Metro

PHOTOS: Lagos Muslims Protest, Petition Lawmakers Over

Published

2 years ago

August 17, 2023

Muslims, under the umbrella of the Lagos Muslim Community, have staged a protest over what they described as official marginalization in the list of commissioner-designates forwarded to the state House of Assembly by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The commissioners list released by Governor Sanwo-Olu allegedly has eight Muslims, and 31 Christians.

Muslims in their hundreds converged on the state’s house of assembly complex in the early hours of Wednesday.

The protest had in attendance heads of various Islamic organisations and scholars among other Muslims faithful, displaying placards, which reads the inscription, “MUSLIMS SAY NO OFFICIAL DISCRIMINATION.”

Addressing a large crowd of Muslim protesters at the venue, President, Muslim Community of Lagos State, Prof. Tajudeen .G.O. Gbadamosi, read a petition, which was submitted to the lawmakers.

President, Muslim Community of Lagos State (MCLS), Prof Tajudeen Gbadamosi reading the protesters speech to the Lagos State House of Assembly members, representing Speaker Mudasiru Obasa
Other prominent Muslim leaders at the event included the Convener, Joint Muslim Forum (JMF) Sheikh AbdurRahman Ahmad, Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA) Member Lukmon Olumo; Chief Whip/Chairman Commissioners-Nominee Screening Committee Mojeed Fatai Adebola, LAHA Member Jubreel AbdulKareem and MURIC Director Prof Lakin Akintola, among others.

The petition, titled, “Petition on the Discrimination against Muslims in the Nomination of Commissioners,” reads, “We are here today to express our grievance and dissatisfaction against the blatant disregard for justice, equity and fairness in the proposed Lagos State’ Executive cabinet as contained in the list of commissioners nominees submitted by Governor Sanwo-Olu to this honorable House for your screening and confirmation.

“As you are aware, the list is a classic case of discrimination and religious bigotry, as it has 31 nominees who are of the Christian faith and only eight (8) nominees who are Muslims. This is not a new development, especially since Governor Sanwo-Olu assumed leadership of this State, as a matter of fact, it is has been elevated to a level of official state policy to deny Muslims their deserved positions under the Sanwo-Olu adminustration.

“For instance, in 2019, when Mr. Sanwo-Olu became governor, he appointed 14 Special Advisers, and only one (1) among them was a Muslim. Again, his State Executive Council, which had 43 members, only 14 were Muslims, and the remaining 29 were Christians.

“Also, of the 23 commissioners, 10 were Muslims and 13 of them Christians. Only 15 Muslims, with 35 Christians, made up the body of 50 Permanent Secretaries in his first term. These are just a few among numerous ways in which the Sanwo-Olu administration deny Muslims in this state their rightful place and number in leadership.”

The petition further reads, “The Rt. Hon. Speaker and honorable members, we want you to note that this list from Governor Sanwo-Olu violates the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria particularly Section 14(4) and is further strengthened by section 192(2) both stating as follows.

“The composition of the Government of a State, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the Government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner as to recognise the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the peoples of the Federation.”

“192(2) Any appointment to the office of Commissioner of the Government of a State shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the House of Assembly of the State, be made by the Governor of that State and in making any such appointment the Governor shall conform with the provisions of section 14(4) of this Constitution.”

It reads, “With due respect Governor Sanwo-Olu’s list clearly violates these provisions of the Constitution and we accordingly call upon this honorable House not to endorse any action that violates our national grundnorm, especially one which equally violates good conscience and natural justice.

“The argument that Muslims have more elected officials in Lagos State in preposterous. This is even more so at a time when all the Six (6) Governors of the southwest are Christians and we the Muslims do not complain about this, because we recognise that they contested for offices and won.

“Why must Muslims in Lagos State always beg and fight for their constitutional rights especially since Mr Sanwo-olu became Governor? We recall with utmost sadness really, that until the Supreme Court ruled in favour of hijab for our school girls, successive Lagos Governments, never felt it should endeavor to align with the global best practice of accepting hijab in addition to abiding with the rule of law.

“The historic pro-hijab judgement was delivered in March 2022 and globally acknowledged. However, Governor Sanwo-Olu’s government in its peculiar idiosyncrasy chose to ignore this until a year later, after ceaseless pressure was mounted by well-meaning individuals.”

“We the Muslims of, and in Lagos State wish to categorically state that the entire leadership of the Muslim Community of Lagos State representing various Muslim organizations, unequivocally and unanimously reject the list of commissioner-designates of Governor Sanwo-Olu and we demand a reversal and review to reflect 60% in favour of Muslims in a fresh list.

“We call on the Lagos State House of Assembly to reject the list as similarly done in the Niger State House of Assembly, where a noticeably minority Christian population demanded a reversal of the list of commissioners to reflect fairness and equity to them.

“We also call on you and the House of Assembly to impress on the government the need to respect the diversity of the state’s population and to appoint a more representative cabinet. We believe that this is essential for the future stability and prosperity of Lagos State.”

Metro

Edo: How Pastor Hypnotised My Daughter, Made Her Abandoned NNPCL- Mother

Published

10 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Editor

A 56-year-old woman, Mrs. Florence Igbiti, has appealed to relevant authorities to help free her 27 years old daughter who, according to her, has been hypnotised by a Benin-based Pastor, Craig Omorotiomwan of the Helpline International Ministries.

According to her, her daughter, Miss Treasure Ose Omonlumhen, abandoned her National Youth Service Scheme to go and stay with the Pastor, an act she described as strange and beyond her comprehension.

Mrs. Igbiti, who spoke to journalists at the Press Centre, Benin, amidst tears, said her daughter has since the incident become ‘high headed, stubborn and highly rebellious, pleading to relevant authorities to help free her daughter from the grip of the Pastor.

According to her, her daughter started attending the Helpline International Ministries 10 years ago, and that when she graduated from the University, she refused to go for the compulsory one year youth service but after pressure and persuasion for over 2 years after graduation she reluctantly obliged to go for the youth service.

The mother added that when her daughter went for the youth service, she was posted to Abuja, and that because of environment related course she studied in the university, she was deployed to the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

She lamented that despite deploying her daughter to a juicy organisation like the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the pastor who is the General Overseer called her daughter, spoke with her, and paid her flight ticket back to Benin, which made her daughter to abandon the NNPCL job to come to Benin to stay with the Pastor, crying out that it was not ordinary.

She narrated amidst tears: “The Pastor took her out of youth service and kept her in his house. She started the church 10 years ago. I didn’t notice her character started deteriorating. She used to a very calm, quiet, caring girl. As time goes on, she became high headed, stubborn and highly rebellious.

“The Pastor’s words are very smooth. He has very sweet words. He preaches very exciting messages.

“I think that what he preaches in the pulpit is different from what he preaches to his sect like my daughter. And to my uttermost surprise, my daughter is not the only victim. Many girls are with him in his house, some are even pregnant. Meanwhile, his wife is abroad.

“What he preaches publicly is different from what he preaches to these sects. They are youths that have natural love for the things of God and those that are actually hungry for the things of God.

“I pleaded with him to encourage her to go back to complete her Youth service but he refused. Instead, he now systematically cut me off from the church and refused picking my calls. Then he just cut me off.

“Even when I lost my father, my daughter and himself did not even come. My daughter has been staying with him for about a year, six months now. She didn’t even tell me she was going to stay with the pastor.

“The first year she stayed back because the pastor did not release her. She missed that year.

“I persisted and she enrolled again for the NYSC. She was deployed to Benue State from the where she was redeployed to Abuja where she was posted to NNPCL. But the pastor bought a ticket for her to come back. He just withdrew her like that. Since then, I have pleading with the pastor to let her go back and complete her
youth service, knowing the importance of it to her CV.

“The pastor now refused and systematically cut us off. I want to get my daughter back. But another thing I noticed is that my daughter is now acting very unusual. I’m suspecting he did something to her that I cannot understand.

“Her behavior is clearly different from the person she used to be. I’m sad about that. He has wasted the child several years.”

But the daughter who spoke on the phone said she was not hypnotized.

She claimed she completed her NYSC Scheme but was silent on concerns of her mother.

Pastor Omorotiomwan did not pick calls to his phone but checks showed he has sued Mrs. Igbiti and the police for N50m as damages for unlawful violation and threatened violation of his rights.

He is asking the court for injunction to restrain Mrs. Igbiti and the police from raiding his residence.

Pastor Omorotiomwan is also asking fot a declaration that continued threats of his arrest was unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void.

Metro

Gunmen Kill Three In Zamfara Community Over N3,500 Yoghurt

Published

1 day ago

December 4, 2025

Editor

At least three people were killed on Wednesday in Danjibga village, Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, after armed bandits attacked the community.

The incident was reported on Thursday, December 4, 2025, by security analyst Bakatsine on X.

Bakatsine explained that the attack began when a group of gunmen entered a local shop and attempted to take Rufaida yoghurt worth ₦3,500 without payment. The shop owner insisted on payment, prompting the men to become angry, drop the goods, and leave.

According to Bakatsine, the gunmen returned less than an hour later, heavily armed, and opened fire, killing three people. The attack also forced residents to flee and resulted in the looting of the shop.

He said, “Yesterday evening in the Danjibga community of Tsafe LGA, Zamfara State, a group of bandits entered a local shop and attempted to take Rufaida yoghurt worth ₦3,500 without payment.

“When the shop owner insisted on payment, the gunmen became angry, abandoned the yoghurt, and left. They returned less than an hour later and started shooting sporadically, which killed three people, forced residents to flee, and looted the shop.”

As of the time of filing this report, authorities have not issued an official statement regarding the incident.

Metro

Patient Accuses Ekiti Teaching Hospital Of Organ Harvesting

Published

1 day ago

December 4, 2025

Editor

Management of the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) has commenced an investigation into an alleged organ harvesting levelled against it by a patient, Mr Joshua Afolayan, who had surgery recently in the facility.

Joshua had accused the Teaching Hospital of an alleged harvest of his kidney by medical doctors in the hospital.

Addressing a press conference in Ado Ekiti, Afolayan explained that he had an accident in August 2025, and after visiting the hospital, he was told that one of his kidneys was affected.

According to him, the results of multiple scans carried out, including at UCH, Ibadan, Oyo State, confirmed that the right kidney had been damaged but the left kidney was very fine.

However, during surgery to remove the faulty kidney so as to protect other organs, Afolayan confirmed that he still urinated five minutes before the surgery, but since the procedure in October, he has not been able to pass urine.
He noted that all efforts to get explanations from the hospital proved abortive, as they continued to play him around.

Afolayan added that on second thought, he decided to visit another facility for scanning, only to discover that he had been living without a kidney since the operation.

He called on the government to carry out a thorough investigation and save his life, as he has continued to live in pain.

However, disturbed by the development, the Chairman, Board of Management of the Teaching Hospital, Dr Adedamola Dada, constituted a seven-man panel of enquiry to look into the alleged case of kidney removal in the hospital.
A statement by Rolake Adewumi, Head, Corporate Affairs, EKSUTH, disclosed that the members of the panel included Prof. Francis Faduyile, an Anatomic Pathologist from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, who will serve as the Chairman of the panel.

Other members included Prof. Patrick Temi Adegun of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti; Dr Henry Abiyere from Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido–Ekiti; Dr Adebola Adeniyi–Agbaje, General Manager, Progress F.M, Ado-Ekiti.
Others are Reverend Emmanuel Aribasoye, Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Ekiti State branch; High Chief (Prof) Babatunde Akindele, the Elemo of Ado–Ekiti, a community leader; and Barr. Adebayo Titilayo, the Legal Adviser to Ekiti State Ministry of Health, who will serve as Secretary to the panel.

She said that the panel has ten days to submit its report, adding that the hospital management reassured the public that no stone would be left unturned to determine the issues involved in the matter.

“The Management noted that members of the panel are independent and responsible members of the community who would exhibit fairness and justice.

“All the affected parties and the general public were urged to cooperate with the panel as the findings are being awaited.”