Defiant Maduekwe Crashes on Bicycle
From
Peter Umar-Omale and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
The
Minister of Transport, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, escaped death by the whiskers
yesterday on his way to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on bicycle.
Maduekwe, who was riding alone after he had ordered his security details to
steer clear of his route, was knocked into a drainage 50 meters from his
Mabushi official residence when two buses collided at an intersection popularly
referred to as Banex Junction. He however escaped unhurt.
"I escaped by a hair's breadth without sustaining any injuries, not a
single bruise; look at my hands, body and face, nothing, not a single injury
and I thank God I'm alive,"Maduekwe told State House correspondents at the
villa.
He narrated how the accident happened: "I left my residence this morning
to attend the meeting of the Federal Executive Council on my bike and I was
riding on the kerb of the Mabushi-Gwagwalada highway. All of a sudden, this 18
seater was coming from the opposite direction and was overtaking all the other
cars and at the same time was swerving dangerously.
Before you could know what was happening the bus had a head on collision with a
vehicle coming from my rear and as I saw death starring me in the face, I
quickly swerved and escaped death by a hair's breadth.
"I fell on the ground and rolled over, but my trousers were torn and
immediately I got up from the ground and helped in arranging for the evacuation
of the victims of the accident to the hospital and the arrest of the driver who
said he had a break failure. But why was he overtaking?" Maduekwe queried.
On whether the incident would make him do a rethink on his controversial
bicycle proposal, he replied. "Not at all, I am not deterred or dissuaded
by the accident because accident can happen anywhere on land, sea and air. I am
even more convinced that bicycle is the right thing to do but it has opened my
eyes to how dangerous our transport system is, a lot of the vehicles on the
roads in the first place shouldn't be because they are not road worthy and we
will have to take another look at the tokunbo vehicles."
After the evacuation of the accident victims to the hospital, Maduekwe said he
took his bicycle home where he changed into new clothes before proceeding to
the villa to attend the meeting of FEC just as he explained the absence of his
security guards pilot van. "Maybe it was my mistake, I told my security
guards and pilot van not to accompany me to the FEC. I wanted to ride like any
other cyclist and that was when the accident occurred around 9.30 a.m."
An eye-witness, who was also one of the passengers in the bus corroborated the
minister's account of how the accident happened: "The driver was
overspeeding and everybody was shouting. When we got to the first junction
(Nicon Junction), officials of the Road Safety stopped him and cautioned him
but he continued. So before we got to the next junction, all the passengers
were screaming again and the driver tried to apply the breaks but it failed so he
ran into the other lane, which brushed the man into the pit there on his
bicycle".
"We did not even know it was the Minister of Transport as they said, and
many others were injured. You can see my wound, I was sitting on the front
seat. I thought my vein had been cut. The minister has nothing to do with the
accident and luck was on his side. If not, he would have died", the
injured passenger narrated.
It would be recalled that the minister a few weeks ago started the campaign for
the use of bicycle by Nigerians as a deliberate means of reducing fuel
consumption.
Although the minister's action had come under wide criticism, he had insisted
that the bicycle option was a wise alternative which also has an added
advantage of being fitness friendly.
The minister during his first bicycle ride two weeks ago, was accompanied by
his security details, who ensured that the road was clear unlike yesterday when
he ordered them to stay clear from the ride to the FEC meeting.
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Diplomat
Loses N10m to Fraudsters
P.M. News (Lagos)
July
18, 2001
Posted to the web July 18, 2001
Gabriel
Orok
Lagos
A
French diplomat, Mr. Philippe Lanton, has lost N10 million to Nigerian
fraudsters. Already, one Innocent Ugho, identified as the leader of the
syndicate, has been arrested by the police at the Force Crime Intelligence
Department (FCID), Alagbon Close, Lagos annex.
P.M.News
learnt that the money was fraudulently obtained on various occasions and in
different foreign denominations. The fraudsters reportedly obtained the money
from the French diplomat through dubious contract claims and letters. The deal
which started in January 2001 ended in June 2001 when the lid was blown off the
fraud. On realising the futility of the fraudulent deal, the French diplomat
reportedly contacted the police at the Force CID. Preliminary investigations
revealed that the business deal was founded on fraud.
While
the police succeeded in apprehending the kingpin of the syndicate, others
escaped. Sources at Force CID, who confirmed the story said the suspect has
been charged to Igbosere Chief Magistrate Court. Similarly, the Managing
Director of Industrial Bank, Mr. Austine Obaifor, has lost N1.6 million to fake
housing agents in Lagos. P.M.News gathered that four other innocent people also
lost a substantial amount of money to the fraudsters.
The
victims reportedly fell into a trap set by the fraudsters when a national daily
of May 14,2001 advertised vacant accommodation at 12, Omole Road, Ojodu, Ogba,
Lagos. The bank boss who was in a desperate search for accommodation, rushed to
meet the advertisers at 11/13 Church Street, Abule Egba. After a marathon
discussion with Messrs. Adesina Makinde and Victor Akpan, he later parted with
a huge amount of money, including consultation fee of N5,000.
P.M.News
learnt that the business deal which started on a clean slate ended on a sour
note when the bank tried to take possession of the accommodation. To his
chagrin, the bank boss' chagrin, he discovered that four other prospective
tenants were also laying claim to the same apartment. It was later discovered
that the agents collected over N2.6 million from four people for the same
apartment. The police later arrested the culprits and charged them to court for
obtaining money under false pretence.
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Robbers
Raid - N1.6 Million Snatched, Policeman Shot Dead
P.M. News (Lagos)
July
18, 2001
Posted to the web July 18, 2001
Gabriel
Orok
Lagos
Despite
the renewed onslaught by the police against armed robbers in Lagos, the men of
the underworld have not relented in their dastardly operations as they struck
yesterday night in Jibowu and this morning at Oworonshoki Junction in Kosofe
Local Government.
P.M.
News gathered this morning that armed bandits gained entrance into a TOTAL
petrol station at Jibowu at about 8 p.m. last night on the pretence of buying
fuel. However, within two minutes, the robbers had rounded up everybody at the
petrol station at gun-point. The robbers, who came to the station in a Peugeot
505 car ransacked the filling station's vault and successfully carted away the
day's proceedings which was put at about N1.6 million. The robbers did not
leave without shooting two people.
The
wounded persons were immediately rushed to a near-by hospital where they are
reportedly still receiving treatment. The robbers' dastardly act was re-enacted
early this morning when a police Corporal named Kunle, attached to an oil
company, was shot dead by robbers at Oworonshoki. The robbers had successfully
snatched a peugeot car from its owner.
P.
M.News gathered that the police man met his untimely death when he was sighted
in a bus near the scene of the robbery incident by the robbers who immediately
shot him to death as he tried to escape. The police say they have begun
investigations into the two robbery incidents, while no arrest has been made
yet. The two incidents are coming on the heels of the recent robbery attack at
the popular Alaba Market in which goods worth millions of naira were carted
away by the men of the underworld.
The spate of robbery attacks on Alaba Market has prompted traders at the popular market to demand for the dreaded Bakassi Boys from Aba to provide them security. They believe that the security outfit (Bakassi Boys) has the capability to keep robbers in check at Alaba as they have done in some Eastern states.
Copyright © 2001 P.M. News. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |
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135 policemen dismissed in Lagos |
(Thursday, 19th July, 2001)
By Emma Nnadozie
LAGOS—NO fewer than 135 policemen have been dismissed for various offences in the past two years by the Lagos State Police Command. The state police boss, Mr. Mike Okiro said, yesterday, that most of the dismissed policemen were in the rank and file cadre. He said: "What I am doing is in consonance with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Musiliu Smith and it is geared towards eradicating corruption in the Force. We also take cognisance of the Force guidelines. "Those affected were dismissed for various offences which include extortion, illegal duty, murder and other offences. We particularly took drastic action against those involved in corrupt practices. "Apart from the X-squad which the IGP set up to monitor activities of policemen, I have equally gotten Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers committed by passing papers for them to sign that if any of their men was arrested for extortion, they will equally be held responsible for vicarious liability. "I did this because the fight against corruption should not be left to me alone. All hands in the Force should be seen to be on deck towards checking such excesses. As far as I am concerned, anybody, no matter how high or low, that gets involved will face the music. "Members of the public should also be advised to desist from encouraging policemen to extort. They should feel free to shun such demands and also report the person involved to a higher officer. "Presently, we have about ten pending cases and I assure you that any of them found guilty will go the way of his corrupt colleagues. We have also reduced some of them in ranks depending on the offence they committed," he further stated. |
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THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2001
e-mail this story to a friend |
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write a letter to the editor (oped@csps.com) |
· J. Schmit of Portland, Ore. wonders what has become of the nation of Biafra.
By Lane
Hartill
With the declaration "Long live the Republic of Biafra!" Lt. Col. Chukuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, declared eastern Nigeria independent on May 30, 1967. The move had been prompted in part by a government-led massacre of Igbo settlers.
|
|
LEADER-TO-BE: Lt. Col. C.O. Ojukwu in 1966, the year
before he declared that eastern Nigeria was the new nation of Biafra. |
|
The Igbo ruler led his new (but little-recognized) nation in a civil war in July 1967 following an invasion by Nigerian troops.
In the fighting that ensued, more than 1 million people died. At first the Biafrans held their own, but soon the USSR, Egypt, and Britain began to ship weapons to Nigeria's government. Biafra surrendered after a costly three-year struggle.
Mr. Ojukwu, who still lives in Nigeria, told the Associated Press that he regularly speaks to Nigeria's President Obasanjo and sees himself as an elder statesman who has left the past behind. He was in Boston recently to appeal to Igbo expatriates to return.
In May, a Nigerian presidential commission began looking into government "human-rights abuses" (including, perhaps, the massacre of Igbos) that occurred around the time of Biafra's breakaway.
Meanwhile, The National Union of True Igbo Movement is pressing the government to pay entitlements to former Biafran soldiers and police.
Wonder no more! Write and tell us who or what you'd like to catch up with.
Send ideas to: One Norway St., Boston, MA 02115 or e-mail: whatever@csmonitor.com
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reserved. |
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Friday, 13 July, 2001, 23:32 GMT 00:32 UK Nigerian police target vigilantes
Vigilantes fill in the gaps where the
police fail By David Bamford in Lagos Police chiefs in
Nigeria say they intend to stamp out the practice of executions that are
being carried out by vigilante groups against suspected armed robbers. They described
the vigilantes' actions as illegal even though they often have the support of
State governors in some parts of the country. The rise of the
vigilante groups is a result of a dramatic increase in violent crime in
Nigeria. About 500 people
have been killed by armed robbers within the last year, many of them in the main
city of Lagos. Filling in for
police This week, on a
street in Lagos, just 300m from the BBC office, cars were forced to drive
around the sickening sight of a burned body.
The remains of
the suspected armed robber lay there for most of the day, a victim of the
local vigilante group, the OPC, or Odua People's Congress, who say they are
dealing with violent crime in a way that police are failing to do. Many local
residents agree with that view and support the extra-judicial killings. "Resident
Lagosians, they really welcome the idea of vigilante groups," said one
local resident. "In fact, I
can tell you that during the first coming of the OPC members, when they were
called upon to help the police in restoring law and order and some kind of
safety in Lagos, people were very jubilant about this, and they feel very
secure," the resident said. Public
execution
In eastern
Nigeria a few days earlier, another vigilante group known as the Bakassi Boys
captured a suspected gangster. They ignored
police demands to hand him over and, to cheering crowds in the main market in
the town of Onitsha, they decapitated him with a machete and then set fire to
his torso. The police, who
answer to the federal government, are at loggerheads with the state
governments, who actively support the vigilantes because of the resulting
drop in crime figures. Unlikely
allies On this occasion,
the police are at one with their frequent critics, the human-rights movement,
who have strongly condemned the vigilante killings. "The idea of
arresting people and, through more violence, killing them on the spot and
burning their bodies - that is not the kind of Nigeria we want," said
Abdul Oroh, the head of the Civil Rights Organization. "That's not
the kind of law enforcement we,,, want in Nigeria. We want a well-trained
police force, well-equipped, and in fact we want the whole justice sector to
be reformed properly." But the root of
the problem, says Mr Oroh, is that the Nigerian police are among the most
corrupt in the world. People have
little faith in them as they see armed robbers bribe their way out of
trouble. Until this is
tackled, the vigilante killings seem likely to continue. |
Dateline: 14/07/2001 01:05:16
|
|
Man Sentenced for Committing Adultery with Lunatic Aman,
Abubakar Aliyu, arrested for committing adultery with a female lunatic in
Sokoto, has been sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane in addition to one year
imprisonment. |
Dateline: 14/07/2001 01:05:16
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2 with vague identities in identity-fraud case The couple are charged with using others' data. Police are unsure who they really are. By
Larry Lewis and Deborah Bolling The tall man in a red prison uniform who appeared briefly in Darby District Court yesterday has been so desperate to keep his real identity from police that he recently tried to chew off the tips of his fingers. He stood in court, facing charges that he stole the identities of hundreds of people and ran up huge credit card bills, as Olug Bemiga Olusato. But authorities do not believe that is his real name. He had been known as Adegboyega Joshuaville for the six months he lived on Columbia Avenue and operated a cleaning business at Philadelphia International Airport. That name, officials say, is almost certainly false. And the name given to police by his wife, who also is charged, probably is made up as well. Yesterday, the preliminary hearing for the couple was postponed after a short court appearance. They were sent back to the Delaware County prison, while authorities went back to trying to determine exactly who it is they have locked up. "We have reason to believe he is from Nigeria," said James V. Washington, special agent in charge of the Philadelphia office of the Secret Service. "We believe his wife is from Nigeria. . . . In these cases, the suspects have so many identities, you often never know who they are." Darby police, the FBI, and the Secret Service are trying to determine whether the two are linked to West African organized crime, which has been responsible for an escalating number of financial crimes in the United States, officials said. Washington said that schemes such as the one seen in Darby have been going on for more than a decade, often involving Nigerians, and that the Secret Service has opened an office in Nigeria to work with agencies there to try to stop them. Sometimes, the Secret Service said, stolen money is used to finance massive drug deals. Investigators suspect Olusato used his cleaning service customers' Social Security numbers and other financial information to order credit cards and open other accounts. Darby police, working with FBI and Secret Service agents, found $200,000 worth of furniture, tools, televisions and other appliances when they arrested Olusato and his wife at their home on June 29. Police also found 20 cartons of financial documents, indicating the identity theft had reached into other states. Officials said it could take six months to sort it all out. Olusato was ordering merchandise in victims' names and having it delivered to 37 vacant buildings in Darby and 10 in Southwest Philadelphia, police said. Authorities said officers were led to Olusato when he called a store for help installing a large-screen TV that had been bought with a bogus credit card. Olusato and his wife, identified as Bolanle Joshuaville, have been held since June 29 in Delaware County prison after they were charged with 17 counts of identity theft, 51 counts of theft, and a long list of computer, bad check and forgery counts. Cash bail of $500,000 each was set during an arraignment. They are represented by the Public Defender's Office, which yesterday asked District Justice Thomas Lacey to reduce the bail. He refused. Authorities said Olusato, while in prison, tried to chew off the ends of his fingers to thwart identification through fingerprints. His hands were not bandaged in court yesterday. Officials said identity theft is on the rise as technological advances give criminals even more tools. "Identity theft is a massive crime," said Betsy Broder, assistant director of planning and information for the Federal Trade Commission, which was authorized by Congress in 1998 to create a toll-free number for victims and a Web site. A year ago, 300 victims were calling each week. Ten times as many are contacting the agency now, Broder said. Special Agent Joe Majarowitz of the FBI's Philadelphia office said it is possible that the severe federal penalties being imposed for violent crimes, which are handed down without hope of parole, are causing lawbreakers to move into white-collar crime. |
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Thursday July 12 2:26 PM ET
By TODD PITMAN, Associated Press Writer
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - Bolanle Ijikelly wasn't too surprised when armed robbers broke through the wall of her apartment with a sledgehammer one night last month and started carting away her valuables.
The week before, they'd sent her entire apartment block a note to let everyone know they'd be stopping by.
In Lagos, thieves are so sure of getting away with crimes they hand-deliver notices alerting intended targets they're coming - so even the poorest victims will have some cash on hand to steal.
The rationale is simple: Those with no money and nothing worth stealing are often beaten - or shot.
In a city where police were cleared last month to shoot suspected criminals on sight, everyone's got a crime story to tell.
The anonymous message penned on a sheet of paper and pasted to the wall of Ijikelly's rundown apartment block was blunt:
``We are coming to Block 31 to rob each flat and no flat will be exempted.''
Many tenants fled. Others stayed home during the day but slept elsewhere after dark.
Some, like Ijikelly, were so resigned to their fate they chose to stay and wait.
``I knew they were coming, so I prepared an envelope with 650 naira ($5) in it to give them,'' the 47-year-old teacher said.
Ijikelly and her five children woke to the sound of gunfire, got dressed and soon met eight armed men who crawled through the hole they knocked in her wall.
Two hours, 13 ransacked apartments - and no arrests - later, officers finally chased off the robbers.
That the police came at all was remarkable.
In Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, only 12,000 officers are deployed to protect a population of 13 million.
Few residents expect much help. The poorly paid police force is best known not for foiling crimes, but for extorting bribes from drivers at checkpoints around town.
Left on their own, many residents barricade neighborhood streets with gates and lock themselves up inside houses with barred windows.
Few have telephones at home to call for help.
When the sun goes down, many parts of the city are plunged into darkness because electricity is so scarce.
Moving around at night can be eerie - and dangerous.
``I try to get home as early as possible. Nowhere is really safe,'' said Akin Ajose-Adeogun, a 42-year-old civil servant.
``We usually hear gunshots every night somewhere in the distance. It's like we're under siege.''
Robbers frequently operate in groups of 50 or more, hitting not just single houses but entire streets.
Sometimes they stuff nails into shoes or oranges and toss them onto bridges to blow out the tires of passing cars. Bands of thieves then converge on the car and rob the occupants.
Shootouts with police are common.
Gruesome crime stories make headlines in local newspapers every day and robbers have become infamous for acts of brutality.
Actress Patience Oseni, 37, said a gang of thieves who lost one of their men during a robbery last month in the Bariga neighborhood returned a few days later - and gunned down two dozen residents in revenge.
Lawyer Femi Odutola said one group even attacked a police station this month in another act of revenge, killing two officers.
But the violence goes both ways.
Oseni said she saw police kill five suspected robbers as she was going to church one Sunday in June.
``They didn't ask too many questions. They just took them out on the street in front of the station and blew their heads off,'' Oseni said.
``It's jungle justice.''
Some civilians, tired of all the crime, have shown little sympathy for thieves.
Odutola saw one man caught July 5 trying to steal a car from the parking lot of the Lagos High Court.
A mob threw an old tire around his neck, doused him with gasoline and set him on fire.
``These things happen often,'' Odutola said, holding a photo he took of the scene showing a charred corpse.
``But the fact that they burnt him to death right in front of the High Court shows how little faith people have in the criminal justice system.''
Since January, 183 robbers, 41 civilians and 14 police officers have been killed in Lagos, according to police statistics reported by the independent Guardian newspaper. Figures for the previous year put the death toll at more than 700.
Some residents would like to leave the city altogether. But not everybody's got a choice.
``If I could get out of here, I would,'' Ijikelly said. ``But I can't move. I can't afford it.''
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FG Sells Abacha's Shares in S/Leone Refinery · Lists NSPMC, Abuja Stock Exchange, ICC,
Stallion for privatisation The
Federal Government yesterday announced plans to sell its 40 per cent equity
shares in the West African Refinery Company Limited. |
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Robbers Raid - N1.6 Million Snatched, Policeman
Shot Dead
P.M. News (Lagos)
- July 18, 2001
Posted
to the web July 18, 2001
Gabriel Orok - Lagos
Despite the renewed onslaught by the police
against armed robbers in Lagos, the men of the underworld have not relented in
their dastardly operations as they struck yesterday night in Jibowu and this
morning at Oworonshoki Junction in Kosofe Local Government.
P.M. News gathered this morning that armed
bandits gained entrance into a TOTAL petrol station at Jibowu at about 8 p.m.
last night on the pretence of buying fuel. However, within two minutes, the
robbers had rounded up everybody at the petrol station at gun-point. The
robbers, who came to the station in a Peugeot 505 car ransacked the filling
station's vault and successfully carted away the day's proceedings which was
put at about N1.6 million. The robbers did not leave without shooting two
people.
The wounded persons were immediately rushed to a
near-by hospital where they are reportedly still receiving treatment. The
robbers' dastardly act was re-enacted early this morning when a police Corporal
named Kunle, attached to an oil company, was shot dead by robbers at
Oworonshoki. The robbers had successfully snatched a peugeot car from its
owner.
P. M.News gathered that the police man met his
untimely death when he was sighted in a bus near the scene of the robbery
incident by the robbers who immediately shot him to death as he tried to
escape. The police say they have begun investigations into the two robbery
incidents, while no arrest has been made yet. The two incidents are coming on
the heels of the recent robbery attack at the popular Alaba Market in which
goods worth millions of naira were carted away by the men of the underworld.
The spate of robbery attacks on Alaba Market has prompted traders at the popular market to demand for the dreaded Bakassi Boys from Aba to provide them security. They believe that the security outfit (Bakassi Boys) has the capability to keep robbers in check at Alaba as they have done in some Eastern states.
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P.M. News (Lagos) --
July 16, 2001
Posted to the web July 16, 2001
Gabriel Orok -- Lagos
A combined team of security operatives will soon
embark on a surprise search of military barracks with a view to recovering
illegal arms.
P.M.News gathered that the action became
necessary as a result of secret reports linking military personnel with various
robberies in Lagos and environs. The report also fingered military barracks as
the storehouse of illegal arms. The bulk of the arms used by armed robbers are
believed to emanate from military barracks.
Majority of the bandits are also believed to be
either retired or serving military and police personnel. Intelligence experts
say only experts in arms and ammunition handling can successfully engage in the
guerrilla tactics robbers adopt in recent time.
P.M.News learnt that after a critical appraisal
of the situation, it was unanimously agreed that military barracks in the
country be thoroughly searched by a joint team of security operatives. The
operatives include the SSS, military intelligence, customs and crack detectives
from the police force.
Investigations further revealed that the search
will soon commence in order to stem the activities of criminals, especially in
Lagos.
It would
be recalled that since the police adopted a fresh strategy to tackle the crime
problem in Lagos, several military personnel have been arrested and military
weapons used for robbery, recovered.
One of them was quoted as saying that the gun he
held illegally was brought into the country from Liberia and Sierra Leone where
he participated in the ECOMOG peace keeping operations.
A military rifle, traced to Lagos Garrison
command, was also recovered recently by the police after some soldiers were
arrested. "The military high command is very worried about the
development" a source told P.M. News.
======================+++++++++++++++++======================
ARMED
ROBBERS NOW POSE AS PREACHERS
P.M. News
(Lagos) -- July 16, 2001
Posted
to the web July 16, 2001
Gabriel Orok - Lagos
In their attempt to beat security traps, armed
bandits in Lagos have resorted to the use of Bible as a camouflage to deceive
their victims.
P.M. News learnt that members of a four-man
robbery gang who recently attacked passengers along Ikorodu road, posed as
preachers in the bus. Each of them was said to be in possession of a Bible.
Immediately the bus, with registration number XA
944 NEN took off from Ojota towards Ikorodu, one of them started to preach.
Trouble started when the vehicle crossed Majidun
river. The driver was reportedly stopped abruptly by one of the Bible-clutching
hoodlums. All the passengers were then held at gun-point and ordered to
disembark from the bus.
After their order was obeyed, the bandits
escaped with the bus. Luck, however, ran against them when the police were
alerted.
The interception led to an exchange of gun fire.
One of the hoodlums was shot dead while three others escaped while abandoning
the bus.
Copyright © 2001 P.M. News. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
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