The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BABA IJEBU

  • Housewife gets divorce for husband’s addiction to gambling, alcohol

    Housewife gets divorce for husband’s addiction to gambling, alcohol

    A housewife, Funmi Sangogade, has urged a Grade C Customary Court at Agodi, Ibadan, to dissolve her 17 year-old marriage to one Kunmi Sangogade, for alleged addiction to gambling and alcohol.

    Funmi filed the divorce suit against her estranged husband for his failure in parental responsibilities, drunkenness and constant beating.

    In her testimony before the court on Thursday, the plaintiff said her husband was an addicted gambler and drunkard.

    “His love for alcohol and addiction to Baba-Ijebu can never be cured because I have tried all efforts to discourage him from gambling and excessive alcohol consumption but all efforts were in vain.

    “I solely shouldered the responsibilities of our two kids; in fact, I cannot remember when he assisted me in paying their school fees.

    “The worse is that my husband’s father used to support his addiction to gambling and even threatened to beat me whenever I have misunderstanding with him.

    “The court should dissolve the union, in view of the threat of my father-in-law and the incurable gambling addiction of my husband,” Funmi prayed the court.

    In his defence, Kunmi accused the plaintiff of having extra marital affair and that she had left his house since 2015.

    He prayed the court to uphold the request of the plaintiff, saying that he supported the marriage dissolution.

    The president of the court, Chief Mukaila Balogun, however, dissolved the marriage and ordered the two children to remain in the custody of the plaintiff.

    Balogun directed the defendant to pay N6, 000 monthly as allowances for the upkeep of the two children.

  • Housewife bags seven years for stabbing hubby to death over lottery

    A 29-year-old housewife, Onyinyechi Akunne, was on Monday in Lagos sentenced to seven years imprisonment for stabbing to death her 35-year-old husband, Abuchi Akunne, with a kitchen knife during an argument at home over lotto tickets known as “Baba Ijebu”.

    An Ikeja High Court sentenced her  following a plea bargain where the initial charge of murder was changed to a charge of causing grievous bodily harm to which she plead guilty.

    Justice Josephine Oyefeso also rejected a clause in the plea bargain agreement where it was proposed that the housewife should serve a sentence of community service instead of a prison term.

    “In view of the defendant’s pleading guilty, I hereby find her guilty of one-count charge of grievous bodily harm.

    “I hereby sentence her to seven years in prison starting from the day she remanded in prison custody which was March 28, 2015,” Oyefeso said.

    Before the sentence was pronounced, Akunne’s counsel, Mrs P.O. Onu, in her plea for mercy, told the court to temper justice with mercy.

    “The defendant is a first-time offender, she is a mother of a toddler which she gave birth to while in prison custody. Her  daughter is a year-and-seven months old, she still has a lot to offer to the society,” Onu said.

    The judge ordered that the convict’s daughter after weaning her, should be removed from the female prison and be kept in the custody of the relations.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that during Akunne’s arraignment on March 6, the State Prosecutor, Mrs C.K. Tuiyi-Carena, had told the court that the accused  committed the offence on March 28, 2015 at her residence located at No. 85, Idimu Road, Ejigbo, a suburb of Lagos.

    “On the day of the alleged murder, Onyinyechi was preparing a meal while Abuchi was sitting on a chair in their home looking at his “Baba Ijebu” lottery tickets.

    “Angered by her husband’s action, Onyinyechi scolded him for his love for gambling and a fight ensued between them.

    “She took the kitchen knife she was using to cut vegetables and stabbed her husband fatally in the chest.

    “The stabbing inflicted a deep cut in Abuchi’s chest which led to excessive blood loss and his eventual death.

    “The victim died before he could be taken to a hospital by Onyinyechi and concerned neighbours,” she said.

    Akunne was pregnant when the offence was committed and she gave birth to a baby girl while in custody at the Kirikiri Female Prisons.

    The toddler was in court with her mother for the sentence.

  • Woman, faces N168,000 lotto money theft charge

    A 39-year-old woman, who manages her employer’s lotto, was on Monday brought before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court charged with N168,000 fraud.

    The accused, Monsurat Showemimo, is facing a charge of stealing to which she pleaded not guilty.

    Showemimo, 39, resides No. 1, Abisagbo St., Customs Road, Matogun, Oke-Aro in Ogun.

    The prosecutor, Sgt. Joseph Ajebe, said that the accused was employed as the manager in charge of lottery (Premier lotto and pool popularly known as “Baba Ijebu) by the complainant, Mrs Roseline Ayodele, who reported the fraud.

    He said the offence was committed sometime in April 2016 at No. 14, Fadeyi St., off Ajayi Road, Oke-Ira, Ogba in Ikeja.

    “The accused was asked to be remitting daily sales to the complainant’s account which she never did. Rather, she converted N168,000 proceeds from sales to her use.”

    Ajebe said the accused disappeared after committing the fraud and was recently apprehended by the police.

    The offence contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011 which carries a three-year imprisonment.

    Chief Magistrate Alexander Komolafe granted the accused N50,000 bail with two sureties, who must be gainfully employed with an evidence of two years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

    The case has been adjourned to March 20 for trial.

  • Court stops Baba Ijebu’s bid to de-register lottery agents’ union

    The National Industrial Court (NIC), Lagos Division Wednesday dismissed a suit by Premier Lotto Limited (PPL) seeking the de-registration as a Trade Union of the National Union of Lottery Agents and Employees (NULAE).

    Justice Benedict Bakwaph Kanyip held that Premier Lotto, also known as “Baba Ijebu”, lacked the locus standi to institute the suit.

    The claimant (Premier Lotto) had prayed the court for a declaration that the registration of NULAE as a Trade Union by the Registrar of Trade Unions was unlawful, invalid and not accordance with the Trade Union Act.

    The claimant also sought for an order of perpetual injunction restraining NULAE, its servants and agents from holding itself out as a Trade Union and enjoying the rights and privileges of a registered union.

    But, ruling on the preliminary objection filed by NULAE through its lawyer, Joseph Olusola Iji, the court held that the claimant was only a busybody and a meddlesome interloper.

    Justice Kanyip observed that “the claimant is not comfortable with its agents being members of the defendant’s organisation.”

    He held further that the claimant wrongly abrogated to itself the right to determine who should be a member of Trade Union adding that the right to join a Trade Union belonged to the employee and not the employer.

    “It is not for an employer to elect whether or not to recognise a trade union,” Justice Kanyip added.

    Besides, the court held that the claimant’s suit failed to comply with Section 5(2) of the Trade Union Act which gives a three-month period of publication of the notice when NULAE was registered as a Trade Union.

    The court stated “The provision of Section 5(2) of the Trade Union Act is not in the statute for the fun of it.  Rather, it is to be fully exploited. Since the claimant failed to make use of its rights to challenge the registration of the union within the provided time frame, it is deemed as the claimant has slept on its rights and therefore barred by the doctrine of estoppel from raising further alarm”.

    Consequently, Justice Kanyip held that the suit was belated having failed to comply with the Trade Union Act, hence the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

    NULAE had in its notice of preliminary objection, brought pursuant to Sections 36 & 254C of the Constitution urged the court to dismiss the suit for lack of jurisdiction and that the suit was premature and lacked merit.

  • CELEBRITIES THRILL AT ‘BABA IJEBU GIVE BACK PROMO’

    CELEBRITIES THRILL AT ‘BABA IJEBU GIVE BACK PROMO’

    IT will be an outing to be remembered for a long time for the lucky winners of popular lottery game, Baba Ijebu, at the ‘Baba Ijebu Give Back Promo’ held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere last Saturday.

    The promo was held to commemorate the  80th birthday of Sir Kensington Adebutu, known as Baba Ijebu; the brain behind the Premier Lotto game.

    To mark the day, top entertainment artistes like Ronke Oshodi Oke, Femi Adebayo, Fathia Balogun, Alao Malaika, Funsho Adeolu, Adedoyin Kukoyi, and others came out in numbers to make the event a memorable one for the masses.

    The company fulfilled their promise to loyal players, by rewarding 328 lotto lovers across the country by giving away 80 units of LED television sets, 80 units of split-unit air-conditioners, 80 units of power generating sets, 80 units of refrigerators, and the star prize of eight Kia Cerato cars.

    The peak of the event was  performances by top musicians; Oritsefemi, Alao Malaika and Tuface Idibia. The event was spiced with comic relief by MC Olypia, and top comic act, Akpororo, who had the crowd rolling with laughter with his jokes.

    Among the eight winners of the Kia Cerato cars were Bamisile Michael, Victor Chukwu and Igbinoba Tony.

    Tunde Shofowora, Chief Executive Officer of Red Ribbon Limited, the Public Relations, Experiential Marketing & Creative Event Company that anchored the event, stated that Premier Lotto is awaiting the emergence of the remaining five Star Prize winners to come forward and claim their prizes. The winning numbers had earlier been published in national dailies.