No fewer than 15 armed robbers invaded the Christ
Apostolic Church in Alagbado, Lagos State, stealing
about 40 phones and money estimated at N2m.
The robbers, who operated for about 20 minutes,
were said to have also attempted raping some of
the church members before they left the church
premises.
It was learnt that the men came around 2am
penultimate Friday while the over 450 congregation
was engrossed in a prayer session.
A member of the church, who craved anonymity,
said some of the members had observed a strange
man making phone calls while the vigil was on.
He said, “The vigil actually started around 12
midnight. Some of us observed a man who came in
around 1.30am. He was seated in the women’s
section. About four persons tried persuading him to
change seat, including the pastor, but he refused.
So they left him.
“I observed him going out several times to make
phone calls. At about 2am, I overheard him saying,
‘start coming, they are praying’. Few minutes later,
I heard a gunshot.”
The head usher of the church was said to have
been shot at close range, when he tried closing the
door against the robbers, who he originally thought
were arriving late for the programme.
The bullet was said to have shattered the glass at
the entrance, and landed on the pulpit.
When the gun men got in, the church members
were said to have been ordered to lie face down,
while they started ransacking them.
One of the church leaders said, “They positioned
themselves at the church’s major entrances. They
collected money, phones and recharge cards.
They started shouting, ‘where is your pastor?’
They took the church offering and wanted to rape
some of our women. In the 20 years of my being in
the ministry, I have never seen such effrontery
before.”
Our correspondent gathered that the robbers,
however, did not know that there were two other
exit doors in the church.
The pastor was said to have sneaked out through
the exit and dodged behind a window, where he
viewed everything going on.
It was learnt that the gang leader, who wore a
mask, suddenly became angry and started arguing
with a member of the gang over a phone that was
snatched from one of the church members.
The source said, “It must have been God working
at that point. During the argument, this young man
suddenly pulled off his mask and started fighting
the other robber. They had a heated argument over
a phone they had just snatched without knowing
that the pastor was looking at them.”
PUNCH Metro gathered that the pastor of the
church alerted the police who arrived at the scene
just after the robbers left.
An elder in the church told our correspondent that
the members of the church, however, held on to
the stranger in the church who appeared to have
been the robbers’ informant.
He said, “Apart from me, there were three other
people who saw him. A particular member of the
church even told us that he was the one who
grabbed her phone while the robbers were stealing
items. He wanted to follow the robbers when they
were escaping, but we held him till the police
arrived.”
He was handed over to the Ojokoro Police Division
for interrogation. He was said to have aided the
police in apprehending the other robbers.
Our correspondent gathered from residents of the
area that the same gang of robbers had been
terrorising the area for a long time.
A resident, who did not want his name mentioned
for security purpose said, “After they left CAC that
day, they robbed in about eight other streets –
Baruwa, Tebun Fagbemi, Sunday Fadipe, Idowu
Oya, Ayobola, Balogun, Alhaji SL and Taibat Banire
Estate.”
Investigations by PUNCH Metro revealed that the
gang leader, who led the church operation and
angrily pulled off his mask, was the son of a
traditional ruler.
Our correspondent gathered that the young man,
identified simply as Ade, had been arrested, but
there had been high-powered influences seeking
his release from police custody.
The pastor of the church, who identified him, was
said to be under pressure to withdraw his
incriminating statement from the police.
The residents said they were apprehensive as the
state command’s authorities had withdrawn the
matter from the police team originally handling it at
the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
When contacted, the Lagos State Police Public
Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said the matter
was being investigated at SARS.
Braide said, “The incident took place around 2am
and some people were arrested around 4am. The
matter is currently under investigation and the
suspects, including the son of the traditional ruler,
are in police custody.
“It will, however, be unreasonable for anyone to be
apprehensive and insinuate things against the the
command’s authorities in a case in which they
have no interest. Justice is what we stand for and
justice is what we are going to do in this matter.”
Friday, 21 March 2014
Robbers invade church, steal phones, N2m
Private jet: Reps probe oil minister’s N10bn expenses
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed
a resolution to probe an alleged spending of N10bn
by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, to charter and maintain a
jet for her personal use.
The resolution indicated that the minister spent
500,000 Euros or N130m monthly to maintain the
aircraft in the last two years.
“Thus, in the last two years, the minister has
committed at least N3.120bn to maintaining the
private jet, which is used solely for her personal
needs and those of her immediate family, which is
an appalling act”, the sponsor of the motion, Mr.
Samuel Adejare, told the House.
He alleged that other “wasteful” costs associated
with the minister’s frequent trips with the jet were
“currently estimated at N10bn, which include
payment of allowances to the crew for trips,
hanger parking and rent based on the lease
agreement.”
The All Progressives Congress lawmaker from
Agege Federal Constituency in Lagos State, argued
that, at a time of dwindling resources, it was a
“breach of public trust” and “impudence” for a
government official to fly “all over the world,
obviously for leisure.”
Members endorsed the motion in a unanimous
voice vote and directed the Committee on Public
Accounts to conduct the investigation within three
weeks.
In another resolution, the House observed that the
Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas had not remitted
revenue to the Federation Account since 2004.
It resolved that its Committee on Gas Resources
should investigate the issue within three weeks as
well.
A member from Kano State, Mr. Aminu Suleiman,
had brought the matter before the House.
Part of Suleiman’s motion reads, “The House notes
that the NLNG Bonny, in flagrant disobedience and
breach of Section 162(1) of the 1999 Constitution
has not remitted funds accruing to it to the
Federation Account from 2004 till date.
“That the non- remittance of funds accruing to
NLNG Bonny from 2004 till date has adversely
affected the Federation Account to the detriment of
Federal, States and Local Governments.
“That the unpatriotic actions of those in charge of
the NLNG Bonny from 2004 till date has resulted in
loss of huge revenue that ought to be shared to all
tiers of the government form the Federation
Account for both recurrent and capital
development.
“That, the non-remittance of funds that accrued to
NLNG Bonny to the Federation Account from
2004till date has badly affected all critical sectors
of the Nigerian economy and constitutes an
economic crime.”
Government should stop giving actors money — John Okafor
POPULAR actor, John Okafor has decried the
absence of adequate structures in Nollywood.
Also he criticised the recent visit of the Actors’
Guild of Nigeria to President Goodluck Jonathan,
which did not appear to go down well with some
people who queried the motive in the first place.
For these critics, the actors only went to grab a
‘piece of the national cake.’ And though the actors
concerned have since defended their decision to
pay the President a courtesy visit, popular Nigerian
comic actor, John Okafor, popularly known as Mr.
Ibu, is still not pleased.
According to the actor who rose to prominence
after his breakout role in the 1997 movie, Agony,
where he portrayed an imbecile, the Federal
Government has yet to set its priorities right with
regard to Nollywood.
“The government should stop giving Actors’ Guild
cash, because we don’t know how to handle it.
Some people will go to the office, process the
money and squander it and we (actors) never
benefit from such goodwill.
“If they (government) can give us a structure or
land, we (actors) can go ahead and secure funds
from investors to build five-star hotels and other
facilities on it, because it will be a tourist haven.
We can bring the Nigerian Censor’s board into the
same arena.
“How can we be paying N50,000 to have one
movie censored and then generate N5m from over
100 movies produced in a month and yet there
aren’t any structures in place for Nollywood? “With
such amount of money, government should be able
to cater for us. If this is done, the industry will
make a giant stride.”
Besides the lack of infrastructure, Okafor also
drew attention to what he described as an ‘ugly
trend’. “Homosexuality is very rampant in our
industry and it is one thing that aggravates my
anger many at times,” he reveals.
Okafor would not go into details when this
correspondent probed further. Although he made a
name for himself playing ‘unserious roles,’ Okafor
said many fans were unable to tell when he was
serious.
“Many people do not take me seriously because of
the kind of roles I play in movies. But the truth is
that those who know me very well know that I am
a very focused and principled person.
“In fact, I teach and mentor many upcoming actors
and also organise workshops and seminars
regularly for them.”
The actor said his love for acting dated back to his
childhood days and that the streak ran in his
family.
“I think I got the gift of acting from my grandfather.
I discovered this in the early 70s. My grandfather
was a foremost comedian in his own right. Back in
the days, he would take me to places where he
performed. Growing up, I realised that I was going
to become an actor somehow,” he recalled.
The journey to the top was not an easy one for the
determined actor. Having worked as a hairdresser,
butcher, wait-and-get photographer and soft
drinks seller at various points in life, he claimed to
have found fulfillment in the world of make-
believe.
The year 1994 proved to be the turning point in his
career after he landed his first movie role in the
movie, Rolling Stone. Okafor was paid a paltry
N5,000 to star in the film, but that was then. Today,
he has emerged one of the most sought-after and
highly paid Nollywood actors who charges ‘six
digits’ to feature in a film.
He said of his new status, “Acting has not made
me rich, but I’m very comfortable. I am able to feed
and adequately take care of my family; neither do I
borrow money.
“It has also opened many doors for me and it has
taken me far and wide beyond my wildest
imagination. It has exposed me to certain level
where I can say that God has done it for me.”
Despite his ‘unserious’ and hilarious imbecile roles,
Okafor is one comic star who is blessed with a
very beautiful wife. Although this is peculiar to
most Nigerian comedians, the Institute of
Management and Technology, Enugu, Mass
Communication graduate, is of the opinion that she
saw through his innate attributes before making a
choice.
“First and foremost, I am man in all ramifications
and she has seen that in me,” Okafor said coyly.
Jonathan admits treating terrorism with kid gloves
President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday
admitted that his administration had hitherto been
treating terrorists in the country with kid glove.
Terrorists, especially members of the Islamic sect,
Boko Haram, have hold sway in the North-East
zone in the past three years, killing thousands of
citizens in attacks on villages, military and polie
facilities, worship houses and drinking joints.
The President said his government had now
decided to be more forceful in its approach
because of its desire to stamp out terror groups
from the country.
He spoke in Windhoek, Namibia, during a bilateral
talk with President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
“Initially, we handle it (terrorism) with kid glove,
but now we have decided to be a little more
forceful because we must thrash out these terror
groups. We must not allow it to continue to slow
down economic growth in that part of the country,”
Jonathan said.
Jonathan told his Namibian counterpart that a
terror attack on any part of the world is an attack
on everyone, saying terrorism has become a
global phenomenon though the intensity might vary
from one country to the other.
He cited the case of Nigeria where he said
terrorism was being witnessed in only three North
Eastern states out of the 36 states of the
federation.
He said the Federal Government had resolved that
it would not allow terrorism to continue to hinder
economic growth in the affected states.
The President said, “We must not allow it to
continue to slow down economic growth in that
part of the country.
“With the terror attacks in that part of the country,
the rest of the country feel it because Nigerians
live everywhere.
“In these other parts, there is always the fear that
if you do not tackle it, it will infiltrate in these other
parts.
“We will work together to ensure that terror attack
is stamped out globally and in Nigeria we are
committed.”
Jonathan thanked Pohamba for his country’s
support to Nigeria on its election as a non-
permanent member of the United Nations.
He made a case for at least two seats for Africa in
the UN Security Council.
Jonathan said, “I also believe in your philosophy
that if by God’s grace, the UN Security Council will
be restructured, that is, if the super powers will
allow it to be restructured, Africa should be
considered at least for two positions to represent
the interest of African people.
“I always say it that we cannot talk of democracy
when the strongest institutions globally are not
democratic but dictated to by one country alone.
“If we must practice democracy and emphasise
that all countries must be democratic, we need to
start from these powerful UN institutions that all
parts of the globe must have a say there.”
Pohamba had said that his country would forever
remain grateful to Nigeria for its contribution and
sacrifice towards the attainment of independence.