DSS OFFICER DISMISSED FOR N310M ROBBERY, HELD FOR KIDNAPPING

• DPO paid us N200,000 to free sergeant –Suspects

Detectives attached to the Inspector- General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris’ Special Intelligence Response Squad (IRT), have smashed a kidnap gang coordinated by a dismissed official of the Department of State Services (DSS). The 35-year-old DSS officer, Abdulrasheed Maigari, was arrested along with 10 gang members.

The gang was said to specialise in kidnapping and robbing residents of Abuja. Maigari is a 2006 Political Science graduate of Bayero University, Kano (BUK). He was recruited into DSS as a graduate officer in September 2011. He was dismissed and charged to court on November 12, 2015, for conniving with some soldiers to rob some people of N310 million in Abuja.

He was released by the court on November 28, 2016 and immediately joined the kidnapping gang in Abuja. Maigari graduated to become the coordinator of the gang. He also rented the two houses in Suleija where the gang used to keep victims.

Items recovered from them are one AK47 rifle and two pistols. A police source said: “One AK47 rifle with serial number 5163908, three AK47 magazines loaded, with 90 live rounds of ammunition and two pistols, with 14 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the kidnappers. “The gang used to trail prospective vic-tims driving expensive cars in Abuja in the evening hours.

They would block and kidnap their victims at traffic lights, house or estate gates and other places. The gang members have confessed to several kidnappings within Abuja city, including Mr. Japhet and his wife in Gwarimpa area, where N5 million ransom was paid.

“Two university ladies in Wuse 2, Abuja, were kidnapped by the gang and N2 million ransom was paid. Two other ladies in a Mercedes Jeep in Gwarimpa were also kidnapped and N5 million was paid before they were released. “A filling station owner in Gwarimpa paid N50 million as ransom before he was released. There are many of such cases.

They have kidnapped a lot of people and collected money. Efforts to arrest the only remaining gang member at large are in progress.” On March 3, the gang allegedly abducted 67-year-old Alhaji Isa Ozi Salami at Maitama, Abuja. Idris ordered the IRT operatives, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Mr. Abba Kyari, to go after the kidnappers, arrest and rescue the victim. The IRT and Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Abuja Command jointly swung into action.

After five days of hunting for the suspects, between March 26 and 28, 11 of the kidnappers were arrested. Salami, former General Manager of Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria (PAN), Managing Director, Nigeria Paper Mills, Jebba and Chairman, Gateway Insurance, was rescued from the kidnappers’ hideout, a two-bedroom house rented by the kidnappers in remote part of Suleja town, Niger State.

One of those arrested is Kelvin Emeka (28), who is the gang leader. Emeka had once been charged to Gwagwalada High Court in October 2016 with three others for kidnapping and armed robbery.

He was arrested and charged after kidnapping Miss Ngozi Dabiri and several others in Abuja. Emeka and his gang members were released on December 8, 2016. This was less than eight weeks after being charged for robbery and kidnapping.

The second suspect is Ndubisi Prince Ozor.
He is the second in command of the gang. He was also charged to court for armed robbery on November 2016.

He was released by the court on January 25, 2017. Sunday Tyavnor (33) is the arms dealer of the gang. He sold the AK47 rifle used for the kidnappings for N470,000 and the two pistols for N60,000 each. Tyavnor was arrested in Nasarawa State. Zayor Alfred, 23, specialised in guarding kidnapped victims. He was arrested in the camp where the victim was rescued.

Avah Joseph (25), also used to guard kidnapped victims and go for kidnapping operations. He was also arrested in the kidnappers’ camp. Gabriel Friday (33) is the driver of the gang, while Rajab Baba Ishiaka (22) and Ali Sanni (27), also used to guard victims. Nuhu Sule (20), also guard victims while Mohammed Abubakar (21) supplies the gang members with registered SIM cards.
Source:New Telegraph

N110bn debt: Total blackout looms as Egbin threatens shutdown

LAGOS—Nigeria may soon face power crisis as the management of Egbin Power Plc has threatened to shut down operations due to non-settlement of N110 billion debt, inadequate gas supply and inefficiency in operations of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN.

Managing Director, Egbin Power Plc, Mr Dallas Peavey, said the country was heading towards another blackout next week as liquidity, transmission and gas supply issues threatened its operations.

Peavey, who stated this during an interactive session with energy correspondents in Lagos, against the backdrop of a drop in generation, said Egbin Power plant was being forced to gradually shutdown due to adverse effect of grid instability which endangers its turbines.

He said: “We owe the gas companies and have others like our technical partners (KEPCO) to pay, and importantly our lenders, the banks. “We have made massive investments in making the plant readily available to generate electricity sustainably.

Unfortunately, we can’t break even due to the gross inefficiency in the value chain. “The government guarantees to pay us for every megawatt we generate and sell to Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, NBET, but they have not done that.”

“We just got paid for the month of December, 2016, three months later and we were only paid a paltry 28 per cent of the total 100 percent of the verified and accepted invoice for that month. That is how the outstanding debts kept accumulating for three and half years now.”

He explained that these unbearable business operating circumstances and conditions would force the company to shut down any moment. “That is the simple but bitter truth.

Let me be honest, if Egbin fails, it’s going to be dark as Egbin provides close to 30 percent of Nigeria’s power, so let the required intervention be completed and urgently too.

“Egbin power plant is one of the biggest single power generating stations in Africa, with an installed capacity of 1320 MW, consisting of 6 units of 220MW each.

“Following the conclusion of the government’s privatization exercise in November 2013, the consortium formed by the partnership between New Electricity Distribution Company and the Korean Electric Power Corporation (NEDC/KEPCO) acquired Egbin Power plc,‘’ Peavey said.
Source:Vanguard

3 Arrested For Killing Jumia Dispatch Rider

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested two men and one woman for allegedly killing a delivery agent of popular e-commerce platform Jumia.

The victim was killed and the suspects dumped his body in a septic tank in the compound after delivering two iPhones and one superbike to them, Daily Post reports.

A statement from the Spokesman of the Command, DSP Nnamdi Omoni named the suspects as Sodienye Mbatumukeke (M), 28, Excel Divine Naabe (M), 25, and Joy Eluwa (F).

DSP Omoni’s statement:
Operatives of SARS R/S, acting on credible Intelligence Monday at about 0300 hrs arrested three suspects, two males and a female, identified as Sodienye Mbatumukeke ‘m’ 28yrs, Excel Divine Naabe ‘m’ 25yrs, and Joy Eluwa ‘f’.

The Suspects are alleged to have robbed and murdered a Courier who had gone to deliver two iPhones and a Superbike that were ordered Online by them.

The Corpse of the Dead Courier was recovered from a Septic Tank at No.4 Adaede Street by Location,Off Ada George Rd PH, where they had hidden him after killing him.

His body has been deposited in the Mortuary.
Meanwhile the Suspects are helping the Police and efforts are on to arrest others fingered in the dastardly act.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Zaki M. Ahmed who led other Senior Police Officers to the scene is appealing to the public to always help the police solve crimes by sharing useful information with the Police, promising to flush out all criminal elements in the state.
Source:PM NEWS

Obasanjo’s wife files suit in Lagos court to stop son’s wedding to Adebutu’s daughter

•She wants wedding date fixed after June 1 over prophesies, spiritual warnings

One of the wives of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Taiwo Obasanjo on Monday filed a suit at an Ikeja High Court seeking a court order to stop the wedding of their son Olujonwo Obasanjo.

Obasanjo and father of the bride, Sir Kessington Adebutu, aka ‘Baba Ijebu’ the lottery business mogul are the respondents to the suit.

Mrs Obasanjo who is the twin sister of Chief Kenny Martins the former  coordinator of the Police Equipment Fund is seeking for a postponement of the wedding of her son Olujonwo Obasanjo to Tope Adebutu which is slated for May 11 and 12.

She wants a wedding date to be fixed after June 1.

Mrs Obasanjo seeks a court declaration that as the mother of the groom, she has parental rights to take part in the deliberations, decisions and activities leading to the forthcoming ceremony.

According to her, wedding invitations have been issued and she has been excluded from the preparations for the upcoming nuptials.

She stated in court documents that  prior to the fixing of wedding dates, she had a premonition regarding her son who turns 34 on June 1.

According to her, she also received prophesies and spiritual warnings to the effect that Olujonwo should not undergo any elaborate celebration before his birthday which is two weeks after the wedding to avoid any impending calamity.

Mrs Obasanjo stated  in court documents that she commenced the suit to compel Adebutu and Obasanjo to shift the wedding to a date beyond June 1.

She also claims that she appealed to Adebutu, the father of the bride, Mrs Rosemary Dacosta, the mother of the bride, Tope Adebutu, the bride-to-be as well as her twin brother Chief Kenny Martins.
Mrs Obasanjo said her pleas fell on deaf ears and she was instead, insulted by  members of the family.

The suit  with number ID/262FPM/2017 is to be heard before Justice Lateefa Okunnu with April 10 fixed for hearing of the suit.
Source:Tribune

Food poisoning: Two die, many hospitalised in C’River

The Cross River State Police Command on Sunday confirmed the arrest of a 35-year-old man, Paul Nchui, who allegedly poisoned food in a restaurant  leaving two dead and 44 others hospitalised in Ogoja Local Government Area.

The poisoning reportedly led to the death of the food vendor, Mrs. Anna Erah, and her husband, Edward, who were the first to eat the food on Friday.

The restaurant is located at Aragbang-Oboso Roundabout in Oboso community in Ogoja LGA.
Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, said that the police had to trail the suspect to his hideout in the same community where he was arrested.

She said, “I wish to inform you that one Mr. Paul Nchui, a suspect who poisoned a restaurant in Oboso community in Ogoja has been arrested. The suspect is in our custody, we will charge him to court as soon as we conclude our investigation.”

Ugbo, who did not state the reason for the suspect’s action, however, said that some victims of the food poison had been discharged while others were still receiving treatment at the hospital.

An eyewitness, Joseph Ogaga, said the deceased Anna Erah was a food vendor at Aragbang-Oboso roundabout, where she did her business, while her husband also sold palm wine at the same venue.
He decried the sad incident, adding that the deceased couple left behind 12-year-old child and four other children.

Another eyewitness, Mr. Thomas Adogo, said he suspected that the poisoning might have been put in the soup sauce.
He said, “Those who bought the soup to use in their homes also suffered symptoms of foaming and vomiting blood.”

The village head of Oboso, Clement Ori, said the community was rattled by the incident and prayed for the recovery of hospitalised.

Also, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Inyang Asibong, disclosed that the symptoms displayed by the victims were vomiting, mouth foam, body weakness and vomiting of blood.

“We have dispatched a team made up of epidemiologists, doctors, community health workers and other related health staff to the affected community.

“They are to ascertain the real situation on ground and offer immediate medical assistance to all those affected by the poison,” she said.
Source:Punch

Travellers groan as scarcity of passport booklets worsens

NIGERIANS have continued to face hardship in trying to renew or acquire the Nigeria’s international passport booklets as the scarcity of the document remains unresolved by the issuing agency of the government, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

The situation in Lagos is particularly serious as a result of the high number of applicants that daily throng the two issuing offices in the state – Ikeja and Ikoyi.

A senior immigration officer told Saturday Tribune under the condition of anonymity that the command was expecting to take delivery of the passport booklets soon.

“You know, we don’t print them here. We get them from Abuja. But I am very sure that we will get supply very soon,” the officer said.

The Public Relations Officer of the state command of the NIS, Alex Araromi, could not be reached for comments as of press time.

Although the Nasarawa State command of the NIS claimed to have stock of the document in abundance to issue to applicants, reverse is the case in many other states of the federation, like Lagos.

The Nasarawa State Passport Control Officer (PCO), Lawal Abdulmumuni, disclosed to Saturday Tribune, on Friday, in Lafia, that the command presently had a lot of applicants, as well as adequate number of booklets.

It was gathered that some neighbouring states that have run out of the booklets are referring their applicants to the Nasarawa State command.

The story of the scarcity of the travel document is the same in states like Oyo, Plateau, Ogun, Delta, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo, where spokespersons for the immigration offices confirmed the situation.

In the meantime, investigations have revealed that the scarcity of the booklets was caused by the demand for a review of the contract between the Federal Government and the company that produces the document.

It was gathered that Iris Smart Technology Nigeria Limited, ISTL, the company that supplies the passports, had last year demanded an upward review of the price Nigerians pay to acquire the document because of the high exchange rate. The Federal Government has yet to approve the proposal.

ISTL was said to have sent the review request to the NIS in early 2016, arguing that the cost of producing the Nigerian passport had gone up because of the high exchange rate of the naira to the dollar.

Saturday Tribune gathered that many applicants who have done the biometric capturing after filling the forms and paying about N40,000 could not get either the 32-page or 62-page passports issued them. Unfortunately, the number of applicants keep increasing by the day.

Initially, it was easy getting the 62-page but this was also exhausted because of the rush by Nigerian travellers.

When the scarcity started applicants who urgently need the passport were advised to apply for the 64-page passport, which was available but costs more.

The 64-page passport was introduced by the Federal government in 2014 for frequent travelers who usually fill up the 32-page passport before its five-year expiration.

Though the official cost of 64-page and 32-page passports are N20,000 and N15,000 respectively, applicants said they were asked by the immigration officers to pay N40,000 for both the 32-page and 64-page.

An immigration officer who preferred anonymity said the company producing the document had partially stopped supplying the 32-page passport since the middle of last year, causing acute shortage in issuance for the NIS.

Comptroller-General of NIS, Mr Muhammad Babandede, had told journalists that the lingering foreign exchange crisis was responsible for the difficulties being experienced by citizens who are trying to obtain international passports in Nigeria.

He said the Buhari administration was aware of the challenges and making efforts to resolve them. Mr. Babandede, who was appointed in May 2016, said the crisis started when contractors were left with huge differentials as the major world currencies suddenly appreciated against the naira, making it difficult for previously awarded contracts to be executed.

He said: “The main causes came from the contracts awarded by the previous government. Companies that supplied the booklets were paid in line with the exchange rates at the time.

You know the exchange rate has changed. But even if you produce the passports in Nigeria, most of the components to produce them will be brought in — the chips, the security papers and others.”

Babandede, however, did not talk on the possibility of a hike in passport prices for now, saying the government would work to resolve the problem without making life more difficult for Nigerians. “Something has to be done.”

Sources said the printing and binding of the passport booklet, embedding of the chip as well as lamination of the data page is done in Malaysia before final delivery to Nigeria.

The Public Relations Officer of the Service, Mr Sunday James, who was met in his office on Tuesday for further clarifications on the lingering scarcity of the passport booklets, said he was going in for a meeting with the Comptroller-General.

But a statement he issued recently on behalf of his boss said the CG also blamed the activities of touts for the difficulties many Nigerians were facing in obtaining the travel document.

He said touts hanging around passport offices do more harm than good to the aspirations and desires of Nigerians  in their efforts to get passports by intercepting prospective applicants outside the passport office areas or pretending to be a staff member.

He advised Nigerians to keep to the rule by dealing with no other person apart from those designated officers/men on schedule duty at our Passport offices.

He also directed Passport officers in charge to clear the office area of unwanted elements such as touts who make Nigerians go through difficulties in obtaining Passports which are actually much available.

Another passport applicant, Haruna Ibrahim, told Saturday Tribune that his application for the international passport has taken several weeks without hope of getting the document soon. “They keep telling you to exercise patience; we will call you in two weeks time when it is ready.

The two weeks will come and go. I can’t imagine a situation like this. This used to be 24-hour something, now you can’t get in months and the people are not telling you the truth.

Ibrahim, while calling on the Federal government to ensure speedy resolution of the passport debacle said the difficulties Nigerians are going through would count against the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. He said President Buhari may have good intention but the unnecessary hardship Nigerians are being subjected to, in all front was bad for an administration that professes change.

“What stops us from producing the passport booklet here in Nigeria? Even if we do not have to expertise, we can bring the company producing booklet and all other component of the passport in Nigeria. What is wrong with the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company?” he queried.
Source:Tribune

65-yr-old man, others ripped man’s heart, wrists for money ritual

Four suspected ritualists have been arrested by the anti-kidnapping squad of the Oyo State Police command for allegedly killing a man and dismember his body for the purpose of money rituals.

The suspects, according to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Abiodun Odude, lured their victim, Akintoye Stephen Oyeyemi aged 33, a forest under the pretext of doing business, gunned him down and dispossessed him of his bag containing N100,000. After killing the victim, the suspects, Tunde Jimoh and Gbenga Babalade, on discovery that he had only N100,000 instead of N10m he promised to come with, decided to cut his body and remove his heart, private part, his two wrists and legs and took it to an herbalist who had earlier told them to bring the body parts.

While parading the suspects at the Oyo State Police headquarters, the CP Odude said the “duo of Jimoh and Gbenga Babalade lured their victim, robbed him of the sum of N100,000 and gruesomely murdered him in clod blood.”. “Having killed the victim, the suspects removed his body parts including the heart, head and wrists for ritual purpose.

When the wife did not see her husband, she became apprehensive and raised alarm. She then reported the case at Atiba Police Station.” “A diligent investigation conducted by the special squad led to the arrest of one Abubakar Agbool in his criminal hideout at Ipe, Village, Kwara State.

His arrest further led to the arrest of three other suspects in their various criminal hideouts in Offa, Kwara State and Ile-Ife, Osun State.” Odude continued, “during interrogation, two of the suspects, Tunde Jimoh and Gbenga Babalade who actually murdered the victim dislosed that they killed him because they believed he had in his possession the sum of N10m for the business as he was overhead saying during his conversation with one Olayinka Babalade another business partner two days earlier.

They also revealed that after killing him, they decided to remove the vital organs for money rituals. They poured alcohol on the severed parts of his body to preserve it”. How we killed him-suspects One of the suspects, Tunde Jimoh gave a vivid picture of how he killed the victim said, “I am business man who deal in cashew nuts.

My brother’s friend came to him and said he would pay the sum of N10m for a business transaction. He promised to bring N10m. When he was saying this, my friend was with me, he then sold an idea to me that we should kidnap him and rob him of the money.

The victim called us that he was coming to Ajase, it was there we kidnapped him. After moving deep into Igbo Nla(forest), I parked the bike that we used.”. “I then pointed the gun at him. He was afraid and surprised. He then said is it because of the money I have on me you want to kill me. He then dropped his bag and started running away. I shot and killed him. We then took his bag and found only N100,000 and some clothes.

We felt guilty when we discovered this. But, we had no option. I then told my friend that let us take his body parts to that Alfa as earlier discussed. But, when we got to Alfa he was angry with us saying he had told us he didn’t have interest in helping us again. But, when we begged him, he told us to throw the head away and used alcohol to peserve the wrists, heart, legs. That was when the police arrested us” Another suspect, Babalade also said exactly the same thing his partner-in-crime said.

He narrated that they killed the victim at Igbo Nla at Offa, Kwara State. But, Mr. Abubakar Agboola, a 65 year old man, who one of the suspects said directed him to Alfa for money rituals denied it saying he never gave sucha advice to him to go and kill a human being to get riches.

The third suspect, Olatunji Ahmed, the Alfa who doubles as the herbalist also gave account of how they came to him initially but refused to cooperate with them when they brought human body parts.

How we got the gun

Speaking with Saturday Vanguard how he got the gun, he said, “we saw a Fulani herdsman herding his cattle. We were chatting with him and we negotiated to buy the gun he was carrying. He then agreed to sell it to us for N13,000 but removed the bullets in it.

After then, he advised us to buy the bullets saying what is the use of a gun without bullets. I told him he should give us the bullets asking why we should buy gun and bullets separately. It was then he volunteered to give us the bullets.”

The items found with them, according to the police, include one cut-to-size barrel gun, one long single barrel gun, two live cartridges, two expended live cartridges, an axe, three knives, deceased car key, hand bag, sandal and belt, one unregistered motorcycle, one empty bottle of Aromatic Schnapps- the content of which was used to preserve the severed body parts, N40,000 and criminal charms. 

Other items include severed heart of the deceased, two severed wrists and headless body of the victm. 

Source:Vanguard