July 2022 – Page 60 – Crime Facts

Post Date : July 16, 2022

No report of mass violence, vote-buying in Osun guber poll — Police

The police say they have yet to receive reports of violence or vote-buying in Saturday’s Osun governorship election. Mr Johnson Kokumo, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) said this after a visit to ward 5, unit 5 Salvation Army alekuwodo polling unit in Osogbo. Kokumo said that the security agencies had been up and doing in ensuring peaceful conduct of the election. osun election He said however, that some arrests had been made by security agents in the course of the election. “Those who have violated electoral laws have been accosted,” he said. He said that investigations will be carried out on those arrested for further actions. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the police deployed 21,000 personnel to ensure hitch-free conduct of the election. Also speaking, Mr Dauda Mungadi, the Deputy Commandant General (DCG) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in charge of Operations, said after a visit to ward 2 unit 7 Isale Osun, that there was sanity and orderliness in most polling units in the state. Mungadi said that although the election was still ongoing, the corps had not received reports of major issues of destruction of the voting process. He said that the NSCDC personnel were positioned to observe polling units and make arrests of suspected vote-buyers or persons with intentions to disrupt the election. He expressed satisfaction with the large voter turnout at polling units. The DCG advised residents to continue to conduct themselves peacefully as he described the election as “not a do or die affair”. “ There can only be one winner so cast your votes and let your votes count,” he said.

Post Date : July 16, 2022

Osun election: Hope for Nigeria, voters rejecting money left, right – Davido

Nigerian hip-hop star, David Adeleke popularly known as Davido says the voters in Osun State are rejecting vote buying and not engaging in monetary corruption at the ongoing election. Davido who has been giving mass support to his uncle, Senator Ademola Adeleke, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said this on Saturday. The award-winning musician, on his verified Twitter, said: “People rejecting money being offered to them left and right of the state today…GREAT TO SEE. There is still hope for Nigeria.” osun election Pple rejecting money being offered to them left n right of the state today … GREAT TO SEE … there is stilll hope for Nigeria — Davido (@davido) July 16, 2022

Post Date : July 16, 2022

Osun election: I’m impressed with voting process… I’ll be monitoring, says Adeleke

Ademola Adeleke, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun election, has lauded the voting process in the state. Speaking with journalists on Saturday after voting at his polling unit in Ede north LGA of the state, Adeleke said he will be on the ground to monitor the election as it progresses. “I’m impressed with the electoral process at the moment; everything is going on smoothly,” the former senator said. “I will be on the ground to monitor things.” Adeleke is contesting the governorship position with Gboyega Oyetola, governor of Osun and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Yusuff Lasun, former deputy speaker of the house of representatives and Labour Party (LP) candidate. In 2018, Oyetola, who is seeking another term in office, defeated Adeleke in a keenly contested election. That election was characterised by violence. Adeleke had scored the highest number of votes in the election, but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) held a rerun and Oyetola was eventually declared winner.

Post Date : July 16, 2022

LP’s Yusuf Votes, Says Nigeria In Trouble If Vote-Buying Mars Osun Election

The candidate of the Labour Party, Lasun Yusuf, has cast his vote in the ongoing Osun State governorship election. He cast his ballot on Saturday at about 10:20 am at one of the polling units in Irepodun Local Government Area of the state. Yusuf, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, decried the long time it took him to be accredited by the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). According to him, it took more than 10 minutes to get done with his accreditation and that will waste a lot of time if such a situation persists. When asked to assess the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agency in the election so far, the governorship candidate declined to make any remark. For him, it is barely two hours into the election, and it will be too early to make any comment in that regard. Yusuf, however, warned against vote-buying and vote-selling, saying Nigeria would be in trouble if allowed to thrive in the ongoing election.

Post Date : July 16, 2022

Muslim-Muslim ticket: Tinubu ignores critics, submits INEC form

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Friday, dashed the hopes of several Nigerians wishing that he would reconsider his stance on the contentious Muslim-Muslim ticket by replacing former Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, with a northern Christian, as his running mate. A source within Tinubu’s camp revealed hours to the deadline of the Independent National Electoral Commission that the APC standard-bearer had shunned all entreaties to drop Shettima. Tinubu, who is a southern Muslim, had incurred the wrath of the Christian Association of Nigerian, some party members and political stakeholders when he announced Shettima, a northern Muslim, as the ‘special one,’ to be his running mate. He broke the news to journalists after his closed-door meeting with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at his residence in Daura, Katsina State during the Sallah break. The announcement provoked widespread criticisms, particularly from the Christian community with its feeling of marginalisation and age-long suspicion of an alleged plan to Islamise Nigeria. Following the outrage that greeted his decision, Tinubu’s men and campaign teams deployed diplomacy and political conversations in the media to assuage frayed nerves. The desperate move to downplay talks surrounding ‘Islamisation of Nigeria’ fuelled the belief that Tinubu and the leadership of the APC might consider dropping Shettima for a northern Christian before INEC deadline. However, the possibility that Tinubu might bow to pressure to change his running mate was erased on Friday when he went on to submit Shettima’s name to INEC. The spokesman for Bola Tinubu Campaign Organisation, Bayo Onanuga, told Saturday PUNCH that it would have been unwise for his principal to drop Shettima because certain people were uncomfortable with the choice. “That is not possible. We have seen this move before; all these campaigns to pit us against fellow Nigerians. It happened in 1993 and the result was clear. There was pressure from several quarters for (MKO) Abiola to drop (Babagana) Kingibe because of his Muslim background,” Onanuga said. The campaign spokesman urged Nigerians to focus on competence instead of flying the kite of ethno-religious sentiments. “What we should be looking at is not religion but competence of the candidate to deliver and take the country to a greater height. They will soon realise that. As I said earlier, there is no likelihood of our presidential candidate dropping Shettima. He has selected him and Shettima will remain. He is a cool candidate. Either of them can be a President,” Onanuga insisted. The former Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria also disclosed that there were ongoing efforts to appease CAN and disgruntled APC stalwarts, including a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, a former ally of Tinubu, who has been one of the most vociferous voices against Tinubu’s decision to settle for Muslim-Muslim ticket. He said, “I can assure you that Tinubu will appeal to Babachir and others. What we are seeing is natural. This is politics where you may not get all you want. But we know people will soon realise that the choice they have is not really a bad one. “Don’t forget that we are still six months away from the 2023 elections. In politics, even 24 hours is a long time. Anything can happen that can change the course of things. There are moves by the party to appease all of them to rally round the presidential candidate for the election.”

Post Date : July 16, 2022

N184m fraud: Lagos court jails man 60 years

Justice Sherifat Solebo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State, on Thursday, sentenced one Chukwuemeka Ekwunife to 60 years over N184,098,000 fraud. Ekwunife, alongside his company, Structured Energy Limited, was found guilty on counts one to six and sentenced to 10 years on each count. According to a statement posted on the social media page of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the defendant was charged with stealing by fraudulent conversion. “The trial judge found him guilty as charged on counts one to six and sentenced him to 10 years on each count to run concurrently at a Correctional facility. “The EFCC had on February 19, 2018, arraigned Ekwunife alongside his company on an amended eight-count charge bordering on stealing by fraudulent conversion contrary to sections 278(1)(b), (2)(f), and 285(1) of the Criminal Code Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.”

Post Date : July 16, 2022

Owo Massacre: We won’t fail our people again, criminals must be smoked out – Akeredolu vows

Chairman of the South West Governors’ Forum and governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu said that his government will not fail residents of the state again following recent terrorist attack in Owo on June 5. Akeredolu said this in Akure while donating 50 fitted patrol vehicles to all the security agencies as part of the commitment of his administration to further strengthen the security of lives and property in the state. He said that his administration places premium on the dignity of human lives and vowed to smoke out all criminals in the State from their hidings and make the State uncomfortable for them. Akeredolu handed-over the fitted patrol vehicles to heads of the security agencies in the State including the Army; Navy, Nigeria Police, the Civil Defense Corps, Department of the State Services (DSS) and the Amotekun Corps. According to him, the commissioning and handing over of the additional 50 Vehicles was a further demonstration of the commitment of his administration towards providing the needed support for all security agencies operating in the State. “We still recall with trepidation the dastardly act of last month when some daredevil terrorists who have lost their souls to the devil launched an attack at the St. Francis Catholic Church, Owaluwa in the ancient city of Owo. “One of my promises then to the people of Ondo State was to do everything humanly possible to strengthen the capacity of our security agencies to be able to anticipate, prevent and combat a recurrence of such man’s inhumanity to mankind. “Today, it gives me great delight to commission and hand over additional security equipment particularly fitted Patrol Vehicles, to security agencies operating in the State towards boosting the capacity of our men in the line of duty of crime fighting so that our people can go about their businesses and livelihood without fear of molestation or attack. “In doing this, the agencies would be better equipped and strengthened to carry out their constitutional duties of protecting lives and property and combating acts of criminality in our dear State. “Let me emphasise that procurement and distribution of vehicles to security agencies have been a recurring exercise in our state since we came on board. We have done this for the umpteenth time. As a government, we are aware of the inadequacies of our security agencies and we are prepared, more than ever, to be supportive because it borders on the lives of our people who voted us into office. “I wish to reassure the good people of Ondo State of our avowed commitment to the constitutional responsibility of every government which is the security of lives and property and welfare of the people as enshrined in Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended). This will remain our topmost priority.” The governor noted that the provision of the vehicles is in addition to other logistic supports which his administration has continued to render over its conviction in the dignity of human life. will be deployed to relevant security agencies in charge of internal security to enable them function more effectively and efficiently. Our Key Performance Indicator shall remain a Zero Tolerance to Crime of whatever dimension.” While commending the governor for the gesture, the Commander of Amotekun Corps, Adetunji Adeleye said “the concern of average citizen is the issue of security and the challenge of security agencies is the issue of transportation. “The ugly incident that occurred in the state in that past week necessitated the donation of the 50 vehicles to all security agencies in the state. In their separate goodwill messages, the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladelusi Oguntoyinbo and the Vice Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the State, Rt. Rev Daniel Ayodeji Akomolafe commended the Governor for his efforts at securing the lives and property of the people. They called for the establishment of State Police and better empowerment for the Amotekun Corps to be able to bear arms so as to complement the efforts of the security agencies in fighting crimes. The Chairman of CIG motors, Chief Diana Chen, who condemned the June 5, Owo attack, commended Governor Akeredolu for his bold steps in securing the lives and property of the people. Chief Chen said the CIG Motors is happy to partner with the Ondo State Government towards strengthening the State’s security. She charged the people to support the Amotekun Corps and other security agencies in the State, saying “It is important for the people to come out and say we are not afraid.

Post Date : July 16, 2022

13 youth groups reject Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate

13 Youth groups from the six geo-political zones in the country including the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), have rejected the choice of former Borno State governor, Mallam Kashim Shettima Mustapha as the All Progressives Congress, APC Vice Presidential candidate to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu saying Shettima was unacceptable to the over 30 million youths of the country. The youth groups in a letter to Tinubu also declared that after months of consultations and interaction across ethnic and religious divides,it was agreed that it would be in the interest of the youths to present to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the APC, Dr Ibrahim Bello Dauda also known as EL-DABI the party’s presidential running mate. Ekiti election The Youth groups were made up of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Ex-Militant Generals in Niger Delta, National Association of University Students, (NAUS), National Association of Polytechnic Students, (NAPS), National Association of Nigerian Colleges of Education Students (NANCES) and All Farmers Progressive Association (AFPA). Others include the Yoruba General Assembly (YGA), the Coalition of Northern Christian Youth Groups, The EL-DABI Grassroot Mobilization Movement, The EL-DABI Support Groups, EL-DABI Women Support Network and other Numerous Youth and Women Support Groups for EL-DABI in all the 774 Local Government areas of Nigeria, including EL-DABI professionals in politics who have endorsed EL-DABI. The groups, in a resolution reached after a deliberation argued that “the youths, as key stakeholders in the polity of the nation will resist and work against the pairing of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima Mustapha for the 2023 presidential elections”. The Statement, made available to newsmen in Yenagoa and signed by the Director of Communication for the Youths Coalition, Comrade Salisu Olowonikoko, stated that the youth groups involved are “not only a major stakeholder in the Niger Delta, but as Nigerians, we owe our nation a duty in ensuring that quality leadership emerges, as the nation moves towards another very important exercise of electing her leaders in 2023”. According to groups; “it is notable and worthy to say that youth and women constitute the largest percentage of the electorate and are the most affected by the type of leadership produced. Therefore, we are very interested in who leads our nation at different levels of governance”. They declared that after months of consultations and interaction across ethnic and religious divide, “we agreed that it is in the interest of the youths to present to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the APC Dr Ibrahim Bello Dauda also known as EL-DABI. Today, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) also joined all the above-mentioned groups in making our position known to Nigerians and indeed the whole world and after several consultations within the Niger delta, we have resolved to adopt Dr Ibrahim Bello Dauda EL-DABI, as the representative the youth. “Dauda is not to us a Christian or a Muslim, a Northerner or Southerner, but a unifier and an example of patriotism personified. We therefore strongly appeal to APC to adopt him as running mate to the candidate of the party. You have our full assurance that the IYC will work tirelessly to ensure support for the party if our humble request is granted. This will demonstrate beyond words the youth inclusion drive of the APC and will foster the re-unification of the youth and people of our dear country Nigeria. “It is time we do away with the sentiment and emotions that have driven us apart as a people. We have co-existed peacefully without these sentiments, and we strongly believe that we will be better off without it. Let leadership be about values, integrity, character, ethics, and patriotism, and not about sentiments. Dr. Ibrahim Bello Dauda – with a proven track record, amazing personality will bridge the generational gab between the old and the young. “He is a detribalized Nigerian of very high repute and integrity, a thorough bred professional, a technocrat and, an advocate for digital leadership for sustainable development. Apart of being a Chartered Management Accountant, EL-DABI is a certified Project and Program manager, a certified Risk and Loan Manager, a certified Forensic Graphologist. “He also possesses a Professional Diploma in Intelligence, Certified in Cyber security, Professional Diploma in Criminology and Security Studies with verifiable certificate from International Security Organisation, (ISO).”

Post Date : July 15, 2022

Again, Terrorists Kidnap 2 Catholic Priests

Terrorists, on Friday, kidnapped two Catholic Priests, Rev. Fr. John Mark Cheitnum and Rev. Fr. Donatus Cleopas, in Lere local government area of Kaduna State. The Chancellor, Catholic Diocese of Kafancha, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Uchechukwu Okolo, confirmed the development in a statement made available to journalists in Kaduna. The Chancellor said “it is with great pain that we announce to you the kidnapping of two of our Priests; Rev. Frs. John Mark Cheitnum and Donatus Cleopas. “The sad event of their abduction occurred around 5.45pm of July 15, 2022, shortly after the two priests, who were on their way to a function at a different parish in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State. “We solicit for an intense prayer for their quick and safe release, we equally wish to call on all and sundry to refrain from taking the laws into their hands. “We will use every legitimate means to ensure their quick and safe release. “May Jesus crucified on the Cross listen to our prayers and hasten the unconditional release of His Priests and all other kidnapped persons.” This is coming just weeks after three Catholic priests were kidnapped in the State. While two were released, one was kidnapped on his farm.

Post Date : July 15, 2022

I closed land borders for benefit of farmers — Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari, Friday in Daura, Katsina State, said he decided to close land borders for two years for the benefit of farmers. The President has also lauded the nation’s farmers for the record production of rice and other food commodities, expressing satisfaction that the agricultural policies of the administration are working to good effect. President Buhari said his administration had taken various decisions including the closure of land borders for two years for the benefit of farmers who were the driving force of the rural economy, expressing happiness that these had worked well for the nation. ADVERTISING Speaking to the elected Local Government Council chairmen from Katsina state on a visit to pay homage to him marking the Sallah, President Buhari said “I have a good understanding of the country and its people. That is why we instituted those agricultural policies. I said we must grow what we eat and eat what we grow. This is a country that was once dependent on foreign rice. We closed the border to foreign rice. I said why can’t we eat Nigerian rice, and with the policies put in place, Nigerians are eating home grown rice.” President Buhari also played up the successful implementation of the Treasury Single Account, TSA saying money had been saved from unscrupulous government officials. “I found a tough man (Hamid Ali) for the job at the Customs. One day, he came to me and saying that they had intercepted 20 fuel tankers about to cross the border. I said to him sell the fuel and the tankers and put the money in TSA. Before this time, that money would have found its way to the numerous mysterious ‘government’ accounts.“ On the suggestion by Alhaji Ya’u Umar Gojo-Gojo, the Commissioner of Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, who led the council chairmen that the agricultural policies of the administration be made into law to ensure continuity under the all incoming administrations, President Buhari said such good policies will commend themselves to any government. Gojo-Gojo commended the President for initiating several measures to transform agriculture in order to increase farmers’ income during the last seven years. He told the President that before this time, Katsina people knew how to eat rice but had no inkling as to grow and process it. “Today Mr. President,” said the Commissioner, “rice is grown in all our communities. There are at least 30 small scale rice processing mills in the state. People have embraced animal husbandry and they are making a lot of money.” The Commissioner also briefed the President about the security situation in the state, saying that the state’s amended security law had brought everyone into the mix- state government, local governments, traditional rulers and the ordinary citizens with each one playing their part in helping to reduce the worrisome security threats facing the state. President Buhari reiterated his earlier statement that the farm in Daura, handed to him by his forefather was the next thing on his mind when he leaves of office next year.