The Nation Newspaper

Tag: suspects

  • Ex-minister’s request stalls trial of pension fraud suspects

    The plan by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to open trial in the case involving seven officials of the Police Pension Office was stalled yesterday.

    The planned opening trial was stalled by a request by former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Kanu Agabi (SAN), for time to study the case file.

    Agabi, a defence lawyer in the case, told an Abuja High Court, Maitama, presided over by Justice Hussain Baba, that he was recently briefed.

    He prayed the court to be allowed time to familiarise himself with the case to enable him prepare his client’s defence.

    The lead prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Jacob (SAN), who indicated his readiness to proceed with the trial, later conceded to an adjournment that Agabi sought on the matter.

    He noted that Agabi’s request was in line with the constitutional provision that an accused is entitled to proper representation – in line with the constitutionally guaranteed right to fair hearing.

    Jacob regretted that the accused waited until recently to brief a new lawyer rather than utilise the period between the last date and yesterday.

    He promised to resist the antics that might truncate the trial, adding that the nation awaits the speedy determination of the case. Other defence lawyers in the case also agreed to the adjournment.

    The accused are: Essai Dangabar, Atiku Abubakar Kigo, Ahmed Inuwa Wada, Mrs. Cyril Attange, Mrs. Veronica Uloma Onyegbula, Sani Habila Zira and Christian Madubuike.

    They were earlier arraigned with the convicted pension thief, John Yakubu Yusufu, before the now suspended Justice Mohammed Talba of the Abuja High Court. Upon Yakubu’s conviction on a negotiated charge, the others were re-arraigned before Justice Baba on an amended 20-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and conspiracy to alleged theft of N39.8 billion belonging to the Police Pension Office.

    One of the counts of the charge alleged that the seven conspired and agreed, “between January 2008 and June 2011, to do an illegal act, to wit: criminal breach of trust in respect of the sum of N20.155 billion, an offence punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code Act, Cap. 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, 2007.”

    The trial is expected to begin on July 11.

     

  • How we kidnapped Okonjo-Iweala’s mum, by suspects

    How we kidnapped Okonjo-Iweala’s mum, by suspects

    How was Queen Kamene Okonjo, mother of Minister of Finance Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, kidnapped from her palace on December 9, last year?

    Startling details of her kidnap were given yesterday in Lagos by her abductors, who were arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The suspects were paraded at the Command Headquarters in Ikeja, the Lagos State capital, by Police Commissioner Umar Manko.

    They said they lied to the queen that President Goodluck Jonathan sent them to arrest her and bring her to Abuja because her daughter embezzled billions of naira which she must pay for.

    They are Chiejina Victor Onochie, 32, from Ogbeofuu Village in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State; Oko Chukwuma aka Chuks, 32, from Isele Mkpitima in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State; the gang leader, Ogbuem Jideofor aka Marvelous, 22, from Ezi in Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta State; Michael Ojeabulu, 23, from Esan, Edo State; Buhari Amajoda, 27, Hassan Oseni, 29, and Ibrahim Abubakar, 28, all from Adamawa State and Endurance Oke, 22, from Edhere Aviraha Village in Delta State.

    They said they were 13 that carried out the operation. One is dead, The Nation learnt; four are at large. They include one popularly known as Buba.

    The queen, according to Jideofor, asked them what offence her daughter committed because it was the same president that invited her the minister from London to help manage the country’s economy.

    Despite her enquiry, he said, they bundled her into their vehicle and zoomed off.

    Jideofor said they fed her with fried rice, bread, gala, 5-Alive juice drink, adding that they initially demanded a N200 million, ransom, but her son, Onyema, later dropped N13 million along a bypass.

    He said two persons came in a vehicle to drop the money and left before they went there to pick it.

    Jideofor said: “When we went to kidnap Okonjo-Iweala’s mother in the palace, we were eight – Peter, Buba, Mohammed, Olopa, Idowu, Idowu’s driver and Ifeanyi and I. Four of us carried guns; I carried AK47 rifle. It was a smooth job.”

    On how they shared the ransom, he said: “Victor got N700,000 as an insider who brought the job; Chuks, N500,000; Ifeanyi, N1 million; Mike, N400,000; Peter, N2 million; the late Idowu who was shot dead by the police in Benin, N2 million; Mohammed, N2 million; I got N2 million, Olopa, N1 million; another Buba, N300,000; Chiboy, N250,000; our armourer, Ibrahim, N50,000, and Endurance, N250,000.

    Onochie, who said he was a security guard at the Delta State Polytechnic, and a relation of Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, added: “Chuks lured me into kidnapping through my girl friend, Joy, who was doing her Industrial Attachment (IT) at Adanson Hotel, Ogwashi-Uku. He told me that one job brought him to Ogwashi-Uku and I asked him for the type of job. He said he wanted to carry somebody and he asked about my auntie, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Mrs Edna Mojekwu. I replied him that I had spent five years as security man in the institution and that the woman was merely managing herself. I said it would be better for us to look for another victim. I then suggested the mother of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. We then started thinking on how to carry the woman.”

    Chuks, he said, then asked him how they would accomplish the ploy and he suggested that they presented their NYSC certificates to Mama Okonjo-Iweala, giving the impression that they wanted the ex-minister to get them jobs.

    He said an argument ensued when they initially planned to go to the palace, leading to the postponement of the operation. Two weeks later, on Sunday morning, they stormed the palace in two cars.

    “I carried Chuks on motorcycle to Azagba-Ogwashi-Uku Road and Chuks came down close to African House. After discussing with them, Chuks entered my motorcycle and we went back through School Road to Azagba. Jideofor and his men then went for the job at Obi’s palace while I went back to my house. I and Chuks later went back to Ogbeofuu, but before reaching there they had carried the woman,” said Onochie.

    “That day,” he added: “Mama came down to give drinks to workers renovating the palace. When they entered and climbed up, they did not see her, but were told that she was downstairs, unknown to the workers that they were kidnappers. They told the woman that they belonged to the Special Force from the Presidency; that they were there to arrest her because of the money her daughter, Ngozi embezzled. They did not give me a dime after the operation.”

    Ojeabulu, a Higher National Diploma (HND) student of Agriculture, said: “My role was to take care of victim in the bush. Jideofor would bring food every day. Mama Okonjo-Iweala was kept in a bush in Kwale, just 30-minute drive from the palace and Delta police did not know.”

    Endurance, who said he was the gang’s driver carrying victims in their operational car, added: “I studied accountancy in Delta State University. My first work was to carry a woman to Nkuzu Village in Iseluku area of Delta State. My second job was Okonjo-Iweala’s mother. They gave me N250,000.”

    On how they got rifles for their operations, Jideofor said, it was Buba who bought them from the Onitsha main market at N400,000 each. The seller, he said, sold cotton as a cover-up and would not sell weapons to unknown customers.

    Those still at large, Buba said, included Peter, who allegedly killed their last victim, simply identified as Mrs Regina Obi-Dainty, before they were arrested by the SARS operatives alongside Olopa, now in prison custody. Buba’s driver, and Idowu, who they said, was killed by policemen during a cross-fire in their den in Benin, Edo State.

    Narrating how they carried out the two operations tagged, “National Assignment,” in which they killed Mrs Regina Obi-Dainty, the mother of Dankwa, a popular businessman, Jideofor said: “I am a businessman based in Port Harcourt; I used to buy goods from Mandilas, Lagos. I have led kidnap operations five times.”

    “The first victim, a woman at Asaba, was brought by one boy and we got N7 million. The second, a man, was brought by Buhari in the same Asaba and we got N6.4 million. The third was brought by Chuks, also in Asaba. The victim was Chuks’ uncle and we got N3.2 million. The fourth was Okonjo-Iweala’s mother and we got N13 million. The deal was brought by Chuks, Ifeanyi and Victor. The fifth one is the one Peter killed – Mrs Regina Obi-Dainty – claiming that he did it to revenge his brother’s killing by the police.”

    Jideofor told The Nation that he was introduced into kidnapping by a friend called Kalous in Asaba, adding that Kalous was spending money like a cocaine baron before he revealed the source of his wealth to him. He said he had only one car, adding that he invested all his money in boutique business.

    He said: “On the other operation in which Mrs Regina Obi-Dainty was killed, I brought the job because her son, Mr. Dankwa is my brother, but he was very stingy with money.”

    Chukwuma, said: “I graduated from Ambrose Ali University in 2007. I studied Accountancy and I did my Youth Service at Idah, Kogi State in 2008/2009. I later went back to my village to search for job. When I could not secure job, I went to Lagos to meet my sister, Mrs Ijeoma Iwegbu. One day, I went home – Ogwashi-Uku – to see my girl-friend, Uju. There I met Victor Chiejina.

    “As we were chatting and drinking, Victor said he had one kidnap job but did not want to involve local people from the village. I then told him that I knew one Ifeanyi (now in prison for being in possession of Indian hemp). Ifeanyi said he would contact Jideofor. They did not want me to participate. They only told me that they had carried the Mama Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. I was not given a kobo after the job.

    “They collected N2 million from the late Mrs. Regina Obi-Dainty’s son and did not give me a kobo. I did not know that they shot the woman dead. I told them to pay into my sister’s bank account. When she went to withdraw the N300,000, she was arrested and they used her to track me down. They arrested me when I went to collect the money my sister withdrew from bank, not knowing that she was with SARS men.”

    Buhari, who claimed to be a security man in Asaba, said he got N250,000, while Hassan said he only got N30,000.

    Manko said yesterday: “Sequel to the arrest of one Chiejina Onochie and Chukwuma Okoh on March 27, at about 100hours by men of the Special Investigations Bureau (SIB), Lagos State Police Command, and their subsequent confessions that they gave the information that led to the kidnap of the mother of the present Minister of Finance, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Delta State among many other kidnappings, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, CP Umar Abubakar Manko, directed O/C SARS Ikeja, SP Abba Kyari to go after the kidnappers, especially Jideofor, the gang leader.

    “On the strength of this, O/C SARS expanded his tracking network and deployed three SARS Decoy Teams to Delta, Edo and Rivers states which eventually led to the arrest of one Jideofor Ogbue aka Marvelous, the gang leader of the deadly kidnappers, at his hideout in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on April 2. Also five more members of his gang were arrested viz: Michael Ojeabulu, Endurance Oke, Ibrahim Abubakar, Buhari Hamadora and Hassan Oseni at different locations in Edo, Enugu, Delta and Anambra states.

    “They confessed to the kidnapping of the mother of Nigerian Finance Minister and collected N13 million ransom and many other kidnappings, including the most recent, where the victim, an elderly woman, Mrs. Regina Obi-Dainty, was killed by the kidnappers after collecting N2 million ransom. Jideofor was arrested in Port Harcourt after he had perfected plans to proceed to Awka, Anambra State.”

    Manko added: “There is no hiding place for any criminal in Lagos no matter where he runs to.”

     

  • JTF arrests 33 suspects in Bayelsa

    THE Military Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, ‘Operation Pulo Shield,’ yesterday said it has arrested 33 suspects and impounded three vessels allegedly involved in illegal oil bunkering.

    Its Media Coordinator, Lt.-Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, confirmed this in a statement in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

    He said the foreigners arrested on board the vessels, include a Togolese and two Ghanaians with 30 Nigerians.

    Nwachukwu said the vessels, which were impounded on the Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne, in Rivers State, were King I; MV Gift and MV Tiger Fish.

    “The vessels, with 33 crew members, were impounded by operatives of the JTF in multiple raid operations carried out from March 1 to March 19 on the Federal Ocean Terminal, near Onne, in Rivers.

    “The vessels are being held at 2 Brigade Nigerian Army, Gun Boat Company, Onne,” he said.

    The JTF spokesman said: “The suspects and samples of the products have been handed over to the Rivers State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for investigation and prosecution.”

    He said in another operation, JTF operatives intercepted 10 barges allegedly laden with illegal petroleum products on the waterways of Delta and Bayelsa states.

    According to him, the JTF also discovered and destroyed 143 illegal oil cooking camps, commonly referred to as “local refinery.”

    The camps were located at Obi Ayagbo, Otu Jeremi, Gbekebor, Esere, Ajugbo Tigbibena and Igbamatoru in Delta and Bayelsa states.

    Nwachukwu said the destruction of any equipment or facility used in illegal oil activity was in line with the mandate given to the Task Force.

     

  • North seeks amnesty for Boko Haram suspects

    North seeks amnesty for Boko Haram suspects

    -Governors Forum’s panel in talks with sect

    -Gunmen kill eight

     

    A committee set up by the Northern States Governors’ Forum has opened talks with some leaders of Boko Haram, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    The sect’s leaders promised to meet and convince its spiritual head, Imam Abubakar Shekau, to renounce violence, sources said.

    The panel made five recommendations to President Goodluck Jonathan, who is set to visit Borno and Yobe states — the main theatres of Boko Haram’s bloody campaign.

    The recommendations include unconditional amnesty for Boko Haram (Western education is a sin) members.

    These are the highlights of a report sent to the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) by the NSGF Committee on Reconciliation, Healing and Security.

    The report called for the immediate release of all detainees against whom there is no established case of criminal involvement.

    The Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, on August 22, last year inaugurated the 41-man panel headed by Amb. Zakari Ibrahim.

    Other members of the panel are: Prof. Tijani El-Miskin, Prof. Shedrack Best, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, Prof. Habu Galadima, AIG Hamisu Ali Jos, Gen. Martin Luther Agwai, Prof. Muhammad Akaro Mainoma, Hajiya Dije Bala, Maj.-Gen. Yakubu Usman, Prof. Sani Abdulkadir, Air Vice Marshal Mukhtar Mohammed, Justice Umaru Abdullahi (c/o Governor of Katsina State), Haj. Mariam Uwais, Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, Group Capt. Bilal Bulama [rtd], Col. Musa Shehu, Iliya Ithuve, Ali M. Dandiya, Gen. GP Zidon, Justice Usman Baba Liman, Sheikh Mohammed Isa, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, Karibullah Nasiru Kabara, Sheikh Yusuf Sambo Rigachikun, Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, Bishop Michael E. Apochi, Imam Goni Mohammed Gabcha, Imam Salman Aboki A. Ankpa, Bishop Buba Lammido Wusasa, Rev. Kalla Abari and Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, the Emir of Ilorin.

    The rest are: Alhaji Zaiyanu Abdullahi, the Emir of Yauri, Dr. Barkindo Aliyu Musdafa, the Lamido of Adamawa, Nde Joshua Y. Dimlong Ngolong Ngas, Dr. Kole Shettima, MacArthur Foundation, Nigeria, Dr. Shettima Ali, Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation, Mrs. Aisha Oyebode Murtala Mohammed Foundation; Dr. [Mrs.] Nguyan Feese ESSPIN, Nigeria; Hajiya Saudatu Mahdi WRAPA, Abuja; and Sister Kathleen McGarvey Inter-Faith Council, Kaduna.

    Sources said the panel gave an insight into underground moves in the last six months to appease Boko Haram.

    The sources quoted part of the report as follows: “In line with the terms of reference that empowers the Committee on Reconciliation, Healing, and Security to “Dialogue with any identified groups with a view to negotiating the way out of the menace” in the north, that the committee constituted a Sub-Committee that embarked on a visitation to Borno and Yobe states in December 2012 and again in February 2013.

    “During the second visit, which was as a result of an opening for negotiation with members of the sect, Jama’atul-Ahlil Sunnah Lil Da’awati Wal Jihad(Boko Haram), the committee met and had discussions with the Governor of Borno State and Borno Elders Forum. The Committee also visited Yobe State and met with the governor who was ably represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and also had an interactive session with a cross-section of stakeholders in Damaturu.

    “In Maiduguri, the Committee was able to meet with some people strongly believed to be members of the sect and had very useful discussions with them, which culminated into the offer for ceasefire and subsequent press briefing by the leader, which has given rise to the confidence building that culminated in the visitation by the Chief of Defence Staff and other security chiefs, the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and 10 All Progressive Congress (APC) Governors.

    “The meeting was held at the Government House Maiduguri where useful and important critical issues were discussed and at the end, they vowed to cease hostilities and are prepared to surrender themselves and their weapons.

    “They also dissociated themselves from other criminal groups who perpetrate all sorts of atrocities in the name of Boko Haram for various selfish reasons and promised to assist authorities in fishing out all such perpetrators of criminal acts.

    “Having agreed to cease hostilities, they also made certain demands:

    (a) That all detainees against whom a case of criminal involvement is established should be prosecuted by courts of competent jurisdiction. Conversely, all those against whom there is no evidence of criminal involvement should be released unconditionally.

    (b) an area should be designated for all combatants to voluntarily surrender themselves and their weapons without fear of harassment or molestation.

    “This committee should arrange for further visits to Borno and Yobe states to meet with this group and other groups that have now indicated their willingness to come into the peace process. Accordingly, these discussions should be in conjunction with the governments and the Elders Forum of each of the states.

    “This committee recommends that the President visit Borno, Yobe and Kano states and should meet not only governments of these states but also with a cross-section of the elders of the various communities.

    “Consequently, the Committee makes the following recommendations: (i)The President should declare a general and unconditional amnesty;(ii) He should order the immediate release of all detainees against whom there is no established case of criminal involvement, and the immediate prosecution of those against whom there is evidence of criminal involvement before courts of competent jurisdictions; (iii)The protracted court case against the suspected killers of Mohammed Yusuf should be brought to a quick determination; (iv) The Federal Government should consider not only the rehabilitation of combatants but also compensation for those who have suffered in one way or the other during this unfortunate period of our nation’s history as a sign of goodwill and national cohesion; and (v) Some of the Northern Governors should accompany the President on his visit to the states.”

    There were indications last night that Northern governors were working round the clock to ensure a hitch-free trip for Jonathan to Borno and Yobe states.

    A source in the NSGF, who spoke last night, said: “Northern governors are trying their best to ensure that the President’s twin-visit to Borno and Yobe is without any hiccup. The governors have shown keen interest because it is the blueprint prepared by its 41-man committee that the Federal Government is working on.

    “In fact the Northern States Governors Forum Security Committee was the first government team to visit the troubled states.

    “The Security Committee was in Borno and Yobe states in December 2012 two clear months before the visit of the ten governors of the APC while another visit took place in February.”

  • Damoche: Police arrest 70 suspects

    Damoche: Police arrest 70 suspects

    The Lagos State Police Command yesterday arrested seventy students of Lagos State University (LASU) suspected to be cultists.

    The arrest, the police said, was in connection with the ongoing investigation of the murder of an fast-rising pop artiste, Damino Damoche. The singer was murdered on Thursday last week.

    The suspects were taken to the Command’s headquarters, Ikeja, in three commercial buses, where they were asked to lie face down.

    A dependable police source said the suspects, who were picked at different places in Ojo area, are currently being interrogated.

    “After the interrogation, those found culpable would be detained for further investigations and those found to be clean would be released,” the source said.

    The suspects were arrested during random raid in the area where they were suspected to be regrouping for reprisal attacks on rival cult members.

    Since the 400-level student of Banking and Finance was killed in a shooting in front of the university’s gate, rumours of reprisal attacks have held the entire university community in fear.

    There have been unconfirmed reports that two students were killed on Saturday as Damoche was being buried at the Badagry cemetery. Efforts to get official comment from police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide failed.

  • Ezu River bodies: NBA suspects extra-judicial killings

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) suspects that the floating corpses found in Ezu River, Anambra State might be victims of extra-judicial killings by security agencies.

    The umbrella body of lawyers in Nigeria also lamented that over N16 trillion worth of crude oil was stolen between 2003 and 2008, and 2011 and 2012.

    The association said it has information that over 200,000 to 300,000 barrels of crude oil were also stolen per day in the year 2000.

    It promised to refer the matter to its anti-corruption commission for full investigation.

    The NBA President, Okey Wali (SAN) who addressed reporters in Abuja on the outcome of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Makurdi said the Federal Government must set up judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the Ezu River matter.

    He explained that the investigation became necessary following the report of NBA adhoc committee.

    “..NEC resolved that in view of the seriousness of the allegations of the possibility of the corpses being victims of extra-judicial killings, that a judicial commission of inquiry should be set up to look into the matter.NEC hereby calls on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, to set up a high-powered Presidential Judicial Commission of Enquiry to investigate the causes of death, source and identity of the floating corpses with a view to bringing any culprit(s to book.

    “NEC, again, observed that security of lives and property of Nigerians should be of paramount importance to government and called upon the Federal Government of Nigeria to take the issue of security more seriously and to make every effort to address the menace of terrorism, kidnappings and assassinations.NEC calls on the government and security agencies to act on the report of the NBA,Peace and Security Summit submitted to them by the Nigerian Bar Association”.

    The NEC condemned states that have refused to conduct Local Government elections.

    “On the issue of Local Government reforms, NEC viewed the practice in some States where Caretaker Committees are set up to pilot the affairs of Local Governments as a flagrant breach of the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and took the position that all the Chairmen in the 774 Local Government Areas in the country should be democratically elected and given financial autonomy as envisaged by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended)”, Waki said.

    The NEC also commended the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloma Mariam-Mukhtar, for her efforts to sanitize the Judiciary and promised “unqualified support” in her drive to restore the glory of the Nigerian Judiciary

    The association stated that the decision of Justice Abubakar Talba of the Abuja High Court on the pension convict, Yakubu Yusuf has brought “compelling need to reform our criminal justice legislations and speedy passage of criminal justice sector bills pending before the National Assembly.

    “NEC also condemned in its entirety the situation where the vote for the Judiciary at the Federal and State levels is progressively on the decline and non release of what has been appropriated to the Judiciary in most states and called on the two levels of government to reverse the situation.

  • Salary delay: Osun Speaker suspects sabotage

    Osun State House of Assembly Speaker Najeem Salaam has expressed displeasure with the delay in the payment of the January salary of civil servants.

    In a statement by his media aide, Mr. Goke Butika, Salaam said: “I suspect sabotage and the parliament would fish out the saboteurs and sanction them.”

    He said poor information management process is a major barrier that must be addressed by all officials concerned.

    Salaam said: “Delay in salary payment is unacceptable, ridiculous and nauseating. Now that the fact has been established that the governor and the Ministry of Finance are not the problem, but sabotage with a view to blackmailing the government, the state parliament, under my watch, is left with no option than to look into the matter and possibly wield the big stick.”

    The Speaker condemned what he called the conspiracy of silence of the three Tutors-General managing the affair of teachers.

    He said the Tutors-General ought to have informed the teachers about the payment delay, adding that their silence promoted negative rumours against the government.

    Salaam warned officials in charge of salary to brace up or face the wrath of the parliament, adding that salary delay must not repeat itself.

    He said the government cannot afford to be taking the blame for the sabotage of a few people, who are benefitting from the rot in the system.

  • Kano police arrest suspects

    The Kano State Police Command has arrested suspects in connection with the killing of the Commanding Officer, Mopol 9 Hotoro, Superintendent Dahiru Ibrahim Majiya, by unknown gunmen on Monday night in his home.

    Moments after he was shot dead, police detectives were drafted to cordon off the area. Later, some suspects were arrested and are undergoing interrogation and screening.

    Speaking to reporters in Kano yesterday, Police Commissioner Musa Daura said the Command would investigate the matter and fish out the perpetrators.

    The remains of Majiya, the elder brother of the Kano State Police Command (PPRO), Magaji Musa Majiya, have been buried at the Tarauni Cemetery, Kano amidst tears and wailing by friends and family.

     

     

     

     

  • Three kidnap suspects arrested

    Three suspected kidnappers were yesterday arrested by the police while attempting to abduct their victim in Nsukka, Enugu State.

    The trio was identified as Idenyi Charles, Nnamdi Eze Jude and Emeka Ugwuoke.

    It was gathered that the suspects were arrested at the victim’s home after a tip-off.

    Recovered from the suspects were a car and two pistols.

    Police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said investigations have commenced.

  • 74 suspects held for Lagos chief’s ‘murder‘

    The police in Lagos State have arrested 74 suspects in connection with last Thursday’s murder of a Lagos chief, Chief Kayode Adeshina Onimole.

    Onimole was killed in his palace at Iga Iduganran in Isale-Eko.

    Police spokesman Chukwuma Ozoani confirmed the arrest yesterday.

    He said 73 suspects are being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.

    Ozoani said one of the suspects was arrested on Saturday during the deceased’s funeral service at the Ebute Ero Anglican Church.

    He said: “The police have started investigating the gruesome murder of Onimole and we made about 74 arrests. We arrested this large number because we are looking at all angles on the possible cause of his murder. “We do not want to leave any stone unturned, so we are looking at the case from a broader perspective. In order not to jeopardise investigations, we cannot disclose all we know, but be assured that we will fish out the culprits and free the innocent.”