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Protesting Lagos Driver Set Ablaze By Government Agents, Family And Colleague Insist

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A family member and a colleague of a bus driver, identified as Ayobami, aka Ero, have denied that he set himself ablaze after his vehicle was impounded around 7 and 8 Bus Stop, Airport Road, Lagos State.

The aggrieved family and colleague, who spoke to our correspondent during a visit to the area on Wednesday, alleged that some government agents set Ayobami ablaze.

A colleague, who identified himself as Adeola, said he was conveying passengers to a destination when the incident happened, adding that he saw the state officials impounding vehicles at the bus stop.

During the enforcement, Adeola explained that one of the area boys working with the task force dragged the steering with Ayobami, who refused to release his vehicle.

In a desperate attempt to impound the vehicle, the eyewitness said the area boy reached for petrol, poured it on Ayobami, and used a lighter to set the father of two ablaze.

He said, “He did not set himself ablaze; how can somebody who is normal set himself ablaze? It was the area boys working with the task force that poured petrol on him and used a lighter to set him on fire.

“It was done to make him get down from the bus. At first, they threatened him with the petrol, but he refused to get down, so they poured it on him and threatened to burn him, but he refused again.

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“It was when the area boys were switching on and off the lighter that the fuel attracted the fire and his body started burning. Even the area boy who was dragging with him at the front seat quickly jumped down and fled alongside the task force officers.”

It was gathered that the victim, who sustained serious burns in the face, chest, stomach, back, and arms, was rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

A relative, who identified himself as Baba Roqeeb, confirmed Adeola’s account of the incident, adding that doctors were battling to save Ayobami’s life.

He said, “Immediately he got burnt, his conductor, Rotimi, called me. But when I rushed to the scene of the incident, I was told that they already rushed him to Makinde Police Station.

“I quickly rushed down there but was told they already left for the task force office at Bolade, Oshodi. When I got there, the policemen detained me in a cell when they knew I was there because of Ayobami.

“I asked why they detained me, but they said they heard we were trying to burn the office like it happened during #EndSARS. They released me when they needed a family member to accompany him to a hospital.”

Our correspondent saw Ayobami’s vehicle parked close to his house around Aji Camp, Ajao Estate.

Black patches were seen on the roof of the driver’s side, indicating that the front seat was burnt.

The Chairman of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit (task force), CSP Shola Jejeloye, in a statement on Wednesday, distanced officials of the agency from the incident.

Jejeloye said at the time of the incident, his men were still at their base, adding that some imposters were using the name of the agency to perpetrate crimes.

He said, “Investigations and accounts of persons who were present at the scene of the incident have categorically revealed that the driver, one Mr. Ayo aka Eru, poured petrol on himself to scare security operatives from enforcing the traffic law which he violated. After the operatives left, luck ran out on him and some of the hoodlums present mistook him for one of the security operatives and set him ablaze.

 “Let me emphasize here that for us as an agency of government, we believe that it is better for us to allow an offender to go unharmed than to cause an injury.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said the state Commissioner of Police had ordered an investigation into the incident.

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US Court Sends British-Nigerian To Seven Years In Jail Over $5m Cyber Fraud

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Oludayo Adeagbo, a British-Nigerian, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

According to the US Department of Justice, Adeagbo, who also goes by John Edwards and John Dayo, conspired with others to steal over $3 million from various entities in Texas, including local government bodies, construction companies, and a Houston-area college.

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators also defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million.

The case began in August 2022 when Adeagbo and two other Nigerian citizens, Donald Echeazu, 42, and Olabanji Egbinola, 44, were extradited from the United Kingdom (UK), where they had been residing, to face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The US Department of Justice stated that the offences were committed in North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

On April 8, Adeagbo pleaded guilty in two cases against him in North Carolina and Texas for participating in a business email compromise scheme, which is also referred to as a “cyber-enabled financial fraud” scheme.

A business email compromise scheme can be initiated by scammers creating fake accounts that mimic companies a business regularly deals with.

Court records revealed that Adeagbo and his co-conspirators gathered information about significant construction projects across the United States, including a multi-million-dollar project at a university in North Carolina.

“To execute the scheme, Adeagbo, Echeazu, and others registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the university’s project and created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company,” the Department of Justice said.

“Using the fake email address, the fraudsters deceived and directed the university to wire a payment of more than $1.9 million to a bank account controlled by an individual working under the direction of Adeagbo and his co-conspirators.”

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators employed the same tactics in Texas, targeting local government entities and universities by impersonating construction companies. They stole over $3 million from the scheme, bringing their total haul to $5 million.

Adeagbo has been ordered to pay $942,655.03 in restitution and will serve seven years in prison.

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Nigerian-American Oye Owolewa Re-Elected To US Congress

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Oye Owolewa, a Nigerian-American Democrat, has been re-elected as the shadow representative for the District of Columbia (DC).

Owolewa, a PhD graduate from Northeastern University in Boston, made history in November 2020 when he became the first Nigerian-American elected to Congress.

He secured 164,026 votes, or 82.84 percent of the total votes cast in DC.

His role, while not officially recognized by the US government as a full member of Congress, is to advocate for the district’s interests, particularly its bid for statehood.

On Thursday, Owolewa expressed his gratitude to DC voters via a post on X, thanking them for their continued support.

“Thank you DC again for giving me chance to serve. I also want to thank the organizations that have supported, partnered with and endorsed me,” he wrote.

While shadow representatives like Owolewa do not have voting power in the US House of Representatives, they play a key role in pushing for recognition and state-level advocacy for DC residents, who are otherwise disenfranchised at the federal level.

Owolewa has consistently championed the cause of DC statehood, which has become a central focus of his work.

The re-election took place on November 5, the same day as the US presidential election.

In that election, former President Donald Trump defeated Vice-President Kamala Harris, securing over 270 electoral votes to win a second term.

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Joe Biden Urges Americans To Accept Trump’s Victory, Promises Peaceful Transition

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United States President Joe Biden has urged Americans to accept the victory of Republican Party candidate Donald Trump in the presidential election.

On November 6, Trump won the presidential election after surpassing the magic number of 270 electoral college votes.

Trump defeated Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party, who received 219 electoral college votes.

Harris has congratulated Trump on his electoral victory.

During a speech on Thursday at the White House Rose Garden, Biden said, “We accept the choice the country made.”

“I know for some people, it’s time for victory to state the obvious. For others, it’s a time of loss,” the US president said.

“Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other.

“I’ve said many times, you can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbour only when you agree.

“I will do my duty as president. I’ll fulfil my oath and honour the Constitution. On January 20, we will have a peaceful transfer of power here in America.

“Remember, defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dream is calling for you to get back up.

“The America experiment endures. We are going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged. We need to keep going. Above all, we need to keep the faith.”

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