Crime
IGP orders deployment of specialised operatives in Owo
By Derrick Bangura
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Usman Baba, has ordered the deployment of specialised operatives to unravel the perpetrators of Sunday’s attack on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
He said the specialised operatives would be drawn from the Police Explosive Ordnance Devices-Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Explosives (EOD-CBRNE) and other tactical units from the Force Headquarters.
Adejobi said the deployment is to ensure a comprehensive investigation and immediate interception of the perpetrators of the attack.
He said the IGP had condemned the attack that led to the brutal murder of innocent Nigerians in their place of worship.
The police spokesman said preliminary investigations had revealed that the gunmen invaded the church with arms and materials suspected to be explosives.
According to him, police investigators who were part of the first responders deployed to the scene have recovered pellets of expended AK-47 ammunition.
He said operatives from the EOD-CBRNE unit had confirmed the use of explosives as fragments of the IEDs used were found.
Adejobi said three unexploded IEDs were recovered after thorough sweeping of the scene of the incident.
The police spokesman said further investigations has revealed that some of the gunmen disguised as members of the congregation.
He said others who positioned themselves around the church premises from different directions, fired into the church during the attack.
According to him, the assailants fled the scene using a Nissan Sunny car, with Reg No. AKR 895 AG, which was snatched from the owner and escaped through Owo/Ute road.
He said the vehicle has been recovered, adding that the owner of the vehicle is currently assisting the Police in their investigations.
Adejobi said the IGP had condoled with the Ondo State Government, family members, relatives and friends of the victims who lost their lives in the attack.
He pledged that the heartless killers of the harmless victims, particularly innocent children, would be made to face the full wrath of the law.
The Anambra State Police Command has foiled a cult initiation ceremony in Nawfia, Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.
Spokesperson for the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Awka.
According to Ikenga, the operation was carried out by police operatives around 9:30am on June 15, leading to the arrest of six suspects at the scene.
Recovered during the raid were one Jojef pump action gun, two cartridges, and a golden-coloured Lexus SUV with registration number ATN 202 AE. Other items found include two cutlasses, two scissors, a cap bearing the inscription of the Supreme Vikings Confraternity, charms, and substances suspected to be hard drugs.
“They are currently undergoing police interrogation to get more insight into their modus operandi, after which the case will be charged to court on the conclusion of the investigations,” Ikenga stated.
The police spokesperson reassured residents of the command’s unwavering commitment to fighting cultism and other related crimes across the state.
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.
Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.
The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.
Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.
He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.
The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.
She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.
“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.
Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.
He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.
An Area Court in Jos, on Tuesday, sentenced one Jeptha John, to three months imprisonment for stealing a Redmi mobile phone valued at N165, 000.
The judge, Shawomi Bokkos, sentenced the John after he pleaded guilty to the offence.
The judge, however, gave the convict an option to pay N20, 000 fine and N50, 000 restitution to the complainant.
Bokkos said that if the convict defaulted in paying the restitution, three months should be added to his sentence to make it six months imprisonment.
Earlier, the police prosecutor, Insp Monday Dabit, told the court that the case was reported at the B Division Police Station, Jos, on Dec. 1, 2024, by Ms Nerat Danjuma.
He said that the complainant alleged that the defendant trespassed into her house and stole her mobile phone valued at N165, 000.
The prosecutor further told the court that the offence contravened the Plateau State Penal Code, Law of Northern Nigeria.
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