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Tag: bandits

  • No foreigner supplies arms to bandits with helicopter – Police

    No foreigner supplies arms to bandits with helicopter – Police

    The Niger Police Command said it had not arrested any foreign national distributing weapons with a helicopter to bandits in the state.

    Commissioner of Police, Mr. Monday Kuryas said in Minna on Friday that such an incident never occurred in any part of the state.

    Kuryas described the report as ”fake news circulating in social media as such incident never happened in the state.

    ”We have not arrested any foreign national with helicopter distributing weapons to bandits in our area of supervision.”.

    He called on members of the general public to disregard such reports and support the police with the required information that could aid in apprehending men of the underworld in the state.

    ”All we require from good samaritans is vital information on the movement of bad characters in their midst, especially those at rural areas to tackle the menace of kidnapping, banditry, and cattle rustling”, he urged.

    The commissioner said that the police would remain resolute and focused in “exterminating enemies of our collective security.”

    Kuryas, urged law-abiding citizens to be vigilant and promptly report all suspicious characters to security agencies nearest to them.

    He assured residents of the state of confidentiality of all sources of information.

  • We’re dealing with terrorists, bandits in language they will understand -Buhari

    We’re dealing with terrorists, bandits in language they will understand -Buhari

     

    …vows to hunt them down individually

    President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, declared that security forces have ramped up combat against bandits and terrorists who have held Nigerians hostage recently.

    “We have directed the military to crush those terrorising our citizens, peace and security is gradually being restored to the country,” the president said.

    In the past couple of days, you must have heard about the number of terrorists neutralised by the military, and number of hostages freed,” Mr Buhari added at the Citizens Summit for National Integration, Peace and Security on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The summit was convened by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and Partners, with the theme,” Reopen Conversation, Rebuild Trust.”

    “Peace and security will return to our country, and our unity will be strengthened.

    The president said that these efforts will not stop, or reduce, adding ”We must take the fight to the terrorists and demonstrate that there is no hiding place for them within the borders of our country.

    “Each one of them will be hunted, and pursued and spoken to in the language that they understand,” he added.

    Mr Buhari, who commended gallant men and women in uniform, appealed to all compatriots to continue to support them in their onerous task of keeping the country safe.

    “We must also realise that security is the business of everyone, hence the tagline ‘if you see something, say something.’

    Terrorists or bandits are not spirits. They are human beings and they reside in ourc communities

    “They must all be exposed and crushed for peace to reign,” he said.

  • Bandits kidnap six wedding guests in Katsina

    Bandits kidnap six wedding guests in Katsina

    Bandits have abducted six wedding guests in Dutsinma town, headquarters of Dutsinma Local Government Area of Katsina State.

    The victims are said to be relatives of a governorship aspirant, Umar Tata, who contested in the recent primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “A woman, whose children were mostly kidnapped is the sister of the politician (Tata) and the way the attackers went straight to the house and kidnapped the women, was questionable,” a resident said.

    The resident, who pleaded anonymity, said the terrorists initially kidnapped nine people at Unguwar Kudu Quarters but three were later released.

    “First, they abandoned an elderly woman who could not trek and a kid who was continuously crying.

    “There was a time the bandits came to Dutsinma for four consecutive days and kidnapped people.

    Also Read

    Residents flee as bandits sack 8 villages in Kebbi State

    “The situation has become worse and we are disturbed,” the resident lamented.

    Police spokesman, SP Gambo Isah, could not confirm the incident at the time of filing this report.

    He said he had yet to be briefed on the incident.

  • Residents flee as bandits sack 8 villages in Kebbi State

    Residents flee as bandits sack 8 villages in Kebbi State

    No fewer than eight villages in Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi State have been deserted due to attacks by bandits.

    The vilages are Zagi, Tungar Rafi, Tungar Tudu, Keke, Kwaido, Sabongarin Kwaido, Tungar Chichira and Tattazai.

    Residents of the villages moved out in droves after bandits attacked Zagi on Wednesday night.

    The attack was said to have left three people dead, many injured and 15 others abducted.

    The Village Head of Zagi, Malam Muhammadu Lawali-Sule said the bandits stormed the village at about midnight.

    He said that the villagers collectively resisted the attackers but were overpowered by the bandits.

    The village head said those injured in the attack were in hospital and responding to treatment.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Alhaji Ahmed Magaji-Kontagora, said additional security personnel had been mobilised to the area to support those already on ground.

    He assured that the bandits had been blocked by troops and prevented from gaining access to anywhere.

    Magaji-Kontagora advised the fleeing residents to go back to their respective villages and continue with their normal businesses.

    He assured that their lives and property would be protected.

    The commissioner of police appealed to the general public to be vigilant and security conscious, and to support security agencies with credible intelligence to aid in tackling insecurity.

    When contacted on phone, the Chairman, Augie Local Government Area, Alhaji Lawal Muhammad said security had been beefed up around the villages and other areas.

    He added that an Internally Displaced Persons camp had been established in the area.

    “We must commend the security agencies in the state for deploying security personnel to avert the reoccurrence of the incident.

    “The security agencies have promptly responded by deploying more personnel and normalcy has now returned to the area.

    “I want to call on the people deserting their community to be patient and calm.

    “An Internally Displaced Persons camp has been established in a school in the area.

    “The government and security agencies are doing their utmost best as they are aware of their plight and will do everything humanly possible to protect their lives and property,” the chairman said.

  • Fear of bandits: After losing 5 students Greenfield University relocates

    Fear of bandits: After losing 5 students Greenfield University relocates

    Greenfield University, Kaduna has relocated to its city campus inside Kaduna metropolis after bandits attacked the school’s permanent site along Kaduna-Abuja highway in April 2021.

    About 23 students and staff members were abducted during the attack while five of the students were killed in captivity.

    The university, Vice Chancellor, Professor Simon Daniel Katung during the 4th matriculation of the school warned students against posting any form of information about the institution on social media.

    He told the students to be security conscious and avoid late return to the hostel.

    He assured the parents that the university is committed to producing graduates that will compete favourably with their peers globally.
    The vice chancellor warned that the university would not tolerate cultism, adding that any student caught in the act would be summarily expelled from the institution.

    “The university will continue to work round the clock to ensure the security of lives and property of our students. However, students are expected to be security conscious throughout their stay in the university.

    “Students are advised to always be in the hostel early, because staying out late would not be condoned by the security personnel,” he said.

    He said the use of social media is in vogue in the society today, advising them to use it for only positive things that will add value to the university.

    According to him, no student is permitted to publish anything concerning the university without the written permission of the vice chancellor through the Dean of Student Affairs.
    He said students are expected to exhibit high sense of discipline while in the university.

  • Stop paying bandits ransom in South-East – Kanu to politicians

    Stop paying bandits ransom in South-East – Kanu to politicians

    A brother of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Kanunta Kanu has urged politicians to stop bandits ransom to free abductees in the Southeast.

    In a tweet, Kanu said the Southeast must be free from Fulani kidnappers.

    He lamented that bandits have been paid millions and the Eastern Security Network, ESN, has been victimized.

    According to Kanu: “Eastern Region MUST be free from the hands of Fulani kidnappers.

    “The governors, politicians, and elites should stop promoting banditry in SE by paying ransom to free abductees.

    “You pay bandits millions, victimises #ESN & encourage the killings of #Biafrans by @HQNigerianArmy”.

  • Conversation Nigeriana [3] – By Hope Eghagha

    Conversation Nigeriana [3] – By Hope Eghagha

    Orezi: The come has come to become the come in the land of a no-coming government, a government where the President never comes through when trouble come to the land!

    Ahmadu: What do you mean my sweet sister? Is somebody missing in Action?

    Bolaji: You mean its something like Waiting for Godot?

    Emeka: Alhaji, this one that you are calling Orezi sweet sister this morning. I hope you do not have plans for ze ozer room!

    Orezi: Do you mind, Emeka!

    Emeka: Is love in the air? Who is the Romeo?

    Orezi:  Do you mind! There is no Juliet here. I don’t believe in dying for love in a foolish way and in a foolish country. All I am saying is that the come has become the come before our very eyes and we can only gnash our teeth in infant gums!

    Bolaji: Hmmm! You are speaking in parables like an old woman!

    Ahmadu: Me o! I am entitled to four, live, breeding hajiyas! When the time to come and become the come I shall become!

    Orezi: Alhaji, do you mind?

    Emeka: She has caught a wealthy politician boyfriend!

    Orezi: I’m in a serious mood young man; the current situation does not encourage romance. New boyfriend? That’s not a concern now. The come has become the come in the polity. Ordinary bandits have threatened to kidnap our president, a retired Army General and a state governor!

    Emeka: Anybody can issue a threat na; it means nothing. It doesn’t matter.

    Ahmadu: But it’s not the first time. Bandits almost killed Governor Ortom a year or two ago when they opened fire on his convoy!

    Orezi: You are right! They openly challenged him after he banned open grazing in his State. Little wonder Ortom has set up his own army in Benue State. A man must be a man!

    Emeka: Was Governor Zulum not targeted in the past? In fact, he has escaped assassination twice in the hands of non-state actors.  So, anyone can threaten…

    Bolaji: That’s not true; just threaten the president now especially as your name is Emeka whether Tucano jets will not be sent to decimate your hometown and desecrate the graves of your ancestors!

    Orezi: You are correct. The Nigeria Army was sent to attack IPOB after it was declared an illegal organization. They did Operation Crocodile Dance to kill unarmed men and women in the southeast! Now that the real threat from the real terrorists our soldiers are caught napping!

    Emeka: There is a special mindset in this government, indeed in the country that supports anything anti-Igbo! For example, see the vicious campaign against Peter Obi by the agents of the major political gladiators. Ethnic profiling has become second nature in our land!

    Ahmadu: True, ethnic profiling has resulted in the hang-the-Fulani sentiment in the land. All bandits are supposedly Fulani. Yet the Fulani himself is under siege!

    Orezi: Alhaji, please don’t go that route. Don’t go there. The Fulani merchants of death need to be called out. There is an official lack of will to do right by the Nigerian people! But you can see that it has backfired against the Nigerian government. Nigeria is almost a failed state. Do you sincerely believe that our Army is incapable of dealing with the terrorists if given the orders?

    Bolaji: Who is in charge of Nigeria?

    Orezi: God is in charge!

    Bolaji: Which God? The God I know has given up on us on account of our foolishness! How do you account for the fall of the naira?

    Emeka: Why won’t the naira crash when the Finance Minister and governor of the CBN are deeply enmeshed in politics? Should Emefiele not have been fired after the fiasco of the APC convention? Or should he not have resigned?

    Ahmadu: Nobody resigns in Nigeria! The President should have resigned in his first term when the effects of his ailment became glaring. The economy has become sick like the Number One Citizen!

    Orezi: The country is sick too.

    Ahmadu: Even the north is fed up with Bubu. Apart from Arewa Consultative Forum asking him to resign, did you read the story of the young man in Kano who climbed on to a high wall and threatened that he would remain up there until the president resigned? Things are happening even among the ordinary people!

    Bolaji: Let us start thinking of options to save the country. I see Peter Obi as an option. In fact, he is the only option right now. The old, grizzled politicians cannot save themselves let alone save Nigeria!

    Ahmadu: The Peter Obi/Ahmed Datti pair should be given a chance.

    Orezi: Give them a chance? They should fight for power. Right now, they are a social media powerhouse. The reality on the ground is different.

    Bolaji: It is romantic to think Peter Obi can win the presidential elections in the current atmosphere in the country. Much as I believe that we need a third force I have my doubts about Peter Obi winning the elections. Does he have the reach-out capacity? Are his followers ready to vote? Are they not social media persons? Can he secure enough votes in the core north? Can he deliver on the southeast by 70 percent? How can he govern the country even if he wins? There are no polling centres on social media!

    Ahmadu: There you are wrong. Dead wrong! The Peter Obi Movement has caught the imagination of Nigerians. Did you see the million-man march in Nasarawa State? It will soon be replicated in Sokoto and Kano. We in the north are fed up with the mainstream politicians. We suffer the most. Buhari is from the north and he has been president for seven years; what do we have to show for it? We are worse off. Jonathan showed more compassion. He showed care. He opened Alimajiri schools. What has this man done/ appointed his cronies to positions of influence and so people are angry with the north. Which north? The ruling class, my brother, the ruling class. What can Atiku do differently? Can Tinubu change anything? Are they not part of the rot in the system?

    Orezi: This is a full declaration!

    Emeka: Yes o! The Ahmadu Declaration.

    Bolaji: The truth is that no one is certain who the victor will be. The climate is hazy. Things could happen before February 2023 that could change the entire landscape. So, let us be hopeful.

    Ahmadu: True; we are not certain who the victor will be. But we are certain about who will best do the job: its an outsider who is ready to do things differently.

    Orezi: Is there any outsider among the three?

    Ahmadu: That na JAMB question!

  • Insecurity: Bandits storm Taraba villages, Kill 16 persons, abduct several others

    Insecurity: Bandits storm Taraba villages, Kill 16 persons, abduct several others

    No fewer than sixteen persons have been killed while several other persons were abducted by Armed bandits in different communities in Taraba State.

    It was gathered that the bandits stormed the communities in their numbers at the weekend and whisked away several persons.

    The communities invaded by the attackers are Gidado and Garinkuka villages in the Gunduma district of Mutum-Biyu chiefdom in the Gassol Local Government Area.

    An eyewitness, Abdullahi Chul, said that the attackers who invaded the communities gained access to them using motorbikes.

    He said the attackers, on arriving in the communities, were shooting sporadically, adding that several other persons escaped with gunshot injuries.

    The same scenario played out two weeks ago when bandits stormed some villages and killed a truck driver whilst also abducting many travellers.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Usman, admitted that there was an attack on the council but assured that the police is on top of the situation.

     

  • Kaduna Govt douses heightened fear in Zaria

    Kaduna Govt douses heightened fear in Zaria

    The Kaduna State Government has said there is no presence of hundreds of bandits at Dumbi and Jaji along the route to Zaria that stops citizens from entering or exiting the metropolitan northern Nigeria city.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the Kaduna State Government made this known, dousing heightened in Zaria in a statement released on Wednesday by Samuel Aruwan, the State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs.

    A message had been circulating widely via the WhatsApp social messaging app that advise citizens not to enter or exit Zaria, alleging the presence of hundreds of bandits at Dumbi and Jaji along the route to Zaria.

    “The Kaduna State Government wishes to firmly debunk that message and urges citizens to disregard it completely. It is an obvious attempt to spread panic.

    “The Kaduna State Government assures all citizens and travellers that the Kaduna-Zaria route is safe for travel. Residents are urged to go about their normal activities and pay no attention to the false report,” the State Government clarified.

     

  • Bandits kill three, abduct scores in Bali LGA of Taraba state

    Bandits kill three, abduct scores in Bali LGA of Taraba state

    Three people have been killed and several others abducted by Bandits in Taraba state.

    The attack happened on Sunday Night in Bali town, the headquarters of Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State.

    Several sources in Bali told news correspondent on the phone that the attackers who rode on motorcycles attacked and killed a personnel of Taraba Marshall at a checkpoint near General Hospital before proceeding to individual houses to kill and abduct people.

    The Tiv central leader and Chief of Tiv in Bali, Zaki David Gbaa (Ter Tiv Bali II) told our correspondent that two of his subjects were killed and scores, mostly women, were abducted in the attack.

    “The attackers invaded the town at about 11: pm. Two of my subjects were killed in the attack, and two others who were badly injured are receiving treatment in the hospital.

    “Many people, especially women, were abducted. It’s a terrible situation and I want to call on the government and security agencies to sit up and ensure the protection of the lives and property of citizens.

    “For over four hours, the bandits held the town shooting sporadically and there was no response from security agencies. People are losing hope of the government’s ability to protect them and I think the bandits are no more than our security agencies,” he said.

    This is even as the traditional ruler called on the government to support the injured who are receiving treatment in hospitals.

    The attack came barely three days after bandits blocked the Mutum-Biyu- Garba Chede road killing a driver and abducting passengers in the neighbouring Gassol Local Government area of the State.

    Efforts to get the Police to react to the attack failed as the Taraba State Police Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Usman,did not pick up calls made to his line.

    But a police officer in the Taraba State Police Command told our correspondent that the PPRO was attending a security briefing.