Police Parade 10 Suspected Seditious Publishers, Kidnappers, Impersonator, others

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By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos.
 
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested 10 suspects over their alleged involvement in the publication of a seditious newspaper named Biafran Times.
 
Parading the suspects Monday, at the Command’s Headquarters, Ikeja, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos Command, Fatai Owoseni disclosed that two suspects were arrested for kidnapping and a group of syndicate for diversion of truck loads of rice consignment.
 
Briefing journalists on Monday at the Police Headquarters, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said the Police formation were on Sunday, 29thJanuary, 2017 told of a publication of some malicious materials at a location in Shomolu, adding that after which a team of Policemen were sent to the area at Number 33, Oguntolu Street, Shomolu, where they found a printing house where a newspaper captioned “Biafra Times” is being published.
 
Owoseni recalled that as at the time of getting to that scene, 515 copies of the edition had been published with ten suspects found working in the printing press.
He affirmed that the newspaper, headed by Peter Eke, believed to be unlicensed upon, completion of the printing would be circulated to the members of the public for sale, which according to him was an offence that contravene under the criminal law of Lagos State, specifically under Section 150 which bind unseen publication and Section 400 that dwells on terrorism and also punishable under criminal code that deals with seditious publication.
 
He affirmed that the ten arrested persons, the templates and exhibits recovered are in the custody of the Police, adding that the suspects would be arraigned in court after the press conference.
  
He however appealed to the members of the public that the Command will rise to every occasion that tends to bring disharmony, not only among the people of Lagos but to Nigerians generally.
In the same vein, the Command also informed of another group of suspects that were apprehended by the State’s Criminal Investigation Department. He said the group, headed by one Udoka Uriel, specialised in diverting goods that were given to them to deliver to customers.
He noted that  the latest one perpetrated by the gang  was that about  1,500 50 kilograms of rice worth  thirty millions ,eight hundred thousand naira given to them for delivery at Imo State  and Delta State were diverted to somewhere in Edo State, which through diligent detectives were detected at the place the goods were taken to.
 
“However, to our dismay, the criminal elements that called themselves haulage contractors have re-bagged and renamed the whole consignment. In order to cover themselves up and convince members of the public. But I can assure members of the public that the main source used in diverting the consignment has been detected and the original rice has been traced to the beneficiary.” Owoseni said.
He also hinted that during the course of the investigation, the same group are also involved in sale of some tyres  of a total cost of N48million aimed to be carried to a destination,  but rather than taken to the destination were  diverted to a location in Ibadan, Oyo State,   
Also paraded were two   suspected kidnappers of an eight-year-old pupil on his way to school, but demanded a ransom of 5million naira from the parents of the victim. The Commissioner informed journalists that the suspects locked their victim in a hotel for 5 days but as fate would have it, they were arrested when they went to collect the said ransom, unknowingly those detectives were already on their trail.  
He disclosed that the boy after being rescued was found to be traumatised but was eventually handed over to his parents for normal necessary medical attention, adding that the two of them are also in their custody.
Owoseni, however, appealed to the good people of Lagos State to give necessary information to Police in the event of organising any protest or demonstration in the state, so that such protest or process would not be hijacked by criminal elements in the state. The command vowed to invoke the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on any person playing an ethnic tune and working against the unity of Nigeria. .

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