Nigerians who claim to have been tricked into selling their kidneys in Indian hospitals have shared horrific tales of their ordeal. In this exclusive sit down with Punch, Martin said he was tricked into selling one of his kidneys for just $7,500 (N1.2m) in 2008
Martins said he had only one reason why he was willing to sell one of his kidneys for that amount: financial independence.
He'd tried to make a meaning out of his life. While growing up, he had dreamt of becoming an engineer but his parents did not have the wherewithal to support his dream.
So when he was approached by his childhood friend, he did not think times over before accepting the offer. He would sell his kidney, his friend, who was also the agent, would make about $1,800 (N300,000), while he would pocket the balance — $5,600 (N900,000). He felt it was balanced Mathematics, but the complexity of the deal was none he could have imagined. Continue...


According to Martins, his friend, Sola, had a link with some individuals in Nigeria, mostly people who were looking for people who could donate kidneys to loved ones who needed to be flown abroad for kidney transplant.

A part of the money paid for the kidney would go to the agent, while the other part would be given the donor.

As an agent, Sola was called one day in October 2008 by a client who was based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The client was a man whose 27-year-old daughter’s two kidneys had failed and needed to be flown to India for a transplant. N1.2m was the amount agreed upon by both parties to strike a deal.
Then the agent’s work was to look for someone who would sell his kidney and be paid a part of the money put down by the client.
Martins was the donor in this case who was hoping he would make N900,000 when the deal was over, but his friend chose to be ‘smarter’ than him. Instead of being paid, he (Martins) was the one who ‘paid’ and is still ‘paying.’

Martins said,
“When I was tricked into selling my kidney for money, it was even a close friend of mine that introduced me into the trade. And I did not doubt him for a second. I wanted my life to change positively. I did not know he would eventually betray me due to the trust I had in him. Things were a bit tough for me then and I was desperate to make a change in my life.
“Sola was looking for someone to donate a kidney to a person, and since I had been living in penury, I decided to take a chance. I thought it was a little issue. He told me the huge amount of money that was usually paid to donors. I told him I would do it.
“The client I was to sell my kidney to was in Port Harcourt at that time, so I travelled there and was lodged in a hotel, the name of which I cannot remember now. The following day, I was taken to the General Hospital in the city for medical tests.”
To be tested by the doctors in the General Hospital, Port Harcourt, Martins said he had to pretend as if he was a relative of the patient, and that he did it ‘gladly.’ All he was hoping for was the money.
He said, “I had to pretend as if I was a family member of the client who needed my kidney so doctors could allow me undergo the tests.
“I was made to undergo different medical tests ranging from HIV, to blood group, and whether my kidney matched with that of the sick.
“That was just the beginning, and everything seemed to work perfect. I was made to understand that assuming I had any disease like gonorrhoea or others, I would be treated here before I travelled out of the country, as far as my kidney matched with the sick’s.
“The second stage was the processing of visa and other travelling documents for me. The agent was to take care of all this. My own responsibility as the donor was just to obey all their commands.
“To process the visa, I took pictures with the family of the patient, which made the officials at the embassy believe I was really a relative of the client. I was also made to bear the name of the family of the client so that there would be no suspicion by the officials at the embassy.”
Martins said he learned that if the client were a Yoruba, he would be given a Yoruba name; in this case, the patient and his father (who was the client) were from Rivers State, and so he was given a name that resembled theirs.
He continued, “Meanwhile, as all these were going on, I never knew that negotiations between the client and the agent were also ongoing, I was just obeying their bidding; at least I thought my friend could be trusted.
“Before we travelled and because everything seemed to be working according to plan, my agent told me I had to get new clothes to travel with to India, so I borrowed some money from them, to be repaid from the money they would pay me.
“Normally, the client would not pay the agent the money until the day of travelling and the agent would not pay the donor until he was sure the operation was successful.
“I never knew all these until I experienced it. My friend was the agent and that was why I did not bother asking for the money before I travelled to India.
“On the day I was to travel with the family of the patient, we were lodged in a hotel in the Ketu area of Lagos. We got to the airport around 5am and I was thinking all through the journey. I was hoping my life would be better if everything was successful.”
MIOT Hospitals in Chennai, India was the destination. Everything had worked very well in Nigeria, but that was just the first step.
Martins continued, “We got to the hospital and we were lodged there. The following day, I began another series of medical tests. The medical personnel, who attended to me there, Doctor Tashir, sat me down and asked who I was to the patient.
“I told the doctor she was my niece. He asked me if I knew the consequence of what I was about to do, and I told him there was no problem. For the next one and a half months, I underwent another series of medical tests. The doctors at the hospital trashed the ones I did in Nigeria.
“While in the hospital, I was just not comfortable with the way things were going. I wanted to be sure if the money I was expecting to do this would really come, so I decided to call my friend who arranged the whole thing how much I was going to be paid.
“But before I called my friend, I called the client to find out how much he paid my friend. He (the client) was in Nigeria; it was only the lady, her mother, and me who were in India. He told me he had paid them on the day we travelled to India, and that was where the trouble began.
“I called the agent (my friend) and asked him why he did not tell me the client had paid him.
“My friend (the agent) had even seized my phone to act as a collateral in case I failed to come back to the country after the operation. When I heard he had been paid, I had to remind him that it was my life I was playing with, and he assured he would pay me once I returned to the country.
“The last stage after the medical tests was that I was taken to their local council to face a panel. They asked me again if I was ready for the operation that would last for 27 hours, and to know if I was ready for death in case it came. To all these I said yes.
“Unfortunately, the patient’s mother started treating me unfairly. She believed I had been paid. At a point, I had to tell my friend that I would not do it again if I was not paid. I even told him to go and give the money to my mother, though she did not know anything about it. But he kept assuring me the money was safe.”
Eventually, Martin’s kidney was removed and everything seemed to go well, but he later realised his woe had just begun.
He said, “After the removal of my kidney, I called the agent again to tell him to send me some money for my flight home. That was when I knew I had been used and dumped.
“He changed the tone of his voice and told me to stay in India. He started asking me what I was coming to do in Nigeria. I had planned to use the N900,000 to buy a bus for transport business here in Lagos, to start life afresh. That had been my thought all along.
“On December 2, 2008, after about three months of being in India and 10 days after the operation, I said I was going home. With no money and no good treatment from the patient’s mother, I was stranded. Even though I had the opportunity of stealing their dollar notes in their wardrobe, I did not do so. I could never do such a thing. I felt pity for the lady.”
On December 3, 2008, Martins eventually got a ticket to be flown to Nigeria and could not believe that he had been made to pass through the horrible situation for nothing.
He said, “I tried all I could, and from the money I had borrowed before leaving, I came back to Nigeria.
“My parents never knew where I went and stayed for almost three months. Things were really pathetic. I met a lot of problems at home which I hoped I could solve with the money I would get. On this same matter, I lost my elder sister who was pregnant because it was her money that I took from home, hoping that I would settle her when I return.
“The baby died, she too died, my world collapsed. Out of the N900,000 I was expecting, my friend paid me only N250,000. That was after I had threatened him. I could not involve the police because I knew it was one of those hard choices I made. That was how I was duped in the process of selling my kidney.”
From the amount he could collect from his agent, Martins was able to set up a football viewing centre, which has since collapsed.

Another person with a similar story to tell is Dayo. Not also willing to remain in financial mediocrity all his life, he thought the ‘mouth-watering’ offer Sola (same agent for Martins) offered him was not too small to sell his kidney. Afterall, he learned in Biology that man needs only one kidney to survive.

So when he was approached at the same time with his friend by Sola, he did not bother to consult with anyone before he decided he would sell his kidney for N1m.

Almost similar experience with Martins’, the same agent, who is also their friend, manipulated him and gave him just N500,000 out of the sum he bargained for.

However, the irony of the whole thing is that through some manipulative means, the agent told Dayo that he was also into travelling agency and that he could help him secure a visa to the United Kingdom, but the unfortunate thing was that Dayo did not think twice before he withdrew the whole money he was paid for selling his kidney.
He said, “I gave him the whole money he gave me back, waiting to fly to London. Up till now, I have not heard anything from Sola again neither have I been given any visa to travel. My whole life is in chaos now.
“I cannot even tell anyone in my family that I did such a horrible thing. I have been lying to many people who saw the mark on my body. Who will ever believe I sold my kidney for money? My life is ruined.
“My mother will not even believe it. In my desperation for money I have destroyed my whole life. I just pray that God will forgive me because this is something I have never told anyone.”
Dayo only allowed our correspondent take his back picture, using his right palm cover the stretch mark. He said his family and friends would identify him if they see his full back.

Professor Itse Sagay, a human rights lawyer, believes that organ trade is criminal and must be fought.
He said, “Definitely it is an infringement of the law against threat to human life. It is contained in the criminal code. It takes on a criminal hue. This matter should be investigated while the people doing this trade should be punished according to the law.”

The Ministry of Health’s spokesperson, Dan Nwomeh, said Nigeria needs to sign the proposed National Health Bill into law before organ trade transactions get out of hand. He clamoured for the prompt signing of the bill into law for the regulation of organ transplant in the country.

He said, “We hear rumours about the trade, but the truth of the matter is that we have a big problem at hand, and this is because there is no law regulating organ transplant in Nigeria. There is no law at all now, and what can the Ministry of Health do when there is no law?
“That is why we have been canvassing for the signing of the National Health Bill. If the bill is signed into law, important health issues like organ transplant and fertility medicine will be regulated. It will not be done in the secret.
“But while we are waiting for the National Health Bill to be signed into law, everything depends on the practitioners to do the proper thing. You cannot say someone who is into the organ trafficking business has committed an offence since there is no law yet that is against or regulating it.”
Nwomeh added that the Ministry of Health would continue to canvass for the signing of the National Health Bill into law.
He said, “The health minister and the Ministry of Health will continue to push forward until this particular bill is signed into law. Until such happens, there are bound to be shady businesses like that.”
Culled from Punch

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command has arrested 39 year old Akeem Ogunniran, an indigene of Osun State, who allegedly robs jewelries merchants of their jewelries after drugging them.

Akeem was arrested after he allegedly drugged two women then robbed them of their jewelry valued at about N7million. Feigning to be a wealthy man, Police say Akeem, after identifying jewelry dealers will invite them to his hotel room, claiming he wants to buy jewelry from them. When they get to his hotel room, he will offer them drinks already drugged and immediately his victims fall under the influence of the sedative, he then absconds with their goods.

Police say he'd been arrested several times for similar cases but had managed to escape prosecution

Heavily pregnant Mercy said she waited at the airport all night for her hubby. He finally arrived just in time for their 3rd anniversary as a married couple.

“Hey peeps,waited all night yesterday at the airport for My Hope.cant wait to activate the celebration mode. And at last,wedding anniversary/birthday mode activated.so glad he made it. Welcome babe,now Baltimore will be fun”

I think Nadia needs to be worried with this but i hope its not what am thinking…

A family of five, including a father, mother and their three children were found dead in their home yesterday Friday August 15th at Temidire Community, in Sabo, Abeokuta North LGA of Ogun State
The dead people have been identified as Aliu Adeboye, his younger wife identified as Iya  Aliya and three of Adeboye’s six children.

Vanguard reports…
 Findings have shown that,  the late  Adeboye had two wives and six children  before the incident. Further findings have also revealed that,  the  first wife, and her three  children who slept in another room in the same six-room bungalow were alive.
It was gathered that the whole community woke up and found out that the five people were dead while the first wife and her children were safe.
The  people in the community were said to be suspecting a foul  play  as the two wives were said to always be at loggerheads.

Some people alleged that chemical odour was being perceived in the house of the deceased, while some others said the deaths could be as a result of the fumes from the generator at the back of the building.
A  resident in the area   who lived directly in front of the building  who pleaded for anonymity said it was the wailing of the first wife that woke  up members  of the community who  found out that the people were dead.

A source said, “ The wives are always fighting, cursing each other, it got to a stage that the community leader had to intervene.”
Sources within the community said the first wife whose name could not be ascertained was almost lynched but she was saved by policemen from nearby Ilupeju divisional police headquarters.
A zonal leader in the community,  Abubakar Olowoorioke, explained that they were in the mosque in the early hours when a woman alerted them about the tragic incident.

Olowoorioke explained that he could not move closer to the place because of the shock but added that the smell  of chemicals could be perceived from inside the house.
The Police Public Relations officer in the state,  Muyiwa Adejobi,  confirmed the incident ,adding that  the cause of the death was still unknown in mystery and that postmortem would be carried out on the corpses to reveal the cause of death.

Ex-Abia Governor Uzor Kalu Says Theodore Orji Gossips About Him To President Jonathan


“The first thing that would strike any person meeting Theodore Ahamefule Orji for the first time – 16 years ago – was his humble personality. I doubt if he still carries himself with the same simplicity and can­dour, for which I have known him, now he has tested power as governor. I say so, because power has a way of intoxicating some people, especially those who never dreamed of getting it. I must openly sub­mit that I was taken in by his facial ap­pearance, not knowing that deep inside he was a different person all together – a chameleon. Subsequent events have since proved me right.” Continue…

Up till this moment, I still do not believe that it was the same Theodore Orji, whom I met at Chief Mark Uka Ogwo’s house, that is hauling abuses at me on a daily basis and walk­ing the corridors of power like a colossus. He calls me all kinds of names and uses every available medium to castigate my person.

His speech at every public or private event begins and ends with my name, as if he has no other business in governance other than to abuse Orji Kalu. Not only that: he goes about telling all kinds of naked lies in order to soil my reputation. He also goes to gossip to the President and his wife about me, telling them unprintable things, just to disfavour me. He tells anybody he encoun­ters – businessmen and women, politicians, the clergy, traders, farmers, drivers, carpen­ters, bricklayers, the high and mighty, lowly people, and just anybody – that I am his sworn enemy. He also takes his campaign of hate against me to the Diaspora. The situ­ation is really getting out of hand.
The funny part of it is that some of the people he tells lies about me still come back to find out what exactly I had done to the man to make him hate me so much. When I ask them what reason or reasons he gave them for hating me so much, they would say, none. So, what then have I done to Theodore Orji?

I am certain by now the President and others he had lied to against me would have known the truth – that the man is a patho­logical liar and a usurper. No God-fearing person would go to the level he has gone in seeking vengeance, if indeed I had done any wrong against him.

I had kept quiet all this while in the hope that commonsense would prevail some­where along the line. Instead of the man minding his constitutional business of gov­ernance and thinking about how to better the lives of our traumatised people, whom he has abandoned chasing shadows, he has spent scarce resources fighting me and eve­rybody related to me. There is no single day that passes that he does not use the state government-owned radio and television to pour invectives on me and my relations. Not only that, he has as well been going about concocting all sorts of tales in order to destroy my reputation and create conflict between me and others. To show how heart­less the man is, he has even leveled some grievous allegations against me in order to get at me for no justifiable reason.

Actress Omotola Okudero-Jagua has been delivered of a bouncing baby boy in Lagos. Omotola, the daughter of late comedian Afolabi Afolayan, better known as Jagua was delivered of the baby in a private hospital in Lagos. The actress and movie producer got married to her heartthrob, Arch. Olabode Okudero in a lavish wedding at the Chapel of St. Luke Presbyterian Church in Ikeja on Saturday, February 2nd, 2013.

It could be recalled that the bride’s father, late Afolabi Afolayan (Jagua), died over ten years ago and his wife, Elyzer Afolabi Afolayan, also died in 2011. Omotola who is also a movie producer has forged ahead alongside some of her siblings in the movie industry.

Damn that azz looks like a flag on the pole believe me she had no surgery to get this and i now after most girls finish seeing this, they might go crazy to go get this show stopper backside, see more pictures below..

A fuel tanker is currently on fire at Ogere junction along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, causing heavy vehicular traffic on the road. Fortunately no lives or vehicles were lost in the inferno. Calling on FRSC officials to move to the scene and manage the situation. See more pics after the cut...

UNCONFIRMED REPORTS SAY THAT FOUNDER OF THE LIVING FAITH CHURCH FOUNDER, PASTOR DAVID OYEDEPO HAS BEEN BARRED FROM ENTERING THE UNITED KINGDOM.
A source at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport told ‘ThisisAfrica’ , that Oyedepo’s barring was communicated to airlines via an ‘Airline Alert’ on Saturday, 9 August. The alert stated that any airline that acts against the ban will be fined £2000 (N542,000).

According to a recent Daily Mail and Guardian report, an inquiry by the UK Charitable Commission accused the UK branch of Winners Chapel of cynically exploiting supporters.
In addition to the report of Oyedepo’s barring on ‘ThisisAfrica’, there was also a photo of the alleged ‘Airline alert’.

Daily Mail’s report stated that the church received £16.7 million (N4.5 billion) in donations from followers who were told that God would give them riches in return’ and that ‘Followers are ferried in double-decker shuttle buses to the church, handed slips inviting them to make debit card payments, and are even told obeying the ministry’s teachings will make them immune from illness’.
David O. Oyedepo is reputed to be the richest pastor in Nigeria. He is the senior pastor of Faith Tabernacle, a 50,000 seat church auditorium, reported to be the largest church auditorium in the world by the Guinness Book of Records.

Benue state University drop out Oche Clifford who recently won Miss Transgender World beauty Pageant has changed his look to a full blown blonde woman.
How can one ever imagine that this beautiful babe used to be the well-endowed Oche Clifford during his University days back in Benue state Nigeria.
See more photos of Clifford below:


He has really worked on his look.
God is such a patient God…Lips sealed

Mystery: £20,000 cash is withdrawn from accounts of 4 passengers on missing Flight MH370 
Five months after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared, it’s now being reported that, more than £20,000 has been withdrawn from bank accounts of four passengers aboard the missing flight.


The mysterious withdrawals were reported by a bank in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 18. The Assistant Commissioner to the crime investigation department Izany Abdul Ghany told the mirror..

‘We are investigating the case as unauthorised access with intent to commit an offence,We are getting CCTV footage from the bank to identify the suspects involved.’

the transactions were made on July 18 when money from the accounts of three passengers was transferred to the account of a fourth passenger before it was removed.

When asked by the Sun about possible  advice for ladies  who do all manner of things to achieve cheap social status,Susan Peters who says she was born with a silver spoon replied…


First, I will say that we (women) are like flowers that blossom for sometimes, but after a while go down. If you misuse your body when you are growing up, it will definitely tell on you when you are ageing….
I advise young women not to misuse their body for monetary reasons. Secondly, I will advise them to go to school and try to complete their education. They should be well focused on a particular vocation and develop on it.
Although in our country today, you do not get jobs based on merit, but if you keep trying, you will definitely find a place. It is quite true to say that the frustration is very high at some point because of the way and manner people live their lives in the country, which sometimes affect young women negatively.
Due to what happens, sometimes they try to go out of the ways of their parental upbringing.Some of them would say, ‘my friend has a human hair, I must have a human hair too.’ But neither have a job that can fetch you the money to buy the human hair nor do you even know how she got her human hair.But in a bid to seem to belong, some people tend to go out of their way to do things that they are not supposed to do, which is very wrong. I will strongly advice that they wait until their time, when they will be able to afford all these things.”

“When my mates were carrying designer bags & taking vacations,I wasn’t”-Mercy Johnson 

Mercy Johnson opened up on success and what it takes to get there.She told City People

‘’Success is hard, it’s never easy. It takes more than luck to make the right decisions and the right choices. A lot of people have actually been acting before me, but they are just nowhere close. It’s not because I am better, it’s grace; but, really, success is hard. It takes a lot of hard work. At the point when my mates were carrying designer bags, I didn’t know what designer bags were. At the point at which they were wearing Brazilian hair, I didn’t know what Brazilian hair was. I was kind of laid-back. I was a step or two behind, because I was working so hard.
I didn’t take vacations; I didn’t have time for all of that. I just wanted to be on location, so I could sell what I had. I wanted people to see what I could do. So, [at] every point in time, I was busy. I was so excited to work at every time. So, it’s like success is hard. You really have to work hard; you really have to sweat to achieve what you want.”

If what one of the news media in Nigeria is saying is true, then the new Emir of Kano is in big trouble because it is alleged that Sanusi Lamido is fighting depression that has left him with suicidal thoughts and mental problem.


According to top security sources, Sanusi started showing symptoms of severe clinical depression after crowned the Emir and the symptoms are growing worse.

The source said “He is suicidal. He is secretly being watched by his close aides”, said the source. But a close source to the family of Lamido said it is false.

In his words, “Very untrue. In fact I just came out from a meeting with him and he looks very stable with sound mind”.

Recently, Witches and Wizard Association of Nigeria says Sanusi has stepped on powerful toes and that he has so many enemies.

The warning message for the Emir from the witches reads:

“What we see before Sanusi is myriad of woes. His road will be rough. Turbulent days lie ahead of him, he should not rejoice yet. He will experience trouble within and outside the emirate.

“ His enemies are many, and to make matters worse for him, he had stepped on powerful toes. He needs all the prayers in this world to survive the turmoil looming before him.”

A Health Teacher, Adeniran Adebayo at a private school has been remanded in prison after a 10-year-old primary four pupil’s narrated to the Police of how he allegedly raped her in the school toilet.

Health teacher, Adeniran Adebayo remanded over alleged rape of 10-year-old student

The victim said her health teacher threatened to flog her if she made a noise while he had sex with her in the toilet.

The incident reportedly happened at a private school on Olateju Ilesanmi Street, Baruwa, Ipaja area of Lagos.

She said one of the female teachers in the school, however, heard her cry and barged into the toilet, forcing Adebayo, a father of two, to stop and hurriedly dress up.

Narrating the incident to a Lagos State Chief Magistrate’s Court at Ebute Meta on Wednesday, the Investigating Police Officer from the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, said the victim repeated the account three different times.
He said: “I interviewed the victim after the matter was brought to the SCID. She said on the fateful day, she was in school after the closing hours and was waiting for her younger brother, who attended the same school, so they could go back home together.

“While waiting, she decided to get busy with her assignments. She said it was while she was doing the assignment that the teacher came and said she should follow him.

“He then took her to a toilet within the school premises and threatened to cane her if she screamed, unzipped himself, undressed the pupil and made love to her.

“The girl said she was crying while this was on. It was a female teacher, who was passing by that heard her cry. The female teacher came closer to have a better look and immediately the suspect saw her, he quickly zipped up. The pupil said the female teacher told him that being a teacher, he should never have taken advantage of the girl.”

The police officer said after the victim repeatedly affirmed the account, he decided to call the supposed witness.

“When I called her and interviewed her, she said she didn’t see anything. I called the girl again, and she narrated the same story to me,” he added.

The Chief Magistrate, O.O. Olatunji asked the defendant if the story was true.

But reacting to the report the teacher, Adebayo said: “I am the health teacher of the school. I married five years ago, and have two sons. There are six male teachers in the school. On that day, I didn’t call the girl. I only stood at the gate and asked her and her brother to go home. That was all.

“I was surprised that after four days, they came to my office and arrested me. The toilet in question has never even been used by anybody.”

The chief magistrate in his reaction said the account of the suspect was not credible.

“Kids hardly lie, especially when they are between the ages of six to 11. And that’s why I find it hard to believe the account of the defendant. People like you should not be in the society. If like you said there were six male teachers in your school, why did she decide to pick only you? It’s such a big shame,” he said.

Present in the court were the victim and her father. The school management was not represented.

Earlier, the police prosecutor, Etim Nkankuk, had asked the court to remand the suspect in prison pending the release of legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

Nkankuk had said the crime was regrettable because it happened within the school premises “where the character of the victim was supposed to be developed and built.”

He said the victim sustained injuries in the course of the act.

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested two suspected Armed Robbers,  Sikiru Oyebamiji and Afeez Salami said to be members of a Notorious gang terrorizing Lagos and its Environs.

The suspects  who said robbing people was more profitable than their legal job were arrested by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad on Friday, July 31, around 12.30am in the Mushin area of Lagos when they were allegedly heading for an operation.

They were nabbed  a locally-made pistol.

It was further gathered that the duo had taken a cab from Oshodi, and the vehicle had got to a checkpoint around Mushin where SARS operatives asked the occupants to alight.

The suspects were said to have ordered the driver to evade the policemen, threatening to shoot him if he refused.

But the operatives arrested the suspects and recovered the pistol from them.

After their arrest, the suspects confessed that they were nine in the gang. They also told the police that there were two other locally-made guns belonging to the gang.

According to Punch, the suspects had taken to robbery because their respective jobs were not lucrative enough.

Twenty-four-year-old Oyebamiji who hails from Apomu Ikire, Osun State, said he was a cobbler and bus conductor before he joined the gang.

He said, “I was formerly a bus conductor, and a cobbler, before joining the gang. I sold Indian hemp too. I met the gang leader at a night club, and he advised me to be a part of them. We are actually nine in the gang. In most of the operations, we stole phones, gold, laptops, jewellery, and money. I did not like robbery, but I had no option because my work did not give me enough money.”

Oyebamiji, who lives on Lawanson Road, Itire, added that he had gone for about five operations with the gang, and made at least N20,000 from each.

He said: “I have gone out with the gang on about five occasions. We robbed in Sango, Ogun State; Egbeda, Ojuelegba and Pleasure Ile Epo areas in Lagos. We collected money and property in the process. I used the money from armed robbery to send my son to school. I realised about N20,000 from each operation.”

The second suspect, 21-year-old Salami also said he took to robbery because his work was not lucrative.

He said: “I was living in the Ojuelegba area, and I was a meat seller (butcher). But, meat selling was not bringing me much money. So, I joined the gang. We make use of three guns, but the two other guns are with the boss. I realised about N15,000 from each robbery operation. I am actually an orphan. Nobody was taking care of me.”

Many are taking politics too far, but no one should be surprise. Whoever wins, controls all the money. As you read this, one person has been allegedly shot while eight others sustained various degrees of injuries in a fracas between members of the All Progressive Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the ever busy Rumuoprikom community end of Ikwerre road on Wednesday.

One of those shot, Mr Ndidi Owabie alleged that his own father, Paramount ruler of Rumuprikom community, Eze Anthony Owabie opened fire on him because of his refusal to join the same political party.
The state Police Commissioner, Mr Tunde Ogunsakin confirmed that the father of the boy who was shot and two others had been arrested by the Police, adding that a local gun was recovered from one of them.
Political thugs barricaded roads in the community in the morning when they heard Governor Rotimi Amaechi was to visit the area in his ongoing ward tour...

"The action of the youths allegedly triggered the crisis, causing traffic gridlock that lasted several hours on Ikwerre and other adjourning roads in the area,” a source told Vanguard.



Chief of Staff, Government House, Tony Okocha who spoke on the incident accused Divisional Police Officer of the station in the area of not doing enough. "There would not have been breakdown of law and order. The DPO was completely compromised,”, he alleged.

Continuing, he said the governor had however cancelled the planned visit to the area because of the sudden demise of the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Port Harcourt City local Government Area, Mr Charles Paul Ejokwu who slumped in the early hours of the day.

Amaechi paid a condolence visit on the family of deceased Caretaker Committee Chairman in the Diobu area of Port Harcourt.