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Setting Self Ablaze: We Have No Hand In It – Lagos Taskforce Chairman

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The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit {Taskforce} has said that its men and officials have no hand in the enforcement for compliance activities that led to a commercial bus driver setting himself ablaze to resist his vehicle being impounded by yet Unidentified Security Agents.

Speaking at the Agency’s Headquarters today at Safety Arena, Bolade Oshodi, Lagos, the Chairman of the Agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye in a swift reaction to The Punch Newspaper report on the incident of a commercial bus driver who set himself ablaze to evade arrest during Enforcement for Compliance operation, said that Taskforce has no hand in it. He said that at the time of the incident his Men were still at the base. The accusations are utterly inaccurate and misleading as investigations and eyewitness 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 the security operatives from enforcing the traffic law which he violated. After the operatives had left, luck ran out on him and some of the hoodlums presents mistook him for one of the security operatives and set him ablaze.


The Chairman further stated that the barbaric act of setting self ablaze, robbing self with faeces, chasing law enforcement officers with urine and other crazy acts are now the new wave of resisting arrest by recalcitrant Motorists who have developed the habit and passion for violating the State Traffic and Environmental laws. He however said that if they are bold enough to be serial lawbreakers, they should be courageous enough to face the consequences of their illegal actions rather than constituting nuisance on Lagos road.

Jejeloye further narrated how one Mr Festus Ugbesia age 40 of Mafoluku area of Oshodi who claimed to be the owner of the bus drove the victim from the scene of the incident down to the Agency Headquarters, inciting members of the public against the Agency that the officials of the Taskforce had been fingered for setting the victim ablaze, but it later dawned on him that Taskforce had no hand in it when he discovered that our Men and officials were still on the parade ground preparing for the task of the day while the transport department of the Agency was still sourcing for petrol for their operational vehicles at the Agency Headquarters.

CSP Jejeloye further stated that “We have had many instances where imposters carry out illegal activities and mention the name of Taskforce in the process thereby leading to people pointing accusing fingers at us. We have arrested a few of these imposters and we will keep doing so until they desist from tarnishing the image of the Agency”.


He further stressed that not all security operatives you see on Lagos Roads are attached to Taskforce. Officials of Taskforce are trained, enlightened, educated, professionals and equipped enough to distinguish between traffic offence and criminal offence. A traffic offence is not a criminal offence, as such, minimal or zero force has to be applied in carrying out the enforcement. “Enforcement all over the world is not a tea party and in most cases, it is not people-friendly, that is the reason Taskforce operatives do not get any support from passers-by during their operations rather what is always obtainable is little truths but massive lies against the agency”. Jejeloye said.


CSP Jejeloye stated that the officials of Taskforce assisted the victim to quickly get medical attention from Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) as part of our patriotic act and corporate social responsibility. ‘’Let me emphasise 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 officials of the Agency are being led by Senior Police Officers who are well trained and exposed. We are civilised, educated and professional to allow such incident happen during any of enforcement operation”. He stated.

Taskforce Chairman admonished all recalcitrant offenders that traffic offence is not a criminal offence, they should keep faith with the country’s Judicial system and summon the courage to submit self for the prosecution at the Court for the offence committed, it is better and cheaper for them to face the reality of the offence they committed, rather than being evasive or demonstrating insanity to escape arrest which is no longer acceptable to us. Nigerians are no fools.

Jejeloye advised members of the public to be vigilant, report any suspicious activities around them to the Agency and help the Agency in her drive to fish out fake policemen parading themselves as Taskforce officials.

He enjoined Lagosians to support the Agency in her efforts to instil discipline and achieve the State vision of zero tolerance for driving against traffic and other related offences. The task force was created to maintain law, order and sanity where there is none. Enforcement of traffic laws is not a tea party as the offender would do anything humanly possible to escape justice, and in the process, the offender can kill, maim and cause serious injury to innocent members of the public in his bid to escape from the scene.

Though the incident which occurred is highly unfortunate and regrettable, I would like to clearly state that it was not carried out by officials of the Lagos State Taskforce, in fact, we are too careful and professional to allow such operations to degenerate into that ugly incident. I would like to urge Lagosians, particularly the media practitioners to tow the line of best practices and verify their findings scientifically before publication. The use of Taskforce branded vehicle by the Punch Newspaper is misleading and a misrepresentation of facts. At this point in our Nation’s history, there is a need for us to be very careful in our reportage to avoid inciting members of the public against Government agencies. The Endsars impasse is still fresh in our memory and we must avoid a repeat of that ugly incident.

Gbadeyan Abdulraheem
Director, Press and Public Affairs
Lagos State Taskforce

BIG STORY

Court Remands Woman For Allegedly Stabbing Husband To Death In Ibadan

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An Iyaganku Chief Magistrates’ Court yesterday ordered the remand of a housewife, Olajumoke Olalere, 33, at Agodi Correctional facility, Ibadan, for allegedly stabbing her husband to death.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Olabisi Ogunkanmi, who did not take the defendant’s plea for lack of jurisdiction, ordered her remand pending the legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP).

She, thereafter, adjourned the case until March 5, 2025 for mention.

According to The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the police charged Olalere with a count of murder.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Akeem Akinloye, had told the court that the defendant on October 30, at 9.00 p.m. allegedly caused the death of her 39-year-old husband, Oluwasegun Tinubu.

Akinloye said the defendant allegedly stabbed her husband with a knife during a disagreement at their house, at Zone 5, Gbelu, Iyana – Agbala, Ibadan.

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BIG STORY

UPDATE: EFCC Grants Former Delta Governor Okowa Bail Over Alleged N1.3trn Fraud

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The Port Harcourt zonal command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has granted administrative bail to Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, a former governor of Delta State, over allegations of diverting N1.3 trillion in 13% derivation funds from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

Okowa was arrested on Monday, November 4, 2024, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, after reporting to the Port Harcourt Directorate of the EFCC at the invitation of investigators handling his case.

Sources confirmed that the former governor left the EFCC facility around 9 pm on Wednesday night.

A source under anonymity stated: “He left the facility at about 9 pm yesterday (Wednesday).”

“Okowa is expected to return soon to provide documents and answer more questions before the matter will be charged to court.”

The former governor is accused of failing to account for the 13% derivation funds, as well as an additional N40 billion, which he allegedly claimed to have used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Specifically, Okowa is said to have purchased N40 billion worth of shares in one of the country’s major banks, representing an 8% equity stake in the offshore LNG venture.

The funds are also alleged to have been diverted for other purposes, including acquiring properties in Abuja and Asaba, Delta State.

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BIG STORY

Oil Marketers Respond To Dangote Refinery Claims, Say SON, NMDPRA Certify Imported Petrol

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The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) certify the imported Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, that is imported into Nigeria, oil marketers have said.

They disclosed this on Thursday in response to claims by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery that off-spec petroleum products were imported into the country by dealers.

On Tuesday, the refinery informed Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited and other oil marketers that the deregulation of the downstream oil sector should not be used as a justification for the importation of off-spec petroleum products or the undermining of Nigeria’s national interests.

Oil marketers denied this claim on Thursday, with the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, Robert Dickerman, revealing that his firm signed a 13-year agreement with the Dangote refinery to distribute the refinery’s petroleum products through pipelines.

Dickerman pointed out that independent inspectors, NMDPRA, and SON, among others, “inspect our products, so we can’t bring in off-spec products into this country.”

His position was confirmed by SON, as an impeccable source at the agency told one of our correspondents that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria was involved in the testing of imported petroleum products.

The official added that the organisation operates its own laboratory facility to check if the commodities are off-spec or not.

“Yes, We are involved in the testing of petroleum products when they come into the country. We are involved in that. We have our laboratory facility where these tests are conducted. It’s to ensure if the commodities meet regulatory standards or off-spec,” the official said.

A major marketer also kicked against the claim that dealers import off-spec products into the country, particularly since the downstream oil sector was deregulated by the Federal Government.

“I once told you what we went through when we brought in our imported cargo of petrol. The product underwent a lot of laboratory tests. I know the NMDPRA carries out tests on imported products. They took a sample of our recent import when it was still in the mother vessel at Atlas Cove before it was moved to Apapa.

“At the point of discharge, they took the sample again before allowing us to put it in our tanks. The NMDPRA has certified laboratories that they use. We have our laboratory, but the NMDPRA will not allow you to do your test without them certifying the product by themselves.

“The testing is in three stages, the one in Atlas Cove when the vessel lands in Nigeria. When the product moves to your point of discharge, they will do another test before they allow it into your tanks and aside from that, the day you want to start loading they will carry another test,” the marketer, who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, Dickerman said the clarification became necessary to debunk the statement from the Dangote refinery, which accused Pinnacle of plans to blend substandard petrol in Nigeria.

The Dangote refinery had also said the Pinnacle MD approached it, pleading with the refinery to extend pipelines to its tank farms in order to blend substandard imported petroleum products with its ‘high-quality’ ones.

Reacting, Dickerman described the statement as defamatory, inaccurate, and intentionally misleading.

The managing director said it proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, saying pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country.

According to him, when the project was proposed to Dangote, it wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with Pinnacle Oil.

“On November 5, Dangote issued a Press Release titled, ’Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE: Our Stand’. It is unfortunate and deeply concerning that this release contained several statements that are defamatory, inaccurate and intentionally misleading. Further, it advocated a national policy that would cause severe economic damage to Nigerians by raising the cost of petrol above global market prices and higher than they are today.

“In our effort to further enhance distribution efficiency, we proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, as pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country. When we proposed this project to Dangote, they wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with us.

“In addition, Dangote facilitated our process of achieving regulatory approval by writing two Letters of No Objection to the regulator to enable our project to proceed. The agreement to allow us to interconnect our pipeline to them was agreed actually in 2022 and I think it was signed in early 2023. So it was about two years ago that we actually reached this agreement, and it was done very comprehensively, from a commercial and a legal standpoint,” Dickerman stated.

He narrated that a lot of processes had gone into the project since it was signed, including the engineering design for the pipelines, surveying, getting the right of way, and letters of no objections from anyone who could be affected by the pipeline.

“There’s a whole bunch of stages to a project. This is not unlike any other construction project. It’s a very simple and straightforward process. This was done first. There was never a hint that this was not a good deal for both parties ever. So, it’s just not true that they opposed it. It’s simply not true that they opposed it. They supported it,“ the Pinnacle boss stated.

This came as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited denied a video clip that claimed the oil firm was selling dirty fuel from an NNPC Retail outlet at Keffi Flyover.

“We have carried out spot checks at all our outlets and found this claim to be false. The product was not, and could not have been bought from any NNPC Retail outlet as the company does not dispense petroleum products into bottles or jerrycans as displayed in the video,” it said in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye.

It added, “NNPC Retail Ltd does not deal in adulterated products as it adheres to rigorous standards and quality control measures at every stage in its operations to ensure that only high quality, safe, and reliable petroleum products are available at its stations nationwide.

“Members of the public should discountenance the spurious claims made in the video and be wary of selfish and unpatriotic elements pushing such a narrative as they do not mean well for the country.”

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