OVER one hundred suspected kidnappers face the
death sentence in Edo State following the signing
into law of the state kidnapping law by Governor
Adams Oshiomhole. Kidnapping in the state
became worrisome after hoodlums descended
on the state to a level that even teachers were being kidnapped for ransom. Lagos lawyer, Chief
Mike Ozekhome, a Benin High Court Judge, Justice
Daniel Okungbowa, a chieftain of the APC,
Athanacious Ugbome, were among those who
suffered from the kidnappers onslaught along the
Auchi-Abuja road, in Edo State. It was later learnt that most of the evil perpetrated
along that road was executed by a gang led by a
kidnap kingpin, Kelvin Oniarah Eziegbe, who is
currently facing trial in Abuja. Ordinarily,
Oshiomhole believes very strongly in the sanctity
of life but on 18 October, shortly after one of the bloody kidnap operations, the governor had no
choice than to exercise his constitutional powers
as governor, by signing into law the Kidnap
Prohibition Law as amended by the state House of
Assembly. On that fateful day, Oshiomhole was in his office
attending to state issues, when the news filtered
in that those attending Esan Professionals
Conference, scheduled for Uromi, were kidnapped
while one was killed almost at the spot where
Ozekhome was kidnapped. Sunday Vanguard learnt that the suspected kidnappers, who
reportedly wore police uniforms with bullet proof
vests, stopped the victims and informed them
that they were under arrest. They were said to
have ordered Mrs Ekhomu and her children to a
vehicle while the chief executive officer of Thomas White Plc. Mr. Emmanuel Obiyan, and Dr Ekhomu,
a security expert, were pushed to another vehicle. The kidnappers headed towards Sapele. Sunday
Vanguard learnt however that on realizing that
their captors were kidnappers and not policemen
after he inquired about the police station they
were being taken to, Dr Ekhomu held one of the
kidnappers with a gun and there was a fight. In the process, Dr. Ekhomu suffered a gunshot on
his hand but he managed to escape through the
bush.
Apparently angered by the Ekhomu resistance, the
kidnappers rained bullets on Obiyan and
abandoned his body. The gang that held Mrs.
Ekhomu and her children ran into trouble when
men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta
intercepted them around Sapele and rescued them. The body of Obiyan was deposited at the
Irrua Specialist Hospital. The sad incident occurred
on Thursday, 17 October. Oshiomhole, visibly angry, came to office at about
7:30am the following day, and called for the
amended kidnap law file. While this was going
on, appeal came to the state government to flood
the Auchi-Abuja road with soldiers. Oshiomhole
was particularly touched that Esan sons and daughters, who came home from Europe,
America and other parts of the world for a
meeting, were either kidnapped or shot dead. At about 11am, the governor signed the kidnap
bill into law and urged all those concerned to
ensure full implementation. The law prescribed
death penalty for kidnappers.Speaking while
signing the law, the governor said government
would do everything within its powers to ensure the safety of lives and property in the state. Oshiomhole disagreed with those who argue that
kidnapping is a result of unemployment, saying
“no one should try to trivialise very complex
issues”. He said: “We need coordinated efforts to
deal with the problem of crime in Nigeria”,
lamenting that the governor does not have the power to deal with any security officer who might
have misbehaved or through whose negligence
the people might have been exposed to any
criminal act. “At best, we are able to provide resources and
equipment as we have tried to do within our
limited resources in spite of the fact that the
language, the letter and the spirit of the
constitution is clear that security matters are
federal issues which is why the federal government continues to have monopoly of the
police and of all the armed forces and the state
security services. None of these comes under the control of the
state government. I am convinced as a matter of
fact that the Federal Government is doing its best
to arm and equip the police and the other security
agencies. There are no quick-fix solutions to the
issue of crime. Criminals are not in limited number that you exterminate and go and sleep”,
he said. Sunday Vanguard learnt however that over one
hundred suspected kidnappers have been
arrested since the passage of the law. Meanwhile,
fifteen suspected armed robbers and fourteen
child defilers were paraded on Thursday by the
Edo Police Commissioner, Mr Foluso Adebanjo. He said the parade of the 29 suspected criminals
amongst whom was a 24 year-old Ifeanyi
Nwongi, who allegedly defiled a girl of one year
and eight months, was part of the efforts by the
command to wipe criminals out in the state. Items recovered from the suspects include five
vehicles, one AK47 rifle, three English pump
action guns, three cut to size double barrel guns,
five locally made pistols, 103 AK 47 rifle live
ammunition, 505 live ammunition and other
dangerous weapons. Adebanjo explained that 15 suspected kidnappers were arrested in different
parts of the state. He said: “Operatives of the
command, on routine patrol/ stop and search,
stopped one Nissan Vannette bus for a routine
check, search conducted on the occupants of the
bus led to the recovery of arms and ammunition and arrest of two suspects. Investigations however revealed that the suspects
are notorious kidnappers who have been
terrorising the state and were on a kidnap
mission before they were arrested”.He further
narrated that a crack team of detectives who
acted on “credible intelligence” arrested one Osarumwense Ogbeide and Osahon Uhunamure
at Aduwawa for alleged involvement in various
kidnapping cases which occurred in the state,
adding: “The suspects who have been on the
command’s wanted list are notorious criminals
who took part in the kidnapping cases reported on the 29/05/2011, 01/02/2012 and 09/02/2012
in the state. The arrested suspects who confessed to the crime
led the operatives to Idun-Ehigie community
where a 60-year-old man, Raphael Noruwa, was
arrested and cone Jojeff Magnum pump action
gun was recovered from him. As you can see
kidnapping has reduced in Edo and it was as a result of the strategy we adopted which is
working”. Romancing baby However, 24-year-old Nwonga, who allegedly
defiled the 20 months old baby girl, told Sunday
Vanguard: “I held the baby and was playing with
her and had erection and sperm was now
released on her body. That was what happened; it
is not as if I defiled her”. However, Nwonga later confessed that he defiled the child, attributing it
to the work of devil. The mother of the child, who
took the matter to the police described the
suspect as a liar. “ He is my tenant but I never
knew that people could be that wicked. He defiled
this baby and that was why I came to the police”.
death sentence in Edo State following the signing
into law of the state kidnapping law by Governor
Adams Oshiomhole. Kidnapping in the state
became worrisome after hoodlums descended
on the state to a level that even teachers were being kidnapped for ransom. Lagos lawyer, Chief
Mike Ozekhome, a Benin High Court Judge, Justice
Daniel Okungbowa, a chieftain of the APC,
Athanacious Ugbome, were among those who
suffered from the kidnappers onslaught along the
Auchi-Abuja road, in Edo State. It was later learnt that most of the evil perpetrated
along that road was executed by a gang led by a
kidnap kingpin, Kelvin Oniarah Eziegbe, who is
currently facing trial in Abuja. Ordinarily,
Oshiomhole believes very strongly in the sanctity
of life but on 18 October, shortly after one of the bloody kidnap operations, the governor had no
choice than to exercise his constitutional powers
as governor, by signing into law the Kidnap
Prohibition Law as amended by the state House of
Assembly. On that fateful day, Oshiomhole was in his office
attending to state issues, when the news filtered
in that those attending Esan Professionals
Conference, scheduled for Uromi, were kidnapped
while one was killed almost at the spot where
Ozekhome was kidnapped. Sunday Vanguard learnt that the suspected kidnappers, who
reportedly wore police uniforms with bullet proof
vests, stopped the victims and informed them
that they were under arrest. They were said to
have ordered Mrs Ekhomu and her children to a
vehicle while the chief executive officer of Thomas White Plc. Mr. Emmanuel Obiyan, and Dr Ekhomu,
a security expert, were pushed to another vehicle. The kidnappers headed towards Sapele. Sunday
Vanguard learnt however that on realizing that
their captors were kidnappers and not policemen
after he inquired about the police station they
were being taken to, Dr Ekhomu held one of the
kidnappers with a gun and there was a fight. In the process, Dr. Ekhomu suffered a gunshot on
his hand but he managed to escape through the
bush.
Apparently angered by the Ekhomu resistance, the
kidnappers rained bullets on Obiyan and
abandoned his body. The gang that held Mrs.
Ekhomu and her children ran into trouble when
men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta
intercepted them around Sapele and rescued them. The body of Obiyan was deposited at the
Irrua Specialist Hospital. The sad incident occurred
on Thursday, 17 October. Oshiomhole, visibly angry, came to office at about
7:30am the following day, and called for the
amended kidnap law file. While this was going
on, appeal came to the state government to flood
the Auchi-Abuja road with soldiers. Oshiomhole
was particularly touched that Esan sons and daughters, who came home from Europe,
America and other parts of the world for a
meeting, were either kidnapped or shot dead. At about 11am, the governor signed the kidnap
bill into law and urged all those concerned to
ensure full implementation. The law prescribed
death penalty for kidnappers.Speaking while
signing the law, the governor said government
would do everything within its powers to ensure the safety of lives and property in the state. Oshiomhole disagreed with those who argue that
kidnapping is a result of unemployment, saying
“no one should try to trivialise very complex
issues”. He said: “We need coordinated efforts to
deal with the problem of crime in Nigeria”,
lamenting that the governor does not have the power to deal with any security officer who might
have misbehaved or through whose negligence
the people might have been exposed to any
criminal act. “At best, we are able to provide resources and
equipment as we have tried to do within our
limited resources in spite of the fact that the
language, the letter and the spirit of the
constitution is clear that security matters are
federal issues which is why the federal government continues to have monopoly of the
police and of all the armed forces and the state
security services. None of these comes under the control of the
state government. I am convinced as a matter of
fact that the Federal Government is doing its best
to arm and equip the police and the other security
agencies. There are no quick-fix solutions to the
issue of crime. Criminals are not in limited number that you exterminate and go and sleep”,
he said. Sunday Vanguard learnt however that over one
hundred suspected kidnappers have been
arrested since the passage of the law. Meanwhile,
fifteen suspected armed robbers and fourteen
child defilers were paraded on Thursday by the
Edo Police Commissioner, Mr Foluso Adebanjo. He said the parade of the 29 suspected criminals
amongst whom was a 24 year-old Ifeanyi
Nwongi, who allegedly defiled a girl of one year
and eight months, was part of the efforts by the
command to wipe criminals out in the state. Items recovered from the suspects include five
vehicles, one AK47 rifle, three English pump
action guns, three cut to size double barrel guns,
five locally made pistols, 103 AK 47 rifle live
ammunition, 505 live ammunition and other
dangerous weapons. Adebanjo explained that 15 suspected kidnappers were arrested in different
parts of the state. He said: “Operatives of the
command, on routine patrol/ stop and search,
stopped one Nissan Vannette bus for a routine
check, search conducted on the occupants of the
bus led to the recovery of arms and ammunition and arrest of two suspects. Investigations however revealed that the suspects
are notorious kidnappers who have been
terrorising the state and were on a kidnap
mission before they were arrested”.He further
narrated that a crack team of detectives who
acted on “credible intelligence” arrested one Osarumwense Ogbeide and Osahon Uhunamure
at Aduwawa for alleged involvement in various
kidnapping cases which occurred in the state,
adding: “The suspects who have been on the
command’s wanted list are notorious criminals
who took part in the kidnapping cases reported on the 29/05/2011, 01/02/2012 and 09/02/2012
in the state. The arrested suspects who confessed to the crime
led the operatives to Idun-Ehigie community
where a 60-year-old man, Raphael Noruwa, was
arrested and cone Jojeff Magnum pump action
gun was recovered from him. As you can see
kidnapping has reduced in Edo and it was as a result of the strategy we adopted which is
working”. Romancing baby However, 24-year-old Nwonga, who allegedly
defiled the 20 months old baby girl, told Sunday
Vanguard: “I held the baby and was playing with
her and had erection and sperm was now
released on her body. That was what happened; it
is not as if I defiled her”. However, Nwonga later confessed that he defiled the child, attributing it
to the work of devil. The mother of the child, who
took the matter to the police described the
suspect as a liar. “ He is my tenant but I never
knew that people could be that wicked. He defiled
this baby and that was why I came to the police”.
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