Over 40 bandits have been gunned down in the North West, according to the military authorities.
Brig.-Gen. Benard Onyeuko, Acting Director, Defence Media Operation, who disclosed this, said troops carried out operation in forests within Sokoto and Kaduna States.
He spoke at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, while giving updates on the activities of troops across all theatres of operations between October 1 and October 13.
The senior military officer, who also revealed how several structures which served as bandits’ logistics bases were destroyed, explained that the operations became imperative in order to ensure that impending security threats are forestalled across the country.
According to him, within the two weeks under review, using a force package of NAF platforms, multiple air strikes were executed on bandits’ enclaves in successive passes in different locations.
He said, “In the same vein, several armed bandits were neutralised and their hideouts destroyed during air interdiction missions executed at some other locations. The success of the air interdictions was confirmed by battle damage assessment carried out on these locations.”
Also speaking on the recently launched military exercises running concurrently in the South West, South-South, South East and North Central Zones of the country, Onyeuko said the military high command has resolved to checkmate all forms of security vices as the yuletide season approaches.
Daily Trust reports that the exercises were flagged off by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, October 4, 2021, at three different exercises of the Nigerian Army at Ovie-Emene in Enugu East LGA of Enugu State.
The exercises codenamed GOLDEN DAWN, ENDURING PEACE and STILL WATER are running concurrently precisely in the 2 Division, 6 Division, 81 Division and 82 Division of the Nigerian Army.
The ongoing rampage by armed bandits and Boko Haram insurgents, especially against police stations and military bases across the country, has overwhelmed the Buhari administration, Afenifere said on Wednesday.
The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group cited how Boko Haram terrorists set up camps in villages in Kuje, Abuja, and took over about 500 communities in Niger.
The group in a statement by its spokesperson, Jare Ajayi, recalled that Nasarawa Governor Abdullah Sule once said Boko Haram had taken over parts of his state.
“He even went further to remind the federal government and security agencies that Nasarawa is very close to Aso Rock, the country’s seat of power,” the group said.
Afenifere said aside from Boko Haram setting up camps in Niger and Nasarawa, bandits had overran large cache of lands in Zamfara, Borno, Kaduna, Benue and Yobe.
“Zamfara, Borno, Kaduna, Benue, Yobe have cache of lands where bandits have established themselves from which they unleash terror on the people and government interests.
“In the South West, Ibadan to Ijebu-Ode highway, parts of Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun and Osun States posted cases of armed attacks and abductions almost on a daily basis. The same way it is happening in Edo State among others,” the group said.
According to the group, the frequent killings by unknown gunmen, and the effectiveness of the ‘stay-at-home’ order by IPOB, had consigned the Buhari regime to “feebleness”.
Afenifere said Mr Buhari was “very much aware of the challenges” but lacked the political “will and determination to confront the challenges headlong.”
According to the statement, the Buhari regime’s failure to act decisively on insecurity, “has imperiled the social and economic activities in various parts of the country.”
Afenifere said the incessant incidents of insecurity across the country were portrayals of the Buhari regime’s failure in its primary responsibility of protecting Nigerians.
The group said urgent steps were required to stop terrorists and bandits from gaining ground, and “prevent the country from going into smithereens.”
The three seminarians flanked by their rector and lecturer
Three seminarians kidnapped by terrorists on Monday from Christ the King Major Seminary Fayit in Kagoma Chiefdom, Jama’a local government area of Kaduna state have been freed by their captors.
This was made known in a statement signed by the Chancellor, Kafanchan Catholic Diocese, Rev. Fr Uchechukwu Okolo.
The statement reads;
With hearts filled with joy, we raise our voices in a symphony of praises as we announce the return of our Three Major Seminarians, who were abducted by armed persons from the Chapel of the Seminary at Christ the King Major Seminary, Fayit Fadan Kagoma in Jema’a Local Government Area, Kaduna State, on Monday 11 October, 2021. Barely 48 hours after their kidnap, our beloved brothers were released by their abductors. We want to thank all those that have offered prayers and entreaties for the quick release of our Seminarians and Others who are still in the dens of their kidnappers. We pray God to hasten the release of those who are still in the hands of their Captors. All our Priests are directed to kindly celebrate Mass of THANKSGIVING to God tomorrow, Thursday 14th October 2021, for the quick and safe release of our Seminarians.
Middle Belt Times had reported the attack on the Catholic owned institution situated along Kwoi-Kafanchan road in Kagoma on Monday night where some seminarians were abducted while some were injured during the late evening attack.
Gunmen have reportedly killed a Baptist pastor and one other on Monday evening in Lisuru Gida, Ikulu Chiefdom, Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
A resident who pleaded anonymity confirmed the incident to The PUNCH yesterday, saying the gunmen opened fire at the duo on their way home from their farms around 6pm.
The source described the suspects as Fulani herdsmen, adding that the community has been under threat.
“The Fulani have turned our farms into grazing fields and we have been living under security threats.
“Neighbouring communities have always always been suspicious of the local Fulani who we see as our neighbour,” the source said.
He said normalcy has returned to the community while calling on the government to redouble its effort in ensuring that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are apprehended.
Meanwhile, effort to get across to the state police spokesperson, Mohammed Jalige to comment on the incident prove abortive as of the time of filing this report.
Dr Kayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti State and the Chairman, Nigerian Governor’s Forum (NGF), has said the security situation in the country requires concerted effort to address it.
Fayemi while speaking at an event in Ibadan said the present situation in the country didn’t warrant politics of blame and opportunistic opposition, but “it is time to build a nation and not to fritter it away.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Fayemi stressed that Nigeria is in need of patriotic statesmen and women and not rumour mongers, ethnic crisis entrepreneurs, provincial men of little minds who see everything from the prism of ethnic and religious conspiracy.
According to him, one way to bring the current wave of insecurity to a halt is to recruit a large number of people to join the police and the military, on a short service or otherwise.
He pointed out that one of the cheapest and fastest ways to handle this was to amend the law setting up the Nation Youths Service Corps (NYSC).
The Governor explained that the existing orientation camps can be used to train willing and able graduates to reflate the security personnel under a special arrangement that will be worked out.
He said corps members who cannot join the military services can serve in their community without pay.
“By available statistics, we need minimum of 200,000 personnel to boost the fighting power of our men.
“This number is very large and a potential financial and logistic nightmare, yet we cannot delay any further.
“The ungoverned spaces needed to be closed up quickly by motivated men with the singular objective to save the nation.That takes us to the number two issue of financing and arming large recruitment.
“With this, we can use the existing orientation camps to train willing and able graduates to reflate the security personnel under a special arrangement that will be worked out.
“That way, the fund that is currently deployed to the NYSC can be used with just some additional funding, which could be sourced through a national emergency fund for the next five to 10 years.
“Those who cannot join the military services can serve in their community without pay, if we must still retain the NYSC for everyone.
“To incentivise those who may volunteer to serve, they will have a separate certificate and medal of honour in addition to having priority for military, paramilitary and civil or public service recruitment after service.
“We also need to encourage investment in the real sectors that can engage people and reduce unemployment, which is a major source of insecurity,” the NGF chairman added.
Fayemi, however, said he has confidence that though, the situation might look helpless, sooner than later, the security situation would see a significant improvement and that Nigeria would come out stronger from this moment of national distress.
The Reverend Father of the Catholic Church, Umuahia, Abia State, has been abducted by some yet-to-be-identified gunmen.
He was kidnapped along Enyiukwu Road Ohokobe Afaraukwu community, Ibeku in Umuahia North LGA of Abia State.
According to Daily Trust, eyewitnesses said the kidnappers intercepted the clergy who had just concluded a morning mass at St Gabriel, Okpururie, Afaraukwu, forced him out of his Toyota Corolla into their jeep and sped away.
Chimezie, who hails from Enugu State, was ordained a priest earlier this year.
The attack is coming amid the Nigerian Army’s Operation Golden Dawn which is supposed to tackle criminals and criminalities in the South-East region.
No fewer than 50 gunmen invaded the Nasarawa State Local Government Service Commission, making away with a safe box full of valuables, and an AK-47 rifle belonging to an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Sun reports that the Permanent Secretary of the Commission, Rammatu Julde, disclosed this on Tuesday in Lafia, the state capital.
Jude said the gunmen stormed the premises in the early hours of Monday at 2am, gained access through the main gate linking the offices of the Local Government Commission and the Civil Service Commission, and operated without intervention by security agencies.
“They launched the attack in the early hours of Monday at exactly 2am. During the operation, they tied down two officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps who were guarding the premises with a rope and collected one AK-47 rifle in their possession,” Julde reported.
“They also attempted to take away our 150 KVA generator, but they could not succeed; however, they took away the safe box where valuable documents of the Commission were kept. We are presently doing stock-taking to know what other items were carted away,” she added.
The Commission’s secretary clarified that no life was lost during the attack but appealed to the NSCDC to carry out a detailed investigation into the incident in order to be sure that there was no conspiracy between its officers and the unidentified gunmen.
The unidentified gunmen also invaded the State Civil Service Commission which shares a fence with the Local Government Service Commission and carted away two LED 32-inch televisions.
Reacting, Public Relations Officer of the NSCDC Jerry Victor, explained that, “The gunmen launched an attack on the premises on Monday morning and unfortunately carried out their plans without any hindrance.
“Two of our officers who were securing the premises were tied down with ropes and they collected e Ak-47 rifle from them. The officers have been detained at our Command headquarters here in Lafia and investigation is currently ongoing.”
The incident occurred three months after a group of armed men raided the State Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning in Lafia, making away with cash, also without interventions by authorities.
Residents of Izombe in the Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State have lamented the havoc allegedly wreaked on their community by soldiers of the Nigerian Army.
The distraught indigenes told Punch that the value of properties destroyed by soldiers in their community was not less than N1billion.
According to them, soldiers who were on a reprisal attack burnt no fewer than 80 houses, many cars and economic trees.
The soldiers attached to the 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, Owerri, reportedly clashed with the youths of the community.
In the process, a youth was killed, two soldiers murdered, their vehicle burnt and three rifles snatched.
In a revenge mission, the army invaded the community in many vehicles, including Armoured Personnel Carriers and allegedly destroyed many properties.
The development caused the indigenes of the community, especially women and children, to flee the area.
A community leader, Chinedu Nnadi, had said the damage the army had done to the community would not be addressed in the next 30 years.
Nnadi, who is the pastor in charge of He Reigns Chapel, Owerri, said the people had become refugees in neighbouring communities.
A man, Kennedy Ike, whose house and that of his two children were razed during the operation, said his life had been “made miserable”.
The army spokesperson for the 34 artillery brigade, Obinze, Owerri, Joseph Akuga, said the military hierarchy in the state would address the press on the issue.
Gunmen, who kidnapped three students of St. Albert the Great Institute of Philosophy in Kagoma Chiefdom, Jema’a Local Government Area of the state, are demanding N50 million ransom to free them.
Mr. J.F. Dabo, an assistant to the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) told P.M.News on Tuesday.
He said the bandits have contacted the father of one of the three captives to make the demand.
The Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalige had debunked earlier reports that scores of students were captured by the gunmen on Monday evening.
“Three seminarians were kidnapped by suspected kidnappers on Monday evening,’’ he said.
According to him, the Commissioner of Police, in the state has directed the deployment of more police personnel to cordon the nearby bushes with a view to rescuing the victims.
“All efforts are on high gear for their rescue,’’ Jalige said.
Dabo, who is also the National President of Catholic Youth In Politics Forum, also confirmed that three students were kidnapped.
He said five students were initially taken by the eight attackers, said to be Fulani militiamen.
But they dropped two of the captives on their way out of the school. One of them had a cut on his head and was bleeding.
Dabo said the attack happened at about 7pm after mass at the chapel.
‘They met five stragglers at the chapel, when hundreds of others had departed to their hostels or the dining hall.
“They probably targeted the mass at the chapel. But they came after it ended. The situation could have been worse”.
He also disclosed that one of the three captives is asthmatic.
St. Albert the Great Institute of Philosophy, a seminary is owned by the Catholic Church. It is also called St Albert The Great Institute of Higher Education.
Says attack on Catholic Seminary is a continuation of ongoing genocide
Leading civil Rights Advocacy Platform-:HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has tasked the President as the father of the nation to kindly halt the massive attacks and killings of Christians in Southern Kaduna by suspected armed Fulani terrorists just as the group said the attack in kagoma, Jema’a local government area council of Kaduna state targeting a Roman Catholic Senior Seminary fits into a pattern of genocides that have gone on for over five years since president Buhari came on board.
HURIWA learnt that gunmen suspected to be Fulani bandits had attacked St. Albert the Great Institute of Philosophy, a seminary belonging to the Catholic Church. The seminary is situated at Fayit community, Kagoma Chiefdom in the Jama’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The attack, according to sources, led to the abduction of an unspecified number of students. HURIWA gathered from the media that the suspected kidnappers in their large number stormed the school premises on Monday evening with sophisticated weapons, surrounded the school, and overpowered the students who had just finished their evening prayers. According to one of the students, who narrowly escaped the bandits, they had just finished evening prayers in the church when the gunmen attacked with sporadic shooting and whisked the victims away. He added, “The other students who left early and were already having their dinner at the dining hall on hearing the gunshots escaped in disarray to different directions and were able to save themselves from being kidnappers.” He explained that some ran to the nearby river for their dear lives, stressing that the incident put the entire school into confusion as those that were lucky ran away from the gunmen. The student who sought anonymity said, “In all, it is estimated that an unverifiable number of students were kidnapped.” Another source who spoke on the incessant kidnapping in the state appealed to the government to do the needful by protecting the lives and property of Nigerians.
HURIWA condemns the attack and the persistent and systematic decimation of Southern Kaduna Indigenous Christian population and described these targeted violence and killings as well crafted, well coordinated and well executed genocides which President Buhari must stop and bring the perpetrators to face justice.
HURIWA said there are recorded evidence of many Captured and Occupied Southern Kaduna Territories just as HURIWA said that below are indigenous rural Christian communities of Southern Kaduna that have been sacked by rampaging armed Fulani militia and displaced to various communities and IDPs camps. These villages are now under the full occupation of Fulani some for over two years listed bellow according to LGAs and Wards. 1 KACHIA LGA ( from 2019) (i) Doka ward Chikwale, Idum, Muruchi, Kwasau Legede, Kafeyawa, Amale, Chikwale, Unguwan Pa, Gidan Sambo, Gidan Para, Unguwan Muruchi, Unguwan Dutse, Baware kasa, Gidan Duna, Sabon Gida Duna, Opase, Gidan Sunday, Gidan Yarima, Gidan Auta, Bakin Garma, Gidan Ladan, Maigari, Gidan Wakili, Pago, Oshowodo, Gidan Peter. (ii) Ankuwa Ward Ungwan pah (iii) Bishini Ward Koron, Kurmin iya, Ungwan Gwari, Kurmin Iya (iv) Kateri Ward Rishi Numbers of communities displaced in Kachia LGA = 33 Communities from 4 Wards 2 Kajuru LGA (from 2019)
(NOTE: On the 1st June, 2021, a few men from Idazo, Ungwan Shaba and Magunguna villages took risk and went back to clear their farms, after it was established that the occupying armed herdsmen have left. They are still there at the time of compiling this report. Past attempts were met with death)
(ii) Tantatu Ward Ungwan Makware
(iii) Idon Ward
Edanu, Ungwan Mudi, Ungwan Rana, Ifele, Ungwan Gora
Number of Displaced Communities from Kajuru LGA = 24 from 3 wards 3 CHIKUN LGA (from 2019) (i) Kunai Ward
Number of Displaced and Occupied rural communities = 8
(NOTE: some of the displaced persons here have started returning from last year. But majority do not still feel that there is an assured safety and security of the lives after past attempts had ended in regrettable tragedy. The herdsmen are notorious for breaking violating agreements reached) 5 Kauru LGA (2020)
(i)Badurun ward
Kikurunkuwa
(ii) Kamuru Ward
Kiziti, Kikpene, Kirim,
Number of Displaced villages = 5
As at June 5th, 2021, at least 115 communities scattered in 5 LGAs of Southern Kaduna have been displaced and taken over by armed Fulani militia unchallenged by the state. There are at least 100,000 IDPs leaving in several camps in Southern Kaduna and with relations in other parts of the state. Those close to Plateau and Niger State have fled there.
Source: Official records of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU). Date: 5th June, 2021 Sign: Luka Binniyat. SOKAPU Spokesman and obtained by HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA.
The Rights group said the attacks and genocides in Southern Kaduna contravene several sections of the Nigerian constitution such as Section 14 stated thus: 14(1) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice. (2) It is hereby, accordingly, declared that: (a) sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority; (b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government: and Section 33 stated thus: 33(1) Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.
Besides, HURIWA appealed on President Muhammadu Buhari to halt these premeditated attacks because section 218 (1) of the constitution says: “The powers of the President as the Commissioner-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall include power to determine the operational use of the armed forces of the Federation. (2) The powers conferred on the President by subsection (1) of this section shall include power to appoint the Chief of Defence staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Air Staff and heads of any other branches of the armed forces of the Federation as may be established by an Act of the National Assembly. (3) The President may, by directions in writing and subject to such conditions as he think fit, delegate to any member of the armed forces of the Federation his powers relating to the operational use of the Armed Forces of the Federation. (4) The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the regulation of – (a) the powers exercisable by the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation; and (b) the appointment, promotion and disciplinary control of members of the armed forces of the Federation.” HURIWA said it has begun drafting another petition to be sent to the INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT IN THE HAGUE NETHERLANDS so the suspects and Kaduna State government officials are charged for CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.
