News
TRAGEDY: How soldiers killed JSS3 student on birthday, hours after February 25 election
The echoes of the February 25 presidential election, is reverberating in a different way for the family of Pelumi Sulaimon, a 15-year-old boy, said to have been mowed down by the bullets of soldiers attached to Operation MESA, a special security outfit in Lagos, a day after the exercise.
The young lad was reportedly shot dead by a team of the special squad which stormed Makoko suburb in the Yaba area of Lagos State on Sunday, a day after the presidential election, apparently in search of some political actors involved in the exercise.
The PUNCH, quotes residents in the area, as saying that the soldiers were hired by political thugs to carry out a reprisal on their opponents in the community on Sunday, February 26, adding that the soldiers started shooting indiscriminately they got to the community and in the process, a stray bullet hit the victim, who was on his way to buy drinks for his friends to celebrate his birthday.
The soldiers, reportedly led by a political thug identified simply as Nuru, were also said to have gunned down another victim, a tricycle operator, identified simply as Aloma, in apparent mistaken identity, as they seemed to have mistaken him for one of their targets.
Musbau Ayinde, one of Pelumi’s relations, who narrated parts of the details of the incident, was quoted as saying that the killing of the Junior Secondary School Three (JSS3) student could be traced to a clash caused by political rivalry in the community.
He said: “There was a clash between members of two political parties at a base close to Makoko roundabout on Thursday night. The fight was later settled after the intervention of some residents in the area. After that, there was another confrontation between them during the election held on Saturday but that did not lead to a fight and we all thought it had ended there not until Sunday when a thug belonging to one of the political parties brought soldiers and stormed the base where the clash occurred the last time.
“When they got there, they did not meet their targets, so the soldiers who were attached to the OP MESA started to shoot indiscriminately and that was how one of the bullets hit Pelumi in his ribs. A tricycle rider known as Aloma was also shot dead.
“He was about getting passengers at the park when he heard the gunshots and fled. But they thought he was one of their targets and that was how they aimed at him and shot him. Even after he fell down, they came down from their van, moved close to him and shot him again in the head.”
Pelumi’s elder brother, Afeez, who said he was with his friends when a resident told him that his brother had been shot by the soldiers, added: “I was with my friends when the soldiers arrived in the area in a van which had the inscription of OP MESA on it with a covered number plate. That was around 3pm. They came in through the Sabo area with four soldiers hanging at the back of the van.
“Shortly after, someone came to tell me that our last born had been shot. I rushed down to the place and saw my immediate younger sister at the spot trying to lift him (Pelumi) up from the ground. That was when some residents joined to carry him to a hospital at Oko Agbon. When we got there, they referred us to another hospital on Harvey Road. That was where he passed away. The hospital asked us to get a police report before releasing the corpse. So, it was policemen from Adekunle that took the corpse from the hospital and deposited it in the mortuary.”
Stating how Pelumi who just turned 15 years old on the day he was shot, was on his way to buying drinks to celebrate with his friends when the incident happened, he said: “The people we met at the spot where he was shot said a political thug known as Nuru was sighted in the van of the military officers. And they left the community through Iwaya Road after carrying out the operation.”
Benjamin Hundeyin, Superintendent of Police and spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command, while confirming the killing of the two victims, who were said to have been buried on Wednesday, was quoted as saying: “The case is at the State Criminal Investigation Department. No suspect has been arrested yet and investigation is still ongoing.”
The Deputy Director, Public Relations, 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Olabisi Ayeni, who could not be reached for comment, had yet to reply to a text message sent to his mobile number as of the time this report was filed, the report said.
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi says he is aware of some evil designs against himself and his supporters in the coming months.
The former Anambra State governor disclosed this in a statement released on his verified Twitter handle on Monday, May 29, 2023.
The release of the statement coincided with the inauguration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Nigeria’s President at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 28, 2023
See full statement:
For all Nigerians, this is a time for deep reflection. It is also a time to re-examine our assumptions, even as we reaffirm our hopes. Let us calmly review our aspirations, in order to recalibrate our expectations and pin down the causes of our missed opportunities and disappointments.
We stand at that critical moment in time when, as a people, we must collectively come to grips with the reality of our injured destiny as well as the reasons for that injury. It is for us to reassess our plight as a young democracy and identify clear pathways to a better and greater future for us all. As we await the verdict of the election tribunal, I urge all Nigerians to use this opportunity to renew their commitment to the Nigerian ideal. That ideal remains noble and worth every sacrifice we can make.
Nigeria remains our only patrimony and it is a patrimony we must protect, rather than violate. We have no other nation but this, so let us remain committed to rescuing and rebuilding it.
The judiciary is part of the democratic enterprise and a critical governance tool for determining the propriety of the decisions and actions of every citizen and every institution of state. To that extent, and for that reason, I urge everyone to treat it with the respect and dignity it deserves.
We expect that the Nigerian judiciary will use the election cases now before it to reaffirm its independence and integrity. It has to do so, for all our sakes and for itself.
Nigerians must, therefore, remain peaceful and law abiding. No matter the depth of anyone’s reservations about what is going on in the polity today, no matter the real and imagined provocations, and no matter the disagreement out there, we should remember that this will not last forever.
I remain committed, and untiring, in my determination to work with like-minded fellow Nigerians to end the curse of missed opportunities and squandered hope that has become our lot here.
I will never shrink from that original commitment, because I firmly believe that we must change from the present politics of criminality, and corruption, in order to make a new Nigeria possible.
I call on fellow Nigerians, especially the youths to remain steadfast, calm, patient, and peaceful. Our journey may be long and difficult but it is worth it in every way. Victory is assured.
We have to work together to move our beautiful country from corruption and criminality to a center of productivity rather than aimless consumption.
I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.
These schemes will aim at degrading our support base and confusing the public. But, no evil campaign will alter the substance of my character; nor diminish my patriotic commitment to a better Nigeria. It is about the future of our youths. it is about ending the Years of Locust.
In all of this, I thank Nigerians, our great party (LP) and the media. The latter, as the Fourth Estate of the realm, has remained a trusted ally.
This Estate must continue to guide our people on the immense promise of a future in a new Nigeria.
God bless Nigeria and protect the troops keeping us safe in this season of vaulting insecurity.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. –PO
Channels
James Faleke, lawmaker and Secretary of the now defunct All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC), has revealed that President Bola Tinubu would unveil members of his cabinet within 60 days.
Channels Television, which quoted him as saying on Monday, at the inauguration of of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as president and vice-president of Nigeria was underway at the Eagle Square in Abuja, said the President, would , unveil his cabinet as soon as possible.
Faleke, who promised that the new President would bring a different approach to power, was quoted as saying: “Of course, within 60 days, that’s what the law says. He can announce anytime but I just know he must do it within 60 days.”
Eradication of terrorism, waging war against corruption and battling the crippling poverty in Nigeria, would form the fulcrum of a new Nigeria President Bola Tinubu, says he would strive to put in place as his new government began hours ago after assuming the reins of power as the 16th President, after Muhammadu Buhari handed over to him at an elaborate ceremony at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Monday.
Vowing to defend Nigeria from all forms of terror, as well as end extreme poverty in the country, Tinubu, told Nigerians: “I will do that through job creation and food security and end to extreme poverty. I will ensure that corruption is tacked by strenghtening anti-corruption agencies.”
He also promised that his administration would discourage corruption through the introduction of a credit culture, stating: “Our government will continue to take proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.”
It was also on a day the President, who had during his presidential campaigns, promised Nigerians that he would remove subsidy on petroleum products, made good his words by announcing suspension on them, adding that the era of payments on fuel was gone, as the 2023 Budget made no provision for fuel subsidy “and more so, subsidy payment is no longer justifiable.”
Obi to Nigerians: Don’t be despaired, your mandate won’t be lost
Tinubu will unveil Ministers in two months *He’ll be different – Faleke
Tinubu: My stand on corruption, insecurity *How I’ll banish poverty in Nigeria
In the military, INEC boss and his team would be executed – Bode George *Why put Tinubu’s boy in charge of IT?
I’ve paid a price for joining Obi to rescue Nigeria – Datti-Ahmed *Weeps on TV
BREAKING: Sorry, you can’t contest 2023 election, Atiku tells Tinubu
-
Columns11 hours agoWhy God disgraced Buhari!
-
News6 hours agoBREAKING: Dokpesi, AIT founder, pioneer private broadcast owner, dies at 71
-
News5 hours agoTinubu: My stand on corruption, insecurity *How I’ll banish poverty in Nigeria
-
News5 hours agoTinubu will unveil Ministers in two months *He’ll be different – Faleke
-
News5 hours agoObi to Nigerians: Don’t be despaired, your mandate won’t be lost