The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • We use rewire to snatch vehicles, says robbery suspect

    We use rewire to snatch vehicles, says robbery suspect

    A six-man robbery gang, which terrorised Lagos, has been smashed by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

    Its leader, Ismaila Oladosun (29), led the police to arrest other members few hours to an operation in Agege.

    The others are Ahmed Salami, 27, Azeez Shonde, 28, Sunday Samuel, 27, Monday Paul, 35 and Gbenga Odunuga, 49.

    Parading them yesterday at the command Headquarters at the command Headquarters in Ikeja, police spokesman Ken Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said they were arrested following a tip-off.

    They are to be charged with conspiracy and armed robbery.

    Officer in charge of SARS, Abba Kyari, a superintendent of Police (SP), said the gang raided houses in Agege, Abule Egba, Meiran and Alagbado areas of Lagos and had perfected plans for another operation before it was smashed.

    Oladosun said the gang also robbed people of their phones at gun point.

    He said Paul was in charge of selling stolen items including phones, cars, and laptops.

    Paul was arrested with a ML Jeep Mercedes Benz, a Toyota highlander and a Toyota Camry.

    He confessed to have sold about six cars to a dealer called Gbenga at Agidingbi in Ikeja, Lagos.

    When Gbenga was arrested, police said he confessed that the only vehicles he bought from the gang were a Toyota Highlander, a Toyota Camry (Orobo), a Toyota Camry (Big Daddy) a Picnic bus, a Honda Saloon Car and a Sienna bus.

    Police said they recovered only the Toyota Highlander and the picnic bus out of the six vehicles. The suspect, they said, had sold the others before his arrest.

    Oladosun said: “I was a revenue collector in Ikeja Local Government Council in 2013. It was a contract work. After selling ticket, they pay me about N750 daily. I am from Ikirun in Osun State. When the contract ended, I became a security man in New African Shrine and my monthly salary is N15,000 till day. Our first operation was at Oba Akran. We were three, myself, Azeez and Rasheedi who is still at large. We snatched a Toyota Camry from where it was parked and sold it for N230, 000. My share was N60, 000. Monday removed N40, 000 after selling it. The remaining N10, 000 was used for enjoyment.

    “The second operation at Ojodu Berger Expressway, we collected a Mercedes Benz from one woman. We also collected one Gulf car which we sold for N120,000, one Sienna which we sold for N180,000 and one Toyota Camry (Orobo), the buyer has not settled us.

    “We have a member called Ojo a rewire. His role is to enter any vehicle we want to snatch and rewire it to start it to enable us move the vehicle.”

    Salami from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, said: “I was idle and hungry when they told me to join them for operation. I joined them but I was not among those who carry guns. We go from house-to-house around 2am when people are sleeping. We collect only phones, money and neck chains. Three of my former gang members namely Tajudeen Adeyemo, Akeem and Olunloga died in action in one of our operations. My role is to stand outside and alert others when police are coming.

    Shonde, who worked as a barman at Basic Multipurpose Hotel in Oko Oba, Agege between 2012 and 2013 on a N12, 000 monthly salary, said he was lured him into the gang by his roommate, lola.

    Samuel from Ikole-Ekiti in Ekiti State said: “They are my friends but I did not know that they were dangerous armed robbers, I was arrested when one of them wickedly mentioned my name as a member of their gang because I quarrelled with him at a smoking joint.”

    Odunuga said he didn’t know he bought a stolen vehicle.

    “I am a panel beater. I was doing naming ceremony of my child when Monday called me there is a motor for sale and the owner needed money urgently. They said N350, 000 and I said N250,000. The second day they gave me the documents and collected their balance. I did not know that the motor I bought was stolen. I made a serious mistake,” he said.

  • How prince, lawyer, four others died in canoe mishap

    How prince, lawyer, four others died in canoe mishap

    EPE, a coastal community in Lagos, is yet to get over the death of its prince and five others in a canoe mishap last Saturday.

    Prince Azeez, son of Olu of Epe Oba Sefiu Adewale, his friend Wale Mogaji. Mogaji’s brother Gbolahan, who just returned from London; a lawyer, Muheez Bello, his personal assistant Shamsideen Agoro and son of the canoe owner died when it capsized.

    Bello’s widow Monsurat, the canoe owner and another of his sons survived.

    The late Bello, a lawyer with Chevron was aspiring for Epe Local Government chairmanship under the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform.

    They were coming from the riverine area where Mrs Bello went to vote.

    An eye witness, Rasheed Bello, said the canoe capsized barely five minutes after it took off.

    “We left for the riverine area at 12 noon and we were about leaving when they arrived. He asked us not to leave and wait for him and the person in the boat asked him what he was going to do at the back of the Lagoon, he said he can’t leave his wife that she wants to go and vote there. When they were about to board, the first thing they asked for was life jacket and they were told there was no life jacket and he said no problem. We moved and he and his wife began to take pictures including their friends. When we got there, they dropped and we left for elsewhere. That’s all I know,” he said.

    Another eyewitness said they were seen taking pictures before the canoe capsized.

    The news of the accident went through Epe like wild fire.

    Many, including the royal family, the Mogajis, the Bellos, the canoe owner family and their friends virtually did not believe the report, describing it as “rumour”.

    “We were waiting for him to come and cast his vote and we started hearing different rumours and nobody knows what exactly was wrong. In fact, I even asked one of my brothers to find out and he couldn’t go,” Prince Dapo Adewale told The Nation.

    The remains of Prince Adewale, a director in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, were among the first to be brought out.

    He was rushed to the hospital.

    “… but when we moved near the Lagoon, I saw his (the late Adewale’s) T-shirt because he was wearing one red T-shirt and I was like ‘Kileleyi ke, kilode meaning what is the meaning of this? What happened?’ So, we found him and took him away from there thinking there is still hope. We took him to the hospital. It was there a doctor confirmed him dead,” Prince Dapo said.

    The late Bello’s uncle, Alhaji Adekunle Bello, relived how he heard the news, saying: “As far as I am concerned, it is one of his senior brothers that can answer that because I wasn’t there. I went to cast my vote at the Primary Health Care near Oliwo Market. I was at the voter registration centre when my phone rang and my younger brother told me that his (Bello’s) canoe has sunk! I asked ‘what happened?”. They said ‘they cannot even say’. All they said was nine of them entered the boat instead of them to wait because they went with a very big boat but unfortunately, I think they have a lot of programme in Epe that Saturday; so he was planning to return early because only his wife went there to vote; he escorted his wife with others. When he was going, he sat down here and I was asking him ‘where are you going?’ He said ‘Ere Ise.’  And that was all.”

    Alhaji Bello noted that they should have opted for a bigger canoe or boarded it in batches instead of nine of them at once.

    “Unfortunately, the canoe cannot contain four people but they want to manage it with the hope that they will get to Epe quick from there. The boat sank because there were heavier men inside the boat,” he said.

    According to Alhaji Bello, his late nephew was planning a big 38th birthday party for that fateful day.

    “He greeted everybody that Saturday, telling them to continue enjoying themselves till he returned because that Saturday was his birthday and he has promised some people that there is going to be a big ceremony to mark the birthday,” he said.

    “Whenever he comes to Epe, he will come down to my house; take his bath and dress up in my room and go out. It is a great loss not only to both the family and the local government, but the world. He was well known and I wasn’t surprise when Ambode (Akinwunmi) and Osinbajo (Prof Yemi) came to pay their condolences.

    Prince Dapo, who teaches at the Lagos State University (LASU), described the accident as a “big tragedy”.

    He said: “It is a serious tragedy because we are not talking about a single individual but six persons. The whole community has been in a devastating mood since Saturday,” he said.

    According to him, the 48-year-old late Prince Adewale was with him and others on that fateful day, preparing to cast their votes.

    “There was a problem with the INEC card reader machine and I took the INEC people to their office and when we came back, we were accredited and other people were doing their accreditation. He came with two of his friends – Gbolahan and Wale Mogaji. When they sorted out the issue, the three of them left in a car. That was all.”

    He described him as an easy going person and a perfect gentle man.

    “We are so close, we went to the same school and I remember we did O’ level together, slept in the same room and on the same bed. We have never had one minute quarrel even after graduation, we moved together, rented a flat and lived together before I was giving an official contract and I finally moved out.

    “Apart from that, he was a very intelligent man. Whenever there were serious issues, he had a way of handling it even when people take it too serious and he will take it with levity and before you know it, the problem is solved,” he said.

    The late Bello’s political associate, Modupe Bello said she still didn’t believe it’s real.

    “It was very sad. I was called by one of our campaign teams that, did I hear that MB (as Bello was fondly called) went on water and the boat sank? I told her he did not tell me anything and I was confused. I miss him so much and I still don’t believe because it looks like a drama till now,” she said.

    According to her, their last conversation was on Bello’s birthday.

    “He called on Friday that he wanted to have his birthday on the 28; Election Day and told me to make some enquiry about the things we are going to use for the birthday party,” she said.

    “He was a very accommodating person; he accommodated both the young and the old,” she said.

     

  • Man arraigned for allegedly defrauding Nestle of N100m

    Man arraigned for allegedly defrauding Nestle of N100m

    A 48-year-old man, Giles Nwokolo, was yesterday charged before a Magistrate’s  Court sitting in  Ikeja for allegedly defrauding Nestle Foods Nigeria Plc of N100 million.

    Nwokolo was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Abimbola Komolafe on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraud and stealing.

    Prosecuting police Inspector Eranus Nnamonu, alleged that the defendant fraudulently tricked Nestle Foods Nigeria Plc to pay him N100 million, an amount said to be greater than the value of services he rendered to the company.

    According to the charge sheet, the defendant, being a staff of Fobim Investment Ltd, with intent to defraud Nestle Foods Nigeria Plc, fraudulently forged some terminal invoices used in collecting terminal charges from the company.

    The charge stated, “That you Giles Nwokolo, being a staff of Fobim Investment Limited, sometime between 2009 at Fobim Investment Limited, No. 23 Caulcrick Crescent Apapa Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial District, did steal about N100 million, property of Nestle Foods Nigeria Plc.”

    Nnamonu said the offence is punishable under Section 278 of Criminal Code Cap 42 Laws of Lagos State.

    However, when the charge was read to the defendant, he pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Komolafe granted him bail in the sum of N1million with two sureties in the like sum.

    He ordered that the sureties must be blood relations and must show evidence of tax payment for the period of three years.

    She, thereafter, adjourned the matter till April 23, for hearing.

  • Lagos CJ approves Easter vacation for judges

    Lagos Chief Judge, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade has approved Friday, April 3, to Friday, April 10, as Easter vacation for judges of the High Court of Lagos State.

    A statement issued yesterday by the Court Registrar. E.O. Ogundare stated that the Chief Judge approved the 2015 Easter vacation for the judges in accordance with the powers conferred on her  pursuant to Order 45, Rule 4 (A) and (B) of the High Court of Lagos State Civil Procedure) Rule 2012.

    The statement said that work will resume on Monday, April 13.

    It said that arrangements for dealing with urgent cases during the vacation are that each judge would deal with all urgent application related to any substantive cause already assigned to him/her.

    “Any urgent application, the substantive cause of which has not already been assigned will be dealt with by the judge to whom the application is especially assigned.

    “Notwithstanding the provision of Order 45 Rule 4, any cause or matter may be heard by a judge during the vacation where such a case is urgent and provided that the conditions prescribed by Order 45 Rule 5 shall be observed and complied with,” the statement added.

  • ‘How my colleague escaped death’

    ‘How my colleague escaped death’

    A commercial bus driver, Semiu Omolaja, has narrated how his colleague, Soji was lucky to have escaped death after a container fell on his bus.

    The incident occurred last Thursday at Mushin-Olosha in Lagos

    The driver, who listens to newspapers’ review in his bus daily, could not do so because his key fell into a gutter.

    He was said to have gone home to pick the spare key of the bus with registration XM 17 KSF when the accident occurred.

    The container crushed his bus after falling off a trailer with number-plate is XB 498 KSM. The driver was injured on his nose and eyes.

    Many who gathered at the scene thanked God for the bus driver’s lucky escape.

    Omolaja, an eyewitness, said the accident occurred around after 6am. He explained Soji was going home to pick the bus’ spare key when the accident happened.

    He said: “When I brought my bus in the morning, I reversed and was trying to find a parking spot. One woman was passing by Soji’s parked bus. I saw the trailer galloping and I immediately warned the woman to move out of the way. I was trying to tell the driver to be patient and drive carefully. When I saw that he had lost control, I jumped out of my bus. The next thing I saw was the trailer crushing Soji’s bus.”

    Omolaja said whenever Soji came in the morning, he would park his bus, plug in his phone’s ear-piece and listen to the day’s news.

    “On that fateful morning, his key fell into the gutter and he was on his way home to get his spare key. He had just walked a few metres away from his bus when it happened. The driver of the trailer escaped with a few bruises on his nose and under his eyes,” he said.

    An official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) said there was no casualty. The wreckage, he said, was evacuated in the night because the trailer driver fled.

    “The wreckage was not evacuated immediately because we did not see the driver of the trailer and the vehicle cannot be recovered unless the goods inside the container were offloaded. The container fell completely from the trailer. For us to do that, we had to make sure the police were available to secure the goods. We also get the driver of the vehicle to be around so that there would not be a case of missing goods,” he said.

    According to him, the accident did not affect traffic because the spot is bad. “Even without the accident, drivers have to slow down to get through,” he said

     

  • APC holds free medical screening

    APC holds free medical screening

    Hundreds of men and women, old and young, have received free medical screening at Epe in Lagos.

    The programme, organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC), had several residents and villagers trooping to the Epe Recreation Centre, where the exercise was held.

    A team of doctors conducted tests for various medical problems, and prescribed free drugs.

    APC chieftain Dami Jaiyebo said the free medical checks was a foretaste of what the party would bring at both national and state levels if successful at the polls.

    “We are trying to do for the people what the government has failed to do for them, providing them with medical checks and drugs for minor medical needs,” he said.

    According to him, the people’s reaction and appreciation of the gesture showed how much they had lacked affordable healthcare and medical insurance.

    The programme’s medical coordinator, Dr Wale Oyebanji, said the team was made up of volunteer doctors and pharmacists.

    “These are the things we are doing at regular intervals and it would be more regular when the APC government comes into office,” he said.

    A member of the team Dr Efosa Elliots-Aigbedo said health screening is a necessity that should not be denied anybody, which he said had been neglected by the Federal Government.

    A former supervisory councillor for health in Epe, Akin Oladipo, who benefited from the screening, praised the group for the exercise.

    “I did not know that I have sugar in my system. I am surprised because the doctors just discovered it. Now that I know, I will take care of myself. And I know that it is the same thing for a lot of people here who never knew what hidden medical problems they had.

    “So I really commend APC for bringing this health screening exercise to Epe. It is highly welcomed. This exercise is being enjoyed by members of the community who cut across all political parties,” he said.

    Director of the Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Office (Lagos Directorate), Mr Gboyega Soyannwo, said the screening shows APC is not only interested in canvassing votes, but cares for the people.

  • Three remanded for hotel manager’s death

    Three men – Agbomeji Seun 25, Rasaq Babatunde 30 and Anthony Gbagolo 19 have been remanded in prison custody for allegedly killing an hotel manager, Olalekan Oduwobi, 40.

    The defendants allegedly stabbed Oduwobi to death with a dagger.

    It was learnt that the defendants were seen jumping into the hotel while returning from an operation.

    The witness person told the hotel manager, who approached the defendants and they allegedly stabbed him dead.

    The incident occurred on February 25 about 10:45pm at Twelve Thirty Hotel in Imokun, Noforija, Epe, Lagos.

    The defendants were said to have unlawfully possessed one pistol.

    They were arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy, murder and unlawful possession of fire arms.

    They pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecuting police Inspector Victor Eruada applied that the defendants be remanded in prison custody pending legal advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

    Magistrate M.O Tanimola ordered that they be remanded in prison custody pending legal advice from the DPP’s office. The case was adjourned till April 27.

  • My wife is adulterous, says man

    A 51- year-old civil servant, Marcel Oreweme has accused his wife, Faith, of infidelity and urged an Iyana-Ipaja Customary Court in Lagos, to dissolve their marriage.

    The petitioner said his marriage troubles started in 2011 when he suspected his wife of having extra marital affair with their landlord.

    “I had no evidence she was seeing the landlord; I just noticed her ways weren’t pure. Also, there was a day my wife left the house around 5.30am on the pretext of getting to work early. I was so curious that I trailed her,” he said.

    Oreweme said he sneaked inside the bus his wife boarded with another man but they never noticed.

    “My wife sat in the front while the man drove and I wondered what their plan was. When they got to their destination, I came down from the bus and sadly I received the shocker of my life.

    “My wife and her lover went into a restaurant and immediately I entered, I heard her introduce herself to his friends as his wife. I was dumbfounded. I kept wondering where, when and how we got divorced. I don’t know if she doesn’t want me anymore,” he said.

    The father of three told the court that his wife was fond of returning home late without a feeling for their children.

    “I cook for our children before she returns from work. She is never available to cater for us. Even when she is eventually around, there is always disagreement. I can’t ever forget how she hit my head with a rod during our last argument,’ he added.

    Mrs Oreweme denied the allegations, saying: “During our last argument, my husband beat me mercilessly till I became unconscious. It was his friends that rushed me to the hospital.”

    She also said her husband abandoned her in the hospital until her uncle defrayed her medical bills and took her home.

    “I never used a rod on him he was the one who did. What I meant by introducing myself as the man’s wife was because he is from the same hometown as my husband,” she said.

    The court’s President, Mrs Salewa Banjoko, advised the parties to maintain peace and adjourned the case till April 22.

     

     

  • Man remanded in prison for peeping

    A 36-year-old man, Oludare Adewale, has been remanded for allegedly peeping at one Victoria Emmanuel while taking her bathing.

    It was learnt that the defendant also hit Victoria with a bucket, an offence punishable under Section 60A (1) of the criminal laws of Lagos

    The incident occurred on March 22 about 8:13am at 23, Arowojobe Street in Oshodi, Lagos.

    He was arraigned on a two-count charge of misconduct and breach of peace.

    Adewale pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecuting police Inspector Kehinde Olatunde applied that the defendants be remanded in prison custody pending legal advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

    Magistrate A.A Fashola granted him N50, 000 bail with one surety in the like sum. The case was adjourned till April 21

  • Two lose hands in petrol tanker fire

    Two lose hands in petrol tanker fire

    •12 vehicles, two motorcycles burnt

    Two persons lost their hands yesterday when two fuel-laden tankers exploded at a filling station in Lekki, Lagos.

    Twelve vehicles, including the tankers, and two motorcycles were destroyed in the ensuing fire.

    Thick smoke billowed from the tankers, which were said to be carrying 33,000 litres of petrol each.

    No dead recorded in the incident, which occurred at 2:20pm. 10 of the burnt vehicles and the motorcyclists were waiting to buy fuel at ASCON Filling Station on Lekki Road 13, off Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1 when the incident occurred. The station was not affected.

    Eyewitnesses said the tankers exploded while discharging their content into an underground reservoir. They said people ran for dear life when they heard a bang.

    Kolawole Ayedun whose Toyota Camry car was burnt to ashes, said he was about driving into the station when the tankers exploded. “I did not know how I ran out of the car when the heat got to me,” he said. All his personal effects and cash were gutted.

    The injured lost their hands while attempting to put out the fire before fire fighters’ arrival.

    An eyewitness, who gave his name as Ugochukwu, said the timely intervention of the fire men  saved the filling station from being razed.

    Oguchukwu said: “We learnt that it was fuel tankers. The tankers suddenly caught fire and spread across the road. As the fire raged, people ran in different directions for fear of the fire spreading to other buildings near the station. But the fire fighters succeeded in bringing it under control.”

    Lagos State Fire Service, Director Rasak Fadipe told reporters that the fire involved two tankers laden with 33,000 litres of petrol each. He confirmed that two people lost their limbs.

    Fadipe said one of the dispensing pumps of the station was affected. He said Eti-Osa Fire Station promptly responded following distress calls from residents.

    “The magnitude of the fire prompted the mobilisation of other fire trucks from Onikan and Alausa fire stations to the scene. What you are seeing here has shown our capability and ability to tackle outbreak of fire in the state. The fire was massive, but we prevented it from spreading to the filling station and buildings around. Twelve vehicles, including the trucks and two motorcycles, got burnt.”

    The injured were taken to hospital by the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS).

    Fadipe said the incident brought to 12 petrol-related fires that the service has so far responded to this year.