The Nation Newspaper

Tag: assault

  • LASPOTECH: our security didn’t assault student’s mother

    The Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) has denied a report that its security men assaulted Mrs Folake Shokoya, the mother of one of its student, Bolutife Olowu, on July 11 at its Ikorodu campus.

    Mrs Shokoya had claimed that she was assaulted by men of the polytechnic’s security unit when she responded to a call from Olowu, a National Diploma II student of the Hospitality Management Technology Department, that they beat him for wearing earrings on campus.

    The mother said she ended up with a broken lip, bruises and torn clothes from the alleged assault.

    But in a statement, Deputy Registrar (Information and Public Relations) Olanrewaju Kuye said Mrs Shokoya allegedly attacked the security guards and refused all entreaties to settle the issue amicably.

    The statement reads: “On Wednesday, July 11, at 4:30 p.m, a male student, Olowu Bolutife, (National Diploma II, Hospitality Management Technology Department) was apprehended by the security personnel and refused entry into the Ikorodu Campus for wearing earrings, which is totally against the dress ethics of the institution.

    “Further instructions to remove the earrings, if he desired to enter the campus, were rebuffed by him, and he was subsequently taken to the Chief Security Officer’s (CSO’s) office.

    “The CSO eventually warned him and was placed on security watch for seven days to further determine his ‘identity’ on campus and was released to go thereafter.

    “Exactly two hours later, a woman who was later identified as Mrs. Folake Shokoya, came to the security office in company of the student. Initially, she requested to see the CSO over a message from the Commanding Officer of 174 Battalion, Odogunyan (Ikorodu). She, however, ran out of patience when the student diverted her attention to a security officer, Mr. Moses Hitler, who earlier seized his earrings.

    “She queried him for the ‘effrontery’ he had for seizing her son’s earrings, assaulted him, tore his clothes and slapped him severally and scattered the office in the Security Unit.

    “All efforts to release the officer from her grip were seriously met with stiff opposition as she displayed a rare effrontery to face anyone who attempted to stop her.

    “The CSO was alerted by the noise and rushed to pacify the situation. Despite the action of the CSO, she continued to exhibit her hooligan demeanour, scattering everywhere.

    “As that was on, the Commanding Officer of 174 Battalion called to appeal on her behalf and requested for settlement, which the CSO considered; he settled the fracas she created.

    “Surprisingly, after the settlement, she reported at the Sagamu Road Police Station of an assault on her.

    “I wish to state here emphatically that the security personnel of the polytechnic will not assault anyone, neither will they deny access to any student who is well dressed and well behaved.”

  • Proprietor apologises over assault on pupils

    The Proprietor of Meteorite Schools, Itele, Ogun State, Mr Joseph Afolayan, yesterday apologised to the Ogun State government over the assault on two pupils of the school.

    They were on May 17, 2018 tied to wooden cross and humiliated for their lateness to school.

    Speaking with The Nation, Afolayan said the punishment meted to the affected students was to rein them in and dissuade them from flouting the school’s regulations.

    He said: ’’ I want to express my profound apologies to the Ogun State government, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology and the Directors of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, over the embarrassment the unfortunate incident caused the state government and the ministry in particular.

    He added: ‘The intention of the school management was to inculcate discipline and reprimand errant pupils, however, the embarrassment which the media report of the incident caused the state government was highly regretted.

    ‘’It is on record that this school until recently has not recorded any similar incident since its inception about 18 years ago. It is on the strength of this that I urge authorities of the state to temper justice with mercy, and I want to assure that the unfortunate incident will not repeat itself again.’’

  • Bayelsa worried by rape, assault on women

    Bayelsa worried by rape, assault on women

    Bayelsa State government is worried by the spate of defilement of minors and assault on women.

    Attorney-General and Justice Commissioner Mr. Wodu Kemasuode, yesterday in Yenagoa, inaugurated a special committee to work with the police to ensure prosecution of suspects.

    He told the committee headed by Mrs. Pere Egbuson that the ministry was inundated with complaints about such offences.

    Kemasuode asked the committee to track case files and give the victims justice.

    He gave it the responsibility of monitoring the conduct of law officers attached to the ministry.

    The commissioner said investigations showed that most cases of defilement were not entertained because of constraints militating against the police.

    He said: “We have over the last few years been receiving complaints about sexual offences committed against women, girl-child and defilement. We have received complaints.

    “The police have been forwarding case files to us for prosecution, which we have been doing. But I am aware that there are problems the police are encountering in investigation of the cases that are reported to them before they get to us.

    “We do not even receive up to a third of the complaints received from people that have been assaulted. We need to engage the police and ensure that when these reports are made to them, they will promptly investigate the complaints and forward to us for prosecution.

    “This is important because it is becoming a problem we need to address, and (to) take this proactive step instead (of sitting) down in the office and (waiting) for the police to come up with case files with their own constraints too.”

    Kemasuode inaugurated a committee headed by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Preye Agedah, to document the native laws and custom of the people in relation to chieftaincy issues, land law, inheritance and marriage.

    He said there were problems of proof in court because of the uncertainty based on oral tradition.

    “It was not in the place of the government to make native laws and custom for the people. The government only documents them for certainty so that when there is need to rely on the laws and custom, whether in litigation or for other purposes by the government or any authority or person, they have established a precedence as reference,” the commissioner said.

  • Lawyer accuses police of assault

    Lawyer accuses police of assault

    A Lagos lawyer, Mr Dayo Abudu,  has accused some policemen from the Area N Police Command, Ijede, Ikorodu, of assaulting him.

    Abudu said he was beaten up;  his clothes torn and mobile phone smashed by three sergeants following an argument over his clients’ interest in a land matter.

    He identified the policemen as Moroof Omo-Ikuaye, Sherifat and Kola, who, according to him, were members of a team led by Inspector Yetunde Fasuba.

    Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Chike Oti, a Superintendent, neither picked his calls nor answered text and WhatsApp messages.

    Abudu told The Nation that the incident occurred last Saturday.

    He said: “On January 18, my clients’ family were working on their land at Gberigbe and a team of policemen headed by one Moroof Omo-Ikuaye of Area N Police Command, Ijede, Ikorodu, came to stop the work on the land, claiming that they were investigating the ownership of the land. They took away the work tools of the bricklayers working on the land.

    “I was briefed by my clients and I didn’t see any reasonable suspicion of commission of crime, which would have warranted the police to have arrested my clients pursuant to Section 35 of the Constitution. So, the next day, I filed a fundamental rights suit on their behalf at the Lagos High Court, Ikorodu Division, against the police and served them an advance copy.

    “But, to my surprise, the police went on intimidating, harassing and threatening my clients with arrest and detention.”

    Abudu said on January 20, another team of policemen came to the land and invited his clients for talks, purportedly on the orders of the Area Commander, Area N Command.

    He said: “I was called on phone by my clients and I spoke with the police, so, I directed two of my clients; Ahmed Oladipupo and Ahmed Taiwo to go with the police, that I was going to meet them there.

    “I got to Area N Command at about noon and I went straight to the office of the police team investigating the title to my clients’ land.

    “There I met the head of the team, Inspector Yetunde Fasuba and her team members, namely Sergeant Moroof Omo-Ikuaye, Sergeant Sherifat and Sergeant Kola, while both of my clients were handcuffed together as if they were armed robbers.”

    According to Abudu, the police were forcibly trying to extract a confessional statement from his clients.

    He said: “Inspector Yetunde was trying to force them to write confessional statements. But I simply told the police that my clients had not elected to write any confessional statements, so they had nothing to write.

    “Inspector Yetunde then asked me to leave her office, which I resisted on the grounds that my clients have the right to have their lawyers around while writing any statement pursuant to Sections 35 and 36 of the Constitution. Section 9(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Lagos State, 2015 permits suspects to have their lawyers available and present while writing confessional statements.

    “The argument got so heated that Inspector Yetunde instructed Sergeant Moroof Omo-Ikuaye, Sergeant Kola and Sergeant Sherifat to forcibly pull me out of their office, while she went to the Area Commander’s office.

    ‘’Sergeant Kola pulled the chair I was sitting on beside my two clients and I fell on the floor. Sergeant Moroof Omo-Ikuaye pushed and hit me, so I picked my phone to call one officer that I know in Abuja to talk to those policemen, but I was quickly attacked by Sergeant Kola, who said I was recording the scene and, in order for them to stop the supposed recording, he smashed my phone against the wall and broke its screen.

    “Sergeantre beating me and dragging me to the Area Commander’s office.

    “Sergeant Moroof Omo-Ikuaye threatened to kill me with charms and he went back into their office, brought out a concealed handkerchief and used same to wipe my face and quickly returned it to his office.

    “I was seriously intimidated, harassed, molested and treated like an armed robber. My Infinix phone was broken, while the screen guard of my Tecno phone was also broken.

    “I was asked to write statement about what happened and a file was opened for that.”

    Abudu said other policemen around abused and made fun of him, accusing him of writing petitions against them to the Inspector-General’s office in Abuja.

    He added: “My clothes were also torn. The Area Commander, who earlier said he was coming back to hear us, couldn’t make it back to the office, so he called the Area Crime Office to release me to come back yesterday.”

  • Father of three accuse governor’s security detail of ‘assault’

    A father of three, Kamsobife Chucks, has accused the security detail of Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello, of beating him up for capturing them on video as they tried to run him off the Minna-Suleja road.

    Chucks, who recounted his encounter yesterday, said the escorts hit him with the butt of their guns.

    His words: “I was driving my family to Minna, about 4.30 pm, when we saw the first escort of the Governor’s convoy. I was told to leave the road; I obeyed and parked but because there was a deep ditch there, I stopped to allow them pass. However, the third vehicle on the convoy, a Prado SUV, hit us and tried to run us off the road.

    “I am sure the policemen saw me taking videos and pictures of the incident, and they laid ambush for us at Gurara junction, forced us to stop and forced me out of the car. They descended on me with their boots and guns.

    “While the children were crying inside the car, they forced me to unlock the phone before seizing it and ordered me to drive away as they deleted the pictures. They met me again on the road, gave me more slaps before returning the phone to me.”

    When asked what the governor did about it,  Chucks said the governor was not in the convoy.

    It was gathered that the governor took a chartered flight to Minna from Abuja and the convoy was rushing to pick him up at the airport.

    Efforts to get the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Jibrin Ndace, were unsuccessful.

  • Three men charged with assault

    Three men, who allegedly injured Mr. Bamigbade Kamoru, by hitting him on the head with planks, have been arraigned at an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

    The defendants, Nwazufu Francis, 25, Nwode Ogechi, 20 and Ndubueze Egbara, 27, of no fixed addresses, are facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and assault.

    The prosecutor, Eruada Victor, told the court that the defendants committed the offences on September 20 at Ajegunle Market, Alagbado, Lagos.

    He alleged that they conspired and assaulted the complainant by using planks to injure him on the head over an argument.

    “Kamoru has been receiving treatment in hospital,” Eruada said.

    The offences contravene sections 173 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (revised).

    The defendants pleaded not guilty.

    The Magistrate, Mrs. G. O. Anifowoshe, granted the defendants bail at N50,000 with two sureties and adjourned the case till November 7 for mention.

     

  • Three arraigned for assaulting two sisters 

    Three arraigned for assaulting two sisters 

    Three men identified as Olaye Daniel, Arogho Odion and Patrick Aleakhue have been arraigned before an Oredo Magistrate Court sitting in Benin City for allegedly using broken bottle to inflict injuries on two sisters; Ynonne Justice and Peace Justice at a bar house.

    The accused persons were alleged to have stolen gold necklace, earrings and hand chain valued at N1.4 million belonging to the complainants.

    They pleaded not guilty to the three count charges bordering on assault, threat to life and theft.

    Police Prosecutor, Patrick Agbonifo, told the court the offences were committed at No. 20 Oghosa Crescent, off Ihama Road, GRA Benin City.

    Agbonifo said the alleged crimes contravened section 355, 86(1) and 390 of the Criminal Code cap. Vol. II laws of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria 1976 as applicable in Edo State.

    Presiding Magistrate, F. E Akhere, granted bail to the accused persons in the sum of N50,000 with a surety in like sum.

    He adjourned the case to October 23 for hearing.

  • Govt: Attack on Ilori is assault on Osun

    Govt: Attack on Ilori is assault on Osun

    The Osun State government yesterday said the attack on its Commissioner for Regional Integration, Bola Ilori, in Akure, the Ondo State capital, at the All Progressives Congress (APC) restructuring summit is barbaric, reprehensible and an assault on the sovereignty of the state.

    Ilori was part of the delegation that presented Osun State’s position at the forum last Thursday.

    A statement by Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s Media Adviser, Sola Fasure, said hoodlums’ attack on Ilori was said to be political motivated and sponsored by a top-ranking Ondo State Executive Council (Exco) member.

    ?The statement noted that the attack was indirectly meted out to Osun State, which Ilori represented at the programme.

    It said: “The statement credited to Yemi Olowolabi that ‘what happened is sad but it is avoidable. It is apparent the Osun delegates came prepared with thugs, charms, ammunition and cudgels to an event, which was supposed to be an all-APC event’ was highly undiplomatic and not expected from a commissioner of that status.

    “This state of affairs was far from the truth as Olowolabi made people to believe. The Osun delegate simply went armed with their intellect to marshal the position of the state.

    “Why would a delegate ?go with dangerous objects to a conference on restructuring when Ondo and Osun are not at war or in confrontation over any issue?

    “Ilori represented the government and people of Osun State. Therefore, he deserved to be accorded the courtesy and respect due to the state. He deserved to be protected by the Government of Ondo as well as security agencies at the venue of the conference.

    “All these safety measures were not in place. Rather, Ilori was exposed? to attack by some top government official, who reportedly had an axe to grind with him over election matters in the state.

    “The attack on Ilori is barbaric and reprehensible, to say the least. It is no doubt an attack on the people and Government of Osun, which Ilori represented at the meeting. We condemn this affront on the people and Government of Osun, which the attack on our delegate signposted.”

  • Assault on village head: Family takes case to lawmakers

    The Afariogun family of Itapara village in the Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State has sent a Save-Our-Soul (SOS) petition to the Ogun State House of Assembly over the land grabbers’ assault on the traditional head of the village, Chief Nofiu Ogbara Afariogun, who was stripped naked by the hoodlums that invaded the village.

    In a petition written by the solicitor to the family, Mr Tunji Busari, dated May 22 sent to the Chairman, House Committee on Land and Housing, Hon.O.Adebiyi, a copy of which was sent to the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, stated that the land grabbers mainly those the family took to court over the family land in the village sent out thugs after the family members immediately a high court pronounced them owners of the land.

    Busari averred that the disruption of public peace started when the Afariogun family was about to be reaping the fruits of the judgment delivered by Justice E.O.Osinuga of the Ogun State High Court sitting in Sagamu and dated March 5, 2014 in suit no 1TCS/136/2005 which went in favour of the family.

    According to Busari, “On several occasions, Chief Nofiu Ogbara Afariogun, the Bale of the community, had been waylaid, beaten to a pulp and stripped naked with impunity. This incident had always been reported at Ogijo Police Division.”

    He said with this impunity, the activities of these land grabbers in the village went on unabated as they seized the land “where upon a judgment of a high court had been handed to our clients as the rightful owners of same with ferocious gangs and hoodlums ambushing the family members.”

    The family solicitor noted that the last attack, which forced the Afariogun family members to flee their ancestral home, was a dastardly attack of October 27, 2015. “This ugly incident nearly sniffed life out of our client’s heart when the Bale of Itapara community, Chief Nofiu Ogbara Afariogun, was stripped naked and seriously injured and his hut set ablazed by the hired hoodlums.”

    The petitioner noted that members of the family and the entire Itapara community had been in perpetual fear to live in the village as they had been chased out of the village totally and barred from reaping the benefits of the judgment of the high court, confirming the Afariogun family as the radical land owner.”

    Busari pointed out that the Afariogun family members are law-abiding citizens who believe in the rule of law and who would not do anything to breach peace and order in the state, hence this petition to “implore your honourable offices to wade into this matter in all earnest to bring the culprits to book.

  • Woman arraigned for alleged assault

    A 40-year-old woman, Rose Peter, has appeared at a Karmo Grade 1 Area Court, Abuja, charged with assaulting a pastor and his children in his house.

    Standing trial on a four-count charge of criminal trespass, assault, and defamation of character, the accused, who resides at Tasha Gwagwa, Abuja, denied the charges.

    But Police Prosecutor Florence Auhioboh insisted the accused committed the offences in April.

    She said the complainants — Pastor Kingsley Godfrey and Peter Ihechinyere — in the same neigbhourhood with the accused, reported the case on May 23 at Karmo Police Station.

    Auhioboh said sometime in April, the accused entered Godfrey’s house without permission and assaulted his children and church members.

    “When she was confronted, she held the pastor’s clothes and it took the intervention of elders for her to release him.”

    According to the prosecutor, the accused claimed to have given Godfrey N20,000 for special prayers.

    She alleged the accused defamed the second complainant publicly by accusing him of stealing her phone, wallet and money.

    The offences contravened sections 265, 349, 397 and 392 of the Penal Code.

    Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, the judge, granted the woman bail at N50,000 with one surety in like sum.

    Sadiq said the surety must be resident within the court’s jurisdiction and adjourned the case till September 20.