Vandals resurface at Lagos ports as dealers lament

Lekki Deep Sea Port

Scores of vandals also known as “wharf rats” have resurfaced at the Tin-Can Port Complex in Lagos, clearing agents have said.

The vandals are said to hang around areas where imported cars are parked at the terminals.

The agents said the vandals work as a team to remove vehicle parts like side-mirrors, headlamps, brain-box, among other components, in spite of the presence of security operatives.

Abdul Sabaru, a Customs agent said not all those seen at the terminals were clearing agents. “Operators, as well as officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), should beef up security because it is becoming an embarrassing situation,” he advised.

A vehicle importer, David Okanlawon, said his imported vehicle of March 2020 was pilfered inside the PTML terminal.

Public Relations Officer, PTML Chapter of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Clearing Agent (ANLCA), Ayo Sulaiman, confirmed this.

“The wharf rats that were once defeated at the seaports have returned. We are currently collating the lists of burgled vehicles to present to Grimaldi shipping, operator of the PTML Terminal because this has to stop,” Sulaiman said.

Managing Director of PTML Terminal, Mr Ascanio Russo said over 10,000 vehicles were being received.

“We believe we offer superior service to our clients. At the same time we cannot exclude that in some rare occasions, some pilferage may happen. In such cases, we always indemnify our customers once it is proven that the pilferage happened when the vehicle is in our care,” Russo said.

Source: Daily Trust 

Lagos schools resume August 4

South-West states may write WASSCE in September

In accordance with the decision of state governors in the South-West geopolitical zone to reopen schools, primary and secondary schools in Lagos State are set to reopen on August 3, this year.

However, only learners in primary six, junior secondary school 3, and senior secondary school 3 are to resume.

This, it was gathered, followed a meeting held on Thursday in Ikeja with some stakeholders in the sector by officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Education.

During the meeting, the Department of Quality Assurance in the ministry mandated all schools, whether public or private to fill an online assessment form, stating their preparedness to meet conditions stipulated for school reopening by the Federal Ministry of Education.

Each school will later be issued clearance for it to reopen.

Speaking on the development, the Lagos State President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, Chief Olawale Amusa, said his association had also set up a Quality Assurance Committee to go round schools and assess the readiness of members.

He expressed optimism that most of his members would meet the requirements for reopening schools.

Also, despite the discordant tunes that have greeted the conduct of this year’s WASSCE by the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, South-West states are working on the possibility of partaking in the exam come September.

The decision by the states to partake in the exam is hinged on the need to allow final year secondary school students to be apart of this year’s admission into tertiary Institutions.

Recall that only on Thursday, the Minister of State, Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, said if the Federal Government could not meet up with WAEC’s timeline of conducting WASSCE in September, Nigerian candidates could take the exam in November/ December this year.

Majority of COVID-19 patients prefer home treatment – Lagos

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has said majority of COVID-19 patients in the state prefer to be treated at home, rather than being admitted to the state’s isolation facilities.

Abayomi, at a briefing on Thursday, lamented that many people give false information when they come for tests, making it difficult for them to be traced when their results come out positive.

He stated, “On a day-to-day basis, we make a diagnosis of COVID-19, which ranges between 100 and 200 every day. Out of those we diagnose, only a small number are willing to be admitted. Generally, we don’t have a problem convincing those who are very sick to be admitted to our isolation facilities. But by and large, the majority of COVID-19 patients prefer to be managed at home. So we keep in touch with them by telephone and telemedicine.

He said 2,036 cases were confirmed in the past two weeks, but the patients had not been picked from the community for treatment.

The commissioner added that the state was spending between N100,000 and N1m on a daily basis for each patient receiving care at its isolation facilities.

“For mild to moderate cases in our isolation centres, it cost the government in the region of N100,000 daily. That gives you an idea of the amount the state government is spending on COVID-19 patients daily. If you require high and intensive care, that amount can go up to anything from N500,000 to even N1m daily, depending on the complications of the case.”

The Commissioner for Information, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, said schools and worship centres would remain closed in the state, adding that the state government would continue to prioritise the safety of the residents.

The General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mrs Biola Kosegbe, says Lagos State has identified 500 distressed buildings and marked 102 of the buildings for demolition.

She expressed the government’s commitment to zero tolerance to distressed and dilapidated buildings in the state.

The Assistant Director, Public Relations, LASBCA, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, disclosed these in a statement titled ‘LASBCA to commence removal of identified distressed buildings in Lagos State’ made available to our correspondent on Friday.

Kosegbe said those marked for demolition had been published in the national newspapers by the agency in the first instance, while all the tenants/occupiers of the distressed buildings had been advised to evacuate immediately as demolition would commence after the expiration on the seven-day notice.

Kosegbe said that the distressed structures in the state would be removed by LASBCA, having served all the statutory enforcement notices in consonance with the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law of 2010, and with no response from the respective owners and developers.

She stated that public notice was the final notice from the agency to the owner/developer.

If the distressed structures were not removed within seven days of the publication by their respective owners/developers in line with regulatory provision of the law, she said, the structures would be removed by the agency and the cost would be borne by the owners.

The general manager said the decision was taken after a thorough engineering appraisal and monitoring of the distressed buildings carried out by the agency in the state with a view to ensuring better physical planning environment for sustainable development and averting needless loss of lives and properties.

Kosegbe said that sustainable physical development required the participation of all Lagosians.

She maintained that no responsible government would fold its arms and watch its citizens die avoidable careless death without taking precautionary measures to stop it.

The general manager noted that people had shown disregard for the state laws on building construction in the past which the resultant effect were worrisome.

She appealed to building owners and developers to desist from additional floors to old existing buildings without carrying out a thorough engineering appraisal, integrity test on the building and obtaining necessary permits from the relevant authorities.

The general manager advised developers should seek authorisation from LASBCA and hire the services of relevant professionals.

This, she said, would go a long way to prevent the occurrence of building collapse in the state.

Sports facilities and recreational parks in residential estates are permitted to operate with a maximum of 20 persons - Lagos State Government

We also have some updated guidelines for certain types of businesses and parks. 

Hair salons that have been accredited by the Lagos State Safety Commission (LSSC) are to continue strictly on appointment-only and with a maximum occupancy of 50 per cent of the total space.

Sports facilities and recreational parks in residential estates are permitted to operate with a maximum of 20 persons at any given time depending on size. 

However, places of worship, events centres, and social clubs will remain closed until further notice.

Some of these decisions are hard for us but we must prioritise for the greater good and protection of our residents. 

Using a facemask is mandatory in public places. We are asking offices, businesses and commercial premises to refuse entry to any person not wearing a mask.

This year, COVID19 has disrupted our businesses and schools. For our students in SSS3 and TEC3, we have some important news. 

In line with the updated guidelines from the Presidential Task Force on #COVID19, they will resume on August 3 to prepare for mandatory public exams.

This resumption will be strictly monitored and must follow established public health guidelines and protocols in the State. The permission to re-open only applies to day-schools. Boarding activities are excluded.

Instructions for JSS3 will come soon as we continue to consult.

Pupils in Primary Six will be graded by their already recorded Continuous Assessment (CA) to pass over to secondary schools.

Our tertiary institutions are to continue their online academic activities which are at various advanced stages.

Man arrested for defiling employer’s twin daughters in Lagos

Man arrested for defiling employer’s twin daughters

The Lagos State Police Command has announced the arrest of one Chinedu Obi, 26, for allegedly defiling his employer’s twin daughters.

A statement on Sunday by the spokesman, Bala Elkana, said Obi allegedly defiled his employer’s twin daughters.

Elkana noted that on June 16 at about 2:55 pm a woman in her mid-thirties (name withheld) reported the case at Aguda Police Station.

The complainant said Obi, her salesman, raped her 12-year-old daughters (names withheld) when she left them with him in her house.

“The suspect was arrested and he confessed to the commission of the crime”, the Police said.

Elkana quoted Obi as disclosing that he started having sexual intercourse with the girls in 2019.

Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered the transferred of the case to Gender Unit, State Headquarters, Ikeja.

CP Odumosu advised parents not to trust anyone with their kids, especially female children.

He reaffirmed the commitment of the Police to continually apprehend sexual offenders and make them face the full weight of the law

Policeman Killed By Hit-and-run Driver In Lagos.

Policeman Killed By Hit-and-run Driver In Lagos. An officer of the Nigeria Police Force has been killed by a hit-and-run driver at Marwa, along Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos. It was gathered the hit-and-run driver fled the scene of the accident after hitting the policeman. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency identified the deceased as Paul Omaji, adding that the accident happened on Sunday evening. Head, Public Affairs, LASEMA, Nosa Okunbor, said, “In a just-concluded operation, LASEMA Response Team recovered remains of a victim of a hit-and-run accident at Marwa, along Lekki-Epe Expressway, where an unidentified vehicle flee the incident scene immediately the accident occurred. 

 “On arrival at the incident scene, an officer the Nigeria Police Force named Paul Omaji was found dead at the aforementioned address. “Investigation conducted at the scene revealed that an unidentified vehicle ran into the officer on his way to resume his duty. “The unidentified vehicle fled the scene immediately the incident occurred. “The deceased body has been bagged as the LASEMA responders alongside the Officers on ground has transported the deceased body to Marina General Hospital with the aid of the Agency’s Ambulance. “The corpse was handed over to another officer, (SP Onajide Olabode) and has been deposited in the morgue.”

COVID CURFEW: A BITTER EXPERIENCE IN LAGOS

image from within nigera

This the experience of one of the violator of the covid -19 curfew. He gave account of his experience and advice people to obay the curfew which is 8pm - 6am.

He said It was like a joke when my boss and I were stopped by the policemen at Itire linking Okota bridge around 8:05pm hopping to beg and leave but were denied such.

 After we were delayed for 3hrs+, we were finally driven to the station where we stayed again for another 1hr+ before locking us in the cell till 9:05am the next day. 

We finally were driven with 30 others including 6 females to Panti at Yaba where we faced the magistrate judge and sentenced to pay N2k fine with 1hr community service. We finally were released to go at 3:40pm yesterday. 

It was a horrifying experience.

Please make sure especially in Lagos to get home before 8pm. You may need to leave where you are from 6pm. The harassment, embarrassment, waste of time, humiliation, disrespect etc is beyond one's understanding. 

The best way to avoid such humiliation is to make sure you leave your place of work as early as possible.

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