The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Customs hands over suspected traffickers, $271, 135 cash to EFCC

    The Murtala Muhammed Internatonal Airport Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) two persons arrested last week for allegedly attempting to traffic over $271,135.

    The cash was also handed over to EFCC for safe keeping and further investigation.

    Its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Thelma Williams, gave the suspects’ names as: Owolabi Tijani of Patovillki, a cleaning firm at the airport and Uwan Livinus.

    Williams said: “At about 11am on September 3, one Owolabi  Tijani a staff of Patovilki “Cleaning Firm” was apprehended by Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) officials who attempted to smuggle US$271,135 through “D” wing departure screening point.

    “The said Owolabi after interrogation confirmed to FAAN Officials names of people involved in the crime, including  Mrs Omo Seun (Iya Urobo) and Uwan Livinus.

    “Statements were therefore taken from the suspects and officers who witnessed the process.”

     

  • Man cleared of fowl theft

    AN Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court in Lagos has cleared a 28-year-old man, Michael George, of stealing a fowl belonging to Mrs Miriam Usman.

    When George was arraigned on June 2, police Inspector Kehinde Muhammed, standing in for the prosecutor, Corporal Kemi Adeniran, alleged that the accused was caught with the fowl on the night of May 31, on the complainant’s premises.

    The charge reads: “That you Michael George on May 31, at 10pm on Adegboyega Street, Ibeshe Titun Area, Ikorodu, did steal a fowl valued at N2000, property of one Miriam Usman.”

    He said the offence contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011.

    The accused pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate A. S. Odusanya, who initially handled the case, granted George N5,000 bail with one surety in the like sum.

    Yesterday, the George’s counsel, Mrs M. O. Folami urged the court to strike out the case, adding that her client was detained for two days at Kirikiri Prison and made to pay N35,000 in restitution for the said crime.

    She said: “Members of the complainant’s community have collected N35,000 from my client already as payment for the fowl and other expenses they said they incurred in prosecuting this matter. Yet, the witnesses, all members of the community, didn’t bother to show up in court.”

    “They didn’t even tell the Investigative Police Officer that they had collected any money from the accused.”

    Magistrate A. Oshodi struck out the case for want of diligent prosecution and discharged George.

     

  • Kids, teenager, octogenarian die in disasters

    Four persons yesterday died in various disasters across Lagos State.

    A 10-year-old girl Miss Eniola Shodipe drowned in a well at Atanda Street in Mafoluku, Oshodi.

    An infant – Isaiah Bamidele was recovered dead after a 17-passenger boat accident occurred around Odo-Isitu, Egan, a Lagos suburb.

    Another 16-year-old boy, as well as an octogenarian, were consumed in separate fire that occurred at Lekki and Ojo.

    Miss Shodipe, who was said to have visited some relatives to spend the long vacation, fell in the well while playing with other kids.

    The incident, which occurred at about 2pm threw the neighbours into panic.

    Many struggled to rescue her but were unsuccessful because the wood used to cover the well fell on her.

    Though, the well was not very deep, the teenager passed on before she was recovered.

    Six-year-old Bamidele was the only casualty in the boat accident that occurred around 1:20pm.

    The Nation learnt that the boat had colluded with another one coming from Totowu. Bamidele fell inside the water.

    He was recovered dead by local divers and handed over to his family who buried him immediately.

    The 16-year-old boy died in a fire outbreak at 35c, Ajiran Road, Agungi, Lekki; the 86-year-old woman died in a separate fire outbreak at the weekend.

    Confirming the incidents, the director, Lagos State Fire Service,  Rasaq Fadipe said the old woman’s building of 10 rooms on Dickson Adebayo Street, Iba New Site, Ojo, was consumed in the inferno.

    Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Dr Onimode Bandele urged residents to be safety conscious.

    He appealed to boat operators to embrace the use of safety jackets and ensure their passengers comply.

    Bandele hailed the local divers for their prompt response in savings the victims, noting that more lives would have been lost if not for their swift intervention.

     

  • Wood merchant charged with defrauding Kashamu

    Wood merchant charged with defrauding Kashamu

    A wood merchant Mohammed Isiaka from Gboloko in Bassa Local Government Area of Kogi State has been arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly defrauding Senator Buruji Kashamu of N400,000.

    Isiaka, according to the charge, obtained N400,000 from Senator Kashamu by giving false information to the police that former President Olusegun Obasanjo paid one Tony Kabaka N25 million to eliminate Kashamu.

    The charge reads: “The accused person gave the false information to the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone II Onikan Lagos on July 25 at Onikan, a Lagos Magisterial District, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 93 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.

    “That Isiaka, on the same date, time and place in Lagos Magisterial District, time and place in Lagos Magisterial District, did obtain from one Senator Buruji Kashamu the sum of N400, 000 with the pretence, that he had given information to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police knowing same to be false.”

    Magistrate O. Kusanu granted the accused N800, 000 bail with two sureties in the like sum and evidence of three-year tax payment.

    Kusanu adjourned the case till October 14.

    The accused, who claims that he has a National Diploma in Accounting from Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, is said to be into wood business shuttling between Kogi and Benin.

    According to the police, the AIG instructed the Zonal Special Anti-Robbery (ZSARS) to investigate the matter.

    Investigation revealed that Isiaka lied to obtain money from Kashamu.

    The police said Isiaka confessed that he collected N200,000 from Kashamu the first time he gave him the information and got another N200,000 later.

     

  • Masked gunmen riddle doctor’s car in Akure, driver, bodyguard wounded

    Masked gunmen riddle doctor’s car in Akure, driver, bodyguard wounded

    A quiet Sunday turned violent in Akure after suspected gunmen trailed and opened fire on the vehicle of Dr. Ayodeji Agboola, a medical specialist with the Ondo State Hospitals Management Board.

    According to information made available to our correspondent, Dr. Agboola had just returned home with his family from church when, about an hour later, two masked men on a motorbike allegedly pursued his car and riddled it with bullets. The medical practitioner escaped unhurt, but his driver and a bodyguard sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed for urgent medical attention.

    Neighbours who heard the gunfire said the attack lasted only moments. “We just heard rapid shots and people shouting ‘down! down!’ The bike sped off before anyone could get a plate number,” a resident who pleaded anonymity told our reporter. Frightened residents remained indoors as the assailants fled the scene.

    Hospital sources at the State Specialist Hospital, Akure confirmed that the injured driver and bodyguard were receiving treatment for gunshot wounds. Their conditions were described as stable as at the time of filing this report.

    Speaking by phone, Mrs. Belinda Agboola, wife of the medical doctor, urged the Ondo State Police Command to intensify investigations and bring the perpetrators to justice.

    “Our lives have been in constant danger, and we have done no harm to anyone. We call on the police to do all in their power to protect us,” she said in tears, while expressing sympathy for the wounded and appealing for government intervention.

    When The Nation contacted the Ondo State Police Command, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP, Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident, adding that he had not yet been fully briefed but would provide an update. As at press time, the Command had yet to issue an official statement.

  • Govt restricts daytime movement of trailers

    Govt restricts daytime movement of trailers

    It is now an offence for heavy duty vehicles, such as trailers and trucks, to move between 6am and 9pm, Lagos State government has said.

    The government vowed to enforce the law against daytime movement of such vehicles to stem the rising incidence of falling trailers.

    Last week, a cement-laden container fell off a trailer on Ojuelegba, killing three persons in a Sport Utility vehicle.

    Ministry of Transportation Permanent Secretary, Mr Oluseyi Whenu told reporters on Saturday that trailer contravened Section 2 (i) and 2 (ii) of the Traffic Law.

    Government, he said, would, henceforth, go tough against any trailer and long vehicle that contravened the law, adding that the vehicle will be impounded and the owner fined.

    Also at the weekend, transport unions’ leaders rose from a meeting with government officials, pledging to support the fresh measures for controlling traffic.

    At the meeting, Whenu clarified the government’s position on its traffic management outfit (LASTMA), saying LASTMA officials have not been stopped from performing their statutory responsibilities on the road.

    Under the new regime, LASTMA, he said, would pay attention on flawless flow of traffic, adding that offenders will be booked and expected to pay their fines within the stipulated period in line with the government’s covenant with Lagosians to make life easier for them.

    Whenu sought transport operators’ corporation in ensuring the initiative’s success, warning them not to see it as a sign of weakness by attacking LASTMA or any other enforcement agent.

    He said: “The government has also directed that all commercial passenger vehicles should obey all traffic rules and regulations by stopping only at designated bus-stops, close bus doors while in motion among other provisions of the law”.

    Responding, Chairman of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) Alhaji Musa Muhammed, who spoke on behalf of other union leaders, pledged their support the government in ensuring sanity on the road.

    In attendance were Prince Tajudeen Adetoro,  Chairman of Taxi Cab Operators and Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya, Treasurer, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), among others.

  • ‘How police nabbed me with 27 phones’

    A 19-year-old man, Saliu Oladunni, has narrated how he was caught by the police with 27 phones burgled from a shop at Wole Ajeboriogbon Street, Sabo, Ikorodu, property of one Mrs Wasiu Omolabake.

    Oladunni, who was arraigned before an Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court in Lagos yesterday, told The Nation that he wasn’t part of the gang that stole the phones, but he helped the thieves to deliver them to phone sellers.

    He said: “I was taking my broken phone to a Mallam for repair when the guys asked me to take the 27 phones to the same Mallam.

    “The Mallam repairs and sells phones, but I didn’t know he was working for the police too. It was when the police came and arrested me there that I knew the phones were stolen,” Oladunni said.

    The Prosecutor, Corporal Mary Ajiteru, told the court that on August 31, Oladunni and several others at large at about 3:30am burgled Mrs Omolabake’s shop and made off with 44 different phones and accessories worth N180,000.

    When the three-count charge was read to him in Yoruba, Oladunni pleaded guilty to conspiracy and stealing punishable under Sections 409 and 285 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.

    He denied the second charge of burglary.

    Magistrate O. O. Olatunji ordered the accused be remanded in prison and adjourned the matter till October 22.

  • Man ‘steals’ phones, cash

    A 24-year-old man, Hassan Balogunk, was yesterday arraigned before an Ogba Magistrate’s Court in Ikeja, Lagos, for alleged stealing.

    Balogun was alleged to have stolen a Nokia phone worth N5,000;  Blackberry Q5 worth N35,000, Techno phone worth N70,000  and a N30, 000 cash all belonging to Kehinde Omokhilo.

    The defendant was arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.

    According to the prosecutor, Superintendent of police Lugard Ahole, the defendant and others at large stole the items at Balogun junction in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos, on August 26.

    Ahole said the offence is punishable under Sections 285 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos state 2011.

    The defendant pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate T. Akani granted him N100, 000 bail with one surety in the like sum.

    Akani adjourned the case till September 16.

  • Applicant arraigned for alleged fake naira notes

    An applicant, Chikezie Chukwu, has been arraigned for allegedly being in possession of fake naira notes and stealing N70,000.

    Chukwu, 20, was arraigned in an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos on a four-count charge of obtaining under false pretence, stealing and being in possession of fake notes.

    The Investigating Police Officer, Adewunmi Oderinmade, told the court that the offence was committed on August 22 at 2nd junction Road, Ikotun.

    Oderinmade told the court that Chukwu purchased goods valued at N70,000 from one Esther Ojetokun and paid her with fake naira notes.

    The accused, he said, could not give satisfactory reasons about the fake notes in his possession after his arrest.

    The offence, he said, contravened Sections 285, 312, 370 and 409 of the Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

    Chukwu pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate M.O Olajuwon granted the accused N50,000 bail with one surety in the like sum. He adjourned the case till September 28.

  • Suspected traffic robber held in Mile 2

    Suspected traffic robber held in Mile 2

    Operatives of Lagos State Police Command have arrested Monday Ubi for allegedly robbing a passenger in traffic.

    Ubi, described as a “traffic robbery kingpin” was arrested at Mile 2 by the Response Squad (RRS) following the victim, Orji Ogbonnaya’s distress call.

    Ubi was said to have removed N28,000 from Ogbonnaya’s pocket inside a Festac Town-bound bus.

    Ogbonnaya told the police that Ubi, who sat beside him, stylishly removed the money.

    Ogbonnaya said: “I boarded a bus to Mile 2 from Oshodi. On getting to Toyota, the suspect came in because there were still spaces in the bus. I didn’t have an inkling that he had a mission. I adjusted a bit from him and he also did making him closer to me. When I noticed that he had removed the money from my pocket after I touched my thigh, I pretended as if nothing had happened. Then I started looking if I could see any police patrol vehicle.

    “When we reached Mile 2, he wanted to alight from the bus but I held his trousers. As we alighted from the bus, I called the attention of the RRS patrol team I saw around.

    “Unknown to me, he had passed the money to one of his gang members. But when the police surrounded us, a man dropped the money on the road and ran away. It was when the suspect was being taken to the police headquarters that he confessed stealing my money and passing it to his partner.”

    Ogbonnaya thanked the policemen for helping him to recover his money.

    The suspect, who lives at Olutimeyin Street, Ayobo-Ipaja, said he is a member of the syndicate operating in Mile 2, Ajegunle and environs.

    “I used to sell second-hand clothes at Kantangwa market along Lagos-Abeokuta expressway. One of my customers introduced me to robbery. He taught me how to pick pockets without people’s knowledge. I intentionally sat beside him in the bus because we know our victims. This is not my first time. I have been in this profession for almost two years. I want the government to forgive me now that I know there is no gain in stealing,” Ubi said.

    RRS Commander Olatunji Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), said the squad was committed to free Lagos from any criminal acts.