Doctors at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, are battling to save the life of a civil servant in the state, identified only as Mistura, after she was allegedly attacked by her maid in the Ejigbo area.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Mistura had been in a coma since Monday, March 5, 2018, when she was attacked with blended pepper and a wine bottle by the maid, identified as Susan Samson.

Our correspondent was told that despite a three-hour surgery on Wednesday, the victim had yet to come round and was in the intensive care unit of LASUTH.

It was learnt that Mistura, who taught in a public secondary school in Lagos, had employed Samson on February 4, 2018 to assist her with domestic chores.

The 18-year-old suspect was reported to have stolen her boss’ money last Friday and Saturday.

After the stolen money was recovered from Samson’s bag, Mistura was said to have alerted the agent who brought her.

The Ogoja, Cross River State indigene, in a desperate bid to escape from the house, which Mistura had locked, allegedly poured blended pepper on the boss while she lay on the bed.

She then grabbed a champagne bottle and smashed it on the victim’s head repeatedly until she passed out.

The suspect was reportedly apprehended by residents who heard the victim’s scream for help.

PUNCH Metro was told that the suspect was handed over to policemen from the Ejigbo division.

The victim’s husband, who identified himself only as Alhaji Sikiru, said he had gone to work when the incident happened.

He said, “An agent brought her to my wife on February 4, 2018. The girl said although she was from Ogoja, Cross River State, she had her primary and secondary education in Ikorodu, Lagos State, where she had lived the better part of her life.

“I had gone to work around 6am on Monday when my wife was attacked. But when I was called, I went to make a statement at the Ejigbo Police Station where the girl was being detained. That was where she told me everything that happened.

“She said last Friday, my wife accused her of stealing some money. Again on Saturday, there was an allegation she stole another money. I was surprised because my wife did not tell me that the maid she employed was stealing her things.

“After I left the house on Monday, my wife asked her to buy balm for her down the street. While she was away, my wife went to her room and found the stolen money in her bag, including some other items which she (Samson) stole from her shop.

“My wife called the agent that brought her and asked him to come over to the house. The agent immediately called the girl to know what happened. The girl said she didn’t know why she (Mistura) called him.

“At this time, she had become suspicious. So, when she got back to the house, she went to her bag and discovered that the stolen money and other items had been recovered by my wife.”

He said Mistura, while awaiting the agent, locked up the two gates in the house and kept the keys.

She was said to have lain on the bed.

“When the girl saw that her secret was about to be exposed, she wanted to escape. On discovering that the pedestrian and drive gates had been locked, she became desperate.

“She went to the kitchen, took a bowl of blended pepper, and poured it on my wife on the bed. My wife could not see again, but she groped to the main gate. She started calling for help because she could not also open the gate.

“The girl went inside the house and found a bottle of champagne, which I had kept for an occasion. She smashed it on my wife’s head five times. And she collapsed.

“Some residents, who had gathered outside the gate after hearing my wife’s call for help, caught her as she tried to escape. They also found my wife in a pool of blood and rushed her to a hospital,” he added.

He noted that during a visit of the police to the house, they found more stolen items in the suspect’s room.

Alhaji Sikiru, while expressing fear over the condition of his wife, said he hoped she would make it out alive.

“She lost a lot of blood and I had to get six pints of blood yesterday (Tuesday). Because her blood level was low, the doctors gave her four pints so she could go through a surgery which started from 1am and ended around 4.30am on Wednesday. The surgery didn’t bring out anything. She is still in a coma.

“My wife is in the intensive care unit of LASUTH. Her brain has collapsed and has been removed from the body and kept somewhere. Her kidney is already packing up. I hope she makes it out alive,” he added.

A source told PUNCH Metro that the couple had a disagreement late 2017 over the issue of getting a maid as the husband was against the idea.

The source said the dispute was so intense that some relatives had to wade in.

“The woman has high blood pressure and her personal doctor told the husband in January that the woman’s BP was still high but she said she would be better if he allowed her to have a maid. That was when the man succumbed. But see what it has caused,” she said.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti, said it was a case of attempted murder.

He said, “The said Susan Samson suspected that her boss had discovered some items she stole and hid in her room. She subsequently mixed a large quantity of pepper in water and poured it on the woman’s face to render her defenceless.

“She subsequently hit her head repeatedly with a big bottle of wine which grievously harmed the woman. The state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, has decried this act wickedness and ordered a thorough investigation and diligent prosecution of the case.”

The Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, Professor Wale Oke, said the victim was receiving treatment at the hospital.

He said, “She had a surgery yesterday, which was successful. She is, however, not out of the woods yet. She is still in a coma. We have to wait for the brain to heal from the injuries.”

Source: PUNCH.

A teacher who walks 42km to school has been rewarded with a standing fan, in appreciation of his dedicated service.

Awudu Kombian, who teaches at Warvi D/A Primary School, Ghana, received the gift at the parade to mark Ghana’s 61st Independence, which held on Tuesday.

Apart from travelling such a long distance, Kombian was the only teacher in the school, and also doubled as the headmaster until recently when three teachers were posted to the school.

The school, which has a population of about 74 pupils with three classrooms, was solely taken care of by Kombian for more than a year.

As a headmaster, he performed other tasks and so the school was always closed down whenever he fell ill or travelled.

“It’s very challenging but as a professional, you have to always do your best to see what you can do in the midst of the challenges.

“Every day, I have to travel about 42km to go and teach because it’s a very deprived community; and places like that, you don’t have accommodation, so even if you are willing to even stay there, there is no accommodation for you,” Kombian is reported to have said.

Receiving his award, Kombian expressed his happiness at the fact that his efforts had been recogniszed.

“The prize itself is not something that I will place much emphasis on but the gesture.

“The gesture of recognising what I have done is what gladdens my heart,” he stated.

The award was presented by the district director of education, Rev. Georgina Anaaba Norga, who asked the teacher to continue with “the good work.”

(Yen.com)

The Senate today rejected a bill proposing the option of wearing of skirts by female members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The bill which was sponsored by Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP-Taraba), was debated by the lawmakers today.

Senator Bwacha told his colleagues that the bill is intended to amend Sections 13 and 16 of the Principal Act that infringes on the religious rights of some of the corps members. Bwacha, who is Deputy Minority Leader, noted that the NYSC was a laudable scheme established in 1973 by the then military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon.

It was part of the effort by the Federal Government to rebuild, reconstruct and reconcile Nigerians following the unfortunate incidents of the civil war which ended in 1970.

It is important to point out that while the scheme has lived up to expectation as a reliable platform for nurturing young patriotic Nigerians, fostering unity and promoting a better understanding of our religious and cultural differences, it has, however, become necessary to amend the Principal Act. This is with a view to address observed lapses and shortcomings.

One of such lapses is that the penalty for offences contained in the Act is now outdated and in need of urgent review.

Secondly, Section 16 of the Principal Act mandates the NYSC Directorate to make regulations or by-laws relating to discipline, exercise regimen, uniforms, welfare of corps etc. Uniforms and drills adopted by the Directorate have become a basis for tension and controversy between the Directorate and corps members and other members of the public.

The major bone of contention is that some of the uniforms and drills contravene religious beliefs and practices of corps members and invariably their right to freedom of religion, thought and conscience under the Nigerian Constitution. This bill essentially addresses the above mentioned lapses in the Principal Act,” he said.

Most of the senators rejected the bill, saying it is unnecessary and a waste of time.

One of the senators, Senator Suleiman Adokwe said it should be the religious bodies that feel unhappy by the choice of uniform for its members that should put pressure on the NYSC to change the uniforms and not for the senate to change the laws that guide the scheme.

The amendment being suggested is not even worth the trouble. This is because the powers to prescribe uniform is what the NYSC Act is to the Directorate. “I believe if the directorate wants to change the uniform at any time, it is a matter of deciding because it only has power to prescribe the type of uniform.

The type of uniform is even not prescribed; so I don’t know why we should trouble ourselves; all you need to do is to put pressure on the directorate to change the uniform but not necessarily to change the law. All the religious organisations that are feeling oppressed by it should put pressure and lobby the directorate to change its dress code,” Adokwe said.

A voice vote was taken and the senators rejected the bill.

Hours after a Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, bus crushed a 16-year-old school boy, Daniel Ezekiel, to death at Ogolonto Bus Stop, along Ikorodu Road in Lagos, his guardians – Dr. and Mrs. Olajide Oyesanya, are yet to come to terms with the tragic reality of their loss.

Vanguard reports they are still in shock that their beloved Ezekiel is gone forever, and more so by the bizarre and cruel manner of his death.

This is because the bus had on impact crushed and decapitated Ezekiel in a manner reminiscent of the guillotine horror of the French Revolution era.

In fact, Mrs. Oyesanya said on waking up Tuesday morning, she momentarily forgot that Ezekiel was gone and was waiting for him to knock on her door and say: “Grandma, I want to go to school”. But that knock never came.

For now, theirs is a lamentation of pain laced with regret. The regret is that their wish of sending Ezekiel to school so that he would become great had ended in tragedy.

Yet when young Daniel left home in the morning of that fateful Monday, March 5, 2018, little did he or his guardians nurse any premonition that death was lurking like a remorseless, vengeful reaper on the way.

Oyesanya told Vanguard Metro that after consuming a heavy meal that morning the boy was in high spirits and cheerfully waved them goodbye as he left home for the school.

“But we didn’t know that was the last time we will see him,” they wept, adding: “We fed Ezekiel at 7:15am but picked up his corpse two hours later, at about 9:45am.”

Narrating their experiences on what transpired on the fateful day, a distraught Mrs. Oyesanya informed that since she enrolled Ezekiel in school last January, he had always taken his breakfast by 7:15am before proceeding to school at 7:20am.

“And on that fateful day, he left home to school. But I was alerted of the incident that happened by someone who told me to find out if Ezekiel was safe. Immediately I started calling his teacher, but she refused to pick my call.

I thought they were on assembly ground so I called the school director who also didn’t pick my calls. At that moment, I knew there was a problem.

I was confused and my husband also called to inform me to proceed to his school. On my way, someone told me that Ezekiel had been rushed to Ikorodu General Hospital.

When I got to the hospital premises, I was told to identify the lifeless body of Ezekiel; at that moment, I knew I had lost our dear child. I couldn’t believe my eyes that the child I fed at exactly 7:15am had become a corpse for me to pick at exactly 9:45am,” she said amidst tears.

“We are only two in this house, my husband and I. Since we are getting old and all our children are grown up, we thought it will be nice to have a small child that can keep us company. So we contacted a lady in our community to help us find someone to stay with us.

They eventually helped us to get Ezekiel from the Northern part of the country; that was around August last year.

Our initial plan was to enroll him in school by October this year but due to the fact that it was late to do so, we decided to enroll him in January this year, a decision I now regret.

He was 15 years when they brought him to us, and they told us that he was in JSS3 in Kaduna State before he came to Lagos. But when we took him to school, they told us that he should start from Primary Four”.

She hinted that their aim of enrolling him in school was to ensure that he became a great person in future and to contribute his own quota to Nigeria’s development,adding:

“Unfortunately that dream has been cut short by the BRT driver”.

“He is a very pleasant child. Sometimes after offending me and I threatened to send him back to the village, he would beg me and say: ‘Mummy pray for me, I will not do that again’.

People in this community liked him; and education wise, he showed a lot of promise. “Whenever he returned from school, before taking his meal, he would do his assignment and ask me to look at it; and in case there was any error I would correct it for him”.

Ezekiel’s last moment:

Sources said that Ezekiel alighted from a cab with other students, and they were being taking across in batches to the other side of the BRT corridor by the school security official.

But misunderstanding the flag man’s signal, the boy was said to have attempted dashing across the BRT corridor, believing that the road was clear.

Unfortunately he was hit by a fast-moving BRT bus. As a result of the impact, his head severed from his body. The driver was said to have taken to his heels immediately, for fear of possible mob action against him.

Mrs. Oyesanya said that Ezekiel’s family in Kaduna had been notified about his tragic demise. She informed that “their eldest sister lives around here”, adding: their parents gave birth to three of them. His father is late and the mother is in Kaduna”.

Asked by Vanguard Metro team to say what Ezekiel meant to him and his wife, Dr. Olajide Oyesanya was almost overwhelmed by emotion as he informed that doing so would entail him shedding uncontrollable tears.

“To talk about Ezekiel will only make me to cry; yes, the moment I start doing so, tears will definitely start rolling down my cheeks. So, please just leave me,” he pleaded with feeling.

The Oyasanyas, however, would want government to construct a pedestrian bridge to immortalise Ezekiel and also serve the purpose of preventing a reoccurence of such tragic incident.

An official of Primero Transport Services, operator of the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the management had begun investigation into the crash and there was high possibility of compensating the deceased family.

A 26-year old self acclaimed Islamic scholar, Alfa Babatunde Samuel has been arrested for defrauding a woman to the tune N500,000 and engaging her in ‘sex deliverance’ that was to last for one month in Lagos.

The incident happened at Jofolo Street in Iyana Ipaja area of Abule-Oke where the suspect took the victim for the sex deliverance.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the deliverance started but did not last for the one month Samuel had planned after the Police at Area M Command, Idimu busted the plan and arrested Samuel.

Ondo State-born Samuel who informed the police that he was into selling of films before he changed and became Alfa, gave the victim a prophecy that put fear into her.

According to the victim, Samuel met her and informed her that she will soon die and therefore needed deliverance to cast out the spirit of
death from her life. It was gathered that Samuel told the victim things related to her and her family and she asked for the solution to avert those calamities.

P.M.EXPRESS scooped that it was then that Samuel took her to the place where he gave her the conditions which involved paying the said amount of money, buying a goat and sexual intercourse with him that will continue for one month before she will be totally delivered.

It was gathered that the victim collected the whole money from her sister and fulfilled other requests from Samuel including the sex romp in the form of deliverance.

However, the whole thing got exposed after Samuel continued to make demands of money and sex from her. She then confided in her sister what she was going through and how she gave Samuel the money she collected from the sister.

The matter was reported to the police; Samuel was trailed, arrested and taken to the Area M Command, Idimu.

Police sources said that during interrogation, Samuel accepted that he was Alfa but he gave the victim a false prophecy to obtain money from her and had carnal knowledge of her which he had expected to last forat least One month.

He was charged before Ejigbo Magistrates court for the alleged offences. He pleaded not guilty.

The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. J.O.E. Adeyemi Ajayi granted Samuel bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.

The prosecutor, Supol Kenneth Asibor did not object to his bail condition.

The court also ordered that surety must deposit another N100,000 into Court Registrar’s account as one of the conditions for his bail.

Samuel was remanded in prison custody pending when he will perfect his bail condition.
The matter was adjourned till 26 March, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari has received the original FIFA World Cup Trophy ahead of the 2018 Football World Cup, CHAN Super Eagles Team and Bobsleigh Winter Olympic Team in State House on 7th Mar 2018..

The President Buhari was joined by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Minister of Sports Solomon Dalung, FIFA representative France Christian Karembeu, President Coca-Cola West Africa Mr Peter Njonjo and Chairman House Committee on Sports Hon. Godfrey Gaiya and others.

The president also received the CHAN Super Eagles Team and Bobsleigh Winter Olympic Team in State House.

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Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Tuesday directed that students in public and private schools in the state should sing the National Anthem in Yoruba Language daily, to preserve and promote the Yoruba culture.

The Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule, relayed the directive at a meeting with Principals and Head Teachers of public schools in Lagos. Akinwunmi Ambode She said that Yoruba Language would also be made a compulsory subject for students. Gov. Ambode had signed the Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Bill into Law on Feb. 8. Adebule said that Wednesdays had been declared ‘Yoruba Speaking Day’ in schools, with all teaching and learning activities from assembly period to closing being done in Yoruba.

”Gov. Ambode wants me to pass this message to you, that henceforth, Yoruba language be made compulsory in both private and public schools. ”The National Anthem must be sung in Yoruba on a daily basis too.

“The Egbe Akomolede has done the translation and we will send the copies of the Yoruba version to your schools by Monday so you can begin to teach the students. ”I have also met with the owners of private schools and we have relayed this directive to them.

”We are also considering translating the textbooks of other subjects into Yoruba Language because I believe that when students are taught in their mother language, learning will be easy and their level of performance will improve.

”The state government is passionate about this Law, so we do not lose our language, culture and heritage,” she said. Adebule said the Ministry of Education was doing an assessment to ascertain the number of Yoruba teachers that would be required to effectively teach the language in public schools.

She appealed to the school managers to cooperate with the government to drive and ensure the effective implementation of the Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law. Mr Lanre Ogunyemi, Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Education, said at the event that the development would be beneficial to the younger generation and generations unborn.

”In Finland, you must pass the Finnish Language before you are offered admission into high institutions. Same is done in Germany, China and other developed countries. ”We need to adopt such to drive development and foster national unity.

I beg you all to key into this law and make it work, ” Ogunyemi said. Reacting, Mr Mamodu Braimoh, Assistant Secretary, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Lagos Chapter, commended the state government for the development. Braimoh appealed to the government to ensure adequate training for Yoruba teachers as well as provide incentives to motivate them.

(NAN)