19092022

2—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2022
Wife dies while
chasing
husband over
side-chick in
Calabar
By Ike Uchechukwu
CALABAR —The Sector
Commander, Federal Road Safety
Corps, FRSC, Cross River State,
Maikano Hassan, has confirmed a lone
incident that killed a middle aged
woman in Calabar, yesterday, who was
in a hot chase of her husband over his
“mistress.”
The Sector Commander, who spoke
with Vanguard, yesterday, said the
incident was caused by over-speeding.
He said the incident involving a Toyota
Highlander, which occurred on Murtala
Muhammed Highway in Calabar,
claimed the life of the lone female driver
who veered off the road into a ditch by
the road.
His words: “Though the woman was
immediately rushed to a nearby hospital,
but she was said to have died few minutes
later due to the injury sustained from the
incident.”
Vanguard gathered that the woman
was said to be in pursuit of her husband,
who was alleged to be with a “side chick”
in his car when she lost control of her
vehicle, killing herself in the process.
A source who didn’t want her name in
print told Vanguard that the woman
sighted her husband leaving SPAR
shopping mall in the company of
another female when she tried to block
her husband’s car with the Toyota
Highlander she was driving in.
The source said: “Her husband was
said to have maneuvered his vehicle out
of the attempted blockade then took the
Murtala Muhammed highway, with his
wife is serious pursuit.
“In a bid to outrun her husband, she
lost control of the speeding vehicle, veered
off the road and slammed the vehicle on
a tree, damaging the vehicle beyond
repairs and also killing herself,” the
source revealed."
Police kill
abductors of 4
pastors who
got N10m
ransom in
C’River
By Ike Uchechukwu
CALABAR —Cross River State
Police Command has
neutralised two out of the three
suspects, who abducted some
pastors in August 2022, at Odukpani
Local Government Area of the state.
Vanguard gathered that the
pastors had gone for church
planting ceremony in Creek Town,
but were kidnapped on the
waterways by the assailants, who
were later paid N10 million as
ransom for their release.
Confirming the development to
Vanguard, yesterday, in Calabar, the
state Commissioner of Police,
Aminu Alhassan, said the
breakthrough by Awodi
Abdulhameed-led Anti Cultism and
Kidnapping Squad, ACKS, sting
Unit and Op Akpakwu
(Government House) who carried
out the covert operation based on
credible intelligence.
Aminu said: “It is true that we
neutralised two kidnap kingpins
involved in the kidnap of some
pastors, who went to church
planting at Creek Town, Odukpani
LGA of the state.
“Two couldn’t make it alive, while
the third who is now at large, was
severely injured during a gun battle.
We also want to appeal to locals to
be on the look out for anyone with
gun wounds in their community."
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I prayed before slitting his neck with knife
— Kidnap suspect
By Evelyn Usman
THE Edo State Police Command has
arrested three suspected members of
a kidnap gang that abducted and
murdered a businessman, after
collecting ransom from his relatives.
The suspects led operatives of the
command's Intelligence Rapid
Response Squad, CIRRS, to a forest in
Ganaga, Kogi State, where the remains
of the 34-year-old victim, Babatunde
Orogu, were buried in a shallow grave.
Surprisingly, one of the suspects, Abdul
Shaibu, a labourer, who worked with
the deceased, was discovered to have
masterminded the kidnap.
Late Orogu was kidnapped in Auchi
area of the state six months ago, from
where he was taken to a forest in Kogi
Late Orogu.
State. Thereafter, his abductors used his
phone to contact his family, demanding
N1 million ransom for his release. But
his family members were said to have
paid N350,000.
When news of the kidnap reached the
Commissioner of Police, Edo State
Police Command, Abutu Yaro, he
directed the CIRRS to carry out discreet
investigation into the kidnap.
Vanguard gathered that last
Thursday, the squad traced the victim’s
SIM card to 32-year-old Shaibu, who
led the detectives to Lokoja, Kogi State,
where the duo of Musa Araba, 40, and
Ugbede Abdul were arrested.
During interrogation, Araba and
Abdul revealed that Shaibu ordered that
his boss be killed so as to cover up their
track.
I prayed before
slitting his neck
Masquerades invade church, flog worshippers,
destroy property in Plateau community
By Marie-Therese
Nanlong
JOS
—Masquerades,
yesterday, invaded a
church in the Shikal
community, Langtang South
Local Government Area of
Plateau State and disrupted
service, as they flogged
bewildered worshippers,
destroying the church
property.
It was gathered that the
masquerades arrived at the
church premises while service
was ongoing and started
flogging worshippers as they
scampered for safety.
The invaders later turned to
the church’s musical
instruments and other
property and destroyed them.
Property destroyed in the church.
However, the state Police
Public Relations Officer, Alfred
Alabo, confirmed the incident
but gave no details.
He said: “The DPO of the
area has confirmed that it is
true. They are working on the
situation and the area is calm.
He said masquerades went to
a church and disrupted their
activities. The investigation is
ongoing, we will give full
details when we have them.”
3 die as 4-storey building collapses in
A-Ibom •As Gov Emmanuel orders investigation
By Chioma Onuegbu
UYO —A four-storey building
under construction at Iman
Street, off Aka Road in Uyo, the
Akwa Ibom State capital collapsed
Saturday evening, killing three
persons, leaving few others seriously
injured and hospitalised.
A resident and an eyewitness told
Vanguard in confidence at the scene
of the incident, yesterday, that a
construction worker, whom he
identified as Enwoabasi, who was
among the four persons rescued
earlier died on the way to the hospital
that Saturday night.
The resident said: “I was around
when the incident happened. The
four-storey building fell on another
small house beside it. People were
living inside that house. But when
that incident happened at about
6p.m., we noticed that two persons
were trapped, an Igbo boy, named
Favour and a lady, who came to visit
her friend.
“They were not able to escape from
their rooms when the building fell
on it. And I learnt that it was not up
to 15 minutes that the brother of that
Igbo boy who died stepped out of
their room that this thing happened.
However, they used excavator to
remove the Igbo boy's corpse in early
hours of Sunday.
“As they removed the body, we saw
the head was cut-off. But the girl’s
corpse has not been found yet. I learnt
the girl came just to visit her friend,
so sad."
Meanwhile, at Life Care Health
Clinic, it was ascertained that three
other injured persons were on
admission while one person had died
on the way to the clinic.
Scene of the building collapse.
Police say one died
When contacted on the casualty figure,
the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr.
Odiko MacDon, said: “The
information at the command's disposal
is that one person lost his life, while
others are receiving treatment at the
hospital. So far, we have not received
any additional information of death.”
Gov Emmanuel
orders investigation
Meanwhile, Governor Udom
Emmannuel in a statement by the
Commissioner for Information and
Strategy, Mr. Ini Ememobong, has
commiserated with the families of
the victims of the building collapse,
and directed that a panel of inquiry
be set up to investigate the
unfortunate incident.
The statement read: “Following
the unfortunate incident of the
collapse of a four-storey building on
Iman Street, off Aka Road in Uyo,
our state capital, Governor
Emmanuel has expressed his deepest
condolences to the families whose
relatives were trapped and
eventually died in the collapsed
building, while wishing the survivors
a quick recovery.
“He has directed the
Commissioner for Health to
immediately take over the
management of the survivors.
Consequently, the governor has
directed the Commissioner for
Works and Fire Service to
immediately set up a panel of a
inquiry to investigate the unfortunate
incident.”
Explaining how Orogu was killed,
Araba said: “After collecting N350,000
from his family, Shaibu said we should
kill him since the man had identified
him. He said if we allowed him to go, we
would be arrested.
“But I insisted I must pray first before
carrying out the assignment. I usually
pray before doing anything. After prayer,
I killed him and dumped the body by the
tree.”
Meanwhile, Vanguard gathered that
after killing Orogu, Shaibu used his boss’
SIM card to contact his relatives,
demanding more ransom for his release.
One of the calls was reportedly made in
Abuja, where he collected N400,000. He
was said to have made another demand,
with an assurance to release the captive,
thereafter. Negotiation for payment was
ongoing when the Police swooped on
him.
19 die in FCT
auto crash
By Fortune Eromosele
ABUJA—Nineteen persons have
been confirmed killed while eight
others were injured in an auto crash at
Yangoji-Gwagwalada Road in the
Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja,
yesterday.
Acting Corps Marshal of the Federal
Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Mr. Dauda
Biu confirmed the figures, when he
visited the accident scene.
Biu said the crash, which occurred
minutes into Sunday involved three
vehicles – two Toyota Hiace buses with
number plates MUB- 30 LG and DWR-
985 XJ and an articulated vehicle.
Biu said 31 persons were involved in
the accident comprising 11 males, one
female and 19 others who were charred
beyond recognition.
“Of the 31 victims, eight persons
comprising seven males and one female
sustained various degrees of injuries,
while 19 others were burnt beyond
recognition," he said.
Court
discharges,
acquits
businessmen of
alleged N1.8bn
fraud charge
LAGOS—An Ikeja Special Offences
Court, Lagos, has discharged and
acquitted two businessmen, Ogbor Eliot
and Kelvin Chris, charged over a N1.8
billion fraud brought against them by
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC.
Trial judge, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo,
cleared Ogbor and Chris of the entire
five-count charge of conspiracy,
obtaining money under false pretence,
conspiracy and forgery, after a nearly
four-year trial.
The judge held that the EFCC failed
to establish any element of criminality
against the defendants, adding that the
transaction which led to the charge was
of a civil nature that could have been
resolved by the complainant and the
defendants.
The defendants were arraigned by the
EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Command on
October 22, 2018, alongside Danium
Energy Services Limited, which the
prosecution alleged was used to deceive
Sterling Bank Plc to lend them money
to finance a Local Purchase Order (LPO)
for 20,000 Metric Tonnes of Automotive
Gas Oil (AGO) for supply to Total
Nigeria Limited.
Each defendant pleaded “not guilty,”
following which trial commenced.
On August 5, 2022, the court adjourned
till, weekend for judgment.
In its judgment, the court upheld
Ogbor and Chris’ contention that the
charge should not have been brought in
the first place.