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Tag: ekiti

  • How Tinubu paid millions of naira to stop Sunday Igboho from disrupting Ekiti elections in 2009 – Ojudu

    How Tinubu paid millions of naira to stop Sunday Igboho from disrupting Ekiti elections in 2009 – Ojudu

    Special Adviser to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu has narrated how Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and he were able to persuade freedom fighter, Sunday Igboho from unleashing mayhem with his thugs during the Ekiti rerun election of 2009.

    Ojudu said this in a published opinion piece. He said, “It was in 2009. The Appeal Court sitting in Ilorin ordered a rerun in a number of polling units in the election between Segun Oni of PDP and Dr Kayode Fayemi of ACN.mOni had in the main election and the election petition tribunal that followed been declared winner of the gubernatorial contest. Our party, ACN contested this , hence the declaration of a rerun.

    “The election which came three months after the Appeal Court judgement was like war. The PDP ruling at the Federal level did not want to lose Ekiti while the opposition ACN led and financed by Bola Ahmed Tinubu wanted to take Ekiti by all means.

    “A few days to the election, we got an intelligence report that the PDP big wigs had perfected a plan to unleash thugs recruited from across Yoruba land on Ekiti. The plan was to kill and maim as many as possible, snatch ballot boxes and win by any means possible.

    “Tinubu summoned me to Lagos and said Femi, ‘I have conducted a scientific opinion poll. You people can win this election. The only snag however is they are deploying state security as well as thugs against you. State security men we can handle ( and he did creatively handled them ) but how do you handle thugs?’”

    “I then suggested we dissuade them by engagement and inducements. After all they are in the business only for the money and not for ideological reasons.

    “We reached out to both Ade Basket in Akure and Fada Geri in Ondo. Both were dreaded in political circles. We had a series of meetings with them and were able to squeeze an agreement with them that they will not make themselves available to PDP for hire. I got them to even sign documents for me that they were going to stay off Ekiti elections.”

    Ojudu said the biggest headache for them was Sunday “Igboho who we learnt has been hired and paid by a Senator from Osun to come and cause mayhem in Ekiti.” Continuing, he said, “ Tinubu instructed we must get him at all cost.

    “Six days to the election we began our search for him. Eventually we met someone who had his number. I put a call through to him and he agreed to meet with me in Ibadan. We scheduled an appointment and had a meeting at a small hotel not far from Premier Hotel.

    “ Tinubu, I told him, has sent me to him that he will like to have a meeting with him. He said he will love to meet him as he has heard a lot of good things about him too. The problem he said is he is PDP and not ACN. I said that precisely is the reason why he wanted to meet with him. He asked if I could keep this a secret, I said why not. Papa Adedibu, and our Osun Senator, he said must not learn about his meeting Tinubu. I told him there is no way they will know except it leaks from his side.

    “He agreed to a meeting on Thursday preceding the election. I reported back to Tinubu who then relocated from his base in Lagos to Sunview Hotel in Akure. Igboho drove down alone at about 10.00 pm. I and Tinubu had a dialogue with him.”

    The former senator said Tinubu went on on lecturing Igboho on beauty of democracy and unencumbered electoral process. He said the time Tinubu finished with him, Igboho became sober and contrite.

    Ojudu further said, “ Tinubu then beckoned me to follow him to the bedroom of the suit he occupied in the hotel. ‘ Femi this guy appear sincere. It does appear we have dissuaded him.’ ‘Thank you Baba” Igboho said with a smile across his face as soon as he received a golden handshake for agreeing not to destroy in Ekiti as they had planned.

    “He then said that he will be in Ekiti on the eve of the election but when it is 2.00 am I should put a call through to him. He will put his phone on speaker and I should tell him I am a police AIG and that the police has discovered his presence in Ekiti and will be raiding in 30 minutes time. With that call he will tell his minders he can no longer stay.

    He will pack his boys and their lethal weapons and leave town.

    “Tinubu ordered food and drink for him. He will touch neither. He however overtime became comfortable in our midst and regaled us with several anecdotes from his career as a political enforcer.”

    “A week before the election, we had reserved and paid for all the rooms in all the hotels in Ekiti. The money ran into several millions. Tinubu, as usual, paid for this. The strategy was to ensure no thug or any undesirable element had a place to stay in the state. Security men and INEC officials had to appeal to me, sometimes through Tinubu, to release some rooms to them to stay. With this we knew who was staying where. And we closely monitored them and their activities.

    “Thus, when Igboho and his band of 50 thugs arrived Ado Ekiti that Friday we were able to monitor them till they were taken to be accommodated over night in government house due to lack of hotel accommodation in the state.”

    The Political Adviser said Igboho “has that occasional conscience you can appeal to” and advised “we should do everything possible to stave off this crisis and stop beating the drums of war before it reaches a crescendo.”

  • Amotekun arrests four suspected kidnappers in Ekiti

    Amotekun arrests four suspected kidnappers in Ekiti

    The Ekiti State Security Network Agency otherwise known as Amotekun Corps has arrested four persons suspected to be members of a kidnap unleashing terror in the state.

    The Corps Commander, Brig. General Joe Komolafe who made the disclosure on Friday while speaking with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

    Komolafe said the suspected kidnappers were arrested on Friday morning in Eda Oniyo, Ilejemeje Local Government Area of the state during a routine patrol of the security outfit.

    He said the that suspects identified as Abubakar Sule, Sheu Usman, Abubakar Babangida and Sheu Mamuda who were said to be herdsmen from Sokoto were intercepted and arrested on motorcycle around 9am.

    Komolafe added that the suspects upon interrogation could not give satisfactory response as to their mission in the state but confessed to be ‘professional kidnappers’.

    According to him, materials found on them aside the four motorcycles include long rope which he said they confessed they often use to tie kidnap victims in the bush.

    He said, “Our men on routine patrol intercepted these four persons suspected to be kidnappers on Friday morning when they were making their ways into the state from Sokoto state.

    “They told us they were coming from Ilorin, Kwara state capital on motorcycle after they were brought in from Sokoto state in a truck few days ago. Upon questioning, they said they were heading to Akungba Akoko in Ondo state but with no clear mission here.

    “What we found on them clearly gave them away as suspected kidnappers and also with their confession. One of them clearly wrote on his motorcycle in Hausa language, ‘Duniya Ba Hutu’ which means, No Peace in this world.

    “None of the motorcycles has number plate or documents to show ownership.”

    Komolafe noted the suspects would be handed over to the police for further investigation, adding that the security outfit wouldn’t rest on its oars until criminality reduce to the barest minimum in the state.

    He said the arrest of the kidnap suspect was product of well-syncronized search and 24hrs surveillance which was aimed at safeguarding lives and property in the state.

  • Court sentences Assistant Commissioner of Police to life imprisonment

    Court sentences Assistant Commissioner of Police to life imprisonment

    A High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital has sentenced Assistant Commissioner of Police, Okubo Aboye to life imprisonment.

    The Police ACP was sentenced to life imprisonment alongside his mechanic, Niyi Ibrahim Afolabi who sold a stolen vehicle from kidnappers in the state to him.

    The Ekiti High Court also sentenced seven other persons, Solomon Ayodele Obamoyegun (39), Femi Omiawe (40), Damilola Obamoyegun (20), Bose Sade Ajayi (30), George Lucky (35), Chukwuma Nnamani (22), and Sunday Ogunleye (45) to five years imprisonment each without an option of fine for kidnapping.

    The investigating Police officer testified that the car was tracked to the compound of ACP Akubo Aboye. The ACP on interrogation confessed that he bought the Hilux van from his mechanic who received it from the kidnappers.

    The offence contravened sections 346(2), 1(2)a, and section 5 of the Criminal Code Cap C16 Laws of Ekiti State, 2012 and Robbery and firearms special provisions Act, Cap R11, laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004, Felix Awoniyi, the prosecuting counsel noted.

    Justice John Adeyeye who presided over the matter found the ACP guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment accordingly.

    “I find you guilty of receiving stolen vehicle. All evidence pointed to the fact that you were aware that the car was stolen. You are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment for the offence,” the justice said.

    According to the charge sheet, the offence was committed on or about the 9th -19th day of May 2005 at GRA, Ado Ekiti. The kidnappers then armed themselves with guns and kidnapped one Moses Ajogri 40 and robbed him of his Toyota Hilux van with Reg. No. APP 509 BK.

  • Gunmen abduct petrol dealer in Ekiti

    Gunmen abduct petrol dealer in Ekiti

    Gunmen on Sunday night captured a petroleum product dealer in Ado Ekiti, Alhaji Suleiman Akinbami.

    The sad incident happened at the victim’s filling station along Ado-Ijan Road in Ado Ekiti about 9 pm on Sunday.

    The Police Public Relations Officer for Ekiti State Police Command, Sunday Abutu, who confirmed the incident, said, “The command has deployed a Special Team of Policemen to be assisted by the Amotekun Corp, the local hunters, and the Vigilantes to comb the bush for possible tracking of the suspects and the release of the victim.”

    Abutu in a press release on Sunday night, said, “At about 2105hours on Sunday, one Mrs Mariam Akinbami came to Odo-Ado Divisional Police Headquarters and reported that her husband, Alhaji Suleiman Akinbami was kidnapped at the premise of his Petrol Station along Ijan/Ado Road at about 2030hrs on the same date.

    “According to her, four unknown men quietly approached the husband, ordered him into his Toyota Jeep and whisked him away to an unknown destination.

    “Upon receipt of the information, the Divisional Police Officer led his team to the scene, but the abductors had already gone.”

    Abutu said that policemen, Amotekun operatives, and others had consequently begun a search for the victim and the bandits.

    He stated, “The Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Tunde Mobayo, while calling for calm, has assured the good people of Ekiti State that the police will do their best to ensure the rescue of the victims and the tracking of the abductors.

    “The Commissioner also advised everyone to be wary of strange and suspicious faces around their domains and implore everyone with useful information concerning the incident to please contact the nearest Police Station or call 08062335577”.

     

  • COVID-19: Ekiti re-imposes curfew, bans large public gatherings effective today

    COVID-19: Ekiti re-imposes curfew, bans large public gatherings effective today

    Ekiti has re-imposed fresh restrictions to movement and banned large public gatherings amid fears of the escalating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
    The Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Akin Omole, announced on Sunday evening, in Ado Ekiti, that the state government had imposed a an 8.00 pm to 6.00 am daily curfew across the state.
    Omole said in a statement that government had equally banned all public gatherings of more than 20 people, anywhere in the state until further notice.
    ”These restrictions take effect from Monday, Jan. 11, 2021 at 6:00am. These drastic steps, as approved by Gov Kayode Fayemi, are as a result of the alarming rate at which the second wave of COVID-19 is spreading in Nigeria and elsewhere”, he said.
    According to him, there was the need for government to be proactive and take decisive steps, to secure the citizens from falling victims of the pandemic that had claimed thousands of lives across the globe.
    He urged the people to continue to strictly observe the COVID-19 protocols, and also abide by the curfew and new restrictions placed on public gatherings by the government.
    Omole also called on the people to ensure that they wore their nose masks properly, washed their hands with soap and use hand sanitizer regularly, as well as kept social distance, to avoid contracting the virus.
    He added that the 8.00 pm to 6.00 am curfew imposed throughout the state would be strictly enforced, except for those that are on essential services, while the ban on all public gatherings, of more than 20 people, should be strictly observed, to avoid penalties.
    The commissioner announced that the government would, however, allow faithfuls to observe two services of their religious worships on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, accordingly, but that all the services must not extend beyond 2.00pm on the days.
    To facilitate the services, all worship centers would be expected to provide necessary facilities for hand washing, soap and hand sanitizer at the entrance, while infrared thermometers should be used to take worshippers’ temperature before being allowed in for the service, Omole said.
    He added that the State COVID-19 Response Committee, and other relevant enforcement agencies, would be monitoring compliance with all the renewed directives, warning that any person or group of persons caught violating the measures would be dealt with according to the law.
    The commissioner called on all top government functionaries, at the state and local government levels, including Council Chairmen, traditional rulers and law enforcement agencies, to obey the protocols themselves, as well as monitor compliance, and report promptly any violators to the COVID-19 Response Taskforce.
    The statement assured that government would continue to do all within its power, to ensure that the second wave of the pandemic did not have a foothold in the state.
    Recall that during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, the government applied similar measures, over several months, affecting virtually all areas of life, including commercial activities, offices, schools, social activities, markets, as well as worship centres, among others.
  • My abductors threatened marching me to Zamfara – Ekiti entrepreneur

    My abductors threatened marching me to Zamfara – Ekiti entrepreneur

    A certain businessman, Mr Happiness Okunola who was kidnapped along the Isan-Iludun Ekiti Road on Christmas Day, gained his freedom on Monday as the efforts of Amotekun Corps and local hunters combing the expansive forest paid off.

    Okunola was allegedly released in a forest in Isapa community of Kwara State around 2pm on Monday.

    The Corps Commander, Ekiti Amotekun Corps, Brig. Gen. Joe Komolafe, said rescue of the victim was made possible by days of manhunt and combing the expanse forest in search of the victim and the criminals responsible.

    Okunola and his cousin, Oluwaseun, were abducted by kidnappers around 6pm on Friday, but Oluwaseun released while Okunola was kept by the kidnapers.

    Komolafe said, “Immediately the incident happened on Friday, our men were on ground and were able to rescue his cousin, Oluwaseun.

    “We had been on their trail since that day and when they sensed that we were close on them, he was abandoned in a forest at Isapa in Kwara State.”

    Komolafe denied payment of any ransom to secure the release of the victim, saying, “We did what was required of us since Friday and we were successful this afternoon (Monday) when he was rescued.”

    Okunola, who was driven to Amotekun headquarters in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, said the gunmen, numbering six, did not give him food since Friday.

    He said they walked in the forest from 6pm on Friday when he was kidnapped till 2am on Saturday when they had a brief stop to relax.

    He said, “They threatened to march me to Zamfara if I did not do what they asked me to do.

    “We were on the move all through and they did not give me any food to eat. They were six in number and it was only one of them that could barely speak in English language, others speak Hausa language,” he said.

    A family source had said on Sunday that the abductors initially demanded N100m ransom which was later reduced to N10m and then N2m.

     

  • Amotekun deploys personnel on Ekiti roads

    Amotekun deploys personnel on Ekiti roads

    The Corps Commandant, Ekiti State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, Brig. Gen. Joe Komolafe, has placed personnel of the security outfit on alert and deployed them across the state to guarantee a hitch-free end-of-year celebrations.

    Komolafe said Amotekun personnel were in charge of major roads in the state to ward off criminal elements who might want to capitalise on the season to attack people.

    The corps commandant, in a statement titled, ‘Yuletide: Don’t reveal your movements on social media, Ekiti Amotekun tells residents,’ on Friday, advised residents to celebrate Christmas and New Year with caution.

    He stated, “The people of Ekiti should celebrate with caution and I would advise that all of us look at security as everybody’s business. Nobody can secure you more than yourself. No matter the level of security arrangement, individuals must do their own part.”

     

  • Abducted Chinese expatriate released after payment of N100m ransom in Ekiti

    Abducted Chinese expatriate released after payment of N100m ransom in Ekiti

    A Chinese expatriate kidnapped in Ekiti State has regained freedom after spending four days in captivity.

    The victim who was abducted on Friday evening, Nov 27, is one of the engineers handling the construction of new Ado-Iyin road.

    During the abduction, the gunmen at the construction site also killed a policeman attached to the Chinese expatriate.

    A source close to the road construction company said the victim was released around 11pm on Tuesday after payment of N100 million ransom.

    According to the source, the victim was released around Ilawe-Igede road in the state, while the abductors collected the ransom around Kwara state.

    He stated ” The Chinese was released very late yesterday (Tuesday) after payment of ransom to the kidnappers.
    ”
    The N100 million was taken to a bush in Kwara State where the kidnappers collected and confirmed it before the man was released here at a very difficult location along Igede-Ilawe road.”

    The Police Public Relations Officer ( PPRO) in Ekiti state, ASP Sunday Abutu who confirmed the release of the Chinese expatriate denied payment of ransom.

    He stated that the release was made possible after a serious manhunt launched on the kidnappers by security operatives.

    ” Yes, he was released after a serious manhunt and pressure from the security operatives around Ilawe-Igede at about 11:30pm yesterday(Tuesday).

    He gave the assurrance that the command would continue to do everything possible to rid the State off criminal elements, with maximum security of lives and property.

  • Gunmen kill policeman, abduct Chinese expatriate, injure another in Ekiti

    Gunmen kill policeman, abduct Chinese expatriate, injure another in Ekiti

    Gunmen on Friday evening shot dead a policeman and kidnapped a Chinese handling the new Ado-Iyin road in Ekiti State.

    The gunmen, according to sources, attacked two Chinese nationals in the Ado-Ekiti end of the new road and shot dead a policeman in their entourage.

    It was gathered that while one Chinese was abducted, the other was said to have sustained gunshots injuries.

    Confirming the incident to newsmen, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Ekiti command, ASP Sunday Abutu, said operatives of the command had been dispatched and combing the forest to ensure the safe return of the expatriate.

    He said: “It’s confirmed that a kidnapping incident occurred today at about 4:30 pm along new Ado-Iyin road where one civilian was kidnapped, one shot while one policeman was shot dead.

    “Our operatives are already combing the forest for possible apprehension of the perpetrators.”

    Abutu added that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Tunde Mobayo, “enjoins everyone to be calm and avoid any form of apprehension as the Command will do everything possible to rescue the victim and arrest the culprits.”

  • Nigeria’s most wanted robbery kingpin, ‘Shina Rambo’ resurfaces in Ekiti

    Nigeria’s most wanted robbery kingpin, ‘Shina Rambo’ resurfaces in Ekiti

    One time Nigeria’s most wanted criminal, Shina Rambo, has resurfaced in the Ekiti capital professing that he is now a changed man working for God as a preacher of the gospel of Christ.

    He spoke on Sunday night on a weekend Yoruba programme monitored on Fresh FM Radio, Ado Ekiti, and anchored personally by prominent ace gospel musician and owner of the radio station, Yinka Ayefele.

    Rambo, who gave his real name as Oluwasina Oluwagbemiga, confessed to be the same person whose gang terrorised some parts of the country for years and tormented innocent citizens with attacks, killings and maiming.

    He said so many people, especially the police, would be surprised to hear that the same man they claimed to have killed on a number of occasions was still alive today.

    Claiming that he was now a complete child of God preaching the gospel in prisons and other reform centres, Rambo, who gave 1958 as his year of birth, said he was born as a native of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, but was raised in Benin city.

    ” My father was a prominent person, and a soldier moving from one part of the country to the other. In my attempt to acquire black power then, I went to a total of 21 places, prominent among which were Minna, Niger state, and later Oro, in present day Kwara.

    ” I was in one of those places for 91 days in Idanre, Ondo state, where we were mandated to be sucking the milk of a possessed woman’s breast, as our only food and water, so occult powers can transmit to our body.

    ” At the end of the whole exercise, I possessed a total of 901 power images that can be used to cajole or disappear at a scene of crime and project the image of another person. So, if I was killed at a particular point, I had the powers to resurface in another place in another form”, he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that Rambo expressed regret over his roles in a series deadly crimes that held the country spellbound for years, claiming that he was misguided by evil spirits.

    He said the moment he accepted Christ, he realized he had no more occult powers as the spirit of God suddenly descended on him directing him to drop all his bad habits and start preaching about God.

    Quoting the holy bible copiously throughout the radio programme, Rambo said he had won many souls through his preaching, while a number of churches had also been established.

    Rambo stated that the death of his wife and three children on a single day in the hands of those who came to arrest him, but did not meet him, was his worst regret of his former life in crime

    ” I was to be arrested on the fateful day but those that came could not find me, so they killed them”, he said.

    He urged the criminally minded to turn over a new leave in record time and have a change of heart so as to receive divine salvation as well as avoid incurring the God’s wrath.