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  • Lasisi wants more titles after becoming WBC Int’l champion

    NIGERIAN boxer, Aliu Bamidele Lasisi (13-0, 8 KO) has set his sights on winning more titles after claiming the vacant WBC International Super-Flyweight crown at the Emirate Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

    The ‘Lucky Boy’ defeated Nicaragua’s Ricardo Blandon (10-2, 6 KO) on scores of 114-111 across the board to become the first black from Africa that will ever fight and win WBC title in Dubai.

    In a chat with NationSports, Lasisi gave credit to Randon for stretching the fight till the last round.

    “Its amazing winning this WBC International title belt because I have been dreaming this day long time ago, but Alhamdulilah, Allah made it happen against Randon.

    “Ricardo Blandon is a tough fighter as I was said it before, that our plan was towards Lara before he pulled out in last minute. Then started working on Ricardo style and my plan was to knock him out but he very strong and tough fighter. I knocked him down in round 10, thinking he will not get up, but he got up and finished the 12 rounds with me.

    “He did not knock me down in round four, he only pushed me back and I complained to the referee. I was surprised the referee was making count for me. I didn’t believe what the referee did to me and fans at the hall also complained about the incident but I put myself back on the track.

    “This belt mean a lot for me, I am the first black from Africa that will ever fight WBC title in Dubai because I believe in my dream and hard work. Now, there is no looking back. I am ready to bring glory and honour to my fatherland my winning more titles.

    “I want to thank all my fans all over the world for believing in me. I want to thank MKT Global and Round 10 Boxing Club, they came together and they made it happen. I am happy to fight under the card. My appreciation also goes to my sponsor Top8 and Angelsyrup,” Lasisi told NationSport.

    Lasisi, who had vowed to knockout his opponent in round 7, however, met a stiffer opposition in the determined Blandon as he was forced to go 12 rounds for the first time in his career, barely three months after going a previous career-long 10 rounds in his most recent contest last December in Ghana, where he defeated Mchanja Yohana of Tanzania to win the WBC International Silver Super Flyweight title.

    The 28-year old Dubai based boxer was dropped in the third round on a right hand, but for the most part he was able to outbox the Nicaraguan. He also returned the favor in the 10th round, putting Blandon on the canvas.

    There was also a point deduction in round four, with Lasisi losing a point due to a clash of heads in the 12 round clash, which headlined the “Fight DXB Uncovered Show” packaged by Round 10 Boxing Club in association with international boxing powerhouse MTK Global.

  • Imposed National Assembly leadership will fail, says Dogara

    Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, yesterday said that the leadership of the ninth National Assembly should be allowed to emerge from elected parliamentarians.

    Dogara said that any leadership that is forced on the National Assembly will fail.

    The Speaker spoke in Abuja at the ongoing induction of Senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect of the ninth National Assembly.

    He noted that a situation where “leadership is forced and literally driven down the throat of elected members had never endured in the National Assembly.”

    He advised Senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect to look out for those who have thrown themselves into the race to see who will aggregate their aspirations better.

    The least legislators could afford in the National Assembly, he said, is crisis on account of the leadership selection process.

    Insisting that “I hope we will learn from history”, Dogara noted that leadership imposed on the National Assembly has never worked.

    Dogara said, “Well, I guess that it is not a subject matter you may want just to offer an advice on because we are all parliamentarians those that have been elected, we will be here for four years to serve the people. Leadership is always some thing that emerges from people.

    “Some of us that have been a bit old in the field, we know how that is done. My advice is that we stay calm to understand the people going in for these positions of leadership in the National Assembly.

    “At the end of the day we are praying that we have those leaders who will be able to sustain what we have done in the Eight Assembly or even surpass what we have done. We don’t want leadership that will take us back.

    “We have made a lot of mileage and we hope that we will be able to get the kind of leadership that will build on the achievements of this Assembly which is unparalleled in our legislative history.

    “I will advise members to actually look out for those who have thrown themselves into the race to see who is it that will aggregate their aspirations better and then will be able to surpass the record of this Assembly.

    On the role of party in the emergence of leadership at the National Assembly he said “Well, I’m not here to dictate to parties, the parties have their manifestoes, the way to do their businesses but one thing I have said and if you followed the business during this induction, it is always better to allow the leadership to emerge from the people.

    “Where leadership has been forced upon the people, the history in the National Assembly, and in fact, the history of Nigeria, it has never endured.

    “The least we could afford in the National Assembly is crisis on account of the leadership selection process.

    “So who ever a party is sponsoring and supporting, they should make sure they have the backing of the legislature so that they (legislators) accept it because they own the process and they own the leadership.

    “That way, it will be good but in a situation it is forced, literally driven down the throat, in most cases it doesn’t augur well. Even in the Senate it doesn’t augur well. In the House of Representatives too, it doesn’t augur well too.

    “You are journalists, you should be able to dig into the archive and you will be able to find specific cases.”

    On the sweeping powers of a Nigerian president and the way the president could be disciplined if need be, Dogara noted that unless Section 143 of the Constitution is amended, it is practically impossible to successfully impeach a Nigerian President.

    He said “When people talk about the impeachment of the president, I just laugh because I know with Section 143 of the Constitution, it is not possible to actively activate impeachment of the president.”

    He said that the onus lies on members of the National Assembly to make the parliament strong in the interest of the people.

    Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume in his comment, said that the National Assembly is drifting and has been privatized to some extent.

    He noted that when positions have been zoned, members of the zones should be allowed to choose among themselves.

    Ndume also said that a situation where the presiding officer rules out a member who has contribution to make should be reconsidered.

    Dogara laughed and noted that since Ndume is running for the Senate President, if he gets it he will know where the shoe pinches.

    Dogara said, “If you become the Senate President, you will like to exercise such power because I know you very well. Certain unwritten rules are applied by the presiding officer to stabilize the chamber.

    “If a member raises point of order, the presiding officer may even tell him to approach the chair.”

     

  • Superb Hazard double hands Chelsea 2-0 win over West Ham

    Eden Hazard’s stunning individual performance earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over West Ham United which hoisted them into third spot in the English Premier League (EPL) on Monday.

    The Belgian wizard tormented West Ham throughout at Stamford Bridge and scored both goals to move Chelsea above Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the race for a top-four finish.

    Hazard danced through West Ham’s defence in the 24th minute to put Maurizio Sarri’s side in front, and Gonzalo Higuain should have buried the visitors before half-time.

    Read also: Chelsea to Fenerbahce: Raise your bid on Moses or forget permanent deal

    West Ham improved after the break and Manuel Lanzini and Felipe Anderson both had good chances to equalise, but Hazard sealed the points in the 90th minute with a clinical finish.

    A third successive victory means Chelsea have 66 points from 33 games, while Tottenham and Arsenal have 64 and 63 points respectively having played a game less.

    West Ham are 11th with 42 points from 33 games.(NAN)

  • Death penalty not in African culture, says Pete Ouko

    Pete Ouko, a Kenyan and a leading campaigner against capital punishment, decries its continued application in many jurisdictions.

    How did you find yourself in prison and on death row?

    In 1998 my wife was found murdered in front of a police station. I got word and I went to the police station to be told what had happened and I got locked up; my in-laws said I should be locked up. I was in the police station for 30 days, the law did not allow for that. I was not taken to court; because of course there was no evidence (to use) to take me to court. After 30 days I wrote a letter to the Attorney-General and to the law enforcement officers that the law says I should be in court within 14 days if at all there’s anything against me, but I’ve been here for 31 days and there’s nothing, so, I want to be taken to court to be released. So, they took me to court. I went to court, there was still nothing, and so I was taken to a remand home for about three weeks, still there was nothing. The judge (then) said I had to be taken back to police custody. So I went back to the police station and I had to stay there for another one month. So basically I spent sixty days at the police station.

    Anyway I did my case in 1999 all the way to 2001 when I got convicted; the judge who convicted me just passed on the other day. But before then he had been sacked. He was the first to be sacked for corruption in Kenya. There was a radical surgery in the judiciary in 2003 by President Mwai Kibaki. The radical surgery led to the sacking and resignation of all the corrupt judges who were on board. My presiding judge lost his job at that point. But I went on appeal, I had my appeal completion, but when I came to judgment, I was told the judgment could not be read. I was (eventually) sentenced to death. I joined the death row in 2001. Basically I was on death row for eight years, between 2001 and 2009, but in 2009 was commuted to life. So from 2009 to 2016 when I left I was serving life imprisonment.

    When your sentence was commuted to life imprisonment was it after an appeal?

    No, the president just used his prerogative and commuted all death sentences. In 2003, President Kibabki commuted many death sentences of those who had been there for long to life imprisonment. Then in 2009 he again commuted the others. In the first instance in 2003 I think he commuted 4000 and in 2009 he commuted 3000.

    After your sentencing what happened?

    After the sentencing I then wrote a letter to the president, I told him even though I don’t agree with the decision of the court, as a law abiding person I respect it, but I need to be home because my children were going to graduate. The letter was up scaled and it reached him. So, in October 2016 I left the prison.

    And up till now nobody knows who killed your wife?

    I don’t want to go into that because we have the matter in court and it is sub judice.

    From your experience, is there any hope for the abolition of the death penalty in Africa?

    I don’t think the death penalty is an African concept. I think the death penalty was imposed on Africa by people who had already abolished it in their own countries. The African way of solving conflicts and some of the most heinous crimes was sitting under a tree and restitution was made. You look through all the African cultures they didn’t have the death penalty. In fact some of those who committed the most grievous crimes would be ostracised and told never to come to that community again.

  • Social cost of gridlock

    The Lagos Waste Management Authority’s (LAWMA) stringent alarm, on the virtual collapse of the environment in Apapa, Lagos, is dire – but hardly news: “Our findings showed a general degradation of the environment in the area and a looming epidemic, if the situation is not quickly addressed,” the body warned in a release.

    “Owing to this situation,” LAWMA continued, “LAWMA sweepers cannot work efficiently there; people bathe and defecate on the road, thus wearing out the asphalt. The roads have also been turned into mechanic workshops where major repairs of heavy trucks are carried out, spilling engine oil and diesel on same road.”

    These indeed are a dire report on the Apapa environment. It also shows how one out of many urban mixes – a traffic gridlock – could, not only mess up the environment almost beyond repair, but also exact terrible social costs, leading to needless deaths and trauma. What LAWMA didn’t capture was the possibility of the collapse of bridges and flyovers, labouring under the excessive weight of parked trucks, since those facilities were not configured to withstand dead weights.

    Everyone knew this was disaster brewing, before our very eyes. Yet, everyone feigned helplessness. It is time to move against this clear and present danger before it turns children into orphans, wives into widows, husbands into widowers; and further degrades the Nigerian common humanity.

    The root cause clearly is the long queue of tankers and allied articulated trucks, on business shuttles to the ports, either to disgorge exports or bear imports further inland.  The first problem here is the over-utilisation of the two Lagos Ports, at Apapa and nearby Tin Can Island, to the operational detriment of other sea and river ports in the country: Warri, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Lokoja, etc. Though this can only be corrected in the long run, efforts at diversifying port services in the country deserve urgent attention.

    Read also: FG to deliver Apapa truck park this month

    Then, there is the devil-may-care outlawry of these tanker drivers, who seize any track of available land as emergency parking lot, including bridges and flyovers. It is the dire manifestation of the Nigerian’s contempt for safety, and the legendary penchant to bait disaster, only to wail uncontrollably when the inevitable happens. Because these drivers, and their support staff, park just anywhere, they block off, for days and weeks, some significant part of traffic.  That increases the stress on Lagos road, with its signal traffic gridlock. But being hooked in a place for days, without access to toilet facilities, inevitably results in the environmental hell LAWMA is crying about.

    Double trouble for LAWMA: though it is charged with clearing urban refuse and managing general waste, the big trucks hamper its own compactors from accessing Apapa. So, while the trailers choke up the road, and their drivers foul up the environment, yet LAWMA is barred from doing its job of clearing these wastes. With Lagos over-population, and the jaunts to Apapa by those hustling for daily bread in the maritime sector, the environment is fast degraded – with putative disastrous consequences.

    That is why the federal and Lagos State governments must put heads together to chart an emergency to clear these trucks from Apapa and environs; and enforce the orderly access of these trucks to the ports, only when they are sure they would be attended to.  If anyone must park to wait, space should be found outside that area; and adequate technology can be used to prompt the drivers to move to the ports, only when the port is ready for them. If this emergency is not imposed fast, a needless epidemic may well consume lives in that blighted area.

    However, the ultimate solution is the integration of rail into Nigerian ports.  That way, the bulk of the egress or ingress would be by rail. That is another good reason the Buhari presidency must accelerate its rail modernisation programme.

  • Offa robbery: ‘Wounds on suspects’ legs not caused by gunshots’

    The doctor in charge of medical welfare of inmates at the Kwara State Prisons Command, Olaleye Paul Olasunkanmi, yesterday told an Ilorin High Court trying the Offa robbery suspects that the report of the medical examination on the suspects did not show that the wounds on their legs were as a result of gunshots.

    But the court admitted in evidence the medical examination report on the wounds allegedly inflicted on the suspects during their interrogation by the police.

    The examination was conducted by Dr. Obiora Adunichukwu.

    The suspects are Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salahudeen Azeez and Niyi Ogundiran.

    At the resumed hearing of trial- within-trial, Olasunkanmi presented the medical examination report before the court.

    He said during the cross-examination that the instrument used in the hospital could not tell the date the injuries occurred.

    Olasunkanmi said the fracture seen on the X-ray film showed that the fracture was there in the past and was caused by metallic object.

    “I am satisfied with the medical examination presented to court despite not being the writer. The author followed due process which has provided answer to the needs of the court.

    “I have informed the court that the date cannot be told by our instrument and the injuries are caused by trauma.

    Led in evidence by the prosecutor, Yusuf Beki, Olasunkanmi testified that there was no place where gunshot was mentioned in the report.

    In his response, the defence counsel, Mathias Emeribe, prayed the court to allow further examination of the cause of the wounds on the legs of the suspects by a ballistician.

    He said since the court was after dispensing justice on the matter, the assistance of the ballistician in the matter was necessary.

    Responding, the prosecutor, Yusuf Beki, said the submission of the defence counsel was not valid in the case and urged the court to discountenance it.

    He said a ballistician cannot determine the cause of wounds, adding that ballisticians don’t work in the hospital.

    Beki added that ballisticians only determine the various forms of guns.

    The trial judge, Justice Haleeman Salman, in his short ruling, dismissed the submission of the defence counsel, saying the Chief Medical Director of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) has no authority to order a ballistic examination of the wounds on the suspects’ legs.

    “This is outside the power of the CMD of UITH and I agree with this. This application is tantamount to attempts to delay the dispensation of this case. The application is hereby dismissed,” the judge ruled.

    During the continuation of proper hearing of the case after a short adjournment, the defence counsel further submitted that the combined effects of the prolonged detention of the accused spanning six months without arraignment “as facts can show is enough torture itself, which goes against constitutional provisions.

    Read also: Offa robbery: Senator-elect urges unity, prayers one year after

    “The implications of this weaken the accused emotionally; the prosecution cannot precisely tell when the accused were arrested or taken to Abuja. This leaves us with no option but to conclude that the prosecution was lying.

    “There is no medical report to show that Michael Adikwu died of natural causes. This shows that the prosecution is lying. There is a consistent story line by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and fifth accused that from the day of their arrest they have been under torture.

    “In the light of all this fact, it is difficult to conclude that whatever statement wherever it was obtained, provided it occurred during the currency under the custody of the police, was never voluntary. It was a statement that was given to stay alive.”

    The defence counsel further argued that the contents of the medical report earlier tendered and admitted in evidence by the court “gives credence to the story line that the (accused persons’) confessional statement was obtained under duress and that the crux of the matter that makes the admissibility of the confessional statements impossible.”

    Responding, Beki said the medical examination report showed that “the evidence of the prosecution witness in the trial- within- trial is credible, having not been discredited in any way. I urge the court to admit the evidence of prosecution witness.

    “Metallic is not same as bullet pellet. The doctor said if it were to be gunshot despite being healed, it would have shown. We urge Your Lordship to admit these statements.”

    Justice Salman, however, adjourned ruling on the admissibility of the accused confessional statement to a later date.

    She adjourned continuation of hearing till May 2.

  • Obiano celebrates arrest of most wanted murder suspect

    Anambra State Government yesterday celebrated the arrest and prosecution of the most wanted murder suspect, Ikechukwu Udensi, (aka Ikanda).

    The suspect was declared wanted last year after he allegedly killed a 38-year-old graduate businessman, Ndubuisi Nwokolo, in June, in Onitsha.

    Governor Willie Obiano, in a statement yesterday in Awka, hailed the new police commissioner, Mustapha Dandaura, for the feat.

    In the statement, made available to reporters by Information and Public Enlightenment Commissioner Mr. Don Adinuba, he said there was more work to do by the command.

    Read also: We’re losing great men difficult to replace – Obiano

    The statement said Obiano had written to the police commissioner to express satisfaction about how officers in Onitsha acted on a tip-off and arrested Udensi, who was at a secret location waiting for his agents collecting revenues illegally, to bring him money.

    “The governor has been studying the strategy the command used to arrest this person on whom the government placed N1million bounty since last year for the callous manner in which Nwokolo’s life was ended last June.

    “Obiano is impressed that immediately Udensi was arrested, he was taken to court, to avoid legal loopholes.

    “The arrest and quick prosecution of Udensi show that the new police boss is here to work for the people and has bought into the government’s development agenda, which makes security of life and property the first cardinal objective of the present administration.

    “We recognise the importance of security in our socio-economic development architecture,” Obiano said in his letter to Dandaura.

  • Police nab man with ‘human parts‘

    The police in Ekiti State have arrested a man simply identified as Nifemi, for allegedly going about with human parts.

    Nifemi, 23, was nabbed last Saturday at Ijero-Ekiti during a stop and search.

    An eye witness, who craved anonymity, told reporters in Ado-Ekiti yesterday that the suspect was held while going to Okemesi-Ekiti with the hands of a human being.

    The source said the young man reportedly kept the human parts in a polythene bag and was apprehended on Ijero-Ikoro road while heading for Okemesi to sell the parts to customers.

    Read also: Police urged to protect rights

    “When quizzed by the police, the man said he got the two hands at Asa farmstead, near Okemesi and brought them to Ijero.

    “He told the police that he wanted to take the human parts to Okemesi to sell to some people,” the source added.

    Before the arrest, the police in Ijero Division had tightened security across the local government, following a tip-off by the public that robbers were planning to invade the area.

    Police spokesman Caleb Ikechukwu confirmed the arrest.

    He said investigations had begun.

  • Police declare teacher wanted for ‘sodomising’ pupils

    A teacher at a private school in Ogun State has been declared wanted for alleged sodomy on many pupils within ages nine and 11.

    The teacher, Adebayo Gbadebo, was said to have fled last week after his alleged crimes at Isolog School, Agbole in Akute, were uncovered.

    Although his last attempt was said to have been a fortnight ago, The Nation gathered that the suspect was declared wanted when some child advocates reported the case to the police.

    Gbadebo’s alleged atrocities were exposed by a parent of one of his victims identified as Daniel, who is said to have developed a severe medical condition as a result of the anal rape.

    It was learnt that the child’s parents knew about the incident after he allegedly sodomised another child.

    When the school learnt about it, it was gathered that the head teacher, Mrs. Rachael Oduntun, allegedly fired Gbadebo without reporting the crime to the police.

    The school was said to have also administered drugs on the victims without their parents knowing, just as it allegedly threatened workers and pupils not to discuss it with anyone or risk sack.

    “These pupils have been taken to hospital for medical examination. One of the victims, aged nine, has been diagnosed with a severe condition. Her anal nerves have been damaged, which causes her to pass urine and faeces uncontrollably.

    “It was discovered that Gbadebo started abusing her sexually when she was six-years-old, while he molested other victims from Basic Five.

    Read also: Police nab man with ‘human parts‘

    “His wife has reported him for sexually abusing a kid in their neighbourhood. The man is a serial rapist and needs to be imprisoned before he goes about hurting other children,” said a source who pleaded anonymity.

    Confirming the manhunt for the suspect, command spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said it was unfortunate the school fired him without reporting the crime.

    He said the school proprietor and headteacher had been ordered to produce the suspect.

    “They claimed they do not know his whereabouts and that they fired him when they knew about it. The police were not informed, until the NGO came into the picture. The proprietor and the principal were invited for their statement. After that, they were asked to produce the suspect within a given time,” he said.

  • Kidnappers contact Fire Service chief’s family

    The kidnappers of the Lagos State Fire Service Acting Director Rasaki Musibau have contacted his family, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    Musibau and six others were abducted at Iwoye along the Epe-Itoikin road, Ikorodu on Saturday about 8pm.

    The incident, it was gathered, occurred while the fire chief and others were going to Epe.

    The Nation gathered that the kidnappers had blocked the Itoikin bridge, ambushing occupants of a Sienna, Corolla and a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).

    Details of the abductors’ conversation with  Musibau’s family were not disclosed.

    Contacted, police spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), told The Nation that the police don’t negotiate ransom with kidnappers.

    According to him, the Special Forces deployed by the Commissioner of Police (CP) Zubairu Muazu and the command’s Anti Kidnapping Unit are on the trail of the abductors.

    “There was a contact established, but we do not negotiate ransom with kidnappers. The Special Forces deployed by CP Zubairu Muazu are still on the trail of the kidnappers and we are getting closer,” Elkana said.

    The Nation learnt that there was a marathon prayer yesterday at the headquarters of the Lagos State Fire Service, Alausa for the release of the agency’s acting director.

    The prayer, it was gathered, was replicated in all the 16 offices of the Fire Service in the state.

    “We held a special prayer for the release of our Oga this morning. The prayers were also carried out in all our offices. We couldn’t do much work because everybody was in a sober mood. We can only pray for the kidnappers to release our boss,” a worker said.

    The Vice Chairman of Ikosi-Ejirin Local Council Development Area, David Odunlami has denied that his personal assistant was among those kidnapped.

    Speaking with The Nation last night, he said none of his two personal assistants was among those kidnapped.

    “As I am speaking with you, my two personal assistants are not involved. None of them was on the scene of the incident. I do not have any relative or anyone working in the council among those kidnapped.

    “However, we are hoping that the kidnappers will release those abducted. It is disturbing and worrisome,” he said.

    According to the police, those abducted include Rasaki Musibau, Mufutau Adams, Funmilayo Adelumo, Asiogu Martha, Lasisi Muka and two others.

    Vehicles recovered from the scene include Toyota Sienna, Toyota Corolla and Opel SUV.