Residents of a luxury apartment in Banana Island raised alarm after several people were trapped inside a lift for nearly 40 minutes.

The incident surfaced after a viral video on social media showed distressed occupants inside the elevator struggling to breathe and calling for help.

In the viral video, at least five adults were seen sweating heavily while trapped inside the lift. The individuals appeared anxious as they pleaded for assistance from outside.

One of the men inside the elevator spoke in the video and explained how long they had been trapped.

“We are here stuck in the lift of Banana Island school apartment. We’ve been stuck here for almost 40 minutes and we’re all about suffocating in here.

For you to know, I’m here with my wife Mary and my brother is here and my cousin… We are here, we are about suffocating in here. No body seems to have been doing anything about it.

We spoke to the landlady’s daughter, she said, they will see what they can do. Can you imagine, the principal of the school came over and said they are trying to do, 40 minutes and we are almost passing out in here.

I don’t know what to do, we are here stuck in the lift in the apartment, stuck in the lift here in Banana apartment here. Thank you.”

Watch the video here…

The decision was announced on Sunday, March 8, by the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible under Iran’s constitution for selecting the country’s supreme leader.

In a statement circulated by state media, the Assembly said Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen after what it described as a “decisive vote.” It called on citizens to remain united and support the new leader.

The statement urged Iranians, “especially the elites and intellectuals of the seminaries and universities,” to pledge allegiance to the leadership and help preserve national unity.

The appointment comes days after the k!lling of Ali Khamenei, who had served as Iran’s Supreme Leader since 1989.

He was reportedly k!lled on February 28 during a joint military operation by the United States and Israel targeting leadership sites in Tehran amid escalating regional tensions.

Before Mojtaba was announced as the new leader, Donald Trump publicly opposed the prospect of Mojtaba becoming Iran’s leader, reportedly describing him as a “lightweight” and suggesting he should not play a role in determining the country’s leadership.

He was attending an Assemblies of God church close to his palace in Ikwo when a syndicate of gunmen assailed and picked him and zoomed off to a location in Izziㅡa community under Abakaliki LGA where they kept him. There was no security hiccup as they headed for their camp using a tricycle ㅡ keke-napep. The kidnap! happened last Sunday.

The man who was 80-something years of age, was a member of the Enugu State House of Assembly before 1996 that Ebonyi was created. He was the father of the immediate past deputy governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Barr Kelechi Igwe, PhD and father-in-law to the current chairman of Ikwo LGA, Chief Barr Sunday Nwankwo as well as the traditional ruler of Ndufu-Alike community, Ikwo LGA. A representative of Ikwo stakeholders approached and reported the incident to “Ili Noyo” ㅡ a deity owned by Ikwo clan. The kidnappers made a phone call to the family requesting that they be given N500K to get drugs for him. They provided a Zenith bank account for the transaction.

The transaction was made. A query was placed on the account, necessitating the owner to go to bank and sort it out. He was captured. During interrogation, he admitted that it was Sinbad Ogbuatu the current APC state publicity secretary in Ebonyi that contacted him to provide an account number for the transaction. Sinbad was arrested and queried. Sinbad said that it was one of his boys that told him to look for a bank account to receive the money. Rather than providing his own account, he looked for another person’s, knowing full well how dangerous the transaction seemed. He was used to lure the boy he called his boy. The two of them came to answer the call of Sinbad their boss unbeknownst to them the danger looming. They were captured and asked the whereabouts of the man. They said that the man di ..ed in their custody. They led security operatives to where they kept him. His decomposing corpse! was exhumed and deposited in a morgue in Abakaliki. Police will arraign the seven of them including Sinbad next week.

The above was what happened.

Sir Chika Nwoba wrote.