Metro
How EFCC Officials Allegedly Tortured Lagos Clubgoers, Forced Out Naked Couple
Customers and workers at the Lakers Lounge Hotel and Bar, Ikorodu, Lagos State, have accused officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of subjecting them to torture during a raid on the facility.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the workers were attending to customers at the club when the armed officials invaded the premises around 11.30pm on Friday, June 3.
The officials, who were said to have presented no warrant, also allegedly removed the closed-circuit television in the course of the operation.
They allegedly ordered customers and workers to lie on the floor and beat up those who protested against the raid.
A customer, Oladapo Ogunyinka, said the EFCC officials seized peoples’ phones, adding that he had yet to recover his seized property.
He said, “I left Ikeja with two guests to have fun at the club. We were upstairs when the EFCC operatives invaded the premises with guns and sticks. One of them, Olumide, approached our direction with a gun, seized my iPhone PRO Max 13 and Samsung Galaxy A22 valued at N900,000 and ordered us to go down.
“When we got down, the operatives told us to lie down flat. Immediately, the official that seized my phones started doing a video record. The officials went to the hotel attached to the club, broke the doors and brought lodgers outside. There was a particular couple that came out; the man was wearing only boxers, and the lady, a pair of pants and a bra.
“There was a lady that started convulsing due to the shock of the incident and one of the officers still beat her with a stick and said she was pretending. They treated people like animals; if I am lying, they have the CCTV footage with them, they should play it.
“They tied us in pairs of two; I explained to one of the operatives that I was a realtor that just came to the club to have fun and he informed the officer that led the operation from Ibadan, Chris Odofin, and I was untied. But they did not release my phones.”
Ogunyinka said the operatives instructed him to visit the EFCC office at Ibadan, Oyo State, to ask for one Momoh to claim his phones, adding that despite visiting the office, he had yet to retrieve his property.
“I had nothing incriminating on my phones, so I visited their office, asked for Momoh, who took me to where the seized phones were kept, but I didn’t see my phones. I became angry and started shouting and luckily, I was able to identify the person that seized my phones and Momoh also saw the officer.
“So, their boss had to intervene and told Momoh to call the officer. Their boss, who is a woman, gave them 72 hours to produce my phones, but till date, they have yet to produce them. It is surprising that I gave my phones to an EFCC official and he stole my phones instead of tendering them as exhibits.
“The incident was a nightmare. They harassed customers and workers at the club and didn’t even interview most people. I explained everything to their boss in Ibadan and she was just apologising,” he added.
The Human Resources Manager at the club, Ajoke Quadri, said the EFCC officials presented no warrant, adding that business activities at the club had been paralysed after the raid.
READ ALSO: EFCC Arraigns Company Executive Over €349,000 Fraud
She said, “The EFCC officials destroyed the club’s property; they burst my office and the safe where I keep staff documents. They also destroyed the camera room, took all the DVR and hard drive and cut the wires connecting the CCTV.
“We also have a hotel attached to the club. They took the master card from our receptionist, went to the hotel’s rooms and the rooms where the master card wasn’t letting them to gain entry, they broke down the doors, raised the beds up and brought out lodgers.
“About 105 people work with us; but those operatives harassed my staff, including Gloria Nwankwo, and one of my supervisors, among others on duty. We had to rush the supervisor to a hospital as he could not hear properly after the attack.
“They also burst my boss’ office, took away three tablets used to punch in sales; they took two phones we used for receiving company transfer alerts. All staff and customers’ phones were taken; most of my staff had to go to Ibadan to retrieve their phones.
“I had to also go to Ibadan to retrieve some of our property. It was when I got to Ibadan that I was able to assist some of the people, including a nurse that was arrested at De Butler’s club, but had no money to return to Lagos.”
Recall that officials the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency recently raided the club and allegedly brutalised customers and damaged some property.
CCTV installed on the club premises revealed as the NDLEA operatives ordered customers to raise their hands while they searched their pockets, bags and purses one after the other.
As seen in the video clip, customers, who resisted the search, were beaten and forcefully dragged from the club during the raid.
In 2019, men of the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Lagos State Police Command also invaded the club and seized from its customers and workers valuables and cash running into several millions of naira.
The management of the club had sought redress over the incident as the Lagos State Police Command arrested 13 of the 19 police operatives for professional misconduct.
Counsel for the club, Femi Martins, lamented the constant raids on the club by security agents, noting that some rivals were trying to perpetrate unfair actions to run the club out of business.
A rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said a lot of victims had been wrongly arrested and stigmatised in the guise of searching for Internet fraudsters, adding that those whose rights were violated should seek redress in court.
He said, “EFCC in recent times has become arbitrary in the way its operatives go about the discharge of their functions. There have been several allegations about the highhandedness of the commission in handling cases regarding cybercrime.
“In their attempt to go after the so-called Yahoo boys, they continuously violate the rights of innocent people. It is expected that before such an operation takes place, a proper search warrant would have been obtained to enable the commission to have legal access to the private property of citizens whether it is built for business or residential purposes.
“And a search warrant has to be targeted at a specific property and individual. Before a search warrant is issued under the administration of criminal justice act, there has to be reasonable suspicion.
“In a situation where they just invade premises and pick people indiscriminately, and begin to scout for evidence implicating the people that they have arrested, it is not a lawful way of enforcing the law.”
READ ALSO: N80bn Fraud: EFCC Uncovers 17 Properties Linked To Accountant-General
The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, had in a statement said the commission arrested 140 suspects in separate sting operations at popular hotels, including Lakers Lounge Hotel and Bar and De Butlers, following credible intelligence on their involvement in internet-related fraud.
“Items recovered from the suspects include exotic cars, electronic devices, laptop computers and mobile phones. The suspects will be charged to court as soon as the investigations are concluded,” the statement said.
Contacted for a follow-up reaction, Uwujaren said, “There is nothing to add to the statement that we issued.”
PUNCH.
Metro
My Wife Sold My Property After Giving Her Money For Business — Husband
…I sold his property to feed our children after he abandoned us — Wife
An Upper Area Court in Kubwa, Abuja, has dissolved a 16-year-old marriage between Hajarat Isa and her husband, Muhammed Hassan, for lack of love.
The judge, Mohammed Wakili, dissolved the marriage according to Islamic Law, following Hajarat’s prayer for divorce on the said ground.
Wakili ordered that the divorce certificate be issued to the plaintiff adding that she would not observe “Iddah” because the couple did not consummate since 2022.
Iddah is a waiting period to be observed for three months before contracting another marriage.
READ ALSO:‘My Husband’s Neglect Of Me Led Me Into An Affair With Another Man’
Earlier, the petitioner, a mother of four, had told the court she got married to the respondent under Islamic law in 2008.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),she said that she was no longer interested in the marriage and prayed that the court grants her request for divorce on grounds of lack of love.
The respondent, however, said that he divorced his wife and remarried her in 2022 which was in his absence because he travelled to his hometown while the marriage was contracted.
”I will grant her divorce, but I want her to return all my belongings in her possession.
READ ALSO:Woman Begs Court Not To Grant Husband’s Prayer For Divorce
“She sold my television, a play station I bought for the children and my clothes and shoes.
“We have not consummated the marriage since 2022 and I gave her a shop and capital to start a business before I travelled.
When I got back she sold my gym equipments,” he said.
The plaintiff said that in 2022, the respondent travelled to his home town for one year and seven months and only sends money once in a while.
READ ALSO:‘My Husband Deserted Me, His Family Insisted I Moved Out Of His House Because I Don’t Have A Child’
“I was the only one taking care of our four children and two more he had with his ex-wife.
“I sold the said items to take care of our children.
“I am a private teacher and was paid only N15,000 when he left.
“I later fell sick and that was when he returned.
READ ALSO:My Husband Has No Source Of Livelihood, Woman Tells Court
“My younger brother had to come to help me with the children while my older sister took care of me,” she said.
She added that she did not sell his gym equipments but had explained to him that they got stolen and the reason she sold other items was for upkeep.
The respondent, however, told the court that he believed the plaintiff may have sold the items for upkeep while he was away and forgave her for it.
Metro
Man Accepts Money To Divorce Wife
The Matero Local Court in Zambia, has heard a startling case in which a man admitted to divorcing his wife after being promised K7,000 by her lover, who had impregnated her
According to Zambia Observer, Innocent Chileshe told the magistrate, Lewis Mumba that he agreed to end his marriage after Innocent Mutonga, a married man who was in a relationship with his wife, offered him money to clear the way for their union.
“Your honour, this man was in a sexual relationship with my wife, and she even became pregnant for him. I was the one taking care of the pregnancy, yet he is the one responsible,” Chileshe testified.
He said the court had earlier ordered Mutonga to pay him K15,000 in compensation for adultery.
READ ALSO:My Husband Shows His Other Wives More Affection, Woman Tells Court
But after the ruling, Mutonga allegedly approached Chileshe with a new proposal.
“He told me to divorce my wife in exchange for K7,000 so that he could continue freely with her. I accepted the offer and gave him the divorce papers, but he never paid me,” Chileshe told the court.
Chileshe added that he not only supported his wife during the pregnancy but also continued to provide for her and the child after birth, responsibilities he argued belonged to Mutonga.
READ ALSO:My Husband Is Not Loving, Dissolve Our 9 Months Wedlock, Woman Tells Court
Mumba found Mutonga guilty of contempt for failing to honour the original order and directed him to pay K165 or face 14 days in remand.
He further warned him to strictly comply with the earlier K15,000 compensation ruling.
The unusual case has drawn attention for highlighting how adultery disputes and financial negotiations have increasingly become entangled in local courts, raising questions about justice, dignity, and the limits of compensation in marital breakdowns.
Metro
Ngige Recounts Attack On Convoy By Gunmen
A former Anambra State Governor and ex-Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has narrated how his convoy was attacked by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.
Ngige said the incident occurred when his personal aides were returning from an errand, resulting in the death of a woman, while his police orderly was shot in the leg and stripped of his rifle and uniform.
He disclosed this to journalists on Friday, when the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, visited him at his country home in Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, to commiserate with him over the attack.
Ngige said he had been in Anambra since Saturday and had sent his personal aides on errands, including taking one of his vehicles for maintenance, when they were ambushed on their way back.
Dispelling rumours of his death, he said, “As you can see, I am alive; I am not dead, so there should be no panic. They attacked my convoy while they were returning around Umuoji. They saw some vehicles racing towards them, which later reversed, chased after them and started shooting.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: One Dead As Ngige Escapes Assassination
“The assailants were all dressed in police and army uniforms. My convoy driver managed to manoeuvre until they ran into a shop. They caught up with my police security man who battled with them until his bullets were exhausted.
“They took away his rifle and uniform after shooting him in the leg.
“They told the two policemen that they were serving a ‘zoo government’. I think something is in the offing. They are seizing arms and mopping up police uniforms.
“I have spoken to the governor of the state, who assured me they will be tracked down. If they are not tracked down, it can lead to potential danger and an unravelling of the calmness we have enjoyed in the state for the past three months.
“You know we are entering the Christmas season and our people will be coming home. They need to be tracked down because this is a gang with a modus operandi of operating in police uniforms.”
On whether he believed the attack was targeted, Ngige said it was possible because his pilot driver and convoy are well known, but added that it might also be coincidental.
“My pilot driver is very well known. Anywhere people see him, they know Ngige is around. He has driven me for 22 years. So, on that basis, I may say they knew it was my convoy and decided to attack.
“On the other hand, it may be that they just saw a convoy with policemen and attacked them to harvest guns and uniforms. So I’m not insisting it was targeted. Anyone who targets me is wasting his time,” he added.
Speaking on the attackers’ reference to serving a “zoo government” and the recent tension surrounding the incarceration of the Indigenous People of Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu, Ngige said the situation called for a political solution.
“When they told the security men that they were serving a ‘zoo government’ and should tell their masters they are coming for them, you know what that means.
“My take is that Nnamdi Kanu’s case requires a political solution. I met former President Muhammadu Buhari over it. Governor Soludo has also said he wants Kanu released to him. But even if they don’t want to release him to us, they can release him to Britain.
READ ALSO:Obiano’s Ex-aide Opens Up On Rumoured Former Anambra Gov’s Death
“Why I say so is because the symptoms he is exhibiting are bizarre. I am not a psychiatrist, but something is wrong. Even the doctors who conducted the psychiatric evaluation missed something. There is a mania component. In such cases, the court normally discharges the person. This is elementary psychiatry, and I am a medical doctor,” he said.
Also speaking, Obi, who visited Ngige in Alor, thanked God for sparing the former governor’s life and commiserated with the family of the woman who was shot dead while making a video of the incident.
Recall that unidentified gunmen attacked Ngige’s convoy along the Nkpor–Nnobi Road in Idemili North Local Government Area on Thursday.
READ ALSO:Romanian Defence Minister Quits After Admitting Error In Academic Record
According to Ngige’s former media aide, Sir Fred Chukwuelobe, the former governor was not in the convoy at the time of the attack.
A policeman in the pilot car was shot, and his gun and uniform were taken by the assailants, who were reportedly dressed in police and military uniforms.
Eyewitnesses said a woman who was recording the shooting was fatally shot, while a shop owner who rushed out to observe the commotion was also hit but survived and is scheduled for surgery to remove bullets lodged in his body.
“No policeman was killed. The escort leader who was shot has been operated upon and is expected to make a full recovery,” one eyewitness said.
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