21042021

10 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021
:Vanguard
News
Kidnapped Ekiti monarch
released, hospitalised
By Rotimi
Ojomoyela
A TRADITIONAL DO-EKITI—
ruler of
Obadu in Ilemeso-Ekiti, in Ekiti
State, Oba David Oyewumi, who
was kidnapped by suspected
gunmen, last Thursday,
yesterday, regained freedom from
captivity.
Oba Oyewumi was kidnapped
in his palace by gunmen, who
scaled the fence and invaded his
apartment around 8.30 pm on
that day.
The kidnappers later contacted
the family on Saturday and
demanded N20 million ransom to
secure his release.
Confirming his release, the
Police Public Relations Officer,
Ekiti Command, ASP Sunday
Abutu, said the monarch had
been left off the hook.
Iyalode Tinubu Estate: Akindele
confirmed holder of power of attorney
By Onozure Dania
L AGOS—ADAMAKIN
Investment and Chief
Akinfolabi Akindele have been
confirmed as sole holders of the
Power of Attorney of the Iyalode
Efunroye Tinubu Estate, in
Lagos, following the withdrawal
of a suit filed by the Iyalode
Efunroye Tinubu family.
Trial judge, Justice O.
Mabekoye, of Ogun State High
Court, sitting in Abeokuta, struck
out the matter, after the court
granted leave to the applicant's
counsel, Mr. J. Ogunbiyi, who had
prayed to discontinue the case.
In his ruling on the application,
Justice Mebekoya noted the
affidavit in support of the
Abutu said: “I can confirm
to you that the monarch had
been released from captivity.
He had also reunited with his
family.
“However, he is presently
receiving medical care in one of
the facilities in the state as a result
of the trauma he passed
through.”
Also, the Ekiti Amotekun Corps
Commander, Brig Gen. Joe
Komolafe (retd), said the release
of the traditional ruler was secured
at Obbo Ayegunle, Ekiti Local
Government Area of Kwara State
with the support of the Vigilante
members in Kwara State for the
Amotekun operatives.
Komolafe said: “When we went
into the bush, we tracked the
traditional ruler to the area. The
vigilante from Kwara State joined
our team and we were able to
rescue him in the night in the
application, sworn in support
by one Gafar Ibrahim, and the
fact that the family had indeed
settled their differences.
Therefore, there was no need
to go on with the matter.
He then struck out the case.
The crisis got to a head
sometimes in 2019, when some
members of the board of trustees
of the Iyalode Efunroye Tinubu
Estate went to court, challenging
the legal status of Adamakin
Investment and Chief Akindele
as the sole holders of the power of
attorney to Iyalode Efunroye
Tinubu Estate in Lagos state.
While the matter was in court,
several versions of the reasons
why the families were in court
were postulated.
‘Nigeria needs Tinubu to surmount
current challenges’
By Victor
Aijiromanus
LAGOS—NETWORK for
National Stability,
NENSTAB, has said the
challenges confronting Nigeria
require the experience and
capacity of the National Leader
of All Progressives Congress,
APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to
surmount them.
In a statement by its Executive
Secretary, Steve Ugwu, the group
said: “As human as he is, Tinubu
INSECURITY: PDP tasks Northern
govs, others to fix region
By Cynthia Alo
L AGOS—PEOPLES
Democratic Party, PDP, in
Lagos State, has called on
Northern governors, to fix their
regions and make it conducive for
young people to maximize their
potentials, rather than allow
them to migrate to different parts
of the country.
The party noted that the influx
of young people from different
regions of the country, especially
from the North, into Lagos to seek
greener pastures is worrisome.
Speaking during a virtual town
hall meeting, state Chairman of
the party, Mr. Deji Doherty,
lamented the daily painful
experiences Lagos citizens
encounter while going about
indeed has been extra remarkable
by sheer weight of purpose,
conviction and articulation, in
sustaining the solid base of hope
that Nigeria will not only outpace
her challenges, but can do that
faster together, not asunder.
“We are persuaded as a Non-
Governmental body to note that
we find inspiring resonance in
what the celebrant has made his
birthday become a deliberate
conscientization vehicle of the
elites and the masses towards the
revival of our bonds as our
commonwealth.”
their legitimate businesses.
He said: “If every governor does
proper planning and deploy
professional administrators and
managers in various strategic
sectors, I believe those young men
and women trooping into Lagos
(most of which are causing
nuisance) would have reason to
remain in their respective states,
over 90 percent of okada riders
are from the north. Though there
is a ban on their operations in
some areas for obvious reasons,
yet they still operate.
"Our Northern governors must
fix their region and make it
habitable for people to live
comfortably and do their
businesses; Lagos is getting too
populated, making Life miserable
especially the traffic congestion
and other structural defects.”
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
MEETING—From left: Oyo State Deputy Governor, Rauf Olaniyan; Governor Seyi Makinde, and
Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun, during the State Executive Council
meeting, held at Governor's Office, Secretariat, Ibadan, yesterday.
Tribunal throws out Jegede’s petition
against Akeredolu’s re-election
By Dayo Johnson
A KURE—ONDO
State Election
Petitions Tribunal, sitting
in Akure, yesterday,
dismissed the petition
filed by the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
candidate, Mr. Eyitayo
Jegede, against
Governor Rotimi
Akeredolu of the All
Progressives Congress,
APC.
Jegede’s petition was
struck out for want of
Jurisdiction and lack of
merit.
The tribunal
judgement, earlier
scheduled for today, was
rescheduled for
yesterday and was held
via zoom.
In the two hours
judgement, Chairman of
the Tribunal, Justice
Abubakar Umar, struck out
Jegede’s petition for lack of
Jurisdiction.
The Independent
National Electoral
Commission, INEC, had
declared Akeredolu the
winner of the 2020
governorship election,
having polled the highest
lawful votes to defeat
Jegede of the PDP and
former Deputy Governor,
Agboola Ajayi, of the
Zenith Labour Party, ZLP.
Displeased with the
outcome of the election,
Jegede, through his
Counsel, Mr. Onyeksasi
Ikpeasu, SAN, challenged
the victory of Akeredolu at
the poll.
However, delivering
judgement virtually in
Akure, the chairman of the
three-member panel,
Justice Umar Abubakar,
said: “The issues raised
therein in this petition are
settled issue of internal
affairs and management of
a political party, which this
tribunal has no jurisdiction.
“The tribunal cannot
determine whether
Governor Mai Bala Buni of
• Verdict reflects peoples' wish —Akeredolu
• I’ll decide what next to do, says Jegede
• As Ondo APC, PDP bicker over verdict
Yobe State is illegally
occupying the seat of
Caretaker Chairman of the
planning committee of the
extraordinary convention of
the APC.
“There is also evidence to
confirm that the APC, as the
sponsor, complied with the
law in the process for the
submission of the names of
its candidates, Akeredolu
and Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Jegede’s case is flawed and
hereby dismissed.”
Verdict reflects
peoples’ wish
—Akeredolu
Reacting to the verdict,
Governor Akeredolu
described the judgement as
a true reflection of the
position of the Law and the
collective wish of the
people.
Akeredolu said: “For
every purpose and mission
endorsed by God, the will
to navigate the clouds of
uncertainties and the path
of thorns becomes stronger
if backed by faith. In our
case, our faith is
unshakable.
“It is, therefore, with
gratitude to God that we
accept the verdict of the
Tribunal.”
I’ll study
judgement, says
Jegede
In his reaction to the
judgement, the PDP
candidate, Mr. Jegede said:
“I will consult my counsels,
eminent counsels who are
knowledgeable in this
business. A good number
of them, some of them my
senior. By the time I add my
knowledge, we shall forge
forward.
“We don’t want to rush to
do anything. We will look
at the judgment. We will
request for a copy of the
judgment given the fact that
we have sixty days within
which to conclude and we
shall appeal if there is one
and the time starts.”
Ondo APC, PDP
bicker
Meanwhile, the tribunal
verdict has elicited mixed
reactions from the APC and
the PDP in Ondo State.
While the APC hailed the
judgment, the PDP on its
part expressed optimism
that its candidate will win
at the Court of Appeal.
The Caretaker Chairman,
Mr. Ade Adetimehin, in a
statement by the state
party’s Publicity Secretary,
Alex Kalejaye said: “The
party advises the main
opposition party to accept
the judgment in good faith,
and put its house in order,
while preparing for future
elections.”
On its part, the PDP
vowed to appeal the
judgement of the tribunal.
The party’s Publicity
Secretary, Kennedy Peretei,
in a statement, said: “The
PDP is convinced that we
have a strong case for which
we shall be vindicated at
the end of the day.”
Passenger hails AVSEC over return of missing
N2.3m
UYO—AN Uyo-bound
passenger on Ibom Airline,
Mr. George Etuk, has
commended the Aviation
Security, AVSEC, personnel at
the Murtala Muhammed Airport
Terminal 2, operated by Bi-
Courtney Aviation Services
Limited, BASL, after receiving his
lost baggage containing the sum
of N2,350,000 and other vital
documents.
The incident, according to
BASL AVSEC Manager, Mr.
Olatubosun Okeowo, occurred at
about 1715hrs recently, while the
passenger, who just returned from
the United States, was at the
terminal to link up with an Uyobound
airline.
It was gathered that the
passenger was at the Ibom Airline
check-in counter, alongside other
intending passengers and, along
the line, he got carried away and
lost concentration on his bag.
During the CCTV investigation
by BASL AVSEC team, it was
discovered that the bag was
accidentally picked up by a fellow
passenger.
Okeowo said: “During our
CCTV investigation, it was
discovered that the bag was
accidentally picked up by another
intending passenger with the
same airline. They were not aware
at all. But after the flight was
delayed, and the passengers had
to find means to relax ahead of
the rescheduled time, the
anomaly came to the fore.
“The other passenger who took
the baggage unknowingly, too,
had disappeared. On receiving
the prompt message, our AVSEC
team immediately swung into
action to unravel what went
wrong. With the aid of the CCTV,
we were able to identify what
happened, and we quickly went
after the man who picked the bag.
“The man was intercepted at
the Drop Off Zone area, when he
was about leaving for a nearby
hotel to relax, since the flight was
rescheduled.”
The highly elated Etuk, who
could not hide his gratitude,
expressed appreciation for the
professional manner with which
the investigation was carried out,
saying “their quick intervention
was commendable because it
saved the day.”