Passenger kills okada rider, flees with motorcycle

Iyana Iyesi motorcycle park; Muhammed (inset)

Afeez Hanafi

A 20-year-old suspected murderer, AbdulrahmanMuhammed, has thrown the family of a commercial motorcyclist, Owechu Odeje, into mourning after he allegedly slit the okada rider’s throat.

Twenty-five-year-old Owechu operated under the aegis of the Articulate Motorcyclists Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria, Iyana Iyesi branch, in the Ado- Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Owechu was takingMuhammed from Ijaba junction to Ijaba Pipeline, a neighbouring community to Iyana Iyesi, when the latter reportedly killed him and fled with the motorcycle, leaving him in a pool of blood.

It was gathered that the suspect fled to Iju, another neighbouring community, where he was eventually arrested by the police.

The deceased’s elder brother, Clement Odeje, said he was too sad to speak on the incident.

A relative, Emmanuel Omajowu, demanded that the suspect should face the full weight of the law, saying Owechu’s death had devastated his parents and the entire family.

He said, “Around 10am last Tuesday, he was taking the Hausa man (Muhammed) from Ijaba junction to Ijaba Pipeline. The place is a developing area and it is usually deserted. They were on the way when he suddenly brought out a knife and slit Owechu’s throat.The killer escaped with the motorcycle.

“Owechu’s death is a big blow to the family. He was friendly and generous. We want the police to prosecute the case diligently and let justice be done.”

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said okada riders had stopped Muhammed at Iyana Iyesi, because they saw bloodstains on his clothes.

“He lied to them that he had an accident with a passenger and that he was going to a hospital in Iju to treat himself. That was why they allowed him to go. When the corpse of the motorcyclist was later found, a boy said he saw him with Muhammed.

“A leader of Hausa in the community called Muhammed on the telephone to wait at Iju and the police went there to arrest him,” he added.

However, Muhammed, who spoke in Hausa, told the police that argument over N50 change led to a scuffle between him and Owechu,during which he stabbed the victim.

He said, “When I reached my destination, I gave him N200 and asked for N50 change. He said my fare was N200 and refused to give me change. As we were exchanging words, he slapped me. He removed theknife from my pocket and we started struggling.

“I managed to collect it and stabbed him. I didn’t mean to kill him.”

Our correspondent, who visited Iyana Iyesi on Friday, learnt that it took the intervention of the community leaders and a police team, led by the Divisional Police Officer of the Onipanu division, CSP Muyideen Obe, to douse the tension that ensued after Owechu’s killing.

A rider, who identified himself only as Bolaji, said, “For two days, Hausa traders around the park could not open shops because the other residents were angry. The Hausa leader, baales within communities in Iyesi and the DPO had to come to the park to pacify us.”

A member of AMORAN executive, Gafar Ajayi, said the motorcyclists in the park had been warned against taking passengers to deserted places to avert a recurrence.

“Since that incident happened, our men no longer take passengers to Ijaba Pipeline. The incident pained all of us and we don’t want a repeat. We have also warned them to assess their passengers and report suspicious ones. Peace has been restored, but we want  justice,” he added.

The Ogun State Police Public Rations Officer,ASP Ambibola Oyeyemi, said the suspect had been transferred to the State Criminal investigation and Intelligence Department in Eleweran, Abeokuta, for investigation.

“As soon as the investigation is concluded, he will be charged to court,” he added.

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Gunman kills three women in Finnish town

 

Police officers investigate the area where three women were killed in a restaurant in Imatra, Eastern Finland. Photo: AFP

A lone gunman shot dead three women, a local official and two journalists, in an attack in a small town in Finland, a country with one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world.

Police said on Sunday they believed the 23-year-old suspect, who was swiftly arrested after the night-time shooting on Saturday, acted alone and initial indications were that there was no political or extremist motive.

The attack took place as the women were leaving a restaurant in the southeastern lakeside town of Imatra near the Russian border, and police said they may have been targeted at random.

Investigators identified the victims as the head of the municipal council and two local reporters for the Uutisvuoksi newspaper, the STT news agency said.

A police statement said the women had died at the scene after being shot at close range, sustaining gunshot wounds to the head or torso.

The suspect, a local man, did not put up any resistance to his arrest and the weapon was found in the boot of his car.

The gun belonged to an unidentified person who had a hunting licence, police said, indicating that the inquiry would seek to establish how it was in the suspect’s possession.

Finland enjoys relatively low crime rates compared to other European nations but, with many Finns keen hunters, it has one of the biggest gun ownership rates in the world.

– Town in shock –

The violence shocked Imatra, a small town of 27,500 people in southeastern Finland which lies just a few kilometres (miles) from the Russian border.

Outside the restaurant where the shooting took place several makeshift memorials were set up with dozens of candles and other items including a rag doll in a woolly hat.

In a posting on its website, the town council said it had set up a counselling facility for residents affected by the bloodshed.

The suspect, who already has a record for violence, was interrogated by police on Sunday but his motive remained unclear.

“Nothing demonstrates that he came (specifically) to kill these three women,” Saku Tielinen, head of the investigation, told a news conference.

There was no initial indication that the triple murder was “linked to political issues or extremism”, police said, adding that they were not looking for any other suspects.

Imatra mayor Pertti Lintunen confirmed to STT that Tiina Wilen-Jappinen, the local council’s Social-Democrat leader who was in her early 50s, was among the victims.

The names of the two journalists, one of whom was of a similar age while the second was in her mid-30s, were not released.

“I’m very shocked. This is incomprehensible and it shouldn’t happen. Something like this is inexplicable,” said Lintunen.

Finland has seen several deadly shootings over the past decade, all by young men.

Figures in the Small Arms Survey, carried out by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, found Finland to be fourth in the civilian gun-ownership ranks, behind the United States, Yemen and Switzerland.

In November 2007, eight people were killed in a high school north of the capital Helsinki by an 18-year-old who later killed himself.

Less than a year later, a 22-year-old shot and killed 10 people, nine students and a teacher, in a classroom at a cooking school in the western city of Kauhajoki before also committing suicide.

And in May 2012, two people were killed and seven more wounded after a shooting near Helsinki by another 18-year-old. The attacker is currently serving life in prison.

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Young people must remain virgins until marriage – Ayade

Professor Ben Ayade

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River says the only way to end the HIV scourge in Nigeria is for married couples to remain faithful to their partners while young people abstain from sex.
Ayade said this on Thursday in Calabar at the commemoration of the 2016 World AIDS Day celebration.
He said, “The absolute factor that can put an end to HIV/AIDS spread is total loyalty and abstinence.
“Married couples must be faithful to their partners. Young people must remain virgins until they get married and never allow any barber to use unsterilised clipper to cut your hair.
“Whatever the story, AIDS is real, it is a scourge, you must avoid it.’’
According to Ayade, the time has come to teach young people true African culture where sex before marriage is a taboo.
He described the usage of condom `campaign’ as creating a false feeling of protection, adding that the use of condom had not helped in stopping the scourge.
“Rather, it increases the level of promiscuity among the younger generation and encouraged unfaithfulness,’’ he added.
He said that the state government would do everything within its power to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Cross River.
The Director-General of the State Action Committee on AIDS, Dr. Rose Nyambi, disclosed that no fewer than 164, 267 people were currently living with HIV/AIDS in the state.
She said the number was made up of 103,000 females and 61,627 males.
Nyambi said the figure, which represented a 6.6 per cent prevalent rate, put the state on the fifth position in Nigeria.
According to her, Cross River has a mixed epidemic which shows that the prevalence among the general population and key population is high.
Nyambi also said that the state had the highest rate of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission in Nigeria.
She stated that this was achieved through various government policies and programmes on HIV/AIDS prevention.
The director general, however, lamented the exit of donor partners, describing the development as creating an extra burden on the state government.

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Football sex scandal: 350 victims come forward

Around 350 people have come forward to say they were sexually abused as children by youth football coaches in Britain, the National Police Chiefs’ Council said on Thursday.

The scale of the abuse began to emerge last week after a string of ex-footballers, including England internationals, told of the ordeals inflicted upon them by coaches.

“We are working closely with the Football Association to ensure that the response to this significant and growing number of victims, at all levels of football, is co-ordinated effectively,” said Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the NPCC’s lead for child protection.

The NPCC said a “significant” amount of calls had been made to police after the former players came forward to speak out about the abuse they suffered as children.

The BBC said the NPCC’s figures were based on existing investigations as well as a new helpline set up by British charity the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

The NSPCC said the helpline had received 860 calls in its first week, enabling it to refer 60 cases to police or social services within three days of the hotline launching.

That was more than triple the number of referrals made in the first three days of the helpline set up for victims of Jimmy Savile, a serial paedophile and late BBC television presenter.

The hotline is supported by England’s Football Association and backed by England captain Wayne Rooney, who is an NSPCC ambassador.

Bailey encouraged anyone with information about child abuse in football to come forward.

“We continue to encourage those who have been the victim of child sexual abuse to report it, regardless of how long ago the abuse may have taken place,” he said.

Fifteen police forces across Britain are investigating cases that have made daily headlines in the country over the past two weeks.

FA chief executive Martin Glenn said on Thursday he does not believe child abuse within British football has been covered up.

“It will help uncover some issues that can’t happen again, but do I think there has been a cover-up? I doubt it,” said Glenn, whose organisation has established an internal review of the allegations.

– Chelsea investigation –

The scale of the abuse began to emerge after ex-footballers Andy Woodward, Steve Walters and Paul Stewart revealed last week the abuse they suffered at the hands of youth football coaches.

Convicted child molester Barry Bennell has been accused by several footballers of abusing them when he worked for Crewe Alexandra, Manchester City and Stoke City across three decades beginning in the 1970s.

He is the target of five separate police investigations and on Tuesday was charged with eight counts of child abuse, prosecutors said.

Former Newcastle United player David Eatock is the latest player to speak out about his suffering.

Now 40, he said he had been a victim of former youth coach George Ormond, who was sentenced to six years in jail in 2002 for offences committed over almost 25 years.

“One of the more difficult parts for me is that I wasn’t as young as some of the others,” Eatock told the Guardian newspaper.

“I was 18 when I got to know George Ormond. I can still remember the look on his face, how terrifying it was, and how his eyes were possessed.”

He added: “I’m just glad Andy Woodward, by speaking out, has given me the strength to do this because I never would have otherwise. It has been like a knot in my brain and I’m now trying to pick apart that knot.”

Premier League leaders Chelsea have opened an investigation after newspaper claims they bought the silence of a former player who said he was abused by a scout at the club during the 1970s.

Glenn said the FA would come down hard on any club found to have hushed up reports of abuse.

“FA chairman Greg Clarke is committed to a full review, shining a torch on what has happened in the past in football,” he told a press conference at Wembley to unveil new England manager Gareth Southgate.

“If there has been evidence of hushing up, when it’s our turn to apply the rules we absolutely will, regardless of the size of club.”

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