Metro

Police Arrest Couple For Faking Kidnap To Extort N5m

Published

4 months ago

January 23, 2024

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a couple for an alleged self-kidnapping scheme aimed at obtaining a N5 million ransom.

The Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police Force, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, as he warned citizens to desist from self-kidnapping.

Adejobi added that one Albarka Sukuya in Plateau State was arrested for staging his kidnap on several occasions, and one Nnamdi Agu, also faked his kidnap in Abuja in an attempt to defraud his family.

The statement read, “In Lagos, a couple was arrested for alleged self-kidnapping scheme aimed at obtaining a N5 million ransom recently.

“The husband, Doubara David Yabrifa, a 53-year-old technician, and the wife Regina Yabrifa, a 48-year-old body massager and bone setter, were apprehended after a family member reported the purported kidnapping.

“The couple confessed to planning the self-kidnap to raise N3 million to purchase a property in Badagry, Lagos. The husband justified the act, citing financial difficulties and lack of support from relatives. Both were arrested and subsequently charged to court.

“Also, one Albarka Sukuya of Jenta Apata, Jos, has been notorious for staging his kidnap on several occasions and received ransoms from unsuspecting members of the community in Plateau State.

“Similarly, on 20th January, 2024, a young man, Nnamdi Agu, faked his kidnap in Abuja in an attempt to defraud one of his family members who resides around River Park Estate, Abuja, to make money to pay for his personal pleasures. The Police, in a swift response, foiled the staged kidnapping, and arrested the suspect.

“It is obvious that the suspect and many others leverage on the prevailing instances of kidnapping and plan to engage in such criminal and deceptive acts of staged or self-kidnapping to make money.”

The FPRO warned against the trends of self-kidnapping, stating that it is a punishable offence under the law.

He added, “The Force hereby cautions members of the public to be wary of this trend while those with intent to venture into these criminal acts should desist as the police will leave no stone unturned to cause such suspects to face the full wrath of the law.

“Equally, we vehemently encourage the media and social media influencers, bloggers, etc., to constantly verify news before broadcasting such, not to create panic and jeopardize our security arrangements.”

The PUNCH reports that the scourge of abductions which has strangulated social and economic activities in the North-West has spread nationwide as bandits and other criminal elements have moved their operations into the major cities across the country.

Metro

Man Trailed, Shot Dead In Abuja

Published

2 hours ago

May 12, 2024

Editor

A young man identified as Khalid Bichi, was on Friday night, May 10, shot dead by yet to be identified persons.

According to reports, Khalid was trailed by the men who shot him dead in the Maitama area of Abuja

The deceased was a staff of FIRS with social media X handle @Khalid_Bichi, was on his way to get food when the unfortunate incident happened. He was rushed to Maitama General Hospital where he eventually died.

Confirming the incident to LIB, the spokesperson of the command, SP Josephine Adeh, said the matter is currently being investigated and that efforts are being made to apprehend the killers.

Metro

Tanker Explosion Rocks Lagos, Two Burnt To Death

Published

11 hours ago

May 11, 2024

Editor

Photo: file copy

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service has disclosed that two men died in a tanker explosion which occurred on Friday night at the Ijesha end of the Cele link-bridge in Surulere area of the state.

The LSFRS Director, Margaret Adeseye, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, adding that firefighters responded swiftly to the distress call to extinguish the fire..

The statement partly read, “At approximately 23:12hrs emergency services were alerted to a tanker truck, carrying 33k litres of petrtol, losing control while navigating the roundabout to ascend the bridge. The subsequent spillage ignited into a large fire, engulfing the surrounding area.

“Prompt action by the Isolo and Bolade Fire Stations of the agency, contained the inferno, preventing further escalation.

Metro

Kogi University Lecturer Stripped Over Alleged Sexual Harassment

Published

12 hours ago

May 11, 2024

Editor

A lecturer at Federal University in Lokoja, Kogi state, on Friday, May 10, was stripped near naked over allegations of sexual harassment of a female student.

The lecturer whose full name is yet to be ascertained, incurred the wrath of some other female undergraduates of the English Department, where he teaches. They insisted that he must be publicly ‘disgraced’, claiming that ‘his cup was full’.

The lecturer who was stripped to his boxers, was saved from further embarrassment by the combined efforts of the school security unit, at the Adankolo mini campus of the institution.

The Nation reported that during the interrogation, the lecturer implicated his colleagues, including the Head of the Department (HOD), claiming that they usually provide him with names of female students to either “pass or fail” based on their level of intimacy or absence with them.

When contacted, the school’s spokesperson, Daniel Iyke, said that the management is aware of the development and had immediately set up machinery to investigate the case.

Iyke said: “The thing is that the university has its own internal mechanism in taking care of it.

“The report has been brought to the attention of the vice-chancellor, and he has set up a body to look into it. This was done immediately and the report or outcome will be made known as soon as it comes out. At this point, this is all I can volunteer.”