64yr Old ‘Grandpa’ Rapes 6yr Old Girl In Ebonyi

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Ebonyi on Thursday arrested a 64 -year old man, Mr. Peter Edibgo for allegedly raping a six- year old girl, Nkwegu Chinwe, at Agbaenyim in Izzi Local government area of the state.

Spokesman of NSCDC in the state, Emmanuel Nwali, said the suspect would have been lynched but for the timely intervention of the officers and men of Command.

Nwali said after investigation, the suspect would be transferred to the appropriate agency responsible for handling such heinous crimes for possible prosecution.The suspect, he said, had been notorious for such acts as the village Head and other members of the community also confirmed the incident to the Corps.

According to the command's spokesman, the victim who felt a hard push into her legs, raised an alarm which attracted members of the community."We are still investigating the case and after that we are going to hand over the case to the appropriate quarters because that is not one of our core mandates as NSCDC, "he stated.

2 Women Stab Friend With Broken Bottle

(NAN ) – Two women — Ebere Ojiakponna and Tessy Nbekwe — were on Thursday charged before an Igbosere Magistrates' Court, Lagos, for allegedly stabbing their friend with a broken bottle.

Ojiakponna, 23, and Nbekwe, 23, whose addresses are unknown, are standing trial on a three-count charge of conspiracy, assault and unlawful harm.

The prosecutor, Insp. Akeem Raji, told the court that the accused committed the offences on Aug. 27 at midnight at Obalende on Lagos Island.

He said that a fight broke out between the accused and their friend, Amaka Onu, who was stabbed with a broken bottle on the ribs in the process.

The offences, the prosecutor said, contravened Sections 170, 244 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.Section 244 provides three years imprisonment for offenders.

The duo, however, entered a plea of not guilty.The Magistrate, Mrs A.M. Olumide-Fusika, granted them bail in the sum of N20, 000 each with a surety each in like sum.The case was adjourned to Oct. 3 for mention.

Generator Fume Kills 25yr Old Tea Seller In Egbeda, Lagos

Tragedy struck in Egbeda area of Lagos State, in the early hours of Thursday, when a  man, simply identified as Mutairu, an indigene of Sokoto State, was found dead in his makeshift apartment.

Mutairu, a petty trader, who specialized in selling noodles and tea at 83, Egbeda-Idimu Road, was said to have been killed by fume from a generating set he put in his room while sleeping.

The incident was reported to the police at the Area "M" Command, Idimu.

According to an eyewitness and a close friend of the deceased, simply identified as Kabiru, Mutairu was killed by fume from his generating set which he left running in his room till dawn.

Kabiru said: "Mutairu is a native of Sokoto, in Ilela Town. He has been doing Maishai business (tea seller) for many years here. A lot of people knew him as a dutiful fellow who related well with everyone irrespective of class, religion or ethnic background.

"We were surprised to find him dead this morning (yesterday). Somebody just called to inform me that I should run down to Mutairu's house as he could not be found around which was unusual."When I got there, we knocked repeatedly on his door without response but we could hear the sound of a generator working inside.

"After a while, we decided to climb the roof of the makeshift building because the three doors leading to his room were locked."We broke into the room and right before us was the lifeless body of Mutairu on the bed. We quickly put off the generator as the entire room had been saturated with the fume.

"We could not apply any first aid to revive him because he was already dead. It is so painful. Probably, he was unaware of the inherent danger in keeping generator working inside a house."

The remains of the deceased was later taken to his home town in Sokoto State. -Vanguard

27yr Old Man Arraigned For Stealing A BlackBerry Q10

A 27-year-old man, Lekan Mohammed, has been arraigned before Igbosere Magistrate's Court , Lagos State, for allegedly stealing a Q10 BlackBerry phone valued at N130,000.

Mohammed was said to have stolen the phone at a night club in Victoria Island area of  the state.

The charge read, "That you, Lekan Mohammed,m, on the August 24, at "about 0430hours at Liquid Night Club Balarabe Musa, Victoria Island, Lagos in Eti-Osa Local Government Area within the Lagos Magisterial District, did steal one Q10 BlackBerry phone, white in colour, valued N130,000, property of one Abiola Ajimobi."

The prosecutor, Corporal Okoye Olusegun, said the offence was contrary to and punishable by Section 285 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

Mohammed said he was not guilty of the charges.

The defence counsel, Emmanuel Ubani, while asking for the bail of his client, told the court that the police were only out to abuse court processes.He said the complainant was not in court and the police did not have any exhibits.

The magistrate, Mrs. M. Olanipekun, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties each in like sum.

Mayhem In Seme Border, Customs Officer Killed

There was mayhem at the Seme border area of Lagos State on Thursday after a 35-year-old man, Saturday Joel, was shot by officials of the Nigerian Customs Service.

Eyewitnesses said Joel was hit by a stray bullet while some customs officers were trying to apprehend a motorist who was smuggling a red Volkswagen bus from Benin Republic into Nigeria.

It was learnt that after the shooting, some residents took to the streets in protest. The residents were said to have alleged that customs officials had killed at least three motorists this month under the pretext that they were smugglers.

It was learnt that in the ensuing pandemonium, the customs officials stationed in the area fled. However, a Superintendent of Customs, identified as J. I Motojelu, was said to have been driving by at the time.

PUNCH Metro learnt that in retaliation, the angry mob, led by a community leader, dragged the officer out of his Toyota Corolla car marked ABJ 663 DW, and killed him.

It was learnt that the irate mob, also set the deceased officer's vehicle ablaze and set up bonfires at the centre of the road.

The culprits were said to have used the opportunity to steal some items that had previously been seized by customs.

A police source said, "Motojelu, who knew nothing about the incident was beaten to death. The mob opened a customs patrol van stationed nearby and took a G3 rifle with 30 rounds of ammunition kept inside it. They then set the vehicle ablaze."

Sources told our correspondent that some customs officials and policemen later returned to the scene and fired shots to disperse the mob.

Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Razaq Fadipe, said his men attempted to put out the fire but they had to retreat because of the sporadic gunshots in the area.

It was learnt that the victim had been rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

But the NCS Public Relations Officer, Seme Command, Ernest Olattah, said in a statement that the officer was killed while on his way to attend a meeting at the command.

He said, "We announce the gruesome killing of one of our senior officers by some smugglers in the Ashipa area of Seme around 9.50am on Thursday. The deceased officer, while in his official uniform, unarmed, and driving to the command's headquarters for a routine meeting, was accosted by a mob who forced him out of his vehicle.

"Led by an identified chief of the community, the officer was murdered in cold blood, while his vehicle was set ablaze."

The customs spokesman said efforts were on to apprehend the culprits adding that the customs had achieved many feats this year alone.

He said NCS operatives, due to their uncompromising stance against smuggling and the protection the nation's economy, had come under series of attacks by smugglers and some unpatriotic elements that saw smuggling as their rights.

The PRO said, "Customs Area Controller of Seme Border, Othman Abdu Saleh, has in collaboration with sister government agencies including the police, commenced moves to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book. The controller posits that this unfortunate incident will not deter operatives of the command under his watch from carrying out their lawful duties.

''This is indeed a sad day for us here in this command, but let me emphasised that we are not relenting in the discharge of our duty as we will not allow the darkness of criminality to dampen the light of our service to Nigeria."

Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, told our correspondent on the telephone that seven suspects had been arrested, adding that they would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba.

She said, "Joel is recuperating at Badagry General Hospital while the slain customs officer has been deposited at the mortuary."

HAVE YOU HEARD: Lagos Ranked 4th Worst City In The World

Lagos is the fourth worst city in the world, Economist Intelligence Unit, EIU, an independent forecasting and advisory business within the Economist Group has said.

And its top worst cities, are scattered around Africa and Asia. Lagos, the fourth on the list, shares its 137 position with Port Moresby, in Papua New Guinea on 38.9 per cent.

The report made available yesterday described it as the second-fastest growing city in Africa and the fourth worst city on earth.

"Rapid growth is not always a good thing because Lagos is now a magnet for two perpetual threats to peace: pirates and Islamist warriors.

Boko Haram have a problem with cities like Lagos and also lots of weaponry. Pirates threaten trade and use kidnapping as a method of funding. Islamist terrorist groups such as Boko Haram ("Education is forbidden") want to create their own version of heaven on earth by destroying cities such as Lagos and imposing strict sharia law. Lagos has enormous potential but as yet little to show for it – hence its poor ranking," the report said.

EIU in its 2013 annual survey of the world's 140 major metropolises, said Lagos has a long way to go politically, socially and economically before it joins the emerging market club.

Police Arraign 3 For Kidnapping, Raping UNILAG Student

Three men, Bashorun Babajide, Aje Olumayowa, and Babajide Ajayi, have been arraigned before the Tinubu Magistrate's Court, Lagos State, for allegedly kidnapping and raping an undergraduate of the University of Lagos.

In the eight counts which the police preferred against the defendants, it was alleged that after raping the girl, the men also took snapshots of their victim and posted them on the Internet.

It was alleged that within a few days of the upload, the nude photographs went viral on social media, exposing Titiloye to ridicule and shame.

The crime was said to have been uncovered and reported to the police after the attention of the family members of the victim was called to the pictures circulating online.

The police told the court on Thursday that Babajide, Mayowa and Ajayi also assaulted and attempted to murder their victim.

The police said the incident occurred in April, 2013.

The three accused persons were arraigned for kidnap, rape, assault, battery, unlawful detention and attempted murder.

The charge read in part, "That you, Bashorun Babajide, m, Aje Olumayowa, m and Babajide Ajayi, m, on the 28th day of April 2013, at about 1930hrs at No 1, Ajose Street, Lagos Island in the Lagos Magisterial District, did conspire to wit kidnap and rape.

"That you, Bashorun Babajide, m , Aje Olumayowa, m, and Babajide Ajayi, m, on the same date, time and place in the aforesaid magisterial district did detain one Tolulope Titilayo,f, 22 years without her consent for the purpose of unlawful sexual intercourse.

"That you, Bashorun Babajide, m , Aje Olumayowa, m and Babajide Ajayi, m, on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned magisterial district did unlawfully take the nude photograph of one Tolulope Titiloye,f, 22yrs, without her consent and posted same on the internet."

The prosecutor said the offences were contrary to and punishable under Sections 409, 269, 144(1), 258, 135(2), 150(1)(2), 228, 56(a) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

The defendants said they were not guilty of the charges.

It was reported that the complainant was not in court because she had not recovered from her ordeals in the hands of the culprits.

The magistrate, Mrs. S.K Matepo, admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N100, 000 with two sureties each in like sum.

The matter was adjourned till October 2.