Crime
Ukraine Bans Independence Day Rallies Due To Fear of Russian strike
Russia fired rockets at towns to the west of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine early on Monday while the Ukrainian leadership banned rallies this week to commemorate independence from Soviet rule for fear of Russian attacks.
Artillery and rocket fire close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor complex, on the Russian-occupied south bank of the Dnipro River, has again stirred fears of a nuclear disaster and prompted renewed calls for the surrounding area to be demilitarised.
Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for the repeated shelling, some of which has been very close to the plant. It was seized by Russian forces shortly after they invaded Ukraine in February but is still run mainly by Ukrainian technicians.
Overnight Russian rocket salvoes into Nikopol, across the Dnipro from Russian-occupied Enerhodar where the Zaporizhzhia plant is situated, and nearby Krivyi Rih and Synelnykovsky districts injured at least four people, regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram on Monday.
Ukraine also claimed there had been a Russian missile strike on Voznesensk, to the southwest and not far from the country’s second-largest atomic power station.
On Sunday, US president Joe Biden, British prime minister Boris Johnson, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and French president Emmanuel Macron held a phone call stressing the importance of ensuring the safety and security of Ukraine’s nuclear installations.
They also welcomed recent discussions on enabling a mission by the UN nuclear watchdog agency to Zaporizhzhia, while reaffirming their “steadfast commitment” to support Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion.
Russia began what it called a “special military operation” on February 24th to demilitarise its smaller neighbour and protect Russian-speaking communities.
Ukraine and its Western backers accuse Moscow of waging an imperial-style war of conquest.
The conflict, Europe’s biggest since World War Two, has flattened towns and cities, killed thousands, forced millions to flee and deepened a geopolitical chasm between Russia and the West.
Since Ukraine repelled a Russian attempt to capture Kyiv early in the war, the fighting has been concentrated in the east and south where frontlines have been largely static for weeks.
Also on Monday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned of the risk of more severe attacks ahead of Ukraine’s 31st anniversary on Wednesday of independence from Russian-dominated Soviet rule.
Mr Zelenskiy warned Moscow could try “something particularly ugly” in the run-up to Wednesday, which also marks half a year since Russia invaded.
The Financial Times, in an article published on Sunday, quoted Gennady Gatilov, Moscow’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, as saying there was no “practical platform” for talks between Mr Zelenskiy and Russian president Vladimir Putin and that Russia was preparing for a long war.
Mr Zelenskiy also ruled out any talks with Russia on a diplomatic solution to the war if captured Ukrainian troops who took part in the defence of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol were put on trial.
In its morning update on Monday, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russian forces had made incremental advances into the Blagodnatne area in the direction of the city of Mykolaiv, a major target in the south.
Russia was also trying to regain momentum towards Pisky, Bakhmut and Kramatorsk, key towns in Donetsk province which, along with neighbouring Luhansk, captured by Moscow’s forces earlier in the summer, comprise the eastern Donbas region.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the battlefield reports.
In Russia, authorities were investigating a suspected car bomb attack outside Moscow that killed the daughter of Alexander Dugin, an ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue who advocates Russia absorbing Ukraine.
While investigators said they were considering “all versions” when it came to establishing who was responsible, the Russian Foreign Ministry speculated there could be a link to Ukraine, something a Zelenskiy adviser dismissed.
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.
Troops of the Nigerian army have apprehended no fewer than 15 persons over suspected oil theft and illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta.
Lt.-Col. Danjuma Danjuma, the Spokesman, Nigerian Army, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, said in a statement on Monday that the operations were carried out in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers recently.
Danjuma said that the army apprehended 15 persons, dismantled 32 artisanal refineries and seized 14 boats during operations.
He further said that during the operations, conducted between Jan. 6 and 12, the troops confiscated no fewer than 60,000 litres of various petroleum products
The spokesman said that the operations were part of a broader collaborative effort with other security agencies to combat oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Danjuma said that the raid commenced in Bille, Degema Local Government Area, and Rivers, where soldiers dismantled seven illegal refining sites, confiscated 20,000 litres of crude oil, and destroyed two boats.
“We also deactivated ten illegal refineries, several crude oil cooking pots, and receivers, and recovered about 19,000 litres of stolen petroleum products along the Imo River.
“In Odagwa, Etche, our troops intercepted three boats carrying about 12,000 litres of stolen crude oil and arrested three suspects in the process.
“Similar operations were carried out in Abiama, Asa, Obuzor, Okoloma, Ozaa, Ukwa, and Oyigbo” he added.
He stated that the soldiers advanced to Nkisa in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers, where they confiscated 1,600 litres of crude oil and 1,200 litres adulterated diesel.
Danjuma said that along Ndoni Road, the troops intercepted a Toyota van transporting an estimated 1,200 litres of stolen condensate.
The spokesman said that in Buguma, Asari-Toru, Rivers, the troops dismantled two illegal refineries, seized 1,500 litres of stolen crude oil, and apprehended five suspects.
“In Baberegbene, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa, our soldiers dismantled an illegal artisanal refinery and intercepted a wooden boat carrying no fewer than 1,500 litres of stolen
“Similarly, an illegal refining site containing an unquantified quantity of stolen petroleum products was deactivated in Emago-Kugbo and Oluasiri communities in Nembe, Bayelsa.
“The operations continued in Akwa Ibom and Delta, where troops maintained a strong presence and effectively denied economic saboteurs the liberty to operate,” he said.
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.
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