A Jos High Court on Thursday sentenced a 23-year-old man, Mathias
Joseph, to 15 years in prison for attempting to rob a woman, Mrs
Christabel Tongman of her car at gunpoint.
Justice A. I. Ashom, sentenced Joseph after he pleaded guilty to the crime and begged the court for leniency.
Ashom, in a 16-paged judgment, pronounced the convict guilty of a
three-count charge of attempted robbery, house trespass and illegal
possession of a firearm.
The offences contravened Sections 2 (1and2) of the Robbery and Firearms
ACT, CAP R11, 350 of the Penal Code of Northern Nigeria and 3 (1) of the
Robbery and Firearms ACT, respectively.
“Going by the totality of evidence before this court from the
prosecution, there was an attempted robbery and that the accused was
involved in the attempt and was armed with a pistol.
“There was a motive by the accused to rob the victim and forcefully extract money and perhaps, other valuables from her.
“The fact that the said pistol was not tendered in evidence does not erase the evidence that a pistol was involved.
“The victim stated she saw the accused with one and the accused stated he had one, which was collected upon his arrest.
“From the totality of the foregoing, I am left in no doubt that the
prosecution has discharged the burden of the law placed on it.
“The issue for determination is, therefore, resolved in the affirmative;
the accused person is accordingly, hereby, convicted as charged.
“Considering the absence of no previous criminal records on you
(convict), I am incline not to invoke the maximum punishment by law, you
are, therefore, sentenced to serve 5 years for each offence and it
shall run concurrently,” he said.
Joseph was arraigned in January 2016 to answer a three-count charge of
attempted robbery, trespass and illegal possession of firearm.
He was said to have committed the crime on Nov. 29, 2015 at Tudun Wada, Jos, when he attempted to rob a woman of her car.
The prosecutor, Mr E. O Ochai, had told the court that the convict,
armed with a pistol in company of one Alias Doctor, now at large.
They forcefully gained entrance into the house of Tongman.
Ochai said that the duo assaulted the victim and attempted to snatch her
car, but was apprehended by neighbours when she let out a loud scream.
The victim, who stood as a witness during trial, told the court that
while driving into her house on the said date, she noticed the convict
and two others lurking around her gate.
She said, unaware of any danger, she alighted from her car and tried to
lock her gate when she was accosted by Joseph and his gang.
Tongman further told the court that Joseph and his gang started to beat
her, adding that when she started screaming for help, the convict shot
into the air to scare away neighbours.
The convict was, however, apprehended during the robbery while his gang absconded.
The Federal Government has disputed reports that 30 persons had died,
when a high-tension cable fell on a football viewing centre in Calabar,
the Cross River State capital, on April 20.
The Minister of Interior, Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), said
Thursday that investigations carried out on the incident, showed that
seven persons lost their lives. The Minister, in a statement signed by the Director, Press and Public
Relations, Mr. Willie Bassey, said 15 other victims of the tragedy, had
sustained varying degrees of injuries, out of which five have since been
discharged.
According to Bassey, the official figure was a product of fact-finding
visits a “high-powered delegation” Dambazau constituted in the wake of
incident, had undertaken to community leaders, as well as interaction
with the State’s Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Rosemary
Archibong.....
Two people have died as a two-storey building under construction in Lekki area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria partially collapsed.
The workers were mixing concrete on the site when part of the building
collapsed, with people trapped under the debris. The building is located
at NICON Town Estate off Admirality Way, Lekki.
Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, and
other rescue responders are on site trying to rescue those trapped in
the debris. Two people are said to be dead.
Funke Akindele and Juliana Olayode on the set of ‘Jenifa’s Diary’
It is confirmed that Funke Akindele and Juliana Olayode, who plays Toyo Baby on Jenifa’s Diary, have parted ways.
According to TNS sources, Funke Akindele removed Toyo Baby from the series over what the latter termed ‘bad pay’.
The source revealed that Toyo Baby was cut off from the popular TV
series for requesting an increment in pay which didn’t go well with
Funke Akindele who feels she’s an ingrate being that Olayode rose to
stardom through her appearances on the show.
Sources close to SceneOneProductions, producers of Jenifa’s Diary, further revealed to TNS that the producer of the show, Funke Akinkele via her production manager and younger sister – Abimbola – pays actors between N3,000 and N150,000 (per episode/season of the show) depending on the role.
Juliana Olayode aka Toyo Baby (Instagram).
An actress, who spoke to TNS under the condition of anonymity via
text message, narrated how she was paid what she termed ‘peanuts’ by
Akindele’s team after being part of an all-night party scene on Jenifa’s Diary.
‘I got a text message from Sceneone Productions that I
had been selected to act on Jenifa’s Diary and I will be part of a party
scene. I was so excited that I told my entire family about it.
‘Mind you, it wasn’t my 1st time acting but the feeling of
being on Jenifa’s diary was a big deal for me. I was asked to come with
five different party costumes.
‘Location was Amen Estate, Eleko. After filming with over 30 girls
the whole night, Funke came to address us and advice that money
shouldn’t be our priorities at this stage; that was when it occurred to
me that something awkward was about to happen….just then, the
Production Manager, Mr Osmond whispered something to Funke’s sister,
Abimbola and she started paying us each 3K. Can u imagine? 3K for all
night shoot!…on Jenifa’s Diary!…
‘I was so mad, some of us had to turn down the money shaa….couldn’t
face my mom to explain to her what happened the next morning.’
Juliana Olayode was visibly absent in a recent photoshoot held for the upcoming season.
According to our findings, actors Lota Chukwu, Omotunde Lolo 1, Falz
(who has also left the show) and Olayode are the highest paid actors
who take home N150,000 per season. The rest take home much lesser money.
Stars like Tiwa Savage, Toke Makinwa and others who have had cameo appearances on the show reportedly got between N100,000 and N300,000 for ‘showing face’.
Funke, Juliana & Tiwa Savage on the set of ‘Jenifa’s Diary’
One of India's most well-known Bollywood actors Vinod Khanna has died
aged 70. Khanna, also an active politician, had been suffering from
cancer and was admitted to hospital earlier this month as his illness
became more serious.
He acted in more than 100 Bollywood films and was widely seen as a
counterfoil to the "angry young man" played by Amitabh Bachchan.
He was elected to parliament four times and was once a junior foreign minister.
Khanna began his career in 1968 and was a household name in India,
particularly during the 1970s and eighties when he played the starring
role in a number of Bollywood hits.
Tributes have been pouring in for Mr Khanna who died after a long
illness. The hashtag #VinodKhanna has been trending on top of Twitter
India.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee led tributes from politicians while many Bollywood celebrities also paid homage.
Super Eagles player and Leicester City star, Ahmed Musa has reportedly kicked off plans to make his side chick, Ejue Juliet Adeh, his new wife. Family sources revealed that the former CSKA Moscow forward and his
estranged wife, Jamila, who bore him two children already mutually
parted ways following irreconcilable differences. Here are some
Pre-wedding photos of the star and his bride-to-be, Juliet.
CEO of Ebony life Tv. Mo Abudu shared photos of her and CNN presenter,
Richard Quest of Quest as they jogged on Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge.
Sharing the photos, Mo wrote; "We still managed to have a laugh and a giggle. Truly Richard Quest has a great sense of humour. I really had a lot of fun. If you have not hit the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge for a jog in the morning,
please try and do so, if it's near you. Great feeling. I took Richard
Quest for an early morning jog." See more photos below...
A psychic trying to demonstrate that nothing could harm him ended up committing suicide in the presence of his spectators.
Theprit Palee, 25, had been performing a Thai traditional dance in front
of spectators in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, Wednesday afternoon
when the incident occurred.
Usually, Palee would press a long sword against his chest but instead of
being impaled, the sword would break. The folk ritual is said to honour
the spirits of ancestors and in previous shows he would impress
onlookers by appearing superhuman when the blade broke as it was pressed
against his chest, Daily Mail reported.
However, on the fateful day, instead of breaking, the sword went
straight into his rib cage making him go fatally limp almost
immediately. Crowds gathered round the man as they attempted to revive him but he was later pronounced dead at hospital.
Operatives of Rapid Response Squad, RRS, of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a notorious suspected ring leader and architect of several bank frauds in the state.
Similarly, eight miscreants were also arrested in Ojodu Berger for extorting motorists and obstruction of traffic.
The suspected fraudster, popularly known as Harrison among his gang
members, was arrested on Tuesday, after he was mentioned as the
initiator of Subscriber Identification Module, SIMs, swap deal at a
network provider’s outlet in Surulere, Lagos and Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Police source said the suspect had, before his arrest, been on the run
over his involvement in a N2million fraud in one of the old generation
banks in Lagos State, sometime in April 2016.
The suspect, who is regarded as the chief distributor of roles in all
the bank frauds, was alleged to have a vast network with insiders in
banks.
Ajisafe was also alleged to have exploited his vast network with
insiders in banks to procure bank details and contacts of high net worth
customers.
A source said: “When the suspected fraudsters were arrested, several
print outs of customers details were found with the group. The balances
on all the print outs were over N800 million.”
The fraud detection last year had prompted the Lagos State Commissioner
of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, to convoke a meeting of bank executives
with analysis of strategies adopted by the fraudsters.
It was further disclosed that Owoseni had urged banks in Lagos State to raise the bar of their anti-fraud internal mechanism.
The ring-leader’s latest offence was the recruitment of three suspects
through which some SIM cards belonging to a particular network were
being swapped and used for some of the gang’s bank fraud.
The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Assistant Superintendent
Olarinde Famous-Cole, said the four suspects have been transferred to
the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti, for further
investigations.
A bar operator on Lekki Beach Road, Ademola Ogunbona, says he has lost
his livelihood to the alleged debt of N757,750 incurred by one Mrs.
Shaw, aka Mama G.
According to Punch, the woman had gone to the bar around 6am on August
15, 2016, to have fun, which lasted till about 1am the following day.
It was said that Mama G instructed the barman to serve customers that
came to the bar throughout her stay, and promised to pick up the bill
for the drinks they consumed.
Punch gathered that one of the major beneficiaries of Mama G’s gesture
was a man who came to the bar with his friends at about 6.30pm to
celebrate his birthday.
She allegedly ordered many rounds of drinks for the man and his friends and told Ogunbona to add their bill to hers.
However, at about 1am, when she had reportedly become inebriated, some
persons were said to have stormed the bar and took her away in a Honda
car to Rotary Garden Estate, Ilasan, Ajah, where she lives with her
husband.
In a chat with Punch, Ogunbona said he, two of his workers and the chief
security officer of the shops in the area followed the car, but the
security guards at the estate gate did not allow them in.
He said,
“Mama G came to my bar at about 6am on August 15, 2016, and ordered
drinks. She told me to serve everybody that came to the bar and promised
to pay. In the afternoon, I told her that her bill was over N200,000.
She slapped my face and asked me whether she looked like a debtor.
She said I should serve very expensive drinks to whoever came to the
bar. She even called some beggars who were passing by into the bar to
drink. Around 6.30pm, a man came into the bar to mark his birthday along
with his friends, numbering about 16, including ladies. She told them
not to pay.
They took five bottles of Remy Martin, seven bottles of Absolute Vodka
and three bottles of Sky. They also smoke cigarettes. They left around
10pm. At about 1am, four men and a woman came to pick the woman. I
insisted that I would collect my money, but they took her away.
They dropped her off at the estate gate and left. She banged the gate
repeatedly. Eventually, her housemaids came to pick her. I was not
allowed to enter into the estate with her.”
The father of two children explained that he went to report the case at
the Ajiwe Police Division and submitted the bill to the police. He said
the police invited the woman, but her husband sent a message to them
that she had gone to Ghana.
“He told the police that Mama G would come back in December 2016. The
police sent another letter to the man in December. On January 11, he
transferred N200,000 into my bank account.
I called him and asked for the remaining money, he said I should contact
his wife’s lawyer. When I called the lawyer, he said I should manage
the money like that. I reported back to the station and they invited his
wife again. Neither the woman nor her husband showed up. Their cook and
driver were arrested. The lawyer secured their bail on the same day.
Since the case was transferred to the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja,
in February 2017, the Investigating Police Officer in charge of the
case has been telling me to be patient; but I have children and a wife
to cater to,” he added.
The husband, Mr. Shaw, terminated a call put across to him immediately
Punch began to make an inquiry on the matter. Subsequent calls to his
line rang out.
However, the lawyer, Mr. Onome Okodiya, who spoke on behalf of the
family, said it was not true that Mama G promised to pay for the
birthday celebration or was forcefully taken away from the bar.
He said the matter was being investigated by the state police command,
adding that the N200,000 was paid to the bar manager “in good faith”
pending the outcome of a reconciliatory move by the police.
Okodiya said, “We deny that Mrs. Shaw owed that kind of money. When the
barman chose to use the police in Lekki to enforce the debt, we made a
report to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police and the case is being
investigated. We are going to wait for the outcome of the
investigation.
The payment (N200,000) was made in good faith while awaiting
reconciliation. There is a scam which we are trying to unravel. One
person is claiming over N700,000; another person is claiming over
N800,000. What is the value of the stock they have? Everybody is under
investigation in respect of this matter.”
Police have debunked claims by the Chairman of the
Senate committee on appropriations, Danjuma Goje, that files containing
2017 budget were carted away during a raid on his Abuja home.
Goje, a former governor of Gombe, had told the Senate on Wednesday that
police officers carted away cash, a laptop and 18 documents on the
budget proposal, being worked on by his committee, during the raid on
his residence, located at Asokoro, Abuja.
Based on Mr. Goje’s claim, the House of Reps gave Inspector General of
Police 24 hours to return the budget documents purportedly taken away
from Mr. Goje’s residence.
But in a statement released today by police spokesperson, Moshood Jimoh,
the force said Goje’s claim was misleading and deliberately made to
cast the police in bad light.
Supol Jimoh said the police action was professionally and lawfully
carried out. He confirmed that cash, laptop and other documents were
indeed seized during the raid on Goje’s residence.
He said none of the seized documents had anything to do with budget, but
other matters, including business and political concerns and a document
on how former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State allegedly plotted
the murder of a cleric, Sheik Jafaru.
Giving the basis for the raid, police spokesperson disclosed that police
action followed intelligence available to the force that Goje had huge
cash, suspected to be proceeds of corruption at his home.
"The Nigeria Police Force wishes to state categorically that there was
no single document relating to 2017 budget sighted or removed by the
Police team that executed the search warrant. There is video recording
of the execution of the search warrant...
"The Nigeria Police Force sees the report in the media credited to
Senator Danjuma Goje as a deliberate distraction to cast aspersion on
Police investigation to pervert the end of justice.
"Members of the public are hereby implored to disregards the report as
search warrant which was professionally executed in the house of Senator
Goje has nothing to do with 2017 budget."
Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), says the commission will soon storm universities across the
country to launch its anti-corruption programme .
According to DAILYPOST, Magu disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja on
Wednesday on the sideline of the opening ceremony of a capacity building
workshop on the use of beneficial ownership information and the
recovery of assets in Africa.
He said that the anti-corruption programme would be similar to that of “Women Against Corruption”.
“We are already talking with the universities; we are looking at
starting with University of Lagos and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU)
where we will launch the programme.
“There is something on ground to also reach out to the universities as
student’s union leaders have disturbed me over issues in the sector.
“The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) leadership visited me last week and this was part of their complaints.
`We assured them that we are going to join them and launch the
anti-corruption programme and we need them too because we are protecting
their future,“he said.
On stolen assets, Magu said that government was working with global partners to fast-track the return of stolen assets abroad.
He said that the commission was planning to clamp down on tax evaders as part of plans to bring succour to the economy.
“We are going to collaborate with FIRS and set up a unit that will
exclusively deal with tax fraud, tax evasion and related offences. We
are going to see that we work on this seriously.
“We have just discussed it with the FIRS chairman; we will give the
operatives a special training to operate very well,” Magu added.
The family of 15-year-old Ajala Samuel thought they could briefly use him to raise money for some urgent family needs.
But four months after handing him over to a Lagos trader, identified as
Iya Meta, who paid them N8,000, his whereabouts had yet to be known by
the parents.
It was gathered that Iya Meta allegedly loaned Samuel to some traders on the Lagos Island, who paid N72,000 for him.
The traders were alleged to have further given him out to another family in the state.
Two policewomen, identified as Titi and Funmilayo from the Ijora Badia
division, were accused of harassing the family to refund the N72,000
paid to Iya Meta, failing which Samuel would be forced to work till
October 2017 when the contract would expire.
His stepfather, Idowu Isiaka, told Punch Metro that the family’s crisis started in June 2016 when he lost his job.
He said, “I worked as a security guard for a traditional ruler. When a
banner displaying the man’s picture was stolen, I was put in a police
cell for a week before I was released and told that I had lost my job.
“At that time, Ajala’s mother just had a surgery and she needed money
for medications. I borrowed a motorcycle from a friend and started using
it to work. Later, I had an accident with the motorcycle and broke a
man’s leg. The motorcycle was seized from me and I was asked to raise
money for the victim’s treatment.
“I called my wife and told her that we needed to raise money by all
means. I told her about Iya Meta, who lived in the community and always
said she needed teenagers to work for her. We agreed to take Ajala
(Samuel) to her so we could raise some money.”
He added that Iya Meta offered them N8,000 as payment for the two months that Samuel would work for her.
The 39-year-old Kwara State indigene said at the expiration of the
period, he was surprised that Samuel did not return home as agreed.
He said he went to Iya Meta’s house in the Ijora Badia area of the state and discovered she had packed out.
He said, “When I called her on the telephone, she said she was in Seme
(Benin Republic) on a business trip and she had taken the boy along. She
apologised for not telling me. She said Ajala (Samuel) was at home and
when she got home, I would speak with him. She didn’t call back that
day.
“The following day, I called her and she told me that she had actually
lied to me. She said the boy was with some people whom she had problem
with. She told me the case was at the Ijora Badia Police Station and one
officer Titi would tell us where the child was.”
Isiaka explained that he went to the station with his wife and officer
Titi told them that they must pay N72,000 before the boy would be
released.
He explained that the policewoman made them to realise that the money
was the amount paid to Iya Meta for the victim’s service. He added that
officer Titi said Samuel would not be released until October when the
contract would terminate.
When a Punch correspondent contacted Iya Meta, she denied collecting
money for Samuel, adding that the police connived with some women to
turn the case against her.
She claimed that her family had turned against her over the incident, adding that she had become a fugitive.
She said, “Prior to Ajala’s coming to my house, I had met three women
–Rukky, Iya Ibeji and Eniketa. They claimed that they were textile
dealers on the Lagos Island and they needed young boys and girls to work
for them.
“At that time, two of my cousins came from the village to work in Lagos.
I handed over the two girls to the women. They gave me N80,000 as
advance payment for their service.
“It was a few weeks later that Ajala’s parents brought him and I gave
them N8,000. The boy had barely spent a month when he attempted to
escape. He told me that his parents had instructed him to run away after
getting the money from me.
“I decided to send him to the three women so he could work with them. They didn’t give me anything.”
She said a few days afterwards, she received a call from one of the
girls, who claimed that she had been taken to a pepper seller who
maltreated her.
Iya Meta said after aiding the girl to escape and return to the village,
it dawned on her that Samuel and the girls were trafficked by the
women.
She said after the women did not accede her call to return the remaining victims, she paid a soldier to effect their arrest.
Pucnh Metro gathered that the husband of one of the women was caught.
Iya Meta said she later discovered that the solider had also been
compromised, adding that she reported the case to the police at the
Adeniji Adele and Ijora Badia divisions.
She said a few weeks later, she was at the Ijora Badia Police Division, where she met the three women.
“The women told the police that they paid money for the children and
they would not release them until their payments expired. I told the
police it was not true and that I didn’t collect anything for Samuel.
“They locked me up in the cell for a day. Officer Titi said I must pay
N72,000 before they would release Ajala (Samuel) and my cousin, Amina,
failing which the children would not be released till October, 2017,”
she added.
She said aside from officer Titi, another policewoman, Funmilayo, was involved in the case.
Punch Metro reached out to the three women, who denied that Iya Meta handed the victims to them.
Rukky, however, claimed that one Idowu was in charge of Samuel.
She said, “She collected money from Idowu for the boy to work with her.
She collected N45,000 and later N28,500 for the boy. I have nothing to
do with the case. Iya Meta collected money for the boy’s service and the
contract will not end until December.”
She promised to send Idowu’s contact, but she had yet to do so as of press time.
When Punch correspondent asked Iya Meta who Idowu was, she said there
was no one by the name, adding that she handed over Samuel to Rukky, who
was the leader of the group.
The Director of the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender, Mrs.
Olubukola Salami, said the agency was working with the National Agency
for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other related Matters, to
ensure that the victim was rescued.
She said, “Child abuse and child labour in any form is unacceptable in
Lagos State. Being impoverished is no excuse to use children as a
bargaining chip. The OPD, in collaboration with NAPTIP, is looking into
this matter as a human trafficking case and all parties involved will
be brought to book after the rescue of the boy is effected.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, denied the allegations against the policewomen.
He said the command was investigating a case of “a woman who sold her child into trafficking.”
Akolade Arowolo, a pastor, who killed his banker wife, Titilayo, with 73
other inmates of the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, yesterday, sought pardon
under the Lagos State Prerogative on Mercy conferred on the Governor,
claiming they are reformed and should be pardoned.
Akolade, who was sentenced to death by an Ikeja high court three years
ago after he was found guilty of his wife’s murder on June 24, 2011, was
seen in prison, pleading that he needs another chance to right his
wrongs.
His pleading came as the Committee on Prerogative on Mercy said that the
state will not fail to exercise its prerogative on prisoners, who
proved to be reformed.
Arowolo was among 74 prisoners called out by the committee, led by
Professor Oyelowo Oyewo, set up by the governor to review their
applications. The committee was on a fact-finding visit to the prisons
to have first hand information from the inmates that are eligible for
mercy and pardon.
Arowolo, who delivered a remark on behalf of his fellow inmates, pleaded
for mercy, stressing that they are all remorseful and have learned from
their mistakes.
Chairman of the committee, Oyelowo, said the governor will act on the
committee’s recommendations based on the rules and guidelines set by law
for the committee to conduct its work.
OAP and Comedian Omotunde Adebowale-david aka Lolo popularly known for
her "Adaku" role in the hit series, Jenifa's diary, is 40 today and she
has released some new photos to celebrate. Honestly, 40 looks good on
her.
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike accompanied by his wife,
Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike on Wednesday visited the Creek
Road Market in Port Harcourt where they made purchases amid cheers by
traders and market women.
The Governor and his wife arrived the market in a bus and walked
through different parts of the market where they negotiated and paid for
wares of interest.
