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metro
WEDNESDAY , DECEMBER 13 , 2017 ... City , Crime , Courts 08185225745 , 08055126196
Panel beater , others arrested for kidnapping in Abia
Afeez Hanafi
OpERATIvES of the Inspector-General of police Intelligence Response Team have arrested a 45-year-old panel beater , Chineye Mark , and four others for their involvement in kidnapping in Abia State .
Mark ’ s role , according to the police , was to keep operational vehicles used by the gang after each operation .
PUNCH Metro learnt that the IRT , led by ACp Abba Kyari , recovered an Ak-47 rifle , ammunition , and two operational vehicles – a Lexus 300 and a Toyota Sienna – from the suspects .
The other suspects were identified as Samuel Chikaodi , aka Chiboy , 29 ; Justice Iriah , aka Mopol , 23 ; Ikechukwu Igwebuike , aka Anambra , 22 ; and Chikachi Ubani , 30 .
A source disclosed to our correspondent that the arrest followed the kidnap of an 80-year-old man , Chief Felix Ogbonna , on November 26 , 2017 , by the gunmen who
Friday Amobi , Port Harcourt
TWO policemen attached to the Rivers State police Command were gunned down on Monday by some unidentified persons suspected to be cult members .
The two victims , whose n a m e s c o u l d n o t b e ascertained at press time , were reportedly killed in Ogbunabali community , port harcourt City Local Government Area of the state .
This happened a few hours after a pro-SARS reform rally by the All progressives Congress and counter protest by the peoples Democratic party on the # EndSARS campaign which rocked port harcourt and its environs .
A source told our reporter that the hoodlums opened fire on the police van which was on security patrol in the area , killing the duo .
The source said after some gunshots were heard in the night , residents of the area observed that some policemen went in search of the hoodlums who had attacked their colleagues . he noted that the victims were killed in the police van , stating that their remains were later taken away by the police officers .
When contacted , the police public Relations Officer of the command , DSp Nnamdi Omoni , said the command
• The suspects
collected millions of naira in ransom before releasing the octogenarian .
The source said , “ With the technical support from the Tactical Intelligence Unit , the IRT swung into action on the orders of IG Ibrahim Idris and eventually arrested five members of the gang . The kidnappers confessed
Hoodlums kill two policemen in Rivers
• Rivers Gov , Nyesome Wike
was investigating the matter in order to apprehend the perpetrators of the act .
O m o n i s a i d , “ Investigations are on to get the people behind that act . We are working to ensure that they ( the killers ) are fished out and prosecuted . At the moment , no arrest has been made , but we are working hard to track them down .”
On the # EndSARS protests , the ppRO said , “ There was no breakdown of law and order during the protests . Normalcy has returned . The members of the public should continue to have confidence in the police .
“ The Inspector-General of police is trying to reform the SARS . SARS men have been doing good jobs in the state . They go after criminals and that is why we have peace in the state .” to involvement in three kidnappings in Abia State , c o l l e c t i n g r a n s o m s o f N250,000 , N1m and N5.5m respectively .”
A police officer said the suspects selected their targets based on the brand of vehicles they ( the victims ) used . he said Chikaodi was the second in command of the gang and the driver of their operational vehicles .
“ he also negotiated ransoms and did the collection . Out of the total ransoms , he got N3m .
“ Iriah and Igwebuike were always armed ; they secured the hostages in their vehicles and took them to a den . They
Samson Folarin
A
widow , Tawakalitu Owolabi , says since t h e d e a t h o f h e r husband , Lateef Owolabi , a gas company he worked for in the Abule-Egba area of Lagos State , Just Gas , has refused to compensate the family .
Tawakalitu explained that her 52-year-old husband had been asked to take some gas cylinders to Ilorin , Kwara State , sometime in November 2016 , and was involved in an accident on the way , which claimed his life .
She said more than a year after the accident , the company had been silent on the family ’ s welfare .
Tawakalitu , who claimed to have been married to Lateef for about 20 years , said , “ We live on Sotunde Street , Abule- Egba , which is a stone ’ s throw to the company ’ s office . My husband was introduced to the company by a friend and the management promised to employ him after buying a new truck . he worked for them at different times and they paid him per task .
Photo : Police
received N300,000 each from the ransoms .
“ Ubani was in charge of the detention camp where hostages were kept , while Mark , the panel beater , hid the operational vehicles in his workshop . he received N150,000 . Effort is ongoing to arrest the two gang members at large and recover more arms ,” the officer added .
The Force public Relations Officer , CSP Moshood Jimoh , could not be reached for comments as calls to his line rang out . he had also yet to reply to a text message sent to him .
Fire kills
Afeez Hanafi
Th REE- y e a r - o l d Emmanuel Samson of Sosanya Street , Ifako , Gbagada , Lagos State , and his two months old sister , Rosemary Samson , have been burnt to death .
T h e v i c t i m s w e r e reportedly killed by a stove fire in their parents ’ oneroom apartment around 10pm on Monday .
It was learnt that their father , Otunimi Samson , had not returned from work at the time of the incident , while their mother , Mercy Samson , was said to have gone to buy sugar at a shop on the street .
Mercy reportedly locked up the children inside the room .
PUNCH Metro learnt that the woman , after buying the sugar , went to another shop to visit a friend for about 30 minutes .
It was gathered that she was at the shop when neighbours rushed to call her that the apartment was on fire .
Our correspondent was told that officials of the Lagos State Fire Service from the Ilupeju Fire Station joined the residents in putting out the fire .
PUNCH Metro , who v i s i t e d t h e a f f e c t e d apartment on Tuesday , saw burnt clothes , a damaged stove and a burnt pot of rice .
The apartment was a makeshift plank structure attached to a building .
The parents were not on the ground while most of the neighbours had also gone to work on Tuesday . however , a neighbour , Kehinde Jay , said the incident was avoidable . he said it was a resident who was returning from work that noticed smoke billowing from the apartment and raised the alarm .
J a y e x p l a i n e d t h a t residents rushed to rescue the children , adding that the door was locked . he said Emmanuel screamed for help as the fire raged .
Jay said , “ Iya Emmanuel ( Mercy ) went out to buy sugar and went to her friend in a shop on the street . A resident , who was returning from work , said he saw flames and heard Emmanuel screaming . he tried to open the door , but failed . he then came to call me and other neighbours .
“ When we got there , the fire had escalated and we could not open the door . I was outside when the woman was going out and I thought that she was back , not knowing that she was
Widow tackles gas company
Although the payments were not encouraging , he decided to endure until
• Lateef his employment would be formalised .
“ On the day of the incident , he had told me that he was going to Ilorin to deliver gas cylinders to some customers
Photo : Family