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Tag: LASG

  • LASG to introduce HPV vaccines Sept. 25

    LASG to introduce HPV vaccines Sept. 25

    The Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCD) says it will introduce the Human Papilomavirus vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in girls from ages 9 to 14 on Sept. 25.

    Mrs Clara Owojuyigbe, the Director of Health Education and Health Promotion Services of LSPHCD, made this known at a media parley in Lagos.

    According to World Health Organisation, cancer of the uterine cervix, commonly known as cervical cancer, is the fourth most common cancer among women globally and the second most common cancer among women in Nigeria.

    Owojuyigbe said the development was to prevent the growing cases of cervical cancer in the country.

    She urged parents to use the opportunity to ensure that their girl child between the ages of 9 and 14 are available for the vaccination in order to prevent them from getting cervical cancer in the future.

    According to her, the immunity of the vaccine, which she called Gardasil, does not wear out over time, only one dose confers life time.

    “I am appealing to parents, religious leaders, and community leaders to bring their children for HPV vaccination from Sept. 25 to Sept. 30.

    “The vaccine is expensive but the government is making it available for pre-teen girls for free,” she said.

    The first phase of the vaccination for pre-teen girls will be carried out in 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    The states are; Lagos, Nassarawa, Kano, Jigawa, Enugu, Abia, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, Kebbi, Osun and Ogun.

  • LASG shuts damaged Alapere footbridge, begins emergency repairs

    LASG shuts damaged Alapere footbridge, begins emergency repairs

    The Lagos State Government says it has temporarily closed Alapere Pedestrian Bridge which was damaged by an articulated vehicle, and began immediate remedial works on sections that need urgent attention.

    A statement by Mr Shina Odunuga, Spokesman, Lagos State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, said the swift intervention was prompted by a viral video revealing cracks on various sections of the bridge.

    Odunuga said the bridge had been good, safe and useful for well over 15 years until the current unfortunate event.

    He said a team of Lagos State Government officials from the Ministry of works and infrastructure and the public works corporation conducted a joint inspection to assess the extent of damage to the infrastructure.

    Odunuga said the team led by the Permanent Secretary, Office of Infrastructure, Mr Olufemi Daramola, decided to temporarily close the bridge in the interest of public safety.

    He said the delegation assessed the situation, conducted tests, and began immediate repairs.

    “According to eyewitness accounts, the damage to the bridge occurred when an articulated low-bed truck attempted to navigate the bridge while carrying heavy-duty equipment that exceeded the provided standard design headroom of 5.4 meters.

    “At this juncture, the incident brings to mind similar occurrences at Alakija-Trade Fair and Apapa/Oshodi within the past year.

    “Public infrastructure is being negatively impacted due to the recklessness of road transporters who fail to adhere to international best practices while driving articulated vehicles,” he said.

    Odunuga added that the Alapere Pedestrian Bridge was the third bridge damaged within a short period, thereby, posing challenges to infrastructural growth, given the limited resources of the state government.

    He said investigations revealed that the damage could be quickly managed, hence ongoing remedial works already initiated would ensure prompt reopening of the infrastructure.

    He said the bridge would be placed under close observation and updates on its status would be communicated promptly to the public, as part of the government’s commitment to continued civic engagement.

    Odunuga said the state government will continually explore viable safety measures including installation of advanced sensor technology to mitigate future risks in line with its commitment to ensure safety on roads.

    “We would like to urge all commuters and the general public to adhere strictly to traffic regulations and guidelines for safety,” he said.

  • Collapsed building: Developers broke seal to continue construction – LASG

    Collapsed building: Developers broke seal to continue construction – LASG

    The Lagos State Government said the developers of a three-floor building under construction that partially collapsed on Ladipo Oluwole Street, Apapa ignored it’s orders on the project.

    The government said the builders ignored the stop work and seal up orders of the state Building Control Agency and continued construction behind the scene.

    This is contained in a statement signed by Mukaila Sanusi, Deputy Director, Public Affairs of the Ministry for Physical Planning and Urban Development and made available to newsmen on Sunday in Lagos.

    The statement said that the collapsed building, which was flagged on the Physical Planning incident management platform on Sunday evening, triggered immediate preliminary enquiries.

    According to it, investigations show that officers of the LASBCA had issued a number of contravention notices, stop work and seal up orders which the developer ignored and carried on construction without any recourse to the authorities.

    The statement added that there was no report of any casualty, while the site had been cordoned off and taken over by LASBCA

    “This particular incident, like similar others, reinforces governments repeated calls for responsible behaviour on the part of all stakeholders in the built environment.

    “Lagos State Government has immediately activated inquires into the collapse to unravel the minute details and guide appropriate actions,” the statement said.

  • Prepare for above-normal rainfall, LASG cautions residents

    Prepare for above-normal rainfall, LASG cautions residents

    The Lagos State Government, LASG, has advised residents to prepare for above-normal rainfall, which will start in the first week of April and cease in December.

    This was made known by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello, who spoke at the 2023 press briefing on Seasonal Climate Predictions and its socio-economic implications for Lagos, held at Alausa, Ikeja.

    According to the commissioner, the 1936.2mm amount of rainfall predicted for 2023 was greater than the long-term average of 1721.48mm experienced in the state in the last 10 years.

    He stated that specifically, Ikeja is expected to have an annual amount of 1,900mm while Badagry will experience 1,978mm amount of rainfall.

    Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe are expected to have rainfall with annual amounts of 1,903mm, 1,936mm and 1,952mm respectively, with onset dates of April 1 and cessation of December 3, 2023, he said.

    “It is also expected that the recent increase in the frequency of extreme weather events will continue in 2023, with days of extremely-high rainfall amounts that may result in flooding, largely because strong winds are expected during the onset and cessation of each rainfall,” Bello said.

    The commissioner stressed that the state had continued to maintain the synergy and partnership with the Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority to effectively contain flooding.

    Recall that early this year, an above-normal rainfall occurred in Ondo State that destroyed many property at Ipogun community in the Ifedore Local Government Area.

    The rainfall was said to have wreaked havoc on the community, destroying property worth millions of naira.

    It was gathered that the rainstorm destroyed houses, shops, schools, church, electric poles and a health centre in the community.

    Some residents were said to have been rendered homeless by the natural disaster.

    One of the affected residents, who identified herself only as Mrs Ajayi, lamented that the rainstorm destroyed her shop and goods.

    “It was just too heavy as we could not take out anything from the shop because the downpour lasted for two hours and many houses were affected. We are begging Governor Akeredolu and other well-meaning Nigerians to assist us,” she added.

  • LASG arraigns Chrisland school principal, others for manslaughter

    LASG arraigns Chrisland school principal, others for manslaughter

    The Lagos State government,o LASG, Thursday arraigned Chrisland School, Opebi, its principal, vice principal and two employees over the death of one of the school’s pupils, 12-year-old Whitney Adeniran.

    The school’s workers who were arraigned before Justice Oyindamola Ogala of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja include Ademoye Adewale, Kuku Fatai, Mrs. Belinda Amao, Nwatu Ugochi Victoria and Chrisland School Limited.

    The defendants were arraigned on two count charges bordering on involuntary manslaughter, reckless and negligent acts preferred against them by the state.

    While in the dock, the school’s principal, Mrs. Belinda Amao, broke down in tears as the court and counsel tried to agree on a date for the commencement of the trial.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) recalls that the mother of Whitney Adeniran, a 12-year-old female student of Chrisland High School, Ikeja, Lagos, had confirmed the cause of the daughter’s death.

    The mother, Blessing Adeniran, disclosed that investigation revealed that her daughter died from electrocution while taking part in the school’s sporting events held at the Agege Stadium in Lagos.

    In a live video on her official Instagram business account, Mrs Adediran said an autopsy carried out to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death revealed it was electrocution.

    Before the autopsy, the parents of the deceased had insisted that the student was hale and hearty before leaving home on the said day, but the school management denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the student “slumped” at the stadium.

    Alleged cover-up attempt?
    Crying profusely, Mrs Adediran said she has been subjected to trauma since her daughter died, adding that the school also contributed to the trauma for allegedly “pushing false narratives to protect their reputation.”

    She said: “They made me think I was crazy, they started pushing the narrative that she was sick. I told them, I dont want trouble, I want answers. They came to my house. I knelt down, begged and pleaded that I dont want my daughter butchered for autopsy sake

    “I told them my daughter is already dead, and I don’t want to put her through that and my husband told them we have been hearing rumours of electrocution and asked them to help us investigate these rumours, but they refused.

    “They sent a letter to me and my husband that they just want to assure us that they did everything humanly possible to save my daughter’s life.”

    Mrs Adediran added that the family would sue the school in a law court.

    Background
    Following the unfortunate death of the student, the deceased’s parents initially accused the school management of negligence.

    They took to social media to seek public intervention to unravel the circumstances that may have led to their daughter’s sudden death while taking part in the sporting events.

    The parents insisted that the lack of an ambulance or first aiders at the venue of the sporting events contributed to the student’s death.

  • BRT-Bus Clash: LASG to compensate victims with employment, scholarship

    BRT-Bus Clash: LASG to compensate victims with employment, scholarship

    Following the train-BRT bus accident that happened in Lagos few weeks back the Lagos State Government has announced compensation for victims of the collision.

    The compensation plan were made known by the Lagos government via a statement on Tuesday and made available to pressmen

    This was after a nine-member committee set up by the state in the aftermath of the accident of March 9 submitted its report.

    The LASG  has made plans to provide employment to one employable child of each of the dead victims of the accident and a concessionary scholarship to one of their biological children.

    The statement read, “Findings of the report showed that the accident had six fatalities from a total of 102 passengers involved, with 85 passengers on board the staff bus, while 17 were on the train.

    “The committee as part of its recommendations advised: Death benefits from the Group Life Insurance for families of the deceased, provision of employment to one employable child of the deceased and a concessionary scholarship to one of the deceased’s biological children.

    “Injured accident victims were also recommended in the report to be paid full insurance claims as compensation while any staff victim with a permanent disability is also to be compensated in line with the Group Life Insurance Policy of the state, among other benefits.

    “The committee, which consists permanent secretaries from relevant ministries of the state public service, was set up to identify the families of the deceased and their dependents, as well as the injured officers, and to determine appropriate compensation packages for each affected family and staff of the state government.

    “A final decision on the committee’s recommendations will be taken by the state executive council and further directives communicated by the Head of Service, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.”

    Meanwhile, a case of manslaughter has been established against the driver of the staff bus involved in the accident, Oluwaseun Osinbajo.

    According to the state government, as soon as he’s done recuperating, he will be charged to court.

  • #EndSARS: Court orders LASG to pay assaulted Uber driver N5m (VIDEO)

    #EndSARS: Court orders LASG to pay assaulted Uber driver N5m (VIDEO)

    A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the Lagos State Government (LASG) and the Nigeria Police (NPF) to pay an Uber driver, Adedotun Clement, the sum of N5 million as compensation.

    Clement was allegedly assaulted by officials of the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Agency and the Nigeria Police Force during the first anniversary of #EndSARS on October 20, 2021, at the Lekki Toll-Gate while he was carrying a passenger from the Island to the Mainland and was intercepted by the officials.

    Following the pandemonium that ensued after policemen and the officers of the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Agency fired tear-gas canisters to disperse the peaceful protesters and arrested many of them, Clement temporarily abandoned his car like other motorists and ran for his life.

    But, by the time he returned to pick up his car, he was accosted, dragged, tortured and manhandled by the officers who refused to listen to his entreaties that he was an Uber driver and only wanted to retrieve his car.

    #EndSARS: Court orders LASG to pay assaulted Uber driver N5m

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) recalls that the assault was captured on video which went viral on social media and it was also reported by media houses.

    In their attempt to forcefully put him inside the vehicle of the Lagos State Task Force otherwise called Black Maria, the officials of the Lagos State Government in connivance with the police officers also used pepper spray on Clement who cried for help.

    Following public condemnation that trailed the viral incident, Lagos-based human rights lawyer and activist, Mr Inibehe Effiong, took up the case and sued the Lagos State Government, the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency, the Attorney General of Lagos, and the Nigeria Police Force.

    While delivering judgement on Tuesday, in the fundamental rights case with Suit Number: FHC/CS/1862/2021, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa held that the treatment meted on the applicant amounted to a violation of his right to dignity and awarded the sum of N5 million as damages.

    The court condemned the torture of Clement by officials of the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force.

    #EndSARS: Court orders LASG to pay assaulted Uber driver N5m
    Adedotun Clement

    The applicant’s counsel, Effiong, in his reaction to the judgement, expressed appreciation to the court for upholding the rights of his client.

    Effiong also called on the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babjide Sanwo-Olu, to comply with the judgement and pay the compensation in line with his public declaration that he had compensated victims connected with the EndSARS, and to reassure Lagosians that he believes in human rights.

    Watch the UBER driver’s torture below

  • LAGOS BUS-TRAIN CRASH: “If not for this cashless policy, my daughter would not have followed that bus”-Father of deceased cries out

    LAGOS BUS-TRAIN CRASH: “If not for this cashless policy, my daughter would not have followed that bus”-Father of deceased cries out

    Femi Aina, father of Oreoluwa, deceased of Thursday accident when a Lagos State Government (LASG) staff bus collided with a train in the PWD area of the state, has said “if not for this cashless nonsense policy” his daughter, a National Youth Service Corps member (NYSC), would not have followed the bus.

    In his words: “If not for this cashless nonsense policy, she would not have followed that bus. But she did not have cash, so she had to follow the bus. She had just N200. They just kill people anyhow in this country.”

    Aina, in an interview, pointed out that his late daughter was preparing for master’s in UK.

    The deceased’s father explained that he was in Abuja watching television around 9 am when he saw the incident. An hour after that, he got a call that his daughter was involved in it.

    LAGOS BUS-TRAIN CRASH: "If not for this cashless policy, my daughter would not have followed that bus"-Father of deceased cries out

    “Then I immediately called my younger brother and sister in Lagos. I later received two more calls in another 10 minutes and by then, she was already in the ICU (intensive care unit). They were attending to her and at the same time calling me from there.

    Oreoluwa was very dear to me. She was a gift from God to me and that is what her name implies. She feared God and she was hard-working

    “I even heard some of the staff members praying for her. So, I rushed to the airport to get any available flight back to Lagos but when my plane was ready to take off by 4 pm, I was told that she had passed away,” he said.

    According to him, the last time he communicated with her was on Wednesday when his younger brother’s wife celebrated her birthday.

    “She recorded the birthday and sent it to us. We all laughed at the video and the following morning (Thursday) she sent a WhatsApp message to me saying, “Daddy how was your night? Hope you slept well,” and I replied, “All is well” and there was no response after then. I even thought she did not respond because she ran out of data, not knowing that she was already involved in an accident,” he added.

    Speaking about Oreoluwa, 28, (deceased) he said: “Oreoluwa was very dear to me. She was a gift from God to me and that is what her name implies. She feared God and she was hard-working.

    LAGOS BUS-TRAIN CRASH: "If not for this cashless policy, my daughter would not have followed that bus"-Father of deceased cries out

    “I used to tell her that she took the job like she was already a staff member of the state government. She was a very nice girl with visions and ambitions. She was preparing to go to the United Kingdom for her Master’s programme after her youth service ends in May, but unfortunately, all her plans had been dashed.

    “She happened to be the first grandchild of my parents and she stayed with my mum here in Lagos because our dad passed away last year, so she had always been with her grandmother. She was dear to everyone around including church, school and at work. Her death is a great loss.”

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that late Oreoluwa studied Pure and Applied Chemistry at Osun State University. Until her death, she was undergoing her one year NYSC service with the state government and aimed at getting a meritorious award.

  • FG orders probe into cause of Lagos train-bus crash, as NRC, LASEMA react

    FG orders probe into cause of Lagos train-bus crash, as NRC, LASEMA react

    The Federal Government has ordered probe into the cause of Thursday’s Lagos train-bus crash that occurred at PWD area of the state, killing six people and injured 96.

    This was as the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) have blamed the driver of the Lagos State Government staff bus for the fatal train accident.

    Tragedy struck in Lagos a few minutes before 8am on Thursday when a passenger train collided with a fully-loaded staff bus belonging to the Lagos State Government at the PWD rail crossing, off the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

    Giving reasons for the deadly crash, the Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, told journalists that the bus driver ignored signals from the NRC officials as he was in a hurry to cross the rail.

    Also, the NRC, in a statement by its Deputy Director Public Relations, Yakub Mahmood, said the bus failed to obey the instruction of the corporation officials as he overtook other vehicles waiting for the train to pass.

    TheNewsGuru.com(TNG) reports that the Federal Government has ordered an investigation into the accident.

    The ill-fated bus with registration no 04A- 48LA was navigating its way to connect the Government Residential Area, Ikeja en route to the state secretariat, Alausa, when it collided with the train at the PWD rail crossing.

    FG orders probe into cause of Lagos train-bus crash: NRC, LASEMA react

    The bus was said to be coming from Isolo while the train was heading to Ido from Ijoko, Ogun State.

    According to eyewitnesses, the train dragged the bus on its rail for about 100 metres from PWD to Sogunle before getting stuck.

    Some panic-stricken passengers of the bus, especially those close to the exit doors, reportedly made frantic efforts to jump off the bus being dragged by the train.

    By the time the train and the bus finally stopped on the rail, the bus passengers fell upon one another in their attempts to find their way out of the trapped vehicle.

    Two passengers were said to have died on the spot while others sustained various degrees of injuries.

    Rescue workers who were mobilised to the scene evacuated the victims and rushed them to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

    Nigeria Railway Corporation reacts

    The Chief Mechanical Engineer and Lagos District Manager, Nigeria Railway Corporation, Augustine Arisa, confirmed that the train pushed the bus for about 100 metres before stopping.

    This, according to him, is because of the high speed of the train.

    Arisa disclosed this in an interview with one of our correspondents at the scene of the accident.

    He noted that at 7.50 am, he received a distress call from one of the drivers of the NRC, alerting him of a train-bus accident at the Shogunle Level Crossing.

    Arisa said, “At 7.50 am, we got a distress call from our driver that there has been an accident at the Shogunle Level Crossing.

    “On further interaction, we found out that the level-crossing keeper was there. The LCK is the man with the red and yellow flags at all times at the level crossing.

    “If he gives you the red flag, you are to stop. If he gives you the yellow flag, you are to move with caution. If he gives the yellow flag to the train driver, that means he has asked the train driver to start coming.

    “With that, the train driver has the confidence that the rail is clear for him to drive through. This simply means all buses should wait and not move till the yellow flag is given to them. With that, the train driver has the confidence that the rail is clear for him to drive through.”

    FG orders probe into cause of Lagos train-bus crash: NRC, LASEMA react

    Arisa, narrating how the accident occurred, said the BRT driver veered off from where other buses were waiting and entered the track, ignoring the red flag by the level crossing keeper.

    “Before the train driver could stop, he had already hit the vehicle and pushed it to a distance of about 100 metres before finally stopping. This is because the train cannot stop immediately,” he added.

    He further emphasized that no one should be on the rail track for whatever reason.

    According to him, anyone seen on the rail track is an intruder and has no business being there.

    He added, “I need to emphasise this and drum it to the ears of people that a moving train cannot stop immediately.

    “So, no one has the right to stay on the track. You don’t have any business being on the track. For you being on the track, you are an intruder.

    “If anyone dies on the track, your family members will have to pay a railway fine before retrieving your corpse, because no one is supposed to be there in the first place. When the flag bearers tell you to stop, please, stop.”

    On his part, Oke-Osanyintolu said the accident was caused by reckless driving on the part of the bus driver.

    “Investigation gathered revealed that the immediate cause of the incident was due to reckless driving on the part of the bus driver while trying to beat the train traffic signal before the moving train rammed into the bus,” he added.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) gathered that rescuers started taking victims to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja at 8.30am.

    The Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, said the teaching hospital admitted 102 victims of the crash.

    Fabamwo, who described the experience as overwhelming, said the hospital received 85 victims at once.

    He revealed that the health facility embarked on open space treatment also known as triage, which he said is the world’s best practice in emergencies.

    He said triage was the best option because the hospital’s emergency unit only has 30-bed spaces and that some other patients were already occupying some of the beds before the crash victims were brought in.

    Fabamwo said, “I got a call very early in the morning about the mass causalities, by the time I got to the hospital, I saw that 85 causalities had been brought to us.

    “They were on their way to work and the accident happened around 7.30am, and our emergency unit is just a 30-bed unit, imagine if they brought in 85 victims and don’t forget our bed cannot be lying fallow, they will always be occupied.

    “So, we had to do what is done internationally, international best practice, and that is called open triage which means you put all the victims on the ground, in a spacious space, luckily, we have a helipad which is spacious.

  • Chrisland School, where student died remains shut – LASG

    Chrisland School, where student died remains shut – LASG

    Chrisland High School, Lagos, where a student died during its inter-house sports competition on Feb. 9, remains shut, Lagos State government declared on Sunday.

    It stated that the continued closure of the school after the death of the 12-year-old student, Whitney Adeniran, was to further investigate alleged endangerment of students and others.

    “The closure of the school paved the way for unhindered investigation and afforded all stakeholders, including parents, students, staff, and friends of the deceased, time to grief,’’ Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, stated.

    “In view of the circumstances surrounding the death of the child, the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice ordered a coroner’s inquest into the matter to ascertain the cause.

    “The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) conducted the autopsy on Feb. 15.

    “It was conducted by Prof. Sunday Soyemi, Consultant Pathologist, LASUTH in the presence of Dr Samuel Keshinro, Consultant Pathologist, representing the deceased’s family, and Dr. Olugbenga Oyewole, Consultant Pathologist representing Chrisland Schools.

    “The autopsy report, dated March 1, revealed the cause of death as asphyxia and electrocution.

    “The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice consequently directed that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to issue a legal advice on the matter.

    “Without prejudice to the criminal proceedings, the school will remain shut to further interrogate the endangerment of students and others,’’ the commissioner added.

    She stated also that team from the Office of Education Quality Assurance also had a meeting with the management of the school to ascertain adherence to child safeguarding policies.

    “The meeting examined the planning of the inter-house sports event and the aftermath of the unfortunate incident.

    “It was discovered that there were lapses,’’ she said in the statement.

    Adefisayo added that a government delegation visited to commiserate with the family of the deceased on March 2.

    She reassured that anyone found culpable in the death of Whitney would be made to face the law.

    The commissioner stated also that government agencies had started fact-finding visits also to Agege Stadium, Lagos, venue of the inter-house sports competition.