'DREAM WOMAN' : HOW JANET JACKSON'S MARRIAGE WAS DOOMED FROM THE BEGINNING (PHOTOS)

The photographs were eye-catching, to say the least. Dressed head to toe in billowing black clothes — an oversized poncho, baggy trousers and a hood that covered her hair — singer Janet Jackson was almost unrecognisable as she strolled hand-in-hand with her husband, Wissam Al Mana, in London in October.
Gone were the thigh-high boots, skimpy skirts and cleavage-baring tops of her heyday. Instead, not an inch of flesh was visible as 50-year-old Janet, then six months’ pregnant with her first child, gazed pensively into the distance.
Bemused fans took it as evidence that Janet’s makeover, from raunchy singer to modest mum-to-be, was complete.

So dramatic was her image overhaul — and her new, low-key lifestyle since marrying Qatari-born Wissam, now 42, in 2012 — that there was even speculation she had converted to Islam to appease her stanchly religious other half (though her so-called ‘Muslim dress’ was later revealed to be £1,000 designer menswear from Adidas).

Since the couple’s son, Eissa, was born on January 3, Janet’s low-key way of life has continued.
Friends say the multi-millionaire ‘absolutely loves’ motherhood and has parted company from her son just twice: once to buy baby clothes, three weeks after he was born, and to indulge in some retail therapy with her mother, Katherine, and eldest sister, Rebbie, who were visiting last month.

Bizarre though her transformation appeared, it looked like Janet — notoriously unlucky in love, having been married and divorced twice — had finally found happiness.
‘I thought I was jinxed,’ the singer said after her second marriage broke down. ‘Maybe marriage isn’t for me? Maybe it’s my fault it never works.’
Now, it seems that jinx has struck again. Yesterday, a friend of the couple revealed that the marriage is over: ‘Sadly, Janet and Wissam have decided that it wasn’t working and to go their separate ways.’

There was even speculation she had converted to Islam to appease her stanchly religious other half
The separation is amicable, it was claimed, with Janet planning to stay in London to look after Eissa, and Wissam returning to his business ventures in New York and Qatar.
‘They’re both busy people, but determined to be good parents, even if they’re apart,’ the friend said.
Yet, last night, a very different picture began to emerge, of an apparently controlling, unhappy marriage, from which Janet has been desperate to escape for some time.

Sources say a clash of cultures has driven Janet and Wissam apart, made worse since the birth of baby Eissa, over whose upbringing and day-to-day care they disagree.
While Janet is keen to be a hands-on mother, Wissam, a wealthy businessman with £800 million to his name, has strict views on how his son should be brought up, and has hired round-the-clock staff to wait on his wife and child in their Belgravia home.
The baby has never been seen in public, and Janet was reportedly forbidden from leaving the house while she was nursing. Wissam, too, has disappeared from sight.

Indeed, those photographs last year mark the last time the couple were seen together. But even they do not hark back to happier times.
‘Janet thought he had become too controlling during the pregnancy,’ explains the source.
‘She had already allowed him to dictate her appearance and even the way she performed at concerts. It drove her crazy, and she felt she was losing her fan base.’
Janet’s performances have, certainly, in recent years, been much toned-down versions of her usual displays — or cancelled entirely.

But the final straw, it seems, came last month when Janet’s 86-year-old mother was forced to return to Los Angeles after a two-month stay with the couple.
Katherine, the long-suffering matriarch of the Jackson family, is embroiled in an unpleasant court case against her nephew-in-law and former driver, Trent, whom she claims has been bullying and spying on her with hidden cameras in her LA home.
She came to England in February to meet her new grandson, but also to seek reprieve from the campaign of abuse to which she claims to have been subjected. She only returned to LA when a judge ordered her to appear as a witness in the case.
Janet, who’s always been extremely close to her mother, was juggling the demands of a newborn with comforting Katherine, but Wissam is said to have shown a callous lack of interest in his mother-in-law’s plight.

While Janet is keen to be a hands-on mother, Wissam, a wealthy businessman with £800 million to his name, has strict views on how his son should be brought up +4
While Janet is keen to be a hands-on mother, Wissam, a wealthy businessman with £800 million to his name, has strict views on how his son should be brought up
‘That’s when Janet made her decision that there was no turning back,’ an insider told American media yesterday. ‘She was worried about her mother — and Wissam showed little to no concern.’
For a man who claims family is at the heart of everything he does, it seems strange that he was not more supportive.

But signs all was not well in their unconventional relationship can be traced back to the start.
 Janetand Wissam met in 2010 at the summer opening of a new hotel in Dubai. Though known on the Middle Eastern social circuit as something of a VIP,

Wissam was far from a playboy. In fact, he was renowned for his religious principles and sensible business acumen.
Born in Qatar to a wealthy family, he moved to London aged two and grew up to join the family business, Al Mana, which represents major fashion companies including Dolce & Gabbana and Emporio Armani.

Though now a leading global businessman, Wissam rarely gives interviews, shuns social media and claims to spend his spare time ‘looking at antiques and reading’.
In Janet’s eyes, this was the man she had been waiting for. Going public with their relationship in 2011, she declared: ‘I’m getting older and I feel more settled. We have a deep bond, a deep connection.’
Wissam was certainly very different to her two previous husbands. Her first marriage, to soul singer James DeBarge, a spur-of-the-moment elopement in 1984 when Janet was just 18, lasted three months and was subsequently annulled.

Her second, to Mexican-born dancer-turned-video-director Rene Elizondo, took place in secret in 1991. The truth was only revealed in 2000 when Janet paid him a settlement of £8 million after a messy divorce.

With Wissam, she was determined things would be different.
They announced their engagement in 2012 and secretly married shortly afterwards in a ‘quiet, private and beautiful ceremony’ believed to have taken place in Dubai.

Wissam declared Janet his ‘dream woman’, posting an ode to her on his website in which he thanked her ‘for your divine love, your eternal support and for being my best friend’.
Yet it wasn’t long before cracks started to show. Sources say that Janet’s family didn’t take to Wissam and voiced misgivings early on. Her sister, La Toya, was kept completely out of the loop about their relationship, saying later: ‘I didn’t know Jan was married until I heard about it through the media.’
Janet is said to have wanted a lavish, five-star wedding with friends and family present, but gave in to Wissam’s demands for something low-key, in keeping with his conservative nature.
It was, she would soon discover, the first compromise of many.

Though early pictures of their relationship show a tactile, smiling couple, frequently venturing out together in public, these, too, began to dwindle.
Their appearances became scarcer, their moods frostier.

Janet didn’t wear her wedding ring — ostensibly because she was so terrified of losing the huge sparkler that she stored it in a safe — and the affectionate glances and hand-holding stopped completely.

On stage, Janet’s performances were noticeably muted. In 2014, on her Rhythm Nation tour, she wore long-sleeved, loose-fitting outfits (a drastic change from the figure-hugging PVC catsuits with which she had made her name) and refused to perform raunchy dance routines. She then eliminated any mention of the word ‘sex’ from her next album, Unbreakable, in 2015.
Fans couldn’t help but notice the difference. Some even produced spoof ‘Missing Person’ posters with Janet’s face on them, querying what had happened to the singer they so adored.
She then cancelled the UK and European legs of her 2016 tour just days before she was due to take to the stage, announcing she would be postponing her performances indefinitely, as she and Wissam had started planning a family.

Janet never confirmed nor denied her supposed conversion to Islam, but friends say she began immersing herself in Muslim texts very early on in her relationship
Janet never confirmed nor denied her supposed conversion to Islam, but friends say she began immersing herself in Muslim texts very early on in her relationship
In place of her X-rated lyrics, she wished fans ‘Inshallah’ — meaning ‘God willing’ — at the end of every show, and even featured the Arabic word in the chorus of one of her songs.
Her most recent message to fans on her official Twitter account ends with the phrase ‘Al Hamdu Lillah’, which translates as ‘Praise God’. A previous tweet said simply: ‘I miss you guys.’
Janet never confirmed nor denied her supposed conversion to Islam, but friends say she began immersing herself in Muslim texts very early on in her relationship. On visits to Wissam’s family in Qatar, she ditched her make-up and hair extensions and shrouded herself in traditional clothing.

‘She feels like she has found a home with her new religion,’ a friend said then. ‘She has spent a great deal of time studying it. The days of raunchy dance moves and sexual lyrics are long gone.’
Religious conversion was not a new concept to her: having been brought up as Jehovah’s Witnesses, her older brother Jermaine converted to Islam in 1989 and there are even rumours Michael did, too, shortly before his death in 2009.

It wasn’t so much her husband’s religion, but his introversion — verging on reclusiveness — that started to drive Janet away. Having settled in London to appease him (they also have a home in Doha, Qatar, and an apartment in the Trump Tower in New York), she resented that Wissam refused to meet her family and friends and tried to keep her away from the public eye.
Though keen to step back from the spotlight, Janet — the woman who once posed topless for Rolling Stone magazine and became the most searched-for woman on the internet after flashing her nipple at the 2004 Super Bowl — wasn’t used to such a staunch rejection of the world in which she’d made her £120 million fortune.

Eissa, whose name means ‘God is salvation’ in Arabic, arrived at a time when the pair hoped a baby might help paper over the deepening fissures in their relationship.
Janet had always wanted a child, telling an interviewer in 2011: ‘Everyone tells me, for the longest time, they’ve told me: “Oh, you’d make a great mother.” They would tell me: “You’re very nurturing. You’re very mothering, and you take care of people all the time.” ’
Having a baby at the age of 50 — making her the world’s oldest celebrity mother — was no easy feat, and experts suspect she may have had IVF or used donor eggs (if she hadn’t already frozen her own). Though the delivery was said to be ‘stress-free’, any couple who has been through IVF knows the strain it can put on a relationship.

Cynics may look at the timing of Eissa’s arrival and the break-up of her marriage and wonder if Janet stuck it out simply so she could achieve her dream of motherhood.
Others have pointed to the rumoured pre-nuptial agreement between the couple, reputed to involve a £400 million payout to Janet if the marriage broke up after five years. Neither party has yet filed for divorce, but the fact that around five years have passed is nonetheless intriguing.
Whatever the truth about the break-up, fans are already wondering whether it may signal a return to the Janet they know and love.
One thing’s for sure: she hasn’t lost it. Her most recent album, Unbreakable, the first since 2008, went straight into the U.S. charts at No 1 — another bone of contention, perhaps, for her seriously-minded husband.

With him out of the picture, there is no telling what Janet’s next reinvention may be.
According to TMZ, the timing of the split could have significant implications for the couple's prenuptial agreement.
It is understood Jackson is expected to benefit from the split following the birth of their son and the fact the marriage exceeded five years.
TMZ estimates that Wissam is about is worth in excess of five-times more than the singer.

BRIDE ABANDONS GROOM AT ALTAR ON THEIR WEEDING DAY

A bride, Miss Ruth Taiwo Orimoloye, on Saturday, refused to turn up for her wedding, leaving the groom, Mr Abiodun Isaac, waiting at the altar.

The incident, which occurred at Ondo, Ondo West Local Government area of Ondo State, created confusion among guests, friends and family members.

The aged mother of the bride was said to have collapsed after her daughter didn’t turn up for the wedding. The woman was rushed to hospital.

On Friday, family members of the groom brought loads of gifts to the bride’s family for the engagement.

As part of plans to make the ceremony elaborate, a cow was bought by the groom on the eve of the ceremony. The girl’s family allegedly rejected the cow, saying it was too small. A bigger cow was presented to the family.
However, there was a drama on Saturday as the bride abandoned the groom at the altar and absconded to unknown destination.

Sources in the town said the bride and groom were students of Adeyemi College of Education (ACE) Ondo State and had dating for seven years. The introduction of the two families took place on December 27, 2016.

The families eventually fixed the engagement and wedding ceremonies for Friday and Saturday.  The wedding was to be attended by important dignitaries within and outside the town.
People, who visited the house of the Orimoloyes located along Christ Land Area, Oka Ondo town said several visitors, including the monarch of Modakeke in Osun State, Oba Sikiru Ogunsua, as well as several members of a Pentecostal Church from Lagos State, were seen waiting for the illusive arrival of the bride.

A cow and several food items were noticed under the big canopy at the front of the bride’s home. Kehinde, the twin sister of the bride was seeing crying.
The best man to the groom said all arrangements had been concluded. He said the church service was to be held at Celestial Church of Christ, New Covenant parish, Oka Ondo. He said he couldn’t fathom what went wrong.

One of the men in suit said all was well with the groom and the bride until the lady disappeared.  He said the bride switched off her phone lines and all attempts to reach her have been abortive.
The visibly distraught man in suit further said that aside from the fact that Taiwo threw the family of the groom, including visitors into confusion, her disappearance on the day of the ceremony has created tension between both families.

One of the groom’s men, said all seemed to be well between bride and groom. He said they would not have planned the ceremonies if there was a frosty relationship between the families or the celebrants.
As at the time of filling this report, the whereabouts of the bride is yet unknown. All her phones continued to remain switched off.

REAR ADMIRAL IKOLI WAS ASSASSINATED BY AN INSIDER~~IJAW GROUP

The Fleet Commander, Western Naval Command, Apapa, Rear Admiral Teikumo Daniel Ikoli was found shot to death in his apartment at Tamandu Barracks, leading to shock and confusion, a group, the Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative, IPDI,  said that the deceased was assassinated by an insider.

The group, led by its national president, Mr Austin Ozobo, in a press release, urged the presidency, police and Department of State Security (DSS), to ensure a thorough investigation of the incident and solve the puzzle.

The death of Ikoli has been described as mysterious. While some people in the area said he was assassinated, others insisted that he commit suicide. The Admiral was found with a pistol lying on top of his chest. He was alleged to have been shot inside the mouth.

Another naval officer, who worked with him said: “His wife is in Abuja and his children school abroad. His orderly and Naval Assistant (NA) usually leave after dropping him. The bullet hit him on the chest. Three bullets were seen in his room. No one can really tell what happened but the position he was seen suggests he might have been scared of something or someone.”
Lieutenant Commander Chinwe Umar, described the matter as domestic accident, stressing that police had been invited and investigation was ongoing.
It was further heard that Ikoli was appointed into the presidential committee on the probe of arms deal.

According to Ozobo, Ikoli, as Ijaw man, was assassinated. He said: “ Ikoli was assassinated by enemies of Ijaw nation, who did all their best to stop him from rising to the rank of Chief of Naval Staff. We strongly debunk the unfounded media report which claimed that he shot himself in his bedroom. Ikoli did not shoot himself. He was grudgingly assassinated by an insider. It’s our candid demand that Federal Government of Nigeria through the office of Chief of Naval and Defence Staff should thoroughly investigate the circumstances leading to the death of Rear Admiral Ikoli.”

The group further stated: "It’s not possible that he shot himself ; as a highly- placed officer, he didn’t  carry gun, except his orderly.  He was suspected to have been murdered by perceived enemies who have envisaged that he may likely take over from the current serving naval chief by May or end of June, 2017. It’s a well-planned underground conspiracy. How could he have shot himself three times as accounted by reporters, who got to the scene of the incident?

"This is another attempt to eliminate senior Ijaw serving military chiefs. This is the same conspiracy that led to the death of former National Security Adviser, NSA, late General Owoye Azazi, who hailed from Bayelsa State and now, it’s the turn of Rear Admiral Ikoli.”

The Lagos State Police Command, yesterday, assured Nigerians and naval personnel that it would do everything within its power to unravel the puzzles of Ikoli’s death.
According to the police, it would carry out a forensic analysis of the recovered pistol and bullets found in the apartment.

A police source said that forensic analysis would be done on pistol and bullets. The source said that the police needed to make sure that the bullets were from the pistol.
“The man who found the Admiral and raised the alarm had been invited and quizzed,” said the police source.

DRIVER STEALS 600BAGS OF FLOUR ON THE DAY HE WAS EMPLOYED !

A truck driver, Garuba Lawal, 36, has been arrested for stealing 600 bags of flour on the day he was recruited by a haulage firm.

According to him, he was baited with N2million and compelled to swallow a cowrie in order to carry out the job.  He identified one of those that recruited him to steal as Ismaila.

The suspect was arrested along with Jimoh Adeleye, Wasiu Azeez and Adeniran Jacob.
Lawal said: “Ismaila came to me just as I was about to drive out of the loading bay. He asked me how much I have made since I’ve been driving. I told that I just joined the haulage company. He asked me, if you see N2 million, what would you do with it? I said I would quit truck driving. He told me that he would introduce me to a deal.”

Lawal continued: “While Ismaila’s two other colleagues were waiting in the Toyota Corrolla, Ismaila took me to a corner and brought out a cowrie. He told me that I would have to swallow the cowrie as a sign of bond between us. He said that if we divulged the secret between us, we would die instantly. I took the cowrie and swallowed it. Immediately I did that, I observed that whatever instruction he gave me, I obeyed it without a second thought.”

Operatives of Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Ikeja, Lagos State Police Command, arrested Lawal, not only for conniving with three others to steal 600 bags of flour from his company, but also for cannibalising the company’s truck for sale.

Police said that Lawal, after moving the bags of flour, gave them to a buyer. He took the truck to Ilorin, Kwara State, where it was dismembered and sold in pieces.
Lawal, who was recruited by the company the same day to move the 600 bags of flour to a bakery in Ibadan, Oyo State, was baited with N2 million by his accomplices to do their bidding, diverted the 600 bags of flour to Sagamu instead of its scheduled destination.

He said: “We entered Sagamu. It was very early in the morning and I couldn’t identify anywhere. All along, they acted as escort for the truck to Sagamu. One of them was in the truck with me because the motor boy didn’t follow us. We put a new truck head, and they gave me N50, 000. We agreed that I should drive the truck head to Kwara State in company of two other members of the team to sell it off. We got to Ilorin around 7:15 a.m. on Monday. I took the two guys to where I live with my wife. They promised to return with my share of N2 million as soon as bank opens. They collected N15, 000 for hotel accommodation from the N50, 000:00 they gave me.
“When I didn’t see them that day and the following day, I agreed with a buyer to knock down the truck into pieces for N450, 000.  It was after we dismembered the truck, that RRS operatives arrested me.

The management of the haulage firm, where Lawal works, said it was yet to see his motor boy. It is feared that Lawal and his accomplices has killed him.
Lawal insisted that the motor boy didn’t follow them on the trip. The motor boy’s phone has remained switched off since the incident.

ARMY CAPTAIN AND FOUR POLICEMEN KILLED BY MILITANTS AT IKORODU YESTERDAY !

The Lagos State Government on Sunday commiserated with families of the four policemen and Army Captain who were killed yesterday, after militants and a Joint Task Force on anti-militancy clashed at Yewa- Olaloko, Ishawo  area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.

One of the survivors of the gory attack, a Divisional Police Officer (DPO), is battling to live in the hospital. The slain Captain has been simply identified as Muhammad.

The Joint Task Force on anti-militancy in Lagos and Ogun states called Operation Awatse were said to have been ambushed on their way to  Olaloko area in the early hours of Sunday, while on a mission to rescue eight kidnapped victims in the area.

They ran into an ambush. They were alleged to have been attacked, killed and set on fire. The security agents’ operational Hilux vehicle was also set on fire by the militants.
A source said: “The soldiers, policemen and operatives of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) went to the area in an attempt to rescue some abducted victims. The militants opened fire on them. The DPO is critical now. It’s doubtful whether he’ll survive.”
A resident in the area, who identified simply as Gbemisola, said that eight residents were abducted, after which the community alerted police.
 The community alerted the police. Police were said to have moved immediately, with soldiers, but met their death.

The resident recounted: “The exchange of gun battle woke us up around 12midnight which lasted till 3am. The Joint Task Force, deployed on the creeks of Lagos and Ogun states were on their way to rescue the victims when they were ambushed by the kidnappers, who opened fire on them, killing four policemen and two soldiers instantly. In the exchange of gun battle which ensured, the commander of the militants was killed, while two of his men were also killed by the police. The death of their commander angered the militants further, leading to them killing three of their captives. They fled with five other victims.”

He said that militants, who were dispersed after the Airforce bombardment of the creeks, were gradually regrouping and becoming formidable.
His words: “The militants have come back and are kidnapping every day. Government should be more proactive on this development. We don’t wish for death of policemen and soldiers in this manner. What we are asking is that police should set up a command at that creek. They should treat it like what they have done on Sambisa forest in the North East. A serious military intervention is needed here.”
Reacting to the incident, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, said that around 1: am, on Sunday, the police received distress call that a group of militants/kidnappers entered Owutu-Isawo in Ikorodu through the thick swampy forest surrounding the area.

Owoseni said: “The militant kidnappers kidnapped some residents. In response, the Police and the Army immediately mobilised personnel to the area, where the victims were rescued. Sadly however, five out of the gallant, brave and patriotic officers lost their lives during the rescue operation. One of them is a Nigerian Army Captain while the remaining four are policemen. One of the residents in the area also died. We pray that the God Almighty reward their loyalty to the Nation with Paradise and peaceful rest. We also pray that God gives their respective families the courage to bear the loss.”

The militants had struck at Woodland Estate close to Ishawo Creeks and engaged the security personnel, soldiers and the police in a gun battle.
The State's Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, described the incident as unfortunate but insisted that it would only strengthen its resolve to remove crime and criminalities from the state.
  Ayorinde said: “The Governor, however, assures the Police and general public of his support and commitment to rid the state of every form of militancy, kidnappings, and illegal waterfront shanties that harbour criminals."
The State Government stressed that the unfortunate incident in Ishawo had further reinforced its resolve to go after criminal elements and their collaborators who are using coastal areas and illegal waterfront settlements as havens or escape routes to perpetrate evil and criminal activities.
The government stated that every perpetrator directly or remotely linked to the Ishawo dastardly act would be brought to justice in the shortest possible time.
The government further noted: "We wish to solicit the understanding and support of the public on the need to rid our waterways of illegal shanties that are not only an eyesore to our collective decency but have become a fertile ground for breeding illicit and illegal activities that constitute danger to the security and wellbeing of the larger public.”

CROSS RIVER COMMISSIONER FOR WATER RESOURCES KIDNAPPED IN CALABAR !

The Cross River State Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr Gabriel Odu-Orji, was on  Sunday abducted by unidentified gunmen around 12pm at Effionawan Street, in the Mayne Avenue area of Calabar-South

An eye witness, Bassey Asuquo, said that the gunmen, who were five in number, came in a blue Audi car and cornered their victim as he stepped down to eat in a restaurant.
He said, “At around 12pm today, I was in front of one restaurant waiting for a friend when the Commissioner for Water Resources stepped down and was approaching the restaurant.
“Before he could get into the restaurant, some armed men numbering about five came in a blue Audi, parked their car by the roadside and ordered the commissioner into his car and drove away.
“Those guys were kidnappers because they wore mask to hide their faces.”
When contacted, the the state Police Public  Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, said,
“We have received a complaint about the abduction of the Commissioner for Water Resources.”

OTODO GBAME DEMOLITION WAS CARRIED OUT FOR SECURITY REASONS

The Lagos State Government has denied killing some residents of Otodo Gbame during a recent demolition exercise carried out in the area. 

Sources close to the state government informed us during an investigation into the matter that the demolition was carried out because the government had strong intelligence reports that militants had moved into the area in preparation to launch attacks in Lekki and the Victoria Island axis.

An official of the state government, who requested anonymity, categorically denied that the state’s officials killed any resident of the riverine settlement and said this security measure was taken in the overall interest of all Lagosians stating that “these stories are malicious and mischevious”.


The source stressed that the state government places a high premium on security and that it will not abdicate in its duty to protect the lives and property of all residents. He added "The killing of security agents in the Ishawo area of Lagos further strengthens the resolve of the government to clear the illegal settlement at Otodo Gbame.

"The State government will stop at nothing to secure the State and is willing to take unpopular decisions to in the best interest of the State. The Otodo Gbame situation is one of such. We are sure that posterity will justify this action”.


It was restated that the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led government of the state is committed to the safety of lives and properties of the residents of the state, which the government has demonstrated with the massive amount of resources spent to equip and motivate the state's police command. He explained the Governor would always respect the rule of law and would never approve any operation that could lead to the death of law abiding and innocent residents of the state.


"Our Governor can never compromise the security of lives and properties of the residents of the state. So, he could not have allowed the security agents in the state carry out an operation that could lead to the death of Innocent members of the public.


The demolition exercise was carried out based on recommendations from the state's security monitoring team, which officials he said painstakingly monitored the activities of hoodlums in the area. The government was still waiting for the settlers to relocate but the action was brought forward because of the security reports received. The reports revealed that the place required urgent action to prevent a security breakdown and escalation that could pose more threats to the security of the metropolitan state.


In addition, it was learnt that the settlement in Otodo Gbame is illegal without any title or appropriate approval for the current inhabitants. The state government in its desire for urban renewal and regeneration had previously given the residents of this shanty notice to evacuate the area. 

The state government, we are told, was not ready to condone the existence of another shanty in the state with “people living on sticks on water".

Our source informed us that the state government “will not succumb to emotional blackmail and will stand by this decision because it is in the best interest of all residents of Lagos State.