Three children abandoned in a boarding school in Abule-Iroko in the Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State are longing to meet their parents who have abandoned them for eight years.
When PUNCH Metro visited Solid Model College, the children recounted their ordeal, noting that the absence of their parents was affecting their studies.
Seun Adepegba, 14,Seyi, 10 and Titilola, 13, had been severed from parental love and care since infanthood.
After waiting for eight years, they seemed to have relinquished all hopes of reuniting with their parents.
It was learnt that their tale of sorrow began in 2007 when their father, Mr Segun Adepegba, who had been separated from their mother, enrolled them in the boarding school because he could not afford to take care of them.
According to the proprietor of the school, Mr Samuel Ayegbusi, Adepegba came to enroll them in his school on September 24, 2007 with a promise to always check on them.
He said, “Mr. Adepegba told me his wife had just left him and that he could not afford to take care of them, being a jobless man.
The children were very little. Seyi was two, while Titilola was five.
“Mr Adepegba had pleaded with me to accept them in the boarding school. Mr Adepegba’s sister promised to bear the cost of their upkeep. They paid an initial N150, 000 for the three children for the first term.”
But according to the proprietor, Adepegba never kept his promise.
He said after the first term, the school expected him to come and take his children home for holiday but he never showed up until four years later.
He said the school had expended over N7m on the upkeep of the children since 2007.
The proprietor said efforts to reach the parents’ families had proved abortive, adding that calls to Adepegba’s phones were not always answered.
He said, “Whenever we called him and he realised who was talking on the phone, he would switch off his phones and for the next two weeks, the numbers would not be available.
When the school contacted their father’s sisters, we were told that they had travelled out of the country.
“When we called one of them, we were told that they had sent money to Mr Adepegba to defray the children’s school fees and upkeep. But Mr. Adepegba has never come here to make any payment since the initial deposit he made in 2007.”
According to the proprietor, taking care of the children had further become cumbersome for him as one of them, Titilayo, had started misbehaving. He recounted how Titilayo ran away from the hostel twice without informing the school authority on the excuse that she was going to look for her father.
Ever since she was found, the proprietor said the school had had to keep her in a room, under tight surveillance, because she had vowed to run away to find her father.
He said, “The school is not even bothered by the cost of their upkeep. But anytime the school closed for holiday and parents come around to take their children home, Titilayo would fall into a sober mood and twice, she had run away from the hostel without informing anyone. It was a resident who stopped her and brought her back to the school.
Some of the teachers, who spoke with PUNCH Metro during the visit, said the absence of the children’s parents was seriously affecting their studies.
They said the appearance of their parents would boost their academic performance. While recounting their days with their father, the children said he celebrated birthdays with them.
They said they had never met their mother.
Titilayo said, “We do not know who our mother is.
We grew up in Yaba, Lagos and all we remember
is that there was a woman that washed our
clothes and took care of us until we came here.
We knew she was not our mother.”
Seyi, the youngest of the trio, however, was an exception as she kept a cheerful look during the visit.
Seyi, who told our correspondent her dream was to become a medical doctor said, “Although I have a faint memory of my father, I will like to see him. If he comes today, I will ask him why he left us for so long.”
Seun added, “I don’t care how long he has left us. I just want to see him. I really need to see him.”
When PUNCH Metro called Adepegba on Thursday, his phones were switched off.
what a wicked life.. The Lagos state police command has arrested a woman for allegedly abducting two of her step children and murdering one of them, because she claimed that her husband refused to pay for her children sallah clothes.
Full detailed on punch website
NANS release report on explosion which rocked a residential estate in Benin, Edo state on Saturday.
Below is the report:-
An explosion rocked a residential estate in Benin, the Edo State capital Saturday, the state police command said Sunday.
The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Ejiroro Ahwara, confirmed the attack on Denis Osadebey Avenue, in a statement made available to newsmen in Benin on Sunday.
He said the “Command received information that at about 10: 30 p.m. on Saturday that there was an explosion at Dennis Osadebey Avenue, Benin City.’’
Mr. Ahwara said that men of the Special Anti-
Bomb Squad and patrol vehicles were
immediately drafted to the scene of incident.
He explained that preliminary investigation revealed that items suspected to be Improvised Explosive Device, IED, made up of two tiger batteries of 15 volt each connected to long wire, was thrown into the mini-estate from outside.
Mr. Ahwara said the explosion affected the ceiling boards at the security post in the estate as well as a part of the main gate.
He explained that the impact dug a small hole at
the entrance gate, but stated that
“luckily, no life
was lost”.
“The IED used in the attack has been recovered by the Bomb Disposal Unit for analysis, while some suspects have been arrested”, he further stated.
(NAN)
The Nigerian government and BH had reached a ceasefire agreement following today's meeting between government officials led by President Jonathan's principal private secretary, Amb. Tukur, Chadian government and reps of the sect group led by Danaldi Ahmadu.
Although, the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, has directed all service chiefs to comply with the ceasefire agreement between Nigeria and Boko Haram in all areas of operations.
However, a reliable source who keep his identity has anonymous has said the release of the 219 Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram was the major part of the discussions.
An Ikeja High Court today Friday October 17th upheld the ban on the wearing of Hijab (Muslim head scarf) in public primary and secondary schools in Lagos state.
Justice Modupe Onyeabor dismissed the suit instituted against the Lagos State Government by two 12-year-old girls under the aegis of the Muslim Students of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit.
The government had banned the use of Hijab on the argument that it was not part of the approved school uniform for pupils. Following the ban, the students filed the suit on May 27, 2013, seeking redress and asked the court to declare the ban as a violation of their rights to freedom of thought, religion and education.
In her judgment, Onyeabor held that the prohibition of the wearing of Hijab over school uniforms within and outside the premises of public schools was not discriminatory.According to her, the ban does not violate sections 38 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution as claimed by the plaintiffs.
The judge said Section 10 of the Constitution made Nigeria a secular state and that government must maintain neutrality at all times. Onyeabor said the government therefore had a duty to preserve the secular nature of the institutions concerned as argued by the Lagos State Solicitor-General, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN). She noted that since the public schools were being funded by the government, it was therefore competent to issue dress codes and other guidelines to the students.
According to her, the use of uniforms engenders uniformity and encourages students to pursue their mutual academic aspirations without recourse to religious or any other affiliations.
The judge, however, observed that the uniformity sought by the government in the issuance of the dress code would be destroyed, should the prayers of the plaintiffs be granted.
“The non-Hijab wearing students will feel inferior to those who are putting on Hijab. “
The values of plurality and the respect for the rights of others who have subscribed to a non- faith based educational system cannot be breached.
“In that effect, the issue is resolved in favour of the respondents and the suit is accordingly dismissed,’’ Onyeabor said.
Reacting to the judgment, the plaintiffs’ counsel, Chief Gani Adetola-Kazeem, told NAN that his clients would file an appeal against the judgment.
“We are simply not satisfied with the court
decision."
"The angle through which the court has looked at
the issue is quite at variance with the provisions
of the constitution. We will definitely appeal,” he
said.
Source: NAN
A Nigeria man, Osazuwa, who lived in malaysia, pictured above, meet his untimely death after allegedly jumping from a 15-storey building on Monday October 13th so as to avoid being arrested by the Malaysia Police.
He and his syndicate were being accused of kidnapping a girl, and also requesting for ransom for the release of the girl from her boyfriend, who later report the case to the police.
Local media report, a Nigerian student had lodged a police report in Puchong on Sunday October 12th claiming his girlfriend had been kidnapped by Osazuwa and his gang.
"The boyfriend said he received a call from a suspect who demanded RM40,000 for the release of his girlfriend, also a Nigerian student here. We suspected the kidnappers were people that the victim must have known. Police immediately tracked the victim and her kidnappers’ whereabouts.” criminal investigator Datuk Mohd Adnan Abdullah said.
Malaysia police said the victim’s boyfriend cooperated with the police in their investigations and he managed to coax the suspects into giving him more time and told them he was gathering the funds.
The police managed to find the victim’s location on Monday. She was being held in a condominium unit in Taman Melati, Ampang.
“We formed a team to raid the condominium unit and moved in on the suspects at about 5pm.”
Mohd Adnan said when police ambushed the unit located at the condominium’s 13th floor, there were three Nigerian men and two local women. The victim was being held in one of the rooms.
“Upon seeing the police, the suspects attempted to escape. The raiding team arrested two women and two men,” he said.The other suspect tried to climb down from the balcony to a unit below. However, he could not grab hold of anything and fell to his death.
“The suspect who died was in his 20s and we are still trying to establish his identity,” Mohd Adnan said.
The victim was unharmed while in the custody of the suspects. He said investigation are underway to determine how many other kidnapping cases they were involved in.
“The gang thought they could get money quickly by carrying out this crime, but look what had happened — it has just gone awfully wrong,”he said.
Source: Malaysia star
A 32 year old man, Mr. Tekura Iorpuu, who raped and infected two young girl with HIV, was arraigned on Thursady, before a chief magistrate’s court in Makurdi, the benue state capital.
Punch metro learnt that both the rapist and the mother of the two victims, Mrs. Mrson Tor, were lovers. It was also learnt that both lovers were HIV positive for over a year, and had been using anti-retroviral drugs.
Bubble burst after the young girls aged eight and six, started walking in an unusual ways, and were taken to Hemko Hospital, Makurdi for medical examination.
Medical examination result showed that the girls had been raped and defiled through “forceful penetration” and were also tested for HIV positive. The victims revealed that it was their mother’s boyfriend that raped them, when interviewed.
However, the magistrate Lilan Tsumba, had ordered the accused to be remanded in prison and adjourned the case till December 4 for further mentioning.
Photo Credit: ReportaCrime
According to a report that was culled from Saturday Sunday has explain how five-man gang lure men to a spot where they were being robbed and sometime murder some of their victims.. Continue with the full report..
Members of a five-man gang of kidnappers,
including a lady, have given a gory detail of how
they lure men through a popular online dating
website known as Badoo to a lonely spot where
they attack and rob them of their valuables while
the unfortunate ones will be strangled.
The suspects, Micheal Eneji, his brother, Emmanuel
Eneji, Chukwu Chibueze, Gift Princess, and Lekia
Emmaden Isaac, were apprehended by the Rivers
State police command days after the family of one
of their latest victims, Shola Olaseinde reported the
victim missing.
He was later found in a decomposing state in a
bush, close to a deserted pipeline area at Eleme,
Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Few metres away, was
also the decomposed body of another victim, who
was later identified as Mr. Progress Benin Disi, a
staffer of Shell Oil servicing company whose family
had also reported missing since March 7, 2014.
On their arrest, the state Commissioner of Police,
Tunde Ogunsakin told Saturday Sun that the
command acted on the complaint by the family of
one of their victims, Shola Olaseinde who got
missing on March 26, 2014.
“When his family waited for him and could not
reach him, they lodged a complaint and I
instructed the officer in charge of anti-kidnapping,
CSP Akan to hunt for the missing father and
husband.
“Through intelligence gathering, we were able to
arrest the gang of four men and a lady. They led
us to Ebubu, Eleme, Rivers State, at an abandoned
shell pipeline borrow pit where the corpse of Shola
was lying in a decomposed state. Few metres
away was also the decomposed body of another
victim, Mr. Progress Benin Disi, a staffer of Shell
Oil servicing company.”
Explaining the gang’s modus operandi, CP
Ogunsakin said: “Normally they pose as women on
most of these dating sites. As soon as they lure
their victim, they would arrange a meeting. The
lady’s duty is to meet with the men who are
normally very rich. As soon as they get them, she
will lure them to a secluded place and alert
members of their gang. They will overpower the
individual and tie the person up while they
withdraw money from his account through ATM.
“I hope that Nigerians will learn a lesson from this
and realise that in as much as great and useful
information can be got on net, it is also an avenue
for fraud.”
At the police station, the leader of the gang,
Michael Eneji, a 27-year-old footballer confessed
to the crime and said that his gang didn’t know
that the late Shola would not be able to escape
from the forest after dispossessing him of his
valuables.
In his words: “When I couldn’t afford to pay my
school fees, I decided to go into love dating scam.
I dwell mainly on Badoo chat that most Nigerian
men visit regularly. I surf the net and select
pictures of black models and impersonate them. As
soon as they see this picture, some will send a
message and I will reply. They will ask for my
number and I will give them. I also have a Tecno
phone that has a special voice prompt that allows
a man to sound like a woman.
Once I establish a contact, I will go to the next
step which is to convince them that I will satisfy
their sexual urge.
“Pretending to be a big girl, I will tell them to meet
me at a Conoil petrol station, before the trailer park
along Eleme road while one of my boys, Chibueze
will go there and meet them as my domestic
servant and direct them to my house. To convince
them to come, I will claim that I live in one of the
estates alone and it will be safer to meet there so
that they will not be caught.
“In their car, Chibueze will tell them to drive
towards a deserted place where we will lay
ambush. Dressed in police uniform, we will stop
them and demand to know what they are doing in
such a deserted place. We will overpower them
and tie their hands and legs while we take their
valuables, including their ATM cards.
“Two of us will go to the bank and withdraw
money from their account through their ATM. If
there is no money in the account, we will loosen
the rope and disappear. This will enable the
person to untie himself and go home.”
According to Eneji, they have fleeced so many men
before they were arrested. “I never knew that Mr.
Disi and Shola did not escape till I was arrested. I
can only recall that both of them had so much
money in their accounts, so we decided to keep
them for some days to enable us to withdraw
enough money from their accounts”, he added.
On how he lured their latest victim, the suspect
said: “Shola showed interest in having an affair
with the lady he saw on my Badoo display picture.
He demanded to see her, so I told him that I am
free around 7pm and he told me that it was the
perfect time to hang out.
“At about that time, he drove to the spot with his
driver and Chibueze, who was on ground, joined
him. He directed them to the spot and we took
over the car, tied him and the driver up. He did not
have much cash with him unlike the others. When
we got to the bank, I realised that he had about
N4.5 million in his account. Blindfolded, we took
him further into the bush and decided to keep him
there for some days to enable us to empty that
account while the driver must have escaped from
the initial spot where he was tied. Few days later,
we were arrested. I never knew that he did not
escape alive,” Eneji narrated.
Continuing, he said: “The second victim, Mr Disu
was not my contract. It was Elijah the leader of
another group that contracted me to help execute
the job. I became interested when he told me that
the maga (the late Disu) works with Shell
company. All I did was to lure him to visit by
promising him good sex. I do not know if they
killed him because of the huge amount that was
found in his account. The truth is that we do not
kill, but rob them of their valuables. We will sell
the car, withdraw as much as we can from their
ATM and disappear. We know that such crime
might not be reported because the man will not
tell his family or the police why he was robbed to
protect his image. It is unfortunate that they died;
we left them there still breathing. The only
difference is that we did not loosen the rope so
that they can easily escape.”
On the role of the lady in their midst, Eneji said:
“She is my fiancée and I normally use her to
further convince our target to assume that we are
real. If the target insists that I should come and
see him, I will send my girl to go and meet him.
She will be the one that will lure them to the spot
where we can take over.”
He also revealed that he is known in Badoo as
Cindy and Empress. “Once you search for beautiful
models on Google search, you will have so many
options. If you want so many toasters, select the
ones that expose their breasts. I am terribly sorry
that these men died in the process. We found out
that it is easier to collect money in exchange for
sex.
“I dropped out of school because my rich relatives
refused to help my mother to train us. I can only
get money from them if I send a woman to go and
seduce them. I am terribly sorry.”
Another suspect, Lekia Emmaden Isaac,
corroborating Eneji’s story, said that it was his
duty to tie victims up. “We have done that
severally and when we return, we will realise that
they have gone back. I did not kill Mr Shola; all I
did was to tighten him up very well so that he will
not escape immediately. I was shocked when I
heard that he was found dead. It is possible that
snake attacked him since he was kept in a
deserted area.”
Yet another suspect, Chibueze, 17, who acted as
Eneji’s domestic servant, said his duty was just to
take the victim to the spot where he will be
attacked. “I did not participate in the main robbery;
all I did was to take the suspect to the point where
he will be robbed. To convince the victim that I
am not part of the set-up, they will also beat me
up and I will run away. After the operation, they
will give me my own share of the loot.”
The only girl in their midst, Gift Princess claimed
that her service was only needed if there is need
to see the man in question or speak with him
further on phone. “During Shola saga, he called
requesting that I should direct him. I then told him
that my domestic servant will wait for him at the
agreed spot. He later called back complaining that
he was not comfortable with the route that they
passed through. Unfortunately, he was already at
the spot and my fiancée, Eneji and others took over
from there. I was only helping my husband to raise
enough money to pay my bride price,” Gift
confessed.
