The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Lagos dissolves Abandoned Vehicle Committee

    Lagos dissolves Abandoned Vehicle Committee

    Lagos State Government has dissolved the Abandoned Vehicle and Park Monitoring Committees.

    A statement by Mr Sewedo Oluseyi Whenu, Ministry of Transportation Permanent Secretary said the committees’ dissolution followed the expiration of their statutory tenure.

    Whune said: “The ministry appreciates the invaluable contributions of the Chairmen and members of the two committees in keeping our highways and roads free of all abandoned derelict vehicles and ensuring safety of commuters and other road users using motor parks across the state and wish them success in their future endeavours.

    “By this dissolution, members of the public especially the transport union and associations and the monitoring public should not transact any business with anybody claiming to be member of the two committees on behalf of the state.

    “The public is assured of the government’s support in providing the enabling environment for socio-economic activities to thrive.”

     

  • Freelancer arraigned for N2.5m theft

    Freelancer arraigned for N2.5m theft

    A 46-year-old Freelancer, Roseline Olanrewaju, was arraigned before an Isolo Magistrate’s court in Lagos for alleged N2.5million fraud.

    She was arraigned before Magistrate Joy Ugbomoiko on a one-count charge of theft.

    Prosecuting Seargent Oje Uagbale told the court that the defendant committed the offence between January and October 2014, at a pharmaceutical firm on Osolo Way, Isolo, Lagos.

    Uagbale said the defendant who was freelancing with the company, collected goods with the pretence that she was going to pay back in cash incurred debt up to the tune of N2.5million.

    He said the offence contravened Section 313(b) of the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos, 2011.

    She pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Joy granted the defendant N500,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    The case was adjourned till September 30.

  • Police parade ‘fake soldiers, car thieves’

    Police parade ‘fake soldiers, car thieves’

    •‘Suspect threatened to blow up command headquarters’ 

    Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni yesterday paraded three fake soldiers, one fake Air Force personnel and three car snatchers. The ‘fake soldiers’ are Markus Gabriel (22) from Ngwa in Abia State, Ikemefuna Ude (39) from Agwu (Enugu). Their Air Force accomplice is Dare Tijani (28) from Ikire in Osun State.

    The others are Chukwuma Ikechukwu, 31 from Ohafia, Abia State, Israel Damascus, 32, a Ghanaian and Lucky Anene, 25, from Okuzu in Delta State.

    Five cars and two Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) were recovered from them. One of the SUVs was marked BNS513AA. Among the cars were two Toyota Camry with number plates TGD733AA and ANA360AA.

    Owoseni urged Lagosians to be part of the fight against hoodlums to enhance community policing, saying: “Even if you post one million policemen here in Lagos, it will not be enough.”

    Owoseni said investigation revealed that Tijani, who claimed to be a dismissed personnel from the Nigerian Air Force, Kaduna, was never an air force personnel.

    He said that the suspect would soon be charged to court.

    He said the suspect threatened to blow up the Command Headquarters because policemen at Ipaja Division refused to grant his friend bail.

    In the same vein, the police in Lagos also arrested three fake soldiers at Iyana Oba area of Ojo.

    The raid of people selling noodles at odd hours, he said, became necessary because robbers use those spots as hide-outs for their weapons before going on operation.

    [ad id=”403656″]Drug peddlers, he said, also use those spots to sell hard drugs.

    Tijani said he was into children entertainment, adding that he got the Air Force uniform from his friend Mutiu, a soldier, to enable him poses as an officer when he goes to meet his fiancee, Shade.  He said he was arrested in a bus at Iyana Ipaja.

    Tijani noted that he was enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force in 2010 and served at the Air Force workshop in Kanduna.

    “I came to Lagos to seek for greener pasture after his dismissal from service.On arrival, I started working as a DJ along with some of my friends. One of friend who is also a DJ was arrested by the police at Iyana Ipaja while driving. I had gone to secure his bail dressed in Air Force uniform.

    “I stormed out of the station when the police at Ipaja refused to accord me my due respect as a man in military uniform and threatened to come back with some of my colleagues. I was subsequently detained and later brought to the command Headquarters. It was during interrogation that the police discovered that I was fake personnel,” he added.

    Ude, who claimed to be a printer, said the other suspects came to his office at Ojo to scan and print military identity cards at N700 each. He stated that they claimed they lost their original identity cards, adding that he did not know they wanted to commit crime with the cards.

    Anene said he wore the military uniform to escort cars which he did not know were snatched.

    Damascus said he came to Nigeria in 2011, adding that his friend, Jerry introduced him into car stealing.

    He said he had done two operations but met his waterloo in the third operation.

     

  • Customs seizes N56m goods

    Customs seizes N56m goods

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja Lagos has seized goods worth N56, 479, 200 within two weeks.

    Addressing reporters in Lagos yesterday, its Area Controller, Amade Abdul, said the prohibited items were seized within the two weeks of his assumption of duty at the unit.

    The seized items included 1,887 bags of parboiled rice with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N12, 256,500; 4,854 cartons of smuggled poultry products with a DPV of N26, 211,600 and two vehicles with DPV of N9,990,000.

    Other items seized included new and used tyres, textile materials, vegetable oil, used hoes, fruit juice and spaghetti worth over N8million.

    Abdul said the feat achieved was possible because of the cooperation of  officers posted to the unit.

    “The Unit from August 27 to September 11 had 59 different seizures with a DPV of N56, 479, 200. In addition, we also apprehend eight suspects in connection with the seizures,” he said.

    The Controller said the unit will continue to uphold  standard of service and  work vigorously to improve on it.

    “We will not just maintain standards, but we will also ensure we improve on the standard of discipline, decision making and level of compliance to rules and regulations; we will ensure due diligence and that things are not done haphazardly, because if they are done haphazardly, it will affect the revenue generation,” he said.

    He warned smugglers to desist from their illicit act or be ready to face the law.

    He said smuggling hampers the progress of the economy of the nation if it is not tackle headlong.

  • Labour kicks as firm sacks 1,300 workers

    Labour kicks as firm sacks 1,300 workers

    Workers of a beverage firm, La Casera Plc in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos protested yesterday moments after about 1,300 of their colleagues were sacked for demanding a union.

    The workers arrived at the firm’s plant to meet the gate locked, with a notice of disengagement pasted at the entrance.

    The September 14 notice addressed to the staff reads: “As a result of the unwarranted breaking-in and invasion of our business premises on September 11, we cannot guarantee the well-being of our employees from hired hoodlums and their collaborators.

    “As a result of this unprovoked act of vandalism, we are unable to continue operations under this circumstance.

    “Unfortunately we regret to inform all our staff of their immediate disengagement.’’

    The staff were caught unawares as the firm also directed them to go to their representative, Tusen Consulting, for their entitlements.

    The notice was referring to last Friday’s protest on the company’s premises during which workers protested the sack of over 100 of their colleagues for initiating a union.

    Their chairman, Mr Richard Jome said: “It is the company’s ploy to dehumanise the workers as nothing was touched during the protest as they all stayed back to monitor everything”.

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has kicked against the workers sack, lambasting La Casera for its callous business practices.

    Senior Assistant General Secretary of the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) Comrade Mike Olanrewaju said the company has been involved in the casualisation of its workers since its establishment 15 years ago.

    Olarenwaju said for 12 years, the company denied workers the right to be unionised.

    According to him, when an in-house union was about to be inaugurated, the firm’s management sacked the chairman, prompting NUFBTE officials to visit the company last Friday to address workers.

    “We were surprised today that the company locked the gate and sacked the workers. Meanwhile, the case between the workers and the company over unionisation is currently at the National Industrial Court,” he said.

    Olarenwaju urged the government to intervene in issues of unfair labour practices being perpetrated by foreign companies.

    He said the union would continue to picket the company until the workers are reabsorbed.

    He said: “In 2004, when some workers agitated for a union, the company’s management sacked all the workers then, closed the company for a while, told the workers to reapply, resumed operations with new staff and sacked all the proposed union executives.

    “This is their game plan that we know and they have brought … to come and do the hatchet job for them but this time, we will not allow it. Nigerians are being maltreated by the Indian owners of the company.”

    Olanrewaju went on: “We have come here today as a call to duty to be our brothers and sisters keeper, we have come to La Casera because since it began operations over 15 years ago, it has been producing and Nigerians have been patronising them maximally, making profits from Nigerians and everybody knows that it is a fact that unionism is enshrined in our constitution, freedom to belong to a union of their choice.

    Lagos State NLC Chairman Idowu Adelakun told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the act of calling labour officials hoodlums was wrong. He vowed that labour would not allow the company to function until the matter is resolved.

    The firm’s media consultant, Mr Tola Bademosi, said the invasion led to disruption of production, alleging that workers were compelled to stop work and asked to sign consent forms by the unionists.

    The Human Resource Manager, Mr Edward Otemewo, said he was not aware of the crisis and promised to call back after getting details of the sack.

  • LASTMA seeks unions’ support to stem gridlocks

    LASTMA seeks unions’ support to stem gridlocks

    The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has sought the support of transport unions in tackling gridlocks.

    Its General Manager LASTMA, Bashir Braimah, said stakeholders in the management and control of traffic must work together to reduce road users’ hardship.

    Braimah said more officers have been deployed to traffic prone areas in the state for road safety.

    Traffic management, he said, is a collective responsibility.

    He led top officials of the authority on spot assessment along Apapa-Oshodi expressway yesterday.

    The LASTMA chief lamented the nonchalant attitude of truck and commercial drivers plying the route, saying many of them are indifferent to the plight of other road users and with little or no regard for the state’s traffic law.

    “At the MRS Truck Staging Area along Oshodi Apapa expressway, Tanker Trucks were indiscriminately parked on the dual carriage with the excuse of awaiting the collection of fuel loading teller. This led to the total blockage of other road users’ access to the road,” he said.

    He condemned the act of ‘impunity,’ urging the Petroleum Union Drivers (PTD) to cue into the vision of the government and reciprocate the gesture of government on non enforcement policy by obeying traffic laws and personnel, who are working to ensure free flow of traffic.

    In his reaction, Joseph Okpara, an executive of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) expressed displeasure on the conduct of his members, saying his union will partner  LASTMA to find a lasting solution to the traffic situation associated with the axis.

  • Fleeing ‘robbers’ drop nine guns, 42 cartridges

    Fleeing ‘robbers’ drop nine guns, 42 cartridges

    The police operatives yesterday recovered nine pump action guns and 42 live ammunition from two fleeing suspected robbers in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.

    The weapons were recovered by men of the Area E command led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (APC) Frank Mba.

    It was learnt that the weapons were found in a bag abandoned by a fleeing motorcyclist and his passenger, around Seventh Avenue in Festac, during a chase by a patrol team.

    The Nation gathered that patrols have been intensified around the neighbourhood to curb crime.

    A source said the incident occurred about 12midnight.

    The patrol team, he said, sighted the motorcycle, which was unregistered and pursued it.

    [ad id=”403656″]According to him, the police were suspicious because the passenger carried a sack.

    “We moved forward in pursuit of the bike and as soon as they sighted us, they ran away, abandoning the motorcycle and the sack. We could not shoot because we did not know what was in the sack. But when the sack was searched, we found nine pump action guns and 42 live cartridges,” he said.

    The state command’s spokesman, Joe Offor, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the cartridges were 42.

    He said: “At about 11:15pm on Sunday, Anti-Robbery policemen in Festac found a bag abandoned by suspected robbers at Seventh Avenue, which contained nine pump actions and eight live cartridges.

    “The fleeing suspects also abandoned an unregistered motorcycle. Investigations are ongoing to fish out the culprits.”

  • Ambode gives 49 transformers to rural communities

    Ambode gives 49 transformers to rural communities

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has given over 49 new transformers to rural communities in Lagos State as part of his administration’s policy to light up those places.

    The transformers, he said, would reduce the challenge of unsteady power supply which is crippling businesses and making life unbearable for inhabitants of those areas.

    “In my inaugural speech, I pledged my total commitment to run a government that will implement programmes that will make life more meaningful, easier, and happier for our people, Today, we are handing over these transformers as a demonstration of that pledge,” he said.

    The governor, represented by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Jafar Sanuth at the ceremony, said his administration would begin the connection of the transformers to the national grid in two weeks under the first phase, adding that the second phase would involve the procurement and installation of over 50 transformers to be distributed to rural communities in Epe, Badagry, Ibeju Lekki and Ikorodu.

    The transformers connection to the national grid would improve power supply, create an enabling environment for job creation and reduce migration from the rural to urban areas – Ambode said, adding: “This will also create employment for our unemployed youths in these areas as small scale businesses can now function properly with the installation of the transformers. With the provision of the transformers to these communities, it will improve the economy of the communities, especially those (residents) who are in one way or the other depending on power supply as the only means of their livelihood.”

    Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Community Affairs Alhaji Tajudeen Quadri said the transformers would improve the standard of living in rural communities.

    Quadri, immediate past chair of the Community Development Committee, promised that the transformers would be used judiciously and protected from vandals.

  • Be civil to motorists, LASTMA GM tells men

    Be civil to motorists, LASTMA GM tells men

    Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) new General Manager Mr Bashir Braimah yesterday urged his men to be civil to motorists.

    The officers, he said, should always work within the law.

    Braimah was addressing senior officers at the authority’s Oshodi, Lagos headquarters.

    He reaffirmed his commitment to professionalism through human capacity building, saying competence, commitment and concerns should be the personnel’s watchword.

    The LASTMA chief urged officers to devise scientific methods of unlocking traffic gridlocks and refrain from the old practice of chasing vehicles.

    “Gone are the days of impunity, indiscipline and extortion of money from motorists. All negative vices capable of damaging the image of the government should be done away it,” warned Braimah, who before his appointment was Director, Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and Culture.

    According to him, LASTMA will achieve a lot when its officers are dedicated to duty.

    When traffic flows, he said, motorists would burn less fuel, save energy and time, adding that insecurity would be eliminated.

    This will have a multiplier effect on the state economy, because savings will lead to investment, he said.

    Braimah remind his men that Lagos is the economic hub of Nigeria and West Africa thereby making it imperative for traffic management to be in line with best global practices.

    Braimah replaces Babatunde Edu, an engineer, who held the post.

  • Fishermen held for ‘illegal’ dealing in fuel

    Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday remanded three fishermen in prison custody for alleged unlawful dealing in petroleum products.

    Tijani Gbadamosi, 48, Adelake Akininbosun, 54 and Kenneth Okoria, 39, are standing trial on a three-count charge.

    Prosecuting Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mathew Omosun, told the court that the accused committed the offence on August 27 at Ijanikin, Lagos.

    The accused, he said, loaded 700 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) worth N546, 000 into a truck marked YB 200 EKY without licence.

    Omosun alleged that their intention was to distribute and sell the products belonging to the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC).

    The offence contravened Sections 1(7)(a), 3(6) and 17(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Laws of the Federation 2007.

    The trio pleaded not guilty.

    The prosecutor urged the court to remand them in prison custody pending their trial.

    Their counsel, Mr Mark-Anthony Akariele said he would file a bail application.

    Justice Mohammed Yunusa adjourned the case till September 11.