Metro
Woman Commits Suicide Three Months after Boyfriend Did
An apprentice tailor in Lagos, Adenike Fatai, has committed suicide barely three months after her boyfriend, Bayo Atanda, reportedly did the same thing.
Fatai, who hailed from Kwara State, reportedly took a poisonous substance suspected to be sniper around 8.30pm, last Thursday.
The 25-year-old woman lived with her mother on Igbekele Street, Iyana Cele bus stop, Shibiri area of Lagos State.
City Round learnt that Fatai had been battling depression since her boyfriend, whom she was living with in Orile, a neigbouring community, reportedly took a poison and died.
It was gathered that family and friends of Bayo did not believe the photographer committed suicide, accusing Fatai of killing him. The accusation allegedly heightened the trauma Fatai was going through.
Although no suicide note was found in the room, our correspondent who visited Fatai’s Facebook page observed that her status updates revolved round death and depression.
On June 30, she bemoaned the loss of her boyfriend, who had died two weeks earlier.
She wrote, “How would you do this? Why! Adebayo Olaleye Atanda Peter; still can (can’t) believe this is happening to me. I can (can’t) even say goodbye to you. Ifemi, ayomi; may Almighty Allah forgive all your sins. Rest on!”
Less than a month after, on July 25, she took to Facebook to express how much she missed her lover stating that, “The saddest part in life is to say goodbye to someone you want to spend your lifetime with.”
“Feeling angry with myself,” she wrote in the comment section of the post with a friend appealing to her to stop thinking negatively.
The following day, she wrote, “Yaa Allah (Oh God); heal my heart, make it steadfast and make it strong enough to accept what you have destined for me.”
On August 15, she waxed philosophical quoting the late American journalist, Norman Cousins, who died of heart failure.
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live,” the post read.
She uploaded some pictures of herself in cheerful mood few days later. But on September 8, four days to the suicide, she posted the image of an archer ready to shoot an arrow, with a caption, “Ofa iku ojiji koni bae tomotomo (The arrow of death won’t strike you and your children).”
Speaking with City Round during the week, the deceased’s mother, Tawa, said she met her dead when she returned home from a prayer session that evening.
She stated, “That day, she finished cooking around 7pm and ate. She was outside after eating while I went to the mosque. Around 8pm, she came to the mosque to collect the key to our apartment and I told her to check the shop.
“On getting home some minutes after, I saw her lying on the floor with a bottle of sniper beside her. I called for help but it was late.”
Revealing the events leading to the relationship between the lovers, the mother said plans were ongoing to choose a date for their introduction.
She said, “She was learning tailoring in her sister’s place in Ikorodu. All of a sudden, her boss sent her away. She told me she had got another place to learn the vocation in Orile and that she would be living with a friend. I asked her to come and learn it at my place but she refused.
“Whenever I asked to see the friend, she would say she was not around. It was when I threatened to disown her that she told me she was living with her boyfriend. I tried to convince her that what she did was wrong, but she said the man’s (Bayo’s) house was close to where she was learning tailoring. I met with the man and he said he really wanted to marry her. He looked very gentle. We were planning the introduction when he died.
“On a Sunday around 11pm, my daughter called me and started crying on the phone. She said Bayo drank sniper. They took him to the Lagos Island General Hospital, but he died the following morning. That time, she said she would follow him and I tried to caution her.”
Tawa said Fatai became depressed and relocated to her sister’s house in Ikorodu, adding that she returned to her house after her condition had improved.
“I never thought she was thinking of suicide because she looked happy. Some clerics warned us that death was hovering around her and I prayed over it.
“I learnt she called somebody that evening and told the person that she wanted to go and meet Bayo and that she would drink sniper. I don’t know the kind of love she had for him.
“There was a day a friend of Bayo called her and accused her of killing him. I told her to ignore them. The mistake I made was that I should have changed her SIM card,” she added.
The deceased’s father, Idris, said, he did not know his daughter was battling depression as they hardly saw each other.
He stated, “Since her mother and I separated, I usually talked to her (Fatai) on the phone. Probably she would have told me what was bothering her if we had the opportunity of seeing each other.”
The deceased’s neighbour in Shibiri, where Fatai died, told our correspondent that she liked to be alone.
“I have observed recently that she rarely mingled with people, but I didn’t know she was contemplating suicide. It was so unfortunate,” the resident, who identified himself only as Sola, said, adding that the incident was reported at the Ojo Police Station.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, could not be reached for comment on the incident as calls to his mobile rang out.
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Metro
Ikorodu Security: CP Tijani Launches ‘Command Sweepers Squad’, Deploys Three LSSTF Refurbished APCs
In swift response to the recent security concerns emerging out of Ikorodu and its environs over the nefarious activities of some criminal elements that are tormenting places such as Ijede, Ginti, among others, the Lagos Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Tijani personally led a major show of Force across different part of Ikorodu to assert the dominance of the Police and other security agencies to thwart any crimes in the areas. This show of Force was also accompanied by the Inauguration of a special tactical security outfit codenamed ‘Command Sweepers’ Squad,’ which is a temporary intervention security outfit created to address the growing incidents of crimes and criminality within Ikorodu and adjoining areas, comprising of Command Tactical Teams, RRS, Lagos Taskforce, Eko Strike Force, 2 PMF, 22 PMF, and 63 PMF of the Lagos Police Command, alongside personnel from other sister security agencies and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), all working collaboratively to combat and stamped out criminality within Ikorodu and its environs. The Squad has been strategically deployed to identify black spots and criminal hideouts to carry out intelligence-led operations, raids, stop-and-search duties, and confidence-building patrols aimed at flushing out criminal elements and ensuring the safety of lives and property.
Top among the security equipment deployed for the show of force and the temporary Inaugurated ‘Command Sweepers’ Squad’ are the three (3) newly refurbished Armoured Personnel Carriers which were just handed over to the Lagos State Police Command by the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, LSSTF as well as Patrol vehicles.
While Inaugurating the ‘Command Sweepers’ Squad’, the Commissioner of Police, CP Tijani assured residents that the operation will be conducted professionally and in line with the rule of law, while urging members of the public to remain vigilant. He warned all criminally minded persons in Ikorodu and its environs to immediately pack their bags because his Command will not hesitate to decisively deal with them. Noting that the Command wasn’t resting on its oars, he revealed that the Squad will continue to patrol all nooks and corners in its bid to flush out all crimes and vices from the area.
Tijani assured law-abiding residents to continue supporting the Command with timely and credible information, through any of the emergency lines: 07061019374, 08065154338, 08063299264, 08039344870, and 09168630929.
He noted that this valuable information will enable the Police to effectively tackle crime and restore public confidence within the area. He also thanked the Executive Secretary/CEO of LSSTF, Dr Ayo Ogunsan for the logistics support including the 3 APCs which have enjoyed immediate deployment.
The Squad is strategically situated in Ijede to ensure swift deployment and easy access to all parts of Ikorodu and adjoining communities for effective crime prevention and rapid response operations.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja to set aside the judgment that voided the timelines it issued for the 2027 general elections.
The Commission also applied for the stay of execution of the judgment, pending the determination of its appeal.
In the notice of appeal dated May 25, which INEC filed through its team of lawyers led by Dr. Alex Izinyon, SAN, the Commission nine grounds it urged the appellate court to consider and vacate the judgment the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered on May 20.
Aside from its contention that the high court erred in law when it failed to determine a jurisdictional issue it raised, INEC maintained that the legal action the Youth Party (YP) initiated against it was not only hypothetical but academic.
It argued that failure of the trial court to make pronouncements on the issues, resulted in the denial of fair hearing to the Appellant.
More so, INEC insisted that the high court erred in law when it held that: “It is clear from the wordings of Sections 29(1), 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2026, the following can be understood. Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026 mandates Political Parties to submit the names of candidates in prescribed forms of the candidates who emerged from its valid primaries which such a political party intends to sponsor at the elections, not later than 120 days before the date of the General Election.
“What is required of Political Parties to do under the Electoral Act, 2026 is to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) 21 days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, days before the holding of its primaries, congresses or conventions, or any conference or meeting convened for the election of its executive committees, other governing bodies for nominating candidates.
“The Defendant is not mandated to impose a timeframe for political parties to conduct their primaries provided that it will be done and submitted not later than the 120 days provided by the Electoral Act, 2026. See Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026.”
INEC argued that the verdict of the trial court was against the weight of evidence placed before it by the parties.
Consequently, it prayed the appellate court for an order allowing the appeal and setting aside the judgment
The electoral body further urged the Court of Appeal to strike out YP’s case on the ground that it lacked the locus standi (legal right) to institute and maintain the action it said was merely academic.
Suspected bandits have reportedly invaded the Yashikira community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, early this morning, setting the Emir’s palace ablaze and abducting several residents, including women and children.
It was gathered that the attack occurred late at night when the heavily armed assailants stormed the community, firing sporadically.
According to sources in the area, the gunmen attacked the palace during the invasion, setting parts of the royal residence on fire before whisking away multiple victims.
Residents said the attackers operated for hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community.
Another local source described the incident as terrifying, noting that villagers were caught unaware as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
Sources say Security forces have launched immediate rescue operations to free victims of the Yashikira abduction, which occurred on Sunday night.
Military and police operatives have established a cordon in the area as part of the efforts to rescue about 10 persons who were reportedly taken from the community in an overnight attack on the palace of the Emir of Yashikira.
The police are yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
The development comes after bandits on Saturday night invaded a prayer ground at Ori-Oke Ajaiye, on the outskirts of Ikiran village in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, killing three worshippers and abducting 15 others during a vigil.
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