By
Emmanuel Udom
Attempts
by persons suspected to be members of the Independent People of Biafra to bomb
computer village in Ikeja, Lagos, south-west Nigeria, Friday has been
frustrated by the government secret police.
Tony Opuiyo, spokesman for the Department of
State Security Service, (DSS), disclosed in a statement that Chidiebere Onwudiwe, leader of IPOB,
who plotted the attack, has been arrested by DSS operatives.
According
to Opuiyo, Onwudiwe, a graduate of mechanical and chemical engineering, was
hatching the plot with some of his associated within and outside the country.
The statement reads in full:
The general public is aware that in recent days, some States of the Federation have witnessed spate of kidnapping incidents perpetrated by criminal elements in a bid to further their selfish pecuniary and/or criminal interests.
In furtherance of security measures initiated
to checkmate this trend, series of special tactical operations were carried out
by this Service, where successful arrests of masterminds of these criminal
gangs were made by the Service, while their hide-outs were decimated.
2.
On 7th June, 2016, one Kabiru SHUAIBU, the ring-leader of a kidnap gang,
comprising his accomplices namely: Haruna SALEH, Tukur SHUAIBU and Abdulmumuni
ADAMUNA, were arrested by the Service along Murtala MUHAMMAD Bridge, along
Lokoja-Abuja Highway, in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The
suspects were part of a criminal gang which has been terrorizing innocent
citizens in the Northern region of the Federation. During their arrest, a
locally-made pistol, seven (7) cartridges, fourteen (14) mobile phones and six
hundred and fifteen thousand naira (N615,000) were recovered on them.
3. On 8th June, 2016, one Reuben AKINBEHINJE aka Chairman, the ring-leader of a
notorious kidnap syndicate, was arrested by this Service in Akure, Ondo State,
along with five (5) other members of his gang namely; John Imoleayo UCHE, Seun
LAJUWON, Seun Iseoluwa AKINTAYO, Lateef Fayemi HAMMED and Saheed OYEWO.
The
AKINBEHINJE gang has been the brain behind the kidnap of two Catholic nuns in
the State and other criminalities such as armed robbery, hijack and diversion
of fuel tankers and cult-related activities in Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Lagos and Kwara
States.
4. Similarly, on 12th June, 2016, this Service arrested one Ifeanyi Michael
ONYIKE, a suspected kidnap kingpin at D-line, Port Harcourt in Rivers State.
ONYIKE was involved in the kidnap of Ebere CHINDA, wife to Igo CHINDA, the
Personal Assistant (PA) to the Minister of Transport, Rotimi AMAECHI.
5. Further to this tactical offensive, on 25h June, 2016, in one of the
North-Western States, one Sani ABDULLAHI, and his three accomplices, namely
Rufai Tukur ABDULLAHI, Najeeb ABUBAKAR and Abdullahi AHMED, were apprehended by
this Service. The group has concluded arrangements to embark on serial kidnap
of high-value targets in Katsina State, before their arrest. This gang has
hitherto been terrorizing the North-Western States of Kano, Katsina, Kebbi and
Zamfara.
6.
In a bid to stem the activities of vandals in the Niger Delta, this Service
effected the arrest of Selky Kile TORUGHEDI, on 17th June, 2016, in Calabar,
Cross River State. TORUGHEDI is an ex-militant and suspected member of the
Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), and was arrested for planning to assassinate one
MB.YAHAYA, a serving military officer. TORUGHEDI, who is a close associate of
Government EKPEMUPOLO (aka TOMPOLO), had already conducted surveillance at the
residence of YAHAYA in Kaduna, preparatory to his plot when he was intercepted.
He is also fingered as a sponsor of pipeline vandalism in some States in the
South-South region. Suspect is currently assisting the Service, with critical
leads.
7.
In a related operation, this Service arrested one Christian OLUBA aka SENSOR,
another suspected militant with the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA). SENSOR was
arrested while perfecting plans to carry out explosive attacks on critical oil
and gas pipelines, including critical storage points.
8.
Meanwhile, sequel to increasing threat posed to public peace by the activities
of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), this Service arrested one
Chidiebere ONWUDIWE, a graduate of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering and
known member of IPOB, on 22nd June, 2016. ONWUDIWE and his associates within
and outside the country, were planning to carry out coordinated attacks against
religious bodies/edifices, Police-Check Points and the computer village in
Ikeja, Lagos State, with Improvised Explosive devices (IEDS). The suspect was
apprehended while making logistics supplies for their nefarious plan.
9.
In another development, on 19th June, 2016, at Langtang North LGA in Plateau
State, this Service in liaison with the military and Police, arrested one
Nanpon SAMBS (aka Yabam), an illegal arms dealer. SAMBS is a member of a
notorious black market arms syndicate led by one Peter NEHEMIA (aka Adagyo)
which operates in the State. A Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcher and
circuit charger were recovered from a Toyota Highlander SUV belonging to the
suspect.
10.
Also, this Service wishes to alert the general public to be wary of suspicious
packages and persons, as celebration of the Eid-el-Fitr approaches. The Service
is availed of intelligence which indicates threat by extremist elements to
attack selected locations across the Federation, particularly parks and
congregations of worshippers, in order to further their cause.
11.
The Service wish to state that it will continue to deploy every window within
its constituted mandate to ensure the security and safety of all law-abiding
residents and citizens wherever they reside. We therefore call on the general
public to be security-conscious and to report any suspicious persons/groups or
activities to relevant security agencies.
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