The Nation Newspaper

Tag: widow

  • How Lagos widow retrieved land from Omo Onile

    How Lagos widow retrieved land from Omo Onile

    Resulting from a report on the menace of land grabbing in Lagos State, Mrs Nneka Okoli, who was reported to have been deprived of her six plots of land, retrieved them after an intervention by the Lagos State government. KEMI BUSARI reports.

    Six plots of land located at the Isheri Osun area of Alimosho Local Governmnet Area of Lagos State was initially owned by the Idowu Asho family in Adeojo Area, Lagos.

    But, sometime in 2014, the family sold the land to Mr. and Mrs. Okoli at the rate of N2, 650, 000 and an additional N800, 000 was paid for family receipt and another sum of N400, 000 was paid for survey.

    However, the family refused to transfer possession of the land; a development which prompted a publication in The Nation Newspaper in December last year.

    Five months after the publication, Mrs Okoli has finally regained possession of her land.

    Reacting to the development, Mrs Okoli said: “We had no services of any lawyer; it was just the grace of God.”

    The retrieval process began in August last year when Mrs. Okoli wrote a petition to the State Governor Akinwumi Ambode. But the drab and procrastinating attitude portrayed at the Governor’s Office was enough discouragement.

    Three months after issuance of the letter, she finally got the audience. She recalled the experiences.

    ‘’I wrote the letter and I submitted it at the Governor’s Office. After some months, they directed me to the Ministry of Justice. The case was taken up by the Lagos Task Force on Land Grabbers.

    “They called them Omo Onile and they responded. After our first interviews and meetings, the Lagos Land Grabbers Task Force decided we should settle it amicably and gave seven days to do that. They called me to a meeting with their lawyer and offered another piece of land in a different location, I rejected it. Later, they offered money which I declined; I told them I want my land.

    “I went back to the ministry and complained but to my surprise, everything started changing. They stopped giving me audience like before.’’

    According to Mrs. Okoli’s account, the change in attitude cannot be unconnected with the involvement of a prominent king who is said to be backing the Omo Onile in the whole “business.”

    “Anytime I got to the ministry, they kept telling me to come back and they did nothing,’’ she recalled.

    However, the story changed when the publication entitled “We die so Omo Onile may live” appeared on the pages of this newspaper.

    “I was so downcast and there was nothing I could do until the day the reporter called to inform me that the story has been published. I called the chairman of the task force and he told me he has seen the publication. They summoned another meeting immediately and to my surprise, the said Oba who didn’t show up for any of the previous meetings was in attendance.

    “At the meeting, a lawyer in the ministry came with one of the publications and told them to stop the hiding game. At this point, they gave up and the ministry assigned a surveyor who followed me to survey the land.

    “Weeks later, the result of the survey emerged and it supported my claim on the land. A final meeting was called on March 9 and the ministry ruled that the land belongs to me.’’

    Even though Mrs Okoli had, in early stages, employed the services of three lawyers, the actual process of retrieving the land did not involve a lawyer.

    “All through the journey, there was no lawyer; it was God and the Ministry of Justice, the task force and the publications. I wrote the petition on my own without the help of a lawyer.

    “The publications really shook them. It was a turning point and without it, I don’t think it would all have happened the way it did. When I tried to show them that it has been published, they told me they have already seen it. At the same time, people who read it started calling me and some even offered assistance. The publication exposed the matter. Before, the issue was handled in secrecy but having it published dealt the needed blow and I owe the retrieval to the publication in this paper.”

     

    ‘How we intervened’ – Lagos Task Force

    In a resolution marked LSSTF/LG/2016/324 issued on March 17, this year, the Lagos State Special Task Force on Land Grabbers noted that after due investigation, the land has been discovered to belong to Mrs. Okoli.

    The resolution indicates that “the office resolved that the petitioner should go and take possession of her land and nobody should disturb her possession. If anyone disturbs her possession of the land, she should report to the Task Force for further action.’’

    Reacting to this, Alternate Chairman of the Lagos State Special Task Force on Land Grabbers, Mr. Jide Akinpelu said the retrieval process though tedious did not involve aggressiveness.

    He recounted: “When we received her petition, we invited the two parties and through our meetings with them, we discovered that she and her husband truly bought the land. We were able to establish that the people who sold the land to her kept saying the land sold to her is different from where she is claiming.

    “We also found out that they gave her survey plan upon payment and with this, we started work. We sent the survey to the Surveyor-General and we also instructed him to follow both parties to the location of the land.

    “The Surveyor-General submitted his report and it established that she is right about the location of the land. We confronted the Omo Onile and told them that where they are pointing to be her land is not hers. We issued a resolution that she should go and take possession of her land and report to us should there be a case of disturbance.”

    Akinpelu also praised The Nation Newspapers on publishing the story while debunking claims of connivance with the Omo Onile while the retrieval process lasted.

    “We are quite encouraged by your work and it spurred us to put more effort. We also encourage other media houses to do same.

    “Apart from your publication, there was another where she alleged that we have compromised. The general opinion in the office was to allow the powers that be investigate whether we have compromised or not but I quite understood the state of her mind having lost her husband. We decided to forge on hoping that the outcome of our investigation will vindicate us and that is exactly what happened.”

     

    ‘She must take possession immediately’ – Lagos lawyer

    Commenting on the development, Legal practitioner, Lekan Alabi described Mrs. Okoli’s victory as a good development in the annals of the State Government and admonishes her to take full possession immediately.

    “Now that case has been settled, the first thing for her is to take full possession of the land and if she doesn’t need it, she should sell it and invest the money.

    “There is scarcity of land in Lagos, you cannot just say you have six plots of land and do nothing on it. Even the government can take over the land for public use and she won’t get enough as compensation.

    He also praised the State Government on the development while noting that any further trespass on the land becomes a criminal offence.

    “If the Omo Onile goes there again to disturb her, it has become a criminal offence because the state has determined the owner of the land.

    “The state government has performed its responsibility under the 2016 Property Protection Law and I think this is a welcome development. I commend the effort of the Attorney-General who sponsored the bill and the courage of Governor Ambode to give his assent,” Mr Alabi said.

    With this development, the Lagos State Government has demonstrated its readiness to check the extortionist and criminal tendencies of land grabbers. However, more is still expected of the Akinwumi Ambode-led government in bringing solace to other victims of land grabbing in Lagos State.

  • Customs killing: I hope government‘ll punish my husband’s killers, by expectant widow

    Customs killing: I hope government‘ll punish my husband’s killers, by expectant widow

    •…Debunks smuggling allegations against deceased, relative

    Deceased’s automobile graduation fixed for January

    The widow of Saheed Omotosho, an automobile technician killed by a stray bullet fired by Customs men, who were on the trail of rice smugglers at Alagbado on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway 14 days ago has called on government to bring the officers involved to book.

    Temitope, a 21-year-old expectant mum, could not hold back tears as she managed to speak with The Nation.

    She was more pained that the officers arrested his deceased’s husband’s relative, Rasheed Oyedeji to cover up their “heinous crime.”

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) last Tuesday arraigned Oyedeji and Shuaib Sheyi before Chief Magistrate Y.A. Aje-Afunwa of the Magistrates’ Court, Ikeja, Lagos on a nine-count charge of smuggling prohibited items.

    The suspects have been remanded in Ikoyi Prisons.

    On the same day, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) protested at the Lagos State House of Assembly, calling for thorough investigation and prosecution of Customs officers involved in the killing of Omotosho.

    Mrs Omotosho described the Customs’ action as “sheer wickedness.”

    She said her husband left for work in the morning only to be called by their landlord that the deceased had an accident.

    She said: “We were in the room together that morning before he left. He said he was to going to work. Not long after, someone called our landlord, informing him that my husband had an accident and was shot. That was what I heard and I took off to the scene. By the time I got there, I didn’t see him. He had been taken away. I feel so sad that I cannot explain how painful it is. He is a very kind person. Saheed is not a person that quarrels or fights people; So I don’t think that kind of fate could befall him.”

    Temitope, a fashion designing apprentice, wondered what future had for her three-month-old foetus.

    She pleaded with the government to mete appropriate justice on the officers who truncated her husband’s life.

    “I just know God will help me cope with my pregnancy and I hope that the government will punish the killers of my husband accordingly and if they don’t, God will do it.”

    Saheed’s elder brother, Wasiu Omotosho told The Nation that his parent have been in pains since the unfortunate incident.

    He said the family were planning his (Saheed’s) graduation for an automobile engineering training he concluded weeks before he died.

    He said: “I was in Ibadan when he died. I couldn’t believe the news until I called his friend who confirmed it. We were preparing for his freedom when it happened. “During Ileya festival, he didn’t want to go home but he had to in order to inform our father of his freedom. In fact, my dad wanted to come to Lagos to see his boss on the requirements but Saheed told Baba to wait till he could raise enough money to sponsor his transport fare. The graduation ought to hold by January ending. The government should not let him die just like that by punishing the perpetrators. He was not a smuggler or hoodlum. He only has a motorcycle he works with to raise money for his graduation. How can you just spray bullets at a junction where a lot of people gathered?” he wondered.

    Oyedeji’s relatives and colleagues have debunked smuggling and hooliganism allegation levelled against him by the customs authority.

    They described Customs’ action as utterly unjust and flagrant display of insensitivity to human life.

    According to Solomon Ayansola, Oyedeji was intentionally branded a smuggler to justify the Customs’ unruly operation.

    “It is a double jeopardy to lose Saheed and also accused Oyedeji of involving in smuggling and hooliganism,” he said.

    Ayansola said the family cannot go on with Saheed’s burial, when, Oyedeji, the deceased’s guardian is remanded in prison on frame up charges.

    Moshood Olanrewaju, a relative of Saheed said: “We went to the Lagos State House of Assembly and they told us that something will be done. But I’m surprised that it is the same day that they assured us that Oyedeji was reprimanded at the Ikoyi prison. “These people (the late Saheed and Oyedeji) are not smugglers. Oyedeji’s parents are farmers. It was through him that Saheed came to Lagos. If he was a bad element, people in the area will not troop out to say they want to protest his arrest,” he said.

    An Okada rider, who witnessed the Incident, said: “As the custom officers were speeding towards our bus-stop with a truck of rice tied to their vehicle, some armed hoodlums blocked them and detached the truck from their vehicle, offloaded the rice and took the rice away. They were only dragging then but didn’t shoot. One of the customs also wanted to climb the vehicle and spray people around but their boss cautioned him not to shoot. But he refused and shot in the air. They called another patrol which joined them there and started spraying anybody. They didn’t even care at all. The man (Saheed) killed was shot while riding motorcycle. When they found out he had died, two patrols fled. As we tried to tell them they had killed someone, they faced us again with gun shots, so we fled. By the time we got to the junction, the police had arrived but the customs threatened to deal with them if they meddled in their affairs. The policemen had to advice us to go back to avoid multiple deaths.”

    NCS) Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Area Controller Umar Mohammed Dahiru alleged that Oyedeji incited a mob who were armed with various dangerous weapons to attack its officers, which resulted to a shootout between the officers and the smugglers.

    Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP) said: “Some Custom officers were on the trail of a vehicle, in the process they went started shooting. One passerby was shot to death around Ajegunle in Alakuko. A patrol team led by the Divisional Police Officer of Alakuko Division, moved to the area to douse the tension. They (Customs officers) fired sporadically and escaped from the scene. The dead body was evacuated to morgue. Investigation is ongoing.”

  • Widow seeks help for kidney-patient son

    Widow seeks help for kidney-patient son

    A 58-year-old widow Mrs Chineyere Agatha Onyebuchi has called on public-spirited individuals and corporate organisations to help save his son’s life after he was diagnosed with a kidney condition.

    Onyebuchi, who hails from Arondizuogu in Imo State, but has been living with her family in Aba, lost her husband after 20 years of marriage and has been carrying the family burden ever since.

    After the death of her husband, the responsibility of the upkeep of their six children fell on her and she has been doing it with joy, believing that one day, one of them would come out of school to help her in training the others but sickness crept into her family to shatter her plans.

    Onyebuchi said, “I got married in 1978 and blessed with six children, but my husband died after 20 years of marriage, leaving the whole burden of caring for six children for me alone.

    “I kept trudging on, with the meager salary of a civil servant, providing for the family within my own ability. When my 28-year-old son Chimaobi gained admission to read Electrical/Electronic at Federal Polytechnics, Nekede and finished his ND, our plan was for him to work a little, raise money and go back for his HND, because the whole thing had started telling on me”.

    “But unfortunately, he woke up one morning in December last year and started complaining of fever, I took him to hospital and he was treated. Not quite long after, he complained of stomach problem and I took him to another hospital and we did a scan test and the doctor said that he has inflamed appendicitis; he was operated upon in January this year, and after the surgery, the wound had healed very well, the stomach problem started again”.

    “I complained to the doctor who did the surgery and he referred us to Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Aba, we went there and stayed over one month there, then his legs, and hands started swelling, including the swelling of his stomach.

    “We kept staying there without any noticeable result, I then brought him back and took him to one other private hospital and after undergoing further treatment, we came back without any good result”.

    “I took him to Seventh Day Adventist Hospital (SDA), Aba, from there they referred us to Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia, where we have been going to take treatment”.

    “It was at FMC, Umuahia that they told us that he has Kidney problem, since then we have been on it, from that January till today, we have been relying on the good will of people to feed, having exhausted all our family savings”.

    “I am calling on the good people of Nigeria and the world as a whole to come to our assistance as I don’t want to lose my son, not now that he has grown up to wipe away my tears after all my sufferings, Satan wants to take him away from me”.

    “People should please help I know that there are still good people in this world that would hear the cry of a poor widow like me, I don’t want to lose my son, If he is alive he will be useful to the country and its people”.

    Onyebuchi said that they have been carrying out dialysis on her son and that doctors have asked her to prepare for kidney transplant , “Where would a poor widow get N8 billion to do kidney transplant.”

  • I left home a married woman, returned a widow -Belgium-based Nigerian billionaire’s widow Halima Fernandez laments as she lands in Kano

    I left home a married woman, returned a widow -Belgium-based Nigerian billionaire’s widow Halima Fernandez laments as she lands in Kano

    It was an emotional moment as Baroness Halima Fernandez, widow of the late Belgium-based international businessman, Ambassador Anthonio Oladeinde Fernandez, returned to her Kano hometown for the first time after the death of Fernandez on September 1 last year, lamenting the death of her beloved husband.

    Announcing her arrival in Kano with a post on her social media platforms, she said: “Good afternoon Kano. The sun feels incredible. Never knew Kano heat like this. Kowa yabar gida, gida yabar sa.”

    Then she added: “Alhamdulilahi. After five years, I’m home. It is more bitter than sweet though. I left a married woman and now I’m back a widow. Allah kayuma Garsan Fulani Rahama. ka gafarta masa.”

    The Baroness later went visiting some places and individuals around the ancient city, including the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, where the two had a private discussion. She also visited Marietta, among other places.

    Weeks after her husband was buried, she had splashed some photographs of their love life on the social media, including those in which they were tongue-deep in kisses as they hung out in different countries on impromptu holidays. And after her weeks of mourning were over, she went visiting some of the romantic places she had once visited with her husband, trying to recapture some of those cherished memories.

    The news of Ambassador Anthonio Oladeinde Fernandez’s death on September 1 last year had spread around the world within seconds. His death affected many people in different countries and continents because the deceased billionaire was a highly influential businessman with varied business interests in the economies of many countries. Although he boasted a large family and hordes of friends, the closest individual to him at his moment of transition was his wife and Baroness of Dudley, Halima Fernandez.

    Naturally, therefore, the task of implementing the alleged wish of the late Baron of Dudley and one of the richest men to come out of Africa that his body be buried in Belgium fell on Halima. The late Fernandez who had acted as the permanent representative of many African countries was known to be friends with many world leaders like the late Nelson Mandela, George Bush Senior, Mobutu Seseseko, Gnassimgbe Eyadema and Kofi Annan. Organising a funeral befitting of such a world class figure was, therefore, never going to be an easy task.

    “It was a deep moment for me having to take in the pains of my beloved husband’s death and at the same time face the task of putting together a funeral that he would have loved,” Halima said.

    Insider information revealed that family members were assisted by the bereaved baroness in different ways to ensure that they gathered in Belgium to honour their late hero at his funeral service in far away Belgium. The choice of Belgium as the late businessman’s place of final rest of course became an issue among family members, many of whom were said to have expressed disappointment that they were not privy to the late billionaire’s wish. As would be expected, their reservations about the arrangement soon snowballed into a face-off between aggrieved family members and Fernandez’s widow.

    Halima, however, said the late Fernandez, who was born to the Olumegbon royal family in Isale Eko in the late 1920s, had anticipated the situation and had planned against it. She said her late husband was admirable for his eye for details and had talked to some members of the family on how life should be within his family even after he must have gone. “I continually admire his innate ability to be in charge of the details of everything. He was indeed a great man. A man I admired and loved deeply,” she added.

    A friend of the late Fernandez, Mr. Chimazuru Oblong Nnamdi, who was said to have read the oration at Fernandez’s classy funeral, said he was privileged to witness the occasion when the late businessman told his eldest child that Halima should be given good support by the family after he must have passed on.

    The late Fernandez had a loud marriage with Halima, who hails from the Maude family in Kano. A source said the love birds were introduced to each other by the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, who was said to be Fernandez’s good friend. It was the Emir who also turbaned Fernandez as the Garsan Fulani Kano, a title that translates as the Champion of the right of the Fulani people of Kano.

    “Our marriage is a part of me that I cherish. That we were married shouldn’t be in contention because it was a popular marriage in Kano with documentation, and important dignitaries were present,” said Baroness Halima after the burial of her late husband.

    Life after Fernandez’s death

    Given the way Fernadez and Halima doted on each other, it has been difficult for the late billionaire’s widow to come to terms with the death of her loving husband, a close family source said.

    “She was always with him. She was at his bed side and was with him all through his dying days,” added the source. “The late billionaire businessman was in and out of an age-related sickness which he battled with great effort until he finally gave up.”

    Halima herself said Fernandez had serious battle with sickness.

    “My husband was a strong man. He had lived a good life, and even in his dying days, I was proud of him. He fought back sickness. You wouldn’t even know sometimes that he was sick. He was a strong man, a great man,” she said.

    Months after the death and burial of her late billionaire husband in Belgium, she is still struggling to come to grips with life without him. Halima, as her close friends call her, was said to have told a friend that she was greatly missing her late husband.

    When the Ambassador Plenipotentiary took Halima to the altar many years ago, despite the large turnout and the general public excitement that greeted the event, not a few society people doubted the ability of the marriage to endure. This was particularly so because Ambassador Fernandez had only a few years before then had a bitter divorce with his then wife, Aduke, who is now deceased. But Halima’s marriage to Fernandez lasted till the latter’s death, leaving observers in no doubt as to the peace the billionaire must have found in the arms of Halima.

    “Their love life was good. Sometimes it was like those written in story books,” said a source, adding: “Chief (Fernandez) loved his wife a lot. He wanted her to be with him almost all the time.

    “His wife doted on him too. She is presently grasping with picking up her life from where her late husband left it off through death.”

    Back to life

    Halima, however, made a resplendent appearance at this year’s Cannes Film festival, an appearance that immediately became viral on the internet. It was her first appearance at an international event after her husband’s death and burial.

    It was later found out that she was at the event on invitation by the famous House of Boucheron, who it was scooped invited only 10 of such top world personalities.

    “Definitely, the Baroness had a swell time as she walked on the red carpet with the poise and grace of royalty and became the cynosure of all eyes,” said a foreign news source at the event, which also quoted the Baroness as having referred to the event as “magical.”

    For many of her friends, it was a relief to see her in her social mien after her long period of mourning.

    “It was an event which was difficult to ignore because the House of Boucheron has been our close friends while my husband was alive,” she said.

    The present and future

    Still grappling with the reality of the death of Fernandez, a UK-based friend of Halima said the Baroness will still be minimal with her public appearances, as she is still putting her family affairs together as instructed by her late husband before he breathed his last.

    Another family source said; “The Baroness is now too busy with the duties that her late husband left in her care. The work is enormous and needs serious concentration which definitely wousld not allow her time for a lot of other things.”

    According to another family source, much of the issues that would have caused much rancour within the family had been well taken care of by the late billionaire, who was well blessed with shrewd intelligence and power to create wealth.

    Soon, it will be a year since Fernandez waved final goodbye to his family, friends and business associates across the world.

  • Widow, 92, sues Fed Govt, others over schools’ ownership

    A widow, Mrs Roseline Ololo (92) has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to order the return of the Metropolitan College and Isolo Secondary School to her as the founder.

    She sued the Federal Government, attorney-general of the federation, minister of Education, Lagos State government, Lagos attorney-general, and Lagos State commissioner for Education.

    Mrs Ololo prayed the court to enforce her fundamental rights as enshrined in Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution and declare that the respondents’ alleged refusal to return the schools to her is unjust and unconstitutional.

    The plaintiff and her company, Akaix West Africa Ltd, through their lawyer, Malcolm Omirhobo, said in 1940 she and her late husband, Mr Akaihieobi-Ololo Ogwuand relocated from the Southeast to Lagos.

    She said they incorporated a company, Akaix Africa Ltd, in 1952 through which they established Metropolitan College.

    According to her,”via a letter with Ref No: CEO/18L/31/25 dated March 1, 1956, our company was granted permission by the Federal Ministry of Education, to establish Metropolitan College of Commerce. The school, for about 18 years of existence, was located at No 15 Banire St., Surulere, in a rented apartment’’.

    “In 1966, before the Civil War, we purchased over 8.17 hectares of land at the Atire-akari Isolo area of Lagos,” she averred

    She said for expansion purposes and to move away from the thickly populated residential area of Surulere, they moved to the new site in 1974.

    “In 1976, through the Education (Private Secondary Institutions Special Provisions) Law, the Military Government of Lagos State took over 48 private sSecondary schools from their owners, including Metropolitan College.

    “In the process, Isolo Secondary School was carved out of Metropolitan College on the same expanse of land hosting the college. However, in 2001, the administration of Chief Ahmed Bola Tinubu repealed the law and returned the 48 private schools to their owners,” she averred

    Ololo said Metropolitan College was not returned to its owners, thereby violating her  right to acquire and own landed property.

    She alleged that the respondents’ action amounts to a wilful attempt to exploit, marginalise and victimise her on account of her sex, and her status as an elderly woman.

    Ololo is praying for an order restraining the respondents from further infringing on her fundamental rights, as well as an order returning her property to her.

    The suit is yet to get a hearing date while the respondents are expected to file their defence.

  • I warned my slain husband against going out, says widow

    I warned my slain husband against going out, says widow

    Widow of a slain commercial motorcyclist aka Okada rider Monsuru Fowotade Alapini, has said she advised her husband against going out that fateful day.

    Alapini was stabbed on the chest by some suspected cultists in Oworonsoki, Lagos, on Valentine’s Day and died on his way to Gbagada General Hospital.

    The widow, Damilola said her late husband complained of hunger on returning home, adding that after eating he went out against her advice.

    Damilola said: “We were together at home in the evening of February 14 around 6pm. He just returned from work where he went to supply sand and said he wanted to take a shower; so I helped him take a bucket of water to the bathroom. Later, he said he was hungry and we sent someone to buy beans and bread. After eating, he said the food did not satisfy him and that he would go and get beans from a woman that sells it downstairs.

    “I told him not to go because I had a dream that some people were fighting him before he came in that evening. He said he was not going out, that he was just going downstairs.

    “Later, I heard he went towards the place he works because some people wanted to open a hotel there. I also heard that a woman who owns a shop around that place told him to wait for her there but someone called him on the phone.

    “Someone had also called him on Saturday morning when he was at home and when I asked him who the person was, he said the person was one of his friends. When I asked which of his friends, he said it was Ganiyu. Ganiyu works with Sondoko. I told him not to go.

    “That Sunday night, I was inside watching a movie. I just stepped out to the balcony when I heard noise that he has been killed. That was around 7pm.

    “I was told that the child of one of those that killed him was celebrating his birthday that day. He went to the birthday because his friend called him and when he got there, the Sondoko guys sent a little boy to tell him to get up from the chair. He told the boy that he did not meet anyone when he sat there and the men immediately surrounded him. The person that stabbed him came from behind and stabbed him in the chest.

    “They took him to a medical centre but he was rejected and they took him to Gbagada General Hospital. He died before they got to Gbagada.”

    A distraught Damilola described her husband as an easy going person, saying: “He is someone who does not fight and abhors violence. I don’t think anything has linked him with those men before. The only thing I know is that his younger brother was attacked by Sondoko’s men last year

    . Likewise, his elder sister was once beaten mercilessly and her shop was demolished.”

    She called on government to bring her husband’s killer to justice, saying her husband did not have any relationship with the Oloworo of Oworonshoki, Oba Bashiru Saliu, and Balogun of Oworonshoki Alhaji Mustapha Ajisegiri, who are quarrelling over the stool.

    Also yesterday Ajisegiri denied that he and Oba Saliu were behind the fracas that led to Alapini’s death and the destruction of properties worth millions of naira.

    He urged the police to bring the perpetrators to book.

    Last weekend, Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni claimed that Alapini was killed during a clash between some thugs known to the monarch and Ajisegiri.

    Denying the allegation while briefing reporters at his residence, Ajisegiri said he knew nothing about the clash.

    Ajisegiri, 78, confirmed that he and the monarch were quarrelling over the stool, adding that the matter is in the court.

    He said he was not in Lagos during the fracas, adding: “I travelled to treat myself in Abeokuta, so I wonder why I should be mentioned as one of the sponsors of the violence that I knew nothing about”.

  • Widow arraigned for owing rent

    A 70-year-old widow, Mrs Elizabeth Adeoni, was yesterday arraigned in an Osogbo customary court for owing rent arrears for 20 years.

    The landlord, Lateef Adegoke, told the court that Adeoni had not been paying since 1995.

    Adegoke, therefore, prayed the court to assist him recover his money from the septuagenarian.

    The landlord urged the court to order her to pay the rent and vacate the house. He said he needed the money to take care of certain financial obligations.

    In her response, the septuagenarian said life had been  difficult for her since her husband died many years ago, adding that things became worse when she lost her two children.

    Adeoni, who was weeping, pleaded with the court to beg the landlord not to eject her because she had nowhere to go.

    The court’s President, Ladipo Balogun, urged the woman not to lose hope and advised her to find something to do  to enable her pay.

    Balogun adjourned till March 15 for further hearing.

     

  • Cry of 28-yr-old army officer’s widow

    Cry of 28-yr-old army officer’s widow

    When a big problem brings you down, smaller ones ride roughshod on you. This age-long adage is playing out in the life of Mrs. Rebecca Jang, a young widow who has not known piece with her in-laws since her soldier husband was killed by an accidental discharge from the gun of his colleague.

    Rebecca, a Jarawa woman from Jos East Local Government Area, Plateau State, had got married to young Lt. Benjamin Jang, a Calabar man from from Ikom Ekpa in Cross Rivers State after the two met in Jos sometime in 2014. The young lady was at that time a student of Sociology at the University of Abuja, while Jang was serving in the Nigerian Army as a Lieutenant.

    The two love birds got married at St. Micheal Catholic Church, Nasarawa Gwom, Jos on September 20, 2014, with the hope of building a matrimonial home together. Unknown to the new couple, tragedy was lurking in the corner.

    As it is usual with marriages involving military men, the couple had no opportunity of a honeymoon. As soon as they completed the wedding ceremonies, Jang left Jos to resume duty at his base. Since the wife was running her undergraduate programme at the University of Abuja, the couple were not in a haste to raise children, so they both agreed to bid their time.

    Barely 10 months after their wedding, however, tragedy struck and put their marriage asunder. On July 26, 2015, Jang was allegedly shot dead in error by his own colleague.

    Narrating how she got the news of her late husband’s death, Rebecca said: “I lost my husband on the 26th of July, 2015. Somebody just called to tell me that my husband was dead, and I told the person that was not possible. The caller then told me that my husband was mistakenly shot by his own colleague. As I was trying to find out if the story was true, I got another call from a commander who told me in clear terms that my husband was dead.

    “The next day, I gathered myself together and ran to 144 Battalion where my husband was serving to confirm the true situation of things myself only to discover my husband’s dead body at St. Anthony Hospital’s mortuary.”

    The death of her husband thus marked the beginning of the agonies the young widow has had to pass through since then. It began with her immediate relocation to her husband’s home town at Ikom to mourn his death. She had thought that she would be taken as the chief mourner and be given the needed care and consolation by her in-laws, but, according to her, she got the shock of her life instead.

    She said: “It was difficult to comprehend the whole thing. I got married on 20th September, 2014 and lost my husband 26th July 2015. The four months I stayed at my husband’s family home was like a journey into hell. I never invited any of my parents or relations to come with me when I was going to mourn him because I thought I was in safe hands with my in-laws considering the cordial relationship I had with them while my husband was alive. I never knew that the same people whom I considered my family members had suddenly changed.

    “While investigation was going on in the hospital, the burial had to be delayed, which explained why I had to stay for four months before the burial. I went to the morgue to request for the clothes my husband wore on the day he was shot, but the morgue attendant gave me his jeans trousers and a shirt which I knew was not his, because we were of the habit of exchanging pictures on a daily basis.

    “I then proceeded to my husband’s beat to collect his property, which I took to his parents. He had a car and some other items. The family told me that in their tradition, such property should not have been touched until the man had been buried. I never argued with them; I gave them the car key and other items.

    “As we began to plan the burial, we discovered that it was taking a long process for the army to release money for burial, so we have to look into the personal account of my late husband. My husband and I operated a joint account. Since I was also a signatory to the account, I had the knowledge of how much we had in it, and I thought that since we were one family, I should not hide anything from them. I told them that we had N1.3 million.

    “After telling them the account details, they started plotting how to exhaust the account so that I would not have anything left for my upkeep. So they told me they had given a befitting burial to their son and that they had to build a tomb which will cost them N600,000. I thought I should not oppose the plan since the money was not my target. At a point, they said they needed all the money in my husband’s account, and I gave it to them.

    “My in-laws came to me again after sometime to ask for the particulars of my husband’s car. I told them that the particulars were in the barracks where we lived at Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, Rukuba Baracks, Jos. That was when it dawned on me that the people wanted to strip me of everything my husband had. But I kept quiet and just watched them.

    “When they eventually announced the date for burial, I asked them to give me permission to come back to Jos and tell my parents about the burial arrangement. That was when they started saying I had a hand in the death of my husband; that I was trying to run away. I was shocked.

    “The same people I thought would love me started raining abuses and placing curses on me; that I would pay for the death of their son if I had a hand in his death. I then realised that I was in a deep mess. They accused me of killing their son so that I could take over his property.

    “They called my late husband’s friends and told them that I was a drug addict, saying that I killed their son and so on. They said I only got married to their son for 10 months and I wanted to inherit all his properties.

    “I was preparing for my final exams in the university, so I took permission from them to go and sit for my final year exams. That too became a problem. They accused me of not settling down to mourn my husband. In short, anything I did was a problem.

    “When I went back to Ikom with my parents for the burial, I did not know that they were still plotting to deal with me. In the room I stayed, my ATM card got lost. Unknown to me, they sent one of my husband’s nephews to come and take my ATM card so that they could check my personal account for money. It was the same nephew I used to send to the bank to get me money for my upkeep while I was mourning.

    “I still endured the situation and prayed to God to see me through the burial. At that point, I would have found my way out of the place, because their attitude towards me was becoming unbearable. But I could not leave because I needed to pay my last respects to my late husband. So I endured and stayed.

    “To make thing worse, they refused to welcome my parents who came all the way for the burial in spite of the fact that my parents had informed them on the phone that they were coming for the burial. My in-laws resolved not to have anything to do with me and my parents who came for the burial. They refused to give my parents accommodation and I had to take them to a hotel.

    “They were just looking for one excuse or the other to scandalise me and cover up what they did to me. One of them would come and take my husband’s picture and start talking to it, saying: ‘You see, Ben, you went to marry a prostitute and she has killed you and withdrawn all your money and hid it.’  She was saying it to my hearing.

    “I later discovered that my sin was that my late husband named me as his next of kin. That was why I was passing through all this.

    “Things continued to degenerate to the level that my life and those of my parents were at stake. I had to call my husband’s commander to send his men to protect me. The whole thing was getting beyond my control. I needed to save my life from the hands of my in-laws.

    “In fact, the commander who sent some soldiers to protect me advised me to leave the village immediately after the burial. That was the man who saved my life from the hands of my in-laws.

    “My pain here is that if I could walk away from the money they had taken away from me without complaining, the car, and other belongings of my husband which I personally brought from his unit to them, I don’t see any reason why my in-laws should torment me, spoil my name by telling people that after masterminding the killing of my husband, I also refused to stay after his burial. It was because of the torment they plunged me into that the commander asked me to leave the village that day to avoid the unknown.

    “The plot by my in-laws to strip me of everything was taken to the level that even my personal laptop, which I was using for my school project, was seized from me. They claimed it was their son that bought it for me. While I was with them, I gave out the laptop for repairs. Unknown to me, they went to the repairer and seized the laptop. They formatted the laptop and destroyed all the information in it, including my project. They now told me that my husband bought that laptop for his 75-year-old mother. The lap top contains virtually everything about my life.

    “Holding the laptop means that they don’t want me to go for clearance in school. I am pleading with them to return my laptop because the harassment has gone beyond what a widow in my condition can bear.

    “I am also calling on the Nigeria Army officers’ Wives Association to please step into this matter and save me from the grip of my husband’s people. It is too much for me.”

    When The Nation sought the reaction of the in-laws to the widow’s allegations, they declined on the ground that they were still mourning their son.

    A member of the Edim Family, Mrs. Glory Ushie, told our correspondent on phone that the family was not in the position to respond to the allegations now. She said: “The family is still mourning the mysterious death of their only bread winner; we are not in the position to talk now.  At the appropriate time, we will respond accordingly.”

  • How political thugs killed my son, by widow

    The mother of 25-year-old Ibiowei Emmanuel yesterday narrated how he was killed on his way to cast his ballot in the December 5 and 6, 2015 Bayelsa governorship election.

    Mrs. Martha Emmanuel said her son, in company of six other voters, was ambushed between Okoroma and Diebu.

    She regretted that despite being a widow, her son, who was the family’s breadwinner, was killed for politics.

    Mrs Emmanuel spoke in Abuja at a media briefing organised by the Coalition Against Electoral Rights Violation (COAGRIV).

    The distraught mother urged the Federal Government to intervene in the killing of her son and prosecute election offenders.

    She said: “My son was on his bed, sleeping; he did not want to go out. But we later agreed to go to the polling unit, hoping to get some money to take care of ourselves. I told him that since my party was different from his, he should just go. So, someone from his party called him. We hoped to meet in Yenagoa.

    “Later, I heard that some people were parading around the waterways. It was in the evening someone called that the boat conveying my son and others to their polling unit in Yenagoa was shot at. They tried to discourage me that it was not my son; they hid it from me until a woman told me it was my son.”

    The boat’s captain, Abulekala Oyere, blamed the attack on inter-party rivalry.

    He said everyone in the boat could swim but only the deceased died because he was allegedly shot during the attack.

    Oyere said: “We got information that some people had taken over the waterways. So, we took a different route, not knowing that the route had also been ambushed. Between Agwobri and Angiamagbene, we were attacked by some people in speed boats with two horse power.

    “They started shooting; some people jumped into water. They drove to the boat and destroyed it. After 15 minutes, we started searching for one another until the next day. It was on Tuesday morning people from the coastal community alerted us that they saw a body floating on the river.

    “So, we picked him and went to Okoroma Police Station to lodge a report. The body of the deceased is in the mortuary.”

    COAGRIV’s Secretary General John Thompson called for a presidential panel of enquiry to probe the killings during the Bayelsa poll.

    He urged the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to ensure that perpetrators of electoral offences are brought to justice.

    Thompson also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to partner other government agencies to end killings during elections.

    He said: “Our preliminary findings on the massive human rights violations and abuse point to some ex-militants in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area…”

    The activist accused the former militants of masterminding political killings in connivance with some soldiers.

  • LASTMA official’s widow seeks refuge in church

    LASTMA official’s widow seeks refuge in church

    Still in agony over her husband’s death, Rashidat, widow of the late Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) official, Segun Shenuga, has sought refuge in church.

    The distraught woman has been in church since her husband was killed on the Third Mainland Bridge last Tuesday by a motorcyclist.

    At their Ipakodo, Ikorodu, Lagos home yesterday, the expectant mother lamented her fate, wondering what will become of her and her children.

    “What else will I do? Who will ever think of losing a loved one?” she asked, saying, the last thing she and her husband discussed was how he was going to pay their first child’s Junior Secondary School Examination fees.

    She said: “When I received a call from his office and they said they wanted to speak with my father because we live together, then I knew something was wrong. I wasn’t allowed to see him but I was assured he was responding to treatment. It is not easy to accept this. He has been riding the power bike since he joined LASTMA and he has never faced such accident before. I am a fashion designer and I know it can’t take care of our children. He has been the one taking care of our needs from day one.”

    The Shenuga’s brother, Olatunde, said he saw him last about a week to his death. His wish was to complete his house in Ibeshe next year, Olatunde said, adding: “I wish my brother spoke before his death. I wish he talked. I know he would have said something his family would have benefited from. We didn’t see his official phone and he has some confidential information there. I am pained because we were real close.”

    The widow’s father, Mr Steven Olanipekun, said he missed his son-in-law because he was in charge of his thrift collecting business.

    Olanipekun said: “The day he left home, he greeted me and said he was ready for work and I prayed for him. When I got the news, I rushed to the hospital and he was placed on oxygen. We kept praying because he was more than a son to me and I couldn’t afford to lose him. He gave up at exactly 4.50am last Tuesday without saying a word.

    “His death has really affected me. Even his children cry everyday. All their responsibilities will be on me and I can’t do everything. May God forgive him and grant his wife and children help.”

    Olanipekun thanked LASTMA for standing by the family.

    The late Shenuga was buried at his Ibeshe home. He is survived by his aged mother, siblings, widow and children.