How Ombatse ‘Cult’ Group Killed Scores Of Security Agents In Nasarawa-PREMIUM TIMES

Security leaders in Abuja were late Thursday scratching their heads, trying to make sense of how a militia group in Nasarawa State, the Ombatse, that built a fierce loyalty through blood oaths, killed over 55 police officers and 10 operatives of the Directorate of State Security.
Part of the puzzle, knowledgeable sources told PREMIUM TIMES, was how the security officers were lured into a cruel ambush, dispossessed of their weapons, brutally murdered, and then burnt into cold ash.
“It is the most cold blooded act I have witnessed against the law enforcement community in my three decades in the force” a senior police officer in Lafia, capital of Nasarawa State, told PREMIUM TIMES struggling to conceal bitter groans.
Other puzzles include who authorized the ill-fated operation in the first place, both at the police end, and at the Directorate of State Security end, which cost both institutions of the team leaders of the operation.
Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mbah, describing the event as an act of impunity in Abuja on Thursday, adds that “enough is enough,’’ promising also that the police will track down the killers, which robbed the institution of its operational chief in the state, Mohammed Momoh, an Assistant Commissioner of police who hails from Kogi State.
Force headquarters also repudiated earlier claims Thursday that the Nasarawa State Police Commissioner, Abayomi Akeremale, due for retirement at the end of the month, had been placed on suspension, and that the operational coordination of the crisis had been handed over to a deputy Inspector General of police from Abuja.
The DSS, on its part, would not confirm its casualty to PREMIUM TIMES; merely saying it had deployed a search and rescue team to determine fatalities of its operatives on the assignment.
However, sources in Lafia disclosed that the Nasarawa state director of the Service has been recalled to Abuja and placed under “some preliminary punitive sanction while full investigations is apace,” evidence, according to the sources, that he might have over-reached his powers in ordering such a high level operation without the mandatory clearance and approval from Abuja.
Eight operatives and two drivers of the agency were reportedly killed in the operation, including the team leader, a mid career officer, thought to have been “obviously saddled with an assignment beyond his pay grade.”
PREMIUM TIMES also gathered that the local army unit declined to join on the Tuesday mission citing the need for higher authorization. Police and security sources in Lafia have so far been mute on civilian casualties, but the broader narrative of the Nasarawa tragedy, late Tuesday, pointed more on the role of the Nasarawa state administration, its desire to calm rising political temperature in the state, the fear that the Eggon militias bore the marks of a nascent terror movement, and the pressure it put on the security forces to initiate the Tuesday raid.
Security sources said the state administration triggered the initial petition to the DSS and the police on the presumed nefarious role of the militia.
Based on the security report from the DSS, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the police proceeded to build an armada of 13-truck load of men late Tuesday on a mission to Asakio village to disrupt a planned oath ceremony of the group, destroy the shrine, which houses the shrine of Ombatse cult, a deity of the Eggon people, and to arrest its spiritual leader.
Police sources and officials in the state administration, in Lafia, who sought anonymity told PREMIUM TIMES that just ten kilometers out of Lafia, what set out as a clandestine operation came upon an ambush, well laid out by the Eggon attackers, who took on the security convoy ultimately turning their mission into a monstrous killing field.
“This was planned as a clandestine operation for which resources in men and materials were mobilized from different units of the Lafia command, and for which almost none of the men in the convoy knew their destination. Now how it all ended so terribly, that the cultists would anticipate and wreck this kind of attack on security people speak volumes of either infiltration or mission betrayal” a distraught police officer told PREMIUM TIMES in Lafia.

Mission of the police
Yet the Eggon crisis that led to this tragedy was not a new phenomenon. The militia forces attacked Agyaragu community in December last year, which led to the death of ten persons of Koro extraction including a traditional ruler.
That attack led to the banning of the group by the government of Nassarawa State in an official gazette. Also last year, soldiers reportedly stormed the shrine in the group’s ancestral home in Nassarawa-Eggon local government and dispersed them, forcing the cult’s leader and some of his members to migrate to Asakio.
But while at Asakio, the group soon began having difficult relationship with the dominant Arago tribe leading to skirmishes and perennial loss of lives.
Some residents of Lafia who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES painted the picture of a powerful group that has members in many establishments in the state, and which built a tight loyal core through an oath administered on members at the Ombatse shrine, called “the Mbase.” The oath, observers of the group claimed, was always the prism through which members sought to read presumed injustice in political power, and sought to restructure the political and power landscape in Nasarawa State.
Persons who took the Ombatse oath, and swore to its loyalty pledge, were therefore assured of presumed “invisibility to bullets,” PREMIUM TIMES learnt.
Tuesday’s raid was an attempt by the state government, using the security agencies to break the nerve of the group.
According to Eggon News, a local newspaper, the Ombatse, which means ‘time has come,’ was founded by six people. They include Alaku Ehe, Zabura Musa Akwanshiki, Shuaibu Alkali, Hassan Musa Zico Kigbu, Iliyasu Hassan Gyabo and Abdullahi Usman.
Mr. Zico was quoted in a chat with Eggon News as saying the group was born from a revelation through a dream where their ancestors directed them to “rise up and cleanse the land of societal ills such as adultery, fornication, drunkenness, theft, and killings.”
Sources in Lafia informed PREMIUM TIMES that politics may be behind the oath of secrecy, initiation and violence by the group. They said the Eggon people are primarily based in Nassarawa-Eggon and Akwanga Local Governments, but added that “they are spread in almost all parts of the state”.
They also said despite their numbers and perceived influence, the Eggon have not been able to produce the governor.
“The Ombatse therefore, pledged that come 2015 they will not be kingmakers, but must produce the king themselves.” said Salisu, a resident of Lafia.
Throwing more light, Mr. Salisu said the group felt that they were unable to produce the governor because they are not united and are always fighting each other, hence, he said, “I am not surprised they are taking an oath this time around.”
To buttress his point Mr. Salisu said “Look at Labaran Maku (Information Minister) and (Solomon) Ewuga (a senator), they are both Eggons, very influential, but hardly see eye to eye politically.”

IMO POLICE SMASH BABY FACTORY, NAB IMPREGNATOR, RESCUE 17 PREGNANT TEENAGERS

Imo State Police Command recorded another success in its renewed fight against crime and criminals, following the bursting of child trafficking and baby factory syndicate in the state.
Disclosing this to newsmen Thursday evening, at the State Police Headquarters, Owerri, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Katsina, said the Command has clamped down on illegal motherless babies homes, as well as rescued 17 pregnant teenagers.
According to the Imo police boss, one of the illegal homes, Ahamefula Motherless Babies Home, located in Umuaka, Njaba local council area, is allegedly owned by a middle aged woman simply identified as “Madam One Thousand”.
Mr. Katsina equally disclosed that during the police raid, no fewer than 11 minors, who were possibly waiting to be sold to prospective buyers, were rescued by the Command.
The bizarre aspect of the police finding was that a 23-year old boy, simply identified as Oyibo, was fingered as being responsible for impregnating the expectant girls, whose ages ranged between 14 and 17.
Apart from being in varying stages of pregnancy, the girls who equally looked malnourished and not properly catered for wept uncontrollably as they were paraded by the police in Owerri.
On how the Command burst the syndicate, the Commissioner explained that the illegal babies home was successfully raided by the “Ambush Squad” after a credible tip-off.
“The prime suspect is now at large. She was was producing pure water sachets as a decoy to deceive unsuspecting members of the public about what was really going on in the premises”, the Commissioner of Police recounted.
Continuing, Mr. Katsina said: “When the police invaded the tightly secured compound, 17 minors were seen holed up in different rooms in the large compound with some of their children playing around”.
The Imo police boss equally paraded the 55-year old security man, Mr. Uzoamaka Okoli, from Nempi, Oru West local government area of the state, employed by the fleeing owner of the babies home.
The 23-year old Oyibo, who was equally paraded by the Commissioner, has allegedly confessed to being responsible for all the pregnancies.
Source: Vanguard

Bricklayer slaughters girlfriend for ending relationship

A 25-year-old bricklayer, Akinloye Anuoluwapo, has been arrested by the police for slaughtering his 21-year-old girlfriend, Rafiyat Akinyemi.

Anuoluwapo slit Akinyemi’s throat at her family home in Magbon, Ogijo, Ogun state.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Anuoluwapo allegedly murdered Akinyemi for her refusal to continue dating him.

An OND graduate of the Lagos State Polythenic Ikorodu, Akinyemi was said to be home alone last Wednesday, when Anuoluwapo came calling.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the embattled lovers, who had dated for over a year, split up late 2012 despite attempts by Anuoluwapo to prevent it.

It was learnt that Anuoluwapo knew that Akinyemi’s mother and siblings usually left the house before 8am each working day,.

He subsequently sneaked into Akinyemi’s family home at about 8.30am on the day of the incident. As expected, Akinyemi was alone.

Anuoluwapo was said to have made several attempts to have sex with Akinyemi. PUNCH Metro learnt that it was in the ensuing struggle that Akinyemi met her end.

Anuoluwapo, who is being detained at the Ogijo Police Division, said, “I don’t know what came over me, I just wanted us to reconcile and continue our relationship.

“Each time we break up, I am always severely affected; I converted from Christianity to Islam because I wanted to marry her.

“I even moved from my one-room apartment to self-contained accommodation so that she would be more comfortable. My visit was meant to be for a discussion but it degenerated into a quarrel.

“Akinyemi was not even aware that I had a knife on me when I forcefully had sex with her.”

The police said Anuoluwapo used the knife to cut Akinyemi’s throat and later had sex with her while she bled.

But the estranged lover claimed that she was still alive when he had sex with her on the couch in the sitting room.

Unknown to Anuoluwapo, some neighbours had seen him while he was sneaking into the house.

It was gathered that Akinyemi’s corpse was discovered at about 4pm by her mother and siblings when they returned home.

Although neighbours suspected Anuoluwapo, none of them initially came forward with information.

A police source said, “It was later, someone gave an anonymous tip to the police that Akinyemi had broken up several times with Anuoluwapo.

“He said each time; Anuoluwapo would get people from her community or the mosque where she worshipped to plead with her.”

No one knew where Anuoluwapo lived or worked. He had recently relocated from his home at Segun Kehinde Street, Ogijo to the PZ estate. In a bid to locate Anuoluwapo, police detectives were said to have picked residents who lived around Akinyemi’s home for questioning. Eventually one of the residents was said to have revealed Anuoluwapo’s place of work.

“A team of police detectives went to the company to arrest Anuoluwapo, but were initially refused entry. Eventually the Divisional Police Officer, SP. Toyin Afolaogun, had to come with the Divisional Crime Officer before Anuoluwapo could be arrested,” the source said.

A frightened Anuoluwapo was said to have immediately confessed his guilt upon questioning and led police detectives to his house where he had hidden the murder weapon.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the incident.

He said, “The shirt which Anuoluwapo had worn to Akinyemi’s house on the day of the murder was found hidden in a corner with blood stains on it. The knife was found in his home.

“From our investigations, Akinyemi was already dead when Anuoluwapo had sex with her. When her corpse was discovered, her legs were still spread apart and they had become stiff. Semen too was found on her private part. Akinyemi’s body was discovered exactly the way Anuoluwapo had left it when he was through.”

55 killed in Boko Haram attack on Bama

Suspected members of Islamist sect, Boko Haram, on Tuesday, attacked Bama, Borno State, leaving 55 people  dead, the Joint Military Task Force said on Tuesday.

The gunmen, according to Reuters, killed 22 police officers, 14 prison officials, two soldiers and four civilians, while 13 of the sect’s members died in the clash with the task force members.

Spokesman for the JTF, Sagir Musa, confirmed this to Reuters.

The suspected terrorists were said to have  freed 105 prison inmates during the attack which reportedly began at around 5am.

The JTF, which took journalists to Bama to assess the damage caused by the terrorists, added that three children and one woman, were among those killed during the multiple attacks in the town.

Sources in the town claimed that about 300 suspected members of Boko Haram stormed the town, first attacking the  200 Tank Battallion, a military Barracks.

The suspected terrorists were, however,  repelled by  soldiers, who  killed several insurgents who were forced to retreat with the corpses of their members.

They were unable to take away 10 of their members’ bodies.

One other member, who was injured, was  tied to the stake when the JTF and journalists visited.

Bama’s police station, military barracks and government buildings were razed, an eyewitness in Bama said.

Bama is a small, remote town in northeastern Borno State, where Boko Haram first began its uprising in 2009.

Meanwhile, Senate Joint Committee investigating the Baga massacre  on Tuesday visited Maiduguri, Borno State capital, en-route the site of the tragedy.

Our correspondent learnt that members of three standing committees of the Senate namely: Police Affairs, Defence, National Security and Intelligence, were in the state on a fact-finding mission.

The state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Inuwa Bwala, confirmed this in a telephone interview.

“Members of the committee are here. They just arrived Maiduguri. We are going into a meeting that is all I can tell you for now,” Bwala said.

US-BASED COUPLE FAIL DNA TEST FOR TWINS AT EMBASSY

US-BASED COUPLE FAIL DNA TEST FOR TWINS AT EMBASSY
LAGOS — Controversy currently trails the parenthood of five-month-old twins who were presented at the United States of America’s embassy by their supposed parents for the procurement of visa.
This follows result of a DNA test ordered by the embassy which reports showed that the couple were not the biological parents of the twins as claimed.
Consequently, the couple have been arrested and are being interrogated at the Special Fraud Unit, SFU Milverton, for alleged child-trafficking.
Although investigation, according to the unit, had not been concluded, there were indication that the children could have been bought for N1.8 million somewhere in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Following the discovery, the passport of the supposed father, Mr Adenuga Shoyibo, a Nigerian based in America has been seized pending the outcome of the investigation.
But Soyibo, who claimed to be a USA citizen, maintained that the children were theirs, disclosing that the twins came at a traditional home in Port Harcourt, 15 years after they got married.
He further revealed that he paid N1.8 million to the trado-medical practitioner for the herbs administered to his wife which eventually led to her conception.
But in the course of investigation, Commissioner of Police in charge of the unit, Mr Tunde Ogunsaki, was said to have detailed some policemen to accompany Elizabeth to the trado medical home where she claimed the babies were delivered,with a view to ascertaining her claim.
The CP said: “During investigation, detectives travelled to Port-Harcourt, Rivers State where the woman claimed she gave birth to the twins in a private small house. But on reaching Port-Harcourt, the woman claimed she could no longer locate the place, she also stated that she had no antenatal record anywhere as she did not attend any.
“Adenuga Soyibo, who claimed to be the father of the twins, on his own part, said he was also given local herbs that boosted his sperm count that produced the babies.
Both suspects claimed they could no longer trace the woman whom they paid the N1.8 million for the local herbs for the babies delivery. They also could not produce anyone who knew about the conception and the subsequent delivery of the babies.”
Mr Soyibo, however, said he met the woman, one Mrs Okoro, last year, adding that when the delivery date was near, he arrived the country November 19, 2012 and four days later his wife travelled to Port Harcourt where she was delivered same day and returned to their Ikorodu abode the following day.
He further stated that he did not go to Port Harcourt with his wife, saying he was too tired because of the journey.
Currently, Soyibo’s travelling documents have been seized pending the outcome of investigation. But the couple were released on bail, yesterday, and advised to be visiting for further interrogation.
Source: Vanguard

I sell human heads to churches and others for N7,500? – Joshua Akindele, confessed cannibal

I sell human heads to churches and others for N7,500? – Joshua Akindele, confessed cannibal

Joshua Akindele, 56, a confessed cannibal was recently caught by a vigilante group in collaboration with members of the palace guard to the community leader of Ajara Topa community in Badagry, Lagos.
Akindele reportedly operates from a hole he dug under the Gbaji bridge along the Badagry-Seme border.
Sources say the accused was spotted by a man identified as Anthony Amos who watched him crawl into the hole under the Gbaji bridge.
Akindele confessed to behind several unexplained deaths in the area saying he operates by hitting his victims dead or unconscious with plywood and dragging them into the hole before splitting their parts for food and selling parts to ritual buyers.
He confessed to have been previously jailed for 5 years after raping a 17-year old girl.
According to him: “I have been in this business for the past 15 years after my friend advised me to stop riding okada and to join him in ritual killing and cannibalism.
“Whenever I see somebody walking alone without being conscious of who is watching, I walk slowing up to them and hit them with a big plywood on their heads after which they fall unconscious, I then drag them into the hole and use a knife to cut them into parts which I sell to some churches and some ready buyers who indulge in ritual killing for easy money, and some times when I feel hungry late in the night, I eat some parts for food.” he said.
He gave details of his body part selling business revealing that he sells human heads for N7,500; breast for N1,500; penis for N1,000; hands and legs sell for N3,500.
The Baale of Ajara Topa community, Samuel Amosu Owolabi, said he visited the scene of the crime and met the suspect being beaten by a mob.
Owolabi said he pleaded with the mob to let the confessed cannibal live so that he can be prosecuted according to the law.
It was confirmed that the suspect is now in the custody of the Badagry police division for proper investigation into the case.

Private jet: EFCC probes Amaechi over missing $10m

The crisis over an aircraft owned by the Rivers State Government deepened on Thursday, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission commenced a discreet probe to determine Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s link to the alleged inflation of the cost of the plane by $10m. The aircraft has been the subject of a row between the Rivers State Government and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

It was learnt that the anti-graft agency is looking into the ‘high possibility’ of alleged money laundering in relation to the purchase of the aircraft.

A source said on Thursday that while the state government claimed to have purchased the Bombardier aircraft with $57m, records available to the EFCC showed that it may have been bought for $47m, thereby creating room for suspicion on how $10m was spent.

It was learnt that the state House of Assembly approved the purchase of the controversial aircraft within 24 hours.

It was further gathered that operatives of the EFCC might also be looking into how two aircraft purchased by the Rivers State Government under former Governor Peter Odili were managed.

One of the aircraft was sold to the Cross River State Government while the other aircraft manufactured by a Brazilian firm, an air ambulance, was said to have been phased out.

Investigations further revealed that the company wrote the Rivers State Government to say it was longer manufacturing the spare parts of the aircraft and so it was returned.

A source said the anti-graft agency was probing the management of the aircraft because rather than just phasing it out, it should have been traded in for another aircraft.

It was learnt that a focus of the investigation was to find out if there was any link whatsoever between the new aircraft and the aircraft in the area of cost.

Contacted, EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said he had not been briefed on the matter.

“I’m not aware of this,” he said on the telephone.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has said that the aircraft it grounded does not belong to the state government.

The General Manager, Public Affairs, NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, told our correspondent on Thursday that the aircraft belonged to a private firm, contrary to claims by the Rivers State Government that it owned the controversial plane.

He said, “The document we have does not show Rivers State Government as the owner of the aircraft. The registration is saying that the plane is owned by a company and not Rivers. So it is you people that will ask Amaechi how he came in contact with the aircraft. What is his relationship with the owner of the aircraft? That is his own business and I cannot answer that question for him.

“From the records we have, we have told you the owner of the aircraft. So whether it is from his friend or whoever, is it for me to know? It is not for me to know. Because from our records there is nowhere Rivers State Government is stated as the owner of the aircraft.”

He admitted that the aircraft was registered in the name of Bank of Utah in the United States, stressing that the governor should tell the public what he knows about the controversial plane.

Ndubuoke explained that the plane, before it was grounded, only had approval to move from Accra to Port Harcourt. He wondered why the crew decided to fly to other destinations outside the aircraft’s approved routes.

He said, “The clearance for the aircraft was sought by Caverton Helicopters on March 27. Amaechi did not seek clearance and the Rivers state government did not seek clearance.

The route they were given the clearance to fly was Accra-Port Harcourt-Accra.

“That does not mean it is the only place that they can fly. But that was the route with which they applied for the clearance. So if they now want to fly to Owerri or Akure, they need to reapply for another clearance. That is just the true matter, nothing more, nothing less. Their movement to Akure was illegal because it was not captured in the clearance.”

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency had last Friday refused to grant approval to the governor’s aircraft to leave Akure airport.

According to NAMA, the development was due to the failure of the pilot of the plane to submit the required manifest of passengers on board. The airspace agency also said it was untrue that the aircraft was grounded by the airspace manager at the Akure airport.

The Managing Director, NAMA, Mr. Nnamdi Udoh, argued that contrary to the politicisation of the incident, the agency carried out its functions in line with the global aviation standard.

He was reported as saying, “By regulation, the manager has no power to clear any aircraft at that time of the day because Akure Airport operates day light operations. Approval must be given through the manager to the tower.”

On Saturday, NCAA had declared that the controversial aircraft operated illegally in the country.

As a result, the civil aviation authority grounded the Bombardier-BD 700 Global Express aircraft with registration number N565RS. It said the plane had an expired clearance approval effective April 2, 2013.

The Director, Airworthiness Standards, NCAA, Mr. Benedict Adeyileka, explained that while the aircraft was still operating illegally, it had been sighted in several places, including Owerri and Akure.

The NCAA also stated that the grounding of the aircraft had nothing to do with the President. Ndubuoke said, “The media always say that government grounded the aircraft because of issues with Amaechi. Reports have it that it was because the President and Amaechi are having problems, and that that was what may have led to the grounding of the aircraft.

“But I don’t know how the President will come from Aso Rock and say ground this airplane. In fact, I don’t how that will happen and I wonder why he will do that in the first place. So what we are trying to say that it is not true.”

Contacted, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, said he would not react to speculations about the state government’s aircraft.

“I have no comment on the issue because I cannot react to speculations,” he stated.

However, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, in a statement on Friday faulted claims by the Ministry of Aviation that the aircraft was flown into Nigeria with forged documents.

The statement reads in part, “No aircraft can fly into Nigerian airspace illegally and land at various airports within the country unchallenged. The Rivers State Government-owned aircraft has been in operation since October 2012;

“The allegation that a state government would use the name of Caverton Helicopters to obtain various clearances is preposterous and embarrassing;

“The claim that the aircraft insured is owned by Acass Canada Limited of 6700 Cote de Liesse, Suite 206,Montreal, QC H4T 2B5, Canada is a deliberate distortion of facts. An insurance issued to Acass was used for entry into service while flying between Canada and the USA for pre-delivery tests. Rivers State Government took delivery on 5th October, 2012 and duly insured the aircraft and the certificate of insurance duly states this. Please note below:

“The Rivers State Government has been flying this aircraft since October 2012 with this same certificate and with the knowledge of the Ministry of Aviation. The ownership of the aircraft is not in question as we have clearly explained the relationship between the Rivers State Government and the Bank of Utah. “This is a verifiable relationship and is common place in the aviation sector as practitioners and stakeholders know. The Deed of Trust is proof that the aircraft is held in trust by the Bank of Utah on behalf of the Rivers State Government.

“We believe that all administrative procedures should and must be complied with. However, the state government is worried at what is beginning to seem like a witch-hunt of it and related parties that have conducted business with it. We will continue to engage with aviation officials and follow through with all administrative requirements and processes as is most appropriate.”

Also, the Majority Leader in the Rivers State House Assembly, Mr. Chidi Lloyd, explained on Thursday that the current administration traded off two aircraft it met on the ground because they were not durable.

Lloyd added that the state house of assembly approved the purchase of the aircraft based on the durability of the new one.

“When this state government came on board, it met two aircraft on ground. It also discovered that the two planes were not durable. Even the manufacturing company said that particular type had been phased out.

“The current administration decided to trade off the two planes and bought a more durable aircraft currently being used. The aircraft had been on the ground for almost a year, why is it being talked about now?” Lloyd wondered.

Gunmen kidnap 92-year-old ex-minister …demand release of terror suspects

A gang of gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect on Friday kidnapped an elder statesman, Alhaji Shettima Monguno, at the Mafoni Jumaat Mosque in Maiduguri, Borno State, shortly after he performed the jumat prayers.

The kidnappers, who have contacted the family of the 92-year-old man, are demanding the release of some terror suspects being detained by security agents.

The gunmen reportedly forced the former Federal Minister of Petroleum into their car and sped away, shooting into the air to scare away worshippers.

Monguno’s son, Rahma, told Saharareporters on the telephone that the kidnappers had made a contact with the family, demanding not money, but freedom for some of their members being detained by the government.

The former minister, also the Chairman, Borno Council of Elders, had called for amnesty for Boko Haram and urged the Federal Government to have a dialogue with the group.

During a stakeholders’ meeting convened by President Goodluck Jonathan in Maiduguri in March 2013, the nonagenarian had challenged the government to identify members of the sect and hold a dialogue with them.

“To be frank, Mr. President, but for dialogue, you wouldn’t have become the President of this country today. Our founding fathers, who got together and begged the British government to hand over the reins of government, had to sit together and forget their differences and agreed that we would live together in harmony,” he had said.

In April 2012, Monguno said in an interview that the demand of the Boko Haram to impose Shar’iah on many states should not discourage the government from cajoling the group to come to a roundtable.

Last week, the Joint Task Force in Maiduguri announced that the dreaded sect had set up a new squad which would engage in kidnapping.

Two weeks ago, the sect also reportedly made $3.5m from kidnapping a French family in Cameroun.

Force spokesman, Frank Mba, confirmed the incident, saying the police were searching for the elder statesman.

Meanwhile, the Borno State Executive Council convened an emergency security meeting after the abduction of Monguno on Friday.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that the state governor, Kashim Shettima, who chaired the meeting, became emotional at a point.

He was quoted as wondering why “a 92-year-old man that has dedicated his life helping orphans, poor widows and vulnerable children in the society, offering scholarships to children for even Islamic education, building Islamic schools, feeding the poor and even advocating for peaceful negotiation and amnesty for the sect members will be so treated.”

A source at the meeting said Shettima had just returned from Friday prayers and was scheduled to visit the Borno State Radio and Television station.

He was to undertake an inspection of facilities at the station as well as interact with the management and staff as part of activities to mark the World Press Freedom Day.

The governor had to cancel the visit to chair the meeting, which was held amid tight security.

The source said before convening the meeting, Shettima called members of the Monguno family and instructed security agents to furnish him with details of what exactly transpired.

The meeting, which was held at the Mungonos’ residence a few metres from the Borno State Government House, was to ensure that the statesman is released unharmed.

Mother slashes daughter with blade for wasting N100

Angry residents of Ono-Odan Street, Ijanikin, Lagos, nearly lynched a mother, Kudirat Abiola, for cutting her nine-year-old daughter, Precious, with razor blade.

Kudirat made deep cuts on Precious's back, left leg and right arm with the blade to "teach her a lesson."

PUNCH Metro leant that Kudirat decided to punish her daughter after she wasted N100 given to her by her father on junk food.

A resident, who pleaded anonymity, told PUNCH Metro on Tuesday that neighbours were furious after seeing the damage on Precious, adding that the incident was one of many brutalities perpetrated by Kudirat, a mother of two and a trader.

He said, "We wanted to take her to the police, but Precious pleaded for her. The residents nevertheless searched for Kudirat, but she could not be found.

Precious' father, Dayo, is a customs officer.

A resident, Fasai Sunmonu, said Precious' father was not always at home because of the nature of his work.

It was learnt that Precious, a primary six student of Marvellous Nursery and Primary School, Sele, Ijanikin, had on Monday shown her wounds to a friend, Mosaki Rachel.

燫achel said, "Precious told me that her father gave her N100 on Sunday and she spent it. But she did not know that her mother had cooked rice at home. When Precious's mother found out, she beat her first, then used blade to cut her body. When I saw the wounds, I took her to my uncle, Fasai, who has hydrogen peroxide, for treatment."

Precious, however,� told our correspondent that her mummy was just training her.

She said, "I like my mummy, and she likes me too. She is just training me. My father saw the wounds on Monday and got angry. I told him not to fight with my mummy. My father said he would take me to hospital for treatment. But since then I have not seen him."

Kudirat's friend, Ramat Sunmonu, a teacher, said Kudirat believed in corporal punishment.

She said, "She often beats her children including the younger one, Daniel, who is four years old. We were closer before, but because of her aggression towards her children, I don't often visit her anymore.

"I was informed of the incident while coming back from church yesterday (Monday) evening. I ran to her house and when I saw the wounds, I was perplexed.

"I was told that she had run away from home since Monday morning because she was scared that her mother would do more harm. Precious came home at 9pm."

Segun Abogun, who resides in a room next to the Abiolas, said, "We have learnt to stay out of her (Kudirat) way."

Kudirat, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone, however, said she inflicted the injury on her daughter because she was fond of coming home late.

She said, "I cut her because she often comes home late at about 11 pm. She doesn't stay at home and she is naughty.

"I did not punish her because of N100, but because of her bad behaviour. I want her to show the mark to her grand children to tell them that disobedience does not pay."



How I organised my petrol station’s robbery – Manager

LAGOS — Operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, FSARS, Adeniji Adele, Lagos, have arrested the manager of a petrol station located in Ojokoro area of Lagos, for allegedly masterminding the robbery operation in his company where N4. 6 million was carted away, last week.
Preliminary investigation by the operatives showed that the suspect, Ade Ilesanmi, allegedly connived with three members of a robbery gang to dispossess the company’s supervisor of the amount, while on her way to the bank.
The robbers, as gathered, stormed the petrol station on two motorcycles, shooting indiscriminately before snatching the money from the station’s supervisor, identified simply as Mary.
But in his confessional statement to the police, the suspect who is a graduate of English Language admitted to the crime, disclosing, however, that the robbers did not give him a dime from the loot.
According to him, “ I gave information about the money which was to be deposited in a bank to Kolabo, Fasaban and another member of the gang.  The station’s supervisor and I usually go to the bank to deposit the money. As we were about leaving, I called them. They intercepted our vehicle, shooting into the air. In the process, they injured the supervisor but they did not touch me. I never told them to injure her. I only instructed  them to take the money.
“My share of the amount was supposed to be N1.5 million. But since the operation, they never  contacted me. Now I am made to suffer all alone,” said the 33 year-old man.