Assassination attempt: Rivers new speaker, Edison Ehie escapes - ITREALMS

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The new Rivers State House of Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie has escaped assassination attempt on his life late Sunday night at the state capital, reports ITREALMS.

A press statement available to ITREALMS by Legislative Correspondent to Rivers State House of Assembly, Ken Uchendu, said “at about 11pm on Sunday the 19th day of November, 2023, a group of armed thugs and rogue police officers led by one SP. Irikefe London Owen, a superintendent of police attached to the CTU B 3 RSV and CSP Salihu Masalachi attacked the private residence of the speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Barr. Edison Ogerenye Ehie, fully armed with an intention to assassinate Mr. Speaker and his family.”

Excerpt of the statement: “However, the thugs and rogue Police Officers led by the two above-named police officers in Rivers State were vehemently repelled in a gun battle by the official security details attached to the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Barr. Edison Ogerenye Ehie.

“It is imperative to note that the armed rogues and officers were properly and fully captured by CCTV footage in the residence, which shall be made available to all media houses, including the CNN, Aljazeera and other national and international media outlets for the records.

“In the same vein, the Speaker would be addressing a World Press conference on Monday the 20th of November, 2023.

“Let it be on record that Rivers people, boys, girls, women, men including the aged shall in our numbers occupy the streets stark naked in demonstration against the Nigerian Police and those sponsoring violence in Rivers State, no matter how highly placed, Rivers people will resist them.

“Finally, should there be a breakdown of law and order in Rivers State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should hold the above-named officers, the Rivers State Police Command and their sponsors in Rivers State responsible.”


Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

Maina escapes second assassination attempt in 7 days

ITREALMS:

The former Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce Team on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina has escaped two assassination attempts within the last 7 days, reports ITRealms.

The first, ITRealms reported was in Abuja, five days before Christmas, while the second occurred on the eve of Christmas.

Reports reaching ITRealms indicated that barely five days after some haggard looking men suspected to be hired assassins invaded the home of the embattled Maina, wielding sophisticated weapons and harassed his family members at his family house in Kaduna at about 9am on Sunday morning.

Also, The Street Reporters, informed that an eyewitness, who simply identified himself as Mallam Salisu, had told that no fewer than nine (9) men arrived the house in a Hilux van and a Peugeot 406 car.

They were said to have driven straight to the family house where Maina's mother resides at Kawu area of Kaduna State.

While the Hilux van was stationed outside the house, the 406 was driven straight into the compound and one of the occupants asked of Abdulrasheed Maina and his mother’s whereabouts.

After ransacking the house, breaking the front and the back doors as well as the ceiling in the process, and not finding their targets, the men who were shouting "Where Maina?"; "Where is the mother?" before they tired up the security man and took him to an unknown destination.

He was later dumped at the bush at an outskirt of Kaduna where he was found by the villagers with a handcuff.

The matter has been reported to the Kawu police station by one of the family members, identified as Aliyu Maina and security men have since been detailed to the house alongside anti-bomb experts who combed the house and its vicinity.

Some of the suspected assassins were said to be dressed in military uniforms.

Five days ago, similar incident took place at the Abuja home of the former pension reform boss where two rooms in the house were ransacked, checking personal apparels in the house without any form of identification or a search warrant.

Maina's Security aides who were immediately informed, arrived the rented house but the suspected men led by a man said to be wearing a police uniform was accosted but they rebuffed every attempt to get them disclose their identity and mission around Maina's home.

Recall that Maina who has escaped many assassination attempts while serving as the Pension Reforms Taskforce Team boss, has consistently asked for security protection by the federal government against the pension cabals who have been after him following his numerous revelations on their clandestine activities.

Ayo Midele with additional reports from TheStreetReporters/GEE

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Unsolved assassination: Ekhomu advises FG to setup Special Investigators

ITRealms:

The President, Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), Dr. Ona Ekhomu has advised the Federal Government to set up a high-powered Special Board of Inquiry (SBOI) to competently investigate high profile murder and assassination cases in the country. Ekhomu said the Special Board of Inquiry should be given wide powers to summon witnesses, police investigators, experts and political actors who can shed light on the cases.

Ekhomu said the image of Nigeria will be greatly improved if the government matched its pronouncement about reopening and resolving cold cases with resolute action. He said that the unresolved assassination of Chief Bola Ige, Engr. Funsho Williams, Dr. Harry Marshall, Pa Alfred Rewane, among others was a poor commentary on the capability and commitment of Nigeria to redress the human rights of persons murdered in the country. 

“Aside from the rights of the victims, solving these cold cases will give closure to the families of the victims. It will also reduce the pervasive culture of impunity in the country,” he added.

A Professional Certified Investigator (PCI), Dr. Ekhomu advised that the already over-burdened and under-equipped police agency should not be appointed to lead the investigations. Instead a brilliant and energetic judicial officer should be appointed to head the SBOI. The Chairman should then hand-pick experts and specialists to assist him carry out this presidential assignment.

According to the first chartered security expert in Nigeria, the Special Board of Inquiry team membership should include homicide detectives,  investigative experts including private investigators, forensic scientists, computer experts, fraud auditors, criminal profilers and others.  He called for criminal law experts, document examiners and other core investigative specialties.

Ekhomu commended Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari for revisiting the unsolved murders and assassinations. He opined that unraveling the crimes would serve as a lasting legacy for the Buhari administration.  He urged the President to use the full weight and moral authority of his office to ensure that the SBOI succeeded as it is suspected that powerful politicians may have been behind the heinous crimes.

He said that the Federal Government should resist the temptation to make this a political job opportunity. “The decision rule here should be the competence and integrity of the Chairman and members of the SBOI”, he added.

He said that unsolved cases tended to reduce trust in the abilities of he government to detect perpetrators of serious crimes such as assassination, terrorism, murder, etc.

He advised the SBOI to utilize powerful conceptual models and computer modeling/tools to aid its information gathering and analytic tasks. He advised the SBOI to use nonlinear, stochastic, dynamic models to conduct the inquiry. 

According to Dr. Ekhomu, “the investigators must utilize target-centric models and more detailed component models such as sub-models and collateral models in identifying the killers and developing evidence of probative value that would result in conviction in a court of law.”

He concluded that if the Federal Government through the instrumentality of the SBOI conducted a transparent and competent investigation of the high profile assassination cases, then it “may not be accused of carrying out a political witch-hunt against the oppositions.”

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