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Imo Police To Arraign Five Men For Alleged Brutalisation Of Married Woman

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Imo State Police Command has concluded arrangements for the arraignment of five men who brutalised a woman, Mrs. Ndudiamaka Agu, in Emekuku, Owerri North Local Government Area of the state.

A viral video, which has been circulating for more than a week, shows how the men allegedly manhandled the woman, including lifting and throwing her heavily against a building wall, leading to public outcry.

The men were said to have approached Agu unexpectedly in her marital home and attacked her because she was suspected of cooperating with some policemen during their visit to carry out an investigation in the community.

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In a statement issued on Monday evening, the spokesperson for the command, Henry Okoye, regretted that one of the men had run away, stating that the police were in pursuit of him to arrest him.

READ ALSO:Imo To Arraign Lawyer Over Anti-Uzodimma Articles

The statement disclosed that the Commissioner of Police (CP), Aboki Danjuma, had assured that justice would be served in the matter.

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Okoye, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said: “The Imo State Police Command wishes to provide an update on the investigation ordered by the Commissioner of Police, CP Aboki Danjuma, into the viral video showing Mrs. Agu Ndididamaka being assaulted in Emekuku, Owerri North LGA. In furtherance of the CP’s directive for swift action, operatives of the X-Squad Unit have arrested five suspects linked to the barbaric assault.”

The arrested suspects are Onyekachi Njoku, 40 years ‘m’; Chiazor Osuji, 45 years ‘m’; Chukwuma Iwuala, 46 years ‘m’; Eugene Njoku, ‘m’; Njoku Emmanuel, 35 years ‘m’ all of Uboegbelu in Emekuku in Owerri North LGA.”

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) disclosed, “All five suspects have made confessional statements admitting their roles in the attack.”

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READ ALSO:Police Restores Peace After Bomb Explosion Rocks Imo Community

Meanwhile, the sixth suspect, identified as Onyedikachi Njoku, is still at large, and operatives are intensifying efforts to apprehend him.”

On the extent reached to take the suspects to the court, he explained: “The Commissioner of Police condemns the assault in its entirety and reaffirms that intimidation of citizens who lawfully cooperate with the Police will not be tolerated. The arrested suspects will be arraigned in court soon with the appropriate criminal charges.”

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The Guardian recalled that soon after the men assaulted Agu, many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) took up the matter, escalating that the suspects must be apprehended, arraigned, and justice served.

 

 

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Two security Guards Bag Life Sentences For Sexual Abuse Of Minor

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Two security guards have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court for the repeated rape of a young girl over a six year period.

The convicts, James Sule 30, and Adamu Yau 25, were convicted by Honourable Justice S.M. Mayana at High Court 46 Apo, following a prosecution by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

The sentencing, delivered without the option of a fine, was carried out under the provisions of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act.

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A statement signed by the NAPTIP Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, revealed that the case, which first came to light in 2022, detailed a harrowing ordeal that began in 2016 when the victim was just six years old.

READ ALSO:Imo Court Sentences 34-year-old Man To Death By Hanging For Kidnapping, Armed Robbery 

The court heard that Sule, then the family’s security guard at an estate in Lugbe, first assaulted the child in a toilet after offering to protect her from being disciplined by her grandmother. He subsequently used a knife to threaten the child into silence.

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Over the following years, Sule recruited two other guards, the second convict, Yau, and another individual named Muhammed, who remains at large to participate in the abuse.

The men reportedly threatened to wipe out the victim’s entire family if she disclosed the assaults.

The agency said that the abuse was eventually uncovered after the victim’s parents noticed a drastic change in her behaviour, including extreme agitation in Sule’s presence.

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READ ALSO:Imo Court Sentences 34-year-old Man To Death By Hanging For Kidnapping, Armed Robbery 

Following a disclosure to a local pastor, the matter was reported to the Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH) and subsequently transferred to NAPTIP.

The prosecution presented five witnesses, including the victim’s mother, and tendered seven exhibits, including medical evidence confirming the physical trauma suffered by the child.

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Despite pleading not guilty during their arraignment in October 2023, both men were found guilty of the charges.

Reacting to the judgment, the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, hailed the verdict as a landmark victory for justice.

READ ALSO:Court Orders SERAP To Pay DSS Operatives N100m For Defamation

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Bello expressed excitement “that indeed adequate justice which, is commensurate with the magnitude of the crime committed by the convicts, was duly served on them.

“This will go a long way to assuage the pain and traumatic experience of the victim and her family.”

The DG pointed that the conviction was a result of improved strategies to enforce the VAPP Act.

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She issued a stern warning to service providers, saying “It will no longer be business as usual for them.”

READ ALSO:Supreme Court Voids PDP Ibadan Convention

Bello also urged the public to exercise greater caution when hiring domestic staff.

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I also want to use this medium to appeal again to all Nigerians, especially parents and school owners, to ensure they carry out due diligence and strict profiling on any service providers including drivers, security guards, and babysitters before employing them,” she said.

The victim’s mother expressed gratitude to NAPTIP and its legal team for ensuring that justice is served on the violators of her daughter.

The two convicts have been transferred to Kuje Correctional Centre, where they are set to serve their sentences.

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Dozens Of Pupils Feared Abducted As Boko Haram Attacks School In Borno

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Suspected members of Boko Haram on Friday attacked a Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State and abducted many pupils and students.

The attack, which occurred around 9:00 a.m at the Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Mussa community, located on the eastern fringe of Sambisa Forest.

Confirming the incident to The Guardian in Maiduguri, the President of the Borno South Youth Alliance (BSYA),, Samaila Kaigama, said: “The insurgents stormed the school without resistance and took away an unspecified number of pupils and students.

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“Yes, they came this morning, and forcefully packed some children, number unspecified yet. I was reliably informed that the abductors are the same faction that did the Ngoshe kidnapping of over 400 residents.”

READ ALSO:Court Jails Former Senatorial Candidate For Selling Petrol To Boko Haram

Kaigama added that the victims were pupils of a day school and not boarders.

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He further lamented: “They came this morning and picked some primary school pupils. It is a day school and not a boarding school. They attacked without any resistance.”..

The Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Askira, also confirmed the attack but said details surrounding possible abductions were still unclear.

“Details of the attack are sketchy, but the information at my disposal has it that many of the students fled into the bush, but I don’t have details of those abducted,” he said.

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READ ALSO:Troops Reportedly Kill Top Boko Haram Leader, 10 Other Terrorists

He described the incident as disheartening, noting that the insurgents reportedly struck shortly after troops on patrol left the community.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Daso, said the command had yet to receive full details of the incident.

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“As of now, I have not gotten any information. We are still making verification,” he said.

Efforts to reach the chairman of Askira Uba Local Government Area, Madu Saidu, were unsuccessful as calls to his line were not answered.

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Drama As Teenagers Stage Secret Wedding With N3,000 Bride Price

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Young boys and girls in Bauchi metropolis have been apprehended for allegedly engaging in an illegal marriage arrangement among themselves despite being below the legally recognised adult age of 18 years, with a bride price reportedly fixed at N3,000.

The supposed bride, whose name was withheld and whom her father claimed is 18 years old, alongside the “illegal” groom, was on Thursday presented before the Action Committee on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence chaired by the wife of the Bauchi State Governor, Aisha Bala Mohammed.

They were arrested by operatives of the Bauchi State Vigilante and Youth Empowerment Agency led by Umar Aliyu Shayi in collaboration with the Bauchi State Police Command.

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READ ALSO:Bauchi Police Arrest Notorious Armed Robbery Suspect ‘World Boy’

Also apprehended were wedding guests, the Imam who reportedly conducted the marriage, and an underage girl who allegedly acted as the bride’s mother during the ceremony.

Speaking on the incident, the Commander of Hisbah in the state, Mohammed Mohammed Bununu, declared the marriage invalid, noting that the bride’s father denied knowledge of the arrangement.

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Bununu stated that Bauchi, which operates under Sharia law, would not tolerate such practices and urged families to uphold Islamic values and proper parental guidance.

READ ALSO:Police Arrest Two Officers Over Death Of Motorcyclist In Ibadan

Also speaking, the First Lady, Aisha Bala Mohammed, attributed the development to poverty, moral decadence, and parental negligence.

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She urged parents to recommit themselves to proper upbringing and religious teachings, stressing that children should not be left without guidance and supervision.

According to her, poor parental care, uncontrolled family size, and the abandonment of children at an early stage have contributed significantly to such incidents.

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