BRUTALISED WOMAN’S BABY DIES IN INCUBATOR

■ Family demands trial of 3 cops who beat 8-month pregnant housewife into coma
“Take me to my son, I want to see him”, Chika Elekawachi pleaded with family members who were still lost in thought on how to break the news of the death of her baby. Chika is the eight-month pregnant woman who was allegedly brutalized by three policemen attached to the Satellite Police Division in Lagos on Sunday, July 19, 2015.

The cops allegedly stripped the woman naked after accusing her of resisting arrest. She was allegedly assaulted before she was dragged to the police station. Her family members later rushed her to Safe Hands Hospital, old Ojo road, Amuwo, Lagos, after she allegedly passed out at the police station.
Her family members got the shock of their lives when the doctor on duty said in the presence of policemen that Chika was hale and hearty. Unfortunately, she started bleeding at about 11pm on Monday when she was rushed into the theatre for surgery. Although the baby boy was delivered on Tuesday alive, and rushed to Outreach Hospital in Festac town, Lagos, which had a functional incubator, the baby died less than 48 hours after.
Her family members have cried out over what they described as an attempt by the police to sweep the matter under the carpet. This is even as the Lagos police command had ordered the immediate arrest and detention of the suspects soon after the authorities learnt that the baby had died.

Chika’s version
Chika told Saturday Sun reporters on her hospital bed before the surgery that about 8pm on Sunday, she left two of her kids at home and was heading to a shop at Agboju, in Oriade Local Council Development Area (LCDA) to buy some foodstuffs for the house.
“I suddenly noticed a bus coming behind me. The bus obstructed me and one of the occupants came out, pointed a gun at me and shouted that I should park. He threatened to shoot if I didn’t park.

“When I discovered that they were policemen, I tried to explain to them that I wanted to park my car so that I could enter the shop. The incident happened at Pako bus stop along Ojo road where there were so many tankers and lorries parked indiscriminately.
“I begged the one that was wearing a black T-shirt to allow me to go, as I was pregnant. Then, he called me a prostitute. I was angry and reminded him that I am a married woman with two kids. I warned him not to call me a prostitute again. But the policeman dragged me down from the car, even as passers-by and my friend were begging him to let me go.

“While I was screaming for help, saying, ‘I am not a thief,’ they tore my trousers. I was not putting on any underwear, so they stripped me naked. They were dragging me, saying I must enter their vehicle, but I re-fused. They dragged me on the road, but I insisted that I would go with them in my car. In the process, my legs and my stomach were bruised,” she said.
She said she was eventually bundled into the police vehicle and taken to the station, even in her virtually naked state.
“On getting to the police station, I pleaded with them to allow me get a cloth from the shop. I was begging them so that I could meet any woman nearby to give me a wrapper because I was naked. People around were asking me what happened, and I replied that the policemen did that to me, even though I’m not a thief. Because, with the way I was treated, one could mistake me for a thief. I had to bite one of the policemen on the back.

“I then entered one provision store near the station where I met a woman who gave me this gown. My phone was in my vehicle and I told the police officers that they should allow me call my people to inform them that I was at the station, but they refused. They said I must be put in the cell. I was running around, trying to get a phone, but no one would give me their phone because they thought I was a mad woman. They were just looking at me. I then saw a young girl, and I spoke to her in Igbo, telling her I was not a thief. She was the one that gave me her phone and I called my sister, because her number was the one I could easily recall. I told her what was happening, so she came with her husband that night and met me at the police station. They were asking me what happened, but her husband said we had to find those who assaulted me. So, we went into the police station and met the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO). He told us to explain what happened, but as I was talking, I felt dizzy and passed out,” she said.

Police insisted she was pretending-Witness
The victim’s sister, Favour Ifebuzor, explained that she rushed down to the police station as soon as she got the distress call from her sister.
“When my husband and I arrived at the scene, I saw my younger sister sitting on a pavement, looking weak. So, we took her into the station to find out what happened. My sister told me that she was feeling weak and dizzy, but the policemen rudely told her to stand up and explain what happened. As she tried to explain, the man at the counter was saying, ‘Why don’t you have respect for an officer in uniform? Why did you slap a policeman?’ My sister said it was when the policeman forcefully held her cloth and dragged her that she did that, because it’s lawful for one to defend oneself from danger. So, as they were forcefully quizzing her, I told the policeman that she was weak and could slump.

“My sister was also whispering to me that she was feeling weak. So, she fell on the ground. And she was crying, saying ‘O my baby, my baby.’ Then she started foaming in the mouth. The policemen there were saying, ‘she is pretending. Let her stay there, she is not serious.’ They were just watching, including the DCO. My husband was saying, ‘You people have killed someone’s wife and mother. Take her. She is your responsibility.’ My husband was dragging me so that we could go, but I told him to have patience. I said; let me get some water, because my sister was dying. I went to one shop and bought a sachet of water, came back and started pouring it on my sister’s head and body, but she was not responding. Instead, her tongue was coming out, foaming.

“I was so scared because her stomach protruded and her body was getting cold. I had to beg one man to help me look for a vehicle. When he got the vehicle, I told the policemen to help me put her in the vehicle, but they were just looking at me. I was confused. The driver of the vehicle and the man that went to get him were the ones that helped me put her in the car. The biscuits I bought for my children and my phone, I didn’t even know where I kept them. It was when they put her in the vehicle that I remembered that my phone was on the counter at the station, and I went to the counter and picked my phone.

“I then told the policemen that I was taking her to the hospital, and that if anything happened to her, I would hold them responsible. The vehicle had already left. They took her to Safe Hands Hospital, and my husband and I walked to the hospital. When we got there, the doctor told us she was going into labour, and that we needed to move her to the General Hospital. I was confused. Then I called my sister who also came with her husband. But we heard the policeman who had come there telling the doctor that she was okay. The policeman told the doctor: ‘She’s okay now. You will write everything that she is okay, and that nobody beat her.’ So, the doctor certified her okay, and that she was not in labour again, that he had put everything in order. But this morning, she went into labour again,”
Favour told our reporters.
Doctor’s goof
At the hospital, the doctor on duty, Okoawo Innocent, who spoke on behalf of the management, admitted that Chika was rushed into the hospital half conscious. He said all necessary tests were carried out, noting that the results showed that the baby was intact. He, however, said that the victim would be kept under observation.

Saturday Sun gathered that Safe Hands hospital was one of the best in the area but in an attempt to please the policemen who were battling to prove that Chika was actu¬ally pretending to be in labour, they corroborated their claim.
The doctor on duty despite the bruises and the fact that Chika was brought into the hos¬pital unconscious, said that she was perfectly okay. He even suggested that Chika should be released to her family to go home.

Battle to save Chika and baby’s life
But the doctor’s assertion was proved wrong, as Chika soon after started bleeding. As a result, the doctor on duty became confused and requested that another scan be conducted. He was shocked to discover that the placenta had been detached from the baby and Chika was bleeding heavily inside. To save her life and that of the baby, she was wheeled into the theatre where the baby was forced out of her.
The Satellite police station DPO was alerted that the story had changed. It dawned on him and some senior officers that Chika’s story could be true as the officers involved in the assault had sworn that they did not raise a finger against her. The officers involved who were seen going about their normal duty were immediately arrested and detained.
Realising that it was not business as usual, policemen were mobilized to ensure that the ever busy Badagry expressway was cleared to ensure free access to Outreach medical hospital where the premature baby could be put in an incubator. The little one who was already weak as a result of the delay died less than 48 hours after.

Chika’s relative told Saturday Sun that at about 4am on Thursday, Chika called insisting that they should go and check her baby. “I told her that it was too early but she kept insisting that I must move over to the hospital that something is wrong. It was then that my phone rang again and it was the doctor. She told me that the baby had just passed on. It is rather unfortunate,” she said.
On getting to the hospital, senior officers, including the Satellite DPO, were seen leaving after sighting the dead baby and consoling the family. He was said to have been supportive and promised that the suspects would be prosecuted accordingly. He was said to have pleaded with the family members that the police would pay the bill incurred by the family.

On the cause of death, Dr Efunbu Dosekun of Outreach Hospital, who spoke with Saturday Sun, explained that the baby had breathing problem which they battled all through the night to control. “It is rare for a premature baby to survive because there must have been a problem that led to the child being born earlier. When he was rushed in to our hospital, we did all we could to save his life.
“The best thing is for the family to go for an autopsy to have a clear understanding of what really happened. Chika’s placenta detached from the baby and the unborn child was breathing on its own inside his mother’s womb. We thank God that Chika did not bleed to death before the doctors on duty discovered that”, she stated.
She advised that proper medical check-up should be done on Chika to correct the damage that could have been done.

Take me to my son, Chika insists
Back to Safe Hands Hospital where Chika looked well and happy. She told her sisters that she wanted to be relocated to the hospital where her baby was. “Take me to my son. I need to see my son. Police did not succeed in taking him away from me. I am so happy. I will take him abroad to see his father”, she stood up pacing around frantically trying to pick her bags.
As at press time, she had, however, been informed of the death of her baby and transferred to another hospital for proper medical examination. “She has not stopped crying. Our major concern at the moment is how to save her life. We had to transfer her to another hospital that is not under the jurisdiction of Satellite police station. It appears that the doctors are afraid of the police, that is why they lied. If our sister did not start bleeding from her virgina, she would have bled to death. We thank God for her life,” one of the relatives who spoke to Saturday Sun on phone said.

They will be prosecuted if found culpable –Police
Confirming the incident, Lagos State Police Command spokesman, Kenneth Nwosu, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), assured that investigation was ongoing to ascertain what actually transpired. He said the suspected policemen had been arrested and were in detention, adding that they would be prosecuted according to the law guiding the force.
“The Nigerian police has a procedure which will be followed in ensuring that the suspects will be disciplined”, he added.
Source: The Sun

Nine-year-old girl escapes beheading by armed robber

Zainab

Residents of Oyo-Ode area of Ede in Osun State are living in constant fear of attack from criminals whose targets are the children living in the area. Many residents of the area are terrified of passing through a road in front of the Ede Muslim Burial ground because of criminals who lurk in the area.

A nine-year-old girl, Zainab Oluwole, escaped death narrowly in the area recently. Zainab’s mother, Adebukola Oluwole, a nurse at the State Hospital, Ede, was cooking dinner for her family to break their fast when she realised that she needed to buy some things and headed for the market.

Unknown to her, a burglar was lurking around the house and waiting for an opportunity to strike. The burglar invaded the house having seen that the man of the house, Mr. Raheem Kabir, had earlier left the house before the woman also left.

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Although Zainab and her sister, Aishat, who is just seven years old, were intelligent enough to bolt the door as soon as their mother left, this still could not save them from the criminal’s attack. The criminal made several attempts to trick the two children to open the door for him but they refused.

He eventually broke down a part of the wall and crept in through the hole but Aishat was brave enough to escape and raised the alarm, which attracted some neighbours. The man fled but not before he inflicted a machete cut on the girl’s head. The girl only escaped death with her head chopped off by wriggling out of the man’s grip when he pinned her down and attempted to decapitate her.

Zainab, who still had plasters over her wound, narrated what happened that day. She said, “ The man peeped from the window and asked my sister and I to open the door for him but we refused. We wanted to escape through the back door but he heard the sound of our footsteps and came to the back door also. When we saw that there was no way to escape, we decided to hide inside the house.

Adebukola

“He broke down part of the wall and crept inside through the hole. He caught me but my sister sneaked out through the back door and ran away to call some of our neighbours.”

Zainab said that the man took her around the rooms and asked her where her mother kept money and other valuables in the house but she answered that she did not know.

After a futile attempt to steal money and other valuables, the robber threatened to kill the young girl and later dragged her towards the bush not far from the house.

The little girl said she started crying and the man lay her head on a boulder near the building and raised his cutlass with the intention of cutting off her head.

However, some of the neighbours, who had rushed towards the direction of her screaming, saw the man who was about decapitating her. She said she struggled with him and, broke free. The cutlass missed the girl’s neck but hit the left side of her temple, leaving her with a deep cut.

The neighbours decided not to pursue the fleeing armed man but rushed the bleeding girl to a nearby hospital where she was treated.

Zainab’s mother said the management of the hospital insisted that the family must notify the police and they reported the case at the Divisional Police Station in Ede.

Although the mother was still in shock when our correspondent visited their residence, she was happy that her daughter survived the attack.

She said, “The strange man wanted to slaughter my daughter to avoid being identified. I am not sure whether he is a ritualist or a robber but I am thankful to God for sparing Zainab’s life.

“I am very happy that my daughter is alive today, because when I was alerted that something terrible had happened in my house, I thought my children had poured the hot food I was cooking on tbeir body, not knowing that something worse than that had happened.”

Adebukola’s husband, who is Zainab’s step-father, Raheem Kabiru, said he left home around 5.30pm, but was shocked when he got a call to come to the hospital to see Zainab.

Commenting on the incessant occurrence   of similar incidents in the area, Kabiru called on the state government to clear the bush in a large piece of land which was supposed to be used as government residential area in the town. “It has become a hideout for criminals and our lives are at risk,” he said.

A similar incident which happened in the area on May 2014 is still fresh in the minds of many residents of the town.

A suspected ritualist seized a 15-year-old pupil of a primary school, who had gone to pick mangoes and reportedly drugged the girl and inflicted machete cuts on her head, ankles and wrists.The victim, who was also raped during the attack, crawled out of the bush and jt was noticed that maggots were already coming out of the wounds by the time she got out.

The girl was, however, saved at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo after weeks of medical treatment.

Source:Punch

Tension, as Tompolo, ex-MEND commanders meet in Bayelsa

Tension is mounting in the Niger Delta region following the call for a meeting of all former leaders and commanders of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) by Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo).

Shortly after assumption of office, President Muhammadu Buhari cancelled the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tompolo’s company.

Also recently, Tompolo’s nominee, Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi was sacked by Buhari as the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA).

Several former militant leaders had expressed worry over the non-appointment of a head of the Federal Government amnesty programme which they said had stalled the funding of the programme.
The notice of the meeting with the introduction which read: “My dearly beloved commanders and leaders of various wings of the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), I greet you all. It is my pleasure to humbly invite you to a very crucial meeting” was personally signed by Tompolo to demonstrate the seriousness attached to it.

The meeting fixed for Saturday, July 25 in Bayelsa State would deliberate on crucial issues affecting the Niger Delta since the assumption of office of Buhari.

Sources said issues that would be discussed at the meeting included the recent statement credited to former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the alleged poor performance of former President Goodluck Jonathan would continue to affect the Niger Delta region.

The issue of the planned probe and possible arrest of former President Jonathan would also come up for deliberation.
The former militants would also discuss the delay in appointing the head of the amnesty programme and non-payment of three months allowances and scholarship fees to former militants undergoing training in the country and abroad.

A former top member of MEND, who spoke on condition of anonymity said the meeting might also deliberate on the formation of a new MEND and take a position on the actions of President Buhari since his assumption of office.

“We are not meeting to declare war. But the meeting will carefully discuss issues of interest as they affect the Niger Delta region. If you check the region, since assumption of power by President Buhari, there are signs of tension due to the administration’s perceived animosity against the region and the beneficiaries of the Federal Government amnesty deal. Women have cried out. Former militant leaders have pleaded but no answer from Buhari. We cannot fold our hands and let the boys be provoked into violence” the source said.
Source:The Sun

Police round up 12 teenage suspects over lesbianism

Hell was let loose, last week, in Oto-Owori area, Ijanikin, Lagos State, after a 16-year-old member of the famous Abogun family, made startling confessions about how she was initiated into cultism and lesbianism by the younger sister of her uncle’s wife. Parents of the victim who were shocked by the confession reportedly alerted the police after she was caught while attempting to sneak out of the house with some items demanded by her cult members.

Revelations
According to the victim (names withheld), who completed her secondary education in June, “it was Tope who introduced me into lesbianism and cultism early last year. On Friday, at about 7-8pm, I received a call from Tope that I should bring my red jacket, which is the cult uniform and a jack-knife for her. While I was attempting to sneak out of the house to meet her, I was accosted by my brothers who checked the bag I was carrying and found the cult jacket and the jack-knife. They called on my parents who demanded to know how I got those items.

Becoming lesbian partner
“Initially, she forced me into becoming her lesbian partner. She threatened me that if I failed to do it, my life was at stake. When I became her lover, we took a blood oath as Tope used a blade to cut my hand and licked the blood. She also cut her hand and asked me to lick the blood. She threatened that she must not see me with anyone, whether male or female but she was free to go out with others as she has other lovers. I have been her lover for over a year now and I became her lover before I completed my secondary education.

“After Tope introduced me to lesbianism, she forced me into their cult. The night I was initiated into Aiye cult, I was blindfolded. Members of the cult gave me a gun to take an oath, declaring that I would not reveal anything about the cult to anyone. They said if I ever revealed anything about the cult to anyone, the same gun that I used to take the oath would be used to take my life. Thereafter, about twenty of the males present at the initiation slept with me one after the other.

Strange gun appears
“Two months ago, I stole my father’s N50, 000 and gave to her. There was a time she gave me a gun to keep for her. I kept the gun in my book-shelf two days. She gave the gun to me because she said she couldn’t take it home. Later, she collected it and gave it to a member of the cult. I really don’t know what they use the weapon for. The red jacket which is the cult uniform was given to me by Segun. He is the leader of the Aiye cult. Since I became a member, I haven’t been able to go anywhere with them because of how difficult it is for me to leave home as my parents don’t allow me out after 6pm, and most of their activities are usually in the night. There was a time they asked me to trail my elder brother because they said he is arrogant.”

Shooting at birthday party
In her defence, 18-year-old Tope (surname withheld) who initially confessed that she gave the gun to Kemi to keep because she could not take it home, later denied the allegation that she is a cultist.
According to her, “I have known Kemi from my childhood. I am a salesgirl. I was arrested because the victim said I introduced her into cultism and lesbianism but I am not a cultist, and she didn’t give me money.

“I have not seen Kemi for more than a month now, since my birthday which I celebrated on June 21. Although they fired a gun at my birthday party, I don’t know who fired the gunshot but Samuel was with a gun that night, and I know that Samuel is a cultist and he attended my birthday party. It was a cult guy called Daddy that threatened that if I refuse to join their cult, he will deal with me and shoot me in the legs with a gun.”

Recruiting young girls as armourers
Crime Alert gathered that young girls were recruited into the cult group as they are used as armourers who keep the ammunitions for them any time they go for operation. It was learned that based on the revelations, the Divisional Police Officer in-charge of Ijanikin Division of Lagos State, SP Robinson Eregare, swung into action and succeeded in clamping down on all the suspected cultists connected with the victim’s initiation. Among those arrested were Musa Kareem, Austine Ebosoje and ten others.

Police reacts
Confirming the incident, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu said Temitope Famati, an 18-year-old lesbian, Ogunsan Kemi , another 20-year-old lesbian, Oseni Lukman, 30; Chidi Okafor, 25; Musa Kareem, 26; Austine Ebozoje, a 19- year-old pirate, Segun Sowumi, Olatokunbo Babatunde, 18; Gbelebu Samuel, 17 and Hussan Azeez, 30, were among the cultists arrested so far.
Source:Vanguard

Police rescue 14 from Abia baby factory

NO fewer than 14 pregnant girls and ladies have been rescued by men of the Abia State Police Command after they raided an alleged illegal maternity home.

The police said the martenity home was allegedly being used as a baby factory at Umukpeyi village in the Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of the state.

The age of the victims, according to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Udeviotu Onyeke, range from 14 to 25.

Onyeke explained that the alleged baby factory belonged to a “notorious child trafficking syndicate leader in the state, simply known as Madam Nma”.

The police spokesman said the rescue followed intelligence report that the principal suspect and the proprietor of the illegal maternity home had been habouring pregnant teenagers in the home for commercial purposes.

He said when interrogated, some of the suspects claimed they came from Imo, Anambra, Enugu and Rivers states.

He said, “Majority of those rescued claimed that they were brought to the home by sympathisers after they were driven away from their homes when it was discovered that they had unwanted pregnancies.”

Onyeke said while 12 out of the 14 suspects were confirmed pregnant, two said they came to check if they were pregnant.

The police said the owner of the illegal maternity home escaped arrest as she was not at home during the raid, but added that efforts were on to track her down.

The PPRO appealed to members of the public with any useful information on her whereabouts to volunteer same to the police for prompt action.

It will be recalled that the said suspect was earlier this year paraded by the police at the Officers Mess, Umuahia.

The police had then told journalists that she was picked up at Uyo after many years of evading arrest, assuring the people of the state that she would be arraigned in court as soon as investigations were over.

Source:Punch