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Makinde Orders Demolition of Ibadan House of Horror

Published

4 years ago

November 6, 2019

Eric

The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has ordered the demolition of the house of horror in Ibadan on Monday, where 259 inmates were rescued.

The governor gave the directive on Tuesday when he visited the Olore Central Mosque, in Ojoo, where the building is located

Makinde was at the site with some of his aides and men of the state police command.

In an operation led by the state Commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu, 191 men, 34 women, 11 children and 23 sick persons, who were illegally held captive, some in chains, were freed, while nine suspects, including the owner of the centre, were arrested.

The governor also vowed to prosecute all those running the facility, adding that it was wrong for certain individuals to use a mosque as a cover up for crime and criminality.

Makinde, who visited the building before going to the camp, where the freed victims were being rehabilitated by the state government, said it was unbelievable that such a facility existed in an open area of the capital city.

He said, “What we have seen is something that we all have to condemn and this shouldn’t be happening in a modern environment. You can’t use a mosque as a façade to perpetrate this kind of evil.

“Yes, we have marked the entire structure for demolition; we have here people from the state ministries of lands and urban planning, health and justice. The government will do everything that is humanly possible to ensure that this kind of thing is stamped out in our environment.

“But, there are houses around here; the people, if they see something, ideally, they should say something, because this kind of thing could not have been going on without all of these people, particularly the residents around here, not knowing about it. So, they should have reported this thing to the authorities and maybe we would have unravelled this a long time ago.

“Also, we want to encourage our people, the parents and family members, if you need to rehabilitate members of your family, who are not behaving well, we have government institutions that can do that and we are trying to rehabilitate those places for the people of Oyo State.

“So, whatever is necessary, looking at the laws of our land regarding this kind of thing, we will ensure that we take this place away from those people doing this kind of thing within the ambit of the law. And also, you have the law enforcement agencies here; all those involved are going to be prosecuted to the full extent of our law.

“For the victims, we have mobilised the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion and the social welfare agencies there. First, we need to have immediate palliatives for them and then we have to look at the deeper issues and how to resettle them and reunite them with their families; we are not going to leave them alone at this point.”

While addressing the victims at the temporary resettlement camp in the Sanyo area, Makinde assured them that his government was on top of the matter to ensure that those behind the illegal operation of the centre were prosecuted.

He stated that 22 of the victims were receiving attention at the Adeoyo Hospital as a result of their critical conditions, adding, “We need to get to the root of this matter; the security agencies will investigate it. Anyone found innocent will be released. You need to cooperate with the government for us to get to the root of the matter.”

The Punch

Featured

Airforce Confirms Nigeria’s Readiness to Acquire 24 Fighter Jets from Italy’s Leonardo

Published

4 hours ago

April 20, 2024

Eric

By Reuters

Nigeria plans to acquire 24 fighter jets from Italy’s Leonardo (LDOF.MI), opens new tab to modernize its fleet and bolster its air force, air force spokesperson Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet said on Friday.

The aircraft will arrive the country in four batches of six jets each, the air force said. Africa’s most populous nation will receive the first six M-346 fighter aircraft before the end of the year, Gabkwet said in a statement.

The news followed a visit by Claudio Sabatino, Leonardo vice president, to Nigeria’s air force chief in Abuja on Wednesday.

Leonardo will provide a minimum of 25 years maintenance support, the air force statement said.

Nigeria is trying to boost its ability to combat insurgency especially in the northeast of the country where Boko Haram militants and the Islamic State regional affiliate is active. Also kidnapping and banditry is rife across the country.

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Stay Away from CBT Centres, JAMB Warns Parents, Threatens Arrest

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

Eric

As this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) begins on Friday, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has vowed to arrest parents found near any Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre during the 2024 UTME exercise.

The directive was issued at the final briefing of the CBT centre owners, which was held virtually on Wednesday, 17th April, 2024.

The spokesman for JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, said this directive became necessary following the intrusive disposition of some parents during the Board’s previous exercises.

Benjamin, who quoted JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said any parent, who disobeys the order would not only be arrested but his ward would also be disqualified from sitting for the examination.

Oloyede explained that this measure became necessary as it has been discovered over time that many of these intruding parents are facilitators of examination infractions while others have, by their actions, disrupted the Board’s examinations in the past.

He added that some miscreants also disguise as parents to infiltrate the centres to perpetrate all forms of infractions.

“The Board’s helmsman noted that going by the extant national policy on education, a candidate for the examination must have attained the age of 17 years.

“Therefore, it is evident that these parents had not allowed their wards to pass through the classes as defined in the document, hence the desperation to follow their wards to the examination venue with the aim of compromising examination officials.

“At any rate, it is clear to any discerning observer that these parents deserve to be sanctioned as they had obviously ‘smuggled’ underage children into the ranks of those scheduled to sit the examination,” the Board note through a statement.

Furthermore, the Registrar said all arrangements have been concluded for the conduct of the 2024 UTME, which will be held in over 700 CBT centres across the nation.

He disclosed that the Board expects a seamless exercise but it has nevertheless made adequate provision to tackle any technical glitch that might occur in the course of the examination.

He, however, warned that if a session experienced any technical challenge, candidates in subsequent sessions would be allowed to sit their examination as scheduled while the candidates in the challenged session would be rescheduled for the last session for the day or the following day or even further depending on the centre schedules.

Featured

Oyo Govt Demolishes Operational Base of Yoruba Nation Agitators

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2024

Eric

The Oyo State government, on Wednesday, demolished a building serving as the operational base of the Yoruba Nation agitators led by Modupe Onitiri-Abiola, in Ibadan.

Onitiri-Abiola, one of the widows of late Bashorun M.KO Abiola, had declared the creation of the so-called Yoruba Nation in a video posted online, which has been widely condemned.

Last Saturday, some armed men in military uniforms invaded the Oyo State Secretariat, with the motive to forcefully take over the State House of Assembly, before they were dislodged by the combined efforts of police and troops for the Nigeria Army 2 Division..

Mr. Fatai Owoseni, Special Adviser on Security Matters to Governor Seyi Makinde, confirmed the demolition of the house located at Toye Oyesola Street in Ibadan South West Local Government Area.

Already, no fewer than 29 suspects – including a lecturer – arrested in connection with the foiled armed invasion were on Wednesday arraigned by the police before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan.

In a case with charge number Mi/520c/2024 between the Commissioner of Police and the 29 suspects, they were accused of a seven-count charge of treasonable felony, unlawful society, illegal possession of firearms, and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.

Inspector Bakare Rasaq, the Investigative Police Officer (IPO) at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan, said the offence contravenes, and is punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Vol. II, Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2000.