The Kaduna Police Command said on Thursday that its men killed two suspected killers of IGP Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Sabon Birni Village, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Acting Commissioner of Police, DCP Ahmad Kontagora, disclosed this at a news conference in Kaduna.
Kontagora said the police, since the incident, had embarked on intensive manhunt of the perpetrators and other cases of crime within the command to arrest and bring all the culprits to book.
“The successes recorded in the fight against crime and criminality in Kaduna command during the few weeks under review shows that on Aug. 16, the IGP Special Tactical Squad (STS) alongside operatives from Operation Yaki, acted on intelligence and raided an armed robbers/kidnappers hide out on Sabon Birni village.
“After a fierce gun duel with the bandits, two suspected armed bandits were fatally injured and rushed to Barau Dikko Hospital Kaduna for treatment but were confirmed dead on arrival,” he said.
He said arms recovered from the suspects included one AK 47 Rifle, and five live ammunition from the scene.
“Investigations reveal that the suspects belong to the gang of criminals terrorising Birnin Gwari axis and are responsible for the killing of one Inspector Felix Yohanna attached to FSARS last year.
“He was killed at Walawa forest and the four IGP IRT personnel died in an ambush at Jankasa.”
He said that the command`s Anti Kidnapping and FSARS squads as well as the SIB had also recorded additional successes in arresting suspected criminals and made recoveries of exhibits during the period.
“They include seven suspected kidnappers, eight suspected armed robbers, four suspected notorious fraudsters and three suspected shop breakers.
“We recovered three AK 47 Rifles, three magazines with 20 rounds of ammunition, two motor vehicles mainly Golf Wagon with registration Number ES 904 FST and a Toyota Corolla with number plate RBC 04 MQ, all blue in colour.
He said the suspects had made useful statements and were still undergoing investigation and would be charged to court on completion of investigation.
The commissioner assured members of the public that the command would not relent on its efforts in fighting all forms of crime and criminality in Kaduna State.
He appealed to the public to continue to assist the police and other security agencies with useful information about the activities of persons likely to constitute danger to the society, to ensure effective crime prevention and control.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the IGP, IRT operatives were ambushed on Aug. 11 at Jankasa village of Rigasa in Igabi Local Government Area.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud has vowed that the Kingdom will not relent in fighting terrorism and religious extremism until they defeated.
King Salman pledged also to continue with the infrastructural development and modernisation of the Two Holy Mosques for the comfort and safety of millions of Muslims that are performing Hajj and Umrah every year.
King Salman spoke today, Wednesday at a lunch reception he held in his Palace in Minah with religious leaders, ambassadors, diplomats, top media practitioners from all over the Islamic world to mark the celebration of Eid el-Adha and the succeeful end of this year’s Hajj rituals by over two million Muslims from across the world.
The Saudi leader reassured that the country belongs to all Mualims from all over the world as already arranged by Allah but that he would not allow the standards to be compromised.
He paid special tribute to his father, King Abdul Aziz who founded the modern Saudi.
He pledged to that he will maintain and improve on the stands already set.
President Buhari meets service chiefs over insecurity in the country
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, at the Presidential Villa, had a closed door meeting with service chiefs.
The president proceeded to Daura, Kastina State, for Eid-el-Kabir celebration shortly after the meeting.
Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting with Buhari, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Maj. Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, said the essence of the meeting was to review the security situation in the country.
He said that the meeting focused mainly on the situation in Benue, Zamfara and Taraba States.
“We just had two and half hour meeting with the President and Commander in Chief, we reviewed the security situation across the country in all the geopolitical zones.
“We made all our comments; especially the new operations in Benue, Zamfara, Taraba, Operation Whirlstroke and Operation Saradaji.
“We gave the extent of successes in these operations and we are to continue in this line of action in these operations.
“All the operations were reviewed and all the issues concerning the operations were dealt with.
“He directed that we should continue to step up our game to ensure that the nation is safe and people go about their daily activities in a very safe manner,’’ he said.
On his part, the Minister of Defence, Dan Ali Monsur, said the meeting was a normal routine security briefing with the president.
He said it was an update on what transpired when the President was away.
“We have seen that there is a lot of improvement in the security situation in the country, especially in Zamfara and Benue States and in the Niger Delta.
“In the North-East, we are having a worrisome report; we have looked into it critically and we have taken an absolute decision,’’ he said.
Other service chiefs at the meeting with Buhari were Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Theophilus Buratai, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ebok Ibas and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
Also in attendance were the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, the National Security Adviser, Rtd. Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, Acting Director General, Department of State Service (DSS), Matthew Seiyefa, Director General, National Intelligence Agency(NIA), Ahmed Abubakar and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
Presidential Aspirant of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Alhaji Ibrahim Usman paying Royal homage on the Ooni of Ife at his palace during a recent tour of Osun State.
Presidential Aspirant of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Alhaji Ibrahim Usman paying Royal homage on the Ooni of Ife at his palace during a recent tour of Osun State.
Gusts of winds and heavy rain greeted some of the early pilgrims arriving in Arafat on Sunday evening. Pilgrims who journeyed from Mina watched the night sky light up with flashes of lightning, as they prepared for a day of prayer and devotion on the Arafat plain on Monday. The downpour started just after dusk and lasted for less than an hour with everything returning to normal shortly afterwards. Earlier, Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal arrived in Mina to oversee the operation of transporting and settling the pilgrims in the white-tented city. He thanked the Saudi leadership for their support and praise Interior minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud, who is chairman of the High Hajj Committee, for the successful operation.
Arab News asked Dr. Abdulfattah Mashat, deputy minister of Hajj and Umrah, about the situation.
He said: “As the storm has passed, the situation at the moment is much better. The effects are not serious, they are simple and we will fix them between 2 to 3 hours maximum.If you notice even the roads are dry. So, thankfully the situation is good in the Arafat site and the effects are very light.”
When asked by Arab News if there would be any financial cost after the storm, Mashat said that there was no serious damage and there were no casualties.
Dr. Mashat confirmed that the weather would not affect pilgrims at all, telling Arab News: “In fact, as you can see, movement is smooth and the pilgrims are currently present in Mina and tomorrow they will ascend upon Mount Arafat as expected.
“They (Civil Defense) are always ready and they are present and at the moment on the holy sites of Arafat and Mina.”
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has killed many bandits in a coordinated strike at some of the hideouts, especially in Shamashale village and Rugu forest in Zamfara.
Air Task Force of “ Operation Diran Mikiya’’ successfully degraded the notorious armed bandits.
Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, disclosed on Sunday in Abuja that the attacks were executed in support of ground troops in Sector 2 of Operation `Sharan Daji’.
The attacks were planned based on credible intelligence that the kingpin and his group of armed bandits were using an abandoned primary school in Shamashale.
He said that the bandits also used some makeshift settlements in nearby Rugu forest in the Eastern part of Zamfara as bases for their operations.
Daramola explained that the attack at Shamashale was conducted on Aug. 15 following further confirmatory Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions that revealed the presence of several armed bandits in the area.
“Accordingly, the ATF dispatched two combat helicopters to attack the location. During the attack, some bandits carrying sophisticated high calibre weapons were seen trying to flee the area.
“Some were on motorcycles carrying AK-47 rifles and, rather than dropping their weapons and surrendering, attempted to shoot at the helicopters; hence they were neutralised.
“Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) conducted on Aug.16 confirmed that the kingpin’s main hideout had been severely degraded and human intelligence sources later availed pictures of some of the slain bandits”, he said.
Daramola said that items recovered from the armed bandits include two General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs), two AK 47 rifles, 100 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and two mobile phones.
“The adjoining settlement camps within Rugu Forest, which had earlier been confirmed by HUMINT sources to be inhabited by only bandits, were attacked on Aug.18.
“A ground attack aircraft and two combat helicopters struck the camps in successive waves; first targeting the shelters and then executing follow-on attacks to ensure the threat posed to the local villagers was adequately dealt with.
“The ATF would continue to dominate the area through armed reconnaissance and air interdiction missions to completely decimate the armed bandits in order to ensure a return to normalcy in Zamfara and other States in the North West,” he said.
The NAF spokesman advised all persons involved in armed banditry in the area to renounce violence, surrender to security agencies and hand over their weapons. (NAN)
In what appears like a political earthquake, 252 Special advisers and Special assistants appointed by Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state have resigned their appointments.
And they have returned to the All Progressives Congress, instead of working under a PDP government.
Alhaji Ibrahim Haske, a special adviser to the renegade governor and spokesman for all the aides, announced this at a news conference in Sokoto on Sunday.
He said their decision followed Gov. Tambuwal’s defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Our appointment is based on the position that APC is the political party governing the state and now that the government belongs to PDP, we have no option other than to resign.
“We are bonafide members of APC and our position has always remained same; we, therefore, resign voluntarily from the PDP government,” Haske said.
Haske, who was a former Sokoto South Local Government Chairman, further explained the decision was based on their desire to support APC to deliver on its mandate after the 2019 general elections.
Alhaji Abdullahi Sokoto, also a special adviser to Tambuwal, restated the former aides’ commitment and dedication toward ensuring the success of APC across the state.
“We will continue to remain in our party APC and as such, we sacrifice our political appointments to clarify people’s doubt and show our stand on party supremacy.”
He restated the group’s loyalty and support to the policies and programme of the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of APC.
In his reaction, the APC Chairman in the state, Alhaji Sadiq Achida, commended the former aides to Gov. Tambuwal for their demonstration of loyalty to the party.
He said, “the sacrifice of the Special advisers is highly recommended and will surely be rewarded by the people and APC in future.”
LThe national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has offered a political-philosophical analysis on why Senate President Bukola Saraki and Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal left the APC.
He said the duo quit because the APC could not offer them what they wanted.
In a major analysis of the political situation in Nigeria, titled “They go Away because We go the Right Way, which he also tweeted, Tinubu said the two defectors left the APC because they “wanted automatic tickets and sharing of the national wealth which the APC could not guarantee”.
“The rest of the defectors were given similar assurances by the PDP as to their offices. The APC refused to make such bargains as they are part of the ancient regime; these bargains are not of our democratic new way.
They “left the party to return to a motley agglomeration that would promise them what true democracy could not: automatic tickets, sharing of the national wealth and other offices and privileges
“Governor Tambuwal’s exit can be distilled to one cause. He covets the presidency. However, he had not the stomach to challenge President Buhari in a primary. Tambuwal felt further insulted that he would be compelled to face a direct primary just to retain the governorship
“But for the promise made by PDP hardliners like Rivers State Governor Wike that he would have the PDP presidential nomination, Tambuwal would not have left. His exit had nothing to do with governance of the nation. It was about forging a personal ambition predicated on the defeat of progressive reform not the advancement of it”.
“Much the same for Senate President Saraki. Returning to the PDP, he harbours dreams of the presidency but Tambuwal’s ambition will dwarf Saraki’s when the two collide. If Saraki had remained in the APC, he would be unable to reclaim his Senate seat let alone the Senate Presidency. He thus bolted because he lusts for the presidency but was promised by the PDP, at least, a return to his position in the Senate”.
“For Saraki to talk about lack of governance is for him to deny who he is and the position he holds. This man stands as Nigeria’s Number 3 citizen. Clothed is he in ample power and influence. If he saw areas where government and the nation needed help, he could have easily applied his energies to these areas. He could have drafted legislation and easily got laws passed.
“However, no progressive enactment bears his name for he cared not for progress. He has been more focused on changing the rules of the Senate to favour himself and changing the order of elections so as to coincide with his selfish designs”.
Asiwaju Tinubu asked the people to go beyond the debate on the numbers in the Senate or House of Representatives, saying “we must pull back from the shallow headlines to recognise that something fundamental is at stake.
“Nigeria is undergoing a historic transition. Sometimes awkwardly, tentatively, yet inexorably, we nurture political and governance reform. We steadily close the door on the old malpractices that have caused a rich nation to reside in the tenement of the global poor”.
“There is nothing wrong with ambition. Without a degree of ambition, we would never strive to improve and develop ourselves. But ambition, restrained by nothing but itself, is a dangerous commodity. Unwedded to social conscience, it leads to ruthlessness; it is the father of the deception that leaders are meant to lord over instead of to serve the populace.
“In the final analysis, the reason for the defections is as clear to see as it is crooked in its motives. The APC seeks to reform governance and politics. However, many powerful people believe the established system assures their maximum benefit. Progressive reform would defeat them. They must fight reform and never be allied to it. Thus, they had to leave the APC.
“In a fundamental way, the APC may be better for their exit. It would be untrue to say their departures did not generate concern. As the air clears and we can better assess what is lost and gained by their exit, I can truthfully say the APC will be better off because they are gone.
“We can now focus more wholly on democratic governance inside and outside the party. Inside the party, we have adopted direct primaries to discourage corruption of the democratic process. Regarding public policy, we can now better articulate our progressive stance without having naysayers among complaining that we are going too far or that the good we seek for the people ought not to be done.
“We can more decisively push for the jobs programme, expansion of social security for the poor, affordable housing programs and a viable mortgage system, national infrastructural programme that will provide adequate power and potable water, basic health care for all, and educational reform. Each of these is important in itself. In combination, these objectives shall reshape the very landscape of our political economy. They shall bring fairness and prosperity where none has been. They will give the average person a government that serves them and the land that they deserve.
“But this prospect means a large segment of the political class will oppose the APC. We, as a party, must have the courage to accept this reality. Having decided to place the public welfare above the private welfare of the few, we must forge ahead no matter the foes aligned against us.
”This struggle toward a better Nigeria is hard, described more by difficult obstacles than by smooth passages. Had reform been easy, the task would have already been accomplished. Powerful hands have gathered to halt our collective move forward. Not everyone wants a better Nigeria for all. Those who profit from the imbalances of the past are those who fear a fairer tomorrow.
”Come the general election, the people will face a stark choice. If they want to relive the certain failure and inequality of the system the PDP had erected against their very interests, the people will walk the way of the defectors. If the people want to give themselves a better chance at an excellent nation they will adhere to the path elected in 2015 when they voted for reform and the APC.
“I believe in the collective wisdom of the people. They will choose the right way for they are Nigerians which means they shall do what is right and just”.
” This moral battle informed the recent defections. Those who belong to that PDP mode of thought could find no permanent comfort in walking the path of progressive reform and progress. All the things we have inaugurated such as school-feeding programs for poor pupils, social security for poor families, affordable housing programs, greater access to credit for small businesses and greater access to education and health care, these things the defectors could not well abide. They detested President Buhari’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) innovation because it barred them from mis-directing funds into a maze of unaudited accounts from which they could siphon as they pleased. Buhari cut off their clandestine illicit spigot.
“These politicians see accountable good governance and lifting of the common person as the tearing down of their quest for great riches and power.
Even more so, they detested the APC drive toward greater internal democracy. They bristled when we demanded that congresses and conventions be held; they had demanded giving themselves automatic extension in their positions. They privately erupted as the APC decided that direct primaries where all party members vote on the party’s nominations should be the way of the future. The injection of greater democracy meant a decrease in their ability to manipulate end results. Politics will be ushered out of the backroom and given to the people to whom sovereignty genuinely belongs. These men could not countenance such transformation. They saw it not as the gift of democracy but as an obstacle that complicated their self-interest. They left the party to return to a motley agglomeration that would promise them what true democracy could not: automatic tickets, sharing of the national wealth and other offices and privileges.
“Their defection statements swell with high-sounding words and the attempted grasp of lofty ideals. While I shall refrain from being so coarse as to call these statements counterfeit, I must invoke a sufficient level of common sense for the protection of all. Anyone who accepts their statements at face value will quickly experience buyer’s remorse. Their attempt at fine notions aside, what compelled these people was galloping yet blind ambition.”
A coalition of youth groups from Kogi Central Senatorial district has berated the federal government’s long neglect of the dilapidated Okene – Lokoja highway.
Members of Coalition of Kogi State Elites (COKE) in Collaboration with the Kogi Central Excos of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) who embarked on a joint community project to manually sand-fill the badly damaged portions of the road today in Okene, described the situation as disappointing.
Comrade Abdulrauf, president of COKE lamented the perennial negligence of the road by successive administrations in Nigeria.
Abdulrauf wondered why a road that’s plied by tens of thousands of travellers to and from the federal capital territory, Abuja could be left unaddressed for so long.
“It is unfortunate that the Federal government has paid no heed to several appeals for the total rehabilitation of this all important road.
“For over a decade, this particular road has been listed among the capital project of our national budget but has never received significant attention from successive government”.
Speaking on behalf of the Kogi Central Excos of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Comrade Isah Onimisi Babangida recalled the nightmare faced by motorists on the damaged portions of the highway, citing instances where travellers spent days on traffic gridlock around the area.
“There was an instance where Abuja and Lagos bound travellers spent about three days on this road. Traffic was on a standstill as all the escape routes within the township were over congested and completely blocked.
“It has been a horrible experience for the motorists since the rainy season began until the road recently received palliative measures from both Kogi State Government and the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
“The temporary repairs only provide relief for a short time as it is now an annual tradition during the rainy seasons when heavy downpours erode most part of the road due to poor drainage system.
A member of the group, Comrade Ismail M. Kabir wondered why in spite of the huge support enjoyed by President Muhammadu Buhari since his presidential ambition began in 2003 by the people of Kogi central district, no meaningful project has been brought to the zone.
“It is on record that President Muhammad Buhari has enjoyed undiluted support of the people of Kogi Central district since he began his presidential ambition in 2003.
“I think it is not too much to ask that the administration makes the federal roads passing through our community motorable for the multitude of Nigerians plying this route on daily basis. The adverse effect is already telling on the socioeconomic activities in the community”.
The group then called on lawmakers from the area to raise their voice in solidarity with the advocacy by raising motions in favour of total rehabilitation of the highway, saying all hands must be on deck until a permanent solution is proffered.
While acknowledging the recent palliative steps taken by the state government to ease traffic on the road, the group further called on Kogi state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to mount pressure on the Power, Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola to declare a state of emergency on the road for its total rehabilitation ahead of the Yuletide period.
“We are approaching December and the road is already an eyesore. So we are calling on our governor to strongly appeal to the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Raji Fashola to declare a state of emergency on this road to avoid a repeat of the usual gridlock motorists experience around here at such time of the year”.
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Gusts of winds and heavy rain greeted some of the early pilgrims arriving in Arafat on Sunday evening.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has killed many bandits in a coordinated strike at some of the hideouts, especially in Shamashale village and Rugu forest in Zamfara.
