An irate mob, on Saturday morning, killed a yet-to-be-identified Assistant Superintendent of Police with the Lagos State Police Command in the Agege area of the state. It was gathered that the deceased had led a team of policemen to an accident scene along the WEMCO junction by Mobil road, Agege, before his team came under heavy attack from commercial motorcyclists, also known as Okada riders. It was learnt that the policemen had gone to evacuate a truck that knocked down an Okada rider but met stiff resistance from the riders, who insisted that they must set the truck on fire. Confirming the incident in a chat with Daily Trust, the spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the killing of the policeman was needless and uncalled for. Hundeyin said the police team got a distress call at about 1.40 am on Saturday about an accident that involved an Okada rider and a trailer at WEMCO junction Mobil Road by Pen Cinema Agege. The police spokesman revealed that a preliminary investigation revealed that an Okada rider ran into the trailer, which led to his death in the process. Hundeyin stated that five suspects have been arrested in the process. He said, “On getting to the scene, the team met a large number of motorcycle riders who had gathered around the place. However, the patrol team, in the process of evacuating the truck, came under attack by the riders who insisted on torching the truck, as a result of which one ASP, 46 years old, was injured on the head and died on the spot while the truck driver escaped. “Five suspects have since been arrested, and manhunt for others is on.”

OrderPaper, an online publication which focuses on Nigeria’s parliament, has raised an alarm over the arrest of one of its staff. In a statement late Friday, the newspaper detailed how operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) “abducted” Edna Ulaeto from her residence, which was not stated. It is unclear if Ulaeto is a reporter or not, but the publication stated that it suspected that the raid was in connection of a story it published on the purported invasion of the National Assembly. Two days ago, there were rumours of a purported plot to impeach Senate President Akpabio. The red chamber had dismissed it, In its statement, OrderPaper said it had apologised over the incident, wondering why Ulaeto was targeted. “Today, October 18, 2024, a group of armed men, identifying themselves as officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), forcefully stormed the home of an OrderPaper staff member, Edna Ulaeto, and abducted her without any explanation.” “The young lady, still in her casual nightwear, was violently manhandled and whisked away to an unknown destination, leaving her family and neighbors in shock and fear. Shockingly, it has come to light that her phone number was illegally tracked, a tactic typically reserved for dangerous criminals, not innocent media staff. “OrderPaper suspects this cruel and unjust act is connected to a recent news article that mistakenly reported on an alleged DSS invasion of the National Assembly, supposedly to block an attempt to impeach the Senate President. Despite immediately issuing a retraction and public apology, masked men broke into her home, tore through her personal belongings, and caused immense trauma to her and her family. “Neighbors who attempted to follow or capture the horrifying event were shoved aside, with some forced to delete photos and videos under the threat of arrest. No official notice or invitation was ever sent to the individual or OrderPaper by the DSS or police, raising serious concerns of foul play. Since the abduction, all efforts to reach her have failed, intensifying fears for her safety. “This brazen, terrifying act has left the entire staff of OrderPaper living in fear, uncertain of what may happen next. We urgently call on the public, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and the international community to demand her immediate release and to ensure her safety. Join us in condemning this unlawful attack on press freedom and basic human rights before it is too late.” The development comes after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested a presenter of Urban FM, Enugu, Although the station announced that the EFCC officials invaded its station and whisked away the lady, interrupting a live programme, the anti-graft agency denied doing so. In a statement issued by Dele Oyewale, EFCC spokesman, the commission said the presented was arrested after shunning several investigation of a Ponzi scheme she was involved in. Many Nigerians were reportedly defrauded through the scheme.

The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control branch, has vowed to continue its ongoing strike action till their demands are met. In an interview with NAN on Saturday in Kaduna, the Chairman of the Chapter, Adetoboye Ayodeji, said it was left for the agency’s management to call the union for negotiation in order to see actionable evidence that things would be done appropriately. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that workers of the agency began an indefinite strike on October 7, to demand the review of the 2024 promotion examinations. The strike was also to address the allegations that the majority of the staff were not promoted as a result of the purported “vacancy slot” from the Head of Service, even when they all qualified to be promoted. Health 360: Safety in health care0:00 / 0:00 Ayodeji also claimed that some statutory arrears and other benefits were not paid to some of the staff employed by the agency in 2022. He explained that the union had earlier signed an agreement with the government and NAFDAC management in 2022 bordering on the workers condition of service which ought to have been finalised. “The issues in the agreement were supposed to be settled in December 2022 but to date, none of the agreements have been complied with. “Allowances that are supposed to be approved on or before December 2022 have not been approved, the condition of service could not be approved,” he lamented. Ayodeji said the union had written several letters to the NAFDAC management regarding the concerns without adequate response. He also alleged that in 2024, the agency did promotion examinations with many of the staff who passed the examinations not promoted. He added that the management’s claim was due to a lack of vacancies. “Unfortunately the management was recruiting at the same time into the positions that they claim there was no vacancy while those that are rising through the ranks are not promoted, outsiders are brought to occupy the positions,” he alleged. Ayodeji wondered why not up to 220 staff were promoted in the examinations that were written by over 700 staff. “Only 36 per cent of participants in the examinations were promoted, we, therefore, said no, it is never possible. “They cannot promote less than 80 per cent of the participants. “We rejected the entire promotion exercise and asked that more staff be promoted. There can never be motivation in an agency where 36 per cent of staff are only promoted. “It will have a devastating effect on the staff morale thereby affecting the health of the 200 million Nigerians,” he said. Speaking further, the chairman said part of the reason for their strike action was an issue of allowances in the staff salaries that had lingered for over 20 years. Ayodeji said the union had written to the NAFDAC management but no reason or explanation was given and even issued a two-week notice before the strike but no response. NAN reports that NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement issued to NAN on Monday, denied all the claims. She claimed that the agency had been following the rules on payment of arrears and estacode, and reiterated its commitment to promoting the workers’ welfare.

A yet-to-be-identified man has succumbed to the injuries he sustained after falling into a canal in an attempt to escape arrest by policemen who reportedly labelled him a fraudster in the Ayobo area of Ipaja, Lagos State. City Round gathered that a friend to the wife of the deceased man claimed in a series of tweets on X.com that two policemen had been detained in connection with the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, however, said he was not aware of such claim when our correspondent contacted him for confirmation on Friday. It was learnt that the man was accused of being an Internet fraudster by plain-clothed policemen due to his tattoos. The victim, who was unconscious at the time he was rescued from the canal, was rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja GRA, where he reportedly died. This was disclosed in a series of tweets posted on X.com on Thursday by a user, Omorhemi, who said she was a friend of the deceased’s wife. “Yesterday morning, the police chased my friend’s husband till he fell into the canal. They took his slippers and money that fell and left when people started shouting. This happened at the Federal Bus Stop, Ipaja, Ayobo axis. He is currently unconscious at LASUTH. “The officers were on mufti. They stopped him on a bike, and the bike man left. They searched him insisting he is a Yahoo boy because of his tattoos and started cocking their guns that they will shoot him, he started moving away saying he was not and they started following him till he ran. “According to eyewitnesses, he stopped and they searched him, they didn’t see anything but insisted he is a Yahoo boy and started cocking their guns; he didn’t even run till they started trying to hit him. He was moving away gently till they started running and he slipped,” Omorhemi wrote. Reacting to the video on Thursday evening, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the incident had not yet been reported at the police station but noted that an investigation was still ongoing. He wrote, “Since we saw this video, we have been making concerted efforts to verify this claim but nothing has turned up yet. We have checked our records and no report has been made till now of this incident that the narrator explained happened yesterday. Nonetheless, our investigation is ongoing. “The Area Commander covering that entire axis is personally on it. Anyone with additional and useful information should please reach out to us. We will keep the public updated on our findings.” However, sharing an update in a series of tweets on Friday, Omorhemi announced that the man died late on Wednesday night while at the hospital. She wrote, “He has given up! I’m yet to tell the wife as of now. Nigerian Police! Nigerian Police!! I am not pleased to inform you that this young man died in the middle of the night on Wednesday few hours after the incident. “The wife went to the police station, Area P to report and the officers asked her if they were the ones that pushed him. She couldn’t wait as she wasn’t stable while still trying to get her husband to receive the best treatment. “All hands have been on deck to make sure the man survived which was why follow-up at the station was not done. There are eyewitnesses on this platform that saw the incident unfold.” In another tweet posted by Omorhemi on Friday afternoon, she disclosed that two of the officers who allegedly chased the man had been detained. “Thanks to some eyewitnesses who have been able to point out two from the officers and the cooperation of their DPO, they have been taken and detained at Area M where the Area commander is @ Benjamin Hundeyin and Olumuyiwa Adejobi,” she wrote. When our correspondent called Hundeyin to confirm the detention of the policemen as claimed by Omorhemi, he said, “I am aware of such.”