CRIME
Fortify Security Around Lokpanta Axis, CLO Tells Gov Otti
By Chuks Eke
Following the discovery of 80 decomposing corpses and 20 headless bodies inside the forest near the cattle market at Lokpanta in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State, the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Anambra State branch has urged the Abia government to beef up security along the Lokpanta axis to reduce the escalating violent crimes, kidnapping, armed robbery, car snatching, and killings.
CLO further urged the state government to pursue the perpetrators of these heinous acts and prosecute them by the law, to prevent further deterioration of human dignity, sacredness, and sanctity of human individuals.
CLO, however, commended Abia State Governor, Chief Alex Otti, for improving security architecture in Abia state through his strategic marshal plan, which led to the discovery of such a large number of decomposing and headless bodies at Umuezechi Lokpanta cattle market, in a press statement issued yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra state and signed by its state Chairman, Comrade Vincent Ezekwueme.
“We thank him for having the political will, patriotism, and courage to unravel such barbaric, insensate and inhuman atrocities, killings and impunities taking place in cattle market for years with the previous government doing nothing to rescue the situation, restore security and normalcy”.
According to the CLO, “We learned from Suzena Callings that anyone who kills an innocent person will lose everything he or she has, hence perpetrators should not be allowed to go scot-free”.
“Abia state government and security personnel should constitute Committees to carry out discreet and in-depth investigations to unravel the circumstances surrounding the killings, the perpetrators and identities of those killed and reasons behind the killings”.
“Government should as a matter of urgency, ensure arrest, detention and prosecution of perpetrators and their sponsors to act as a deterrent to others.
We extol the wise and unique decision of the governor to convert the market into non residential daily market”, the statement added.
“There is no doubt in our minds that it will in no small measures help to restore security, business activities, peaceful coexistence of Nigerians, mutual trust and it will enhance citizens’ confidence and hope in government”.
“The most important function of every government is for protection of lives and properties of her citizens which Governor Alex Otti has already taken bold, patriotic and courageous steps to actualise. What is now left is for the government to fortify security and improve on the existing one”.
Attempts by drug syndicates to smuggle illicit substances such as methamphetamine and opioids concealed in the hems of new jeans trousers, dolls, buttons, local soap, and beverage tins to Europe, the United Arab Emirates, and Asia have been foiled by NDLEA operatives at some courier firms in Lagos.
According to a statement issued by the anti-narcotics agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, some of the consignments intercepted by NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) at courier houses in Lagos include tramadol 225mg concealed in the hems of new jeans trousers bound for Cyprus; a shipment of cannabis sativa concealed in the heads of dolls bound for Dubai, UAE.
He said a shipment of another illicit substance coming from Florida, USA was equally intercepted at a courier firm while the recipient, Daniel Ogi was tracked by NDLEA officers and arrested at 5 Akeem Shittu Street, Ajao Estate Lagos on Friday 24th November 2023.
Babafemi also said operatives in Lagos last Friday arrested a drug kingpin, Okechukwu Ogala, 56, who specialises in exploiting and recruiting young persons to export meth to Asian countries. He was arrested at Blue Moon Hotel in the Okota area of Lagos with 60 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.009 kilogrammes
In another operation in Lagos, operatives last Friday recovered 393 kilogrammes of cannabis in a shop at Akala, Mushin while a suspect, Justin Enuonye, who deals in Canadian Loud was arrested by the police at Victoria Island and transferred to Lagos Command of NDLEA this same day with 154 parcels weighing 92 kilogrammes.
Babafemi also said a team of NDLEA operatives also intercepted a vehicle at the Oyingbo area of Lagos and recovered 108 kilogrammes of cannabis from it, while 675 kilogrammes of the same substance were recovered from the store of a wanted dealer, Wahab Olota at Adedoja area of Mushin, Lagos State.
In Edo, NDLEA operatives last Wednesday stormed the Ujiogba forest, Esan West local government area where they recovered 5,988 kilogrammes of cannabis already processed and ready for distribution while a 22-year-old, Mason Bunde, (a.k.a Tete Peter Joseph) found in a hut on the cannabis farm was arrested.
He said no less than 120,000 capsules of tramadol concealed in new sound systems packed in a Jos, Plateau state-bound bus were seized by NDLEA officers acting on intelligence along Onitsha-Awka road, Anambra state last Monday, while 123 blocks of cannabis weighing 73 kilogrammes were recovered from a suspect, Abdullahi Bello along Gombe-Bauchi road, Gombe state last Wednesday, operatives in Abuja seized 168 blocks of a same psychoactive substance with a total weight of 101 kilogrammes from the store of a fleeing drug dealer in Kabusa area of the FCT.
The NDLEA spokesman said no fewer than 8,000 bottles of codeine syrup were recovered by NDLEA operatives last Friday when they intercepted a vehicle transporting the opioid along Abuja- Kaduna road, with the driver, Shamsu Isiyaku and his conductor, Muhammad Maina arrested. The same day, operatives also arrested Ernest Esechie, 30, with 44.4 kilogrammes of compressed cannabis sativa along Gwantu- Sanga road, Kaduna.
In Kogi, NDLEA officers arrested Ahmad Umar, 18, with 46.4 kilogrammes of cannabis at a checkpoint in Kabba, while Jamilu Zakari, 32, was nabbed at Kofar Idi, Kandahar, Bauchi town, Bauchi state with 125 blocks of the same substance that weighed 146 kilogrammes.
At least, 542.3 kilogrammes of cannabis were recovered from a suspect, Festus Egeogoli, 32, when his base at Jakpa road, Warri, Delta state was raided by NDLEA operatives last Wednesday, while 125.9 kilogrammes of the same substance were also seized from a store in the same area.
He said the various commands of the Agency across the country continued with the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign in the past week. Some of them include WADA sensitisation lectures for students of Phrankstars School, Awka, Anambra; students of Taskar Alkairi Primary and Secondary Schools, Goburawa, Dala LGA, as well as Natsugune Primary and Secondary Schools, Ungogo LGA, Kano; students of Kevqueen College, Itanla, Ondo West LGA, Ondo; students of Unibek Group of Schools, Port Harcourt, Rivers; students of The Apostolic High School, Ilesa, Osun, and students of Usman Jidda Shuwa Memorial Secondary School, Gamboru, Borno state.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) while commending the officers and men of the Lagos, Edo, Anambra, Gombe, FCT, Kaduna, Kogi, Bauchi and Delta commands of the agency as well as DOGI for their outstanding feats in the past week, applauded their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying their WADA advocacy lectures thus creating parity between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities.
By Chuks Eke
North fewer than four persons including security operatives have been feared killed in the Aguluzigbo community in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, the hometown of Senator Victor Umeh, the incumbent Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial Zone when gunmen allegedly attacked sex-security operatives in the area.
It was gathered that the yet-to-be-identified hoodlums invaded the community on Tuesday morning and allegedly engaged themselves in a sporadic gunshot which led to a hot exchange of gun duel between them and security operatives in the area.
According to sources, the gun duel, which started in the morning, raged for several hours and sent panic in the community.
The incident was further corroborated by videos from the scene, which are currently trending on social media.
When contacted on the development, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident but said details were still sketchy.
Ikenga said, “Yes. There was a shooting incident between some gunmen and security operatives at Aguluzigbo community this morning”.
“The information is still sketchy for now and any further details will be made available when we get the true pictures of what happened. But our men are currently on top of the situation.”
Efforts to reach Senator Umeh on the phone proved abortive as his phone rang severally without response.
4 feared dead as hoodlums attack security operatives in Senator Victor Umeh” ‘s Aguluzigbo community
By Chuks Eke
North fewer than four persons including security operatives have been feared killed in the Aguluzigbo community in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, the hometown of Senator Victor Umeh, the incumbent Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial Zone when gunmen allegedly attacked ex-security operatives in the area.
It was gathered that the yet-to-be-identified hoodlums invaded the community on Tuesday morning and allegedly engaged themselves in a sporadic gunshot which led to a hot exchange of gun duel between them and security operatives in the area.
According to sources, the gun duel, which started in the morning, raged for several hours and sent panic in the community.
The incident was further corroborated by videos from the scene, which are currently trending on social media.
When contacted on the development, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident but said details were still sketchy.
Ikenga said, “Yes. There was a shooting incident between some gunmen and security operatives at Aguluzigbo community this morning”.
“The information is still sketchy for now and any further details will be made available when we get the true pictures of what happened. But our men are currently on top of the situation.”
Efforts to reach Senator Umeh on the phone proved abortive as his phone rang severally without response.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have smashed a party organised for illicit substance abuse at a lounge in Osogbo, the Osun state capital, arresting the organisers who were found in possession of drugs.
A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi said the clampdown was made on Saturday, following credible intelligence that some persons were going to hold a night party tagged “Unholy Alliance…for Stoners and Drunkards” where different types of illicit substances were going to be sold and consumed by patrons.
He said soon after the organisers began to gather at Berrymist Lounge located in the Ofatedo area of Osogbo to start the party, NDLEA operatives swooped on them, arrested them, and recovered illicit substances of abuse and drug paraphernalia from them.
He said those arrested include: Ikotu Omolayo, 25; Fola Olabode, 30, and Akorede Ajibola, 22, adding that the management of the Lounge has also been invited for further investigation.
According to him, this comes on the heels of an earlier raid last Thursday at Area 5 Forest Reserve, Ile-Ife where operatives recovered 156 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa.
Babafemi also disclosed that operatives in the Ogun state last Friday arrested two suspects: Adamu Ibrahim and Nura Sani at the Ileke trailer garage, along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, where 859 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa concealed among bags of sugar in a truck for onward transportation to Mokwa, Niger state.
Poster at the party venue
He said the consignment was loaded in Ogbese, Ondo state and hidden among bags of cement in a truck before being translated into another trailer bearing sugar in Ogun state.
In Edo state, operatives last Monday stormed a warehouse at Obi Camp in Owan West local government area where they recovered 338 kilogrammes of cannabis concealed in sacks of charcoal, while in another operation in Ikhin forest, Owan East local government area, NDLEA officers seized 235 kilogrammes of the same psychoactive substance last Saturday. A suspect, Onah Ikechukwu, 32, was arrested at Jattu, Etsako West local government area with 11,690 capsules of tramadol, 295 bottles of codeine syrup and various quantities of molly, cannabis and methamphetamine last Wednesday.
A similar raid in Lagos last Wednesday at Enu-Owa Street, Lagos Island led to the recovery of 40,500 ampoules of pentazocine injection; and 440,000 pills of tramadol in a store belonging to a suspect, Ebuka Amechi who is currently at large. Not less than 135,600 capsules of tramadol and 950 grammes of cannabis were seized from two suspects: Afamefuna Ibekwe, 37, and Sunday Onweh, 41, at Nkpor, Akuzor and Ose-Ogbaijo, Onitsha, respectively, while 37,360 pills of different opioids and 250 bottles of codeine syrup coming from Onitsha, Anambra en route Abuja were recovered from Muhammed Khamis, 22, last Thursday along Okene- Lokoja-Abuja expressway.
Operatives in Ekiti state seized a total of 288 kilogrammes of cannabis at the Odo-Owa forest in Ijero local government area last Saturday. At least, 116 kilogrammes of the same psychoactive substance were seized from a suspect, Chinagoram Obaru, 24,
who was arrested at Iju forest last Thursday.
He noted that Commanders across the 36 states and the FCT equally continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization lectures in schools, communities, workplaces, and others. Some of these include WADA sensitisation lecture for students and staff of Comprehensive High School, Abia, Udi LGA, Enugu; teachers and students of Dr. Nuhu Sanusi Junior/Senior Secondary School, Dutse, Jigawa; students of Haneef High School, Jos, Plateau; students of Akinorun Muslim Grammar School, Ikirun, Osun; students of Zaibadari Michika Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary School, Michika, Adamawa; and students of Madarasatul-Islamiya Baichin Kako, Marna Gusau, Zamfara state, among others.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) while commending the arrests and seizures of the past week by officers and men of the Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Anambra, Ekiti, Kogi and Lagos Commands, charged them and their compatriots across all formations of the agency to continue to remain vigilant and double their efforts especially with the desperation of criminal networks to make money by all means as the yuletide season approaches.
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