TheNewsGuru

Tag: policeman

  • Kogi jailbreak: Soldier, policeman killed, two prison officials missing – FG

    Kogi jailbreak: Soldier, policeman killed, two prison officials missing – FG

    Two security operatives were killed when gunmen invaded the Kabba Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kogi State, authorities have said.

    Similarly, two officers of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), have not been accounted for, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, Sola Fasure, disclosed in a statement on Monday.

    The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who affirmed that he had been briefed by the Controller General of the NCoS, Haliru Nababa, described the incident as unfortunate.

    Giving more details regarding the event, Aregbesola explained that security officers – comprising 15 soldiers, 10 police officers, and 10 armed guards of the NCoS – on duty “fought gallantly” to repel the attack.

    “Regrettably, two officers of the correctional service are yet to be accounted for while one soldier and a policeman lost their lives during the attack,” he said.

    The Kabba Custodial facility had 294 inmates as of the time of the attack, many of whom escaped after the gunmen used explosives to destroy three sides of the perimeter fence.

    However, 28 inmates refused to escape and some of those that fled have voluntarily returned to the facility as of Monday morning.

    According to the minister, the controller-general of NCoS is currently monitoring the situation and a ‘crisis response centre’ has been activated.

    He added that a special task force has been mobilised to recapture the fleeing inmates while an inter-agency security task force was on the trail of the gunmen who attacked the facility.

    Aregbesola urged gave an assurance that the situation was under control., saying security forces would find the attackers and bring them to justice.

    “We shall leave no stone unturned to bring them back to custody,” he stated. “We are also putting INTERPOL on notice with their details, in case any of them attempts fleeing outside our shores.”

    He urged the people, especially the communities around the custodial facility, to be vigilant and report any strange and suspicious persons or activities to the nearest law enforcement agency.

    To the fleeing inmates, the minister warned that “escaping from lawful custody is a serious criminal offence. Law enforcement agencies and citizens are lawfully empowered to use all necessary means to arrest and bring you to justice.

    “You should, therefore, know what you are up against. You will, however, be eligible for mitigation if you wilfully surrender yourselves at the nearest law enforcement office.”

    Aregbesola stressed that the NCoS would not be cowed by elements seeking to compromise the security of the nation and promised to provide more updates at the end of the preliminary assessment.

  • Armed robbers attack empty bullion van in Ondo, shoot policeman

    Armed robbers attacked a bullion van along the Akure/Owo Highway in Ondo State on Wednesday, shooting a policeman in the process.

    Public Relations Officer of Ondo State Police Command, DCP Funmi Odunlami said the attack occurred close to Emure-Ile junction along the highway.

    The robbers were however unable to cart away any funds as the bullion van was not carrying any cash when they struck, Odunlami added.

    Meanwhile, a team of policemen has been deployed to the area to apprehend the armed robbers and the injured policeman is being treated at a nearby hospital.

  • Policeman at Adeniji station threatened to kill me – Mr Macaroni

    Policeman at Adeniji station threatened to kill me – Mr Macaroni

    Comedian and actor, Mr Macaroni has alleged that a policeman threatened to kill him while he was in their custody.

    The entertainer who also doubles as an activist said this on Sunday while recounting his experience at the police station.

    According to him, one of the police officers said he would have killed him if not that he was popular and people would have asked about him.

    He added that other policemen took turns to beat him at Adeniji police station.

    On his Twitter page, he wrote: “When I was at Adeniji police station, the police officers took turns to beat me up. They were even calling themselves to come and beat ‘Mr Macaroni’

    “They said in my life when next I hear police, I will run! One said if not that people would ask about me, he would have killed me.”

    TheNewsGuru recalls that Macaroni alongside 39 others were arrested sometime in February at the Lekki toll gate.

    They were arrested by policemen deployed to the Lekki tollgate, ahead of the #OccupyLekkiTollGate and #DefendLagos protests scheduled for February 13, 2021.

    In a recent interview, Macaroni stated that he cannot be silenced.

    “I have no regrets. Any decision I take would be because I am solely convinced about it. This is me and who I will continue to be. I cannot be silenced. I hate being cheated and I hate it when people around me are being cheated. If the government is not doing well, the least we can do is to lend our voices and call out that government. If they choose to oppress and dehumanise us while doing that, that is their cup of tea. But, we will continue to use our voices and actions to speak against injustice.”

  • One-way driver who knocked policeman off Lagos Bridge remanded in prison

    One-way driver who knocked policeman off Lagos Bridge remanded in prison

    The Lagos State police command on Friday arraigned a driver who knocked a police officer off the bridge along International Airport Road on February 24.

    The accused, 38-year-old Sunday Okodo, was arraigned before an Oshodi Mobile Court on six counts of driving against traffic (wrong-way driving), resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, reckless and dangerous driving, driving with an invalid driver’s license, and attempted murder.

    According to the police, he will be arraigned in another court for the attempted murder charge.

    At the ruling, no bail or fine was given to the accused.

    The court ruled that he should be remanded in Badagry prison until March 26 for the next hearing.

    The driver is seen in a viral video driving against traffic and trying to evade arrest from security agents. He knocked a policeman identified as David Zapania off the bridge and into a canal in the process.

    A statement by Muyiwa Adejobi, the police spokesperson, had said the reckless driver caused injuries to the officer.

    He said Okodo was residing at Alose Close, Apapa, while the police inspector.

    “The incident occurred on Wednesday 24/2/21 at about 17 30hrs, when some LASTMA personnel (who) were backed up by the police on enforcement duty within the state contravened (intercepted) a Toyota SUV, driving against the traffic along International Airport road.

    “The driver resisted arrest and while trying to escape, a police inspector David Zapania was knocked down from the bridge and fell into a carnal.

    “The police inspector was rescued and rushed to the Lagos State Emergency and Trauma Center where he was attended to and discharged, but sustained fracture on his left hand,” the police said.

  • Gunmen murder policeman, loot station armoury in Aba

    Gunmen murder policeman, loot station armoury in Aba

    Gunmen have invaded a police station in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State, killing a guard duty official.

    According to reports,the attackers looted the police armoury, carting away several arms and ammunition, triggering fear of heightened insecurity in the city.

    The hoodlums plunged on Abayi Police Station at World Bank Estate in Abayi Local Government Area about 2am on Monday morning.

    A source said the attackers numbering over 20 took the policemen on duty unawares, killing a guard instantly and taking away his weapon.

    A report claimed that two policemen were killed in the attack, but a police source said it was one operative that died.

    Another report said some thugs also raided a riot police armoury in Umuahia, the state capital, where they removed several guns and ammunition but The Nation was unable to confirm that claim before press time.

    The state government has condemned the attack, vowing that it would ensure that the attackers are caught and punished.

    The government also offered a N1 million bounty for any information leading to the arrest of the attackers, information commissioner John Okiyi-Kalu said in a statement yesterday.

     

  • Gunmen storm Ughelli church, kill policeman

    Gunmen storm Ughelli church, kill policeman

    Unknown gunmen on Sunday killed a police officer in a church in Ughelli, Delta.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Delta Command, DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya confirmed the development to newsmen on Sunday in Warri.

    “Yes, he (police officer) followed his principal (not named) to the church,” the PPRO said.

    An eyewitness said that the gunmen allegedly stormed a Pentecostal church located in Oviri-Ogor Road, Ughelli in the Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state, during worship service on Sunday and shot the victim thrice.

    The deceased, a police inspector, was said to have been serving at PMF 31, Ogwashi-Uku and was on escort duty at the time of the incident.

    “The service was abruptly stopped at about 11.15 a.m. when gunshots rented the air inside the church premises and worshippers scampered for safety.

    “It was after the gunmen escaped that some youths summoned up the courage to come out only to discover the police officer in a pool of his blood,” the source said.

    The source added that the policeman was confirmed dead at the Central Hospital, Ughelli, were he was rushed to for medical attention.

  • Fresh outrage erupts in U.S. after policeman kills unarmed Black man

    Fresh outrage erupts in U.S. after policeman kills unarmed Black man

    The killing of an unarmed African-American man by police in the US city of Columbus, Ohio sparked a fresh wave of outrage this week against racial injustice and police brutality in the country.

    Andre Maurice Hill, 47, was in the garage of a house on Monday night when he was shot several times by a police officer who had been called to the scene for a minor incident.

    Bodycam footage shows Hill walking towards the policeman holding a cell phone in his left hand, while his other hand cannot be seen.

    Seconds later, the officer fired and Hill collapsed.

    The footage has no sound and it is not clear why the officer, Adam Coy, fired. Hill was not carrying a weapon.

    Coy and his colleague waited several minutes before approaching the victim, who was still alive, but died later.

    According to local media reports, Coy had previously received complaints of excessive force.

    A wake will be held Thursday in memory of Hill, the second African-American killed by police in Columbus in less than three weeks.

    Casey Goodson Jr, 23, was shot several times on December 4 while returning home. His family say he was holding a sandwich in his hand which law enforcement mistook for a gun.

    The killings come after a summer in which the US was rocked by historic protests against racial injustice and police brutality, sparked by the May killing of African American man George Floyd.

    Floyd, also unarmed, suffocated beneath the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis. Horrified passers-by filmed his death, with the footage swiftly going viral.

    “Once again officers see a Black man and conclude that he’s criminal and dangerous,” said lawyer Ben Crump, who defends several families of victims including Floyd’s, on Wednesday.

    He denounced a “tragic succession of officer-involved shootings.”

    Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said he was “outraged” by Hill’s death.

    He “known to the residents of the home where his car was parked on the street,” he said Wednesday at a press conference, describing him as a “guest… not an intruder.”

    Ginther said he was “very disturbed” by the fact that the two police officers present did not give first aid to Hill. He called for the “immediate termination” of Coy.

  • Ex-Bayelsa gov Dickson, family escape death as gunmen invade residence, kill policeman

    Ex-Bayelsa gov Dickson, family escape death as gunmen invade residence, kill policeman

    One police officer was killed in a midnight attack by some unknown gunmen at the Toru Orua, Bayelsa country home of former Governor Henry Seriake Dickson on Wednesday night.

    But Dickson and his family were not in the compound during the attack having been away in Abuja and Yenagoa for about three weeks.

    However, it was learnt that a police team successfully prevented the gunmen who attempted to invade the compound through the Forcados River from gaining access.

    The Police officer who was killed led the operation.

    In a statement by Fidelis Soweri, his spokesperson, the former Governor condoled with the immediate family of the late police officer, the Inspector General of Police, the Bayelsa State Commissioner of police and the entire police team on the death of the gallant policeman.

    He also noted that this period was indeed a trying one for the country, the police and the security agencies called on the society to give them the requisite support to effectively carry out the sensitive duty of securing the society.

    The former Governor said that the Commissioner of Police and heads of other security agencies have commenced immediate investigation to unravel those who perpetrated the heinous acts.

    He assured that no stone would be left unturned in the bid to fish out those behind the cruel act.

    He called on his supporters across the Ijaw nation give relevant information to the police to aid their investigation into the crime.

    He urged everybody to remain calm to await the outcome of police investigation.

  • How policeman killed my sister 24hours to NYSC passing out, complainant tells panel

    How policeman killed my sister 24hours to NYSC passing out, complainant tells panel

    The Independent Investigative Panel (IPP) on human rights violations by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other Units of the Nigeria Police Force set up by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) heard on Thursday how a 23-year old graduate, Linda Igwetu from Anambra State, was allegedly killed extra-judicially by a policeman in Abuja.

    The deceased’s elder sister, Chineye Igwetu, who momentarily betrayed emotion while presenting a petition before the panel, gave details of how a policeman, identified as Inspector Benjamin Peters of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, allegedly shot her sister on the night of July 3, 2018 around the Ceddi Plaza bridge in Abuja.

    Chineye said: “On the 3rd of July 2018 the deceased went out. after work to celebrate her passing out from the National Youth Service, which was supposed to be the next day.

    “Prior to her death, she was living with me and worked at Outsource Global Company, Mabushi (Abuja). Her working hours were between 1pm and 11pm everyday.”

    Chineye said her late sister sent her a WhatsApp message around 10.22pm on July 3, 2018 informing her she was going out with her colleagues in the office – Mr. Tobi and Mr. Arafat – to have drinks and also celebrate her conclusion of her NYSC scheme.

    The complainant said she became uncomfortable when her sister, who has a key to their apartment did not return at 2am.

    “At about 4.35am, I got a distress call from unknown number and it was Mr. Bamidele Tobi asking me to come quickly to Garki Hospital that something happened on their way home from Ceddi Plaza.

    “I got to the hospital and was informed that my sister was shot by Inspector Benjamin Peter.

    “Mr. Tobi narrated that on their way home, while driving, he heard a loud sound, and thinking that it was his tyre.

    “He said my late sister tapped him from the back seat that something hit her below her breast. He said when they (Mr. Tobi and Arafat) looked back, they say my sister panting was drenched in her blood.

    “He said when the realised that the sound they hard was that of gun shot and that my sister was hit by stray bullet, they drove straight to the nearest hospital, which was the Garki Hospital.”

    Chineye said the hospital officials did not attend to her sister timeously as they asked for many things at the same time, including blood and police report.

    She said while they were making efforts to get blood, the news that her sister eventually died was conveyed to her around 6am on July 4, 2018 by a female nurse in the hospital. At that point, Chineye broke down and wept.

    She said the then Senate President, Bukola Saraki later intervened, in view of the interest the incident generated, and set up a five man investigation panel.

    Chineye said when Inspector Peter appeared before the panel, he claimed that they were flagging them down, but they did not stop and they shot with the intention to deflate their tyres.

    She said nothing came out of the involvement of the panel set up by Saraki, adding “we got tired and gave up. It is like every thing in Nigeria. Nothing happened after.”

    On what she wants panel to do for her, Chineye said: “I want justice, I want my family to be be compensated. I want my mum to smile again. My parents are alive. I am the senior sister. I am the first daughter.”

    The panel’s chairman, Justice Suleiman Galadima directed that proceedings of the day be sent to the police, who are the respondents, to enable them present their defence on November 16, 2020 when the case will again come up.

    The panel earlier mentioned the petition filed by a car dealer, Bala Mohammed, but could not hear it because of the absence of parties.

    Mohammed claimed, in the petition, that he was subjected to inhuman treatment, unlawful detention and seizure of his property by men of the Life Camp division of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF)n Abuja.

    The petitioner claimed he sold “a tokunbo (used) Hyaundai jeep to AVM (Air Vice Marshal) Suleiman” at N2.5million, but that he paid N2.2mn leaving a balance of N300,000.

    Mohammed stated that when the vehicle broke down about 40 days later, AVM Suleiman allegedly ordered, his arrest, detention and seizure of his vehicle when was unable to make refund as demanded by the customer.

    Justice Galadima adjourned hearing of the petition till November 18, 2020 and ordered that fresh hearing notices be issued to parties in that regard.

    The tribunal adjourned further sitting till November 6.

  • IPOB killed 6 soldiers, four policemen in Rivers – Wike

    IPOB killed 6 soldiers, four policemen in Rivers – Wike

    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has lamented the destruction caused by suspected members of the disbanded Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the guise of the #EndSARS protest saying the outlawed group killed six soldiers and four policemen in Rivers.

    The governor in a statement signed by his Special Assistant, Media, Kelvin Ebiri, spoke on Friday when the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

    Wike said EndSARS protest was peaceful in Rivers until members of the outlawed IPOB hijacked the demonstration and took laws into their hands.

    He said: “I don’t support criminality. IPOB killed six army officers, four policemen, burnt police stations and court buildings. This is Rivers State. Go to Oyigbo and see the level of destruction. Now the State Government will be rebuilding those facilities.

    “Those who don’t understand our actions are saying we are fighting the Igbo. How will they allow criminals to speak for them when there are intelligent Igbo people to speak for them?

    “If they (IPOB) are aggrieved, instead of channelling it to the right quarters, they go and kill innocent people and destroy public places”.

    Read Also: Wike’s signs Executive Order reinforcing ban on IPOB
    The governor queried the country’s intelligence system and wondered why it failed to reveal howbrye youths organised themselves for the protest without a leader.

    “Now look at what has happened. There was EndSARS protest across the country. Nobody knows how the youths were able to organise themselves without a leader.

    “Up until now, intelligence can’t even know how they did it and who’s behind them. Without good intelligence, how can Nigeria even defeat Boko Haram?” he queried.

    The governor challenged members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) to always hold public office holders accountable to the people.

    He said that in time past, the Nigerian Press was a strong voice and conscience of the society, but wondered what has whittled down their powers.

    He said: “What I have seen of you is that you praise us and give us award because of relationship or friendship. That’s not the way it should be. Challenge us; the people in authority and we will sit up to our responsibilities. We will have no choice than to perform and serve the people as it should be.

    “My support for you has to do with the fact that you are supposed to tell the truth of what is happening in Nigeria.

    “There was a time you were exposing the ills of society. If not for you certain things will not be known. Assume your role, grow strong again and speak out”.

    Wike said that the country was in a difficult period in its history and NGE could not shy away from performing its duties without fear or favour.

    “If when I castigated the operations of SARS you added your voice, who knows what good that would have achieved,” he said.

    In his speech, the National President of NGE, Mustapha Isha, said Wike had remained consistent in his support to the guild.

    He said: “You are the only government that has sponsored our annual conference back to back. Even if we have a new leadership, that will not affect the friendship we share with you.

    “Anytime I come to Port Harcourt, there is always a new project on-going. Flyovers are being constructed, existing roads are being expanded, and new roads being built.

    “This is your second term and you’re maintaining what you said that you’ll work until the last day of your tenure. You have zeal and passion in handling issues of Rivers state, from covid-19 to issues of security.

    “Projects don’t hide, even your political opponents will see them. They may murmur, but they will use them. Your excellency, keep up with your good job”.

    The members of the guild later accompanied Wike on project tour of the Rebisi Flyover, Real Madrid Football Academy and the Mother and Child Specialist Hospital.