The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Category: Crime

  • Rivers Police Command Reveal How DPO Was Killed

    Rivers Police Command Reveal How DPO Was Killed

    Rivers CP, Nwonyi Emeka
    Rivers CP, Nwonyi Emeka

    The Rivers State Police Command has vowed to track and prosecute gunmen who ambushed and killed one of its Divisional Police Officers, Bako Angbanshin, in Odumude community, Ahoada East Local Government Area of the state on Friday night.

    The police said Angbanshin led a team of operatives to raid some criminal hideouts in the area and while returning, gunmen suspected to be cultists ambushed them.

    The state Commissioner for Police, Emeka Nwonyi, said this in a statement issued by the Command’s spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, on Saturday morning and made available to newsmen.

    The PUNCH reports that a viral video surfaced on Friday night showing the moment the gunmen displayed his mutilated body.

    Nwonyi explained that while the miscreants attacked the operatives, Angbanshin’s men retreated after running out of ammunition.

    The statement added the late DPO sustained fatal injuries and was captured by the gunmen who took him away, leading to his death.

    The statement read, “In an unfortunate incident on the evening of September 8, 2023, the DPO of Ahoda Division, SP Bako Angbashim, displayed exemplary courage during a mission to combat criminal activities in the Odumude area of Ahoada East Local Government Area in Rivers State.

    “SP Bako Angbashim, alongside his dedicated team, embarked on a raid of known criminal black spots in the region. The operation led to a pursuit of criminals from their concealed hideouts. Tragically, as they were returning from this operation, they were ambushed by a significant number of criminals who opened fire on the brave officers.

    “In the face of this adversity, SP Bako Angbashim valiantly held his ground, while his men, depleted of ammunition, made a tactical retreat.

    “Regrettably, during this engagement, SP Bako Angbashim sustained fatal injuries, and one of his informants was also injured, currently receiving medical care for a gunshot wound.”

    The police stated that operatives of the Nigerian Army were contacted for assistance, but were unable to advance further into the bush due to what the statement describes as ‘extremely dark conditions within the dense bush’.

    “The criminals seized the body of SP Bako Angbashim, forcing the remaining officers to return to their base for reinforcement. Efforts were made to rescue and recover the DPO’s body, with assistance sought from the Army teams stationed at FOB Base Etraco.

    “However, the operation proved challenging due to the extremely dark conditions within the dense bush,” the police said.

    While condoling with the family of Angbashim, the CP, however, vowed to bring the perpetrators of the act to justice.

    “Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family of SP Bako Angbashim and all those affected by this distressing incident,” the CP said.

    Punch

  • Bauchi co-wife kills four-day-old stepson with insecticide

    Bauchi co-wife kills four-day-old stepson with insecticide

    IMG-20230822-WA0025
    The Accused

    A 24-year-old woman, Furera Abubakar, has been arrested for allegedly killing her co-wife’s four-day-old baby with an insecticide.

    The incident was said to have occurred at Bantu Village in the Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

    The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday titled “24-year-old housewife kills stepson in Ningi LGA.”

    Wakil, a Superintendent of Police, said the baby was born on August 15, 2023, but was killed by the suspect on August 19, 2023, before his naming.

    The statement read, “Operatives attached to the Bauchi State Police Command have arrested Furera Abubakar, female (24) of Bantu village, Ningi Local Government Area of the state for culpable homicide.

    “The incident was reported to the Ningi Divisional Police headquarters on August 19, 2023, which revealed that the four-day-old baby was born on August 15, 2023, and was murdered by the suspect, Furera Abubakar, on August 19, 2023, before the naming ceremony.

    “Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is a co-wife to the victim’s mother.

    “The suspect entered the co-wife’s room with liquid insecticide and applied it to the baby’s unhealed umbilical cord.”

    Wakil said the suspect would be prosecuted after the investigation.

    Punch

  • India-bound fake ‘couple’ nabbed by NDLEA with 184 wraps of cocaine in Lagos

    India-bound fake ‘couple’ nabbed by NDLEA with 184 wraps of cocaine in Lagos

    Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a fake couple, Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi and Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum, purportedly going for medical treatment in India for ingesting 184 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.322 kilogrammes, with 100 grammes of the drug also concealed in the woman’s private part.

    The two suspects were intercepted at the Screening Point 1, Terminal 1 of the international wing of the Lagos Airport on Tuesday, August 1, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airline flight to India.

    Though their travel documents show consistency in their names and depict them as a couple, an NDLEA officer however decided to subject them to body scan. The scan confirmed they both ingested drugs for which they were later placed on excretion observation at the agency’s facility.

    While their travel documents identify the man as Ilonzeh Kingsley Onyebuchi and the lady to be Ilonzeh Roseline Nonyelum, preliminary investigation revealed that the intending passengers were not a couple but obtained the travel documents in the same surname to beat security checks at the airport. The lady later gave her real name as Ngogbike Nkechi.

    Spokesperson for the Agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement, yesterday, said during her interview, she confessed that she was recruited in her church in Aba, Abia State, where she lives.

    According to him, the suspect, Nonyelum (a.k.a Ngogbike Nkechi) stated further that she is a divorcee, and that Kingsley with whom she was travelling was not her husband but connected only for the purpose of the illicit drug business trip.

    She revealed that her arranged husband, Kingsley, brought the pellets of cocaine to her to ingest in a hotel where they were both lodged in separate rooms the previous day Monday, July 31.

    After their arrest, a thorough search conducted on her led to the discovery of a big size wrap of cocaine that weighed 100 grammes she inserted into her private part.

    She confessed that she was promised $5,000 upon successful delivery of the drug in India. In his own statement, Kingsley who was into clothing business in Onitsha, Anambra State, claimed he was promised $2,000, after a successful delivery of the drug in India.

    A further search of the Agency’s crime database revealed that Kingsley also obtained his travel documents with fake identity for the trip. Indeed, it was established that he was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, on March 19, 2022, for ingesting 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 2.243kgs upon his arrival from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on board an Ethiopian Airline flight. His travel documents then contained his real name: Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian.

    After his arrest at the Abuja Airport on March 19, 2022 along with another suspect, Iro Elvis Uche, who also ingested 65 wraps of cocaine with a gross weight of 1.376kgs, Uwaezuoke was subsequently arraigned before Justice Zainab Abubakar of the Federal High Court, Abuja with charge number: FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2022. He was eventually granted bail by the court pending the conclusion of his trial. He is still on the court bail when he was arrested at the Lagos Airport for a similar offence on Tuesday.

    ALSO, NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) attached to courier companies in Lagos have intercepted various quantities of dextromethorphan mixed with heroin; methamphetamine; Dimethyl Sulfone and Cannabis concealed in different objects going to Europe.

    While 272 grammes of dextromethorphan mixed with heroin going to Greece were recovered from white neck beads; 665 grammes of cannabis being shipped to Hong Kong were hidden in bars of Dudu Osun black bathing soap; with 261 grammes of dimethyl sulfone going to New Zealand hidden in reels of weaving threads and 1.5kgs of methamphetamine also going to New Zealand neatly packed in an MP3 player after all the parts were removed and the substance stuffed as replacement.

    Other illicit drugs were seized, and suspects arrested in Kano, Borno and Anambra states within the last seven days.

    In his reaction to the seizures and arrests of the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Retd) commended the officers and men of MMIA, Kano, FCT and Borno Commands of the Agency as well as those of DOGI for their diligence, vigilance and professionalism in the discharge of their responsibilities. He charged them and their compatriots across the country not to rest on their oars.

    Guardian

  • ENUGU: Police confirm murder of local council lawmaker, arrest of 1 male suspect

    Chetanne Chinelo, Enugu

    Police Operatives of the Enugu State Police Command have arrested one (1) male suspect and a member of the criminal gang, alleged to have attacked and murdered one Duhu Nelson Sylvester Nnacheta.

    In a statement released by the command’s PPRO, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, the deceased also known as Ofunwa, Male, identified as the Councilor representing Eha-Ulo Ehalumona Council Ward, was murdered on 16/07/2023 at about 11.30pm, at Umualoji Village in Ehalumona community of Nsukka LGA.

    Ndukwe said the Commissioner of Police had ordered intense discreet investigation and manhunt of the other assailants suspected to be at large.

    Unconfirmed reports had it that the lawmaker was murdered by gunmen at his residence in Eha-Alumonah.

    The source disclosed that the assailants stormed the lawmaker’s house and started raining bullets on him.

    He added that the Councilor ran into a neighbouring compound, from where his lifeless body was later recovered.

    The development has sparked tension in the town and other neighbouring communities.

    The source, who described the suspected assassination as one too many, added that “it is heartbreaking; it is too hard for us to swallow. We are in deep agony.”

  • Usifo Ataga: Court Admits Two Statements Made By Accused, Chidinma As Evidence

    Usifo Ataga: Court Admits Two Statements Made By Accused, Chidinma As Evidence

    A Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square has admitted in evidence, two handwritten statements made by Chidinma Ojukwu – the key suspect in the murder of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV – Usifo Ataga.

    While ruling on a trial within trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements, Justice Yetunde Adesanya, held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Chidinma made the statements willingly and without duress.

    Through her counsel, Mr Onwuka Egwu, the defendant had alleged that her statements were not voluntarily made, claiming she was slapped and forced to sign the statements after it was written by the police officers whom she insisted tore her initial statements.

    Chidinma is standing trial for the alleged murder of Ataga. She is also charged with stealing and forgery alongside her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, and one Adedapo Quadri.

    Chidinma and Quadri are alleged to have conspired and murdered Ataga on June 15, 2021, by stabbing him several times with a knife in the neck and chest.

    In her ruling on the statements, Justice Adesanya, said that it was settled law that before a statement would be admissible, the defendant must be advised of his or her rights.

    She said that the defendant must be made to understand the rights and must be cautioned before his or her statements would be taken.

    The judge said the defendant had alleged that she was physically abused and threatened.

    Adesanya, however, said, “The videos tendered in court did not display any intimidation towards the defendant while she was writing her statements.

    “The voice of the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) was clear and audible. It did not show any form of intimidation.”

    She said that the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant was not coaxed into writing her statements.

    The judge, therefore, admitted the two statements in evidence and marked them as exhibits.

    After the ruling, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs Adenike Oluwafemi, asked the court to grant an adjournment especially because the police officer who was to testify, was not present in court.

    Oluwafemi said that the witness was out of the jurisdiction on official assignment.

    Justice Adesanya has adjourned the case until May 30 for continuation of trial.

    Channels TV

  • Slain Lagos Lawyer Raheem: Court Dismisses ‘No Case Submission’, Asks Accused Vandi To Open Defence

    Slain Lagos Lawyer Raheem: Court Dismisses ‘No Case Submission’, Asks Accused Vandi To Open Defence

    The Lagos High Court Sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square on Lagos Island has dismissed a “no case submission” filed by the suspended Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Drambi Vandi, who allegedly killed a Lagos-based lawyer, Omobolanle Raheem, on December 25, 2022.

    Justice Ibironke Harrison ordered the defendant to open his defence as a ‘prima facie’ has been made against him.

    In his application on the no case submission, Vandi had asked the court to dismiss the suit and discharge him claiming that he has no case to answer.

    In his arguments, his defence counsel, Adetokunbo Odutola told the court to note among other things that none of the eyewitnesses saw the defendant shoot and that the ballistic report of the gun allegedly fired expressly stated that the bullet cannot be linked with any of the firearms recovered from the police officers at the scene.

    The prosecution led by the Attorney General of Lagos State, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), had however, countered the arguments and urged the defendant to defend himself insisting that the prosecution has successfully made its case against him.

    Further details soon…

    (Channels TV)

  • Enugu: Police begin manhunt for gunmen who murdered two police officers at checkpoint 

    Enugu: Police begin manhunt for gunmen who murdered two police officers at checkpoint 

    The police in Enugu State said they have begun a manhunt for gunmen who attacked and killed two police officers at a checkpoint in the state.

    The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday night.

    Recall that the gunmen opened fire on the officers who were manning the checkpoint, killing two of them.

    The unfortunate incident occurred on Sunday, March 26, 2023, along Kenyatta Market Road, near the Main gate of the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, UNEC.

    Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said the gunmen were many and operated in SUV vehicles during the attack.

    The police operatives engaged the hoodlums in a shoot-out during the attack, the police spokesperson said.

    “Many of the hoodlums escaped with varying degrees of fatal gunshot injuries in the ensuing gun duel, while two of the operatives, who sustained severe gunshot injuries, were moved to the hospital, where they were confirmed dead and their corpses deposited in the mortuary for preservation,” he said.

    “Consequently, manhunt of the assailants, which was immediately launched, resulted in the miscreants abandoning the black-coloured Mercedes Benz ML 350 4Matic Jeep they used for the operation along Enugu/Port-Harcourt Road, Enugu,” Mr Ndukwe added.

    The police spokesperson said the vehicle, riddled with gunshots and blood stains, had been recovered.

    He added that the recovery of the Mercedes Benz ML 350 4Matic SUV and the blood stains as well as bullet holes on the recovered vehicle corroborate preliminary investigation that at least two of the gunmen were killed during the shoot-out.

    The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Ahmed Ammani, has ordered tactical operatives of the police in the state to track down the hoodlums, Mr Ndukwe said.

    Mr Ammani warned that “anything short of fishing out and bringing the assailants to book, to assuage the unfortunate loss of the two operatives, will not be accepted.”

    The police commissioner urged residents of the state to assist the police with “useful information that will aid the speedy arrest of the suspects.”

    He called on the residents and owners of medical facilities in particular, to report to the police any persons, dead or alive, seen with gunshot injuries in their neighbourhood.

    (Pacesetter/Premium Times)

  • EFCC Arrests New Naira Note Racketeers in Abuja

    EFCC Arrests New Naira Note Racketeers in Abuja

    The Commission said the operation followed intelligence on activities of unscrupulous currency speculators.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday said it nabbed members of a syndicate of currency racketeers hoarding and trading with redesigned naira notes.

    EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwajaren, said that the arrest happened in separate operations in the Zone 4 and Dei Dei axis of the Federal Capital Territory on Saturday and Monday.

    The operation followed intelligence on activities of unscrupulous currency speculators who were exploiting desperate citizens by offering them the new naira notes for foreign currencies at below the going rate, the anti-graft agency said.

    He said the suspects have made useful statements, including disclosure that they were acting with some unscrupulous officials of Money Deposit Banks.

    The commission vowed to extend the operation to all the major commercial centres of the country until all the syndicates involved in the illegal trade are demobilised.

    It also warned financial system operators to desist from the sharp practices or risk arrest and prosecution.

    According to a statement on Monday by DSS spokesman, Dr Peter Afunanya, the Service in the course of its operations, also established that some Commercial Bank officials are aiding the economic malfeasance.

    Consequently, the Service warned the currency racketeers to desist from this ignoble act.

    (Channels TV)

  • Suspect charged with murder in assassination of former Japan’s Prime Minister, Abe

    Japanese prosecutors formally charged the suspect in the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with murder, sending him to stand trial, a court said Friday.

    Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested immediately after allegedly shooting Abe with a homemade gun as the former leader was making a campaign speech in July outside a train station in Nara in western Japan. He then underwent a nearly six-month mental evaluation, which prosecutors said showed he is fit to stand trial.

    Yamagami was also charged with violating a gun control law, according to the Nara District Court.

    Police have said Yamagami told them that he killed Abe, one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, because of Abe’s apparent links to a religious group that he hated. In his statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami said he developed a grudge because his mother had made massive donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

    One of his lawyers, Masaaki Furukawa, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Yamagami will have to take responsibility for the serious consequences of his alleged actions and that his defense lawyers will do their best to reduce his sentence.

    Japanese law allows capital punishment for murder, but experts say the death penalty usually is handed down for multiple killings and Yamagami could get life in prison if convicted.

    No date is set for his trial, which is expected to have a panel of civil jurors in addition to the usual bench judges — as in murder cases and other serious criminal trials in Japan. Due to the complexity of the case, it would take months before his trial begins, Furukawa said.

    Police are also reportedly considering adding several allegations, including producing weapons, violating explosives control law and causing damage to buildings.

    Some Japanese have expressed sympathy for Yamagami, especially those who also suffered as children of followers of the South Korea-based Unification Church, which is known for pressuring adherents into making big donations and is considered a cult in Japan.

    Thousands of people have signed a petition requesting leniency for Yamagami, and others have sent care packages to his relatives or the detention center.

    The investigation into the case has led to revelations of years of cozy ties between Abe’s governing Liberal Democratic Party and the church since Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan in the 1960s over shared interests in conservative and anti-communist causes.

    Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s popularity has plunged over his handling of the church controversy and for insisting on holding a rare, controversial state funeral for Abe.

    To remove ministers with church ties, Kishida shuffled his Cabinet in August but a subsequent release of the party investigation in September showed church ties among nearly half of its 400 national lawmakers.

    Kishida, who said has no relations with the church, promised that his party lawmakers will cut ties with the group, and his government has begun an investigation that could possibly revoke the church’s religious status.

    The government also adopted a law designed to help victims of the church’s fundraising practices, though experts says the measure is insufficient.

    (Arise News)

  • Insecurity: Gunmen Attack Ohakim’s Convoy, Four Policemen Killed

    Insecurity: Gunmen Attack Ohakim’s Convoy, Four Policemen Killed

    Four policemen were killed yesterday as the convoy of a former governor of Imo state, Mr. Ikedi Ohakim was attacked by gunmen.

    Ohakim escaped death by whiskers as the vehicle the four policemen were in was burnt by the assailants of the former governor.

    The gunmen were said to have targeted the former governor but were not so lucky on their target but they succeeded in hitting the security vehicle in the convoy of the ex-governor.

    Ohakim, governor of Imo state between 2007 and 2011, was attacked at Oriagu in the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of the state. It was gathered that Ohakim was with two of his children and was returning from a visit when the gunmen struck.

    A source close to the ex-governor disclosed that it took the brevity of the former governor’s driver for him to escape.

    According to the reliable source, the former governor was the main target but his driver was smart enough to beat them because they were driving to block him.

    “Disappointed that their main target had escaped, they blocked his backup vehicle and burnt it. The four policemen with him were burnt.

    “The fact that Ohakim is still alive today is a miracle. It is by the sheer grace of God and the smartness of his driver.

    “Otherwise, he would have been a dead man by now.

    “In frustration and disappointed that their main target had escaped, they blocked his backup vehicle and burnt it. The four policemen with him were burnt.”

    Ohakim who managed to confirm the incident was sober.

    He was able to escape because he was in a bulletproof vehicle.

    Speaking in a telephone conversation with a low voice, he said his attackers were professionals and not amateurs.

    Narrating what happened on phone at exactly 9.45 pm, the badly shaken governor said in a subdued voice that what happened was still like a dream.

    “We were driving between Isiala Mbano and Ehime Mbano. These people blocked us at a place called Umualumaku.

    “They attacked us from behind and were firing at our vehicles consistently. I thought I was a dead man and I was with two of my children – my son and daughter.

    “What saved me was the bulletproof vehicle. That I am alive today is by the special grace of God and the bulletproof vehicle.

    “But unfortunately for me they killed four of our boys, including the driver. Yes, we lost four of the boys and I am devastated. How can that be? What crime did they commit?”

    Ohakim said even when his own driver managed to escape from the scene, the assailants pursued his vehicle.

    “They pursued us and continued firing at our tyres. Luckily, the vehicle has what is called run-flat tyres on which you can continue driving even after a puncture. So, even when they shot at the tyres hoping to immobilise us, the vehicle continued moving. If they were ordinary tyres and the vehicle had stopped, they would cornered and finished us.

    “But the tyres held on until we got back home. We drove for about 20 minutes before we got home. That was the saving grace.”

    “The driver who manifested tremendous level of driving skill kept manoeuvring until he lost them at a junction when he went right and not knowing where we had gone, they headed the other direction on the road to Umuahia.

    “We then turned and went back to my house. We were there when Imo Government House sent reinforcement from Owerri who brought the corpses of my security people.”

    Ohakim, who said he saw the assailants said they were not amateurs.

    “This goes beyond the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), I must say. These are professionals, well-trained. They are not ordinary people. They were driving a blue colour BMW 5-series car, brand new. They came to kill me.”

    Ohakim lamented the worsening security situation in Imo State.

    “I don’t know what this is all about. It is becoming terrible. Won’t people come home again? Are we going to stay in Owerri and Abuja permanently without coming back to our communities?” the former governor mourned.

    (This Day)

  • Outrage, fury over Lagos lawyer’s murder

    Outrage and fury of monumental proportion have continued to trail the killing of a Lagos female lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, by a trigger-happy policeman in the Ajah axis of the state on Christmas Day.

    Raheem and her family members were said to be on their way home from a Christmas Day church service when the policeman (yet to be identified) attached to the Ajah Police Station and his team tried to stop them. The deceased was said to have been shot at a U-turn under the Ajah Bridge and was rushed to a hospital, where she was confirmed dead.

    Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday expressed shock and sadness over the mindless shooting of “a harmless citizen” by a police officer whose primary job was to protect the same citizen.

    He said: “I have studied preliminary reports on the matter and have instructed the appropriate government officers to immediately get on it. We must ensure speedy justice for the late Bolanle. Our government cannot sit back and watch our citizens killed by the same law enforcers that should ordinarily protect them.

    “I’m aware that the Lagos State police command has arrested, disarmed and detained the police officers involved in the shooting incident. I can assure you that the accused persons will have their day in court, and nothing will be spared under the Laws of Lagos State, until justice is served adequately. We will ensure that it is done speedily because justice delayed is justice denied.”

    Also reacting to the incident, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has demanded that justice be served on the matter.

    National Publicity Secretary of the association, Akorede Lawal, in a statement, yesterday said: “This is yet another crime against a lawyer. Regrettably, our member is gone…We shall ensure that justice is duly served.”

    Popular comedian, Debo Adebayo, also known as Mr Macaroni, described Raheem’s killing as barbaric.

    “A Nigerian Police Officer from Ajiwe division shot and killed Bolanle Raheem on Xmas day. It is from this same division an Officer killed Gafaru Buraimoh about two weeks ago. This barbarism by the Nigerian Police must come to an end. These murderers must pay for their crimes,” he wrote on social media.

    Prominent human rights activist and a former Chairman of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, also lent his voice to condemn the killing of Raheem. Another activist, Rinu Oduala, slammed Nigeria Police Force for alleged coverup of the identity of the trigger-happy policeman.

    A legal practitioner and founder, Stop Abuse Foundation, Toyin Taiwo-Ojo, the killing of the female lawyer is worrisome, not only that we lost a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), but it is one killing too many. It has become a constant development that policemen would use the taxpayers money to kill citizens who they are paid to protect. I am advocating for mental evaluation of officers bearing arms and for a public hearing of the case. I am, also, calling for the death penalty of any police officer found guilty for using his office to wrongly kill an innocent citizen. Lastly, the enrollment for the officer should be paid to the victim’s family. With the strict punitive measures in place, it will become a deterrent to others.

    Spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident and described it as “unfortunate and avoidable”, assuring the public that justice will prevail.

    “The ASP that shot and two others with him have since been taken into custody,” Hundeyin tweeted yesterday.

    “The Lagos State Police Command condoles with the family, friends and colleagues of Barrister Bolanle Raheem. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Abiodun Alabi, has been in touch with the family and the Nigerian Bar Association since yesterday and has given firm assurances that justice will definitely prevail,” he further disclosed.

    Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, yesterday, ordered speedy investigation and prosecution of the culprits after he condemned Raheem’s killing, describing the incident as unfortunate and sad.

    The IGP, in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, yesterday, said the act didn’t portray the Nigeria police standard operating procedure and core values. The IGP commiserated with the family, friends, and colleagues of the deceased and prayed for the repose of her soul and assured the general public of justice in the case, while he warned officers and men of the Force to be professional and people-oriented in the discharge of their duties.

    The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), in a statement issued by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, commended the IGP on his prompt and reassuring response to the dastardly act.

    The group stated: “We’ll keep track of police action in this tragic case.”

    (Sun)

  • Money laundering: Labour Party Campaign DG pays N13m, escapes two-year jail

    Money laundering: Labour Party Campaign DG pays N13m, escapes two-year jail

    Dr Doyin Okupe, a former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, was on Monday found guilty of receiving over N200m cash from a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd).

    He was therefore sentenced to two years imprisonment by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of a Federal High Court in Abuja with an option of N500, 000 fine on each of the 26 count charges for which he was found guilty.

    Delivering her judgment, Justice Ojukwu held that Okupe, who is the first defendant in the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission violated the Money Laundering Act.

    She said he had up to 4.30 pm to pay the fine option totalling N13m on all the charges he was found guilty of or be sent to the Kuje Correctional Centre.

    Justice Ojukwu, in sentencing Okupe, considered the pleadings for leniency from the convict’s wife, Omolola, and his son, Adesunkanmi.

    While stating that the Money Laundering Act provided that no individual or organisation shall receive any sum above N5m and N10m respectively without passing through a financial institution, the judge held that, “there is no evidence that the money passed through a financial institution” and that Okupe was not a financial institution, and that, even if the president was said to have authorised the funds, he did not say that the money must be paid in cash.

    Consequently, the court found Okupe guilty in counts 34, 35, 36 to 59 and sets him free from counts 1 to 33 because the prosecution failed to establish the charge of money laundering and criminal breach of trust and corruption against the NSA.

    In counts 34 to 59 upon which Okupe was convicted, he was accused of receiving various sums of money ranging from N10m on different occasions from 2012 to 2015 when he was Jonathan’s aide.

    The said sum, he said, was spent on running his office, payment of staff members and image laundering of the former President and his administration. But, the court, however, held that receiving such amounts in cash violated the Money Laundering Act.

    Shortly after his conviction, Okupe’s counsel, Francis Oronsaye, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy because the defendant was a first-time offender, a family man who is also advanced in age and having health challenges that he is currently treating in Nigeria and outside the country.

    Fine paid

    The reporter however gathered that Okupe succeeded in paying his fine before the deadline and was allowed to go.

    A source said, “Okupe has paid; they returned with the bank papers around 4.25pm. The court processed it, and everybody signed, including the EFCC lawyer.”

    Shortly after his release, Okupe tweeted, “God is not man. The enemies have tried in so many ways but kept on failing. Victory is of God.”

    Labour Party speaks

    Meanwhile, the leadership of the Labour Party on Monday said it would first obtain a copy of the judgment of the court that convicted Okupe, who is the Director-General of Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council and study it before taking a position on the matter.

    The spokesman of the campaign council, Yunusa Tanko, disclosed this in an interview with The reporter shortly after Okupe was convicted.