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Defend yourselves against bandits, Defence minister urges Nigerians
- NSA, service chiefs, IGP, ministers in Minna
Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (retd), has urged Nigerians to defend themselves against bandits who have turned kidnapping into a thriving business.
Magashi spoke against the backdrop of the abduction of 42 people, including pupils, from the Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State in the early hours of Wednesday.
According to him, the bandits seem to be having a field day because they know people in communities they attack will not fight back.
The bandits numbering about 300 had staged attacks on the school and abducted
27 pupils, three workers and 12 family members of the kidnapped employees.
The Kagara abduction came barely two months after gunmen had invaded the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, and abducted over 300 pupils, all of whom were subsequently freed about a week later from where they were being held in a forest in neighbouring Zamfara State.
President Muhammadu Buhari immediately ordered the security chiefs to recover the Kagara abductees.
The security chiefs, led by the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno; and Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; his counterpart in the Ministry of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; their colleague at the Ministry of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi; and the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mohammed Adamu, arrived in Minna, the Niger State capital, to supervise the rescue operations.
Already, the military has launched manhunt for the kidnappers with a view to recovering the victims.
The Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Bello, who gave more details on the abduction at a press conference in Minna, however, ruled out payment of ransom to the kidnappers.
He has also directed the immediate closure of boarding schools in three local government areas in the state to avoid a reoccurrence.
Magashi, while fielding questions from reporters in Abuja, urged Nigerians to defend themselves against bandits and stop being cowardly.
According to him, tackling the increasing insecurity in the country is the responsibility of all.
Reacting to the abduction of the Kagara pupils, Magashi said, “Well, is it the responsibility of the military alone? It is the responsibility of everybody to be alert and ensure safety when necessary. We shouldn’t be cowards. Sometimes the bandits come with about three rounds of ammunition and when they fire shots everybody will run.
“In our younger days, we (would) stand to fight any form of aggression. Why should people run away from minor aggression? We should stand and face them. If these people know that the people have the competence and capability to defend themselves, they will run away.”
The minister, however, said the government would protect the territorial integrity of the county and its people.
Despite canvassing that Nigerians should stand up to the bandits, Magashi opposed the clamour for the Federal Government to allow Nigerians to bear arms for self-defence.
He added that even in the developed country, they are still debating whether or not to continue or stop it.
On the nomination of the immediate-past service chiefs as ambassadors, Magashi said considering the efforts they put in for the country, especially when they came in 2015, they made the nation proud by capturing all the areas under the control of Boko Haram terrorists.
News
Place arms embargo on Nigeria, IPOB tells Italy
Place arms embargo on Nigeria, IPOB tells Italy
The separatist group, IPOB, has called upon the Italian government to halt the sale of air force jets to Nigeria due to ongoing human rights violations against indigenous people and communities in the country
IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, emphasized the need for all civilized nations to refrain from further supplying military hardware and software to Nigeria.
Powerful said, “The Nigerian government has created the terrorist groups that they are pretending to have been fighting in order to displace indigenous nations and allow individuals in power to loot the country’s funds.
“Therefore, we appeal to the Italian government to stop the military aircraft purchase deal they entered into with the Nigerian government.
“We also ask other countries considering selling arms to Nigeria to stop because Nigeria is not using the arms for their intended purposes.”
He stated that “IPOB has no intention to interfere with the Italian Government’s business but wants to inform them that the Nigeria military has not used the previously acquired arms and ammunition including fighter jets to fight terrorists who operate in the open in Northern Nigeria but have targeted innocent and peaceful people”.
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“Unarmed IPOB members have also been the victims of Nigerian military’s brutality,” Powerful said. “Some of the Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) Camps in Nigeria have been intentionally bombed by the Nigeria military to prevent the displaced persons from returning to their communities already ceded to the terrorists as their own.”
He said, “Recently, an Okuama Community in Delta State, Nigeria, was invaded, bombed, and the entire community displaced by the Nigerian military. The Nigerian government and her military are known for human rights violations and genocide against her civilians.”
The IPOB spokesperson further stated: “In 2021, the Nigerian Air Force bought “12” A-29 Super Tucano Jets from the United States of America to fight terrorism in Nigeria.
“After the delivery of those fighter jets, they were deployed in the Eastern region of the country and were used in bombing of Igbo villages and their people mostly in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State.
“From the day the Tucano jets arrived in Nigeria in 2021 till late 2023, they were never used against terrorists but were consistently used in the bombing of innocent people in Imo State in the Eastern part of the country that is Biafra land and also in the bombing of IDP camps in the North who are victims of Boko Haram terrorist attacks.”
IPOB urged the Italian government to “halt the sale of jets to the Nigerian government because their fight against terrorism is a hoax”.
“The Italian government should not fall into the Nigerian government’s deception,” he said.
The Italian government should not fall into the Nigerian government’s deception,” he said.
“Any supply of arms and ammunition to the Nigerian government is a tacit support to human rights abuse and violations. The Italian government and her citizens are civilized and should not support any government that is violating the fundamental human rights of her citizens.
“We are calling on the Italian Prime Minister, Ms. Giorgia Meloni, to place an arms embargo on the Nigerian government for their history of bombing civilian populations and for human rights violations,” he added.
Place arms embargo on Nigeria, IPOB tells Italy
News
Netizens mock prophet who prophesied world will end today
Netizens mock prophet who prophesied world will end today
Social media users have reacted to a self-proclaimed preacher named Prophet Metuh, who has declared that the world will come to an end on Thursday, April 25.
According to him, he received a ‘clear message’ from God, indicating that April 25, 2024, marks the final day for humanity.
In a video that has since gone viral on X, Metuh said: “By the 25th of April, the world is going to end. If you like take this seriously, if you don’t like don’t take it seriously.
“But this is real, rapture is coming, on the 25th of April 2024, I saw it very clear, do you understand? I saw the date very clear and the lord ministered to me. He mentioned it twice, it has happened twice.”
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He also chastised social media users who were criticising him for his claim of rapture.
“This is not a joke, this is a reality. Rapture is coming, prepare yourself. The message was very clear and the date is also very clear, 25th of April 2024. Rapture is coming. The world has come to an end and that is just the reality.”
“I have seen a lot of reactions and comments on social media but it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you have to prepare yourself. The message was very clear, it is not for me to finetune for you to be happy or for you to like it. It is to pass the message as I got it and that is what I have done.
Netizens mock prophet who prophesied world will end today
News
Bullying: Tacha accuses Nigerians of ‘selective outrage’
Bullying: Tacha accuses Nigerians of ‘selective outrage’
Reality star Tacha has tackled Nigerians on what she described as ‘selective outrage’ following the trending internet topic, bullying.
Her criticism followed a video capturing the bullying of a student by her classmates at Lead British International School in Abuja circulated online.
Angered by the outrage that followed the video, Tacha lambasted Nigerians for being hypocrites.
On her platform X, she uploaded a video where she criticized social media users, emphasizing that many of those advocating for justice in the prominent bullying incident were also prone to swift criticism and may have exhibited bullying behaviour during their own secondary school days.
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She said: “This thing with Nigerians and selective outrage is something that I would never understand. All of a sudden everyone is acting brand new screaming ‘justice for…’ since yesterday and today, as if you guys were not bullies back in secondary school. Or as if you guys did not watch your friend bully junior students for doing absolutely nothing or seizing their food.
“You people wake up and bully celebrities unprovoked and insult them and nobody says anything. Is that not bullying? Are you not bullies yourselves? Justice for you! Justice for Tacha too that you people would insult unprovoked. Even if the person that they are owing over a million naira, no outrage because it’s someone that you don’t like. Hypocrites! Don’t come and be disturbing this timeline with justice for…’”
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