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Tag: Niger State

  • Gunmen kill three vigilantes, abduct 30 travellers in Niger State

    Gunmen kill three vigilantes, abduct 30 travellers in Niger State

    At least 30 travellers were abducted Sunday evening by gunmen who ambushed commuters along the Tegina-Zungeru highway in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

    Officials of the drivers union in the area said the victims were travelling in a bus of the Niger State Transport Authority (NSTA) when they ran into an ambush by the bandits.

    The gunmen also killed three members of the local vigilante group which attempted to foil their operation.

    Bello Muhammed, a senior official of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Tegina, told newsmen that the vigilante members were shot dead by the assailants while the group was attempting to foil the abduction.

    Mr Muhammed said the victims were returning as a party from a wedding in Rijau Local Government Area.

    He said the driver of the bus, Isa Dangana, was among those abducted.

    The residents said abductions were unusual on that stretch of the highway, though some communities adjoining it had suffered attacks and abductions before. They said commuters ply the highway because they consider it relatively safe.

    Below are the unedited names of the abducted persons as provided by the NURTW officials in the area.

    Niger Govt. confirms the abduction of travellers

    The Niger State Government has confirmed the kidnapping of innocent citizens by bandits along Zungeru-Tegina Road on Sunday February 14, 2021, describing it as “shocking and disturbing”.

    In a statement, Commissioner of Information and Strategy Niger State, Muhammad Sani, Idris confirmed that the abducted persons were on board a Niger State Transport Authority (NSTA) vehicle, from Kontagora to Minna around 3 PM and were attacked by gunmen suspected to be bandits.

    According to the commissioner, the re-surfacing of gunmen on the state’s highways “is disturbing and the government shall decisively rescue and ensure such negative development does not continue in the state”, as the state government is committed in its primary responsibility of protecting the life and property its citizens.

    The statement further calls for calm among the citizens, particularly relatives of the abducted persons, appealing to all and sundry to provide useful information to security agencies for necessary action against such developments.

  • Bandits leave out woman, baby; whisk away 18 other passengers in Niger State

    Bandits leave out woman, baby; whisk away 18 other passengers in Niger State

    Bandits have kidnapped 18 passengers of the Niger State Transport Authority (NSTA) in Niger State.

    According to reports, the attack occurred at Yakila village in Rafi local government area of the state on Sunday, with the bandits leaving a woman and her baby behind and whisking away the other 18 passengers.

    The passengers were said to be heading to Minna, the state capital from Kotangora when the incident happened.

    The Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Ahmed Inga confirmed the incident to Channels Television.

    Inga who was on his way from Kagara for the revalidation of his All Progressives Congress (APC) membership in the company of the Chief of Staff said they met the scene where the bandits operated.

    He explained that they met the woman and her child who were left behind by the bandits.

    “The only thing I can tell you now is we have rescued the woman and her baby and she is in the vehicle with us and we are on our way to Minna. She told us that the bandits blocked the way and went away with the other 18 passengers on the bus.

    “No government official was among those kidnapped. I can’t give more than that for now because the woman is traumatized and we cannot be asking her too many questions yet,” the SEMA DG said.

     

  • APGA wins Reps by-election in Niger

    APGA wins Reps by-election in Niger

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Shehu Sale, candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), winner of Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency of Niger in Saturday’s by-election.

    The INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Tanko Baba of the Usman Danfodio University Sokoto, said Sale scored 22,965 votes to defeat Alamu Emmanuel of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who came second with 22,507 votes.

    Baba said Yusuf Nasir, the candidate of the ADC, polled 336 votes.

    He explained that the total number of registered voters was 159,347, while the number of accredited voters was 46,734, with 45,808 valid votes, total votes cast 46,499 and rejected votes 691.

    Meanwhile, Prof. Samuel Egwu, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Niger on Sunday, commended the electorate in the constituency for their peaceful conduct during and after the election.

    Egwu also lauded efforts of the police for providing a peaceful political atmosphere before and during the electoral process in the area.

  • Bandits invade Niger community on New Year’s Eve, kill seven farmers

    Bandits invade Niger community on New Year’s Eve, kill seven farmers

    It was a bloody New Year’s Eve in Baban Rami, Mashegu Local Government Area of Niger State after bandits invaded the community and killed seven farmers.

    The Secretary to the State Government, Ahmed Matane on Saturday confirmed the killings saying the incident occurred on New Year’s Eve.

    He said the bandits had laid ambush on the farmers who had gone to their farms to harvest their produce.

    According to him, the bandits had earlier demanded ransom from the farmers before they could harvest their produce.

    But the farmers refused to give in to their threats and decided to seek for the protection of some vigilante members.

    Matane explained that after the harvest, one of the drivers, however, decided to move ahead with some farmers, and in the process were attacked by the bandits who killed seven of them.

    Asked why the information was just coming to public domain, the Niger state SSG said government had wanted to be sure of the numbers before making any pronouncement.

    “We were not sure of the number of the persons killed. We wanted to be sure. So, we just got the accurate figure,” he said.

    It is the first time that bandits would launch attacks on Baban Rami.

    Matane said the state government would set up a coordinated operation in Mashegu to dislodge the bandits.

    He said the state government condemned the attack and other attacks recently carried out in the state.

    At least over fifty people have been killed by bandits in Niger State since renewed banditry attacks in January, 2020.

    The latest attack comes barely one week after the district head of Madaka in Rafi Local Government Area of the state, Ya’u Idris was killed by gunmen days after he was abducted from his home by the same people.

    At the moment, many farmers are not able to go to their farms to harvest their produce due to insecurity.

  • Gunmen kidnap 19 villagers, kill clergyman in Niger State

    Gunmen kidnap 19 villagers, kill clergyman in Niger State

    At least 19 people have been kidnapped by gunmen in Ogu and Tegina communities in Rafi Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State.

    The Chief of Staff to Rafi LGA Chairman, Mohammed Mohammed, confirmed the incident on Monday.

    He, however, had to place telephone calls to some residents of the affected communities for more information.

    A resident of Ogu, Kamal Wayam, decried that the attackers stormed the community on Sunday morning and started shooting into the air.

    “The gunmen in their large number arrived in Ogu on motorcycles and before we knew what was happening, they started shooting into the air.

    “They ransacked people’s houses and whatever valuable they could lay their hands on, they carted away,” Wayam said during his conversation with Mohammed.

    He added, “They also abducted six persons from Ogu. Four of the persons abducted were members of one family while the other two were visitors to the community.”

    Ogu is a settlement close to Wayam, another community about two kilometres from Kagara, the headquarters of Rafi LGA.

    Similarly, the attack on Tegina community was said to have happened at about 12:30am on Monday with 16 people abducted.

    “The gunmen entered the room of my daughter that night, but she hid herself under the bed, while her husband went up the ceiling,” Sani Gamachindo, a resident of the community, told Mohammed,

    He added, “When the gunmen entered their room, they spent like 30 minutes and ate almost all the food in the kitchen. Thank God they were not abducted, but 16 persons were kidnapped.”

    The latest attacks in Rafi LGA came barely four days after gunmen abducted a youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the District Head of Gunna, and two children of two health workers in Garin Gabbas and Yakila communities in the local government.

    Elsewhere, a pastor with the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Jeremiah Ibrahim, was killed by gunmen in Chukuba community in Shiroro LGA.

    The clergyman who was serving at the branch of the church in Kuta was murdered on Friday last week.

    A senior official of the church in Minna, who pleaded anonymity, said Pastor Ibrahim had gone to check his farm in Chukuba and decided to visit a colleague who was the resident pastor of Chukuba where he was attacked and killed.

    “This is coming barely two weeks after six missionaries of ECWA and the wife of one of them were abducted,” he added.

    He stated that the clergyman has since been buried.

  • 2 suspected ritualists found with human eye in Police net

    2 suspected ritualists found with human eye in Police net

    The Police Command in Niger has arrested two suspected ritualists while in possession of a human eye at Daza village in Munya Local Government Area of the state.

    The command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this in a statement issued in Minna on Tuesday.

    “On Dec. 1, at about 1800 hours, based on credible information received, Police Operatives attached to Gwada Division arrested one Buhari Ibrahim of Daza village, in possession of a human eye.

    “During interrogation, the suspect claimed to be a herbalist and that one Bitrus Imoh of Geneko village, Kotonkarfe Local Government Area of Kogi State, gave him the human eye to use in preparing a charm for him.

    “Bitrus Imoh was later arrested on Dec. 7. He claimed to have removed the human eye from the corpse of his late brother who died early this year in Geneko village.”

    The spokesman said that the case was already being investigated after which the suspects would be charged to court.

  • Father butchers his children, says it’s an act of God

    Father butchers his children, says it’s an act of God

    The Police Command in Niger has arrested a father, Abubakar Maibabo, for allegedly killing his two children at Maidabo village in Salka, Nasko Local Government Area.

    The command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Minna.

    Abiodun said that on Nov. 14 at about 2 a.m., Police operatives attached to Nasko Division, arrested the suspect.

    “The suspect killed his children with a cutlass, one Umar Abubakar, 8, and Shehu Abubakar, 4, while he hid the corpses in the bush in separate sacks.

    “During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime and claimed that the incident was an act of God,’’ Abiodun said.

    He noted that the corpses were taken to General Hospital Nasko for autopsy while the case was still under investigation.

  • Miraculous: Popular mad woman regains sanity through prayers in Niger

    Miraculous: Popular mad woman regains sanity through prayers in Niger

    A popular mad woman has been allegedly cured from her insanity through prayers by members of a religious sect in Madalla community, in Niger.

    Simply identified as Mrs Veronica David, the woman is known in the community for roaming the streets and carrying heavy loads on her head.

    “But fate smiled on her during an encounter with the evangelism team of the Living Faith Church, Madalla. The miracle took place on the street beside St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla,” said Mrs Patience, who lives in the same community.

    The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that the woman who now appears normal was seen siting in the auditorium of the church among worshipers, during Worship Service on Sunday.

    NAN further learnt that after her restoration to normalcy, she gave the team that prayed for her some details about her family.

    She said: “My name is Veronica David. My husband’s name is David Edafe, a native of Oviore in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State.”

    She said she gave birth to seven children and things were normal with her until a strange ailment struck her.

    “I left home in the year 2018 when an evil spirit came upon me as I was selling cooked rice,” she said, revealing that she was unable to recollect how to re-unite with her husband and children.

    The Living Faith Church, Madalla, is therefore seeking useful information from anyone who knows how to contact her family.

    Mrs Veronica David after receiving healing
    Mrs Veronica David after receiving healing
  • Police arrest 4 suspects with human head in Niger

    Police arrest 4 suspects with human head in Niger

    The police command in Niger has arrested four persons with a human head in Sabon Pegi, Mashegu Local Government Area of the state.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Adamu Usman, disclosed this in an interview in Minna on Wednesday.

    Usman said that police operatives attached to Ibbi Police Division arrested the suspects in possession of human head at Sabon Pegi village on Oct. 3 at about 5:30 p.m.

    “Preliminary investigation has revealed that the suspects exhumed and severed the human head from Kanti village graveyard,” he told NAN.

    He said that in the course of interrogation, the suspects said they were contracted to carry out the act by two persons identified as Nasiru and Mohammadu, now at large.

    “The suspects told us that Nasiru lives in Koko town in Kebbi State, while Mohammadu lives in Sabon Pegi in Niger State,” he said.

    The commissioner said that the case was still under investigation, and that the police had commenced manhunt for other fleeing suspects.

  • Police foil robbery attack in Niger

    Police foil robbery attack in Niger

    Police in Niger said they had gunned down two suspected armed robbers in Madalla area of Suleja Local Government Area of the state.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Adamu Usman, disclosed this in Minna on Friday.

    Usman said on Sept. 17 at at about 0220 hours, police operatives attached to ‘C’ division Madalla, in a response to a distress call, engaged some suspected armed robbers in a gun duel at New Gwarinpa via Zuma Rock, Suleja.

    He said that in the process, two of the gunmen sustained gunshot injuries and one of them died on the spot, while the second later died at Lucas Clinic, Madalla where he was initially taken for treatment.

    ”Items recovered from the suspects include two laptop computers and two Plasma Television sets.

    ”We have also arrested one Haruna Mohammed of Gauraka at Zuba with gunshot wounds and taken for medical treatment.

    During interrogation, the suspect confessed to be a member of the syndicate that attempted to operate at New Gwarinpa in Madalla,”he said.

    The commissioner said the Police Command had since commenced investigation into the incident and called on the residents to report any persons or group of people with gunshots and questionable character to the nearest security outfits.