Gangsters stab union boss to death in Lagos

Seyi Rugged

A gang of thugs have stabbed the vice chairman of a branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers to death.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim, Seyi Olaleye, aka Seyi Rugged, was killed on Moore Street, off Apapa Road in the Ebute Meta area of Lagos State.

Our correspondent was told that Olaleye, who was in his 30s, was the vice chairman, NURTW, Deji Ayewa, Costain branch.

It was learnt that he was killed during a clash with a group of thugs led by one Waheed aka Skippo.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Skippo and Seyi Rugged and their respective followers had been at loggerheads for some times.

It was learnt that the fresh crisis began after some of Skippo’s boys attacked Seyi Rugged’s boys during a carnival in the first week of January.

A member of the Neighbourhood Watch, who craved anonymity, said, “Seyi Rugged group controls Jones and Vaughan streets as well as Oto and Railway line.

“Skippo controls Brickfield, Olokodana, Ilogbo and Fagbaimu areas. On January 6, there was a carnival in Abule Nla and Skippo’s boys attacked and overpowered Seyi Rugged’s people and fled.

“In the same week, there was another attack on Seyi Rugged’s boys again and he felt it was time to retaliate.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that elders in the community called Seyi Rugged for a meeting two weeks ago and advised him to make peace with Skippo.

The deceased, who was married with two sons, was said to have agreed and promised not to foment any trouble.

The deceased was said to have constantly complained that he and his boys were being marginalised by authorities of the Mainland Local Government who outsourced jobs to Skippo’s faction.

A resident, who introduced herself simply as Iya Dada, said, “Skippo was part of the Local Government’s security team and his faction usually enjoyed benefits from the government.”

It was learnt that penultimate Friday, after a caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress, a prominent member of the party gave out money to some of the thugs who had gathered to serenade them.

An eyewitness, Adebola Onafeko, said a fight soon broke out between Seyi Rugged’s faction and Skippo.

He said, “Around 6pm, Seyi Rugged led his boys to fight against Skippo and his boys. Seyi Rugged was hacked many times and his fingers were cut off.

“Skippo and his boys also sustained injuries. A few minutes later, Seyi Rugged, who was in a pool of blood, was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead.

“We reported the matter to policemen at the Iponri Police Division, and policemen came to the hospital.”

Our correspondent learnt that the police arrested many youths in the area.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that the deceased, a graduate of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, had been buried.

Residents urged the police to beef up security in the area in order to forestall any reprisal.

Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, could not be reached for comment.

PUNCH

US Pledges More Support for the EFCC

The United Sates government will continue to support efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in tacking economic crimes and corruption in Nigeria. James Entwistle, new American Ambassador to Nigeria made the pledge in Abuja Monday February 3, 2014 when he paid a courtesy visit on the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde. The American envoy who observed that corruption remains a global challenge, pledge his country’s continued support to the EFCC. Even though he did not state the form the support will take, he said he was impressed with the programme of the Commission and that his country will support the EFCC “in any way we can”.

Earlier while welcoming the envoy and his team, the EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde commended the United States government for their support for the EFCC since its inception. He said the US government remains a major international ally of the Commission in the fight against corruption and financial crimes, adding that the agency has had several joint operations with a number of US law enforcement organizations including the FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service. “We will do our utmost best not to let you down. We know you have confidence in us; we will make sure that the confidence is not misplaced. The US does not want us to be involved in politics and we will try to do that so that we don’t get drown in politics,” he said.

 The EFCC chairman said the Commission remains neutral and non-partisan in the discharge charge of its responsibilities. “Most of the times anything that happens, whether people are at fault they blame it on someone else. Even when there is a genuine case and you go after an individual, they will start saying that he is being haunted because he is this or that. It is a situation that is laden with landmine now. So we have to meander to avoid stepping on the landmine so that they don’t blow us up. It is very difficult. We went through that in 2011. Sometime when election is coming it become very difficult to do anything.”

He however assured the ambassador that the Commission will not be deterred. “We have decide to do our job to the best of our ability with the dictate of our conscience knowing what is right and what is not”

He said despite the challenges confronting the Commission, it was able to secure one hundred and seventeen (117) convictions in 2013.

POLICEMAN ON VIDEO ALLEGEDLY DEMANDING DOLLAR BRIBE ARRESTED, NOW IN POLICE CUSTODY

A hitherto unidentified policeman caught in a hidden camera allegedly demanding “dollar bribe” from a citizen has been identified and arrested. He is F/No. 374171 Cpl Aniyem Chiyem attached to Isheri Division, Lagos State Police Command. His arrest was sequel to a matching order issued by the Inspector-General of Police, IGP MD Abubakar, CFR, NPM, mni, psc to the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Umar Abubakar Manko to ensure prompt arrest and investigation of the matter. Following his arrest, the suspect who is now in police custody, is undergoing Orderly Room trials and if found guilty will face appropriate disciplinary actions.

Meanwhile, the IGP has commended the unknown whistleblower in this case for his painstaking efforts in exposing what would have been a hidden crime.  He equally enjoins other members of the public to emulate this noble and patriotic action which will certainly go a long way in checkmating crime in our society.

Gunmen kill Newswatch editor in Lagos

Toyin

GUNMEN in two Sport Utility Vehicles shot an assistant editor with Saturday Newswatch newspaper, Mr. Toyin Obadina, on Friday in Ikorodu, a suburb in Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that although the 50-year-old indigene of Ogun State did not die on the spot, he died on Sunday after a surgery to remove the bullets lodged in his stomach.

The wife of the deceased, Biola, told our correspondent during an interview at her brother-in-law’s house in Ajuwon, Ogun State on Sunday that her husband did nothing to warrant the attack.

Biola, who spoke while fighting back tears, said, “Around 11.30pm on Friday, my husband was on his way back home. As a newspaper editor, he had informed me that he was finishing production late. He told me that on getting to Parafa end of Imota Road, opposite Aico company, two jeeps driving towards him on the other end of the road crossed his vehicle.

“He said when he realised that they were bandits, he immediately alighted from the vehicle and told them they could have anything they wanted. They collected all his money from him. He then begged them not to kill him, but one of them slapped him. They then shot him in the stomach.

“He attempted to run but he was shot in the stomach a second time before the robbers fled.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that some residents gathered around and were able to get a hold of Toyin’s phone.

It was learnt that they were able to obtain Toyin’s wife’s number and they informed her to rush down to the scene.

She said, “The scene was just about five minutes’ drive from my house, so I pleaded with a neighbour to accompany me and we rode in his car. On getting to the scene, I saw my husband injured. His ash-coloured Toyota Yaris was still at the scene, but we conveyed my husband into the neighbour’s car and drove to Ikorodu General Hospital.

“On getting to Ikorodu General Hospital, we were told that the case was severe and we took him in the car to Gbagada General Hospital where we were also told that the case was severe. We finally took him to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.”

Biola said all through the journey, her husband remained conscious and was even speaking with her in the vehicle.

She said the father of her three children was taken into the theatre where a successful surgery was performed on him.

“I remained with my husband until 5.30am on Sunday when his brother said I should go home and bring some of his clothes. I was brought to his brother’s house instead and a few hours later, I was told that he gave up the ghost.

“I was surprised because the doctors had told us that after the surgery, my husband would feel ill for some days but on the fifth day, they would do a second surgery for him,” she said.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the aged and ill mother of the editor had not been informed of her son’s demise as of press time.

It was learnt that the victim was survived by three children, the eldest being only 12 years, while the youngest is five.

PUNCH Metro also learnt that the matter was being investigated at the Sagamu Road Division of the Nigeria Police Force.

The police, it was learnt, were unsure if the incident was an assassination or an armed robbery.

However, it was learnt that the gunmen also attacked someone in the same area that night and snatched the driver’s vehicle.

Meanwhile, the national and Lagos State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists have condemned Toyin’s murder.

In a separate statement issued by its National Secretary, Shuaib Leman, the NUJ described the incident as a reminder of the vulnerability of media professionals and evidence that the Nigerian system had over the years failed to protect its citizens.

The chairman, Lagos NUJ, Deji Elumoye, wondered what happened to the billions of naira that had been put into the state’s security trust fund. He said more was needed to be done in the area of security of lives and property.

PUNCH

Another policeman caught on video demanding dollars as bribe

The policeman

Like a recurring decimal, another policeman has been caught on video demanding American dollars after apprehending a Nigerian-American and two other Nigerians for alleged traffic offence(s).

A three-minute, 45-second footage secretly filmed by one of the passengers detailing the encounter of the trio, in the hands of the policeman, has become a sensation on YouTube and other social networking sites.

One of the three, who later spoke in Yoruba, was heard explaining to the policeman that one of them was actually celebrating his birthday and that they were hurrying to catch up with a friend. The incident, according to the description given on YouTube, was said to have happened in the Egbeda area of Lagos.

“Arrange dollars. Give us dollars,” the AK-47-wielding policeman, who was alone while the encounter lasted, declared to a well-built passenger who had been making efforts to pacify him.

The cop who was comfortably sitting at the back seat of the car from where he negotiated the dollar-bribe subsequently ordered the passenger back into the vehicle with a view to kick-starting the negotiation.

The Nigerian-American quickly cut in to explain that he wasn’t carrying any dollars on him and that he was only on vacation in the country.

“I don’t have dollars. If we had got dollars that would have been fine. If we had dollars it would be cool. We only have naira,” the passenger who spoke with what can be described as an American accent, said.

The third passenger also tried in vain to dissuade the policeman from insisting on taking the bribe in dollars. One of the passengers,  on noticing his resolve to take bribe,  offered him a bribe of N700 which the policeman promptly rejected.

“This is N700. What is the value of N700? I need dollars. Let us go and change it (naira to dollars). Bring better thing. That one is no money. That one is not money,  I don tell you finish oo,” he said with a scornful look.

After ruminating on the development for a few seconds, the policeman who appeared determined to take the bribe in dollars thereafter offered to give the passengers  a description of where the offices of bureau de change operators are situated in the area.

“They are changing it (money) here. There is a bureau de change (operator) here,” he explained while pointing towards the right hand side of the location where they were stationed.

When one of them brought up the idea of putting a call through to an influential person who they named as “Uncle” to bail them out of their predicament, the policeman became furious,  saying, “Call! Who you go call? I am not doing illegal duty.”

At a point when it appeared that they were not forthcoming on giving him the bribe, the policeman threatened to take them to the police station where they might face bigger sanctions for the alleged contravention of the traffic law.

“Start your motor make we go office. Let’s go to station,” he yelled at the guys.

 After the car driver pleaded with him not to carry out his threat, he calmed down and started renegotiating again.

The cop, who was seen sweating profusely, fanned himself intermittently with the vehicle particulars he had collected from the driver. At a point, he was seen dusting his cap, just as he lamented, “Na wa ooo.”

When the policeman sighted a cigarette with the Nigerian-American, he yelled, “Are you smoking?” This was in an apparent bid to strike a better bargain under the guise of a new bill for a law banning smoking in public places in Lagos.

The Nigerian American quickly replied, “Its e-cigarette.” The policeman who might have been bemused by what he was referring to immediately looked away and returned to the initial negotiation table.

But this time, he demanded to ascertain the actual identity of the man who had been speaking with him in a foreign accent. “Are you a Nigerian?” the policeman asked just as the Nigerian-American responded that he is a Nigerian.

“But you speak like oyinbo. How old are you in America (sic)?” the policeman further asked.

The Nigerian-American, who said he was 44-year-old, later explained that he had been living overseas for the past 15 years.

After making his inquiry, the policeman reiterated his demand. “Give us better thing abeg. Don’t waste my time. Let the money be complete. I don’t like this thing ooo. I say complete am.” The video later went dead.

It brings to five the number of policemen and women who have been caught on video demanding bribes from motorists.

A police sergeant, Chris Omeleze, was in fact dismissed from the Force in August 2013, after he was caught on video demanding a bribe of  N25, 000 from a motorist.

Barely two weeks after Omeleze was dismissed the video of two policewomen negotiating a bribe of N100 in Oshodi area of Lagos, surfaced on YouTube.

In September, another policeman attached to the Onitsha Area Command, Anambra State, was seen in a footage demanding a bribe of N10, 000 from a motorist.

PUNCH

CP orders arrest of five policemen for murder

Juliana Francis

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP), Prince Umar Manko has ordered for the arrest and detention of five policemen over the murder of two civilians.

The policemen, who were attached to the Ijora Badia Police Station, were said to have been arrested by Homicide detectives from the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos. Among the five policemen, is also the officer in charge of operation (Ops one), Ijora Badia Police Station.

It was gathered that the policemen were not only arrested for the murder of the two civilians identified as Moses Ayeniro and Iyke, surname yet unknown, but were also arrested for trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the state’s police authority.

After the two deceased were killed in a clash with the police, the policemen had repeatedly denied seeing, let alone shooting the victims. An autopsy result has now proved their lies, leading to their current arrest and detention at Panti.

Trouble for the five policemen started in December, 14, 2013, after a community member at the Ijora Badia area, identified as Mr. Kayode Omojuwa, Managing Director of ‘Dele Hotel,’ organised a party where all hell broke loose.

Eye witnesses’ accounts claimed that the two victims were gunned down by police at the wee hours of the morning, during a fracas between two youth gangs in the area, identified as Badia and Railway boys.

Their death caused the youths and women in the area to march to stage a protest to the Badia Police Station.

One of the victims was later identified as Moses Ayeniro, a relation to the Managing Director of Chicko International hotel, another hotel in that area.

The fighting started at a ‘Burial remembrance’ party organised by Ojo who was marking his late father’s four years remembrance.

During the party which started on a Saturday night and spilled over to Sunday morning, the two youth gangs, who attended the party, had a confrontation and before people at the party knew what was happening, they had attacked one another with dangerous weapons.

One of the youths, identified simply as Baba, from the Railway boys’ faction, was said to have been inflicted with severe machete cut on his shoulder.

It was in the heat of the fracas, that the police received a distress call and raced to the scene.

But rather than welcome the police intervention, both gangs were said to have attacked the policemen, forcing them to open fire. Two of the youths were gunned killed.

In the course of carrying further investigation into the matter, the police had arrested Omojuwa, organizer of the party.

When the dust over the death of the youths settled, Omojuwa had written a petition to Manko, demanding to know the true cause of the youths’ death since the police claimed they did not touch the youths.

Manko was said to have instructed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, in charge of Panti, to investigate the matter.

Just when the five policemen who allegedly committed the crime and attempted to conceal the crime felt that the case was dead and buried, autopsy examinations carried out on the corpses at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, (LASUTH), revealed that the boys were shot to death.

What further implicated the policemen were the bullets extracted from the corpses. The bullets belonged to guns of policemen.

Attempts made to get the Police Spokesperson, Ngozi Braide to confirm the arrest of the five policemen proved abortive, as she did not pick her calls and did not reply text messages.

Man impersonates Alake of Egbaland

Juliana Francis

The Special Fraud Unit (SFU) has arrested one Gani Bolaji Adeoti Akinmade who impersonated the Alake of Egbaland on facebook to defraud unsuspecting victims.

According to the Unit’s spokesperson, Ngozi Isintume, an information was received by the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, on July, 22, 2013 alleging that between May 3 and 22, 2013 a fraudster with phone number 08096897566 opened a facebook account with the name of HRM Oba Micheal Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland and attempted to swindle one Olubukola Awofeso, a UK resident whom he met on facebook, the sum of N300, 000.00. 

Isintume said: “It was further stated that the suspect attempted to lure the victim to partner in a business of supplying 300 transformers valued at N1, 007,700,600.00.  Gani Bolaji Adeoti Akinmade is 22-year- old, a drop-out of Tai Solarin College of Education, Ijebu-Ode.  He confessed to the crime but stated that he conspired with one Seyi Lewis and Ifeanyi to perpetrate the fraud.  He said that the Seyi asked him to use his FCMB account number for the fraud and that it was while he was trying to withdraw the sum of N13, 050.00 sent by a USA victim through Western Union No. FCL9992000 that he was arrested.

“HRM Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake of Egbaland stated that he has no facebook account and had not chatted with Bukola or proposed any business with her.

“Investigation is on-going.  The arrested suspect will be charged to court soonest while effort is on to arrest the fleeing suspects.|”