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Bandits storm Abuja council, kill one, kidnap four in fresh attack

Published

2 days ago

June 30, 2024

FCT Police Commissioner, Benneth Igweh

Bandits storm Abuja council, kill one, kidnap four in fresh attack

At least one person was killed when a clutch of bandits attack Guto in Bwari Area Council in the nation’s capital, Abuja.

The rampaging armed non-state actor also reportedly abducted four others during the invasion.

Over thirty men were said to have carried out the attack which began around 12:30am on Sunday.

According to Vanguard, the attack started on the outskirts of Guto and Piyawe communities before spreading to Tudun-Fulani and Sabon Gari areas, both in the Council.

The armed men were said to have split into two groups and attacked the communities from different points, having entered Piwaye through the swamps.

They were consequently said to have killed a woman, Madam Alice, who was in her mid 40s and then kidnapped a man.

Alice was said to have gone to the area to visit her sick mother who was being taken care of by her brother when she was killed.

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Two victims were allegedly abducted from their homes in Guto, while another person was kidnapped from Tudun-Fulani, which is less than a kilometre from the council Secretariat.

A resident who preferred anonymity, said the attackers operated from 12:30am to 2:30am with no challenge from security agencies.

He said; “What happened last night was very unfortunate. We couldn’t sleep from 12:30am when they stated till almost three o’clock. Initially we thought it was the vigilance teams who were shooting, but when it became persistent, we knew these people were back again.

“We have had peace for sometime now but unfortunately they have resumed and this time with full force because it was two groups that entered Bwari that night. One was in Guto while the other group was in Piyawe. It was obvious those ones came prepared, because the sounds we heard through the night, suggested they came with sophisticated weapons.”

Another resident of Tudun-Fulani who would not like to be mentioned, alleged that the police failed to show even when frantic calls where made to the divisional headquarters in Bwari.

“We felt so helpless because the kidnappers operated for over an hour, but there was no police or army to challenge them. I called my neighbour when the shooting started and he said he had already called the police. We waited for them to show up for 20 minutes and when we didn’t hear sounds of sirens, we called again but they kept telling us they were on their way. We never saw them until the kidnappers left on their own.”

Bandits storm Abuja council, kill one, kidnap four in fresh attack

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Three people selling fake appointment letters @N400,000 in Adamawa arrested

Published

22 mins ago

July 2, 2024

Trends Admin

Three people selling fake appointment letters @N400,000 in Adamawa arrested

Three individuals in Adamawa State were apprehended by the police for allegedly selling counterfeit appointment letters to job seekers at a price of N400,000 each.

According to a statement from the Adamawa State Police Command, obtained on Tuesday, July 2, two suspects were arrested for producing these fraudulent letters, while a civil servant was also apprehended for providing them with office space to conduct their illegal activities.

The police spokesperson, Suleiman Nguroje, indicated that the suspects were issuing fake appointment letters under the guise of being from the Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ADSPHCDA).

The suspects are Muhammed Ahmed Attahir, 31, and Abdulrahman Bashir Ahmad, 23, both residents of Rabe Street, Bako Ward, Yola South LGA.

According to the command, 1 HP laptop, a thumbprint machine, and four fake appointment letters were recovered from the suspects and are now treated as exhibits.

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Nguroje said the suspects were arrested on June 29, after the command received a complaint from Dr Suleiman Saidu Bashir, the ADSPHCA executive chairman that certain individuals were impersonating the agency who said fraudsters were extorting money from unsuspecting citizens by issuing them fake letters of employment.

“After receiving the complaint, the Commissioner of Police, Dankombo Morris, directed the Assistant Commissioner of Police Intelligence to investigate, which led to the arrest of the suspects.

“Investigation further led to the arrest of Bello A Suleiman, 59, a Staff Officer at the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Yola for aiding the Crime.

“So far, the culprits and their collaborators had issued fake letters of appointment to over 10 victims, collecting N400,000 from each, and were directed to a certain office at the Fiscal Responsibility Commission for data capture,” Nguroje explained.

Three people selling fake appointment letters @N400,000 in Adamawa arrested

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Tragedy, policemen kill three workers of Oyo food company during protest

Published

38 mins ago

July 2, 2024

Trends Admin

Tragedy, policemen kill three workers of Oyo food company during protest

A tragedy occurred at the Sumal Food Company, also known as Yale, in the Oluyole Industrial Estate, Ibadan, Oyo State, where policemen allegedly shot and killed three workers.

According to SaharaReporters, this incident happened on Monday during a protest by workers demanding unpaid palliatives.

The African Action Congress (AAC) condemned the killings in a statement issued on Tuesday by Oyo State chairman, Kayode Babayomi.

“Let us stand in solidarity with our fellow workers and rise to the occasion, comrades,” a staff of the company said.

Narrating the unfortunate incident, the staff who spoke on condition of anonymity identified one of the staff shot dead as one Mr Phillips whom he said was in the year three category and a full staff.

He said, “The problem is that there’s money that is supposed to be paid to workers and they (referring to the company management) have not been paying it. Normally they usually do annual percentage increments. So, since last year they were supposed to do a 20 percent increment but HR only did six percent remaining 14.

“They now said you have already signed for the palliative, why are you not paying since last year? Every worker knows that they’re supposed to be paying palliative to workers.

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“So, on Saturday they (workers) told management that since the company had increased the price of their products, and other companies which increased prices of their products had been paying palliatives to their workers, Yale should not be different. The workers told the management that they would protest against it on Monday.

“On Monday being yesterday, before the workers could come to work, they had deployed policemen everywhere. So that morning, the management changed the memo for contract staff; instead of N200 per day, they increased it to N500 per day.

“Meanwhile, the 20 percent increment in salary was for the main staff. It is only the full staff that got the six percent. Even the additional 14 percent the workers were agitating for was going to be paid to full staff and not to the contract staff.

“So because of the protest announcement, they wrote the memo so that the contract staff wouldn’t join the protest so that everywhere would be calm. The management now stated in the memo that the palliative is not for the workers, that they are not under labour.

“That the workers are not under the Labour and therefore, they are not entitled to palliatives, the source said, adding that this angered the workers the most.

“During the protest those policemen they (management) brought started harassing the workers. They shot teargas canisters at the protesting workers and that incident scattered the people. Then they (Police) started shooting live bullets at the protesters.

“They shot one person, called Phillips dead. I saw his dead body and later I heard they killed two more people. But I am sure of one person I saw his body. I just know the person as Phillip, he is a staff in year three. All the staff including the contract staff joined in the protest and it was largely peaceful until police started shooting them,” the eyewitness staff narrated.

Tragedy, policemen kill three workers of Oyo food company during protest

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Troops arrest three Kaduna female hawkers accused of being bandits’ informants

Published

48 mins ago

July 2, 2024

Trends Admin

Troops arrest three Kaduna female hawkers accused of being bandits’ informants

In the Dogon-Daji community of Kagarko council area, Kaduna State, Nigerian Army troops arrested three female hawkers on Thursday for allegedly acting as informants for bandits.

The suspects, who sold honey, were apprehended during a raid following intelligence received from an earlier arrest of an informant two weeks prior.

A community leader confirmed the arrest to *Daily Trust*, expressing shock that the women, who appeared to be ordinary hawkers, were involved in criminal activities. “It is true; three women were arrested by soldiers around Dogon-Daji village last week. And I was shocked that these girls who hawked honey by the road could also be informants to bandits,” he said.

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This incident follows a similar operation in May where troops from the 1st Division of the Nigerian Army and Operation Whirl Punch killed six bandits and arrested three suspected informants in Giwa LGA, Kaduna. According to Samuel Aruwan, the overseeing commissioner in the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, the troops acted on credible intelligence to neutralize the bandits.

Aruwan’s statement detailed the operation: “The troops set up an initial position at Sabon Sara village, where it was discovered that insurgents had abandoned a herd of rustled cattle as they hastily escaped from the location. The troops then sighted insurgents at the market square of Galadimawa.

A swift exchange of fire resulted in six insurgents being neutralized by the troops. A further search of the market area led to the arrest of three suspected collaborators and informants believed to have been offering logistic assistance to the criminal elements.”

During the operation, two motorcycles and four mobile phones were recovered. Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna, commended the troops and called for a thorough investigation to apprehend the remaining bandits.