An 80-year old landlady and her grand daughter have been remanded in prison on the order of an Ebute-Meta Magistrate’s Court, Ebute Meta, Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria.

The grand mother, Oyebo Iyaro, the landlady of house 10, Akoronfayo Street, Mile 12, Lagos and her grand daughter, Taiye Ajeisi, 23, were sent to Kirikiri prison for allegedly causing the death of their tenant, Adeshina Raheed, 36 and his six month old son, Fuaad Adeshina Rasheed by setting fire on the ceiling of their apartment which burnt them to death.

The landlady and her grand daughter, it was gathered, allegedly committed the act on 19 January, 2011 at about 1.00 a.m.

They were arraigned before the court on a four count charge of conspiracy, arson, and murder, by detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, Lagos State.

The offences, according to Sergeant Ishiaku Babaji, the prosecuting police officer are punishable under section 324, 319 (1) and 443 (a) of the criminal code cap C 17 vol. 11, law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.

The landlady and her grand daughter were alleged to have killed the deceased by setting the one room apartment occupied by the deceased on fire.

It was gathered that it was only the one room apartment of the deceased that was gutted by fire among the 10 rooms in the building.

Prior to the time of the incident, it was gathered that the landlady and her grand daughter had fought with the late tenant’s wife and the case was settled at a police station in the area, where they were told to maintain the peace.

The count two of the charge against them reads: “That you Oyebo Iyaro and Taiye Ajeisi and others at large on 19 January, 2011 at about 01 a.m at 10, Akoronfayo Street, Mile 12, Lagos in the Lagos magisterial district, did unlawfully kill Adeshina Rasheed aged ‘36’ by burning him to death and there by committed an offence punishable under section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code Cap. C 17 vol. 11, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.”

Count three of the charge against them reads: “That you Oyebo Iyaro and Taiye Ajeisi and others at large on 19 January, 2011 at about 01 a.m at 10, Akopronfayo Street, Mile 12, Lagos in the Lagos magisterial district, did unlawfully kill Adeshina Rasheed, aged six months old by burning him to death and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code Cap. C 17 vol. 11, laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.”

And count four reads: “That you Oyebo Iyaro, Taiye Ajeisi and others now at large on the same, time, date and place in the aforementioned magisterial district did willfully and unlawfully set fire on the one room apartment belonging to Adeshina Rasheeed through the ceiling and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 443 (a) of the Criminal Code cap C 17, Vol. 11 laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.”

They pleaded not guilty but their plea was not taken.

The magistrate of the court, Mrs. J. Ugbomoiko ordered that they should be remanded in prison custody, pending the outcome of the advice by Directorate of Public Prosecution.

The matter has been adjourned till 29 April, 2011.

An American citizen Bishop Abiodun Mayungbo, at the weekend said no fewer than 380 Nigerians are being deported by the United States government every week over various offences, ranging from lack of relevant travelling papers, illicit trade and other offences.

He said the American government has made available an aircraft that would carry all those who violate the country’s regulation on immigration to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, saying despite the humiliation, many young Nigerians still travel abroad without the necessary papers.

Although the cleric agreed that the nation’s economy is bad, he said it’s growing. He said that there is still hope, adding that there was no need for youths to be hell bent on traveling, even when there are better opportunities for them in the country.

Mayungbo, who is the founder of Bible Life Holiness Church in Ibadan, made the revelation at the weekend during a news conference he addressed on his latest book, entitled “How to live well abroad.”

The cleric, who said he was one of the first set of Nigerians who won the USA Visa Lottery in 1994, frowned at a situation where hundreds of Nigerians are being deported from foreign countries over various offences.

He urged the government to intensify public campaigns that would discourage young Nigerians from travelling abroad in search of greener pasture.

“I believe if young people must travel they must have relevant immigration documents, so that they would not go out there to mess themselves up,” he said.

The cleric said: “There should be a forum to inform young people and guide them about travelling abroad. They should be told that there are no jobs abroad. They should think of what they can do here rather than travelling abroad for jobs that are not available.”

Mayungbo noted that having travelled widely, the book was his contributions to guide Nigerians who are bent on travelling abroad on what it takes to live well abroad without running into trouble. “

culled from the Daily Sun

United Airlines begins Nigeria-US flight

Nigeria's minister of aviation, Fidelia Njeze, and delegates from United Airlines, an international carrier from the United States of America, have officially announced the commencement of flight operations by an additional airline on the Nigeria-USA route..

Describing the development as an "accomplished mission" for the federal government of Nigeria, Ms. Njeze disclosed that the entry of the new United States carrier into the Nigeria aviation industry depicts mutual understanding between both countries after the signing of the open skies treaty.

"This is mission accomplished for us in the ministry and for Nigerians," she said during a briefing at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos on Wednesday.

"What we are witnessing started some years ago, which led to the coming in of Delta Airlines; and this marks the Nigeria-United States agreement of open skies signed in 2001."

The aviation minister disclosed that Nigeria will continue to work with the United States government to enhance development in the sector, adding that the arrival of United Airlines will boost services on the route.

"Nigeria will always be a strategic and economic partner of the USA, and for this reason I hereby formally announce on behalf of the federal government, the arrival of United Airlines to Nigeria," she said.

Making Lagos a hub

Speaking on the development, Richard Aisuebeogun, managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, said that the federal government is making efforts to ensure that the Lagos international airport becomes a hub in Africa, adding that the airline is welcomed to Nigeria.

"This shows progression and it drives at making Nigeria, especially Lagos airport, a hub in Africa," he said. "We have the market, the number and the business, so we welcome United Airlines and we want to assure you that soon your frequency will be increased."

Expressing thanks to the federal government through the ministry of aviation, Charles Duncan, president of the carrier, reiterated that the addition in the number of carriers on the route will promote trade, improve cultural ties and development passenger services.

"I am grateful to the aviation minister and all of our partners here who made launching the new service to Washington possible," he said. "This service will facilitate stronger commercial and cultural ties between the United States and Nigeria, while making travel more convenient and more accessible to our customers in Africa and the Americas."

United Airlines brings the number of carriers flying to the United States from Nigeria to three after the country attained the much coveted Category One Status in August this year from The United States Federal Aviation Administration (US FAA). The other airlines on the Nigeria-US route are Delta Airlines and Arik Air, an indigenous carrier.

At least 80 people have died in Jos, the Plateau State capital, since a series of bombs went off in the city over the weekend. The death toll initially put at 32 has increased with many of the injured dying from their wounds.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday confirmed that it has recovered 80 bodies, many from the streets. Daniel Balarabe Gambo, the Agency’s deputy director of operations said statistics from five hospitals show that about 180 people injured in the blasts were receiving treatment.

The Special Joint Task Force has paraded three persons arrested at the abattoir and Dutse Uku area of the state allegedly trying to plant a fresh bomb at the back of a Baptist Church building at Nasarawa Gwong.

The three are also accused of complicity in last Friday’s bomb blast as dynamites and other explosive substances were found in their possession. The Task Force said they have been handed over to the police for further investigation.

The officials also recovered three bottles of petroleum bombs, some quantity of fertiliser, bottles of dynamites, live ammunitions, rifles, bows and arrows. A few of the suspects ran away on sighting security operatives..

The commander of the Task Force, Hamza Haruna, a Brigadier General, said the bombs were intercepted when the owners were trying to plant them. The Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, Abdulrahman Akano, said a total of seven explosives were discovered to have been planted in two separate areas of the state capital.

He said the police and other security agencies are determined to get to the root of the matter and are already in possession of some leads that will unmask the culprits.

Mr. Akano said the dynamite and about 100 match boxes recovered from one of the places combed by men of the bomb unit are now being analysed.

A sad occurrence

Oluseyin Petinrin, Air Chief Marshall and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has promised that the federal government will make sure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Mr. Petinrin who spoke in Jos yesterday when he visited Kabong, Gada Biu the place where the first bomb was exploded, spoke in Pidgin English.

He said the dastardly act was condemnable. ``Dis kin tin way happen e dey sadden everybody. Even for Abuja, everybody is unhappy. We commiserate with you, because this is your community, some of the people wey die some of them na una relations and so on.

“By the grace of God, we will get to the bottom of this thing, but these people (perpetrators) e get wetin dem wan achieve.

“Wetin dem wan achieve be say we start to fight each other for Nigeria, if we say we go start to attack oda people, you are just attacking innocent people,’’ he said.

He appealed to the people to remain calm and assured them that the security agents would unearth the perpetrators of the act.

“The way you can help government to quickly get to the bottom of this thing is to be calm, go about your normal business and do not try to retaliate. When you retaliate, you will be retaliating against innocent people. You do not know the people who did this thing. It is possible they are not even from Jos, so let us get to the bottom of it first and I know you can help,’’ he said.

National tragedy

Meanwhile, some groups have described the bombings as “barbaric and a national tragedy.’’ The groups, The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), Movement for Islamic Cultural Awareness (MICA) and Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA, condemned the attack.

In a statement, MURIC Director, Ishaq Akintola, said the group was deeply disturbed by `` the use of terrorist tactics like bomb explosions to settle scores. This is a dastardly act. It is barbaric, inhuman and insane. The perpetrators are unpatriotic and unscrupulous elements bent on turning Nigeria into a wide battle field.’’ The group appealed to religious and tribal leaders in the affected area to call their followers to order and ensure that everything necessary was done to avoid further bloodshed.

In the same vein, Muslim media practitioners in a statement by Abdurrahman Balogun, chairman of the group, called on the authorities to fish out the perpetrators of the killings and bring them to book without further delay.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), quoted the MICA Coordinator in Abuja, Abdulbasit Bakare, as saying ``It is sad that ethnic and religious rivalry in Plateau State has degenerated into deep ethnic hatred and killings of innocent people. This dangerous trend must stop forthwith.’’ Ahmed Popoola, National President of UNIFEMGA also condemned the bombings and urged leaders of all sectors to refrain from making inflammatory statements.

``The people of Plateau must learn to live together in harmony, embracing one another for the sake of themselves and to ensure peace and stability without which meaningful progress would be unattainable, ‘’ he said.

State of emergency

The Patriotic Alliance of Nigeria (PAN), yesterday called on the government to declare a state of emergency in Plateau State.

Maxi Okwu, the group’s coordinator said there was need for the government to treat the incident as a serious breach of national security.

“We can no longer afford to fold our arms while reckless individuals turn the nation into carnage of sorts. No one is safe and if care is not taken, Nigeria will soon become like some countries where bombs are being detonated everyday and lives lost’’ Mr Okwu said.