Metro

Court Sentences Four To Death For Stealing Motorcycle In Ekiti

Published

2 years ago

December 6, 2023

An Ekiti State High Court has sentenced four men to death for armed robbery.

The convicts Segun Friday (39), Tijani Semiu Seun (27), Ogunyemi Segun Olarewaju (29) and Adebayo Tope (23) were arraigned before Justice Adekunle Adeleye on 17th July, 2020 on a two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery.

According to the charge, the defendants on December 24, 2018 at Irare Village, Erinmope in Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State, conspired to commit felony and rob one Adeleke Abiodun of his Bajaj motorcycle, while armed with guns.

The offences contravene Section 6(b) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act. Cap. RII, Vol. 14 and Section 1(2) (a) Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act. Cap. RII, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

In his testimony before the court, the victim said, “I am a commercial motorcyclist plying Otun and Erinmope Ekiti. On the fateful day, I conveyed a lady from Otun to Erinmope Ekiti. On my way back to Otun, one man stopped me, we negotiated to take him to Irare village. I refused to go further when I discovered I was going inside the forest.

“I saw a motorcyclist pushing his bike towards us, he intervened in the argument, he said he was the one who brought the man from Ado Ekiti but ran out of petrol, he assured of me of my safety and I later agreed. He was making several phone calls while we were going.

“On our way, we bypassed a man and another one in front of me, before I knew it, the one at my back tried to strangle me on the motorcycle. When we fell, we were dragging the bike, the one I bypassed and the other in front of me joined and they dispossessed me of the motorcycle and ran away.

“I saw a man and his wife coming from their farm on a motorcycle, I narrated what happened to them and they raised the alarm and villagers came out and combed the surroundings which led to arrest of one of them.

“Thereafter, he was handed over to the police. He later led the police to the Atikankan area of Ado Ekiti where other members of the gang were arrested but the motorcycle was nowhere to be found till today.”

To prove his case, the prosecutor, Julius Ajibare, called three witnesses and tendered the defendants’ statements as exhibits while the defendants spoke through their counsel, Adeyinka Opaleke.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Adekunle Adeleye said, “There is an evidence of direct plot between the conspirators. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants indeed took steps to achieve the agreed task of robbery.

“From the evidence placed before the court by the complainant, he has established beyond reasonable doubt, the meeting of mind of the defendants to dispossess the owner of a motorcycle.

“It is also established without doubt that the defendants took steps in achieving the agreed unlawful act of dispossessing his Bajaj motorcycle. The four defendants are found guilty in count one (conspiracy) and count two (armed robbery) as charged.”

The judge subsequently sentenced the convicts to death.

Metro

NAF Airstrikes Kill Scores Of Terrorists, Destroy Hideout In Borno

Published

3 hours ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Air Force said air interdictions by the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai have killed scores of terrorists and destroyed their enclave in Borno.

This was contained in a statement released by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, on Thursday in Abuja.

Ejodame said the strikes were conducted on Wednesday at about 10:50 a.m. in Bula Madibale, Gezuwa general area of the state.

He said intelligence and surveillance had confirmed unusual movements at the location, where about 45 terrorists were observed converging, some arriving on motorcycles and bicycles from different directions.

According to him, reconnaissance also revealed two terrorist flags hoisted at the site, underscoring its use as a stronghold and rallying point for insurgents.

“Acting on this credible intelligence, the Air Component launched precision strikes, eliminating several terrorists, while the flagged structure and other hostile assets were destroyed,” he said.

Ejodame also said that the strikes denied the terrorists freedom to regroup, reinforce or mount further attacks on communities in the North East.

He assured that the Armed Forces remained committed to restoring peace and stability across the region.

NAN

Metro

Police Arrest Islamic Cleric With Human Flesh In Oyo

Published

4 hours ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

The Police Command in Oyo State has arrested an Islamic cleric, simply identified as Alfa Bashiru, in possession of suspected human flesh.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, CSP Adewale Osifeso, confirmed this on Thursday in a post on the verified X handle of the Command.

He said that the Federal Highway Patrol team intercepted a white bus with registration number XA 551 IRG, which the suspect allegedly boarded, at the Toll Gate axis of the Ibadan Expressway at 11:30 a.m., on Wednesday.

Oyefeso said that the suspect, when quizzed, claimed to have bought the suspected human flesh in Lagos.

The suspect, he said, had been transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Iyaganku, for further investigation.

“The suspected item is undergoing forensic analysis to determine its authenticity and source,” Osifeso said.

In a separate development, operatives of the command during a Search and Stop Operation recovered an abandoned Toyota Camry car with Registration number LSD 957 JX.

Osifeso said that police operatives flagged down the Toyota Camry car during a routine search, and the driver of the car jumped down and took to his heels, abandoning the vehicle.

“The car has been taken into custody by the Command while members of the public with legitimate claims to the vehicle are urged to come forward with verifiable documents or contact the Police Command,” he said.

The police spokesman said that Stop and Search operations were not exaggerated security theatrics, but real and deliberate measures to maintain law and order and as well as ensuring the safety of residents and travellers within Oyo State.

Osifeso said that the command under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, Femi Haruna, appreciated the public for their continued cooperation and understanding.

He assured them of sustained police efforts to combat crime and foster a more secure environment.

NAN

Metro

Fake Madman Arrested For Cultivating Cannabis Farm In Anambra

Published

5 hours ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, for allegedly disguising himself as a mentally unstable person while secretly cultivating a cannabis farm in Awka, the state capital.

The Spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, stated in a press release on Thursday that operatives attached to the operations department arrested the suspect during a patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway, near Ngozika Estate, on Wednesday.

The statement read in part, “The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, who pretended to be mentally unstable while secretly cultivating a marijuana farm in Awka, the state capital.

“The police operatives attached to the Operations Department, Awka, nabbed the suspect on September 17, 2025, during a routine patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway near Ngozika Estate.

“He later led the team to the hidden farm, where large quantities of weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa were recovered.

“The Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, noted that the arrest reflects the Command’s renewed strategy of cutting off criminal supplies by targeting drug dealers who embolden cultists and violent offenders.”

According to him, the CP further directed that the suspect should be handed over to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, Enugwu-Ukwu, for discreet investigation to trace his buyers and dismantle the wider distribution network.

The PUNCH had reported that the police command has arrested no fewer than 54 suspects, comprising 39 males and 15 females, for various offences ranging from kidnapping, cultism, hard drugs and banned substances.

Ikenga said the arrests were followed by coordinated raids by police operatives in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area, and Ifitedunu, Dunukofia LGA, in separate raid operations.

According to him, the coordinated operations were in line with renewed strategies aimed at restoring sanity in the state and curbing the growing menace of crime among young people between 18 and 26 years.