What is a city without crime? thisislagos descends into the Lagos underground to search out the baddest guys committing the craziest crimes in LasGidi.
Lagos car importers allegedly defraud bizman of N67.2m (Punch)
A businessman, Ìdòwú Adekunle, has accused two car importers of defrauding him of the sum of $112,000 (N67.2m) after a failed car importation deal in Lagos State.
The importers, Obi Victor and Vincent Obi, were arraigned before Chief Magistrate L. A. Owolabi, at the Samuel Ilori Court, Ogbà, Lagos State, on three counts of obtaining by false pretences, fraud, and stealing.
Adekunle said the defendants promised to import 11 cars from the United States of America for him and collected the sum of $112,000 for the vehicles.
However, Adekunle alleged that the defendants stole the money deposited for the cars, adding that when the matter was reported to the police, the men were arrested. Read more
Naval ratings brutalise Lagos farmer for filming vehicle (Punch)
A 43-year-old man, Dike Ogbunugafor, has accused a naval rating, Fali Amin, of mobilising naval personnel to brutalise him at his residence in Agale community, in the Badagry area of Lagos State.
The victim said he was at home when some men in military uniform invaded his premises and beat him up, adding that he sustained varying degrees of injury during the attack.
He said, “Around 6pm on Friday, September 23, 2022, I was driving to my farm to feed my fishes, but a saloon car was obstructing the access road leading to the farm. I had to manoeuvre around it and parked to look for the owner.
“I was directed to three guys drinking by a bar. I approached them, greeted them and asked them to adjust the position of the car. The owner of the car said since I was able to get there, then there was no issue. I explained that I had to manoeuvre around the car to do so. He eventually agreed to move it after finishing his drink. Read more
150 persons killed during Ikoyi prison attack – Witness (Punch)
A former inmate, Mr Christian Akara, has stated that no fewer than 150 persons were killed by an armed squad during an invasion of the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, Lagos State.
Akara gave the testimony on Tuesday while speaking before Magistrate A. O. Komolafe of the Lagos Island Coroner Division sitting at Court 4, Surulere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos State.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the coroner inquest was to unravel the circumstances that led to the killing of some inmates in the prison on October 22, 2020.
Akara was responding to questions from Mrs Amanda Demechi-Asagha, an interested party in the inquest and counsel for a deceased inmate, Shola Raphael. Read more
Lagos resident caught stealing car with towing van (Punch)
A yet-to-be-identified man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to use a towing van to steal a black Camry in the Abule Egba area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the faulty car was parked outside the premises of a building in the Exalted Community Development Association, Abule Egba.
In a bid to perpetrate the crime, the suspect, who was said to have pretended to own the faulty car, approached operators of a towing vehicle to assist him in towing the vehicle to the Kantangura Market in Abule Egba for repairs.
The operators, before agreeing to tow the car, however, demanded the key and vehicle documents. Read more
Syndicate denies injecting child beggars, Lagos police hunt doctor (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of four members of a syndicate that allegedly specialised in endangering the lives of child beggars to attract alms from members of the public in the state.
PUNCH Metro gathered that a good Samaritan was on his way to a destination in the Kirikiri area of FESTAC, Lagos, when he saw one of the suspects using an ointment to rob the protruded stomach of a girl in the early hours of the day.
Following the discovery, the good Samaritan raised the alarm and the suspect, alongside three other accomplices, were apprehended and taken to the FESTAC Police Station for investigation.
The suspects are Uchenna Eze, 24; Onyedikachkwu Isiala, 18; Ikechukwu Kingsley, 22; and Smart Alasuomu, 20. Read more
Lagos housewife accuses husband of N71m fraud, assault (Punch)
A 47-year-old man, Lucky James, has been arraigned before Chief Magistrate L.A. Owolabi of the Samuel Ilori Court, Ogbà, Lagos State, on charges of defrauding his wife, Mrs Tega James.
Our correspondent gathered that Lucky and Tega had been married for a while, though the union had yet to produce any fruit.
Tega, who said she was the fourth wife of the defendant, noted that her husband brought an investment deal in which she would be entitled to 50 per cent monthly interest.
She, however, accused her husband of lying and fraudulently obtaining N1.6m from her without fulfilling the 50 per cent interest rate agreement. Read more
NDLEA busts billionaire drug baron, recovers mansions, seizes N8b Tramadol (Punch)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a suspected billionaire drug baron and Chairman of Automation Motors Limited, Ugochukwu Chukwukadibia.
The spokesman for the agency, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Monday, said one of Chukwukadibia’s six mansions at the Victoria Garden City, Lekki, Lagos State, was raided by operatives of the agency, leading to the discovery of 13 million pills of Tramadol 225mg worth N8.8bn in street value.
The spokesman said the bust happened barely two months after the agency uncovered a methamphetamine laboratory in the residence of another drug kingpin on the estate, Chris Nzewi, who was arrested on July 30 along with a chemist, Sunday Ukah, who cooked the illicit drug for him.
The statement read in part, “Following credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives on Friday, September 30, stormed the Plot A45 Road 2 home of the 52-year-old billionaire drug kingpin. A search of the expansive mansion led to the discovery of 443 cartons of Tramadol Hydrochloride 225mg, which contains 13,451,466 pills of the drug, while some cartons were already burnt in a fire incident in the house the same day. Read more
NDLEA discovers 13m Tramadol pills in Lagos mansion (Punch)
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has busted a mansion in the Lekki area of Lagos State where Tramadol was stored.
NDLEA Spokesman, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Monday, said the pills recovered from the mansion were no less than 13,451,466 and worth N8.8bn in street value.
He said the mansion belonged to a billionaire drug baron, Ugochukwu Nsofor Chukwukadibia, who was now in custody.
The statement read in part, “The arrest of Ugochukwu, who is the Chairman of Autonation Motors Ltd, is coming barely two months after NDLEA uncovered at least 258.7kg of crystal methamphetamine in a clandestine laboratory in the residence of another drug kingpin in the estate, Chris Emeka Nzewi, who was arrested alongside a chemist, Sunday Ukah, who cooked the illicit drug for him, on September 30. Read more
Ex-footballer trafficks cocaine after failed career in Brazil (Punch)
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested an ex-footballer, Okafor Junior, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on his arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on board an Ethiopian airlines flight with 1.40 kilogrammes of crack cocaine.
The 33-year-old indigene of Arochukwu Local Government Area, Abia State, was arrested on Monday, September 26, 2022, after anti-narcotic officers discovered he concealed the illicit substance in the handles of his bags and padded the top edges of the bags.
In a statement on Sunday, the anti-graft agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, noted that during a preliminary interview, Okafor disclosed that he was an ex-footballer with the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu FC, where he played for four seasons before leaving for Sri Lanka in 2014.
“He further stated that he moved to Brazil from Sri Lanka after playing for two seasons but could not advance his football career in Brazil due to lack of official documents. Read more
Ex-cop jailed one year after raping, sex-trafficking Lagos teenager (Punch)
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has sentenced a retired policeman, Ariwayo Oloyede, aka Oyinbo, to one-year imprisonment for human trafficking.
The ex-police officer was convicted alongside a Burkina Faso-based Nigerian, Christian Owanebi, who was handed seven years jail for the same offence by Justice Abimbola Awogboro.
Justice Awogboro sentenced them after pronouncing them guilty of three counts of conspiracy and human trafficking, preferred against them by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons.
Delivering judgment on Friday, the judge said the prosecution proved all the charges against the convicts beyond reasonable doubt. Read more
Lagos company convicted of fraud, owner freed (Punch)
The Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, has convicted a company, Tropical Merchant Limited, of forgery and obtaining under false pretences.
However, the owner of the firm, Ayinde Bakare, was discharged and acquitted.
The prosecuting counsel, Bilikisu Buhari, called a witness to testify in court.
The witness, Usman Hammed, an official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said the agency received a petition from the Nigerian Export and Import Bank against the company. Read more
Lagos police arrest 2 cultists, recover gun, charms (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command says it arrested two suspected cultists, Sodiq Muftau, aka Mainama, and Surakat Toheeb, aka Elewedu, over alleged possession of a gun and substances suspected to be Indian hemp in the Badagry area of the state.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement on Sunday, said policemen on a routine patrol in Ajara community arrested the suspects, adding that investigation revealed that they were members of the Eiye cult.
He said, “Detectives of the Badagry Division of the Lagos State Police Command arrested one Sodiq Muftau, aka Mainama, 30, and Surakat Toheeb, aka Elewedu, 29, in Badagry, on Friday, September 23, 2022, around 6.30pm.
“The suspects were arrested when policemen on a routine patrol noticed their suspicious movement within Ajara community. Other members of the gang took to their heels upon sighting the police. Read more
Police confirm killing of 2 suspected POS thieves by mob (Guardian)
Lagos State Police Command, yesterday, confirmed the death of two Point of Sales (PoS) thieves in Igando area of the state through mob action.
The Command’s spokesperson, Superintendent of Police (SP) Benjamin Hundeyin, said the mob set the victims ablaze and burnt them beyond recognition.
According to him: “When the police arrived at the scene, the mob fled. An investigation has commenced. Again, how do we put a stop to this archaic and criminal practice?”
Hundeyin, who stressed that jungle justice was a criminal offence in Nigeria, called on members of the public to stop the crime. Read more
Mob kills suspected ritualist smoked out from manhole along Oshodi-Apapa expressway (Guardian)
It was a chaotic scene last weekend when passersby set ablaze an alleged ritualist intercepted at a manhole near Five Star-Toyota bus stop, along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.
For some time now residents of Aswani, Isolo, have been complaining of insecurity in the area, especially at nights along the axis.
The Guardian learnt that the suspected kidnappers were caught after a street sweeper working for Lagos State Management Authority (LAWMA), sighted them in a manhole as she attempted to burn collected refuse.One of the passers-by at the scene of the incident told The Guardian that it was the smoke that chased them out from their hideout. Read more