Death toll in Kano mosque explosion rises to 11 – Newstrends
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Death toll in Kano mosque explosion rises to 11

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Death toll in Kano mosque explosion rises to 11

The Kano State Police Command, on Thursday, said 11 persons have died following Wednesday’s bombing incident at a mosque in Gadan Village, Gezawa Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesman in Kano, Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed this to our correspondent.

Haruna said three more of the victims died on Wednesday, raising the figure to 11 from the eight casualties recorded on Wednesday.

The police had on Wednesday said they arrested a 38-year-old man, Shafi’u Abubakar, who bombed a mosque Gadan Village.

“The suspect is Shafi’u Abubakar, aged 38, who said his action was purely in hostility, following a prolonged family disagreement over sharing of inheritance of which those that he alleged to have cheated on him were in the mosque at that moment and he did that for his voice to be heard,” the police spokesman said.

The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 1, Umar Sanda, confirmed the incident when a delegation of security personnel visited the victims at Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital.

“What happened is not associated with any act of terrorism, rather it was a skirmish that arose as a result of inheritance distribution.

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“The suspect was said not to be satisfied with the distribution and was reacting to that. He is presently with us and is giving out useful information.

“Out of the 24 that were admitted here, one is dead. It is really unfortunate. He used a locally-made bomb to commit the crime,” he said.

The earlier statement by the PPRO read, “Today, 15/05/2024, at about 0520hrs, reports were received that there was an explosion at a mosque in Gadan Village, Gezawa LGA, Kano State, during ‘Subhi Prayer’ and that some people got injured.

“On receipt of the report, the Commissioner of Police, Kano State Command, CP Mohammed Usaini Gumel, immediately deployed the command’s combined teams consisting of experts in Explosive Ordnance Disposal-Chemical Biological, Radiological and Nuclear led by CSP Haruna Isma’il and other crime-scene policemen, led by the Divisional Police Officer, Gezawa Division,  Haruna Iliya.

“The scene was cordoned off and 24 victims, including 20 male adults and four male children, were removed and rushed to Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, where they are currently receiving treatment.”

According to eyewitness accounts, shortly after pouring fuel inside the mosque, Aminu locked the doors, thereby trapping worshippers inside, before setting off the bomb.

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One of the injured victims,,Sadik Kamal, who spoke to The PUNCH, said when the flames engulfed the mosque, he desperately attempted to escape but found the exit doors securely locked.

“It was the latecomers who struggled to open the locked doors to make good the escape of those trapped to safety,” Kamal said.

According to him, Aminu has a history of violent behaviour in the village, adding that he had earlier brandished a machete, threatening fellow villagers.

Kamal said authorities had once arrested and sent Aminu to a psychiatric hospital for mental health evaluation.

“His latest action, bordering on arson is not an isolated incident,” Kamal said, noting that the suspect had previously not only set ablaze his brother’s car but also attacked him with a cutlass.

Zabiya Ibrahim, whose three uncles were among the victims, called for justice,  alleging that Aminu’s actions were deliberate and not due to mental illness.

“He knows how to make money,” she said, recalling that he was involved in riding a popular local tricycle known as ‘Adai-Adai ta Sahu’ to make ends meet.

To this end, Ibrahim urged the government to ensure that Aminu was held responsible for his actions to serve as a deterrent to would-be culprits.

Death toll in Kano mosque explosion rises to 11

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BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year

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November 14, 2024

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BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year

The federal government has unveiled a proposed budget of N47.9 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year.

Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, disclosed this to journalists on Thursday following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu.

Bagudu revealed that the council had approved the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2025-2027.

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According to the minister, the government has pegged the crude oil benchmark at $75 per barrel, with an oil production target of 2.06 million barrels per day (bpd).

The budget also sets the exchange rate at N1,400 per dollar and aims for a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.4%.

 

BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year

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EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud

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12 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told FIJ that they have arrested Timber Wabote, the former executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCMB), on the grounds of a failed $35 million Bayelsa refinery project fraud.

Dele Oyewale, the EFCC’s spokesperson, confirmed this to FIJ on Thursday.

“It is true,” Oyewale responded to FIJ’s inquiries.

Wabote is accused of misappropriating public funds for a refinery project that should have improved local energy production.

Vanguard reported that the NCDMB under Wabote paid $35 million to support the development of energy infrastructure in the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa, yet there was nothing to show for it.

The EFCC picked Wabote up following the arrest of Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, the Managing Director of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, for alleged misappropriation, money laundering and diversion of $35 million in public funds.

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“NCDMB under the watch of Wabote allegedly paid the $35 million to Akindele to build a 2,000 barrel per day (BPD), refinery, jetty, gas plant, power plant, data centre and tank farm at Brass free trade zone (FTZ), Okpoama Community in Brass LGA of Bayelsa State,” a source with the EFCC had explained.

Since December 2020 when the payments were made, Akindele abandoned the project with little or nothing to show for the huge sum he received.

Preliminary investigations showed that Wabote’s NCDMB financed 17 different projects, including the 2,000 BPD refinery in Brass LGA.

There has been a series of public fund misappropriation cases in the energy sector in recent times.

FIJ earlier reported that members of the House of Representatives summoned three ministers to defend how over $2 billion was spent on renewable energy with not much to show for it.

A recent FIJ report also recently detailed how residents of Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa, have not had power in their homes since July due to the vandalisation of the Ahoada-Yenagoa transmission towers caused by unidentified persons.

The Bayelsa state government told FIJ it was the federal government’s responsibility to provide electricity for residents. The state has no renewable energy options reliable enough to power its capital despite the multi-million-dollar NCMB energy project.

Transparency in the energy sector has become necessary at a time when Nigerians have suffered power instability due to frequent grid collapses.

EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud

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Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27

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12 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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Yahaya Bello

Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has requested an adjournment in the new case against the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, stating that the 30-day window for the previously issued summons is still active.

The commission has granted administrative bail to his co-defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, and asked the court for an extension of time for Bello to appear.

At the resumed hearing before Justice Maryann Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, EFCC Counsel Jamiu Agoro noted that the court’s order from October 3rd had not yet expired.

“In that wise, we feel it will not be appropriate for us to take proceedings while that 30 days is still running. So we have discussed and agreed to come back on the 27th day of November, 2024, my lord,” he told the court.

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He also mentioned that the previously set date of November 20th was not convenient for the prosecution counsels.

Counsel to the second defendant, Aliyu Saiki, SAN, confirmed that his client had been granted administrative bail by the prosecution and had no objection to the adjournment request. The third defendant’s counsel, ZE Abass, concurred.

The prosecution counsel also requested the court to allow the notice of hearing to be pasted on the last known address of the first defendant.

After hearing from all counsels, the judge granted the EFCC’s application for adjournment and the issuance of the hearing notice.

“I have considered the application for adjournment by the complainant and issuance of hearing notice and the submission by the second and third defendants. The application is granted,” she said.

Justice Anenih then adjourned the case to November 27th for arraignment.

The former governor, alongside Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, are being prosecuted as 1st to 3rd defendants, respectively, in a fresh 16-count charge instituted against them by the EFCC.

Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27

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