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Lagos printer abducts, rapes pupil he met on Facebook

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A screen printer, Oluwaseun Badejo, has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly abducting and raping a 15-year-old girl, identified as Lateefat, in the Somolu area of the state.

According to a PUNCH Metro report, the Senior Secondary School two pupil of a public school at Ifako, Gbagada, was alleegdly drugged before the suspect had rounds of sex with her.

It was gathered that the duo met on a social media platform, Facebook.

Badejo, who claimed to be a pastor, was said to have started by sending prayer messages to the victim.

The 25-year-old was reported to have later invited her to a shop on Ayepe Street, Somolu, from where he lured her to his friend’s house.

PUNCH Metro was told that the suspect, with the help of his friend, drugged Lateefat and raped her.

The victim, who missed school and did not return home, was said to have been declared missing by her parents.

After some search, she was reportedly traced to the Ita Baale area of Somolu, where she was rescued.

Her brother told our correspondent that she could not stand up and had to be taken to a hospital for treatment.

He said, “She went to school on Monday and did not return home. On Tuesday, her mother became worried and called me to ask if I knew her whereabouts. That was because her school was near my house.

“When I got to her school, I did not see her and I reported back to her mother that she was also not in school. The mother and I went to meet her teacher to ask for her whereabouts.

“The teacher called some of her friends, who seemed to know her movements. They took us to the man’s shop, but she was not there. They suggested we go to the man’s house.

“We hid somewhere, while her friends went to check. They reported back that they found her sandals at the man’s apartment. I am a scout member. So, with my training, I barged in and got the man arrested. We saw Lateefat on the bed; she could not stand. We took her to a hospital and handed the man over to the police.”

The teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Lateefat’s friends identified Badejo as the man she had been chatting with on Facebook.

She said she pretended to be a detective to be able to drag the suspect to the Onipanu Police Station, where he was detained.

A police source said Lateefat’s drink was drugged by the suspect, adding that she woke up around 1am on Tuesday and found herself in bed with Badejo.

The source said early that day, the suspect had another round of sex with her.

He said, “Actually, the girl’s brother gave her a mobile phone sometime in January 2018 and she opened a Facebook account. That was how she accepted the friendship request of the suspect in February and they started chatting.

“After her mother collected the phone from her, the man gave one of her friends his telephone number and succeeded in luring her and the friends to his shop. He bought drinks for them that day.

“The girl in her statement said he later invited her to his house. The first time she went, he did not do anything to her. It was the second time that he abducted her; she was in her school uniform that day.

“Despite the fact that the girl was menstruating, he forcefully made love to her after drugging her drink. She woke up at 1am after midnight. That morning again, he raped her. When the girl tried to shout, he covered her mouth. The girl said all her begging  fell on deaf ears.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti, confirmed the incident, adding that the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, had ordered that the case should be transferred to the gender unit of the command headquarters.

He said the pupil was deceived by the suspect’s pretence on the social media.

He said, “The girl is 15 years old, while the man claims to be 25 years old. They met on Facebook, where the man claimed to be a pastor and sent her prayer messages. The girl thought she was talking to a pastor, not knowing that he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. As a friend, he invited her to a place and she accepted. On getting there, he took her to his friend’s house and had his way with her.

“We suspect that the girl was drugged before he had the marathon sex with her. This was because when police operatives got there, they met a half-filled bottle of soft drink, with a chemical like sodium. We are trying to analyse the substance and the drink the girl took.”

Oti said the suspect’s friend, who aided the crime, had also been arrested.

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Badaru on Operational Tour of 82 Division, other Military Installations in Enugu and Imo States

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Badaru in Enugu
Minister of Defence H.E Mohammed Badaru Abubakar

The Honourable Minister of Defence H.E Mohammed Badaru Abubakar CON mni is currently in Enugu on operational tour of 82 Division of Nigerian Army and other military platforms in Enugu.

He was received on arrival by the General officer Commanding 82 Division of the Nigerian Army / Commander JTF SE of operation Udoka Major-General H.T Dada and other  senior military officers.

Minister of Defence H.E Mohammed Badaru Abubakar
Minister of Defence H.E Mohammed Badaru Abubakar

The Minister is expected to meet with South East stakeholders on the way forward.

Details later…

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Tinubu Grants More Power to Ministers of State on Oversight Funtions

…of Agencies under them

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Minister of State for Defence Dr. Bello Matawalle
President Bola Tinubu and Minister of State for Defence Dr. Bello Matawalle

Tinubu has granted full oversight responsibilities to Ministers of State over agencies under them amongst whom are Minister of State for Defence Dr. Bello Matawalle, Water Resources and Sanitation, Minister of State for Agriculture and others will henceforth enjoy full  oversight responsibilities over such agencies.

President Bola Tinubu at FEC Meeting has approved that ministers of state be given full powers to supervise the agencies under them, the cable reported.

Until now, files pertaining to departments and agencies under their supervision were sent by their permanent secretaries to the senior ministers.

With the new dispensation, ministers of state can now grant all necessary administrative approvals on the governance process of these agencies and departments.

According to a source in the office of the head of service of the federation, “the president was not pleased with the prevailing governing framework in which ministers of states were just ministers in name”.

This, Tinubu reportedly said, led to the “underutilisation of the expertise and capabilities” of most ministers of state.

“The president believes ministers of state should have the right to make decisions and direct action within their areas of responsibility,” the official added.

According to the Cable report, the source said the idea, first mooted by Hadiza Bala Usman, special adviser to the President on policy coordination and head, central delivery coordination unit got an instant buy-in from the President.

With the new directive, the administration hopes “to unleash” the potential of all the ministers, the source added.

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Enugu: Mbah Approves N80,000 Minimum Wage for State, LG Workers and Primary School Teachers

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MBAG, ALGON and Minimum wage
L-R: Secretary, ALGON, Enugu State chapter, Hon. Uche Okolo; Vice Chairman, ALGON, Enugu State, Hon. Ferdinand Ukwueze; Chairman, ALGON, Hon. Okechukwu Edeh; Chairman, TUC, Enugu State, Comrade Ben Adogwa; Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah; Chairman, NLC, Enugu State, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo; Chairman, Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, Comrade Ezekiel Omeh; Chairman, NULGE, Enugu State, Comrade Udaya Ani and the Head of Service, Mr. Kenneth Ugwu, during the announcement of N80,000 new state minimum wage at the Government House, Enugu, Thursday.

It’s unprecedented to earn above minimum wage in Enugu- Labour

… We’ll commence implementation immediately- ALGON

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has approved N80,000 minimum wage for the state’s work force, including local government workers, effective October 2024, noting a direct link between a motivated workforce and his administration’s vision of growing the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn.

The new minimum wage covers all state employees, primary school teachers, and local government workers.

Organised labour has described the wage as unprecedented, as it was the first time that Enugu workers would be earning above the national minimum wage.

Mbah announced the new minimum wage on Thursday after a meeting with the Enugu State Minimum Wage Implementation Committee headed by the Head of Service, Kenneth Ugwu and labour leaders, including the state’s labour leaders.

Mbah said, “Few weeks ago, I inaugurated a committee with the responsibility to oversee the implementation of the New National Minimum Wage in Enugu State. Today, I’m happy to announce a new minimum wage for workers in Enugu State, reflecting our fidelity to their welfare, in regard of which we have been resolutely committed.

“We have approved the sum of N80,000 as the new minimum wage in Enugu State. This underscores our commitment to bequeathing lasting legacies of improved living conditions.

“Our commitment to improved workers’ welfare runs deep, and is rooted in the firm understanding of the inextricable link between an inspired workforce and the audacious economic targets we had set our sights on.

“We clearly understood that reducing poverty to the barest minimum and achieving an unprecedented economic growth target were contingent on the output of the workforce. Therefore, for us, the best way to acknowledge that labour creates wealth is by ensuring that the workforce, which creates the wealth that oils the wheel of government, is sufficiently motivated.

“We have similarly demonstrated our commitment to workers welfare through the consistent payment of the wage awards, a gesture we had pledged to sustain until a new wage structure took effect.”

Speaking, the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo, thanked governor Mbah for always prioritising the welfare of workers, describing the new minimum wage as “a great one for Enugu workers.”

 “In the past, when minimum wage is announced, it takes up to one or two years for anything to happen; and when it did, we took anything they gave us as we saw it.  But today, you have even given us something much higher than national minimum wage. 

“But I am not totally surprised because when other governors were paying N12,000 wage award, you were paying us N25,000. When others paid for some months and stopped, you continued paying it until the new minium wage as you promised. So, we have enjoyed wage award for 11 months and today you announced the minimum wage which is the first of its kind since my 32 years in service,” said.

Speaking to Government House correspondents, the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Ben Asogwa, said, “We are so happy. The governor did not just announce ₦80,000 minium wage, but said that it cascades down to even local government workers. He said that he does not want disparity in salary implementation in Enugu State anymore because we all go to the same market.

“This is the first time in history we are seeing the implementation of minimum wage above the approved amount by the federal government. Actually, when we entered into the negotiation, we were afraid because we know quite well that we are not among the states that share in dividends of oil money. We know quite well that we are at the back when it comes to federal allocation, but His Excellency actually surprised us.

“One thing we have seen is that he understands the impact of motivation on productivity. The governor has set a pace and we know that any other person coming after him will have the challenge to meet up with the target set by His Excellency, Governor Peter Mbah.”

On his part, Chairman of the Association of Local Government Workers, ALGON, Enugu State, Hon. Okechukwu Edeh, pledged the commitment of council chairmen to implementing the new minimum wage.

“When you motivate workers, they become more productive. What I am promising on behalf of the Enugu ALGON family is that we are going to cascade the new minimum wage to the local government level. Implementation begins immediately,” he said.

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