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Tag: Sokoto

  • 2023: 7,000 PDP supporters defect to APC in Sokoto

    2023: 7,000 PDP supporters defect to APC in Sokoto

    Ahead of the 2023 General Elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Sokoto state had received over 7,000 members who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). .

    This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen in Sokoto on Friday by Bashar Abubakar, the Special Assistant, New Media to Sen. Aliyu Wamakko.

    Abubakar said that the defectors were from Wurno and Kware local government areas of the state.

    According to Abubakar, the new members were received at different locations in the two LGAs by the APC leaders in the state.

    He said that the APC Gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Ahmad Aliyu, while receiving over 4,270 defectors in Wurno LGA assured them of equal treatment with all other members of the party.

    Aliyu expressed satisfaction with the level of the new members’ commitment and assured, ”if elected, he will work closely with them to address the challenges in the state.”

    The candidate added, ”If elected, he will continue from the giant strides of the former governor of the state, Wamakko.”

    In his remarks Alhaji Isa Sadiq-Achida, the state APC Chairman appreciated the new members of the party, while assuring them of the party’s commitment to carry all its members along for its victory.

    Abubakar also said that the APC at Achida town of Wurno LGA and Gidan Rugga Ward of Kware LGA had received over 2,500 PDP supporters.

    He said the defectors had continued to express satisfaction for taking their decision to join APC at the right time.

    They assured to work hard toward ensuring the success of the party in the forthcoming general elections at all levels.

  • ASUU strike: Final year medical student turns food vendor

    ASUU strike: Final year medical student turns food vendor

    Mr. Usman Abubakar-Rimi, a Medicine and Surgery final year student in the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), has turned to street food vendor due prolonged industrial action by University lecturers.

    In an interview with NAN on Friday in Sokoto, Abubakar-Rimi said he conceived the initiative in order to engage in productive living as the strike forced students to become redundant.

    Abubakar-Rimi, who owned a food outlet and Indomie joint in the Diplomat area in Sokoto metropolis explained that the ongoing extended strike embarked by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) gave him the full opportunity.

    He explained that he ventured into full-scale food selling in the last two months and described the business as lucrative.

    ”I hired a shop, employing eight people manning tea and indomie joints, selling bottled and canned drinks, masa, rice and beans, peppe soup and meat along with the Point of Sells (POS) business.

    ”A plate of food sells from N200 and above depending on the needs of the customer, ”  Abubakar-Rimi said.

    He explained that he owned another shop on Fodio road also in the Sokoto metropolis where he sells men and women’s clothing, caps, student bags, and shoes.

    ”I am always happy to see that I become an employer of labour as at present I engaged 10 persons in the two shops.

    ”I relied on the shops for handsome incomes, because I don’t ask my parents for any money in spite of the fact that schools were closed, ” he added.

    Abubakar-Rimi said he did not access any loan or youths empowerment scheme to embark on the businesses.

    ”However, I utilized the opportunity of COVID-19 lockdown, during the pandemic and started an egg and chicken distribution business where I had made contacts with restaurants for the supply.

    ”I also obtained the eggs and chickens from large scale farms from small amounts to higher quantity suppliers, from the proceeds I started the two businesses, ” Abubakar-Rimi added.

    Abubakar-Rimi added the businesses had a lot of prospects and encouraged youths to think on the ways to utilise their time and venture into viable initiatives.

    He further explained that when the school resume the businesses would be sustained and combined with the academic activities.

    ”I designed a sustainability plan where registers were opened for maximum record keeping, supply chain, and other management procedures, ” Abubakar-Rimi said.

    According to him, the advantages of online platforms ensured that they run and manage the businesses properly using cell phones which facilitate contacts.

    ”With the lucrative opportunities provided by the businesses, I envisage to continue with the ventures even after my graduation.

    ”When I become a Medical Doctor, I envisage to engage in work that will not be too time consuming because at present, I have begun to lose hope on a salary earning job.

    ”I want to establish a pharmacy, work in a private hospital as well as engage in private initiated-businesses relevant to my profession, ” Abubakar-Rimi explained.

    He advised students to utilise their free times to engage in businesses, stressing that the present online services provided a lot of opportunities to leverage on.

    The student called on President Muhammadu Buhari to find a lasting solution to impending strikes in the interest of youths and the country’s progress.

    He further appealed to the lecturers to consider the students’ plights and resolve the issue with some offers by the Federal Government as the effects of strikes bite harded on all categories of Nigerians.

  • Seven family members die of alleged food poisoning in Sokoto

    Seven family members die of alleged food poisoning in Sokoto

    At least seven members of a family in Kaura village, in the Yabo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, have died of suspected food poisoning.

     

    Confirming the incident, the head of the family of the victims, Mallam Umaru, said the leftover of the food the victims ate the previous night was left outside for preservation, adding that the preserved food was mixed with another prepared food the victims ate.

     

    Umaru said the victims allegedly died after consuming the food, adding that the corpses and remnants of the food had been handed over to the hospital and police to unravel the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

     

    According to Umaru, the seven people who died included his two wives and five children.

     

    Reacting to the development, the Chairman, Yabo LGA, Haliru Kilgori, while commiserating with the aggrieved family, urged members of the public to take caution.

     

    “It is necessary to see what happened and take action and ensure that food and drinks are covered at all times,” the chairman said.

     

    Efforts to get a reaction from the state Director of Disease Control were not successful as calls to his phone number did not connect as of the time of filing this report.

     

    Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sanusi Abubakar, confirmed the incident.

     

    Meanwhile, a senior health worker in the state Ministry of Health, also confirmed the incident.

     

    He, however, dismissed the issue of poisoning, saying the food was exposed to air overnight leading to it being contaminated and harmful for human consumption.

  • SAD! Two mothers, five kids die after taking breakfast in Sokoto

    SAD! Two mothers, five kids die after taking breakfast in Sokoto

    Tragedy struck in Kaura village in Yabo Local Government Area of Sokoto State as seven family members died after eating breakfast.

    The head of the family, Malam Danbala narrated the incident to a national newspaper that he lost his two wives and five children to the incident.

    He said, “I was in Niger State where I work as a labourer when I received a call on Monday from one of my brothers that there was a problem which required my urgent attention at home.

    “He asked me to come back home as soon as I could. I insisted on knowing what happened but he cut the call without making further comment.

    “So I took the early morning bus to Sokoto and when I reached home, I discovered all members of my family with the exception of my little daughter were all gone. They were buried even before my arrival on Tuesday as our religion demanded.”

    Danbala said that the problem started when one of his wives cooked a local delicacy called Dambu for their breakfast.

    “They all ate to their satisfaction and after a while they started complaining of stomach pain and were all rushed to the hospital.

    “The five children died first, followed by my wives who died around midnight but my little girl is responding to treatment because she did not eat much from the food,” he said.

    According to an eyewitness account, the wife initially cooked the meal for their dinner on Sunday which she shared with neighbours.

    It was said that the remnant of the food was kept for their breakfast and on Monday morning, she mixed the remnant food with a raw Dambu reportedly left uncovered throughout the night.

    She was said to have cooked the delicacy and served only members of the family.

    “This is how God destined their fate. May Allah grant them Jannatul Firdaus,” the bereaved family head said.

  • We’re still searching for Deborah’s killers – Sokoto Police

    We’re still searching for Deborah’s killers – Sokoto Police

    The Sokoto State Police Command said the killers of Deborah Samuel are yet to be arrested.

    Deborah, a student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education was in May 2022, stoned to death by some students believed to be her classmates over alleged blasphemy.

    DSP Sanusi Abubakar, the spokesman for the command, explained that those arrested by the police were not the prime suspects, saying that they were only among those who organised the riot.

    The spokesman further explained that those arrested were still in remand custody as ordered by the court, explaining that the prime suspects were still at large and efforts were ongoing to arrest them.

    He stated, “Those ones we arrested then, though not the suspected killers, contributed to the violent riot and were arraigned in court where the judge ordered that they be remanded. Concerning those suspected killers, we have circulated their pictures to media houses and sent our intelligence to every part of the state.”

    DSP Abubakar emphasized that the Command was still on the lookout for them and are confident of arresting them wherever they may be hiding, assuring that they would flush them out and arraign them before a competent court of law.

    He assured that the command would not be biased on the case, stressing that the state Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Gumel, would ensure that justice was served on the case.

  • NDLEA nabs Sokoto traditional ruler over alleged drug deals

    NDLEA nabs Sokoto traditional ruler over alleged drug deals

    The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Sokoto State Command, has nabbed a suspected drug dealer, Umar Mohammed, who is also a monarch being the Village Head of Ruga in Shagari Local Government.

    Briefing newsmen on Tuesday in Sokoto, Mr Adamu Iro, the NDLEA Commander in the state, said the suspect was arrested following intelligence-driven investigation by the command.

    Iro said the suspect, who is a traditional title holder has been on the suspects’ list of the command for a long period of time.

    “Earlier, we arrested his wife in possession of large amount of illicit drugs, but we released her following an investigation that the items belonged to the husband.

    “So, Alhamdulillah, on Monday, we have been able to nab him and we found 436.381 kg of Cannabis Sativa and 1 kg of Diazepam at his residence,” he said.

    He added that the suspect had since admitted to the offence and informed the command of being in the business for a long period of time.

    He said that the NDLEA Command in Sokoto would ensure proper, but speedy investigation on the matter in order to charge the monarch to court.

    The Commander further assured the citizens of the NDLEA’s determination to raid all traffickers’ dens and ensure that they are prosecuted accordingly.

    He appealed to the general public to continue to support the agency toward achieving its mandate of ending any form of drug abuse in the society.

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  • PDP LG chairman, councillors defect to APC in Sokoto

    PDP LG chairman, councillors defect to APC in Sokoto

    The incumbent Chairman of Tangaza Local Government Council in Sokoto State, Alhaji Bashir Kalanjeni, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP ).

    Kalanjeni defected to the APC alongside eight serving and two former councillors in the area.

    This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Bashar Abubakar, the Special Assistant to Sen. Aliyu Wamakko (APC-Sokoto North), on New Media, on Sunday in Abuja.

    Abubakar listed the councillors as Zakariyya Madugu, Abubakar Kalanjeni, Abubakar Aliyu, Halilu Aliyu, Ibrahim Sarkin-Tudu, Musa Sakkwai, Abdullahi Garba and Jamilu Muhammad.

    Abubakar named the two ex-councillors as Abdullahi Garba and Jamilu Muhammad.

    Wamakko, while welcoming them into the party assured that they would be carried along for the development of the party and the state as a whole.

    He expressed confidence that APC would win the 2023 general elections with landslide victories across Nigeria.

  • How 26 villagers got drowned during bandits, operatives gun duel in Sokoto

    How 26 villagers got drowned during bandits, operatives gun duel in Sokoto

     

    At least, 26 corpses of residents of Duma village in Tureta Local Government Area of Sokoto State have been recovered.

    The victims reportedly drowned in an attempt to escape from a gun duel between security operatives and bandits in a nearby forest.

    It was learnt that the incident occured last Wednesday when operatives under Operation Hadarin Daji engaged suspected bandits who rustled livestock in some communities in the neighbouring Zamfara State.

    The Public Relations Officer of the Sokoto Police Command, DSP Sanusi Abubakar, while confirming the incident, said when the residents heard gunshots in the forest and spotted some dislodged bandits, they became panic and started running helter-skelter.

    He said, “They thought the fleeing bandits were coming to attack them. They started running helter skelter as a result of which some of them got drowned. Twenty six lifeless bodies were later recovered and buried.”

    Abubakar said the joint operation was still ongoing as the axis was condoned off by the security operatives.

    He, however, dismissed a report that some of the residents were shot by the bandits, saying there was no gunshot injury on any of the recovered corpses.

    Meanwhile, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State on Friday condoled with the people of Duma village over the incident.

  • Tambuwal declares Monday work-free to mark Islamic New Year

    Tambuwal declares Monday work-free to mark Islamic New Year

    The Sokoto State Government has declared Monday, Aug. 1 as a work-free day to mark the commencement of the Islamic New Year.

    Gov. Aminu Tambuwal made the declaration in a statement he personally signed on Friday in Sokoto.

    “After due consultation with the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, on the citing of the new moon which heralds the new Islamic month and year today, I hereby declare Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, as a work-free day.

    “Consequently, I enjoin our brethren to use the occasion as a moment of solemn reflection, charity and prayer for peace, prosperity and good governance.

    He urged residents to bear in mind the divine lessons of the month as one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden.

    He urged the people to eschew bitterness, rancour, restiveness and wanton violence.

  • Blasphemy: Tambuwal lifts curfew on Sokoto, bans all forms of procession

    Blasphemy: Tambuwal lifts curfew on Sokoto, bans all forms of procession

    Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has lifted the curfew imposed due to the recent killing of a student of the State College of Education, over alleged blasphemy.

    The lifting of the 24-hour curfew, imposed on the towy, is with immediate effect.

    This was announced in a statement on Friday in Sokoto by the Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Isa Bajini-Galadanchi.

    Tambuwal said the curfew was lifted after due consultations with security agencies confirming the return of peace to the state.

    The governor, however, urged the general public to be law abiding and remain peaceful for sustainable security and economic development of the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tambuwal on May 14, imposed the curfew, to contain the rising protests across township streets over alleged religious blasphemy.

    Bajini-Galadanchi, said the governor lifted the curfew with immediate effect and banned all forms of processions in the state until further notice.

    “The resolution is in accordance with the enabling powers under section 176 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, section 1, 2 and 4 of the Public Order Act and section 15 of Sokoto State Peace Preservation Law.

    “The governor of Sokoto State, has after due consultations, lifted the curfew imposed on Sokoto metropolis with immediate effect.

    “The governor has urged the general public to be law abiding and remain peaceful at all times, stressing the need for peaceful co-existence amongst the people in the state,” he said.

    The Commissioner reiterated the need for peace as the necessary foundation for any meaningful development.

    He said Tambuwal thanked the people in the state for their understanding in complying with the curfew.