Lagos community cries for help, begs state govt as flood threaten lives, properties

 

The residents of Old-Ewu and Ogunyinka Mafoluku communities in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State have cried to the state government to save them from the flood in the community.

Both vehicular and pedestrian movements have become difficult in the community when it rains, as residents have to battle to cross the heavy flood.

The most affected streets include Ilare Close, Muse Oyinbo Close and Tijani kashimawo Close off 7/8 bus-stop, facing the First bank along Airport Road.

Other affected places are Dominican school, Saint Jude Catholic Church and Domino shop in Mafoluku Oshodi.

The cause of the flood was traced to the bad drainage system in the community and lack of gutters in some streets, hindering the free flow of water.

Affected residents have taken to wearing rain boots when going in and out of their houses to protect themselves.

Speaking for the residents, the Community Development Association (CDA) chairperson, Mrs. Durotola Akinyemi said they need the help of the government to fix the gutters in the community.

She lamented: “Flood has taken over our community. We move around in rain boots despite the fact that we cleared the drainage last year yet, we are still experiencing flood. We need the intervention of the government to fix our drainages to save us from the flood.

“Just one rainfall, everywhere in the community has turned to a pool and we cannot move in and out of our houses, what will be our fate when the rain continues intensely as predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Services (NIMET).”

- DAILY POST

FULANI DESTRUCTIVE AGENT !! NBA kicks over Malami’s attempt to reduce its powers

 

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has kicked against the amendments to the rules of professional conduct for legal practitioners (RPC), 2007. 

The RPC sets out the professional duties of lawyers when dealing with clients, courts and their colleagues.

In an amendment by the office of the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), the requirement for the NBA stamp and seal on court processes was removed.

Before the amendment, lawyers were mandated to submit any document or letter to the court with a stamp and seal that was sold by the NBA.

But under the new provision, the use of the stamps is no longer necessary, giving room for non-lawyers to also submit court processes.

The development comes after some aggrieved lawyers pulled out of the NBA to form the New Nigerian Bar Association (NNBA).

The new group had written to Malami to inform him of its action but NBA said the group lacked legitimacy.

The factional NBA was formed as a result of the controversy that ensued after the NBA withdrew its invitation to Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, following a petition against him.

In a statement on Sunday, Olumide Akpata, NBA president, said there was no authorised approval for the amendments.

Akpata argued that due process was not followed, and urged lawyers to stick to the existing RPC.   

“I have seen and read Statutory Instrument No. 15 of 2020 (the “Instrument”), making the rounds on social media and which purports to amend certain provisions of the 2007 Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners (RPC),” the statement read. 

“Since the Instrument was released, I have received numerous calls and messages from lawyers across the country seeking clarification and guidance on the purport of the Instrument.

“By virtue of the Instrument, the following provisions of the RPC are to be deemed deleted:

1. a) Rule 9(2), which relates to default in payment of practicing fees;
2. b) Rule 10, which relates to stamp and seal for legal practitioners;
3. c) Rule 11, which relates to mandatory continuing professional development;
4. d) Rule 12, which relates to the Annual Practicing Certificate for legal practitioners; and
5. e) Rule 13, which relates to the obligation to give notice of the commencement of legal practice to the branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (“NBA”) responsible for the jurisdiction in which the practice is located.

“The explanatory note to the Instrument suggests that it was done to bring the RPC into conformity with the provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act, the Law Officers Act, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Legal Practitioners Act (as amended) confers the power to issue rules of professional conduct for legal practitioners, and any amendments thereto, on the General Council of the Bar (the “Bar Council”). The Bar Council comprises the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation (“HAGF”), the Honourable Attorneys-General of the thirty-six states of Nigeria, and twenty members of the NBA. Consequently, the RPC and any amendments thereto may only be validly issued after it has been deliberated upon and approved at a properly convened meeting of the Bar Council.

“As far as the NBA is aware, no notice convening a meeting of the Bar Council was issued to its elected representatives on the Bar Council and no meeting of the Bar Council was convened and/or held to deliberate on the Instrument. To that extent, our position is that no authority or approval was given for the amendment of the RPC. Consequently, the NBA maintains that the RPC has not been amended and enjoins all legal practitioners to remain calm and continue to conduct their affairs in the same manner as they did prior to the issuance of the Instrument.” 

Akpata said he is engaging the AGF on the issue and will provide further updates on the next steps. 

He said as part of the commitment of the current administration of the NBA towards the welfare and capacity building of members, they intend to propose certain amendments to the RPC that will be critical to the attainment of those objectives. 

He added, however, that in doing this, they would carry members along.

- THECABLE

Ancelotti outshines Mourinho as Everton stun Tottenham

 Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti proved he is a better tactician than Jose Mourinho as Everton defeated Tottenham by a goal on Sunday evening.

Jose Mourinho’s boys had the highest share of the ball possession – Tottenham: 51%, Everton: 49% – but it couldn’t stop their defeat to Ancelotti’s men who visited White Hart Lane to prove themselves in the opening fixture of the 2020-21 Premier League for both sides.

The match was keenly contested by both teams. The first half ended in stalemate and the second-half was balanced for both teams until the 54th minute when the referee signaled a free kick as Toby Alderweireld from Tottenham trips Richarlison.

Lucas Digne swings in a cross from the free-kick and Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed home in the 55th minute.

Everton took control of the match after the goal and held on to take a 1-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Speaking on the winning goal, Calvert-Lewin said: “Lucas has got a good delivery so I got up early and put it in the back of the net. I strive for more every season. The quality and creativity we’ve brought in is a striker’s dream”

A baffled Mourinho

However, the defeat makes it the first time José Mourinho lost on the opening matchday of a league campaign in his managerial career.

The match against Everton was Mourinho’s 19th opening matchday of a league campaign. Prior to the defeat, he has won 11 and drew seven of the previous 18. And as usual, he had plenty to say at his post-match conference.

On his players physical condition, He said: “We had cases of positive COVID-19. We’re not going to say who. We had players in quarantine due to proximity to players with COVID. We had a player in quarantine after going on holiday. We had played on international duty. It was a difficult pre-season and I couldn’t expect them to be sharp and agile but I was expecting more from them individually and as a team.”

He added that: “Do we need a striker yes. Was it because of that that we lost the game? No. We lost the game and the responsibility of that defeat is on myself and my players.”

- PM NEWS

Fulani herdsmen rob family, rape 16-year-old girl in Ogun – Police

 

The police in Ogun State said they have arrested two herdsmen, for allegedly robbing and defiling a teenager.

The suspects were identified by the police as Abu Adamu and Muhammadu Aliyu.

A statement by DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the State Police Public Relations Officer, on Sunday, revealed that the suspects were arrested after a distress call received by the police at Ewekoro Divisional Headquarters at about 1am.

Oyeyemi said the armed herdsmen had invaded a farm settlement at Afowowa Gbelu village in Ewekoro, attacking a family residing in the farm settlement.

According to him, the suspects ransacked the house of one Aminat Okeshola and made away with cash of N140,000.

After this, they were said to have taken a 16-year-old daughter of the family to the cassava plantation and took turns to defile her.

DAILY POST learnt that policemen from Ewekoro division went to the farm settlement, combed the entire area and arrested two of the suspects who hid in a nearby bush at the sight of the policemen. The third suspect with them reportedly escaped.

“The two arrested suspects were immediately identified by the victims,” Oyeyemi said.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the herdsmen have always been passing through the farm settlement with their cattle in the day time before they came back to strike on the fateful day,” he said.

The Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, DAILY POST reports, has ordered that the fleeing member of the gang be hunted and the case be transferred to the State CIID for investigation and prosecution.

- DAILY POST

FG moves to ban alcohol in sachets

The federal government has issued directives targeted at phasing out the sale and consumption of alcohol in sachets and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.

 Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), disclosed this in a statement.

Adeyeye said uncontrolled access and availability of high concentration alcohol in sachet and small volume PET or glass bottles contribute to substance and alcohol abuse in Nigeria.

She added that NAFDAC and the ministry of health have engaged major shareholders and have reached certain agreements.

She said the food agency will no longer register new products in sachet and small volume PET or glass bottles with contents above 30 percent alcohol by volume (ABV).

“These concerns relate to negative effects of irresponsible alcohol consumption on public health and on the safety and security of the public, alcohol being a toxic and psychoactive substance with dependence producing properties, ” she said.

“In regard to alcohol, major stakeholders have been engaged at the highest level and are already sensitised to the issue. To this end, several interventions jointly agreed upon by major stakeholders are being undertaken and as a first step, no new products in sachet and small volume PET or glass bottles above 30 per cent ABV will be registered by NAFDAC

“Furthermore, to reduce availability and curb abuse, effective January 31 2020, producers of alcohol in sachets and small volume PET and glass bottles are to reduce production by 50 per cent of capacity prior to January 2020. The overall goal is a complete phase out of high concentration alcohol in sachets and small PET and glass bottles in line with the agreed roadmap or earlier.”

- THECABLE

Armed robbers again strike commuters in Kogi, kill brothers

 

Daredevil armed robbers again struck on Saturday along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State killing two brothers and injuring a policeman on roadblock duties.

The incident which occurred at about 6pm in between Itakpe and Kabba Junction end of the Okene -Lokoja – Abuja expressway forced commuters and travellers to scamper for safety while abandoning their vehicles in the middle of the road.

It was gathered that the victims who were brothers and from the central part of Kogi State, went to Lagos for holidays and were on their way back to their station in Katsina State when the incident occurred.

DAILY POST further gathered that the robbers who were fully armed operated freely and later shot a yet to be identified police officer at a nearby checkpoint on the leg.

A woman who was caught up in the ugly incident but pleaded not to be mentioned on Sunday narrated her experience to told DAILY POST.

“We boarded our vehicle from Lagos around 7am but experienced heavy ‘go-slow,’ and not until after Ibadan, were we totally free from it.

“We got to Osara past 6pm. Our driver was following closely behind the vehicle that was attacked. Somewhere, the driver had to stop for a passenger who was pressed, to urinate, after which we saw oncoming motors flagging us to stop; that there was a robbery operation ahead.

”Some people ran helter-skelter but the residents will not allow us to take refuge in their houses. They said that if they did, the robbers would fish them out one by one.

“After quite a while, other vehicles continued on their journey, but ours will not start. The driver made contacts and a motor mechanic came over from the Kabba Junction to attend to us.

“When we got to the point of the attack, we heard that two brothers were shot and killed, while a policeman at the nearby checkpoint was shot in the leg. We heard that their remains were later evacuated and deposited at the State Specialist Hospital in Lokoja.”

When contacted, the Kogi State Police Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), William Aya, said the command is yet to get a report on the incident but assured DAILY POST that he would furnish it with details as soon as he receives a report from the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, of the area.

- DAILY POST

Some elements still planning UNILAG destruction – Acting VC Ogunsola

 

The Acting Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos (Unilag), Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, has appealed to other stakeholders to join hands with its management to stop “some elements” bent on destroying the institution.

She said this will help to sustain the Unilag brand.

Ogunsola, also Unilag’s substantive Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services), made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

”My plan is to work more with people who are interested in building Unilag than those interested in pulling it down.

“It is not about the vice-chancellor or the acting vice-chancellor; it is about the future of the children that we are nurturing in this environment.

”It is about protecting the certificate that they hold.

“When people forget all these, it really calls to question their loyalty to this institution and their responsibility to the next generation, Ogunsola said.

Ogunsola was elected the Acting-Vice-Chancellor by members of the institution’s senate on Aug. 24.

Her appointment was confirmed by Unilag’s Governing Council on Aug. 25.

Ogunsola’s appointment followed Federal Government’s directive on Aug. 21, that the Chairman of Unilag’s Governing Council, Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN), and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, should recuse themselves from official duties pending the findings of a special visitation panel to the university.

The panel was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to look into a lingering conflict between the university’s governing council and its senate which culminated in a controversial removal of Ogundipe from office by the governing council on Aug. 12.

Ogunsola said: ”Our system had been one, we work together – academic and non-academic – and my plan is to build bridges among different groups.

”I am not unaware that there are still some elements that are bent on destruction.

“Most people on this campus recognize that these are negative elements who do not really care about the University of Lagos.

”While the rest of us want to protect the brand, they do not mind destroying it.”

Ogunsola, a Professor of Medical Microbiology, said that peace had returned to Unilag following the Federal Government’s decision.

”The panel has come, the members have sat, people have been given the chance to defend themselves; we are waiting for the panel to come up with its report.

”In general, the campus is calm.

”I am ready to work with those who are ready to work with us so that we can move forward and stop all the washing of dirty linens,” Ogunsola said.

The acting vice-chancellor said that the visitation panel came prepared with all it needed to facilitate its job.

”We thought we would have to take care of their accommodation and some other things, but they called us and requested that we should only reserve accommodation for them and not to pick the bills,” she told NAN.

The acting vice-chancellor said that the university did not pay any bills as regards the panel’s visit.

“They did not take our secretariat and our transportation. They did not even take our security beyond what we provided on campus.

”They took care of everything; they came with their secretariat staff, had their own office – the upper chamber that is usually locked – had no interaction with anyone except if they needed to call anyone in for questioning.

”Our only support was to give them two staff, one from protocol and one from legal, who usually stayed on the ground floor and whose job was to usher those needed at any point in time.

” In all, they came prepared and were totally independent,” she said. (NAN)