Victims
Kaduna abduction: Group urges government not to negotiate with bandits
The Global Peace and Life Rescue Initiative (GOPRI), has condemned the abduction of 39 students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State, who were abducted by bandits on Friday. The group urged Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai not to negotiate with bandits. In a statement by its Executive Director, Ambassador Melvin Ejeh, the group said the abduction was orchestrated to blackmail el-Rufai over his position on non-negotiation with bandits. According to the group, no responsible government should negotiate with terrorists. It hailed the governor for his prompt response that resulted in the rescue of 180 distraught students and members of staff of the school. It expressed optimism that the remaining 39 students still not accounted for would soon be rescued. The st...
Lagos hospital presents medical records of Lekki tollgate victims
Reddington Hospital Lagos, Saturday produced the medical records of some of the patients it treated following the Lekki toll gate ‘shootings’ of last October 20. One of the hospital’s trauma and orthopaedic surgeons, Dr. Babajide Lawson, presented the case files to the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS and the Lekki Tollgate Incident. The Nigerian Army has been accused of opening fire with live bullets on peaceful protesters at the Toll Gate demanding an end to police brutality using the hash tag #EndSARS. Some of the protesters have submitted petitions to the panel alleging that men of the Army’s 81 Division shot at and killed several #EndSARS protesters that night, a claim the Army denied. The Army has, however, shunned further appearance at the panel, without...
FIDA: Women can now serve as surety in Gombe
International Federation of Women Lawyers, Gombe Branch on Friday, hailed the state government over the Administration of Criminal Justice Law which allows women to stand as surety in bail applications. According to the chairperson of FIDA, Elizabeth Okotie, this law enhances the rights and provides justice for Women and Children, adding that, prior to now, women can’t stand as surety in a criminal case in the state. Okotie stated that this will help boost the sphere of influence, likewise the morale of an average Gombe woman. “International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Gombe Branch wishes to congratulate the government of Gombe State on the successful passing of Administration of Criminal Justice Law in the state which now forms part of the Canon of the state laws. This law enhances...
Bandits kill three people in attack on Kaduna village
Bandits have attacked Ganji village in Igabi local Government Area of Kaduna State on Tuesday evening killing three people and leaving at least five people with gunshot wounds. Locals told newsmen that the bandits stormed Ganji, a village close to Albasu which was attacked also attacked last year on motorcycles and set ablaze homes and a vehicle. Lado Ibrahim, a resident said the bandits invaded the community around 5:30pm in over 30 motorcycles two on each and shot at residents before jamming them with the motorcycles. He said five people have been taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds while a military helicopter has been hovering the area to scare the bandits away. Another resident, Hamza Shafiu said the attack on Ganji may be connected to the abduction of residents close to the comm...
West African health ministers in joint fight against Ebola
Ministers of Health from Guinea – which is combating a new Ebola outbreak – and neighbouring countries have agreed on a unified front to combat the virus that re-emerged about three weeks ago. A UN statement on Wednesday said this was at a meeting held in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, on 2 March. Ministers and government representatives from Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone attended the inter-ministerial meeting. “If in 2014 Guinea and the neighbouring countries were victims of Ebola, this time around Guinea and the region are resolutely facing up to Ebola,” said the Guinean Prime Minister, Dr. Ibrahima Kassory Fofana. The statement said the ministers agreed in a final declaration to set up a coordination mechanism, enhance cross-border collaboration, incl...
Anambra Assembly expresses worry over spike in criminal activities
The Anambra House of Assembly has expressed worry over the increasing rate of crimes in the state and called for urgent measures to address the menace. Mr Noble Igwe, representing Ogbaru 1 Constituency, while speaking on a matter of urgent public importance, on Tuesday, lamented that the rate of crime had triggered fear among the residents. Igwe said there were recent reports of residents who had been victims of a wide range of violent crimes, including armed robbery, assault, burglary, carjacking, kidnapping and extortion. “Aware that security of lives and property is the primary function of the state government as enshrined in the constitution, there is the need to intensify efforts at taming the resurgence of crimes in some parts of the state, especially on theOnitsha-Owerri Road where ...
Sokoto villages deserted as bandits kill residents
Suspected bandits have raided some communities in the eastern part of Sokoto state, killing four persons and rustled several livestock. Colonel Garba Moyi (rtd), the state Commissioner for Carrier and Security Matters, confirmed the attacks, saying three persons were killed at Bargaja village in Isa local government area while one was killed in a community under Sabon Birni local government. Newsmen learnt that the attackers invaded Bargaja around 2pm on Thursday, shooting sporadically. A resident said six persons were shot in the village, but only three died while the remaining three are currently receiving treatment in the hospitals. A resident of Isa who identified himself as Surajo, told newsmen that inhabitants of Bargaja, Tozai, Turba and Danzanke have all relocated to Isa town follo...
PDP: Ex-service chiefs’ ambassadorial portfolio insufficient to stop ICC investigation
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has taken a swipe at the All Progressives Congress, APC, leadership in the Senate for “betraying Nigerians” by clearing former services chiefs for ambassadorial portfolios despite allegation of crime against humanity committed under their command. The party however insisted that the clearance will not stop the investigation and possible prosecution of the accused commanders by the International Criminal Court, ICC, for crime against humanity, with preliminary steps to have been initiated. In a statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan, national public secretary of the party, the PDP described as horrendous the fact that the APC leadership in the Senate “could choose to betray Nigerians by rushing to clear the accused ex-service chiefs in a desperate attempt t...
Sheikh Gumi: Fulani herdsmen were pushed into criminality
Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has maintained his position that some Fulani herdsmen were forced into criminality because they were victims of cattle rustling. Sheikh Gumi restated his position during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday. Sheikh Gumi said: “When I listened to them, I found out that it is a simple case of criminality which turned into banditry, which turned into ethnic war, and some genocide too behind the scene; people don’t know.” The cleric said that while “there is no excuse for any crime; nothing can justify crime, and they are committing crime,” the bandits were forced into criminality. “I think it is a population that is pushed by circumstances into criminality,” he said. “And this is what we should look, let’s remove the pressure, let’s...
Sheikh Gumi: Fulani herdsmen were pushed into criminality
Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has maintained his position that some Fulani herdsmen were forced into criminality because they were victims of cattle rustling. Sheikh Gumi restated his position during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday. Sheikh Gumi said: “When I listened to them, I found out that it is a simple case of criminality which turned into banditry, which turned into ethnic war, and some genocide too behind the scene; people don’t know.” The cleric said that while “there is no excuse for any crime; nothing can justify crime, and they are committing crime,” the bandits were forced into criminality. “I think it is a population that is pushed by circumstances into criminality,” he said. “And this is what we should look, let’s remove the pressure, let’s...
Nigerian lady convicted in US for online fraud
Oyindamola Akinrinola, 23, a Nigerian resident of Lawrence, Kansas, has pleaded guilty in federal court for her role in online fraud schemes that targeted victims in the United States. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister announced her conviction Monday night, saying she will now face time in federal prison for her crime. “Akinrinola and her co-conspirator in Nigeria victimised individuals, several elderly, through a variety of online scams,” he said. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prioritise the investigation and prosecution of fraud schemes like these, no matter where they originate. “I also take this conviction as an opportunity to reiterate to all Kansans the vulnerability of our senior citizens to scams and con artists, who prey upon them. “We must all be v...
Nigerian lady convicted in US for online fraud
Oyindamola Akinrinola, 23, a Nigerian resident of Lawrence, Kansas, has pleaded guilty in federal court for her role in online fraud schemes that targeted victims in the United States. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister announced her conviction Monday night, saying she will now face time in federal prison for her crime. “Akinrinola and her co-conspirator in Nigeria victimised individuals, several elderly, through a variety of online scams,” he said. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prioritise the investigation and prosecution of fraud schemes like these, no matter where they originate. “I also take this conviction as an opportunity to reiterate to all Kansans the vulnerability of our senior citizens to scams and con artists, who prey upon them. “We must all be v...
