The Nation Newspaper

Tag: widow

  • Aladelokun’s widow: i learnt a lot from him

    Aladelokun’s widow: i learnt a lot from him

    Widow of the late Dada Aladelokun, The Nation Assistant Editor,  Olaoluwayemisi yesterday said she learnt a lot from her late husband.

    The news of Aladelokun’s death hit many like a thunderbolt.

    Mrs Aladelokun told Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) President, Alhaji AbdulWaheed Odusile, who was on a condolence visit yesterday.

    Odusile was accompanied by The Nation chapel officials – Miss Kemi Ojobo, Chairman and Tajudeen Adebanjo, Treasurer.

    Dressed in brown and orange native attire, Mrs Aladelokun looked sad when the team entered the Aladelokuns’ Ilupeju residentce.

    She could barely utter words as residents; friends, family members and sympathisers flocked around her.

    She said her husband struggled to stay alive but destiny prevailed.

    She said: “I’ll really miss him. He loved to assist people. He was also a God-fearing man. He was not quarrelsome and he never got angry. He was contented with what he had. The years we spent together were a lesson for me. I have learnt a lot from him. He was too humble; always caring for others at the expense of himself.

    “He gave his last penny to strangers and stayed hungry. He kept telling me only God knows our journey in life. Ahh! My husband was a patient man. As long as I live, I will always miss him. I pray our children will follow his steps and I pray they excel in life.”

    Odusile described the deceased as humble and a committed journalist adding: “The news of his death was a shock. I got to know through the social media. I asked myself why? Because it is almost a year we lost the NUJ chapel chairman, Jude Isiguzo. He was a contributor to the news pages. Dada was very useful to me. He was hardworking and a dedicated journalist.

    “Death is a necessary end but his death saddens me. He was also a pillar in his family.”

    Odusile enjoined journalists to always plan ahead for families against situation like this by taking interest in the NUJ insurance scheme.

    He said: ”As we live, we should constantly plan ahead because we don’t know who’s next. People should always know destiny will always prevail.”

    The Nation Chapel Acting Chairman, Miss Ojobo, described Aladelokun as amiable.

    “He brought life and laughter to every situation. It is unfortunate that it happened. I pray God will uphold his wife and children. The union will stand by his family and I pray this will be the last kind of incident in this organisation.”

    The late Aladelokun, survived by wife and three children, was first admitted in a private hospital in Mushin from where he was referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba in Lagos.

    He died last Friday at 48.

     

  • Widow asks Appeal Court to suspend bench warrant

    Widow of a former Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory, Ayodeji Omotade, Folashade, has asked the Court of Appeal in Lagos to stay execution of a bench warrant issued for her arrest by Justice Latifat Oluyemi of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.

    She is also prayed the Court of Appeal for  an order suspending the operation of the bench warrant and for a stay of all further proceedings in respect of the contempt proceedings pending the determination of the appeal.

    Justice Oluyemi had on August 4 issued a Bench Warrant for the appellant’s arrest for her alleged failure to appear in court on July 21 in a case involving her late husband’s estate.

    The warrant was issued over her sale of a house located in Omole Phase 1, Ojodu Lagos which the litigant, Grace Omotade claimed belong to the late permanent secretary.

    Ayodeji Omotade died in the ill-fated Bellview Air crash of October 22, 2005, which crashed at Lisa Village, Ifo shortly after taking off from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos en route Abuja, killing all 117 passengers  on board.

    Folashade is a defendant in a suit  instituted by Grace, who also claimed to be the deceased’s wife.

    Folashade’s appeal was filed by her lawyers led by  Professor Taiwo Osipitan (SAN). In her grounds of appeal, Folashade argued that the trial judge erred in law by issuing/ordering the issuance of a Bench Warrant for her arrest on account of non-appearance in court.

    She claimed not to have received any hearing notice.

    Osipitan said the trial judge erred in law “by assuming jurisdiction over the Contempt proceedings in Civil Suit instituted against the Appellant, and issuing Bench Warrant against the Appellant.”

    “The right of the appellant to fair hearing was compromised or is likely to be compromised by the assumption of jurisdiction over contempt proceedings by learned trial judge whose order is alleged to have been violated by the appellant”.

    He submitted in  addition that the  trial judge whose order was allegedly violated cannot be a judge in her own cause,” noting also that ”the exercise of judicial power of issuance of Bench Warrant, for the arrest of the appellant (during the long vacation of the court) compromises or is likely to compromise appellant’s right to personal liberty enshrined by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    Folashade however averred in a supporting affidavit she deposed to  that the house belonged to her and that she purchased it from one Robinson Omorere in the sum of N60million.

    She claimed to have  paid for the property in three installments with cheques drawn from her company’s account.

    She denied knowledge of  Grace as a wife of her late husband  and, challenged her to produce legal proof of marriage.

    Her counsel, Osipitan argued  that the  alleged contempt  in respect of the  sale of the property situated at  5, Kayode Alli Street, Omole Phase I, Ikeja, Lagos State is not a contempt in the face of the court emphasizing that the trial judge lacks the jurisdiction to try a case of alleged contempt which is not in the face of the Court.

    He also argued that the trial judge lacks the Judicial power to issue bench warrant of the appellant.

    According to her counsels “the position of law is that the bench warrant cannot be executed whilst there is still an application for stay pending before the Court.”

     

     

  • I’ve been a widow for 15yrs but have never asked any man for help — Acting INEC chair Zakari

    I’ve been a widow for 15yrs but have never asked any man for help — Acting INEC chair Zakari

      The exit of the immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, no doubt created a big vacuum. More than 11 aspirants are presently jostling to succeed him. They include the Acting INEC Chairman, Mrs. Amina Zakari who, in this interview with select journalists, speaks about what she called unwarranted mudslinging against her person. YUSUF ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation, was there. Excerpts: 

    WHAT are the things left undone by the former INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, which you have to contend with now?

    There is a lot that has been done in terms of processes to conduct credible elections. The main issue now is to make our staff and internal processes more efficient. It has been a tough five years. When we came in five years ago, it was like a new commission. We did a lot of restructuring, re-organisation and strategic planning. So many things were happeningCVR, permanent voter cards, electionand the commission is the only agency that can conduct governorship elections and by-elections. So it wasn’t an easy five years. But thank God, we were able to surpass the expectations of Nigerians.

    Within those processes, however, we discovered a lot of human errors. Things that could be done easily were made more difficult because of the understanding of Nigerians, training of ad hoc staff and so many other issues. So, the concentration now is to inculcate some values. People need to understand that they have to work on a daily basis. They have to utilise their processes. In fact, we are working on a business process review, and I am chairing the committee. We have gone far in mapping out our business processes. All we need now is to keep on sensitising the staff so that we can have a changed management.

    We have done all we needed to do in terms of restructuring and re-organisation. But there is change management and that is one of the handover notes. The other handover issue is increased use of technology in the electoral process. I believe the use of technology increases transparency and efficiency of any process and we also need to sensitize our staff on the need to be ICT-efficient. This is the message I gave them all.

    In every election now, we must ensure that the staff is adequately trained. We must provide capacity building. We must go back and get those who are technologically ready, because if God willing I am allowed to continue, we are going to increase the use of technology. Even in our day to day activities, we realise we have a dearth of data management. After an election, you don’t know who conducted the elections. Who were the ad hoc officials? So that we can have a data bank of who has done elections before, so we could use them. With little training, you could re-use them, but every time we want to have an election now, we have to start all over again. So, if we have hands at the lower level who are technology-savvy in the use of computer, data management would not be an issue.

    Will INEC continue to use card readers?

    The card reader is here to stay. We are ensuring that the storage facilities are being run. We are doing an audit on our storage facilities and sometimes we get calls from the field that everything is fine, because we monitor to ensure that everything is fine. We’ll do an inventory of all our card readers and ensure that what we think we have in store is actually what we have in store. I will also do an inventory of the internal workings to see whether our SIM cards are still there or they are missing. You know we have to continually do the auditing. You can’t just leave it to chance until maybe 2019 when you open and discover that all your card readers are not functional.

    Will they be useful in 2019?

    Normally, the lifespan of the machine is five years, with proper storage. So, when we audit the storage, we would see if we need to rethink our storage strategy; maybe we have to store them in a central place where we can concentrate on providing a conducive environment for their lifespan.

    What value would you add to the electoral process if you are confirmed as substantive chairman?

    Like I said, I am a data and process person. The value I would add is to begin our process early so we do not get caught up in this ad hoc, fire brigade approach to activities. I know what we went through all these five years. We normally have to request for information. We request for somebody to do his job. So, the direction we have started giving the commission is that everybody has to do his job as and when due.

    You know we had a retreat in June when the former chairman was leaving with the other commissioners. We discussed with the electoral officers, the administration officers, the RECs and we made recommendations from the retreat. We have also compiled our 2015 election report and we have recommendations thereof.

    We also have reports from observers and monitors. So, we extracted all the recommendations and aligned them with the departments that should work on them as well as the RECs, and we gave it back to them. The very first week I came, I gave it back to the departments that these are the recommendations from the retreat, and the promise was that every recommendation would be looked into. You can’t just throw them away because these are issues that our staff brought up.

    Why did you lobby to become the INEC chairman?

    I did not lobby for it. I had packed all my things out of INEC and wanted to take a leave for the remaining three weeks. I felt that as the commission was being depleted, I had a responsibility to sit out my three weeks. Then I was called on my way home after the chairman (Jega) had handed over to Ambassador Wali. I told that the head of service was looking for me, and I said what for? I just continued driving. I was almost home when they said, ‘Come back, you have a letter to be the acting chairman.’ I said, ‘but somebody was appointed in the morning, take the letter to INEC.’ But they said, ‘It is in your name. You have to come and receive it. Just turn round.’

    While I was still arguing, my driver decided to turn round. I called the ambassador and told him, and he said, ‘Go pick your letter.’ I called the former chairman and he said, ‘Go pick the letter.’ I was confused and worried because it is an enormous responsibility and I wasn’t really expecting it. I picked the letter and came back to the office the next day in a sober mood. I know the only thing left to do is to consolidate on the gains within this acting period; just maintain an administrative structure, try to keep the commission running administratively and then let’s see what happens, since I know the problems of the commission in terms of business processes. So, we are working on communication. We are discussing with the directors, giving them responsibilities and, hopefully, everything should be fine.

    That means you still had three weeks left before you were appointed as the acting chairman.

    Yes, I had three weeks left.

    Do you believe you are up to the task of managing the commission?

    Having worked for five years in the commission, I have a good knowledge of what goes in it. I had more contact with the staff than the former chairman, and there was so much responsibility entrusted to me. I handled so many ad hoc assignments. I was in charge of managing the youth corps affairs, and it was a 24-hour duty on Election Day. Everyone would go home after the election, but I would still be on the phone trying to get them back to base. I managed the business process. I managed political parties for four years, and that was a continuous assignment.

    Some of the committees had their job towards the election, mine was a permanent assignment. I was working like an everyday civil servant. When I was moved out, I didn’t know there was life after political parties. I had to manage their factionalisation. I had to engage in dispute resolution. I became an emergency lawyer. So, it was an eventful five years. And now, I can look back and see where corrections and improvements need to be made. I have been part of the re-organisation. I had been in the security committee, operation committee, so many committees. I have a good knowledge of what goes on in INEC. I think in any organisation, continuity is good.

    Are you praying to be confirmed as substantive chairman?

    God decides who becomes leader. If God decides that I would be the one to continue, I will have to do my best.

    Having being entrusted with so many responsibilities by the former chairman, will it be correct to say that Jega prepared you for this position?

    I don’t think he deliberately prepared me. Maybe he saw certain qualities in me that he was able to tap into. Maybe that is why he gave me those responsibilities. Possibly, it’s the jobs I did, the quality of my presentations and assignments, that made him pick me. You know as they say, the reward for hard work is more work.

    Is it true you have familial or marital relationship with President Buhari?

    I would say Gen. Buhari did not appoint me as a commissioner; President Jonathan did. Before that, Gen. Obasanjo appointed me as a special assistant and I was posted to FCT where I was secretary for health, agriculture and social development at the same time. At the time President Jonathan came, he was looking for people that had integrity. That was what I was told, and I found myself in the commission and did my best. For somebody to now say Gen. Buhari knew me and gave me the job, obviously he knew I am a hard worker and he is a principled person. I have never known him for nepotism. He is a very principled person.

    If there are familial ties, the principle would have rubbed off on that family. I come from a very principled family. My father survived two regimes that were jailing and sacking people, and he survived both. And for that, I don’t think I would do anything that would jeopardise that principle. I can’t say the general is my in-law. I am not married to his son and my daughter is not married to him. That is what I understand about being an in-law. But obviously, in life, you have acquaintances, people you have known. But I think people should not get distracted by this ‘family or no family’. Am I competent? Can I deliver? Can I conduct my affairs with integrity? The President’s message is for people to be honest and to have integrity. This is a statement he sent to me. ‘Don’t do anything against your principle.’ Already, I have that principle and I will maintain it.

    Were you nominated by APC or any APC governor? Because that is the speculation…

    The President is a man of himself and people should not think that people influence people of power. Even when I was made a commissioner, was it somebody from PDP that recommended me? I know people in high places. I was acquainted with some of them. So, having somebody recommend you, does it make your job different from what you would do? I might as well have been recommended by a PDP person or a Labour Party person that is acquainted with the President. I think the President had a job to do. He was confronted with the information that this number of commissioners has left and these are the ones remaining, and he chose me.

    So I don’t think it’s about recommendation. We should think about the other administrative processes. I was still a commissioner. I am qualified to do it. And like he said, gender issues cropped up. He seems to be a traditional person and the gender activists started working on him. So, that might have informed the choice of the only female among the six commissioners remaining.

    Were you the most senior commissioner?

    Yes, there were two of us. We were the two most senior commissioners. And this is not the first time INEC has had an acting commissioner. I understand Prof. Maurice Iwu was a commissioner who became a chairman. When we came, Soyebi was acting commissioner and he handed over to Jega. And he conducted elections. He had done all the procurements. The commission was running before we came. In fact, with Soyebi and Umeadi, the same scenario happened. When Iwu left, he didn’t nominate an acting chairman. Umeadi took over but the Presidency appointed Soyebi as acting chairman.

    Are you desperate for this position?

    There is nothing called desperation. Or have I portrayed that image?

    Your adversaries believe that you want to get the job at all cost…

    No, no, no. I am not desperate and I don’t have to get the job at all cost. I think even if I don’t get the job, I have made history as the first acting female chairman of INEC. Within this period, have I done anything good? Have I done anything to improve the process? Even if it is a two-day job, somebody has to do it and I happen to be the one doing it. If somebody is asked to come and take over, I will willingly hand over to that person. I am not desperate.

    I have been a widow in the last 15 years, no man or anyone will say I have ever knocked on his door to seek help to take care of my children. I was brought up with decency and I have tried my best to preserve and protect my integrity.

    The PDP has been criticising your appointment. Do you think this is justified?

    In politics, everything is justified. I don’t have a quarrel with them. I have worked very well with them being in charge of political parties. And at that time, there was no single complaint about me. Normally, you see somebody’s name being mentioned in petitions, but in all the four years, there was no time any political party or faction mentioned me in person as doing something to influence any of their activities. You would see tons of complaints and petitions from political parties. They would put our directors and everybody in the papers. Did you ever see my name crop up? That was the most sensitive and difficult assignment in INEC and I did it for four years. So for PDP to be saying they don’t like my appointment, that is politics.

    How many PVCs have not been collected?

    We have about 58million PVCs collected so far, which is about 81 per cent of the 68 million produced. We have about 10 million PVCs not collected. We still have about 400,000 PVCs not produced. So, we are going to resume the distribution of PVCs but we cannot just bring out those PVCs and begin to distribute them until we are sure they belong to living human beings.

    We are planning our modalities for distribution.

    But before that we are going out to the field to conduct PVC audit in all the states. On Thursday, we had a meeting with all our Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and the topic of discussion was resumption of PVC distribution and Continuous Voters Registration (CVR).

    Like I told the RECs yesterday, the audit will start by next week. But as for the PVC distribution, we have to come up with a water-tight process so that the PVCs will not get into wrong hands, especially as we are having Kogi and Bayelsa elections. We have to scientifically determine how we are going to do the distribution so that we just don’t go out to the field and it becomes a different story.

    What is the budget for Kogi and Bayelsa elections?

    For Kogi, am still expecting the budget, but we have done the budget for CVR and PVC distribution. They were approved when there were enough members of the commission. For Kogi, we are coming up with the budget. For Bayelsa, we have to go back to government for the budget. Nonetheless, we have started preparation. We had preliminary meeting with the RECs last Wednesday to discuss modalities for the CVR. We have a work plan for the CVR, so we want to start early. Then we would have a work plan for the elections. We should soon get approval for Kogi.

    We would get a memo and budget for Kogi. But for Bayelsa, we have to go back to government because we had anticipated Bayelsa to be in next year’s budget, but due to the timelines approved in the constitution, it is better to prosecute the two elections this year. Next year, we take Ondo and Edo, so that we can have a paced process so we don’t get inundated with too many elections like we did between 2011 and 2015, so we can tidy up and ensure seamless delivery of credible elections to Nigerians.

    The processes have started. We are comfortable. The RECs are already doing what they need to do at the lower level. I always told the staff there are soft issues you can do without money. You can begin preparations without money. While you are waiting for the core issues, you can begin with soft preparations and this is the example of what we are doing. In fact, our timelines have not been derailed for any reason.

    Is INEC broke?

    INEC is not broke. The releases are becoming a bit more difficult but INEC is not broke.

    What is the amount to be spent on Kogi election?

    Normally, for governorship election, it costs us between N500 million and N600 million. This is all inclusive. It includes payment of ad hoc staff and the bulk of our cost is usually the payment of honorarium to ad hoc staff. But we have some savings. We still have leftovers, non-sensitive materials from the 2015 elections, and we are not going to procure a lot. We will just concentrate on procuring the sensitive materials.

    When will voters in Kogi, Bayelsa and other states get their PVRs?

    I think Bayelsa and Kogi were among the first states where most of the voters have collected their voter cards. It is just a balance of the PVCs that are remaining and we are not sure if the people that own them are not dead. We are not sure if they are students, especially in Ogun where we did a scientific analysis and we have seen that they have so many universities and the students left and were not interested in coming back for the cards. That is why we can’t throw back the cards in the fields because we don’t want them to get into the wrong hands given that our card readers do not read all the fingers all the time. We have to be systematic about the distribution. That is why we are doing continuous voters registration for them. We are going to do pre-election registration to mop up the few people that need to register and for people to transfer their registration from polling unit. From inter-state and intra-state, they want to move to another local government. We are going to avail them that opportunity and we are trying to do it seamlessly on e-platform. We have started testing an e-transfer platform that does not need you to come back for capturing. We are working on that for the two states.

    When Jega came on board, he promised to prosecute electoral offenders. How many have been prosecuted so far?

    In 2011, we prosecuted up to 200 persons. The police have given us a report on that. For 2015, a lot more are in police net. Investigations are going on. We haven’t heard about the prosecution yet. In fact, some of them are our ad hoc staff. So we wait for the report. I know that the last Inspector-General of Police set up a special prosecution team for the 2015 elections. So we’ll await their report.

    There is this insinuation that you have a health challenge and that you had a heart surgery. Are you fit for the job?

    I don’t think the person saying that is a medical doctor. I am a pharmacist. If I had heart surgery in May, you would not see my face till the next six months because I have to recuperate to ensure that my heart is back to normal.

    I travelled to Saudi Arabia in May. Everybody went for thanksgiving after the general elections. I spent like 10 days, came back and went straight to Uyo for the retreat. We finished on June 15, right after the election, straight to London for an assignment, came back, went to Ummrah and came back. If I had appendix surgery, I will recuperate for two months. Heart surgery is not easy.

    You have seen me, I am fit. I have been veiling myself as a good Muslim. I need to veil myself more as the acting chairman. I am sure the person that made the insinuation is not a medical doctor.

  • Widow demands death penalty for husband’s killer

    Widow demands death penalty for husband’s killer

    A widow, Bose Azees, is  demanding the death penalty for the man alleged to have beaten her husband, Ahmed Azees, to death.

    Kola Adegbite, a local  official of the  Amalgamation of Motorcycle Operators and Riders Association of Nigeria (AMORAN), allegedly beat Azees to death with charm penultimate Sunday at Bank Bus stop, Ifo, Ogun State.

    An argument had ensued between Adegbite, described as AMORAN ticketing officer, and the deceased over ticketing.

    What followed, according to eye witnesses, was that Adegbite struck Azees with a ring. The victim  slumped immediately.

    Bystanders rushed to his aid and were in the process of taking him to the hospital  when he gave up the ghost.

    Bose, who is still shocked by the incident, says all she wants is justice.

    “My  husband’s killer should be given the  death penalty,” she told The Nation as she recalled the circumstances surrounding his death.

    She said: “my husband was not into Okada business full time. He was a bricklayer and only used his motorcycle to carry passengers in order to complement his income.

    “He told Adegbite that he had no money to buy ticket, promising to do so as soon as he made some money later in the day.

    “My husband pleaded with Adegbite, but he won’t listen. It was in the middle of an altercation that the man (Adegbite) invited his colleagues to beat up my husband before hitting him with a deadly charm. He fell  down with his tongue stretching out. He  died on the spot.

    “My husband and I did not plan it this way. All I want is justice.”

    A close relation who does not want to be named  described the late Azees “as unassuming and hardworking.”

    A resident who asked for anonymity asked  security agencies and local government authorities to monitor  Okada riders in the community close to  prevent a recurrence.

    He recalled how three other commercial motorcycle riders were beaten up by AMORAN ticketing officials at Coker area of the town  a month ago.

    The suspect  was arrested by policemen from the  Ifo Police Station and has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta.

  • Widow seeks justice

    Widow seeks justice

    he grief of 29-year-old widow, Ogechukwu Egwu-atu, from Adazi-Ani in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State is deep.

    First, she lost her 36-year-old husband of seven years, and fractured a leg in a car crash. She was in coma for four days.

    Then, their two daughters, Chidinma, 7, and Mmesoma, 4, who had bruises in the accident, were abducted by her husband’s relations while she was in hospital.

    Her pains increased, when the same relations of her late husband confiscated all her property, including wrappers. They also, allegedly, took over N6 million meant for their business forcibly from their shops and told her not to come back home again.

    Worst still, she attended the burial of her late husband with clutches from Iyienu Hospital where good Samaritans rushed her to after the accident at Ugwu-Nwasike Junction on October 21 last year.

    Following the maltreatments from the husband’s family, a firm of solicitors led by Chris Ajugwe, has petitioned the police in Anambra State over the kidnap of the two girls.

    When The Nation visited the sick-bed of the widow, she was in pains as a result of the maltreatment.

    Also, some of the civil society groups and independent human rights activists have taken up the matter to ensure justice.

    The Nation also gathered that the main person responsible for the widow’s sufferings is the elder sister of the late husband, one Inspector Angela Mojekwu, attached to the Central Police Station (CPS) Nnewi.

    She was alleged to have sworn that the widow would not have peace unless she left the husband’s house; boasting that she has made enough money to prosecute the matter.

    Since the children were abducted, The Nation gathered that they had not been seen, while the traditional ruler of Ukpor in Nnewi South Local Government Area, Igwe Felix Onyimadu had been notified on the development.

    At the hospital where she was rushed to after the accident, the widow said her husband’s people abandoned her; she was without food for four days and hid the death of her husband from her all in a bid for her not to attend the burial.

    A sales girl with the late Egwuatu, alleged that she was chased out of the shop by her late boss’s relations after which they packed everything in the shop.

    The sales girl Chiamaka Opara from Imo State gave the name of the relation of her boss as Raphael (aka-school boy) who, she alleged demanded for the keys to the shop which she said she did not know where they were.

    During the accident, the widow lost two month-old pregnancy, while the N6 million picked from the shop was money meant for a joint business venture between the couple and two of their friends.

    The petition made available to The Nation dated April 2, 2015 and signed by Uju Akuneziri (Esq), for the firm, is demanding full investigation from the police command with a view to bringing the culprits to book.

    The petition, addressed to the Commissioner of Police, said: “Dramatically, sir, while our client was still battling to save her life, her late husband’s siblings, namely Mrs. Angela Mojekwu, Miss Nonye Egwuatu and Mr. Raphael Ojika among others, embarked on the heinous act of carting away everything belonging to our client and her husband.

    “They started with our clients’ home at No. 37 Uzoegwu Street Nkpor junction where they cleared everything found therein and left no pin behind for the widow and her children. From there they proceeded to their two shops at New Parts, Nkpor”

    “They forcibly broke down the protector and entered our client’s shop at C 1/15, New Parts Market Nkpor. They equally took a cash of six million Naira being money meant for a joint business venture between our client and her two friends.

    “With respect to our client’s late husband’s shop at B2/13, they entered into it and took over four hundred thousand Naira being the cash at hand in the late Egwuatu’s shop.

    “Neighbours and well-wishers witnessed the callous and wanton display of greed and total disregard to the law. They are working in collusion with one Amaka and Oby who are daily contribution collectors. Ojika collected the sum due to the late Egwuatu totalling six hundred thousand.

    “Worst of all, they equally abducted the kids aged four years and six years from the hospital without the consent of our client.

    “It will interest you to note, sir that the said Mrs. Angela Mojekwu is a police woman attached to CPS Nnewi and has been throwing her weight around the matter all in the name of being a police woman.

    “Our client since that incident of October 21 last year has not laid her eyes on her two girls and every effort made to bring Mrs. Angela Mojekwu and Mr. Raphael Ojika to reason failed woefully.

    “Most pitiable, our client was only allowed to spy on her husband’s burial with a wrapper tied round our client’s chest because her stuffs and clothing had been forcibly taken by the twosome.

    “And what is worst, our client left the hospital and returned to her husband’s home village but she was denied entry into her husband’s home and denied access to her abducted kids. Instead, she was chased away on the grounds that she no longer belongs to her husband’s family and should forever return to her parents.”

  • A widow’s reward for constituents

    A widow’s reward for constituents

    Widows are considered to be among the less-privileged in the society. They, therefore, attract sympathy from well-meaning individuals. Nobody expects anything worthwhile from them; rather, they receive from people who are moved by their plights as they have lost their husbands who should take care of them.

    However, it is unusual for a widow to give  back to the society to the tune of millions of Naira.

    This was case in Anambra North Senatorial Zone where Margery Okadigbo, wife of former Senate President, the late Senator Chuba Okadigbo, gave a lift to members of her constituency.

    It was surprising to most of her constituents, who believed she had not done enough for the people of the zone which she represents at the Senate.

    Recently, she presented several empowerment items worth N100 million to some members of her constituency.

    Senator Okadigbo, at Nteje, the headquarters of Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State, gave out 200 deep freezers, 100 grinding machines, 200 sewing machines, 120 motor cycles, three ambulances and seven vehicles to the people.

    Those who benefitted were mainly her campaign coordinators from ward to local government, widows and other less-privileged individuals.

    Each widow received a cooler while ward chairmen received a motorcycle each. The seven cars were for her campaign coordinators. Some less-privileged received deep freezers and sewing machines, among other items.

    The Senate President, David Mark, who received a chieftaincy title of Dikeora from Ogbunike during the event, was accompanied by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.

    Also in his company were Senators Nuru Dim from Kogi, Paulinus Igwe from Ebonyi, Esuene from Akwa-Ibom State and former Minister of Women Affairs, Iyom Josephine Anenih.

    Anambra State Governor Chief Willie Obiano was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Political Matters and former Commissioner for Information and Culture, Chief Joe-Martins Uzodike.

    The traditional ruler of Umunya, Igwe Chris Onyekwuluje, and other monarchs were present at the event.

    Giving the car keys to the beneficiaries, Senator Mark urged them to use the vehicles judiciously to serve the purpose for which they were procured, advising those who did not get not to despair. He promised that they would benefit from such gesture in future.

    Noting that they were at the event to honour and support a colleague and not for a campaign, he reminded the people of Anambra North Senatorial zone of the need to continually support a winning team.

    Governor Obiano said through Uzodike that what Senator Okadigbo did was part of the state government’s programme of empowering the youth, widows and the less-privileged people.

    He said despite Senator Okadigbo belonging to another party, she would receive the support of the state government in such event because it tilts towards eradication of poverty in the society.

    Uchenna Okafor, who is the chairman of Oyi Local Government Area and a member of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), praised Senator Okadigbo for empowering some members of her constituency.

    He described the empowerment programme of Okadigbo as the first of its kind in the area.

    In a chat with our correspondent, Senator Okadigbo said it was her own little way of saying thank you to her constituents for standing by her during all those years of trauma when she lost her husband and during the legal battle to reclaim her mandate.

    She said: “This is a tip of the iceberg. Before now, I believe I have done a lot to all the seven local government areas under my constituency and more empowerment programmes are coming.

    “I do not care what some people, especially those who are not members of my party, are saying. But if you move around in Anambra North Senatorial zone and ask questions, people will tell you the truth and you will see things for yourself.

    “Politics is not about talking or praising oneself, it is a ground where your works speak for one. The people of the zone know that I have served them well within the two years I have been in the Senate.”

    For Innocent Nwanta from Iyiowa Odekpe in Ogbaru Local Government Area who received a motorcycle, it was a dream come true and only God would reward the Senator.

    Also, Josephine Ayadiuno from Anaku in Ayamelum Local Government Area who received a sewing machine, praised Senator Okadigbo, saying her empowerment programme was the best thing that has ever happened to them.

    Amechi Obi from Umueze-Anam in Anambra West who received a generating set and a clipper, the people of the zone would continue to support Senator Okadigbo.

    Others who spoke in like manner were Angelina Modu from Nteje in Oyi Local Government Area and Nwagu Chika from Fegge in Onitsha South Local Government Area, among other beneficiaries.

  • Slain lawyer’s widow, son seek justice

    Slain lawyer’s widow, son seek justice

    •Recount how he was killed The widow of the human rights activist, Mr. Kunle Fadipe, who was murdered in his Harmony Estate, Ogba, Lagos home, last Thursday by an unknown attacker, pleaded yesterday  with the police to find his killer. “Please, my husband’s killing must not join the long list of unresolved murder cases, she said.” Mrs Kemi Fadipe and her injured son, Folahan, said justice is the only balm that could assuage the pains that the murder of their bread-winner has left in their hearts. “Only God knows when I will recover from this shock,” Folahan, 17, a student of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), told The Nation. Kemi, who said she would miss everything that her slain husband stood for, insisted that the incident must be investigated and the mastermind brought to justice. She described her husband as a straight-forward person who would not engage in any deal that could have warranted his killing. In agony, she said that although she initially thought her husband’s attacker was a robber when he demanded money immediately he entered the house, the way he stabbed her husband made her to realise that he could actually have been “a professional killer”. She said: “Upon reflection, I have come to the conclusion that my father’s killer is a professional. He stabbed my husband on the left side of his neck and the left armpit – all indicating that he knew the most fatal places to strike a human body. “I also realised that he was too much in a hurry. He was asking for too many things at the same time and threatening that somebody would die if all were not met. As he was asking for money, laptop and phones, he was not patient even when he saw that my husband and all of us were cooperating with him.” Mrs Fadipe said her husband had gone upstairs to get money for the assailant after demanding laptop, adding: “They were still on the staircase when he began to rain slaps on my husband. When my husband turned back to know the reason behind the assault, he was met with a terrible stab in the neck and that was when we knew he might have come for something else.” She added: “We hit the man with stool, wood, bottles and everything, but he just kept on stabbing my husband.” Folahan, who said he could not believe that his father would not survive the assault, recalled that he had gone out to switch off their generating set when the man suddenly stabbed him in the head with a knife. “When I looked up, he made to strike me again, but I blocked the knife and he cut my right hand. At that point, I ran inside and alerted my father, who ran out and upon seeing me in a pool of my blood, he accosted the man and asked him what he wanted. “The man demanded N500,000 and my father said he didn’t have that amount. He mentioned another amount and my father led him upstairs. They were still there when the man started demanding laptop and other things and just as my father was coming downstairs to hand those things over, he started slapping him and before we knew it, he was using the knife he brought with him on my father.” “We fought him, but he was too powerful for us. He must have been high on drugs because everything we hit him with had no effect on him. We attacked him with sticks, wood and bottles, but they had no effect on him. But we succeeded in blindfolding him with a curtain and that was how we prevented him from escaping,” he said. He urged the Inspector General of Police, Mr Muhammed Abubakar, to ensure that those behind the dastardly act are brought to book. Folahan, who praised the police for their investigations into the matter, urged them to ensure that his father’s killers are unmasked and the reason behind his killing exposed. Meanwhile, eminent Nigerians have been trooping into the Fadipes’ home to condole with the family and pay their last respects to the  departed human rights fighter. At his house on Saturday were: Mr. Femi Falana (SAN); founder of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders Mr. Debo Adeniran; Chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan and his counterpart at the Ifako Ijaiye Local Government, Apostle Oloruntoba Oke.

  • Save my son, pleads widow

    A widow, Mrs. Lami Onoja has pleaded with well- meaning Nigerians to help her financially so that she will be able to foot the bill for her son’s treatment.

    The widow, who lives at Area 8, Block 62, Nyanya, Abuja, stated that her 16-year-old son, Hamza Onoja has suffered kidney problem for two years.

    Onoja said she has no money to foot the bill. She therefore pleaded with government, public-spirited individuals and corporate organisations for financial assistance so that her son will not die.

    Mrs. Onoja, who said her husband died about five years ago, added that all relations have deserted her and her two children.

    “Life has not been easy for me and my two children since my husband died about five years ago. We have nobody to assist us and all our relations have distanced themselves from us.

    “We have been feeding from hand to mouth because I don’t have anything doing. I need a job to assist my family. We were told at Nyanya General Hospital about two years ago that my son has kidney problem and we need a huge amount of money to treat him.

    “The hospital later referred us to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital in Gwagwalada where we were asked to pay the sum of N 43, 700 just to carry out a test,’’ she said.

    Mrs. Onoja further stated that she has been able to raise N30, 000, hence the appeal with the public to assist her.

    “He is my only hope. I do not want him to die. Please help us. I am also ready to do any job to keep the family going; even if it means sweeping the streets to enable me to feed my family,” she said.

  • Agony of a widow whose husband was ‘murdered’ by police

    Agony of a widow whose husband was ‘murdered’ by police

    •Takes refuge with her eight children at uncompleted building

    Her world was turned upside the day her husband, Ndubuisi Obisike, was allegedly murdered by a team of police officers on patrol along Igbo-Etche junction in Rivers State.

    Mrs. Nkechi Obisike, the widow of the deceased, now lives a helpless life. She and her eight children now sleep in an uncompleted building.

    Efforts to ensure that those who killed her husband were brought to book have yielded no fruit. Speaking with Niger Delta Report, she said her condition would not stop her from fighting the officers who killed her husband.

    She said: “I want those arrested before now in connection with the death of my husband to face the law and to compensate me for killing an innocent man. I will continue to tell people that my husband is innocent; this is a man who cannot hurt a fly. He was murdered at Igo-Etche in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State while returning from work last year. When I petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, those officers suspected were arrested but were later released without any reason behind it. That is why after one year of my husband’s death, I have decided to approach the human right lawyers for advice and my interest is to go to court. Look at me today, I am living in an uncompleted building with my children and somebody is somewhere saying I should forget about the death, I can’t bear it.

    “Some of these officers have been posted out of Rivers State; police did well by identifying them to us but all we are saying is that police should tell us the reason behind the delay for their prosecution.”

    Narrating the genesis of how the late husband was murdered, Mrs. Obisike said an eyewitness told her that: “A white colour Toyota Hummer Hiace, with registration number RV192A01 was conveying some men of the Nigerian Police under the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) division at about 5 am to 6am when they saw her husband at the Igbo Etche/Eleme junction. The officers alighted from their vehicle and confronted my husband who was loading the vehicle of his friend having closed from work. The policemen engaged him with argument of obstruction of traffic from where he parked his car. It was through that argument that one of the officers stabbed him on the abdomen. He was left alone in a pool of blood when the officers zoomed off. Efforts were made to ensure the arrest of the above officers but the issue is that they have failed to produce who among them stabbed my husband; that is the reason I am heading to court.”

    A human right lawyer, Higher King said: “Investigation revealed that the said Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) Official bus stopped at Igbo Etche Eleme Junction and a certain police man came down and stabbed the deceased to death. This, according to the report, was also confirmed by the police authority through their investigation. But the question that remains unanswered till date is that who is this mysterious police officer that stabbed the deceased and could not be identified by police till date? This is the crux of the matter,” he noted.

    When contacted, the Rivers State Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), DSP Ahmad Mohammad, said the incident took place when he was not the PPRO of Rivers State police Command and it would be unprofessional for him to comment on a matter. He added that: “If she wants to go to court, there is nothing wrong to seek a redress over her matter. I will make further inquiry on the matter; that is all I have to say for now.”

  • Widow sues firm over leased property

    An 86-year-old  widow, Mrs. Adedayo Dada has sued a Lagos based firm,  Timicom Telecommuications Limited,  owned by the Acting National Vice-Chairman, Southwest of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Deji Doherty,  before an Ikeja Magistrate Court for false information and misrepresenting facts over a leased property.

    In her Statement on Oath, the widow stated that the defendant had misrepresented facts to the sub-tenants of a property inherited by her from her late husband, Dr. Ekundayo Dada, located along Joel Ogunnaike Street, GRA Ikeja, Lagos.

    The widow and the administrators of her late husband estate told the court presided by Chief Magistrate Eniola Fabamwo, that her husband entered into an agreement with the defendant for the lease of the property for a term of two years, starting from February 19, 2001 to February 19, 2003.

    She averred that in October 2001, the defendant sought the consent of the lessor, vide a letter dated October 30, 2001 to extend the said lease for an additional five years.

    She said the lessor consented to extend the said lease for an additional three years.

    According to her, the lease was further extended for one year, from February 19, 2007 to February 18, 2008 for N1.6million.

    Mrs. Dada further stated that her husband died during the period and the management of the  premises devolved to her as the surviving spouse of the lessor and the beneficial owner of the property.

    Subsequently upon  the lessor’s death, and  series of negotiations and exchange of correspondence with the defendant, she claimed that the lease was further extended to February 18, 2013.

    She claimed to have written  the defendant a letter dated January 30, 2012, that she and the estate of the lessor had agreed to make personal use of the property at the expiration of the lease on February 18, 2013 but was  issued a Notice to Quit dated June 3, 2012.

    She said the defendant informed her that it had rented the building to third parties up to 2015, contrary to the  lease agreement.

    Further investigations, she stated in her Statement on Oath revealed that “the defendant had at different times made unauthorised alteration to the building and had rented it out to nine different sub-tenants for various terms”.

    She added that the wife of Doherty, Mrs. Abiola Doherty had in October 25, 2012 sent her an email showing the schedule of tenants, that the defendant had collected monies from and when the term granted to them would expire.

    She lamented that the defendant had fraudulently misrepresented facts to the sub-tenants and thereafter rented the premises beyond the term granted it without her prior or subsequent consent or ratification.

    The statement went further: “I never increase the rent and did not demand for three years advance payment. On the contrary, upon the discovery that the defendant fraudulently obtained monies by false pretence from the sub-tenants, far beyond the term granted him, I requested that part of the monies collected from the sub-tenants as rent (estimated at about N13 million), be remitted to me, to enable me accommodate the interest of the sub-tenants, since the defendants tenancy had been determined”, she stated.

    But in his defence and counter claim filed before the court, Timicom Telecommuications Limited stated that it did not breach any covenant as the approval of late Dr. Ekundayo Dada was obtained before it built the shopping complex in the demised premises.

    The defendant stated that the late Dr. Dada pleaded with it to take over the premises and carry out any renovation necessary either for residential or business premises in order to salvage the property from collapsing entirely.

    Timicom Telecommuications averred that there was an agreement with the deceased lessor that should the premises be used for business, it must be converted back to residential status upon the determination of tenancy.

    “As a result of understanding between the defendant/counterclaimant and the plaintiffs/defendants predecessor (Dr. T. Ekundayo Dada) the defendant/counterclaimant invested about N40million and carried out massive reconstruction of the demised premises which was done in two phases whereupon it established business therein.

    “As a result of huge investment made by the defendant/counterclaimant, it insisted on long lease in order to recoup its investment but the late Dr. Ekundayo being a retiree insisted on yearly tenancy as he may often need money but assured the defendant/counterclaimant that there will be no problem being a bossom friend of Dr. Tunji Doherty, father of the defendant/counterclaimant chairman.

    The defendant stated that the plaintiffs never raised any issue about the shopping complex built in the premises even when the widow took over the administration of her late husband upon his demise in 2007, until 2013 when disagreement ensued between them over increase in rent to N10 million and demanded for three years advance payment in the sum of N30 million.

    The defendant added that whenever he complains about the outrageous increase in rent, Mrs. Dada will tell him to pass it on to the tenants in the demised premises.

    Timicom Telecommuications urged the court to dismiss the suit with substantial cost.

    The defendant also prayed the court to grant it additional five years subject to payment of reasonable rents to enable it recoup its investment in the demised premises.

    It also prayed the court for an order authorising it to convert the demised premises to residential premises in accordance to the tenancy agreement.