Delta State Prostitute flees as client turns rapist

Three men were, yesterday,arrested by men of the Ughelli vigilance team in Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State for alleged rape.

The men were apprehended at the Iwhrekpokpor area of the Ughelli metropolis at about 3 a.m. by members of the vigilance team after they were given a tip-off by a street guard.

Briefing newsmen on the incident, leader of the vigilance team, Mr. Monday Owhesiri, said one of the suspects  had invited the prostitute from a brothel at Emosivwe Street to his house at Iwhrekpokpor to sleep with him on agreed fee only for him to rape the prostitute alongside five other friends after threatening to attack her with broken bottles.

According to him, the prostitute later escaped naked and ran into the street guard who offered her clothes. He said the vigilance team  immediately swung into action after they were alerted by the street guard.

"When we got to the place, we arrested one of the men in the house and two others who had found their way out of crime scene through a hole they had burst in the ceiling while the other three escaped,"Owhesiri stated.

Saying that two of those arrested were brothers, he said: "When we entered the ceiling, we found a wooden item carved into the shape of a gun and they said it was carved by one of them who is a carpenter". Owhesiri said those arrested had been handed over to the police in the Ughelli 'A' Division.

The Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of the Ughelli 'A' Division could not be reached for comments on the matter.

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Mathias Eze, Ex-commissioner Kills Wife for failing to prepare Stew

When Mathias Eze of Umu-Aji village in Umuida, and Patricia Ossai of Imufu, both in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State got married, little did Patricia know that her heartthrob would end her sojourn on earth in the most gruesome manner 16 years after their marital union.

But on Saturday, July 21, 2012, Mathias, a former Commissioner in the Enugu State Independent Electoral (ENSIEC), tragically ended the union that had produced six lovely children with an alleged gunshot over his wife’s failure to prepare stewed rice for the day’s supper.

The father of the deceased, Elder Alphonsus Ossai, now a shadow of himself, told Sunday Sun the tale of his daughter’s forced death as was narrated to him by the late Patricia’s 15-year-old daughter, Uju, who witnessed the incident that night.

“On Saturday, July 21, 2012, at about 8pm, according to my grand-daughter and Patricia’s first child, because I was not there, he (Mathias) came back with a grass- cutter and asked his wife to prepare it, and left the house again. My daughter cooked the meat and when he came back again at about 10 pm and demanded for the cooked meat, she gave it to him. He asked her to give him rice and stew but my daughter told him she didn’t cook rice. What she cooked was ‘Otipiri,’ a local delicacy made from maize. “He flared up and questioned why she didn’t prepare rice and stew with the meat; but my daughter pleaded that she had started cooking the maize delicacy when he returned with the meat. He then went to his second wife who hails from Ibagwa in Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area, and asked her what she cooked for the night and that one told him that she prepared yam porridge.

“At that point, he became livid and threatened that he was going to shoot two of them if they didn’t go back to the kitchen to prepare rice and stew that night. The two women pleaded with him to understand that it was too late in the night and there was no more firewood in the house. Besides, it rained heavily that night. They thought they had placated him and tried to recharge their handsets, but he warned them not to do so since they refused to cook stewed rice for him. They didn’t take his threat seriously.

“It was at that stage that he dashed into his room, came out with a double-barrel gun and pursued them. The second wife was the first to see him with the gun and she alerted my daughter but he had already closed in on them. The other wife ran out of the compound while my daughter hid at a corner of their kitchen because at that time, the generator had been switched off, so the entire compound was enveloped in darkness. But he quickly embarked on a search mission with the first son by his first wife who had died many years ago.

“He had given up the search and was going back when his son, who had finished secondary school, spotted my daughter and alerted him. He called his father to come and see the ‘idiot,’ referring to his father’s wife, my daughter. The man came there and aimed at my daughter who was then pleading profusely with him to spare her life but all her entreaties fell on deaf ears as he fired at her killing her instantly.”

The distraught father, who fought hard to control tears rolling down his cheeks as he spoke, alleged that when Mathias who works with the Enugu Sate Post Primary School Management Board (PPSMB), saw that he had shot his wife dead, he put her inside the boot of his car and drove to a near-by hospital in Ogurute.

According to him, the suspect told the hospital workers, that armed robbers came to his house and while he was exchanging gunfire with them, stray bullet hit his wife down.

Patricia’s younger sister, Edith, and her elder brother, Johnson corroborated their father’s account of the incident and wondered why an infinitesimal issue such as failure to cook a particular meal could lead to such a dastardly act.

Edith said: “I feel terribly sad that a man could be that bestial to his own beloved wife; the bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh as the Bible tells us. It beat my imagination. It was a rude shock when I heard the news.”

Also in a fury-filled tone, Johnson said: “I feel very sad that my sister is lying cold in the mortuary. I live in Lokoja in Kogi State, but I am home because my sister’s husband shot and killed her in cold blood. My sister begged and begged that her life be spared but he adamantly shot and wasted her life just like that. She had six children for him; four boys and two girls. I am very sad because I can’t see why he should be that bloodthirsty. I feel that government should mete out appropriate punishment to him to serve as a deterrent.”

When Sunday Sun visited the country-home of the suspect at Umu-Aji in Umuida, the house was deserted.  Checks revealed that he had been taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), at the Police Headquarters in Enugu.

Women who live in the neighbourhood confirmed the incident and described Mathias as a very harsh man who didn’t allow his wives to relate with other people. They said his wives rarely came out adding that he was a male chauvinist who believed that women should only be seen and not be heard.

Another native who preferred anonymity, described him as, “a very wicked man who derives pleasure in inflicting pains on people.” He alleged that the suspect once threatened to drown his late first wife because she denied him sex.

Also, a young lady in the community narrated how a girl he had married, ran away and was later forced to cough out N150,000 that the suspect claimed, as expenses he incurred during the marriage ceremony.

“The girl had to take up a paid employment and started paying back until she paid to the last kobo. It’s just that the girl is now in Lagos; otherwise, I would have asked you to go to her to hear more about the man. He is wicked and people are afraid of him because he has money.”

Efforts by Sunday Sun correspondent to speak with Mr Eze drew blank as the police did not allow him to see the suspect.

But investigation revealed that Eze gave two different accounts on how he allegedly killed his wife. He was said to have told the staffers of the hospital where he took his wife’s corpse to, that he killed her in error during a gun duel with robbers that attacked his house. It was also gathered that the suspect later told the police at Ogrute that he noticed strange movement inside the bush behind his compound and because there was no light, he suspected that it could be an armed robber, and fired his gun only to discover that he had killed his wife.

When the State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu, was contacted on phone, he confirmed the incident.

“We are aware of the incident that involved one Mathias Eze who was alleged to have shot and killed his wife. I can assure you that investigations are on-going and we shall get to the bottom of the matter. The police would do everything necessary to ensure that justice was done at the end of the day”, he said.

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Nigeria has been bedeviled with visionless leaders – Rochas Okorocha

 The Governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha has blamed the lingering security crises confronting the nation on “visionless leaders” that has ruled the nation in the past.

Speaking in Abuja on Thursday at a national dialogue on Effective Leadership and Good Governance as the twin pillar in human rights protection, Mr Okorocha stated that “Nigeria has been be-deviled by visionless leaders who lack the political will to take decisions.”

He noted that the leaders are never prepared to make personal sacrifice for the nation’s development.

On addressing the insurgency by Boko Haram, the Imo state governor advised the Federal Government to urgently address the widespread poverty and unemployment in order to arrest the current security challenges plaguing the nation.

Mr Okorocha also advocated the need for State Police and the decentralisation of powers from the Federal Government in order to strengthen the federating units and bring governance closer to the people.

Also speaking at the occasion, former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana said respect for human rights remains the corner stone for building a civil and responsible society.

He added that Nigeria can witness true transformation if the people are transformed through visionary leadership that guarantees the security and welfare of the people.

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2 fake doctors nabbed in Abuja

Two persons, who claimed to be medical doctors, have been nabbed in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.The suspects, who gave their names as Dr Victor and Dr Solomon operated at Nyam Hospital in Kurudu area of Abuja, according to FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat.

Before their arrest, Dr Solomon carried out a caesarean section on a pregnant woman in the hospital and yet another ovarian cystectomy on another young girl on Friday, August 3, while Dr Victor claimed to be a dental therapist and chief surgeon trained in Cameroun.

Briefing journalists on the arrest of the fake doctors, the secretary, FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr Ademola Onakomaiya, disclosed that the Nyam Hospital, where the suspects operated from, was registered with the secretariat by one Dr T. Nyam, who allegedly employed the quacks to work for him while he relocated to Nasarawa State.

According to him, there was no trained medical personnel on duty at the hospital, the environment of which was equally untidy.Dr Onakomaiy who noted that the secretariat had zero tolerance for quackery in Abuja, advised residents to watch where they sought health care services.

Pledging that the secretariat would not compromise standards in delivering health services to the residents, the secretary disclosedthat the affected hospital had already been sealed while the doctor who registered the hospital would face relevant sanctions.

He said: “The post operative patients were evacuated to Karshi General Hospital which is close to Kurudu and handed over to the medical director and a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist. Both patients are in good condition right now at the Karshi General Hospital.”

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EFCC Arrests 3 Top Bankers Over N855m Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned three officials of the defunct Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank Plc), the bank itself and a firm, Nulec Industries Limited for fraud totaling N855,000,000.

The bank officials – Ananyo Nwosu, Olajide Oshodi, Sunny Obazee, and the Managing Director, Nulec Industries, Mr. Ashok Isran – were arraigned before a Lagos High Court in Ikeja. Mr Isran is said to be a dual citizen of Swiss and India.

The accused were arraigned on two counts of conspiracy and fraud. They all pleaded not guilty to the two counts. Justice Habeeb Abiru granted bail to the accused shortly after their arraignment.

They were in 2008, said to have conspired “with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N855 million from Sir Daniel Chukwudozie of Dozzy Oil under the pretence that the said sum represented payment for preference shares of Nulec Industries in an upcoming initial public offer.”
The alleged offences allegedly violated sections 8(a) and 1 (3) as well as section 1 (1) (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006.
Shortly after the arraignment, EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, said he would not oppose the accused persons’ bail application but expressed concerns about Mr Isran’s dual citizenship.

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Nigerian police arrest 4 in connection with church attack

 Nigeria's police in central north Kogi State said on Wednesday that four suspects have been arrested in connection with the Monday evening gun attack on the Deeper Life Bible Church in Okene.

State commissioner of police Mohammed Katsina told a news conference in Lokoja, the state capital, that the suspects were being interrogated to determine their level of culpability in the attack which left 19 of the worshipers dead.

The church members, including the pastor in charge, Lambe Emmanuel, were killed at about 7:30 p.m. local time during a Bible study class in the church located at Ehika-Adagu in Okehi Local government.

Emmanuel also doubled as a lecturer at the Federal College of Education, Okene. He died alongside another academic staff of the college."Four arrests have been made in connection with the Deeper Life Bible Church killings but I cannot give their names.

 They are in our custody and we have already commenced investigations to ascertain their involvement so as to deal with the situation once and for all. More arrest would be made in due course," the police chief told reporters.

Katsina promised to be thorough with the investigations, assuring that police would enforce the curfew imposed on Okene by the state government on Tuesday.

"Whoever violates the law would be dealt with decisively," he added.

He called on the residents of Lokoja, the state capital, to disregard the rumor making the rounds that members of a dreaded religious sect was planning to launch attack on the city, assuring that police was on top of the situation.

Meanwhile, more military personnel and policemen were being deployed to the trouble spots in Okene town in the Kogi central senatorial district.

Security sources told Xinhua that security were being drafted from other parts of the country.

Also, banks and commercials outfits that hurriedly closed shops in Lokoja on Tuesday as a result of the crisis in Okene and rumored discovery of a bomb in church premises in Lokoja have re- opened for business.

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Police foil attempt to bomb PDP secretariat

 POLICE, on Wednesday, foiled the attempt to bomb the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Sokoto with improvised explosive device (IED).

Informed police sources told the Nigerian Tribune that at 11.00 a.m on Wednesday, the state police command got a report that an unknown person riding unregistered motorcycle dropped a black cellophane bag near the PDP secretariat.

It was reported that the suspect, while trying to hand over the cellophane bag to the policeman guarding the secretariat, was heard saying in Hausa Ga kayan gwari nan, meaning “here are perishables.”

The policeman, the Nigerian Tribune learnt, became suspicious and alerted the state police command to the development.According to the sources, a combined team of detectives from Zone 10 headquarters and the state command moved to the scene to avert disaster.

Also, a combined team of bomb experts from the zonal headquarters and the state command joined the team on the orders of Assistant Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Muktar.The police found out that a high calibre IED was inside the cellophane bag, while the anti-bomb unit carried out a controlled detonation of the explosive.

The source further told the Nigerian Tribune that no casualty was recorded.The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, confirmed the development and lauded the partnership between the police and the public.

Also reacting, the state deputy chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Ibrahim Balarabe, thanked God that the anti-bomb disposal squad was able to defuse the IED successfully.

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Dana Crash: 132 bodies ready for collection

 The Lagos State Government says 132 bodies of victims of the Dana plane crash are ready for collection by their relatives.This followed the arrival of the bodies from the UK after the Deoxynubonucleic Acid results (DNA).

DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms.The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, disclosed this at a meeting with the relatives of the deceased at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja (LASUTH) on Wednesday.

Idris said, "We have got some of the results of the DNA analysis from the UK.

"The experts have revealed the results and we felt it necessary to brief the victims on the processes and documentation needed to claim the bodies."We will release the bodies in batches of 20 in alphabetical order daily from Thursday, to reduce the chaos and to resolve some legal processes needed to claim the bodies".

Idris said that the names of the already identified victims would be pasted at the Lekan Ogunshola Memorial House.He advised the relatives to come with the appropriate documents to claim the bodies.

Also, Prof. John Obafunwa, the hospital Chief Pathologist and Chief Medical Examiner, said that 16 other bodies were still being processed.

Obafunwa said that the corpses would only be released to their next of kin after presentation of necessary documents.

He listed the order of priority for the next of kin as spouses, children, parents, siblings, half brothers and sisters, grandparents, nephews and nieces.

"The next of kin is in this order and they have to present legal documents before the bodies would be released to them.

"But, in the case where the next of kin is not available, he or she has to authorise someone else to collect the body with appropriate identification."The authorised person has to come with the driver's licence, national identity card, international passport and letter of authorisation by the next of kin." he said.

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Collect Bribe, Go To Jail —LASTMA Officials Warned

The Lagos State Government has vowed to sack any officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, who will capitalise on the new Road Traffic Law signed into law by Governor Babatunde Fashola to enrich themselves.

The new law provides a tempting avenue for unscrupulous traffic officers to enrich themselves as huge fines will be paid by violators of the law which LASTMA had been given overwhelming power to enforce.

LASTMA General Manager, Engr. Babatunde Edu implored traffic officials to shun bribery, corruption and avoid overzealousness in the discharge of their duties while enforcing the new law or face the wrath.

Edu, who spoke at an interactive session with the traffic officials, warned that government would not hesitate to bring to book any of the personnel found to have engaged in illegalities that could tarnish the image of the state government.

According to him, officers found wanting would be shown the way out and face possible prosecution for such unlawful act.He advised personnel to be alive to their responsibilities and ensure they contribute their quotas towards free flow of traffic at all times in order to complement the state government’s efforts in address traffic congestion in the state.

Edu added that the state government would not relent in its efforts at recognising and rewarding any official found to be outstanding in his or her performance.

“This is necessary for LASTMA to rise to the challenges involved in traffic control and management, and to reposition LASTMA as the new face of excellence in Lagos State. These are the leverage that will ensure that LASTMA meets international standards as it is being done in other mega cities of the world. This can be replicated here without infringing on the rights of the citizenry,” he stated.

He implored motorists and residents of the state to cooperate with LASTMA and see the traffic personnel as officers committed to the service of their fatherland, while urging the motoring public to at all times to obey traffic rules and regulations in order to make Lagos State a real Centre of Excellence. He said they should not hesitate to inform the government about any traffic officer found to be corrupt or overzealous in the course of performing his or her duties.

Meanwhile, human rights lawyers on Tuesday urged the Lagos State Government to review its new traffic law to tone down some punishments in the law.

The human right lawyers, who made the call include, Mr Bamidele Aturu, Mr Mohammed Fawehinmi and Mr Taofik Gani.

However, a constitutional lawyer, Mr Fred Agbaje, said that the law was not harsh.

Aturu said in a telephone interview with NAN that “Lagos State Government did not get the law right.”

According to him, it is good to have laws, but the current traffic law will be counter productive.

“While I appreciate the Lagos State Government for trying to sanitise the traffic sector, this new law with intent to criminalise minor traffic offence, does not accord with modern best practices.

“Enforcement of such a law will be chaotic. I think the state should sit down with experts to amend the law,” he said.

Mohammed Fawehinmi, son of the late legal icon, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, advised the government to review the law and seek other measures in terms of traffic control.“For instance, the punishment for offenders should be toned down, while the state should open up roads to ease the congestion that drives people to disobey the laws.

“Some roads, especially council roads are dead ends for years in Lagos. Traffic in Lagos is densely concentrated hence all roads must be in use,” he said.

Fawehinmi also urged the state government to educate the people more on the traffic rules as well as provide signs for roads that are one-way traffic.“If these things are put in place and perfectly executed, it will achieve greater effect,” he said.

Taofik Gani, a lawyer and Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, said that there was need for the government to make the holistic provisions of the law available to the public.

“This makes it difficult for any thorough analysis of the said law. The little we know of the law is what we read in the papers,” the PDP official said.

He described the law as too harsh and may be misapplied by over-zealous officials of the state.However, Fred Agbaje said that the law was for the good of Lagos road users.

“It is not harsh. Every unusual situation, like mad driving, deserves an unusual legislation.

“The state government has every social statutory and constitutional responsibility to protect lives and properties.

“Anything short of this is an unpardonable criminal dereliction of constitutional responsibility, for which the governor can be impeached,” Agbaje said.

NAN reports that the Lagos Traffic Law prescribes a raft of penalties including psychiatric, breathe and urine tests, fines and prison terms for traffic offenders in the state.Driving against traffic attracts a psychiatric test and three-year jail term. The traffic law prohibit motorists from eating as well as making phone calls while driving.

It stipulates a fine of N20, 000 for first offender and a maximum of three years imprisonment or N30, 000 fine or both for subsequent offences.

According to the document, articulated vehicles with the exemption of fuel tankers and long passenger trucks are now prohibited from entering into or travelling within the metropolis from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Violators risk impoundment of their vehicles and payment of N50,000 as fine or six months imprisonment.

It also compels commuter bus drivers and their conductors to wear identification tags, while property owners are also compelled to report cases of abandoned vehicles in their vicinity or risk punishment.

Officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) are empowered to administer breathalysers on drivers to detect drunkenness.

Also owners of commercial vehicles are compelled to obtain operating licenses from government.

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