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Rivers Police Kill Wanted Kidnapper, Rescue Four Victims

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The Rivers State Police Command said its men gunned down two notorious kidnappers, including a gang leader nicknamed ‘Occasion’ during a shootout in a forest in Emuoha Local Government Area of the state.

The command also said four persons blindfolded and found in the kidnappers den were rescued.

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Spokesperson for the command, Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

Iringe-Koko said the kidnap victims were rescued after operatives subdued the hoodlums during an exchange of gun fire.

READ ALSO: Rivers Elders Reject Tinubu’s Intervention, Say Decisions Executive Rascality

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Meanwhile, one of the victims, a commercial driver, who spoke with newsmen in Port Harcourt on condition of anonymity, said he was on a trip back to Port Harcourt when he noticed an obstruction on the road caused by a huge tree trunk blocking the road.

He said while driving a Sienna, an Audi car was in front of him, and as he was contemplating reversing, some men came out from the bush and fired bullets at the tyres of his vehicle and that of the Audi.

He stated, “The men, numbering six, asked us to lie on the ground and later grabbed us and took us through bush paths as they noticed a police van approaching. The police shot several times, but we were taken too deep into the forest.”

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He said the kidnappers tortured them and extracted funds from them via their Automated Teller Machine cards and from their families.

READ ALSO: 113 Generals Retire, Defence Minister Demands Loyalty From Armed Forces

The driver added, “They removed N800, 000 from one of the victims’ accounts and N1.9 million from another.

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“Throughout our stay, the kidnappers only gave us tiny pieces of bread and sachet water.”

He added that the kidnappers blindfolded him and the three others all through their stay in captivity.

The police statement read, “In the early hours of Wednesday, December 14, 2023, gunshots rang out as four blindfolded men scrambled in confusion.

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“When the gunshots ceased, the four men were eased off their blindfolds and realised that they had been rescued by the police from an ordeal in which they had lost hope after spending 48 hours in the den of a notorious kidnap kingpin.

READ ALSO: Rivers Crisis: Fubara Ordered To Re-present Budget To Full House, Others

“The policemen, while searching for the victims, discovered the camp of the kidnappers on the third day.

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“They proceeded to conduct prompt but thorough surveillance to eliminate the incidence of collateral damage before engaging the criminals.

“In the confrontation that ensued, two of the kidnappers were killed, including the leader of the gang, Sunday Amadi, aka ‘Occasion’, who had had a N2 million bounty on him by the Chairman of Emohua LGA.”

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, commended the men of the command for their professionalism and persistence in fighting crime and criminality.

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Disu said the command under his watch would stop at nothing to rid the state of criminal elements.

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Metro

Lifeless Body Found Inside Car at N’Assembly Complex

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The Federal Capital Territory Police Command said it has begun investigations, following the discovery of a lifeless body inside a vehicle at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

Some reports had stated that the body was that of a 55-year-old man, identified as Gaddafi Iwar, who was a construction worker, working on one of the sites within the complex. According to the reports, the vehicle had been parked in the same spot for days before the discovery of the decomposed body.

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Only recently, the Police said it had launched an investigation into the suspected suicide of a 30-year-old man identified as Ik Ojo, in the Kagini–Dei-Dei area of Abuja.

The probe follows the discovery of Ojo’s today, as seen in a viral video on Saturday, with friends and neighbors stating suspicions of foul play in the situation.

READ ALSO:NASS Urged To Governors of Powers Under Land Use Act

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In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Josephine Adeh, on Monday, the security agency said the corpse was believed to be that of a labourer found around 9 am on Sunday, September 7th, inside a red Peugeot 406, parked at a construction site within the complex.

Adeh said Officers from the National Assembly Division responded to the distress call and evacuated the body to Asokoro General Hospital, where medical staff confirmed the body was already in advanced state of decomposition.

On September 7, 2025, at about 09:00 hours, the FCT Police Command received a distress call reporting the discovery of an unidentified male, suspected to be a labourer, found lifeless at a construction site within the National Assembly Complex.

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READ ALSO:JUST IN: Tinubu Not NASS Blocked My Ministerial Appointment – El-Rufai

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), National Assembly Division, immediately responded to the call and, upon arrival, discovered the deceased inside a red Peugeot 406 motor vehicle with registration number BWR-577 BF. The body was promptly evacuated to Asokoro General Hospital, where medical personnel confirmed that it was already in an advanced state of decomposition,” the statement partly read.

The Police Spokesperson stated that the FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Ajao Adewale, had ordered a discreet probe to determine the circumstances of the incident, and that efforts be intensified to establish the identity of the deceased.

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The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, has ordered a discreet investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, and directed that efforts be intensified to establish the identity of the deceased. Further updates will be communicated as the investigation progresses,” she s

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JUST IN: Bandits Abduct Kwara APC Chairman’s Wife, Daughter

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Armed bandits have kidnapped the wife and daughter of the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Patigi Local Government, Kwara State.

Alhaji Muhammad Swasun’s family were abducted late Sunday night in Sakpefu community.

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According to eyewitnesses, the attackers stormed the area around 11 p.m., with sporadic shootings apparently to scare off “uninvited” guests, before heading to the chairman’s residence.

READ ALSO:Police Arrest Man For Allegedly Dismembering Pregnant Sister-in-law In Kwara

The assailants reportedly forced their way inside and whisked away his wife, Hajia Fatima, and daughter, Amina.

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Local vigilantes, who arrived late, were said to have mobilised in search of the victims, but no report of any rescue as at when filing this report.

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Ex-general Tackles EFCC Over Forfeited N5bn Shares

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A former Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited, Maj. Gen. U.M. Mohammed (retd) has asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to set aside the order of final forfeiture granted in favour of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, insisting that the 246,305,544 shares in dispute were legitimately acquired.

The EFCC had secured the order on August 26, 2025, claiming the shares, valued at about N5bn, were purchased with funds diverted from fraudulent sales of NAPL properties during Mohammed’s tenure.

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The anti-graft agency listed the investments as including substantial holdings in Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Conoil Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Eterna Plc, Flour Mills Plc, Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Oando Plc, University Press Plc and Vitafoam Nigeria Plc.

The EFCC had argued that the forfeiture was made under Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006.

READ ALSO:EFCC Arrests CEO Over ₦2bn Ponzi Scheme

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But in a motion on notice obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, Mohammed contended that the shares did not originate from unlawful activities.

Instead, he maintained that they were purchased years before his appointment as head of NAPL in October 2015.

In an affidavit filed in support of his application, deponent Joseph Effiong said the shares were bought between September 3, 2007, and September 1, 2015.

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He was posted to Nigerian Army Properties Limited as the Managing Director on October 15, 2015, which was shown to me and marked as Exhibit UM2 is the posting history of ex-Maj Gen UM Mohammed.

READ ALSO:EFCC Orders Arrest Of Dismissed Officer On Lege Miami’s Show

“The shares listed in schedules A, B and C to the motion ex parte filed on April 29, 2025, do not represent proceeds of any crime or unlawful activities.

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“Shares in Schedules A, B and C were purchased between September 3, 2007, and September 1, 2015, long before ex-major general UM Mohammed was posted to NAPL as the managing director,” Effiong said.

The ex-general is also challenging the forfeiture on procedural grounds, alleging that his affidavit to show cause filed on July 29 was ignored and that he was denied a fair hearing when the case, initially fixed for October 8, was brought before a vacation judge without notice to him or his counsel.

That the final forfeiture order, having been granted in favour of Nigerian Army Properties Limited, is not in compliance with the provisions of Section 17 (1) Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Fraud Offences Act, 2006. The matter was initially adjourned to the 8th October 2025 for the hearing of the application for final forfeiture by Justice C.J. Aneke.

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READ ALSO:EFCC Releases Former Sokoto Gov Tambuwal

That there was no urgency for the case to be transferred to any vacation judge. That no notice or communication whatsoever was given to the applicant or his counsel.

“Non-service of hearing notice is a denial of the constitutional right of the party interested to a fair hearing/fair trial. The final forfeiture order was made in ignorance of the affidavit to show cause date and file on July 29. The affidavit to show cause was not considered, “ he said.

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He also alleged that the EFCC in the substantive suit failed or neglected to file an application for a final forfeiture order more day 60 days after the interim order was made by the court on May 7, 2025, in the Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022.

READ ALSO:Project ‘HOPE’: Investigate Ogbuku, NDDC Management, Ijaw Media Body Urges EFCC

The mandatory procedure for final forfeiture order under Section 17(1) requires any party interested in the property to show cause within 14 days of non-compliance, “ he alleged.

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Mohammed is seeking an order setting aside the entire proceedings in Suit No: FHC/L/MISC/404/ and the final forfeiture of the shares.

The court has yet to fix a date for hearing Mohammed’s application.

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