The Lagos State Police Command said on Wednesday that it arrested two suspected members of a dreaded cult gang, Aiye, operating in Ebute Meta area.
A source, who sought anonymity, said that the gang had been robbing, attacking, killing people and raping ladies in Ebute Meta, Oyingbo, Costain, Iponri and Ijora areas of Lagos for some time.
Those arrested, included one of their leaders, simply identified as Francis (a.k.a. Champion Boy), and one other.
The two suspects were arrested on Saturday, Aug. 13 by a police team from the Iponri Division at about 9.30 p.m. at a car wash, near the Costain round-about.
The source said, “They were arrested while molesting law abiding members of the public. The police has been on their trail for some time.
“A few weeks ago, their gang killed two persons at the Railway Crossing between Iponri and Ebute Meta. In the same area, the gang, led by Champion Boy, also attacked the son of a policeman.
“They attacked the boy with a machete all over his body, but for the timely arrival of some soldiers, who saved him and while the suspects attempted to escape.”
He added that the Iponri police division was transferring the suspects to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja for further investigation.
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the arrests, stressing that investigation into their activities had commenced.
Commending the police for the arrest, the National Coordinator of Network on Police Reforms in Nigeria, Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma, urged the police to go after those suspects now at large.
Nwaguma said that they have written to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, to ensure that the arrested gangsters do not escape justice.
He said the suspects have for a very long time terrorised members of the public.
He said, “Before this recent development, NOPRIN had received information about the brutal attack on one Umar Yusuf (22), a resident of the Iponri Police Barracks, by members of this same gang known as “Kogbagidi Boys’’.
“The leader of the group, simply identified as Tayo, has been arrested many times in the past, including last year, when he was arrested twice over a murder case.
“The case was transferred to the Lagos State CID, Panti, but surprisingly, he found his way out. His gang members had continued to terrorise residents of the area.”
The Lagos State Police Command has begun investigation into the death of two newborn babies, whose corpses were recovered from a canal beside a filling station in the Ajangbadi area of the state.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the two boys, suspected to be twins, were left in the canal on Friday.
A crowd of residents, who were drawn to the scene, was reported to have started taking snapshots of the babies before the arrival of policemen from the Ilemba Hausa division.
After seeing the corpses, the policemen were said to have called the attention of the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit, which removed and deposited them in a mortuary.
A police source wondered why the residents did not act immediately they saw the babies, adding that the twins were dead by the time the police arrived.
He said, “A resident alerted us to the scene. By the time we got there, the babies were already dead. There was a crowd of onlookers, some of them were taking snapshots. It is probable that the babies were dropped by their mother for reasons best known to her.
“We searched all the communities to see if we could find her or anyone who could volunteer any useful information, but we couldn’t. It is sad that while many women are looking for children, someone could take two baby boys and dump them in a canal.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident, adding that investigation was ongoing.
She said, “We got the information around 1pm on Friday and our operatives attached to the Ilemba Hausa division went there and saw the corpses of the infants in the canal. We discovered that they were two corpses of newborn male babies, packed in a polythene bag and abandoned by the canal by unknown person(s).
“The corpses were removed and deposited at the Badagry General Hospital morgue for autopsy. But effort is on to track down the perpetrator(s) of the act.”
A report on Tuesday in Washington said majority of U.S. youths had rejected Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump’s strategy of wooing young supporters of Bernie Sanders, former Democratic presidential candidate.
The latest USA Today/Rock-the-Vote poll released showed that in spite of his strategy of patching bipartisan coalition by appealing to young supporters of Sanders, a new poll found that his populist play had failed among millennial.
The poll found that while 56 per cent of voters under 35 years say they would vote for Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, one in five in this age group support Trump.
It added that Clinton trounced Trump among Sanders’ supporters, with 72 per cent, supporting the former Secretary of State and 11 per cent backing Trump.
U.S. Census Bureau data released in April showed that the number of the millennial generation, now 18 years to 34 years, was estimated to be 75.4 million.
USA Today and Rock vote showed that young adults may reject the Republican nominee at an unprecedented rate during this election cycle.
According to the poll, Trump’s support among young voters was even lower than the estimated 32 per cent of support Richard Nixon received among 18-year to 29-year-old voters in 1972 amid widespread protest against the Vietnam War.
Meanwhile, the poll offered the latest evidence for verifying the widely perceived allegation that a majority of supporters of both nominees may base their allegiance not on approval of their nominee but rejection of the other.
According to the poll, 54 per cent of Trump supporters and 51 per cent of Clinton supporters say one of the main reasons they back the nominee is to keep the other out of the White House. (Reuters/NAN)...
Niyi Odebode, Fidelis Soriwei, Olalekan Adetayo and Eniola Akinkuotu
There were strong indications on Monday that the Federal Government was in a dilemma over the faction of the Boko Haram sect, it should hold talks with.
The PUNCH gathered that the Federal Government had in the past four months been holding talks with members of the sect with a view to securing the release of the Chibok girls.
It was, however, learnt that the matter came to a head two weeks ago with the factionalisation of the sect.
A top government official, who confided in The PUNCH, said that contrary to the belief of many people, the release of the girls was uppermost in the mind of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He admitted that there had been offers by some members of the sect to release the girls, but the government was being careful.
The source stated, “We do not want to make the mistake the past administration made when its negotiation with the sect did not lead to the release of the girls. We are still in a dilemma on which of the two factions should we negotiate with. We must confirm that the offers are genuine.”
The sect had on August 3 split with the ISIS naming Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the new leader of Boko Haram.
In an interview with al-Barnawi in its Al-Naba online weekly magazine, ISIS introduced him as Boko Haram new leader.
But a few days later, following the new appointment, the erstwhile leader, Abubakar Shekau, released an audio message in Arabic and Hausa languages accusing al-Barnawi of trying to stage a coup against him.
Shekau dismissed el-Barnawi “as an infidel who condones living in an un-Islamic society without waging jihad.” He also claimed to have been tricked by some of his followers.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in an interview with State House correspondents after a workshop organised for top security chiefs on how to respond to emergency situations such as terrorism and flood inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday, said the government must first ascertain the authenticity of those it was talking with.
He said, “The government’s position is clear that we are in touch with them. We are just being careful and cautious to ensure that we are talking to the right people especially with the news that there is a split in the leadership. But what is important is the safety and security of these girls.
“The thrust of my statement (on Sunday) was to assure the nation that we are on top of the situation. We are not even just reacting to the video, we have gone far beyond the video in talking to the group already. Until you are able to ascertain the authenticity of those you are talking to, you don’t go into details,” he said.
The minister said the position of government was that there could not be an end to the issue of terrorism until the abducted girls were rescued.
On the reported plan by the BringBackOurGirls coalition to again match on the Presidential Villa, Mohammed said, “We appreciate their commitment to the return of these girls but there are few things we need to do behind the scene. What we are saying is that the government is committed to doing everything to rescue these girls.
“We are engaging them. By saying we are talking to them, I am talking from a point of knowledge. It does not matter what other people say. I know that the government is in touch with the group…
“Until the release of this video, the effort is not attracting any attention. But every day, the Office of the NSA and others concerned are working on it.
“For us, it is not just because of the release of the video but because of our belief that there will be no final closure to Boko Haram until we are able to resolve the issue of these girls.”
On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin, also in an interview with journalists at the event, said the demand that the Federal Government swap detained Boko Haram members for the Chibok was a political decision that would not stop ongoing military operations.
The BringBackOurGirls group and the parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls had on Sunday demanded that the government heed the call for a swap following the video of the girls released by the sect on Sunday.
Olonishakin told reporters that he would not stop the ongoing military operations against the insurgents which he said were going on smoothly.
“That (call for the swap of the girls with Boko Haram fighters) is a political decision to be taken. The military decision is that we are going ahead with our operations. The operation is being conducted appropriately,” he said.
The CDS however promised to analyze the video with a view to taking a position on it soon.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has interrogated two of the three people it declared wanted on Sunday over a Boko Haram video showing the Chibok girls.
While a woman lawyer, Aisha Wakil, was quizzed at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, Ahmed Bolori was interrogated at a military barracks in Maiduguri.
It was gathered that Wakil was interrogated at the Directorate of Military Intelligence at the Defence Headquarters.
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said on the telephone on Monday that Wakil had reported to the military authorities to shed more light on what she knew about the Chibok girls.
When asked whether Wakil was to be detained at the Directorate of Military Intelligence, he said that the issue had to do with getting more information from the lady and not detention.
He said that it was the view of the Army that the three persons who were declared wanted on Sunday were not saying all they knew about the truth concerning the Chibok girls.
The Acting Army spokesman said that it was wrong for some persons to withhold information on the girls for pecuniary benefits.
Usman also denied the claim by Wakil that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, refused a request from her to meet him with some commanders of the Boko Haram as part of the efforts to resolve the crisis.
He said, “She (Aisha Wakil) has reported to the military. Nobody told you about detention. No. The thing is that she should come and shed more light on the things they know. From all indications, they are not saying what they know.”
Bolori on his facebook page on Monday said that he reported at the military barracks in Maiduguri at 10am.
According an online medium, The Cable Wakil had earlier in a statement on Monday said that the military knew where to find her.
She said that she was surprised that the army took the action despite knowing where to find her, adding that she knew the Boko Haram boys.
Wakil, in her statement, said she once met “the Chief of Army Staff and offered to bring along Boko Haram commanders for dialogue, but the army “chose to do things their own way.”
The third person, Salkida said in a statement made available to an Abuja based media consultant outfit to security agencies, the PR Nigeria, that if the Army buys him a ticket, he will visit Nigeria to honour the invitation.
The Peoples Democratic Party and its All Progressives Congress counterpart in Edo State on Monday traded words over the academic certificates of the governorship candidate of the APC, Godwin Obaseki, which he allegedly declared missing in a sworn affidavit.
The state chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, during a campaign rally on Cooke Road in Benin, raised concerns over claims by Obaseki that he lost the original copies of his academic credentials.
Orbih, who displayed a document which he said was a copy of the affidavit sworn to at an Abuja High Court, stated that Obaseki had claimed that he lost the original copies of his primary, secondary, university and National Youths Service Corps’ discharged certificates at a date that was not given.
According him, the APC candidate had in the affidavit dated June 7, 2016, allegedly claimed that, “all originals of my above said certificates are kept in a safe custody in my office but, unfortunately, during the process of relocating from one office to another, I misplaced the original of the above said original documents.”
He had also said that Obaseki claimed that he had the photocopies of his secondary, university and NYSC discharge certificates.
Orbih, therefore, challenged him to tell Edo people the whereabouts of his credentials.
But the Obaseki campaign organisation dismissed the statement as false and an act of “chasing shadows.”
Orbih said, “The reasons he (Obaseki) advanced are so flimsy and unconvincing. There are many questions begging for answers. The affidavit does not contain the locations of where he was moving from and to or the state where he lost the certificates.
“Did he report to the police when he lost the certificates? If it was reported at the time they got missing, we want him to tell us.”
He continued, “One will expect that he must have reported the matter to the police. If he did, why did he not attach a copy of the police extract?
“We also do not understand the choice of an Abuja High Court. Did he do that so that Edo people will not know that he claimed he lost his certificates? Is it not unusual that someone will keep his certificates in the office?
“We don’t want to have a careless governor who will misplace vital state documents and give flimsy excuses. Edo State deserves a better person.”
The Deputy Director (Communication, Media and Publicity) of the Obaseki Campaign Organisation, Greg Ogiogwa, in a statement on Monday evening said the affidavit was self explanatory.
Ogiogwa explained, “It is an old trick used by the PDP that has always failed them. They did it to (Adams) Oshiomhole. They did it to (Muhammadu) Buhari and now it is the turn of Obaseki.”
The Oba of Lagos on Monday advised President Muhammadu Buhari to be civil in his approach to governance, saying he should realise that he is no longer a military man.
Even as the monarch said former Goodluck Jonathan could not be totally blamed for the nation’s current economic crisis, he sought support for President Buhari and expressed confidence in the Federal Government’s Economic Management Team led by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to salvage the economy.
He spoke in Lagos during the unveiling of SunTrust Bank Limited, the first commercial bank to be licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 15 years.
Akiolu said, “All of us just have to support the President and I advise him to know that he is no more a military man. I am not afraid to say that. The measures they are taking on the rot of the past, honestly whether they like it or not, it was not totally the fault of former President Goodluck Jonathan. I don’t hide the fact that he (Jonathan) is my personal friend.”
The President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; Chairman, Forte Oil, Femi Otedola; and Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Danjuma Goje, were among top dignitaries that witnessed the unveiling of SunTrust Bank.
Dangote, who was a special guest of honour at the event, described as a bold move the decision by the Board of Directors and management of SunTrust Bank to open a new bank at a time the global banking industry and major economies were facing serious challenges.
The lack of growth in major economies, declining commodity prices, and weakness in the Nigerian economy, according to the Africa’s richest man, are some of the challenges facing today’s businesses.
He, however, noted that the challenges could be converted into opportunities by forward-looking and proactive companies and businessmen.
Dangote said this informed his decision to invest in Nigeria and other African countries and listed some of his ongoing investment projects in Lagos to include Africa’s largest fertliser plant with capacity for three million tonnes, and the world’s largest single line of refinery.
“These investments of ours are meant to open the entire economy, not just in Nigeria but the entire Africa. We also believe that this investment by SunTrust Bank will attract good rewards in the years to come.
“SunTrust Bank has a good business model that is based on financial technology, often regarded as FinTech. With their focus on FinTech, customers can transact business with them without leaving their homes,” he added
According to the business mogul, the SunTrust Bank’s model will attract millions into the financial system, noting that only 15 per cent of the country’s adult population is currently in the banking system.
While unveiling SunTrust Bank, Dangote said, “This is a very bold move; ladies and gentlemen, I present to you tomorrow’s bank today,”
Goje, who also lauded the board and management of the bank, expressed hope that the lender would enhance economic growth and development.
The Governor, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who was represented by the Branch Controller, Lagos State, Mr. J Iyari, advised the bank to create a niche for itself and comply with the rules and regulations guiding the banking sector.
The Chairman, Board of Directors, SunTrust Bank, Mr. Charles Ugboko, said the lender would give priority to excellent services.
He said banking had gone beyond large branch network and, as such, the lender would leverage technology to deliver superior and modern banking services to the people.
According to the Managing Director, SunTrust Bank, Mr. Muhammad Jibrin, the courage to fulfil any dream usually comes from passion.
As such, he said the board, management and staff of the bank were passionate about making a difference in the banking sector.
He said, “This is the first commercial banking licence in 15 years. We thank the CBN for counting us worthy of this licence; it is a privilege and not a right.”
Jibrin, who expressed gratitude to Dangote, Goje, and other eminent Nigerians at the event, said the bank was determined to make a huge difference in the financial services sector.
Other dignitaries at the event are: a former Chairman, Economic and Financial Services Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu; Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Achebe; President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chief Nike Akande; a former Managing Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, among others.
Veteran actor, Pete Edochie, is angry! The thespian said even in this age and craze for social media, he doesn’t have any account yet so many accounts have his name and so many posts are attributed to him.
In a telephone chat with our correspondent, the actor said he was tired of people using his name falsely on social media.
“Right now, I’m watching football in my house, but as I speak to you, some people are posting on Facebook or Twitter, using my name and picture. It’s either they are talking about politics, state of the nation, ascribing series of proverbs to me or using my name to counsel people about marriage. Someone asked me how I had time to put plenty proverbs on Facebook. I told the person I wasn’t responsible for them and that I didn’t even have a Facebook account, and she couldn’t believe it. Some people said I sat with Mourhino in one of the profile pictures and that I was telling him the gods were angry with him. Then, they posted another one that Buhari came to consult with me in my shrine.
“From time to time, you would hear or read that Pete Edochie died in London or on location. In our culture, if people wish you dead, you’d attend the person’s funeral. I’m satisfied with what life has given me. I don’t envy anybody and I don’t want to be anybody. I just want to be left alone as Pete Edochie.
“Somebody woke me up a few days ago and pointed my attention to what was written in my name about (Senator Ike) Ekweremadu. I was surprised. I don’t know him neither do I have any issue with him. Again, few days ago, it was also posted that Federal Government needed me for something. All the nonsense people write about me, I’m not happy about it.
“I’m not a politician, and I am not the only actor in this country. Throughout the campaign during the last general election, I didn’t campaign for anybody, yet on the social media you see people using my name to express support for one candidate or the other.”
Edochie said what has saved him in all these is his command of English and his intelligence.
“I speak very good English, and those posting those things in my name write in the way I can never write. That is the saving grace. Just recently, someone informed me that he saw somewhere in my name that I wrote on one of these platforms that people should come and pay N50,000, as according to them, I was organising a programme. What programme?”
Edochie said he chose to keep quiet in order not to allow the false stories to continue.
“If you begin to reply to all of that false information about you, you will make it a habit, and so anytime you don’t issue a disclaimer on a particular post, they assume you are the one speaking.
“Somebody told me he saw in the newspaper that my wife supported me when I started acting and that I divorced her when I started making money and I started running after a girl whom they said I bought a car for. In the post, they even put the number plate of the car, and that happened to be my wife’s car.
“During the Valentine’s Day, I was in my house, but they wrote on the social media that I was in Lagos. They said they wanted to interview me, they knocked on the door but l was busy inside. Again, there was a time a boy from Kenya wrote on Facebook that I was his father. How is that possible? The boy did not even say where I met his mother.
“There was a day I was sitting in my house and I started receiving messages of sympathy, that they heard my son had an accident and died while on set. I just took my phone and called him, and he told me he was on location, shooting a movie. He came to my house when he finished, whereas people had spread wrong information around.”
The Imo State Police Command, in eastern Nigeria, has confirmed the death of three persons at Akokwa community in Ideato Local Government Area on Friday.
DSP Andrew Enwerem, the Police Public Relations Officer who confirmed the incident said others sustained injuries.
He explained that an unidentified man, said to be from the northern part of Nigeria, had run amok and killed a girl and a woman and thereafter killed himself.
He said some aggrieved youths immediately went for reprisal attacks, leading to some other persons sustaining various degrees of injuries.
Enwerem said the Commissioner of Police, on receiving reports of the the incident, deployed anti-riot policemen who stopped the incident from spreading further.
“Report to police showed that a yet to be identified northerner ran amok at Akokwa community and used weapons to attack and kill a girl and a woman and thereafter killed himself’’, he said.
Enwerem said the problem has been brought under control, adding that normalcy has returned to the area.
A witness said that the girl killed was hawking snacks when the northerner suddenly chased her till she ran to an elderly woman for protection.
The witness added that the man attacked both the girl and the woman with shovel resulting to their immediate death.
He said that the killing sparked off reprisal attack by the youths and the killing of the attacker, while some others sustained various degrees of injuries.
