The Nigeria Police Force said they have made progress in combating crime and restoring security in Delta State and beyond, following the tragic events in Ohoro Forest, Ughelli, where police operatives were ambushed and gruesomely murdered, leading to the loss of thirteen (13) police rifles.

According to a press release issued on Tuesday via X by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force Intelligence Department Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) has successfully recovered ten (10) of the stolen arms during a coordinated operation in which they engaged the suspects in a gun duel.

“Following the recent tragic events in Ohoro Forest, Ughelli Delta State, where some police operatives were ambushed and gruesomely murdered leading to the loss of thirteen (13) police rifles to the criminal suspects, the FID-IRT have successfully recovered ten (10) of these arms,” Adejobi stated.

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The statement revealed that during the operation, some of the suspects were neutralised, while the police operatives reclaimed ten (10) of the stolen weapons and recovered additional arms used by the assailants.

In another significant development, the Nigeria Police addressed the kidnapping crisis that plagued the Lagos-Ibadan expressway with the arrest of suspects.

“Additionally, the Nigeria Police has effectively addressed the kidnapping crisis that has plagued the Lagos-Ibadan expressway with the arrest of six (6) members of the notorious kidnapping gang terrorizing the area,” the statement read.

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The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, reaffirmed the Force’s commitment to reducing crime to the barest minimum, leveraging on recent charges for succinct intelligence gathering and sharing for effective operational deployments.

“The IGP has reassured the public that the Police will continue to employ all necessary measures to combat criminal activities across the nation as the safety and security of Nigerian citizens remain the top priority, and the Force is committed to maintaining peace and order through diligent and proactive efforts,” Adejobi stated.

The IGP reiterated the determination of his leadership to create a safe and secure environment for all citizens while appreciating their support and cooperation.

An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, has sentenced a 45 years old teacher, Oluwagbemi Alabi, to 15 years imprisonment for raping an eight years old girl.

Alabi, who committed the offence in 1999, was arraigned on 25th August 2023 on one count charge of rape.

The charge read, “Alabi Oluwafemi sometime in the year 1999 at Ikere Ekiti within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did rape an eight-year-old girl, at the time of committing the offence.

“The offence was contrary to and punishable under Section 358 of the Criminal Code, Cap 30, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 1978.”

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In his testimony before the court, the victim, who said Alabi was his teacher and neighbour, said, “He touched my breast each time he came to teach me at home, I did not understand anything about what he was doing until he raped me in our sitting room when my mother travelled to Lagos and left me and my sister at home.

“He removed my cloth and used it to clean the blood and sperm and threw it away. I later ran to our neighbours weeping, they thought I was missing my mother, but I did not tell them what happened.

The victim, who said he dropped out of school since she could no longer concentrate on her studies, stated, “I was afraid anytime I saw him in the class. He came across me on Facebook sometime in the year 2012, he sent me a friend request and I declined.

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“In the year 2023 again, he started disturbing me, I reported the matter to the law enforcement agents, and I was advised to ignore him.

“Thereafter, he started sending disturbing and annoying videos and messages to me, referring to the past ugly incident. When I could no more bear it, I decided to take legal action against him”, she told the court.

To prove his case, the prosecutor, Kunle-Shina Adeyemo, called two witnesses and tendered a confessional statement of the defendant, evidence of the defendant’s conversations with the nominal complainant, petition and printout from the screenshot of chats among others as exhibits.

The defendant spoke in his defence through his lawyer, Ademola Adeyemi, and called two witnesses.

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In the judgment, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye said, “The sexual intercourse with the victim could not have been consensual in that, she, as an eight-year-old girl, was a minor and lacked the capacity to consent to sexual intercourse.

“The confessional statement of the defendant also showed without equivocation that the defendant indeed committed the offence.

“This issue is resolved in favour of the prosecution and the defendant is found guilty as charged.

“One of the aims of sentencing is to serve as a deterrent. The defendant is hereby sentenced to 15 years imprisonment without option of fine,” the judge pronounced.
PUNCH

The Academic Staff Union of Universities which has been agitating for improved funding of the education sector and better welfare for their members may have decided finally to embark on a national strike following the end of the union’s 14-day ultimatum which expires on Sunday

This was as members of the union at the University of Jos on Tuesday protested against the situation calling on the Federal Government to act quickly to avert the impending industrial action

Tuesday’s protest which started around 11 am disrupted the ongoing Second Semester examinations at UNIJOS as union members marched through the university community singing solidarity songs.

They also carried placards with different inscriptions some of which read: ‘Let ASUU members breathe,’ ‘Pay our promotion arrears,’ ‘Adequate funding of universities, Is that hard?’ ‘End ASUU strike now,’ “Sign Nimi Briggs MOA,’ ‘IPPIS is a fraud, migrate us now,’ and ‘Tinubu, release our revitalization fund,’, among others.”

They were joined in the protest by the university students in solidarity.

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The protesters later converged at the Senate building of the university where they were received by the top management of the institution including the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Tanko Ishaya; Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) and the Registrar, Dr Rejoice Songden.

The university’s ASUU Vice Chairman, Prof. Kiri Jaryum who led the protest told the VC that his members had endured enough suffering and maltreatment at the hands of the Federal Government.

He said the union could no longer bear the situation if the government failed to address their demands at the end of the 14-day ultimatum earlier given to the government by the National Executive Committee of ASUU.

Jaryum who handed over a 9-point demand to the VC for onward delivery to the Federal Government said, “Our protest today at the University of Jos is in line with the 14-day ultimatum given by the National Executive Committee of ASUU and activities to be carried out by the various branches.

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“As we are here, other branches within the Bauchi zone of ASUU which comprises six universities are doing the same thing.

“Our branch chairperson is away to coordinate similar protests in the zone as we are doing the same at the University of Jos and he has asked me to stand in for him.

“Our demands have been with the government for a long time and it is rather unfortunate that we are repeating the same thing because the government has been playing a deaf ear to them.”

He listed the items contained in the protest letter including the need for the government to pay them their earned academic allowances budgeted for in 2023, revitalization fund, and payment of salaries of members whose names were excluded from the IPPIS platform.

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Others include the need for the government to stop the proliferation of universities, the need for the government to effect increment in their salaries which had stagnated in the past 15 years as well as the need for the government to return to the renegotiation table to sign the Nimi Briggs committee agreement among others.

The Vice Chancellor who received the 9-point protest letter thanked members of ASUU for their peaceful protest in the institution.

Tanko said as the VC, he was in support of all the demands contained in the protest letter and would add another demand to the protest letter before submitting it to the FG.

He called on the FG to increase its funding to the public universities to enable them to function and serve their objectives.

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“I can assure you that we are going to submit this protest letter by ASUU to the federal government verbatim. I can tell you that all the 9 points you have listed here have affected all members of the university community in one way or the other. I can tell you that some of us here are also being owed some number of months’ salaries.

“So, we are suffering and we understand what your demands are. In forwarding this letter, I’m also going to include item number 10 because the University of Jos can no longer provide electricity anymore with the recent increment in the electricity tariff,” the VC stated.

The PUNCH reports that ASUU had on Tuesday threatened a nationwide strike, giving the government a two-week ultimatum to reconstitute the governing councils of federal universities.

The Federal government had responded by announcing the constitution of a new governing council of the federal universities and other institutions in the country but ASUU had rejected the action of the government and insisted that its demands had not been met by the government.

The 14-day ultimatum earlier given by ASUU is expected to expire on Sunday.