The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Taxi Driver

  • Taxi driver speeds off with hit LASTMA official

    IT sounds like a story from a horror movie. In full public glare, a taxi driver hit a traffic manager and drove off with her as she hung on the hood of his car.

    According to Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) official Adeyinka Seriki, it all happened in Ikorodu on the outskirts of Lagos on Thursday at 6.35pm.

    She told The Nation, at the weekend, that she hung on the car hood from Igbogbo Garage on Ikorodu Road to Oluwanishola Filling Station on Baiyeku Road.

    Seriki said : “I was at my duty post with another colleague. Usually, anytime from 4pm, traffic gets busy in the area. We were controlling traffic when the taxi driver came and parked in the middle of the road. He caused gridlock. We told him to leave, but he refused. I tried to rebuke him and let him know that what he was doing was bad, but he sped off. He hit me with the car and I fell on the bonnet (hood).

    “If I had not fallen on the bonnet, the car would have crushed me. When I fell on the bonnet, instead of him to wait, he moved on with a high speed. I struggled to hold to something on the bonnet; he still drove on high speed and was swerving, trying to throw me down, but I held on to something. While the car was moving, people were trying to stop him, but he sped on and no one could stop him. Even when a trailer was coming, he tried to swerve me to the trailer so that I would fall off from the bonnet, but I thank God that I did not fall. I held the bonnet tightly. An eyewitness, who drove behind, later overtook him and he stopped at Oluwanishola Filling Station on Baiyeku Road’’.

    She said her hands were still hurting from the horrible experience.

    The LASTMA official also has bruises on her knees, which the vehicle hit, while her shoulder was dislocated.

    “I’m now receiving treatment.  It should not be when LASTMA officials are killed that the matter should be taken up. This taxi driver should pay for what he has done. It is sheer wickedness. He is like a murderer, he should face the consequences of what he has done,” Seriki said.

    An eyewitness, Oyeyemi Akieu, a security expert, said he was going home when he witnessed the incident.

    Said he: “I was going home that day. When I got to Igbogbo garage, there was traffic jam. The LASTMA officials tried to clear it. As I moved forward, I saw that people were putting their hands on their heads and shouting, ‘do you want to kill her.’ I looked ahead of me to see what was happening, and then I saw three vehicles ahead of me. I saw a LASTMA official, a woman, on top of the bonnet of a moving vehicle. The driver did not wait for her to come down. She was shouting ‘will you stop, I must not fall, let me come down’, but the driver was just swerving the car as if he wanted to throw her on the path of an oncoming vehicle.”

    Akieu added: “This made me to bring out my phone and I recorded the incident, which lasted for about five minutes, covering about 500 metres.

    “I overtook the cars ahead of me. I overtook the taxi driver and stopped in front of his car near a filling station. So he had no choice but to stop. Immediately he did, commercial motorcyclists (okada riders) and passersby, who witnessed the incident, ran towards him. Later, other LASTMA officials and the Police Mobile Force (MOPOL) came around.

    “For this to have happened shows the kind of person the driver is. How can a man leave a woman on the bonnet of a moving car? The bonnet would be hot because the car was moving. The man could have killed the LASTMA official.”

    The Head of Zone 33, Ogolonto, Ikorodu, Mr. Kayode Odunuga, said he got a distress call from Adeyinka and her colleague after 7pm of the fateful day that they needed attention.

    “We urgently called the attention of the commander of Mobile Unit 63 Igbogbo, and three armed men were deployed, who traced our officials to the incident scene. The vehicle was recovered, but the driver bolted. The vehicle was taken to Igbogbo Police Station.

    “We learnt the driver lives in the area. He fled when he sighted the police,” Odunuga said.

  • Taxi driver arraigned for alleged breach of trust

    THIRTYfive-year-old Suleiman Abubakar, who allegedly bought a car on hire purchase, but reneged on repayment, was yesterday arraigned at a Wuse Zone 2 Magistrates’ Court,  Abuja.

    The accused, a taxi driver, is facing a two-count charge of alleged criminal breach of trust and cheating.

    He pleaded not guilty.

    The prosecutor, Adeyemi Oyeyemi, insisted that Abubakar allegedly committed the offences in April 2013.

    He said the complainant,  Amos Williams, of Army Headquarters, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja, bought a Golf 3 saloon car in 2013 and gave it to Abubakar on hire purchase.

    The accused bought the car on hire purchase at N200,000, but failed to remit money to the complainant, Oyeyemi told the court.

    The offences contravene sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code.

    Magistrate Jim Zimizu admitted him to N100,000 bailwith one surety.

    The court adjourned further hearing till May 17.

  • Police escort kills taxi driver

    Men of the Rivers State Police command yesterday averted a crisis in Rumuokoro junction area of Port Harcourt, the capital.

    A police officer escorting a tanker laden with substance suspected to be illegal crude oil shot and killed a taxi driver, simply identified as Bright, and escaped.

    Eyewitnesses said: ‘’The truck ran into traffic at the junction. The police escort got off to clear the road. The victim tried to make way for the truck.

    Continuing, they said:  ‘’While the officer was trying to break the mirror on the driver’s side with the nozzle of his cocked gun, the bullet went off, killing the driver instantly.

    Fearing a mob action, he ran away.

    Angry onlookers staged a riot, insisting that the body will not be moved until the escort is produced.

    They blocked roads leading to University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, the one leading to Obio/ Akpor LGA as well as the road leading to Mile 3, causing serious traffic in the area.

    Youths marched to the nearby Rumuokoro police station in protest.

    Attempts by the police to recover the remains, failed. Over 10 truckloads of policemen were later deployed to the scene to clear the crowd.

    Relatives of the victim  could not stop crying. Efforts to speak them failed.

    Police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy superintendent of Police(DSP), confirmed the incident but said the officer, a mobile policeman, was not from the command.

    He said he learnt he was on special duty and that efforts were being made to unravel his identity.

  • Herbalist ‘defrauds’ cab driver of N4m

    Herbalist ‘defrauds’ cab driver of N4m

    A taxi driver seeking charms to boost patronage has allegedly lost N4million to a herbalist, David Abiodun.

    The victim, Adebayo Omoniyi, 38, lost the money to the herbalist, who promised to prepare a charm that would attract rich and famous clients to him.

    Abiodun was arrested by operatives of the zonal Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (ZCIID), Onikan.

    It was gathered that the operatives apprehended him in his shrine at Atan, Sango, Ogun State, last Thursday.

    According to the police, the Omu-Aran, Kwara State indigene allegedly collected N350,000 from the victim as first installment, but Abiodun denied the allegation.

    The police said: “The herbalist said after working for one Kazeem, he introduced his friend, the cab operator to him for assistance with Favour charm to boost his transport business and connect him to wealthy people in the society that can make him rich.

    “After a month, he prepared soap and some other concoctions for him, but the driver came back and accused him of fraud. He said the driver claimed what he gave him did not work as expected. He was not the first person he prepared charms for.”

    In his statement to the police, Abiodun admitted he was a herbalist and that he learnt the trade from his late grandmother.

    He said: “I was a barber before I started the herbalist job. Since I started the herbalist work I have not prepared money ritual for people, what I do is to assist those in need of favour and some other aspects.

    “I was surprised when I was told that I collected four million naira from the cab driver.  The tortoise that was recovered from my shrine and the candle inside bottled water were meant for someone.  I don’t prepare money ritual for people.”

    Zonal spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police (SP) said the suspect dressed like an old man and presented himself as herbalist.

    She said: “The suspect puts on costume to deceive people that he was a herbalist. He collected four million naira from the victim. The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Adamu Ibrahim has said that the suspect be charged to court at the completion of investigation”

  • Film expert urges stakeholders to embrace technology to enhance contents

    Mr Moses Babatope, the Group Executive Director, Film House Cinema on Wednesday, urged stakeholders in the entertainment industry to embrace modern technology to enhance their contents.

    Babatope is the director of popular films such as Wedding Party, Taxi Driver and a Trip to Jamaica.

    Babatope told the News Agency Nigeria (NAN) that the industry was capable of promoting culture and close the gap between local and international film contents.

    According to him, already the gap between Nigeria and foreign films has started closing up.

    “Thanks to technological advancement and social media which make the industry to be able to spread message of all the things it means to be a Nigerian.

    “Nigeria films are now showing more than foreign films, and I think it is worthy of emulation and celebration that this is happening in our time.

    “With institutional support from government or financial institutions, I think it is such a wonderful time for film business in Nigeria,’’ he said.

    Babatope noted that the platform had also increased beyond cinemas to online viewing of films, which had further improved revenue for the country and organisations.

    He said that TV stations had also increased due to digital switchover embarked upon by the Federal Government, which was expected to facilitate more TV stations to acquire more licenses.

    The CEO said that due to the digital switchover, many TV stations would be more careful about having the right contents for their consumers, which would provide more opportunities for content creators.

    He urged content creators to perform proper assessment on feedback to enable them know how much they could earn on a film whether on cinema, TV or online and at special places like the university environment, among others.

    “We have always known that we have big population; we also know that we are a vibrant people who are entrepreneurial in their thinking and spirit,’’ he said.

    He urged government to focus more on the entertainment industry; adding that the sector was waiting to breakout in response to the diversification initiative of the government.

    “If government gives more attention to the industry, it will grow phenomenally to become a major employer of labour,’’ he said.

  • Taxi driver breaks LASTMA official’s leg

    Taxi driver breaks LASTMA official’s leg

    A taxi driver, Sunday Agbariko, yesterday broke the leg of an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Olayemi Isiaka with his vehicle.

    He ran over Isiaka’s leg while trying to escape arrest.

    Agbariko, who is also said to be a security personnel with Mama Prayer Mountain International, at the LASTMA Ojota Yard, hit Isiaka with his Nissan Primera car marked FKJ 762 QX.

    Isiaka was said to be standing at the entrance when the incident occurred.

    Agbariko was earlier arrested by another LASTMA official for reckless and dangerous driving and also for violating the state traffic law.

    The taxi driver, who pretended to be complying by following the traffic officer to the yard, demanded for his car key on the pretext of removing vital documents. He ignited the engine, tyring to drive out of the yard dangerously and hit the victim.

    According to LASTMA Public Relations Officer Mahmud Hassan, Agbariko has been handed over to the Area F Police Command for further investigation.

    The victim is said to be receiving treatment at the Emergency Ward of Igbobi Orthopedic Hospital, Yaba.

    LASTMA General Manager, Mr Bashir Braimah, condemned the action of some drivers, who he said, are in the habit of violating traffic laws and disrespecting traffic lights and officers on duty.

    He warned that LASTMA will not be intimidated by anybody nor shy away from performing the task of maintaining law and order on Lagos roads.

  • Taxi Driver battles cinema top spot

    Taxi Driver battles cinema top spot

    One of Nollywood’s latest movies, Taxi Driver (Oko Ashewo), is reportedly in a fierce battle for top spot across Nigerian cinemas. Among the contenders is the globally acclaimed movie, Spectre, the latest installment from the James Bond 007 Franchise.

    Taxi Driver, the locally produced Nigerian film is said to have recorded a remarkable debut across screens in the country. Figures made available at the end of the release indicate a very close head-to-head with the James Bond brand.

    The weekend figures for Taxi Driver is considered by industry insiders to be the biggest of the year, sharing some similarities with last year’s release, 30 Days in Atlanta which went on to defeat every Hollywood blockbuster in its way.

    What bodes well for Taxi Driver are the rave reviews it is getting for both the performances of the acting talent and the picture itself fuelling huge optimism that the lull indigenous films have witnessed in 2015 so far has come to an end.

    Taxi Driver (Oko Ashewo) is a hilarious comedy drama about working in Lagos at night, as a taxi driver. It tells the story of how Adigun (Femi Jacobs) copes with dealing with the multitude of odd characters he comes across from Delia (Ijeoma Grace Agu) the queen prostitute, to Kakanfo (Hafiz Oyetoro) the unseen vigilante, the notorious assassins ‘three wise men’, to the Godfather, Baba Mistura and many more interesting characters that ply their trade in Lagos at night.

    The movie taps into the premise of a movie centered on the hustle and bustle of Lagos. It also delves into the action movie territory, complete with the action and suspense that sets it apart from all other Nollywood films of 2015.