The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Two men charged with defiling girl

    Two men, Kazeem Lawal, 21, and Shakiru Ibisode,18, yesterday appeared before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

    Lawal, a welder, who resides on Otta Road in Orile-Agege and Ibisode, a trader of 32 Ogundare Street, Ile Epo, Abule-Egba Road, in Lagos, were arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy and sexual assault.

    Prosecutor Rachael Williams said the offence was committed on July 13 at Ile-Epo Market, Abule Egba Road.

    Williams said the accused ambushed the victim on her way home and assaulted her by fingering her vagina.

    “They were still on it when the police on patrol sighted them and apprehended them,’’ Williams said.

    Williams said the offence contravened Sections 259 and 409 of the Criminal Law.

    The accused pleaded not guilty.

    Chief Magistrate Tajudeen Elias granted the accused N100, 000 bail with one surety each in the like sum.

    He adjourned the case till July 29.

  • Man, 75, ‘rapes’ girl, 13

    A 75-year-old man, Gabriel Nwakama, who allegedly raped a 13-year-old girl, was yesterday charged before the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court 4 in Lagos.

    The accused, who lives at 4, Oloosa-Oke Street, Ogundimu in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos, is facing a two-count charge of assault and defilement.

    Prosecuting police officer Racheal Williams said the offence was committed on July 12 in the defendant’s apartment.

    According to Williams, the accused lured the girl, who went to fetch water in his compound, into his room and raped her.

    “The accused covered her mouth and raped her. He told the innocent girl not to tell anyone or else he would kill her.

    “Out of fear, the girl kept quiet when she got home but the mother who suspected a foul play threatened to beat her if she did not tell her what happened,” she said.

    “The girl finally opened up three days after and the accused was arrested.’’

    The offence contravenes Sections 135 and 137 of the Criminal Law.

    The accused pleaded not guilty.

    Chief Magistrate Tajudeen Elias granted the accused N500, 000 bail with two sureties in like the sum. He adjourned the case till July 22.

  • Three-storey building collapses in Lagos

    Three-storey building collapses in Lagos

    A three-storey building collapsed yesterday in Ebute Meta, Lagos Mainland, barely one week after a similar incident in nearby Yaba.

    About half of the building at 29 Oloto Street collapsed on the right side, leaving the other half hanging dangerously over adjoining buildings.

    The building has not been occupied since 2012 after a portion at the rear collapsed, forcing residents in the front to leave.

    A correspondent observed that rescuers from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and Lagos State Building Control Agency (LSBCA) were at the scene working.

    The officials were using sledge hammers to demolish the building from the point of partial collapse.

    Some residents of the area expressed the fear warned that if the demolition is not properly done, it may endanger other buildings.

    A resident, Folami Goriola, appealed to the government to ensure a controlled demolition to safeguard other buildings.

    Goriola said the occupants of 27 Oloto Street, where he lives had been given notice to run an integrity test a second time.

    He noted that the test would ensure stability of their building which is adjacent to the remaining portion of the collapsed building.

    “We are nursing the fear that the wrecks may fall over our building,” he said.

    A witness, Femi Adagunduro, said the building collapsed early yesterday.

    “The collapse happened at exactly at 5.28 a.m. precisely and I called the police emergency number and they responded immediately,” he said.

    Mr. Adagunduro explained that the building had been marked for demolition since 2012, adding that the occupants had made efforts to ensure it was pulled down without success.

    He lamented that the building was a hideout for social miscreants was also used as refuse dump.

    Another resident, Rotimi Azeez, said not fewer than 10 persons were killed when the rear of the building collapsed in 2012. The demolition to its being marked for demolition.

    “The demolition was delayed till it collapsed after 5 a.m. in the morning today,’’ he said.

    Efforts to get LSBCA’s reaction failed as an official told NAN that they were not allowed to speak to the press.

    “We are not allowed to speak. Our General Manager and other executives came here this morning,” she said.

    LASEMA General Manager, Michael Akindele told reporters that buildings served demolition notice in the area would be pulled down without delay.

    “Let me assure those that their buildings have been marked for demolition that we have commenced the demolition.

    “Once there are proofs that tests have been done, we will demolish such buildings,” he said.

    Akindele said the agency was putting up a local system to overhaul emergency management to ensure more effective speedy response to emergencies.

    He said the residents’ claim that the collapsed building had earlier been marked for demolition in 2012 would be investigated.

  • Court stops reporters’ coverage of Ejigbo abused women case

    Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the Ikeja High Court in Lagos yesterday barred reporters from covering the trial of those accused of abusing three women in Ejigbo, Lagos, three years ago.

    The accused allegedly robbed pepper on Mrs Ajoke Agomo and her daughter’s bodies at Ejigbo market.

    Justice Ipaye ordered reporters and others out of the court room at the instance of Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Mrs Idowu Alakija.

    The drama started after Mr Tunji Busari, counsel to the second and third defendants,  had finished cross-examining the first prosecution witness, Mrs Agomo.

    The DPP told the judge that her second prosecution was ready to testify, but sought her protection because she is a minor.

    The 17-year-old witness, Nike Agomo, came out and entered the witness box following which the court registrar administered the oath on her.

    Mrs Alakija then urged the judge to clear the gallery for the witness.

    Responding to the judge’s question, the DPP said: “My Lord, the witness is a child and needs to be protected. She is just 17.”

    Earlier, under cross-examination by Busari, Mrs Agomo said Buhari Yusuf and Aruna Abdullahi brought the pepper that was rubbed on her body.

    The witness said the defendants mixed the pepper with Chelsea dry gin before rubbing the substance on her and her daughters.

    She said: “ By the time I got to the scene of the incident, my daughters were already being maltreated and Iyaloja ordered that I should be stripped naked too. All I want in this matter is justice.”

    The government preferred charges against Ahmed Adisa , Isiaka Waidi, Saheed Adisa, Lateef Tijani, Oloruntoyin Dauda, Adekunle Adenuga, Azeez Akinosun, Jimoh Busari, Buhari Yusuf, and Abdullahi Aruna for the alleged torture and molestation of the women.

    They are accused of conspiracy, attempted murder, sexual assault, malicious administering of poison, obtaining money by false pretences and deprivation of liberty.

  • ‘I’m tired of being lonely’

    A Middle-aged man, Abiola Ajayi, has urged the Agege Customary Court to dissolve his marriage to his wife, Helen.

    Mr Ajayi said he brought his wife’s case to court because he wants to re-marry.

    “The problem started when one of our daughters took ill and my wife volunteered to visit her; since then she hasn’t returned home,” the petitioner said.

    He said he wasn’t at home when she packed all her belongings, adding: “I learnt from neighbours that she brought a truck to pack her things to the extent that she emptied our water tank and carried it away. Then, I thought I was robbed. It was later I got to know she moved to the house she built in Ijegun and I never heard anything about it,” he said.

    He said his family and church members went to plead with her, all to no avail.

    “She didn’t have a genuine reason for leaving me but only accused me of having an affair with one of my relations who visited me when she was away.

    “I am a Jehovah’s Witness and my doctrine frowns at being alone. It’s been eight years since she left our home and I have been lonely hoping she would return. I am tired of waiting; I need another woman,” he said.

    Mr Ajayi said he didn’t know what to do anymore since his wife said she wasn’t going to appear in court.

    The court’s President, Pa Adekunle Williams, ordered the respondent to appear on August 3.

  • Firms cry out over threat of flood

    Five entrepreneurs in Lagos have cried out over the threat of flood to their operations.

    They claimed that the flood arose from a blocked drain because of a structure being erected by Mr Orji Umeh Tochukwu.

    The firms said the drain cost residents of Sanya on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway N45million to build.

    Chairman of the residents association, Mr Dipo Odewumi, who conducted reporters round yesterday, said the firms were suffering from Tochukwu’s action.

    Odewumi said the area hitherto had no history of flood because the drainage discharges water into the canal.

    The affected firms, he said, are Capital Oil, which has its tank farm in the area, Impacto Nigeria Ltd, Chronotech Nigeria Ltd, Ghalayini Nig Ltd, and Jacobod Nig Ltd.

    These companies, he said, deal in petroleum products marketing, marble and tiles production, digital disks and merchandise warehousing businesses.

    He said Tochukwu shunned the residents peace moves by resorting  to night construction after initially agreeing to stop work.

    Odewumi, said the residents through his company, Jacobod, wrote to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning, urging the government to arrest the situation before things got out of hand.

    According to him, now is the time to abate this illegal activity before the property rises up beyond this stage and become impossible to correct the alteration it has done to the layout.

    Brandishing a layout which he said showed Tochukwu’s development as illegal, he wondered who could have given approval for a structure to be constructed on a road. To him, the demolition mark on the structure’s perimeter fence showed that the structure has no approval.

    Odewunmi urged the government to “as a matter of urgency intervene in this illegal act of construction and intentional blockage of drainage that ensures the entire area is flooded anytime it rains”.

    Mr Tochuikwu declined comment when contacted by The Nation.

    He cut the phone after our correspondent asked him to state his side of the story. He also refused to reply a text sent to him on the matter.

  • Bricklayer jailed 12 years for rape

    33- year-old bricklayer, Taoreed Oseni, has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by an Ikeja High Court in Lagos for raping an 18-year old bread hawker.

    Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya said the jail term would begin on August 2, 2012 when the defendant was remanded in prison custody.

    Oseni was said to have committed the offence on July 20, 2012 at an abandoned public toilet in Mafoluku Oshodi, Lagos.

    During the trial, the victim told the court that Taoreed informed her that her boyfriend was calling her and she asked him where he was.

    She said the convict tricked her and led her to a public toilet where her boyfriend was said to be waiting for her.

    On getting to the public toilet, the convict was said to have had carnal knowledge of her.

    She said she pleaded with the convict to spare her, but he hit her on the forehead with bottle.

    She said when Oseni did not listen to her plea, she succumbed, adding that the defendant raped her in the abandoned public toilet.

    The convict claimed that he committed the act because he was drunk.

    Justice Ogunsanya said the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

  • Truck owners deny attack on journalist

    Seme Border Truck Owners Association (SBTOA) has denied beating up a journalist Yomi Olomofe. Its Patron, Alhaji Suleiman Momoh, said in a statement yesterday that reports of SBTOA’s members involvement in the alleged assault were incorrect.

    Olomofe, Momoh claimed, merely tried to deceive the public about what actually transpired in order to get cheap popularity and gain public sympathy.

    He said: “We are hard working and contributing our quota to the logistics and transport sector of the nation’s economy at Seme border. We are responsible men and women of repute doing our best, working daily to feed our families and move the nation forward.”

    Olomofe was  beaten up by suspected smugglers who it was claimed, were infuriated by his attempt to file a report on their activities at the Seme Border.

    Momoh said the fight was over a deal between the parties.

    He called on the security agencies to investigate Olomofe’s allegations that he was beating up by smugglers to unravel the truth surrounding the incident.

    The SBTOA chief also asked that Olomofe’s claim of being a journalist should be investigated.

    Momoh said linking him with the incident was a figment of Olomofe’s imagination, adding that as a chief and community leader, he could not descend so low.

  • ‘My wife abandoned our kids, took my car’

    An Ikorodu High Court in Lagos yesterday heard how a woman abandoned her  four children and went away with her husband’s Toyota Rav 4 Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

    The husband, Mr Friday Enurhobor, said he bought the SUV in 2009 for his personal use; but he allowed his wife to drive it because of their children even after their relationship broke down in 2010.

    He denied giving her the car as a birthday gift, adding that he left her a spare key to enable her take the kids to school from her sister’s place at the University of Lagos, Akoka, and for their convenience. Enurhobor was testifying in a divorce suit he instituted against his wife, Naomi.

     The petitioner said their children had always been in her custody, claiming that his wife still sneaks into his matrimonial home whenever he wasn’t around.

    He said: “In November 2013, I found out she had rented a place at Bariga and was living there without my knowledge. I took possession of our children and my car from the respondent in December 2013. I gave her permission to use my car, but she came to my house on March 10, 2014 with my kids and left alone with my car.”

    Enurhobor said he reported that the vehicle was stolen at a Police Station in Ikorodu, adding that he suspected the respondent and one Abiodun Fadeyi.

    The petition told the court : “Before that, I had never seen Abiodun Fadeyi before. I led two police officers to where the respondent works, to confirm if the car was in her possession and truly she told us where the car was and we found it at a mechanic workshop at Iwaya, Yaba.

    I found documents in the car bearing the name Abiodun Fadeyi and another document showing the respondent’s name to be Naomi Fadeyi. I have not lied to this court.”

    Justice M.A. Savage ordered that Mrs. Enurhobor be allowed to see her children.

    He adjourned the case till October 28.

  • ‘Why rape victims don’t get justice’

    Why is it difficult to get justice for rape victims? It is because of the absence of reliable and verifiable and lack of support services, says Mrs Itoro-Anaba, Founder of Mirabel Centre, a non-governmental organisation that deals with rape cases.

    She said: “The reported cases of sexual violence, especially child sexual abuse have become a topic for national discourse. The malaise is generally acknowledged by government officials and human rights advocates to be endemic. Perpetrators of sexual violence act with impunity due to corruption and incompetency in investigation and prosecution of such cases.

    “One of the biggest challenges in seeking justice for the survivor is the absence of reliable and verifiable data and lack of support services. This disturbing situation has led to many survivors not seeking help nor reporting to the police.

    “In a bid to fill this gap and provide a safe and comfortable place for survivors of rape and sexual assault to receive needed professional care, Partnership for Justice (PJ), with funding from Justice for All Programme of the Department for International Development (DFID) of the British Council, established the first sexual assault referral centre in Nigeria. Known as the Mirabel Centre, it opened its doors to the public in July 2013.”

    She added that a conference is scheduled to hold on July 22 that will focus on the roles of men providing support to survivors of rape and sexual assault.

    She explained that in two years the centre has provided free services to 737 clients, the youngest being 10 months old and the oldest 70 years. “This number is made up of 17 male clients and 720 female clients. Many of these clients are referred to the centre by the police (Family Support Unit (FSU) and non FSU), the hospital, civil society organisationCSOs, government agencies and some just walk into the centre for treatment,” she added.