Six Igbonla
pupils spend day 54 in captivity as colleagues graduate
• Lagos
deposes traditional ruler who ‘faked’ own kidnap
Driver of
Justice Nasiru Ajanah, the chief judge of Kogi State, Mallam Hassan Haruna, and
his niece who is also a legal practitioner in state, Rabi Ozavize Ovosi, have
been
kidnapped by unknown gunmen.
Their
abduction is coming days after an Osun State Permanent Secretary in the Bureau
of General Services, Mrs. Olufunke Oluwakemi Kolawole, was kidnapped and
murdered on her way to Abuja along Okene-Lokoja-Abuja road in the state.
Ovosi was
kidnapped at the weekend on her way to Okene from Lokoja at Itape junction in
Okehi local council of Kogi State. The gunmen forced the vehicle to stop as
they ordered the woman and the driver to alight from the car after which they
were whisked into the nearby forest in the mountain.
A cousin of
the victim, Abdullateef Ovosi, yesterday said the kidnappers called the family
at the wee hours of Sunday demanding for ransom. “As we speak, their lines are
no more reachable for us to know what amount they are demanding,” he said.
In another
development, the Lagos State government has deposed Yusuf Ogundare, the Baale
of Shangisha, for faking his own abduction. The traditional ruler’s deposition
was announced yesterday.
Ogundare’s
staged abduction reportedly took place on July 5 along the Center for
Management Development (CMD) road in Ikosi-Isheri local council development
area of the state.
Lagos State
governor, Akinwumi Ambode, had on Thursday directed that he be suspended, in a
memo addressed to the sole administrator of Ikosi-Isheri by Teslim Folami,
Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs.
“I am
directed to convey the approval of his excellency of the suspension of Chief
Yusuf Ogundare, Baale of Shangisha with immediate effect in accordance with
Section 38 subsection 1 of the Obas and chiefs laws of Lagos state which states
that ‘the governor may suspend or depose any Oba or chief whether appointed or
after commencement of this law, if he is satisfied that such suspension of
disposition is required according to customary law or is necessary in the
interest of peace and good government’,” the memo had read Gauardian reported.
Meanwhile,
whereabouts of the six abducted students of Igbonla Model College, Epe area of
Lagos State have remain unknown 54 days after they were kidnapped from their
school.
The boys –
Peter Jonah, Isiaq Rahmon, Adebayo George, Judah Agbausi, Pelumi Philips and
Farouq Yusuf, were abducted on May 24, 2017 and although the kidnappers
initially communicated with their parents, that has since stopped despite the
fact that they have already been paid N10million out of the N50million ransom
they asked for.
The boys’
case was brought to the front burner as their classmates rounded off the school
session and graduated to another class last Thursday.
However, to
forestall another kidnap, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has
put in place measures to fortify the marine department of the force to protect
and secure the inland waterways.
The Force
Marine Officer (FMO), Chinedu Iwuozo, a Superintendent of Police, (SP) who made
the disclosure, said the move is part of the IGP’s drive to reposition the
section and ensure the maritime domain is protected in line with best practices
and international standard.
Iwuozo, who
spoke at the send-off ceremony organized for the immediate past Force Marine
Officer, Isa Igbleba, said the measures on ground would keep them a step ahead
of the criminals. “The police is doing a lot in that regard and we have
operational strategies that are ongoing. Already we have operational bases in
the creeks.”
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