Tag: Banditry

Kaduna Train Attack: “I’m withdrawing as one-man Army hostage negotiator for kidnap victims 

Aminu Imam

…Alleges non-govt. support The publisher of a Kaduna-based newspaper, Tukur Mamu, has given reasons he will withdraw from negotiating the release of kidnap victims in the Abuja-Kaduna-bound train attack. Tukur Mamu spoke during a chat on a television programme yesterday. Mamu had helped in negotiating the release of 11 hostages who were abducted from the Kaduna-bound train that was attacked by gunmen in March. He also helped to secure the release of additional seven hostages in July. Mamu also said that he declared his withdrawal from the hostage negotiations nearly…

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Kaduna Escalating Insecurity: Bandits abduct 50 in Birnin-Gwari

Aminu Imam

The Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressives’ Union (BEPU) has said bandits had encircled Damari town in the Eastern part of Birnin-Gwari in Kaduna State and abducted 50 people. This was contained in a statement issued by the Chairman of BEPU, Ishaq Usman Kasai, yesterday. The statement noted that on Monday, the bandits returned to the town unchallenged, burnt a vehicle, kidnapped scores, intercepted and maltreated people, a serious development that reflects the level of serious insecurity situation facing our community. Kasai said in the last five days, the union has alerted the…

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Sokoto: Terrorists kill 20 in fresh attack, demand petrol to free abducted youths

Aminu Imam

No fewer than 20 persons were killed when terrorists attacked Duma village in the Tureta local government area of Sokoto State. According to reports, the attackers stormed the village around 8 am on Wednesday and terrorised the locals for several hours unchecked. They reportedly carted away livestock and kidnapped an unspecified number of youths. According to a local, who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity, said the bandits, in large numbers, rode into the village on motorcycles carrying sophisticated weapons which they used to kill some of their victims.…

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Kaduna: Bandits break into many houses, abduct scores of residents

Aminu Imam

Bandits have abducted about 36 residents including children and nursing mothers in Keke-B Community, in Millennium City, Chikun local government area of Kaduna State. The bandits reportedly stormed the community at about 9 p.m. on Monday, July 25, when residents were indoors as a result of the torrential rain. An eyewitness told newsmen that the bandits, who operated unchallenged, moved from house to house. A source said that no fewer than 30 residents of the area were taken away by the hoodlums in the raid that took place on Monday…

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“Banditry became business because everyone, even govt. benefits from insecurity” – Terrorist kingpin reveals

Aminu Imam

A self-confessed terrorist kingpin, Abu Sanni, says insecurity has become a business everyone benefits from. Sanni, who says he helped mastermind the abduction of students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in Zamfara State, was interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Africa Eye, in a forest situated in the State. The 50-minute documentary titled: ‘The Bandit warlords of Zamfara’, was undertaken by a journalist, Yusuf Anka, who criss-crossed remote bandit enclaves in the State. Zamfara is one of the worst-hit States by banditry. According to a report, the State…

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60 killed, dozens displaced in Taraba communities

Aminu Imam

At least 60 people had been killed and thousands displaced in recent attacks on communities in Ussa, Takum and Yangtu Special Development Area by suspected herdsmen. The member representing the Ussa State Constituency in the Taraba State House of Assembly, Habila Anderifun, disclosed this at a press conference in Jalingo, yesterday. Anderifun said the communities had come under coordinated and sustained attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen who had dislodged thousands of people from their ancestral homes and forced them into Internally Displaced Persons’ camps. The lawmaker, who likened the invasion…

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Police rescue 9 abducted persons in Niger

Aminu Imam

The Niger State Police Command has rescued nine abducted residents of Kuchi Village, in Munya local government area of Niger State, by armed gunmen. The State’s Commissioner of Police, Bala Kuryas, confirmed the abduction to newsmen yesterday, in Minna, the State capital. He said that the Police anti-kidnap squad had since been deployed to the area to rescue the victims. “We have put in place sensitive security measures that will ensure the victims are rescued and are united with their loved ones. All we require from members of the general…

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Banditry: Katsina relocates displaced farmers, families to irrigation facilities

Aminu Imam

The Katsina State Government has revived its irrigation schemes to enable displaced farmers in parts of the area to continue their work without molestation. Several farmers and entire communities, especially from the frontline areas with links to the Rugu Forest, have continued to abandon their ancestral homes due to the murderous activities of bandits and terrorists operating in the state. According to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Aminu Garba Waziri, “We have 32 irrigation schemes across the State and we have revived them to the extent that one irrigation…

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“Ado Aleru is still on our ‘Wanted’ list” – Nigerian Police 

Aminu Imam

The Katsina State Police Command, yesterday, said Ado Aleru, the notorious bandit leader, is still on its ‘wanted’ list. The spokesman for the Command, Gambo Isah, disclosed this in a telephone conversation while reacting to the chieftaincy title recently conferred on Aleru in Zamfara State. The Emir of Yandoto Daji, one of the newly created emirates in Zamfara, Aliyu Marafa, had turbaned Aleru as Sarkin Fulani (Chief of Fulanis) in a bid to forestall attacks by non-state armed groups on his territory. Commenting on the development, Isah explained that the…

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Zamfara Govt suspends Emir for giving ’notorious bandit leader’ chieftaincy title

Aminu Imam

The Zamfara State Government has suspended the Emir of Birnin ‘Yandoto, of Tsafe local government area, Aliyu Marafa, for conferring a chieftaincy title to a ‘notorious bandit leader’. The Secretary to the State Government, Kabiru Sardauna, announced the suspension in a statement yesterday. Aliero was turbaned as Sarkin Fulani (Chief of Fulani) of ‘Yandoto Emirate by the Emir. News of the turbaning ceremony along with photos went viral, generating outcry and outrage. Apart from suspending the emir, Governor Bello Matawalle approved the appointment of a Committee to investigate the circumstances…

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