The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Gowon Estate

  • Suspected cultist gets N50, 000 bail

    A 25-year-old man, Abdulmumini Oseni, who on Friday appeared before an Ogudu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly belonging to a cult known as ‘Eiye’ confraternity, had been granted bail.

    The accused is facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and belonging to an unlawful society.

    Oseni, who resides at Seriki Oro in Ikeja area of Lagos, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The Prosecutor, Sgt. Lucky Ihiehie, told the court that the offences were committed on Sept. 1 at about 4:00 a.m. at Gowon Estate, Egbeda Area of Lagos State.

    Oseni and three others now at large, invaded the complainants’ house with axe and cutlass and introduced themselves as ‘Eiye’ Confraternity members.

    According to the complainant, Mr Abubakar Ahmed, they told him that they came to treat his misdeeds.

    They said they fought against intimidation and that the complainant shouldn’t dare them.

    Read Also: 11 men arraigned for alleged cultism in Lagos

    Ihiehie told the police that Oseni pointed a gun at the complainants head and told him to remove his clothes as they beat him up with belt, cable wire and inflicted severe injuries on his body.

    He said they (accused) used their phones to video the whole thing and later moved the complainant to an unknown place where he was forced to do a mobile transfer of N30, 000 into one of their accounts before they stopped beating him.

    The case was reported to the Anti-Cultism Unit, Gbagada, on Sept. 9 and the complainant told the police that he didn’t know the men but could be able to identify them.

    The offences contravened Sections 42 (9) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    The Magistrate, Mrs E. Kubeinje, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

    She said the sureties must show proof of means of livelihood with an evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government for two years.

    The case was adjourned until Nov. 11.

    NAN

  • Fire hits Gowon Estate in Lagos

    Fire hits Gowon Estate in Lagos

    A night fire engulfed and burnt three duplexes on 34 Road, B Close, Gowon Estate, Egbeda Lagos on Friday without any record of casualty.

    An eyewitness told NAN the fire was first noticed at about 7.15 p.m in one of the duplexes before spreading to the others.

    He said that an occupant in one of duplexes, who had just returned, opened the door and met the raging fire.

    He immediately raised an alarm which attracted neighbours and sympathisers.

    According to the witness, the bewildered occupant’s action quickly attracted more sympathisers who ran helter-skelter in assisting to put-off the fire but their efforts were not enough.

    But the arrival and efforts of a combined team of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and State Fire Service officials to the scene helped to quench the fire.

    The estate had also recorded a late night inferno on Nov. 28, 2017, which gutted five of eight shops attached to a Union Bank building on 411 Road Junction.

     

  • Lagos communities decry poor power supply by Ikeja Electric

    Electricity consumers in some suburbs of Lagos State on Friday decried poor electricity supply by Ikeja Electric (IE) in the last one month in spite of proclaimed improvement in power generation.

    The consumers expressed their feelings in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Those in Okota, Alaguntan and Gowon Estate areas the hours in which electricity was supplied daily had reduced drastically.

    They also said that contrary to their expectations, the reduction in supply was not accompanied by reduction in monthly billing by the company.

    Mr Godfrey Okoro, a resident of Okota, said the inconsistent power supply in the area had become “dehumanising.“

    Okoro further said the power supply to Okota had reduced considerably, compared to the estimated billing being brought by IE representatives, resulting in unnecessary confrontation between the consumers and the IE staff.

    “What is our sin in this area that IE always gives us electricity for just one hour? To make matters worse, this light comes in the middle of the night when we are usually asleep.

    “The company will not even consider the shortfall at the end of the month while distributing bills for the previous month.

    “This is injustice, we hope that the privatisation of power in Nigeria will provide results to the lingering power supply problems, but it is even worse now,’’ Okoro said.

    Another consumer from Gowon Estate, Mr Joseph Folorunsho, said energy supply to the area had reduced in the last two months for reasons IE could not explain.

    Folorunsho said, “It is unfortunate that we are experiencing this blackout; we pay our bills regularly, yet there is no value for the money we pay for electricity.

    “I thought the new government will bring us out of the doldrums but it appears we are being plunged deeper into darkness by the DISCOs.

    “It is so bad that you cannot buy food items in bulk to store in the freezer to save cost in this harsh economy, this is terrible.’’

    Mr Abiodun Yusuf, a resident of Alaguntan in Alimosho Local Government Area, said that the transformer supplying energy to the community had been faulty since February, causing irregular power supply with no solution in sight.

    Yusuf appealed to the company to replace the old transformer, adding that the outage had domestic and economic repercussions for the community.

    When contacted, Mr Felix Ofulue, the Head, IE Corporate Communications Unit, said the shortfall in power supply to consumers was due to the reduction in the supply received from the National Grid (NG).

    According to Ofulue, it is what IE gets from the national grid that it shares equitably among its customers.

    “Some may seem to get more than the others because of a combination of technical and commercial factors.

    “From Okota to Ikotun, cases of vandalism are very rampant and this is contributory to reduction in power supply to consumers in those areas.

    “In the last three months, we have witnessed more than 10 cases of vandalism in these areas,’’ the IE official said.

    Ofulue, assured the residents of Alaguntan that another transformer would be provided for the community soon.

    For Iyanapaja and Gowon Estate residents, he said the irregular power supply being experienced in the two areas were as a result of collapsed towers at Shagari Estate.

    “The collapsed towers at Shagari Estate have affected the Agege and Ipaja injection, and disrupted power to many areas within that environment.

    “However, we are on top of the situation as repairs are ongoing on the towers, it should be completed by the end of May.’’

    He apologised for the inconveniences caused by irregular power supply to all the areas, saying that the company was concerned and working to normalise the situation.

     

  • Lagos repairs 40-year-old Gowon Estate roads

    The Lagos State Government has begun road repair in Gowon Estate, a Federal Housing Estate built about 40 years ago in Egbeda.

    The residents described it as first of its kind as successive governments had abandoned the area.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the rehabilitation, which started early this month, is being carried out through the Alimosho Local Government/Mosan Okunola Local Council Development Area.

    A NAN correspondent reports that the work which has a 16-week completion schedule, is being carried out on one of the estate’s major access roads, 41 Road.

    NAN reports that the kerbs, this is, the concrete pavement and the coal tar have been excavated.

    Chairman of the estate’s Community Development Association (CDA) Mr Nathaniel Okoro told NAN that the residents were happy with the government’s gesture.

    Okoro expressed hope that it would be the beginning of good things to come to the estate after about 40 years of its construction.

    “We want to believe this is the beginning of good things to come because there are so many other roads that are bad in this estate.

    “While we express our joy for the reconstruction of 41 Road, we pray that other roads will receive due attention. These are 4th and 5th Avenues, 3rd, 411, 401 and 1st Avenue,’’ Okoro said.

    The CDA chairman noted that the community was not informed of the specification or scope of the work to be done by the contractors,

    Wetland Construction Nigeria Ltd.

    “This will make it difficult for the community to check whether the work is according to specification or not.

    “Secondly, we don’t know if there will be walkways, because if there will be, the contractors will need the community’s co-operation to inform those who had built shops around the road to shift backwards.

    “They could also be asked to remove them from the sides of the road so that they will do their work.

    “We don’t know what plans they have for the median, whether there will be beautification; if there will be beautification, there will be need to tell the residents not to setup businesses on it.

    A top official at the Engineering Department of the council, who preferred not to be named, told NAN that the drainage  systems in the area were being worked on.

    The official noted the estate’s drainage system was underground, saying that was why the ongoing work was not noticeable.

    According to the official, the drainage must first be cleared before the actual reconstruction can start.

    The official decried the extent to which the drainage system was  blocked with disused tyres and other non-biodegradable refuse.

    “It is so bad and unfortunate for some residents to turn the drainage system into refuse dump; our men have been working underground for some weeks clearing the refuse.

    “If the refuse is not cleared and the drainage system properly  opened, the reconstruction cannot commence.

    “The recent rainfall testifies to the fact that the drainage has been worked  on as there was no flood in the area, unlike when the drainage was blocked,’’ the official said.

     

  • Gowon Estate CDA sues Lagos council over election

    The Gowon North Community Development Association (CDA) in Mosan-Okunola Local Council Development Area of Lagos State has instituted a suit against the council to stop it from conducting election into the association’s executive committee.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suit was filed on behalf of the community by their counsel, Mr Ogidiagba Muobosa, at an Ikeja High Court.

    No date has been fixed for hearing.

    Joined in the suit are the council’s Executive Secretary, Head of Agriculture Department and the State Commissioner for Rural Development.

    The claimants are praying the court for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants and their agents from conducting or supervising any election into the CDA’s executive committee scheduled for June 6.

    They want the status quo to be maintained pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

    In a 40-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Mr Dauda Oyebanji, the CDA’s Public Relations Officer, the claimants insisted that the CDA was a creation of the Lagos State Community Development Law 2008.

    Oyebanji averred that claimants had embarked on various self-help projects which included rehabilitation and maintaining of access roads within Gowon Estate in Egbeda.

    According to him, the only body empowered to conduct elections into the CDA is the Community Development Council.

    He said election into the executive committee was a biennial event (once in two years), adding that the tenure of the last executive expired in 2013.

    Oyebanji said there was no election into the offices because it was found out that most of the executive members were not eligible to run for elective positions, but only the current chairman was eligible.

    “A resolution was, therefore, passed on February 1, 2014 at the claimants’ monthly meeting that executive positions should be thrown open to all members, who indicated interest to run.

    “The election into the executive positions of the claimants was held on March 1, 2014 and officials were duly elected to fill the positions as advertised,” he averred.

    Oyebanji said it was, therefore, surprising that the second and third defendants issued a notice to the new executive indicating interest to conduct fresh elections on June 6.

    According to him, the defendants do not have the power or right to conduct the elections or dissolve the already elected executive.

    Oyebanji urged the court to grant the application in the interest of justice to avoid a possible breakdown of law and order within the community.