Custody
Lagos: Police arrest protesting Uber, Bolt drivers
The police in Lagos have arrested some members of the Professional E-hailing Drivers and Private Owners Association (PEDPA), the umbrella body of e-hailing ride companies including Uber and Bolt, who had embarked on an industrial action over the services rendered by the platforms. Five drivers, including the president of PEDPA, Idris Shonuga, were arrested on Tuesday. Speaking on the arrest, Kolawole Aina, the Regional Vice President PEDPA, South-west, said the drivers were picked up by the police at the National Stadium in Surulere while they were gathering for a peaceful march to Alausa. Newsmen reported that Bolt and Uber drivers commenced strike on Monday to express their displeasure over the “unfavourable pricing” of the companies and its impact on their business. Shonuga, who listed ...
George Floyd murder: Minneapolis police to face US federal probe
A US federal investigation has been launched into policing practices in the city of Minneapolis, a day after one of its former officers was convicted of the murder of George Floyd. The justice department will look at whether there has been a pattern “of unconstitutional or unlawful policing”, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. It follows national outrage over the killing of Floyd by Derek Chauvin. The former officer was convicted of all charges against him on Tuesday. Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020. Floyd, an unarmed African American, was pronounced dead an hour later. His death sparked protests across the US and worldwide, and calls for police reform. Tuesday’s verdict has been widely welcomed in a country where poli...
Cape Town fire ‘contained’ as firefighters battle windy conditions
A blaze advanced along South Africa’s iconic Table Mountain toward central Cape Town on Monday after ravaging university buildings, while firefighters battled strong winds in their efforts to control it and officials evacuated residential areas. The fire broke out Sunday morning in the foothills of the mountain and spread to the University of Cape Town (UCT), destroying buildings and part of a library housing a unique collection of African archives, while causing students to flee. The blaze had been largely contained on Monday, but firefighters were still battling to control it. Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said efforts were currently focused on the mountain above the Vredehoek suburb, with residents being evacuated “as a precautionary measure”. “Strong winds are placing pressure on firefight...
Kaduna: Police arrest three for criminal conspiracy, incitement, abduction
The Police Command in Kaduna State said on Friday that it had arrested three suspects for criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbances and abduction in the state. The Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalige, confirmed this in a statement in Kaduna. Jalige said that on March 22, at about 08000hrs, the command received a complaint through DPO Zonkwa from a citizen of Fadere village, Lere Local Government Area of the state. He said that the complainant had reported that on March 21, three others and he, all of the same address, went to Gora-Gan, Zangon Kataf LGA, to retrieve their cows that were in military custody. He explained that after they collected the cows, they requested for military escort. He said that the Secretary to the District Head of Gora, Atyap Chiefdom, insiste...
Senate summons insurance firms over failure to remit N17.4 billion pension fund
The Senate Public Accounts Committee, on Monday, summoned NICON Insurance Plc, AIICO Insurance and other insurance companies over alleged failure to remit N17.4 billion fund to Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD). The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejikeme, had told the panel that PTAD took over the assets and liabilities of defunct pension offices without a formal handing over. She said, “On taking over, the Directorate wrote all underwriters to make returns and remit whatever amount is in their custody into a CBN dedicated account. Some of the underwriters responded to the request while some did not. “The bank certificate of balances, accounting statements, 3 years financial statements and policy files requested by the Federal Auditor were not handed over to PTAD ...
Gunmen attack another Imo police station, kidnap one, injure others
Fear continues to pervade the atmosphere in Imo State as gunmen in the early hours of Thursday attacked the Mbieri Divisional Police Headquarters situated in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state. Our correspondent gathered from an indigene of Mbieri that the fleeing gunmen struck around 1am and immediately released the suspects in custody in the police facility. The gunmen also took away the phones belonging to suspects and the police operatives at the Division. But a police source at Division told our correspondent that the gunmen were repelled by the policemen on duty. The police source said “We resisted them but they overpowered us. They had more sophisticated weapons. They took all the phones they saw, released the suspects when they gained access and vandalised the police b...
Imo attack: Inmates who voluntarily return to get amnesty – minister
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has urged all escaped inmates from Owerri Custodial Centre on Monday to voluntarily return to custody and be given amnesty against the possible consequences of escaping from lawful custody. The Minister, who disclosed this when he visited the Owerri Custodial Centre on Tuesday, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s stand to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice, adding that additional security would be provided for all custodial centres for the safety of personnel and inmates as well as the security of the facilities. In a statement by the ministry’s director of press, A.B. Lere-Adams, Aregbesola bemoaned the pattern of syndicated attacks on custodial centres in Nigeria, noting that full investigation would commence immediately to unrav...
More than 90 killed in Myanmar in one of bloodiest days of protests
Security forces killed more than 90 people across Myanmar on Saturday in one of the bloodiest days of protests since a military coup last month, news reports and witnesses said. The lethal crackdown came on Armed Forces Day. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the junta leader, said during a parade in the capital Naypyitaw to mark the event that the military would protect the people and strive for democracy. State television had said on Friday that protesters risked being shot “in the head and back”. Despite this, demonstrators against the Feb. 1 coup came out on the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and other towns. The Myanmar Now news portal said 91 people were killed across the country by security forces. A boy reported by local media to be as young as five was among at least 29 people killed in...
10 including police officer killed in Colorado mass shooting
Ten people including a police officer were killed on Monday in a mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, near the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado. Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said that the 51-year-old officer, Eric Talley, was one of the first responders at the scene. She called his actions heroic. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said that the alleged shooter was injured and in custody. Herold said that police began receiving calls about shots fired and a call about a person with a “patrol rifle’’ at 2:30 p.m. Talley was one of the first officers at the scene and was fatally shot. “This is a very complex investigation that will take no less than five days to complete,’’ Herold said at a news conference. CNN cited an unnamed senior law enforcement source a...
Femi Fani-Kayode: Old man arrested is not ‘wanted’ Isikilu Wakili
A septuagenarian arrested by members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) is not the “wanted Wakili”, according to former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode. Some members of the OPC in Oyo State had, on Sunday, razed a Fulani settlement at Kajola in Ibarapa area of Oyo State before arresting the elderly blind man. In the process, newsmen gathered Wakili’s daughter-n-law was killed. In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Fani-Kayode said the old man arrested is not the prime suspect. His tweet read, “One Isikilu Wakili, a foreign terrorist who operates in the Ibarapa area, is the most notorious, dangerous and bloodthirsty terrorist in the South-West today. He killed even more people yesterday. He is even worse than Abu and the old man that is in police custody in Ibadan. “The Isikilu Wakili t...
Controversy surrounds whereabouts of OPC men who arrested Iskilu Wakili
Controversy has surrounded the whereabouts of Oodua Peoples Congress operatives who arrested suspected Fulani warlord, Iskilu Wakili. While there are media reports that the men have been transferred to Abuja, some sources in the OPC said they do not know the whereabouts of the detained operatives. The OPC members were detained on Sunday after arresting suspected Fulani warlord, Iskilu Wakili, who was later handed over to the police. It was gathered that representatives of OPC and the Investigating Police Officer in charge of the case would meet at 1 pm on Tuesday (today). According to a media report, the OPC members involved in the arrest were first transferred from Oyo Police Command to Force CID in Alagbon, Lagos, from where they were taken to Abuja. However, sources in the Lagos State P...
Police: Why we detained OPC members after arresting ‘kidnapper’
The police in Oyo State have confirmed detaining three members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) for arresting suspected kidnapper, Iskilu Wakili, on Sunday. The police in a statement by its public relations officer, Olugbenga Fadeyi, said the three members of OPC detained are being interrogated for their involvement in arson and murder. “The Oyo State Police Command would like to inform the general public that at about 0900 hrs of date (7th March 2021), information was received that a group of persons, (later found out to be members of the Odua Peoples Congress OPC), had invaded Kajola community in Ibarapa axis of the State. “The invasion was reportedly aimed at arresting one Wakili, a Fulani by tribe, who is alleged to be the sponsor and mastermind of various criminal attacks against ...
