Nigerian Newspapers
Women, kids among 19 killed in Kaduna attack
Palace vandalised
Gunmen kill three policemen in Kano
A TWO-DAY raid by unknown gunmen on four communities in Kaura Local Government Area, Southern Kaduna, has left 20 people dead, villagers claimed yesterday. The police said 19 died.
The gunmen, believed to be nomadic herdsmen, allegedly invaded the villages on Saturday night and continued their raid on Zilang, Taliki, Zangkan and Mafang hilltop communities – home to many villagers – till early Sunday.
All four communities are located on the boundary between Kaduna and Plateau states.
Council chairman Kumai L.J Badun attributed the killings to gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, who apparently launched reprisal attack over the poisoning of two cows in Mafang community.
The council boss told reporters that the attack began from Atakar chiefdom. He said: “There was a young man, Aboi Stephen (21), in Mafan who had been complaining that cows have been grazing into his dry season farm.
“I was told that the cattle destroyed a good portion of the farm and that there was no end in sight to the destruction.
“Only the Fulanis own cattle there. About two weeks ago, two cows were found dead, apparently of poison. The owner of the cows was said to have publicly warned Aboi of the grave consequences of his actions. I don’t know if it was Aboi that poisoned the cows or not or even if they had died of poisoning.
“Then, one day, Aboi was found missing. A search by the villagers found his corpse. He had deep machete cuts all over his body and his throat was slit open.
“Upon that discovery, women and children mobilised to the palace of the chief of Atakar, Chief Tobias Nkom-Wada, and accused him of inviting the Fulani into Atakar land in the first place. They vandalised the palace. And the chief is now living in his personal house in Tachire here.
“On seeing what the women and children did, the Fulani started moving out en masse to their kinsmen in Kanawuri areas of Plateau State, which also has some number of Atakar speaking villages.
“On their way, they shot a young man that same day in Kanawuri area and that pitched them against the Atakar people in Plateau State and they fought for days.
“The fighting led to the burning of some structures in Atakar, as you read in the papers. The displaced residents had to relocate to this council, where we opened the first refugee camp for them at Mifi. But we have closed it and merged it with the other camps because it was too vulnerable too.
“When the army moved in last week, the Fulanis left Kanawuri in Plateau, staged a comeback to this place with their arms last Saturday. By 3pm, they attacked Mafan, Zalang, Taliki and Zangkan villages up the hills while able bodied men were either in the farms or in the market.
“They went on, unchallenged from 3pm on Saturday till Sunday morning. When the army arrived at the scene on Sunday morning, the officer in charge told me that they counted 19 bodies. All the houses in the villages have been burnt.
“They made no arrest, because the attackers left before arrival of the security men. Right now, soldiers have escorted some men back to the villages to bury their dead.
“We have no fewer than 5000 refugees now. And that is a huge challenge for us, despite the fact that Governor Muktar Ramalan Yero has done so much and he is still doing more to help.
“This kind of attack took me by surprise because, even during the post-election violence, the Fulani here were living in peace with the people. They left on their own and later returned on their own.”
A refugee at Fadan Attakar, Luka Bitiong, said the attacks began on Saturday afternoon and lasted till Sunday night, adding that many residents were terrified by the sound of guns shots used by the invaders.
Bitiong said: “When they came, we ran up to the hills in Attakar. Many of our people were killed. We left the hills to seek refuge in Attakar because we were scared of going back. Some of those who went back to our village to look at the level of destruction could not return as they were killed by the gunmen.”
Another refugee from Mafang, lso Matthew Bulus, claimed the gunmen were dressed in black and armed with sophisticated guns.
He said that over 80 households in Mafang village had been displaced as their homes were set ablaze by the invaders.
“When the military men came, there was nothing much they could do because they don’t know the terrain of our communities. They asked some of our youths to follow them and guide them but our boys were scared of accompanying them since they (the boys) have no arms.
“But the soldiers eventually went into the hills in search of the invaders. We don’t know whether they were able to make any arrest or not.”
The District Head of Mafang, Mr. Yusuf Bilong, who ran away from his community, described the attack as “deadly”, saying: “I’ve never heard the sound of such guns. The attack was launched on Saturday at about 3:00pm. The attackers shot randomly killing mostly children and women.”
Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mr Adefemi Adenaike confirmed the death of 19 people in the attack.
The police chief said: “The incident happened on top of the hills, not on the ground. We did not notice it on time due to the nature of the hills. It was, until people started running down from the hills that we noticed. But our men are on ground to restore law and order.
“The security report I have is that only 19 people were killed by unknown gunmen. The place is now calm and peaceful.We are working round the clock to fish out the attackers. For now, we don’t know who are behind it but I assure you we will get them.”
Yero has directed security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a statement by his media aide, Ahmed Maiyaki, the governor directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to immediately provide succour to all those displaced.
The attack came barely 24 hours after Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) reported the influx of herdsmen from other states to communities in Southern Kaduna to the governor.
The union urged the governor to stop the trend to avoid fresh hostilities in their domain.
SOKAPU alleged that the invaders were fleeing the manhunt launched by security operatives in some states under the Boko Haram siege.
Union President Mr Ephraim Goje, who reacted to the influx of the herdsmen, said residents would hold the government responsible if the governor failed to act.
Goje said: “The governor should send them back to where they are coming from. They cannot create trouble somewhere and run to Southern Kaduna for refuge.”
Three policemen were yesterday killed by suspected terrorists in Kano. They were ambushed while patrolling the streets of the state capital.
The incident occurred at about 8.30pm around Yankaba Quarters.
Residents alleged that the suspected terrorists killed the security operatives and took away their AK 47 riffles.
Immediately after the incident, men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) cordoned off the area.
Panic gripped residents, who stayed off the streets.
Police spokesman Majida Magaji, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), could not be reached last night for confirmation and comments.
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
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Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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