nation0428

10 THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015
CITYBEATS
YOUTHS
yesterday
blocked the Eko
Electricity Distribution
Company (EKEDC) office in
Badagry, Lagos, over poor
power supply.
They burnt tyres on the
firm's premises, while chanting
war songs.
The protesters brandished
placards with the inscriptions:
"Don't throw Badagry
into darkness," "Don't you
want light in your life?", "Stop
giving us bills" and "Leave
here if you can't give us light".
There was heavy traffic as
the protesters blocked a portion
of the road where the
firm is located.
Mr Olayinka Okoya, the
leader of the group, told
NAN that there has been no
light in Badagry in the past
three weeks.
"We have had more than
enough of this. They do not
give us light yet they bring
bills at the end of the month
and the bills are as high as
N120, 000.
"Despite the fact that we do
not have light, officials of
EKEDC would come to our
houses and cut us off even after
we pay bills for power
that we do not get.
"We have been living in
darkness for the past one
month; we have complained
several times, yet nothing has
been done about it, so we decided
to come out and express
our grievances.
"This must stop, we must be
given power and outrageous
bills must stop because we
A42-YEAR-OLD Mus
lim cleric,Abdulateef
Ibrahim, is being detained
by the Lagos State
Special Anti-Robbery Squad
(SARS) for allegedly duping
34 accommodation seekers
of over N5 million.
The suspect hails from
Agbekun in Ifelodun Local
Government Area of Kwara
State, but lives in Orile-
Iganmu in Lagos.
He is said to have absconded
after collecting
money from the victims for
one-room, a-room-and-aparlour,
self-contained
apartments and mini-flats
without meeting their demands.
After waiting for long, 10
of the applicants forced
themselves into some of the
apartments, fixed doors and
windows, and moved in.
Lagos Police Command's
spokesperson Ken Nwosu, a
Deputy Superintendent
•The protesters...yesterday
cannot take this anymore," he
said.
EKEDC officials declined to
comment.
Hoodlums cashed in on the
situation to harass motorists
and loot some shops.
Sachets of "pure" water
were thrown at passersby and
motorists; broken bottles littered
the road.
Some roadside shops and a
Prospective tenants lose
N5m to developer
By Ebele Boniface
(DSP), said the suspect
claimed to be an estate
agent/developer.
Nwosu quoted the suspect
as saying that he collected
N950, 000 from his motherin-law
to develop and let out
her plot at 2, Odumola Street
in Ajegunle, Lagos.
After collecting between
N100, 000 and N400, 000
from each of the victims, the
suspect claimed he used the
money to build the house.
His arrest followed the
landlady's petition to the
Commissioner of Police,
Kayode Aderanti.
Defending himself,
Ibrahim said: "My in-law
gave me an old house at 2,
Odumola Street, Ajegunle. I
was a bricklayer and cement
supplier for six years. On
March 27, my in-law gave
me N450, 000 to renovate the
house. When it finished, she
Youths protest power
outage in Badagry
mini-mart at a nearby Mobil
Petrol station were looted.
A passerby, Miss Morenike
Ajayi, told NAN of her ordeal
with the protesters.
"I was just walking on my
own when "pure" water sachets
were thrown at me,
what is my business with their
protest or did I say the power
supply should be bad?
"I did not deserve such attack
and it was uncalled for,"
she said.
Mr Audu Ali, a tricycle operator,
said his phone was
stolen.
"Some boys who were
among the protesters just
came to me and snatched my
phone and quickly joined the
crowd.
"I don't know how I will get
another phone and this is not
fair at all," he said.
The Divisional Crime Officer,
Badagry Police Division,
Aletor Peter, a Deputy
Superintendent (DSP) told
NAN that attendants at the
Mobil Petrol station reported
to the police that their shop
was looted.
He said investigation had
begun into the incident.
Lagos gives 100 vehicles to monarchs
THE Lagos State Government has bought no fewer than
100 vehicles for traditional rulers and chiefs, Local
Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Commissioner
Ademorin Kuye said yesterday.
Speaking at the 2015 Ministerial Press Briefing in Ikeja, he
said the vehicles would help the beneficiaries in the discharge
of their duties.
Kuye said the government was committed to the welfare of
obas, adding: "With these vehicles and more that we have provided
for our obas and chiefs, we can boldly say our traditional
rulers are the most taken care of in the whole of the
country.
"We see traditional rulers as partners in progress and we will
continue to do our best to make them comfortable,'' he said.
Kuye said government was building new palaces and renovating
old ones to enhance the comfort of traditional rulers.
He said the palaces of the Alara of Ilara, the Ayangburen of
Ikorodu and Suenu had just been furnished.
The commissioner said government processed about 44 applications
for the recognition and upgrade of chieftaincy stools
in the last one year.
The Chieftaincy Standing Tribunal of Enquiry, he said, had
begun inquiry into applications for upgrade to Obaship from
some divisions.
He said the government approved seven new chiefs and
Baales in Epe/Ibeju division of the state within the period
under review.
Kuye named the new chiefs as Prince Adewale (Iwajoba of
Akodo), Rafiu Bello (Baale of Okun-Ise), Raufu Mustapha (Baale
of Okun-Tiye), Raufu Alaka (Olisa of Orimedu), Lamoriu
Adekoya (Apebi of Orimedu), Babatunde Lamidi (Aro of
Orimedu) and Kabiru Ganni (Losi of Orimedu).
Woman robbed inside Keke Marwa
ONE man has been ar
rested by the police
for allegedly robbing
a woman inside a tricycle
(aka Keke Marwa).
She was attacked by a robber
who pretended to be a
passenger, at Guinness Bus
stop on Oba Akran Avenue,
Ikeja.
They were coming from
the nearby Ashade Market,
Agege.
The robber reportedly ordered
the woman to surrender
her belongings at gunpoint.
The robber also slapped
the tricycle driver and ordered
him to surrender his
key.
Special Anti-Robbery
Squad (SARS) operatives ar-
By Ebele Boniface
rested the tricycle driver,
Sodiq Adefowope (27), who
confessed working with the
robber whose name he gave
as Moruf. While parading
Adefowope yesterday, police
described Moruf as the
leader of the tricycle riders'
robbery gang.
According to the police,
the gang terrorises passengers
in the night and robs
them of their valuables.
The police said: "The
woman boarded a tricycle at
Ashade Market, and going
to her destination (withheld
for security reasons) when
•Ibrahim
gave me another N500, 000
but she could not give me
more money to continue. To
save the building from collapsing
due to the coming
rainy season, I put the apartments
up for let.
"I collected N5, 000,170
from 33 applicants and spent
the whole money on the
building. As I am talking to
you now, I don't have one
kobo in the bank or house.’
all of a sudden the Keke
Marwa rider stopped for the
first passenger to alight but
to her greatest surprise, the
passenger instead of alighting
started threatening the
woman with short gun and
ordered her to surrender her
bag containing huge sum of
money.
"Having obliged by surrendering
her bag, the robber
slapped the Keke
Marwa rider and ordered
him to go to the back seat
which he complied; the
woman did not know that
they are of the same gang."
Adefowope, who hails
from Oro in Asa Local Government
Area of Kwara
State confirmed that Moruf
is a member of his gang.
He said: "But, to be frank
with you, I did not know
that Moruf will strike because
he was telling me
about their exploits the day
before. I would not have
carried him if I knew that
he had the intention to rob
the woman. But I blame
myself because I know that
a criminal can strike
anytime and anywhere unless
he is not a real criminal,
which was my miscalculation.
"The game is up; there is
no need to hide anything.
When we reached Guinness
Bus stop, Moruf attacked the
woman with a locally made
gun and carried her bag. Before
he escaped, he took over
my Keke Marwa steering and
started the Keke Marwa. I was
dumbfounded because I never
expected it.
"Since I did not have alternative,
I cooperated with him for
the robbery operation to be
successful but see what is happening
now, he has escaped, I
am the only one suffering.
"If I am released, I will be
careful in life because it was
carelessness and carefree life
style that put me into this
mess."
CITYBEATS LINE: 09091178827
‘Be fire
safety
conscious’
By Wale Adepoju
NIGERIANS have
been urged to be
fire safety conscious
to prevent loss of
lives and property.
A fire safety expert, Mr
Franklin Akinmokun,
gave the charge at the International
Bio-medicals
Laboratory Science Day
organised by the
Association of Medical
Laboratory Scientists of
Nigeria (AMLSN), Lagos
State branch. The theme
was: "Safety starts with
you: patient safety first."
He said despite precautionary
measures, fire
still occurs, adding:
"Time is of the essence in
fire prevention."
Besides, people must
have necessary equipment,
such as fire
extinguishers in their
cars, homes and
workplaces, among
others to quell fire.
They should have fire
stations' telephone numbers
in case of an emergency,
he added.
Akinmokun, a fire
fighter with the Federal
Fire Service (FFS), said
fire does not kill but its
smoke does.
Moreover, it takes four
minutes for people to stop
breathing before they die.
"Before people's hearts
stop beating, they can be
saved by performing
chest compression (CPR)
to restart the heart or call
emergency response
team, such as ambulance
services. People should
learn safety tips, especially
CPR. Fire fighters
should be contacted as
soon as possible when
there is a fire to put it out,"
he said.
He identified fuel, heat
and oxygen as the three
elements of fire.
Akinmokun said since
fire safety concerns safety
of lives, property and environment,
people should
install in their homes and
offices smoke detectors to
track fire as soon as it
starts.
Fire, he said, is the
greatest threat to life and
property.
"Investment acquired in
years can be razed within
minutes if nothing is done
fast to stop a fire," he said.
•CP Kayode Aderanti