Crime

Ondo highways are now safe from criminals — Amotekun

Published

2 years ago

September 22, 2022

By Akintunde Jacobs, Akure

In its efforts to ensure the safety of lives and properties of residents including the indigenes of the state, the Ondo State Security Network Agency codenamed Amotekun Corps, has said it has commenced a 24hours patrol in the Northern Senatorial District of the state and other parts of the state.

Amotekun Corps Commander, Adetunji Adeleye, who said this on Wednesday in Akure while parading some suspects numbering 45, said that the Ondo highways are now safe from the hands of criminals.

Adeleye said “As we speak now, we have put measures in place in order to ensure that our roads are safe from the hands of criminals, our patrol vehicles are moving round for 24 hours.

“We want to reassure the good people of Ondo state to go about their normal duties. Again, the re-enforcement ban on the use of okada in the night is also one of the major things responsible for the downward trend of criminals activities in the state generally.

“Today is another major harvest of criminals operating within the Ondo State, a couple of weeks ago, we deployed additional hands to all the 18 Local Government Areas of the state to assist in beefing up the security architecture of Ondo State and it has actually yielded a lot of results.

“Within the last two weeks, we have been able to curtail the excesses of the criminals raging from kidnapping, armed robbery, rape among others. We have 45 criminals that we have concluded their investigations and they are ready to go for prosecution.

“We have a case of one Okoyie Chukwuma, who specialises in burgling into cocoa stores, we also have one Philip Jacob who specialises in vandalising vehicles parked in mechanical workshop overnight. In Ore, there was a kidnapped of a family and we moved there immediately and we were able to arrested the kidnappers and released the victims.

“We also have those that are regular in house breaking, in the midnight, they have the ways of opening doors and silently entering to molest innocent people and disposes them of their valuables.

“We also some people that specialise in using vehicles to steal goats across the state and some of the goats have been recovered from them. We have a gang of fraudsters that use spiritual means to defraud some people in the society.

“We have a case of some kidnappers that they will fake that you have hit their bikes, and when you come out to sympathise with them, they will just enter your vehicle and drive the victims away. We have eight suspected kidnappers from the Central and Southern Senatorial Districts of Ondo State.

“I must let you know that factually all these operations were done in collaboration with other sister security agencies in the state.

“The trend of crimes in Ondo State is now seriously coming down, as far as we are concerned, we are impressed about the safety of lives and properties in the state. If you look at the Akure metropolis, all major junctions are manned by the security operatives and we are trying more to patrol within the all 18 Local Government Areas of the state.”

Crime

Navy impounds illicit drugs, nabs 3 suspects in A’Ibom

Published

18 hours ago

April 25, 2024

NewsDirect

The Nigerian Navy, Forward Operating Base (FOB), Ibaka, Akwa Ibom, says it has impounded some illicit drugs and arrested three suspected drug dealers in the state.

The Commanding Officer, Capt. Uche Aneke, disclosed this in Ibaka on Thursday while handing over the suspects to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)

Aneke said that the suspects were tracked and arrested at about 10.00a.m on Tuesday, following reliable intelligence from a member of the public.

He said that they were caught on a fibre boat carrying about 4,320 ampoules of Pethidine 100mg/2ml injection solution, a controlled synthetic opioid substance with high addiction potential.

”The intended receiver is located in Nigeria. So they wanted to smuggle the substances from Cameroon to Nigeria.

The commanding officer said that the navy was strongly committed to ridding the waterways of all manner of criminal activities.

”We shall continue to deploy advanced technologies to detect criminal activities along the waterways,” he said.

Receiving the suspects, Emmanuel Okon, Chief Superintendent of Narcotics, NDLEA command in Akwa Ibom, said that a thorough investigation would carried out on the matter.

Crime

Alleged $9.6bn P&ID scam: Hearing in EFCC’s suit against fleeing Briton stalled

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

NewsDirect

Hearing in two separate money laundering suits filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against British national, James Nolan, could not proceed on Wednesday at a Federal High Court, Abuja.

The matter, which was scheduled for adoption of final written addresses of parties by Justice Donatus Okorowo, suffered setback due to failure of Nolan’s counsel, Michael Ajara, to file and serve his processes on the EFCC”s lawyer, Bala Sanga.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Okorowo had, on Nov. 20, 2023, fixed today for adoption of the final addresses after Nolan, who jumped bail and fled Nigeria in the alleged 9.6 billion dollars Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Ltd scandal, opened his defence in absentia without calling any witness.

Ajara had told the judge that he did not intend to call any witness upon resumed hearing in the matter in the last adjourned date.

He said after his evaluation of the EFCC’s evidence, he would rely on the case of the prosecution and Sanga did not object, upon which the matter was fixed for today.

When the matter was called on Wednesday, Ajara had not filed their final written address.

The lawyer prayed the court for an adjournment to enable him do the needful.

The anti-graft agency’s lawyer, Christie Makar, who held Sanga’s brief, did not oppose the oral application.

Justice Okorowo consequently adjourned the matter until May 6 for adoption of final written addresses.

NAN reports that the EFCC is prosecuting Trinity Biotech Nigeria Limited and Nolan in the charged marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/272/2022 as 1st and 2nd defendants in the case.

Also, the commission is also prosecuting the sister case marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/273/2022 filed against Resorts Express Concept Nigeria Ltd, another company, and Corrado Fantoli as 1st and 2nd defendants respectively before Okorowo.

Fantoli, also a foreigner and an associate of Nolan, was one of the suspects behind the alleged $9.6 billion P&ID fraud.

The suspect, said to be at large, alongside the company, was arraigned in absentia on Nov. 25, 2022, on eight-count money laundering charge.

He was not present in court or represented by a lawyer when they were arraigned.

The court also declared him wanted and ordered for his arrest anywhere he is sighted after Sanga made application to the effect.

Fantoli and Giovanna Beccarelli, who had also been declared wanted and an arrest warrant issued against her, were said to be directors and signatories to the company’s Guaranty Trust Bank account number: 0123849451.

Resorts Express Concept Nigeria Ltd and Trinity Biotech Nigeria Limited are two of the over 30 companies associated with the $9.6 billion scam.

NAN reports that other cases linked to the scandal are currently before Justice Ahmed Mohammed, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, Justice Zainab Abubakar of FHC, Abuja, besides other charges at FCT High Courts.

A Business and Property Court in London presided over by Justice Robin Knowles of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales had, in October, quashed the 11 billion dollars awarded against Nigeria in a case filed by the P&ID.

Judge Knowles held that the award was obtained by fraud and that what had happened in the case was contrary to public policy.

Crime

NAF bombs terrorists hideouts in Borno

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

NewsDirect

The Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai, OPHK, and the Nigerien Air Force on Tuesday eliminated scores of terrorists and destroyed their hideouts in Damasak and Mobbar local government areas of Borno State.

A statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information of NAF, AVM Edward Gabkwet, on Wednesday in Abuja, said that the interdictions were under the Multi-National Joint Task Force, MNJTF.

Gabkwet said the terrorists had attempted to attack troops of Sector 4 of the MNJTF at Lada, a border town between Niger Republic and Nigeria, and subsequently fled across the border into Nigeria.

According to him, the fleeing terrorists who were on eight motorcycles were later tracked to two locations in Zarri village, about 28 kilometers east of Damasak and Mala Alide in Mobbar areas of Borno.

He further stated that they were observed hibernating in the village with their motorcycles hidden under trees.

“Subsequently, airstrikes from the Air Component of OPHK and Nigerien Air Force, under the watchful eye of Niger’s Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, struck the terrorists’ locations.

“Real-time ISR footage later confirmed numerous terrorists were eliminated and several structures within the targeted areas destroyed.

“Collaborative efforts of this nature have continued to yield positive outcomes on both sides of the border.

“It has also led to the reduction in terrorism and other forms of cross-border crimes perpetrated by criminals crisis-crossing the borders to evade justice,” he added.