Bandits kill two, kidnap 18 women, seven babies

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.

(NAN/Gazette)

Criminals Have Informants Among Security Operatives – NSCDC Boss

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.

(Dailytrust)

Fulani Herdsmen Are Planning To Kill Us All—Tiv Traditional Rulers In Benue Raise The Alarm

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. 

(Saharareporters)

Bandits Invade Emir Of Kagara’s Palace

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.

(Dailytrust)

Fighter Jet Bombs Fishermen In Borno

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.

(AFP/Dailytrust)

BREAKING: Six Feared Dead As Soldiers, Policemen Open Fire on Shiites In Abuja

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.

(Saharareporters)

If I Open Up On Bandits Attacking Southern Kaduna, Heads Will Roll – Nigerian Senator

The Senator representing Kaduna South Senatorial district, Danjuma La’ah, has revealed reasons he shed tears on different occasions on the floor of Upper Chambers while presenting motions on banditry attacks in his constituency.

The Federal lawmaker stated that some of his senatorial colleagues thought that banditry activities in Southern Kaduna seemed like a Southern Kaduna issue alone.

Speaking on the development in his senatorial district, the La’ah recalled how he told senators that one day, all the 109 Senators would encounter insecurity, in form of bandits, kidnapping insurgency and other forms of criminality, stressing that his words had become realities.

He said, “I have wept times without number, but I knew time shall come and time has come because while I was weeping in the chamber when presenting motions on banditry in Southern Kaduna, I said that one day somehow, that these things will affect every one of us.

“Because we were thinking that it was just meant for Southern Kaduna, but tell me which state in this country has not been affected by bandits?

“Bandits don’t have friends, they don’t know tribes; they don’t know religion. Whoever, you are and they found you, it’s about money.”

The lawmaker said after he presented a motion on insecurity in Southern Kaduna several times, he stopped talking, stating that if he continued based on what he knew, “heads would roll and the world will turn upside down. So, it is better I allow the sleeping dog lies.”

He said banditry activities in Southern Kaduna were not new, while he hoped that in the ongoing clampdown against criminal elements in the north, those who raised and trained bandits should drive them away.

He added, “All these things are not new. Bandits, Boko Haram and insurgents and my motion has all along not been changed from what it is. We can only pray. Those that raised them over there should be the same people that will come and drive them out of this place.”

Asked to speak on Constitution amendment, Senator La’ah disclosed that the Senate leadership intentionally refused him to be a member of the Constitution Review Committee chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, because they considered him too stubborn to be there.

He said, “I am not a member of the Constitution Review Committee. When the members were sent to the Constitution Review Committee, they didn’t want those of us they consider too stubborn to be there.

“What else will I say? I will not say what I don’t know. It’s good that people accuse me, if they don’t, then I am not a Senator because what affect one Senator affects all.”

(Saharareporters)

Taliban Ban Barbers From Shaving, Trimming Men’s Beards In Afghanistan Province, Say It’s Un-Islamic

The Taliban have warned barbers in Helmand province in Afghanistan to desist from shaving or trimming beards.

The Taliban said shaving off beards breaches their interpretation of Islamic law.

In a report by BBC, the Taliban police said anyone caught violating the rule will be severely punished.

According to the report, in a notice posted on salons in southern Helmand province, the Taliban officers warned that hairdressers must follow Sharia law for haircuts and beards.

Some barbers in the capital of the country, Kabul have said they also received similar orders.

“No one has a right to complain,” the notice reportedly read.

The instructions suggest a return to the strict rulings of the group’s past tenure in power, despite promises of a milder form of government.

The Taliban have promised an inclusive government and a more moderate form of Islamic rule than when they last ruled the country from 1996 to 2001. 

During their last reign, men were required to grow beards while the women were made to wear an all-encompassing burqa, covering both their hair and face.

Music was banned to prevent the promotion of vulgarity, while citizens could only listen to religious chants.

The Taliban also banned television and cinema, and some electronic products were outlawed as un-Islamic.

The latest development suggests an imposition of former Islamic laws that governed their past tenure.

A barber was quoted as saying the Taliban enforcers keep coming to their shops to monitor them.

“The fighters keep coming and ordering us to stop trimming beards,” a barber in Kabul reportedly said.

“One of them told me they can send undercover inspectors to catch us.”

The barbers reportedly said the new rules are making it hard for them to make a living.

In August, Taliban fighters quickly captured most of Afghanistan last month and celebrated the departure of the last U.S. forces after 20 years of war. 

Since then, they have carried out harsh punishments on opponents. On Saturday, the group’s fighters shot dead four alleged kidnappers and their bodies were hung in the streets of the western city of Herat.

(SAHARAREPORTERS)

Bandits ‘Resort To Camels’ As Petrol Ban Bites Harder

Bandits feeling the heat of the ban on the sale of petrol in jerrycans are now making use of camels, according to locals.

Over the last one week, the police made multiple arrests of persons reportedly smuggling petrol to bandits in the forests.

At least three North West governors imposed a ban on the sale of petrol in jerrycans to check the activities of bandits.

A resident of Sokoto, who pleaded anonymity, told Daily Trust that bandits fleeing Sokoto from the neighbouring Zamfara are now regrouping in Isa forest in Sokoto on the invitation of a notorious bandit leader known as Turji.

He said there are currently over 20 groups of bandits in the area and they all came on camels because they could not fuel their motorcycles.

The source added that the bandits were using the same camels to attack their communities and kidnap people.

Commissioner for Carriers and Security Matters, Colonel Garba Moyi (retd), said there was no evidence that bandits were regrouping in the area.

Meanwhile, the District Head of Isa, Alhaji Nasir Ahmad, has sworn with the Holy Qur’an that he is not aiding banditry in the area.

The palace of the district head and the residence of Moyi were attacked last Monday by some angry mob who accused them of shielding bandits.

The traditional ruler reportedly stood up at the Juma’at mosque shortly before the congregational prayer and swore that he was not in anyway aiding banditry.

“If I have ever facilitated any attack on my community or inform bandits about military movement or any subject in my domain, may God not allow me to witness another week,” he said.

In a video clip of the traditional ruler which has gone viral on social media platforms, the Sarkin Gobir Isa, said he is more pained about the attack on his community than anybody in the area.

(Dailytrust)

Telecom Ban: Bandits Now Using Nigerien Networks To Coordinate Attacks – Lawmaker

Bandits are now using the network service of Niger Republic to coordinate attacks, according to Aminu Almustapha Gobir, member representing Sabon Birni North Constituency in the Sokoto House of Assembly.

As part of measures to check banditry, the Nigerian government had shut down telecommunication services in three states – Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina.

This had reportedly cut off communication between bandits and their informants.

But as a means of circumventing the security measure, bandits have now resorted to using the telecom service of the neighbouring country which shares border with Nigeria through Sokoto.

Gobir said he received a threat from one of the bandits who using Nigerien network service.

“The bandit was threatening to lead his gang to attack me and my community,” he told Daily Trust.

Gobir also confirmed the attack on a military base in Sabo Birni Local Government area of the state.

Daily Trust had reported how bandits raided the military base, killing security personnel and setting patrol vans on fire.

“It is true that they attacked a military base at Dama and killed about 12 of them while many are still missing.”

“This is why I faulted the government for shutting GSM network in the eastern part of the state without a serious military operation taking place there.

“The bandits are now using Nigerien network to communicate within themselves and perpetrate their heinous activities in the area.

“I expect our Governor to provide Divisional Police Officers and the military deployed to Sokoto East with Thuraya phone which could enable them to communicate within themselves and with their superior officers if they need help since there is no GSM network.

“This is what the Governor of Zamfara did and it’s paying off positively,” he said

The spokesman of the 8 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major Yahaya Ngulde, could not be reached for comment as at the time of filing this report.

But the Police Public Relation Officer, ASP Sanusi Abubakar, said he was not aware of the attack on the military base.

He did not also comment on the use of Nigerien telecoms service.

However, the Commissioner for Carriers and Security Matters, Colonel Garba Moyi (rtd), confirmed the attack on the military base but that he was not sure on the number of death.

On the bandits using foreign networks to coordinate attacks, he said that could be possible because of the proximity with Niger Republic.

(DAILYTRUST)