Crime
Ukrainians rejoice after liberation from Russians
After enduring more than eight months of Russian soldiers occupying her village near Kherson, Svitlana Galak said she cried “tears of happiness” when Ukrainian soldiers arrived to liberate them.
“I don’t know when the Russians arrived, but I only know one thing — that yesterday, or the day before yesterday, I saw a Ukrainian soldier and I was relieved,” the 43-year-old told AFP.
“I had tears of happiness, that finally Ukraine is liberated,” she said.
Her village Pravdyne is located about 50 kilometres (about 30 miles) northwest of the city of Kherson that, along with the eponymous region, was captured by Russian forces shortly after their invasion in late February.
On Friday, Russia said it had pulled back more than 30,000 troops in the southern region, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring Kherson “ours” as residents reacted with joy and jubilation.
Galak is one of about 180 residents of Pravdyne, a small village in the middle of an agricultural plain that had some 1,000 residents before the war.
Some of the roofs of buildings appear blasted off, and several homes have been destroyed. Debris of anti-mine parts and explosives litter the village’s fields — a remnant of bombing campaigns.
Kyiv’s recapture of swathes of the southern region, which serves as a gateway to the Black Sea, was also a bittersweet moment for her — Galak’s eldest daughter had been killed in a bombing raid on the village.
“I will tell you honestly, I was not happy that Russians were here, and my child died. It is hard for me,” she said.
– Mistreatment, hunger –
Her husband Viktor told AFP of mistreatment under some of the soldiers, like when he was once stopped when he went to a different part of Pravdyne to visit his mother.
“The Russians stopped us and forced us to kneel,” the 44-year-old told AFP.
While questioning him on whether he really was a resident of the village, another soldier tied his arms and legs.
“Then one of them came and said he was going to put a grenade under me so I wouldn’t run away,” he said.
He then told them that his daughter had already been killed and asked them: “Why do you want to put a grenade under me? Do you want to kill us all or what? What is your aim? Are you fascists?” he recounted.
Luckily, before he could be interrogated, another soldier recognised Viktor and he was released.
“We were happy when we saw Ukrainian soldiers, because we are Ukrainians,” he said, adding that the occupation was also difficult due to the lack of food.
“The Russian soldiers brought sweets, cans, food and everyone took it because no one wanted to die of hunger.”
Despite his run-in with some soldiers, many others “did not want to fight”, Viktor said.
“They were sitting around, not very happy to be here and not with their families.”
On Saturday, volunteers were seen coming in with a van to distribute food aid. Two women hugged each other while crying.
Svitlana Striletska said that 23 people were killed in the village since the occupation.
The 50-year-old school principal and deputy councillor of Pravdyne had helped with ferrying in humanitarian aid.
“We had a small factory to make butter, to make sunflower oil,” she said. “The Russians destroyed everything because we were helping people.”
She and her husband had to flee Pravdyne, she said.
“I will never forget it, a man from the village ran up to us and told me: ‘You have to run away, because they are looking for you’,” she told AFP.
“I knew I had to choose between being killed or running away.”
A Kaduna High Court on Tuesday ordered that two brothers be remanded in a correctional centre for alleged culpable homicide and armed robbery.
The police charged Hamza Jibrin, 27 and Yusuf Jibrin 24, with conspiracy, armed robbery and culpable homicide.
Justice Aisha Shagari ordered the remand of the defendants, after they pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against them.
Shagari adjourned the matter until Dec. 12 for hearing.
Earlier, the Prosecutor, James Edward, said that the defendants and two others at large, while armed with matchete and other dangerous weapons along Airport Road, Kaduna, on Nov. 7, robbed and caused the death of a 26-year-old man, Rabiu Sani.
He said the defendants stole the deceased’s HP laptop, two cell phones, his wallet which contained two ATM cards and cash sum of N30,000.
Edward said that the offence is punishable under the Robbery and Firearms ( Special Provision) Act LFN, 2004.
The Defence counsel, Habiba Usman, had pleaded with the court to grant her clients bail.
Usman while moving her bail application, urged the court to gtant her client bail on literal terms, adding , that the defendants would be of good behaviour and would not jump bail.
A Jos Magistrates’ Court on Monday sentenced a 20-year-old trader, Darwang Chung, to nine months in prison for attempted theft.
Chung, who resides at Gyel in Jos South, pleaded guilty to the one count charge of attempted theft.
The Magistrate, Mr Shawomi Bokkos, summarily tried and sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty to the charge.
Bokkos, in his judgement, gave the convict an option of N30,000 fine, or to risk six months in prison and a compensation of N15,000 or another 3 months in prison in default.
Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp. Labaran Ahmed, told the court that the case was reported on Oct. 6, at the”B” Division Police Station by one Yohanna Dalyop, the complainant.
Ahmed said the convict jumped over the fence into the house of the complainant and was caught.
He said that the offence contravened the Plateau State Penal Code Law.
The Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Police, on Tuesday arraigned a defendant before a Federal High Court in Lagos, over alleged unlawful interception of digital infrastructure.
The defendant, Ayodeji Oyenekan, was charged before Justice A. Aluko, on a three-count charge bordering on cybercrime.
He, however. pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecutor, Mr M. Y. Bello, told the court that the defendant committed the offence sometime in February 2022.
He, alleged that the defendant intentionally and without authorisation, intercepted digital infrastructure server hosted by Amazon Web Services, property of Meplaylist Classic Entertainment.
According to the prosecution, the defendant caused the said Meplaylist Classic Entertainment Ltd. loss of property, by altering Amazon Web services, which restricted the rightful owner access to its server.
He alleged that the defendant inputted his email address ayodeji.oye@meplaylist.com, and allegedly built a mobility startup called Hellobikee, for purposes of conferring economic benefits to himself.
The defendant was also alleged to have fraudulently made use of the electronic unique identification feature of Meplaylist, through his email, for purposes of conferring economic benefits to himself.
The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 12(1), 16(1), and 22(2)(a) of the Cybercrime ( Prohibition, Prevention) Act, 2015.
The court granted the defendant bail in the sum of N10 million with one surety in like sum.
The court held that the defendant shall remain in the correctional facility, pending perfection of all conditions of bail as spelt out by the court.
He adjourned the case until Jan. 21, 2025, for trial.
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