The Police have arraigned a 30-year-old man before an Apapa Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly beating his father, Mr. Lawrence Uagbale.
Uagbale Samsom, who resides at House 15, B Close, 511 Road, Festac Town, was brought before Magistrate A.K. Shonubi on a three-count charge of intent to commit felony, stealing and assault.
Prosecuting Sergeant Uche Kalu said the accused entered his father’s room around 10am and stole N50, 000. When he was confronted by his father, he pounced on him and beat him up.
Kalu said the offence contravened Sections 306, 285 and 171 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011.
The accused pleaded not guilty and was granted N50, 000 bail, with two sureties in the like sum.
Mrs. Shonubi adjourned the matter till September 18.
Also, eight persons including four women were yesterday arraigned before Magistrate Shonubi for allegedly smoking and drinking local gin ‘Ogogoro’ in public.
Nkereuwen Akpan, 29, James Patricia, 39, Jenifer John, 27, Salami Kazeem, 37, Festus Opara, 35, Princess Pius, 26, Gold Johnson, 27 and John Idoh, 32, were charged on two counts of misdemeanour and unlawful assembly.
Kalu told the court that on August 14 at 1:20am at Kazuma roundabout, Apapa, the accused unlawfully gathered to smoke and drink the local gin in a manner to cause fear and panic in the neighbourhood.
Kalu said their offence contravened Sections 409 and 44(1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011.
The accused pleaded not guilty and were granted N20,000 bail with one surety in the like sum each. The Magistrate adjourned the matter till September 17.
Thirteen people died yesterday in gun battles in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital and Damaturu, the Yobe State capital. The two cities are in the northeast, hotbed of the fundamentalist group Boko Haram .
Men of the sect and the Joint Task Force (JTF)) clashed in Maiduguri after a suicide attack was foiled.
The clash ground the city as civil servants fled their offices.
A suicide bomber, a passerby and two sect members died.
In Damturu, a clash of two gangs left nine people dead. A source said the sect was going after impostors.
The gangs of gunmen clashed at Nayi-Nawa, one of the trouble spots in the town.
Yobe Police spokesman Toyin Gbadegesin, who confirmed the incident, said the police were alerted by the ward head of the area and the bodies were deposited at the mortuary.
Gbadegesin said the affected persons are within ages 18-25 bracket.
He said the bodies were riddled with gunshot injuries and deep knife cuts, indicating intense fighting.
Gbadegesin said one person had been arrested.
The police were silent on the gangs involved in the clash. A resident, who begged for anonymity, said: “It is a clash of Boko Haram members and some boys percieved to be criminals who are committing atrocities in the town under the cover of Boko Haram.”
Commissioner of Police Patrick Egbuniwe also said a group of gunmen attacked his men in Gwange, but no life was lost.
He described as unfair the statement credited to Yobe State Deputy Governor Abubakar Aliyu that his convoy was shot at by a drunken policeman.
According to the CP, he is still investigating the case, but he wondered where the deputy govenor got his information.
“I really don’t know where he got that information that the policeman was drunk when we are still investigating the matter. As far as I know, we have not concluded investigation on that matter and for the deputy governor to say the policeman was drunk, is very unfortunate.
“The report of the investigation will soon be ready, but I will have to forward it to the Inspector-General,” Egbuniwe said.
The Maiduguri incident affected business. Traders closed their shops at the popular Monday market as early as 11am.
Civil servants immediately returned to their homes.
When our correspondent visited the secretariat at about 1pm, many offices were locked. Only a few workers were seen.
A civil servant who pleaded not to be named said many of us left for our various homes when we heard sporadic gunshots, which sounded so loud that they seemed to be within the premises.
He said they later heard that there was an attempted robbery at the Monday market, which was repelled by the JTF.
Confirming the attacks, JTF spokesman Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa said: “At about 10:00 am today (yesterday), a suicide bomber on a tricycle (KEKE NAPEP) targeted a JTF patrol vehicle and missed it. In the process, he rammed into a moving Mercedes Benz car and detonated an Improvised Explosive Device. The bomber instantly died, one civilian died, two others and a soldier were injured as a result of the explosion.”
He added: “The bodies and the three injured persons were taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for treatment.”
Lt.-Col. Musa said one of the incidents was at Customs.
“The Task Force has since cordoned off, swept the affected area and routine activities are going on unhindered.”
The spokesman said in another incident in the town “two suspected members of Boko Haram terrorists who stormed the Monday market with the intention of killing innocent citizens were encountered and killed by troops of the JTF”.
He said in the incident, which occurred at about 11am, two AK 47 rifles and 18 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the assailants.
The JTF in Borno also alerted the public to the planned attacks by the men of the Boko Haram sect during weekend’s Eid-el-Fitril celebration.
The task force, in a statement said: “Intelligence information available to the JTF, Op RESTORE ORDER, indicated planned attacks on military and civilian targets by terrorists during the Sallah.
“People are advised to report any suspicious persons/movement to the Task Force so as to beef up security arrangement already put in place in order to achieve the desired peace and security during and after the period.”
Is too bad how Nigeria Govt does their things, in an established countries they uses well educated people to run their Govt while in Nigeria they uses a rotation of tribes to run their country, whether the person is qualified or not, all they know is that this is their own turn for that job and they must have somebody representing them there. Even in the football, the Hausa people at the big top will make sure u've one of them there who will represent them whether he knows how to play or not. In a reality an Hausa man is not suppose to represent us in US, is a big shoe for him to wear.....
August 15, 2012 by Mike Odiegwu with agency report
The Bayelsa State Police Command on Monday confirmed the arrest of a policeman attached to MOPOL 30 Squadron in connection with the killing of a driver.
The Bayelsa Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Fidelis Odunna, confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria on the telephone.
“It is true that the driver died. The officer concerned has been arrested and is with the state CID. I am very sad,” Odunna said.
NAN gathered that a trigger-happy riot policeman shot and killed a driver of a Toyota Hilux van, Goddy Umorem, at the Swali Market area of Yenagoa in a traffic jam.
Investigations revealed that Umorem, who was returning to his company at Akaba village, was killed during an argument with the policeman.
An eyewitness told NAN that the driver had been passed by a civilian controlling traffic for Julius Berger Construction Company, working on the road. However, the policeman, who was also attached to the same construction company, ordered the late driver to reverse.
The eyewitness said appeals by the driver that he could not reverse because there were vehicles behind him was ignored.
This was said to have angered the policeman who went to the front of the Hilux van and shot the driver on the head, killing him instantly.
The late driver’s employer, Dr. Azibapu Eruani, described the incident as unfortunate and asked the police to unravel the circumstances of the death.
The remains of the deceased had been deposited at the Federal Medical Centre mortuary in Yenagoa.
Meanwhile, the Save Nigerian Group on Tuesday lamented the extra-judicial killings by the police in in the state.
The state chapter of the group spoke against the backdrop of the brutal killing of Umorem.
The killing had created pandemonium at the market as market women protested the incident.
The incident occurred two days after a Police patrol van allegedly ran over one Odoko Iwama, 40, along the Otiotio Road, Yenagoa, following an accusation that the deceased stole a fowl.
Iwama, a father of four, was said to have been accused of stealing a fowl.
The policemen were said to have crushed the victim while attempting to arrest him.
But the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, regretted the incident describing it as an avoidable accident.
Dickson in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the deceased was among nine persons who took to their heels on sighting patrol van of the special police squad in the area.
However, SNG in a separate statement signed by its state coordinator, Puluovie Japheth, accused the police of bringing the reign of terror back to the state.
The group described the two killings as unfortunate and avoidable error on the part of the police officers.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Fidelis Odunna, confirmed the killings but said the death of Iwama was an accident.
Written by Kola Oyelere, Kano Wednesday, 15 August 2012
THE Kano State Police Command, on Tuesday, disclosed that no fewer than 950 Improved Explosive Devices (IEDs) and sophisticated bombs were recovered from January till date.
Speaking with newsmen in Kano at a press briefing, the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, noted that all IEDs been detonated by anti-bomb squad without harming anybody.
The CP listied various crimes, which had been curtailed by the command, as he said his men arrested a 20-year-old man, Ibrahim Musa, for allegedly killing one Yakubu Ahmed, also a 21-year-old, following a brawl over N50.
The command has also nabbed two staff of the Stanbic IBTC for allegedly paying out N21.8 million without authorisation.
He disclosed that rampant cases of rape continued in the state, saying, two elderly men, Alhassan Uba, 35 years and his friend, Yusuf Isah, 30 years, who jointly raped a 10-year- old and the motorbike used to abduct the innocent girl was also recovered.
Speaking on the alleged fraudulent transfer of money by the two staff of Stanbic IBTC, the CP noted that, on July 25, 2012, the General Manager of the bank discovered that the sum of N27, 850,000 was missing.
Mr Idris told the pressmen that as a result of in preventing crime in the state, a raid was carried out by his command, and a total of 102 suspects were nabbed at various hideouts and 11 vehicles were recovered.
Giving the breakdown of exhibits recovered by the command, the CP said two pistols , nine double-barrel guns, 226 cartridges, 10 rounds of ammunitions and two AK47 Magazines were recovered.
Other exhibits recovered were two long sickle (barandami), one AK 47 riffle, sword one, 13 pump action, roll of PHCN cables, 200 rubber solutions and 12 knives.
He commended members of public for their positive assistance, noting that, security is a collective responsibility. He, therefore, urged them not to relent in their efforts of furnishing them with useful information, which can lead to the arrest of men of underworld.
An armed robbery suspect, Jimoh Yekini, on Tuesday in Ibadan, Oyo State, said he “mistakenly” stoned his friend’s father to death.
Yekini, 36, also known as Ejo (snake), told journalists while being paraded with other armed robbery suspects at the state police command that his usual weapon of attack was a stone.
The victim, Kamoru Lamidi, was said to have died after a stone Yekini threw at his son, Sumaila, hit him.
Lamidi told our correspondent, “They call me Ejo (snake) because I am a stubborn being. I was only fighting with Sumaila and stoned him. The stone mistakenly hit his father on the head.
“I threw a second stone, which also it also hit him in the head, but I did not know it was not Sumaila.”
But the police insisted he killed Lamidi when he went to rob the victim’s house.
Yekini was said to have been on the run since the incident.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tambari Mohammed, said Yekini was on the command’s wanted list for violent robberies he had carried out.
The CP said, “He ran out of luck on August 12, 2012, after the Special Anti-Robbery Squad office got a report that he was sighted at Agbeni area of the metropolis while robbing houses.
“SARS operatives quickly swung into action and stormed the scene where he was arrested after a long struggle with the help of the community.
“He was the mastermind of the communal clash that occurred in December 2011 at Agbokojo /Foko area in which several people were killed while many houses and worship centres were razed. Assorted weapons like AK-47 were used freely at the time.”
The police said he was wanted in connection with many other robberies.
The suspect was paraded alongside 10 other suspects accused of sundry criminal offences including armed robbery and car theft.
Meanwhile, one policeman and an armed robbery suspect were killed during a shoot-out in the Apapa area of Lagos on Tuesday.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the robbery suspects, who were four in number, were operating near Union Bank located on Wharf Road when policemen attached to Apapa Division confronted them.
The policemen engaged the robbers in a gun duel but a policeman, Taye Ajetunmobi, was killed in the process while another one sustained injury.
A reliable source at the police station said two of the suspects were arrested while another was killed.
The incident reportedly caused pandemonium as motorists and pedestrians scampered to safety.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, said the robbers had been terrorising residents for quite sometime.
She however said only one suspect was arrested, one killed, while two others escaped with gunshot wounds.
She said, “The four armed robbers have been terrorising residents for sometime. On Tuesday, policemen received information that they were about to operate. So, they laid ambush.
“The robbers came on two motorcycles and when they saw policemen, they immediately opened fire. One armed robber was killed while a policeman was also killed. One of the armed robbers was arrested and arms were recovered from him.”
Part of Kaduna metropolis was on Tuesday thrown into confusion as two suspected suicide bombers blew up themselves while taking an object suspected to be a bomb to an unknown destination.
The two suspects, according to an eyewitness, were on a motorcycle heading towards the northern part of the state at about 3pm when the object exploded killing them on the spot.
Another motorcyclist, said to be following the two suspects, had his stomach ripped. He was rushed to the 44 Army Reference Hospital in the metropolis, where he later died.
There was a mild drama, when security operatives were prevented from Ali Akilu Road by Kaduna Polytechnic Consult, scene of the incident.
Even residents could not move close to the scene for fear of being stung by bees
Security operatives in the area had to shoot several canisters of teargas into the air to drive away the bees before they could reach the victims.
An eyewitness, James Adamu, told our correspondent that he was passing through the area when he heard a loud explosion and took to his heels.
He, however, said he returned to the scene where he saw the three victims lying on the ground.
Adamu said, “But I saw the three of them (victims) with their wrecked motorcycles all lying on the ground. Two of them died instantly while one of them was still moving. But the bees spread around and started stinging people.”
Rita, another eyewitness and resident of the area, said she and one of her siblings were at home when they heard the explosion and ran out to know what was happening. She said they saw the three victims and their bikes at the scene of the incident.
Confirming the incident, the state Acting Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abubakar Balteh, said, “Two people were carrying an object suspected to be an Improvised Explosives Device on a motorbike from Singer Roundabout toward Lugard Hall Roundabout close to the NNPC filling station when the device exploded killing the two of them.
“There was no other casualty at the scene of the incident. We have sent forensic experts to the area to take evidence which we would analyse for additional information. We are on top of the situation.”
ASSISTANT Inspector General of Police, Tambari Yabo Muhammad, has disclosed that the position of the Nigerian Constitution on criminal justice has led to recycling of criminals in the country.
Yabo Muhammad, made this disclosure while parading some suspects at the press briefing of the Oyo State Police Command, Eleyele, Ibadan, on Tuesday.
He said sus
pected criminals regrouped after being let off the hook through prerogative of mercy or amnesty.
During the parade, 13 suspected car thieves, suspected armed and okada robbers were presented to members of the public, among who was a notorious robber in Ibadan, Jimoh Yekini a.k.a ‘Ejo’, who for several months has been a thorn in the flesh of Apaana, Foko residents in Ibadan, and Alabi Lucky, who was arrested with bunch of master car keys.
Lucky was brought from the Apata Division of the Nigeria Police with a stolen white Toyota Sienna car belonging to Adeola Ajimobi. Others were Arise Jelili Adegbola and Adewale Lawal, who were arrested after a gun battle in their hideout.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, who was recently promoted to the position of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), and bid to resume at Zone 3 Yola, said the police had been experiencing re-arrest of suspects in recent times. He said most suspects found ways out of their predicaments or were set free by the court of law, because of the inability of the police to present evidence in court. They, therefore, go back to the society, regroup and terrorise people.
He, thereby, called on stakeholders in the country to step-up justice system in Nigeria.
OODUA Peoples Congress (OPC), in Lagos, on Tuesday, called on President Goodluck Jonathan not to resign because of threats from terrorists.
Founder of the OPC, Dr Frederick Fasehun, made the call at a news conference, stating that Jonathan should disregard those people who were demanding his resignation.
“It will be a bad precedence for a president to leave office because were demanding his removal.
“We cannot override the National Assembly to remove him, if the people think he deserves to be removed,” he said.
Fasehun said only a fool would play the ethno-religious card in contemporary Nigerian politics, adding that “religion has no place in Nigerian politics or government.”
He regretted the nonchalant attitude of some Nigerians to the security problems in the northern part of the country, lamenting that “nobody seems genuinely committed to the unity of Nigeria, which is very worrisome.”
According to him, the lack of respect for the country percolated the entire system, while he urged Nigerians to review their contributions to the current situation in the country, so as to pull it back from the brink.
“No country has ever survived two civil wars. We have experienced one. Another civil war will be Nigeria’s Armageddon,” he said.
Fasehun said the only panacea available for the restructuring, reforming, redesigning and transforming the nation was a sovereign national conference.
“We have been calling for a sovereign national conference to solve our national question. If we don’t sit down together to negotiate our future, Nigeria will implode and pass into history.
“If we continue to patch this pseudo-federalism together by the glue of the faulty 1999 Constitution, the ethnic nationalities will continue to wallow in suspicion, hunger, anger, poverty, ignorance and superstition,” the OPC founder said.
Pastor Emmanuel Alex in charge of a new generation church in Egan, on the outskirts of Lagos, has been arrested by the police for allegedly impregnating his 15-year old daughter two times.
His daughter delivered the two babies within two years. This happened after the girl’s mother died.
They were all living in the same apartment at 33, Pastor Olusola Street, Agric, Egan, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
P.M.NEWS gathered from the residents that the pastor’s nine children were not allowed to go to school or socialise with their neighbours and when he wanted to go out, he locked them inside his two-bedroom flat.
His arrest followed a sting operation by two non governmental organizations in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, WAPA, Alausa, Ikeja.
P.M.NEWS gathered that the pastor’s wife died during labour in 2010 after giving birth to nine children.
While in labour to deliver the 10th child, the pastor had no money to take her to hospital and he asked her to deliver in their house and in the process, she died.
Sources told P.M.NEWS that she died, Alex started sleeping with his first daughter and it resulted in pregnancy. She delivered the baby in 2011.
While nursing the baby, the pastor impregnated her again and she delivered the second baby recently.
The scandal was exposed during a burial Alex was to be the officiating pastor. Some of the residents opposed him and told those at the burial that he had impregnated his own daughter two times.
He was subsequently arrested by the police at Igando division. When P.M.NEWS visited the station, police sources confirmed the incident and told our reporter that he has been charged to Ikeja High court where he was remanded in prison custody.
Meanwhile, the Welfare Department of WAPA has taken custody of all his children.
His flat was locked when P.M.NEWS visited his residence.
“I’m a Muslim, I can never enter a Church,” so said the Consul-General of Nigeria in New York, Mr. Habib Abba Habu, responding to complaints from Nigerians that the Consulate never responded to the deaths of five Nigerians in a tragic and ghastly accident on the 21st of July, 2012. The accident had rocked the consciousness of Americans throughout the country by its sheer ghastliness and tragedy that claimed the lives of three women and two children in New York. The news had spread like wildfire not only the mainstream media, but on broadcast television, radio and the internet. Nigerians from all over the United States and outside expressed deep sadness and felt great shock at this tragedy that befell Nigeria.
Those who died include Ms. Eucha Okafor-Mba Mcxdonald, Ms. Nnenna Obioha, Ms. Okwudiri Christina Onyekwu Epton, Miss Adaobi Ovbioha ( and Master Nwaebube (Ebube) Okafor-Mba (9). When we started getting complaints that the Nigerian Consulate-General in New York did not once react to this tragedy, did not visit the surviving accident victims at the hospital, never replied to a letter from the President of the Arondizuogu Patriotic Union National Congress of North America (An Umbrella union of all Arondizuogu people – an Igbo ethnic group) resident in the North America, nor did they send anybody to the wake-keeping on Friday, July 10, in the Bronx, New York, I decided to get the Nigerian Consul-General, Mr. Habib Abba Habu, to respond to the allegations. It was an allegation that to me as a Nigerian I found to be totally incredulous, because I didn’t believe that a Nigerian official could be that callous, and that is before I heard Mr. Habu’s reasons for ignoring this Nigerian tragedy in America.
I called Mr. Habu several times, and after not reaching him, then sent him a text message, thus “Hi, have called several times to get your part that the consulate refused to play any role in the ghastly death of five Nigerians in new york. Thanks. Chika Onyeani.” After not receiving a reply, I called Mr. Habu’s secretary, who said he was on the other line. I explained to her why I was calling and she promised that he would call me back immediately he got off the phone. For sure, Mr. Habu called back.
I explained to him the reason for my call, that I wanted to find out what Nigerians in the New York area were saying, that the Consulate did not react to the tragic death of five Nigerians which made national news in America, that he didn’t visit or send his representative to visit the surviving victims of the accident, and that he didn’t participate in the wake-keeping on Friday, July 10th. Before I could even finish, Mr. Habu shot back at me and angrily stated, “Mr. Onyeani, I am a Muslim, I can never enter a church.” I couldn’t believe my ears. I said to him, “Mr. Habu, you are the Consul-General of Nigeria, not the Consul-General of Nigerian Muslims, and your predecessors, whether Muslims or Christians or any other religion, have taken to visit Nigerians whether in the church or in the mosque.” He replied, “Well, they are they, and I am me, I can never enter a church.”
I said to Mr. Habu, “I don’t really believe you are saying this to me, and I am going to be writing about this.” “Well,” he replied, “I don’t really care if you write about it, Chief Onyeani.” Then he thought again, and said to me, “maybe I didn’t say it the right way.” As to sending somebody to represent him at the wake-keeping, which was not even held at a church but at a center at Coop City in the Bronx in New York, Mr. Habu alleged that he sent somebody. But Rev. David Kayode, who worked tirelessly with the family and the people of Arondizuogu in securing a place and who most of the New York media called to find out what was going on with the funeral arrangements, disputed Mr. Habu’s assertion because he was the individual who read the names of all the government officials and politicians who were there. He rattled off some of the people, apart a huge number of Nigerians who showed up, including representatives of the Office of the Bronx Borough President, New York Police Commissioner’s office, Human Resources Administration, New York State Assembly people and several others.
Checking further to make sure that there was no mistake regarding Mr. Habu’s assertion, I called Mr. Nnamdi Akamnonu, President of the Arondizuogu Patriotic Union National Congress of North America. He stated that in the course of the wake-keeping, somebody came and told him that there was somebody from the Consulate waiting outside who wanted to speak to him. He said he asked them to walk the individual in, but the individual refused to walk in. He then decided to go and meet with the person. Said Mr. Akamnonu, “I saw a young man in shorts with a tee shirt on, and I invited him in, but he said he didn’t want to come in, that he had a message from the Consulate, that they had received my letter.” He said that was all the message he had to deliver and didn’t have a written reply to my letter to the Consul-General, informing him that the wake-peeing was going to be at Coop City in the Bronx.” By the way, Coop City is not a church.
It is very hard to believe that a Nigerian official who is sent abroad to represent the Nigerian government, especially an individual who is appointed Consul-General with the responsibility to represent all Nigerians, should abdicate to perform his duties based on his religious beliefs. It is incomprehensible why Mr. Habib Habu should believe that only in a mosque would he be able to perform his duties, and the sad part is that if Mr. Habu had taken a very minor interest in the very tragic deaths of his fellow Nigerians, he would have discovered that the viewing of the bodies were in a funeral home, while the wake-keeping was not in a church.
If Mr. Habu didn’t know that he would be representing all Nigerians in his post, it is beyond arrogance that he would have accepted the post of Consul-Genral of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, representing more than the 160 million Nigerians in Nigeria. It is like saying that the president he represents in America, President Goodluck Jonathan, can never enter a mosque because he is a Christian. Imagine the uproar that would envelope Nigeria should such an utterance came out of his mouth. But Mr. Habu said it because he could because of where he comes from, but other Nigerians of other faiths be damned.
Below is the accident site, the flyer for the wakekeeping and the letter to the Consul-General from the President of the Arondizuogu Patriotic Union.
AFP - Hundreds of residents of a northeastern Nigerian city were fleeing Tuesday after arrests by troops and rumours of new attacks by Islamist militants, prompting authorities to plead for calm. Residents of several neighbourhoods in the city of Damaturu accused troops of moving door-to-door over the past two days and
arbitrarily arresting those suspected of belonging to Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
The alleged arrests follow a gun battle between security forces and suspected Boko Haram members Sunday that left two militants dead in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state. Police claimed to have arrested more than 30 suspected militants.
"Hundreds of people are now stranded at the (bus station) trying to leave the city, but buses and taxis are inadequate," said one resident, whose name AFP withheld for safety reasons.
The Pindigari area, where troops battled militants on Sunday, is almost completely deserted, a resident of the area said.
"We are trapped in the (bus station). Commercial vehicles are not available while some people don't have enough money to pay transport fares," another fleeing resident said.
"People are carrying their luggage on their heads and trekking out of the city."
The arrests and rumours of planned Boko Haram attacks during the forthcoming Muslim Eid holiday this weekend have forced residents to flee the city in droves, according to residents.
The police accused the Islamists of spreading the rumours to cause chaos.
"Boko Haram members are the ones spreading the rumour and propaganda that they (troops) would launch attacks during Eid," Yobe police chief Patrick Egbuniwe said. "It's a ruse. They are just confusing people to flee the city."
The exodus prompted the special military unit in the area to issue a statement late Monday, calling on fleeing residents to return, assuring them of protection.
"Residents of the state capital should not panic or leave town as a result of rumours and speculations ... those who left as a result of rumours and speculations should return and live peacefully in their own homes," the statement said.
Damaturu, like other cities in Nigeria's northeast, has been hit with scores of deadly gun and bomb attacks by Boko Haram. The group is accused of killing more than 1,400 people in central and northern Nigeria since 2010.
Last week, a suicide bomber killed six soldiers and a civilian in the city in an attack claimed by the Islamist group.
Security forces have been accused of major abuses following attacks in the past, including the arrest and killings of civilians as well as the burning of homes.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/b2fWS0gMlCA?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> A 33-year-old Pennsylvania woman could spend the rest of her life in prison after admitting to police that she repeatedly poisoned her boyfriend with Visine eye drops for more than three years in a bid for his attention.
Vickie Jo Mills of Ayr Township, Pa., was arrested Thursday and charged with 10 counts of aggravated assault, 10 counts of simple assault and 10 counts of reckless endangerment after she told authorities she slipped Visine eye drops into the drinking water of her boyfriend, 45-year-old Thurman Edgar Nesbitt III.
Mills, who has a child with Nesbitt, told Pennsylvania State Police she put Visine drops, medicinally used to "get the red out" of eyes, into his drinking water 10 to 12 times since June 2009.
Nesbitt had been sick for years with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and blood pressure and breathing problems, according to police. His doctor, Dr. Harry Johnston, alerted authorities in after detecting traces of tetrahydrozoline, a chemical found in eye drops, in Nesbitt's blood tests.
A follow up test at the police station showed Nesbitt had 49 nanograms per milliliter of tetrahydrozoline in his system, categorized by medical experts as "an extremely high level, according to the Record Herald newspaper.
Mills, according to an affidavit, "never meant to kill him [Nesbitt], only wanted him to pay more attention to her."
Mills is currently free on $75,000 bail. She appeared in Fulton County Court on Monday but was granted a continuance request made by her defense team. She will next appear in court on Sept. 17.
The 30 charges filed against her carry a maximum combined sentence of 240 years in jail and more than $300,000 in fines, according to the judge in the case, Magisterial District Judge Wendy Mellott.
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and Master Nwaebube (Ebube) Okafor-Mba (9).
