The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Robbers invade LUTH again

    Robbers invade LUTH again

    •Doctors, students, others lose valuables  •Students protest insecurity

    For the umpteenth time, robbers invaded the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) early yesterday, attacking doctors, students and others in the workers’ mosque.

    The gun-wielding robbers struck few minutes after 3am, and carted away cash, handsets, laptops and wristwatches, among others.

    Enraged by the raid, students locked all the gates leading into the institution around 4am.

    Many were said to have been injured, while scampering to safety.

    No fewer than 15 persons were said to be in the mosque during the attack. They included students who came to read because there was no light in their hostels and relatives of those admitted in the hospital.

    Some students who went to report the incident to the security were reportedly harassed, maltreated and beaten, infuriating their colleagues who mobilised others to fight back.

    All entreaties to the students by some senior officials to reopen the gates were rebuffed.

    Some police officers broke the gate leading to Mushin to gain access, leaving the ones at Idi-Araba.

    The students protested against what they called erratic power supply and insecurity.

    According to the College of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Science Students Association (COMPSSA) President Folasade Anthony, the students were robbed while reading at the mosque.

    A student, who simply identified herself as Alhaja, said the robbers, who were armed with guns and machetes, operated freely.

    She said after the operation, the robbers ran towards the gate and jumped over the fence.

    Alhaja said a student, who went to alert the security men, was slapped by a guard.

    “This was what irked the students and we decided to protest. We also locked the gate, leaving only the Mushin gate opened,” she said.

    A worker who preferred anonymity, said robbery was becoming rampant in the hospital.

    He said the hospital has in the last two months been under robbers’ siege.

    Some doctors and nurses working in the laboratory were robbed recently, he said.

    According to him, the college and LUTH need to do something about security.

    The mosque caretaker said he was surprised, adding that this is the first time in his 15 years at the mosque that such a thing has happened.

    He said the students came to read because there was no light in their hostels, adding: “It was when I got here that people started telling me how the students were robbed. It was really shocking that robbers do not have respect for the mosque.”

    CMUL Deputy Provost Prof Abayomi Okanlawon and Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee Dr Wasiu Adeyemo persuaded the students to reopen the gates.

    They promised that management would look into their grievances.

     

  • Foundation launches ‘Light-Up Oshodi Project’

    The Bode Edun Foundation has launched a Light-Up Oshodi project over the weekend.

    The foundation with support from its sponsors and partners, installed 100 street lights in the inner streets of the seven wards of Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area, Lagos.

    The founder, Mr Bode Edun, said the foundation took it upon itself to help light-up every nook and cranny of Oshodi to help citizens at night.

    “The importance of street lighting cannot be overemphasised,”  he said.

    “It is on record that the provision of street lights by the Lagos State Government has helped to curb the tide of armed and small robberies in Lagos. We are simply contributing our own quota as a non-profit organisation to the development of council,” Edun added.

    The residents and elders of Simbi Street, Ijaye, Edun , Brown and other adjoining streets where the installation has been completed expressed joy over the project.

    The Chief Imam of Ijaye Mosque, Alhaji Wasiu Atanda, said “as a son of the soil, our son (Bode) recognises our need in the area and always rises up to the occasion to help solve our problems. So, I am not surprised that his foundation is coming up with this project”.

    The foundation promised to do more to alleviate the suffering of the residents.

     

  • I’m dying, kidney patient cries out

    I’m dying, kidney patient cries out

    WHEN Adesoji Adebola, an estate surveyor, first experienced renal pains in February last year, his family didn’t realise that it had a serious problem at hand.

    His face and legs were swelling up, followed by severe bouts of malaria. At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, he was initially diagnosed of infection and he was treated for it.

    He thought it was all over, but in April, he was diagnosed of kidney failure. All efforts to save him began.

    But there was a snag – the dialysis machine at LUTH did not work, leading to his transfer to a specialist hospital.

    “He was just talking incessantly for over 24 hours. We had to rush him back to LUTH where they said he would have to undergo dialysis immediately. Unfortunately, the machine wasn’t working and we had to move him to a private clinic,” his sister, Adebukola Adesoji, said.

    At the Dialyser Specialist Medical Centre in Oshodi, Lagos, where Adebola was admitted, he was told that his kidneys had packed up. To live, he has only one option: He must undergo an urgent kidney transplant in India. He was also told that on his kidneys have been destroyed by infection. Also his Packed Cell Volume (PVC) was less than 20, hence he would need blood transfusion every time he goes for dialysis.

    When The Nation contacted the hospital, its Medical Director, Jacob Awobusuyi, said: “He has kidney disease and it is a permanent one.  The infection which caused the problem is glomerulonephritis, an inflammation which the body produces and it has destroyed his kidney.”

    Awobusuyi said Adebola would need an urgent kidney transplant which would cost at least N7 million, adding that the patient also needs a kidney donor urgently.

    For now, Adebola undergoes dialysis twice weekly at about N45,000 per session; the family is groaning under the financial stress.

    Adebola is appealing to kind-hearted Nigerians to help him raise the fund. “I’m dying; Nigerians should please help me.”

    Donations, the family pleaded, can be made into his Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Account number: 0011516188 under the name, Adesoji Adebola.

     

     

  • Dismissed soldiers, three others arrested for ‘robbery’

    Dismissed soldiers, three others arrested for ‘robbery’

    Two dismissed soldiers, Sunday Osor and Matthew Arome, with three others have been arrested by Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operatives for alleged armed robbery.

    Osor told the police that his gang creates accident scenes for easy snatching of vehicles.

    Others are Ebere John, Ikechukwu Chilaka and Ifeanyi Chukwu.

    According to the police, the gang trails its target and on getting close, it hits the motorist to provoke him.

    “Once the driver comes out, the gang leader will point gun at the driver, force him into their vehicle and drive off with the other vehicle. They also pretended to be policemen or soldiers on surveillance to intimidate the driver before snatching the vehicle,” the police said.

    Luck ran out on them when they robbed a woman on Igando Road, abducted  and dropped her on Obadore Bridge and zoomed off with her car.

    The woman reported to the police.

    The police recovered a Berretta pistol and one locally-made double-barrel gun and six live ammunition. Eight other vehicles including a Lexus Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), Toyota Highlander and Gulf car were also recovered.

    Osor led the police to the arrest of others.

    Osor, who said he was dismissed from the Army as Lance Corporal, said he used military uniform to deceive victims.

    “I help the gang to intimidate victims. I sit in our operational vehicle with army uniform and when a victim sees me, he will think that we are Task Force men. I was dismissed in 2010. I was lured into armed robbery by one Danjuma Suleiman a.k.a DJ. My wife is a teacher. When we want to snatch any car, we will first hit the car from behind, pretending it was an accident. When the victim stops and alight from her car, we start operation. I handed some of the snatched cars to a receiver at Onitsha called Ifeanyi,” he said.

    Ifeanyi said: “I am from Umunze, Orumba South local government area of Anambra State. I met Sunday in Kirikiri Prison in 2013. I sell motor spare parts. The Customs seized my goods and I lost all I had. Luckily, Sunday told me that he had contacts with a gang that could supply enough cars to me to make me recover again from my financial problem. That was how I became a receiver. I have received more than three cars from the gang; I used to pay them completely. “Sunday was the one bringing vehicles to me. I went to prison over a minor case,” he said.

    Arome, a driver from Olamoboro in Kogi State, claimed he was dismissed as a Lance Corporal in the Army because he fled the battlefield in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to join his pregnant wife at home.

    “They said it was AWOL,” he said.

     

  • Two housewives held for drug trafficking

    National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives have arrested two housewives for ingesting cocaine.

    The women packed the cocaine in their underwear and inserted some in their private parts.

    Their arrest, according to NDLEA, prevented them from being arrested and executed in China few weeks after the Indonesian Government executed some Nigerians for drug trafficking.

    The women were found with 2.635 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to China.

    In their statements, the women said they took to the illicit trade because their husbands abandoned them.

    NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar described the suspects as desperate traffickers.

    Umar said: “These women are curiously desperate for ingesting drugs, packing same on their bodies and inserting in their private parts.

    “The first one, Uzoma Alaka, 47, was found with 1.180kg of cocaine. She inserted 260 grammes of cocaine in her private parts and ingested 60 wraps weighing 920 grammes.

    “The second suspect, Priscilla Chukwujekwu, 45, was caught with 1.455 kilogrammes of cocaine. She packed 59 wraps on her body, inserted one parcel weighing 1.285 kilogrammes in her private part   and ingested 10 wraps weighing 170 grammes. They are both from Anambra State”.

    Priscilla said she wanted to establish herself financially to take care of her children.

    “I am married to a soldier but he abandoned me 10 years ago when he retired from the Army. I got married early because there was no money for me to further my studies after my primary education. My husband who is a retired soldier abandoned me 10 years ago. Since then my life has been sorrowful.

    “I sell female clothes and shoes to take care of my children. I met a man at the market who promised to assist me in my business by making me an importer.

    “This was how we began to talk on phone. He gives me recharge cards and money to sustain myself. It was the day I was to travel that he told me that I would take drugs to China. He took me to a hotel where I was given the drugs and 6000 dollars to buy my goods in China. I could only swallow ten wraps, so I forced some into my private part   and packed others in my underwear”.

    Uzoma said her husband abandoned her with seven children, adding: “I sell female bags and shoes to sustain myself and my children. My husband left me in 2005 and since then, I have been facing several challenges. I took loan to travel to China and in the process; I incurred huge debt which compounded my problems.

    “At a point, I had no money for food, school fees and even house rent. This was what made me to smuggle drugs. I swallowed 59 wraps of drugs all through the night because of 6,000 dollars. I also packed some in my underwear and one in my private part. It was a terrible experience. I feel so sad that I have to end up this way as a Christian.”

    NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Ahmadu Giade said the action of the women was disgraceful.

    According to him, “it is good that the drugs were detected here by our officials because China has capital punishment for drug trafficking. This arrest saved them from death and the country from embarrassment. Their action is utterly disgraceful because as mothers, they ought to be of good example to their children.”

     ‘I swallowed 59 wraps of drugs all through the night because of 6,000 dollars. I also packed some in my underwear and one in my private part. It was a terrible experience. I feel so sad that I have to end up this way as a Christian’

  • 3,000 sex workers arrested in Abuja

    Three thousand commercial sex workers have been arrested by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Special Task Team on City Cleaning and Management in the last 90 days.

    They have been handed over to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) for prosecution and rehabilitation.

    The task team also arrested 2,534 street hawkers and beggars. One hundred and two strayed animals were removed from illegal cattle markets in Gudu and other parts of the city during the period.

    The team impounded 4,790 commercial motorcycles, 883 Keke Napep, 645 unpainted commercial vehicles and 84 illegal commercial buses.

    Assistant Director/Chief Press Secretary (FCT), Muhammad Sule, spoke yesterday in a statement. He said the FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. John Chukwu, an engineer, made the disclosure after a meeting with the Chairman of the Task Team and the FCT Police Commissioner, Mr. Wilson Inalegwu, in Abuja.

     

  • Gunmen ‘kill’ two soldiers in Kogi

    Gunmen suspected to be Agatu militia from neighbouring Benue State have allegedly killed two soldiers at Bagana in Omala Local Government Area of Kogi State.

    The victims were among those drafted to Bagana last year during clashes between the Agatu and Fulani herdsmen.

    A witness said trouble began when suspected Agatu militia, who came to Bagana market and were drinking and causing public disturbance, were challenged.

    Soldiers were reportedly drafted to the scene to restore peace.

    The source said the intervention of the soldiers angered the gunmen, who invited their colleagues and fought the soldiers.

    Another account had it that the Agatu militia, who accused the soldiers of being partial, ambushed them at a primary school where they were stationed, killed two and injured others.

    A reinforcement of soldiers was said to have repelled the attackers.

    Police Commissioner Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi directed our correspondent to the military authorities for the confirmation of the story.

    He said: “Please call the commanding officer for details.”

    The clash between the militia and Fulani herdsmen last December in Bagana led to the deployment of soldiers.

     

     

  • Housekeeper ‘steals’ employer’s N4.6m jewellery

    A 23-year-old housekeeper, Idowu Adeyeye, was brought before an Abule-Egba Magistrate’s Court in Lagos yesterday for allegedly stealing her employer’s jewellery valued at N4.6 million.

    The accused, who lives with her employer at Ijaiye Medium Housing Estate, Ijaiye, a suburb of Lagos, is facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and causing a breach of peace.

    Prosecuting Inspector Racheal Williams told the court that the offences were committed on May 28 at his employer’s residence.

    According to her, the accused with others still at large stole jewellery valued at N4.6 million, property of the complainant, Mrs Titilayo Ogundipe.

    “The complainant got home from work to discover that the door to her room was opened and all her gold jewellery were missing.

    “The housekeeper disappeared after the incident, but was later arrested following a tip-off,’’ Williams said.

    The offence, she noted, contravened Sections 166 (d), 278 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.

    The accused pleaded innocence.

    Magistrate Adenike Shonubi granted Adeyeye N2.5 million bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    She adjourned the case to June 15 for trial.

     

  • Mechanic charged with N500, 000 fraud

    An auto mechanic, Sunday Ade, was yesterday charged before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly obtaining N500, 000 under false pretences.

    Ade pleaded not guilty.

    But the prosecutor, Etim Nkankuk, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) told the court that the accused committed the offences on February 9 at Aguda in Surulere area of Lagos with his brother still at large.

    He said Ade obtained N500, 000 from one Elochukwu Peters under the pretext that he would cure his wife’s ailment.

    Nkankuk said: “The complainant was referred to Ade’s brother, who is still at large by the accused himself to cure the ailment. Peters was made to believe that the duo could help find a cure to his wife’s ailment.

    “He was asked to bring N500, 000 as payment for the cure only for him to find out that he had been duped.”

    Nkankuk noted that the offences contravened Sections 285, 312 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.

    Chief Magistrate A.O. Isaac granted the accused N200, 000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    The case has been adjourned till July.

     

  • Labourer docked over wheelbarrow ‘theft’

    A labourer, Femi James yesterday pleaded guilty to the theft of a wheelbarrow valued at N15, 000, before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court, Lagos.

    James 21, is facing trial on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.

    Chief Magistrate Olatunbosun Abolarinwa ordered that the accused be remanded in police custody till June 3 for facts and sentencing.

    Prosecuting Police Corporal Cyriacus Osuju told the court that the accused stole the wheel barrow on May 26, at about 6.40 a.m., at Oyingbo Bus Stop.

    He said that James in the wee hours of the day stole the wheel barrow from the electric pole it was chained to by the complainant, one Augustine Chukwu.

    The accused then absconded with it, he said.

    Osuju said that the offence contravened Sections 285 and 40c of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.