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Tag: Ikeja

  • Ikeja NBA wants Ekiti Courts re-opened

    Ikeja NBA wants Ekiti Courts re-opened

    The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, has decried the closure of Ekiti State courts, saying it endangers democracy and rule of law.

    The chairman, Yinka Farounbi said this while briefing reporters after a three-day fact-finding mission to the state following the attacks on judges.

    He  urged the Chief Judge of the state, Justice A.S. Daramola to re-open the courts, saying peace has returned to the state capital.

    Farounbi condemned the attack on judges of the state High Court by thugs suspected to be loyalists of the governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose.

    He said the hoodlums’ action amounted to  threat to the  independence of the judiciary.

    “In view of the fact that our democracy was hard won from long years of military rule, it should be the concern of all well meaning Nigerians, particularly legal practitioners to protect the nascent democracy zealously,” he said.

    Farounbi said their findings revealed that the attacks were clearly carried out with the aim of stopping the court from discharging its lawful and constitutional responsibilities of adjudicating over disputes before it.

    “Evidence abound that the invaders of the courts had clear intention to overawe the court. Their action in proper legal context was treasonable,” he said.

    The NBA chairman held Fayose liable for the mayhem and physical assault of Justice J. O Adeyeye.

    Farounbi said his team spoke with the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawyer Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN);  lead counsel for the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti, Hon. Obafemi Adewale; the Commissioner of Police, Mr F.T. Lakanu; the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wale Fapohunda, among other eye witnesses.

    The fact-finding mission, he said, took place between September 28 and 30.

    He said they discovered that Fayose  “did not  stop” his supporters from assaulting the judges.

    According to Farounbi, the PDP governor-elect  watched his supporters physically assaulting the judge without any attempt to stop them.

    “ Justice Adeyeye was indeed assaulted with fist blows, whips and kicks by about 20 people who were with the governor-elect, as he was  passing by the former’s court.

    “The assault on the judicial officer happened when the judge left his chamber and went over to Fayose, asking him to control his noisy and unruly followers.

    “This led to an argument between the duo and the assault on the judge took place. The governor-elect ‘did not stop his followers,” he noted.

    The branch, therefore, called for the arrest and prosecution of the offenders.

    “Those that may be found to have participated in the desecration of Ekiti judiciary should be made to face the wrath of the law no matter highly placed because the law is no respecter of any person.

    “Democracy cannot survive where there is no rule of law and respect for the judiciary,” he said.

    Fayose denied assaulting or beating up any judge.

  • Paul Omoruyi to screen Aisha

    Paul Omoruyi to screen Aisha

    At last, popular Nollywood screenwriter, producer and director, Paul Omoruyi, is set to hold the private screening of his much-anticipated short film, Aisha, on Friday at La Mango Lounge, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.

    In a chat with The Nation, Omoruyi, an artist and CEO of PSI Multimedia Studios, said Aisha dwells on the deprivation of the right of the girl child when subjected to child marriage. “The movie encourages the need for the girl child to be educated, so that she can have a bright future.   Having witnessed several cases of some girls marrying at an early age of 12 and the fact that the issue has always dominated public discourse, I saw the need to want to shoot a movie that will discourage it. Secondly, as someone who believes that every child, male or female, deserves equal rights, I also saw it as my duty to change it through my art,” he said.

    Omoruyi, who also directed the film, said he conceived the idea after an encounter with a screenwriter, Abiola Omolokun. According to him, “He came to me with his script and asked if I liked it. I just told him it was the kind of movie I had in mind to shoot. Then, he went to do the screen play. The movie is about a very bright young girl, Aisha, who is from a poor background. The parents plan to marry her off at an early age to an elderly man without her consent. Sadly, the whole thing eventually turns bizarre.”

    The movie features Eric Obinna, Lolade Badmus and Hannah ojo, among others.

  • Ikeja City Mall to come alive with fashion, music show

    Ikeja City Mall to come alive with fashion, music show

    Come next Friday, August 9, Ikeja City Mall  will come alive with musical performances and electrifying runway exhibitions. It will be the second edition of the malls fashion and music show. The show is an  event with unmatched glitz and glamour, designed to showcase the summer collections of fashion stores in the mall. It will bring together the best of youthful celebrities, models and artistes to entertain guests and shoppers at the mall.

    Tenant Stores, who will be sponsoring the event right inside the mall, are promising to give the best of fashion display, light and music performances from favourite models, music artistes and comedians. The stores are; Foshini, Markham, Mango, Maybrands, Us Polo, Kidz Country,  Wrangler , Jack& Jones, Black Up, Bruno’s Place, Casabella and Daviva.

    Hugely anticipated through the event is customer patronage and delight especially amongst teenagers.

    Activities at the event  will include electrifying catwalk by top models, music performances by top celebrities, comedy, dance, raffle draws, special sales/auctions and celebrity guest appearances. The event will also host internationally renowned models, Ken Okoli (Mr Nigeria 2010), Adedamola Cruz (best model of the world Africa 2011), Victor Kwen, Francis Chinko, Kelvin Godson, Michelle Udoka(Miss Global Nigeria 2013) Micus Pius (Mr Universe Nigeria 2013), to mention a few.

    The show will begin with red carpet at 4pm and it is free for everybody.

     

  • Ikeja gets regent

    Following the passing  on of Oba Rauf Adeniyi Matemi Amore, the Olu of Ikejaland in Lagos State, the Council of Ikeja Traditional Chiefs yesterday announced the appointment of Prince Adekunle Isiaka Apena as Regent.

    The announcement was contained in the minutes of the meeting by the council to ratify the appointment of the new Regent.

    The Minutes was signed by the Chairman of the council, High Chief Lateef Yussuf Apena, and Secretary of the council, High Chief O. Titi-Thomas.

    Prince Apena, who is a lawyer, was selected after the council had completed the required traditional rites for the late Oba Amore.

    The Minutes read in part: “Deliberations exhausted on the next line of action and way forward by the surviving traditional chiefs present and welcomed nomination from amongst the royal chieftaincy family within and outside the council to enhance a suitable candidature for the stool and a quicker and smoother transition.

    “Having deliberated on modalities and qualifications of those intending and considerable nominees from the Amore Royal House to the coveted stool of the Regent as previously agreed upon that such position be zoned and preserved for the deceased  royal family as decreed traditionally in 1998.

    “The Council of Ikeja Traditional Chiefs deliberated and resolved that: Prince (Barrister) Adekunle Isiaka Apena be the Regent to the vacant stool of Ikejaland and with immediate effect from yesterday (July 18) and without any hindrance whatsoever and from any quatres.”

  • Photo: Fallen trailer in Lagos

    Photo: Fallen trailer in Lagos

    A fallen trailer at Oba Akran Avenue, Ikeja bus stop, Ikeja, Lagos on Sudnay
    A fallen trailer at Oba Akran Avenue, Ikeja bus stop, Ikeja, Lagos on Sudnay
  • Meet Oganla, the servant CEO

    Meet Oganla, the servant CEO

    Meeting him at his Salvation Road, Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos office, chances are that you will mistake him for one of his employees. Quite unlike some bossy CEOs, unassuming Lekan Oganla, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Taxi-Ad Nigeria, a fast-moving mobile advertising group, is always on his feet, working on all cylinders to make a huge success of the project he started over four years ago.

    “Ah, my Oga eats, drinks, talks and works Taxi-Ad. He can do the work of a receptionist, all in the name of actualising his dream for the group. He is always totally involved,” Deji Olagunju, the company’s Head of Administration & Finance, said.

    Not cut out for frivolities, Oganla, it was learnt, is always eager to get to work whenever he is in Lagos and elsewhere in the interest of the frontline firm. He keeps his staff on their toes always.

    “Even in my sleep, I dream Taxi-Ad because of the kind of work attitude and ethics he has inculcated in us – even the sweeper in the office. He believes in hard work as the only road to success,” Olagunju added.

  • Lagos immortalises 2002 bomb blast victims

    Lagos immortalises 2002 bomb blast victims

    •Governor opens 2.1km road, bridges

    Victims of the 2002 Lagos bomb blasts were immortalised yesterday, 12 years after the tragedy.

    The road and the bridges where they died while running away from the blast scene, were named ‘January 27 Link Bridge.’

    Tears flowed at the ceremony as bereaved families relived the January 27, 2002 incident which rocked the Ikeja Army Cantonment. They recalled last moments with their loved ones, who died in the Oke-Afa canal in the Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the state.

    Governor Babatunde Fashola, who commissioned the 2.1-kilometre Ejigbo-Ajao link road and its two bridges, was pensive. So were others during the one-minute silence and prayers for the victims.

    Mr Nurudeen Oyegbemi, who chairs the Association of the Bomb Blast Victims’ Families, was in tears. He lamented “the failure of the state government to fulfil its promise to the families of the over 1000 victims”.

    He recalled that during the 10th anniversary of the incident, Fashola promised to compensate the remaining 84 families after taking care of 70, adding: “That has not happened.”

    Oyegbemi’s vice, Christopher lse, sought automatic employment for the victims’ children in the interest of justice and fairplay.

    Fashola said it was impossible for the government to compensate survivors of the victims every year, promising that genuine beneficiaries “not yet captured before now will be sorted out”.

    “There must be a clear closure of the payment of compensation because no amount of compensation will bring the dead back, but we can only cherish their memory by executing lasting projects in their memory; that is exactly what we have done. But you must assist us to verify who the real beneficiaries of compensation are,” the governor added.

    Fashola said the calamity was avoidable, if the authorities had been alive to their responsibilities.He added: “It was the responsibility of the PDP government to manage bombs and explosives and to look after the Nigerian military, but they dropped the bombs. Since then, they have pretended as if nothing was wrong.”

    The neglect, he said, prompted his administration to intervene by rebuilding the schools and hospitals within the Ikeja Cantonment, which were destroyed by the incident.

    “My predecessor promised you that day that a bridge would be built to link Ejigbo to Ajao Estate; I have come here today to fulfil that promise,” he said.

    Fashola berated the Federal Government for neglecting the roads in the area, which he said were damaged by the tankers lifting fuel from the NNPC Depot in Ejigbo. “It shows the kind of respect and concern that the party that manages the Federal Government has for you; they will come back to you to ask for votes,” he said.

    Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure Dr Obafemi Hamzat said the road would end congestion along the Ejigbo corridor to enable travellers from Ikotun connect the Airport Road without going through Isolo.

     

  • Plucking the thorns on their roses

    Plucking the thorns on their roses

    It was celebration time, as IREDE, a foundation formed to give succour to limbless and amputee children clocked one year. Hannah Ojo, who was at the cocktail reports.

    The gentlemen and ladies who came for this event all turned out gaily dressed. The glistering lights and soft music set in motion the radiance expected of a cocktail, but that wasn’t the main source of attention.  A set of special children, who stood out as champions, were actually the reason for this cocktail put together to celebrate 365 days of the registered existence of IREDE Foundation.

    When they came out for a special appearance, the song ‘stand up for the champion’ filled the air. True to that altruism, they are the kids with roses splattered with thorns. They do not have limbs but thanks to IREDE, they can now walk again and jump around like normal kids. The rhythmic ‘thank you’ rendition from three-year old Beulah Chigbu evoked emotions; so also was the presentation by the other children. Crystal Chigbu, the founder of the NGO could not hold back the tears as she watched her daughter say ‘thank you.’  Beulah who was born with a missing tibia and patella in her right leg and had to go through amputation and prosthesis was the motivating force for her mom to establish IREDE last year. It was borne out of her vision to share her story of hope with parents and care-givers who have kids with limb loss. Supported by her husband, Zubby, who cheered her on, she has been able to canvass for donors whose seeds have been used to procure prosthesis for children without limps from indigent children.

    Learning how some of the children came about their plight, wasn’t such a pleasant part of the evening though. The future ambition of 10-year old Dorcas Adepitan was to become a medical doctor, but that dream was almost cut short.  She was playing in school on a fateful day when she was pushed by her classmate. The fall was fatal as it led to the amputation of her right leg because a cancerous tumour had developed on the upper part of the leg.  She was adopted by the Sahara Charitable Foundation through IREDE’s “Adopt a child” sponsorship platform, which sponsored her prosthesis. She was full of life as she freely mixed with other kids and interacted with adults at the cocktail.

    For nine-year old Chidiebere Chidiogwu, it was a delay too costly. The young chap was preparing for his sister’s wedding when the bathroom wall collapsed on his leg.  Unsuspecting of the extent of the injury, his care-givers dilly-dallied by not seeking immediate medical help. The setback resulted in the amputation of 80 percent of his right leg. Thankfully though, Chidiebere now walks with the aid of prosthesis and is able to move around and play like other kids.

    Amongst the kids, Isaac Osumah was however the star of the night. He was full of life and could not care less about the prying eyes of both the adults and the children present around him. Fate played a hard one on him from birth, even though his mother diligently followed her clinic schedules and ante-natal care appointments. When the time came to be delivered of the bundle of joy on June 16, 2009, the sight that greeted the mother was shocking. The baby arrived with deformed limbs. As if that was not enough, he came with two fingers only on each hand and no limb on his right leg from his knee downward. The Paediatric consultant who examined him diagnosed him as suffering from Congenital Limbs defects. This means that his fingers and right leg did not form properly.  To make matters worse, Isaac’s parents were distraught to learn that nothing can be done to reverse the situation. But they had cause to smile again when the IREDE foundation met him in 2013 and gave him prosthesis.

    Another tale that drew much sympathy was the case of Kelechi Omeje who became a victim of amputation when she was diagnosed with Gangrene. Her travail began on January 16, 2011, when a line was passed through her right leg to treat fever and diarrhea.  Not long after the treatment, the little boy began to writhe in pain, even as her parents noticed that her right leg was shrinking. After about a month, the parents took her to an orthopaedic hospital where to their dismay, both legs were amputated two months later. Until now, her world was muted as her childhood thrills became suspended since she lacked the legs to move around. She was provided with prostheses for both legs last year when she came in contact with the IREDE foundation, and thankfully, she can now run around and play with other kids.

    Speaking on the activities of the foundation, which have revolved around the drive of ‘extending limps and raising champions’ in the last one year, Mrs. Crystal Chigbu revealed that the foundation was able to provide six limbs last year. She also disclosed that the foundation has decided to step up its activities and reach out to more kids: “This year, we want to do 24 limbs. We hope to achieve this through donations from our partners and good-spirited Nigerians.”

  • Govt streamlines traffic on major highways in Ikeja

    Lagos State Government yesterday experimented with the new turning meant to reduce traffic on the Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Ikeja.

    The initiative, which slightly altered the road infrastructure, will take off on Saturday.

    With the initiative called the Expanded Return Trip (ERT), motorists would be prevented from making left turns where they exist.

    Commissioner for Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa, who led reporters and management workers of the Ministry of Transport to monitor the exercise, said the minor adjustment has proved capable of taking care of traffic on the road.

    Opeifa, speaking with reporters after the monitoring, said the new turnings are meant to address the gridlock experienced by motorists turning into Joel Ogunnaike Road in Ikeja GRA and on Ola Ayinde Road inbound Ikeja.

    He said government would put a concrete barrier to block the intersection by the Ikeja Country Club, as motorists intending to turn into the road would be expected to move about 10 metres ahead and make a turn at the newly- engineered U-turn in front of the entrance of the Police Anti-Bomb Squad gate on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way.

    Those intending to join the inbound Ikeja Road from Joel Ogunnaike would have to proceed to Sheraton Hotel and Towers before making a U-turn to join the road.

    Opeifa, who said the initiative was not cast in stone, urged residents and motorists to observe the traffic signs and obey the traffic officers positioned on the road.

    He said the essence of the new turnings is to make traffic more effective and efficient.

    “What we have seen here is that we could reduce the number of policemen and LASTMA officials on this road. They could be put to more effective use elsewhere. We don’t need to burn or waste energy, the diversion of the turning from Joel Ogunaike has taken the heat off the traffic that usually stretches even to Maryland,” Opeifa said.

    He said government sensitised residents to the development when it met them at the Police Officers’ Mess, adding that the move is part of its commitment to alleviate the sufferings of the people, who are in traffic jam for a long time.

    The commissioner said the move would resolve the traffic gridlock at the Country Club junction, Sheraton by Protea Hotels and Ola Ayinde Street by Customs.

    Comrade Opeifa, who hailed the residents for their perseverance, said road traffic signs would be erected on the axis before the commencement date to educate motorists on the new direction.

    He appealed to residents and motorists to bear with the government, obey the new traffic signs and traffic officers, who would be on the road.

     

  • Age falsification: NBA, others differ on Abia CJ

    Some prominent lawyers on Tuesday differed on the prosecution of Acting Chief Judge of Abia State , Justice Shadrack Nwanosike , who was found guilty of falsifying his age.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National Judicial Council (NJC) had at its 63rd Meeting, held on July 17 and 18 recommended Nwanosike for compulsory retirement.

    The lawyers, in interviews with NAN in Lagos, unanimously commended the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, for her efforts in sanitising the nation’s judiciary.

    Mr. Onyekachi Ubani, Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, said the issue of a judge falsifying his age was disgraceful.

    “What the NJC is doing now is praise worthy. It shows that there is hope in this country.

    “The beauty about it is that somebody is being punished for it, which was not the case in the past.

    “However, it is not sufficient to just dismiss him, he should be prosecuted,” Ubani said.

    A lawyer and activist, Mr. Fred Agbaje , said Nwanosike’s involvement in forgery was an embarrassment to the judiciary.

    Agbaje said: “ He is the head of judges in that state and if he could be found to have falsified his age, he is not eligible to remain there a day longer.

    “Apart from asking him to just retire, the NJC should go further to prosecute him because falsification of age is a criminal offence.”

    Another lawyer, Mr Wale Ogunade, also called for the prosecution of the judge.

    “It is only in Nigeria that we attach sentiment to things. There is no one who is above the law,” he said.