The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ikoyi

  • Alleged fraud: Prosecution’s absence stalls ex NAMA chief’s trial

    Alleged fraud: Prosecution’s absence stalls ex NAMA chief’s trial

    Justice Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos Tuesday adjourned till December 2, to commence the trial of a former Managing Director (MD) of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Ibrahim Abdulsalam.

    Abdusalam and six others are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a charge bordering on the alleged theft and conversion of NAMA’s N6.8billion.

    At the commencement of proceedings Tuesday, Justice Kuewumi announced that there was a letter from prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo seeking an adjournment.

    Oyedepo, he stated, informed the court that he was summoned, through a hearing notice, to the Lagos division of the Court of Appeal.

    The court then adjourned the case till December 2.

    On April 7, EFCC docked the NAMA boss, three directors of the agency and the wife of one of the agency’s directors. They denied the charge.

    Apart from Abdulsalam, other defendants are Adegorite Olumuyiwa, Agbolade Segun, Clara Aliche, Joy Adegorite, and two limited liability companies, Randville Investment Ltd and Multeng Travels and Tours Ltd.

    In the charge, the anti-graft agency alleged that on August 19, 2013, the defendants conspired to induce NAMA to deliver the sum of N2.8 billion to Delosa Ltd, Air Sea Delivery Ltd and Sea Schedules Systems Ltd.

    The EFCC stated that the delivery was under the pretence that the money represented the cost of clearing NAMA’s consignments.

    In another instance, the commission alleged that that between January 2 and December 17, 2013, the defendants converted N191 million belonging to NAMA to themselves.

    The defendants were also said to have converted N728 million between 2013 and 2015, as well as other sums.

    According to the charge, the offence offended Sections 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and was punishable under Section 1 (3).

  • VI, Ikoyi clean Up – Lagos begins clearing of illegal structures

    VI, Ikoyi clean Up – Lagos begins clearing of illegal structures

    The much anticipated Clean Up of Ikoyi and Victoria Island areas commenced simultaneously on Saturday with officials of the State Task Force and other agencies clearing illegal structures and shanties and same being carted away by trucks of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority.

    The operation which was led by the Chairman of the State Task Force, Supol Yinka Egbeyemi, featured the usage of bulldozers and pay loaders which demolished all illegal structures on median of Water Corporation Drive.

    The team also cleared the Waterfront at Ozumba Mbadiwe of automobile technicians and food courts that have taken over the space.

    Officials of the Lagos State Parks and Gardens were also on ground to secure the spaces that have been cleared.

    Areas already cleared in Ikoyi include Awolowo Road, Falomo and Bourdillon where disused tyres and horticulturists were removed and taken away.

    At Water Corporation Drive, which is also a major infraction point, the road setback which had been converted into brothels and bars and car wash were removed.

    The team also cleared Ahmadu Bello Way and the liaison offices that had been converted to makeshift homes and canteens.

    Chairman of the Clean Up Committee and Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, who also visited Ahmadu Bello Way, Ligali Ayorinde and Ozumba Mbadiwe Waterfront to see the extent of the clean Up, seized the opportunity to advise residents and property owners with illegal structures to dismantle them before the team comes calling.

    The exercise which is a continuous one also featured the presence of representative of Victoria Island and Ikoyi Residents Association (VIIRA) who supported the initiative of the State government on the clean up exercise.

  • Residents hail Lekki, Ikoyi, VI clean-up

    Residents hail Lekki, Ikoyi, VI clean-up

    Residents of Victoria Island, Lekki and Ikoyi have backed the Lagos State government’s move to restore sanity in their areas.

    The residents under the aegis of Victoria Island and Ikoyi Residents Association (VIIRA), promised to take part in the Clean-Up.

    A member of the association, Mohammed Salami, who spoke with reporters, after a meeting with the Clean-Up committee, said: “The position of VIIRA is very clear, we support this move. In fact, this is a move we have been waiting for. One of the reasons why VIIRA was formed was safeguard our environment. We are very particular about the environmental aspect of Victoria Island and Ikoyi and we want action on the part of government.

    He called on all residents of the areas to cooperate with the state government by allowing the special committee embark on the task at hand.

    Salami said: “It is in our own interest and at the end of the day, we shall benefit. So nobody should put obstacle in the way of the Task Force that is going to carry out the exercise. The exercise is going to be a continuous one; it is not going to stop as long as we have the problem. It is in the interest of the people, it would also improve the health of the residents and the security of everybody within the area.

    “It is going to also improve the economic aspect of the area. It is going to attract more people to Victoria Island and Ikoyi and businessmen would be happy to work in a very secure and clean environment. The aesthetic aspect of Ikoyi and Victoria Island is also very vital. This is an area that everybody believes is a most sophisticated area in Lagos and Nigeria and which should lead by example. A very clean place, it could be as clean as Dubai and that is what we aim at.”

    The Executive Secretary, Abdul Muse, said the association would mobilise the corporate institutions in the area to support the exercise.

    “The VIIRA Trust works very collaboratively with the police and it is a good thing we are also a part of the committee of government. The attempt here will deepen the cooperation and ensure that whatever information comes out, we share it with members of the residents association.”

  • Lagos begins Ikoyi, Lekki, Victoria Island clean-up next week

    A SPECIAL Committee raised by the Lagos State government to clean-up highbrow Ikoyi, Lekki and Victoria Island will swoop into action immediately after the Sallah Holiday, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Tunji Bello, said yesterday.

    The committee, set up last week by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to enforce the Environmental Sanitation and Town Planning Laws in the affected areas, had issued a 14-day ultimatum to violators.

    A statement by his Press Affairs Officer, Mr Kunle Adesina, the SSG said abatement notices were served on owners of illegal structures, abandoned buildings now harbouring prostitutes, shanties, street hawkers and those who have converted walkways into ware points and food courts.

    The ultimatum, which expires on Sunday, was given to concerned residents to dismantle the illegal structures voluntarily to avoid prosecution.

    According to Bello, the committee decided to first embark on sensitisation campaign on the need to comply with the original master plan for Ikoyi, Lekki and Victoria Island.

    Stated that the committee has concluded plans to enforce its mandate, Bello listed the governor’s directive to include: immediately commence the implementation of the approved action plan and execution of the clean-up exercise, develop strategies for preventing re-occurrences as well as other recommendations as necessary to sustain environmental renewal of these areas and embark on a public sensitisation exercise for the sustenance of a cleaner community in the axis.

    He renewed the commitment of the Ambode led-administration to restore environmental sanity to every part of the state.

    Recalling the governor’s views while inaugurating the committee, Bello quoted him as saying: “Cases of abandoned properties have become very rampant with miscreants and criminal elements taking over these properties as their base to cause havoc.

    “The neat road sides of the past now parade pockets of kiosks, illegal parking lots, unapproved mechanic workshops, roadside beer parlours and commercial centres.

    “In addition, originally residential areas now have industrial and commercial concerns located there, distorting the balance of the environment.

  • Lagos gives ultimatum to owners of illegal structures in Ikoyi, V/I, Lekki

    Owners of illegal structures, shanties, street hawkers and those who have converted walkways into trading points and food courts in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and the Lagoon Front of Lekki got a 14-day notice yesterday to remove their structures

    The Lagos State Government, which gave ultimatum through its Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Tunji Bello, warned that the illegal structures would be removed by the State Special Task Force at the expiration of the ultimatum.

    Bello said the Task Force would move in to clean the areas and the owners arrested for prosecution.

    A statement by the SSG warned: “The owners of all illegal structures, shanties, abandoned buildings and all those who have converted road median to commercial uses in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki have between today (Monday) and two weeks’ time to comply or have the State Special Task Force on the Clean Up of the areas to contend with.”

     

    The statement added that owners of all abandoned buildings in the highbrow areas which are now harbouring prostitutes, illegal miscreants and unwanted elements, must clear the structures of such undesirable elements immediately.

    He warned owners of properties on the Lagoon fronts of Lekki Phase I who have littered the whole areas with compactors and several other deadweight equipments to remove them immediately.

    Bello said the government was concerned about the conversion of the frontages of properties and abandoned houses to kiosks and trading points by maids and guards as well as the unregulated activities of horticulturists, who have turned setbacks to ‘showrooms’.

    He reiterated the determination of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration to restore the original master plan of Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki, by checking the activities of roadside automobile repairers, who have reduced many dual carriage lanes to single lanes with indiscriminate parking.

    He said the government would no longer tolerate indiscriminate parking of vehicles, trucks, among others on drainage channels, adding that owners of such vehicles and properties with unkempt drainages will be prosecuted.

    Bello said it was totally unacceptable for people to stockpile and display wares such as bags of charcoal on major roads like Ahmadu Bello Way and Federal Secretariat Road, Ikoyi, stating that henceforth, such goods would be confiscated and the owners prosecuted.

    The statement reads: “We are using this medium to sensitise members of the public and residents of the affected areas who are involved in these illegalities to immediately take right action and do the needful as the state government will take the necessary steps to enforce its environmental and sanitation laws forthwith.

    “All those engaging in roadside display of wares, illegal street trading and all illegal squatters on undeveloped land and all those who have converted road median to commercial uses in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki are being advised in their own interest to put a stop to the illegalities.”

  • Eko DisCo begins power rationing in VI, Ikoyi, others

    Eko Electricity Distribution Company has begun power rationing in Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island (VI) and some parts of Ajah,  the firm has said.

    The General Manager, Corporate Communications, Idemudia Godwin Sule, said the rationing started last week and would last one month.

    The rationing is to enable the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) upgrade both Line 1 and Line 2 of Ajah-Alagbon transmission line from 132kv to 330kv.

    He said: “During the upgrade operation, which will last between three and four weeks, the Lekki transmission injection sub-station from which most of the areas to be affected by the power rationing are fed, would be completely shut down.

    “But to ensure that the areas are not completely out of supply for the duration of the upgrade operation, alternative power supply arrangement would be made through back-feeding operation to the areas from Alagbon transmission injection sub-station via Ijora.”

    While appealing to customers to show understanding and bear with the situation during the period of the  exercise, Idemudia stated that all efforts would be made to ensure equitable distribution of available power to all customers.

  • Lebanese man arrested for faking Nigerian citizenship

    Lebanese man arrested for faking Nigerian citizenship

    The Police Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi, has arrested a 42-year-old Lebanese man, Rami El Masri, for alleged forgery and attempting to deceive a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) that he was a Nigerian citizen.

    El Masri, who it was learnt, owns two construction companies on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, is accused of forging a confirmation letter representing himself as a Nigerian citizen by birth.

    He was arraigned yesterday before Mrs. Joy Ugbomiko of Lagos State Magistrates’ Court in Igbosere, on a three-count charge of conspiracy, forgery and uttering.

    Prosecuting Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Susan Ezema told the court that Masri committed the alleged offences on December 15, 2008 and November 19, 2014, at No. 6, Oniru Street, Apapa, and No. 13, Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    She alleged that the defendant and others still at large conspired and forged a Letter of Confirmation of Nigerian citizenship with Reference No. MIA/NAT 382/1 dated December 15, 2008.

    Ezema said: “The letter was forged on December 15, 2008 and the defendant fraudulently presented himself as a Nigerian citizen, a representation he knew to be false, with intent that it be acted upon as genuine in Nigeria.

    “On November 19, 2014, at the Police Special Fraud Unit at No. 13, Milverton Road, Ikoyi, the defendant knowingly and fraudulently uttered the aforesaid false letter of confirmation as if it is genuine to Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Martin Nwogoh, as if it was a genuine document”.

    According to the prosecutor, the defendant presented the letter to CSP Nwogoh, who is attached to the Special Fraud Unit, with the intention that it be acted upon as genuine in Nigeria.

    The offences, she added, contravened Sections 363 (3), 363 (4) and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The defendant denied the charge.

    Magistrate Ugbomiko granted him bail in the sum of N200, 000 with two sureties each in the like sum. Both sureties must be gainfully employed and be company directors or have property anywhere in Lagos State, while their addresses and places of business must also be verified.

    The case was adjourned till June 16 for mention.

  • Southern Sun Ikoyi marks Easter for clients

    In enjoying the Southern Sun Ikoyi hospitality this Easter, guests are invited to celebrate in style with loved ones or to simply take a personal break as they await the arrival of the Easter during the long festive weekend.

    Showcasing the best offers for a relaxing break, Southern Sun Ikoyi promises a cozy ambience with a luxurious spread of pampering experiences that guests can enjoy. Boasting fine cuisine that heightens the Easter spirit and with a special touch from the hotel’s Head Chef for the occasion, Southern Sun Ikoyi promises a rosy arrival for Easter’s much awaited bunny.

    The hotel is offering Easter Sunday brunch and guests can enjoy a wide range of culinary delights with fine selections of wine and cocktail blends. The hotel says the accommodation rates are competitive with breakfast inclusive.

    With its stylish and contemporary ambience, sufficient WiFi internet connectivity and an outdoor pool and terrace area ideal for cooling off or just lounging with friends and familyduring the long Easter weekend, Southern Sun Ikoyi also boasts a well-equipped gym designed to meet the fitness needs of guests,equally manned by staff who are extremely warm and professional.

    Dedicated to catering to all the particular needs of its guests during this season, Southern Sun Ikoyi promises to spoil each guest this Easter with treats that ensure you leave with great memories.

  • Southern Sun Ikoyi marks Easter for clients  

    In enjoying the Southern Sun Ikoyi hospitality and comfortable surrounds this Easter, guests are invited to celebrate in style with family and loved ones or to simply take a personal break as they await the arrival of the Easter bunny during the long festive weekend.

    Showcasing the best offers for a relaxing break, Southern Sun Ikoyi promises a cozy ambience with a luxurious spread of pampering experiences that guests can enjoy. Boasting fine cuisines that heighten the Easter spirit and a special touch from the hotel’s Head Chef for the occasion, Southern Sun Ikoyi promises a rosy arrival for Easter’s much awaited bunny.

    The hotel is offering Easter Sunday brunch and guests can enjoy wide range of culinary delights with fine selections of wine and cocktail blends. The hotel says the accommodation rates are competitive with breakfast inclusive.

    With its stylish and contemporary ambience, sufficient WiFi internet connectivity, an outdoor pool and a terrace area ideal for cooling off  or just lounging with friends and family during the long Easter weekend, Southern Sun Ikoyi also boasts a  well-equipped gym designed to meet the fitness needs of guests, equally manned by staff who are extremely warm and professional.

    Dedicated to catering to all the particular needs of its guests during this season, Southern Sun Ikoyi promises to spoil each guest this Easter with treats that ensure you leave with great memories.

  • Southern Sun Ikoyi marks Valentine

    This Valentine, Southern Sun  Ikoyi, Lagos  is offering  Valentine’s package for lovers. From next Monday, February  8 to 14 February,  the hotel is offering discount on rooms  with breakfast inclusive..

    With the finest cuisine to impress your loved one, the hotel is also celebrating the Head Chef’s carefully selected menu accompanied by choice wine for lovers and couples to savour.

    The hotel said it offering great deal of synergy in its design, quality, service and commitment to delivering the finest lodging and dining experience, also providing a relaxing ambience for loved ones this Valentine’s day accompanied with the subtle tones of romantic tunes.