Oduduwa News

Some gunmen have reportedly kidnapped the General Manager of Prosperous Filling Station, Itakorodo Adebayo, at Isan-Ekiti in Ekiti State.

The incident, according to the police, occurred around 7:00 p.m. on Thursday when the gunmen stormed the filling station.

They came with six motorcycles and shot sporadically before whisking away the victim.

The police spokesperson in Ekiti, Sunday Abutu, in a statement confirming the incident said the police and other security agencies have been deployed to the bushes to rescue the victim.

“A team of Police Operatives and Detectives including the Amotekun Corps and the local Hunters have been deployed to rigorously comb the bushes and the forests across the State to ensure the rescue of one Itakorodo Adebayo, the General Manager of prosperous filling station, Isan-Ekiti, who was abducted by unknown gunmen numbering about eight(8) at about 1900hrs on Thursday 8th April, 2021.”

“It was gathered that the gunmen stormed the filling station through the bush on about six(6) motorcycles and started shooting sporadically before whisking the victim away.

“The Ekiti State Police Command, in addition to the rescue teams deployed, has contacted all the States bordering Ekiti State for possible assistance towards the rescue of the victim and the arrest of the perpetrators.

“The Ekiti State Commissioner of Police implores anyone with useful information that could assist the Police to rescue the victim and apprehend the culprits to inform the nearest Police Station or call 08062335577,” the police statement read.

Determined to reduce the population of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Nigeria, the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, in collaboration with Association for Reproductive Health (ARFH), has set up a Technical Steering Committee on OVC.

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Dr. Aina Olugbenga Ayoola, said that the Lagos State Technical Steering Committee on OVC was geared towards improving effective coordination of OVC programming among multi-sectoral actors within the State.

Dr. Ayoola disclosed that “Nigeria has one of the highest population of Vulnerable Children in the world, which is approximately 17.5 million. A large number of children in Nigeria were classified as vulnerable because they lack parental care and support, are at risk of food security and chronic malnutrition, lack of protection, shelter, psychosocial support, education and at the risk of physical and sexual abuse”.

According to the Permanent Secretary, the essence of the programme was to promote welfare and development of Orphans and Vulnerable Children while contributing to the reduction in the number of OVC in Nigeria for significant improvement in the quality of life and wellbeing of all vulnerable children.

On her part, the Country Representative/Senior Advisor at ARFH, Dr. Uche Ralph-Opara, stated that the desire of the organisation to partner with Lagos State was due to its well laid out plan to help ameliorate the situation of the orphans and vulnerable children, adding that the task should not be left for Lagos alone.

Dr. Ralph-Opara promised that ARFH would give the State Government every necessary support to implement the document that would be produced by the Steering Committee for the betterment of Orphans and Vulnerable Children.

The unveiling of body-worn cameras for law enforcement personnel in Lagos State will enhance accountability and transparency in traffic management and enforcement on Lagos roads, the General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Engr. Olajide Oduyoye, has said.

Speaking on a television interview programme, the General Manager explained that the new body cameras will increase credibility and confidence in the delivery of effective traffic management and enforcement.

Engr. Oduyoye maintained that the bodycam will authenticate traffic law violation reports or complaints by giving accurate validation of any tale rendered by both parties with pictorial evidence and subsequently allow transparency in investigation of complaints lodged by aggrieved motorists.

Speaking on the operations of the camera, he assured that 70% of LASTMA Officers are graduates, as such, are capable of handling the device conveniently, adding that the equipment would have a significant effect on deviant behaviour on Lagos roads.

In the same vein, the Director of Vehicle Inspection Service, Engr. Akin-George Fashola, who also spoke on the development, reiterated that the creativity is a win-win procedure for both the law enforcement officers and motorists as the regular arguments on traffic laws violation will be put to rest through detailed recordings.

While lauding Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his determination to solve traffic gridlock problems through the use of technology, Engr. Fashola said that a technological intervention like the body camera would ensure that accurate penalties are meted out timely, through checks and balances devoid of human intervention.

In his own contribution to the bodycam initiative, the Head of the Lagos State Law Enforcement Training Institute (LETI), Prince Oyekan Falade, who is charged with the responsibility of ensuring requisite training on the use of the camera, disclosed that officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Vehicle Inspection Services (VIS), Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC) and Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) will be duly trained on the use of the body camera at the Institute as directed by the Governor of Lagos State.

According to him, a planned three-day training will commence soon and will be done in 26 batches to reduce large gatherings at the Institute, stressing that the cameras will enhance professionalism on the part of law enforcement personnel.

The Head of LETI averred that the body-worn cameras have been found to be efficient and effective in combating crimes, saying, “The German-made cameras have been found to work effectively with the functions required by the State, as those from the USA and China, having met all peculiarity requirements”.

Falade also added that the cameras can work for 12 hours without a blink, as the battery life span is strong and durable.

Children of the police officers murdered during the #EndSARS protests in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have appealed to Governor Seyi Makinde to sponsor their education.

According to a report by The Guardian Newspaper, they said the death of their fathers had created a vacuum in their lives.

Besides, they appealed to well-to-do individuals to support them in ensuring that they have good education.

Makinde had promised to take care of the children of police officers killed during the protests.

The five police officers gruesomely murdered during the protest were James Akanmu, Rotimi Oladele, Adegoke Ajibola, Alidu Yusuf Wada and Mr. Peter Agunbiade.

A 12-year-old Kehinde Agunbiade, who spoke on behalf of the children of the slain police officers, said their mothers had withdrawn them from schools as they could not afford to pay school fees.

“Governor Seyi Makinde should consider our future as very important. We don’t need cash but we need education. He should give us scholarship.

“Since the gruesome murder of our fathers, it has been very hard for our mothers to feed us, let alone sending us to school. My father was running his masters degree programme when he met his untimely death. He told us that he was going to give us better education but he could not do it because of his death,” he said.

Also, wife of Rotimi Oladele, Feranmi Oladele, asked the state government to assist their children to have a proper education.

She said: “My husband was about to equip my shop before he died. I don’t have money and I don’t know how to care for my children. I need government to help support our children. Their education is very important. We need help.”