House of Representatives Member (APC) Escapes Attack in Lagos

Tragedy was averted on Wednesday in Lagos when a member of the House of Representatives, Chief Michael Ogunnusi, narrowly escaped being attacked by some aggrieved members of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in Ifako-Ijaye Local Government, Lagos, during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress in the council.

Trouble started when the lawmaker, who represents the council in the National Assembly while making a speech at the event announced a donation of N200,000 to augment efforts of the members and leaders across the ward levels in the council...

The lawmaker’s gesture angered many of the APC members, who rejected the money and disrupted the ceremony for what they termed “insult on them by the Reps member as if we are beggars.’’ The atmosphere was tense as Ogunnusi’s security aides made frantic efforts to whisk him away from the venue to save him from being attacked.

As they guarded him out of the vicinity, he was pelted with sachets of pure water by the rampaging youths. In the melee, chairs were broken and some party members and passers-by fled the area in different directions. One of the aggrieved APC members, who spoke with our correspondent(punch) shortly after normalcy returned to the venue, said it was not the amount of the money that angered the members but the manner it was offered.

He said, ‘‘Since election ended in 2011, Ogunnusi has refused to attend meetings in the local government, claiming he was busy with state matters in Abuja. He was avoiding us like a plague and now he came to woo us with N200,000 when election is approaching. He thinks we are beggars.’’

Another member, who gave her name as Kafayat, said, ‘‘What happened today is a proof that the electorate will no longer tolerate any member of the political class, who uses them during election and abandons them when he or she gets to position.”

Soji Akodu Asiwaju

Lagos: Police Kill Suspected Kidnappers of Ejigbo Local Government Chairman

By Ayodeji Dedeigbo

The Lagos State Special Anti-robbery Squad has killed seven suspected kidnappers and arrested two others during a cross fire in Agbara area of Ogun State, southwest Nigeria. Police alleged that the suspects were behind the kidnap of Lagos politician Kehinde Bamigbetan, Chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.

Police said the arrested suspects are 27-year old Ogbonna Emenike and 25-year old Uchenna Nwanyu. The shootout took place at the weekend. The items recovered from the suspects include four AK 47 Rifles, twenty-Eight AK 47 Magazine fully loaded and a thousand round of live ammunition. Others are army uniforms, a Honda CRV jeep with Reg

No.ABC106AE and a Nissan Pathfinder Reg No.AGL730AZ as well as local charms. The officer in charge of SARS said: “when I received the information about their hideout in Agbara in Ogun State, I quickly mobilised my men to their camp where they lodged.

“After 72hours of waiting in ambush, I and my squadron team stormed the place where all the kidnappers have gathered around 6.30 am on 24/06/2013. “As a result of this,seven of the kidnappers were fatally wounded during a heavy gun battle between the kidnappers and my men.

“Two of the kidnappers one Ogbonna Emenike and Uchenna Nnwayu were arrested alive with bullet wound. “Also an Indian National one Mr. Vivex Changrani who was kidnapped in Ikoyi,at about 12.am was also rescued successfully in the kidnappers hideout.”

The Lagos State commissioner of Police Mr. Umar Abubakar Manko warned other kidnappers to flee Lagos. “Criminals will not have comfort in Lagos. Lagos is not a comfort zone. My advice (for criminals) is to go away from Lagos,” Manko said.

Bamigbetan was kidnapped in April by unidentified gunmen while he was about to enter his street, Ona Iwa Mimo, Ori-Oke near Egbe bridge in Ejigbo. He was with his driver, Abiodun Olayiwola, in his black SUV with customised registration number Lagos KOK when the gunmen waylaid him.

The council boss was said to be on his way home from an official assignment when the incident occurred. His SUV was badly damaged by an electric pole which stopped it while the driver tried to escape from the gunmen.

James Ibori says his Lekki House is no Secret

Tony Eluemunor, spokesman for James Ibori speaking on behalf of his boss says James Ibori's Lekki house was never a secret as it was listed down in Asset declaration forms he filled in 1999, 2003 and 2007. The EFCC had one January 24 made it public that the jailed former Delta State Governor has a discovered mansion at Lekki. The property was discovered at 5, Alpha Beach Road, Lekki in Lagos.

The statement reads:  
"Despite EFCC’s insinuations to the contrary, the Alpha Beach Road house was built as far back as 1994, and so could not have, by any leap of the imagination, been built with proceeds, corrupt or not corrupt, from my office as State Governor because I began to live in that house five good years before I was voted into office”.

"Also, if the stories published about the house were actually based on EFCC’s statement, it means that the EFCC has accepted that Ibori was actually enormously rich at least half a decade before he became Governor of Delta State- after all, EFCC and the media called the house a “mansion”. 

"So, perhaps trying to hide this fact that Ibori was a man of means before he became governor, the EFCC and their agents are using all infernal tricks to cast doubts about when Ibori actually built that house.

"For the records, Chief Ibori reiterates that the house was not only built in 1994 before he became governor, it has featured in his asset declarations.

"Also, Chief Ibori has been cooperating fully with the Crown Prosecution since the preliminary stages of the confiscation process began, in line with the United Kingdom Criminal Justice Act (CJA) of 1988, so he does not see why the house has become an issue – especially as Nigeria has surrendered her jurisdictional sovereignty to Britain," the statement said. 

Nigerians continue to destroy their countries with greed. Funds meant to be used for public use as well as uplift millions out of poverty are used for personal purposes yet these leaders will still have the guts to deny and insult the intelligence of people. A nation of stealing comedians called leaders.