28032019 - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY LEADERSHIP:All clear for Lawan; fresh crisis brews over Gbaja

10 — VANGUARD, THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2019
UNILAG churns out 271 First Class
By Dayo Adesulu
L AGOS—THE
University of Lagos,
UNILAG, yesterday,
disclosed that 271
students would graduate
with First Class degree
honours during its 50th
convocation ceremony
slated for April 2nd to 4th,
2019.
Speaking during a preconvocation
press
conference held at the
Senate Building, the Vice
Chancellor, Professor
Oluwatoyin Temitayo
Ogundipe also noted that
the Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo would be
delivering the
convocation lecture titled:
Nigeria Rising: The Path
to Prosperity.
Giving a breakdown of
the graduating students,
Ogundipe said: “A total of
12,811 students will
receive their degrees,
diplomas and certificates
at this year’s convocation.
Of this number, 7,406
representing (57.8%) will
receive first degrees for
diplomas while 5,405
representing (42.2%) will
receive postgraduate
degrees.
“271 students would be
awarded First Class
degrees of which 56 are
from the Faculty of
Engineering.”
Lagos judiciary trains magistrates
on application of Restorative Justice
By Henry Ojelu Lagos State by the
L
introduction of Restorative
AGOS—THE Lagos Justice at the Magistrates
State Judiciary, Courts level. This will
yesterday, began a two day ensure that restorative
training for magistrates on justice outcomes are
the application of applied to many minor
Restorative Justice system.
Declaring the training
open, Chief Judge of Lagos
State, Justice Opeyemi Oke
said the training was
offences.
“Today in Nigeria, we
have seen countless cases
where defendants are
arrested for minor offences
necessary to equip - burglary, wandering, two
magistrates with necessary
knowledge and skills on
how to apply the system in
their various courts.
fighting and so on.
"They are locked up in
our prisons for the flimsiest
reasons and join the
Justice Oke said: “We are teeming population
changing the narrative in awaiting trial.”
LASG to complete Kirikiri Industrial
Estate road in six months
By Onozure Dania
LAGOS—THE Lagos
State government has
said that it will complete
the rehabilitation of the
roads at Kirikiri Industrial
Estate within six months.
The government
disclosed this while
soliciting cooperation from
the industries and residents
of the area.
It stated that it has
awarded the rehabilitation/
upgrading of Happy Home
Avenue-Alahun Ozumba
Link Road, which will
commence by first week in
April.
Speaking at the estate’s
stakeholders meeting, the
Lagos State Commissioner
for Works and
Infrastructure, Mr. Ade
Akinsanya said that the
Lagos State government is
passionate about the
citizens of the state.
Akinsanya, who was
represented by Director
Road Maintenance and
Rehabilitation, Lagos
State Ministry of Works
and Infrastructure,
Engineer Somide
Ayodele, said: “The road
is about 380 meters long
and the carriage was is 10
meters, it can carry
between three to four
vehicles, there would be
drainage system and light
to illuminate the area."
ENCROACHMENT ON MKO ABIOLA’S FARMS:
Ayobo residents send SOS to Ambode, CP
over threat to lives
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni
L AGOS—RESIDENTS
and occupants on the
400 acres of Abiola Farms in
Ayobo, owned by late
business mogul, Moshood
Olawale Abiola, have called
for the immediate
intervention of Governor
Akinwunmi Ambode of
Lagos State and the
Commissioner of Police
following invasion of their
community by scores of
hoodlums allegedly
sponsored by a warring
party in the Abiola’s family.
The residents have
expressed fears of possible
attack from a warring party
in the Abiola family.
Fresh crisis ensued in
MKO Abiola’s family
following a legal battle on
the authentic owner of the
land in Ayobo area of the
state between Radio
Communication Nigeria,
RCN, Limited and some
sections within the family.
The land under dispute is
located at Igbo Ilogbo,
Ayobo, Ipaja-Ayobo Local
Council Development Area,
LCDA, where thousands of
residents reside.
Earlier, some members of
the late Abiola’s family, in
an attempt to enforce a court
judgment of March 14, 2019
that confers ownership of
the land in dispute on MKO
Abiola, directed all tenants
to come forward for
regularisation of their titles
or risk ejection.
However, the Chairman of
RCN and son of late MKO,
Kola Abiola, reacting to the
development, described the
claim by a section of the
family as “a fraudulent
exercise being perpetrated
by the invaders.”
Speaking on behalf of the
residents at a stakeholders’
meeting, the solicitor, Tunji
Adeyemi said: “Kola Abiola,
Chairman RCM, has given
his side of the story and this
is our side of the story.
“On the morning of March
14, 2019, some agents,
acting for yet-to-beidentified
persons in Igbo-
Ilogbo, Ayobo, issued a
threat that they have gotten
a court judgment and
moved in to forcefully take
over the possession of the
land belonging to RCM,
the only legal owner of the
land in dispute.
“About four Sheriffs of
High Court of Lagos
State and police men and
over a thousand thugs
invaded Abiola Farms’
estate consisting of many
communities.
''The Estates also have
seven Community
Development Associations,
CDAs and over 500
households. They broke
into peoples’ houses riding
on bikes, preventing our
children from going to
school and traumatised the
entire community.
Giving the background to
the development, he
recalled that there was a
High Court judgment
obtained in the suit no:
11D155 1986 in favour of
NRC and that the
judgment was appealed.
Another judgment was
given in appeal no: CA/L/
199/1994; these two
judgments were in favour
of NRC. Since 2002, NRC
has taken possession of the
land. At a point, the Lagos
State Government took
over the land and they
went to court; they got the
judgment and Lagos State
Government returned the
disputed land to NRC while
they have sold larger
portion to others, who have
built houses on them.
“All of a sudden, some
people got same judgment
at the High Court which
was against the people who
got the land from NRC.”
Speaking further, he said:
“We are ready to defend our
legal and human rights
from any group or groups
of person who may want to
intimidate us, hence, the
need for the immediate
intervention by the
governor and CP, Subairu
Muazu. They must nip this
in the bud to prevent it from
degenerating into a
community clash and
possible loss of lives and
properties.”
The lawyer, however,
presented a petition and an
affidavit by the RCM
Chairman.
On his part, the counsel
to the other faction of the
family, Victor Olawale, said:
“The law says before
anyone pays for a piece of
land, there is need to
survey the land to ensure
the land has not been
bought by someone else."
VISIT: Lagos State deputy governor, Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule (middle) with flanked
by the widows of the late Olumegbon of Lagos, Abdul Fatai Olumegbon at the
deceased house, Ado - Langbasa Road, Ajah, Lagos, yesterday.
ALLEGED N3.6BN FRAUD: Trial of ex-NDDC
Director, Omatsuli begins
By Onozure Dania
LAGOS—THE trial of a
former Director of the
Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC, Mr
Tuoyo Omatsuli and three
others over alleged N3.6
billion fraud, commenced,
yesterday, before a Federal
High Court in Lagos.
The Economic and
Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, had
on November 8, 2018,
arraigned Omatsuli
alongside Don Parker
Properties Ltd, Francis
Momoh and Building
Associates Ltd, before
Justice Saliu Saidu on a 45-
count charge bordering on
the alleged offence. At the
resumed hearing of the
matter yesterday, the antigraft
agency called its first
witness, Eyo Bassey
Francis, a software
developer and contractor.
The witness, while being
cross examined by EFCC’s
lawyer, Mr Ekele
Iheanacho, told the court
that he had executed
contracts for NDDC as well
as Akwa-Ibom, Imo and
Abia State governments.
He said: “As a contractor
with NDDC, in 2014, I came
in contact with Mr. Tuoyo
Omatsuli.
"In the course of our
discussion, I told him that I
run an online platform and
I do a lot of imports. I also
told him that because of my
engagement in import, I
was able to source for
foreign currencies.
“He later called me on
phone and told me that
some money will be
transferred into my account.
I got initial sum of N80
million transferred into the
Heritage Bank account of
one of my firms, Asiladrrin
Global Consulting Ltd, I
then converted the money
into dollars as directed by
Mr. Tuoyo.
“I was furnished with an
account of a firm,
Greenhouse Investment,
owned by the Special
Assistant on Finance to the
then NDDC’s MD to which
I transferred N100 million.
The balance was converted
to dollars as directed by Mr.
Tuoyo.”
The case has been
adjourned to April 11, for
continuation of trial.
Reconcile aggrieved persons, factions in PDP,
HOSTCOM tells Okowa
GOVERNOR Ifeanyi
Okowa of Delta State
has been called upon to
urgently reconcile all
aggrieved stalwarts of the
Peoples Democratic Party in
the state, after his reelection
in the justconcluded
governorship
election.
Host Communities of
Nigeria Producing Oil and
Gas (HOSTCOM), Itsekiri
Chapter made this appeal
yesterday in Warri in a
congratulatory message to
Governor Okowa, signed
by its Chairman, Engr.
Tuoyo Woligho, Secretary,
Pa Otimeyin Tonukarin and
State Youth Leader,
Comrade Itse Omajugho.
They charged him to take
urgent steps to bring all
factions of PDP in the state
together to engender swift
development.
Itsekiri HOSTCOM
stated that the victory of PDP
and Governor Okowa goes
to show that Delta is a PDP
state that cannot be
upstaged by any other
political party and
congratulated Senator
James Manager, Chief
Thomas Ereyitomi, House
of Representatives memberelect,
Dr. Austin Uroye, Fred
Martins, Emomotimi Guwor
and Mathew Opuoru for the
House of Assembly,
respectively.
The group noted that the
PDP's landslide victory was
made possible through the
untiring efforts of party
stalwarts like Dr. Joseph
Otumara, Hon. Michael
Diden, Hon. Godwin Ebosa,
Mofe Pirah, Benjamin
Iwetan, and a host of others,
saying that now that PDP
has won, efforts must be
made to bring all hands on
deck to drive development
in the state to the next level.
They urged Okowa to run
an all-inclusive
government, with
HOSTCOM members in
consideration.