Bandits on Tuesday night killed at least 20 people and abducted several others in Gatawa, a village in Sabon Birni local government area of Sokoto State.
The agrarian community was considered to be one of the few secure villages in the eastern part of the state where bandits have been very active.
The deadly attack came barely 24 hours after another in Gangara, in the same local government area.
A local resident, Bashir Gobir, said his younger sister was among those kidnapped.
An anonymous source said the attack was one of the most horrendous.
“They came on motorcycles as usual and started shooting sporadically. They went from house to house checking for food and other things but they also killed 20 people during the attack,” he said.
Mr Gobir said he did not know how many people were killed in the attack.
“The terrorists raided Gatawa yesterday night. They stole almost everything of value in the village, killed many and abducted several others. My sister, Rahila Galadima, was one of the women taken away by the bandits,” Mr Gobir said.
When contacted, the police spokesperson in Sokoto, Sanusi Abubakar, said he was attending a meeting and promised to call back.
He, however, did not call back or respond to an SMS sent to him.
Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview, a member representing Sabon Birni South at the Sokoto House of Assembly, Saidu Ibrahim, said the attacks have become unbearable.
“What is happening is very disheartening. I’ know many people who have been killed and wounded in this attack (Gangara one).”
The Senate has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare bandits as terrorists.
It also advised the president to wage total war against the bandits, including bombing all their locations to annihilate and eliminate them.
The Red Chamber also asked Buhari to declare all the known leadership of the bandits wanted and track them wherever they are for arrest and prosecution.
The resolutions followed a motion by Senator Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir (Sokoto East) and eight others.Gobir noted that Sokoto East Senatorial District has now become a safe haven for bandits due to the current onslaught against them in Zamfara State.
He recalled the killing of 21 security personnel last Saturday in Dama and Gangara and yet to be ascertained number of civilians from the neighbouring villages by rampaging bandits.
The gruesome murder, the lawmaker said, portrayed the seriousness of the problem which he said requires concerted and urgent action by the declaration of total war on banditry.
He expressed worry that losing such a number of trained officers would further deplete the numerical strength of the security personnel in the country, thereby jeopardizing the security architecture of the country.
He also lamented that most of the bandits have now relocated to Sabon Birni and Isa local government areas due to the sustained military operations at the Zamfara axis.
The lawmaker said while the crackdown on the bandits was taking place in Zamfara State, no concrete measures have been taken in Sokoto State, leaving it totally exposed to the activities of the bandits.
According to him, the present military onslaught on the bandits is not well coordinated because it is only being orchestrated in Zamfara State instead of all the front line states ravaged by banditry. ,
‘The operation should be holistic instead of restrictive in order to produce effective and the desired results,” he said.
The Senate observed a minute of silence in honour of the fallen heroes and civilians who lost their lives in the unwholesome activities of the bandits.
The Red Chamber also directed the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and other relevant federal government agencies to as a matter of urgency give all the necessary support to the victims of the menace of banditry in Sokoto and other parts of the country.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has asked residents to prepare for a shutdown of telecommunication services.
According to Daily Trust, the governor stated this in a chat with some radio stations, saying the security agents are prepared to launch an offensive on bandits taking refuge in some parts of the state.
El-Rufai said the shutdown would not cover the entire state, adding that only the local government areas bordering the troubled Zamfara and Katsina states where military onslaught is ongoing will be affected.
“We have been advised by the Military and other security agencies to shut down telecommunication services in certain LGAs but we are waiting for the security agencies to tell us which specific areas and when.
“But I want the people of Kaduna State to know that if they give us the go-ahead tomorrow [Wednesday], we will shut down tomorrow.”
El-Rufai, who spoke in Hausa, said due to the shutdown of telecommunication services in Zamfara and Katsina, some bandits crossed over to neighbouring local government areas in Kaduna to make phone calls and demand ransoms.
“There is no doubt that bandits and other criminals rely on telecommunication to communicate with their informants as well as with relatives of kidnapped victims so as to demand ransom,” he said.
The governor said he had already written to the federal government on the shutdown which he said had been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I will not mention the LGAs to be affected but the local governments that are constantly being tormented by bandits know themselves,” he said adding that: “As soon as we get the nod from security agents, then the people of Kaduna State should know that we will shutdown telecommunication to give security agents the maximum cooperation to carry out operations in those areas.”
Most affected by banditry in Kaduna State are the Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Chikun, Igabi, Kajuru and Kachia local government areas.
El-Rufai also said the state government had established a task force that will go round the hinterlands to monitor compliance on some of the security measures adopted by the state to ensure that fuel stations and markets are closed to further strangulate bandits in the forest.
While advising residents on the need to identify and report informants or accomplices of bandits, El-Rufai said: “Anyone who comes to buy between 20 to 100 loaves of bread, sell it to him but also notify security agents.
“Or when someone comes with about 20 phones and wants to charge them, let them charge them, but also notify security agents.”
Dr. Chike Akunyili, husband to late former Information Minister, Prof. Dora Akunyili, has been reportedly murdered by gunmen.
The Nation learnt he was killed at Umuoji in Idemili North LGA of Anambra State on Tuesday evening.
Though details of the incident are still sketchy, a source close to the family said the deceased was still at the University of Nigeria Nsukka Alumni Association (UNAA) where the late Dora was honoured some hours before he was killed.
The source, who was shattered by the murder, said: “God, pls render the devil and his agents powerless and useless.
“I was with this man yesterday same yesterday at Sharon Hall, All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha. It was an occasion of University of Nigeria Nsukka Alumni Association (UNAA), Onitsha branch event where they honoured late Dora Akunyili.
“He spoke glowingly about Dora and made a donation of 500k to the association. He was there with his son ,Obum now working with Anambra state government.
“We saw them off to the car and it was emotional when Obum hugged him tight as both of them separated to join their respective vehicles.
“Obum was in a white Hilux while the man was in a big Jeep (i think Prado). God have mercy!”
Armed bandits have killed two villagers, kidnapped 18 women and seven babies in Katsina, the police command in the state says.
The attack occurred at Kitibawa in Dutsinma LGA.
“The fact of the case was that on September 15, 2021, bandits in their numbers on foot, shooting sporadically with AK-47 rifles, attacked Kitibawa village in Dutsinma LGA. The bandits killed two villagers, set some shops ablaze, and kidnapped 18 women with their seven babies,” said Gambo Isah, the command’s spokesperson, in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The police officer added, “On receipt of the report, Area Commander Dutsinma, ACP Aminu Umar, led a team of policemen to the area, blocked the bandits, and engaged them in a gun duel.”
According to him, the bandits fled during the shootout with gunshot wounds.
“In the course of profiling the scene, two women were rescued, and 60 sheep, 34 cows, and one donkey were recovered,” he revealed.
The police said they later arrested two suspected bandits, two informants and also rescued 10 kidnap victims.
“On September 20, 2021, the command succeeded in arresting a 30-year-old man from Sabon Garin Faguwa, Dutsinma local government area (LGA), who was residing in the forest,” the police explained. “He is a notorious bandit commander under the command of Sani Muhidinge, who has been on the wanted list of the police. And also, we arrested another notorious bandit, a 22-year-old man of Mai Gezoji, Tashar Mai Alewa, Danmusa LGA.”
Mr Isah added that the command also arrested a 45-year-old man from Tashar Mai-Alewa, Danmusa LGA, suspected to be an informer and supplier to bandits.
The police revealed that another man, aged 34, of the same address, a health worker suspected of offering medical treatment to bandits, was arrested.
“The suspects confessed to the commission of the offence, and investigation is still ongoing,” the police statement noted.
The Commandant-General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Audi, has said some security services personnel serve as informants to criminals.
The CG stated this at the stakeholders’ summit on the protection of critical national assets and infrastructure at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja, on Tuesday.
“You will agree with me that the nefarious activities of these criminal elements are being strengthened not only by informants within security formations but equally those within the society; hence the need to engage our traditional rulers, religious, community, political and youth leaders in the process of finding a solution to this menace.” he said.
Audi noted that the rise in crimes constituted a threat to critical national assets and infrastructure, citing Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Borno and other states of the north as examples.
He also emphasised on the need for security agencies to re-strategise for better protection of the national assets from the assault by criminal elements.
The CG, who expressed concern over a statement by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, that the federal government spends N60 billion annually on the repair and maintenance of vandalised oil pipelines across the country, emphasised on the need to re-strategise for better protection of national assets from the assault of criminal elements.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, said that government in investing heavily to provide basic infrastructures in the country.
He said schools and educational institutions are classified as critical national assets and infrastructure to focus more effort on for a safer and more secured teaching and learning environment.
“The federal government, various states and local governments are currently massively investing in the development and construction of various infrastructure that would support employment generation, poverty reduction and the comfort and wellbeing of the Nigerian people,” he said.
Traditional rulers from 14 local government areas in Benue State have alleged that there are plans by Fulani herdsmen to eliminate people across three states.
The traditional rulers, who represent the Tiv people in the state, alleged that the plan is to kill all their people in Benue, Taraba, and Nasarawa states.
They made the allegation on Tuesday when they paid a visit to the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom.
According to the spokesperson for the group, Chief Daniel Abomtse, Tiv people are constantly being driven away from their homes and farmlands by Fulani herdsmen.
He, however, alleged that the murderous actions are carried out with the support of the “authorities in those states”.
They, therefore, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the safe return of displaced Tiv people and the land that had been taken from them.
Ortom described the treatment of “some parts of the country” by the Buhari-led government as “uncalled for”.
According to the governor, over 1.5 million persons are at the internally displaced persons’ camps, leading to a food crisis in the state.
Bandits invaded the palace of Alhaji Ahmadu Attahiru, the Emir of Kagara in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, on Tuesday.
Details of the attack are still sketchy but a palace source told Daily Trust that the monarch was absent when the gunmen struck.
The source said the attack took place around Maghrib prayers.
The Emir reportedly left Kagara for a programme in Minna, the state capital, on Monday.
Daily Trust learnt that the mobile network Service in Kagara was disconnected on Friday.
“I cannot give you the details now. The people who called this evening are no longer reachable again. The network in Kagara has been disconnected since Friday.”
“I believe even those who called went to bush to access network But it is true that the palace of Emir of Kagara was attacked,” a Minna-based indigene of Kagara told Daily Trust.
When contacted, the Niger State Police Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, promised to get details and revert.
The Emir ascended the throne after the death of Alhaji Salihu Tanko, his predecessor.
Tanko died in Minna after a protracted illness in March.
Kagara became very popular among some Nigerians following the abduction of some students in the emirate.
At least 20 fishermen were killed accidentally in a Nigerian military strike on a jihadist camp in northeast Nigeria, two security sources and locals told AFP.
A Nigerian fighter jet early on Sunday bombarded Kwatar Daban Masara in Lake Chad, which straddles Nigeria and neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, the sources said.
The area is a bastion for the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The reports of casualties came less than two weeks after officials say another airstrike on a village killed nine civilians in Nigeria’s northeast where the military is battling a 12-year Islamist insurgency.
ISWAP recently lifted a ban on fishermen in its territory, allowing them to move in and fish in the freshwater lake for a fee. That led to an influx of fisherman who had abandoned the area.
“Any fisherman that goes to that area does so at his own risk because it is an enemy territory and there is no way of differentiating them from the terrorists,” one local intelligence source said.
“From the information we have been receiving the death toll is much higher than 20.”
Local fisherman Labo Sani told AFP by telephone that the jet strike hit Kwatar Daban Masara at around 6 am (0500 GMT), killing around 20 fishermen.
Kwatar Daban Masara which is on the shores of the lake is the “gateway to ISWAP’s camps on several islands” and a supply route for the jihadists, said Sani from nearby Daban Masara.
Another fisherman, Sallau Arzika, said the fighter jet struck the village “killing many of our people who are there for fishing”.
“The initial death toll was around 20, but the figure has been increasing with the deaths of many of the injured,” Arzika said.
News of the incident was slow the emerge due to limited telecommunications in the region.
A Nigerian air force spokesman did not immediately respond to a message seeking confirmation or comment.
The intelligence source who works with anti-jihadist militia in the region said the strike was based on “credible information” of a gathering of ISWAP fighters in the village since Wednesday.
He said aerial surveillance and reports from other sources revealed terrorists were amassing in Kwatar Daban Masara and it was obvious they were planning an attack, the source said.
‘Preemptive strike’
According to another security source, the village was subjected to surveillance in the past 10 days after scores of men suspected to be foreign fighters arrived in several vehicles and were ferried to camps inside the lake.
“It was a preemptive strike to destroy whatever plans the terrorists were making,” said the security source.
“You don’t expect an innocent civilian to be at that location and whoever is found is certainly part of the terrorists,” he said.
On September 16 a Nigerian airstrike on a village in nearby Yobe state killed at least nine civilian residents, according to officials.
The Nigerian air force said at the time its fighter jet was pursuing a group of jihadists in the area and it was investigating the incident.
Since 2009, Nigeria’s armed forces have battled a grinding jihadist insurrection in the northeast that has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced nearly two million from their homes.
The conflict spilled into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to end the violence.
In January 2017 at least 112 people were killed when a fighter jet struck a camp housing 40,000 people displaced by violence in Rann near the border with Cameroon.
The Nigerian military blamed “lack of appropriate marking of the area” for the bombardment in a report it issued six months later.
In July 2019 at least 13 civilians were killed when a Nigerian fighter jet hit Gajiganna village, 50 kilometres from Borno state capital Maiduguri, as it targeted fleeing jihadists after they attacked a nearby base.
Gunshots from security agents rented the air in Gwarinpa Estate along the Kubwa Expressway in Abuja on Tuesday, as members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) otherwise known as Shi’ites and security agents clashed.
Six persons were reportedly killed in the incident while many sustained injuries.
Joint security operatives were said to have opened fire on members of the sect when they were about to round off their Arbaeen Symbolic Trek.
The incident, which occurred at the Gwarinpa gate near Galadimawa when the gun-wielding security agents arrived at the scene, threw the trek into confusion as people scampered for safety.
Two people were also said to be shot at a new generation bank inside the estate.
The Secretary of Academic Forum of IMN, Abdullahi Musa, also confirmed the incident when contacted by SaharaReporters.
“They are just shooting people. As I am talking to you now, six people have been killed. They even carried some dead bodies away,” he said.
Members of the sect had on Tuesday morning come out in continuation of their procession to mark the fortieth day of the murder of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad who was killed on 10th Muharram.
The protesters in their numbers hoisted two flags, one red and the other black, with the chanting songs.
