Author: The Nation

By Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

The Police Command in Ebonyi yesterday repelled an attack on its division, killing one of the attackers and recovered an AK47 rifle.

Spokesperson Loveth Odah  said this in a statement  yesterday in Abakaliki.

“At 1200hrs of Sunday, hoodlums numbering about 20 in a Mitsubishi L300 bus, and some others on foot, came in through the back fence and attacked one of our divisions at Ugbuodo Divisional Headquarters in Ebonyi Local Government Area of the state.

“The attackers entered and immediately opened fire, shooting rapidly at policemen on duty but were swiftly challenged and repelled in a gun battle that ensued. One of the attackers was killed.

“His AK47 rifle, GSM phone and jackknife were recovered while others escaped.

However, one mobile police personnel paid the supreme price.

“Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Ebonyi  Command, Mr Aliyu Garba, has visited the division for an on the spot assessment of the situation.

“He has also ordered a manhunt for the fleeing hoodlums with a view to arresting them for prosecution,” Odah said.

By Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

A man and his son were yesterday abducted by gunmen in the Kuchiko Relocation Development Area (KRDA) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The gunmen numbering over 20 invaded the community popularly known as El-Rufa’i Estate at midnight and shot rapidly in the air.

An eyewitness said they overpowered security guards and headed for the house of the victim.

There was panic among the residents of the estate, who were woken up by the sound of gunshots.

It was gathered that the invaders, who operated for an hour, later proceeded to the house of another resident and attempted to kidnap him.

However, the timely arrival of soldiers from the Defence College, Bwari saved the situation after a gun battle with the gunmen.

Some residents of the area, who recounted their ordeals, called on the authorities to beef up security around the satellite areas.

The satellite towns in the FCT have been experiencing incidents of kidnapping for a while now, especially in Gwagwalada and Kuje area councils.

The Bwari Area Council Divisional Police Officer (DPO) could not be reached to confirm the story as at press time.

But spokesman Yusuf Mariam confirmed the incident.

She told our correspondent that the police has launched a high powered operation to rescue the victims and arrest the suspect.

Her words: “We have launched a strategic operation to rescue the victims unhurt and we are also trailing the suspects”.

By Toba Adedeji, Osogbo

Suspected herders ambushed a bus belonging to Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) on Akure/Ilesha Road and would have robbed or kidnapped the travellers but for the intervention of local hunters and policemen.

It was gathered that the heavily armed assailants jumped out of the bushes and intercepted the bus and other vehicles, shooting as they came.

Some passengers took cover in the bush while other motorists made a U-turn.

A driver said, “We were on the road for about two hours because we could not see some of those that we were travelling with. The herdsmen stopped the vehicles but I pulled over the car and I ran into the bush; one of them came close and took the bag inside my car that contained my money and clothes. Those people are very dreadful. The quick intervention of the hunters and police forced them to leave the road.”

“They attacked us to rob and kidnap us on that road. They were armed with sophisticated weapons.”

Police spokeswoman Yemisi Opalola confirmed the incident yesterday morning.

She said, “It Is true that people that were suspected to be Fulani herdsmen came out of the bush and attempted robbing the motorists along Akure/Ilesa Road, by Iwaraja on Saturday around 6pm.

“The owners of those vehicles later came out and took the vehicles away.”

By Justina Asishana, Minna

Women suffering from obstetric fistula or VVF in Niger State will have a reprieve as the wife of the state governor, Dr Amnina Abubakar Bello has built and commissioned a facility to cater for them.

The Dr Amina Bello Women Health Centre built by RAISE Foundation, Dr Bello’s initiative, in collaboration with Mainstream Foundation, has a hospital, a hostel and a skills empowerment centre.

Commissioning the centre in Kontagora, Dr Amina Bello said it was created to manage women suffering from obstetric fistula, adding that the condition is dehumanising.

She said 12,000 women experience obstetric fistula every year with a backlog of women who have not been treated, adding that the centre will give free treatment to such patients.

She said, “The Dr Amina Bello Women health centre has been created to manage women suffering from obstetric fistula. We are commissioning the centre in commemoration of the International Day to End Fistula which is held every year on the 23rd of May.

“Majority of the women we treat are indigent and require support. This is the typical characteristic of a fistula patient

Bello said that the centre was completed in October 2020 and it became operational in November 2020 stating that 34 women have been treated in the centre between November 2020 and February 2021 while 21 women are currently in the wards after being treated.

She said that the services offered in the centre are free including feeding and empowering the women.

“The cost of treating each patient which includes, surgical costs, post-operative management and feeding is N140,000 while the cost of rehabilitation and empowerment for each patient is N100,000”.

She appreciated Mainstream Foundation for partnering with Raise Foundation for the realization of the project adding that Mainstream Foundation built the structure while Raise foundation equipped it.

By Precious Igbonwelundu

The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Task Force) at the weekend seized 10 vehicles for plying against traffic along the Muritala Mohammed International Airport Road.

The vehicles were seized on Friday night by a team led by task force chairman Shola Jejeloye.

The Taskforce listed the impounded vehicles as Sinotruck (LND26XW), Toyota Corolla (BDG935FY), A-Zebra (AGL18AH), Ford Limited (PF3622SPY), Toyota Matrix (KSF15DS), Highlander (LSD01GR), Toyota Hiace (GGE506XZ), Mini Bus (BDG484TC), Toyota Hilux (KJA392XT) and Toyota Hilux (AAA987ET).

A statement released yesterday by the agency’s spokesperson Femi Moliki said drivers caught against traffic would be prosecuted in addition to the owner forfeiting such vehicle.

Moliki said the decision to start prosecuting drivers was premised on the realisation that people still engaged in the practice despite the forfeiture and auction policy of the government.

By Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

Four persons, one of whom a university student, were abducted by gunmen in Ogun State between Wednesday and Saturday.

Mrs B. L. Abimbola, Deputy Director, Information  Communication technology, Tai Solarin University  of Education (TASUED) was abducted in Ijebu-Ode on Thursday.

On Saturday, Toyinbo Nathaniel Olayinka, a 400-Level student of the Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, was kidnapped on a farm in Abule Itoko village in Odeda Local Government Area of the state.

Also taken away with student were the farm owner Dominic and a 17-year-old female Togolese.

Abimbola’s abductors have not yet contacted her family, but those who took away the student and two others have asked for N150m to release them.

The FUNAAB student has been a farmhand for three years to fund his education.

The university released the information on Olayinka’s abduction.

No fewer than 64 persons were reported  injured as a petrol tanker exploded on Saturday in Kano.

The incident happened at the Al-ihsan petrol station at Sharada in Kano Municipal Area of the state.

Malam Saminu Abdullahi, spokesman of the Kano Fire Service, confirmed the incident in a statement yesterday.

Abdullahi said out of the injured victims, eight fire service personnel were involved, adding that no life was lost.

The tanker was offloading petroleum products at the filling station when the incident occurred, he said.

“The victims were taken to Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital and Nassarawa Hospital,” he said.