A man, simply identified as Azeez, has allegedly jumped into the lagoon in Lagos and drowned while trying to evade arrest for stealing some bags of cement.

The Spokesperson of the Police Command in Lagos, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this on Sunday.

Hundeyin said that the Director in charge of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) operations in Lagos Central, (name not mentioned), reported the case to Ikoyi Police Division on Friday at about 12.20 p.m.

Hundeyin said that the director reported that at about 10.45 a.m. on Friday, he received a call that there was an incident at Lekki/Ikoyi Link Bridge.

According to him, on getting to the scene, he met a large crowd gathered by the waterside, watching the lifeless body of a man who had drowned.

“The deceased was later identified as Azeez. He was later confirmed dead by paramedics of Pre Hospital Care, Lagos.

“It was discovered that one Elijah Amos, the seller of the cement, was pursuing the deceased before he jumped into the Lagoon because he was alleged to have stolen some bags of cement,” Hundeyin said.

Hundeyin said that the scene was visited by the police, while the corpse had been evacuated to Mainland General Hospital Mortuary, Yaba, for autopsy and preservation.

He added that an investigation into the case was in progress.

Olatosho Oshoffa, the son of the founder of the Celestial Church of Christ, Worldwide, Bilewu Oshoffa, has shared his thoughts concerning polygamy in the church, saying the church doesn’t forbid the practice.

The shepherd of CCC International Headquarters, Ketu, Lagos, while defending his late father’s large family declared that no prophets in the Bible had one wife.

“Can I tell you something… (sic)? You see, in that scripture, Paul was only advising. Tell me in the Bible, which prophet of God had only one wife? Do your research and tell me,” Oshoffa said.

The late Oshoffa left 13 wives and 53 children behind raising concern about his lifestyle even as the leader of one of Nigeria’s Christian congregations.

However, Tosho, as the younger Oshoffa is also called, dismissed such concern, saying that despite his late father already having three wives, God still gave him the vision to start his ministry 76 years ago.

“I am sure in 1947 if there was a better candidate to found CCC, Oshoffa wouldn’t have been chosen.

“But because there wasn’t a better candidate, he was the only one that God found worthy to found CCC, despite having three wives. So those condemning my father should know that he never had any concubine.

“He married them (his wives), and they were all under his roof. But today, the so-called men of God with only one wife will have concubines outside.

“Which one is better? So, I will tell you that if God were to judge by the number of wives before sending a bishop or pastor on a mission, my father would have been disqualified because he had three wives before God called him,” he stated.

When asked how his father was able to keep his large family closely knitted, he said his father never trained the children from different mothers.

“Let me tell you something, my dear brother. Our father, while on earth, used to gather us together and tell us, never say you are a son or daughter to any of my wives. But tell yourself, you are a son of Oshoffa.

“This means he used that girdle of love to tie us together. So we don’t see ourselves as children of our various mothers but as children of Oshoffa. That is the same way we related when he (Oshoffa) was still in this world and has been doing after his demise.

“Even today, the remaining Oshoffa wives that were younger than my mother, I still refer to them as my mother, because of the love that our father (Oshoffa) has used to bind us together. So, we all remain one as SBJ Oshoffa children,” he added.

On the leadership crisis rocking the celestial church, the cleric said such a crisis was expected after the departure of the founder. He was, however, hopeful that the problems would soon be resolved.

He, however, declared that his eldest brother, Rev. Emmanuel Oshoffa, is the leader of the church.

“Now, when the founder of this church departed, the same way Jesus Christ departed, there were troubles among the apostles about who would lead.

“The same way as well that according to history, the Catholic Church at a time had multiple Popes. But today, they have only one Pope after so many centuries.

“This is the same situation with CCC. After the demise of its founder, there was so much trouble. The apostles also faced the same challenges on succession as those of the Catholic Church.

“…But as of today, the most acclaimed and accepted leader in CCC all over the world is the first son of the founder, my eldest brother, Rev. Emmanuel Oshoffa, who is based in Imeko, Ketu, and Makoko, the headquarters of the church,” he added

Arsenal overcame the hurdle of a north London derby and an anxious finale to maintain momentum in the Premier League title pursuit with a vital victory at Tottenham.

The Gunners’ meeting with their bitter rivals was seen as arguably the most treacherous of their remaining fixtures, but they took ruthless advantage of Spurs’ defensive flaws to establish a three-goal lead by half-time.

Arsenal were then thrown off course when a dreadful clearance by goalkeeper David Raya presented Cristian Romero with a goal after 64 minutes, the nerves really jangling when Heung-Min Son scored from the spot three minutes from the end of normal time after Declan Rice fouled Ben Davies.

It was all so different when Arsenal went ahead after 15 minutes as the recalled Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg glanced Bukayo Saka’s corner into his own net, the England forward crowning a sweeping counter-attack with a smooth finish for the second after 27 minutes.

Spurs, who saw Micky van de Ven’s goal ruled out for a marginal offside with the score 1-0, were infuriated as they claimed Leandro Trossard had fouled Dejan Kulusevski before Saka scored, and were even more frustrated when the unmarked Kai Havertz headed in Arsenal’s third from another corner seven minutes before the break.

Arsenal were then content to see out the victory, only for Raya to give Spurs hope by sending a clearance straight to Romero.

An unlikely Spurs comeback seemed on when Son scored from the spot but Mikel Arteta’s side were able to close out the game.

Arsenal survive late Spurs surge to stay on course

Arsenal have won consecutive top-flight away games against Spurs for the first time since September 1988 (a run of three under manager George Graham)

Arsenal went from cruising comfortably to hanging on in a thrilling north London derby, a stroll to victory made hazardous by their own mistakes.

The Gunners were never actually near their best but when the season reaches this point it is about winning and the job was eventually done, but not without a nail-biting finish.

Arsenal were sitting pretty at half-time and had negotiated the first 20 minutes of the second half without incident until Raya appeared to be caught in a moment of indecision as he went to clear, passing the ball straight to a grateful Romero.

And when Son scored from the spot Arteta’s side must have feared becoming the victim of a smash-and-grab as Spurs, a threat going forward throughout, sensed they may get a draw.

In Raya’s defence, he did well after his error as he commanded his area with safe handling to ensure the cushion provided by that first-half advantage proved enough.

Arsenal had another stellar performer in Rice, his mistimed tackle on Davies that resulted in a penalty a rare blemish on an otherwise top-class performance.

Arteta’s side have put together three wins in eight days to ensure they are right in this title fight with three games left, maintaining pressure on Manchester City as Liverpool’s challenge falls away.

Sensational Saka
Having scored just once in his previous seven Premier League appearances coming into the north London derby, Saka has come under criticism for his recent form. But the Arsenal forward responded and got back on to the scoresheet during their thumping victory against Tottenham.

In the 27th minute, Saka latched on to a long pass before driving into the box. He then kept his composure, drifted on to his favoured left foot and coolly side-footed the ball past Guglielmo Vicario. It was a fine finish from the England international, who now has 15 league goals this season.

Set pieces strike again
Arsenal have profited regularly from set pieces this season. In fact, before the trip to Tottenham, the Gunners had scored a mammoth 14 from corners – the most in the Premier League. And Arteta’s men extended their lead at the top of that statistic with two more against their arch rivals.

First, Saka whipped in a delightful in-swinging corner into the box which, after pressure from several Arsenal attackers, was headed into his own net by the unfortunate Hojbjerg.