Crime

Nigerian to die in Malasyia for drug trafficking

Published

8 years ago

December 29, 2015

Olu Emmanuel

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…arrests baron with cocaine in Tomato paste

By OKOSUN OKHUELEIGBE

The death sentence handed over to a Nigerian in Malaysia for drug trafficking has been described as unfortunate by the acting Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mrs. Roli Bode-George.

The convict, Ekene Collins Isaac, 37, was sentenced to death by a Malaysian High Court Judge, Datuk Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim after been found guilty of smuggling 915.6g of methamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy or MDMA, into Malaysia three years ago.

Datuk Wan said the prosecution had proven Isaac’s guilt beyond doubt and had no choice than to hand him a death sentence. In Malaysia, drug trafficking attracts death sentence.

However, it was gathered that the CEO, NDLEA, Roli has promised to resort to diplomatic efforts to save the convict while at the same time assured that the Agency would maintain total alertness in drug detection operation all through the year.

Meanwhile, two drug suspects were arrested on Boxing Day at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, after one of them packed drug in six wraps weighing 120 grammes and inserted into his anus while the second suspect wanted to export a consignment containing 1.860kg of methamphetamine sealed in tin tomato paste to South Africa.

The suspects identified as Ikeh Maxwell Obumneme, (40), and Nwakpo Tochukwu Akumma, (27), was arrested on Boking Day after they targeted the festive period to carry out their crime.

NDLEA Commander at the Lagos airport, Ahmadu Garba who disclosed the names of the suspects said that the suspects targeted the festive period to smuggle drugs. In his words, “Intelligence report received by the Agency indicated that the suspects specifically targeted the festive season to smuggle their drugs.

Ikeh Maxwell was said to have inserted cocaine in his anus from Sao Paulo through Dubai on Emirates flight was caught on arrival while Nwakpo Tochukwu that hid methamphetamine in tomato paste meant for export to South Africa on South Africa airways flight was equally arrested.

“The Nigerian government will work to protect every citizen from untimely death resulting from drug trafficking and drug abuse. We shall remain vigilant at all times and prevent drug trafficking syndicates from smuggling narcotic drugs in and out of the country. While respecting the laws of other countries, the Federal Government will explore diplomatic means to prevent capital punishment on citizens. Special arrangement has been made for officers to sustain intense surveillance all through the festive period and in the New Year. This covers the land borders, seaports, airports as well as all villages, towns and cities,” Roli added.

It was learnt that Ikeh Maxwell hails from Oji-River in Enugu State. Confessing to the crime, he said that “I am married with a child and live in Lagos. I sell children diapers and clothes but travelled to Brazil two months ago expecting to buy my goods at a cheaper price. In the process, I decided to smuggle 120 grammes of cocaine for monetary gains. I inserted six wraps of the drugs into my anus yet it was detected and that was how I was arrested. This is my first time” he stated.

Nwakpo Tochukwu, an automobile parts dealer at Ladipo market, Lagos said that he was only assisting a friend to send a consignment of foodstuff to South Africa. “I am 27 years old and I am single. I sell motor parts at Ladipo market. My friend in South Africa asked me to send a luggage to him. He called somebody in Lagos who brought the bag to me and I took it to the airport for shipment. During search, the drug was detected and I was arrested” Nwakpo stated.

According the Head, Public Affairs of the Agency, Mitchell Ofoyeju disclosed that the suspects will be charged to court on completion of investigations.

It would be recalled that a Nigerian female student was sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court on early in May, 2015. The woman was found guilty of trafficking 765.9 g of methamphetamine at the KL International Airport (KLIA) four years ago.

However, about 132 Nigerian citizens are facing death row in different parts of the world especially in the Asian countries. In China, about 120 Nigerians early in the year were said to be on death row, 11 in Indonesia and 1 in Singapore.

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Crime

Gunmen assassinate Aiyedatiwa’s campaign coordinator

Published

9 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Olusegun Odunewu

Gunmen assassinate Aiyedatiwa’s campaign coordinator

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Gunmen have assassinated Alaba Excel Abbey, a campaign coordinator for Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

Late Abbey was shot dead on Saturday evening at his residence in Supare.

He was the Returning Officer for the recently concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election in Ondo state.

Abbey was also the ward coordinator for the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organization Foot-Soldiers (LACO-SF), in Ward 10 in the locality.

The elder brother to the deceased, Samuel Abbey, said the assailants struck at about 9 pm shortly after his brother returned home while relaxing in front of his house.

The Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation Foot Soldiers Independent Council (LACO-FSIC)-SF, which condemned the murder of its members, urged security agencies to give protection to its members across the state.

The information director of the organization, Kayode Fasua, said the deceased was actively involved in campaigning for the election of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa until his untimely demise.

He said: “Excel had been a resourceful coordinator for the Aiyedatiwa campaign organisation in Ward 10 of Supare and was never known to be violent and never had any history of a local or domestic dispute.

“We urge the police authorities to step up investigations into his gruesome murder and bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to book.”

Crime

34 currency speculators in EFCC net for FX fraud

Published

2 days ago

April 27, 2024

Olusegun Odunewu

34 currency speculators in EFCC net for FX fraud

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says 34 suspected currency speculators have been arrested for foreign exchange (FX) fraud.

The EFCC, in a statement on Friday, said the arrest was carried out by its operatives attached to its task force on currency mutilation, dollarisation of the economy, and FX malpractice.

The anti-graft agency said the suspects were arrested in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, on April 26, in a sting operation following credible intelligence about illegal sales of dollars.

“Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, attached to the Taskforce on Currency mutilation, Dollarization of the Economy and Forex Malpractice, have arrested 34 suspected currency speculators for alleged foreign exchange fraud,” the EFCC said.

“The suspects are: Usman Mohammed, Abdullahi Nasir, Abubakar Saleh, Mohammed Kabir Ibrahim, Abubakar Ghadafi, Muktar Usman, Umar Abubakar Abba, Yakubu Sani, Aminu Abubakar, Muhammed Suleman Abara, Yusuf Tahir, Usman Lawal, Usman Lawal.”

The agency also arrested Usman Umar, Amina Garba Rola, Muhammed Aliyu, Murtala Haruna, Sani Mohammed, Umar Farouk, Muhammed Sagiuru, Aminu Salisu, Lawal Bello, and Munzali Hashim.

READ ALSO: Massive shake-up in EFCC

Other include: Jamilu Suleiman, Mustapha Umar, Mubarak Tanimu, Adamu Garba, Mohammed Usman, Bello Musa, Saleh Mohammed Naseer, Zaharadeen Yau, Musa Umaru Adamu, Usman Machido, and Abdulaziz Abubakar Abba.

The EFCC said the arrest occurred following its ongoing efforts to clean up and stabilise the FX market, adding that the suspects will soon be arraigned in court upon conclusion of investigations.

On February 24, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the office of the national security adviser (ONSA) sealed a partnership to investigate and penalise those involved in illicit activities within the foreign exchange market.

The decision was in the backdrop of the unending depreciation of the naira and its accompanying negative impact on inflation and economic instability.

Following the partnership, which also involved the EFCC, the commission froze over 300 accounts linked to illicit FX trading.

The EFCC had, on January 24, launched a probe on 52 companies over forex transactions.

Crime

Terrorists invade Matawalle’s town, abduct 50 persons

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Olusegun Odunewu

WHO WANTS TO PAY RANSOM? By Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan January 20, 2024 WE have maintained, perhaps with monotonous regularity, that in times of increased problems, people would look in every direction for possible solutions. When people get confused and no longer know what to do, they begin to do everything. That is where the loss of one genuine purpose invariably leads to the pursuit of a dozen pseudo purposes. We are already there. Anini and Osunbor came before their time. Remember them? In the mid-1980s, these were the leaders of a criminal gang that held the defunct Bendel State spell bound. The notorious gang shook the state and indeed the entire nation to their very foundation. They killed and maimed many people. They sacked many establishments and dispatched many to their early graves. They were particularly ruthless with men and women of the Nigeria Police. At the peak of their reign of terror, policemen resorted to carrying their uniforms to places of assignment in paper bags, while appearing in public in mufti. This criminal gang made life unbearable for Bendelites. Towards the end of their reign of terror, they introduced some palliative measures for the poor in society. Here, they did not depend on any social register for their operations. Rather, they had their calendar for visiting major markets in the Benin metropolis, where they threw Naira notes in the air for market women to scramble over. Again, their lives also pointed to the obvious fact that everything in this world has an expiry date. When their cups became truly full, they were caught like wet chickens and sent to the gallows. That was the end of an era. Truly, God uses the most foolish things to confound the wise. We may have gone full circle in our effort to find solutions to the precarious security situations in the country. It is now a system of trial and error, and anything goes! Wherever they are today, Anini and Osunbor must be regretting coming to this world before their time. Today, their opposite numbers in Kaduna are being regularized into the Police Force. They say it is not the Police Force. Rather, they call it the Special Constabulary. There was a passing out parade for more than 200 officers of that force, by whatever name. They are now out there, charged with the official responsibility for curbing banditry. This is clearly an innovation in criminology. Were Anini and Osunbor still alive, they would have walked up there and without any further training, they would be decorated with the rank of Deputy Inspector General, DIG, of that force! Yes, time changes everything. During the Anini saga, to go into anything that had to do with law enforcement, authorities at every level placed high premium on your having no criminal records of any sort. They demanded the certificates of your family, village, local government, and state of origin. We hear that the Kaduna Constabulary thrives on the opposite direction – all you need here is a record of conviction on a felony – the more sordid, the better! We pray for Kaduna, and we pray for Nigeria. In the months and years ahead, the multiplier effect of this seemingly obnoxious policy shall be fully manifest. In Nigeria, though, one bad turn deserves another. The same people who designed this shambolic policy will do anything to suppress its undesirable effects. And so, evil will continue to perpetuate itself! That’s the nature of society. Kidnapping is assuming a cancerous proportion every day. Authorities in Nigeria have kept being “on top of the situation”. Yet, rather than abating, it keeps spreading. It is now gradually inching towards the seat of power at the heart of Abuja. There is fear everywhere. Worse still, it has attained the feverish height of hypocrisy: From the giddy height in Abuja, they decree against the payment of ransom to kidnappers. By their reckoning, and perhaps rightly so, ransom payment provides the only source of funding and sustenance of the kidnap industry. It also emboldens the kidnap merchants. Those who preach against payment of ransom offer no alternative – they simply want you to go and die. They ask you not to pay ransom, but they are paying ransom every day. See how it goes: they forbid the payment of ransom, but each time they perceive the approach of kidnappers to Abuja, the two Houses of the National Assembly will adjourn sitting for two weeks, and sometimes, they adjourn sine die! Calculate the loss of man-hours – the humongous loss to the taxpayer; and tell me which ransom could be close to that. In everything, whoever is waylaid is the best judge of how to get home. It is easy to legislate against ransom payment but wait till it gets to you. The only two children you have are abducted on their way from school. A ransom of N50million is demanded. You don’t have the money; and of course, nobody ever plans for such. Let’s test your psychology: Listen to the authorities and leave your children to die? Or listen to the lower voice that is asking you to go to the loan shark that will give you the money – even at 1000 percent interest - to save your children? Elsewhere, when authorities ask their people not to pay ransom, they mean it, and the citizens believe them. Citizens are assured of their protection, and if the worst happens, they will be rescued. The Philip Watson case is still fresh in our memories. On October 26, 2020, Philip Watson, a 27-year-old American was abducted in Niger Republic and taken across the border to Northern Nigeria. In the morning of October 31, 2020, Uncle Sam (the U.S.) decided that it was time to go and rescue Philip. From their Air Force Base in Niger Republic, they flew straight to the location in Nigeria where Philip was being held hostage. They rescued Philip very neatly and wasted 6 of the 7 abductors; and returned to Niger Republic! That’s technology and that’s a serious government at work! If we were serious with the war against banditry, very early on November 1, 2020, we would have been in Washington DC, begging for that technology. Let them name their price. If they ask to take the balance of our oil after the oil thieves have taken theirs, so be it. After all, there can be life without oil but what is oil without life? This war was lost even before it was declared. And now, the bandits have infiltrated every facet of our society, making the whole fight look like a con game: A crime situation in which those who would have reported the crime are part of it! Where do we go from here? There is still the worst dimension to this sordid affair. Sometimes, the evil men demand, and receive, ransom. They still proceed to waste the victim. This is one way of explaining the pain, agony, and anguish that the entire Igbanke Community has lived with for some 9 years since their son, Professor Paul Erie – that profound Professor of Agric. Extension in Ambrose Alli University – was cut down at the prime of his life. Who wants to pay ransom? Certainly not the Nigerian. Nigerians are right in demanding the type of protection Uncle Same has offered Americans, and you will see if the Nigerian kidnappers will not starve to death.

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Group of terrorists early Friday morning invaded Maradun town, the headquarters of Maradun Local Government Area (LGA) in Zamfara state and reportedly kidnapped over 50 persons, mainly women.

Maradun is the home town of Nigeria’s Minister of State (Defence), Hon. Bello Muhammed Matawalle.

A resident of the area, Malam Sulaiman Maradun, in a telephone conversation said that the terrorists besieged the town at around 12am and started house to house operations.

“It was so terrible the way they stormed our town because they came with sophisticated weapons and began shooting sporadically on air in the midnight of today Friday,” he said

He further stated that the terrorists killed 10 people and made away with yet to be ascertained number of animals belonging to the community in the area.

He said the terrorists attacked the Emir of Maradun palace Alhaji Garba Tambari in the absence of the traditional ruler.

“As I speak to you now, many people mainly women have been kidnapped by these terrorists during the attack and many of our people have been missing and nowhere to be found so far,” he said

“This is not the first time these dreaded terrorists are attacking the Maradun community. Governments at all levels should take drastic and urgent measures to address the lingering insecurity affecting our area.”

Maradun called on the federal and Zamfara state governments to deploy more troops to the area to safeguard people from the horrible activities of terrorists and restore peace in the area.

Efforts to reach the state police command public relations officer Asp Yazid Abubakar failed as all his lines were not reachable while compiling the report.