The remains of Mrs Olufunke Adeoya, mother of the Chief Executive Officer, Marketing Mix and Co, Akin Adeoya, were interred at the Apostolic Faith Cemetery, Igbesa, Ogun State, after a funeral service at the church camp ground, reports IBRAHIM ADAM.
Even in death, she was celebrated. For Three days, her children gave her a befitting burial. They described her as a mother, who lived all her life for them and God.
The late Mrs Olufunke Adeoya was a nurse and midwife at the Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesa. She also worked at the General Hospital, Ido Ekiti and Randle General Hospital in Surulere.
She died on April 10. She was 77.
Her rites of passage began with a service of songs at Times Square off Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos. A funeral service was held at the Apostolic Faith Campground, Igbesa in Ogun State.
Family members, sympathisers, and friends came in their numbers to bid the late Mrs Adeoya farewell.
The children of the deceased clad in lemon native attire.
Her remains were laid in a grey casket with gold cross and her pictures around it. The casket was conveyed in a white Volvo hearse.
The service began with a processional hymn, ‘O beula land’ led by the congregation and the Orchestra. The church choir later rendered the hymn, ‘When I wake up’.
After the scripture reading from book of Job 14: 1-12, a sermon followed by Rev Tayo Oyelaja, who spoke on the topic: “Is your name written in the book of life”.
Rev Oyelaja said the late Adeoya spent her life with Christ and has gone to meet the Lord.
He asked the congregation where they wish to spend their eternity, urging them to live a good life, confess their sins and make it right with God.
Rev. Sola Opaleye prayed for the deceased, the widower, her children, grandchildren and other guests before the deceased remains were interred at the church cemetery.
The following day, a funeral reception was held at the Time Square, off Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Lagos. Guests arrived in exotic cars. The ambiance of the hall was conducive as guests moved round to exchange pleasantries and take pictures.
A bevy of beautiful ladies welcomed guests and led them to reserved seats.
Most guests clad in the mixed purple aso ebi while others wore choice native attires.
The hall was tastefully decorated in purple, pink and white matching with chairs set round tables. There were flower vases at strategic location.
Celebrities including, Clarion Chukwura, Kunle Afolayan, Femi Davies, and Dele Taiwo, among others, added colour to the event. Theatre and advertising practitioners and media professionals also stood to be counted.
National President, Freelance and Independent Broadcasters Association of Nigeria (FIBAN), Ambrose Somide, anchored the event and entertained guests with rib-cracking jokes.
Sir Shina Peters and Taiwo Omotunde led their bands to electrify the hall. Their music ushered the children and guests to the dance floor in celebration of a life well spent.
The deceased’s younger brother, Mr Femi Fayemi, described his sister as his mother, friend and benefactor.
He urged the children of the deceased to emulate what their mother stood for and unite themselves.
He said: “She is my elder sister and I call her my mother. She was a wonderful friend to all and a core Christian. She wais my benefactor because I lost my dad when I was a small boy and she had to see me through school. She was prayerful, a loving mother and exceptionally generous. We will miss her a lot because I remember she gave me a Bible and I am using it presently not knowing that she gave me a parting gift.’’
He recalled her words: “She said Femi take this Bible in Yoruba and English translation; make sure you read it always.’’
The first child of the deceased, Mrs Adenike Abiona, said her mother was disciplined and served God all her life.
“She was trustworthy, kept no malice and if there was any issue, she would call you and settle it. She prayed for all; if you pray and sleep at 12 midnight, when you wake at 3am, you will meet her praying again. She believed in prayer and that with God all things are possible. She taught us how to be decent and have faith, she was a lovely mother,” she said.
The deceased son and President, Babatunde Femi Owolabi Memorial Heart Foundation, Mr Tope Owolabi, said his mother brought them up in a Godly manner.
“She was a wonderful mother; she was like a hen than protects her chicks. She was supportive and gave us morals and I will miss her prayer,” he said.
A daughter in-law, Mrs Florence said her mother-in-law was religious, prayerful, loving and caring. “If you don’t call her, she would call and say, I just want to hear your voice. She was just wonderful,” she said.
A granddaughter, Morolake Abiona, described the deceased as caring and nice.
“I don’t know where to start from because we will miss her so much. She was so nice, more caring compared to my mum because when we are on holiday, we go to her and it was always interesting. She taught us the ways of God, how to read the Bible and pray,’’ she said.
Mr Akin Adeoya in his tribute said his late mother never took credit for her efforts to effect change.
He said it was a duty that she dared not fail after she knew ‘the stone in my heart was gradually becoming a diamond’.
A 62-year-old woman, Joy Shittu, and her 25-year-old daughter, Toyin, were yesterday arraigned before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for concealing a body.
The accused were charged with conspiracy, indignity to and unlawful possession of the body.
The accused pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutor Etim Nkankuk, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the accused committed the offence sometime in April 2013, at Olaitan Mustapha Close in Ijaiye, Ojokoro Area in Lagos.
Nkankuk said the accused concealed the body of one Olatunji Shittu in their residence.
Nkankuk said: “These two accused could not give a satisfactory answer when asked why the body was in their possession instead of being in a morgue. It should be brought to the notice of this court that investigation is still ongoing to ascertain the cause of death of the deceased.
“But it flouts the law of this land for the accused to harbour the body instead of depositing it in a mortuary.’’
He said the offence contravened Sections 163(b) and 410 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Chief Magistrate Olatunbosun Abolarinwa granted N100, 000 bail with two sureties each in the like sum.
Abolarinwa said one of the sureties must be a relation of the accused.
Dangerous manifestations of child abduction in Nigeria
The whip lashes left thick welts on Rebecca’s thin legs. An ‘uncle’ she will not name scarred her where no one can see. Fingering a shiny talisman on her left wrist, the 13-year-old recalled her abduction and 29 days in captivity of youths desperately seeking to teach her mother a ‘very good lesson.” And they taught her a “very good lesson.”
You could virtually see her flesh creep and sprout goose pimples as she painfully recollected the hideousness to which her teenage mind and tiny frame was subjected in the hands of her captors. “They said they would rape me and cut me into pieces. They said they would send me to my mother in pieces if she failed to give them money. They beat me with belt and koboko (horse-whip) when I started to scream and call for my mother in fear,” said Rebecca.
The 13-year-old recalled with jarring desolateness, the sunny afternoon in August 2014 when she was lured into confinement and the vicious machinations of patrons of her mother’s canteen in Owode, Ogun State.
Recalling the sad incident, Abigael, Rebecca’s mother, said: “Those days my daughter spent in captivity were the worst days of my life. I don’t know what I did to offend them. They (her daughter’s abductors) said I was rude to them on several occasions that they came to eat in my canteen. They said they had decided to teach me a very good lesson by kidnapping my daughter…They requested for N15 million from me. I told them there was no way I could get them such money. But they cursed me and asked me if I valued my money more than my child’s life. They told me to sell my land in Papalanto. I do not know how they got to know that I had landed property in Papalanto. They sounded quite young and mean on the phone,” said Abigael.
She said she pleaded with them to accept N500, 000 from her but they refused. “Afterwards, I simply invited my prayer group to pray with me. After several days of marathon prayer and dry fasting, my daughter walked into my house with her two legs,” claimed Abigael.
However, Matthew, her estranged husband and commercial park urchin in Ifo, Ogun State, revealed that contrary to her claims, his wife did pay the ransom money. “Though she did not pay the N15 million they requested for, she ended up paying the kidnappers N2.8 million. But failed to pay on time. She let them rape my daughter. Her miserliness cost my poor daughter her virginity and innocence. I am aware she sold the one acre of land that she owned in Papalanto in order to raise the ransom money. Her younger sisters confirmed it to me…I had always warned her about her sauciness and extreme rudeness. It was the major reason I had to break up with her and remarry,” he said.
But in a swift reaction to his claims, Abigael maintained that she did not pay N2.8million to her daughter’s abductors as her husband alleged. “I don’t know where he got his information from. Everything he told you amounts to a lie,” she said.
The Nation investigations, however, revealed that Abigael may have paid the ransom money. “They told me they were letting me go because my mother had paid them. They were very happy. They pricked me with knife and beat me some more with whips and belt. They said I was suffering for the sins of my mother. They said if she had paid earlier, they wouldn’t have dealt (manhandled) with me. She should have paid earlier,” said Rebecca.
Although her mother claimed that she was neither raped nor molested by her abductors, the girl’s taciturnity and pained glances revealed sorrowful stories she would not tell. The 13-year-old said the last thing she remembers before she woke up blindfolded and gagged in captivity by her abductors, was that she was running an errand for her mother after she returned from school.
“She asked me to go home and bring the rechargeable lantern so that we can charge it in the shop (her mom’s canteen) where we had the power generator running. I remember that two men on Okada (commercial motorcycle) parked beside me. That was the last thing I remembered until I woke up in captivity,” said Rebecca.
Unlike Abigael who does a good job of cloaking her grief under a veil of measured calm and stoicism, Atinuke Odejare’s emotion was on display when she recalled the abduction of her son, Kayode. Sitting in her cluttered one-room apartment in Akera, Lagos, surrounded by articles knocked over by her three-year old son, she was by turns furious and doleful. She didn’t deny that she was careless in taking care of her son but what almost all her neighbours see as negligence, she sees as justifiable fervour to make ends meet.
Atinuke’s three-year-old son, then two, was kidnapped from her roadside stall in Sango Ota, Ogun State, last year. It happened on a windy afternoon in July while the 32-year-old alcohol seller engaged in a scuffle with two neighbourhood urchins over their reluctance to pay up a debt of N380 they racked up guzzling her drinks on credit.
“I know it was those hoodlums that masterminded the abduction of my child. They had been avoiding me all along because of the money they owed me. All of a sudden, they showed up around my stall. I seized the opportunity to confront them in order to claim my money from them. I had two customers in my stall when I went to accost them and I told them to help me look after my son and keep him from crawling on to the main road…I was, however, surprised when I got back about 40 minutes later to meet an empty stall. Those two guys were missing, so was my child. Besides the fact that they didn’t pay me for the drinks they took, they also ended up taking my son with them,” she said.
When Atinuke finally received the ransom call, the voice at the other end was ugly and menacing, the messages cruel. “I’ve cut out Kayode’s tongue.” Sometimes, Atinuke clung to the line, pleading for news of her son from his captors. Her son’s kidnappers threatened to sell him off to politicians or fetish priests who would eagerly use him for money rituals. At other times, her heart broke and she hung up. “Every day, I cried myself to sleep. I lived in abject fear of what they might do to my child. He is my only son, my only hope. To make matters worse, his father who had never accepted him came over to threaten me. He came to beat me up publicly in my stall and his goons broke my drinks and tore my clothes to shreds. I was rescued by my fellow traders who rushed out to give me a wrapper to cover my nakedness after they left me sprawled and severely hurt on amid broken drink bottles in my stall,” said Atinuke.
Luck, however, smiled at her two weeks after her boy got stolen. “They requested for N1 million from me but I pleaded with them to take N450, 000 from me. It was only after I raised the money that they dropped my child for me in an uncompleted building in Iyana Iyesi (in Ogun State),” she said.
Kidnapping originated in 17th Century England where children were “kidnapped” and often sold as slaves or agricultural workers to colonial farmers. It is interesting to know that centuries before, in ancient Rome, Emperor Constantine (AD 315) became so alarmed by the incidence of kidnapping that he ordered the death penalty as punishment for the crime. In Nigeria, the current wave of kidnapping began with the abduction of expatriate oil workers by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) in late 2005 as a means of alerting the world of the many years of injustice, exploitation, marginalisation and underdevelopment of Niger-Delta region.
As kidnapping was first used as a weapon to fight for economic and environmental justice in the Niger Delta, the economic motivation was intermittently used as a means to fund and sustain the fight. The beginning of 2007 saw the emergence of various other deviant groups by various names that hide under liberation struggle to commit economic crimes.
The” Political theory” of Kidnapping see the act as a Political Tool which is motivated by attempt to suppress, outsmart, intimidate and subjugate political opponents.
Another theory views kidnapping from the angle of unemployment which pervade the countries labour market. This is blamed on the inability of the government to create adequate employment for the youth. The political consequence of kidnapping activity has had a spill-over influence on the jobless Nigerian youths who take it as a new substitute or complement to robbery and pick pocketing. Such a group of kidnappers target not only prominent and well-off individuals but also ordinary citizens who possess little wealth. The common target includes every perceived person with prospects of high and lucrative ransom, including adults and more worrisomely, teenagers and children.
A rising pandemic…
Child abduction for ransom is an unusually grotesque transaction. In a single instant, a relationship between two people, an adult and minor to be precise, changes to one of captor and prisoner, owner and chattel. One holds absolute power and the other, hapless and piteously defenseless, holds none. Worse, the person in charge knew the moment was coming sometimes for a long time. The powerless captive had no idea.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime 2013 survey on global crime trends, the Nigerian police recorded the following number of kidnappings at the national level between 2007-2012: 277 in 2007, 309 in 2008, 703 in 2009, 738 in 2010 and 600 in 2012. Freedom House reports that Nigeria recorded one of the highest rates of kidnapping in the world in 2013 while NYA International, a crisis management and response consultancy that assists clients with abduction and kidnapping cases stated that Nigeria currently ranks as the number one country for “kidnap for ransom” incidents, based on open source news reports from the first half of 2014.
The US Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 indicates that kidnapping and related violence were “serious” problems in Nigeria. In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the CLEEN Foundation, a Nigeria-based NGO that conducts an annual National Crime and Safety Survey in Nigeria, indicated that kidnapping for ransom has become “rampant” in the last decade. The CLEEN Foundation’s 2013 National Crime and Safety Survey sampled 11,518 Nigerians who were interviewed, and found that nationally, three percent of respondents had been victims of kidnapping or attempted kidnapping. According to the survey, the South-West region and Lagos had the highest incidence (five percent), followed by the South-East and South-South (four percent).
In the last few months, the traditional press and social media pulsated with random reports about child abductions in the country. Majority of these abductions were perpetrated in Lagos and northeastern part of the country which groaned under the vicious yoke of terrorism inflicted on the region by terrorist sect, Boko Haram.
On the night of April 14/15, 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State. Responsibility for the kidnappings was claimed by Boko Haram. On October 17, 2014, after some of the girls escaped captivity, hopes were raised that the 219 or thereabouts, remaining girls might soon be released after the Nigerian army announced a truce between Boko Haram and government forces. The announcement coincided with the six-month anniversary of the girls’ capture but it turned out to be a farce. It is over a year since the girls were abducted from their school and international and local civil society groups are worried over the government’s inability to rescue them. The #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group for instance, has expressed worry over what it called ‘eerie silence’ on the whereabouts of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.
While the nation grapples with the horror inflicted on its psyche by the abduction of the Chibok girls, cases of abduction of minors has escalated from sporadic onslaughts to attain a consistency of sort in randomness and the scale of its execution.
•The Orekoya boys: Their abduction by their nanny (Funmilayo Adeyemi a.ka. Mary Akinloye) cast their family into extreme misery
The case of Orekoya family rankles a jarring and ominous note in this respect. The abduction of the family’s three children aged six, four and 11 months last month, April 2015, raised a red flag in the annals of the crime of kidnapping in the country.
In the same month that the Orekoya boys were abducted and recovered following payment of an undisclosed ransom to the kidnapper, at least four other children have been kidnapped in the state, with some released or discovered in neighbouring states.
The business of kidnapping
It was widely reported in Nigerian media that on April 23, police in Lagos shot a member of a
kidnapping gang while he was collecting a ransom from the hostage’s brother. The man was wounded in the shootout after he realised that police were surveilling the exchange and attempted to flee, but led the police to where the hostage was being held before dying of his wounds. The ransom to be paid to the kidnappers was reported to be NGN3 million (USD15,070), reduced from an initial demand of NGN50 million (USD251,160).
The detailed accounts of this incident reinforce the notion of kidnap gangs who target middle class Nigerian nationals, demand a high ransom from their family, and accept a much lower sum to enable a swift conclusion. They can then move on to the next target. The risk to gangs who operate in this way is moderate, and their costs are low. Reports from victims and police accounts, following both rescues and cases where a ransom was paid for the victims safe release, indicate that hostages are frequently held in unpopulated areas of bush. This environment is very close to kidnappers’ urban operating areas, and has allowed their escape from security forces on numerous occasions.
In the years 1991 through 2000, Nigeria was in the ninth position in the ranking of kidnapping countries, behind Columbia, Mexico, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, and Venezuela, among others. However, starting from the latter part of 2000, when the advance fee fraud (419) market declined dramatically, the kidnap business picked up dramatically. Records show that from January 2008 to June 2009 Nigeria had a total of 512 kidnappings, with the deaths of 30 victims.
According to state-by-state police reports released in July 2009, the records are as follows: (1) Abia State with a total of 110 kidnap incidents, 353 court cases, and three deaths; (2) Imo State recorded 58 kidnaps, 109 arrests, 41 prosecutions, and 1 death; (3) Delta State had 44 kidnappings, 43 released, 27 arrests, 31 prosecutions, and 1 death; (4) Akwa Ibom State recorded 40 kidnappings, 40 released, 18 arrests, and 11 prosecutions.
In August 2012, a statement by the civil society group Campaign for Democracy (CD) claimed that some 938 people in the South East of the country have been kidnapped between January 2008 and August 2012 with a total estimated ransom of NGN 1.2bn (USD $7,585,335). Police authorities, however, disputed these figures. The high incident areas included Anambra State (273 kidnap victims), Imo State (265) and Abia (215) with ransoms ranging from NGN 5million (USD $31,605) to NGN 30million (USD $189,633) at the period.
Inside the mind of an abducted child
Clearly, something breaks the mind and the will of anyone so stripped of autonomy. The impact is usually more severe on the child victim of abduction, particularly when he or she is sexually abused or raped. For the little victim, the experience is traumatic and the damage from it all is hard to measure.
“People who are rapidly sexually traumatised sort of leave their bodies, and their mind is somewhere else to deal with it,” says Dr. Tina J. Walch, director of ambulatory services at Zucker Hillside Hospital in New Hyde Park, New York. That kind of escapist strategy is a good one in the moment, but over time, it can do terrible harm. “They may be suffering depression and anxiety or some Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and dissociative disorder depending on if there was severe sexual trauma,” says Walch in a recent Time report.
Then there’s the disorientation of vanishing from a familiar world of comfort and safety when you are a child and remerging into an entirely vicious and cold one characterised by the child’s experience in confinement. In such extreme circumstances, a lot will change within and around the kidnapped child, that is, if he or she makes it out of captivity alive, said Debo Osonuga, 47, a clinical psychiatrist.
For this reason, it’s clear what most child victims of kidnap need first, starting with distance from the media. The TV interviews and magazine profiles may be inevitable, but it will be a whole different kind of grotesquerie if the cameras and reporters don’t stay away for a good long while.
“Everyone is fascinated, frightened and wants to know what happened,” says Alan Hilfer, chief psychologist at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City. “But after a spokesperson comes out with some statements and these kids are debriefed, one of the most important things is for the family to have time to recover on their own and establish relationships.”
That recovery is not helped much if the victim is so young at the time of abduction. Although children’s emotional resiliency presumably matches their physical resiliency, which means they heal faster than adults, there is a terrible toll on children who experience a state of captivity; confinement stunts them at the very moment in their lives that they are supposed to be maturing emotionally and intellectually, said experts.
The first step in easing that passage will likely be working with counsellors who can help the victims regain some sense of safety and autonomya very hard thing after days, months or years of submission and vulnerability to extreme gruesomeness, sexual, physical and emotional abuse. They must be allowed to talk and talk and talk through the trauma, and to reintegrate into the outside world at whatever pace they choose.
Sometimes, the abducted child falls prey to the “Stockholm Syndrome,” the phenomenon of captives eventually identifying with their captors. Such situation presumably manifested in the case of the Orekoya kids who later established bonds of friendship with the children of their abductor.
But it’s nonetheless a big part of things. Medical and psychiatric experts speak of a “learned helplessness” that quickly follows a kidnapping. At first there is indeed the scratching and fighting and hollering that follows. But slowly, victims surrender to powerlessness, something that is accelerated if the kidnapper shows a willingness to inflict pain, but also to withhold it.
Instead of being tortured, the victim receives kindness. He is given a drop of water, and the beating stops. Then the abducted child begins to develop feelings of gratitude. Over time it wears on even the strongest person. The human need for affiliation asserts itself too. Being in the physical company of someoneanyoneis better than being utterly alone.
Why kidnap?
According to Dr. Ottuh Peter Oritsemuwa of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Samuel Adegboyega University, “The political importance of kidnapping activity has had a spill-over influence on the jobless youths and criminals who take it as a new substitute or complement to robbery and pocket- picking. Such a group of kidnappers target not only prominent and well-off individuals but also ordinary citizens who possess little wealth. The common target includes every perceived person with prospects of high and lucrative ransom, including teenagers, children and adults alike.”
Second, greed for money is another factor. Most people are willing to violate the rules of decency and morality when enough money is involved. Some who appear amiable and kind under normal circumstances seem to undergo a personality change when money is at stake, transforming into obnoxious and hostile characters. Besides, so money can be obtained without much stress compared to bank or high way robberies and other crimes, he said.
Why kidnapping thrives
With a current staff strength of about 370, 000, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) is wholly incapable of policing over 170 million Nigerians. According to a 2013 estimate by the World Bank, Nigerians are secured by about 370,000 policemen at a ratio of one policeman to 467 Nigeria. This indicates that the country is under-policed and the police is under-staffed.
The police on their part blame the state for failing to provide the necessary resources and logistics to enhance its performance. The Nation findings revealed that the police has to contend with the challenges posed by inadequate resources, acute shortage of personnel, barracks and office accommodation, inadequate logistics including office stationeries, operation vehicles, communication equipments, weapons, boats. There is also the problem of inability to keep pace with modern policing due to substandard training.
Franca Attoh, PhD, Department of Sociology, University of Lagos (UNILAG), argued that one of the problems of policing is that the government’s perception of crime and its control has been narrow, legalistic, and synonymous with and limited to the crime and the criminal. “Rather than focus on the criminal justice system as a whole government policies are usually geared towards a subset which is policing and how to sanction the offender. This legalistic approach is in tandem with the idea that those who break the law represent a unique subgroup with some distinguishing features. The animosity between the public and the police has resulted in casualties on both sides and this is one of the reasons why the police find it difficult to get information from the public,” she said.
In the wake of Attoh’s analysis, there is need to conduct an objective appraisal of the nature of operationalisation of the Nigerian police. To understand and appreciate the fact that the force is under-staffed, some statistical calculations are necessary, noted Dr. Chuks Osuji, a lecturer and political scientist. Going by 2012 estimates, Osuji stated that the cumulative total of police officers and rank and file in Nigeria was 310,177. Osuji highlighted gross misapplication of the police’s strength as major bane to the force’s ability to discharge its duties efficiently.
For example, about 150 policemen are attached to the Presidency to help guard the President, the First Lady, Vice President and the wife of the Vice President. The legislative arm of the government consumes a sizeable number of policemen assigned to the legislators as viz: Speaker about 50; Deputy Speaker 25; Majority Leader 20; Deputy Majority Leader 15; Chief Whip 12, Deputy Chief Whip 10, Minority Leader 10; Deputy Minority Leader 8, Minority Chief Whip 5 and then there is a number attached permanently to the Legislature, about 100 to guard the entire Three Arm Zone.
“Now to the Senate, the Senate President 50; Deputy Senate President 30; Senate Leader 20; Deputy Senate Leader 14; Senate Minority Leader 10; Deputy Minority Leader 5, Chairmen of House and Senate standing committees have about 45 for each. This means two policemen to each chairman. What is more, almost every senator has a policeman attached to him or her, which is a total of 109 policemen. On their part, most of the members of the House of Representatives make arrangements to secure the services of at least one police man attached to him or her. This approximates to 365.
Further, at the federal level, there are about 42 ministers, including ministers of state. Obviously, each minister must have at least one policeman attached to him or her as an orderly and another to guard the residence of a minister. The total number is approximated 84. In some cases, some high profile ministers often make additional arrangements for additional deployment of police men. Thus, at the federal level, both the Executive and the Legislature may take as many as 800 (of course this may be grossly under-estimated) policemen.
On its side, the Judiciary takes its own chunk of policemen probably as follows: Chief Justice of the Federation may be assigned 10 police officers; President of Court of Appeal may get five; all the members of the Supreme Court may get at least two police officers each; other Appeal Court judges may get two each. Other Federal High Court Judges may get two police officers each as well.
Therefore, on the total, the Presidency, Legislature and Judiciary take approximately 950 from the police population. Of course, this is a conservative approximation.
At the state level, Office of the Governor is likely to get approximately 30 policemen including those that follow him on a convoy, protect his office and house and of course at least two policemen in his country home to guard that. At the state level also, Speakers and other Principal Officers may get approximately 306 policemen. Chief Judges in the country and other judges will be assigned not less than 550 policemen. Stretching the matter statistically more, all the top traditional rulers in the country, will be assigned a platoon of police officers who may total about 464 deployed to them and their palaces throughout the service.
“What is more painful and disgraceful is that apart from former governors and some deputy governors, those who contested Presidential and governorship election still have at least one policeman attached to them, totaling about 377. Therefore, conservatively, about 5,600 policemen are attached to high profile political office holders, senators, House of Representatives members, governors, House of Assembly principal officers etc with a shortfall of 64,823 added to 5,600. This brings the total shortfall of police to approximately 70,600,” he said.
Deterring child kidnappers
According to Attoh, the bane of the Nigerian police is its inability to adopt modern intelligence
gathering in all its operations and the deployment of information technology (IT). In a world that has shrunk time and space due to globalisation, the police needs to be proactive and dynamic to meet the complexity of the society, she said.
Attoh suggested that NPF personnel should be trained in the science of intelligence gathering, the use of technology to enhance the operational efficiency of the police. She also recommended that Nigeria establishes a national data base which should be continuously updated by starting with the information processed by INEC and the National Identity Card Management
Commission. Anything short of this is akin to groping in the dark. There is an urgent need to move away from the present command structure by ensuring that community policing comes into being, she stressed.
On another note, Noel Otu, Associate Professor at the University of Texas, Brownsville, United States of America (USA), suggested that the government should rank kidnapping at the same level as treason. In other words, kidnapping should be considered an act of war against a nation, and appropriate response should be meted out to convicted kidnappers. Otu stressed that telephone companies should develop a system of tracking calls and pinpointing call locations effectively and efficiently, and give full cooperation to law enforcement officials when needed.
“The financial institutions should be required to report suspicious banking activities to the appropriate authorities. Money Laundering Act of 2011 should be fully and effectively enforced,” he said.
But do these measures speak to the pain and interminable misery that becomes the lot of several child victims of abduction for ransom? The answer lies in the posttraumatic experiences of abducted and sexually abused children like Rebecca. Even as her mother creates a convincing scene that all is well after her child returned from 29 days in captivity, Rebecca cuts a piteous portrait of a teenager seeking her way through lattices of terror and internalised anguish; makes you think there is more to the story of her captivity and release. Perhaps there is a story that she really must tell but the tenor of Rebecca’s grief is desperately hidden in stoic acceptance and deference to her mother’s version of the truth. “My child is perfectly okay. She does not need to be tested for anything. God has taken control. People should leave us alone. We have been too much already. We should be allowed to live in peace,” said Abigael, stressing that her daughter has no need for psychiatric help.
Dancehall singer, Oritsefemi, on Tuesday claimed that his Instagram account was hacked, with some of his private messages exposed to public consumption. However, a few hours later, on the same account, he posted the photograph of a lady he claimed carried out the action, with the caption “feel free 2 c de face of my hacker.”
The supposed lady, named Blessing Rawa, is alleged to be the singer’s baby mama. Not happy with his action, Blessing had fired back at the singer calling him names. She claimed she never imagined that the singer would accuse her falsely and even call her a hacker.
She wrote: “My attention was called to a post on Instagram this morning by some friends. My fiancée of five years put me on the blast and accused me of hacking his IG page. This is really surprising to me as I wasn’t around him when his phone got hacked, neither do I have the password to his IG account.
“How I could have hacked a personal phone that I don’t own beats me. I will never betray you like this Femi, I have always resolved to settling our issues in private no matter how bad it is. I can understand if you want to end the relationship and move on with your life. I’d accept that as the will of God but you don’t need to disgrace me publicly and drag my name to the mud all because of fame.
“We suffered together and I was there before your claim to fame and still stood by you when God started blessing you because I know you truly deserve to be rewarded for all your years of hustling and hard work.
“I am writing this openly and demand you delete that post and show some respect to me and the years we spent together which is now a bad memory for me.”
Dolapo Marcy Oni is a graduate of Chemistry, University of Bristol, England. Her passion for acting led her to the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London. She started her television career as the lead anchor on the MNet show Studio 53 Extra and soon became a force to reckon with. The co-host of the hit TV show, Moments with Mo, has since become a style icon across Africa. She has worked with classical and contemporary materials across all mediums from stage and film, to radio crafting her expertise in entertainment. She shares with Adetutu Audu her odyssey
Share your experience on Jacob’s Cross with us.
Jacob’s cross was one of my best experiences. Getting the job was challenging. I was working with Mnet at the time, so anytime I was in South Africa I would take any chance I could to audition. I had the audition in Jo’burg, and after a year I did a Skype audition, then put myself on tape then sent it out. After I had a meeting via Skype, I was offered the part I played. I was really excited as I’ve always been a fan of Jacob’s Cross. I remember when I first moved back to Nigeria that I said that is the show I would love to work on and I was very happy.
Which do you like the most, soap or stage performance?
They are two completely different sorts of productions. You cannot get the type of adrenaline rush you get on stage on TV. It’s just completely different. But on the other hand, TV is for life and by that, I mean it’s recorded, because in 20 years I would be able to show my children, and that is something that is really, really exciting. So I’m not sure if I’m able to choose.
While growing up, who influenced you for good, the bad and the ugly to shape you into who you are today?
My biggest influence and inspiration is my mother. My mother taught me to work with an independent mind and be thankful I had a great education; and to use that to make something of myself. And that’s basically what I have done. I come from a family of lawyers and accountants, and everyone has pretty regular jobs. It may have been difficult if I came back with the mindset of maybe my parents or siblings could help me with this or that. What I needed mostly was their support and I am very lucky they gave that to me. And I just basically went out there to hustle so that I would get jobs, and luckily I did.
What would you say is the highest point of your career?
Highest points of my career are: Jacob’s Cross, Saro the Musical and starting my own production company by being able to create work and offer work to people. And watch this space, because there is something coming to your TV screens very soon (my own personal project).
What major setbacks have you had in the course of your career?
I think rejection is a major thing I’ve learnt to deal with. Going to a lot of auditions and not getting the job, I keep my head up and strive for what I believe in. I don’t let it knock my confidence because the next gig might just be mine.
You recently got engaged, when should we expect the wedding bells? Away from the glitz, who is MDO?
Expect the wedding bells sometime soon. MDO is a chilled-out, fun loving person and a home buddy. I love to go to the movies, I love shopping love eating out, but most of the time, I love hanging out with my family and friends.
Fashion item you can’t do without?
Jeans. I have quite a number of jeans and I love the fact that you can dress them up and dress them down. I also love shoes. And I don’t just like heels; I like all kinds of shoes…wedges, flats, sandals, as long as they look nice. I would say I have about 30 pairs.
Describe your personality and style?
I am chilled and I can be blunt. If I am annoyed about something you will see it. It’s quite obvious because it will be written all over my face. So what you see is what you get.
Being in the limelight has its own challenges, kindly share yours with us.
I would say all jobs have good sides and bad sides. I work on TV, so people know who I am. I can’t complain because I put myself up there. People say things because they feel they know you. So when people say things I don’t like, I just brush it off. I don’t complain about that, because the job comes with lots of perks.
You effortlessly change your hair dos and looks, what are your beauty secrets?
Sleep and drinking lots of water to hydrate myself; this I would recommend to anybody.
As one of the most admired television personalities, what do you think sets you apart?
I think the fact that I have been trained really helps. Even though I went to drama school, I use those skills in front of the cameras, whether it is for acting or presenting.
A traditional birth attendant Oladele Bello has run into trouble for delivering an expectant mother of her baby.
An hour after she gave birth, the woman pretended as if she wanted to buy air time and disappeared, leaving her baby behind.
Bello was later accused by the police of killing the woman and detained.
His lawyer and brother paid N50, 000 for his bail.
Speaking with The Nation, Bello described the incident as frustrating.
He said: “The middle-aged expectant woman walked into my maternity home at Orile-Iganmu in Lagos writhing in pain. I couldn’t overlook her because her condition was pitiful. Although, she wasn’t my patient; I successfully helped her to deliver her child. One hour after, she went along the street, I thought she went to buy airtime to inform her family. We expect her to come back but after waiting for hours and looking for her for days with no trace of her, I took the baby to Orile-Iganmu Police Station to report and I was given a police officer to accompany me to a motherless home at Lekki where we dropped the baby. But, on getting back to the police station, I was detained. I was shocked to have been accused of killing the baby’s mother.”
Bello said it took the intervention of some of his patients who protested his arrest before the police granted him bail.
He was release on bail to his brother, Oyeniyi and lawyer after paying N50, 000 naira.
Oyeniyi, said his brother has been a professional traditional practitioner for 25 years.
He said: “We paid N50, 000 with the assistance of a lawyer to bail him if not; the police was ready to put the blame on him. He has been helping pregnant women during child delivery and those with complications during child birth.
One of his patients, who identified herself as Mrs Chukwuma said: “Since I have been visiting this place, I have never experienced any ill attitude from Mr Bello. We come here for antenatal, traditional treatment and delivery.”
A police man, who recognised Bello at the station, said he once helped his wife when she had complications during the birth of their child.
The Lagos state police command spokesman, Ken Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) said they are making efforts to locate the mother of the baby.
Nwosu confirmed that the baby is now at government mother less baby home, Lekki phase 1 Lagos.
Former Chairman, Ijero Local Government in Ekiti State, Otunba Kunle Lawrence Ajayi, last weekend gave his mother, the late Oloniye Ajayi (aka Iya Teacher), a befitting burial after a funeral service at Our Saviour Anglican Church, Ipoti-Ekiti, Ekiti State.
A welder, Monday Maule has been arraigned before a Tinubu Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly raping an expectant mother. The woman was said to be eight months pregnant when the incident occurred.
The 25-year old defendant, who resides at Friends’ Colony in Agungi, Lekki, said to have committed the offence punishable under Section 259 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011, on February 23, about 4:30am.
Prosecuting police Sergeant Daniel Ighodalo told Magistrate Olaitan Ajayi that the defendant committed the crime while the victim, his neighbour, was asleep.
He said the defendant unlawfully had carnal knowledge of the 23-year old mother of four while her husband was away.
According to the prosecutor, the victim slept without locking her door and woke up when she felt pains on her face and private part.
He said she was dizzy and unable to fight the defendant due to her condition, but raised the alarm which led to the defendant’s arrest.
The defendant pleaded not guilty.
Ighodalo urged the court to remand the defendant in prison because of the seriousness of the offence.
Magistrate Ajayi granted him N250, 000 bail with two responsible sureties in the like sum.
He adjourned the matter to March 23.
The magistrate ordered that the case file be sent to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.
A mother is still in agony over the death of her son last December 24.
Mrs Gift Ilaya (37) said her son, Sunday was allegedly stabbed to death by his friend, Nnabaike Enwerem, in the presence of the suspect’s father.
The suspect’s father, she claimed, also witnessed the incident.
Mrs Ilaya is seeking financial assistance from Nigerians for her son’s burial.
The 21-year-old Sunday, who was a welding apprentice, was allegedly stabbed in the neck.
Mrs Ilaya, who deals in cat fish, said since the incident, she had been left to her fate, alleging that Nnabaike’s parents have fled.
She said: “Since his corpse was deposited at a morgue in Badagry, I have been paying N5000 monthly. I am a struggling woman; I am broke now. I don’t have anyone who can help me. I still have five other children who I cater for. I want people to help me with money so I can bury my son. It is so sad that my son, who was brutally murdered, is still lying in the mortuary almost two months after.”
Speaking with The Nation at her Ajangbadi, Lagos residence yesterday, she recounted the circumstances surrounding the death of her son: “A man who operates a bakery in our area asked some children in the area to gather firewood for him. Upon completion of the task, he gave them money in appreciation of their efforts. However, Nnabaike decided to share the money unevenly. My son was angered and questioned the rationale behind the sharing formula. In the process, they started fighting and I was told he hit my son in the eyes with a torch.
“Nnabaike and his father later came to our house. While his father was accusing my son of fighting his son, Nnabaike suddenly came from behind and stabbed my son in the neck with a kitchen knife. He was then rushed to Delta Medical Hospital, Ajangbadi, where he died.
“Sunday had always lived with my mother in Edo State. He had spent only three years in Lagos before the incident occurred. I don’t know what happened between them. We are friends of the Enwerems. They ate and slept together. We have been living in this community for over six years and we have not had issues with anyone.”
The chairman, Isoko Leading Group, Ajangbadi, Friday Awodita said efforts to locate the Enwerem family have been futile.
“They shouldn’t have neglected us. I heard they have been bribing the policemen to free their son. I hope the police will not compromise on allowing justice to reign,” he said.
Samuel Allison is a National Diploma 1 Journalism student at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) in Ogba, Lagos. He is also an upcoming hip-hop artiste who plays at students’ shows. He shares his aspirations with SAMSON UWALA (ND II Journalism).
Can you tell us about your background?
I grew up in Ogba Aguda in Lagos, where I attended both primary and secondary schools. By a stroke of fate, I have found myself at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), which is also located in Ogba Aguda. So, all education I have received in my life is from this place.
How did you discover your passion for music?
Music has been my dream since I was a child. I imbibed the habit from my mother, who is also a singer. She taught me how to compose songs. So, overtime I developed passion for it and it became part of me and there is nothing I have found interesting aside from music. So music is a career for me; it is my calling.
What genre of music do you do?
I am into secular music. I sing hip-hop specifically, but I combine it with some touch of Afrobeat. At times, I do rap but I don’t see myself as a rapper. I want to be versatile in all arrear of hip-hop to make my music flexible.
How many songs have you released?
I have two songs to my credit for now and they are being played on radio. I have new songs but I mostly sing them at students’ shows and other social events. I have been getting commendations from people, who always want me to perform. I have proven my ability in music. People are applauding my talent and I am very proud about it.
How do you rate yourself in the music industry?
One thing in life is that, you should not copy what people are doing. If you do this, it means you are trying to be like others and don’t expect to go beyond them. That is a limitation one may have. The industry is wide and can accommodate all shades of talents. Music is not something anyone should do because you have people in the industry. You must have a passion for it and create your own brand. I have a unique trademark, which many people may not know because of the level of my popularity. But, people who have listened to my music know my ability. Within a little time, I believe my brand will be accepted by generality of hip-hop lovers. So, I can’t copy anyone; I will always be myself.
How do you plan to cope with academics and music?
It has not been easy for me doing music and studying. And I have not seen anyone, who says it is easy. But, the truth is that, in life, one should have a dream, which we must pursue. I think being a student has helped my career in music and music can also help my studies. I believe combining both will do a lot of help. As it is now, I cannot leave my academic pursuit for music and vice versa. I have some songs, which I have just completed in the studio. I believe being a student will make people accept these songs. So, combining music and schooling together is not a big challenge for me.
What is your message to your fans?
My fan base is growing by the day and this gives me the courage to do more in music. To my fans, I want them to continue to believe in me and ability. I want to put in more effort to do good music that will get them excited. With the support of God, I believe what I am doing will take me to places. So, I promise my fans that I will not let them down.
