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Soldiers, police take over strategic areas as #EndSARS protesters stay away
The plans by youths to hold another round of protests on Monday failed as military and police personnel took over strategic locations in some states.
President Muhammadu Buhari had threatened to deal with any act of hooliganism under the guise of peaceful protests just as the police warned that any form of demonstration would be crushed.
Organisers of the protests, who had raised awareness on the social media, had planned to mass on the streets to demand the release of all protesters detained during the first protest and unfreezing all accounts of their colleagues suspended by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a result of the earlier protest.
Based on the fallout of the October protests while was hijacked by hoodlums resulting in orgy of killings, massive looting and destruction of property, the police on Sunday warned the organisers of the fresh protests to desist from going ahead with the plans as the country was yet to fully recover from the last incident.
Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command and soldiers from 81 Division Nigerian Army were on Monday deployed in strategic areas of the state to enforce the ban emplaced on the second wave of #EndSARS protests.
The security operatives were seen at black spots and known volatile areas.
The deployment of the military and police personnel was a follow-up to the warning issued on Sunday by the state command Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu.
Ogun State Police Command also banned protest in the state, warning prospective protesters to desist from such action or face the full wrath of the law.
A statement by the command spokesperson, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said while the command recognised that it was the right of citizens to protest to express their grievances over issues of governance, “there is, however, nothing at present that calls for such a protest in the gateway state, except for those who see troublemaking as a lucrative business.”
The army said the deployment of soldiers was nothing out of the ordinary but in continuation of their normal routine patrols.
The acting Deputy Director, 81 Division Army Public Relations, Major Olaniyi Osoba, denied claims that soldiers were deployed in Lekki tollgate to abort the proposed protest.
He said, “We have soldiers in that axis on their routine patrol but they are not at Lekki tollgate. Besides, the soldiers you saw were drawn from Operation MESA.”
He, however, noted that the army would show up if they were called upon like they did during the first wave of the protest.
The police also debunked allegations that a protest was held at Lekki tollgate despite the ban.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Olumuyiwa Adejobi, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said the viral but fake video of the purported protest was circulated to create tension and destabilise the security network put in place.
He said, “The command wishes to debunk the fake video that has been circulated to create tension and destabilise security network in the state.
“The video was one of the viral videos released during the recent violent EndSARS protest before the Lekki Tollgate plaza was set ablaze by the violent protesters on October 21, 2020.
“The command, therefore, urges the general public to regard the video as baseless and mischievous.”
However, protesters marched on Osogbo, the Osun State capital, to demand good governance.
The protesters, under the auspices of Face of #EndSARS Movement, converged on Ogo-Oluwa area of the state and marched on the state House of Assembly where they demanded an audience with the leadership of the house.
The protesters, led by a man identified as Mr Emmanuel Adebisi, carried different placards with inscriptions such as: “We are not fighting for any political party; #End Bad Judiciary in Nigeria; #End fake judicial panel of Inquiry in Osun; Unfreeze all the frozen accounts; We are Nigerian youths.”
The protesters called for the release of all detainees arrested during the demonstrations in October and asked the CBN to unfreeze the accounts of protesters.
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Soldier dies while ‘rushing to rescue brother arrested by policemen’
A soldier of the Nigerian Army, Lcpl Ojo Tope has died in an accident in Ikere Ekiti, Ekiti State.
According to a report by SaharaReporters, multiple sources said the deceased attached to the 322 Artillery regiment in Benin City was on his way to meet policemen who had allegedly arrested his brother illegally.
The incident occurred around 10 pm on Wednesday.
The policemen attached to Ikere Area Command had reportedly illegally detained Ojo’s brother and after talking to him on the phone, Ojo was asked to come to their checkpoint and identify himself as a soldier.
SaharaReporters learnt that on his way to the checkpoint, Ojo was involved in an accident.
A relative of the deceased told the online newspaper that : “A soldier (Ojo Tope) serving in Benin City came home on a pass in Ikere Ekiti. Around 10 pm on Wednesday, he realised there was no fuel in their generator. So, he sent his younger brother who has a car to get fuel for him.
“However, on his way to get the fuel, the guy met some policemen on the road and they arrested him illegally. They asked him why he was driving at that time and asked him to unlock his phone as well but he refused.
“He pleaded with them that it was his soldier brother who sent him to buy fuel but they refused to let him go. So, he later called the soldier to talk to the policemen and one of them asked him to come and meet them. Sadly, on his way there on a bike, he had an accident.
“After the accident, people rushed him down to where the policemen seized the brother’s car and they pleaded with them to release the car so they could use it to rescue the soldier to the state hospital in Ikere but they refused to release the vehicle.
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“They later got another one to carry the soldier to the hospital. Unfortunately, before they would get to the hospital, the soldier gave up. His body is now in the morgue.”
The family source said some residents who heard about Ojo’s death got angry and wanted to protest against the actions of the policemen but the family calmed them down.
When SaharaReporters contacted the spokesperson for Ekiti State Police Command, DSP Sunday Abutu, denied the role allegedly played by the policemen in the death of Ojo.
He said, “This could be termed ‘a lie from the pit of hell’ as no such incident or report was made in any of our stations across the state, not even the headquarters.
“The only vehicle that was confiscated by our surveillance team from Ikere Area Command on Wednesday night was an unregistered Toyota Camry 2006 model car. The driver had no document and could not give satisfactory proof that the vehicle belonged to him, but then offered to go home and get the documents.
“Up till this moment, the driver did not bring the car documents or come for his vehicle. It should be noted that our surveillance teams do not have or create checkpoints.
“No soldier’s death was reported by anybody or family or the military authority in the state in Ikere Area Command or any of our divisions or formations across the state in recent time and nobody has come to solicit for the release of the said Toyota Camry car.”
“Meanwhile, anyone with any genuine complaint against the conduct of our men should feel free to approach the nearest police station, formation, office of the PPRO or office of the Commissioner of Police for necessary and immediate action,” Abutu added.
Soldier dies while ‘rushing to rescue brother arrested by policemen’
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Bandits attack Matawalle’s hometown in Zamfara kill one, kidnap many
Bandits attack Matawalle’s hometown in Zamfara kill one, kidnap many
Rampaging bandits operating in North-West Nigeria have attacked Maradun town, the headquarters of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara, killing one person and kidnapping several others.
Maradun is the hometown of Bello Matawalle, the former governor of the state and present Minister of State for Defence in the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government.
Although, police authorities in the state are yet to comment on the latest incident an indigene of the town Nura Maradun told Channels Television that the bandits stormed the town around 1 am on Friday with sophisticated weapons.
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He said they fired indiscriminately to scare residents. According to him, the bandits went from house to house to abduct residents of the town.
“They came in around 1 am and operated till 4 am unchallenged. They went on to search house by house looking for people to be kidnapped,” he said.
“From what I can confirm to you now, one person was killed, and about eight persons most women have been taken away. Some of the women kidnapped are daughters of the Emir’s brother.”
Bandits attack Matawalle’s hometown in Zamfara kill one, kidnap many
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Eight illegal security guards arrested in Anambra
Eight illegal security guards arrested in Anambra
The Anambra command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), says it has arrested eight suspected unlicensed private security guards with four pump action guns.
During the parade of the suspects in Awka, the state capital on Thursday, Olatunde Maku, the NSCDC state commandant, said the arrest was made in response to intelligence reports.
Maku added that the suspects are currently undergoing investigation, after which they would be charged to court and prosecuted.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that some of the suspects were impersonating the Anambra Vigilance Group while others were hired by hotels to provide security services, in spite of knowing that the outfits were not licensed or registered,” NAN quoted the NSCDC commandant as saying.
“Meanwhile, four pump action guns with 16 live cartridges were also recovered from them.
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“All the suspects are currently undergoing investigation, after which they would be charged to court and prosecuted.
“This raid is in continuation of the execution of the NSCDC mandate and we will not leave any stone unturned in discharging our responsibilities.
Maku said that the NSCDC is the only agency responsible for licensing, monitoring, and supervising private securities companies in Nigeria, and the raid aims to prevent illegal security outfit proliferation.
The commandant urged licensed private guard companies to adhere to the law and report any suspicious activities or security outfits to the Corps for prompt action.
“I want to put all illegal security outfits on notice to dismantle their operations or face the consequences.
“We will clamp down on any illegal outfit, arrest and prosecute their operators, and recover illegal weapons in their possession.
“This is to restore sanity in the operations of the private security sector and ensure the safety and security of residents.”
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