Policeman mistakenly shoots self dead while adjusting rifle in Lagos

The atmosphere at the Mobile Police Force 20, in the Ikeja area of Lagos, had been tense since Tuesday after a police inspector, identified simply as Medugwu, mistakenly shot himself dead, while adjusting a faulty rifle.

The inspector, who was attached to MOPOL 20, was the second-in-command to the armourer. He was said to have accidentally pulled the trigger of the rifle, which sent a bullet to his jaw.

Our correspondent gathered that on Tuesday, at about 10am, a policeman had brought the faulty rifle to Medugwu to examine and readjust for him.

It was learnt that the second-in-command to the armourer collected the rifle, and tried to find out where the fault was. The rifle was said to have been fired in the process.

Other policemen in the area were said to have rushed to the scene and taken Medugwu to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

The inspector, however, died at about 1pm in the hospital.

FG to Recruit 10,000 Policemen:

To set up Anti-Terrorism agency 

*To install CCTV in most cities

Determined to wrest the nation from the hands of insurgents and other kinds of criminals, President Muhammadu Buhari has said the federal government will recruit 10,000 policemen and thereafter establish a properly trained and equipped federal anti-terrorism multi-agency task force that will effectively tackle the challenge of insurgency in the future.

Speaking at the National Security Summit on Community Partnership Approach to Internal Security and Crime Management, organised by the Nigeria Police in Abuja, monday, the president stated that the government was also considering the expansion of the Close Circuit Television (CCTV) monitoring system across major cities and towns in the country.

The president noted that effective policing is dependent on the level of security-consciousness of the citizens and the strength of the understanding that exists between the policing agencies and the community.

Customs Boss, Abdullahi Voluntarily Retires:

Buhari accepts his resignation I’m not afraid, says retiring Customs boss

President Muhammadu Buhari has accepted the decision of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, to voluntarily retire from service.

Abdullahi is expected to proceed on his voluntary retirement from Tuesday.

He had earlier written a letter dated August 3 to the president in which he notified Buhari of his desire to proceed on voluntary retirement. While speaking about his retirement at another forum in Abuja Monday, Abdullahi said he was not afraid of being probed after leaving office, considering his achievements while he held sway at the revenue generating agency.

Buhari seeks ‘fearless’ judges to try looters:

President Muhammadu Buhari has commenced the process of identifying a few fearless and courageous judges who will be saddled with the responsibility of prosecuting persons who have been found to have stolen national resources, THE PUNCH has learnt.

Buhari had while granting audience to members of the National Peace Committee led by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar in the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday disclosed that the prosecution of the indicted persons would commence in a matter of weeks.

“Those who have stolen the national wealth will be in court in a matter of weeks and Nigerians will know those who have short-changed them,” the President had told his guests.

Our correspondent however learnt on Sunday that the prosecution would not be open to “just any judge.”

It was learnt that the President was committed to ensuring that only judges who would expedite action on the cases and would be fearless in discharging their duties would be enlisted for the prosecution.

Buhari cancels federal govt delegation to Hajj, to save $1million

President Buhari says there would be no federal government delegation for this year’s Hajj in Saudi Arabia. This is against the usual tradition of previous government where a federal government delegation will lead pilgrims to the holy land for the religious exercise.

President Buhari who said this yesterday August 10th, said the cancellation will however not stop the federal government from playing its traditional roles of providing consular, medical and security services to Nigerian pilgrims. With the decision, the government is expected to save about $1 million and N30m in local expenses.