Category Nigeria News

Following the recent desecration of the Alaba Rago Market by the Lagos State Government, the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum (ABMPF) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead an “onslaught” against Northern traders in Lagos.

The Forum expresses its regret over the demolition project, which is said to have affected hundreds of shops and over 40 mosques, in a statement released on Sunday and signed by its Chairman, Abdullahi Yelwa. The organization claimed that Northerners’ businesses were disproportionately targeted by the operation.

The demolition was carried out without prior notice or due process, leaving thousands of traders without access to their goods or property, according to the ABMPF. The Forum claimed that the state government had fabricated a land grab under the guise of modernization and that the economic losses were over 20 billion.

The statement read, “This inhumane action has left thousands of Northerners without a source of livelihood,” as it clearly shows that Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu wants to drive away people from some ethnic groups.

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The Forum urged political, traditional, and religious leaders in Northern Nigeria to intervene before tensions escalate further and warned that such actions could lead to retaliatory sentiments.

They noted that Alaba Rago Market has been in operation for more than 80 years and is a major trading hub for the region’s Northern communities. The Forum argued that the practice of labeling its residents and traders as squatters is both unfair and historically inaccurate.

The ABMPF criticized what it perceives as a double standard by drawing comparisons to Northern states like Kaduna and Katsina, where Yoruba communities reportedly live peacefully and own property without discrimination.

The Lagos State Government should treat Northerners in Alaba, who have lived there for generations, as non-indigenes who can be evicted at will, according to the statement.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has confirmed that Senator Kabiru Marafa will step down.

The Zamfara State presidential campaign coordinator for the former Tinubu/Shettima 2023 made this known to Channels Television via a text message on Sunday.

Following a meeting held last Wednesday or Thursday where leaders unanimously voted to dump the APC over what they saw as injustice, neglect, and worsening insecurity in Zamfara State, Marafa was confirmed.

The group expressed grave concern about the state’s depreciating security situation in a communiqué released at the conclusion of the meeting, citing recent data that showed Zamfara to be the state with the most kidnapping cases nationwide.

READ MORE: Thugs disrupt the ADC Committee’s inauguration in Kaduna.

The group also claimed that during the recent Kaura Namoda bye-election, security forces were deployed to ensure the APC’s victory rather than defend lives.

Despite the state’s contribution to APC’s 2023 presidential victory, Marafa’s loyalists criticized what they termed deliberate marginalization of Zamfara for political appointments.

They noted that Zamfara received just one ministerial slot, compared to other states in the North-West, and that the federal government has not or has not intervened in areas that have been devastated by banditry attacks.

In Oso Edda, Edda Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, a middle-aged man reportedly been beheaded by suspected warlords.

The man’s head is currently missing, and the incident took place on his farm on Thursday.

During the New Yam Festival celebrations, the council chairman, Chima Ekumankama, made the announcement over the weekend.

A moment of silence was observed at the Nguzu Edda Community Primary School in honor of the deceased, expressing the community’s respect and solidarity.

Ekumankama threatened to resign from his position because of the ongoing violence in the area and expressed his deep regret over the suspected warlords’ execution of Nnachi.

READ MORE: Thugs disrupt the ADC Committee’s inauguration in Kaduna.

He urged the State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, to immediately set up a security checkpoint to stop further property and life losses.

“Sometimes I just feel like resigning to go back to my business just because I feel pained and depressed every time I see an Edda man’s blood drop on the floor.”

Know that I have resigned because I have to do so if you hear back on it one day. Your Excellency, I’m in a very bad way.

Your Excellency, if it’s possible, set up an army, police, and other security forces in Oso Edda to protect its citizens.

“Every time our people cry to me, I shed tears, and I cry as well. Our people are being slaughtered.” Please, my Excellency, please, I’m asking you to do something.

We no longer desire blood to spill. Every year, I pray for the land to be cleansed, but enemies never do it. We’ll repeat the prayer to purge the victim, but we don’t want the killings to continue.

Please, my only request for today is “Your Excellency, please.” Do something, Your Excellency, because of the conflict between Oso Edda and Amasiri, he told Governor Francis Nwifuru, who was represented by Moses Odunwa, the state’s Speaker of the House of Assembly.

A team of policemen have been dispatched to the disputed area, according to the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Joshua Ukandu, who also confirmed the incident to Channels Television through a phone call.

He advised the conflicting communities to avoid the region, which had been designated a buffer zone by security forces and the government.

Afikpo Local Government Area in the state’s Afikpo Local Government Area has a long-standing and violent land dispute that has resulted in the deaths and destruction of properties worth billions of naira.

The Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, intervened to save more than 10 people from a road accident on Saturday on the Benin–Auchi highway.

After the bypass, the governor encountered a significant gridlock and immediately set foot in the Esan Central Local Government Area of the state to assess the situation.

He arrived at the scene of the accident, where he encountered several victims who were seriously injured, many of whom were bleeding profusely, and many bystanders who stood helplessly.

READ MORE: Police Recover 16 Abducted People In Edo State

Governor Okpebholo ordered his aides to transport the victims to a hospital for treatment using two of his security Hilux vehicles in response to the victims’ dire state.

He was in charge of helping the injured passengers, including a woman who had severe injuries, get loaded into the waiting car and taken to a hospital where they needed to be treated quickly.

Eyewitnesses described the accident as occurring when a white Toyota Venza’s driver, with the number ABUJA, GWA 50 AW, struck traffic, causing a four-vehicle collision.

Three large, passenger-loaded commercial minibuses were the other vehicles involved.

Scores were hurt and the traffic was completely stopped as a result of the impact.

Before continuing his journey to Irrua, the governor stayed at the accident scene until he was assured that the victims had been safely transported to a medical facility under the protection of another security vehicle.

In its fight against crime, the Niger State Police Command has made numerous arrests of suspected assassins, thugs, illegal immigrants, and other criminals across the state.

SP Wasiu Abiodun, the command’s PR officer, made this known in a press release released in Minna.

According to him, a police patrol team from Beji, Beji, and vigilante members stationed at Railway Crossing, Bosso LGA, intercepted two suspects at about 12:45 a.m., Mohammed Mohammed (40 years old) and Mohammed Usman (both 35 years old).

A local gun, a live cartridge, and about 13 000 were recovered after a search on them.

The suspects admitted during questioning that one Dogo of Beji had hired them to kill a man near the railway crossing. They disclosed that Dogo promised an additional $100 000 in service charge at the beginning of the agreement after paying them $13,000 in transportation.

The intended victim had married Dogo’s ex-wife, according to preliminary investigation, and the intended victim had sought revenge. Dogo is still being apprehended, but efforts are still being made.

READ ALSO: Northeast Governors Meet, Say Region’s Insecurity Requires Multidimensional Approach

The Command’s Anti-thuggery Squad also stormed the Minna areas of Soje A, Soje B, and Kpakungu between 2 and 5 a.m. in a separate operation. A digger, knives, cutlasses, and suspected stolen solar batteries were among the nine suspects who were detained for thuggery.

Sani Musa (18 years), Nura Musa (18 years), Idris Aliyu (16 years), Ibrahim Mohammed (26 years), Abubakar Mohammed (27 years), Abdulhadi Mustapha (25 years), Jamilu Mustapha (18 years), Bilal Saminu (14 years), and Jafar Saminu (22 years) are the suspects.

Mustapha Saleh, age 28, of Shiroro was detained by police in the same way for selling suspected cannabis and cultivating it. While his accomplice, one Shuaibu, is still at large, two bags of the recovered cannabis are found.

Following information from the Fadikpe community, GRA Division agents in Minna detained two suspected illegal immigrants from Senegal, Saidu Jah (25 years) and Sirinjuf Jibrin (25 years). The Nigeria Immigration Service has received the suspects’ additional documentation, but they only spoke French and were unable to explain their stay.

In Tunga, Minnesota, police detained Hadiza Bala a. k.a. Mama Sabir for pouring hot water on her neighbor during a fight. On the chest and face, the victim experienced severe burns. The suspect has been charged with grievous harm and attempted culpable homicide in court.

According to the Northeast Governors Forum, a multifaceted approach cannot be used to address the security issues plaguing the area. &nbsp,

At the Forum’s 12th rotational meeting on Saturday, the governor of Borno State, Babangana Zulum, identified the key issues as, among others, education, healthcare, strengthened security, and infrastructure development.

The governors praised President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to put an end to the region’s insurgency, but they also reaffirmed the need to address root causes like youth restiveness, unemployment, vocational and technical education, poor road networks, and inadequate poverty reduction programs.

They are also requesting the Federal Government’s cooperation to promote the establishment of small and medium-sized businesses and provide an enabling environment for both local and foreign investors.

“We must reiterate our plea for non-kinetic solutions to the problems. By addressing youth unemployment’s root causes, among other things, by enhancing technical and vocational education, enhancing our road networks, revitalizing agriculture, and enhancing programs to combat poverty, security, and healthcare, among others.

We must take action to revitalize our region, in particular.

In addition to the recent announcements by the national hydrological services agency’s 2025 flat outlook and the Nigerian meteorological agency’s seasonal climate predictions, “we must take practical steps that will attract both local and foreign investments, and promote the establishment of large and small-scale enterprises.”

It is advised that your excellencies immediately give the creation of robust mitigation strategies a prior priority in these authoritative forecasts.

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Dr. Agbu Kefas, the governor of Taraba State, earlier, appealed to the governors of the northeastern region to join the chorus in calling on the NorthEast Development Commission to take immediate action to repair the Namai bridge, which has been in disrepair since August last year and has claimed lives.