The Nation Newspaper

Tag: suspects

  • ‘Suspects must answer for alleged crimes’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has insisted that some government officials and lawmakers arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) must answer for the crimes they allegedly committed against the constitution.

    It said the alleged crimes against the state, which include attacks on the court, assault on judges, illegal sacking of the House of Assembly and toppling of a legal government through treason as revealed in a secretly recorded tape are too weighty to be overlooked by security agencies.

    The party advised Speaker Kola Oluwawole “to encourage his colleagues to submit themselves to the law instead of embarking on blackmail to whip up sentiments for undeserved public sympathy”.

    Oluwawole, at a briefing at the weekend, alleged that four of his colleagues were “abducted” by DSS operatives, who he accused of invading the Assembly complex on Friday.

    But the APC in a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, claimed that the four lawmakers have a case to answer for the alleged crimes perpetrated before, during and after the June 21, 2014 governorship poll.

    He said: “We have said several times that Fayose’s criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari is a deliberate stunt to blackmail the President that he (governor) is being witch-hunted.

    “Just as expected, Fayose and his agent provocateur have started playing the game as scripted.

    “But Nigerians are not fooled by the governor’s antics to escape justice.”

    Olatunbosun explained that the lawmakers were not the first or only Nigerians to be invited by the DSS for questioning.

    “The suspects participated in all these crimes and this is the time for the law-breakers to answer for their crimes.

    “Nigerians are not fools to be deceived by this unconscionable descent to subterfuge to escape justice.

    Olatunbosun also faulted Oluwawole’s allegation that the Assembly members were abducted by DSS amid shooting.

    He said Assembly workers had told reporters that there was no invasion or shooting.

    The APC spokesman counselled other suspects to respect the law by submitting themselves for questioning instead of engaging in arm-twisting tactics to escape justice.

  • We regret killing many people — Suspects

    We regret killing many people — Suspects

    In the last eight years, Idowu Tijani and his terror group have allegedly killed no fewer than nine persons in the Ijoko Community of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area, Ogun State.

    While their exploits in crime lasted, they were the nemesis of residents and members of a faction involved in the tussle for the traditional stool in Ijoko.

    The terror unleashed on the community by Tijani and his blood-thirsty gang ended when the police arrested his lieutenants, Rasaq Ogundairo aka ‘Babalawo Poly’ and Raimi Ogunkunle, 25, after a trail.

    Three cut-to-size single barrel pistols, two double barrel pistols, one pump action gun with 14 cartridges, five cutlasses and charms were recovered from the gang.

    Parading the suspects on Monday at the Ogun State Police Command, Eleweran, Abeokuta, the State Commissioner for Police, Mr Abdulmajid Ali, disclosed that a team of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad stormed the gang’s hideout in Ijoko and arrested Ogundairo. He said: “The arrest of the suspect led to the arrest of two members of the gang. The leader of the gang, Idowu Tijani, confessed to have killed four people, including Soje, Babajeje and Agali in the Ijoko area.”

    Speaking with The Nation, Tijani regretted killing many people in the community in the last eight years. In tears, he said: “May God forgive me my atrocities, and I want to advise those who foment trouble to desist because it does not pay. Even if my arrest leads to death, well, that is my fate. But I regret all the killings that I have carried out so far.”

    Tijani explained that he took to crime to avenge the death of his four-year-old son, Fathiu, who was allegedly killed during the violence that engulfed the Ijoko community in the wake of the Obaship crisis. “Oba Matanmi is a younger brother to my mother. I was not involved in land-grabbing activities because I am a furniture maker and married with four children. I have a workshop in my house, which I built a few years ago,” he said.

    “On a particular day about eight years ago, some members of Tobalase group who are loyalists of one Oba Ogunseye stormed my house while I had gone out to watch a football match at a nearby field. They destroyed my house before setting it ablaze, and a portion of the building fell on my son, Fathiu and killed him. Three days after the incident, I took my gun and headed to the home of one Monsusru Osoba aka ‘Olori Odo’. I met him in front of his house and shot him but he escaped into his room where I finished him up.

    ”A lot of people were arrested in connection with the murder of Olori Odo but I was not arrested. I also killed Soje during a fight in the community. Soje and his group attacked me during the visit of Olota of Ota to Sango Secondary School. Soje tried to shoot me but the trigger refused to pull, so I quickly shot him dead and ran away.

    “I did not intend to kill people, but the obaship tussle between Oba Matanmi and Oba Ogunseye was responsible for the attack on my house at No. 17, Ago Giwa Street, Ijoko which led to the death of my son made me to embark on a killing spree.”

    Tijani said he got his gun from his late boss, adding that his arrest was due to a row he had with Rasaq Ogundairo. “I got the gun I used from my late boss called Tunji. Rasaq (Ogundairo) is just like a brother to me but he suddenly turned to armed robbery and I reported him to Oba Matanmi, who asked me to inform the police. Rasaq and one of his friends were arrested and made to sign and undertaking not to engage in robbery again. After the police released them, Rasaq condemned me for instigating their arrest and vowed to reveal how I killed Olori Odo, hence, my eventual arrest.”

    Ogundairo, 25, who confessed to being a member of Eiye Confraternity, said he had killed some people, including one Tosin and Dare.

    He narrated how friends in the Ijoko neighbourhood initiated him into cultism. “I am a member of Eiye Confraternity. We have been terrorising Ijoko community and killing people for sometime now. I joined the cult group about two years ago when some boys in the neighbourhood initiated me through beating and alcoholic drink.

    “I have killed so many people, including one Tosin and Dare, who are members of a rival cult group called Aiye Confraternity. The duo are deadly too, and we used to hunt for Aiye members because they can kill us too. Whenever we attack Aiye members, they would run away and abandon their motorcycles and sundry items and sell them.”

    Ogundairo traced his descent into crime. ”I am called ‘Babalawo Poly’ because my father is a herbalist, but, regrettably, the charms found on me could not protect me from being arrested.

    “I also partake in land-grabbing activities and I work with Oba Matanmi’s group to visit construction sites in the community. I don’t know whether my parents are aware of my arrest because they had warned me not to get involved in crime, but I did not heed their warning until I was caught in the act. The reality of my parents’ homily has since dawned on me.

    The third member of the gang, Ogunkunle, also gave a confession. He said: ”I am neither a member of Eiye Confraternity nor Aiye member, but I belong to Ogundairo’s gang. My father is one of the baales installed by Oba Matanmi. I have never killed in my life and I regret all my actions.

  • Rule of law not intended as line of defence for corruption suspects—Minister

    Information and Culture Minister  Lai Mohammed  said yesterday that  the Buhari  Administration would continue to fight corruption within the confines of the Rule of Law, but warned that it (Rule of Law) is not in any way  intended to be used as a weapon to hamper the dispensation of justice.

    ‘’The Rule of Law is not and was never intended to be used as a line of defence for suspects undergoing trial for corrupt practices in the courts of law that are lawfully constituted and endowed with the legitimate authority to carry out same trial,” the Minister said at a symposium organised by the Gani Fawehinmi Students’ Chamber of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.

    He added: “In response to the ongoing anti-corruption efforts of the government, an increasing number of voices have emerged in defence of suspects being indicted for various acts of corruption by the courts of law under the banner of upholding the Rule of Law.”

    He said the Administration is a product and true advocate of the Rule of Law, and that ”there is no greater proponent of that time-tested legal principle than Mr President himself.”

    The minister said there was nothing questionable in the administration’s approach to fighting corruption, adding: ‘’The government is bound by law and is following the Rule of Law in its anti-corruption efforts. Were this not the case, the accused persons so far charged would not be having their day in court.’’

    He said each society had used methods expedient to it to fight corruption at different times in their own history, citing the example of Singapore which once fought corruption by suspending rule of law and fundamental rights.

    The government, according to him, has not requested  emergency powers to tackle corruption, even though some school of thought unequivocally believes that Nigeria is in an emergency, with high unemployment, unpaid salaries, reduced income, insurgency, reduced oil income and primitive looting of the treasury by the  immediate past administration.’’

    Rallying support for the fight against corruption, he said the battle is a constitutional imperative, and quoted Section 15 (5) of the Constitution, which says: “The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of office.”

  • Ndlea arrests 18 suspects in Lagos drug raid, recovers 216.8kg of cannabis

    Ndlea arrests 18 suspects in Lagos drug raid, recovers 216.8kg of cannabis

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended eighteen suspected drug peddlers during a comprehensive raid operation in Lagos.

    Suspected dried weeds that tested positive for cannabis with a total weight of 216.8kgs were also seized during the assignment.

    Some of the places covered during the operation included Obalende, Alaba Rago, Lagos Island, Isheri Idimu and Bolade Market.

    NDLEA Lagos State commander, Aliyu Sule, who described the raid as successful said that three suspected drug dealers among those arrested shall be prosecuted, while others found to be users of drug are undergoing counselling.

    “The command has embarked on a routine raid across Lagos metropolis. Eighteen suspected drug peddlers were apprehended and cannabis weighing 216.8kg, including 119.3kg of abandoned cannabis at Lagos Island, was seized. Fifteen of the suspects found to be problem users had been placed on counselling while three suspected dealers are under investigation and will soon be charged to court”.

    Those under investigation are Iyanda Muri Amoo, 40, caught with 77kg at Gambari Street Lagos Island; Idris Dalhat, 55, arrested with 16.6kg at Alaba Rago and Ibrahim Daneyo, 32, found in possession of 3.9kg of cannabis behind Dodan Barracks Obalende, Lagos. The suspected dried weeds were weighed in the presence of arresting officers, the suspects and other witnesses.

    Ibrahim Danejo, who hails from Taraba State, said that he started the illicit trade some months ago because of joblessness.

    “It is not in my mind to sell hemp, but I am doing it to sustain myself pending when I will get a job. I used to buy hemp on Lagos Island and sell behind the barracks at the Obalende area. If I buy hemp worth N1,500, I can sell it for N3,000. Unfortunately for me, I was arrested with 3.9kg of hemp by NDLEA officers,” Ibrahim stated.

    The agency urged members of the public to provide information on the activities of drug peddlers in their neighborhood.

    It also assured of swift and professional response aimed at eradicating illicit drugs from our society.

  • Seven suspects held over Bariga cult clash

    •Police sieze three power bikes, Keke Marwa

    The Lagos State Police Command has arrested seven suspected cultists following Saturday’s clash in Bariga which claimed a 65-year-old woman’s life.

    They are Afees Olaide Fagunwa, Nurudeen Lateef, Richard Ewa, Richard Abayomi, Mohammed Musa, Kayode Dada and Adams Adelakun.

    Mrs Adejoke Adefuye was burnt beyond recognition when her house on 19, Oshinfolarin Street in Bariga, was set ablaze by the feuding cult groups.

    On the fateful day, members of Eiye Confraternity led by Ibrahim Balogun, clashed with a rival cult group, Aiye Confraternity, led by a man simply identified as Gideon.

    The cultists, according to reports, vandalised some vehicles parked on the road side. Two members of the Aiye Confraternity, identified as Bobo and Abayomi Olubola, died in the fracas.

    Command spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police (SP), confirmed the cultists’ arrests and the recovery of some weapons, including one live and expended cartridges.

    Badmos said the second-in-command of one of the cult groups was among those arrested. Three power bikes and a tricycle, popularly known as Keke Marwa, were confiscated.

    She said the suspected cultists had been terrorising the area for days, adding that the police made some arrests because of their swift response to distress calls.

    Badmos said all the bodies had been deposited at the Gbagada General Hospital for autopsy.

  • 120 suspects under watch in kano

    No fewer  than 120  residents of Kano State are currently under watch over the Lassa fever outbreak in the country.

    The affected people are believed to have had contact with the two confirmed fatal victims of the disease in the state.

    They are said to have undergone   the 21 day maximum incubation period.

    114 of  them have already completed the contact tracing follow-up and  been confirmed to be in stable condition,according to Health Commissioner  Kabiru Ibrahim Getso.

    Getso said by phone  that  20 of the remaining people under watch  were still being monitored with a view to  determining  the level of their infection.

    He said :” The situation of Lassa fever case in Kano is stable and under control, as there is no cause for alarm and members of the public should not panic following  the measures put in place by the state government to curtail the spread.”

    They died  at  the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano.

    The Ebonyi State Government  yesterday announced plan  to commence temperature checks on   motor park users  to check the outbreak of Lassa Fever.

    Health Commissioner  Daniel Umezurike said that although no case of the disease has been reported in the  state, government has put measures to check the outbreak.

    He said: “We are doing this because high fever is one of the symptoms of the dreaded disease and the checks would be extended to hospitals and health centres across the state.

    “The state government has provided drugs and other items needed to check the disease as we have also intensified awareness campaigns on the disease especially on environmental cleanliness.

    “The rats relocate to human houses within this period as people should cover their foods and generally keep their environment clean.

     

     

  • ‘Police killed 99 suspects in Zone 5 in 2015’

    ‘Police killed 99 suspects in Zone 5 in 2015’

    The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 5, Musa Daura, has said 99 suspected criminals were killed in gun battles with policemen in Edo, Bayelsa and Delta states last year.

    Daura, who addressed reporters in Benin, the Edo State capital, said the dead included 82 suspected robbers, nine suspected kidnappers and eight suspected pipeline vandals.

    The police chief said policemen in the zone arrested 1,228 suspects, including 528 robbery suspects, 491 suspected cultists, 209 suspected kidnappers and 145 murder suspects. He said the zone recovered 4,110 arms and property valued at N293,931,400.

  • Army arrests seven suspects with IEDs in Kaduna

    Army arrests seven suspects with IEDs in Kaduna

    Troops have arrested seven suspected Boko Haram bomb and Improvised Explosive making Devices (IEDs) specialists.

    The terrorists were arrested in Kaduna after painstaking surveillance and proactive intelligence operations over a period of time.

    A statement by army’s acting Director of Information Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, said: “From all indications, the suspects were in Kaduna to conduct suicide bombings, kill and maim innocent citizens in the state and other surrounding areas during the Christmas period.

    “Recall that recently in Maiduguri some of them were arrested while trying to detonate IEDs carried in food containers in public places.

    “The arrest of these suspects would no doubt assist in the fight against terrorism in the country, more so as the military have technically defeated the Boko Haram terrorists in the field, the terrorists have resorted to attacking soft targets through suicide bombings, IEDs and harassing attacks on isolated communities.

    “Therefore, the public is please requested to continue to be more vigilant and security conscious by reporting suspicious persons and their movements to security agencies. This request has become necessary because the terrorists have resorted to mingling with the public across the country after sensing the futility of their encounter with troops in the northeast.

    “They adopt other methods of perpetuating violence in the society.”

  • FCT police arrest six robbery suspects

    FCT police arrest six robbery suspects

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command said it had arrested six robbery suspects who specialised in attacking and robbing people of cell phones and money.

    The Public Relations Officer of the command, ASP Anjuguri Manzah, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

    Manzah said that the suspects were arrested in separate operations in Mabushi, Nyanya and Wuye divisions by operatives of the command.

    He said that the suspects would be charged to court on completion of investigation

    He said that the FCT Commissioner of Police, Wilson Inalegwu, had directed all Divisional Police Officers and Area Commanders in the territory to ensure adequate security during the Yuletide.

    The Police Spokesman called on residents of the territory to assist the police by volunteering useful information that could lead to the arrest of criminals.

    “Residents of the territory should help the police by reporting suspicious movements in their neighbourhood, “ he said.

    It would be recalled that the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, had directed Command Commissioners of Police to personally ensure adequate security during the Yuletide.

  • $6 billion arms scandal: Suspects detention is legal – Falana

    $6 billion arms scandal: Suspects detention is legal – Falana

    Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) did not commit any illegality for detaining suspects arrested in connection with the $6 billion arms scandal.

    Falana, in a statement titled, “$6 billion arms gate: suspects’ rights not violated” issued Sunday contended that “the detention of the suspects is in strict compliance with the rule of law”.

    He was reacting to criticisms against the commission and the government that the detention of the suspects by the commission was an act of illegality.

    The erudite lawyer drew the attention of the critics to sections 293-299 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 (ACJA) which stipulate that a suspect arrested for an offence which a magistrate has no  jurisdiction to try, shall within a reasonable time, be brought before a magistrate court for remand.

    He stated that “the order which shall be for a period not exceeding 14 days may be further extended provided that if the investigation is not concluded within 28 days the court may summon the appropriate authority to show cause why the suspect should not be unconditionally released.

    “Suspects who are remanded in custody are at liberty to ask for bail or apply to the appropriate high court to secure the enforcement of their fundamental right to personal liberty. In view of the clear and unambiguous provisions of the law it is misleading to insist that a magistrate court lacks the power to grant the application filed by the EFCC for the detention of the criminal suspects.”

    He recalled “last week, some of the principal suspects implicated in the probe of the $2.1 billion and N643 billion arms gate were nabbed by the Economic and Financial Commission.  Pursuant to the ex parte orders validly issued by the courts the suspects have since been detained for the purpose of investigation. But in a desperate move designed to divert the attention of the Nigerian people and the international community from the grave allegations of reckless and criminal diversion of the public funds earmarked for arms procurement to prosecute the war on terror, some reactionary politicians have accused the Buhari administration of engaging in impunity for detaining the suspects beyond 48 hours without trial.

    He also recalled that a senior lawyer had said that “a magistrate court has no power to issue a holding charge warrant.”

    But Falana urged the Muhammadu Buhari administration to ignore the reckless campaign of calumny of certain people  who have lost their sense of shame pointing out that as far as they are concerned the suspects should be left alone to enjoy their loot while soldiers are losing their precious lives due to lack of adequate weapons.

    He rather counseled the federal government to ensure that all individuals and corporate bodies indicted in the criminal diversion of public funds are made to face the full wrath of the law.

    “The anti graft agencies should disregard the cheap blackmail, speed up  the investigation and charge all indicted suspects to court while the courts are enjoined to conduct the trial of the suspects under the ACJA which requires that the trials be conducted day by day. The federal government should open a dedicated account to warehouse the recovered loot with a view to using the fund to provide equipment for the armed forces, create jobs for our army of unemployed graduates and fix our dilapidated public schools, hospital and roads.

    “However, it is pertinent to correct the error in respect of the extent of the amount of money involved in the arms gate. The well publicized $2.1 billion is the foreign component of the loot. The actual amount stolen is $2.1 billion and N643 billion. The total missing fund is $6 billion.

    “In the light of the earth-shaking and ear-aching revelations oozing out of the EFCC to the effect that a handful of individuals cornered and shared the huge fund earmarked for the procurement of military hardware to prosecute the war on terror all the convicted military officers and soldiers who have been convicted including the 70 who were sentenced to death should be released forthwith.

    “As I have repeatedly maintained the soldiers were committed and sentenced to death for asking for weapons to fight the terrorists. They were ordered to fight with unserviceable equipment on the ground that there was no money to purchase new weapons. In the process, the well-equipped insurgents routed and massacre thousands of the country’s ill-equipped soldiers due to the diversion of the fund set aside to purchase equipment. The suspects must bear full responsibility for committing such grave crimes against humanity.

    “Consequently, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 we have applied for a certified true copy of the report of the arms procurement panel with a view to ensuring that some of the  suspects are prosecuted by the Special Prosecutor  of the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity,” he added.