An 18-year-old Lagos-based apprentice, Segun Thomas, has been rescued from a 65-year-old suspected ritualist, Akorede Lawal in the Ore area of Ondo State by the personnel of the state security outfit codenamed Amotekun.
It was gathered that the victim left his home in the Mushin area in Lagos State that faithful day for his training mechanic workshop but later found himself in Ore, Ondo state after he assisted an elderly man to carry his bag.
The suspect, a herbalist, who has been arrested by the security outfit reportedly hypnotised the victim immediately he handed over his bag to him to help him carry and was following him sheepishly.
While the bag was with the victim, he began to divulge personal information about his family as the suspect kept probing him.
After the victim had informed the suspect that his father lives abroad, he was asked to call him and to request money urgently.
He reportedly regained his consciousness after the suspect had gotten enough information from him and the bag was collected from him on getting to Ore, in Ondo state.
The victim after regaining his consciousness discovered he was not in Lagos state but in Ore, Ondo state.
An argument ensued between the victim and the driver of the commercial vehicle when he was asked to pay his transport fare.
On interrogation, the victim said he lost his consciousness immediate he offered a helping hand to the suspect.
The drivers and other motorists reportedly invited the men of the Intelligent Unit of the security outfit and the suspect was arrested.
Items reportedly found in the bag include two daggers, a Calabash with black soap, an animal horn, charms, six Mobile phones, a diary with telephone numbers and a radio
Speaking with newsmen at the office of Amotekun, the victim said he lost consciousness immediate he agreed to help the old man to carry his bag.
“On my way to the shop, I met this man that said I should help him to carry his bag that it was too heavy for him since he was carrying another bag.
“I took the bag from him, hoping he will soon get a vehicle that would take him to his destination. But helplessly, I found myself following him. He asked me about my parents and I realized I was answering him and was responding to all his questions.
“He asked me to place a call to my father who is living abroad to request money. I agreed to that and we got to Ojota.
“We entered vehicle going to Ore.
When we got to Ore, the driver asked me to pay my transport fare.
“lt was when he took the bag from me that I regained my memory and realized that I’m already in Ondo state.
“An argument broke out which attracted the attention of the Amotekun men who eventually rescued me from the man.
The suspect said he was an ex- herbalist and denied hypnotising the victim after he helped him to carry his bag
The State commander of Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said “Men of our Intelligent unit posted around motor parks in Ore noticed some funny behaviour between the young man and the suspect.
“On questioning, they found out that the boy did not know how he got to Ore. As far as the boy is concerned, he thought he was in Lagos.
“On interrogation, we realized he has debriefed the boy and found out his father lives abroad and asked the boy to call his father to send money while being hypnotised.
“He was brought to the headquarter and we got a clue that his mother lives in Lagos and placed a call to her.
Adeleye advised parents to teach their wards to abstain totally from strangers.
“Yes, we were thought to render helps to the elderly, but nowadays it has become the other way round in our society today.
“Somebody respectfully assisted an elderly person not knowing he is a spiritualist. I think our children should be wary of visitors and be mindful of who they assist.
Adeleye added that the suspect will soon be charged to court.
The 42-year-old mother of the victim, Mrs Rashidat Babatunde who lives with her four children in No 5. Sewumi street Mushin, Lagos State said, “I got a call at about past three from somebody that said he was calling from Amotekun.
“I told the person that I don’t know what they call Amotekun and that and I have not been to Akure before.
He said my son who left home at about 9 am for where he was receiving training as a mechanic was found in Ondo state. Honestly, I was confused.
“I was directed to go to Ojota and board a vehicle to Akure and that when I get to Akure, I should ask of Amotekun headquarters.
“I want to thank the Corps for such an unbelievable gesture which rescued my son from his captor.
The food vendor added that “I was not charged in any way, my son was handed over to me peacefully. I say kudos to the Ondo state government for setting up such an agency that is reliable and dependable”.Lagos Continues Crackdown on Blackspots, Warns Occupants
Lagos State Government, through the state Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, has discovered an illegal storage and scrap yard at the backyard of a two-storey building being used for nefarious activities in the Ikorodu area of the state.
Meanwhile, Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tunji Bello, at a Three-day Management Retreat organised by the ministry with the theme: “Drainage Management in Lagos State, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” at the weekend, reiterated the commitment of the state to continually enhance productivity and boost the morale of members of staff from time to time.
On the illegal scrap yard, LASEPA General Manager, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, who disclosed this after the enforcement exercise, however, warned property owners to desist from letting out their facilities for illegal activities contrary to personal use claim or face the wrath of the law.
According to Fasawe, the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law of 2017, Section VI, subsections 181, 182,183, 185 prohibit individual or group from discharging into the environment any untreated waste or chemical substances listed in any Federal and State law in force, except by regulations made under the law and Federal law.
She explained that the discovery followed the anonymous call received from concerned residents about the unfriendly environmental activities taking place at Salvation Avenue, off Ikorodu, Owode Onirin Lagos and negative attendants on the lives of residents if not timely curbed.
Fasawe said: “Our team, on the first visit were refused entry and could not access the property due to strong resistance from the security guards who claimed the premise was private property and unavailability of occupants at the time of visit. Our conduct is guided by world best practices and thus, posted an abatement notice to invite the property owner or concerned person which was flagrantly ignored.
“We, however, discovered during our second visit, that the building, located atop an expanse of four plots of land with a valid address, housed an illegal scrap yard that engages in nefarious activities such as storage of unwholesome processed foods, re-packaging of drugs and juice drinks, improper destruction of expired drugs, chemicals, recycling of metals as well as dismantling of electrical and electronics waste within the premise.
“It’s worrisome to note that people operate unlawfully in a residential environment unchallenged by neighbours. Individual selfish interests must not be allowed to supersede communal benefits. We must be mindful of who we are allowing into our neighbourhood and the consequences of our actions on society. “
Fasawe stressed that all expired drugs, chemicals as well as e-waste materials must be treated and recycled in a sustainable environment before disposal into the environment. “To protect our earth, from manmade disaster, report all unlawful conducts to the authority for timely intervention.”
LASEPA boss added that the law empowers the agency to use the provision of the law on flagrant polluters, even as she urged all e-waste recycling operators to ensure they are register and accredited by her agency as there would be no hidden place for illegal operators in the state.
Bello, speaking at the retreat, added that the state government had prioritized capacity building as well as the issue of welfare of staff, affirming that the theme of the retreat was very significant as it is consistent with the vision to ensure inclusive growth, stating that social engineering has become imperative whereby drainage designs must have positive impacts on the society as a whole.
He explained that it was high time residents’ engineers from the ministry work closely with the council Chairmen and authorities on how to embrace drainage maintenance, stressing that they needed to be enlightened always that maintenance of tertiary drainages in their areas are their responsibilities while primary and secondary drainage maintenance are the responsibilities of the state government.
According to him, “The ministry needs to integrate local government in the drainage maintenance activities. The truth is without council buy-in, we cannot achieve the desired maintenance of our tertiary drainages, which explains the reasons why their inputs are being sought for continuous drainage maintenance sustainability”.
Bello commended the efforts of the Emergency Flood Abatement Gangs (EFAG) of the Ministry for consistently de-silting and working on various linkages to the secondary and primary channels in all the 57 Local Government and Local Council Development Areas throughout the year to enable them to discharge efficiently and regularly.
The Special Adviser on Drainage and Water Resources, Engr. Joe Igbokwe stressed that the theme will lay a strong foundation for the future development of the state.
