Despite N20m Ransom, Zamfara Emir Abducted in Kaduna Still With Abductors

Almost a month after he was kidnapped by gunmen along Kaduna-Abuja Expressway, the Emir of Bungudu in Zamfara State, Alhaji Hassan Attahiru, remains with his abductors even after the payment of N20 million ransom.

The emir was abducted when bandits waylaid a convoy of vehicles he was travelling in from Kaduna to Abuja on September 14.

He was said to be on his way to join Zamfara government’s delegation to the UN General Assembly in the United States.

Confirming the incident at the time, the Kaduna State police command said unspecified number of commuters were abducted along with the monarch in the daylight attack which occurred around Dutse village on the highway.

Daily Trust gathered that the abduction was carried out by gunmen loyal to banditry kingpin Boderi Isiya, operating from Riyawa, Buruku and Sabon Birni forests in Kaduna State.

A source familiar with the case said the bandits’ kingpin had shifted the goalpost after agreeing to release the emir upon payment of agreed ransom.

“He is now insisting that ransom must be N100 million, instead of the initial amount agreed,” the source said, explaining that family members and negotiators have been warned to be wary of the kingpin as he had previously vowed not to release the monarch even with ransom paid.

The emir, officially recognised as Sarkin Fulanin Bungudu, is known for tough stance against bandits in his domain and support for local vigilantes.

Boderi is responsible for a number of atrocious attacks in Giwa, Chikun, Igabi and Zaria local governments, including the abduction of students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, in March.

[Dailytrust]

Bandits in Kaduna now demand cooked food as ransom amid biting hunger

Bandits in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State are now demanding cooked food as ransom for kidnapped victims.

The bandits were said to have retrieved from attacking communities since the state Government banned weekly markets as part of measures to tackle insecurity in the state.

A youth leader in one of the villages of Birnin Gwari, Babangida ‎ Yaro, told Daily Trust that since the ban, bandits operating along Damari, Kutemashi and Kuyello villages only asked for cooked food each time they abduct people.

According to him, the ban on sale of fuel in filling stations located in rural communities had also helped to restrict their movement.

“There is relative peace around Damari, kuyello, Kutemashi because the bandits have stopped attacking our communities. They usually stay in the forest and seiz food items mostly cooked ones from vendors,” he said.

He added that when they abducted two or three persons in farms, one is allowed to go and get them food from their relatives as ransom since there is no communication network to make contact.

The youth leader added that Dogon Dawa area is still not completely safe because villagers are still scared of accessing their farmlands.
Babangida also lamented that the ban on use of private Motorcycles in the villages had increased hardship on the bandits as well as residents.

[DailyTrust]

Burkina Faso starts trial of alleged killers of left-wing idol Thomas Sankara

A military court in Ouagadougou on Monday began the long-awaited trial of 14 men, including the former president, accused in the assassination of Burkina Faso’s left-wing leader Thomas Sankara 34 years ago.

The slaying of Sankara, a pan-Africanist icon, has for years cast a shadow over the poor Sahel state, fuelling its reputation for turbulence and bloodshed.

Sankara and 12 others were riddled with bullets by a hit squad on October 15, 1987 during a putsch that brought his friend and comrade-in-arms Blaise Compaore to power.

Compaore, the chief accused, announced through his lawyers last week that he would boycott the trial.

He ruled the country for 27 years before being deposed by a popular uprising in 2014 and fleeing to neighbouring Ivory Coast, which granted him citizenship.

He and his former right-hand man, General Gilbert Diendere, who once headed the elite Presidential Security Regiment, face charges of complicity in murder, harming state security and complicity in the concealment of corpses.

Diendere, 61, is already serving a 20-year sentence for masterminding a plot in 2015 against the transitional government that followed Compaore’s ouster.

He appeared in court dressed in military uniform and looked relaxed.

Another prominent figure among the accused is Hyacinthe Kafando, a former chief warrant officer in Compaore’s presidential guard, who is accused of leading the gunmen. He is on the run.

Compaore has always rejected suspicions that he orchestrated the killing.

His lawyers last week announced he would not be attending a “political trial” that they said was flawed by irregularities, and insisted he enjoyed immunity as a former head of state.

A young army captain and Marxist-Leninist, Sankara came to power in a coup in 1983 aged just 33.

He tossed out the country’s name of Upper Volta, a legacy of the French colonial era, and renamed it Burkina Faso, which means “the land of honest men”.

He pushed ahead with a socialist agenda of nationalisations and banned female genital mutilation, polygamy and forced marriages.

Like Ghana’s former leader Jerry Rawlings, he became an idol in left-wing circles in Africa, lauded for his radical policies and defiance of the big powers.

Burkina Faso has long been burdened by silence over the assassination and many are angry that the killers have gone unpunished.

During Compaore’s long rule, the question of Sankara’s bloody death was taboo.

After his ouster, the interim government in 2015 launched an investigation into the episode, and the following year issued an international arrest warrant for him.

Sankara’s widow Mariam, who lives in southern France, came to Ouagadougou for the opening of the trial.

“This is a day of truth for me, my family and all Burkinabe,” she said, referring to the name of Burkina citizens.

The family’s lawyer, Stanislas Benewende Sankara — who shares the same name but is not a relative — said Compaore’ absence was a “slap in the face” to Burkina Faso’s justice system.

The trial “may not be the end of the tunnel, but we are reaching a very important phase, judicially speaking,” he said.

One of the world’s most impoverished countries, Burkina Faso has also been battling a jihadist insurgency since 2015 that has claimed more than 1,400 lives and forced 1.3 million people from their homes.

[Guardian]

BREAKING: Five police officers, 32 bandits die in gun battle

Nigerian joint security forces have killed 32 armed bandits fleeing from Zamfara in Niger State, PRNigeria learnt on Sunday.

This was after the bandits attacked a security post, and shot dead five policemen who attempted to confront them.

The incident occurred at Bangu Gari in the Rafi Local Government Area of the State.

A security source told PRNigeria that the armed bandits, who fled Zamfara State due to the ongoing military operation, had earlier wreaked havoc on the community.

“The bandits came in their large number with sophisticated weapons including rocket launchers after fleeing their camps at Danjibga and Munhaye in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

“They stormed the police station at Bangu Gari in Rafi LGA and killed five policemen during the exchange of gunfire.

“Immediately a signal was received and a detachment of joint security forces was despatched. The troops on reinforcement successfully ambushed the marauding bandits while attempting to escape through Tegina axis.

“At least 32 of the bandits were killed including their leaders, Karki Buzu and Yalo Nagoshi while another kingpin, Ali Kawaji sustained serious gun wounds,” the source said.

[PRNigeria]

BREAKING: EFCC officials storm Kaduna Development Agency (KASUPDA), arrest DG

Officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday stormed the headquarters of Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Agency (KASUPDA) and whisked away the Director General, Malam Ismail Umaru Dikko.

KASUPDA has gained the reputation of Kaduna’s most feared agency due to its demolition of properties across the state.

Its boss, Dikko, was a Special Assistant to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, before he was elevated to head the agency in 2019.

Daily Trust gathered that the DG was in a meeting with his staff when officials of the EFCC took over the office premises a few minutes after 10am.

Eye witnesses said there was some commotion before the DG entered a black hilux Toyota vehicle of the EFCC.

Sources said two EFCC officials in suit, with two police officers with rifles had accompanied the KASUPDA boss into the vehicle.

The source said the staff at KASUPDA had earlier tried to stop the EFCC from leaving with the DG and security at the gate had prevented the car from exiting.

However, the DG had asked the security to open the gate.

Our correspondent gathered that the DG has been taken to the Kaduna zonal office of the EFCC with sources saying that he had earlier been served several invitations but failed to honour them.

[Daily Trust]

Your fighter jets will be used to collapse Nigeria – Mbaka warns Buhari

The Spiritual Director, Adoration Ministry Enugu, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari that the fighter jets he is purchasing will be used to destroy the country.

The cleric stated this during a sermon at his church on Sunday.

According to Mbaka, Buhari should rather focus on building more industries

“The jets you are buying are going to be used to collapse Nigeria.

“Please, the first person to meet President Buhari after this message, should tell him that all these jets he is buying will be used to destroy Nigeria.

“God told me to tell him that,” he said.

“Let him stop buying more jets and begin to build more industries.”

Buhari, speaking last week, confirmed that “we have received new equipment in our fight against any form of insecurity from our friendly countries.”

“These assets will be deployed to accelerate the fight against insecurity in all parts of the country,” he added.

[Dailypost]

Och’Idoma, Elias Ikoyi Obekpa goes on ‘hunting’ expediti

The paramount ruler of the Idoma nation, His Royal Highness, Agabaidu Elias Ikoyi Obekpa has gone on hunting expedition.

The monarch, a native of Ogbadibo and ascended the throne in 1996 following the exit of HRM Abraham Ajene Okpani.

Obekpa was born in December 21, 1944, in Otukpa, Ogbadibo LGA.

Before becoming paramount ruler, Obekpa was a trained teacher, business administrator, public servant and traditionalist.

He got married in 1969 and is blessed with about nine children.

When DAILY POST visited the Och’Idoma Palace on Sunday, a man who simply identified himself as Oji, claimed the news of the death of the king is untrue.

Oji insisted the king is hale and hearty and currently attending to some issues in the palace.

When sought to speak with the king, he said, “I told you he’s in a meeting and you want to disrupt his meeting.”

Another man who refused to identify himself, admitted the king has truly gone on hunting expedition, but it won’t be announced as tradition demands.

“In Idoma land, kings don’t die, they go on hunting expedition. Agabaidu will be right back,” he said.

[DAILYPOST]

Police confirm attack on station in Adamawa

Adamawa State Police Command has confirmed attack on its operatives at Ngurore Police Station by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers.

The Police Command said the gunmen also attacked a house in the area and abducted a woman identified as Hauwa Umaru and her daughter in the early hours of Sunday.

Speaking on the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in the State, Sulaiman Ngurore said the attackers stormed the station at about 2 a.m. on Sunday, but no casualty was recorded.

“The criminals separated into two groups; one attacked the police station to divert the attention of security operatives, while the other group attacked Alhaji Umaru’s house and kidnapped his wife, Hauwa Umaru, and her daughter.

“The Commissioner of Police in the State, Mr Mohammed Barde, has ordered the deployment of the operational assets including Police Mobile Force (PMF), Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), Crack Squad and Anti-Kidnapping units to Ngurore,” he said.

According to the police spokesman, the operational units were expected to carry out confidence-boosting patrols within the hotspots in coordinated operations to rescue the kidnapped victims and apprehend the culprits.

The commissioner assured that the command was committed to working with other patriotic stakeholders towards restoring public order in Ngurore and other parts of the State.

[DAILYPOST]

BREAKING: Prominent Taraba Monarch, Aku-Uka of Wukari Dies In Palace

The Aku-Uka of Wukari Kingdom in Taraba State, Dr Shekarau Agyo, is dead.

Daily Trust gathered that the Monarch, died on Saturday in his palace at Wukari after a protracted illness.

Late Aku-Uka, a first class chief was also the chairman, Taraba state council of Emirs and chiefs.

He was installed as the 27 Aku-Uka of Wukari in August, 1976 and was born in 1937.

Sources close to Taraba state government told Daily Trust that only the governor of the state will officially announce the death of the Aku_Uka after certain traditional rites is conducted as required by the Jukun tradition.

[DAILYTRUST]

BREAKING: Gunmen Open Fire On Police Station, Kidnap Mother, Daughter From Nearby House In Adamawa

Heavily armed bandits on Sunday morning opened fire on a Divisional Police Station in Adamawa State.

The incident happened in Ngurore, a satellite town on the outskirts of Yola, the state capital, along Yola-Gombe Road.

An eyewitness told SaharaReporters that the bandits, who came in their number, arrived in the town around 5 am. 

They subsequently opened fire on the police station and also kidnapped a woman with her daughter from a nearby house.

He said, “They came in large numbers, some in Hilux vans, others on motorcycles.

“They divided themselves into two groups, one group engaged the police station; the other group went to the residence of Alhaji Umaru.

“They have sadly succeeded in kidnapping his wife, Hauwa Umaru and her daughter.”

The police spokesperson in the state, DSP Suleiman Nguroje has confirmed the incident, saying no damage was done to the police station.

He said, “Yes, there was an attack on Ngurore police station this morning; but nothing was carted away and none of our gallant officers was injured.

“As we speak, there are also ongoing, coordinated efforts at restoring public order in the town and its environs.

“However, following the unfortunate attack on Ngurore police station and the house of Alhaji Umaru of Nasarawa B, one Hauwa Umaru and her daughter were kidnapped on Sunday, 10 October, 2021.

“The Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Ahmed Barde, has ordered the deployment of an additional operational asset including Police Mobile Force (PMF), Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU), crack squad and anti-kidnapping units to Ngurore.

“The operational units are expected to carry out confidence-boosting patrols within the hotspots in coordinated operations with the gallant men on the ground to rescue the kidnapped victims and apprehend the culprits. 

“The CP assured that the Command is committed to working with other patriotic stakeholders towards restoring public order in Ngurore and other parts of the state.    

“Meanwhile, the Head of the Police Intervention Team, SP Babagana Abubakar is already on the ground to coordinate police investigative, operational and rescue response.

“The CP called on citizens to go about their businesses in the most peaceful and law-abiding manner and report any suspicious person(s) around their neighbourhoods to police,” he said.

[Saharareporters]