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Rep member- elect, Akinosi denies assault allegations, calls for public understanding

Published

1 year ago

May 3, 2023

NewsDirect

A House of Representatives member-elect, Mr Tunji Akinosi, has debunked the alleged rumour making the rounds that his car was involved in an accident by knocking down a hawker.

Rather, he said the video making the rounds was done in bad taste and an attempt to smear his personality.

A Twitter user, @GazzetteNGR, had posted on his handle that the Representative’s car was involved in an accident, hence engaged some people in a fight.

He said that he would have ordinarily ignored the post, but as a Nigerian there is the need to put the issue straight, hence this statement released to newsmen.

He recounted his ordeal, according to the statement, “there was traffic along the Onikan axis due to the May Day celebration, and in an attempt to out wit each other, the hawkers were everywhere and along the hustling, one of them ran into my car side mirror and damaged it, immediately my driver stopped to pick the remains, the hawker fell on the floor claiming he had a broken leg, sensing the damage and expenses involved.

“Before you know what was going on, some individuals surrounded my car banging on the owner’s side asking me to come down that I had hit and wounded a hawker, but I answered them that my driver was already attending to the matter.

“A lady just emerged from nowhere and shouting on top of her voice that she knows me and trying to disclose my identity.

“When the matter was becoming rowdy, I opted for two options, first was that, we will all first move to the police station to lodge a formal complaints and from there, to the General Hospital, Onikan, ready to pay all the bills if he is discovered to have a fractured leg and secondly, if he is not diagnosed of such, he will buy the complete set of my car side mirror.

“On hearing my options, the hawker jumped up begging me to allow him continue with his hawking, saying it was those people that asked him to pretend he had a fractured leg”.

The lawmaker-elect advised the general public to always be kind, gentle and reasonable in their action to any incident, rather than creating a mob environment.

Investigation has since revealed that the lady who recorded the video, Thomas Abiodun, was a former staff of the Ogun state government at the College of Health Technology, Ilese.

She was said to have been dismissed with others having been founding wanting of gross misconduct unexpected of a civil servant and thereafter disciplinary actions were taken against her sometime ago. In all probability and with the way she had behaved, she was all out not really to show genuine concern but rather with a motive to create unnecessary scene and score cheap popularity”, Akinosi said.

News

Nigeria’s money supply dropped to N92.3trn in March – CBN

Published

9 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

Nigeria’s money supply dropped marginally to N92.3 trillion in March 2024 from N93.9 trillion in February.

This is according to recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Experts have linked the development to CBN’s hike in interest rates.

Demand deposits increased from N26.8 trillion to N28.8 trillion, suggesting a preference among depositors for more liquid forms of money.

Similarly, currency outside banks surged from N3.4 trillion to N3.6 trillion as more Nigerians moved towards cash following the end of the apex bank’s controversial new naira note policy.

The naira has continued to depreciate against the dollar despite the CBN’s policy intervention. On Thursday, it further dipped to N1533.99 per dollar.

News

Naira appreciates against dollar, ends week on good note

Published

9 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

The Naira appreciated against the dollar at the foreign exchange market barely 24 hours after depreciation.

FMDQ data showed that the N1497.33 appreciated against the dollar on Friday

This represents an N33.66 gain against the dollar compared to N1497.33 traded on Thursday.

Similarly, at the parallel market, the Naira appreciated to N1475 per dollar on Friday from N1555 on Thursday.

This showed that the Naira ended the week well after days of depreciation.

The country’s currency continued to experience instability since mid-April when it recorded months of appreciation.

Meanwhile, the Bureau De Change Operators had blamed forex scarcity for the continued depreciation of Naira.

News

Police dismiss inspector for N29.8m theft, kidnapping

Published

9 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed one of its officers identified as Adabo Mohammed for criminal conspiracy and armed robbery, among others.

Mohammed, who was an Inspector, alongside five others was said to be a member of an armed robbery gang allegedly responsible for the stealing of N29.8 million from a victim in Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory.

This was disclosed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement issued at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Friday.

The statement, titled, ‘Police speak tough on indiscipline, misconduct,’ noted that in a move to uphold professional standards within the Force, the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, stressed the Force’s intolerance to any form of indiscipline.

The statement read partly, “In a decisive move to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity within the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has emphasised his administration’s zero-tolerance policy towards any form of indiscipline. He stressed that the mandate of the police is to serve and protect with honour and integrity, and as such all breaches of the core values of the NPF will be met with decisive action to maintain public trust and ensure justice.

“In line with this policy, all cases reported against personnel have been creditably attended to, and justice has been done appropriately. Many of the erring officers have been sanctioned, while some cases are still at the orderly room trial level, and will soon be concluded.

“For instance, a police inspector has been dismissed from service while three others were demoted to their previous ranks following thorough investigations which confirmed their involvement in various acts of indiscipline/crime.”

Adejobi added, “One Inspector Adabo Mohammed was dismissed for the offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery/kidnapping, and corrupt practice. The dismissed officer, along with five others were members of an armed robbery gang responsible for the robbery of the sum of N29.8 million from a victim in Gwagwalada, FCT as well as the kidnap of one Ikechukwu Emmanuel Okafor in Tunga Manje, and the collection of ransom sum of N4.4m. The ex-officer has been charged to court accordingly.

“Similarly, the trio of Inspectors Osagie Efford, Semiu Agbekin, and Francis Ahuen, attached to the Special Tactical Squad (STS), have been demoted to their previous rank of Sergeant for the extortion of some motorists in Abuja. The trio intercepted an unregistered Mercedes Benz at Gwarinpa, Abuja, and forced the occupants to part with the total sum of N29.4m.

“The matter when reported by one Harrison Gwamnishu (#HarrisonBBi18) via the social media platform ‘X’, was taken up and properly investigated. While the monies have been returned to the complainants, the officers were subjected to orderly room trial in line with extant laws, and have been demoted.”

The FPRO noted that some senior officers have “been subjected to the Force Disciplinary Committee hearings” to “scrutinise and address allegations of misconduct against higher-ranking officers of the Force.”

He assured the public that “these measures are taken with the utmost seriousness and are integral to restoring and maintaining their trust. He re-emphasised that the NPF is dedicated to fostering a culture of accountability and respect within all ranks to ensure that police officers serve with integrity.”