September 12, 2015 by The Nation

NEWS

CRIME

THE NATION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

OTHER STORIES

Tenant, landlady trade blame over ejection Stories: Kunle AKINRINADE Lagos-based We discovered businessman, that he had no Sogo Adeyemo has accused his landlady, job when he started defaulting on his rent. In fact, Leonora Lawanson of constant harassment and sometimes, it would take him about seven threat to life in a bid to eject him from his apartmonths before he could renew his rent and I ment. would be the one to plead with my mother to reMrs Lawanson however denied taking illegal consider evicting him from the house. action to eject Mr Adeyemo from his apartment at He doesn’t have a job but stays in the house all No. 27, Ajibola Crescent, Alapere, Ketu, a suburb day and that is why he does not pay his rent as of Lagos. and when due. The six-month quit notice we Adeyemo said Lawanson aimed to force him gave him had lapsed a long time ago and that is out of his two-bedroom apartment despite an onwhy we took him to court. going lawsuit at an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court. “He is not the only tenant in the house, we have “I am a yearly tenant and the last time I paid two other tenants and they are not giving us probmy rent she wanted me to write an undertaking lems like him. His bathroom was not destroyed as to vacate my apartment when the rent expired. he would want to make people believe. Rather, Although I paid the rent through one of her we decided to fix the bathroom following his daughters called Sola, I did not write any undercomplaints and we took a plumber there for astaking because it was against the principle of fairsessment. ness and justice. When my rent expired in April “He was not at home on the day we took a 2015, I wanted to pay but she refused to collect the plumber to his apartment but he gave his wife money from me and instead filed a suit at an Ikeja permission on the telephone to allow the plumber Magistrate’s Court to eject me from the building.” into the bathroom. The plumber, however, adHe added that the landlady had since caused vised that we put a new bathtub there because the some of her children to harass him while efforts one he was using had been completely messed made to arrest them have failed. up. Unfortunately, he did not allow any repair to “There was a day she led some of her children be effected in his apartment following his inability to vandalise my bathroom in a bid to intimidate to defray his rent and now wants to use that and forcibly eject me from the building. As I against us. speak, the bathroom has not been fixed while My mother is a widow and an unassuming perthey have damaged some windows in my apartson who took her time to appeal to Adeyemo to ment. be a good tenant to no avail. It will interest you to “When she took me to the Citizens Mediation know that he invited men of Alapere Police DiviCentre (CMC) in Ikeja, the mediators warned her sion to our house a few days ago in order to arrest not to resort to self-help in order to eject me from our mother despite the fact we were once taken to the building. They advised her to approach the the station and asked to make statement concerncourt to seek redress.” ing the same matter. In a telephone conversation with The Nation, “Why should we resort to self-help while the one of the landlady’s children, Mr Dare Lawanmatter is in court? As law-abiding citizens, we son, who spoke on behalf of his mother, discould not have been harassing him having taken missed Adeyemo’s allegations as bunch of lies. him to court when he refused to vacate his apartHe said: “He has not paid his rent regularly for ment. He is just trying to draw unnecessary symtwo years now and was given a six-month quit pathy by taking the matter to the media instead of notice, but he has refused to vacate his apartment. waiting for the court to adjudicate on the matter.” Instead, he has since resorted to blackmailing us.

Female undergraduate, others held for alleged cultism

Stop crying over a man policeman reportedly Continued from Page 3 return to me.” According to her, the police authorities were yet to inform her about her husband's death, adding that she only learnt of the incident on the pages of newspapers. “The last time I saw my husband was Sunday, August 30, 2015, before he left for work at about 5 pm. The next day, we were expecting him to return around 10 am as usual, but he never came back. “I called his numbers but none of them was going through. I then called his friend who assured me that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, was in town and that they were in Obalende providing security for him. “I know what his job entails, so I was not bothered, although I found it strange that he never called us to explain why he did not come back. I assumed that his phones could be bad.” The picture of her husband's whereabouts became clearer when a neighbour came to their house with a copy of a newspaper report on her husband's death, consoling her over what had happened to her husband. She said: “It was the next day that I received calls from people in the village, asking how I was doing. Relatives who had never called the family for years called to ask how I and the kids were doing. It was then that I knew that something was wrong. “Later in the day, our neighbours, family and some of his colleagues started trooping into the house with the newspaper report that three policemen were killed in Ikorodu and my husband was one of them. “I refused to believe it and I thank God that the next day, the DPO called and said that I should not worry, that my husband is still alive. He assured me that they were looking for him. “I know he will be found. All I am asking is that they (vandals) should please return him to me. If it is possible, I am ready to go to the

•Inspector Yakubu creeks and beg that my husband's life be spared. “My husband is the greatest man to me and our five kids. I refuse to believe that he was killed. I know that he is alive and would return to me one day. “Please, stop crying over a man who is still alive.” Inspector Yakubu's eldest child, Rukayat, also shared her mother's belief that their father will return. Rukayat, who is expected to resume at the University of Benin where she intends to study Accounting, wondered why sympathisers would conclude that their father was late. She said: “He cannot just disappear like that. My dad is very much aware that school will resume soon. His life dream for me is to become an accountant and I had reassured him in the

Outrage over HERE was outrage in Alagbado area of Lagos State following the death of two youths, Tunmise Adedeji and Ganiyu Adebayo aka Oludegun. Adedeji and Adebayo were allegedly killed on July 20 during a protest by residents of Temidire area of Alagbado against the land-grabbing activities of dreaded land speculator cum hotelier, Tunji Rasak Olaniyi aka Alhaji Gay. The protest apparently turned bloody when Alhaji Gay stormed the scene with armed men and shot into the crowd of protesters, causing the death of Adedeji and Adebayo. Alhaji Gay was killed in a reprisal attack by an irate mob. Twelve suspects, including the traditional ruler of the community, Chief Najeem Abioye, are currently being tried in a Lagos High Court, Igbosere, for the killing of Alhaji Gay. Heartbroken family members and concerned residents have, however, condemned the killing of the youths. Aggrieved residents urged the police to fish out the killers in the interest of justice. Speaking with The Nation, a community leader, Musa Alo said that the case of the residents shot dead by loyalists of Alhaji Gay during the protest was being ignored by the law enforcement agents. He said: “There was a peaceful rally by landlords and residents against the forcible land-grabbing activities of Tunji Rasak Olaniyi aka Alhaji Gay on July 20.

T • Oreoluwa

Higher National Diploma (HND 1) student of Mass Communication at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, Oreoluwa Adedamola, and nine others have been arrested by men of Ogun State Police Command. Oreoluwa was said to have been arrested on Sunday August 29, 2015 at Ifo, a suburb of Ogun during a routine check carried out by the operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS). She was paraded alongside other ‘cultists’ on Tuesday at the Ogun State Police Command, Eleweran, Abeokuta. The suspects were said to be members of Eiye Confraternity. The duo and eight others were allegedly on their way to conduct the initiation of new members at Ifo when they were intercepted by the police. A pistol was said to have been discovered inside Oreoluwa’s bag during a search by SARS operatives. The 20 year-old student was said to have denied ownership of the gun, claiming that Ibrahim Kelani, 37, another suspect held by the police, was the owner. A highly-placed source who spoke in confi-

• Ibrahim

dence said Oreoluwa explained to the police that she was not a cultist. “A candlelight procession was held on August 29, 2015 in honour of Oreoluwa’s boyfriend called Akeem Ogun, who recently died in a car crash in Panseke area of Abeokuta. “Shortly after the procession, one Ibrahim Kelani who is a friend to the late Akeem asked Oreoluwa to accompany him to a birthday party at Ifo. On their way, Ibrahim collected Oreoluwa’s bag and dropped a pistol inside it as decoy to beat security check on the road. “He then placed the bag on his chest and thought that policemen would not search it because it is a woman’s bag. Unfortunately, the bag was searched and the pistol was found inside it. She and Ibrahim are currently being held at the police headquarters and I think she is only paying for her indiscretion. ” The spokesman of Ogun Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Abdulmajid Ali, had directed that the suspects be handed over to the SCID, Eleweran, Abeokuta for further investigation and prosecution.

•The late Adebayo