The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Tanker drivers can’t leave Lagos roads now, says NUPENG

    Tanker drivers can’t leave Lagos roads now, says NUPENG

    Will tanker drivers comply with the Lagos State Government’s directive to quit Eko, Liverpool and Coconut bridges by today?

    They may not according to the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) Southwest Chairman Tokunbo Korodo, who argues that they cannot be blamed for constituting traffic nuisance.

    The drivers, he said, were constrained to park on those roads because only three of the 50 depots in Lagos were dispersing petrol.

    The depots are Capital Oil and Gas, Ibeto Oil and Gas and Integrated Oil and Gas tanks.

    This development, Korode said, compelled hundreds of trucks to head for the three depots, adding that this is the key reason for the unprecedented traffic jam that has locked down Lagos in recent days.

    Commissioner for Transportation Kayode Opeifa, on Wednesday chaired a stakeholders’ meeting where the government directed the trucks to vacate the bridges.

    “No tanker should be seen on Eko, Liverpool and Coconut among other bridges. By Thursday, the tanker owners should make one lane available for motorists to use pending the expiration of the ultimatum for enforcement to begin,” he said.

    At the meeting were NUPENG, Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PID), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) and Independent Petroleum Markers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).

    With a biting petrol shortage, Lagos residents are also experiencing a lock-jam on most roads.

    Korodo said the gridlock could ease if trucks queuing for oil can load and leave Lagos this weekend.

    But such scenario is not likely, according to observers.

    Korodo suggested that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should decentralise loading of petroleum products to ease the pressure on Lagos.

    According to him, that is the only way Lagos residents will get a respite from the gridlock, which has pushed transport fares and cost of foodstuff up.

    Meanwhile, many residents, including women and children resorted to trekking to get to their schools, businesses and offices.

    Residents of Mushin, Ojuelegba, Surulere and Costain-Apapa areas who found it impossible to commute to Lagos Island because of a total lock-down at Costain Roundabout trekked to their destinations.

    Some motorists abandoned their vehicles on roads after finding it impossible to cope with the traffic.

    A civil servant, Mr Innocent Edewor, who lives in Iyana-Ipaja and works in Iganmu said the fuel scarcity is worse than previous ones, adding: “The situation is telling on my meagre income”.

    Edewor said: “It is never easy coping with Lagos traffic but the last one week has been hellish.

    “I cannot even drop my children in school because first the fuel is not available and second the roads are heavily congested by heavy vehicles. I have, therefore, decided to let my children stay at home, until the situation gets better. I pay as much as N350 from Iyana-Ipaja to this place and most of the time I have to trek long distances. If I have my way, this is the time to leave Lagos.’’.

    Also, traders on Lagos Island are lamenting poor sales because of their inability to get to the island.

    “Nobody is coming to patronise us at Balogun Market. Which road will they take to come to the market?’’ a shop owner, Mrs Olubunmi Erinle, asked.

    “Our leaders should be proactive to prevent situations like this because everyone is suffering. The hardship is too much,’’ she said.

  • How I was sexually abused, by girl, 3

    An Ikeja High Court in Lagos yesterday heard how a 70-year-old man, Tajudeen Shoneye, sexually abused an eight-year-old girl for three days.

    A consultant Paediatrician with Lagos State General Hospital, Dr Edem Duke, said victim was brought to the hospital in 2013 limping and looking pale.

    The witness said: “I work with Gbagada General Hospital and have been very familiar with children working as a Paediatrician for over 10 years.

    “In June 2013, a little girl was brought to the hospital. She was eight years old. It was in the evening and she came with two female adults. The women with her said they were her teachers in school and said they were worried with the way she always withdrew to herself.

     “So I examined her medically and discovered that her vagina had bruises and her hymen was broken which meant she had had sexual contact with somebody.”

    Led in evidence by the prosecutor, Akin George, the witness said she carried out a series of test on the victim.

    “I asked her to run other tests like urine and HIV tests. She complained that she was sexually abused for three days by an old man in her neighbourhood. So we sent her for a series of other tests and a psychologist,” the witness added.

    Shoneye was arraigned on May 13, on one-count charge of “defilement” of an under age girl.

    The prosecution said the offence committed on June 15, 2013 contravened to Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.

    The defendant pleaded not guilty and was ordered remanded in prison by Justice Atinuke Ipaye.

    Justice Ipaye has however adjourned the matter till June 4, 2015.

  • Govt honours cleaner for returning N12m

    Govt honours cleaner for returning N12m

    The Federal Government yesterday conferred the airport cleaner, Ms Josephine Ugwu, that returned the N12million she found at the Lagos airport toilet with Citizens Responsibility Recognition Award (CRRA). She was also given an undisclosed sum.

    Ms Ugwu is a cleaner with a concessionaire with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Patovilki Industrial Cleaning .

    Presenting her the award and the National flag, National Orientation Agency (NOA) Director-General Mike Omeri said government was honouring her for her honesty, which he noted is in line with the agency’s new slogan.

    The cleaner, he said, has redeemed the country’s image “which has been tainted by the conduct of a few Nigerians.”

    Omeri said the agency would not relent in rewarding Nigerians that are honest in the discharge of their duties.

    He urged airport workers to continue to display such exemplary conduct which is Nigerians’ traditional way of life.

    The cleaner, Omeri said, has joined the league of other honest Nigerians, including Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, who was rewarded for apprehending a traffic offender.

    Other Nigerians, including a cab operator in Abuja, who returned money in the past, have been rewarded with the award.

    Omeri said: “The Federal Government through the National Orientation Agency decided to honour the airport cleaner as a way of rewarding honesty and transparency. This recognition is in line with our slogan to Nigerians to do the right thing. Showing good example is part of the good values that Nigerians should emulate. Three years ago, we gave similar recognition of honour to other Nigerians that have exhibited good conduct of honesty.

    “I want to commend airport workers for their good conduct because people all over the world travel through the airport. I want to urge the airport staff to remain honest, which is part of what we are as a people. Many people have been given this recognition in the past, and we hope it will serve as a platform for honour.”

    Omeri said the cleaner’s conduct has opened new vistas for the company where she works.

    In his remarks, Regional Manager, Southwest Airports, FAAN, Mr Remi Aromiwura said the authority is excited with the cleaner’s conduct, noting that it is evidence that the environment is safe for passengers and users of  the airport.

  • Why we created vocational centres, by Fashola

    Why we created vocational centres, by Fashola

    No fewer than 2000 artisans and tradesmen have undergone skills and competency training under the capacity building initiative of Lagos State Tradesmen and Artisans Empowerment Programme (LASTAEP).

    The eight-week training, conducted by the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Educational Board (LASTVEB), the government said, was to enhance productivity and engender growth in the informal sector.

    Special Adviser to the Governor on Commerce and Industry Mr. Oluseye Oladejo who said at the sixth Tradesmen and Artisans Day and Graduation that 9, 780 have been trained in entrepreneurship, use of information communication technology (ICT) and other business skills to upgrade their small enterprises.

    Addressing artisans and tradesmen at the event held at the LTV Blue Roof, Governor Babatunde Fashola said the programme was initiated to bridge the skills gap and cushion employment challenges.

    The unemployment challeng, he said, was national, noting that the training of artisans and tradesmen has returned jobs hitherto done by foreigners to Nigerians.

    The challenge, he said, was not that there were no skilled electricians, tillers and plumbers among others, but that they were not well-skilled for contemporary competitiveness. The government, he said, upgraded five technical colleges for their training in order to meet modern day challenges, adding: “Today, very confidently and happily, I can announce that all our technical colleges are up and running. And people are being trained in their large capacity for roof making, tiling, electricity installation, bricklaying, electronics, aluminum and production and so on,” he said.

    On the programme’s importance, Fashola said: “There are few things we must all understand to solving unemployment and poverty. One of them lies in three words: ‘Made in Nigeria’. As long as we make more things in Nigeria, it will mean that many more mills, factories and production units are functioning. As long as they are functioning, they will need hands to keep them in operation and that is what will create employment, reduce unemployment and poverty.

    “As I often love to say, nothing gives a man or woman pride than to be able to say to his family ‘I am going to work’. It is a lot of dignity and widely different from ‘I am going to beg’. When the dignity of men is uplifted, there is a lot they can do.”

  • ‘I wept when my son was found’

    ‘I wept when my son was found’

    When I learnt on phone that my son has been recovered from the kidnappers, tears of joy rolled down my cheeks; I couldn’t control my emotion.”

    These were the words yesterday by Mr Olanrewaju Gbadebo, father of four-year-old David, who was kidnapped on a Lagos church last Sunday and found in Owode-Egbado in Ogun State.

    Gbadebo was reliving his joy on being reunited with his son on Tuesday.

    Gbadebo said he was moved to tears on seeing his son, describing the reunion as the happiest day of his life.

    David was abducted from the children section of the church. His abductors called him, demanding a N700, 000 ransom.

    Gbadebo denied paying ransom, saying he was asleep when the police called to tell him they have found his son.

    Gbadebo told The Nation: “I was sleeping when one police Inspector, who simply gave his name as Bassey, called around 1am on Tuesday; asking if I was David Gbadebo, I hurriedly responded: “no, I am Olanrewaju Gbadedo.

    “After several questioning, he was convinced that I am the father of the boy. He then told me that my son was found on Sunday evening and brought to their station by a good Samaritan.

    “Miraculously, a good Samaritan found David roaming the street of Owode at 6pm. On learning that he was lost, he quickly took him to nearby police station at Owode-Egbado, where the police officers at the station asked what his name was and searched him. They found chocolates, an apple drink and a piece of paper containing a phone number. The officer-in-charge, Inspector Bassey, attempted the number, but it was unreachable at that point. He tried the number almost 20 times before he could reach me.”

    Gbadebo said he went with the pastor and few members of the church to the Owode-Egbado Police Station in Ogun-State wth proof that David is his son.

    “We went with several photographs and evidence to show that the boy with them is my son,” he said.

    He thanked the police for recovering his son.

    “The policemen and women played a vital role in my son’s life and I am grateful to them because they bought him clothes, bathe him and fed him properly since Sunday night when he was brought to them until Tuesday when we went to pick him up. In fact I am really surprised because I never believed it, God bless them,” he said.

  • Man ‘fondles’ women’s breasts at hotel

    A 35-year-old man, Ahmed Tairu, who allegedly fondled some women’s breasts and buttocks, has been arraigned before an Oshodi Magistrate’s Court in Lagos.

    The accused, who resides on Brown Street in Oshodi, Lagos, is charged with breach of peace and assault.

    Prosecuting Police Corporal Kehinde Olatunde said the accused committed the offence on May 11 at New Life Hotel on Church Street, Oshodi.

    According to him, the accused assaulted and touched the women’s breasts and buttocks.

    “The accused also conducted himself in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace.

    “The accused always goes to the hotel to obstruct the female staff from performing their duties and always harass the female customers of the hotel. Tairu had been warned several times by the management not to come to the hotel premises again, but he failed to heed the warning,” he said.

    Olatunde said the accused stabbed two security guards with a broken bottle when they tried to prevent him from assaulting the women.

    “In the process, he tore their uniforms and stabbed one of the guards on the head with a broken bottle and another on his chest,” he said.

    The prosecutor said the offence contravened Sections 166 and 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The accused pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Akeem Fashola granted the accused N50, 000 bail and adjourned the case to May 21.

  • Three policemen, nine vandals die in gun battle

    At least, three policemen and nine suspected vandals were reportedly killed during gun battle.

    The police said about 20 suspected vandals were said to have engaged in battle in Igando, Lagos. The hoodlums were said to have sabotaged two underground Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines from where they siphoned petroleum products.

    It was gathered that the hoodlums in speed boats strategically positioned themselves in the creeks to ward off intruders during their operation.

    But the IGP Special Taskforce on Anti-pipeline Vandalism from Abuja stumbled on them.

    The hoodlums, it was learnt, opened fire on the policemen allegedly, killing three of them.

    The police team returned fire, killing nine of the suspected vandals; some were injured.

    Others were said to have escaped in their speed boats.

    A senior police officer confirmed the story, but added: “I cannot tell whether anyone died.”

  • DAME trains journalists

    Diamond Publication Limited, promoters of Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME), yesterday in Lagos held a workshop for journalists.

    Over 25 reporters were in  attendance.

    The event titled: Widening the pools of excellence  was aimed at improving reporters’ skills as well as making them globally competitive.

    Prof. Lai Oso of the School of Communication, Lagos State University (LASU) was the guest lecturer; Mr Lanre Idowu, Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Publications Ltd, was the chief host.

    Participants were taught the need to follow the ethics of journalism

    The workshop is part of  DAME’s efforts to ensuring a better media. The plan is to support journalists to adopt a better method of reportage in the public interest.

    Instilling ‘journalistic values, deepening news judgement and improving research and writing skills were part of the topics.

    Reporting skills were presented, practised and discussed. So were lessons on how to write news, conduct interviews and cover press conferences in line with international standards.

  • Man hits woman with hammer

    A 56-year-old man, Patrick Amam, was yesterday arraigned before an Apapa Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly hitting a woman, Nanya Dutse with a hammer on her forehead.

    Prosecuting police Corporal John Iberedem told the court that the accused committed the offence on May 6 at his residence.

    Iberedem said Amam unlawfully assaulted Dutse, “causing her bodily harm.”

    “The complainant said she mistakenly poured part of the water she had fetched from a well on the body of Mr Amam’s wife who was standing by the same well. Dutse said Amam’s wife did not give her the opportunity to apologise to her, only for Amam’s wife to be shouting and insulting her.

    “The complainant said the woman went into her apartment and reported the matter to her husband who came out with a hammer in his hand. Dutse said the accused did not even listen to her side of the story, instead he pushed her away and hit her on her forehead with the hammer,” Iberedem said.

    The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The accused pleaded not guilty.

    Senior Magistrate G.L. Otepo granted the accused N50,000, bail with one surety in the like sum and adjourned the case till May 18.

  • Arrested Ikoyi armed robbers narrate operations

    Arrested Ikoyi armed robbers narrate operations

    FOUR of the 11-man gang that killed three policemen and two civilians in the March 12 Lekki, Lagos bank robbery have been arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

    Duke Odogbo, 38; Lawrence Kingsley, 31; Ebi Tosan, 20, and Ekelemo Kuete, 30, were paraded in Ikeja yesterday by Police Commissioner Kayode Aderanti with the exhibits recovered from them. Among the exhibits are a Honda Accord 2008 Model (Evil Spirit), one white blackberry Z10 phone, one white Apple I5, one military cap and 130 expended ammunitions.

    The casualties were Inspector Bethel Agbola, Sergeant Odehohwo George, Corporal Imosisiu Ikechukwu, Mr Sowemimo Kabiru and Sarah Ibikunle, 15, fish seller around the area.

    Odogbo who hails from Warri North in Delta State, said: “We are 11 in number. We came with two boats but one had problem, so we used only one. We came with seven rifles. The extra three rifles that brought our total rifles to 10 belonged to the three policemen killed by my gang. They were not posted to the bank. My members saw them on road patrol. They interfered and they shot them dead and took their three rifles.

    “I was the first to fire a warning shot when we entered the bank, a branch of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) located on Admiralty Way. We collected N15million from the bank’s vault. We sprayed out the money from ATM machine.

    They gave me N500,000 as my own share. I was arrested in my house in Warri.”

    Aderanti said after the movie-like action, he convened a meeting of all commanders of combat units including Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Operatives, Department of Investigation, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), SARS, Special Investigation Bureau (SIB), Marine and Police Mobile Force (PMF), mandating them that the perpetrators must be fished out.

    Aderanti said based on intelligence, six Decoy SARS teams were dispatched to Delta, Ogun, Ondo states and Ikorodu, Lagos under his supervision.

    These efforts, he said, paid off on March 20 when Odogbo, the gang’s leader was picked up in Warri, Delta State. Kuete, who drove one of the speed boats, was picked up in Majidun, Ikorodu; Kingsley and Tosan were later arrested.

    The suspects, he said, had confessed, adding that efforts were being intensified to arrest their fleeing accomplices.