The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command says its operatives have recovered a black Toyota SUV stolen by armed robbers.

In a statement on Friday, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh said the vehicle was stolen on Thursday around the Lugbe area of the territory.

She explained that the Command received a distress call from a good Samaritan on Thursday evening reporting a carjacking incident in the area.

The PPRO said one Kemi H. Adidiru was driving from Lugbe to the city center when she was abruptly stopped and surrounded by six armed men under a pedestrian bridge along Alieta Road, Lugbe.

The robbers, according to the PPRO, forcefully ejected both the car owner and her driver from the 2012 black Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (Reg. No. ABJ 670 EY) and sped off with the car and her belongings.

The statement added that the witness, alarmed by the robbery, promptly notified the Command Control Room, providing crucial information about the vehicle and the suspects’ direction of escape.

“The Police acted quickly, alerting strategic checkpoints and deploying patrol teams across the FCT.

“At approximately 11:35 pm, Police operatives spotted the stolen vehicle at a checkpoint along Dantata Bridge, Galadimawa Road.

“When officers attempted to stop the suspects, they sped away, leading to a high-speed chase towards Airport Junction. Upon reaching another Police checkpoint at the Airport Junction, the suspects opened fire, engaging the Police in a fierce gun battle.

“Thanks to the superior firepower of the police, the suspects abandoned the vehicle and their firearm, fleeing into the surrounding bushes.

“The vehicle was successfully recovered, along with a bag containing an international passport belonging to Halimat Adediru, cash and other valuables.”

The PPRO said the recovered items have since been returned to their rightful owner, who expressed profound gratitude for the prompt response and professionalism of the Police.

A BusinessDay defence correspondent, Ojochenemi Onje, has regained her freedom from kidnappers commonly called “one chance operators” in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The female journalist’s freedom was confirmed on Saturday morning by some of her colleagues.

It is not clear whether any ransom was paid to secure her release.

The media had on Friday evening reported that Onje was abducted by kidnappers commonly called “one chance operators” according to several of her colleagues.

The media had learnt that the female journalist was kidnapped on her way from office.

One of the sources had said the kidnappers had contacted the victim’s workplace to demand the sum of N1million before releasing her from their custody.

“We need your prayers. The BusinessDay correspondent was kidnapped by one-chance operators and they are demanding for one million before they would release her,” one of her colleagues.

It was learnt that the incident was escalated to the Nigerian police and the military.

Justice Ekerete Akpan of the Federal High Court in Abuja has remanded 113 foreign nationals at Kuje and Suleja correctional facilities.

The foreigners were arraigned before the court on Friday on the allegations of their involvement in high-level cybercrime and hacking activities said to be threatening Nigeria’s national security.

The accused persons comprising 87 men and 26 women from China, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Philippines, Myanmar and Malaysia, as well as 17 Nigerian collaborators were facing six counts bordering on cybercrime, money laundering and unlawful residency in Nigeria.

Justice Akpan declared that the male defendants be remanded at Kuje prison while the females should be taken to Suleja prison.

The suspects were arrested on November 3, 2024, at Plot 1906, Cadestral Zone 807, Katampe District of Abuja. They were allegedly using computers and other sophisticated devices to facilitate criminal activities.

In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/599/2024, the suspects were alleged to have accessed a computer network and input, altered, and deleted suppressed data, resulting in inauthentic data, with the intention that such inauthentic data would be considered or acted upon as if they were authentic or genuine.

They were also alleged to have removed “from Nigeria proceeds generated from operating fraudulent and unregistered gambling platforms.”

According to the charge sheet, the platforms are 9f.com, c2.top, and 8pg.top.

The accused persons were also charged with entering “the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with a business permit of 30 days duration and failed, or neglected to leave the Nigerian territory at the expiration of the said permit and remained in Nigeria without a valid resident permit or appropriate valid visa.”

At the resumption of proceedings on Friday, the arraignment of the suspects was also stalled because the defendants’ names were misrepresented on the charge sheet.

Counsel to some of the defendants, James Onoja (SAN) told the court that there was a need to have interpreters to interpret for those who do not understand English.

Onoja asked the court to adjourn the scheduled arraignment following an observation that there were discrepancies in the names of the defendants, arguing that some of the names given to the defendants were not their proper names.

The prosecution counsel, A. A. Egwu, who did not oppose the adjournment request, stated that the police lacked the facility to continue to keep the defendants, stating that he had earlier filed an ex-parte motion for the accused persons to be remanded in a correctional centre.

Egwu said most of the defendants were arrested without their papers, urging the court to remand them in a correctional centre pending their arraignment.

Following the submission of the counsel, the court ruled that the defendants should produce their travelling documents for their proper names and spellings to be gotten.

Meanwhile, counsel to the Brazilian accused persons, Eric Oba, asked the court to separate his clients from other defendants.

Oba appealed to the court to conduct separate trials for them, just as he prayed the court to allow his clients to stay back at the police facility.

He said the Brazilians were afraid that they could be harmed by the other defendants because they made extra-judicial statements to the police that others were not happy about.

Rejecting Oba’s appeal, Justice Akpan directed him to file a formal application for the separation of the trial of his clients.

He adjourned the case to Friday, November 29, for arraignment.