Fire guts shopping mall, bank in Lagos

Textile materials and fashion accessories estimated at millions of naira have been consumed after fire gutted a shopping plaza on Broad Street on the Lagos Island area of Lagos State.

Also, a section of the Skye Bank branch in Ikeja was gutted by fire, destroying some property.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the Lagos Island fire started around 8.55am after a power surge.

Workers at the plaza were said to have made frantic efforts to put out the fire before inviting officials of the Lagos State Fire Service and men of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency.

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While some traders watched helplessly as their goods burnt, others were said to have struggled to salvage their wares.

A firefighter with the state fire service, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fire started from the second floor of the three-storey building, adding that more than three fire trucks were deployed in the scene.

He said, “It is a three-storey shopping plaza where they sell female fashion items like bags, shoes and other accessories. The fire started from the second floor and was caused by an electrical surge. We were able to curtail the spread quickly.

“Firemen from the Onikan, Sari Iganmu and Alausa stations responded with 10,000 litres of water each.”

The General Manager of LASEMA, Michael Akindele, said there was no casualty in the incident, adding that some traders were able to save their wares.

“No life was lost and there were no injuries. Traders in areas not affected moved out their goods; everything is under control,” he added.

In the Ikeja incident, PUNCH Metro gathered that the server room of Skye Bank caught fire around 10.50am.

The prompt response of firemen from the Ikeja fire station was said to have prevented the fire from escalating.

Our correspondent was told by a firefighter that the fire was also caused by a power surge.

“They called the fire service on time and that was what saved the day. The fire started from their internet server room. There was a spark, which started a fire.

“But we were able to stand with them till the problem was fixed and banking operation resumed without much delay,” he added.

The Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Fire Service, Amodu Shakiru, called for increased vigilance among residents.

He said, “Both fire were caused by electrical upsurge and that is why we always tell people to be cautious.

“You can use the back of your hand to feel the heat of your electrical gadget. When it is hot, you should know it is a potential hazard.”

Meanwhile, several people were injured and about five shops set ablaze on Monday after some hoodlums clashed at the Alaba International Market.

A source told PUNCH Metro that the clash was between some Yoruba and Igbo touts, who engaged in a supremacy battle over collection of fees.

A witness said the fight started around 9am, adding that business activities had been grounded as a result of the clash.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joe Offor, who confirmed the incident, explained that the clash was between the market’s transporters and traders unions.

“The transport employers association and the traders association were involved in the incident. The Alaba traders complained that the activities of the transport association were affecting their businesses. They said some of their customers were being harassed and intimidated to pay exorbitant fees, and they were losing them to their competitors.

“This morning, the traders challenged the transport association which led to a scuffle between the groups.”

He added that policemen from the Ojo division and some military officers had restored sanity to the area

Elephant kills journalist in Sri Lanka

                                       

According to Punch, A journalist was trampled to death after a herd of wild elephants invaded a village in North-Central Sri Lanka, police said on Tuesday.

Priyantha Ratnayaka, a videographer, was stomped by one elephant while wildlife officials were trying to drive the herd away from the village, about 190 kilometres North-East of Colombo.

The area is a popular tourist destination where foreigners gather to watch elephants.

More than 70 people were killed in elephant attacks in Sri Lanka in 2015 and about 150 elephants were killed during that time, mostly by poisoning or shooting by farmers.

Trader gives seven-year-old daughter N10 after rape

                 

Seven-year-old Ngozi (pseudonym) is no longer a child. Her innocence has been stolen by her 41-year-old father, Emeka Igwe, who not only raped her, but got her addicted to masturbation.

It was gathered that anytime Ngozi felt sexual urge and her father was not around to stimulate her, she would invite boys into her parents’ apartment in the Federal Housing Estate, Meiran, Ojokoro, Lagos State, to “play with her private parts”.

     PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim’s mother first detected the act in January, 2015, and after reporting to policemen at the Ojokoro Police Division, the case was dismissed as a family matter.

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The police reportedly threatened to detain her, while her husband’s family accused her of inciting her four children against their family.

Emeka, a trader, allegedly continued to defile his daughter in their apartment until August, when the matter got to the attention of the estate executive.

The Orlu, Imo State indigene, was apprehended and reported to the Project Alert on Violence against Women, a non-governmental organisation, from where the case got to the Area F Police Command.

Ngozi, who is in primary 3, told PUNCH Metro that her father had been assaulting her since 2014.

She explained that after inserting his fingers into her private parts, he would press her head down and force his manhood into her mouth, adding that he always gave her N10 after the act.

She said her nine-year-old brother, Emeka, sometimes watched from a window.

She said, “My dad does it anytime; in the morning and in the afternoon. My mum always goes to the market. He will then give me N10 to buy something.

“He will open his leg and press my head down and put his private parts into my mouth. After that, he will say I should scratch his body. He will now carry me down and put his fingers in my private parts again.

“He started it last year when my mother was washing clothes and I went to buy something. He asked me to come into the parlour and told Ebuka, Chioma and Chibuike (her siblings) to go into the bedroom. I did not know that Ebuka was watching from the window.”

Her mother, Endurance, told PUNCH Metro she had been married to the suspect for more than 10 years, without knowing he was capable of such act.

The 40-year-old said her first child, Ebuka, had been telling her that Ngozi masturbated, but she never believed it.

“The first time she did it in my presence was sometime in January, while I was preparing a meal and I saw her. I beat her up and asked her to stop it because it was bad.

“I later told my husband my observation and he said nothing was wrong with her.

“My four-year-old neighbour’s son came to our apartment and Ngozi took her to our bedroom and asked the boy to put his fingers in her private parts. It was the boy’s mother that saw them.

“I called her and asked if anybody had been playing with her private parts and she said no.”

Endurance said Ebuka later told her what had been happening between father and daughter.

The other children were said to have corroborated Ebuka’s account, before Ngozi also confessed to her mother.

She said she confronted her husband with the allegation, adding that he got angry and started beating the children for every slight offence.

She said when she could no longer bear it, she reported at the Alakuko Police Station, from where she was referred to the Ojokoro Police Division.

PUNCH Metro learnt that a test was conducted on the victim at the General Hosptal, Ile Epo, which showed there was an opening in Ngozi’s private parts.

Endurance said she was advised to run an infection test on her daughter, before her in-laws asked her to withdraw the case.

She said the Divisional Police Officer at Ojokoro threatened to lock her up.

“The DPO said I deliberately set up my husband because he had not been treating me well. I was in tears,” she added.

She said they all returned home and things went back to normal until in August when her first child reported to her that their father had started “playing with Ngozi’s private parts” again.

“I called Ngozi and she told me that her father had started playing with her private parts. She said he asked her to kneel down and forced her to suck his private parts.

“Then, two weeks ago while I was washing clothes, Ebuka came and said their father gave Ngozi N20 and did not give him anything. After he left, Chioma also came and said the same thing.

“Later, I called Ngozi to know what made her father gave her the money. She told me it was N10, adding that he played with her private parts.”

The neighbours were said to have challenged the suspect, but he denied doing anything to the child.

The community youth leader, Olaitan Adebiyi, told PUNCH Metro that he got to know about the case after eavesdropping on a conversation in the street.

He added that he later met the victim’s mother, who narrated her ordeal to him.

He said, “The estate executive met and we decided to go to his house to investigate. His co-tenants confirmed that he had been doing it for a long time. We decided to get him arrested.

“He came into his apartment around 12.30 on Thursday night, and we decided to keep vigil at his door step till day break. He was about leaving the house on Friday when we apprehended him and told him he had a case to answer.”

The suspect, however, denied assaulting his daughter.

He said, “I did not do anything to Ngozi. The day I called her and gave her N10 to buy biscuit, her siblings asked me for their own, but I said I was not the one that gave her the money.

“I have touched her private parts only once. I did not know the time it happened. I touched her last year. I said, ‘Amaka, remove your pants. Why did you soil your pants?’ I then took water and washed her. That was all.”

The Director of Project Alert, Mrs. Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, said the group was ready to take up the case.

“This is a clear case of sexual abuse, and we are having an epidemic in our hand. Hardly a week goes by without us having cases of children between the ages of three to seven being defiled.

“It is clear that this woman and her children can no longer live with him. The victim is seven and she has a five-year-old younger sister, and if this is not well handled, this man will move on to the little girl as well.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Patricia Amadin, confirmed the incident.

She said, “The case is confirmed. The suspect has also confessed to the crime, especially after his first son said he saw him.

“We will be transferring the case to the Area G Command, Ogba. Investigation is ongoing, and justice will be done.

Fake Doctor To Refund Nine-year Wage To FG - Photos

The fake doctor who practised with his friend's ID for 19 years was yesterday paraded in Abuja and the Federal Government has ordered that he returns all the money he earned for nine years to the pocket of the FG.

The FG has ordered the Departments of Finance and Accounts and Human Resources to do a thorough computation of what he had earned for nine years with a view to ensuring that he returns the money to the government’s coffers.

“The ministry is currently computing all salaries and allowances which was accrued to Ugwu during his mischievous sojourn in the ministry, for full retrieval by the relevant law enforcement agencies,” the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute, said.

Awute also said that since the fake doctor assumed duty at the Health ministry, he had passed only one promotion examination in 2013, which placed him on Grade Level 13 from Grade Level 12.

Ugwu was due to be promoted as Assistant Director in the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Health, before he was exposed.

Awute stated this on Wednesday in Abuja where the owner of the certificate, Dr. George Davidson Daniel, called on security agencies to protect him because his life was being threatened.

He also noted that Ugwu had collaborators in the ministry, adding that based on this, “we have sent another petition to the police to interview him to name his sponsors.”

The PS also emphasised that the ministry did not employ any of its members of staff directly, but through the Federal Civil Service Commission which has the statutory powers to do so.

Awute said, “Mr. Martins Ugwu Okpeh, who hails from Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State, got himself employed fraudulently using the stolen documents of his childhood friend and best man, Dr. George Davidson Daniel, who has offered to appear at this press briefing to clear his name. Martins Ugwu was offered an appointment by the FCSC on August 30, 2006 and was posted to the Federal Ministry of Health in September same year.

“The surprising thing about Ugwu’s appointment is that he applied for the job on October 10, 2006. He was subsequently offered the job on October 17, 2006 and he applied for an identity card on the 19 of the same month.”

Contrary to the civil service regulations, controversial Martins Ugwu, who has been working since 2006 in the Ministry of Health using the name, Dr. George Davidson Daniel, was offered a job just a week after he submitted his application for employment.

Punch