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Crime

Why My Husband Sold Our First Son –wife (photos)

Published

7 years ago

August 18, 2017

Sahara Weekly

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What can make a father to sell his child? This is the question that troubles CLEMENT JAMES, leading to a chat with the mother of the missing two-year-old boy. The woman, Esther Moses, 24, insists that her husband, Moses Udoh Abraham, sold their son. Excerpt:

How did you meet your husband?

I was returning from a visit to my aunt’s place when I met Abraham in a taxi. He gave me his phone number.

A week later, he called and asked where I live; he asked me to meet him.

He waited for me at Mayne Avenue, by Uwanse. When I got there, he took me to his former compound, No. 8, Amika Utuk lane. It was there he impregnated me. I stayed with him until I had Elisha. I had him on July 4, 2015.

Are you aware he was married before you got pregnant for him?

I didn’t know. After I had Elisha, his wife, who is based in Uyo, came to the house. She quarreled with him. She asked him if he was not ashamed of impregnating a girl old enough to be his daughter.

She asked him what would happen to their four children and her, if he abandons them for me. She threatened him; she said there would be trouble if he didn’t send money to her and the children. Since then, he had been sending money to her. She even sent her second child to live with us. After he sold Elisha, his wife rushed to our house to pick their second child. She said she didn’t want him to sell him too.

Can you describe his character?

He drinks a lot; whenever he returns home, he picks quarrel with me. He would beat me. Sometimes, he uses machete to beat me. Last year, he chased my mother out of our house with a machete. Since then, my mother had refused to visit.

Did the two of you get married legally?

He has not paid my bride price. My mother always quarreled with me about it and had repeatedly asked me to leave him. She doesn’t like him. I told my mother that I loved the man.

How did you find out he sold Elisha?

On July 24, he told me that he would be travelling. I went to take my bath. Elisha was in the compound. After my bath, I asked for Elisha and a young boy told me he was outside. I ran outside, but couldn’t find him. At that point, I started crying and shouting. My husband’s brother living in the compound came out to ask what was wrong. I told him I was looking for Elisha.

Did Abraham tell you where he was going?

He said he was going to Akwa Ibom. He said he wanted to go and look for work there. When Elisha went missing, I called him; I asked if he left with Elisha, he said no. He said he left Elisha playing outside.

I shouted, cried and ran to my mother’s place. I told my mother that I suspected Abraham took Elisha.

That night, around 7pm, I called him. I told him I still had not seen our son. He shouted at me; he said I was talking nonsense. I quarreled with him on phone and told him point blank that he was the person that took my son.

Did he return home that Monday?

He didn’t. On Tuesday, around 6am, I called him again. He said he was returning from Calabar. One of our neighbours, Eka Mma Ete, advised me to go to police station. I told her I didn’t have money for a police case.

I finally went to Uwanse Police Station. When I got there, I lodged complaint and showed them Abraham’s picture. They asked me of his whereabouts. At the end of the day, I exchanged phone number with the policewoman. She said the moment I sighted Abraham, I should alert them. That same Tuesday, I called and lied to him that both I and my last child, who is two months old, were hungry. He said he was coming and switched off his phone.

What do you mean, ‘you have suffered much for Elisha’?

I did all sorts of odd jobs just to feed him. Abraham didn’t take care of us. Around10pm, I saw Abraham’s missed calls; I flashed him.

He didn’t response until 2am; he called back and started quarreling that I refused to pick his calls. He further claimed to have come to the house, knocking, that I refused to open the door. I told him he was lying.

On Wednesday morning, I called to find out where he was, he said he was coming back home. I ran and told his brother. We both stood by the road side, waiting for him. Around 11am, he came home; I went to him and started crying.

What did he say?

If he didn’t know anything about the missing child, he would have beaten me. He just stood there, saying nothing. He later went out with his brother. I ran out, held and begged him to return my son. But he still denied knowing the whereabouts of Elisha.

I went straight to the police station and told them that he was around.

I called my elder brother, Eteka, and told him that my husband was back, but didn’t return with Elisha. My brother told me to hold Abraham; he said I shouldn’t allow him to go. As I sat down to wait for my brother, I received a call from an unknown number.

The caller asked me if I was Esther Abraham, I said yes. The person said I was under arrest, that my husband just reported that he had not seen his child, which he left with me.

What did you do then?

I said I was the one who laid complaint at Uwanse Police Station. The man said I should come to the station, that they have arrested him. I ran to the station. This was happening around 1pm on Wednesday. The police asked my brother what he wanted; he told them to transfer the matter to the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID).

Did they search him?

The policemen searched him and found more than N90, 000 on him. When they asked him where he got it, he said he worked for it. I told them it must have been the money he realised from selling Elisha.

I tried to hold unto him shirt he hit me with the handcuffs on his hands.

One of the policewomen threatened to kill him if he laid his hands on me. The DPO asked Abraham if he sold the child to an herbalist, he said no; he said that he sold him at Etinan, in Akwa Ibom. I told the DPO that right from when Elisha was born, Abraham didn’t like him. He used to beat him always.

Why does he hate Elisha?

He always accused me of sleeping with other men. So, when Elisha was born, he said he was not his; he said Elisha didn’t look like him. He said that my second child looked like him.

Why didn’t you leave with Elisha, knowing Abraham didn’t like him?

If I had attempted to take the child to my mother’s place, Abraham would have killed me. In fact, whenever I took Elisha to my mother’s place, he would go there to insult my mother and I. Last year, he came to my mother’s house, beat my mother and collected Elisha.

What do you want now?

All I want is my son. I want Elisha. I cannot allow my child to disappear just like that. Funny, up till date, he has not told me where he took my son to.

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Crime

Blame Judiciary for crime increase in Lagos – CP Idowu Owohunwa

Published

7 months ago

September 19, 2023

Sahara Weekly

Blame Judiciary for crime increase in Lagos – CP Idowu Owohunwa

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By Ifeoma Ikem

Sahara Weekly Reports That The Lagos state Commissioner of Police, CP Idowu Owohunwa says the judiciary should be blamed for the increase of crime in the state.

The police boss made the disclosure at the State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja while parading the three suspects arrested in connection with the killing of Adeniyi Sanni, an aide to the Senator representing Ogun West; Solomon Adeola (a.k.a. Yayi).

While briefing journalists on the painstaking efforts made by officers and men of the Lagos Command in tracking down the three men, Owohunwa bemoaned the emerging trend of giving light sentences or freeing such suspects arrested and prosecuted in the past by the judiciary.

“Through painstaking intelligence and investigative activities, we have succeeded in arresting the syndicate of the robbery and murder. The three suspects directly involved in the robbery and murder were arrested with three firearms including the killer’s weapon were recovered.”

The suspects Fred Azeez Okuno, 43-year-old Lagosian; Lucky Idudu Michael, 33-year-old from Delta State, and Adedigba Segun, 26-year-old from Oyo State.

Owohunwa said investigation so far revealed that the three suspects were directly involved in the robbery and murder of Sanni.

He said that on multiple occasions the security agencies have tried their possible best to reduce crime and the activity of criminals across the state metropolis but that after they had been processed through the judicial system and they always found a way to remain a menace to the society.

“As much as we are interested in advancing the process of justice, it is expedient that we also appeal for the process to strike a balance between Justice administration, criminal Justice delivery and overriding internet security situations across the country.

“It will lessen the load in terms of dealing with recycled criminals which is the major problem we’re facing in Lagos.

He noted that there have been instances where the judiciary neglected the gravity of the crime committed and chose to give soft landing to such criminal elements who in turn come back to perpetrate more vicious crimes like in the case of the three paraded suspects whom he described as “jail birds.”

“Investigations revealed that the three suspects had at one time or the other been arrested, tried and jailed over criminal offences and their years in correctional centres had only helped to harden them”.

In their confessions to journalists, the suspects who were masked by police to avoid being accused of human rights violation during the parade said they did not intend to kill Sanni whose identity they did not initially know.

They had stopped him presenting themselves as security agents wearing army uniforms with intention to rob him of his vehicle which had no plate number yet.

“It was a tokunbo Camry car, black in colour. We only rob tokunbo cars which we normally take to Alhaji in Republic Benin to sale,” said one of the suspects.

According to their confession, Sanni was shot when he raised alarm seeking help from people when he noticed that they might not be genuine military men after they had checked his vehicle documents and yet refused to free him.

After shooting him repeatedly with pistol, they dumped his body at the booth of the vehicle but when they noticed he was still alive, they stabbed him to death and subsequently dumped his corpse on the way. When they drove near Nigeria’s border with Republic of Benin, they called Alhaji to come and take delivery of the vehicle.

The police commissioner also bemoaned the lapses going on in Nigeria Correctional Service facilities as confessions made by the paraded suspects revealed that their gang was formed while they were serving jail sentences.

One of the suspects, Lucky Idubu told journalists that it was in the correctional centre (prison) that someone gave him the phone number of one Alhaji he could work with on completion of his earlier sentence.

The three of them meet in prison and built their network, they were connected to the Alhaji and up till now still have some elements in custody operating from the center.

He that the Alhaji was incidentally the one behind activities of the gang soon after they were released from their earlier sentences.

The Alhaji (name with-held) currently at large is said to be a Nigerian but resident in Republic of Benin from where he coordinated the car robbery and murder gang.

The suspects confessed that they negotiated with Alhaji to pay them N3million which he promised to remit soon after he must have sold the vehicle.

According to them, Alhaji had requested them to come with another vehicle when coming for their N3million, but they became unfortunate as police arrested them before they could embark on the second mission.

During their arrest, police recovered one brand new pistol with three live ammunition, one Baretta pistol with three live ammunition, one locally made pistol with six live cartridges, six expended cartridges, military gear comprising a military camouflage vest, jungle hat, pistol hose and a red Honda CRV from the suspects.

According to the police commissioner, investigation has revealed that the gang members were on narcotics as at the time they carried the act.

He has raised alarm on the growing trend of criminals impersonating military personnel wondering where they procure the uniforms and other accoutrements. “This portends great danger as members of the public might not easily know who is a genuine military personnel or not.”

At the parade were representatives of the Nigerian Army from 9th Brigade who were there to observe and listen to the confessions of the suspects and possibly fashion out how best to form synergy with the police in curbing crimes.

The CP said that the parade event has also established that the security agencies have in their hands a high notorious criminal international network and unfortunately most of their transporting equipment are transported from Nigeria to Cotonou.

“This is a very high possibility that they will be recycled back into the Nigerian market and buyer who fall victim of such purchase stand the risk of being brought to Justice

“We have activated our unique Interpol’s and network to break the trans border components of these crimes.

“I can assure you that in due course success will be achieved and the so called alhaji will be brought to Justice”.

The CP said that the component problems is the inpersonation of the military in order to perfect these crimes.

“when it first occurred there was a wild concern that military men are now involved but today through the painstaking intelligence activities of the police we’ve been able to prove that the brain behind these crimes only took advantage by acquiring the military kit in order to deceive members of the public and perfect their crimes.

The Senator’s aide Adeniyi Sanni was killed on August 5, 2023 when he was stopped by ‘fake security’ agents wearing Nigerian Army uniform at a checkpoint in Ojodu Berger area on his way to his home in Isheri, Lagos.

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Crime

102-year-old WWII veteran Breaks Records at Great North Run

Published

7 months ago

September 11, 2023

Sahara Weekly

https://twitter.com/i/status/1700904680618873175

102-year-old WWII veteran Breaks Records at Great North Run

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A 102-year-old veteran of World War II has become the oldest man to complete a half marathon after finishing the Great North Run.

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Bill Cooksey, who served in the RAF between 1941 and 1951, covered the 13.1-mile course from Newcastle to South Shields with the aid of walking companion Gavin Iceton in five hours and 41 minutes.

The centenarian had previously completed 10 miles a day for 10 days for his 100th birthday and cycled 1,000 miles for his 101st birthday, and took on the challenge to support the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust.

“I’ve always wanted to do it,” MR Cooksey told ITV ahead of the event. “I’ve been up here 30 years and always walked, and when I heard about the Great North Run I thought ‘I’ll be able to do that surely,’ because there’s the additional impetus of the NHS.

“Actually I don’t think I would have done it if it wasn’t of benefit to the NHS.”

A true inspiration. 💙

At 102 years old, Bill Cooksey has crossed the AJ Bell #GreatNorthRun! 👏

Huge congratulations, Bill! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ssu1cShr6e

— Great Run (@Great_Run) September 10, 2023

The Great North run was hit by torrential downpours after a week of heat in the United Kingdom.

Some runners were forced to walk home after flash flooding hit roads and the Tyne and Wear Metro system.

Mr Cooksey, though, managed to survive the conditions to complete his challenge and raise more money for the NHS. “I am glad I have done it,” he said to the Daily Mail. “I wish we didn’t have to go through all that rain – but we did it.”

Pat Chambers, charity development manager at the trust, added: “What a hero Bill Cooksey is.

“He continued walking through a thunderstorm to become a record breaker completing it in just over five hours 40 minutes. We are so proud of him.”

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Crime

Favour Oladele: Prophet, Owolabi Sentenced To Death Over Murder Of LASU Student

Published

9 months ago

July 17, 2023

Sahara Weekly

Favour Oladele: Prophet, Owolabi Sentenced To Death Over Murder Of LASU Student

Mother jailed for eating human flesh

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An Osun State High Court sitting in Ikire, headquarters of Irewole Local Government, on Monday, sentenced 42-year-old Prophet Philip Segun and Adeeko Owolabi (23) to death over the murder of a 400-level Sociology department student of Lagos State University (LASU), Favour Oladele.

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The mother of Owolabi, Adeeko Bola (46), was also sentenced to two years imprisonment for eating human flesh cooked for her.

Prophet Segun was the owner of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Solution Chapel, Ikoyi-Ile, where Owolabi and his mother went to seek wealth on 8th December 2019.

The convicts were arraigned on 15th November 2021 on two counts charge of conspiracy and murder contrary to sections 324 and 319(1) of the Criminal Code Cap. 34 Laws of Osun, 2002.

Led by the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary, Adekemi Bello, the prosecution team from the state Ministry of Justice told the court that Owolabi lured the victim, killed her, while her heart was cooked and other parts of the victim were used to make ‘victory soap’ for Bola.

The prosecution called nine witnesses and tendered exhibits, while the convicts, who had no witnesses, testified before the court and Owolabi confessed that he used his girlfriend to prepare a ritual meal for money ritual.

The presiding Judge, Justice Christiana Obadina, agreed that prosecuting counsel has proven her case beyond a reasonable doubt and found the convicts guilty as charged.

Counsel to the convicts, Adeshina Olaniyan, urged the court to temper justice with mercy in passing her judgment.

The court, thereby, sentenced prophet Segun and Owolabi to death by hanging for murder and 14 years imprisonment for conspiracy.

Justice Obadina also sentenced Bola to two years imprisonment for eating human flesh.

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