News

Two Shot Dead in Lagos Community

By Web News 501

The family of a 15-year-old boy, Pelumi Sulaimon, have been thrown into mourning after soldiers attached to Operation MESA allegedly shot him dead around Makoko, in the Yaba area of Lagos State.

According to residents in the area, the soldiers were hired by political thugs to carry out a reprisal on their opponents in the community on Sunday, February 26.

it was gathered that when the soldiers got to the community, they started shooting indiscriminately and in the process, a stray bullet hit Pelumi who was on his way to buy drinks for his friends to celebrate his birthday.

The soldiers, who were led by a political thug identified simply as Nuru, were also said to have gunned down a tricycle operator, identified simply as Aloma, whom they mistook for one of their targets.

According to Pelumi’s relative, Musbau Ayinde, the events that led to the death of the Junior Secondary School Three pupil was a result of 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 to get 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, said he was with his friends when a resident told him that his brother had been shot by the soldiers.

He said, “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.”

Afeez said Pelumi just turned 15 years old on the day he was shot, adding that he stepped out to buy drinks to celebrate with his friends when the incident happened.

“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,” he added.

The deceased were said to have been buried on Wednesday.

 The State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.

“The case is at the State Criminal Investigation Department. No suspect has been arrested yet and investigation is still ongoing,” he said.

The Deputy Director, Public Relations, 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Olabisi Ayeni, could not be reached for comment.

He had yet to reply to a text message sent to his mobile number as of the time this report was filed.

Punch/ Oluwayemisi Owonikoko

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Education

Makoko Video Pupils To Register In Public Schools

By Web News 671

Lagos State Government officials have visited the site of the orphanage and school operated by Mawumadoka Children Foundation at Oko-Agbon, off Iwaya Road, where pupils were shown in a video observing assembly in a water logged area of Makoko, Lagos Mainland.

The foundation owners said the viral video was shot by a team from a Church to raise funds for the rebuilding of the orphanage and the small space being used as school premises. The kids were asked to pose for the video in the dirty water to attract sympathy so that funds could be raised to rebuild the orphanage.

However, the orphanage had been demolished by the foundation and sand-filled to pave the way for a proposed new building by the time the team visited. Officials of the Church, who were present during the first visit, confirmed that the video was shot in June this year and that the uniforms worn by the pupils were bought from the proprietress of a defunct school near the orphanage. According to the Church, the video, which has been criticized as an abuse of the pupils’ innocence, was meant to evoke sympathy from donors.

There are six public schools in the area, but some parents prefer to send their wards to the orphanage, which incorporated school lessons as the population of the children continued to grow. In fact, many of the older children in the community attend Adekunle Primary School, and other public schools around the area, but the Foundation retains the younger pupils.

The Lagos State House of Assembly invited the Mawumadoka Foundation officials and stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education and its agencies, on the issue. The meeting resulted in another visit by the Chairman, House Committee on Education, Hon. Ganiyu Okanlawon Sanni who led members of the committee on a fact- finding mission to the community, alongside the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, the Special Adviser on Civic Engagement, Princess Adebowale Aderemi, Executive Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, Hon. Wahab Alawiye-King and other top government officials.

The six public schools in the area are enough to accommodate all the children.  As part of the short term measure to ensure the children of the community have access to quality education, the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, LASUBEB, will register pupils within the community into the following six public schools – Adekunle Anglican Primary School, Makoko Primary School, Ayetoro African Church Primary School, Fazil Omar Primary School, Ahmadiya Primary School and Talimu Islamiya Primary School.

 The Ministry, in collaboration with the Office of Civic Engagement, will continue to encourage residents to access quality education in public schools as provided by the State Government.

However, Commissioner for Education Mrs Folasade Adefisayo has noted that the Makoko orphanage/school has thrown up once again the challenge posed by unregistered low cost schools in parts of the State. ‘’We are doing everything possible through inter-agency collaboration to ease the process of approval and get the schools standardized; it is a cause of action this Government is seriously committed to,’’ she said.

 “The State is also working with public and private institutions to support low cost schools and give them access to resources and funding to improve their schools.”

The Ministry will continue to engage members of the community on the need to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all school age children in Makoko and other adjoining areas.

Abisola Oluremi