Headlines
‘I Became an Armed Robber after Losing N6m Capital in Betting’
Operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team have smashed a robbery gang which specialised in robbing women of expensive vehicles in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
Three members of the gang arrested by the police were identified as Ego Ike, Obinna Igwe and Adamu Nuhu.
City Round learnt that the suspects usually took the stolen vehicles to Niger Republic, where they sold them.
It was gathered that the police went after the gang members after they allegedly stole a 2016 Toyota Corolla from an official of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, who was on her way home from work.
The suspects were said to have driven the car to Katsina State, from where they took it to Niger Republic.
Nigerien policemen reportedly impounded the vehicle and arrested a member of the gang identified simply as Yellow, while the three others escaped.
Our correspondent learnt that the three fleeing suspects were recently tracked down in their hideout in Abuja after the FIRS official reported the robbery to the IRT.
One of the suspects, Ike, told City Round during the week that he joined the gang after he lost a sum of N6m he had invested in clothing business to gambling.
He said, “I was a spare parts dealer at the Ladipo Market, Lagos, but I moved to Abuja in search of greener pastures. When I couldn’t achieve much, I pressured my father to sell his only land in the village and he used the money to send me to Istanbul, Turkey.
“I worked in Istanbul for three years and saved close to N6m which I used to start a clothing business in Nigeria. In 2016, one of my friends introduced me to online sports betting, and I lost all my money. I met one Linus in Abuja and we became friends. He introduced me to a robbery gang. We stole a Toyota RAV4 from a woman who was driving to her house on Shafar Road, Abuja and we took the car to Kaduna. We sold it to one Mallam Nuhu for N200,000.”
He stated that his gang also carjacked a Toyota Matrix from a woman and sold it in Kaduna for N270,000, adding that they usually targeted women to avoid resistance.
Ike, who hails from Anambra State, also admitted to have participated in the operation in which the FIRS official’s car was stolen.
He said, “We took the car that night to Niger Republic, but at the Katsina border, Linus and I came down from the car while Yellow and a man took the car into Niger Republic. Unfortunately, Nigerien police arrested them. We target wmen because we don’t use guns and women won’t resist us. We go for Toyota vehicles because we easily find buyers for them.”
In his account, Nuhu, a native of Kaduna State, said he took to robbery when he was 17. He said he got a master key he used to steal some cars from one MD in Kaduna.
He said, “The first car I stole with the master key was a Toyota Carina. I stole it in Tuniga Maji, along Kaduna-Abuja Expressway. I took the car to Kaduna and one Garuba bought it from me for N120,000. MD then introduced me to Yellow and asked me to get a vehicle from him. The vehicle had a problem with the engine. We contacted Garuba and he bought it for N180,000.
“I stole three other Toyota Camry cars in Tuniga Maji area and sold them for N420,000 to one Alhaji in Sokoto State. MD also gave me four Toyota Corolla cars to deliver to one Abdul in Niger Republic. Later in September 2018, Yellow introduced me to his own gang, who were operating mainly in Abuja. We were preparing for a robbery operation when the police arrested me.”
Culled from The Punch
Headlines
Abiola Cannot Be Recognised As Former President; He Was Never Sworn-in – Gen Ishola Williams
By Eric Elezuo
One of the prime actors of the June 12, 1993 incidents, General Ishola Williams, has said that much as Chief MKO Abiola wrong was created having won the election, and denied victory, he cannot be recognized as a former President of Nigeria.
Gen Williams made his revelation while speaking as a guest on Channels television socio-political programme, Inside Source.
He maintained that only those who were sworn in that recognised as former presidents, and Abiola was never sworn in.
“Abiola cannot be recognised as former president because he was never sworn in.
The General, who said that he resigned from the army as a result of the wholesome reception given to General Sani Abacha, when he overthrew Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government, contrary to expectation, also picked flaws in the narratives given by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, in his recently launched book, A Journey In Service.
Williams rose in the army to become the Commandant of Army Signals, Commander of Training and Doctrine (TRADOC) and Chief of Defence Training and Planning, from where he resigned.
Headlines
Breaking: Supreme Court Recognises Martin Amaewhule As Rivers Assembly Speaker, Orders CBN to Stop Releasing Funds to State
By Eric Elezuo
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has in its ruling on Friday recognised Hon Martins Amaewhule as the authentic speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, mandating him to urgently resume sitting with elected members of the assembly.
The apex court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to stop releasing to the Rivers State government until a proper assembly is constituted.
Details soon…
Tension escalated at the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday as impeached Speaker Mudashiru Obasa made a dramatic return to reclaim his position.
Accompanied by heavily armed men, Obasa stormed the Assembly complex in a bold move that has thrown the State’s legislature into turmoil.
In a stunning turn of events, security details assigned to the substantive Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda, were abruptly withdrawn on Thursday morning, clearing the path for Obasa’s controversial comeback.
Sources revealed that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) ordered the withdrawal of all security operatives attached to Meranda, leaving her exposed in the midst of an intensifying power struggle.
The Speaker’s Special Adviser on Information, Mr. Victor Ganzallo, expressed concern over the security vacuum created by the withdrawal of personnel.
“In the early hours of Thursday, we woke up to the startling news that all security details assigned to Madam Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, had been withdrawn.
This includes the police and DSS officers, leaving her exposed to threats amid the ongoing speakership crisis,” Ganzallo stated.
He further called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as the State’s Chief Security Officer, to intervene urgently to prevent a complete breakdown of law and order within the Assembly.
“The withdrawal of security personnel has left the Assembly naked and vulnerable at a critical time. Urgent action is needed to restore order,” he pleaded.
With the speakership battle taking a dramatic new turn, political watchers are keenly observing how the crisis will unfold in the coming days.
