04082020 - Insecurity situation rapidly worsening — GOVERNORS

6— Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2020
2 killed, 5
injured in
another
Lagos
explosion
By Evelyn Usman
& Olasunkanmi
Akoni
AN explosion rocked the
Orile-Iganmu area of
Lagos, yesterday, leaving two
persons dead and others
injured.
This is coming a week after
a similar incident claimed
lives in Ajao Estate area of the
state.
Like the Ajao’s incident, one
of the victim’s in yesterday’s
tragedy was a welder, Ajibola
Olaoye, 35, while the other
was a motorist, who was
trapped in gridlock.
The incident occurred
between Coker and Alafia
bus-stop, at about 4.30 pm,
while a welder was welding
an item at a truck park, in
front of Atla Company.
An eyewitness, who simply
gave his name as Waidi, said:
“We were rattled by the
deafening sound and
everyone took to his/her
heels. A man who was
trapped in traffic rushed out
of the car. But a high tension
wire, which snapped as a
result of the explosion, fell on
his hand and cut it off. He
was among six persons that
were rushed to the hospital.
Unfortunately, he died. The
welder died on the spot.”
The body of the welder was
later retrieved by officials of
the Lagos State Emergency
Management Agency,
LASEMA and other rescue
operators who were at the
scene.
LASEMA Head, Public
Affairs, Mr Nosa Okunbor,
said: “LASEMA Response
Team, LRT, recovered a dead
artisan in a just-concluded
operation, as a result of a gas
explosion that occurred at
Alafia bus stop beside Atlas,
in Orile Iganmu axis of Lagos
this afternoon.
He said: “Investigations
and eye witness accounts
attributed the explosion to a
leakage in the supply of gas
from the cylinder leading to
the death of the artisan
utilising the welding
equipment while working on
heavy-duty equipment.
"Ajibola Olaoye, 35-yearold,
lost his life at the scene
of the incident, while four
other adult males who
sustained varying degrees of
injuries and were quickly
taken to a nearby hospital
before the arrival of the LRT.
LRT, Police, LNSC and LASG
fire service are responders at
the scene. The entire area has
been cordoned off to prevent
any secondary incident.
“The dead victim (Ajibola
Olaoye), was bagged by the
LRT and handed over to his
family in the presence of
Officers of the Nigerian Police
Force from Amukoko
Division.”
A
serving soldier, Sergeant Ayeni
Samuel, attached to Command
Day Secondary School, Ikeja
Cantonment, and dismissed
Corporal Emeka Harrison of
Regiment, 7 Division Garrison in
Maiduguri were among six armed
robbery and kidnapping suspects
arrested by the Police Intelligence
Response Team, IRT, for robbing a
bullion van in Abakaliki, Ebonyi
State and killing four police officers.
Others arrested by the IRT are
Alfred Robinson; Emeka Illo, the
group’s sponsor;Elijah aka Chime,
who is said to be the informant and
Ibanifiroi Ekene.
Recall that the robbery attack
incident on the bullion van in
Abakaliki, Ebonyi State occurred on
July 29, 2020. The robbery incident
led to the death of four police officers,
leaving others injured.
Meanwhile, a situation report
disclosed that “during a serious
manhunt by IRT detectives with
technical intelligence support from
TIU, arrested one Alfred Robinson,
45 years of age, a native of Gelegele
Town in Ovia North Local
Government Area of Edo State on
1/8/2020 in Asaba, Delta State.
"During intensive follow up, six
more gang members were arrested
by IRT detectives within 24 hours.
They include Sgt Ayeni Samuel, a
Nigerian soldier serving in Ikeja,
Police nab soldiers, 5 others
over Ebonyi bullion van robbery
Some of the arrested suspects
Lagos; Cpl Emeka Harrison, a
dismissed soldier, who had served
in Maiduguri, Borno State; Emeka
Illo, the sponsor of the operation;
and Abuchi Elijah (aka Chime D
Mosquito), an informant for the
robbers and Ibanifiroi Ekene, a
native of Tombia community.
Firearms recovered from the
criminals include 12 undetonated
improvised explosives; one GPMG;
six rifles; 51 AK-47 magazines; 1,620
ammunition; two robbed vehicles;
breaking implements and charms.
"All suspects, upon interrogation,
confessed to the bullion van robbery
in Ebonyi State and also confessed
Kidnapping: Imo monarch arrested, N4.2m
recovered
By Chinonso Alozie
Owerri—A traditional ruler of
Uba community in Awara,
Ohaji/Egbema Local Government
Area of Imo State, Eze Andrew
Okuegbunuwa, has been arrested
for allegedly organising kidnapping
and armed robbery activities within
and outside his community.
The traditional ruler was among
suspected members of a
kidnapping syndicate that included
a native doctor paraded at the Imo
State Police Command in Owerri,
yesterday.
Speaking during the parade, Imo
State Police Commissioner, Isaac
Akinmoyede, said: “On 28/7/2020
at about 04:00hrs at Umuokuzu
Awara in Ohaji/Egbema Local
Government Area of Imo State,
operatives of Special Anti-robbery
Squad, SARS through painstaking
and diligent investigation, arrested
one Eze Andrew Okuegbunuwa,
male, 59-year-old of Uba community
in Awara community in Awara,
Ohaji/Egbema Local Government
Area of Imo State in connection with
kidnap and other armed robbery
incidents.
“Investigation further revealed
that the arrested suspect, Andrew
Okuegbunuwa, provided the
operational vehicle, Lexus RX330
SUV with number plate: URM 404
EL, for the kidnappers.
“Having lost the vehicle in the
•I received money from them only 4 times— Eze
Okuegbunuwa
operation, Andrew was given
N3,000,000 to replace his vehicle by
the kidnappers. It was discovered
that the vehicle was not recorded in
the Federal Road Safety
Commission, FRSC, database.
“His arrest also led to the arrest of
one Bernard Uzoma, a native doctor
at Umunoha in Mbaitoli local
government area, whose job is to
provide the gang with protection
from death and arrest. He was paid
N200,000 as his own share from the
loot.
“A total sum of N4, 200,000 was
recovered from the suspects out of
the combined ransom of N7,500,000
paid for the release of two victims.”
When Vanguard spoke to Eze
Okuegbunuwa, he said: “They
collected my car and they did not
tell me what they want to use it for.
When they came, they said my car
got lost and they gave me N3.5
million to replace my car. Let me
state this, I have received money
from them only four times.
“I did not know that they used it
for kidnapping and they only gave
money for my car that got lost. I have
only received money from them only
four times.”
Eze Andrew Okuegbunuwa (left) and his gang
members. Photo: Chinonso Alozie.
3 dead after car rammed into cement truck in Delta
By Paul Olayemi
SAPELE —Three persons, a
man and two women,
reportedly lost their lives Sunday
night in Sapele, Delta State, when
their car rammed into a truck
delivering bags of cement to a
customer in that vicinity.
It was gathered that the Corolla
car which was driven by a 27-yearold
Lucky Wire, popularly called
Texas Money, rammed into the
rear of a stationary trailer, parked
along the Amukpe-Igbeku road
close to St Mary's Catholic
Church, Ugbeku, Amukpe.
A source said the young man
was returning from a night club
with the women, believed to be
under the age of 20 when the
accident occurred.
The source, who craved
anonymity, told Vanguard that
one of the women was Sophia,
adding: “They were returning
from a night club when they
rammed into the truck, dying on
the spot.
“ Late Lucky, Sophia and the
third person were pronounced
dead at the scene, while their
bodies have been deposited in a
morgue.”
that four of the rifles recovered
belong to the Policemen they killed
during the robbery. It was gathered
that the suspects are assisting police
to arrest the remaining gang
members.
One killed as
police, suspected
yahoo boys clash
in Delta
By Ochuko Akuopha
OZORO—Protest by some
suspected Yahoo Boys
alleging extortion and brutality by
the police in Ozoro, headquarters
of Isoko North Local Government
Area, Delta State, yesterday, led
to the death of a 23-year-old man
simply identified as Collins, after
he was hit by a stray bullet.
Trouble reportedly started when
the protesters took to the streets
of the town, displaying placards
with various inscriptions as
“Police stop extorting money from
us”, “ Police leave us alone”
among others, as they marched
from Owhelogbo junction to other
major streets before terminating
at NDC road.
A source, who craved
anonymity, said the youths “came
out this morning (yesterday) to
protest against the police
continuous harassment of young
boys suspected to be internet
fraudsters.
“They are complaining about
the police searching their phones
whenever they are stopped and
asking them to pay some huge
amount of money to bail
themselves on the spot otherwise
they will be taken to the station.
Others complained of being
invaded in their houses by the
police without a search warrant.
“The police later mobilised and
in the process of trying to dispel
the protesters, a gunshot from a
stray bullet hit the lad and he died
on the spot.”
Contacted, Police Public
Relations Officer of the state
command, Onome
Onovwakpoyeya, said “we heard
that yahoo boys protested. We are
still trying to investigate who was
shot.”