Nigerian Newspapers
How we kidnapped Okonjo-Iweala’s mum, by suspects
How was Queen Kamene Okonjo, mother of Minister of Finance Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, kidnapped from her palace on December 9, last year?
Startling details of her kidnap were given yesterday in Lagos by her abductors, who were arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The suspects were paraded at the Command Headquarters in Ikeja, the Lagos State capital, by Police Commissioner Umar Manko.
They said they lied to the queen that President Goodluck Jonathan sent them to arrest her and bring her to Abuja because her daughter embezzled billions of naira which she must pay for.
They are Chiejina Victor Onochie, 32, from Ogbeofuu Village in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State; Oko Chukwuma aka Chuks, 32, from Isele Mkpitima in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State; the gang leader, Ogbuem Jideofor aka Marvelous, 22, from Ezi in Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta State; Michael Ojeabulu, 23, from Esan, Edo State; Buhari Amajoda, 27, Hassan Oseni, 29, and Ibrahim Abubakar, 28, all from Adamawa State and Endurance Oke, 22, from Edhere Aviraha Village in Delta State.
They said they were 13 that carried out the operation. One is dead, The Nation learnt; four are at large. They include one popularly known as Buba.
The queen, according to Jideofor, asked them what offence her daughter committed because it was the same president that invited her the minister from London to help manage the country’s economy.
Despite her enquiry, he said, they bundled her into their vehicle and zoomed off.
Jideofor said they fed her with fried rice, bread, gala, 5-Alive juice drink, adding that they initially demanded a N200 million, ransom, but her son, Onyema, later dropped N13 million along a bypass.
He said two persons came in a vehicle to drop the money and left before they went there to pick it.
Jideofor said: “When we went to kidnap Okonjo-Iweala’s mother in the palace, we were eight – Peter, Buba, Mohammed, Olopa, Idowu, Idowu’s driver and Ifeanyi and I. Four of us carried guns; I carried AK47 rifle. It was a smooth job.”
On how they shared the ransom, he said: “Victor got N700,000 as an insider who brought the job; Chuks, N500,000; Ifeanyi, N1 million; Mike, N400,000; Peter, N2 million; the late Idowu who was shot dead by the police in Benin, N2 million; Mohammed, N2 million; I got N2 million, Olopa, N1 million; another Buba, N300,000; Chiboy, N250,000; our armourer, Ibrahim, N50,000, and Endurance, N250,000.
Onochie, who said he was a security guard at the Delta State Polytechnic, and a relation of Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, added: “Chuks lured me into kidnapping through my girl friend, Joy, who was doing her Industrial Attachment (IT) at Adanson Hotel, Ogwashi-Uku. He told me that one job brought him to Ogwashi-Uku and I asked him for the type of job. He said he wanted to carry somebody and he asked about my auntie, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Mrs Edna Mojekwu. I replied him that I had spent five years as security man in the institution and that the woman was merely managing herself. I said it would be better for us to look for another victim. I then suggested the mother of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. We then started thinking on how to carry the woman.”
Chuks, he said, then asked him how they would accomplish the ploy and he suggested that they presented their NYSC certificates to Mama Okonjo-Iweala, giving the impression that they wanted the ex-minister to get them jobs.
He said an argument ensued when they initially planned to go to the palace, leading to the postponement of the operation. Two weeks later, on Sunday morning, they stormed the palace in two cars.
“I carried Chuks on motorcycle to Azagba-Ogwashi-Uku Road and Chuks came down close to African House. After discussing with them, Chuks entered my motorcycle and we went back through School Road to Azagba. Jideofor and his men then went for the job at Obi’s palace while I went back to my house. I and Chuks later went back to Ogbeofuu, but before reaching there they had carried the woman,” said Onochie.
“That day,” he added: “Mama came down to give drinks to workers renovating the palace. When they entered and climbed up, they did not see her, but were told that she was downstairs, unknown to the workers that they were kidnappers. They told the woman that they belonged to the Special Force from the Presidency; that they were there to arrest her because of the money her daughter, Ngozi embezzled. They did not give me a dime after the operation.”
Ojeabulu, a Higher National Diploma (HND) student of Agriculture, said: “My role was to take care of victim in the bush. Jideofor would bring food every day. Mama Okonjo-Iweala was kept in a bush in Kwale, just 30-minute drive from the palace and Delta police did not know.”
Endurance, who said he was the gang’s driver carrying victims in their operational car, added: “I studied accountancy in Delta State University. My first work was to carry a woman to Nkuzu Village in Iseluku area of Delta State. My second job was Okonjo-Iweala’s mother. They gave me N250,000.”
On how they got rifles for their operations, Jideofor said, it was Buba who bought them from the Onitsha main market at N400,000 each. The seller, he said, sold cotton as a cover-up and would not sell weapons to unknown customers.
Those still at large, Buba said, included Peter, who allegedly killed their last victim, simply identified as Mrs Regina Obi-Dainty, before they were arrested by the SARS operatives alongside Olopa, now in prison custody. Buba’s driver, and Idowu, who they said, was killed by policemen during a cross-fire in their den in Benin, Edo State.
Narrating how they carried out the two operations tagged, “National Assignment,” in which they killed Mrs Regina Obi-Dainty, the mother of Dankwa, a popular businessman, Jideofor said: “I am a businessman based in Port Harcourt; I used to buy goods from Mandilas, Lagos. I have led kidnap operations five times.”
“The first victim, a woman at Asaba, was brought by one boy and we got N7 million. The second, a man, was brought by Buhari in the same Asaba and we got N6.4 million. The third was brought by Chuks, also in Asaba. The victim was Chuks’ uncle and we got N3.2 million. The fourth was Okonjo-Iweala’s mother and we got N13 million. The deal was brought by Chuks, Ifeanyi and Victor. The fifth one is the one Peter killed – Mrs Regina Obi-Dainty – claiming that he did it to revenge his brother’s killing by the police.”
Jideofor told The Nation that he was introduced into kidnapping by a friend called Kalous in Asaba, adding that Kalous was spending money like a cocaine baron before he revealed the source of his wealth to him. He said he had only one car, adding that he invested all his money in boutique business.
He said: “On the other operation in which Mrs Regina Obi-Dainty was killed, I brought the job because her son, Mr. Dankwa is my brother, but he was very stingy with money.”
Chukwuma, said: “I graduated from Ambrose Ali University in 2007. I studied Accountancy and I did my Youth Service at Idah, Kogi State in 2008/2009. I later went back to my village to search for job. When I could not secure job, I went to Lagos to meet my sister, Mrs Ijeoma Iwegbu. One day, I went home – Ogwashi-Uku – to see my girl-friend, Uju. There I met Victor Chiejina.
“As we were chatting and drinking, Victor said he had one kidnap job but did not want to involve local people from the village. I then told him that I knew one Ifeanyi (now in prison for being in possession of Indian hemp). Ifeanyi said he would contact Jideofor. They did not want me to participate. They only told me that they had carried the Mama Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. I was not given a kobo after the job.
“They collected N2 million from the late Mrs. Regina Obi-Dainty’s son and did not give me a kobo. I did not know that they shot the woman dead. I told them to pay into my sister’s bank account. When she went to withdraw the N300,000, she was arrested and they used her to track me down. They arrested me when I went to collect the money my sister withdrew from bank, not knowing that she was with SARS men.”
Buhari, who claimed to be a security man in Asaba, said he got N250,000, while Hassan said he only got N30,000.
Manko said yesterday: “Sequel to the arrest of one Chiejina Onochie and Chukwuma Okoh on March 27, at about 100hours by men of the Special Investigations Bureau (SIB), Lagos State Police Command, and their subsequent confessions that they gave the information that led to the kidnap of the mother of the present Minister of Finance, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Delta State among many other kidnappings, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, CP Umar Abubakar Manko, directed O/C SARS Ikeja, SP Abba Kyari to go after the kidnappers, especially Jideofor, the gang leader.
“On the strength of this, O/C SARS expanded his tracking network and deployed three SARS Decoy Teams to Delta, Edo and Rivers states which eventually led to the arrest of one Jideofor Ogbue aka Marvelous, the gang leader of the deadly kidnappers, at his hideout in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on April 2. Also five more members of his gang were arrested viz: Michael Ojeabulu, Endurance Oke, Ibrahim Abubakar, Buhari Hamadora and Hassan Oseni at different locations in Edo, Enugu, Delta and Anambra states.
“They confessed to the kidnapping of the mother of Nigerian Finance Minister and collected N13 million ransom and many other kidnappings, including the most recent, where the victim, an elderly woman, Mrs. Regina Obi-Dainty, was killed by the kidnappers after collecting N2 million ransom. Jideofor was arrested in Port Harcourt after he had perfected plans to proceed to Awka, Anambra State.”
Manko added: “There is no hiding place for any criminal in Lagos no matter where he runs to.”
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: The Nation Newspaper
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
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Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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