metro
Lagos policemen, sheriffs invade house, destroy N500m property
A Lagos-based lawyer, Amanda Asagba, has decried the invasion of her home on Nduka Osadebey Street, Ajao Estate, Lagos State, by armed security agents, including sheriffs and policemen.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the men claimed to be acting on an order of the High Court of Lagos, Ikeja.
Asagba, who spoke to our correspondent on Thursday, said the officials forcefully ejected her family and destroyed assets worth over N500m.
The lawyer, who is the Principal Partner of Amanda and D. Asagba Chambers, claimed to have been living in the house for the past 25 years, adding that all her property titles were uncontested.
She said, “On Thursday, July 28, around 8.45am, I heard someone shouting from my room upstairs. I came downstairs and saw some men and I asked them how they came into my house; they told me that they had been knocking but no one answered.
“One of the men told me that they were from the state high court and they had a judgment against me. It left me confused because I didn’t have any matter against anyone; I told them this, but they shunned me.
“I even told them that maybe they were in the wrong place but they refused. I later asked for their court warrant. When they showed it to me, I saw that my name was not there and I called their attention to it, but they said that my name did not have to be there and that I was a trespasser.
“In the midst of all the argument, my daughters came out. They pushed all of us out and started taking out all our things. They threw out everything in the house except some things they couldn’t take out.
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“They didn’t even allow me to make a phone call. We did not even know if they were armed robbers or something. Some of the men wore sheriff uniform; some were in mufti and others were heavily armed police officers who also had tear gas canisters. They were over 100 and the ones who entered the house were about 40.
“They only let me take a picture of the court warrant of possession after they had ransacked my residence and thrown everything out. Even the name on the warrant happened to be my neighbour, who was next door and whose property was seized two years ago.
“We were never served any papers prior to the incident; we never received any court papers from anyone, so it was a shocker. Our entire property was scattered and even when the rain was drizzling, they still threw everything out.”
Our correspondent sighted the purported court document brought by the sheriffs.
The undated document threatened that the defendants in the matter, Mr C.C. Emina and two others, would be liable to pay the sheriff a fee of “two shilling or twenty kobo duty for keeping possession of property and also the reasonable expenses of any of the feeding animal until expenses is paid or property is sold.”
Asagba, in a letter to the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Kazeem Alogba, dated July 29, 2022, described her experience as “most harrowing and traumatic.”
The letter stated, “We were not a party to the said suit and the purported execution was a wrongful invasion of our privacy and residential homes. The incident caused us the worst form of physical, psychological, emotional trauma and likely consequential future health effects – as we have lost sleep since the incident.
“We have our purchase receipts, survey plans, approved building plans and other statutory payments in respect of the said property herein attached. We have made enquiries from the court and we were able to discover that there was no judgement in suit no ID/2469/93 — Mr Kenneth Gbagi vs Mr C.C. Emina and two others, therefore, the issuance and execution of notice of attachment on our property for goods and chattels in respect of that suit is illegal and unjustifiable.”
Asagba told our correspondent that she was suspecting a suspected land grabber of sponsoring the execution, adding that two years earlier, the man seized her neighbour’s property to build a gas station on the estate.
“We reported it to the government and he was stopped from building the gas station. He, however, resisted with area boys. I was told that the man came to our estate to look at the houses on the street and now, the same judgment that was used to claim my neighbours’ house is the same judgment he used for all of us that had our houses taken,” she added.
The Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Grace Aloh, said she was not aware of the incident.
She said, “I am not aware of it.”
metro
Minister inspects Independence Bridge in Lagos after reopening
Minister inspects Independence Bridge in Lagos after reopening
Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has visited the Independence Bridge in Lagos on Thursday after ordering its immediate reopening.
The minister on Wednesday ordered the reopening of the bridge shut for repair work on Wednesday following the massive gridlock that stretched from Lekki through Victoria Island to Falomo Bridge and beyond.
However, the commencement of repairs on Wednesday caused major traffic with Lagos residents spending hours on the road.
The minister’s visit, it was learnt, was to assess the rehabilitation and how to restructure the work in a way to cause minimal disruption to movement of people using the bridge and alternative roads.
A statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Hon. Orji Uchenna Orji, in Abuja on Thursday, confirmed the minister’s arrival in Lagos for the visit.
“Less than 24 hours after the sad traffic experience on the Independence Bridge in Lagos, the Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi CON, has arrived in Lagos to assess the situation with a view to providing immediate and permanent intervention,” the statement read.
The Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Mrs Olukorede Kesha, had earlier confirmed the reopening of the bridge.
She expressed the Ministry of Works’ regret for the inconvenience caused to the motoring public by the closure and appealed for their understanding and cooperation
She had said, “Efforts are currently ongoing to ensure palliative works are carried out on the already opened bridge to make it motorable .
“The ministry hereby express regret for the inconvenience caused to the motoring public by the closure and appealed for their understanding and cooperation.”
metro
Man stabs friend over woman in FCT council
Man stabs friend over woman in FCT council
A 27-year -old man, Rabiu Suleiman, has reportedly stabbed and inflicted serious injuries on his friend, Yunusa Muazu, during a fight over a woman at Tipper garage area of Gwagwalada in Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT.
A resident of the area, who simply gave his name as Sanusi, said the incident occurred on Tuesday night after a fight broke out at a viewing centre at Unguwar Dodo area of the town.
He said Suleiman had accused his friend, Muazu of dating his friend, Jamila Yakubu, who he intends to marry.
He said trouble started when Jamila left Suleiman’s house on Tuesday around 8:34 pm, only for him to meet her with his friend, Muazu, discussing at a viewing centre, where he had gone to watch football.
He said Suleiman, upon sighting his woman with his friend, angrily walked straight to them and slapped him, a situation, which resulted in a fight between them.
He said in the process, Suleiman allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed his friend in the back, which attracted the attention of people at the viewing centre.
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According to him, some people at the centre, who tried to separate them, were overpowered, not until when some vigilantes rushed to the scene and arrested Suleiman.
He said his friend, who was lying on the floor in a pool of his blood, was rushed to a nearby hospital.
He said the lady quietly left the scene when the fight broke out.
A member of the vigilante, Salihu Bala, who confirmed the incident, said the suspect had been arrested and handed over to security personnel in the area.
He said the vigilantes were making efforts to trace the woman’s location and arrest her.
He said, “The vigilantes even went to the family house of the girl on Wednesday morning but could not find her but we are still trailing her movement to ensure she is arrested.”
Bala said the injured victim was recuperating at the hospital, alleging that the victim and his friend were into drugs.
The spokeswoman of the FCT police command, SP Josephine Adeh, did not respond to the calls and text messages sent to her on the incident.
Man stabs friend over woman in FCT council
metro
South African court acquits Nigerian pastor of rape after 8 years in jail
South African court acquits Nigerian pastor of rape after 8 years in jail
A High Court in the Eastern Cape division of South Africa has acquitted Timothy Omotoso, a Nigerian televangelist, accused of raping young women in his church.
Omotoso and his two co-defendants were arraigned on a 32-count charge bordering on rape and human trafficking.
News24 reported that Omotoso would be deported to Nigeria immediately after the judgment.
The co-defendants are Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho.
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Several young women had accused the pastor of luring them into his home in Umhlanga, a town in South Africa, where he allegedly molested them.
In April 2017, the Nigerian pastor was arrested shortly after he landed at an airport in South Africa.
He is the senior pastor of the Jesus Dominion International based in Durban, South Africa. He is also the founder of Tim Omotoso Global Outreach and Ancient of Day Broadcasting Network
According to News24, Irma Schoeman, the trial judge, yesterday, ruled that the state prosecutor did not prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
The Nigerian pastor had been in South African prison since his arrest in 2017.
South African court acquits Nigerian pastor of rape after 8 years in jail
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