metro
Traffic robbers attack Lagos motorists in police presence
Motorists have cried out over resurgent cases of traffic robberies in Lagos State as hoodlums reportedly attack commuters at night and in broad daylight.
It was gathered that on some busy highways such as Ojota-Ketu-Mile 12 axis manned by police, miscreants loitering around pounce on motorists held in traffic and break their windscreens in an attempt to rob them.
Investigation by Sunday PUNCH revealed that in some cases, the thugs forcefully demand money from drivers with a threat to attack them if they fail to accede to their demand.
Our correspondent, who passed through Ojota at 9am on Monday, witnessed moments a dark-complexioned young man in shorts and T-shirt waltzed into the side of a black Prado Jeep stuck in traffic gridlock around Freedom Park.
The fellow knocked on the front windscreen and vehemently asked the driver to give him money but the latter resisted. As the thug attempted to bring out a weapon, the driver, a middle-aged man, quickly handed a naira note to him. He fled into the lawn afterwards.
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Our correspondent observed that there was a cluster of policemen and their vans stationed some metres away from the spot where the incident happened.
A co-presenter of a TVC programme, Your View, Tope Mark-Odigie, also shared her encounter with two traffic robbers on Alapere Bridge, inward Ojota around 7pm last Friday.
Recounting her experience during the Monday edition of the programme, Mark-Odigie said one of the assailants shattered her windscreen as she struggled to evade the attack.
She stated that two days before the incident, a friend had told her of how he was robbed in traffic between Oworonshoki and Ogudu and his windscreen broken.
She recalled, “On Friday (November 12), I had an event on the Island. On my way back around 7.30pm, the attack took place on Alapere Bridge inward 7up. Because I am conscious of the fact they usually rob (in that area), I had been looking around and saw policemen stationed around the bridge. They always park (their patrol vans) there. They clustered around a young man on the floor; maybe they caught one of the robbers.
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“Barely two minutes afterwards, I was flanked by two men and they were hitting the windows. I swerved to one side and one of them ran away. I got to another lane and the other guy on my side kept hitting until he broke the glass. I kept on struggling in traffic because there wasn’t much space to manoeuvre.
“There was a trailer by my side; I kept manoeuvring until I was able to escape. I think other drivers were aware of what was going on and the little they could do was to make room for me to move. There were glass shards on my body.”
She and her co-presenters urged the state government to light up the road and other highways, especially those notorious for traffic robbery.
Another presenter, Mariam Longe, also lamented that she and her husband had been robbed along Apogbon Bridge on different occasions.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said the command was addressing the menace by intensifying security across the state and raiding criminal hideouts.
He said, “Security has been beefed up in the area (Ojota) and other parts of the state. The Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has directed all the Area Commanders, DPOs, tactical teams and other field commanders to provide watertight security in every part of the state before, during and after the Christmas and beyond.”
“In compliance with the directive, the officers have increased the presence of policemen through proactive and visibility policing as well as raids of criminal hideouts.”
Punch
metro
Gunmen kill two soldiers in Abia checkpoint attack
Gunmen kill two soldiers in Abia checkpoint attack
Early Wednesday morning, gunmen attacked an army checkpoint in Ekenobizi, a border community between Abia and Imo states, located in Umuopara, Umuahia South Local Government Area.
The assailants reportedly arrived around 6:18 a.m. in a white Lexus SUV (model 350/400) and launched an assault that resulted in the deaths of two soldiers.
A military source, who wished to remain anonymous, provided details of the incident but could not confirm the exact number of attackers involved.
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Confirming the incident in a press release on Wednesday, Lieutenant Colonel Jonah Unuakhalu of the Joint Task Force South East Operation UDO KA said: “In the early hours of today, 13 November 2024, troops of the Joint Task Force South East Operation UDO KA, deployed at a checkpoint along the Umuahia – Owerri Road in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, came under attack by the irredentist group Indigenous People of Biafra and its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network.
“During the attack, the gallant troops were able to repel the assault, forcing the attackers to retreat in disarray with gunshot wounds, abandoning one Sienna and one Lexus Jeep used in the attack. However, in the ensuing firefight, two soldiers paid the supreme price.”
The Joint Task Force appealed to residents of the South East, particularly those in Abia State, for credible information to help track down the fleeing attackers and combat criminal elements in the region.
The force reiterated its commitment to protecting lives and property in line with global best practices and the rules of engagement.
Gunmen kill two soldiers in Abia checkpoint attack
metro
94 arrested as task force raids Lagos rail corridor squatters
94 arrested as task force raids Lagos rail corridor squatters
At least 94 illegal occupants and squatters along the railway corridor from Pen Cinema to Fagba were arrested by the Lagos State Taskforce in an early morning sting operation on Wednesday.
During the raid, substances suspected to be hard drugs—such as Indian hemp, colorado, and other harmful drugs—were seized, along with various weapons.
It was gathered that those arrested attempted to resist the task force’s actions.
In a statement, Director of Public Affairs, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, confirmed that those arrested will face prosecution.
He added that the agency dismantled shanties and makeshift structures along the railway corridor, clearing a distance of some kilometers.
The Taskforce Chairman Adetayo Akerele explained that the eviction aimed to provide relief for residents around the Fagba, Agege, and Pen Cinema railway routes, following numerous complaints from the public about criminal activities in the area.
He noted that the squatting had violated environmental and sanitary regulations.
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Akerele also highlighted the health and safety risks posed by the presence of squatters along the rail corridor.
He warned the evicted individuals not to return and assured residents and train passengers that regular patrols and surveillance would be conducted to prevent the re-establishment of shanties in the area.
“The rail tracks are not meant for habitation or the sale of narcotics. Anyone caught converting this place into a den of criminals or an area of residence will face severe consequences according to the law,” Akerele was quoted as saying.
Speaking on the raid, Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed that a locally fabricated short gun was recovered.
“94 suspects were arrested during the midnight operation; a locally fabricated short gun and several wraps of illicit substance suspected to be indian hemp, charm and a jack knife were recovered.
“The suspects will be charged to court accordingly,” Wahab stated in a post on X.
94 arrested as task force raids Lagos rail corridor squatters
metro
Okpebholo sacks all political appointees, Board executives in Edo
Okpebholo sacks all political appointees, Board executives in Edo
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has swept out all Board, Parastatal, and Agency appointees from his predecessor, Godwin Obaseki, in a decisive move to overhaul the state’s public service.
A statement released on Wednesday by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, confirmed the immediate dismissal of all political appointees and Permanent Secretaries brought in from outside the state Civil Service.
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The statement reads:
“For the information of the general public, His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State, has approved the dissolution of Executives of all Boards, Agencies, and Parastatals in the Edo State Public Service with immediate effect.
“In addition, all Permanent Secretaries appointed from outside the State Public/Civil Service and all Political Appointees are hereby relieved of their appointments.”
Affected individuals have been directed to return all government property in their possession to the senior Public Officers in their respective Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
Okpebholo sacks all political appointees, Board executives in Edo
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