News
‘Why We Killed British, Italian Hostages’
Suspected kidnappers of the two European engineers- a Briton, Mr. Chris McManus and an Italian, Mr. Franco Lamolinara, last Saturday gave reasons why they killed the duo, explaining that they decided to perpetrate the act following their belief that they would be killed by security agents who invaded their hideout.
The suspects were moved to Abuja last Friday by security agents for interrogation by skilled security personnel.
The suspects, sources said, told their interrogators that they were under instruction of their leaders to shoot the hostages whenever they came under any threat from security agents.
“We had a standing instruction to kill the hostages immediately we sighted security agents around the building. We were to kill the hostages since we were not sure of being alive after an encounter with security men”, one of the suspects was quoted as saying.
Heavily armed soldiers and men of the State Security Service (SSS), backed by British security operatives in a commando-like operation last Thursday stormed a criminal hideout at Mabera area of Sokoto to free the two expatriates, an Italian Franco Lamolinara and Briton Christopher McManus.
Both men had been kidnapped by the suspects in Kebbi State May 2, last year. They remained in captivity until their death last Thursday in Sokoto.
The failed rescue operation was said to have started around 10am last Thursday when the security men sneaked to Mabera, a sandy suburb in Sokoto metropolis without attracting the attention of the residents of the area. Soon, they cordoned off the un-tarred road leading to the detached building where the abductors were hiding.
Sensing the presence of the security personnel whose operation was heralded by an aerial patrol of the area with a military helicopter, the abductors opened fire on them.
They shot sporadically into the air. Consequently, the security men who had laid ambush on the abductors from all sides then reciprocated by shooting at the house where the abductors were with the abducted expatriates.
It was gathered that before the soldiers engaged the kidnappers in the gun duel, they asked residents who were attracted to the area by the gunshots to leave. Witnesses told our correspondent that the operators of a block factory opposite the abductors’ residence had to lie face-down.
Residents who were watching the operation from afar, said the kidnappers killed the British and Italian engineers when the soldiers were about to overpower them. “They killed the foreigners and threw their lifeless bodies outside the gate. But before then, a woman who was among the kidnappers came out from the house and from afar we saw her talking to the soldiers. She had a gunshot injury on her leg,” Kabir Mohammed who resides in the area said.
According to him, the soldiers took the woman aside and the gun battle continued. He said the gateman was shot shortly after the woman left when he was trying to close the gate from inside. At the end of the operation, he said he saw the soldiers carrying the lifeless bodies of two of the abductors and that of the gateman.
The people I saw in the compound were more than 10. A civil servant, Mani Abubakar, who resides in the area said his attention was attracted to the house when a helicopter was patrolling only the building. “I was in my house when I noticed the helicopter and some minutes later I started hearing gunshots from the house,” he said. “I was peeping from my compound and throughout the operation, I did not see any military or security operatives.
Four hours into the gun battle, the kidnappers jumped the fence of their house to an uncompleted building near them. From there, they were shooting and the soldiers set tyres ablaze and were throwing them to them.”
Residents besieged the area a day after the failed rescue operation. From across the state, residents of Sokoto yesterday trooped to the house out of curiosity, as early as 7am, spectators continued to troop to the destroyed building. When our correspondent visited, people were seen moving from room to room in the house.
We noticed numerous gunshot holes in the building close to the house. Tyres were seen in an uncovered soak-away pit in the building. At the main house of the abductors, also, gunshot holes could be seen on the walls. After entering the gate of the house, our correspondent saw a two bedroom flat.
Inside the compound, our correspondent saw three rooms each with a toilet. In one of the toilets, there was blood splashed all over. Spectators said it was where the expatriates believed to have been killed.
Efforts to get the landlord or caretaker of the house yielded no result as the occupant of the only house facing the building refused to talk to the press.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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