The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • My husband comes home drunk, says woman

    A 35-year-old woman, Omowunmi Oluwadamilare, has pleaded with an Orile Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve her 13-year-old marriage, accusing her husband of battery and lack of care.

    The petitioner, a civil servant, who lives at 12, Aranseolu Street on Oko-Oba Road in Orile-Agege, Lagos, told the court that her husband, Abiodun, is a drunkard and misbehaves anytime he is drunk.

    “My husband comes home drunk every night, he pounces on me whenever I am sleeping and makes love to me, and because of this I have six children.

    “He is not responsible, he does not provide for the children neither does he pay their school fees.

    “I provide for the upkeep of the house and even pays the house rent,” she said.

    The mother of six, between ages three months and 13 years, said her husband beats her whenever he is drunk.

    “He still punched me last night after he came home drunk, I have told him to pack his things and leave the house but he wouldn’t listen. Anytime I changed the padlock, he breaks the door and enters, I am tired of his ways and attitude, please separate us so that I can be free,” she added.

    Her husband, Abiodun Oluwadamilare, failed to appear before the court for the fifth time.

    The Court President, Mr Adegboyega Omilola, told the woman to maintain the peace and ordered the bailiff to re-serve the respondent another summons.

    He adjourned the case till today.

  • Gunmen kill three policemen, others in bank raid

    Gunmen kill three policemen, others in bank raid

    It was like a movie scene. Gun-totting robbers dressed in military camouflage invaded yesterday a First City Monument Bank (FCMB) branch in Lekki, Lagos, shooting sporadically.

    Customers, motorists and road side vendors scampered for safety.

    The robbers trained their guns on a police van parked beside the bank.

    The policemen fought back, but three of them were killed.

    Police spokesman, Ken Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed casualty figure, but eyewitness said no fewer than eight persons, including the policemen, and a banker were killed.

    Many motorists abandoned their vehicles on the Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge for dear life during the gun battle between the police and the robbers around 5pm.

    The robbers were said to have entered the bank, held customers hostage and carted away a large sum of money.

    Eye witnesses said on their twitter handles that the gunmen came prepared and overwhelmed the police.

    One Akintayo Disa (Teeboy), who posted pictures of the robbers allegedly taken through his Hi Resolution Canon EOS 1100D, claimed that they escaped through the waterways.

    He said the gunmen left after shooting sporadically for over 10 minutes and holding people hostage

    “The armed men, he added, shot someone around the waterfront.

    He said: “It appeared somebody got ‘whacked’. Crowd gathered around the waterfront. “The guys came prepared.  Car to car assassination taking place at Lekki 1, Road 14 Junction.”

    An eyewitness, told our correspondent on the phone that the robbers raided a bank at Lekki Phase 1 and attempted to escape through the link bridge to Ikoyi when they encountered policemen.

    Another witness, Ijeoma Okolie whose office is a few metres from the bank, said more than three people were killed.

    She said the robbers escaped in a speed boat after the bank operation.

    “It happened around 4:50pm or 4:55pm. We have closed for the day but we wasted about three minutes before leaving. It was while we were still waiting that we started hearing gunshots. So, we did not leave again.

    “It was terrible. The armed robbers were just shooting anyhow. They killed three policemen and one other person. They took their time and it seems they have studied the area very well because they just jumped into a boat and left.

    “The attack caused serious traffic on the road because most people abandoned their vehicles and ran for safety. So, for the robbers to have left through the water, it means they planned their movement thoroughly, “she said.

    One Oludayo said about four policemen and three civilians were killed by the robbers whose number he gave as 12.

    The civilian casualty, he said, included a member of staff of the bank, a nearby fish seller and a passerby.

    One Rose-Mary Motunrayo, who said she passed through the road more than an hour after the incident, described it as “really bad”, adding: “May God continue to help us.”

    But FCMB’s spokesperson, Louis Ibe said he was not aware of any attack when The Nation contacted him on telephone.

    Nwosu said the robbers sustained gunshot wounds, appealing to the public to report anyone with such injuries.

    He said the Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, had visited the scene, adding that investigations are on.

  • Don’t retaliate, NURTW chief warns

    Don’t retaliate, NURTW chief warns

    Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede yesterday appealed to members not to take the law into their hands over the killing of the Oyingbo branch Vice Chairman Babajide Dosunmu, popularly called Mados.

    Mados was killed by unknown gunmen last Tuesday night in front of his Queen’s Sreet, Alagomeji, Ebute Meta, Lagos Mainland home.

    Agbede, who is attending the delegates’ conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja, urged the police to bring the culprits to book.

    He said: “I appeal to our members in Oyingbo to remain calm and cooperate with law enforcement agencies. You have to be very careful the way you handle the situation because violent reactions will not be tolerated. There is tension in the land already and I don’t want our members to be involved in any activity that may tarnish the image of the union,” he said.

  • Synagogue collapse: Group cautions on witch hunt

    Synagogue collapse: Group cautions on witch hunt

    The Yoruba Youth Liberation Movement (YYLM) has cautioned the authorities on the need for restraint in meting out judgment to the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Pastor Temitope Joshua, over the collapse the church’s guest house last September.

    President of the YYLM, Michael Oluwafisayo, who spoke in Lagos, expressed dismay at what he called the lopsided manner the litigation that arose from the building collapse had been handled.

    “After our series of independent assessment of the situation, we found it unacceptable that certain people have resorted to acts of apportioning blames even before the coroner’s inquest is completed,” Oluwafisayo said.

    “We reckoned the sadness of the unfortunate event and accordingly grieved with the Man of God afterwards. But there is no doubt that it is most proper that the right authorities are allowed to carry out their investigation without any hindrance whatsoever,” he added.

    The YYLM leader said the youth group had since commiserated with Joshua and the families of the victims of the collapsed building, adding that, this time called for sober reflection with a view to ensuring such incident was avoided in future.

  • Cleaner gets N20,000 pay rise for returning N12m cash

    Cleaner gets N20,000 pay rise for returning N12m cash

    For her honesty, a cleaner who returned the N12million cash she found in a toilet, has got a N20, 000 pay rise. Miss Josephine Agwu was on a salary of N7,500 monthly before the raise.

    She was also promoted a supervisor by Patovilki Industrial Planners Limited, the company handling cleaning services at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos. The cash was in local and foreign currencies.

    At a ceremony at the company’s corporate headquarters at 1, Willy Ikolodo Close, Gbagada, the managing Director, Mrs Rosemary Moji Ikolodo thanked Miss Agwu for returning the cash.

    “She discovered the cash while cleaning the toilet in the airport and returned them. She has done the company proud,” Mrs Ikolodo said.

    She said the company has no option than to reward her in its little way by promoting her to supervisor cadre and increase her salary to N20, 000 monthly.

    Mrs Ikolodo said the company would have done more but had to act in line with existing structure for its workers at the airport.

    She said: “Today we are celebrating good conduct which we have known her for.  One of us has done us proud in Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. While on duty, she discovered a huge amount of money (N12 million) left behind by a passenger in the airport toilet and she, in accordance with the training we give, returned the money to the security.

    “For this conduct, an act of honesty, the company has no option than to reward Miss Josephine Agwu in our little way for doing us proud. She is hereby promoted to the supervisor cadre on a monthly salary of N20, 000 with immediate effect. We would have done more, but we are working within the contract we have with our client. That is the salary we pay our supervisors in the airport.”

    In her response, Miss Agwu thanked her employer for appreciating her conduct. She said her training and her background had always helped her to be of good conduct everywhere.

    She promised to always be a good ambassador of her family and the company.

    “I thank the management of Patovilki Industrial Planners Limited for rewarding me for my conduct in the airport with promotion and salary increase. What I did was the outcome of the training and orientation I received from my family and this company. I am very grateful for this honour. I promise to be a good ambassador of my family and the company for the rest of my life,” Miss Agwu said.

  • Woman held for ‘concealing heroin’ in private parts

    Woman held for ‘concealing heroin’ in private parts

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a single mother, Juliet Onyinye Aladi, for allegedly concealing 430 grammes of heroin in her private parts to avoid arrest. She was arrested on Wednesday at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos during the inward screening of passengers on an Emirate flight.

    Her arrest was facilitated with the aid of scanning machines.

    NDLEA Airport Commander Hamza Umar said yesterday: “During the inward screening of Emirate passengers, one Juliet Onyinye Aladi tested positive for narcotic ingestion. While under observation, the drug was subsequently expelled, field-tested and weighed.”

    Preliminary investigation by NDLEA showed that the 31-year-old suspect, who is based in Aba, Abia State, was returning from Pakistan where she was given the drug. She was said to have established link with some Pakistani drug traffickers who sponsored her trip in collaboration with some local accomplices.

    In her statement, the suspect said she took to drug trafficking to settle her bills.

    She said: “I am a single mother and I need money to take care of myself and child. I used to sell clothes but the profit is inadequate to sustain my family. I would have earned half a million naira to pay for my rent and my child’s school fees if I had succeeded in bringing the drug. They paid for my return ticket and hotel accommodation. While in my hotel room, a Pakistani woman came to give me the drug. She also instructed me to conceal it in my private parts to avoid arrest. Unfortunately, the NDLEA officers detected it.”

  • Union leader killed at home

    Union leader killed at home

    OYINGBO, Lagos Mainland, erupted in violence on Tuesday night, following the killing of a National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) leader, Babajide Dosunmu, by unknown people, in his home.

    NURTW members, Traders and passersby ran helter-skelter as factional NURTW members clashed, accusing one another of the killing.

    Dosunmu, popularly known as Madus was killed in his Queen Street, Alagomeji home.

    Madus, was said to have told his wife some weeks ago that two NURTW members hadthreatened to kill him.

    The men were arrested by the police, but released after Madus was prevailed upon to withdraw his complaint.

    Many were injured before the police restored normalcy yesterday.

    Oyingbo market was a shadow of itself. Shops were locked; commercial bus operators ran skeletal service. People milled, discussing the incident.

    Police vans were stationed in the market.

    At the Denton Police Station, an officer said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was not around. He directed our reporter to a senior officer.

    “That is the officer that you will meet; he will tell you what happened,” he said.

    The officer was seen rushing out to see the visiting Area Commander.

    “You can wait for him,” said the officer.

    On his returned, he said he knew nothing about of the incident.

    “I don’t know what happen,” the officer said.

    Some of the traders told The Nation that Madus was killed in his house.

    “He wasn’t killed inside this market. They attacked and killed him near his residence on his way home. The crisis then spilled over to this place,” the trader said.

    Another trader told The Nation that the late Madus was their leader.

    “Traders decided to make him a leader due to his kind nature. He has done a lot for both commercial bus drivers and traders. He was a nice man, helping people to secure jobs,” the trader said.

    To the widow, the incident is still like a dream.

    In the midst of sympathisers in their sitting room, Mrs Dosunmu said: “I don’t know what to say… somebody came to call me last night that some people are fighting my husband downstairs. I quickly followed him; by the time we reached the compound, we saw him in a pool of his own blood, lifeless. We quickly rushed him down to a hospital at Railway Station; it was there the doctor confirmed that he was dead. We thought of taking him to the mortuary but because we have decided to bury him today, we brought his remains home and this morning we buried him. We just returned home not quite long,” she said.

    Mrs Dosunmu said her husband’s remains were interred at his house in Ikorodu, Lagos.

  • Five injured as inferno guts paints factory

    Five injured as inferno guts paints factory

    FIRE swept through a paint factory in Lagos yesterday, destroying multibillionaire properties.

    The fire was still raging as at 10pm yesterday.

    Some people were said to have died in the inferno; but it was confirmed that five were injured.

    The inferno started around 1pm at Fine Coat Paints in Abule Egba on the Lagos Abeokuta Expressway.

    The five water trucks they brought were exhausted as the fire raged.

    Names of some of the victims were given as Efunniyi Tope, Idowu Folorunsho, Tunde. They were said to have been rushed to Orile-Agege General Hospital. Some were transferred to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

    It was gathered that the victims suffered suffocation and were resuscitated by rescuers before being rushed to the hospitals

    The cause of the fire could not be ascertained.

    Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) General Manager  Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu said investigation would be conducted into the cause of the fire.

    He said no life was lost, adding that the value of property damaged has not been ascertained.

    Osanyintolu said the fire has been limited to the affected areas to avoid its spread.

    Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Rasaq Fadipe, who described the inferno as massive, said the agency also attended to two other fires.

    According to him, fire gutted Drive Hotel at Otubu in Agege, Lagos, and a building at Salem street, Lekki roundabout.

  • Lagos residents count losses after windstorm

    Lagos residents count losses after windstorm

    There was calm in Orile-Agege in Lagos yesterday after the windstorm which destroyed properties worth millions of naira.

    Residents went about the arduous task of recovering personal effects from the debris of their homes.

    Most of the affected buildings were being repaired; fallen, destroyed; some residents were cleaning their apartments.

    The Nation gathered that no fewer than 20 buildings across five streets were hit.

    The storm, residents said struck about 4pm, when it was raining. Many said it was the first time they are witnessing such a thing.

    A woman, Mrs Abimbola Mordi whose apartment at 27, Opeolu Street was affected said she was shocked when water started entering her flat.

    She explained that she was outside with her child when the strange breeze started blowing and she rushed back inside the house.

    “I did not even know what was happening.  I only heard a strange sound and the next thing, breeze started. It did not last up to 10 minutes. I rushed inside the house and it was then that I saw my ceiling coming down.

    “We started packing our things so that rain won’t spoil them. You can see that our ceilings have pulled out. If rain falls now, water will flood our house.

    “The zinc and roofs have all been removed. And I cannot afford the money to repair it.  This is beyond my power.”

    A civil servant, who runs a lesson in the neighbourhood, said the storm pulled down his building completely.

    He said he was grateful to God that none of the about 20 pupils who were in the premises were injured.

    “You can see that I have called a bricklayer to come and commence work to avoid a situation where people will encroach on my property.

    “The windstorm was severe. Even this building (pointing at a storey-building) was shaking. There was heavy thunderstorm too, but the rain was not much. It didn’t last for more than 15 minutes and affected about four streets”

    Also affected was the Assemblies of God Church, which was uprooted and planted in another compound destroying.

    At the Gee Dee Montessori, an electric pole was uprooted; it destroyed the roof and balcony railings of the school.

    Mary Okpara, a teacher, said the storm started few minutes after the pupils left.

    She said she was still on the street, walking to her house when zinc and roofs “started flying”.

    According to her, several naked wires fell on the streets but were later removed by PHCN officials who came as soon as they were called.

    She said classes had resumed, adding that the pupils were moved to unaffected classrooms.

    When contacted, the Southwest spokesman of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Ibrahim Farinloye said the number of affected buildings have not been ascertained by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).

     

  • I rob the rich, says suspected robber

    I rob the rich, says suspected robber

    He was hired as an interior designer, but he used his insider knowledge to get his clients’ homes robbed.

    Mustapha Akeem, 20, gave information to his colleagues who carried out the operation.

    Paraded by the Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on Monday, Akeem from Laturo Village in Ogun State said he was driven into robbery by covetousness. He said he saw large amount of money, expensive phones, laptops and jewellery in the houses where he worked, adding: “I had no choice than to tell my friends who lured me into robbery. We usually return to those houses and rob them,” he said.

    According to the police, Akeem’s parents have been on the lookout for him. They were not aware he is a member of a robbery gang until he was arrested.

    Akeem said: “My parents abandoned me when I was little so I had no other option than to live with my grandmother who resides at Bariga in Lagos. I had my primary and secondary education in Lagos but I was expelled in class three because I was among those who fought with a neighbouring school in 2007. I learnt how to barb for one-and-a-half years but since there was no money to have a shop, I learnt interior design (POP).

    “My first operation was with Sulaiman and Segun at Odunsi, Bariga in June 2013 at 8pm. Sulaiman makes use of a gun since he is our gang leader. We collected N20, 000 and three phones. Our victim was a recharge card seller. We collected N50, 000 in front of her house. We used machete to cut her chain and sold it for N40, 000 while I was given N20, 000. We also robbed people at Onipe and Ayedun streets, Bariga and collected N50, 000 and N80, 000.

    “It is not only the streets we rob. At times, when I am called to design houses, I steal from them. Our fourth operation at Emmanuel Street, we got one phone and one chain which we sold for N7, 000 and N20, 000 respectively. The fifth operation was at Bello Street where we collected N30, 000 and two phones. The sixth operation was at Bamidi Lawal Street where we collected N80, 000 and a chain.

    “We know those to rob from what they wear, the jewellery they use and the handbag they carry. I was arrested during our last operation by Bariga policemen. Sulaiman was killed by the policemen when he tried to escape while Segun escaped with our N50, 000.”