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Tag: suspects

  • Three kidnap suspects killed

    The police in Delta State have killed three kidnappers in a gun duel and rescued two kidnap victims.

    Cyril Djebah and Godwin Augustina were kidnapped at Ughelli last week.

    Police spokesperson Tina Kalu said the police, acting on a tip-off, stormed the kidnappers’ den at Enwhen, Isoko South Local Government.

    According to Kalu, the kidnappers on sighting the police engaged them in a gun duel.

    She identified the deceased as Samson Ughomare, Wisdom Ezomare and Lucky (surname unknown).

    Kalu said some of the kidnappers escaped with bullet wounds.

    Items recovered include three locally-made guns. She said efforts are on to apprehend the fleeing criminals.

    The police have arrested 39 suspects in the festering communal crises between Ibabu and Iselegu communities in Ndokwa East Local Government.

    Kalu said 28 of the suspects were Iselegu, while 11 suspects were from Ibabu community.

     

  • Group protests release of Boko Haram suspects

    A group known as Igbo World Union (IWU) has expressed its resentment over the alleged release of 114 of the 486 detained Boko Haram suspects arrested penultimate Sunday in Abia en route to Port Harcourt.

    Speaking with news men in Umuahia, the President-General of the group, Chief Mishak Nnanta, said alleged release of the suspects was a bad omen, adding that their release posed a great danger to the Southeast geo-political zone.

    Nnanta who spoke against the alleged gradual release of the suspects said: “Nigeria is playing with fire if indeed some people among those 486 suspects and their release posed grave danger to our lives and national unity since they would have been freed in haste.”

    Recall that some of the suspected insurgents totalling 114 mostly from Jigawa State were among the suspects who were released last Friday and handed over to the state government amid rousing welcome and grand reception.

    Nnanta said it was not opposed to freeing of any innocent ones found among the suspects but cautioned that proper steps should be taken when handling a sensitive issue like terrorist groups that have been ravaging the country for years now.

    He said: “In a situation like the one affecting the security of the country, it still beats our imagination why about 486 self-acclaimed job seekers led by confirmed Boko Haram kingpins who are on the wanted list of security agents should be travelling on a convoy under the cover of darkness.

    More annoying is the reported celebration of suspected terrorists by a state government and we think that the action of Jigawa State government tends to suggest that the so-called job seekers or travellers were on a state assignment.”

    Nnanta further said his group frowned at the furore that greeted the arrest and detention of the suspects, especially from groups with Northern interests, stressing that instead of synergising on how to end insurgency ravaging the region, “Northern governments and groups were busy campaigning and lobbying for the release of terror suspects”.

    Nnanta maintained that security agents should be allowed to handle all security

    issues in the country professionally without undue interference by individuals or groups with vested interests, “if Nigeria is serious about ending terrorism”.

    He warned the political class, religious and ethnic interest groups to stop politicising security issues as such attribute rather than bring solution only helps to worsen the already precarious security situation in the country.

    Nnanta also expressed support for the position of Southeast Governors on the war against terror, while calling on Ndigbo in particular, and Nigerians in general to remain vigilant and more security conscious in the face of daunting security challenges.

  • NDLEA arrests 187 drug trafficking suspects in Imo

    NDLEA arrests 187 drug trafficking suspects in Imo

    The Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said its officers arrested 187 suspected drug traffickers in Imo State between June 2013 and June 2014.

    The Imo State Acting Commander of the Agency, Assiana Nimbang, who disclosed this to Newsmen in Owerri, the state capital, during a press briefing to mark this year’s United Nation’s Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, said that 170 males and 17 females were arrested within the time under review.

    She also revealed that the Command made a seizure of 54gms of cocaine, 226gms of heroin and 868.4kg of Indian Hemp, while 17 convictions were secured at the Federal High Court and another 112 Drug dependent persons were rehabilitated to handed over to their families.

    The NDLEA boss further expressed worry over the involvement of pregnant women and nursing mothers in the illicit, adding that, “it is really worrisome that the men now use pregnant women and nursing mothers to sell hard drugs in Owerri and it is difficult to arrest and detain a nursing mother or pregnant woman”.

    She also lamented the poor level of cooperation from the public, stressing that the war against drug trafficking should not be left for the Agency alone but should be a collective responsibility of everyone.

    In her words, “we are worried that people don’t come forward with credible information that can help us fight drug abuse. It is everybody’s responsibility and we should all be involved. The people should come up with information to help the NDLEA because the attitude presently is not encouraging”.

  • Police rescue kids from kidnap suspects

    Police rescue kids from kidnap suspects

    A woman and two men suspected to be kidnappers have been arrested by the police in Lagos, while allegedly attempting to abduct three children.

    The suspects – Chinava Nancy Okafor, Samsondeen Yusuf and Mufutau Kosoko – were arrested at separate locations.

    Okafor, the police said,  was arrested at Ile-Iwe bus stop, Egbeda, on the outskirts of the city by operatives attached to Ikotun Police Station. Yusufu and Kosoko were held at Adefemi Junction, Ipaja and Idimu on the outskirts of the city.

    They allegedly attempted to kidnap Salawat Sonubi (14), Prosper Kingsley (five), and a yet-to-be-identified child.

    Okafor had been beaten and stripped naked by a mob and was about being burnt when policemen rescued her.

    Chinava confessed to being a kidnapper, saying she was trying to steal the unidentified child when she was caught by residents.

    Yusufu was almost lynched at Ipaja before she was rescued by operatives. Kosoko, who “stole Kingsley from his house”, was apprehended by neighbours.

    Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said: “On May 6, about 3pm, policemen attached to the Ikotun Division responded to a distress call at Ile-Iwe bus stop, Egbeda. The policemen rescued the victim and arrested Chinava Nancy Okafor who had been stripped naked and was about to be lynched by an angry mob. The woman has admitted to being a kidnapper and the case is under investigation at State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.

    “Also on the same day, at about 6.45am, one Prosper Kingsley (5) of 23, Imosan Compound in Idimu was allegedly abducted by one Mufutau Kosoko (34) at the above address. The victim was rescued by neighbours, while Kosoko was arrested by police operatives at Idimu.

    “On May 5, about 10.30pm, policemen attached to Ipaja Division responded to a distress call at Adefemi Junction, Ipaja and also rescued one Samsondeen Yusuf who was about being lynched by an angry mob for attempting to kidnap one Salawat Sonubi (14) of Adelami Dada Street, Ipaja. The suspect is receiving treatment at the Oke-Odo General Hospital and the SCID is investigating.”

    Meanwhile, a suspected kidnapper who allegedly attempted to abduct a six-year-old boy has been set ablaze at Araromi bus stop, Iyana-Ipaja.

    As at 7pm yesterday, the middle-aged man’s body was still burning as riot policemen around the place could not rescue him.

  • How we plotted kidnap of five-yr-old boy –Suspects

    How we plotted kidnap of five-yr-old boy –Suspects

    ONE of the four suspects arrested in connection with the kidnapping and killing of a-5-year old school boy in Kano State, yesterday told newsmen that he mistook the N2m ransom paid to the group for N2, 000. The suspect, Bashir Musa (25), whose bank account was used for the payment of the ransom, explained that he was not part of the original deal to kidnap the boy, maintaining that the group only used his account to receive the ransom. According to him, his brother, Aliyu Mohammed (17), who hatched the plot, told him that his friend’s parent would use the account to send his school fees. “When I received the alert, I called my brother to inform him that they have paid N2,000 into my account, not knowing that it was N2m. I never knew it was N2m,” he said. Musa, who spoke to newsmen at the DSS headquarters in Kano, said it took Aliyu Mohammed, the mastermind of the plot, about three weeks to perfect the plot to kidnap five-year-old Aliyu Aminu. “When I came to Kano in search of my school fees after gaining admission to a polytechnic in Katsina State, I met Jamilu Mohammed, aka Sarki, who engaged me to carry out the kidnap operation. He was the one who initiated the operation, but I was the one that executed it. “I was able to lure him with biscuits and sweets on a daily basis before the operation. I also wore the uniform of his school to disguise as a student. “The boy came to me immediately after school hours the day I finally kidnapped him. We walked with him without people noticing. After I succeeded in kidnapping him, I was the one that wrote the letter that we sent to the boy’s father through one Almajiri. I was the one that negotiated the ransom. The money was paid into my brother’s account. I executed it, but it was Sarki who engaged me and threatened to kill me if I exposed the deal,” he said. Also speaking, the ring leader of the gang, Jamilu Mohammed (31), confessed that he organised the kidnap, adding that he injected the boy to make him unconscious so that their operation will be successful. According to him, “I have never seen or met the boy’s father, and I don’t even know whether he secured any contract as peddled by people. It may be a coincidence.” The Kano State Director of SSS, Mr. Basset Eteng, while parading the suspects, described kidnapping as new trend in the state, saying “we will not allow it to gain ground in the state. This is why we are urging the people of the state to be vigilant and report any unwarranted movement around them.”

  • Four suspects held as robbers kill two policemen in Lagos

    THREE policemen were yesterday feared killed by armed robbers who attempted to break into an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) belonging to Access Bank in Ayobo Ipaja, a Lagos suburb.

    But the state Command’s spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), confirmed the death of two policemen and the arrest of the four suspects.

    The robbers were said to have shot dead the policemen who responded to calls of the bank’s invasion.

    The robbers were caught by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) sent as a reinforcement team. They were apprehended around Alhaji Akinyele in Ipaja on their bid to escape.

    Braide, said, “Today at about 200hrs, Ayobo Division received a distress call that armed robbers were trying to break into an Access bank ATM in Ayobo. A patrol team led by the Operation Officer (OP), Longinus Amuzie, an Assistant Superintendent (ASP), responded swiftly”.

    She said the hoodlums on sighting the police patrol vehicle opened fire and the responded.

    “Sadly, two of our officers lost their lives while four of the robbers were arrested. The robbery operation was also foiled”, Braide said.

    SARS operatives sent to reinforce the Ayobo team,’ adding that those arrested interrogated.

    Braide urged the public to give the police information that will lead to the arrest of suspects, who escaped with bullet wounds.

    A resident said: “Blood stains were found on the kerb and part of the untarred road leading to the community. Almost adjacent the Deeper Life Bible Church, a pool of coagulated human blood was found on the floor. The policemen killed may have resisted the attempt of the night marauders to attack the bank.

    Sources in the community said the preceding week unknown gun men invaded the home of You and I Hotel proprietor in Atan Kekere.

    A resident relieved the incident: “I thought they were in the community to rob Access Bank again. They have robbed the bank about five times now beginning from when it was Intercontinental Bank to when it was acquired by Access Bank. So when the staccato of gunshots took over the air, I thought it was another onslaught on the bank because I do not know any other institution or persons in the community that robbers could be targeting,” she said, urging the police to come to the community’s rescue.

    A resident of Samuel Street, Atan Kekere, said the robbers were on black and hooded. “You know this man that owns You and I Hotel lives in this community. So when dogs started barking and I peeped, I saw the robbers trying to enter a Celestial Church that had no doors.

    They were ostensibly under pursuit by policemen from both Ayobo Division and Alagolo. So they were looking for an escape route but when they opened fire again, I took cover,” he said.

  • Four Boko Haram suspects arraigned over ‘plot’ to attack Kirikiri Prison

    Four Boko Haram suspects arraigned over ‘plot’ to attack Kirikiri Prison

    The Federal Government yesterday arraigned four persons at the Federal High Court, Lagos for allegedly belonging to the proscribed Boko Haram sect.

    The accused persons are: Adamu Mohammed, Mohammed Mustapha, Bura Hassaini and Mohammed Ibrahim.

    The first and second defendants allegedly plotted to attack the Kirikiri Maximum Prison to free their members held in custody.

    Security was tight at the court yesterday as armed State Security Services (SSS) officers mounted guard around the premises.

    The charge, numbered FHC/L/316c/13, was signed by E. K. Ugwu, on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

    In the first count, the government said the four, sometime in June/July at Wasein, a hideout at Orile-Iganmu area, Apapa, Lagos, and at 3, Denton Street, Yaba, within the court’s jurisdiction, were arrested by a team of security agents “for belonging to a proscribed organisation to wit: Boko Haram sect.”

    The prosecution said the accused persons committed an offence contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 and punishable under Section 2 (3) (i), read in conjunction with Section 33 (1) (b) of the Act as amended by the Terrorism (Prevention) (Proscription Order) 2013.

    In the second count, the government alleged that Mohammed and Mustapha, with others at large, on or about June 26 at Wasein, conspired “to commit a felony to wit: act of terrorism by organising a planned attack of the Kirikiri Prison in Lagos State to free your detained members in prison custody.”

    The alleged offence, the government said, is contrary to Section 8 (1) of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2013 and punishable under Section 8 (1) of the same Act.

    The prosecution also alleged that Hassaini in 2012/2013 at Bama, Borno State, within the Federal High Court jurisdiction, “did commit a felony to wit: acts of terrorism, in that you assisted or facilitated the activities of a proscribed organisation to wit: Boko Haram sect members by monitoring the activities of the security agents and reported your findings on phone to the leadership of the Boko Haram sect headed by one Yamodu in the area, so as to evade arrest and investigation.”

    Following Ugwu’s oral application, the charge was read in English and explained to the accused persons in Hausa language.

    The court, presided over by Justice Saliu Saidu, asked each of them: “Do you understand the charge read to you?”

    Theys all responded in the affirmative, but pleaded not guilty.

    “I am not guilty,” each of them said.

    Ugwu said: “In view of the plea of the accused persons, we pray for a date for trial, while the accused persons be remanded in prison custody.”

    Justice Saidu ordered that the accused persons be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the trial till December 12.

  • We’re wrongly accused by the police, say suspects

    Four suspects yesterday told an Ekiti State Magistrate’s Court that the robbery charge levelled against them by the police is false.

    Ilesanmi Oluwadare (39), Faleye Akintunde (29), Seun Adegbola (30) and Oluchi Simon said they were not part of any robbery and did not know one another.

    The suspects, who insisted on their innocence, were accused of robbing Chief Ajayi Ayodeji of his traditional beads, wristwatch, handset and money on September 3 at Sajalo Villa in Ilegbe Quartres, Ifaki-Ekiti.

    Faleye told The Nation tearfully that he was a motor mechanic in Ajilosun, Ado-Ekiti, adding that he was arrested in Ido-Ekiti.

    He said: “I never stole a pin in my life and I have never been to a police station for any offence. I do not know any of these guys with whom I am being charged for armed robbery. I went to greet my elder brother, Gbenga, in Ido-Ekiti.

    “Immediately I came down from the motorcycle in Ido that day, they arrested me. I did not know what my offence is. I contacted my sister and they told her to pay N6,000. She paid N4,000 and begged them to release me, but they detained me because of N2000. The second day, they transferred me from Ido to the State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit in Ado-Ekiti.”

    Adegbola said he was also arrested in Ido at Number M3 around the Central Mosque.

    He said: “Around 8:30pm, I was in front of my house at No M3 when the divisional police officer, who was passing by, pointed a torch in my face. I responded by pointing a torch at him too, as I did not know who he was.

    “Angered, he ordered one of his men to arrest me. I shouted and people came out to see what was going on. They did not allow him to arrest me. But he came back around 12:30am and took me to Ido Police Station. The following day, he called SARS from Ado-Ekiti and they took me away.”

    Ilesanmi said he was on his way to see his relations in Ido from Ondo State when he was arrested.

    He said: “I got to Ifaki around 9pm and went to a store to buy satchet water. I was drinking it when the police arrested me. I do not know what to do now.”

    Oluchi said she was arrested for buying an allegedly stolen Techno phone.

    She said she explained to the police that she did not know the phone was stolen, yet they arrested her.

    Oluchi said: “I explained to them how it all went but they insisted on arresting me. I am a housewife and three months pregnant. They kept punishing me until I lost the baby.”

    Magistrate S.I. Ojo remanded them in prison custody and adjourned hearing till November 4.

  • Navy arrests oil theft suspects

    The Navy has arrested five suspected crude oil thieves, including two Beninoise.

    They were alleged to have, at the weekend, siphoned petroleum products from the ruptured Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline.

    The arrest, which was carried out by personnel from the Nigerian Navy ship, NNS BEECROFT, also saw the recovery of 270 jerry cans (50 litres) filled with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

    The suspects, Juten Seiki and Joseph Logbo (Beninoise) as well as Bababo Oritshebinomi, Victor Sopha and Segun Okimiji were nabbed at Makoko, Lagos and two of their wooden canoes seized.

    They claimed that they were not the owners of the product but were only conveying it for a man, who offered to pay N3, 000 each.

    The Commanding Officer, NNS BEECROFT, Commdr Chris Ezekobe, parading the suspects, said the Navy had deployed a patrol vessel from the Atlas Cove in the area following intelligence report.

     

  • Court okays suspect’s extradition to U.S

    Court okays suspect’s extradition to U.S

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the Federal Government’s request to extradite to the United States (U.S) a Nigerian, Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi, suspected to be a member of the terrorist organisation, al-Qaeda.

    In a ruling yesterday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed granted the application filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and argued by Mr Muslim Hassan, the Head, Central Authority Unit, Federal Ministry of Justice.

    The AGF explained that the application followed a request by the U.S. authorities through its Embassy in Nigeria.

    Justice Mohammed ordered that Babafemi, also known as “Abdullah” and “Ayatollah Mustapher”, be sent to the U.S. within 15 days. He is to remain in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) until his extradition.

    Justice Mohammed said: “The respondent, Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi (aka Abdullah Ayatollah Mustapher), is not contesting these proceedings, which are meant to extradite him to the United States of America.

    “The respondent’s solicitor only urged the court to take into account the fact that the respondent has been in the custody of the SSS for over 24 months and that the respondent has cooperated with the local authorities in Nigeria.

    “Since there is no form of any objection by the respondent, Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi (aka Abdullah Ayatollah Mustapher), to the application for his extradition, this court is satisfied that the application by the Attorney-General for the extradition of the respondent to the United States of America is proper and in accordance with the Extradition Act 2004.

    “An order is hereby made that the respondent in this case, Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi (aka Abdullah Ayatollah) be extradited to the United States of America to face the indictment against him.”