Candle Fire Kills 2 Kids In Lagos, Destroys Apartment

Gloom enveloped Bola Oyewo Street, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos State, on Sunday after two siblings were killed in a fire incident.

The kids were identified simply as four-year-old Olawale Akingbesote and his brother, Adesire, aged 2.

Punch Metro learnt that the deceased, their elder brother and their mother were together around 9pm on Saturday.

It was gathered that the mother went out to buy some items in the neighbourhood after the children had gone  to sleep.


She was said to have lit a candle to illuminate the apartment before leaving as there was power outage.

Punch correspondent was told that while the mother was away, the candle burnt down and consumed a table it was placed on. It later spread to the clothes beside the table.

It was learnt that firefighters from the Lagos State Fire Service, officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and policemen from the Iju Police Division responded to distress calls from residents, but the two kids had died before help could come their way.

The unnamed elder brother was, however, rescued with the support of the residents, while the fire was eventually put out.

A resident, Moshood Ibrahim, said the fire had spread to other parts of the room before a neighbour became aware and raised the alarm.

He stated that the distraught mother and the survivor had temporarily relocated to a relative’s house.

He said, “Their mother went out that evening to quickly get some items on the street, but she returned late. The candle had burnt to some level before she left home. Her thinking was that she would come back early.

“She did not put out the candle fire because she did not want the children to sleep in a dark room. Their father was not around. Two of the children were suffocated by the fumes, but their elder brother was rescued and rushed to a hospital. Everybody was devastated by the incident.”

An emergency official, who spoke to Punch correspondent on condition of anonymity, said the survivor was rescued behind the apartment door.

“He should be about eight years old. He managed to force his way from the fire into the back of the door, where we rescued him,” he added.

The Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasaq Fadipe, confirmed the fire and the deaths.

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Hoodlum Rapes NYSC Member In C’River

The Cross River State Police Command on Sunday confirmed the arrest of one Michael Edet who raped a serving corps member (name withheld) after breaking into her residence in Ekpri-Obutong in the Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State.

Southern City News learnt that the incident happened on Friday at about 11pm at Block A6, Obutong Estate in Ekpri-Obutong when the residents were fast asleep.

One of the victim’s neighbours, who craved anonymity, said the suspect broke into the house of the corps member at about 11pm on Friday and allegedly raped her before carting away her valuables, including phones and cash.


She said, “As you can see, these houses don’t have burglar-proof bars. It is just the glass and anyone can enter at any time. We live in a very dangerous environment and we have been facing serious security challenges in this estate.

“This is not the first time they are raping women in this place. It is quite unfortunate that this time, it is a visitor (corps member) that was the victim.

“We learnt that she had been moved to Calabar because as we speak, she is still in shock. But we are also happy that the police did a good job by apprehending the culprit. We believe that justice will be served.”

Also, another corps member, who did not want his name mentioned, told Southern City News that his colleague recognised the suspect because he stayed for close to 30 minutes in her house.

“She told us that she recognised the suspect’s voice and the shoes he wore, but she is still in shock about what happened to her. She was glad he has been arrested,” he said.

A police source said the suspect went into hiding after recognising that he had been recognised, adding that he was eventually apprehended at Akpabuyo.

The police said the suspect was a popular petroleum dealer in the area with a wife who recently put to bed.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incident, adding that the suspect had been arrested and was already in the police custody.

She said, “It is true. We have arrested the suspect and he has been identified by his victim as the person who broke into his house that fateful night.”

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Jubilation As Police Kill Most-Wanted Imo Robber

There was jubilation at the Imo State Police Command headquarters in Owerri when the remains of the state’s ‘most-wanted’ armed robber, Ihechi Nwankwo, were brought from Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

The spokesman for the Imo State Police Command, Andrew Enwerem, told Southern City News that the 27-year-old armed robber, who hailed from Amaumara in the Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area of the state, had been on the wanted list of the command for a long time.

According to Enwerem, Nwankwo had been involved in a series of criminal operations, including robbing a bank customer of N8m at Access Bank at Ahiara Junction on August 8.


The slain suspect was also said to have robbed one Jovita Enwerem of N650,000 at gunpoint at Ahiara Junction on June 21.

A police source, who did not want to be named, told our correspondent that Nwankwo met his waterloo after he masterminded a robbery attack on a Chinese expatriate in Owerri in May.

The expatriate was said to have been dispossessed of his N10m, while his police guard was killed in the criminal operation.

Enwerem said, “On September 28, the state police command control room was alerted to a robbery attack along Wetheral Road, Owerri.

“A customer of the Wetheral Road branch of Zenith Bank had gone to the bank to withdraw N50m. On their way, along Wetheral Road, they were confronted by a daredevil armed robbery gang operating with a grey colour Toyota Corolla with number plate ABJ 951AA that blocked the convoy and immediately opened fire on the police escorts.”

The police spokesman stated that the robbers engaged the cops in a gun duel but they were overpowered by the police.

He said three policemen, however, sustained gunshot injuries and were already being treated in the hospital.

Enwerem said, “The criminals escaped from the robbery scene but their vehicle was riddled with bullets. We, however, contacted police in the neighbouring states to be on the lookout.

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You’re A Drowning Man, Military Still Holding Kanu, Lawyer Replies Orji Kalu

Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor,  head of the legal team of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, on Sunday described an ex-Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, as a drowning man desperately in search of relevance from the Federal Government and relief from prosecution on corruption charges.

Ejiofor, in a statement sent to a Punch correspondent, was reacting to an interview granted Sunday Punch by Kalu alleging that Kanu was not arrested by the military and has since traveled to the United Kingdom.

IPOB, recently proscribed by the Federal Government with the backing of the court, had declared Kanu missing since September 14 after the ‘Operation Python Dance II’ staged by the military to quell the activities of the group in Abia State and other states of the South-East.


But Kalu in his interview with Sunday Punch, said Kanu had left the country for the UK on his own.

Replying Kalu on Sunday, Kanu’s lawyer said the former governor had turned himself to the spokesperson for the Federal Government and the military as part of his strategy to get freed from his (Kalu’s) ongoing trial on corruption charges.

Ejiofor stated, “Orji Uzof Kalu is a drowning man,  looking for where to perch.”

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Olamide's WO Is 2017 Biggest Song, Wizkid Declares

The singer openly declared this on twitter today. Earlier before then, he had tweeted at Olamide asking him to explain a line in his song.. See that tweet below and also Olamide's respond. Kinda like this no beef thing between them.

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Nigeria’s Falconets Thrash Tanzania 6-0

The Nigeria Women’s U-20 team, the Falconets, are through to the next round of the 2018 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

The Falconets booked their passage in style as they thrashed their Tanzanian counterparts 6-0 in Dar es Salam on Sunday.

Having recorded a 3-0 win in the first leg tie a fortnight ago in Benin City, Edo State, the Falconets posted a 9-0 aggregate win over the East Africans.

In Sunday’s second leg tie played in Dar es Salam, four goals came in the first half and two in the second half as the Falconets romped to the massive win. Go grls!

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Photo News: Buhari Visits Troops In Borno State

More photos below....

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Oritsefemi & Wife Look Cute In New Photos

The singer shared the photos captioning one; Femi and the Queen.

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Photos: Meet Charly Boy's 98-Year Old Mother

The singer posted a video of them captioning it; 'Me and my 98yrs young funky mum. Doing mummy time. As we grow up we become our own people and may come to forget that woman who nurtured and loved us. But remember this, she will never forget you and never stop loving you. Kiss your mother today'.

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Meghan Markle's Yoga Instructor Mum Looks Young Enough To Be Her Sister

After months of keeping a relatively low profile, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been putting out serious PDA's this week.

Suits actress Meghan, 36, has been offering her support to boyfriend Harry in Toronto at the Invictus Games: an international, multi-sport event for Paralympians which he founded in 2014.

Last week they were filmed holding hands on the way to a wheelchair tennis event, and couldn't take their eyes off each other to actually watch the game.

Last night, at the closing ceremony, Harry planted a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek and made us all gush a little bit - they just look so happy! - but you might have initially missed someone else in the photo: Meghan's mum.


Why did we miss her initially? Because she looks so young, you would think she couldn't possibly be old enough to be her mother.

Meghan's mum, Doria Radlan, is actually 61 years old but you wouldn't think it thanks to her youthful complexion.

Doria is a social worker and yoga instructor, and the former might give us a clue as to how she's stayed looking more like her daughter's sister.

She gave birth to daughter Meghan in August 1981 and divorced her father Thomas when she was six, according to the Daily Mail.

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Nigeria, A Failed State At 57 — Peter Obi

A former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, on Saturday declared that the country had failed as a nation since gaining independence in 1960.

Obi lamented the failure of successive governments in the country.

The former governor warned that the increasing spate of agitations by various ethnic-nationalities in the country in recent times might get out of control if governments at all levels did not put measures in place that would create employment for jobless youths.

He spoke in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, on Saturday while delivering an anniversary lecture organised by the state government as part of activities to mark the 57th anniversary of the country and Ebonyi State at 21.


The theme of the anniversary lecture was, ‘Ebonyi State: yesterday, today and tomorrow.’

He said, “Nigeria is a failed country. The country is going backward. Not thinking of the future; that is why there are agitations everywhere. The agitations are just starting. There are millions of jobless youths doing nothing in the country. Most young people have lost their future.

“Nigeria is in the wrong direction. The country is not doing well. The indices of good governance are very clear worldwide. The only way to stop the agitations is to engage the youths in meaningful ventures. The world is selling knowledge and not baggage economy.  Nigeria needs to embrace knowledge-based economy. With such an economy in place, by the year 2020, the country would join the world to create 25 million job opportunities for the youth.”

The former governor emphasised that overdependence on oil as the mainstay of the nation’s economy was no longer fashionable and tenable.

“Oil is destined to finish in the next 30 years. The Federal Allocation Committee is one of the things that make us lazy. Nobody is willing to work except to go to Abuja on a monthly basis to share money. Our reserve is weak.

Obi disagreed with the claim of the Federal Government that the country had exited recession citing widespread poverty as the reason.

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Facebook, Google, Others Confirm Nigeria’s Requests For User Information

A new report has confirmed what many Nigerians have long suspected to be true: that the federal government is spying on its citizens through the social media and email accounts.

The report titled, “The Growing Trend of African Government’s Requests for User Information and Content Removal from Internet and Telecoms Companies,” was released last month by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) established under the Catalysing Access to Information and Communications Technologies in Africa (CATIA) initiatives funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).

The organisation analysed transparency reports released by telecommunications and social media companies.


The reports by these companies including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Twitter and others showed that there has been a surge in African governments’ requests for user information.

According to the report, African governments’ requests are for subscribers’ data, content preservation, and content removal.
Facebook listed Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt and Sudan as the African countries that made the highest requests.
The social media giant said that the government of Nigeria had specified the highest number of user information on its user information requests with 113 accounts.

South Africa made 32 requests for user accounts, Egypt (31) and Sudan (24).
Facebook said that Nigeria also made requests for content in six user accounts to be preserved.
It said that Nigeria made requests for 96 users’ information during the second half of 2015, meaning that the requests were made after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office on May 29, 2015.

The report stated: “It is worth noting that the number of requests to Facebook by African governments is small when compared to the United States of America which made nearly 50,000 user information requests relating to over 80,000 user accounts and 69,437 preservation requests in 2016.

“Facebook’s compliance rate with the U.S.’ requests last year was over 80 per cent.”
Tech giant, Google, also declared that Nigeria in 2015 made requests to it.

Google launched the first transparency report in 2009, followed by Twitter in 2012, and Facebook and Yahoo in 2013.
The report stated: “Since 2013, Google has received user information requests from 10 African countries – Algeria, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, The Seychelles and South Africa.

“Over three years, Kenya made the highest number of user information requests to Google – 21 relating to 32 user accounts – followed by South Africa and Nigeria.

“Aside from eight requests made by the Kenya government during the second half of 2013 relating to 11 user accounts, of which Google complied with 63 per cent, all the other requests were rejected.

“Nigeria is the only government in Africa to have made a user information request to Google and it was fully complied with. The emergency disclosure request was made by the Nigerian authorities in the second half of 2016 and it related to five user accounts.

“Google had rejected all of Nigeria’s seven previous requests,” it explained.
Twitter, in its transparency declaration, stated that Nigeria made three emergency requests, of which two were complied with.

It stated that the first request was made in the second half of 2015 while the second was made in the second half of 2016.
Yahoo, however, did not list any request made to it by any African countries.

The report described MTN as not being transparent because it refused to provide details of requests made to it by governments of the 19 countries where it operates in Africa.

The report added: “In its 2016 Annual Sustainability Report, MTN reaffirmed its support for human rights including access to information, freedom of expression, privacy and security of its users’ communications and information.
“However, the telecommunications company, one of the largest service providers in Africa with a presence in 19 countries, provides no information about how it handles requests from governments and private parties for user information or surveillance support.

“Similarly, MTN provides little information about its processes for handling such requests.

“The South Africa based company also does not disclose any data about the number of requests it receives or complies with, which places it a rank lower than the likes of Millicom, Vodafone and Orange when it comes to transparency about its policies relating to users’ freedom of expression and privacy.”

Recently, the Nigerian Army had said it was monitoring social media site as part of its surveillance programme. However, following a backlash, it recanted.

Culled

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Nigeria At 57: Malivelihood Rolls Out Limited Special Edition Ulysses Nardin Solid Gold & Green Sapphire

To celebrate Nigeria's Independence, Malivelihood has rolled out 10 Limited Special Edition Ulysses Nardin Solid Gold & Green Sapphire. More pictures below...

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