TheNewsGuru

Tag: Attack

  • Fake News: Imo State House of Assembly not on fire

    Fake News: Imo State House of Assembly not on fire

    Report on social media that the Imo State House of Assembly is on fire is fake news as the House was never on fire.

    Reports on Sunday evening suggested that the Assembly had been set on fire by unknown arsonists.

    A YouTube video purportedly showing the Assembly burning has been branded fake as the house in the video is not the same as the Imo Assembly.

    The video is coming following gunmen’s attack on the country home of Governor Hope Uzodinma on Saturday.

    During the attack, two security personnel were killed and the house set on fire.

    The circulated video on the burning of the Assembly has been branded as the handiwork of mischief makers.

    Imo State Commissioner for Information, Declan Emetumba, has denounced reports that the Assembly is on fire.

    He said the reported fire outbreak at the Imo Assembly was untrue.

  • Attacks on police officers, facilities dampening their morale – FG

    Attacks on police officers, facilities dampening their morale – FG

    The Minister of Police Affairs Muhammadu Maigari on Monday evening said recent attacks on police personnel and formations in some parts of the country have negatively affected the morale of the Force.

    Maigari spoke after formally introducing the new acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, to President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja.

    Several police facilities, especially in the Southeast, have recently come under violent attacks from armed assailants, during which many personnel lost their lives and some others left injured.

    According to Maigari, the recent negative incidences have dampened morale among police personnel, adding the administration was working on starting a rebuilding and motivational processes to correct the damaging effects.

    “We intend to do it by ensuring that we have adequate equipment, we have adequate personnel and we improve the training and the welfare of the police so that we motivate them to do more.

    “As you are aware, the morale of many police officers has been seriously dampened now because of the rampant killings of police officers, because of the razing down most of our officers.

    “So we need to do a kind of motivational work to ensure that we raise the morale of police and this will have started and I believe it’s going to yield a positive result.

    “What we’re having at the moment is a very serious challenge. I want to assure Nigerians that with the new setup that we have now on the ground, we will make sure that we improve the situation to the best of our ability so that Nigerians will see the changes that are already on the ground,” he said.

    The new IGP observed he took over at a very challenging time of the nation’s experience, but said he was already introducing what he believed would mitigate the situation.

    “Like I said earlier, I have taken over at a very crucial time and I am fully aware of the situation in the country and I am introducing what I feel will mitigate these security challenges in the country and I’ve started implementing them. I’m ready to come and brief the President so that we can get all the support that is necessary to go about it.

    “I have also promised to do my best to change the narrative, as far as internal security is concerned in this country. I’m coming back for a full brief as to how I would go about it,”he said.

    Asked if he received any marching orders from the President, he said: “the marching order in regards is for me to do my best and see how I can go about solving the problem of internet security in this country.

    About what the sort of assistance he would be needing, he said: “very many. It’s not something that I can, you know, you don’t have all that you need to do anything.

    “While I’m trying to use what I have, I also need some improvement in both logistics, manpower, and equipment.”

  • Buhari demands thorough investigation into attack on Gov. Ortom

    Buhari demands thorough investigation into attack on Gov. Ortom

    President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the attack on Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue, saying the brutal attacks on individuals and communities in the state, with the latest one targeting the governor, was unacceptable.

    The president made the condemnation in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Sunday.

    Buhari welcomed the dispatch of a high level team of crack investigators to the state from the Police headquarters in Abuja, urging the officers to uncover who, or whatsoever, was behind the attacks and bring them to justice.

    He also expressed his sympathies, and that of the government of the federation to Ortom and Benue indigenes.

    Buhari, however, maintained that the unfortunate incident must not be politicized, reiterating that ”an attack on one Nigerian is an attack on all Nigerians.”

    The president directed the Police to undertake a thorough investigation into the incident involving the governor and into all such incidents affecting individuals and communities in the state.

    “Let there be open and transparent investigation and whoever is linked to it should be caught and be made to face the law,” he further directed.

  • IGP orders full investigation into attack on Benue Governor

    IGP orders full investigation into attack on Benue Governor

    The Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Mohammed Adamu, has ordered full-scale investigations into the circumstances surrounding the attack and reported attempt on the life of Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue.

    The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Mr Frank Mba, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

    Orton was reportedly attacked on Saturday in his farm at the outskirts of Makurdi, the State Capital.

    Mba said that the I-G condemned the incident and directed the Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of Benue to strengthen and improve security in the state, particularly around the Governor.

    He said that the I-G had also directed the CP to carry out painstaking investigations into the incident and ensure the arrest and prosecution of persons indicted in the course of the investigations.

    According to him, to ensure a speedy, thorough and conclusive investigations into the matter, the I-G has ordered the immediate deployment of a team of specialised investigators from the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID).

    He said that the deployment was to provide additional investigative support to the Police Command in Benue.

    Mba called for calm and pledged the commitment of the Force to continue to do its best in stabilising the security situation in the country.

    He said that the force would continue to work with relevant stakeholders to advance the fight against violent crimes and other criminal activities across the country.

  • Gunmen abduct over 50 passengers in fresh Niger attack

    Gunmen abduct over 50 passengers in fresh Niger attack

    Less than three weeks after 40 Niger State Transport Authority (NSTA) passengers were kidnapped, gunmen have again abducted over 50 passengers along the Tegina-Minna road in the Rafi Local Government of Niger State.

    Speaking on Tuesday in Minna, a source told journalists that the gunmen blocked the road at Kundu town, a few kilometres from Zungeru town.

    According to reports, the passengers were in the three vehicles who were abducted and taken to an unknown destination while the vehicles were left by the roadside.

    Similarly, armed bandits kidnapped unknown numbers of villagers at Gidigori town in Rafi Local Government Area burning five cars and carting away valuables.

    Confirming the incident, senior government officials who craved anonymity said nothing has been heard from the bandits to enable the authorities to know the identities of those kidnapped.

    Meanwhile the Niger State Police Command is yet to issue a statement confirming the abductions

  • Death toll in rocket attack on Maiduguri rises to 16

    Death toll in rocket attack on Maiduguri rises to 16

    The death toll in Tuesday’s attack by Boko Haram fighters on Maiduguri, the Borno State capital has risen to 16, hospital officials said yesterday.

    Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, after visits to both University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) and State Specialist Hospital, had said 10 persons were killed and 47 persons injured.

    But new details emerged yesterday from sources at the two hospitals that the death toll had risen to 16.

    One of the sources, a nurse, said three persons died on Tuesday night after the governor’s visit.

    The nurse, who spoke anonymously as she was not authorised to speak to the press said three other persons died yesterday.

    She said: “It is said that six people were lost at both hospitals after the initial 10 persons that were brought in dead.

    “Three died before the break of day and the three others died this morning. We can only pray that no more death is recorded as there are few other persons in critical situation.”

    A security source also confirmed that the death toll has risen from what the governor made public.

    A press statement issued by the governor’s spokesman, Mallam Isa Gusau, had said the governor was at the two hospitals yesterday to sympathise with those injured in the attack.

    He said after Boko Haram fighters fired shots from Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs), on parts of the town, 10 persons were killed and 47 others were injured.

    He stated that the RPGs were fired from Kaleri, an outskirt of Maiduguri, with grenades hitting Gwange and Adam Kolo communities, both densely populated areas in the inner city.

    He said most of the deaths occurred in Gwange, adding that one of the RPG shots hit a children’s playground in the area.

    The governor also spoke on the military regaining Marte from the insurgents.

    He said he was not just pleased but also optimistic that the military would work hard to retain, continue its peace-building and stability efforts in ways that should ensure the insurgents do not take Marte again, or any other part of the state.

  • Two remanded in prison over Katsina bandits’ attack

    Two remanded in prison over Katsina bandits’ attack

    A Katsina Magistrate Court on Tuesday remanded two men, Saadu Haruna and Musa Ibrahim, in a correctional facility until April 1, 2021, over a recent bandits’ attack in the state.

    Three men were allegedly killed and seven others abducted during the attack.

    The suspects, who are 40 years old each, are residents of Dantankari village in Dandume Local Government Area of the state.

    The police prosecutor, Sergeant Lawal Bello, told the court that on December 25, 2020, bandits attacked Dantankari village, killing three persons; Abdulmutallib Ibrahim, Muhammadu Isyaku and Sani Ibrahim.

    Bello disclosed that in the course of investigation on the incident, Haruna and Ibrahim were arrested because the duo were overheard discussing about the attack even before the incident occurred.

    The suspects, it was learnt, were also alleged to have mentioned those to be kidnapped in the attack during their discussion and allegedly confessed to the police of having prior knowledge of the attack.

    The suspects were charged with criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, kidnapping and belonging to the gang of kidnappers.

    The presiding Senior Magistrate, Fadile Dikko, adjourned the case till April 1, 2021, for mention before remanding Haruna and Ibrahim at the Katsina correctional centre.

     

  • Fear heightens as heavily armed men wreak havoc in Bayelsa community

    Fear heightens as heavily armed men wreak havoc in Bayelsa community

    Some unknown gunmen invaded a riverside town of Peremabiri in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on Sunday, destroying properties worth millions of naira.

    According to several sources, the heavily armed invaders stormed the community in five speedboats and embarked on a shooting spree causing residents to scamper for safety.

    The attack is the latest in the series of attacks unknown gunmen have carried out on selected targets in the predominantly fishing and farming settlement.

    The Spokesman of the State Police Command, Mr Butswat Ansimi has confirmed the incident.

    He said: “preliminary investigations revealed that on 3rd January 2021 at about 0700 hours unknown gunmen invaded Peremabiri, a riverine community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    “The motive for the attack is unknown at the moment, however the residence of one Marcus Richard was set ablaze.

    “The Command has despatched reinforcement of Police Marine and detectives from State Criminal Investigation Department to beef up security in the area. Investigation into the incident is ongoing.

    “Efforts are on by the State government to invite notable leaders from the community for a peace meeting.”

  • Gunmen kill Chief Imam, two others in fresh Kaduna attack

    Gunmen kill Chief Imam, two others in fresh Kaduna attack

    The Chief Imam of Kawaran Rafi village in Igabi Local Government Area, Sheik Danleeman Isah has been killed by gunmen suspected to be bandits during an attack on the village.

    The bandits according to the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said in a statement issued on Saturday that the bandits invaded the village and moved straight to the Chief Imam’s residence, and in what appears to be a pre-meditated attack, shot him dead and left the location without taking any items or hostages.

    He said the murder of the cleric has been linked to his vocal stance against the killing and kidnapping of citizenry by bandits.

    In a similar development, bandits also killed the Ardo Musa Layi of Kajuru local government, who was kidnapped by armed men in October 2020 for his advocacy against killing, kidnapping and cattle rustling.

    In another development, security agencies have reported the murder of the Sarkin Yaki of Godogodo, Mr Yohanna Abu, by a gang of kidnappers.

    According to the report, the gunmen attacked Nisama village in Jema’a local government area late on Friday night and abducted Mr Abu along with another resident Mr Charles Audu.

    A struggle ensued between the duo and the kidnappers, and while Mr Audu was able to escape, the kidnappers shot Mr Abu dead.

    The Commissioner disclosed that five persons have been arrested in connection with the killing, as security agencies continue to investigate the incident.

    Meanwhile, Governor Nasir El-Rufai has expressed sadness at the reports, praying for the repose of the souls of the slain cleric and community leader, as he conveyed his heartfelt condolences to their families.

  • Vigilante head, two others murdered in Niger attack

    Vigilante head, two others murdered in Niger attack

    Leader of the vigilante group and two others were killed at the weekend in fresh attacks on Madaka community, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

    The attack is coming two weeks after the village head was kidnapped.

    Observers said the bandits stormed the town on motorcycles, burning houses and shooting sporadically, and people scampered for safety.

    Sources also revealed that some people were kidnapped but the number is still unknown.

    Chief of Staff to the council chairman Mohammed Mohammed said three persons were killed. One was leader of the vigilante group, Isyaku Alhassan, his son Abdulhamid and one other person whose name was still unknown as at last night. He said the bodies are yet to be recovered.

    Mohammed said the village head was kidnaped a second time after spending over three months with kidnappers before being released.