The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pepper

  • ‘Why we tortured our victims with pepper, acid’

    Suspected robbers who tortured their victims with grinded pepper and acid have been smashed by the operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

    The three suspects are: John Odeh, 46; Benjamin Odakpe, 43, and Ebelebe Ajiriogene, 32.

    Four other members of the seven-man gang including the kingpin, identified as Ebony escaped with guns, bottles of acid and pepper used during operations.

    According to IRT sources, one of the gang’s victims reported his ordeal to the squad.

    It was learnt that IRT’s commander, Abba Kyari, ordered the squad’s South West Coordinator, Philip Rinwanine, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) to fish out the hoodlums.

    The arrest of a member of the gang identified as Ebelebe Ajiriogene led to the arrest of John and Benjamin.

    According to IRT sources, the victim, Abiodun Akinnibosun, a banker, on October 11, 2017 boarded a commercial us at Charly Boy area of Gbagada,  en route Obalende, but the driver diverted to Magodo road.

    On discovering other passengers to be members of the gang, Abiodun was held down by the hoodlums and asked to keep quiet.

    One of the robbers then threatened to spray Abiodun with pepper and acid, asking him to maintain perfect silence.

    The hoodlums robbed Abiodun of a Gionee android phone worth N100,000, ATM card and wrist watch valued N25,000.

    The robbers led Abiodun to an ATM machine on Ikosi-Ketu road , where he was forced to release his correct ATM access number, following which the robbers withdrew  a sum of N120,000 from his bank account, transferred a sum of N150,000 to a bank account, and drove to Berger area, where they pushed the victim out of their bus and zoomed off.

    Confessing, Ebelebe denied using gun, but admitted using acid and pepper to torture stubborn victims.

    He also denied pushing victims out of their operational bus saying: “If you push victim out when the bus is on motion, he will sustain injury. The victim (Abiodun) did not sustain injury.”

    The second suspect, John, said: “I was sent to prison on remand. My case is still in court. My lawyer perfected my bail that is why I was out of the prison. I came to Lagos because my case was coming up, but these bad friends put me in trouble. I was bathing in a public toilet when police came to arrest Benjamin and arrested me also.

    ‘’I am not the one that pushed victims out of moving bus. My gang is different from their gang. They mentioned me when police arrested them. I am an armed robber, but I did not follow them to rob this victim(Abiodun). I had followed them to rob only once and my role is to put pepper in the eyes of the victim to enable me search victims, without much resistance. We poured acid on the leg of stubborn victims not the face. We were very careful with acid.’’

    The third suspect, Benjamin said: ’’I am from Ogoja, Cross River State. My wife divorced me because her mother told her that my family is associated with polygamy.

    ‘’ I came to buy second hand clothes in Lagos and pickpockets stole my money. I started sleeping at Iyana Ipaja Motor Park. When police came there with one Emeka, he pointed at me that I was one of them. I am an armed robber but I did not follow them to rob this victim (Abiodun). I have robbed seven times. I have not been arrested nor charged to court. I am very lucky.

    ‘’I slept in Iyana Ipaja Motor Park, where some people stole my money, the loss of the money I used for business made me to join a robbery gang. We don’t use gun. That thing they mistook for a gun is an ordinary spanner tied with cloth to make it look like a gun.’’

  • Of tomatoes, pepper and Dangote

    SIR: For the generality of our compatriots, the real signal that our dear nation is passing through a season of deep rooted economic dilemma is amply reflected in current irrepressible upsurge in the price of food items. Naturally, such unusual rise always comes with serious repercussion on the budgets of most homes. The reason for this is quite obvious. Food consumption is a daily necessity that every home cannot do without.

    Currently, at the kitchen departments of nearly all homes, the most trending gist, for now, is the exorbitant price of tomatoes and pepper. The common gist, among women, now centres on the high cost of tomatoes and pepper. Accordingly and, perhaps, unsurprisingly, managers of the all important kitchen department in most homes are already agitating for a corresponding increment in the monthly fund allocated for housekeeping.

    Of late, the common tendency is to ascribe increase in the price of any item to the dwindling fortune of naira against the dollar. But then, could there be any connection between rise in tomatoes’ price and the potency of dollar against naira? Why is tomato and, its ‘nephew’, pepper, gradually getting out of the reach of ordinary folks?

    One theory that actually came up in the process of trying to unearth this mystery is the Dangote connection. The mainstay of this theory, which of course has not been sufficiently proven in anyway, is that one of Dangote’s firms is responsible for the recent surge, especially in the price of tomatoes. The gist is that the firm which is basically involved in the production of tomato paste is mopping up every available tomato across town in order to meet up with production target.

    Now, the main issue of this discourse is that the current tomatoes and pepper status is an indication of the unlimited opportunities that abound in the agriculture sector.  It shows that there is a huge market for agricultural produce in the country. Therefore, there is a need to recreate a modernized professional and commercial farming sector, supported by improved infrastructure and research into high performance seeds and livestock. To encourage the teeming army of un-employed youths in the country to take to agriculture, government should make access to loans meant for agriculture easier while large scale farming powered by mechanized infrastructures should be the central goal.

    Now that all tiers of governments are groaning under severe economic burden is the exact time for us to pay sufficient attention to the agriculture sector as it offers unlimited opportunities for food security as well as job and wealth creation that could accelerate our quest for economic and industrial growth. The nation of Israel is not as fortunate as we are in this perspective. Yet, it is renowned for her rich agro-economy. We could draw lessons from China which bounced back from a great famine that took millions of lives between 1958 and 1961 to become the world’s numero uno in food production. Now that tomatoes and pepper are getting out of the reach of common men, is, indeed, the right time to pay attention to agriculture.

     

    • Tayo Ogunbiyi

    Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

  • Price of tomato, pepper rises in Lagos markets

    Price of tomato, pepper rises in Lagos markets

    Price of some food items like chilli pepper, tomato and onion has soared by over 100 per cent in markets in Lagos a week to the Christmas celebration.

    A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday showed that a basket of chilli pepper (rodo) is now N25, 000 against N12,000 it sold last week.

    A big basket of tomato, which previously ranged between N8, 000 and N11, 000, now sells for between N13, 000 and N17, 000.

    A medium-size basket of fresh pepper (tatashe) now sells for N12, 000, from N8, 000, while a jute bag of onions cost N35, 000 from the N25, 000 last week.

    Traders attributed climate change, lingering fuel scarcity and insecurity in the North as factors for the price increase.

    Mr. Femi Odusanya, the Spokesman for Mile 12 Perishable Food Traders Association, said that the climate change had adversely affected the growth of farm produce.

    “Farmers are complaining because the climate change has affected the development process of the crops.

    “Harvest that ought to have started now will be delayed till January.

    “We have few trucks bringing produce to the market, which is why there are complaints of scarcity of pepper in some areas.”

    He said that consumers would continue to spend more on these condiments till the situation improved.

    “Families that spent N500 on pepper for their stew before should be ready to spend N1000 on the same quantity.”

    Odusanya urged the government to invest in agriculture by improving the storage capacity of farmers to boost the food supplies in the country.

    Mr. Muftua Alli, the Vice-President, Iddo Market Association, said that the fuel scarcity had reduced the numbers of trucks that were coming to the market.

    Alli said that insecurity in the North-East had forced many farmers to migrate, while the remaining few were being discouraged due to losses from market supply hitches.

    He advised government to address the fuel scarcity before it crippled the economy.

  • Man, 32, held for using pepper to snatch cars

    The Edo State Police Command has arrested a 32-year-old man, Peter Okpe, for allegedly using pepper to snatch vehicles.

    Okpe was held after a car he allegedly snatched ran into a ditch on the Benin-Lagos Expressway.

    The police said he and other members of his gang hired a cab and blew some ground pepper into the eyes of the driver to snatch his vehicle.

    The suspect was said to have boarded a cab at Okada Junction and asked the driver to stop.

    He was said to have blown some pepper into the driver’s eyes and pushed him out of the car.

    Luck ran out on him when the car ran into a ditch and he was arrested by a combined team of vigilantes and policemen.

    Police spokesman Stephen Onwochei, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), described the trend as new among criminals in the state.

    He said the police would probe the matter to arrest other members of the gang.