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Court orders remand in custody of 83-year-old Arrows of God Orphanage founder

Published

1 month ago

June 2, 2024

Deborah Ogo

Court orders remand in custody of 83-year-old Arrows of God Orphanage founder

Deborah Ogo, the founder of Arrows of God Orphanage Home, has been remanded in prison, according to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, ordered the 83-year-old Ogo to be remanded in the Onitsha Correctional Facility until she would perfect her bail condition of N1.3 million and two sureties in like sum.

Following an undercover investigation by ‘Fisayo Soyombo, FIJ’s founder and editor-in-chief, which uncovered how the orphanage, one of Nigeria’s biggest, had been selling babies under the table, NAPTIP arrested Ogo and sealed the orphanage’s offices in Lagos and Anambra State. The report was published in August 2023.

Specifically, Soyombo bought a baby from Ogo for N2 million in July 2023, after 19 months of intense work to crack the investigation. Notably, Ogo is an ordained minister, former principal of the Nigerian Army School of Nursing and Midwifery, former chief matron and retired colonel.

NAPTIP’S FULL STATEMENT

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arraigned Clara Chinwe Deborah Ogo, an 83-year-old woman and founder of the renowned Arrow of God Orphanage in Anambra State. The arraignment took place at the Federal High Court, Awka Judicial Division, presided over by Hon. Justice Hauwa Yilwa, for alleged buying and selling of human beings for any purpose.

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Clara Ogo, a retired Nigerian Army Lt. Col, and a nurse, owns the orphanage located at Nkwelle-Ezunaka, Oyi L.G.A., Anambra State, with branches in Lagos State. The Arrow of God Orphanage came under scrutiny in 2023 after an investigative journalist exposed alleged illicit activities related to illegal adoption and sales of babies linked to the orphanage.

Following these revelations, NAPTIP launched a comprehensive investigation, resulting in Ogo’s arrest on October 3, 2023, at 15:10hrs within the premises of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Awka, Anambra State.

The defendant was arraigned on a one-count charge, which states: “That you Ogo Chinwe Clara Deborah (F) 83 Years old, of 66 Awka Road, Onitsha, Anambra State and others (at large), on July 6^th, 2023 at the above address within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, did buy and sell a baby, female, 5(Five) months old, and thereby committed an offense punishable under Sections 21 of the trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015”.

Clara Ogo pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The presiding judge granted her bail with a bond of N1.3 million and two sureties in like sum. She was subsequently remanded at the Onitsha Correctional Facility pending the fulfillment of her bail conditions. The case has been adjourned to July 10, 2024, for trial.

Meanwhile, the orphanage has been sealed

Court orders remand in custody of 83-year-old Arrows of God Orphanage founder

FIJ

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Driver testifies in Lagos church with stolen car

Published

12 mins ago

July 3, 2024

Trends Admin

Driver testifies in Lagos church with stolen car

A fleeing robbery suspect, Amos Daniel, 36, who snatched his employer’s car on the same day he was employed as a driver, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command.

The suspect confessed to having taken the car to his church to give testimony of God’s miraculous provision.

Two dismissed soldiers, Akeem Suleiman and Abdulau Mohammed, and two civilian members of their gang paraded among other suspects, were alleged to have carried out operations wearing Military headgear. Recovered from the dismissed soldiers were the Military headgear, uniform and identity cards.

Also paraded was 25-year-old Thankgod Kesh-David, who posed as a roadside mechanic to effect repairs on broken-down vehicles, only to disappear with them.

Briefing journalists at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja, on Tuesday, the spokesman for the command, SP Benjamin Hudenyin, said: “We have successfully arrested a robbery gang through our tactical team based in Surulere. The four-man gang specialized in snatching vehicles at gunpoint from motorists in Lagos. They have been operating for quite a long time. Two of them are dismissed soldiers, one was dismissed in 2014 and the other in 2017. They carried out their crime wearing full military gear.

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“We also have somebody who was employed as a driver. Unfortunately, the employer did not do due diligence. The same day he resumed as a driver, he ran away with the car and could not be traced.

“Interestingly, he dedicated the car in church the following Sunday, testifying of what God had done to him.”

Speaking with journalists, the arrested driver, Daniel, said: “I stole my madam’s Lexus car and took it to the church to testify that God has blessed me. I intended to use it for Uber and use the proceeds to pay my debt. I stole the car on June 23, 2024, the very first day I was employed, and I took it to church on June 30, 2024.”

Akeem Suleiman, who claimed he was dismissed from the Nigerian Army in 2017 for desertion, told journalists: “I started robbery in April 2024. Anytime we steal a car, I drive it to the receiver’s place. We steal cars randomly. If we see anyone parked and wound down, we drag them out and zoom off in the car. We operate in the Ajah area of Lagos, with a local gun. But we never killed our victims.”

The Command’s spokesman advised that due diligence should be exercised when employing a driver or domestic staff and they should be taken to the Central Criminal Registry at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, and the forensic unit before employment. The suspects will be charged in court.

Driver testifies in Lagos church with stolen car

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Disaster as Lagos flood sweeps away pupil returning from school

Published

47 mins ago

July 3, 2024

Trends Admin

Disaster as Lagos flood sweeps away pupil returning from school

A primary six pupil simply identified as Joshua has been swept away by flood in Ikosi, Ketu area of Lagos State.

The pupil was returning home from school alongside his colleagues when the tragic incident occurred on Taiwo Street in Ikosi, Ketu, Lagos.

Reacting to the tragedy, Joshua’s mother, a fruit seller, wept, pulling her hair and lamented the loss of her only child.

“Joshua died hungry and cold. He was in primary six; he was supposed to write his common entrance exam,” she said.

The mother, who was clearly distraught, revealed that she had lost her home in a fire and was living in a temporary shelter.

She pleaded with the public to help her find her son, promising to do anything to get him back.

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A witness, who is also a youth leader in the area, known as Oloyede, said he saw children in the rain and warned them to be careful because the area.

“But unfortunately, the plank that was used to bridge the canal was completely covered by water, and they fell into the drainage.

“I managed to swim and rescue one of them, but unfortunately, Joshua was swept away by the heavy currents and died,” he said.

A community leader, who spoke off the record, blamed the government for abandoning a project to channel the drainage, leaving the area prone to flooding.

“In January, the government started a project to channel the drainage, but they abandoned it, leaving us with this unfinished project. Every time it rains, the area is filled with water,” he said.

When contacted, Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Nosa Okunbor, said he did not receive any report on the incident.

Efforts to reach the Lagos police spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, did not yield result as he did not respond to calls.

Disaster as Lagos flood sweeps away pupil returning from school

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Head of vigilante arrested with human skulls, bones in Rivers

Published

52 mins ago

July 3, 2024

Trends Admin

Head of vigilante arrested with human skulls, bones in Rivers

The Rivers State Police Command has arrested the commander of a local vigilante group with two human skulls and other parts at his hideout in Omoku, headquarters of Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.

Felix Nwaobakata, the leader of the local vigilante group was arrested with seven other members of the security outfit for several crimes, including murder in a clampdown on the excesses of vigilante groups operating in the state.

The Spokesperson for the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday, July 3.Iringe-Koko said Nwaobakata, who is the Commander of the ONELGA Security and Peace Advisory Committee codenamed OSPAC was a principal suspect in the murder of two brothers in Idu in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni LGA of the state on May 1, 2024, on the allegations that they were kidnappers.

The statement noted the arrest of Nwaobakata and other OSPAC members followed numerous complaints about their operations in different parts of the state, especially in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LG, saying the operatives of the outfit recently attacked a police division in Omoku and clashed with other security agencies.The statement read, “The Rivers State Police Command has commenced a clampdown on the excesses of vigilante groups operating within the state.“This follows numerous complaints about the operations of the ONELGA Security and Peace Advisory Committee in different parts of the State, predominantly in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA, as well as clashes with other Security Agencies by this Vigilante Group.

“On May 9, 2024, Alhaji Usman Seleh, the Chairman of the Hausa Indigenous Group in ONELGA, reported that OSPAC had abducted a member of his group. He proceeded to report the matter to the police. Consequently, the police invited the ONELGA OSPAC Commander, Felix Nwaobakata, who refused to honour several invitations.

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“Instead, the OSPAC outfit coordinated an attack on the police division in Omoku but the attack was thwarted as the police repelled them.

“Following this development, Tactical Units of the command stormed the ONELGA OSPAC Camp at Omoku and arrested Cheta Benjamin, Joshua Ekwosa, Innocent Ahiakwu, and four others.

“The ONELGA OSPAC Commander, Felix Nwaobakata, was subsequently arrested in his hideout in Omoku on June 17, 2024, where two human skulls and human bones were found in his possession.

“The arrested OSPAC Commander, Felix Nwaobakata, is also a principal suspect in the murder of two brothers, Collins Ugorji (32) and Newman Ugorji (39), of the Idu Community in ONELGA.”

The brothers were said to have been killed on May 1, 2024, by the OSPAC on the allegation that they were kidnappers.

Their motorcycles were reportedly confiscated, and their bodies were taken to the OSPAC secretariat in Omoku.

In another related incident, the state police spokesperson said, “On May 3, 2024, the Youths of Egbeda Community in Emuoha LGA staged a peaceful protest to Lubrik Construction Company at Egbeda, and after being addressed by the Police, they dispersed but were ambushed by a group of OSPAC members led by the Egbeda OSPAC Commander, Friday Ogbuji, who shot and killed the Youth Leader, Innocent Didia.

“The Rivers State Police Command has made further arrests and will continue to investigate these cases and other related ones, which will then be charged to a Court of competent Jurisdiction.

“The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu has advised that any resident who has complaints of assault, extortion, or illegal detention should make a report at the nearest police station.

“The Rivers State Command is committed to carrying out its duty of protecting lives and property. It will not tolerate any act of illegality, excessive use of force, torture, fraudulent conversion of properties, and other varying forms of criminality by the OSPAC or any other vigilante outfit.”