Choose between death and ransom, police tell two men taken to Edo bush – Newstrends
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Choose between death and ransom, police tell two men taken to Edo bush

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Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command

An Ondo State resident has narrated to FIJ how policemen extorted N61,000 from him and a friend on Friday.

The 23-year-old student said he was travelling with his friend from Akure, the Ondo State capital, to Benin in Edo State when policemen stopped their vehicle.

He said the policemen accused them of fraud, took them to a bush and threatened to shoot them dead if they didn’t pay a ransom.

Folami said they were made to part with a combined N61,000 before they were let go by the police.

Recounting his ordeal, he said, “A friend and I were travelling from Akure to Benin. Along the Owo road, some 15 minutes to Benin, policemen stopped us.

“They said they wanted to search us, as we were the only young boys in the vehicle.

“So, I brought down my bag. They searched and didn’t see anything. I told them I was a student, then they took us across the road and said they wanted to search our pockets.

“I emptied my pockets, and there was nothing. They then branded us Yahoo’ boys. So, I gave them my phone and told them to search through it. When they did and found nothing, they started harassing us and asking us to get into their vehicle.

“Before I could call for help, the bus driver dropped my bag and my friend’s in front of the police and left.

“We were in the middle of nowhere. The police said they were taking us to a police station, but they took us into a bush. I was speaking up but my friend was crying.

“They told us they could shoot and kill us and nothing would happen as no one knew where we were.

“We cooperated with them, so they checked our accounts and found money. They took us out of the bush to a Point of Sale merchant and made us transfer N31,000 from my account, while my friend transferred N30,000 from his before they let us go.”

Folami said he was unable to get the names of the policemen, as they were wearing black uniforms with no name tags.

He, however, was able to get a picture of one of them.

Policeman photographed by Folami

Folami said he was scared to approach the police to report the matter as he feared for his life.

When FIJ called Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, she said, “The man said he was some minutes away from Benin, so that’s not Ondo.

“He can come forward and report the matter to the police, but according to him, he had left Akure and was close to Benin, so it’s not Ondo.”

FIJ also called Chidi Nwabuzor, Edo State police spokesman, for comments.

He said he was unaware of the matter, but invited Folami to visit him for a resolution. He allayed the student’s fears and said, “The matter will be treated with utmost confidentiality.”

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Alleged fraud: Court remands Yahaya Bello, others in EFCC custody

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Yahaya Bello

Alleged fraud: Court remands Yahaya Bello, others in EFCC custody

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Maitama on Wednesday remanded the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, in custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC).

Trial Justice Maryann Anenih ordered that he should remain with the anti-graft agency till December 10, when the court will rule on his application for bail.

Equally remanded in custody were Bello’s two co-defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu.

The defendants had pleaded not guilty to a 16-count charge the EFCC preferred against them.

EFCC had specifically urged the court to deny the former governor bail.

The agency, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, told the court that Bello, who is the 1st defendant in the matter, repeatedly refused to make himself available for trial.

It told the court that several efforts to secure his presence before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, where he is facing another charge, proved abortive.

Consequently, the Commission opposed a bail application that Bello filed through his legal team that was led by a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN.

Daudu, SAN, had after the former governor and his two co-defendants—Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu—pleaded not guilty to a 16-count charge the anti-graft agency preferred against them, drew the attention of the court to a bail application his client filed on November 22.

In the application he predicated on six grounds, the former governor argued that he enjoys the presumption of innocence under the law.

Insisting that he ought to be seen to be innocent of all the allegations the EFCC levelled against him until his guilt is established, Bello contended that granting him bail would enable him to effectively prepare his defence to the charge.

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His lawyer told the court that his client was only served with a copy of the charge against him around 11 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26.

He said the former governor’s presence in court was in obedience to the summons that was issued to him.

More so, Bello’s lawyer urged the court not to be swayed by EFCC’s claims with regards to a matter not related to the instant charge before it.

The prosecution counsel had informed the court that some of the witnesses billed to testify in the matter were available.

He, therefore, prayed the court to allow the EFCC to open its case immediately, an application that was opposed by the defence counsel.

Besides, EFCC argued that Bello’s bail application was incompetent since it was filed before the defendants were arraigned before the court.

“This court only assumed jurisdiction upon the arraignment of the defendants.

“It is only after arraignment that the bail application can arise and be heard.

“The application is premature, hasty, and contradicts the meaning of bail,” EFCC’s counsel, Pinheiro, SAN, submitted.

Ex-governor Bello and his co-defendants are facing trial over their alleged complicity in a N110 billion fraud.

The charge against the defendants, marked CR/7781, borders on conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and possession of unlawfully obtained property.

Specifically, the EFCC alleged that the former governor misused state funds to acquire properties, including No. 35 Danube Street, Maitama District, Abuja (N950 million), No. 1160 Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarimpa II District, Abuja (N100 million), and No. 2 Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja (N920 million).

Other properties the defendants allegedly acquired with funds stolen from the Kogi state treasury included Block D Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N170 million), Hotel Apartment Community: Burj Khalifa, Dubai (Five Million, Six Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Eight Dirhams), Block 18, Gwelo Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N60 million), and No. 9 Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N310.4 million).

More so, the defendants were accused of transferring $570,330 and $556,265 to TD Bank, USA, and possessing unlawfully obtained property, including N677.8 million from Bespoque Business Solution Limited.

The defendants pleaded their innocence to the charge after it was read to them before trial Justice Maryann Anenih.

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Police rearrest popular singer, Speed Darlington

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Speed Darlington

Police rearrest popular singer, Speed Darlington

Police rearrest popular singer, Speed Darlington

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Hamdiyya Sidi makes U-turn, apologises to Sokoto gov over video on insecurity

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Governor Ahmed Aliyu and Hamdiyya Sidi

Hamdiyya Sidi makes U-turn, apologises to Sokoto gov over video on insecurity

In a significant development, a Sokoto-based rights activist, Hamdiyya Sidi, being prosecuted by Governor Ahmed Aliyu-led Sokoto government for allegedly making inciting statements, has made a U-turn and issued a public apology to the state government.

Sidi was reportedly arrested for “embarrassing” Governor Aliyu, on social media.

She was subsequently arraigned secretly without having access to a lawyer nor family members, a source had said.

The woman had in a video lamented the insecurity in the state and demanded an end to the incessant killings by bandits.

She had reportedly revealed how gunmen took over villages without any restraint and added that displaced women seeking refuge in the state capital were being sexually exploited due to abject poverty.

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But in a new video shared on social media, Sidi stated in Hausa, “My name is Hamdiyya Sidi Sheriff from Sokoto state, Wurno Local Government Area.

“I am the individual who recently created a video highlighting the pressing issues of insecurity and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sokoto State.

“I’m apologising as a woman and a Muslim from Sokoto because I used some words in the video when I made reference to the governor’s wife and his family.

“The words are too heavy considering my age. The words weren’t supposed to have come from me.

“And the other comment I made that the IDPs should move into government facilities and occupy them, I regret saying that too.

“Please for God’s sake, I’m sorry, nobody has the right to move into or occupy a government facility without due process and permission.

“For the government, governor and anyone that my comment has affected, I’m sorry, please forgive me.”

Sokoto is one of states in Northern Nigeria plagued by bandits who raid and loot villages, kill residents and burn houses to the ground.

 

Hamdiyya Sidi makes U-turn, apologises to Sokoto gov over video on insecurity

(SAHARAREPORTERS)

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