The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Parents warned against child abuse

    Apapa Local Government Executive Secretary Mrs Bolaji Dada has advised parents to desist from abusing their children.

    She decried a situation where over 40 per cent of children take to street trading, warning that the it could force them into crime.

    Parents, she said, must provide for their children instead of sending them to the streets to hawk to support the family.

    Mrs Dada said: “We owe the children a lot of care and monitoring, unfortunately, the reverse is the case because we neglect our responsibilities to them by embarking on frivolous activities. We lay emphasis on mundane issues at the expense of the lives of these children.

    “It is my own opinion that parents should desist from child abuse of all forms. Some children have been exposed to very disastrous ventures which have adversely affected them. How does one describe a child that is exposed to hawking at a tender age or one exposed to rape, prostitution, armed robbery, drug addiction and other social vices? All these are due to parental neglect.”

  • Frozen food traders lose N10 million to blackout

    Frozen food traders lose N10 million to blackout

    Frozen food traders in Ijora-Olopa, Lagos, lost N10 million worth of food items between May 23 and May 25 to blackout.

    They said yesterday that the blackout is worsened by the scarcity of fuel, needed to power their generators.

    Alhaja Afusat Popoola, President of the Ajeromi Frozen Food Market Association, said the lost items included chicken, turkey, fish, shrimps, gizzard and prawns.

    Mrs Popoola said the traders were victims of the faceoff between the Federal Government and the marketers.

    Her members, she said, were caught unawares because they never envisaged a prolonged crisis.

    She said: “The traders were crying when we ordered them to surrender all the decayed food items for destruction on Tuesday. The market has a reputation for selling fresh frozen food and we cannot allow any trader to sell bad frozen food under our leadership. What we destroyed on Tuesday because of power outages and our inability to purchase petrol and diesel was worth more than N10 million.

    “We are appealing to the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) to always consider the impact of outages on our business and the health of the general public.

    “Our business depends on regular supply of electricity.”

    The market leader said the irregular power supply forced many traders out of business, while others are owing banks.

    “We used to have many frozen food traders in this market before but this power outage has cost them to lose their trade. Previously, when power supply was regular, we used to sell more than seven trucks of fish, turkey and chicken daily,” she said, adding: “There is no kind of fish that one will not find in this market before, because it is the number one frozen food market but now the poor power supply has liquidated many traders. Some of the traders that are using generating sets are spending close to N80,000 to buy diesel or petrol monthly. By the time one removes this amount from monthly sales, you discovered that you’ve spent a good part of your profit to buy diesel.”

    Mrs Popoola urged government to intervene and save the sector from collapse.

  • Businessman arraigned for alleged N2.7m fraud

    A businessman, David Badmus, yesterday appeared before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly obtaining N2.7million under false pretences.

    Prosecuting Inspector Richard Odigie said the accused committed the offence on June 16 at 14, Nosa Close, off Sand- Fill, Ajangbadi, Lagos.

    Odigie said the accused collected N2.7million worth of iron rods from the complainant, Mr Anthony Udochukwu, on the pretext that he needed them for a project at Ojo Local Government Council.

    “Badmus approached Udochukwu that he needed N2.7million worth of iron rods to execute a project and issued two Sterling Bank cheques with nos. 06664125 and 06664126 which were dishonoured on presentation,’’ he said.

    Badmus pleaded not guilty.

    Chief Magistrate O.I. Adelaja granted the accused N300,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    The case has been adjourned till July 1.

  • Don’t lose focus, students urged

    The Amir (President) of Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Yaba Area Council, Mallam Sulaiman AbdulRaheem has urged secondary school pupils to be focused.

    This, he said, would assist them to secure a better future.

    Speaking at a Youth Conference to commemorate the World Children’s Day at the Yaba College of Technology yesterday, AbdulRaheem urged the pupils to be morally upright and spiritually balanced to excel in their study.

    He said: “What you do today would determine what you would become tomorrow. To secure a better future, you must first have confidence in yourselves. The second is to be focused. Never lose focus on whatever you are doing. Also, at every point in your life, you must be conscious of who your friends are and to have total reliance in Allah for He alone knows what is going to be.”

    The event also featured a quiz competition among ten senior secondary schools. At the end of the contest, Muslim Children Private School (MCPS), represented by Halimah Oyedotun and Salman AbdulAziz emerged as the second runner-up; International School Lagos (ISL) represented by Mardiyyah Ayinla and Hikmat AbdulGaniyy, the first runner-up. Fazl-Omar Senior High School represented by Aminat Isa came first.

    Other highlights of the event were pick and talk and Quran recitation.

  • NGO warns against domestic violence

    Women’s Right and Health Projects (WRAHP), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has warned against domestic violence.

    The group vowed to prosecute those found culpable.

    WRAHP Executive Director Bose Ironsi said the group has police backing to help prosecute gender-based violence.

    Ironsi said the objective is to document violence against women and report to the police.

    She said the organisation is pushing for effective use of Lagos State law against gender violence.

    “We believe that the law should not just be made and be gathering dust. The people must know that the law is there for them and they can run to the police stations to report and be attended to,” she said.

     “You can no longer tell a woman whose face is dripping with blood that she should go home and settle with her husband. You must bring everybody to book,” she added.

    Mrs Ajibola Ajumakinwan, representative of Justice for All, the organisation that sponsors WRAHP, said the group is undertaking the project because “we found out that people are not reporting cases of gender-based violence.

    “Even when they report, the way the police handle the cases discouraged many. We are supporting them to ensure that the police begin to realise their role as agent of change. They need to understand that when people report, they need to handle it with care and not telling them to go back on the grounds of family issue.”

    Secretary, Pepper Grinders Association in Ejigbo, Ikotun and Igando area of Lagos State, Mrs Adejoke Oyewole said since the beginning of the training, men who batter their wives have stopped. The associations, she said, visited some men to let them know that they can be jailed for their actions.

    “When they first came to us that they want to train us, we thought it was not going to be beneficial to us but that is not the case. Many of us are illiterate so we don’t know anything about our rights but the NGO has opened our eyes.

    “We now know that when we go to the police station to report cases, it is our rightsd to get justice and where the police don’t attend to us, we have right against such police. We can take it up,” she said.

  • Lagos to FAAN: stop taxi licensing

    Lagos to FAAN: stop taxi licensing

    The Lagos State Government has warned the Federal airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to stop what it calls illegal registeration of taxi and intercity transport operators.

    Commissioner for Transportation Kayode Opeifa accused FAAN of rebuffing all entreaties to stop the alleged “illegal act”.

    He said: “For the avoidance of doubt and the education of the public, it is only state governments that have the legal and constitutional rights to regulate transportation matters in their domain, a fact that was reiterated and confirmed by several resolutions of the National Council on Transport.

    “In this regard, the Ministry of Aviation and FAAN are therefore called upon to retrace their steps from this impunity, discontinue this act and consult the state Ministry of Transportation for proper guidance.”

    Opeifa told the operators that no agency except the Ministry of Transportation could regulate their activities.

    Operators who flout the   regulation would be sanctioned, he said .

  • Nigeria needs prayers, says cleric

    Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos Central (DLC), Methodist Church Nigeria, Rt. Rev.  Kehinde Adeyemi, has urged Nigerians to pray for President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to solve the nation’s problem.

    He made the call while fielding questions at a press conference organised to flag off celebrations marking the diocese’s fifth anniversary.

    “The problems of this nation (Nigeria) are too many and only God can solve them. President-elect Muhammadu Buhari cannot easily solve them at a go because he is not magician. Only prayers to God to show mercy and the co-operation of all Nigerians can help,” he said.

    The cleric, who said corruption had eaten deep into the nation’s fabrics, blamed the political class for the malaise.

    He urged Nigerians to support the incoming government fulfil its mandate.

    Adeyemi said one of the diocese’s achievements in five years was the building of a 128-room hostel for students at the Wesley University of Technology, Ondo (WUSTO) for about N40million.

    “The young-but-promising diocese also hosted the first Emergency Conference of Methodist Church Nigeria in 2014, where the current Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche (JP), was peacefully elected to succeed Prelate Emeritus Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde,” he said.

    The cleric said the way the “’emergency conference” was organised earned the diocese the epithet, “Diocese of love and Distinction,” by the Methodist Church hierarchy.

    On structural and spiritual development, Adeyemi said the diocese, which began with four federating circuits at inception increased to five, with the creation of Ojo Circuit from Festac Circuit, adding: “All the five circuits are doing very well.”

    “While a member of the church donated a brand new bus to the church for evangelism, a member of the clergy also donated another brand new bus to the church and the women fellowship also donated another brand new bus to the diocese – all for evangelism,” he said.

    The development, he said, led to the donation of computers, giant air-conditioners, plasma television sets, Boy Brigade Kits, keyboards and others for the use of the diocese by others. “All these donations were made possible with the spiritual growth of members,” he said.

    The foundation of Wesley High Scholl on Private Street, LASU-Iba Road, Iba in Ojo Circuit will be laid tomorrow. There will also be a fund-raising dinner for the project, he said.

    At the ceremony were the Diocesan Lay-President, Sir Remi Olukoga, a lawyer; the Synod Secretary, Very Revd Ade Ademilua; the Festac Circuit Presbyter, Very Revd William Fasina; the Public Relations Officer (PRO) 1, Bro Ojo Bejide; PRO 11, Bro Biodun Bayewu; the Technical Officer, Mr B.O Jegede, among others.

    The week-long celebration ends on Sunday with a thanksgiving service at the diocese headquarters in Ebute-Meta.

  • Labourer docked for ‘beating’ policemen

    A 30-year-old labourer, Ebo Ikechukwu, was yesterday arraigned before an Apapa Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly beating two policemen to a pulp.

    The accused, who lives on Turner Ojo Road, Ajegunle, Lagos, is facing a two-count charge of assault and unlawful damage.

    Prosecuting Corporal John Iberedem said the accused committed the offence on May 14 at Amore Street, Olodi-Apapa.

    Iberedem said the accused assaulted two police officers — Ebute Bernard and Haruna Kayode – while performing their duty.

    He said the accused was caught roaming the street around 1a.m. and was questioned by the policemen.

    Iberedem said Ikechukwu could not give any tangible reason for staying out late.

    “The police officers arrested him. The accused became very violent and started beating them. Ikechukwu also damaged the windscreen of a bus valued at N 30,000 belonging to one Mr Bamidele Muyideen,” he said.

    The accused pleaded not guilty.

    Senior Magistrate G.L. Otepo granted the accused N50, 000 bail with two sureties in the like sum and adjourned the case till June 20.

  • Electricity Board cautions motorists

    Lagos State Electricity Board (LSEB) General Manager Damilola Ogunbiyi has urged Lagosians and road users  to exercise caution,  especially at night. The warning, he said, became imperative because fuel scarcity has affected  the illumination of street lights

    The areas affected, Ogunbiyi said, included Eko Bridge, Funsho Williams Avenue, Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Iju Road, Akerele Street, Adeniran Ogunsanya Street, Murtala Mohammed Way, Ogudu Road, Fatai Atere Way and surrounding streets within Mushin, Itire Road, Awolowo Road, Falomo Bridge, Keystone Crescent, Adeyemo Alakija Street, Sanusi Fafunwa Street, Adeola Hopewell Street, Adeola Odeku, Akin Adesola, Raymond Njoku and Maduike Street Security he said, had been increased on these areas.

    He warned that knocking down street light poles and vandalism of public lighting installations would not be condoned.

  • Ikorodu gets new monarch

    The Lagos State Government has approved the appointment of Prince Kabiru Adewale Sotobi as Ayangburen of Ikorodu. He succeeds the late Oba Salaudeen Oyefusi, who passes away on August 2, last year.

    Prince Sotobi, the 20th Ayangburen, hails from the Lasunwon Ruling House.

    Government also upgraded the Baale of Imeke to a second class Oba with the title of Onimeke of Imeke. It appointed Chief Abraham Olatunji Adewale Ogabi for the position.

    Commissioner for Information and Strategy Lateef Ibirogba told reporters that the appointments take immediate effect.