8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013
Police probe kidnap, murder of Customs comptroller BY CHIDI NKWOPARA
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WERRI— THE Imo State Police Command has commenced investigation into the circumstances that led to the kidnap and eventual murder of an Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Mr. Mishak Ugwoha. Vanguard investigations revealed that the slain Ugwoha visited his Umuduruji, Umuchoko, Amaigbo, country home in Nwangele local council area of Imo State, to supervise his on-going building project. It was also gathered that a set of armed hoodlums stormed the project site and immediately wanted to abduct the customs officer but he resisted. A villager, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, said the slain Ugwoha was at the building site with four of his relations when the hoodlums struck. He said “The customs boss put up stiff resistance and in an attempt to show that they were not joking, fired at the man at close range. The bullets missed the customs officer by whiskers and hit the abdomen of a member of the gang.” Vanguard was also told that the hoodlums, however, succeeded in bundling Ugwoha and their dying colleague into their waiting vehicle. The aggrieved villagers later found the bullet-riddled remains of the customs boss where it was dumped along Amaigbo-Umundugba road. Meanwhile, the aggrieved kinsmen of Ugwoha have reportedly burnt the family homes of two natives said to be connected with the abduction and murder of Ugwoha. Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mrs. Joy Elemoko, confirmed the incident, adding that some people have been arrested.
8 killed as truck crashes into stationary vehicles in Lagos BY BOSE ADELAJA
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AGOS — AT least eight people were feared dead, yesterday, in Lagos when a truck veered off its lane and crashed into stationary vehicles at Oshodi. Five vehicles were involved in the accident which occurred at the Oshodi ‘Isale’ Bus Stop on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway. The stationary vehicles involved in the accident included three commercial buses and a Spots Utility Vehicle, SUV. Some of the victims were passengers in a commercial bus waiting to be conveyed to IsheriOshun and Ijegun areas while others were commuters and passers-by waiting at the bus stop.. According to eye-witnesses, the mini-truck with inscription ‘Chosen Generation Church‘ was heading towards Mile 2 when it allegedly suffered a break failure and dragged a Mitsubishi SUV with number plate LAGOS KS 581 AV which was also on the service lane and both rammed into the two commercial buses which were loading. While one of the commercial buses with number plate LAGOS BDG 166 XE was slightly damaged, the 22-passenger bus LAGOS XM 759 EPE lost five passengers on the spot while others were severely injured. An eye witness simply identified as Onwe said the driver of the fully loaded commercial bus escaped as the incident occurred shortly after he alighted from the vehicle to obtain a ticket from the union office. The incident caused a heavy traffic congestion on the expressway until the timely intervention of law enforcement agents who conveyed the victims to a near-by hospital and the mini-truck towed to Makinde police division. Also, the lone occupant of the SUV and occupants of the first commercial bus escaped unhurt but some commuters and passers-by were badly hit. When Vanguard arrived the scene, some survivors were counting their blessings while others searched for their relations as soon as they received distress calls. Also, hoodlums took advantage of the situation to extort on lookers as some recovered items were, however, taken to the police station for proper identification. A survivor, Madam Funmi Ajala, said she could not explain how she survived the accident. According to her: ‘’We were waiting for the driver who was out of sight when the bus was hit by the truck. Before we realised what was happening we were trapped as the door was locked and none of us could escape.’’ A victim’s mother, Mrs Aborishade Janet, said she lost her only daughter to the crash. She said: "I got a distress call that my daughter was terribly sick only to behold her lifeless body. I waited in the market to purchase some items before joining her at
home. If only I knew it will end this way, I would have stopped her." In a chat with Vanguard, Chairman, Oshodi-Isolo motor park, Comrade Bolaji Ariyo, put the casualty figure at five, saying: ‘’Five were confirmed dead while five were injured." Transport managers pulled the affected vehicles off the road to diffuse the resultant gridlock. Mr Samuel Ogundayo, the Oshodi Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, said that 19 people were involved in the accident, adding: “A tipper had a break failure. 19 people were involved but eight died instantly. “They have been taken to the General Hospital Ikeja and the Health Centre, Oshodi.” However, an official of the Lagos State Transport Management
ABOVE: One of the affected vehicles (BELOW): A survivor at the scene. PHOTOS: Bose Adelaja. Authority, who pleaded anonymity, said that five people died in the accident and five injured. He said that the bodies of the
dead had been taken to the General Hospital, Ikeja, while the wounded were taken to the Trauma Centre Oshodi.
Court sentences student to death for stealing handsets, recharge cards ...as Okada rider gets 15 yrs in jail for robbery BY AUSTIN OGWUDA
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SABA – AN Effurun High Court has sentenced a 24year-old secondary school student, Moses Akatugba, to death by hanging for robbing a woman of handsets and recharge cards. This came as a commercial motorcyclist, popularly called Okada rider was jailed 15 years for robbing a female passenger of her handset. Moses was convicted on a two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery contrary to section 6 (b) and punishable under section 1 (2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special
Provisions) Act Cap R11 Volume 14 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. Prosecution told the court that the convict with others now at large robbed one Mrs. Akpor Mazino of N113,930 cash, three GSM handsets, 54 various denomination of MTN recharge vouchers, 28 Econnet vouchers and 25 Glo vouchers valued over N100,000, at 30, NNPC Housing Complex Road, Ekpan. The victim in her evidence gave a vivid account of how she was robbed of the items at her shop at gunpoint. Meantime, an Asaba high court also yesterday sen-
tenced a 30-year-old commercial motorcyclist, Paul Nwanegbo, to 15 years imprisonment with hard labour for robbing a female passenger of her GSM telephone handset. The incident, according to prosecution, took place along Direct Labour Agency (DLA) Road, Asaba on October 5, 2011 before the ban on operation of Okada in Asaba metropolis and other designated cities. The female passenger, Amaka Okafor, told the court that “on realising the gun was a toy, I resisted him but he overpowered me after biting me and snatched my phone from me.”