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Suicide Bombers Kill 31 In Borno
Suspected Boko Haram jihadists killed, at least, 31 people in a twin suicide bomb attack on a town in northeast Nigeria, a local official and militia leader said, yesterday.
Two blasts ripped through the town of Damboa in Borno State last Saturday evening targeting people returning from celebrating the Eid el-Fitr holiday, in an attack bearing all the hallmarks of Boko Haram.
Following the suicide bombings, the jihadists fired rocket-propelled grenades into the crowds that had gathered at the scene of the attacks, driving the number of casualties higher.
“There were two suicide attacks and rocket-propelled grenade explosions in Damboa last night which killed 31 people and left several others injured,” militia leader Babakura Kolo, said.
Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives in Shuwari and nearby Abachari neighbourhoods in the town around 10:45 pm (2145GMT), killing six residents, Kolo said in Maiduguri, the state capital, 88 kilometres from the town.
“No one needs to be told this is the work of Boko Haram,” Kolo said.
A local government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the death toll.
“The latest death toll is now 31 but it may increase because many among the injured may not survive,” said the official.
“Most of the casualties were from the rocket projectiles fired from outside the town minutes after two suicide bomber attacked,” he said.
The jihadist group has deployed suicide bombers, many of them young girls, in mosques, markets and camps housing people displaced by the nine-year insurgency which has devastated Nigeria’s northeast.
On May 1, at least, 86 people were killed in twin suicide blasts targeting a mosque and a nearby market in the town of Mubi in neighbouring Adamawa State.
President Muhammadu Buhari came into power in 2015 vowing to stamp out Boko Haram but the jihadists continue to stage frequent attacks, targeting both civilians and security forces.
The militants stormed the Government Girls Technical College in Dapchi, last February 19, seizing over 100 schoolgirls in a carbon copy of the abduction in Chibok on April 14, 2014 that caused global outrage.
In another development, at least, 29 people have been arrested over the killing of a man at Masaka in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The victim, whose name was given simply as Ibrahim, was said to have met his fate on June 15 during a cult clash.
The spokesman of the Nasarawa State Police Command, Samaila Usman, who confirmed the development, yesterday, explained that two young men were earlier brought to the Masaka Police Station at about 11:30 p.m. on June 13 with various degrees of injuries.
He said that investigations revealed that the injuries were sustained during a cult clash at Angwan Jaba community in Masaka.
“A combined team of police officers were immediately dispatched to the area to bring the situation under control.
“But our men met stiff resistance from the cult members, numbering about 50.
“We were, however, able to disperse them while five of them were arrested at the scene and 24 others arrested later at different locations in the area,” he said.
Usman said that one Hassan later reported at the Masaka Police Station that his cousin, named Ibrahim, was macheted to death at Angwan Tiv.
“So, the police immediately mobilised to the place and collected the corpse but the parents refused us taking the corpse to the mortuary.
“There are concentrations of organised cult groups in Angwa Tiv and Angwa Jaba in Karu but we are on top of the situation.
“That is why we have launched ‘Operation Fish Out’ and created anti-cultism units to fight cultism in Nasarawa State,” he added.
Meanwhile, about 30 people have been feared dead following heavy windstorm in Bauchi metropolis and environs, late Saturday.
Among places mostly affected include Tirwun, Tudun Salmanu, Railway and Kandahar.
The subsequent rainfall, which lasted several hours, forced Muslim Ummah celebrating Ed-el fitir to retire home for safety.
Shops, domestic animals and businesses were affected in almost all the towns.
It would be recalled that several people were rendered homeless.
In Tirwun suburb, Baban Kura told our correspondent that he slept outside with his family after losing the entire house to windstorm.
“I lost everything to the windstorm while my daughter critically injured and now currently bedridden in hospital. However, several people that suffered injury are currently receiving medical treatment in the hospital”, he said.
It was gathered that a family lost a husband and two children after the entire house sunk. Only the mother escaped.
In the same vein, the staff quarters belonging to Nigerian Railway Corporation was seriously affected.
A public commentator, Sani Alamin Muhammad said that the several people died while property worth millions was lost.
“I am saddened by this natural disaster because is the first of its kind. I am calling on federal and state governments to intervene to resettle the victims of the windstorm”.
When contacted, Bauchi State Police Command spokesman, DSP Datti Kamal Abubakar, said: “We have placed our men strategically to curb hoodlums taking advantage of the disaster to loot properties belonging to the victims of the windstorm disaster”.
He added that the command was already assisting other agencies in rescue operation and evacuation.
Spokesman for Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency could not be reached for comments.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has said that peace has prevailed because he draws strength from God to resist insults and tantrums thrown at him while frustrating attempts by some disgruntled persons who wanted to plunge the State into unending crisis.
The Governor also said that because he has anchored his Government on promoting peace, the enabling atmosphere has been provided for investments and sustainable development to flourish.
Governor Fubara made the assertion when he received a delegation of members of the Bishops and Gospel Ministers’ Association International Incorporated, Rivers State Chapter, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Represented by the Head of Rivers State Civil Service, Dr George Nwaeke, Governor Fubara said while most people took his meekness for weakness, his stance on peace has unarguably enhanced harmonious atmosphere of concord as residents sleep with their two eyes closed, and investors and shareholders are happy with the returns on investment.
He said, “Before, what they hear of Rivers State is that they are fighting, and some genuine investors will not come. Some people even ask you: How are you coping in Rivers State?
“But now”, he asserted: “The Governor has brought about a lot of changes in the State. One of the most important things is that he has changed the negative narrative. It is no longer Rivers of blood. It is now Rivers of peace.
“We are enjoying our lives here. Why? Because there is a change in the narrative. We have peace. The Governor is, as much as possible, absorbing any level of insult at him only for one purpose: that Rivers State may have peace; that we may grow; that this state will experience genuine development.”
Governor Fubara urged them, as members of the Christian family in the State, to continue to pray for the State and the Government so that the enemies of the State will be put to greater shame.
“This peace is what I want you to embrace. Go and continue to pray, because when the sower of the seed went and sowed, the enemy went in the night and sowed tares inside there. But the Governor is sowing peace.
“When I listened to the leader of the team, His Grace Eddy Ogbonda, he said you came all the way from Eleme Junction, and stopped at major junctions, and you uttered prayers for the peace of Rivers State.”
He also said: “I, hereby want to thank you for identifying with the Governor at a time like this. At a time when it looks as if someone wants the Governor’s peace posture misunderstood as weakness.
“When someone has the strength to fight back, but refuses to fight back. That is a bigger strength; that power of restrain does not just come, it can only come from God.
“You cannot give peace, if you do not have peace within you. The Governor is not interested in any form of trouble or violence. What he is interested in is known, and it is: let there be peace in Rivers State,” he said.
In his address, leader of the group, Archbishop Eddy Ogbonda, said they had observed a week-long intensive prayers that culminated into a peace rally, which brought them to Government House, and assured the Governor that God will continue to give him victory over his adversaries while preserving Rivers State.
“It is Rivers State Prophetic Prayer Convocation and Rally 2024 with the theme: ‘Peace be still’. Of a truth, everyone of us understands that we live in a time when we need peace much more than any other thing.
“Rivers State needs peace. Everyone as individuals need peace. The country needs peace, and the world at large needs peace. So, we are here to do a peace march. We pray that God will command His peace to reign in Rivers State,” he said.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has stated that hotels, schools, and other establishments that accept payments in dollars from their customers are at risk of facing arrest.
The Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, said this in the agency’s publication called EFCC Alert on Monday, adding that action would be taken against individuals involved in the dollarisation of the economy.
According to him, the exception is if foreigners come in to transact business and the only means of transacting is their credit card and dollar but to charge local customers in dollars or other foreign currencies would no longer be allowed.
He said charging local activities and customers in dollars is against Nigeria’s constitution.
The EFCC chairman said, “Schools that charge Nigerians in dollar, supermarkets that trade in dollar, estate developers that sell their property in dollar, hotels that are invoicing in dollar, we are coming after you and we have made arrests in that area.
“Yes, if foreigners are coming in and the only means of transacting is their credit card, and dollar, why not? You will get that.
“But document it properly as against selling things within the system, local economy and you will be using dollar as the medium of exchange, it is illegal.
“Our law does not allow for that. And we have also affected some arrests.”
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has enjoined Muslim faithful to remain steadfast to the lessons learnt during the holy month of Ramadan.
Governor Fubara stated this in his message of felicitations to Muslims as they celebrate the 2024 Eid-el-Fitr Sallah, which marks the end of the one-month Ramadan fasting.
The Governor emphasised the importance for Muslims to also uphold the tenets of Islam by exhibiting the fear of God and showing piety in their daily work.
Governor Fubara said, “We must all continue in the good attributes imbibed during the holy month of Ramadan as directed by God through His Prophet, so as to ensure peace, unity and harmony in the society for a better future.”
While praying that the essence of the festival offers them happiness, peace and prosperity in all aspects of life, Governor Fubara said he recognises and appreciates the critical role that the Muslim community continues to play in the development of Rivers State, and indeed, Nigeria at large.
Governor Fubara charged them to remain unwavering and steadfast in their commitment and positive contributions to advance the development of the State and the country.
“I enjoin you all in the State to remain calm, be patient and continue to do what is right,” the Governor added.
He wished the Muslim faithful in the State and across the country a happy Eid-el-Fitr celebration.
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