Metro
For Cancelling Wedding, Dismissed Policeman Kills Fiancée’s Mother
An ex-policeman, Ogwu Christian, has been arrested for allegedly killing his fiancée’s mother, Veronica Obiejieogo, over the cancellation of their wedding date.
Christian reportedly shot the 45-year-old woman dead at short range while she was walking along a street in her village in Delta State. He thereafter fled the scene on a motorcycle.
City Round learnt that his wedding to Obiejieogo’s daughter, Blessing, had been fixed for December 27, 2018.
He had reportedly given Blessing money to buy clothes and some other items they would use on that day.
Few days to the ceremony, it was learnt that 39-year-old Christian noticed that Blessing was evasive as he no longer got updates on the wedding plans from her.
City Round gathered that when it became clear that the wedding would not hold as scheduled, Christian went to Blessing’s village in Otolokpo and killed her mother, whom he accused of cancelling the event.
He relocated to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, afterwards.
Our correspondent learnt that operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team went after Christian following a petition to the IGP, Mohammed Adamu, on the incident.
After months of tracking him, the suspect was arrested recently in Port Harcourt, while he allegedly was about to carry out a fraudulent deal.
The police said Christian, who was dismissed from the Force in 2005, had been parading himself as a senior officer to defraud members of the public and policemen seeking promotion.
In an interview with City Round during the week, the native of Afor in the Ndukwa East Local Government area of Delta State, confessed to the murder of his fiancée’s mother, adding that he believed the victim discouraged her daughter from marrying him.
He stated that he was frustrated and felt betrayed after he had planned big for the wedding.
He recalled, “I met Blessing at Ogwuachukwu Polytechnic, Delta State, where she was a student. She told me she was single and we started a relationship. In the process, she became pregnant but she aborted it. She said she could not have a child for me because I wasn’t known to her family.
“In April 2018, I went for a formal introduction and her family asked me to come back for a more elaborate ‘introduction ceremony.’ On September 7, 2018, I went back with my family for the ceremony and they gave us the list of things required for the marriage. In October, Blessing informed me that she was pregnant. We then fixed the wedding for December 27, 2018 and I gave her money to buy clothes that we would use for the marriage.
“On December 5, 2018, she called me and said she was on her way to Asaba, where I resided and after waiting for her for a long time, I called her, but she didn’t pick up her calls. One of her brothers known as Friday informed me that she had a miscarriage and was at the hospital in Asaba with her mother. I went to the hospital but I was not allowed to see Blessing and her mother.
“Some days later, I called her to know what was going on. She told me she was in her friend’s place in Asaba. I went there but I didn’t see her after waiting all day.
“On December 21, 2018, she told me on the phone that she had travelled to Lagos. I became very angry and met with one of my friends known as Steven.”
The ex-policeman explained that he rented a gun with two live cartridges from Steven for N10,000 and headed for his fiancée’s village on December 26, 2018 – the eve of the thwarted wedding.
He said shortly before he killed Obiejieogo, he took some alcohol and drugs to toughen up.
He added, “I went to a shop close to my fiancée’s house and bought a bottle of dry gin and Tramadol. I took them at once to get inspiration so that I would not change my mind. While I was at the shop, I sighted her mother and her younger brother walking towards my direction. I went to them, brought out my gun and shot the woman. I then zoomed off on a motorcycle and relocated to Rivers State.”
But a police source disclosed to our correspondent that the deceased discouraged her daughter from marrying Christian after she discovered he was a fraudster.
“The incident that got the deceased angry was when Christian defrauded two residents of her community, whom he had offered to help secure jobs at the Federal Road Safety Commission. He collected N25,000 each from the victims, but he didn’t get them the jobs as promised,” the source added.
Narrating his escapades as a fraudster, Christian said he joined a gang after he was dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force over a gun allegedly snatched away from him by some armed robbers at a checkpoint.
He said, “I attended training at the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos. I was posted to the Edo State Police Command, where I served for five years before I was dismissed. I joined a fraud syndicate operating in Asaba. The man who initiated me into the syndicate taught me all the tricks.
“I started using my police experience to defraud people. I adopted the rank of an Assistant Superintendent of Police and people started coming to me for assistance.
“Some policemen, who wanted promotion, paid me to help them because I told them I was working in the IGP’s office in Abuja. People who wanted to get recruited into the police also came to me and I usually collected N150,000 per person.
“Those applying for Cadet ASP, paid me N400,000 each. In some cases, I succeeded in helping them, using my connections.”
The Punch
The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, has condole with families of the victims of the fuel tanker fire which occurred at the Dikko junction in Niger state on Saturday, charging tanker operators to always adhere strictly to safety standards and observe due protocols in transloading fuel products.
In his reaction to the fuel tanker incident, according to a statement signed by the Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Olusegun Ogungbemide, and made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), the Corps Marshal described the human losses to the inferno as disheartening and disastrous, warning that such incidents must never be allowed to happen again.
The Corps Marshal expressed worry that despite sustained enlightenment programs carried out by the Corps with the tanker drivers on the need to be safety conscious while transporting petroleum products due to their inflammable nature and the general public to stay away from scenes of tanker crashes, many people could still fall victims of the Saturday’s unfortunate tanker incident. While recalling that 73 burnt bodies have so far been recovered by the rescue teams for final burial as arranged by the Niger State Government, the Corps Marshal revealed that the FRSC teams have been directed to sustain the joint operations with other relevant stakeholders to ensure effective management of traffic at the scenes in order to prevent further incidents.
In the same vein, the accident investigation unit of the Corps will work in collaboration with other agencies to unravel the causes and proffer solutions that could address future occurrence. “Meanwhile, those that sustained various degrees of injury have been taken to different hospitals including Suleja General Hospital for further medical attention as normalcy has returned to the area with free movement of traffic,” the Corps Marshal stated.
Shehu Mohammed stressed the importance of inter-agency collaboration and robust engagement with members of the public including critical stakeholders to ensure that the nation does not witness this level of human losses again, especially when the incident could have been prevented by strict adherence to due diligence. “The nation was yet to recover from similar incident that occured in Jiagawa last year, and having to witness another incident of this magnitude at the beginning of the new year is painful and regrettable,” he further stated.
The Corps Marshal assures Nigerians that the FRSC will continue to work with the relevant stakeholders and members of the public to find lasting solutions to all road-based emergencies and called for involvement of all Nigerians in the joint efforts to ensure safety and security of lives and property of road travelers.
While praying God for repose of the souls of all those that lost their lives to the inferno, the Corps Marshal appeals for support to the families of the survivors in the various hospitals to ensure their quick recovery. He further commiserate with the people of Niger state and commended the prompt intervention of the Executive Governor of Niger State who was physically present at the scene.
In furtherance of its ongoing scheme to excite and reward its subscribers across the country, Globacom, on Friday, in Abuja, held another draw to select winners in its Festival of Joy consumer promotion.
The draw, held at the Gloworld, Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse, had the presence of several observers including Glo subscribers, members of the media and Martin Oteh who led officials of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) to witness the process.
The company had before now presented prizes to winners in several cities since the promo started in October 2024, enabling hundreds of Nigerians who won various prizes to end the year 2024 on a joyful note.
As is the tradition since the start of the promo, the draw precedes the prize presentation exercise, which is to be done on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at the same Glo office at Wuse, Abuja. The lucky subscribers include the winner of a brand new Toyota Prado and winners of tricycle, sewing machines, generators and grinding machines.
Globacom encouraged new and existing subscribers to dial *611# to opt into the promo and to also keep recharging (voice and data) during the promo period, in order to be eligible to win the prizes on offer. New subscribers can participate immediately by purchasing a new SIM, registering it and dialing *611#.
“New and existing customers are to recharge up to N100, 000 cumulatively during the promo period to qualify for the draw for the Prado Jeep, N50, 000 cumulative recharge for Kia Picanto, N10, 000 in a month for tricycle and N5, 000 total recharge in a month to win a generator. For the sewing machine, a total recharge of N2, 500 in a month is required, while for the grinding machine, a recharge of N1,000 in a week will be eligible for the draw”, the company noted.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revoked lands allocated to Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, his Bayelsa counterpart Douye Diri, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen.
The minister’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, said the withdrawal of the R-of-O for 568 allottees followed the expiration of a two-week grace period to pay their C-of-O bills.
He noted that of the 3,273 allottees initially given two weeks in October 2024 to pay their bills, 568 remained in default after an additional grace period expired on January 15.
Also affected are the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Ibrahim Hadejia; former governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, Senate Leader; Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Minority Leader; Abba Moro, Minister of State for Labour and Employment; Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Minister of State for Industry Trade and Investment; John Eno, Chairperson/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM); Abike Dabiri-Erewa; late Sports Minister Bala Kaoje; and Regina Akume, wife of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
The fresh revocation comes three weeks after the initial withdrawal of 762 plots of land from their allottees.
