Briton Kidnapped In Lagos, Nigeria

(Reuters) - A British national was kidnapped in Nigeria this week shortly after arriving at Lagos airport, the British High Commission said on Friday.

Gunmen attacked a four-wheel drive car at around 8.30 p.m. (1930 GMT/ 15:30 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday after it left the airport's international terminal, kidnapping a British man who was returning to a residential area of Lagos, two security sources told Reuters.

The Nigerian driver of the vehicle was shot but survived, the sources said.

"The BHM is working closely with others to secure the release of the hostage," the British High Commission said in a statement. "Because of the nature of this incident, the BHM is not going into further detail about it."

Major companies with British connections operating in Nigeria include oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, British Airways, Unilever and PricewaterhouseCoopers. There was no indication of where the kidnapped man was employed.

Kidnapping of expatriates by armed gangs seeking ransom has long been rife in Nigeria's oil producing southeast but is rarer in Lagos where most foreigners live.

A British businessman was kidnapped in March in an upmarket district of Nigeria's commercial capital but was released four days later. It was not clear if a ransom was paid.

In Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, kidnappings of foreigners for ideological motives by Islamist groups have taken a deadlier turn. Islamist group Ansaru killed seven foreign hostages in March, authorities from some of the affected countries said.

HOUSTON HOUSE OF HORRORS: 4 malnourished men rescued after up to TEN years in 'dungeon'

Officers found the malnourished men in the makeshift prison behind doors and windows secured with elaborate locks

Investigation: Police at the scene after the raid
REUTERS


Four frail men being held captive in a “dungeon” for up to a decade have been freed by police.

Cops today found the malnourished men, aged 79, 74, 65 and 54 – in the makeshift prison behind doors and windows secured with elaborate locks.

At least one is thought to be a military veteran.

Sgt JW McCoy said: “One of them thinks he was picked up off the street and brought here.

"In exchange for beer and cigarettes and a place to stay, he had to turn over his Social Security.”

Neighbour Monica Booker said a man living at the house where the captives were held admitted people stayed at the home and he collected their Social Security payments.

He has been arrested and was last night being quizzed by officers.

“It’s so upsetting,” Monica said, adding that had she known what was going on, she would have helped the men.

Prison: Officials at the purple house which has heavy security
REUTERS


She claimed the man, who lived with his mother, sister and niece, had also told people that he owned other homes where he offered rooms in exchange for Social Security cheques.

Police went to the house in Houston, Texas, acting on a tip-off.

Sgt Steve Murdock said conditions inside were “deplorable”, with three of the men sleeping on the floor in the garage.

A fourth man was found inside the house, which had an array of locks on the doors and windows.

Three of the men were taken for medical treatment and appeared to be underfed.

Police said one man held at the home told them it “was a dungeon” and did not want to be there.

One victim reportedly told police he had been there for 10 years.

Three of the men were unable to walk out of the property.

A neighbour, who saw them being led away, said: “They looked incredibly feeble. How anyone could do such a thing is beyond me.

"The people responsible for this are animals and deserve locking up for the rest of their lives.”

Neighbour Robert Paris said he had not noticed any elderly men coming and going in the three months he had lived across the street.

He added he sometimes heard loud music coming from the property.

“It’s pretty weird,” Mr Paris told reporters. “It’s really bad news.”

The rescue comes just two months after Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus were freed from a house in Cleveland, Ohio, after 10 years in captivity.

Former bus driver Ariel Castro is facing 977 charges including 512 counts of kidnapping, 446 counts of rape, and several counts of assault. If convicted he could face the death penalty.

 

#mirror.co.uk

Nigerian law paving the way for paedophiles? What kind of law states that ‘a woman is deemed to be “full of age” once she is married irrespective of the age she did so.’?

The Nigerian senate on Tuesday July 16th pegged the official marriage age in Nigeria as 18 years when they amended the constitution. Then Former Zamfara Governor, now Senator, Sani Yerima, who married a 13 year old Egyptian girl in 2010, opposed the age restrictions saying it was anti-islam. For some reason the Senate agreed with him and made an about turn, deleting the age specification from the new constitution and leaving marriage age for women open. They stated that ‘a woman is deemed to be “full of age” once she is married irrespective of the age she did so.’

In other words, this new law allows the marriage of under aged girls? Should this be allowed to happen? What about child protection? What kind of future are we preparing for the nigerian girl-child? Parents, what are your views concerning this? Mothers?

PHOTOS: Gbenro Ajibade hangs out with hollywood stars at Essence festival

Tinsel star Gbenro Ajibade pictured with Keyshia Cole, Morris Chestnut, Bobby Brown and Meagan Good at the just concluded annual Essence Festival which took place in New Orleans, Louisiana.

 

 

 

 

 

Woman and baby critically injured as policeman drives against traffic and knocks them down

Taskirat, Ammarah and The vehicle



A police corporal, identified simply as Friday, has been accused of knocking down a teacher, Mrs. Taskirat Anjolaiya, and her baby, Ammarah.

It was learnt that as a result of the incident, the mother and daughter sustained pelvic fracture, brain injury and a broken jaw among others.

According to eyewitness, the policeman, who is attached to FESTAC Police Division, was driving against traffic on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway when he knocked down the victims.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the graduate of Mathematics Education was alighting from a commercial bus with her child and had not noticed the police patrol van coming from the wrong direction.

The victim’s husband, Sulaiman, said the policeman claimed he was running an errand for the Divisional Police Officer, Ibrahim Zango.

The policeman was said to have told them that he was instructed by the DPO to drop off a woman at the airport in Ikeja and he drove against traffic to avoid traffic congestion on the appropriate route so that she would not miss her flight.

He said, “The accident occurred on June 23, 2013. My wife was on her way to a religious progamme when a police driver drove recklessly on Oshodi-Apapa Expressway. He was driving against traffic and shouting at drivers on the right side of the road to clear out.

“He eventually knocked down my wife and baby while they were alighting from a bus.

“The policeman’s first concern at the scene of the accident was to immediately get a cab to convey the woman in his vehicle to her destination.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that the policeman rushed the victims to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, and deposited N70,000 for their treatment.

At LUTH however, doctors at the emergency ward discovered that the mother of three had sustained a pelvic fracture, facial bruises, and brain injury while the baby, Ammarah, also suffered deep facial cuts and a broken jaw.

Sulaiman lamented that since the incident, over N500, 000 had been spent on treatment.

He said the policeman had abandoned the victims at the hospital since depositing the N70, 000.

He expressed disappointment over how the DPO handled the matter when they went to report the matter at the station.

“A few days after the accident, when I could no longer bear the pressure alone, I went to see the DPO and I told him what happened. Zango lambasted me before offering us additional N10, 000,” he said.

Sulaiman lamented that this was too little given the fact that he was unemployed and had spent all his savings.

He expressed disappointment that the police, who had been charged with the duty of protecting lives, were the ones inflicting hardship on the family.

Our correspondent, who visited the victim at Ward E3 on Thursday, observed that she was recuperating.

However, some nurses, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said the head trauma she sustained was still affecting her.

One of them said, “She gets up from her bed and roams the hospital. Most of the time we have to strap her back to the bed to prevent her from going astray and I cannot say when she will be discharged,” she said.

Sulaiman said his wife was a teacher and he feared if she would recover completely.

Sulaiman said, “I have been unemployed for several months. My wife is a teacher at Ansar-Ud-Deen Primary School and she was the one supporting us until these injuries due to the behaviour of this police corporal who has now abandoned us.

“The accident could have been avoided if the police man obeyed simple traffic regulation. Now, the action of the policeman has resulted in serious brain injury to my wife.”

The spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, confirmed the incident.

She said disciplinary action was being taken against the DPO, while the police driver had been detained.

“It is really a pathetic case and no one is happy about it. You were the one that just informed us of the incident. We have started taking disciplinary action against the DPO and the corporal. We will hold a meeting on the issue on Friday,” she said.

Braide however said she could not say if financial support would be given to the family until after the meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

#punch