Suicide: Another man jumps into canal in Lagos

A yet-to-be-identified man yesterday attempted to commit suicide by jumping into a canal in the Festac area of Lagos State. Though, the reason for the man’s suicide mission was unclear but residents said he moved close to the Festac Link Bridge, stood there for a while and dived in.

The eyewitness told newsmen, “Many local divers tried to save him.’’

The spokesperson for the police in Lagos, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, said the command got a report of the incident. He said, “I think it was a case of a man who fell into a canal. We are still trying to get more information on it.’’

He could not immediately confirm if the man was saved.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, recently explained why Nigerians will continue to take their lives. According to him, the ugly cases of suicides will continue until the citizens learnt how to belt up concerning every situation they found themselves.

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Abuja Airport repairs, 40% completed

The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Julius Berger, the contractor handling the repair of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja runway, have said that the work is 40 per cent completed.

The duo gave made this known in Abuja on Monday when members of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation led by its Chairman, Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, inspected the project.

Mr Yemi Ayelesan, Resident Engineer, FAAN, told the committee that the hardest part of the work, which is mailing of the 3.6 kilometres runway, had been completed.

He explained that the laying of ‘’fibre glide rubber’’ which prevents water from going deep underground and also prevent runway from cracking has also been completed.

Ayelesan told the committee that the contractors are working to specifications and would deliver on schedule, expressing confidence that the six weeks period for reopening of the airport was feasible.

According to him, the contractors are working round the clock to ensure that they meet the deadline.

Ayelesan said the repair work was a total reconstruction and not partial rehabilitation, explaining that the entire runway had been excavated for laying of asphalt.

He said there were isolated areas that were so bad that required digging deeper beyond mailing and laying of asphalt, stating that the entire surface were mailed to a certain depth.

According to him, there is nothing like partial rehabilitation, even the taxi way is being repaired.

“Laying asphalt does not take time; it is the easiest part of the work.

“The lighting system is the next step, and the cable can be fixed within two days, as things are now, we will start fixing the light cable on March 29,’’ he said.

Dr Lai’s Richter, Project Manager, Julius Berger, said the work was being done in line with the programme of work.

Richter said the fixing of the lighting cable would commence on Wednesday, restating that the runway repairs would be completed before April 19 deadlines.

The Chairman of the House Committee, Onyejeocha, said their visit was to seek explanation on the level of work so far in line with the project agreement.

She also raised concern as to whether the repair work was a total reconstruction or partial repair, urging the contractor to ensure the completion of the project as scheduled.

“We want them to know that Nigerians are concerned and that there should be no extension of the completion date based on the agreement that we have put in place, ’’she said.

The contractors have recorded progress within 19 days since the commencement of work.

The runway was shut on March 8 for six weeks for its total repair and Abuja flights diverted to Kaduna pending the completion of the repair work.

-NAN

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Wife’s arrogance crashes 16-year-old marriage

Mr Ademola Odunade, the President of a Customary Court sitting in Mapo, Ibadan, on Monday dissolved a 16 year-old marriage between Opeyemi Aremu and his wife, Tolade, citing wife’s arrogance and disobedience.

The court also awarded the custody of the four children of the marriage to Opeyemi, noting “ he has demonstrated that he has capacity to take care of them”.

Odunade said he decided to dissolve the union as a result of lack of love between them. The petitioner, Opeyemi, who resides at Orita-Aperin, had told the court that his wife Tolade was arrogant and insolent.

“My Lord, I wish I did not marry Tolade; may be things would have been better for me today. Tolade is frustrating and troubling me.

“Arrogance is her watchword as I mean nothing to her. Not only does she disrespect me, Tolade is also rude to everybody around me.

“Worst still, she is highly disobedient to me because she does not take instructions from me. She also accused me of preventing her from having access to the children.

“My Lord, Tolade recently brought three policemen to arrest me, accusing me of forcefully entering into my own house and moving out my property.

“She has since September 2016 parked out from my house and there is no more love between us,” Opeyemi said.

However, Tolade, a trader, objected to the divorce, saying “I still love Opeyemi”.

“My lord, there is no dispute between Opeyemi and I. My observation is that some women in the church we attend have been bringing food for him and he has since stopped eating my food.

“The senior pastor of our church is the major problem between Opeyemi and I because he wanted him to part ways with me.”

The estranged wife continued: “Later on, the pastor asked us to move into an apartment within his residence where he started misleading my husband.

“In fact, that pastor dissuaded Opeyemi from performing his `conjugal duties’ to me.”

-NAN

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Photos: Delta man marries two wives same day

A man from Isoko South area of Delta State on Sunday performed a rare feat in the annals of marriage in Nigeria.

The man, simply identified as Emamuzo, married two brides, Janet and Osioni, in a ceremony that attracted a lot of eyeballs after the wedding banner went viral online.

It is uncertain if the trio validated the wedding in any Nigerian marriage registry, however, there are photo evidence that there was a traditional ceremony which validated the rare union.

See photos from the ceremony which took place in Delta State below...

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Restaurant owner, husband dies after eating poisoned meal

The Police Command in Cross River has confirmed the arrest of a 35-year-old man, Paul Nchui, for allegedly poisoning food at a restaurant in Ogoja. ASP Irene Ugbo, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), confirmed the arrest in a telephone interview on Sunday in Calabar.

The incident occurred on March 24 at Oboso community in Ogoja Local Government Area and left two persons dead while 44 others were hospitalised at the Ogoja General Hospital.

The restaurant owner, Mrs Anna Erah and her husband, Mr Edward Erah, died shortly after eating the food. The suspect was reportedly seen by many people at the scene of the crime

“I wish to inform you that one Mr Paul Nchui, a suspect who poisoned a restaurant in Oboso community in Ogoja has been arrested.

“The suspect is in our custody, we will charge him to court as soon as we conclude our investigation,’’ Ugbo said.

The PPRO said that the suspect had confessed to the crime, adding that some victims of the food poison had been discharged after treatment.

Dr Inyang Asibong, the State Commissioner for Health, said that the symptoms displayed by the victims included vomiting, foaming in the mouth, body weakness and spitting of blood.

“We have dispatched a team of epidemiologists, doctors, community health workers and other related health staff to the affected community.

“They are to ascertain the real situation on ground and offer immediate medical assistance to all those affected by the poison,” she said.

Mr John Inaku, Director General, Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, also assured the victims of the State Government’s support.

He commended the management of the Oboso hospital for their prompt response in evacuating the victims to the Ogoja General Hospital for treatment.

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Killers of Cynthia Osukogu bag death sentence

A Lagos State High Court sitting in Igbosere has sentenced Ezekiel Eloka and Echezona Nwabufor to death by hanging for the murder of a post-graduate student, Cynthia Osokogu, who they lured from Nasarawa to Lagos before strangulating her to death at a hotel in Festac Town, Lagos, in 2012.

Delivering her judgement, Justice Olabisi Akinlade declared that after carefully analyzing the evidence presented before the court, testimonies of prosecution witnesses, and confessional statements the deceased made to the police, she was left with no doubt that the accused were guilty of killing Ms. Osokogu.

She also found them guilty of the second charge of committing felony by stealing her Blackberry phone, saying the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused intended and in fact took the life of the deceased in the process of stealing her phone and belongings.

She also found the duo guilty of the first and third charge – conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to steal.

Orji Osita, a pharmacist, who was initially released unconditionally but rearrested again, was discharged and acquitted of the charge of recklessness and negligence for selling drugs without prescription which the accused used in drugging the deceased.

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