Lagos policemen, sheriffs invade house, destroy N500m property – Newstrends
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Lagos policemen, sheriffs invade house, destroy N500m property

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2 years ago

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Scenes of the incident

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.”

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Tinubu: Governors most important link to Nigeria’s development

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7 hours ago

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January 2, 2025

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Tinubu: Governors most important link to Nigeria’s development

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday in Lagos, emphasised the critical role of state governors in driving Nigeria’s development and prosperity.

He said their leadership at the subnational level was central to achieving food security, economic prosperity and rapid national growth.

The President made the remarks during a visit by Vice President Kashim Shettima and members of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF.

“You are the most important link to Nigeria’s prosperity and development. The Federal Government accounts for about 30 to 35 per cent of the allocated revenue; the rest comes to you.

“The agricultural value chain depends on you. You own the land, and the job is in your hands,” he said.

President Tinubu called for stronger collaboration between the federal and state governments to address pressing challenges, including local government autonomy, agricultural productivity, and currency stability.

Expressing his commitment to local government development and autonomy, the President stressed its importance for grassroots development and dispelled rumours of disagreement with the governors.

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“We will not fight within us. I will drive the change. You control your local governments. You can restore hope by effectively fulfilling what the people expect at the grassroots level.

“There were gossips that we had disagreements on local government autonomy. No. Just drive development at the local government.

“Nobody wants to take them away from you, but we need collaboration. Let’s do it together and ensure Nigeria is better off for it,” said Tinubu.

He urged governors to prioritise agricultural growth as a pathway to economic stability.

“We have to work harder, grow more, and ensure the situation of our currency improves. Nigeria will see prosperity, but it requires consistent effort from all of us,” he said.

He also urged the governors to take pride in their efforts and acknowledged their progress across the states.

“There is no state we cannot visit and be proud of its development. We have better allocations now. Let me take the abuse; you take the privileges. Together, we will build a nation we are all proud of,” he said.

Reflecting on his leadership journey in the last 19 months, the President expressed confidence in Nigeria’s capacity to thrive given the resilience and leadership demonstrated by the administration.

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“I am glad I asked for this job, and Nigerians gave me the mandate. We’ll be on this voyage together. I thank all of you for where we are today and where we are heading,” he said.

Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum and Governor of Kwara, acknowledged the tangible progress made under President Tinubu’s leadership.

“The policies are working. In agriculture, I was in Jigawa. The complaint in Jigawa was that there was a bumper harvest, but because of the strength of our currency, traders exported the harvest.

“So, most of us are encouraging ourselves to buy bumper stocks into our silos, store them for the rainy day. So, in terms of agriculture, the policy is working.

“We’ll continue to deepen that and ensure we are 100% sustained in food security and feed the whole of West Africa,” he said.

The governor urged the President to visit various states to see the ongoing transformations and progress firsthand.

He assured the President of the support of the governors, particularly in contributing to local security architecture to further enhance the nation’s security.

“I must confess that I have not done two years in this administration, but I’ve done more projects in two years than in the four years of my first term.

“We are getting more funding due to the restructuring of the economy. Yes, there is inflation, but we are overriding it,” the governor said.

 

Tinubu: Governors most important link to Nigeria’s development
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No plans to address hunger, unemployment in Tinubu’s New Year message – PDP

Published

8 hours ago

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January 2, 2025

By

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba

No plans to address hunger, unemployment in Tinubu’s New Year message – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says President Bola Tinubu’s New Year message “offers no hope in sight” for Nigerians.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Debo Ologunagba, PDP spokesperson, described the president’s New Year speech as “self-satisfying”,

The opposition party’s spokesperson said Tinubu’s administration is “completely disconnected and unconcerned” with the economic hardship in the country.

“Nigerians were appalled that despite the prodding by the PDP and well-meaning citizens, President Tinubu’s New Year speech did not articulate any specific direction for the nation or proffer solutions to the myriad of problems caused by APC’s misrule,” the statement reads.

“President Tinubu’s speech again underlines APC’s insensitivity to the anguish of Nigerians by failing to present any definite policy roadmap towards reducing the price of petroleum products, addressing the widespread hunger in the land, and revamping our ailing productive sector.”

Ologunagba said Tinubu did not articulate any “solution-based direction” for the critical sectors such as electricity, oil and gas, road infrastructure, and food production, among others.

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“It was also pathetically devoid of a precise plan to address unemployment through strategic investment to stimulate multisectoral small and medium scale enterprises in the country,” Ologunagba said.

“If indeed the APC administration has the interest of Nigerians at heart, the New Year address would have made definite pronouncements on the price of fuel, especially given that with deft, transparent, and innovative management of resources, economic potentials, comparative advantage, national refining capacity, and effective policing of our borders, Nigerians should not pay more than N350 per litre for petrol within the country.

“In any case, from the speech, it is clear that the Tinubu-led APC administration lacks the expected patriotic commitment as well as the required capacity, competence, and skills to effectively harness and manage the resources of the nation for the good of the citizens.

“Moreover, President Tinubu’s claim in the speech that Nigerians placed their confidence in him as their president is ludicrous and shows that he is disconnected from the reality of his abysmal perception among Nigerians.”

The PDP spokesperson added that Nigerians have lost faith in Tinubu’s administration and have since moved on, “eagerly waiting for the next round of elections that will mark the end of the nightmare which the APC represents to our nation”.

He asked Tinubu to listen to Nigerians and be more committed and focused on the purpose of governance, which is the welfare and security of the people.

 

No plans to address hunger, unemployment in Tinubu’s New Year message – PDP

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Anthony Joshua presents autographed glove to Tinubu during visit

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8 hours ago

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January 2, 2025

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Anthony Joshua presents autographed glove to Tinubu during visit

Nigerian boxing legend and two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua recently paid a courtesy visit to President Bola Tinubu at his Lagos residence.

During the visit, Joshua presented the President with an autographed boxing glove inscribed with the message: “To the Great Asiwaju Jagaban Borgu of Africa, Bola A Tinubu.”

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The meeting, as revealed by the Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Mr. Dada Olusegun, was captured in a post shared on social media.

He wrote, “Champ @anthonyjoshua pays Homage to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at his residence in Lagos. Presents him with his autographed glove.”

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