Flooding: Ogun threatens demolition of structures obstructing waterways

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The Ogun state Government has threatened to enforce it's environmental laws to stop incessant flooding in the state

The government made the threat following the over 18-hour of torrential rainfall, which wreaked havoc in some parts of the state on Saturday.

The state Commissioner for the Environment, Abiodun Abudu-Balogun, stated this on Sunday during the inspection of areas affected by the flood in Abeokuta, the state capital.

The torrential rainfall left many residents living in flood prone areas homeless as it destroyed property worth millions of naira.

Abudu-Balogun, who was in company with his Physical Planning and Urban Development counterpart, Tunji Odunlami, inspected the Ijeja, Ijeun Titun, Gbangba, Odo-Eran, Isale-Oja Kuto, Sokori and Ago-Ijesa canals.

The commissioners, who observed the extent of the devastation caused by the flood, pledged that the Dapo Abiodun administration would take steps to overcome the problems.

Abudu-Balogun said if not for the recent dredging of the canals, the devastation would have been greater.He also promised that the government would continue the dredging of rivers to ensure free flow of water to avoid a recurrence of flooding in parts of the state.

He identified human activities such as indiscriminate dumping of refuse in waterways as one of the factors responsible for flooding.

Abudu-Balogun stated, “As a government, we are going to take decisive steps to ensure that residents comply with environmental laws. We are happy that no life was lost. We will ensure that corrections are made to forestall the annual occurrence of this natural disaster.

“We have seen the extent of the damage done by the flooding. We will continue to dredge canals in the state to allow for free passage of water.

“Human activities, including building on waterways and indiscriminate dumping of refuse in streams and rivers, are factors responsible for what we are seeing here. We can all see the devastating effect that these have caused.

Cult group planning terror in Ogun

The police on Sunday said they had uncovered plans by members of a notorious cult group to cause mayhem on Tuesday across Ogun State.

Command’s spokesperson Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement, said the group intended to mark a day they christened 7/7 by initiating new members and rounding off the ceremony with attacks on rival groups and destruction of property in various parts of the state.

Abimbola warned those behind the planned cult meeting, initiation and mayhem to have a rethink or face a ruthless response from security agencies.

The police appealed to “parents and guardians to warn their wards” to steer clear of unlawful gatherings,

Hoteliers were also warned not to allow their facilities to be used for any cult-related gatherings.

Flood takes over Abeokuta roads, as Ogun River overflows

The early morning downpour that occurred in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Saturday had created problem of flood for some residents and motorists in the city.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the heavy downpour destroyed many property in the affected areas, especially houses at the back of Ogun River.

Among the property destroyed were personal belongings of some people, which were washed away by the flood, and also the destruction of fences of buildings in other areas.

Areas mostly affected included Kuto, Isale-Igbein, Lanfewa, Amolaso, Ijeun-Titun, Ago-Ijesa, Abiola way, Isale Abetu, Sokori, Igbore, Oke Mosan and Isale Ake area, all in Abeokuta South and North Local Government Areas of the state.

A NAN correspondent who visited some of the areas reports that residents were counting their losses and pleading with the state government to come to their rescue.

The popular Ogun River was filled to the brim, while vehicles on the roads were trapped in the flood.

Babatunde Akinbiyi, the Spokesman, Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, said officers from the command had been deployed to control traffic.

Akinbiyi explained that the command had already issued traffic alert informing motorists about the state of the roads and where they should ply.

He said: “Those going through inward and outward should not pass through Leme axis because of the flooding. They should go through Kuto so that they can navigate their route down to Idi Aba and other areas.

“Our men are at the Governor’s office axis, Iyana mortuary, Sapon, Ibara under bridge and Brewery area, to ensure the roads are free of crashes

Ogun Schools to stay shut, churches and mosques remain closed

The  Ogun  State government on Friday set up a committee to   fashion out guidelines for  ”a safe reopening”  of schools.

The immediate objective is to  ”allow certificate classes to resume and write their examinations,” although all schools remain shut for now,it said.

It said  available data and opinions of experts “continue to indicate that the fight against the virus is far from being won,” and therefore  can “neither afford more fatalities or allow the rate of sickness to outnumber the capacity to manage the sick.”

Governor Dapo Abiodun’s Chief Press Secretary,Kunle Somorin ,said in a statement in Abeokuta that to date, 4,072 people have been tested out of which 898 were positive.

Six hundred and nine of the cases have been successfully treated and discharged while 19 people have died,leaving  270 active cases.

Government  extended  the current Phase of eased restrictions for another two weeks .

In effect Monday to Friday are still open for businesses and other economic transactions with only Saturday and Sunday as lockdown days;

• Commercial activities are not permitted on weekends
• Churches and mosques activities will remain closed;
• Observation of dusk-to-dawn curfew as directed by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) i.e. between 10.00pm and 4.00am daily;
• Wearing of face masks in the public is still mandatory;
• Only one passenger is still allowed for motorcycles and two passengers only for tricycles.
• Taxi cabs and buses still have 60% limitation on their carrying capacity and the measure to arrest and impound any driver that contravenes this in our State is still in force;
• The COVID-19 Task Force in markets must continue to ensure physical distancing, availability of hand washing facilities, and use of gloves and facemasks for traders;
• Decontamination will continue in our markets and other public places;
• Limitation of all gatherings to a maximum number of 20, is still in effect;
• Gyms, event centres, cinemas, arcades, bars, casinos, nightclubs, swimming pools, barber-shops, spas, beauty Salons, and all public parks, including those in private residential estates, are still not allowed to operate;

Restaurants are permitted to provide only take-away services and should also ensure that there are no more than 10-15 customers at a time with physical distancing measures in place. Guidelines for eat-in services are still being fine-tuned;

All industries in Ogun State must continue to comply with the “Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines for Workplaces in Ogun State to Combat COVID-19” as issued by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investments. Therefore, testing of staff for COVID-19 in all industries in the State must be sustained;

The Task Force set up to conduct random spot checks on the premises of the industries, restaurants and other business enterprises to confirm compliance is still in operation.

Other precautionary measures still in force in Ogun State are:

Funerals and wedding gatherings should not be more than 20 persons, including family members and officiating ministers/priests;

There will still be restriction on sports and recreational activities;

Bank/Financial Institutions are to continue their normal operations as allowed in Phase two.

Residents scoop diesel as tanker falls in Ogun

A diesel-laden tanker, on Thursday, fell and spilled its content on the road in the Arepo area of Ogun State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the tanker driver, who was conveying diesel to a company in Arepo, veered off the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to connect to his destination and lost control of the vehicle.

An eyewitness, who gave his name simply as Kehinde, said the vehicle was stopped by an abandoned metal on the earth road.

“The driver was going to a company in Arepo when the tank fell off the truck head after the vehicle hit a metal that stopped it from going to the expressway. If not for that metal, the truck would have entered the expressway and cause a serious accident,” he said.

At the scene of the crash, PUNCH Metro observed that many residents were taking advantage of the situation to scoop diesel as it was spilling on the road.

Some other persons suspected to be the owners of the diesel were seen trans-loading the remainder content into another truck with number plate AKD 584 XC, while some of the residents were seen fighting themselves over the content.

When asked if they were not scared that an explosion could occur, one of the residents, who gave his name simply as Abdul, said, “Nothing is working in this country and people are hungry and there is no money. An explosion will not occur.

“I have scooped one bowl of diesel and I am here to take another one. The incident happened around 6pm. The driver wanted to drive up the road, but the truck rolled back and as it was falling, we made an attempt to put a breaker on the tyres but the vehicle climbed it.”

Emergency responders at the scene included officials of the Isheri station of the Ogun State Fire Service and police personnel from the Warewa Division.

Ogun suspected fake lawyer defrauds client of N300,000

Men of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a self-acclaimed lawyer, Elijah Ojo, for allegedly duping a client  into parting with N300,000.

Ojo was reported to have collected the money from a client to perfect her bail condition, but   bolted afterwards.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

Oyeyemi said Ojo was arrested on Sunday for parading himself as a legal practitioner and swindling several people out of huge sums of money.

The PPRO added that the suspect was arrested following a petition written to the Divisional Police Officer, Ajuwon, by a legal practitioner.

Oyeyemi said the petitioner reported the suspect for parading himself as a lawyer and extorting money from unsuspecting members of the public.

The PPRO stated that the petitioner told the police that the suspect had never been to the Law School and therefore was not qualified to be addressed as a lawyer.

Oyeyemi added, “Upon the petition, the DPO, Ajuwon Division, SP Andrew Akinseye, and his team of detectives embarked on a painstaking intelligence investigation about the self-acclaimed lawyer.

“In the process of their investigation, they came across a woman, who was charged for an offence but was defrauded by the suspect. He collected N300,000 from her to perfect her bail condition, but never showed up in court.

The suspect was subsequently arrested after much evidence had been gathered against him.

“On interrogation, he confessed that though he gained admission to study Law at the Ekiti State University, he did not finish the course and did not attend the Law School

Ogun Police Command advises vehicle owners

The Ogun State Police Command advised the general public especially those who lost their vehicles/motorcycles to thieves or left abandoned to report at Ibafo and SARS divisions for identification and claims.

The vehicles and motorcycles are Ibafo divisional vehicles one tuck bucket with Reg No MTB 161 AX; one Mack lorry vehicle with Reg No LSD 907 XP; one Varagon bus with Reg No SMK 104 XT and one Honda Accord with Reg.No DJ 832 APP.

Ibafo Divisonal motorcycles: one Bajaj Motorcycle unregistered; one Bajaj Motorcycle unregistered; one Suzuki Motorcycle unregistered; one Bajaj Motorcycle with Reg.No TTN 745 VL; one Bajaj Motorcycle with Reg.No WDE 374 VL; one Bajaj Motorcycle with Reg.No AYE 665 FJ and one Bajaj Motorcycle with Reg.No AAW 04 QD.

SARS vehicles: one Volkswagen bus with Reg No APP 831 XJ; one unregistered Toyota Camry Car; One Honda Accord with Reg No AGL 745 FH; one unregistered Mitsubishi.

Sars Motorcycles: Three Bajaj Motorcycle unregistered; One Jincheng motorcycle with Reg No QX 410 AKD; one Bajaj Motorcycle with Reg.No MEK 561 QB; one Bajaj Motorcycle with Reg. No DED 169 VW; one Bajaj Motorcycle with Reg.No FFF 308 FQ and one Bajaj Motorcycle with Reg.No OYO 798 KSF.

The Lagos State Police Command has also warned owners of abandoned vehicles parked at Ilemba Hausa, Ajangbadi Division, to come with their original document or lose them after 14 days. The vehicles: Mitsubishi car marked BY 815 FKJ, Honda accord- KJA 705 BU.

Bajaj- SRA 205 QJ, Bajaj- AYE 203 QJ, Bajaj- QJ 253 APP, Bajaj- QK 106 FST, one Bajaj unregistered.