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Tag: iron

  • Man jumps into iron melting pot

    Man jumps into iron melting pot

    The Police Command in Lagos State says an unnamed 25-year old contract staff member, has allegedly jumped into an iron melting pot of his company and died.

    The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday.

    The image maker said the safety officer of the company located at the Industrial Scheme of Odogunyan in Ikorodu of Lagos State, whose name also was not mentioned, reported the case to the Sagamu Road Police Division on August 3.

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    He said the safety officer reported that on the same date, about 3.15 p.m., the contract staff attached to the AOD Section allegedly ran to the iron melting pot, which was out of bound to staff members during operation.

    “He jumped into it and all efforts made by his colleagues to stop him proved abortive, while his body was completely melted.

    “Detectives from the station visited the scene of the crime. The family of the deceased has since been contacted, while investigation is ongoing, ” Hundeyin said.

  • Man charged with attacking daughter with knife, iron

    A 30-year-old man, Mohammed Bramah, who allegedly attacked his 12-year-old daughter with a knife and an iron rod, was yesterday arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

    Bramah, of 85, Adeba Road, Lakowe, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, is facing a two-count charge of assault and occasional bodily harm preferred against him by the police.

    The girl, who started living with the defendant last September, sustained injuries on her eyes, hands and had scars all over her body.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Ehizoba Godspower told the court that the defendant committed the offences on December 1, about 6pm.

    He alleged that the defendant used knife, iron and belt to attack his daughter on her eyes and hands, which caused the eyes and hands to swell.

    He said the offences were punishable under sections 173 and 168 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    Bramah pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate M.F. Onamusi granted him bail in the sum of N500,000, with two sureties in the like sum.

    He said the sureties, one of who must be a relation, must be employed in a reputable organisation, and show evidence of two years’ tax payment, among other conditions.

    The magistrate ordered that the child should be taken to the Vigilant Heart Home Foundation.

    She adjourned further hearing till January 16.

     

  • Iron

    Like calcium, the nutritional element iron is a keen servant of life.  It is an indispensable player in the transportation of oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body including to vital organs such as the brain and heart.  Almost 70% of the iron found in the body is in the oxygen carrying haemoglobin of red blood cells. Without iron there is no haemoglobin formation and functional red blood cell.

    Iron is also used in the body to form various metabolic agents and enzymes including myoglobin (an iron carrying protein similar to haemoglobin but is found in muscle and carries oxygen), cytochromes, and catalase that sustain various body functions.

    Iron is involved in the synthesis of some neurotransmitters including dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin without which the brain and nerves cannot work well.  In addition, the high activity of the brain requires a lot of oxygen and the brain alone consumes 20% of oxygen carried in the blood for the whole body.  Lack of iron leads to inability to focus, irritability, and fatigue; for example, a child may not be able to study well and a worker will not be able to work well.  We need sufficient iron for ability to concentrate and for good cognitive performance.

    Iron in muscle myoglobin helps the muscle to store and utilize oxygen.  It is important for athletic fitness.  Without iron, muscles lack tone and contractility.  Muscle weakness is a cardinal sign of iron deficiency anaemia. The person with low iron lacks stamina and is incapable of good physical performance.

    Iron is stored in the body in ferritin inside cells and the body can tap from these stores when dietary intake is too low. In men, ferritin can store up to the amount of iron needed for three years.  Iron deficiency anaemia occurs more in women than in men because women store less iron. Women loose iron during menstruation. Women and children suffer more than men when dietary intake of iron becomes low.  If in an emergency situation of food shortage, men should let women and children eat first.

    Severe iron deficiency leads to a diminishment or even shut down of various body functions and external signs can be seen in unhealthy looking skin and nails. Iron deficiency anaemia is a common and important nutritional deficiency that is often undermined.

    Iron is found in both vegetable and animal derived foods. Animal foods such as meat and seafood contain heme iron.  Vegetables such as green leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach), legumes and lentils (e.g. beans) and nuts (e.g. cashew nuts), and foods derived from plants such as whole grains and cereals, bread, and dry fruits contain non-heme iron.  Heme iron is more efficiently absorbed by the body than non-heme iron. Vegetarians thus may be prone to lack of iron if they do not consume enough vegetables to give sufficient iron.  Consuming vitamin C-rich foods such as fresh tomatoes and citrus juices (e.g. orange or lime juice) alongside non-heme sources of iron increases iron absorption.

    Iron is used to treat some types of anaemia (for example in pregnancy and copious menstruation), fatigue, some chronic diseases, and restless leg syndrome. (Iron imbalance is a cause of restless leg syndrome). Low iron intake during pregnancy is linked to premature birth, low birth weight, and low iron stores and impaired cognitive or behavioural development in infants. Iron supports the work of the immune system.  Provision of oxygen to damaged tissues is important for quick and full recovery.  Balanced red blood cells in the blood limits fluctuation of blood pressure that can contribute to insomnia.  However, too much iron can increase the risk of liver cancer and diabetes.

    Some foods and medications reduce iron absorption.  These include tannins in coffee, tea, and wines, and phosphates in carbonate drinks (soft drinks).  Calcium can slow both heme and non-heme iron absorption. However eating a variety of foods and balancing one’s diet increases the chances of getting enough iron irrespective of the presence of enhancers and inhibitors of iron absorption.

    Dr. Theresa Adebola John is a lecturer at Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) and an affiliated researcher at the College of Medicine, University of Tennessee, Memphis.  For any comments or questions on this column, please email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 0816094463

  • Mum remanded for burning daughter with iron

    An Ikeja Chief Magistrate court has remanded a housewife, Mrs Ayo Sheriff, 30, in Female Prison of Kirikiri, Lagos for allegedly using iron to inflict burns on her 16-year-old daughter, Aishat.

    Mrs Sheriff was arraigned before Chief Magistrate O. Sule-Amzat on Monday on a two-count charge of child abuse.

    Police Prosecutor, Emuheri Benson, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on April 24 in Orile Iganmu, Lagos.

    Benson told the court that Aishat, a secondary school student who is also a part time auxiliary student nurse, had been given N500.00 by her boss who instructed her to give someone N200, use N50 as transport fare and return the N250 balance the next day.

    He said the victim failed to return the balance of the money given to her by her boss but claimed it was with her mother.

    The prosecutor said when her boss called the victim’s mother, she denied having the money.

    Benson further told the court that when Aishat got home, her mother allegedly burnt her upper and lower right limbs with iron.

    The offence, he said, contravened Section 173 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    The defendant pleaded not guilty.

    Chief Magistrate Sule- Amzat refused to grant the defendant bail.

    She asked the defence counsel to provide the medical report of the victim, who is said to be receiving treatment at the Lagos Island General Hospital.

    The case was adjourned till May 23.

  • Woman burns daughter with iron for lying

    The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 30-year-old woman, Ayo Sheriff, for allegedly burning her daughter, Aishat Sheriff, 16, with a pressing iron.

    The incident occurred at Ijora-Badia.

    It was gathered that the mother was furious after she realised her daughter had lied she was keeping N250 that was meant for Aishat’s boss.

    According to the police, Aishat, an apprentice auxiliary nurse, was given N500 by her boss to give someone N200 on her way home, use N50 as transport fare and return N250 the following day.

    The teenager, who’s also a secondary school pupil, failed to handover the balance to her boss and when asked, she lied that her mother was with the money.

    Unknown to Aishat, her boss called her mother and the latter was shocked and denied having the money.

    She was said to have plugged an electric iron on her daughter’s right limbs as soon as she got home for disgracing the family.

    The Nation gathered that the victim’s Guardian and Counsellor in school noticed the burnt injuries on her body the following day in school, questioned her and she opened up.

    Thereafter, the counsellor, it was learnt notified the orphanage and the police, who moved to the woman’s house and took the victim and her siblings away.

    According to police spokesman, Chike Oti, a Superintendent (SP), the victim and her younger sisters have been taken to Chosen Orphanage Home, at Gastya Estate, Ijora-Badia.

    He said: “The incident happened on April 24. The girl and her two younger siblings are being sheltered in Chosen Child Orphanage Home.

    “The Commissioner of Police (CP) was miffed at the sight of the horrible wounds inflicted on a child by her mother. He therefore called on parents to correct their children in love. He said the rate at which cases of domestic violence was increasing was a source of concern to the command.

    “The Gender Section of the Command, headed by Mrs Adejoke Cole, a Superintendent (SP) had concluded investigation into the case and would charge the suspect to Ikeja Magistrates’ Court today.”

  • Police arrest dad for ‘burning son with iron’

    •’I was chained, dragged naked on the street’

    A 17-year-old boy has relived his travails in his parents’ hands.

    Marvellous, a candidate in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE), claimed that he was chained by his dad, marine captain Blessing Erewa, and burnt with iron.  He is pleading that he be taken away from home.

    Marvellous claimed that he was beaten, chained, dragged naked on the street and burnt with iron by his father last Sunday in their Ifedapo Estate, Abuja Lasori, Owode Ibese, Ikorodu, Lagos home.

    He lives with his parents and two younger siblings on Alhaja Olaitan Avenue in the Estate.

    Police spokesman Chike Oti, a Superintendent (SP) told The Nation yesterday that Erewa was arrested on Friday.

    Oti added that the case has been transferred to Gender Section for thorough investigation and prosecution.

    Erewa’s wife Mariam, a trader, and the other two children are no longer in Lagos. Marvellous is currently undergoing treatment.

    Marvellous told our reporter that it all started on Saturday when he asked his dad for money for his exam.

    He said: “I am to begin WASSCE on Wednesday, but my father had said he will not complete the N10,000 payment for the exam because I don’t do most of the domestic work in the house. This made me to go out last Saturday to search for the N10,000 but I came back home very late. When I got home, my mother was angry with me because she was not feeling fine and I went out. I explained everything to her but she was mad with me and she reported me to my daddy; I was afraid to enter the house because I know my daddy is violent and he would beat me.  Daddy sent me out of the house, he said he does not want to see me at home nor anywhere around, so I slept in an uncompleted building in the community.

    “The following day (last Sunday), I was at one of my friends’ place close to my area, but around 7pm, my father came and met me there; he said he has told me that he does not want to see me in the community or anywhere around. He beat me there, stripped me naked and dragged me from there to our house, less than three kilometres away. A lot of people tried to ask him what the problem was, but he did not answer them. When we got home, he used a dog chain to beat me. The chain hit me on my private parts and I got injured. While that was ongoing, my mother was boiling water, daddy wanted to pour the hot water on me, but I don’t know why he changed his mind.

    “He later plugged the iron and pressed it on my body. Although daddy told them at the police station that using the iron on me was not intentional, but I know he did it purposely because there were no clothes around that he wanted to iron that day.  He just plugged the iron and pressed it on my back for like 50 seconds each; he did this like five times. He then chained me to the burglary.

    “While I was chained, my mummy poured the urine of my younger ones on my body and she spat on me. This is the second time that my daddy has used hot iron on me.  He unchained me the following day (Monday morning) and told me to go outside the house. While I was outside, I was feeling ashamed because people were looking at me; he later told me to go away for a while that he does not want to see me. Later he told me to sit down somewhere, but I could not sit, because the pain was much. I then wore a condemned shirt and went to one of my church members, who took care of me till that Monday afternoon.

    “I went back home in the afternoon, my mummy insulted me; she told me ‘that is good for you’.  I told her that a responsible mother will not say what she is telling me and that a responsible mother will not see her son go through what I went through the previous night. I later left the house. She told my daddy that I came home to insult her, my daddy came to the place I usually play games, when he got there, he beat and dragged me home again, he wanted to break the television in the place but people prevented him. On our way home, he saw some members of the Community Development Association (CDA), he reported me to them that I was too stubborn. I just removed my cloth to allow the people to see my body with the iron burns; they were angry with my father, and they told him to treat me.

    “Daddy took me to the hospital that evening and we went back home. On Tuesday morning, he went to work, my mummy went out too and did not leave food for me to take my drugs. I didn’t have a choice than to go to the neighbourhood and they gave me food to eat.

    “I did not go back home that Tuesday night because my daddy had earlier told me that he was going to take me to the village to go to live and suffer there.”

    Marvellous claimed that his parents always beat him, adding that he was never comfortable staying with them, because they are not friendly with him.

    He admitted that he used to steal in the community, noting that he stole because his parents don’t give him food.

    “I have stopped stealing; I don’t want to live with my parents again. My exam is on Wednesday and I want to write it but I am yet to get the balance of the payment,” he said.

    The CDA Vice-Chairman, Mrs Yeyeseun Osundairo told The Nation that the community got to that Marvellous steals because his parents were not feeding him. Mrs Osundairo said: “We advised him to stop stealing being a young boy and told him to rather ask for help than steal. The boy has stop stealing; he asks for help or does small jobs in the community and gets money for it. But since he stopped stealing, we discovered that his father always beat him.

    “When I heard of the incident and I asked his mother what happened. She told me that her husband dragged Marvellous into a room, chained him and used hot iron to burn him because he did not wash plates.

    “We took the case to Ipakodo Police Station in Ikorodu. Blessing ran away but Mariam was arrested.  I don’t know how they resolved the matter at the station, but to my surprise Marvellous and his mother were back home the next day.

    “The following day, we saw Marvellous on the road side; he said his parents sent him away. This made us to take Marvellous back to the police station, his father was arrested but we do not know the whereabouts of his mother and his two younger ones. Marvellous is still receiving treatment in a hospital,” she said.

     

  • Nigeria needs iron, steel, says FUTA don

    A professor of Metallurgical Engineering says robust government and private sector investment in the processing, smelting and refining industries would enhance Technological Entrepreneurship (TE), boost local capacity to manufacture spare parts and ultimately resuscitate the country’s moribund automobile industry.

    Prof Benjamin Adewuyi said this while delivering the 94th inaugural lecture of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) titled: “Metals and Materials: Creating Technological Entrepreneurial Potential.”

    Adewuyi said no country could achieve meaningful development without local capacity to produce iron and steel through TE in the metal sector.

    He said for Nigeria to join the league of countries with vibrant manufacturing sector, it should prioritise the iron and steel industry and create incentives that would lead to the development of basic spare parts industries to provide substitutes for imported varieties.

    This, he said, would enhance local technologies and give the needed fillip to the manufacturing sector and aid the resuscitation of the automobile industry.

    Adewuyi, the immediate past president of the Nigerian Metallurgical Society, said the ministry of science and technology in conjunction with the ministry of mines and steel development should come up with a strategic plan for TE by introducing cluster cottage industries and Technology Parks for the metal and materials sector.

    The Don said the advantages accruable to Nigeria from the development of TE in the metal and material sectors were enormous and included job opportunities, acquisition of technical skills, acceleration of industrial development, exploitation and development of raw materials and local technologies.

    Adewuyi said Nigeria was blessed with mineral and natural resources that can be harnessed for both economic and strategic reasons.

    He added that government should, as matter of urgency, fund and encourage problem-solving research and technology that are adaptable to the local environment to provide opportunities for indigenous scientific and technical innovations.

    Addressing the academia, Adewuyi said tertiary institutions should engage in science and technological research with the aim of solving local problems of housing, food, transportation, energy, health, portable water, pest control and security.

    In his remarks at the well-attended lecture, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Joseph Fuwape praised Adewuyi’s dexterity in the delivery of the lecture.

  • Nigeria needs iron, steel, says FUTA don

    A professor of Metallurgical Engineering says robust government and private sector investment in the processing, smelting and refining industries would enhance Technological Entrepreneurship (TE), boost local capacity to manufacture spare parts and ultimately resuscitate the country’s moribund automobile industry.

    Prof Benjamin Adewuyi said this while delivering the 94th inaugural lecture of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) titled: “Metals and Materials: Creating Technological Entrepreneurial Potential.”

    Adewuyi said no country could achieve meaningful development without local capacity to produce iron and steel through TE in the metal sector.

    He said for Nigeria to join the league of countries with vibrant manufacturing sector, it should prioritise the iron and steel industry and create incentives that would lead to the development of basic spare parts industries to provide substitutes for imported varieties.

    This, he said, would enhance local technologies and give the needed fillip to the manufacturing sector and aid the resuscitation of the automobile industry.

    Adewuyi, the immediate past president of the Nigerian Metallurgical Society, said the ministry of science and technology in conjunction with the ministry of mines and steel development should come up with a strategic plan for TE by introducing cluster cottage industries and Technology Parks for the metal and materials sector.

    The Don said the advantages accruable to Nigeria from the development of TE in the metal and material sectors were enormous and included job opportunities, acquisition of technical skills, acceleration of industrial development, exploitation and development of raw materials and local technologies.

    Adewuyi said Nigeria was blessed with mineral and natural resources that can be harnessed for both economic and strategic reasons.

    He added that government should, as matter of urgency, fund and encourage problem-solving research and technology that are adaptable to the local environment to provide opportunities for indigenous scientific and technical innovations.

    Addressing the academia, Adewuyi said tertiary institutions should engage in science and technological research with the aim of solving local problems of housing, food, transportation, energy, health, portable water, pest control and security.

    He said the outcome of researches should be for practical applications and commercial purposes. For that to happen, he said there must be adequate synergy between the academia, entrepreneurs, government.

    In his remarks at the well-attended lecture, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Joseph Fuwape praised Adewuyi’s dexterity in the delivery of the lecture.

  • ‘Why Fed Govt must repurchase iron, steel firms’

    How can Nigeria realise its dream of industrialisation? It is by repurchasing the iron and steel companies, privatised by  immediate past President of the Institute of Business Development (IBD), Mr. Ifeanyi Obibuzor, has said.

    He said repurchasing the  Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL), Kogi State; Delta Steel Company (DSC), Ovwian-Aladja in Delta State, and National Iron Ore Mining Company at Itakpe, among others, remained the panacea for achieving employment and industrialisation drive.

    He spoke on the sideline of the induction/Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Institute in Lagos

    ASCL, Nigeria’s largest integrated steel plant expected to produce 1.3 million metric tons (MT) of liquid steel per annum, has been a subject of litigation between the Federal Government and Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (GNIL), an Indian firm, since 2008. This followed the revocation of the concession agreement that handed over the steel plant to GNIL.  DSC has also been acquired by Premium Steel & Mines, a company owned by Mr. Sunil Vaswami and other institutional investors from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). The acquisition has also been a subject of intense controversy.

    However, he said repurchasing the facilities had become necessary in view of the fact that building new ones would be difficult considering Nigeria’s prevailing economic situation caused by the crisis in the international oil market where oil prices have dropped drastically. “We need to repurchase the steel companies we sold because if we think of building new ones, it may be impossible,” he insisted.

    While stressing the need to look inwards, Obibuzor said there is no way Nigeria could move forward as an industrialised nation without addressing the issue of engineering infrastructure, which, according to him, consists of the capabilities and physical plants required to enable a prolific machine and equipment design and production to take place in the country.

    “If we have engineering infrastructure, we can design and produce machineries that will produce other machines. That is when we can think of utilising the steels to make the bodies of cars and have spare parts. We need to look at long term planning as an institute and a nation and then access what we have done, the gaps and how to bridge them,” he said.

    Obibuzor pointed out that in developed economies, the steel sector is the highest employer of labour and it is treated as a strategic sector because of the positive multiplier effect it has on employment generation.

    Aside creating direct employment, he said repurchasing the steel companies and putting them into full and efficient use would create millions of indirect employment opportunities for Nigerians.

  • Aunt burns niece with pressing iron for ‘sleeping’ with landlady’s son

    Aunt burns niece with pressing iron for ‘sleeping’ with landlady’s son

    •Police detain victim

    A 16-year-old girl, Bimpe Badmus, has been burnt with a hot pressing iron, allegedly by her aunt who accused her of sleeping with their landlady’s son.

    The incident occurred on Ogunjirin Street, Ketu on the outskirts of Lagos.

    The Nation learnt that Miss Badmus’ aunt sought assistance of two friends, Khadijah and Iya Daniel, to hold her hands and legs before using the iron to burn her on several parts of her body.

    Miss Badmus was said to have confessed sleeping with the landlady’s son.

    An eyewitness said the girl was severely beaten and chased out of the house.

    He said: “They all live in the same compound. It was Khadijah that told Bimpe’s aunt that she was sleeping with the landlady’s son. Khadijah brought the hot iron from her room and gave it to Miss Badmus’ aunt while she and Iya Daniel held her neck. It was when they chased her out that the neighbours rescued her.

    “The annoying thing is that it is not as if these married women are clean. I don’t know why they did that to her. It was when residents couldn’t stand the horrible situation that they took them to Ketu Police Station.”

    Mr Fatai, who claims to be Miss Badmus’ distant brother, said: “When I got to the police station to see Bimpe, I was sad because the sight was horrible. My sister (Bimpe) was writhing in pains and when I asked the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to release her for treatment, he refused. I asked the aunt if she was under a spell to have gone this far because it won’t stop her from having an affair. This is cruel.”

    The landlady’s son’s elder sister, Tope Abimbola, said: “Even before they were taken to the police station, she was in pain. I thought she was going to die. I quickly went to a nearby pharmacy to get an ointment to relief her of the pains. It is really painful. She has been admitted at the General Hospital, Ikeja and she is responding to treatment,” he said.

    Khadijah’s husband, Jimoh, said his wife had been  problematic.

    When The Nation visited the police station on Tuesday and asked the DPO why the girl was still being kept despite her condition, the officer declined comment. He walked the reporter out of the premises.

    Eye witnesses, neighbours and on-lookers were stunned when the DPO said he did not care if his reactions are published in the newspaper.

    But, Bimpe denied sleeping with the landlady’s son.

    ”He has never slept with me. I am really in pains. I can’t even go home because I don’t know what will happen. While they tortured me, they kept asking so many questions. I pray God heals me fast,” she said.

    Lagos police spokesperson  Patricia Amadin, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the suspects had been arrested and will be charged to court.