Connect with us

News

Gunmen Block Sokoto-Gusau Road, Abduct ‘over 50’ Travellers

Published

on

At least 50 travellers have been abducted in Sokoto State by armed bandits, a witness has said. An official of the Sokoto government confirmed the abductions but did jot state the number of victims.

The victims were travelling on Sokoto-Gusau road on Sunday when they were kidnapped.

The total number of people kidnapped during the Sunday morning operation has not been confirmed, but a witness said over 50 people were kidnapped.

Premium Times reports that most of those abducted where boarding buses belonging to the State Transport Authority, simple known as SPORA.

Confirming the attack to journalists, Yahuza Chika, the general manager of the Sokoto Mass Transit, said only one of their buses was involved, while other vehicles involved did not belong to them.

He said two people from the bus escaped while the other passengers were taken by the bandits. He did not give the number of those kidnapped from his organisation’s bus.

However, a motorist from Talata Mafara going to Sokoto, Abubakar Umar, said more than 50 people were kidnapped during the operation that lasted more than 30 minutes.
He said, “I was driving when I started hearing gunshots. I had to stop immediately after Lambar Bakura and other motorists stopped too. When the road was cleared, we drove to the spot and they were many vehicles empty parked. I counted three empty SPORA vehicles.”

Another motorist, Isa Mustapha, said the attack occurred few minutes after he drove past the spot.

“From Tureta to Lambar Bakura, you can count more than ten security checkpoints that include police, immigration and soldiers, how then could bandits be terrorising same place every day?

“I left just a little after 11 in the morning and I started getting calls to confirm whether I’ve left the spot because bandits have started attacking people. It’s scary.”

Ahmad Madunaka, a school teacher in Sokoto, said “commuters in the first three vehicles were completely kidnapped and those included the SPORA vehicle.”

Kidnapping for ransom has become commonplace in Sokoto and many other states in Nigeria.

The attacks in Sokoto and other states in Northwest Nigeria are carried out by armed bandits whose aim is to terrorise residents and make money.

Apart from the kidnappings, the bandits also kill residents of communities at will. A group of bandits recently shot down an alpha jet the military was using to attack the bandits in neighbouring Zamfara State.

Premium Times

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Police Confirm Killing of APC Campaign DG in Rivers

Published

on

By

The Director General for the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign in Ahoada West Local Government Area, Chisom Lenard, has reportedly been assassinated.

Lenard was reportedly gunned down on Saturday afternoon during the governorship and State House of Assembly election in his LGA.

The Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the Commissioner of Police has ordered a speedy investigation to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

“The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Election duties in Rivers State Command, CP Echeng Echeng, has tasked operatives of the Command to deploy all necessary human and investigative assets to ensure that the killers of the Campaign Director-General for the All Progressives Congress in Ahoada West in Rivers State, Hon. Chisom Lenard, are brought to book,”  she said.

“From information gathered, the Campaign DG was shot by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in the afternoon of Saturday 18th March 2023.

“The Commissioner of Police commiserates with the family of the bereaved and has promised to bring perpetrators of such heinous crime to justice.”

Continue Reading

News

Just In: INEC Declares NNPP’s Kabir Winner of Kano Gov Election

Published

on

By

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has declared the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP governorship candidate, Abba Kabir Yusuf winner of the last Saturday election in Kano State.

Yusuf defeated his close rival, the All Progressive Congress, APC candidate, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna with a margin of over 100,000 votes.

The INEC Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Ahmad Doko Ibrahim declared the results at the Kano Collation Centre, INEC headquarters in Kano.

Continue Reading

News

Timi Frank Lauds Amaechi for Revealing Who Hired INEC Chairman

Published

on

By

A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Sunday, commended the a former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, for revealing those who truly appointed Professor Mahmood Yakubu as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Amaechi had while responding to questions from reporters after casting his vote in Rivers State on Saturday, disclosed that Professor Yakubu was nominated for appointment by a member of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s camp.

Amaechi, according to a video of the interview which has gone viral, said: “What advice? I have spoken to everybody concerned on this issue before the election.

“I have spoken especially to those of us who opposed the reappointment of Mahmood as INEC Chairman.

“The person who nominated him for appointment is a member of Tinubu’s camp. So what are you expecting? Success?

“He said, Mahmood worked under Wike as Executive Secretary of TETFUND when Wike was Minister of State for education”.

“So what you are having in Rivers State is that APC, SDP and others are contesting elections not against PDP but against INEC and against the Police.”

Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East, in his reaction to the revelation, thanked the former Governor of Rivers state for his boldness and courage in revealing that Yakubu was installed by Tinubu’s cabal to help rig the election in his favour and that of the APC.

He said that as a former top Minister under President Muhammadu Buhari and a chieftain of the APC, Amaechi was competent and credible enough to reveal those who facilitated the INEC’s job for Yakubu.

Frank said: “From day one, it is clear that the INEC Chairman did not have any good intention to give Nigerians a credible election but to just come and handover.

“He decided to deceive Nigerians and that is why he refused to follow the Commission’s own election guidelines because of the hatchet job he was prepared to do for those who facilitated his appointment into office.

“The INEC chairman needs to be arrested for lying and his refusal to follow the template and guidelines put in place by the commission, an act that is tantamount to criminality.

“The first and second elections were massively flawed by rigging and violence in most of the states.

“The last time we witnessed violence in Nigeria was during the 2011 general election. This election as corroborated by Amaechi, was not a contest between PDP and APC, but a contest between PDP and INEC and security agencies.”

He insisted that because the INEC Chairman owed overwhelming allegiance to Tinubu for appointing him to the job, all he did was to reward Tinubu with votes rather than conduct a free, fair and credible elections.

He said: “That is why the INEC chairman did not come out to conduct any election. He only came to reward Tinubu and the cabal that brought him into office.

“Based on Amaechi’s confession, he only came to reward the people that put him there rather than conduct a free and fair election.

“That is why he gave Nigeria to Tinubu and APC. Then gave Rivers state to Wike as there was no election in the state. He only rewarded his benefactor.

“We believe with this kind of evidence and proof that Amaechi has revealed, the INEC chairman lacks integrity and credibility to remain in office.

“With all of this, he needs to resign and go. Apart from immediate resignation, he should be arrested based on all the crimes he has committed and prosecuted for selling the will of the people to reward those who fought for him to be appointed for a second term in office.”

According to the Bayelsa-born political activist, Yakubu practically conducted the worst and most fraudulent election in the history of Nigeria because of an obligation he owed those who saw to his appointment.

He said the fraud and rigging perpetrated during the election show clearly that Buhari is not only culpable but a partner to the dirty marriage that culminated in the re-appointment of the INEC chairman.

“We expected Buhari to have left a legacy of free, fair and credible elections which he promised Nigerians but what has happened shows that he equally lacks integrity and honour to keep to his words.

“He came and benefitted from democracy peacefully, but turned around to destroy it.

“With this, we call on the international community to help Nigeria because we don’t have confidence in the government of today under Buhari,” he said.

He further called on the international community to urgently take strong measures against election riggers in the country like the INEC Chairman, security chiefs – police and others – that rigged the elections and fraudulently thwarted the will of the people.

He added: “In all of these, with the amount of rigging, intimidation, violence and allocation of votes that characterised the elections, we believe the nation’s Judiciary at the end of the day will be able to redeem our democracy by doing substantial justice to all petitions that would be brought before the courts.”

He prayed God to repose the souls of those who lost their lives as a result of violent attacks during the elections as well as sympathised with those who were injured and their families.

Continue Reading

Trending

%d bloggers like this: