The Zamfara State Police Command has announced the arrest of eight suspected criminals, including a 50-year-old bandit and two informants, as part of ongoing operations to dislodge criminal elements across the state.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Yazid Abubakar, the command’s Public Relations Officer, disclosed these successes during a press briefing at the command’s headquarters in Gusau.

Abubakar stated that the arrested individuals include Ibrahim Mohammed, a 50-year-old suspected bandit from Maru Local Government Area of the state, two bandit informants, a gun runner, and five other suspects.

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He credited the arrests to credible intelligence received from members of the public.

Items recovered during the operations include assorted rifles, a stolen ATM card, leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, and a Toyota Corolla vehicle, among other items.

The arrests are part of the Zamfara State Police Command’s sustained efforts to combat banditry and other criminal activities plaguing the state.

A woman has died after falling into a 170-foot well at a construction site in Ijegun, Lagos.

Her body was recovered by the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service after a prolonged multi-agency operation.

The agency said it received a distress call around 7:34 pm on June 30, about the incident at Abuba Anthony Street, near Obalagbe Bus Stop, close to Fadeko International Hotel.

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According to a statement by the Fire Service’s Senior Public Affairs Officer, Maria Fadairo, on Friday, emergency responders from the Ejigbo Fire Station arrived to find that a female adult had fallen into a deep well located at the front of a one-storey building still under construction.

The structure reportedly consists of six two-bedroom flats on a fenced 648-square-metre plot.

According to The PUNCH, due to the complexity of the situation, a multi-agency operation was launched. After days of coordinated efforts, the woman’s body was recovered on Thursday (July 10).

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“The victim was recovered dead and handed over to officials of SEHMU, while the Lagos State Ambulance Service stood by as the Nigeria Police observed proceedings,” the statement said.

The Director of the state Fire Service, Margaret Adeseye, expressed her condolences to the family of the deceased and emphasised the importance of safety at construction sites, noting that “a 170-foot uncovered well is a severe hazard that must never be left unsecured.”

Further investigations will be handled by the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, according to the statement.

Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, ordered the final forfeiture of two properties, several cars and cash to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

According to a statement posted on the official X account of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Friday, the Judge gave the order, following a motion on notice filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC, through its lawyer, H. U. Kofarnaisa.

In an affidavit deposed by the investigating officer of the EFCC, Sulaiman Muhammad told the court that the commission received a petition from a first-generation bank which complained of a monumental fraud allegedly committed on the account of some of its customers, which totalled N1,403,343,400.

The statement said, “The properties are one unit of a three-bedroom bungalow in Abuja; No. 8, Grace Crescent, Efab Queens Estate, Gwarimpa FCT, Abuja; one Mercedes Benz C300; one gray-coloured BMW 3 Series SUV, and one Black coloured Range Rover 2012.

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“Others are three Toyota Hilux of 2008, 2010 and 2014 models; one black coloured BMW SURXI 2016 and two Range Rover vehicles. Other items forfeited included a cash sum of N326,400,000 and another $480,000.

“Justice Osiagor had earlier ordered the interim forfeiture of the properties and also ordered the publication of the said order in a national newspaper for any interested parties to show cause why they should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.”

Moving the application for the final forfeiture on Friday, Kofarnaisa told the court that the application was supported by an affidavit from Muhammad.

In the affidavit, Muhammad stated that the bank subsequently submitted an addendum to the petition dated July 24, 2023, wherein the total sum of N2,007,000,000 was fraudulently stolen from the customers of the bank.

According to him, the bank discovered that some customers’ accounts were debited in a manner other than the pattern familiar to the bank, which led to an internal investigation by the audit unit of the bank.

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He further stated that the investigation revealed that Atus Homes Limited fraudulently received a total sum of N681,200,000 from 126 customers’ accounts in different tranches.

“An investigation also revealed that Fav Oil and Gas Limited fraudulently received a cumulative sum of N1,388,000,000 from 429 customers’ accounts in different tranches.

“That the total sum of N887,478,600.00 of the sum fraudulently stolen was transferred to various accounts in other banks. Kofarnaisa, thereafter, submitted that the said accounts warehousing the funds sought to be forfeited received inflows reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and are not proceeds of any legitimate business venture.

“She also told the court that the mastermind of this fraudulent crime had been charged before a Federal High Court and that ‘trial is ongoing.’ After listening to the EFCC counsel, Justice Osiagor held that he found merit in the argument of the applicant and ordered the final forfeiture of the properties to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the statement added.

(PUNCH)