Crime Facts

Catholic bishop donates food items to Muslim women, aged, others in Anambra

As part of measure to help the vulnerable and the less privileged ones in respective of religion background in Nigeria, especially at this festive period, coupled with the heat of COVID-19 pandemic, the Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Arch Bishop Paulinus Ezeokafor, on Wednesday, donated food items to 57 Muslim women residing in Anambra and other 300 selected aged people and less privileged in the state. Donating the items at the St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral Church Awka, said that the aim and objective of the Diocese was to take care of the aged and less privileged in the society. He said that the gifts are not for Christians and Roman Catholic members alone, noted that the Muslim women that benefited are human beings and cannot be discriminated against. “We are one people and hunger do not know if you are from the North or the South or that you are a Muslim or Christian so we try to extend the hand of love across the board and this is what Christmas is all about,” he said. He said apart from the donations, they were educated on how to stay safe during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Bishop, I also educated them on the need to follow the precautionary measures put in place by the federal and state government against the spread of the virus. The Bishop further urged Nigerians to use the Yuletide season to pray for the country and its leaders in view of the present condition of affairs in the country adding that the respective state and federal governments should also look inward towards bettering the lives of the poor masses.

FG declares public holidays for Christmas, New Year

The Federal Government has declared Friday, December 25, Monday , December 28, 2020, and Friday, January 1, 2021, as public holidays to mark the Christmas , Boxing Day , and New Year celebrations , respectively . The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola , announced this on behalf of the Federal Government in a statement by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry , Dr Shuaib Belgore , on Wednesday. It was titled, ‘ FG declares December 25, 28, 2020; January 1, 2021, public holidays . ’ The minister felicitated with Christians and all Nigerians both at home and abroad on the Christmas and New Year celebrations . Aregbesola urged Christians to adopt the creed of Christ on faith , hope , and love. “ We must emulate the life of humility, service , compassion , patience , peace , and righteousness that the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ signified, that will be the best way to know Christ and celebrate his birth ” , he said . The minister noted that peace and security are critical factors needed to enable the government to accomplish its mission of revitalizing the economy, improving Foreign Direct Investment as well as generating employment opportunities for over 100 million Nigerian youths in the next 10 years. Aregbesola advised Nigerians and Christians, in particular , to adhere strictly to the COVID – 19 protocols and guidelines , as stipulated by relevant authorities, during and after the yuletide , especially with the second wave of the outbreak of the disease . The minister while reiterating the FG ’ s commitment to the fight against banditry , kidnappings , and other crimes and criminalities in the country, called on Nigerians to support the efforts of the security agencies by providing them with information that will enhance intelligence gathering. While admonishing all Nigerians to remain focused , determined, patient , and patriotic , Aregbesola expressed the confidence that 2021 would be a better year for all Nigerians. He , therefore , urged Christians to use the period to pray for Nigeria . He wished all Nigerians and Christians in particular a happy Christmas and New Year celebrations .

Kankara Abduction: IGP Vows Such Incident Won’t Happen Again

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu on Wednesday visited the Katsina State Police Command to meet with officers of the Nigeria Police Force. The IGP vowed that the abduction of the students from Government Science Secondary School Ƙankara will never happen again. Upon his visit, the police boss met with the tactical units, the area commanders, the DPOs, and Commanders of Operation Puff Adder in order to make sure that Katsina is made a crime-free environment. He said that with the recent abduction of scores of students from Government Science Secondary School Ƙankara, the Nigeria Police Force has resolved never to allow such incidence to repeat itself in the state. IGP Adamu, while describing the police as the lead agency in internal Security in the country revealed that internal security is the role of the police to maintain law and order adding that for that reason, the police will never give any opportunity for criminals to thrive. “Recently we have seen an act of Banditry moving from the epicenter we used to know and were converging in Katsina state. “We believe we must strategize with other stakeholders, citizens of the state, and cooperative partners like Miyetti Allah and other law enforcement agencies so that every nooks and cranny of the state are manned and not to allow any space for these criminals to operate whether in the morning, afternoon or night.” The IGP’s statement comes after gunmen suspected to be bandits on December 11, invaded the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara and kidnapped hundreds of schoolboys. They were later released on December 16 which was confirmed by the State Governor, Aminu Masari.

NCSDC parade man, 29 for defiling 4 year-old neighbour

The Lagos Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence (NSCDC) on Wednesday paraded a 29-year-old man, Odife Edwin, for allegedly defiling his neighbour’s four-year-old girl. The State Commandant, Mr Paul Ayeni, during the parade said that the alleged assault and defilement was reported to the command on Dec. 21 by one Mrs Funke Balogun, the victim’s mother. The commandant said, “On Dec. 21, one Mrs Funke Balogun of No. 21, Oladunni Memorial St., Ejigbo, a Lagos suburb, reported one Edwin of the same address to the command. Balogun alleged that Edwin assaulted and defiled her four-year-old daughter by inserting one of his fingers in her private part. Ayeni added that after the victim’s mother had observed her daughter’s movements, she asked her what went wrong. The victim was quoted to have told her mother that the suspect, popularly called ‘Br K.C’ touched her private part with his finger severally. According to the NSCDC boss, the act also caused the victim’s vagina to become swollen and reddish. The NSCDC boss also said that the report of the medical examination conducted on the girl at a government hospital confirmed a case of forceful and blunt penetration into the victim’s vagina repeatedly. The commandant said that the suspect would be transferred to the appropriate agency handling such cases for further investigation and possible prosecution. Ayeni warned men with tendencies to abuse women to desist from such a shameful act. He said, “NSCDC will synergise with other agencies to flush such criminals out of the system. “ The accused, however, denied the allegation when newsmen asked him during the parade. “I did not set my eyes on her the day I was accused of the offence,’’ Edwin said.

Gov Bello to politicians: Stop using thugs and criminals

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, says Nigeria will be safer and more secure when politicians stop the use of thugs and criminals during elections. Bello made this on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily. “When politicians begin to stop the use of thugs, touts, or some group of criminal that is when we will begin to have safety and security,” Bello said. The governor also stressed that he won the November 16, 2019 Governorship Poll without the use of ‘boys’ or thugs. According to him, political thuggery and use of ‘boys’ during elections was the order of the day in Kogi before he came into power but he “refused to play that kind of dangerous politics.” “When I came on board, I inherited a state that was largely divided along several lines. For you to aspire to be anything politically in Kogi State then, you must have what we call ‘boys’ or thugs or touts and then use it to intimidate people during political dispensations. “Once the political exercise is over, the so-called boys or thugs or foot soldiers would be abandoned and left to themselves and by that, they breed into something else or a hydra-headed monster that you will not be able to curb at the end of the day. There are several histories, records, and intelligence to that effect across the country. “But I refused to play that kind of dangerous or unnecessary politics when I came on board. My ascension to the office is known to everybody across the world. I chose my path immediately and decided to deal with criminals irrespective of political affiliations by simply utilising the laws passed by the Kogi State House of Assembly and the existing security architecture,” he said. He boasted that Kogi State “run an open-door policy,” widely embraced by the residents. Speaking further on how he was re-elected governor on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019, Bello said evidence abound to show that he won the election freely “I won my election free and square. The police, the DSS, the military, and all law enforcement agencies have their facts. Don’t listen to the lies they peddle out there. When I see those things, I simply laugh and say how I wished they come to Kogi State to see for themselves. “There was no time in my campaign that any of my supporters or followers goes into the destruction of billboards, signposts, or installations of the state government, before, during, and after the election. I can say this boldly.” The governor also spoke concerning the case of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Woman Leader of Wada/Aro Campaign Council, Ochadamu Ward, Mrs Acheju Abuh who was killed by suspected political thugs after the election. Abuh was burnt alive after the thugs invaded her house around 2.00 p.m. and poured petrol on the building before setting it ablaze. Governor Bello assured that investigation is still going on into the incident and promised to follow-up the case till the end adding that findings will be made public.

EXTRA: Man, 71, Seeks Dissolution Of Marriage Over Sex Denial

A 1-year-old mechanic, Mr Mojidi Osho, approached Igando Customary Court in Lagos on Wednesday to nullify his 47-year-old marriage because his wife denied him sex. The petitioner said that his wife, Tolu, with whom he had 10 children in marriage denied him his matrimonial right to sleep with her. “The last time my wife allowed me to sleep with her was 10 years ago. “I am starving seriously but whenever I come home with my girlfriends, she will chase them away,’’ Osho said. The septuagenarian accused his wife of threatening to kill him so that she can inherit his property. “My wife wanted to kill me; she has been feeding me with poison.” “There was a day I fainted and was rushed to the hospital and it was detected that I ate poison.” “I thought I will not survive it but God saved me and I stopped eating her food.’’ The embattled man said his wife was a witch. “My wife keeps attacking me in the spiritual realm. “On two occasions, she shot arrows at me in my sleep which lead to sicknesses but God healed me. “She also buried charm in my workshop and customers stopped patronizing me. “My wife made me impotent but I later survived it after spending huge amount in the hospital and herbal treatment. “Tolu makes my life miserable; I would have gone far in life if I have not married her. “I regretted the day I met her and I wish I can turn the hand of the clock,’’ he said. According to him, Tolu stops washing his clothes 27 years ago. He begged the court to end the marriage to save him from committing murder. Responding to the allegations, the 67-year-old trader, Tolu, said that she denied her husband sex for only four years not 10 years as he claimed. “I stopped him from making love to me four years ago when he started bringing different girls home to sleep with, after which he will want to sleep with me; so I refused him,’’ the wife told the court. The mother of 10 children denied threatening her husband’s life to kill by poisoning. “I did not poison my husband’s food since 1973 when we got married, is it now that I will poison him? “He is just looking for excuses to discard me. “He came to this court to divorce his second wife now he wanted to also divorce me so that he can marry a new wife.’’ According to her, Osho is fond of invoking curses on their children, which is affecting their lives now. The respondent begged the court not to grant her husband’s wish for the dissolution of their marriage, saying she still loved him. The court president, Mr Adeniyi Koledoye, adjourned the case until Feb. 18, 2021, for judgment. (NAN)

Report: 170 million Nigerians living in dirty environment

•Abuja, Akwa Ibom emerge cleanest city, state in Nigeria •Only Lagos, Oyo and Abuja operate sanitary landfills in waste management Performance indicators from a study by Clean-up Nigeria (CUN) has shown that the number of Nigerians living in an unclean environment has increased from 68 million in 2019 to 170 million in 2020, Tribuneonline reports. The study also rated Abuja as the cleanest city in Nigeria, while Akwa Ibom State emerged as the cleanest state in the country in the study. The results were the outcome of a 15 member national technical study group on the state of the Nigeria environment report 2020 with focus on the cleanliness index ratings of states and cities/towns in Nigeria conducted by CUN with support from global project partners from Canada, USA, Germany, France and Australia. This is contained in a statement issued by the National Co-ordinator/Secretary, National Technical Study, Group Prince Ene Baba-Owoh. CUN said the study was scored on five performance indicators via physical verification 20 per cent and the deployment of GEO-Eye-1 satellite that has the highest resolution imagery system in the world which is able to collect images with a ground resolution of 0.41 meters (16 inches) in panchromatic and multi-spectral from the orbit every quarter year-round and gives accurate reliable data. The study further said it applied five performance indicators which include “streets/road cleanliness (30 per cent), vegetation/drain control (20 per cent), waste management service (30 per cent) public opinion poll+ social media (10 per cent), knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of hygiene and sanitation of the people (10 per cent), totalling 100 per cent. “The 2020 study ran from December 2019 to November 2020 with quarterly evaluation. Ebonyi State came a distant second, scoring 44 per cent to Akwa Ibom’s 80 per cent. Lagos, Bauchi, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Cross River, Rivers, Plateau, Niger and Ekiti States were placed third to 10th respectively in the descending order. While Kogi was the lowest-ranked state in the study. In the cleanest city category, Abuja and (not the whole FCT,) scored 68 per cent to come first, followed closed by Uyo which scored 63 per cent. “Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State, placed third with 44% while Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State, came last in the category,” the statement noted. The study observed a significant drop in the level of waste management in Nigeria, especially in the areas of equipment most of which have been grounded and unserviceable. The most disturbing of the study’s observations is that Nigeria still remains the number one country in the world in the practice of open defecation. It says that “the practice of open defecation in all the 36 states of the Federation and FCT has not reduced.” “Performance indicators from the studies also show that the number of Nigerians living in the unclean environment has increased from 68 million in 2019 to 170 million in 2020.” “It also reveals that only three states in the country, namely Lagos, Oyo and Abuja operate sanitary landfills in waste management while the rest still operate open dumping,” the statement added. In terms of waste management privatization which is part of the millennium set goals with 2020 as deadline, the study said that many governments are still far from achieving the goal as most are directly involved in the management of waste rather than privatizing it which would have improved service delivery. The study, therefore, recommends that the government should hands-off direct management of waste but should engage the private sector to ensure service delivery and job creators. The study also observes that the informal sector operators of waste recycling and reuse enterprises recorded lower patronage and 37 per cent in 2020 as against 43 per cent in 2019.

How 5 men kidnapped, chopped, bagged okadaman, passenger for money ritual— Police

Five people are currently in police net following the killing of a housewife and a commercial motorcyclist popularly called ‘Okada rider’ in Ogun State. The victims— 45 years old housewife, Memunat Akinde, and the motorcyclist Ibikunle Ajose— were said to be missing since October 1. Memnat, who was a fishmonger, left her house at Idoleyin area of Ado-Odo Ota Local Government area to a nearby market to source for fish and she contracted a motorcyclist to take her to the said market. Surprisingly, both of them never returned home since then and this prompted the woman’s husband to lodge a complaint at Ado-Odo Divisional Headquarters where the case was formally incidented. The case was later transferred to the anti-kidnapping unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department on the order of the Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Awolowo Ajogun, who gave the team a matching order to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the two within the shortest possible period. The team there then embarked on an intelligence-based investigation and their efforts paid off when one of the suspects Okediran Monsuru was traced to Badagry and apprehended. His arrest led to the apprehension of three others namely: Ajaoba Monday, Akewusola Wajud and Nupo Pona. The four of them confessed that they were working for a notorious land grabber who they simply identified as” Lebo”. They stated that they accosted both victims along the road at Abisoye village where they abducted them to an uncompleted building in a bushy area, tied them in both hands and leg and later called their principal on phone informing him that they have succeeded in getting two victims. They confessed further that when the said Lebo came, he ordered them to slaughter the two victims. The trio of Okediran Monsuru, Ajaoba Monday and Akewusola Wajud held the victims down while Nupo Pona slaughtered them with a cutlass. Having killed them, the fifth suspect Dasu Sunday who is a herberlist was called to come, and on his arrival, they cut the two victims into pieces and loaded their parts into a sack brought by the herberlist who took the parts away for money-making ritual. The head of the woman was recovered at the herberlist shrine. The five suspects Okediran Monsuru, Ajaoba Monday, Akewusola Wajud, Nupo Pona and Dasu Sunday are all in police custody’ while a manhunt has been launched for Lebo. The commissioner of police CP Edward Awolowo Ajogun who commended the investigating team for their determination and resilience in bringing the culprits to book has directed that the arrested suspects be charged to court without further delay while the remaining ones are to be hunted for and fished out.

Stray Bullet From Newly Launched Operation Delta Hawk Officer Kills Woman In Asaba

A woman was killed on Tuesday after she was hit by a stray bullet reportedly shot by an officer of the newly inaugurated security Operation Delta Hawk in Asaba, Delta State capital. According to eyewitnesses, some of the officers were in pursuit of two young men in a vehicle when they suddenly opened fire on them on the road. Unfortunately, the woman who was selling at a corner of the road was hit by a bullet and died instantly. The Coordinator of Operation Delta Hawk, David Tonwe, confirmed the incident to Channels Television. He said the team was chasing after a car without a plate number after the driver refused to stop. The team fired at the vehicle but unfortunately, an unidentified woman was hit by the bullet, killing her on the spot. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa weeks ago launched ‘Operation Delta Hawk’ at the Police Headquarters in Asaba and urged residents of the state to assist in tracking down criminals and their collaborators. The governor said security operatives have given their best in the fight against cultism, herders and farmers clashes, kidnapping, armed robbery, and other heinous crimes, adding that Operation Delta Hawk is to assist in this regard.

Kano musician under probe for featuring married woman in music video

Kano based Arewa singer, Dauda Kahutu Rarara, may face prosecution for featuring a married woman in one of his music video production recently. Rarara had featured one Maryam Muhammad, 20 in one of his music videos titled ‘JAHATA JAHATA TACE’. According to a report, the Kwali Police Division in Kano State was ordered to probe the political Hausa musician, for the act that was tagged ‘unIslamic’ after Maryam’s husband filed a suit against him for featuring his wife in the production. The state Shariah Court demanded the police to investigate the singer and present its findings to the court for further decision. In his ruling, the Shariah court judge, Sarki Yola, noted that ‘the court can not dismiss the suit instituted by the husband of Maryam, on the claim that the singer was not aware of her marital status.” Yola, therefore, asked the Kwali Police Station to look into the matter thoroughly and present its findings to the court. Further reports revealed that the woman in question, Maryam Muhammad had left her husband Abdulkadir Inuwa at home a few months after their wedding without his knowledge until she appeared in the music video with Rarara. The counsel for the singer had asked the court to dismiss the case, as no investigation has been done by the police on the claims of the husband. However, the court judge, Khadi Sarki Yola has asked the DPO Kwalli Police division to summon the singer Rarara and his producer, Bashir Maishadda, with a view to investigating the veracity of the claims, and thereby adjourned the case till further notice. Rarara is the official political singer for President Muhammadu Buhari and many other APC leaders in the country.