Crime Facts

51-Year-Old Man Nabbed For Allegedly Selling Marijuana To IPOB Camps

The Imo State Police Command has arrested a 51 year-old-man, Friday Ndimma for his alleged involvement in the sales of Indian hemp also known as marijuana. Ndimma hails from the Orsu Ihitte-Ukwa community in the Orsu Local Government Area of the state. According to the Imo state Commissioner of Police Abutu Yaro, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is a major supplier of marijuana to all IPOB and ESN camps across Orsu local government areas and its environs. He added that the suspect who has confessed to the crime was arrested in his home in the Orsu Ihitte-Ukwa community following intelligence information. Yaro explained that the suspect will be charged to court accordingly and he thanked Imo people for providing adequate information to the police to combat crime and another form of criminality. The police boss, however, assured the people of the command’s readiness and commitment in ensuring that crime is brought to its barest. Items recovered include over 50kg of Indian hemp and the sum of 430,000 being profit from his most recent sales.

Court asked to delist Andy Uba as APC candidate for Anambra guber poll

Progressives Congress (APC) for allegedly failing to conduct a valid primary election. He also demanded N122.5 million as damages, which include a refund for the fee paid for expression of interest and nomination forms and N100 million “for the breach of contract to commence and conclude primary election”. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Friday picked Andy Uba, winner of the controversial APC primary election, as the party’s candidate. In a suit filed before a federal high court in Abuja, Moghalu wants an order removing Uba and the APC from the list of gubernatorial candidates and political parties partaking in the Anambra governorship election. In the affidavit in support of the suit, the plaintiff said the APC failed to conclude the selection and nomination process for its candidate for the November 6 governorship poll. He said the APC had chosen to adopt direct primary, which is why the party published the list of designated venues for the exercise. Moghalu said the party received N22.5 million for the expression of interest form and nomination form, including from him, “to allow him to participate in the primary election exercise”. He further said he was informed a day before the primaries that the APC electoral committee would address all aspirants and stakeholders in Akwa. “Shockingly, on June 26, 2021, the said election committee was not seen anywhere in Anambra; no accreditation of voters took place; no voting and collation of votes occurred in all the 326 wards of Anambra state,” he said. He said the committee “announced election results it did not conduct, and which fakery was credited to the third defendant as the winner of the primary election scheduled for emergence as APC’s candidate in the November 6 governorship election in Anambra state”. Moghalu also argued that the party did not invite the INEC in line with the law requiring the commission to monitor the exercise.

BREAKING: Several Killed, Houses Razed In Fresh Benue Communal Crisis

Many people have been killed in a fresh communal crisis between Ochoro and Bonta communities of Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State. In April, the military had sacked Bonta community following the killing of 12 soldiers who went to quell crisis in the area. There was a bit of stability after the military invasion. But a fresh rivalry broke out between Bonta and Ochoro, a neighbouring community, two days ago. About 50 houses were reportedly razed in the crisis. Witnesses from both sides of the warring communities admitted that the crisis broke out on Monday and escalated on Tuesday night. A witness from Konshisha told our correspondent that the renewed crisis could be an offshoot of the age-long rift between Bonta and Ukpute. “The lingering Bonta-Ukpute crisis escalated on Monday at Ochoro with Tiv militia attacking the community.” “Over 30 women and kids massacred. And over 50 houses were razed. Ochoro is neighboring community of Bonta and Ukpute. It is a community in Oju that has no issue with neither Bonta nor the militia.” However, the Chairman of Oju LGA, Clement Onaa, told newsmen in Makurdi, the state capital, that he was aware of the crisis and had called his Konshisha colleague to commiserate with him. “The attack of yesterday (Tuesday) was not in Oju but Konshisha, though, Ochoro community is dominated by Igede people One thing you must know is that Oju and Obi people who are of Igede live in Gwer East and even Konshisha LGAs or any other Tiv areas.” The Council Chairman of Konshisha, James Ijirgba, also confirmed the fresh crisis to journalists. “I’m aware of the crisis but it is still a rumour until I hear from the DPO who promised to get details and brief me but I have not heard from him, you know that the place is far from the LG headquarters.” Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Benue, DSP Catherine Anene, however, did not respond to calls put through her telephone.

Buhari has mismanaged Nigeria – Catholic Bishops

The Catholic Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province has condemned in strong terms the alleged selective administration of justice in the country by the federal government, saying this development has greatly affected the image of the nation to the global communities. The bishops from Ibadan Archdiocese, Ilorin, Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti and Osogbo Dioceses in a communiqué released after their meeting at the Domus Pacis Pastoral Institute, Igoba, Akure, on Wednesday noted that the current waves of insecurity in the country are confirmation that the government has mismanaged the situation by not addressing the criminal elements wreaking havoc but dissipating energy on silencing lawful citizens. The communiqué which was made available to Tribune Online in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on Wednesday by the Catholic Bishop of Ekiti, Most Rev Felix Ajakaye was signed by the province chairman, Most Rev Gabriel Abegunrin and the secretary, Most Rev Akin Oyejola. The bishops lamented that the nation under the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has lost its soul and that the insecurity pervading the land, dwindling economy and others are all indices of a failed country needing an urgent revival. They berated the presidency for attacking the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah for his revelations to the United States Congress on the state of things in the country, insisting that Kukah made patriotic and commendable points with verifiable data on the unlawful persecution of Nigerians. The communiqué reads, “Nigeria, our country, seems to have lost its very soul because it is no longer a healthy entity. The good health of any nation consists in its capacity to offer its citizens a territory where they can feel at home, feel secure and enjoy the basic necessities of life. “This, unfortunately, is no longer the case in our dear country, Nigeria, where, armed conflicts, armed robbery, kidnapping for ransom, insurgency, banditry and extrajudicial killing persist as the order of the day. When a nation loses its soul, its people lose the cohesive elements of human relationships. A nation that has lost its soul is characterised by inept, uncaring leadership which functions by selective allocation of posts, privileges and resources and by selective application of justice. It is characterised by leaders who, rather than care for the citizens of the country, simply exploit and denigrate them.” On the presidency’s response to Bishop Kukah, the bishops revealed that “Bishop Kukah, in his patriotic and frank presentation, called attention to some verifiable data and statistics about the Nigerian situation on that privileged international platform. He spoke for authentic Christians and Muslims who are under persecution. No doubt, he intended to solicit the support of that forum which many Nigerians believe holds the promise of some assistance and relief from our current national crises. “The Federal Government however has characteristically gone up in arms against the person of Bishop Kukah and his purpose. It is commonly said that when there is a problem in a democracy, more democracy is needed to solve it. Sadly enough, our current federal government does not seem to subscribe to this.” Reiterating the right of freedom of expression as stipulated in the constitution, the bishops said for the sake of the nation’s democracy must be protected and that the attempt by the National Assembly to amend the press council bill is aimed at gaging the media and it should be rejected by the citizens. “We declare again, as we have done often in the past, that only the truth can set us free. Nigeria must allow this to happen! The attempt of the Nigerian National Assembly to silence the press and penalise journalists for merely doing their job is to be completely rejected. We hold that the freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, guaranteed by the constitution and cannot be alienated by any government least of all in a democracy. “For the sake of our democracy, that right, exercised with responsibility, must be protected. We support Bishop Kukah in his effort to unveil the truth about the Nigerian situation in order to ameliorate things. We call on the Nigerian government to learn not to see criticism as an attack or a crime,” they said. The clerics expressed displeasure to the lawmakers for prioritizing the interest of their political parties above the interest of Nigerians on the passage of the amended electoral act and the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), urging the citizens to challenge the decisions of the national assembly with all available means. The Bishop said, ” With the national assembly at various occasions prioritizing party and privileges over people’s rights and interest, relief and progress continue to elude Nigerians. Simply put, those who claim to represent the people seem to have perfected the art of sabotaging the progress of their same people. Indeed, the time may have come for Nigerians to no longer simply roll over and accept non-representative decisions of the assembly but to challenge them by all legitimate means.”

Hundreds of Ugandans given fake Covid jabs: health officials

At least 800 people in Uganda were given fake coronavirus vaccines — some injected with water — in a scam that involved “unscrupulous” doctors and health workers, government officials said Wednesday. The counterfeit jabs were administered over May and June during a deadly surge of the coronavirus in the East African nation, when new infections soared to record highs of about 1,700 cases per day. The fraudsters targeted people looking to pay for immunisation, including corporate employees, at a time when vaccines were in short supply, said Dr Warren Naamara, the director of a health services monitoring unit under the presidency. “Some unscrupulous individuals with intentions of making money, duped members of the public into a fake Covid-19 vaccine exercise,” Dr Naamara told AFP. “We have arrested two medical workers in the scam, and one medical doctor is on the run.” He said those conned into getting a fake vaccine — around 800 people — should not be alarmed as tests indicated the vials contained nothing dangerous. “Some had water in them,” he added. The scammers charged recipients between 80,000 and 500,000 Ugandan shillings (around $25-$120 / 20-100 euros) for a fake shot, officials said. The health ministry said Wednesday that the government was providing free and approved Covid-19 jabs at designated vaccination sites. On June 18, as coronavirus cases and deaths in Uganda surged to record highs, President Yoweri Museveni announced a freeze on all public and private transport for 42 days, and imposed a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew to try and drive numbers down. The veteran president warned that hospitals were full and not coping with the outbreak. Since then, infection numbers have dipped, with 252 cases reported on Wednesday. Uganda has overall recorded 91,162 infections, of which 2,425 have been fatal, since the pandemic began, according to the health ministry’s latest tally Wednesday.

Police disperse Igboho supporters’ protest in Ibadan

Armed policemen have dispersed supporters of Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho who staged a protest in Ibadan against the arrest of the Yoruba nation agitator by authorities in Cotonou, Benin Republic. The protesters were said to have marched to Soka Bus Stop along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where they sang and demanded the release of Igboho. Residents said the protesters, who were armed with placards bearing various inscriptions, included males and females. They were said to have called on Yoruba leaders and the international community to fight for the release of Igboho. One of the street hawkers at Soka Bus Stop told our correspondent that Igboho supporters sang repeatedly, warning the Federal Government not to kill Igboho the way Chief MKO Abiola was allegedly killed. The street hawker said the protest grounded traffic in the area and some motorists who were conversant had to take alternative routes to avoid the area. A resident of the area who identified himself as Musbau Ogunbiyi said the protest started at about 1.50 pm. He said, “The policemen came in about four patrol vans and a car. They shot in the air and chased away the protesters.” But another resident, Taye Adeoti said the protesters marched towards Challenge Area after spending some minutes at the bus stop. Our correspondent observed that the armed policemen had taken over the place around 3.30 pm when he arrived there. They stationed themselves at strategic positions at the location. After clearing the traffic, they stayed for a while before they left.

Six kidnapped in Abuja

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted six residents of Tungan-Maje community in Gwagwalada area council, Abuja. A resident, identified as Yahaya said the incident happened around 11:46 pm on Monday, when the kidnappers in their large numbers with sophisticated weapons invaded some houses at Anguwar Dabiri and Anguwar Sarki within the metropolis. He said the kidnappers divided themselves into three groups before attacking three houses in the area adding that some of the gunmen shot into the air while matching the victims out of the community. “Some of the kidnappers positioned themselves at strategic positions, while other entered the house and whisked away the victims into the bush,” he said. The district head of Tungan-Maje, Alhaji Hussaini Barde, confirmed the latest kidnap incident, saying six persons were abducted by gunmen on Monday night in the area. “In fact, activities of kidnappers in Tungan-Maje has been causing a nightmare to my people. And I can tell you that since September last year till date, we have recorded 9 deadly attacks by kidnappers,” he said. He, therefore appealed to the security authorities to come to the aid of his subjects by deploying enough personnel to the area in order to checkmate activities of the kidnappers. The spokesperson of the FCT police command, ASP Maryam Yusuf, could not reached for comment, while a text message sent to her phone was not replied.

Editors caution NBC over consistent anti-media policies

Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has described a recent directive to broadcast stations by National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) not to glamorise terrorist activities by giving too many details during their daily newspaper reviews as anti-media. It said Nigerian journalists, especially members of NGE were not terrorists and bandits’ best friends. The professional group of all the editors in Nigeria stated this, on Wednesday, while expressing concern over the recent directive by the NBC, warning journalists, television and radio stations in Nigeria against “glamorising and giving too many details on the nefarious activities of terrorists and kidnappers” during their daily newspaper reviews.” ‌ NGE insisted journalists will never be disposed to giving the bloodthirsty criminals any exposure. The Nigerian editors also stated that giving the fact that journalists have a responsibility to help the country cope with the prevailing threat and consequences of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism in Nigeria, they will continue to be responsible and responsive in their reports. In a directive, titled “Newspaper Reviews And Current Affairs Programmes: A Need For Caution,” signed by the Director, Broadcast Monitoring, Francisca Aiyetan, on behalf of the new Director-General of the Commission, Balarabe IIeah, the regulatory agency had cautioned broadcasters against glamorising and giving too many details on the nefarious activities of terrorists and kidnappers during their daily newspaper reviews. In a statement signed by the NGE’s President, Mustapha Isah and the General Secretary, Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the group said that the directive is unhelpful, describing it as a subtle threat to free press, freedom of expression, access to information, and victims’ right to justice, which are essential to public debate and accountability in a democratic space. The Guild added that giving the consistent anti-media policy of NBC in recent times, its members are concerned about what the commission means by the expansive definitions of what may constitute “too many details’’, “glamorising’’, “divisive rhetoric’’, and “security issues’’ in its directive. “We hope it is not a ploy by the NBC to ban newspapers review in broadcasting stations. Because the content of the directive doesn’t specify what kind of conduct would fall within their realm. “It is our view that the role of independent, critical, and trustworthy journalism has never been more important than now in our country’’, the Guild explained. The Guild added that Nigerian media are very mindful of their responsibility in the current collective efforts to address the security challenges in the country, adding that the relationship between the security agencies and the media has been more respectful and trustworthy along with this mission in the past few years. NGE added, “While we are mindful of our responsibility at this trying moment of our nation, we must also not lose the ability to see that security, in a democratic nation, is not an end in itself. “Its single purpose is to protect the capability of institutions, including the media, to guarantee citizens the free exercise of their fundamental human rights, without discrimination. “History has revealed time and again that efforts to increase security through the clampdown of liberty and freedom have threatened both liberty and security.” NGE reiterated that there is no security without free media and free expression, and no free expression and free media without security, saying these two terms should come hand in hand and not fight each other in the general interest of the nation.

Ogun gov: Nigeria will not experience civil war again

Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun has expressed confidence Nigeria will not experience another civil war or break-up. He declared the socio-economic challenges confronting the country will also be eventually surmounted. Abiodun admitted though the country was going through difficult times, it would overcome all challenges at the end. He spoke when he hosted the League of Imams and Alfas in the state at his Iperu country home, as part of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. The Governor called on Nigerians not to give up but continue to have faith and trust in God, saying no problem is too big for God. “I have a mountain-moving faith in God because He alone can do the impossible. “This country will not break into two; nothing will happen to us in this country, we will not go into civil war, the unity of this country is non-negotiable, God will give us peace in this country, He will give us rest. “As a government, we will try our best, please continue to pray for us,” he urged the clerics. While advocating for religious tolerance among adherents of different faiths, he admonished Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of Prophet Ibrahim who was regarded as the Father of Faith by having absolute trust and faith in God. Abiodun submitted his administration in the last two years has been fair to all irrespective of religious beliefs, adding projects had been executed in each of the 236 wards of Ogun in line with the inclusive approach of his administration.

Abducted medical doctor regains freedom in Kogi

A Kogi-based medical doctor, Solomon Nidiamaka who was kidnapped on Monday has regained freedom from the hands of his abductor. Nidiamaka was kidnapped on 19th July 2021 at Ugwolawo in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State. The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in a statement signed by its chairman, Dr Omakoji Simeon Oyiguh and Secretary Dr Famotele Tolorunju confirmed this in a statement issued to Tribune Online on Wednesday. ‌ The statement noted that Nidiamaka was released on Tuesday night and is currently managed by medical colleagues. The statement reads further that “NMA Kogi State appreciates the Government of Kogi State, the security agencies, the Chairman of Ofu Local Government Council, the vigilantes and the Hunter Association who all responded to the distress call, and all those who called to show solidarity. “NMA Kogi State wishes to inform the Federal Government that the kidnappers told our kidnapped colleague that they were in the business of kidnapping to be able to feed, and therefore Federal Government is called upon to continue to prioritise youth employment to deescalate kidnapping, which has become a national malaise leading to disruption in health care delivery including brain drain.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…Abducted medical doctor regains Abducted medical doctor regains Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…Abducted medical doctor regains Abducted medical doctor regains.