Metro
Gunmen Kill One, Abduct Seven Travellers On Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode Expressway
Gunmen numbering up to seven have reportedly killed one person and abducted seven other travellers along the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode expressway.
The gunmen armed with A.K 47 rifles were said to have waylaid and attacked the travellers in between the Ilisan, Ceplast industry and Iperu junction axis of the expressway on Friday.
A viral audio from one of the victims of the tragic incident, who was apparently a driver heading to Lagos, detailed how the gunmen stopped their vehicles with sporadic shooting and later marched them into the bush.
He said, “This incident happened at past five in the evening, they were armed to the teeth with A.K 47 rifles shooting heavily. They even killed one person who was inside a Lexus car. So, they marched about seven of us inside the bush and when I saw that they were speaking Hausa, I started speaking Hausa to them begging them not to kill me, so they asked if I was a northerner but I said no, that I have once lived in Kebbi and Sokoto.
“They kept taking us further inside the bush, later they asked if I had any money, so I gave them the N103,000 and my phone. There was another driver from the east who said that the kidnappers had collected N120,000 from him just as we were abducted. They later set the two of us free while the other five people abducted were still with them”.
Speaking with our Correspondent on Monday, the Spokesperson of Ogun State police command, SP Omolola Odutola confirmed the incident.
Odutola said that the police could not confirm the number of people that were abducted but noted that the gun-wielding hoodlums killed one of the travellers yet to be identified.
She said the incident which happened on May 3, around 6:55 pm was incidented as a case of armed robbery, murder and kidnapping.
Odutola said: “We have information that about seven people whom we don’t know with A.K 47 suddenly blocked the Benin-Sagamu expressway.
“The DPO of Ilisan when he got to the scene of the incident saw two vehicles pierced with bullets; a Lexus Jeep 300 with registration number LND 640 DY, the driver’s name is Chilaka Lugard and another Lexus Jeep 350 with registration number LSR 996 JF belonging to Kingsley Chineme. Inside this Lexus 350 car was found a cross bag with N113,000, two iPhones; an iPhone Six and an iPhone Eleven Promax.
“There was also a corpse of an unidentified man who was shot in the head.
“The third vehicle was loaded with plantains and the driver who was among those abducted, regained freedom and was later allowed to go with the vehicle. The other Lexus vehicles have been taken to Ilishan Police Station.”
Odutola said the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu was not happy with this security breach and had in an emergency meeting summoned on Monday, directed the tactical commanders and the mobile squadron to go after these undesirable elements.
She said ‘the CP had been to the scene of this incident, and a lot of work is ongoing to fish these people out and let them answer for their criminality, I can assure you that, these criminals will be apprehended just very soon.”
About three weeks ago, some rampaging eight gunmen had stormed Ajadeh Event Centre along the Iperu-Sagamu road and snuffed the life out of Professor Yinka Olomojobi, a lecturer with Babcock University, Ilisan Remo.
Olomojobi, a Professor of Human Rights and Gender Law was reportedly shot dead on the fateful day around 9 pm by these daredevil gunmen for allegedly resisting his abduction.
The lecturer and others were at this relaxation centre when these hoodlums began disturbing the serenity of the environment with their heavy shooting.
By the time the dust settled, Olomojobi had been killed while two others, one Dare and another unidentified person had been whisked away.
The police however said that one Awada Ishaya from Plateau State had been picked up as prime suspect of the sordid act.
Ishaya was said to have just been employed two weeks ago as a security guard when the event centre was opened.
Metro
Bandits abduct four farmers in fresh Southern Kaduna attack
Bandits have reportedly abducted about four farmers in the Libere community of Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Aminu Khalid, the Dokan Karji youth leader, disclosed this to DAILY POST on Thursday in a telephone interview.
He said the farmers were kidnapped at about 12 o’clock while harvesting their crops.
Khalid lamented that the incident has caused panic in Libere and surrounding communities, with residents deserting their villages.
“These bandits have continued to occupy more villages in our local government area unchallenged and causing a lot havoc to the various communities,” he said.
The youth leader had earlier reported that Libere was among the 14 villages over-run by bandits during a recent attack. He had also called for military intervention to restore normalcy in the area.
He identified some of those abducted as Pheobe Adauji, Cecilia Moses, Tambaya and his wife.
Metro
Police Arrest Man, Girlfriend For Kidnap, Murder Of 70-year-old Woman
The Enugu State Police Command has arrested two suspects, Ikechukwu Okoye (male, aged 33) and Juliet Ogbodo (female, aged 39), both of Onuorie-Obuno in Akpugo Community, Nkanu West Local Government Area over the alleged kidnap and murder of a 70-year-old woman.
The suspects were alleged to have kidnapped, murdered and buried Mrs. Mary Nwatu, a 70-year-old woman, in a shallow grave in September 2024.
In a statement made available on Thursday by DSP Daniel Ndukwe, Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Command, he said the suspects were arrested by the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad.
According to Ndukwe, “Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim was reported missing on September 15, 2024, after all efforts to locate her proved unsuccessful.
“On October 5, 2024, Ikechukwu Okoye, identified as the principal suspect and a kinsman of the victim, began contacting her children, demanding a ransom of six million Naira (N6,000,000.00).
“Upon his arrest, which followed credible intelligence reports, Okoye confessed to kidnapping Mrs. Nwatu on September 14, 2024, around 8:00 a.m.
“He stated that the victim came to their house to look for his mother when he kidnapped, murdered, and buried her in a shallow grave inside an uncompleted building in the compound.”
He added that “Ikechukwu Okoye also confessed to demanding a ransom from the victim’s children, initially asking for six million Naira (N6,000,000.00), which was later negotiated to three million Naira (N3,000,000.00).
“He eventually received payment of twenty thousand Naira (N20,000.00), which was for him to allow the children to hear their mother’s voice via the phone before further payments.
“On her part, Juliet Ogbodo, who is Okoye’s intimate girlfriend, confessed to being aware of the crime but failed to report it to the police or any other relevant authorities.
“The victim’s remains have been exhumed and deposited at a mortuary for preservation and autopsy. The suspects, along with any other individuals found complicit in this heinous crime, will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations.”
Metro
Protesters clash with LASTMA, Police over death of motorist
Hell was let loose yesterday in the Super area of Abule-Egba, Lagos, as angry protesters engaged officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the police who accompanied them in a confrontation.
The LASTMA officers and policemen were accused of causing the death of a man who was crushed by a vehicle whose driver was evading the law enforcement agents.
A witness, Babs Saliu, told our reporter that trouble started when a man driving a Toyota Corolla salon was arrested for driving on the BRT lane: “The driver was pleading that he didn’t know that he had veered into the BRT lane as there were no traffic signs or road markings to warn motorists of the BRR lane. The LATSMA men and police escorts rebuffed the driver’s plea.
“I overheard the driver telling them that he would be wedding next Saturday.
But the government agencies insisted that the offending driver must grease their palms with N100,000. He stared begging that he had only N40,000 to part with. The government agents threatened to tow the vehicle to their office and the government would confiscate the vehicle.
It was at that point that the driver and his younger brother said that they would pay N70,000 and the officials insisted that he must pay the N100,000 or he would regret it. One of the officials told the driver that he should go to a nearby POS to withdraw the money and give to them and he would be given back his vehicle.
“It was while the negotiation was going on that another vehicle whose the driver was escaping from LASTMA for also driving on the BRT lane hit the Corolla driver and his younger brother and drove away. The man died on the spot while his brother who was badly injured was rushed to the hospital.
“Passersby and traders who claimed the LASTMA officials and their police escorts always use the BRT lane at that particular bus stop to milk unsuspecting motorists who make the mistake of entering the BRT lane got angry and said that enough was enough and chased away the government officials, who escaped by the whisker.”
The angry protesters, numbering about 2,000, barricaded the BRT lane with the Corolla car and other items. When our reporter visited the scene, the protesters were chanting war songs, warning that the government should withdraw its agencies, LATSMA and the police, from the area.
A trader stationed along the road said, “Look at the the road, is there any sign to show that it is a BRT lane? If you are not conversant with the road, while descending from Abule Egba bridge en route Iyana-Ipaja there is no way that innocent drivers will not enter the BRT lane.
The police and LATSMA have been using this means to rob unsuspecting motorists of their hard-earned money. Today, they have finally killed an about-to-wed man. If the unscrupulous and greedy government agencies had collected the money the deceased offered, the reckless driver wouldn’t have rammed into him and his younger brother.
“We are calling on the state government to withdraw the police and LATSMA from the place, as they are not working for the government but for their pockets. They are making millions every day. They should also do road signs to warn motorists, especially those coming from Ogun State, about BRT lanes. The normal road and the BRT lanes are conjoined and it is difficult to differentiate them. Government agencies have cashed in on the ignorance of motorists to rob them of their money.
“Instead of staying on the entry point to control traffic or direct motorists not to pass there, they would hide somewhere, so when a motorist makes the mistake of entering the BRT road, the officials, with armed policemen, would use sharp objects to barricade the road and swoop on the offender. They would never take any offender who pays above N50,000 to the station, but would end up collecting money from them.”
As at press time, the protesters were still at the scene guarding the Corolla car and chanting war songs. One of them said, “We don’t need BRT, it will never operate on this route again. We don’t need LASTMA and police here. We are tired of arrests and stealing of our hard-earned money. Police and LATSMA are working for their tummy.”
Five police patrol vans were on ground trying to recover the vehicle used in blocking the BRT lane, but the protesters were not ready to give way as they resisted the armed policemen.
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said, “I am aware that a driver who broke the law by passing through the BRT lane hit a man and the man died. I have not been properly briefed.”
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