Security File with Enani Benson
SEVEN CABLE THIEVES NABBED BY POLICE IN LAGOS ISLAND
About seven armed gang men who specialise in stealing cables have been arrested by the Lagos State Police in Lagos Island. They were picked up for stealing cables worth over N50 million from the abandoned Savannah Bank building along Broad Street, Lagos.
The suspected cable thieves were arrested on a tip off by some residents of the area following weeks of persistent vandalism of the building. They also allegedly stole some cables belonging to NITEL and other telecommunications companies in the area.
Out of the seven suspected cables thieves arrested, four were said to have come from Luther Street and the rest from Lafiaji area of Lagos Island.
A police source told WESTERN POST that some of the suspects had made useful statements to the police at Area “A” Police Command, Lion Building Lagos.
The police have also recovered cables, cutlasses, burglary tissues and charms from the suspects, while a list of others suspects, who had escaped, has been compiled by the police in order to apprehend them.
It is believed that the suspects were working in collaboration with some hawkers and traders around Broad Street in Lagos.
It was also learnt that Supol Hakeem Mohammed (a.k.a Skoda) of Area “A” police command who led the team that arrested the suspected cable thieves have also carried out raids on various black spots which hoodlums and criminals use as hideouts.
Residents in the area have commended the efforts of the police particularly the Area Commander of Area “A” Command Imonieh Edgar, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, in the past three weeks to weed out miscreants and other criminals in the area.
When contacted, Lagos State Police Command Spokesperson Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed the arrest of the seven suspected cable thieves, saying the people would be charged to court after a proper investigation is carried out on the matter.
PDP CHIEFTAIN, BURUJI KASHAMU, MUST FACE TRIAL FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING, U.S. COURT RULES
A United State District Court has denied a motion by Buruji Kashamu, a chieftain of the Peoples’ Democratic Party in Ogun State, to quash his indictment for smuggling drugs into the U.S.
According to a copy of the ruling obtained by Sahara Reporters, Judge Charles Norgle held that Mr. Kashamu, a close ally of President Goodluck Jonathan, had done everything within his power, including document forgery as well as political pressure, to frustrate his trial in the U.S.
Mr. Kashamu and 14 others were, 1998, charged by a federal grand jury for their alleged involvement in an international conspiracy to smuggle heroin into the US.
But the politician, a major campaigner for President Goodluck Jonathan in the South-west, allegedly fled to the U.K. where repeated efforts by the U.S. to extradite him failed, before he returned to Nigeria.
“Kashamu’s actions in the London extradition proceeding created a paper and testimonial trail that his brother, and not himself, was the defendant charged in the instant case,” Judge Norgle said in his 17-page ruling.
“Kashamu’s ability to manipulate Nigerian officials, or at least his ability to create forged documents, was also apparent from the proceedings. This maneuvering, and the wall of protection Kashamu built around himself, made it clear that efforts to extradite Kashamu from Nigeria would be futile.
“It was testimony and evidence produced by the Nigerian government, which led to Kashamu’s release in England. Furthermore, Kashamu’s status as a political figure in Nigeria and his relationship with Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan likewise suggest that an extradition attempt would have been futile,” the judge added.
In 2009, Mr. Kashamu had, through a local counsel in the U.S., filed a motion to quash the arrest warrant and to dismiss the indictment against him on the ground that the English court had found that he was not the one charged with smuggling drugs into the US.
Two years later, he filed a follow-up motion arguing that his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial had been violated and that the U.S. government had violated his Fifth Amendment right to due process because it lacked personal jurisdiction over him.
In his ruling, Judge Norgle noted that the Seventh Circuit cautions against ‘broad pronouncements’ with respect to the Constitution’s ‘extraterritorial application.’
“While Kashamu could raise these arguments if he was present in the United States, his continued presence in Nigeria weakens his claim to Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights,” the judge said.
The court also blamed Mr. Kashamu for the 15-year delay in his trial in the U.S., attributing it to “the damage he created to the government’s ability to extradite him from Nigeria.”
According to the U.S. prosecution team, during Mr. Kashamu’s extradition proceedings in the U.K., he claimed that he was a co-operator with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, and that his brother, Adewale, was the drug trafficker wanted by the United States.
However, while the prosecution received letters and affidavits from the NDLEA denying having a relationship with Mr. Kashamu; the suspect produced a letter from the same agency stating that he had “been very helpful to us in the area of fighting crime and we are surprised that he is being incarcerated on wrong accusations of drug trafficking in the UK.”
“When the (US) Government inquired about this inconsistent letter with the NDLEA, it was informed that the letter is ‘bogus’ and that ‘the contents are absolutely false.’
“This pattern of conflicting evidence and witness testimony continued throughout the extradition proceeding. Ultimately, the magistrate relied upon Kashamu’s evidence and released him,” the judge said.
Ngozi Braide’s Name Used by Fraudsters on Facebook
The Lagos State Police Command has recently drawn the attention of the general public to the various activities of impostors who are currently operating with about five different facebook accounts in the name “Ngozi Braide”. They are also using and displaying her picture to make their unsuspecting victims believe they are dealing with the right person.
The fraudsters, the command said in a statement, had equally succeeded in duping innocent citizens of their hard-earned money by luring them into believing that jobs could be offered to them by the PPRO.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer Ngozi Braide does not operate any facebook or twitter account. The perpetrator of this devilish acts should desist henceforth or face the wrath of the law as this is not only an embarrassment to the Nigeria Police Force but is also seen as a criminal offence, which is punishable by law”.
The state Commissioner of Police Manko said his office “has set up a high powered investigation body to finish out the culprit“.
He also warned the general public to beware of falling prey to the antics of criminals and fraudsters impersonating the Lagos State PPRO and other prominent citizens
NIGERIANS LOSE OVER N500M TO FRAUDSTER OVER ON-LINE SHOPPERS.
The trend of buying goods and availing services online is fast becoming the vogue among Nigerians just as the frauds associated with it are on the rise.
Already, records at both the Force Criminal Investigations Department and Special Fraud Unit, all in Ikoyi, Lagos show that over N500million worth of goods are lost annually to the crooks that have lately introduced various schemes to swindle their clients.
Various authoritative police sources approached by WESTERN POST confirmed receipts of hundreds of complaints, bordering on criminal invasion, leading to the loss of goods and cash running into several millions of naira, were reported annually by victims.
It was further revealed that detectives assigned to carry out investigations into such cases could do little, because the criminals involved reside in other parts of the world.
In Lagos State alone, over 100 cases, involving online shopping frauds are being handled by the courts, with little or no tangible result. Some financial institutions are also said to be hands in gloves with the fraudsters who often operate as syndicate groups.
A source at FCID, Alagbon Close, whose department handles most of the cases, said several letters had been written to some of the countries, seeking co-operation without any response”.
With so many cases of online frauds coming to light every other day, it is surprising to see people go on an online shopping spree without paying heed to their security, says Frank Mba, an Assistant Commissioner of police, who is the force Spokesperson.
Mba said shoppers needed to carry out transaction from a secured personal computer (PC); ensuring that the PC being used for shopping online and related transaction is up to date with security measure s, like anti-virus software and firewall. This measure, if strictly adhered to “will help keep those malicious programs out of transaction, “he said.
