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  • OPC hails DSS over arrest of Boko Haram suspects in Lagos

    OPC hails DSS over arrest of Boko Haram suspects in Lagos

    The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has hailed the Department of State Services for its vigilance, which led to the arrest of suspected Boko Haram members in Lagos State.

    The commendation was contained in a statement on Sunday by the National Coordinator of the OPC, Otunba Gani Adams.

    The DSS had on Tuesday said it arrested four Boko Haram members in Lagos.

    The secret service said the Boko Haram members, who fled from Borno State, were arrested in Oko Oba area of Lagos State.

    Adams who praised the DSS also warned criminal elements in the South West and other States with OPC’s presence that they would not be allowed to fester.

    Adams said his group was on the alert to combat any untoward development or atrocity by Boko Haram members, adding: “This is also to warn those who are out to cause division within the rank of the Yoruba speaking people of the South West and North Central States that their antics would be resisted.

    “We as a group are out to ensure the unity of the Yoruba race as this is the only way to maintain the cohesiveness that exists at present.

    “As such, dissidents who feel they can use the opportunity of the dialogue platform being created among the Yoruba race, especially for and by our revered monarchs, to cause disunity will not only have their moves truncated but disgraced and exposed for who they are.”

    Adams called for vigilance among Yoruba speaking people so as not to allow “the enemy infiltrate to wreck havoc”.

  • DSS arrests herbalist, driver over death of 400-level UNIOSUN student

    Operatives of the Department of State Services in Osun State have arrested a herbalist, simply identified as Jelili and a commercial driver, Elijah Oyebode, for allegedly killing a 400-level student of the Osun State University, Miss. Rofiat Adebisi.

    The driver, who was brought before some journalists by the DSS on Thursday confessed that he hypnotised the deceased, who boarded his vehicle from Ipetu Ijesa to Osogbo and he subsequently delivered her to the herbalist, who paid him N10,000.00 as the price of the lady.

    He said the herbalist had given him a charm and told him to bring any young lady, who had not given birth to any child. The driver stated that the charm was in his pocket and he only made a body contact with the deceased.

    Following the body contact he had with the lady, Oyebode said Adebisi became hypnotised and that he drove her to the residence of the herbalist in Ikirun after other passengers in his vehicle had disembarked.

    He said the herbalist paid him and he went and dumped the luggage of the deceased at a bush but while doing that, her phone started ringing and he removed the SIM card from the phone and threw it away.

    Oyebode said after this, he gave the phone to one Yusuf, who sold it for N20,000.00 and the proceed was shared equally between him and the seller. The driver said he told Yusuf that a passenger forgot the phone in his vehicle.

  • DSS arrests Boko Haram terrorists in Lagos, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kogi

    The Department of State Services on Tuesday said it has recorded major successes, which have further degraded the capability of these elements to operate in the county.

    This was made known by the DSS in Abuja on Tuesday.

    In a statement signed by Tony Opuiyo, the DSS said: “On 1st January, 2017, at Mutum Biyu in Gassol LGA, Taraba State, Bale Kolomi GREMA and Kolomi ADBA-AJI were arrested in a mosque after they had fled Marte, Borno State, where they were involved in boko haram terrorist activities.

    Also on the same 1st January, 2017, a kidnap suspect, Amadu BELLO, was apprehended at Hotoron Arewa, Nasarawa LGA of Kano State for his involvement in a kidnap operation at Zomo village, Ningi LGA of Bauchi State from which he got a share of N3m from the ransom.

    “In a related development, on 6th January, 2017, one Paul ALI (aka Simplee), a high profile leader of a kidnap syndicate was arrested at Hill Flower Hotel, Asaga Ohafia, Abia State.

    ALI, who operates camps at Ikot Abasi and Mbo LGAs of Akwa Ibom State, is responsible for notable kidnap incidents across the Niger Delta. He is also a member of the Bakassi Strike Force (BSF) which has carried out attacks against oil installations in the area.

    At the time of his arrest, ALI, with his associate, Chidiebere KANU was planning the kidnap of a Federal Lawmaker and an expatriate. KANU is presently at large.

    “In another incident, two (2) suspected Boko Haram insurgents, Ibrahim MALA and Abdallah MODU were arrested on 6th January 2017 at Amba and Gudi villages of Kokona LGA of Nasarawa State.

    The suspects who are indigenes of Maiduguri, Borno State, had fled the military action in Borno State and were regrouping in the State under different trade covers. While MODU sells children’s wears, MALA, who trades in perfumes, confessed to his membership of the sect and disclosed that he (Mala) joined the Yusufiyya faction in 2007.

    Similarly, Abdulkarim DAHIRU, a key terrorist commander and an indigene of Okengwa, Okene LGA of Kogi State, was arrested at the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja. Suspect was identified as the main coordinator of several kidnappings as well as other robbery activities in Kogi and Edo States.

    “Furthermore, security operations conducted from 3rd to 7th January, 2017, across some flashpoints in Lagos State led to the arrest of seven (7) kidnap suspects, six of whom, namely; Gilbert Koku NELSON, John NELSON, Adekoya KAZEEM, Muhammad LAWAL, Abu YAHRO and Kelvin NWANAJI; were arrested in connection with the kidnap of a management staff of Dangote Company.

    The two (2) other suspects, Abdullahi BELLO, a Custom Officer and Bello GUMEL, were apprehended at Navy Town, Ojo LGA, and Naval Base, Alakija, respectively, in connection with the kidnap of another Custom Officer, on 20th December, 2016. Members of the above gang specialized in spying on senior company executives and laying ambush for kidnap and robbery operations for huge ransoms.

    “On 7th January, 2017, one Muhammad AUWAL was arrested at Andaza village, Kiyawa LGA of Bauchi State in conncetion with boko haram terrorist activities.

    AUWAL who was arrested with the sum of three hundred thousand Naira (N300,000.00) on him, is believed to be a drug supplier to the boko haram sect in Sambisa Forest.
    “Also on 7th January, 2017, the Service also arrested the trio of Elijah AWUA, Joseph EJAKA and Hope NATHAN, at Kanshio, Otukpo road, Makurdi, Benue State.

    The suspects are members of a notorious kidnap syndicate that has been responsible for several kidnap operations in Nasarawa, Benue and Plateau States. Their most recent venture was the gang’s abduction of a staff of Radio Benue, Makurdi on 2nd December, 2016. Suspects were arrested with a silver coloured Toyota RAV4 vehicle marked ABJ AQ 720 KUJ. Two (2) other members of the syndicate identified as Gabriel JOSHUA and TIMOTHY (FNU) are currently on the run and being trailed.

    “On 8th January, 2017, one Bello MOHAMMED (aka Awilo), the leader of a syndicate that specialized in car theft and burglary in Gombe State was arrested at Jekadafari area of Gombe metropolis of the State.

    MOHAMMED confessed to being the kingpin of the syndicate in the State. His confession led to the arrest of an associate, Abdullahi IBRAHIM (alias DIBAL) who is seen at the arrowhead of the gang in the North East. IBRAHIM also disclosed that he has stolen ten (10) cars in Gombe. Based on his confession two (2) buyers of the stolen cars identified as Surajo Ali GOMBE, and Danjuma BAKA, have been arrested.

    “On 8th January, 2017 about 1500 hours, one Elijah OYEBODE, aged twenty-two (22) years, was arrested in connection with the disappearance of one Damilola Rofiat ADEBISI (F), a 400 level student of the Department of Chemistry Education, Osun State University, Ipetu-Ijesa campus, Oriade LGA.

    The incident occurred on 22nd December, 2016. OYEBADE confessed to picking the victim along with two (2) other men on 22nd October, 2016 and claimed to have dropped them off at a house in Ikirun. Investigation is ongoing.

    “The Service also arrested four (4) suspected fleeing members of the boko haram; Fanayi Bukar HASSAN, Butame HASSAN, Kologoni BUKAR, and Amina ABUBAKAR on 10th January, 2017 at Oko-Oba, Ifako-Ijaiye LGA of Lagos State.

    They are suspected to have fled to the State to evade arrest in the ongoing military offensive in the North East. Same day (10th January, 2017), at Okene town, Adavi LGA, Kogi State, the leader of the boko haram sect in Okene, Abdullahi MOHAMMED aka Huja, was arrested. Subject had been responsible for the coordination of boko haram activities in Okene axis of Kogi State.

    “It is important to state that these successes were recorded as a result of proactive and credible intelligence offered by patriotic citizens, and the effective cooperation of sister agencies and other relevant stakeholders.

    This Service wishes to restate its determination to sustain the tempo within the provisions of the law as part of its drive towards ensuring the security of lives and property of all law-abiding residents and citizens in the country.”

  • $25,000 ship levy tears Customs CG, SSS boss apart

    $25,000 ship levy tears Customs CG, SSS boss apart

     

    The heads of two key federal agencies who are also close allies of President Muhammadu Buhari are currently at each other’s throat over collection of $25, 000 of ship levy from vessels that berth at the nation’s ports.

    The disagreement by the two officials appears to confirm insinuations of division among some leading lights of the Buhari administration.

    The turf war stems from a letter written by the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Lawal Daura, to President Buhari on September 8.

    In the letter, the security chief accused the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) of introducing $25,000 as new Temporary Import Permit (TIP) levy on each vessel that berths to discharge petroleum products in Nigeria.

    Daura is a kinsman of the President while the Director-General of NCS, Hameed Ali, a retired colonel was Buhair’s chief of staff before he won election as Nigeria’s president.

    The said levy, as Daura reported to the President, was illegal as it was not provided for on the PPRA template, not receipted, and could increase the cost of petrol by 56 kobo per litre.

    In international trade, TIP is a customs’ procedure under which certain goods can be brought into a country without payment of duties or taxes and without import prohibition and restriction. But before it is issued, those knowledgeable about NCS operations regarding the issuance said an applicant must post a bond to cover the import duty and other charges inclusive of the 25 per cent penalty in case of violation of the terms.

    In Daura’s memo to the President, he further reported that the alleged introduction of $25,000 TIP levy followed the detention of a vessel, MT Histria Ivory at Apapa by NCS operatives.

    He reported to the President that Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) made the complaint that formed the basis of his memo.

    A week after receiving the memo, Buhari forwarded it to Ali, demanding his “summary report of your considered view”.

    In his response, Ali told the President that the SSS under Daura appeared to be more interested in smear campaign and personal vendetta than in thorough investigation and anti-corruption efforts of the administration.

    He explained that the said vessel, MT Histria Ivory, was truly detained but that was after it was sighted discharging cargo at Apapa Jetty.

    He said the detention was to ascertain whether it had TIP or liable for payment of duty.

    While the investigation was ongoing, before Daura’s memo to the President, MOMAN alleged imposition of $25,000 TIP levy per vessel by the NCS via a letter copied to the Minister for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu; Minister for Finance, Kemi Adeosun; the SSS and the Customs chief.

    MOMAN wrote the complaint letter one week before Daura sent the memo to the president.

     

  • DSS pledges sustained offensive against kidnappers, terrorists

    The Department of State Services (DSS) has pledged to sustain its offensive against kidnappers and terrorists in the country in a bid to ensure a safer Nigeria.

    This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Tony Opuiyo of the DSS on Friday in Abuja.

    The Service said that as part of its ongoing tactical operations to degrade the capabilities of criminals, an offensive was launched against kidnappers, terrorists and other criminal elements.

    It said that the offensive had led to the arrest of the trio of one Abubakar Musa, Ismail Musa and Suleiman Mainasara on Nov. 29 at Aduwawa in Benin city, Edo.

    The statement said that prior to their arrest, they were members of a kidnap gang that terrorised commuters and residents of communities along the major highways between Edo and Kogi.

    It said that on Nov. 30, one Ibrahim Adamu and three of his associates namely; Umar Abubakar, Ibrahim Salisu and Abdullahi Abubakar that specialised in the kidnap of people along the Edo-kogi corridor were also arrested at Ibilio village in Edo.

    It further said that on Dec. 20 at Katsina-Ala town in Benue , another gang of suspected kidnappers comprising one Ernest Benze, Terkura Tyokishir alias Mpoto, and Anun Aondona identified as members of the Terwase Akwaza kidnap syndicate, were arrested for their complicity in kidnap incidents in the State.

    “ It would be recalled that the Terwase gang is known for its notoriety and credited with various dastardly and violent acts in the state,’’ it said.

    The statement further revealed that one Usman Musa aka Keke, a notorious kidnap kingpin was intercepted by the Service on Dec. 15 at Sabuwar-Kaura village in Doguwa Local Government Area, Kano State.

    “ Musa is a high-profile criminal who, in conjunction with other criminal associates of his gang, has been terrorising residents and communities in Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano and Plateau States,’’ it said.

    It said that in continuation of its fight against terrorism, on Nov. 30, three suspected Boko Haram fighters namely Samaila Muhammad, Sanusi Musa and Hudu Muhammad were arrested at Durbunde village of Takai Local Government Area of Kano State.

    “ The trio had perfected plans to carry out series of coordinated attacks with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in selected states of the North-West zone in the month of November, 2016 to disrupt festive activities during the end of year and the New Year of 2017,’’ it said.

    It said that the operatives of this Service also arrested one Sani Digaru along with one Mohammed Ali, on Dec. 25 along Gombe-Dukku road, Gombe.

    “ Digaru was fatally shot when he attempted to escape from arrest. The arrest was sequel to earlier intelligence that he was in possession of cash worth two million Naira (N2m) meant for the coordination of a terrorist operation in Yobe and Bauchi States,’’ he said.

    It noted that in the past few weeks, a new criminal gang which specialises in robbing visiting foreign residents/customers of luxury hotels had been uncovered in Abuja.

    “For instance, on Dec. 5, the gang robbed an expatriate in a high brow hotel in Abuja and carted away his money and other valuables.

    “ However, acting on actionable intelligence and with the support and cooperation of sister agencies and the hotel management, the Service arrested one Ikechukwu Obadlegwu and Ikechukwu Eke,’’ it said.

    It said that at Gwaron Dutse, Kano Municipal, Kano State, one Auwalu Yakasai, a notorious fraudster was apprehended for allegedly defrauding Jaiz and Unity Banks of N100 million and N50 million, respectively.

    The Service pledged its commitment to the safety of all citizens including members of the international community while calling on the on the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious persons, parcels, and vehicles to the nearest security formations.

    “The Service hereby reassures residents and indeed all Nigerians of a more peaceful new year as it (the Service) will leave no stone unturned in making sure that the year will be typified by stability which will, no doubt, define the country’s national security outlook in the coming year,’’ it said.

  • Despite expected release tomorrow, Ibori not coming home

    Former Delta state Governor, James Onanefe Ibori, who has completed his jail term in London and is due to be released tomorrow has dispelled rumours that he is returning to Nigeria immediately.

    Chief Ibori, in a statement signed by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, called on his well-wishers to disregard the rumours.

    A section of the media had speculated that the former governor, whose conviction and jail for corruption and money laundering in the United Kingdom has taken different turns in recent times, would return to Nigeria on December 23.

    “When the time comes, any important information will be made available to the public and nothing would be left for conjecture,” Ibori said.

    ‘Ribadu’s excesses, not me, removed him from office’

    Chief Ibori also in the statement berated an online news platform for dragging his name into the Senate refusal to confirm Ibrahim Magu as chair of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

    According to Chief Ibori, “What makes it galling is that the matter under contention was the Department of State Security’s report that stopped the Senate from confirming Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and did not warrant the dragging in of my name at all”.

    Chief Ibori particularly took exception to a report in Premium Times which said “based on pressure from political gladiators of the period (among which were former Governors James Ibori and Bukola Saraki), then President Musa Yar’Adua unceremoniously removed Nuhu Ribadu as chairman of the EFCC”.

    Ibori explained his position that Governor Nasir el-Rufai has exposed this claim as a terrible lie in his book, The Accidental Public Servant, adding that el-Rufai stated the source of the trouble the former EFCC chair, Ribadu had with President Musa Yar’Adua.

    “On page 358, in a section entitled ‘Umaru Asks Nuhu for Support: the Beginning of Our Trouble’ he (el-Rufai) wrote that Ribadu was so maddened that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had favoured Yar’Adua above Nasir el-Rufai to succeed him as President in 2007 that he told Yar’Adua to his face: “Well, Obasanjo has not told me, and as far as the presidency is concerned, I have my candidate for president, and that is El-Rufai”.

    “El-Rufai continued on page 359: ‘It took sometime before Nuhu figured out Obasanjo’s games and what was really happening. Nuhu’s instinctive reaction was that of a typical policeman – dust off EFCC’s files and comb for petitions against Umaru. Nuhu did not realize it at that time, but he was the one in trouble not Obasanjo or Umaru. He dusted off all the files against Umaru and launched investigations. He was clearly trying to take Yar’Adua out of the race and narrow all options to zero except for El-Rufai,” Ibori said.

    Ibori continued: “It is clear that from El-Rufai’s that there was no way a clear-headed Yar-Adua would have appointed a power-drunken Ribadu, who had unjustly arrested some Katsina state’s LGA chairmen just to demonize Yar’Adua to remain as EFCC Chairman, to continue to arrest people unjustly, play politics with his office and hypocritically claim to be fighting corruption when he was neck deep in the worst corruption, maligning others just because of politics.

    “Ribadu’s excesses, not me, removed him from office,” Ibori said.