No fewer than 10 kidnapped victims are said to have been rescued from the hands of kidnappers by operatives of the Katsina State Police Command

No fewer than 10 kidnapped victims are said to have been rescued from the hands of kidnappers by operatives of the Katsina State Police Command.

He recalled that on December 24th, 2024, at about 2030 hrs, some suspected bandits, armed with dangerous weapons and shooting sporadically, attacked a commercial vehicle at Kwanar Makera along the Katsina to Magama Jibia road in Jibia LGA, Katsina State, in an attempt to kidnap 10 occupants of the said vehicle.

Upon receipt of the distress call, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Jibia, swiftly led a team of operatives to the scene, engaging the bandits in a gun duel, successfully foiled the kidnap attempt and rescued all the 10 victims.

The Commissioner of Police, Katsina State Command, CP Aliyu Abubakar Musa, while commending the officers exceptional display of gallantry and dedication to duty, charged officers to sustain the tempo.

He further urged members of the public with useful information on suspected criminal activities to report to the nearest police station for prompt and decisive action.

Two persons were yesterday confirmed dead in an accident that happened in the Ikhinero community on the Benin-Agbor road in Edo State.

It was gathered that four other passengers in the affected vehicles also sustained various degrees of injuries

The Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC), Cyril Mathew, who confirmed the report said three vehicles were involved in the accident.

The Sector Commander who attributed the accident to overspeeding, cautioned motorists against excessive speed.

“The accident happened around 6:10 pm along the Benin-Agbor road by Guinness deport due to overspeed”.

He said six persons including two adult males and four adult females were involved in the accident, adding that two were killed while four others were injured.

He said the injured were rushed to the hospital for treatment, while the deceased were deposited at the morgue.

He however , charged motorists to obey traffic rules and regulations, avoid night journeys and being drunk, while driving and as well fasten their seat belt to reach their destinations safely during the yuletide.

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has upheld the conviction and 12-year prison sentence of Kolawole Adedayo Erinle, a businessman found guilty of defrauding a foreign company of $1.4 million.

The judgment, delivered on Thursday, 19 December 2024, by a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, affirmed the sentencing of Erinle, alongside his company, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited, on charges of conspiracy, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, and obtaining money under false pretence.

Erinle had been initially arraigned before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja on 11 March 2022.

However, following Justice Taiwo’s retirement, the case was reassigned to Justice Oshodi.

On 28 October 2022, Erinle was re-arraigned on the three-count charge, which included the false representation of himself and his accomplice, Edward Dada (still at large), as agents of J.E. Dunn, a construction company based in the United States.

They created a fraudulent domain name, jedunn.org, to deceive their victims into transferring $1,410,000.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had accused Erinle of perpetrating the crime in 2019 in Lagos, with the intent to exploit the fraudulent representation for monetary gain.

During the trial, Erinle admitted to being a convicted fraudster in the United States, where he served 23 months in prison for similar offences.

Although he initially denied the charges, he later expressed remorse, stating, “I am sorry.”

Justice Oshodi, after considering the facts of the case, convicted Erinle on 26 September 2023, sentencing him to 12 years in prison for obtaining money under false pretence.

The sentence was ordered to run concurrently, beginning from 10 February 2023. Erinle’s company was also fined N50 million and ordered to be wound up, with all proceeds forfeited to the Federal Government.

Erinle sought to appeal the conviction, but the EFCC’s counsel, T.J. Banjo, argued that the appeal lacked merit and urged the appellate court to dismiss it.

In the lead judgment, Justice Danlami Zama Senchi upheld the lower court’s ruling, stating that the prosecution had successfully proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Erinle’s appeal was dismissed, cementing the conviction and serving as a stern reminder of the consequences of financial fraud.