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  • 400-Level UI student dies

    Victor Ajidagba, a 400-Level student of the Department of Nursing, University of Ibadan, was on Wednesday confirmed dead after slumping while walking through the Department of Physiology around 5:30p.m.

    Although he was said to have been rushed to the institution’s clinic by two other students, who saw him falling, he was confirmed dead later in the evening, despite being placed on emergency by medical personnel on duty.

    According to sources privy to the incident, the medical officers on duty fought hard to save his life by administering first aid treatment, but they had to refer him to the University College Hospital (UCH), Oritamefa, Ibadan, when they discovered the severity of the case.

    Read Also: Three suspected robbers killed

    He was said to have been conveyed in the university ambulance where further treatment was administered on him.

    Ajidagba later died in the hospital, despite efforts of the medical officers at the UCH.

    Confirming the incident, the Director of Public Communications, Mr. Olatunji Oladejo, said: “It’s unfortunate that Victor Ajidagba, a 400-Level student of the Department of Nursing slumped and died yesterday night (Wednesday) despite efforts of doctors and nurses of UI Medical Centre, Jaja Clinic and at the UCH.”

    Oladejo noted that the university will investigate further the cause of his death, noting that his family had been notified of the unfortunate incident.

     

  • Man ‘impersonates’ lawmaker, ‘forges’ INEC seal

    A 30-year-old man, Toluwalope Akanni, was on Thursday arraigned before Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly impersonating a House of Representatives member to defraud the public.

    Akanni, who lives at Madogun area of Oke-ara in Ogun State, is facing a seven-count charge bordering on forgery, stealing and breach of the peace.

    The prosecutor, Mr. Augustine Nwabuisi, said the defendant committed the offence on June 10 at Ijaye Ojokoro, Lagos.

    He alleged that the defendant forged an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Certificate of Return to claim that he is a House of Representatives member.

    Nwabuisi alleged that the defendant convened a meeting where he solicited for funds from people for his inauguration.

    He said Akanni told some of his victims that he would secure federal appointments for them.

    Nwabuisi also alleged that the defendant collected N665,000 and a new Samsung S9+  worth N260,000 from Miss Jessica Eyimofe.

    Read Also: Atiku: Why INEC didn’t call witnesses

    Akanni, the prosecutor claimed, collected N430,000 from Mrs. Dolapo Tunner and N125,000 from Mr. Odulanmi Murtala, who he promised to secure jobs for.

    “My lord, the defendant also claimed to be a lawyer; he told everyone that he had won the election.

    “He also collected some money from members of his church with this scam.

    “He went as far as taking people to Abuja under the guise of going for his inauguration.

    “He forged INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu’s signature and the INEC seal on the certificate of return,” the prosecutor said.

    Magistrate S. O. Obasa granted the defendant N500,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    She ordered that the sureties must be above 40 and live within the court’s jurisdiction.

    Obasa said the sureties must show evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

    She ruled that one of the sureties must be the defendant’s relation.

    The case continues on August 20.

     

  • Command arrests suspected illegal arms dealers

    The Oyo State Police Command on Thursday paraded four suspected arms dealers, who concealed 10,000 live cartridges, allegedly for supply to criminals.

    Also paraded were 21 other suspects, who were nabbed by the officers of the command at various places across the state.

    Among the suspects were two young women found in possession of one double barrel pistol on their way from Mushin in Lagos State to Iseyin in Oyo State, allegedly to carry out their operations.

    Addressing reporters at the parade ground, Eleyele Police Headquarters, Ibadan, yesterday, Police Commissioner Mr. Shina Olukolu advised residents to be wary of criminals, and to be security conscious, following the approach of the festive season.

    He said they should be mindful of who they transact business with, to avoid being swindled.

    Read Also: Police arrest three for raping, beheading 3-yr-old girl

    The arms dealers, who were arrested on July 23 at Oke-bola, Ibadan, included Adekunle Abimbola, Abel Kojo, Mukaila Ariyo and Ade Adebayo.

    Confessing that they have been in the business of ammunition/arms supply for years without a licence, the suspects disagreed that robbers and bandits were their buyers. Rather, they told reporters that hunters were their customers

    However, the police boss, who insisted that the ammunition were supplied to armed robbers, said the suspects would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

     

  • Police nab two women for alleged theft

    TWO women have been arrested for allegedly stealing N400,000 from a woman at Nkwelle Ezunaka in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.

    The suspects with their accomplices allegedly robbed their victim, Nwanye Philomina, after picking her around Nteje area of the town.

    The Nation gathered that the victim had ignorantly boarded a vehicle heading for Onitsha when she was attacked.

    A police source said the syndicate, who saw the money in the victim’s bag, suddenly stopped and requested she should come down, claiming they wanted to adjust her seat.

    “Oblivious of their plan, the victim came down and immediately the hoodlums sped off with her bag containing N400,000,” the source added.

    Confirming the incident, police spokesman Haruna Mohammed said the suspects were arrested by the patrol team attached to 3-3 Division.

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    He gave their names as Cynthia Agu, 20, and Mary Andrew, 20 both from Enugu State, as well as Collins Okoli, 33, and Friday Ebim, 41, both from Delta State.

    Mohammed said: “At about 2pm, Nwanye Philomina, aged 30, from Akwuzu, boarded a taxi at Nteje Boys High School bus stop in Oyi Local Government.

    “When the vehicle got to Nkwelle Ezunaka, the syndicate suddenly stopped and asked her to come down to enable them adjust the seat, but they sped off.

    “The victim immediately raised the alarm, which attracted the attention of some motorists, who pursued the suspects to Nkwelle community where a police patrol team attached to 3-3 Division intercepted and arrested them.”

    The spokesman said the suspects were nearly lynched by a mob, but for the quick intervention of the police.

    He added that the money was recovered, while the vehicle used in perpetrating the act was impounded.

    Mohammed said the suspects would be arraigned after investigations.

     

     

  • Sanwo-Olu’s wife to LASEMA, others: shun inter-agency rivalry

    WIFE of Lagos State Governor Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu on Thursday urged emergency responders to work together in the discharge of their responsibilities of saving lives and properties.

    She spoke at the quarterly stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), with the theme: “Sustaining synergy amongst stakeholders in emergency/disaster management: Working better together”, at Alausa, Ikeja.

    Mrs Sanwo-Olu, represented by Consultant Anaesthetics Dr. Abiola Mafe, said the agencies must understand that none was more important than the other.

    She urged the agencies to concentrate on improving their work plan instead of squabbing.

    “Since emergencies and disasters are inevitable, adequate measures must be channelled to mitigate them and ensure that when they occur, lives and properties are saved and more importantly they are not allowed to escalate.

    “The major objective of emergency responders is to save lives and it must remain so. Our priority should not and must not be about unnecessary supremacy battle. Granted that when there is an emergency or rescue operation there must be an agency that will lead and coordinate our activities and generally in Lagos State, LASEMA takes the lead.

    Read Also: Meet Sanwo-Olu’s Commissioner-designates

    “But then, there must be mutual respect among all agencies involved in emergency operation. No agency should feel more important than others. As a matter of fact, it should be seen as a joint effort while there must be cooperation, constant meetings and most importantly, an agenda for emergency procedure in the state.

    “All the agencies, LASEMA, Police, Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU), Red Cross, among others, must know their specific duties during an emergency and keep to them.

    “This, however, does not preclude relevant agencies from helping other agencies in the event of overlapping.

    “The bottom line is that the agencies must know their duties and cooperate with one another.

    “The paramount thing is to save life and not any unhealthy rivalry. There must be an emergency plan, there must be a will to do what is in the plan and there must be constant meetings, practices and demonstration of the emergency procedures so that all the agencies are working together towards achieving the same purpose of saving lives and properties.,” Mrs Sanwo-Olu said.

    LASEMA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu said plans were underway to establish LASEMA marine rescue unit to cater for the about two million commuters on the inland waterways.

    LASEMA, he said, was working on improving its 10-minute response time to emergency, adding that the meetings would better position the agencies for the task ahead.

    The meeting, he added, is intended to provide workable strategies to renew confidence in “our collective ability, responsibility and capacity to rise up to any emergency and disaster challenges in the state.

    “All over the world, surmounting emergencies take the collaborative efforts of relevant stakeholders on one hand, and the active support and collaboration of the grassroots, communities and the populace towards protection of lives and properties,” he said.

    Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Commander, Tunji Disu, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), said emergency responders must cooperate with one another to achieve results.

     

  • Okada rider charged with beating up motorist

    A 32-year-old commercial motorcyclist, Rabiu Hassan, on Thursday appeared at an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, charged with blocking a motorist and beating him up.

    He pleaded not guilty before Magistrate J. A. Adegun.

    Adegun granted the defendant N100,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    He said the sureties should be employed and show evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

    Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Clifford Ogu said the defendant conspired with two others to beat up Daramola Ola without any reason on July 10 at Agege, Lagos.

    Read Also: Okada riders beg for release of 36 machines

    “The complainant was driving home when the defendant and others blocked his car with their motorcycles.

    “They dragged him down from his car, beat him up and used a motorcycle key to injure him.

    “When they saw blood gushing out of his body, they bolted.

    “A few days later, the complainant saw the defendant, and he was arrested,” the prosecutor said.

    The case continues on August 9.

  • Residents, others jittery as work begins on Lagos-Ibadan road

    The planned four-month partial closure of a section of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has thrown residents and other road users into jitters.

    The Berger-Kara axis of the road will be shut from tomorrow till October 31 for repair.

    The residents pleaded that their right should not be violated during the period.

    They told The Nation yesterday that the work would affect free flow of traffic, especially during the weeklong convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), beginning on Monday, and the celebration of the Muslim festival of Eid-el-Kabir.

    They noted that many Muslims would be travelling.

    The founder, All Nigerian Youth Re-oriented Movement, Mr. Olufemi Ajadi, urged the contractor, Julius Berger, to keep to the stipulated period and ensure citizens’ safety during the work.

    Read Also: Two die, nine injured in auto crash along Lagos-Ibadan expressway

    Ajadi, a landlord at Torotoro, Ibafo, Ogun State, suggested that the contractor should work at night to minimise road users’ suffering.

    Another Ibafo resident, Mr. Femi Oribamise, said the government should not have chosen the Sallah period to start the work.

    Mr. Peter Ezekiel, who also lives in Ibafo, lamented the traffic jam on the road before the proposed closure.

    He said some residents, who worked in Lagos, came home only at weekends because of the gridlock.

    But the Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Taiwo Salaam, allayed the fears of motorists.

    He said adequate measures have been put in place to ensure free flow of traffic during the rehabilitation of the Berger-Kora stretch of the highway.

     

  • One rescued as two-storey building collapses at Bariga

    One person was on Thursday rescued in a two-storey building that partially collapsed at Bariga, Lagos.

    The building, located at 24, Adio Street, went down around 7am.

    The incident occurred a few days after a two-storey building also partially collapsed in the same community.  The incident happened on Sunday.

    It was gathered that nobody died, but a man was trapped and later rescued by emergency responders, including the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency’s (LASEMA’s)  response team, Lagos State Fire Service, Nigeria Police, Bariga environmental team , Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) and Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS).

    The building has been demolished and sealed off.

    Confirming the incident, LASEMA General Manager Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu said the building with a penthouse collapsed around 7am.

    He said it had been sealed off to prevent disaster, adding that occupants of adjoining buildings have been advised to stay away from the site.

    The Chairman of Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr. Kolade Alabi, has directed the LCDA’s environmental team to carry out integrity test on buildings in the area.

    He said any building that failed the test would be demolished.

    “We have to do this because we cannot wait till lives are lost before we act,” Alabi added.

    He said: “The information we gathered from the landlord of the collapsed building was that the tenants had been served quit notice for more than six months, and the Bariga LCDA environmental department, having seen the condition of the building, has equally recommended that the occupants should vacate the building. However, just over 70 per cent of the occupants complied with this directive before the building collapsed.”

  • Marriage licences

    The report in the media that the Federal Government is insisting that worship centres must get wedding license will lead to controversy. But it is curious the government is insisting that every worship centre must individually get a license, instead of relying on the license issued to their respective headquarters. We recognise that item number 61 in the exclusive legislative list provides on “the formation, annulment and dissolution of marriages other than marriages under Islamic law and customary law, including matrimonial causes relating thereto.”

    We also recognise the provisions of the Marriage Act, a federal legislation, dealing with the issuance of licenses to marriage centres before a valid marriage can be contracted. However, it is pertinent to ask whether those provisions are also not discriminatory against persons who choose to contract their marriages in their preferred churches. Indeed, it will be interesting for concerned individuals to test in court whether the act is discriminatory against them.

    Agreed that the Marriage Act covers the entire federation as the legislation regulating a certain type of marriage, but has the constitutional provision been interpreted by the courts to include authority for the Federal Government to issue licenses as provided by the Marriage Act? In our view, the new regulation by the Federal Government that all worship centres should get wedding license should be tested in court by individuals and states. After all, the 1999 constitution (as amended) grants the fundamental right of freedom of thoughts, conscience and religion in section 38(1).

    So, can it not be argued that by insisting that every worship centre must get a license before conducting “marriages” the Federal Government is encumbering that provision of the constitution? Again, the constitution in section 42 bars the Federal Government or indeed any other authority from engaging in discriminatory practices on the basis of religion or other listed standards. Could the imposition of a standard not applicable to other practitioners of other religions be viewed as discriminatory by the courts, by having offended the provisions of the constitution in question?

    The constitution in S.42(1)(a) clearly provides: “A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic groups, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not by reason only that he is such a person – be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religious or political opinions are not made subject”.

    The new regulation sought to be enforced is also worrisome, because in a federal system of government, marriages should not be in the exclusive legislative list. With the Federal Government already overreaching the states with its bloated exclusive legislative list, is marriage not one item that should be yanked off from that nearly omnibus list? We think it should. Indeed, if the states are in charge of marriages, they could gain some resources from such practice. More so, the states are better situated to regulate such matters.

    As expected also, the matter has assumed a religious dimension, with the leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) mocking the intention of the Federal Government, to license them, while those of other faiths, like Islam, are left to operate without license. In pushing their right, the Federal Government should know that many Nigerians consider the 1999 constitution as defective, and so will not be persuaded by the finer provision of the law, as is. Most likely, they would consider any such provision as one more evidence of the defect.

     

  • Audu: Bello does not deserve second term

    Mohammed Audu, son of the deceased former Kogi State governor, Abubakar Audu, is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with JAMES AZANIA, he speaks on the proposed primary and the November 16 poll.

    Why do you want to ge governor of Kogi State?

    The decay in the system is very enormous. We moved from a situation where we cannot provide viable and quality infrastructure for the people, to where we cannot pay the salaries of workers. There are no more agricultural potentialities in the state and viable private sector. Everything seems very chaotic; everyday you hear of protests, killings, kidnappings and suicide attempts. All the things people now hear about our beloved state is bad news. Our people are living in squalor. I know that Prince Abubakar Audu had a very good intention for the people, but unfortunately, he died at the point where victory was knocking on the door. The people stood under the sun and in the rain, they queued up patiently to vote for him and they voted for their future, they voted for a better tomorrow, but today, what we have in the state is a reverse of that hope. So, there is no well-meaning person that will sit down and watch his people suffer and wallow in abject poverty for no reason. The state (Kogi) is meant to be the richest in the northern part of Nigeria, because we have abundant mineral resources, of different kinds. We have viable agricultural potential because we have arable land; we have a virile youth population that can be used to harness the resources. But we have the problem of technological know-how. The present government has the highest financial incentives in the history of the state. We have had governors that their highest monthly allocations was N800 million, but today, we are talking about people who get above N4 billion monthly. We are not discussing infrastructure, schools and hospitals, but we are talking about how to pay the salaries of the state and local government workers. It is very embarrassing. The state screening exercise for civil servants has been endless; the state does not have a nominal payroll. That is, the amount to be paid as salaries in a month. It is bad news after bad news. So, I have taken it upon myself, along with other well-meaning people of the state, to end the reign of terror in the state and we want to change the fortune of the people to positive tidings.

    What are you going to do differently to change the situation you have painted?

    We intend to increase the monthly allocation that comes to the state through a higher Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). We have perfected our plan to rake in as much as N4.5 billion extra monthly as revenue at the state level. We have also perfected our plans that within the first six to nine months of our administration we will hire about 50, 000 young men and women into different viable positions. This is not a joke, because we want to partner with the Bank of Industry (BoI), towards achieving this. We have to achieve the potential of the state; the potential for manufacturing. We will set up a lot of manufacturing outfits; food processing factories that will provide jobs for our teeming youth. With these, we would have been able to address youth restiveness, decayed infrastructure. I have been traveling to the Kogi-East Senatorial district for the past 20 years and it is the same road that we have been passing, no remodeling, and no refurbishing, no resurfacing and no modernisation. We cannot just be static. By now, we should be talking about rail lines to travel within the state from Okunland to Igalaland; from the east to the central, nothing viable is happening.

    How do you intend to win the APC ticket, as you are dubbed as a novice in Kogi politics, in some quarters?

    My first attempt in politics was when my father had an accident in 1998. He was injured and flown abroad for medical treatment, so when he came back, he needed someone who could help him with the process of electioneering and because I was the closest to him then, I was saddled with that responsibility. That was my first incursion into politics and I was involved in the 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 elections. So, I know everyone that has been involved and I know who is who in Kogi politics, by virtue of that experience. I held many sensitive positions in the Abubakar Audu Campaign Organisation, so I have the connection with most politicians in the state. The situation between the ruling party and the opposition is very fluid, because one politician may be in the PDP and tomorrow he is in the APC; the next day he is back in PDP, so I have come in contact with many of them, either when they were with us or when they were in the other party. I am the closest link to the grassroots; I have a strong connection with the grassroots people. I personally think that the present government is afraid of opening the process of selection and that is why they have chosen to go by the way of indirect primary. The indirect primary is closed, if you are a politician and a true democrat, you will want everyone to participate in the process of selecting you, and I dare the government to say they are going by the way of direct primary today, I am sure they will bid the people farewell. If they do direct primary that every Kogi person; that is a member of the APC is allowed to participate, no doubt we will come tops.

    There is the insinuation that you are clamouring for direct primary because you want to use external influence to win the ticket…

    Direct primary or indirect primary, it is the people of Kogi that will vote in the general election, but in the case of the indirect primary, you have a chosen few in the process of selecting the party executive positions. The governor will select his family and friends, the appointees will select their family members and friends and thereby give them an undue advantage. What we are saying is, open it up for everybody; let the man that sells kolanut vote, let the maisuya vote, and then we will know who will win.

    Why the insistence on direct primary?

    We are indifferent about the mode of primaries to elect the APC candidate; any mode they adopt we will win. Even though we know that for indirect primaries, (Governor) Bello, has populated the exco with his friends and relatives of friends and appointees. We still don’t have problem with that, but the fact that after defeating Bello at the primaries, the cases in court might jeopardize our victory. The case in court might bring about a Zamafara situation. In other to to avoid a situation where we will be robbed of our victory after defeating Bello, we prefer that APC adopt direct primary election.

    Your father was a governor with a good record of service. Do you think you have what it takes to surpass his achievements?

    It is a responsibility that I am offering myself for election as the late Prince Abubakar Audu’s son, because it will be very unfortunate if I am not able to at least beat his records. So, I must surpass his records. I understand fully well the responsibility attached to my aspiration for leadership and based on that, I sat down and came out with a very comprehensive plan. As a businessman, I know for you to succeed, you must have alternative sources of revenue. We cannot sit down and wait for federal allocations; we can see that even with the allocations, we still got bailouts twice; we got the Paris club refund two or three times; we are getting other subventions and yet, we are still crawling. We shall not wait for such allocation. The first thing we will do is to ensure that we generate an additional N4.5 billion monthly as Internally Generated Revenue, because the state has the potential.

    You want to contest on the platform of the APC and you have been talking about rescuing the state, do you think it will be easy to sell the APC to the people of Kogi?

    It is a simple thing. If you are traveling on the road by bus and the driver is either sleeping or inexperienced, what will you clamour for? Will you change course or will you ask that a new driver be brought into the bus. This is exactly what we are trying to do. What the state needs now is experience, what the state needs now is someone who understands the yearnings and aspirations of the people; what the state needs now is someone who understands leadership;  what the state needs now is a lot of experience in dealing with everyday issues concerning the common man. Some people have constantly run the state from Wuse, Maitama, Jabi in Abuja. This is not going to work; you have to be on ground and among the people, you don’t also need to sit within the confines of the Government House all the time to run the administration of the state. You have to move from one local government to the other to see for yourself what the people desire and proffer solution to their problems. The communication should be two ways.