Crime & Court
Police arrest dismissed cop declared wanted for Offa robbery
Operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team have arrested one of the four robbery suspects declared wanted for attacks on banks in Offa, Kwara State.
The suspect, Michael Adikwu, an ex-policeman, was said to have been dismissed in 2012 by the Kwara State Police Command for allegedly aiding the escape of some robbery suspects.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Adikwu, until his dismissal, was attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the state command.
Adikwu was said to have been arraigned in court and remanded in a prison, where he spent three years before he found his way out and formed a robbery gang with others.
He was reportedly arrested on Tuesday in a town in Kwara State by the DCP Abba Kyari-led IRT operatives, who acted on a tip-off from members of the public who saw Adikwu’s picture among those declared wanted.
A robbery gang had stormed some banks in Offa on April 5 and killed scores of people, including nine policemen.
They reportedly carted away millions of naira during the operation which lasted for about an hour.
Although the state Commissioner of Police, Ado Lawan, put the number of fatalities at 17, the Operations Commander, Vigilance Group of Nigeria, Offa, Kwara State chapter, Wasiu Adepoju, said his men counted 50 corpses.
Leaked Closed Circuit Television footage of the incident revealed when the robbers blew up a security post of one of the banks as they intermittently brought out bags suspected to be containing money out of the premises.
While about 20 suspects were said to have been arrested, the Kwara State Government placed a bounty of N5m on the other fleeing robbers.
In a statement on Friday, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Jimoh Moshood, released the pictures of four members of the gang captured in the CCTV footage and declared them wanted.
Moshood stated that the assailants were being monitored by the International Police and would soon be apprehended.
A senior police officer disclosed to PUNCH Metro on Wednesday that one of the wanted robbers was tracked down on Tuesday.
The source said the arrested suspect, Odikwu, was a police corporal and was dismissed from the Force in 2012 after his alleged involvement in the escape of some robbery suspects.
The source said, “He (Adikwu) was a SARS operative at the Kwara State Police Command. He used to fraternise with robbers. There was a robbery that happened in Kwara State about six years ago. The robbers killed somebody and escaped. The police were able to arrest those robbers.
“He collected money from those robbery suspects and released them. Later, the robbers were rearrested and they confessed that he aided their escape. He was arrested, tried in an orderly room trial and dismissed.
“He was charged to court together with the robbery suspects and was in prison for three years. He and some of the robbers were able to manoeuvre their way out of the prison and formed a robbery gang.”
Another source said a team of detectives got a lead that Adikwu was staying in a hideout in the state and swooped on him.
“The lead was given to the police by an informant. His hideout was cordoned off and he was arrested. He was apprehended by the IRT operatives in a community in Kwara State,” the source added.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kwara State Command, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi, said arrests had been made, but he had yet to receive information on Adikwu’s arrest.
He said, “What I know is that the IRT team and the command are investigating the matter and have been making arrests. The Force PRO will come out with other information at the right time.”
The FPRO, Moshood, could not be reached for comment as calls to his line rang out.
He had also yet to reply to a text message sent to his telephone as of press time.
Operatives of the Gombe State Police Command have recovered a Toyota Highlander reported stolen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, five years ago.
The vehicle was recovered on June 8, 2026, during a routine verification exercise conducted by detectives attached to the State Intelligence Department in collaboration with officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps at the Gombe State Internal Revenue Service vehicle licensing office.
The spokesperson for the command, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday, saying the vehicle was flagged as suspicious during the process of uploading and verifying vehicle records.
According to him, the joint team identified the Toyota Highlander bearing registration number FH823PHC and subjected it to further scrutiny, which revealed that it had been declared stolen on September 17, 2021.
Preliminary findings showed that the vehicle belonged to one Cecilia A. Duru of Akwaka Lane, Rumuodumaya, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Abdullahi said investigators subsequently uncovered a transnational movement of the vehicle, establishing that it was taken to the Niger Republic in 2023 before returning to Nigeria through Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State on October 17, 2025.
He added that the sport utility vehicle was later sold in Kaduna State and eventually brought to Gombe for re-registration, where it was detected and recovered by security operatives.
“Investigation is ongoing, as efforts are being intensified to identify and apprehend those involved,” the police spokesperson stated.
He urged members of the public to exercise caution when purchasing vehicles, advising intending buyers to verify ownership documents and authenticate vehicle records through the appropriate authorities before concluding any transaction.
The command reaffirmed its commitment to combating vehicle theft and other trans-border crimes, assuring residents that efforts were underway to arrest all those linked to the theft and illegal trafficking of the recovered vehicle.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced two women linked to a slain suspected terrorist kingpin, Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo, to a total of 40 years imprisonment for offences bordering on terrorism and aiding criminal activities.
The convicted women — Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi — who are said to be the mother and sister of the late bandit leader, were handed the sentence on Wednesday by Justice Hauwa Yilwa after they pleaded guilty to parts of a five-count terrorism charge filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Battujo, described by security operatives as a notorious bandit kingpin, was earlier eliminated by security forces on June 10, 2026, during an operation in a forest near Iluke in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
During proceedings, the court heard that the defendants were implicated in aiding and abetting the activities of the deceased, including passing information through telephone communications and concealing aspects of his criminal operations.
According to the prosecution, both women admitted guilt to count two of the charge, which bordered on supporting and facilitating the activities of a known bandit leader in violation of Section 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Halima Abdullahi was further convicted on count four, which involved concealing information regarding illegal firearms allegedly acquired by her brother after she reportedly visited his forest hideout.
Safiya Salihu, on her part, also pleaded guilty to count five, which accused her of withholding information about terrorist activities linked to her son.
Although the charges also included allegations of receiving ₦490,300 suspected to be proceeds of terrorism and sponsorship of pilgrimage using illicit funds, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, urged the court to discount those counts while proceeding with conviction on others.
Justice Yilwa, in her judgment, imposed 20 years imprisonment on each of the counts, but ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, effectively making the total jail term 40 years for each convict.
The court further directed that after serving their jail terms, the convicts should undergo rehabilitation, underscoring the judiciary’s position on balancing punishment with reintegration.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned popular social media influencer and relationship therapist, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, widely known as Blessing CEO, before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, over an alleged N36m fraud linked to a property transaction.
Blessing CEO was docked before Justice Deinde Dipeolu on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and stealing.
At the resumed proceedings on Thursday, defence counsel, P. I. Nwafor, told the court that the defendant had refunded part of the money allegedly obtained from the complainant.
According to him, the influencer had refunded N24m out of the N36m involved in the matter and was making moves to settle the outstanding balance.
“We have an application to make. The defendant approached the nominal complainant and refunded N24m out of the N36m,” Nwafor said.
“We are asking for a short adjournment to resolve the outstanding balance. The nominal complainant agreed that if the balance is paid, they can prevail on the EFCC to drop the case.”
But prosecuting counsel, Suleiman I. Suleiman, opposed the request, insisting that the anti-graft agency was not part of any settlement discussion between the parties.
“The complainant here is the Federal Government of Nigeria, and we are here for the arraignment. We urge that the defendant take her plea, as that is the business of the day,” he said.
Ruling on the submission, Justice Dipeolu held that any discussion between the defendant and the nominal complainant would not stop the criminal proceedings.
“The defence and the nominal complainant can have discussions even during the pendency of the charge. It does not affect the proceedings before the court. The defendant will take her plea,” the judge ruled.
According to one of the charges, Blessing CEO allegedly obtained N36m from one Mrs Ifeyinwa Nonye Okoye between July 14 and 17, 2024, under the guise of securing for her a six-bedroom detached duplex located at No. 1B, Tunbosun Osobu Street, off Kuboye Road, Lekki, Lagos.
The EFCC alleged that the representation was false and violated Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
The second charge accused the defendant of fraudulently converting the said N36m, property of the complainant, to personal use, contrary to Sections 383 and 390 of the Criminal Code Act.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following her plea, the prosecution urged the court to remand her in a correctional facility and fix a date for trial.
However, the defence counsel informed the court that the defendant had only been served with the charges on May 14, 2026, adding that efforts were ongoing to file her bail application.
He thereafter appealed to the court to allow the defendant remain in EFCC custody pending the perfection of her bail conditions.
Justice Dipeolu granted the request and ordered that Blessing CEO be remanded in EFCC custody.
The case was subsequently adjourned till June 5, 2026, for commencement of trial.
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