Bloody clash in Ibadan

Bloody clash in Ibadan
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By Our Reporter  on October 21, 2015   National
• One feared dead, 15 injured as NURTW men, tipper drivers clash
From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
One person was feared dead and 15 others injured in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, during a bloody clash between members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Tipper Drivers Association.
 The clash was said to have occurred at Omi-Adio Motor Park, along Ibadan-Abeokuta Expressway. The fracas, it was gathered, began on Sunday night during a party and continued till Monday.
 The middle aged man that was killed was a commercial bus driver, who was said to have been hacked to death with machete during the fracas.
 The suspected thugs reportedly brandished dangerous weapons, such as cutlasses, knives, iron rods and clubs. They were said to have smashed windscreens of, at least, 10 vehicles along Ibadan-Abeokuta Expressway. Also, innocent members of the public were said to have been equally assaulted.
 The rioters barricaded the highway, as residents and shop owners in the area fled the vicinity for safety.
 Men of the state special security outfit, Operation Burst, and team of anti-riot policemen from Iyaganku Police Station, stormed the scene and quelled the mayhem.
 Those people that sustained varying degrees of injury were rushed to Alaafia Hospital in Apata. Those that were rejected by the hospital were taken to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.
 Investigation revealed the riot was a reaction to the road accident that claimed the lives of three persons opposite a hotel along Ibadan-Abeokuta Expressway two weeks ago. The accident involved a commercial bus and a truck. Three among the occupants of the bus, including the driver were killed instantly while others were injured.
 A bus driver, who simply identified himself as Musiliu, accused many tipper and truck drivers of recklessness on the road. He alleged that many members of the NURTW had been killed by the tipper drivers on the road.
“The truck driver, who allegedly drove the truck that killed three people was sighted at the party at Omi garage on Sunday. Members of NURTW challenged him and they mobilised to avenge the death of their colleague,” he said.
 The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mr. Adekunle Ajisebutu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the Monday fracas, but said no live was lost.
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I wanted to raise money for my girlfriend’s birthday –Suspect
From Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
An armed robbery suspect, Yakubu Usman,  has lamented that inordinate lust pushed him to join an armed robbery gang, with the intention of raising money to organise a birthday bash for his girlfriend.
 Usman, who was one of the five armed robbery suspects arrested recently by the Kogi State Police Command, said in order to prove that he truly loved his girlfriend, he had no option but to join a robbery syndicate that specialised in robbing banks.
“I was actually pushed to join this deadly gang because of Salamatu, my girlfriend, who is marking her birthday later this month. I wanted to use part of the proceeds to organise a one-in-town birthday bash for her, simply because I wanted to impress her that I am a big boy.
“ You see, I am from a poor home, but I think I could use robbery to cover up my poverty. So, I tried to impress this babe, who actually felt I was one of the big boys in town.
“But, I feel sorry for myself now, that I allowed her lust to bring me to this mess. I now know that life itself  has no meaning for a person behind the bars,” he said in tears.
 Parading the suspects, the state police commissioner, Emmanuel Ojukwu, said the suspect was only trying to shed crocodile tears, stressing that he was a hardened criminal, who belonged to a gang that specialised in robbing banks.  He said that the gang might have been responsible for series of bank robberies in the state.
 The CP said on October 6, 2015, he gathered  through credible intelligence that a gang of notorious armed robbers were planning to attack a bank in Ayingba and its environs.
 He said based on a tip-off, operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in the state led by their commander,  Ayeni Oluwadare, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), immediately swung into action and invaded their hideout.
 He said five of the suspects were arrested while one Emmanuel Ometa, the gang leader, escaped with an AK 47 rifle. He gave the names of those arrested as James Adaje, Godwin Ekeji, Yakubu Usman, Musa Dalisu and Monday Adejoh.
 Items recovered included one locally made barreta pistol, one axe, cutlass, some quantity of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp, 11 Sim cards, among others.
 In a related development the Police Commissioner also paraded  23 other suspects arrested for armed robbery, illegal gun manufacturing and political thuggery at Ejule, Ofu Local Government Area of the state.
 He said six guns, including AK47 rifle, locally made guns, bullet proof vests, charms,  ammunitions, weeds suspected to be Indian hemp and a Ford Galaxy  bus with registration number Oyo AH 5095 HK were recovered from the hoodlums.
 The CP  said that all the suspects would be charged to court as soon as the police complete their investigations.
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Outrage over report on brutalised student by police officer
• CDHR, NANS, others demand immediate dismissal of officers involved
From Segun Olatunji, Abeokuta
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR)and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) yesterday demanded the dismissal of the police officer, who allegedly brutalised a 25-year-old student of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Peter Taiwo.
 NANS, which threatened a nationwide protest against the police, also demanded a N50 million compensation to the victim.
 Also, the authorities of MAPOLY have vowed to use everything at its disposal to ensure the prosecution of the police officer alleged to have brutalised its student. The institution has also pledged to pay the hospital bills for the treatment of the victim.
 Taiwo, a Higher National Diploma 1 student of Computer Science was allegedly attacked by Emmanuel Ogundaisi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police attached to the Adigbe Police Station at about 11:00pm last Thursday at Olatidoye Street in the Oluwo area of the state capital.
 As at Monday afternoon, the victim, who had become frail was in a state of near-coma.
 But the CDHR has asked police authorities to dismiss Ogundaisi and his accomplice, Corporal Samuel Ajayi alleged to have been the rider of the motorcycle on which the two policemen rode to commit the alleged crime.
 The Ogun State Chairman of the CDHR, Olayinka Folarin, said that the police officer and his accomplice had gone far beyond their briefs as law enforcement officers and should be made to face the wrath of the law.
 Folarin warned that the police high command should urgently take the necessary punitive actions against the erring police officers to avoid a mass action from ordinary Nigerians. He added that the CDHR would use all necessary legal means to ensure that justice is done in the matter.
 The CDHR noted that brutality against innocent citizens by policemen had become unacceptable.
 Folarin said: “It is highly condemnable that such an injustice can be meted out to a human being and  the police who are supposed to be the custodian of human rights are now the one violating human rights. We have condemned it in the society and we are patiently waiting for the Police Force to do the needful.
“Our demand is as follows: An immediate dismissal of the police officers who perpetrated this evil,  ASP Emmanuel Ogundaisi and corporal Samuel Ajayi. These police officers have violated the IGP order, which states that every police operation should be embarked on with an identified police vehicle and not with a bike.
“So, there is every need for the police force to take necessary actions on this police officers to avoid the masses revolt.”
NANS in a petition to the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abdulmajid Ali demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the officers involved.
 The students in the petition signed by the NANS Chairman in the state, Dotun Opaleye however threatened to organise a nationwide protest against the police if its demands were not met in the next 48 hours.
 NANS therefore asked for N50million compensation for the victim as well as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the police and the students in the state assuring that such an incident would no longer occur.
“This act contravenes Article Three (3) and five (5) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1984 in Paris. Mr. Taiwo Peter’s only crime was that he was a Nigerian citizen.
“As we write this letter, Mr. Taiwo Peter cannot speak intelligently anymore as we suspect that the vicious blows to the head might have reconfigured the brains operation. He has also suffered a horrific psychological trauma capable of destroying his psychological balance. We still need to subject him to more medical checks,” the petition read.
 Also condemning the alleged brutality against Taiwo, MAPOLY authorities said it had received a formal petition from the institution’s Students Union Government concerning the incident.
 It also disclosed that it had already contacted the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abdulmajid Ali to ensure that the offending police officer faced the wrath of the law over his action.
 The institution’s Public Relations Officer, Sulaiman Adebiyi said that the authorities of the polytechnic had taken official note of the incident and was already taking the necessary steps and actions to ensure that justice was done in the matter.
 Adebiyi added that the management of the institution had already instructed the Head of the Department of the brutalised student to liase with the polytechnic’s Chief Nursing Officer to ensure the victim had access to adequate medical attention.
 The MAPOLY spokesman however urged the students of the institution to remain calm and law-abiding while the authorities addressed the matter.