Nation
Anambra Accuses Herbalists Of Fortifying Criminals, Begins Registration
The Anambra State Government has commenced the registration of native doctors and allied practitioners in the state to sanitise the sector.
The state Commissioner for Information, Paul Nwosu, stated this in Awka, on Wednesday.
Nwosu said the decision was part of the resolutions reached at the Anambra State Executive Council meeting, held at Government House on Tuesday.
He said the move followed a discovery that some of the native doctors were aiding criminals in the state by providing them with “protective” charms.
He said, “Having discovered that some native doctors provide charms with which the criminals operate, it has become necessary to enumerate and register them as practitioners, categorised into herbalists and spiritualists.
“While the government appreciates the fact that some of them add value to health care, it is also not unaware that they have helped to imbue these criminals with the dare-devil confidence that has driven them into committing despicable crimes as kidnapping, extortion of ransom and beheading, etc.
“Where they are found culpable in such crimes, it will be easy to fish them out from the register”.
Nwosu also said, “It has come to the attention of Anambra State Executive Council that the lands of many community secondary and primary schools have been massively encroached on by some communities and developers.
“This is unacceptable and the government is seriously looking to recover these portions of land. As part of measures to achieve this within the ambits of the law, the government is seeking to quickly amend land laws so that land grabbing will be criminalised”.
The Chief Judge of Katsina State, Justice Musa Danladi, has granted bail to 91 inmates.
He also completely discharged four others during the first-quarter jail delivery exercise for 2025 at the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Katsina.
Speaking at the event yesterday, Justice Danladi explained that the Sub-Committee on Decongestion of Correctional Centres carefully assessed the cases before recommending the inmates for release.
Factors considered included age, length of time spent in custody, and medical conditions.
He further announced that going forward, the personal details and photographs of released inmates would be officially recorded to ensure proper documentation and accountability.
Addressing the freed individuals, he urged them to stay on the right side of the law, emphasising that another chance at clemency might not be available if they reoffend.
The Katsina State Controller of Corrections, CC Umar Baba, praised the initiative, stating that such interventions ease congestion, improve prison conditions, and support rehabilitation efforts.
He also called on judges and magistrates to consider alternative sentencing options to prevent unnecessary detentions and allow correctional facilities to focus on reforming and reintegrating offenders into society.
The Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has struck out murder charges against Ooni of Ife’s ex-wife, Queen Naomi Silekunola; the owner of Agidigbo FM, Oriyomi Hamzat; and principal of Islamic High School, Abdullahi Fasasi.
The Tide’s source recalls that the trio have been facing murder charges following the December 2024 children’s event stampede that led to the death of 35 children.
Justice B. K. Olawoyin delivering judgment yesterday, ruled that holding the defendants liable could discourage the public from engaging in humanitarian activities.
The court dismissed the four count charge, which included acceleration of death, conspiracy, negligent acts causing harm and failure to provide adequate medical facilities and security.
The Nigerian Military high command has stated that it is unaware of any community in the Northwest negotiating or entering peace agreements with bandits and terrorists for protection.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, dismissed reports suggesting such peace deals.
He questioned why any community would resort to negotiations, given the sustained military offensives against terrorist groups.
“The military is carrying out its operations in line with established protocols for internal security. If any community claims to be seeking peace with bandits, the military does not support that,” Kangye asserted.
He further emphasised that joint military operations, in collaboration with hybrid forces and other security agencies, have remained relentless in tackling terrorism and organised crime.
Throughout the past week, troops conducted a series of combat patrols, raids, ambushes, clearance operations, and search-and-rescue missions, resulting in significant successes.
According to Kangye, several terrorists were neutralised, their collaborators were captured, and kidnapped victims were successfully rescued.
