Crime
JUST IN: Gunshots Fired As Angry Inmates Protest Food Ration At Jos Correctional Centre
Inmates at the Jos Correctional Centre in Plateau State protested on Friday over the plan to reduce their food ration.
They expressed dissatisfaction over the decision, a situation that forced the prison authorities to fire tear gas canisters and gunshots into the air to bring the situation under control.
Sources at the correctional centre indicated that the contractor in charge of food supply to the centre had complained to the authority about the high cost of food items, especially rice which is a stable menu of the inmates will have to be adjusted from four times to twice in a week and will be substituted by either grains or garri.
This decision seemed not to go down well with the inmates as they expressed their grievances on Friday during a routine briefing by the official in charge.
Confirming the incident to journalists at the Nigerian Correctional Service in Jos, the Controller of Corrections Plateau State Command, Raphael Ibinuhi, stated that tear gas canisters and firing shots in the air were applied to disperse the unruly inmates when they refused to return to their cells.
“By the time the inmates were called this morning for briefing, they were not happy that the period for consumption of rice has been reduced from four times to two in a week and expressed dissatisfaction on the development,” Ibinuhi said.
“I instructed the officer in charge to return them to their cells but instead they became violent and started throwing stones at the personnel. In response and to keep the situation from getting out of hand, we have to resort to firing tear gas canisters and gunshots which enable the handsmen to return the inmates to the cells. Some of the personnel sustained minor injuries from the stones thrown at them but no inmates were injured during as the situation was brought under control.”
The Jos Custodial Centre has 1,064 inmates comprising 1,035 males and 19 females. Of the figure, those awaiting trial are made up of 647 males and 14 females. While convicted inmates consist of 205 males and four female, inmates on death roll are 131.
Following the rising cost of living in the country, many Nigerians have demonstrated, asking the Federal Government to ameliorate their pains.
President Bola Tinubu has called for patience, saying there are benefits of his economic policies in the long term. He however condemned Monday’s nationwide protests embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), describing it as unacceptable.
“Allow me to throw a jab here. The Labour Union should understand that no matter how much we cling to our freedom and rights, to call for a strike within nine months of an administration is unacceptable,” Tinubu said in Lagos while commissioning the Lagos Red Line Train connecting Agbado to Oyingbo.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, commends all operatives involved in these high-profile arrests for their professionalism, diligence, and dedication to upholding Nigeria’s international law enforcement obligations.
The Nigeria Police Force has recorded a significant breakthrough in its fight against transnational organized crime with the arrest of two internationally wanted fugitives: Felix Omoregie alias “Eghosa Johnson Omoregie,” a suspected ringleader of a human trafficking syndicate wanted by Belgian authorities, and Okwudili Sabastine Ezeje, a key member of a Dubai-based armed robbery gang
In a statement dated May 7, 2025, with the reference number Ref No. CZ.5300/FPRD/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.6/433, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Force PRO, Force HQ Abuja, said: “Felix Omoregie, the alleged mastermind of a large-scale human trafficking operation, had been declared wanted by the Belgian authorities through an INTERPOL Red Notice issued on 19th December 2023, and was arrested in Benin City, Edo State, following diligent intelligence and enforcement efforts by Police operatives.
He is scheduled to be arraigned at the Federal High Court in Benin City.
Omoregie is accused of trafficking young Nigerian women, including minors, to Italy and subsequently dispersing them across Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Victims were subjected to voodoo-based oaths and psychological coercion, with fabricated debts ranging between €20,000 and €50,000 used to manipulate and control them.
His criminal network involved handlers in Brussels and France who managed the victims’ activities and remitted proceeds to him.
Following a conviction in absentia in Belgium in 2021 for multiple counts of aggravated human trafficking and criminal organization leadership, Omoregie fled to Nigeria.
Upon his arrest, a search of his premises revealed incriminating materials, including a photocopy of a passport intended for a planned relocation to Canada.
In a separate operation, the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, apprehended 37-year-old Okwudili Sabastine Ezeje at a hideout in Nsukka, Enugu State.
Ezeje is wanted by authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a series of serious crimes, including armed robbery, cultism, drug trafficking, and other organized criminal activities.
Intelligence gathered reveals that Ezeje continued to coordinate criminal operations remotely from Nigeria.
He has been directly linked to several high-profile robberies in Dubai and Sharjah, including an armed robbery at a grocery store in Dubai Mall, a targeted hit on Al Ansari Exchange in Jumeirah, and another heist at a Bureau de Change in Jebel Ali Village.
The arrest was the result of strategic intelligence sharing and operational collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), and the Dubai Police.
The arraignment of Okwudili Ezeje is expected to take place shortly.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, commends all operatives involved in these high-profile arrests for their professionalism, diligence, and dedication to upholding Nigeria’s international law enforcement obligations.
The Nigeria Police Force remains committed to enhancing its global policing partnerships and ensuring that fugitives find no safe haven within our borders.
These arrests serve as a clear message that criminal elements, no matter how far they run or how long they hide, will be brought to justice.
The Force calls on citizens to remain vigilant and cooperative in the fight against organized crime, both at home and abroad.”
…..Reiterates Commitment towards International Partnership
The Nigeria Police Force has recorded a significant breakthrough in its fight against transnational organized crime with the arrest of two internationally wanted fugitives:
Felix Omoregie alias “Eghosa Johnson Omoregie,” a suspected ringleader of a human trafficking syndicate wanted by Belgian authorities, and Okwudili Sabastine Ezeje, a key member of a Dubai-based armed robbery gang.
Felix Omoregie, the alleged mastermind of a large-scale human trafficking operation, had been declared wanted by the Belgian authorities through an INTERPOL Red Notice issued on 19th December 2023, and was arrested in Benin City, Edo State, following diligent intelligence and enforcement efforts by Police operatives.
He is scheduled to be arraigned at the Federal High Court in Benin City. Omoregie is accused of trafficking young Nigerian women—including minors—to Italy and subsequently dispersing them across Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Victims were subjected to voodoo-based oaths and psychological coercion, with fabricated debts ranging between €20,000 and €50,000 used to manipulate and control them.
His criminal network involved handlers in Brussels and France who managed the victims’ activities and remitted proceeds to him.
Following a conviction in absentia in Belgium in 2021 for multiple counts of aggravated human trafficking and criminal organization leadership, Omoregie fled to Nigeria.
Upon his arrest, a search of his premises revealed incriminating materials, including a photocopy of a passport intended for a planned relocation to Canada.
In a separate operation, the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, apprehended 37-year-old Okwudili Sabastine Ezeje at a hideout in Nsukka, Enugu State.
Ezeje is wanted by authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a series of serious crimes including armed robbery, cultism, drug trafficking, and other organized criminal activities.
Intelligence gathered reveals that Ezeje continued to coordinate criminal operations remotely from Nigeria.
He has been directly linked to several high-profile robberies in Dubai and Sharjah, including an armed robbery at a grocery store in Dubai Mall, a targeted hit on Al Ansari Exchange in Jumeirah, and another heist at a Bureau de Change in Jebel Ali Village.
The arrest was the result of strategic intelligence sharing and operational collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), and the Dubai Police.
The arraignment of Okwudili Ezeje is expected to take place shortly.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM., commends all operatives involved in these high-profile arrests for their professionalism, diligence, and dedication to upholding Nigeria’s international law enforcement obligations.
The Nigeria Police Force remains committed to enhancing its global policing partnerships and ensuring that fugitives find no safe haven within our borders.
These arrests serve as a clear message that criminal elements, no matter how far they run or how long they hide, will be brought to justice.
The Force calls on citizens to remain vigilant and cooperative in the fight against organized crime, both at home and abroad.
Government’s second witness in the ongoing trial of Biafra nation agitator, Nnamdi Kanu says the secessionist leader is the founder of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and operator of Radio Biafra.
At the resumed hearing on the matter, the second prosecution witness, identified as BBB, testified that he was assigned by the then Attorney General of the Federation to investigate Kanu.
But attempts by the prosecution to tender a letter authorising the investigation was objected by Agabi on grounds that the document was not front loaded.
This prompted the prosecution’s withdrawal of the document, a request granted by the court.
The court, therefore, ordered that all materials intended for the trial must be served in advance and listed properly, stressing that no document would be admitted unless previously disclosed to the defence.
In another aspect, the presiding judge, James Omotosho, has instructed that only 16 out of the 26 listed would be recognised in court.
This followed a bit of confusion about legal representation, where a certain Charles Ude claimed to be a member of Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team.
But lead defence counsel, Kanu Agabi, SAN, disassociated the team from Ude’s claim, with Kanu affirming that Agabi remains his official legal representative.
Similarly, the court has barred a relative of the defendant, Favour Kano, from attending three successive proceedings of the court, after she admitted doing a live stream while the judge was seated.
Justice Omotosho revealed she had also posted the content online. The matter was subsequently adjourned to May 7 for the continuation of the examination-in-chief of the second prosecution witness.
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