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Tag: homes

  • ‘We have no homes to call our own’

    Residents of Railway Line in Ijora-Ajeromi in Ijora-Badia Local Council Development Area of Lagos State are united in misery. No thanks to the demolition of their homes, which the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning claims ignorance of. Joke Kujenya reports.

    Ijora-Ajeromi. That is its name. It knew good times. Now, it is all gloom. Homes have been pulled down, with residents left to sleep in the open. The Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning says it knows nothing about the demolition.

    The spokesperson for the community, Emmanuel Oladele Ojuri, said: “We sleep outside in the open. We have no homes to call our own. We have been rendered homeless and jobless without no steady means of livelihood. We’re ill and have no money to seek medical attention. For us, all hope is bleak and hopelessness has become our lot. Until anything is done for us, life here is vague.”

    Ojuri, an Elect-Elect graduate of the Yaba College of Technology, who was surrounded by men and women all looking melancholic, said: “The struggle started in 2013. The first demolition happened in 2013 and we all started wondering; why? When we asked what happened, we were told that the Ojora of Ijora said he wanted to claim this part of the land as it belonged to him. According to those who came on his behalf; they just called it ‘Taking possession’.

    “That was precisely on September 19th, 2013. Then, three days later, on the 22nd, they commenced demolition of our homes. Our first shocker was, why in three days? In fact, in our confusion, we were still thinking, how do we reach the Oba to know what was going on, why the sudden action and what was expected of us. We also wanted to know the import of the ‘Taking possession’ when some of us, some late now, have been here for over 45 years? We were told that the Oba said he was the owner of the land and that he had won the case in the law court. Meanwhile, we never even knew that there was any court case. We were not invited either to be parties to defend ourselves in any way or as mere observers of the proceedings. I don’t know if others were brought in to act for us in abstention. Then, why were we not given at least, months of prior notice? So, we began to wonder why were all these things happening in a nation with “unity, peace and progress” as our national mantra.

    “With all these questions, and despite the confusions, we were still looking for ways to see the Oba. So, while we couldn’t reach the Oba yet, we were able to seek help from some human rights groups. But ab initio, we used to have two Baales (local chiefs); one was ‘Agbokeji’ and the other, ‘Aworetan’, also known as Prince Daniel. There was even a third one, ‘Orokotan’. These men were the ones directing our affairs and we all lived in peace.

    “So, when we heard that the Ojora on Ijora took some men to court and got the permission to take possession, we and our Baales were not privy to such at all. And those three Baales were also not aware of the court case at all. So, it is a pity that they all died in sorrow because they were sad at suddenly becoming homeless later in their lives.”

    Ojuri, a father of eight children, a former Facility Manager with the Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN), said he has been living in the community since 1972.

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    He added: “We decided that our best bet would be to cry to the then Lagos Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola. So, we found a way to plead to Governor Fashola to find a way to visit us to see things for himself so he could come and see what we had been subjected to. Now, we don’t know if Governor Fashola was privy to or support the actions of the Ojora of Ijora. But clearly, we saw that the officers that came for the demolition were from the Lagos State Task Force. Our thinking was that it could have been a conspiracy but we have no facts. In the process, lots of people died due to the trauma. Some that are alive, are languishing in pains and penury. We have a 55 years of age woman subjected to elephantiasis in her left leg sustained from injury while we were being chased by men of the task force. She was hale and hearty before the entire crisis. However, after her home was destroyed and she began to sleep under direct sky, rain or shine, the injury began to metamorphose into something she could fathom. That’s how our nightmare began until today.

    “In the process, Governor Fashola commenced a Phase 1 Housing Project which set our hopes alight, and told us that we would be favoured when they are ready. But, as you can see, the houses have not neared completion.

    “Then, in 2015, when Ambode came on board, he also ordered that demolition should start from the Pallet Bus Stop entrance into this community to the termination point behind Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), that stretch to Ijora side. The next exit is to jump inside the lagoon.

    “By our rough estimates then, about 15,000 had been rendered homeless by the series of demolitions without cause. They never told us they were coming. They never told us what we did. And we never even suspected they would come on the different days they did. The fearful thing was that each time they came, they dispatched between about 1000 policemen for the operation. This time, they mounted Black Maria and God helped anyone they could lay their hands on. They were just dragging people inside Black Maria.

    “It was a human rights group, I can’t recall the name, that helped us to stop them from further arresting us after destroying our property. Then, those arrested were released to the human rights group. We then agreed to relocate to another deserted area, never used by any government, called ‘Wasen’ at the other end. Feeling that we cannot continue to live in the open cold and heat nonstop, we erected wooden shelters and did a ravine, a plank bridge, with which we were able to cross the swamp to go into town and make a living via different small scale businesses. But in less than one year of thinking our agonies were over; they pounced on us again at Wasen and came to drive us away, also breaking down everything we put together. They burned our belongings claiming they want to use the place for one thing or the other. But till today, they have not come back to do anything there.”

     

    Current tales of anguish

    Pointing to a young dark-skinned man who sat close to the reporter; Ojuri said: “he was a movie producer of some of the movies you see on Movie Magic. But he went on his business one day, he was on location when he received a call that his house was being demolished. By the time he got here, the house had not only been smashed, but fire was also set on the rubbles. He had master tapes of movies that were cracked. When they come to destroy, they won’t allow us to take a pin. In his own case, he had his shop on his house building.

    “That of December 12th 2018, they came with bulldozers with about 100 policemen stampeding the whole of this place. And once they came, we ran for our dear lives. Then, with members of OPC and some neighbourhood watch which they had sent ahead, we knew something bad was about to happen again. When they pursued us to the side of Niger Hotel, they stopped us there making us to watch from afar as they ransacked through our stuff making away with anything they could. That’s how they looted everything we had.

    ”The District Police Officer (DPO) here then was a gentle Hausa man who was not in support of all they were doing because we never gave him troubles. But he got suddenly transferred and replaced with another one, who, up till date, harasses us as he wills. On his resumption, he was conducted round the whole of the entire village. We greeted him and everything went well. Then, on December 22nd 2018; he brought some bulldozers to finish up the remaining wooden houses that were not torched on the 12th.

    “Helpless and shocked again, we felt dumbfounded asking ourselves, ‘why would the DPO do this? What for? Who sent him? The officers he brought were kitted as if they were going to the war front. Then, the following week, the DPO saw us and shouted: “You people are still here?? Is it that you don’t want to go? Then, in anger, he gathered the few mattresses that people managed to buy to rest their heads, poured petrol on them, and ordered them to be set on fire. We could have taken photographs, but if you dare lifted up your handset, one could be killed by the fierce looking officers. So, we behaved ourselves out of fear. He then moved to all the wooden structures that remained, sprayed petrol on them and set them also on fire.  Now, see how people sleep outside even if a train is passing or rain falls. We are like vultures on a tree soaking in the rains with our entire family. In a nutshell, these are our plights. More than ever before in our lives, we need help to,” Ojuri pleaded.

     

    And the woman died…

    Early on Tuesday, January 22, a short message was sent to the reporter: “Madam Stella Omogbemi, died this morning…” When the reporter visited the previous day, the woman, under her wobbly shack, laid on a very dirty foam, weeping and pleading: “Please, help me…please, help me…” Her pains emanated from the swollen left leg gurgled with elephantiasis.

    Madam Stella, 85, was the community’s traditional birth attendant (TBA), until the beginning of the community’s predicament. She was reportedly dragged by the policemen from inside her house to the outside so her building can be torched. And that was the start of her health deterioration coupled with exposure to prolonged cold. Several of the children born in that community were said to be delivered by her. In the words of Ojuri, her condition began to worsen since she began to live, sleep and work in the cold.”

     

    Govt officials not aware

    The Ministry of Physical Planning denied knowledge of the demolition. Its spokesperson, in a Whatsapp message, said: “I sent messages to the director in charge of such matters at the ministry but he hasn’t responded yet. He’s offline. However, the General Manager, LASBCA noted that he isn’t aware of the demolition you mentioned. This means, the removal is not from that agency. However, give me some time to get the director’s feedback. Although, removal is meant to be done solely by our ministry, sometimes for whatever reasons, removal can come from other agencies of government. Sometimes local governments, sometimes taskforce.

    “So, I’m trying to trace the source before granting your request. Give me some time to get back to you.”

    Then, about an hour later, she said with finality: “The demolition is not from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development”

    Also, Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit Chairman Saheed Egbeyemi, in a WhatsApp response, said: “Please forward your questions to the CP. I was in Israel on national security course that period.”

  • Homes, farms in danger as floods rage

    Flooding have done much damage in many parts of the country amid predictions that danger still lie ahead, report Okungbowa Aiwerie from Asaba and Mike Odiegwu from Yenagoa.

    Flood ravaged no fewer than 400 houses in Bar’kwari community in Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area of Kano State on Sunday afternoon, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The spokesman for Kano State Fire Service, Saidu Mohammed, made this disclosure in an interview with NAN on Monday in Kano.

    He said the flood also affected primary schools, animals and foodstuffs, adding that firemen were, however, able to rescue the victims.

    “We received a distress call from Hajia Gambo Usman, who lives in the neighbourhood at about 3:22 p.m., reporting that there was flooding in their area.

    “On receiving the information, we quickly sent our rescue team and a vehicle to the scene at about 3:38 p.m.,’’ he said.

    The official, who said that the flood washed away 400 houses, foodstuffs, animals and schools, added that  firemen assisted them by creating way for the water to pass, so as not to affect other houses.

    Mohammed, however, urged the public to desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse in order to stop blocking the waterways.

    He reminded the community of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency’s (NiMET) warning of downpour this year.

    200 households displaced in Plateau

    About 200 households have been displaced by flood in Rikkos community of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau, following heavy downpour on Sunday afternoon.

    Mr Al’Amin Yakubu, Head, Emergency Response Team of the community disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Jos.

    Yakubu said though no life was lost, the flood had destroyed properties and washed away valuables.

    “The flood didn’t claim lives, but because it was huge, it displaced over 200 households.

    “These households have lost all their properties and are left with nothing,” he said.

    He said that the displaced persons were currently staying with neighbours, as no camp had been put in place for them.

    Yakubu described the condition of the displaced persons as pathetic, adding that access to food, shelter and clothing is already becoming serious challenge for them.

    “As a community, we don’t have the capacity and resources to camp these people; we would have done that pending when government will intervene.

    “But we have contacted the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and both have promised to respond soon,” he said.

    Efforts to reach Alhaji Alhassan Barde, SEMA Executive Director, proved abortive, but a senior employee of the agency who preferred anonymity confirmed the incident to NAN.

    He said that the agency had already sent its personnel to the affected community to assess the level of damage.

    Farmers lament losses in Delta

    Several Delta communities have started experiencing flooding with the River Niger gradually overflowing its banks.

    Many farming communities have been worst hit with floods taking over farming communities situated on the banks of the River Niger and the hinterland.

    When The Nation visited the banks of River Niger in Oto-ogu, Oshimili South, the water level was high.

    Similarly, in Ughwru- Ughelli, Agbarho community, Ughelli North has started counting their losses following ravaging floods.

    The floods, according to sources, wiped out poultry and fish ponds as well as farm lands. Some residents have relocated to higher grounds.

    A poultry farmer, Mr. James Igho lamented he lost that over 500 birds as a result of the rains.

    Another fish farmer, Victory Johnson, said her two ponds were submerged by the floods. They appealed to the Delta Government to come to their aid.

    Bayelsa prepares for looming flood

    The Bayelsa State government yesterday began setting up measures to counter flooding following a red alert by the Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency (NHSA) identifying the state as high risk.

    Bayelsa was among the nine states on the axis of River Niger and River Benue identified as flood-prone by the NHSA, which passed the warning to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

    But in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson and his Environment counterpart, Ebipatei  Apaingolo, the set up emergency mobile telephone lines.

    The government said the emergency call lines would be open 24 hours, every day of the week.

    The statement urged Bayelsans to take advantage of the mobile numbers to report flood cases and also support government’s effort by keeping their immediate environment clean and open up drains within their vicinity.

    The statement added that monitoring teams would be set up soon to go round the state to monitor flood prone areas and also respond swiftly to any emergency situation.

    According to the statement, the government is partnering relevant stakeholders and experts including the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to ensure that the situation if it occurs is put under control.

    Insisting that the there was no need to panic, the government maintained that the proactive measures were geared towards preventing any recurrence of the 2012 flood disaster in the state, “even though floods are natural disasters and inevitable”.

    The 2012 flood disaster was one of the biggest challenge of the Restoration Government but, it said Governor Seriake Dickson spared no effort to ensure that the state was not consumed by the disaster.

    The statement averred  Dickson mandated the Ministry of Information and Orientation and that of Environment to carry out the task of coordinating sensitization and monitoring efforts to safeguard residents.

    NEMA begins data collection on victims in Kebbi

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday held an emergency meeting with the Kebbi State Emergency Management Agency (KSEMA) to gather data on flood victims in the state.

    Dr Onimode Bandele, Deputy Director, Research and Rescue Department of NEMA, said the agency would soon hold an emergency meeting with stakeholders affected by flooding in the state, to enable the agency to gather data on the victims.

    “The data we are looking for is the number of houses and farmlands destroyed, as well as the number of deaths recorded in the incidents across the state.

    Bandele also said that they were in Kebbi to commiserate with the Government and people of the state over the loss of lives recorded in the incidents.

    “Let me use this opportunity, on behalf of the Director-General (NEMA), Mr Mustapha Maihaja, to condole with the government of Kebbi and the families of victims who lost their lives in the flood disasters,’’ he said.

    He also apologised for the delay in donating relief materials to the victims, stressing that it was as a result of some restructuring in NEMA, which would enhance the agency’s operations.

    Bandele assured that NEMA has been repositioned to enable it to effectively address its challenges.

    Alhaji Sani Dododo, the Chairman, Kebbi State Emergency Management Agency (KSEMA), commended the NEMA Director for the visit.

    Dododo said the disaster, which occurred in Danko, Wasagu and Fakai local government areas of the state, led to the deaths of 9 persons, including an Army Officer, who died while trying to rescue a woman following the collapse of a bridge.

    NEMA prepares for quick response in Southeast

    In anticipation of flooding in some states in the South-East, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the zone has begun to reposition itself, to ensure improved disaster management.

    Mr Walson Ibarakumo, the Coordinator, NEMA, Enugu zonal office, said this in Awka on Monday, during a workshop organised for all the staff of the agency in Anambra.

    The workshop had the theme, ‘‘Repositioning, Strengthening and Reorientation of the Agency’s Operations.”

    Ibarikumo said there was the need to acquaint the agency’s personnel with the modern response strategies which the new management had introduced.

    The coordinator emphasised that the aim was to make the services of the agency meet world highest standard.

    He said the Search and Rescue Department of the agency had been changed to Response and Recovery Department as part of the re-strategising process.

    ‘‘This workshop is to share understanding of the identified gaps in order to reinforce and reposition the agency for better service delivery.

    ‘‘It has become necessary for staff to come together especially in this flood season to brainstorm so that we can operate more efficiently and effectively and gear ourselves up towards a world class agency.

    ‘‘Every staff should realise the enormity of the task ahead and brace up for it; therefore you are expected to apply the information gathered here to make your service delivery better,’’ he said.

    Ibarikumo said further that NEMA had started delivering food, non-food and livelihood relief materials to the state in readiness for the anticipated flooding.

    He said the agency was working with the Anambra Emergency Management Agency to ensure that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the state were in good shape.

    The coordinator called on those living in the disaster-prone areas and other disaster-exposed persons to contact the agency for quick response and rescue in case of any eventuality.

    ie from Asaba and Mike Odiegwu from Yenagoa.

  • Homework to develop luxury homes

    A real estate firm Homework Development and Properties Limited has started work at one of its new mini-estates.

    The estate, Dunvale Court, is in Lekki, Lagos. It consists of four units of four-bedroom semi-detached house; 19 units of four-bedroom terrace house; and 12 units of three bedroom terrace house.

    Also, it contains a cluster of eight units of two bedroom flats and eight units of one bedroom/studio flats with car parks.

    Homework Development and Properties Limited Director Mr. Jide Adekola assured that the mini-estate would feature innovative architectural designs.

    “It will be spacious, cozy and located on a land mass of over 7,133 square metres. It is tailored to cater to the upwardly-mobile family lifestyle fit for investment and features family-friendly facilities like a gym, garden, playground, swimming pool, central water supply and central sewage, among others,” he revealed.

    The estate will be secured with a three-gate security point, CCTV surveillance to boost security, treated water and a minimum of 18 hours guaranteed power supply, he added.

    Explaining the payment options, Adekola said subscribers could make 40 percent advance payment and spread the balance over 12 months.

    The price ranges from N15 million to N48 million. He said the firm was driven by the passion to create world-class estates, and quality service delivering to its clients.

  • Building homes will stem migration

    SIR: Nigeria is so good at offering sentimental and complicated policy statements when avoidable disaster strikes and one such disaster just struck at the Mediterranean Sea where some 26 young Nigerian girls were sexually-molested and subsequently murdered by fellow migrants from wretched North African countries.

    This is really sad indeed. Wanton and haphazard migration inclinations can be blunted at its budding stage if a government gives its people a sense of belonging in the national fabric by just simply providing low-cost, template-based housings that its people can call their own. When folks own decent houses they can call their homes, then they are less likely to abandon home and migrate over to some foreign climes.

    The key “strapping-index” here is personal homesteads; what our governments in Africa have not realised yet is the sense of personal achievement and the sense of being human that personal homes offers; when citizens live in and out of hovels, they do not feel attachment to the towns and cities that they reside.

     

    • Sunday Adole Jonah,

    Federal University of Technology, Minna.

  • Court stops Army from demolishing homes

    Court stops Army from demolishing homes

    Residents of Mesiogo Estate at Akobo area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital, have obtained an Oyo State High Court order restraining the 2 Division from demolishing their homes or from doing anything that can threaten their peace pending the determination of the motion filed by the residents.

    The division, last week, took a bulldozer and other equipment to the community.

    It dug ditches in front of houses and created scenes, apparently to intimidate residents.

    While the Army insisted that the estate is on its cantonment at Ojoo, the residents said they never encroached on Army’s land.

    They produced survey papers showing that the estate is several metres away from the cantonment.

    The residents accused the Army of wanting to add Mesiogo to eight other communities, whose land the military reportedly encroached on.

    Many houses were marked for demolition a fortnight ago.

    In a suit at the State High Court II, Justice A. L. Akintola ordered an interim injunction restraining the Army from “trespassing, demolishing, disposing or further demolishing, disposing or further disposing or in any way interfering with the peaceful enjoyment of the first to fifth claimants’ parcels of land situate, lying and being at Mesiogo Hotel Estate, Alagbode Village, Bodija area, Akobo, Ibadan, Oyo State, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for an order of interlocutors injunction already filed by the claimants/applicants”.

    The court adjourned hearing till November 8.

    Joined in the suit are: the Chief of Army Staff, Ministry of Defence, Col. Olabode, Warrant Officer Olukokun Nureni, Major Zamani and Captain Oyewale.

    The order was dated November 2.

  • Homes, cars destroyed as man is killed for ‘adultery’

    A aged man, identified as Emma Oji, has been reportedly killed at Alayi Village in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State for allegedly committing adultery with a married woman.

    Eyewitness said the woman informed her husband that she wanted to visit her parents but was allegedly sighted a few days later in another man’s house near the community.

    The community’s youths were said to have reacted to the woman’s action as an abomination.

    They reportedly invaded the man’s house and whisked him away for punishment.

    But he was later found dead while the woman was said to have fled to an unknown place.

    The man’s death did not go down well with his relatives and close friends, who felt tradition only permits some level of punishment on anyone caught in the act, but not to the extent of killing the culprit.

    The deceased’s kinsmen were said to have invaded the resident a youth suspected to have spearheaded the whisking away of the suspected adulterer and burnt his house, car and other personal belongings.

    The chairman of the local government, Chief Gabriel Okereke Elendu, who visited the scene with the Police Divisional Officer (DPO), condemned the youths’ action.

    The council chief said those who killed Orji and burnt houses and property would be made to face the wrath of the law.

    He said Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration frowned at violence and crime of any form.

    Elendu urged security agents to fish out the prime suspects to serve as deterrent to others.

    He warned youths to desist from taking the law into their hands as he pledged to get to the root of the matter.

    The Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Capt. Awa Udensi (retd) warned that government would no longer tolerate such act.

    The governor’s aide said those involved in the mayhem will be brought to justice.

    He said the state government condemned the youths’ action, adding that lives and property remained paramount to the current administration.

    According to him, government will use all means to get those on its wanted list for the killing.

    Also, the father of the deceased, Elder Orji, thanked the state and local governments’ delegation for commiserating with his family.

    He regretted the killing of his son by youths, saying the government must fish out the killers to serve as deterrent to others.

  • Robbers raid Bayelsa homes for flatscreen TVs

    Flat screen television sets are major targets of robbers, who constantly burgle homes in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.

    Investigations showed most residents of the capital city sleep with their eyes open following activities of night marauders, who break into homes to steal valuables, especially plasma flatscreen TVs.

    A resident in Yenagoa, Theo, described the development as worrisome and appealed to the police to burst the syndicate involved in the crime.

    Theo said the robbers found TVs attractive because they had a willing market.

    He asked the police to apply intelligence to know the buyers of the stolen flatscreen TVs and stop the theft, adding that  two of his neighbours at the PDP and Barath areas of Yenimi-Zuegene were victims of TV thieves last week.

    “The police in Yenagoa must do something about the high level of robbery by thieves, who target homes with plasma TVs. The high cost of the plasma and its small weight have made them attractive.

    “They should at least apply intelligence to know who their buyers are in order to end this villainous crime.

    “Sometimes, I am tempted to suspect the complicity of some bad eggs in the force. The complacency is worrying. Till today, the police have not been able to tackle car battery theft.

    “The scenario is even more complicated with this plasma TV robbery”.

    Also, Celestine Ogona, who lives in Agudiama, said she was a victim of robbery operation in her house, adding that they made away with her television set and other valuables.

    She said: “I am also a victim. As a matter of fact, the robbers raided all four flats in the building and made away with valuables. They took all plasma TVs, no matter how small”.

    Also another resident, Akam, said in a week, bars and shops were raided by hoodlums, who stole about seven flatscreen television sets.

    He said: “I even wonder how these guys would carry the large numbers of fat screen TVs and the police would not catch them. I believe flatscreen TVs is now a lucrative business for the thieves and that is why they go after them.”

  • FMBN chief: NHF ‘ll provide homes, jobs for Nigerians

    The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Alhaji Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, has urged state governments to key into the National Housing Fund (NHF) to provide homes for Nigerians.

    The FMBN chief said the housing fund would also create jobs for Nigerians and strengthen the economy at the grassroots.

    Dangiwa spoke at the inauguration of FMBN’s office in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

    He said the building was built with N132.6 million.

    The complex was inaugurated by Governor Ayo Fayose, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Kolapo Olusola.

    Dangiwa urged state governments to prioritise salary payment to enable FMBN shore up NHF to build low cost housing units for workers.

    Fayose said Ekiti was lucky to have the edifice on its soil, adding that his administration had begun the 2.5 per cent deductions from the basic salaries of workers who had been integrated into the NHF.

     

  • How Nigerians can own homes, by developer

    Nigerians waiting on the government for social housing may wait for a long time. This is because the economic reality does not leave room for the government to embark on such capital intensive venture. Nigerians should leverage the enabling environment being provided by the government to own homes.

    This was the submission of the Chief Executive  Officer of LASHONE Links Group of Companies, Dr. Lanre Shonekan, at the 7th Annual Stakeholders and Real Estate Investment Forum of the firm held in Lagos at the weekend.

    Shonekan, in a chat with The Nation, said with an efficient mortgage system, more Nigerians would be able to own homes. He, however, noted that many are not aware of the processes to getting a mortgage.

    Besides, he explained that because of the high cost of building, his firm has researched into how to build cheap and efficient houses, using different materials, and at the same time training people in real estate development and management.

    To achieve this, the firm, Shonekan said, has partnered with another  firm that specialises in a technology that allows building with containers; this technology makes it possible to own a two-bedroom apartment with about N1.5 million.

    “We are exploring ways of delivering quality houses at very affordable costs to our people; and we have partnered with a reputable mortgage bank to make this possible. The 18 estates we have is a testimony to our desire to make more Nigerians home owners at relative low cost,” Shonekan said.

    He explained that the firm is also into training and skills acquisition programme which cuts across all facets of human endeavour. This is because of its belief in equipping people for the future and also assists its trainees to get access to funds to start up their business. These include players in the real estate sector.

    Its mortgage partners, AG Mortgage Bank,  Plc, through its head of business development, Mr. Chibuzor Ifenkwe, explained that the way forward out of recession in the country is not for people to solely depend on the government alone but be meaningfully engaged in job creation through skills acquisition.

    “We know very much that government cannot  generate employment that would go round and when you see people that are ready to be supported, the bank is willing to do that,” Ifenkwe said, adding that the bank has been in the partnership for sometime, helping trainees and graduates of the school because of Lashone Links Business School’s outstanding record of training and meaningfully engaging people in skill acquisition.

  • Wike seeks order restraining DSS, EFCC from searching his homes

    Wike seeks order restraining DSS, EFCC from searching his homes

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to restrain the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Services (DSS) and the police from searching his homes.

    He prayed the court to declare the search would violate his constitutionally-guaranteed immunity.

    The governor accused the security agences of witch-hunting, and trying to implicate him in an unspecified crime.

    Wike, through his lawyer, Mr. Sylva Ogwemoh (SAN), prayed the court to determine whether Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution precludes the defendants from applying for and obtaining any process of court compelling his appearance.

    The governor prayed for an order that the defendants, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or privies, cannot apply for, obtain, issue, or in any way, execute any search warrant at his residence when his tenure as governor had not expired.

    Wike sought an order of injunction restraining the defendants from applying for, issuing or entering his residence in Abuja, or anywhere else in Nigeria, by virtue of a search warrant or any court process, which shall compel or require his physical presence.

    He also wants the court to bar them from searching his apartment with a view to removing any item during his tenure as Rivers State Governor, since his immunity is preserved by Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.

    In an affidavit in support of the Originating Summons, Emmanuel Aguma (SAN),  said he knows Wike, who was sworn in as Rivers State Governor on May 29, 2015, for a four-year term.

    He said the governor held a news conference on April 29, in Port Harcourt, where he said the Inspector-General of Police intends to raid his (Wike’s) Abuja residence on Ortega Close, off Hassan Usman Katina Street, Asokoro Extension.

    “The intendment of the raid, according to the plaintiff, is to incriminate him in an unspecified crime through the recovery of huge sums of money, firearms and expensive wristwatches.

    “The plaintiff’s news conference received wide publicity in the print and electronic media. I was further informed by the plaintiff at his Hassan Usman Katsina home, about 8pm on May 1, and I do believe him, that he knows, on good authority, that the defendants had begun the process of either applying for, or obtaining, or have already obtained a search warrant to be executed at either his aforementioned residence or some other residence of his in Port Harcourt.

    “I know as a fact that a search warrant is a process of court. I also know that the plaintiff or his privy, is obligated to be present during the conduct of the search at his premises.

    “I further know, as a fact, that the owner of a building is obligated to give unhindered access to his premises to the defendants, while the defendants are executing a search warrant.

    “If not restrained by a court order, the defendants shall proceed to execute the said search warrant,” he said.

    The respondent said Wike has not committed any criminal offence, apart from being vested with constitutional immunity.

    “The actions of the defendant shall violate his constitutional immunity; the defendants are witch-hunting him to silence and tarnish his hard-earned reputation.

    “The defendants shall lose nothing if this application is granted. I make the depositions herein in good faith, believing the facts stated herein to be true and in accordance with the Oaths Act,” the affidavit added.