The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Yaba

  • Photo: Late Bukky Ajayi laid to rest

    Photo: Late Bukky Ajayi laid to rest

     

    The Remains of Alhaja Bukky Ajayi been carried by the Muslims clerics during the burial at Atan Cemetery, Yaba, Lagos.-photo:Biodun Adeyewa
    The Remains of Alhaja Bukky Ajayi been carried by the Muslims clerics during the burial at Atan Cemetery, Yaba, Lagos.-photo:Biodun Adeyewa

  • Queen’s College girls protest alleged sexual harassment

    Senior Secondary School 3 (SSS3) students of Queen’s College, Yaba abandoned their mock examination on Monday to protest the allegation of sexual harassment leveled against one of their teachers, Mr Olaseni Oshifala.

    While they put pressure on their teachers to let them out of the school gate, another group of protesters, who claimed to have been taught by Oshifala, stood outside the premises, condemning the allegations as falsehood.

    The sexual assault story was first published online by Olorisupergal.com, a blog run by Tosin Ajibade, and became viral over the weekend.

    In the piece, one Chinenye Okoye, mother of the JSS 2 pupil said to have been abused, claimed that the girl was molested by a drunken Oshifala when she left her hostel to relieve herself at night.  The story also claimed that, Oshifala, who teaches Integrated Science, was being protected by one of the vice principals, Mrs Kayode, who allegedly told Chinenye that he was untouchable.

    During Monday’s protest, the pupils, workers and Chairman, Parents/Teachers Association, Mrs Beatrice Akhetuamen, denied the claims.

    As a result of the agitation, the Biology paper for the Southwest Zonal Mock examination organised in preparation for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) was delayed.  The girls, bore placards that read: “No Mother, No child, No Case!”, “Haters at work, free Mr Seni”, “No Seni, no A’s”, “He didn’t do it,” “It is a set up”, as they chanted “No Seni, no biology”.

    All efforts by the teachers to send them back failed as they started chanting “open the gate.” They eventually went back to write their examination after a call made by a director in the Ministry, referred to as Mrs. Madueke, who asked to speak with the Head Girl, Angel Tony-Ativie, to prevail on her classmates to end the protest.

    In an interview, Angel said the claims were baseless.

    “This is a very untrue allegation against our Biology teacher; because most of the facts are baseless.  Mr Oshifala does not live in the boarding house; he is not an Integrated Science teacher; he teachers biology to SS1-SS3.  I have known him for six years; he has taught me for three years. He is our chief maintenance officer so the only time he is able to move to the boarding house, with the permission of the principal, is to check if the facilities are functioning.  He leaves the boarding house around 9 or 10pm.

    Another pupil, Unoma Omenyi, President of the Students’ Representative Council, said the story was a maliciously generated to create bad publicity for the school.

    “This is our teacher; this is someone that taught us for three good years.  We have known this man since JSS1 and we know he is not capable of something like this.  Every Saturday we have Biology lessons; this is why Queen’s College exists because we can proudly say we can write Biology and have A1 in WAEC.

    “I believe this is a publicity stunt to bring down the image of the school and the image of our respected teachers.  I just want to say they should leave our school and our teacher alone,” she said.

    Unoma added that it was unfair to crucify Oshifala when those accusing him have failed to come forward.

    “There is no girl; there is no evidence against him.  Because nobody has come up to say, ‘oh, I was raped’, ‘oh, I was molested.’ If there is no girl, there is no mother, then why are we accusing a man falsely when there is no evidence against him?,” she asked.

    On her part, the PTA Chairman, Mrs. Akhetuamen, said Oshifala may have been targeted because of his track record of working successfully with many principals of the school.

    She also said she made repeated calls to the number said to be owned by Chinenye but got no response.  However, when she used the App, TrueCaller, the number was identified to be owned by someone called Sola Salisu.

    However, when some journalists called the number, one woman, who said her name was Tope, picked the call (she was identified by TrueCaller on another phone as “Toyin Flask”).  She said she had no relationship with Queen’s College and had no daughter studying there.

    Mrs. Akhetuamen said a committee has been set up to investigate the issue.  She declined claims that the PTA or the college management was not responsive.

    She said: “The attention of the Parents Teachers Association has been drawn to online reports of sexual harassment said to have taken place at Queens College, Yaba, Lagos.  Upon hearing the reports, the school authorities swung into action even though we are yet to receive any official report, oral or written from any parent or student to that effect,” she said.

  • Yaba LCDA boss celebrates Christmas with children

    Yaba LCDA boss celebrates Christmas with children

    It was a day of fun and merriment for children in Yaba LCDA under the Mainland Local Government Area, Lagos State as its Executive Secretary, Hon. Bola Lawal-Olumegbon, hosted them to a Christmas party.

    Children from different schools in the LCDA came out in their numbers to participate in the event which took place at the Main Bowl of the University of Lagos Sports Ground in Akoka, Lagos.

    In her speech, Hon. Lawal-Olumegbon described Christmas as a season of joy during which Christians celebrated the birth of Christ and also a period when friends and families visit each other while exchanging gifts, adding that the event which was the first of its kind in the LCDA.

    “It’s our little way of adding fun to this year’s festive activities for the children to make them happy.”

    This she said was because before now, all the Council Development Area had been doing was about the parents and the elderly but the festive period provided an opportunity for them to celebrate the children. She therefore encouraged the children to have fun.

    Parents, as well as staff of the LCDA, including the APC Leader, Mainland LGA, Hon Wale Osun, and other dignitaries, graced the occasion which featured dance, games, bouncing castle.

    The celebration also featured dance competitions for children of different ages and for mothers too while gift items was presented to the children by Hon. Bola Lawal-Olumegbon.

    The politician also spent time with autistic children and took photographs with them.

    According to her, seeing them always makes her feel happy and fulfilled. She said even when they are not as physically stable as normal children, they could be helped to live a normal live.

  • Yaba residents protest six-month blackout

    Yaba residents protest six-month blackout

    Fired of living in darkness, residents of Abiodun, Adebiyi, Akanbi, Aderibigbe and Lawani Streets in Onitiri, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, yesterday stormed Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Marina, Lagos Headquarters to demand better service.

    They protested against what they called the “outrageous bills” they have been receiving while living in darkness for six months.

    They carried placards with inscriptions, such as, “Eko Distribution PLC is a cheat”; “EKEDC PLC stop distributing darkness”; “We are tired of outrageous bills”; “Prepaid metre is our right” among others.

    Led by a lawyer, Mr Ayo Opadokun, they presented a protest letter, which among others stated that the objective of privatising power was to provide reliable and better power supply, to EKEDC management.

    The letter, written by their lawyer, Ayo Opadokun & Co., to EKEDC Managing Director, reads: “Our clients have informed us that in the last one year, the Eko Electricity Distribution Company has given different makeup stories for its epileptic supply of power and excessively unfair and unrealistic billing system. There are times when they don’t have any supply for weeks and when it is temporarily restored, the unstable supply has destroyed their electronic gadgets and electrical apparatus. And when one of their cables fell off the pole in the University of Lagos, Yaba, recently, and thereby killed a student, they were in darkness for about a month. That the company claims to be busy making installation of one equipment or the other at all times. But the company as usual will unjustly bill them for power not used.”

    Head of Corporate Communication, EKEDC Mr Idemudia Godwin said it was not true that the residents have been in darkness for six months, explaining that the community is experiencing what he called “load-shedding”.

  • Photo: Fashola at Ebola isolation ward

    Photo: Fashola at Ebola isolation ward

  • Church programme

    Mountain Salem Gospel of Zion World Wide will hold its Salem 2014 with seven days revival session at its national head quarters: Itedo Akogun Olodumare Salem Community, Itun Oba, Yaba, Lagos.

    The programme which started yesterday will end on Sunday.

    Morning session starts at 5am and evening session at 5pm. The theme is ‘Touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm’

    The Chief Host and founder, Dr. B.O. Elebiju, said everyone who attends the programme will be protected from attacks.

  • Police invite council chair over Yaba crisis

    Police invite council chair over Yaba crisis

    Suspected robbers, cultists held

    The Chairman of Yaba Local Council Development Area, Jide Jimoh, was invited by the police over the activities of thugs in his domain.

    He told reporters that he was willing to cooperate with the police to ensure that violence becomes a thing of the past in the area.

    Jimoh said he does not support violence, thuggery, armed robbery and will offer any assistance the police may need to fight crime.

    He said: “I don’t believe in thuggery. This is my 23 years of being actively involved in election from 2003, 2008, 2009 till date, there was nothing like thuggery.”

    He spoke following the arrest of seven suspected robbers/cultists who allegedly killed three persons during a clash in Yaba, Lagos Mainland.

    The suspects, Lekan Olaiya (30), Edun Adeshina (20), Kazeem Igbalaiye (30) Irelola Shokeye (23), Kamilu Oladimeji (20), Darli Adewale (27) and Bakare Azeez (25) are said to have made confessional statements.

    They are said to be members of the rival groups Citizen and Iwaya that clashed in Yaba in October and early this month. Iwaya group lost a member, Citizen, two in the clash.

    The Nation gathered that their arrest was celebrated by residents of Makoko and environs. They urged the police not to allow the suspects return to the area.

    The suspects recalled how they took to crime. Olaiya said: “I am a BRT operator. I don’t have a particular bus I drive. I am the leader of the citizen group. I was employed after test in 2010. I was a political thug before becoming a cult member. Then, the politicians I worked for used to pay me N50, 000, and N100, 000 but after election, there was no money to spend and since I needed to continue the expensive life style I was used to, I took to cultisim and armed robbery to make up. When I was driving BRT my salary was N28, 000 with no allowance but robbery gave me more money. My group clashed with Iwaya group over superiority issue. I was arrested and taken to Adekunle Police Station before I was transferred to Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), on October 14. I was not the one who killed John Ibato”.

    Azeez said: “We are big boys in our area. We do small fighting to get money to smoke. We are not robbers. We only fought with Citizen group over superiority issue. I am from Oyo State but I was born in Lagos. We used to gather at Niger Hotel to decide where we would go and use intimidation to extort money from people. Anytime they want to use gun, I always warn them to be careful as it may lead us into trouble. I was arrested on 2nd November, 2013. We fight on every sanitation day. We killed one Ibato in Citizen group at Okoagbo at Iwaya Road. Three people were killed on our side namely Sadiq Ligali, Ibrahim a.k.a Enibunmor and Goddey. Bakassi has five guns. Our leader Waidi gives us guns any time we want to operate”.

    Police command spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), confirmed the arrest. She said investigation was still ongoing, adding that some suspects are at large and will soon be arrested.