WOMAN ALLEGEDLY DRUGS LOVER, STEALS HIS $1.5M

The Police at Ikoyi division, Ikoyi, Lagos, western Nigeria, have arrested a 46-year-old woman, Pearl Victoria Alaegbu, for allegedly conniving with a guard to rob her lover, Prince Hillary Unachukwu of his $1.5m (equivalent to N295.5m).

Police alleged that the incident occurred on 13 December, 2015 at Ojora Road, Ikoyi, Lagos when the woman allegedly connived with a guard to lock the victim inside a room with a padlock, ransacked his bedroom and allegedly stole his $1.5 and escaped.
 
Following the incident, according to the police, the complainant reported the matter to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Ikoyi police station Lagos, S. P. Tijani Mustapha who directed his men to trace and arrest the fleeing security guard and the woman anywhere they could be found.
 
While the guard was arrested at a hideout and charged to court for failing to protect his employer from external attack, the woman was tracked and arrested on 26 January, 2016 at a hideout in Lagos.
After investigation, Alaegbu was arraigned before an Igbosore magistrates’ court, Lagos on a four-count charge of attempt to kill with poisonous substance and stealing.
 
Police prosecutor, SGT. Nicolas Akpene informed the court that the accused connived with a security guard also facing trial for the same offence to administer a poisonous substance on the complainant, Prince Hillary Unachukwu which made him to fall asleep from 8pm till 12 midnight in the night during which they ransacked his bedroom and stole his $1.5m and escaped.
 
Akpene said the accused during investigation was found with Etisalat No. 07087773669 which was not properly registered in her name and address.
 
Count 2 of the charge reads: “that you Pearl Victoria Alaegbu on 13 December, 2015 did attempt to unlawfully kill Prince Hillary Unachukwu by administering harmful substance on him and made him slept off between the hours of 8:00pm to 12 midnight to enable you carry out your criminal intention and stole his $1.5m.”
 
Count 4 reads: “that you Pearl Victoria Alaegbu and others at large did unlawfully confine or detain Prince Hillary Unachukwu inside his apartment with padlock making it very difficult to have his personal liberty against his will.”
Akpene said the offences the accused committed are punishable under sections 404, 228, 285(1) (F), 270 and 318 of the criminal laws of Lagos State, 2011.
 
The accused pleaded not guilty to the police allegations in the open court and Magistrate Mrs. S. K. Matepo admitted her to bail in the sum of N5m with two sureties in like sum.
Matepo adjourned the case till 10 February, 2016 for mention.
 
The defendant was taken to the Kirikiri Prison, Apapa, Lagos, pending when she will fulfill her bail condition.
Source:PMNews

I went into robbery to raise money for my blind father

 “Never in my life did I think about robbery as a last resort to ameliorate my impoverished state. But circumstances beyond my control forced me into it.” These were the welcoming words from a suspected member of a six-man robbery gang that had been terrorising petrol station owners in the Northern region. The suspect, Bende Mohammed (38) was arrested recently, alongside four suspected members of the gang by the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT).

The deadly gang’s targets were filling stations and bakeries in Kaduna, Nasarawa and Niger states, including Abuja FCT. One of its operations at a filling station (name withheld) in Masaka, close to Abuja, left in its wake the death of two persons with several others sustaining varying degrees of injuries. Members of staff had closed for the day, with some of them changing into their clothes when the unexpected happened, following the deafening sounds of gunshots which made the fear-stricken staff to run into hiding.

 This happened immediately after the manager of the filling station (name withheld), who had collected the proceeds of the day from the fuel attendants, was at the verge of entering his car parked within the premises of the filling station. The astonished manager was reportedly hit with the butt of a gun by one of the unwelcomed guests, while his colleagues fired sporadically.

At the end of the operation said to have lasted less than ten minutes, two persons were reportedly hit by stray bullets while the sum of N6 million was carted away, with members of staff dispossessed of their phones and locked up in one of the offices.

  Attempt to help blind father
In this interview with Crime Guard, one of the suspects, Bende Mohammed, who kept shaking his head in self pity, claimed he reluctantly joined the gang after several attempts to raise money for surgery on his visually impaired father failed. According to the Nasarawa State-born suspect, “I never knew it would get to this. I am a power generator and grinding machine mechanic.

But proceeds from each day’s business were not enough to take care of my family. Besides, I have a father who is blind. I was told he needed some money to carry out some medical tests to ascertain the category of blindness. But I didn’t have money to pay for the consultation let alone for the test. Everyday, I would be inundated with calls on his deteriorating state. When I shared my predicament with a friend, he introduced me into robbery.

“I initially refused to buy into the idea but reluctantly joined them later. The first time I went with them on an operation, we struck a filling station in Masaka, where I got N400,000. Out of the amount, I sent N100,000 to my father to use for the test. Out of the balance, I bought a motorbike which I used for commercial purpose. I intended to stop at that point and use the rest to establish myself. But the gang won’t release me. I regret everything and wished my father was not blind”, he said remorsefully.

Insider connection
On his part, 33-year-old Ikechukwu Okereke who hails from Imo State gave a startling revelation that most operations at petrol stations are carried out in connivance with some members of staff. He stated that the gang usually struck in the evening, when filling station managers would have collected money realised for the day .

According to him, “We usually stormed filling stations in our operational vehicle. We worked on information usually given to us by insiders. Some members of staff of filling stations gave us information on when exactly to strike. Most of them assisted us because of their poor remunerations. Some of them are paid as low as N4,000 per month. They rely on stipends from customers and adjustment of pumps.

“In the case of the Nasarawa filling station operation, we had information that the manager would be coming to collect the day’s sales by 6.30pm. We arrived at the vicinity around 6pm to survey the terrain and to keep tab on the manager. We struck as he was about leaving the filling station by opening fire. In the process, we collected the cash he was with, and moved to our hideout where it was discovered to be N6 million. And we shared it equally with the informant.

“Another operation I partook in was that at Masaka, close to Abuja, where I got N400,000. The third operation was also in Nasarawa. But it was foiled owing to miscalculations on our part. One of us jumped out of the car before we reached the filling station and started shooting. This made our target to run away. We left out of frustration and invaded a bakery, where we got just N90,000.”

I was gullible
For 39-year-old Mohammed Usman, popularly known as “Dogo”, he was a victim of circumstance, and he blamed his indulgence on his gullibility. He said, “I was a victim of circumstance. I am not really a robber. I was deceived by Yahaya (pointing to one of the suspects). He (Yahaya) called me on the phone to inform me that he had a job of N6 million and needed my assistance.

I acted so foolishly because I did not even ask what kind of job it was. I went with him and others, only to discover it was a robbery operation. By then, I could not turn back. At the end, I was given N30,000. Same thing happened the second time when they stormed the bakery, where I got N15,000.”

Arrested at last
Corroborating Dogo’s claim, Yahaya Musa said “Yes, I invited him when I was given a job to rob a filling station. I only wanted to help him raise money because of his impoverished state.”

After the incident, Musa was said to have received a call where the caller informed him that he had another filling station job for him. As usual, he reportedly invited other members of the gang and headed for the meeting point, only to walk into the welcoming hand of operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT), led by Abba Kyari.
The suspects, as gathered, would be charged to court.

Source:Vanguard

EFCC operative batters, abandons lover over refusal to abort pregnancy

*‘He gave me N18,000 for abortion’
LAGOS—A teenager, who alleged that she had been abandoned after being impregnated by an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has appealed to authorities of the commission to intervene.

The pregnant teenager, Blessing Nwokpa, also alleged that effort to reach her estranged lover (names withheld) earned her a beating at the commission’s office in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The 19-year-old claimed that the operative took advantage of her homelessness to put her in the family way, only to abandon her when it mattered most.

Trouble, as gathered, started after Nwokpa who worked as a canteen attendant at the Awolowo Road, Ikoyi office of EFCC, had accommodation problem. She was compelled to be sleeping in the canteen, when her lover reportedly offered to give her shelter.

Her story
According to the expectant mother, who is currently in the custody of the Legal Aids Council, “I was staying with my brother when I left Enugu for Lagos. He found the canteen job for me.

 “At a point he had accommodation problem and I was sleeping in the canteen when the EFCC man said I could be sleeping in his house until my brother get another apartment.
“I accepted without thinking of the impossible. But at night he would lure me into having sex with him until I became pregnant without knowing.

“When I eventually discovered I was pregnant, I told him and his attitude towards me changed. He gave me N18,000 to abort the pregnancy but I refused. When he discovered I was still keeping the pregnancy, he started beating me and threw my things out of his apartment.

“He beat me to a pulp when I went to his office to request for money for ante-natal. Some of his senior colleagues rescued me,” adding that she was sacked at the canteen because of her pregnancy.

Legal Aids intervenes
She was reportedly directed to the Legal Aids Council where she lodged the complaint.
Vanguard was informed that attempt by the council to make peace between the duo failed as the EFCC officer did not show up when invited.

The teenager said all she needed was for the EFCC operative to take responsibility of the pregnancy and not necessarily to marry her.
Efforts by Vanguard to reach the concerned EFCC officer on his mobile phone failed as it was switched off. Sources at the commission told Vanguard that the matter was a private one.

Source:Vanguard

We raped primary 5 pupil because she isn’t a virgin —Suspects

Five members of a gang that raped a 15-year-old primary five pupil in the Bariga area of Lagos State have attributed the victim’s waywardness for their action and not being a virgin.

The suspects also insisted that the victim (names withheld) was a girlfriend to one of the arrested members and that she voluntary followed his boyfriend to the scene of the rape.

The suspects were a few days ago arrested, after a non-governmental organisation reported the incident at Oworonsoki police station, following the alarm by residents of the area.

The Lagos State Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni identified the arrested suspects as: Tasheed Oyekanmi, Olafele Habeeb, Femi Olatunji and Alade John.
The suspects, while speaking with Lagos Metro, stated that the fifth accused person had been released by the police.

18-year-old Oladele Habeeb admitted that the gang all took their turn to sleep with the girl, but insisted that “it was not a rape incident. She agreed to it.”
He added that, “The girl is a bad girl. She used to sleep around with boys. Everybody in the area knows her as a wayward girl.”

The acclaimed boyfriend, Femi Olatunji also confessed to have slept with the girl, but insisted that they had been dating each other for many months, before the incident.
He however also confessed that he slept with the primary five pupil for the first time, the same day his friends took their turn to rape her.

“She was my girlfriend. We have been dating each other for some months before that day. I was the one that took her to where my friends raped her,” he explained.

The victim had given one of her clothes to Femi for amendment, when he lured her to where members of the gang took their turns to rape her
Source:Tribune

Fresh Otokoto in Enugu …3 human bodies buried in building foundation

Police in Enugu have exhumed three decomposed human bodies buried in the foundation of a new building site, believed to be a church  building located at the Ugwuaji area of Enugu,  along the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway.

The corpses  were already covered with concrete before they were discovered and exhumed.

Construction of the building, whose owner was yet to be ascertained as at the time of filing this report was said to have commenced recently and was still at the foundation level by the time the police made the discoveries.

Sources told Daily Sun that the victims could be Keke (tricycle) operators some of whom have been reported missing of recent.

Another source claimed it was duri Keke operators that the discovery was made.

A worker at the site, who got wind of the  bodies,  was said to have raised the alarm leading to police investigation and discovery.

The police allegedly moved in on a tip-off and reportedly mobilised some labourers who dug the foundation open and exhumed the already decomposed bodies.

Some people who spoke to Daily Sun expressed shock at the discovery and urged government and security agencies to ensure that the culprits were arrested and brought to book.

There were further revelations that the building, which is believed to be a proposed place of worship was being put up by a suspected ritualist who disguised himself as a man of God.

The state police command, through its Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu confirmed the discovery and added that the corpses were recovered from the site following a tip-off.

“Three decomposing bodies were found and full-scale investigation has commenced with a view to fishing out the culprits.”

Meanwhile, fear has gripped residents of Ugwuaji as security operatives were said to have swung into action to crackdown on the ritualist and his cohorts who killed and buried the deceased persons.

In 1996, a similar incident occurred in Owerri, Imo State when police arrested a man, Innocent Ekeanyanwu, with the head of a young boy, Ikechukwu Okonkwo.

In the course of investigation, the police traced the buried torso of Ikechukwu to the premises of Otokoto Hotel, owned by a business man, Chief Vincent Duru, and uncovered a syndicate which specialised in ritual killing and the sale and procurement of human parts.

The horrifying discoveries sparked off violent protests in Owerri, which led to the burning and looting of property  belonging to suspected killers.

Following the protests in which both the police and the state’s military administration were accused of aiding and abetting the crime of ritual killing, the state government set up a panel headed by Justice P.C Onumajuru, to investigate the case.

The panel at the end of its assignment recommended the trial of the Otokoto syndicate members. The two sets of trials that went on for many years represented all that the state military administration had been able to do with the implementation of the Justice Onumajuru panel of inquiry.

Six years after, the seven men charged with his murder were sentenced to death by hanging. Those condemned were Alban Ajaegbu, Sampson Nnomita, Ebenezer Egwuekwe, Rufus Anyanwu, Lawrence Eboh, Leonard Unaogu and Chief Vincent Duru (a.k.a Otokoto).

Source:The Sun

Suspected Bariga cultists paraded in Lagos

Leader of Bariga cult group, Tanimola Ogbere, paraded on Monday
at Police Headquarters, Ikeja Command

 

Faces of suspected Bariga cult members paraded in Lagos

The police on Monday paraded eight suspected cultists who have been terrorizing the residents of Bariga and its environs in Lagos State, western Nigeria.
The suspects were paraded by the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr Fatai Owoseni.

The group allegedly burnt a house and set a 65-year old woman ablaze in Bariga last Saturday.
Among those arrested and paraded was the suspected leader of the gang, Tanimola Ogbere, also known as ‘Who Knows Tomorrow’.

Others paraded are Richard Abayomi, 30, Richard Ewa,31, Kayode Dada, 25 and Afex Olajide Fagunwa, 32.
Others include Nurudeen Lateef, 22, Mohammed Musa, 28, and Adamson Adelani.

Recovered motorcycles from suspected Bariga cultists

The suspects were arrested after they allegedly invaded Bariga and burnt a house along with a woman.
Fracas broke out after a rival cult led by Ibrahim now at large reportedly killed two persons identified as Benmo and Abiye.

The incident in Bariga was a reprisal attack allegedly led by Ogbere.
CP Owoseni said that following the mayhem by the cultists the police went into action and arrested the suspects and their leader.

He assured that the police will continue to do their best in combating crime in the state and sought coperation from members of the public for information.
Source:pmnews

The agony of 5-year-old girl who needs corrective surgery

Looking at the physique of Ayomiposi Fortunate Ogunwale, one would conclude that she is a two-year-old innocent girl with energy and zeal to fulfill her dream of a secure future.

But this reporter was amazed  when her father, Mr Ayodeji Ogunwale, said the little girl is four years old. Ayomiposi’s condition was precipitated by a heart problem (Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia), which is stunting her growth and physical development.

Similarly, the heart condition of Ayomiposi has changed the colour of her tongue to black, while her fingernails are not normal.

Speaking with Saturday Tribune, Mr Ogunwale lamented that his daughter’s travails first manifested as malaria fever. “We took her to several hospitals and the malaria refused to go.”

He stated that “sometimes, she would develop high temperature. But, the most agonising part of it is that she often goes into convulsion. If you see her in that condition, you will shed tears, considering the pains she usually goes through.

“Later, when we were perplexed on what to do in ameliorating her suffering, we proceeded to Biket Medical Centre, Osogbo, where she was diagnosed with a heart problem after a medical test. The medical director of the centre, Dr A. D. Adenle said the corrective heart surgery that my daughter undergo in India would cost N3 million.”

He stated further that “I am painter, while my wife works as a secretary in a law firm. How do I raise a whopping sum of N3 million?! I am pleading with wealthy Nigerians to help me so that may daughter can be saved from this heart problem.

“I cannot say the exact amount of money I have spent taking care of her. I am appealing to Governor Rauf Aregbesola and his wife, Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola, other governors in the South West, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, corporate organisations and other prominent Nigerians to help me so that we can get the N3 million needed for the corrective heart surgery in India.”

Apparently convinced that Ayomiposi’s father could not raise the money for the surgery of his ailing daughter, the medical director of Biket Medical Centre, Dr Adenle, in an appeal letter, dated 10th December, 2015 solicited for assistance on behalf of Ayomiposi.

The appeal letter entitled “Re: Ogunwale Ayomiposi,” reads in part, “I will appreciate it if you can help in alleviating the problem of the aboved named four-year old girl who has a heart problem (Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia), which is affecting her growth and physical development.”

“This problem can only be solved by surgery. This corrective surgery would cost about N3 million. We would be very grateful for any assistance you can render.”

Meanwhile, a bank account has been opened for Ayomiposi, with the hope that  kind-hearted Nigerians would make donations. The bank details are: Name, Ogunwale Fortunate Ayomiposi; account number, 3100780104; Bank, FirstBank.
Source:Tribune