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Gunmen Kill 26 In Sokoto Raids …Boko Haram Attacks Military Base In Borno …As Buhari Decorates New IGP, Adamu
At least, 26 people were killed after armed bandits raided several villages in Nigeria’s northern Sokoto State, police said yesterday.
Armed bandits on motorcycles attacked Warwana, Tabkin Kwasa and Dutsi, a trio of neighbouring villages in Rabah district, late Sunday, shooting residents as they fled. Gunmen hit police station “Twenty six people were killed in the attack — they included 24 males and two females,” Sokoto State Police Commissioner Murtala Usman Mani told newsmen.
The criminals came on motorcycles and attacked three herding settlements, shooting people,” said Mani, who attended the victims’ funerals last Monday.
Residents said the gunmen rode into the villages on two dozen motorcycles, three men on each. “They attacked around 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) and began shooting people without warning,” Warwana resident Kabiru Jabbi said. The three villages border Zamfara state where kidnapping and cattle rustling gangs operate.
The gunmen were believed to have launched the attacks from Zamfara forests where the gangs are based, Mani said.
In July last year armed bandits killed more than 30 people and torched homes in raids on five villages bordering Sokoto and Zamfara states, two of them in Rabah district.
Farming and herding communities in Zamfara state have long been terrorised by such gangs who raid villages, stealing cattle, kidnapping residents for ransom and burning homes.
The incessant attacks prompted villages to form local vigilante groups as a protection force but they are themselves accused of extrajudicial killings of suspected bandits.
The killings by vigilantes attract reprisals by motorcycle-riding criminal gangs who carry out indiscriminate killings and burn villages in retaliation. In April, the Nigerian central government deployed troops to Zamfara to combat the gangs while police outlawed the vigilantes to end the tit-for-tat killings.
It was not clear whether the latest attacks were connected with the face-off between the bandits and vigilante groups.
Also, Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base in remote northeast Nigeria, setting fire to shelters for those made homeless by the conflict, military and humanitarian sources told newsmen yesterday.
The attack in Rann, some 175 kilometres (110 miles) northeast of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, began late on Monday afternoon and forced civilians to flee.
It followed a pattern by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram that has called into question government claims the group is virtually defeated.
A similar attempt was made to take over a military base in Magumeri, 50 kilometres northwest of Maiduguri, last Sunday, a local community leader said.
Rann currently hosts some 35,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), according to the International Organization for Migration.
It has been repeatedly hit in the conflict, exacerbating already dire humanitarian conditions on the ground.
A military source in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, said the attack began at about 5:20 pm (1620 GMT) last Monday.
“The terrorists took over a military position in Rann following heavy fighting,” he said on condition of anonymity.
Poor visibility because of seasonal Harmattan winds hampered the deployment of air force jets, and troops were forced to withdraw, he added.
“The terrorists went about setting fire to camps and shelters of IDPs. Most people have fled the town into the bush but we have no details of casualties at the moment.”
An aid worker in Maiduguri added: “We have been in touch with some aid workers in Rann, who said the town had been taken by ISWAP and camps were being burned.
“They had to flee towards Bulale on the Cameroon side of the border. The details are sketchy.”
The United Nations last week said more than 30,000 people fled after a similar attack in and around the Borno town of Baga in late December.
Meanwhile, President Buhari formally decorated the new acting IG at a ceremony at the Aso Rock Villa yesterday.
The president was assisted by the former police boss, Idris, who officially retired today at the age of sixty.
Buhari decorates new IGP Abubakar Adamu Idris, who was appointed in June 2016, thanked Buhari for giving him the opportunity to serve under his administration as Inspector General of Police.
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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