Metro

Lagos Hospital Elevator Still Unreplaced Five Months After Killing Officer

Published

2 years ago

January 7, 2024

Five months after an elevator accident led to the death of a House Officer, Dr Vwaere Diaso, at the General Hospital, Odan Lagos, the equipment was yet to be replaced.

The PUNCH reports that Diaso was killed after the elevator crashed from the 10th floor to the ground floor of the 131-year-old hospital.

A colleague of the deceased told our correspondent when he visited the scene of the accident in August 2023 that the management of the hospital was aware of the poor state of the elevator.

“On multiple occasions, the elevator has stopped while we were inside. And there’s no maintenance,” he said.

Also, information from the panel set up by the state government to look into the tragedy revealed that the doctor did not die immediately after the crash but was trapped in the plunged and damaged elevator for an hour before being extracted and provided medical care.

The government further stated that it has sacked and blacklisted the facility managers and suspended the General Manager of Lagos State Infrastructure and Asset Management Agency, Adenike Adekanbi.

A few days after the doctor was buried, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced his visit to the hospital on his Instagram page, where he mentioned that speaking to the house officers present at the hospital that “they gave me an insight into their needs, and I gave my word that we have already got on it.”

Meanwhile, a visit by our correspondent to the 10-storied doctors’ residence, discovered that for five months, doctors in the residence had to take the stairs to their apartments because a new elevator was yet to be installed.

The PUNCH correspondent found out that the exit area to the lift was barricaded with a three-pieced black marine construction board.

A larger poster “Restricted area, construction site. No unauthorised access” alongside other words, numbers, and symbols pasted on the board.

When contacted, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, and the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health, Olusegun Ogboye, both insisted that the contract to replace the lift and renovate the building had been awarded to the contractors.

But no sign of renovation or billboards proposing the beginning of renovation on the premises could be seen at the time The PUNCH correspondent visited the place.

PUNCH

Metro

Auto-crash Claims 2 Lives On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Published

10 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, TRACE, on Friday confirmed that two people died in a lone accident around Oremeji Bus Stop on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Corps’ spokesperson, Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abeokuta.

Akinbiyi said the accident, involving a Mazda bus with registration number YNF 414 XN, occurred at about 1:30 a.m.

He explained that the two occupants of the vehicle, the driver and conductor, both adult males, died on the spot, adding that no injury was recorded.

According to him, eyewitnesses said the bus lost control due to speeding, hit a road barrier, and somersaulted.

Akinbiyi further said the vehicle, which was conveying live chicks, had been towed by the Ibafo Motor Traffic Division of the Police for further investigation.

He added that the remains of the victims had been deposited at the Divine Touch Hospital morgue in Ibafo by operatives of TRACE, the police, and the Ogun State Emergency Services (OGSAES).

He noted that traffic was briefly affected during the rescue operation but was later restored through the efforts of TRACE and the police.

Metro

Court Sentences Man To Death For Killing Son

Published

23 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The Kano State High Court has sentenced Abubakar Alhaji Sabo to death by hanging after finding him guilty of killing his newborn son.

The Kano State Government prosecuted Sabo before the court on charges of culpable homicide and causing grievous harm.

He was accused of force-feeding the infant with a local insecticide known as ‘fiya-fiya’, resulting in the child’s death.

Sabo killed the baby after the mother, his girlfriend, refused to obey his instruction to kill the child to avoid the shame of fathering a child out of wedlock.

Following the incident, he was also found guilty of striking the girlfriend’s father on the head with a brick after he caught Sabo poisoning the baby.

During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Barrister Safiya Yalwati Yahaya, presented three witnesses, while the defendant testified in his own defence.

After reviewing the evidence presented by both parties, Justice Aisha Yau, who presided over the case, found him guilty of infanticide and sentenced him to death by hanging.

The court also imposed an additional three-year prison sentence for causing grievous harm.

Metro

Nine Kwara Victims: Kidnappers Insist On N300m Ransom

Published

23 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

No progress has been recorded on the bandits demand for N300m ransom for the release of nine victims abducted in Adanla community of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara state on Boxing Day, December 26, 2025.

Coordinator of the Joint Security Watch for Kwara South Senatorial District, Zubair Olaitan, disclosed this on Wednesday.

According to DAILY POST, the bandits have so far made three contacts with the community leaders that “if the N300m is not paid, the victims will not be released.”

The bandits seized the nine victims in an attempt to abduct the King of the community, and his wife on Boxing Day, but failed.

The King, David Olarinoye, was away to Igbaja town for a programme when the armed bandits invaded his community.

The bandits, however, later seized nine other victims in the community and marched them to the bush.

While seven victims were abducted at the palace of the King, two others were captured on their way to the bush.

Following the abduction, the bandits demanded a N300m for the release of the abducted victims, resisting any negotiations for reduction of the ransom.