Fire guts 40 lock-up shops at Ladipo Auto-Market

Lagos – No fewer than 40 lock-up shops with different auto spare parts worth millions of naira were, on Wednesday morning, destroyed by early morning fire at the Ladipo Auto-Market in Mushin, Lagos State.


The Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Rasak Fadipe, who confirmed this said that the fire started at about 1 a.m.


On April 20, more than 50 shops with assorted vehicle spare parts were burnt at the Osoro Section of the market.

Fadipe said that when his office got information about the inferno, his fire fighters were unable to access the scene of fire due to a clash that happened in the area during the night.


“We got a call at about 1.20 a.m., but we could not move into the complex at Odushina Street, Papa-Ajao, Mushin, scene of the fire due to a fight going on in the area.

“The Divisional Police Officer at Olosan Police Station, Mushin, led us with his patrol vehicles to the scene before we were able to put out the fire at about 4.46 a.m.


“There were no cases of death or injuries recorded from the inferno.


“My men, however, saw some people with blood all over their bodies, which they suspected were injuries from the fight, “ he said.


Mr Nkire Ezeigbo, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the auto-market, told NAN that the clash was caused by alleged collection of illegal fees.

Ezeigbo said that some hoodlums were allegedly collecting illegal parking fees from traders on Odushina and Olapeju Streets.


“The traders with shops in these streets are the people parking their cars in front of their shops, but some area boys came and started collecting money for parking.


“It was when the traders resisted them (hoodlums) that the fight broke out. The hoodlums destroyed the windscreens of some of the vehicles parked in the two streets and set others ablaze.


“Fire from some of the vehicles set ablaze by the hoodlums may have spread to the complex where shops and goods were burnt.


“The leadership of the market would meet this morning to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the clash and the fire incident,“ Ezeigbo said.
Culled from Vanguard

Man threatens to divorce wife for addiction to Telemundo, Zeeworld

A Pediatrician based in Abuja, Mr Chibuzor Eze has threatened to divorce his wife of so many years for her addiction to popular foreign soap operas, Telemundo and Zeeworld. 

“I will divorce my wife if she doesn’t stop with this Zeeworld and Telemundo obsession,” Eze said on Thursday in Abuja. 

Eze, who works with one of the government hospitals in Abuja, said he had informed his wife, Dorothy a week ago that her obsession to the popular soaps was interfering with her marital life.

 “I told her last week that I was fed up with how her obsession with these channels was making her to neglect her duty as a wife and mother. 

“Yet she keeps watching these shows when she’s supposed to be partaking in more important things like taking care of the children and cooking reasonable food for us,” Eze said.

 The pediatrician said he had to buy food from restaurants four times last week, as his wife had either forgotten to prepare food for the family or burnt the food she was preparing because she was watching Zeeworld and Telemundo. 

“Tell me, is this not enough to sue for divorce. 

“As a doctor, I have a very hectic job and should come home to a tasty hot meal.

 “I have purchased foods from restaurants four times in the last week, because I came home to an empty pot or burnt food and this is unacceptable.’’ he said. 

According to him, this is after I talked and complained to her about the effect Zee world and Telemundo are having on her. 

“On Tuesday, she forgot to pick our 10-year-old daughter from school because she was watching her shows. 

“If these careless acts continue, I will be forced to leave her, because I won’t appreciate coming home to a burnt down house one day.’’ 

BREAKING: Kidnapped Chibok girl found in Sambisa Forest

Activists have reported finding one of the missing Chibok girls.

She is the first since they were abducted by Boko Haram militants two years ago.

The more than 200 girls were taken from their secondary school in north-east Nigeria by Boko Haram terrorists on April 14, 2014.

Activists said the recovered hostage is Amina Ali.

She was found by a vigilante group on Tuesday in the Sambisa Forest, close to the border with Cameroon, the activists said.

Details later…

Culled from Punch

No clue on abducted Rev. Sisters’ whereabouts – Police

The Ondo State Police Command says it has no clue yet on the whereabouts of the two Reverend Sisters, who were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen, adding that efforts were on to rescue them.

The two Sisters – Apo Perpetual and Roseline Familade – and the driver of their vehicle, Zwugwa Zibai, were reportedly abducted at Kajola village along the Benin-Ijebu Ode Expressway in the Odibo Local Government Area of the state on Sunday.

The Public Relations Officer of the command,  Mr. Femi Joseph, on Tuesday said the police had been on the trail of the hoodlums, but no one had been arrested in connection with the incident.

“We are still on the trail of the kidnappers. For now, all I can tell you is that we are investigating and very soon they will be released and the abductors will be arrested, “ The PPRO said on the telephone.

The Director of Communications of the Catholic Diocese of Ondo, Rev. Father Leo Aregbesola, said the Vicar-General of the diocese had met with the state Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Hilda Harrison, over the matter.

The cleric enjoined the church to pray to God for the safe rescue of the victims.

Culled from PUNCH.          

Man was high on Cannabis when he killed his brother

The suspect who allegedly killed his sleeping twin brother on Olorunkemi Street in the Somolu area of Lagos State, Mfom, 26, says he was not in his right senses when he committed the crime.

He told our correspondent that he was blindfolded while stabbing Israel, adding that he still could not explain what came over him.

He said he started smoking cannabis when he was 15 years old, adding that he graduated from smoking cannabis to swallowing it when he became mature.

PUNCH Metro had reported that Mfom and his twin brother, Israel, came from Akwa Ibom State to Lagos and had been assisting their brother in his canteen in the Abiodun area of Somolu.

The suspect was alleged to have been threatening to kill his brother after every disagreement.

But he carried out the threat around 6am on Monday while the victim slept and the third occupant of the room, Christopher, was in the kitchen.

He was arrested by policemen from the Pedro division and the case transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba.

He said, “I came to Lagos three years ago and since then, I have been working with my brother in his canteen. I work from Monday to Sunday; I don’t even go to church.

“On Sunday night, I bought a small generator which I took home. The three of us enjoyed ourselves that night. We ate and drank to celebrate the generator.

“Around 7am the next day, I woke up. My brother was still sleeping. I wanted to open the net, but I discovered somebody covered my face. I decided to go out, but I couldn’t see the road.

“I found the knife somewhere and took it. I then stabbed my brother to death. I don’t know what came over me, but I intend to find out.”

He denied that there was any quarrel between him and the deceased prior to the incident, saying he loved his brother.

“We never had any disagreement. It was people who had seen that we had a great future together that were giving us alcohol. I believe my family may know about what happened,” he said.

Asked if he smoked any substance the night to the incident, he said he only took his meal.

He, however, admitted to taking cannabis sometimes.

He said, “I did not continue my education after primary school because my father died. But I started smoking cannabis from age 15. Now that I am mature, it is  direct. I don’t smoke again, I swallow it.”

Our correspondent learnt that the suspect had become violent since his arrest.

His brother, Samuel, who brought him to Lagos, said he believed Mfom might have been affected by the substance he took.

Culled from PUNCH.          

24-year-old arrested for robbery dies in police cell

The Man Centre Police Division, Ikeja, Lagos State, has raided a nightclub on Oba Akran Road, in the Ikeja area of Lagos State, arresting a 24-year-old, Gabriel Faleye, who died a few hours later.

The family members, who spoke with PUNCH Metro, alleged that the policemen tortured Gabriel to death, adding that the police did not take him to any hospital when he became unconscious.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, however, denied that the suspect died from torture, saying he was attacked by a mob when he tried to rob in the area, and the police rushed him to a hospital where he later died.

Our correspondent learnt that Gabriel, who was seeking admission to a university, had gone to the club, identified as Roya, with his friends on Sunday when a fight broke out between them and another group.

It was gathered that the fight started around 2am on Monday, when Gabriel and his friends were going home, and one of the clubbers, said to be drunk, urinated on Gabriel.

Our correspondent gathered that a fight had ensued, during which the owner of the hotel made a distress call to the Man Centre Police Division.

It was learnt that before the police arrived, one of the violent clubbers entered his car and deliberately ran into Gabriel, during which he sustained injuries.

PUNCH Metro learnt that when the policemen arrived, they arrested Gabriel and one of his friends, Ibrahim Musaka, on the ground that they allegedly robbed in the area.

It was gathered that Gabriel’s friends, who followed the policemen to the station, told the policemen that the 24-year-old needed medical treatment, but the policemen allegedly refused.

Our correspondent gathered that the suspect died around 5am.

Angry family members were said to have stormed the station alleging that the policemen tortured Gabriel.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro, the deceased’s father, Ibrahim Faleye, who hails from Abeokuta, Ogun State, and lives in Oke Ira, Ogba, Lagos, said he was only told on the telephone that his son had an accident.

He said, “Gabriel was staying with his mother in Ikeja. He usually went to nightclubs once in a while. He was seeking admission to the University of Lagos.

“This morning, I was called by my wife’s younger sister that Gabriel had an accident and the police took him to a cell. I was later told he had died. The police said they wanted to see me urgently at the station. I was shocked when I was told that he had died.”

The family lawyer, Alex Okpako, said the police had not allowed the family to see the corpse.

He said, “This incident happened when Gabriel and his friends were about leaving the club around 2.30am to come home. The other group is suspected to be Yahoo boys (scammers). They were drunk and one of them urinated on the deceased. They wanted to fight, but they were immediately separated. Later, the boy brought a car and deliberately rammed into Gabriel by the roadside.

“When the police came, Gabriel’s friends begged them to take him to a hospital because he had been injured. The police refused. The Yahoo boys were later released when they bribed the policemen.

“The policemen beat up Gabriel inside the van. He was not given urgent medical attention. They said he was pretending. He died around 5am in their cell. We want justice done in this matter.”

Our correspondent gathered that the family members had refused to leave the police division, demanding Gabriel’s corpse.

The hotel management could not yet be reached for comments on the incident as of press time.

The police spokesperson, Badmos, said there was no reason to torture the deceased, adding that the case had been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigations, Yaba.

She said, “The suspects were earlier attacked by a mob while they tried to rob their victim. During preliminary interrogation, Gabriel complained of pains and he was rushed to a hospital where he was later confirmed dead. There is no reason to torture the deceased.”

Culled from PUNCH.          

Ronke did not die from marks of violence – Autopsy

A preliminary autopsy report on late Ronke Shonde has said the victim was not killed by the marks of violence on her.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the result, which was still sketchy, showed that the cause of the death might be more complex than earlier thought.

Our correspondent had reported how Lekan, 51, allegedly beat his wife, Ronke, to death at their home in the Egbeda-Idimu area of the state last Thursday.

Lekan, a dock worker in the Apapa area, who spoke with our correspondent while in hiding, had denied complicity in the death, saying he only slapped her that night.

He instead accused Ronke of sleeping with one Kayode, the general manager of a publishing company where she worked as the human resources manager.

After three days in hiding, the suspect gave himself up to the poilce.

A source on Tuesday said the report was still being compiled, adding that only a phase had been completed.

He said, “As of now, the report showed that the marks of violence on the victim have nothing to do with her death. Other areas are still being explored. The actual thing that killed her has not been stated.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the police had yet to get the report.

She said, “I just spoke with the people in charge now and they said the result is not complete yet. I will advise we exercise patience and caution. The police are also monitoring the case and we intend to get the report soon. This will be disclosed to  the public.”

Meanwhile, the management of Learn Africa, the publishing firm where Ronke and Kayode worked, said on Tuesday that the duo left the firm in March.

A statement from the company on Tuesday, said both Ronke and Kayode left the employ of the organisation on the 8th and 10th of March 2016, respectively.

The statement read in part, “Late Mrs. Ronke Shonde and Mr. Kayode Oluokun were former employees of Learn Africa Plc. However, as of the time of Mrs. Shonde’s death, they had ceased to be workers of Learn Africa Plc since the 8th and 10th of March 2016, respectively.

“During the period of their employment, the management is not in a position to confirm or deny the existence of a relationship between these former employees in any other capacity other than as colleagues.”

Culled from PUNCH.