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Tag: kaduna bandits

  • Kaduna Catholic priest killed by terrorists buried without corpse (PHOTO)

    A 48-year-old Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Joseph Bako Aketeh, who died in his abductor’s custody in Kaduna state has been laid to rest without his corpse on Tuesday, June 7.

     

    The funeral mass was held at St. John’s Catholic Church Kudenda in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, where he was the parish priest.

     

    During the burial, the Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, said he has never performed a funeral mass without a corpse before.

     

    The Catholic Archbishop expressed hope that they hoped to see the bones of Reverend Father Aketeh one day.

     

    He said: “This is the first time I am presiding over a funeral mass without the corpse, we hope that one day we would be able to see even if it is his bones.

     

    “Nigerians are worn out due to weeping, our eyes could no longer produce tears. Bandits are terrorising with impunity. Does our government really care about our pains? Something is happening, they have failed us.

     

    “Nigeria is a country where citizens are treated unequally because of religion and ethnicity. Vices has become a value in our country.”

     

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) recalls that the abducted Catholic Priest died in the hands of his abductors eight weeks after he was kidnapped.

     

    Rev Fr. Joseph was abducted by gunmen from his residence in Kudenda community of Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, on March 8, 2022.

     

    The Catholic priest was kidnapped along with his brother, Sunday Bako, on March 8 when bandits invaded the parish and killed one security guard.

     

    Although it was not immediately confirmed whether ransom was demanded and paid before he was killed.

     

    He was said to have died in the terrorist’s den between April 18 and 19, but his death was not confirmed until Wednesday, May 11.

     

    His death was announced by the Chancellor, Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna, Rev Fr. Christian Okewu Emanuel, who said he was ill before the abduction and his abductors did not allow him to go with his drugs, adding that. Bako died between April 18 and 20, 2022.

     

    He said Fr. Joseph, 48 was kidnapped from his residence, in St John Catholic Church Kudenda, where he was serving as Parish Priest, on the 8th March, 2022.

     

    “His own brother was killed there in his presence and after his brother was killed his condition worsened and he died,” he said.

     

    He further added that the Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, has communicated his deepest sympathies to Fr. Bako’s immediate family and the entire Catholic Community of St John Kudenda; and assured them of his fraternal closeness and prayers.

     

    See photos from the funeral below:

    CatholicCatholic

  • KADUNA TRAIN ATTACK: Bandits demand release of 16 top commanders and sponsors in government custody for 100 passengers abducted

    KADUNA TRAIN ATTACK: Bandits demand release of 16 top commanders and sponsors in government custody for 100 passengers abducted

    The bandits, who attacked the Kaduna-Abuja train, have said they would release the over 100 individuals abducted from the derailed train on March 28, if 16 top commanders and sponsors in government custody are released.

     

    Dependable security sources said the bandits carried out the violent attack on the train just to abduct passengers who could be used to bargain for the release of their commanders and sponsors in detention.

     

    It was that gathered on Monday that the arrest of the suspects had severely hampered the deadly activities of the bandits who are collaborating with the Boko Haram terrorist group to unleash malevolent attacks across the country.

     

    The terrorists had on March 28 at Katari, Kaduna State, attacked the train which was heading for Kaduna from Kaduna.

    After the attack, security agencies reported that eight bodies were recovered from the attack scene and 26 persons were injured

     

    The Nigerian Railway Corporation said it was unable to establish contact with 163 passengers and seven crew members who boarded the train.

     

    On Monday, multiple sources explained that the bandits in their ongoing negotiations with the Federal Government were demanding prisoners’ exchange.

     

    The gang had last week released one of their hostages, the Managing Director, Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan, due to his age. In a video showing the victim in their midst, the gunmen said the government knew what they wanted and threatened to kill the remaining hostages if their demands were not met.

     

    On Sunday, the terrorists released another video where some of the captives were seen calling on the government to come to their rescue.

     

    But a senior official said the terrorists were being hampered by the arrest of their top commanders, noting that their sources of funding had been greatly impacted by the arrest of their sponsors.

     

    He stated, “The bandits have made contact (with the government) but the issue now involves the Interpol because they have international collaborators. Security operatives are working to identify their connection to Boko Haram.

     

    “The bandits are after their people who are in custody. They are demanding the release of 16 sponsors and commanders in exchange for the abducted train passengers. That’s why they said in a video that the government knows what they want.”

     

    “We arrested some of their commanders and those sponsoring them in Dubai and Nigeria. We have about 16 commanders and sponsors in custody, so they are demanding their release because their sources of funding are declining. I hope the authorities would not release the commanders and sponsors to them because we are getting information on the bandits from the suspects,” the source noted.

     

    Commenting on the group’s threats to kill the hostages, the security officer argued that such an action would not give the bandits what they were demanding from the government.

     

    “If they kill their hostages, they would not achieve what they are looking for. The fact is that they are being starved of funds and that is why they are making the threat and it is also the reason for the attack on the train. They attacked the train just to get government attention and negotiate the release of their commanders and sponsors,” he stated.

     

    An intelligence official also corroborated the report that the bandits were demanding the release of commanders and ransom, noting that the marauders had been cooperating with Boko Haram fighters in their attacks in Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara, Katsina and others.

     

    The official noted, “What they want is prisoners exchange and money. It is a lie that they don’t want money; they want both money and prisoners exchange. They would release the passengers in exchange for many of their members in custody. They are collaborating with Boko Haram to pool resources together and constitute a bigger security threat to the country.”

     

    Efforts to get the reaction of the Military were not successful. As calls to the number of the Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Benard Onyeuko, indicated it was not reachable.

     

    He has yet to respond to the message sent to him on the matter. However, a military source said the military does not negotiate with bandits.

     

    The source said, “It is not our duty to negotiate with the bandits or any other criminal elements. Ours is to fulfill our constitutional duties which we have been doing. “

     

    Earlier, the gunmen that attacked the train had released a video showing about two dozen of the hostages they kidnapped in the assault.

     

    The images were the first indicator of how many passengers may have been abducted in the brazen raid, in which eight people were killed.

     

    In the two-minute video, about 24 people are seen sitting in a forest area, including men and women. At least one man appears to be from South-East Asia while at least one another appears Caucasian.

     

    Behind them, a group of gunmen stood in a line.

     

    “We are the passengers who left Abuja for Kaduna on Monday on March 28, 2022. We were seized on our way,” one man said in Hausa language in the video.

     

    “Since then it is only us that knows the dire situation we are in, there are women and children, there are aged people with health challenges.”

  • Buhari orders NAF to bomb Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna bandits

    Buhari orders NAF to bomb Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna bandits

    The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has ordered the deployment of fighter jets against kidnappers, bandits and cattle rustlers said to be terrorising communities in Niger State.

    The communities are situated around the Dogon Gona forest, which serves as a hideout for the attackers.

    The forest stretches from Niger through Kaduna to Zamfara states, according to a State House statement by Buhari’s spokesman, Mr Garba Shehu, on Sunday.

    The Presidency observed that the attackers had claimed many lives, saying Buhari saw the development as “a disaster for the nation.”

    It added that the deployment of air power was to assist the police and troops to contain the bandits.

    “In line with this directive, the Nigerian Air Force is setting up refuelling facilities in Minna, Niger State, to support the aircraft operations, giving assurances that given the improved weather conditions, a major exercise to ‘visually acquire targets and launch attacks will soon follow,” it said.

    The Presidency stated further that the Niger State Police Command also supported the air power because of the difficult terrain of the affected areas that did not allow for easy access by ground operations.

    “The police command in Niger State has equally given assurances that the planned dedicated air raids to complement the police helicopter gun ship operations remain the best approach given the lack of motorised roads in the areas constantly under attack,” the statement added.