2024: Year shaped by tragedies, ambitious projects in Nigeria’s south-west

From the tragic incidents in Oyo State to the off-cycle election in Ondo State, the South-west region recorded a potpourri of events, some good and some bad, in 2024.

In this report, PREMIUM TIMES recalls some of the events. This report also provides insights into the ripple effects of some of them that may continue in at least the early part of the new year.

Bodija explosion

Nigerians had barely settled into the new year when news of a devastating explosion in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, South-west Nigeria, rocked the nation.

A Malian miner, Camara Mamadou, had stored explosives in a duplex at 8B, Reverend Aderinola Close, Old Bodija, Ibadan. Five persons died and properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed. Some of the victims who lost their homes remain homeless to date.

A PREMIUM TIMES investigation revealed damning details about Mr Mamadou and Meduret Resources Nigeria Limited, the mining company where the miner serves as a director.

The report brought to light the corruption and irregularities that pervade Nigeria’s mining sector. The activities of illegal miners in the state were also documented.

Despite assurances to expose and prosecute the persons responsible for the explosion, the Oyo State Government failed to ensure the repatriation and prosecution of Mr Mamadou. Only his wife, Ramatu, and other associates were arraigned in court.

The Minister of Sold Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has yet to make public the findings of the ministry’s investigation.

Launch of Lagos Red Line Train Project

While the devastating incident was unfolding in Oyo State, the Lagos State Government was planning the unveiling of the Lagos Mass Rail Transit (LMRT) red line train project. The  27-kilometre rail line was inaugurated in February by President Bola Tinubu.

The project, which is in its first phase, runs from Agbado in Ogun State to the Oyingbo axis of Lagos State. The rail line has eight stations: Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba, and Oyingbo.

The train service, projected to move about 500,000 residents daily, aims to improve mobility and reshape the state’s urban landscape.

Eight months later in October, the Red Line train commenced operations. Commuters were charged between N500 and N1,500 per trip.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Project

Unlike the Lagos Mass Rail Transit (LMRT) red line train project, which was well received by residents, the Lagos-Calabar highway project elicited criticisms from Nigerians.

The N15 trillion highway runs 700 kilometres across the coastal lines of Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom states, and ends in Calabar, Cross River State.

The ambitious project was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited on an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing (EPC+F) arrangement. This arrangement means that the contractor bears a large share of the risk and funding, and the federal government provides counterpart funding.

Critics raised concerns about the close relationship between President Tinubu and the owners of Hitech, Ronald and Gilbert Chagoury. They also wondered why the contract was awarded to Hitech without bidding or open tender.

Central to the controversy is the demolition of properties which are not on the project’s right of way. The Minister of Works, David Umahi, faced backlash from affected residents, some  of whom have gone to court to seek redress.

Cholera outbreak

While residents affected by the fallout of the highway project were trying to make sense of their predicament, a cholera outbreak struck the nation.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), from 1 January to 29 September 2024, Nigeria recorded 10,837 cholera cases, with 359 deaths.

With 4,667 cases, Lagos State accounted for 43 per cent of all suspected cases in the 36 states of Nigeria.

Three local government areas (LGAs), Lagos Island, Eti Osa, and Lagos Mainland, recorded the most cases in the state.

The breakdown of the case distribution in the South-west region shows Ogun had133 cases, Oyo 128 cases, Osun 49 cases, Ondo 41 cases, and Ekiti 19 cases.

A PREMIUM TIMES report found that Lagos had become the epicentre of the cholera outbreak due to inadequate water supply for the state’s 24 million population as well as “contaminated water sources, particularly unregistered tiger nut drinks, and inadequate water supply, especially in Lagos Island.”

Protests and arrests

A 10-day demonstration to draw the government’s attention to widespread hunger and bad governance kicked off in many states on 1 August.

The protest with the hashtags #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria and #EndHungerProtest was pronounced in the South-west states of Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, and Osun states. However, residents of Ekiti State shunned it.

Days into the protest, the demonstration suffered a decline in interest, as fewer protesters showed up at the protest ground in Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos.

Again on 1 October, protesters converged on Ikeja Underbridge and the Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos State, in continuation of August’s hunger protest, as the country marked her 64th Independence Day celebration.

However, nine protesters were arrested on the second day of the protest. Days later, they were released on bail.

More arrests were made by the police on 20 October when protesters gathered at the Lekki tollgate for a memorial rally to commemorate the nationwide #EndSARS protest of 2020.

A human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, confirmed the arrest and release of 22 activists.

One of the protesters, Olamide Thomas, was arrested by the police on 13 December over allegations of raining cures of death upon Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Tinubu, as well as the children of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and police spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi,  in a live Facebook video.

She was arrested at her home in Somolu in Lagos and flown to Abuja, where the police charged her with three counts of cyberbullying. Her bail request was denied by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Ondo election

In November, an off-cycle governorship election was held in Ondo State.

The incumbent, Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC), emerged as the winner of the election. Mr Aiyedatiwa, who will be inaugurated on 24 February 2024, recorded a landslide victory as he won in all 18 local government areas in the South-west state.

With a total of 366,781 votes, the APC candidate defeated his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 117,845.

While violence was recorded in the days leading to the election, observers believe the election result reflects the ballot cast.

A civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa, however, said it observed widespread vote buying, non-inclusion of Persons Living with Disability (PWDs), and unprofessionalism of some security and INEC polling officials.

Meanwhile, PDP rejected the result of the governorship election and went to court to seek redress.

Afe Babalola Vs Dele Farotimi saga

A book authored by a Lagos-based lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, titled, ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’, drew attention from within and outside Nigeria to the South-west region in the year.

Launched quietly in Lagos in July, the book spurred national reckoning about the issues with the Nigerian judicial system and became the centre of a sensational criminal defamation case filed in December by the police on behalf of a senior lawyer, Afe Babalola.

In his 104-page book, Mr Farotimi said Mr Babalola “corrupted the Supreme Court to procure a fraudulent judgement in the service of his clients”, among other allegations.

Mr Farotimi was subsequently arrested in his Lagos office and moved to Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, to face 16 counts of criminal defamation at a chief magistrate’s court and 12 counts of cybercrime at the Federal High Court in the state.

Human rights activists questioned why Mr Farotimi was driven to Ekiti State for prosecution when the book was published in Lagos State and the issues raised in the book happened in Lagos. They argued that under the Nigerian criminal justice system, the accused is tried where the act was committed and not at the location of the complainant. A former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chidi Odinkalu, also argued that criminal defamation is not an offence under the laws of Lagos and Ekiti states, and as such, it is illegal to charge Mr Farotimi under the Criminal Code Act, a federal law, at the state-owned chief magistrate’s court.

Mr Farotimi’s allegations of corruption stemmed from a decades-long land dispute between the Eletu and the Ojomu families, over 254 hectares of land at Osapa, Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos.

The Gbadamosi Eletu family’s claim to 254.558 hectares of land in Lekki was disputed by the Ojomu Chieftaincy Family, leading to a series of court battles that ultimately resulted in the Supreme Court awarding the Gbadamosi Eletu family only 10 hectares (24.17 acres) of land.

Mr Babalola, who represented the Eletu family, claimed that the 24.17 acres granted to his client was an error. So, he got the Supreme Court to grant a statutory right of occupancy to the entire 254 hectares through a motion for variation of the earlier judgement.

However, Mr Farotimi alleged in his book that Mr Babalola used unethical and corrupt methods in the case to secure the 254 hectares of land for his clients.

The Chief Magistrates Court and the Federal High Court granted Mr Farotimi bail in the sums of N30 million and N50 million, respectively. He was released after meeting the bail conditions.

Ibadan stampede

On 18 December, tragedy struck again in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, when 35 children died in a stampede during a Christmas charity funfair. The incident happened at the Islamic High School, in the Bashorun area of Ibadan.

About 5,000 children had reportedly gathered hours before the scheduled time for the event organised by Naomi Silekunola, an ex-wife of the Ooni of Ife and founder of Women In Need of Guidance and Support (WINGS) Foundation.

In a Facebook post, Agidigbo FM, a radio station founded by popular broadcaster Oriyomi Hamzat and based in Ibadan, stated that the former queen promised that the children would “win exciting prizes like scholarships and other bountiful gifts.”

It is not clear exactly how the stampede occurred. However, the police said they started investigating the incident and arrested eight persons, including the former Ile-Ife queen, Agidigbo FM founder Mr Hamzat, and the principal of Islamic High School where the incident happened, Fasasi Abdullahi. They jointly face charges of conspiracy, murder, and negligent acts causing harm.

On 24 December 2024, a Chief Magistrate, Olabisi Ogunkanmi, remanded the three of them in the Agodi Correctional Centre in Ibadan pending the issuance of legal advice from the state Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP). The case was adjourned until 13 January.

A First Class King Dies

In March, Ibadan lost its monarch, Oba Olalekan Balogun.

The 42nd Olubadan was 81 years old when he died a few days after marking his second coronation anniversary.

The late Olubadan was buried according to Islamic rites at his Aliwo ancestral home in Ibadan.

In July, a new Olubadan, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, was crowned as the 43rd Olubadan of lbadan land. After his crowning ceremony, the 89-year-old king was presented with the staff and instrument of office by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

2025 outlook

The defamation and cybercrime cases against Mr Farotimi are expected to be among the top stories from Ekiti State in the first half of 2025, as a further hearing at the Federal High Court is scheduled for 29 January and at the magistrate’s court on 15 February.

Also, the murder trial of erstwhile queen and Mr Hazmat for the Christmas funfare stampede which led to the death of 35 children will be closely monitored by residents of Ibadan and other parts of the South-west region.

The case of Ms Thomas, a protester arrested and charged with three counts of cyberbullying, is also expected to develop further.