The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lagos

  • Fraud: EFCC re-arraigns ex-JTF commander, Akpobolokemi, others

    Fraud: EFCC re-arraigns ex-JTF commander, Akpobolokemi, others

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday re-arraigned before a Federal High Court, Lagos,  a former Joint Task Force (JTF) commander, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Atewe, and three others over N8.5 billion fraud.

    Atewe is charged alongside Patrick Akpobolokemi, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and two other staff — Kime Engonzu and Josephine Otuaga.

    The accused are standing trial on an amended 22-count charge bordering on fraud.

    Their re-arraignment was a sequel to the transfer of the former trial judge, Justice Saliu Saidu from Lagos to the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High court.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the plea of the accused was taken afresh before the new judge, Justice A.O Faji.

    Defence counsel urged the court to allow the accused to continue on the earlier bail granted by the previous judge.

    Based on the applications of the counsel, the judge ruled that the accused should continue on their bails.

    At the last adjourned date, the EFCC had examined a prosecution witness, Mr Adamu Yusuf, who told the court how the accused converted about N4.9 billion to dollars.

    Yusuf said the accused used different companies and accounts to launder billions of money from the account of the Joint Task Force Operation.

    The witness further testified that during the investigation, letters of request were sent to GTbank, Heritage Bank, Diamond Bank, Stanbic-IBTC Bank, as well as First City Monument Bank (FCMB) demanding the account statements of beneficiaries of the account.

    The anti-graft agency had alleged that the accused conspired to defraud NIMASA of N8.5 billion using six companies, namely — Jagan Ltd, Jagan Trading Company Ltd, Jagan Global Services Ltd, Al-Nald Ltd, Paper Warehouse Ltd,  Eastpoint Integrated Services Ltd and De-Newlink Integrated Services Ltd.

    The EFCC claimed that the accused committed the fraud between Sept. 5, 2014, and May 20, 2015, in contravention of Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and Section 390 of the Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation, 2004.

    The court has fixed Feb. 13 and Feb. 17 for the commencement of trial.

  • Team to kill rats in 465 markets in Lagos

    Team to kill rats in 465 markets in Lagos

    The Lagos State Vector Control Programme is to employ more graduates of the state’s College of Health Technology  (LASCOHET), Yaba, to eliminate Lassa Fever virus  by killing rats from  465 markets in the state.

    Mr Oluwasegun Benson, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Phosgard Fumigants Nigeria Ltd., and the programme’s coordinator, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.

    NAN reports that the state government established the programme to eliminate Lassa Fever virus transmitted to humans by killing rats especially in markets and public places in what is called deratting.

    The coordinator spoke shortly after inspecting markets in Ijeh Barracks and Obalande in Eti-Osa Local Government and seven others in Ijora, Apapa Local Government.

    Benson said that Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State had given his approval for automatic employment of 233 graduates of the college from 2012/2013 academic session with effect from July 2, 2016.

    He said the team’s planned employment of more graduates of LASCOHET would further enhance curbing the spread of Lassa fever in the state by ridding it of rats.

    NAN reports that LASCOHET, formerly known as the School of Hygiene, was established by Dr Oladipo Oluwole, the first Nigerian Medical Officer of Health, in 1920.

    Benson explained that under the programme, his members would cover over 465 markets, beginning from next month.

    “The deratisation of the markets will be done every month. We will visit all the markets in each local government in the state once a month.

    “Some markets are big while some are small, the biggest market in Eti-Osa Local Government is Obalende and it won’t take us more than 45 minutes to finish.’’

    Benson also said that his team had taken possession of the equipment to be used for the exercise.

    He said that they would do the exercise at night when they would have less distraction from the public and when the traffic would be light.

    Benson said that before then, his team’s advocacy group would have sensitised the public on the need to cover their foodstuffs.

    “Our team will visit the markets at nights, and we hope we will be able to cover no less than 10 markets and as the project goes on, we will purchase more equipment and employ more people.

    “We will also station some of our equipment within bigger markets for our team to carry out the exercise,’’ he said.

    Benson said that the project would afford the members of the public that killed rats to earn more money because the team would be buying such dead rats from them.

    This is part of the team’s plan to keep their environment free of vector-borne diseases, he said.

    NAN reports that the slogan for the vector control programme is “Kill rats, make More Money in Lagos’’.(NAN)

  • Lagos to invest $500m in housing

    Lagos State is to invest $500 million to redesign and complete housing units at Ilubirin and Ijora-Badia.

    The Commissioner for Housing, Mr Gbolahan Lawal, disclosed this in an interview in Lagos.

    Lawal said the investment would be in collaboration with private partners, and that the venture would create 10,000 direct jobs.

    “There is a need to redesign and expand the mass housing units at Ilubirin and Ijora Badia to allow for efficient utiisation of resources and for better quality delivery.

    “We have signed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with First Investment Development Company (FIDC) in this regard.

    “The project will be in phases and is expected to be fully completed within the next five years,” Lawal said.

    He explained that the PPP arrangement was to reduce the housing deficit in the state by providing affordable and qualitative accommodation for residents and to create jobs.

    “The Ministry of Housing is responsible for implementation of the programme, which has three templates, namely: affordable mass housing; equity partnership housing and mixed partnerships.

    “Under the first template, government provides land and development plan while the partner provides funds and executes.

    “Secondly, government will provide the land while the partner generates the plan, provides fund and executes.

    “The third template, which is mixed partnership, will see the partner providing the land while government will provide the funds and execute the development plan,’’ the commissioner explained.

    He assured that any of the templates adopted would be in the best interest of residents.

    It would be recalled that some residents had expressed concern over the condition of housing estates in Ilubirin and Ijora Badiya.

    One of the residents, Mr Tola Ade, called on the government to complete the estates for interested members of the public to benefit.

    “The estates at Ilubirin and Ijora appear to have been abandoned for some time. I appeal to the state government to complete these estates and other uncompleted ones so that we can begin to take advantage of them,” he said.

    Another resident, Mr Adeniyi Idowu, who also expressed similar views, said the state government was doing well in infrastructure development, but that the estate at Ijora Badiya had remained abandoned for some time.

    “I can only appeal to the government to complete the estate and the one at Ilubirin to reduce the scarcity of accommodation,” he said.

    Similarly, Mrs Yemisi Martins, another resident, appealed to the state government to do something about the “abandoned” estates to stop miscreants from using them for their criminal activities.

  • Ambode okays death sentence for kidnappers in Lagos

    Ambode okays death sentence for kidnappers in Lagos

    Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday signed into law the anti-kidnapping bill recently passed by the State House of Assembly, with a pledge to ensure its full implementation to eradicate kidnapping once and for all in the State.

    The Prohibition of the Act of Kidnapping Law imposes a penalty of life imprisonment on kidnapping for ransom. The law also stipulates that where a victim dies in the course of kidnap, the suspect is liable on conviction to death.

    Speaking at the signing ceremony held at Lagos House in Ikeja, Governor Ambode said the spate of kidnapping in the State had gotten to a level that required decisive action from government, hence the need for the enactment of the law to send serious message to perpetrators of such heinous crime.

    He said aside the enactment of the law, the State Government was also putting in place appropriate measures particularly in the schools and other vulnerable targets to prevent kidnapping and other security breaches.

    The Governor said: “Security is of utmost importance to our administration and we are confident that this law will serve as a deterrent to anybody who may desire to engage in this wicked act within the boundaries of Lagos.

    “Why we use this law to address the challenge and punish the criminals, we are also putting in place appropriate measures particularly in our schools and other vulnerable targets to prevent security breaches and it is important that we ensure that everything we do in respect of this anti-kidnapping law is in good faith and good spirit to eradicate the issue of kidnapping once and for all in the State.”

    Governor Ambode assured that the justice system would be activated to execute the anti-kidnapping law to the letter to ensure that any criminal caught is subjected to the full wrath of the law.

  • Lagos disbands local govt. Traffic units

    Lagos disbands local govt. Traffic units

    •Retired civil servants, can no longer use official number plates

    Lagos State Government has banned local governments from handling traffic duties.
    It also cancelled all official number-plates now in use because of gross abuse and ordered a re-issuance. Retired staff are no longer entitled to the privilege.
    Addressing reporters yesterday in Alausa, Ikeja, Acting Commissioner for Transportation Prince Anofiu Elegushi said, there had been complaints about councils’ role in traffic enforcement.
    Elegushi said: “Indeed, there are traffic units in all the 57 Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas. However, this is not a responsibility for the third tier of government. We have reported instances of illegal arrest, extortion and general impunity on the part of the local government operatives.
    “It is then appropriate to disband all the units and outfits parading as local government traffic units. This has been communicated to all these agencies. For the avoidance of doubt, officials of the ministry will start monitoring and any infraction will be dealt with in full compliance with the law.
    “Let me also reiterate that only the police, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the Task Force on Special Offences and the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) can perform traffic duties,” he said.
    On number-plates, Elegushi said the government deemed it necessary to carry out a review so as to ensure better identification of its vehicles and end the era of abuse of the official number-plates and its negative consequences on security.
    He said the government had realised that some of the official number-plates now in circulation, were issued to vehicles different from the ones on which they were being found. The commissioner lamented that persons not in government were going about vehicles bearing official number-plates.
    He said: “This is neither tenable nor acceptable. As such, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has approved the cancellation and retrieval of all such official number-plates and the re-registration of all government owned vehicles.
    “For a while now, government has become aware of the challenges of such official number-plates being randomly available to persons who should not ordinarily have access to them. We are aware that some retired public servants (political office holders and civil servants) did not return official number-plates attached to the vehicles they were using while in office.
    “However, the number-plates remain government property. Some others have brazenly removed them from vehicles kept with mechanics. All of these constitute a security challenge that must be addressed. In consideration of this, a new regime of official number-plates will come on stream and by the end of the first quarter enforcement will commence.”
    That under the new arrangement, official number-plates would no longer be transferable, adding that they would be specific to vehicles. Both the security and official numbers would now be paired and reflected in the vehicle particulars/licenses, he said.
    The acting commissioner said, henceforth, retiring public servants and those leaving office must return the official number-plates of their vehicles attached to them, ??? “when any public servant leaves office, they are no longer entitled to use official number-plates.”
    “For the avoidance of doubt, any private vehicle(s) which carry official number plate(s) will be forfeited to government irrespective of who owns such vehicle(s) and such person(s) will be prosecuted, accordingly.
    “To give vent to this new arrangement, law enforcement agencies have been authorised effective from March 31, to commence a clamp down on vehicles that bear the old official number-plates,” he said.

  • NLNG’s vessel with 13,000mt of cooking gas berths in Lagos

    NLNG’s vessel with 13,000mt of cooking gas berths in Lagos

    Avessel chartered by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) and laden with 13,126.6 metric tons of cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will today berth in Lagos for discharge in continuation of the firm’s efforts to ease scarcity and reduce the price of the commodity that is currently between N5,000 and N6,000 for a 12.5kg cylinder depending on the area of purchase.

    The General Manager, External Relations, Kudo Eresia-Eke said the vessel – Gaz Providence, as at yesterday was at Lagos offshore, alongside the NOJ jetty waiting for berth to clear before proceeding to discharge and will certainly berth today.

    Gaz Providence had discharged the same volume of LPG in the second week of this month. According to him, 13,000 metric tons of LPG can fill 1,040 12.5kg cylinders.

  • Police misconduct: Lagos, Abuja, Rivers score high

    Lagos, Abuja and Rivers States top the records of complaints of misconduct against the police, it was learnt yesterday.

    According to a report yesterday in Abuja by the Officer in Charge of Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU), ACP Abayomi Shogunle, Kebbi State has no record of misconduct among police officers.

    The report also showed a sergeant serving in Abuja was demoted to corporal after he was found guilty of extortion.

    According to the report: “In the fourth quarter of 2016, a total number of 822 complaints were reported from across the federation with Lagos State Command maintaining top on the chart with 153 cases representing 18.62% while Kebbi State command has no recorded single case since inception of the Unit.

    “FCT and Rivers Command closely followed Lagos with total number of 130 and 116 cases respectively. Kebbi and Jigawa State commands remained at the bottom with no case reported against them while Taraba and Katsina state commands recorded one case each in the period under review.

    “We have successfully resolved 636 cases reported against police officers nationwide between October and December, 2016”, the report states.

    The report also showed 156 of the reported cases were found to be false, which is the highest number of false cases so far recorded as against 96 in Q1, 35 in Q2 and 51 in Q3. 30 out of the reported cases are still under investigation and phone calls have continued to top the channels members of the public use in reporting cases.

    On the sanction meted on erring officers, Shogunle noted: “Out of the reported cases, a police sergeant serving in FCT who was proven guilty in a case of extortion was demoted to the rank of Corporal while eight other officers received varying degree of sanctions due to complaints made to the Unit.

    Shogunle also noted that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idri introduced a reward mechanism to reward commands with zero case of police professional misconduct.

  • SEC throws weight behind Lagos Commodities & Futures Exchange

    SEC throws weight behind Lagos Commodities & Futures Exchange

    Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has expressed its readiness to give all necessary supports for the realisation of the proposed Lagos Commodities & Futures Exchange as part of efforts to mainstream the capital market into national development.

    The proposed Lagos Commodities & Futures Exchange is expected to trade in currency, commodities, oil and gas and solid minerals.

    Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo said the Commission would support the Lagos Commodities & Futures Exchange and other similar initiatives as part of its overall responsibility of development of the Nigerian capital market.

    Gwarzo spoke during a courtesy visit by the new executives of the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON). ASHON is the main promoter of the Lagos Commodities & Futures Exchange.

    Gwarzo however insisted on the December 31, 2016 deadline for stockbroking firms and other capital market operators to comply with new minimum capital requirements for their functions.

    ASHON had requested for additional grace period of three months noting that stockbrokers carry equities in their balance sheet and prices of equities have gone down thus affecting their capital.

    Chairman, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Patrick Ezeagu had solicited for the possibility of increasing the grace period to six months to recapitalize or reclassify.

    ASHON also noted with concern the proposed amendment of Rule 56(1), which will preclude brokers from providing investment advice to their clients and the investing public.

    ASHON, while acknowledging not knowing the thinking behind the proposed amendment, solicited for the reconsideration of the proposal. The call is based on the backdrop of the value addition provided by brokers and dealers in providing investment advice to their clients.

    ASHON argued that several stockbroking houses had well-established research desks that not only help to broadcast market information on a continuous basis but also carry out indepth analysis and provide opinions on complex financial issues to their clients.

    The association also expressed its dismay on the Federal Government’s sole reliance and emphasis on monetary policy for macroeconomic management to the detriment of the capital market.

    The association accepted to look at the Investment and Securities Tribunal funding proposal being championed by SEC and NSE.

  • Lagos issues ultimatum to owners of defective buildings

    The Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development has ordered owners and occupiers of two defective buildings at Oyingbo in Mainland Local Government Area of the state to vacate the building within the next seven Days.

    A statement from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, signed by its Public Affairs Officer, Mr. Shina Odunuga, cited structural failure and imminent building collapse as reason for the order.

    Odunuga said a contravention and quit notice was served by the Monitoring and Enforcement Department of the ministry, Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), on two buildings situated at No. 27 and 31 Oloto Street, Ebute- Metta.

    He said it was important for the occupants to vacate the building in order to avoid imminent danger.

    He explained that ministry’s Technical Services Department (TSD) noticed the physical structures of the two buildings during inspection in the axis.

    Odunuga said it was also established and confirmed that the technical structure engineering test that were carried out on the two structures attested to the fact that the two structures may likely collapse any moment from now if urgent measures were not taken by concerned authorities.

    “In order to avoid human causality, the ministry had issued contravention and quit notices to all the occupiers of the two buildings and invited the owners of the buildings to report at Alausa Secretariat office of the Ministry, Technical Services Department (TSD) , so that precautionary and timely measures could be taken to avert collapse,” he said.

    He also informed that before the issuance of the quit notice, the two structures had been marked by officials of LASBCA in a bid to save innocent lives and properties and had also directed the owners of the buildings to take necessary corrective measures towards rehabilitation of the buildings.

    He added that the owners of the buildings refused to take any positive action in order to redeem the structures from further deterioration.

     

    Also, a structure at No 21 Muritala Muhammed Way was also marked for contravention of physical planning development laws and arbitrary conversion of building into shopping complex and the extension of the stair case to the obstruction of right of way (ROW).

    He said the stair case was illegally extended beyond the walk way, adding that the ministry had since directed that the stair case be removed.

  • Vigilante group re-strategises for community policing in Lagos

    Vigilante group re-strategises for community policing in Lagos

    The Lagos State Command of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria organised a one-day seminar on effective community policing.

    The seminar with the theme, ‘Effective community policing’ was put together with the aim of developing a genuine partnership in support of community policing on waterways by engaging citizens in check-mating various criminal activities in Lagos State.

    Underpinning the seminar is the understanding that it is only when the community and the police work together for their common good that the citizens can repose genuine confidence on the police and ensure adequate security.

    It was agreed at the one day conference of the necessity of members of communities to provide the police with confidential information and assistance to help prevent crimes and arrest criminals.

    Speaking at the seminar, Lagos state commander of the VGN, Otunba James Udoma said as part of activities to reduce crime to the barest minimum in the State, residents in the riverine areas should cooperate with the security operatives, particularly, the Nigerian police, by constantly supplying pertinent information, as a way of enhancing crime surveillance.

    Udoma said one of the fundamental handicap in pursuing criminal cases is the dearth of information gathering, following the arrest of suspects who are waiting prosecution.

    The security boss, therefore, solicited for partnership between the vigilante group and members of the public emphasising that even in the area of traditional security approach issues of information gathering, reporting to the police cannot be compromised for reasons of promoting professional integrity and securing life and property.

    Speaking on the topic, ‘Effective policing in Lagos State’, Deputy State commander, Emmanuel Ayisere recounted a number of security challenges in the recent past in Lagos State.

    According to him, “for instance, sometime ago at Olaofein in Magbon community, Ikorodu, many landlords who constituted themselves into vigilante group were shot and killed by people numbering about 50, as claimed by residents”.

    He also disclosed that high profile bank robbery incidents in Lekki, Ikorodu, Festac Town and Agbara respectively were all launched through the water ways.

    While regretting that a traditional ruler of Iba town, Oba Yisau Goriola was kidnapped from his palace and the kidnappers escaped through the creeks behind his palace, he added that several other attacks, which included kidnapping and robbery at Igando also took place with casualties and the gunmen escaped through the water ways.

    He also reminded of another occurrence which took place in Epe where pupils and teachers were kidnapped and the criminals escaped through the canal.

    The guest lecturer at the occasion who is also the Chairman, Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) Alimosho area, Prince Micheal Taiwo said that knowledge of the locality and the different terrain involved was paramount in conventional policing to serve the communities better and effectively. Adding that community policing involves genuine human relations, professional orientation and better understanding of the people in the domiciled area.

    While cautioning members of the VGN not to see themselves as agent of destruction in the course of carrying out their legitimate functions, Taiwo told the participants at the occasion to beware of manufacturing of evidences as information provided by informants.

    A marine expert, Dr. Akin Obe said occurrences of kidnapping and killing in the riverine areas in Lagos in recent times can be controlled when authorities of the Lagos state government collaborate with the grassroots in the area of information, intelligence gathering and reporting to assist the law enforcement agencies in tackling crimes.

    The conference also discussed no fewer than one hundred and fifty cases of treated criminal occurrences in the last six months in different communities, particularly the riverine areas in Lagos State.

    The participants left the seminar better informed and equipped to carry out their functions and duties as vigilantes/community police.

    The Commandant General of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) Alhaji Ali Sokoto led an entourage of some members of VGN on a courtesy visit to the Abeokuta Villa of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to intimate him of activities of the group nationwide and Obasanjo acquiesced that the enlistment of the paramilitary organisation into the security apparatus of the country is long overdue.

    He, however, advised VGN to be conscious of human rights issues in all its activities and that they must not see themselves as a parallel to the Nigeria police or try to take over their functions in the attempt to secure the nation.

    Obasanjo applauded the activities of the organisation in the area of community policing and urged them to redouble their efforts in combating menace of armed robbery and kidnapping in different parts of the country. And that they must display professional excellence and engage members in training and retraining in the course of discharging their duties.