News

APC, Fayose, Fayemi Condemn Murder of Bunmi Ojo at Viewing Centre

Published

8 years ago

August 12, 2018

Eric

The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has challenged security agencies to fish out the killers of a commissioner in the Federal Character Commission, Bunmi Ojo, and prosecute them.

Ojo, a former Personal Assistant to ex-governor of Ekiti State, Segun Oni, was shot dead by unknown assailants at a football viewing centre around Ajitadidun area in Ado Ekiti on Friday night.

The deceased had gone to watch an English Premier league match between Manchester United and Leicester on Friday night with some of his friends.

Shortly after settling down to watch the match, eyewitnesses told our correspondent that six gun-wielding men invaded the centre and shot him in the head and stomach at close range.

His remains have been deposited at the morgue of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti.

The Publicity Secretary of the APC, Taiwo Olatunbosun, in a statement rued the untimely death of the APC chieftain, describing it as “a brutish end to a blossoming life and career.”

Describing Ojo as a personal friend and an amiable personality who would not hurt anyone, Olatunbosun said his death was a personal loss to him and everyone who was close to the deceased.

“Those who knew Bunmi (Ojo) cannot but like him, he was an easy-going and upright politician who cultivated friendship in both high and low places, which endeared him to many people.

According to him, his death could not be far from the political machinations of “a devilish politician” in the state.

“We will not rest until the assailants are fished out. This is a test of efficiency for the police and other security operatives,” Olatunbosun added.

Another member of the APC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Ojo’s death might not be unconnected with his ambition to contest the Ekiti North Federal Constituency II in the House of Representatives.

The Federal Constituency is comprised of Ido/Osi, Ilejemeje and Moba Local Governments.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu, could not be reached for comments.

Several calls to his phone by our correspondent were not picked.

However, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has condemned Ojo’s murder, calling on security agencies to arrest and prosecute the killers.

Fayose, in a statement issued on Saturday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, condoled with the families, friends and political associates of the deceased, praying that God would console and uphold the wife and children.

“The manner in which Bunmi Ojo, a commissioner in the Federal Character Commission and strong ally of Chief Segun Oni was killed is a demonstration of the extent some devilish people can go to settle scores with their fellow men and the security agencies must not add this gruesome murder to the diary of unresolved murders in Nigeria.

“On the part of the state government, all necessary assistance will be provided for the security agencies to aide thorough investigations of the murder and arrest of the perpetrators,” the statement said.

The governor, who called for vigilance among residents of the state, lamented that the peace enjoyed in the state since he assumed office on October 16, 2014 had been shattered since May, claiming the APC returned with its do-or-die politics.

Also, the Media Office of Ekiti State Governor-Elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has commiserated with the family of the late Ojo.

A statement by the Director of Media and Publicity, Wole Olujobi, expressed shock and sadness over Ojo’s murder, describing it as a sad commentary that shattered the relative peace the state had been enjoying after the July 14 governorship poll.

While commiserating with the family of the late politician, Fayemi charged security agencies to live up to their responsibility to get to the root of the killing and bring perpetrators to justice.

He said, “This is a sad development that should not be allowed to go away without getting to the root of this killing, but then the public must give security agencies a chance to do their job to get to the root of this sad development.

“Security agencies are enjoined to swing into action to apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime to check the activities of criminals in Ekiti State.”

The Punch

News

Gunmen Kill Driver, Abduct Passengers on Benin-Ore Expressway

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2026

Eric

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have attacked a commercial bus operated by GUO Transport along the Benn-Ore expressway, killing the driver and abducting several passengers in what underscores Nigeria’s deepening insecurity on major highways.

Reports indicate that the assailants ambushed the South East-bound vehicle, opened fire on the driver, who died at the scene, and subsequently whisked away passengers to an unknown destination.

The incident is believed to have occurred along a notorious stretch of the highway linking the South-West to the South-South, long plagued by banditry and abductions.

While official confirmation from security agencies is expected, local sources and a circulating video showed that passengers might have forcefully been taken into nearby forests, a tactic commonly employed by kidnapping syndicates operating along the corridor. Similar attacks in the past have involved mass abductions, with victims later released after ransom payments.

News

Police Retirees Block Aso Rock Gate, Demand Action on Pension Scheme

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2026

Eric

Some retirees of the Nigeria Police Force under the aegis of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF) have staged a protest at the Presidential Villa in Abuja demanding President Bola Tinubu sign the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly in December 2025.

The bill seeks to withdraw the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme.

The protesters, under the scorching sun, walked from the Three Arms Zone in Abuja through the street in front of the Police Headquarters.

They carried placards with various inscriptions, in addition to the Nigerian flag and the flag of the Nigeria Police Force.

Led by its National Coordinator, CSP Raphael Irowainu, the protesters described the retention of the NPF in the Contributory Pension Scheme as fraudulent and illegal.

They also said the CPS is inhumane and obnoxious.

According to them, the protest seeks to prevail on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to give assent to the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly on 4th December 2025 and transmitted to the President on 16th March 2026.

They said that when signed into law, the Act will totally exempt the police from what they called a “slavery and untimely death-inducing pension scheme.”

The protesters, accompanied by some of their spouses and children, also blocked Gate 8 leading into the Presidential Villa, causing obstruction to vehicular movement.

Efforts by Villa security personnel to dissuade them from the protest proved abortive as they insisted on seeing the President.

They laid their mats in front of the gate, singing songs of solidarity, while some of them lay on the floor.

As of the time of filing this report, no one from the Villa had addressed the protesters.

CSP Irowainu said that their main purpose is to prevail on President Tinubu to sign the bill exiting the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS, which he said has been passed and transmitted to him by the National Assembly.

He lamented that while other security agencies in the country such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, SSS and others have all been exited from the scheme, the police remain trapped in it.

“Our major aim here is to prevail on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sign our bill—the bill exiting the police from the Contributory Pension Scheme—passed by the National Assembly on 4th December 2025 and transmitted to him on 16th March, 2026, into law, nothing more than that.

“The soldiers have been exited, the SSS has been exited, the Air Force has been exited, the Navy has been exited, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has been exited. The police, who are the father of them all, are trapped in this obnoxious Contributory Pension Scheme,” CSP Irowainu said.

It is not the first time retired officers are staging a protest over the CPS. In July last year, they demonstrated at the National Assembly to demand their removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

The demonstrators, mostly elderly, stood in the rain holding placards and chanting anti-government songs.

Some of the retired police officers also besieged the Force Headquarters in Abuja to protest against the CPS.

Addressing the protesters at the time, the then Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, said the welfare of retired police officers was being addressed, but that the exit of the Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme was not something that could be implemented immediately.

He, however, advised the leaders of the protest to refrain from spreading misinformation, stressing that the Force could not abandon its own.

News

IGP Disu Orders Ban on Illegal Checkpoints Nationwide

Published

3 weeks ago

April 13, 2026

Eric

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, has issued a sweeping directive to Commissioners of Police nationwide, ordering an immediate end to extortion, illegal checkpoints, harassment of citizens and other misconducts.

He declared that restoring public confidence in the Nigeria Police Force is now a top operational priority.

The order was contained in a signal to members of the police management team including Commissioners of Police (CP) and other operational commanders.

In the marching order, the IGP acknowledged the deep mistrust many Nigerians feel toward officers, describing it as “painful” and unacceptable.

He said citizens now fear encounters with the police as much as they fear criminals, warning that such a reputation cannot continue under his leadership.

According to him, the directive marks the beginning of a determined effort to rebuild discipline within the police and re-establish its legitimacy in the eyes of the public.

The order specifically outlawed the routine collection of money from motorists on highways, the operation of unauthorised checkpoints, and the practice of arresting citizens and forcing them to withdraw cash from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) or Point of Sale (PoS) devices.

The IGP also condemned the use of officers for private duties in homes and businesses, describing such deployments as abuse of authority and a violation of existing presidential directives on VIP protection.

Officers were further directed to comply strictly with approved dress codes, remain clean-shaven and adhere to established uniform regulations.

The police boss warned that harassment of citizens in any form would no longer be tolerated, stressing that the Nigerian public is not the enemy of the Force but the reason for its existence. At the same time, he assured officers that the institution would equally defend them against intimidation or disrespect from members of the public, noting that the dignity of the uniform must be protected on both sides.

Holding command leaders directly accountable, the IGP said Commissioners of Police would henceforth be responsible for misconduct within their jurisdictions.

He ordered them to demonstrate measurable improvements in discipline within seven days or face formal queries and possible transfers where lapses persist.

He emphasised that supervisory failure would no longer be ignored at any level of leadership. To ensure compliance, the directive introduced new oversight measures, including independent monitoring of field operations and public reporting channels through which citizens can lodge complaints directly with Force Headquarters.

A Citizens Commendation System will also be established to recognise officers who demonstrate professionalism, with monthly honours to be drawn from public nominations across commands.

Describing the directive as a decisive turning point, the police chief said Nigerians have grown weary of promises and now expect visible change. He ordered all commanders to brief personnel under their authority within 72 hours and confirm compliance in writing, declaring that the process of cleaning up the Force has begun and will be sustained until public trust is restored.