Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command have rescued four members of a suspected ‘one-chance’ robbery gang from being lynched by a mob along Kubwa Expressway, Abuja.

The intervention of the police patrol team saved the suspects identified as Lydia Agabi, 23, Glory George, 24, Ifeoma Ekweme, 39 and Eleojo David, 37, from the mob who had already set their operational car ablaze. 

The three female gang members were also reportedly stripped naked by their assailants who were about to mete out jungle justice on them but for the timely arrival of the police.

The FCT police spokesman, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, explained in a statement on Tuesday that the suspects had dispossessed their victim of N83,000 cash before they were intercepted by commuters.

The police said, “Investigation has revealed that the ‘one-chance’ robbery gang operates along Kubwa Expressway in Abuja. On the said date, they robbed an unsuspecting female passenger of N83,000.

“The victim, who boarded the car used by the syndicate from Deidei en-route Dutse Alhaji was robbed along the way of her phone and cash. However, the suspects were intercepted by commuters following the alarm raised by the victim.”

The command condemned the resort to jungle justice by the people, adding that stripping the ladies naked was uncalled for, noting that “two wrongs cannot make a right.”

The force noted, “The suspects have been given medical attention and are cooperating with the police in the ongoing investigation. The command is hereby assuring members of the public that efforts are being intensified to arrest the ‘one-chance’ syndrome in the FCT.”

Meanwhile, a member of the gang, Ifeanyi Kanu, 27, who escaped with their victim’s cash has been arrested and the sum of N53,000 and the victim’s phone recovered from him.

The command pledged to prosecute the suspects after investigation.

Source: Punchng.com

The Imo State Police Command has declared wanted an Inspector, who allegedly shot dead a 25-year-old man, Ikenna Ukachi, on Monday.

The incident, which caused pandemonium in the Otoko community in the Obowo Local Government Area of the state, led to the setting ablaze of the police divisional headquarters in the area by riotous youths.

The state Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo, who spoke to our correspondent in a telephone conversation on Tuesday, said the killer cop abandoned his rifle and ran away.

The CP, however, said that the command had declared the killer cop wanted for his unprofessional conduct.

Ladodo stated, “I am at the scene of the incident as I speak to you. The killer police officer has abandoned his rifle and ran away. We have recovered the rifle. But let me assure the good people of Imo State that no matter how far he runs, we will find him.

“I want to commend the leaders of the community for helping us to restore normalcy in the area. The youth have stopped rioting and the whole place is 100 per cent peaceful now.”

The CP added that he was working hard to make sure that the rifles, which were allegedly taken away by the rioting youths, were recovered.

Ladodo said he had mandated the homicide session of the State Criminal Investigation Department to take over the case.

A police source told our correspondent that the command had started recovering some of the firearms, which the youth allegedly took away.

Meanwhile, the Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has asked Ladodo to immediately apprehend the fleeing inspector, who allegedly murdered Ukachi.

The governor, who gave the charge when he visited the family of the slain man in Otoko on Tuesday, said that those who were paid to protect human lives should be careful.

Ihedioha, who was accompanied on the visit by his Deputy, Gerald Irona; his Chief of Staff, Chris Okewulonu; and the CP, said, “The officer that provoked this action must be found and brought to justice immediately; under no circumstance should a police officer, who is supposed to protect the people and maintain the peace, go to the extent of killing a citizen meant to be protected.

“Adequate steps must be taken to forestall this kind of action. We should be cautious because human lives can’t be duplicated. It is the responsibility of anyone that carries arms officially to protect lives and properties.”

Addressing members of the community, the governor said, “You have a duty to make available those persons that burnt the police station and made away with guns. It is a crime to steal guns and anybody doing it under the guise of retaliation is a criminal and must face the full wrath of the law.”

Ihedioha assured the bereaved family that the state government would stand by them in their grief.

Source: Punchng.com

The Osun State Police Command, on Tuesday, said it had arrested one Habeebulah Abdurrahman, an Islamic cleric in Ede, for allegedly defiling a 16-year-old girl learning Arabic in his school.

Abdurrahman’s arrest followed a petition by the Crescent Chamber, Ibadan, dated June 13, 2019, addressed to the Commissioner of Police, which detailed how the cleric allegedly molested the victim.

Sources claimed that the cleric was being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Osogbo.

Confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Folasade Odoro, said the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Ige, had directed full investigation into the matter.

“The suspect was arrested in connection with the allegations contained in the petition and is already in our custody,” Odoro stated.

According to the petition written on behalf of the victim’s family, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent, the victim is a Junior Secondary School 3 pupil of a private school in Ede and has been living with her mother since the demise of her father nine years ago.

The cleric was said to have told the victim’s mother to withdraw her from the Arabic school she was attending and enrol her in his own, with an assurance that he would personally train her.

Not long after the victim joined the cleric’s school, it was alleged that Abdurrahman would delay her at the end of the lesson without any justification.

The cleric allegedly bought a mobile telephone for the victim and gave her money in a bid to entice her.

Giving further insights into the matter, the victim’s uncle, Muhydeen Oloyede, stated, “On April 18, 2019, the cleric took the victim and some of his pupils on a journey to Ilaro, Ogun State. He lodged the other pupils in one room and asked the victim to stay in his own room. That night, he molested her.

“The following morning, the cleric took her to his sister’s house in Abeokuta and also had intercourse with her there. He gave her N50,000 to appease her when they returned from the trip. He is claiming that he had married the girl, but that claim is not true.”

Source: Punchng.com

Hoodlums suspected to be cultists on Monday set the Otoko police station in Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State on fire.

The hoodlums, who sacked the few policemen on duty made away with four firearms.

A village source who confirmed the development to our correspondent said that the villagers were on the run because of the incident.

According to him, the incident happened around 2:50 p.m. on Monday.

He said  “Otoko Police Station in Obowo  Local Government Area of  Imo State is on fire. Cultists razed down the station and carted away all the firearms.”

When contacted on the phone, the state commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo said he was already at the scene of the incident.

The CP said “I’m at the scene of the incident. I’m accessing the extent of damages at the scene. I’m with the villagers. Please exercise some patience I will call you once I’m through.”

Source: Punchng.com

Commercial motorcyclists, popularly called Okada riders, on Friday, protested the alleged extortion of its members by the executives of its association at Ibafo, Ogun State.

Ayuba Olaniran, the spokesman for the riders, said the extortion has become unbearable as the union executives collect N500 daily from its members in the area.

He said, “The union collects N500 from us every day. We do not know what they do with this money. We don’t have any welfare neither do they protect us from area boys, so why are they collecting the money?”

Olaniran also bemoaned the arrest of its members by policemen from the Ibafo Police Station over a protest by its members on Thursday.

“The Police (in Ibafo) arrested our members who protested yesterday and when we got there to secure their release, we were asked to pay N70,000.

“The union at Mowe, Magbaro and the other areas have stopped issuing tickets to Okada riders. We want an end to it too in Ibafo,” Olaniran said.

The spokesman said they want the release of their three colleagues in police custody unconditionally and an end to the levy.

Also speaking, Ahmed Ismail, a.k.a Small Awual, accused the police of conniving with the chairman of the Okada riders association, Bale Folurunsho, to make life unbearable for the riders in the area.

He said, “Bale and the policemen in Ibafo have agreed to torment Okada riders. They seize our bikes and arrest us over the non-payment of the levy. And when that happens, we pay N10,000 to get our bikes back.

“We have begged them to release our colleagues in detention but they said we should bring N70,000.

“Our chairman said our ordeal is not his business. We have contributed to paying for their release but they have not released our colleagues.

“We want people to help us.”

Source: punchng.com

On this year’s United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Legal Defence and Assistance Project- LEDAP calls on the federal government and other relevant stakeholders to work towards the effective implementation of the Anti-Torture Act 2017.

As much as we commend Nigeria for being one of the first 15 countries in the world to have passed a legislation that criminalizes torture, we must state however that a law is only as good as its implementation and impact on the society. We are particularly concerned that irrespective of the increase in reported cases of torture, which is a direct result of sensitization and awareness created by CSOs, no person has been charged for offences under the Act. This we note is a lacuna that needs to be addressed by the office of the Attorney General of the federation to achieve justice for victims and also serve as deterrence to law enforcement and security agents.  

We cannot overemphasize the need for engagement of law enforcement and security agencies to move away from torture as a means of investigation to forensic method of investigation in line with international standards and best practices. To this end, we must continue to create awareness on the provisions of the Act and scale up the discussion on torture, while still focusing on community mobilization against torture, which has the objective of curbing the systemic use of torture in policing by law enforcement and security agents.

We must also stress that as much as the Federal government has a mandatory duty under section 1 of the Act to ensure that the rights of all persons are respected at all times regardless of whether they are being investigated or have been convicted for crimes, it is pertinent that CSOs and the media become more involved towards achieving the aims of the Act.

LEDAP had in April 2019 at a roundtable dialogue it hosted for stakeholders, charged participants to proffer workable strategies for the prevention of torture, which strategies we hope will form part of the National working plan for the implementation of the Act. We believe that this, being a concerted effort of key stakeholders, will be instrumental towards effective implementation of the Act.

For: LEDAP- Legal Defence and Assistance Project.

Chino Obiagwu SAN,

National Coordinator.

An ex-policeman, Ogwu Christian, has been arrested for allegedly killing his fiancée’s mother, Veronica Obiejieogo, over the cancellation of their wedding date.

Christian reportedly shot the 45-year-old woman dead at short range while she was walking along a street in her village in Delta State. He thereafter fled the scene on a motorcycle.

It was learnt that his wedding to Obiejieogo’s daughter, Blessing, had been fixed for December 27, 2018.

He had reportedly given Blessing money to buy clothes and some other items they would use on that day.

Few days to the ceremony, it was learnt that 39-year-old Christian noticed that Blessing was evasive as he no longer got updates on the wedding plans from her.

We gathered that when it became clear that the wedding would not hold as scheduled, Christian went to Blessing’s village in Otolokpo and killed her mother, whom he accused of cancelling the event.

He relocated to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, afterwards.

Our correspondent learnt that operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team went after Christian following a petition to the IGP, Mohammed Adamu, on the incident.

After months of tracking him, the suspect was arrested recently in Port Harcourt, while he allegedly was about to carry out a fraudulent deal.

The police said Christian, who was dismissed from the Force in 2005, had been parading himself as a senior officer to defraud members of the public and policemen seeking promotion.

In an interview with our correspondent during the week, the native of Afor in the Ndukwa East Local Government area of Delta State, confessed to the murder of his fiancée’s mother, adding that he believed the victim discouraged her daughter from marrying him.

He stated that he was frustrated and felt betrayed after he had planned big for the wedding.

He recalled, “I met Blessing at Ogwuachukwu Polytechnic, Delta State, where she was a student. She told me she was single and we started a relationship. In the process, she became pregnant but she aborted it. She said she could not have a child for me because I wasn’t known to her family.

“In April 2018, I went for a formal introduction and her family asked me to come back for a more elaborate ‘introduction ceremony.’ On September 7, 2018, I went back with my family for the ceremony and they gave us the list of things required for the marriage. In October, Blessing informed me that she was pregnant. We then fixed the wedding for December 27, 2018 and I gave her money to buy clothes that we would use for the marriage.

“On December 5, 2018, she called me and said she was on her way to Asaba, where I resided and after waiting for her for a long time, I called her, but she didn’t pick up her calls. One of her brothers known as Friday informed me that she had a miscarriage and was at the hospital in Asaba with her mother. I went to the hospital but I was not allowed to see Blessing and her mother.

“Some days later, I called her to know what was going on. She told me she was in her friend’s place in Asaba. I went there but I didn’t see her after waiting all day.

“On December 21, 2018, she told me on the phone that she had travelled to Lagos. I became very angry and met with one of my friends known as Steven.”

The ex-policeman explained that he rented a gun with two live cartridges from Steven for N10,000 and headed for his fiancée’s village on December 26, 2018 – the eve of the thwarted wedding.

He said shortly before he killed Obiejieogo, he took some alcohol and drugs to toughen up.

He added, “I went to a shop close to my fiancée’s house and bought a bottle of dry gin and Tramadol. I took them at once to get inspiration so that I would not change my mind. While I was at the shop, I sighted her mother and her younger brother walking towards my direction. I went to them, brought out my gun and shot the woman. I then zoomed off on a motorcycle and relocated to Rivers State.”

But a police source disclosed to our correspondent that the deceased discouraged her daughter from marrying Christian after she discovered he was a fraudster.

“The incident that got the deceased angry was when Christian defrauded two residents of her community, whom he had offered to help secure jobs at the Federal Road Safety Commission. He collected N25,000 each from the victims, but he didn’t get them the jobs as promised,” the source added.

Narrating his escapades as a fraudster, Christian said he joined a gang after he was dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force over a gun allegedly snatched away from him by some armed robbers at a checkpoint.

He said, “I attended training at the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos. I was posted to the Edo State Police Command, where I served for five years before I was dismissed. I joined a fraud syndicate operating in Asaba. The man who initiated me into the syndicate taught me all the tricks.

“I started using my police experience to defraud people. I adopted the rank of an Assistant Superintendent of Police and people started coming to me for assistance.

“Some policemen, who wanted promotion, paid me to help them because I told them I was working in the IGP’s office in Abuja. People who wanted to get recruited into the police also came to me and I usually collected N150,000 per person.

“Those applying for Cadet ASP, paid me N400,000 each. In some cases, I succeeded in helping them, using my connections.”

Source: Punchng.com

An NGO, Save the Children Community Engagement and Advocacy, has called on the Gombe state government to domesticate the Child’s Rights Act, to tackle increasing cases of rape in the state.

Mr Akpan Effiong, the Co-ordinator of the NGO, made the call on Tuesday in an interview with NAN in Gombe.

According to Effiong, increasing cases of rape has made it necessary for the state government to look into the speedy domestication of the act.

He also said that most people were taking advantage of the non-domestication of the act in the state to perpetuate their heinous act.

“The state government should, as a matter of urgency, domesticate the child rights act to tackle the increasing menace of rape and other child abuses.

“Culprits are aware of the non-domestication status of the act.

“Most of them perpetuate their heinous act because they know there is no concrete law to pin them down and when they are arrested, before you know it, they are back to business.

“We have a new administration in Gombe state. The child rights act bill should be speedily worked on to protect the Nigerian child from rape, hawking, out-of-school and other harsh menace.

“Today, we have over 450, 000 out-of-school children in Gombe state and this is worrisome.

“The right of our children to good education and other rights of life must not be denied them,’’ he said.

Corroborating Effiong, Mrs Suuda Mustapha, the Chairperson, Better Life for Girls Group in Gombe, stressed that the psychological effects of rape on girl-child often takes time to be worked on.

Mustapha said that children in the state deserved better life and adequate protection against any kind of torture or assault, adding that when such is done, the potential of children would be enhanced.

“The only way to realising the dreams of children in the state is the domesticating of the act in Gombe.“

According to her, when that is settled, rape will drop because the law will protect the children better.

The United Nations General Assembly had on Nov. 20, 1989 adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Shortly afterward, in July 1990, the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government adopted the African Union Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (CRWC).

Nigeria signed both international instruments and ratified them in 1991 and 2000, respectively. The principles enshrined were adopted in Nigeria as the Child’s Rights Act (CRA) in 2003.

Source: Punchng.com