News

I was offered N1m by Abuja hospital for my kidney to be removed — 16-year-old boy

Published

2 weeks ago

May 6, 2024

Advocate News Nigeria

I was offered N1m by Abuja hospital for my kidney to be removed — 16-year-old boy

• Medical Director, Alliance Hospital, Dr Christopher Otabor

A 16-year-old boy, on Monday, told an FCT High Court in Zuba that he was offered N1 million by Mr Emmanuel Olorunlaye, for his kidney to be removed at Alliance Hospital, Abuja.

The teenager made this known while being led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Hassan Tahir.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) charged the defendants alongside the Hospital with 11 counts bordering on organ harvesting.

The defendants are the Medical Director, Alliance Hospital, Dr Christopher Otabor, Emmanuel Olorunlaye, Chikaodili Ugochukwu, Administrative Secretary of the hospital and Dr Aremu Abayomi.

The boy said that he met Olorunlaye, who told him he was the manager of Alliance hospital, through a friend in February 2023.

“My friend told me that we were going for a job at the Alliance Hospital and we went to see Olorunlaye who took us for our blood samples to be taken.

“He gave us transport money and asked me if I knew what I was about to do in the hospital.

I answered no and he told me to ask my friend.

“I asked my friend, who did not tell me what we were doing in the hospital, later informed me that Olorunlaye asked us to return to the hospital,” he said.

The witness said Olorunlaye asked about his health and informed him that he was about to sale his kidney for N1 million.

” I declined the offer and Olorunlaye asked us to go return to the hospital for the work we were initially supposed to do which was to distribute medication.

“When we got back to the hospital, Olorunlaye asked why we were scared to accept his offer and asked us to wait for his boss, Ugochukwu and when she arrived, he handed me over to her.

He alleged that Ugochukwu took him to an FCT high court where he signed a document and was asked to wait outside for her.

“Six minutes later she came out and we went back to the hospital and she handed me over to a driver and a nurse. I was taken to Eco Lab for a scan and driven back to Alliance Hospital afterwards.

“Olorunlaye told me that I was going to sleep in the hospital because it was late to go back home, so while I was there, a nurse came and put a drip on me, then Ugochukwu came with some documents and asked me to sign, and I did.

“I was weak and wheeled into the theatre and I laid on the bed, then I overheard the nurse asking for Dr Aremu to be called, I slept off and when I woke up the nurse informed me, I woke up on the third day after the operation.

“I tried to stand up but I felt as if I was carrying a heavy load inside of me, I tried to disconnect the drip that was attached to me, but the nurse asked me to calm down and rest,” he said.

After some minutes, the boy said the nurse disconnected the drip line and wheeled him back to the room.

He said he was asleep and hours later Olorunlaye walked in asked him how he felt and said: “thank God the operation was successful.”

He said that was when he realized that his kidney had been removed.

The 16-year-old boy said Olorunlaye said he did not have cash to give him due to the cashless policy and would give him N1 million for his kidney.

He said Olorunlaye showed him some dollar notes in an envelope and asked if he would take dollars or transfer, but the boy said he did not know where to change the dollars.

“My friend suggested that he needed N100,000 to buy a phone so that we could create an Opay account for the money to be transferred, Olorunlaye transferred the money to him for the phone which he bought.

“I could not operate the phone because I was still weak from the operation. So, my friend opened the account but because I did not have a BVN I could not receive the sum of money.

“My friend later said that the phone got stolen by street boys and Olorunlaye then informed me that I was going to be discharged from the hospital and gave me medication.

“ Olorunlaye booked a cab for me and asked where I would go to and I said home and he asked if I was stupid to go home with the stitches and suggested I rent a hotel.

“We stopped in Marraraba and he asked me to go to any phone dealer and send the dealer’s account number for him to buy a phone for me.

“Olorunlaye sent the phone dealer N500,000 and the dealer complained and asked for an account number to send back the balance of 210,000 and I sent another friend’s account number who was in school.

“I went back to Alliance hospital days after for my stitches removal and was told that the operation site was infected because of my hygiene then Olorunlaye advised me to change where I was staying.

“I moved to Ayoma hotel in Ado, Nasarawa state but was robbed of N150, 000,” he said.

He said he called Olorunlaye telling him that he promised to give him N1 million adding that the little he gave him so far was almost finished.

The witness said he finally had his stitches removed and he travelled to Ibadan to stay with his father’s friend who noticed the operation site and informed his father.

He said his father called him over the phone to explain what happened to him which he did, and his father asked him to go to his aunt’s place in Lagos to be taken care of.

“My father’s lawyer wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Police, and they told my father to take me back to Abuja where I wrote my statement in Command, and I was taken to Alliance Hospital.

“Dr Aremu took us to the M. D’s office, and they were detained, and the commissioner of police asked the M.D about the patient that he gave my kidney to and he said the patient was late. He was asked to bring the patient ‘s report and death certificate.

“On our way out, the M.D stopped my father and told him to withdraw the case and settle it saying that he would help me with my education and collected my father’s number to call him,” he said.

While cross-examining the witness, Tahir asked the boy to show the court his scar and asked how he had been feeling.

“I do not feel as strong as before and I am still on medication,” he said.

The defence counsel, Afam Osigwe, SAN asked the boy if he signed an affidavit and can confirm that he stated that he was 18 years old in the affidavit.

Osigwe also asked if he could confirm that the patient, Egbuson Samson whom his kidney was donated to was his relative and he was not being compelled to donate his kidney.

The boy answered that he only signed on a light pen at the high court and signed documents before the surgery while he was weak.

The judge Kezziah Ogbonnaya however adjourned the matter until May 7 for continuation of hearing. (NAN)

News

Governor Mbah tours Enugu Ceramics Industry, assures of sustained ease of doing business

Published

4 mins ago

May 20, 2024

Advocate News Nigeria

Governor of Enugu of State, Dr. Peter Mbah, on Monday toured the Sapphire Ceramics Company at Obinofia Ndiuno, Ezeagu LGA, Enugu State, where he pledged to sustain the improved ease of doing business in the state under his leadership.

Mbah said the successes recorded by the company were testimonies to the state’s improved business environment and a further assurance that his administration’s vision to grow the state’s economy from $4.4 to $30 was realisable, calling on both local and foreign investors to take advantage of this and the abundance of mineral resources in the state.

“Frankly, this is exactly what we had in mind when we made the announcement that we were going to grow our economy exponentially. What we have planned is to see how we will have a government-enabled platform, but private sector-driven growth; and that is essentially what we have come here today to witness.

“So, having such a humongous industry, a factory that is producing 75,000 square meters of tiles everyday and also has over 800 employees is good for our economy. And essentially, stories like this assure us of the fact that our projection of growing this economy to $30 billion is realisable.

“We are very happy that we are able to provide this platform for Sapphire Ceramics to grow. Our job is to ensure that we continue to put policies in place to expand their operations to a scale where they will employ more people and reduce our burden as a state government.

“We know that private sector investment won’t happen by a chance occurrence, but through painstaking and well-crafted policies to attract investors. So, we are mindful of all the key indicators of the ease of doing business – infrastructure, security, efficient legal and regulatory framework, among others.

“Again, I want to let investors know that the slogan ‘Enugu is open for business’ or ‘Enugu is ready for business’ is not just mere posturing. We mean it. We are determined. We are not just going to provide the environment to do business, we are also going to help you de-risk your investment so that, indeed, Enugu will be that premier destination for investment,” the governor stated.

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director of the Sapphire Ceramics, Mr. Wang Chengfang, commended the Governor Mbah Administration for rolling out policies, programmes, and development projects that support business growth and guarantee return on investment.

He said, “We are honoured to choose to invest and set up a factory in Enugu State. In today’s complex global economic environment, we have been working with the state government to contribute to the state’s economic development.

“Despite the current situation of unstable Naira exchange rate and increasing competitive pressure, we have always adhered to our original intention and worked hard to improve the quality of our products so that the company can gain greater development advantages in a difficult environment.

“At present, our company has increased from the initial 300 local workers to nearly 800 workers. In the future, we will try our best to develop and broaden investment directions to create more jobs for Enugu State.”

Mr. Chengfang urged potential investors to look in the direction of Enugu State for their investments.

“As we all know, Enugu State is rich in mineral resources. Our company has chosen to invest and base itself in Enugu State. It also has a huge demand for mineral resources in terms of production.

“We have always hoped to fully cooperate with the state government to strive to develop and make good use of the state’s rich mineral resources, and contribute to the state’s economic development.

“At the same time, the development of our enterprise cannot be separated from the full support of the state government. The state government has provided a very good business environment for our development.”

He said Sapphire Ceramics would be joining the Mbah Administration in its investment promotion effort and called on “more Chinese companies to invest in Enugu State and contribute to the ‘New Enugu City’ development plan.”

News

Alleged N6bn laundering: Fidelity bank staff testifies against Mompha

Published

4 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Advocate News Nigeria

A Fidelity Bank compliance officer, Mr Ezekoli Ozoemenam, on Monday testified against a social media celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha (alias Mompha) charged with six billion Naira money laundering.

Ozoemenam, the fourth prosecution witness, was led in evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel, Mr Suleiman Suleiman.

The witness testified about the package of an account of the bank allegedly linked to Mompha.

The witness said that EFCC requested the account’s opening package and he responded to it.

“This is the Fidelity Bank opening package of the account that I sent to EFCC.

“It was printed from a perfectly working computer,” he said.

The prosecution, thereafter, tendered the document and prayed the court to admit it in evidence.

Defence counsel, Mr Kolawole Salami, told the court that he reserved his objection to the tendering of the document in evidence.

During cross-examination of the witness, Salami asked the witness whether he knew the branch of the bank in which the account was opened.

Salami also asked the witness if he was working at the bank’s headquarters at the time the account was opened in 2016.

The witness replied in the negative, adding that he was not at the headquarters.

“As at the time the account was opened, I was not at the headquarters.

“I was part of the internal control, and I moved from branch to branch, but I cannot remember which branch I was at, when the account was opened.

“Anomalies in bank accounts are reported to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and not EFCC but I do not know if the account was ever reported to NFIU.

“I cannot speak to the nature of the transactions conducted through the account as I am not the relationship manager,” the witness said.

Counsel to EFCC, thereafter, appealed to the court for a witness summons to compel appearance of EFCC’s next witness.

The counsel said that he needed the witness summons because the witness complained of feeling unsafe and receiving threats to his life.

Justice Mojisola Dada, however, said that it was the duty of prosecution to ensure appearance of its witnesses in court.

Dada said: “There is no special cause placed before the court to warrant a witness summons.

“I do not know what position he is occupying that will make him feel threatened.

“If EFCC cannot secure his protection, how does a witness summons guarantee his protection?” the judge asked.

Mompha is currently at large. His trial in absentia started on June 3, 2023 when a compliance officer with Access Bank testified against him.

The court, on Sept. 21 2022, ordered commencement of Mompha’s trial in absentia after he failed to appear before it severally.

EFCC had, on Jan. 22, 2022, arraigned Mustapha alongside his company, Ismalob Global Investment Ltd., on eight counts bordering on six billion Naira laundering.

The court, on June 22, 2022, issued a bench warrant for his arrest following his absence in court.

The court also revoked bail it granted the defendant.

The social media celebrity was equally absent in court on June 26, 2022.

On July 10, EFCC accused him of flouting the court’s order by travelling to Dubai with a new international passport.

The charges against Mompha include conspiracy to launder money obtained through unlawful activities and laundering of money obtained through unlawful activities.

The others are retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, use of property derived from an unlawful act, possession of a document containing false pretences, and failure to disclose assets.

The judge adjourned the case until July 1 for continuation of trial.

News

Lagos seals 840 event centres over safety violations in one year

Published

4 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Advocate News Nigeria

Over 840 event centres and social facilities in Lagos state have been shut down in the last one year, over safety infractions and non-compliance with extant laws.

The commissioner for special duties and intergovernmental relations, Gbenga Oyerinde, during the ministerial press briefing to mark Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s first year in the second term, said the ministry is working in line with the THEMES Plus agenda to mitigate risks and protect life and property.

According to him, the Lagos State Safety Commission carried out enforcement action at 840 facilities, including event centres, clubs, lounges and hotels, and construction sites for safety infractions. He added that about 7,819 facilities were inspected to ensure safety, and another 5,220 were issued with fire safety compliance certificates.

The commission also carried out about 365 environmental safety advocacy initiatives.

The commissioner also said the Fire and Rescue Service rescued 376 victims during the period under review. Property worth N152.22 billion was preserved, with 82 casualties and N25.37 billion in property lost.

He added: “In line with efforts to bolster infrastructure, three new fire stations are nearing completion in Ijegun-Egba, Satellite Town, and Ijede, while an ultramodern workshop at the Alausa headquarters is nearly finished to cater to the agency’s fleet maintenance needs.

“Additionally, land spaces have been identified for the development of additional fire stations in Ibeju, Lekki, and Ifako Ijaiye.

“The Fire and Rescue Service is also sustaining its focus on enhancing fire mitigation and emergency response strategies, aligning with the THEMES Plus Agenda. Key statistics from the year’s emergency calls show 2,537 incidents, including 1,627 fire calls, 191 rescue calls, 93 salvage calls, and four explosions, alongside 607 false alarms.

“This highlights the critical need for increased awareness of fire safety measures to combat the impact of negligence and non-compliance with safety codes.”

Also during the year under review, he said the welfare of personnel received a boost, with special allowances approved for firefighters, including uniform maintenance, shift allowances, hazard allowance, and provision of personal protective equipment.