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Pandemonium As Igando Policewoman Kills Bus Driver Over N500 Bribe

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Ijaduolas-corpse

Motorists and youths blocked the Igando end of the Lagos State University-Iyana Iba Road on Monday to protest against the alleged killing of a commercial driver, identified as Muyiwa Ijaduola, by a female police corporal attached to the Igando Police Division.

The protesters, who burnt tyres and planks at about 11am, blocked the road with three buses, demanding that the police should arrest the female corporal, identified only as Taiwo, and release Ijaduola’s corpse to his family members.

It was learnt that on Sunday around 2.30pm, Taiwo and another female corporal were in front of a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation filling station in the Igando area, checking vehicles.

Our correspondent gathered that 46-year-old Ijaduola was stopped by Taiwo.

It was learnt that the corporal allegedly demanded N500 from the driver who offered N300.

Our correspondent was told that an altercation had ensued during which the corporal allegedly pushed the driver into a gutter.

Ijaduola, a father of three, was said to have hit his head against the edge of the gutter.

Eyewitness says the policewomen immediately fled the area, after which other motorists came to help the driver from the gutter and discovered that he was dead.

Angry youths thereafter reportedly stormed the Igando division around 6.30pm, but they were dispersed by gunshots, while Ijaduola’s corpse was deposited by the police in a morgue.

The protest however resumed around 9am on Monday.

An eye witness who spoke with PorscheClassy Media said “He was on his way to Isheri when he was stopped in front of the NNPC filling station by the policewomen. It was five minutes after she pushed him into the gutter that I arrived. I met the corpse. Nobody attended to him. The policewomen had gone. He begged the woman to collect N300, but the corporal insisted on N500.

“That was how they argued with each other and she pushed him into the gutter. When we brought him out, his fist was closed. When we opened it, we found a sum of N300.

“The DPO later came with his men to the scene and took Ijaduola’s corpse to a morgue. Around 6.30pm, some youths went to the station to protest, but policemen came to disperse them with gunshots.”

A trader at the junction, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said sympathisers removed Ijaduola’s phone from his pocket to reach out to his family members.

She said, “The policewoman and the driver struggled before the man fell into the gutter. I saw the policewomen as they left. It is unfortunate because the policewomen did not even check him before they fled the scene.”

Ijaduola’s elder sister, Lola Oluranti, said the police at Igando had yet to disclose to the family members where they deposited the corpse, calling on the police authorities to investigate the incident.

She said, “I got a call on Sunday around 5pm. They initially said he had an accident. When I came to the scene, I learnt that he was pushed to his death by a policewoman.

“The police told us on Sunday that they took his remains to a morgue in Isolo. On Monday, they told us it was a morgue in Yaba. Now, they just informed me it is a morgue in Ikorodu.”

A policeman, however, told our correspondent that Ijaduola was epileptic, and died from the condition.

He said, “The man had epilepsy. The autopsy would confirm this. He was not killed by any corporal. His corpse is in a morgue in Yaba. His family members are threatening to injure any policeman that goes with them to the morgue. That is why we have not yet taken them there.”

The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Damasus Ozoani, said Ijaduola fell into the gutter after an epileptic seizure.

He said, “It was a case of sudden and unnatural death. The driver was suspected to have an epileptic attack at the bus stop while calling passengers into his bus. He consequently fell into the gutter. Two policewomen on traffic duty called sympathisers to help him out, but angry miscreants blocked the road, alleging that the policewomen killed the driver.

“Police patrol teams from Igando dispersed the miscreants and rushed the victim to a hospital where he was confirmed dead.”

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Bukky

    May 24, 2016 at 7:46 am

    The police woman shld be arrested immediately

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BIG STORY

65% Of Nigerian Households Can’t Afford Healthy Meals — NBS

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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that food scarcity, insecurity, and high prices have led Nigerian households to reduce consumption, with 65 percent unable to afford healthy meals due to financial constraints.

These findings were released in the NBS’s latest General Household Survey Panel (Wave 5) report, conducted in partnership with the World Bank.

The report reveals that 71 percent of households were affected by rising prices of major food items, while food shortages impacted more than a third of households over the past year. These shortages were particularly severe in June, July, and August, worsening the food insecurity crisis.

As a result, 48.8 percent of households reported cutting back on food consumption, according to the NBS data.

“In the past 12 months, more than one-third of households faced food shortages, which occurred more frequently in the months of June, July, and August,” the report states.

“Price increases on major food items were the most prevalent shock reported by households, affecting 71.0 percent of surveyed households.”

“Households’ main reported mechanism for coping with shocks was reducing food consumption (48.8 percent).”

  • ‘62.4% Nigerian Households Secured Less Food’

The report also notes a significant increase in the number of households concerned about not having enough food to eat, with the figure rising from 36.9 percent in Wave 4 (conducted in 2019) to 62.4 percent in Wave 5.

According to the NBS, this surge reflects a rise in food insecurity, with more than half of Nigerian families struggling to meet their dietary needs.

“Approximately two out of three households (65.8 percent) reported being unable to eat healthy, nutritious, or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days. 63.8 percent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to lack of money, 62.4 percent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 percent ate less than they thought they should,” the report adds.

“Furthermore, 12.3 percent reported that at least one person in the household went without eating for a whole day, and 20.8 percent of households had to borrow food or rely on help from friends or relatives.”

“In general, households in the southern zones report more incidents related to food security than those in northern zones.”

“For example, in the southern zones, the proportion of households reporting that they had to skip a meal ranged from 50.1 percent in South West to 62.4 percent in South East, while in the northern zones this share varied from 34.0 percent in North Central to 48.3 percent in North East.”

The report further highlights that residents in the south-south zone experienced the highest rates of food insecurity across five out of eight indicators. In contrast, the north-central zone had the lowest rates in six of the eight indicators.

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BIG STORY

Man, Girlfriend Arrested For Kidnapping, Murder Of 70-Yr-Old Woman In Enugu

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A 33-year-old man, Ikechukwu Okoye, and his 39-year-old girlfriend, Juliet Ogbodo, have been arrested by the Enugu State Police Command for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a 70-year-old woman, Mrs. Mary Nwatu.

The suspects, both from Onuorie-Obuno in Akpugo Community, Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state, are accused of killing the victim and burying her in a shallow grave before demanding a ransom of N6 million from her children.

They were apprehended after receiving N20,000 from the family, ostensibly to facilitate a phone call with the victim.

In a statement issued Thursday night, the command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, revealed that the arrest was made by the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad, based on credible intelligence.

According to Ndukwe, preliminary investigations showed that Mrs. Nwatu was reported missing on September 15, 2024.

“On October 5, 2024, the principal suspect, Ikechukwu Okoye, who is also a kinsman of the victim, contacted her children, demanding a ransom of N6 million,” Ndukwe stated.

Okoye was later arrested and reportedly confessed to the crime.

“He admitted abducting Mrs. Nwatu on September 14, 2024, at about 8 am when she came to their house to look for his mother.

“He further confessed to killing her and burying her in a shallow grave inside an uncompleted building in the compound,” the police officer said.

The suspect also admitted to demanding a ransom from the victim’s children, initially requesting N6 million before negotiating it down to N3 million.

However, he accepted an initial payment of N20,000 on the condition that the family would hear their mother’s voice over the phone before making further payments.

Juliet Ogbodo, Okoye’s girlfriend, also confessed during interrogation that she was aware of the crime but claimed she did not report it to authorities out of fear.

The victim’s remains have since been exhumed and taken to a mortuary for preservation and autopsy.

Ndukwe assured the public that the suspects, along with any others found complicit, would be arraigned in court once investigations are concluded.

“The Enugu State Police Command remains committed to ensuring justice for the victim and her family,” Ndukwe said.

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BIG STORY

FG Pushes For Simon Ekpa’s Extradition As IPOB Disowns Biafra Agitator

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The Federal Government will likely apply for the extradition of Simon Ekpa, the leader of the Eastern Security Network, the paramilitary organization of the Indigenous People of Biafra.

The Director of Defence Information, Brig Gen Tukur Gusau, who gave the indication on Thursday, said Ekpa, a self-proclaimed disciple of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, should be extradited to Nigeria to face criminal charges.

Also, many Nigerians online demanded his repatriation to Nigeria to face terrorism charges.

However, the IPOB dissociated itself from the embattled Biafran separatist, asserting it had no relationship with him.

Ekpa is one of the 97 individuals declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters in March 2024.

The Finland-based Biafran agitator is a close ally of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing charges of terrorism, treasonable felony, and inciting violence through his Radio Biafra, amongst others.

He has been in the custody of the Department of State Services since 2021 when he was arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria.

A presidential spokesman, Daniel Bwala, said President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, have yet to be briefed on the arrest of Ekpa.

“The procedure is that the (Nigerian) Embassy in Finland has to have the information and it would brief the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the minister might brief the NSA or the President,’’ he explained.

Ekpa and four others were arrested in Finland on charges related to terrorism, Finland’s Central Criminal Police said in a statement on Thursday.

A report said the District Court of Päijät-Häme, Finland, ordered that Ekpa be imprisoned “with probable cause on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.”

Speaking on the development in a statement on Thursday, Gusau said the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Chris Musa, was pleased with the trial of the ESN leader.

Gusau wrote, “CDS is happy with his arrest in Finland, with the hope this will be a step towards his extradition to Nigeria so that he will face justice.”

Ekpa, a Finnish citizen of Nigerian origin, was accused of inciting crimes with terrorist intent, while the other suspects face charges of financing terrorism.

He was arrested in February 2023 for his inciting comments and sit-at-home orders to the people of the South-East.

Before his arrest, thousands of Nigerians worldwide signed a petition appealing to the Finnish and Nigerian governments and the European Union to arrest Ekpa.

He had asked the people to boycott the 2023 general poll, insisting there would be no election in the region.

Worried by his activities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Leena Pylvanainen, over his threats to stop the 2023 general election in the South-East.

The ministry sought the Finnish government’s cooperation to arrest Ekpa over threats to disrupt the exercise.

The Finnish police confirmed on Thursday that Ekpa and his accomplices were arrested earlier this week as part of an international investigation.

Ekpa, who describes himself as the “Prime Minister” of the Biafra Republic Government-in-Exile, is alleged to have used social media platforms to promote violent activities in the South-East, including attacks on civilians and authorities.

The police said the main suspect was arrested “on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent,” while four others were arrested “for financing a terrorist crime.”

The police added: “Claims will be heard in Päijät-Häme district court today, November 21. The detention demands are related to the preliminary investigation, in which a Finnish citizen of Nigerian background, born in the 1980s, is suspected of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.

“The police suspect that the man has promoted his efforts from Finland by means that have led to violence against civilians and authorities as well as other crimes in the region of South-Eastern Nigeria” the statement read in part.

Speaking on the case, Crime Commissioner Otto Hiltunen stated, “The man has carried out this activity, among other things, on his social media channels,” suggesting that his online actions have fueled violence in Nigeria.

“Four other persons are suspected of financing the aforementioned activity. All five suspects in the crime were arrested at the beginning of the week.

“International cooperation has been carried out during the preliminary investigation,” the statement added.

The four other suspects, whose identities have not been disclosed, are believed to have financed these alleged activities.

The Central Criminal Police revealed that the case involved extensive international collaboration.

The Finnish authorities emphasised their commitment to investigating the case thoroughly as part of their broader effort to combat terrorism.

Expressing delight over Ekpa’s arrest and ongoing trial, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen Edward Buba, said the military was pleased with the news.

The Chief of Defence Staff had severally called for Ekpa’s arrest, accusing him of sponsoring terrorism in the South-East.

Buba noted that the military was glad that the international community was supporting the country in its fight against terrorism.

He stated, “The CDS has always called for the arrest of Simon Ekpa following his deep involvement in fuelling terrorism in SE Nigeria. We are delighted about his arrest, and glad that the international community is partnering with Nigeria in our fight against terrorism.”

The ESN has been implicated in numerous violent activities in the South-East since its creation in December 2020.

While the ESN was initially formed to counter the activities of armed herdsmen and protect local communities, their operations have reportedly led to significant unrest in the region.

The group has been accused of ambushing and killing troops of the Nigerian Army, police, and other security personnel.

Police stations and military checkpoints in the South-East have been frequent targets, leading to loss of lives and property.

Also, the ESN has been linked to arson attacks on public facilities such as police stations, electoral offices, and government buildings, disrupting governance and public services in the region.

There have been allegations of extrajudicial killings by the ESN, including attacks on individuals accused of opposing IPOB’s secessionist agenda or cooperating with the government.

Some communities have reported being harassed or forced to comply with the group’s directives, including its Monday sit-at-home orders, especially during days commemorating Biafra or protesting the detention of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

Defiance of these orders had led to attacks on businesses, vehicles, and individuals, paralyzing economic activities in the South-East.

Conflicts between the ESN and local vigilante groups, including state-backed security outfits like Ebube Agu, have resulted in casualties and instability, escalating insecurity in the South-East.

The situation had led to heightened military operations in the region, sometimes resulting in collateral damage and further alienation of local communities.

The Federal Government labelled the ESN a terrorist organisation and launched several military operations to dismantle it.

On Monday, Anambra Central Senatorial Zone descended into chaos as gunmen enforcing the sit-at-home order attacked Abatete, Abagana, and Ukpo communities, leaving five people dead and several others injured.

At Abatete, three vigilantes attached to the town’s president-general were fatally shot. The victim sustained critical injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Also, vehicles were set ablaze by the attackers who repeatedly warned the people to respect the sit-at-home order.

Witnesses reported further violence in Abagana and Ukpo. At the Ukpo roundabout in Dunukofia Local Government Area, a vigilante member and a motorcyclist were reportedly gunned down.

Meanwhile, IPOB denied any relationship with Ekpa, saying it had publicly asked the people and relevant authorities to stop linking it with the embattled Biafran agitator.

Reacting to the arrest of Ekpa by the Finnish authorities, IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, maintained that his organisation had nothing to do with Ekpa and his group, Autopilot.

He said, “We are not interested in his arrest. All we want is for the release of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has not committed any offence and who has been freed by the law courts. That is our concern.

“We have reiterated on several occasions that the Ekpa had no relationship with the IPOB from the formation to date and he had nothing in common with the Biafra struggle.

“For a long time, IPOB has maintained that there is nothing like autopilot in IPOB. More so, the criminal gang leader in Finland has no relationship with ESN from the formation of ESN to date or with IPOB. The authorities should stop linking IPOB with Ekpa and his group and IPOB is not interested in his arrest or whatever.”

“All we want is for the Nigerian government to release our leader who has been detained for no known crime other than fighting for the liberation of his people.”

Spokesman of IPOB’s Political Wing, Nwachukwu Emereonye, called for the immediate extradition of Ekpa to Nigeria to face the consequences of his actions.

While speaking to journalists on the development, Emereonye noted that Ekpa’s actions led to the death of scores of innocent people and destruction of businesses in the South-East.

He said, “We in IPOB Political Wing welcome the arrest of Simon Ekpa. His actions are unbecoming. Scores of people have been killed and properties worth billions of Naira destroyed.

“He should be handed over the Nigerian government for immediate prosecution.”

 

Credit: The Punch

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