TheNewsGuru

Tag: Zamfara

  • Zamfara imposes curfew, halts market activities in Jangebe

    Zamfara imposes curfew, halts market activities in Jangebe

    Zamfara State government has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the state following the shootings and ruckus which happened at Jangebe town yesterday when the 279 abducted schoolgirls of Government Secondary School were reunited with their parents.

    One person was allegedly shot by security operatives who allegedly opened fire after an angry mob kicked against the insistence on a formal handover before parents could leave with the released girls.

    To avert further breach of peace, the state through a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Sulaiman Tunau Anka, announced a curfew which began on Wednesday.

    The statement said, “Sequel to an unfortunate civil disobedience which took place at Jangebe town after the return of the released abducted school children, the Zamfara State government has approved the imposition of a dusk-to-dawn curfew at Jangebe town starting from Wednesday, 3/3/2021. This is to prevent any further breach of peace.

    “Similarly, there is strong discovered evidence of market activities in the town that aid and abet bandits activities in the town and neighbouring communities. Consequently, all market activities in the town are hereby suspended until further notice.

    “The state government is poised to ensure safety of lives and properties of its citizens at all cost.

    “With this announcement, the Zamfara State Police Command is hereby enjoined to ensure total enforcement.”

    Meanwhile, the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has said those who abducted the schoolgirls are of Hausa and Fulani ethnicity.

    He said this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.

    The Governor said, “They say most of them are Hausa and some of them are Fulani. In fact, they even asked the school children to pray for them. So, they say they are of different entities contrary to the thought that they are all Fulani.

    “Some reporters have interviewed some of the girls who have identified some of these guys (kidnappers). In fact, one of the girls told us that she knows one of them who is Hausa and used to come to Jangebe market. She promised that any time he comes to Jangebe market she will be able to identify him and point him out to the security.”

     

  • I can resign as governor if that will bring peace in Zamfara – Matawalle

    I can resign as governor if that will bring peace in Zamfara – Matawalle

    Governor Bello Matawalle has said he is not power drunk and can resign as governor of Zamfara State if that will return peace.

    Matawalle stated this on Wednesday in a monitored programme on Channels Television when responding to a question on if he was intimidated by the Federal Government’s declaration of a ‘No-Fly Zone’ in Zamfara.

    He said: “I am ready to accept any solution that will bring security to my state.

    “I am not intimidated. If I know that my resigning as a governor will make the people sleep with their two eyes closed, I can resign. I am ready to do what will bring security. I am not power-hungry. I have been having a sleepless night to protect the people of Zamfara State.”

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno, had on Tuesday said President Buhari approved the declaration “No-Fly Zone” in Zamfara, as part of efforts to tackle the security challenges in the state.

    Matawalle noted that while he has no grievance regarding the order, he was however disappointed that the National Security Council did not consult him before making the declaration.

    The governor also stated that the ‘No-Fly Zone’ order is not the same as declaring a state of emergency.

    He argued that the flight ban was supposed to have been extended to some other states seeing that the security challenges faced in Zamfara were also affecting many states in the northern part of the country.

  • Shooting disrupts reunion of freed Zamfara schoolgirls with parents

    Shooting disrupts reunion of freed Zamfara schoolgirls with parents

    All the 279 Zamfara schoolgirls released by kidnappers this week were on Wednesday reunited with their parents, in an emotional event overshadowed by chaos and shooting by security forces.

    According to a AFP reporter who witnessed the handing over, mobs began throwing stones at officials outside the school in the remote village of Jangebe when the girls were returned after officials’ insisted on a formal handover before parents could leave with their children.

    One person was shot in the stomach when security personnel opened fire and was carried away by others in the crowd.

    “Four people have been shot dead in the confusion,” Jangebe resident Bello Gidan-Ruwa told AFP by phone after leaving the village.

    The tally could not immediately be confirmed with official sources.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG recalls that the school girls were abducted on Friday from their hostels by gunmen but released them early Tuesday.

    Since their release, the students had been in government care in state capital Gusau, receiving medical treatment before being returned to the school to be handed over to their parents.

    There were tears and hugs from parents and relations as the girls arrived in buses, but officials and security personnel insisted on ushering the children into the dining hall.

    Anxious parents were outraged by officials’ insistence that the girls must be handed over to the local chief of Anka district, Attahiru Ahmad Anka.

    “It is infuriating for (officials) to say they had to finish their speeches before handing over our children to us. This is outrageous,” one mother told AFP as she led her daughter away.

    “They know the roads are insecure but they didn’t care. If we leave late and are kidnapped with our daughters again, the girls’ rescue will make no sense.”

    There was chaos in the hall as parents grabbed their children and stormed out to the consternation of the officials.

    Shooting by the security forces began when the crowd began pelting a convoy carrying regional parliament speaker Nasiru Mu’azu Magarya with stones as it tried to leave the village.

    Despite the chaos, the girls and parents were happy for their release.

    “I’m extremely happy to have been rescued from our captors,” Aisha Jamilu, a student, told AFP.

    “I thank God for saving us from them. It was a horrifying experience I will never forget.”

    She added that she would leave up to her parents the question of whether to resume her studies and run the risk of a second kidnapping.

    “Even if I don’t go back to the same school I can be transferred to another one,” Jamilu said.

    Muhammad Sani, father to two of the girls, said he was “delighted” to see his daughters again.

    “I can’t say express how happy I’m. I didn’t cry when the girls were kidnapped but I couldn’t hold my tears when I saw them today. They were tears of joy.”

  • Buhari declares Zamfara ‘No-Fly Zone’, bans mining activities

    Buhari declares Zamfara ‘No-Fly Zone’, bans mining activities

    President Muhammadu Buhari has declared Zamfara a ‘no-fly zone’ and banned all mining activities in the state.

    The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), who announced this on Tuesday in Abuja, explained that it was part of measures to tackle the security challenges witnessed in the north-western state.

    He made the disclosure to State House correspondents after a five-hour National Security Council meeting presided over by the President at the Presidential Villa in the nation’s capital.

    A no-fly zone, also known as a no-flight zone, or air exclusion zone, is a territory or area established by a military power over which certain aircraft are not permitted to fly.

    General Monguno also stated that all non-state actors have been placed under surveillance as the Federal Government will not hesitate to use kinetic means to restore normalcy in the country.

    The NSA said the country’s defence and intelligence organization have been put on alert and charged not to allow the country to slide into a state of anarchy.

    Monguno also said the President, in the meeting, gave a marching order to the new service chiefs to reclaim all areas under the control of bandits, insurgents, and kidnappers.

    President Buhari had earlier in February held a meeting with Zamfara State Governor Mohammed Mattawalle at the State House in Abuja.

    The governor after the meeting told journalists at the presidential villa that he was summoned by the President to brief him on the security situation in his state.

    Mattawalle added that 358 special police forces have been deployed by the Federal Government to the state to tackle banditry.

  • Our abductors threatened to kill, fry and eat us – Jangebe abductee

    Our abductors threatened to kill, fry and eat us – Jangebe abductee

    One of the victims of last Friday’s Zamfara Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, abduction, Hafsat Anka, said the captives threatened to kill, fry and eat them if they misbehaved.

    Hafsat, while narrating her ordeal to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the Government House, Gusau, shortly after regaining freedom, stated that they trekked over a long distance from the school, had a stopover for some hours before they reached their destination.

    “There was no clean water or good food, and we felt we had already spent years even though it was our first day and the bandits kept firing into the air to scare us.

    “They were very young boys with on one elder they called Kasalle or Yaya who gave them instructions, and he was the one that stopped them from touching any of us,” Hafsat stated.

    According to her, the bandits wore military uniforms and claimed they defeated the security officials by invading the school and successfully whisking the girls away.
    Hafsat, who said she was happy for being rescued, pointed out that she would continue her studies but as a day student.
    NAN reports that the students were abducted last Friday around 2: 00 a.m. generating public outcry across the world, with many calling on the government and security agencies to ensure their safe return.

  • BREAKING: 279 Zamfara school girls released [Photos]

    BREAKING: 279 Zamfara school girls released [Photos]

    Verified information teaching TheNewsGuru.com, TNG now has it that the 279 abducted Zamfara school girls have been released.

    The students arrived Government House, Gusau, at about 4a.m. on Tuesday.

    The release was confirmed by Governor Bello Matawalle via his official Twitter handle @BelloMatawalle1.

    Details later…

  • Zamfara govt: ‘Abducted schoolgirls not released, negotiation still ongoing’

    Zamfara govt: ‘Abducted schoolgirls not released, negotiation still ongoing’

    Zamfara State government has debunked reports that students abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, have been released by their captors.

    Reacting to the reports on Twitter, Zamfara’s Commissioner for Information, Suleiman Tunau Anka, cautioned the public to disregard fake news in the media regarding the released of abducted students of GGSS Jangebe.

    Similarly, Yusuf Idris, media aide to Governor Bello Matawalle, told newsmen on Sunday that efforts were still ongoing to secure their release.

    He made the clarification following media reports that the girls had regained freedom.

    Idris said: “I want to call the attention of the good people of Zamfara State, they should disregard any fake news regarding the release of the abducted students of GGSS Jangebe by one national daily. It’s not true. But, Alhamdulillah, the state government and securities are their trying their best,” he said in a short message he made available to our reporter.

    The governor’s spokesperson, Mr Idris, also urged the public to ignore the media reports that the students had been released, calling on the parents and residents of the state to pray for the safe return of the students.

    “The state government is committed for safe return of the students sooner or later, we should please exercise patience,” the official said.

  • BREAKING: Seven out of 317 abducted Zamfara students escape from kidnappers’ den

    BREAKING: Seven out of 317 abducted Zamfara students escape from kidnappers’ den

    Seven out of the 317 female students abducted on Friday (today) at Jangebe Government Girls Secondary School in Zamfara State have escaped from their abductors’ confinement.

    This development was reported by Channels Television on Friday evening.

    According to a source who spoke with the television station from Jangebe town via a phone call, the girls returned home on their own as they claimed they manoeuvred their way back from the bandits while trekking along the forest.

    The source said the escaped students said more are expected back.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that daredevil gunmen on Friday invaded Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe abducting 317 students from the school.

    Meanwhile, the Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, has ordered the immediate closure of all boarding schools in the state.

    “As we are making efforts to strengthen security around our schools, I have directed the immediate closure of all boarding secondary schools across the State,” Matawalle said in an evening broadcast.

    More details later…

  • Jangede abduction: Matawalle orders closure of all boarding schools in Zamfara

    Jangede abduction: Matawalle orders closure of all boarding schools in Zamfara

    Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, has ordered the immediate closure of all boarding schools in the state.

    The directive was triggered by the abduction of more than 300 students from Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, in the early hours of Friday.

    “As we are making efforts to strengthen security around our schools, I have directed the immediate closure of all boarding secondary schools across the State,” Matawalle said in an evening broadcast.

    The kidnapping is the latest in a series of attacks, carried out by bandits, on schools across the country’s North.

    On February 17, bandits kidnapped 41 students and staff of the Government Science Secondary, Kagara, Niger State.

    The Kagara abductees are yet to be returned.

    Matawalle, in his evening broadcast, assured the parents of the abducted students that the government will do everything in its power to secure their freedom.

    “Currently, police helicopters and other search and rescue operatives have been deployed to the area,” he said. “Members of the public, and most especially the parents and guardians, would be kept informed of developments with regard to this all-important mission.”

  • UNICEF condemns brutal attack, abduction of schoolgirls in Zamfara

    UNICEF condemns brutal attack, abduction of schoolgirls in Zamfara

    The United Nations Children Fund says it is angered and saddened by the abduction of over 300 schoolgirls in an overnight attack on the Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Talata in the Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, North-West Nigeria.

    “We are angered and saddened and by yet another brutal attack on schoolchildren in Nigeria,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.

    “This is a gross violation of children’s rights and a horrific experience for children to go through – one which could have long-lasting effects on their mental health and well-being. We utterly condemn the attack and call on those responsible to release the girls immediately and for the government to take steps to ensure their safe release and the safety of all other schoolchildren in Nigeria.”

    “Children should feel safe at home and at school at all times – and parents should not need to worry for the safety of their children when they send them off to school in the morning,” Hawkins added.

    “UNICEF acknowledges efforts being made by the Government of Nigeria to secure the release of kidnapped schoolchildren in Nigeria and calls on the government and all concerned to make schools safe in Nigeria.”

    The school attack on Zamfara comes about a week after a similar attack occurred in Niger State on a school for boys.