Crime Facts

Gunmen kill SEDI DG in Enugu

Gunmen on Wednesday evening killed Director General of the Science and Equipment Development Institute (SEDI), Enugu, Prof. Samuel Ndubisi. He was said to have been killed along Port- Harcourt Express Road Enugu with his police orderly. However, The Nation learnt his driver, who sustained gunshot injuries, had been taken to a hospital, where doctors are battling to save his life. His official vehicle, which was riddled with several bullets holes, was seen driven into the gutter. was seen driven into the gutter. Read Also: Gunmen kidnap PDP chieftain in Edo, demand N20m ransom It was not clear why the DG was killed as nothing was removed from the vehicle or its occupants. Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi visited the scene of the incident. Confirming the incident, Enugu Police spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe, said information surrounding Ndubuisi’s killing was still sketchy. He said: “Information surrounding a shooting incident today, 07/07/2021 at about 1600hrs, along Enugu/Port-Harcourt Expressway, said to have led to the death of a man and his police orderly, is still sketchy. “Meanwhile, preliminary investigation has commenced. Further development will be duly communicated, please”. Details shortly…

Col Dangiwa: Buhari has mismanaged Nigeria

Former military governor of Kaduna State, Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (retd), has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has exhibited poor skills in managing the diversity in the country. In a statement entitled “Nigeria: Nation Challenged” and made available to the Tribune Online on Wednesday, Dangiwa said that “it is my long held belief that this country is more beneficial to all the federating units if only because it provides a security umbrella to all its units.” On the re-arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Dangiwa said: “The recent re-arrest of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was greeted with a loud sigh of relief and celebration in some sections of the country. ‌ “It also elicited congratulatory messages to the Federal Government which appears overwhelmed by the intractable security challenges and in dire need of any redeeming act. “This is clearly an exaggeration of the security threat Nnamdi Kanu and indeed IPOB pose to our nation’s security and unity. “It is quite strange and disturbing that the Federal Government is according undue attention to the threats of separatist movements in contrast to the more daunting ones posed by bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the North-West, some parts of North-Central and North-East. “Activities of those criminals have resulted in the evacuation of over 20 per cent of the villages in North-West and North-East. Hundreds are being murdered and maimed every week. “Many more are kidnapped for ransom. Millions have been rendered internally displaced, facing disease and starvation. “Over 1,000 school children were abducted in the past eight months with over 300 still in the hands of the bandits and kidnappers demanding humongous ransom payments. Rape of women and young girls has become a daily occurrence. “Most economic activities, particularly farming, which is the mainstay of the people in these areas, are now all but impossible. “Government’s earlier claim of having technically defeated the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East has turned out to be empty propaganda. Contrary to this claim,the enemy has morphed into a more determined and deadly force, threatening to overrun the whole of the North-East. “For the average Northerner living in these zones, who is barely aware of the activities of separatists, banditry, kidnappings and insurgency are of greater threat and concern to him. “The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu is of no serious consequence, since it does nothing to ameliorate his harsh and brutal condition. “In recognising or reasserting the right of every citizen or group to express their desire for self-determination, one does not support or condone the use of violence for such purpose. IPOB and its leader may well be responsible for some of the violence, including the murder of security personnel, arson and destruction of public and private properties for which they should be held to account. “We must however be honest enough to identify the cause of the current growing restiveness in the South-East. By all means, government needs to deploy non-violent means in addressing the problem. It is self-evident that justice, fairness and equity are the best means of building a united and virile nation, particularly one as diverse and fragile as Nigeria. “lt is my long held belief that this country is more beneficial to all the federating units if only because it provides a security umbrella to all its units. None of them will fare better in a balkanised Nigeria due to their similar diversities. “The recognition of Nigeria as the giant of Africa is not on account of its huge oil wealth, but its size, diversity as well as other potential. These notwithstanding, the nation can only remain united and prosperous when all its citizens and the component parts feel a true sense of belonging. “Without it, the nation’s unity will be in serious jeopardy similar to what Nigeria is currently experiencing. “Truth be told, the Buhari’s government has so far exhibited poor skills in its management of our diversity. Yet it has the benefit of great examples by past administrations and statesmen which should guide it. “After our bitter Civil War, the then Head of the Federal Military Government, General Yakubu Gowon, declared a no victor, no vanquished reconciliation and reintegration policy. “Its implementation may not have been perfect but it produced a guiding vision which served as a template for the reintegration of the nation. “In 1978, eight years after the Civil War, the NPN presidential candidate, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, a former Commissioner for Finance in the Gowon government, picked his running mate, Dr Alex Ekwueme, from the South-East. “They won the 1979 presidential election and enjoyed an enviable brotherly relationship as president and vice president. They won a second term in 1983. President Shagari’s government pardoned the former Biafra secessionist leader, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, which permitted him to return from exile in 1982. He went on to contest a senatorial seat under the NPN. “These are in sharp contrast to the declaration of President Buhari after his election in 2015 in which he promised not to treat, on equal terms, those who gave him only five per cent of their votes with those who gave him over 97 per cent of theirs. “This may account for his government’s refusal to appoint an Igbo as head of any of the security services. A review of this ill-advised policy will go a long way to neutralise the growing influence of IPOB among Ndigbo, both at home and in diaspora. “The Federal Government must go beyond the arrest of Kanu and pay greater attention to the more serious security challenges threatening to cripple the country completely. “The apparent failure of our security forces to deal decisively as the president so often commands them to do, with these security threats is obviously due to the acute shortage of manpower and equipment. “These deficiencies have resulted in the thin spread of our forces and lack of timely rotation in areas of conflict. Government must massively increase security manpower and equipment. As we have seen, mere change of service

Nnamdi Kanu: Malami berates Canadian justice minster

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has described the views of the Solicitor General of Alberta in Canada, Kelechi Amadi, regarding the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu as an “outrageously ignoramus opinion that is eccentric and weird”. Malami stated this on Wednesday in a statement that was issued by the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Office of the AGF, Umar Gwandu. “Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has described the ideas attributed to one Kelechi Madu as outrageously ignoramus opinions that are eccentric and weird to the legal profession. “It is unfortunate for someone who claims to be a lawyer of a status of a Solicitor General of a provincial State of Alberta in Canada to fault the internationally recognized manner through which Nnamdi Kanu who jumped bail was re-arrested and brought back to face trial,” it read. Malami also insisted that there was no illegality in the arrest of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. According to him, “It was abundantly clear that bench warrant was lawfully and judiciously procured through judicial process by a competent court of law, whose bail condition Nnamdi Kanu breached with impunity. There was no illegality in the entire process and the question of illegality does not even arise. “It is a common principle of the law that he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. Malami wondered why Madu never spoke up when Kanu was inciting violence against Nigeria. “Where was the so-called Madu when Nnamdi Kanu was inciting violence against the country? Why, as a lawyer, would Madu support a fugitive who jumped bail and accused of terrorism and treasonable felony? What stopped Madu from voicing out dissent on the atrocities of Kanu and their group?” he asked. The AGF said it was important to educate Madu that both Nigeria (his country of birth) and Canada where he practises law, are signatories to the Multinational Treaty Agreement where, among others, fugitive fleeing justice in nations with similar agreement could be brought back to face justice. “It is a pity that as a Solicitor General of a province, Madu failed to keep himself acquainted with the provisions of general laws of the country where he stays as well as international laws,” said Malami. The AGF urged the Canadian public officer to go back to educate himself in matters of the law, adding that Madu only left for Canada after failing to succeed in his country of birth. “As the saying goes ‘an empty vessel makes the loudest noise’. We advise the so-called ‘learned man’ to shelve his arrogance and learn to study the law books before opening his mouth to disgrace himself before the right-thinking members of the society thereby attracting to himself criticism that may propel doubt about his suitability for the job he claims to be doing now, after moving out of his country of origin in which he fails to excel,” he added.

Police arrest three suspected railway vandals in Enugu

Enugu State Police command has arrested three suspects for their involvement in railway tracks and slippers vandalism. The police also recovered the operational lorries used by the suspects as well as the large pieces of the vandalized items. In a statement issued through the police public relations officer, Daniel Ndukwe, the state commissioner of police, Mohammed Aliyu listed the suspects to include Chukwuma Okoye aged 56; Oluchukwu Igboke aged 25 and Boniface Eze aged 37, all from Anambra State. He disclosed that Okoye and Igboke were intercepted and arrested on 02/07/2021 at about 0140hrs, by a joint security patrol team, headed by the officer-in-Charge of the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Squad, at Emene Enugu, along Enugu/Abakaliki highway. “Upon search conducted on two Mercedes trucks with registration numbers: AWK 296 YX and UWN 471 ZX, they were respectively driving, the operatives uncovered large pieces of vandalized railway tracks and slippers, they both confessed to be transporting from Ezza-Nkwubor, Emene to Anambra State. The two lorries and the vandalized items have been recovered. “Similarly, police operatives attached to the command’s CP Monitoring Unit on 10/06/2021 arrested one Boniface Eze aged 37, of Anambra State and recovered a Mercedes 911 lorry with registration number: XC 360 UWN loaded with vandalized railway tracks and slippers at Ezza-Nkwubor, Emene, Enugu. His arrest is due to the operative’s swift response to credible information, alleging that some persons vandalized the said railway tracks and slippers, loaded and were about to transport same to an unknown location. The suspect and driver of the said lorry also confessed to be transporting the vandalized items to Anambra State,” the CP said. Aliyu stated that efforts had been intensified to arrest accomplices to the crime, with the view to charging them to court once an investigation was concluded. He noted that the success was pursuant to the operational strategies, including collaborative security operations, devised by the command under him. While frowning at the act of criminal vandalism of critical national infrastructures, such as railways, that are meant for the public good, the CP warned unrepentant criminal elements to steer clear of such critical public assets in the state or be ready to face the full weight of the law. He, therefore, called on residents of the state to remain law-abiding, vigilant and promptly report criminals and their acts of vandalism to the nearest police station.

Gunmen kidnap PDP chieftain in Edo, demand N20m ransom

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Ugbo Iyiriaro, has been kidnapped along Benin – Abraka Road in Edo State, with the gunmen demanding N20 million ransom. It was gathered from security sources in Benin, the state capital, that the incident happened between Ugo and Ugboko in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo on Tuesday. Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics Gunmen kidnap PDP chieftain in Edo, demand N20m ransom July 7, 2021 gunmen-kidnap-pdp-chieftain-in-edo-demand-n20m-ransom FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedInWhatsAppEmail By Bisi Olaniyi, Benin A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Ugbo Iyiriaro, has been kidnapped along Benin – Abraka Road in Edo State, with the gunmen demanding N20 million ransom. It was gathered from security sources in Benin, the state capital, that the incident happened between Ugo and Ugboko in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo on Tuesday. Iyiriaro left Benin to attend to an urgent matter in his Umoghunokhua hometown in Orhionmwon LGA, before running into the kidnappers, midway into the journey. Edo Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bello Kontongs, a Superintendent of Police (SP), when contacted Wednesday, confirmed the incident but said he is yet to get details from the Area Divisional Police Officer (DPO).

Defections: PDP Rep calls on Secondus to resign

A member of the House of Representatives, Rimamnde Shawulu, Thursday called on the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP to resign from his position with immediate effect, for failing to stanch the flow of defections from the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. The lawmaker urged Secondus to throw in the towel before the next general elections, because of his failure to stop the gale of defections from PDP. In a letter he wrote to a Secondus entitled: “In the Interest of our Party, Democracy and the People of Nigeria: Time To Do The Needful”, Shawulu pointedly told the Chairman to resign. “I plead with you sir to show leadership today and in the interest of the party, your good name, and the future of Nigeria to resign immediately as National Chairman”, he said. According to the lawmaker from Taraba State, “Today, not unexpectedly, four members of the House of Representatives from Zamfara State denounced the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and defected to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). Unlike other times, when leaders of the party in the House (both the Minority Caucus Leadership and the House PDP Caucus Leadership), put up some form of protest, not a whisper was heard or a hand raised in protest against the decamping! Our Leader, Sir, I write this letter with a heavy heart; and with the deepest regard for your office and your person, no one can doubt that you have made your contributions to the growth of the party. Sir not much use will be served in going down memory lane on the formation of the PDP, your contributions to the party and the sacrifices you and other leaders have made. Indeed, when the Governor of Rivers State HE Nyesome Wike sought the support of members of the House of Representatives for your candidacy of the National Chairmanship of the Party, he extolled your virtues of tenacity and commitment to the party and our hope, then, to win the 2019 elections. He said you were the most experienced and loyal person who would commit everything to the success of the party. Indeed, and according to him, the relentless pursuit of success would be the guide of your actions. “The PDP, as you very well know, ought to represent the hope of Nigerians for a new future and to, at the very least, provide some formidable resistance and pull from the brink that the APC government has tragically brought Nigeria to. Unfortunately, the increasing weakness, incoherence, and daily loss of membership of our party to the ruling party have contributed to the general feeling of hopelessness in the country. The populace has now begun to feel that we don’t have the capacity to take over the reins of power from the ruling party. To put it bluntly, in a presidential democracy, a strong opposition party is necessary to provide a viable alternative to the governing party. Our party is failing in this regard. We don’t need a soothsayer to know that as our party weakens or its leadership abandons pressing issues to embark on trips to ‘Afghanistan’ such as last week’s protests against Loretta’s Onochie’s nomination as a commissioner of INEC, more members will be tempted to leave the party to secure their political future. Some will be too discouraged to fight the unconstitutional acts and brazen illegalities being perpetrated by the ruling party as the reign of terror and insecurity envelope the country, while vast swathes of land are being taken over by bandits and ISWAP Boko Haram, who are already setting up forms of governance in some part of the country. Most dangerous for everyone, including our party, is the fact that more people will become despondent and resort to self-help and or line up behind thugs and local warlords. “Dear Chairman, Sir, events in the last two years call for sober reflection and sacrifices by both the leadership and membership of the party and it is necessary you set the ball rolling so that the party will come back to life and be seen as a viable alternative to the ruinous APC. Then, will its doors be seen to be open to the millions that want to come into the party to mobilize Nigerians to take back the country from the iniquitous forces that have seized it by the jugular? This was the obvious wish of the opinion of party members and leaders when Dr Adamu Muazu resigned as Chairman of the party. Your good self took over to enable the party to regain momentum. Presently, without discounting the efforts and sacrifices you have made, it is obvious that our party is in far worse circumstances than when Alhaji Adamu Muazu fled the scene. You cannot fail to note that our party lost both the 2015 and 2019 elections, and we have fewer members in the National Assembly than we had in 2015. And, as well, our outing during the 2019 National Assembly leadership contest was so disastrous that even members of the public may be wondering whether our party still has members in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Besides the gale of defections from the party which may continue to haunt us, our party is so divided in many states that without reconciliation we may not stand any realistic chance of winning the forthcoming elections. One is wont to dismiss as idle prattle rumours making the rounds that some at the highest levels of our party have been “settled” or compromised such as to make the PDP unelectable. But in politics perception no matter how wrong-headed often drives reality and even rather outlandish conspiracy theories will gain more traction with more defections of governors or of members of the National Assembly to the APC, which given the havoc it has inflicted on the country ought to be the party on the run. “The way out: Parents sacrifice for their children. Leaders sacrifice for the good of the people they lead.

Proposed sanctions against protests undemocratic, unconstitutional, HURIWA tells NASS

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, has warned members of the National Assembly against any move to amend the criminal code and make provision for sanctions against protests. HURIWA was reacting to a Bill sponsored by Honourable Chinedu Martins of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Imo State. The Bill is titled “an Act to amend the Criminal Code Act, Cap 38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 to further Preserve the Sanctity of Human Life and Property and to Provide Specifically for Mob Action, Prescribe Punishment and Other Matters.” HURIWA, through its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, argued that “the move to jail protesters as contemplated by the proposed legislation is undemocratic, unconstitutional and retrogressive.” The rights group advised lawmakers to “be wary of passing unconstitutional legislation that would install a dictator as the President in which case they too would be like preys who are riding on the back of the tiger that will devour them soon. “The attempt to put Nigerians in tyrannical chains through this viciously evil legislation aimed at crippling the civil rights of protesters must never be allowed to see the light of the day. “Nigerians must defend the democracy that we fought so hard to achieve and stop the anti-democratic forces in the National Assembly from destroying democracy and inhibit the citizens’ exercise of their universally recognised unalienable Human Rights to civil protests.”

Ondo court jails woman for causing husband’s death

A Magistrate Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State capital has sentenced a middle-aged woman, Mrs Toyin Olusa, to one year imprisonment for causing the death of her husband, Mr Adeyinka Olusa. The late Olusa who was a former auditor at the School of Health Technology, Akure who died at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State in 2017, was said to have died in a controversial manner. The death of Olusa was said to have generated controversy between the accused and the relatives of the deceased, accusing her of pouring hot water on her sick husband. ‌ The family of the deceased alleged that the hot water poured on the man aggravated his sickness and eventually resulted in his death. The wife of the late auditor, Toyin, was said to have poured the hot water on the deceased to revive him when he became unconscious during the illness but the family alleged that hot water caused severe burnt on the body of the deceased, which eventually resulted into his death. The widow was, however, arraigned before the court on one count charge of assault occasioning harm, the offence which was contrary to and punishable under Section 355 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 37, Volume 1, Laws of Ondo State, 2006.” The prosecutor told the court that the defendant deliberately poured hot water on the deceased causing him(deceased) severe bodily harm, particularly to his mouth, chest, hands, thighs and legs. However, the defendant said she did not commit the offence, saying she poured the hot tea on the deceased to revive him when he was unconscious. After series of arguments before the court, the prosecuting counsel and the defence counsel, Mr Femi Emodamori and Mr Shola Agunloye respectively, the court held that the defendant committed the office, saying the prosecutor was able to prove his case beyond doubt. The defendant however pleaded with the court to be lenient with her, saying she did not kill her husband and said “I am appealing with the court to have mercy on me for the sake of my children, I did not kill my husband.” Toyin pleaded In her ruling, the magistrate, Mrs Ruth Olomilua sentenced the widow to one-year imprisonment with an option of a fine of N200,000. She said, “The prosecutor had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and the defendant is guilty of the offence. The defendant is hereby sentenced to one imprisonment with an option of fine of N200,000.”

Buhari, Osinbajo Decorate Farouk Yahaya As Chief Of Army Staff

President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have decorated the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff, Farouk Yahaya. He was also decorated with a new rank of Lieutenant General. The ceremony which was held on Wednesday before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting had in attendance, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Sunday Adebayo; Director-General, Department of State Service (DSS), Yusuf Bichi and the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba. The event was also witnessed by members of the Cabinet as well as the Chairmen of Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Army. The newly appointed COAS, Lieutenant General Yahaya takes over from late Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, who died in a military plane crash on May 21, alongside ten other army officers. Prior to his appointment, the new army Chief served as the Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, a counter-insurgency operation in the northeast. After his decoration, the Chief of Army staff vowed that the war would continue to intensify against insurgents, many of whom have already been killed.

Trump announces class action lawsuit against Twitter, Facebook, Google

Donald Trump, former US president, says he will take legal action against Facebook, Twitter and Google, months after the tech giants flagged his posts and sanctioned him. The former president is claiming that the companies wrongfully censored him. The 75-year-old politician will serve as the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit which also involves other individuals who have been banned by the social media platforms. “From the very beginning of our nation, freedom of speech has always been understood as a bedrock of our liberty and our strength,” Trump said at a press briefing on Wednesday. “No one should have the power to take that right away.” In January, Facebook and Twitter had banned Trump indefinitely, with other social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram taking similar actions against him. Facebook had reviewed its decision in June and suspended the former president’s account for two years. The social media sanctions had come after Trump used his platforms to mobilise his supporters to invade the US Capitol building, and disrupt the January 6 joint session of congress to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the November 3 election. At least four people were killed during a face-off between protesters and security operatives during the invasion. Trump had earlier hailed Nigeria’s decision to suspend Twitter and urged other countries to follow suit. “Congratulations to the country of Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their President. More COUNTRIES should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech—all voices should be heard,” he had said.