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Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Sunday, 18 October 2015
Saturday, 17 October 2015
Is Lagos falling under Ambode?
These days, the issues of insecurity and traumatic traffic situation in Lagos metropolis have continued to dominate discussions. Everywhere one goes, in offices, business environments, relaxation centres, motor parks among other places, Lagosians debate these issues with resentment: traffic situation getting worse, crime rate suddenly increasing, and business and commercial activities slowing down.
Now, Lagosians battle with agonising traffic gridlock on the roads daily with the attendant shocks and damage to the body and vehicles.
As a result of the roads that are littered with ditches and holes, deteriorating by the day, Lagosians are also exposed to heavy risk of attacks by highwaymen and miscreants.
Many a time, in trying to get out of the snarls, commuters are forced into trekking long distances to get to their various destinations; sometimes they are attacked by hoodlums and robbed of their valuables. More worrisome is the nonchalant attitude of many traffic men who apparently contribute to the ignoble role of bus drivers by compounding the already worse traffic situation on our roads.
This is just as other traffic men take bribes and better still, abandon their duty posts.
Worst hit are the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Cele-Iyana-Itire to Ilasa road, where the state of the roads is worrisome, causing untold hardships to motorists and commuters on daily basis. Movement around these areas have been most difficult in the last four months.
Other roads usually prone to gridlock are Ajah-Lekki Road, Ikoyi, Eko and Carter bridges, Mobolaji Bank Anthony, Ijora, Seven Up, Ikeja/Oregun axis, Allen Avenue, Agidingbi and Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Crime rate has also suddenly increased. Cultism as well as armed robbery and kidnapping incidents are on the increase, most times claiming lives of innocent residents. The alarming insecurity situation is such that passers-by and those in their various apartments are at risk with no hiding place.
Even when distress calls are put through to the police, prompt response has remained only a wish. It is either they do not respond at all or come very late to the scene, usually blaming it on logistics. Only a few days ago, armed robbers numbering about 40 stormed two banks located on 4th Avenue area of Festac Town in Amuwo Odofin Local Council of the state and carted away unspecified amount of money.
The gunmen gained access to the banks through the canal in speed boats, accompanied by sporadic shootings, injuring several residents in the process.
During the operation which lasted for several hours, a two-year-old toddler, Mmesoma Ndirika, and her mother, Jane, who were inside their apartment in an adjoining building, were reportedly hit by stray bullets from the rampaging bandits. Both mother and child were killed right in their apartment. Fresh in mind are the Lekki bank robbery, the Ikorodu bank invasion by these bandits among others.
The re-assuring words of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in his inauguration speech on May 29 still resonate with many Lagosians. “We shall practice government by incentives and not government by enforcement”, he had told the crowd at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan, Lagos.
“We shall implement creative ideas and concepts that will reduce the cost of running government; ideas that make life simpler and happier for our people …. Join hands with me to offer new ideas that will pull more resources to cater for the poor and needy among us. This will be a compassionate government.”
Almost six months after, the same words still resonate; however, going by the complaints by most Lagosians, those words resonate not with the same enthusiasm because the Governor apparently has not been able to come up with the “ideas that make life simpler and happier for our people.”
And two critical aspects of the socio-economic life of Lagosians where the people have clearly not felt these “ideas” are those of traffic management and crime control.
If the Governor’s assurances of making the state conducive for business to thrive is anything to go by, then it is quite unfortunate that the people hardly feel the social development and security plan for the state which are supposed to be paramount among other plans.
What Ambode met
A major philosophy of Ambode’s predecessor, Babatunde Fashola, in the management of Lagos traffic was enforcement and penalties. Fashola empowered the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences which, in turn, used its enforcement arm, the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) to demolish illegal structures in markets across the state. Hawking and begging were banned across the state and areas such as Obalende and Oshodi began to wear a new look.
Fashola also signed the Lagos State Road Traffic Law of 2012 which saw the restriction of commercial motorcycles on highways and the imposition of huge fines and jail terms for traffic offenders.
Any motorist guilty of wrongful overtaking was made to pay N100,000 as fine. For driving against traffic, an offender’s vehicle would be forfeited permanently to the state and the offender would be sentenced to jail for one year while a second-time offender risked a three-year jail term.
According to the traffic law, vehicles that break down on the highway will be fined N50,000. Motorists plying the route designated for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) were fined N20,000 each while second-time offenders paid N30,000. And from statistics released by the government, the restriction on okada led to 80 per cent reduction in crime and accidents in the state.
However, the traffic law was criticized by many human rights groups and members of the opposition for being draconian and for its harsh method of enforcement which, in some cases, resulted in deaths due to the overzealousness of enforcement officers.
However, mid June, less than a month after he became governor, Governor Ambode toured major traffic black spots in Lagos metropolis to see things for himself and vowed to ensure free-flow of traffic.
Lamenting the perennial vehicular traffic gridlock in the state, he revealed that he had directed the relocation of some bus terminals in congested areas to reduce gridlock in the affected places. He also expressed great concern about the traffic gridlock being experienced in the state.
His words: “It’s not enough for us to stay in the office and believe that we can create solutions to the traffic challenge that we have in the state. So, we decided that we are going to go round ourselves and see how we can improve on the traffic situation in Lagos.
“We have been to 3rd Mainland, Oworonshoki, Ketu, Abule-Egba, Alimosho and then we have gone to Mile 12. That’s not the end of the story. We’re still going to Apapa, Mile 2. The truth is that we must start to bring solutions to our traffic challenges in the state and that’s what we are doing.” He then assured that residents would start noticing solutions to the traffic challenges being experienced in the state.
Ambode’s policy, leniency taken for granted?
The differences in the style of governance between Fashola and Ambode are becoming more glaring, especially in the area of enforcement of traffic laws and security management. For instance, Ambode ordered the officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (KAI) officials and Vehicle Inspection Officers not to harass or forcibly take over citizens’ vehicles.
In the light of his compassionate governance philosophy, Ambode said, “I want to make life simpler for every Lagosian. The duty of everybody here, including me, is to make life easier for every Lagosian. I want you to use technology in arresting those who contravene the law, instead of resorting to harassment or forcibly taking over peoples’ vehicles.
“The same technology that is used in sending reminder messages about vehicle documents could be adopted in tracking down people who commit traffic offences without forcibly seizing their cars.” He urged KAI officers to go back to the streets and enforce the law against street trading in a civil manner, stating that the agency should also look at the option of adopting the use of social media to achieve effectiveness.
He added: “In addition, I don’t like the practice by VIO officials who impound vehicles for days. Technology should be adopted to ensure that the practice whereby vehicles are detained for long in the VIO yards is eliminated.”
On September 2, 2015, the Governor stormed the LASTMA headquarters and ordered that all impounded vehicles be released. In the same week, the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Babatunde Edu, was sacked and Mr. Bashir Braimah was appointed in his stead.
Ambode later directed that traffic offenders should no longer be arrested on the spot as was done in the past. Rather, erring motorists would have their licenses or other relevant documents seized and would be allowed to go with their vehicles as is done in developed countries. However, their documents would be returned to them after they might have paid their fines.
Unfortunately, however, commercial bus drivers, most of whom do not have valid documents, are usually allowed to go scot-free in line with the new directive. Defending the style of his boss, Mr. Braimah explained that the new policy was in line with Ambode’s directive on non-accommodation of offenders’ vehicles after booking, and explained that the traffic law had not been rescinded but that only the method of implementation had changed.
On the workability of the new approach, the LASTMA boss explained, “There will be no hiding place for traffic violators as the offenders are expected to make payment of their various fines within seven days and present their tickets at LASTMA offices and upon failure to comply, will be arrested at home after the expiration of the grace period.
“For those without valid documents or not registered in the state, there is a working synergy between the agency and other sister agencies across the federation; therefore, no traffic offender will go unpunished.”
Unfortunately, however, the new method introduced by Ambode has given many motorists, especially commercial bus drivers and commercial motorcycle riders the opportunity to flout the traffic law with impunity. Many are seen taking the BRT lanes while okada riders now ply bridges, dual carriageways and expressways in contravention of the traffic law.
Many even assume that since the Governor has stated that his government shall not be preoccupied with enforcement, they are allowed to take the BRT lanes without consequence. Now, articulated truck drivers park indiscriminately on busy roads and are not towed because of the ‘leniency’.
The traffic congestion caused by traffic obstructions cannot be totally divorced from the resurgence in traffic robbery. Suddenly, heavy traffic gridlock which had drastically reduced in the last eight years became worse since Ambode came on board.
There appears to be a general consensus among Lagosians that the perennial vehicular traffic gridlock in the state has gone from bad to worse since the advent of Governor Ambode.
Insecurity
Insecurity, especially armed robbery, cultism, violence are peculiar with mega-cities worldwide, and not restricted to Lagos. It is the management and containment of these crimes that set aside cities in developed countries from those of developing countries. The average Lagosian will therefore readily admit that as much as former Governor Babatunde Fashola positively managed security in Lagos, the state was not devoid of crimes before the advent of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
Of course there had been armed robbery and kidnapping incidents before May 29; some that really shook the nation to its foundation. Notable among them was the epic Hollywood-scene like armed robbery which played out at the highbrow Lekki area of Lagos State on Thursday, March 12.
Some armed men dressed in military fatigue uniforms and wielding AK47 automatic rifles, stormed two banks on the Lekki end of the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge. The robbers were said to have emerged from the nearby waterway bordering the lagoon along the bridge, announced their arrival with sporadic gun shots and positioned themselves strategically to ward off intruders.
Unfortunately, three policemen in a white coaster bus, who were on escort duty with expatriates, were felled by bullets from the rampaging robbers. But the policemen identified as Inspector Bethel Agbobu, Sergeant Odehowho George and Corporal Imoise Ikechukwu, were not the only ones sent to an unprepared grave by the hoodlums.
Life was also snuffed out of a man whose identity was given as Mr. Sowemimo Kabiru and a 15-year-old girl, Sarah Ibikunle, who sold fish close to the bank. At the end of the operation, the armed robbers reportedly carted away an undisclosed amount, leaving scores of persons injured.
Following startling confessions by some suspected members of the Lekki robbery syndicate arrested by the Lagos State Police Command that those behind recent bank robberies were militants hired from the Niger Delta Region, Lagosians began to wonder if their state is beginning to emerge as a new haven for notorious militants-turned-armed robbers.
It will be recalled that the Police in Lagos, two months after the incident, arrested four suspected members of the 22-man robbery gang that operated at Lekki, and preliminary investigation revealed that some of the suspects were oil bunkerers recruited from Delta and Ondo states and Arepo in Ogun State.
Unless drastic measures are taken to curb their excesses, Lagos may afterall not be a safe haven for business to thrive, whether locally or internationally. This is because aside bank robberies, other forms of criminalities such as kidnap, pick pocket, catch-in-the-air, otherwise known as one chance, as well as attacks on motorists in traffic are witnessing a rising turn in the state.
Recently, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Chukwuemeka Okpokpo, was shot dead by gunmen at Apple Junction, in Amuwo Odofin area of the state. The gunmen, said to have driven on a motorcycle, reportedly trailed the deceased from a second generation bank where he had gone to withdraw N3 million for the church.
They reportedly fired shots into the air, which sent other road users and passersby scampering for safety. Reports said Pastor Okpokpo tried to escape when it became obvious that he was the target. But he reportedly slowed down on reaching a bad spot, where the hoodlums shot at the tyres of the church bus he was driving, thereby bringing the vehicle to an abrupt halt, before shooting him at close range.
Vanguard’s Assistant Labour Editor, Mr Victor Ahiuma Young was also shot by robbers, who forcefully collected the money he had gone to withdraw from a second generation bank at Ilasamaja, along Oshodi /Apapa Expressway. While Ahiuma Young is alive to tell his tale, three others who fell victims around Ilamaja were not that lucky as they had life snuffed out of them by these robbers who always operated on motorcycle.
Sadly, whenever incidents which tend to reveal the handicap of any security agency as well as slow response of government occur, the concerned authorities resort to blame game and outright redeployment of the man in charge of the location. Unfortunately, this measure has not brought about the needed change.
For instance, when the Lekki and Ikorodu twin bank robberies occurred, the then Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti was redeployed. Again, the Area Commander in-charge of Area ‘E’ command, Mr Frank Mba, was also redeployed over Tuesday’s banks robbery attacks at Festac Town.
Even though such measure is considered as one of the ways to make officers more responsible to their constitutional duties, it has also proven to be a wrong approach to addressing insecurity, whether in Lagos State or Nigeria at large.
Lagosians speak
A cross section of Lagosians who spoke to Saturday Vanguard agreed that traffic and crime rate which were checked at the twilight of the tenure of Babatunde Fashola have suddenly increased. Security expert, Ona Ekhomu in a chat with Saturday Vanguard on the issue said, “I think the general statement is that, it could be better.
I think the difficulty the new Governor is having is that he is trying to settle down, and that is why the situation has been so deteriorated. The hoodlums in Lagos are making use of the security lapses in the state as an opportunity to unleash mayhem in the state. And this is the situation whenever there is a new administration.
He continued: “It appeared that the new Governor did not want to adopt the template he met on ground on the issue of security in Lagos, even though the template that the former Governor used was very effective and efficient. It was the step that the Fashola administration took that kept Boko Haram out of Lagos.
“What we are seeing now regarding the increase in cultism, kidnapping and armed robbery in Lagos State is a result of the gap between the past and the present administration. And the hoodlums have taken the advantage of these lapses.”
He however advised the Governor to design a security template for the state. “Ambode is an accountant by training; he needs a lot of advice on security issues. He must appoint an experienced security expert as adviser. He should be proactive when it comes to security issues. Governor Fashola got it right during his administration, therefore it is expedient that Governor Ambode gets it right too.”
A member of the Lagos State Assembly, Bisi Yusuf said the state government was determined to fix most federal and state roads. “With this development, I believe traffic in Lagos would be a thing of the past and Lagosians would enjoy dividends of democracy. As soon as the rains are over, the state government would engage the services of FERMA to fix federal roads.”
He however blamed the usual traffic congestion in the state on the impatient attitude of road users. “They cause traffic gridlock because of their impatience and the attitude of parking on the road. There is need for change in their attitudes so that we can forge ahead. The state Governor is highly proactive especially in addressing traffic gridlock in Lagos.
For instance, he has fixed the roads at the Ipaja/Ayobo axis, noted for traffic congestion. I believe he will fix all the roads in all the 37 local governments to allow for easy road network system in Lagos.”
According to a serving army officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, “the problem is not the Police but some of our politicians who gave these thugs arms before the election. Now the elections are over. But they have not been able to retrieve the weapons from them. From record, this has always been the case, immediately after election.”
Corroborating his view, a senior police officer who also spoke on condition of anonymity said “Yes, proliferation of arms is one of the major causes of what people describe as re-emergence of crime, not only in Lagos but the country at large. However, the Police are not sleeping. We are doing all we can to mop them out of circulation.
We have made tremendous arrests. In no time from now, you will witness a drastic drop. “We also want to use this opportunity to appeal to the state government to do all it can to support the police just as previous governments have been doing. So far, we have been given assurances of government’s support.
On our part, we will use all available equipment at our disposal to ensure that Lagosians sleep with their two eyes closed. A radical lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, who took-on former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola on the Lekki/Epe Toll Gate for the about whole eight years of his tenure said it was too early to judge the present governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode.
According to him, “Judging Ambode’s government at this time will be too hasty. I need to give him six months before accessing his performance in Lagos. Let us all keep our figures crossed; we are watching him.”
Ambode reacts
In a swift reaction to the persistent gridlock in parts of Lagos, the Governor of the state, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode reiterated his determination to tackle the traffic gridlock in the metropolis by putting in place multi-strategic solutions to address the challenge currently being encountered by motorists in most parts of the state.
Addressing a joint press conference, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Fola Adeyemi, said the Governor has shown deep concern over the persistent traffic gridlock in the state and has therefore directed the agencies concerned to swing into action to decongest traffic in the metropolis.
Adeyemi said: ”This press briefing is initiated at the instance of the Governor who has expressed growing concerns arising from complaints and feedback from members of the public, and from experiences recorded a few days ago by motorists in Lagos. He is greatly concerned from this feedback and as a result of which necessitated we address Lagosians.”
Adeyemi highlighted some of the efforts being put in place by the present administration to ensure that traffic gridlock becomes a thing of the past.
source vanguard
Gov. Ambode
As a result of the roads that are littered with ditches and holes, deteriorating by the day, Lagosians are also exposed to heavy risk of attacks by highwaymen and miscreants.
Many a time, in trying to get out of the snarls, commuters are forced into trekking long distances to get to their various destinations; sometimes they are attacked by hoodlums and robbed of their valuables. More worrisome is the nonchalant attitude of many traffic men who apparently contribute to the ignoble role of bus drivers by compounding the already worse traffic situation on our roads.
This is just as other traffic men take bribes and better still, abandon their duty posts.
Worst hit are the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Cele-Iyana-Itire to Ilasa road, where the state of the roads is worrisome, causing untold hardships to motorists and commuters on daily basis. Movement around these areas have been most difficult in the last four months.
Other roads usually prone to gridlock are Ajah-Lekki Road, Ikoyi, Eko and Carter bridges, Mobolaji Bank Anthony, Ijora, Seven Up, Ikeja/Oregun axis, Allen Avenue, Agidingbi and Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Crime rate has also suddenly increased. Cultism as well as armed robbery and kidnapping incidents are on the increase, most times claiming lives of innocent residents. The alarming insecurity situation is such that passers-by and those in their various apartments are at risk with no hiding place.
Even when distress calls are put through to the police, prompt response has remained only a wish. It is either they do not respond at all or come very late to the scene, usually blaming it on logistics. Only a few days ago, armed robbers numbering about 40 stormed two banks located on 4th Avenue area of Festac Town in Amuwo Odofin Local Council of the state and carted away unspecified amount of money.
The gunmen gained access to the banks through the canal in speed boats, accompanied by sporadic shootings, injuring several residents in the process.
During the operation which lasted for several hours, a two-year-old toddler, Mmesoma Ndirika, and her mother, Jane, who were inside their apartment in an adjoining building, were reportedly hit by stray bullets from the rampaging bandits. Both mother and child were killed right in their apartment. Fresh in mind are the Lekki bank robbery, the Ikorodu bank invasion by these bandits among others.
The re-assuring words of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in his inauguration speech on May 29 still resonate with many Lagosians. “We shall practice government by incentives and not government by enforcement”, he had told the crowd at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan, Lagos.
“We shall implement creative ideas and concepts that will reduce the cost of running government; ideas that make life simpler and happier for our people …. Join hands with me to offer new ideas that will pull more resources to cater for the poor and needy among us. This will be a compassionate government.”
Almost six months after, the same words still resonate; however, going by the complaints by most Lagosians, those words resonate not with the same enthusiasm because the Governor apparently has not been able to come up with the “ideas that make life simpler and happier for our people.”
And two critical aspects of the socio-economic life of Lagosians where the people have clearly not felt these “ideas” are those of traffic management and crime control.
If the Governor’s assurances of making the state conducive for business to thrive is anything to go by, then it is quite unfortunate that the people hardly feel the social development and security plan for the state which are supposed to be paramount among other plans.
What Ambode met
A major philosophy of Ambode’s predecessor, Babatunde Fashola, in the management of Lagos traffic was enforcement and penalties. Fashola empowered the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences which, in turn, used its enforcement arm, the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) to demolish illegal structures in markets across the state. Hawking and begging were banned across the state and areas such as Obalende and Oshodi began to wear a new look.
Fashola also signed the Lagos State Road Traffic Law of 2012 which saw the restriction of commercial motorcycles on highways and the imposition of huge fines and jail terms for traffic offenders.
Any motorist guilty of wrongful overtaking was made to pay N100,000 as fine. For driving against traffic, an offender’s vehicle would be forfeited permanently to the state and the offender would be sentenced to jail for one year while a second-time offender risked a three-year jail term.
According to the traffic law, vehicles that break down on the highway will be fined N50,000. Motorists plying the route designated for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) were fined N20,000 each while second-time offenders paid N30,000. And from statistics released by the government, the restriction on okada led to 80 per cent reduction in crime and accidents in the state.
However, the traffic law was criticized by many human rights groups and members of the opposition for being draconian and for its harsh method of enforcement which, in some cases, resulted in deaths due to the overzealousness of enforcement officers.
However, mid June, less than a month after he became governor, Governor Ambode toured major traffic black spots in Lagos metropolis to see things for himself and vowed to ensure free-flow of traffic.
Lamenting the perennial vehicular traffic gridlock in the state, he revealed that he had directed the relocation of some bus terminals in congested areas to reduce gridlock in the affected places. He also expressed great concern about the traffic gridlock being experienced in the state.
His words: “It’s not enough for us to stay in the office and believe that we can create solutions to the traffic challenge that we have in the state. So, we decided that we are going to go round ourselves and see how we can improve on the traffic situation in Lagos.
“We have been to 3rd Mainland, Oworonshoki, Ketu, Abule-Egba, Alimosho and then we have gone to Mile 12. That’s not the end of the story. We’re still going to Apapa, Mile 2. The truth is that we must start to bring solutions to our traffic challenges in the state and that’s what we are doing.” He then assured that residents would start noticing solutions to the traffic challenges being experienced in the state.
Ambode’s policy, leniency taken for granted?
The differences in the style of governance between Fashola and Ambode are becoming more glaring, especially in the area of enforcement of traffic laws and security management. For instance, Ambode ordered the officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (KAI) officials and Vehicle Inspection Officers not to harass or forcibly take over citizens’ vehicles.
In the light of his compassionate governance philosophy, Ambode said, “I want to make life simpler for every Lagosian. The duty of everybody here, including me, is to make life easier for every Lagosian. I want you to use technology in arresting those who contravene the law, instead of resorting to harassment or forcibly taking over peoples’ vehicles.
“The same technology that is used in sending reminder messages about vehicle documents could be adopted in tracking down people who commit traffic offences without forcibly seizing their cars.” He urged KAI officers to go back to the streets and enforce the law against street trading in a civil manner, stating that the agency should also look at the option of adopting the use of social media to achieve effectiveness.
He added: “In addition, I don’t like the practice by VIO officials who impound vehicles for days. Technology should be adopted to ensure that the practice whereby vehicles are detained for long in the VIO yards is eliminated.”
On September 2, 2015, the Governor stormed the LASTMA headquarters and ordered that all impounded vehicles be released. In the same week, the General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Babatunde Edu, was sacked and Mr. Bashir Braimah was appointed in his stead.
Ambode later directed that traffic offenders should no longer be arrested on the spot as was done in the past. Rather, erring motorists would have their licenses or other relevant documents seized and would be allowed to go with their vehicles as is done in developed countries. However, their documents would be returned to them after they might have paid their fines.
Unfortunately, however, commercial bus drivers, most of whom do not have valid documents, are usually allowed to go scot-free in line with the new directive. Defending the style of his boss, Mr. Braimah explained that the new policy was in line with Ambode’s directive on non-accommodation of offenders’ vehicles after booking, and explained that the traffic law had not been rescinded but that only the method of implementation had changed.
On the workability of the new approach, the LASTMA boss explained, “There will be no hiding place for traffic violators as the offenders are expected to make payment of their various fines within seven days and present their tickets at LASTMA offices and upon failure to comply, will be arrested at home after the expiration of the grace period.
“For those without valid documents or not registered in the state, there is a working synergy between the agency and other sister agencies across the federation; therefore, no traffic offender will go unpunished.”
Unfortunately, however, the new method introduced by Ambode has given many motorists, especially commercial bus drivers and commercial motorcycle riders the opportunity to flout the traffic law with impunity. Many are seen taking the BRT lanes while okada riders now ply bridges, dual carriageways and expressways in contravention of the traffic law.
Many even assume that since the Governor has stated that his government shall not be preoccupied with enforcement, they are allowed to take the BRT lanes without consequence. Now, articulated truck drivers park indiscriminately on busy roads and are not towed because of the ‘leniency’.
The traffic congestion caused by traffic obstructions cannot be totally divorced from the resurgence in traffic robbery. Suddenly, heavy traffic gridlock which had drastically reduced in the last eight years became worse since Ambode came on board.
There appears to be a general consensus among Lagosians that the perennial vehicular traffic gridlock in the state has gone from bad to worse since the advent of Governor Ambode.
Insecurity
Insecurity, especially armed robbery, cultism, violence are peculiar with mega-cities worldwide, and not restricted to Lagos. It is the management and containment of these crimes that set aside cities in developed countries from those of developing countries. The average Lagosian will therefore readily admit that as much as former Governor Babatunde Fashola positively managed security in Lagos, the state was not devoid of crimes before the advent of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
Of course there had been armed robbery and kidnapping incidents before May 29; some that really shook the nation to its foundation. Notable among them was the epic Hollywood-scene like armed robbery which played out at the highbrow Lekki area of Lagos State on Thursday, March 12.
Some armed men dressed in military fatigue uniforms and wielding AK47 automatic rifles, stormed two banks on the Lekki end of the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge. The robbers were said to have emerged from the nearby waterway bordering the lagoon along the bridge, announced their arrival with sporadic gun shots and positioned themselves strategically to ward off intruders.
Unfortunately, three policemen in a white coaster bus, who were on escort duty with expatriates, were felled by bullets from the rampaging robbers. But the policemen identified as Inspector Bethel Agbobu, Sergeant Odehowho George and Corporal Imoise Ikechukwu, were not the only ones sent to an unprepared grave by the hoodlums.
Life was also snuffed out of a man whose identity was given as Mr. Sowemimo Kabiru and a 15-year-old girl, Sarah Ibikunle, who sold fish close to the bank. At the end of the operation, the armed robbers reportedly carted away an undisclosed amount, leaving scores of persons injured.
Following startling confessions by some suspected members of the Lekki robbery syndicate arrested by the Lagos State Police Command that those behind recent bank robberies were militants hired from the Niger Delta Region, Lagosians began to wonder if their state is beginning to emerge as a new haven for notorious militants-turned-armed robbers.
It will be recalled that the Police in Lagos, two months after the incident, arrested four suspected members of the 22-man robbery gang that operated at Lekki, and preliminary investigation revealed that some of the suspects were oil bunkerers recruited from Delta and Ondo states and Arepo in Ogun State.
Unless drastic measures are taken to curb their excesses, Lagos may afterall not be a safe haven for business to thrive, whether locally or internationally. This is because aside bank robberies, other forms of criminalities such as kidnap, pick pocket, catch-in-the-air, otherwise known as one chance, as well as attacks on motorists in traffic are witnessing a rising turn in the state.
Recently, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Chukwuemeka Okpokpo, was shot dead by gunmen at Apple Junction, in Amuwo Odofin area of the state. The gunmen, said to have driven on a motorcycle, reportedly trailed the deceased from a second generation bank where he had gone to withdraw N3 million for the church.
They reportedly fired shots into the air, which sent other road users and passersby scampering for safety. Reports said Pastor Okpokpo tried to escape when it became obvious that he was the target. But he reportedly slowed down on reaching a bad spot, where the hoodlums shot at the tyres of the church bus he was driving, thereby bringing the vehicle to an abrupt halt, before shooting him at close range.
Vanguard’s Assistant Labour Editor, Mr Victor Ahiuma Young was also shot by robbers, who forcefully collected the money he had gone to withdraw from a second generation bank at Ilasamaja, along Oshodi /Apapa Expressway. While Ahiuma Young is alive to tell his tale, three others who fell victims around Ilamaja were not that lucky as they had life snuffed out of them by these robbers who always operated on motorcycle.
Sadly, whenever incidents which tend to reveal the handicap of any security agency as well as slow response of government occur, the concerned authorities resort to blame game and outright redeployment of the man in charge of the location. Unfortunately, this measure has not brought about the needed change.
For instance, when the Lekki and Ikorodu twin bank robberies occurred, the then Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti was redeployed. Again, the Area Commander in-charge of Area ‘E’ command, Mr Frank Mba, was also redeployed over Tuesday’s banks robbery attacks at Festac Town.
Even though such measure is considered as one of the ways to make officers more responsible to their constitutional duties, it has also proven to be a wrong approach to addressing insecurity, whether in Lagos State or Nigeria at large.
Lagosians speak
A cross section of Lagosians who spoke to Saturday Vanguard agreed that traffic and crime rate which were checked at the twilight of the tenure of Babatunde Fashola have suddenly increased. Security expert, Ona Ekhomu in a chat with Saturday Vanguard on the issue said, “I think the general statement is that, it could be better.
I think the difficulty the new Governor is having is that he is trying to settle down, and that is why the situation has been so deteriorated. The hoodlums in Lagos are making use of the security lapses in the state as an opportunity to unleash mayhem in the state. And this is the situation whenever there is a new administration.
He continued: “It appeared that the new Governor did not want to adopt the template he met on ground on the issue of security in Lagos, even though the template that the former Governor used was very effective and efficient. It was the step that the Fashola administration took that kept Boko Haram out of Lagos.
“What we are seeing now regarding the increase in cultism, kidnapping and armed robbery in Lagos State is a result of the gap between the past and the present administration. And the hoodlums have taken the advantage of these lapses.”
He however advised the Governor to design a security template for the state. “Ambode is an accountant by training; he needs a lot of advice on security issues. He must appoint an experienced security expert as adviser. He should be proactive when it comes to security issues. Governor Fashola got it right during his administration, therefore it is expedient that Governor Ambode gets it right too.”
A member of the Lagos State Assembly, Bisi Yusuf said the state government was determined to fix most federal and state roads. “With this development, I believe traffic in Lagos would be a thing of the past and Lagosians would enjoy dividends of democracy. As soon as the rains are over, the state government would engage the services of FERMA to fix federal roads.”
He however blamed the usual traffic congestion in the state on the impatient attitude of road users. “They cause traffic gridlock because of their impatience and the attitude of parking on the road. There is need for change in their attitudes so that we can forge ahead. The state Governor is highly proactive especially in addressing traffic gridlock in Lagos.
For instance, he has fixed the roads at the Ipaja/Ayobo axis, noted for traffic congestion. I believe he will fix all the roads in all the 37 local governments to allow for easy road network system in Lagos.”
According to a serving army officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, “the problem is not the Police but some of our politicians who gave these thugs arms before the election. Now the elections are over. But they have not been able to retrieve the weapons from them. From record, this has always been the case, immediately after election.”
Corroborating his view, a senior police officer who also spoke on condition of anonymity said “Yes, proliferation of arms is one of the major causes of what people describe as re-emergence of crime, not only in Lagos but the country at large. However, the Police are not sleeping. We are doing all we can to mop them out of circulation.
We have made tremendous arrests. In no time from now, you will witness a drastic drop. “We also want to use this opportunity to appeal to the state government to do all it can to support the police just as previous governments have been doing. So far, we have been given assurances of government’s support.
On our part, we will use all available equipment at our disposal to ensure that Lagosians sleep with their two eyes closed. A radical lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, who took-on former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola on the Lekki/Epe Toll Gate for the about whole eight years of his tenure said it was too early to judge the present governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode.
According to him, “Judging Ambode’s government at this time will be too hasty. I need to give him six months before accessing his performance in Lagos. Let us all keep our figures crossed; we are watching him.”
Ambode reacts
In a swift reaction to the persistent gridlock in parts of Lagos, the Governor of the state, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode reiterated his determination to tackle the traffic gridlock in the metropolis by putting in place multi-strategic solutions to address the challenge currently being encountered by motorists in most parts of the state.
Addressing a joint press conference, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Fola Adeyemi, said the Governor has shown deep concern over the persistent traffic gridlock in the state and has therefore directed the agencies concerned to swing into action to decongest traffic in the metropolis.
Adeyemi said: ”This press briefing is initiated at the instance of the Governor who has expressed growing concerns arising from complaints and feedback from members of the public, and from experiences recorded a few days ago by motorists in Lagos. He is greatly concerned from this feedback and as a result of which necessitated we address Lagosians.”
Adeyemi highlighted some of the efforts being put in place by the present administration to ensure that traffic gridlock becomes a thing of the past.
source vanguard
Friday, 16 October 2015
Ex-President Jonathan consoles Alamieyeseigha’s family
FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan has assured the Bayelsa State Government and the Alamieyeseigha family of his commitment to efforts geared towards giving the departed foremost Ijaw leader a befitting state burial.
Dr. Jonathan gave the assurance, yesterday, when he paid a condolence visit to the deceased family at Opolo in Yenagoa.
The former President, who is scheduled to travel to Tanzania, where he is expected to spend about 12 days, promised to be fully involved in the burial arrangements, as soon as he returns to the country.
Accompanied by Governor Seriake Dickson, his Deputy, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd) and other dignitaries, Dr. Jonathan said, he received the death of Chief Alamieyeseigha with a rude shook, stressing that the deceased leader stood firmly for Bayelsa, the Ijaw people and the South-South geo-political region.
Dr. Jonathan traced his relationship with Alamieye-seigha to the days of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), one of the five political parties formed during the administration of Late General Sani Abacha as Nigeria’s Head of State.
Assuring the Alamieyeseighas’ especially the widow and children of his continued support, Dr. Jonathan acknowledged that without the role the Governor-General of the Ijaw nation played in his life, he would not have risen to become President of Nigeria.
According to him, “I knew Alamieyeseigha during the UNCP days, when we were working for him. I never knew I was going to be his Deputy Governor because that was not my interest then.
“From that time, the political evolution in the country and the state brought me to run with him. From 1999, we’ve been together.
“He always took me as his younger brother. Our relationship was not that of a governor and his deputy but that of an elder and a younger brother.
“Alamieyeseigha meant well for Bayelsans; stood very firmly for the Ijaw people and wanted to advance the South-South. He’s somebody we’ve collectively missed”, he lamented.
Highlights of the visit included the signing of the condolence register by Dr. Jonathan and consolatory prayers offered by the Bishop of the Royal House of Grace International Church, Bishop Peter Leghemo for the state, the Ijaw nation and the deceased immediate family.
Jonathan
The former President, who is scheduled to travel to Tanzania, where he is expected to spend about 12 days, promised to be fully involved in the burial arrangements, as soon as he returns to the country.
Accompanied by Governor Seriake Dickson, his Deputy, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd) and other dignitaries, Dr. Jonathan said, he received the death of Chief Alamieyeseigha with a rude shook, stressing that the deceased leader stood firmly for Bayelsa, the Ijaw people and the South-South geo-political region.
Dr. Jonathan traced his relationship with Alamieye-seigha to the days of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), one of the five political parties formed during the administration of Late General Sani Abacha as Nigeria’s Head of State.
Assuring the Alamieyeseighas’ especially the widow and children of his continued support, Dr. Jonathan acknowledged that without the role the Governor-General of the Ijaw nation played in his life, he would not have risen to become President of Nigeria.
According to him, “I knew Alamieyeseigha during the UNCP days, when we were working for him. I never knew I was going to be his Deputy Governor because that was not my interest then.
“From that time, the political evolution in the country and the state brought me to run with him. From 1999, we’ve been together.
“He always took me as his younger brother. Our relationship was not that of a governor and his deputy but that of an elder and a younger brother.
“Alamieyeseigha meant well for Bayelsans; stood very firmly for the Ijaw people and wanted to advance the South-South. He’s somebody we’ve collectively missed”, he lamented.
Highlights of the visit included the signing of the condolence register by Dr. Jonathan and consolatory prayers offered by the Bishop of the Royal House of Grace International Church, Bishop Peter Leghemo for the state, the Ijaw nation and the deceased immediate family.
Confusion as disabled man scales fence into Warri police station
THERE was pandemo-nium at the B Division Police Station Warri as a physically challenged man, Samson Akpofure scaled the over 10 feet fence into the station.
According to the source, “I was in a popular brothel in Ginuwa street to carry out investigation and Police raided the place and arrested all of us. At the station I introduce myself as a journalist and my mission and the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Eyoh Anietie who led the operation set me free.
“When I was about leaving at about 11pm, I saw the station guard barking orders and other police who partook in the night raid rushed there and the disabled man was arrested after scaling the high fence.
“The police were shocked how a one legged man can jump that height. On interrogation he confessed to come from Essi Layout area of Warri.”
A police source who confirmed the incident said that the suspect could not explain his mission to the newly fenced police station.
He added that the suspect could be a member of criminal gang who may have planned to invade the police using the disabled man for the attack as was in the case in the recent Kwara State commercial bank attack.
US to conduct counter-Boko Haram ops in Nigeria
The United States will conduct surveillance and intelligence operations against Boko Haram inside Nigeria, sources familiar with the plan told AFP Friday, a significant escalation of Washington’s role in combatting the Islamist group.
The operations will be carried out as part of the recently announced deployment of up to 300 US military personnel to neighboring Cameroon, officials said.
“This is going to be part of our Boko Haram efforts that will be operating throughout the region,” one of the sources said on condition of anonymity.
It will not include boots on the ground or offensive combat, but will see US military operations against Boko Haram in Nigeria for the first time.
“It’s surveillance and intelligence gathering, not anything offensive,” said the same source.
US President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced 90 US personnel had already been sent to Cameroon and may eventually number up to 300.
The White House has been at pains to stress that personnel would not take part in combat operations and would be armed only for self-defense.
Nigeria greeted that announcement as a “welcome development.”
President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May vowing to end the violence that has killed scores and spooked much-needed international investors.
But US efforts to give him military assistance have been hampered by concerns about human rights abuses carried out by the country’s military.
And until now Washington has largely shied away from engaging its vast military assets to combat Boko Haram, with policymakers wary of fueling militant recruitment or fusing the group’s ties with Middle Eastern Islamists.
The group’s leaders have allied themselves with the Islamic State group, but experts doubt the scale and scope of collaboration.
However, there are growing fears that a once regional Muslim anti-colonial movement is now metastasizing into a regional jihadist threat.
The US moves come as Boko Haram steadily expands operations beyond its traditional base in northern Nigeria, conducting attacks in Cameroon and Chad that have killed dozens.
An uptick in violence is expected in the coming weeks with the end of the rainy season and amid growing resistance to a nascent multi-national joint task force bringing together countries in the region to fight Boko Haram.
SOURCE VANGUARD
Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari (R) shakes hands with Commander of United States Africa Command, General David Rodriguez, during his visit to the presidentcy in Abuja, on October 14, 2015. Commander of United States Africa Command, General David Rodriguez was in the country to strengthen Nigeria-US military relations, and also explore further options for assisting the Multinational Joint Task Force established by Nigeria and her neighbours to fight Boko Haram.
“This is going to be part of our Boko Haram efforts that will be operating throughout the region,” one of the sources said on condition of anonymity.
It will not include boots on the ground or offensive combat, but will see US military operations against Boko Haram in Nigeria for the first time.
“It’s surveillance and intelligence gathering, not anything offensive,” said the same source.
US President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced 90 US personnel had already been sent to Cameroon and may eventually number up to 300.
The White House has been at pains to stress that personnel would not take part in combat operations and would be armed only for self-defense.
Nigeria greeted that announcement as a “welcome development.”
President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May vowing to end the violence that has killed scores and spooked much-needed international investors.
But US efforts to give him military assistance have been hampered by concerns about human rights abuses carried out by the country’s military.
And until now Washington has largely shied away from engaging its vast military assets to combat Boko Haram, with policymakers wary of fueling militant recruitment or fusing the group’s ties with Middle Eastern Islamists.
The group’s leaders have allied themselves with the Islamic State group, but experts doubt the scale and scope of collaboration.
However, there are growing fears that a once regional Muslim anti-colonial movement is now metastasizing into a regional jihadist threat.
The US moves come as Boko Haram steadily expands operations beyond its traditional base in northern Nigeria, conducting attacks in Cameroon and Chad that have killed dozens.
An uptick in violence is expected in the coming weeks with the end of the rainy season and amid growing resistance to a nascent multi-national joint task force bringing together countries in the region to fight Boko Haram.
SOURCE VANGUARD
Graphic: Tattoo-crazy man cuts off ears because he wants to look like his pet parrot
But according to Daily Star, he is not stopping there because he is now planning to find a surgeon prepared to turn his nose into a beak.
"I think it looks really great. I love it. It's the best thing that has happened to me.I am so happy it's unreal, I can't stop looking in the mirror. I've done it because I want to look like my parrots as much as possible. I've had my hair long for so many years my ears have been covered up. I have to admit I did used to get teased at school about my ears but that not the reason I've had it done."
Military pilot who died in Yola plane crash buried (photos)
Owei who was deployed to combat terrorism in the North East paid the supreme sacrifice for the peace of the Nation on the ill-fated Nigerian Air Force F-7 Fighter Jet that crashed in Adamawa. Born on 13 October 1984. A pilot, commissioned in 2008. He was survived by wife, two children, siblings and parents. May his gentle soul rest in peace. More photos after the cut...
Lamar Odom Update: Showing Signs of Recovery as His Heart is Now Responding!
Great news! Lamar Odom‘s condition is improving!After being found unconscious in a brothel, with a white substance coming out of his nose, Khloé Kardashian‘s estranged husband and pro basketballer, Lamar Odom slipped into a comatose state (click here if you missed it).
As at yesterday, doctors were unsure if he would make it, but now sources say there has been some major improvement.
According to TMZ, Lamar’s heart function has improved largely and doctors told his friends and family that this is a good sign. They have also asked that there be “calm” in his room so as not to stimulate him, “because non-stimulation promotes healing.”
This great news follow reports that the Kardashians flew medical experts in from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to sit in on Lamar’s condition and have been flying back and forth to be by his side along with Lamar’s ex-wife and kids.
The Kardashian/Jenners released a statement earlier on today. Read below;
“As a family, we’ve decided to hold off on publishing content across our apps while we continue to support and pray for Lamar. Thank you for your kindness and understanding during this difficult time.“
Doctors have also ordered that everyone clear the room. Khloé still remains at his bedsidesource bella naija
Photo: Woman stabs 3-year-old son three times during argument with her husband
26-year-old Zimbabawean woman, Nomatter Gava-Hudson stabbed her son three times in the abdomen in Mississippi on Monday, October 5, during an argument with her husband who screamed for help and got one from a passer-by who called 911.
According to Police spokesman Sgt. Damon McDaniel, investigators learned that an argument took place between Gava-Hudson and her husband, the child’s father, during which Gava-Hudson became “belligerent,” brandished a knife and intentionally stabbed the child.
The child was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to the University of South Alabama Medical Centre where he was listed in stable condition Wednesday afternoon.
The 26-year-old mother appeared in court earlier this week charged with attempted murder and is being held on a $1 million bond. She could be deported if she’s convicted of attempted murder.
The hearing before Judge Brandon Ladner on Monday lasted less than 10 minutes.
Gava-Hudson was informed of the charge against her, told she had the right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney represent her.
She sobbed softly while being asked questions by the court clerk and sobbed the loudest when asked if she had any children, to which she replied she has a three-year-old son.
Judge Ladner said he would appoint a public defender to represent her, but also said she had the right to hire a private attorney.
She was dressed in a red and white striped jail jump suit and had leg shackles on. Gava-Hudson had been on suicide watch at the Harrison County Adult Detention Centre. The next step is a preliminary hearing, where the charge against her will be detailed with evidence and testimony. Judge Ladner said that preliminary hearing will be held in the next three to four weeks.
Meanwhile the Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on her. After her arrest, ICE asked the jail to hold her pending resolution of the criminal charge.
Source: The Mississippi Press
If Boko Haram isn’t defeated by Dec, I’ll stay to fight it out – Buhari
Eighteen months after more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram from Chibok, a largely Christian populated remote town in Borno State, North-East Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has for the umpteenth time pledged to defeat the Islamist armed group by December this year, adding that his government is willing to negotiate to secure the girls’ release.
Buhari, who spoke to Al Jazeera English’s Mehdi Hasan in a wide-ranging and exclusive interview with the tv’s flagship current affairs show, ‘UpFront’, reiterated his pledge to defeat Boko Haram by December, but also acknowledged he would be willing to negotiate with the group to secure the release of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.
The President in the interview which Headliner preview was monitored by Vanguard, said: “They (Boko Haram) have to prove to us that they (Chibok grils) are alive, they are well, and then we can…negotiate with them,”
President Buhari told ‘UpFront’ host Mehdi Hasan. “We said it and we meant it. If we are satisfied that the girls are alive.”
When asked whether he would offer financial payments, or a prisoner release, to Boko Haram in return for the girls, Buhari did not rule out either option. “Well it depends on the negotiations with the leadership of Boko Haram.”
The President has pledged to defeat Boko Haram by the end of 2015 and told Hasan: “As soon as the rainy season comes, which is by the end of the year […] Boko Haram will virtually be out of their main stronghold and that will be the end of it [….] Attacks by Boko Haram on townships, on military installations, will certainly stop.”
If Boko Haram isn’t defeated by December, however, Buhari said he “will not resign”.
“I will be determined to stay and fight it out.”
The President claimed not to have seen the Amnesty International report from June 2015, ‘Nigeria: Stars on their shoulders: Blood on their hands’, in which the human-rights group documented abuses, torture and unlawful killings by the Nigerian armed forces and urged the government to prosecute a group of officers and senior commanders.
“I haven’t received that report personally,” said Buhari, “If I get those documents… I assure you that I will take action as Commander in Chief.”
In the past, Buhari has been quoted as saying he supports “the total implementation of the sharia in the country” but he told ‘UpFront’ that “Nigerian law does not allow for” so-called sharia punishments, such as stonings and amputations, adding, “I cannot change it. I haven’t been voted by [a] majority of Nigerians to change Nigerian constitution.”
Asked about his record as a military dictator in the mid-1980s, and the alleged human-rights abuses which occurred on his watch, Buhari said: “If there is any injustice that can be proved against me when I was there, I will gladly apologize.”
The president refused, however, to concede that his now-notorious ‘war against indiscipline’ in the 1980s featured any such “injustice”.
Watch full clip of interview to be broadcast via www.aljazeera.com/upfront on Friday evening from 19.30GMT onwards.
Grabbed footage from the video of exclusive interview President Muhammadu Buhari had with Al Jazeera English’s Mehdi Hasan in the tv’s wide-ranging and flagship current affairs show, ‘UpFront’
The President in the interview which Headliner preview was monitored by Vanguard, said: “They (Boko Haram) have to prove to us that they (Chibok grils) are alive, they are well, and then we can…negotiate with them,”
President Buhari told ‘UpFront’ host Mehdi Hasan. “We said it and we meant it. If we are satisfied that the girls are alive.”
When asked whether he would offer financial payments, or a prisoner release, to Boko Haram in return for the girls, Buhari did not rule out either option. “Well it depends on the negotiations with the leadership of Boko Haram.”
The President has pledged to defeat Boko Haram by the end of 2015 and told Hasan: “As soon as the rainy season comes, which is by the end of the year […] Boko Haram will virtually be out of their main stronghold and that will be the end of it [….] Attacks by Boko Haram on townships, on military installations, will certainly stop.”
If Boko Haram isn’t defeated by December, however, Buhari said he “will not resign”.
“I will be determined to stay and fight it out.”
The President claimed not to have seen the Amnesty International report from June 2015, ‘Nigeria: Stars on their shoulders: Blood on their hands’, in which the human-rights group documented abuses, torture and unlawful killings by the Nigerian armed forces and urged the government to prosecute a group of officers and senior commanders.
“I haven’t received that report personally,” said Buhari, “If I get those documents… I assure you that I will take action as Commander in Chief.”
In the past, Buhari has been quoted as saying he supports “the total implementation of the sharia in the country” but he told ‘UpFront’ that “Nigerian law does not allow for” so-called sharia punishments, such as stonings and amputations, adding, “I cannot change it. I haven’t been voted by [a] majority of Nigerians to change Nigerian constitution.”
Asked about his record as a military dictator in the mid-1980s, and the alleged human-rights abuses which occurred on his watch, Buhari said: “If there is any injustice that can be proved against me when I was there, I will gladly apologize.”
The president refused, however, to concede that his now-notorious ‘war against indiscipline’ in the 1980s featured any such “injustice”.
Watch full clip of interview to be broadcast via www.aljazeera.com/upfront on Friday evening from 19.30GMT onwards.
Abductors of five teachers in Rivers demand 25m naira ransom
HE kidnappers of five secondary school teacher in Agba-Ndele community, Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State have demanded 25 million naira as ransom for the release of the teachers.
Monday, gunmen stormed Rundele High School, Agba-Ndele and whisked away about five persons, composed of an NYSC members serving in the school, a civilian security attached to the school, and three other teachers from the school.
So far, the visit of the gunmen to the school has ruptured the peace enjoyed by the people of the area leaving the people in total fear and tension.
Five days after the abduction the teachers are yet to regain freedom, although, contact has been established with the abductors.
The Community Development Committee, CDC, chairman of Agba-Ndele, Mr. Ikechi Chimezie who spoke exclusive to Saturday Vanguard, disclosed that contact has been established with the gunmen and that they (the kidnappers) are demanding 25m to free the five persons in their custody.
Chimezie said that the community does not have such money to pay for the release rather called on the kidnappers to please free the teachers unconditionally
Mother tries to sell child on Internet
A South African mother appeared in court Friday charged with trying to sell her 19-month-old baby on the Internet for 5,000 rand ($380), officials said, after a police sting operation halted her plan.
Police were tipped off that the woman, aged 20, had offered her son for sale on the popular advertising website Gumtree.
“We met her and there was an exchange of money with an undercover police officer,” Hangwani Mulaudzi, spokesman for the Hawks special crimes investigation unit, told AFP.
“She gave us the money and we arrested her directly.”
The woman appeared in court in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal province, on human trafficking charges, and her case was adjourned until October 26.
“Gumtree South Africa’s customer service team was alerted that a young woman had placed an ad on the site advertising a child for sale,” company spokeswoman Claire Cobbledick said in a statement.
“The team immediately removed the ad and blocked the user’s account. (We) escalated the issue to the corporate office that engages law enforcement on suspected criminal cases.”
The child was in good health and has been taken into care by social workers.
Nigeria must return to strict tax policy — Oshiomhole
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State says Nigeria must return to its strict tax policy which was applicable before the oil boom of the seventies as a way of getting out of the present crisis caused by a crash in the price of crude oil.
Rear Admiral Samuel Alade, Commandant, Natiional Defence College (left) and Governor Adams Oshiomhole during a visit of participants of the National Defence College, Course 24 to the Governor in his office, Friday.
The Governor who said nobody is above taxation as even the President and Governors pay their taxes, said states and Federal Government must deepen their Internally generated Revenue base as this is what obtains in developed countries of the world. Speaking during a visit to his office by Course 24 participants of the National Defence College, on a study tour of Edo State, on Friday, Oshiomhole said, “central to every debate to every country with mature democracy is the issue of tax payment. We have to find the courage to be firm and just and we have to give commensurate service.
“When I was growing up, the only thing we had was the Local Government Authority Primary school and everybody who was up to eighteen years and above paid a fixed tax. When villagers met at the village square to discuss and you made a bold statement, another villager would challenge tell to shut up because you had not paid your tax. He would tell you, don’t talk where men are talking because you had not paid your tax, that you are not a man.
“Villagers used to recognize that not to pay tax was not an option. And for you not to pay tax, you must show a certificate or evidence that you are ill or bed-ridden, and therefore you could not work.
“So even villagers were paying tax. So the school in my village, under Awolowo’s Free Education programme, it was free to the people, so it was free to the pupil but funded by adults who paid tax. And when the tax man was coming, if you had not paid your tax, you just found your way into the bush and once once you were arrested , they took you to the barracks and you were charged appropriately.
“Somehow, at the peak of our oil boom, this practice was abolished, and today if you go to my village, they have a very beautiful school, but only few people are paying tax.
How far can we continue like that? For me, this is a national issue that government has to address, not just about Edo but the whole nation whether we truly can have a functioning state where 90% of the people are outside the tax bracket but are entitled to facilities.
“Central to the political debate in every country is question of taxation. Who gets what? Are you going to collect more taxes from the rich or are you going to collect more taxes from the poor?
“In Edo State, one of the tasks we faced in the course of revenue generation was that many of my comrades in the Civil Service were not paying correct taxes. In fact, I stumbled into a circular in which one of my predecessors agreed under pressure that notwithstanding the law on pay as you earn, that people should pay 7% of their basic salary and I discovered that the three arms of governments were guilty of this; both the judiciary, the House of Assembly and of course the executive including Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries and the entire Civil Service.
“My first task was to see that before we go out to ask other people to pay tax, we have to be on a stronger moral high ground to be able to do that beginning with ensuring that the executive arm pays correct taxes and this for many of my comrades in the Civil Service was not something they contemplated. In fact, they reminded me that when a comrade becomes a governor, they expected a tax free holiday.
“But a progressive government would ensure that taxes are paid, but it would be structured in such a way that the rich will pay more than the poor but everybody will pay something and it is the taxes collected from the rich that is used to provide a robust social safety net for those who are victims of so-called market forces and of competition.
“So tax, whether by government to the left or right are not contestable, they must be paid but who pays what is where the details lies and that is where the values of the government lies. So I am also proud to be able to say that whereas I cannot even say how many strikes I have organized in my life, but I can say without any fear of contradiction that I have never organized a strike against the payment of taxes because I understand the poor need taxes for the state to protect them and provide security.
“What Nigeria needs in terms of Internally Generated Revenue is to recognize that governance is about courage, about will and also about fairness. If you are going to apply the law, apply it without any discrimination.”
Earlier, the Commandant of the National Defence College, Real Admiral Samuel Alade said, “we have come around, we have seen for ourselves and for people like us who pass through this place at least once in six months, every time we pass through, we notice one change or the other.
“We want to commend you sir for this feat and we also want to thank you most sincerely for the support we have received since we arrived Edo State and want to ask for more because we know we will continue to have the interest in Edo State and any time we ask to visit Edo State for this kind of research work, we want to ask that you oblige us.
“The college objective primarily is to train middle level officers, colonels and even Civil Servants in the rank of Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors and Directors as it were, to become strategic leaders. That is the job of the college so that we can contribute to the development of the nation.”
source vanguard
Fake DSS operative arrested in Bayelsa
Men of the Bayelsa State Command of the Department of State Services DSS have arrested a man, who have been parading himself as a staff of the service and swindling unsuspecting members of the public.
The suspect, Emmanuel Udo Akpan, aged 42, was dismissed from the Delta State Police Command in 2013 and had been on the police wanted list over alleged criminal activities bordering on impersonation and extortion of money from members of the public under the guise of facilitating their recruitment into the service.
Akpan, a father of five, yesterday at the DSS headquarters in Yenagoa confessed to the crime and pleaded with the authorities for leniency.
Akpan said he resorted to posing as a DSS operative and extorting money from the unsuspecting public following his dismissal from the force two years ago.
“I have a wife and five children to cater for, please have mercy on me,” he pleaded.
But the Bayelsa Command of the DSS led by the new Director, Mr. Ade Olusesan said the suspect was never a staff of the service would be handed over to the police for prosecution.
According to the DSS, the suspect had been on the police wanted list for offences bordering on impersonation and extortion of members of the public under the guise of assisting them to pass recruitment into the service.
“Upon receiving the complaint on his shady dealings, our operatives swung into action and arrested the suspect in whose custody, incriminating items were recovered,” the command noted.
The items, which were displayed, include, police (SARS) case file, police visitor identification tag, judiciary file, a stapler, which he claimed he used as gun at night to frighten his victims, Bayelsa State government file folder bearing the office of the Deputy Governor among others.
source vanguard
Police rescue 3 kidnapped Kogi Poly students
Lokoja -The Police in Lokoja have rescued three students of the Kogi State Polytechnic kidnapped during a Christian fellowship programme on Wednesday.
The Commissioner of Police, Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu, told newsmen in Lokoja on Friday while parading their kidnappers that the students were rescued after spending three days with their abductors.
Ojukwu said the students, Ayodele Ojo , Isaac Oaikhena and Sefiat Musa were rescued from the kidnappers’ hideout along Gadabiu-Kabba Junction Obajana road without paying the N20 million ransom demanded.
He said one suspect, Ibrahim Jibo, who was arrested on Thursday when he came to collect the ransom was already helping the police to arrest his accomplices.
Narrating their ordeal, one of the victims, Ayodele Ojo, said that they were kidnapped at the middle of a fellowship prayer at about 7.30 p.m. on Oct. 14, at the Osara campus.
He said that the kidnappers suddenly emerged and collected their mobile hand-held phones, money and other valuables and later abducted three of them.
While in captivity, he said, their abductors called their parents and relations to demand a N20 million ransom for their release but nothing was forthcoming.
Ojo said that the development angered the abductors who started maltreating them before they were rescued three days after.
The police commissioner said that the abductors would not escape justice.
He also paraded 23 other suspects arrested for armed robbery, illegal gun manufacturing and political thuggery at Ejule Ofu Local government area of the state.
Six guns, including AK47 rifles, locally made guns, bullet proof vests, charms, ammunition, weeds suspected to be Indian hemp and a Ford Galaxy bus with registration number Oyo AH 5095 HK.
The Police said that all the suspects would be charged to court soon.
SOURCE VANGUARD
Ambode implores military to comply with state’s traffic laws
Lagos – Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Friday appealed to the military to comply with the state traffic and environmental laws.
Ambode, represented by his deputy, Dr Idiat Adebule, made the appeal at the Lagos House, Alausa during a courtesy visit by participants of Course 24 National Defence College, Abuja led by Brig.-Gen. Mahe Bashir.
Ambode sought the cooperation of the military in moving the state forward.
“Over the years, the military has cooperated with us but I once again seek for more cooperation in ensuring that these laws are adhered to seriously.
“We have always been partners in progress; we have always been supportive of one another.
“It is not in our character to embarrass one another; we want the partnership to continue,” he said.
The governor commended the military for its tremendous contributions and efforts in securing the state.
’’The issue of security is very important and we want you to please continue in that trend so that together we can make Lagos the Lagos of our dreams,” he said.
Earlier, the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tunji Bello, said that the officers were on a five- day strategic study tour to understudy the internal revenue service of the state.
Bashir said that one of the objectives of the tour was to expose participants to the socio-political economic realities of the state.
He said that the participants were expected to carry out a research on selected topical issues, with a view to proffering solutions and identifying challenges.
Bashir said that the tour, which was ongoing in nine other states, had the theme “Internally Generated Revenue as Catalyst for Development in States: Challenges and Prospects”.
“At the end of the tour, participants are expected to write reports and make presentations on their findings in the college on Tuesday,” he said.