TheNewsGuru

Tag: Massacre

  • Bandits massacre 8,000 in Northwest – FG

    Bandits massacre 8,000 in Northwest – FG

    President Muhammadu Buhari has issued a marching order to security agencies to do whatever is necessary to put an end to banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and other related crimes bedeviling Katsina and the Northwest region

    The Minister for Interior, Ogbeni Rauuf Aregbesola, accompanied by the Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, made the disclosure at an emergency town hall meeting with stakeholders in Katsina which was organized as part of measures to end the spate of insecurity facing the state and the region

    While assuring the region of the determination of the Federal Government to bring its total brutal and ferocious might to bear on the enemies of peace in the area, the minister added that time has come to put an end to all forms of criminality.

    He said: “President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet were saddened with the wanton killings and destruction of lives and property being carried out by the bandits.

    “The marauding bandits terrorizing the North-West zone of the country have massacred over 8,000 persons in Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto and Niger states.

    “Their most threatening attack was on April 18, 2020 on Katsina villages during which 47 people were killed. These criminals attack mostly people in the rural areas; kill, steal and rape without mercy, they are practically destroying the economy of rural areas and the food supply chain of the country”.

    He also declared that the charge received from the President is twofold; first is to put an end to the banditry group, while the second is to work with the government and people of the state to restore normal life, especially to the people in the rural areas and the farming community.

    Also speaking, the Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, admitted that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is bedeviled with unprofessional conducts that are not in line with democratic principles of governance.

    He noted that the stakeholders’ engagement is coming at a time when Police in this country is being faced with the challenge of unprofessional conducts that are not in tune with the principles of democratic governance

    Earlier, the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari said the state government had made frantic efforts in tackling security challenges in the state.

  • Herdsmen massacre 10 traditional rulers in Plateau

    Herdsmen massacre 10 traditional rulers in Plateau

    Suspected herdsmen have killed 10 traditional rulers in Plateau State, the Senate have said during plenary.

    In view of this, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, urged the Inspector General of Police, Mohammad Adamu, to as a matter of urgency, deploy security for the protection of traditional rulers in Plateau State.

    The Senate President made the call on Tuesday during plenary sequel to a point of order raised by Istifanus Gyang (PDP – Plateau North).

    Coming under order 43, the lawmaker lamented the killing of over ten traditional rulers across the state by suspected killer herdsmen.

    He said, “the latest is the killing of Gwom Rwei of Foron, His Royal Highness, Da Bulus Chuwang Jang, who was assassinated at his palace last week, and the burial is due for this Friday.

    “Mr. President, this trend is quite disturbing, because not less than ten other traditional rulers have unfortunately suffered death through the same circumstances.

    “This development calls for the need for security to be tightened around our traditional rulers, to ensure that the increasing threat to their safety is averted.

    “It is also unfortunate that just last week, five of our youths who were resting and having an evening out were brutally assassinated in Vom district, Jos South Local Government Area. All of these developments are providing increasing insecurity in my constituency.

    “Plateau State and my constituency which had experienced the return of peace is suddenly again being visited with these very ugly attacks. And of course, it is common knowledge that the attackers are suspected to be killer herdsmen.

    “This is very disturbing in a nation where we need to be our brother’s keeper,” Gyang said.

    In his remark, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who condoled with the Government and people of Plateau State, called on security agencies in the country to provide security for traditional rulers as well as the people of Plateau State.

    “Let me on behalf of the Senate send our condolences to the Government and people of Plateau State, particularly Plateau North Senatorial district, where all of these incidents took place.

    “We pray that the security agencies should provide sufficient security around traditional rulers, as well as for everybody.

    “The situation requires that we continue to work together with the Executive arm of Government until we find enduring solutions to the security challenges which the country faces,” Lawan said.

  • 7 killed, 4 injured iñ ‘massacre’ in south-western Colombia

    7 killed, 4 injured iñ ‘massacre’ in south-western Colombia

    Seven people were killed and four others injured in an attack in south-western Colombia on Sunday, local media reported.

    “Seven young people … were massacred with grenades and gunshots,” Senator Temistocles Ortega told broadcaster Caracol.

    The attack happened in Munchique, in the south-western state of Cauca.

    “You have no alternatives in Cauca,” Ortega said, adding that those who live there are “exposed to criminals of all types.”

    Army spokesman Marco Vinicio Mayorga told the broadcaster that the crime was “preliminarily attributed” to the Jaime Martinez column, which emerged from the 2016 demobilisation of the guerrilla movement FARC and operates in the area.

    The country’s ombudsman for human rights condemned the Cauca events on Twitter, saying: “We urgently need to eradicate the … violence which affect rights and constantly endanger the lives of Colombians.”

    More than 240 people have died in 60 massacres – defined as killings of at least three people – in the country so far this year, according to the NGO Indepaz, which monitors the violence.

    According to the NGO, the Munchique attack was the eleventh this month alone. (

  • Survivor narrates how Boko Haram terrorists disguise as preachers, massacre 81 villagers in Borno

    A survivor of the massacre by Boko Haram terrorists of 81 villagers of Faduma Kolomdi, Gubio in Borno State, has narrated how it happened.

    Modu Gana said that the attackers stormed the village on Tuesday in three Hilux vans and motorcycles, telling them that they came to preach the word of God to the people.

    “They asked us to remove all our charms, cutlasses, bows and arrows, as well as other spiritual protection for special prayers.

    “Immediately we did that, they began shooting at us from different directions.“Many people escaped with bullet wounds, while seven others, including our village head, were abducted by the terrorists,” he said.

    Gana said that more than 2,400 livestock had been rustled by the terrorists.

    He also told Governor Babagana Zulum that the community was attacked three times by the terrorists within the last one month.

    Zulum visited the village on Wednesday and confirmed the killing of 81 people.

    He said that 13 persons were injured while fleeing the attack, while seven others sustained various degrees of injury.

    The governor further explained that 49 of the deceased had already been buried before his arrival, while 32 bodies of the victims had been taken away by their families.

    Zulum recalled that the terrorists, who attacked Gajiram LGA some months ago, were the same ones who carried out the attack; describing it as “very unfortunate”.

    The Governor said that the only positive option to end the massacre on the vulnerable communities was to dislodge the terrorists in their strong hold, in the shores of Lake Chad.

    “We have been advocating for this for a very long time. The Tumbus and other shores of Lake Chad must be cleared completely, then people will get rest of mind. Anything less than this is a temporary measure.

    “That requires a lot of support from the Federal Government such as blocking of the leakage from our neighbouring countries by the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF),” he said.

    Zulum said that the state government on its part, would adopt measures to protect the people from further attacks, including merging smaller communities with larger ones, where they could be provided with effective security.

    “This village from Gubio town is over 35 kilometers. Due to the nature of the vast land, the insurgents can easily sneak into the community to cause havoc. The military can come here and relocate them, but at the end, they may come back,” he said.

    A mass burial was conducted for the deceased.

    Five of the victims, who were severely injured, were taken to the Maiduguri Specialist Hospital for treatment by the state government.

  • Jihadists raid village, massacre 15

    Jihadists raid village, massacre 15

    About 20 armed Jihadists have raided the village of Diblou in Burkina Faso’s restive north, killing 15 people, plundering and burning shops and motorbikes, a regional governor said Saturday.
    The raid took place on the night of Thursday to Friday, said a security source who put the death toll at 14.
    But a statement by the governor of the Centre-Nord region, Casimir Segueda, said that 15 people were killed, and the village’s market torched.
    A local resident said that “the terrorists burnt shops and motorcycles”.
    “Almost the entire market was looted,” the resident added.
    The poor Sahel state has been battling a rising wave of jihadist attacks over the last four years which began in the north but have since spread to the east, near the border with Togo and Benin.
    Most attacks in the former French colony are attributed to the jihadist group Ansarul Islam, which emerged near the Mali border in December 2016, and to the JNIM (Group to Support Islam and Muslims), which has sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
    Those groups are believed to be responsible for around 500 deaths since 2015. The capital Ouagadougou has been attacked three times.

  • Buhari vows to respond 'fiercely' to massacre of 37 people by bandits in Sokoto

    President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to respond fiercely to the killing of 37 innocent people by bandits in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
    He described the the bandits as brutal and remorseless enemies of humanity, while condemning the killing and commiserating with families of the victims.
    In a statement by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday, the president commiserated with the victims of the unfortunate attacks, the government and people of Sokoto state.
    “This frequent and large scale killings of poor villagers by gangs of mass murderers must be met with the fiercest force the government can mobilise,” Shehu quoted the president as saying.
    The presidential spokesman announced that troops had been deployed to the affected areas and aerial security measures put in place.
    “The Police commissioner as well as the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has since visited the affected local government area, Goronyo.
    “The Presidency is consulting with states rocked by this tit-for-tat violent attacks with a view to complementing the security measures being put in place by getting the communities to dialogue with one another.
    ‘‘The results we are getting from Zamfara State where this sort of engagement is ongoing at the instance of the local authorities working with the police and other security agencies are very encouraging.
    ‘‘Other states in the federation where there are similar security challenges are encouraged to emulate Zamfara in the hope that the solution to the problems will be found,” the spokesman said.
    According to him, the Buhari administration would continue to encourage dialogue and disarmament of communities and bandits.
    He, however, warned that the government would not tolerate ”any situation where the spirit of ceasefire is made a mockery of by continued violence against innocent people”.

  • Untold tales of the 2018 Plateau bloodbath…and after

    Untold tales of the 2018 Plateau bloodbath…and after

    Recall Saturday, June, 23; 2018; 15 Berom communities came under heavy attack by suspected killer herdsmen, leaving on its trail over 200 deaths and a colossal humanitarian and environmental crisis.

    Then followed several misleading reports on the incident – the Nigeria police and community leaders gave different figures on the death toll; illustrative photos used by several media organisations, bloggers to depict the crisis were mostly false.

    In fact, a front line online news site had to sack one of its staffers over a false story credited to Miyetti Allah on the mayhem in Plateau.

    Amid the several misleading reports on the mass murder, which further heightened the tension in the country, Plateau State Governor, Solomon Lalong also imposed a dusk to dawn curfew in the affected local government council to avert further bloodshed while the federal government had to scale up military presence in the “war zone”.

    Stories that came from the area were scaring. For one, the zone had become highly militarised and at the same time deserted by the inhabitants who could not be sure what next would happen. Fear was visible.

    Despite the precarious situation, TheNewsGuru’s youthful Adebayo Animasaun, would not be deterred by the several gory tales from ‘Gashish’. Armed with a good knowledge of the terrain, having had an NYSC tenure there, he left his comfort zone in Lagos for the troubled Plateau, with the mission to thoroughly investigate some of the reports on the gruesome killings, especially as regards thoughts of victims; gathering precise visual footage of the incident; evaluating the overall impact the mayhem had on the people and also reflect on the steps taken by the state government in managing the crisis. And ye, tell how the legendary temperate Plateau has become volatile.

    After spending seven days [23rd-30th July, 2018] as an undercover reporter in one of the deadliest zones, Gashish District in Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area, Animasaun was able to chronicle the footprints of untold tales of the bloodbath in Plateau. It was in Gashish, that the highest death record was taken during the herdsmen attack on the 23rd and 24th of June, 2018.

    During his stay, he found and interacted with the victims to assess their loss; spent hours in different Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs camps, to evaluate government’s intervention and also visited some of the perilous villages – burnt buildings of what used to be homes to many affected families. He also engaged some of the clergymen in the community, who revealed to TNG that the economic activities have been paralysed.

    What TheNewsGuru, TNG, has packaged here is a compendium for the government, NGOs, other international organisations; aid workers and the globally concerned audience on the killings and crisis in Plateau.

    The reports will be published on TNG website, www.thenewsguru.ng in five series between Sunday, 13th through Friday 15th, 2018.

     

  • Massacre: Again, Benue to give mass burial to 24 victims

    Governor Samuel Ortom has directed that the 24 persons killed on Monday at Omusu Edimoga be given mass burial next Friday.

    According to his media adviser, Tahav Agerzua, the governor ordered that the victims of the herdsmen attacks be buried Friday

    He said, “Governor directed that arrangement be made for mass burial by next Friday.”

     

    Details later…

  • Florida school massacre survivors push lawmakers to ban gun

    Dozens of teenaged survivors of the second deadliest public school shooting in U.S. history on Wednesday marched on Florida’s capital to ask lawmakers to ban sales of assault rifles.

    The teenagers said such rifles that should be banned include the type used in killing the 17 students and educators on Feb. 14.

    Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, became the latest school targeted by a gunman using a semi-automatic AR-15 assault rifle, which heated up the nation’s long-running debate about gun rights and public safety.

    Dressed in jeans and T-shirts and carrying signs with the slogan “#Neveragain,” survivors of the Feb. 14 mass shooting met with lawmakers in Tallahassee to ask for stricter controls on gun sales.

    Investigators said the assault was carried out by 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz, who purchased an AR-15 nearly a year ago.

    Police have charged Cruz, who had been kicked out of Douglas for disciplinary problems, with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

    “We want to see some common sense gun laws so this will never happen again,” Rachel Padnis, a 16-year-old sophomore from the school near Fort Lauderdale said.

    She and classmates said they were dismayed but undeterred by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature’s Tuesday rebuff of a bid to bring up a bill to block sales of assault rifles.

    President Donald Trump, a strong supporter of gun rights, was due to meet with parents, students and teachers who have been victims of gun violence, including those affected by the Valentine’s Day shooting in Florida.

    The White House meeting comes a day after Trump said his administration would take steps to ban bump stocks, an accessory that enables a rifle to shoot hundreds of rounds a minute.

    A spokeswoman said the administration was open to the idea of setting national age limits on sales of assault rifles.

    Florida state Senator Bill Galvan, slated to be the upper chamber’s next president, has called for a bill to raise the legal age for purchasing assault rifles from 18 to 21, the same as it is for handguns.

    At the Florida capital in Tallahassee, dozens of students packed into a meeting room and peppered Senate President Joe Negron, a Republican, with questions about why individuals should have continued access to assault rifles.

    Negron declined to say whether he would support any specific gun control measures, saying, “That’s an issue we’re going to look at as we work to develop legislation.”

    Trump generally favours a Senate bill on background checks, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday.

    Calls for national student walk-outs and marches in the coming months have gained steam on social media, including the “March for Our Lives” on March 24 in Washington, spearheaded by Douglas students.

    Gun violence on public school and college campuses has become so commonplace in the United States in the last several years that administrators regularly stage drills to train students and staff in the event of a mass shooting.

     

  • Benue massacre: Ortom appears before senate over herdsmen, farmers clashes

    Governor Samuel Ortom is currently meeting with the Senate in the ongoing probe by the upper chamber of the National Assembly into the killings by herdsmen in Benue State.

    The governor is appearing before the joint Senate Committee on Police Affairs; and National Security and Intelligence, especially on his indictment by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, over his alleged culpability in the security crisis in the state.

    The meeting is ongoing behind closed doors.

     

    Details later…