₦airaland Forum

Just In: Court Orders Speedy Trial of 5 Suspected Kidnappers of NYSC Members In Imo State. Suspects to remain in DSS custody.

A high Court of Imo State, on Thursday, ordered the speedy trial of five persons accused of kidnapping 20 prospective National Youth Service Corps members on Independence Day.

The court set aside four days, starting from 27th October, to the 30th of the month for continuation of the trial,
urging prosecution and defence counsel to cooperate with the court to ensure judgment is delivered before January 2027.

Presiding Judge, Justice Emeka Orafu, made the appeal during proceedings in the cases involving three defendants accused of abducting prospective NYSC members and two others facing charges over a separate kidnapping case.

During the hearing, an officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), Ikem Emmanuel, testified on the investigation that led to the arrest of the three defendants in the NYSC-related case.

He told the court that the investigation involved intelligence gathering, data analysis, record checks, interviews and statements obtained from the defendants, victims and witnesses.

He stated that an identification parade was conducted, during which victims and witnesses identified the defendants as members of the criminal gang that kidnapped them.

The officer further told the court that one of the defendants, Usman Aliyu, admitted in his statement to participating in the operation and allegedly disclosed that 11 persons were involved.

The investigator maintained that the defendants’ statements were obtained in the presence of their legal representatives and DSS legal officers.

In a related proceeding involving two other defendants, the DSS officer also gave evidence on the investigation, stating that their statements were taken in the presence of their lawyers and DSS legal officers.

Following the proceedings, Justice Orafu adjourned the cases to October 27, 28, 29 and 30 for continuation of hearing, and ordered that the five defendants remain in the custody of the DSS.

Source: https://vigil360.com.ng/article/court-orders-speedy-trial-of-5-suspected-kidnappers-of-nysc-members-in-imo-state-suspects-to-remain-in-dss-custody-mvjnhpmb

A retired officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), Nwaogu Ihechimere Ezeakolam, has apologized to the Director General, Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, and the association of retired DSS officers, for leaking an internal matter to an online platform, Saharareporters.
The retired officer has written Saharareporters, demanding a retraction of the report which he said was full of inaccuracies. He gave the media platform seven days to retract the report or face legal action.
The retired officer wrote Saharareporters through his lawyer, Edmund C. Ben, principal partner of Lawminds Associates. The letter was dated October 16, 2026.

Penned the law firm, "We write to express our profound concern regarding the publication made by your online publication on 29th June 2026, wherein the exalted office of the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and ARODSSON were denigrated.

"While we recognize the fundamental role of the media in promoting transparency, accountability, and public discourse, we also emphasize the importance of responsible journalism, factual accuracy, fairness, and the right of individuals to respond to publications that may adversely affect their reputation," added the law firm.
Ezeakolam's lawyers charged Saharareporters to publish an "official response by our client addressing the claims and assertions contained in the publication of 29th June 2026."
Additionally, the law firm told the media platform to "retract any inaccurate or unsubstantiated claims," stressing, "where any statements in the publication are found to be factually inaccurate, misleading, or unsupported by verifiable evidence, we demand their prompt correction and retraction."
The retired officer's lawyers expressed optimism that Saharareporters would cooperate, however, cautioning,
"should your newspaper fail to respond appropriately within 7 days from the receipt of this letter on you, we reserve the right to consider further lawful steps available to address the matter."
In Ezeakolam's letter to the DG, dated September 22, 2026, the retired officer explained:
"I write this letter with deep regret and humility, to apologise for my decision to escalate and publish an internal matter on an online media space. I acknowledge that making such publication was a serious error in judgment and I regret the consequences."
He continued, "It was never my intention to cause any harm to your esteemed self or the exalted office of the DGSS; or to expose you to legal difficulties. I recognize that internal matters are sensitive in nature and should not have been made available publicly.
"I humbly and sincerely apologize for the harm and embarrassment that my actions may have caused you and your reputable office. I assure you that I have learned a painful and important lesson from this incident.
"My allegiance is and will remain wholly to the Federal Government of Nigeria as a retired officer. I have never participated and will never participate in any act that is inimical to the security of this nation," he wrote, concluding, "I plead with you sir, to temper justice with mercy and resolve the matter internally.

The Department of State Services (DSS), on Tuesday in Imo State, arraigned three persons accused of the Independence day kidnapping of 20 prospective Youth Corp members in the state.
Also arraigned were two other persons accused of kidnapping four persons in the state, four days after the Independence Day abduction.

The five defendants face charges of conspiracy, hostage-taking and unlawful possession of firearms.

Three of them, Usman Aliyu, twenty-five, also known as Chonge; 21-year-old Babangida Aliyu, and 23-year-old Mohammed Ali aka Smallie Pepper, are specifically charged with the kidnap of the prospective corps' members.

They were charged with conspiracy to hostage taking punishable under Section 6 of the Imp State Prohibition of Hostage Taking and Related Offences Law No. 4 of 2009.

The DSS prosecutors accuse the trioka and others still at large of abducting the victims along the Owerri–Mgbidi–Onitsha Expressway on Independence day.
They were travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. They were rescued after seven days.
According to the charge sheet filed at the Imo State High Court, Oru Judicial Division, Mgbidi, the defendants were accused of unlawfully possessing three AK-47 rifles, four magazines, a pistol and eighty-one rounds of live ammunition.

In a related case, 27-year-old Aminu Haliru and 20-year-old Tange Ibrahim aka Jijji, are accused of abducting four people around Owerri and Mgbidi on October 4.

Prosecutors allege that Haliru, Ibrahim and others still at large collected eight million naira to release the four victims.

They also face a charge of unlawfully possessing one AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun.

The prosecution listed N1.8 million as money recovered in the second case, while a DSS investigator and the victims are listed as witnesses in both cases.

The claim by online publisher and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the January 16, 2027 election, Omoyele Sowore, that Igbokoda is in Ese-Odo Local Government Area (LGA) of Ondo State has caused a stir, with many questioning his knowledge of the geography of his home state.

On Monday October 5, a Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 military aircraft crashed into a swamp in Igbokoda, Ilaje LGA of Ondo State, killing all 25 people on board.
In a post on X, Sowore, who hails from Ondo State, disclosed that he visited the crash site on Friday, four days after the accident.

"I took a Marine Police boat to the scene of the tragic Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft crash in Igbokoda, Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State, to personally assess the situation," Sowore posted on his verified X handle @sowore.
The post by Sowore, a native of Kiribo, in Ese-Odo which borders Ilaje LGA, caused a stir on the Internet as netizens questioned his knowledge of his native Ondo State."

Responding, one X user @okorisag posted, "'Igbokoda, Ese-Odo local government.' A presidential candidate who isn't familiar with his state and local government. Is Igbokoda not in Ilaje Local Government? This shows you aren't a grassroots politician and are not really doing the necessary work to win, but are just enjoying the visibility that comes with contesting."
Another X user @astracoth posted,
"He’s not even familiar with his own area LGAs but want to govern Nigeria."
Yet another X user, @Piousab posted, "Disgraceful that a presidential candidate and acclaimed son of the soil does not know that Igbokoda is in Ilaje Local Govt and not Ese-Odo LGA. You are just a Content Creator/SUG President."
@WF_Sunky posted, "Igbokoda is in Ilaje. It is Igbekebo that’s in Ese-Odo LGA."
A chieftain of the National Democratic Party (NDC) accused the AAC presidential candidate of copying his own presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi.
He said, "This is what happens when you are not original, trying to copy others. Two days after the crash, Obi visited the Nigerian Air Force headquarters in Abuja, to condole with the NAF leadership and sign the condolence register.
"Not to be outdone, Sowore, who is from the same Ondo State, decides to raise the bar by visiting the site in a police marine boat. The same Police he has been calling ',useless'.
"Comically, Sowore posts that he visited the crash site in Igbokoda, Ese-Odo LGA, instead of Ilaje LGA. A man who studied Geography at the University of Lagos, yet doesn't understand the geography of a twin LGA in his home state, is taking about leading Nigeria, a county of 774 LGAs," declared the party chieftain, stressing, "this is a joke carried too far.