July 2021 – Page 13 – Crime Facts

Post Date : July 28, 2021

Abductors demand N150m to free ruler, two women in Kaduna

The hoodlums who abducted a paramount ruler in Kaduna State, Kpop Ham, Gyet Maude of Jaba chiefdom have demanded N100 million for his release. A family source said the kidnappers made the demand on Tuesday in a telephone call. Also, in Benue, abductors of two women have contacted their families, asking for N50 million to set them free. The monarch adjudged to be the oldest traditional ruler in Northern Nigeria was abducted on Monday about 2pm by gunmen while working on his farm in Gitata community in Nasarawa State. The community is on the border between Kaduna and Nasarawa. The 83-year-old royal father was with his driver and security guard when he was abducted. The assailants did not take The community is on the border between Kaduna and Nasarawa. The 83-year-old royal father was with his driver and security guard when he was abducted. Both men were not taken away. Abductors of the two women whisked away in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on Sunday night reportedly communicated with their relatives using one of their phones. Negotiations were on at press time, it was gathered. Criminal activities, especially kidnapping, are rampant in Makurdi town. Police spokesperson Kate Anene neither denied any uptick in kidnapping in the state, but said there were efforts to apprehend the abductors of the women.

Post Date : July 28, 2021

Anambra election: I will actualise my guber dream in another party ― Okonkwo

Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, the former governorship aspirant under the People Democratic Party (PDP), in the forthcoming November 6th 2021 guber election in Anambra State, has revealed his intention to contest the election on the platform of another political party following his loss of the ticket in PDP during the party’s primary. He said he is capable of actualise his governorship dream in another political party. The hint was revealed by a pressure group, the Anambra Rescue Committee (ARC), which observed that Anambra people are desirous of having Okonkwo as the next governor of the state and are therefore urging him to enter the race immediately without delayed. Leader of the group, Mr. Azubuike Anazor, who disclosed this to Journalists in Onitsha, on Tuesday, observed that the ongoing political developments in the state had shown that the November election would, from all indications, produce a governor that might not be generally acceptable to the people, which is why someone like Okonkwo is needed to be in the contest. Anazor said: “The recent gubernatorial primaries of the major political parties in the state – PDP, APGA and APC — have resulted in the imposition of candidates and manipulation of the electoral process by vested interests actuated, not by altruistic motives and intentions, but by the egregious desire to foist on our dear state a leadership that will serve interests not in tune with the wishes of our people for good governance.”

Post Date : July 28, 2021

STRIKE: FG, ASUU resume fight on payment platforms

The Federal Government on Tuesday denied allegations that it had breached agreements it reached with the Academic Staff Union of Universities. The Spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Ben Gong, who stated this in an interview with The PUNCH in Abuja, also explained why the Federal Government could not adopt the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, a payment platform developed by ASUU. According to him, UTAS does not make provision for tax deduction from salaries. He added that ASUU members cannot collect salaries without paying taxes. Recall that the President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, in an interview with The PUNCH on Monday, accused the Federal Government of violating agreements it reached with the lecturers before they called off their strike on December 24, 2020. He specifically accused government of not paying the earned academic allowances as contained in the agreements. He also faulted what he called the selective payment of salaries to ASUU members, saying professors in some institutions received N80,000 in June and senior lecturers got N25,000. Osodeke said the union had been proved right in its opposition to the IPPIS. He said in June, a number of lecturers in Nigerian universities received different salaries. But Gong, in the interview with The PUNCH, challenged the union to be more specific in its allegations that government had violated agreements. He said the ministry was preparing an official letter to seek clarifications from ASUU over its recent pronouncements. Gong stated, “Let them (ASUU) be specific on their accusations. Let them state the parts of the agreements which have not been met. “Let them also mention the ministries responsible for not meeting the agreements. “For example, if we say we want to pay them this amount of money, is it not the ministry of finance who will do the payment? “For the UTAS platform, there is no provision on that platform for tax deduction. How do you pay someone’s salary without tax deductions? Let them list their issues. “When we saw the publications (by ASUU). We wrote to the permanent secretary to notify him of the allegations by ASUU and we pleaded with him to tell the Chairman (Executive Secretary) of the National Universities Commission to launch an inquiry.” Besides the issue of payment, ASUU also accused the Federal Government of appointing non-graduates into the governing boards of universities. Responding to this, Gong stated, “The permanent secretary has directed that a letter be written to ASUU. This was what the permanent secretary said, ‘Write to the ASUU president to indicate those he claimed are not graduates among the members of governing council for further investigations.’ I am already writing the publication.” ASUU, a few day ago, issued a fresh strike notice to push for the payment of outstanding allowances and adoption of UTAS for the payment of lecturers’ salaries, instead of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System. Recall that in March 2020, ASUU embarked on a strike following its disagreement with the Federal Government over the funding of the universities and implementation of the IPPIS. ASUU, however, developed UTAS and had several meetings with the ministries of Finance, Education, Labour and Employment, and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation. Government agreed to pay outstanding salaries to the university lecturers and resolve all other issues which ASUU raised. Before calling off its strike last year, ASUU insisted that its members would not register the IPPIS. In response, the Minister of Labour and Employment , Dr Chris Ngige, said the UTAS platform would first be subjected to an integrity test. The National Information Technology Development Agency is saddled with the responsibility of subjecting the UTAS platform to an integrity test. When contacted on Tuesday, Spokesperson for the NITDA, Hadiza Umar, said, “I do not have any update on it at the moment, I will contact the team tomorrow.” When contacted, Spokesman for the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, Yunusa Abdullahi, said, “I guess you should direct your inquiry to the Ministry of Education. Thank you.” Responding to Gong’s statement, ASUU insisted that none of the agreement it reached with the Federal Government had have been implemented. Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday, the President of ASUU, Osodeke, maintained that the Memorandum of Understanding which was signed with the Federal Government in December 2020, had not been implemented. Osodeke denied the allegations which Gong made against UTAS and the other issues he raised. He said, “He talks without consulting his principals. If you call the Minister for Education he will not say all these. Was he there when UTAS was tested for him to say it doesn’t deduct tax? UTAS has passed through many stages. All the ministries where we presented UTAS, applauded it. UTAS deducts tax. The National Assembly applauded it. It was also presented at the office of the AGF. UTAS encompasses everything you can talk about in a university, not just about salaries alone, even human resources. He doesn’t know what he is talking about. If you want to know the real details of what is happening contact the Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, ministers of Education and Labour. They all have a copy of the MoU we signed in December. “They know that UTAS, which is the major one has not been implemented. The revitalisation fund has not been released. They agreed that they would mainstream our earned academic allowances into the salary system in 2021. We are in August already and preparing 2022 budget, yet nothing has been done. They said by December they would pay the backlog they are owing our members and till now they have not paid a number of them. “They agreed that they would review the NUC law to ensure that no government would wake up one day and be proliferating universities, they haven’t gone to the National Assembly. “ Credit: PUNCH

Post Date : July 28, 2021

Unilorin rape/murder: Autopsy report shows victim was raped, strangled ― Witness

A pathologist at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Dr Kayode Adeniyi, on Tuesday, informed the Kwara State high court that the autopsy test was conducted on the raped and murdered University of Ilorin student, Blessing Olajide Omowumi, showed evidence that the deceased was strangulated to death. Adeniyi, who was the eighth witness in the ongoing trial of eight suspects facing trial in connection with Omowuni’s death, was led in evidence by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Salman Jawondo. He said when he dissected Omowumi at the Teaching Hospital, her kidney had turned whitish as a result of a lack of oxygen to breathe. ‌ He also said that a sort of material which he said could be rope was used to tie her hands and her right side-eye was swollen with the tongue showing patches of injuries. According to the pathologist, there were bruises all around her private part and there were signs of penetration with deposits of sperm inside her organ which suggested the possibility that she was raped. “The right side of her teeth was broken and there was clotted blood on her scalp. She must have wrestled for life and sustained injuries in the process,” he added. Dr Adeniyi explained that she took photographs with his infinix phone in the course of performing the medical examination through the postmortem on the deceased which he printed out as evidence. The witness was cross-examined by the defendant’s counsel, Barrister Shina Ibiyemi and others on the basis of his claim before the court. The trial judge, Justice Adebayo Yusuf, admitted the photographs in evidence while the matter was adjourned to next week Tuesday and Wednesday for the continuation of the hearing.

Post Date : July 28, 2021

Resumption of schools in Kaduna only extended by three weeks, says Kaduna govt

Kaduna State government has said it only extended the resumption of schools to three weeks and not indefinite. a statement issued by the state Commisioner for Education, Shehu Usman, on Tuesday, said the report attributed to the state governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, was false. The statement said: The information is false and lacks any basis as the governor was neither in a meeting with stakeholders or made any such disclosure to any one.” In view of the above, “the Ministry of Education is urging the public to disregard the report that it was closing chools indefinitely.” It also warned those behind the heinous act of misinforming the public to desist from it or be prepared to face the wrath of the law.

Post Date : July 28, 2021

Femi Adesina: Between now and 2023, there’ll be more confusion in PDP

Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson, says there will be more depletions and confusion in the ranks of the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of the 2023 elections. On Monday, governors elected under the PDP said Aso Rock has become a place where some “coerced PDP members are paraded at intervals”, adding that the presidency is using “underhand tactics to arm-twist” its governors. Reacting to the development, Adesina, in an interview on Channels Television, on Tuesday, said the opposition is losing grounds and its ranks are depleting, noting that the PDP will say anything “illogical and inconsequential”. The presidential spokesperson argued that during the PDP administration at the federal level, the party conducted some of its meetings at the presidential villa. “Between now and 2023, there would be more confusion in their ranks and there would be more depletions in their ranks, so that is why they say anything,” he said. “However, anything illogical, and inconsequential they say. We were in this country when President Obasanjo was in power and the BOT meeting of the PDP used to hold at the presidential villa. “We were here when President Yar’adua, when President Jonathan was there, they held meetings at the presidential villa. What are they talking about really? “When APC dwindles from 24 governors to 19, do you hear a whimper from PDP one day rejoicing? It is all because they are losing ground that they are saying all these things. It is the way of politics.” BUHARI WILL UNVEIL MASSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE IN 2022 He noted that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will unveil massive infrastructure in the country by 2022. The presidential spokesperson noted that the massive infrastructure will make PDP governors see that they have been “backing the wrong horse”. “Because 2022 particularly, will be the year of unveiling of massive infrastructure in this country. When I say massive, I mean massive,” he added. “2022 is the year the president will likely unfold the second Niger bridge that the PDP built with mouth for 16 years. You see the Lagos-Ibadan expressway commission, You will see Abuja-Kano done to a large extent if not fully done. “A lot of PDP governors will say, yes, we are backing the wrong horse, we are coming to APC. That is what will happen in 2022, particularly.”

Post Date : July 28, 2021

7 Naval Officers Abducted In Edo

Seven officers of the Nigerian Navy have been abducted in Edo State. The security personnel were abducted while travelling to Delta from Kaduna. Daily Trust gathered that five of the Naval officers have been rescued by the police. The officers from a Naval Base in Kaduna state were said to have abducted on Sapele-Warri road. “They were on their way to Navy Engineering College, Sapele in Delta State,” according to a source. It was gathered that policemen from the Edo State Command, acting on intelligence report, rescued five of the officers while two others are still missing. The State Command’s spokesperson, SP. Kotongs Bello, confirmed the report but didn’t go into details. “We rescued five and two others are yet to be rescued. That is the one I am aware of,” he said . Nigeria is currently witnessing a high level of insecurity and security operatives are not spared. The Islamic State in West Africa Province recently released pictures of soldiers allegedly abducted in Yobe State.

Post Date : July 28, 2021

23 year-old man kills lover in Edo

A 23-year-old bricklayer, Adebayo Kingsley, has allegedly killed his lover, Rosemary Ifeoma, aka Mama Samuel. The incident occurred on Darlington Ogbeifun Street, Off Ogbekan Village Road, Ugbor, in the Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. Rosemary, 46, hailed from Orogun in the Ughelli North LGA of Delta State. The suspect, an indigene of Ibillo in the Akoko-Edo LGA, allegedly hit the mother of four with a plank and afterwards had sexual intercourse with her lifeless body. He was also accused of hitting the head of the widow’s 13-year-old son in an attempt to kill him. A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The widow had difficulty paying her rent and approached a woman in the area whose brother was constructing a storey building that had been roofed to allow her stay there pending when she would raise money from her business to get new accommodation. She had a lover who was coming to see her there and people knew him. “It was early in the morning on July 16 that her son, after regaining consciousness from his confrontation with the suspect, told neighbours that it was Kingsley who killed his mother. “The boy was rushed to a hospital for treatment, after which he led people to the place where the suspect was working. Immediately the suspect sighted the boy, he ran away, but was arrested by the police.” The suspect, however, claimed that the deceased fell and hit her head on the floor during a disagreement with him. He said, “She wanted me to help her with cement to fix a caravan on the floor, but when we did not agree on how to do it, she said I should leave her house. I actually left but missed my way and strayed back to the house. But by this time, they had locked the gate. So, I jumped into the compound, entered their room and her son threatened to stab me with a knife; I pushed him and he hit his head on the wall and collapsed. “The woman then came charging at me and held me. But while trying to free myself from her grip, I pushed her and she also hit her head on the floor and blood started gushing out of her head. I quickly took the boy to the room, put him on the bed and left. I did not hit anybody with a log of wood and I did not sleep with the woman.” The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Kontongs Bello, said the suspect would be charged to court at the end of investigation.

Post Date : July 28, 2021

Bandits’ Informant Sets Self Ablaze In Zamfara

A suspected bandits’ informant identified as Musa Na’umma has set himself ablaze. Daily Trust gathered that Na’umma took the action after he was arrested by soldiers in Dansadau town of Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State. A credible source in Dansadau town told Daily Trust that soldiers onboard about 11 military vehicles had stormed the community with a list of about 30 suspected informants. “When they came, they began moving from house to house with the list.” “They arrested some suspects, including one woman. One Musa Na’umma was among those arrested. “When Na’umma was nabbed, he was taken to an army formation in the community and was locked inside a room. However, when a soldier entered the room, the suspect quickly grabbed the soldier’s rifle and struggled with him in the attempt to seize it. “The suspected informant then fired shot at a jerry can containing petrol and it quickly burst into flames. The soldier then swiftly jumped out of the room leaving the suspect in the raging flames,” he said. Senator Saidu Dansadau, who represented Zamfara Central between 1999 and 2007, corroborated the information from the source. Residents told our correspondent that there have been suspicion on how some residents have been dealing with bandits through trading. The suspected informants are being accused of becoming agents for bandits, selling rustled cows, stolen phones and motorbikes for them. The residents have, in recent times, become more watchful, scrutinisng the suspects’ activities. “During the recent nocturnal raid on the community, the voices of some of the informants were heard and identified pin- pointing residential houses for the selected targets of the assailants.” “I can tell you that about a dozen of youth mostly native inhabitants of Dansadau have drifted to banditry largely through financial inducements from these criminals. They are there with bandits in various camps inside forest,” he added. The residents of the community had recently drawn the ire of the armed gang for blocking most of the channels they use to get food, especially bread and soft drinks. The bandits had stepped up assault on the community in retaliation. When contacted, spokesman for Operation Hadarin Daji in the state, Captain Ibrahim Yahaya, referred our correspondent to the Defence Headquarters.

Post Date : July 28, 2021

Abuja policeman guns down football fan for warning against accidental discharge

A 34-year-old football enthusiast, Emmanuel Samuel, has died after a policeman allegedly shot him at a relaxation spot in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Emmanuel was said to have gone to the spot with his fiancée and friends to watch a football match on Sunday, July 11, when the incident happened. PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim was leaving the bar when the policeman shot him in the leg after he cautioned him against accidental discharge. His sister, Veronica Samuel, said a hospital in the area refused to attend to him without a police report. She added that her brother was taken to a police station to get the report, but the police threatened to handcuff him. Veronica said the victim died eight days later. Recounting the incident, she said, “My brother went to watch the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy with his fiancée and friends at the Emperor Garden in Saburi 1, Mopol Barracks. The police went to the place to arrest someone. “He was leaving the place at that point in time when he saw one of the policemen cocking his gun and pointing it in his direction. His friends said he told the policeman to be mindful of the way he was pointing the gun to avert accidental discharge which could kill people at the spot. He was leaving when a shot was fired. “The bullet hit him in his left lap from behind and came out in the front. Immediately, the police fled the scene. His fiancée and others took him to a hospital, but a police report was requested. They went to the police station in the area, but they refused to give a police report and threatened to handcuff my brother, who was in pain. “Instead of giving us the report, they referred us to an ill-equipped hospital close to the station. They went with us there and said he was in their custody and he would be handcuffed there. We resisted that. “When we discovered it was getting worse, we took him to the Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, where he died on July 19. According to one of the doctors there, he could have been alive if he had better first aid. We went back to report his death at the station, but we were sent away. “ A spokesperson for the FCT police, ASP Mariam Yusuf, said the command was investigating the matter. Yusuf said, “We are appealing for more information from members of the public on the identity of the person who shot the deceased.”