Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2013—13
JTF arrests Kelvin’s allies, kidnappers of Edo judge BY SIMON EBEGBULEM
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ENIN—A twentytwo year-old selfconfessed member of Kelvin Onyiara’s kidnapping gang, Apkpevwe Richards (aka 2 Mark), yesterday, said that the kidnap kingpin, who was arrested by security agents last September, had over 300 trained abductors spread across several cells in the Niger Delta region. Richards, who was paraded along other suspected criminals by men of the 4 Brigade/Sector 1 Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, in Benin City, Edo State, confessed to being part of a cell that abducted Edo State High Court judge, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, and was also involved in the kidnap of a security expert, Ona Ekhomu and his wife, Victoria. The suspect, who was arrested along with a cache of arms and ammunition, a Prado jeep, which the 4 Brigade Public Relations Officer, Capt Roselyn Managbe, said was identified by Okungbowa as his, a BMW car marked Lagos GC 484 EKY, charms and other items, admitted to being recruited into the gang by one Rufus. Captain Managbe said: “In the efforts of 4 Brigade/Sector 1 Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, Nigerian Army to combat crime within its area of responsibility, 19 Battalion troops deployed at Kokori community in Ethiope
East Local Government Area of Delta State, on October 18, 20134, following a tip-off and a distress call about the kidnap of one Dr Ona Ekhomu and his wife, Victoria, at Benin-Auchi Road, at gunpoint in a gun duel, arrested one Richards. “In the course of investigation, the suspect, who hails from Okweiraka Village, Kokori, Delta State, admitted to the crime and revealed that he and his accomplices carried out an operation on Benin-Auchi Road and kidnapped one Dr Ona Ekhomu and his wife, who was rescued unhurt by the Joint Task
Force. “The suspect also revealed that he started life as a commercial motorcycle rider before going into illegal oil bunkering and later graduated to kidnapping under the tutelage of Mr. Kelvin Onyiara, who was arrested sometime in September 2013, by the Joint Army and Directorate of Security Service, in Port-Harcourt.” Also paraded by the military anti-crime outfit were three suspected arms dealers, over alleged trade in arms and one Kefas, for parading himself as a military personnel.
Bayelsa’ll participate in funeral of First Lady’s mum —Dickson BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA
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E N A G O A — BAYELSA State governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, yesterday, visited Ambemebiri, Okrika, hometown of late Mrs. Charity Oba, mother of Dame Patience Jonathan, First Lady of the country, in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State. Dickson, according to his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel IworisoMarkson, met and had consultations with the wife of the President as well as assessed the level of preparedness for the funeral, slated for Thursday and Friday, this week.
Dickson expressed satisfaction with the preparations and re-assured the bereaved family of the resolve of the government and people of Bayelsa State to support them all the way in ensuring the success of the funeral programme. He promised to lead a high powered delegation of current and past governors and deputy governors, past and current members of the National Assembly from all the Ijaw speaking areas of the country, Speakers and members of state Houses of Assembly, members of State Executive Councils, among others, to participate fully in the funeral of late Mrs. Oba.
Journalists seek legislation to compel political office holders give account of their stewardship
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SABA—MEDIA practitioners have called for a legislation to compel political officer holders, both elected and appointed, at all levels of governance, to be accountable to the people. Speaking at a two-day workshop organised by the Delta State Government in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, media practitioners drawn from both government and private organisations, said that
such a legislation would not only give a sense of belonging to the citizenry, but put the officers on their toes as they would no longer see governance as a private enterprise. In a statement after the workshop, by Mr. Austin Ogwuda, of Vanguard, Frank-Whyte Osabohien of Delta Broadcasting Service, DBS, and Obiakor Ebere of AIT, the journalists advocated “a legislation to compel both the elected and appointed representatives
of the people at all levels of governance to be accountable to the people through mandatory periodic presentation of their score cards. Such account of stewardship should be subjected to public scrutiny and the media should exercise the constitutional responsibility of verifying the authenticity or otherwise of the claims by investigating the cost of project, quality of work and whether the contracts were awarded in line with due process.”