News

Eight Persons Missing As Heavy Downpour Hits Lagos Community

Published

1 year ago

June 19, 2023

Eric

The whereabouts of a yet-to-be-identified mother, her baby and six other persons including a man identified simply as Umar, have reportedly been unknown after flood induced by a heavy downpour washed them away in the Agege area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that during the heavy downpour on Thursday, flood overran a canal around the Abattoir area in Agege, and it levelled up to the bridge, making it impassable for motorists and residents to navigate their destinations in the area.

It was learnt that a tricycle operator while plying the axis, escaped death by a whisker when the flood swept his tricycle into the canal.

A resident, who gave his name simply as Wasiu, said as the events that almost led to the death of the tricycle operator happened, a woman while backing her child, lost control of her movement and fell into the flood.

As the flood was washing the mother and her child away, Wasiu said another resident, Umar, attempted to rescue the mother and her child by jumping into the flood, adding that the current of the flood washed the three of them into the canal.

Wasiu said, “The owner of the tricycle is my friend. He is a mechanic who stays in Oko-Oba. He was coming from Agege but when he got to the bridge, he realised flood had overrun the bridge and waited but suddenly lost control of the tricycle. As the tricycle moved forward, the flood dragged him and the tricycle into the canal.

“He was the only one in the tricycle and he survived because he swam out of the canal. His cloth got torn and people gave him something to wear. He is recuperating in the hospital.

“Around the same time, a woman, who carried her child at her back, tried to manoeuvre the flood but lost control, fell into the flood and it swept her feet and started dragging her and her child into the canal but Umar jumped into the flood to save them. The three of them have not been found to date.”

During a visit to Umar’s residence on Saturday, his neighbour told one of our correspondents that they got to know of the incident when people raised the alarm as the flood was sweeping them away.

The neighbour said, “He lived inside this compound. His name is Umar. When we heard the noise, we quickly rushed out but when we got outside, there was nothing anyone could do.

“We waited for the rain to subside. On the second day, we combed the entire area hoping to see the corpses. Even this morning, some of our residents still did but we found nothing.”

However, in another interview with one of our correspondents, another resident, who gave his name simply as Bamidele, said two tricycles were involved in the incident.

He added that while one of the tricycle operators escaped, the other tricycle operator and his passengers were swept away by the flood.

Bamidele said, “They were two tricycle operators involved. The tricycle operator that did not carry passengers jumped out and survived. The flood carried the other tricycle operator, his tricycle and his passengers away. One tricycle was later recovered.

“It is difficult to know anything about their rescue because they don’t recover the corpses of victims around here, it is usually around Aboru or Itele in Ayetoro, Ogun State. We only go there if we know the victims involved.”

The Chairman, Orile Agege Local Council Development Area, Johnson Babatunde, when contacted, confirmed the incident.

“I’ve gotten the report. It happened at Abattoir beside Total Filling Station. Our people need enlightenment. How can you see a flood and decide to enter it? I don’t know what is happening to all these tricycle operators.

“There were five people in the tricycle. People were there waiting because of the flood,” he said, saying he wondered why the tricycle operator decided to enter the flood even when other people waited.

Asked if the corpses of any of the victims had been recovered or if anyone of them was rescued, Babatunde said, “We have not seen them, there is no update yet.”

When one of our correspondents visited the Abattoir Police Station, the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Olatunji Oladimeji, said he led his men to the scene to investigate the case.

He said, “Everyone we spoke with could not confirm it. They kept saying they heard about it. We heard different stories. Some people said it was a motorcycle while others said it was a tricycle.

“It is difficult for us to file such a report. Nobody can tell us that they saw them. And till now, nobody has come here to report that anything has happened to them or their loved ones.”

Contacted, the Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Nosa Okunbor, said the agency got “no official report yet.”

The Public Relations Officer of the state Ministry of Environment, Kunle Adeshina, said expansion work was ongoing on the drainage system in the area.

Adeshina said, “There is a drainage expansion project in the area. The contractor might have some delays but he is back on site working on it. There is also a need to clean up some parts of the area down to old Ota Road. Our drainage maintenance department has been contacted and cleaned up the site so that it can have the capacity to take up more water.

“When it rained, especially in flood-prone areas, we have always told people to refrain from underrating the power of water. It is better to wait and allow the rain to stop before people continue their journey. This has always been our campaign.”

The Punch

News

Court Bars PDP NEC, BoT from Removing Damagun as Acting National Chair

Published

1 day ago

October 11, 2024

Eric

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from removing Umar Damagum as the acting National Chairman of the party.

The court ordered that no other person must be recognised as PDP national chairman other than Damagum until the national convention of the party scheduled for December next year.

Justice Lifu issued the restraining order against the PDP NEC, BoT, and others while delivering judgment in a suit instituted against them by Senator Umar El-Gash Maina.

The judge held that in line with Articles 42, 47, and 67 of PDP, it is only at the national convention of the party that national officers can be elected.

In the suit, Justice Lifu said that PDP members are bound by the constitution of the party and as such must always act in line with the provisions and obedience to the party’s law

The plaintiff, who claimed to be chairman of PDP in Yobe State, had instituted the suit against PDP and eight others alleging that some stakeholders of the party have been holding clandestine meetings to forcefully remove Damagum from office in gross violation of the party’s constitution.

He said that a former deputy governor of Kogi State, Phillip Salawu, was being pushed forward as a replacement for Damagun by the stakeholders.

Maina claimed that upon becoming aware of the plan, two separate letters complaining against the clandestine meetings were delivered to the national secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu, and that despite the acknowledgment of the two letters, the national secretary and BoT members have never deemed it fit to act on the letters and their claims.

In the suit instituted on his behalf by Joshua Musa who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the plaintiff therefore prayed the court to invoke articles 45, 47, and 67 of the PDP Constitution to stop the move to replace Damagum as the acting national chairman.

The plaintiff specifically asked the court to declare that the national chairmanship of the PDP is rotated between the north and south regions and not through any other procedure not enshrined in the PDP’s Constitution.

In his judgment after perusing the PDP’s Constitution and exhibits, Justice Lifu agreed with the plaintiff that Damagum can only be replaced at the national convention of PDP or through an order of a court.

Justice Lifu also held that any attempt to truncate the un-exhausted four-year tenure of the northern region without the national convention of the party would amount to an affront to the Constitution of the PDP.

Earlier, the judge had dismissed the opposition of the defendants to the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff had no locus standi to bring out the case and that the court lacked jurisdiction.

Justice Lifu held that the plaintiff predicated his suit on the protection of the PDP Constitution from being violated and the northern region where he hailed from being shortchanged from the four-year tenure.

Justice Lifu said that the plaintiff having displayed his PDP membership card before the court and having raised the fundamental issue of protection of PDP’s Constitution had sufficient interest and justiciable cause to institute the case.

News

PDP Suspends Acting Chairman, Damagum, Sec, Anyanwu for Anti-Party Activities

Published

2 days ago

October 11, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended its Acting National Chairman, Amb Illiya Umar Damagum and the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, for anti-party activities.

The party revealed its decision to suspend the duo in a press statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, and made available to The Boss Newspaper.

The statement noted that the Acting National Chairman, who has been facing legitimacy crisis, and his Secretary, were found culpable with regard to the “letter addressed by them to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/PH/307/2024 against the Party’s position in the case involving the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who vacated their seats upon decamping from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).”

While condemning the act, the party invoked Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the PDP Constitution, and suspended the officers, referring them to the National Disciplinary Committee.

The two officers are therefore, barred from attending the NWC’s meetings, activities and programmes, according to the statement.

Read the statement in full:

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has extensively considered the series of complaints raised against the Acting National Chairman, Amb. Illiya Damagum and National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu particularly with regard to the letter addressed by them to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No:CA/PH/307/2024 against the Party’s position in the case involving the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who vacated their seats upon decamping from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The NWC condemned this anti-party activity of the Acting National Chairman and the National Secretary which is in gross violation of the provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017) and their Oath of Office.

Consequently, the NWC, pursuant to Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the PDP Constitution, has suspended Amb. Illiya Damagum and Sen. Samuel Anyanwu as Acting National Chairman and National Secretary of the Party respectively and referred them to the National Disciplinary Committee for further action.

In the meantime, the two officials are suspended from all meetings, activities and programs of the NWC pending the conclusion of investigation by the National Disciplinary Committee.

News

Fubara Suffers Setback As Appeal Court Recognises Amaehwule-led Assembly

Published

2 days ago

October 10, 2024

Eric

The Court of Appeal has upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court, affirming Martins Amaehwule as the rightful Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Recall that the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, had challenged the judgement of Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja, which affirmed Amaehwule’s leadership.

This ruling is a victory for the camp of former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, who has been at odds with Governor Fubara.

Governor Fubara has also been ordered to re-present the 2024 budget to the Amaehwule-led House of Assembly.