One dies as NURTW chairman escapes assassination in Lagos

AgegePulse Magazine

The Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers, Abesan Estate, Ipaja, Lagos State, Kazeem Ibrahim, has called for an investigation into the failed assassination attempt on him, which led to the killing of one of his members, Ibrahim Oyesunkanmi, at his place of residence, No 48 Opeki Road, Abesan Estate, on Wednesday, January 30,2019.

When PUNCH Metro visited the scene of the murder on Saturday, it was gathered that eight hoodlums, five of whom allegedly scaled the fence of Ibrahim’s residence around 8.35pm, accosted one of his neighbours at gunpoint and made their way to the door of his apartment allegedly in a bid to assassinate him.

Kazeem’s wife, Taiwo, said the suspected assassins pretended to be his visitors, adding that the time of their visit and their suspicious conduct by insisting on seeing her husband, prompted her to prevent them from gaining entry into the apartment.

She said the visitors, after realising that she had ignored their incessant knocks on the door, were on their way out when they saw Oyesunkanmi sleeping in his room and shot him dead.

The 30-year-old nursing mother said, “My husband was asleep that day; whenever he is home sleeping, I usually take my children inside and lock my door to avoid any disturbance. So, on that day, I heard some people knocking repeatedly on the door around 8.35pm, I was wondering who would come visiting at such a time, so I asked who they were and they said they were asking for Kazeem, and

I told them that he was not around.

“They told me to open the door, saying they wanted me to deliver a message to him, but because they looked suspicious, I ignored them. When they realised that I was no longer responding, they left. On their way downstairs, I peeped through the window and saw three unfamiliar faces, who wore fez caps; and all of a sudden, I heard gunshots. I was scared and immediately ran to my husband, woke him up and told him that policemen had killed someone.

“But, immediately they shot him (Oyesunkanmi), they left our house. People, who saw the hoodlums leaving, said they came in a bus parked at the Baptist Church; the neighbours said three people were standing by the bus, three stood at our gate and two came into the building to kill my husband.”

The 42-year-old Lagos State indigene said, “My neighbour was eating when the hoodlums scaled the fence and entered the building. They pointed a gun at him and asked him to direct them to my room. If my wife had opened the door for the hoodlums, who posed as visitors, they would have killed both of us.

“I am surprised that someone could go to the extent of hiring people to assassinate me; I don’t fight with anyone and I try as much as possible to ensure peace in anything I do, but what this means is that my life is at stake.

“When my wife woke me up as she heard the gunshots, I quickly informed the DPO of the Ipaja Division and rushed down to see who the hoodlums had shot. It was painful when I realised that it was Oyesunkanmi; they shot him twice in the chest and once in the neck. They shot him while he was asleep; so, it wasn’t as if he challenged them on their way out.

Punch Newspaper

One dies, many passengers injured as train derails in Agege

AgegePulse Magazine

One passenger died while many others were injured on Thursday when a mass transit shuttle train derailed at the Ashade railway crossing in the Mangoro area of Lagos State.

It was gathered that the accident occurred around 7am.

The Lagos Railway District Manager, Jerry Ochi, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the victim died at the NRC hospital in Ebute Meta while receiving treatment.


PUNCH Metro learnt that three coaches were affected and that the train was en route Ebute Meta, Lagos, from Ijoko in Ogun State.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement that investigation showed that the train derailed as a result of faulty tracks.

The agency explained that the faulty tracks had been reported by men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority in the area and were noted for pending engineering works later in the day.


It said the injured victims were rushed to nearby hospitals for first aid.

The statement added, “Efforts are currently being made to evacuate the derailed coaches as the Nigerian Railway Corporation crane has been dispatched to the scene from the Lagos Island.

“The GM LASEMA, LRT, LRU Paramedics, LRU Fire, LASAMBUS, FRSC, RRS, LASTMA and the Nigeria Police are on ground to ensure a swift recovery. Recovery operation is ongoing by the officials of the Nigerian Railway Corporation.”


Scene of the derailed train
The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, Chike Oti, had earlier said that only three people were injured.

“There was no death recorded but three people were injured and they have been taken to a nearby hospital. The derailed coach is being evacuated as I speak,” he told our correspondent.

The Public Relations Officer, NRC, Lagos, Khadijat Aroyewun, noted that the cause of the accident had yet to be ascertained, adding that preventive measures would be taken to prevent future occurrences.

She said, “This is just a one-off incident, which is rather unfortunate. The cause of the accident has not been ascertained; investigation will be carried out to ascertain the cause.

“However, the culture in the NRC is not only remedial but also preventive. What we do is that our technical experts ensure that the tracks are viable for movement before the trains are permitted to move on them. But when incidents like this occur, we make sure to find out the unforeseen factors that could have caused them and put in place future preventive measures.”

Copyright PUNCH.