₦airaland Forum

^^^^^
There are probably more kidnappers and certainly more ritualists in your place than in Igboland. You only wallow in ignorance

Justcash:
Is kidnapping not also going on in the S.west e.g Ondo state?

Of course it does.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-480263.0.html
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-171774.0.html

I have read somewhere that it actually started in the SW - centuries ago, I might add- with the name gbomogbomo

Dude needs no confession. By his leprous fingers he is known even from a distance.

Is Segun, as well as Lekan from Osun State also Igbos?
Police parade suspected kidnappers in Lagos


Anambra gets vigilance group

From Odita Sunday (Lagos) and Uzoma Nzeagwu (Awka)
NEMESIS yesterday caught up with four suspected kidnappers in Lagos as they were arrested and paraded by the police.



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The suspects allegedly abducted a 10-year-old boy and demanded N15 million ransom for their victim's parents.

Meanwhile, a new security outfit, Anambra State Vigilante Service (AVS) was yesterday inaugurated in the state to check the rising crime wave.

The suspects, amidst tears, told reporters that it was their third adventure into the business of kidnapping and that their victims were usually children of the rich whom they believe could meet their demands.

They were paraded by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Marvel Akpoyibo, at the headquarters of the command in Oduduwa, Ikeja, Lagos.

One of the suspects, Segun, told reporters that it was their third operation in kidnapping business, adding: "This is our third time into this business; I was caught and released the first time. The second one was successful and we were able to collect N500,000 ransom. We kidnapped a boy then and demanded N2 million but they gave us N500,000. They brought the money to a place in Iyana Iba where we asked them to bring it. We kept the boy then for five days and released him after they dropped the money where we asked them to bring it."

Another suspect, Lekan, said their hideout was in an uncompleted building around Iyana Iba area where they keep their victims pending response from their parents. He said he just got an admission into Olabisi Onabanjo University.

" I am 22-years old, from Osun State. Our victims are usually children of rich people. So, we get information from people living in the area and we work on the information, target their children and pick them. I and my other friend stay with the victim while the other two go out to make calls. I am a student, I just got my admission letter to Olabisi Onabanjo University. I hope to repent from this way if I am released this time," Lekan said.

Meanwhile, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr Uzor Amakulor, who inaugurated the AVS otherwise called Scorpion Squad, at the command headquarters, Amawbia, charged the members to work in co-operation with the police to tackle what he termed an upsurge of violent crimes in the state.

He also warned against their interference in or settling public disputes, which, according to him, was outside AVS mandate.

"Today, we formally inaugurate Anambra Vigilante Service; it has become necessary because of the rising wave of crimes," he said and recalled that the outfit had been in existence in the state before now, adding that the police would regulate their roles.

"The challenges of violent crime is, when you suspect criminals, in case of hostage taking, it comes in various forms. They give the impression of coming as armed robbers, but they eventually pick up a young man or woman, old people, a child. We don't want to experience such any more.

"The IGP has warned that he didn't want to hear of such crimes any more," Amakulor said. He charged men of the squad to inculcate discipline and work within the ambit of protecting live and property of Anambra citizens.

Explaining further on their mode of operation, he said the co-ordinator would work directly with the Police High Command in Anambra, while at the local council level, they would form the grassroots to cover all areas.

Earlier in his address, the Co-ordiantor of AVS, Chief Kenneth Okonkwo, emphasised that their mission is to combat criminal activities and give Anambra people a new lease of life.

According to him, the squad would be on 24 hours patrol and surveillance of the major cities of Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi among other towns, warning that the state can no longer be safe haven for criminals

Who are these kidnappers?
Ekiti TUC boss, monarch’s daughter abducted
Ekiti TUC boss, monarch’s daughter abducted
By Odunayo OgunmolaPublished 4/08/2009NewsRating: Unrated
• Revenue board’s wife seized
Residents of Ekiti State are gripped by fear,following last Sunday’s killing of three policemen by robbers.

Besides, kidnappers have laid a siege to the state.

The Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr. Raphael Olaiya and Miss Adedoyin Ademileka, daughter of the Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Adeyemi Ademileka, have been kidnapped.

Although the Chairman of the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR), Mr. Femi Ajepe, who was abducted last weekend, has been released, but his wife is still in the kidnappers’ den.

The hoodlums allegedly released Ajepe to source for a N30 million ransom for his wife.

The 15-year-old princess, who was kidnapped with her mum, is also being held by the hoodlums, who are demanding a N10 million ransom from the monarch before his daughter’s release.

Olaiya, who works at the Ministry of Justice, was kidnapped in Ikole-Ekiti with his wife and a man simply identified as Chief Kayode Olusola. No ransom has been demanded by his abductors, it was learnt.

The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ado-Ekiti branch, Mr. Bamidele Omotoso, said Olaiya was kidnapped in Ikole-Ekiti.

The development, he said, prevented him (Olaiya) from appearing in a matter before an Ado-Ekiti High Court.

He said Olaiya was in Ikole to meet one of his clients in respect of a chieftaincy suit when the kidnappers seized him and the others.

Omotoso said he had been trying to establish contact with the TUC chief but all his lines were not going through.

Ajepe and his wife were seized on Saturday by kidnappers who were said to have trailed them from Akure, Ondo State.

The revenue board boss was released the next day. His wife is still being held by the kidnappers who are demanding a N30 million ransom.

Ajepe was sighted in his office and the Governor’s Office yesterday.

Oba Ademileka’s wife was released by the kidnappers who are still holding on to his daughter.

A member of the House of Assembly representing Ilawe, Hon. Ajewole Ashaolu, confirmed the incident.

The Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fabian Ojiri, confirmed all the incidents, except Ajepe’s, which, he said had not been reported to the police as at press time.

Some of the cases, he said could be traced to communal crises while others were allegedly stage-managed.

Ojiri said: "I can say that most of these abductions are as a result of internal crises in all these communities. Take, for instance, immediately the Olori of Alawe and her daughter were abducted, the kidnappers called the DPO in Ekiti South West Local Government Area to come to Ikere to pick her car.

"So, the question now is this: how did they know his number, if not for the fact that it was perpetrated by those in that community?

"I have put my men on the alert and by the grace of God, these evil doers will soon be unravelled and made to face the full weight of the law, because the security of lives and property is paramount and must be protected with utmost zeal."

Are these 50, fully armed abductors Igbos?

Militants kidnap Portuguese engineer in Ondo
Sunday, February 08, 2009 - By Femi Makinde, Akure



Rating : by 0 users Viewed 13 times





Militants operating in Ondo State have kidnapped an expatriate engineer working with Picolo Construction Company.

Mr. Luis Jose Rentad was reportedly abducted at Ajagba town in Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State on Friday while working at a site.

It was gathered that the abductors, numbering about 50 and fully armed with sophisticated weapons and explosive materials, stormed Ajagba in five motorised boats and forcibly took Rentad away to an unknown abode.

Rentad was said to be the only expatriate at the site as at the time the kidnappers struck.

The construction company is executing a road that will link Irele with Ese-Odo and Ilaje local government areas.

A source told our correspondent that the abductors had demanded a huge amount as ransom before they would release Rentad. He added that negotiations were still on as at Sunday.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Adeniran Aremu, told our correspondent that Rentad would be released very soon “as serious efforts were on the way to effect his release.”

It was learnt that the Chairman of the Irele Local Government, Chief Akintoye Albert, was also making moves to secure the release of the expatriate.

The road contract, which has come under heavy criticisms mostly by the Ilaje, was awarded by the state government but was paid for with the fund allocated to the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission.

Ilaje and Ese-Odo local government areas are the two councils which the OSOPADEC has the mandate to develop.

Some hoodlums last year sacked a police station in Irele and went away with all the arms and ammunition in the station. A militant group, however, came to the rescue of the police.

The militant group, after some weeks, recovered the arms and ammunition and returned them to the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Charles Dawodu

What are the names of those who abducted elechi Amadi? Are they from the south east?
http://news.onlinenigeria.com/templates/?a=334&z=12

Who are these kidnappers?

Ekiti monarch, college provost kidnapped, killed in auto crash
Cover Stories Jan 30, 2010 •Drivers too, Oni shocked

By Gbenga Ariyibi

Ado Ekiti – A first class monarch in Ekiti State, the Attah of Aiyede, Oba Adeleye Orisagbemi, and the acting provost, College of Education, Ikere Ekiti, Dr Gabriel Olowoyo, were, Saturday, kidnapped at different locations and killed in an auto-crash as the abductors tried to escape with them.

Sunday Vanguard reliably gathered that the monarch was coming from a function in Lagos with his son, Lanre and driver when they were kidnapped along Ilawe-Ado Ekiti Road.

The kidnappers, numbering seven, allegedly operated in a Liteace bus and raided as they passed through Ikole Ekiti until they got to Ilasa in Ekiti East Local Government area of the state where they kidnapped Olowoyo, his personal assistant and driver as they were returning from Abuja.

The kidnappers were said to have intercepted the provost’s Toyota Camry official car after buying fuel in the town.

The kidnappers were said to have ordered all their victims into their bus and drove towards Kabba Lokoja Road where, upon sighting a patrol team of the Federal Road Safety Commission [FRSC], the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree, killing the monarch, the acting provost and their drivers.

According to Ekiti State Commissioner for Environment, Otunba Segun Olanrewaju, who hails from Ayede Ekiti, the monarch’s son, Lanre, survived the accident, but suffered fracture.

He explained that the provost and the two aides were returning from Abuja where Olowoyo had gone for a meeting.

Ekiti State governor, Engr. Segun Oni, yesterday, described the death of the monarch, provost and their drivers as shocking.

Chief press secretary to the governor, Mr. Wale Ojo_Lanre, in a statement, said the governor was shocked when he received the news of the abduction and death.

over Stories Jan 30, 2010 •Drivers too, Oni shocked

By Gbenga Ariyibi

Ado Ekiti – A first class monarch in Ekiti State, the Attah of Aiyede, Oba Adeleye Orisagbemi, and the acting provost, College of Education, Ikere Ekiti, Dr Gabriel Olowoyo, were, Saturday, kidnapped at different locations and killed in an auto-crash as the abductors tried to escape with them.

Sunday Vanguard reliably gathered that the monarch was coming from a function in Lagos with his son, Lanre and driver when they were kidnapped along Ilawe-Ado Ekiti Road.

The kidnappers, numbering seven, allegedly operated in a Liteace bus and raided as they passed through Ikole Ekiti until they got to Ilasa in Ekiti East Local Government area of the state where they kidnapped Olowoyo, his personal assistant and driver as they were returning from Abuja.

The kidnappers were said to have intercepted the provost’s Toyota Camry official car after buying fuel in the town.

The kidnappers were said to have ordered all their victims into their bus and drove towards Kabba Lokoja Road where, upon sighting a patrol team of the Federal Road Safety Commission [FRSC], the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree, killing the monarch, the acting provost and their drivers.

According to Ekiti State Commissioner for Environment, Otunba Segun Olanrewaju, who hails from Ayede Ekiti, the monarch’s son, Lanre, survived the accident, but suffered fracture.

He explained that the provost and the two aides were returning from Abuja where Olowoyo had gone for a meeting.

Ekiti State governor, Engr. Segun Oni, yesterday, described the death of the monarch, provost and their drivers as shocking.

Chief press secretary to the governor, Mr. Wale Ojo_Lanre, in a statement, said the governor was shocked when he received the news of the abduction and death.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/01/30/ekiti-monarch-college-provost-kidnapped-killed-in-auto-crash/

Youths kidnap, release 5 traders
Yinka Oladoyinbo, Akure - 15.09.2008

Suspected armed youths in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State penultimate Saturday allegedly kidnapped five Igbo traders in the town and released them last Friday after spending nine days in captivity.


The victims, Okechukwu Okafor, Mike, Chigozie, Nwanekezi and Monday Agboh, were kidnapped on Saturday, September 6 and were released last Friday after a ransom was paid to the abductors by the Igbo community in Owo.


To this end, the Igbo community in the town has threatened to organise a peaceful protest in the town today to express its displeasure with the plight of the traders.


The members of the Igbo community, who protested to the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Charles Dawodu, after the release of their kinsmen, revealed how some militant youths had been tormenting them in the town


The chairman of the community, Mr. Eze Chidozie, explained that the youth had kidnapped 16 Igbo people in the last one year and ransoms were paid before they were released.


“These militant youths will just enter our stores, carry our goods and ask us to pay certain amount of money before they will release the items and any attempt to argue with them, they will just kidnap that person and take him to their cell.


“Thereafter, they will demand for ransom which starts from N100,000 and they will not release the victim until their demand is met,” he said.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/15092008/news/news11.html
_________________________
_________________________
5 Igbo traders abducted in Owo

Sunday Kudaisi, Akure


Kidnapping which is fast becoming a way of life in the riverine oil producing areas of Ondo State, at the weekend, spread to the ancient city of Owo, as suspected armed youths abducted five Igbo traders.

The victims who were alleged to have been kidnapped on September 6 were released at the weekend after an undisclosed huge ransom was allegedly paid by the Owo Igbo community.

Those kidnapped included Messrs Okechukwu Okafor, Mike, Chigozie Nwanekezi and Monday Agboh.

Chairman of the Igbo community in Owo Mr Eze Chidozie, said several Igbos operating in the town had closed down business, adding that they will not open for business until government security agents assure them that their lives are safe.

The kidnappers allegedly consented to release of the abducted people after the intervention of Olowo of Owo, Oba Olateru Olagbegi, the Ojomoluda of Ijebu Owo, Oba……Ojomo and some notable Owo chieftains.

The Igbo community in Owo, who however protested to the State police commissioner, Charles Dawodu, after the release of their kinsmen, narrated how the militant youths alleged to be palace boys, Eyin Ogbe boys and Iloro youths made life unbearable for the Igbo people living in Owo kingdom.

Chidozie told journalists in Akure that the militant youths had in the last one year, kidnapped 16 Igbo people and demanded huge sums of money which they paid.

He said: "They just enter our stores carry our goods and ask us to pay certain amount of money before they will release the items and any attempt to argue with them, they will just bundled that person and take him to their cell.

"Thereafter, they will be demanding for money ranging from N100, 000 and above and they will not release the victim until their demand is met."

The Igbo community also alleged that the ugly development had lead to the death of two traders, saying the militants have turned it to be their rights to be entering shops operated by the Igbo traders and threatening to kill or maim them if they (the Igbo traders) don’t meet their demands.

The target of the militants is especially those that are into timber business, electronics, medicines and motor spare parts.

The intimidation and harassment he said have been reported to the Olowo and Ojomoluda but that the looting spree of Igbo shops with impunity have not been stopped.

The chairman appealed to the state police commissioner to rescue the Igbo from the hands of the militants who had turned kidnapping and looting of Igbo store to source of their daily income.

Chiedozie noted that such actions will strain the cordial relationship between the Owo people and the Igbo traders in the town. Adding that all Igbo people in Ondo State would today (Monday) storm Owo and join their kinsmen on a peace protest against the activities of the militants.

Confirming the incident, the state Mr. Dawodu said the victims of the alleged kidnapped never reported the cases to the police.

Daudu said the victims had been keeping the information to themselves, noting that now that it’s getting out of their hands that they took the appropriate step of reporting to the police.

The police boss assured the people that the criminal incident would not recur, saying he had contacted the monarch of the ancient city and other prominent traditional chiefs to stamp out the heinous activities of the illegal militant youths.
http://www.champion-newspapers.com/news/article12_150908.htm

Ondo State PDP Chairman, Driver Kidnapped

Dr. Tayo Dairo
The Ondo State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Tayo Dairo and his Driver Mr Sola Abidoye were kidnapped at about 8pm on Saturday.

The kidnapping took place at Okada, Edo State along Benin-Ore express way by armed men who have demanded a ransom of N50million.

Dairo, also the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), was traveling from Iju-Odo in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State, after attending a PDP caucus meeting. He was heading towards Benin when he was seized by the kidnappers.

They were said to have followed him from the venue of the meeting to Ore, in Odigbo Local Government Area of the Sunshine State.

The Ondo State Government, in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor, Mr. Kolawole Olabisi, confirmed the incident.

He described the kidnap of Dr Tayo Dairo as shocking and another sad commentary on the increasing spate of insecurity in the nation.

While urging men of the security agencies to do all on their part to facilitate the immediate release of Dairo and bring the culprits to book, the government however cautioned against the politicization of the incident.

The statement described the kidnapping as unfortunate and a national malaise that must be arrested in the overall interest of innocent citizens and for the nation’s corporate image.

Assuring that no stone would be left unturned in its desire to ensure the safety of lives and property in the State, the government warned intending perpetrators of crime to steer clear as the state would not be a safe haven for criminals.

Speaking on the incident, Ondo State PDP Publicity Secretary, Chief Adeyemi Adedipe expressed regret over the incident, noting that it had become a recurrent threat to lives and property within the country’s political space.

He vowed that the party would leave no stone unturned in the efforts to secure the release of the chairman and urged the family to remain calm as contact had been established with the kidnappers and the chairman whom he said is hale and hearty.

A growing spate of kidnappings has increased the sense of insecurity in the nation, with security agencies seemingly powerless to combat it.

What are the names of these kidnappers?

Police launch manhunt for kidnappers of Ondo officials’ wives
By Oseheye Okwuofu Published 17/06/2009 News Rating: Unrated
A manhunt for the kidnappers of the wives of the Ondo State Commissioner for Lands and Housing, and a Permanent Secretary, Mrs Iyabo Basaru and Mrs Sola Alli has begun.

Assistant-Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 11 , Mr. Mohammed Yesuf, has arrived in the state to join the in the rescue effort.

Although the details of the meeting between Yesuf and Commissioner of Police Charles Dawodu were not known as at press time last night, it was learnt that the visit was necessitated by the disturbing report of the incident.

The AIG, who arrived at the State Police Command amid tight security, was said to have been shocked by the incident, and vowed to bring the abductors to justice.

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Kolawole Olabisi, said the government and security operatives were working round the clock to ensure that the women who were seized last Sunday are found.

He urged members of the public to discountenance the rumour making rounds that the state government had agreed to pay a N20 million ransom to the kidnappers.

The homes of the Basarus and Allis have been playing host to visitors who came to sympathise with the families over the unfortunate incident.

Mrs Basaru and Alli were kidnapped by six armed men on Sunday evening at the home of Basarus at Ajipowo, Akure.

Yes, some of the kidnappers are Igbos, but not all kidnappers in Nigeria are Igbo

Is Onovo an ignorant police head? Is he an incompetent police head. He is not ignorant or at most he is partly ignorant but he is seriously incompetent, To hide his incompetence, Onovo, has sacrified his own people in order to look good and be able to keep his job in the face of police incapability to stem crime in Nigeria. Igbos should make sure that Onovo is fired for his careless rants that all kidnappers in Nigeria are Igbos. Onovo has stoked the fire of Igbo hatred in the minds of other Nigerians who do not like Igbos in the first place.

Kidnapping started in the Niger Delta and today those pioneer kidnappers are enjoying federal government training. How many of those are Igbos? The kidnappers cursed by Oba of Benin and some of them relocated to Ibadan, how many of them are Igbos? Those kidnapping medical doctors in Edo are they Igbos? The kidnappers in Owo who kidnapped several Igbo traders, how many of them are Igbo? The kidnapppers operating in Akwa Ibom, how many of them are Igbo? Let Onovo mention the names of all the kidnappers in Nigeria, both those presently under police custoday, those already convicted and those pardoned and amnestied by the federal government.

For example, the kidnappers listed in the news story in the links below are not Igbos and there are hundreds of such incidences not involving Igbos on the internet
http://news.onlinenigeria.com/templates/?a=8221&z=12http://www.igbofocus.co.uk/html/akwa_ibom_state.html
http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/7938-2


All Igbos should unite to ask that Onovo be fired and replaced by a more competent cop, except he apologises

Aigbofa

Do you know the meaning of Yoruba? Ask the fulani jihadists who colonized you and gave you that name. What is the meaning of the igbo in your name A[b]IGBO[/b]FA? JACKASS.

One 1:
Yea i know right lol, And odudu republic was and always will be an imaginary friend, To bad the monkeys had to stay in the same country with the Gorillas, expecially the yurobas.


https://www.pointblanknews.com/Photonews/obj_baba_is_sleeping1.jpg

Do the faces in your photo belong to Yoruba people? Men!!! What depth (or is it height) of ugliness. Akala and Adedibu should join them there.

oyb,

If you arent a bonafide idiot, you would have noticed that the factory will be sighted in the 6 geopolitical regions of the country including the SE.

Kobojunkie:
WOW!!! How do these people make all this money?

Is that supposed to be a question or a mere retort? How he made his (so-called) money stares you in the face here: stealing.

Onlytruth:
Now I thoroughly convinced that Mr Fire = Good ol' Mekus.
@Igbo folks
Mekus remains our biggest asset here.

Good one MrMekusFire

WTF? For the last time, like I refuted Ileke-Idi, I am not mekus. But who da Bleep is that mekus guy anyways? Looks like he is some big intellectual baron out here on nairaland. Can you direct me to where I can find his contributions that so trip you and at the same time send the hateful maggot, bk/babe90, to hell fire?

This ole buruku called Akingbola was a pastor in Adeboye's church and once the president of Nigeria's bankers association. He is a crooked hypocrite. Gosh!

UK Court Freezes Akingbola’s N9bn Assets
By Emele Onu with agency report, 07.15.2010

Intercontinental Bank Plc yesterday won a United Kingdom court order freezing 83 million pounds ($127 million), about N19 billion, in assets held by former Vice-Chairman and chief executive officer of the bank Chief Erastus Akingbola.
According to Bloomberg News, the bank also got permission from a judge to add new claims to the case, alleging that Akingbola wrongfully directed it to buy its own shares, resulting in a loss.

The bank won the global-freeze order in January in a lawsuit accusing Akingbola of using the bank’s money to buy apartments in London and enrich entities he controlled.
The money was “misappropriated by the defendant and is due to the claimant,” the bank said in court papers, adding that Akingbola used the money in “breach of fiduciary duty.”

Companies outside Britain frequently use London courts to secure global freezes, including Glitnir Bank’s freeze this year on assets of former Baugur Group’s Chairman Jon Asgeir Johannesson.
Akingbola’s lawyer, Ed Crosse of Osborne Clarke in London , declined to comment.
But, the former CEO’s defence papers filed on March 19 said the alleged transactions were either valid or were mischaracterised in the lawsuit.

Akingbola said in the papers that “those claims are false, and have been made by the bank without any sincere belief that they are true.”
Bloomberg reported that the former Intercontinental Bank chief has only been able to pay half of his legal fees of about 1 million pounds. The judge gave Akingbola permission to sell $850,000 home in Ghana or two apartments in London worth a total of about one million pounds to begin paying the remaining costs.

Under the freeze order, Akingbola was supposed to be able to pay for his defence using an HSBC Holdings Plc trustee account on the Island of Guernsey in the English Channel.
The bank declined to release the funds after it was approached by Nigeria, possibly triggering another legal dispute, Akingbola’s lawyer said in court.

Lawyer to Intercontinental Bank, Segun Osuntokun of Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP in London, declined to comment.
Akingbola served as the Intercontinental Bank’s chief executive from 1989 until August last year when he was ousted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the huge non-performing loans of the bank and other infractions.

Following the August 14, 2009 release of the joint examination results on 10 banks that was carried out by CBN and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Intercon-tinental Bank was found in “grave financial situation” alongside four other banks – Union Bank, AfriBank, Oceanic Bank and FinBank.
The CBN sacked the executive management of the five banks, having indicted them for the mismanagement of the assets of the banks.

Akingbola evaded arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and physical prosecution at the law court by escaping abroad.
However, he was charged in absentia with 28-count offences of financial misappropriation, money laundering, financial malpractices, corrupt practices and other related offences at the Federal High Court, Lagos.

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mohammed Bello Adoke had last week forwarded an extradition request to the British Home Secretary to arrest and extradite Akingbola to Nigeria to face trial.
The request was consequent upon a request from EFCC.
The UK Home Office didn’t immediately have a comment on Nigeria’s extradition req-uest, Bloomberg said.

Adoke had explained that the request was made pursuant to the Extradition Act (Desig-nation of Part 2 Territories) Order 2003 (SI2003 No.3334) of UK .
The request was supported with an affidavit deposed to by a Deputy Superintendent of Police with EFCC, Ibeakaku Nkechi Rita, and a certification signed by Senior State Counsel of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Ahmed T. Almakura.

The AGF had prayed the Home Secretary to grant the request in the interest of justice, adding that “Nigeria will be grateful to the central authorities of the United Kingdom if the extradition request is granted in the interest of justice.”
Reacting to the extradition request, Akingbola’s Public Affairs Counsel, Charles Nwajagu, said the move to extradite the former Intercontinental boss was not new.

He said: “The submission was made to the British Home Secretary last year. But when the UK government reviewed the case, they decided not to go ahead with it because the claims could not be substantiated.”
Justice Tijani Abubakar of the Federal High Court in Lagos had last December ordered the freezing of the accounts of Akingbola for total offences amounting to the tune of N346billion and £10million.

Also ordered to be frozen by the court pending the final determination of the 28-count charge filed against him were the accounts belonging to Akingbola’s wife, his companies and those of his agents.
The anti-graft commission had sought among other things, the hearing of the originating motion within the shortest possible time to prevent Akingbola from dissipating the assets.

Intercontinental Bank PLC had obtained similar injunction from the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court, London dated December 24, 2009, freezing Akingbola’s assets worldwide up to the tune of £10.5million.

That prohibition included the following assets in particular: the £8,540,134.58 and £1,300,000.00 which were transferred to Fuglers Solicitors; any money held in an account of Fuglers Solicitors; the property on 26 Chester Terrace, London, NW1 4NB; the property on 65 Grove End Road, London, NW8 9NH; and the property on 8 Connaught Street, London, W2 2AH.

State of emergency: David Mark under fire
From Our reporter
Friday, July 16, 2010


Mark
Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on This Section
Senate President, David Mark, has come under fire for his call on the Federal Government to consider imposing a regime of emergency rule in the states of the South East where kidnapping has become intractable.

Reacting to the Senate President’s position yesterday, Chief Charles Ahize, the leader of Obigbo, a pan-Igbo socio-political group, said Mark was either anti-Igbo or has yet to appreciate the reality on ground as it related to the menace of kidnapping.

Ahize, who spoke in a telephone interview, wondered “why a high-ranking officer of the Federal Republic, as senior as the third citizen of this country, would display such utter lack of sensitivity and total ignorance over an issue that is at the heart of the continued co-existence of the various groups in the country.”

He asked: “On how many states of other zones, where they have made it a habit of wasting lives with gusto, and at regular intervals, has the Senate President called for the imposition of state of emergency?”

Is it not before our very eyes that all manners of religious bigots make several other states ungovernable? How many of those other places did they impose emergency rule? Why must it now be in the South-East that everyone is talking of imposing state of emergency, even as the authorities have yet to offer any sustainable solution to the problem at hand?”

According to Ahize, the solution to the problem of kidnapping in the South East zone, especially in Imo, Anambra and Abia, lies in both men and material. “Although it is a tough decision to make, I think the first step to solving the problem would be for the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, to post out all the policemen in those states”, he said.

The reason for this, he insists, is that the police know the kingpins of this menace and have become a part of the problem. “They are always shielding these people. They wine and dine with them everyday and are even on the payroll of some of them.

Ahize said it was only after the police leadership had addressed this problem of its personnel that it could then take up the issue of equipment and gadgets with which the policemen need to function effectively.
“Hoodlums can’t be roaming over the place with sophisticated weapons and you’ll be expecting the baton-bearing policemen to arrest them with his bare hands, Ahize said.”

He continued: “The whole place is swarming with police checkpoints and roadblocks but you discover that from one checkpoint to the next one – sometimes, just 25 metres away, there is no walkie talkie or any communication gadget to link them.”

He said the Federal Government, rather than consider the “insincere calls for the imposition of emergency rule,” should genuinely try to address the problem.” “Sometimes,” he pointed out, the solution could even lie in just fixing the federal road that cuts through an area.
“The solution can never be emergency rule,” Ahize stressed.

… He is an Igbo hater –Ohanaeze
By PETER ANOSIKE
Friday, July 16, 2010


Mark
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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The Igbo apex socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has described Senate President, David Mark as hater of Ndigbo for calling for a state of emergency to be declared in the South East.

Arising from an emergency meeting in Lagos on Thursday, the President of the Lagos State Chapter of the organisation, Chief Oliver Akubueze said that declaring state of emergency in the region was unnecessary as there was no breakdown of law and order.

He said while Ohanaeze was strongly opposed to the issue of kidnapping, the Senate president went too far in his recommendation.
Akubueze said the issue of kidnapping had become a national problem and that Federal and State governments should collaborate to eradicate it.

His words: “We, the members of Ohanaeze, condemn in its entirety the statement by Senate President that state of emergency should be declared in the South East geo-political zone because of the issue of kidnapping. While we strongly condemn the spate of kidnapping, we reject the call by David Mark because there is certainly no reason for that. There is no breakdown of law and order in the region.

There is no violence. Then what is the reason for the call for the state of emergency? As a statesman, David Mark should be above playing to the gallery or making statements that have the capacity to provoke anger in a people that has been managing themselves with fortitude.”

Akubueze noted that kidnapping was not peculiar to the Igbo as it is a national phenomena.
According to him, David Mark should come out in the open to declare his mind about the people of the region instead of hiding under kidnapping to make hate statements, adding that on several occasions there had been breakdown of law and order in the other parts of the country and he did not call for state of emergency.
Contributing, the leader of the Igbo in Ikeja, Eze Uche Dimgba expressed disappointment at the call by the senate president.

According to him, Igbo leaders were cooperating with law enforcement agencies to fish out the bad eggs in the region. Eze Dimgba said from origin, the Igbos were not known as kidnappers, adding that the state of the economy and the utter neglect of the region in terms of federal presence contributed to the crime in the region
He said David Mark should ask himself from his days in the military up till now, how many projects, federal governments had cited in the South East.

“David Mark is one of the problems of the South East region. When we talk of marginalization, his name is very conspicuous. We have not forgotten some of his statements as a military officer and a minister of communication. However, I know that Nigerians now know better. We are against kidnapping and we are having sleepless nights over it but it is only a hater of Ndigbo that can call for a state of emergency because there is simply no reason for it. When people are being killed like fowls in the other regions, what did he say? Was he sleeping then and is just waking up.”

Displaying a model of a 15-seater air-conditioned bus at the premises of the National Automotive Council in Abuja, on Wednesday, Ezugwu said that the plants would manufacture and assemble made in Nigeria automobiles in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

This is in line with the Igbo spirit of spreading their tentacles in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria

Nigerians abroad to establish N9bn car assembly plants

Emeka Ezekiel, Abuja


A group of Nigerians in the Diaspora have concluded plans to establish N9bn automobile assembly plants in the country under the patent called Zhope Automobiles.




The group is led by a professor of engineering systems and Director, Machining Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering Science and the Built Environment, London South Bank University, Prof. Emmanuel Ezugwu.

Displaying a model of a 15-seater air-conditioned bus at the premises of the National Automotive Council in Abuja, on Wednesday, Ezugwu said that the plants would manufacture and assemble made in Nigeria automobiles in the six geopolitical zones of the country.

He said, "This innovative project incorporates over 25 years, research and development experience in the area of advanced manufacturing technology for sustainable development.

"We are working with local resources on the ground to put forward a technology road map that will serve as a hub for vehicle export to other parts of West Arica."

Speaking during the event, the Chairman, Zhope Automobiles, Mr. Marcel Ezenwoye, noted that the project would commence by the first quarter of 2011, adding that the plants had been structured to create about 14, 000 jobs in Nigeria.

He said, "There is a projection that not less than 4,000 jobs will be created on the line function and over 10,000 in ancillary related services centres."

"The training policy of Zhope envisages the training of local engineers like the roadside mechanics, who will in turn train other middle level operators in Zhope automobile technology. For this reason, Zhope's technical partners from Europe and China will come to Nigeria for the training and technical support."

He noted that discussions were currently going on with the National Automotive Council for the domestication of Zhope brand in Nigeria.

Ezenwoye said, "We have a forecast of an average monthly sales of 100 number of buses and an annual gross of 1,200 number of buses. Zhope intends to initiate the KDK strategy with a view to reducing overall production cost per unit of the buses. Our target is to get up to 40-50 per cent local content to minimise importation by 2020 if we have the enabling environment for manufacturing."

http://odili.net/news/source/2010/jul/15/808.html

Bluetooth, your attention is needed here
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-479862.0.html

BlueTooth,
So You knew the Igbo intonation from the phone right? You also knew from the phone that the kidnappers are from Abia? You do have 'logic'.

Every evil is now being heaped on Abia. Even, a woman is raped in sokoto, the rapist is from Abia. Laughable.

BLUETOOTH, How did you know they are Igbos? Give a straight answer. Thanks.