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Man cuts off Ogun mother’s ear while attempting to abduct baby

Published

3 years ago

November 16, 2021

– ‘Suspect on hard drugs’

A suspected fraudster, Sikiru Adeniran, has been arrested while allegedly attempting to abduct a baby in Idomu-Owo, Ilese, in the Ijebu North East Local Government Area of Ogun State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Adeniran chased a young girl, Rodiat Iskilu, to where a woman, Basirat Bakare, was breastfeeding her twin babies.

After realising that Rodiat had escaped, the suspect allegedly descended on Basirat.

While reportedly trying to dispossess her of one of the babies, he allegedly used a sharp object to cut off her right ear.

The attack weakened Basirat, as one of the twins, Kehinde, fell on the ground.

However, in a desperate attempt to prevent the alleged abduction, Basirat raised the alarm, which drew the attention of residents.

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She told our correspondent that as neighbours rushed to her rescue, Adeniran ran into a kitchen and locked the door.

Basirat said, “The incident happened last Wednesday. I was with my children outside the house when one of the children in the neighbourhood ran in my direction, shouting for help. She said a man was chasing her.

“I quickly took the girl and my children inside our house. But I was about to close the door when the man forced the door open. He started fighting to dispossess me of one of my twin babies; he used his teeth to bite my hands and neck, just to take my baby away.

“I was still fighting with him when he suddenly brought out a knife and cut my right ear. I was bleeding and shouted for help. It was my cry that prompted neighbours to rush to my rescue. As the man saw people coming, he ran into the kitchen and locked the door.

“He broke the window’s burglary-proof bars and was about to escape through it when neighbours got hold of him. He started pleading and requested an account number to do a transfer of N500,000. He said he was into Yahoo Yahoo (Internet fraud) and wanted to bribe us with the money to cover the case, but we refused.”

An eyewitness, Tola Alawiye, said he called a vigilante, who contacted the Ilese Police Station, from where policemen were detailed to arrest Adeniran.

“When I interrogated the suspect, he offered us a N500,000 bribe, which we declined,” he said.

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Basirat’s husband, Jamiu, alleged that the Ilese Divisional Police Officer attempted to compromise the case.

He said, “When we got to the station, the policemen asked us what we wanted and told us not to write that Adeniran attempted kidnapping my child in the statement. The DPO asked us to write that he was under the influence of hard drugs.

“Adeniran even threatened to attack us once he regained his freedom and that he could not spend more than a month in prison. Someone that cut off my wife’s ear and made her slip into a coma?”

The couple’s lawyer, Kayode Oshiyemi, said the suspect’s car was found a few distance away from the community, adding that he wanted justice for the couple.

Oshiyemi said, “Immediately I was informed, I called the IPO to warn him that the matter could not be swept under the carpet. He told me to inform my clients to return to the station to write another statement and also bring eyewitnesses to testify to what happened.

“The family of the suspect has contacted my clients to offer them money after they rejected the N500,000 he offered when he was captured. He parked a Toyota Camry about three streets away from the scene of the incident.

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“It was when a landlord complained about the presence of the car at the front of his building that we realised the car was his. He also confessed to owning the car and that he was into Yahoo Yahoo.”

A video clip obtained by our correspondent showed Adeniran’s hands and legs tied after he was nabbed by residents.

He was also stripped half-naked, as his private parts were visible in the clip.

“I am not a thief,” Adeniran said in a frail voice, as residents questioned why he attacked the woman.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident, but denied claims that the police wanted to compromise the case.

He said, “This is somebody accused of attempted kidnap which was foiled and in the process, he injured the victim’s mother. The suspect was brought to the station and was detained.

“The parents of that boy came to the station and said he acted under the influence of hard drugs and that they had been warning him to desist from taking hard substances and that the effect of the drugs caused what happened.

“The parents of the boy also said they visited the affected family to negotiate with them. But that does not concern us; our own is to investigate the case and charge it to court. The suspect is still with us and will be charged to court soon.”

Punch

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metro

Court orders FG to take over 7 properties of ex-FBN personnel

Published

4 hours ago

April 11, 2025

Trends Admin

Court orders FG to take over 7 properties of ex-FBN personnel

A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has granted an order for the permanent forfeiture of seven properties linked to Muiz Tijani Adeyinka, a former employee of First Bank Plc.

The ruling, delivered on Thursday, April 10, 2025, by Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, followed a motion filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The assets in question include residential apartments and parcels of land across various parts of Lagos and Abuja. Among them are: Plot 9, Block 28 Itunu City, Veritas Homes & Properties Ltd., Aiyetoro, Epe; a three-bedroom flat at Le Moriah Residences Estate in Ikate, Lekki; and land in Amen Estate Phase III Extension, Abomiti Zone, along Lekki/Epe Expressway. Others are located in Idera Scheme, Arizon Estate, Itunu Residential, Tiara by Amen City, and Ochacho Real Homes in LifeCamp, Abuja.

According to a statement released by the EFCC, the court’s decision came after no objections were raised within the 14-day period allowed for interested parties to challenge the interim forfeiture, which had been previously ordered.

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“No one showed cause within the 14 days window granted after the publication,” EFCC counsel Zeenat Atiku informed the court.
Supporting the application was an affidavit sworn by EFCC operative Isah Yusuf Nadabo, who stated that Tijani, during his tenure in the bank’s settlement office, exploited privileged access for personal gain.

“He, therefore, carried out illegal, unauthorised and fraudulent activities against First Bank Nigeria Plc,” Nadabo declared in the affidavit.

He further revealed that investigations had traced N35 billion allegedly obtained by Tijani and associates through these activities.

“Investigation has thus far revealed and traced the sum of N35 billion (Thirty Five Billion Naira) benefitted by Muiz Tijani Adeyinka and his cronies,” the affidavit stated.

Atiku urged the court to grant final forfeiture, arguing that the properties were suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of financial crime.

Justice Dipeolu, in granting the order, ruled that the EFCC’s application had merit and subsequently ordered the properties be forfeited to the Federal Government.

Court orders FG to take over 7 properties of ex-FBN personnel

metro

Judge, son shot as bandits kidnap 13 in Katsina

Published

5 hours ago

April 11, 2025

Trends Admin

Judge, son shot as bandits kidnap 13 in Katsina

Bandits have attacked Mahuta town in Kafur Local Government Area of Katsina State, shooting a Shari’a court judge, Rabiu Mahuta, in the hand and his son.

During the attack, which occurred late Tuesday night, the assailants injured three people and kidnapped 13 others, including the judge’s wife and five of his children.

A resident who spoke to Daily Trust said the bandits arrived around 11:30 p.m. and headed straight to the judge’s residence, where they spent nearly an hour attempting to break down the door.

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Despite the judge’s call to the local Divisional Police Officer for help, no security personnel arrived in time.

“When they eventually broke in, they shot him in the hand, and he collapsed. One of his sons was also injured, with a bullet grazing his forehead,” the source said.

A neighbour, who is a member of the state-owned Community Watch Corps and tried to intervene during the attack, was also shot and is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Katsina.

Daily Trust gathered that the attackers also abducted five people from the household of one Shehu Maishayi, along with Malam Sufi Nahi and the wife of Malam Abdurrazak, who lives on the outskirts of Mahuta.

Sources said soldiers arrived only after the bandits had fled the scene.

Judge, son shot as bandits kidnap 13 in Katsina

metro

EFCC plays confession video of ex-power minister in court

Published

5 hours ago

April 11, 2025

Trends Admin

Former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman

EFCC plays confession video of ex-power minister in court

The trial of former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, continued on Thursday, April 10, 2025, before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, with the prosecution presenting further evidence in a trial-within-trial to justify the admissibility of the extra-judicial statements of the defendant, who claimed that he volunteered them under duress.

Mamman is facing prosecution in relation to the Mambilla Power Project by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on a 12-count charge, bordering on conspiracy to commit money laundering to the tune of N33,804,830,503.73 (Thirty-Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Four Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Five Hundred and Three Naira, Seventy-three Kobo).

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Abubakar Muhammed Kwaido an EFCC investigator maintained that Mamman made his statements to the Commission without intimidation or force.

“There was at no point I harassed or intimidated him with detention. My boss was even asking him if he could write, but he said he would ask his lawyer to write on his behalf,” he said.

In a video clip of Mamman’s statement to the Commission which was played in court, the defendant was seen clarifying to investigators in a convivial atmosphere that he chose to avoid payment for an Abuja property through financial institutions to evade detection, considering his position in the government.

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“Honestly, I gave him N5million about three times. I didn’t transfer or put it in his account. I gave him cash. Why I didn’t do a transfer was because I am a civil servant and I have left my business and some of my things, so I have been very careful,” he said.

He further disclosed that the payments were made to Abubakar Mustapha Bida in relation to a house he acquired through him. Bida is the Mambilla Project Accountant. “After the payment, he then gave me the house, that is why I didn’t bring up that issue. Then I accepted the house at Kado,” he said.

Mamman was also seen in the clip narrating how he discussed the property with one Sam. “I said to Sam that there’s a house in Kado, but I have to collect the documents of the house. That’s why I told you that there’s no issue between me and him.”

He was also seen claiming that he jointly purchased another property in Wuse, Abuja with a friend who is a member of the House of Representatives, who chose to register the house with a different name. “We went together and bought the house in Wuse. It was me and my friend that joined and bought the house, but he gave another person’s name instead of his. Now I’m even struggling to get the papers for the house,” he said.

Speaking further in the clip, he said, “We bought the house from N30 to N35 million and we agreed I will be giving him the money in tranches. Things became somehow and I then left the office. He didn’t give me the papers and that’s how I left office.”

Mamman in the video, repeatedly accused Abubakar Mustapha Bida of dishonesty. “Mustapha is a liar. It was his PA that did all these things,” he said, referring to one Musbahu Idris.

Nonetheless, he admitted benefitting from the transaction. “Whether I like it or not, I benefitted, because my people have benefited from the money. That was why I was all involved in it,” he said.

In the video, he was also seen explaining to Kwaido that his lawyer has his nod to write his statements on his behalf because he was a bit under the weather.

Asked by Kwaido if he could write, he replied: “Honestly I can’t write, I’m not too strong, but as you can see, I’m about to take my medication. That’s why I spoke to him to write because I don’t want to stress myself. The doctors warned me not to stress myself. I was advised by my lawyer to come so that it will all be easy,” he said.

Justice Omotosho adjourned the matter till Monday, April 14, 2025, for continuation of trial.