BEREAVED TENNIS STAR: My mum’s killer must die too

For 14 years old Angel Macleod, October 26, 2010 may remain indelible in her mind for that was the day that a policeman murdered her 38 years old mother, Beauty Nwankwo, at a Lagos hotel.
A rising Chevron tennis star, Angel had returned from Accra, Ghana, the previous day, after participating in a tournament and mother and daughter were lodged at a guest house somewhere at Victoria Island.

Circumstances surrounding the gruesome murder are still shrouded in mystery but reports said that the late Beauty may have had an altercation with the killer mobile policemen and in the scuffle that ensured, the armed man cocked his weapon and fired point blank, killing the woman in cold blood.
Angel is actually yet to come to terms with the development as she still finds it difficult to believe that she will never see her beloved mother again, forever. And to compound her problems, Angel does not really know who her father is, that is if one actually still exists. “I just keep thinking that it’s not true,” Angel cries, noting that, “every time I think about it, I just break down and life feels strange without her. My father is not here. I don’t know where he is. I don’t know who will replace my mother.

“When my mum did not come back the next day, I tried calling her and all of a sudden, my auntie, auntie’s husband, my mother’s friends came to my room and asked If I was okay and I said yes. I asked them where my mum was and they all looked at each other and said that she had gone to the village but was not picking up her phone calls. I said okay. Then every ten minutes, the receptionist would come and ask if I was okay and in case I needed anything, I should come and ask her. It was really strange. I tried to call my mum for the last time but she didn’t pick and I called my auntie to verify if my mum was in the village and she said that she was leaving the village now.

“It was then I knew that something was wrong because my mum can’t just go to the village and be on her way just like that. It takes hours and hours to go the village and she would not go without telling me.”
Apart from her dream to rule the world of tennis, the late mother was all she had. Beauty had prodded her on, leading her to various tournaments both within and outside the country, preparing Angel for a possible role in the future as a tennis star.

“The killer doesn’t deserve to live any minute longer,” Angel said adding that “the only way he can pay for his crime is to pay with his life because what he did was devilish and evil and I can’t believe that a policeman can kill my mother just like that.”

She got the news of the killing a day after the incident and she felt as if the world had come to an end. “We did everything together, went out together, attended tournaments together. She helped me with my studies and was virtually my engine room and I don’t know what I am going to do without her. I don’t know how I will cope without her around me again.”

Still in tears, Angel wants to see the corpse of her mother before burial, “to actually confirm that she is dead.” Then she has another request – to see the policeman who killed her mother. “I am not going to do anything to him. I just want to see who killed my mum,” hopefully before he faces the wrath of the law.

In about three years from now, Angel is expected to go professional, a development which may attract global attention as in fact, she says she is determined to be the Maria Sharapova of African tennis. “Just because my mum died does not mean I am going to stop doing the thing I love most, playing tennis. Since I was a kid, she was the one who brought me into tennis. She always pushed me to struggle harder for success and I am going to keep on fighting. Her death won’t bring my head down as far as tennis is concerned. Her death will push me on because that is her dream for me.”

“I try not to think of it but every day, I get phone calls from people around, in Africa, my mum’s friends, some of the coaches who trained me, contacted me after reading the news. It’s hard not think of it, knowing she died at an early age. She is with me in the spirit.”
Source:Vanguard

BVN Deadline: 26m bank accounts to be frozen

Barely 24 hours to the deadline for Bank Verification Number, BVN, less than half of the 52 million bank customers have been registered, a development that may have caused discomfort in the banking industry.

Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, had said no extension would be made while non-registered bank customers would be barred from accessing their money or any transaction in their account after tomorrow.

About 26 million bank customers would be affected by the shut-out.
An official of the apex bank told Vanguard yesterday that the registration window would still be opened after tomorrow, but unregistered customers would not be allowed access to their accounts.
The official, who claimed that the exact figures of registered bank customers would not be ready until next week, however lamented that “less than half of total bank customers have been captured as at Monday this week.

“Field reports show that there has been increased surge in the number of registrations per day since last week, but it is clear that we may not exceed 50 percent by the deadline.”

Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Jibril Aku, had said last month that bank customers who fail to meet the October 31 deadline to enroll on the BVN network will have their accounts frozen.
Aku, who spoke at the end of the 324th meeting of the bankers’ committee in Lagos, said there was no going back on the new deadline set by CBN for customers to obtain their BVN.

He said: “There will be no extension of the October 31 deadline. All efforts have been made by the committee, CBN and Nigeria Interbank Settlement System for bank customers to obtain their BVN.
“The customers, who fail to meet the deadline will not be able to operate their accounts until they comply.”
Source:Vanguard

LAGOS CHURCHES, MOSQUES TO SCREEN WORSHIPERS

Churches and mosques in Lagos State are soon to start screening worshippers, especially on busy days such as Sundays and Fridays. The need to the screening, as part of measures to prevent terror attacks in the wake of the arrest of some Boko Haram members in Lagos, emerged at a meeting yesterday in Lagos between the state government and religious leaders. The meeting came on a day the military announced that Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had carried out air strikes on the Sambisa Forest, destroying Boko Haram’s vehicle workshops, fuel and ammunition dumps.

At the Lagos meeting, Home Affairs Commissioner, Dr. AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef, urged religious leaders to screen worshipers and employ more personnel to beef up security in their various worship centres. AbdulLateef, who urged residents to remain calm but vigilant, appealed to the religious leaders to preach tolerance, love and unity at all times, saying that clerics have great role to play in ensuring peaceful coexistence in the state. He called for cooperation to sustain the harmony in the state. He said:

“We would advise churches, mosques, all the places of worship in Lagos State to buy metal detectors, and to employ more security personnel to ensure extremists, terrorists do not have their way because they know how to target soft spots.” AbdulLateef added that the state government is doing everything possible to ensure the security of lives and property, adding that religious leaders must also play their roles by being vigilant and preaching security consciousness. : “The situation of insurgency in this country is worrisome. For the religious leaders, institutions and organisations, we must be vigilant. Vigilance is the key word now.

“This ministry is going to come up with a lot of policies, part of which is improving our relationship with religious organisations and institutions, creating the data base for all religious institutions in Lagos State, enumerating the churches and mosques. Let us know how many do we have, where they are? “We are partnering the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on the standard expected of a church. We are also partnering with the Muslim Council on the standard expected of a mosque, regulating activities of religious institutions so as to safeguard the welfare of people who come to worship and not endanger it,” he added. The commissioner stressed the need for government to quickly intervene in activities of the religious centres so as to ensure the safety of all the residents in the state.

Also yesterday, the air force said it destroyed Boko Haram’s vehicle workshops, fuel and ammunition dumps during attacks on Sambisa Forest. NAF said it deployed its Alpha Jets for the latest operation, after undertaking a discreet Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR).

A statement by NAF’s spokesman, Air Commodore Dele Alonge, said the ISR was as a result of efforts by the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and ATR-42 platforms. The statement quoted the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, as saying that the development has further degraded the capacity of Boko Haram, thereby paving the way for the sect’s final defeat. “In a renewed drive to further degrade the Boko Haram Terrorist (BHT) assets, the NAF Alpha Jets have successfully carried out airstrikes and destroyed the sect’s vehicle workshops, fuel and ammunition dumps all within the Sambisa forest. “This feat by the Nigerian Air Force came as a result of a painstaking Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) efforts by the NAF’s Unmanned Aerial vehicle (UAV) and ATR-42 platforms.

“In view of the above, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, wishes to assure all Nigerians that with these successful strikes on the insurgents, their capabilities have been further degraded to pave the way for the final onslaught by the land forces to meet the Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to bring insurgency in the North- East to an end,” the statement said.

The military is under intense pressure to crush Boko Haram by the end of December, in fulfilment of Buhari’s directive This is as the terrorists have scaled-up suicide bomb attacks on soft targets in recent times, with attendant deaths, injuries and destruction of property.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has commenced moves to evolve a new communication strategy aimed at tackling the ideological roots and negative narratives of the Boko Haram terrorists and other insurgent groups in the country. The strategy, known as the National Strategy for Strategic Communications (NSSC), is similar to the soft-approach programme of the previous administration and will regulate government communication across the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) and reinforce their core-values towards de-radicalisation of terrorists. National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Mongonu (rtd) gave this indication at a workshop on ‘Counter Violent Extremism (CVE)-Media Round Table’ in Abuja.

Monguno, represented by a Deputy Director in his office, Ahmad Gusau, said the NSSC was a policy document put together by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) with the technical support of the European Union. Mongonu added that a validation workshop on the draft NSCC was held in June 2015 and the contributions of the various departments of government and other stakeholders were being integrated before the document would be approved and unveiled. According to him, the draft NSSC has as one of its six focal areas, the relationship between government and the media.

He said the media round table was meant to draw the attention of journalists to current trends in the use of media by terrorists and violent extremist groups, including the ISIS, which has since established links with Boko Haram. Monguno said both groups had been exploiting the media to radicalise, propagate their agenda in order to recruit new converts. He, however, added that the media has since recognised that the insurgents were enemies of the Nigerian state whose violent activities have a negative impact on the collective psyche and wellbeing of the populace.
Source:-New Telegraph

I killed our rival to avenge my brother’s death —Suspected cultist

A  self-acclaimed member of Eiye confraternity yesterday gave a graphic description  of how he  murdered one of his rivals during a birthday party held in Mushin area of Lagos last week.

Arrested alongside the 22-year-old suspect was his alleged accomplice.
The deceased, a commercial motorcyclist, identified as  Sura Abiola Lateef,  was reportedly attacked along with his friend, when they stepped out to buy sachet water.

While his friend, identified as Rilwan, was said to have managed to escape with a deep cut in the neck,  same could not be said of Lateef, who was  stabbed in different parts of his body and abandoned in the pool of his blood and he bled to death.

Briefing newsmen on activities of cultists in the state, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai  Owoseni, said the command had launched a manhunt for cultists, disclosing that over 20 suspected cultists had been arrested between October 18 and 21, 2015.

Among them were 22-year-old Morufu Liadi and Rilwan Balogun who confessed to have had a hand in the late commercial motorcyclist’s death.
Speaking with Vanguard, Liadi who showed no sign of remorse, said the killing of late Lateef was to avenge the death of his elder  brother.

He said: “I am a vulcanizer. I  was forced to join the  Eiye confraternity last year in order to avenge the death of my brother who was murdered by cultists seven years ago. I waited until last year to join because by then, I was only 15 years old and I was told that I was too young to join a cult.

“ Last Sunday,  I was invited to a birthday bash at  Agbekolade Street, Mushin, where members of Aye were in attendance. While there, my friend (pointing to Balogun who sat by his side) showed me a young man named Lateef, who he said was among those that murdered my elder brother, Azeez, seven years ago. He said Lateef was one of Aye’s hit men.

“Immediately I got up to challenge him (Lateef ) and to my surprise, the person with him brought out a gun. He fired some shots at me but none penetrated. At that moment, they both took to their heels. But  Lateef fell and I used that opportunity to  stab him on any part of the body I could lay my hands on. I did that to avenge the death of my brother .“

On his part, Balogun, a Junior Secondary  School 3  drop out, claimed he was not a cultist. Although he admitted to have pointed the deceased to Liadi, he  said he did not witness the murder.
The suspects, according to the command boss, will be charged to court thereafter.
Source: Vanguard

45 In Custody Over ‘Boko Haram Plot’ In Lagos

Nigeria’s security agencies have arrested and charged 45 suspects over an alleged Boko Haram plot to attack the country’s financial hub, Lagos, sources with knowledge of the matter told AFP yesterday.

“About 60 suspects were picked up from different locations in Lagos by the Department of State Services acting on intelligence information they were planning to attack Dolphin Estate in Ikoyi last month,” said one source, referring to an upscale area of Lagos.

Both sources, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, said some of the suspects were released after preliminary investigations, while 45 others were taken to a magistrate court on Friday.
“They were arraigned on holding charges. The DSS urged the court to remand them in prison pending further investigation and their eventual arraignment before a high court,” said a source.

Dolphin Estate is a gated community on the Ikoyi island, which is home to wealthy Nigerians as well as expatriate workers, many of them in the oil and gas industry.
Any attack on Lagos, which drives Nigeria’s economy and is seen by many foreign governments as a gateway to West Africa, would likely send shockwaves through both.

Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, on Saturday called for the public’s help in ensuring the safety of the megacity’s 20 million-strong population.

“Our appeal goes to every school, housing estates, religious houses, markets and shopping complexes, hotels and restaurants and sporting arenas to take issues of security and personal safety more seriously these days and to work with both the government and security agencies in promptly reporting any persons with suspicious activities or unusual gatherings that may compromise security,” he said.
“Care must also be taken in how domestic servants and house aides are also employed,” he added in a statement.

Boko Haram, which wants to carve out a hardline Islamic state in Nigeria’s northeast, has threatened to move south to spread its six-year-old insurgency in the country.
The capital, Abuja, has been hit several times, most recently on October 2 when three suicide bombers killed 18 in two satellite towns — while Lagos was attacked last June.

The car bombing, near fuel depots and the city’s main port, killed at least four and although denied by the authorities, was claimed by Boko Haram’s shadowy leader, Abubakar Shekau.
In one propaganda video, Shekau threatened to hit Nigeria’s oil-producing south.

Security analysts said at the time the Lagos bombing was likely to have been carried out by a small group of Boko Haram sympathisers, with no direct link to the group’s high command.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power in May on a promise of crushing Boko Haram, has given his military commanders until the end of the year to bring the insurgency to a close.
That has led to a slew of announcements, particularly from the military, about progress in the counter-insurgency.

But at the same time suicide attacks and bombings against “soft” civilian targets have continued. Nearly 170 people have been killed this month and more than 1,420 since Buhari came to power, according to an AFP tally.

At least 58 people were killed on Friday in blasts at two mosques in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, and the capital of neighbouring Adamawa state, Yola.
Yesterday,four suicide bombers attempting to blow up a military checkpoint in Maiduguri were killed when their car exploded, local vigilantes, assisting the military in the fight against Boko Haram told AFP.

“Around 1:30 pm, a Golf car carrying four people exploded just before the Jimtilo military checkout, on the outskirts of Maiduguri,” vigilante Baba Kura said.
“We mobilised to the scene along with military personnel and we discovered the explosion was caused by explosives and the car was engulfed in flames,”

Another vigilante Umar Sani gave a similar account of the incident.
“A car exploded just befoe reaching a military checkpoint. All the four occupants of the car died from the explosion,” he said.
Source:Leadership

6 students rescued from female kidnappers in Lagos

LAGOS—Alleged plan by a female kidnap syndicate to abduct some students  on their way to school last Friday, in Aguda area of Surulere, Lagos, was botched, following the the arrest of three of its  members.

The women  were said to have succeeded in cajoling six students who were heading to a public school on the Island  and zoomed off  towards Orile/Mile Two.
There are, however, different accounts as to  how they met their waterloo as a version of the account had it that the eldest of the abducted students, a Junior Secondary School  2 girl,  raised an alarm on noticing that the route plied was different from the regular route to their school.

The alarm raised reportedly attracted curious commuters at Orile who chased after the vehicle but another version had it that the students were kept inside the boot of the vehicle.
However, on reaching Orile, commercial motorcyclists were said to have been attracted by  bangs from the boot of the car and out of curiosity, reportedly stopped the car and demanded that the boot be opened for them to ascertain what was inside.

On noticing that the students were abducted, a mob descended on the three women and attempted to set them ablaze but for the timely intervention of policemen from Orile division.   The mob, however, succeeded in setting their operational car ablaze.

One of the eyewitnesses at the scene said:  “ One of the students  said when they noticed this was not the way to their school, they told their abductors to take them back from where they picked them  but they didn’t respond.

‘’She said she  started crying and shouting at the same time. When they got to salvage bus stop at Orile, their cry attracted some  area boys  who  approached the abductors and asked them where they were going.”

Efforts to speak with the suspects and the rescued students at Orile Police division failed as Vanguard was asked to go to the  spokesman, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Joe Offor, for comment.

‘’Immediately, he said that, the students   cried  for help, saying the people were  kidnappers.  Sensing trouble, the kidnappers immediately  sped off .  But unfortunately for them , they drove into a port hole which caused  one of the tyres to burst.

‘’Yet they kept moving until they were caught up with at  Abu street . The ladies were stripped  naked, while their vehicle was destroyed . They would have been set ablaze but for Police intervention.”

Efforts to speak with the suspects and the rescued students at the Orile Police division failed as Vanguard was asked to go to the  spokesman, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Joe Offor, for comment.

Source:Vanguard