The Nation Newspaper

Tag: assaults

  • Man assaults neighbour over cigarette

    A 23-year-old man, Joachim Kikogble, who allegedly cut his neighbour with a razor blade for failing to buy him cigarette, is facing a charge of assault at a Yaba Magistrates’ Court.

    He pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Modupe Olaluwoye alleged that Kikogble, who lives in Yaba, cut the hand of Mr. Solomon Mifokpo because he refused to buy a packet of cigarette for him.

    The prosecutor alleged that the defendant committed the offence on March 11, at Oko-Agbon Street, Yaba.

    The defendant, she said, stopped Mifokpo on the street and made the request.

    “My Lord, when the complainant refused to buy the cigarette, it resulted in an argument and then a fight.

    “The defendant brought out a razor blade from his pocket and cut the complainant on his right hand.

    “The complainant had to be taken to a pharmacy to get treated,” Olaluwoye said.

    She said the defendant had a misunderstanding with the complainant.

    Chief Magistrate Oluwatoyin Oghere granted the defendant N50,000 bail, with two sureties in the like sum.

    She said one of the sureties must be a relation of the defendant, adding that the  sureties must be employed and possess evidence of three years’ tax payment to the state government.

    The case was adjourned till June 26.

  • Woman assaults six-year-old niece over plate of rice

    A woman, Nkechi Ibrahim, who allegedly flogged her six-year-old niece and tied her legs to a table for eating an extra plate of rice, has been arraigned at an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court.

    Ibrahim, 43, who lives at 5, Omoojule Street, Iju Ishaga, a Lagos suburb, was arraigned for alleged assault. She pleaded not guilty.

    Chief Magistrate B. O. Osunsami granted her N200,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    She said the sureties must be employed with evidence of three years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government. Their addresses will be verified by the court.

    She adjourned till February 25.

    Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ezekiel Ayorinde alleged that the accused caned Christabel Olatunji, tied her legs to a table, shut the door and went out.

    He said the accused committed the offence on January 17 at 5pm at her residence.

    Ayorinde alleged that the accused hit her niece’s head on the wall before she tied her legs to a table.

    He said the extra plate of rice was kept for the accused’s daughter.

    “The landlord, who heard the groaning of the niece, opened the door and took her to hospital.

    “The social workers at the hospital reported the matter to the police,” the prosecutor said.

  • Boy assaults girl, 6, in toilet

    An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court yesterday remanded a 16-year-old boy in a correctional home for alleged indecent assault of a six-year-old girl in a toilet.

    Magistrate B.O. Osunsanmi said the boy should be kept in custody, pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

    The boy, who lives with his parents at Abule-Egba, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The prosecutor, Mr Ezekiel Ayorinde, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP),  said the defendant committed the offence on April 7, at Abule-Egba.

    He alleged that the boy thrust his fingers into the girl’s private parts.

    Ayorinde said: “The minor went to buy sweets and the defendant snatched it from her and ran. The girl ran after him.

    “He ran into a toilet and the girl also followed. He closed the toilet door, removed her pant and put his fingers in her private parts and also kissed her chest.

    “When he wanted to insert his sex organ, a man entered the toilet, saw the scene and raised the alarm.

    “The defendant was handed over to the police.”

    According to him, the offence contravened Section 134 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

    The section prescribes seven years jail term for offenders.

    The case continues on May 28.

  • Man allegedly assaults policeman

    Man allegedly assaults policeman

    A 32-year-old man, Saheed Alowonle, who allegedly assaulted and willfully destroyed the reflective jacket of a policeman while on duty, on Monday appeared before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.
    Alowonle, whose address was not provided, is facing two counts of assault and malicious damage.
    The defendant, according to the prosecutor, Sergeant Babaji Ishaku, committed the offence on April 7, at Aguda, Ogba, opposite Excellence Hotel.
    He said the defendant assaulted Sergeant Omege Folusayo, who was performing his lawful duty by holding his jacket. “The defendant destroyed the officer’s reflective jacket in the process.”
    In his ruling, the Magistrate, Mr J.A. Adegun, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N100, 000 with two sureties in like sum. Adegun said the sureties must be blood relations of the defendants and should provide evidence of tax payment to the state government.
    The court adjourned the case till May 22 for mention.

  • …as warring parties exchange fresh verbal assaults

    The battle for the  Abia State governorship seat got messier yesterday  with   parties loyal to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and Dr Uche Ogah throwing tantrums at each other.

    Thirteen pressure groups and non-governmental organisations yesterday in Enugu called on Ogah to rein in his ambition until Ikpeazu exhausts his constitutional right to appeal the judgment of the lower court.

     In a statement made available to The Nation,  the spokesperson of the groups and leader of Ndinwe Abia Congress, Pastor Uwadiegwu Ogbaegbe, said: “Democracy is not synonymous to gangsterism. We  frown at the Justice Okon Abang ruling which made INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) to hastily give Certificate of Return to Dr Uche Ogah, contrary to legal and moral stipulations.

    “We want the National Judicial Council to investigate the ruling. The anti-corruption agencies should also  investigate INEC  officials and other persons who may have been compromised along the line.

    “We are  confident that the Appeal Court will do justice to the Abuja High Court’s  ruling which brought political and moral disaster to Abia State.

     ”We equally want to use this opportunity to warn faceless groups like the so-called Igbo Wuotu group to stop inciting the public and threatening the peace in Abia State.

    “We therefore enjoin Governor Ikpeazu to remain calm as he has  been and look up to God for justice.”

    But Ogah’s spokesperson, Barrister Monday Onyekachi Ubani, in a chat with The Nation described the support by various groups for  Ikpeazu as  a mere propaganda that is being used to impoverish the state.

    He said: “The Senate delegation,  the Ohanaeze youths  and other groups  that are giving their support to Ikpeazu are faceless.

    “They are not attached to anybody. It is all propaganda machinery put in place by Ikpeazu.

    “He is busy wasting money on propaganda when workers are being owed salaries.

    “What kind of support are they giving to support an evil?

    “The court sacked Ikpeazu and they are coming out to give support. What kind of support is that?

    “No matter what they do, the decision of the judiciary on this matter will not be affected.”

    He denied claims by Ikpeazu during the week that he reached out to Ogah to get his support.

    He said: “I am not aware that Ikpeazu formally approached him to seek his support. But I am aware that they used to greet at public functions, and that is not tantamount to approaching him.

    “He can also not ask him to  jettison his ambition because he wasn’t the one that put the ambition there in the first place.”

  • Man assaults girl in Oshodi

    Man assaults girl in Oshodi

    A man on Monday night assaulted a girl in Oshodi, Lagos.

    Omowunmi was said to be playing with her friend on Mafoluku road, Oshodi when Orji appeared and asked her why she was boasting to beat him.

    She told him that she was referring to her friend, Chindinma and not him.

    Orji was said to have descended on her. Efforts by passersby to rescue her from him failed.

    Her friend later assisted her to escape from the man.

    On getting home, she reported the matter to her mother, who insisted that they go to the police.

    On their way to Makinde Police Station, Omowunmi slumped and she was rushed to a nearby hospital.

    She was injured on her mouth and cheeks.

    Omowunmi told The Nation how it all happend.

    She said: ‘’I was with my friend; as we were walking on the road, I was playing with her and told her I will beat her and we both laughed it off when the man approached me telling me I am threatening to beat him up. I quickly told him I was not referring to him but my friend and it is not a serious matter, we were just playing.

    “The man ignored my explanation and said God will not hear my voice. I immediately forbade it and said God will hear my voice. He moved closer and started beating me. I cried for help; passersby tried to stop him but he kept saying he will kill me. Some of his friends also joined him in the assault. I was able to escape with the help of my friend and I was taken to my mother who suggested we report the matter to the police. I did not know how I got to the hospital but I remembered we were heading to the police station.’’

    An eyewitness told The Nation that Orji was probably trying to prevent the girls from running into vehicles on the road where they were playing.

    ‘’I don’t know what actually transpired between them but I know the girls were playing and I believe Orji was asking them to stop playing on the road,’’ he said.

    The victim’s mother said her daughter was assaulted for no just cause.

    ‘’I have spent up to N17,000 in hospital bills. We have been here since yesterday (Monday) night and she is going to be discharged today (yesterday). She was so weak on Monday, I thank God she is still alive. My daughter does not know that man, I don’t know why he decided to bully my daughter,’’ she said.

  • Phone ‘thief’ assaults police sergeant

    Phone ‘thief’ assaults police sergeant

    A 32-YEAR-OLD man, Idowu Nojeem, has allegedly attacked a Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operative in the line of duty.

    Nojeem was said to have assaulted Sergent Oladipo Adetunbi while attempting to rob him of his Tecno Y5 handset at Ikeja last Tuesday.

    Despite receiving blows on his face, Adetumbi, who was on surveillance around Ikeja Under Bridge, did not allow Nojeem to escape.

    A statement by RRS quoted an eye witness as saying: “I was with the policeman when the suspect forcefully removed the phone from the operative’s front pocket. He never knew he was a policeman because the officer was not in uniform. As he moved closer to him, he stylishly covered his face with a newspaper, and removed the phone. We were all shocked that someone could have such an effrontery to rob in a public place.  Immediately the policeman pulled the suspect by his shirt but the suspect said he should forget his phone that it’s gone. He started beating the policeman before we could separate them.”

    “When it was obvious that he was gaining an upper hand, a traffic warden and other policemen close by stepped in to separate them. Then, the operative now dragged him to other RRS operatives stationed at the Under Bridge, Ikeja,” the statement added.

    At under the bridge, a woman, Nneka Adoh, walked up to challenge the suspect for stealing her phone few hours before the incident.

    Adoh said: “I was trying to board a bus to Ogba when I sighted three guys including the suspect, walking beside me. The suspect was intermittently drawing my bag from behind but I held my bag tight. But I didn’t know he has used a razor blade to cut the bag and taken all my two phones (Tecno F5 and P5).

    “Immediately I turned and checked my bag, my phones were gone. A passerby, who saw the suspect when he was removing my phones, pointed at him for stealing my phone. Truly, I saw the two phones with him from afar but I was too afraid to confront him,” she said.

    Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmus said the police would not condone crime, promising that other members of the syndicate would soon be arrested.

    The suspect has been charged to court.

  • Police orderly assaults gateman

    Police orderly assaults gateman

    A policeman on Wednesday assaulted a gateman for asking him to remove a car parked in front of a house.

    The incident occurred close to a Visa Application Centre in Lekki, Lagos.

    Virgilus Odueze, the gateman, was said to have approached the driver of the VolksWagen Touareg marked AKD630BD to tell him that he was blocking his master’s gate.

    Angered by the guard’s directive, the policeman believed to have escorted the car owner to the Visa Centre, stormed out of the car and started insulting the gateman.

    According to Odueze’s employer, Chijioke Uwandu, the policeman cocked his gun and pointed it at the gateman.

    “He cocked the rifle and pointed it at my security man. And then, he smashed his feet with it, resulting in severe injuries. This is a man that is very hypertensive. The policeman is attached as security detail to a VIP.

    “It happened around 11:45am. Due to the fact that we live in close proximity to a visa application centre in Lekki, several visitors to the centre often park haphazardly in front of our compound.

    “So, this vehicle parked in front of our residence and my security man came out and asked the driver of the vehicle to please move the car. But the policeman jumped out and insulted him.

    “When he insisted that they move the vehicle, the policeman cocked his rifle and pointed it at him, then smashed his feet with the rifle, resulting in severe injuries.

    “Once the policeman attacked him, people around tried to restrain him, but he was brandishing his gun. The people told my security man to run and out of fear, he retreated into the compound and locked himself in. In the commotion, the policeman zoomed off, leaving him in a pool of blood.

    “This is a man in his 50s and is hypertensive. I have taken him to the Naval Dockyard Medical Centre on Ahmadu Bello Way,Victoria Island for treatment,” he said.

  • Bizman assaults commercial sex worker over fee

    A 35 -year- old businessman, Arinze Nnachi, has appeared before an Ebute Meta  Magistrate Court for allegedly assaulting a commercial sex worker, Patience Sunday, he had slept with.

    He is charged with  unlawful assault and stealing.

    The offences according to the police prosecutor , Inspector Asu Feddy, are punishable under Sections 172 and 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The accused  is alleged to have picked  Patience from a hotel  on  May 19, 2015 and took her home for sex for a fee of N5, 500.

    Trouble however started when,business over, Arinze allegedly offered  Patience N2, 000 instead of the agreed N5, 500.

    Patience insisted on taking her N5,5000.

    A heated argument soon ensued and degenerated into Arinze punching Patience.

    Two other men,now on the run,allegedly joined Arinze in beating up Patience and forcibly stripping her naked.

    Patience claimed to have managed to escape from the scene after suffering  injury on her right eye, and having her  wallet, handbag, clothes and mobile phone worth N45,000  allegedly stolen by Arinze and his accomplices.

    She then went to lodge a complaint with the police.

    The presiding magistrate, E.O Ogunkanmi, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N20, 000 and a surety in the like sum.

    The case was adjourned to June 30 for mention .

  • Ex-Governor Audu’s aide assaults EFCC operative in court

    Former Kogi State Governor Abubakar Audu yesterday assaulted an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in court in Abuja.

    Audu is in court to answer charges for an alleged involvement in a contract scam to the tune of N11 billion.

    He reportedly ordered his security aide (a police officer) to assault an operative of the EFCC, Haruna Ashade, for daring to take his photograph in court. EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren, said Ashade, who was assigned to cover the proceedings, was carrying out his duties when Audu’s aide descended on him.

    Recounting how it happened, Uwugiaren said: “The sudden realisation that his image might have been captured by the cameraman incensed Prince Audu. Seething with rage, he demanded for the camera. When Ashade refused to hand the equipment over to the accused person, Prince Audu called on one of his aides, a police inspector, to forcefully collect the camera from Ashade and delete his pictures from it,” Uwujaren explained. “A scuffle ensured, which threw the court into confusion. Audu’s aide rained blows on Ashade in the attempt to snatch the camera from him. It took the personal intervention of Justice Ademola Adeniyi, who was about coming out of his chambers, to restore order. “Justice Adeniyi sent one of his assistants and his orderly to restrain Prince Audu’s aide. He was said to have ordered the release of the camera for it to be kept in the custody of the court until after the sitting. Ashade obliged them. “However, to the dismay of officials of the EFCC, when the camera was released, all the pictures taken in court had been deleted.”