Curfew: Drama As Thousands Of Travellers Get Stranded At Rivers Checkpoints

A report by The Nation has shown that thousands of travellers were on Thursday night held hostage at various checkpoints along the Rivers axis of the East-West road following their failure to beat the curfew imposed by Governor Nyesom Wike.

The Governor on Thursday placed restrictions on movement of persons and vehicles in the 23 local government areas from 10pm to 6am to check security breaches that led to the killings of security operatives by gunmen in the state.

But efforts by

many residents and visitors to enter the state before 10pm on Thursday proved abortive as they were compelled by security operatives to remain at various checkpoints close to Port Harcourt till the expiration of the curfew at 6am on Friday.

Frustrated passengers and motorists especially persons, who travelled from Lagos, Delta and Bayelsa states through the East-West road passed the night in their vehicles till daybreak.

Investigations revealed the travellers would have entered the state before 10pm had traffic jam not occurred at the Ahoada axis of the East-West road.

It was observed most of the travellers got to Ahoada, which is about 45 minutes to Port Harcourt at 6pm but were held up till 10pm.

The Ahoada traffic congestion was caused by trailers that broke down and blocked a significant portion of the highway.

One of the faulty trailers was carrying a swamp buggy excavator, which narrowed the road and affected free-flow of traffic.

It was gathered some policemen at some of the checkpoints seized the opportunity to extort desperate drivers, who passed such areas but discovered they could not go further on getting to the next checkpoint.

One of the policemen, who compromised their checkpoint said: “Governor Nyesom Wike has given an order but if you want me to disobey it pay N500 each,” while rejecting all entreaties from drivers, who bargained for N300.

But the policemen at Emouha checkpoint refused to compromise as they insisted that all travellers must remain there until expiration of the curfew in strict obedience to the order.

The policemen refused offers of N500 from some of the drivers and only granted access to all the vehicles by 6am.

Some of the travellers voiced their frustration, saying the Governor should have given one day grace before implementing the curfew.

A female passenger, who passed the night in a vehicle with her six-month- old baby, described the journey as harrowing.

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We Will Nail Baba Ijesha And Send Him to Jail – LASG

The Lagos State Government is preparing evidence to nail popular Yoruba actor Olanrewaju Omiyinka, aka Baba Ijesha and send him to jail for sexually assaulting a minor.

The government made this known in a statement issued by Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) on Friday.

“We are also in direct contact with the complainant with a view to providing the necessary support.

“We confirm that the duplicate case file has been forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice,” the statement said.

The government said four allegations were being considered against Baba Ijesha, one of which is sexual assault by penetration, an act under section 261 of the Criminal law of Lagos State, 2015 punishable by Life imprisonment.

Another allegation being considered is attempted sexual assault by penetration, which under section 262 of the Criminal law, is punishable by 14 years imprisonment.

The third allegation being considered is sexual assault, which under section 263 of the Criminal Law, is punishable by 3 years imprisonment.

The last allegation being considered is indecent treatment of a child. Under section 135 of the Criminal Law, it is punishable by 7 years imprisonment.

The government said it had absolute confidence in the criminal justice system, as well as social support structures in Lagos State in ensuring justice was served in this matter and most importantly, that the survivor received the relevant support on her journey towards healing.

“We therefore use this medium to reiterate Lagos State Government’s position of zero tolerance to all forms of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and our firm commitment in ensuring justice for survivors,” the statement said.

Baba Ijesha was last week arrested by the Lagos State Police Command over alleged defilement of a minor.

He is currently being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos

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