Boko Haram kidnap 22 girls in Rafi, Niger for marriage

Gunmen suspected to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect have allegedly kidnapped a total of 22 girls in Kurebe community in Rafi local government area of Niger State on Thursday.

It was learnt the gunmen stormed the community and whisked the girls between 14 and 17 years purportedly to marry them.

DAILY POST gathered that before the abduction, the suspected sect members had informed the community to withdraw the girls from school as they (gunmen) would be coming for them.

Confirming the incident, a source from the area who would not want the name to be mentioned on prints expressed shock over the development, ” they actually carried out their threat without any resistance or any security check”.

According to the source, the group leader simply known as Malam Sadiku has been freely preaching weird Islamic ideology for several months in the area, despite reporting the development to relevant authorities with no action taken.

It would be recalled that the Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, had earlier raised the alarm on several occasions that an Islamic group whose mode of operation is similar to Boko Haram had hoist its flag in Kaure a village close to Kurebe.

Similarly, armed bandits had purportedly abducted one Anthony, a Patent Medicine dealer around Maikunkrle, a suburb of Minna, Bosso local government area of the state.

An eyewitness said the bandits invaded the area and only ferried Anthony away from his house in an operation which lasted only 10 minutes about 9 pm in the area.

DAILY POST further learnt that the bandits entered through the thick forest of Kampala axis shooting randomly and scaring the people before taking their target away.

The abduction was the first incident reported around Minna, the Niger State capital.

These abductions are coming less than two days after armed bandits attacked a village in Munya Local Government Area, killing one person and kidnapping abou seventy others in the dead hours of the night.

However, the state Police Public Relations Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, could not be reached for confirmation.

[Dailypost]

BREAKING: Terrorists Invade Benue Community, Kill 7

Terrorists on Thursday 18 November, 2021killed seven people in a fresh attack on Tor Da community of Kastina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, North Central Nigeria.

Witnesses told our dailytrust that the incident which occurred at about 5pm on Thursday threw the community into a state of pandemonium when the terrorists invaded the community and began shooting sporadically at the residents.

The local government Chairman of Kastina-Ala, Me Alfred Atera, confirmed the attack to journalists in Makurdi of Friday, saying that some members of the Community Volunteer Guards were among the seven people killed.

Atera said, “Terrorists came to Tor Donga yesterday (Thursday) evening and killed seven persons.

“They killed Volunteer Guards members, injured two of them and then killed some other persons, too, on their way as they shot sporadically.

“Five injured persons are in the hospital now, including a Reverend Father from Mbatseer who was going to Tor Donga. They met him on the way, shot him dead and the other occupant of the car.

“The incident happened between 5pm and 5:30pm.

According to the volunteer guards, they (terrorists) are the remnant of Azonto army, as they saw one Santer who was driving the car.

“The Volunteer Guards blocked the road when they saw them, but they didn’t have anything to protect themselves so they ran away.

All the security agencies have been informed; the police, OPWS and security adviser.

“We are on top of it, doing our best to ensure that  we get them.”

The council chairman admitted that the incident caused panic among residents, saying, “We have never experienced this kind of thing for a long time now coming up, the residents are afraid.

We’re making sure that we assure them that the perpetrators will be brought to book.”

Meanwhile, Governor Samuel Ortom, also confirmed the killings, saying his government was cooperating with security agencies to track down the killer gang.

The governor said that four out of the seven people killed were members of the vigilante group.

Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Catherine Anene, said, “we have not received such report please.”

Credit: Dailytrust

Nigeria under Buhari remains on religious freedom violators watch list: U.S. Govt

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Thursday said that Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari remains on its religious freedom violators watch list.

The USCIRF directly responsible for enlisting countries in the United States Special Watch List, in a statement, said it was displeased with the U.S. Department of States for removing Nigeria from its “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) designation.

“USCIRF is disappointed that the State Department did not adopt our recommendations in designating the countries that are the worst violators of religious freedom,” the statement quoted USCIRF Commissioner Nadine Maenza as saying.

She stressed that the State Department didn’t adopt the commission’s recommendation that rightfully placed Nigeria as one of the worst violators of religious freedom.

“While the State Department took steps forward on some designations, USCIRF is especially displeased with the removal of Nigeria from its CPC designation, where it was rightfully placed last year, as well as the omission of India, Syria, and Vietnam,” she added.

On Wednesday, the Department of State went beyond its purview to remove Nigeria from the list of religious violators without adopting recommendations of USCIRF.

Making the announcement, U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said that the United States Government removed Nigeria from its list of religious violators, blacklisting China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and seven other nations as countries of particular concern for engaging in or tolerating systemic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.

However, USCIRF faulted the report urging the State Department to reconsider its designation based on facts.

In December 2019, the U.S. government enlisted Nigeria on its “Special Watch List of countries that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.

The blacklisting came at a time when many criticised the Nigerian government over its incessant violations of court orders and the shrinking civic and media space in the country.

[Gazette]