metro
Policemen ‘kidnap’ electrician, beat him with machetes and extort N40,000
Emmanuel Chibuike, a 22-year-old electrician, has accused policemen attached to Ogidi police division, Anambra State, of extorting N40,000 from him.
Chibuike told FIJ that on December 19, he was at New Parts in the Onitsha area of the state, preparing to board a commercial vehicle to Nkwelle at about 1 pm, when policemen snatched his phone and ordered him into their 18-seater bus.
He said seven officers, four in uniform and three in plain clothes, were on the bus.
They accused him of fraud, threatened him and beat him with fists and machetes as they drove to the front of their station.
Chibuike told FIJ that the policemen never admitted him into the station but demanded N50,000 from him while at the gate. He parted with N40,000, half of which went into the bank account of Elendu Sunday Ozuma, one of the policemen.
Recounting his ordeal, Chibuike said, “While on my way to Nkwelle around 1 pm, I stopped at New Parts to board a bus. Then policemen came from nowhere.
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“The first policeman snatched my phone when I was still collecting my change from the keke rider that drove me to New Parts. I turned, ready to drag my phone from whoever it was, then the second policeman told me that he was a policeman in plain clothes.
“I calmed down. They told me that their commander wanted to see me, so I went straight to where their other men were, including the commander.
“The moment I got there, they dragged me inside the bus. No questions asked. They cuffed me, called me a thief and a ‘Yahoo’ boy. Before I could even show them my business card, they started beating and harassing me. I tried everything I could to attract the attention of people but they were seven and with guns.
“They tore my clothes and my bag. They drove off straight to Ogidi police station (area command) and threatened to shoot me ‘and nothing will happen’.
He said he gave N20,000 cash to the policemen to make up N40,000 in exchange for his freedom.
Chibuike said he had been living in fear since the incident and feared the worst should he encounter the officers again.
FIJ, on Tuesday, sent a message to Ikenganyia Anthony, spokesman for the Anambra police.
He said he had contacted the station’s DPO and would investigate the matter further.
metro
Pro-Wike Rivers lawmakers move to prevent probe of FCT minister tenure as governor
Pro-Wike Rivers lawmakers move to prevent probe of FCT minister tenure as governor
The factional House of Assembly in Rivers State, led by Martins Amaewhule, has risen against the Rivers State Commission of Inquiry Law of 1999.
Newstrends reports that the 27 embattled members who previously declared their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) are loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The embattled lawmakers are rushing to repeal the law, which empowers the state to inquire into past administrations.
The law was used by Wike, as governor, to create a Judicial Commission of Inquiry that probed the tenure of his predecessor.
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Meanwhile, the Amaewhule-led Assembly has already seen a bill seeking to repeal the law through a second reading. The repeal process was initiated by the lawmakers following the decision of the state government led by Governor Siminalayi Fubara to set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe the recent arson and destruction of local government secretariats in the state.
Notedly, the commission invited the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, and the APC Caretaker Chairman, Chief Tony Okocha to testify in the probe. However, both leaders have shunned the probe panel.
The Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol, the member representing Akuku Toru Constituency II, Lolo Opuende and the member representing Omuma Constituency, Sylvanus Nwankwo sponsored the bill. Leading the debate on the bill, Nwankwo said the obsolete laws were repealed and re-enacted to reflect current democratic realities.
Pro-Wike Rivers lawmakers move to prevent probe of FCT minister tenure as governor
metro
Bianca raises hope Tinubu will free Nnamdi Kanu to restore peace in South-East
Bianca raises hope Tinubu will free Nnamdi Kanu to restore peace in South-East
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu’s government to release the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
Mr Kanu, who has been in the SSS custody since 2021, is being tried for alleged treason.
Ms Ojukwu said that the release of Mr Kanu would help to ensure the total restoration of peace in the South-East. According to her, if Mr Kanu is released, the region’s development will be fast-tracked.
The wife of the late Odumegwu Ojukwu made the call at her husband’s memorial on Tuesday in Owerri. She advised the people of the South-East to look inwards and appraise the Igbo race that made them who they are.
“In the olden days, we had Igbo unions in places like Kano, Lagos and Kaduna, among others, where people discussed matters affecting them and why they must unite.
“Today, we are celebrating Ojukwu, our uncommon man, a man who stood for peace and equality for every person,” she said.
Ms Ojukwu expressed dissatisfaction that the peaceful atmosphere which Igboland was known for was no longer obtained in the region.
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“There are so many killings, unrest and kidnappings going on today in the region, which is not how it used to be,” Ms Ojukwu said.
She regretted that many people from the region could not go home again to bury their dead or give their children out to marriage due to the spate of unrest and insecurity.
Ms Ojukwu urged the people perpetrating the evil acts to desist from it and embrace peace. She pointed out that some of the perpetrators were from the region and urged them to allow peace to reign.
She condemned the act of killing people in the region “in the name of a sit-at-home directive from non-state actors.”
“Many people from the South-East have left the region for other cities like Lagos and other places due to the spate of insecurity in the area. I was sad when an Igbo person in the U.S. told me that they are making donations in America to buy burial grounds to bury their dead relations as insecurity in the region doesn’t allow them to do that at home come home,” the minister stated.
The event organiser, Raph Uwazuruike, urged Mr Tinubu’s government to release the IPOB leader.
Mr Uwazuruike, the leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, stressed that Mr Kanu’s release would help the region experience peace again.
He said the memorial service was to commemorate Mr Ojukwu’s legacies, adding that “all the good things he stood for will not be forgotten.”
Bianca raises hope Tinubu will free Nnamdi Kanu to restore peace in South-East
(NAN)
metro
EFCC to arraign Yahaya Bello today for alleged N110bn fraud
EFCC to arraign Yahaya Bello today for alleged N110bn fraud
Immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello may be arraigned before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, today, Wednesday, November 27.
Bello, who was declared wanted by the anti-graft agency in April over an alleged N110bn fraud, was finally grilled after all efforts to have him arrested and stand trial proved abortive.
The former governor on Tuesday submitted himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in company of his lawyers.
Immediately after he turned himself in, the anti-graft agency held on to him for some clarifications and preparatory for his arraignment.
He is to be docked before Justice Maryan Anenih of the FCT high court sitting in Maitama.
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Justice Anenih had fixed November 27 for arraignment based on the request of the EFCC and had issued public summons against him on October 3 in respect of the fresh case filed against him by EFCC.
EFCC’S Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale confirmed that Yahaya Bello would be docked at the FCT high court but declined to give a specific date.
At the last hearing before Justice Anenih, Counsel for EFCC, Jamiu Agoro had said the order of the court, given on 3rd October had not elapsed.
After listening to all counsel, the judge granted the EFCC’s application for adjournment and fixed November 27 as the return date.
EFCC to arraign Yahaya Bello today for alleged N110bn fraud
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