The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Victor Babayemi

  • We won’t interfere in Ekiti Assembly crisis – Police

    Following alleged subterranean moves to arrest the 19 All Progressives Congress (APC) members of Ekiti State House of Assembly for holding a plenary sitting last Thursday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, the police has promised to maintain neutrality in the legislative crisis.

    The APC legislators on Sunday claimed that Governor Ayodele Fayose has directed the Ministry of Justice to forward a memo to the state’s Commissioner of Police to arrest the lawmakers for conducting a sitting at an unknown location in the state capital.

    The lawmakers insisted that they cannot be arrested for performing their constitutional duties on the premise that Section 101 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) empowers them to sit in another location in the state capital if their security cannot be guaranteed in the House of Assembly complex.

    But the state’s police command on Monday said it won’t get involved in the legislative crisis, maintaining that “the issue is a political matter that has to be settled politically.”

    Speaking with reporters in a telephone chat, the state’s police command spokesman, Victor Babayemi, maintained that the Force is not a political organization but a security agency empowered to maintain law and order and prevent security breach.

    Babayemi clarified that the command had not received instruction from any quarter to arrest the APC legislators led by Speaker Adewale Omirin, urging politicians not to drag the police into internal affairs of the state’s parliament.

  • 30-man robbery gang attack bank in Ekiti

    A 30-man gang of dare-devil bandits on Friday besieged Ifaki-Ekiti, Ekiti State, branch of a first generation bank, wounding one person whose identity could not be immediately ascertained.

    Although no life was lost, it could not be ascertained if the robbers gained entry into the bank.

    The robbers reportedly came on motorcycles at about 11:30am, made for the only police post in the town where attempts to rout the station were repelled by vigilant officers on duty.

    The Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti State Police Command, Mr. Victor Babayemi, told journalists in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, that the robbers shot sporadically into the air, wounding a bank official who had since been taken to an undisclosed hospital in the state.

    Following the attack, banks hurriedly shut their gates to customer as early 12noon, while commercial activities around places like Adebayo area of the capital stood still for nearly two hours.

    The Nation gathered that motorists coming from Ido Ekiti were forced to negotiate a detour through Osi-Awo road, while those coming into Ado through Oye-Ifaki road were forced to turn back.

     

  • Ekiti residents protest power outage

    Ekiti residents protest power outage

    Youths in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, protested yesterday three months of power outage in the community.

    Around 10am, they barricaded the only major road in the town, which links Ikere to Akure in Ondo State, causing a traffic gridlock.

    Appeals by a commissioner and the town’s Divisional Police Officer to the youths to open the road were ignored.

    A woman, who did not want to be named, said: “Since January, there has been power outage in Ikere and nobody knows when it will end. That is why the youths are protesting.”

    Mr. Salisu Olusola, said: “The Benin Electricity Distribution Company said the town owed a huge amount as unpaid bills, out of which we paid N15 million, but electricity was not restored.”

    Another resident, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “The N15 million was paid to the local government council, but the council did not remit it into the account of the Electricity Distribution Company. The company is not wrong to insist that the money should be paid before electricity is restored.”

    Police spokesman Victor Babayemi said: “When we heard about the protest, we deployed our men there to prevent it from getting out of hands. The youths are protesting continuous power outage in the town. We are managing the situation. We are not arresting anyone for this as we believe the youths have a constitutional right to this, as long as they remain non-violent.”

    It was gathered that Ise-Ekiti and Emure-Ekiti have also had power outage for about three months.

  • Doctor kidnapped in Ekiti

    A doctor, Adekunle Abayomi, has been kidnapped in Ekiti State.

    He was abducted on Monday morning between Ado-Ekiti and Ido-Ekiti.

    Sources said Abayomi recently relocated to Ekiti from Yola, Adamawa State, because of the insurgency in the North.

    Abayomi’s colleague, who pleaded for anonymity, said the kidnappers were demanding N1 million ransom.

    He said doctors were trying to raise the money.

    Spokesman of the State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) Mr. Muyiwa Olomu said: “The hospital management is disturbed by the incident.”

    It was learnt that the Honda Civic car Abayomi was driving before he was kidnapped had been found.

    Police spokesman Victor Babayemi confirmed the incident. He said efforts were on to rescue the doctor.

    Kidnap cases are on the increase in the state. Also on Monday, a businessman, Chief Femi Fadeyi, was abducted in Ido-Ekiti.

    About two weeks ago, four employees of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), were kidnapped between Oye-Ekiti and Ifaki-Ekiti. One of the victims reportedly died in captivity.

     

  • Police to quiz Ekiti centre’s managers

    Police to quiz Ekiti centre’s managers

    The police in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, may quiz the management of a government health centre that was invaded at the weekend by suspected ritualists.

    They said the management was yet to report the incident to the police.

    Five gunmen, believed to be ritualists, invaded the government hospital at Irona in Ado-Ekiti, demanding a day-old baby.

    Police spokesman Victor Babayemi said the command had told some detectives to look into the incident.

    Babayemi said: “We expected the hospital’s management to lodge a complaint at a nearby (police) station, but uptill now, no such step has been taken. In the light of this, we want to ask the management why it failed to report the incident, considering its veracity. No official report was made by the medical officials on the incident.”

    Activities resumed at the health centre yesterday. The Nation learnt that the attack was the third on the hospital by hoodlums in the last one year.

    An official of the health centre, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “This is not the first time this has happened. Robbers have invaded the health centre about three times, but they have always demanded money. The last time they came, they collected around N85,000 from the nurses and other medical personnel.

    “But Saturday’s invasion was different because the hoodlums did not ask for money. They kept shouting ‘where is the new born baby, the newborn’.

    “Luckily, we had discharged the only woman, who just had a baby. That was what saved us.”

    There are conflicting reports about the presence of a night guard at the health centre. Some said the guard died recently; others said he left because Ado-Ekiti Local Government Council was not paying his salary regularly.

    The centre’s fence is low and can easily be scaled.

    It was learnt that cement blocks had been bought to raise the fence and work would begin today.

    Ado-Ekiti Local Government Chairman Tope Olanipekun directed that night duty be suspended at the centre until the work is completed.