The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • Ways of poisoning

    Didn’t your mama say: never sleep with a stranger? Imagine a dark-minded bedmate with a straw, blowing some powder up your nostril or pumping some stuff down your ear when you are in deep sleep.  And if you snore with your mouth open, what luck for the poisoner.

    Poisons can be added to food or drink and the color, taste, or texture of the poison can be masked if the food has a strong taste or color, or if the food is well chopped up or inconsistent in look.  Volatile, colorless, odorless poisons can be introduced into the air in a room, car, or other enclosures. Volatile poisons with a scent can be masked by the scent of an air freshener.  Some poisons can be put on clothing, shoes, or on anything worn on the skin.  Colorless, odorless poisons can be sprayed in cups or on plates and utensils. It is said that King Charles IX was poisoned by licking his finger to turn the pages of a book not knowing that the pages were coated with arsenic.  In modern times, newspapers and letters have been delivered to victims with ricin, anthrax bacteria or other inclusions in their pages.

    The ancient Romans carried poison in their finger rings.  Assassins have been known to poison fruits in a person’s garden.  It is believed that Emperor Augustus was poisoned by the figs grown in his own garden. Flowers used to make scents to be worn by the privileged were poisoned.

    It is rumored that Pope Clement VII was killed by fumes from a poisoned torch. Clothing items were impregnated with arsenic or cantharides. Cups were coated with arsenic.  In 1978, Jim Jones, founder of Peoples Temple, caused a mass suicide of 909 members with a drink containing cyanide.

     

    In present times, your enemy may stalk your maid at the supermarket to inject poison into some food in her shopping cart when she is busy selecting something from a shelf.  Your neighbor may drill a tiny hole through the wall to supply your air with something.  So there are various ways that one could be poisoned.  Did your mama teach you to pray before meals? Well, you do need to pray all the time because, you never know.

    You may think: what is the world coming to?  No, the world has always been a battle between good and evil. At various eras, one prevailed, depending on how civilized or uncivilized humans became.

    There are many substances that are recognized as poisons. One list is from the 14C author Petri de Abano’s work De RemedisVenenorum: mercury, gypsum, copper,iron, rust, magnetite, lapis lazuli, arsenic sublimate, litharge,lead, realgar, cateputria, cucumber, usnea, coriander, hellebore, mezereon, fool’s parsley, bryony, nux vomica, colocynth, laurel berries, cicuta, serpentary, and cantharides.   Another historical writer Magister Santes de Ardoynis in his Book of Venoms mentions: arsenic, aconite, hellebore, laurel, opium,bryony, mandrake, cantharides, leopard’s gall, cat’s brains, and menstrual blood as poisons.

    Thus from various writings over the centuries we have a list of substances that are generally labeled as poisons.  This list is very long and includes (in alphabetical order): acetanilide (antifebrin) , acids that are corrosive (flesh eating); aconite; alkalis that are corrosive, alcohol,  ammonia, arsenic, atropine, barbiturates, barium, camphor, cantharides, carbolic acid, carbon monoxide, chloral, chloroform, cocaine, colchicum, conium, copper, corrosive sublimate, croton oil, digitalis, ergot, gelsemium, hydrocyanic acid, iodine, lead, lobelia, mercuric salts, nitric acid, nitroglycerin, opium, oxalic acid, Paris green, phenol, phenacetin, phosphorus, physostigmine, picrotoxin, strophanthus, strychnine, sulfonal, trional , tansy oil, tartar emetic, tobacco, veratrumviride, zinc salts.Some of these substances are medications, e.g. barbiturates used as sedatives but which can dangerously depress breathing and physostigmine(from Nigerian Calabar beans) used as an eye medication.

    Others are substances we use at home such as camphor, or consume such as alcohol, or are that are byproducts of our machines, e.g. carbon monoxide from electricity generators, or components of household items, e.g. mercury from thermometers and lead from pencils, or various chemicals from cleaning agents.  Next we will look at poisoning in day-to-day exposures and some specific antidotes.

    Dr. ‘Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA.   For any comments or questions on this column, please email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 08160944635

  • OGBENI AREGBESOLA: Repair Odogbo-Eti Oni-Ilesa Road

    OGBENI AREGBESOLA: Repair Odogbo-Eti Oni-Ilesa Road

    This is to inform Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State that the people of Odogbo and Eti Oni in the state are suffering.

    What is causing their suffering is the bad condition of the road that links the two communities to Ilesa. The road has been in a bad state for the past 20years.

    We are experiencing many hardships when we are making use of the road. People are running away from the communities as a result of the impassable condition of the road.

    As Governor Aregbesola continues to develop Osun State, he should not forget this road. The people of the two communities are his supporters. We are solidly behind his party and government.

    We are expecting the hard-working governor to do something urgently on the road. It is giving us a lot of concern.

     

    Olusegun  Gabriel,

  • Managing your home (1)

    Managing your home (1)

    Dear Reader, it is with great joy that I welcome you to this life-transforming and inspiring teaching via the Word of God.  It is my prayer that at the end of this teaching, your life and family shall be transformed to the glory of God in Jesus’ name! This month, I will be sharing with you on Managing Your Home.

    God made the human family an unbeatable team and established them as gods on the earth; but because Adam failed in family management, he lost control and was sent out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23). May you not be sent out of your place of destiny, in Jesus’ name. This is why this week, I will be sharing on Man’s Placement in the Home.

    Your placement in the kingdom of God, as a man, is determined by how well you rule your home.  If you cannot rule your house well, God will not allow you to rule His church, because He knows that you will not succeed at it. See what the Bible says about those to take up responsibilities in the Church. One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? (I Timothy 3:4-5). Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well (I Timothy 3:12).

    If you can’t rule your house well, there is a limit to how far you can go in the things of God.  This same truth is repeated twice in the same chapter, showing its importance.  How well do you rule your home?

    To rule the home well, the man must be a loving leader, not a taskmaster.  Love is a necessary ingredient that a man must possess for effective leadership.  Christ rules the Church with the rod of love.  For the man to succeed, he must rule his home with the same rod. In fact, it is a scriptural commandment for the man to love his wife, as Christ loves the Church (Ephesians 5:25).

    Remember, Christ loves the Church and gave Himself for us, even while we were yet sinners.  Did I hear you say, “But I am not Jesus Christ?” God’s Word says: I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works… (John 14:12, NLT). So, if you are a follower of Christ and believes in His ministry, then you must also love your wife sacrificially, unconditionally and limitlessly.

    Don’t forget, love is not love until it is expressed. Therefore, to sincerely show that you love your wife, express it to her in words and in deed. When you demonstrate your love to your wife, you will be able to govern your home with ease.

    Clearly, if you must not suffer the kind of dethronement Adam suffered, you must have your home directly under your control. If your family fails, it is your fault and you will be held responsible by God. Even though God knew that it was the devil that deceived Adam and Eve, and gave them the fruit, which Eve ate before Adam, yet it was Adam that God called upon (Genesis 3:9).  Why?  Because God had already committed the management of the home into his hand.  The management of your home shall not fail, in Jesus’ name!

    God’s Word says: For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning… (Romans 15:4).  That is, in order not to make the kind of mistake Adam made, so that you do not suffer what he suffered, ensure that there is no communication breakdown between you and every members of your family.

    However, it is not enough to rejoice at the great authority that God has vested in you, as the head of the home, but to live up to the responsibilities attached to it. This is because some men boast to be the head of the family, without being responsible for the success of anything in the home. Anything happening to the body is felt most by the head.

    Have you ever thought about this: you as a man occupy such a strategic position that can influence and determine what the lives of other family members will be like? Therefore, live up to expectation, so that Christ can be magnified, not only in your life, but in your home as well.  Don’t let God regret making you the head of the home!

    The grace of God is the utmost requirement to effectively manage your home. This grace is only available to you when you surrender your life to Christ. This is done by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. If you are ready for this new birth experience, please say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. I believe You died and rose on the third day. Forgive me of my sins.  Cleanse me with Your Precious Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour.  Now, I know I am a child of God.

     

    Congratulations! You are now born again! Till I come your way next time, please call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: Email: contact@faithoyedepo.org and Tel. No: 07026385437, 08141320204.

     

    For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building a Successful Family, The Effective Minister’s Wife, and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

  • GOVERNOR ELECHI: Give us electricity and fix our road

    GOVERNOR ELECHI: Give us electricity and fix our road

    I am calling a Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State to bail out the people of Ezza Ndiagu Ogbuinyagu in the Ezza North Local Government Area from their problems.

    We do not have electricity, and our major road is very bad. We have been living in darkness which has further created more problems for us.

    Motorists and other road users in the community have abandoned our only major road which runs from Ntezi to Ivo. We are not happy with this.

    To bring our problems to an end, Governor Elechi must swing into action by awarding contracts that will put our roads in good shape and provide electricity for us.

    All our neighbouring communities are enjoying dividends of democracy. We also need them. It is my hope that our governor will give us.

     

    Ezaka Abel, UNICAL.

  • Murder at dawn

    Murder at dawn

    Comrade Olalekan Lawal, a petroleum tanker driver was brutally murdered by suspected security operative for refusing to part with 500 naira. His remains had since been buried while members of his family and the Tankers Drivers Association are begging for justice. Taiwo Abiodun reports

    A tanker driver was shot dead for his refusal to cough out 500 naira allegedly demanded by a security officer attached to OPMESSA. The security officer in uniform allegedly brought out his rifle, corked it, at a close range pulled the trigger and shot the driver on his chest. The deafening sound disrupted the quiet night. The young man, Comrade Olalekan Lawal, immediately slumped as blood covered him all over.

    To cover up, the security officer, along with his colleagues, reportedly started shooting into the air to scare the deceased’s mates away. In a jiffy, the officers in uniform allegedly removed the pellets from the body of the fallen man apparently to prevent their being traced. Later, a mob gathered and angrily summoned courage to attack the security men who eventually fled the scene.  In their efforts to revive the driver and amidst the tension, none of the witnesses had the presence of mind to write down the registration number of the vehicle the OPMESSA operatives brought before they fled the scene.

    At the General Hospital, Isolo, in the course of The Nation ‘s investigation, the autopsy presented revealed that the victim was shot but the pellets that would have been embedded in him had been removed .

    The tragic event happened in the early morning of 25 April this year, precisely at 2am. The 34 year -old man, known as Comrade Lawal, had worked as a petroleum tanker for five years. He was said to have had a tall dream when he woke up the previous day, April 24. He was bubbling with enthusiasm and was with high hopes. He was preparing to host his friends and professional colleagues the following week for his birthday. He planned ahead, gave his wife money for it, and said goodbye to his three children and his wife who reside in Ibadan.  Little did he know that would be his last interaction with them.

    In the wee hours of April 25, his wife received a call that her husband was in the hospital. She was later told that he had been brutally murdered by a trigger-happy unknown security operative.

    According to  Comrade Tayo Aboyeji , the Zonal  Public Relations Officer  of the Petroleum Tankers Drivers Lagos Zonal Executive Council, ” I was called on that fateful morning around 2:30 am to tell me that one of the Operation MESSA  officers had shot dead one of our tanker drivers, Olalekan  Lawal, who refused to give them 500 naira  at the Coconut Park  along Apapa Road (Tin Can Island  Express Road).

    The deceased was said to have patiently waited for days until it was his turn to load the petroleum products and travel that night. However, after loading and on his way to his destination, a security officer from Operation MESSA  allegedly accosted him and asked  him to give  him some litres of petroleum for ‘testing’, according to their common parlance, meaning  he should pay 500 naira. This was said to be customary though illegitimate.

    The tanker driver, however, refused to pay. The security operative vowed to teach him a lesson for proving stubborn the officer opened fire and then shot him at a close range, hitting him on his chest while the sound attracted others. He fell down , but immediately he fell other soldiers were shooting sporadically into the air to scare sympathizes away.

    The fear, annoyance could not let anybody write down the number of the said vehicle while we could identify the assailant , it was the driver who was the next turn to the deceased on the line that saw all these and gave us the full details to  us. When the angry mob got  there  the soldiers had fled the place , While efforts were made to revive  him. He was taken to the Isolo General Hospital but before he got there, he had died.

    A rowdy riot and demonstration ensued but the personnel at the OPMESSA calmed us down and promised to dig into its root and fish out the culprit. We reported the case at the Trinity Police Station , Ajegunle -Apapa. From where we took the case to the the Naval office , NNS Beecroft. If I had not arrived that spot on that morning there could have been a riot.

    Since that Black day in April, everybody has been asking what could have made the assailant pumped hot lead into this young man’s heart?” For the family of the late Lekan and members of the Trailer Tankers Association, it has been a surprise that the officer who pulled the trigger has not been apprehended till now.

    Speaking to The Nations, his younger brother, Taiwo Samuel, who was drenched in tears, said “he was the family’s bread winner! His last child was three years old. He still has aged parents he was taking care of.

    Lekan’s corpse was later retrieved from the mortuary after an autopsy and he had  since been buried . His wife had gone to stay with her mother in a remote area in Ibadan because she said she would not be able to cope or live alone in the house the family were living before the death of her husband.

    Another cousin of the deceased, Saheed Samuel, said the news jolted them and hit them like thunderbolt. His words:” We all live in Ibadan and he comes to Apapa here to offload and drive his tanke,r not knowing this is what will end him. It is too bad for a man looking for his daily bread to be killed like that, it is bad. It is too sad .I was called to come to Lagos and appear before  his co-workers and comrades here to represent the family, for his wife and aged parents  cannot come”.

    The National PRO of the Petroleum Tankers Drivers (NUPENG branch), Comrade Atanda Adebayo fought back his tears and narrated how these security men used to force them to part with 500 naira, he said. Our member who was on his legitimate duty met his untimely death  when the officials of OP MESSA  shot him at a close range for  his refusal  to part with an  illegitimate fee of. 500naira, a practice which is common among the officials

    The National PRO also said ”We wish to bring  to the public notice, constant harassment ,brutalization  and extortion of our members by the officials of the Operation MESSA and the law enforcement agents , a situation which is already taken its tolls on us as a union.” He continued,” The circumstances leading to Olalekan’ s death was unfortunate  and unbearable to say the least. A situation whereby he was killed prematurely over a fee of 500 naira is disheartening and we want the government to take necessary steps to  arrest the situation.”

    Adebayo reminded the Lagos State government that the union had at several times alerted the government on the use of force by these law enforcement agents to extort money from them. He said:  On the number of occasions, we have drawn the attention of the government to series of high handedness of law enforcement agents on our members without any cogent response. But for the intervention of our Lagos Zonal officers who were at the scene on that fateful day , the situation could have degenerated to an unprecedented level. Our officers ‘ investigation confirmed the killing of Comrade Olalekan Lawal by officers of Operation MESSA”

    According to Comrade Adebayo, ” The office of OPMESA had been approached and though  they denied but said they are still investigating .The personnel calls me almost every day giving me update about their investigation and promised  to call whenever the suspect is caught . I believe they are cooperating. They even called me yesterday morning, telling me that investigation was still going on as they had intensified efforts to get the suspect and charged him to court. So we are still waiting for the outcome. ”

    On the whereabouts of  the vehicle driven by the slain driver, one of the comrades said ‘the owner had taken it away, I’m sure he had returned to his business.”

    What has become of his assistant, the motor boy? According to Adebayo, the motor boy has been psychologically affected, because he could not believe what happened to his boss in his presence could be true. Adebayo added that the driver’s assistant “has gone back to his village in Ijebu as he was said to be having nightmare of the incidence. I learnt he said he would never do the job again. It is just pathetic.”

    A petition has been written by the tanker drivers’ union to the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, asking him to investigate the matter and have the family of the slain driver compensated,”

    The wife of the deceased refused to talk to the press.  According to one of his in-laws, “She does not want to talk to the press at all for she is too weak and she is crying day and night”.

    However, when contacted, the police confirmed the story.

  • JASON NJOKU: ‘Every staff idea counts’

    JASON NJOKU: ‘Every staff idea counts’

    As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jason Njoku, 33, is the co-founder of  iROKO Partners, an online media stream aiming at becoming the world’s largest distributor of African entertainment. The 2005 graduate of Chemistry from the University of Manchester, USA, told JOKE KUJENYA that since set-up over two years ago, the company is still working harder to build a global audience to reach more countries where it is yet to make a presence.

    Management style?

    I would say it is super in the sense that it is decentralised. We agree on key performance, sharing strategy in which we allow everyone to open up on what he or she is trying to do, how we are going to do it, then, determine which teams are going to figure out how what is going to get done. So, there is no kind of commander or controller or any hierarchy in which you would say there is one head of management. As you can see, we are very open, everyone can see everyone. And we keep communications cordial as much as possible.

    The visionary?

    The vision here, I would say, is not about one person. We share the vision amongst everybody a hundred percent. We spend a lot of time reinforcing our vision and we allow our staff to take initiatives on the vision as well. So, here it is not just “what Jason says” or “what Bastian Gotter says” or management. It is more about what each person thinks makes sense. We allow everyone to express themselves. And as you can see, it’s a two-and-a-half years old very young company. The team is on the first and the floor underneath. I am just in my early thirties, so, I’m not like a ‘dinosaur’ here. In fact, most of the people that work with me here are older.

    Staff motivation?

    We pay very well and we look after our staff. And we make this place safe, clean and healthy environment for the staff. In terms of motivation for their contributions, we make financial rewards available. As for individuals, we motivate them in the area of education, training, and we provide needed tools like internet connection available so they can equip themselves, not just at this company, but wherever they would be for the rest of their lives.

    Staff strength?

    Currently, we have about 110 staff in our offices here in Lagos, London, New York and Johannesburg, South Africa. We are currently looking at where we are to go next. But I think with our headquarters in Nigerians, our founding team are here, I guess I’m just like the ‘face’ in Nigeria. Bastian and I started the company together, really. And there were lots of helps from the beginning. Bastian actually spent the early years, whilst I was building, using his time helping me structure my ideas and providing that sound awareness around how to put the company together. Yes, he was partly with me for the first year, but every week, he would like 10 to 15 hours working through the business lines, profit and loss and setting strategies. I don’t think there has been any major decision made in this company from its founding day without my co-founder having a strong opinion observed. We’re a co-family all through.

    Tough decisions?

    Towards any process of making decisions, I think as a young company, to find your simple re-occurrence scalable revenue must be really very difficult. You know, to make a hundred thousand dollars a month is a very hard task. And we’ve passed that very long time ago. But to make the same amount a week, again, is even more difficult. Then, you have to bring getting a hundred thousand a week to how you can get same in a day, which is where you have the big scale issues. How can we build a company in a couple of years which is genuine even if you have that kind of opportunity? We are far away from being there. But we kind of believe that we stand a good chance. We have a great team, market opportunity, and a great team of investors who help to put us on the journey.

    Personal motivation?

    It’s like if you have a child, you want to see that child grow. You don’t want to think in terms of what that child would do to give you. You just think about this is my creation, this is an expression of my business personality, my team’s willingness to try and capture what should be like a massive kind of opportunity. We’re just two-and-a-half years like I said, but it’s been like we are 10 years old. We really start to look back and reflect and think on what we’ve been able to do and where we’ve reached. It’s very difficult for companies get beyond their fifth year, but we want to still be in the game and say, what more can we do.

    Kind of business?

    We bring people in to handle specific tasks that are kind of novel to Nigeria because it brings some sort of fresh creativity to help grow the economy so far. So, we get young and ambitious Nigerians who are very excited to be a part of this new wave of intelligence. And it’s really not a must that they be IT experts before we get them on board, like, I am not. So, it’s if you are young, smart, go-getting and willing to learn new things, you can basically do anything. Yes, we have traditionally technology savvy people that we are happy to be contributing to them. Each of them are doing amazing things as well as the wakanows of this section of the world.

    Corporate philosophy?

    The key thing for me is, you’ve got to be really smart. But if you are smart and not working really hard, you’ll end up nowhere. But if you are not that smart and you can still work really, really hard, you can actually end up quite successful. I’m very interested in honesty and integrity and hard work. You have to combine hard work with honesty. If you are working, work on the right things and if you are making mistakes and you are honest with that, you’ll be known for that. And with what I’ve seen in Nigeria so far, honesty in the workplace is super important.

    Media background?

    Yes. I’ve predominantly been a media guy. I started with offline BRASH magazines. I did that for three years. I also did online magazine. I’ve always been interested in the media. I’ve always tried to influence how people perceive the media and seek more efficient ways to bring media to the people. I think irokotv.com is just my personal evolution of how I view the media. It is the next step.

    How iROKOtv’ functions?

    What we need to think of here is, if you think about Africa Magic online, you have to place your subscription monthly. That’s the simplest way of explaining this. That gives you access to over 10,000 hours of Nigerian content at your own pleasure to enjoy. We have built a company which has most of our users or viewers in the west. We expect that would change over the next two years. And we have to position ourselves for that massive change. There are so many things we’re planning to do in the nearest future would help position us significantly more in our world. But the fear is, people want content and that’s very difficult to get in Nigeria, at least legally. We’re trying to create a platform which encourages and enables that. We do this as the largest buyers of Nollywood contents online because we believe it is a cultural phenomenon. Our focus is that something so popular must have a presence online. We buy the online licences of movies and music directly from producers and recording artists and stream them online to our global Diaspora audience. We’ve also assembled the world’s largest online library of great African content which has inadvertently made us West Africa’s top emergent Internet company. We promote African movies, music and messages as sent out by Africans to other Africans in different parts of the universe.

    Clienteles’ response?

    Pretty much from the international end, but mostly, they are those who have good internet facilities and are themselves, good with the internet. It is compulsory for those that would enjoy our services have great internet. We put ourselves in a situation where if you don’t have good internet, you will not have to access these contents. So, we are making ourselves as much as possible to prop up our Nollywood and we are doing everything possible to improve that situation.

    The profits?

    Honestly, we’re not making profits yet. We’re still investing and re-investing. And we’re still going to have a few years of investment before we would get near that goal of being profitable. We’re making a sort of tough choices today for a brighter future. We also try to be as cost effective as possible with our services. Basically, that’s where we are.

    Any plans on a TV stations?

    We’re not going into traditional TV setting. We feel that in time, viewers would come on line to get great quality image resolutions and content.

    Nigeria’s digital TV idea?

    For me, that’s ultimately a great concept. I think it’s really cool that Nigeria’s thinking of going digital. It’ll open up more channels to reach more people and give them fresh mixes and contents. A time is coming when where we are now will no longer be fashionable. I’m really excited about thinking of an opportunity to be a 110percent digital.

    Next five years?

    Yeah, we’re going to be here and bigger in business. I’m absolutely sure about that. It’s just like the same way 20, 30 years ago, when they placed TV on satellite, it was a new idea. Now, we’re starting something that will be more relevant beyond five years.

    Connectivity hassles?

    It’s tough. Infrastructure is very limited in Nigeria here. We would have thought it would improve ten years ago. GSMs weren’t even available. That was an impossible. But we’re quite hopeful that the connectivity will improve because there’s really been a lot of invested into this. We’re waiting for that day when connectivity will be much better than what it is at the moment. I have no doubt about seeing that happening.

  • ‘My boss sacked me for befriending his girlfriend and I masterminded a robbery attack on him’

    A suspected member of a five-man robbery gang, Ojo Iyare (26) has explained why he organised a robbery operation against the man he was supposed to be guarding in Dolphin Estate, Lagos. The Ovia, Edo State indigene, who thereafter adopted armed robbery as his full preoccupation before he was arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command, said he was angry that while he was posted by his security outfit to guard the house, his boss was also using him for other domestic chores without any compensation. He said he was not allowed to enter any of the rooms in the house and could only enter the parlour if his boss wanted to send him on an errand. Upon all this, he said, his erstwhile boss still had the guts to tell his company to withdraw him from the house and, if possible, sack him completely. He said upon learning about the plan to sack him, he hurriedly sent in his resignation letter and decided to go into full-time armed robbery. The other suspected members of the gang, who were cooling their heels in the cell of SARS at GRA, Ikeja, Lagos include Richard Okon (29), Obiorah Frank (27), one Sunday and one Chukwuma Nkem, who was said to be helping the gang to ferry snatched vehicles across the Nigerian borders into neighbouring countries. With the aid of two locally made double barrel guns, the suspects also allegedly stole from the victim’s room some dollars amounting to about N12 million. They were also alleged to have stolen other items like laptop computers, phones and wrist watches. Recalling how they carried out the robbery operation, Ojo, the suspected leader of the gang, said: “We were a five-man gang. But those who carried out the operation that day were Richard, Obiorah and myself. It was in the previous three robbery operations and two car-snatching operations that Sunday and Chukwuma participated fully. “In the operation that caused our arrest, Chukwuma acted as the provider of buyers. Hence, his role was to market snatched cars and other stolen properties of victims, while Sunday’s role was to monitor the movements of the police after the gang had gone on an operation and policemen were looking for them. At times, he said, they acted as hawkers, selling bags, recharge cards, clothes, shoes and jewellery. Ojo added: “First, I will like you to know that I am a secondary school certificate holder. I made all my papers with credits and above, yet I could not further my education because of my dad’s inability to encourage me. To worsen matters, when I told him that I wanted to join the police, he frustrated all my efforts in that regard. “He had three wives. He has up to 15 children and gives the first wife the greatest attention. To assure him that I really wanted to join the police, I went to meet him while he was serving as a police inspector in Okene, Kogi State. “After telling him that my reason for coming was to seek his help to join the police, he told me that he needed N300,000 to lobby people for my recruitment, but he did not have the money. “When I got to Lagos and told my mother about it, she said I should give him some time to gather the money. When I went back to Kogi State the second time, I discovered that he was not taking my discussion with him seriously hence I went back to Lagos to look for work. “First, I approached a security company and they trained me and posted me to the victim’s house at Park View Estate, Apapa, on a monthly salary of N18,000. When the man (the victim) started dating the house cleaner, a young girl of about 19 years, he saw me as a rival because he always saw me discussing with the cleaner. At times, I also helped her in cleaning and other domestic duties over which the man commended me and even gave me more domestic chores without any allowance. “But what annoyed the man most was that the cleaner liked me more than him, hence he sacked me. I went back to my company and asked for redeployment. Unfortunately, they posted me to a far place and I could not afford the transport fare. “Frustrated, I stayed at home and stopped going to work. It was during the period I was idle that I met Richard through his girlfriend. They live on the same street with me. “When I told Richard that life had not been fair to me, he told me not to worry, saying that I should count myself lucky that I told him about my problem. He said he would show me the way to liberation from poverty and that I would swim in wealth within a few days. “He gave me N2,000 to buy drinks, cigarette and pepper soup. I was very happy and thanked him for the gesture. Later, I went to him and told him that my condition had worsened because I impregnated a girl and I had no money to take care of her antenatal and feeding. I told him that he should find a solution to my suffering. “I also told him about the rich man I was guarding on Park View Estate, who sacked me. I suggested that we should find a way to rob him. I did not know that Richard had just come out of prison and wanted to rest for sometime before engaging in another robbery operation. Based on that, he did not accept my proposal to rob my former boss. “But Obiorah, a friend to Richard, was present when we were discussing my plight. He became interested because I was the one who got him a job at a security outfit on a monthly salary of N18, 000. That was why he was always interested in whatever I did. “Sometime in January, Richard accepted and we decided to carry out the operation. I had the details of the house and the man because I had worked there before I was sacked. To avoid being recognised by the security man on duty, we went there as supervisors from the security company where I was posted to the house. Upon getting there, I stayed outside and allowed Richard and Obiorah to knock and go inside. “When Richard knocked at the gate, the security man came out and he told him that we were supervisors from the security, and he opened the gate for us. But before the security man could look at their faces very well, Richard had brought out a gun and pointed it at the security man. He ordered Obiorah to tie him and cover his mouth with cellotape. “When the security man had been properly tied, they bundled him into the security post, while I took over his job. When the owner of the house returned and hooted, I went and opened the gate for him. He drove in and stayed in his car for some minutes to answer a phone call. As he started walking into the house, Richard rushed towards him and pointed a gun at him. Obiorah and I tied the man and covered his eyes and mouth with cellotape. “We slapped him several times and warned him not to do anything funny if he did not want us to shoot him to death. We then took him inside his house and ordered him to show us where he kept his money, wrist watches, phones, laptop and other items. Obiorah later called our attention, saying that he had seen some dollars in his wardrobe. “Obiorah handed the money over to Richard, who later gave me one million naira. I did not know the amount Obiorah collected. From the money, I bought wheat and garri grinding machines.” Asked how he was arrested, he said: “I was at Bariga Market grinding wheat for one of my customers when I saw SARS operatives led by Superintendent of Police (SP) Abba Kyari. They told me to follow them to Scorpion House (Police Headquarters, GRA, Ikeja Lagos). I was handcuffed and whisked away.” The second suspect, Richard, said: “I am from Ogun State. I finished primary school. My father was an Army Captain before he died in 2008 and he had six wives from different parts of Nigeria. My mother is the first wife. “I used to earn N10,000 as monthly salary. I have robbed more than three times. It was one CY that lured me into armed robbery. In one of the cases, we were charged to court for armed robbery and remanded at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison. I paid my lawyer N50,000 to perfect my bail and regained my freedom. “I started selling gas and second-hand clothes at Oshodi with Okwui, who later ran away from me when he found that I was an armed robber. I returned to robbery because my shop was burnt down a few days before I was released from prison custody as an awaiting trial.” The third suspect, Obiorah, a native of Nnewi, Anambra State, said: “I had wanted to go to the university after graduating from secondary school, but my father had a fatal accident that nearly paralysed him. He is still walking with crutches. “I was born in Okene, Kogi State. It was there that I started riding commercial motorcycle (okada) and had an accident that affected my eye in 2012. It was my friend, Ifesinachi, that brought me to Lagos. “Life was hard for me, and in an attempt to find what to do to survive in Lagos, I met Uzo Ojo Iyari who introduced me to armed robbery. I was doing cleaning work after resigning from a security company. “I was the one who tied the security man and the owner of the house. I collected N1.2 million. Uzor colleted the only laptop we got from the man. I also collected an ipad. I participated in four armed robbery operations. But we did not kill anybody. “The second operation was at Surulere. We snatched a Toyota Camry car and sold it. I collected N35,000. The third operation was at Isolo where we snatched a car and sold it, but I was not given a dime. “The fourth operation took place along Ikorodu Road. I used my loot to buy a Toyota Camry for N450,000. I rented a self-contained room at Oworonsoki with N100,000, but the person I gave the money ran away.”

  • 19-yr-old, who tested HIV-positive after she was gang-raped, seeks justice

    19-yr-old, who tested HIV-positive after she was gang-raped, seeks justice

    Like any lady of her age, Helen, 19, dreamt of a bright future. That dream brought her from her hometown in Benue State, to Bariga, Lagos State, where she stayed with her sister. But in her quest for a better life, her dream was shattered last January when she was gang-raped. The incident dramatically altered her life. Helen, who is now living with the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV), is seeking justice against those who violated her. She tells her story to Senior Correspondent, EVELYN OSAGIE.

    HELEN (surname withheld) will be 20 years on October 10. But she now bears a burden that is too heavy for her age. She was gang-raped in January this year and was diagnosed with HIV last month. Due to the heart-rending experience and the medical diagnosis that followed, the once cheerful and vivacious Helen now wears a long face as she carries with her the psychological burden of the experience. After secondary school in 2008, Helen wanted to further her education, but being the fifth of 11 children comes with its own challenge. “Na the condition of no money, na im prevent me from going further,” said Helen when asked why she had not bothered to continue her education. Despite her background, Helen was unperturbed. Determined that she would return to school some day, she began working as a cleaner in a big firm at Lekki, Lagos, from where she hoped to save for school. She had worked there for almost a year before the tragic episode that altered her life dramatically took place. It was with a deep emotion that she recounted her ordeal. All was quiet and the street lonely early that Tuesday morning when the unsuspecting lady set out from her Bariga home to resume her morning shift at work. It was at exactly 5:05am, the same time she often left home everyday to board a bus some streets away to Lagos Island. But that morning, something was not right. She noticed five young men lurking about as she got out of her street’s gate. On seeing their fearsome appearance, her heart skipped a beat. Consumed by fear, her first instinct was to turn and run back into the street, but it was too late. She had been spotted. “They blocked and grabbed me. They pointed a gun at me and told me to be quiet and do everything they said I should do, or else they would harm me,” Helen said before she was overcome by emotion. After a short silence that seemed ages, she added: “I tried to shout but when I looked around and did not see anybody except those guys, I was so afraid and did as they said… They, then, carried me to one corner by the side of the street… (She bowed her head). They asked me to lie down.” Helen went silent again with head still bowed, to hold back tears. She said: “I begged them to release me, that I was on my way to work and that I didn’t have anything to offer them. They told me to shut up, saying they would waste me, if I didn’t like my life. I begged them to spare my life.” Her plea touched a member of the gang; he said she should be freed. But his statement fell on deaf ears, for Helen’s other attackers were determined to carry out their task to the letter. Fighting back tears, she said: “The others said he could leave if he wanted to; they then collected my handbag, my purse and the N5,000 inside with my two phones – one was in my hand. I used its torchlight; the other was in my Jeans pocket. They removed the phone, pulled off my trousers and started violating me (Silence)…They asked me to pull off my clothes. I begged them.” Her face became contorted as the agony of the incident swelled her being. Helen became silent again. One could see she was fighting to hide several conflicting emotions as she recounted. “But was there no way you could have shouted for help?” the reporter asked in an attempt to douse the tension. “There was no way I could have shouted because there were five of them against only me… I was so scared. So, I just kept begging them to release me.” As her attackers were beginning to enjoy their violent act, they spotted another young man and lady walking towards them. Helen’s attackers also pounced on the couple, robbing them of their valuables at gunpoint. Two of them also raped the second lady. By that time, Helen’s eyes were already swollen, from her trauma and obvious helplessness in the hands of the crooks. The two men raped the girl while the other three continued raping me,” she said in a subdued voice. On how she felt when her violators had their turns, Helen, in tears, said: “I swallowed my scream, felt very bad and closed my eyes as each of them…(Silence). For my mind e be like say make I get knife take kill them, because it was a very painful thing to experience. Before they started, I had asked if they had condoms but they said ‘No’. ‘’After they finished, all I could think of was running to the hospital and getting some drugs or treatment that could wash everything away from my whole being: my physical body, heart, soul and all. (Again, she lapsed into another silence). I felt very bad and, somehow, dirty.” After the incident She ran back home to her sister. Both ladies cried in silence; they felt ashamed to share with neighbours what had happened. As if that was not enough, while nursing the psychological trauma of the assault she got, another shocker happened to her on the same day. Helen discovered that her violators were her neighbours. “I recognised them: two of them live opposite my house. Before that time, I did not notice them. I see them every day and cringe; I’m always in fear each time I see them,” she said. Three months after Besides the traumatic rape, Helen has fallen into a worrisome medical condition. Last month, she was diagnosed with HIV at the General Hospital where she was rushed to after she was raped. Before then, Helen said she had been “negative”, adding that she knew through a test she did some time back. “When I went there when it first happened, they asked me some questions, gave me some drugs and told me to come back after three months for more tests. The three-month period lapsed last month. The hospital did the followup test and found that I have become HIV-’positive’. ‘’I felt bad, very bad; and I cried. In fact, the doctor tried to calm my mind; but I kept on crying that ‘I’m finished’. I wanted to take my life because I never expected this to happen to me. They told me life still goes on and that I can still live my life to the fullest. They say people with HIV are can be healthier than those who are negative with the help of drugs. Before I left the hospital, I cried and begged them to help me because I did not plan to live on drugs for rest of my life,” she said. With tears dripping freely and looking straight at the reporter as if to find answers on her face, she continued: “What kind of life can one live now? I feel so bad; I feel so weak and I am asking myself: what did I do wrong in this life to deserve this? What will happen to my dream of going to school? I have not been able to save for school, and I now am treating HIV.” The news of her status has added more sadness to her family who were still recovering from the shock of her violation. “When my parents heard the news, they were very sad and they all cried,” Helen said amid tears. The 20-year-old has since turned an advocate, seeking justice against her attackers. After living in fear for months, the dread of the rapists forced her and her sister to relocate last weekend. The move has emboldened to seek for justice, feeling she is beyond their reach. “I want justice. I need help. I want those men to go to jail for what they did to me and perhaps many other ladies in the area. These people cannot be allowed to go free. Everybody knows them as thieves in the area; they do not go to work or school but just hang around all day doing nothing. Still nobody has done anything about it. It is almost as if they are using charms. Their father is a very aggressive landlord. I see them always and I’m always in fear; that’s why we packed out of the house last weekend. You won’t believe that till we packed, my attackers are still using my phone,” she said. Helen’s sister, Stella, who was also in her 20s, said the whole incident has left the family heart-broken. Stella, who learnt a comforting hand to her sister, said: “We felt so weak and very unhappy, but there is nothing else we can do but to support her and pray that those crooks would be made to pay and suffer for what they did to my sister.”

  • Lufthansa starts new era

    Lufthansa starts new era

    For Nigerian travellers and the travellers all over the world that patronize the German airline, Lufthansa, a chapter in their travel experience will be opened as the airline starts receiving bookings for its latest product. The product is the newly developed Premium Economy Class.

    However, even though bookings have begun, travellers would have to wait until November to experience the new product. For Nigerian travellers, it might not be long before they will experience the new products being part of the long haul routes the new products will be deployed to.

    The new premium class has comfortable new seats and up to 50 per cent more room than the economy class seats.

    Premium Economy Class was presented to the public in March during the 2014 ITB-Berlin, and many travellers are looking forward to the new product. The Premium Economy Class would initially be fitted on the airline’s  Boeing 747-8. The new seats will gradually be fitted on the entire long-haul fleet within 12 months.

    “Our Premium Economy Class will create a completely new travel experience that combines affordability with greater comfort. The seats offer up to 50 per cent more room than Economy Class and will position us in a premium segment within the international competitive environment,” said Jens Bischof, CCO & member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board in charge of Sales, Product and Marketing, during a press conference at the Lufthansa stand in Hall 25.

    The new product will enable Lufthansa to meet the requirements of many business and private passengers who travel with other airlines in a similar travel class or who fly Economy Class due to travel specifications. Following the introduction of its new full-flat Business Class, Lufthansa created a much wider gap between Economy and Business Classes. As a result, there is now room for its new Premium Economy Class, which offers considerably more space and comfort as well as many additional product features, but is closer to Economy Class than Business Class in terms of its average prices. The move also means that Lufthansa is introducing a completely new travel class for the first time in 35 years.

    “The design and features of the new seat in particular are based on extensive passenger surveys and workshops with sales partners – a process that has been successfully used at Lufthansa. Following the upgrade of our First and Business Class, the installation of 3,600 seats on all 106 of our long-haul aircraft in just one year will mean another step towards becoming a five-star airline,” continued Bischof. “We expect to see more than 1.5 million passengers per year in our new Premium Economy Class.”

    The  seats were designed in partnership with the company müller/romca Industrial Design in Kiel and produced by the seat manufacturer ZIM Flugsitz near Lake Constance. Depending on the aircraft type, they are up to 3 centimetres wider and provide greater privacy as well as approximately 10 centimetres more room at the side thanks to each seat having its own wide armrest and a centre console between the seats.

    The back rest can be reclined further and the seat pitch is a significantly more spacious 38 inches, or 97 centimetres. As a result, passengers have around one-and-a-half times as much room as Economy Class.

    The head rests can be set to the exact height desired and folded at the sides for added comfort and support. Height-adjustable foot rests from the second row back and – for technical reasons – leg supports with an integrated foot rest in the first row provide extra comfort. Practical features around the seats such as a bottle holder, electrical socket and lots of storage space for passengers’ belongings also help to ensure a relaxed and pleasant journey.

    With a baggage allowance of two items weighing up to 23 kilogrammes each, passengers can take twice as much free luggage with them compared with Economy Class. For an extra EUR 25, passengers can also enjoy the comfort of the Lufthansa Business Lounges before their departure. Lounges were previously only open to status customers and are otherwise unavailable on a paying basis.           Check-in and boarding procedures as well as hand luggage regulations are the same as in Economy Class.

    An enhanced service awaits Premium Economy passengers on board. They are greeted with a welcome drink and will find their own water bottle as well as a high-quality amenity kit with practical travel accessories at their seat. Meals are presented on menus commensurate with the new travel class and served on porcelain tableware.

    Passengers can navigate the extensive in-flight entertainment programme using their own touchscreen monitor on the seat in front of them. This can also be done using a remote control, which serves as a controller for video games as well. The screens are 11 to 12 inches (28 to 30 centimetres), which makes them at least 2 inches bigger than the screens in Economy Class, depending on the aircraft type. A wide selection of magazines and newspapers completes the range of entertainment on offer.

    Up to 52 seats, depending on aircraft type, and attractive pricing Lufthansa Premium Economy Class is located within the cabin as a clearly identifiable separate compartment between Business and Economy Class.      It has a high-quality design and contains between 21 and 52 seats, depending on the aircraft type.         Installation of the new travel class, which is to be carried out on a gradual basis, sub-fleet by sub-fleet, will start this autumn and finish in summer 2015. The first sub-fleet to be fitted with the new seats will be the Boeing 747-8.

    Ticket prices in the new Premium Economy Class will be closer to Economy Class than Business Class – a return flight across the North Atlantic or to Asia will cost an additional EUR 600 on average.

    The introduction of Premium Economy Class will complement the many improvements that Lufthansa plans to make in all classes on board and on the ground by 2015. By this point in time, the entire long-haul fleet will have the new First and Business Class – which will involve the installation of 7,000 new seats on the company’s aircraft.    Apart from the interior of the cabins, services on board and on the ground are also being enhanced. The goal is to demonstrate to an even greater degree the qualities of being a dedicated host with a keen understanding of service and hospitality.

  • FTAN forum tourism holds next month

    The Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria [FTAN] in collaboration with the Federal Capital Territory Administration [FCTA] has announced that the second edition of their Tourism Investment Forum will hold next month.

    The event slated for June 10-11, 2014 will be held at the prestigious Ladi Kwali Hall of Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers.

    According to Chief Tomi Akingbogun, President of FTAN, the objectives of the program are to among others enable stakeholders to discuss and address some vital element towards the development and maintenance of tourism products and destinations that can induce creation of new tourism frontiers.

    Other reasons according to Akingbogun for the forum are, to showcase the potentials of the tourism sector to the economic development of Nigeria; to organize as well as to promote local tourism products and destinations to Nigerians before taking the same to the international market; and to strengthen relationship between the tourism investors and their services/product providers.

    The two-day event will include seminar and exhibition and are expected to give a new direction for the tourism industry; with participants expected from federal agencies, states, airlines, hotels, travel agents, and tour operators among others.

    Meanwhile, this year’s edition presentations will include; Developing Nigeria’s Travel and Tourism: The Kenyan Experience by the Managing Director of Kenyan Tourism Board, Travel and Tourism Contribution To Nigeria Gross Domestic Products [GDP] by the Director General of Federal Office of Statistics [FOS], Identifying Nigeria’s Tourism Products by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation and Medical Tourism: Prospect in Ondo State.