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JUST IN: Gunshots As Appeal Court Judge Escapes Kidnap Attempt, Driver Missing

Published

4 years ago

February 21, 2022

Editor

A presiding judge of the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division, Justice Rita Pemu, has escaped kidnap attempt.

Secretary of the Nigeria Bar Association, Owerri Branch, Chinedu Agu, said the justice’s driver is still missing.

According to him, the incident happened on Monday along Azia-Orsumoghu-Ihiala road.

He explained in a statement that the justice escaped amid gunshots by the kidnappers who could not identify her.

The statement was titled, “The presiding justice of the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division, Hon. Justice Rita Pemu, escapes from the snares of kidnappers”.

Agu said, “Yesterday, Sunday, February 20, 2022, the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, while traveling to Owerri from Benin City, was kidnapped along Azia-Orsumoghu-Ihiala road by kidnappers about 11 am.

“When the Chairman of the Bar, J.I. Ogamba and the Secretary, Chinedu Agu, paid His Lordship a visit at 5 pm today, the Secretariat gathered that the kidnappers double-crossed His Lordship’s vehicle, disembarking her and ordering her to prostrate on the road while pointing guns menacingly on her head.

“Justice Pemu, who by happenstance was rather in her Hiace Bus instead of her SUV and was dressed in a simple, spartan and free-flowing gown was mistaken by the kidnappers as one of ‘oga’s stewards’, as they kept demanding to know in which car their ‘oga’ (boss) was.

“While she was marched into a thick forest, one of the kidnappers, the Secretariat gathered, was boasting that he would have wasted their oga if he were there.

“As his Lordship was marched into the bush-like a death-destined sheep to the slaughter, gunshots and concomitant cries of anguish pervaded the bush, which heightened her apprehension.

“As the kidnappers backed out for his Lordship to continue the Golgotha walk into the depth of the bush, where perhaps she would face the doomed fate of others, she detoured and took safety elsewhere, and hurried back to Orlu town in disguise, from where she found her way into Owerri.

“As of the time of filing this report, His Lordship’s official cars, her driver, her personal property inside the car are yet to be found.

“As we condemn the spate of kidnapping and unsettling height of insecurity in the state, we thank God for the life of Hon. Justice Rita Pemu.”

PUNCH

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Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

3 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

3 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.