metro
‘LASTMA thugs’ brutalise driver, impound bus, agency ignores victim’s petition
A commercial driver, Olasunkanmi Adejare, has accused the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority of using thugs to impound his vehicle in the Oshodi area of the state.
It was gathered that Adejare, who drove a minibus for commercial purposes on the Lagos Island, went to the Ladipo area of the state on April 12, 2021, to purchase some tyres for the vehicle.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the 44-year-old was on his way back to the Lagos Island when he was accosted by three hoodlums allegedly working for LASTMA around the Oshodi area when he parked his vehicle for a friend to alight.
The driver told our correspondent that the men demanded the key of his vehicle and when he refused to give them, they beat him up.
Adejare said the group drove the vehicle to the LASTMA office in Oshodi, adding that all efforts to retrieve the bus proved abortive.
He said, “I came with a friend to buy tyres for the vehicle at Ladipo and on our way back to Lagos Island around Oshodi, almost opposite the LASTMA headquarters, my friend said he wanted to urinate. There were many commercial buses picking passengers in that area, so I parked in front of those buses so my friend could alight from the vehicle.
“Immediately he opened the door and alighted, three men who were not in uniform came from nowhere and asked me to bring my bus key and I asked them why I should give them. Before I knew it, one of them was already inside the bus; another one was standing at the driver’s side door, while another one stood at the other side. They pounced on me and beat me mercilessly; they forcefully took the vehicle from me and drove it to the LASTMA office.
“When I confirmed that the vehicle was taken to the LASTMA office, I wrote a petition to the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, dated April 15 and it was acknowledged on April 21. I sought an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the forceful confiscation of the minibus when I did not violate any traffic law. The petition was referred to the DG of LASTMA, who also referred the matter to one Mr Apena, who is the director of surveillance and monitoring.
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“When I got to his office and explained what happened, he supported those guys, saying that they were doing their job and I asked him that if they were working for LASTMA why were they not in uniform, but he could not give me an answer, and no investigation was conducted.”
Adejare said he wrote another petition to the commissioner of transportation on May 11, 2021, which was referred to the LASTMA GM, who in turn referred the petition to the director of legal service of the agency.
The victim, who noted that the director of legal service confirmed that the vehicle was parked in the LASTMA office, said he had been pushed over since May, as the officers refused to release his vehicle.
“Since that May till October, I have been going back and forth to LASTMA office and Alausa, Ikeja, without any meaningful result. I wrote a petition in October to the governor, but I did not hear anything about it. I realised that because I wrote petitions against them to the ministry that was why they did not want to release the vehicle.
“Since April 12, 2021, life has been unbearable for me because this minibus was given to me and others by the Lagos Island Local Government Area to ameliorate my suffering after I lost my job at Apapa due to COVID-19. I am also owing over N1.3m, while the bus is rotting away with everything inside it looted, including the four tyres and rim I bought at Ladipo Market.”
The LASTMA Public Relations Officer, Olumide Filade, said he was not aware of the matter and could not comment on it.
He said, “I don’t have any information whatsoever on it, so I cannot comment.”
Punch
metro
NLC insists on withdrawal of Tax Reform Bills
NLC insists on withdrawal of Tax Reform Bills
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday insisted on the withdrawal of the Tax Reform Bills forwarded by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly for passage to enable all key national stakeholders to be part of the process.
Recall that the bills had drawn sharp criticisms from some parts of the country, especially the north, which saw them as anti-growth in the region.
It also implored the government at all levels to prioritise the welfare and well-being of the citizens in 2025.
In its New Year message to Nigerians, especially workers, the President of NLC, Mr Joe Ajaero, equally said organised labour would step up its battle for an upward wage review for workers to mitigate the high costs of living.
The message, titled “In 2025, hope is in our collective resolve,’’ read: “As we step into the year 2025, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, extends warm New Year greetings to every worker and citizen across our great nation.
‘’The challenges of survival we have faced as a people must not hold us down. Instead, let us find inner strength to build a collective resolve to drive Nigeria out of the morass of underdevelopment that has held it captive for far too long.
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“No external power will deliver us from the scourge of economic hardship and stagnation. It is only through our collective effort and determination that we can propel our nation forward.
“We must build inner strength to find this collective resolve across the length and breadth of our great nation. This is our civic responsibility—one we must embrace with unwavering determination.
“We call on the government at all levels to ensure that governance translates into real benefits for the people. The welfare of the citizens remains the primary justification for the existence of any government.
“Access to food and nutrition, better healthcare, quality housing, education, transportation and greater security of lives and properties, including the right to participate in decisions on how they are ruled, are the key expectations of the people and workers.
“Policies must, therefore, reflect transparency, honesty, and inclusivity, devoid of chicanery, nepotism, and strong-arm tactics.
“To create a thriving, democratic nation, we need a system built on the tenets of social dialogue, allowing critical stakeholders to participate actively in nation-building. Such inclusiveness will foster deeper ownership of government policies, ensuring stability and sustainability.
“It is on this premise that we once again call on the federal government to withdraw its present tax bills before the National Assembly so that all key national stakeholders will be part of the process.
‘’As we embark on a national dialogue in Ibadan in January, 2025, we want to join hands in co-creating a new national tax law that would enjoy wider acceptance and fulfill its purpose of propelling national development which we believe is the main objective of government.
“As we move into 2025, we urge the federal government to prioritize industrial peace by taking social dialogue seriously, pursuing pro-human-progress policies, and respecting agreements with trade unions.
NLC insists on withdrawal of Tax Reform Bills
metro
Wike: Demolition of illegal buildings, shanties in FCT to continue
Wike: Demolition of illegal buildings, shanties in FCT to continue
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike has vowed that he will continue his demolition of shanties, illegal buildings and enforcement of payment of ground rent in the territory in the new year without bothering about what anybody will say.
Speaking after he inspected the ongoing construction Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX), Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal and Saburi – Dei Dei road, in Abuja on Tuesday, Wike said he will not be distracted by the controversies that have trailed his ongoing demolition of structures in the FCT.
“Nothing distracts me. I am very focused,” Wike replied when asked by journalists whether the outcries over ongoing demolition and enforcement of ground rent may cause a huge distraction in 2025.
“Even if people are complaining, it is part of governance. You don’t expect that you will superintend over the affairs of people and then you satisfy everybody.
“People must complain, but I can tell you such complaints cannot distract us. I am very focused, and since it is part of our job, we will continue to do what is necessary.
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“Forget about what people say about demolition, demolition must go ahead. We demolish shanties, we demolish illegal buildings. It doesn’t matter what anybody will say.
“At the end of the day, they will still come back to say, ‘you did a good job.’
“So, don’t bother about what people say, be focused and at the end of the day, you will achieve results for a greater number of people, not for a few individuals,” Wike added.
The Minister however said the FCT Administration will do more for the residents of the capital city in 2025.
According to him, things will get better, God willing, for residents of FCT in the coming year.
“All we still require is the support of residents; of business owners, so that we can achieve more than what we have achieved in 2024.
“So, I pray that God Almighty will continue to protect us and give us better security as we experienced in 2024.
“Everybody can see, even within this festive period, security is quite intact, and we believe in 2025, we will get a better Abuja,” he said.
Wike: Demolition of illegal buildings, shanties in FCT to continue
metro
Police identify woman set on fire in deadly New York City attack
Police identify woman set on fire in deadly New York City attack
Police in New York City have named a woman who was set on fire and burned to death last week on a subway train in Brooklyn.
Debrina Kawam, 57, of New Jersey, has been identified as the victim of the seemingly random 22 December attack that burned her body beyond recognition.
Sebastian Zapeta, 33, is accused of starting the blaze with a lighter while Ms Kawam was asleep. He allegedly fanned the flames with a shirt and then watched the fire grow from a bench outside the subway car.
Last week, a grand jury indicted Mr Zapeta, who claims to have no memory of the incident, on four counts of murder and one count of arson.
Julie Bolcer, a spokesperson for New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner, said the death was ruled a homicide and caused by “thermal and inhalational injuries”. She made the identification public on Tuesday.
“The identity was confirmed by the medical examiner yesterday through fingerprint analysis, following a multi-agency effort with our partners in law enforcement,” she said.
It took authorities more than a week to identify Ms Kawam’s body.
At a press conference on Tuesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that Ms Kawam had recently spent time at a city homeless shelter.
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“It really reinforces what I’ve been saying, people should not be living on our subway system, they should be in a place of care. And no matter where she lived, that should not have happened,” he said.
Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn district attorney, said at a press conference early in the investigation that authorities had worked to collect DNA evidence and fingerprints from Ms Kawam’s remains.
“It’s a priority for me, for my office, for the police department to identify this woman, so we can notify her family,” Mr Gonzalez said.
False and unverified information about her, including a fake AI-generated picture, had circulated online in the aftermath of the attack.
There was also an outpouring of support, including a vigil held for the then-unidentified victim last week.
Police say that Ms Kawam was motionless, apparently asleep, on a stationary subway train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station in Brooklyn early on 22 December when Mr Zapeta allegedly approached her with a lighter.
The pair never interacted, and police believe they did not know each other.
Jessica Tisch, New York’s police commissioner, said that the smell of smoke drew police officers and Metropolitan Transit Authority personnel to the fire and they extinguished the flames.
“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car,” Ms Tisch said.
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Authorities declared Ms Kawam dead at the scene.
Ms Tisch described the incident as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being”.
In a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, prosecutor Ari Rottenberg said Mr Zapeta told investigators that he had been drinking and did not remember the incident, but did identify himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being lit.
The suspect, who is originally from Guatemala, was deported from the US in 2018 and later re-entered the country illegally, immigration authorities said.
He is due back in court on 7 January, prosecutors said.
Despite a decline in crime rates on New York City’s subway, the incident is one of a string of attacks that has raised concerns for riders on America’s largest mass transit system.
The subway safety issue arose again on Tuesday afternoon when someone was pushed on to the tracks in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood in front of an oncoming subway, according to New York City police.
The unidentified male victim was admitted to hospital with a head injury, authorities said. Police later detained a suspect, according to local media.
Police identify woman set on fire in deadly New York City attack
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