Metro

Lagos Flooding: Rescuers Recover Two Corpses, Save Nine

Published

3 years ago

September 13, 2022

Two persons lost their lives during the flood that submerged various communities in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State on Monday.

The Lagos Territorial Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, in a statement, said the flood caused by the torrential rainfall, swept the victims away in the Iyana Ipaja and Command areas of the state.

He said one of the victims, identified simply as Alfa, had escaped with his wife and four children, adding that he returned to his house to pick some items when the flood that submerged his house swept him away.

Farinloye said, “Two adult men were swept away at Iyana Ipaja and Command areas of Lagos State. A man simply known as Alfa was swept away as a result of heavy downpour that caused flooding that took over the whole communities of Ajayi Street, Olubodun Ifesowapo, Olubodun, Fafunwa, Ipaja West, and Tioluwani, in Alimosho LGA.

“The deceased was said to have initially escaped with his wife and four children but the man was said to have returned to his house to pick some items in the course of which he was swept off.”

However, two other persons with him escaped with the help of the community members.

He said, “The family of Alfa had been evacuated to a relative’s residence. While another adult man, who was said to have missed his steps on the Command Bridge, fell into the running water. But before help could reach him, he had been carried away.”

In another development, nine ladies were rescued when a one-storey building that was submerged started sinking on Akinwunmi Street, Mende, in the Maryland area of the state.

During a visit to the area, our correspondent observed that other buildings close to the building were also affected as landlords and residents in the affected houses were displaced.

It was also observed that the issue of flooding had been a reoccurring problem affecting residents in the community.

Speaking, a lady identified simply as Blessing, said she raised the alarm over the incident, adding that she took a video recording of the situation and sent it to her company, prompting her company’s safety manager to alert emergency responders.

Blessing said, “I forwarded a video to my office group telling them that the flood occurrence is the reason I could not come to work, because there was no place to pass. My office representative asked if I had been able to come out of the building, and I said no. So, the safety manager of my office alerted rescue agents to come down to Mende and we were rescued.

“However, we always have the area flooded once there is a heavy downpour. Around 6.00am, we heard a collapse, which happened to be the fence demarcating our building and an abandoned building.

“I initially thought it was thunder and lightning, it was when my neighbours started knocking on the door that I knew it was the fence of our building that collapsed. We were all standing on the staircase of the building when the rescue team swam from the outside to start taking us out.”

Also speaking to The PUNCH, a sister of one of the rescued victims, Tosin Ademuyiwa, said this was not the first time that such an incident would happen in the community.

She said, “Immediately the fence fell, the flooded water from the adjoining abandoned building entered our premises. We never expected the rescue team agents; we were only expecting a few guys to help us out of the building.

“The NEMAN officials backed two teenagers, Mohammed Amina, and the younger sister of Blessing, to safety. They were carried because they were scared of putting their legs in the flood, and we the adults were held by the hands, as we came out of the waterlogged area.”

The landlord of the building, Daniel Okereke, while refuting the claim that his building sunk, said this was the first time the flood happened in such magnitude in the community.

Okereke said, “This is not a normal occurrence, as this is the first time it is happening in this magnitude. Since I moved in here in 2008, it has never been like this. We were all shocked because I have never left my house from the balcony; my pregnant wife and I had to leave my house from the balcony with the use of a ladder because of how bad it was.”

Another landlord in the area, Sylvester Diugwu, said the flooding was caused because the canal had been blocked.

He said, “We have written to the government as regards the blockage of canal. As you see that bamboo tree, it grew inside that canal and blocked that place. Anytime there is rain blocking the area, there is no channel to locate the lagoon, so the whole rain comes onto the street.”

The spokesperson for the Mende Community, Olumide Ogunbowale, said, “Those people were not trapped because this is not the first time, it is just like normal Lagos natural disasters, which rescinds after the flooding.”

Reacting to the flooding in Mende, Farinloye said, “NEMA received a distressed alert on a sinking storey building where nine people are said to be trapped.

“The torrential rainfall, which lasted for about four hours in the early hours of the day, flooded lots of communities in Lagos State. The NEMA advance team upon close observations called for more reinforcement of personnel.

“The landlord of the building had used a ladder to escape, but NEMA questioned him for failure to contact emergency responders, but someone from one of the trapped victim’s offices contacted NEMA.

“The agencies on the ground now are LASEMA, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, and Police Disaster Management Unit. The rescue activities have commenced, and all the nine trapped ladies have been successfully rescued.”

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osnayintolu, and the Director, Lagos Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, also confirmed the incident.

PUNCH

Metro

Court Orders Exhumation, Autopsy Of Afriland Towers Fire Victims

Published

13 hours ago

October 15, 2025

Editor

A Yaba Chief Magistrate Court has ordered Femi Falana Chambers to seek the exhumation and autopsy of 10 victims of the Afriland Towers fire incident, which occurred on September 16, 2025, in Lagos.

Senior Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji gave the directive on Tuesday after learning that some of the victims had already been buried.

“The petitioner should write to the Lagos State Government for the exhumation of the dead victims and carry out an autopsy,” Magistrate Adetunji said.

The directive followed a letter from Femi Falana Chambers dated September 29, 2025, addressed to the Chief Coroner of Lagos State, Justice Mojisola Dada.

Mr Femi Falana (SAN), through his chambers, petitioned the Lagos State Judiciary, seeking a coroner’s inquest to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths and ensure accountability.

During the preliminary proceedings, Magistrate Adetunji directed all parties present to submit the necessary applications before the next sitting.

The court also summoned the United Bank for Africa, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Fire Service, Afriland Towers, United Capital, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Lagos State Safety Commission, and other interested parties.

Adetunji further ordered the petitioner to liaise with the families of the deceased to determine those willing to have their relatives exhumed for autopsy.

She also called for eyewitnesses to come forward and provide evidence on the incident.

Yahaya Atata, a lawyer from Falana’s chambers, told the court that the day’s proceedings were meant to engage all interested parties and outline the modalities for the coroner’s inquest.

However, the magistrate noted that the lawyers were not fully prepared and stressed that the inquest could only proceed after all necessary documents and applications had been filed.

A lawyer representing one of the deceased, A. O. Mema, informed the court that his client, Peter Ifaranmaye, a manager at the Federal Inland Revenue Service, had already been buried.

Following the information, Magistrate Adetunji insisted that an autopsy was essential.

“Autopsy is fundamental. We cannot just hold an inquest; there must be an autopsy to know exactly what happened,” she said.

The court adjourned the matter till November 26, 2025, for further proceedings.

The fire incident had broken out at the Afriland Towers, a commercial complex on Broad Street, Lagos Island, on September 16, 2025, killing at least 10 people and injuring several others.

Eyewitnesses said the blaze started in the early hours of the morning and quickly spread through multiple floors before emergency services could contain it.

Metro

Soldiers Dislodge Terrorists From Taraba Hideouts, Recover Weapons

Published

13 hours ago

October 15, 2025

Editor

Troops of the 6 Brigade, Nigerian Army/Sector 3, Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) have recorded another major success in the ongoing clearance operations tagged Operation Lafiya Nakowa, aimed at flushing out terrorists, bandits, and other criminal elements from Taraba State.

According to a statement made available on Wednesday by Lieutenant Umar Muhammad, Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, “On 14 October 2025, troops deployed at Tapga Ngasawa village under Dampar District of Ibi Local Government Area received credible intelligence on the hideouts of suspected terrorists operating around Badekoshi, Fajul, Kurmi, and Dampar villages in Ibi LGA. Acting swiftly on the information, the troops conducted a series of clearance operations in the identified areas.”

The statement added that “during the operation at Badekoshi, troops made contact with the terrorists, forcing them to flee towards Fajul village close to the forest.

“The gallant troops pursued the fleeing criminals with superior firepower, compelling them to abandon their positions and escape deeper into the forest.”

Muhammad stated that a thorough exploitation of the area led to the recovery of the following items: “One (1) AK-47 rifle, One (1) AK-47 magazine, One (1) round of 7.62mm special ammunition, Five (5) rounds of blank ammunition, Two (2) fragmental jackets, Two (2) military camouflage uniforms, and One (1) Jincheng motorcycle suspected to have been stolen during a previous attack at Tapga village.”

The Commander, 6 Brigade NA/Sector 3 OPWS, Brigadier General Kingsley Chidiebere Uwa, commended the troops “for their professionalism and resilience,” while urging them “to sustain the ongoing momentum until all criminal elements are completely wiped out from Taraba State.”

“The Nigerian Army remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of all law-abiding citizens and will continue to work with other security agencies and local communities to achieve lasting peace in the State,” the statement added.

The Brigade had earlier, on October 1, 2025, successfully foiled a terrorist attack and neutralised two suspected terrorists in Taraba.

“Acting on credible intelligence, troops on October 1, 2025, advanced to Tor-Ikyeghgba village, where bandits were reported to be converging. On arrival at the general area, the troops made contact with the terrorists along the powerline axis and immediately engaged them with superior firepower, resulting in the neutralisation of two,” the statement said.

Metro

105 Drug Dealers Arrested In Police Raids

Published

14 hours ago

October 15, 2025

Editor

In a major crackdown on drug trafficking, Jigawa State Police Command arrested no fewer than 105 suspects during simultaneous raids across the state.

The arrests were confirmed by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Shi’isu Adam, while addressing journalists on Tuesday at the command’s headquarters in Dutse, the state capital.

Adam revealed that in recent raids, officers of the command searched every nook and cranny of Jigawa to root out illegal drug activities. “Our men left no stone unturned,” he said, emphasising the determination to rid the state of the drug menace.

According to him, the raids led to the recovery of over 5,000 illicit drugs and intoxicating substances, including cannabis and various hard drugs.

Moreover, the police spokesperson provided a detailed list of the substances seized, highlighting the scale of the operation.

Among the recovered items were 2,541 units of Exol and 1,146 units of D-5, both commonly abused drugs in the region.

Also confiscated were 270 packets of Tramadol and over a thousand wraps of cannabis, including one block.

Other seized substances included 269 units of Diaxer, 153 Pregabalin capsules, and 82 units of Farin Malam.

The police also nabbed various other illicit drugs such as Diazepam, Vegakris, and Calidon’s.

However, Adam disclosed that cash amounting to N92,460 was recovered from the suspects, alongside other substances like rubber solution, suck and die, and Dry Gin. “This bust sends a strong message to those involved in drug dealing,” he said.

The police spokesman urged the public to cooperate with law enforcement by reporting suspicious activities. “Our fight against narcotics is ongoing, and we need everyone on board,” SP Adam added.