Connect with us

Law & Crime

Rivers Crisis: Two Policemen Feared Dead As Youths, Police takeover Council headquarters

Published

on

IG of Police, Kayode Egbetokun

There is an uneasy calm across the 21 out of 23 local government areas of Rivers State following the expiration of the tenure of the council chairmen in the state.
Eye-witness account revealed that tension is building up across the 21 LGAs of the State as Rivers youths and fully armed policemen have taken over the council secretariat.
The tensed atmosphere and demonstrations by the youths and other Rivers men followed the declaration by the council chairmen that they will not vacate office when their tenure elapse on Monday June 17, 2024.
The situation has sparked fears of possible outbreak of violence among residents of the state.
Our Correspondent gathered that in some local government headquarters in the state shows that Police vans have taken over the entrance gates of Port Harcourt City LGA, Ikwerre LGA and Obio/Akpor Local government councils.
At Degema LGA, Asari Toru LGA, Akuku-Toru LGA, Emohua LGA, Ahoada West LGA, Ogu/Bolo LGA and Eleme LGA, mammoth crowd of youths were seen taking over the council and blocking the secretariat gates, chanting songs in solidarity and demanding the departure of the Chairmen whose tenure has elapsed.
The youths vowed to remain at the gates till Wednesday to stop now ex-elected council officials from gaining access their offices.
They insisted that their three-year tenure ended on June 17 and that they should not be seen around the secretariat after the Sallah holiday.
The youths were heard chanting “Chairman must go”, as others arrived the gate to join them.
At Omuma local government, the youths did not only takeover the secretariat, it was reported that two police officers have been feared killed as violence broke out at the council headquarters.
Meanwhile, in Obio-Akpor local government area, home town of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, some youths were seen destroying a statue of the former Rivers governor, built by the out-gone Chairman, Barr. George Ariolu to honour the minister.
The youths were heard chanting “There is no more Wike, no more no more, for many thousand years.”
Though the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara in a state broadcast this morning, directed Head of Administrations of the local government areas to take over leadership of the council, but there were indications that he (Fubara), had sent a list of caretaker committees to the lawmakers led by factional Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo.
In the meantime, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Disu has warned residents of the state against taking laws into their own hands, emphasising that anyone found breaking the law would face the full wrath of the law.
CP Disu while addressing newsmen at the State Police Command headquarter assured the public that the Police is committed to maintaining law and order, even as he declared his readiness to protect lives and properties in the face of ongoing tensions.
The Commissioner however, urged parents to caution their children against getting involved in the crisis, warning that they should not be used as “cannon fodder.”
He also vowed to protect all government property and human lives in the community, ensuring a safe and secure environment for all.
He said: “My job as a police policeman protect lives and property. And that is what we have gone out to do since morning.
“We are aware of the crisis that has to do with the tenure of the Local Government Chairmen and we have gotten one court order or the other, and the court of Appeal has given an order for everybody to exercise restraints till the 20th of this month, just three days.
“So we expect everybody to respect it and not take laws into their hands and allow peace to continue as it is.”
Disu further assured that his officers are working round the clock to safeguard the property and lives of residents of the State.
He added: “Sincerely you know our officers have been out for the past three days.
“I just finished addressing them and I thank them for the good job they have done and because they have been out since 4 Am, and they just came back, we are not taking it lightly, we are ready to go, our officers have been on a show of force and we have had additional men given to us from the Headquarters, the equipment has been serviced and we are ready to go.
“This is just to assure members of the public that so far as we are concerned we are ready to do our jobs of protecting lives and property.
“We have warned anybody who would want to take laws into their own hands. I want to use this opportunity to talk to parents to call their children to order and talk to them so that their children will not be used as cannon folds in this crisis.
“Everything that has to do with government property and every human being in this community would be protected.”

Law & Crime

Terror charges: Family accuses Britain of aiding Nigeria in unlawful rendition, trial of Kanu

Published

on

By

Leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu

 

By Abdul-Ganiyy Akanbi

The family of the detained Biafra nation agitator, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has accused the United Kingdom of aiding Nigeria in the rendition of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria.

Specifically, the family took swipe at the British Government for continually refusing to challenge the prosecution of Kanu in Nigeria on the ground that there is no justification for such trial.

In a statement on Sunday by the family’s Spokesman, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, the family said that the action, especially silence of the United Kingdom in ordeal of Kanu was painful because the detainee is a British citizen.

Apparently angry with the development, the family challenged Britain to publicly accept responsibility for her complicity in the illegal rendition of Kanu.

The family also asked Britain to demand Kanu’s immediate return to either Kenya or the United Kingdom and to cease all diplomatic and legal support that sustains trial in Nigeria.

Besides, the family demands that the United kingdom should initiate a parliamentary inquiry into the roles played by the British High Commissions in Nairobi and Abuja in the rendition of Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria in 2021.

The statement read in part: “With hearts burdened by sorrow, we, the family of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, issue this solemn declaration to the world.

“We do so not only in defense of our beloved brother, father and uncle, but in defense of truth, justice, and the sacred memory of the over 5 million Biafrans slaughtered during Britain’s orchestrated genocide from 1967 to 1970.

“The United Kingdom has never stopped killing Biafrans. Only the methods have changed.

“Today, the same British Government that armed Nigeria to starve Biafran children to death now stands accused of a far more cowardly crime, the silent orchestration and diplomatic shielding of an illegal rendition, torture, and political show trial of a British citizen for exercising freedoms guaranteed under British law.

“Let the world take note: Were Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to die in the custody of the Nigerian government, it would be to the eternal shame and blood-drenched legacy of the United Kingdom.

“In June 2021, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a lawful British citizen and leader of a peaceful self-determination movement, IPOB, registered under UK law, was abducted in Nairobi, Kenya, subjected to extraordinary rendition without due process, and illegally transferred to Nigeria by operatives whose trail the British authorities have deliberately ignored.

“This transnational crime was carried out in clear violation of Kenyan and international law. Yet Britain said nothing. Worse still, their silence gave Nigeria the license to act with impunity.

“Why was the British High Commission in Nairobi inactive while a British citizen was drugged, tortured, and flown out in chains?

“Why was the UK Foreign Office complicit in turning a blind eye to this abduction that violated every known treaty obligation under international human rights and consular law?

“The answer is now painfully clear: Britain was not merely a bystander. Britain was a co-conspirator.

“Following his illegal rendition, the UK Government pretended to be engaged. British Consular officials visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in DSS custody in Abuja.

“He asked one simple question:“Why is the United Kingdom allowing a British citizen to be tried for broadcasts made in the UK, where both IPOB and Radio Biafra are lawful entities?

“The response was both evasive and insidious: We’ll get back to you.” But they never did.

“Instead, within four days of that meeting, Nigeria’s then-Attorney General, Abubakar Malami quietly amended the charges against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, removing ‘London, United Kingdom’ as the location of the alleged offences.

“The only logical inference is that the British authorities either advised Nigeria to do this or consented to a cover-up to evade the UK’s own jurisdictional responsibilities.

“Despite IPOB’s legal status in the UK and the total absence of any UK court order outlawing its activities, the British Government has continually refused to challenge the unlawful prosecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Nigeria.

“Why? Because they know what every international legal scholar knows:

“That the alleged offences occurred outside Nigerian territory; That the primary jurisdiction lies in the UK, not Nigeria; That the rendition violated the UK’s own Extradition Act, the Commonwealth Mutual Assistance Treaty, and all norms of international law.

“Yet, when the question was asked of the British Foreign Office—Why won’t you demand that your own citizen be returned to either the UK or Kenya, where he was abducted?—they offered the most cowardly response imaginable:”We cannot interfere in a Nigerian trial.”

“This is not just false. It is a betrayal. The UK Government has, in fact, interfered constantly by suppressing evidence, shielding Nigerian impunity, and erasing its own culpability from the chain of events that led to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s ongoing ordeal.

“In 1968, they supplied the arms that killed Biafran children. In 2021, they supplied the silence that allowed their citizen to be kidnapped and tortured.

“What exactly did the Igbo people do to Britain to deserve this generational hatred? Is it our resilience, our enterprise, or our refusal to bow to colonial structures masquerading as post-colonial governments?

“Why is it that every time an Igbo leader rises to speak truth to power, Britain rushes to undermine him?

“It is time for the world to know: Britain’s hatred for the Igbo people has outlived colonialism. What they could not achieve with bombs and starvation in 1967, they now pursue through legal manipulation, judicial collusion and geopolitical deceit.

“This statement is not made in anger. It is made in defiance.We defy the centuries of British deception in Africa.We defy the silence that enables crimes against our people.
And we defy the notion that a British citizen can be abducted, tortured, and tried abroad without the UK lifting a finger.

“If Britain cannot protect its own citizen, then it should admit publicly that some British citizens are more equal than others.

“If anything happens to our brother, the Kanu Family will hold the United Kingdom responsible. Not because they failed to act—but because they chose to act on the side of evil. Their silence is not neutrality. It is an endorsement of tyranny.

“Let the earth tremble with this truth. Let history record our warning. Let justice not be buried under diplomatic hypocrisy”, the statement said.

Continue Reading

Law & Crime

Police recovers corpse of missing 43 years old Real Estate magnate in Bayelsa

Published

on

By

corpse of missing Real Estate Magnate, Ekpeboh Richard

By David Owei, Bayelsa

Operatives of the Rapid Response Unit of the Bayelsa State Police Command has recovered the corpse of missing Real Estate Magnate, Ekpeboh Richard from the forest between new NDDC road and Otuokpoti in Ogbia Local Government Area of the State.

Police discovered the deceased was shot in the head in an execution manner and dumped in the bush.

Ekpeboh Richard is the Vice Chairman of the Real Estate Consultants Association of Bayelsa and hails from Ammassoma in Southern Ijaw Local Government area of the State. He is married with two kids.

He left home on the 24th of July,2025 and the wife became worried at about 2 am when he failed to return home.

According to family sources, all calls by the worried wife was answered three days later via WhatsApp chat when he purportedly asked her not to mount unnecessary pressure on him and that he was ok.

” Further prompting by the wife that she would reach out to the extended family to ask him why he abandoned the house was met by a promise to send money via POS. A sun of 15,300 was purportedly sent to a POS agent and not her account”

” He also revealed that he is owing two persons N9 million and N3 million within the association.” But it was later discovered that those who abducted and killed him were the ones using his phone to chat with his worried wife.

According to some friends and colleague of the deceased, they later reported the matter to the Police and the men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) headed by CSP Bishop Elemide.

The RRS operatives, working on intelligence, cooperation of Youths and an eyewitness, discovered that two young men in a blue Coloured Honda Vboot car had dragged the deceased out and took him deep into the forest,” what we heard later were two gun shots. And the two young men scampered I to their car and left.”

They also left with the deceased car, a Toyota Matrix car.

Police investigators discovered that there was a struggle between the deceased and his killers with footwear discovered a few metres from where the body was discovered, ” we, the youths assisted in recovering the body. The place it was dumped was a swamp. His head was blown off by gun shot.”

Our correspondent gathered from sources at the Police Headquarters that the homicide department of the State Criminal Investigation department may take over the case and are already working on two facts.

” We are looking at the fact that it may be a case of business deals gone wrong with members of his Association of Real Estate Consultants or that he may be involved in cyber crime or money laundering deal that went wrong.”

” We will get to the root of the matter and bring the culprits to book. Efforts in on to apprehend ASSAILANTS.”

A Senior Police officer, who confirmed the development, told our correspondent that the Commissioner of Police, Francis Idu is fully aware of the development despite his absence on official duty in Abuja.

Continue Reading

Law & Crime

NCoS denies report by Sahara Reporters  that a Correctional staff released an imate out of custodial centre for conjugal intimacy 

Published

on

By

Comptroller-General of NCoS,Sylvester Ndidi Nwachukwu

 

By Uthman-Baba Naseer,Minna

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has described as misleading and malicious a report Published by Sahara reporters alleging that a personnel who took an inmate out of custodial centre for conjugal intimacy with his lover in Afikpo was pardon by the Civil Defence, Correctional Fire and Immigration Board (CDCFIB), while the whistle blower was dismissed.

This was contained in a press Statement signed by the head of Public Relation and Media of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) Umar Abubakar DCC stated that the report is misleading and intended to tarnish the inmates of the Nigerian Correctional Service.

The Service, according to the Press release, wishes to categorically state that this report is misleading and intended to tarnish the image of the Nigerian Correctional Service.

The attention of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has been drawn to a misleading and malicious report published by Sahara Reporters alleging that a personnel who took an inmate out of the custodial centre for conjugal intimacy with his lover in Afikpo was pardoned by the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Board (CDCFIB), while the whistleblower was dismissed.

“The facts of the matter is that the officer in question was dismissed after a thorough investigation by the disciplinary unit of the Service and was found to have committed an act unbecoming of a public officer, specifically for taking unauthorized pictures of an inmate by name Ibuchi Okoro Eze, within the premises of the Barracks of the Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Afikpo, and uploading same on the internet”.

The dismissed officer, he disclosed,ASC 1 Efe Onakpoya with Service number 57790 also made malicious allegations against the service, including the false claim that an inmate was taken out of the Custodial Centre for conjugal intimacy with his lover.

The Nigerian Correctional Service is committed to maintaining the highest standards of discipline, integrity, and professionalism. The Service will not tolerate any behavior that undermines these values.

The service hereby urges the public to disregard the misleading report by Sahara Reporters and to be aware of the antics of mischief-makers who seek to tarnish the image of our beloved Service.

Continue Reading

Latest

Opinion2 hours ago

At 59, Irona Celebrated as a Steadfast, Trusted Leader

  It was a moment of heartfelt tributes and celebration on Friday, as family, friends, political allies, and well-wishers gathered...

Law & Crime2 hours ago

Terror charges: Family accuses Britain of aiding Nigeria in unlawful rendition, trial of Kanu

  By Abdul-Ganiyy Akanbi The family of the detained Biafra nation agitator, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has accused the United Kingdom...

Law & Crime6 hours ago

Police recovers corpse of missing 43 years old Real Estate magnate in Bayelsa

By David Owei, Bayelsa Operatives of the Rapid Response Unit of the Bayelsa State Police Command has recovered the corpse...

Law & Crime7 hours ago

NCoS denies report by Sahara Reporters  that a Correctional staff released an imate out of custodial centre for conjugal intimacy 

  By Uthman-Baba Naseer,Minna The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has described as misleading and malicious a report Published by Sahara...

Law & Crime23 hours ago

Niger CP orders arrest ot district head for allegedly masterminding murder of an NYSC member 

  By Uthman-Baba Naseer,Minna The Commissioner of Police in Niger State,CP Abdullahi Adamu Elleman,has called upon to as a matter...

Politics2 days ago

Governor Adeleke is not Joining ADC Nor Aligning with Anyone in ADC- Spokesperson

By David Owei, Bayelsa Governor Ademola Adeleke is not defecting to African Democratic Congress (ADC) nor aligning with anybody within...

Law & Crime2 days ago

sledgehammer on a Chief Magistrate, Shariah, Court Judge, senior Registrar others if..Niger NJC threatens Judicial workers

    By Uthman Baba- Naseer,Minna As part of measures put in place to instill discipline in the Niger State...

Oil & Gas2 days ago

Niger Delta: Bayelsa CDC Chairman Tasks Renaissance On Improved CSR

By David Owei,Bayelsa The Community Development Committee (CDC), Chairman of Elebele Community in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa...

Sports2 days ago

Bayelsa Queens chairman hails Gov.Diri for Rewarding Team

  By David Owei,Bayelsa The chairman of Bayelsa Queens FC, Pastor Robin Angonimi Apreala has hailed Governor Douye Diri for...

Uncategorized2 days ago

2nd Phase Leaders Complete Training on Leadership and Mediation – Gen. Elaye Lauds Otuaro’s Visionary Drive

By David Owei,Bayelsa The 2nd Phase Camp Leaders’ training on “Leadership, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation”, sponsored by the Presidential...

Trending