The Nation Newspaper

Tag: killing

  • Court remands man in prison over alleged murder

    Court remands man in prison over alleged murder

    An Akure Chief Magistrates’ Court has ordered the remand of one Idowu Ajewole , 38, in prison custody for allegedly killing one Monday Bassey over his lost chicken.

    The accused was said to have killed the 28-year-old Bassey at about 3pm at Adebowale street, Oke-Aro, Akure on December 12,2015.

    According to the prosecution, the accused person and the victim were alleged to be flat mates who had disagreement over a theft of the chicken before discovered its feathers in the deceased property when he was packing out of the apartment.

    The accused alleged to have reported the matter to the police, who came in vehicle to arrest the victim before he made the deceased to hit his head on the floor in the process of pushing the him inside the police vehicle and died as a result of an injury he sustained when he fell.

    The police prosecutor, ASP Pelumi Adejuwon further told the court that the action of the accused was responsible for the death of the victim.

    According to the prosecutor, the offence is contrary to and punishable under section 316 and 319 of the Criminal Code Cap 37 vol.1 Laws of Ondo state of Nigeria 2006.

    Adejuwon prayed the court for adjournment of the case to enable him send the duplicate of the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for Legal Advise.

    He also urged the court to remand the accused person in prison custody, pending the out come of the advice from the office of the DPP.

    Counsel to the accused person, Barr. A.K .Adewusi, said that he was not opposing the adjournment due to the nature of the charge.

    The presiding magistrate, Mr. Sunday Adedapo,ordered the remand of the accused person in the Olokuta Prison Custody, pending the outcome of the legal advice.

    The case was later adjourned to January 28,2016.

  • Killing Lagos softly

    Some weeks ago I was in Lagos for an urgent business and I was shocked by the totally degraded environment of the city. This was at the height of a Saharan dust blowing across the whole of West Africa but it appeared more serious in Lagos because it was compounded by the smog hanging over the city. This smog was created by the exhaust from articulated trucks and petrol tankers evacuating petrol from the ports. The horrendous traffic snarl on the roads did not help. Vehicles remained on one spot for hours spewing carbon monoxide into the air. Added to this is the heavy human traffic in the town.

    These people have to be fed hence God knows how many pots were on open fire heating up the putrid air in the city and adding to the warming the city of 20milllion operating without the technological know how that would have been available to a city of this size in  a more civilized environment. While this was going on, many cities in China were faced with the same problem and city dwellers were shown covering their mouths and noses with protective gears. Of course in our own city of Lagos, people were breathing in this unsafe air totally oblivious of its consequences. There was no warning from government agencies and only God knows how many people suffering from respiratory diseases would have died.

    I can understand the bad smog in China with its 1.3billion people and its cities like Beijing and Shanghai of millions of people. But we should not be faced in Lagos with this kind of a killer of a smog I witnessed. This is the time when the federal government should insist that all vehicles plying the roads in our country must have catalytic converters to handle vehicular gas emission to at least purify the exhaust spewing out of the trucks, trailers and automobiles. The population movement to Lagos may have reached a tipping point when a solution would have to be found. Why can’t other ports be developed to diversify the ocean trade of Nigeria so that we do not put all our eggs in one basket? Between Lagos and Calabar are several ports crying to be developed to relieve Lagos of the unbearable and killing burden it is bearing. We must not ride a willing horse to death.

    It is unfortunate that all the plans to revive the railways in the past were clever plots to loot the national treasury, including as we are now told, loans taken from China which were deliberately diverted to other use to benefit the money-picking hands of political big-wigs in the recently defeated government of Goodluck Jonathan. If the railways were usable, the thousands of tankers and trucks on our roads and at the ports of Lagos would not have been necessary because heavy haulage in all civilized countries is done by rail. Imagine if we did not have the trucks and tankers on Lagos roads and ports, the place would have been saner.

    Those of us who grew up in Lagos remember how lovely Apapa  reservation area was in the old days being the other high-brow area apart from Ikoyi. This was before Victoria Island and of course Lekki. I know an in-law of mine who after working for many years in Saudi Arabia returned home and bought a property in Apapa. He is now regretting it because he is cut off  from all friends and relatives because no one in his correct sense will embark on a journey to visit anybody in Apapa no matter how much love one has for  such a relation. The vehicular madness in Lagos has made Apapa a no-go area. In December, most of Lagos roads are clogged with vehicles ostensibly those shopping for Christmas and the new year.

    The unloveable situation in Lagos is compounded by high rate of crime. The urchins known as area boys and those hawking all kinds of goods on the roads ranging from Asian junks to life chickens and other food stuffs use whatever they are hawking as a camouflage for robbery when it is dark after six o’clock in the evening. This has further reduced life in Lagos to hell on earth. The unavailability of electricity most of the time has led to everybody turning himself to power generating bodies. Virtually everybody generates his or her own power creating a nuisance in terms of noise and carbon emission.

    On top of this comes the religious houses of  some Christian and Muslim sects who compete with each other on who can make the loudest noise by the volume of their loud speakers. As soon as the Muslims finish their evening prayers, some Christian sects will drum through out the night and hand over to the Muslims who will wake  everybody up for their morning prayers.  Some of the Lagos people live in Ogun State but work in Lagos and even some who live in the outskirts of Lagos wake up as early as 4 a.m to hit the roads so that they can get to their offices at 8 a.m. The same people will not reach their homes until 11 p.m. It is a miracle that people do not go berserk and  kill others. The hardship in Lagos leads to  infidelity on  the part of husband and wife and lack of care and proper up bringing of children.

    Why does anybody subject himself or herself to this hell on earth? The answer is that there is no alternative. All the jobs are in Lagos. Rather than be jobless, up country people come to Lagos to die. I remember attending a conference of world cities when I was living in Germany. I proudly announced that I was from Lagos and that the city had over 10 million people. The mayor of Karlsruhe, a beautiful German city in the south of the country before I finished my introduction told me no African country can handle a city of that magnitude. I did not agree then but I now agree. The multitude of people in Lagos on the margin of society will help themselves and the Lagos government by returning home to their states where they will live a better life. When conditions for life in Lagos becomes impossible, the Lagos government supported by the federal government may do something drastic and dramatic before people kill Lagos .

  • Police confirm killing of five persons

    Police confirm killing of five persons

    The Borno State Police Command yesterday confirmed the killing of five persons in Saturday’s suspected suicide attack near Maiduguri.

    Police Commissioner Aderemi Opadokun, who spoke at a news conference in Maiduguri, said: “There was explosion on Saturday about 0754hrs, when four suspected female suicide bombers detonated explosives at Dala Yazaraye village, near Molai, on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

    “Five persons, including the four suicide bombers, died in the explosion.”

    He said security agents had cordoned off the scene where four persons were injured, adding that they had been hospitalised.

    The po lice boss said investigation was ongoing.

  • Smuggling killing local poultry industry, says PAN chief

    Smuggling killing local poultry industry, says PAN chief

    Local poultry producers are struggling to compete with smuggled cheap chicken, Chairman,Poutry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Oyo State chapter, Mr Banji Akanji, has said.

    He spoke at a workshop by state PAN at the Civic Centre, Ibadan.

    He urged the the government to ‘end chicken meat import, saying  it is undermining local production and could lead to the collapse of the local poultry sector.

    He condemned “the dumping of cheap imported poultry products, calling for steps to be taken to ‘create fair competition for the local poultry industry”.

    Though they are cheap, Akanji said, smuggled chicken had excessive antibiotic residue and chemicals that are unhealthy.

    He said solving the problem required a three-pronged approach:  diplomatic channels, international laws and providing security at the borders.

    He asked the government to enforce the regulations to deter smuggling. He challenged the association’s members to embrace mass production of broilers, saying this would bring benefits of economy of scale, help to meet local demand for poultry products.

    Akanji praised the Nigeria Customs Service men for intercepting and destroying smuggled poultry products in the state recently, saying it would send a strong signal to smugglers that smuggling would not be tolerated in any form.

    Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Gabriel Kehinde, praised the Customs for effecting the ban on some poultry products and measures being put in place by PAN to rev up productivity, saying the government had been sensitising the public against patronising  smuggled poultry products.

    Chairman, Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association of Nigerian (NVMA) in the state, Mr Ibrahim Adekunle, lauded the efforts of the association for its efforts to feed the country with poultry products as one of the most affordable sources of protein to Nigerians.

    A guest speakers at the workshop, Dr Jimoh Famoyin, said poultry farmers should ensure that they feed the public with hygienic and fresh poultry products, for all members of the public must be food safety conscious.

    Representative, National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mrs O. Dosumu, said procedures for approval of poultry processing and packaging centres in the country.

    Among the registration procedures, she said, are certificate of incorporation; labeling information, including name of products, pack size, expiry date, manufacturing date, batch number, factory location; quality control mechanism; distribution chain and professional production manager. Comptroller in charge of Oyo and Osun command, Mr M. S. Bawa, described smuggling as an act of economic terrorism aimed at killing the Nigerian economy by enriching cartels behind the illicit behaviour.

  • How adulterators are killing our business, by firm

    Nigeria Ball Point Pen Industries Plc, producers of BIC shaving stick, has lamented the large scale counterfeiting of its product by an Onitsha-based company, Bendusco international Agency and D&K Industries limited.

    The company’s National Sales Officer Mr Fatai Olashore, who is also the representative of BIC in Nigeria, said “Bendusco International Agency Ltd and D&K Industries have engaged in manufacturing, importing and selling of fake BIC Shaving sticks for over 12 years.”

    ”The search for the location of the factory where the nefarious and illegal manufacturing of BIC Shaving sticks was carried out lasted for over six years from 2006 to 2012 when we discovered its first factory in Nwaziki street, Awada, Onitsha and sought the assistance of relevant agencies, such as Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), which raided the factory and seized some equipment on  September 26, 2012.“

    He spoke in Lagos at the weekend against the background of the protest last week in Awka by Bendusco for the alleged “high handedness of officials of the SON” for seizing its products.

    Leader of the protesters Benjamin Nwizu during the protest recalled that “SON seized factory tools and machinery worth over N194 million” from its Lagos office and “locked up the place.”

    The representative of BIC, who displayed the adulterated products, said “a raid led to the recovery of millions of fake, adulterated and substandard BIC shaving sticks. This did not discourage the adulterator, who established two other illegal factories in Nsugbe Road in Onitsha and on the Onitsha-Owerri road with increased activities.”.

    He recalled that in November 2014, “due to relentless efforts in getting rid of fake BIC products from our markets coupled with the aggressiveness of SON in supporting the growth of local industries, two illegal industries operated by Bendusco were raided and closed by SON with the assistance of other relevant security agencies.”

    The Nigerian Ball Point Pen Industries said it laid off employees because of the reduction, adding that adulterated products affect consumers’ life, health and money apart from undermining confidence in BIC shaving stick safety and effectiveness.

    He said fake BIC sticks “cause rashes and bumps on the skin of unsuspecting users.”

    Workers of BENDUSCO last week marched to the office of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), demanding for the sack of the Director-General and a director in the agency for fraudulent practices and frustration of indigenous companies in the state.

    The protesters blocked the capital city of Awka, Anambra State with placards with different inscriptions.

    Addressing  reporters after the protest, the leader of the group, Mr. Benjamin Nwizu, alleged that his life was being threatened by officials of SON for refusing to offer bribe.

  • Bisichi killing is political, say Hausa

    •Berom: they want to take over our land 

    The Hausa community at Bisichi village in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State has alleged that it is being persecuted by itsBerom hosts because it did not vote for the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Gynag Pwajok.

    It made the allegation in Jos yesterday while speaking on the recent violence in Bisichi, which claimed several lives.

    In a paper by the traditional leader, Sarki Ibrahim Isa and the Imam, Mal. Hussaini Muhammad Abubakar, the community said the recent attacks were connected to the last general election.

    Isah said: “The Berom around Bisichi have threatened to deal with us if they find out that we did not vote for the PDP and its governorship candidate.

    “After the poll, there have been attempts to attack us because their Berom kinsman did not win the governorship election. The Berom believe we are the cause of their man’s defeat.

    “The Bisichi community  experienced attacks in the past, the recent one being that of August 11 when gunmen surrounded the community, killed two persons and injured four, including an officer with the Special Task Force code-named: ‘Operation Safe Haven’.

    “Between July 30 and August 10 three people were declared missing. The bodies of two persons were recovered by the police and ‘Operation Safe Haven’. On August 11, the Berom militia surrounded our community, which led to the killing of Ikirmata Musa Bilyaminu and Shuaibu Aminu. Three people are on admission at the Plateau Specialist Hospital, Jos.”

    The Hausa community urged Governor Simon Bako Lalong and security agents to protect them from political persecution by the Berom.

    The Berom youth leader, Mark Pam Bot, denied the allegation, describing it as an attempt by the Hausa-Fulani to cover their agenda of taking over Berom land.

    He said: “Our grandparents accommodated the Hausa-Fulani for over a century and we are still accommodating them.

    “But the people we are hosting are attempting to drive us away from our ancestral land and take it over. They are planning to do so through ethnic cleansing of the Berom.”

  • Lawyer condemns killing of Nigerian woman in Ghana

    A Lagos-based legal practitioner, Chief Kofi Atiemo-Gyan, has condemned the killing of a Nigerian woman, Aminat Usman, for alleged rituals in Ghana.

    Media reports on  Amina’s death suggested that  she was hacked to death by her  neighbour, Abdul, who offered to ferry her to a hospital to deliver her baby on July 13, 2015.

    Her body was found without the breasts and private part.

    Gyan,patron of the Ghanaian community in Nigeria, called for a stop to such  killings in Africa.

    “How can people be so barbaric  and cruel to the extent of killing their fellow human being for money making rituals?” Gyan told The Nation in Lagos.

    He asked  African leaders to establishing civic centres to educate the people  on the need to avoid killing people for money ritual and, instead encourage hard work, education and proper planning of their life.

    He added: “our people should be made to understand that whatever wealth they get in life, they have to work hard for it and not by any other magic which they wrongly believed.”

    Gyan tasked religious leaders in Africa to be circumspect in their approach to generating money for their religious organizations.

    He said: “The new generation of religious leaders are part of the problems the African societies are facing through their false preaching. Unfortunately, the religion leaders we have today don’t ask their members how they suddenly got their wealth, provided they can donate money to the church or mosque and pay their tithes and sakat.

    “The religious leaders are creating the impression through their preaching that if one commits murder and comes to a worship centre and pray for forgiveness, his sins would be forgiven. On the contrary, the Bible and the Quran which the religious leaders rely upon admonish  us to do unto others what we want for ourselves.”

    He urged African leaders to rule properly and use the wealth of their nations to fight poverty, while the law enforcement agencies should step up their vigilance against criminals in the society.

  • Six held for allegedly killing policemen

    The Sokoto State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of six persons in connection with the alleged killing of Police Inspector Nura Hashimu.

    They are the managing director and five other workers of Pinnacle Hotel, Sokoto.

    Confirming the arrest when briefing reporters on the circumstances that led to the death of Hashimu, police spokesman Al-Mustapha Sani said the late Hashimu was the son of the late Police Commissioner Hashimu Yauri.

    He said the deceased died after he was allegedly beaten up by the hotel’s security guards on August 1.

    Sani said: “The deceased reportedly lodged in the hotel for about five days preceding the incident.

    “The late officer was asked to leave the hotel after complaints by his co-lodgers that his room was always rowdy.”

    He added: “He had earlier packed his belongings, put them in a tricycle and left the hotel. But he later returned angrily.”

    According to him, the deceased quarrelled with the managing director after he went back.

    This, Sani said, resulted in a fight.

    His words: “It was at that juncture that the security guards pounced on the deceased and beat him up.

    “The officer was later taken to the Specialist Hospital, Sokoto where he was confirmed dead.”

    He said the deceased was taken to the Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto for post-mortem.

    The spokesman said the suspects were being detained at the police command for investigations.

     

     

  • Man docked for ‘killing’

    A 22-year-old man, Benedict Ogheneorvo, who allegedly stabbed one Emmanuel Jacob to death with an iron from an umbrella, yesterday appeared before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos.

    The accused is facing a charge of murder.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Maria Dauda, told the court that the offence was committed on May 18 along Deji Oworu Street, Alapere, Ketu, Lagos.

    Dauda said that the accused stabbed the deceased on the neck to death with an iron from an umbrella.

    She said that the offence contravened Section 221 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos

    The plea of the accused was not taken by the court.

    Chief Magistrate K.O. Ariyo ordered the accused to be remanded at the Ikoyi Prisons pending the receipt of legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPPs).

    The case was adjourned till July 31.

     

  • Community accuses police of ‘killing’

    Members of the Oro-Ago community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State have accused the police of allegedly killing one woman and arresting five men in the community three days ago.

    Bolatito Balogun was alleged to have been shot by the police.

    The community alleged that the police headquarters in Abuja supported Fulani herdsmen to attack its members and destroy its farmlands.

    Two months ago, a bloody clash broke out between Fulani herdsmen and members of the community at the market square, leading to the death of two.

    Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the state capital yesterday, the President of Oro-Ago Development Union (ODU), Chief Richard, alleged that another woman, Tope Ologemo, allegedly hit by the police bullet, was recuperating in hospital.

    He said six of the community members arrested and taken to Abuja in connection with the April 30th bloody fracas, are in police custody.

    Richard urged Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase to fish out the culprits.

    Said he: “A more provocative and pathetic incident occurred on June 12. Another set of police officers, just like those from the IGP office, Abuja, in April, fully armed, stormed the community at 7am and shot indiscriminately, arresting our people.

    “The action was contrary to what they told our monarch, Oba Johnson O. Dada, the previous day that they were in the community on a peace mission to visit the places where the incident occurred and the place where Seriki Bamo, who was the complainant to the office of the IGP in the first incident, was killed about a week ago.

    “The indiscriminate shooting led to our people running helter-skelter and scampering for safety. The police went away with at least five of our men. We say five because some people are still missing. Their whereabouts is unknown. The names of the five we can identify are Oladele Ponle, Chief Asanlu Salawu, Karimu Aremu, Rasaki Illa and Tunde Abolaji.

    “Unfolding developments show that the police are in cahoots with the Bororo. This is because on that Friday, two of our men were tied down on their farmlands by the Bororo, who told them that the police were coming from Abuja to arrest them and other members of the community and that they would be killed.

    “Our monarch has written two letters to the police commissioner and the director of the Department of State Service (DSS) for their intervention because we don’t want to take the law into our hands. But, sadly, there has been no response from the duo.

    “We therefore, appeal to the IGP to order the release of our men in police detention in Abuja because it is trite law for our people, acting on self-defence, to be caged while the Bororo, who perpetrated the fracas, are walking freely on the streets.”

    Police spokesman Ajayi Okasanmi said the case is being investigated by the force headquarters.