Governor Sanwuolu has declared a three day state mourning period with flags hoisteď at half mast for the departed souls who were all civil servants in the state.
The Six Passengers out of the eighty five passengers on board a Lagos Rapid Transit (BRT) bus lost their lives in the accident of early Thursday morning Thursday.
Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwuolu made this public when he visited the victims of the train accident at the state general hospital Ikeja Lagos ,where he later addressed News Men Present.
The governor in sympathy with the bereaved families stopped his political campaigns as well as other public engagements.
The Executive Director Women Advocates Research And Documentation Centre WARDC,Dr Abiola Akinyode-Afolabi and a group of Other women activists have called on the relevant authorities to urgently end the current financial crisis which has placed many nigerians particularly women in very difficult situation.
Speaking in commemoration of the 2023 International women’s day in Lagos wednesday ,Dr Afolabi and the women groups drawn From various works Of Lives noted that the Cashless Policy and it’s attendant Naira Scarcity was telling more on women and their businesses.
Dr Afolabi particularly called for a less cash policy instead of the cashless presently being enforced by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
from the current financial crisis,they women touched on the various women’s health rights, increasing cases of Female genital mutilation, illegal Abortions, Child Abuse, Irregular Migration and The declining representation Of woman In the nigeria political space And issues affecting the health right of Women with a Call to provide relevant solutions through positive use of digital technology to find lasting solutions
their hearts went out To baby joseph who was taken from her mother immediately after birth and now missing immediately after birth watch of security operatives at Panti In Lagos
describing the event as act of violence that has left the mother traumatized,The women group gave a fourteen days ultimatium for the recovery of the baby through digital solution in response to the theme of 2023 international women’s day
” Digitall invovation & technology for gender equality”
They also called for disciplinary action against the officer Samuel Ukpabio involved in the case to ensure recovering of the Baby.
Reference To The Petition Letter
“Petition To transfer the case against Mr. Samuel ukpabio a police officer at the child trafficking department, panti c.i.d of the Nigeria Police Force, Yaba Lagos for abduction and human trafficking of a Day-old baby Of Mrs fortunate obhafuoso To An unknown person And destination to national agency for the prohibition Of traffickig In persons
“Please, refer to the above subject of petition to your good office. We the undersigned are human and women’s rights organizations led by Women Advocates’ Research and Documentation Center (WARDC); and concerned in the above matter and we act as advocates for justice in the case of Mrs. Fortunate Obhafuoso, herein after referred to as “the victim” with whose consent and authority we are directly apprising you of the matter.
We are compelled to put this petition to your esteemed office as a result of the circumstances, which led to the unlawful abduction and trafficking of the victim’s one-day-old baby to an unknown destination.
We are reliably informed by the victim that she solicited for an assistance on social media sometimes in October, 2022 due to her condition being a single mother of two kids and was at that time about seven (7) months pregnant. She was offered assistance by one Mrs. Tosin Jeremiah who claimed to be a Matron at IVF Center. That the said Mrs. Tosin Jeremiah invited the victim along with her kids over on 16th December, 2022 and directed her to her friend’s place at road 815, Dako Diya, Gateway, Agbara, Lagos. That victim stayed with Mrs. Tosin Jeremiah’s friend at the above address for one week. That on 22nd of December 2022, the said Tosin’s friend ordered for Uber taxi that took our client from Agbara to MR BIGG’S at Abule-egba, where a Doctor and a lady came to pick the victim to one FABMA HOSPITAL ANNEX AJEGUNLE located at Ajegunle Bus Stop, Alakuko, by Abeokuta Express Way, Lagos where the victim delivered a baby Boy on the 23rd of December 2023″
A three-man panel headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani took the decision after parties adopted their briefs and made final submissions.
Counsel for the PDP, urged the court to allow the appeal and grant the reliefs sought, while Thomas Ojo counsel for the APC, Tinubu and Shettima urged the court to dismiss the appeal.
Ojo argued that the court could no longer assume it’s original jurisdiction under Section 15 of the court’s Act to hear the case on the merit because the constitutionally prescribed 180 days, within which pre-election cases should be heard, has lapsed.
The PDP is seeking the reversal of the January 13 judgment by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja which sought to void the nomination of Senator Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the grounds that it (PDP) lacked the locus standi to query how the APC chose it’s candidates.
The PDP had in the suit challenged the validity of the Tinubu/Shettima ticket for the 2023 presidential election, arguing that Shettima’s nomination as the running mate was in breach of the provisions of Sections 29(1), 33, 35 and 84{1)}(2)} of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended).
It claimed that Shettima had double nominations, and argued that Shettima’s nomination as a vice-presidential candidate as well as the candidate for the Borno Central Senatorial seat contravened the law.
There has been reports of some of the injured Victims being treated on the floor at the Lagos State University teaching Hospital LASUTH,a situation due to obvious inadequate facilities and overwhelming nature of the accident.
The news and Pictures showing most of the injured Victims of the BRT BUS and Train Accident of Thursday morning being treated on the floor is making the round on various social media Platforms.
This report according to some people who spoke off Camera to our crew said the development further exposes the challenge of inadequate facilities and poor Emergency rescue system confronting in the nation’s health sector.
Many people were reportedly injured and two confirmed death in a collusion between the BRT Bus and a train around PWD Ikeja Area of Lagos on Thursday morning.
The first passanger train which was coming from Ijoko to Iddo met a BRT vehicle with the Lagos state government workers on board crossing the rail track to link Ikeja GRA .
The accident happened around past 7am.
The Managing Director Nigerian Railway Corporation Fidet Okhiria who Confirmed the incident to news men said the BRT Bus thought it will cross the rail line before the train get to him but unfortunately that did not happen.
An Accident at PWD area in Lagos State between a train and BRT Bus has left several Persons injured and two dead.
The collision of the train and BRT Bus around PWD in Ikeja along area of Lagos occurred Early this morning.
The State Government staff bus was trying to cross the PWD/Sogunle rail crossing while the train coming into Lagos from Abeokuta trapped the bus on its rail.
Two adult females staff of the State Government that have been confirmed dead and several injured have been evacuated.
LASEMA, NEMA, Police, FRSC, CIVIL DEFENCE, Nigeria Railway Corporation team are on ground carrying out rescue Operations
Army recovers 1,671 PVCs, ballot papers in Lagos apartment
The 9 Brigade of the Nigerian Army has uncovered an apartment in the Olodi Apapa area of lagos, where 1,671 Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs and ballot papers were kept.
Also recovered in the apartment were cutlasses and wraps of Indian hemp.
The Brigade Commander, Brigade. General. Isang Akpaumontia, who paraded the suspects and recovered PVCs, ballot papers and other items before journalists at the Ikeja Cantonment , said the arrest and recovery were made following a tip off.
Briefing journalists , Brig. Gen. Akpaumontia, said ” Earlier today(yesterday) three young men were arrested with 1,671 PVCs. This was after an early information was received. With the support of the Department of State Services, DSS, we were able to arrest them.
They were arrested with some drugs, dagger, charms and over one thousand PVCs. ” They were arrested at the Apapa general area, in a house where we traced them. “Owner of the house, who is the prime suspect, was traced to a hotel. But he took off. “We are going to hand these suspects and exhibits over to our immediate headquarters to do the needful because things have to be done the way they should, so as to discourage others who think they can take laws into their own hands and go scot-free”.
However, the suspects who gave their names simply as Seun, Toheeb and Kazeem claimed the apartment, recovered PVCs and ballot papers belong to the fleeing prime suspect, who they described as their master.
According to Habeeb “The room they met us belongs to our master. We were sleeping when some soldiers stormed the apartment. We don’t know anything about PVC. This was our first time sleeping in that house”.
The Gubernatorial elections Scheduled to hold on the 11th of March 2023 has been postponed to March 18th by the independent Electoral Commission INEC
Following today’s ruling by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (EPT) on the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used for the Presidential election held on 25th February 2023, the Commission met to assess its impact on the Commission’s preparations for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday, 11th March 2023.
Nigerians would recall that on 3rd March 2023, the Presidential EPT had given an ex-parte order for some political parties to inspect materials used for the Presidential election, including the forensic inspection of over 176,000 BVAS used in the election which are located in INEC LGA offices across the country. The Commission approached the Tribunal to reconsider the order, given that the BVAS Systems were to be deployed for the Governorship and State Assembly elections and that the lack of a clearly defined timeframe for the inspection could disrupt the Commission’s ability to conduct the outstanding elections. For instance, the BVAS can only be activated on the specific date and time of an election. Having been used for the Presidential and National Assembly elections on 25th February 2023, it is necessary to reconfigure the BVAS for activation on the date of the Governorship and State Assembly elections.
While the ruling of the Tribunal makes it possible for the Commission to commence the preparation of the BVAS for the Governorship and State Assembly elections, it has come far too late for the reconfiguration to be concluded. Consequently, the Commission has taken the difficult but necessary decision to reschedule the Governorship and State Assembly elections which will now take place on Saturday 18th March 2023. By this decision, campaigns will continue until midnight of Thursday 16th March 2023 i.e. 24 hours before the new date for the election.
This decision has not been taken lightly but it is necessary to ensure that there is adequate time to back up the data stored on the over 176,000 BVAS machines from the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on 25th February 2023 and then to reconfigure them for the Governorship and State Assembly elections. This has been the practice for all elections, including the period when the Commission was using the Smart Card Readers.
However, we wish to reiterate that the Commission is not against litigants inspecting election materials. Consequently, it will continue to grant all litigants access to the materials they require to pursue their cases in court.
We wish to reassure all political parties and candidates that the data from the Presidential and National Assembly elections will be backed up and available in INEC cloud facilities, including the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV). Political parties can apply for Certified True Copies of the backend data of the BVAS. Also, the results on the BVAS will continue to be available on the IReV for interested parties to access.
We thank Nigerians and friends of Nigeria for their understanding as we continue to deal with these difficult issues and navigate these challenging times.
A fifty year old man( name withheld) has been shot dead by suspected hoodlums who stormed the popular Akere spare parts market in Ajegunle Lagos early Wednesday and set the market ablaze.
The police public relations officer(PPRO) Benjamin Humdeyi who confirmed the incident to our Crew said a suspect, one Victor Okah aged 24 has been arrested over the incident.
Though the situation has been put under control,It may not be unconnected with the political tension created in the state ahead of the coming governorship and state house of assembly.
The police say investigation into the incident will be carried out by the state criminal investigation department to fish out all the people involved and prosecute them in court.
Meanwhile, some emergency responders from the Lagos state fire service, Lagos state Emergency Management Authority as well as National Emergency Management Authority who rushed to the scene of the incident have put off the fire to prevent it from spreading any further.
Wife of the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Liang Huili, wants Nigerian women to give priority attention to girl-child education with a view to fast tracking socio-economic development of the country.
Huili said this during a meeting to highlight the development of Chinese women as part of the activities lined up to mark this year’s International Women’s Day in Abuja.
March 8th of every year is set aside globally to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also provides a veritable opportunity to raise awareness about discrimination and take action to drive gender parity.
In Abuja, the wife of the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria who brought together female journalists to celebrate the day with her, advised women in Nigeria to ensure that the girl- education is taken seriously in the country.
Liang Huili, explained that the major achievements in the Nigeria-China bilateral cooperation in recent years could not have been possible without the full participation of women from both sides.
She also took time to highlight some of policies put in place by the Chinese government to ensure gender parity in all areas of life.
She informed the gathering of women journalists that in China, women’s average life expectancy grew to 79.4 years in 2015, an increase of 10.1 years over 1981 and 42.7 years over 1949 when New China was founded. She said the maternal mortality rate has fallen to 79.4 per cent from 88.8 percent 100,000 in 1990 to 18.3 percent 100,000 in 2018, stressing that China has achieved the United Nations Millennium Development Goals ahead of time.
Liang Huili also told the gathering that a harmony-symphony initiative is in the pipeline for the bilateral exchanges of women between China and Nigeria.
Dara Network TV 