Mob kill man, wife, son for providing bandits information

 

A man, his wife, and son were killed by a mob in Zangon Aya community, Igabi local government area of Kaduna State for allegedly giving information to bandits.

The State Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Kaduna State, Samuel Aruwan, yesterday, disclosed that security agencies reported the killings to the state government.

According to the report, Abdullahi Mohammed Gobirawa, his wife Binta Abdullahi and his son Hassan Abdullahi were killed when a mob stormed their home Monday afternoon.

“The mob action was in response to the trio’s suspected collaboration with bandits, especially concerning recent kidnappings in the area. After killing the trio, the mob looted and burnt their home.”

While “receiving the reports, Governor Nasir El-Rufai expressed his sadness and deep worry at the violent actions of the citizens, and strongly condemned the extra-judicial killings. He stressed that lawful means alone should be adopted in confronting suspicions of criminality, as the destructive practice of self-help would only result in greater harm.”

“The governor directed security agencies to conduct thorough investigations into the incident and urged citizens to maintain order. He cautioned against stereotyping of any sort and appealed for consistent recourse to the constituted agencies. lnvestigations into the incident are in progress,” he said.

I did not kill my wife, daughter,  Danish murder suspect tells court

A Danish National, Peter Nielsen, accused of killing his Nigerian musician wife, Zainab, also known as Alizee, and his three and half year old daughter, Petra, yesterday told a Lagos High Court, sitting at Tafa Balewa Square, that he did not kill them.

He told Justice Bolanle Okikolu-Ighile while giving evidence in his defence as the 10th defendant’s witness.

Nielsen was accused of killing his Nigerian wife, Zainab, a singer and their three and half-year-old daughter, on April 5, 2018.

The defendant was led in evidence by his counsel, Mr Olasupo Shashore SAN, who told the court that the evidence of the defendant was very crucial to his defence.

At the resumed hearing, of the trial yesterday, Neilsen narrated to the court that he met the late wife when he came to Nigeria as an investor in Agriculture.

The defendant said that he loved his late wife Zainab and they lived a very active and happy life.

“I did not kill my wife and our daughter, Petra, we had a fantastic relationship.

“Her dedication and perseverance to hard work drew me closer to her and she worked hard to achieve her dreams,” the defendant said.

Nielsen said before he got very close to Zainab, he informed her that he was married in Denmark with two adult children.

When Zainab became pregnant, her mother (Pastor Ruth Genesis) persuaded me to marry her so she would not have a child outside wedlock.

“I told her I would marry Zainab because of the love I have for her not because of pregnancy.

“On June 21, 2014, we married at Ikoyi registry,” Nielsen said.

He also told the court that the three witnesses who gave evidence in court as Zainab family members were not at their wedding.

At that point, the defendant’s counsel told the court that “there is a piece of evidence that I need to tender before the court but it is not here.

“I need a couple of days to get the evidence. I pray the court for an adjournment to enable me to get this piece of evidence.”

The Prosecutor, Mr Adebayo Haroun, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, did not object to the adjournment.

Justice Okikolu-Ighile adjourned the case to November 9 for further hearing.

She said, “the defendant is further remanded at the Ikoyi prison”.

The Lagos State Government had accused the defendant of smothering Zainab and Petra to death at about 3:45 a.m. at 4, Flat 17, Bella Vista Tower, Banana Island, Ikoyi.

Nielsen was arraigned on June 13, 2018, and he pleaded not guilty to the two counts of murder punishable under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

 Police recover remains of Ogoni Chief kidnapped two years ago

Operatives of the Nigeria Police have recovered the decomposed remains of the 61-year-old traditional ruler of Luwa Community in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Cheif Robert Loolo.

The remains of Loolo, who was abducted two years ago, were recovered and exhumed from a creek between Luwa, Bera and Bane within the LGA Monday by police operatives.

It was gathered that Loolo was picked and taken away from his residence on June 27, 2019, at bout 8:50 pm by angry youths of the community over a leadership crisis.

One of the sons, Dr Douglas Fabeke, who is also the Leader of Ogoni Liberation Initiative, OLI, confirmed that ransom was paid twice to secure the Chief’s release from his captors but that proved abortive.

Fabeke stated that the traditional ruler was tortured, tied to two sticks in the heart of the forest and abandoned to die without help.

He said: “He was kidnapped from his house by a youths group in the community, fighting over leadership. We tried to beg those youths to release him for us, and to an extent, we had to pay ransom twice. 

“We reported the matter to the police and to all the security agencies in the state they got involved in making sure the man was released and after some time there was silence.

“We went into more action and after a few months, we were able to arrest the native doctor who confessed that the man had been killed but did not know where he was buried. 

“Ever since we have been on this issue, but two months ago, we renewed effort through intelligence gathering to make sure we locate where he was buried, and by the grace of God, today (Monday) we were able to mobilize forces from the Bori Divisional Police Headquarters with a combined team and stormed the forest.

“We were able to discover where he was buried. Everything to identify him with was there, we noticed he was tortured. He was tied to a tree.”

However, a senior police officer in the Bori Divisional Police Station, who led the team to the creek, said the recovery followed a relentless investigation and search in various forests within the area.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the state police command, SP. Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed the development, said the command has commenced a further investigation to fish out the perpetrators of the act and bring them to book.