The Nation Newspaper

Tag: rifle

  • Inmate seizes warder’s rifle, shoots vulcaniser in Kwara

    Inmate seizes warder’s rifle, shoots vulcaniser in Kwara

    There was panic and anxiety in Ilorin, Kwara State capital yesterday as stray bullet from a rifle seized by a prison inmate from a warder hits a vulcanizer identified as Abdullah Ayinla.

    The incident occurred at the Oke-Kura Correctional Centre in Ilorin at about 8 am when some prison inmates were being led out of the facility.

    The injured vulcanizer, who was shot in the stomach, was rushed to the hospital for treatment while the errant inmate was detained at the ‘C’ Division Police station, Isale-Ojo, in the Ilorin metropolis.

    The errant inmate identified as Kazeem Adam was said to have smashed a couple of tricycle and vehicle windscreens before he attempted to seize the rifle of the prison officer but the rifle went off in the process.

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    Confirming the incident, spokesperson of the service, Olumide Adegbulugbe, said: “One Kazeem Adam of Ita-Ogunbo, Ilorin, armed with knife and stones, smashed keke (tricycle) and vehicle windscreens.

    “The said man also smashed and broke a correctional vehicle bus with Reg No A247NC.

    “Trying to arrest the suspect, one Ismail Kabir, who was on guard along with others, was attacked.

    “The suspect struggled to snatch his rifle from him and, in the process, stabbed the officer in the head and hand.

    “During the struggle, his rifle accidentally discharged and a bullet hit one Abdullah Ayinla of Isale Oja.”

  • Youths dispossess policeman of rifle

    Youths at a polling unit in Sokoto state went wild and dispossessed an police officer of his  rifle for injuring an innocent voter in the head at the Magajin Gari “A” polling unit of Sokoto North local government area during the rerun. The police had to call for reinforcement to forestall what could have been a full blown protest by the angry youths.

    The police personnel (name withheld) was making effort to ensure orderliness for the smooth conduct of the polls mid-way into the exercise when he used a stick to hit the voter who was not even on the queue. The impact of the blow injured the victim and resulted in blood drizzling from his head. This sparked violent reaction from youths who insisted on dealing with the security personnel.

    Amidst the ensuing confusion, the police personnel was overpowered and his service rifle taken from him by the mob who blocked the entry and exit point at the polling unit to prevent the escape to safety of the embattled policeman. The riffle was later released to a colleague of the officer who appealed to the pleaded with the youths.

  • Army recovers DSP’s body, orderly’s rifle in PDP chief’s area

    Army recovers DSP’s body, orderly’s rifle in PDP chief’s area

    •GOC: govt won’t tolerate violence in Rivers

    he General Officer Commanding (GOC) the newly-created 6 Division in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Maj.-Gen. Kasimu Abdulkarim, yesterday displayed the AK-47 rifle and uniforms of  Mohammed Alkali, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Mobile Police Unit 48 and his orderly, Sgt. Urukwu Nwachukwu.

    Alkali and Nwachukwu were beheaded during the December 10 bloody legislative rerun in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area.

    The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Felix Obuah, is an indigene of the local government.

    The GOC warned against violation of Army’s clean-up operation in the crude oil and gas-rich Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, where he said innocent persons were killed daily by militants and cultists.

    The GOC said workers of oil companies and others had become apprehensive and were relocating from the area because of the development.

    He said the Federal Government would provide tight security in all parts of Rivers.

    Abdulkarim stressed that the trend of violence in the state could not be left unchecked.

    The GOC displayed the arms, ammunition and other items recovered from hoodlums in the local government.

    He also paraded one of the suspects, saying others had been handed over to the police for prosecution.

    Abdulkarim said: “Four of the suspected criminals’ camps located across the river in Ujju Town near Omoku (the headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA) were raided on December 31, 2016. In the raid operations, 6 Division troops, in conjunction with Operation Delta Safe Special Boat Service and air component, engaged the suspected criminals in severe exchange of fire, in which they were dislodged. This led to the arrest of suspects.

    “Ammunition, uniforms and weapons were recovered. The late DSP Mohammed Alkali with his orderly, Sgt. Urukwu Nwachukwu’s AK-47 rifle and uniforms, as evidenced in the name tags, were also recovered.

    “The large cache of ammunition and weapons recovered in the operation also include one AK-47 rifle, two G3 rifles, five double-barrelled guns, two pistols, 31 empty AK-47 magazines, 242 rounds of 7.62 mm NATO and 322 rounds of other ammunition calibre.

    “Other recovered items include 31 handsets, bullet-proof jackets, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, first aid box and seven police uniforms.

    “In the last one month, 15 people were horrifically murdered with many others kidnapped in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of Rivers State. Those killed include a soldier, four officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), two policemen and eight civilians. The gunmen also took away ammunition, vehicles and weapons.

    “This trend of violence cannot be left unchecked. The 6 Division will sustain operation clean-up of the area (Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA), for oil companies and the people to go about their businesses in a peaceful environment.

    “It is envisaged that sustaining the operation will end the senseless killing of innocent citizens, including security personnel. This will further frustrate illegal arms and ammunition acquisition, which will usher secure environment for economic prospects.

    “The clean-up operation is in continuation of efforts by the division to recover and mop up illegally-acquired weapons from cultists and criminals, who do not mean well for our dear nation and refuse to embrace the Rivers State amnesty programme.”

  • Army trains Customs personnel on use of AK47 rifle, others

    The Nigerian Army at the weekend certified 62 of their personnel fit to handle AK47 rifles. This followed the enhancement of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) fire power.

    The was after a four-week course on weapon handling, armoury management and physical fitness conducted at the 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army in Lagos.

    Of the 62 NCS personnel drafted from the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal Command, Apapa, to be the first batch of personnel to handle the AK47 rifle, four were women.

    Praising the NCS for ensuring professional competence among its men, the 9 Brigade Commander, Gen. Bulama Biu expressed confidence that the graduands were better prepared to tackle smugglers.

    His words: “We were tasked by the Army headquarters to conduct four-week training for the NCS personnel in line with the Comptroller-General’s drive to re-proffessionalise the NCS for optimal service delivery, as well as the Chief of Army Staff’s vision to assist and cooperate with other security agencies.

    “You are aware that the country and the world at large are undergoing numerous dimensions of security and economic challenges. As government agency charged with the responsibility of revenue generation and anti-smuggling, it is expedient that you sharpen your skills at all times to be better prepared for law enforcement.

    “To this end, the trainees went through series of physical fitness regimes which included training on the obstacles, crossing course among other fitness drills.”

    In his remark, the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT, Commodore Abraham Adaji urged them to be disciplined.

    Adaji, who was the special guest at the event, expressed satisfaction on the spirit of sportsmanship among the security agencies.

    “I am sure that with this training, the graduands are better prepared to take on their task in combating smugglers and how to stay safe while doing that.

    “That this training was conducted at the 9 Brigade is a testimony of the growing cooperation among security agencies, which is not only in the area of training, but also during operations,” he said.

    NCS’ Controller-General, Hameed Ali urged the graduands to effectively utilise the knowledge gained for the good of the nation.

    Ali, who was represented by Customs Zone A Coordinator, Charles Edike said: “The training will be put to use. There has been a very strong synergy between the Customs and the Navy and that has resulted to seizures around the Zone A on monthly basis.

    “There are many creeks on the zone, and even if you line up all the NCS men, they cannot cover all the areas. That is where the Navy comes in handy. They go to the sea and they see those vessels that do not come to port. So, whenever they see them, they contact us,” he said.

  • Motorcyclists snatch rifle from policeman

    It was like a movie scene. In a commando style, some fast riding commercial motorcyclists popularly known as Okada snatched yesterday a policeman’s rifle at a road intersection in Lagos.

    Passersby watched in awe amid the ensuing confusion as the police attempted to recover the rifle. It all happend at the Ojekunle Street junction close to the Ladipo Auto Parts Markets in Mushin, Lagos.

    The Okada riders were said to have gone after the police for allegedly impounding a motorcycle.

    Sources said the policemen who were patrolling in a vehicle marked ‘OPS Attack’, arrested one of the motorcyclists at Oshodi for plying illegal route.

    The motorcyclists were said to have mobilised their colleagues and followed the policemen to Ojekunle junction, were they dragged the motorcycle from the patrol van with the two policemen guarding it.

    The Nation learnt that one of the policemen used the butte of his AK47 rifle to hit one of the riders on the head.

    An eyewitness said: “As the policeman hit the okada man on the head, another forcefully snatched the gun and pointed it at the policemen in the patrol vehicle. The Inspector, who led the police team ordered the driver to stop, and they all disembarked and fled. The okada rider also mounted one of the motorcycles and fled with the rifle.”

    Some minutes later, the Inspector led four other policemen to plead with some social miscreants to assist them recover the rifle.

    “It was a funny scene. The policemen knelt down before some miscreants, begging them for the hideout of  the motorcyclists. The policemen, who were almost in tears, told the miscreants that they risk losing their jobs if the rifle was not found”, a source said.

    The police team were seen driving back to Oshodi, where they impounded the motorcycle, in search of the rifle.