Metro

Travellers Panic As Kidnappers ‘Take Charge’ Of Ogun Federal Highways

Published

3 years ago

September 26, 2022

Travellers, as well as residents of Ogun State have expressed worries over the rate at which kidnappers waylay drivers and take into custody, helpless road users along the major highways in the State.

It was gathered that federal roads like Lagos-Ibadan highway, Lagos-Abeokuta expressway and Lafenwa-Ayetoro-Imeko road are becoming dreadful to road users.

Kidnapping has become more or less a lucrative business in Nigeria as some individuals abduct people in exchange for ransom. In Ogun State, millions of Naira has been paid in ransom to kidnappers, whose stock-in-trade is to pick up unsuspecting travellers in exchange for ransom.

Unfortunately, these abductors are no respecter of any person as they have on different occasions taken policemen and other security agents into their hideouts.

Severally, foreign nationals working on farms and construction sites were captured and released after the payment of ransom. Some security men were killed while trying to prevent the abduction of those they were meant to look after.

Some unknown gunmen in August killed an officer of the Ogun State So-Safe Corps, Sofolahan Olanrewaju. It was learnt that the kidnappers had stormed a bar located at Soyoye, Abeokuta North Local Government to kidnap a woman. In the process, the kidnappers shot and killed the So-Safe security guard, who was trying to call for reinforcement.

Lately, it appears the kidnappers are becoming resistant to all the strategies put in place by the police and other security agents in the State as they now operate in broad daylight on busy roads within the State.

Findings by DAILY POST revealed that these daring gunmen usually appear in military or police uniforms to deceive their targets. As drivers stop to attend to the supposed security men on duty, they become victims of kidnapping.

Recently, three policemen were dragged into the bush along the Wasinmi road, in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State. Many could not believe the fact that such an operation could be carried out on the busy Lagos-Abeokuta highway, just few kilometres to the State capital, Abeokuta. The officers, from Zone 2 in Onikan area of Lagos State, were in Ogun State to carry out an investigation.

While being driven by a commercial driver, they were accosted by men in military camouflage, who had presented themselves as security agents on stop-and-search duties. Three persons were eventually taken away by the gunmen, who kept them into custody for over 48 hours.

While he was commenting on the incident, Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Ogun State police spokesman, maintained that only one policemen was among the three victims, who he said have now been set free. He is yet to announce the arrest of any of those behind the incident.

DAILY POST reports that the Wasinmi broad daylight abduction has sent shivers down the spines of many who are regular users of the road linking the Ogun State capital with Lagos, Ota and other parts of Ogun West.

“I never thought kidnappers could have that effrontery to attack anybody on that Wasinmi axis of the highway, especially in the afternoon. I know there were cases of kidnapping in Ewekoro Local Government. Obada used to be their main target, but it seems the police and the State government have tightened the noose and we have not heard of such incidents lately.

“I also remember that some kidnappers broke into a Celestial church along that axis few months ago to kidnap the Assistant Pastor and one other; but all these happened at night and not on the main road. Now I’m scared of that road. I do ply the road day and night. The Federal Government should help us,” an Abeokuta resident, Ade Julius, told our correspondent.

Also, a commercial driver, who identified himself as Kareem Olayeni, expressed concerns over the possibility of being kidnapped, saying he would spend months in the kidnappers’ den for there is no one to raise any ransom for his release.

“I’am afraid. We can’t stop driving because we don’t have any other job. This is what we do to earn a living, and this Wasinmi, Itori, Papa, Ifo is our route. The report that people on transit were kidnapped is getting us worried.

“As I am, if they kidnap me today, I’ll just be with the kidnappers for many months because I don’t have any means of raising any amount for ransom. This car is on hire purchase. I only pray the police and other security agents rise to the situation,” he stated.

While road users were contemplating leaving the Wasinmi road for the Lagos-Ibadan route, they were struck with another incident around the popular Kara long bridge, near Lagos.

A commercial car enroute Lagos from Ilorin in Kwara State was ambushed by some gunmen and one Alhaji Sheu Anafi was dragged away.

But, policemen in Ogun State stormed the hideout of the suspected kidnappers, where they rescued the victim and arrested one of the suspects.

Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed on Sunday that kidnappers had been terrorizing the Kara bridge in recent times. This is coming a few weeks after he denied reports that 20 persons were abducted in that area. https://dailypost.ng/2022/08/09/ogun-police-debunk-alleged-abduction-of-20-persons-at-kara-bridge/

In a statement over the weekend, Oyeyemi disclosed that the hideout of the kidnapers was invaded to rescue the said Alhaji Sheu Anafi.

Men of the Warewa police division had been told by a commercial driver that while coming from Ilorin in his Ford commercial car marked LRN 596 ZY, loaded with seven passengers, he was attacked by some kidnappers.

According to Oyeyemi, the driver had told the police that when he got to the Long Bridge end of the Lagos-Ibadan highway, there was a gridlock which necessitated him to manouver through an untarred access road beside the bridge.

While driving through the untarred road, the driver said they were attacked by those he called “unknown gunmen.”

Upon the attack, all the passengers were said to have fled into different directions in the nearby bush.

After a while, the passengers reportedly regrouped for their journey, but it was discovered that Anafi, a resident of Okeleele area of Ilorin, had been abducted by the hoodlums.

Upon the report, the DPO of Warewa division, AbdulFatai Ogunsanya, had led a joint operation consisting men of the command’s tactical teams and other local security agents to comb the bush in search of the abducted man.

According to Oyeyemi, the kidnappers’ hideout was located and the security operatives engaged them in a gun battle.

“At the end of the encounter, one of the kidnappers, Ibraheem Abubakar who claimed to have come from Sabonganmu-Bompai road, Kano State, was arrested while others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot injuries, and the victim, 62 years old Sheu Anafi was rescued unhurt.”

The police spokesman disclosed that the suspect had confessed being a member of a seven-man gang terrorizing the stretch of the long bridge lately.

Reacting to the incident, the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole has ordered the immediate transfer of the arrested suspect to the State Criminal Investigation Departments for discreet investigation.

Bankole also appealed to members of the public, especially hospitals to report to the police if anybody with gunshot injuries is sighted.

Reacting, a resident of Ogun State, Ogbu Ambrose called on leaders of the South West region to rise up and tackle insecurity headon, saying terrorists have claimed responsibility for the attack on a police station in Ondo State.

“ISWAP has claimed the attack at Ondo police station and you should know the implication for the entire region. Leaders should rise to the situation,” he said.

A civil servant, who did not want to be mentioned, said the increase in kidnapping came after the #EndSARS protest, blaming the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and the dismantling of many police check points.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State police command has reiterated that Ogun will never be a place of hibernation for kidnappers and other criminals, stressing that they will be flushed out anywhere they are.

The Command called on the general public to assist the police with credible intelligence, while warning against the payment of ransom to kidnappers.

In his efforts to rid the State of crime, Governor Dapo Abiodun had also vowed to arrest kidnappers and make them face the law.

“Let me state in clear terms that no part in Ogun State is a safe haven for criminals and criminality in whatever form. Whether on the Lagos-Ibadan, Sagamu-Benin-Ore, Abeokuta-Sango-Lagos expressways or even our township roads or interstate roads, we shall smoke them out. We shall arrest them and hand them over to face justice,” Abiodun stressed while reacting to an incident of kidnapping.

Metro

Mobile Court On Standby, As Street Traders Clash With Kwara Govt

Published

6 hours ago

July 4, 2025

Editor

What looks like a pitched battle is raging between traders on the streets around the Oja-Oba Market in Ilorin, Kwara State, and the state government. Predictably, there have been chaotic scenes at every stage of the intermittent clashes for control of spaces around the market.

For now nobody has an idea of who will emerge victorious at the end of the day.

But Before late last year, Oja-Oba Market, which had been existing for over 100 years, was always overcrowded with traders overflowing to the nearby streets, thus creating serious traffic problem for motorists and commuters in the area. But following public outcry, especially by motorists and other road users, the state government was compelled to move in and arrest the rot, which has been creeping in over the years without any control from any quarters.

Although the state government had initially employed a subtle method to address the challenge created by the unwholesome practice of trading on the streets adjourning the market, it later gradually wielded the hammer leading to the traders losing their coveted spaces without notice. The state government started pushing the traders inside the market by first expanding the post office through the Emir’s Road towards the Oja-Oba Market by grading and overlaying it with asphalt and new walkways for pedestrians.

…over one million traders

The market situated within the ambience of the Emir’s palace from which other markets across the state sprung up, hosts more than one million traders, according to the Iyaloja of Oja-Oba Market, Alhaja Mariam Moshood Elefun. It has enough space for people to do their business inside. However, many traders prefer to display their wares on the road side where they find easy buyers, who claim that the prices of goods are cheaper on the streets than inside the market. But the state would not want to hear any of such story. It has carefully reconstructed the walkways and provided adequate barricade against street trading to confine all buyers and sellers inside the imposing market so as to create a sense of orderliness around the market.

This is the product of the ongoing urban renewal agenda of the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in Kwara State.

The state government does not want any trading on the street around the market and has set up enforcement teams to monitor compliance by traders from dawn to dusk. To this effect, the state deploys a team of soldiers, policemen, and officials from the Kwara Transport Management Agency to keep watch over the market and to deal with anyone found trading on the street outside the market. In a bid to ensure compliance, wares of traders caught outside the market are promptly confiscated by officials of KWATMA to serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.

But last Monday, the government added a more legalistic measure to the move to end street trading around Oja-Oba Market by arraigning offenders and sending them to prison for one month or a fine of N10,000. Notwithstanding the tough disposition of the government, Arewa Voice found out that some recalcitrant traders have refused to budge and are still displaying and selling their goods by the roadside. The leader of Oja-Oba Market Traders Association, Alhaja Mariam Moshood Elefun, told AV correspondent that government had directed those trading on the streets to occupy shops inside the market, but that many of the traders ignored the directive.

“We understand that government has the final authority over everything. Now that the government is exercising its powers, it is clear to everyone that nobody can stop the government,” she said.

“Our people who are trading on the streets can still go to Oja Ago, Ita Amo and even Mandate Market to continue their trading, but they would tell you that you are asking them to leave because you already have a shop. But there is nothing we can do with the situation we have found ourselves,” she said.

Another trader Asumi Moshood Olateju in an interview with AV expressed satisfaction with the upgrade of infrastructure in Oja-Oba Market and the steps taken by the administration to sanitise the area for easy traffic. The General Manager, Kwara State Geographic Information Service, Alhaji AbdulKareem Babatunde Sulyman, made it clear that Oja-Oba Market was not meant to promote street trading and asked the traders to return to their shops within the market to do their legitimate business without fear or favour.

“Nobody is asking them to leave the market; we are only asking them to stay in the shops allocated to them to trade and stop trading on the streets,” he said.
(Vanguard)

Metro

Police Arrest Six Suspects Over Abuja Market Killing

Published

8 hours ago

July 4, 2025

Editor

No fewer than six suspects linked to the killing that triggered unrest at Gosa Market along Airport Road in Abuja have been arrested by operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command.

The incident, which caused fear among traders and residents, followed the death of a man accused of stealing tubers of yam. As a result, many people abandoned the market, which is widely regarded as one of the most affordable places to buy food items in Abuja.

Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, the Commissioner of Police, Adewale Ajao, said the police swiftly moved into the area following the incident to de-escalate tensions and restore normalcy.

He explained that the crisis began when a man accused of stealing was lynched by an individual who took the law into his own hands.

He described the killing as a clear case of murder, confirming that six suspects were already in custody.

He said, “A young man was accused of stealing some tubers of yam at the market. And lo and behold, an individual decided to take the law into his hands. That’s a complete human being. This is what led to the crisis.

“Following the police swiftly moved into the area to douse tensions and restore normalcy.

“Six suspects are currently in custody over the matter, which the police are treating as a clear case of murder. ”

Ajao noted that the police engaged community leaders and traditional rulers in dialogue immediately after the incident, which helped to calm the situation and encourage peace.

“Immediately after the incident, we engaged the community leader there. The traditional ruler was with us. We discussed and tried to find out what went wrong. They saw the need to embrace peace,” he said.

He also confirmed that as of Thursday, Gosa Market had resumed full operations under tight police surveillance, with officers on the ground to maintain order.

“The market is on today, and life is bubbling there. Our policemen are on ground, policing the marketing operation,” Ajao added.

He warned against the growing trend of impersonation and the use of false identities, especially vehicles bearing diplomatic or official number plates without authorisation.

According to him, such actions are often linked to criminal intent.

He also condemned the illegal use of tinted glass, vowing that enforcement would continue as part of efforts to enhance public safety.

Ajao said, “We are coming after you. Because the only reason for that is to engage in crime and criminality, ” he said.

“We are still arresting, and we’ll continue to arrest these people. When you conceal every identity, it doesn’t make any sense.”

Highlighting the command’s achievements over the past two months, Ajao announced that the police had recorded 49 criminal cases and arrested 82 suspects.

He said several kidnapping and robbery attempts were foiled across different parts of the city.

He added that the police recorded successes in efforts to curb theft, fraud, child trafficking, rape, and other violent crimes, with multiple suspects apprehended and victims rescued.

Ajao revealed that weapons, vehicles, cash, communication devices, and other criminal tools were recovered in the process. He stated that children were rescued from traffickers, abandoned babies were handed over to the Social Welfare Centre, and victims of various crimes were provided support.

Looking ahead, the Commissioner assured residents that the command would intensify community engagement, intelligence-led operations, and public sensitisation campaigns to address evolving threats.

He emphasised the commitment of the FCT Police Command to sustaining peace and security through proactive and coordinated policing efforts.
(PUNCH)

Metro

PHOTOS: Troops Uncover Cache Of Unexploded Bombs Under Borno Bridge

Published

8 hours ago

July 4, 2025

Editor

Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have uncovered a cache of improvised explosive devices kept under the bridge linking Marte and Dikwa in Borno State by suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.

The Nigerian Army, which disclosed this on Friday on its official Facebook page @HQ Nigerian Army, said the discovery was made by Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams deployed from both Marte and Dikwa Forward Operating Bases

According to the statement, 56 fully prepared IEDs have been safely recovered from the location, while efforts are still ongoing to render the remaining devices safe for complete recovery and disposal.

The statement reads, “Troops of Operation Hadin Kai in conjunction with members of the CJTF have uncovered a significant cache of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) emplaced by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists on the strategic bridge linking Marte and Dikwa in Borno State.

“The discovery was made by Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams deployed from both Marte and Dikwa Forward Operating Bases during a targeted clearance operation.”

It added, “A total of 56 fully prepared IEDs have been safely recovered from the location. Controlled procedures are currently underway to render the remaining devices safe for complete recovery and disposal.”

According to the statement, the successful operation has prevented a potentially catastrophic attack and reaffirms the vigilance, expertise, and commitment of Nigerian troops in safeguarding key infrastructure and civilian lives within the North East theatre

The PUNCH had reported a series of explosions on different highways across the state, leading to the death of many travellers.