Incident
Bandits kidnap village head, wives, others in Katsina
Bandits on Monday night kidnapped the village head of Kaigar Malamai, Kabir Muhammed Ajiya, his two wives and 14 other peasant farmers in Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina state. The bandits were said to have also ransacked the entire village, injuring six other persons and rustled unspecified cows in the village. A survivor of the attack, Umar Abdulsalam, who spoke to newsmen in a telephone interview on Tuesday, said the villagers had relocated to Dan-Musa town and other nearby villages in the local government. Newsmen report that bandits had earlier kidnapped 80 pupils of Hizburrahim Islamiyya School in Mahuta village of Dandume Local Government Area of the state but were rescued by a team of security operatives. He said, “yesterday (Monday) at about 9pm some armed Fulani people r...
Farm labourer ‘kills’ colleague in hemp plantation
A 23-year-old laborer, Benedict Owalun, has been arrested by the police in Ondo State for allegedly killing his colleague simply identified as Ekong inside an Indian hemp farm in Ipele in Owo Local Government Area of the state. The suspect allegedly beheaded Ekong during a fight between them inside an Indian hemp plantation. Both the suspect and the deceased were said to be working with others on the plantation located at Ipele in Owo Local Government Area of the state when the incident happened. Owalun, an indigene of Cross Rivers State said that he had suspected the deceased to be behind his predicaments, hence his action. He said the deceased had threatened to deal with him spiritually. Owalum said he had noticed that his manhood was no longer functioning and the deceased often threaten...
Official: Amotekun corps never killed anybody in Ibadan
The Commandant of Oyo State Security Network, codenamed Amotekun Corps, Col Olayinka Olayanju (retd), has dismissed the media report that operatives of the agency opened gunfire on some residents of Ibadan, killed two and injured many. He confirmed that there was a crisis around Born Photo and Isale Osi area, where the men of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) faction of late Dr Frederick Fasehun, was trying to deal with some hoodlums. According to him, the operatives of Amotekun Corps were invited and its operatives went to the scene. The personnel of the agency that went to the scene, he said were returning from an operation, where a Lebanese man was rescued from his abductors on December 15. The incident reportedly occurred at Asaka area of Ibadan. But two persons and many other people, a...
Driver knocks down cyclist, passenger in Anambra
Two persons on Saturday afternoon sustained varying degrees of injury in a serious crash along Ugwuakpati Ozu road in Nnewi, Anambra state. The victims, a commercial motorcyclist and his passenger were on the motorcycle when they were knocked down by the driver who lost control of the vehicle while answering calls. Confirming the incident, Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Andrew Kumapayi said the injured were taken to St Felix Hospital, Otolo Nnewi by the FRSC rescue team from Nnewi command. He said, “The crash involved an unidentified male adult in a black Camry car with registration number JRV 184 AA and a black motorcycle with registration number NNE 369 QH. “According to an eyewitness, a total of 3 persons where onboard consisting of (2) male adults and (1) female ad...
Yuletide: Bayelsa CP orders police officers to be on red alert
The Commissioner of Police Bayelsa State Command, CP Mike Okoli, has suspended all casual leave and directed all officers of the Command to be on red alert during the Yuletide. CP Okoli, gave the directive during the end of year gathering for senior police officers at the Police Officers Mess, in Yenagoa the state capital on Friday. He directed Divisional Police Officers and Heads of Departments to rejig their strategy of fighting crime and enhance the visibility of policemen to ensure a peaceful yuletide in the State. The CP reiterated the ban on the use of knockouts and unauthorized fireworks during the festive season and advised parents and guardians to warn their wards to desist from using knockouts as the command will be out to arrest anyone who violates the order. While assuring memb...
Militants attack US-NATO base in Afghanistan
Militants on Saturday struck a main U.S.-NATO base in Bagram district of Afghanistan’s Parwan province, north of Kabul, with five rounds of rocket fires, a provincial government spokesperson confirmed. There was no immediate report on casualties or extent of damage. “Five rounds of rockets were fired onto Bagram Airfield from an abandoned truck parked in Qalandar Khil locality of Bagram district roughly at 5:50 a.m. local time on Saturday,’’ Wahida Shahkar told reporters via a text message. She said seven rockets failed to be fired and were defused by Afghan security forces. Further details about the incident are still forthcoming. The Bagram Airfield, some 50 km north of the Afghan capital of Kabul, has been serving as a main U.S. and NATO military base in Afghanistan over the past 19 yea...
Northern governors hail release of abducted Kankara schoolboys
The Northern Governors Forum has welcomed with excitement the release of the abducted students of Government Science School Kankara, Katsina State. Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong while reacting to the development, commended President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Aminu Masari, security agencies, community leaders and all stakeholders who contributed in making sure the school boys were released unharmed. He said the release of the students will comfort and assuage the parents and the entire country which has been agonized since the children were kidnapped. Lalong said with the release of the students, further measures must be put in place to ensure that this ugly incident does not occur again while thorough investigation should also carried out to ensure...
Gunmen kill seven, burn 13 houses in Kaduna community
Seven people have been killed by gunmen in Gora Gan community, Zangon-Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna state. One person was also injured, while 13 houses and two shops were burnt by the bandits. The incident occurred on Thursday night when the gunmen invaded the community and opened fire on residents. It was learnt that the bandits surrounded the community and shot sporadically as residents scampered to safety. The Kaduna state commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan confirmed the incident in a statement on Friday in Kaduna. “The security agencies carrying out internal security operations in parts of southern Kaduna State have reported that Gora Gan community in Zangon Kataf Local Government came under attack on Thursday night”, Aruwan said. According t...
Osun mechanic to die by hanging for armed robbery
An Osun State High Court sitting in Ilesa, on Thursday, sentenced a 29-year-old mechanic, Sola Emorua, to death by hanging for armed robbery. The defendant was first arraigned before Justice Isiaka Adeleke on January 29, 2018, on two counts of conspiracy and armed robbery. Justice Adeleke, in his judgment after a trial that lasted almost three years, said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and subsequently sentenced Emorua to death. The lead prosecution counsel from the Ministry of Justice, Motolani Sokefun, had told the court that the convict and others at large, on May 7, 2015 around 5.30pm in Osu, on the Ilesa-Akure Expressway, while armed with weapons, robbed a tanker loaded with 33,000 litres of kerosene belonging to one Ismaila Azeez. The counsel further expl...
CAN: Nigeria almost becoming a failed nation
File Photo The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has condemned the abduction of 333 students of Government Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State. CAN also said that the worsening security situation across the country shows that Nigeria is “almost becoming a failed nation.” The group’s statement by Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant (Media and Communications) to the CAN President, described the incident as another tragic chapter in the history of the country. Newsmen reported how 333 schoolboys of the school were abducted on Friday by the gunmen. A terrorist group, Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility for the raid. The federal government said security operatives have already located where the abducted students were taken to and they “would soon be rescued”. CAN expressed its sadne...
ExxonMobil staff killed, others wounded in gas flaring accident
File Photo Fire explosion from a gas flaring operation at the Qua Iboe Terminal (QIT) process area at ExxonMobil facility in Ibeno local government area, Akwa Ibom State has allegedly killed some staff of the company and left others wounded. It was gathered that the incident happened on Sunday, December 13, 2020, when the victims were about to light up the gas flaring plant. Sources who preferred to remain unnamed said one of the victims who was killed was a supervisor working at the facility’s processing area, while another supervisor injured by the explosion had been rushed to an undisclosed hospital in the state. He said it was possible that the victims who were to turn on the plant shut for maintenance purposes, flouted all safety procedures that would have averted the explosion. “Two ...
Shiites call for release of Sheikh Ibraheem el-Zakzaky
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shiites, have called for unconditional release of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, along with those still in detention. Recalled that the convoy of Army Chief of Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai had clashed with members of IMN in Zaria on December 12, 2015, leading to death of several persons on the fateful day. Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife and some Shiites have been detention, and undergoing court trial since the incident happened. In a statement on Sunday by the IMN media Spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa to mark the 5th anniversary of the Zaria killings, it noted that five years in detention amounted to systematic oppression of Zakzaky and other members of the Movement. “As we mark the fifth anniversary of this Zaria Genocide Memori...
