About 16 months after making its messaging service available on the web, Facebook-owned WhatsApp is coming to the desktop.
The company said today that its apps are now available for Windows 8 and above, and for Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) and above. That's in addition to the existing apps for Android, iOS, Blackberry, and Windows Phone, among others.
"Like WhatsApp Web, our desktop app is simply an extension of your phone: the app mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device," the company said. Put another way: you need the mobile app running on your phone, close to your desktop computer, for it to work.
To log in to the app, you'll need to scan a QR code using the WhatsApp mobile app. Once you do, all your chats will load. Benefits of using the web app include desktop notifications and access to all your favorite keyboard shortcuts.
In a quick session with the app, I found it fast and responsive. A desktop app may feel like a small thing, but messaging apps derive part of their power from ubiquity — the more places you can access them, the more often you'll use them. WhatsApp has more than 700 million users already. As of today, they have one more reason to keep it open all day.
Correction, 7:19 p.m.: This post originally said WhatsApp for Web launched this year. It launched in 2015.
A.K.A Wizkid, seems to be finding a soft spot in the media
this year. First it was a night club fight and now, it’s even something more
controversial and messy.
The father of one has tried so hard to distance
himself from social media scandals, but recent events have shown that the pop
star has been proved wrong. Earlier in the week, news broke that the pop star
has another love child by a second baby mama, Binta Diamond Diallo who hails
from Guinea, though Wizkid has not confirmed or denied the rumour about him
having another child with his alleged baby mama, Binta Diamond Diallo. Wizkid
and Binta Diamond Sources close to Wizkid confirmed that his erstwhile
girlfriend, Tania Omotayo, broke up with him recently, though both of them had
a mutual understanding to remain civil and matured about the new development,
all in a bid to avoid media scandals. Obviously, this is why she has kept her
distance from the music star for sometime now. She even boycotted most of
wizkid’s events. One of such events was his Industry Nite. Tania was on
vacation to Dubai with her friends. Could this have been possible if they were
still love birds? It looks like Wizkid has been caught in a web spun with his own
hands. The news of his second baby mama seems to ring true. According to
reports, the alleged baby mama, Binta Diamond and Wizkid have been in a secret
relationship for sometime now. When she became pregnant they kept the
relationship on a low key till she gave birth and shared the name of her son on
her Instagram page.
Surprisingly, she named the child after the star boy, –
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun – which is Wizkid’s exact first, middle and last names.
Since the news broke out about Wizkid’s alleged second baby mama, the pop star
has avoided the social media and has so far not officially confirmed or denied
the rumour. Meanwhile, reports had it that Binta Diallo has made some new
revelation regarding her new-born son. She was said to have explained why she
intentionally named her son after the Afro-pop star, saying it was to avoid a
repeat of the situation with Wizkid’s first baby mama- Oluwanishola Ogudugu.
When Sola had the singer’s son in 2011, Wizkid repeatedly denied having any
child until the evidence was too immense for him to run from. Binta, having
learned from Sola’s experience, didn’t want to fall into such a media ordeal,
and as such, chose to expose the fact that she had just given birth to Wizkid’s
son. However, in a statement during the week, his management said, Wizkid
hasn’t confirmed the news making the rounds that he has fathered another child.
“Wizkid still hasn’t confirmed any news about him having another child. We know
he is single and will be releasing his EP next month.” Wizkid alleged baby mama
is said to be a Guinean model based in the United States. She has taken to her
instagram page to release pictures of herself during pregnancy.”
The journalism organization behind the Panama Papers made available to the public for the first time Monday a massive database covering more than 360,000 people and companies that have used off-shore accounts to hide assets, including 36 Americans accused of fraud and other financial crimes.
The International Consortium of Journalists, which has managed the investigation and initial release of the Panama Papers in early April, highlighted the cases of several in the United States but did not provide details on all the American cases.
Leonard Gotshalk, a former offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons who now lives in Oregon, was already being scrutinized by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010 when federal prosecutors in Philadelphia unsealed an indictment against him in a scheme that used kickbacks to inflate the price of technology stocks, according to the consortium.
Three days after that indictment, the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonsecaaccepted a $3,055 wire transfer from Gotshalk to open a company in the British Virgin Islands. That example, according to the consortium, shows how Mossack Fonseca did not properly vet its clients and allowed unscrupulous people and corporations from around the world to open off-shore accounts to hide their assets.
Gotshalk could not be reached immediately by USA TODAY. The consortium said his lawyer refused a request for comment. Gotshalk's case was part of a limited, public release of leaked, internal records from Mossack Fonseca that have already led to the downfall of world leaders and several financiers.
The consortium did not release all 11.5 million documents. Instead, it conducted a"careful release" of documents that shields personal information of the people named, including bank account numbers, passport information, email addresses and telephone numbers.
Until now, all the information from the Panama Papers was held by the consortium and more than 100 media organizations in over 80 countries working together on the project. Journalists at those publications have been publishing stories about the contents of the papers, but had not made the source material public. Monday's release included a searchable database that showed ties between people and companies opened by Mossack Fonseca, but did not include the actual documents.
That set off a frantic dive into the online database by politicians, business leaders, law enforcement officials and reporters to see if any new names are exposed.
Off-shore accounts that are frequently used by the rich and powerful around the world to avoid public scrutiny. Creating off-shore accounts is legal, but they can be used to avoid taxes and hide criminal activity. Laws in Panama and elsewhere require agents that create the off-shore companies, such as Mossack Fonseca, to ensure that their clients are not engaged in criminal activity.
In a disclaimer on its website, the consortium warned that simply being named in the Panama Papers does not "intend or suggest" that the person has broken a law or acted improperly. The statement said there are "legitimate uses" for off-shore accounts and urged people using its newly-released database to confirm the identity of people listed there.
The source of the leak is an anonymous person known only as "John Doe." He obtained internal documents from Mossack Fonseca and provided them to Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitungnewspaper.
He wrote in the newspaper last week that thousands of prosecutions could come from a full release of the papers. "They should all be prosecuted accordingly with no special treatment," the source wrote.
The articles published by the consortium and its partner organizations, have already led to the resignation of Iceland Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, forced British Prime Minister David Cameron to admit that he profited from his late father's offshore investment, and led to the ouster of top bankers in Austria and theNetherlands.
Some 90% of buildings in the evacuated Canadian city of Fort McMurray have survived the massive wildfire, Alberta's provincial premier said on a visit.
Rachel Notley said the hospital and most schools were intact but 2,400 out of 25,000 structures had been burnt.
"It was a miracle we got the entire population out safely," she told reporters.
More than 80,000 people were evacuated from the oil sands city last week.
Nobody was killed in the fire but two people died in a car crash when they were leaving the city.
Officials said they hoped to provide a schedule within two weeks for the return of residents.
The provincial government declared a state of emergency and promised C$100m (£53m, $77m) in cash to evacuees whose homes have been gutted.
The battle to contain the wildfires reached a turning point on Monday thanks to drizzle and favourable winds, officials said.
At the scene: Laura Bicker, BBC News, Fort McMurray
The fire has been brutal. Family neighbourhoods have been reduced to a mass of melted metal and blackened concrete. Only the foundations remain. Everything that made these houses a home has gone.
It is clear the fire has been unpredictable - in some parts an entire street has been destroyed and the next street is still untouched. The main buildings in Fort McMurray have not been harmed, but the city is still not safe.
There are some areas which are still smouldering and there is no power, water or gas.
Ms Notley visited the city for a first look at the destruction caused by the massive fire. She said she was "very much struck" by the power it had to cause devastation.
"The city was surrounded by an ocean of fire only a few days ago," she said.
"It was quite overwhelming in some spots.
"First responders and repair crews have weeks of work ahead of them to make this city safe for the people of Fort McMurray and the surrounding communities.
"But it is going to be made safe. It is a home you will return to."
The wildfire covered 1,610 sq km (622 sq miles) on Sunday morning, Ms Notley said, and was about 30-40km from the neighbouring province, Saskatchewan.
The gas in Fort McMurray has been turned off and the power grid is damaged, while the water is not drinkable.
The team from the provincial government will begin preliminary planning on repairing damage in the city.
Some officials are optimistic.
Member of Parliament David Yurdiga, who toured the area on Sunday, said: "All of the key infrastructure is in place. Our hospital is standing. Our schools are standing. Our treatment plan is functioning."
He said that in some areas, "You don't even know there was a fire"
Calabar, Cross River State capital, is famous as the home of bevy and succulent women. Their welcoming disposition gives the city a warm and alluring ambience to many a visitor to the city. Prostitutes The bulk of these women are girls from tertiary educational institutions in the city. Teenage secondary school girls along with their city colleagues who are also attractive make the population of women in the city burst at the seam.
To keep body and
soul together, many of them resort to “hustling”, a nomenclature for part-time
prostitution prevalent in the city. These ‘hustlers’ operate from their hostels
and homes during nocturnal hours. They roam the streets, especially around
places with active night life like Atekong Drive, Marian Road, Effanga Mkpa
Street, Edabor Street,Third Avenue, Second Avenue and highbrow eateries where
people, particularly visitors, congregate at night and can afford to pick them
up for a fee to satisfy their sexual appetite.
There are, however, indications
that the activities of these ‘hustlers’ are threatened by
girls from Cameroon and Niger Republic who, recently, descended on
Calabar and are systematically offering
“better services” at cheaper fees to
teeming clients. These dark skinned new entrants, aged between 20 and 25
years, seem poised to take over the
trade and the local girls do not seem to be finding it funny. These Cameroonian
and Nigerien girls, apart from being classy like some of the Calabar tertiary
education institution girls, are
available (night and day), which gives
them the edge as they give
clients the opportunity to take a shot
at them whenever they want it unlike the local ‘hustlers’ who are
available mostly at night. Unyime, a young
man, who operates an ice cream
spot in front of a famous fast food spot along Atekong
Drive/Marian Road , told Sunday
Vanguard that the girls are sex
machines who can do anything anywhere because they have an “I don’t care
attitude”. Sunday Vanguard investigation revealed that, unlike the local
‘hustlers’ who are predominantly
students who come out mostly at
night and position themselves
along strategic parts of the
city ostensibly for fear of being recognised by colleagues or neighbours, these
Cameroon and Niger girls are
braggadocios and walk about boldly
around the city in the day and traverse popular night clubs, fast food and beer joints to solicit for patronage.
They take residence in cheap hotels with fees ranging between N2,000 and
3,000 daily. So, clients, at any time of
the day, don’t have to face the headache of looking for joints where to pay for ‘short rest’. They
can simply join the girls right in their rented rooms where the cost is built into her charges.
“These girls are everywhere in
the city and they are more or less sex machines as men sometimes wait for their turns; this is the first time
I am seeing a man wait in his car or sit
at the bar and wait for the person inside to come out before going in to do the
same thing the other person just did in the same place”, Christian Edah, a bar
attendant in one of the hotels told Sunday Vanguard. He said some of the girls
take between 10 and 15 men a day and still look fresh and clean. “Some of our girls who are students and come
here to hustle, sometimes in the night, squabble with guests because the man’s
libido is too high for them and
normally abandon the (Camerounian and Nigerian)
to stay the remaining part of
the night at the open bar, but these man girls hardly complain and they are
making some cool bucks”. When our reporter interacted with one of them, who
gave her name as Ethel from Mamfe in
southern part of Cameroon and speaks adulterated French and pidgin English
, said business brought her to Calabar
and, as such, she has no time for frivolities like complaining when a customer
wants more if he can pay additional money.
“Each shot is N2,000 or N1,500 and, so
long as he pays additional money, I have no issues with him”, she said in
French accented pidgin English. She said her day starts at 9:00 am where she
takes her bath and then heads to one of the eateries for breakfast. Thereafter,
if she gets a call from any of her customers, she invites him over and business
begins. At 1 pm, she goes to a local canteen to eat a launch of eba or rice
with pepper soup and then return to the hotel for a drink with colleagues and intermittently goes to her
room to service clients. “I don’t go out to hunt for men, they know where to
find me or I call them on phone”, she stated. A staff of one of the hotels where these girls are lodged said the
love for variety by Nigerian men is what is driving them to patronise the girls, otherwise there is
nothing special about them. “Most Nigerian men like to show that they have done
it with somebody from outside the country; otherwise our girls are okay and
better than them”, he said. Speaking on the issue, Mr Jude Ngaji, the Cross River
State Security, as Adviser, said
prostitution is morally wrong and encourages criminal activity and such, the
state government will do everything to
stop the practice. “Morally,
prostitution is what you find all over
the world. It must be decently done and make sure that don’t constitute
security issue. My concern is that, let criminals not take advantage of these
girls. I am not going to determine the number of visitors to these sex workers
but my major concern is that once these sex workers become security issue we
would stop them”, Ngaji said.
By Emma Amaize, Soni Daniel & Brisibe Perez WARRI—Rampaging militant group, Niger-Delta Avengers,NDA, said, yesterday, it had concluded plans to attack installations in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Calabar. This came as soldiers also, yesterday, invaded Oporoza, headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State and home base of ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo. The troops, who arrived the community in two gunboats, were in search of members of Niger Delta Avengers, the militant group that resumed bombing of oil installations in the state. The military men, who came at 12.30a.m., laid siege to the community until about 5a.m., when they departed. A source said the Army reportedly acted on intelligence report that the militants had secretly converged on the community. However, the Pere (traditional ruler) of Gbaramatu Kingdom, HRM Oboro-Gbaraun II, Aketekpe Agadaba, who expressed fears over the development, yesterday, offered to mediate in the face-off between the Federal Government and Tompolo, despite his dissatisfaction over neglect of the kingdom by government. But the Niger-Delta Avengers, which earlier claimed that it had no link with Tompolo and in fact, issued him a three-day ultimatum for denouncing the group, remained unperturbed, as it said it had concluded plans to extend its attacks to Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Calabar. A source said leaders of the militant group reviewed their operations, weekend, and expressed satisfaction that it was able to effortlessly cripple oil operations in Delta State and was willing to continue with the bombings, if President Buhari failed to address their demands. Military’ll fish out perpetrators— Boroh Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Co-ordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh (retd), expressed confidence in the ability of the military and other security agencies to apprehend those behind the recent sabotage of oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta. “None of these elements will go unpunished for their nefarious acts against the interest of the nation,” Boroh warned. Boroh, who spoke in Abuja, said following the presidential directive to arrest the situation, he was confident that the perpetrators will be arrested soon. Yoruba group warns against attack on Lagos Similarly, Oodua Defenders Union, ODU, described the threat by NDA, to attack Lagos within a matter of days as an insult on the Yoruba race. In a statement by its President-General, Rabak Anthony, the group warned Ijaw youths against any attack in Lagos or any part of Yorubaland. Oodua Defenders Union, said: “This Ijaw threat that was published in all the media, both electronic and print, cannot be taken for granted. Therefore, the Yoruba are ready to make the first move against the Ijaws in Lagos before their brothers will storm Lagos. “We fought the Ijaws here in Lagos before because of this arrogance and they know we are ready for them. They came here about five years ago to attack the Atlas Cove where Naval officers guarding tank farms were killed. So, we are not taking this threat without preparation. We are ready, let them make the move.” The group said its members, spread across the South-West, could deal with the Ijaw threat, asking security agents to go after the Niger Delta Avengers. Goodday Smith disowns NDA Meanwhile, a former militant leader and member of the Delta State Waterways and Land Security Committee, Mr. Goodday Smith, yesterday, denied being a member of Niger Delta Avengers. He said: “Those who are aggrieved in one way or the other with the Federal Government should channel their grievances to the appropriate quarters, instead of engaging in such acts of destruction of oil installations.” They sent a wrong signal —Ijaw leader Ijaw leader and Ibibenimowei (Chief Mobilizer) of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Chief Godspower Gbenekam, who confirmed the invasion of Oporoza by soldiers, told Vanguard on phone: “No arrest was made and there was no casualty, but they sent a wrong signal to the people. They came in two gunboats and people ran for their lives. “They were armed and nobody could approach them as they moved about the community, going from one place to the other. After they left this morning (Monday), there was tension everywhere as people did not know what their mission was and what next. “Gbaramatu people are not part of Niger Delta Avengers, which claimed responsibility for the recent bombing of oil installations in the state and can never be part of them. We condemn their actions and are against pipeline vandalism of any sort. So, we do not see why the army should turn our community to a hunting ground.” Osinbajo in crucial meeting with Gov Dickson, Kachikwu, security chiefs, oil companies Against the backdrop of current attacks on major oil installations in the Niger Delta, the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday evening, met with many stakeholders. Among them were the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson; the Amanyanabo of Toun Brass, Bayelsa State, King Alfred Diete-Spiff in company of the representatives of major oil firms, which included Shell, Total, AGIP, NLNG and Chevron. Before the meeting with the Bayelsa governor, the Vice President had first met with some security chiefs from Navy and Army, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and some other officials of government Political solution can’t be ruled out — Monarch HRM Oboro-Gbaraun II, Aketeke Agadaba, in a statement, said: “Tompolo is one of my illustrious subjects. It is therefore, incumbent on me to set machinery in place to intervene in this matter. In as much as it is apparently a legal issue, political solution cannot be completely ruled out and so I am desirous to see this matter resolved amicably. “Mr President will agree with me that this matter has generated so much tension in the Niger Delta in recent times, and in my opinion, such tension is unnecessary at this point in time, as peace is very necessary for this administration to deliver the promised dividends of democracy to the people. “I wish to state my total abhorrence of pipeline vandalism and other criminal activities in the region because such would hinder economic progress and development in the region. “One of my priorities as the Pere of Gbaramatu is to ensure that the area is free of crimes such as illegal crude oil refining as such acts do not only affect the economy of the country, but also destroy the ecology which is very dear to me and my people.” APC warns NDA against troubling Buhari Meanwhile, the South-East caucus of All Progressives Congress, APC, has asked Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, to direct its grievances to former President Goodluck Jonathan, if there was anything to avenge or blame the government for. The party also called on the militants to immediately sheathe their swords and give President Buhari more time to look into their demands. Mixed reactions trail NDA’s bombings Findings by Vanguard, however, showed that there are divisions among groups in the region over whether or not to support the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers and the continued hunt for Tompolo by security agents. Niger Delta Riverine Security slammed NDA, which it described as “a criminal and devilish group, which is interested in turning the Niger Delta into a region where the safety of lives and property is not guaranteed.” Commandant-General of the organisation, Commander Oduku, said: “The group (Niger Delta Avengers) is interested in crippling economic activities in the Niger Delta and Nigeria. I advise Niger Delta youths not to fraternize with these criminals.” Spokesperson of non-operational Niger Delta Liberation Front, NDLF, “Captain” Mark Anthony, said members of Niger Delta Avengers should come out boldly to declare their mission if the group had a good motive for the region and stop behaving like cowards. “If they have genuine intentions for the region, they should be bold enough to come out and make their demands known. When we were carrying out our activities under the leadership of the late “General” John Togo, we did not hide our identity,” he said. IYC blames Buhari for attacks Blaming President Buhari for attacks on oil installations, President of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Udengs Eradiri, said: “This is what we were avoiding and President Buhari should be blamed for anything that is currently happening in the region. “He has not come up with an economic plan for the region since his assumption of office. All his plans, including the budget, have no reflection that economic activities would blossom in the region and once you keep these youths idle, they become the devil’s workshop.” Meanwhile, some militant leaders, under the auspices of Concerned Militant Leaders, have thrown their weight behind NDA. A statement by their spokesperson, “General” Ben, said: “We are in total support of the actions of our colleagues, and the Federal Government should know that the attacks on oil installations in the region will continue if it fails to address topical issues affecting the people of the area.”
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/militants-plan-fresh-bomb-attacks/
On April 4, 2016, about 25 men armed with assault rifles stormed 37, Aje Street, Pleasure, in the Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos around 2:30 a.m. They banged the gate of the house repeatedly and when no one came out to open the it, they scaled the fence of the building in a commando style.
According to one resident, the entire event was so nightmarish that she pissed on herself.
There were three buildings – two one-storey buildings and a bungalow – inside the compound. The armed men ordered everybody out of their apartments. They broke into the apartment of those that hesitated and ordered them to sit on the dusty ground inside the compound. Many of the tenants said they were beaten for either hesitating or for asking the men to identify themselves.
The armed men were not done. They continued to the apartment of the landlord, Mathew Sobiye, who lived on the top floor of the second storey building and ordered him out. When he hesitated they broke the asbestos ceiling of his veranda and tried to force their way into his apartment. They couldn’t. So they broke his front door and dragged the Septuagenarian out of the bed. The landlord, who refused to say his name, told BE INFORMED that his blood-pressure rose to a frightening level that he had to see his doctor the morning after. For several days he had difficulty breathing.
Tenants and landlord thought they were armed robbers. They were not. They were operatives of the State Security Services, SSS, who were on the trail of Rilwanu Jamiu, one of the suspects who allegedly cloned the number of the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode. The SSS thought Mr. Jamiu was hiding in the compound. Mr. Jamiu’s friend, Saheed Eyitayo, lives in the compound.
They broke into Mr. Eyitayo’s one-room apartment, and when they couldn’t find Mr. Jamiu and didn’t get a satisfactory response of his whereabouts, several of the men allegedly descended on him and beat him until he was unconscious, some residents claimed.
“I overheard Eyitayo telling the DSS people that the person they were looking for did not stay with him. He told them the suspect was his friend and only visited him the previous day. But, his explanation did not convince them. They beat him mercilessly till blood came out of his face. We could not recognise him again,” a resident who asked not to be named said.
Residents of the compound said he was laid facedown, handcuffed with his arms behind his back and his legs were fettered in chains and dragged into one of the buses the SSS operatives came in. They said he could barely walk when they took him away.
Throughout the terrifying episode, the SSS operatives did not say who they were neither did they present a warrant to search the house, residents said.
The SSS operatives were led to Pleasure by Adejoke Ogunbona, the wife of Mr. Jamiu, who told BE INFORMED that the operatives had broken into her Oke-Aro residence in similar manner and had assaulted her.
She said the men knocked down her door around 1:30 a.m. and ordered her and her two children outside. They took her 5-year-old son to a corner away from her and interrogated him, she said.
Ms. Ogunbona said a soldier, who was with the SSS officials, took her to about three houses from her residence and started asking questions about her husband’s whereabouts.
“About five of them now started asking me about my husband. I told them he had travelled for about a month. They now threatened me that they had been talking to me like a gentle man. But I insisted that my husband had travelled about a month ago that I didn’t know his whereabouts,” she said.
“Later a soldier among them came to me and told me to follow him about three houses from our house. He told me to put my hand up. He said: ‘You took food to your husband yesterday night’. I said no. I did not take food to my husband. He slapped me with both hands. He asked me again and said ‘Where is Pleasure? Your husband is in Pleasure’. I said I don’t know. He slapped me again. And he slapped me the third time. After then I told him he is at Pleasure and I took food to him, because I was afraid.”
According to Ms. Ogunbona, although she had indeed taken food to her husband the day before, it wasn’t at Pleasure but around Alagbado area of the state.
However, she told this reporter that she had met her husband at Pleasure a few days ago.
“And I meet my husband in Alagbado that night and not Pleasure. No I wasn’t aware that my husband was at Pleasure,” she said.
“I knew of the place (Pleasure) after I called my husband that I missed him and he said I should come and meet him there. And when I got to the place, I did not see anybody. It was my husband that opened the door.
She said she had not met Mr. Eyitayo before that night.
“I showed them the road the Pleasure. When they got there they did not meet my husband there. I don’t know who is Saheed. I’ve heard of him before but I’ve never met him in my life.
“When I got there they asked me if I knew him, and I said I did not know him and that was where my husband asked me to come.”
Just like the residents of No. 37 Aje Street Ms. Ogunbona confirmed that Mr Eyitayo was beaten and bloodied before he was taken away in chains.
“They beat him mercilessly,” she said.
The news of Saheed’s death
The morning after, Mr Sobiye, worried where his tenant was taken to, rushed to the nearby police station to ask if the men were from there. The police said they were unaware of any operation in the area on the day.
On April, 6, two operatives of the SSS visited the landlord and said they were from the service’ office in Shangisha, Lagos.
“They told me they were here to talk about what happened three days ago. They said their director will like to have a word with me. So I followed them to their office,” Mr. Sobiye said.
“When I got there, the director asked me a few questions about Saheed. They wanted to know what he does and what kind of tenant he was. I told them he was a clearing agent at the wharf and that he was a good tenant. I wasn’t expecting what the director told me next: he said Saheed had died. He asked if I knew any members of his family. I told them I don’t because he just moved to my house about eight months ago.
“I was told not to tell anybody who came looking for Saheed that he had died. My thinking was that they wanted to tell the family themselves.”
“Tortured to death”
An SSS insider told BE INFORMED that Mr. Eyitayo was resisting arrest on the night he was arrested. He said he tried to jump out from the moving vehicle as he was being conveyed to the SSS office and sustained injuries that killed him.
According to the source, Mr Eyitayo was a member of the syndicate that cloned Mr. Ambode’s number and his house was used as a base by the syndicate.
Michael Lasisi, one of Mr Eyitayo’s relatives, told BE INFORMED that the Lagos State Director, Adekunle Ajanaku, repeated the same narrative as our source during a meeting he held with the family on May 3 at the agency’s Shangisha office.
He, however, said the agency’s account of how Mr. Eyitayo died cannot be further from the truth. He said he believed the SSS tortured him to death. He said Mr. Eyitayo was not a criminal and had nothing to do with the cloning of the governor’s number.
He alleged that the SSS waited 19 days before informing the family of Mr. Eyitayo’s death because they were trying to cook up a story to hide their extrajudicial killing.
“We had gone to the SSS office several times, and they told us come back you cannot see him. Until finally on the 23rd, 19 days after he was killed they now told one of my brothers Oyetunji that he had died. Meanwhile they had told the landlord not to tell anybody that he had died.
“They did that so as the days elapsed they would be able to manufacture lies to cover up the official criminality. They could not tell us what he has done. They said his friend was part of those who cloned the governor’s number. They traced the friend to his house but they did not see him.
“Today we went to see the director of the SSS and he was telling annoying tales. They said they did not kill him. But who killed him? There was blood all over. Their lawyer was telling us that he was trying to resist, how could he resist? Was he having guns or knives? How could he resist 25 fully armed men? The man they handcuffed and chained, that could hardly walk and half dead. How could he jump?
He said Mr. Ajanaku admitted that Mr. Eyitayo was never interrogated neither was his statement taken after he was arrested. So how come the SSS was trying to link him to a crime he allegedly never committed, he said.
“That was why I told the director of the SSS that all they have said are lies. No reasonable person can accept that from them. They couldn’t say anything much. He said some of the people have been charged to the court, if they were charged to the court, is this guy one of them? Do you have any evidence against him?”he asked.
Saheed Eyitayo
He said the family will not collect Mr Eyitayo’s body until a proper autopsy by the Lagos State government was conducted to determine the cause of death. He added that the SSS should be investigated and all those found to have had a hand in Mr Eyitayo’s death should be brought to book.
“The family wants justice. We are crying out on the government to help us. It is terrible. This is official brutality. In a country like this that one group of people will rise up and go to a man’s house and wasted him and manufacture lies to hang on him to make him look like a criminal,” Mr. Lasisi said
