What is a city without crime? thisislagos descends into the Lagos underground to search out the baddest guys committing the craziest crimes in LasGidi.
Customs intercept N1.6b military wares, recover 55 rifles from Turkey (Punch)
The Nigeria Customs Service, Murtala Muhammed Area Command, intercepted different military and paramilitary accoutrements illegally imported and recovered 55 pieces of unassembled Jojef Magnum (Tomahawk) semi-automatic shotguns, emanating from Turkey.
The service added that the arms had a duty-paid value of N271m, while the total value of the various contrabands stood at N1.568bn.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, while addressing journalists at the command in Ikeja, Lagos, stated that a suspect was arrested in connection with the illicit arms importation. Read more
Father, son remanded for allegedly stealing N75m from Lagos firm (Punch)
Thirty-one-year-old Babatunde Ishola and his father, Bayo, have been remanded by the court at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre for allegedly stealing N75m belonging to a lotto company in Lagos State.
The defendants were arraigned on two counts of stealing and diversion of funds at the Yaba Magistrates’ Court in the state.
The duo were alleged to have taken money from the company’s account and diverted it to their accounts and those of their cohorts who are now at large.
2 suspects arraigned for alleged abduction in Lagos (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has arraigned two suspects, Shope Omoboye, 26, and Isiaka Muhammed, 22, on Wednesday, for alleged abduction.
They were arraigned at the Chief Magistrate Court, Yaba, before Magistrate O.Y. Adefope.
The defendants were charged with three counts of abduction and fraudulently obtaining property. Read more
Lagos arrests ‘‘area boys’’ extorting N100 from pedestrians in Lagos (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has arrested the miscreants who were seen charging people N100 to use a makeshift crossover bridge at the Trade Fair area of the state.
This was made known in a statement by the state Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, on X.com.
The arrests came after a citizen, #ARISE0214, reported the extortion on Wednesday, following heavy rainfall in the area. Read more
Couple jailed 11 years for sexual assault of girl, 15, in Lagos (Punch)
The Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, on Monday, arraigned and sentenced on an amended charge, a couple, Ezimora Okechukwu, a 49-year-old, to seven years and three years consecutively for indecent handling and sexual assault, and his wife, Ezimora Obioma, to one year of community service for concealing the act of sexual assault done to their housemaid.
According to the prosecution counsel, the offences committed by the couple contravene Section 135 (1), 163 and 415 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
The court heard that the incident occurred on July 17, 2022, in the house of the convicts, in the Abule-Osun area of Lagos State. Read more
Police arrest Lagos driver who stole employer’s car, gave testimony in church (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has apprehended 36-year-old robbery suspect, Amos Daniel, who stole his employer’s vehicle on the same day he was hired as a driver.
Daniel confessed to having taken the car to his church to give testimony of God’s miraculous provision.
In a related case, two dismissed soldiers, Akeem Suleiman and Abdulau Mohammed, along with two civilian accomplices, were paraded among other suspects for their involvement in a robbery gang. Read more
Man bags 25-year imprisonment after vomiting, excreting drugs (Punch)
A Delhi, India-bound passenger, Freeman Ogbonna, has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court for drug trafficking.
This came three months after vomiting and excreting eighty wraps of cocaine following his arrest by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the screening point of terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos.
This was disclosed in a statement by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi on Tuesday. Read more
Groundnut seller bags life jail for defiling 4-year-old (Punch)
The Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday sentenced Sunday Uche, a 21-year-old groundnut trader, to life imprisonment for defiling a four year-old-girl
Justice Ramon Oshodi held that the prosecution was able to prove the offence of defilement against the convict without reasonable doubt, stating that the defendant’s actions were heinous and deserving of the maximum punishment under the law.
Uche was remanded in custody on February 1, 2017, on a count of defilement by penetration preferred against him by the state, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Residents panic as police raid Lagos dark spots (Punch)
Some residents of Agege in Lagos State have expressed fear that innocent residents may be arrested and punished unjustly in the ongoing raid of criminal hideouts by the state police command.
The residents expressed their concerns to PUNCH Metro in separate interviews on Monday while monitoring a raid operation carried out by the CP Tactical Team along the Agege rail line and its environs.
The state Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, had on Saturday visited the rail line in Agege on a fact-finding mission following complaints about the activities of petty robbers in the area. Read more
Hotel manager remanded for alleged N.3m theft (Punch)
The Chief Magistrate Court, Yaba, before Magistrate O.Y. Adefope, on Friday, remanded a 30-year-old hotel manager, GodsWill Akpan, for allegedly stealing the sum of N360,000 entrusted to him.
The defendant was charged with one count of theft for allegedly stealing N360,000 while working as a manager of a guest house.
The charges alleged that GodsWill stole N360,000, the property of Owolabi Daniel.
2 arrested for alleged robbery, 1 for possessing firearm (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of three suspects, two of whom allegedly robbed a woman and one other found in possession of a locally made pistol in the state.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the arrest in a post on X.com on Sunday, said the investigation into the cases was ongoing.
He disclosed that the robbed woman was in her shop when the two suspects, Musa Ibrahim, 30, and Ibrahin Danjuma, 22, invaded the shop in the Imude area of Ojo around 11 pm. Read more
Family of man shot dead at Lagos fuel queue demands justice (Punch)
The family of Toheeb Eniafe has called on the Lagos State Police Command to speed up actions in the investigation to unravel the cause of the death of their breadwinner.
Toheeb reportedly died on May 1 from gunshot injuries at a petrol station of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Obalende, after he was shot by a police officer during a fracas.
Our correspondent gathered that during the fuel queue caused by the fuel scarcity in the state, two men believed to be police officers, attempted to drive into the station to buy petrol despite not being in the queue. Read more
Court grants Mohbad’s family permission to conduct independent autopsy (Punch)
The Coroner’s Court sitting in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State has granted the family permission to conduct an independent autopsy and toxicology test on the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, also known as Mohbad.
The family had applied for an independent autopsy citing suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the deceased.
The court’s decision comes after the previous autopsy conducted by the Lagos State Government was declared inconclusive. Read more
44-year-old tailor arraigned for alleged manslaughter (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command on Thursday arraigned a 44-year-old tailor, Usman Abubakar Shaba, for allegedly causing the death of Usman Hamed.
He was arraigned at the Ikeja High Court before Honourable Justice Ogala where the defendant was charged with one count of manslaughter.
The charge alleged that Usman Abubakar Shaba, 44 years old, on February 20, 2023, at about 7:30 am, caused the death of Usman Hamed by beating him severely and violently pressing his body down. Read more
EFCC arrests 117 for internet fraud in Lagos (Punch)
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested no fewer than 117 internet fraudsters in Lagos State.
The commission stated that the suspects were arrested in a sting operation at a Regional hotel in the Iyana Ishasi area of the state.
The spokesperson for the commission, Dele Oyewale disclosed this in a statement on Thursday. Read more
Court remands 40-year-old woman over N30m scam (Punch)
The Chief Magistrate Court, Yaba, on Tuesday, remanded 40-year-old Chioma Okoye for allegedly stealing N30m under the pretence of coordinating a thrift contribution.
She was arraigned by the Lagos State Police Command before Magistrate O.Y. Adefope.
She was charged with three counts of behaving in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace by sending obnoxious voice notes, fraudulent acts, and theft. Read more
Motorcyclist stabs Lagos guard to death, flees (Punch)
A motorcyclist, Ibrahim Dauda, has been on the run after allegedly stabbing a security guard, Yusuf Akadogo, to death on Igbira Road, in the Idi Araba area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered on Tuesday that Dauda was riding the motorcycle to a destination when a minor accident occurred around 9.20 pm on June 13, 2024.
The accident was said to have caused an argument that attracted people in the community. Read more
Bamise: Defendant’s injury in prison delays trial (Punch)
The trial of a Bus Rapid Transit driver, Andrew Ominnikoron, accused of raping and murdering 22-year-old fashion designer, Oluwabamise Ayanwole, was stalled on Monday due to the defendant’s leg injury sustained in prison.
At the resumed hearing at the Lagos State High Court in Tafawa Balewa Square, an official from the Ikoyi Correctional Centre informed the court that Ominnikoron fell in the bathroom on Sunday, June 23, 2024, injuring his left leg, which caused his absence in court.
Ominnikoron, 47, is standing trial on five counts, bordering on rape, conspiracy, felony, sexual assault, and murder, as brought by the Lagos State Government.
Cleaner bags life jail for sexually assaulting baby in church (Punch)
The Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday sentenced a 27-year-old cleaner, Saviour Udoh, to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl on a church premises.
Justice Ramon Oshodi held that the prosecution was able to prove the offence of defilement against the convict without reasonable doubt, stating that the defendant’s action was reprehensible and deserving of the maximum punishment under the law.
Udoh was arraigned on February 5, 2020, on a count of sexual assault by penetration preferred against him by the state, to which he pleaded not guilty.
5 arrested after son fakes self-kidnap, demands ransom from dad (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command announced on Sunday the arrest of 20-year-old Collins Ikwebe, who allegedly staged his abduction and demanded ransom from his father.
The command noted that Collins, along with one male and four female accomplices whose names were not disclosed, were detained for allegedly orchestrating the crime.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrest of the suspects while dismissing a claim of illegal detention by one of the suspects. Read more
Fake soldier arrested for dressing in friend’s military uniform (Punch)
A fake soldier, Abdulazizi Abdulwasiu, has been arrested for dressing in his friend’s complete army camouflage uniform in Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered on Friday that Abdulwasiu was riding an unregistered motorcycle to a destination in the state when he sighted the policemen attached to the Ilemba Hausa Division who were on surveillance patrol on Jinadu Street, in the Ajangbadi area of the state.
Upon sighting the policemen, Abdulwasiu abandoned his motorcycle and took to his heels but the policemen, who observed his suspicious movements, gave him a hot chase and arrested him on June 14, 2024. Read more
