Court orders rape victim father’s arrest for cutting accused’s manhood

An Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, has ordered the police to arrest and charge father of a rape victim, Dennis Akpati,  for taking law into his hand by slicing off the penis of an alleged rapist, Seun Ogunbanwo.

The magistrate, Mrs. M. B. Folami, gave the order when Ogunbanwo (accused) was brought before her and she felt he had been badly battered by the father of the rape victim.

Akpati and others were alleged to have beaten up Ogunbanwo and using machete to cut part of his body.

Folami explained that under the law, the accused is presumed innocent until found guilty.

Ogunbanwo, a graduate of Business Administration, who just finished his national youth service, was charged with house-breaking and rape, offences punishable under Sections 411 and 358 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 17, Vol. 2, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.

It was gathered that Ogunbanwo allegedly made his way into Akpati’s home at 52, Tijani Alabi Street, Ijegun, Lagos, when he knew that the victim (Akpati’s 20-year-old daughter) was alone.

He allegedly had unlawful carnal knowledge of her without the girl’s consent and was caught in the act by the victim’s father, who wasted no time in cutting the accused’s manhood with a machete.

In defence, Ogunbanwo said the victim was his girlfriend and they both lived in the same area.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was admitted bail in the sum of N100, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

The matter has been adjourned till January 18.

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LASU to students: Pay up today or forfeit admission

AUTHORITIES of Lagos State University, LASU, yesterday, reiterated its stand that old and new students pay their stipulated tuition fees and meet registration deadline which closes today.

In a special bulletin, by the management, new and old  students were mandated to pay the stipulated new regime of fees, which, according to sources, ranges between N193, 750 and N348,750;  N25,000 and N33,250 respectively, before close of work today, or forfeit their studentship.

However, mixed feelings have continued to trail the decision of LASU management, as some students have started paying, while others are yet to comply.

The majority of students, who are yet to make payments, have expressed fears of the unknown, in the decision of the management to forfeit their hard-earned admission into the citadel, after the deadline.

According to them, two weeks are too short for them to afford the stipulated fees proposed by the management.

President, Lagos State University Student Union, LASUSU, Akeem Durojaiye, condemned the management’s decision, describing it as impromptu and an act of insensitivity on their part.

He said: “In fact, the unbannable Lagos State University Student Union totally condemns the draconian policy of Professor Obafunwa, LASU new VC. We have issued a bulletin to this effect, urging students who can’t meet the impromptu deadline not to panic.

“How do you expect a student whose parents earn below the N18, 000 minimum wage to pay N250,000 within two weeks? This is outright wickedness,” he  said, adding, “everything is under God’s control.”

Durojaiye further revealed an order by the school management to arrest members of the union, yesterday. He said: “To our surprise, this morning, (Thursday), the Public Relations Officer of the union, Financial Secretary, Treasurer and 10 other students were arrested by men of the Ojo Divisional Police Headquarters, in what they  (management) termed ‘malicious damages’ of the university’s property.

He said the property involved was the students union arcade gate, which the union broke down to gain entrance into their offices as it was locked-up by the management.

“Which property are they talking about, is it theirs or ours? The reason behind the arrest of our members can not be justified, although, they have been bailed this morning (Thursday) by us, but our stand remains that students who may not meet with the impromptu deadline can never forfeit their admission.”

Also speaking, Comrade Olateju Azeez, PRO, LASUSU, described his arrest, that of two other members of the union, and 10 other students as unfortunate.

“We will not be cowed to give-in to the draconian policies of the management”,  assuring,  “students who have their money should go to pay and commence registration, while the union will ensure it stands for those who may not meet the deadline, against the management’s threat that they will forfeit their admission”.

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5 trapped as Lagos govt building collapses

-No fewer than five persons, including a ministry official, were trapped, yesterday afternoon, as a one-storey building collapsed at Alausa, Ikeja, close to the Governor’s Office.

At press time, no casualty was recorded in the incident.

The building, being built by the Ministry of Environment and still under construction, caved in at exactly 2:30 p.m.

The building is about 10 metres away from the main building of Lands Bureau, on the same premises, with a commercial bank adjacent Alausa Millennium Park.

Vanguard gathered that the site engineer, Mr. Oki, was rescued at exactly 3:55pm, after over one and half hours.

One of the onlookers,  told Vanguard that the building belongs to the state Ministry of Environment.

“The Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development came here to mark the building insisting that it lacked approval and that work should discontinue, but the Ministry of Environment insisted on going on with the work,” a worker who did not want to be mentioned, told Vanguard.

The collapsed building. Photo: NAN

In a statement, Director, Public Relations,Ministry of Environment, Mr Fola Adeyemi, explained that Governor Babatunde Fashola had earlier ordered the demolition of the structure when it was observed to be defective.

”In the process of the pulling down, a section of the structure caved in and trapped some of the demolition squad, who were eventually rescued by Lagos State rescue team comprising Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Fire Service and Lagos State Ambulances Bus Services, LASAMBUS,” he said.

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Ekiti group blames Police Minister for PDP loss in Reps Rerun poll

A Political Group in Ekiti State, The Ekiti Patriots (TEP) has questioned the loyalty of the Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying; "The minister should be held responsible for the party's loss in the last Saturday House of Representatives rerun election." TEP said in a statement signed by its Convener, Comrade Ebenezer Olaleye that the PDP had at least 60 per cent chance of winning the election, but "the minister bungled the opportunity owing to reasons
best known to him."

The group said signs that Olubolade was not committed to the PDP winning the election had emerged even before the election because "a committed party leader who desired victory for his party in an election holding in his own constituency won't stay away until less than 48 hours to the election."
"From our assessment before and during the election, it was clear that it was an election the PDP ought to have won. "Ekiti people were already tired of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and were obviously willing to vote the PDP, but there was no enough motivation on the part of the PDP.

"Even most PDP leaders were not aware of any arrangement for the election until the Election Day as the minister, who supposed to giving directions did not make himself available until Friday evening.
"Most importantly, information available before the election day was that the ACN was going to use thugs and state government machineries to rig the election, but nothing in terms of security was provided.
Instead, the ACN people were allowed the freedom to destroy votes and use thugs to chase voters away in towns like Erijiyan, Ikogosi and Ipole.

"Even when the minister heard that as against the agreement that no government official, including Governor Kayode Fayemi should move around during the election, the governor was moving round the three
local government areas with a convoy of close to 30 vehicles, all that he (Olubolade) could do was to prepare pounded yam for the governor when he got to Ipoti, his hometown!
"How can a minister be busy eating pounded yam with leader of opposition party when members of his own party were on the field facing election battle? Little wonder, he only managed to win his
polling unit with ‘four votes.'
"Therefore, we are of the opinion that the loyalty of Capt. Olubolade to the PDP is doubtful and the National Working Committee of the party should endeavour to look into his alleged accord with Governor Fayemi
and the ACN."

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Gaddafi daughter seeks ICC probe into his killing

A lawyer for Muammar Gaddafi's daughter said on Wednesday he had written to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ask if an investigation had been launched into the killing of her father and brother.

A copy of the letter, seen by Reuters, said that Muammar Gaddafi and his son Mo'tassim were "murdered in the most horrific fashion with their bodies thereafter displayed and grotesquely abused in complete defiance of Islamic law".

"The images of this savagery were broadcast throughout the world, causing my client severe emotional distress," said the letter from Nick Kaufman, who represents Aisha Gaddafi.

"To date, neither Ms. Gaddafi nor any member of her family has been informed, by your office, of the initiation of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the brutal murders," the letter said.

Muammar Gaddafi and Mo'tassim were captured in their home town of Sirte in October, two months after rebels seized the capital Tripoli and put the longtime Libyan leader and his relatives to flight.

They were killed soon after their capture while in the custody of fighters loyal to the country's new leadership, in circumstances that have not been fully explained.

Gaddafi's daughter Aisha fled with other family members to neighbouring Algeria in August.

The ICC, based in the Hague, earlier this year issued arrest warrants for Muammar Gaddafi, another son, Saif al-Islam, and the former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, for crimes against humanity.

In the letter, Aisha Gaddafi's lawyer asked if the ICC prosecutor's office was investigating the killings of her father and brother, and if it was taking steps to make sure the Libyan authorities themselves were investigating the matter.

The letter also asked whether the ICC was looking into what reports said at the time was a NATO air strike on Gaddafi's convoy moments before he was captured.

"Is your office investigating the attack allegedly carried out by NATO forces in order to determine whether individual criminal responsibility should be assigned for an unlawful military attack?" the letter asked.

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Fuel subsidy removal will only bring temporary pains - Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan said on Thursday in Abuja that fuel subsidy removal will only bring temporary pains which will fizzle out in no time for Nigerians to reap the gains.

Jonathan, while speaking at the 2011 Christmas Carol held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, said the nation could not continue to use its limited resources to subsidise imported fuel.

He said the fuel subsidy was to the advantage of a cartel and to the detriment of the poor masses.

The president explained that the decision by his administration to remove fuel subsidy was in the overall interest of the nation and not a deliberate move to inflict pains on the people.

``There is nobody who will want to deliberately inflict suffering on his people. Goodluck Jonathan can never be one.

``I know the pains Nigerians are passing through. Yes, I am here in the State House and being fed by government but that does not keep me so far from the people.

``There is no day that I don't interact with Nigerians, both low and high, and I appreciate the pains of the people. We are facing challenges but we must take certain decisions to reposition our economy so that things will ease out.

``If we don't have the courage to do so, then we will continue to be dying in pains until God knows when.

``So, my belief is that, at a particular time, people must be courageous to take the right decisions,'' he said.

Jonathan acknowledged that the Nigerian populace might experience some minor pains for some months because some people would want to exploit the situation.

``I promise Nigerians that there is hope. The pains will not be the way people are thinking.

``The pains will be temporary, and after few weeks or few months, Nigerians will be better off, the economy will be repositioned," he said.

The President noted that professionals in the industry had predicted that Nigeria's oil reserves would dry up in the next 30 to 35 years.

``In view of this, the country must begin to have an alternative plan in order not to subject the future generation to slavery. Government must look for ways to expand the economy.

``We must look for other ways of earning money, we must go back to farming and not just subsistence farming that we know but really taking farming as a business.

``We must create wealth through farming, we must industrialise, we must begin to produce things in this country and we need the money from the subsidy to do that," he said.

Jonathan stated that the current subsidy economy had impoverished the nation and forced government to borrow money to run its affairs.

He said if the trend should be allowed to continue, the economy would be grounded to a halt and everyone would pay dearly for it.

``Even now that we have oil, we are borrowing and we are not expanding the economy. Last year, our capital budget was N1.146 trillion and we borrowed the whole capital budget and even a little more.

``This year, with the present budget, we are paying back the part of the money we borrowed. But what is in the budget is only N560 billion, which is just about half of the money we borrowed.

``Who will pay the balance and when, with the interest on it? There is no way we can continue to run the economy this way," the president said.

He assured that the country would overcome its challenges and remain united, stating that his administration would do its best to fix the economy to blossom.

Earlier in a message, Rev. Oluranti Olubogun, Bishop of the Ife Diocese of the Anglican Church in Osun, had also said that there was hope for the nation despite its daunting challenges.

In the message titled ``Love and Faithfulness of God, Olubogun said God had taken over the affairs of the country and would lead it to the promised land.

The event was attended by many dignitaries, including former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda and former Nigerian Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd.).

The Senate President, Sen. David Mark, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, federal ministers and presidential aides were also in attendance.

The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, and members of the diplomatic corps also attended the event.

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