Crime

Herdsmen Sack Kogi Community, Kill 19, Burn Houses

Published

3 years ago

January 4, 2020

No fewer than 19 people were killed in the early hours of Friday when some gunmen suspected to be killer herdsmen invaded Tawari community in Kotonkarfe local government area of Kogi State.

The rampaging herdsmen also razed down buildings, including places of worship.

Administrator of the local government, Hon. Musa Tanko Mohammed who spoke on phone confirmed that 19 persons were killed.

Public Relations Officer of the Kogi State Police Command, Mr Williams Anya, also confirmed the development in an interview in Lokoja on Friday.

Giving further update, the Police Command also disclosed that about 28 houses and vehicles were razed by the attackers in Tawari community among other destruction.

Anya said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Ede Ayuba Ekpeji, had visited the community for on the spot assessment.

He also said that the Commissioner of Police had deployed Special Police Force and Police Tactical Squad, led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, to immediately unravel those behind the heinous act with a view to bringing them to book.

The king of Tawari, Chief Idris Yusuf, who also spoke on telephone, confirmed the incident, saying it was the first time the community was experiencing such attack.

“This is the first time we are witnessing such deadly attack in our community. Our community has been very peaceful.” Yusuf, who is the Aguma of Tawari, said that he would provide details on the development as he was busy attending to sympathisers”, he added.

A resident of Tawari community, Mrs Comfort Solomon, who survived the attack, said the gunmen, numbering about 100 invaded the community late on Thursday.

She said the gunmen came in their numbers on motorcycles and descended on the village, killing and burning buildings until the early hours of Friday.

Solomon said that many places of worship, including the palace of the Akuma of Tawari were burnt down by the invaders.

“The gunmen were up to 100 in number. They came into the community with motorcycles around 11:15 p.m. when villagers were sleeping. They entered selected houses, packed foodstuff and motorcycles and burnt selected houses, including homes of clerics. They killed more than 15 men. The attackers were communicating with each other in Hausa language,” Solomon stated, weeping profusely.

It was gathered that the attack is a reprisal attack by the herdsmen have been having running battles with the community.

The killing of four suspected herdsmen, alleged to be kidnappers along Lokoja Abuja federal highway on December 30 by security agencies, following a tip off by vigilantes from Tawari community, was alleged to be what angered the militia to attack the community.

A source also said that one of the herdsmen was killed sometimes last year and his body mutilated by suspected ritualists, a crime for which the victim’s colleagues hold the Tawari community responsible and threatened a reprisal.

But following persistent persuasion by the community head, Alhaji Yahaya Tawari, against a reprisal, the herdsmen lived in the community with their hosts in peace until few days ago when they started moving out en masse.

While efforts were made to find out their reason for the mass movement, the herdsmen said their movement was a way of life, assuring that they had no ulterior motives.

Meanwhile, Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, has directed the security agencies in the state to fish out perpetrators of Tawari attack for justice.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Onogwu Muhammed, Bello said the security agencies should swing into action and ensure that those who carried out the dastardly act face the law.

The governor, who condemned the attack and warned that anyone nursing the ambition of causing crisis in the state would have himself or herself to blame, assured that his administration would do everything possible to protect life and property of the people of the state.

He urged the people to be calm and law abiding, assuring them that his administration was determined to flush out bandits and criminals out of the state.

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Crime

Court Convicts Businesswoman Of N47.6m Agribusiness Scheme Fraud

Published

25 mins ago

March 27, 2023

Editor

An Ikeja Special Offences Court on Monday convicted a businesswoman, Blessing Adanu, for defrauding a woman of N47.6 million on the pretext of supplying her agricultural produce.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adanu traded under the name of Emerald Multipurpose Cooperative Society to defraud her victim in a purported agribusiness scheme.

Justice Mojisola Dada convicted Adanu on a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretences and stealing.

Dada held that evidence before the court, including statements made by the convict during interrogations, proved all the essential ingredients of obtaining by false pretences and stealing.

Dada dismissed the argument of defence that the charges emanated from contractual disputes that were civil in nature.

“As noted by the prosecution, most economic and financial crimes arose from transactions that had a semblance of contractual transactions.

“But along the line, a lot of factors come in to derail the smooth sail when the heart of man begins to dialogue with the devil to outsmart another person and he succumbs to it.

“The defendant’s oral testimony in court that the agribusiness was affected by flooding and Fulani herdsmen attack were an afterthought.

“She wanted to be living big at the expense of other people without counting the cost.

“Although the defendant seems to have absconded, having jumped bail graciously granted her by this court, the truth is that she cannot run away from justice.

“From the foregoing, therefore, evidence before the court clearly shows that the case against the defendant has been proved beyond every reasonable doubt on the two counts of obtaining the sum of N47.6 million under false pretences.

“I hereby declare the defendant guilty as charged on the two counts,” Dada said.

NAN reports that the convict’s sentencing was, however, suspended in accordance with Sections 321 and 352 (5) of the Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJ) Act, 2015, in conjunction with Section 278 (1) of the ACJ Law 2015, pending when she will be apprehended and brought before the court.

Counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Samuel Daji, had called three witnesses through whom several pieces documentary evidence were tendered and admitted against the convict.

Defence counsel, Mr Olarewaju Ajanaku, called four witnesses, including the defendant, who testified as the fourth witness.

After the closure of the case of the defence on June 30, 2022, the defendant stopped appearing in court.

Based on the above, Daji, on Nov.3, 2022, applied to the court to revoke the bail of the defendant and allow the trial to continue in her absence.

There was no objection from defence.

Dada subsequently revoked the bail and issued a bench warrant for Adanu arrest.

The judge ordered that the EFCC should declare her wanted.

EFCC had said that the businesswoman committed the offences between Nov.30, 2018, and Jan. 11, 2019, in Lagos.

It said that she dishonestly stole and converted to her own use, a cumulative sum of N47.6 million from Mrs Favour Nnamani, in contravention of Sections 1(1) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section and 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2011. (NAN)

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Crime

Convicted Nigerian Woman Extradited To U.S. Over Illicit Payment

Published

3 days ago

March 25, 2023

Editor

A convicted Nigerian fugitive, Florence Enwerim Onyegbu, was on Thursday, extradited to the United States of America, where she is wanted to answer to criminal charges bordering on the violation of the U.S. law involving the offer and payment of illegal remuneration in a health care matter.

Onyegbu ‘sextradition was coordinated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, following a request by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, seeking assistance for her apprehension.

The EFCC said its investigations revealed that she had changed her name from Florence E. Onyegbu to Janet Boi in an attempt to remain hidden.

But that she however ran out of luck when operatives of the EFCC swooped on her at her residence in the Ojodu area of Lagos on February 21, 2022.

The anti-graft agency said that upon her arrest, a national identity card with the name Janet Boi as well as a Texas driver’s license with the name Florence Enwerim Onyegbu were found on her.

The Commission, on March 22, 2023, handed over Onyegbu to the FBI, following an extradition order granted by Justice Z.B. Abubakar of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on December 2, 2022.

It will be recalled that Onyegbu’s travails began after she was arrested on February 12, 2011 in the U.S. and subsequently sentenced to 46 months imprisonment, following a guilty plea , over the violation of the U.S. law bordering on the offer and payment of illegal remuneration in a health care matter.

Although she was ordered to report for service of her sentence on April 4, 2011, she failed to surrender on that date.

Consequently, she was further charged with failure to surrender for service of sentence in violation of U.S. Law on March 4, 2013.

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Crime

Man To Die By Hanging For Robbery, Kidnapping

Published

3 days ago

March 24, 2023

Editor

A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on Thursday sentenced four men to death by hanging for armed robbery and kidnapping of a woman, Mrs Gloria Emole.

The convicts are Victor Chukwunonso, Ifeanyi Maduaka, Obinna Nwankwo and Richard Nwabueze.

Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo held that the prosecution was able to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The convicts were said to have committed the offences on November 19, 2012, at about 8.30 am.

They were arraigned on July 13, 2013, and were remanded in prison custody.

The convicts were arraigned on a three-count bordering on conspiracy, armed robbery and kidnapping preferred against them by Lagos State.

The state Director of Public Prosecution, Dr Babajide Martins, had told the court during their arraignment that they kidnapped the victim who was about to leave her house at 7, Unity Street, Ogudu GRA, Lagos.

According to the prosecutor, the offences committed are contrary to and punishable under Sections 297,285 (2) a, and 291, of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015.

The victim was later released on November 22, 2012, after a ransom of $70,000 was paid by her husband.

“The defendants are sentenced to 10 years for the first count of conspiracy. They are hereby sentenced to death by hanging for the second count of armed robbery and sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for the third count of kidnapping,” Justice Lawal-Akapo held.