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Tortured Uber Driver Replies Lagos CP, Demands Arrest Of Rogue Cops, N500m Compensation

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Adedotun Clement, the Uber driver brutalized by security agents who fired tear gas canisters to disperse protesters during the #EndSARS memorial at the Lekki tollgate, Lagos State, has demanded the arrest and prosecution of the policemen who tortured him.

This was in response to a statement by the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, that the police could not take any action on his case because there was no official complaint before the command.

In a petition addressed to the commissioner on Monday, Clement, through his lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said the attack on him was a violation of the Police Act 2020.

While urging Odumosu to take action to remedy the violation of his rights “as guaranteed by Section 34 and 35 of the Constitution,” the victim demanded that disciplinary measures should be taken against the policemen.

The petition read in part, “Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to you as reported in The PUNCH Newspaper of Monday, October 25, 2021, in which you stated that you cannot take disciplinary actions against the police officers who tortured and pepper-sprayed our client because no formal complaint has been filed by our client.

“Since the assault was perpetrated publicly with video evidence in public circulation and widely reported, we expected that you would initiate disciplinary action based on the undisputed facts and evidence available to you. But since you have demanded a formal complaint, please take this petition as a formal complaint on behalf of our client.

“It is the brief of our client that on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, he was conveying a passenger to the Lagos Mainland, and on getting to the Lekki Toll Gate, he encountered traffic gridlock caused by the peaceful memorial protest in commemoration of the first anniversary of the #EndSARS protest.”

He stated that while Clement was waiting to pass the tollgate, pandemonium ensued after the police and the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps descended on protesters and fired tear gas canisters indiscriminately in order to disperse them.

“Following the pandemonium, coupled with the debilitating effect of the canisters which penetrated our client’s vehicle, our client and his passenger, like other motorists, road users, and the protesters had no choice but to abandon his vehicle and flee the contaminated scene for his safety.

“When the atmosphere became relatively calm, our client returned to retrieve his vehicle and continue with his business, only to realize that officers of the Nigeria Police Force and LSNC had towed his vehicle from the Lekki Toll Gate to an undisclosed location.

“Our client, as a law-abiding citizen, approached the officers of the Nigeria Police Force and LNSC, who were at the Lekki Toll Gate, to enquire about his vehicle. Rather than respond to our client’s enquiry, the police officers and LNSC officers, without any provocation, swooped on our client and subjected him to prolonged molestation, torture, intimidation, abuse, unwarranted dehumanization and degrading treatment,” the petition said.

Condemning the assault on the driver, Effiong noted that his client’s liberty had been violated.

He added, “Sequel to the foregoing, we hereby respectfully demand as follows: payment of the sum of N500m to our client as compensation for the gross violation of his fundamental rights by officers of the Nigeria Police Force; severe disciplinary measures should be taken against the police officers who attacked our client; culprits should also be prosecuted in court; a written apology to our client addressed to us for the violation of his rights.”

Odumosu told our correspondent that the command would look into the petition and deal with it based on its merit.

He said, “The case will be assigned to a team and if any officer is identified, the officer will go through our procedure as we are not going to circumvent our procedure.”

It was reported that the General Manager of LNSC, Ifalade Oyekan, after an orderly room trial, suspended two officers of the agency who were involved in the act.

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NDLEA Seizes Lipsticks Stuffed With Drugs At Lagos Airport [VIDEO]

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Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have uncovered another batch of female lipsticks containing illegal drugs at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, revealed this in a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) page on Sunday.

He also urged Nigerians, particularly women, to be extremely vigilant when purchasing or accepting beauty products, especially from unfamiliar sellers or dubious online platforms.

The statement read, Ladies beware! It does appear like female lipstick is becoming attractive as an instrument for concealment and trafficking now with yet another consignment of factory fitted female lipsticks stuffed with illicit substances intercepted at MMIA barely a week after @ndlea_nigeria officers uncovered a similar cargo at a courier company in Lagos.

Watch Video Here

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JUST IN: Former President Buhari Dies In London Clinic

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Former Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, passed away on Sunday.

His longtime media aide, Garba Shehu, confirmed the news in a brief statement issued on Sunday afternoon, stating that the former president died at a clinic in London.

Shehu’s message, distributed to the media, read:
“INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHIRRAJIUUN. The family of the former president has announced the passing on of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London. May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin.”

The statement concluded with the date: July 13, 2025.

Although the cause of death was not disclosed, Buhari, who held office from 2015 to 2023, had frequently sought medical care in the United Kingdom during and after his time as president.

Buhari, a retired Major General in the Nigerian Army, first led Nigeria as a military head of state from 1983 to 1985. Decades later, he was elected president through a democratic process. He made history as the first opposition candidate to unseat a sitting president in Nigeria.

Funeral plans have not yet been made public.

 

More to come…

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No Effective Governance Without Full Local Government Autonomy — Femi Gbajabiamila

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The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has stated that governance at the local government level cannot be effective without complete autonomy.

He made the remark while addressing journalists after voting in the Lagos State local government elections in Surulere on Saturday.

When asked about the progress of implementing the LG autonomy ruling by the Supreme Court one year after it was delivered, Gbajabiamila described the process as ongoing and said it would be completed with time.

Gbajabiamila said, “The ruling was welcome by everybody. It’s the execution of that ruling and the implementation of that ruling that we are still trying to dot the Is and cross the Ts.

“I believe in a matter of time, we will realise full autonomy. There cannot be effective governance without full autonomy. That’s what we are working toward.”

In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted autonomy to all 774 local government areas across the country following a case filed by the federal government through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation. However, the ruling is yet to be fully implemented.

Following the judgement, the Senate urged state and local governments to immediately adhere to the court’s directive, especially regarding local government accounts and direct fund disbursements.

The Senate also moved to amend relevant sections of the Constitution to ensure full local government autonomy nationwide.

The announcement was made by Deputy Senate President Senator Jibrin Barau, after lawmakers emerged from a closed-door session where they discussed alleged efforts by some state governments to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 11.

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