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Save us from hoodlums who operate as beggars in the day, robbers at night – Lekki, Ajah residents beg Sanwoolu

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HOODLUMS

 

Tunde was mugged by a three-man gang in broad day light. It was Saturday morning, and as usual, Tunde was doing his normal early morning walk. At first, he thought the boys were the usual beggars that have become part of everyday living in the Ajah area.

“I was on my usual early Saturday morning walk along the Admiralty Way when these boys walked up to me. At first, I thought they were beggars, but one of them just pulled his shirt up and I saw a shot gun tucked into his trousers. I froze immediately and thought I would be killed,” Tunde explained his encounter with muggers.

He was lucky to tell his story, but parted with his expensive Apple watch, a Samsung phone, some cash and an ATM card he was carrying with him. By afternoon of the same day, his account had been depleted to the tune of N300, 000.

Tunde is not the only one with such ugly experience. Chucks, who lives in the Jakande area of Lekki area, needed weeks of therapy after his traumtic encounter with traffic robbers. He was on his way home from work, tired and hungry. But the traffic was not helping matters, as vehicles were restricted bumper to bumper. “I was tired and very hungry on this particular day. The only thing on my mind was how to get home and eat. Traffic was terrible and hostile. I was suddenly jolted by a loud noise on the car window.”

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Chucks said he was scared but relunctant to wind down his car glass. Within the few seconds, several things raced through his mind. Then he remembered his wife, his little son and of course, his aged parents. “As all those thing played out in my mind, I simply melted and rolled down the glass. It was at that point that I realised that I was not the only person the guys robbed on that particualr night. They did their job and left just as they appear without any hinderance.”

Again, by the time the robbers left, Chucks and several of the motorists have been dispossed of their valuables. Unfortunately, experiences like these have become an almost everyday affair. A resident who pleaded anonimity for fear of retribution, listed the areas most affected to include Admiralty Way, Freedom Way, Jakande, Chevron, Ajah and Agungi among others.

The resident lamented the incursion into the area of many strange faces, who he claimed operate as beggars in the day and turn robbers at night. He and several other residents are surprised over the sudden turn of events in the once peaceful and serene neighbourhoods.

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“It is indeed a big surprise that Lekki could turn to what we are experiencing these days. In the past, the mention of Lekki speaks volume about affluence. But all those have changed. Sometimes, when you walk round, you could mistake Lekki for Mushin or Shomolu. Everywhere you go, you see these hoodlums everywhere.”

The residents are calling on the police and Governor Babajide Sanwoolu to come to their rescue. They are unanimous in their cry to government to evacuate all the destitutes from the area and ensure that enough policemen are posted there to maintain law and order.

“I really dont know why it is difficult for government to evacuate these hoodlums from these areas. The government simply nned to put in place a law prohibiting begging on the streets and peace will return. These boys hide under the guise of begging during the day. But at night, they rob the people at will,” another resident said.

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A resident, Abimbola Iyiola said: ‘’From Jakande around Shoprite, Mobil axis, Igboefon and VGC, these hoodlums who pretend to be beggars in the day cluster, but they are criminals in the night and some of them have been caught or sighted robbing innocent residents.

“The situation was not like this during Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration and it is worrisome that security laxity is what these urchins are leveraging to make life unbearable for residents.’’

A former councilor in the area who spoke in confidence, urged police authorities and other law enforcement agencies to embark on constant surveillance and patrol in order to flush out the hoodlums.

He said: “Police and other minions of law should step up surveillance ad patrol of these neighbourhoods in order to put a check on these hoodlums and chase them away from our communities.’’

 

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Nigerian who relocated to UK in 2022 beats wife to death

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A United Kingdom-based Nigerian man, Olubunmi Abodunde, has beaten his wife, Taiwo, to death with their son’s skateboard, Daily Mail reports.

The couple, who had three children, arrived in the UK from Nigeria in 2022 and always clashed over alleged affairs and arguments about bills.

According to the news platform, 48-year-old Abodunde had been repeatedly investigated by Suffolk Police about domestic violence and was due to go on trial for murder but changed his plea to guilty on Wednesday after a jury had been sworn in.

During the abuse, officers heard ‘a number of bangs’ inside the house, which Abodunde had gone into, despite bail conditions imposed the day before that banned him from the property following another violent episode.

 

When they finally entered 25 minutes later, they found the wife, 41-year-old Taiwo, with her ‘skull smashed in’.

However, Judge Martyn Levett, sitting at Ipswich Crown Court, warned him the only possible sentence was life imprisonment.

 

Suffolk Constabulary has referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct, which confirmed three officers were under investigation.

An IOPC spokesman said, “We advised two Suffolk officers that they are under investigation for potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour at the level of gross misconduct.

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“We advised another officer that they are under investigation at the level of misconduct.”

 

Abodunde had a history of jealousy and suspicion and accused his wife of having affairs. He had been investigated by police a number of times over alleged domestic violence incidents before his wife’s death.

He was arrested on April 27 last year when police arrived at the couple’s home in Newmarket, Suffolk, and found Mrs Abodunde with a split lip.

Later that day, he was freed on police bail with the condition that he stayed away from the marital home and didn’t approach his wife.

But after working a night shift at Tesco, he went home just after 9 am to allegedly pick up his mobile phone.

 

Two officers arrived at 9.20 am to take a statement from Mrs Abodunde about the previous night’s incident and heard repeated banging noises inside.

 

But it wasn’t until 9.55 am that they forced their way in after getting approval from senior officers and found Mrs Abodunde ‘obviously dead’ near the front door.

A post-mortem examination later showed she had been throttled until she fell unconscious, then stamped on until her ribs were broken before her husband used the skateboard to finish her off. The blows were so violent that the skateboard was damaged.

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Prosecutor Simon Spence KC told the court the banging officers heard was likely to have been Abodunde continuing to attack his wife after she was unconscious or dead.

Mrs Abodunde had a job as a care home assistant in Cambridge, but her husband, who had trained as a civil engineer, was unable to find work in his profession and took shifts at Tesco and Wickes.

 

After his arrest for the murder, Abodunde was taken to hospital “because he appeared to have some sort of mental episode”.

 

He later claimed in a police statement he had acted in self-defence, saying, “My wife has subjected me to physical abuse for a number of years.

“On November 28, we got into an argument. She ran at me with a knife, I grabbed the knife and cut my hand. I was defending myself.”

 

But the court heard while he did have an injury to his hand, there wasn’t a knife near his wife’s body.

 

Nneka Akudolu KC, defending, said the level of violence was ‘completely out of character’ for her client and might have been affected by medication he was taking. But she said no medical evidence would be provided to support this claim.

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Detective Inspector Dan Connick, of Suffolk Police, said after the hearing, “This was an awful attack on a woman that has had a lasting impact on the community and, most importantly, on the victim’s family.

 

‘We are pleased that Taiwo’s family will no longer have to go through the pain of a trial.

 

‘Our thoughts remain with Taiwo’s family and friends and hope this result will bring some small comfort to them.’

 

Taiwo Abodunde worked for Cambridge Manor Care Home, which provides dementia care and residential and respite care.

 

A spokesman for the facility, which is owned by TLC Care, said: ‘We are all deeply shaken and upset by the tragic death of Taiwo, who was a much-loved member of our home community.

 

‘Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with her family. Taiwo always cared for those we support with compassion and kindness, and she will be greatly missed by all of us and our residents.’

 

Abodunde was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on May 9.

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Alleged procurement fraud: Court adjourns Emefiele‘s trial to June 24

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A federal capital territory (FCT) high court in Maitama has adjourned the trial of Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to June 24. 

 

When the case was called on Thursday, neither the prosecution counsel nor the defendant were in court. However, Emefiele was represented by one of his counsels.

 

I.D Ahmed, who represented the defendant, told the court that the prosecution served him a letter praying for an adjournment.

 

He also apologised to the court for the absence of his client.

 

Hamza Muazu, presiding judge, said: “Because you have a letter of adjournment from the prosecution does not mean the defendant should not be in court.”

 

Muazu then adjourned until June 24 and June 25 for continuation of trial.

 

The federal government, on January 18, amended the criminal charges filed against the former CBN governor.

 

The charges, formerly six counts, were increased to 20 counts.

 

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The amended charges border on alleged criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud and conspiracy to commit a felony.

 

At the previous hearing, the court agreed to vary Emefiele’s bail condition which previously restricted him to the FCT.

 

The court granted the application permitting the former CBN governor to travel within Nigeria but restrained him from leaving the country during the pendency of the case.

In some of the counts, the EFCC alleged that Emefiele, in January 2023, forged a document titled: “RE: PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE ON FOREIGN ELECTION OBSERVER MISSIONS,” dated 26 January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201.

 

The EFCC said Emefiele made the claim despite knowing it to be false and committed an offence contrary to section 1(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.

 

According to the amended charge marked CR/577/2023, Emefiele, on February 8, 2023, connived with one Odoh Ocheme, who is now on the run, to obtain $6.2m from the CBN, claiming that the SGF requested it “vide a letter dated 26th January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201″.

 

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Meanwhile, the EFCC had also declared Magaret, Emefiele’s wife, wanted for money laundering.

 

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Mother, son, one other electrocuted in Ogun market

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No fewer than three people, including a mother and child, were reportedly electrocuted at Mowe Market in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The incident reportedly happened on Monday following the restoration of power after the Sunday downpour.

 

The Chairman of the Local Government, Ambassador Adesina Ogunsola, during his visit to the market on Wednesday gave a seven-day notice to all the traders with shops and stalls under the high-tension powerline to vacate to forestall a repeat of the tragic incident.

 

An eyewitness said that the electric shock was from the step-down transformer suspended on an electrical pole next to the shop where the incident happened, just as the shop owners arrived for their daily sales in the market.

 

The woman and her son were said to have been burnt beyond recognition.

 

The Director of Information at the Obafemi Owode Local Government, Segun Soneye, confirmed the incident on Thursday.

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Soneye, in a statement, blamed the incident on the erection of shops made of iron under the powerline by the traders.

 

He said, “The chairman of the council had visited the affected shop owners and commiserated with them over the incident.

“The LG boss has already given shop owners a seven-day ultimatum to evacuate their make-shift shops built under the high tension powerline to forestall the recurrence of the incident.”

Speaking during his visit to the market, Ogunsola who commiserated with the families of the victims, also blamed the incident on the nonchalant attitude of the.

 

The LG boss wondered why people would disregard safety rules and have their shops close to electrical poles that carry step-down transformers.

 

Ogunsola, while giving the vacation order to the traders with shops and stalls under the powerline, said, “Let me also say that everyone that has extended its shop beyond where it should be, particularly those under high-tension cables should start removing it from today.”

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The police spokesman, Omolola Odutola, also confirmed the incident but said only the mother, Ujuwa Okechukwu, died from the incident.

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