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Abductors abuse our deaf, dumb daughters, collected N5.5m ransom – Edo family

Published

9 months ago

April 14, 2024

Edo State Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Funsho Adegboye

Abductors abuse our deaf, dumb daughters, collected N5.5m ransom – Edo family

The sleepy community known as Oke Old in Sabongida-Ora, Etsako West local government area of Edo State was thrown into mourning and anxiety as kidnappers suspected to be criminal Fulani invaded a feed mill plant for their criminal activity and at the end of their operation, two deaf and dumb girls were abducted but the trainee manager identified as Elisha Udejei was not so lucky as he shot to death at close range. The community has a school and a church.

While Udejei, a young graduate of the University of Ibadan was killed, an eye witness who is also a worker on the farm and identified as Emmanuel Atafo abandoned his motorbike and ran to safety when he heard the gunshot fired at Udejei.
While Udejei was buried a few days after the incident, the kidnapped girls spent eight days in their abductors’, abused and were only released after N5.5m ransom was paid by their parents. They are 33 and 28 years old

The owner of the farm who did not want his name mentioned for security reasons said he took the girls to Lagos where they were trained in a special school in Oyo State before going back to the community to work in the factory after they graduated.

He said the kidnappers used the phones of the girls to contact their parents and negotiated for their release. They were kidnapped in Sabongida-Ora and released somewhere along Afuze road in Owan East local government area.

There is a strong suspicion that an insider may have led the kidnappers to the facility and that from the negotiation with the kidnappers, they claimed that they had sponsors who insisted that they must not collect less than N5 million.

The kidnap

The father of the one of kidnapped girls (name withheld) narrated the situation to Sunday Vanguard “It was on the 1st of April that they were attacked in their place of work and one of them was shot dead then one escaped but two of the females who are physically challenged were abducted by the kidnappers and taken into the bus, they were with them from Monday till Monday, they were calling for ransom, they started by saying that it is N10 million each that is N20m for the two of them then during the negotiation, we begged and they finally agreed on N5m per person but we said we don’t have this money and they finally accepted N5.5m for the two of them and that was the ransom that we finally paid before they were released. You know what it means for two physically challenged people to be in the midst of hardened criminals in the bush for eight days.

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Security

“When this thing happened, one of them that managed to escape got to a place where you have a military checkpoint, he got to them, but he said they didn’t show much concern about the story he was telling them, they were just questioning him here and there so he sad he left them and went to tell the people what happened. The following morning, everybody went there, the soldiers said their Commandant was coming and he never came. We were there as early as 8: am and we were there till 6: pm, there was no effort from them whatsoever even the police did not do anything, they were busy extorting money from the people, go and do this, go and bring that, let us go to the mortuary to go and see the person that you said they killed.
“The annoying part of it is that it was on Friday, this thing happened on Monday that they now said they want to go and comb the bush and it was like, what are you combing, something happened on Monday and it is now Friday that you want to go for bush combing?”

State of the girls

“When they were released after we paid the ransom, we took them to the hospital that very Monday then by Tuesday they were discharged, they are fine just that they were traumatized. We are just trying to console them and anytime they ask after their colleague that was killed we were initially telling them he was fine but we have to let them know that he died and that increased their trauma.

From medical reports, the issue of abuse could not be ruled out. Imagine small beautiful girls though they are physically challenged being in the midst of hardened criminals, drug addicts, for eight days in the bush so that couldn’t be ruled out.”

Release

“That was another funny aspect of the whole thing, one person has to go with the money to go and pay ransom in cash. We searched here and there to raise the money then the person who wanted to go and pay the ransom was told to go to Afuze area, at a time they will tell him go to a particular location, you will see police checkpoint there, they were giving him directives so he finally got to the place where they finally sighted him and directed him to ride the motorcycle into the bush with his bike then they got to a place where he met four of them and then the two girls.

“When they were going to pay the ransom, they instructed that when we are coming with the money, we should come with one pack of predator, one pack of malt and one pack of fearless drink so we bought the three items added to the money for them. They handed over the two girls to the man who went to pay the ransom. It was traumatic.”

Abductors abuse our deaf, dumb daughters, collected N5.5m ransom – Edo family

Vanguard

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Army destroys 20 illegal oil refinery sites

Published

2 minutes ago

December 29, 2024

Trends Admin

Army destroys 20 illegal oil refinery sites

The 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, says its troops have dismantled 20 illegal refining sites, deactivated 21 boats used for the crime and recover over 90,000 litres of stolen petroleum products in the ongoing anti bunkering operations in the Niger Delta region.

A statement issued in Port Harcourt at the weekend by the Division’s Deputy Director of Public Relations, Lt. Col. Danjuma Jonah, said eight suspects were arrested in the operations carried out from 23-29 December 2024.

Lt. Col. Jonah said following a tip-off on illegal activities around Buguma general area in Asari-Toru LGA, troops responded effectively leading to the discovery of a massive tarpaulin storage reservoir and a wooden boat with over 37,000 litres of stolen condensates.

“At Ogajiama axis of Buguma/Bakana general area, also in Asari-Toru LGA, troops had gun duel with the criminal elements, who fled due to superior firepower. Also, an illegal refining site, one big pot and a receiver containing 9,000 litres of illegally refined Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) were handled appropriately.

“This was in addition to three locally made boats intercepted in the area in the process of loading crude from an abandoned wellhead. Three suspected oil thieves were arrested during the operations.

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“Relatedly, around Krakrama Community in Degema LGA, two illegal refining sites, four fibre and three wooden boats were intercepted respectively as well as about 2,000 litres of stolen crude handled. At Gbede in Omoku, one illegal refining site, 27 locally made ovens, 31 sacks loaded with over 2,000 litres of stolen products were confiscated.

“While at Odagwa-Imo Riverside in Etche LGA, one illegal refining site, two drum pots, a wooden boat and over 3,500 litres of stolen products were recovered. Similarly, at the fringes of Imo River, seven illegal refining sites, six boats, 122 drum pots, 49 drum receivers and over 10,000 litres of stolen products were recovered.

“In Bayelsa State, at Biseni Forest in Yenagoa LGA, one illegal refining site was dismantled with about 8,000 litres of stolen fuel confiscated. Troops also uncovered an attempt at vandalising one of the inactive Shell Petroleum Development Company’s flowlines at Well 20 by unknown persons at Opukushi general area in Ekeremor LGA.

“While in Akwa Ibom State, troops intercepted eleven 280-litre drums loaded with about 3,080 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at Enwang II in Mbo LGA.

“In a follow up operations conducted, troops discovered the source of the product, which was traced to a loading point at Dazele Filling Station, Ibaka. Additional 31 drums of PMS estimated at 8,680 litres were intercepted. Preliminary investigation revealed that the products were primed for smuggling to a neighbouring country.

“In Delta State, various kinetic and non kinetic lines of operations were conducted . These operations have effectively denied criminal elements freedom of action in the area, the statement pointed out.”

The statement added that the General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Jamal Abdussalam charged troops to continue to maintain vigilance in the Joint Operations Area in order to create an enabling environment for exploration activities to thrive in the region.

Army destroys 20 illegal oil refinery sites

metro

Lagos heads to Supreme Court over Olaleye’s sexual assault acquittal

Published

12 minutes ago

December 29, 2024

Trends Admin

Lagos heads to Supreme Court over Olaleye’s sexual assault acquittal

The Lagos State Government has headed to the Supreme Court to challenge the acquittal of defilement charges against Dr. Olufemi Olaleye.

Dr. Olaleye, the medical director of the Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, has been accused of defiling his wife’s 16-year-old niece.

He was initially sentenced to life in prison by the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in October 2023.

However, on November 29, 2024, the Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned Dr. Olaleye’s conviction due to contradictions in the prosecution’s evidence.

The appeals court determined that the trial court erred in convicting Dr. Olaleye based on “tainted” and “unreliable” evidence from his estranged wife and the putative survivor.

In response to this finding, civil society organisations pressed the state administration to appeal the decision.

They petitioned Lawal Pedro (SAN), the Lagos State Attorney General, urging the government to appeal the judgement to the Supreme Court in order to restore public trust in the legal system.

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On December 12, 2024, the commissioner for justice told reporters at a press briefing that the case file was already on his desk and that the ministry would evaluate the appellate court’s decision.

When asked if he planned to appeal the judgement, Pedro stated that he had 90 days to do so. Dissatisfied with the appeals court’s judgement, the Lagos State Government argued that the acquittal was unjust.

The administration is now attempting to overturn the appellate court’s ruling before the Supreme Court.

The Lagos State Government filed an appeal on December 27, 2024, attempting to revoke Olaleye’s acquittal by the Court of Appeal.

The state government’s grounds for appeal include the claim that the appellate court erred in disregarding Section 209(2) of the Evidence Act of 2011 and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dagaya v. State (2006).

The state maintained that sworn testimony of a kid over the age of fourteen (14) needed corroboration, as provided by Section 209(3) of the testimony Act of 2011, which requires corroboration of evidence of a child under 14 in order to gain a conviction.

The state further claimed that the Justices of the Court of Appeals erred in law when they ruled that exhibits H, H1, and H2 were incorrectly allowed and relied on by the trial court since trial within trial was not conducted for their admissibility.

“The factors guiding the admissibility of confessional statements are well laid down in Sections 28 and 29 of the Evidence Act 2011, and objections to such admissibility must be raised at the time the statement is sought to be tendered, not after it has been admitted without objection.”

Lagos heads to Supreme Court over Olaleye’s sexual assault acquittal

metro

Nigerian govt urged to intervene in Mozambique post-election violence

Published

16 minutes ago

December 29, 2024

Trends Admin

Nigerian govt urged to intervene in Mozambique post-election violence

Akinola Olunloyo, a Nigerian in Mozambique, has appealed to the Nigerian government to intervene in Mozambique’s political crisis following the confirmation of the ruling party’s victory in the October 9 elections.

He urged President Bola Tinubu to use his influence within the African Union to mobilise efforts to restore peace and stability in Mozambique.

In an interview with journalists on Sunday, Mr Olunloyo said the political unrest was fuelled by the actions of the opposition party, Podemos, through its candidate, Venâncio Mondlane.

Mozambique’s Frelimo has been the ruling party since 1975, when the country gained independence from Portugal.

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Mr Olunloyo, a businessman and resident of Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, for over 13 years, said many Nigerians were stranded with no means of escape.

“The incitement of violence by Podemos and its key figure, Venâncio Mondlane, has escalated tensions resulting in the loss of lives, destruction of businesses, and targeted attacks on foreign nationals, including Nigerians.

“These actions are not only causing untold suffering to Mozambicans but also putting the lives of Nigerians in jeopardy.

“Immediate intervention is critical to prevent further loss of life and to secure the safety of Nigerians in Mozambique,” he said.

He noted that the attack on foreigners and their businesses was because of the belief that the government benefited from foreigners.

Mr Olunloyo urged the presidency to take actions, including evacuation of Nigerians, to ensure their safety and diplomatic engagement with the Mozambican government to demand the protection of Nigerians and press for immediate de-escalation of violence.

He called on regional bodies and the African Union to demand accountability from Podemos and Mondlane for their role in inciting violence and destabilising the country.