The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ilorin

  • Court of Appeal Ekiti moves to Ilorin

    Court of Appeal Ekiti moves to Ilorin

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, has been moved to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    The relocation, which might not be unconnected with recent politically-motivated unrest in the state in the past weeks, would be temporary, according to a source.

    Hoodlums unleashed a series of unrest within the high court premises, which also houses the magistrate and appeal courts.

    Vice chairman, state chapter of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Gbemiga Adaramola, confirmed the reports at the weekend.

    Adaramola said the relocation would take effect from today.

  • Saraki blames Fed Govt for Ilorin flood

    Saraki blames Fed Govt for Ilorin flood

    Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology Senator Bukola Saraki has blamed the Federal Government for the flood in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    Saraki said its failure to complete the channellisation of the River Asa in Ilorin led to the loss of property worth millions of naira by residents loving on the river’s path.

    The contract for the channellisation of the river was awarded during the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’adua, but work did not begin until about three years ago.

    This year, flood has affected residents at the southern end of the river. Saraki, who visited some of the affected areas at the weekend, said his committee would invite the minister of Environment and the Ecological Fund Unit in the Presidency to shed light on the matter when the Senate reconvenes after the holidays.

    He said there was no excuse for not completing the project, urging the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to assist those displaced by the flood.

    Saraki said: “If the job was done according to the programme, we could have avoided the destruction of over 300 houses. The non-completion of the contract is responsible for the displacement of the occupants of the flooded houses and some people are responsible for that. Somebody must be held accountable; somebody must ensure that the contractors’ claim of paucity of fund is rectified. More funds should be released to the contractors.

    “We are lucky that no life was lost. The funds are available, so they should be made available to the contractors. This is the kind of thing that made us review the efficacy of the ecological funds. If necessary steps are not taken and flooding happens again, God forbid, lives might be lost. There is need for prompt action and the state government has written NEMA to ensure that relief materials are provided for the victims.

    “The people don’t care about who is at fault between the awarding ministry and the contractors, all they want is for the job to be done. Any further damage or loss of life will amount to recklessness on the part of those responsible for the project. NEMA and the Federal Government should compensate the victims. If the job was concluded on schedule, we would not witness what is happening today.”

  • Flood destroys property in Ilorin

    Flood destroys property in Ilorin

    Property worth millions of naira were destroyed yesterday by flood in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    This followed heavy rains, which began around 2am and fell for over four hours.

    Worse hit by the flood were Odota, Ita-Amodu bridge and Oko-Erin, around Government Day Secondary School (GDSS).

    At Odota, Ilorin West Local Government Area, residents said the flood was caused by shops built on the waterways, which prevented a free-flow of water.

    Many fences were washed away. Three vehicles, home appliances, furniture and documents were damaged.

    The owner of two of the affected houses, Chief Adams Olanipekun, said water from Olorunsogo caused erosion  in Shaka Shaka Street.

    Olanipekun said: “The rain started about 2am on Tuesday. Water from Olorunsogo was blocked by a row of shops around here, which diverted the flood to our houses. The flood, coupled with thunder strikes at 3am, pulled down fences, which fell on three cars and destroyed them beyond repair.”

    Residents urged the government to relocate the shops.

    Mr. Kehinde David said: “The shops blocked the passage of water from Olorunsogo. Drain must be constructed.”

     

  • Group holds summit on insecurity in Ilorin

    Worried by the growing insecurity of lives and property in Ilorin, the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) is staging a summit to address the issue.

    The discussion, which holds today, is to create opportunity for residents to contribute to crime prevention in the Ilorin Emirate.

    Amid the Ramadan period last month, some street urchins engaged in a free-for-all in parts of the city during the distribution of noodles.

    The fracas sent panic and tension in the Oja-Iaya/Eruda area of Ilorin where the violence erupted.

    National President of IEDPU, Alhaji Abdulhamid Adi, said: “Those of us who have been living in Ilorin for about two decades will obviously appreciate what it was, in terms of security. Our concern as a people is the astronomical growth of insecurity in the emirate, the dimension it is assuming, the inhibition of free movement and its impact on safety of lives and property and economic development.”

    Speaking further, Adi lamented that “high rate of unemployment, chronic poverty, perceived inequality, loss of value systems, weak security system, use of drugs are some major contributing factors to insecurity. Government institutions responsible for providing security appeared to be over-stretched while the criminal justice is a little weak; principally the rule of law is collapsing. The summit, therefore, is intended “to awaken the public consciousness to the general problem of insecurity and its variants.”

  • Crisis of confidence rocks Ilorin NBA

    Crisis of confidence rocks Ilorin NBA

    The Ilorin branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) is engulfed in a crisis that is threatening its foundation. Rather than engaging in dispute resolution and arbitration, lawyers are at one anothers’ throats, following an attempt by the leadership to probe the immediate past executive. Besides, a group of lawyers plan to impeach the chairman of the branch, Mobolaji Ojibara.

    The lawyers, who are said to be loyal to the former chairman, were said to have served Ojibara a two weeks impeachment notice. The notice of impeachment is said to be sponsored by 16 members of the association and seconded by 18 others. They are accusing him of professional misconduct contrary to Article 14(a) of the NBA bye-law 2013, Section 9(a) (iv) of the NBA Constitution 2009, Article 22 NBA bye-law 2013 and NBA Guidelines and Timetable for 2014 NBA and abuse of office contrary to Section 14(c) of NBA Ilorin bye-law, 2013.

    They accused him of issuing a dud cheque of N300, 000 to Dr. J.O. Olatoke (SAN) and also replacing the name of Balogun with that of Salman Jawondo as a delegate to the just-concluded NBA national elections. They are also accusing him of using funds meant for the association to buy bags of rice for his friends and also sponsored the funeral ceremony of the association’s Vice-Chairman without due clearance from the association.

    According to those who want him out of office, Ojibara allegedly redeemed the sum of N3 million from pledges made at a recent NBA function without disclosing same to the executive council or congress of the association.

    Investigations revealed that the alleged disqualification of Balogun who sought to contest election as National Legal Adviser of the Association at the just-concluded NBA election may have been responsible for the anger against Ojibata by some of the members.

    Ojibara told our correspondent that those seeking his removal as the NBA chairman will not succeed; even as he allegedly blamed the development on the immediate past leadership of the branch headed by Balogun whom he claimed had allegedly refused to submit to the rule of accountability.

    While claiming not to have received any notice form impeachment as at the time of this report, his associates said only two third of financial members of the association can actually remove the chairman, stressing that those behind the move really do not have evidence to prove their allegations.

    Ojibara said: “The problem is that they have refused to be accountable to the association. When they left office, we decided to look into the account and that is the normal practice, but they refused.

    “For instance, they claimed to have spent N6.5 million on the Bar Centre and still left a debt of N7.7 million. When they presented that report, members said the account should be audited and we set up an audit committee to do that but they went to court to stop the auditing.

    “In December, while that was going on, we had our dinner but they hijacked the programme and presented themselves with awards. If we had screened the accounts by then, we wouldn’t have presented them with awards. We also later decided to look into how they hijacked the programme and set up a committee to do that.

    Again, they went to court to stop the process. It was at that point that Balogun sought to contest for a post in the National Executive Council of the association. They then began to make various comments on the social media which attracted the attention of the National President.

    They claimed there was a state of emergency in the Ilorin chapter, that the executive have been banned and other allegation. I had to talk with the President and I put down my position formally and they found substance in what I said and that was why they disqualified Balogun from contesting.”

    Continuing, he said: “The moment they returned to Ilorin, they launched this impeachment drive as an attack on my administration. Check the document and you will see that virtually all the lawyers that signed are from one chamber or the other where members of the past executives are working.

    Their campaign is that once Balogun was disallowed form contesting, then this executive must also go. But we are merely insisting on sanity in the branch because we believe that people should be accountable. They just want to negotiate knowing that they cannot get anything from the court process. They have done so much havoc to the association.

    “I urge you to go and see the Bar Centre and the level of work done. I am not begging anybody not to go ahead with the plan to remove me if they think they have what it takes to do so.”

    One of the lawyers, Rafiu Balogun dissociated himself from Ojibara’s ordeal saying “I am surprised that a leader of the bar could go on this way when he knows the truth. I don’t know why some of them are being economical with the truth. The audit committee that was set up was manipulated by the chairman and one or two of his cohorts who are hell bent on destroying our credibility.

    “In the history of the bar in Ilorin here, there is no administration that can match ours. The records of our achievement are there. I am surprised that he is saying I am the one supporting the move.

    “At our general meeting of April 18, the one we had at the Chief Judge’s Court, the secretary, Mr. Akande sat with the congress. He rose up and said the chairman is guilty of financial recklessness, abuse of office and unguarded statement. That is coming from his secretary and that is part of the grounds of impeachment.

    “Is that Balogun again? He should just leave me alone. This is what happened: after our tenure when we submitted our annual reports and accounts, we set out everything clearly. There was no issue at all. It was at the point of the report being adopted at the swearing-in of the new executive that Mr. Salman Jawondo, his godfather, raised up his hands that we must not adopt this report that day because the time was far spent.

    “The tradition is that we must adopt it but because we didn’t know they had their own plans, I said no problem; that we could adopt it at the next general meeting which is the inaugural meeting of the Ojibara administration. But the day we were supposed to do that, Jawondo again raised an issue that the report had not been audited and therefore should not be adopted.

    “I was surprised. Meanwhile Ojibara began to read out a list of names of a committee on that. One of the elders objected to it because that was not the practice. How can you appoint committee for us to audit the report? There and then Jawondo raised his hands up again and nominated Dr. Adams whose name had earlier been read out by Ojibara, to head the committee.

    “Thereafter, they began to jubilate that they were going to deal with me. The secretary to that committee is in the same office with Dr. Adams. They wrote to me asking for records of the administration. I asked them to contact the secretary because as chairman, I don’t keep records. Let them write to all secretaries and financial secretary.

    “They wrote and those people responded. But the committee didn’t work at all. The chairman alone was looking at our record and was filing report because he was detailed to indict me because of my ambition. As a result of the practice in those days, the chairman must recommend you to say that you are in good standing, otherwise you will not be allowed to contest.”

    Balogun also said: “The plan was that they would use the report against me; they were going to use two reports; the audit and the one on the plaque we were given at the end of our tenure which is a normal thing. They made it become an issue and set up another committee to probe me.

    “The audit committee was not working but they were preparing report. We have somebody there who felt it was all unfair and spoke out against what they were doing. We wrote them to hands off because we have seen that in law, they don’t even have what it takes to audit and account; it is the job of professional accountants.

    “We also said we have seen that they are not going to be fair to us because I had issues with the chairman of the committee, Dr. Adams. This is so because I didn’t allow him to contest when I was secretary because he was not qualified. But they hid our letter whereas they ought to refer the letter to the congress; that we are complaining.

    “We are lawyers and I am surprised that they could keep that letter without referring it to the congress. We had no option again but to go to court. But before doing that, we went to our elders; we wrote to them to let them know what was brewing and asked for their intervention, that we have served so well and therefore do not deserve to be humiliated.

    “It was my administration that constituted the Council of Elders and we put it in the bye-law. We wrote to them and we even talked with some of them. But nothing was done. So, we had to go to court. You should ask us what our prayer in court is. “We are saying that we are not going to get fair hearing from the committee and that the court should mandate the association to constitute an independent auditor from outside who will do the auditing.

    “So we are not saying our accounts should not be audited even though reports of the two past administrations of Jawondo and Akanbi were not audited. We are on trust; we are lawyers and if lawyers speak from the bar, there is no need to doubt them. We are not used to this kind of thing; we operate on trust.”

    He added that what was happening to him is pure “vendetta. I contested with Ojibara on two occasions and as God would have it, I defeated him both as secretary and chairman and he said I didn’t support him during time he won, adding that I was supporting my Vice-Chairman, Dr. Abikan.

    That was my offence because the elders had intervened on the matter earlier and they blamed him for taking such action.

    “I say it is vendetta or envy because they are marveled at what we have achieved so far. When I started, they said I was too young to do it but when we started to achieve so much, they were marveled. They accuse me of planning to turn myself into Saraki of NBA. But I tell them it is because I am popular and people like my style.”

  • New twists to Ilorin NBA chairmanship tussle

    THE crisis rocking the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) Ilorin Branch took a new dimension yesterday, as two factions made claims and counter-claims to the status of its chairman, Mobolaji Ojibara.

    An anti-Ojibara group, which filed a notice of impeachment against him two weeks ago, claimed to have successfully removed him from office at a congress held yesterday.

    But Ojibara and his group addressed reporters in the state capital to denounce the claim, alleging instead that those behind the move have themselves been suspended from the association indefinitely.

    Former chairman of the branch and one of those affected by the alleged suspension, Mr. Rafiu Balogun however said he was disturbed with what was going on in the association.

    He claimed that contrary to claims by the Ojibara’s group, Article 25 of the NBA Constitution clearly states that congresses cannot be held in August and December.

    Ojibara added that contrary to the claims by his opponents, the congress of the association passed a vote of confidence on him and recommended members of the immediate past executive council of the association led by Balogun, who are believed to be behind the impeachment moves, for investigation by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

    The “sins” of the allegedly suspended members,  the resolution said, include “suspected false and fraudulent accounting and for their respective roles in causing the branch unprecedented financial embarrassment and loss in the guise of reconstruction of the Bar Centre of the branch and or for any other wrongs or offences that may be discovered that have been perpetrated by them.

    The resolution also agreed to forward their names to the association’s disciplinary committee over their alleged conduct in the impeachment saga.

    According to the resolution of the congress which was read to reporters, members of the association also agreed to forward the names of the suspended members to the association’s national secretariat and security agencies for “notification, record and surveillance”.

    But earlier, the anti-Ojibara group had issued a statement after the meeting to announce that it had succeeded in ousting the chairman.

    The four-paragraph statement signed by Assistant General Secretary, Yahaya Alajo, reads:  “The impeachment proceeding against Mr. Mobolaji Ojibara as the NBA Ilorin chairman was considered and resolved today in a General Meeting held at the Bar Centre. The meeting was attended by over 50 members of the association.

    “Dr. Ibrahim Abikan, while at the meeting, addressed the congress, adding that the motion for impeachment earlier moved by 16 members and seconded by 18 members was not opposed by Mr. Ojibara or any other member of the association. It was accordingly resolved that since there was no response to the allegations of financial recklessness, abuse of office and subversion of the bye-law of the association, Mr. Mobolaji Ojibara thereby stand impeached. The session, though rowdy, Mr. Ojibara was successfully impeached.

    “It should be recalled that the grounds of impeachment borders on abuse of office and professional misconduct concerning the misappropriation of the association’s funds among others. It is hoped that with the impeachment of Mr. Ojibara, peace and sanity would be restored in the NBA, Ilorin branch.”

  • Kwara police arrest man with placenta in Ilorin

    The Kwara State Police Command has arrested a 25-year-old man in Ilorin, the state capital, for allegedly being in possession of a body part suspected to be placenta.

    The man, simply identified as Alfa Gani, is said to be a notorious herbalist.

    Residents of Ajibesin at Ogidi in Ilorin South sent a distress call to the ‘E’ Division, when they allegedly found the placenta of a two-day-old baby at Gani’s home about 7am on Wednesday.

    It was gathered that the suspect, who claimed to be an Islamic cleric, allegedly removed the baby’s placenta on Monday where it was buried.

    Sources said the baby’s parents, simply identified as Mr. and Mrs. Sadudeen, shared fence with the suspect at Ogidi.

    It was gathered that unknown to the suspect, some residents sighted him as he dug out the spot where the father of the baby buried the placenta.

    Angered by the incident, it was gathered youths in the area burnt suspect’s property.

    In the confusion, the baby’s mother was said to have rushed to where the placenta was buried only to discover it was no longer there.

    Police spokeman Ajayi Okasanmi) confirmed the incident, describing the suspect as a ‘notorious herbalist.’

    Mr. Okasanmi urged residents to always provide the police with information that could assist in the arrest of criminal elements in the society.

  • One-day cricket awareness clinic ends in Ilorin

    One-day cricket awareness clinic ends in Ilorin

    THE Nigeria Cricket Federation and Kwara State Cricket Association organized a one-day cricket awareness programme for schools yesterday at the Main-Bowl of the stadium complex. The clinick has been described as a welcomed development toward reviving the sport in the state.

    The 1st Vice Chairman of the Kwara State Cricket Association, Mallam M. J. Daudu, while briefing newsmen after the programme which brought over 400 students from 25 secondary schools in the state together said that it’s a good home coming for cricket in the state, pointing out that cricket started in Kwara state.

    ‘Cricket started in Kwara state. As a matter of fact, Kwara has the first Cricket Pitch (Oval) in Nigeria, and most of the nation’s cricketers started from this state’, he said.

    Kwara State Stadium Manager and Board member of the Cricket Federation of Nigeria, Wale Obalola, who coordinated the programme expressed satisfaction with the turn-out and conduct of students and their officials during awareness programme and clinic, which he said, is a follow up to the desire of the Board to take cricket to the grassroots.

    According to Obalola, cricket equipments like bats, balls and wickets will be distributed to the schools after the awareness programme.

    The students were given launch packs and transport fairs to and fro their various schools, and were also kitted for the exercise.

    Obalola said that the programme was a follow-up to the National U-15 Boys and U-17 Girls Cricket Championship in Abuja in June, where Kwara state represented the North Central.

    Kwara came fourth in the U-15, and 3rd in the U-17, and four boys and three girls have been invited to the national team in preparation for the U-17 international meet in Uganda later in the year.

    One of the girls, Kehinde Abdulkadri won four laurels in the national competition. She won the Best Batman award, Upcoming cricketer of the competition award, the golden boot, while she was also adjudged as the Most Valuable Player of the competition..

    The Director of Sports, Tunde Kazeem and the Administrator of Kwara Football Academy, Mutiu Adepoju opened the clinic with demonstration games.

  • Ilorin culture on display

    Ilorin culture on display

    It was a feast of culture when members of the Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union in the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) inaugurated a new Emir (leader) during a send-off party for their outgoing executive. HALIMA AKANBI (200-Level Law) and IBRAHIM JATTO (Graduating student of Zoology) report.

    It was the installation of a new ‘emir’, but the culture of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, was on display at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto (UDUS). The university community had a taste of Ilorin culture when Ilorin Emirate students held a send-off for their graduating colleagues and inaugurated of the new Emir (president).

    The ‘emir’, Sheriffdeen Omotayo, walked from his hostel to the PTF Hall – the venue of the event – clad in a blue ceremonial attire with a white-turban. He waved to people shouting “Shehu”, which is how the Emir of Ilorin is greeted.

    Sheriffdeen was received by a crowd of students, who had been seated for two hours before the programme started. As he moved into the hall, the ‘emir’ was greeted with resounding shouts of “Shehu”.

    After the ‘emir’ sat on the throne, Kengbe troupe, which is a cultural group of the union, dazzled the crowd with the traditional dance step of Ilorin people. The 15-member group was led by the Magajiya of the association, Risikat Ibrahim, a 400-Level student of Business Administration.

    Kengbe is a calabash that generated sound of different pitches, which is used to welcome guests to occasions.

    The event started with the Ulama’u (good people) conference, where members of the union imitated notable Islamic clerics in Ilorin. While acting sermons on the topic: Shariah and marriage, the students mimicked the style of clerics, such as the late Sheikh Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilory, Sheikh Kamaldeen Al-Addaby and Sheikh Buhari Ibn Musa, among others.

    There was also a short drama on the need to always remember one’s origin. Members presented a fact-file on Ilorin history and the achievements of illustrious sons and daughters of the ancient city. Participants learnt that Ilorin produced the first lawyer in the North, the first professor of Veterinary Medicine in West Africa, and that it is also the first community to have electricity in the North.

    The highpoint was the installation. Sheriffdeen, a 300-Level student of Islamic Education Studies, succeeds Abdulhameed Abdullahi, a graduating student of Political Science.

    The ‘emir’ is the Magaji of the association. He was turbaned amid fun and fanfare. After the swearing in, hundreds of students led the Emir back to his hostel, beating the Bandir – Islamic talking drum.

    Students, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, described Ilorin culture as a “progressive civilisation” that has endured for ages.

    Hanifat Yusuf, a 400-Level student, said: “The event showed the unique heritage of Ilorin people in an interesting style. It combined entertainment with values that are dear to Ilorin people. We were brought back home with the display of culture.”

    Abdulmajeed Isiak, a 300-Level member, said he was proud of his origin with the manner students from other states trooped out to watch the event. “The event gave me a sense of pride as an Ilorin indigene, given the massive attendance by students from other states. It was educative and entertaining,” he said.

    Hammed Hammed, a 200-Level student of Business Administration, said: “The send-off was unique in its own way; everyone enjoyed the programme from the beginning to the end. I hope to see more of this kind of organisational spirit next time.”

    Abdulhameed thanked members for their support and co-operation, which he said was the reason behind the success recorded during his tenure. He urged members to support the new leadership to achieve the association’s objective.

    The association also unveiled a magazine Garin Alimi to inform people about events happening in Ilorin.

  • Three feared killed, 20 vehicles swept off in Ilorin

    At least three persons were feared dead due to the devastating flood in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital on Wednesday.

    The flood also swept away about 20 vehicles around Omosebi and Adisco area in the metropolis.

    Two of the victims of the flood were young children, identified simply as Basirat, aged four and half years and Garfa, aged three years.

    The flood, which occurred as a result of a two-hour rainfall that started at about 11pm on Wednesday, also affected a property being used as campaign office of the Interim Publicity Secretary of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    A woman who deals in plastic tanks at the frontage of the property wailed uncontrollably as the flood had swept away several of her goods.

    The two children  were said to come to be on holiday with their grandmother in a building few metres from Royal Shekinah Grand Suites located along Offa Garage Road.

    The hotel is owned by Senator Smart Adeyemi.

    Eyewitness accounts said the kids got drowned when one of them opened the front door of their apartment in an attempt to escape the flood that had reached the window level of the building. The corpse of another victim, a male was discovered at the Coca-Cola area of the city early in the morning.

    It took the intervention of security agents to prevent irate youths from torching the popular hotel.

    The angry youths blamed a construction on a part of the property for  flood that killed three persons on Wednesday night.

    They were already hurling stones on the property before several teams of policemen arrived on the scene and succeeded in persuading the youths to sheathe their sword. Several policemen were later stationed to guard the property.

    About 1000 passengers on a train travelling from Lagos to the north were also stranded as a section of the rail track behind Kingdom Heritage Secondary school was also affected.

    The flood cut off  a large chunk of soil from beneath the rail track and cut the road into two thus making if impassable for the train.

    One of the passengers, Sofi Mufiu lamented that they had spent over nine hours stranded on the track without help from any official of the Nigeria Railway Corporation.

    At least 11 cars at the workshop of car painter, Mr Razaq Jimoh situated beside Omosebi Hospital were washed away by the flood. Few of the cars were seen about a kilometre away from the workshop site. Several buses and cars belonging to transport companies operating in the vicinity of the hotel were also washed away.

    A man who simply identified himself as ‘Israel’ volunteered to speak on behalf of the community he said: “We are angry because this hotel  just for the car park they want to build they put a slab there and now when the flood was coming last night the slab blocked the  flood and it began to wash back and spread all over the place. We tried hard last night to rescue a paralysed woman but we don’t want this to continue so we want government to come and break the slab because we don’t know when another rain will come and it will be worse than this.”

    Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Abubakar Mora, who toured the affected areas early in the morning, agreed there was need for an urgent action on the situation about the drainage and the slab.

    He said, “We have seen the cause of the flood; the blockage of the drainage is the cause and we will send our experts here on time to come and see and tell us how to go about it. It started from Offa garage area and came down to this place but we will do something on time so that this type of tragedy will not happen again,” Mora stated.