Lagos State Government will be diverting traffic away from a section of Ajose Adeogun Street on Victoria Island for an end-of-year decoration by Zenith Bank Plc.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos.

Osiyemi said that the diversion would be for three weekends starting from Oct. 19.

He said that the exercise would be carried out in three phases with each phase focusing on different sections of the street.

“To this end, the following alternative routes have been mapped out for motorists during the mounting:

“During the first phase which will cover Jubril Martins to Chicken Republic on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20, traffic inward Eko-Hotel Roundabout will be diverted to the other half (existing section) of Ajose Adeogun Street by VCP Hotel to form contra-flow traffic, and exit at Eko-Hotel Roundabout.

“Alternatively, traffic inward Eko-Hotel Roundabout from VCP Hotel will be diverted through Jubril Martins into Muri Okunola to link Patience Coker and access Ajose Adeogun Street to connect destinations,” he said.

He said that the second phase would cover the Molade Okoya Thomas to Mounis Bashorun section and would take place on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27.

He added that traffic inward Ajose Adeogun Street from Eko-Hotel Roundabout would be diverted to a right turn into Molade Okoya Thomas to link Mounis Bashorun to access Ajose Adeogun Street to continue journeys.

“During the third phase of the project spanning 10 metres inward Ajose Adeogun on Nov. 2, motorists from Adetokunbo Ademola Street will maintain a lane movement for about 10 metres into Ajose Adeogun Street to connect their destinations.

“Motorists inward Eko-Hotel Roundabout on Ajose Adeogun Street will maintain a lane movement for about 10 metres into Eko-Hotel Roundabout,” he said.

Osiyemi implored motorists to note the ease of movement plan, assuring them that traffic managers would be on the ground in the corridor to minimise inconveniences.

Chairman/CEO of Global Signature Hotel and Total Grace Group Limited, Dr. Henry Akinduro, has filed a N5 billion lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly declaring him wanted unlawfully.

In the suit filed, yesterday, at the Federal High Court, Lagos, Akinduro is arguing that the EFCC declared him wanted without any form of judicial intervention, recourse to constitutional safeguards or order of court.

The EFCC had on October 11, 2024, on its official twitter handle, also known as ‘X’ declared the oil magnate ‘Wanted’.

The businessman is praying the court to order the EFCC to remove his name from the wanted list published on the commission’s official website or any other related platform including X.

On October 14, 2024, the businessman, via his counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, had petitioned the Chairman of EFCC over the unconstitutional violation of his fundamental human rights to personal liberty and human dignity by the publication of his name on the list of wanted persons on the EFCC’s website.

Ojo stated in the petition that at all times preceding the said publication, there was no order of any court of competent jurisdiction authorizing the said publication and no charge had been preferred against our client before any court of law.

According to Akinduro’s lawyer, the commission had allegedly made the said illegal or unlawful publication declaring him wanted upon the prompting or instigation of one Mr. Femi Olushakin, who had earlier written a petition against the oil magnate in respect of a N240 million contractual dispute between them, Messrs Olushakin and Akinduro.

He affirmed that disputes had arisen from the investment agreement entered into between the two men leading to Olushakin petitioning EFCC.

“Our client (Akinduro) was invited by the commission on June 4, 2024, and he immediately responded via letter dated June 5, 2024, notifying the commission of his unavailability due to medical reasons. In the said letter, it was stated therein that our client was out of the country receiving medical attention.

“He subsequently provided assurances that he would be present at the commission as soon as he was medically cleared to travel. It is pertinent at this juncture to chronicle the genesis of the subject matter which led to the declaration of our client wanted by the commission,” Ojo stated.

The counsel disclosed that there was a business transaction between Akinduro and Olushakin which was backed by a viable collateral which included Akinduro’s Global Signature Hotel worth N500 million, three 60-Seater Yutong buses valued at over N240 million and a Toyota 4Runner SUV.

Ojo claimed that Olushakin has sold the three 60-Seater Yutong buses and currently drives around the city in the Toyota 4Runner SUV which were used as collateral by Akinduro.

“It is clear from the above that this is a purely civil business transaction with no element of criminality embedded in it. Mr. Olushakin petitioned the commission after selling the 60-Seater Yutong buses and currently using the Toyota 4runner SUV for his personal use,” he stated.

He added that despite Akinduro’s medical condition overseas, he has maintained close communication with the commission.

“Our client regularly sends his Legal Officer to the commission, affirming his willingness and desire to appear before the commission upon due confirmation of his being fit to travel by his doctors. There was no further request by the commission inviting our client before the unlawful publication.

“It is to be further noted that on October 11, 2024, our client’s Legal Officer was physically present at the office of the commission about noon to submit a correspondence to the commission and he also reassured the operatives of the commission of our client’s desire and willingness to cooperate with the investigation by the commission upon his arrival in Nigeria.

“It is regrettable that despite the repeated reassurances of our client to cooperate with the investigation upon his arrival in Nigeria, the commission proceeded to declare our client ‘Wanted’ later that same day about 7.20p.m., without an order of court and in the absence of a valid charge in a court of law.”

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has inaugurated a marine facility donated by the British government.

NAN reports that the marine command headquarters facility, inaugurated in Lagos on Wednesday, aims to bolster the capacity of the anti-narcotic body within the maritime space.

The facility is also expected to strengthen efforts against drug barons and cartels involved in illicit substances in the waterways and seaports.

Buba Marwa, chairman of the NDLEA, said West Africa is the major transit region for narcotics, mostly from South America.

Marwa thanked the British High Commission in Nigeria for believing in the project and supporting the NDLEA.

“Not quite long ago, a similar edifice, completed with state-of-the-art fittings, was handed over to NDLEA by the British Government at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,” he said.

“There has also been a series of capacity-building initiatives and provisions of equipment by the Home Office International Operations, which have bolstered the capability of the agency’s personnel and have enhanced phenomenal drug seizures and arrests.

“According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, over 80 percent of the volume of international trade is carried by sea, and the percentage is even higher for developing countries.

“This is equally true of illicit drug trade because maritime routes have long been exploited by drug traffickers due to the vast expanses of the open sea and the complexity of maritime laws and jurisdictions.

“The illicit drug trade via maritime channels poses severe threats, not only in terms of drug proliferation but also because of its links to organised crime, terrorism, and human trafficking.

“We have had at least four trafficking cases in the last two years involving merchant ships (aside from cases of drugs concealed in cargo containers) from South America to Nigeria.

“The cases are evidence that the maritime corridor provides mobility for illicit trafficking activity.”

Marwa said the operational successes achieved by the NDLEA in the waterways and seaports validated his decision to upgrade the agency’s marine unit to full-fledged command in 2022.

The NDLEA boss appreciated Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos; the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Customs Service, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for supporting the agency.

“We did not make a mistake when, in 2022, we upgraded the marine unit to a full-fledged command. Our balance sheet of arrests and seizures of drugs within the maritime space has maintained an upward swing,” Marwa said.

“The collaboration of the agency’s marine command with other maritime law enforcement agencies has resulted in the interception of 61,688.79 kg of varying drugs and the arrest of 41 suspects, 15 of whom are already prosecuted and jailed.

“Through our various port operations in the last three years, the agency has seized at least 750 tons of illicit drugs ranging from cocaine to codeine, tramadol, methamphetamine, and Loud, to mention a few.”

Jonny Baxter, British deputy high commissioner, noted that there has been an increase in the detection of drug trafficking in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom (UK).

“This is because, from my perspective, that shows the level of commitment that we see from our Nigerian partners and colleagues to what is the really critical work carried out by the NDLEA in tackling drug trafficking,” Baxter said.

“Firstly, there is a clear need for us to work together, to work collaboratively to tackle drug trafficking. But it also shows that our efforts are paying dividends.

“We are jointly preventing more and more drugs crossing borders, and we are disrupting more and more gangs.

“And that is important for both our populations, both our countries; but it’s mostly important actually for the people whose lives are disrupted by this crime.”