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Sunday, June 12, 2011

34-Year-Old Painter Commits Suicide in Lagos Neighbourhood



KUNLE AKINRINADE
The normal quiet life of occupants of 19,Adebiyi Street,Somolu,Lagos State was stirred to life on Tuesday May 24,2011 when one of the tenants of the building Ismail Kalejaiye took his own life.
Ordinarily, that fateful day should have been one of the happiest days in the life of 34-year-old deceased who was a painter in his lifetime. He just got a painting contract worth N200, 000 after experiencing a lull in his business and had bought materials worth several thousands of naira to execute the project.
Unfortunately, moments after he returned from the mosque, where he had gone to perform Asri at 4p.m. he went straight to his room and hung himself with a rope tied to the ceiling of his apartment.
The apparently unaware neighbours of the deceased soon knew better when the deceased’s brother who lives with him returned from work later in the evening only to discover that the door to their apartment had been locked from the inside.
When he could no longer comprehend what was going on, he allegedly forced the door open and was shocked to see his brother’s body dangling from the ceiling. He subsequently alerted neighbours to the discovery at about 6.p.m.
Within a twinkle of an eye, the incident attracted mass of residents who trooped out to catch a glimpse of the gory sight of Kalejaiye who was said to be popular among residents.
The landlord of the building, Mr. Sunday Mate explained that he was not aware of the incident until the deceased’s brother broke the news to him.
He said:” I was shocked when his brother who lives with him raised the alarm upon discovering the body of his late brother dangling from the ceiling. No one could comprehend the reason for his action because he did not leave any suicide note. He was such a gentle person and I have never seen him quarrel with anyone since he moved into my house”
Findings revealed that Kalejaiye’s girlfriend had earlier visited him on the fateful day and she was said to have left him at 2p.m. after helping him out with some house chores.
One of his sisters simply identified as Nurat was said to have visited him in the morning and she had promised to talk to their elder brother oversea to assist the decease.
Some tenants of the building who spoke with our correspondents on a condition of anonymity explained that they were shock that Kalejaiye who they described as unassuming could take to suicide.
“It was shocking to discover that Mr. Kalejaiye who we popularly called Alfa could take to suicide. He was such an easy going and he never had any misunderstanding with any of us since he moved into this house a few years ago. Only God knows what could have led him to take such a misguided decision because he was planning to get married soon. In fact, his girlfriend was here today and she left in the afternoon”, said one of his co tenants.
It was gathered that the mother of the deceased who was unaware of the incident had called his mobile phone severally while the body of her son was still dangling from the ceiling while one of his brothers based overseas was also said to have called him.
Findings further revealed that his brother based abroad had offered to facilitate his travel to the United State of America (USA) when the deceased complained of business downturn only a few months ago.
A source said: “Only recently, one of his brothers in the US offered to take him to the country when he (Kalejaiye) complained of lull in his business. You won’t believe it that while his body was still dangling from the ceiling that same brother also called his mobile phone”
A highly placed police source at the Alade Police Station, Somolu confirmed the incident.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Hotel Security Guards Kill 40-Year-Old Customer At Dawn



KUNLE AKINRINADE

It was too late on May 11, 2011 when 40- year –old Kehinde Taiwo checked into a hotel at Ota, Ogun State to pass the night. Unknown to him, evil was lurking in the dark. Three security guards who welcomed him on arrival allegedly dispatched him to early grave gruesomely.
It was gathered that the deceased had held a meeting with some family members earlier in the day at Pleasure area of Iyana Ipaja , Lagos State. Findings also revealed that the meeting lasted till late in the evening thus prompting the late businessman to check into Nimot Hotel& Suites, Nimot Close, Ota after he had visited his filling station within the neighbourhood. The deceased who drove into the hotel in his ML Mercedes Benz Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) was accompanied to the hotel by one of his friend Engr. Friday Williams.
Investigations further revealed that shortly after settling down in his hotel room, the Ilero, Oyo State born petrol dealer who returned to Nigeria from United Kingdom two years ago to take over the investments left by his late brother received a phone call. He was said to have stepped out from his room to answer the call because of bad network.
So sad!, the same security guards that welcomed him into the hotel when he checked in allegedly pounced on him and inflicted machete cuts on his stomach and head. He died shortly after the attack.
In an attempt to cover their track, the security guards were said to have subsequently dumped his corpse outside the hotel with his intestine ripping out of his body. It was gathered that the deceased’s friend Engr. Williams could not go out of his hotel room because the door was locked from outside by the attackers. Williams had to call his wife and brother to inform them of his plight at the hotel.
The police was subsequently invited while two security guards were arrested and detained. The third security guard however managed to escape.
Speaking with The Nation, the crest fallen widow of the deceased Mrs. Philomena Taiwo said there was more to her husband’s death than meet the eyes.
She said:”What a waste of innocent soul by wicked security guards? What could have made them to kill my husband? He was not into shady deals. He was a trustworthy husband and a caring father of his two children. What would I tell his children now? They have killed my joy…”
“There is more to my husband’s death and I believe that the truth will definitely prevail”, she added.
A highly placed source said that the Taiwo was a generous giver who was always willing to help others in the community.
“That man was very generous. Not a few people in this community will readily attest to his benevolence. There is no day he would pass through the streets without dolling out money to people .He was always willing to help people in need. Only God knows why he was killed by the guards in such gruesome manner.”
In a telephone conversation with the Police Public Relations Officer of Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi,he explained that the two security guards had been arrested and charged to court.
“The late Taiwo actually lodged into the hotel around11.30 pm. He was allegedly killed by the suspects around 3 am. His friend who checked in with him that night Engr. Williams was watching the scenario through the window because his room had been locked from the outside. At the moment, we have charged the two suspects to court.”
The two security guards arrested Ogunrinola Salmon and Oladele Onipede were arraigned before an Ota Magistrate Court presided by Mr.O.O.Ojo on a two count charge of murder and felony. The matter was however adjourned till August 11,2011.
It was gathered that the deceased’s elder brother was killed in similar circumstances two years ago in Ibadan, Oyo State.
In his words, immediate elder brother to the deceased Mr. Kunle Taiwo described his late brother as a jovial and that he was the rallying point of the family.
He said:” Although he cannot be said to be highly religious but he performed Salat prayers on Sundays and he was a very jovial person. Above all he was a lover of justice because he hated seeing people being cheated. We are going to miss him a lot because he had been the one taking care of his late elder brother’s family and even sold one of his landed properties to take care the family left behind by his brother. He was very enterprising and possessed outstanding business acumen. Although he was managing the business left by our late brother but he also has established a personal business importing fuel pump from China.”
The deceased who graduated from the University of Lagos Unilag with a degree in Political Science before traveling to England was said to have been told by some seers not to stay late outside.
“Two weeks before he was killed he had barely arrived at his Magodo, Lagos residence when his car suddenly caught fire. It was only sheer providence that he was rescued by those around who quickly put out the fire. He also told us how he had been warned by seers not to keep late nights because evil was lurking in the dark for him. He prayed against it and we also helped him with prayers. I spoke with him around 11pm that fateful day before he was killed. We are seven in the family and two have been brutally killed. ”
The deceased has since been buried in his home town, Ilero, Oyo State.

Who Killed These Men?














The puzzle is what an Edo High Court is trying to solve
Kunle AKINRINADE

The circumstances leading to the death of Ndubuisi Christian Nnalue, Godwin Isidielu, Chukwudi Eke, Uche Onwuesi and Chinedu leaves many questions than answer. Are they actually victims of extra judicial killing?
This poser will find answer in the matter now before Hon. Justice A.A. Okeke of the Federal High Court, Benin, Edo State.
The deceased persons were allegedly suspected to be kidnappers and they were being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Edo States where they allegedly died in controversial circumstances.
In a sworn affidavit filed before the court by one of the deceased’s person’s brother Chibuike Nnalue, he alleged that on Thursday October 14, 2010 at about 6pm, his cousin Chukwudi Eke was driving home in his Audi 80 car in company of a friend when he slowed down and applied a break. He averred that a certain couple in a Golf car suddenly smashed Eke’s car from the behind damaging the rear of the car. Instead of owning up, the owner of the car called Victor Okakah turned around to blame his late cousin for being responsible for the accident and his action did not go down well with Eke’s friend, Chinedu who in annoyance banged on the Golf car damaging its rear thus fueling the already tensed situation at the scene of the incident.
Chibuike averred that following a hot argument between the occupants of the two cars which subsequently degenerated into a fight Okakah’s wife raised the false alarm that Eke and his friend were kidnappers thus attracting the attention of some policemen from the nearby Oregbeni Police Station, Ikpoba Hill, Benin City, to the scene of the incident leading to the arrest of Eke and Chinedu.
He averred further that in attempt to secure bail for the duo, three other persons were allegedly arrested and detained at the police station before being transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).He claimed that the news of the controversial death of the five men was broken to other family members who went to secure their bail at the SCID on Saturday October 16, 2010.
The applicant contended that there is absolutely no reason for the killing of the deceased persons who, in the eyes of the law are presumed innocent until proven guilty of the offence by court.
In a writ of summons(FHC/B/CS/19/2011) filed by Barrister Chris Nwadigo on behalf of Ifeoma Nnalue and 22 family members of the deceased’s persons against the Inspector General of Police and 11 others seeking the enforcement of fundamental human rights of the victims, the plaintiffs are seeking among other reliefs, a declaration that the arrest, detention and killings of late Messrs Ndubuisi Christian Nnalue, Godwin Chigbo Isidielu, Chukwudi Eke, Uche Onwuesi and Chinedu, the breadwinners of the applicants at their prime of their youth, by the respondents and /or their agents, on or about 16th day of October 2010 at Benin City, Edo State is unlawful, unconstitutional, illegal and gross violations of the right to life of the deceased persons guaranteed under Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights,1948.A declaration that the arrest, detention and killings of Messrs Ndubuisi Christian Nnalue, Godwin Chigbo Isidelu, Chukwudi Eke, Uche Onwuesi and Chinedu, the bread winner of the applicants at the prime of their youth, by the respondents and/or their agents, on or about 16th day of October,2010 at Benin City, Edo State without any investigation and without giving the deceased persons any opportunity of defending themselves or without charging or arraigning the deceased persons before any court or tribunal is unlawful, unconstitutional, illegal and gross violations of the right to fair hearing of the deceased persons guaranteed under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights of 1948.A declaration that the killings of late Messrs Ndubuisi Christian Nnalue,Godwin Chigbo Isidelu,Chukwudi Eke,Uche Onwuesi and Chinedu,the breadwinner of the applicants at the prime of their youth by the respondents and/or their agents on about 16th day of October 2010 at Benin City, Edo State on the notion or erroneous belief and /or branding or characterization of the deceased persons as ‘kidnappers’ is unlawful, unconstitutional, illegal and gross violations of the rights to dignity of human persons guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights(Ratification and Enforcement) Cap A9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria,2004 and Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In the suit, the plaintiffs are seeking N1b damages for the death of the deceased persons. In the particulars of aggravated damages, the plaintiffs stated that ‘the police authorities despite their awareness of the fact that the matter leading to the arrest and detention of the deceased persons was a minor motor accident involving only two of the deceased persons namely; Messrs Chikwudi Eke and Chinedu and the complainant(s), they still refused and neglected to investigate the matter even after seeing the vehicles involved. Even when the complainants confessed that it was not a case of kidnapping, but an accident, the police still went ahead to summarily execute the five innocent young fellows within two days of arrest and detention based on false and malicious allegations of kidnapping’
However, in a joint counter affidavit deposed to by Pius Omorodion,a police officer attached to the SCID,Benin he averred that it was untrue that the deceased persons were not killed by policen while in detention adding that they died when they were led by policemen to effect the arrest of their kingpin. He averred further that the deceased persons were ambushed by their gang members with heavy sporadic shooting and that they sustained injury during the ambush which subsequently led to their death while being taken to hospital for treatment.
Counsel to the respondents, Barrister Osadolor Okunkpolor opposed the reliefs being sought by the plaintiffs.
The defence counsel in the preliminary objection averred that the
Fundamental rights as enshrined in chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution are not enforceable by dead persons and are not enforceable on their behalf and that the rights which the applicants seek to enforce do not constitute part of the rights protected within the provisions of Chapter IV.
Counsel to the respondents argued further that two or more persons cannot file an application for the purpose enforcing their fundamental rights and that members of a family cannot maintain a joint action for the enforcement of their fundamental right.
Counsel to defendants averred that parties named in the application for the enforcement of fundamental rights have not been properly described or identified because the affidavit of Chibuike Nnalue in support of the application for the enforcement of fundamental rights is incompetent for failure to comply with the provisions of the Evidence Act.
Further hearing in the matter continues.

22-year-old kerosene explosion victim battles for life at LUTH





I lost her father six years ago, I don’t want to lose her too, says distraught mother
KUNLE AKINRINADE

Nothing could have given the Adegbite family the premonition that evil was lurking in the dark on Wednesday April 27, 2011. Sadly, it was the day kerosene explosion occurred at their residence in Itele, Ota , Ogun State. Their daughter, Shakirat, was severely burnt and she is at the moment battling for her life at the emergency ward of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi- Araba, Lagos.
On the fateful day, she was inside their room with a friend. There was a power outage and the 22 year-old apprentice tailor wanted to lit the lantern when it suddenly exploded with a loud noise.
On her bedside at LUTH, she cut a pitiable sight while sharing her heart rending experience with The Nation.
Hear her:”I was inside the room with one of my friends that night. Then there was no light and I lit the lantern and while I was trying to adjust the lantern, it blew up with a deafening sound”.
She explained further how her dress caught fire and her fruitless attempt to quell it which eventually made her to suffer first degree burns.
She said: “The next thing was that my wrapper was on fire. I struggled frantically to put it off but before I could do that I was already burnt seriously. Although some neighbours tried to salvage the situation but their efforts did not help much. I was rushed to a nearby hospital in the area before I was later referred to LUTH.”
She explained that her parents had exhausted their savings on her treatment adding that doctors at the hospital said she would need N2.5million for an urgent operation to save her life.
“I am an apprentice and I don’t have any money. My parents and some of my friends have been sustaining me but now I need the assistance of the state governments and kindhearted Nigerians to undergo operation. For now, it is almost a hopeless situation because there is no money to cater for my treatment anymore while my condition could worsen in the next few days”
Recalling the incident, the distraught mother of the victim, Mrs. Tinu Adegbite-Olusesi, in an emotion laden voice threw more light into how the incident happened.
She said:” I never knew until now that kerosene could cause explosion. She (Shakirat) was actually the person I sent to buy the inflammable kerosene two days before the incident .On the day of the incident; I was at the back of our building when a power outage occurred. She had poured kerosene into the lantern and it was while she lit the lantern that it exploded. Her screaming attracted me and everyone around and we rushed in to the room to see what had happened. We got into the room only to find out that her wrapper had caught fire while fire was all over her”
“Neighbours around poured detergent water on her body to quench the fire while some applied egg yoke on her body to contain the burns on her body. We then rushed her to the Ota General Hospital where she stayed for one week before moving her to LUTH on doctors’ advice”.
She explained how she sold a landed property among other personal belongings to take care of Shakirat’s treatment adding that the family is currently facing serious financial predicament.
“Since the incident happened I have virtually sold everything I have laboured for in life to take care of my daughter because I know that if she’s alright and blessed she will take care of me too. I sold a plot of land at Itele for N200, 000 thinking that the money would be enough to take care of her treatment. I have also sold some of my personal belongings like jewellery, deep freezer among others all to no avail. I have spent over N300, 000 most especially on drugs and other items for her treatment and I am now left with nothing”.
She also recalled how she lost her husband a few years ago and the the pains of caring for her children.
“We moved into our house about six years ago but my husband (Shakirat’s father) died four years ago and I have ever since been saddled with the burden of taking care of my three children. Shakirat finished her secondary education a few years ago and she opted to train as a tailor because she did not want to place additional burden on me by furthering in her education”
She further explained that N2.5 million will be needed to restore Shakirat’s health and that the family can no longer afford to take care of further treatment at the hospital.
Hear her:”Doctors have said that we must provide N2.5million for Shakirat’s surgery which will enable her to get back on her feet once again but I am helpless now. I don’t have any money”
“Therefore, I am appealing to well meaning Nigerians to come to my rescue so as to take care of Shakirat. It was six years ago when I cried profusely following the death of my husband and I don’t want to lose my daughter again”, she added.
To this end, financial help should be forwarded to Fidelity Bank Plc account number 6018030375 while the mother of the victim can be contacted on 08063701059.

Friday, June 10, 2011

46-year-old housewife dies after eating a meal of beans and fried plantain



We took her to three hospitals but they couldn’t save her life-husband
Kunle AKINRINADE
Nothing exemplifies grief more than the mood at No 9, Musiliu Disu Street, Akesan, off LASU-Iyana-Iba Road penultimate. Heads shook in palpable heartfelt anguish. Tears flowed freely as fervent prayers poured from the lips of sympathizers for the beleaguered family over the loss of their matriarch, Mrs. Grace Osunwa.
Many of the sympathizers were members of the community development association who had come to commensurate with the husband of the deceased Mr. Anthony Osunwa on that day when the reporter visited.
An unforgettable day it was: Wednesday, April 27,2011. The family woke up in their usual manner to observe the Morning Prayer. Cunning devil! Just a few hours later, the unfortunate incident they never imagined befell them.
In a manner that bordered on the mysterious, the mother of four prepared some beans and fried plantainSW as breakfast for the family by herself. Moments after she ate the meal with her family she complained of rumbling stomach and all efforts by her children and neighbours to contain the situation yielded no fruits.
The situation compelled the family to contact her husband who had left home moments after eating the meal while efforts were made to ferry her to the nearby Alimosho General Hospital.
The Nation learnt that the 46-year-old Awe, Oyo State born deceased was taken to various hospitals until she was finally admitted at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi- Araba (LUTH) where she gave up the ghost before doctors could perform a major surgery on her.
The 52-year-old widower, a property developer puts it thus:”We usually have enough foodstuffs in our home because we buy in large quantity. So, on the fateful day my wife cooked the beans and fried plantain which we ate including the children before I went out. Not long after the meal, she complained of rumbling stomach and surprisingly her stomach started swelling,’’ he explained.
“I immediately contacted the family doctor whose intervention could not save the situation and it was the doctor who suggested we take her to the nearby Alimosho General Hospital”
At the Alimosho General Hospital, the family was told that no doctor was around to attend to the deceased from where she was thus referred to Ikeja General Hospital where again she was refused admission because of lack of bed space.
Hear him: “When we took her to Alimosho General Hospital, we were told that no doctor was on duty, hence, we were referred to Ayinke House tucked inside Ikeja General Hospital. There, they told us that they had no bed space. She was then referred to Railway Hospital in Ebute-Metta. We were asked to deposit N20,000 which I did and all kinds of drugs were prescribed which we bought. At a point the doctors said they would carry out surgery on her and I was asked to deposit N16,000 which I immediately paid to save her life. Surprisingly, that very night they again explained that the hospital lacked the necessary facility to carry out such operation and instead referred her to LUTH at 1 am.”
Like every other person in such situation would, Osunwa immediately took hold of his wife and rushed her to LUTH in the dead of the night.
“I did not even mind that it was late already because it was around 1am that doctors at the hospital explained to me that it was risky carrying out such operation since they lacked the necessary facility. By the time I took her to LUTH it was around 3am where doctors said there was a need for an urgent blood transfusion. They said that they don’t have blood at the hospital and I was asked to go back to Ikeja General Hospital to purchase blood and I promptly did so hoping that her life could be saved.”
“But before the blood could be transfused, my wife died, I believe that if my wife had received prompt medical attention she wouldn’t have died and the incident is rather a sad commentary on the state of healthcare delivery in Nigeria where people die because of lack of prompt medical attention. Imagine, there was no clue to what was wrong with her yet they kept prescribing all kinds of drugs which we bought. As a matter of fact, we had to return drugs worth N44, 000 after she died and it’s rather very painful we lost her’’ Osunwa said.
Recalling the fond memories of his wife, he said:” I never believed that she could leave me so soon. We never quarrel for a day. She was unassuming and a very caring wife. She stood by me when things were bad and we have been married for 27 years now. It’s so sad she died when things are beginning to look up for me.”
“When we moved into our residence, some years ago, the whole place was a jungle and all kind of animals ranging from monkeys, antelopes and poisonous reptiles roamed around here freely. Besides, this area was under the constant grip of armed robbers and the situation almost forced me to relocate from here. But she always encouraged me to be patient that things would get better. My second daughter, Ngozi, who is a final year Banking/ Finance student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has just come home on a short break not knowing that she had come home to bury her mother.“
“As a mark of honour whether the cause of her death was detected or not she’s going to buried in one of the rooms in my house because we suffered together when things were very bad for us. She did not mind the fact that I am an Ibo when we met and she practically did everything possible to raise the children amidst our inadequacies back in the days.”
“If she had eaten the meal alone one would have suspected a foul play but we all ate together and everyone is hale and hearty. I shared in the same meal including the children and nothing is wrong with me. You can even see her children; they are all okay but I know that everything is open before God because her death still remains a mystery to me,” he added.
Meanwhile, doctors at LUTH are trying to unravel the cause of her death while her remains have since been deposited at the mortuary.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

See what generator's fume has done to this lady!








KUNLE AKINRINADE
Kasarachi Okoroji’s fate hangs in the balance as help eludes. She is a victim of generator fume and the unfortunate incident has sent her brother and her beloved mother to their early graves.
With a muffled moan, she wanted to tell her story but hot tears overwhelmed her voice as she vegetated in pain on her sick bed at the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State, a few days ago.
The incident as gathered took place in the evening of February 4, 2011 at the residence of the victim at 5, Old Nekede Road, Owerri. The family was watching television in their living room when a power outage occurred.
Immediately, one of Kasarachi’s cousins who was putting up with the family dashed out to put on the generator. Not long after, Kasarachi, her mother who was said to be an insurance practitioner, her brother and their cousin fell asleep without putting off the generator.
The smoke from the generator exhaust was said to have engulfed the living room thus wiping off the family of three before dawn.
The following morning, neighbours who could no longer fathom why none of the family members refused to answer when they knocked, forcibly opened the door to their two bedroom apartment where the victims lay cold dead in their living room.
Kasarachi was the only one who miraculously survived the emission. Sympathizers discovered that she was still breathing when they broke into their apartment. She was therefore rushed to the hospital.
One of Kasarachi’s cousins, Chinwe Azubuike recalled the incident. She said: “They put on the generator after a power outage and they forgot to put it off before going to sleep. They were found dead by neighbours who forced their way into their apartment when they noticed that they were yet to come out around noon on the day of the incident. She was preparing for her matriculation at the Imo State Polytechnic which was just three days away when the incident occurred”
She was then taken to the hospital for treatment while the rest of the victims were buried amidst contest of tears by family members, friends and associates.
Quite sad, her dream of going further in her studies has been dashed following the incident. She had just secured admission at the Imo State Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri and her matriculation ceremony was just a few days away. She decided to visit home in order to prepare well for the ceremony when she the unfortunate incident happened.
One of her relations, Amaka, threw more light into Kasarachi’s plight. Hear her:”It’s so unfortunate that the incident has rudely aborted her dream of proceeding further in her studies. She had just been admitted into the Imo State Polytechnic, Nekede. She had intimated her late mother of her forthcoming matriculation and she was asked to come home for adequate preparation not knowing that tragedy was lurking in the dark. She had lost her father a few years ago and her late mother had been shouldering the burden of looking after her and her brother until the incident. ”
Now, she is faced with another dilemma and according to her cousin, Chinwe who has since taken a ‘permanent residency’ at the clinic since the incident happened in order to look after her, the hospital management has decided to stop further treatment of the victim over unpaid medical bill.
She said: “My mother was called by the doctors to let her know that Kasarachi’s bill had reached N500, 000. This morning, she was called again and told that Kasarachi has been moved from the special unit she was kept into normal ward which means that she has been prematurely discharged because of unpaid medical bill that has accumulated so far”
Expatiating further on Kasarachi’s fate, she said:”So, she will be taken from her new bed to the physiotherapy unit where she receives treatments as well. She will also no longer be fed by the hospital”
At the moment, Kasarachi’s woe is compounded by her loss of memory even as she cannot move her legs and hands.
“Presently, she cannot recall anything even though she now speaks. Worst still, she’s immobile as her limbs are contorted just like the way they were all found when the others died. This is why she’s been undergoing physiotherapy for her spine and limbs”, Chinwe added.
The family said it has spent so much and it’s now hard up for money thus crying out for help from kind hearted Nigerians.
Chinwe said:”We are just trying to make it public now, because it’s been very tough for the family. The newspaper is the only medium we can use to reach out to the public to offer her a hand of love because her condition is causing us huge anxiety should her treatment is further discontinued”
“We have spent so much and we don’t have the resources to continue to take care of her medical bill and that’s why we are appealing to Nigerians to come to her aid because the family is helpless at the moment”
To this end, the family has made available a Union Bank Plc account number: 4302000140135 for those who want to lend a helping hand to Kasarachi or better still call Amaka on 08060105976.

Monday, May 2, 2011

There were mysterious deaths in my town before I was persuaded to ascend the throne



*The last interview with Ogun monarch shot dead recently

This interview was granted by the late monarch, Onijoun of Ijoun in Yewa North, Ogun State, Oba Jimoh Olubo, before he was killed by unidentified gunmen at Igbogila, Yewa North, on April 16, 2011. It had not been published before his death. Below are excerpts of the interview conducted by KUNLE AKINRINADE

How long have you been on throne as the king of this town?Well, let me first of all correct the impression. I am not the kabiyesi but the Almighty God up there who is the king of kings. I am just an ordinary keeper of the stool and once my time is up, I’ll have no choice but to drop the crown I‘m wearing and leave. But God does not die because He’s the Creator of everyone. But back to your question, I have spent 15 good years on the throne.

How did you emerge as the choice for the throne?To be honest with you, I did not vie for this position but the people of this town begged me to ascend the throne after a protracted crisis over the vacant stool.
What kind of crisis?First of all, I am from one of the royal families of this town but I never contested for the stool because I was still serving in the Army. After the demise of my predecessor, a protracted tussle for the throne engulfed the entire town. Some fathers killed their own sons over the throne while many siblings killed themselves as well. And for about ten years, there was nobody to install as monarch of the town until the kingmakers were left without a choice but to turn to my family for a candidate, hence, I was nominated.
So how did you beat other contestants to ascend the throne?I didn’t defeat anyone because it was not a contest but a walkover. Like I said earlier, a lot of contestants for the throne had died strange deaths and there was no one else in the race. The situation then made the kingmakers to invite me to ascend the throne even though it was difficult for me to accept the offer.
Why was it difficult for you to accept an offer others would have grabbed with their two hands?It was because I was still serving in the Army as an officer and the Nigeria Army authorities were not willing to release me for such appointment.
Why?Well, I was sent on a specialised military course as an officer and I was made to sign a bond that I wouldn’t quit service for six years after the training programme.I was offered the throne mid way into the duration of the bond. On the one hand, I was happy to become a king but on the other hand, the bond almost discouraged me from accepting the offer. But eventually, I had an agreement with the military authorities that I would be shuttling between the palace and the barracks. So, I would first report before attending to the community as a monarch because as an intelligence instructor, I have people to teach or train and I did that throughout the duration of the bond until I was finally released in 1996 after spending over 20 years in the military.
Now, how have you been coping with the challenges of office so far?My guiding principle is honesty. I will never promise things I cannot do. If you seek favour from me and I know that it will be difficult to do it, I will tell you at once no matter how bad it hurts because I am a Christian and my religion abhors lies. Even among my colleagues in the Yewa Council of Obas, they know me as a very blunt person and I wouldn’t do things that negate my principle or belief no matter whose ox is gored.
What about the fetish things that traditionalists perpetrate in various communities across the South-west?If you ask my chiefs, they would tell you that I don’t join them in such acts. Mine is to administer the town while there are chief priests in charge of the deities in the community. They know the time to hold their festivals and I don’t join them in the celebrations.
But your name does not portray you as a ChristianYes, I was born a Muslim and I later became a Christian convert at a point in my life. By the grace of God, I have been to Jerusalem.
What kind of developments has the town witnessed since your enthronement?A lot. You can see that this town is full of solar powered streetlight and if you come here in the night, you won’t believe that you are not in the city because the whole place is usually brightly lit. The project was carried out by a member of the Federal House of Representatives, Hon.Razak Adewusi who incidentally is a son of my predecessor and we are proud of him. Apart from that, he has also sunk boreholes in various parts of the town and equipped our maternity centers with drugs, among many others. That is why I stood against some elements who were saying that he has not done anything since he got into office because even a blind person can see what he has done so far.
What is your opinion of the current administration in Ogun State?The current administration is trying its best to have something to show for its tenure even as it is being confronted with unforeseen challenges. But to say the truth, much as I don’t want to make any comment about the political situation in Ogun State, I feel bad that the state is not enjoying peace in terms of governance. Only recently, about nine members of the Ogun State House of Assembly impeached the majority, thus setting the state backward.
Can you briefly narrate the history of Ijoun?The town was founded by an itinerant warrior called Dagunja who left Oyo town to live in Ketu in Dahomey now Benin Republic. He was called Dagunja because he was fond of going to battle front alone without troops. As you may have read in the history books, Alaketu and Oranmiyan, the founder of Oyo Kingdom, were siblings and that was the reason why Dagunja left Oyo to stay with his kinsmen in Ketu. When he got to Ketu, he was referred to as the ‘omo kekere ijoun’ (a small boy of yesterday) and the appellation stuck on him. But being an independently minded person and a restless one at that, he decided to establish his own domain and the appellation not only became the name of the town but that of his title.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Mutilated body of man found in a canal after friends took him out



Kunle AKINRINADE
Not a few people who cannot do without the company of all kinds of friends would have a rethink after reading the tragic story of Kehinde Akinpelu, a carpenter who lived at No 1, Biliaminu Oliyide Street, Alagbado, Lagos State. He was allegedly lured out by his friends and his lifeless body found two days later.
On March 27, 2011, Ogogo as he was fondly called in the neigbourhood was enjoying his favourite meal on a Sunday afternoon when he reportedly received a phone call from one of his friends call Ope but he refused to pick it. A few minutes later, one of his friends known as Saheed came in a car to invite the deceased to Oshodi for an urgent carpentry work.
The 37 -year-old deceased, a native of Awe, Oyo State allegedly abandoned his meal and followed Saheed in his car. Three days later, he was found dead inside a canal at Super Bus Stop along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway near Abule Egba, Lagos with machete cuts all over his body and his tongue was cut off while his eyes were also plucked out.
Narrating the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death, the deceased’s widow, Yemisi stated: “On Sunday March 27 when my husband and I were taking our launch at home, his phone suddenly rang but he didn’t pick it because it was one of his friends called Ope whom I had warned him to be wary of. Not long after, his other friend Saheed who lives on 14 Orilawe Street,Alagbado, Lagos called him on phone him to inform him that he would be coming to our residence to take him out for a job .Saheed told my husband that Ope had just moved into a new apartment somewhere and that he needed the assistance of my husband to fix some items. He returned at 1pm and met me in one of my friend’s shop. And he told me that Saheed actually took him out to assist Ope packed his belongings into a new apartment. The reason for his explanation was because last December, the duo of Ope and Saheed took my husband out and gave him an over dose of alcohol despite the fact that he detested taking liquor”
Not long after that day, Saheed again came to pick him up for a job at his father’s residence in Oshodi. Immediately Saheed entered our house my husband got up and rushed to the bathroom and dressed up to follow him.I asked him not to relax at home but he explained that the job could fetch him an extra money and that he would not want the job to be given out to another person. He then asked me to kiss him and I gave it to him not knowing that it was a parting kiss he was asking for”
Later in the day, she called her husband to know what food he would like to have for his dinner. She asked him not to buy bread as she had already prepared rice for dinner. He told her that he was already on his way home around Ile-Epo axis of the Lagos Abeokuta Expressway.
“I initially called him at 4pm to know his whereabouts and he said that they were caught inside traffic somewhere around Oshodi.When it was 6pm I again called him to know his whereabouts and he replied that they were still inside the traffic at Bolade, Oshodi.And I told him to be careful because the general election was fast approaching. Then at 9.30pm when I spoke with him again on phone and this time he told me he was at Ile Epo.When I asked for what he would like to take as dinner he said he was going to buy bread but I told him that I was already preparing rice for dinner.He then asked me to get a phone charger before his return so that he could charge his phone battery”.
When she tried to call him again his line was switched off and on the strength of her exasperation with the situation she decided to call Saheed to find out what was wrong only to be told that her husband had alighted at Oshodi.
“I decided to speak with him again on Saheed’s line because we usually watched Labe Orun, Yoruba television programme together.Saheed then told me that he had dropped my husband at a filling station near Brown Street, Oshodi.I did not believe him and I asked him to wait for me in his house the following day. The next day, I went to his house in company of one of my friends and I asked him to take me to the spot where he dropped my husband the previous day. When we got there he could not offer any tangible explanation as to the actual spot where he dropped him and that confirmed my suspicion that there was a foul play. That made me to alert Saheed’s landlord and other community leaders about my predicament and it was suggested that we should search for my husband whereabouts together”
“On Tuesday March,29 2011,we left the place and went to search for him on the streets around the Ile Epo axis where the deceased had informed me he was before his phone line went dead. When we got to a point at Super bus stop Saheed suddenly left our midst and stood transfixed at a spot near a canal. And he later called on us that there was a corpse of a man lying on his face inside the canal. When I looked at the corpse I shouted that it was my husband because I knew exactly the cloth he wore on the day he left home”.
She gave further insight into the matter as a case of ritual killing following the discovery that the deceased’s tongue had been cut off and his eyes plucked out at the time his remains were found.
“ I was shocked to see my husband’s tongue severed while his eyes were already plucked out. Even a section of his private part had been mutilated and that suggest that he was a victim of ritual killing. And as far as I am concerned Saheed is prime suspect because he was the one who lured him out of the house for an unknown destination on the day”.
The nearby Lagos State Fire Service Station was later contacted to remove the corpse to the Ikeja General Hospital where it was deposited in the morgue.
The matter was later reported at the Ojokoro Police Station and Saheed was arrested and detained before he was later transferred to the homicide section investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, Lagos.The suspect said he knew nothing about the death of Akinpelu but he mentioned one Ope as the third person with whom they went out on the day the deceased died .
She recalled hw Ope took her husband out last December and forced him to drink beer and got drunk to the extent that he was throwing up uncontrollably when he got home.
“The same Ope took my late husband out on a drinking spree and he got drunk so much that he started vomitting. I told him I did not want him to have anything to do with Ope again but I wouldn’t know whether they meet outside”
“I met my husband in March 2010 but unfortunately he was killed in March this year just when I thought I had found joy in my own dream man,Because of the kind of affection we shared I still see his ghost on daily basis; God will judge his killers”
It was gathered that the police took Saheed to Oshodi where he claimed that Ope was living but when they got there Ope had packed out of his home. They were told that Ope had relocated to an unknown place in Ijebu, Ogun State.
Confirming the incident, Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos Police Command, Samuel Jinadu,a Deputy Superintendent of Police said investigation was in progress on the matter adding that the suspect(Saheed) had been arrested while the case has been transfered to the homocide department of the State Criminal Investigation Department(SCID).

32-year-old woman hangs self in Lagos neighbourhood





32-year-old woman hangs self in a Lagos neighborhood
Kunle AKINRINADE
The huge crowd that gathered at 11, Hakeem Alli Street, Ayobo,Lagos State on Saturday, May 16,2011 which coincided with the presidential election was rather unusual.
The building was not a polling unit and the mass of people were not voters but shell-shocked sympathizers. It was a scene of a bizarre incident, hence, residents abandoned the voting centres to catch a glimpse of the dangling remains of Sarafat Adewunmi Azees who committed suicide by hanging inside her one-bedroom apartment.
At the entrance of her apartment was a pair of slippers belonging to the deceased while at the corner of her room was her cosmetic kits and her voter card. The 32 year-old, Iseyin,Oyo State born beautician according to investigation was said to have returned from work on Thursday, April 14 without an inkling that she was going to abbreviate her life.
On Friday, 15,2011 her hordes of customers were said to have stormed her residence as usual to have their faces beautified. They later became confused agitated after knocking on her door without any response. It was in that situation that an unidentified neighbour at about 8pm that day went to the back of the building and peeped through the window of her room before discovering her dangling body.
The Divisional Police Officer of Ayobo Police Station Julius Isijola, a Chief Supritendent of Police(CSP) who led his men to the scene of the incident promised to launch a full scale investigation into the incident, assuring that ‘ police will ensure a proper investigation’
A neighbour who asked not be mentioned narrated how it all happened. She said: ”The deceased was an unassuming person and she always kept to herself. She returned from work last Thursday and she greeted everyone as usual before going into her room. The next day, her customers started coming to have their finger nails fixed while some wanted to buy some items from her but they became worried upon knocking on her door without any response”
“When after many hours of waiting she did not come out of her room, someone suggested that we check her room through the window and that was how we discovered her dangling body tied to the ceiling fan. It was such a gory sight, hence, we raised the alarm to alert neigbours and residents”
Investigation revealed that the deceased popularly called Iya Shakirat moved into the house after her home at the Ayobo Residential was among many others demolished by the Lagos State government.The development subsequently led to separation with her husband and she was said to have squatted with friends for sometime before she subsequently moved into the building where she hung herself.
The distraught owner of the building Mr. Adedigba Adekunle, described the deceased as a very quiet person and an industrious woman.
Hear him: ”She was a very quiet person and she was not a troublesome tenant. She moved into this house about a year ago claiming that her house was among the buildings demolished by the Lagos State government at the Ayobo Residential Scheme. She was into so many things; she was a beautician, cosmetologist and she renders laundry services to residents”
“I have never seen her husband before; they probably parted after their house was demolished. I cannot exactly tell if her unfortunate action was due to financial hardship or not because her rent was due next month. She has an eight year old daughter called Shakirat who lives with her estranged husband”
“But more importantly I think she had carefully executed her own death judging by the way she arranged her room. For example, a voter card bearing her photograph and biodata was place on the floor while she also wrote the telephone numbers of some family members on a piece of paper”
He explained further that futile efforts were made to contact some of her family members including her husband.
Hear him:” There were some telephone numbers she wrote on a piece of paper and when we called some of them they declined response. Even when we called her husband too he asked us to leave him alone.We`are awaiting police report and we have called the Lagos State Ambulance service to come remove her corpse after necessary propitiation is offered because this is an abominable incident ”
In his words, the chairman of the Ogoluwade Community Development Association, Pastor Johnson Samayi said:” It’s just unfortunate that the woman took her life. We don’t really know what the motive behind her action is all about. But from the point of religion, I know that certain evil forces must have led her to embrace suicide. As a pastor, I have listened to testimonies by people about some evil voices asking them to jump into the sea”.
“I want to encourage residents to be prayerful and to always share their problems with men of God who can intercede on their behalf with prayers and counsel them with word of God”
The incident prompted a resident who simply identified himself as John to add a spiritual angle to the development on the strength of series of similar incident in the community in recent time.
He said: “We really need prayer in this community because a lot of this kind of incident has happened in this area in the last few weeks. Only a few weeks ago, a man said to be mentally challenged jumped into a well while another woman only a few days ago died during child birth”

Saturday, April 23, 2011

God i don't deserve this!


‘God, I don’t deserve this!’
Kunle AKINRINADE
Physically-challenged Emmanuel Oladipupo Bada is a lawyer. He is Principal State Counsel in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice. He bore tell-tale signs of the bereaved when he met the correspondent a few days ago.
Dressed in a black suit, he cut a pitiable sight as he glided its way to the front desk office in crutches. With bated breath, he made to narrate the ordeal that had suddenly turned him into a crooner of lamentation. But his tear ducks opened, giving way for uncontrollable tears.
You’ll not be wrong to think he’s been cheated by someone, but not on the account of physical disabilities. Instead, he is a lamenting the curious loss of N3.3million to armed robbers, blaming it on the negligence of a GTBank cashier.
Recently, Bada had been experiencing pains in his legs and based on medical advice, he was scheduled for a medical check overseas. The trip was estimated to cost him millions of naira but he lacked the resources to do so. When all efforts to gather money failed, he was forced to sell a property he inherited from his late parents and with the support of kind-hearted people, he was able to raise the stolen money which he deposited in his account at the GTBank, Alausa branch, Ikeja, Lagos State.
On September 8, 2010, Bada had gone to the bank to withdraw the money in company with his senior brother, Gbenga. But it was without an inkling that danger was lurking around for him. He alleged that when he presented the cheque to the cashier called Mojeed Ayibiowu, he had expected that given the volume of the amount involved, such payment should not be done in the open, adding that he actually protested against being paid in the open in the banking hall.
His plea, he recalled, fell on Ayibiowu’s deaf ears as he insisted on paying Bada in the open. In an emotion-laden voice, Bada further recalled the incident: “One Mojeed Ayibiowu, a cashier in the bank took an undue advantage of my disability by forcefully paying me N3.3million over the counter in the presence of the crowd in the banking hall on September 8, 2010 in spite of my protest against such conduct after keeping me on my crutches for 35 minutes. All my pleas that his actions were capable of exposing me to danger made no sense to him at all. On presenting the cheque to him, he said he was going to make certain confirmation on phone which was not clear to me because it’s my money I wanted to withdraw from my personal account with the bank.
“When he came back, to my chagrin, he asked me to come over to the counter to take the money. I begged him not to do so because he could expose me to danger, but he refused to listen to me. Instead, when he realised I was not going to shift ground, he came over to where I was standing and dumped the money wrapped in cellophane bags before me in the presence of everyone in the banking hall.”
Frustrated, Bada left the bank with the money kept in his car on his way to effecting payment for his planned foreign trip when sons from hell operating on a motorbike ambushed him a few distance away from the bank, thus dispossessing him violently of the money.
Hear him: “A few minutes after I left the bank, armed robbers operating on a motorcycle, apparently trailing me from the bank, attacked me at gunpoint. I remember seeing one of the robbers earlier in the banking hall. They had wanted to shoot at me but I managed to raise my crutches up and when they saw it, they came over to the car and asked me to wind down before taking away the money. But my brother who was driving in his car at the back wasn’t lucky. He had thought the robbers were reckless okada riders and he alighted from his car to ask what the matter was all about and the robbers angrily pumped hot bullets into his body. As I speak, he is hovering between life and death at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Idi Araba. I narrowly escaped death when a bullet fired at me narrowly missed my head but riddled the roof of my vehicle.”
Speaking further, he said: “The bank has since remained unperturbed and has shown no concern over the incident which was a direct consequence of gross professional incompetence and recklessness on the part of one of its members of staff who exposed me to security risk by deliberately and forcefully paying me a bulk sum in open glare. The Close Circuit Television (CCTV) mounted in the banking hall had captured the whole scenario where I made my protestation against the conduct of the cashier, but I am afraid it may have been doctored by now.”
“In the course of preliminary investigations, a team of policemen led by CSP Babatunde from the Anti-Vice section of the Lagos Police Command was at the bank to preview the said CCTV recording in the presence of myself, one Mrs. Mopelola, the bank’s counsel and other members of staff at the branch including the cashier on September 29. Everyone was speechless after seeing the footage of the transaction. The branch manager later made a commitment on principle at the Anti-Vice section of the Command on September 30, 2010 to make a refund, but till date, nothing has been done. I am therefore using this medium to call on well-meaning Nigerians to kindly come to my aid by prevailing on the management of GTBank to wear a human face because I am currently experiencing excruciating pains in my legs while my brother is still in a critical condition at the hospital. Please save my soul.”
Meanwhile, Head of Corporate Communications, GTBank, Mr. Femi Adeniran, said that neither the bank nor the said cashier was responsible for Bada’s woes. Hear him: “I greatly sympathise with Bada over the unfortunate incident because as a bank, we do not like to lose our customers let alone see them experience such terrible situations. But I beg to differ that our cashier had a hand in the unfortunate incident. For the avoidance of doubt, as a rule, once a cheque is presented over the counter, the owner would be paid over the counter and there is no such thing as effecting the payment at a secluded place other than the counter where the cheque was presented. In this case, any one could have masterminded the robbery since it did not take place in the banking hall.”
Since the accursed devil’s agents wreaked the havoc on Bada’s economic fortunes, by his confession, life had remained a nightmare for him and his entire family which, willy-nilly, has been made to bear the brunt of the unfortunate incident. “God, where do I go from here? Where?” This has been the daily refrain on Bada’s “beaten” lips.

Fire guts Pastor Bakare's home







The Lagos home of the vice presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change(CPC) Pastor Tunde Bakare went up in flame yesterday afternoon.

The fire which started around 3pm ravaged part of the building situated on Abiodun Olaiya Close,Awuse Estate,Opebi,Ikeja,Lagos.

It was gathered that the occupants were alerted by neighbours before it was put out by men of the Lagos State Fire Service.

A highly placed source who craved anonymity told our correspondent that the fire which started from the children's rooms was caused by an electrical fault.

Technicians were seen battling to restore light in the building when our correspondent visited the scene of the incident.

Meanwhile,spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command Mr.Sam Jinadu,a Deputy Supritendent of Policeexplained that the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained adding that investigation had just begun on the matter.