Metro
Kogi Housewife Fakes Own Kidnap, Arrested
A middle-aged housewife, Mrs Yemi Samuel, has been arrested by men of the Kwara State Police Command for allegedly faking her own kidnap in Kabba, Kogi State.
Samuel was among the nine suspects paraded by the police in Ilorin on Wednesday.
Three other suspects, Jenmo Usman, 27; Iliashu Mohammed, 25; and Maude Umaru, 21, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, were apprehended for alleged kidnapping, criminal intimidation and conspiracy.
The trio were alleged to have conspired and threatened their employer, one Sarafa Yusuf, on the telephone that they would kidnap him if he failed to give them N2m.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, said Samuel, who lives in Kabba, allegedly went into hiding at her parents’ home in Ilorin and claimed that she was kidnapped by unknown persons while she was cleaning the compound, and taken to an unknown destination.
Egbetokun stated that from her hideout, the suspect demanded N5m ransom, which was later reduced to N1m.
The CP said her husband and family members was able to raise N500,000, which was taken to Iluke in the Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Egbetokun said before the completion of the transaction, State Intelligence Bureau operatives had tracked the suspect to the Kulende area of Ilorin, where she was arrested.
The CP stated, “On June 15, 2019, around 5.30am, Mrs Yemi Samuel hatched a self-kidnap scenario; she left her home and went into hiding, claiming that she had been kidnapped while cleaning the compound by unknown persons and taken to an unknown destination, adding that her abductors had demanded N5m ransom for her release.
“She added that her kidnappers weren’t willing to talk to anyone on the phone due to fear of their voices been recognised. She later called and said that the ransom had been reduced to N1m.
“Effort was intensified and N500,000 was arranged by her husband as well as family members and well-wishers.
“She directed them to take the money to Iluke town, but before the transaction could be effected, SIB operatives in Kwara, led by the officer in charge, Saka Fagade, tracked the suspect to the Kulende area, Sango, Ilorin, and arrested her. She had hid herself in her parents’ rented apartment.”
Samuel, who said she was a Mathematics graduate, confessed to committing the crime in order to raise money for her husband, whom she said was poor.
“I’m a graduate of Mathematics and I live in Kabba with my husband. Things are hard for us and my husband is not finding life easy; so I decided to raise money for him from members of his family; that was why I went to hide myself thinking that his family would raise the money for him to rescue me,” she stated.
As for the three suspects, who allegedly demanded N2m from their boss so that they would not kidnap him, Egbetokun said, “On June 10, 2019, one Sarafa Yusuf of the Kebe Compound, Ilota via Idofian, Kwara State, reported that on June 9, 2019, around 6pm, he received a phone call and the caller demanded N2m from him or else he would be kidnapped and killed.
“Based on this, the complainant made an arrangement with the police on where to drop the money, which was at the Iyana Eleja junction via Idofian.
“It was later discovered that one Jenmo Usman, an employee of the complainant, was the one who picked the polythene bag containing the money at 11.30am and he was immediately arrested by the police. His arrest led to the nabbing of two other suspects, Iliasu Mohammed and Maude Umaru, who also work for the complainant.”
Egbetokun added that all the suspects would soon be charged to court upon the completion of investigation into the respective cases.
The CP also said five other suspects were apprehended in connection with last week’s protest in Ilorin by commercial motorcyclists.
He added that they were arrested for conspiracy, inciting public disturbance, disturbance of the public peace, rioting with dangerous weapons, intimidation and causing grievous hurt and mischief by fire.
The Punch
The Senate has brought forward the screening of newly appointed Service Chiefs to Wednesday, October 29, reversing its earlier decision to conduct the exercise next week.
The announcement came shortly after Senate President, Godwill Akpabio, read a separate correspondence from President Bola Tinubu, seeking the confirmation of appointment of Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede.
Akpabio said the change was necessary to enable the military chiefs to assume their duties immediately.
President Bola Tinubu had urged the Senate to give expeditious consideration to the confirmation process to ensure continuity and effective coordination of the nation’s security architecture.
Following the new schedule, the Committee of the Whole is expected to conduct the screening exercise during plenary on Wednesday.
A few days ago, Tinubu reshuffled the military hierarchy. Tinubu removed General Christopher Musa, with Oluyede (a former Chief of Army Staff) replacing him as the Chief of Defence Staff.
He, however, retained Major-General E.A.P. Undiendeye as the Chief of Defence Intelligence.
The rejigging, according to presidential aide Sunday Dare, was due to “the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria to strengthen the national security architecture”.
“All appointments take immediate effect,” he wrote.
But critics have faulted the rejig of the military hierarchy, with the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC “as an opposition political party, our interest remains the stability of our country and our democracy. In the light of developments in our neighbourhood of Chad and the Sahel States, we are gravely concerned”) asking President Tinubu to come out clean on the reason for the move.
“Our position remains, therefore, that the Federal Government owes Nigerians a categorical explanation about what truly happened,” the ADC wrote in a statement by its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi.
Senator Ned Nwoko on Sunday said he feels sorry for men with one wife, insisting that polygamy provides men greater stability and balance.
The lawmaker representing Delta North, who made the comment while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today, also addressed recent allegations of domestic violence against him by his actress wife, Regina Daniels.
When asked how he copes with managing four wives—something many men find nearly impossible- Nwoko hesitated for a while before reacting.
“That is a different topic for discussion on another day. Yes, every man should do that. The example I give is this: just imagine telling you to stand on one foot or leg. You know how difficult it is.
“But to stand on two, three, four is much more balanced. That’s just the example I give. So I feel sorry for those who have one wife because it’s difficult to stand on one leg,” he stated.
When reminded that the Holy Bible does not endorse polygamy, Nwoko countered, “The Old Testament does. I am a man of faith. But that’s not what we are here for.”
Asked whether he had any regrets about his marital choices, the senator shook his head.
“No, I don’t have any regret. I will do the same thing again. Of course, that’s the way it should be. You should marry who you want to marry,” he defended stoutly.
On the domestic violence allegations trailing him, Nwoko dismissed them outright, saying, “No, come on. You know I am not a violent person. I respect my wives. I love them and my kids.”
His comments came just hours after Nollywood actress Regina Daniels, his estranged wife, flaunted a newly acquired mansion on social media amid reports of a marital crisis.
In a post on her Instagram page, Daniels shared photos and videos of the property with the caption, “In my house, I am a Queen! I needed a roof over my head, so I got this for me and my family.”
The post followed a viral video from October 18 showing the actress in tears outside her Abuja residence, lamenting alleged abuse.
“In Ned Nwoko’s house, I am nothing, but in my own house, I am a Queen. Not again. I can’t stand the violence, it’s too much,” she said in the footage.
The couple’s six-year marriage, once the subject of public fascination due to their wide age gap, has recently degenerated into a full-blown crisis now playing out before millions of Nigerians on social media.
The Punch
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), in the early hours of Sunday, October 26, raided Proxy Night club at 7, Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, where a drug party was going on, and arrested over 100 suspects.
Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, while making this known, said the suspects arrested include the owner of the club, Mike Eze Nwalie Nwogu, alias Pretty Mike, who was taken into custody for interrogation.
“Cartons of illicit substances, including Loud and laughing gas, were recovered from suspects at the party and the club’s store.
“The raid followed intelligence about the drug party. NDLEA operatives who were embedded in the party between 11 pm on Saturday, 25th October, however, disrupted the gathering at 3 am on Sunday, 26th October, in line with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
