TheNewsGuru

Tag: Mosque

  • 49 killed, 20 injured as gunman opens fire on Mosque during prayers

    49 killed, 20 injured as gunman opens fire on Mosque during prayers

    A gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 20 during Friday prayers at two New Zealand mosques in the country’s worst ever mass shooting which Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, condemned as terrorism.

    A gunman broadcast live footage on Facebook of the attack on one mosque in the city of Christchurch, mirroring the carnage played out in video games, after publishing a “manifesto” in which he denounced immigrants.

    New Zealand was placed on its highest security threat level, Mr Ardern said.

    It added that four people in police custody, three men and one woman, held extremist views but had not been on any police watch lists.

    The visiting Bangladesh cricket team was arriving for prayers at one of the mosques when the shooting started but all members were safe, a team coach said.

    Police Commissioner, Mike Bush said 49 people had been killed at two mosques and one man in his late 20s charged with murder.

    “It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack,” Mr Ardern said.

    The video footage widely circulated on social media, apparently taken by a gunman and posted online live as the attack unfolded, showed him driving to one mosque, entering it and shooting randomly at people inside.

    Worshippers, possibly dead or wounded, lay huddled on the floor, the video showed. Reuters was unable to confirm the authenticity of the footage.

    One man who said he was at the Al-Noor mosque told media the gunman was white, blond and wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest.

    The man burst into the mosque as worshippers were kneeling for prayers.

    “He had a big gun … he came and started shooting everyone in the mosque, everywhere,” said the man, Ahmad Al-Mahmoud.

    He said that he and others escaped by breaking through a glass door.

    All mosques in New Zealand had been asked to shut their doors, police said.

    The killings were condemned by political and Islamic leaders across Asia.

    “Indonesia strongly condemns this shooting act, especially at a place of worship while a Friday prayer was ongoing,” Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, said in a statement.

    She was earlier cited by media as saying six Indonesians had been inside one mosque when the attack occurred, with three managing to escape and three unaccounted for.

    Muslims account for just over one per cent of New Zealand’s population, a 2013 census showed.

    Before Friday, New Zealand’s worst mass shooting was in 1990 when a gun-mad loner killed 13 men, women and children in a 24-hour rampage in the tiny seaside village of Aramoana.

    He was killed by police.

  • Confusion as DPO allegedly leads team to mosque in Lagos, arrest worshipers, passersby

    There was confusion at the Ifako Ijaiye area of Lagos State on Wednesday as a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the Pen Cinema Police Division, H.E. Nwabuisi, allegedly lead a team to raid and extort innocent residents.

    Nwabuisi, a Superintendent of Police, was alleged to have led his men to Alimi Ogunyemi Street, in the Ifako Ijaiye area, where some Muslim faithfuls, who had just finished praying in a mosque, were allegedly rounded up around 8pm on Wednesday.

    The police team, which reportedly had a Black Maria and four police vans in its convoy, was alleged to have also raided clubs and picked up passersby in the area.

    Around 12am, the team was said to have taken all the suspects to the Pen Cinema Police Station, where about 37 arrested residents were forced to pay money for bail The Punch reports.

    One of the victims, Sheriff Aranjure, said the policemen called the victims out from the cell one by one, adding that they demanded N15,000 bribe from each person to release them.

    Sheriff said his elder brother, Ibrahim, bargained with the DPO through a police sergeant, adding that Ibrahim paid N30,000 for three arrested Muslims.

    He said, “Our mosque is in front of our house. We had just observed Ishai (8pm prayers) and were in front of the mosque when the policemen from the Pen Cinema Police Station appeared. They had a task force van, a Black Maria and four other vehicles.

    “Before they got to the house, they had arrested some people. When they got to the front of the mosque, they stopped a motorcycle rider and arrested him and his passenger.

    “The man that led the team was the DPO of the Pen Cinema Police Division. The name on his tag is H.E. Nwabuisi. He came to where we were and asked what we were doing outside. We told him that we were in front of our house and we had just finished praying in the mosque.

    “He ordered some of the policemen to take us into the Black Maria. We asked what we did wrong. When I tried to resist, the DPO dragged me by the shirt and tore my clothes. They took three of us into the Black Maria.”

    Sheriff said others taken with him were a 15-year-old boy, Ahmed Ogunyemi, who had been asked to buy drugs from a kiosk in front of the house, and one Isiaka Adams, who was said to be in his early 50s.

    He noted that the policemen visited a club on Emmanuel Olorunfemi Street and arrested some of the patrons.

    One Seyi was also reportedly picked in front of his house on Coker Street.

    “After they raided other places, we were taken to the Area G Command and put in a cell. They went out to conduct more raids. Around 15 minutes to 12am, they came back with new people. They put all of us in the Black Maria and took us to the Pen Cinema Police Station. We were about 37 people that they arrested. When we got to the station, they asked us to write our names. They started calling us out one by one, asking if we wanted to bail ourselves,” he added.

    Sheriff’s brother, Ibrahim, who allegedly paid N30,000 for the bail, said he was lucky to have escaped arrest.

    Ibrahim said despite his illness, he joined a tricycle to trail the policemen after his brother was arrested.

    “Aside from Sheriff, I was the one who sent the 15-year-old boy they arrested on an errand to buy drugs for me because I was ill. So, when I saw what had happened, I followed them in a tricycle. We trailed them as they went to Area G. But from my observation, it appeared the area commander did not know anything about the raid.

    “When they got to their station, I saw one of them, called Bigi, a police sergeant. He asked me what the problem was and I told him what had happened. He went to meet the DPO and negotiated on our behalf. They collected N30,000 for the three of them. Bigi said it was important that we secured their bail that night because they would take them to court the following day. For fear that our people could be arraigned for what they knew nothing about, we had to look for the money that night.

    “In my presence, he gave the DPO the money and they spoke briefly. The owner of the bar where some other people were arrested also paid some money to the policemen,” he added.

    The Ogun State indigene said he was ready to testify against the senior police officer, urging the authorities to call him to order.

    “The corruption at the station is at the highest level. The DPO always leads the raid and extortion. This is the fourth time I will see him do that. I can say it to his face. I do not fear him and I am ready to testify against him,” he added.

    Another victim, Adams, described the conduct of the DPO as unprofessional, saying the harrassment of the residents was unwarranted.

    The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, confirmed that there was a raid in the area, but denied that the DPO extorted money from those arrested.

    He said, “It is a blatant lie. There was indeed a raid on black spots in the area. This was after a tip-off that the Awawa Boys and some other cults planned to engage in a gang war. The DPO swung into action and a lot of the cult members were arrested. This is in keeping with our commitment to always keep Lagos residents safe and the state crime-free.

    “However, the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, has ordered an investigation into the allegation.”

     

  • BREAKING: Suicide bomber invade Borno Mosque, kills seven

    A male suicide bomber has killed seven worshipers during morning prayer in a Mosque on Monday in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno.

    Malam Ali Kolo, the Head of Vigilance Group in the area, disclosed this to newsmen in Borno.

    Kolo said seven other persons including a child, sustained injuries when the bomber detonated the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strapped to his body during the congregational prayer.

    He explained that the suicide bomber sneaked into the affected mosque at Mainari area of Konduga and carried out the attack.

    “It is not clear how the suicide bomber infiltrated the town and attacked the mosque.

    “The building collapsed during the explosion, and the victims were evacuated from the rubble,” he said.

    Alhaji Bello Dambatta, the Head of Rescue Team, Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), confirmed the attack.

    Dambatta said that the injured persons had been taken to the Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri, for treatment.

  • BREAKING: Many feared dead as suicide bomber invade mosque during prayers

    BREAKING: Many feared dead as suicide bomber invade mosque during prayers

    Reports reaching TheNewsGuru.com reports have it that a teenage boy just set off his suicide vest in a mosque in Mubi, Adamawa State.

    Many people were reported killed following the explosion.

    The explosion occurred at a mosque in Wuro-Burode near yan Gwajo part of Mini.

    The blast occurred Tuesday afternoon while worshippers were holding Zuhr (Afternoon ) prayer.

    While details of the blast are still sketchy, residents and local officials fear many people worshippers were killed.

    Confirming the incident, the chairman of Mubi North Local Government, Alhaji Musa Bello, said the blasts occurred around 1 30 pm.

    “All I can tell you for now is that I am on my way to the scene to help in evacuation of casualties. Nobody can tell you the number of dead and injured for now,” he said.

    The Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Emergency Agency, Mr Haruna Furo also confirmed the blast but said there was no details for now.

    A resident of Mubi, who simply identified as Buba, said the two explosions occurred in a mosque and a second hand clothes market.

    “The blasts occurred at the Gwonjo market and a mosque about 20 meters away,” Buba said.

    Details soon…

  • Court sentences London mosque attacker to 43-years in prison

    Court sentences London mosque attacker to 43-years in prison

    A London Woolwich Crown Court, on Friday, sentenced Darren Osborne to 43 years in prison for driving a van into pedestrians near a mosque in north London’s Finsbury Park.

    Osborne,48, killed a 51-year-old man Makram Ali and injured nine others in the late-night attack in June 2017.

    Osborne, from the Welsh capital of Cardiff, was convicted of terrorism-related murder and attempted murder, despite his denial of the charges.

    He drove into a crowd of worshippers in a van outside a mosque in the Finsbury Park area of London in June 19, 2017.

    The judge referred to his defence, that a man called Dave, was in fact driving the van, as “pathetic”.

    Osborne, from Cardiff, became radicalised over four weeks in 2017 after watching a television programme about a child sex ring scandal involving a gang of mainly Muslim men in northern England.

    Prosecutors said they were “clear throughout that this was a terrorist attack”.

    Unemployed “loner” Osborne had pleaded not guilty, telling London’s Woolwich Crown Court that a man called “Dave” was driving at the time.

    However, witnesses recalled Osborne saying: “I’ve done my job, you can kill me now” and “at least I had a proper go” to members of the public in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

    The jury of eight women and four men took one hour to convict the father-of-four.

  • Two dead, five injured in foiled suicide attack on Maiduguri mosque

    Two dead, five injured in foiled suicide attack on Maiduguri mosque

    The Borno Police Command in Maiduguri said on Saturday that two suspected female suicide bombers died when one them detonated the Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) on her.

    The Police said worshippers at Juddumari mosque in Maiduguri noticed the suspects and stopped them from attacking the worshippers in the mosque during the early morning prayer.

    Mr Victor Isuku, the spokesman of the command stated this in a statement in Maiduguri.

    He said ”at about 5.20a.m on Saturday, two suspected female suicide bombers with IED strapped to their bodies attempted to enter a mosque at Juddumari village, after Federal High court, Maiduguri.

    ”They were intercepted and prevented by the worshippers and in the process, one of them detonated her IED, killing both of them and injuring five others.

    ”The injured were rushed to a specialist hospital, while the remains of the suicide bombers had been evacuated by the officials of the State Emergency Management Agency.

    Malam Abduldulkadir Ibrahim, Information Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency in the North East, also said the response team of the agency helped in evacuating the bodies.

    ”Following an explosion around a mosque close to Federal high court Jiddari, the emergency response teams have evacuated the bodies of two female suicide bombers believed to have died in the incident.

    He said the injured were administered with first aid and taken to hospitals thereafter.

     

     

     

     

  • Mosques demolition: ‘Fayose, a Christian dictator, fanatic chief executive’ – MURIC

    Mosques demolition: ‘Fayose, a Christian dictator, fanatic chief executive’ – MURIC

    Sequel to his proposed demolition of some mosques in the state, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has described Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State as a ‘Christian dictator and fanatic chief executive’.

    MURIC also admonished its members in the state in visit Fayose in Kirikiri Prison when his tenure ends and is made to account for his ‘abuse of power while in office’.

     

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Ekiti Government had explained that the mosques were not in right locations and claimed that worshippers could contract cancer from the radioactive emission from the petrol stations around.

    But Ishaq Akintola, director of MURIC, in a statement faulted the reason, insisting that Fayose hated Muslims.

    “It is an act of aggression against the peace-loving and law-abiding Muslims of the state,” he said in a statement.

    “The state government’s excuse of exposure to cancer is lame, infantile, laughable and untenable. What of hundreds of petrol attendants who have been serving in petrol stations in Ekiti state since its inception on October 1 1996?

    “How many of them have had cases of cancer? How many petrol attendants in the whole of Nigeria have been exposed to radioactive emissions? Can the claim be certified by the World Health Organisation? Fayose’s public health adviser must be from hell!

    “Fayose’s power is ephemeral. He will soon become an ‘ex-this and ex-that’. We urge the Imams in Ekiti to magnanimously visit Fayose in Kirikiri after his tenure as governor when he eventually starts to account for his abuse of power while in office.”

    The group also accused Fayose of bias, alleging that he excluded Muslims from his cabinet.

    “His antecedents bear vehement testimonies to his pathological hatred for Muslims and their religion,” Akintola said.

    “It will be recalled that Fayose formed an all-Christian government after assumption of office in 2015. His deputy governor, secretary to the state government, all 14 commissioners, all 26 permanent secretaries are Christians.

    “His open bigotry and untethered hatred for Muslims makes him the governor with the worst record of Christian-Muslim relations in the whole wide world”‎, he said.

    Akintola also claimed his attempts to meet with Fayose to discuss pressing issues proved abortive.

    “Drunk with absolute power which corrupts absolutely, Fayose has rebuffed the request of leaders of the Ekiti Muslim community to meet him over the mosques marked for demolition,” he said.

    “Consequently, the Muslim leaders have suspended today’s Jum’ah prayer in all the four mosques affected. Thus Fayose will be remembered as the Christian dictator and fanatical chief executive who stopped Muslims of Ekiti State from worshipping their Creator.

    “Muslims may be left with no option than to make Ekiti ungovernable for Fayose if he goes ahead to demolish those mosques. Freedom of worship is enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution and civil disobedience is the inalienable right of a persecuted people.

    “Those who make it impossible for us to worship freely are guilty of a crime. Every patriotic citizen has the obligation to disobey illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional orders. We will resist this oppression if the system will do nothing about it.

    “Already, Muslims in the state embarked on a peaceful demonstration two days ago. We haven’t seen anything yet. We should do everything possible to prevent this crisis from snowballing into a national mayhem. Those who know Fayose’s first name should call him to order now”, he added.

     

  • Suicide bombers launch twin attack on Borno Mosque, security post

    Suicide bombers launch twin attack on Borno Mosque, security post

    Attempts by suicide bombers to attack a mosque and a security post in Borno State have been foiled by vigilant security men and volunteers.

    The incidents occurred at Usmanti and Kaleri area of Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State, TheNewsGuru.com can authoritatively inform.

    The first attack occurred just after midnight of Wednesday morning when the suicide bomber targeted a security outpost in the area but was quickly spotted and blown off after a shot from security men.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that no casualty was involved except the male suicide bomber.

    The second attempt occurred during the early morning prayer at 5:30am also on Wednesday when two suicide bombers, a male and female, attempted to enter a mosque while prayer was on.

    They were spotted by security volunteers (Civilian JTF) who accosted them. The terrorists detonated their explosives which killed them on the spot and one security volunteer. Two other people were injured.

    Meanwhile the Spokesperson of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the North-East, Abdulkadir Ibrahim confirmed that rescue workers have evacuated the bodies to mortuary after the incidents.