoted by the Associated Press news agency say four armed men stopped the buses and forced the police to get out before shooting them.

    But other reports spoke of rocket-propelled grenades being fired at the buses.

    Egypt’s interim leaders have declared a state of emergency amid the nationwide unrest which has followed the ousting of Islamist Mohammed Morsi as president on July 3.

    A night-time curfew is in place in the capital, Cairo, and several provinces.

     

  • Boko Haram: Army admits 12 soldiers, 7 policemen killed

    Boko Haram: Army admits 12 soldiers, 7 policemen killed

    THE commander of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) in the North East, Maj. Gen. Jah Ewansiah, has admitted that 12 soldiers and seven police officers were killed in recent attacks.

    Earlier, the military had said only two soldiers and one police officer were killed when suspected members of Boko Haram attacked a military base and police outpost near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon on August 4.

    Gen. Ewansiah, on a visit to Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State in Maiduguri, said that despite the losses the task force is “resolute and committed to ensure that peace is completely restored in the state, even if it means losing our lives.”

    The governor assured that with the gradual return to peace, his administration is determined to transform the state. He made the declaration yesterday while receiving the members of the Borno Elders Forum and Leaders of Thought led by Ambassador Usman Gaji Galtimari who paid him Sallah homage at the Government House in Maiduguri.

    He emphasised that education, health and agriculture if properly harnessed can provide job opportunities for the teeming youths.

    According to him, the government would not mind paying parents in order to send their wards to schools emphasising that very soon himself and the Deputy Governor will relocate to all parts of the state, particularly northern Borno to ensure that parents enrol their wards into schools.

    Earlier in a remark, the Chairman, Borno Elders and Leaders of Thought, Ambassador Galtimari, acknowledged that the success recorded by the security operatives and the Civilian JTF in their set objectives was as a result of the governor’s support, commitment and dedication.

    He thanked him for providing good leadership for the state, stressing that if all political leaders will emulate his leadership qualities, Borno would have been a better place than it.