Terror bandits operating between Sokoto and Zamfara states have taken responsibility for the attack on Goronyo Market in Sokoto State, where 49 villagers were killed on Sunday, describing it as a reprisal.
One of the kingpins, who is close to both Kachallah Turji and Halilu Sububu – the two notorious warlords in the area – Shehu Rekeb, said the attack was carried out to avenge killings of “innocent Fulani” in the area.
Daily Trust had on Tuesday reported that the attack was a joint one with the attackers storming the market on over 100 motorcycles.
They surrounded the place and opened fire on buyers and sellers that led to the death of 49 people.
“We heard those who attacked Goronyo being described as criminals. They were not.”
“The president (Muhammadu Buhari) came out to say so. Those people (of Goronyo) have killed so many people, so they would have to be attacked and killed,” he said.
Citing the killing of some Fulani Muslim worshippers at Unguwar Lalle, Rekeb said, “When those people (Fulani) were killed, the president did not say anything but he is now coming out to react to this one.”
A resident had on Monday told Daily Trust that, “The recent attack could be a misplaced reprisal by ‘Yan Sakai’ because of the recent killing of 11 herders at Mamande Market in Gwadabawa Local Government Area.
“This outlawed group is arresting and killing Fulani men unjustifiably,” he said.
Commotion as security operatives order all to take cover in pitch darkness
The Abuja-Kaduna train which developed ‘fault’ about 40 kilometres to Kaduna, left passengers in a state of panic for over six hours after taking off from Idu terminal in Abuja, around 6pm Wednesday.
Regional Editor of News Express Garba Muhammad and other passengers in the train said the train developed fault around 8pm after a loud sound from the engine which forced the train to stop.
“We had a loud sound from the locomotive engine, then the train gradually came to abrupt halt,” Muhammad said.
There was pandemonium from passengers when the security men in the VIP coaches shouted for all to take cover after the loud sound.
Lights and the air conditioning systems immediately went off, leaving passengers in the heat and darkness.
“Policemen in the VIP coaches shouted to us to get down when we had the loud bang. We all fell over each other, while some ran to other coaches, thinking that the train was under attacked,” Lawal Isah, one of the passenger said.
Since then, passengers were left in the middle of the bush in the middle of the night afraid of imminent bandits attack.
Another engine came around 12:15am and pushed us to Rigasa, Kaduna – a short distance that took additional two hours with frequent stops and slow movements.
There were no comments from officials in the train as to what caused the engines fault and why it took over four hours for another engine to come for rescue.
The incident, however, generated mixed reactions, as passengers were insinuation a deliberate attack of the engine.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, has urged the Federal Government to declare bandits as terrorists so as to allow the Nigerian military deal with them without any major consequences in international law.
The governor spoke at the presentation of the Kaduna State Security Incidents Report for the Third Quarter of 2021 in Kaduna on Wednesday, saying “we in the Kaduna State Government, have always aligned with the declaration of bandits as insurgents and terrorists. We have written letters to the Federal Government since 2017, asking for this declaration because it is the declaration that will allow the Nigerian military to attack and kill these bandits without any major consequences in international law.”
” So, we support the resolution by the National Assembly and we are going to follow up with a letter of support, for the Federal Government to declare these bandits and insurgents as terrorists, so that they will be fair game for our military. This is the view of the Kaduna State Government,” he said.
The Governor also called for a consensus between the Federal Government and the the 36 states on an emergency programme of recruitment into the security agencies.
He said government can change the game significantly by hiring 1,000 willing youths from each of the 774 LGAs in the country into the security agencies.
“This will be a surge in numbers that is unprecedented since the civil war. An influx of 774,000 new boots on the ground will be a significant blow against criminals and an employment boost,” he said.
He announced that next Saturday, the two Local Governments of Birnin Gwari and Zangon Kataf were elections were postponed for security reasons ,will be having their own Local Government elections.
He however warned that if elections do not take place as scheduled on that date,they will have no option than to appoint Administrators to manage these Local Governments for the next three years.
He said “our Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs has just presented its report on security incidents in Kaduna State within the third quarter of 2021. It is a sobering report, reflecting the real agony of our citizens and communities, their pains and losses, and the fears and anxiety that have created considerable distress. The report puts the statistics in context, analyses the pattern of violence and outlines what the Kaduna State Government and the security agencies are doing to contain the situation and relieve the situation in our communities.”
“These figures indicate the continuing severity of the security situation. In our view, this compels an obligation to transparency on the part of the managers of security. It acknowledges the pain of our people, reflects precise figures on the nature and pattern of security incidents and provides the public factual information on this unprecedented challenge.”
“Previous annual and quarterly security reports have placed the Kaduna Central Senatorial District as the most impacted by these incidents. That was the consistent pattern in the Security Incidents Reports for 2020, the first quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2021.”
“However, the report for the third quarter of 2021 indicates that the Kaduna South Senatorial District had the highest casualties in the period. This reflects the toxic mix of banditry and the continuing violent clashes between communities in Zangon-Kataf, Kaura and Kauru LGAs. The locus of these violent incidents is Zangon-Kataf LGA where the peace process, championed so impressively since last year by His Highness the Agwatyap, is being imperilled by sundry acts of lawlessness. I call on all the communities in Zangon Kataf LGA to recommit to peace, to work together to promote harmony, uphold the rule of law and unite to against the criminals that threaten all of them.”
“While receiving the second quarter report in July 2021, I had noted that “it is a matter of profound regret for me that our considerable investments in security are yet to manifest in the defeat or at least the considerable degradation of the criminals that menace our people. We have consistently supported the federal security agencies deployed to our state with logistics and equipment. Apart from these recurrent expenses, the Kaduna State Government has undertaken capital expenditure to provide facilities that can multiply the capacity of security agencies to deter crime and conduct effective investigations of those that do occur. We created the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs to provide a specialised institution to coordinate these investments and our liaison with the federal security agencies”.
He expressed with delight that since he made those comments, the military and other security agencies have commenced operations against the bandits.
“These operations, which began in the third quarter, are degrading bandits but they are not yet simultaneous across all the affected states in the North-West region. This reflects the limitations that personnel and other resource deficits have imposed on the federal security agencies. There are simply not enough boots on the ground to have credible deployments in most places to protect communities, deter crime and enforce law and order,” he said.
He said many state governments in the North-West and the North-Central have adopted an unconventional approach to help the federal security agencies to better protect our communities, adding that there is no alternative to launching simultaneous operations.
” I will also like to announce that this Saturday, the two Local Governments of Birnin Gwari and Zangon Kataf will be having their own Local Government elections. They were postponed for security reasons, but I believe that the security agencies and the State Independent Electoral Commission have agreed that it is possible to hold this election this weekend. Our hope is that we will be able to conduct this election as well as bye elections in two or three Local Governments, so that we swear in the new Local Government Chairmen, to start their tenure from the 1st of November 2021.”
“I would like to observe that if elections do not take place as scheduled on this date, we will have no option than to appoint Administrators to manage these Local Governments for the next three years. So it is in the interest of everybody to allow elections to take place, otherwise I will appoint people to manage those local governments.”
“I will also want to comment on those that are affected by insecurity. We have a Riot Damage and Compensation Fund for those who are affected from 2016. I am therefore directing the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs to draw from the Riot Damage Fund, to pay all those affected, up to, and including this year.”
“I would also like to inform the security agencies as well as the traditional leaders here, that we are in the process of establishing a Farmers/Herdsmen Reconciliation Council at the State level as well as similar Committees at the Local Government and Chiefdom and Emirate levels. This is backed by a law, a military edict, enacted in the 1990s. But somehow, we didn’t come across the law until recently. So, we are activating these Committees to help in managing clashes between farmers and herdsmen at all levels.”
” Let me conclude by expressing our deepest gratitude once again to our traditional leaders. You are playing a very important role not only in the provision of useful intelligence in your communities, but in also in engaging in reconciliation. You are also engaged in peace-building in collaboration with our state Peace Commission. We urge you to continue and I particularly urge the Agwatyap not to be discouraged by what is happening, to continue to work towards peace. In the end, there is no alternative to peace building. As leaders, we cannot but to continue to preach peace.”
“I want to express our gratitude to our security agencies for the sacrifice that they are making. I urge them not to be discouraged by comments by those who are uninformed, who think that nothing is being done. My colleagues, the politicians, are the most guilty; just because they want people to clap for them, they will say that nothing is being done. If nothing is being done, you will not be able to sleep. Many of these incidences are being prevented and when they are, you will not hear about it. You don’t hear commendation but when something happens, you hear all the condemnation. As someone who receives the security reports on a daily basis, I know that a lot is being done by the security agencies. I wish to commend you and may God bless you. We are happy with the results of the military campaigns, and it is clear that kidnapping has gone down, but we want more than that. We want to have zero-kidnappings, zero killings,” he said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has expressed concern that the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO), which he blamed for the July 15, 2016, failed coup attempt against his government, is still active in Nigeria.
Erdogan spoke Wednesday at a joint press conference with President Muhammadu Buhari on the occasion of his official visit to Nigeria.
In the speech delivered in his native Turkish and interpreted by one of the officials on his entourage, Erdogan asked Nigeria to join his country to forge a solidarity in the fight against terrorism in the two countries as one of the oldest allies of Turkey in Africa, having seen 60 years of diplomatic ties.
He said: “Distinguished members of the press, as Turkey, we have been closely monitoring the developments unfolding in Nigeria, our brotherly and friendly nation.
“The terrorist organisations, the armed gangs and the marine bandits are continuously active in Nigeria and the Nigerian authorities are continuously fighting against them. So, in order to cooperate further in the fields of military, defense, and security, we are doing everything that will be available….
“As we’re probably aware of the fact that Turkey has been fighting against terrorist organisations for many decades, such as the PKK, PYD, FETO, DASH and other terrorist organisations.
“The perpetrator of the heinous failed coup of July the 15th, FETO, is still illegally active in Nigeria, and we are continuously sharing our intelligence with the Nigerian interlocutors and authorities. I hope and pray that our Nigerian brothers will forge a closer solidarity in this field with us, the Republic of Turkey. I hope and pray that our visit will yield the most auspicious results and I would like to thank my distinguished brother, President Buhari, for being such a gracious host for me and for my delegation”, he said.
The Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, on Wednesday, said 343 people were killed, while 830 people were kidnapped between July and September 2021, in the state.
Speaking during the presentation of the third quarterly security report of the Kaduna State Government at the Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Aruwan said within the period under review, 193 deaths were recorded in the Southern Kaduna senatorial district. This, he said, was caused by violent attacks and reprisals, adding that130 deaths were recorded in Kaduna Central Senatorial District, 20 deaths in the Northern Senatorial District.
He further said 830 people were kidnapped within the period under review, adding, out of the number of those kidnapped, 732 were kidnapped from Kaduna Central, while 51 persons were kidnapped in Southern Kaduna Senatorial District and 47 persons were kidnapped in the Northern Senatorial District.
He said 210 people were injured by banditry, violent attacks, reprisals and communal clashes, adding, 122 people were injured in Kaduna Central Senatorial District. Aruwan further added that 67 people sustained injuries in Southern Kaduna, 21 persons were injured in the Northern senatorial district. He said 1,018 animals were rustled in the state in the third quarter; 780 stolen from the Kaduna Central Senatorial District.
According to him, the state government received 77 reports relating to the destruction of farm crops notably in Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Giwa, Kachia, Kaura, Kauru and Zangon Kataf, adding such destruction usually resulted in violence in the front line local government arrears. He said that banditry and kidnapping are striving due to the flow of money which encourages them in the business. The commissioner lamented the current insecurity challenge is a major threat to the looming food crisis, education and health.
“Primary, secondary and tertiary institutions remain under threat from bandits. Teaching and learning activities in frontline areas have been severely hampered. While hospitals and other health facilities in frontline locations are equally under grave threat from armed bandits,” he further said.
No fewer than 150 people were killed in bandits attack on Goronyo township in Sokoto State after Nigerian soldiers abandoned their equipment and fled the area, Peoples Gazette has learnt.
Last Sunday, the bandits stormed the town in Goronyo Local Government Area of the state on over 100 motorcycles and opened fire on residents in the attack that lasted for hours.
“The number of people that died in Goronyo; I did say it was above 30. I was not categorical about the figure,” he was quoted in a statement by his media adviser, Muhammad Bello.
“We just finished a meeting with some stakeholders and I have confirmed that we lost 43 people, unfortunately to that incident. May God Almighty have mercy on their souls,” Governor Aminu Tambuwal later said.
However, sources told The Gazette that the assailants killed over 150 persons after soldiers who were on Shinaka-Sokoto Road abandoned their trucks and fled the area.
“The bandits came in on motorcycles that were more than 100. The soldiers who were on Shinaka-Sokoto Road abandoned their trucks and equipment and fled.
“This gave the bandits free passage and they spent many hours killing and looting people,” Adamu Ibrahim, a resident of the town, told The Gazette on Wednesday morning.
Mr Ibrahim said the attack lasted hours following the disappearance of security personnel, and with no help of rescue due to telecommunications services shut down in the area.
“There was no communication or security so the bandits had many hours to carry out their evil killing and they also carried people’s properties with them when they left,” he said,
“We counted more than 150 bodies because they were arranged in rows and some rows had 10 bodies while some had 15 or 25 bodies. We counted more than 150 bodies,” he added.
“Some of us who escaped the killings came to Sokoto to complain that there were more than 150 people who lost their lives but the government was giving different statements saying 30 or 40 people were killed. They later said 43 but still very far from the people killed.”
Another resident, Muhammad Makintami also told The Gazette more than 150 people were killed.
“We met witnesses who ran to Sokoto from the affected local government and they gave a clear account of dead bodies,” Mr Makintami said, adding that “They were in their hundreds and at least 150.”
When contacted for comments on the incident, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, Onyema Nwachukwu denied the casualty figure, saying, “I wonder from what source this false information is emanating.”
He added, “The COAS has visited troops in their locations and deployments, where he addressed the troops and made assessments of ongoing anti-banditry operations. Please discountenance this rumour.”
The attack came days after some youths in Goronyo town took to the streets to protest against insecurity, which has forced many to flee the town.
In September, the state government shut down telecommunications services across Gada, Goronyo, Gudu, Ilela, Isa, Kebbe, Sabon Birn, among other local government areas to curtail increasing levels of insecurity across the state.
Pro-Buhari protesters have staged a counter-protest at the Unity Fountain, Abuja against the #EndSARS memorial protest.
SaharaReporters observed that the protesters, reportedly paid by the government who are less than 15 arrived at the venue with placards; one of which reads, “EndSARS was an insurrection against the state”.
The leader of the protest said they had gathered against the #EndSARS protest because no one had died at the Lekki toll gate.
He said, “We have come here because we found out that some miscreants hiding behind #EndSARS have planned to come here to hold #EndSARS memorial. We are here to set the records straight. If there was a massacre, where are the bodies?
“We are here to put those lies to rest. There was no massacre anywhere in Nigeria. If there was a massacre; let an incontrovertible evidence be produced. We are here to stop those that want to destablilise our country. We will resist them, fight them because we are patriots that believe in the Nigerian project. We will not allow elements sponsored by foreign interests. We have no other country than Nigeria.”
Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested two protesters at the Lekki tollgate where the #EndSARS Memorial Protest is scheduled to hold in the state today.
One of those arrested claimed to be a journalist while the other was seen carrying a placard.
The police had reportedly warned that anyone seen at the tollgate without an ID card will be arrested.
The arrested journalist told newsmen that he works with LegitTV and that his phone, driver’s license and other documents were taken away from him.
Speaking from a Lagos State Task Force van where he was kept by the police, the journalist who identified himself as Abisola stated that he lost his ID card in transit.
About 30 police trucks and armed personnel are currently at the tollgate to enforce a ban on protests issued by the police command.
A car procession in honour of those believed to have lost their lives at the tollgate when soldiers dispersed #EndSARS protesters on October 20, 2020, is scheduled to hold at the tollgate today.
What #EndSARS protests were about
The #EndSARS protests which were held in October 2020 were against the activities of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit of the Nigeria Police Force which was accused of police brutality.
The epicentre of the protests was the Lekki tollgate in Lagos where many youths gathered day and night to air their grievances against police brutality and bad governance.
They were dispersed from the location by gun-wielding soldiers on October 20, 2020, an action which some quarters believe led to the loss of lives.
This was followed by the destruction of private and public properties by hoodlums in Lagos, an incident that informed the latest warning issued by the police in the state.
Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi says the anti-banditry operations of the Nigerian Army have increasingly enabled farmers in the state access to their farms without threats.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement, said the governor made the observation when he received the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya in Birnin-Kebbi on Tuesday.
Bagudu said the farmers in Danko Wassagu in the southern part of the state had returned to their farming occupation, urging army to sustain the operations and bring about lasting peace in the state and Nigeria.
He commended the Nigerian Army for providing aid to civil authority at a critical period when non-state actors who were engendering insecurity in the society were being shielded by unpatriotic citizens.
Bagudu urged the army to continue to synergise with other security agencies and stakeholders to rid the north-western part of the country of banditry.
He pledged the state government’s commitment to collaborating with the Nigerian Army and other security agencies to tackle insecurity in the state.
The governor introduced some reconfigured operational vehicles constructed by the state government to the COAS.
He said the operational vehicles were reconfigured with the supervision of the Deputy Governor, retired Col. Samaila Dabai, to provide operational platforms for troops.
He assured the COAS that the vehicles would soon be handed over to the troops for deployment.
The COAS commended the state government and people of Kebbi for their support to Nigerian Army.
Yahaya added that renewed measures would be taken to address the security challenges affecting the state while calling on the government to sensitise the public to the danger of colluding with bandits to create panic within their communities.
He also noted that all hands must be on deck to resolutely deal with the prevailing security situation.
At the palace of the Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Muhammadu Bashar, the COAS appealed to traditional leaders to guide the conduct of members of their communities against providing tacit support to bandits.
He added cooperating with troops would add value to the relentless effort of security operatives to restore law and order in the north west geopolitical zone of the country.
Responding, the emir commended the COAS for embarking on an operational tour of formations and units to give direction and guidance on how to overcome security challenges confronting the country.
Duringoperational visit to 1 Battalion in Birnin Kebbi, the COAS urged the troops to remain focused and professional in the conduct of every operation.
He assured them of adequate provision of more and modern equipment to enable them to carry out their mandate effectively…
No fewer than five traditional rulers have been reportedly killed during an attack by gunmen at Nnenasa community Headquarters of Njaba local government area of Imo State.
According to sources, the traditional rulers from the area numbering over 20 were in a meeting at the local government headquarters in the community when gunmen invaded the the place, interrupted the meeting with sporadic gunshots and killed at least five traditional rulers on the spot.
Those who sustained heavy gunshots injuries have been rushed to nearby hospital for treatment.
When contacted, the Imo state police public relations officer, Mike Abatam, said he was yet to get the full details of the incident.
