Latest news with #NigeriaPolice
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Nigeria police deny say dem torture activist Omoyele Sowore
Nigeria police say dia arrest of former presidential candidate and human rights activist Omoyele Sowore no dey illegal, say dem no torture am while in detention. Dis dey come few hours afta dem release di activist afta dem detain am for two days. BBC News Pidgin bin report on Wednesday say di activist go honor police invitation, wen im reach di police headquarters, dem arrest and detain and no gree tok why dem detain for two days. For statement, police tok tok pesin Muyiwa Adejobi say dem follow all standard procedure to arrest and detain Sowore. E say di reason dem arrest di activist na based on credible allegations of cyberstalking and forgery plus oda offences wey dem dey investigate. Di statement read: "we grant am bail within di 48 hours wey dey for section 35 of di constitution. Im dey aware of di allegations against am, e go appear for court soon to answer for imsef". According to di statement, police actions on di mata dey guided by valid court order wey dem obtain. Video wey bin dey circulate online on Friday show Sowore with bandage on im hands. Posts for im social media handles claim say police attack and break im hand inside cell. Police however say di claim dey false and misleading, say di bandage bin dey di bag wey Sowore carry di day dem arrest am. E claim say wen di police IG see di trending pictures and videos online, e order investigation and send police doctors to check di activist but e no gree make di medical team attend to am. Meanwhile, Sowore enta social media early Saturday morning afta im release to tok say dem go continue dia movement, say police no get anytin on am, say dem just dey show personal vendetta on am sake of how im dey tok against dia oga. Im arrest draw attention of plenti groups, organisations and individuals including oda Nigeria presidential candidates like Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi plus Amnesty International, Nigeria Labour Congress and im political party African Action Congress AAC. Dem condemn im continued arrest and harassment and demand for im release, say even if im commit any offense make dem carri am go court as law tok. Im supporters bin troop out for most police stations across di country to protest im detention. Who be Sowore Omoyele Sowore na journalist, human rights activist wey bin don follow contest for Nigeria presidential election. E don collect plenti arrest and detention over di years. Im be di RevolutionNow leader for Nigeria and Publisher of Sahara Reporters news platform. Nigeria govment bin arrest Sowore for August 2, 2019 say im commit treason. Dem later release am for 5 December afta e spend more dan 3 months for detention, only to re-arrest am inside court less dan 12 hours later. On 13 December, 2019, Attorney General of Nigeria and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami bin take ova di case of Sowore from di country Department of State Service. Den on December 24, DSS release di publisher afta oga Malami write to di DSS say make dem release am. Dis latest arrest don add to plenti of him arrest timeline.
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Retired police officers for Nigeria enta street to protest pension and gratuity mata
Members of di National Association of Police Retirees don do ogbonge protest for Abuja sake of wetin dem call small amount of money wey dem dey receive as pension and gratuity. From all states of di federation, di retired officers gada for Abuja, dia request na one tin, for govment to comot dem from di Contributory Pension Scheme. Deputy chairman of di association, Ilyasu Yahaya Aliyu, tell BBC News Pidgin say im retire afta 35 years of service to di nation and na only 2.5 million naira e receive as gratuity, and N40,000 per month as pension. "Wetin dat moni fit do for anybodi?" oga Ilyasu ask? BBC Pidgin tok to plenty of di protesters, including one woman wey retire as Woman Inspector wey say she stay for more dan two years afta retirement bifor she get her gratuity of N1.4 million. Afta dat, her pension na N22,000 evri month. "I regret joining di Nigeria Police," she tell our tori pesin. "I regret spending 35 years of my life serving dis kontri. Look at me now, wetin I fit do?" Di woman wey say she dey above 60 years old and her husband don die, say na she dey train all her children alone and her last daughter dey for one state university. "Her house rent for dia na 200,000 evri year, so how many years I go gada 22,000 evri month to fit pay dat rent?" She ask. Di protesters bin first gada for di gate of Di National Assembly to demand for di lawmakers to amend di law and comot dem from contributory pension, but no official of di national assembly follow dem tok. Later, di 'Take it back' group, led by Omoyele Sowore, a social rights activist wey bin run for president, join di protest, and dem move to di Police Headquarters for Abuja. Dem carry placards and dey chant song as dem dey waka: "IG Pay police, Tinubu pay police". Police officers full along di road, wit dia weapons and riot gears, but dem no dey violent at all. In fact, na di Police officers dey direct di protesters make dem no disturb di flow of traffic. However, none of di Police officers gree tok to tori pipo. One of Di lawyers of di protesting retired police officers, Deji Adeyanju, tell tori pipo say officers wey serve di kontri for 35 years deserve more dan two million naira gratuity and 30,000 monthly pension. "Our lawmakers, wey some of dem dey serve for just four years, dey entitled to millions during dia service and dia severance pay even pass. Why den we dey pay our retired officers peanuts?" "Even our late president wey just die, Nigeria take care of am until death, why we dey neglect dis officers? Wetin we dey tell dia colleagues wey still dey for service?" Adeyanju tok. 'I join police wit 2:1 at 19, notin for me at retirement' Godwin Tom, wey retire as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) narrate im story of how e bin join police wit joy as a teenager. "I bin just graduate from di University of Ado Ekiti dat time wit a 2:1 (Second Class Upper Honours). I just dey 19 years old," e tok. "I dey happy as I dey join and I use all my strength to work for Nigeria. My records for di Police na excellent. For di courses I bin attend I do excellently well." But di Police system e say, no reward di positive energy wey e take join di force. "I no suppose retire for dis DSP rank wey I bin retire. I spend 11 good years for one rank - sergeant, and anoda six years for Inspector rank. Despite my qualifications as a graduate," e tok.
Business Insider
19-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Ghanaians protest at Nigerian High Commission over alleged harassment
Hundreds of Ghanaian investors and community members staged a protest outside the Nigerian High Commission in Abuja yesterday, demanding action over alleged "systematic harassment, intimidation, and violation of our fundamental rights" by the Nigeria Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Ghanaian investors protested outside the Nigerian High Commission in Abuja, citing systematic harassment by Nigerian authorities. The protest highlighted arbitrary arrests and intimidation from the police and EFCC against Ghanaian businesses. A lawsuit was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja by Ghanaian investors seeking an injunction against further interference. Our businesses are being hounded at every turn, stated Kojo Mensah, a lead developer for the River Park Estate project in Abuja. The investors claim their basic rights are being breached, citing arbitrary arrests, repeated police invitations, and intimidation from both the police and the EFCC. We've been arrested arbitrarily, summoned without cause, and subjected to endless interrogations, yet the very complaints we cooperated to resolve back in 2012 remain buried in some dusty file, he added. Call for intervention Waving banners proclaiming "Hands Off Ghanaian Investors!" and "Tinubu, Mahama: Intervene Now!", the demonstrators called for the immediate dismissal of Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun. They accuse him of orchestrating targeted attacks on Ghanaian businesses operating in Nigeria. The investors pleaded, We demand that President Bola Tinubu and President John Mahama use every diplomatic channel to stop this injustice. Legal action initiated The protest follows the filing of a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja by Jonah Capital and its co-plaintiffs, naming IGP Egbetokun, the Nigeria Police, and the EFCC as defendants. The plaintiffs are seeking a perpetual injunction to prevent both agencies from any further interference in the River Park Estate matter, the immediate disclosure of a long-overdue Special Investigation Panel (SIP) report, and the sum of N200m in damages for alleged breaches of their constitutional rights. According to the plaintiffs, the lawsuit aims not only to secure redress but also to protect the integrity of foreign investments in Nigeria and deter what they describe as state-sponsored intimidation of legitimate investors.
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Who be Ezeani wey Nigerian authorities gbab for accuse say e bury pipo alive for Enugu
Di Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) say dem don capture one suspected ritualist Onyeka Nwaobu, wey dey face accuse say e bury pipo alive for im house for Umumba Ndiagu, Enugu State, southeastern part of di kontri. Dem catch di man wey many dey refer to as native doctor for di border between Nigeria and Benin Republic as e bin wan run comot from di kontri, according to one statement by di NIS tok-tok pesin AS Akinlabi. Di NIS say na during one stop and search operation for di Gbaji checkpoint for Seme border, by security forces including di Nigeria police, na dia dem gbab di suspect as e dey on top bike wan cross over. "We confam im identity using one National Identity Management Commission slip wey we find for im possession, and during interrogation," di statement tok. Di tori of dis suspected ritualist na wetin don dey trend for social media for days now as many Nigerians express shock and anger for videos wey dey circulate wey show say dem bury pipo for inside im compound for Enugu State. Nwaobu don deny all di accusations - e say na set up. How evritin take start Tori about dis suspected ritualist Onyeka Nwaobu break wen one small girl allegedly escape from im hand afta di man and im gang bin allegedly kidnap her. Dis event according to wetin local pipo tell BBC tori pesin, happun on Monday, 26 May, 2025, for Umumba Ndiagu village, Ezeagu local goment area of Enugu State. For one video wey don go viral on social media, di girl tok say she and her father bin go to dia farm to fetch firewood, wen di men approach dem and beg her father to help dem wit dia motorcycle wey spoil. Dem later overpower her papa bifor dem carry her run, tie her mouth and legs. "Dem put me for one hole for di ground and cover am wit leaves, but as I continue to dey make sound, e attract some vigilante pipo wey dey pass and dem come rescue me," di girl tok for di video. Afta dis rescue, villagers gada for di native doctor house wit vex and set am on fire, by den di man imsef - wey im native doctor name na Ozor Ezeani - don run. One man Ambrose Obieze, wey dey live for Umumba village tell BBC Igbo say dem see plenty ditches for di man house wia e allegedly bury pipo for inside. Videos and pictures of inside di compound of di native doctor, and di plenty juju materials wey di villagers see wen dem go dia, don go viral on top plenty social media platforms. Enugu State goment and police act Govnor Peter Mba of Enugu State order di demolition of di house of di suspected ritualist, and goment bulldozers don already level di man entire compound. Several states for di southeast region get law say any property belonging to a kidnapper, goment go destroy am and seize di land. Also, di Enugu State police command don chook mouth for di matter, as di Commissioner of Police, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, hail di Neighbourhood Watch vigilante pipo wey rescue di kidnapped little girl and also capture three of di suspects wey bin kidnap her. Tok-tok pesin for di police, Daniel Ndukwe, give di names of di arrested suspects and confam say dem discover di decomposing corpses of one man and one woman for di ditches wey di native doctor dig for im house. Wetin relatives and locals tok One family member of di suspect tell BBC say dia brother bin come back from Togo wia e bin dey, and e no tey, e start to dey build house. "We bin tink say e don make money, but we no know say e carry juju come back wey dey demand human head," e tok. "Wetin we know be say im na native doctor and e dey usually shoot local canon for midnight. We no know say e dey kill pipo." Another villager also tell BBC tori pesin say di suspect na "veri bad and strong juju" e dey do. Di villager allege say di land wia di suspect dey build im house currently na land wey e allegedly collect by force from one woman wey im husband die. Nwaobu say di allegations no be true and add say e no be native doctor. E say na okrika e dey sell. Who be Onyeka Nwobu? According to wetin local pipo tell BBC, di suspect Onyeka Nwobu, na ogbonge native doctor wey pipo dey fear well-well for di area. Im native doctor name na Ozor Ezeani but e also get nickname 'ichie million' wey mean 'chief of millions'. Dis name na sake of how e dey usually spray money for events and ceremonies for di village. E bin dey stay for Togo bifor e come back village and tok say im na traditionalist now. Ikechukwu Chime wey be priest of di Anglican Church for di village, tell BBC say di man follow for di youths wey come back home wit di disguise say dem wan return to di tradition and religion of dia ancestors, "but now e don clear us say na blood dem dey drink". A history of ritual killings Ritual killing to make money no be new tori for Nigeria, a kontri wey get large youth population, but wia unemployment and poverty rate dey veri high. For March dis year, di Rivers State Police Command, for di south-south region, arrest one native doctor and im accomplice wey allegedly kill two seven-year old girls from di same family for ritual purpose. Also, for January 2023, Police for Ogun State arrest one herbalist and five odas wey allegedly kidnap, kill and sell body parts of one 26 years old woman for Ijebu Ode area of di state. For March of di same 2023, one magistrate court for Ekiti State remand three pipo for prison sake of alleged kidnapping and killing of one 82-year-old man, Michael Obasuyi, for ritual purposes.
