Metro

Protest As Policemen Kill Motorcyclist

Published

3 years ago

December 20, 2022

Editor

Policemen attached to the Sagamu Road Police Division, Lagos State Police Command, have allegedly shot dead a motorcyclist, Stephen Alabi, aka Doctor, at Sabo Market, in the Ikorodu area of the state.

Alabi and his colleagues were said to be at a park close to the Sabo Market when the policemen arrived to impound motorcycles from riders operating against the ban on motorcycle operations in the state.

A motorcyclist, Olawale Olawuwo, while speaking with The PUNCH, said the policemen were attempting to seize a bike from his colleague when Alabi intervened, adding that one of the policemen shot him.

Olawuwo said, “The incident happened on Thursday; motorcyclists were at our park at the front gate of the Sabo Market when policemen stormed the premises to impound motorcycles. They were about seizing a bike from a motorcyclist when the deceased met them at the front gate of the market around 3pm.

“Alabi was trying to settle the matter between the motorcyclist and the policemen when one of the cops cocked his gun and started shooting; one of the stray bullets hit Alabi.

“We don’t know why the policemen started shooting; we attempted going to the Sagamu Road Police Station, but we were told that the policemen at the station would detain us if we went there because the policeman responsible for the bullet that struck Alabi was from the station.”

Another motorcyclist, who gave his name simply as Adam, while lamenting the incident, said immediately Alabi was shot, he was rushed to the Ikorodu General Hospital but was rejected, adding that he died while receiving treatment at a private hospital.

“We want the government to help us; Stephen is dead,” he added.

PUNCH Metro gathered that colleagues of the deceased staged a demonstration and blocked the Ebute-Igbogbo Road to express their grievances on Saturday.

Speaking during the protest, a motorcyclist, who gave his name only as Tobender for security reasons, confirmed that the police were enforcing the ban on motorcycle operations when Alabi was killed.

He said, “The policemen arrested me on Ojubode Road in Ikorodu, seized my motorcycle from 8am till 5pm when they released it after collecting N10,500. There are a lot of traffic robbers at the Garage Roundabout but the police do not arrest them. But the police go after those who use motorcycles to feed their families. If we complain, the police usually say Lagos does not want Okada and yet we pay for tickets.”

However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, in another narrative, said a mob attacked a police patrol team on the false belief that the team was responsible for an accident involving a motorcycle and a tricycle in the area, which led to the shooting.

“Investigation is ongoing to unravel all the facts behind the shooting,” he added.

The police have been accused of shooting motorcycle riders during enforcement of the ban on their operations in certain parts of Lagos State.

A few months ago, a security guard, Koleosho Abayomi, demanded justice after accusing a policeman of shooting him in the thigh at the Lekki Peninsula Scheme II, in the Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Abayomi, who was bedridden due to the injuries he sustained during the attack, said the policemen were enforcing the ban on motorcycle operations when the incident happened.

Metro

Abuja Court Jails Ex-legislative Aide For N120m Fraud

Published

11 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi on Monday sentenced a former legislative aide and banker, Mr Goni Yilkan, to eight years in prison for obtaining N120.58 million by false pretence.

Justice F. E. Messiri found Yilkan guilty of a two-count employment scam charge, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission revealed in a statement issued via its X handle on Tuesday.

“Yilkan, who hails from Nguru, Yobe State, was found guilty on a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act, and consequently sentenced to eight years imprisonment without option of fine,” the statement read.

According to EFCC, the convict was arraigned alongside one Mohammed Adamu in October 2023, following investigations into a petitioner’s claims of being defrauded by the convict.

One of the charges read: “That you, Mohammed Goni Yilkan, Mohammed Adamu and others at large between 3rd January 2020 and December 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N120, 580, 550 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira) from Mrs. Hindatu Bello under the false pretence that you had the capacity to secure jobs for her candidates in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

In the course of the trial, EFCC said the petitioner explained that “Yilkan deceived her between 2020 and 2021 into believing that he had the capacity to secure employment slots in government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

“On this strength, the petitioner collected varying sums of money from over 60 jobseekers, amounting to N120,580,550.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira), which she allegedly remitted to the convict.”

However, the purported employment offers never materialised, prompting Bello to petition the EFCC.

The prosecution, led by Cosmas Ugwu, called six witnesses and tendered documentary evidence, while the defence, led by J.A. Oguche, presented two witnesses, including Yilkan himself.

In his judgment, Justice Messiri held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, convicted Yilkan, but discharged and acquitted his co-defendant, Adamu.

The judge further sentenced Yilkan to eight years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.

Earlier, The PUNCH reported that the EFCC Ilorin Zonal Directorate arrested 28 suspected internet fraudsters in Kwara State.

The suspects, according to a statement on Monday, “were picked up in the early hours of Tuesday during sting operations carried out in Tanke, University Road, Oshin, and Agbabiaka areas of the state capital.”

Metro

Soldiers Who Sold Arms To Terrorists Sentenced To Death

Published

11 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

A special court-martial of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, Borno State, has sentenced three soldiers to life imprisonment and another to 15 years for illegal arms deals carried out in connivance with police officers and terrorists.

The trial, presided over by Brigadier General Ugochukwu Unachukwu, acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander of Sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), took place at the Officers’ Mess of the Theatre Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.

Delivering judgment, Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullahi, president of the court-martial, pronounced Raphael Ameh, a sergeant; Ejiga Musa, a sergeant; and Patrick Ocheje, a lance corporal, guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Omitoye Rufus, a corporal, was however handed a 15-year jail term.

The soldiers were convicted of offences ranging from theft and unlawful dealing in ammunition to aiding the enemy, all punishable under the Armed Forces Act.

Ameh, who served as an armourer at the 7 Division Garrison, was found to have conspired with a deceased colleague to steal ammunition from the division’s armoury.

He worked with police officers to conceal weapons in bags of beans and smuggle them to Enugu and Ebonyi for criminals.

Abdullahi revealed that bank records linked Ameh to over 100 suspicious transactions between July 2022 and June 2024.

Musa, while serving as armourer of 195 Battalion, was discovered to have collaborated with Ocheje and police officers in selling an AK-47 rifle and large quantities of ammunition.

Records showed he collected more than ₦500,000 from the transactions before he was arrested while attempting to sell more ammunition.

Rufus was convicted for selling 40 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition to a police officer, while Ocheje, who was deployed at the forward operating base in Molai, was found guilty of diverting ammunition during communal clashes at the instigation of a police officer.

He also stole an AK-47 rifle belonging to a colleague.

The court held that their actions directly endangered military operations and national security, amounting to aiding the enemy.

Condemning the convicts, Abdullahi described them as “bad eggs” who betrayed the trust, discipline, and honour expected of soldiers in the fight against insurgency.

He restated the army’s zero-tolerance stance on the sale of arms or ammunition to adversaries “in whatever form or guise.”

Metro

BREAKING: Bodies Of 8 Missing Policemen Recovered In Benue

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Lifeless bodies of the eight policemen who were declared missing after a deadly attack on security operatives at Agu Centre, on the border of Katsina-Ala and Ukum LGAs of Benue State, have been recovered.

Dr Justin Shaku, Chairman of Katsina-Ala LGA disclosed this to reporters in Makurdi on Monday.

According to him, “this brings the number of officers killed to 11 (10 policemen and one BSCPG)”.

The unfortunate incident occurred on Friday, when a team of security operatives came under the attack of armed invaders.

Three personnel were immediately confirmed dead while eight others were declared missing.