It was a pitty that after the burning of the young boy who stole garri in lagos state, The parents said to the public that it was not the boy's fault that he stole garri, that it was their inability to provide what the young boy needs as a child that it was hunger that lead him to the act. It was shocking when the parents told the crowd with tears in their eyes that the young theif have not seen food to each for 2 days before his spirit was lead to doing what he could do to get food for himself, for his siblings and parents..............."what a pitty"...........MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE, But; those that burnt him should make sure they never involve themselves in any robbery crime or never let any theif go free within the area or God will not be happy with them, said the parents.
As Nigerians grapple with the gory
details surrounding the lynching of a young man for allegedly stealing
garri, a legal practitioner, whose account went viral on Thursday
claimed the victim and his gang tried to dispossess a woman of her
belongings.
Kingsley Ughe, General Counsel for Joint
Action Aids, in a Facebook post titled, ‘A Thief and A Frenzied Mob
Baying for Blood,’ said the victim was a member of a gang of notorious
thieves and not a seven-year-old boy, as claimed by media reports.
He explained that the young man met his
dastardly end after his gang tried to dispossess a woman of her
belongings, including an Infinix Note 2 phone, at Augustine Onwualu
street, Orile Iganmu, Lagos last Saturday.
The woman, however, held unto her phone and screamed for help.
Read Ughe’s account below
The true account of the young man
lynched and summarily burnt to death at Orile Iganmu last Saturday
speaks of the uncertainty and brevity of human life in Nigeria. It was
Saturday, the 11th day of November 2016. The venue of this macabre
killing orgy was at Augustine Onwualu Street, Orile Iganmu, Lagos.
A woman, (name withheld) was walking
along the ever busy road of Augustine Onwualu street, Orile Iganmu. She
had an Infinix Hotnote 2 handset with which she was making telephone
calls in high pitched voice, frantically gesticulating in the process.
Close by, on the same street were a gang of 4 notorious thieves, well
known in the area for their dare devilry and viciousness. They were
there, waiting, prowling and surveying the entire scenery for a
vulnerable victim to rob and dispossessed of their valuables as they
often do in the past. And successfully too.
“The woman approached. Still talking on
the phone and gesticulating with her free arm. She was immediately
spotted by the very perceptive eyes of this criminal gang. A brief
conference amongst them, she was adjudged a soft target. There was no
need for further plans or careful surveillance. After all they had done
this successfully in the past. More so, their sheer ferocity makes them a
sort of feared mobster in the local vicinity. But it turned out to be a
miscalculation. And costly one at that!
“They approached and circled the woman
who was oblivious of her surrounding and the imminent attack on her
person. The robbery attack was swift and very decisive. She was held
from behind by two members of the gang. One of them deftly pruned her
hand bag off her shoulder and the same time attempted to retrieved the
telephone with which she was making calls from her other arm. The last
of the gang stood guard, providing cover for the others.
“They had during their planning stage
misjudged the desperation of a Nigerian woman about to be dispossessed.
The victim reacted swiftly. She let the hand free and held on
tenaciously to her phone. A struggle ensued. The victim plaintively
cried out for help. A motley crowd gathered. The other members of the
gang, appropriately appraising the situation fled the scene. The fourth
member was not so lucky. He continued to engage in an internecine
struggle with victim for the phone. In desperation, he brought out a
dagger, and cold blooded stabbed the woman repeatedly in the chest,
stomach and shoulder. There is a proverb, when a strong animal flirts
too much with the trap, he makes his meat available for children to
share with teeth.
“The gathered crowd became enraged and
promptly apprehended the abandoned thief. He was beaten to stupor, Tied
up and set ablaze while the maddening crowd continued to bay for his
blood.
“Joint Action Aid was alerted on Monday
when video clips of the dastardly murder went viral on social media. We
reported the yet another resort to “jungle justice” to the Commissioner
of Police, Lagos state. The video clips were carefully analysed and some
arrest made. The six people arrested through our efforts denied
criminal culpability and brought fast talking lawyers.
“More frustrating, the charred remains
of the alleged thief had been removed. The area council and Orile Iganmu
police claimed ignorance of the whereabouts of the corpse. Thus we have
a dead zone situation. No dead body, no witnesses and then, most
understandably, an unwilling complainant still battling for survival
from the grievous multiple stabbing at the hospital. We returned back to
the office, again defeated. Frustrated. And defeated.The rule of law is
vanquished again. The rule of the jungle continues to win triumphantly
The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State,
Mr. Fatai Owoseni on Thursday said that a police station in Nigeria
gets N45,000 in three months as running cost.
Owoseni said this while addressing
members of the Human Rights Defenders and Advocacy Centre, a civil
society organisation, who protested to his office in Ikeja.
The group urged the Federal Government
to probe the embezzlement of funds meant for fuelling of patrol
vehicles, stationery, uniforms and allowance for the Nigerian Police
Force.
The group had placards with inscriptions
such as ‘No More Embezzlement of Police Funds’, ‘IG is a thief’, ‘Why
are Police Officers buying Uniforms by themselves’ and ‘Junior Officers
dey work, Senior Officers dey chop’.
Addressing the protesters, Owoseni said
that the group was protesting on the basis of ignorance as police fund
was not embezzled.
He said that government could not be
blamed for the low budgetary allocation to the police as there were many
other competing sectors to be catered for.
He said, “As civil society organisation,
you need to get your facts right and stop making false accusation or
fight on the basis of ignorance.
“Nobody is siphoning police fund, the
budget is open. By the time you divide what is appropriated to the
police force, it will amount to N45,000 to a police station in three
months.
“What can N45,000 do to fund an Ikeja
police station in three months? And you cannot blame government because
there are other competing needs such as education, health,
infrastructure and so on.
“It is difficult to fund security
anywhere in the country; so, within what is available to the country as
revenue, government will have to prioritise and we have been using our
resources as best as we can to discharge our duties.
“So, it is a wrong accusation to say
that the IG or the commissioners are siphoning police fund. We should be
working to orientate the public on how to boost government revenue, so
that allocations can come up.”
Owoseni urged members of the public to make use of the ‘Smart Police’ application to report any police misconduct.
Earlier, Mr Innocent Agbo, Chairman of
the group said that they had written several letters to the Inspector
General of police to explain to the public why police officers,
especially the junior officers, were not properly taken care of, but he
never replied.
“From our investigation, we discovered
that these police needs are being budgeted for every year, but it is not
utilised but siphoned to private pockets.
“This year, about N564 million was
budgeted for uniforms and clothing, but out of the 278, 000 personnel,
95 per cent bought their uniforms, boots and other kits. Looking at the
policemen, there is no similarity in their attire because it is sourced
from different sources.
“All police stations in the country do
not get allocation for fueling of patrol vehicles and about N603 million
was budgeted for fuel and lubricants. Complainants are made to pay for
all these. Travel allowances are not paid and vehicles are being
maintained by officers.
“This has led to serious misconduct by
policemen who resorted to extorting the general public in order to fund
their needs and operations.
“We are here so that the CP can take our
demands to the appropriate authorities. We also call on the Federal
Government to increase police allocation, so as to eradicate
corruption.
LeBron James is donating $2.5 million to an exhibit dedicated to
Muhammad Ali at the newly opened Smithsonian National Museum of African
American History in Washington, it was reported Thursday.
The Cleveland Cavaliers star, a long-time admirer of the late former
heavyweight boxing icon, told USA Today he was making the donation to
pay tribute to Ali’s achievements both in and outside the ring.
“Muhammad Ali is such a cornerstone of me as an athlete because of
what he represented not only in the ring as a champion but more outside
the ring — what he stood for, what he spoke for, his demeanor,” James
told USA Today.
“I think of him every day. Without his passion and goals and morals, I
don’t know if I’d be sitting here today talking to you about it.”
The exhibit — titled “Muhammad Ali: A Force for Change” — includes
items such as Ali’s headgear and training robe from the 5th Street Gym
in Miami Beach where the boxer trained.
Ali, a beloved icon of the 20th century whose career transcended his sport, died in June at the age of 74.
The Smithsonian exhibit also pays tribute to Ali’s work as a social activist.
James’ donation mirrors a similar multi-million-dollar gift given to
the museum by NBA legend Michael Jordan. The former Chicago Bulls star
gave $5 million in August.
“I am overwhelmed by the incredible generosity LeBron James has
shown,” Ali’s widow Lonnie said in a statement. “This exhibit will
enable children visiting the Smithsonian to learn more about Muhammad’s
work outside of the ring.”
Museum founding director Lonnie Bunch welcomed James donation.
“His support will help us to continue the story of Muhammad Ali and
will encourage athletes to realize how important athletics is in terms
of social justice,” Bunch said.
“It’s also really important that actions like this by Mr. James
encourage younger athletes and people with means to recognize the
philanthropy and paying homage to those who went before, how crucially
important that is,” he added.
