The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Lekki robbery: gunmen were professionals, says police chief

    Lekki robbery: gunmen were professionals, says police chief

    LAGOS Police Chief Kayode Aderanti yesterday described as professionals the gunmen who raided a First City Monument Bank (FCMB) branch in Lekki last week, killing six persons, including three of his men.

    Police sources told The Nation that the hoodlums may have had military training.

    Parading some suspected kidnappers and robbers at the Command Headquater in Ikeja, Aderanti, responding to questions, said the gunmen displayed professional traits.

    He said that the police were working to get the suspects, promising that such incident would not repeat itself in Lagos.

    Aderanti said: “In as much as I do not want to comment much on the Lekki issue to avoid jeopardising our investigation, I agree with you that the perpetrators were fully prepared for that operation.

    “The types of arms that they displayed and the proficiency in terms of expertise, require that we do a thorough job to get to the root of the matter and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”

    From the video footage of the incident, the police, The Nation learnt, believe that the gunmen must have military background.

    The source said: “The gun handling experience exhibited by those men was beyond just any armed robber. They were fully prepared for that exercise and were very generous with their bullets. The marksmanship they exhibited was even beyond the police.  It takes people with higher experience to have acted that way.

    “Then, the weapons are not just what you get off the shelf easily.  Those are high weapons and so, we know where to channel our investigations to. I can tell you that the police will fish them out before Easter. They cannot go unpunished for the lives they have wasted, I swear,” he said.

    A senior police officer, in a separate chat, said he was sure the gunmen have military experience.

    “I can stake my life on it. Those hoodlums have military experience. They have had something to do with the armed forces. If you see their coordination and their gun handling proficiency, even me as a senior officer I cannot match them.

    “Did you see their complete armour, they even had bullet proof vests, how many policemen have that? It would have even been better for them to just steal and go but the fact that they were so heartless as to open fire on harmless citizens, is evidence that their cup is full,” he said.

  • Movement restriction on sanitation day illegal, says court

    THE restriction of movement during the monthly environmental sanitation is illegal, the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos held yesterday.

    Delivering judgment on a suit by activist lawyer Ebunolu Adegboruwa challenging the movement restriction during the exercise, Justice Mohammed Idris said it grossly violates Nigerians’ right to freedom of movement as guaranteed in the Constitution.

    The lawyer sought a declaration that the restriction on the last Saturday of every month, constitutes a breach of residents’ rights because no law in Lagos State approves their compulsory detention at home for three hours (7am – 10am) for the purpose of observing a mandatory sanitation.

    Inspector-General of Police Suleiman Abba, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, Attorney-General Mr Ade Ipaye; Commissioner for the Environment and his ministry were the respondents.

    Justice Idris held that the policy of keeping citizens indoors, in the name of sanitation, has no basis on law.

    According to him, it is nowhere stated in Section 39 of the Environmental Sanitation Law that the commissioner can make regulation barring people from moving about during sanitation exercise.

    “There is no law in Lagos barring or restricting the movement of people during environmental sanitation and no such law has been shown to the court,” the judge said.

    He said the restriction is “unjustifiable and a gross infringement on the applicant’s personal liberty.”

    Justice Idris said: “I have no doubt that the restriction imposed on the movement of persons and sanctions meted out to those who breach them are clearly unsupportable in law and unjustified.

    “I must state loud and clear that the environmental sanitation exercise is not in itself unlawful, but what is unlawful and unconstitutional is the restriction imposed by the respondents during the exercise.

    “The restriction will only be lawful and constitutional when they are made by law duly enacted within the limits imposed by the Constitution itself.

    “In view of all I have stated above and in the light of the provisions of the various judicial and statutory authorities, I hold that the rights of the applicant guaranteed under Sections 35 and 41 of the Constitution have been infringed upon by the respondents.

    “The applicant is entitled to all of the reliefs sought and they are granted as prayed.”

    Speaking after the verdict, Adegboruwa hailed the judge for his forthrightness, courage and boldness.

    The verdict, he said, has settled beyond doubt that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.

    He said: “It is a signal to all those in power, across the land, local, state and federal, that the rule of arbitrariness, of impunity and of wanton disregard for peoples’ rights and freedoms is gradually coming to an end.

    “When we dare to struggle, then we dare to win. I, therefore, urge all Nigerians to troop to the courts, to challenge the unchallengeable, to kick against the arbitrary PHCN impositions, all illegal charges and tax imposition and all obnoxious policies wickedly devised by all our rulers. Together we shall win.”

    Lagos State argued that Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution permits it to make laws that affect the right to freedom of movement.

    The law, it said, vests the Commissioner for the Environment with powers to make regulations for ensuring a clean environment and public safety.

  • ‘We couldn’t save anything’

    ‘We couldn’t save anything’

    I LIVE close to the market and to see my shop burn in my presence was a great shock. I couldn’t save anything. I have been in this market for over 10 years. I have not been doing anything since the incident. We have been asked to write down our names and I pray something will be done because I am helpless and I don’t know what to do.”

    These were the words of a trader, Uzor Benjamin, as he counted his loss yesterday in the fire that gutted Mile 12 Market in Lagos last Friday.

    Benjamin, who deals in vegetable oil, and his fellow traders were seen around their burnt shops yesterday, with nowhere to go.

    Another trader, Hajia Romoke Hassan, who sells yam flour, said she and others suffered a huge loss.

    She said she stocked her shop a day before the incident and was yet to make sales, adding: “I arranged with my supplier to pay later because I had weekend customers who bought Elubo (yam flour) in bulk. I had two shops and it was well stocked on Thursday. I was dumbfounded when I received a call that my shop was burning. My supplier, who is aware of the incident, has been calling my mobile line but I am yet to respond because I don’t have money. Promises have been made by the government and top personalities and I pray they assist us. They shouldn’t abandon us.”

    A transporter, Abdullah Sanni, who is the Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Mile 12 Branch, said over 30 shops got burnt.

    “This place is my life. I have spent over 20 years here and this incident hasn’t affected us before. We were observing our prayers that morning when the fire began. It gutted everywhere almost immediately. I lost N350, 000 to the fire and some documents.  It was an awful experience.  We really don’t know the number of men who died because none of them was buried with a complete body. Their bodies were scattered. They were errand boys who sleep in the offices. They were asleep when the incident happened. They were burnt to ashes.

    “We have been asked to collate our names but we are yet to know their plans. Politicians, government officials have been here and have promised to help us. They should please not make only promises; we need action. We are jobless. I don’t know where to go from here because we don’t know if we will be allowed to erect any building again. We need urgent assistance,” Sanni said.

    Usman Ahmed claimed he lost N6million saying: “I don’t feel any less having lost N6million. I believe that what has happened to me is from God and I take it as God’s will that was meant to happen. I will continue to be courageous and move on with my life as if nothing has happened.”

    He showed his burnt shop to The Nation where he said he was selling diesel and petrol to fuel his truck which he uses to transport his produce to other parts of the state.

    Alhaji Isah Umaru, chairman of truck drivers at the market, said his people were the most affected.

    “We need urgent help financially, materially and otherwise. We have lost over 30 shops and more than seven lives. After the fire fighters left, we discovered more dead bodies.”

    Blaming the cause of the fire on the high voltage, Umaru said it was compounded by gallons of vegetable oil and palm oil kept in the shops.

    Millions of naira, he said, were lost as some of his men keep money in their shops for easy access instead of taking it to the bank.

    Lagos East senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mrs Olabisi Salis, who was on a sympathy visit, urged the traders to give their details to members of her campaign team for a relief package.

    Mrs Salis said: “If traders didn’t bring fuel and diesel to sell in the market and if they weren’t smoking marijuana inside their trucks parked in the market, maybe there wouldn’t have been a fire.”

    “We cannot hear a thing like this and fold our hands, we are here to say sorry to the displaced traders and to go back and see what we can do to help the people who are displaced. PDP is solidly behind you,” she said.

  • Triplets’ family gets help

    Triplets’ family gets help

    Good Samaritan has settled the bill of a woman detained in hospital after giving birth to triplets.

    Rotimi Rahmon secured the woman and her babies’ release from Sure Mercy Hospital in Ota, Ogun State, through the African Foundation for Environment and Development (AFED), a non-governmental organisation led by Sola Afariogun

    Mrs Bolanle Aremu  gave birth to the triplets on February 20, through caesarean section. She had four children before their birth and this informed her attempt to abort the pregnancy. The father, Olagoke Aremu, a carpenter, said he could not afford the medical bills, hence the refusal of the management of the hospital to discharge the babies.

    This informed the intervention of AFED, and subsequent payment of bills by Rahmon.

    The family thanked AFED and Rahmon for the gesture, calling for more assistance from members of the public for the upkeep of the babies.

     

  • 27 days after, another gun shot victim dies

    27 days after, another gun shot victim dies

    ANOTHER person reportedly shot by uniformed men at Majidun near Ikorodu, Lagos, on February 18 has died, bringing to five the casualty figure.

    Alhaji Aminu Salis, an engineer, died at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) on Saturday, 27 days after the incident.

    He was returning home from an event at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in Akoka, Yaba, on that fateful day before he and his wife, Toyibah, ran into the gunmen.

    The couple were flagged down at Majidun Bus stop by the uniformed men, with one of them opening fire on the couple.

    About five bullets pierced his arm and legs, his wife was hit on her left leg.

    Their car was riddled with bullets.

    Many other vehicles coming behind them were attacked.

    General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division in Lagos Maj. Gen. Tanmi Dibi said the gunmen were not soldiers.

    “There is no way such thing would happen and I will not know. Moreso, I have inquired and they told me none of our men was involved in that act,” he said.

    The late Alhaji Salis’ remains were interred yesterday at Agiliti Cemetery in Mile 12, according to Islamic rites.

    A massive crowd turned out for the funeral. Residents, passersby and commuters on the Agiliti Road watched as vehicles streamed into the cemetery on a street beside the road.

    Many sympathisers expressed shocked over his death.

    Some who visited him in hospital on Saturday just commissioned wondered what could have gone wrong.

    Prof Fatimah AbdulKareem, Head, Anatomic and Molecular Pathology Department in the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences who delivered the 2nd Inaugural Lecture of the University of Lagos in the 2014/2015 Academic Session that the late Alhaji Salis attended with his wife, was seen weeping at the cemetery.

    She was consoled by National Naibatul Amirah (Vice-President) of The Criterion, an Association of Muslim Women in Business and Profession, Alhaja Fatimat Oyefeso.

    Alhaji Mumuni Alao, Managing Director, Complete Communications, publishers of Complete Sports, who was with the late Salis till 5pm last Saturday, said the deceased was full of life during the visit.

    “The news of his death few hours after I left him in the hospital is shocking,” he said, adding: “It is a sad thing that he was shot for no just cause, up till now, nothing is heard from the security agents. Now, Alhaji Aminu has gone leaving behind his wife, children, family and friends and the supposed officers who shot him are walking free on the streets. This is pathetic,” he said.

    President, Lagos District of The Companion, an association of Muslim Men in Business and Profession, Sheikh Nojeem Jimoh, said Salis’ death “reminded us that the nature of death is sudden.

    He said Salis’ death is a “sad reminder of the anarchy we have found ourselves,” adding: “About one month after the incident, no one was apprehended, no arrest has been made, absolutely nothing has happened. Nothing defines the situation of lawlessness more than this.”

    Alhaji Thabit Wale Sonaike, The Companion Deputy National President, said Salis never wanted to die.

    According to Sonaike, Alhaji Salis did all he could to survive but Allah’s will prevail.

    “He was loved by many and his dedication to a course was commendable. I am not surprised to see this large turnout,” he said.

  • NGO protests against rape

    NGO protests against rape

    To stem the rising wave of rape, an advocacy group, Walk Against Rape (WAR), has organised a walk to sensitise the public on its effects.

    The convener, Esther Ijewere-Kalejaiye, urged sexually abused persons, particularly women and children, to speak out.

    She said WAR is committed to stamping out rape and be the victims’ mouth piece.

    Members, clad in white and black attires, protested in Lagos last Friday, carrying placards with inscriptions such as: “Real men don’t rape”; “Stop defiling our girls”; “We stand against rape”; “Don’t stay unconcerned, yours may be next”; “Rape is Rape”; “Say no to sexual molestation” and “Break the silence.”

    They were joined by Nollywood stars, members of the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), parents and students, as they moved from the Archbishop Vinning Memorial Church ground in Ikeja, GRA, Lagos, to the Deputy Governor’s office at the Secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Mrs Ijewere-Kalejaiye, who presented a letter to Lagos State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General Mr Ade Ipaye, said the group is planning a workshop to sensitise rape victims on the need to speak out.

    She said the workshop would also serve as a platform to inform the society about the  scourge of sexual abuse, especially as it relates to young girls and women.

    Ipaye said the menace of rape would reduce with the increasing tempo of sensitisation.

    Some of the top celebrities who took part in the walk were wife of popular R’n’B star, Innocent Idibia, Annie; Ini Edo, Kehinde Bankole and Lami Philips.

  • Don calls for science centres

    Don calls for science centres

    A former Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Olusoga Sofola, has called for the establishment of science centres across the country to advance technological development.

    Sofola, the initiator of Alofos Science and Technology Foundation, spoke at the end of an eight-week session tagged: “The Ingenious” organised by the foundation.

    He emphasised the need to encourage school children to be passionate about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, STEM, while giving them opportunities to show their creative skills and abilities to work as a team.

    Sofola said: “There are over a thousand science centres in America. Every city boasts of one. In Nigeria, we don’t have a place, where kids can go anytime and play with science and technology tools.

    “What we have been able to do with Alofos is to make kids love science and Mathematics through fun tools and computers, so that they can learn on their own. All over the world, robots are the main thing. They are now being used even in the search of a missing plane.”

    About the participants drawn from private and public secondary schools, he said: “They were also given tasks to complete, using robots, such as picking up dirts on the way and dumping them somewhere or identifying an object with a particular colour, among others. With time, we will get to the level where we will start applying robots to our everyday life.”

    A tutor, Mujidat Bakare, said the students were taught how to create ideas and bring them to life.

    She said: “At the end of every session, there was always a project. They were taught various branches of technology that deals with robotic designing, combination of hard science, Mathematics, computer programming, 3D designing, circuit building and basic computing. The initiative has not only helped pupils participate in various robotics at home and abroad, but it has also made them improve in their studies.”

  • My wife is a witch, says man

    A 58-year-old mechanic, Sabitu Jimoh, has pleaded with an Alagbado Customary Court in Lagos, to dissolve his 26-year-old marriage over threat to his life.

    The petitioner, who lives at 39 Babsalam Street, Alagbado, Lagos, told the court that his wife, Afusat, wanted him dead.

    Jimoh described his wife as a witch, alleging that she accused him of ‘spoiling’ her charm when he entered her room.

    “She does not care for me, she stopped cooking for me in the past 20 years, I have tried to manage her but I have realised that she cannot change.

    “She comes home late every night and does not listen to me. At every slight opportunity, she abuses me. She is adulterous. At times, she won’t come home for a week and her mobile line is never available. I heard she is having an affair with a tout in the garage where she sells.

    “When I tried to correct her, she slapped me thrice. She said I wasn’t going to witness last December. I thank God I am alive,” he said.

    Jimoh told the court that if he accepted his wife back, his life would be in danger.

    “I am tired of the marriage, please dissolve our union,” he said.

    But, the 53-year-old Mrs Jimoh, denied the allegations saying: “I am neither a witch nor I fetish. I am also far from adultery.”

    She said all she wanted is a settlement adding that she was sorry for everything she did.

    “Please beg my husband. I still love him,” she said.

    The court President, Mr Olubode Sekoni, advised the couple to maintain peace and adjourned the matter till March 23.

  • Nursing mother injures leg in accident

    A nursing mother with her baby on her back was injured yesterday in an accident at Sadiku Bus-Stop, Ilasamaja along Apapa-Oshodi Expessway.

    The accident, which involved a commercial bus (Danfo), a private car and a motorcycle, occurred around 5pm.

    Iya Anu as the woman is known was on the motorcycle with her baby and another woman before the accident happened.

    The motorcyclist was trying to manoeuvre between the commercial bus with number plate FST 153 XE and a white Honda Odyssey space bus with number plate BR 381 EPE when the bus driver opened his door, hitting the motorcycle. The bus sandwiched the motorcycle  and the four people on it (the Okada rider, the two women and a baby) between it and the Honda Odyssey.

    They were knocked down.

    Sympathisers quickly rushed to their aid, helping the baby first before others. The baby appeared unhurt but the mother fractured her left leg.

    Following their rescue, the motorcyclist ran away with his bike.

    A young woman inside the Honda Odyssey lost her phone to some people who pretended to be helping victims when she tried to assist lift the women from the ground.

    “I have lost my phone; I don’t know who removed it from my pocket while trying to rescue those women. This is sad,” she said.

    Seeing her fractured leg, sympathisers argued on where to take the injured woman for medical treatment.

    While some recommended nearby May Hospital, some said she should be taken to traditional bonesetters at Idi-Araba.

    The nursing woman, writhing in pains was crying, lamenting that her leg has been broken.

  • Two suspected drug dealers held for robbery

    Two suspected drug dealers, Usman Yekini, 29, and Uchechukwu Udeh, 23, have been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) for alleged robbery.

    The suspects were arrested on March 5 on Badagry Expressway after attacking one Henry Eke, who was driving a Volkswagen Passat car, with registration number LND 366 AY.

    The satellite Divisional Police Officer, who was on patrol, effected their arrest.

    Yekini from Okene in Kogi State said he went into drug business because he couldn’t afford to rent a room in Lagos.

    “I used to help him (Udeh) to sell drugs just to feed myself. He used to pay me N800 everyday for selling cocaine, heroin, Charly pin and Indian hemp daily.

    On that fateful day, the man’s car was faulty. We walked up to him pretending to help him but before he knew it, we ransacked his car. He called a man who alerted the police. We got arrested while eight other colleagues escaped,” he said.

    According to him, one pinch of cocaine is sold for N150, N250, and N500 depending on the demand.

    “You can take cocaine of N20, 000 to N25, 000 a day. I don’t have such money. I smoke Indian hemp which is sold for N50 a wrap. I have participated three times in operation take anything you can grab. In the first one I got N500 from the N5, 000 we got. The second one we got N8, 000 and I was given N700. The third operation I got nothing because the operation failed and I and this guy were arrested.

    Udeh, a native of Agbaai in Enugu State, said he lived with his brother in Ijegun Satellite Town, Lagos.

    He said: “I am a bus conductor at Navy Gate close to Mazamaza. We help drug dealers to sell drug at day time. In the night we go out on the streets to lookout for faulty cars to rob. We used to be about 10. Yekini, Uchenna, Janta, Okon (aka S14), Solo, Redman, Akpunwa, Peter and Osalome Onyema. We once robbed a man who conveyed turkey. I am a bus conductor. I used to get N3,000 everyday but spend N2,500 on drugs and N500 on feeding.

    The command’s spokesperson, Ken Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said detectives were on the trail of the others.