Connect with us

National

Delta Community Agog As IGP Orders Probe Of Land Grabbing Syndicate

Published

on

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has order an investigation of the attacks on
Ogbe-Ozoma Quarters of Okpanam in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State by suspected land grabbers.

Consequently, he directed both the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department, and Commissioner of Police, Delta State Police Command Headquarters to decisively investigate all criminal infractions committed against the community and consolidate all pending petitions.

The elated indigenes of Ogbeozome Quarters of Okpanam, made the submissions in a statement signed by Chief Felix Okafor,
Sunday Nwanze, Lucky Abuah
and Chinedu Ofuani for and on behalf of Oshimili North LGA of Delta State.

According to them, the IGP’s directive followed a petition dated September 23 2024, which chronicled, with litany of empirical evidence, alleged compromise by the police, undue interference with criminal cases in courts, malicious destruction of properties, murder, and other sundry violent infractions allegedly committed by a businessman, Chinedu Okeke popularly known as Ekwe Ogidi.

While commending the IGP, the community leaders said bad eggs in uniforms who have been aiding and abetting the compromise of police investigation equally provided a veritable cover for the ceaseless perpetuation of the heinous infractions on Ogbeozoma community.

“The grave perversion of the cause of justice orchestrated by these elements, which finds support/approval of their enablers from Abuja, reached a disturbing turn. A team of policemen from Special Enquiry Bureau (SEB) FCID, Abuja, discretely came into Asaba, ostensibly, acting on the strength of a signal raised by the Office of the DIG, consequently presented the said signal to the officer in charge of Legal Department, Delta State Police Command, and withdrew an ongoing criminal trial involving some of these land grabbers”, the community said.

ALSO READ:  Gov Lawal exploiting insecurity for political gain against Matawalle, group claims

The O/C in charge was said to have immediately taken over the case file, including all exhibits recovered by the personnel of Delta State police command from the Crime Scene.

The statement said the exhibits recovered at the scene of the crime specifically at Ogbe-Ozoma ancestral homeland, were all handed over to Ekwe Ogidi and his boys , including Caterpillar l, Toyota Hilux, live ammunition, and other personal belongings of Ekwe Ogidi.

The community said, “We indigenes of Ogbeozoma community are profoundly delighted and consequently welcomed the deserving proactive intervention of the Inspector-General of Police, by directing for a well detailed, transparent and comprehensive investigation of the mind-boggling allegations contained in the said petition and consolidation of all pending petitions affecting the same parties.

“This is a commendable development, which outcome shall certainly put an end to this unabated criminal activities and shall in a very big measure expose the evil activities of these marauders for what they really are.

“When the Senior lead counsel to Ogbeozoma community Okpanam, on Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta state, in the person of Ifeanyi Ejiofor was contacted for his opinion on the intervention of the Inspector-General of Police on this age long desecration of Ogbeozoma Quarters, Okpanam, he equally stated in confirmation that similar petition was written to the chairman of the Police Service Commission and the Attorney-General of the Federation whose interventions are stil being awaited.

“We the leaders of Ogbeozoma Quarters of Okpanam, Oshimili North Local Government Area, profoundly commend the Inspector-General of Police for listening to the age long cry of our peaceful community for justice.”

ALSO READ:  Warri Refinery goes live, says NNPCL

ENDS***

National

INEC: We are not partisan in failed recall of Natasha

Published

on

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has denied being partisan in handling the failed recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Rotimi Oyekanmi, who was on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, explained how the Commission handled the process.

“In the case of the Kogi Central District, we received a petition and a cover letter and of course what Nigerians were saying was that we were taking sides,” Oyekanmi said on the programme.

INEC logo and Senator Natasha Akpoti (Kogi-Central PDP)
INEC logo and Senator Natasha Akpoti (Kogi-Central PDP)

“But what happened was that in the covering letter, the representatives of the petitioners did not include their address as required in our regulations and guidelines and what we just did was to ask them to supply their address, it has nothing to do with the petition.

“And of course, there is nowhere in the law where INEC is asked to reject a petition just because the cover letter did not contain the address. So, there was no hanky-panky in what we did.”

Earlier on Thursday, INEC rejected the petition to recall Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, saying that it has not met the requirements.

The electoral commission said the petition to recall Senator Natasha did not meet constitutional requirements.

Senator Natasha was suspended for breaching Senate rules, prompting some of her constituents to initiate her recall. They claimed the move was to ensure their constituency did not lack representation following the suspension of the 45-year-old senator.

Asked whether there could be a repeat of the recall process, the INEC spokesperson said the law did not specify if the process could be repeated and how many times.

ALSO READ:  Warri Refinery goes live, says NNPCL

“The law just talks about the threshold, the threshold meaning that if you want to recall, you must have, in addition to your petition, 50 per cent plus one signatures. The law did not specify how many times you can undertake that,” he said.

Channels

Continue Reading

National

INEC Not Partisan In Failed Recall Of Natasha – Spokesperson

Published

on

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has denied being partisan in handling the failed recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Rotimi Oyekanmi, who was on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, explained how the Commission handled the process.

“In the case of the Kogi Central District, we received a petition and a cover letter and of course what Nigerians were saying was that we were taking sides,” Oyekanmi said on the programme.

“But what happened was that in the covering letter, the representatives of the petitioners did not include their address as required in our regulations and guidelines and what we just did was to ask them to supply their address, it has nothing to do with the petition.

“And of course, there is nowhere in the law where INEC is asked to reject a petition just because the cover letter did not contain the address. So, there was no hanky-panky in what we did.”

Earlier on Thursday, INEC rejected the petition to recall Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, saying that it has not met the requirements.

The electoral commission said the petition to recall Senator Natasha did not meet constitutional requirements.

Senator Natasha was suspended for breaching Senate rules, prompting some of her constituents to initiate her recall. They claimed the move was to ensure their constituency did not lack representation following the suspension of the 45-year-old senator.

Asked whether there could be a repeat of the recall process, the INEC spokesperson said the law did not specify if the process could be repeated and how many times.

ALSO READ:  Gov Lawal exploiting insecurity for political gain against Matawalle, group claims

“The law just talks about the threshold, the threshold meaning that if you want to recall, you must have, in addition to your petition, 50 per cent plus one signatures. The law did not specify how many times you can undertake that,” he said.

The lawmaker has made headlines in recent months after she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment, a claim the Akwa Ibom lawmaker has equally denied.

She was thereafter suspended by the Red Chamber for violation of its rule of conduct.

Continue Reading

National

NSA Hands Over Ex-NYSC DG, 18 Other Kidnapped Victims To CDS

Published

on

The National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has handed over 19 kidnapped victims rescued by the security agencies to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa.

The brief ceremony took place on Thursday at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja.

The victims included Ambassador Gideon Yohanna, the former Director-General of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General Maharazu Tsiga (retired) who had spent 56 days in captivity and 17 others, including a child.

Both Ribadu and Musa pledged to remain relentless until the criminals are wiped out and normalcy restored in the country.

“As a result of the work of our armed forces and other security services, we are able to rescue and bring back our own people,” he said.

“This time, it involves important personalities who served this country. We thank God for their lives, we are grateful to those who made it possible.

“This is an ongoing operation and we are doing it quite silently, we will go after the bad ones.”

ALSO READ:  Warri Refinery goes live, says NNPCL
Continue Reading