Spotlights
EXPOSED: How Lagos public school was destroyed to build homes for the rich
A 45-year-old public primary school in Lagos state, Nigeria’s economic capital, has been destroyed, and the land is about to be converted into an upscale estate, as reported by TheCable.
The Adeniyi Jones Primary School at Akora Villa Estate in Ikeja was established in 1980 on land donated to the Lagos government by the Akinole Oshiun family to provide quality education to the children of the poor in the area.
The pupils are children of petty traders, security guards, domestic workers, masons, bus drivers, commercial motorcyclists, and other low-income earners. They are children whose parents cannot afford the tuition fees of private schools, and the public school is their only chance at education.
An inscription on the school fence says the land was donated to Lagos state for educational purposes.
However, a legal tussle between the traditional family who donated the land and another family over the ownership of the land where the school was situated led to its closure in 2024. The latter was said to have received a court judgement that the land was theirs.
TheCable understands that although the ruling was contested in a higher court, the school buildings were destroyed, and the pupils were temporarily displaced.
The pupils were later moved to St. Peter’s Anglican Nursery and Primary School, Ikeja, about a 20-minute drive from Adeniyi Jones Primary School. It was a journey so many of the parents were unprepared for because they lived close to the former school. The children only needed to walk to the school, a few minutes from their homes.
At first, the Lagos state government was said to have provided buses to take the pupils from a bus stop near their former school to the new school. But after three weeks, the vehicles stopped coming and the parents were left with no choice but to cough up money to transport the children to the new school
Most of the pupils spend approximately N800 (about half a dollar) daily on transportation from the Adekunle area of Adeniyi Jones, where they live, to their new school. That is aside from the money for lunch. A pupil spends approximately N16,000 ($10) monthly on transportation. Parents with two or three pupils feel the new financial strain more.
On a sunny afternoon, this reporter caught up with the pupils on the road. Eberechi, Marvellous, Adamu, Rasheed, Adama, and their classmates — aged six to 13 years — their bags clutched to their tiny shoulders, gossiping and laughing as they walked home. Some placed their bags on their heads against the scorching sun.
To save costs, sometimes, they board tricycles to the school in the morning and walk home under the sun in the afternoon. The day their parents cannot afford transportation, they stay home.
‘WE BORROW MONEY TO SEND THEM TO SCHOOL’
Since 40-year-old Zahra Joro lost her husband five years ago, the burden of catering for her three children fell on her fragile shoulders. From the proceeds of the fizzy drinks and bottled water she sells on the streets, she ensures her children are all going to school. Zahra, who migrated from Borno to Lagos state less than two decades ago, had no formal education. So, the widow is determined to see her children through the four walls of a classroom and become better in life.
Zahra’s first child, Hauwa, attended Adeniyi Jones Primary School and is now in a public secondary school in the Ojodu area of the state. Adama, her 8-year-old second child, was in primary 3 when the primary school was dismantled. Now, Zahra has to squeeze out N800 daily from her meagre daily profit of less than N3,000 ($2) to ensure Adama and her little brother stay in school.
“When they were in their former school, I didn’t have to spend a dime because my house is just five minutes away. I just walk them into the estate and pick them up in the afternoon. No stress. Taking them to the new school they were relocated to is taking a toll on my finances and business,” Zahra told TheCable in front of her makeshift shop.
“The government didn’t inform us that the school would be shut down. When we heard the rumour, I called the headmistress, and she confirmed it. We are poor people, and we cannot fight.
“I didn’t go to school at all, and that’s why I want my children to be in school, and nothing can stop them. I have to look for money to take them to school every day. If you don’t have enough money, that means the children might go to school maybe three times a week because I can’t afford a private school.”
Beside Zahra’s goods was Alimat Tom’s tray of groundnut. She makes less than N2,500 ($1.6) profit daily from the small tray. She has no formal education; hence, she would give up anything to ensure her only child is in school – even when it means borrowing money from her customers.
“Since I got separated from my husband, I fend for my child alone. I don’t know what she wants to become in the future, but she must be educated no matter the challenges on our path,” she said.
Abubakar Goni, one of the parents, is yet to come to terms with reality. While his three children were attending Adeniyi Jones Primary School, things were a bit better since he didn’t have to set aside transportation costs from his N35,000 ($22.4) monthly salary as a security guard. According to him, he was forced to add petty trading to his job as a result of the biting economic situation in the country.
“I’m not happy at all,” he blurted out. “We’re just managing. I take my children to the new school on my small motorcycle, and sometimes I have to give them money for transportation. We never planned for this.”
PARENTS WORRIED ABOUT CHILDREN’S SAFETY ON THE ROAD
Cynthia Onwueme, a 55-year-old food seller, could not hide her feelings. She’s convinced some rich and powerful people no longer want the public school to be in the posh neighbourhood because they do not want to see children of the poor in the vicinity.
Cynthia was born in Lagos and grew up in the area before gated estates with elegant homes started springing up and the wealthy ones separated themselves from lower-class residents. Those days, she could walk from Adekunle village and pass through shortcuts to Allen Avenue. All her children attended Adeniyi Jones Primary School. Now, her wards can no longer attend the school because the land needs to give room for a luxury estate.
“Even my children in the university schooled at Adeniyi Jones Primary School. The school closure was a surprise package to us. We felt bad. We thought maybe the estate residents didn’t want less-privileged children in the area. There are many private schools in the estate, but it was the public one that was destroyed and moved out. We heard they want to build big mansions there. Sadly, we were not consulted,” Cynthia said, her melancholic voice undisguised.
“Going that long distance is risky for those children, being minors. We always feel concerned about their safety. Most of them trek in groups when they are coming back.
“I give my two wards about N2,000 (less than $2) daily. I sometimes find giving them money difficult, but I have no choice. They promised them a bus, but they stopped after about four weeks. They used that to deceive us, and now we are left to bear the cost. We can’t fight the battle because we don’t have money. Our noise cannot be heard. When I don’t have money, I tell them not to go because I don’t want to put their lives at risk.”
According to Benedict Sama, an educational psychologist, the pupils may experience low motivation to learn, which can affect their mental health and academic performance.
He noted that the situation may also lead to the pupils acquiring antisocial behaviours.
“Tiredness arising from walking a long distance to school significantly impacts learning by impairing concentration, making it harder to focus, retain information, and process new concepts, often leading to decreased motivation, increased frustration, and difficulty with problem-solving due to reduced cognitive function,” Sama told TheCable.
“Essentially, when tired, the brain struggles to encode and store new information effectively. These are children from low economic status. The physical and emotional pains of walking this distance every day will encourage dropping out of school.”
The plight of the Adeniyi Jones Primary School pupils is one of the many challenges indigent children face in accessing quality education in public schools in Lagos state. Overcrowding, deteriorating infrastructure, insufficient learning materials, and scanty schools are some of the challenges facing public education in the state.
In 2022, Folasade Adefisayo, a former commissioner for education in Lagos, said the ratio of public to private schools at primary and secondary school levels in the state is one to 22. This further shows the gradual decline of public education and a bad omen for children of the poor in the state.
Letters delivered to the offices of the executive chairman of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB) and the commissioner for basic and secondary education seeking clarification on the controversy surrounding the destruction of the Adeniyi Jones Primary School have not been responded to. The letter further asked about the government’s role in the matter and what it is doing to ease the plight of the displaced pupils.
Several efforts by TheCable to speak with some representatives of the two traditional families at the centre of the controversy proved abortive as they declined interview requests.
Meanwhile, every afternoon, these pupils pour into the busy roads, into the unwelcoming hands of the afternoon sun, as the government ignores their plights.
Republished from TheCable.ng
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Spotlights
VIDEO: Popular Prophet Mentions 3 Tinubu’s Ministers Working With Coalition Ahead 2027 Polls
Primate Elijah Ayodele, the leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, has issued a compelling prophetic warning regarding three current ministers in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He confidently asserts that these ministers are poised to collaborate with the ADC coalition, a move he believes will substantially undermine the president’s political future.
In a recent prophetic broadcast on Facebook, Primate Ayodele stated that this betrayal within Tinubu’s cabinet would take many by surprise.
2027 Election: Goodluck Jonathan Told What To Do Ahead Of Poll As Plots To Unseat Tinubu Deepens
According to him, the ministers are actively aligning themselves with an emerging opposition coalition, and their eventual actions will shake the foundation of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Three of Tinubu’s ministers will be playing along with the coalition, and that will hit Tinubu,” Ayodele declared. He warned that the alignment was not mere speculation but a spiritual certainty, urging the presidency to tighten its internal political controls and assess the loyalty of those in top government positions.
Ayodele criticized the rising insecurity and political manipulation within the country, urging Nigerians to pray and political leaders to refocus on good governance, not selfish ambitions. He stressed that internal betrayal from trusted allies is often more dangerous than external attacks.
2027 Election: Goodluck Jonathan Told What To Do Ahead Of Poll As Plots To Unseat Tinubu Deepens
Spotlights
Alleged Money Laundering: How I Paid $3 Million Into Aisha Achimugu’s Company’s Account – Witness
Trinity Usman, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) witness, on Friday, told the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, that he received and transferred three million dollars into Aisha Achimugu’s company account.
Mr Usman, the 2nd prosecution witness (PW-2), told Justice Emeka Nwite while being led in evidence by the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN.
The PW-2, a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, spoke in the ongoing trial of Halima Buba, managing director of SunTrust Bank, and her co-defendant, Innocent Mbagwu, the executive director/chief compliance officer of the bank.
The duo are being prosecuted on money laundering offences to the tune of $12 million.
In a six-count charge, they were alleged to have aided high-value cash transactions without routing them through a financial institution.
The offence is said to be contrary to Section 21(a), 2(1), and 9(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.
The defendants were, on June 13, arraigned by the anti-graft agency.
They, however, pleaded not guilty to the counts, and admitted to a N100 million bail with one surety, each in like sum.
At the resumed trial, the witness said he was in court to tell what he knew about the transactions he did with Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, owned by Mrs Achimugu.
Mr Usman, who said he was a businessman and general contractor, said he was also into agro allied and oil business.
He said he carried out the businesses with companies or registered names.
He said his companies include Triple A and Tee Service Venture, T.M. Agro Allied Farm, Triple A and D Oil and Gas Ltd, Triple A and Tee BDC Ltd, among others.
“Sometimes in April 2025, one Suleiman Ciroma contacted me that he had a transaction that he needed 3 million US dollars to (be transferred to) Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd.
“In that particular time, I have the money being in my Triple A and Tee Oil and Gas Nig Ltd account.
“After we agreed with him, Suleiman Ciroma gave me the dollar payment in cash.
“I paid him the dollars into Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd account,” he said.
He said the payment was made in April 2025
“Can you remember the exact date you made the payment?” Iheanacho asked.
“I made the transfer in four tranches but I cannot remember the exact day,” the witness responded.
However, when the lawyer asked the witness if he knew Messrs Buba and Mbagwu, he said he did not know them.
“Take a look at the dock and tell the court if you know the defendants,” Mr Iheanacho asked and the witness simply said, “No.”
Mr Usman told the court that he did the transactions with Triple A and Tee Oil Nig Ltd.
“It was from there I transferred the dollars into Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd,” he said.
But when Mr Iheanacho asked the PW-2 if his BDC company, Triple A and Tee BDC Ltd, featured in the transaction, counsel for the 1st defendant (Buba), Johnson Usman, SAN, raised an objection.
The senior lawyer argued that Iheanacho’s question was a ploy to give the witness tips on what to say and the judge directed him to rephrase the question.
The witness said that the licence of Triple A and Tee BDC Ltd, as at the time of the transactions, had been suspended.
He said the cash transactions from Mt Ciroma were made through his staff.
He mentioned the names of the staff as Abdulkadir Mohammed and Kabir Haruna.
The BDC operator also said that he equally did a naira to dollar transaction with Ciroma.
“The naira was transferred into a Triple A and Tee Service Venture Ltd Bank account.
“The naira also was converted into dollars and I sent the equivalent into an Oceangate account,” he said.
However, during cross-examination by Mr Buba’s counsel, Mr Usman SAN, the witness was asked to confirm to court that Triple A and Tee BDC Ltd had been in operations till date and he responded in affirmative.
“After they suspended our licence, we proposed Triple A and Tee BDC Ltd to CBN last year and we have an approval in principle with CBN,” the witness responded.
“Ciroma Suleiman contacted you in these transactions because he knows you as BDC operator?” the lawyer asked and the PW-2 responded in affirmative.
When Mr Usman asked the witness that it was on the basis of that knowledge that the PW-2 sent his staff to collect the dollars from Mr Ciroma, Mr Iheanacho too objected to the question.
The witness admitted that he did not tell the defendants before the transactions that his BDC license was suspended at any time.
He said his oil company account was used for the transactions because it was the account he had available dollars.
‘The choice of using your oil and gas company account to transfer the dollars to Oceangate was your own decision,” the lawyer asked and the witness responded in affirmative.
Counsel to the 2nd defendant (Mbagwu), M.S. Ibrahim, SAN, asked the witness if he made any profit from the transactions and he responded in affirmative.
“Did you tell the defendants whom you have never seeing or know before that you were going to make inflow payment from your oil and gas company’s account?” Ibrahim asked and the PW-2 said, “No.”
After the cross-examination, the witness was discharged and Ms Nwite adjourned the matter until Dec. 10 and Dec. 11 for continuation of trial.
Earlier on Thursday during the cross-examination of Suleiman Ciroma, the owner of Funnacle BDC Ltd and the PW-I by Mr Usman, SAN, the witness said the reason Mrs Achimugu requested for the transfer of the money was that if she had deposited the money in cash in the bank, she would not be able to transfer same.
Mr Ciroma said Trimizi Usman and Hassan Dantani, upon their representatives collecting the money, in turn, transferred the dollars equivalent “less their charges into a designated account provided by Aisha Achimugu.”
He agreed with Mr Usman’s question that in forex transaction, a transfer can only be made from an account where the money came by way of inflow and not by cash deposit.
When the lawyer asked Mr Ciroma that Mrs Achimugu needed the dollar transfer to purchase her two oil blocks, the PW-1 responded in affirmative.
The witness told the court that he is a member of BDC Traders Association Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja.
He said that was why when he made his statements to EFCC on April 14, April 11 and May 7, the executive members of the association were with him at the time.
Mr Ciroma, who agreed that he was duly cautioned before writing the extra-judicial statements, admitted that there was no part he informed the defendants, particularly Mr Buba, that his BDC licence had expired.
Also while being cross-examined by Mr Ibrahim, who appeared for the 2nd defendant, Mr Ciroma agreed that he had never seen Mr Mbagwu physically before.
He also admitted that he had never produced any text or Whatsapp message between him and Mbagwu before the court before.
gazettengr.com
President Donald Trump is once again referencing his wish to be “heaven-bound”
Speaking to press aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Oct. 12, the president, 79, answered a question about his August statements regarding his attempts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine — during which he said, “If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s pretty — I want to try to get to heaven if possible.”
“I’m being a little cute,” Trump told reporters on Sunday about his previous comments, before quipping, “I don’t think there’s anything going to get me in heaven.”
“I really don’t. I think I’m not maybe heaven-bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly on Air Force One,” he continued. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make heaven, but I’ve made life a lot better for a lot of people.”
Trump went on to tell the press that “had the election of 2020 not been rigged,” he could have prevented Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine.
“We had an incompetent administration. We had an incompetent president. And because of a crooked election, millions of people are dead,” Trump said, referring to former President Joe Biden. “And by the way, the Israeli thing was much harder to get settled because of the past administration.”
During a phone interview with Fox & Friends on Aug. 19, the president gave a new explanation for taking action to end the war in Ukraine — including positioning himself as a mediator between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s pretty — I want to try to get to heaven if possible,” Trump said at the time.
“I’m hearing that I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole,” he added, to laughter from the Fox News hosts. “But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”
Last month, Trump referenced his goal to “get into heaven” again when his campaign sent out emails asking for donations that read, “I want to try and get to Heaven.”
The recent emails — which reportedly began on Aug. 23 — requested supporters to donate $15 during a “24-HOUR TRUMP FUNDRAISING BLITZ” to the president, the Independent, Snopes and Newsweek reported. The new emails’ subject line includes, “I want to try and get to Heaven,” per the outlets.
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“Last year, I came millimeters from death when that bullet pierced through my skin. My triumphant return to the White House was never supposed to happen!” the email says in reference to the July 2024 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pa.
“But I believe that God saved me for one reason: TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” the message says, according to the Independent. “I certainly wasn’t supposed to survive an assassin’s bullet, but by the grace of the almighty God, I did. SO NOW, I have no other choice but to answer the Call to Duty, but I can’t do it alone.”
During a briefing that same day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that she didn’t believe Trump was joking.
“I think the president was serious,” she said. “I think the president wants to get to heaven — as I hope we all do in this room as well.”
Stock photo of airplanes taking off and landing at Laguardia airport in New York
Trump and Putin failed to reach a peace deal or agree to a ceasefire during their recent summit in Alaska on Aug. 15, despite Trump having vaguely threatened “very severe consequences” if Russia didn’t comply.
Days after his meeting with Putin, Trump changed his tune, telling Zelenskyy and other European leaders that he didn’t think a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was necessary or even realistic while larger peace negotiations are underway.
The president admitted to the difficulty of negotiating with Putin during his remarks at the Kennedy Center on Aug. 13.
“I’ve had a lot of good conversations with [Putin]. Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building and people are laying dead in the streets,” Trump said.
People
Peruvian lawmakers have taken decisive action by voting to remove President Dina Boluarte from office following widespread public dissatisfaction with the country’s escalating crime rates and ongoing political scandals.
In a late-night session held in Lima, Congress reached a majority decision to impeach the president, citing “permanent moral incapacity” as the basis for their decision. Out of the 130 members of Congress, 118 voted in favor of the motion, effectively determining Boluarte’s political fate after she declined to appear before lawmakers to present her defense.
Congress leader José Jerí immediately announced, “The president’s impeachment has been approved,” before taking the oath as interim president. He will oversee the country until new elections scheduled for April 2026.
Boluarte’s presidency, which began in December 2022, has been dogged by protests, corruption allegations, and surging gang violence. Her failure to reduce crime including rising cases of extortion and murder linked to organised groups, sparked widespread frustration among Peruvians.
She had already survived several impeachment attempts before Friday’s vote. This latest one followed weeks of demonstrations against a controversial pension reform law and outrage over reports that she accepted luxury watches and jewellery, a scandal widely known as “Rolexgate.”
Boluarte also drew criticism earlier this year for awarding herself a significant pay rise, even as unemployment and inflation worsened across the country.
As of the time of this press report, former President Boluarte remained silent on her removal, while security forces increased patrols around government buildings amid fears of renewed protests.
Spotlights
‘Stop Dancing Around’: Makinde Tutors Minister Umahi How To Calculates Cost of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has criticised the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, accusing him of evading questions about the cost of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project approved by President Bola Tinubu, Politics Nigeria.
Makinde, who spoke on Friday, was reacting to Umahi’s heated exchange with Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni earlier in the week, during which the minister declined to provide a cost breakdown of the project on a per-kilometre basis.
Oseni had asked Umahi to explain the project’s cost per kilometre, a question the minister dismissed as “elementary,” insisting that the prices vary along different sections of the road and that the journalist lacked the technical knowledge to understand the process.
Umahi said, “Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field… The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.”
Governor Makinde, however, defended the journalist, saying Umahi’s evasiveness was unnecessary.
“They asked a minister how much the coastal road is, and then you’re dancing around, saying the next kilometre is different from the next. Then what is the average cost?” Makinde said.
He compared the coastal project to road works executed under his administration, providing clear figures.
“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road, it was about ₦9.99 billion for roughly 35 kilometres, an average of ₦238 million per kilometre.
“For the Iseyin to Ogbomoso road, 76 kilometres cost ₦43 billion, about ₦500 million per kilometre. And that included two bridges,” the governor explained.
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