Metro
Tragedy As Four Students Celebrating WASSCE Drown at Lagos Beach
Tragedy struck on Tuesday at the Elegushi Beach, in the Lekki area of Lagos State, after four teenagers drowned while swimming in the water.
PUNCH Metro gathered that 10 secondary school leavers, aged between 14 and 15, went to swim at the beach to celebrate the completion of their West African Senior School Examination.
They were said to be pupils of the Kuramo Senior College, Lekki.
The spokesperson for the Elegushi Beach Management, Chief Ayuba Elegushi, in a statement on Tuesday, said the pupils were not properly registered.
He noted that the incident happened at an unmanned section of the beach not open to the public.
He said, “We initially sent them away from the area of the beach they wanted to swim in. Then, they went to another place that was not for the public at all. It was the child of our kinsman, Abass, who took them from school to the beach and those kids followed him.
“They did not pay any gate fee to access the beach. Abass used the leverage that he was one of us to take them through another place.”
The victims were said to have raised the alarm as the water swept them away.
Elegushi said some life guards plunged into the water and brought out six of the pupils.
“Out of the six that were rescued, some escaped by the time we got there. We were able to arrest two of them and we took them to the Jakande Police Station.
“As of now, there are still four missing as our seamen have not been able to bring them out of the water. We have informed their parents and they have come to the police station.
“Abass is one of the missing kids. There is another boy we have not identified and two other girls,” he added.
The spokesperson said the two boys that were arrested told the police that they were chased from the beach before sneaking into the restricted section to swim.
He said, “They wrote in their statements that they were chased from the first section they went to. Abass told them that they should not worry and he would take them to another part of the beach. He took them to another end of the beach where no one could see them.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident, adding that investigation was ongoing.
He said, “The teenagers were from Kuramo Senior College, Lekki. Four of them are missing. They are two males and two females. Efforts are on to recover their bodies. We have yet to meet with the parents of the victims.”
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Waterways Authority, Saheed Adesanya, said he would confirm the incident and get back to our correspondent.
He had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
The Punch
An unconfirmed number of children have reportedly lost their lives in a stampede that occurred during a children’s carnival in Ibadan, the state capital, on Wednesday.
It was gathered that over 30 children lost their lives, with many others injured during the incident.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, confirmed that the stampede occurred at a private children’s funfair at Basorun Islamic High School after which the government swiftly mobilised a rapid response team.
The commissioner noted that victims had been swiftly transported to various hospitals within the Ibadan metropolis for medical attention.
While appreciating the Commissioner for Health, Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, for immediately activating all available response teams to assist at the scene, Oyelade said, “The state government will do all it can to support the victims of this tragic incident during this difficult period.
“The government was not involved in any planning, nor was the Ministry of Health asked to provide logistics for the private children’s end-of-year funfair.”
Oyelade, however, emphasised the importance of proper coordination when organising events of such magnitude, particularly those involving children and the elderly.
The commissioner indicated that they were awaiting a detailed report from the Commissioner of Police to clarify the total number of victims involved in this unfortunate incident.
“Parents who are concerned about the whereabouts of their children are urged to check the following medical facilities in Ibadan, where affected children have been taken for proper medical care, with valid means of identification:Patnas Hospital, Basorun; Western Hospital, Basorun; Ringroad State Hospital; Molly Specialist Hospital; and the University College Hospital, Ibadan.”
He extended the government’s deepest sympathies to the families affected by this tragedy, urging the public to remain calm as relevant information is gathered and necessary support arranged for the victims.
A businessman, Kehinde Balogun, has told a Mapo Grade A Customary Court in Ibadan to put an end to his 14-year-old marriage with his estranged wife Stella, on the grounds of adultery.
Balogun, a father of three, said with regrets that if he had known that Stella would bring him such an embarrassment, he would not have exchanged marital vows with her.
“My lord, I became completely frustrated when I found out that Stella was having extra-marital affairs with my plumber and I made her realise this.
“Then, she decided to move out of my house, packing my belongings with her and abandoning our three children,” Balogun said.
During cross examination, the petitioner said his wife did not catch him on their matrimonial bed with any woman.
He also denied sending her photographs to anybody.
However, Stella denied any wrong doing, stating that one of her friends had told lies against her.
“That friend of mine had told Balogun that I’ve been sleeping around and he consequently began to react to me negatively.
“He turned me into a punching bag and stopped sleeping in the house.
“Later on, Balogun started sending my photographs to his woman-friend.
“My lord, he has remarried with my three children in his care and they are not properly catered for,” Stella told the court.
Delivering judgment, the court’s President, Mrs. S.M. Akintayo, pronounced the marriage dissolved on the ground that both Balogun and Stella were no longer willing to continue with the union.
Akintayo granted an order restraining Stella from harassing, disturbing, threatening and interfering with Balogun’s private life henceforth.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has carried out its largest single-day operation against cryptocurrency and romance scam networks, arresting 792 suspects in Lagos.
The EFCC Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed during a press briefing that the operation, conducted at a seven-storey building known as the Big Leaf Building at No. 7, Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, led to the apprehension of 193 foreign nationals, including 148 Chinese, 40 Filipinos, two individuals from Kharzartan, one Pakistani, and one Indonesian.
He said the raid followed months of surveillance and intelligence gathering on the syndicate’s activities.
Uwujaren described the building as designed to mimic a corporate financial headquarters, was allegedly used to train Nigerian recruits in romance and investment scams.
The official said the investigators found the building equipped with high-end desktop computers, and over 500 SIM cards were recovered from just one floor.
He stated that the syndicate reportedly recruited Nigerian youths with advanced computer skills, training them for two weeks on impersonation techniques to target victims in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
Uwujaren explained that the recruits created fake online profiles to lure victims through platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram. Once trust was established, victims were directed to a fraudulent investment platform, ‘www.yooto.com’, where activation fees started at $35.
He revealed that the Nigerian recruits were unaware of the full scope of the operation.
“They worked under the supervision of foreign syndicate members and were paid either in cash or through personal accounts without formal employment contracts.
He noted that after securing victims, the recruits were cut off from the operation while the foreign kingpins completed the scams.
The director pointed out that the recovered items included desktop computers, mobile phones, laptops, and vehicles.
He revealed that the EFCC has obtained statements from the suspects and screened their devices, noting that all suspects are being detained under a valid remand warrant, with plans to arraign them in court soon.
Uwujaren highlighted the international nature of the crime, stressing the role of foreign nationals in exploiting Nigeria’s reputation and contributing to global fraud.
“This operation shows that the notion that Nigerians are solely behind these frauds is incorrect. Foreigners are leveraging our unfortunate reputation to establish criminal enterprises,” he said.
“The EFCC is collaborating with foreign partners to ensure that the arrested individuals face justice.
“There will be no hiding places for criminals in Nigeria,” he added.
