The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • NAPTIP rescues 281, reunites 252 victims with families in 6 months

    NAPTIP rescues 281, reunites 252 victims with families in 6 months

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP) says its Lagos Zonal Office has rescued 281 persons trafficked between January and July.

    The agency also said it reunited 252 victims of human trafficking with their families after conducting a surveillance and investigation on their families.

    Mr Joseph Famakin, Commander, Lagos Zone, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

    “We have rescued 281 victims of human trafficking from January till date. We have also reunited 252 victims with their families after conducting a surveillance and investigation about their families. The agency ensured that the victims returned to the right people to avoid such a situation again,’’ he said.

    The commander said NAPTIP Shelter where rescued victims were kept for rehabilitation had ensured that they were re-integrated into the society.

    “The shelter is the first place where the victims are received. After they had settled down, they go through the three R’s of Rescue, Rehabilitation and Reintegration.

    “We have competent care givers available at the shelter that take them through all the process,’’ he said.

    Famakin added that the agency had a Victims Trust Fund that enabled it to empower victims after graduating from different skills acquisition centers.

    He said: “We now have the Victim Trust Fund and the agency now generates funds to enable it empower the victims after going through the three R’s. We have competent care givers from all fields that take care of all these. We also ask the victims what they want to do after the counselling process.

    “We have victims that have returned to schools; the agency takes responsibilities of all the bills and we have some that showed interest in skills acquisition.

    “We don’t give money to victims directly, we look for shops, pay the rent, equip the place and watch them for at least two years to enable them completely erase their tragic experiences,’’ he said.

    He, however, said the agency would not relent in creating public awareness through the media on efforts to curb the menace.

    According to him, the strategies are public enlightenment, campaign in schools, town hall meetings and jingles in the media.

    “NAPTIP in a bid to curb human trafficking and other forms of sexual exploitation has increased awareness creation in all parts of the country through the internet, social media and other forms of communication.

    “We are engaging our stakeholders via social media, educating people on the dangers of human trafficking as well as the tricks employed by traffickers to lure their victims.

    “There have been town hall meetings with various sectors of the community as well as massive collaboration with NGO0s and security agencies,’’ Famakin said.

     

     

  • Residents hail Ambode on Ejigbo-Ikotun, Okota road

    Residents hail Ambode on Ejigbo-Ikotun, Okota road

    Residents of Ejigbo and Ikotun areas of Lagos have commended the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, on the commencement of repair works of Ejigbo-Ikotun and Okota Road, which had been a nightmare for motorists.

    It would be recalled that Governor Ambode paid an unscheduled visit to the area a fortnight ago, describing the state of the road as unacceptable and assured residents that the road will get a face lift soon.

    In line with his assurance, the governor last week mobilised the Lagos State Public Works Corporation to commence work on the network of roads.

    The Ekerin of Isolo, Chief Samina Lawal, hailed the governor for the action and appealed for speedy execution of the project.

    Chairman of Ndigbo in All Progressives Congress (APC), Kanayo Osondu urged the government to consider a total rehabilitation of the road, saying that the palliative work has reduced travel time from Ago Roundabout to Cele.

    Osondu said: “Before this palliative work, we spend about one hour to move from Ago Roundabout to Cele Bus Stop, but since the road was repaired, it takes just about five minutes. It is a good measure for traffic to flow. You know that people going to Ikotun Egbe, Jakande Estate and Ijegun all ply through Cele and the traffic is always heavy. We thank the Governor for this quick intervention.

    “But then, if nothing concrete is done, by the time rain comes again, it would wash away the palliative. It is better the contract is awarded so that a permanent solution can be put in place”, he said.

    Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Mr Paul Bamgbose-Martins appealed for the cooperation of motorists in the area for free flow of traffic especially as the reconstruction work progresses, assuring speedy action on it.

    Immediate past chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Kehinde Bamigbetan, said people of the area are elated that within 60 days of his administration, the Governor could promptly come to their aid.

    He pointed out that the road, which was last done about 30 years ago, could not cater for the population presently living in the area, hence the need for more permanent and total reconstruction of the road.

  • Synagogue: Lagos opposes indicted engineers’ bid to quash verdict

    Synagogue: Lagos opposes indicted engineers’ bid to quash verdict

    Lagos State Government has filed a preliminary objection to a suit by two structural engineers indicted in the six-storey Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) building collapse.

    The engineers are praying the Federal High Court in Lagos to quash the coroner’s verdict which found them culpable.

    Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun filed two suits numbered FHC/L/CS/1095/15 and FHC/L/CS/1096/15 against the Lagos Commissioner of Police, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the state Attorney-General and the Alimosho District Coroner Mr Oyetade Komolafe.

    They are challenging the July 8 inquest verdict on the death of 116 persons in the building crash which indicted Ogundeji and Fatiregun of criminal negligence and recommended them for criminal prosecution.

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had said government would implement the coroner’s verdict including filing criminal charges against the church.

    Yesterday, Lagos Solicitor-General Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN) informed Justice Mohammed Idris of the notice of preliminary objection by the police, Attorney-General and Komolafe.

    The objection is on the ground that the applicants’ main complaint is not for enforcement of their fundamental human rights but to challenge the Coroner’s verdict.

    The state said the respondents are not Federal Government agencies, therefore, their action or decisions are not subject to the court’s jurisdiction in the circumstances of the case.

    Lagos said the engineers’ application “is a gross abuse of court process.”

    The respondents said if the court critically examines the applicants’ reliefs, it would see that they are seeking a determination of the Coroner’s verdict’s validity.

    The respondents said the alleged potential breach of the applicants’ fundamental right is not the main complaint before the court.

    Besides, the contended that the plaintiffs’ filing of the suit by way of fundamental rights application is fundamentally wrong and therefore the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain it.

    Also, they said there is no evidence to show that the applicants’ rights are likely to be breached by the Coroner’s verdict.

    “The inquest is only to determine the number of fatalities, place of death, the cause and manner of death of the persons that died in the incident.

    “The Coroner did not issue any judicial indictment but a recommendation that the applicant be investigated based on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or criminal negligence.

    “Therefore, the right of the applicants to fair hearing, liberty or dignity was not breached in any respect,” the defendants said.

    The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that “the findings and recommendations of the fourth respondent (Komolafe) as contained in his verdict dated 8th July, 2015 as they relate to the applicants’ indictment for prosecution for criminal negligence and recommendation for prosecution for criminal negligence by the first to third respondents are invalid, null and void and of no effect, whatsoever.”

    Their lawyer Olalekan Ojo urged the court to protect the engineers, saying the police had been after them since the verdict was delivered.

    Yesterday, counsel for COREN, L.O Karim, said he needed time to respond to the suit as he had just been briefed.

    Pedro and Ojo did not object to his request for an adjournment.

    Justice Idris adjourned to September 30.

     

  • Alleged police attackers regain freedom

    Alleged police attackers regain freedom

    The four men who allegedly beat up a policeman and stole his phone at Itamaga junction in Ikorodu, on March 11, got their freedom yesterday when an Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court struck out the case against them for want of diligent prosecution.

    Ayomide Emmanuel and three others now at large were accused of assaulting Inspector Ikudaisi Gbenga of the Sagamu Road Police Station at about 10:30pm on the same day, with a sharp object, thereby injured him and stole his handset valued at N4, 000.

    The police preferred a two-count charge of stealing and assault against them, punishable under Sections 172 and 285 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State.

    When the case was mentioned, the prosecutor, Police Corporal Mary Ajiteru, informed the court that the complainant was a police inspector and was away on duty. Her other witness was also unavailable, so she requested for an adjournment.

    Magistrate Adejumoke Olagbegi-Adelabu said her records showed that the complainant had never put in an appearance since the case was brought to court, adding that the complainant’s job was not an excuse for his failure to appear even once since the trial began. The case was struck out for want of diligent prosecution.

     

  • LASUTH holds symposium

    LASUTH holds symposium

    Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) will tomorrow hold a symposium/baby show at its premises in commemoration of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week (WBW).

    The theme is Breast feeding and work, let’s make it work.

    This, the hospital said, was to demonstrate the importance and health benefits of breastfeeding.

    Wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, is expected as Special Guest.

     

  • ‘I’m tired of being my husband’s punch bag’

    ‘I’m tired of being my husband’s punch bag’

    A 31-year-old teacher, Funmilayo Uchenna, has taken her husband, Stanley, before an Agege Customary Court in Lagos for ‘assault.’

    Funmilayo, who lives at Alafia Street, Ijoko, Ogun State, said she met her husband in a church.

    “We married last year march and since then, I have not had peace of mind. He chases me out of the house at midnight making me sleep in a police post on several occasions,” she said, adding that: “He harasses me in my place of work to the extent that I resigned. I left his house four months ago because I can’t continue to be a man’s punch bag,” she said.

    In his defence, Uchenna, 32 said since he married Funmilayo, she has changed completely.

    He described her as a liar, saying they were living as a couple even before they got married.

    He also accused her of belittling him, saying that there was a day he gave her N100, 000 she refused it, called it ‘change’ and said she had a bank manager who will give her a huge amount of money.

    He further said he only beat her when she refuses to comply with him.

    The court’s President, Pa Adekunle Williams, ordered the couple to maintain peace and adjourned the case till August 24.

     

  • ‘Ritualists’ throw woman’s body from vehicle

    [dropcap]F[/dropcap]leeing “ritualists” at the weekend threw the remains of a 23-year-old woman off a moving vehicle onto a refuse dump at the  Olomo-Ore Junction in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, and sped off.

    The victim, who was  identified as Sitira at Lafenwa Divisional Police headquarters, Abeokuta, where her body was taken to after it was pulled out from the refuse dump, was said to be  a trainee-stylist.

    Females’ items such as pants, “leggings”, brassieres, camisole, make-up kits and a  pack of cotton wool littered where the suspected ritualists hurriedly threw Sitira’s remains.

    Esther Adewuyi, who identified herself as a relative of Sitira, told reporters that the late stylist lived with her mother in Iberekodo village in Abeokuta North Local Government Area.

    Esther said she was last seen in their house on Saturday evening planning her graduation from apprenticeship.

    Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi told The Nation that the girl was killed at the spot where she was dumped by the assailants, adding that besides the injury on her right hand, there was no suggestion she was killed for for rituals.

    Adejobi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), added that no one knew those who carried out the killing.

    The police, he said, have started investigation into the incident.

  • Why have I not died?

    Why have I not died?

    WHAT am I still doing on earth? Why has death not taken me away? I have lost all I worked for in my life”.

    With these words, Alhaji Abdul Raheem Aminu, a businessman, yesterday bemoaned the death of his three daughters and loss of his property in a fire in Isolo, Lagos, on Friday.

    He wondered why God had not taken his life despite ‘my wish for death’.

    His two daughters, Feranmi, 7, Pelumi, 5 and a step-daughter, Christiana Adebayo, 12 died in the fire which gutted a section of some lock-up shops at Rainbow Avenue, Jakande Estate, Isolo, Lagos.

    Some parts of the building were also damaged.

    Some family members, who came to sympathise with him, blamed the police for the tragedy. The fire, they said, was sparked when a L300 bus, laden with jerrycans of petrol, being chased by the police rammed into a stationary bus parked beside the road.

    The ensuing fire, they said, engulfed three cars, more than 10 shops and a building.

    Speaking with The Nation on his sick bed at St Jacob Hospital in Ejigbo, Aminu, in tears, said he owns the building gutted by fire.

    His wife, Tunrayo, also on sick bed, could barely speak, she wept uncontrollably.

    On why the children slept inside the shop, Aminu said the place is not a shop, rather a room behind the shop.

    “My wife uses three shops in that building, I own the building; behind the third shop is a small room where they sleep in case they don’t feel like coming to the other apartment not quite far from that place,” he said.

    According to him, the children and his wife have been sleeping in the room behind the shop for seven years.

    “They have a separate place -bathroom and rest room – different from that of the tenants in the house. It is unfortunate that this happened. Oh my God,” he said.

    A family member, who led our correspondent to the scene, said Mrs Aminu sells grocery and runs a hair dressing salon in the building.

    There is a sign board, GOD WITH ME SALON at the entrance of one of her shops. Though burnt, the printing is still legible. It has two chambers with heavy protectors at the entrance. The first chamber was used for business; the second chamber, residential.

    Beside it is a small room for bath and rest room. The shop led to the room. There is a door connecting the room with the compound of the residential part.

    The younger Aminu, otherwise called Alfa said in case they did not want to open the shop for business, the other exit could be used.

    He said, a burnt Toyota Pickup with Lagos number-plate AKD 791 XJ, seen on the premises, was brought for repair.

    “The driver of this pickup has paid part of the charges for repair only for the unfortunate incident to occur. What will he tell the owner? Same thing goes for the commercial bus that the fuel-loaded vehicle collided with, it was also brought for repair,” he said.

    He urged the police to seek way of arresting offenders instead “of these ceaseless chasing and sometimes shooting indiscriminately. The casualties could have been worse than what we see.”

  • LAGBUS ready to engage more female bus drivers

    LAGBUS ready to engage more female bus drivers

    LAGBUS Asset Management Company, operators of Lagos metropolitan red buses yesterday said that it was ready to engage more females as drivers in its fleet.

    Mr Babatunde Disu, the Managing Director of LAGBUS, gave this indication in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Disu noted that female drivers were more caring and careful, adding that being gender sensitive,would facilitate the realisation of the mandate of the company.

    “We are interested in getting more female drivers because they take good care of our buses and are more careful on the roads.

    “We want more of them to come into the system; we are calling on those who are interested to apply,’’ he said.

    Disu also said that the company was ready to train any lady or woman, who was interested in driving the metropolitan buses.

    He said that successful ones would be certified by the Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI) before a bus would be allocated them.

    Meanwhile, one of the female bus drivers, Rose Joseph, a mother of two, has urged passenger to see them as a professional and always encourage them.

    “Area boys and men on uniform harass us, sometimes at non-designated bus stops, sometimes when we are trying to help passengers.

    “Although its challenging, but you need to be focused and determined; the management even gave some considerations to women,’’ Joseph said.

    Mrs Abimbola Agbekola, an accountant and a graduate from University of Lagos, also a driver, urged females to join the programme and make living from it, adding that “what a man can do, a woman can do better.”

    Agbekola said driving articulated vehicles, such as the LAGBUS, was a way of empowering the female gender.

    “My husband saw the advert in a road show organised by the management, and he told me when he got back home, and advised me to apply because he knows I have passion for driving.

    “You may not have driving skill but management of LAGBUS will train you and you will be certified by LASDRI.

    “I have passion for it, so I do not listen to what the passengers say, but try to be focused.

    “This is an opportunity for female gender to empower themselves and make life better, instead of waiting for their husband to do everything for them,” she said.

  • Traders, firm in row over Alade market

    A row has broken out over the popular Alade Market in Ikeja, Lagos.

    The traders and the market’s concessionaire yesterday traded words over an alleged attempt to burn down the market.

    The traders under the aegis of Concerned Traders of Alade Market (CTAM) accused the concessionaire of attempting to torch the market.

    But the concessionaire, Master Reality International Concept Ltd (MRIC) denied the allegation, saying those it sent there to take possession of the market for its development were the ones being accused of attempted arson.

    The traders held a protest against a plan to relocate the market from the complex.

    They said government should have made a better alternative arrangement for them before depriving them entrance to the market.

    Some entrances into the complex were locked, with traders deprived access to their shops.

    They alleged that the matter was in court and that the option the government was giving them was not conducive for their operations.

    “Looking at the situation on ground, these people have children and relatives and they feed on these businesses. When you are keeping them out of a shop, you should provide a comfortable place for them.

    “Nobody says you should not develop the market, but look at them…” one of the a sympathisers said.

    Some of the persons in the complex have been there for over 13 years and they are lamenting that they would not get patronage in the new place.

    MRIC’s Managing Director Layi Omotola, an engineer, said his company had signed a 30-year agreement with the Ikeja Local Government Area to turn the market into an ultra modern shopping mall on a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) platform.

    According to him, attempts in the last five years to take possession of the market have frustrated the traders.

    His firm, he said, had developed close to two hectares of land behind the present market and built about 194 shops for the traders’ use.

    “Yet these traders had insisted they won’t move, alleging that the place is inhabitable. We have addressed all their concerns and officials of the Ministry of Urban Development and Planning has approved our intervention, yet, only eight of the traders have paid for shop in the new place in five years.”

    He said his firm is under pressure to begin the project because of the expiration on July 31, of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive to banks to publish the names of their debtors.

    According to him, while interest on the N9.6 billion bank loan for the development of the market has quadrupled, the foreign loan of $50 million obtained five years ago, for the development of the proposed shopping mall, is also being eroded by the skyrocketing rate of foreign exchange, now pegged at N195 to a dollar.

    He said: “As local investors, we are receiving the heat and the traders have refused to be reasonable. Our humility in not enforcing our rights to possess the site is turning to stupidity and that is why we decided to commence construction today.”

    Work, he said, has been stopped, following the intervention of the council’s Executive Secretary Adekunle Adeokun, who called for another meeting. The meeting came up with a 15-man committee to design a road map for the relocation of the traders and the project’s take-off.

    He said his company would indemnify all traders willing to move to the proposed mall, promising that they would be given the right on its completion.

    The firm, he said, would build 384 shops, in the proposed mall for the traders.

    Adeokun said he suspended the project to ensure amicable resolution of outstanding issues.

    He said when the market was built in 1976, it had provision for 250 traders, adding that today, the traders’ population is put at 1,000.

    “The original owners pay only N7,200 per annum to the council, while these people rented out their shops for N500,000 and above. That is why we thought of redeveloping the market so that we can get commensurate value for the prime location of the market.”