Television Nigerian

The Nigeria Police Force Special Tactical Squad has detained a total of 32 infamous criminals for their roles in abduction, armed robbery, arms smuggling, illegal weapon possession, illicit drug trafficking, trans-border auto theft, and rape, among other crimes.

During the follow-up investigation, the police team recovered nineteen (19) AK47 rifles, one (1) GPMG, three (3) revolver rifles, two (2) G-3 rifles, one (1) SMG, one (1) berretta pistol, four hundred and fifty-three (453) rounds of live ammunition of various calibres, twelve (12) magazines, and seventeen (17) stolen cars from the criminals, according to the Force Public Relations Officer Commissioner of Police CP Frank Mba.

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Mbah said that among the instances is the arrest of six (6) known offenders involved in automobile theft in various regions of the country, including Nasarawa, Port Harcourt, the Federal Capital Territory, Kebbi, and Zamfara.

“These suspects carry stolen cars via our international borders and deliver them to a prominent criminal receiver named Alhaji Garuba (who is currently at large) in Niger Republic,” the spokesman stated.

Investigations further revealed that the suspects’ method of operation includes seizing cars at gunpoint and occasionally removing them from public parking lots such as the Cinema, Church, and Mosque.”

Mbah further said that stolen cars are sold at bargain prices in neighboring countries and occasionally handed to Alhaji Garuba in exchange for illegal weaponry.

“The Nigeria Police’s INTERPOL team is already working with its counterparts in the Niger Republic to apprehend the fleeing criminals and bring them to justice,” he said.

Dayyabu Mohammed, a 27-year-old resident of Soba LGA in Kaduna State, was also apprehended for illegally possessing five (5) AK47 weapons and 250 rounds of AK47 ammunition.

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The culprit was apprehended by STS operatives during a bandit hunt in Saminaka Forest in Kaduna State.

“Investigation reveals that Dayyabu Mohammed is a weapons supplier to two (2) known and wanted bandits in the country’s north west and north central regions,” Mbah said.

The two bandit kingpins were apprehended while transporting firearms in a Golf-3 saloon car from Jos, Plateau State, to the bandits’ hideouts in a forest in Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna State.

“Investigations by the Police team found that one of the wanted bandits provided the Golf-3 saloon car as an operating vehicle with the assurance that complete ownership of the vehicle would revert to him after five successful guns delivery missions.”

The culprits of a recent murderous attack on travellers on the Tafa axis of the Kaduna – Abuja highway, where two (2) women and their husbands were abducted by the criminals and taken into the forest, were also apprehended by the police.

“Operators from the Special Tactical Squad, who had been sent to the area, were promptly mobilized and went after the suspects in order to save the victims.” The police officers soon discovered the culprits’ hideout, mounted a rescue effort, and successfully liberated the hostages, including the women, who were unharmed.”

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C.P Mbah went on to say that the operatives also captured a gang of six people in connection with the attack on a mosque in Mazakuka, Mashegu LGA, Niger State, in which eighteen (18) people were slain and more than thirty (30) were abducted.

“Police investigations revealed that the gang boss and some of the gang members are Lokoja correctional institution escapees,” said the statement. One was apprehended for his criminal part in providing the group with heavy drugs. They were found with two (2) AK47 weapons, three (3) completely loaded magazines, and numerous hard drug bundles.”

While praising the team for their successful operations, Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali promised the public that the Force would continue to pursue these criminal elements who constitute a threat to our national security.

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The IGP urged members of the public who have been victims of auto theft to bring proof of ownership to the STS office in Guzape, Abuja, to claim their vehicles, noting that the color, interior, and vehicle number plate may have been tampered with.

When the investigations are finished, all of the suspects will be arraigned in court.

Mr Rotimi Albert, a former classmate of late Super TV CEO Usifo Ataga, testified yesterday in the ongoing trial of Chidinma Ojukwu, the suspected murder suspect Ataga, about how Ataga’s family and friends discovered his body in the mortuary on his birthday.

Albert, the fourth prosecution witness, said this while testifying in front of a Lagos High Court sitting in Tafa Balewa Square TBS.

Ojukwu, a University of Lagos 300-level Mass Communication student, is charged with Ataga’s murder alongside her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, and one Adedapo Quadri.

The witness, who identified himself as a long-time classmate and family friend of the late Ataga, said he planned to call him on his birthday, June 17, 2021, to deliver birthday greetings.

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Albert claimed that on the evening of June 16, 2021, another of their mutual acquaintances called him and asked if he had seen or heard from Ataga.

He claimed that a mutual friend told him over the phone that Ataga had not been heard from since Sunday (June 13th).

The witness stated that he attempted to contact the deceased via phone, and that when his phone rang but no one answered, he sent a WhatsApp message, which was delivered.

Mrs Adeyinka Adeyemi, the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, testified that Albert saw the deceased was online, as evidenced by the WhatsApp last seen.

“I was taken aback when he didn’t pick up my calls or respond to my messages.

“I began calling other friends to see if they had seen him, and even his brothers in different countries contacted me to inquire about Ataga’s whereabouts.” I expressed my concern to them.

“His wife and family were also hunting for him because they were scheduled to be in Abuja to celebrate his birthday with him,” he said.

The witness told the court that the deceased’s wife had reported their concerns to the police.

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According to him, the deceased’s phone was tracked, and it was discovered that it was last used at the University of Lagos guest house.

According to him, it was already late on June 16th, so he and a mutual acquaintance went to the University of Lagos guest house the next day (June 17th) to look for Ataga’s vehicle, but it was not there.

The phone tracker also showed that the phone was used in the Alagomeji area, he claimed.

Because the movement kept shifting, Albert added, tracking got tough.

“During all of this, we received word that Usifo had passed away and was in the mortuary.”

“As a result, we went to the Panti police station, where we learned that the cops had already been to the murder scene.”

“After arriving at the crime scene, the cops advised us to go to the mortuary to identify the deceased, so we did, and it was Usifo Ataga.”

“At the morgue, I saw that he had many stab wounds on his neck, belly, side, and leg.”

“I also noticed rope marks and large indentations on his wrist.” “That’s how I found out my friend had died,” Albert explained.

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After his direct questioning, the witness was cross examined by Mr Onwuka Egwu, the first defendant’s counsel.

The witness claimed that a common acquaintance was the one who checked and tracked the deceased’s phone and bank transactions, not him.

Albert testified that he gave a statement at the police station, which the defense counsel presented and was admitted into evidence.

Mr Babatunde Busari and Mr A. O. Ogunsanya, lawyers for the second and third defendants, said they had no questions for the witness.

The prosecutor, on the other hand, requested an adjournment so that they could present additional evidence.

As a result, Justice Yetunde Adesanya delayed the case until February 14, 2022, to allow for the continuation of the trial.

On October 12, 2021, the three defendants were arraigned on a nine-count accusation brought against them by the Lagos State Government.

Ojukwu and Quadri are accused of conspiracy, murder, stabbing, forgery, falsifying bank records, and stealing, among other charges.

The third defendant, Egbuchu, is charged with taking the late Ataga’s iPhone 7 on the ninth count.

The first and second defendants were accused of plotting and murdering Ataga on June 15, 2021, by stabbing him multiple times in the neck and chest with a knife.

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At 19, Adewale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, the alleged murder occurred.

The first and second suspects were also charged with forgery for obtaining and fabricating bank account statements purporting to be from the deceased.

Civil servants and the general public are currently barred from entering government offices in Abuja unless they have confirmation of vaccination and a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test.

Remember that the presidential steering group on COVID-19, led by Boss Mustapha, announced in October that civil personnel without proof of vaccination and negative PCR testing will be barred from entering government premises as of December 1, 2021.

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) had requested that the extension be extended until March 2022. However, due to the events of this morning, no extension was given.

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On Wednesday, Nigeria reported three cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, raising major health concerns.

More to come…

IBADAN – I Ibikunle Amosun, the former governor of Ogun State and senator for the Ogun Central Senatorial District, has stated that President Muhammadu Buhari has done more good for the country and will leave office as a hero.

He cited leadership as Nigeria’s most serious problem, while praising President Buhari for being fair to Nigerians.

At the 2021 Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Oyo State Council in Ibadan, Amosun contrasted the All Progressives Congress (APCsix-year )’s administration with the Peoples Democratic Party’s sixteen-year rule, noting that Nigeria has fared well under President Muhammadu Buhari’s six-year leadership, and the progress is visible to all.

He claimed that the current issues confronting the country, particularly insecurity, are the result of the PDP’s sixteen years of misrule, while urging all Nigerians to rally behind President Buhari as he battled the country’s many problems.

“The Buhari administration has placed a strong emphasis on agriculture and infrastructure. Farmers have gotten more favorable loan terms than in the past. Before Buhari’s election in 2015, Nigeria’s rail system was regarded as the worst in Africa. Buhari has initiated, completed, and delivered remarkable major rail networks, and Nigeria now has the best rail system in West Africa, resulting in the creation of tens of thousands of jobs.

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“President Muhammadu Buhari has done so much for the country, and when he leaves office in 2023, he will have done more for the country than any previous government.”

The union also presented Amosun with an award of excellence as the Nation’s Bridge Builder and Icon of the Progressive Bloc, which he was represented by Barr. Taiwo Adeoluwa at the event. Dr. (Mrs) Florence Ajimobi, the wife of late Senator Abiola Ajimobi, former Governor of Oyo State, presented the award for his progressive ingenuity, friendly administrative policies, and expanding cooperation among APC chieftains across the country.

Professor Adeolu Akande (Chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission), who also served as the event’s Chairman, Alhaji Bola Adeyemi, Chief Wole Elegbede, Hon. Raheem Ajayi Baglo, and Dr. Oye were among Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s delegation who attended.

The Nasarawa State Police Command has reaffirmed its commitment to work with the Nasarawa State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in combating criminal elements.

Mr. Adesina Soyemi, the state’s Commissioner of Police (CP), disclosed this while receiving NUJ officials on a familiarization tour to the police headquarters in Lafia, the state capital.

According to Soyemi, the role of the media in the development of all areas of the economy, including security, cannot be overstated, necessitating the partnership.

Within the brief time he was assigned to the state, he explained, the police under his command were able to combat kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, and other criminal activity.

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He went on to say that thanks to the Command’s security policies, all of the black areas that were infamous for criminal activity before to his arrival in the state are now safe.

Due to recent criminal activities in the locations, he said the command has deployed 24-hour anti-robbery patrol teams to the Federal University of Lafia and the Shaibu and Azuba axis.

“Criminals have vanished after our personnel were dispatched to those axis,” the CP stated, adding that “we will try to secure the safety of lives and property of individuals who live in such areas.”

He stated that journalists were always present to report on the accomplishments of the police and other security services in the fight against crime, and that the police would be eternally grateful to them.

The CP also praised Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule for his unwavering support for the police in their fight against crime.

He added the governor has shown a real desire to maintain peace throughout the state and in border regions with neighboring states.

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Soyemi, on the other hand, stated that the police in the state are facing several obstacles, including a lack of cars, and requested assistance in this area to boost their operational capability.

The Commissioner of Police, in response to the NUJ Chairman, Salihu Alkali’s plea, has offered to deploy armed police personnel to secure the NUJ Press Centre in Lafia.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the NUJ, who was joined by other authorities, congratulated the CP on his deployment to the state and assured that journalists will provide him with the necessary assistance and publicity to help him succeed.

In the short time he has been in the state, the CP has done a good job of dealing with criminal groups, according to the NUJ Chairman.

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He did, however, recommend that the police put in more effort, as well as the deployment of armed officers at the NUJ Press Centre to provide protection to journalists and other guests.

The House of Representatives recommended the Ministry of Health to boost up measures against the new COVID-19 form, Omicron, through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and other relevant organizations on Tuesday.

This came after Dachung Bagos (PDP, Plateau) proposed a motion stating that Omicron had thrown the world off guard and was fast expanding.

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Nigeria must not take any chances in dealing with the matter, he said, because the instances discovered in Canada were linked to people who had traveled or visited Nigeria.

Aishat Taiwo, a six-year-old girl, was rescued by the Osun State Police Command from her guardian, Olanrewaju Adenike, who had kept her in a filthy room near a toilet for months.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Yemisi Opalola, spoke on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Wale Olokode, who stated the little girl had been subjected to a succession of mistreatment by Olanrewaju before relief arrived.
According to Olokode, the woman was apprehended after some individuals in the Isale-Osun Area of Osogbo, where the suspect lived, gave him a tip.

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The CP stated that the girl had begun to receive necessary medical care and that police were attempting to identify her parents.