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Tag: assault

  • Three docked over alleged assault in Ogun

    Three docked over alleged assault in Ogun

    Three men were on Thursday arraigned in a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ota, Ogun, for allegedly assaulting one Bankole Semiu.

    They are Saheed Ajimokokan, 39; Abiodun Oyede, 38; and Sunday Adebayo, 31; all of no fixed address.

    The prosecutor, Cpl. Abdulkareem Mustapha, told the court that the accused persons and others still at large were arraigned on a two-count charge of assault and conspiracy.

    Mustapha said the accused persons committed the offences on April 22 at about 5:00 p.m. at Oruke Area, Ijegemo, Ota.

    The prosecutor said the accused persons and their accomplices conspired among themselves to assault Semiu by inflicting a deep cut on his head with a cutlass.

    He said that the offences contravened Sections 80, 355 and 516 of the Criminal Code Vol.1, Laws of Ogun, 2006.

    The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The Chief Magistrate, Mrs A.I. Adelaja , granted the accused persons bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties in like sum.
    Adelaja said that the sureties must be resident within the court’s jurisdiction and should be gainfully employed.

    She also ordered that the sureties swear to an affidavit of means and produce evidence of one year tax payment to the Ogun Government.

    In addition, the magistrate said that the sureties should submit four recent passport photographs to the court while their addresses should be verified by the police.

    Adelaja adjourned the case till June 16 for hearing.

  • Policemen assault The Nation reporter

    Policemen assault The Nation reporter

    A reporter with The Nation was yesterday allegedly assaulted in the line of duty.

    Sampson Unamka was slapped by officers from Olosan Police Station in Mushin.

    Unamka, who was on his way from an assignment, saw the officers beating up a motorist and a passenger.

    While taking their pictures, an officer walked up to him and attempted to collect his phone.

    As they were dragging the handset, another officer joined the brawl and slapped Unamka.

    They bundled him into their vehicle and drove towards Ladipo Auto Spare Part Market where they arrested some people fighting.

    Four of those people arrested were taken to the station.

    At the station, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) threatened to charge Unamka with attempting to take pictures of officers.

    The DPO, Unamka said, asked his men why they were molesting the passenger. One of them, he said, answered: “He talked to us rudely.”

    He told Unamka to delete the video and write a statement. He instructed his men to release him thereafter.

    While writing the statement, a policeman said: “Shey you say you be journalist. You get luck say na daytime; if to say na night, na once I for waste you. You for die sara. Na God just save you.”

    Reliving his ordeal, Unamka said: “I brought out my phone to take pictures of the scene and the next thing I was slapped severally. They collected my phone and identity card and bundled me into the police van for trying to perform my duty as a reporter. They didn’t even let me explain myself; the policemen took me on their patrol to Ladipo to arrest some people in Ladipo market. One of the policemen said “Because say you be journalist come mean say you go dey video us anyhow. You go see wetin we go use your eye see today. At their station, the DPO threatened to sue me to court for trying to video his men.”

  • Alleged assault suit against Metuh for ruling May 18

    Alleged assault suit against Metuh for ruling May 18

    Justice Folashade Ojo of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has fixed next Wednesday for ruling in a N500 million suit against Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman, Olisa Metuh, his wife, Kanayo and one of their aides, Oche Gambo.

    They were sued in 2011 by owners and some workers of a school,  formerly attended by Metuh’s son, Derrick.

    The owners and officials of British Nigerian Academy, Abuja, sued Metuh and the others for allegedly assaulting two workers on the school premises, for confiscating Derrick’s mobile phone, on February 19, 2011.

    Metuh’s wife and son were said to have visited the woman’s nephew, Kamsi Aghaji (a student), when an official of the school, Miss Amauche Igbe, allegedly saw Derrick giving his phone to some students in the boys’ hostel, in violation of the rules (no phone was allowed in the hostels) seized the phone.

    The plaintiffs – British Nigerian Academy, Kola Pele and Hamzat Maftau – said, in an amended statement of claim, that Kanayo allegedly invited her husband when she was unable to secure the release of her son’s phone.

    They said Metuh, “accompanied by armed mobile policemen, arrived on the school premises in a convoy of three black jeeps, all with head lamps on, and the drivers navigating the vehicles dangerously, almost colliding with some students, who were clearing up after visiting day, and observed by some parents leaving after visiting day.

    “The first defendant (Metuh) alighted from his vehicle at the entrance of the Sports Hall of the first plaintiff (the school) and demanded to see the second plaintiff (Pele) and, upon locating the second plaintiff, the first defendant demanded forcefully that his son’s phone be returned to him, but the second plaintiff refused to release the phone.

    “The first defendant then proceeded to grab the throat of the second plaintiff and started to hit him several times with the third defendant (Gambo, Metuh’s bodyguard) joining in the assault in the presence of a large crowd of staff, students and parents, who looked on worrying and in fear.

    “The first defendant, on several occasions, threatened to kill the second plaintiff if his son’s phone was not returned to him and boasted that even the inspector general of Police (IGP) would do nothing about the situation.

    “At one point, the first defendant and third defendant even attempted to bundle the second plaintiff into the first defendant’s car and but, for the intervention of the staff of the first plaintiff, who were on the scene they would have succeeded in doing so.

    “The third plaintiff tried to act as peacemaker in the scuffle and when attempting to pacify the first defendant, the third defendant kicked the third plaintiff, knocking him off balance and causing him to fall on his head.

    “The first defendant seized the second plaintiff’s office keys and mobile phone and threatened not to return them until his son’s mobile phone was returned. It was only after several staff and parents pleaded with the second plaintiff to return the phone for fear of serious injury being inflicted on him by the first and third defendants that the second plaintiff reluctantly returned Derrick’s phone to the first defendant,” the plaintiffs said.

    They argued that the actions of the first and third defendants “undermined the right of staff of the first plaintiff to work in a safe and secure environment without fear and intimidation from any quarters.”

    The plaintiffs prayed the court to award N500 million damages against the defendants (N150 million in special and general damages for assault, harassment, intimidation, mental pain, severe humiliation and injury to the person and integrity of Pele and Maftau; N100 million for exemplary damages for trespass and unlawful entry into the school premises and N250 million aggravated damages for grave injury caused to the commercial reputation and protective integrity of the school).

    They also seek a declaration that the actions of the defendants on February 19, 2011, at the school amounted to trespass and unlawful entry into the school premises.

    Metuh and his wife denied the plaintiffs’ allegation and urged the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that the claims were frivolous and vindictive.

    Metuh admitted being informed of the seizure of his son’s phone by his wife, but denied forcefully invading the school premises with armed security personnel, who drove recklessly, as alleged by the plaintiffs.

    “The first defendant never made forceful demand of his son’s mobile phone and never grabbed the throat of the second plaintiff and never knocked him. The first defendant and third defendant (whoever he may be) never attempted to bundle the second plaintiff into the boot of the first defendant’s car and could not have done so.

    “The third plaintiff tried to pacify the first defendant because he knew that the second plaintiff had been most unreasonable but nobody kicked him and knocked him off balance. The first defendant never seized any key or mobile phone belonging to the second plaintiff or anybody,” the defendants said in their statement.

    Parties adopted their final written addresses on March 10, following which the judge adjourned to May 18, for judgment.

  • Landlord docked for allegedly assaulting female tenant

    Landlord docked for allegedly assaulting female tenant

    A landlord, Segun Oye, who allegedly assaulted a female tenant, Uche Elodinmuo, has appeared before a Surulere Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

    The accused, 49, who lives at No. 4, Ayo Davies Close, off Ekololu Street, Lagos, is facing a two-count charge bordering on assault.

    The prosecutor, Insp. Gabriel Ekundayo, said the accused committed the offence at the same address at about 8.45 p.m. on April 19.

    Ekundayo told the court that the complainant, Elodinmuo, reported the incident at Orile-Iganmu Police Station.

    “The accused came and assaulted her in front of her room when she complained about her missing fuel in the compound.

    “Other co-tenants have been complaining about missing fuel too, suspecting the gateman may be stealing the fuel to fill the landlord’s generator.

    “The landlord slapped the woman several times and also dragged her on the floor… she sustained bruises on her face and back.’’

    The offences contravened Sections 348 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.

    The accused denied the charge.

    Ruling on the bail application of the accused, the Chief Magistrate, Mrs M.I. Dan-Oni, granted him bail in the sum of N50, 000 with one surety in the like sum.

    Further hearing has been fixed for May 11.

     

  • Customs official assaults FAAN employee at Lagos Airport 

    An official of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) attached to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos Thursday assaulted a staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over right of way near the Monument Gate of the cargo terminal.

    The struggle over right of way which occasioned a gridlock around the cargo complex propelled the Customs official to assault the FAAN staff using a tear gas.

    From the injuries sustained during the attack, the FAAN personnel have been rushed to the Nigerian Air Force hospital where he is receiving treatment.

    According to sources trouble started when the Customs staff who was in mufti attempted to access the Monument Gate through the exit thereby leading to gridlock on the road.

    The battered FAAN staff, sources hinted was in the company of some of his colleagues on his way out of the Monument Gate at around 9:40am before he was attacked with teargas severally in the eyes by the Customs staff for daring to challenge his wrong driving.

    The Customs personnel it was learnt was arrested by the Police at the airport and has been released following intervention from his senior colleagues.

    The FAAN staff narrated his ordeal: “The Customs officer was in mufti when the incident happened Thursday. I was driving out of the Hajj and Cargo Terminal through the exit point when I saw a vehicle driving in through the exit point. I actually challenged him, but I was still inside the car and all of a sudden, the man I later gathered was a Customs officer came out and rained blows on me.

    “As I was making attempt to come out of the car, he held me by the neck and brought out a teargas and sprayed it directly into my eyes. It took the intervention of passers-by before I could be rescued from his grip. Later, he attempted to run away, but he was chased by some of my colleagues’ right into the Customs complex.”

    Also, the Chief Cargo Officer of FAAN, Mr. Benson Oweka confirmed the incident in an interview with our correspondent at the hospital.

    He said the department received a distress call that one of its staff was being beaten by Customs at the Monument Gate and before they could rush down to the place.

  • Assault: Police arrest fleeing danfo driver

    Assault: Police arrest fleeing danfo driver

    The police have caught the danfo driver, who along with two others, allegedly rough handled a passenger, Miss Kafayat Rabiu, at Abule Egba, Lagos, and fled about 12 days ago.

    The Nation learnt that Sadiq Olowolagba was handed over to the police on Saturday by the bus owner.

    Lagos police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), told The Nation yesterday that the bus was tracked down on Friday and the owner produced Olowolagba on Saturday.

    “I told you every machine was set in motion for his arrest. Sadiq Olowolagba will be charged to court tomorrow (today) for assault,” she said.

    To facilitate Olowolagba’s arrest, the police sent his bus’ number plate to their men on traffic duty at Alakuko on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) officials.

    Last Tuesday, Miss Rabiu took her quest for justice to the Governor’s office in Alausa, Ikeja.

    Yesterday, an elated Miss Rabiu said the police had called to tell her of the driver’s arrest.

    She said: “I received a call from the police this morning (yesterday) that the driver has been arrested. They want me to come to the station, but I am outside Lagos. I hope to return to Lagos and go to the station.”

    Coordinator of Al-Muminaat Social Advocacy Project Mrs Sherifah Yusuf-Ajibade, who led Miss Rabiu to the governor’s office said: “The swift intervention of the Lagos State Government into has once again demonstrated the resolve of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to protect all citizens irrespective of their creed, region and social status from all forms of crimes and maltreatment

    “As a Muslim women human rights advocacy organisation, it gladdens our hearts that the assault case of a sister in hijab can get the attention of the governor. Indeed, this singular swift intervention of the government gives much hope to the ordinary man on the street that their rights can no longer be infringed upon with impunity.”

  • Passenger takes assault case to govt

    Passenger takes assault case to govt

    IN pursuit of justice, a passenger assaulted by a driver and his conductor has taken her grievance to the Lagos State Government.

    Miss Kafayat Rabiu is dissatisfied with the way the police at Alakuko handled the case, saying they did not act “like professionals”.

    Miss Rabiu was assaulted for challenging the Danfo driver and his conductor, who allegedly refused to take her and other passengers to their destination.

    She decried the way a female officer attended to her at the station, claiming that “she warned me not to disturb her with my noise.”

    Miss Rabiu spoke at the Alausa, Ikeja office of the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef, where she went to seek redress.

    She said: “Immediately I left the scene of the incident, I went to Alakuko Police Station. On getting there, I was not attended to on time. While I was crying, one of the female officers at the counter told me to stop disturbing them with my noise since they were not the ones that assaulted me and asked why I did not cry to those that beat me. Later on, two of their men accompanied me to the place and on getting there, we met some of the passengers who told them to handle the case very well that those guys are wicked people, but the driver had fled.”

    When she returned to the station two days later, she was told that the driver has not been apprehended.

    She said: “I realised that the police cannot do anything for me if I continue going there, hence my coming to the state government. Those guys ply that route every time; so if they want to apprehend them, they would.

    “I want the government to come to our aid especially us women. Whenever we board commercial buses, some of us are taken beyond our bus stops, while some would be told to alight at a bus stop different from where they want to alight and the motor boys would just say that there is nothing we can do. The government should take it up and ensure they behave decently. I have only always seen it in movies. It was that day (March 31) that I experienced such lunatic display.”

    Responding, AbdulLateef, who received her on behalf of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, said the government does not tolerate any acts of assault and battery.

    He said: “We are a government that is mindful of our responsibility to safeguarding the welfare of our citizens and not endangering it, so, we are going to ensure that the full wrath of the law is brought upon this person who is on the run. Governor Ambode does not support it. The machinery of the law will be deployed to ensure that the rule of law is applied in this case. It is totally uncalled for. It is barbaric and something that cannot stand the test of time.”

    AbdulLateef urged National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to check its members’ excesses and ensure that those who relate with the public are decent.

    The government, he said, took measures, such as the ban on alcohol sale in motor parks, to avoid such indecent act.

    “You can see what is consumed at the various motor parks, it predisposes them towards misbehaviour. So, we want the leadership of the NURTW to train and re-orientate its members to avoid all forms of man inhumanities to man”, he said.

    The commissioner urged the police to live up to their calling because “if we do not allow the full adjudication of the justice administration system, people would eventually be frustrated and take the laws into their hands. We expect the police to respond swiftly. That is why we would ensure that the Commissioner of Police is involved at this stage to ensure that justice is obtained because when justice is denied, it affects every citizen of this country.”

    Coordinator of Al-Muminaat Social Advocacy Project Mrs Sherifah Yusuf-Ajibade, who led Miss Rabiu to the secretariat, urged the government to ensure the culprit is brought to book.

    She said: “It is becoming alarming what these drivers do. Almost every driver you come across is drunk and the police allow them to drive without doing anything about it. I think the NURTW to needs to have a record of drivers whereby they can determine who is doing what. It is also important that they curb the issue of drinking and driving. They should have a register of everybody that is driving at what time and if there is a way to locate them.”

    Mrs Yusuf-Ajibade described the police action as sad, adding “This person ran to them seeking their help and they even mocked and ridiculed her. They were not concerned with what the driver did to her. She even snapped the pictures and took it to them and they told her there is nothing the police can do about it. This makes us wonder if there is a relationship between the hooligans, the law breakers and the police. It is very horrible for the police to say they can do nothing about the fact that someone was assaulted and for them to even mock and ridicule the complainant. That is why a lot of Nigerians have lost faith in the police and some people even endure abuse without speaking up because they know they cannot get justice. In a situation like that, there is going to be a continuous breach of law and order.”

  • ‘Assault’: Trader threatens N100m suit against Edo commissioner

    ‘Assault’: Trader threatens N100m suit against Edo commissioner

    Ttrader, Mrs Oghosa Ejemai, has said she lost a seven-week pregnancy after she was allegedly assaulted by the Edo State Commissioner for Transport, Isimeme Iriogbe.

    The distraught woman has threatened to institute a N100 million suit against the commissioner.  Mrs Ejemai said she was pained by the commissioner’s failure to apologise to her after the assault.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Benin, the state capital, Mrs Ejemai said she was assaulted on February 2 when the commissioner led some “boys” to pack her wares at her shop on Mission Road in Benin.

    The trader said she was beaten up for resisting the “boys”.

    She said: “I started bleeding on the third day and when I went to hospital, the doctor confirmed that I lost my seven-week pregnancy.

    “I was their target that day as it was only my shop that was looted. I was not selling on the road. The commissioner held me by my jeans and started hitting me. He tried to push me in the vehicle but my neighbours came to my rescue.

    “After that day, I reported at the police station. When I went to collect my goods, I could only see five per cent of what they had carted away.”

    The state’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has offered to pay the legal fees for Mrs Ejemai’s N100 million suit.

    The party’s Publicity Secretary Chris Nehikhare said the gesture was meant to protect Edo residents from further harassment.

    But Iriogbe said he was wanted to clear traders from the walkways when Mrs. Oghosa allegedly assaulted a traffic official in his team.

    He said: “Let us meet in court. Her goods were blocking the walkway. We did not enter her shop. I didn’t know her until that day. We are waiting for her in court.”

  • Assault on pupil: Group hails govt over removal of principal, others

    Assault on pupil: Group hails govt over removal of principal, others

    A group, Child Welfare Project (CWP), has commended the Lagos State government for redeploying the Principal and teachers involved in flogging of a student of Eva Adelaja Girls Secondary School, Bariga, Ogechi Anyawelelchi.
    Ogechi, was said to have been flogged by her teachers on the instruction of the principal, Mrs. C.O Coker on March 16, 2016, following an altercation she had with the Head Girl of the school.
    The 14-year-old Junior Secondary School (JSS 2) student suffered several wounds on her body as a result of the floggings.
    National Coordinator of CWP, Comrade Abraham Anifowoshe said:”The case of assault on the pupil, Blessing Anyawelechi, by the Principal and teachers of the school would have festered out of control but for the timely intervention of the state government.
    “We commend the efforts of Ministry of Youth and Social Development and Ministry of Education for considering the matter urgent enough for investigation and reprimanding those found culpable.”
    Comrade Anifowoshe urged the state government to put in place a proactive monitoring of students and teachers in public schools in the state in order to stave off similar incident in future.
    The Nation learnt that those involved in the matter including Ogechi, her parents, the Head Girl, the principal of the school, the teachers and Tutor-General of Education District 2, were present at a meeting chaired by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunla and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Mrs Olabisi Ariyo, and not a probe panel as earlier reported in the media.

  • Civil servant docked over alleged assault

    Civil servant docked over alleged assault

    A 49- year-old civil servant, Abraham Omoniyi was on Thursday arraigned before an Okitipupa Magistrates’ Court over alleged assault on one Rahman Oladele.

    The prosecutor, Sgt. Ayodeji Omoyeigha told the court that the accused on Jan. 23 at Sarajoe Street, Okitipupa slapped Oladele in his office.

    He said that the accused also used a knife to threaten Oladele while he was performing his official duty.

    The prosecutor said that the offence was contrary to Section 351, Criminal Code, Cap.37, Vol.1, Laws of Ondo State 2006.

    The accused, of no fixed address, however, pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge.

    The Magistrate, Mr. Chris Ojuola granted the accused bail in the sum of N30, 000 with a surety in like sum and adjourned the case till March.1 for further hearing.

    Ojuola said that the surety must present one year tax clearance.