Lagos State yesterday demolished the structures that once served as administrative and recruitment office for the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) Taskforce at the old tollgate axis along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. It was learnt Governor Akinwunmi Ambode ordered the immediate demolition of the building which housed the Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) in the state. It was further gathered the Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit was directed to demolish the structure last Monday but could not carry out the execute it before yesterday due to some exigencies Before the state turned bulldozer on the building, former governor Babatunde Fashola wrote to former President Goodluck Jonathan over use of the building for illegal recruitment of youths at loggerheads with state government officials. Though the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government could not explain the specific status of the officials who claimed to be working for the presidency, the SURE-P youths abandoned the premises after the general elections. Some persons suspected to be miscreants later converted the place for other activities. At the time of filling this report, the miscreants said to be part of the over 5,000 youths recruited by the agency displaced by the demolition were seen hovering around the area. Rubbles and heap of documents used by the agency were sited carted away from the scene by trucks. Confirming the demolition, the Chairman of Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit, Hakeem Adedeji, a Superintendent of Police, said it was ordered by the state governor. He said: “The reason for the demolition of this place is to the best knowledge of the governor because he was the one who directed that the buildings should be pulled down for the interest of the public.” Adedeji said he believed that the governor must have issued the directive based on the abandonment and conversion of the facilities into hideout by miscreants. He said: “In fact when we arrived, we couldn’t find any federal government officials inside the building but street urchins. And there is need to avoid that. “That was why we believe that if the building is demolished, no one will convert it for as hideout.”
Tag: demolishes
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Abia demolishes suspected kidnapper’s house
Abia State government has demolished a building at Umuariaga Oboro in Ikwuano Local Government. A source alleged that the house belonged to Ogbuonye Ogbonna Daniel, a suspected kidnapper.
Speaking to reporters in Umuahia, the Security Adviser to the Abia State Governor/State Task Force Chairman on Environmental and Allied Matters, Capt. Awa Udonsi Agwu (rtd.), said the measure was to act as a deterrent to others.
He said government abhorred kidnapping and would stop it.
Agwu said government was taking a census of suspected kidnappers’ houses and would demolish them after the exercise.
The residents of Umuariaga, who spoke on condition of anonymity, hailed the government for the demolition.
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Enugu demolishes MFM headquarters
Government bulldozers yesterday demolished the Southeast headquarters of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM) in Enugu.
Amid wailing and chanting of prayers, the bulldozers made their way into the premises of the 16- year-old church building and demolished the two-storey edifice.
Church members wailed and cursed and the pastors ran helter-skelter as parts of the building caved in. The demolition was carried out by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority on the grounds that the “structure is illegal and unapproved.”
Its commissioner, Mr. Ikechukwu Ugwuegede, told reporters that an application for approval was considered and rejected in March last year.
He said it was rejected because “the building encroaches on a stream and road reserves and the construction is outside the purpose clause of the property, as the area is designated for commercial development and not for institutional use.”
Ugwuegede added that there was evidence of structural instability, as there was a proof of failure of reinforced concrete elements at the northern end of the basement area of the structure.
His words: “The state government gave the church the opportunity to correct the illegality, but it refused.
“Three months ago, government gave an alternative allocation of about 20 plots to the church.”
The pastor Kennedy Udogaranya, admitted that an alternative land was given to them. He said they pleaded with the government to give them time to sort out things.
“We discovered that the land given to us, located on Plot P/11 Idaw River Layout, is in dispute. The dispute is between the Enugu Ngwo people and the Awkunanaw Amechi people.”
Pastor Udogaranya told our reporter that they never said they would not quit the site, “but all we asked for was time for us to get our acts together. That was why we were surprised when our church was demolished.”
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Delta demolishes more kidnappers’ buildings
The Delta State Government has demolished a multi-million naira building allegedly being used as operational base for suspected kidnappers and robbers in Ubulu-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area .
This brings to eight the number of buildings destroyed by the government this year.
The government has taken a tough stance against kidnapping, following the recent passage of a bill by the House of Assembly, stipulating death penalty for kidnappers.
Commissioner of Police Ikechukwu Aduba yesterday said some kidnap victims were rescued from the property.
He said: “The government has ordered the demolition of some identified operational bases of hoodlum in the state. We have destroyed two in Ozoro, Isoko North, two in Kokori, Ethiope East, one in Orogun, Ughelli North and two others in Warri.
Aduba said other buildings have been marked for demolition in Ogwashi-Uku and Onicha-Olona.
He said the Land Use Act states that all lands belong to government, adding that the government can revoke any land used to commit crime and acquire it for common good.
The police said it has re-arrested a Lagos businessman, Dr John Jideonwu, for allegedly jumping bail.
Jideonwu allegedly jumped bail while being investigated in a case of conspiracy, stealing and malicious damage of Asaba Sports Club.
The club, which was built in 1864, was destroyed by unknown persons using earthmoving equipment.
It is the subject of a tripartite legal tussle among Jideonwu, Umuezei community and the government.
The businessman, in a petition to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, denied complicity in the destruction of the property.
The suspect allegedly committed the offence in 2011, following which he was arrested and granted bail.
The suspect through his counsel, Austin Emordi, has written a series of petitions, alleging abuse of office and a plot to assassinate him.
However, the government revoked the rights of occupancy of the contested property in 2011.
Police spokesman Lucky Uyabeme, who confirmed the arrest, said the suspect and his lawyer was arrested after destroying duly endorsed warrant of arrest.
He said the counsel has been arraigned in court.
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JTF demolishes suspected Boko Haram leader’s home in Benue
A military Joint Task Force (JTF) from Abuja at the weekend demolished a bungalow it alleged was the hideout of a suspected Boko Haram commander in Gboko, Benue State.
Gboko is the ancestral headquarters of the Tiv.
It is located in Benue Northwest Senatorial Zone and is an hour’s journey (about 22 kilometres) from Makurdi, the state capital.
Armed soldiers in six operation vans stormed the bungalow in Gboko South, near a primary school, and arrested a woman and a landlord living there.
A member of the JTF, who spoke in confidence, explained that the suspect was traced through his handset to Gboko.
It was, however, learnt that as the security men closed in on his hideout, the suspect escaped through the back door.
He reportedly left his “girlfriend”, who sources alleged he kidnapped from Abuja.
There was a heavy exchange of gunfire between the JTF and the suspect.
Bullets from the JTF hit nearby buildings.
The suspect was said to have escaped with bullet wounds.
There was confusion and panic among the residents.
Some residents watched from the distance as the operation lasted.
Officers and men of Benue State Police Commanded were reportedly taken unawares.
When armed soldiers stormed the compound, they discovered that their target had escaped.
They went away and returned shortly with a bulldozer with which they demolished the bungalow.
The first bulldozer broke down. This reportedly annoyed the JTF men, who allegedly beat him up before getting another to complete the demolition.
The suspect’s “girlfriend” and the landlord were reportedly moved to Abuja for interrogation.
Gboko residents have since tightened security around churches following the exercise.
The Nation gathered that the suspect has been on the wanted list of security agencies because of his alleged involvement in bombing of churches in the North.
Police spokesman Daniel Ezeala, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (DSP), told The Nation that the operation was carried out by a combined security team from Abuja.
He, however, directed our correspondent to the State Security Service (SSS) command for further reaction.
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Obi demolishes kidnap suspect’s homes
Anambra State Governor Peter Obi yesterday intensified his battle against kidnappers.
He led a team of policemen to demolish buildings belonging to a suspected kidnap kingpin, Emeka Ezekude in Uli, Ihiala Local Government Area.
The demolition was carried out by heavy cranes supervised by the governor and the police.
Obi restated his administration’s determination to make Anambra State uncomfortable for criminals, but comfortable for residents especially during the yuletide period.
According to him, “our policy is to eradicate crime in the state by implementing death sentences on kidnappers as required by our law”.
Obi said aside from demolishing kidnapper’s property to serve as deterrent to others, government would revoke the land upon which such buildings are erected, and transfer same as government property.
He said high grades of arms and ammunition were recovered in the kidnapper’s houses and dens.
Police spokesman Raphael Uzoigwe said Emeka Ezekude had been a high profile criminal in the state. He said he was involved in kidnapping a traditional ruler.
He said the arrest of Ezekude was possible following a tip-off.
Before his arrest, the suspect was a local building contractor in his community and environs.
A source said: “We didn’t know he was into criminal activities until his arrest. He is a known local contractor who supplies sand to people for building”.
“It was later that we discovered that while doing his contract jobs, he was spying on people with the intent to kidnap their parents and relations for ransom,” he said.
The Deputy Commissioner of police in charge of operations, Mr Ayole Abeh, who accompanied the governor to Uli for the exercise, explained that the suspect confessed to being an armed robber and a kidnapper during interrogation.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that one of the buildings, a nine-bedroom executive bungalow, was at the finishing stage. The other was a four bedroom bungalow.
The suspect was said to belong to the kidnap gang led by the Olisa Ifejika, whose mansions were demolished at Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government two months ago.
Ifejika was said to have named Ezekude as a member of his gang while being interrogated by the police and investigations led to the discovery of arms and ammunition in his house at Uli.
Items recovered from the house included, one rocket grenade, three grenade propellers, two A.K47 riffles, zero six riffle, 27 A.K47 magazines, 170 rounds of live ammunition and nine chains used in restraining kidnap victims.
The arms and ammunition were hidden underground in plastic containers in his premises.
The demolition brings to three the number of demolitions already carried out in the state.