FAKE BANK ALERT: POLICE ARREST SUSPECTED KINGPIN IN LAGOS

LAGOS—A middle-aged man, Pius Asomba, suspected to be the leader of a notorious syndicate that specialized in dispossessing businessmen of large sums of money through fake bank alerts, has been arrested by the police in Lagos.

The Anambra State-born suspect was arrested after he jumped bail and disappeared for over two years.
Police sources said the criminal exploits of the suspect was blown open on August 31, 2012, after he went to one Engr. Moses Adebayo at Alaba International market a major distributor with Nigerchin Development Company in Ikeja, and placed an order for cables worth N9.5 million. According to the source, when he was told to pay for the goods, he claimed to be in a hurry and promised to pay through his bank.

“After they finished loading the goods around 4p.m., that day, the owner received alert of N9.5million from his bank, confirming prompt payment and the suspect also called to confirm payment. The owner of the goods also corresponded with his bank and it was confirmed, he thereafter released the goods and gave the suspect extra N50,000 for transport expenses.”

The story, however, took a different dimension when the owner of the goods went to the bank few days later only to be told that it was a magic alert as nothing was paid into his account. Based on this, the police was alerted and they commenced search for the suspect for over a month without success.
Vanguard learned that while detectives were looking for him, the suspect went to the warehouse of another trader at Okokomaiko to buy iron worth about N4 million.

He succeeded also in deceiving them with fake bank alert prompting the involvement of both the police at Okokomaiko and a private investigator, who ended up arresting him through his girlfriend living in Egbeda area of Lagos State.

It was gathered that after his arrest, he confessed to the crime and promised to pay the money. He was, however, taken to Magistrate court at Agbo-Malu Road, Apapa, where he presented three sureties. He later jumped bail and efforts to get the sureties failed. Fortunately, after about two years of searching for him, one of the sureties was traced early this year and arrested. The surety was granted bail with a promise to produce the principal suspect but he failed. On November 30, 2015, the principal suspect was arrested at Gowon Estate where he has been hiding and handed over to officials of court, where he is being tried.

Meanwhile, it was learned that the complainant was forced to close his account with the bank after the suspect confessed that he connived with some officials of the bank to dupe him. Police said detectives are also investigating some officials of the bank with a view to fishing out all those involved in the fraud.

When contacted, Lagos State police spokesman, Joe Offor, said the police did their job by arresting the suspect and charging him to court. He assured that the matter would be prosecuted to its logical conclusion.

Source:Vanguard

Two dead, houses, vehicles razed as tanker falls on bridge in Lagos

At least one house was completely razed while several oth­ers were partially burnt as a truck laden with fuel fell on Ojuelegba Bridge, along Funsho Williams Avenue and spilled its content in the early hours of Saturday.

Sources also claimed that two people, a woman and a year old child died during the incident.
Sources informed Sunday Sun that the truck which was heading towards Ikorodu axis of the state from Apapa was ascending the bridge when the driver suddenly lost control of the vehicle.
The driver, it was alleged, was struggling to overtake another truck driver when the truck reportedly fell and spilled its content on the bridge.

The spillage, it was gath­ered dripped on four com­mercial buses parked directly under the bridge. The vehicles were said to have caught fire moments later, but the fire was later put out by officials of the fire service who Sunday Sun gathered had positioned themselves ahead of the fire out break.
The content of the truck later flowed into a nearby ca­nal and traveled down to other parts of the community.

Although the accident was said to have happened at about 1.00 am, our correspondent gathered that it was expertly managed by officials of the fire service until 5.00 am when the major fire which razed a building situated on 19 Allen Street, off Ajoke Dosu­mu Street, was said to have started from Akintan axis of the canal.

A security guard who gave his name as Awoye Kayode told one of our correspondents that operatives of the fire ser­vice alerted the community immediately after the accident happened and advised them on precautionary steps to be taken.

“But before then, the smell of fuel had rented the air of the entire community which made many people to keep vigil un­til about 4.00 am before most of them went to sleep. But im­mediately after the 5.00 am prayers, we just observed that the fire had started raging from the other end of the canal.
“Immediately I noticed that, I raised the alarm and people started rushing out from their homes. Before we knew it, the fire had engulfed this building and razed it down completely. But for the prompt response of fire service men who were around, many more houses would have been burnt,” Awoye disclosed.

Eyewitnesses told Sunday Sun that a number of residents sustained various degrees of injuries as they tried to escape from the raging inferno.
About three hours after the first fire was put out, another fire was said to have broken out, throwing the residents into another round of commotion. The second fire, according to an eyewitness who simply gave his name as Lukumon, started from the same direc­tion where the first fire started from.
The fire which ravaged through the over 1,500m long canal, our correspondent ob­served, also affected some of the buildings sited on the edge of the canal.

The Director of Lagos State Fire Services, Razaq Idowu Fadipe blamed the inferno on people who smoked along the canal. “The fire must have been from people that were smoking along the canal. I took it upon myself to go through the canal and warned the boys that were smoking. I didn’t know that they would continue with the act until the outbreak of the fire. As at now, we have been able to put the fire under control. The trucks deployed are still in control of the incident.

The member represent­ing Surulere Constituency 1, Desmond Elliot however confirmed to one of our cor­respondents that two people actually died during the in­cident. “So far now, just two lives were lost, not directly but because they have been ill. I have gone to the hospital to see the remains of the woman, and I also met with her family. And that is pretty sad. I learnt she was asthmatic. I also un­derstand that a one-year-old child also passed on,” Elliot disclosed.
Source:The Sun

Supreme Court convicts Oscar Pistorius of murder

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of murder after a South African appeals court overturned an earlier manslaughter verdict.He killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013 after shooting her four times through a locked toilet door.

He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail.
Pistorius will have to return to court to be re-sentenced, for murder.

It was earlier incorrectly reported that the court had ruled the manslaughter verdict would remain.
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court did not correctly apply the rule of dolus eventualis – whether Pistorius knew that a death would be a likely result of his actions.
The minimum sentence for murder is 15 years but judges can apply some discretion.

South African law does not make provision for someone to be placed under house arrest for more than five years, so Pistorius will be going back to prison, reports the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg.

Reading the ruling reached by a panel of five judges, Justice Lorimer Leach said that having armed himself with a high-calibre weapon, Pistorius must have foreseen that whoever was behind the door might die.
Pistorius always maintained that he believed that there was an intruder in the house but the judge said that the identity of the person behind the door was irrelevant.

Justice Leach compared it to someone setting off a bomb in a public place not knowing who the victims might be.

Ms Steenkamp’s mother, June, was present but Pistorius did not attend the hearing in Bloemfontein.
The double amputee was released from prison on 19 October. Under South African law, he was eligible for release under “correctional supervision”, having served a sixth of his sentence.

Pistorius can challenge the ruling in the constitutional court but only if his lawyers can argue that his constitutional rights have been violated.
Legal expert Mannie Witz told the BBC that there do not appear to be any grounds for such an appeal.

Source:onlinenigeria

Civil Engineering student murdered in toilet

The family of Innocent Ndukwe, a 25 year-old final year student of Civil Engineering, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, has been thrown into deep sorrow after learning of the slaughtering of the young man, who was found in a pool of his own blood in a toilet at his residence. Innocent Udukwe was allegedly killed by his security guard and two others he invited  to commit the crime at No 18 Enuwa Street, Egbu in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State.

 Mr Ndukwe’s entire family in Ebonyi State has, since receiving the news on November 17, 2015, been in agony and shock of losing their son who was murdered in a toilet at Egbu, few kilometres to Owerri, Imo State capital.

 Late Ndukwe was preparing for his Christmas and anticipating the day the school would close for short Christmas holiday to proceed home to see his parents and other loved ones when his untimely death occured.

 Briefing newsmen at the police headquarters, Owerri, where the suspects were paraded, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Taiwo Lakanu, said the command had recorded a major breakthrough in its renewed onslaught against crimes and criminality in the state.

 According to him, on November 17, 2015, a report of the murder of one Innocent Ndukwe, a 25-year finial year student of Civil Engineering at the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede who was slaughtered and found in a pool of his own blood in a toilet at No 18 Enuwa Street Egbu, Owerri came to our office.
 The assailants, he said, after slaughtering their victim, made away with personal belongings which included, among other things, Pathfinder SUV with Reg. No. KRD-109-BP, two plasma TV sets, one home theatre.

Mr Lakanu, however, said luck ran out on the suspects when the police control room quickly alerted security operatives of the command, who immediately went into action and eventually apprehended the assailants who were trying to escape the eagle-eyed operatives at the West-end of Old Nekede Road, Owerri.

 According to the commissioner of police, the suspects are as follows David Kwaguru 30 years of age, a native of Sirwo in Langtang North Local Government Area of Plateau State, Friday Ayuba, 23 year-old native of Keyelda in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State and Francis, 23 year-old native of Pingali in Langtang Local government Area of Plateau State.

 Items recovered from the suspects are knives and belt.
 In view of the incident, the police commissioner advised the landlords who engaged the services of security guards to have knowledge or information on characters of those they wanted to recruit to serve them.

He pointed out that so many stories had been heard and told repeatedly how these private security men had been killing those who engaged them for services.

 The suspects, while being interviewed by newsmen, confessed they committed the crime because they planned to go home this Christmas with money to celebrate with members of their families in Plateau State.
Source:Tribune

Maka Nd'Igbo

Man arrested attempting to attack plane taking off at Lagos airport

A middle-aged man was, on Wednesday, arrested after breaching security at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos State, and attempted to attack a Med-View aircraft that was about to take-off to Maiduguri en-route Abuja airport.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the suspect, Alabibu Olushola, was arrested after the captain of the airline attacked him using jet blast from the aircraft.
The attack by the captain was as a result of the man's attempt to gain access to the aircraft which was waiting on the threshold of the Runway 18 of the airport for take-off.

A reliable aviation security personal who spoke anonymously with a NAN correspondent said the airline had just left MMA2 terminal for take-off at about 12.30 p.m. when the incident occurred.
"The captain of the aircraft suddenly discovered that someone was moving closer to his aircraft even as passengers who were observing the unusual movement raised the alarm.
"However, the captain who had alerted the control tower had to move forward to stop the suspect from getting near the aircraft.

"When the pilot realised that the man was running after the moving aircraft, he attacked him with jet blast which caused the suspect to fall down on the runway.
"The suspect was, however, arrested by airport security operatives as he quickly recovered and attempted to escape from the air side of the airport," the source said.

According to the source, the man sustained burns because of the heat from the jet engines.
Reacting to the incident, the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Yakubu Dati, confirmed that the airport's security personnel arrested the suspect.
Dati, in a statement claimed that Olushola was apprehended while attempting to stowaway in a taxiing aircraft on the tarmac at the airport.

"The suspect was arrested as soon as he scaled the perimeter fence near the moving aircraft and after interrogation by Avsec staff, he was immediately handed over to the police for further interrogation," it said.
The statement said that FAAN reminded members of the public to steer clear of restricted areas of the airport, including the tarmac and perimeter roads.

The statement said FAAN would henceforth not hesitate to arrest and prosecute any person, including unauthorised airport staff, found loitering around restricted areas of all the airports.

Also, Med-View Airline, in a statement by its Media Consultant, Mr Obuke Oyibotha, commended its crew and security agencies for the arrest of the suspect.

The statement noted that the return of the aircraft to the tarmac for security check was in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommended best practices on aviation security.

According to the statement, the Maiduguri bound aircraft via Abuja was taxiing to the threshold for take-off when the pilot sighted a man on the active runway.
It added that the pilot alerted the control tower about his observation and requested for aviation security personnel.
Source:Tribune

Residents agonise over destruction of homes, property

…As new family moves to take  possession of Lagos community

By Lawrence Enyoghasu and Tosin Akinola

Tears could not stop flowing from the eyes of Bashiru Amuwo as he gazed at what remained of his shop close to Canoe Bus Stop, Oke-Afa Ilamoshe Estate area of Ejigbo Lagos State. Everything he had in there was either looted or destroyed. 

Amuwo was one of those who lost property worth millions of naira to hoodlums who went on the rampage recently in the area. He said that his shop had goods worth about N4million, but what was left inside it were just empty cartons and bottles.

“I recently moved to this place, after paying a rent of N12,000 per month. I was hoping that in three months I would make twice that amount. But see me now; I have lost everything. I was not around when the raid was carried out, so I could not salvage anything. I have practically lost my source of livelihood. Why should I be the one to suffer the aftermath of the crisis,” Amuwo lamented.

Amuwo alleged that the hoodlums who destroyed his shop numbered over 1,000. They were accompanied by policemen who came to implement a court order, he recalled. 

Daily Sun learnt that trouble began when the Abiodun Ojo and Jokotade Bakare families won a protracted 21-year-old land case against the Adejumos in 2011, after which they quickly moved to effect possession of the land by giving its occupants notice to come forward and negotiate with them.

 It was further gathered that for more than four years after the case was determined at the appellate court on Tuesday January 25, 2011, the Ojos had tried to negotiate with the occupants of the houses on the land for a possible repurchase. 

Mr. Gbenga Olokobi, Chairman of Ilamose Community Development Association (CDA), admitted that the Ojos once came to the area in 2012 to possess the said property and even pasted notices to that effect. “There was a time they came around to let people know that they had won their case against our former owners,” he said. 

He recalled that the Ojos were demanding some amount of money from the occupants, noting that the money was huge. They wanted the occupants to pay the money in order for them to be allowed continued stay on the land. It was learnt that at some point, the CDA was contacted and briefed on the matter. He noted that association called for caution, preferring to wait to see if there would be any development before jumping into asking the occupants of the land to pay the Ojos the sum they were demanding. He explained why it became necessary to do that. “Once bitten, twice shy. We were trying not to make same mistake twice since the occupants apparently bought the present land they were occupying from the wrong owners.” 

An occupant of the land, Alhaji Bashir, who is also a member of the Adejumo family that lost the land tussle, admitted that the Ojos had always been peaceful and law abiding. “We agree that all the occupants bought the land from the same family like we did. And so to whosoever owns the land, we shall pay. We are for peace.”

 
Adejumo also stated that there was a delay in agreeing with the Ojos because there was need to identify the original area of land that was in court.

After waiting for four years to negotiate with the occupants, the Ojos decided to exercise the said legal rights granted them by the High Court of Lagos State. In its ruling on the case ID/1752/89, the court had affirmed that the family was the rightful owner of the land in dispute and therefore had powers to do whatever they wished on it. 

The judgment reads in part: “It is clear to me that the judgment creditors being adjudged owners of the land also own the structures on it and are at liberty to deal with the land and the structures thereon as they please, And also that it is hereby ordered that the appeal on the judgment of this court having been determined, the judgment creditors are at liberty to fully exercise their right of ownership on the land adjudged to them.” 

It was on this basis that, that last week, the winning family moved to exercise their right of possession and in the process, allegedly caused untold hardship to the occupants of the houses and structures on the land. It was not only Amuwo’s shop that was destroyed; a popular recreation centre in the area was also demolished. Others include Green Dale School located on Adejumo Street; Redeemed Christian Church of God parish and a shopping mall on Alade Apatira Street; Gold Medal School and Grace Events on Kudirat Adenekan Street and Slon Pharmacy Stores. 

Other personal belongings like cars and shops were also looted, it was learnt.

However, days after all hell was let loose, relative calm seems to have returned to the troubled area after a truce was brokered by the Police Division in Ejigbo between the judgment creditor, Alhaji Akeem Oshuolale and occupants of the houses and structures on the land.

The said truce, which would last for a week, was to allow the property owners verify their land and title documents with the office of the Surveyor-General at the state secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

Part of the resolutions reached at the meeting, which was convened by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ejigbo Division, Mr. Segun Titiladun Ayo, (a Superintendent of Police), in his office, was the setting up of a committee comprising leaders of the six Community Development Associations (CDAs) at Ilamoshe and counsel to the judgment creditor, Patrick Arasanmi. The committee would work out modalities for arriving at a ratification/settlement arrangement.

The DPO, while explaining his interest in the matter, said peace was paramount. After reading some sections of the judgment delivered by the Appeal Court on the disputed land he said: “There is nothing the police can do to prevent the judgment creditor from exercising his right. I have spoken to the judgment creditor and he has agreed to be magnanimous in victory. He is ready to abate his intention to fully exercise his right by repossessing the land because he is aware many of you innocently bought the land from whom you thought were the rightful owners, but it is now up to all affected landlords to also meet him halfway for any settlement.”

One of the knotty issues that were raised at the meeting was that some property owners alleged that some houses marked or destroyed were not part of those cited in the court ruling. They claimed that in the judgment given by the court, only nine streets were listed, while the judgment creditor was insisting it was the surveyed area that was the subject of litigation, which was not delineated by streets.

To resolve the logjam, affected parties were advised to approach the Office of the Surveyor-General to verify if their land survey was captured in the Survey Plan CD/778/77, which the court had ruled on.

The lawmaker representing Oshodi/Isolo II Constituency, Jude Emeka Idimogu, who moderated the peace parley, said everything was being done to restore peace to the community. “We are here because we want a peaceful resolution to this crisis. We are not here to entertain any further arguments on who is right or wrong because this is not a law court.

“We are glad now that the judgment creditor has agreed to give the issue a human face and a committee has been set up to liaise on an amicable settlement. The judgment creditor has agreed to stay action for some time for people to verify if they were affected by the court ruling or not. We would meet again to resolve the findings of the committee,” he said.

Source:The Sun

Red card for okada riders

•Lagos residents beg Ambode, CP to keep commercial bikes out of Ajao Estate

To many residents of Lagos and those doing business in the city, the construction of the January 27 Bridge was a big relief. The new bridge brought a huge relief to residents of densely populated suburbs like Isolo, Ejigbo, Isheri-Osun, Ikotun, Abaranje, Igando, Idimu and Ijegun. The bridge, also called the Oke-Afa Link Bridge or Canoe, was built in response to the numerous agitations for a bridge to be built over the canal, so that those killed at the site during the January 27, 2002 bomb blast might be immortalised. 

But as soon as the bridge was commissioned, it became a living nightmare and an albatross for residents, business owners and motorists within the axis.

For residents of Ajao-estate, a peaceful community through which the bridge runs, the 2.1km dual carriageway, which starts from the NNPC depot at Ejigbo and terminates at Chivita Avenue, has turned out to be a curse.  This is due to the brazen acts of impunity displayed by commercial cyclist operators popularly known as Okada riders. 

But of late, residents of the area are said to be enjoying relative peace of mind and can sleep without fear. This development, which most of the residents are praying should last forever, is due to the ban on the operation of commercial cyclists within Ajao-Estate and Oke-Afa. This was the fallout of a violent clash between okada riders and officials of the Lagos State Task Force who were on routine operation within the axis. 

During the clash, which saw the okada riders brandishing various types of weapons, a police Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) stationed by the bridge was set ablaze, while two patrol vans were vandalised. A policeman was left for dead.  For hours while the protest lasted, gunfire echoed throughout the neighbourhood, halting activities within the area. 

According to Daily Sun investigation, the task force officials were out to enforce the restriction on commercial motorcyclists around the axis. But on reaching Ilamose Estate at Oke-Afa, some okada operators reportedly made access into Ajao-Estate difficult by blocking half of the road to pick up passengers. 

This, it was gathered, made the officials to impound some of the motorbikes. The action got the motorcyclists agitated, sparking a violent protest that shook the whole area.

For those who witnessed the violent protest, it was a total breakdown of law and order and could be likened to a war zone. Majority of the protesters who were from the northern part of the country displayed unusual violence. 

Residents of Ajao Estate admitted that getting to work now is quite challenging, but they said they were happy that the okada riders’ reign of terror was over.

Speaking with the reporter on the ordeal of residents while the okada riders were allowed to operate in the area, Mr. Festus said the area was now back to its once peaceful state. 

He lamented that for years, residents bickered over the right of way with the Okada riders, denied access to their homes and were also forced to endure long, agonising hours in gridlock.   

“These okada riders, besides displaying brazen acts of impunity, park indiscriminately and drive against the traffic unchallenged. On many occasions, school children were knocked down by commercial cyclists riding against the traffic. They always constitute themselves into a menace by flagrantly violating the one-way traffic rule boldly displayed on a huge road sign. They speed recklessly in order to make as many trips as possible and are always colliding with their counterparts. In the mornings and evenings, they impede the flow of traffic, as they block the bridge in a bid to pick passengers. Even the 7/8 Bus Stop along the International Airport Road is not spared. Now, we are better off without them,” he said.

Also thanking God for the relative peace that currently pervades the community, another resident revealed that violent crime had been reduced to the barest minimum in the area, noting that most of the robberies and other vices were perpetrated by criminals riding on motorcycles. He said that such criminals would then easily disappear into the sea of motorbikes meandering through the traffic.

At the moment, residents are appealing strongly to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Inspector General of police, Solomon Arase and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, to rescue them from the possible doom that would envelop the estate if the okada riders are allowed to return. 

Daily Sun investigation revealed that serious efforts are on-going by stakeholders who stand to benefit from the thriving okada business to ensure that the motorbikes are back on the road, residents, especially landlords, have vowed to resist the move with all their strength.

According to a landlord who didn’t want his name in print, the brazen acts of utter violence displayed by the commercial cyclists to the police were expected, as they and officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) usually turned a blind eye to their lawlessness. 

The landlord also alleged that the senior police officers in Ajao-Estate and Aswani Police Stations own significant number of motorcycles that ply the route and have been among the major people agitating for okada riders to resume operation. 

He noted that some commercial cyclists were honest and genuine, but said they would have to relocate elsewhere or look for another means of survival.

“This is not the first time residents are surviving violent riots by commercial motorcycle riders, believed to be mostly from Chad. Just like they have always done, some youths, majorly from the north, used all manner of weapons to challenge the policemen who were trying to discard them. The more the policemen tried, the more the boys got agitated. We are appealing for sanity in this area. It is not too much to ask. Before the coming of Okada, people survived; so they can survive now.  We don’t want okada riders in Ajao-Estate again,” he stressed.

Sounding optimistic while chatting with the reporter about their chances of returning to the road, Yahaya Sulaiman, a commercial motorcyclist said he had to temporarily return to his former job as a security guard. He disclosed that most of the commercial motorcycles are owned by policemen within Ajao-Estate, Ejigbo and Ikotun. 

The Kano State indigene who admitted riding against the traffic, was however quick to defend his action in smattering English.

“We dey follow one way to make money sharp, sharp. If we no do like that, we no go fit pay permit to local government, association and police. Everyday, we dey pay N200 for one permit and N100 for security money, so that police no go catch us.”

Corroborating his claim was Mohammed Saliu, who claimed to have left his family and home in Maiduguri due to insurgency. He noted that for him and other commercial cyclists plying their trade in the estate, the business had come to stay even as he insisted that he would soon return to business. He boasted that they could not be banned.

“We dey settle well well.” Saliu, who also claimed to be a Muslim cleric, however, denied their involvement in criminal activities within the state. He blamed it on those he described as criminal elements who capitalise on the Link Bridge to ride in from places like Ejigbo, Ikotun and Igando to carry out their nefarious activities.

“We don dey contribute small, small to settle police and some people wey dey beg for us. Dem don tell us say we go soon start work,” he said. 

Source:The Sun