Nigerian gang defrauds British woman of N480m

Gbenro Adeoye with agency report

It may not necessarily cut across but it has been argued that there seems to be an increasing rate of divorce in many climes around the world.

A visit to any of the (functioning) customary courts around the country, especially within the Lagos metropolis, would suggest an increase in the rate of divorce, as both old and young couples visit the courts to seek the dissolution of their marriages. And the reasons could range from shocking to ridiculous.

Regardless, with about 50 per cent of marriages ending in divorce in the United States and no fairer situation in many other places the world over, it has become imperative to identify certain mistakes couples make in marriage that could lead to a divorce.

Some marriage counsellors have argued that a perfect marriage is hard to come by because couples tend to disagree on issues from time to time, but they note that the success or otherwise of marriages, depend largely on how couples handle their differences.

Usually, when talking about divorce, one of the factors that readily come to mind is infidelity, which simply means being unfaithful to a spouse. But beyond that, there are other things that lead to divorce, such as spousal abuse, bad manners, peer influence, unrealistic expectations, lack of quality time with one’s spouse, inadequate communication, deceit and unsatisfactory sex life.

According to a seasoned marriage counsellor in the United Kingdom, Elly Prior, common relationship problems that often lead to divorce include cheating (be it one-night stands, internet relationships and long- and short-term affairs), excessive reliance on social media, sexual problems, significant differences in core values and beliefs, traumatic or life changing events, response to (work-related) prolonged stress, infertility, boredom, jealousy, family issues and domestic abuse.

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NUT, NLC hail Fayose on teachers’ welfare

By Tunde Ajaja

The zonal leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers in Edo, Delta, Ogun, Lagos, Ondo, Osun, Kwara, Oyo and Ekiti states has commended the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, for giving priority to the welfare of teachers in the state and for boosting their morale through the provision of incentives.

The state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Ade Adesanmi, also commended the governor for promising not to retrench workers or slash their salaries in spite of the financial challenges confronting the state. He commended the governor for the provision of N20m to buy instructional materials for primary schools in the state.

A statement on Friday noted that the Zonal Chairman M. O. Fanimokun, and Secretary, Mr. Joe Iyalekhue, had in a letter to the governor on November 11, 2015 thanked him for the successful celebration of the 2015 World Teachers’ Day in the state.

According to the statement, the letter partly read, “We are grateful and encouraged by your full participation, presence, love, gifts and rewards given to identified hardworking teachers to boost their morale and add value to the teaching profession.

“The union will continue to partner with you so as to bring in the much needed improvement in the living and working conditions of the teachers which are synonymous with the learning conditions of the pupils.”

Police private ATMs "Lagos sex workers"

In the early 1960s up till the late 1990s, the area used to be very popular among revelers from within and outside Lagos. Day and night, it was the place to be. Ask anybody around Yaba, Ojuelegba and even other parts of mainland Lagos and you won’t miss your way.

 Empire – a cluster of streets in the heart of Mushin, one of the city’s most densely populated areas, housing several chalets and offering plenty of cheap sex, drugs and alcohol was the name on many people’s lips.

 The arrival of Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, around 1962, increased traffic to the area. In those days, the area known as Empire which derived its name from Empire Hotel situated on Oguntokun Street, could be likened to a modern day ‘Sodom’ – immorality thrived at every corner.

Though, still playing host to a number of hotels, drinking joints and spots where drugs of all kinds are experimented, Empire has lost some of its spark over the years, with only few people turning to it today for entertainment. But even with such reduced traffic, commercial sex workers operating in the community remain one of the most patronised in Lagos. Charging as low as N500 for a round of sex in some cases, clients from far and near ensure the industry is well and alive.

However, some of the ladies in the illicit profession told our correspondent who visited the area earlier in the week that much of what they earn these days go to policemen who come in weekly to collect compulsory ‘settlements’. According to a handful that interacted with our correspondent after they were assured their identities won’t be revealed, each lady pays between N7000 and N8000 every week to the leader of the hotel where they ‘hustle’. 

The fee, they revealed, covers rent for the week and ‘tax’ for the police among other such bills. The pressure of meeting up with such weekly obligation is taking its toll on many of the prostitutes who prospect for clients in Empire.

“Whether you work in a week or not, you must pay the regular dues to the head of the hotel,” said one of the ladies whom our correspondent chatted up at ‘White House’, one of several chalets dotting the community’s landscape. “Each of us who ‘hustle’ here pays N8000 every week to our boss who then ‘settles’ the police from it after removing money for rent and other levies. We are over 15 ‘hustling’ here and if you calculate what the police is making from each of us every week, then you’ll see that they are the ones benefiting from our ‘hard work’. If we fail to ‘settle’ them, they’ll come in to harass and intimidate us.

“For the eight months that I have worked here, I have seen a lot of things. It is just as if we have become ATMs for the police; we are like a source of income or a money pot for them. Just to meet up with their demand and avoid harassment, most of us now have to work more than we should. It has not been easy in recent times,” she said.

At ‘Cool Corner’, another hotel in the community where ladies of different ages and sizes flaunt their ‘assets’ in wait for prospective customers, one commercial sex worker who told our correspondent that she was 24 years old and had been servicing ‘clients’ who visit the place since 2012, revealed that the constant demand by police officers has become a big source of worry for many of them. According to her, at least each lady ‘hustling’ at the hotel pays around N5000 as ‘settlement’ to law enforcement officers every week aside from what they churn out for rent. She told Saturday PUNCH that the situation makes them feel like cash cows to the police.

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Ojukwu’s spirit guiding Biafran protests’

Chukwuemeka Ojukwu

Gibson Achonu, Owerri

A chieftain of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, Chief Chris Uche, says the spirit of the late Leader of the defunct Republic of Biafra, Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, is behind the recent pro-Biafran agitation.

He said this in Owerri on Thursday at the third memorial anniversary of Ojukwu.

Uche added that Biafra would be declared a sovereign state without the shedding of blood.

He also noted that those who died for the Biafran cause would never be forgotten.

Uche, who is also a former Commissioner for Housing in Imo State, said that the time for the realisation of Biafra was drawing near.

He said, “Ojukwu gave us a template. He is still alive in our minds. Chief Uwazuruike’s yearly remembrance ceremony in his honour is bringing the time closer for the realisation of Biafra. We shall keep the flag flying and we shall achieve it without shooting of gun.”

Also speaking, the founder of the Oodua People’s Congress, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, said there was nothing wrong with the recent protests for the creation of a Biafran state.

The 80-year-old politician thanked Biafran agitators for going about their protests peacefully and urged the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra to continue to protest peacefully.

Also speaking, the leader of MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, said that the essence of the anniversary of Ojukwu was to rekindle the consciousness of Biafra among the people.

He said that MASSOB was a non-violent group but regretted that the Indigenous People of Biafra, which recently emerged, was using threats of violence to achieve its aim.

He called for the unconditional release of Radio Biafra Director, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

Uwazuruike said, “They (IPOB) believe that since MASSOB has not achieved Biafra through non-violent methods for 16 years, they will achieve it through violence. They threatened fire and castigated some Igbo leaders.”

Family cries for justice as bus conductor kills woman over N20

Ero

Alexander Okere

Aggrieved family and friends of the late Mrs. Helen Ero, a 52-year-old woman who was allegedly killed by a conductor last week over a N20 bus fare, have called on the Nigeria Police to identify and arrest the culprits behind her gruesome death.

The relatives, who were accompanied on a protest by sympathisers and residents from Efehi Street, in Oredo Local Government Area of the state, on Friday, lamented over what they described as a delay in police investigation.

It was learnt that the 52-year-old had boarded a bus from New Benin to Uselu and had offered to pay for two other women on the bus.

A heated argument was said to have ensued between the bus conductor and the deceased over the collection of N20 bus fare.

The conductor was said to have later ordered the woman out of the vehicle, which led to a confrontation between the two, as he tried to forced her out.

She was said to have slumped, when the conductor suddenly hit her with a wheel spanner and died before she could get any medical attention.

According the family, her body was later dumped on a walkway, beside Eghosa Grammar School.

Her eldest daughter, Maris Ogbevuon, told Southern City News that the mother of nine children and the family’s bread winner had been feared missing on Saturday.

Ogbevuon said that she was shocked to discovered her remains on a walkway around Okhoro junction, after she got a call from a woman, suspected to be one of the passengers on the bus.

She also noted that the deceased was found almost naked, with all her jewellery taken away.

“On Saturday evening, my mother told me to take some items to my younger ones at Ekosodin and tell them that she was coming home. At about 7:30pm, she passed through my shop.

“Two hours later, someone called to say that she could not find my mother. We searched several hospitals that day but did not find her. On Sunday morning, I heard some people talking about a dead woman on the road and when I got, there I saw her lying dead with only her underwear. Her body was cold when I touched it.”

Ogbevuon, who wept bitterly as she spoke to our correspondent, appealed to relevant security agencies and the state, to assist the family to unravel and arrest the culprits behind the death of her mother.

“I want justice; I want the police to look for the bus driver and the conductor. Please, we need help; her children need help. I do not know who did this to my mother and took her away from us. I have no father and mother. She told me that she was coming and that was the last time I heard from her,” she added.

A brother-in-law to the deceased, Henry Ero, urged the leadership of the state Drivers Welfare Scheme to aid police investigations by identifying the driver and bus conductor.

A crowd of sympatisers during the protest march

The Police Public Relations Officer, AbiodunOsifo, maintained that investigation on the incident was ongoing and urged the family to remain calm.

“You are aware that the police is already investing this case and the two ladies who witnessed the incident are also assisting the police to identify the culprits.

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