The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abuja blasts

  • Suspect in Abuja bombing pleads guilty

    Suspect in Abuja bombing pleads guilty

    One of the five men accused of being involved in the October 2 bomb explosions in Nyanya and Kuje, suburbs of Abuja, Abdullahi Nasiru, pleaded guilty on Thursday to being in possession of 12 Improvised Explosive Devices and other materials used for making the bomb.

    Nasiru (23 years) was arraigned before the Federal High Court, Abuja on Thursday with Abdulazeez Muhazab (26), Ishiaka Salihu (25) and Mohammed Jimoh (33) and Abdullahi Nasiru (34), who pleaded not guilty to all the five counts of the charge brought against them.

    Nasiru, who was not fluent in English, spoke in pidgin English when the charge was read to him. He pleaded guilty to the fourth count, which relate to being in possession of 12 IEDs and materials used for manufacturing them.

    The charge was read and interpreted to Nasiru  and the fifth accused person, ‎Abdullahi in pidgin English.

    Nasiru pleaded not guilty to the first three counts of conspiracy and the carrying out of the bombings in the separate locations, but when the fourth count was interpreted to him, he pleaded guilty but said the items found on him belonged to his friend.

    “I’m guilty, but no be me get am, na my friend get am,” Nasiru said in pidgin English.

    Following his guilty plea to the fourth court, his lawyer, Nurein Sulyman, sprang up from his seat, sought the court’s permission to speak with his client. He approached the dock (where Nasiru stood with others) and asked him if he truly understood what he pleaded guilty ‎to.

    Nasiru maintained that he was guilty of the charge of the possession of the IEDs and the other materials.

    The five men were accused of conspiring among themselves of carrying out the bombings of Kuje town and Jikoyi park in Nyanya on October 2 resulting in “the death of scores of innocent citizens and many others sustained various degrees of injuries as well as destroying properties” being acts punishable under sections 17 and 2(a) of Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013”.

    It was alleged,  in the fifth count,  that between August and October 2015, Jimoh and Salihu aided Abdulazeez Muhazab (first respondent) “to store and conceal” the items suspected to be used for manufacturing of IEDs, an act punishable under section 2(g) of the law.

    The accused persons are said to all hail from Kogi State. They were said to have been arrested with already-made 12 IEDs and other materials used for manufacturing the explosives in Unguwar Ebira, Karamajiji area, behind Military Cemetery along Airport Road in Abuja on October 6.

    The materials they were allegedly arrested with included 27 pieces of detonators, aluminium powder, hexomine, hydrogen peroxide, sulphur powder, sodium azide plus nitrate, iron II oxide, soldiering wire, sugar, pH litmus paper, sodium carbonate and thermometer.

    Others are chlorate, filter paper, strings, potassium chlorate, 12 ready-made IEDs and full bag of fertilizer.

    Following their arraignment, lead prosecution lawyer and Director, Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mohammed Diri, said he would still lead evidence to prove the guilt of all the accused persons, including Nasiru with regard to the count he had confessed to.

    Sulyman, who represented all the accused persons, said after court proceedings that he was yet to have access to his cleints.

    He said by the nature of the charges against his clients, Nasiru was still at liberty to change his plea to not guilty should he wish before judgment.

    “Pleading guilty is actually not a big deal. This is a capital offence, he is at liberty to change his plea to not guilty if he wishes,” Sulyman said.

    Trial judge, Justice Abdulkadir Abdulkafarati ordered that the accused persons be moved from police custody and remanded in Kuje prison.

    He adjourned to November 17

  • Abuja blasts: Police arraign five suspects

    Abuja blasts: Police arraign five suspects

    The police on Thursday arraigned five suspected masterminds of the October 2 explosions in Kuje and Nyanya areas of Abuja.

    The suspects who were paraded at the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) Headquarters in Abuja alongside explosive materials recovered from them were later arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

    The suspects, who hail from Okene, Kogi State are- Abdulazeez Muhazab, Ishaka Salihi, Mohammed Jimoh, Abdulwaheed Nasiru and Abdullahi.

    The suspects, according to the police, were apprehended in areas within and outside the FCT.

    Items recovered from the suspects are – engineering textbooks, laptops, phone, face mask, funnel, text tubes, Ipad, two number plates, gloves, 27 pieces of detonators, and aluminium powder.

    Other are – hexomine, hydrogen peroxide, sulphur powder, sodium azide plus nitrate, iron 11 oxide, soldering wire, sugar, litmus paper, sodium carbonate, thermometer, chlorate, filter paper, strings, potassium chlorate, 12 ready-made Improvised Explosives Devices(IEDs), and full bag of fertilizer.

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  • Police arrest two suspected Abuja bombers

    Police arrest two suspected Abuja bombers

    … Another five nabbed in connection with Falae’s abduction

    The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, on Tuesday said two people have been arrested in connection with the twin blasts that rocked Abuja two weeks ago.

    The suspects who are from Okene area of Kogi State are – Abdulazeez Muhazab (27) and Isiaka Salihu (25).

    Arase also confirmed that five more people who allegedly took part in the abduction of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, have been arrested by the police.

    The IGP stated these at a meeting with senior officers of the Force on Tuesday.

    The Department of State Service (DSS) had on Monday paraded two members of the gang that abducted the former Finance minister.

    Speaking on the Abuja blasts, the IGP said: “I am elated to confirm that the police has arrested two terror elements that undertook the fatal operation.”
    According to him, police recovered 12 already prepared and primed Home Made Explosives that was concealed in 12 Fayrouz soft drinks cans, 28 pieces of Electric Detonators and huge quantities of IED-making materials.

    He added that the suspected abductors of Chief Falae were apprehended in Ondo, Ekiti and Niger States.

  • Blasts: PDP urges Buhari to overhaul DSS, others

    Blasts: PDP urges Buhari to overhaul DSS, others

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to overhaul the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies in the country.

    The call followed last Friday’s explosions at Nyanya and Kuje, two satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory.

    At least 20 persons were killed in the blasts, while several others were seriously wounded.

    In a statement signed by the Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, the party noted that the attacks were as a result of either a dereliction of duty or sabotage against the anti-terrorism fight.

    The party regretted that the bombings occurred at a time the nation was already celebrating the success of the security forces in the counter insurgency campaign.

    The PDP said it would continue to support each and every policy adopted by the government of President Buhari to end terrorism, especially knowing the importance of secured environment in achieving peaceful co-existence, an imperative for development.

    The statement said, “And whereas we are aware that a bomb is an ill-wind that blows no good to anybody in the community, scaring away potential investors, we are therefore duty bound to draw attention to certain grave factors, possibly leading to the unfortunate resurgence, which, if unchecked could worsen the ugly situation.

    “Our checks reveal that poor intelligence gathering by the DSS and other relevant intelligence group is largely, if not directly responsible for the resurgence of terrorists, who have earlier been pushed to the precipices in the Sambisa forest in Borno State, to the extent that they have slipped back into other cities, including the nation’s capital.

    “From all indications, the DSS under the watch of the current Director- General, Alhaji Lawal Daura, does not seem to be in full grip of the intelligence situation.

    “This is apparently traceable to the avoidable distractions occasioned by the flagrant use of the agency for political assignments since the emergence of the new Director-General, in addition to the apparent administrative disharmony within the service, all resulting in the erosion of professionalism, harmony and loyalty among personnel.

    “In the last few months, the DSS, instead of concentrating on its primary statutory duties of providing domestic intelligence, security service and criminal investigations for the state, has, under the new Director-General, directed all its energies on political matters, chasing after opposition elements, interfering in election tribunal activities, intimidating and hounding tribunal witnesses, while terrorists resurge, and combatant security forces left with scanty intelligence.

    “The situation with the DSS has become so pathetic that it could not even effectively analyze reported suspicious tweets ‘predicting the attacks’ as a cue to forestalling last Friday’s attack in Abuja and other parts of the country.

    “Indeed, our nation cannot afford a retrogression from the gains already made in the fight against terrorism due to the failure of a disorganized, improperly coordinated and distracted intelligence agency, that is not able to live up to its billing.”

     

     

  • Buhari visits survivors of Abuja bomb blasts

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday in Abuja took succour to survivors of Friday night’s bomb attacks on Nyanya and Kuje in the Federal Capital Territory.

    On a visit to the survivors of the attack who are receiving treatment at the Trauma Centre of the National Hospital, President Buhari wished them full and speedy recovery.

    The President, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, also reassured the survivors that the Federal Government will take full responsibility for settling their medical bills.

    He directed his Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari to settle the N268,790.00 medical bill of a young girl in the Pediatric Ward of the hospital.

    The girl’s mother, Deborah Stephen, had broken into tears on seeing President Buhari.

    She told him that her daughter had been shot by armed robbers who raided their home and that the family could not afford the medical bills.

    The President who was accompanied by his personal aides and Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, visited the intensive care unit, the pediatric unit and general wards of the National Hospital.

    Expressing his appreciation of the President’s visit, the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Dr Jafaru Momoh said that it will help the patients’ recovery by giving them a greater psychological sense of being valued and loved by their country.

     

  • Buhari condemns latest terror attacks

    President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest terror attacks in Abuja.

    The attacks in Maiduguri, Yola and Abuja, according to the President, were apparently timed to coincide with Independence Day celebrations when Nigerians would be commemorating and rejoicing on October Day.

    He condoled with the families of the dead and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

    In a statement personally signed by him, President Muhammadu Buhari said: “These cowardly attacks expose the real face of the planners and perpetrators of these crimes. What quarrel do they have with the good people of Nyanya motor park? What issue do they have with innocent people in market places in Maiduguri, Yola and Kuje?

    “It is clear this battle is not ideological. It is between the forces of peace and order and the evil forces of murder and destruction. Security forces and other local authorities have been instructed to maintain extra vigilance to forestall future attacks.

    “The Armed Forces have been empowered to crush what remains of Boko Haram. This government is determined to stamp out Boko Haram and all other terrorists of whatever persuasions and bring all sponsors to justice,” he stated

  • Buhari distressed about Abuja blasts- Adesina

    President Muhammadu Buhari is distressed about Friday’s bomb blasts in Abuja.

    Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina stated this in a tweet on Saturday morning.

    “ My heart goes out to the families of the dead and injured in Abuja, and other parts of the country,” the President said.

    Adesina said a federal government delegation is visiting hospitals to see the wounded.

    He reiterated that President’s Buhari’s will to end Boko Haram attacks by December remains strong.