The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Temitayo Ayetoto

  • Police allegedly shoots tricyclist in Lagos

    Police allegedly shoots tricyclist in Lagos

    •We’re investigating the incident- Spokesperson

    Barely one week after a 35-year-old fashion designer, Hassan Taiwo, died after he was shot by a policeman in Lagos Island, another police officer attached to the Lion Building Division, Superintendent Raji, has allegedly shot a Lagos Island-based commercial tricyclist, Adisa Fatade.
    The 37 -year -old transporter who plies Tinubu- Tom Jones axis was shot during a police raid on warring hoodlums around Martins/Evans Streets at about 12 p.m on Thursday.
    He was said to have visited his sister’s restaurant and was leaving when the officer shot.
    Fatade was rushed to the hospital but was not treated until a police report was provided.
    The Nation gathered that the police afterwards stormed the hospital and handcuffed the victim on account of being a criminal.
    The police allgedly threatened his sister, Abimbola Tijani, who refuted the claim that Fatade was among the criminals. She said the officers accused her of conniving with a criminal in sheer defence of their indiscretions.
    According to her, Fatade had just finished eating when the news of the fight came. She explained that many shop owners immediately locked up for fear that the police might arrive soon.
    She was seeing Fatade off when the police arrived and began to shoot sporadically in the direction of those fleeing for their dear lives.
    “It happened the second day after Hassan was shot. Some people were fighting in the area, and everyone wanted to close their stores and leave. That was when the police arrived. People started running on sighting them and the police started shooting in our direction. By the time we stopped running, my brother was already bleeding profusely. We rushed him to the Lagos Island General Hospital, where they asked us to bring a police report. Before we knew it, the police came to meet us and asked about the person who was shot. They asked us how it happened and I said he had just finished eating at my shop and I wanted to see him off when he was shot. I don’t know the particular police officer that shot him but when we got to the station, one officer who identified himself as Raji said he fired three shots. He added that one of the bullets hit a man while the two other bullets did not hit anyone.
    “That was how they asked me to shut up, that he is a criminal, but I insisted he is not. Raji then grabbed my neck and he almost slapped me while dragging me to their van. About four hours, they told me that my brother needed blood and that I should call anyone I could. I told them I was the only one around.
    ‘’My husband arrived and was angry. The policemen now accused me of supporting a rioter. They told me I would be surprised with where I will land myself. Around 7 p.m, my husband went for a lawyer who said he would bail me. But before they could grant me bail, they asked me to pay for my brother’s treatment. Thereafter, they claimed they released me in order to stay with my brother. They gave me all the receipts with which they paid. They gave me the analysis of the hospital bills and the pints of blood they bought,” said Tijani.
    Tijani said the police has vowed to charge Fatade to court after recovery.
    Contacted, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Dolapo Badmos, said the matter is currently being investigated.
    She said: “The allegation of his being chained is a lie, and I know that would not have emerged from the family.
    ‘’The command is investigating the circumstances that led to the incident, be rest assured that if the policeman(Raji) is found wanting. he will be sanctioned.’’

  • How gunmen robbed, raped us – Corps members

    How gunmen robbed, raped us – Corps members

    It was a sorrowful nightfall for two members of the National Youth Service Corps last Wednesday in Asarama Community, Andoni Local Government Area, Rivers State, after they were robbed and raped by suspected militants.
    The victims were said to be in bed at their unsecured lodge in an isolated part of the community when the gunmen broke into their rooms to rob and rape them.
    The operation which started at midnight lasted for more than two hours, with two female corps members raped, and phones, food stuff, clothes, shoes, money among others carted away.
    One of the victims who didn’t want her name in print in a telephone conversation with The Nation explained that the gunmen numbering seven wore face caps except for the ring leader, who was hooded.
    She said the gunmen hinged their actions on the failure of the government to pay them their dues.
    “The gunmen broke the door with their legs. No burglary proof or protector. We were about seven in the lodge. We had five serving Corps members, one ex-corps member and one other person. They entered my room and I was told to knock on other rooms. They came here with guns and cutlasses. They were about seven in number. They asked all of us out of our rooms and they led all of us into an empty room. Then later they came to ask if we had any male Corps member because the lodge is like a wing. It was the first wing they robbed in the first hour of the operation. In that first wing, we had just one male Corps member; so they took him to the other room and beat him with a cutlass. They asked him to pull his trousers.
    ‘’We, the girls were packed in an empty room and they told us to stand up one after the other and they led us to our rooms. Some phones were collected and luckily for some of us, our phones were not with us because we were charging it. I had my phone with  me but immediately they came, I hid my phone because they did not come with a torch. It was our torch they were collecting. There has not been light in our lodge since we started serving. We have been using a generator set and we don’t put it on overnight. So there was no light and they didn’t come with any source of light. They asked me to put on my torch. They asked us how much we had as they led us to our rooms. As they were doing that, they were beating, slapping and hitting us. They searched the rooms and asked us to bring the money. So I think because I was fidgeting, I told them the amount I didn’t have. The one I had I gave them and they were asking for the remaining one. I was still checking when one of them came in to scatter all my stuff. And I was  trying to tell him that was just all I had. They asked me to kneel down and went into other people’s room to do the same thing. 
    “When he came back into my room, he locked the door and asked me to look for the money, else he would kill me. I told them that I didn’t have any money apart from the one I already gave them. Then he (gunmen) asked me to pull my dress, and I was actually raped that night. I struggled but he overpowered me. He was beating and slapping me. The marks are still on my body. He was the one who had the gun with him and he had already locked the door on us. One other female Corps member was raped in our room too.
    After that, he told me to lie faced down on my bed, then also took some things from my room and left. He told me to lock the door when he left and warned that I shouldn’t open the door for any other person that when he wants to come, he would knock.
    Then I was hearing footsteps; I think they were carrying the food stuff that they saw in other rooms. They went to the other wing where they met two men and a lady and  they collected their phones, foods stuff, clothes, shoes, and some plates too. All these lasted for more than two hours. They sounded local and they were saying “since the government did not pay us; no vex o. All these things, na hunger cause am. If government no pay us, then if we get gun, we go find our way.’’
    Expatiating further, she said: “There is no police station in that area. And our lodge is bushy, so even if we called for help, no one would have heard us. If you are coming into the community, our lodge is the first house. It was my pastor who took us to a hospital. The hospital is in another community entirely, there is no health facility where our quarters is located.
    “The local inspector, local government chairman and some other people visited us in the hospital and took care of our hospital bill. We were adequately treated and given drugs to prevent pregnancy or infection. They told us to leave the place.
    “So, the place is under lock now. I feel very bad. It’s very heartbreaking and traumatising but I know God has just been helping me. And with the people around me, I’ve been so encouraged. I know God knows about everything that happened and I know those that did it will not go unpunished.”
    She condemned the state of insecurity especially in hinterland communities like Asarama saying: “There was a time they raised an issue that everybody will be left in his or her own geopolitical zones, so even if they wouldn’t want to scrap it, we should be posted within our geopolitical zones. If I was in my own place, whatever they were saying, I could pick up some little things from it when they were speaking the language and that could even be used to trace them. But in a place like that, by 5 or 6pm, you have to be in your own house and if something happens, you don’t know how to communicate. Even if someone is talking about killing you, you cannot understand to save yourself. If it will not be scrapped, they should maintain us in our own geopolitical zones and they should ensure security measures because we did not say we wanted to serve. They made it compulsory for us, so once we have agreed that we want to serve our country, they should make sure security measures are high. There is no security where we are and I think that was what gave the gunmen confidence because they know there is nowhere we can run to for help.”
    Meanwhile, other corps members have become apprehensive since the incident, especially the females.
    According to one of the corps member serving in the same community, no measures have been instilled to forestall further attacks in the area. She said it took the intervention of the Zonal Inspector to approve their relocation to safer areas as the Local Inspector insisted they stay or face harsh consequences. 
    According to her: “The proximity of our lodge to the scene coupled with no guaranteed  security had set panic in us, we don’t know these guys  neither do we know what line of action they would take next, we just thought  it’s better to be proactive and not just take a harmful risk. So, we all decided to vacate the lodge and not to return.’’
  • NSCDC uncovers illegal bunkering site in Alimosho

    NSCDC uncovers illegal bunkering site in Alimosho

    Operatives of the National Security and Civil Defense Corps, (NSCDC) on Friday uncovered illegal fuel bunkering activities at a boundary between Mosan Okunola and Agbado/ Oke Odo Local Council Development Areas of Alimosho, a suburb of Lagos..

    The operatives were led by NSCDC Commandant, Tajudeen Balogun to the site where it was discovered that some people had been siphoning petrol from a Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline across a river in the communities.

    The pipeline was reportedly vandalised by a syndicate in the area.

    Although, the suspected vandals had fled before the arrival of the operatives, but the law enforcement agents recovered some of their tools including long  pipes and hose with which fuel is  scooped from the vandalised pipeline.

    The operatives, however arrested a security officer, Sam Benedict, who was in charge of the toll collection of a makeshift bridge constructed across the river linking the neighbouring communities.

    Sam, who denied knowledge of the illicit operation said he was employed by his boss for toll collection ranging from N20 to N200 from pedestrians and motorists.

    He added that the business was solely run by his boss who is a lawyer.

    Our correspondent observed a couple of tankers parked along some streets leading to the river bank, while no petrol station was sighted in the area.

    At the scene, some chairs and empty soft drink containers were seen on the path leading to the vandalized pipeline. The items, according to the NSCDC operatives indicate regular activities in the creek.

    The commandant, however, vowed to investigate those behind the operation, noting that appropriate sanctions would be meted on the culprits.

    He urged residents of the community to desist from backing criminals involved in vandalism, warning that such could lead to unexpected jeopardy.

    Balogun said: “We got an intelligence report from our division here that something fishy was going on in this area and I am here to confirm it. What we have seen is a petroleum pipeline has been vandalised and normally our own duty is to confirm and get across to the appropriate authorities. In this instance, NNPC should come over immediately to seal it up so that our national asset will not be disturbed by  wastage, sabotage and miscreants.

    “We are still extending our investigations to know the perpetrators of this act because that thing did not just happen. Somebody worked on that pipeline to drill it with the intention of siphoning petrol which is economic sabotage. Our own intelligence group will sniff around to see if there are some collaborators within the community, who are aiding and abetting illegality and will work with the appropriate authorities to see how we can stop this from happening.”

    Continuing, he said: “We are working in conjunction with the Lagos state government to clear all the creeks so that doing anything under darkness will not be allowed. We appeal to the communities around here, residents who live here permanently that there is no need to be selfish and supporting criminal to do this kind of act.”

    The corps also called the attention of the government to the recent leakages of NNPC pipelines, following the discovery of another fuel well at a school on 2, Taiwo Aina Street.

    The commandant emphasized the need for the NNPC to proactively tackle the challenge with proactive measures, noting that the inherent hazards were beyond economic sabotage.

    The well, he said, currently poses danger to toddlers who often use the school premises.

    “The most important thing is that right now, to avoid a disaster which could be manmade, because when petrol is usually in a place like that, and there is fire, you can imagine what will be the case. To make matters worse, this is the premises of a school. We have little children here,” he added.

  • Vendor needs N3.4million for surgery in India

    Vendor needs N3.4million for surgery in India

    A newspaper vendor, Patrick Utomi is in dire need of $9,000 for a surgery on complex urethral stricture at Saket City Hospital, New Delhi, India.

    Utomi had gone from one hospital to the other, seeking solution to the urethral dysfunction he sustained from an accident in 2002.

    Since then, excretion through natural channels became impossible as his urinary system were damaged.

    He was initially salvaged by the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) where a makeshift passage was made by his abdomen, but it stopped working.

    He proceeded to India through a financial assistance by former Akwa-Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio.

    After visiting India thrice, his system normalised until recently, when he began to experience complications from implant in his body following a Ray-surgery conducted on him.

    According to him, the complications have become terrible that he can no longer pass urine naturally.

    His doctor, Shalabh Agarwat, has invited him to come for removal of the implant.

    The doctor’s statement reads: “This patient has complex urethral stricture with stent related complications. In case the symptoms of frequency and bleeding are very bothersome then I would advice for Cystoscopy and removal of Mammocath. After removal, we will have to give about six months’ time for healing and then revise Urethroplasty.”

    Pleading for assistance, Patrick said: “My present state of health is the history of a failed multiple urethroplasty surgeries. The 15-year of medical predicament has cost over N30 million. Please help me not to die this time. What they are demanding now is bigger. Please, I beseech good Nigerians in the name of God to help me. My health is in jeopardy and I am homeless after five surgeries in Nigeria and four surgeries in India. I really need kind hearted Nigerians to come to my aid. I don’t want to be a mendicant of parasite to people. I want to live a normal life again.”

    His account details are: Patrick Tommy Utomi, 0224572760, Guarantee Trust Bank. He can be reached on 08125443866 and 08038178199.