₦airaland Forum

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

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.

Certainly, the submission of our Security Agencies on the rescued of the 20 NYSC Members appear factual than Sahara Reporters claims. Foreign base media house like Sahara Reporters should do more diligent in verifying information's before putting it on the public space, they could be some kind of financial transaction between the families of the rescued NYSC Members and some criminal group before their released which may not be the reason for their freedom.

Several traditional rulers in Katsina State have commended the Military, Department of State Services (DSS) and local vigilante groups for foiling another attempt by armed bandits to carry out a mass abduction in Bakori Local Government Area of the state.

he state government had the penultimate week hailed the security agencies for foiling a mass abduction of persons in Gidan Iyado, Kakumi Ward of the same LGA. The state government disclosed that 18 bandits were killed by a combined security team of the military, DSS and the community watch corps.

Speaking on Thursday, the district head of a major town in Bakori LGA thanked the security agencies and local vigilantes for foiling another mass abduction in the LGA.

"We thank the Almighty Allah for the continued collaboration amongst the security agencies, traditional institutions and local communities. This has helped to stop criminal elements from attacking farming communities in our domain," he said.

Another district head disclosed that armed bandits, allegedly led by one Rabiu and operating from the camp of Alhaji Musa Duki in Mununu Forest, Faskari LGA of Katsina State, attempted to abduct residents of Unguwan Hudu village in Kakumi Ward, Bakori LGA.

The traditional ruler said the attempt was thwarted following intelligence received by the DSS, which prompted security operatives to block the route of the bandits.

He continued, "Apparently suspecting that a security operation had condoned off their attack route to the town, the bandits aborted their mission and fled. In the process, they abandoned 18 kidnap victims in their custody. The victims comprised 14 females and four males, including children and toddlers."

He continued, "From the trail of blood along their fleeing path, it is believed that at least seven of the fleeing bandits sustained gunshot injuries," stressing, "One of the rescued victims, 14-year-old Zainab Ashiru, also sustained a gunshot injury and was admitted at the General Hospital, Bakori."

The Thursday operation came less than two weeks after security forces foiled an attempt by bandits to kidnap residents of Gidan Iyado, Kakumi Ward, in the same Bakori LGA.

Read more: https://vigil360.com.ng/article/katsina-traditional-rulers-hail-military-dss-for-foiling-another-mass-abduction-by-bandits-muqngin6