metro
No one is denying us land in Igboland, Yoruba, Hausa in Abia declare
No one is denying us land in Igboland, Yoruba, Hausa in Abia declare
In Abia State, contrary to the wrong insinuation held by some uninformed persons that the people of the Southeast do not sell their lands to outsiders to build houses, investigations have revealed the true position.
Findings by Sunday Sun showed that the Hausa and Yoruba, as well as other people from other tribes outside Igbo land, indeed, live, work, do businesses and own property in Abia State.
The investigation revealed that in Aba and Umuahia, the two major cities in the state, Muslims of Hausa and Yoruba extractions had bought plots of lands in prime areas of the cities where they built their mosques and dwelling apartments.
In Aba, for instance, there is no church that is strategically located than the Yoruba mosque on Azikiwe by Asa Road.
The same is with the Hausa mosque on Mosque Street by Hospital Road, Aba; ditto the Mosque in Umuahia, located close to Isi-Gate, the most sought after location in the state capital.
On personal level, non-natives own property in choice areas of the state.
For instance, Sarika Yaro Danladi is the leader of the Northern community in Abia State and lives in Umuahia.
Outside the thriving cattle business he is involved in, Danladi, who has lived all his years in the Abia State capital, built a hotel in Umuahia he is effectively running.
Danladi some years back was appointed Special Adviser to the Governor of Abia State, which made not only him, but the entire Hausa community in Abia State to have a sense of belonging.
Danladi who has lived for close of 60 years in Abia State, in an interview enthused that most of his family businesses are in the state.
Hear him, “I’m very happy that I’m in Abia, not only in Umuahia. It might interest you to note that at my age, I’m almost 60, my own father was born here, I was born here too, most of our businesses are here, I am married to an Ohuhu (Umuahia) lady.
To cap it all, Danladi who is living in a house he bought land in Umuahia to build, feels very much at home in Abia.
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His words: “I will be proud to tell you that I am an Hausa/Igbo man. I’m happy staying in Abia and I’m going nowhere. Abia State government has been assisting us in various ways and we are happy with that.”
Like Danladi, Idris Ibrahim, living in his house, is also doing a thriving business in Umuahia and he is not in any way planning to go back to the North anytime soon.
He was born and brought up in Umuahia.
“I attended both primary and secondary schools here in Umuahia and ever since I was born, we have been living peacefully with the Igbo people.
“I am not planning to go back to the North any time soon; as I have nowhere or home to go to if I leave Umuahia. This is the only place I know because I have not stayed in the North more than one week since I was born. What’s the point of leaving? I am comfortable in Umuahia; I am being well treated by the government and people of the state,” he confessed.
Danladi and Ibrahim are not alone in being accorded this sense of belonging in Abia as there are other Northern businessmen who own property and do good business in Umuahia, including Ali and Usman.
The duo spoke on how they have been living in the city peacefully and doing their businesses ever since without any molestation from any quarters.
They added that their host even encouraged them to buy landed property.
Speaking on whether non-natives living in Umuahia are discriminated about, including being denied the opportunity to buy and own landed property in Umuahia, Musa dismissed the insinuation as complete lies, saying rather the contrary is the case.
Hear him: “No, there is nothing like that. Our people doing business in Ama-Hausa and other places in the city are not being discriminated in whatever form, including the opportunity to own landed property in the capital city.”
On his own part, Ali said: “To be frank, I prefer staying in Umuahia because the people are very friendly and accommodating, they don’t disturb us, even when we don’t want to buy landed property here, they encourage us to do so. Some of us own houses in the city, we did not build them on the air.”
Investigations revealed that apart from the Hausa community in Umuahia being allowed to own landed property, both the state government and some individuals have been assisting them in various ways. It was gathered that a former member of the House of Representatives at a point in time, sank borehole in their mosque.
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Musa attested to this: “Abia State government always comes around to help us when we have problems. Some individuals are also assisting us. A former member of the House of Representatives sank borehole for us in our Mosque and we remain grateful.”
Away from Umuahia, in Aba, the commercial hub of the state, is the Sariki family among others. Apart from having a bustling business in the city, the family has a princely property in a choice area of Ehi Road, which not only serves as residential area for the Hausa community in Aba, but also used as praying ground during festivities.
Debunking insinuation in some quarters that the Igbo refuse to sell their lands in Southeast to non-Igbo, Alhaji Mohammadu Guzu, an elder of the Hausa community in the commercial city, who himself owns a house on Hospital Road, Aba, said many Northerners own property in the city.
Alhaji Guzu mentioned one late Alhaji Allah, a cow dealer, who was also chairman, Customs Clearing Agent in Aba before he died as having property in the city.
According to Alhaji Guzu, “those saying the Igbo do not sell their lands to non-natives are economical with the truth. I own a house in Aba and the late Alhaji Allah owned more than four houses at Okpulu Umuobo and Ogbor Hill axis of the city before he denied.
“We also own plots of lands at Good Morning and Onions Markets. In fact, an Igbo man bought land close to the Onions Market and gave to us to build our mosque.”
Like the Hausa, the Yoruba and other non-Igbo actors own property and do businesses in the commercial city.
The Yoruba community has its mosque on Azikiwe by Asa Road, a prime parcel of land no church owned by any South easterner can boost of.
Added to that, the late Prof Charles Adeyinka Adisa was a Yoruba man from Ibadan who studied Medicine and Surgery at the University of Ibadan before relocating to Aba, Abia State.
It was revealed that Adisa became professor of surgery at the Abia State University/Abia State University Teaching Hospital, where he served as Dean of Medicine and Head of the Department of Surgery.
Adisa equally served as president of the Aba Chapter of the Nigeria Christian Fellowship between 2004-2008 and chairman of Aba zone (made up of the southeast states) from 2009-2012.
Before his death in December 2020, Adisa it was gathered had acquired a large expanse of land at the highbrow Okpulu Umuobo axis of the city where he established his hospital.
Apart from the hospital, Prof Adisa bought another landed property in the neighborhood where he built a house he lived till death and his family is still said to be living in that house till date.
Another Yoruba man, Jerome Tunde, is making waves in Aba where he has a state-of-the-art printing press.
Tunde is said to have acquired some plots of land in the city where he lives and does his business.
A Yoruba man who gave his name as Yinka said that apart from the two men above, there are many others who own property in the commercial city.
No one is denying us land in Igboland, Yoruba, Hausa in Abia declare
The SUn
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metro
NDLEA Arrests Woman With 266 Rounds of Live AK-47 Ammunition on Abuja-Kaduna Expressway
NDLEA Arrests Woman With 266 Rounds of Live AK-47 Ammunition on Abuja-Kaduna Expressway
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a woman identified as Aisha Isah after allegedly recovering 266 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition from her along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.
The suspect was reportedly arrested at a toll gate during a patrol operation by NDLEA operatives along the busy highway.
The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the arrest in a statement issued on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
According to the statement, the ammunition recovered from the woman consisted of 266 live rounds meant for an AK-47 rifle.
However, the NDLEA did not disclose where the suspect was travelling from, her intended destination or the circumstances surrounding the possession and transportation of the ammunition.
The arrest comes amid intensified security operations across the country, particularly along major highways and other routes suspected to be used for the movement of illicit substances and other prohibited items.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives arrested a 68-year-old man, identified as Ifeanyi Egwolonwu, at Gwargwaje in Zaria, Kaduna State, along the Zaria-Kano Expressway.
The suspect was allegedly found with 2,770 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 100 ampoules of diazepam injection, 11,000 tablets of diazepam and 4,500 tablets of Exol-5.
The agency also reported several arrests and major drug seizures in different parts of the country as part of its ongoing operations against drug trafficking and related criminal activities.
The NDLEA has yet to provide further details about the investigation into the alleged ammunition possession by Aisha Isah.
NDLEA Arrests Woman With 266 Rounds of Live AK-47 Ammunition on Abuja-Kaduna Expressway
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metro
How 40 Motorcycles-Riding Bandits Ambushed, Brutalised Six Kwara Security Operatives
How 40 Motorcycles-Riding Bandits Ambushed, Brutalised Six Kwara Security Operatives
Suspected bandits have reportedly ambushed and brutalised six members of the Iru Ekun Security Network in Bani community, Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The attack occurred as the operatives were returning from a meeting in Kaiama town, shortly before reaching Bani community.
The chairman of the private security organisation, Isiak Olayiwola, disclosed details of the incident, describing the attack as heartbreaking and a disturbing development for community-based security efforts in the state.
According to Olayiwola, the six operatives were travelling back to Bani when between 30 and 40 motorcycles carrying armed men suddenly emerged and launched an attack on them.
He said the attackers were heavily armed with AK-47 rifles and other weapons, adding that the security operatives had only two firearms among them for personal protection.
Olayiwola explained that his men were not on a mission to confront any armed group but were simply returning from their meeting when they were ambushed.
He said, “They were returning from a meeting in Kaiama town to Bani when they were ambushed on their way back.”
The security chief added that the attackers opened fire on the operatives shortly before they entered the community.
He expressed gratitude that none of the six members was killed during the attack, attributing their survival to divine intervention.
A video of the incident, which surfaced on October 26, showed the captured operatives sitting on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs while armed men interrogated them.
In the footage, the captors repeatedly questioned the victims about their membership of the Iru Ekun Security Network and their activities in Bani community.
One of the armed men was heard challenging the operatives over what he described as their refusal to heed earlier warnings against associating with the security organisation or accommodating its members in the community.
One of the captives, identified as Jelili Alagbere, who was wearing an Iru Ekun-branded shirt, was questioned about his involvement in the organisation.
Another captive, Yusuf Alagbere, reportedly identified himself as a hunter, explaining that he had been invited by some individuals known as the Elere boys.
A third captive, identified as Rafiu, was also questioned about his identity and connection with the security outfit.
An elderly man among the captives, however, denied belonging to the organisation, insisting that he was not an Iru Ekun member.
Towards the end of the recording, the armed men reportedly asked the captives whether they would continue participating in the organisation’s activities. The victims were heard responding in the negative.
Olayiwola subsequently identified one of the suspected attackers as Sardauna, alleging that he was among those who participated in the shooting and personally recorded the interrogation.
He claimed that Sardauna was holding the phone and conducting the questioning while also opening fire on the security operatives.
The chairman said the video eventually found its way to the security organisation, although the person who recorded it was allegedly unaware that it would reach them.
Meanwhile, Olayiwola commended the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, for his efforts towards securing the rescue of the six operatives.
The incident has raised fresh concerns about the security situation in parts of Kwara State, particularly the dangers confronting local security groups involved in protecting vulnerable communities against armed attacks and kidnapping.
The development also highlights the growing risks faced by community-based security operatives operating in areas where heavily armed criminal groups reportedly maintain a presence.
How 40 Motorcycles-Riding Bandits Ambushed, Brutalised Six Kwara Security Operatives
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metro
‘My Only Hope’: Mother Mourns Son Found Beheaded in Cross River
‘My Only Hope’: Mother Mourns Son Found Beheaded in Cross River
The body of a 14-year-old boy, identified simply as Ogar, has been discovered without his head in a river at Yahe community in Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State.
The tragic discovery followed the teenager’s disappearance from home, leaving his family and residents of the community in shock.
According to a report by Vanguard, Ogar was last seen on Friday afternoon after returning from school. He reportedly left home shortly after having his meal but failed to return.
His mother, Agnes, said the family became worried when they could not find him and subsequently organised a search.
However, their search ended in tragedy on Saturday afternoon when the boy’s body was discovered in the Yahe River, about one kilometre from the community.
The grieving mother, who reportedly lost her husband three years ago, lamented that her son was her only source of hope.
“I don’t know who did this wicked act to me — my only source of hope after his father died three years ago. His body without the head was found at the river,” she said.
Agnes expressed confusion over how her son ended up in the river, explaining that the water was usually dirty and brownish at this time of the year and was not commonly used for swimming or washing clothes.
She also said she could not establish whether someone had taken the teenager to the river or how he got there.
A classmate of the deceased, identified as Jacob, reportedly said Ogar did not inform him or their other friends that he intended to go anywhere with anybody.
He added that he only learnt about the tragedy after news emerged that the teenager’s body had been discovered.
Meanwhile, a source at the Yahe Police Station confirmed that the incident was being investigated.
The police source, however, declined to provide further details, explaining that the Divisional Police Officer was away in Calabar.
“I can tell you we are investigating the matter,” the source said.
The circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death, including the whereabouts of his missing head and the identity of those responsible, remain unclear.
Residents are awaiting further details from the police as investigations continue.
‘My Only Hope’: Mother Mourns Son Found Beheaded in Cross River
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