Patience Ogbo
Suspected thieves have emptied the
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account of Mrs. Akusinanwa Ugomma after stealing her
phone
Ugomma, a trader at the Isolo area of
Lagos State, has appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN to come to her aid
and help her to recover her N354,755,51, deposited at GTB, Isolo Branch, Lagos
State.
The sad woman has blamed GTB for her
present ordeal, insisting that if the bank had blocked her account when she
alerted them about the theft of her phone, she wouldn’t have lost her money.
Ugomma said that she had been
painstakingly saving all her earnings from her petty business, until it was
over N300, 000. The woman mentioned that the money was siphoned from her bank
account 0017028090 on July 11th.
She insisted that all efforts to recover
the money failed, while GTB management has blamed her for the entire situation.
When Ugomma realized that to get the money was becoming tougher than she expected,
she ran to the International Centre for Human Rights Non Violence and Safety
Awareness, a nongovernmental organization, soliciting for help.
Remembering how she lost her money, Ugomma
said: “It was on July 11, at about 2:30pm; I was in my shop and slept off. Someone
came in and stole my ‘Samsung J3’ mobile phone. When I woke up and noticed that
my phone was missing, I reported to GTB, Isolo Branch. At the bank, one of the
Customer Service Personnel named Stella, attended to me. I narrated how my phone
was stolen and demanded that my account be blocked immediately.”
Ugomma alleged that in spite of repeated
pleas that her account should be blocked, the Customer Service lady, Stella,
who she met, refused to heed her pleas.
“Stella insisted that I must formally
write a letter of authorization to the bank, instructing them to block my
account. She also said that I should report the case to the nearest MTN
office,” recalled Ugomma.
While this drama was going on, Ugomma
begged Stella to check if her money was still intact. Stella checked and
confirmed that the money was still there.
Ugomma said that she would have written
the letter, but didn’t go to the bank with her eye glasses.
“I cannot write without my medicated
glasses. I rushed out of my shop after discovering my phone had been stolen. I
pleaded with Stella to block the account temporarily; I didn’t want my money to
be withdrawn. Stella reassured me that my money was
still intact that nothing would happen to my money before I bring the letter,”
said Ugomma.
Ugomma left for MTN office at Ire-akari
road, Isolo, hoping to block her phone. Unfortunately MTN officials were on
strike.
She said: “I tried to use my ATM card
to withdraw but to my shock, I found out my money, N358, 000.00, had been
withdrawn. I returned to be bank to tell them I couldn’t withdraw. I was told
that my money had been transferred to five different banks; Skye Bank, Sterling
Bank, FCMB, Diamond Bank and Fidelity Bank. I was advised to report at the
nearest police station. I went to the Aswani Police Station. I was given
Bankers Order to take to the headquarters of the five banks.”
Ugomma, miffed, said that it’s been four
months now since the incident, and GTB had allegedly maintained a nonchalant
attitude towards her plight.
The Chief Executive Officer of
International Centre for Human Rights Non Violence and Safety Awareness,
Barrister Sarah Ene Unobe, petitioned GTB, accusing it of negligence,
conspiracy and stealing, criminal breach of trust and fraud. She insisted
that the bank must refund the stolen money and pay damages in the sum of
N5milion.
However, bank through its legal department,
in a letter dated October 4, signed by Barrister Florence Okoronkwo and Barrister
Onagite Efere absolved the bank of any blame.
The media consultant of GTB, Mr. Cornelius
Onuoha, when contacted over the allegation, stated that: “The bank cannot close
or block any account without the written authorization of the owner of the
account. So what did GTB do wrong?”
The bank’s legal representatives alleged
that Ugomma was being economical with the truth.
“Contrary to your allegation, your client,
Mrs Ugomma, was advised to provide the bank with written instruction to
enable the bank restrict her account, but she declined. Also, your client’s
account was neither checked by the customer service representative nor
was she given any assurance of the funds in her account being intact, considering
the fact that your client refused to speak with the bank representative.’’
Countering GTB, Unobe said: “GTB said Mrs
Ugomma did not speak with a customer service representative, and the same bank
is saying that she refused to write and place a call to the bank’s contact
Centre. We find it very interesting; who then told her to write an instruction
and place a call which they claimed she declined to do? Is there a ghost in
their bank? It’s obvious that GTB is covering this act and turning a blind eye
to conspiracy and negligence of its staff. We found out that Stella has been
transferred from the Isolo branch.”
Unobe demanded that an unedited CCTV
footage of July 11th and 12th 2018 be submitted to the Nigeria Police
Force for further investigation.”
It was further gathered that the
police have arrested and charged two men to court over the case. The accused are
Femi Isedowo, 21, and Ikechukwu Okon 22. The duo was alleged by the police to
have masterminded the theft of Ugomma’s phone and part of the money transferred
into their accounts.
Car
crushes sergeant in Lagos
…driver dies while relaxing inside bus
Taiwo Jimoh
A 32-year-old police sergeant, Asuquo Ekpenyong,
attached to Operations Department, Lagos State Police Command, has lost his
life after he was knocked down by a vehicle.
This was as a commercial driver died while relaxing in
his bus.
The incident occurred at Iyana Ejigbo bus stop
on Egbe Road, Ejigbo.
Ekpenyong was said to be on his way to office when
he was knocked down by the Spot Utility Vehicle (SUV) with registration number
LND 590DN.
The policeman was rushed to the Mainland General
Hospital by a team of traffic personnel and men of the Anti-Crime patrol,
who raced to the scene.
Ekponyong was later confirmed dead at the hospital
and the body was deposited at the mortuary.
Meanwhile, a commercial bus driver, Emeka James
(40), was said to be relaxing in his bus when he died.
The conductor, Conatus Amodike, told the police that
he and his boss were driving the bus when it suddenly developed fault.
Amodike said instead of leaving the bus on the road
they decided to push it to a filling station. Exhausted, the driver said he
wanted to rest in the bus.
“When I went to wake him up to continue with our
work, to my surprise, he had died. That was when I raised the alarm which
attracted the workers in the filling station.
“The manager of the fuelling station called the
Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Marogbo Police Station. The family was also
contacted and the body was later deposited at Badagry General Hospital,”
Amodike said.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CSP
Chike Oti, confirmed the incidents.
Oti said the police were still awaiting the autopsy
report of the driver who died in his bus.
He added: “Investigation is ongoing into the
accident that claimed the life of our officer.”
Admission seeker drowns fleeing from
police
Taiwo
Jimoh
A
25-year-old man, Anu Yusuf, an admission seeker has drowned while attempting to
escape from some policemen at the Isheri Community area of Ogun State.
Incidentally,
the police were not after Anu, but rather chasing after some hoodlums in the
community. But when Anu saw them, fearing the worse, bolted. He was alleged to
have jumped into a river and drowned.
The incident
was said to have occurred on November 29, around 12noon.
The
policemen were further alleged to have entered the community, to collect their
usual toll from an Indian hemp seller when the tragic incident happened.
According
to residents, just as the policemen were leaving, someone told them that some
‘bad boys’ were gambling in a particular building. The said building is
opposite to the home of Anu. The deceased’s house is also close to the river.
An eye
witness said: “ Anu came out at that precise time to wash his hands. He had
just finished eating his meal. He saw the policemen chasing the hoodlums. The
policemen mistook him to be one of the hoodlums and threatened to shoot him.
While he was explaining that he was not part of the hoodlums, one of the
policemen tried to grab him. Anu dived into the river, hoping to swim, but
instead drown.”
His
distraught father, Mr. Akeem Yusuf said:
“ I was not at home when the incident occurred. I was told that my son stepped
outside to wash his hands when he ran into the policemen. The policemen were
chasing some hoodlums in the community. My wife told me that the policemen came
to meet a man selling Indian hemp in the community. They were done with the
hemp seller and were on their out when someone pointed to the building, where
the hoodlums gambling.
“Immediately
the hoodlums saw the policemen, they took to their heels. It was in the process
of chasing them that they ran into my son, who was washing his hands. They threatened
to shoot him if he tried to escape. To avoid being arrested, he dived into the
river. Unfortunately he died in the process. Since then, we had been searching
for the remains of my son. My son was supposed to resume at Obafmi Awolowo
University, to study Mechanical Engineering, now I will never see my son anymore.
He was my best friend.”
A resident
of the area, who simply gave his name as Adebayo, said: “The death of Anu was
unfortunate. This is not the first time that policemen from ADIGBOLUJA POLICE STATION would enter
this community, to start chasing young, innocent people into river. The
deceased was not among those gambling. It was when Anu feared that they might
shoot him that he dived into the river. We waited outside throughout the night
hoping that the body would be washed back to the shore and we’re still waiting.”
Our
correspondent gathered that immediately the policemen realised that the
deceased had drowned, they bolted from the community, abandoning their
operational vehicle.
When the death
of Anu filtered into the community, some angry youths set the policemen
operational vehicle on fire.
Another
resident, who gave her name as Iya-Ibeji said: “ It’s tragic and painful for a
parent to lose his or her child in such a circumstance.”
She,
therefore, urged the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Illyasu to call
policemen from Adigboluja Police Station to order.
The Ogun
State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, when
contacted about the matter, promised to find out the fact of the matter and get
back to our correspondent. But as at press time, he was yet to do so.
I
couldn’t resist the money, says suspects arrested for hijacking
Taiwo Jimoh
Operatives of the Zonal Intervention Squad, Zone 2
Command, Onikan Lagos, have arrested two suspected armed robbers, who specialised
in snatching trucks on highways.
The suspects are Robert Mathew (29) and Saheed
Adeniran (30). They were arrested at Ikorodu area of Lagos State, after they
had snatched a truck from a driver at Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo
State.
The suspected armed robbers were said to have been
contracted by Alhaji Ahmed in Ikorodu to steal the truck head for him. He
promised to reward them handsomely if they succeeded.
According to Mathew, when Ahmed contracted him that
he needed a truck head, he moblised his gang members in Ibadan and they all set
out to Iseyin Road to search for trucks to snatch.
He narrated: “We were five in numbers that went for
the operation. We saw a driver and his conductor fixing something on his truck
along the roadside. We approached and dragged them to a nearby bush. We then
tied them to a tree. Thereafter, we drove the truck away from the scene to a safe
place. The following morning, we took the truck to Ahmed in Ikorodu.”
The police said that after the owner of the truck
came to lodge a report about the stolen truck, police detectives immediately
swung into action. The truck was tracked to Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
The police further said: “ We caught up with the
suspects just as they were about to deliver the truck to the Alhaji that
contracted them to steal it. Two among the suspects were arrested, while three
escaped. We, however, recovered the truck head.”
Mathew confessed that although he had been hijacking
trucks before, but he stopped sometimes in 2015. He, however, went bad to his
old ways after listening to the mouth-watering offer Ahmed made to them.
Recounting his part in the operation, Adeniran
explained that his role was mainly to drive stolen truck from any location
where it was snatched, to the contractor’s place, using fake documents.
His words: “Whenever a truck was snatched, those
that went for the operation would call me to come and help them to drive it to
the buyer’s place. That’s what I have been doing to earn money. Since I joined
the gang, I had driven two trucks for them; on each operation they paid me N35,
000 per operations. I stopped the working after I had accident while driving
one of the stolen vehicles to the buyer’s house in 2015.”
The truck driver, Mr. Baba Danladi, said he and
conductor were fixing something on the faulty truck when the suspects appeared
from nowhere and swooped on them.
“I and my conductor were heading towards Lagos from
Ibadan when the truck developed fault. We decided to park and fixed it. Suddenly,
these men alighted from a car and bundled us into a nearby bush. They tore our
clothes and used it to tie us to a tree. We were in the bush throughout the
night; it was some farmers who were going to farmer that rescued us. We then
went into Oyo town to report the incident to the police. I didn’t know that our
boss, the owner of the truck, had also reported the matter to the police at Abeokuta. Fortunately, the truck was tracked to Ikorodu
where it was recovered. The two suspects were arrested.”
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