Men of the Ogun State Police Command have rescued a kidnap victim, Sheu Anafi, and arrested a suspected kidnapper, Ibraheem Abubakar, around the Kara Bridge end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.Oyeyemi said the arrest was made on Saturday after his men invaded the hideout of the suspect and rescued the victim, who was one of the passengers whose vehicle was attacked by a gang of kidnappers.
He said, “Men of the command took the battle to the doorstep of the hoodlums following a report lodged at the Warewa divisional headquarters by a commercial driver.
“The driver reported that he was coming from Ilorin in his Ford commercial car loaded with seven passengers; on getting to the Longbridge, there was traffic jam, consequence upon which he drove through the untarred access road beside the bridge.
“While driving through the said access road, they were attacked by some unknown gunmen, which made all the passengers to run in different directions into the nearby bush.
“But when they all regrouped to continue their journey, it was discovered that one of the passengers, Alhaji Sheu Anafi, from the Okeleele area of Ilorin, has been abducted by the hoodlums.
“Upon the report, the DPO, Warewa, CSP Abdul-Fatai Ogunsanya, led a joint operation consisting men of the command’s tactical teams, local vigilantes, So-Safe Corps and OPC men, for bush combing in search of the abducted man.
“Their efforts yielded positive result when the hideout of the kidnappers was located and the security operatives engaged them in a gun battle.
“At the end of the encounter, one of the kidnappers, Ibraheem Abubakar, who claimed to have come from Sabonganmu-Bompai Road, Kano State, was arrested, while others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot injuries, and the victim, 62-year-old Sheu Anafi, was rescued unhurt.
“The suspect has confessed to being a member of a seven-man gang terrorising the stretch of the Longbridge in recent time.”
Oyeyemi noted that the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, had ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to the State Criminal Investigation Department for a discreet investigation.
He said, “The CP also appealed to members of the public, especially hospitals, to inform the police if anybody with gunshot injury is seen in their area.”
Two suspected fraudsters, Rotimi Fisher and Sherif Adebayo, have allegedly defrauded a 23-year-old girl in the Ipaja area of Lagos State.
The 2 suspects
The suspects also reportedly lured the victim to an uncompleted building on Majiyagbe Street, Ipaja, where Adebayo allegedly raped her.
It was gathered that the victim was on her way to a destination in Iyana Ipaja when Fisher approached her to help him locate an address.
The suspect, who reportedly presented himself as a foreign businessman to the victim, said he came to Nigeria to deliver goods to one of his clients at the address and to collect his outstanding payments.
A source said after Fisher approached people for help to no avail, the young girl offered to help, but upon checking the address, she did not know the location.
The source said, “But as the girl was trying to help Fisher, Adebayo suddenly came as a neutral person and offered to assist Fisher, whereas they were working together. Adebayo said the address was fake, but started motivating the girl on the need for them to help Fisher.
“Fisher, while lamenting being stranded, claimed that he was in possession of some papers that could be converted to plenty money but told Adebayo and the girl that he needed money to buy chemicals to convert the papers to money.
“Adebayo quickly dropped N60,000. The girl, who seemed convinced, gave Fisher her gold jewellery and N10,000 and also went to withdraw N65,000 from a nearby ATM and gave it to Fisher, who told Adebayo and the girl to take an oath not to reveal his secret to anyone.”
After taking the oath, it was learnt that Fisher gave them a location to meet him the next day.
When they got there, the Ogun State indigene reportedly showed them the sack containing the money and told Adebayo and the girl that the spirit responsible for converting the papers to money was asking for human blood as sacrifice.
“Fisher said to prevent both of them from dying, they needed to have sex. He also used the oath they took to threaten them. So, the girl out of fear of dying, followed them to an uncompleted building around 9pm on Majiyagbe Street, Ipaja, where Adebayo had sex with her,” the source said.
After Fisher, 42, and Adebayo, 32, perpetrated the crime on September 3, 2022, the girl left the uncompleted building and proceeded to the Ipaja Police Station to report the case for investigation.
The policemen, led by the Ipaja Divisional Police Officer, CSP Tokunbo Abaniwonda, reportedly swung into action and in a two-week sting, arrested Fisher and Adebayo at their hideouts in Ipaja on September 16, 2022.
During interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime, saying they only manipulated the victim.Adebayo said, “I only slept with her once and I used a contraceptive. I got the contraceptive at a mallam’s shop in the area. I used the contraceptive because I don’t really know the girl. I needed to protect myself.”
Narrating how he perpetrated the crime, Fisher said he met Adebayo through a friend, Bisi, who he claimed trained him on how to formulate stories to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
He said, “I have been asking a lot of people for the address. While some said they did not know the place, others advised me to go back to the country I came from, but I said I could not go back because of the goods that I brought.
“The girl got convinced when I said I was looking for people to help me count Nigerian money because I said I don’t know how to count it. Meanwhile, I and Adebayo had been talking to people but they did not answer us.
“It was when the girl was passing that I explained to her and she listened to me. So, Adebayo also pretended to be a passer-by and when he was passing, I signalled to him, and asked the girl to help me ask him for the location of the address and Adebayo said he had not heard of such an address before.”
Reacting, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the suspects had been charged to court.
Fisher and Adebayo, who are both married with two children each, were arraigned at the Ejigbo Magistrate’s Court on three counts bordering on obtaining by false pretences, fraudulent conversion and sexual assault, offences punishable under sections 411, 314 (1), 287 and 136 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The men were later remanded in prison as the matter was adjourned till October 17, 2022, for further hearing.
Fraudsters have been deploying different tactics to swindle unsuspecting members of the public out of their valuables in different parts of Lagos State.
In August 2022, 35-year-old Olumide Womiloju was arraigned for fraud before Chief Magistrate P.E. Nwaka at a magistrate’s court sitting in the Yaba area of the state, for allegedly obtaining N5m from clients after promising to process their visas to travel overseas.
Also in August, a suspected fraudster, Emmanuel Rolland, was arrested for allegedly using counterfeit money to defraud unsuspecting residents in the Ikorodu area of the state.
Labour Party members have again been attacked and harassed during a party meeting in Enugu State.
The latest attack was in Nomeh, Nkanu East local government area of the state, a development that has raised tension and fear ahead commencement of campaigns for the 2023 elections.
This is the second time the Labour Party meeting is being attacked in Enugu.
EverydayNewsngr.net recalls that on the 4th of September, 2022, the Labour Party meeting in Awgu Ward 1 meeting was attacked by gunmen who shot severally and dispersed the meeting.
The current attack which was carried out on the 24th of September, 2022, the gunmen were clearly saying that political parties are not wanted in the South East.
The message which is similar to that in the earlier attack had been dismissed by the Labour Party in the state, who have repeatedly accused the PDP of masterminding the attacks.
Reactions from the party was still being awaited as at the time of this report.
Detectives from the Bayelsa Police Command have arrested a suspected kidnap kingpin, John Ewa, who had been on the wanted list of the police in the state.
Policemen reportedly trailed Ewa, who goes by the alias Lion, to Abuja, where they nabbed him on Saturday.The suspect, who flaunts his wealth on social media, is believed to be involved in several kidnap incidents around Yenagoa, the state capital.
In a six-second clip that trended on social media at the weekend, Ewa, dressed in his pyjamas, was seen displaying notes of foreign currency and saying, “Get money for this life, hussle, hussle.”
However, another video of his arrest also surfaced at the weekend on social media.
In the one minute five seconds clip, a sobbing Ewa was seen wearing only pants, kneeling on the ground with his hands handcuffed, and apparently responding to questions by officers.He said, “Please, forgive me. My wife just born sef.”
The voice of one of his victims, Danjuma, was also heard, as he identified the suspect when he and his gang members kidnapped him.
The spokesman for the state police command, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the arrest of Ewa.
He said, “We are going to issue a statement tomorrow (Monday) or parade the suspect.”
Fear has enveloped Sabon Garri area of the metropolitan part of Kano State following the killing of two Igbo traders by some yet to be identified gunmen.
The deceased are Ifeanyi Elechukwu, aged 41, who probably was the target of the attack and his friend, Chibuille Emmanuel, who was shot on the leg, but eventually gave up the ghost at a private clinic, International Clinic, in the state capital.
The incident, according to witnesses, occurred at about 8.50 pm Saturday night, after the deceased, who was a battery dealer at Shop No. 25, Court Road by New Road, was said to have been invited to the shop by his assailant who posed as a customer.
While the two deceased persons were shot at close range along Court Road by Niger Road in Sabon – garri, the gunmen who appeared to have trailed them to the spot, sped off immediately after the attack.
When this Correspondent arrived at the spot, the whole scene was cordoned off by different security personnel while a huge gridlock had circled around the intervening roads, forcing motorists to divert to other routes.
The Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Police, Kano State, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa confirmed the death of the two traders and disclosed that the police had commenced full investigation into the tragic incident.
In the meantime, the gun attack has further triggered off security concerns in the state as many places of worship were manned by heavy security presence during the service hours on Sunday.
It would be recalled that the Kano State government, as a part of security concerns, has recently barred commercial tri-cyclists from operating beyond 10.00pm in the night.
Bandits who hid AK 47 rifles in their clothes and pretended to be worshippers attacked a Juma’at mosque in Zamfara State, killing 15 worshippers.
The attack on a Juma’a mosque in Ruwan Jema town of Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State also left many injured while others were missing.Although there is no statement from the state government or the police, a source said the Friday attack “came three weeks after terrorists attacked a Friday mosque in Zugu town in the same local government area where 45 worshippers were kidnapped.”
The source went on: “The bandits hid their AK-47 inside their clothes and pretended to be worshippers.
They came to the mosque on motorcycles but nobody suspected that they were bandits. We thought they came to observe the weekly prayers. As soon as the prayers commenced they opened fire at worshippers.
“15 worshippers were killed while many sustained injuries. The death toll could increase as there’re many residents who are still missing.
At least seven, security men were abducted by the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists group in the early hours of Saturday in North Eastern Gubio Local Government Area of Borno State, northeast Nigeria.
It was gathered that the security men comprising one policeman, four members of the Civilian Joint Task Force(CJTF) and 3 hunters, were abducted after they were overpowered by the terrorists who stormed their location in large number.
Police sources told Zagazola Makama, a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad that the security men were attacked at the Rural Urban Migration Site(RUGA), at Pompom Baliya village located about 5 kilometers to Gubio.
The terrorists carted away one Hilux patrol vehicle and weapons and afterwards moved toward the Gadai village in Nganzai Local Government area.
Barely four days after armed herdsmen invaded Mchia and Mou communities in Logo Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue state where 14 persons were gruesomely murdered and close to 30 others sustained serious injuries, the marauders again invaded Ukemberagya/Tswarev council ward chasing away the inhabitants, burning their houses and harvesting their crops and livestock.
The armed herders who reportedly besieged the communities on Friday morning to chase the people away were said to have stormed the communities later at night to also loot the property and valuables of the fleeing inhabitants.
According to a community leader in the area, Chief Joseph Anawa, who raised the alarm weekend, the sacked villages includes Tse Ikyem, Tsav, Tse Ijoho, Tse Ikyaan as well as Anawah and Mou settlements.
Chief Anawa said “On Friday September 23, 2022 in the day time Fulani herdmen connived with Jukun military to drive away Tiv people of Ukemberagya/Tswarev ward in Logo LGA from their farms and harvested their yam.
“In the night of the same day they went on destruction spree burning and looting the properties of the Tiv people in the area. The affected communities are Anawah settlement, Tse Ikyem, Tsav, Tse Ijoho, Tse Ikyaan vullages and Mou settlement where they broke into people’s houses.
“The marauders looted food stuffs, animals, clothes and hundreds of sacks of groundnut while houses were burnt at Tse Ikyem near Anawah settlement.
“The Local Government Council Chairman confirmed to us that some of the miscreants have been arrested.”
While lamenting that the inhabitants of the communities had deserted their homes, Chief said “there is urgent need for security presence in the area to be stationed at Chembe village and Iorza settlement for quick response to this unfortunate development.”
Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent, SP, Catherine Anene who confirmed the development said “I know of an attack at Logo but I don’t know who the attackers are yet.”
The Nigeria Army has cleared the air over an alleged ‘fierce exchange of fire between soldiers and some unknown gunmen, Friday evening at Ebe Ohafia.
According to reports, unknown gunmen and soldiers of the 14 Brigade were engaged in a heavy gun duel, a situation that led to panic in the ancient town as locals abandoned their homes and fled for fear of the unknown.Another version said soldiers were searching homes and shooting sporadically in the community, a development that led to panic and apprehension.
But when contacted, Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Innocent Omale, said soldiers were not searching homes nor shooting sporadically contrary to allegations.
He explained that what happened was that some soldiers were on patrol when some hoodlums saw them and engaged them in exchange for fire.
His words:” Our people were going out on patrol and on their way back these bad boys saw them and started shooting at them”.
On the allegation that soldiers were shooting sporadically, he said:”Are our men mad that they will just start shooting like that?”
The Army Spokesman, however, said the situation had been brought under control.
When asked if there were any casualties, he said there was no casualty on either side.
Some chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State have been abducted in an attack along Kaduna-Kachia highway in Kaduna State.
The attacked happened at a place called Tashar Icce, which is some meters from Kujama community in Kajuru Area of the state.
The team was on its way back from Kafanchan after a political meeting with Christian leaders in Southern Senatorial District, on Thursday.
A politician, who escaped the attack, described the incident as terrible, saying about five vehicles were affected. He said the bandits opened fire sporadically.
He also said some of thee people in the entourage sustained gun injuries while two persons were abducted.
The governorship candidate, Senator Uba Sani, was not part of the team that was attacked as he had travelled to Abuja from Kafanchan.
His Campaign DG, Sani Maina, Ahmed Maiyaki, a Chieftain of the party, and a few others escaped unhurt.
Among those abducted are the APC House of Assembly Candidate in Kajuru simply identified as Mr Madaki and the Vice chairman of APC in Kajuru Local Government Area, Ruben Waziri.
Ben Maigari, a relative of the Vice Chairman, confirmed the incident and said they were yet to be contacted by the bandits.
“They were attacked; the bandits blocked the road and opened fire on the entourage and other moving vehicles. My brother, Ruben, was abducted alongside Madaki because they were in the same vehicle,” he said.
Two other buses were reportedly attacked about the same time, with two people feared killed while others were taken into the forest.
Contacted the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Mohammed Jalige, promised to call back after getting details of the incident, but he had not done so at the time of filing this report.
