The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Health workers suspend strike

    Health workers suspend strike

    Striking workers of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute Meta, Lagos have suspended their six-week action.

    Branch chairman of the Medical and Health Workers’ Union (MHWU) Comrade Julius Achonwa told The Nation that the workers have reported at their duty post.

    The strike was suspended following a “return to work order” by the association’s parent body, MHWU Federal Area Council, Lagos.

    MHWU chairman for Federal Area Council, Lagos Comrade Stephen Ibe had on Monday said there was no basis for the strike which started on June 22 over unpaid promotion arrears for 2013 and last year.

    Ibe said investigation by the union showed that the Federal Government had not paid the money to the hospital. As such, the strike is illegal and uncalled for, he said, adding: “I personally with my executive went to the Budget Office of the Federal Ministry of Health to verify the matter, but the result we got was that the money is still being processed.”

    He said the workers alleged that the hospital management had collected N250 million, adding: “How is this possible? Nobody can give what it does not have.”

    FMC Medical Director, Dr Yewande Jinadu, said the call duty allowance of the striking workers would be paid as soon as they go back to work.

    She continued: “Fifty percent will be paid immediately they resume and the other half with their salary. This was the agreement we reached with them.”

    She explained that the delay in receiving the promotion arrears for 2013 and last year was cause by the wrong titling of the fund by the Budget Office.

    “The phrase CONMASS was used as title.  This means consolidated medical salary structure and it is for the doctors and not health workers who are grouped under Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS),” Jinadu said.

    However, the Chairman of the National Union of Allied Health Professionals and JOHESU of FMC, Ebute Meta Mr Adekunle Shehu said there is no going back on the strike until the management accedes to the demands of the workers.

    He said the unions carried their parent bodies along before going on strike.

    Shehu said the hospital had yet to pay workers, despite receiving the money for call duty allowance from the health ministry.

    Other federal institutions, especially Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), have paid their workers, he said.

    The workers, he said, would not resume if any of them is suspended or threatened as “an injury to one is an injury to all.”

    Shehu alleged that the file for the promotion arrears could not be found at the Budget Office.

    The hospital, the management and state MHWU are being economical with the truth, he claimed

    Achonwa said said though the state MHWU maintained that the budget office has not paid the call duty allowance, FMC MD stated that management has received it.

    This, he said, made the workers to insist that the budget office should write to tell them that the promotion money has not been released.

    “It is difficult to tell the workers to go back to work when they discovered that something is fishy,” Achonwa said.

  • Lagos to prosecute woman, 70, others for child abuse

    Lagos to prosecute woman, 70, others for child abuse

    The Lagos State Government is to prosecute a 70-year old woman for applying pepper on a 12-year-old boy’s private part for allegedly stealing her money.

    The government will also prosecute another woman who used two children she brought from the village to assist her in trading for begging.

    The children were brought to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) after they were rescued in Badagry, Ajangbadi and Maza-Maza, by government officials and policemen on Tuesday.

    WAPA Permanent Secretary Omobolanle Ogunmola said the ministry swung into action following a text message on how the 12-year-old boy was being abused.

    “Our team went to Badagry to rescue the boy who attends Ansar-Ud-Deen Secondary School. From the information gotten from the school, the suspects are old. The woman is around 70 years and the husband, over 75 years, so we could not arrest them, but that does not mean we are not going to prosecute them. We are going to prosecute them. We will take custody of the boy and take him to school in one of our transient homes,” she said.

    Mrs Ogunmola said there was zero tolerance on child abuse and domestic violence, adding that government would not hesitate to prosecute people who violate the rights of children.

    She implored parents not to release their children to live with others without proper investigation to avoid their being used as domestic servants.

  • I invested N2m in drug trafficking, says suspect

    I invested N2m in drug trafficking, says suspect

    A 44-year-old man, Chidi Chibude, has reportedly told anti-drug agents that he invested N2 million in drug trafficking to enable him make N4million profit.

    Chibude, who was arrested by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) officers at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, said he sold his only property in Enugu to raise the N2million.

    He was arrested while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to China.

    A statement by NDLEA quoted him saying: “I am married with a child. I used to sell clothes and my business was flourishing in 2007. My problem started in 2008 when I lost all my three big shops. I see it as a spiritual attack because I lost everything I had laboured to acquire over the years.

    I sold the only property I have in Enugu with the hope of relocating to Lagos. Unfortunately, I listened to wrong advice and invested my last savings in cocaine business. They assured me that I could earn twice the amount I invested in the deal but I am regretting my action.”

    The suspect said he did not know that drug trafficking attracts death penalty in China, adding: “I never thought of it. My entire attention was on the N4 million profit I would have made from my trip. I am so worried now about my wife and daughter.”

    NDLEA commander at the stet airport Mr Hamza Umar said the suspect ingested 1.185kg of whitish substances that tested positive for cocaine.

    He said: “We discovered from our investigation that the suspect sold his property in Enugu and invested the proceeds in drug trafficking due to wrong counsel from friends. He was apprehended during outward screening of passengers on Qatar flight. The cocaine found on him weighed 1.185kg”.

    NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Ahmadu Giade, who described drug trafficking as criminal, warned that those who seek wealth from crime would pay the price for their action.

    “NDLEA is combating drug trafficking with every resource at its disposal. Drug trafficking is criminal and the gains of a drug-free society is priceless. The lesson to be learnt from this case is that those who seek quick wealth from drug trafficking will end up in prison custody” Giade said.

  • ‘Nigeria polio-free feat unprecedented’

    ROTARY International District 9110 Governor Otunba Bola Onabadejo has described as unprecedented the nation’s polio-free year.

    If the tempo is maintained for the next two years, Onabadejo said, the country will be removed from the list of countries that are polio-prone.

    To mark the historic event, he planted a tree.

    He spoke at a briefing at the group’s headquarters in Ikeja GRA, Lagos.

    He said: “This is the day we have been waiting for, to see that we didn’t see any recurrence of polio. Since 1985, we started the journey of polio eradication in the country. Today, Nigeria is off it. It is significant and that is why we are marking it.’’ He said the last case of polio virus infection was recorded in Kano State on July 24, last year.

    He said the organisation’s aim was that the country’s name is knocked off the list of endemic countries, adding that this was achievable with better surveillance, non-complacent on its efforts on immunisation and more enlightenment.

    Onabadejo, who promised at his installation to ‘’stamp out polio’’, explained the importance of the tree planting.  He said any one who planted a tree expected it to grow and mature and that this was possible with daily watering, noting that Rotary’s members would not rest on its oars of care to achieve this laudable goal.

    Former District Governor Tayo Alabi, who described the day as joyful, said the Rotary family was happy because it fulfilled the promise it made to Nigerians that it would eradicate polio from the country.

    He recalled that 10 years ago, there were 1000 cases of polio, but that by last year, the figure had been drastically reduced to six.

    Since 2014, he said, no case had been recorded.

    “And so, it is a day of joy,’’ he said, adding that the body’s periscope is trained on 2017, when, it hoped, Nigeria would be declared polio-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    Chairman, Nigeria National Plus Committee Dr Tunji Funsho described the event as ’a great day’, adding that Rotary’s 20-year-old dream had been achieved. He said the feat did not come easy and there were some challenges which they eventually surmounted. Thanking their donors, partners and his colleagues for their support, he said their contributions were unquantifiable. So far, he said about $1. 5million had been spent on polio eradication. He also thanked the government for its support, saying that Rotary wants more of its support. He urged parents to ensure that their children were immunised.

    Funsho added:  “We have proved that it can be done.  If we become complacent, it won’t be good.’’

  • Court remands serial rapist

    Court remands serial rapist

    The police have arraigned a 30-year-old applicant, John Otuma, before an Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for the allegedly murder of a woman, Abisogun Arinola, 29.

    Otuma was alleged to have unlawfully had carnal knowledge of Arinola without her consent in his black Lexus Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with registration number FST 299 CM.

    The defendant, a post graduate student at the University of Lagos was said to have assaulted Arinola in his Lexus SUV on July 11 on Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi.

    Otuma and Arinola were said to be friends and classmates.

    Otuma on May 11 also been arraigned before Magistrate Abolarinwa of Court 7 for alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl.

    Police prosecutor Emmanuel Eze applied that the defendant be remanded in prison custody, pending legal advice from The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

     The defence counsel, C. Oseni, prayed the court to grant his client bail in liberal terms. He added that his client might die because he has been in custody for 21 days before his arraignment.

    His plea was not taken.

    Magistrate Ope-Agbe ordered that the defendant be remanded in prison custody for DPP advice.

    She said the court has no jurisdiction to grant bail on rape matter. The case was adjourned till September 17.

  • Court dissolves 22-year marriage

    Court dissolves 22-year marriage

    An Igando Customary Court in Lagos yesterday dissolved the 22-year-old union of Mr and Mrs Godfrey Obioma.

    The court’s president, Mr Hakeem Oyekan said efforts to reconcile the parties failed, adding that their marriage has broken down irretrievably.

    “Both parties cease to be husband and wife. They are free to go their separate ways without hindrance,’’ Oyekan ruled.

    The petitioner, Mrs Joy Obioma, had sought the dissolution of the marriage over what she called her husband’s nonchalant attitude.

    “My husband has never been responsible. He smokes Indian hemp every morning in our children’s presence. I can’t remember the last time he gave me some money to cater for our needs.

    “I have always been responsible for our children’s upkeep and necessary things in the house still he doesn’t give me peace of mind,” she said.

    The 42-year-old trader described her husband as “violent” adding that he always threatened to kill her with a ‘dangerous weapon.’

    “I usually thought he never meant all he said because of the things he sniffs and smokes but when he poured acid on me, I became scared and I have been having sleepless nights. There was also a day he almost stabbed me with a bottle, Mrs Obioma said.

    She said her husband once burnt their house and ran away.

    The mother of four said: “He was in Ghana for years and even when he returned, he still shirks his responsibilities. My husband never referred  to me as his wife but an “international prostitute” in everyone’s presence which is very embarrassing. He disturbs the neighbourhood whenever he is around.”

    She pleaded with the court to dissolve the union, adding that she no longer loves him. The petitioner said she could not continue to live with the respondent.

    Obioma admitted smoking Indian hemp but denied ever treating his wife violently.

    “I still love her. We were made from heaven to be a couple and no one can separate us,” he said.

    The marriage produced four children between ages 10 and 20.

  • Four held for ‘robbery’

    The police have smashed a four-man robbery gang which terrorised Lagos and Ogun states.

    The suspects are Daniel Thomas, 27, Chukwuemeka Nkem 32, Ogaga Feja, 27 and Oluchukwu Anene, 27.

    Two locally made single barrel short guns and seven live cartridges were recovered from them.

    Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Zone II Onikan Lagos Joseph Mbu said three of the suspects – Thomas, Nkem and Feja- were arrested on July 13 at Wilmer area of Ajegunle, Lagos, following a tip off.

    Anene, he added, was caught the following day by the Zonal Special Anti-robbery Squad (ZSARS).

    The robbers, Mbu said, usually dispossessed victims of their belongings around Mile 2 during traffic snarl.

    Feja said he was lured to join the gang.

    “I had been remanded in Ikoyi Prison for armed robbery. I was granted bail but, while I was in prison on July 4, I was given a contact to meet Thomas and Nkem. My case is still pending in court but it is foolish to die of hunger and wise to go to prison again. I have no regret because I am alive,” he said.

    Nkem, an ex-convict, who drives a commercial bus on the CMS Mile 2 route, said he joined the gang because he has no bus of his own.

    He said: “I came out of Kirikiri Prison two months ago. I met Feja and Thomas in an Indian hemp smoking joint and they asked me to join them to collect something. Along the line, they told me that they wanted to go and steal a car and that they have ready standby receivers. They said my role was to drive the motor as a good driver.”

    Anene, a hip-hop musician, said his relationship with Nkem in prison made him to develop a criminal mind.

    “Nkem told me to meet one of his friends called Feja to bring me. My life changed after meeting Feja. I regret meeting him because I am the kind of person that is contented with what I have.

    Thomas said he participated in robbery three times but the third one failed because “we were arrested at planning stage.”

     

     

  • Man charged with N12.8m fraud

    The Special Fraud Unit (SFU) yesterday arraigned self styled Bureau De change operator, Hassan Aliyu, for alleged fraud.

    The prosecution said Aliyu obtained $64,700 (about N12.8million) from Alhaji Lawal Shittu after claiming that he would convert it to naira.

    SFU said the defendant obtained the cash without giving the complainant its naira equivalent.

    The offence of conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence contravenes Section 8A of the Advance Fee Fraud Act 2006.

    The accused, who said he could not understand English, had the charge translated to him in Yoruba. He pleaded not guilty.

    Justice Mohammed Idris adjourned to August 7 for hearing of the bail application.

     

  • Landlady seeks tenant’s ejection

    A middle-age woman, Mrs Ogunbekun, has pleaded with an Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court in Lagos, to eject one of her tenants.

    The plaintiff, who lives on Shagamu Road in Ikorodu, said the tenant, Mrs B. Tina, has been occupying the apartment since her parents’ death.

    She accused her of late rent payment, not partaking in environmental sanitation and accommodating different men in her apartment.

    Mrs Ogunbekun said: “Her siblings have persuaded me to talk to her to return to her matrimonial home but she refused.”

    The landlady said she became scared when one of her man friends, a soldier, hit another man friend’s head on the wall.

    “Through the help of my lawyer, I have given her a one-month quit notice on February 28 but she has refused to leave. I issued another quit notice on May 4, which she also ignored.

    “I want her to vacate my house because I don’t want my female children and daughter in-law to be influenced by her attitude. And, also she should pay her outstanding bills,” she said.

    The defendant denied all the allegations against her.

    Magistrate A. Oshodi-Makanju adjourned the case till August 12 because of  the absence of the defendant’s lawyer.

     

  • Fuel tanker falls at Lagos airport

    Fuel tanker falls at Lagos airport

    There was panic at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday when a tanker fell, spilling Jet-A1 popularly known as aviation fuel on the road.

    The tanker tumbled close to the airport’s access gate. Motorists, passersby and workers ran for cover.

    An eyewitness said the tanker with registration number AAA 991 XQ, fell when the driver wanted to negotiate a sharp bend.

    It was coming from Ikeja and heading for the international wing of the airport when the accident occurred around 10.am.

    Men from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) fire service, Lagos State Fire Service, the Police and other emergency response agencies quickly mobilised to avert tragedy.

    The driver, the eyewitness said, was trapped inside the vehicle for over 30 minutes before he was pulled out by rescuers, who cut the steering.

    They said the driver was rushed to the Port Health Services for first aid.

    Other motorists were said to have fled, thinking that the spilled product was petrol.

    The eyewitness claimed that the driver was on high speed when the accident occurred.

    The accident caused massive traffic gridlock as vehicles were diverted from airport road to Beesam to enable passengers and workers access the international airport, Hajj camp and Cargo Terminal.

    Speaking to reporters at the scene, Lagos State Fire Service Leader Fatai Rafiu said the command received a distress call at 10:14am and fire fighters from the Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Ikeja responded immediately.

    The quick intervention of the team, he said, prevented what could have led to loss of lives and properties.

    He said the accident might have been caused by over-speeding.

    Rafiu said: “With my years of experience, which is about 32 years, I can say that the accident might have occurred because of over-speeding by the driver because the accident wouldn’t have happened just like that. Maybe the driver lost the control of the speed, but I can tell you that it was not a mechanical fault.”

    Mr Livinus Chukwuma, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Lagos Airport Command, told NAN that officers were deployed immediately to the scene.

    The police, he said, also cordoned off the area and diverted people to use alternative routes.

    Meanwhile the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has arrested no fewer than 74 tankers and trailers drivers.

    According to the Corps’ Lagos and Ogun States Zonal Commander, Assistant Corps Marshal Nseobong Akpabio, the indiscipline of the articulated trucks and trailers drivers warranted the need for the operation.

    The defaulters’ offence, he said, range from driving with worn-out tyres, possessing fake drivers’ licence, unlatched/unhooked containers, lane indiscipline, rickety vehicles and overloading.

    The exercise, tagged: “Operation Scorpion” focusing on reduction or total eradication of crashes involving heavy duty vehicles across the country.

    According to Akpabio, the objective of ‘operation scorpion’ is to deploy the human and material resources to ensure compliance.

    He said the bad habit of the hydraulic vehicles’ drivers on the roads is becoming unbearable.

    This, he described, has become embarrassment.

    The FRSC boss said mobile courts have been set up in conjunction with the concerned states’ judiciary.

    He urged corps marshals to exhibit high sense of discipline and competent throughout the exercise and adhere strictly to FRSC rules.