The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Judge chides NDLEA for detaining suspect illegally

    Judge chides NDLEA for detaining suspect illegally

    THE National Drug Law Enforcenment Agency (NDLEA) cannot detain suspects without a court order, Justice Saliu Saidu of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday.

    Judges, he said would not have bothered with several fundamental rights applications if the agency did the right thing.

    “You are giving us pressure – unnecessary pressure,” the judge said while addressing NDLEA counsel Ibrahim Abu during proceeding in a case field by a businessman, Chika Okonkwo, challenging his detention without a charge by the agency. He is seeking the enforcement of his fundamental rights and is demanding N200 million damages.

    Justice Saidu said the suit could have been avoided had NDLEA obtained an ex-parte order to keep the suspect, or charged him and then apply to keep him in detention if necessary.

    “You cannot keep a suspect in detention perpetually,” the judge said.

    The applicant said he arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos from South Africa on November 16, and later realised that he was mistakenly given another passenger’s luggage.

    He returned the wrong luggage, only to be accosted by NDLEA agents who sought to know what was in his bag.

    He said no banned hard drugs or substances were found on him, except $83,000, 12,500 euros, 15 handsets and 14 bottles of Hennessey.

    The NDLEA officials took him to their office on Shaw Road, Ikoyi, on November 17, where he has since been detained.

    No charge has been brought against him, nor was a court order obtained for his detention, the applicant said.

    He is seeking a declaration that his arrest and detention without a charge violates his right as guaranteed in Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.

    His lawyer, Peter Nnorodi, said he was ready to move his application, but Abu said the time within which NDLEA can respond to the suit had not elapsed. He said the agency would soon file its counter affidavit.

    Justice Saidu adjourned till January 11 for hearing.

  • Lagos promises investment window in water sector

    Lagos promises investment window in water sector

    The Lagos State Government has promised investment opportunities in the Nigerian Water Sector to put the country on track in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target year 2015, Vision 2020 and African Water Vision 2025.

    Lagos Water Corporation Managing Director Muminu Badmus made this disclosure while meeting the United Kingdom Trade and Investment in Nigeria.

    Badmus, an engineer said water sector is critical to the hydropower for electricity generation, industrial production and human well being.

    According to him, the road map in Nigerian Water Reformed Programme is designed to address issue relating to accessibility of water supply which is divided into three phases, short term, medium term and long term to be implemented between 2011 and 2025.

    He attributed challenges facing water agencies to aging infrastructure, funds for maintenance, poor customer records, poor cost recovery, poor power supply, capital building constraints and developing infrastructure to meet increasing population.

  • Lagos records light traffic movements after Yuletide

    Loads and waterways transportation in Lagos yesterday recorded light passengers’ traffic after the Eid-el-Maulud and Christmas celebrations, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    Correspondents of NAN who went round to monitor situations on the roads observed that many traffic prone-junctions during rush hours were free.

    Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) District Manager Akin Osinowo, said the patronage was normal as it used to be on the first working day after big festivities.

    He said: “We usually experience normal patronage on the first working day after any big festivities such as Christmas. This is because many would-be passengers especially from the informal sector would have travelled to where there family members were to celebrate with them.

    “They will be staying for about two weeks there before returning to Lagos and during that period we are likely to record low patronage. There is no challenge at all.”

    Kabiru Oladeji, a commercial driver, said they experienced a low-turnout of passengers in spite of the resumption of workers.

    Oladeji said they had a boom during Christmas with passengers patronising commercial buses.

    “The turnout is low today though workers have resumed work from their Christmas holiday,” Oladeji said.

    Shakiru Akinbode, a passenger, said that there was less gridlock today being the first day of resumption of work.

    Akinbode said this was because many people were still savouring the joy of the season.

  • Woman electrocuted in hotel room on her birthday

    Woman electrocuted in hotel room on her birthday

    WAS Funke Balogun, 24, killed? Her family is alleging that she was killed.

    But her boyfriend Abolade Adetunji and his family are claiming that she was electrocuted.

    Funke, who was a National Diploma II student of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), was allegedly electrocuted on a hotel bathroom on Sunday.

    The incident happened on 30, Balogun Street, Oshodi in Lagos where she and Adetunji, lodged in his mother’s hotel that was commissioned last Thursday.

    Her younger sister, Funmi, said Abolade came to pick her sister at their residence on Saturday around 11pm, adding that was the last she saw of her.

    She said: “Abolade was in a hurry that night and I told my sister not to go but she picked some of her things and left with him. On Sunday morning around 7, she called and said plans had changed that they were not going to the beach again but to a hotel and since then, we have been trying her mobile line. When she didn’t pick her call, I became worried. That day was her birthday and our mother still called her in the midnight to pray for her. Even, when my mum called Abolade’s mobile line, someone picked and said he forgot his phone and since then his lime has been switched off.”

    Funmi said when she and some family members went to the hotel to check her, they didn’t see her, adding that the receptionist said Adetunji just stepped out and wasn’t with a girl.

    “Even when we got to Abolade’s house, we were told he had gone to the beach. Around 8pm on Sunday, my cousin and I went to the hotel again, I sighted blood on the wall and when I asked Abolade’s brother, Bayo where my sister was, he said: ‘at the moment, Funke is dead’; he said it without remorse and was still icing drinks in the freezer. Even when we went to the police station, they said they were not aware of the incident. Is that how my sister will die? She has been dating him for almost a year. He just returned from National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in Anambra State. The boy is very proud to the extent that whenever he visited her, he didn’t greet anyone.”

    Adetunji told The Nation on his hospital bed yesterday that the late Funke wanted to have her bath that morning when they realised there was no toothpaste in the toilet.

    He said: “She was already in the bathroom and I went to meet my brother who was on the same floor with us to get the toothpaste. As I returned to the room, I tried to open the toilet door but it was stiff. As I gained access to the toilet, I met her on the floor with a shower handle on her right hand. When I tried to carry her, I didn’t know what happened until I saw myself on hospital bed.”

    At their home, his father, Mr Jamiu Adetunji, A. K.A (Yaro), said Abolade’s elder brother called their mother that they needed a doctor.

    Adetunji said: “Immediately we took them to Geo Medical Centre where Funke eventually gave up. We first took her to General Hospital, Ikeja but she was rejected because there was none of her family members with us. It was later we reported the incident to Akinpelu Police Station where they took the body to Yaba mortuary. I wouldn’t want to kill someone else’s daughter. Funke was my son’s girl friend and I told her to help me monitor his movement because at times he wouldn’t listen and since he talked about her dearly, I felt she was going to inspire him. It is really unfortunate. My son has put me in trouble. Even when they wanted to know the girl’s full name, I pinched my son few times just for him to wake up. I have arrested the electrician that connected light to the building because last Friday, occupants of the building beside the hotel complained of shock in their house and I told the electrician but he refused to come. It was after the incident he came and was arrested. “

    Some family members claimed that the late Funke’s skin was still fresh when they visited the mortuary, adding that there was no sign of electrocution except for her swollen right arm.

    The bereaved mother, Mrs Kehinde Balogun, said she still spoke with her daughter on Sunday morning.

    She said:”Funke was my first child and she has a three-year-old son. The only reason they live alone is because her school is close to the family house in Oshodi. Why did they kill my beauty? Why? What have I done to deserve this? I wish she listened to her sister that night because she had a dream. I saw my daughter in my sleep this morning telling me she had returned. It is unfortunate. I wish it was a reality. It is a big tragedy because where she died was three houses from where I gave birth to her. I warned her about him but she told me he was okay and assured me everything was fine.”

  • Residents mourn slain twins, friend

    Residents mourn slain twins, friend

    •Kehinde, Jeje buried
    •Naval men take Taiwo’s body away

    NEIGHBOURS yesterday spoke of the twins and their friend killed by a policeman last Saturday, describing them as easy going, humble and well behaved.

    The residents of Dairo, Anibaba and Ajifemi Streets in Ketu, Lagos, are still in shock over the death of Taiwo and Kehinde Oyesunle and their friend Goke popularly called Jeje.

    Sympathisers thronged 6, Ajifemi Street, where the twins’ mother, Mrs Beatrice Oyesunle, was taken to.

    It was gathered that Kehinde was buried yesterday; Jeje was interred on Sunday in Ikorodu.

    The body of Taiye, who was an officer, has been taken away by Naval men for burial.

    A resident, who didn’t give his name, said some police officers visited the neighbourhood on Sunday and told the bereaved families that they have found a cemetery in Ikorodu.

    “They called Jeje’s sister on Sunday and she accepted that her brother should be buried that day. I doubt if the twins’ family agreed. It was just yesterday that Kehinde was buried,” he said.

    The twins, aged 34, hailed from Oro in Kwara State and their friend, Goke, who was from Ago Iwoye in Ogun State, were bachelors.

    Speaking with The Nation, the twins’ sister, Mrs Modupe Adeosun, said her brothers were the last born of the family adding that since their elder brother, who was a lecturer in Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, got missing 10 years ago, the twins became closer to their mother.

    “Mama just returned to Lagos last month because she has been with me in Abuja since the death of our father and immediately she returned, she went to my younger sister’s place where she spent three weeks as she still can’t stay alone. She was still recovering from the loss of her husband before this incident happened. What can we do? I heard the Commissioner of Police was in our area yesterday to check the scene of the incident but he couldn’t visit our mother,” she said.

    Mr Segun Shodunke, an-in-law to the Oyesunles, said the twins’ demise is still a shock because they contributed a lot to the family.

    He said: “I have been married to their sister for over 10 years and we have been like a family. They have been catering for the welfare of the three children their brother left behind. Mama left my place three weeks ago. We have nothing to tell the police but the government should know the right thing to do because Mama is aged and all she needs now is comfort.”

    A neighbour said Kehinde, on Saturday charged his laptop in his shop before he left for the hotel.

    “It wasn’t up to 30minutes someone told me they killed some guys at Anibaba. I was reluctant to go but when I eventually did, I almost collapsed. My body was cold and I didn’t know what to do. I miss them a lot. They were humble people. At times people mistook them for triplets because they did everything together.”

    A resident, Muftau Onikolu, this Yuletide is the worst in his life.

    He said: “I met the twins and Goke five years ago when they came to rent a three- bedroom flat. We have never had any issue with them. Every Yuletide, they take children out for funfair. My children are sad; my wife has not been able to eat because we lost great minds. No one is rejoicing. A neighbour just had a child yesterday and he couldn’t inform anyone because he is sad. I know how the child’s naming would have been like if these men were alive. This is indeed a cruel world.”

    Mack Motors, at the former toll gate, where Kehinde worked as an engineer and assistant secretary, was desolate yesterday when The Nation visited.

    The security guard, Nasiru Yusuf, said the workers went for Kehinde’s funeral.

    “It is shocking. Kenny was in the office on Saturday before he said he was going home that afternoon. He was full of life. It is now I believe things happen within seconds. That hotel needs to be destroyed because I learnt the sergeant has been harassing people for a while,” he said.

    A motorcyclist, simply identified as Geofrey, said the police were brought to Anibaba Street because of incessant robbery.

    He said: “Whenever police officers are in uniform, they misbehave and forget they are meant to protect lives. Their men need to be properly checked. Very early, a police officer is drunk and I wonder how they will save lives. It is unfair.”

     

     

  • Owoseni: Killer-cop will be dismissed posthumously

    Owoseni: Killer-cop will be dismissed posthumously

    The late Sergeant Stephen James, who shot himself after killing three men in Lagos last Saturday will be dismissed posthumously, police chief Fatai Owoseni said yesterday.

    The late James, Owoseni said, would be tried posthumously and dismissed.

    “We will try him even in death and dismiss him for his action. We want to use this medium to sympathise with the bereaved families. We apologise for the irrational action of the policeman, who also took his own life,” Owoseni said.

    He added that the late James could no longer remain in the police after his callous behaviour.

    James killed three men, including two siblings, in Ketu, Lagos for asking him to behave well at a bar.

    The late Taiwo and Kehinde Oyesunle (the only children of their mother) and their friend identified as Jeje, were said to have admonished the late officer, who entered the premises of Paulson Hotel on Anibaba Street, and harassed customers to buy him drinks.

    James, with force number 217884 attached to MOPOL 22, Oduduwa, GRA, Ikeja, was said to have threatened to shoot if anyone dared him.

    An eyewitness said the policeman ambushed and killed the three men, as they stepped outside the hotel premises where they had gone to celebrate Jeje’s birthday.

    It was gathered that when he realised the implications of his action, the policeman shot himself on the chest.

    In the ensuing confusion, passersby and residents scampered to safety.

    An angry mob, The Nation gathered, attempted to burn the hotel and the policeman’s body but for the swift intervention of police officers from Ketu division.

    The mob was said to have thrown bottles and stones at the hotel, prompting lodgers to flee their rooms.

    A guest at the hotel, who witnessed the killings, said that the policeman had boasted about wanting to kill people hours before the incident happened.

    The customer, who identified himself simply as Femi, said all efforts to pacify the policeman proved abortive as he kept fomenting trouble harassing visitors with his gun all afternoon.

  • Rotary celebrates Xmas with patients

    Rotary Club of Gbagada in Lagos has donated some household items to Gbagada General Hospital patients.

    The club’s President,  Lanre Akintilo, former president and District Governor Yomi Adewunmi and over 50 members danced from ward to ward during the donation. Many of the patients joined the chorus from their beds.

    Akintilo said they embarked on the trip to show their joy at Christmas. He said the lessons of the day, which involved sacrificial giving and sharing, were also what the club preaches. He praised the hospital for its cleanliness, saying it was possible through ‘’the exceptional leadership’’ provided by its Medical Director Tayo Lawal and the hospital’s 530 staff.

    For Adewunmi, it was a homecoming for the club. He traced the relationship between the club and the hospital to 28 years ago, when the club laid the foundation, built and inaugurated the Children’s Ward. Over the years, he said, the club has donated various items worth millions of naira to the hospital.

    Representative of the Commissioner for Health, Dr Atinuke  Onaiyiga, who is the  Director, Medical Services, thanked the club for the gesture and for adopting the hospital as a recipient of its corporate social responsibilities (CSR). She praised the government for its health delivery service, noting that it is doing a phenomenal thing. She however called for ‘’strategic planning for health services for all citizens’’.

    Lawal, a former president of the club also thanked the club for its gesture, noting that yearly the club members came to the hospital to felicitate with patients.

    At the event, awards were given to some staff and wards. Female ward won the first prize, followed by maternity and male wards. Dr. Popoola Olalekan, won the Best worker Award while the Best Junior Worker Award went to Muyili Ramoni, the hospital’s Chief driver.

  • Sacrifice for your children’s education, parents told

    A school proprietor, Mrs Abosede Yusuf, has urged parents to make sacrifice for the education of their children.

    Education, she said, was the pivot on which nation-building rests.

    She spoke last Saturday during the third anniversary and end-of-year concert of her school, Echelon Nursery and Primary Schools in Idimu, Lagos.

    Mrs Yusuf, who said the school started as a coaching centre with five pupils in 2012, recalled: “I have always had the dream of establishing a school that will deliver quality education, but I had no clear idea of how to go about it. I started the coaching centre with five pupils; but today, it has transformed into a school and we have over 50 pupils. It is not by my power, but God’s might.’’

    She said she had been able to imbibe a culture of academic excellence in the children, while also making positive impacts on their parents.

    Mrs Yusuf said: “I feel great and happy. I am grateful to God for making my vision come true. When I started the school, I realised that it was not easy. In fact, I almost gave up at some point.  I remember that when some parents came with their awards in 2012, they were not happy with the condition of the school. I, however, resolved to forge ahead. Today, the story is different. I have no doubt in my mind that we will grow bigger than this. I am glad that we are a step ahead.’’

    The Head Teacher, Miss Oluwatosin Audu, said she had learnt to relate to children better since she joined the school.

    A parent, who has two kids in the school, told The Nation that she has no regrets patronising the school.

    The event featured dance, drama and music presentations by pupils who were clad in uniform native dresses.

  • ‘Key into Buhari’s change mantra’

    Lagos State Man O’ War Commander Charles Mba has charged his men to key into President’s Muhammadu Buhari’s change agenda.

    Doing this, he said, would help bring the president’s wish into fruition.

    He spoke at the swearing in of the executive for the Mushin area command.

    Mba called that Man O’ War played a “pivotal role” in the war against indiscipline when Buhari was military leader, adding that the organisation’s rebranding has started to at achieve such feat again.

    On the appointment of the executive, he said: “The set of people constituting the new executives are going to lead the area command into the new drive we are pursuing.

    A testament to this is the course we did for them where they passed excellently.

    “Apart from this they are people with visions, well enlightened and also well educated.

    Among them we have one working in one of the foremost banks in the country. I know they won’t want their names stained,” he said.

    The newly appointed area commander Ojo Olayinka, on his part, promised to empower his men, make them independent and also help change people’s negative views about the organisation.

    He said: “My administration will look at empowering members. Before now, I discovered that most of our members struggle to make ends meet, which makes some people see us as bunch of irresponsible people. We are coming on board to change this perception”.

    “We will empower them in the area of education and business ventures. In the area of education, we will give out scholarships to deserving members, through university level. Even if you don’t win the scholarship if it’s a token we can give we have a plan to give support them”.

    He noted that the organization would partner with the two local government under his jurisdiction, Odi olowo and Mushin local government in a bid to carry out this and other plans of his, urging those finanicially boyant to extend their hand of generosity to support their programmes.

  • Ambode gives contractor February deadline to complete Ago Palace Way

    Ambode gives contractor February deadline to complete Ago Palace Way

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has set February as deadline for the completion of the Ago Palace Way in Okota, Isolo.

    Expressing dissatisfaction with the pace of work during a tour of the road yesterday, the governor ordered the contractor to work day and night to meet the deadline.

    “We cannot afford to be slow on this road. It is a very strategic and important road to our people. I have directed the contractor to ensure that this road is completed between now and February next year,” he said.

    The governor also inspected work on Okota Road, assuring residents that the repair will be completed soon.

    At the newly rehabilitated Alfa Nla/Oke Koto roads in Agege, Ambode said the projects were completed in fulfilment of his campaign promise.

    The governor said: “You remember that during the campaign, I came here and I said if you vote for me, I will fix this road which is Alfa Nla/Oke Koto roads. I said I will come back to do it and I did promise that before Christmas, this road will be ready.

    “In fulfilment of our promise, we are here today inspecting the completion of this road. What I want to tell you as part of the Christmas gift to you is that we are going to put street light on this road.”

    He directed that street lights be installed from Alfa Nla to Oke-Koto, noting that work on the adjoining Capitol road will begin next month.

    Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) General Manager Ayo Sodeinde, who was on the governor’s entourage, said the road was fixed in eight weeks.

    Sodeinde said: “When we got to Alfa Nla, it was even worse than Ejigbo road. In short, it was terrible and the first thing we did was to go and see their Baale.

    “We moved in and within eight weeks, this road has been transformed to this present state. As you can see, we are here on inspection of a better road. We did patching and some maintenance job on Capitol road but on the stretch of road from Alfa Nla to Oke-Koto, it was full rehabilitation that we did.

    At the Police Officers’ Wives Association (POWA) Shopping Complex in Falomo, Ikoyi, Ambode frowned at the poor environment and indiscriminate parking of vehicles on the road, describing it as an eyesore.

    He ordered the evacuation of the vehicles, and asked the Commissioner for the Environment to ensure the enforcement of sanitation rules.