Crime

Super TV Boss: Lagos Govt Charges Chidinma, 1 other for murder

Published

3 years ago

September 6, 2021

The Lagos State Government has filed murder charges against Chidinma Ojukwu and another person, Adedapo Quadri, for the murder of the Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Usifo Ataga.

The Channels gathered this on Monday when Chidinma was brought before a Chief Magistrate court sitting in the Yaba area of Lagos.

The prison wardens attached to the court barred journalists from accessing the area through which she arrived, dressed in a black hooded jumpsuit around 9am. They also did not allow journalists access to the area when she left the courtroom.

Counsel to the police, Cyril Ajiofor told Magistrate Adeola Adedayo that the police had received legal advice from the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution(DPP) on the case.

The TV station obtained a copy of the DPP’s advice which says that after careful consideration of facts available in the case file, a prima facie case of conspiracy to murder, murder, and conspiracy to commit felony exists against the 300 level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, Chidinma and Quadri.

A prima facie case of stealing exists against Chidinma alone.

The DPP also established the offence of having possession of a stolen item against Chidinma’s sister, Egbuchu Chioma from whom the deceased’s iPhone 7, was said to have been recovered.

As a result, Channels Television learnt that the Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs Olayinka Adeyemi, has filed charges against the three suspects at the Lagos High Court, but has yet to get a date for the hearing of the case.

The DPP will prosecute Chindinma and Quadri “for the offences of conspiring to murder, murder,

Channels Television gathered this on Monday when Chidinma was brought before a Chief Magistrate court sitting in the Yaba area of Lagos.

Counsel to the police, Cyril Ajiofor told Magistrate Adeola Adedayo that the police had received legal advice from the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution(DPP) on the case.

A copy of the DPP’s advice also obtained by The Channels, which says that after careful consideration of facts available in the case file, a prima facie case of conspiracy to murder, murder, and conspiracy to commit felony exists against the 300 level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, Chidinma and Quadri.

A prima facie case of stealing exists against Chidinma alone.

The DPP also established the offence of having possession of a stolen item against Chidinma’s sister, Egbuchu Chioma from whom the deceased’s iPhone 7, was said to have been recovered.

The DPP will prosecute Chindinma and Quadri “for the offences of conspiring to murder, murder, conspiracy to commit felony to wit: forgery, forgery and making documents without authority contracts to Sections 233, 222, 411, 363, and 370 respectively of the Criminal Law, Cap. C17 Vo.3 Laws of Lagos State, 2015.”

Also, the DPP will prosecute Chindinma’s sister Chioma “for the offence of having possession of thing (sic) reasonably suspected to have been stolen contrary to Section 329 of Criminal Law, Cap. C17 Vol.3 Laos of Lagos State, 2015”. The DPP in her advice cleared 11 other suspects and asked that they be released on the grounds that no offence had been disclosed against them in respect of the case.

The 11 are: Babalola Disu, Olowu Ifeoluwa, Olutayo Abayomi, Nkechi Mogbo, and Ojukwu Onoh.

Others are Tony Okonye, Damilola Adekoya, Bola Adekoya, Segun Akinsanya, Oluwatoni Dada and Adams Kenneth.

Based on this information, Magistrate Adedayo also discharged Chidinma’s father, Ojukwu Onoh and four others who had initially been arraigned by the police for alleged obstruction of justice and failing to report a crime to the law enforcement agencies. Magistrate Adedayo recommended Chidinma for trial at the Lagos High Court as the magistrate court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain a murder charge.

She, however, ordered the further remand of Chidinma and the two others to be tried and adjourned till Sept 29 to await further information from the DPP as to the status of the case at the High Court.

Crime

2 ladies docked for allegedly obtaining money by fraud

Published

7 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

The police in Lagos have dragged two women, Mmesuma Ofunna, and Blessing Adimekwe, before an Ojo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, over alleged obtaining money by false pretence.

Ofunna, 22, and Adimekwe, 25, were arraigned before the Magistrate, Mr L K J Layeni, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, stealing and conduct likely to breach peace.

They each, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, ASP Simon Uche, told the court that the defendants conspired with others now at large, to commit the offence on Oct. 26 at the Okokomaiko area of Ojo.

He alleged that they had obtained the sum of N70, 000 from one Faith Ahamefule, with a promise not to post her nude photo on social media.

The prosecutor alleged that the defendants later posted the nude photo of the nominal complainant on social media, knowing that their promise was false.

He alleged that they stole the N70, 0000, thereby conducting themselves in a manner likely to breach public peace.

The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 168(d), 287, 314, and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

The court granted the defendants bails in the sum of N500, 000 each, with two sureties each in like sum.

He adjourned the case until Jan. 8, 2025 for mention.

Crime

Mechanic jailed 15 months for pickpocketing passengers

Published

7 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

A Jos Magistrates’ Court on Monday, sentenced a 26-year-old Mechanic, Sadiq Umar to 15 months imprisonment for pickpocketing from passengers.

The Magistrate, Shawomi Bokkos, summarily tried and sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

Bokkos in his judgment, ordered the convict to pay an option of N100, 000 fine or spend one year in prison.

He also asked him to pay a compensation of N15, 000 or an additional three months in prison in default.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp Ijuptil Thiawur, told the court that the case was reported on Nov.16, at the “A” Division Police station by Moses Pam, Alexander Bakshak and Simon Justice the complaints.

Thiawur said that the convict attempted to steal from them before he was caught in the act and when the driver stopped the vehicle to search him he fled but was caught.

The Police said that the offence contravened the Plateau Penal Code Law.

Crime

Police detain 2 suspected fraudsters, reject N66m bribe in Lagos

Published

7 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

Police rescue 14 passengers from bandits in Jibia

The Zone-2 Police Command in Lagos says it has detained two suspected international fraudsters that allegedly specialised in forging foreign certificates in Lagos and Ghana.

The AIG in charge of the zone, Adegoke Fayaode, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.

Fayoade said that the suspects allegedly offered N66m to the operatives with a view to free them but the offer was turned down.

NAN reports that the same zone operatives rejected a N174m bribe offered by a suspect in November to set him free.

Fayoade said that the suspects simply identified as Elvis, 23 and Kelly, 24, allegedly specialised in forging certificates of different nations and African Universities and defrauding their unsuspecting victims on the internet.

He said that the suspects have succeeded in acquiring exotic cars and erecting mansions in different parts of the country with the proceeds of their loot.

The AIG pointed out that luck ran out of the suspects after detectives at the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Zone received credible information from Nigerians in diaspora concerning some group of boys that specialised in forging foreign certificates.

According to him, on getting the information, he detailed the anti-corruption unit to investigate it and arrest the suspects without delay.

Fayoade said that based on his directives, the detectives stormed Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos waiting for the arrival of the suspects, whom they trailed to a five star hotel at Osapa-London in Lekki Area.

He said that the operatives arrested the suspects at a bus stop while they were about to escape secretly from the hotel, after monitoring their activities.

“Searching their luggage, one certificate of Blue Crest College, Ghana, belonging to Elvis and a student identity card of Academic City College belonging to Kelly were recovered.

“Further search revealed a transcript of an academic record from Blue Crest University belonging to Elvis.

“A letter of English proficiency from the said college and a letter of recommendation from the same Blue Crest College were recovered,” he said.

The AIG said that the suspects made useful statements to the police and confessed that they never got any admission into the school, stressing that they only procured the degree certificates through the help of a female Nigerian resident in Ghana.

“The suspects further confessed that the major aim of doing that is to enable them to get Ghana resident permit, which they got.

“The resident permit is showing them also as a student of Academic City University and that none of them has ever been admitted in the school.

“They claimed they paid a total of 26,000 Ghana Cedis for all the documents procured.

“They confessed that they procured all the documents to evade arrest in Ghana since they don’t have any means of livelihood.

Whenever police intercepted them, they showed their passports that they were students in Ghana.”

Fayoade said that the suspects were also allegedly involved in online romance scam, provision of foreign bank accounts for fraudulent transactions on the internet through what they call ‘Facebook bombing’.

He said the suspects presented themselves as an American soldier by name Captain Donald Rowe, serving in Syria, whom they impersonated on Instagram, using his name to defraud innocent persons.

The AIG said that while detectives were making frantic efforts to get more credible information from the suspects, they started negotiating to bribe the operatives for them to be set free.

“I directed my men to play along and recover the money as an exhibit. Subsequently, the detectives played along and the suspects paid them a sum of N66m, which they collected and kept as an exhibit.

“The Nigeria Police authorities have written to the Ghana embassy to get more information about the result and their suspected partners in Ghana said to be spearheading the fraud.

Fayoade said that they had also spread their dragnets through the International Police, Interpol, to round up their foreign accomplices.