Talk About It (Courtesy Darespecial)

An attempt by a four-man robbery gang to steal a brand new car from the Ogun State Government Secretariat complex, Abeokuta yesterday ended as a disaster  for them.

Not only did they fail in getting their target,a Toyota Camry,they also lost their operational car, a Nissan Quest marked Abuja BR 944RSH,after crashing it into the complex’s gate while trying to escape, while a member of the gang was shot dead by security men.
They had driven into the complex which also houses the Governor’s Office at 9.50am,about two hours after Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s arrival.

They then moved to where the Toyota Camry was parked at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology,opposite the Governor’s Office.
As they set about forcing the car open, preparatory to driving it away,its security alarm went off.The owner, a woman, quickly recognised where the sound was coming from. She began shouting “thief,thief,thief.”

Her fellow civil servants joined in the shouting match and the robbers promptly abandoned their mission,rushed into their operational car and sped off.

By then, the governor had been alerted about the situation.He directed that the gates leading to the complex be shut and that his security operatives and those attached to  the Speaker of the state  Assembly should go after them.

In the desperation to escape, they rammed their car into the gate which had been firmly shut against them.They got down from the vehicle and ran into the bush. But there was one more obstacle for them: the fence.

The unlucky one was felled by a bullet from the security operatives as he made to scale the fence.He died on the spot while the others managed to escape in spite of the canisters of teargas  fired into the bush with a view to smoking them out.

Meanwhile, panic-stricken civil servants and visitors were scampering for their lives.

Their abandoned vehicle was evacuated by the Police while a locally made short gun and ATM cards were also recovered from the vehicle.
Amosun later inspected the scene of the robbery attempt and the gate. He  vowed that  the fleeing suspects would be arrested and made to face justice.He commended the police for foiling the robbery.

The  Governor ascribed the incident to the culture of easy gun procurement and wielding that characterized the immediate past era, stressing that it was one of the ugly things his administration met on ground.

His words: “Let me reiterate again that this administration is a product of the masses, and it is the wish of God Almighty.We know what we met on ground; this is part of the things we inherited. I told you before that to buy guns in Ogun State is easier than to buy water or a bottle of Coca-Cola, and that is the example of what we are seeing.

“Imagine if people now have the effrontery to say they want to come into the secretariat; it is unheard  of. But we are ready for them, not just at  the secretariat, but everywhere in the state. So whosoever is sending them; they should tell them that their days are numbered.

The Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Nicholas Nkemdeme, described the incident as embarrassing, but expressed joy that his men successfully stopped the robbers.

“This is one of the most embarrassing situations I have ever met.  I don’t know what they wanted, and I am very happy that my boys gave them what they wanted. We are trying to find out the cause. Investigation is going on,” Nkemdeme said.

AMID fears of vio-lence and breakdown of law and order, Sokoto State will today holds its governorship election. Leading contenders in the polls after immediate past governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wammako of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are Alhaji Yusha’u Kebbe of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Engr Abubakar Aliyu Yabo of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and Alhaji Garba Ila Gada of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP).

To ensure security during the exercise, the police have met with the leadership of the parties and a coalition of election monitors  has deployed 628 trained observers to the 23 Local Councils of the state.

Currently, the Sokoto polity is charged and virtually everyone is apprehensive. The leading political parties such as  the PDP and ANPP have combustive supporters. Offices of both parties have been attacked and vandalized by thugs in recent times. During campaigns and rallies, youths were seen brandishing cutlasses, swords, axes, sticks and all manner of weapons, which are sometimes easily used on opponents. Arrests had been made by the Police but these have not deterred the thugs from unleashing more terror when released.

To stem the tide security agencies – the Police, Department of State Security, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps and other para-military agencies have had held  meetings with leaders of political parties in the state but resolutions of such meetings have not yielded dividends.

However, the heads of the various security agencies in the state have assured  that they were committed to the provision of securing during today’s election in the state.

Sultan, Jega, Kukah sue for peace

Worried by the prevalence of political thuggery in Sokoto, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, called on politicians to discourage political thuggery at today’s exercise and henceforth.

Speaking when the Acting Governor, Lawali Zayyana, paid him a courtesy visit, he said:  “The use of thugs at political rallies and campaigns should be discouraged. This does not augur well for the well being of this state and the nation at large. Government and security agencies should work together to ensure peaceful electioneering in this state.”

Also, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, urged people of the state to conduct themselves peacefully during today’s election.

In like manner, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, expressed worries over the issue at a meeting with leaders and candidates of political parties, including Security Chiefs.

628 monitors on ground

To ensure that stakeholders observe rules during the polls, 628 observers have been deployed , according to Co-chairman of Project Swift Count (PSC), Mr Dafe Akpedeye. PSC  is comprised of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Federation of Muslim Women’s  Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and the Catholic  Justice Development Peace Caritas (JDPC).

In apparent moves to prevent the dreaded Boko Haram sect’s nefarious activities as well as protect lives and property, Governor  Babatunde Fashola has directed the Ministry of Transportation to clear the public car parks of all impounded and abandoned vehicles.

The governor in an Executive Order issued to all political appointees and Heads of Government Ministries and parastatals gave, a maximum of seven days to the Commissioner for Transportation to execute the order.

Fashola in the statement further stated: ”The situation is even worrisome in the light of prevailing security challenges and the spate of bomb attacks in some parts of the country.”

In the Executive Order, Fashola noted that henceforth only vehicles with official stickers will be allowed access into the secretariat. The Chairman of the state Task Force has been mandated to carry out 24 hour patrol and surveillance to rid Alausa of touting, trading as well as people soliciting for financial aids.

In a chat with Vanguard, Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa said that the move borders on ensuring adequate security of lives and property adding that his men have swung to action to beat the governor’s deadline.

Earlier, the state government has closed three main gates leaving just two open to public as entrance and exit gates. Vehicles have also been subjected to scrutiny at the entrance point.

Most of the civil servants whose views were sought on the directive, expressed their support for the move.

“I think the directive is a welcome development. We are all living witness to what is happening in the northern parts of the country where Boko Haram sect has been bombing public places, “says a civil servant who simply identified himself as Mr Sunday.

“‘I think Governor has done the right thing. He is very conscious about securing the lives and property of Lagosians. We all know what the Boko Haram sect are capable of doing. The sect has committed a lot of atrocities in the North it will be calamitous to give them any chance here in Lagos. I think the governor is taking this pro-active step to avoid disater. So, to me, the directive is a positive one,’” said  by worker who simply identified herself as Shakirat.

The Federal Government on Friday insisted that the gun attack on Koton-Karfe prison in Kogi was carried out by hoodlums and not members of the Boko Haram.

The Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro who visited the prison to assess the extent of damage said that the attack was not masterminded by the Boko Haram.

He dismissed claims that the attack was carried out by the group to free its members in detention, insisting that no member of the sect was being kept in the prison.

Moro said that the attack had heightened the need to pay special attention to prisons in the country, assuring that the lessons learnt from the incident would not be lost on the government.

The Minister, who later paid a visit to Gov. Idris Wada, stressed the need for cooperation between the federal and state governments on the maintenance and decongestion of prisons nationwide.

He pleaded with the state government to look into the cases of those being detained for minor offences, with a view to decongesting prisons in the state.

He also requested the governor to include the state Controller of Prisons into the State Security Council.

Moro, who was accompanied by the Comptroller-General of Prisons, Mr Zakari Ibrahim and top officials of the ministry also appealed to the state government to facilitate the completion of the new Koton-Karfe prison.

The work on the new prison has reached 70 per cent completion stage.

Responding, the governor described the attack on the prison as unfortunate and pledged to cooperate with the Federal Government to prevent a re-occurrence.

He approved the immediate inclusion the Controller of Prisons in the state as a member of the state security council.

Wada, who had earlier visited the Koton-Karfe prison, told the minister that a committee headed by the state Commissioner for Justice, had been set up to review the cases of detainees, as part of efforts to decongest prisons in the state.

Meanwhile, 31 out of the 119 inmates who escaped from the prison on Wednesday night had been rearrested. (NAN)