OPC KILL 7-MONTH PREGNANT WOMAN IN A SHOOT-OUT WITH VANDALS IN LAGOS

A seven-month pregnant lady, identified as Mrs. Damilola Fajana, who got married last year, was shot and killed during the battle between oil vandals and members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), guiding the oil pipelines.

She was cut in the cross fire between the OPC and the vandals, who wore army camouflage uniforms and red bandana.

An eye witness said: “She was shot on the neck and lost consciousness. A man driving in his own car saw her and tried to take her to hospital, but OPC men prevented him. It took the intervention of a policewoman before OPC allowed her to be taken to hospital. She was however rejected at the private hospital she was taken to. She died on the way to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).”

Residents in the area explained that the vandals who stormed the community in a commando style, came on a reprisal attacked, to avenge the killing of one of their colleagues. The said colleague was allegedly killed by the OPC guarding the pipelines on Sunday.  

The reprisal attack started on Monday, but snowballed on Wednesday, leading to the shooting and instant death of Damilola. The deceased was said to have been killed, as the vandals, shot sporadically, making their way to the shore of the river.

Another resident said: “The lady killed was a lawyer. She was returning from the hospital, where she went to visit his husband who had been on the sick bed for some days, when they killed her. She woman was   making a U turned to her resident at Duru Street, Beach land Estate, when the unfortunate bullet hit her on the neck.”

Another resident of the area, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the vandals started screaming as their gun fire rocked the community.

The resident continued: “They screamed that they didn’t want OPC in the community. They said they were comfortable with mobile policemen attached to the area. After shooting for a while, they went straight to the security post and set it ablaze. Due to the incessant attacks in the area, some of the landlords had packed out of their buildings, relocating to other areas.”

POLICE ARRESTED A SUSPECT FOR ALLEGEDLY ROBBING RESIDENTS WITH A TOY GUY

Operatives’ of Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have arrested one man, Stanley Ifeanyi Okorie, 20, for allegedly robbing residents of a Lagos Street with a toy gun.  

According to source, the luck ran out against him and his gang when they were stopped by operatives of Satellite Police Station for routine check.

On realizing that Stanley was holding a toy gun, his accomplice, Chijoke ran away. The police arrested Stanley on finding the ‘gun’ on him and transferred him to SARS for investigation.

Stanley, who said he resides at 44, Orege Street, Dustbin bus stop in Ajegunle, said: “I completed my secondary school education in 2008. When my mother died, my father had stroke and died a month after. There was no money for me to continue with my studies and take care of my sisters – Nneka and Tochukwu – and my brother, Chinedu. When a woman from my town wanted to go to Lagos, I followed her to Iyana-Ipaja, where I met a friend, Chijioke, who lured me into armed robbery.”

On the Badagry Expressway operation, he said: “Chijioke and I entered a house and found out that the man, his wife and children were sleeping. Chijioke told me to open the man’s door to enable us enter and operate. The moment I opened the door, the man rushed me, grabbed me and started punching me while the wife was shouting “ole, ole, ole” (thief, thief, thief). Her shout attracted neighbours who joined in beating me. I escaped but the Satellite police on patrol caught me and later transferred me to SARS.

“I had operated four times before I was arrested. The first one was at Igando where we got N13,000 cash and handsets. The second operation was also at Igando where we got three Nokia phones and N15,000. The third was at Agbara where we got N25,000. The fourth was in Lekki where a woman went and withdrew money from the bank; we went after her and collected it. Chijioke did not tell me the amount.

“We don’t use gun to kill. I use toy gun. After operations, I tie victims’ hands and legs to prevent them from pursuing us. We also tie their mouths to stop them from raising the alarm. Chijioke uses locally made gun to distract people who want to pursue us after operation.”

I BECAME BLINDAFTER TAKING "OGOGORO" LOCAL GIN.......ODE-IRELE;S NERO-TOXICITY SURVIVOR SAID

One of the survivors of the Ode-Irele methanol poisoning, Mr. Olorunwa Jero, yesterday, recounted his ordeal in the throes of death.

The victim commended the teaching hospital for its timely medical intervention which he said saved his life. Said; “By the time I was brought here, I had gone blind. I could not identify my wife, I could not identify anything. I did not even know when I arrived here. “But I thank God and the management and staff of University College Hospital, UCH, for bailing me out. I can see all of you here clearly. I can even identify the clothes each one of you is putting on”.

 Meantime, UCH management, yesterday, confirmed that five victims of Ode-Irele methanol poisoning were responding to treatment. The victims were said to have taken the methanol while consuming a local gin. Confirming that the toxin was detected in the blood and urine of the victims, Professor Temitope Alonge, Chief Medical Director, UCH, said the five victims were transferred to the teaching hospital on April 18 adding that they had regained their lost sight as a result of taking the chemical.

Alonge, who said this while speaking with newsmen in Ibadan, warned people to be wary of taking local gin so as to avoid s similar unpleasant experience.

According to the CMD, series of tests were carried out on the victims and the samples of the three drinks they took.

The medical practitioner said: “On April 18, the Consultant Pathologist with the Ondo State Ministry of Health, Dr. Osasan, called to seek the assistance of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, in the management of five patients who survived the Ode-Irele neuro-toxicity saga who were completely blind.

‘’We agreed to take over the management of the patients but requested for the samples of the local gin that were incriminated along the fresh blood and urine samples of the patients. ‘’I contacted the consultant neurologist on call, Dr. Steeve Oluwole for a comprehensive evaluation of the patients because of the clinical presentation of the patients that had died and the ones that survived since they all pointed to neurotoxicity".

’In addition, the clinical pharmacologists led by Professor Catherine Falade, the laboratory scientists and specialists advisers to the hospital, Professor Segun Ademowo, were all contacted for the biochemical analyses of the blood of these patients as well as the urine in addition to the three samples of local gin that was reportedly consumed by the patients. He added that all the relevant health personnel worked for almost two weeks before they detected the likely cause of the neurotoxicity exemplified by sudden blindness and correlated their findings with the toxicants in the blood, urine and the local gin samples.

Culled from Vanguard.