Some residents of Arepo, a Lagos-Ogun border community yesterday took to the street in protest against the alleged murder of three men by the military.
It was alleged that about seven personnel of the military component of the joint task force on anti-pipeline vandalism on Sunday rounded up the three men identified as Biodun Mohammed, 24, Body and Chicago.
The security agents were said to have taken the trio, who were picked at a beer parlor in the area into a bush where they allegedly shot them and abandoned their corpses in Voera Estate.
The aggrieved residents who found the decomposing bodies of the three men, it was learnt, caused chaos in the area, denying motorists access, a situation that caused bedlam on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
It was gathered that all three bodies had bloodstains on their heads, while two of the bodies, arrest found in the creek, demarcated by a wooden bridge from the location of the third body.
The residents accused the military of killing the victims inside the bush to pass them off as vandals.
They also claimed that the security agents go beyond their assigned duties in the area by exploiting and extorting innocent people.
Both the Nigerian Army and the Navy have denied knowledge of the deaths, insisting their men involved in the operation did not report any arrest nor deaths.
The Nation contacted the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Ralph Osondu and the 9Brigade Commander, Gen. A. Biu who both said they were unaware of the incident.
Osondu said: “I am not aware of any such incident. I was with my commander today and he did not mention anything like that. Besides, I have told you before that that operation is under the Defence Headquarters. I only perform advisory role and I am not permitted to comment on the operation unless directed to do so. But I have not heard anything like that at all.”
Several telephone calls to the Ogun State Police Command’s spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi were not answered as at press time.
Mohammed was said to have been a furniture man in Shagamu were he resided and only visited to spend the holiday with his family.
According to the late Mohamed’s wife, Motunrayo who claimed she had confronted the soldiers, two of the personnel are Jason and Ola.
“It was around 7pmon Sunday. The military officers numbering about seven came to the restaurant where my husband was with his friends. I can identify two of them as Jason and Ola. I asked them what his offence was, but Jason asked me to keep quiet.
“He pointed a gun at me and threatened to shoot me if I moved closer. He did not allow my husband or his friend to utter a word. They took them away and since then we have not seen them.
“I went to report at the soldiers’ base in Ebute and they said they were not holding my husband. But this morning, some landlords in Voera Estate, where he was killed came to inform me that they had found his corpse in the bush.”
The deceased’s mother, Safura, said her son was murdered in cold blood, crying for justice.
“I was the one that called him on Saturday evening that he should come to Arepo to celebrate Easter with us and he did.
“On Sunday morning, he washed his clothes and ate. In the evening, he went to the restaurant to rest where he was arrested. The soldiers took them from there and went to execute them in the forest.
Nigeria’s High Commissioner in Cameroon, Ambassador Hadisa Mustapha has said there are four million hardworking Nigerians in the country.
She made the disclosure onboard Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) OKPABANA at the weekend in Douala, during a dinner with Nigeria’s contingent to exercise Obangame/Saharan Express.
Describing as untrue the allegation of hostilities against Nigerians in Cameroon, Mustapha stated that the relationship between both countries have improved significantly since the conclusion of the rivalry over Bakassi Peninsula.
“The seeming hostility against Nigerians in Cameroon are mere allegations. There are four million hardworking Nigerians here. We have professional Nigerians, business people and people in the car, spareparts businesses. We also have professional in the international organisations, teachers and clergymen.
“As an Embassy, we get report on all issues concerning Nigerians and we have three missions here – two consulate and the High Commission.
“I want to say that there is a lot of improvement in the situation with Nigerians. This started from the end of Bakassi. Definitely, there are a few issues and most have to do with immigration status of Nigerians.
“I do not want to say it is trend that is so rampant or that it is an issue against Nigerians per se. Every country has its own policies and security measures. With the security challenges around, every country is trying to do its best to curb crime and criminality.
“As a mission, we are very much in touch with our community. We meet with them often and whenever they bring their problems, we take the matter to the authorities and they listen to us,” she said.
Mustapha commended the Navy for its participation in the exercise, noting that aside showcasing its military might, the ship has promoted maritime diplomacy.
“This is the second Obangame Express I have witnessed. It is always nice to see our ship in harbour of a foreign country flying our flag. The exercise itself is very important for our military, particularly the navy to show we have full control of our maritime domain.
“It is also a very good way of promoting maritime diplomacy. So, we are very happy and proud to have NNS OKPABANA here,” she said.
As an auxiliary nurse, Yusuf Omobolanle Hasfat, 32, had high hopes when she was introduced to one Alhaja Lateefat Sanni, who “takes people to America”.
The young daughter of a National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) executive in Ojota, was filled with dreams of a good job and a better life once she arrives America, such that she even parted with N1, 000,000 which was handed over to Alhaji Muritala Sanni, her ‘benefactor’s’ husband in the presence of Mrs. Sanni’s mother, Ebunoluwa Bankole.
Mrs. Ebunoluwa Bankole
But her dream was never to be as soon after paying the money, the reality of her flying to America became a horrid, brutish road trip which commenced on December 28, last year from Lagos through Kano and across the deserts terminating at Alhaja Sanni’s house in Tripoli, Libya after 11 days.
While some of the girls aged between 12 and 15 years were passed off as colanuts to soldiers and other security agents on the road, others were flogged or had their money seized, and the weaker girls who could not survive the jungle, fell off the truck in which they were lumped dying like chickens.
The victim who was rescued and returned to Nigeria on January 23, alongside one Basirat Lamidi and have since been under protective custody, on Wednesday relived her ordeal.
Hasfat and Lamidi, according to their lawyer, Ojay Akinwale who’s President, Alliance of Rights Defenders (ARD) the right group incharge of the case were not exposed to the media until this week because their traffickers were still on the loose.
Rescued victims Hasfat and Lamidi
At the lawyer’s office in Anthony, Hasfat said they were given garri, groundnut, five litres of water, powdered milk, milo and a blanket and jacket at Agadashe in Libya, with about 20 girls paired in a room to sleep, narrating how Cucumber was used to deflower teenaged girls who are sent to a brothel in a place called New York.
“The experience was horrible. At a point I begged to return to Nigeria but they told me that there was no going back. I did not know that we will be forced into prostitution. Infact initially I was told that I will be taken to America.
“I even paid one million Naira in two instalments. The first time I paid N500,000 to Alhaji Sanni infront of his wife and his wife’s mother, Mrs. Ebunoluwa.
“I met his wife through a relative who told me that she used to help people go to America. Alhaja Sanni told me that she has brother’s in America who will ensure I got a job.
“Alhaja later collected another N500,000 from me which she said was for hotel accommodation and other expenses. It was I and a 19-year-old girl that she had the meeting with at National Theatre in Lagos.
The couple, Alhaji Muritala Sanni and Alhaja lateefat Sanni
“After paying her the money, she said plans have changed and we are no longer going by air. She boarded us into a bus from Lagos to Kano from there we moved into a truck on the journey through the desert. There were about 25 to 40 people in the truck and we embarked on the journey on December 28.
“Some people were falling off the truck and dying on the way. We moved from Kano to Niger and from Niger to Agadesh. At each point, they handed us over to different cartel who will traffick us from one point to the other. They called the traffickers bulger.
“When we got to Niger, the soldiers there brought all the ladies down and they flogged us with whip.
They also raped some of the girls and stole money from us. They flogged me too but I was not raped because I had money to give them.
“I was fasting and praying all through the journey for God to save our lives. At a point, I begged to return to Nigeria but the cartel said there is no going back.
“When we got to Agadashe in Libya, she gave us garri, groundnut, five litres of water, powdered milk, milo, a blanket and jacket. We slept in the room about 20 of us. It took us 11 days to travel by road and the experience was horrible and deadly.
“We saw girls between 12 and 15 years old in the rooms. They were up to 100 of them in Alhaja Muritala’s house in Tripoli. We were not allowed to make calls as they seized our phones. I started troubling Mrs Lateefat Sanni that she should take me to America as she promised but she said I have to stay in Libya for sometime and work for her as a prostitute.
“She told me that since I refused to work as a prostitute, I should do my work to help abort pregnancy for the girls but I refused. Alhaji Sanni told me that if I want to return to Nigeria, I should call somebody to give him N3million for my release.
“I had to find a way to reach my family and I called for help. The human rights people came to my rescue and two of us were rescued to Nigeria but Alhaja Muritala and his wife had planned for us to be killed on the way.
“I saw girls dying they use cucumber to disvirgin girls between 13 and 15 years old in the brothel. The girls are made to sleep with men for N10dina (N1000) for a round of sex, 50 dina for over night. A girl called Dorcas and another girl called Joy died in my presence.
“Alhaji got a flight for us to return to Nigeria after pressure from the human rights group became unbearable for him and his wife but the plane stopped in Ghana. Mrs Lateefat gave us white and green dresses to wear. We thought she wanted us to wear good clothes but unknown to us, she used the clothes to mark us and as we boarded the bus from Ghana to Nigeria, we didn’t know she had hired assassin to kill us but we were rescued by the human rights group and brought to Nigeria on January 23,” she explained.
Corroborating the victim’s story, an Anglican Church Pastor in Tripoli, Ayobami Ayorinde, who was contacted through telephone said he has been sending some of the affected girls back home since 2012, such that he has exhausted his money.
He accused the Nigerian mission in Libya of neglecting the girls, explaining that he has even tried to get decent jibs for some of the victims.
“The problem is that many desperate people want to leave Nigeria to seek greener pastures abroad. Most of these Nigerians are from single parent home and they feel coming to Europe will solve their problems. They have cartels that prey on these vulnerable Nigerians and traffick them to Libya to work as prostitutes.
“I have been sending these girls back home since 2012. I have exhausted the cash on me and I don’t have money to send them back home.
The Nigeria Embassy in Libya is not helping these girls to return home. They turn their back on them. I am trying to help some of them get job so they can save money and return home,” he explained.
How NGO intervened
According to the lawyer, the group received a petition from the victims’ families in Lagos and Ogun State indicating that their children have been trafficked to Libya and forced into prostitution by a cartel headed by the Libya based couple who are indigenes of Odeda village in Ogun state.
He stated that the petitioners fingered Mrs. Ebunoluwa Bankole, a grandmother as a conspirator indicating that she was the only who lures young girls into the evil trade to please her daughter and son-in-law.
As a result of the petition, Akinwale said the NGO sponsored a private investigator, Prince Tunji Oshokoya to Libya, who uncovered the activities of the cartel, as well as facilitated the rescue of the two girls.
“We got a complaint from the families of one Yusuf Hafsat Omobolanle and one Basirat Lamidi that their daughters were illegally trafficked to Libya by one Mrs Ebunoluwa Bankole, Alhaji Muritala Sanni and his wife Alhaja Lateefat Sanni. We employed a private investigator, a former crime reporter one Prince Tunji Oshokoya to use his experience to track down this cartel.
“Following his investigation, we found out that the two ladies were trafficked illegally with fake passports to Libya by road through the desert by one Alhaji Muritala Sanni and his wife Alhaja Lateefat Sanni, indigenes of Odeda village in Ogun state to Libya to work as prostitutes.
“We learnt that the cartel collected between N500,000 to N1.5 million to traffick girls by road through the desert to Libya after procuring fake passports for them and forcing them to take oath of allegiance after which the girls’ passports are seized and they are made to go through horrific experiences as prostitutes in Libya.
“Mrs Ebunoluwa Bankole, the mother of Alhaja Lateefat Bankole helps to lure parents and guardians to allow thier daughters to go to Libya. She would tell them that the daughters will earn good money doing jobs like hair dressing and tailoring. She also helps her daughter to take the girls to the shrine were they are made to go through ritual process of allegiance to the couple.
“She follows her daughter and son-in-law to Lagos to collect money from the innocent girls and thier parents that she will help them travel to America with the connection of her daughter,” he said.
Continuing the lawyer said the group reported the case to National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, which led to the arrest of the grandmother.
He however expressed reservations on the manner the agency was handling the case, wondering why they wanted to take the woman to Ogun state for prosecution.
He explained that photographs of the cartel members were handed over to NAPTIP, just as the NGO lured her daughter to Nigeria to be nabbed but she escaped.
He said: “Through our investigation, we got the photographs of Alhaji Muritala and Alhaja lateefat to NAPTIP but sadly when they went to Abeokuta to arrest Alhaja Lateefat, her sister came out of the house and started shouting “thieves! thieves!”
“That was her the community members came out and attacked the NAPTIP officials with broken bottles and other dangerous weapon. The community members overpowered the NAPTIP officers and the policemen that came for the arrest and they whisked Alhaja Lateefat away. That was how she escaped and she is back in Libya.
“However, the NAPTIP officers arrested her mother, Mrs. Bankole three days later and she is in the custody of the NAPTIP. What we are hearing from NAPTIP is that they want to take her back to Abeokuta to prosecute her but to me that is not right because the girls were trafficked from Lagos not from Abeokuta.
“The crime was committed in Lagos so NAPTIP should not play any funny games. We are concerned and decided to get the media involved because NAPTIP has not been forthcoming with information to us. They do not carry us along and it is as if they want to bury the case. We also heard that the community members that attacked the NAPTIP officers, who were later arrested and were being taken to Lagos, were aided to escape while about five of them that they brought to Lagos have since been granted bail.
“To us this is not right because they obstructed official duty by attacking the operatives.
Oshokoya who carried out the investigation stated that the couple are known as Baba Tawa and Mama Tawa in Tripoli, adding that they are very influential in that country.
“This couple are highly connected in Libya and in Abeokuta. We lured Mrs. Sanni to Nigeria and she was apprehended by the police but one police officer known as Yusuf Bola of Ogun state command granted her bail after she gave him N500,000.
“She promised to give me N2 million as bribe to back down from the case but I refused and insisted that the two ladies be returned to Nigeria. She agreed to release them to us after signing an agreement but the cartel wanted to kill the ladies before they got to Nigeria.
“We intercepted the ladies at Seme border with the help of the police and rescued them to Nigeria. From our investigation, the couple Alhaji Muritala and his wife run brothels in Libya where over 500 girls are kept for prostitution.
“These girls live in underground rooms with about twenty of them in a room. One girl can be made to sleep with 10 to 15 men in a day. This cartel made these girls to swear to a false oath of secrecy, they seized their phones such that they cannot communicate with their families.
“The girls live in a tiny room and are fed with oil and flour once a day. We have video recordings of this hell of a brothel they run and we handed the information to NAPTIP. Some of the girls have died from infections like HIV/AIDs, others are raped in what is called baptism of the virgin or rape spree which is done by Muritala Sanni and other Libyan men. It’s the height of man’s inhumanity to man and a modern day slavery which should not be allowed to thrive,” said Oshokoya.
Other victims cry for help
Although Hafsat and Lamidi have returned safely in Nigeria, it was learnt that hundreds of girls including one Ebunoluwa Lawal, 26, are crying for help.
Lawal who is known as Smally in Libya was allegedly trafficked in 2012 by Mrs. Sanni’s sister identified as Aunty Bola and another Sir K.
Lawal who now lives with Pastor Ayorinde told reporters on telephone that she was deceived that she will be taken to Spain where she can continue her fashion designing work.
She said: “They call me Smally in Libya. It was Mrs. Lateefat Sanni’s sister one Aunty Bola and one Sir K that trafficked me through the desert to Libya in 2012. I was a fashion designer in Abeokuta when I was lured to Libya.
“They told us that they are taking us to Spain to continue my handwork. We were forty in number. I did not pay them any money for the trip. My parents do not know about the journey. We were kept in a room in Libya and forced into prostitution but I ran away and have been hiding since then.
“I want to come back to Nigeria but there is no money. I went to Nigeria Embassy but they turned me and other girls back. I am trying to work so I can save money and return to Nigeria but it’s not easy. I heard they are looking for me to kill me but a pastor is helping young girls to escape. We were about 10 to 15 in a room. They collect all the money we make and seized our passports”.
Justice for the victims?
Akinwale who said he was pained over the plight of the victims urged the federal government to as a matter if emergency, end the trade.
He also called for the prosecution of the culprits and all those who attacked state officials who went to Abeokuta to arrest Mrs. Sanni.
According to him, the community members should be tried for obstructing the process of justice, just as the couple should be repatriated and prosecuted.
He also noted the unholy role of some policemen in Abeokuta who allegedly aided the woman to escape, wondering why such a couple should be given chieftaincy titles.
“This couple have chieftaincy titles in their village and they eat and dine with the Ambassador of Nigeria to Libya. It is sad indeed that Nigerian government is not caring for her citizens and they are being trafficked and made to live as slaves.
“Government should see human trafficking worst than drug trafficking. We call on the government to arrest those behind these human trafficking rings. They should be prosecuted and the over 100 trafficked girls should be returned to their families.
“The Nigeria Embassy in Libya should wake up and protect Nigerians in that country. From what we gathered, Alhaja Sanni is back in Libya and has employed some OPC members to help keep watch over the other girls so they do not escape. This woman and her husband with others should be arrested by Interpol and brought back to Nigeria to face the wrath of the law. Our government should not treat this matter with kid gloves.”
NAPTIP keeps mum
The Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Joseph Famakin when contacted said he was not on seat and cannot say which exact story was being referred to.
“I can’t answer your question because my head is not a computer to know which person is being investigated as we have over 98 cases on our hands. It is not possible for me to answer your question.”
Similarly, the Zonal spokesperson for NAPTIP, Hajara said she could not comment on the issue.
Rescue workers on Wednesday retrieved 16 more bodies from the building collapse site in Ikate, Lekki bringing the dead toll to 34 as at 4pm.
This is just as many persons, bodies were suspected to still be trapped underneath the rubble of the five-storey building that caved in at the wee hours of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) have released the corpse of one Aba Ali to his relatives for burial after proper documentation.
Ali’s body was handed over to one Gaji Mohammed who said the family was proceeding to Marecas cemetery to bury him in line with Islamic rites.
Stench from the retrieved bodies rent the air, an indication that they were already decomposing.
Meanwhile, residents and relatives of victims have punctured claims by the developer, Lekki Gardens that construction work has been suspended since January.
They described as complete falsehood, the company’s claim that work was suspended after the defect in the structure was discovered, insisted that more workers were brought in on Monday because they were about to begin casting (concrete work).
Similarly, a staff with Lekki Gardens, Vincent Paul disclosed that work was done in the building last week.
He said: “We have never stopped work on the site. I have worked with the Lekki Garden for four years. I know how they complete their work. I am still looking for my friend Sunday John, 29.
“I saw him last on Monday. He told me he had work to do here. But I told him I had other things to attend to. I have called his mobile line but it hasn’t been reachable. I have checked all the bodies and I didn’t see him. He is married with a child but his family is based in Benue State.”
Secretary, Hausa Community in Eti-Osa LGA, Auwalu Hassan, said 25 northerners were involved in the mishap, adding that six bodies have been retrieved.
He identified some of the victims as Johson, Yohana, Maria with four children, Yakub, John, Elias and Yohana), Isiak, saidu, Gwoni, Buhari, Abba and Mustapha.
An artisan who miraculously escaped the disaster said he left the building on Monday night out of anger.
“When I heard that the site engineer was not coming to pay our N10, 000 weekly wages and N500 daily feeding allowance, I left the site angrily because the engineer had defaulted for two weeks. Although he promised to pay on Tuesday but contacting him on phone was futile.
I called my elder brother, Alli Abbah, to know if he (engineer) had fulfilled his promise. But the response from my brother was that the building had caved in. He further said that he was trapped under the rubble and that he had sustained severe injury on his right thigh. I lost my friend to the collapse. It is a painful incident.”
At the Island General Hospital were some of the rescued survivors were rushed to, it was gathered that one of them died few seconds after arrival the hospital and was moved to the mortuary.
The Nation gathered that the victim might have died because his friends gave him water after he pleaded with them that he was thirsty.
Sources at the hospital said 13 persons were brought in for treatment, adding that 12 of them were at the Emergency wards, while one passed on.
They disclosed that two of the victims were wheeled to the X-ray section, complaining about the inadequacies of the wheelchairs.
He said: “One of the rescued workers of the collapsed building was wheeled to the X-ray centre few minutes ago.
“The facility used in wheeling the patients was not effective because the wheelers spend more time struggling to wheel the patients to the next ward where they are expected to receive treatment.”
Confirming the death toll, LASEMA’s General Manager, Michael Akindele and the Coordinator, National Emergency management Agency (NEMA) South-West, Yakubu Sulaimon said that though the rescue operation was yet to be completed but additional 16 bodies have been recovered from the site, increasing the death toll to 34.
“Our aim was to rescue more persons than recovery of bodies.18 persons were recovered few hours after the building caved in on Tuesday.
“We have about three excavators working to rescue whoever is left under the rubbles. We are working to ensure that the bodies are not mutilated during the rescue operation. The rescue operation has reached over 70 percent.
“For Muslims who were agitating for the release of their relatives’ bodies, we are working on proper documentation on how to release the bodies to them. They will need to present police report, Lagos state government official report and a means of identification,” said Akindele.
Akindele also disclosed that the state government might pull down down a nearby five-storey building still under construction to avoid a similar situation.
The building being constructed by same company which has been sealed, already has visible cracks all over it.
At the time of filing this report, the Lagos State Safety Commission and the State Building Control Agency, LASBCA have sealed over 20 buildings in the community.
As part of efforts to rid the country of terrorists, the Nigerian Navy (NN) has commenced plans for the establishment of a Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Lake Chad.
This disclosure was made on Tuesday in Lagos, during a training seminar organised by the Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) themed ‘the future of professional training in the Nigerian Navy’.
In his opening remark, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok Ette-Ibas noted that conventional security challenges have forced the navy to move towards adopting new strategies.
Using the navy’s participation in the northeast operation against terrorist sect, Boko Haram, as well as the force’ battle against militants and vandals in the creeks as examples, Ibas said he directed a review of the navy’s training curriculum to address the challenges.
According to Ibas, the establishment of an FOB in Lake Chad, creation of choke-points by placing house boats around the creeks, as well as the enhancement of surveillance capacities were among the new strategies adopted.
He said: “For over five years we have relied majorly on the Regional Maritime Awareness Capability (RMAC) that gives us an eye over the horizon.
“We have commenced the process of emplacing a more robust surveillance system, FALCON EYE, which when completed, will provide surveillance on the entire 200 nautical miles of our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
“This will therefore boost our ability to contain the notorious maritime challenges that we presently have out there.
“The navy in particular has been obliged in the context of the prevailing national emergency to transit a complicated range of a full spectrum of warfare. From her traditional maritime environment in which she engages in ensuring order in the EEZ and territorial waters, washing ashore to be occupied by complex riverine and brown water operations, to a completely new challenge of engaging in fighting in build-up area and desert warfare, as obtained in the northeast theatre.
“On account of the foregoing, the navy has in the last couple of years found herself increasingly assuming operational responsibilities in the continental theatre. Even more profoundly is the asymmetric characteristics of the engagement.
“Suddenly, the navy has had to find herself fighting an adversary who uses unconventional weapons and tactics, employing terrorism to exploit the vulnerabilities of own forces.
“All of these have impacted a compelling need to admit new weapons and technologies, tactics, doctrinal shift and logistics management.
“The evolving scenario has necessitated significant changes in our operational procedures, particularly in addressing the spate of crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and attacks on shipping.”
He also hinted on plans by the navy to establish a maritime university for the training of its personnel and other maritime stakeholders within and outside the country.
Earlier, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) NAVTRAC, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo who noted that the command conducts over 120 courses in its 11 colleges and schools, added that the naval training was a function of operational realities, technological changes and fleet renewal.
“As we have witnessed in the past two decades, the operational doctrine of the NN has been challenged by emerging threats in our maritime environment.
“With attendant need for new technologies and fleet recapitalisation. As a result, it became apparent that we need to devote significant efforts towards reflecting on extant doctrine as well as the future direction of training in the NN,” he said.
Osinowo disclosed that the command has in the last six months embarked on a comprehensive review of the existing curricula in all NN training institutions.
“The review involved identifications of additions, retentions and deletions as well as recognition of new fleet and technologies. Apart from generating inputs from the operational command’s, an effort was made to align the courses conducted with global maritime training standards while new and more impactful teaching methods are being integrated into our practices,” he said.
At the seminar were Commandant, National Defence Academy (NDA), Rear Admiral Ilesanmi Alade; FOC, Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Raphael Osondu; Director of Operations, Naval Headquarters, Rear Admiral Uduak Essien; Admiral Superintendent, Naval Doctrine and Assessment Centre, Rear Admiral Jacob Ajani; Director of Naval Information, Commodore Chris Ezekobe and Commodore, among others.
Retired naval officers including Rear Admirals Ndubuisi Kanu, O.O. Joseph and Francis Akpan were also at the event.
The three female students of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary (BMJS) who were rescued from kidnappers’ den on are recovering, The Nation has learnt.
The teenagers who were initially taken to their school to be reunited with their parents, were later conveyed in a white school bus to hospital inside Police College, Ikeja, to shield them from media exposure.
It was learnt that the girls who were traumatised are currently undergoing therapy.
The Nation gathered that all three girls were yet to resume school and were in the same location, within the country, surrounded by their parents and loved ones.
Confirming this development, Oluwatimilehin’s father, Ven. Victor Ayo Olusa, who’s the executive secretary, Anglican Schools’ Management Board said medical examination has been conducted on the teenagers.
He explained that they were avoiding anything that would remind the teenagers of the period they were in captivity, assuring that the girls were recovering.
“No, they have not resumed school yet and all three of them are in the same location. They are in the country.
“Like any other person, we were in a state of anxiety and tension when they were held hostage. It was unimaginable and very traumatic.
“But as Christians, we were optimistic and have faith that they will come back. We believed that no matter how bleak a situation, God will intervene.
“The girls were traumatised when they were rescued. It was not easy for them. Imagine someone who used to sleep on the bed to start sleeping in an unconducive place.
“They are recuperating. Yes, medical examination has been conducted on them. They are happy being surrounded by their loved ones but at times, they feel down when they remember that they were isolated.
“All three of them are classmates. We do not want subject them to anything that will make them recall while they were in captivity,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni has said the police was on the trail of other culprits in the girls’ kidnap.
Owoseni stated this while addressing reporters at the police command in Ikeja, explaining that the police shielded the girls from the public because they are 14 years and to avoid their being stigmatised.
He assured that the operation was far from being concluded, adding that a lot of information have been gathered towards the apprehension of fleeing suspects and their accomplices.
The commissioner dismissed fears that Ikorodu has turned to a safe haven for kidnappers.
“Our greatest challenge was in rescuing the girls unhurt, and not in combating the criminals. We were being cautious because we knew that facing the kidnappers headlong could lead to their harming the girls.
“Rescuing the girls is one leg of the operation. Work has just begun now because we are on the trail of the other culprits. We have built on a whole lot of information and our job is not completed until all those involved are rounded off, as well as their aiders,” he said.
The Nation gathered plans were underway to launch a simultaneous operation in Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Edo and Delta to fish out dislodged vandals and criminals element hiding in the creeks.
It was gathered that the operation has become expedient following the spate of armed robbery and kidnappings perpetrated through the waterways.
It was learnt that the criminals go into hiding in those places after each operation, because they know that the areas are not easily accessible to security agents.
Denies alleged police partisanship in Mile 12 clash
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni yesterday said the police was on the trail of other culprits in the kidnap of three girls from Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary (BMJS) Ikorodu.
Owoseni stated this while addressing reporters at the police command in Ikeja.
Oluwatimilehin Olusa, Tofunmi Popoolaniyan and Deborah Akinayo were rescued on Sunday morning at Igbo-Okuta Bridge, after spending six days in the Adamo creeks with their kidnappers.
Owoseni who explained why the police shielded the girls from the public, assured that the operation were far from being concluded.
According to Owoseni, the command has built on a lot of information, assuring that all those who took part in the abduction as well as their accomplices will be apprehended and brought to justice.
The commissioner dismissed fears that Ikorodu has turned to a safe haven for kidnappers.
“Our greatest challenge was in rescuing the girls unhurt, and not in combating the criminals. We were being cautious because we knew that facing the kidnappers headlong could lead to their harming the girls.
“Rescuing the girls is one leg of the operation. Work has just begun now because we are on the trail of the other culprits. We have built on a whole lot of information and our job is not completed until all those involved are rounded off, as well as their aiders,” he said.
Meanwhile, the commissioner took a swipe at those accusing the police of taking sides in the Mile 12, Agiliti crisis, describing the allegation as cheap blackmail.
Owoseni who insisted that he led the operation and not the Area Commander nor the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ketu as alleged, insisted that his men dis their job devoid of sentiments.
He also pecked the figures of suspects arrested at 174, adding that investigations were ongoing to ascertain their culpability.
“Mile 12 is relatively calm and the process of healing has commenced in terms of dialogue. 174 suspects were arrested and at the moment investigations and auditing are ongoing.
“It was miscreants that were involved in that fight and not normal Yorubas or Hausas. Even when the fight was on, some Hausas hid Yoruba children in their shops, likewise some Yorubas hid Hausa people in their homes.
“All those trying to play on ethnic or religious sentiments are using cheap blackmail. It is mere fabrication that police or security agencies took sides in that fight. We did our job there devoid of sentiments,” he said.
A yet-to-be-identified Togolese woman has reportedly fled with a month-old baby identified as Mustapha Ibrahim.
The incident occurred at 14, Ago Street, Okokomaiko in Ojo, a Lagos district on February 20, at about 3pm.
It was gathered that the woman who was brought to the compound by another Togolese identified as Sekinat, was introduced to the baby’s parents as Sekinat’s elder sister,
but the said Sekinat who it was learnt had lived in the compound with Mr. and Mrs. Ganiyu Ibrahim, the parents of the kidnapped baby, denied knowing the suspect before policemen.
She was said to have told detectives that she met the woman at Trade Fair International Market on Febraury 19, and assisted her because she needed a place to sleep, but while Mustapha’s mother was having her bath, the suspect carried the sleeping baby and fled.
It was learnt that efforts to locate the suspect and the baby in Lagos have not been successful, such that the police have notified the Interpol on the issue.
Recounting her ordeal, Mrs. Ibrahim said: “Before the incident, Sekinat whom we call aunty, brought the lady and introduced her to us as her elder sister. I allowed her to play with my baby. A few minutes later, she handed my son to me and left.
“The following day, Sekinat left around 7am for Alaba International Market, where she runs a food canteen. She left her elder sister at home with the baby. When I discovered the suspect was still in Sekinat’s room, I didn’t entertain any fear due to the earlier introduction made by Sekinat.
“Around 3pm, my son fell asleep. I decided to quickly bath. When I returned to my room, I discovered that my baby was not where I left him.
“Immediately, I raised alarm. My neighbours informed me that they saw a lady with a baby. They didn’t stop her because they thought the baby was her son. All effort to trace her proved abortive.”
When contacted, the state command’s spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police said the case has been transferred to the Gender Desk Unit of the command.
She stated that efforts were in top gear to track the suspect and recover the child, adding that the Interpol department of the police force has been involved.
Badmos assured that the child will soon be reunited with his parents, just as she warned parents to stop entrusting strangers with their wards.
