Metro

Tragedy As Man Shot Dead During Fuel Queue Tumult In Lagos

Published

2 weeks ago

May 2, 2024

The family of a young man, Toheeb Eniasa, has been thrown into mourning after he was shot at a petrol station belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited at Obalende in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State.

The incident, it was learnt, happened late Wednesday and has left residents in the area in fear.

The PUNCH correspondent, who is currently at the scene of the incident gathered from residents that Eniasa was in the queue to get petrol when the incident happened.

While in the queue, two men, believed to be military officers, attempted to drive into the station to buy petrol even though they were not in the queue to get the product.

This, it was learnt, was met with stiff resistance from people in the queue; many of whom had been waiting for hours.

Several eyewitnesses confirmed that Eniasa spearheaded the argument, telling the men to join the queue like everyone else.

This further degenerated into a fisticuff and the eventual death of the young man after one of the men shot him and fled the scene.

Nigerians have been struggling to buy fuel in the last few days.

The scarcity has led to an increase in transport fares and queues at various filling stations selling the product.

A resident, who gave his name as Mr. Amos Ayo, who said he witnessed the incident, alleged that the officers were from the Department of State Services as they had their branded polo shirts.

Ayo narrated, “I saw them. They are men of the DSS. They came to the scene to buy fuel but refused to join the queue.

“That is what they always do. It was not Toheeb’s turn yet but he confronted them, asking them to join the queue or be polite about the way they went about the purchase.

“One of them was so impatient. He slapped Toheeb and he retaliated with more words. Before we could know it, we heard gunshots and Toheeb fell to the ground.”

A woman who said she was clearing up her alcoholic bitters stand close to the station but refused to give her name for security reasons, told our correspondent that she heard the gunshot at about 9.30 p.m. and fled the scene.

She said, “I did not even wait to see what was happening. I ran as fast as I could before any stray bullet will hit me. But, I heard from the people who were there that it was two soldiers.

“They are not policemen. One shot the young man and ran away. I learnt they caught one but he still managed to escape eventually.”

Also speaking, a young man who gave his name as Capo told The PUNCH that he knew the deceased.

“This place (Obalende) is a very small place. Everybody knows everybody. Toheeb stays in the Dolphin Estate area. He is a Muslim. He is supposed to be buried today but his body has been taken by the police to the morgue for investigation and possibly autopsy,” he said.

Asked whether he was at the scene of the crime, Capo said, “Of course, I was there. I saw it with my own eyes. We were the ones who pursued the men that did the crime but one of them shot his gun in the air and people ran away. That was the way he could escape.

“One hid under a bus so we set it on fire. He also ran away. We initially thought they were policemen but they are not. I can tell you that for free. Just imagine how they have taken the life of that young man now for nothing.”

Another young man who spoke on condition of anonymity because of his safety also said he was at the scene.

“I was at Obalende. I was coming back from work. I can tell you that the shooter is not a policeman but a DSS officer who came to buy fuel but was stopped by Toheeb and his friends.

“They told him that he must join the queue. The man, from what I learnt, told them that the manager was aware of his coming but Toheeb and some other men refused him entry.

“Some guys in the area broke a bottle and were about to attack the officer during the argument and that was when the shots were fired, and they ran away,” he said.

The man added, “They burnt two vehicles yesterday. I was so scared as I walked home that night because there were no buses. Everyone was scared. Even the long queue dispersed and the station was closed.”

Efforts to reach the branch manager of the station to speak were abortive, as his staff members said he was not around and that no one was authorised to speak on his behalf.

However, a young staff, whom our correspondent convinced to speak, said military officers, veterans and the aged were given preferential treatment during fuel purchases.

“Whenever there is a scarcity like this, we prioritise military men and the like. That is one thing Nigerians need to know. Our manager was aware they were coming and told us to open the gate for them but the people in the queue were just not cooperative,” he said.

Police confirm shooting

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.

He said a young man, Toheeb Eniasa, was killed and two vehicles burnt. He, however, said the identity of the shooters was not yet ascertained as investigations were ongoing.

He said, “I can confirm that somebody was shot dead. I can confirm that the body has been deposited in the morgue.

“Two vehicles were burnt. The identity of the shooter is still unknown but investigations are ongoing to unravel that. The deceased’s name is Toheeb Eniasa.”

Reacting to the incident via a text message, DSS spokesman, Peter Afunnaya, denied any of its officers was part of the imbroglio.

He said, “It is not true (that a DSS officer shot Toheeb). Kindly deepen your investigations to uncover the truth. No single DSS staff was involved in the matter.”
PUNCH

Metro

Okuama/Okoloba Impasse: Women Protest In Black Attire, Raise Issues [PHOTOS]

Published

4 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

The protesting women of Okoloba community

Protesters who are majorly women from Okoloba community, Delta State, on Saturday, May 18, 2024, took to the street to protest what they called the return of armed youths of Okuama in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.

INFO DAILY reports that Okoloba community in Bomadi Local Government Area and Okuama community in Ughelli South Local Government Area, all in Delta State have been at loggerhead over land dispute and others.

The protesting Okoloba women in black attire staged the peaceful protest along the coastal fringe of Koloba community, chanting against violence and bloodbath.

The placard carrying women, led by the chairlady of Okoloba Community, Mrs Timipakebi Goodwin, and secretary, Mrs Mary Koibi, alleged that the armed youths of Okuama were threatening the peace of the riverine area.

Some of the protesting Women

Some inscriptions on the placards read: ‘We say no to violence’; ‘enough of the killings on our land;’ ‘armed Okuama youths returning in a commando style;’ ‘we say no to the return of armed youths of Okuama;’ ‘resettle Okuama people among their Ewu brothers in Ughelli South LGA;’ ‘we mourn the killing of the 17 soldiers,’ among others.’

Reading a letter to newsmen, a copy of each she said was submitted to the police, DSS, NSCDC, JTF as well as the acting chairman of Bomadi Local local Government Council, Mrs Goodwin noted that the latest killing by the youths of Okuama showed that they could kill human beings at the slightest provocation.

The letter which contained an S.O.S. to the Federal Government, further reads: “First, we the women of Okoloba Community sympathize with the killing of 17 soldiers and officers of the Nigerian army on peace and rescue mission to Okuama, following the kidnap of our son. We sincerely mourn their untimely death and pray for the repose of their souls. We also pray for their families.

The protesting women

“However, less than 24 hours after the exit of the troops from Okuama, a fresh crisis erupted with another neighbouring community, culminating in the killing of one person while three other persons were seriously injured. The person who was killed and those sustaining machete wounds were alleged to have gone there to loot.

“The latest killing showed that the people of Okuama can kill a human at the slightest provocation; the sanctity of human life means nothing to them. It also shows that neighbouring Ijaw communities like Okoloba are not safe.

“So, resetting the people of Okuama in their present location, which is in-between communities in Bomadi Local Government Area, is an attempt to encourage further communal clashes and bloodbaths.

“Just last week, youths of Okuama Community came out of the Mein-toruabubor creek, which leads to Ewu, on three speedboats and all of them on camouflage. They shot sporadically in the air before proceeding to OKuama. They moved to and fro the creek three times, and at every time they shot their guns in the air at the entrance of the creek.

“We are calling on the federal government to come to our aid, and the panacea to these incessant clashes and killings is for the government to relocate Okuama to Ewu clan in Ughelli South Local Government Area, where they truly and rightly belong.

“Resettling them among their own people in Ewu clan of Urhobo land will foster mutual trust among themselves as they are of the same ancestry and speak the same dialect”.

Metro

JUST IN: Truck Rams Into BRT On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Published

8 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

A truck has rammed into a Lagos State BRT bus at Ibafo bus-stop along the Lagos Ibadan Expressway.

The PUNCH correspondent who went to the scene gathered that the accident occurred around some minutes to 6am on Saturday.

Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps and Police on response call at the accident scene insisted that only their Public Relations Officers were authorised to speak.

However, unconfirmed reports from onlookers noted that several people on the BRT bus were injured.

Onlookers accounts noted that the BRT was parked loading its passengers at the bus stop before the truck loaded with cows heading to Lagos rammed into it, taking it off the road to destroy shops and kiosks by the roadside.

The cow truck had been towed a little away from the scene so as not to hinder traffic.

Details later

Metro

Court Jails Social Media Influencer For Celebrity Scam

Published

18 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, has sentenced Aluko Tunmise to one year in prison for his involvement in a celebrity scam.

Tunmise was prosecuted by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a cybercrime-related charge.

This was disclosed in a post on X by EFCC on Friday, May 17.

The post reads: “Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, convicted and sentenced one Aluko Tunmise, a self-acclaimed social media influencer and model, to one year imprisonment for celebrity scam.

He was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a one-count charge bordering on cybercrimes.”

“One of the counts reads: “That you, ALUKO TUNMISE JUWONLO (A.K.A. KEANU REEVES), sometime between January and March, 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, directly made a false statement, wherein you held yourself out as a white man by name “KEANU REEVES” on your Telegram Account, knowing same to be false and with intent that the representation is relied upon for the purpose of procuring the issuance of financial instrument to yourself and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 22(3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2015′.

He pleaded ‘guilty’ to the charge when it was read to him.

Following his guilty plea, prosecution counsel, C.C.Okezie, sought to present an operative of the EFCC, Vincent Sunday Kwambuge, to review the facts of the matter.

Kwanbuge told the court that the defendant was arrested sometime in March, 2024 at Lekki County Estate, Lagos, following credible intelligence received by the Commission on the activities of some internet fraudsters operating in the area.”