₦airaland Forum

otusnorahs:
Hmmm, one 80+ old man is doing similar thing in my area, any aboki that sells buruntashi is his frnd, I pray he doesn't end up shamefully lik this. Tym u will use to rest ur weak hrt n bones, u say one thing na old age sex. Mak I see hw u wan tak tell God say u die on top ur grand daughter age.

cc lalasticlala

cc lalasticlala

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari may not involve the nation’s anti-graft agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in his government’s efforts at recovering looted funds, The PUNCH has learnt.

Our correspondents learnt on Monday that the President did not have confidence in the anti-graft agencies.

A top government official, who is familiar with the Buhari’s government’s efforts at recovering looted funds, told The PUNCH in confidence that President might rely more on people outside the system to achieve good results.

The official said, “The President’s body language as far as the anti-corruption agencies are concerned suggests that he does not have so much confidence in them.

“Most of the recovery job may be done by people outside the system, like consultants.”

He added that Buhari’s reliance on outsiders had started yielding positive results and that the President was currently in possession of incriminating information about individuals and institutions suspected to be culpable in looting the nation’s treasury.

He added that the information was not made available to Buhari by the anti-graft agencies but by concerned individuals and groups.

“I can confirm to you that the President has received plenty information that is useful for the recovery process. Anti-graft agencies are not the sources of the information. He got the information from different sources, including anonymous and known sources,” he said.

When contacted, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari was committed to the recovery and repatriation of all stolen funds from any part of the world.

The President had on June 23 said his administration had received firm assurances of cooperation from the United States and other countries in his quest to recover and repatriate funds stolen from Nigeria.

He said it was up to Nigeria to provide the international community with the facts and figures needed to drive the recovery effort, saying that he would be busy in the next three months, getting the facts that would help in recovering the stolen funds.

“In the next three months, our administration will be busy getting those facts and the figures to help us recover our stolen funds in foreign countries,’’ he had said while granting audience to members of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

It was learnt on Monday that the President had not given any directive on the recovery of stolen funds to any of the nation’s anti-graft agencies.

Investigations revealed that the leadership of the EFCC and the ICPC were unsure of the level of their expected involvement in the task of recovering the looted funds under Buhari.

Some very senior officers of the anti-graft agencies told one of our correspondents in confidence that they had not been involved in any looted funds recovery effort under Buhari’s administration because the President had not indicated what he expected from them in the exercise.

An officer in a strategic position in one of the agencies simply said he had no knowledge of whether the President had issued a directive or not.

It was gathered that the President had been engrossed in discrete moves to recover billions of Naira believed to have been stolen by officials of previous governments.

Buhari was said to have reached out to his counterparts in several countries to seek assistance on how the stolen funds could be repatriated.

It was further gathered that some of the leaders contacted had indicated readiness to assist the President on the issue of assets recovery.

The government source said that some of the politicians who got wind of the move by the President had become jittery and had commenced moves to return some of the funds in a bid to avoid being humiliated.

However, the source could not give the exact amount of money believed to have been recovered so far in the course of the efforts by Buhari to recover stolen Nigerian assets.

The source said, “Let me make it clear that no anti-graft agency is involved in the ongoing efforts to recover stolen funds.

“The fact is that nobody is sure of what the President wants to do or which security agency he intends to rely on in the bid to recover some of these funds.

“What we know is that he reached out to some foreign countries where some of these former government officials have gone to hide the funds and these countries are cooperating with him. They have promised to assist him to recover them.

“Some of those involved who got wind of the President’s move have started returning some of the stolen money.”

Most of the missing funds in Nigeria are believed to have been lodged in secret bank accounts in the U.S., UK, Switzerland and other European countries.

The President had indicated his resolve to trace and recover all such stolen funds on his resumption at the Presidential Villa on June 27, 2015.

The President, who raised the alarm that he met an empty treasury, said that billions of dollars stashed away in foreign accounts could be recovered in the next three months.

Adesina had told Saturday PUNCH that the Federal Government had the intention of engaging foreign private investigators to assist the country in tracing the looted funds.

The girl was handed over to the police and she confessed that it was not the first time she and the deceased had been having sex and that while they were at it, her old lover suddenly developed a seizure and slumped to the floor."

onegig:
There's what they call fair usage as regards copy righted materials online. You could have changed it to what is the correct version as they are English errors and not a mis representation of facts. Not a single person would hold you as long as it is properly referenced.

same2u:
Before I opened the trend....

I thought the stuff happened in the north

onegig:
So the mods don't even understand simple English anymore.

A very fatal? What language is that?

Also fatal and no one died?

handsomeclouds:
so why fatal? Its a ghastly road accident

It happened in the girl's father's house. There we found Pa Dimgba sprawled Unclad on the floor, foaming in the mouth.

cc lalasticlala

MKO4ever:
Most likely electric stove

20thAccountLOL:
they should cucumbate the fire immediately

*Four women who were duped out of £100,000 by lonely hearts conman on dating website Match.com after he posed as a Royal Marine will only get a few hundred pounds back each

*The victims paid money to Nigerian immigrant Adewale Adewole, 31
*He posed as a Royal Marine commando on the dating website Match.com
*Falsely claimed to be army captain Timmy Francis who ran an orphanage
*Duped women into sending him money which he transferred to his wife



Four besotted women duped out of almost £100,000 by a lonely hearts conman posing as a Marine commando will be paid back just a few hundred pounds each after a police auction of his luxury possessions.

Nigerian immigrant Adewale Adewole, 31, posed as Royal Marine commando Timmy Francis on the dating website Match.com
He falsely claimed to run an orphanage in Africa and was looking for romance under the motto: 'To live and love' and the online nickname 'Charismatic Brit'.

But after charming the unsuspecting women, he then claimed he needed money saying he had been mugged while attending to his 'orphanage'.
The women all sent him cash and paid his hotel bills - only for him to transfer the money into the bank account of his wife who shared his home with their two children in Eccles, Greater Manchester.

Police who caught up with father-of-three Adewole discovered he had used the women's cash to splash out on iPads, TVs and designer clothes plus electronic and musical items such as a glitterball and a keyboard thought to be worth in total tens of thousands of pounds.
But after he was jailed for four years, officers auctioned off the confiscated items in a bid to repay the victims - only for it to yield just £2,000.
It means the women will get back only hundreds of pounds each - with one victim getting just £199.

It is not known what happened to £4,500 in cash which Adewole kept under his bed and insisted was his.

At a proceeds of crime hearing at Manchester Crown Court, prosecutor Miss Louise Brandon said: 'The value of the loss was £98,140 and from that there is an available amount of £2,213.71 but the prosecution have four complainants who lost considerable amounts of money.
'The available items were mainly electrical that the police auctioned off so it would mean getting that money from the auction. The compensation orders have been reached proportionally but unfortunately it is no where near what they did give but it is all we can get. The complainants are fully aware that it was unlikely they would get it back.'

At an earlier court hearing Miss Brandon said the four victims were registered with Match.com and did not know each other.

She added: 'They were all contacted on the dating site by a man called Timmy Francis who had two profiles under the mottos 'To Live and Love' and 'Charismatic Brit'. They had contact with him during the period the fraud took place via text message, phone and email.
'He told them he had been a captain in the army. He also said he ran an orphanage in Africa called the Hope House Foundation, for which he set up a website including own mobile phone number.


'There was a profile picture on his Match accounts and he sent some of the women photographs of himself - all of these pictures were actually of a Royal Marine Commander called Joshua McGowan who knew nothing of what was going on.

'Each of the women wanted to find out more about him and were led to believe they were in a relationship with him. Although they arranged to meet, he never kept to the arrangements and never did meet any of the victims.

Miss Brandon added: 'He told the women that on a trip to Africa he was the victim of a crime and needed money. The crime meant he could not access his own funds. He said they would get their money back and would be sent letters from the World Health Organisation to show that he would be able to pay them.


'These letters were sent, but from an M30 Manchester postmark. He also sent them links to websites which, when logging in with details he gave them, appeared to show that he had a huge bank balance and would eventually be able to pay them back.

'One woman was asked to pay for a hotel for him. When she rang the number he gave her for the hotel, they also confirmed the information and she agreed to pay it. She later received a cheque addressed to him for £35,000 to prove he had money, but this was later discovered to be a stolen cheque forged in his own handwriting.

'Over a number of months each woman transferred significant sums of money via bank accounts and Western Union moneygrams and sent items to the defendant's home address. They bought electronic items, took out credit cards and loans and bought clothes from Next. Many of the goods were sent to his home address in Eccles from where the victims believed they would be forwarded on to the defendant in Nigeria.
'When the women stopped sending money they never heard from him again.'

The court heard the total amount stolen including the value of the household goods and Western Union transfers was £98,140.
Adewole was arrested in October 2012 at his flat and £4,500 in cash was found under his bed. A digital camera was found purchased by one of the victims, but containing pictures of the defendant and his wife and children. Designer clothes and shoes were also found worth £2,000 alone.
Adewole's wallet was also seized and contained several SIM cards, some of which contained the phone numbers of the victims. His two Blackberry phones were also seized - on these three different email accounts were in use which were linked to the two Match accounts. He was bailed and later tried to call one of the woman again under the name Timmy Francis and was arrested again.

When questioned he claimed to know nothing of the orphanage but that the £4,500 was his. He said the majority of the items found in his flat were to go to his mother in Nigeria. He admitted he had used Match.com in 2010, 2011 and 2012 but could not remember when exactly.
The victims known only as Miss E, Miss A, Miss W and Miss H will get back just £863.38, £332.07, £199.26 and £819.10 respectively.

Defence counsel Mr Khadim Al'Hassan said: 'I'm surprised by the amount from the auctions, it must have been a really bad day because they were all new items.'

GUNMEN struck Cigama village of Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara State, on Saturday, killing over 70 people while several others sustained injuries. The terror act happened barely 24 hours after the same group killed six people at Kokiya village, also in Zamfara State. Reliable source disclosed that the armed bandits attacked Kokiya village shortly after the congregation prayer in Kokiya Central Mosque, on Friday. Source affirmed further that the gunmen arrived Kokiya in dozens on Friday and were conveyed by Hilux vehicle while others rode on motorcycles. “They stormed the community and opened fire on visible persons in the village,” the source said. According to the source, members of Cigama, a neighbouring community, came to rescue the villagers as they forced the gunmen to beat a retreat. Retaliating, the gunmen attacked Cigama village on Saturday and killed over 70 people. Speaking on the attack, chairman of Birnin Magaji Local Government Area, Muhammad Bala Gusami, said he could only confirm the death of 30 people as of Sunday. He said more bodies were being recovered within and outside the community, while he described the incident as inhuman, barbaric and unhealthy. When contacted, the state police imagemaker, Sanusi Amiru, confirmed the attack, but declined to give details of casualties. He disclosed that a joint security taskforce comprising the police and military had been deployed in the affected areas.

cc lalasticlala

Omotayor123:
Op in short..


Make we no eat again

Henry120:
This Is what the vehicle looks like when armed.

- 1 50 Caliber machine gun

- 2 GPMGs

Photo 2 is there Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle under-development.

cc lalasticlala

I was transferred to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, UATH, Gwagwalada, the third day after the crash. I spent the next eight months there and as bills kept mounting, I had no choice but to dispose of my landed property, some sewing machines in addition to the money I had in the bank in order to raise over a million naira. I even lost my shop and all the textile materials of several customers plundered by my apprentice that did not ever think I would survive the accident.

BY IHEANACHO NWOSU, ABUJA

More facts have emerged on why former Lagos State governor Bola Tinubu, Interim National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) and erstwhile governor of Osun State Chief Bisi Akande boycotted the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party.

Their absence was not based on illness or permission by the authorities of the party. A member of the National Working Commit­tee (NWC) who was at the meeting said the former Lagos State governor was aware that there were plans to humiliate him and his henchmen.

“Tinubu knew that some people were pre­pared to fight him. He would have been hu­miliated by some people”, the official said.

He disclosed that the earlier arrangement was to engage him in a brawl and compel him to leave the venue of the meeting in an­ger. “Those who were to humiliate him were on ground but his absence saved the day”, the APC chieftain added.

He stated that the party leadership, sensing how rancorous the meeting may be , tinkered with the idea of barring journalists from cov­ering it.

According to him, the earlier plans were that photojournalists would be given five to 10 minutes to take pictures of the opening session and leave the scene.

He said “we tinkered with the plans of barring journalists from covering the event. We knew that anything could happen but we didn’t want to be ridiculed in the public.”

Prior to the NEC meeting, he disclosed that APC governors had met for some hours at the Imo Lodge, Asokoro to resolve the leadership crisis rocking the National Assembly . The meeting, he said , recorded some successes but could not address all the issues.

“The governors held a meeting on Thurs­day and brought some good news to the NEC meeting ,” he said

On what transpired at the meeting which started at 11 am and ended a little before 1pm , the APC chieftain said “the meeting was brief. The absence of Tinubu meant that we focused on few issues.”

“After a welcome speech by the Nation­al Chairman, the President read his speech. The problem bedeviling the party was tabled. We agreed that governors should continue from where they stopped.

“We looked at some allegations against the national chairman and many people believed that he was not guilty of those things they said he did. We decided to pass a vote of confi­dence on him. We commended Mr President on how far he has handled the affairs of the nation”, he added.

After the meeting, the trio of Oyegun, Sen­ate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Hon Yakubu Dogara were happy. Saraki said: “You can see from the smiles on everybody’s face. It is a good way to go.”

Imo State governor and Chairman APC Governors Forum, Rochas Okorocha said “Many people think that there will be problems between APC members at this meeting. But I am assuring Nigerians that we have met and discussed what affects all of us and we have understood ourselves. We have also reiterated our support and loyalty for our leadership.

“We are also going to meet on the issue of the National Assembly crisis and it will be re­solved amicably. So, I can confidently say that the crisis facing the party is almost over now.”

Giving insight into all that happened, Na­tional Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Muhammad said:”NEC has provided an en­abling environment to look into ways of re­solving the National Assembly logjam. Later in the day, the governors will be meeting with the Speaker and the Senate President in a fur­ther attempt to find lasting solution to the lin­gering logjam at the National Assembly.

“Also, it is important to let you know that everybody in the party is united on two issues which are party supremacy and the need to ensure that this government delivers its cam­paign promises.” When asked whether the leadership of the Senate and House of Rep­resentatives will now consider the position of the party on the selection of principal officers in both chambers of the National Assembly, Mohammed said “I have told you that the NEC has provided a platform to resolve this issue and part of the resolution is the meet­ing that will be held today (Friday) between the governors, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The president said he believes in party supremacy, we have a problem on our hands and we must find the best means to resolve it. One thing I can assure you is that, this house (the APC) shall not fall.”

Asked to comment on when to draw a line between party’s supremacy and the sanctity of the country’s constitution in the selection of principal officers at the National Assembly, Mohammed said “the less I said about this logjam the better, it’ll not be for only this par­ty but the whole nation. It is for the interest of everyone who voted for change. I would not want to go into the knitty gritty of what the resolution will be because as I speak for now I don’t know. When you talk about par­ty’s supremacy, it is derived from the constitu­tion.” On why notable chieftains of the party like Bola Tinubu and Bisi Akande were ab­sent from the meeting, he said invitation to the meeting was at the discretion of the NWC on who to invite or not and it is not out of respect to question why they are not here but the bot­tom line is that neither of them are members of the exco of the party.”

Meanwhile, a detailed picture of how the National Chairman of All Progressives Con­gress (APC) Chief John Odigie-Oyegun sur­vived plots to oust him as the boss of the party at yesterday’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party has emerged.

The high profile meeting , the first since the party’s victory in the March 28 presidential poll took place at the APC national secretariat, Wuse, Abuja. It was graced by President Mu­hammadu Buhari, Governors and other top leaders of the ruling party .

While the meeting was eagerly looked out for by other chieftains of the party, it was not the same for the embattled national chairman whose fate was to be decided at the August gathering.

“Some people wanted to use the meeting to remove him as chairman . The plots have been on since after the election of Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara “, a chieftain of the party who pleaded anonymity said .

It was gathered that chieftain of the party loyal to the national leader and former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu were in the forefront of the move to shove Oyegun aside .

The source said “ those loyal to Senator Tinubu believe that it was time for Oyegun to go. They were not happy with him over the way he handled the National Assembly leadership matter. They thought they could mobilise enough support to force him to tender his resignation before or during the NEC meeting”.

Even Oyegun last Friday at a meeting with South East,South South Professional disclosed the pressure he was going through in the hands of some powerful forces in the party.

He said “There is nothing they have not said about me but when you ask what has the man done, one of their reports said the present executive can not win us elections in 2019. Good Lord! You’ve not even finished with 2015, you’re talking about 2019. They also talked about the elite of the North against the people of the south west, am I from the North, am I the one organising them?”

That the national chairman survived the orchestrated plots to remove him, according to the party chieftain, was by the grace of henchmen of President Buhari and that of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.

It was gathered that the President’s men felt that Oyegun had not committed any offence to deserve being asked to resign . They believed that the allegation of being bribed by the Senate President Dr Saraki, one of the reasons adduced by proponents of his removal was not true.

According to the source, Buhari’s men know that former Lagos State governor and his men want Oyegun out because they didn’t succeed in “encircling the President with Tinubu’s men”.

He said “the President’s men refused to buy into the campaign that the National Chairman was compromised by Saraki. They didn’t see any evidence to that effect. Rather they believe that those who want him out were angry that that their agenda of encircling the president failed.

“They were angry that Oyegun was called up at 4am by forces from Lagos to do a dirty job. They even dropped the name of the President in all those dirty jobs. Instead of apologising to Mr President for lying with his name they are insisting that the National Chairman must go.”

He said the party should be “happy that PDP did not elect one of its own senate president. Saraki saved the party because there was nothing we would have done if they had elected one of their own as senate president. They formed a quorum, we were lucky that it did not go into their head to elect one of their own as senate president. And the mistake was because somebody in his desperation to have everything lied that the President called a meeting and took our lawmakers to a place they were not supposed to be.”

On the side of Atiku’s loyalists, it was gathered that they were against the removal of Oyegun because they were determined to cut Tinubu to size.

The source said “the other tendency which is loyal to the former Vice President does not want the structure of the party changed. It is against allowing Tinubu to take everything or call the shot in APC. It believes that the Vice President is a product of Tinubu and that should be enough for him.”

He continued “both Buhari’s men and that of Atiku worked together to save Oyegun. However, I don’t think the fight is over, it may be the beginning”.

cc lalasticlala

DrGroove:
Lolz...That's acting.love? btw man n woman in 2015? pure comedy! scam!!

In 2002, after 35 years of service, she retired as a deputy superintendent from the Nigeria Police Force, while her squad mates did as superintendents, assistant commissioners and deputy commissioners. Wine glasses were raised up on the day they retired, all laughing and dancing to have served in the Force and retired alive, and not killed while on the job. Some others were not that lucky. Nonetheless, she wasn’t happy and maybe she still isn’t.

Thirteen years are gone now since her retirement, but anytime she remembers the treatments meted out to her by her male bosses, the agony returns. But for the passion she had for the job, she would have long quit, but she stood up against them, fought them with everything at her disposal – for the most years she spent in the Force.

They were bent on frustrating her – and they succeeded, at least to some extent.

First, her promotion through the ranks was always delayed; second, her name was dropped at least twice from the inspectorate and assistant superintendent of police calls – promotional training courses for members of the Force; and finally, she was always asked to perform duties that were below her capability and strength.

Whether her female colleagues succumbed to the threats of their senior male colleagues for them to have retired at higher levels in the Force than her, she couldn’t tell. “What I know is that I kept myself pure, I never compromised,” she looked in the eyes of our correspondent and managed to flash a brief smile.

Clara – not her real name – joined the Nigeria Police Force when she was around 25. The Enugu State indigene, who pleaded not to be named for fear of being a target of attack, was young, pretty, slim, with a chocolate skin colour and a great dress sense. Unknown to her, these qualities endeared her to many of her male bosses. “I was getting too much attention from almost every senior male officer, and before I knew what was happening, I was being asked out by most of them. It took a while for me to know I was going to pay dearly for turning down their proposals,” she said.

She joined as a recruit, a spinster at that time, and immediately, she became a victim of sexual harassment. To make matters worse, she didn’t marry a policeman, which she said could have helped in stopping the harassment, but she chose to marry someone else, her true lover.

She said, “It was my passion while growing up to be a police officer. I just loved anyone in uniform. Thankfully, I had the requirements to join, so I applied and it was successful. I joined as a recruit at that time. But it wasn’t funny. I started becoming an object of attraction from my male bosses, which I really didn’t like. But it wasn’t mere attraction; they wanted to sleep with me. They asked me out many times, tried to lure me through gifts and promises of speedy promotion. I am glad to say it anywhere that I turned them down.


“To make it worse, I didn’t marry a member of the Force. Another man owned my heart. Probably if I had married a member of the Force – at least one of those I got proposals from – it would have been easier. The harassment wouldn’t have been as tough as I experienced.

“It wasn’t long before I realised I was going to pay for not giving in to them. Many times I was posted to places like the police cooperative, where my skills and knowledge were rendered useless. I had the physique and the intellect to be at better posts, even in the field. But they did not allow me to be at such posts. At least twice they removed my name from the lists of officers to go and study abroad. And to my surprise, they made it obvious to me that they were punishing me for refusing to have sex with them.”

These treatments ultimately led to her depression, but she found a way around it to still get on, without letting it affect her work.

“When it was becoming too obvious that I was suffering from depression, my husband asked me what was happening and I told him, but he kept on encouraging me. Of course, he couldn’t have done anything to stop them if he wanted me to stay in the Force,” she added. “He reminded me of the passion I had for the job and that kept me on. So at a point in time, after spending about 10 years in the Force, I got used to the threats and developed a stronger mind. My squad mates all left me behind because I was the only one that I knew whose promotion was delayed. Today, I’m a victor; I fought and I won. I didn’t let them determine what happened to me.”

Maybe she retired as a fulfilled police officer, but not as a happy one – an assumption based on her expression when she spoke with Saturday PUNCH in her Lagos residence on a cold evening past weekend.

Caught between two options

Clara is retired now, but there are presently other female police officers who are being sexually harassed by their male bosses; some of them spoke to our correspondent on the issue on the condition of anonymity.

They want to keep quiet – and say nothing about what they are passing through, especially if they want to keep their jobs. They cannot write petitions; they are scared – they said even if they do, the petitions might eventually land on their bosses’ tables, which could lead to an end of their careers ultimately. They don’t know whether they would be believed even if they complain. Hence, they are living with it.

Some weeks ago, our correspondent approached two policewomen, who retired in their booth after spending some time controlling the traffic along the Lagos-Ikorodu Expressway, to seek their thoughts on the issue. At first, they looked confused, but after being assured that their identities were never going to be disclosed, they caved in, and gave Saturday PUNCH an address where they could talk about it.


On the agreed day and time, they showed up in muftis.

“You can help us write about it, but don’t ever quote us, don’t show our faces. Don’t disclose where we live or our duty posts,” one of the two instructed. They agreed that Saturday PUNCH could take their pictures only if it would not implicate them in any way.

Deal was done.


One of them, a dark-skinned woman, probably in her late 30s, told our correspondent that if she knew another job that was free of sexual harassment from male colleagues and bosses, she would opt for it. “But it is difficult getting such. Getting this one was not easy in the first place, not to talk of looking for another one,” she said.

When she was recruited into the Force a few years ago, she said she had no idea that apart from having the right skills, her fate on the job would depend on whether she could sleep with senior male officers.

She said, “I’ve been asked out several times by my bosses; they know I’m married, yet they still want to sleep with me. This is not something so strange to me because even before I joined the Force, it happened. Men like to ask ladies out whether they are married or not; they just don’t care. Unfortunately, I cannot do it. I am a faithful Christian and no matter the threat, I will never let them have their way. It’s not normal, I suppose.

“The only challenge I’m having right now is that my husband is not here in Lagos, so many of them don’t believe I am married. They usually ask me to produce my husband; meanwhile, I am not the type who wears wedding ring every time. I have told a senior female colleague about this many times, seeking advice on what to do, but it’s like there is nothing to do than to either maintain my stand or compromise.

“She told me if I compromise, it would help my career, but if I don’t, I will be persecuted. I have chosen the latter. I can never sell my body to climb the ladder of any career in life, no matter how juicy the offer is. When you are here, you cannot write petition against any boss like that, except if one is asking for trouble. A boss will always be a boss. When the matter goes up, it will still come down and one will be hurt more. That’s what this is all about. I think it happens in most organisations.”

Yes, it does happen in many organisations in the world, but that doesn’t make it right, a Nigerian sociologist and marriage counsellor who lives in the United States, Mrs. Kenny Oyediran, told our correspondent via Facebook.

She said, “It is not a new phenomenon, it’s been happening for ages, but because it is happening does not make it normal. Organisations of today have to stop this immoral behaviour. As a society, we are losing our sense of value almost every day and we are just sitting idly by, doing nothing about it.

“Women who are harassed in their workplaces, do you think they would have any self-esteem on the job? Would they be able to explore their full potentials on the job? Would they be productive? The answer to all these questions is ‘no.’ They would underperform, they would not believe in whatever they are doing. They would be at the mercy of their bosses. Their successes on the job would depend on their bosses. It is just not normal.

“They are not going to be at their best on the job and service to the country. If this is happening, which I don’t doubt, then it is high time it stopped. It is ungodly, evil, and devilish. Women should be allowed to be themselves and get to the peak of their professions by their own acts, not by how many male bosses they can sleep with. Harassment and victimisation of women help no organisation, nor any country.”

Harassment endangers security of Nigerians

If female police officers could be allowed to explore their skills on the job, maybe the security of Nigerians would be better off, a security expert in Lagos, Mr. Peter Akanmu, said on the phone.

“Women can do amazing things if they are given the chance to prove themselves, but in a situation where they are being harassed sexually and victimised if they refuse to succumb, they will not be able to explore their potentials. Such organisation as a whole will suffer,” he said.

He added that the security of the country should be of priority to every police officer and not thinking of how to sleep with their female subordinates.

He said, “There are bad eggs in the system and we all know that; they are the ones hindering the success of the Nigeria Police entirely. Imagine someone whose name was dropped from overseas training list because she was upright. If she had gone for such trainings, she would have probably improved and contributed a lot more to the security of the country in her own little way. She was denied the opportunity. That’s wickedness.

“Of course, it is possible that there are no proper channels for these women to report these cases, due to the kind of corrupt system we operate, so these women will live with the victimisation. Instead of becoming great fighters, they become cowards.”

Recently, there were reports of young Kurdish female fighters who took up arms against ISIS.

According to the reports, instead of running away from their cities and allowing the Islamic State terrorist group to destroy their lands, the women picked up arms, stood up against them, and repelled the terrorists.

Lives were lost, but they did not die as cowards.

“Even though that was not a workplace scenario, the point is, those women had the chance to prove themselves. Nigerian policewomen can be their best also if they are left to do the job without having to compromise,” he said.

It’s a global phenomenon

Workplace harassment has become one of the most sensitive areas of effective workplace management. In a report, it was stated that a significant source of work stress is associated with aggressive behaviours at workplace.

It was also stated that developing countries, including Nigeria, are far behind other countries in that there are limited efforts to investigate the questions on workplace harassment. It is almost unseen and the managers are almost reluctant or unconscious about it.

Under occupational health and safety laws around the world, workplace harassment and workplace bullying are identified as being core psychosocial hazards.

A psychologist, Mrs. Moyo Owolabi, said depression and work stress are often some of the by-products of sexual harassment.

“Such female officers need counselling and they should go for it. It is sickening that you have a job you have passion for, but instead of enjoying it, you are being harassed. It leads to depression, which leads to low productivity. It is everywhere, but I hope the Nigeria Police does something about this quickly,” she said.

The other victim, who volunteered to speak to our correspondent, said she was already looking for another job, in the absence of which she would start a business, so as to escape the trauma.

“I cannot say I’m enjoying this anymore. If you cannot do what they want, you are oppressed. If I get another job today, I’ll quit,” she affirmed.

Perpetrators go unpunished

In a recent report by The PUNCH, it was found out that cases of sexual harassment of policewomen by their superior officers are usually not investigated or addressed by the police authorities.

According to the report, the phenomenon is rampant at the divisional level, and is frequently perpetrated by Divisional Police Officers and Divisional Crime Officers against their female subordinates.

However, investigations showed that a huge number of petitions against DPOs and DCOs submitted to the Police Service Commission by the rank and file have been largely unattended to by the commission.

An official, who spoke on the issue on the condition of anonymity, explained that the police authorities do not bother to investigate allegations of sexual harassment. He said many of such petitions by female complainants had ended up in the dustbins.

He said, “There are so many cases of sexual harassment, especially at the divisional police level; we have cases of DPOs forcing themselves on junior female officers and if such a lady refuses, she would be oppressed.

“If she agrees to the DPO’s sexual advances, the DCO also would demand for sexual gratification, but if she refuses, she would be oppressed or punished and if she petitions the commission, the allegation would not be investigated and the errant officer would not be queried or punished.”

Hope for victims?

A professor of law and human rights, Itse Sagay, said there are laws guarding against sexual harassment in the workplace. He advised victims of such to report the one who is harassing them to a senior officer.

Sagay added that if, after reporting such matters to the appropriate authorities, nothing is being done to address the situation, the victims could sue the Force and seek redress legally.

“It is an infringement on their civil rights as employees. No one is permitted to use their position in the workplace to intimidate their female subordinates. If there is nothing done after they have written petitions, such victims could sue the organisation,” he said.

In The PUNCH report, the Police Service Commission, an arm responsible for constituting actions against perpetrators, complained that there were no funds to carry out its operations and maintain discipline in the Force.

It was also learned that the PSC does not have the capacity to probe allegations of misconduct against police officers, but relies on the police to probe themselves.

A senior official explained that whenever the PSC receives a petition against a policeman, it would forward same to the Inspector-General of Police, who would send it to the Command Commissioner of Police and he (the CP) would in turn send the petition to the DPO who would then dispatch it to the individual involved.

“Usually, the PSC doesn’t get a feedback on such petitions and when it does, it may take up to six months or longer before the police would respond and the verdict is usually neither here nor there,” the official stated.

However, the PSC Commissioner-in-Charge of Media, Comfort Obi, said the commission had been holding meetings and enforcing discipline in the Force, adding that all petitions are duly investigated and the appropriate sanctions meted out to errant police officers.

“Even if you say we lack funds, we have been holding meetings and we have promoted many officers and also punished errant ones this year; in fact, I just stepped out of a meeting now,” she told The PUNCH.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, would not agree that policewomen are being harassed by senior male officers. He said he had not heard of such cases in the police, but promised to sanction any perpetrator of the act.

“Nigeria Police is concerned about the welfare of its officers. We don’t tolerate oppressive conduct in the Nigeria police, even if the petition is against a CP, it would be investigated by the X-squad or his superior officer,” he maintained.

DrGroove:
Poverty makes a man humble.
If he had money,he wouldn't have been frustrated,he wouldn't have realised his mistake.he would have even boasted,bragged n claim right! next,marry a new wife.

The council chairman, Langtang North Local Government Area of Plateau state, Dan Dul, said 10 persons have, in the past few days, died of cholera in the area.
The council chairman said the death toll in the past one week has risen to 10, with 48 new cases currently been treated.
According to Mr. Dul, the state epidemiologist and Plateau state House of Assembly committee on health had visited the clinic and affirmed that it was a cholera outbreak.
Mr. Dul made the disclosure in an interview with journalists in Jos on Thursday.
He said 48 people were hospitalized, while a few had been treated and discharged from the local primary healthcare.
Mr. Dul said the council equipped the Primary Health Care with drugs to effectively tackle the current health challenge.
He appealed to the people to observe good sanitation as a means of preventing further occurrence of the disease.

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