₦airaland Forum

kandiikane: pick any of the photos I posted and let me know.

A VIOLENT protest by hundreds of people has trailed the death of a Nigerian in police custody in China's southern city of Guangzhou, state media and police said.

According to agency reports, the police said in an online statement on Tuesday that the man was detained after he fought with the driver of an electric bicycle over a fare on Monday. He later fell unconscious in custody, and died despite efforts to revive him.

The statement said authorities were investigating the death of the unnamed man.

Police could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Meanwhile, Italy's embassy in Abuja yesterday said there would be no further comments on the circumstances surrounding the death of an Italian national while under the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mauro Zanin, a suspected fraudster, is thought by the commission to have committed suicide.

The Global Times newspaper said around 500 protesters threw rocks at police vehicles and private cars, after authorities did not allow the Nigerian victim's family to see the body.

The official Xinhua news agency put the number of protesters at more than 100.

Photographs posted on Chinese microblogs showed scores of people standing at an underpass and apparently blocking traffic while a line of police in blue uniforms stood guard.

A community website aimed at foreigners living in southern China, The Nanfang, claimed the African man was beaten by a group of Chinese in the argument with the driver.

Guangzhou has a relatively large African population, estimated by Chinese media reports at 200 000.

Following the protest, police in Guangzhou have urged foreigners living in the city not to disturb public order and to abide by Chinese law.

Responding to an enquiry by The Guardian, the Charge d'Affaires of the embassy, Dr. Bazani said: "Our condolences have been conveyed to the family and we do not want to issue any statement on this issue"

The country's head of mission was asked to comment on the nature of death of the Italian, whether there had been any home government investigations into his activities and whether the embassy had employed an independent medical personnel that could make a judgement on the cause of Zanin's death.

But he declined comments and instead said: "Any other matter, please expect our fullest cooperation with The Guardian but no more comments on this. We will not issue a statement on this matter"

A new Ambassador of Italy to Nigeria is expected to resume sometime next month. Dr. Bazani has been acting head of mission and Charge d' Affaires to Nigeria since the last ambassador Dr. Roberto Colamine left.

Three policemen consisting of a superintendent and corporals have been detained for allegedly allowing the suspended Chairman of the House of Representtaive Ad hoc Committee on fuel Subsidy Regime, Mr. Farouk Lawan to go home at night while in detention.

It was learnt on Monday that investigators suspected that Lawan did not spend Thursday and Friday nights in police custody.


He was allegedly taken to his Apo residence at night and returned to custody very early in the morning, in violation of custodial rules and regulations.


However, another source said the policemen merely allowed the lawmaker to go home to refresh and take his bath in the mornings of Friday and Saturday.


This came to the fore on Monday just as our correspondents learnt the Special Task Force investigating the $620,000 bribery allegation levelled against Lawan by Zenon Oil Chairman, Mr. Femi Otedola, ran into a brick wall on Monday.


It was learnt efforts of the team to retrieve the alleged $620,000 bribe were successful as the lawmaker failed to bring the money when he came to the Force Headquarters on Monday.


A member of the STF, who spoke with one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity, lamented that the police were also not getting the cooperation of the House leadership in their efforts to retrieve the money.


It was learnt that the Commissioner in charge of the Special Task Force, Ali Ahmadu, who discovered the security breach, reported the incident to the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.


The IG reportedly ordered the detention of the policemen.


A source said, “The three policemen are now in detention for flouting police rules on handling of suspects in detention and they are going to pay for it.


“But the officers are saying that they acted on an instruction from a superior officer, who has disowned them.”


It was learnt that the police authorities might employ a tougher stance against Lawan to force him to cough out the $620,000. The police high command is yet to determine the next line of action on the issue.


The member of the STF, who spoke with one of our correspondents, said, “Lawan came and he did not bring any money. Even the leadership of the House, which we have contacted has not done anything.”


The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, said he was not aware of the development.


He said he would find out from the STF and get back to our correspondent.


Meanwhile, Lawan's counsel, Mr. Sam Ologunorisa, in an interview with The PUNCH warned against the harassment of the lawmaker.


He said, “If he has not been released, we will have gone to court today. Investigation must go on, but it must be within the ambit of the law. It must follow due process.”


Also, the National Chairman, Action Congress of Nigeria, Chief Bisi Akande, urged the police to ensure an unbiased investigation into the $620,000 bribery scam.

By: AKIN ALOFETEKUN, Minna

Monday, June 18, 2012


How police in Equatorial Guinea killed Nigerian prince

For Prince Mathew Adekanmi Aderemi Bepo, 47, a Nigerian and staff of the Arab Contractors in Equatorial Guinea, May 23 started like any other day in Malabo, capital of the Central African country; quiet and peaceful.


The peace and quietude of the day was, however, short-lived for Bepo when by 3p.m (just two hours to the close of work), four Guinean policemen allegedly stormed his office, dragged him out and took him to the outskirts of the town. He was battered, especially on the head, and later dumped in front of a police station where Good Samaritans saw him and helped him to his company's clinic.


Four days later, Bepo gave up the ghost, leaving behind a wife, six children and other dependants

But what could have been his offence? Well, the late Bepo, who hails from the Bepo Ruling House of Ilesa in Osun State, was said to have refused to "do a deal" with a Guinean national who had come to siphon diesel from the company's fuel stock beyond the 200 litres contained in the approval paper he brought to Bepo. The deceased, until his death, was the store officer of the company.


Arab Contractors, Bepo's employers, were engaged in a road construction work for the Guinean government in Malabo. Some dubious activities happening in the company in Malabo compelled the company to transfer Bepo whose record of sincerity and integrity was said to be a common knowledge to his Egyptian bosses in the company.

With his papers perfected and work permit from the authorities in Malabo issued, Bepo left his office in Lagos and headed for Equatorial Guinea to assume office as Stores Officer. Part of his schedule was to take charge of the company's property in the stores and release items to staff and sub-contractors of the company only on the approval of his bosses.

Since his arrival in Malabo, the deceased had adhered strictly to the rules guiding his job until last month when this strict adherence cost him his life in the hands of those who felt his continued stay in that office was becoming injurious to their selfish interests.


Daily Sun exclusively gathered that around 3 p.m of the fateful day, one Mahmud, a Ghanaian subordinate of the late Bepo, had asked for the deceased's signature permitting him to release 200 litres of diesel to one of the company's sub-contractors. The authority letter was genuine and so Bepo wasted no time in appending his signature.


Some 20 minutes later, however, Mahmud again returned with Don Rahman Fernando Nguii, the Guinean sub-contractor, telling Bepo that the sub-contractor was asking for additional 100 litres, but that he (Mahmud) told the Guinean that only a higher authority could grant such a request.


Bepo was said to have told the man that he was not in a position to grant his request. At that point, the Guinean allegedly became furious and put a call to somebody whom he told in Spanish that Bepo was proving stubborn. "Leave him. I will let him know I am a Guinean," he was quoted to have said furiously before storming out of Bepo's office.


Some 15 minutes later, the Guinean reportedly came back with four policemen who, without any introduction, went straight for Bepo. In a commando-like manner, the policemen was said to have dragged him away from his chair and pushed him into their car and sped off.


By the time Bepo resurfaced at the company's clinic in Malabo, his was a case beyond the capacity of the clinic. He was then transferred to another hospital where he spent a night before he was again transferred to Centro Medico, Lapas, said to be the best hospital in Equatorial Guinea. Here, Bepo was reportedly placed under the intensive care unit. He, however, could not make it, as he died four days after the attack.


Daily Sun, however, gathered from sources close to the family of the late Bepo that the policemen were of the Bonas Esperance station in Malabo. By the time Bepo's relations arrived Malabo after hearing the news of his death, the matter was yet to be reported officially to the Nigerian embassy. However, the Yoruba community in Malabo reported the matter to embassy officials. The company eventually communicated the news of Bepo's death to the Nigerian embassy via a letter dated 31st May, 2012.



According to Mallam Bashir, a member of the Yoruba community, killing Nigerian nationals in Equatorial Guinea was a regular occurrence, especially the illegal immigrants.

The Nigerian Head of Chancery, Alhaji Umar A Abdullahi, the Chiroman Lapai in Niger State, in a telephone interview with our correspondent said he would not respond to any of the questions put to him, saying: "I am a civil servant."


When reminded of the gravity of the issue at stake, Abdullahi, who was more interested in knowing how our correspondent got his telephone number than in talking about the matter that has capacity to cause diplomatic row between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, said he had said everything there was to be said to the relations of the deceased.


"If you cannot get them to brief you, then go to the ministry in Abuja. I don't know you and I cannot talk to you," Abdullahi said with a tone of finality. Ezekiel Ajayi, a colleague of Bepo, confirmed to Daily Sun in a telephone interview that the president of Equatorial Guinea, Ngueso Nguema, had personally taken interest in the matter and has since ordered the immediate arrest and prosecution of all those involved.


James Agum, another colleague of Prince Bepo, also in a telephone interview told Daily Sun that about five people, including Nguii, the sub-contractor and the head of the Bonas Esperance police station whose men picked the deceased, were already in detention waiting to be charged to court.

The Head of the company in Malabo, Mallam Ahmed Abubakar, could not be reached on his mobile number, but unconfirmed sources revealed that the management of Arab Contractors is divided between insisting on justice being done on Bepo's case and the need to maintain the existing cordial business relationship with the Guinean authorities that would not create embarrassment for the government in Malabo or be found to be responsible for diplomatic row between Abuja and Malabo.


Funmi, wife of the deceased, Babajide, Seyi, Adeola, Mary, Tade and Bunmi, his children are presently mourning the loss of a husband and father who left Nigeria for Equatorial Guinea in a legitimate search of a means of livelihood, only to return home dead.


Bepo was not an illegal immigrant in Malabo, and the company's letter to the Nigerian Embassy confirmed this. In the letter intimating the embassy of Bepo's death and signed by the company's General Manager, Engineer Ibrahim Mabrouk, the company stated that Bepo "came to Equatorial Guinea by the company's request and was working with us. He died on the 27th May, 2012 by an internal bleeding. It's such a painful situation and we are sorry not being able to communicate it before.


"Our lawyers are taking care of the case before the Equatorial Guinea justice department and that was why we were unable to pass on the information earlier."

[b]Everyone our correspondent spoke to at the crash site of Dana airplane in Iju, Ishaga, Lagos State, described the family of Jeremiah and Josephine Okwuchukwu as very kind, loving and down to earth. They were less than an average family. But one would not know until you got closer to them. Things were not always rosy for the family. Before the parents died, the family went through a very difficult phase.

Teachers and a cleric said that there were days the children would not eat from morning till night. But one phrase was common in the mouths of neighbours 'the mother loved her children.'

A pastor, Mr. Godwin Simire, of Faith Chapel International Church, said that Mrs. Josephine Okwuchukwu would have done anything for her children.

He said, "She was a wonderful woman, very hardworking and caring. She gave her all for her children. There was even a day she told me that she found a pair of old socks in a dustbin which she quickly washed and dried so that one of her children could wear them to school.

"That family went through a state of penury. But you would not know unless you were close to them. Mrs. Okwuchukwu did all she could just to make sure that her children live a comfortable life."

Simire said that the husband, who was an okada rider before his death, was not really there for his family. He said his negligence started when he lost his job.

He said, "He used to work in a good company, but was later retrenched. That was when he started riding okada. It's like the family moved from grace to grass. Mrs. Okwuchukwu found it hard coping. Imagine having money to buy what you want, then all of a sudden, you don't have money again."

Simire said that the Saturday before she died, Mrs. Okwuchukwu had said that if she was to die, she would not worry about her children because she knew she had trained them to be independent and strong.

The Pastor added, "Her four children were very hardworking and committed to Bible study. They were very intelligent and well-trained. Sometimes, after school, they would pass by our house to eat. Those children went through a tough time.

"On the day of the crash, I had gone to her house to visit her. I was worried because she had not been attending church services. From January until May 27, we did not see her in church. Even after May 27, she disappeared. When I got to her house, this was around 3pm, "I asked her why she did not come to church, she said she was washing clothes. I prayed with her and left. I did not see her husband. But from what I heard, he had attended a men's fellowship meeting at his own church that very Sunday. During the course of the meeting, he took permission to go home."

Simire said when he heard the news of their death, he was very sad. "I thought the whole family had died. I was later informed that three children survived. That before the crash, the mother had sent the first boy on an errand and when he did not return, she asked the other two children to go and look for him.

"After I heard that the three children survived, I quickly ran to the crash site. I met the children outside. The first boy did not want to leave the crash site, he kept saying 'my mummy will come out; we just left her now, she sent us on an errand'".

When asked about the welfare of the three children who have been adopted by the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Raji Fashola, Simire said the second and third children were not really aware of all that was going on and that it was just the first born, Joel, who looked sad. "I visited the children some days back and while we were all talking, Joel just broke down in tears. I felt so bad. But I know God will take care of them. At least, they will now have foster parents. ''

Our correspondent visited the children's' former school, a public school at Iju Ishaga, Fred Williams Memorial Primary School. Once you get into the school premises, you can't help but say that the surviving children have moved from grass to grace.

A teacher, after hearing that the children had been adopted by Fashola shouted, 'Wan ti fo lo, meaning these children have gone high.'

Describing the Okwuchuwkuws, Chisom's (the 2nd boy) class teacher, Mrs. Adeniran, said the family was one of the best she had ever met.

She said, "The children were lovely. Chisom is an intelligent boy. I always treated them like my own children. They were so respectful and humble. They were so good in greeting people. Their parents really trained them well. The only sad thing about them was that they did not have money. Sometimes, the children will come to school hungry. There were days they would not eat throughout. But the mother was always trying her best. She would come to the children's school at around 8 am and wait till 1pm when the children close. She loved them. She might not have had money, but she had love for them."

Adeniran also confirmed a statement that the parents had to die for the children to enjoy life. "The woman was good. She hated the fact that she could not provide the best for her children. It was like she had to die for the children to enjoy. The Friday before their death, she said if she died, we should not give her children to her family members because none of them cared for her. It's like she knew she was going to die. There was a day we spent over two hours talking. She just kept telling me about her problems. I felt sorry for her especially because her husband was not too supportive."

Shalom's class teacher, Miss Peace, described Shalom, who died with her parents, as a quiet but intelligent child. "She was so beautiful. She had a very good handwriting. She was in Nursery two. At first, the school put her in Nursery one but the class teacher said that she was too brilliant for Nursery one, then they moved her to Nursery two. I will miss her dearly."

Other class teachers, said the children did not deserve to go through such pain. One of them, Mrs. Kuteyi said, "Everyone in this school knew the woman. She was very friendly. She used to come to school every day. She would sit down with the food sellers talking while her children were in class. It's like she always wanted to be around them."

Chisom's best friends, Godwin Ukpevegbu and Steven Obinna, said that life would not be the same without Chisom. They were such close friends. They said they would miss him so much.

Despite the sad ambiance, the teachers were happy that the children would now have a better life. The Principal of Movet Group of Schools, Iju Ishaga, Mrs. Joy Adedoyin, who had a good relationship with the family, said that the children would now have the opportunity to go to a better school.[/b]


She said, "Before enrolling the children at Fred Williams, Mrs. Okwuchukwu had approached me. She said that she wanted her children to attend Movet School, but when I told her our school fees, she never returned. I think she did not have enough money to pay our school fees. I heard she also went to other schools around the neighbourhood, but their fees were too high. She later chose Fred Williams Memorial Primary School."

Adedoyin said that on the day of the crash, Mrs. Okwuchukwu was weaving the hair of her last child, "If the girl had followed her siblings, she would still have been alive. But only God knows why it happened like that," he said.

Myself2: @ OP

You don't have a problem.

Just saunter into a good old bookshop and buy a copy of BRIGHTER GRAMMAR; not for your guy though,but for yourself.

Last time I checked,it was "fluent in English" and not "with English",also when dealing with form and function,the first person singular pronoun"I" is ALWAYS capitalised as against the dotted "i" you splashed all over your post.

How would you feel if someone refused to marry you just on account of the afore-mentioned albeit flimsy flaws

Aringarosa: Only a Professor from a liberal college believe that the only way to get ahead is to do well in school. A college education is a good thing to have but your GPA is not a good predictor of success in life. People skills and hard work and the willingness to take risk are more important. If you think borrowing $100K to attend Columbia will make you successful in life you are probably going to be disappointed.

Woman in hospital after falling victim of commercial bus robbers on Kirikiri Road, as residents seek police help


ONCE, only identified as home to a maximum-security prison, Kirirkiri Road, Apapa, is steadily gaining notoriety as one of the black spots in the Lagos metropolis.


The road, which leads to Mile Two - Oshodi Expressway and Boundary Market in Ajegunle, has become favourite, for the type of robbers and fraudsters Lagosians call 'One chance' on account of their method of operation.


Hardly does a day go by without passers-by coming to the aid of victims, who were pushed out of the buses after they had been robbed.


One such victim still in hospital on account of injuries she sustained at the hands of 'One chance' robbers is Mrs. Mariam Ezirim, a mother of five, who was lucky to be alive to tell her story.


From her hospital bed at Bayo Ogunro's Clinic along Kirikiri Road, Ezirim told The Guardian:


"On Thursday, I left home to the Boundary Market to buy some food items for my restaurant. I was waiting for a commercial bus at First Benue Plateau Bus Stop along Kirikiri Road, when suddenly, a taxi cab pulled up close to me and called for passengers going to Boundary Market.


"Because I had been waiting for quite sometime, I decided to board the cab.


" Unknown to me, the driver, the young woman at the front seat and the three men at the back, were 'One chance robbers'.


"Shortly after we drove off, the girl brought out N100.00 to pay the driver as her fare, but he refused, claiming the correct fare was N200.00 as earlier bargained.


" A heated argument ensued, with the girl, boasting that she was worth more than the N200.00 the driver was asking for.


"She pointed to a carton and said: 'Look at this carton, it is full of dollars. The money you are asking for is chicken change to me.'


"At that point, the driver threatened to report her to the police unless she agreed to share the dollars among them including the other fake passengers. He said they too must also have their share of the dollars."


One of them turned to Ezirim and said: 'Madam, you must be a lucky woman. We are going to share the dollars together. God has buttered our bread, or are you not interested?' which Ezirim offered, No!


Explaining how she got the dollars, the girl said she was a prostitute and was dating one wealthy Alhaji whose name she tried to use for moneymaking rituals, but failed.


So she decided to steal the Alhaji's money, searched his wardrobe and made away the carton full of dollars.


The fake passengers again turned to Madam Ezirim and asked: "Madam, do you want your daughter to be a prostitute? You better join us to share the money."


In anger, Ezirim responded: "God forbid that my daughter should become a prostitute" which was the last thing she remembered as she lost consciousness.


Ezirim told The Guardian she was driven to somewhere, which she discovered later, was in Ijesha area, but could not give the address.


She was taken into a small room, where she regained consciousness but could not talk due to the effect of whatever drug that was used on her.


"Honestly, I didn't know where I was. I was only praying silently that they should not kill me," she said.


They dispossessed her of N50,000.00, leaving her with N300.00 as transport fare.


They also asked her to send them her bank account number so they couold pay in her share of the dollars.


Ezirim said further: "One of the fake passengers who gave his name as 'Frank' gave me three phone numbers: 0731140179, 08100576718, 07028750567 to call them and that I should bring them N59,000.00."


She rushed to her daughter's office to get her bank account number.


" I narrated the dollar business to my daughter and she told me: 'Mummy, it is all lies, it is 419' and that was when I started coming back to my senses."


After regaining her senses, Madam Ezirim became so ill that she was rushed to Bayo Ogunro Clinic.


When The Guardian visited the clinic, sympathizers were seen discussing her plight, while some went to her ward, praying for her quick recovery.


The victim's husband, Mr. Jonathan Ezirim, in an emotion-laden voice said: "Honestly, this is double tragedy to me. Just two days ago, I lost my elder sister, which I'm yet to recover from the shock. Here again, my wife is on sick bed. Where do I go from here to get financial assistance?" he asked.


One of the sympathizers, Mr. Emeka Okoye, said the menace of criminals in the Kirikiri area was becoming unbearable and that residents slept with one eye open.


"The rate of criminal activities, particularly robbery on this road, is on the increase.


"The Police Commissioner should please deploy more men to patrol this road and save us from criminals."


It would be recalled that a few weeks ago, a 70-year-old pensioner, Pa Ajani from Ogun State died after he was drugged and robbed of his N200,000 pension money by 'One chance' robbers on the same Kirikiri Road.