The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Policeman ‘kills’ contractor in Lagos

    Policeman ‘kills’ contractor in Lagos

    A 33-year-old building contractor, Oyoma Edewor, has allegedly met his gruesome death in the hands of a police sergeant in Lagos. The policeman with Force Number 355272 is attached to the Area ‘E’ Command, Festac Town.

    The incident, which occurred last Saturday night at the Third Gate, Festac Town, was said to have been perpetrated by a drunk policeman identified as Sergeant Otene Goodwin.

    Sources said the deceased, who was in company of his friends, was dragged out of his Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) that was being towed and shot by the policeman when he tried to affirm his right.

    It was alleged that Oyoma, owner of the SUV, had an accident with the vehicle around Lekki and had to get a towing van to move the vehicle to his Festac home.

    On getting to Festac, it was learnt that the policemen tried to stop the towing van, but its driver refused the police order.

    When the policemen pursued the van, the driver fled, leaving the deceased and his friends to handle the situation.

    Angered by the driver’s action, the policemen allegedly forced Oyoma and his friends out of their vehicles, beat them up and ordered them sit on bare ground.

    The deceased, who could not comprehend why they were being maltreated for committing no offence, was said to have drawn the officers’ attention to the fact that he was helpless since he was being towed by the van and could not stop.

    But Otene, who was said to have been drunk and off-duty, allegedly shot Oyema, who died on the spot.

    After allegedly committing the offence, all the three policemen fled the scene, fearing that a mob could attack them.

    Passersby who identified the deceased as a resident of the area reported the matter to the police after which the suspect was detained.

    A friend to the deceased, who was identified as Manuwa, while expressing his anger over Oyoma’s death, felt frustrated that the police was “twisting the story.”

    He berated the police for claiming that it was the van’s driver that was shot, adding that he was pained that the police wasted another innocent blood.

    Manuwa said: “Someone I grew up with was killed by the police. He was raised in Festac and was killed in Festac by the same people who swore to protect us. They were asked to sit on the floor which they did. While explaining to the officers what had happened, one of them opened fire on Oyoma.

    “A crowd got involved. The policeman said he suspected that Oyoma stole the vehicle. If you know Festac, you would know it is a small community. Passersby identified him as an innocent citizen. When the police realised a mob was growing, they fled the scene.

    “The word spreading now is that the policeman was drunk and off-duty. This is not the first person being killed by the police. It is very sad that this is still happening. Oyoma cannot die in vain. Now they are claiming it is the van’s driver that was shot; that is a bloody lie. They shot Oyoma; he is not a van’s driver but a building finishing contractor.”

    A senior police officer at the command said Okoro was the one who rushed the man to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead by doctors following excessive bleeding.

    Otene, who is now in police custody, was arrested immediately after the incident by the Area E Commander, Dan Okoro, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) on the orders of the Commissioner of Police Alhaji Umar Manko.

    Police spokesperson Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), who confirmed the incident, said Otene had abandoned his duty post as the Station Guard at the Area ‘E’ Command and left for Alakija area where the unfortunate incident occurred.

    She said: “The sergeant is already in police custody and the circumstances surrounding the shooting incident are being investigated.”

    Braide added: “The Nigeria Police is a disciplined organisation and will not tolerate any act of indiscipline from its men and officers. The Commissioner of Police Umar A. Manko wishes to use this medium to appeal to the public to remain calm and maintain peace as justice will definitely be done. He also assures the deceased’s family that investigations will be concluded in good time.”

    During a condolence visit to the victim’s family, Manko, who was represented by Okoro, assured his family that their son’s killer was on his own and would face the full wrath of the law.

    He said: “We are assuring you that justice must be done. We won’t say because he is our own and cover him; no way! We must do the right thing and we will carry the family and the public along with our investigations”

  • Pa Ogundana goes home

    Pa Ogundana goes home

    PaJoseph Ibitoye Ogundana, a celebrated herbalist, has passed on in his Ifaki, Ekiti State home. He was 92. The late Ogundana, who was popularly known as “Baba Wa Bimo,” lived the greater part of his life in Ghana, where he fell in love with their language and lifestyle. The herbalist, according to his son and family spokesman, Olajide Ogundana, was survived by other children, grand-children and great grand-children. The late Ogundana, who has been buried in Ifaki, will be remembered by his children with a service at the Methodist Church, Ifaki on May 17.

  • Kidnap suspect burnt to death

    Kidnap suspect burnt to death

    A suspected kidnapper was yesterday set ablaze by a mob on Ekoro Road in the Abule Egba area of Lagos.

    The incident, which occurred around 7a.m, led to traffic gridlock on the road as motorists found it tough meandering through the crowd that thronged the scene of the incident.

    Eyewitnesses said the woman allegedly kidnapped three children on their way to school in the area. A bread seller, they said, raised the alarm as the suspect made to escape from the scene.

    The woman was said to have been beaten to a pulp before youths in the area hanged a tyre on her neck and set her ablaze with petrol. The Nation learnt that the woman was burnt completely before the arrival of policemen from nearby Oke-Odo Police Station.

    “We don’t want to give her the opportunity to secure freedom from police custody if she is arrested. You might call this jungle justice, but it remains the only way to discourage others like her from perpetrating sinful acts. We don’t want another Soka in our community,” said a resident who spoke in confidence with The Nation.

    A police source said that no arrest could be made because the identity of the person that set the woman ablaze was unknown.

    A man, who simply identified himself as Ikisa, said the three children were going to Army Children School in the area when the suspected kidnapper accosted them, pretending to be taking them to the school.

    “Somebody challenged her on the ownership of the children. She claimed the children belonged to her; they asked questions and discovered that the children were not hers. They beat her up and set her ablaze,” an eyewitness, Mauton Avose, said.

    Other sources said the woman came with a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), which she parked at a distance, while others said she wanted to take the children into a tricycle before she was caught and set ablaze.

    The police could not confirm if the woman’s SUV was taken to the station as claimed as sources at the Oke-Odo Police Station said its Divisional Police Officer was at a meeting when called for confirmation.

  • Fire guts mosque in Lagos

    Fire guts mosque in Lagos

    A popular mosque, Idera Oluwa, which is situated at the Marina car park on Lagos Island has been razed by fire. Property worth millions of naira was reportedly lost in the disaster.

    The Imam of the mosque, Mudashiru Folorunsho and other worshippers were said to be praying when the incident occurred.

    An eyewitness, Ismail Ahmed, said it was caused by a spark from one of the electrical power points, adding that the incident was immediately reported at the Lion Building from where operatives stormed the scene to put out the fire.

    Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the incident, adding: “The cause of fire and value of property damaged are yet to be ascertained. No life was lost and the case is under investigation at Lion Building Division.”

  • Fashola’s wife supports ailing Sofowote

    Fashola’s wife supports ailing Sofowote

    The of Lagos State, Dame Abimbola Fashola, has supported efforts to raise N35 million to save the life of Mrs. Motunlayo Adefunke Sofowote, founder/president of Glowing Channels Foundation, who is battling cervical cancer in a German hospital.

    She spoke at Freedom Park, Broad Street in Lagos, while opening a one-week photo exhibition organised to raise funds for her treatment.

    Mrs. Fashola said she was supporting the effort as chairman of the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO), an organisation  providing succour for needy children, women with breast and cervical cancer.

    Mrs Fashola said Mrs. Sofowote would not have been going through her bitter experiences if she had been going for yearly screening.

    “I do my screening every year; that was how the symptom of what could have become a debilitating case of cancer was detected years ago,” she said.

    Dr. Jemilade Longe, Director of Disease Control in the Lagos State Ministry of Health, who represented the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Leke Pitan, praised organisers of the exhibition, the Adefunke Sofowote Cancer-Fighting Fund Team, saying it is the most appropriate way to fight cancer.”

    Managing Partner of CEP Nigeria Ltd and immediate past president of Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Mr. Joseph Olusegun Ajanlekoko, described Mrs. Sofowote as a quintessential lady, adding:  “She is a charming personality; she epitomises womanhood. She is always concerned with helping the needy and making people laugh.”

    Leader of the Adefunke Sofowote Cancer-Fighting Fund Team, Dr. Lateef Adewale Ogunbadejo, said Mrs. Sofowote chose the theme of the exhibition: ‘She Lives On!’

  • Mushin mayhem: Arrested businessman sues police

    •Demands N100m compensation for ‘illegal’ arrest

    A Lagos-based businessman, Toba Ajiboye, who was arrested in connection with the recent mayhem that occurred in the Akala area of Mushin, has filed a N100 million suit against the police for allegedly violating his fundamental rights.

    The police arrested Ajiboye in his Surulere, Lagos home in connection with the latest crisis involving Akala boys in Mushin.

    Ajiboye, whose family filed an application on his behalf for the enforcement of his fundamental rights before Lagos High Court, Ikeja, was arrested “without a warrant” on April 24 and was allegedly brutalised.

    Joined in the suit are: Commissioner of Police, Lagos State and Ibrahim Alhassan, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), the Divisional Police Officer of Badagry Police Station.

    In his Motion on Notice, Ajiboye’s family including his wife, Mrs Nkem Ajiboye and his younger brother, Sulaiman Babajide, said that all efforts to see him since he was arrested failed, until a Lagos lawyer and rights activist, Mr. Nurudeen Ogbara took over his case and traced him to Badagry, where he was allegedly detained.

    However, in an affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Ajiboye’s wife, the family said that despite the fact that their breadwinner was traced to Badagry Police Station, he was not allowed to meet with his lawyer, Ogbara or any member of his family.

    They are, therefore, asking the court to declare that Ajiboye’s arrest without warrant and continued detention in Badagry since April 24, without disclosing any offence against him and without trial is illegal and unconstitutional.

    The family is praying the court for an order compelling the police to release him. They are also asking seeking a mandatory order, compelling the 1st respondent (police commissioner) to ensure “that the N1 million carted away by the agents of the first respondent from the house of the applicant on Thursday April 24, 2014, when they invaded the place and whisked the applicant away be refunded to the applicant forthwith.”   He also demanded compensation of N100 million against the respondents jointly and severally for his “illegal and unconstitutional violation of his fundamental rights, as well as an apology in two national newspapers.

    The family claimed it did not know its breadwinner is dead or alive, stressing that the police had denied Ajiboye’s relatives and the lawyer, an access to him.

    Mrs Ajiboye also alleged that before her husband was arrested by the police, they beat him up with the support of some hoodlums who allegedly attacked him, “with all sort of weapons, including broken bottles which they actually aimed at his neck.”

    Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Ngozi Braide did not respond to calls put across to her; neither did she reply the text message sent to her.

    A date is yet to be fixed for the hearing of the application.

  • Doctor held for expectant mother’s death

    The police have arrested an alleged quack doctor, Adesina Sulaimon, over the death of a 36-year-old expectant mother in Lagos.

    The woman, Mrs Agnes Olajorin, 36, allegedly died in his hospital where she had gone for the delivery of her baby.

    The hospital, which is located in the Majoda area of Ikorodu on the outskirts of Lagos, has been sealed up by the police pending the conclusion of investigations.

    It was gathered that the late Mrs Olajorin, while in labour, was rushed to the clinic by relatives and neighbours last Friday.

    Sources said she developed some complications during delivery and bled to death while the doctor remained helpless.

    Suspecting that Sulaimon was unprofessional in his conduct, the woman’s relations were said to have invited the police, who later discovered that he was not qualified to practise.

    A police source said: “The hospital was searched and the doctor could not provide the certificate of its registration and his own qualification certificate. He just opened the place on his own and started treating people.”

    The state police command’s spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), who confirmed the incident, said the suspect had been arrested. She said that detectives at the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID) are investigating the case.

    Braide said: “On May 2, about 8.30pm, a pregnant woman, Agnes Olajorin, allegedly died with her baby in the hands of Adesina Sulaimon, a quack doctor and owner of an illegal clinic in the Majoda area of Ikorodu during delivery. The case was reported and the doctor was arrested. The woman’s remains have been deposited at the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary for autopsy and investigation is ongoing”.

  • Cynthia: ‘Suspects committed similar offences in two hotels’

    Cynthia: ‘Suspects committed similar offences in two hotels’

    •Lagos tenders graphic evidence

    A Lagos High Court, Igbosere, was yesterday told that the suspected killers of Cynthia Osokogu had committed similar offences in two other hotels in Festac.

    A prosecution witness, Joseph Edo, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), during cross-examination in the trial of four suspected killers of the deceased, said the other two offences were committed at Chelsea Suit and Penny Hotel by Okumo Nwabufo and Olisaeloka Ejike (first and second defendants).

    The other two defendants in the trial are the pharmacist who allegedly sold the drug used to drug the deceased, Orji Osita, and brother to the second defendant, who allegedly sold Cynthia’s stolen phone, Nonso Ezike.

    Explaining why the other cases were not included in the trial, Edo said the incidents did not happen on the same day, adding: “It was based on the confessional statement by the 1st and 2nd defendants that they carried out similar acts in other hotels in Festac.”

    He said investigations into the other two cases were ongoing, adding that the fourth defendant (Nonso) received stolen phones on three occasions from the first and second defendants.

    “The fourth defendant took me to Ladipo market where he stole somebody’s receipt which he used in selling the deceased’s phone to someone in Port Harcourt and the person was arrested. He bought the phone for N30,000 and sold for N40,000. He also knows that his elder brother does not deal in phone. He confessed that he gave the locked phone to a repairer who flashed it for him,” Edo said.

    Similarly, the state government tendered a laptop containing graphic evidence on how Cynthia was murdered.

    The laptop, which allegedly belongs to Nwabufo, according to another prosecution witness, Sergeant John Babalola, was retrieved from the defendant after he confessed to downloading gory pictures of the deceased from his Blackberry phone into his laptop.

    Among the pictures presented before Justice Olabisi Akinlade was a close shot of the deceased’s private part; one showing the deceased cellotaped and another showing the late Cynthia’s international passport placed on her chest.

    Led in evidence by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, Babalola told the court that Nwabufo was told to make a further statement after the said pictures were discovered in his laptop in his house.

    “After we discovered the pictures, Area Commander Dan Okoro asked that additional statements be made. The statement was signed by the first defendant. When the first defendant was arrested, he confessed that he knew what he did and that everything was over.

    “He sent the pictures to his laptop through his Blackberry phone. The first defendant operated the Blackberry phone to show us (police) the chain used in tying the deceased. The owner of the phone is the first defendant,” said Babalola.

    Continuing, the witness said on August 20, 2012, the first defendant was arrested and his statement was taken.

    “Based on his confessional statement, me and my team followed him to his home in Festac and recovered the said laptop, phones and various network SIM cards.

    “On that same date, the first defendant was asked to open the laptop, which he carried by himself to the Area Commander’s office. I and one ASP Marian were there and we saw the picture of the deceased lying down and her international passport lying on her chest.”

    After listening to the testimonies of the witness and admitting the laptop as exhibit, Justice Akinlade adjourned the case till June 27 and 30 for continuation, following the prosecution’s argument that they would operate Nwabufo’s phone before the defence counsels.

    Osokogu, who was murdered in Cosmilla Hotels in Festac on July 22, 2012, was said to have met her alleged killers on Facebook.

    She was lured to Lagos, where she was allegedly chained, raped, and drugged and strangled by Nwabufo and Ezike.

    They also allegedly stole three Blackberry phones valued at N150,000; jewellery, an international passport and a driver’s licence, belonging to the deceased.

  • Woman, others held for dealing in human parts

    Woman, others held for dealing in human parts

    •Heads, intestine, flesh, bones recovered

    Four suspected human parts dealers have been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command.

    The suspects, including a 53-year-old mother of three, Sukuratu Salami, were arrested in Joju, Ota, Ado-Odo Local Government Area with fresh human parts.

    Salami, a herbs seller at a popular market in Joju, is said to be a “big distributor of human parts with many native doctors, businessmen and politicians as customers”.

    Her suspected accomplices, Rasheed Abimbola Tantaloun (55) and Waheed Ibrahim (26) are supervisors and grave diggers in a cemetery at joju. One of their suspected customers, Mohammed Yusuf (46), was also arrested.

    Sukuratu said she buys from Tantaloun for between N1,000 and N10,000, depending on the nature of the head, and sells for between N10,000 and N20,000. She explained that if the human skull has a crack, she buys for N1,000 because it is usually difficult to sell, adding that if it is okay, she buys for between N8,000 and N10,000.

    Tantaloun told The Nation that he is a supervisor at the cemetery which he was given to manage by the community that owns it. He said he had been working there for over five years, adding: “I sell human heads and other parts to Sukuratu. I am the manager of the cemetery at Joju and whenever she makes her request, I will make the parts available. I sell human head to her for N8,000 and have only sold to her on five occasions.”

    His grave digger, Ibrahim, who is also an Islamic cleric who teaches in one Islamic school in Ogun State, said he does the job on part-time basis, adding that he gets N3,000 for each head and other parts that he digs out for Tantaloun, but that he does not know who he sells it to.

    “All the human heads that I cut are those that have been buried for over four years and members of their families no longer come to visit the grave site. I cut the head and other parts that my boss would need and put them in a bag for him, but I do not know where he takes it to or whom he sells it to,” he said.

    Lagos Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko said the command acted sequel to a tip-off on the activities of some groups who deal in human parts in Joju, adding: “I directed the Officer in Charge of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP) to go after them.

    He said: “On April 12, a SARS detective posed as a prospective buyer of human head and negotiated to buy one for N120,000. Immediately after the operative gained access to the seller, one Sukuratu Salami and confirmed the existence of human parts in her house, Kyari led SARS Decoy Team to storm the house and arrested Salami.”

    “Thereafter, Abimbola Tantoloun, a cemetery guard; Waheed Ibrahim, grave digger and Mohammed Yusuf, a major buyer of human heads, were arrested.

    A thorough search was conducted in Sukuratu’s house leading to the recovery of human head, intestine, liver, kidney, flesh and bones. All the suspects confessed to the crime and are assisting detectives with their investigations,” Manko said.

  • I’m dying, helpless patient cries out

    I’m dying, helpless patient cries out

    Sure, not a few would mistake her for an expectant mother, but she is not. In excruciating pains, Grace Adebayo, 31, has since 2000, carried in her womb, a pernicious ovarian growth that has made life a nightmare for her.

    Her predicament started that year. She was in Lagos in search of greener pastures after completing her Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE), at the Iddo Community High School, Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

    Being the last among the six children of her parents, she was staying with her first brother, a cleric at the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Ajah. Suddenly, she felt a strange swelling in her stomach and her siblings took her to Mainland General Hospital, Marina, Lagos. From there, she was referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba.

    After screening and diagnostic assessments, it was discovered that she had an ovarian tumor which could only be removed through what is known in medical parlance as Fxp Laparotomy- Cytoreduction. Doctors also said she would undergo General Anesthesia (GA).

    Then, all she needed to get well was N135, 000 which her family could not raise. Then in 2003, she was compelled to return to her Ile Agbede-Adodo, Ibadan home to try if she could raise it. The move yielded no fruits as her cash-strapped kith and kin lacked the financial muscle to help her out.

    Not ready to resign to fate, Grace turned to churches; visited Imams, Alfas, herbalists and other trado-medical practitioners, in desperation for a way out of her predicament. Rather than get the desired relief, her case deteriorated.

    All she could do to raise the needed fund was to learn sewing. It did not work.

    In 2003, her mother, Mrs Maria Adebayo, a widow, sold some personal valuables to raise the money to send her back to LUTH. Sadly, the cost of treatment and other administrative fees had soared. And all she had on her was a far cry from what she needed.

    She was told that within the period of four years, the tumor had grown worse; therefore, before she could undergo the surgery, the tumor would need to be further investigated – at a cost.

    Her admission for each week, it was said, would cost N23, 600, besides N20, 000 per week till she would recover and be discharged. She would also need some pints of blood apart from investigation fees, it was said.

    Being at a loss for how to raise the money, her hope crashed. “I became confused in hopelessness. I almost fainted. Now, I’m dying,” Grace said.

    With full knowledge of the financial situation of the home-front in Ibadan, going back there was not an option. She has, therefore, resorted to sleeping in and outside the hospital, churches and in neighbouring streets.

    The need for survival has forced her to dip her hands into the money initially raised for her treatment. Now, out of desperation, she has turned to the Corporate Department of the hospital for assistance through its Head, Mrs Hope Nwaowolo, who has appealed to well-meaning Nigerians and corporate bodies to help her get the sought succour.

    All she needs now is N400,000. “There is nothing else left for me to sell to take care of my dying daughter. Nigerians should please help me; this is beyond me,” sobbing, her mother pleaded yesterday.

    Any Good Samaritan, the hospital said, could approach its Corporate Department or pay into the hospital’s retainer’s account: Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Idi-Araba Branch with account number: 0007427021 (Sort Code: 032154645).