News

Army chief ‘appalled’ by British soldiers’ alleged role in killing of Kenyan woman

The head of the army has said he is “appalled” by allegations that British soldiers may have been involved in the killing of a Kenyan woman.

General Mark Carleton-Smith said he was determined to work with the authorities to establish the facts in the killing of Agnes Wanjiru.

The body of Wanjiru, who was 21, was found in a septic tank at the Lions Court hotel in the town of Nanyuki, close to the Batuk (British Army Training Unit Kenya) camp, two months after she disappeared in March 2012. She had been stabbed, Kenyan investigators later concluded.

In a statement shared on Twitter, Carleton-Smith said: “I am sure you are all as appalled as I am at the recent allegations surrounding the murder of Agnes Wanjiru in Nanyuki, Kenya, in 2012. I want you to know I am determined we support the appropriate authorities to establish the facts of the issue as quickly as possible.”

However, he did not say whether that should include an investigation by the Royal Military Police.

The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said he is waiting on a request from Kenya for assistance in finding Wanjiru’s killer. A defence source told the PA news agency: “The defence secretary has been impatient with the pace of this, and has directed full cooperation. He has worked with the military police and Kenyans to ensure their investigation is not impeded.”

The Sunday Times reported that a soldier accused of the murder has been named by his comrades after he allegedly confessed to the killing and that another soldier reported the killing to senior officers at the time, but the military took no action.

Labour has called on the government to investigate any possible “cover-up”. The shadow defence secretary, John Healey, described the killing of Wanjiru as “dreadful” and called on ministers to act on “reports of grave failings by the British military exposed in this case”.

He added: “There’s been no MoD-led investigation of the soldiers involved and no inquiry into why the MoD failed to respond when Kenyan detectives asked for help. Nine years on, justice must now be done for Agnes and her family.”

Wanjiru dropped out of high school and later became a sex worker to look after her baby. She was last seen by witnesses on the night of 31 March 2012 walking out of a Nanyuki bar accompanied by two British soldiers.

Her body was later discovered behind a room where the soldiers had stayed, with missing body parts and a stabbing injury.

According to the Sunday Times, a Kenyan judge presiding over the 2019 inquest concluded that Wanjiru had been murdered by one or two British soldiers. Njeri Thuku said: “I have formed the opinion that Agnes was murdered by British soldiers. It may have been one or two. But what is certain is that it was British soldiers because they were dressed in their uniform.”

The judge said a broken mirror and blood were found in a room at the Lions Court hotel and there may have been a “cover-up”. She ordered two further criminal inquiries. Despite Kenyan police investigations and inquiries by Ministry of Defence investigators, no one was brought to justice, the Sunday Times reported.

Wanjiru’s daughter, now 10, is cared for by her Agnes’s sister Rose, who told the paper: “We are poor, but we will not be silent. I know British soldiers killed her. All I can do now is pray they will be caught.”

News

Bandits kill one, kidnap district head, eight others in Kebbi

Bandits have kidnapped Alhaji Isah Daya, the district head of Kanya under the Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

The bandits kidnapped the monarch and eight others when they stormed his village on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

The bandits also k!lled one and injured three persons during the attack.

The spokesperson for the State Police Command, Nafui Abubakar, who confirmed the attack, gave the name of the deceased as Sherriff Alhaji Almu.

According to the PPRO, a combined security team led by the police has launched a manhunt on the abductors of the monarch to rescue the abducted persons.

He noted that the Kebbi State Government has provided the needed logistics to tame banditry in the affected towns, particularly Kebbi South, Zuru Emirate.

The attack came a few days after bandits k!lled the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Suru Local Government Area of the state.

News

FG mobilises Julius Berger to complete N820b road projects

The Federal Government has told Julius Berger Nigeria Plc to fast-track the completion of the rehabilitation of the 82-kilometre Section II of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway and the construction of the Bodo-Bonny road with bridges across the Opobo Channel, Route 430 in Rivers State.

Works Minister David Umahi said the government could not continually negotiate with the contractor over the same projects.

In a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media, Uchenna Orji, during a meeting with Julius Berger, represented by its Executive Director for Projects, Benjamin Bott, and the Head of Contract Management, Omonigho Brown, the minister stressed the need for contractors handling Federal Government’s projects to exhibit corporate nationalism in price negotiation in the face of the daunting economic challenges facing the country.

Umahi said the Federal Executive Council (FEC), at its meeting on September 23, approved the re-scoping and downward review of the contracts.

He said: “We have Section II, which is 82 kilometres by two, which is the section that JBN Plc is working on.

“And so, if you check what FEC approved on September 23, FEC had approved that the total contract sum within the scope of Berger would be N740 billion. This means that if you remove N391 billion paid already, you now have about N340 billion remaining. This is the scope of their work for the 164 kilometres.”

The minister urged the contractor to mobilise for work on the four sections of the Abuja-Zaria-Kaduna-Kano project to finish the job within 14 months.

News

Police thwart plan by armed men to kidnap a foreigner in Anambra, recover four dead bodies

Police Operatives in the morning of Sunday, October 6th, 2024 thwarted the abduction/kidnapping plan of a foreigner by suspected armed secessionist members in Ogbunka village.

The Operatives courageously engaged the hoodlums in a gun battle and saved the VIP.

SP Tochukwu Ikenga, Police Public Relations Officer who disclosed this in a statement said during the gun duel, two Police Operatives who were hit by bullet escaped with the foreigner.

He added that they are stable and are currently receiving treatment in a hospital.

Meanwhile, Operations are ongoing in the area for the possible arrest of the Armed men.

Also, Police operatives attached to Nimo Police Station responded to a distress call on 6/10/2024 by 8:25 pm of a suspected cult clash at Umuka, Nawfia. The Operatives upon arriving at the scene, found four lifeless bodies of young men in a pool of blood with suspected multiple gunshot injuries lying on the road.

The victims were confirmed dead by a doctor on duty and have been deposited to the morgue.

They were later identified as one Ebuka Nwaonkwube Ekenta of Mmimi village Nawfia, Nnatuanya Junior A.K: A Starboy of Mmimi village Nawfia, Aniemena A.K.A Osama of Umuariam Village and one Ahmed Auwal.

Information from eyewitnesses and some villagers reveal that the victims are known for their nefarious activities and are always in rivalry with another cult group in the area.

Furthermore, Joint patrol with Operatives of the Special Anit Cultism Squad (SPACS) has been intensified in the area.

In another development, the Commissioner of Police *CP Nnaghe Obono Itam* has ordered
immediate investigations into the gruesome murder of a 17-year-old girl suspected of being used for ritual purpose.

The girl’s lifeless body was found in a bush at Omasi village on 6/10/2024 by 4:25 pm and she was later identified as one Chinasa Adigwe from Umueje village and her private parts were cut off in a bush at Omasi Village before Police were alerted. The body has been recovered and deposited in a morgue.

The CP while condoling with the family, friends and Community of the deceased states that the Police shall do everything possible to make sure that those behind the barbaric act are arrested and justice served.