Metro

ECTS Staff Call For Sack Of MD Over Alleged Non Remittance Of Pension Contributions

Published

5 years ago

December 14, 2020

Staff of Edo City Transport Service, (ECTS), Monday, called for the sack and arrest of the Managing Director of the company, Mrs. Edugie Agbonlahor, over alleged ‘unfair treatment’ meted on them and refusal to remit their contributing pension funds to the appropriate quota.

The staff who loaded themselves into the company’s buses and drove off to the government house in a protest, said this single act may translate to them not knowing what the future holds for them.

Speaking with newsmen at the company’s premises at Ramat Park, Ikpoba Hill, Benin City, leader of the group, Mr. Abudu Briamah, also accused the MD of casualization of staff, non promotion of staff as and when due, and owing of workers salary for two months.

“Our contributions for pension retirement, she has been deducting it since 2017 but she refused to remit it to the body that is incharge and she is owing us over N360m. She should come and pay us.

“We are calling on the EFCC chairman, we are calling on the governor, we are calling on the Edo State Commissioner of Police to get her arrested.

“Why must she not remit our money to the body? She wants to kill us, she wants to kill our career”, he said.

“We are demanding for our November and December salary and we know that the state government normally pay the state civil servants November salary every on 22 to 24 every month, that is when its being paid but up till now, we have not received November salary, she refused to pay us November’s salary.

“She also refused to implement our minimum wage. Since January 24, to be precise, that is when Edo State started paying civil servants their minimum wage.

“From January till now, how many months is that? That is 12 months. We want the state government to pay us our arrears, to implement our minimum wage, to put an end to casualization of staff, we want them to be staffed, we want the staff to be promoted because since 2015 till now, she refused to promote workers“, he alleged.

He further accused the MD of the company of collecting bogus furniture allowance every three months.

“So, we are tired of the woman, the woman must go. Every three months she is collecting N500,000 as furniture allowance and in a year, that is N2m”, he said.

However, in a swift reaction, Managing Director, ECTS, Mrs. Edugie Agbonlahor, said that their claims were baseless adding that some of the staff were trying to run their own personal transport lines within the company and she kicked against it vehemently.

Edugie said she decided to put them on suspension to enable the Management carry out their investigations.

“I said the essence of this protest has nothing to do with the issues of pension.

“The issue is that some of them are on indefinite suspension because they want to run a private transport company within the organisation and when I found out, I issued them query, placed them on indefinite suspension while the investigation is going on. That is the essence of the protest”, she said.

She said it is also out of place for the staff to be protesting for two months salary arrears when the state government paid them for five months without working during the COVID19 pandemic.

Metro

Hotel Under Construction Collapses In Edo Kills Owner

Published

5 hours ago

August 3, 2025

Editor

Tragedy struck in the Idumoza community, Uromi, Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State, as a hotel building under construction caved in, killing its owner, identified as Andrew Isesere.

The incident occurred last Friday while Isesere was reportedly inside the building.

Over 20 workers who were also at the site narrowly escaped death, according to eyewitnesses.

The lifeless body of the owner was recovered from the debris on Sunday morning.

Neighbours in the area expressed concern over the quality of materials used in the construction, noting that warnings had previously been issued to the deceased.

Andrew Inegbebor, a resident who spoke to reporters, said, “The owner was told he was using low quality material. He used 12mm instead of 16mm rods for the pillars. There was no base basket at the pillars. Look at the result.”

“The building collapsed because of substandard materials that were used. There was no engineer on site. The dead owner supervised the house. The house later collapsed and killed him , but some workers escaped,” he added.

At the time of filing this report, the Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, said that he had not received a briefing on the incident.

Metro

Police Arrest Stolen Phone Tracker-altering Gang In Imo

Published

24 hours ago

August 2, 2025

Editor

The Imo State Police Command has dismantled a cult gang that specialised in phone theft, burglary, and altering the tracking device of phones in Eziobodo, in the Owerri West Local Government Area.

This is even as the Command has arrested several people linked to various phone robberies within the Owerri federal constituency.

Police spokesperson for Imo State command, DSP Henry Okoye, made the disclosure on Saturday morning.

Okoye disclosed that following a complaint by a phone dealer whose shop was burgled on July 11th, 2025, within Eziobodo, operatives of the Anti-Vice commenced an investigation that led to the arrest of a suspect with four brand new but stolen phones.

Intense investigation led the Police to the principal burglar behind the robbery and another accomplice who specialised in altering phone IMEI, which blocks the tracking of such phones.

Okoye said, “Following a complaint by a phone dealer whose shop in Eziobodo was burgled on 11th July 2025, operatives of the Anti-Vice Unit arrested a suspect in possession of four brand-new stolen phones. Investigations led to the arrest of the principal burglar and another accomplice who specialised in altering phone IMEI numbers to evade tracking”.

He disclosed that all the suspects arrested are currently in custody, while efforts have been intensified to apprehend other members of the syndicate.

Okoye said in another development, operatives of the Orji Police Station on July 31st, 2025, at about 9pm (2100hrs) arrested one Ernest Nweke ‘m’ at Bishop’s Court roundabout, in the Owerri North LGA, following a distress call from concerned citizens.

The suspect, who is a native of Umuoji in the Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State but resident in the World Bank area of Owerri, was arrested with a locally fabricated pistol after he and three others allegedly robbed one Emmanuel FearGod ‘m’ of Fountain of Knowledge Hostel.

Okoye said, “Nweke, who confessed to being a member of the Vikings cult group, was identified by the victim and arrested while the others fled. Based on his confession, four other suspects: Chamberlain Prince, Akujuobi Godwin, Ugwuelu Joseph, and Frederick Chigozie were arrested the next morning and also confessed to the crime. All suspects are currently undergoing investigation and will be duly prosecuted in court”.

Meanwhile, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, has commended the officers for their swift action and reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to fight crime.

The Police boss urged residents to report suspicious activities to the nearest Police Station or through 0803 477 3600.

Metro

Police Arrest Fleeing Anambra Suspected Kidnapper In Kaduna

Published

1 day ago

August 2, 2025

Editor

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a suspected kidnapper, John Chinagorom, who is said to have been on the Command’s wanted list.

A statement released on Saturday by the Anambra State Police spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the suspect was arrested in Zaria, Kaduna State, with the assistance of the Kaduna State Police Command.

Ikenga said his arrest followed a credible intelligence received by operatives of the Ozubulu Police Division on August 1, that the suspect, who is linked to a kidnapping case in Anambra, was sighted at PZ Park Road, Zaria, Kaduna State.

The statement read in part, “The Anambra State Police Command wishes to inform the public that its officers, with the assistance of the Kaduna State Police Command, have arrested John Chinagorom ‘M’, a suspected kidnapper, who has been on the Command’s wanted list.

“This follows a credible intelligence received by operatives of the Ozubulu Police Division at noon of 1st August 2025, that the suspect, John Chinagorom, who is linked to a kidnapping Case reported on 15th April 2025, was sighted at PZ Park Road, Zaria, Kaduna State.

“Acting swiftly on the information, a team of Police detectives from the Division was dispatched, and they successfully apprehended the suspect at his hideout in Zaria, with the assistance of officers of the Kaduna State Police Command.

“The suspect is currently in custody and is assisting the Police in the ongoing investigation.”

He urged the general public to remain calm, assuring them that the security situation in the state is under control as joint security patrols and other crime prevention operations are ongoing.

“Meanwhile, the general security situation across other parts of the State remains calm, as counter-terrorism and other crime prevention operations continue.

“Further developments will be communicated in due course,” he added.