The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Suspect

  • How we rob night crawlers, by suspect

    How we rob night crawlers, by suspect

    “I ran into my friend and he invited me to join him visiting night clubs in the metropolis to rob clubbers. He told me it was very lucrative. I have discovered too that it is better than my butcher job at abattoir.”

    These were the words of a robbery suspect arrested by  operatives of Rapid Response squad (RRS) on Saturday.

    Nathaniel Peters, 28, was arrested in Abule-Egba, Lagos while RRS operatives were searching for another robber, who stabbed a woman after dispossessing her of her mobile phone.

    The officers, who stay near Abule-Egba Roundabout, heard a woman screaming for help around 5:20a.m.

    A statement by RRS said Peters, who was returning from a night club in Ikeja around 5 a.m., was nabbed while trying to escape.

    On interrogation, he said  he was coming from a night club in Ikeja where he had dispossessed clubbers of their laptop, phones and wrist watches.

    Items found on him include a laptop, three mobile phones, two wristwatches. The injured woman confirmed it was not Peter that robbed her.

    According to RRS, the suspect said he had been visiting night clubs particularly those in Ikeja to rob.

    The RRS  quoted him as saying: “I have been in this business since 2016. My friend, Sheriff introduced me to it. We were both butchers at the Agege Abattoir. At a point, he ran away after absconding with his boss’ N170,000.

    “I ran into him few months later and he invited me to join him visiting night clubs in the metropolis to rob clubbers. He told me it was very lucrative. I have discovered too that it is better than my butcher job at abattoir. We start operation around 3:30 a.m., when club activities are winding down and clubbers are beginning to dose off. We rob those standing alone, sleeping in cars and those that are drunk.

    “We take their valuables from them. We break into cars too. When clubbers are drunk, they hardly feel our hands removing their valuables from their pockets and bodies. We have a style of removing their gold rings while they are asleep. We sell the valuables to a friend, who takes them to Ghana to resell. But now, I operate alone.”

    Police spokesman, Chike Oti, a Superintendent (SP) said the case had been transferred to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS).

  • Police arrest Rivers New Year’s Day killings suspect

    Police arrest Rivers New Year’s Day killings suspect

    The Police have arrested one of the suspects of the New Year’s Day killings  in Omoku, Rivers State

    Desmond Okotubo was arrested in Mpape, Abuja.

    No fewer than 15 persons were killed in Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area by the group.

    The victims had earlier gone to their churches for the crossover night service before they were ambushed.

    Some of those killed during the mayhem were said to be four members of a family, including a man and his wife.

    The 32-year-old suspect from Egbema in Rivers State admitted participating in the attack with the “Commander” of the group, the late Igwedibia Johnson,  aka ‘General ‘ Don Waney.

    He said the attack was to fight the vigilante group who had earlier destroyed Don Waney’s house and caught his mother.

    The police said six members of the gang were killed in a gun battle that lasted for hours.

    Speaking yesterday in Abuja on how they went on the gang’s trail, police spokesman Jimoh Moshood said : ”The IGP-Intelligence Response Team attached to the Joint Police Special Investigation Team engaged some of the suspects in their hideouts in Awara Forest boundary between Imo and Rivers states; the shootout lasting several hours resulted in the death of six of the suspects while others escaped with bullet wounds to other locations in Rivers, Delta, Imo and Bayelsa states and the police teams are on their trail.

    “The IGP-Intelligence Response Team working on an actionable intelligence further identified Desmond Okotubo, who escaped on the 3rd January, 2018 to Abuja after a shootout with the Police Team in a location in Imo State. He was trailed to Mpape in Abuja where he was arrested after serious resistance on the 9th January, 2018.

    “The principal suspect, Desmond Okotubo 32yrs, who is a native of Egbenma from Unelga LGA, Rivers State Confessed to be one of the masterminds of the gang and actively participated in the killings of innocent people in Omoku Rivers State on New Year’s Day.

    “He further gave details of how they planned the operation in Awara town, Imo State before they carried out the act.”

    Moshood, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) went on: “The suspect, Desmond Okotubo, also revealed to the police how their gang leader, Don Waney gathered them and briefed them on the night of 31st January, 2017 on the mission to attack and kill the residents of Omoku town.

    “Thirty of them armed with over 20 AK47 rifles crossed the river from Awara to Omoku forest and proceeded to Omoku town and opened fire on innocent citizens celebrating the new year.”

    The police said investigation was being intensified to arrest other members of the gang.

    The suspect, giving details of his involvement in the mattack, said: “It was Don Waney that gave us the command.  Don Waney has a group called Red Squad. He gives them gun to shoot. The squad are from Imo and Rivers states. They are the ones that shot and killed people that fateful day.

    “When Don Waney came back, he stopped in Awara,  Imo State and that was where we all assembled before proceeding to Omoku. I followed them to Omoku but I was not given a gun.”

    On why they embarked on the dastardly act, Okotubo said: “Don Waney had a problem with vigilante group. They caught his mother and destroyed his house and that was why he went to kill people in Omoku.

    “I went to Owerri with the intention of relocating to Abuja to start working. I went to carry my bag. It was while I was there I was told Don Waney was back and it was there guns were shared and we went to Omoku.

    “I was caught in Abuja where I reside. I left Abuja to Owerri on the 28th of December, 2017 and I returned on the 3rd. Over 15 of us went for the operation.”

    Some of those who participated in the killing according to him are: “Akpola, Ntuga, Throway, Oluchukwu, Don Waney, the second in command, Chikezia, Bosky, the Mighty, and Vananga.

    Asked if the the attack had any political undertone, Okotubo said: “Maybe Don  Waney has link with politicians and relates with them but we the members are not up to the level of those who can relate with politicians.”

    Okotubo said he was ready to cooperate with the police to fish out other suspects.

  • How police broke my eardrum, by suspect

    How police broke my eardrum, by suspect

    •’CP saved me from further torture’ 

    A SUSPECT has accused  the police of damaging his eardrum after allegedly torturing him over a murder case.

    Olusegun Adekoya, a former Amuwo Odofin Local Government official, claimed he was ‘’severely beaten’’ up by men of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP IRT) over the July 21 killing of a businessman, Mr Emmanuel Ubah, aka Onwa in Festac Town.

    He said he was released on December 16, following the intervention of Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP) Imohimi Edgal.

    Adekoya was arrested on December 12 after one Abidemi Badoo told the police that the former council chief gave him N1million  to  kill Ubah.

    He said he was bundled into a vehicle by men of the IGP IRT and taken to their office near the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) office at Ikeja.

    According to him, he was stripped and beaten in a bid to force him to confess to a crime he did not commit.

    Adekoya said: “I was arrested on December 12. About four officers surrounded me.” naked. I asked: ‘What is my offence’? They said I was going to die there.

    “The next thing, the officer brought out his gun and shot at the right side and at the left side of me and said: ‘I’m going to kill you here and nothing will happen!’ I told him I was innocent.

    “He brought out a paper for me to write a statement. I asked to see my lawyer. I received the kind of dirty slaps I had never received in my life by different officers in mufti.

    “They said I should put it in writing that the sum of N1million was given to me, and that I delivered it to the suspect who killed somebody. I refused to write. They started beating me, hitting me with a horn, asking me to do what they asked me to do. The statement of my accuser was brought to me.

    “They said I should put what I read in the statement in my own statement. I said let my lawyer come. They beat me more. I started writing rubbish. They took the pen from me and started writing. The more I talked, the more I was beaten. After they finished, I was asked to sign, which I did.

    “They took me to Cell 2. I was pushed towards the toilet where about 40 people were standing. I stood there till daybreak. All my legs were shaking. I was transferred to Cell 3, which they call Jankara Cell. So many detainees were protesting their innocence.

    “Some had been there for eight or nine months without seeing their families.  Sometimes the officers would ask suspects to bail themselves with N350,000. Some would pay N200,000 to be freed. There were many with wounds and could not walk. Some had sores on their body.”

    Adekoya said the CP released him after interrogating “Abidemi Badoo”.

    “I told the CP that I knew Badoo while I was chairman of Amuwo Odofin Environmental Tax Force. The CP told him: ‘Listen young man. If I should find out that this man is innocent, I won’t take it easy with you. Tell me the truth.’

    “It was then the suspect said that I was innocent. He said he was tortured to mention names, including my name, and the names of some All Progressives Congress (APC) chiefs. The CP then directed the officers to take me to the Police College Hospital for treatment. There was no nurse there,” he said.

    Adekoya said he was grateful for the CP’s intervention, which saved him from further torture.

    “If not for the CP that God used to intervene in my case, I don’t know what would have become of me. My doctor told me that my eardrum has been cracked. Something was coming out from my ear. I still feel severe pains all over my body,” he said.

    His lawyer, Adesina Ogunlana, who claimed he was denied access to his client after being told it was “a sensitive case,” said Adekoya would sue for damages.

    “Nobody is saying the police should not do their work, but our laws do not allow for the stripping of people of their dignity, torture and dehumanisation,” he said.

  • Why I killed Oyo lawmaker, by suspect

    Why I killed Oyo lawmaker, by suspect

    The Oyo State Police Command said yesterday it had arrested the suspected killer of the lawmaker representing Oorelope Constituency in the House of Assembly, Gideon Aremu.

    The Labour Party (LP) legislator was killed at his Alakia, Ibadan home on July 1, last year.

    The man, who confessed to have murdered the politician, Kola Arobiole, 30, was among the 22 suspects arrested for various crimes, ranging from robbery to ritual killing, cultism, theft and burglary.

    The suspect narrated how the lawmaker was shot after attempting to shout during a robbery.

    He said: “We never planned to kill him. After we searched his home and there was no substantial money found on him, we took his phone. As we were about to leave, he recognised one of us. He held him and shouted. This made us to feel uncomfortable. I was asked to kill him to prevent people from tracing us. We killed him because he did not cooperate with us.”

    Police Commissioner Abiodun Odude said the fleeing killer of the lawmaker was arrested in another robbery in Ibadan, after returning from Ekiti State, where he hid after killing the lawmaker.

    The suspect was arrested with two other members of his gang – Taofeek Bashiru, 28 and Suleiman Oladiti, 27 – on a motorcycle to rob two people of their belongings and money.

    They were said to have snatched at gunpoint a Bajaj Boxer motorcycle with registration number AYJ 038 QM.

     

  • Police nab suspect operating with master key

    Enugu State Police Command has arrested a suspected car thief, who uses a master key to steal vehicles, spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said in a statement in Enugu yesterday.

    He said the suspect, 21, a commercial car washing operator, was nabbed on November 18, about 4 pm, on Chime Avenue, New Haven, Enugu.

    Amaraizu said his arrest followed a distress call the command received from the public.

    He said the suspect went to the avenue, about 4pm, to ransack a Mercedes Benz Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) parked at a wedding venue.

    “While the event lasted, the suspect allegedly got access to the SUV with his master key.”

    Amaraizu said the suspect was arrested following a tip-off by the public.

    “The suspect confessed that he goes to occasions where he spies his victims and entered their cars, steals money or valuables and thereafter locks the vehicle,” he said.

    The spokesman said the suspect was helping the police in their investigation.

     

  • Suspect arraigned for alleged bus theft

    Suspect arraigned for alleged bus theft

    A 27-year-old man, Johnson Michael, has been arraigned at an Osogbo Magistrates’ Court in Osun State for alleged theft of a Toyota Sienna car, valued at N1.8 million.

    He is facing a one count charge of stealing.

    The prosecutor, Duro Adekunle, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on October 7 at Deborah Event Centre, Osogbo.

    He said the defendant stole the vehicle, registered as LND 974 AZ, worth N1.8 million, belonging to Lukman Olatunbosun.

    The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol.11 Laws of Osun State, 2003.

    The defendant denied committing the offence.

    His lawyer, Mr. Ranageous Ugwu, prayed the court to grant him bail.

    The Magistrate, Mr. Ashiru Ayeni, granted the defendant bail at N250, 000 with two sureties.

    He adjourned the case till December 22 for mention.

  • Suspect nabbed for registering stolen vehicles

    The police in Zone 5, Benin City, Edo State, have arrested a suspect, Garrette Sunday, who allegedly specialises in registering stolen vehicles.

    The suspect, who was nabbed in Agbor, Delta State, was said to be an expert at issuing fake documents on stolen vehicles.

    Items recovered from his home include booklets of insurance certificate, booklets of roadworthiness certificate, hackney carriage permit booklets, general motor receipts, typewriter, fake third party insurance stamp for policy authentication and seal marker for attestation of genuineness.

    Spokesman Emeka Iheanacho said in a statement that Garrette was arrested after operatives bust car dealers, acting on intelligence report.

    It said the dealers specialised in dealing in stolen vehicles, adding that eight posh cars, suspected to be stolen, were impounded.

    Iheanacho said the dealers have absconded.

    He said it was in the course of unravelling owners of the vehicles that the police visited motor licensing offices in Benin, Agbor and Yenagoa in Bayelsa State and discovered that the documents were forged.

    The spokesman said the suspect confessed and would be arraigned after investigation.

    He urged the public to be wary of criminals and register their vehicles at licensing offices.

  • I don’t know what came over me, says suspect

    I don’t know what came over me, says suspect

    One of the three robbery suspects arrested by Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives, Rasak Adebola, 22, has said he regretted participating in the crime.

    The operatives arrested Adebola, Moshood Olowu, 24 and Olasunkanmi Ogundipe, 26 between Friday night and early Saturday morning in separate robbery incidences.

    Olowu and Ogundipe, both attendees of Felabration separately, robbed two commuters in Ojota and Ketu.

    Adebola was arrested in Ikate by RRS patrol team after snatching a hang bag belonging to one Helen Susan in traffic in Ikate.

    RRS quoted him as saying: “I was going to Ajah to retire for the night. Just before I got to Chisco around Maroko around 11pm, I snatched a lady’s bag. I attempted to escape but the RRS men were in my front, I waited and handed over the bag.

    “I don’t know what came over me. I had only N200 on me. I have been waiting for traffic to build up. I have never been imprisoned before. I plead for leniency. I won’t repeat it again.

    “I was a motorcycle rider in Shomolu. I came to Ajah to learn carpentry and get serious.”

    Olowu said he and his two other accomplices, now at large, left New African Shrine in Alausa Business District, Ikeja, and were heading for Ikorodu through Ojota when they committed the crime.

    HE SAID: “We were at Ojota about 5am after leaving the Felabration venue to board a bus to Ikorodu. I dipped my hand into another passenger’s pocket when we were rushing the bus. I removed his phone and passed it to my colleague, Ayobami and Jide.

    “The owner held my hand and prevented me from joining the bus. Ayobami and Jide, who I gave the stolen phone to, ran away while police arrested me.’’

    Olajide said he was in company of nine other accomplices from New African Shrine when they accosted one Pastor Adetayo Samuel waiting to board a bus to Ibadan around 5am at Old Toll Gate Ketu, collected three mobile phones from him and N6, 000.

    “We fled the scene immediately and we broke into three groups. We were trailed by RRS patrol team who received complaint from our victim. They arrested me while I was trying to board a bus to Ibafo,” he said.

    Police spokesman Olarinde Famous-Cole, an Assistant Superintendent (ASP), said the three suspects would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation and prosecution.

  • Another Boko Haram suspect arrested in Ondo

    The Ondo State Police Command yesterday said it had arrested another suspected Boko Haram member, Mohammed Basha, at Isua-Akoko in Akoko South East Local Government Area.

    Police spokesman Femi Joseph said the suspect was arrested by the men of the anti-crime patrol while he was loitering on Isua-Ifira Akoko road.

    He said: ”When the suspect was arrested, he was interrogated and he confessed that he was a member of the Boko Haram sect. He said his father is from Niger Republic while his mother is from Maiduguri in Borno State.

    “He said when Maiduguri was hot for him, he ran to Nasarawa State last month and that he left Nasarawa yesterday and came down to the Southwest to hide here.

    “He also confessed that a man he called Daffo is his team leader while Abubakar Shekau is still the overall leader of the group.”

    Joseph said items suspected to be charms were recovered from Basha.

    The spokesman said the suspect was still in the command’s protective custody for further investigation.

    He added that the suspect would be paraded soon.

  • Re-arrested suspect absolves ex-Sergeant of any crime

    The 23-year-old murder suspect, Ifeanyichukwu Maxwell Dike,  has said he was not aided by ex-Police Sergeant Johnbosco Okoroeze to escape from the custody  of Rivers State Criminal investigation and Interrogation Department (SCIID).

    He spoke in Port Harcourt yesterday.

    Dike, a 200-level Physics undergraduate of the University of Port Harcourt, allegedly drugged,  raped, killed and removed vital body parts of  eight-year old Chikamso Victory  in Port Harcourt, last month.

    The officer ,who investigated the crime, Sergeant Okoroeze, was dismissed and charged to court on a two-count of aiding and abetting. He was remanded in prison.

    Dike was rearrested at Brinkin-Ladi in Plateau State on Saturday night.  He said he took advantage of the darkness on the SCIID premises to run away.

    He said: “When I got to Jos, because it was late, I was unable to get good food to eat. I went to get some food to eat when I was caught. They were interrogating me.  I failed to give my aunt’s contact.

    “At first, I was hiding my identity,  when I got fed up I decided to give out my aunt’s number,  the police officer interrogating me called my aunty and she said I have been declared wanted, they asked her to call the police. When she called the police, the police officer she called then reached my IPO, who confirmed that I was the person. It was at that point that I was detained and brought to Port Harcourt on Sunday.

    “Sir,  I know that what I did was wrong,  I am sorry.  I am tired of answering questions.  I am thirsty. I am saying to the world that I am sorry.”

    The Rivers police, in a statement, said: “Barely two weeks ago, after I spoke to you about the determination and resolve in the re-arrest of Ifeany Dike,  the 200-level student of the University of Port Harcourt,  who mindlessly and without fear of God,  raped and murdered eight-year old Chikamso,  whose only sin was her absolute trust on her close relation and uncle.

    “Today,  with profound humility, I present to you the most wanted ritual killer, Mr.  Ifeanyichukwu Maxwell Dike. His re-arrest was made possible by God, through your prayers and concerns, following his escape three weeks ago.

    “Your positive actions in information dissemination, both in the print,  electronic and social media so much circulated, even in faraway places of the world.  The consciousness of every Nigerian was awakened in the search for this mindless killer.

    “I wish to assure you that justice will not only be done,  but be seen to be done in the circumstance to bring the full weight of the law to bear on him or any other person implicated in the course of further investigation.”

    Ahmed noted that the suspect will be charged to court when investigation is concluded.