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 Started Bringing Home Her Lovers After She Sent Me, My First Wife Packing —Husband
…He must give our child N30,000 monthly for food if he’s insisting on divorce —Wife
A man, Abass, has approached Grade A Customary Court, Court 2, sitting at Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, to seek that it dissolve the union between him and his wife, Bolaji, on the grounds of disobedience, adultery and threat to his life by the latter.
Abass stated that Bolaji was troublesome and made their home non-conducive for him and his first wife.
Abass also said that he almost lost his job after Bolaji extended her unruly behaviour to his office, where she came to fight him and turned the whole premises upside down.
According to him, the timely intervention of the police saved the situation.
The plaintiff added further that Bolaji sent his first wife packing, while he also moved out of their house a few months after this when it became obvious she was bent on snuffing life out of him.
Abass explained that Bolaji threw caution in the air immediately he moved out of the house and started bringing her lovers into the house.
These men, he stated, did spend the night with her.
The plaintiff said he went home early one morning and saw the defendant seeing one of them off.
Abass told the court he has had enough of his wife’s atrocities and thus prayed for the dissolution of their union.
According to the plaintiff, the defendant took to threatening him since he dragged her to court.
READ ALSO:My Wife Threatens Me With Knife, Goes About With Charms, Man Tells Court
Bolaji refused that their union be dissolved, giving the welfare of the only child produced by their union as excuse.
Abass in his testimony said, “Bolaji and I met in 2019 and I paid her bride price.
“I already had a wife when I met her, and the three of us were living together after she moved in with me.
“Bolaji started misbehaving early in our marriage.
“She was always at loggerheads with my first wife; she showed no regard for her and sought every opportunity to fight her.
“Any time I tried to caution her, she would flare up and accuse me of taking sides with her rival.
“Peace deserted us in the home because Bolaji made it hell to live in.
“Bolaji fought me and my first wife on regular basis.
“I almost lost my job when she came to my office to fight me.
“It took the intervention of the policemen before sanity could be restored.
“The embarrassment and shame he exposed me to have not left me till date.
READ ALSO:My Husband Has Stopped Loving, Trusting Me — Wife
“Bolaji made my first wife life so miserable that she packed her belongings and moved out of the house.
“I saw hell in the few months I was left alone with Bolaji; she almost snuffed life out of me.
“I had no choice than to move out our house.
“Bolaji threw caution in the air immediately I left our home.
“She started dating other men and even had the audacity to bring them into our home.
“These men normally spent the night with her.
“I decided to visit home one faithful day very early in the morning and I saw her seeing one of her lovers off.
“My lord, I can no longer tolerate Bolaji’s loose and indecent lifestyle.
“She now threatens and swears to make my life miserable and unbearable.
“I pray this honourable court to rule that we are no longer husband and wife.
“I in addition request an order restricting her from threatening me.”
Bolaji responded, “My lord, he lied that he paid my bride price.
READ ALSO:Why I Charged My Husband Money For Sex —Woman
“We did not hold any marital rites, neither was I handed over to him by my parents.
“I do not agree to divorce because of our child’s welfare.
“I have a child from my first marriage and do not want our child’s fate to be like that of my first child.
“But if the court eventually dissolves our marriage, I plead that it mandates my husband to give me N30, 000 every month for our child’s feeding.”
The court president, Mrs O.E. Owoseni, gave her judgement after she had heard both parties state that the plaintiff did not cross-examine the defendant in respect of non-payment of bride price and subsequent handing over to him as wife.
Owoseni stated that he has by implication admitted that he did not pay bride price nor was handed over to him as wife.
She added that the ingredients validating marriage under customary law was absent, which meant that they were never married, but merely cohabiting.
Consequently, there was no marriage to be dissolved.
Owoseni further stated that since the plaintiff was no longer interested in cohabiting with the defendant, both parties were, therefore, ordered to go their different ways.
She also explained that based on the unchallenged evidence that the defendant was fond of fighting and causing trouble, the defendant was restrained from harassing, threatening, disturbing and or interfering with the plaintiff’s private life.
The defendant was granted custody of their child, while the plaintiff was given reasonable access to him.
The plaintiff was ordered to pay N30,000 monthly to the defendant for their child’s upkeep.
Metro
‘My Husband Saved My Name As ‘My Sister’ On His Phone, Lied To His Lovers He Was Single’
A cheating man of Lusaka, Zambia, has found himself in court after his wife discovered that her number was saved as ‘My Sister’ on his phone.
The act was a way of concealing his wife’s identity from his three side chicks that he had lied to that he was single.
According to the Zambia Daily Mail, this is in a matter where Pricilla Tembo sued her husband, Tyros Banda, for reconciliation.
READ ALSO:My Ex-husband Has Refused To Give Me, Our Unborn Child, Money For Upkeep, Woman Tells Court
Pricilla narrated that the two had been married since 2012 and together, they had produced one offspring.
She said that Banda, a civil engineer by profession, changed into a beast after he was transferred to Kasama, where he allegedly found ‘biological roads’ to grade.
She explained that since his transfer, the husband would only visit home once a year and in those one-off visits, he would only have sex with her once.
According to Pricillia, Banda gets angry anytime she initiates s3x.
READ ALSO:My Wife Dented My Image, Took Our Marital Crises To Radio Stations — Husband
The aggrieved wife told the court that her husband had impregnated other women while leaving her with only a child.
She alleged that as it stands, Banda had fathered three children from three women.
In his defense, Banda said the difficulties in their marriage were linked to his wife’s miscarriages and her reliance on ‘bwela tupange’ kind of ministries and traditional healers.
In his judgement, the magistrate, Lewis Mumba, advised the wife to proceed with a divorce petition against her husband as infidelity and deprivation are grounds for divorce.
Metro
My Wife Threatens Me With Knife, Goes About With Charms, Man Tells Court
Grade A Customary Court, Court 2, sitting at Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, has ruled in a divorce suit brought before it by a man, Akindele, against his wife, Salamotu, whom he accused of lack of care, constant fight and domestic violence.
Akindele stated that Salamotu was a difficult person to live with.
The plaintiff said that the defendant shed his responsibilities towards him as wife, and made their home unwelcoming for their family members and friends.
Akindele explained that Salamotu was not only hostile and mean but also violent.
According to Akindele, he goes to bed with one eye open because he knows that his life is not safe with his wife.
The plaintiff gave an instance of when the defendant drew a knife at him during a fight.
He stated that he would have been a dead man by now but for providence.
READ ALSO:My Husband Is Randy, Has Children Outside Wedlock —Wife
Akindele further said that Salamotu at another time broke down the door of their apartment.
He added that Salamotu was diabolic in nature and that he sometimes found charms and strange objects in their rooms and corners of their apartment.
The plaintiff stated that peace has deserted him since he got married to his wife.
Akindele, therefore, entreated the court to stop their relationship.
Salamotu was absent in court the first time the case was mentioned.
The court president, Mrs. O.E. Owoseni, adjourned the case and ordered that a fresh hearing notice be issued and served on the defendant.
Akindele in his evidence said, “My lord, the only mistake I ever made in life was that of getting married to my wife.
“I was head over heels in love with my wife when we met and failed to study her character.
“Her father instructed that we hold no marital rites and also refused that I pay her bride price.
READ ALSO:DSS Grills Malami Over Attack On His Convoy In Kebbi
“He handed my wife over to me and we both left for my place joyously.
“My lord, that was the last time my wife and I both laughed together
“I have lost my peace since my wife and I started living together because she is ill-mannered.
“She has no respect for me as the head of the home and also treats me with scorn.
“My wife never gives ear to my counsel; neither does she take to correction.
“She nags almost all the time and is in the habit of fighting me.
“I find no comfort in our home because it is void of peace.
READ ALSO:Woman Begs Court Not To Grant Husband’s Prayer For Divorce
“Our family members now keep their distance from us because my wife’s hostility makes them feel unwelcome when they pay us visits, while my friends now desert me.
“My wife goes wild when she is angry and becomes violent.
“She hits me with anything within her reach.
“I would have been a dead man by now when she drew a knife at me but for posterity’s sake.
“I sleep with one eye open since then because I believe she can do anything to harm me.
“She at another time became fierce during a misunderstanding and broke down the door to our apartment.
“My wife’s attitude got worse after she became diabolic.
READ ALSO:My Husband Has No Source Of Livelihood, Woman Tells Court
“She now keeps charms and strange objects in our rooms and corners of our apartments which are horrifying.
“My lord, my wife has made a mess of my life enough.
“I am no longer interested in our marriage. I want divorce.”
The court president, Mrs O.E Owoseni, in her judgment stated that there was no subsisting marriage between the duos but that they were mere co habiting because no marital rite held and the bride price was not paid.
She added that since the plaintiff stated that he is no longer interested in their marriage, and that the defendant made no effort to save her marriage, the court had no choice than to grant the plaintiff his prayers
Owoseni ruled that the two go their different ways.
She also gave an order restraining the defendant from threatening and interfering with the plaintiff’s private life.
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