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Death Toll In Kaduna Attack Hits 45 …Buhari Wrong, Herdsmen Carry AK-47 Guns -Ishaku …Expect More Christians’ Protest -CAN

Published

9 years ago

May 7, 2018

The death toll of the Saturday afternoon raid by suspected bandits at Gwaska in Birnin-Gwair Local Government Area of Kaduna State has risen from 27 to 45 yesterday.
The Birnin-Gwari Vanguards for Security and Good Governance said no fewer than 45 bodies were recovered by vigilantes and volunteers with the assistance of soldiers on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government confirmed the attack on the Gwaska Village.
While condemning the incessant attacks on the people of Birnin-Gwari, the state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai said that a Battalion of the Nigerian Army would be put permanently in the area to check the killings.
El-Rufai condoled with the people of the Birnin-Gwari Emirate Council, following fatal attacks on the people of the area.
According to the governor who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Samuel Aruwan on Sunday said to contain the situation, the government said that the military would be stationing a permanent Army battalion in Birnin-Gwari.
In the statement, the Governor expressed concern over the incessant banditry and has been engaging the Federal Government on the matter.
He directed the State Emergency Management Agency to provide relief materials with immediate effect to the affected communities.
“The Kaduna State Government has received with sadness reports of the murder of our citizens by armed bandits in Birnin Gwari. The government has sent a message of condolence to the people of Birnin Gwari Emirate.
“Kaduna State Government is deeply committed to overcoming the unfortunate criminality and banditry being carried out against innocent citizens in Birnin Gwari local government.
Meanwhile, the governor of Taraba State, Arc. Darius Ishaku, weekend described as false and misleading, claims by President Muhammadu Buhari that Fulani herdsmen don’t move around with AK-47 rifles but sticks and machetes.
The President had made this claim during his bilateral meeting with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in Washington DC, last week.
“The problem of herders in Nigeria is a very long historical thing. The Nigerian herders don’t carry anything more than a stick and occasionally a matchete to cut down foliage and give it to their animals, these ones are carrying AK-47,” President Buhari had said in defense of killer herdsmen.
However, speaking to journalists at a special awards dinner organised in Abuja by the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Governor Ishaku insisted that it couldn’t have been imaginary that farmers were killed with AK-47 rifles in their clash with herdsmen in Taraba and Benue states.
“It’s absolutely wrong for the President to say herdsmen don’t move around with guns.
I mean, who then kills who? It couldn’t have been imaginary that people have been killed with AK-47 in the farmers-herdsmen clashes. “We simply have to stand up to the truth and do something to stop the killings,” he said.
On the effects of the recurrent clashes between farmers and herdsmen on the health sector in Taraba, Governor Ishaku who bagged an award of excellent service in the health sector at the ocassion, said:
“The current insecurity has put a lot of pressure on our health facilities much more than we anticipated. We already have between 100,000 to 150,000 persons displaced as a result of the clashes.
“Taraba was relatively peaceful before now, and unarguably the safest state in the Northeast. But today, we we are having our own share of the herdsmen problem and that has strained our health systems. Which means, we have to do more in the sector by injecting more funds and employing more doctors and specialists.”
He further expressed his delight over the NMA award and said it will not only deepen his commitment towards helping Tarabans live more healthy lives but also spur him on to do more more in revamping the state’s health sector.
Reacting to the spate of killings, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, has informed the Federal Government to expect more protests from the Christian community against persistent killings in the country.
Ayokunle, who was speaking, yesterday, in Ibadan, Oyo State, on the success of the nationwide protest held last week across churches in Nigeria, hailed the media for being transparent.
He explained that the protests took place in church premises to avoid hoodlums hijacking the peaceful process.
The CAN President, however, vowed that the protests would be sustained as long as the killings in the nation persist.
He said, “This government should expect more protests from CAN for as long as the killings of innocent souls continue in this country.
“There are some other people who will still protest this Sunday (yesterday) because the information got to them late; so, they could not observe it last Sunday. We have told them it must be peaceful and within their communities,” Ayokunle said.
The CAN boss wondered how the herdsmen keep outsmarting the security agencies in all their attacks.
He added, “Our concern now is that it appears as if the insurgents, herdsmen and so on appear to be better trained than our own security agencies.
“Why should the killers continue to beat the intelligence of our security agencies? How are they succeeding in attacking soft targets all over Nigeria and the security agencies cannot outsmart them? Why has it been impossible for them to arrest them?” Ayekunle queried.
Meanwhile, no fewer than 27 persons have been reportedly killed and several houses set ablaze after suspected bandits attacked Gwaska village in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, last Saturday.
The attack came barely a week after nine local miners were killed by gunmen at Janruwa village in Brinin Gwari.
It was gathered that armed bandits, who reportedly came in from Zamfara State, surrounded Gwaska up to Kuiga village around 2.30pm, and killed nine persons, mostly children.
The attackers were said to have also burnt down about 3,000 inhabitants in the village and survivors mostly women were taking refuge at Doka district in the area.
Members of the local government under the umbrella of the Birnin Gwari Vanguards for Peace and Good Governance said most of those killed are volunteers that tried to defend the village and children that cannot escape the onslaught.
“We called on the authorities to take urgent steps to forestall further attacks and extinction of communities in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State,” a member of the community said.
Another who pleaded anonymity said, “The gunmen came in from Zamfara State axis. They attacked and killed many people, mostly children. They also completely burnt down many houses in Gwaska village where they spent over three hours.
“The survivors escaped to Doka village and the injured ones have been taken to Birnin Gwari hospital.”
When contacted on phone for confirmation of the latest incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mukhtar Aliyu did not answer calls put across to his phone at the time of filing this report.

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RSG Floats MNET Culture Content Promo

Published

2 days ago

November 6, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Ministry of Culture and Tourism has floated a culture content platform in collaboration with digital television group, Multichoice.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Freddy Ndigbara, disclosed this after a meeting with MultiChoice Head of Content Acquisition, Don Dotun Ojon, in Port Harcourt.

He assured that content entrepreneurs and film makers would enjoy the platform by promoting culture and other contents to sell the states tourism potentials.

He said MultiChoice M-net was now open to increase its patronage for content shots on locations in Rivers State, describing the State as one that has numerous potentials for film tourism.

“We were privileged to have Don Ojon with us at the Rivers International Film Festival (RIFF) at the weekend in Bonny and he saw, first hand, the numerous sites and opportunities that are open to creatives in the State. After that, we felt it was important to deepen the conversation and he obliged. This is a cheering news for the sector in the State,” he said.

Ndigbara stated that “Rivers State has many more untold stories to tell, many more contents to reel out and the assurances from the M-net Acquisition Manager is an indication that the industry in the state will soon enjoy a new lease of life”.

The Permanent Secretary thanked Ojon for the visit and assured that creatives in the State would grap this opportunity and show the world that Rivers State is a major hub for film tourism in Nigeria.

On his part, Ojon said the visit was to discuss on ways of promoting tourism in the State using creatives and film.

Ojon said although the company has recently been acquired by canal+ France and is undergoing restructuring, he would promote the chances of Rivers State to host the MultiChoice talent factory in the State.

With Asaba, capital of Delta State, being saturated, Ojon said the next port is Rivers State, which he said is capable of building fresh crop of creatives, new locations, new story lines and concepts.

He, therefore, called for collaboration from stakeholders in the State.

Kevin Nengia

Featured

APC Presidential Campaign Storms PH, ‘Morrow

Published

2 days ago

November 6, 2026

The Tide

Barring last minute changes, the presidential campaign train of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will storm Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, tomorrow.

This is according to a campaign timetable released by the APC Campaign Council last month.

The Tide reports that the APC presidential campaign kicked off in Kaduna on October 24 with President Bola Tinubu in attendance.

The campaign train later moved to Cross River, Gombe, Nasarawa, and Ekiti on November 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively with the Vice President, Kashim Shettima representing the President at the rallies.

President Tinubu is personally scheduled to attend 12 states including Rivers, Kaduna, Plateau, Oyo, Borno, Enugu, Bauchi, Sokoto, Delta, Kano, Adamawa and Lagos.

The Rivers State rally, scheduled to hold at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, is expected to witness a large crowd of party supporters drawn from a coalition of political parties in the State.

The party is expected to round off its presidential campaign in Lagos State on January 9, 2027.

The Tide reports that Tinubu has not visited Rivers State as President since he assumed office in May 2023. His last physical visit to the State was before his inauguration on Wednesday, May 3 – Thursday, May 4, 2023, when he was hosted by then Governor Nyesom Wike in Port Harcourt to commission the Rumuola/Rumuokwuta Flyover and the Magistrates’ Court Complex.

Tomorrow’s visit will be his first to the State since assuming office.

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2027: Be Politically Neutral, Fubara Tasks Traditional Rulers

Published

1 week ago

October 30, 2026

The Tide

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has charged traditional rulers in the State to maintain neutrality, ensure fairness and uphold peace in their domains as the country prepares for the 2027 general elections.

Fubara gave the charge on Wednesday while declaring open the 126th, 127th and 128th Combined Quarterly Meeting of the Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council, in Port Harcourt.

The governor said the primary function of traditional rulers is to administer justice and ensure fairness, saying their conduct must not lead to division and unmanageable crises.

“Let me therefore, request, if that is the right word to use, that please, as we are entering into this political season actively, everyone should ensure that your conduct promoted peace in your place. Your actions should not be what would lead to the division and multiple crisis that we cannot manage as a government.

“I think with that, we can all live as one and we can also continue to make this progress that we are trying with all our mind, our body and our soul, to ensure that we deliver to our dear State,” he said.

Fubara urged the royal fathers to abide by the oath and constitution they swore to before ascending their respective stools, in the interest of stability and progress of the State.

He also enjoined them to set aside individual sentiments and place the interest of Rivers State above personal considerations, noting that this principle has guided his own day-to-day governance of the State.

“I want to enjoin everyone to keep aside issues of individual sentiments and ensure that the interest of our state supersedes whatever thing that we have in our mind. This is not just what I’m saying here, it is what I’ve also practiced and displayed in my day-to-day life in the governance of our dear State,” he said.

On the appeal for improved welfare for traditional rulers, the governor clarified that the delay in actualising some of the requests they made in the past was not from the government but from the inability of the Council to put its house in order.

Fubara explained that the issue of stipends paid to the traditional rulers by the local government councils, was a statutory benefit provided for in the constitution and not what a state governor can change by mere verbal pronouncements.

He assured that he remains a man of his word and will fulfill his promises to the traditional rulers before leaving office, next year.

He reaffirmed his respect for the traditional institution as custodians of culture and the closest link to the people, thanking them for their prayers and support.

The governor urged the royal fathers to ensure that the combined quarterly meeting featured fruitful deliberations that will strengthen peace and development in the State.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers and Paramount Ruler of Apara Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Eze Chike Amadi Worlu Wodo, expressed profound gratitude to the State Government for its efforts in maintaining a cordial relationship with the traditional institution.

Wodo highlighted the importance of traditional rulers in conflict resolution, noting that their closeness to the people places them in a strategic position to mediate in disputes involving chieftaincy matters, family disputes and land ownership in their respective communities.

The royal father drew the attention of the State Government to some challenges affecting the performance of the traditional institution, particularly the lack of official utility vehicles and logistical support needed to discharge its responsibilities effectively.

He also appealed for improved monthly stipends and better welfare provisions to reflect prevailing economic realities.