Metro

Gunmen go on rampage in North-East Nigeria, kill 11, abduct over 100

Published

12 months ago

November 26, 2023

Heavily armed gunmen laid siege to two states in North-East Nigeria— Taraba and Zamfara States— between Friday and Saturday, where they killed 11 people and abducted over 100 for refusing to pay illegal levies they imposed on the communities.

According to eyewitnesses, the rampaging bandits invaded and attacked some communities in Yangtu and Ussa local government areas of Taraba on Friday afternoon where they killed the 11 farmers.

A survivor, Yakubu Tinya, who spoke to newsmen, said the attackers came in their numbers, shooting sporadically.

“The attacks, which happened Friday, resulted in the death of nine people in some communities in Yangtu Special Development Area and two others in Tukwog community along Takum-Manya Road,” Tinya said.

In the Zamfara episode, it was learned that the bandits led by a notorious kingpin identified as Damina, stormed several villages and abducted over 100 people in Mutumji, Sabongari Mahuta, Kwanar Dutsi and Unguwar Kawo communities of Maru local government area for failing to pay levies imposed on them.

A source in one of the affected villages said Damina attacked them because they could not raise N50 million he asked them to pay as compensation for informing soldiers of his men’s movements.

“We were trying to gather the money reaching out to people when Damina decided to strike,” he said.

“We were sitting in a place called Yar Kasuwa after the Isha’i prayers when the terrorists stormed the community. They surrounded the community while others drove into the community centre.

“We began running but it was already too late. They marched people into the forest. Men, women and children were abducted.

”They attacked other communities including Unguwar Kawo, Kwanar Dutsi and Sabon Garin Mahuta and took away several people. We’ve at least 100 people taken. We’re still counting to ascertain the true number of those taken”, he said.

A villager, Alhaji Muhammad Usman, who spoke to BBC Hausa Service said the bandit leader had earlier imposed N110 million on the communities as harvesting levies, giving them a two-week ultimatum to comply or face the consequences.

“N50 million levy was imposed on our community, while N30 million was imposed on Kwanar Dutsi; N20 million on Sabongari Mahuta, and N10 million on Unguwar Kawo”, the source said.

Related Topics:#bandits Abduction Featured Murder Nigeria Terrorists

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Metro

Zambia’s ruling party UPND warns against personal attacks on President Hichilema

Published

5 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Zambia’s ruling party, the UPND, has warned opposition politicians and critics against personal attacks on President Hakainde Hichilema as his meekness should not be mistaken for weakness.

Secretary-General of the UPND, Batuke Imenda, who gave the warning in a statement in Lusaka on Monday, urged political opponents to always engage in mature and issue-based discourse.

Zambia Monitor reports that Imenda’s warning, was directed at the leader of Zambia Must Prosper (ZMP) party, Kelvin Bwalya Fube, whose recent remarks Imenda described as “provocative” and a “feeble attempt to mislead citizens.”

“Provocative words uttered by Kelvin Bwalya against our party and President Hichilema are a clear demonstration of naivety,” Imenda said in the statement.

He further advised Bwalya to abandon personal attacks and focus on substantial political issues.

The UPND Secretary suggested that Bwalya’s attacks stemmed from a desire for relevance amid declining political fortunes, hinting at a possible alignment with former President Edgar Lungu.

“It appears KBF is hoping that Edgar Lungu might support his embattled political career by unjustly attacking President Hichilema,” he said.

Imenda defended the President’s record, highlighting that under Hichilema’s leadership, Zambia’s democratic space had expanded compared to the previous PF administration, which he accused of stifling freedoms.

He noted that while criticism was welcome, it should not devolve into baseless attacks, warning that opposition figures should not misinterpret Hichilema’s restraint as weakness.

Imenda also criticized Bwalya for overlooking the gains in transparency and justice since the change in government, claiming that past regimes were marked by resource mismanagement and corruption.

Metro

Following backlash, Nigerian govt withdraws treason charges against minors

Published

12 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigerian government has officially withdrawn the treason charges it entered against some minors who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest that spread across the country from August 1 to the 10th.

The nation was thrown into shock on Friday when the Nigeria Police presented 76 protesters at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on treason. Among the suspects were four minors who slumped before they could be arraigned before the court.

This caused serious uproar in the country with Nigerians condemning the government and calling for the unconditional release of the kids and the dismissal of the charges against them.

The decision to withdraw the charges against the underage accused came following a directive by President Bola Tinubu who ordered the immediate withdrawal of the charges and an in-depth investigation into what led to the arrest and detention of the minors.

Tinubu had also ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) to officially take over the case file as well as review the cases following public outcry that came with the arraignment of the minors.

The charges were finally withdrawn on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja through an application for discontinuance filled by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the AGF.

According to Abubakar, the discontinuance application was based on provisions of sections 174(1), (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

The DPPF also applied for further proceedings to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266(b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Childs’ Rights Act.

In response, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Fanala (SAN), who stood in for the accused as well as other defence lawyers in the matter, did not oppose the applications which promoted the judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, to strike out the charges, while the four affected minors were also delisted from the charge sheet.