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Breaking : Bizarre, How LASBCA GM Owodunni Oki Orders his men to Demolish School Facility without legal backup in Ikorodu …. Proprietor, Parents and Community Cries Out to Sanwo-Olu for Help
Today, on April 5th, 2024, Saint Margaret Group of Schools, located in Ikorodu, Lagos, carried out a protest. The School was established 42 years ago, in 1982, at number 26, NBC Road, Ebute, Ikorodu. During the protest, they made a clarion call to the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu. They requested his intervention to halt the actions of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), who arrived with fully armed security personnel and unauthorised individuals, commonly known as touts, to prevent any further illegal demolitions of their school facilities.
The Proprietor of the School, Pastor Olusegun Alonge and the midst of teachers, parents, staff and the community during the protest cry out to Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu as Chief Lagos landlord to intervene on the attacks the Lagos building control agency under Arc. Gbolahan Owodunni Oki leadership to stop Illegal demolitions on Saint Margaret group of schools, the school established for over four decades on the property, narrated the levels of facility and integrity damages done to the school by the invasions of said agency without any reason prior notice about governmental information for payment or policy compliances whatsoever.
When asked if the school possessed complete building documentation that could have prompted the agency’s visit, he replied affirmatively, stating they had a collection of documents for all their building facilities. Pastor Alonge further explained that one of the actions taken after the incident was visiting the office of the LASBCA’s General Manager, Arc. Gbolahan Owodunni Oki. However, he was denied an audience during the initial visit. Subsequently, he revisited the office days later, only to be escorted out by the same General Manager with threats. The General Manager warned that he would instruct the building control agency to downgrade the school if precautions were not taken. He boasted that he had the support of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu in his activities.
The Proprietor, who was emotionally traumatised by the ugly incident hitherto as he addressed journalists, made a Clarion call and appealed to Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu to intervene and reopen the school. He believes in the Capacity of his government and holds the protection of lives and properties sacrosanct in his heart.
During the incident, some staff members on duty at the school described their tactics as similar to those used by kidnappers or bandits. The agency’s task force entered the school premises without identifying themselves with the gate security personnel. When questioned about their identity, some task force members began taking photos and videos of the school facilities without revealing who they were.
Efforts made by teachers and security personnel to prevent this unauthorised action were met with resistance. According to the report, the task force on site then called for additional security personnel and unauthorised individuals, who arrived in large numbers and began demolishing buildings and damaging several classroom facilities.
As this was happening, students who were taking exams in their respective classrooms were forcefully evacuated, with threats of violence towards anyone who did not comply with the orders. Teachers and young children were chased onto the main road outside the school premises.
In the process of this commotion, the pupils and kindergarten children had been in panic mode, wailing seriously at the incidence of gun-wielding personnel and fierce-looking touts accompanying them out of their school. Some of them pointed guns to leave the school, according to the teachers, on different placards with inscriptions appealing to the governor to reopen their Schools for operation.
Amidst the protest, Mr Lawani Dominion Abiola, Coordinator of the group of schools, appealed to the governor to use his good office to rescue the school from the attack of the Building Agency, stated no notice of whatever intention was served the school for any purpose before the attack committed on March 27th 2024 around 2 pm while students were still writing examinations papers, nothing less than five staff of the school were arrested and whisked down to Badagry police station on the day of the attack on the school.
Some of the parents who incidentally witnessed the commotion on that day, Mr Obamude Omoniyi and Mrs Enny Jones, condemned the agency’s Gestapo approach, suggesting a more civilised method of operation as an elite agency of Lagos State. Omoniyi narrated his continued ordeals in convincing his son, who has vowed vehemently never to return to the school or any other school again due to the traumatic encounters of the armed men at their school. In his words, he quoted the son verbatim: ‘Daddy, I have been watching that kind of gun in the cartoon but never known anyone can bring such to our school to threaten us’, so I will not attend any school anymore since school is not safe again.
On March 27th, 2024, the neighbourhood experienced an unprecedented event, according to some community residents and local businesswomen who were present during the school protest. They also described the incident as operations carried out by bandits, as reported in radio broadcasts and newspapers. Making a heartfelt appeal, they urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, known for his responsible and responsive leadership, to intervene and address the excessive and unethical conduct of the building agency in Lagos State. These emotionally affected mothers expressed their concerns about tarnishing the governor’s reputation and the positive work he is known for.
The journalists at the protest visited the LASBCA’s office at GRA Ikeja to balance their reports. They met with the Director of Media, Mr Olaoye Olusegun, who denied any information about the operation by the headquarters. He showed displeasure at the approach of the men and commented it’s statutory for a task force to serve the building owners before any enforcement, but promised a further investigation into the report and revert to the team by Monday, April 8th, at the resumption of work, and also commented that the media team can also go ahead with their publications with the promise that his office would react to them in due time.
President Bola Tinubu has approved a Federal Government delegation led by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to represent Nigeria at the maiden Nigeria Diaspora Investment Economic Conference in Toronto, Canada.
The delegation includes Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang and Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal.
The conference, themed “Invest Nigeria, Thrive Abroad,” is scheduled to hold from August 12 to 15 in Toronto.
The development was announced in a statement issued by Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, on X on Friday.
According to the statement, members of the delegation also include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole; and Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
Representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Revenue Service, Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, Nigeria Export Promotion Council and the National Information Technology Development Agency are also expected to participate.
The statement said Canadian officials expected at the conference include President of the Treasury Board of Canada, Shafqat Ali; Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, Graham McGregor; Ontario lawmaker Deepak Anand; Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown; Councillor Rod Power; and Ontario Minister of Women and Economic Opportunities, Charmaine Williams.
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Quoting the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the statement said, “The calibre of officials attending the conference demonstrates President Tinubu’s commitment to strengthening economic cooperation between Nigeria and Canada through trade, investment and diaspora engagement.”
It further quoted Dabiri-Erewa as saying the event “is more than a conference” and is designed as “an outcome-driven investment platform” that will connect international investors with “investment-ready” opportunities across key sectors of Nigeria’s economy while strengthening bilateral economic relations between the two countries.
According to the statement, the conference is being organised by NiDCOM in collaboration with the Nigerian High Commission in Ottawa, the Canadian High Commission in Abuja and other stakeholders.
It said discussions will focus on agriculture, technology, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, healthcare and the digital economy.
Newsthumb reports that the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Economic Conference is the first investment-focused forum organised by the Federal Government through NiDCOM to promote economic partnerships between Nigeria and its diaspora community.
According to the World Bank, Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest recipients of diaspora remittances, with annual inflows amounting to billions of dollars.
…says action could undermine public confidence in electoral process
…insists anti-graft agencies must remain independent but avoid actions suggesting political interference
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately take steps to vacate a court order freezing the bank accounts of the Osun State Government, saying the timing of the action, just days before the state’s governorship election, could create the impression of federal interference in the electoral process.
The President said although he respects the constitutional independence of the anti-graft agency and had no prior knowledge of its action, he was compelled to intervene in the overriding public interest to preserve public confidence in the credibility and fairness of Nigeria’s democratic process. NigerianBusiness Coverage
The EFCC had on Wednesday froze the accounts of the Osun State Government, placing a Post No Debit (PND), on its First Bank account, alleging fraudulent handling of N11 billion ecology funds, intervention funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
However, in a personally signed statement issued from the State House, Abuja, President Tinubu disclosed that the EFCC had obtained the court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government.
He said he was “deeply embarrassed” by the timing of the development, explaining that actions taken by federal institutions are often attributed to the President, regardless of whether he authorised them.
“It has come to my notice that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government. I must state that I feel deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order, but by the timing of the agency’s action.
“This is so because every action taken by an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action”, the President said.
Tinubu reiterated his long-standing policy of allowing anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies to carry out their statutory responsibilities without political interference, stressing that he had deliberately refrained from directing the operational activities of the EFCC and other investigative bodies since assuming office.
He said, “since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference.
“I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law”, he said.
The President maintained that institutions established by law should be allowed to exercise their powers independently and without requiring presidential approval for routine operational decisions.
However, he said the circumstances surrounding the EFCC’s action required presidential intervention because of the proximity of the Osun governorship election.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval. Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers.
“While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene”, he said.
The President warned that no action by any federal agency should create the perception that the Federal Government was attempting to influence the outcome of the forthcoming governorship poll.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election”, he stated.
Tinubu said preserving public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process was paramount, adding that he was duty-bound to act in the national interest.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process”, he said.
The President consequently directed the anti-graft agency to immediately reverse its legal action against the Osun State Government.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard”, Tinubu declared.
A total of 308 kidnapped victims, including 176 residents of Woro community in Kwara State and 132 others abducted in Niger and Kebbi states, have been rescued in a coordinated multi-state security operation.
The successful operation, carried out by security agencies, marks a significant breakthrough in ongoing efforts to combat kidnapping and restore peace across the affected communities. Authorities said the rescued victims have been reunited with their families, while efforts are underway to apprehend the perpetrators and dismantle the criminal networks responsible for the abductions.
The rescue underscores the commitment of security agencies to strengthening intelligence-driven operations and ensuring the safety of lives and property across the country. Further details on the operation and ongoing investigations are expected from the relevant authorities.
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