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Zamfara Killing: MURIC hails media for fair reporting

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Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Prof Ishaq Lakin Akintola

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has hailed the Nigerian media for properly reporting the killing of Muslims in Zamfara last Friday, September 23, 2022.

MURIC commendation is contained in a press statement signed Sunday by its Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola.

However, theIslamic human rights organization slammed the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) for falsely claiming that it was only Christians that are being killed in Nigeria.

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The statement reads in part: “Terrorists invaded the Friday prayer mosque in Ruwan Jema town in Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State Friday, 23rd September, 2022 killing fifteen (15) and injuring forty eight (48) Muslim worshippers. The armed men hid their guns inside their clothes and pretended to be worshippers. They opened fire on innocent worshippers after entering the mosque.

“MURIC is particularly impressed by the manner in which the killing was reported. Unlike in the past when the killing of Muslims attract little or no media attention and mere casualty figures are given while the religion of the victims are deliberately left out, this time around, the Nigerian press really went to town with stories of the Zamfara killings and most media houses identified the victims as Muslims. This is quite laudable.

“The Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) of MURIC reported the use of the following captions in different media houses to describe the Zamfara killings (https://saharareporters.com/2022/09/24/breaking-scores-worshippers-killed-terrorists-attack-zamfara-mosque-during-jumaat; https://dailypost.ng/2022/09/24/bandits-invade-mosque-kill-15-worshippers-in-zamfara/; https://www.thecable.ng/15-worshippers-killed-as-bandits-attack-mosque-in-zamfara; https://muslimnews.com.ng/2022/09/25/terrorists-attack-zamfara-mosque-during-jumaat-prayer-kill-15-worshippers-turkiye-envoy-mourns/; https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/09/bandits-attack-zamfara-mosque-kill-15-worshippers-2/; https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2022/09/24/terrorists-shoot-15-worshippers-dead-in-zamfara-mosque/; https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/09/25/terrorists-invade-mosque-kill-15-worshippers-injure-others-in-zamfara/; https://punchng.com/bandits-attack-zamfara-mosque-gun-down-worshippers/; https://tribuneonlineng.com/gunmen-kill-15-worshippers-in-mosque-in-zamfara/; https://www.channelstv.com/2022/09/24/terrorists-attack-zamfara-mosque-kill-at-least-11/; https://thenationonlineng.net/bandits-invade-zamfara-mosque-kill-15-worshippers/)

“Even some foreign media like Voice of America (VOA) and Reuters were not left out of the fair reportage (https://www.voanews.com/a/armed-bandits-kill-15-at-mosque-in-northwest-nigeria-residents-say-/6761811.html; https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/armed-bandits-kill-15-mosque-northwest-nigeria-residents-2022-09-24/; https://newscentral.africa/fifteen-killed-forty-eight-injured-as-bandits-ransack-zamfara-mosque/) We salute them all.   

“However, a few media houses need to be awake to the sensitivity of the revelation of identities when reporting incidents like this. It may not have been deliberate, but newsmen need to be conscious of the need not only to be fair but also to be seen to have been fair. At least one or two media houses left out the identity of the faith of the victims of the Zamfara killing (https://www.tvcnews.tv/2018/06/police-confirm-fresh-attack-in-zamfara-village-15-killed/; https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/265729-police-confirm-15-killed-in-zamfara-attack.html).

“Both the press and non-governmental organisations should be partners in progress. We cherish the emerging culture of equity, fairness and professionalism in reportage. Both Christians and Muslims deserve fair representation in media reports. This will promote peaceful coexistence among the different faiths.

 “The manner of reporting the Zamfara killings thus revealed the fact that it was Muslims that were killed and injured last Friday. We therefore wonder how the Christian Association of Nigeria arrived at its conclusion that only Christians were being killed in Nigeria and it tried to sell such a dangerous idea to the West, knowing it to be false.

“MURIC is constrained to ask CAN if the 15 worshippers killed and the 48 injured in Zamfara mosque last Friday were also Christians? What of the 200 worshippers killed and the 165 injured in Boko Haram’s bomb attack in Kano Central Mosque on 28th November 2014 (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30250950)? Were they also Christians? Do Christians attend Jumu’ah prayers in mosques?

“The intention and likely outcome of such vicious lies are not lost on us. America and its Western allies like Britain, France and Germany are likely to impose travel sanctions on Muslim leaders in government, label some Islamic organisations in Nigeria as terrorist groups, place some Islamic scholars on terror watch and begin a process of secret supply of weapons to Christian leaders and Nigerian churches.

“But the greatest benefit would have been a geometric increase in the pouring of monetary support in billions of dollars, euro and British pounds to Christian leaders and groups.

“MURIC condemns the killing of innocent Muslims who had only gone to the mosque for their Jumu’ah prayer last Friday. For the umpteenth time, we reiterate our stand that terrorists and bandits are not part of us. They belong to the evil circle of criminals. They are not part of the Muslim community.

“They are rebellious subjects and enemies of peace. Nobody, therefore, should associate them or their actions with the peace-loving and law-abiding Muslims of Nigeria. In the same vein, it will be naïve for any individual or group within or outside the country to link the actions of terrorists and bandits with the Nigerian government.

“We commiserate with Bello Matawalle, the governor of Zamfara, on the senseless killing of innocent citizens of his state. We pray that Allah will forgive the dead and grant the bereaved families the fortitude to bear the loss and the economic empowerment to take care of dependants left behind by their bread winners. Above all, we pray for peace in Zamfara, the entire North and the rest of Nigeria.”

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Kidnap kingpin who abducted 20, collected N70m, arrested in Taraba

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November 18, 2024

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Suleiman Ahmad

Kidnap kingpin who abducted 20, collected N70m, arrested in Taraba

Troops from the 6 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Jalingo, Taraba State, have arrested a suspect who confessed to abducting 20 individuals and extorting N70 million in ransom.

Captain Oni Olubodunde, the Acting Assistant Director of Public Relations for the brigade, said in a statement that Suleiman Ahmed, a resident of Bomanda village in Lau LGA, was apprehended on November 12, 2024, during an anti-kidnapping operation conducted in Maraban Abbare, Bomanda, and Karamuke villages.

“The operation was targeted at curbing kidnapping activities in Lau LGA. During initial investigations, Suleiman Ahmed confessed to abducting 20 people and collecting over N70 million in ransom,” Captain Oni said.

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He said the suspect also admitted to using an AK-47 rifle in his criminal operations.

“A follow-up operation on November 15 led to the recovery of the weapon from a concealed location and the arrest of one of Ahmed’s accomplices, identified as Hussaini.

“The troops also apprehended a suspected gunrunner at his residence in Mayo Dassa, Lau LGA,” he said.

Captain Oni emphasised that the 6 Brigade remains resolute in its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of residents in Taraba State, continuing to intensify efforts to dismantle criminal networks in the state.

 

Kidnap kingpin who abducted 20, collected N70m, arrested in Taraba

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Obasanjo’s comment on Tinubu mischievous, says Afenifere chief

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November 18, 2024

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President Bola Ahmed tinubu, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

Obasanjo’s comment on Tinubu mischievous, says Afenifere chief

The National Organising Secretary of Afenifere, Mr Kole Omololu, has said President Bola Tinubu’s short stay in office has shown signs of outperforming former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s record.

The chieftain of the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation said in a statement yesterday that the emerging gains of the president’s economic reforms gave hope that the nation was on a trajectory of recovery, growth, and development.

Omololu, in reaction to Obasanjo’s claim on Saturday that Nigeria had become a failing state under President Tinubu, said the former president’s assertion was incorrect given the increasing gains being made under the president.

Delivering a keynote address at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum, Yale University, New Haven, at the weekend in Connecticut, USA, the former president, in his recorded lecture titled, ‘Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria, said the country’s pervasive corruption, mediocrity, immorality, misconduct, mismanagement, perversion, injustice, incompetence, and all other forms of iniquity confirmed Nigeria’s failing state status under the president.

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However, Omololu said Obasanjo’s conclusions were inaccurate and mischief from the former president’s habitual attention-seeking.

“This is typical Obasanjo grandstanding. As the late President Shehu Shagari wrote about him in his autobiography, ‘Beckoned To Serve,’ Obasanjo is an egotistical narcissist who cannot stand not being the centre of attention and the cynosure of all eyes. He will engage in serial acts of incitement to attract the spotlight to himself,” he stated.

Saying Obasanjo had persistently criticised his successors unduly, Omololu contended that Tinubu’s managerial, moral and anti-corruption records were shoulder above the former president’s.

The Afenifere chieftain said the president’s economic reforms, including the withdrawal of petrol subsidies and the unification of forex rates, were bold measures the former president did not have the courage to take while in office.

He said these measures had shored up the nation’s revenue and helped it to reduce its debt service ratio from 97% to 65% of income within 17 months.

He added that Nigeria, under Tinubu, had achieved a new record in its trade balance, with an unprecedented N14.07 trillion trade surplus by half-year 2024, pointing out that the administration’s non-oil revenue in one quarter was more than the total generated during Obasanjo’s eight years in office.

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Omololu queried, “How can President Obasanjo talk of mismanagement when, on Thursday, March 28, 2024, the Nigerian Stock Exchange crossed 104,562.06 All Shares Index, a 39.84% increase year-to-date, making it the second-best performing exchange in Africa?”

The Afenifere chieftain also disputed the former president’s assessment of the president’s anti-corruption record, stating that the top global transparency rating agency, Transparency International, reported a more positive evaluation.

“Transparency International says Nigeria is less corrupt today than during the Obasanjo administration,” he said, adding, “Nigeria improved on TI’s Corruption Perception Rating this year, moving five places from 150 in 2023 to 145 in 2024. In contrast, under Obasanjo, Nigeria was rated the second-most corrupt nation in the world, with only Bangladesh ahead of us in 2002. Out of 102 nations, Nigeria was number 101.”

Omololu pointed out that Obasanjo and his deputy, Atiku Abubakar, publicly exposed themselves via a nasty public exchange exposing their dirty dealings.

Omololu said Obasanjo, who could not manage his deputy, Atiku, lacked the moral authority to accuse Tinubu of immorality and mismanagement.

 “If you could not manage your Presidency, what moral authority do you have to call the man who has managed his government and party with almost military efficiency a mediocre?” he queried.

Obasanjo’s comment on Tinubu mischievous, says Afenifere chief

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Gunmen abduct NDLEA officers in Delta

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3 hours ago

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November 18, 2024

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Gunmen abduct NDLEA officers in Delta

Gunmen have abducted officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Delta State, sparking concerns over rising insecurity in the are.

Reports indicate that the armed assailants ambushed the officers and their orderly near the agency’s state headquarters at around 8:00 pm as they were returning home from work.

The attackers, believed to have monitored the victims’ routine, intercepted them along the Isah-Ogwashi-Uku Road in Aniocha South Local Government Area.

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Sources familiar with the incident suggested that the kidnappers may have received insider information to carry out the attack.

Efforts to obtain a comment from the NDLEA State Command’s spokesperson, Mr. John Kennedy, were unsuccessful, as he declined to speak on the matter.

This incident follows a troubling trend in Ogwashi-Uku, where five people have reportedly been kidnapped in the past 10 days. The recent wave of abductions has left residents in fear, with criminals allegedly adopting new strategies to elude law enforcement.

 

Gunmen abduct NDLEA officers in Delta

(DAILY POST)

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