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metro
MONDAY , DECEMBER 18 , 2017 ... City , Crime , Courts 08185225745 , 08055126196
Four killed in renewed clash in Benue
John Charles , Makurdi
THE B e n u e P o l i c e Command on Sunday confirmed the killings of four persons in a renewed clash in Ogobia , Ugboju community , in the Otukpo Local Government Area of the state .
The area was in August engulfed in a bloody crisis ignited by two brothers , who were said to be members of the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party , respectively .
D u r i n g t h e A u g u s t mayhem , a retired major , Lawrence Ugbo , and three others were killed .
Although the immediate cause of the latest hostility is unknown as of the time of filing this report , it was gathered that the crisis was a reprisal for the August attack .
The state Police Public Relations Officer , Moses Yamu , who confirmed the renewed hostility to our correspondent in Makurdi on Sunday , said there was a clash in the area which claimed the lives of three persons on Saturday .
He said one other person injured during the mayhem , died on Sunday .
• Benue State Governor , Samuel Ortom
“ Yes , there was a clash that claimed the lives of three persons yesterday night ( Saturday ) and another injured person gave up today ( Sunday ), making four
138 suspects arrested in Nasarawa for alleged crimes
THE Nasarawa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps says it has arrested 138 suspects for various offences in the state in the last one month .
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Commandant of the corps in the state , Mohammed Mahmoud-Fari , stated this in Lafia while briefing journalists on the achievements recorded by the NSCDC within the period .
According to him , the offences include theft , vandalism , rape , fraud and assault , among others .
He attributed the successes recorded by the corps to the support and cooperation of members of the public who gave useful information .
He appealed to the public to sustain the relationship and always be security conscious by reporting strange and suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods to security agencies .
The NSCDC boss , who decried the high rate of criminal activities in the state , sued for more inter-agency collaboration toward curbing the menace .
“ As security agencies , we might have different nomenclatures , but our ultimate mandate is the security of lives and property of the people , hence the need for a stronger collaboration to achieve results ,” Mahmoud-Fari said .
He said the corps would prosecute some of the suspects whose alleged offences fell within its purview and transfer others to the appropriate sister agencies for prosecution .
Mahmoud-Fari said some of the suspects had already confessed to the alleged crimes they were arrested for , adding that investigation was ongoing regarding the remaining cases .
According to him , the command will not relent in its quest to rid the state of vandals and other criminal elements , especially at Yuletide .
He said the NSCDC had put adequate measures in place by deploying its officers and men in strategic locations to ensure hitch-free celebrations .
He also sought the collaboration of traditional and religious leaders in the fight against crime in the state .
Photo : File
casulaties in all . Normalcy has been restored as more patrol teams have been deployed in the area to support the ones that were there after the August mayhem ,” Yamu said .
The spokesperson said the police had yet to establish the motive for the killings , adding that it was likely a reprisal for
Afeez Hanafi
OPERATIvES of the Nigerian Navy Ship Beecroft in Apapa , Lagos , have raided villages on Atlas Cove Island of the state , recovering 1,330 jerrycans ( about 33,250 litres ) of fuel allegedly stolen from the pipelines of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation .
According to the navy , the security of the pipelines was contracted to a firm , Top Line Security Limited .
The villages are Ilado- Odo , Idi Mangoro , Ilashe Corner Loss and Sarkin Juju Point .
Apart from the fuel seized during the naval raid , our correspondent , who visited the communities on Saturday , saw hundreds of empty jerrycans in deserted wooden huts .
Our correspondent also saw two vehicles reportedly used by the vandals to transport fuels for onward delivery to Benin Republic and Togo . the August attack .
“ It is likely that the killings are connected to what happened in the area recently , but we have commenced full investigations to bring the killers to book ,’’ the PPRO said .
He urged the public to provide security agencies with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the culprits .
Meanwhile , members of the Idoma socio-cultural organisation , Opiatoha K ’ Idoma , have condemned the renewed hostility in Ogobia- Ugboju .
A s t a t e m e n t b y t h e Secretary General of the organisation , Chief Adoka Adaji , said aside from the deaths , many people were injured .
He noted that it was unfortunate that the warring parties were not prepared to embrace dialogue for peace to return to the area .
The organisation called on security agencies to wade in and apprehend those behind the dastardly act .
“ The government should ensure full presence of military and police patrol teams in the area to forestall further breakdown of law and order because Ogobia is a gateway town ; people can ’ t afford to witness violence in the area during this festive period ,’’ Adaji said .
Samson Folarin
A
lawyer , Olufemi Ajiboso , has protested against his arrest and detention by the police in Lagos for an offence that was allegedly committed by his client .
Ajiboso , who said he was preparing to file charges against the police , said he was put in a cell with hardened criminals for two days and forced to sign an undertaking .
PUNCH Metro learnt that the lawyer had been introduced to a businesswoman , Mrs . Loveth Olayinka , who asked him to file a fundamental human rights suit regarding a matter .
Olayinka , after the job was done , was said to have promised to recommend Ajiboso to a business partner in the United States .
The supposed business partner , one Captain Edward Williams , was said to have called the lawyer and asked that he assist in writing a letter to a company he owed $ 112,000 , explaining the difficulty he had in repaying them .
The lawyer told our correspondent he wrote the letter to the firm after he discovered that the said Captain Williams had been transacting business with the
Police
firm for a long time .
“ We spoke on the telephone . He said he had made an arrangement to pay the firm on October 29 , 2017 . Based on the facts he gave me , I wrote a letter to the firm . A few days later , a policeman , ASP Sule Moses , sent me a message on my mobile phone . He said he was calling from Abuja , and he was from the Inspector- General of Police Monitoring Team . He said there was a complaint against me in a case of conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretences .
“ After reading the message , I called the policeman and asked him the nature of my involvement . He said I wrote a letter to the company . I asked him how I could have been involved as a lawyer . After some discussions , he agreed that I had nothing to do with it . He said if my attention was needed , he would contact me .
“ Surprisingly , on November 20 , I saw three policemen in my office with one Alhaji Abdulmalik . They said I undertook to pay the money the man owed the company and the Inspector-General of Police had asked them to arrest me . I asked them to read the letter I wrote to the company and see if there was anywhere I undertook to repay any money . After a brief argument in my
Vandals steal 33,000-litre fuel
PUNCH Metro was also shown one of the pipelines along Ilado-Odo Phase II waterways reportedly broken by the assailants .
The pipeline was a few metres away from a security watchtower allegedly used by guards working for the private security outfit .
• Some of the jerrycans
It was learnt that the suspected vandals attached valves on the broken parts of the pipelines , which they regulated to steal fuel as it was pumped by the corporation .
A resident of the areas , who claimed to have been living in Ilado-Odo since 2014 , said she was not aware of the activities of the vandals .
The woman , Nana Feyisetan , said , “ I was born in Ghana . I relocated to this village in 2014 . I don ’ t know that some people have been vandalising pipelines here . I am aware that the OPC ( Oodua Peoples Congress ) members come for guard
Photo : Afeez Hanafi