Startech Safety And Security News Blog

                   The Lagos State police command have arrested no fewer than 100 persons allegedly involved in a violent clash between two unknown groups at the Scavengers Land near New Garage, Ojota.   The state Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations),  Mohammed Ali,  made the disclosure on Friday saying the arrested persons have been transferred to the Taskforce Office, Oshodi, Lagos. Ali said that the leaders of the two groups were meeting with state Commissioner of Police,  Imohimi Edgal, with a view to resolving their conflict amicably.  “Nobody was killed in the clash. The situation has been brought under control. Our men will be here until total peace is restored,”  Ali said.   The two groups were scavengers gathering and selling unserviceable items at a place called “ Igidanpani .  The clash forced shops in the New Garage and some parts of Ojota to close. “We don’t really know what caused the crisis. We were surprised to see people scampering. It started

Kenyan Inspector General of Police,  Joseph Boinnet, on Wednesday, revealed chilling details of the recent foiled terror attack, which is said to be one of the most successful arrests in recent times. The terror suspects arrested in Isiolo last month, one of whom had booked a hotel room for almost a week near the Central Police Station, were targeting the Judiciary buildings and a government installation. Mr Boinnet said that the vehicle with registration number KBM 200D that was seized from the suspects in Merti, Isiolo County, was laden with approximately 80kg of high-grade Trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosives. The police boss revealed that the vehicle, which would have been used as a Suicide Vehicle Bound Explosive Device (SVBIED), was set to be driven to Nairobi and would have killed hundreds of innocent civilians. A police investigation revealed that one of the suspects, Abdimajit Adan, 24, had booked a hotel room near the Central Police Station 10 days earlier, and only

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal office, on Friday, March 16, 2018, arraigned Kayode Odukoya , Managing Director, FirstNation Airways before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja on a four-count charge bordering on forgery, use of false information, perjury and stealing to the tune of N1, 741, 994, 962.04 (One Billion, Seven Hundred and Forty- one Million, Nine Hundred and Ninety -four Thousand, Nine Hundred and Sixty -two Naira, Four Kobo). The defendant allegedly forged the Memorandum of Loss of Lagos State Certificate of Occupancy in respect of a property located in Lagos, so it could be acted upon as genuine. One of the counts reads: "That you, Kayode Odukoya, on or about the 21st day of March, 2013 in Lagos within the Lagos Judicial Division knowingly forged the Memorandum of Loss of Lagos State Certificate of Occupancy Registered as No. 33 at page 33 in Volume 1011 at the Lagos State Registry, Alausa, Ikeja i

The police on Thursday announced they killed a Port Harcourt kidnap kingpin who has been on their wanted list. The man, identified as Prosper David, was killed during a shoot-out between the police and his gang, according to a statement issued by the spokesperson of the Force Headquarters, Abuja, Jimoh Moshood. The statement did not mention where the shoot-out took place. It said the kidnap kingpin was killed by a police joint strike force set up by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to trace those responsible for the abduction of one Tina Bob-Manuel, a Port Harcourt-based businesswoman. Mrs. Bob-Manuel, 58, was abducted November last year at her shop at Nvuigwe, Woji in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state. The kidnappers, who disguised themselves with police uniforms and were armed with AK-47 rifles, later demanded N100 million ransom from the victim’s family. Mr. David and his gang were said to have also been involved in armed robberies, cult-rel

The police in Bayelsa State, on Wednesday, arraigned a pastor before a magistrate in Yenagoa for allegedly obtaining an SUV under false pretence from a churchgoer. Kingsley Abiekunogho, said to be an apostle and founder of God Is Able Mega Fire Ministry, at Opolo, Yenagoa, is accused of tricking one Jones Seiyefa to hand over to him, a Toyota SUV and N20, 000 in exchange for “spiritual breakthrough”. During a church programme at God Is Able Mega Fire Ministry, in September 2017, a visiting pastor was said to have called out Mr. Seiyefa from the congregation and prodded him to donate his car and the money to the accused, with the assurance that God had wonderful gift for him. Mr. Seiyefa, who is the complainant in the case, was told by the pastor that within a month God was going to double the car and money collected from him. He was subsequently invited to the church on a later day where he was made to drink a “special” honey to quicken the expected “breakthrough”. Several

At least 14 migrants, including four children, died when a boat carrying about 20 people capsized overnight in the Aegean Sea, Greek police said today. The boat was ferrying migrants from Turkey to Greece. Police recovered eight more bodies after the corpses of a man, a woman and four children surfaced off the island of Agathonissi. Two women and a man who managed to swim to safety sounded the alarm. Survivors said the boat was carrying 21 people, according to port officials. A patrol boat, a military helicopter and three fishing vessels are taking part in the rescue operation and officials are waiting for reinforcements from Frontex, the European border agency. Frontex said last month that in 2017, the European Union saw the lowest number of detected illegal border-crossings since the migrant crisis began four years ago. The number dwindled to 204,700 from 1.8 million in 2015, it said. The drop was especially observed on the eastern Mediterranean migratory route which c

A groundbreaking research project by Amnesty International has exposed evidence of serious negligence by oil giants, Shell and Eni, whose irresponsible approach to oil spills in the Niger Delta is exacerbating an environmental crisis. Through the Decoders network, an innovative platform developed by Amnesty International to crowdsource human rights research, the organisation enlisted thousands of supporters and activists to collect data about oil spills in the Niger Delta. Their findings were then analysed by Amnesty International’s researchers and verified by Accufacts, an independent pipelines expert. According to this publicly available data, Amnesty International found that Shell and Eni are taking weeks to respond to reports of spills and publishing misleading information about the cause and severity of spills, which may result in communities not receiving compensation. “Shell and Eni claim they are doing everything they can to prevent oil spills but Decoders

Several residents at the Olusosun area in Lagos on Thursday expressed worries over yesterday’s fire incident at the dumpsite. Although the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, according to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, residents told PREMIUM TIMES it has been a frequent occurrence. “But the extent of that of yesterday is frightening,” said a resident who preferred not to be named. “Although the fire has been put out, the smoke is still so hot and thick that if this sun continues shining like this, the fire might start again.” The fire outbreak at the Olusosun dumpsite, which is situated near the old Lagos Toll Gate, began on Wednesday evening with a cloud of thick smoke billowing into the sky. The incident led to traffic gridlock along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Ikorodu Road, and Oregun Road among others. At least, six buses parked in the nearby garage of the transport firm, LAGBUS, were burnt in the inferno. An official of LAGBUS told PREMIU

                              A suspected mentally ill man, Lekan Adebisi, who hacked two pupils to death, has declared that he is ready to face the consequences of his action. The horror attack occurred on Monday at St. John’s Anglican Primary School, Agodo, Ogun Waterside Local Government Area, Ogun State. Mr. Adebisi stormed the school with a machete and hacked two pupils, Mubarak Kalesowo, and Sunday Obituyi, to death. He was later arrested by police on Wednesday following a manhunt by police backed by youth and hunters. The suspect told journalists on Thursday that he took the action because he was frustrated in life. He was interviewed at the Eleweran Police Headquarters in Abeokuta, Ogun State Capital. The suspect, who was incoherent in his speech, also attributed his act to “hunger”. He said he had no food for two weeks and nobody was ready to help him. “I did not eat for two weeks and I went out to beg for money. Nobody gave me money. When I had money, I t

Raging fire An early morning fire outbreak on Wednesday destroyed at least, 22 shops at Yankatako market in Rijiyar Lemo in Kano. The Public Relations Officer of the State Fire Service, Alhaji Saidu Mohammed, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano, that the incident happened 3.10 a.m. “We received a distress call early hours of today (Wednesday) from one Muhammed Yahaya from Kurna division at about 3.10 a.m that, there was fire outbreak at the market. ”On receiving the information, we quickly sent some of our personnel and fire fighting vehicle to the scene of the incident at about 3.14 a.m to quench the fire, “he said. Mohammed said the cause of the fire was under investigation. He advised traders at the market and other residents to be more careful and desist from using instruments capable of triggering fire as a way of guarding against future occurrence. The spokesman also advised the people to keep fire bucket, blanket and fire extinguisher that would enable the

Nigeria Police The Kaduna State Police Command, on Wednesday agreed to partner with hunters in addressing security challenges in the state. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Austin Iwar said after a closed door meeting with the state hunters association that the police would tap from their experiences in tracking criminals. Iwar described the hunters as very important elements in the society, saying that the police would use their expertise to hunt for criminals. The commissioner, however, said that those to be incorporated would undergo relevant briefings and training before bringing them into the security system. He said the steps were necessary to regulate the hunters’ activities, adding that the interaction was to encourage hunters with illegal weapons to hand them over. “Some have illegal weapons with them; we want to encourage them to return it to the state. It is also to train them in the new responsibility that they have chosen to participate.’’ Iwar adde

Mauritian President, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim rejected calls for her to resign over accusations of financial misconduct and will provide evidence to debunk these, her office said in a statement on Wednesday. In February, local L’express newspaper said Gurib-Fakim had used a credit card issued by an international non-governmental organisation to buy clothes and jewellery in Italy and Dubai. She has denied any wrongdoing and said she had refunded all the money in question. Recently, Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said Gurib-Fakim, the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial role, would step down on March 12. However, she contradicted this in a statement published on the website of her office on Wednesday. “Her Excellency rejects any resignation prospect. “She is ready to take legal action before the courts to defend herself against the slanderous accusations,” the State House statement said. Report says Mauritius is trying to shift an

•Five out of eight persons tested positive A fresh outbreak of Lassa fever has reportedly killed three persons in Ekiti State, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Rotimi Ojo, has said. Ojo, who addressed reporters yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, said five of the eight suspected cases tested negative while one was uncertain and the last one pending at press time last night. The commissioner said the government was taking proactive steps in its surveillance involving the residents because some cases and deaths had been recorded in neighbouring states. He assured the residents that the State Disease Control team had been alerted while the process of sensitising the people with jingles, adverts and other communications media were ongoing. Ojo said similar actions taken during the 2016 outbreak were successful, adding that the epidemic was controlled and the identified patient, who was properly managed, survived. According to him, the three isolation centres at Ido Fe

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, on Wednesday threatened that soon, the country would crush militants in northern Iraq. This is coming after recent statement by Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, that Ankara and Baghdad would carry out a joint offensive against Kurdish militants in Iraq. “We are checking the terror nests in northern Iraq at every chance. Soon, we will stomp very strongly on the terrorists there,” Erdogan told local administrators in Ankara. Cavusoglu had said that Turkey and Iraq’s central government could start a joint military operation against Kurdish militants after Iraqi parliamentary elections scheduled for May, 2018. Turkish warplanes regularly launch strikes against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has camps in the mountains of northern Iraq, near the border with Turkey.

Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State The police in Niger have arrested six persons suspected to have been involved in the stoning of Gov. Abubakar Bello in Bida town on Thursday, March 8. Mr Dibal Yakadi, the Commissioner of Police in Niger, confirmed the arrests in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Minna on Wednesday. Bello had gone to assess the damage on Bida Old Market, which was burnt on March 1 and to sympathise with traders affected by the incident. On the occasion, some youths booed the governor and pelted his official vehicle with stones. The night fire destroyed 900 shops and the governor donated N20 million to the fire victims to help lessen their pains. Yakadi said the police had commenced investigation to establish those who sponsored the action. ”As soon as we finished our investigation the suspects will be charged to court,” he said. Yakadi said the command would not tolerate any act capable of disturbing the peace of the state and w